Russia, Ukraine agree on large-scale POW swap, further talks in Istanbul

Xinhua) 09:29, May 17, 2025

Delegations of Russia and Ukraine start their meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 16, 2025. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye/Handout via Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded their meeting in Turkiye's Istanbul on Friday, agreeing to hold a new round of negotiations and have a large-scale prisoner exchange.

As a key outcome of the two-hour talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner exchange involving 1,000 people from each side.

According to Russian diplomatic sources, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said the swap would take place soon. He also expressed overall satisfaction with the meeting and confirmed that Russia is ready to continue the dialogue.

Medinsky noted that both sides will soon present their detailed views on a possible ceasefire, after which the negotiations will move forward.

He also said that Ukraine proposed direct talks between the two presidents, and that Russia "took note" of the request.

The convoy arrives at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office for meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 16, 2025. Delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Turkiye convened at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office here on Friday for the first trilateral meeting ahead of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Following the trilateral meeting, a separate session will be held between delegations from Russia, Ukraine and Turkiye. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency, said both sides focused on three key topics: a ceasefire, the prisoner exchange, and the possibility of a future presidential summit.

Umerov described the agreement on the prisoner swap as "the largest exchange since the beginning of the war."

In a post on X, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the negotiation, noted that the meeting produced several important outcomes aimed at building trust and laying the foundation for future negotiations.

He said Russia and Ukraine agreed to "share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire," and reached an agreement "to meet again in principle."

"As Turkiye, we will continue to make every effort to enable a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference at the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara, Turkiye, May 15, 2025. Zelensky said on Thursday that he would not personally show up at the negotiating table in Istanbul with a commitment to ending the conflict with Russia. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

The Istanbul talks follow a proposal by Putin on Sunday to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine. Zelensky has previously said he is open to a face-to-face meeting with Putin. However, the Kremlin said Putin would not attend the talks.

The last direct talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul in March 2022, where the two sides failed to agree to halt the fighting.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Trump blasts Supreme Court over blocking of deportations

Xinhua) 15:46, May 17, 2025

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court after it blocked his administration's effort to swiftly deport Venezuelan immigrants using a wartime law.

"The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do," he wrote in a Truth Social post. "This is a bad and dangerous day for America!"

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), saying that those affected were not being given enough time to legally challenge their removal.

"The detainees' interests at stake are accordingly particularly weighty. Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster," the majority wrote in the decision.

Trump claimed the Court "had ruled even the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally ill who entered the country illegally could not be deported without a lengthy and costly legal process," which could take years and allow them to "commit many crimes" before appearing in court.

Trump had invoked the AEA in March to deport a first group of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador without due process. The Supreme Court intervened on April 19 to temporarily block further deportations, emphasizing the need to ensure due process rights.

The Court's ruling on Friday extended the pause, blocking the planned deportation of another group of detainees being held in Texas.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Police investigating the tragic blaze in Bicester have revealed fire crews are still at the scene as the building remains unsafe.

Thames Valley Police confirmed enquiries are ongoing into the cause of the blaze, however it is not safe to enter the former RAF base due to 'fire hotspots'.

Firefighters were called at around 6.40pm on Thursday, with ten fire engines required to battle to bring the blaze under control throughout the night.

Two hero firefighters Jennie Logan, 30, Martyn Sadler, 38, and business owner David Chester, 57, were killed in the inferno, where after explosions were heard on Thursday.

An unexplained death probe has been launched, but the incident is not being treated as a criminal investigation, as enquiries into the tragedy continue.

Grieving family and friends have revealed their anguish following the tragic deaths after the inferno, as Ms Logan's father paid a touching tribute to his 'real life super hero' daughter.

Both firefighters Ms Logan and Ms Sadler worked at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS), while the 38-year-old was also part of the London Fire Brigade.

Two further OFRS firefighters suffered serious injuries and are still in hospital on Saturday, Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright said.

The father of Jennie Logan, 30, (pictured) has thanked wellwishers after she was killed while fighting the Bicester fire

Firefighter Jenny Logan pictured with her father Ian Logan

Fellow firefighter Martyn Sadler, 38, also died and was linked to both Oxfordshire and London fire services

David Chester, 57, from Bicester, (pictured) also perished in the horrifying fire. He has been described as having a 'selfless spirit'

Two firefighters and a member of the public were killed after a huge blaze ripped through a former RAF base near Bicester Village last night

It is understood Ms Logan was a retained firefighter for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, meaning she was on-call and ready to respond rather than a full-time employee.

The brave firefighter also had a love of dogs, as she also had ten years experience in canine businesses and offered dog-walking, home visits and day care.

A gold plaque has been installed at the entrance to Bicester Motion, with members of the public leaving flowers and tributes at the scene.

Earlier today, firefighters lined up to form a guard of honour as two engines returned to Bicester Fire Station in Oxfordshire.

Tributes have poured in for both firefighters, and Ms Logan's father Ian thanked his local planespotting club after the group released a touching tribute to his daughter.

A member of the group posted online: 'Many of you will know by now that one of the firefighters who lost their lives in the fire at Bicester was Jennie Logan, what you might not know is that she was the daughter of Ian Logan a member and friend of the Turweston Flying community and owner of G-LOGN.

'All of us at Turweston offer our sincere condolences at this terrible time and will support Ian and his family in anyway that we can, and remember his hero of a daughter who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Ms Logan qualified as a firefighter in 2023 after owning a canine business

Tributes have poured in for Mr Sadler and Ms Logan after they were named last night

The firefighters have been described as 'heroes' with friends and family members paying tribute

A close friend of Ms Logan - who qualified as a firefighter in 2023 - posted: 'I hoped it wasn't true, I begged it wasn't. I can dry my tears and remember you but I can never get you back.

'You were my rock and I didn't even realise how much until you were gone.

'Who will I call names and laugh at for being silly? Who will laugh at me and say it right back?

'I've never met anyone like you Jen, it's not fair. Life is cruel but now everyone can be proud of the hero that I saw, that I heard, that I hugged.'

Paying tribute to Mr Sadler, his cousin David wrote: 'Thank you to everyone for the overwhelming number of messages following the devastating loss of my cousin, colleague, role model and hero Martyn Sadler at the fire in Bicester last night.'

A friend added: 'Totally gutted and speechless, with the loss of a good friend and colleague who I had the pleasure and privilege to work with for RBFRS and LFB.

'RIP Martyn Sadler always smiling.'

Heartbreaking posts have since emerged from Mr Sadler in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire in 2017, in which he praised emergency services and called on the local community to support one another.

Bicester Rugby Club, where both firefighters played, also shared a touching tribute: 'It is with profound sadness we share that Jennie Logan and Martyn Sadler, members of our Bicester Rugby Club family were the two firefighters who lost their lives whilst tackling the blaze at Bicester Motion on the night of Thursday 15th May.

'Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to their families, friends and our members at this terrible time.

'Both Jennie and Martyn were actively still involved with our Vixens set up and their presence at the club will be massively missed.'

Ms Logan qualified as a firefighter in 2023 after owning a canine business

Damaged buildings at the scene of the fire at a former RAF base which is home to more than 50 specialist businesses focused on classic car restoration and engineering

Firefighters formed a guard of honour as a mark of respect to their fallen colleagues in Bicester today

CEO of Bicester Motion Daniel Geoghegan described Mr Chester as a 'part of the fabric of our estate and a friend to all'

'To Dave Chester, who ran Chesters & Sons his family business, who has had a long history with the estate - indeed from man and boy,' he said.

'He joined us 12 years ago when we first bought the site and, with his wife and two sons, has been a pillar of our whole business community.

'We considered him a member of our team, part of the fabric of our estate and a friend to us all.

'Whenever you had a question, you would "just ask Dave", not just him but his whole family as they all cared about this place just as much as we do.

'Our whole community used to say that "Dave always had our back." Yesterday, he was doing just that  the epitome of his selfless spirit.

'We will cherish you Dave and you will be sorely missed, and we send our utmost love to Sue, Jordan and Riley.'

Mr Sadler 'exemplified courage and selflessness' and was serving on retained duty at Bicester Fire Station, according to London Fire Commissioner, Andy Roe.

'We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and friend,' he said: 'This is clearly an incredibly difficult time for us all; we have lost a well-respected and much-loved colleague who exemplified courage and selflessness in the service of others.

'Our thoughts are with all the families, friends, and colleagues impacted by this tragedy. We are doing everything we can to provide support to Martyn's family and colleagues.'

Firefighters are pictured on the scene of a blaze at a former RAF base in Bicester on Thursday night

An aerial view shows the fire ripping through the building on Thursday

Video grab from footage shows a huge cloud of smoke as fire breaks out at a former RAF airfield at Bicester Motion in Oxfordshire

'It has been 'an incredibly challenging day for the UK Fire and Rescue Service' and the incident 'highlights the high-risk nature of the service we provide every day. I ask that everyone respects the family's privacy and gives them the space to grieve.'

Mr Sadler was a leading firefighter in Ealing, west London, and an instructor in breathing apparatus and fire behaviour at the Fire Service College.

A fundraising site has been set up in memory of the three people that lost their lives in the fire. The GoFundMe page has already raised 880 for the families of firefighters Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38, and David Chester, 57, from Bicester.

Daniel Chartrand, a Bicester resident, set up the page to support the families.

The fundraising page reads: 'I'm Dan, a Bicester lad, wanting to do my bit for the families of those lost and injured in the RAF Bicester Fire on the 15th May 2025.

'I posted the idea in the Bicester Chat Group on Facebook so I'm now making this to support the families in this sad and undoubtedly stressful time. Any help is and I'm sure will be greatly appreciated.'

A golden plaque has been installed underneath the Bicester Motion sign at the entrance to the site.

The tribute reads: 'Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Bicester Motion. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by the sad loss of two firefighters and the member of the public. Love from the Bicester community.'

Firefighters forming a guard of honour for two of Bicester's fire engines as they return to Bicester Fire Station

Floral tributes left near the scene of a fire at Bicester Motion in Oxfordshire

Wellwishers have been placing flowers, cards and notes at multiple sites in the Oxfordshire village

Other cards included a child's drawing covered in fire engine stickers with the words: 'Thank you hero fighters'

It is surrounded by flowers and messages left in tribute by members of the public. A tribute was also left at Bicester Motion by firefighters from the London Fire Brigade, which included a navy blue T-shirt the writing 'A21 Paddington London Fire Brigade.

It lay alongside flowers and a card which reads: 'Martyn, Jennie. Dear god protect these brave persons. Grant them your almighty protection and unite them safely with their families after their duty has ended.'

Other cards included a child's drawing covered in fire engine stickers with the words: 'Thank you hero fighters'.

Messages of tribute have been left by those who knew Ms Logan. One card, addressed from Ms Logan's dogs Cooper and Barney, reads: 'Jennie, you always were and will be our 'mum' and we will miss you more than anyone can know.

'We will see you one day across the rainbow bridge. All our love, Cooper and Barney.'

Next to the message, another reads: 'A kind generous and beautiful person has been taken from us all too soon and we are heartbroken.

'Our thoughts are with your mum, dad and sister, friends, clients and all your fire and rescue service colleagues. With much love, A and A.'

A message left from Thames Valley Police read: 'To my Red Light Family, in memory of two heroes.

'With deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to family and friends. Always in our thoughts, your Blue Light Family (TVP)'

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Metcalfe, said: 'We are continuing enquiries into what led to the deaths of David Chester, Jennie Logan and Martyn Sadler, as well as what caused the injuries to two other firefighters who remain in hospital in a stable condition.

'Our thoughts remain with all those involved following this tragic incident. Our enquiries are ongoing but this is a complex investigation which may take some time.'

Yesterday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the deaths as 'devastating news', adding: 'The bravery of our firefighters is astounding. Hoping those in hospital make a full and swift recovery.'

Floral tributes are seen outside Bicester Fire Station following a fire at Bicester Motion

Another tribute drawn by a member of the public thanking emergency responders for their service

County Council Chief Fire Officer, Rob MacDougall held back tears as he spoke following yesterday's inferno

Police officers patrol at a cordon near the scene of a fire at Bicester Motion in Oxfordshire

A member of the public also died and another two firefighters were seriously injured and are currently in hospital

Chief fire officer Rob MacDougall gave an emotional statement at the scene of the fire, saying: 'I am immensely proud and grateful for the exemplary multi-agency response and the unwavering bravery demonstrated by all the emergency services personnel.'

Earlier on Friday the council said the blaze was under control, as witnesses said they heard multiple explosions and clouds of dense black smoke could be seen for miles following the fire at the motoring and aviation heritage site.

Stay-at-home mother Julie Stocker said she saw the flames from her bedroom window, and heard 'various explosions'.

The 46-year-old, who lives across the road from Bicester Motion, said: 'We could hear the crackle of the fire and then obviously the various explosions and stuff.

'(The smoke) was going very high. It was a mixture of white smoke and then really thick black smoke.'

She said the site where the fire took place is usually 'very busy' and has seen workers being turned away by police this morning.

Kieran McGurk, a product director who lives opposite Bicester Motion - formerly known as Bicester Heritage, said he heard 'multiple bangs' and saw a plume of smoke while out walking.

Historic England claims the famous airfield is 'the most complete and strongly representative example of an RAF airbase' in Britain.

The site is now home to classic car restoration and engineering businesses. On Friday, Bicester Motion confirmed the site will remain closed over the weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police Tim Metcalfe said: 'This is an absolute tragedy and my thoughts and the thoughts of everyone at Thames Valley Police are with the families, friends and colleagues' of the victims.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz claimed the White House didn't let him speak with President Joe Biden during his term, as more details about the former leader's mental decline continue to emerge.

Cruz, 54, claimed on his podcast on Thursday that he never once saw Biden, 82, during his presidency and that White House staff were hiding the ailing politician.

'They were clearly hiding him,' the Texan told his cohost Ben Ferguson. 'Im in the Senate the whole time. How many times do you think I spoke with Joe Biden while he was president?

'Zero, not a single time, and that is bizarre.'

Cruz - who was sworn into the Senate by Biden in 2012 - said he has calls with Trump almost weekly and had previously worked with Obama on many occasions, but it was not the case with Biden.

'I spoke with Obama regularly. With Trump, I speak with him often every week, sometimes multiple times a week. It is part of the job of being a senator to work with the president, to talk with the president, even the president of the opposing party,' he said.

The Republican recalled Biden being the 'man of the Senate' prior to his presidency and vice presidency and not suffering any mental decline until he took the top spot.

And Cruz claims he wasn't the only GOP politician who was blocked from seeing Biden in the last four years, but nearly every Republican.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz claimed the White House didn't let him speak with President Joe Biden during his term.

'They were clearly hiding him,' the Texan told his cohost Ben Ferguson. 'Im in the Senate the whole time. How many times do you think I spoke with Joe Biden while he was president? Zero'

'I didn't speak with him for four years, that was true of virtually every Republican senator,' he said on the podcast.

While enjoying their joint lunches, Republican senators would talk about their inaction with Biden, Cruz claimed. He also said Democrat senators would only speak with Biden a 'little more.'

The politician said the only Republican senator who came in contact with the Democrat was Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.

'He was one of the few who had seen Biden one time,' Cruz said.

He recalled Kennedy telling the story of visiting the White House over lunch. Kennedy had gone to the White House for Biden to sign a bipartisan bill the Louisiana politician had passed.

Kennedy struck up a conversation with the then-president, who reportedly asked him: 'So, John, you ever seen the cabinet room?'

The Louisianan lied and Biden invited him back and began telling stories from decades ago, Cruz claimed.

'White House staff comes in freaking out. "Mr. President, you got to go, you got to go." And Biden yells at him: "Shut up, I'm telling stories," and [Kennedy] said, he went on for like thirty [to] forty minutes, and it was like listening to your grandfather who tell these same stories,' Cruz claimed.

The Republican recalled Biden being the 'man of the Senate' prior to his presidency and vice presidency and not suffering any mental decline until he took the top spot. When he took office, he was seen falling up stairs and appearing confused often

The politician said the only Republican senator who came in contact with the Democrat was Louisiana Senator John Kennedy (pictured). Cruz claimed White House staff kept trying to get Biden away from Kennedy as he was telling stories from 50 years ago

'I remember he was the only one of us who had seen Biden since he's been president, and that was his one experience with him.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Biden's representatives for comment.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that those closest to Biden had hatched plans to prop him up, even if it meant putting him in a wheelchair to help with his alleged spine degeneration.

Aides fretted over his worsening gait as the Democrat sought office again at 81-years-old, upcoming book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, claimed.

The forthcoming book by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson shares behind the scenes insights from those in the ex-president's inner-circle, including his doctor.

'Biden's physical deterioration - most apparent in his halting walk - had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn't do so until after the election,' the authors penned.

Internet critics and medical professionals weighed-in on Biden's shuffle towards the end of his presidency, mentioning how he didn't full lift his feet when walking and noting his increasing incidents of tripping, stumbling and even falling to the ground.

During a commencement address at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado on June 1, 2023, Biden tripped and fell down while on stage. A few members of his Secret Service detail rushed to help him back to his feet.

Biden swore Ted Cruz into the Senate in 2012 (pictured)

On June 18, 2022, Biden fell off his bike while on a ride in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

He would often trip while walking up stairs, like when he was still vice president in July 20, 2016, and tripped on stairs when coming up on stage for a speech at a town hall in Sydney, Australia.

On several occasions in his presidential term, Biden fell or stumbled when walking the stairs of Air Force One.

He even began taking the shorter route on the underbelly of the aircraft to avoid the long staircase usually utilized by the president when embarking the big plane.

'Given Biden's age, [his physician Kevin O'Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery,' an excerpt from the book states.

Biden's team often told reporters during his 2024 reelection campaign that his halting gait was the result of him fracturing his foot in November 2020 and refusing to wear his walking boot.

Biden also recently discovered a 'small nodule' on his prostate that needs 'further evaluation.'

It was found during 'a routine physical exam,' a spokesperson for Biden told ABC News.

Biden was the oldest president in US history when he was elected and when he left office.
A beloved New Jersey mom has been identified the victim of a horror murder-suicide that was initially thought to be a housefire until cops found a chilling clue amongst the rubble.

Michelle Whiting was identified as one of the bodies pulled from a devastating property fire that erupted at around 2am on Sunday in Washington Township.

Whiting was found in a bed destroyed within the leveled home with a fatal gunshot wound to the hear, which the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said sparked a murder investigation.

Her death was subsequently ruled as a homicide by the Gloucester County Medical Examiner's Office, ABC News reported.

The body of a man, who has not been officially identified, was found in the living room of the home with a handgun lying near his body, the prosecutor's office said.

They added that his death was ruled a suicide by fire.

Neighbors previously said the male body was that of Daniel Steele, while Whiting's longtime friend, Tammy Ventura, described the man as Whiting's ex-boyfriend, reports NBC.

The investigation into the house fire also revealed that accelerant had been used, according to prosecutors.

Michelle Whiting was identified as one of the bodies pulled from a devastating house fire that erupted at around 2am on Sunday

A man's body was discovered with a handgun lying near him, and the use of an accelerant in the fire was discovered during the investigation as well as tampering with the home's gas line

Whiting was found in a bed destroyed within the leveled home. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced in a statement on Tuesday that she had suffered a fatal bullet wound to the head prior to the fire

'The investigation conducted in the aftermath of the fire revealed the presence of an accelerant and that the home's gas line had been tampered with, enabling unrestricted flow of natural gas into the home's interior,' a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

The fire erupted just after 2am on Sunday, prompting multiple calls from neighbors who reported a loud explosion and a fire, Washington Township Police said.

'Responding officers arrived at 13 Tranquility Court and observed that the residence was fully engulfed in flames and appeared to have been heavily damaged by an apparent explosion,' the police statement said.

Ventura, Whiting's friend of 25 years, created a GoFundMe to help Whiting's three children, Gavin, Dakota, Summer, and described her as their 'rock.'

'These kids are heartbroken. Their mom was their rock,' she wrote. 'I can only tell you, she has an army of friends. She always smiled and often tried to find the positive in everything.'

Ventura, Whiting's friend of 25 years, created a GoFundMe to help Whiting's three children, Gavin, Dakota, Summer, and described her as their 'rock'

Whiting was described as having 'so many friends' as tributes poured in

'She had so many friends and she was so young,' Ventura added.

'Michelle was full of life and certainly got mom of the year from me daily...It wasn't her time to go.'

Ventura told NJ Advance Media: 'She was just happy-go-lucky. Always tried to look at the positive. Was always there for everybody, no matter what anybody needed. Her kids were her world.'
He's best known as an entertainer but it appears James Corden may be tempted by a future in politics.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the star, who spent eight years in Los Angeles as host of The Late Late Show before returning to the UK last year, fancies his chances running for Mayor of London.

The 46-year-old actor, who cemented himself as a household name playing Smithy in Gavin and Stacey, has been vocal about his political views but has always stopped shy of taking it further.

Attending the Bafta television awards last Sunday, however, Corden was introduced to the hosts of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast and revealed his latest ambitions to Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby, former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman and former Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson.

An onlooker said: 'James told them he was a regular listener to their podcast and how much he enjoys the cut and thrust of politics.

'He clearly has a lot of respect for those who put themselves out there and run for office.

'And it was suggested that he should step into the political arena and stand in the future. There was talk that he should run for Mayor of London. '

The current mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, was first elected in 2016 and won a third term last year.

He's best known as an entertainer but it appears James Corden may be tempted by a future in politics as the Mayor of London

Corden, who is thought to be a Labour supporter, condemned Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party following the Conservatives' landslide victory in 2019

Corden and his wife Julia bought an 11.5 million mansion in north west London on their return to the UK last year

He is widely expected to stand down in 2028, which will mean Labour will need to find a new candidate.

Corden, who is thought to be a Labour supporter, condemned Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party following the Conservatives' landslide victory in 2019.

He tweeted: 'I can't shake the feeling that if Tom Watson had been leader of the Labour Party the outcome of this could've all been so different.

'Jeremy Corbyn has now lost two elections to opposition candidates who could've and should've been beaten.'

Corden and his wife Julia bought an 11.5 million mansion in north west London on their return to the UK last year.
Police are on the hunt for a group of mystery attackers who allegedly stabbed a British tourist and hurled him from a car, leaving him fighting for his life.

Andrew Joseph Cook, 36, from Manchester, was reportedly with two other foreigners and a Thai woman in a white Toyota Veloz that pulled over in a car park in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday evening.

The British man, an ex-convict who served more than two years in prison after fracturing a man's skull, was already covered in blood when the driver dragged him out of the backseat and dumped him onto the pavement.

The driver then allegedly stabbed Mr Cook with a knife before the group fled the scene.

Shocked local Sayan Samanmit, 49, a taxi driver who was waiting for passengers at the scene when it happened, immediately called the police.

Pictures have shown the still-conscious Mr Cook lying on the ground while paramedics tended to his severe wounds.

Mr Cook's injuries were so deep that blood still flowed through the thick bandage that emergency responders put on.

Andrew Joseph Cook, 36, from Manchester (pictured) was reportedly with two other foreigners and a Thai woman in a white Toyota Veloz that pulled over in a car park in Pattaya, Thailand , on Friday evening

The British ex-convict was already covered in blood when the driver dragged him out of the backseat and dumped him onto the pavement before allegedly stabbing him and fleeing the scene. Pictured: Mr Cook, still conscious, receiving treatment from paramedics at the scene

The left side of his face sustained a deep 10cm gash, while his chest and abdomen were slashed so severely that internal fat protruded.

Mr Cook was given first aid treatment before being taken to Pattaya Pathomkhun Hospital where he is currently in intensive care.

Onlooker Sayan said: 'A white Toyota Veloz drove into the parking lot. Two foreign men and one woman got out of the car.

'I heard shouting and then the car sped away. The foreign man was lying on the ground in pain.'

Sayan added he was scared for his life, so he did not interfere, but he was able to take a picture of the assailant's car and plate number.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suthiraphan Tapsri said: 'We are urgently working on intercepting the car. It fled on Pattaya South Road, but there is still no sign of the perpetrator.

'The British man is still unable to give a statement. Our initial investigation shows he knew the attackers, and an argument could have led to the attack.'

The left side of Mr Cook's face sustained a deep 10cm gash, while his chest and abdomen were slashed so severely that internal fat protruded. Police Lieutenant Colonel Suthiraphan Tapsri said: 'We are urgently working on intercepting the car', with investigations ongoing

Officers are currently reviewing CCTV in the area to trace the car that the alleged attackers used to escape.

The humid coastal area of Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1950s and 1960s when the US military had bases in Thailand while fighting Communism in Vietnam.

The handful of bars in the coastal town quickly grew, and it is now the world's biggest sex holiday destination, with round-the-clock prostitution and drugs - a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah rife with crime and debauchery.

Thousands of undesirables from the West use the city as a cover to run illegal businesses involving bars, prostitutes, drugs and financial fraud.

Mr Cook was 19 when he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and breaching an anti-social behaviour order in an attack on March 6 in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

He punched his victim in the face during a argument between one of his friends and one of the victim's friends.

The victim fell to the ground with a force so hard that his skull fractured as his head hit the pavement.

Speaking at the time, Detective Srgeant Ian Webb said: 'Cook is a thug, who picked on someone who wasn't really involved in the disagreement.

'This case shows that no assault is a trivial matter and the victim's life was put in danger by Cook's actions. This is why he deserves the punishment he has been given today.

'The message is from this case is clear: even a single punch to the face can cause devastating injuries.'
An Islamist extremist working at one of Londons most famous hospitals has been suspended after being accused of issuing a fatwa-style death threat for blasphemy.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that NHS employee Omar Abdallah Mansuur, 39  an influential imam  faces claims that he decreed a fellow Muslim should get the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

His broadcast was made to tens of thousands of followers and is thought to be the first time a cleric in Britain has made such a threat.

The terrified victim, now in hiding in Europe, has been warned by police that it is too dangerous for him to visit the UK. It is a living nightmare, he said last night. My life is at risk and I am constantly looking over my shoulder.

But last night, Mansuur denied issuing a death threat, saying he merely stated the Islamic punishment for blasphemy.

In some of his inflammatory diatribes, Mansuur appears on video from inside St Thomas Hospital  directly across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament  where he works in procurement.

One sequence shows him going into the hospital via an underground entrance and walking along a corridor before sitting down in an office.

Staff describe bespectacled Mansuur, a British national of Somali origin who lives in North London with his wife and children, as unassuming and polite. But his social media profiles tell a different story.

NHS employee Omar Abdallah Mansuur, 39  an influential imam  faces claims that he decreed a fellow Muslim should get the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammed

The terrified victim, now in hiding in Europe, has been warned by police that it is too dangerous for him to visit the UK. It is a living nightmare, he said. My life is at risk and I am constantly looking over my shoulder

Mansuur, who works in procurement at St Thomas Hospital  directly across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament  denied issuing a death threat, saying he merely stated the Islamic punishment for blasphemy

Using TikTok, Facebook and X, he reaches millions of followers with his hate-filled videos and live broadcasts.

On Friday, after the MoS passed on its evidence, the hospital said Mansuur had been suspended pending an investigation.

Yair Cohen, a lawyer representing the victim, said: I am calling for immediate and decisive action to protect my client.

Police forces seem able to swiftly arrest people for far less serious social media activity.

The National Secular Society said: Its appalling that here in the UK, Islamists are calling for the death of supposed blasphemers or those who leave Islam. The police and counter-extremism authorities must take this threat seriously, and people who incite murder against those who they see as offending their religion must face justice.

In one broadcast, Mansuur says of the 32-year-old moderate imam, whom he accuses of making offensive remarks about the Prophet: When he repents, he will be put to death in the manner Muslims are killed. If he refuses to repent he will be caught, killed, then thrown in a hole like a dog.

The death threat victim vehemently denies insulting Islam and insists comments he made on social media were doctored. The Metropolitan Police said it had referred his complaint to police in the country in which he is hiding.

The target of the fatwa told the Met in a statement that he fears he will suffer the same fate as French teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded near his school in Paris in 2020 after hate campaigners accused him of showing a cartoon of the Prophet to students.

Author Salman Rushdie (pictured here at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023) was left blind in one eye after being stabbed onstage by an Islamic extremist as he was about to deliver a public lecture in August 2022

Hadi Matar was sentence to 25 years in prison on Friday for the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie. Pictured here at Chautauqua County Courthouse for his sentencing in Mayville, New York on May 16, 2025

Matar was acting on the fatwa issued against Mr Rushdie by Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989

He said: Mr Mansuurissued a fatwa against me and that my punishment for insulting the Prophet is deathMy life is at risk and I fear for my safety. In other videos, Mansuur defends child marriages, saying girls as young as 11 can be married off by their parents without their consent as long as they are virgins.

The death threat follows a disturbing rise in anti-blasphemy incidents in the UK. A Government report last year explained violence was promoted by the availability of jihadist propaganda online.

Experts say Islamists are being radicalised and then taking it upon themselves to resurrect the crime of blasphemy in Britain.

The report was commissioned by the Governments counter-extremism tsar following flashpoints including the RE teacher forced into hiding after he showed pupils a cartoon of Mohammed at a school in Batley, West Yorkshire.

Irans spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini imposed a fatwa on British author Salman Rushdie in 1989 for his novel The Satanic Verses. Mr Rushdie, 77, lived in hiding for almost a decade and was blinded in one eye when he was attacked by an extremist in New York in 2022. His attacker was last week jailed for 25 years.

Mansuur broadcasts and posts videos in his native Somali language, which appears to have shielded him from the sort of attention authorities have paid to other firebrand preachers. He first accused the moderate imam  whom we are not naming for his safety  of blasphemy in 2022 when he was preaching on an app called Clubhouse. At the time he had several hundred followers. By the time the video re-surfaced on social media in March it had garnered thousands of views.

Mansuur later took part in a live TikTok broadcast with other preachers, and accused the moderate imam of blasphemy.

As a photo of the preacher appeared on screen, Mansuur said: His sentence is death, even if the person repents, the repentance cannot stop the execution...He will be executed for the insult.

Salman Rushdie also suffered additional injuries in the 2022 attack, including liver damage and a paralysed hand caused by nerve damage to his arm

The moderate imam complained to local police and was given security advice. He said: I was told to avoid mosques and areas with large groups of people. My life is in danger. I am always scared. His followers would take his video as a fatwa.

In his complaint to the Met, he said: Mr Mansuur... issued a fatwa against me that my punishment for insulting the Prophet is death. Threats of death, violence, intimidation and harassment against me have increased and intensified in the last month which has left me living in fear, feeling distressed, worried and anxious.

In another live broadcast on TikTok in June 2022, Mansuur says the sharia punishment of death for blasphemy must be carried out on a Somali woman he accused of insulting the Prophet. Other speakers, however, urged restraint as she had repented.

The following month, Mansuur issued a video, again on TikTok, against an unidentified man, whom he accused of committing blasphemy. In the shocking video, the caption in Somali reads: This filthy man insulted our Beloved [Prophet]. He is an infidel, and his blood is halal. Mansuur then says: Action is required, bravery is required... Each of you should bring forth your capability.

Last night, campaigners accused Mansuur of inciting murder, but he told The Mail on Sunday his speeches had been taken out of context, adding he has never advocated violence.

Of his videos on the moderate imam he said: I was talking about one who insults the Prophet Mohammed. I was giving the opinion of scholars. I didnt say, go and do this. This is b*******.

I havent done anything against the law...I was only telling that we will take him to court. Anyone can take your words and twist it. My words are not against the law.

Asked why he accused others of blasphemy and said their punishment was death, Mansuur said he was just repeating Islamic law.

The National Secular Society said: Were extremely concerned by the apparent lack of action by authorities on this case. Extremists who promote Islamic penalties for supposed blasphemy pose a serious threat to peoples lives.

The NHS trust that runs St Thomas said: We can confirm Mr Mansuur has been removed from duties pending an investigation into allegations about his behaviour.
Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction has been thrown into question following felony charges brought against a South Carolina court clerk who oversaw his murder trial.

Former Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill, 57, was charged with several felonies on Wednesday in two counties.

Attorney Eric Bland, who represented multiple jurors in Murdaugh's murder trial and several of his financial crimes victims, told Fox News that Hill's charges 'bode well for Alex Murdaugh.'

'Three of those charges that are pending in Colleton County really have nothing to do with the trial. [Those are] actions that she took outside of that trial in the course and scope of her duties, taking advantage of her office - obstruction activity,' Bland said.

'That has nothing to do with it. One charge in Richland County is a perjury charge. And it's perjury that does stem from the [January 2024] hearing where Justice Toal rendered a decision not giving a new trial to Alex Murdaugh.'

Hill was accused of obstruction of justice and misconduct in Colleton County as well as perjury in Richland County.

The former court clerk allegedly lied to South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Toal in January 2024 when questioned over the alleged misconduct.

According to charging documents obtained by Fox News, Hill told Toal that no members of the press had been allowed to view sealed exhibits in Murdaugh's trial - a claim that was allegedly found to be inconsistent with evidence obtained by authorities.

Former Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill (pictured) was charged with several felonies on Wednesday in two counties potentially derailing a decision that convicted killer Alex Murdaugh was denied a retrial

Murdaugh was convicted by jury in 2023 for the murders of his wife Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, on his family hunting estate in June of 2021

Not all legal experts who spoke with Fox News agreed that the charges could help the convicted killer.

'The [suggestion] that Becky Hill is now in legal trouble helps Alex Murdaugh - I strongly disagree with that,' South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon said.

'I think the exact opposite is really true.'

Hill was also accused of showing seal photographs to a reporter and using her position as clerk for financial gain, including the promotion of her book about Murdaugh's trial on social media.

Murdaugh was convicted by jury in 2023 for the murders of his wife Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22, on his family hunting estate in June of 2021.

The 56-year-old received two life sentences without parole, and filed for a re-trial last year with a 121-page appeal document.

He and his legal team accused Hill of alleged jury tampering and argued that weeks after the trial ended, jurors allegedly informed them Hill had told them to 'watch [Murdaugh's] body language.'

Hill had resigned her position earlier that year.

Condon said he was 'surprised by the charges' against Hill, and argued that they do not help Murdaugh because 'they did not include jury tampering,' Fox News reported.

'That has been... the focus at the hearing for the retrial. Nothing in [Hill's charges] about jury tampering,' he continued.

'To my mind, it's a really big win for the state and a big loss for the defense because a main ground of their appeal would be this jury tampering,' Condon said.

Pictured: Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul Murdaugh (both center), 22

Attorney Eric Bland, who represented multiple jurors in Murdaugh's murder trial and several of his financial crimes victims, told Fox News that Hill's charges 'bode well for Alex Murdaugh'

'...And the fact that there are no charges against former clerk Hill for jury tampering tells me that the authorities looked at that and did not believe there was sufficient evidence to show that she tampered with the jury.'

Bland claimed to the outlet that Toal did not find Hill's testimony entirely credible and did not take it into consideration when ruling against a retrial.

'At the end of the day, this is going to be a legal decision on appeal,' Bland continued.

'Was Justice Toal correct in applying the South Carolina standard on juror interference by an official? And that, as the South Carolina standard says, you not only have to show the juror interference but you have to show the effect that it had on the jurors and their verdict.'

'I represented six of those jurors. Eleven of those jurors said...anything that Becky Hill said didn't have any effect on our verdict.'

Bland noted that even if Murdaugh's sentencing was reversed and he was allowed a retrial, he would still serve time in prison for his financial crimes

The former clerk held her position for about four years before resigning in March after allegations arose of jury tampering. At the time she said she was leaving the position to 'focus on being a wife, a mother and a grandmother'

Of the jurors that found Murdaugh guilty, 11 of 12 said Hill did not influence their decision.

One juror said Hill's comments had been heard but that her words did not influence their verdict.

Bland noted that even if his sentencing was reversed and he was allowed a retrial, he would still serve time in prison for his financial crimes.

Condon and Bland said that Hill had acted 'professionally' and noted the high-profile status of the case was a rarity in that small town.

'She probably was trying to be accommodating,' Condon said of the charges accusing her of sharing sealed photographs with a reporter.

'She's a really nice lady, probably trying to help somebody with their story. And again, I don't think there was a malicious intent with that whatsoever.'

He did note, however, given the circumstances of the trial 'one would expect the clerk of court... to follow each and every rule.'

Murdaugh's defense attorneys, however, said that the charges against Hill are 'serious' and 'not surprising.'

Dick Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh's attorneys, told the outlet he believes Hill's charges will result in a new trial for the convicted killer

Justice Toal denied Murdaugh's appeal for a retrial last year following accusations against Hill of jury tampering

'We have long raised our concerns about her conduct during and after the trial and this arrest further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the judicial process. Every defendant is entitled to a fair and impartial trial and we look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment,' they added.

Dick Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh's attorneys, told the outlet he believes Hill's charges will result in a new trial for the convicted killer.

Alongside the charges related to the case, Hill was also accused of sending herself nearly $10,000 in federal bonuses in the form of child support payments, according to a notice hearing, Fox News reported.

The former clerk held her position for about four years before resigning in March after allegations arose of jury tampering.

At the time she said she was leaving the position to 'focus on being a wife, a mother and a grandmother.'
The Royal Navy is braced for one of its flagship aircraft carriers to be attacked as it travels near territory run by Iran's allies in Yemen.

Plans have been drawn up for F-35 fighter jets to launch strikes against Houthi camps should HMS Prince of Wales come under a bombardment as it passes through a choke point in the Red Sea.

Downing Street has also given the elite Special Boat Service and Royal Marines permission to launch a rescue mission if any fighter pilot is shot down, according to Whitehall sources.

HMS Prince of Wales will shortly pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, on its way to a deployment in the Pacific.

It is understood to have 18 F-35 planes on board.

Plans have been drawn up for F-35 fighter jets to launch strikes against Houthi camps should HMS Prince of Wales come under a bombardment in the Red Sea

HMS Prince of Wales will shortly pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, on its way to a deployment in the Pacific

HMS Prince of Wales (pictured) is understood to have 18 F-35 planes on board for its latest deployment through the Red Sea

The Houthi, a militant group in Yemen aligned with Iran, has launched more than 500 attacks on ships in support of Hamas

The Houthi, a militant group in Yemen aligned with Iran, has launched more than 500 attacks on ships in support of Hamas.

The 65,000-ton HMS Prince of Wales will be protected by HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer boasting the Sea Viper defence system.

HMS Prince of Wales recently sailed through the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and Italy, to hone its response to being bombarded by drones and missiles.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We do not comment on routing for operational security reasons.'
Britain's Armed Forces will undergo a high-tech revolution of drones and unmanned warplanes to prepare for the warfare of the 21st century, defence sources said last night.

The Government's strategic defence review, to be published shortly, will learn the lessons of the war in Ukraine to herald a major change of direction.

Drones are already increasingly used in the Armed Forces mainly for close surveillance.

But the expected radical changes would dramatically expand their use and potentially involve equipping the Royal Navy with a squadron of unmanned planes operating from one of its carriers.

The RAF would get the ability to deploy laser-armed swarming drones deployed from the new Tempest fighter jet.

And the Army would be given a new drones regiment, with troops getting new long-range artillery and enhanced cyber capabilities.

Two weeks ago, Defence Secretary John Healey hinted at the changes as he said on X that 'we've seen warfare changing [and] we are now learning the lessons from Ukraine'.

And standing in front of a Eurofighter Typhoon, he spoke of how 'traditional, state-of-the-art fighter jets like this' would be 'working in future with drones you can put together in five minutes'.

Britain's Armed Forces will undergo a high-tech revolution of drones and unmanned warplanes to prepare for the warfare of the 21st century, defence sources said

The MoS revealed last year how there were fears that Britain's weak anti-missile defences left it wide open to attack if Russia aimed missiles at this country

Drones are already increasingly used in the Armed Forces mainly for close surveillance,but the expected radical changes would dramatically expand their use. Pictured: A solider prepares a drone in Ukraine

But last night, Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge told The Mail on Sunday: 'If we are about to see this vital new investment in our nation's defences, it's not before time.

'But Labour's record so far has been penny-pinching over actual, necessary procurement.'

There are claims that the defence review, led by former Nato secretary general and Labour peer Lord Robertson, will fail to live up to the Government's boast that it was a 'root and branch' examination of the military's real future needs.

The Tories have already predicted that the exercise would be a 'damp squib' amid reports that key major defence procurement decisions would not even be set out in the final report.

Under proposals, the Army would be given a new drones regiment with troops getting new long-range artillery and enhanced cyber capabilities. Pictured: A Vampire drone used on the frontline in Ukraine

Drone technology has been deployed in the ongoing war by Ukrainian and Russian militaries

Decades of underfunding have left the Armed Forces with major gaps including a shortage of warships, armoured vehicles and fighter aircraft.

The MoS revealed last year how there were fears that Britain's weak anti-missile defences left it wide open to attack if Russia aimed missiles at this country.

The Ministry of Defence said reports of major new investment in drones was 'speculation'.

A spokesperson added that the defence review 'sets out a path for the next decade to transform the Armed Forces'.
Nigel Farage plans to mobilise his new regional power base of Reform councillors to try to force the Government to act on the scandal of child sex grooming gangs.

After winning 677 seats and seizing ten councils in the local elections, the Reform UK leader says his councillors will lobby Home Secretary Yvette Cooper for an inquiry into how men of Pakistani heritage were able to abuse mainly white girls in areas such as Rotherham and Oldham.

The Government has resisted calls for a national inquiry, arguing that it should be carried out at local level.

But Reform says this has been effectively blocked by Labour councillors in the affected areas.

The party's electoral success, including two councils seized from Labour, has changed this dynamic.

Mr Farage said Reform councils would write to Ms Cooper to demand grooming gangs inquiries in their areas.

He said: 'We're putting the Government on notice: Reform councils will never sweep abuse by rape gangs under the carpet.'

The grooming scandal unfolded in 2001 when the names of taxi drivers who allegedly picked up girls from care homes in Rotherham to abuse them were passed to the police and local council.

Nigel Farage plans to mobilise his new regional power base of Reform councillors to try to force the Government to act on the scandal of child sex grooming gangs

The first convictions were not until 2010, with the latest in 2024  a total of 61.

The scale of abuse was set out by Professor Alexis Jay's independent inquiry in 2022, but none of her 20 recommendations has been implemented yet. Reform said that councillors such as Simon Evans, the deputy leader-elect of Lancashire Council, had been working with victims of the crimes to raise the need for inquiries.

Elizabeth Harper, who was 13 when she became a victim, joined Mr Farage at a Reform rally in Chester this year.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell was forced to apologise this month for suggesting on Radio 4's Any Questions that raising concern over grooming gangs was 'dog whistle' politics.

When Reform's Tim Montgomerie tried to question why Labour had blocked a national inquiry, she said: 'Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we?'

Ms Powell is MP for Manchester Central which covers parts of Oldham, where some of the victims lived.

She quickly issued a 'clarification', saying: I was challenging the political point-scoring, not the issue itself.'

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has promised 'a moment of reckoning' for those who turned a blind eye to the grooming scandal.

The Reform UK leader says his councillors will lobby Home Secretary Yvette Cooper for an inquiry into how men of Pakistani heritage were able to abuse mainly white girls in areas such as Rotherham and Oldham

A review by Baroness Louise Casey into the 'culture and societal drivers' of the abuse will conclude this month.

Both Mr Farage and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have backed calls for an 18-month national inquiry, with powers to compel witnesses to attend.

Ms Cooper's spokeswoman said: 'We welcome local areas working with us on local inquiries so we can uncover the truth, ensure more evil perpetrators face justice and more children are protected. Great that Farage and his team share this objective.'

Nandy and her entire department face chop

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's entire department is likely to disappear with her if she is fired by Sir Keir Starmer in the next reshuffle.

The Mail on Sunday revealed in March that Ms Nandy, right, was tipped for the axe as No 10 thought she was not 'working hard enough'.

Now insiders say the Culture Department will be abolished, bringing to an end 33 years of a standalone department for arts and cultural matters.
Britain could be forced to hand hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to Brussels every year as part of a new EU deal being negotiated at a 'Surrender Summit' in London tomorrow.

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to sign an outline agreement for a 'reset' with the bloc that critics have branded a 'Brexit betrayal'.

It is expected to include a youth mobility scheme  dubbed free movement 'by the back door'  and an agreement to allow EU trawlers to fish in British waters.

The UK would also be forced to swallow many Brussels rules and accept a role for the European Court of Justice as the two sides deepen trade and security links.

Brexiteers' fears that the Prime Minister is preparing to surrender freedoms gained after the 2016 referendum deepened last night after No 10 told The Mail on Sunday that Sir Keir believed that the British people were 'done' with Brexit.

A Downing Street adviser said: 'His view is people have had it with the Brexit wars. They're done with all that. What they want is a relationship with Europe that benefits them. All they care about now is something that will put some extra money in their pockets'.

The agreement in principle, which is expected to be signed by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa at Lancaster House in London, will also include a defence and security pact that would allow British companies to win contracts from a 150 billion (125 billion) EU weapons fund.

Firms such as BAE Systems could bid for contracts from the Security Action For Europe (Safe) fund, established in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fears that Donald Trump could ditch America's Nato commitments.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is welcomed by European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen ahead of their meeting during the European Political Community (EPC) summit, in Tirana on May 16, 2025

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to sign an outline agreement for a 'reset' with the bloc that critics have branded a ' Brexit betrayal'.

It is expected to include a youth mobility scheme  dubbed free movement 'by the back door'  and an agreement to allow EU trawlers to fish in British waters. (File)

However, a senior diplomatic source last night said that the French government were leading demands for the UK to pay Brussels for the privilege of being allowed access to the fund.

The source said: 'The figures being discussed are in the hundreds of millions up to possible billions. It would inevitably trigger memories of the days when Britain forked out a fortune to the EU each year'.

The deal would also require Britain and the EU to 'standardise' mutual defence systems and ensure 'greater interoperability'.

Last night Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: 'Labour's Brexit betrayal is in full swing. Whenever they negotiate, Britain loses.

'We have been warning of their backsliding across the board, and now ahead of their Surrender Summit on Monday, fears are growing that Labour might force the British public to cough up as the price of their defence agreements.

'We are Europe's biggest defence power and have led the West in supporting Ukraine  they should be welcoming us, not making absurd demands.

'There must be no more taxpayer money sent to Brussels. We will fight Labour tooth and nail to prevent this.'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: 'We should not be putting our army under an EU flag, let alone then paying for the privilege'.

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to sign an outline agreement for a 'reset' with the bloc that critics have branded a ' Brexit betrayal'

The Tory leader was in Belgium on Friday to speak at the International Democracy Union (File image of the European Commission)

Mr Farage has called the youth mobility plan, 'effectively be a back door to free movement of people that will be strongly opposed by Brexit voters', while the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch has claimed it could amount to an 'uncapped migration scheme'.

But Sir Keir has insisted that it would not amount to a return to pre-Brexit freedom of movement, pointing to reciprocal schemes that the UK already has with the likes of Australia.

Under such agreements, people between the ages of 18 and 35 are allowed to work in each other's countries for two years.

They are subject to annual quotas, ranging from 100 visas for Andorra to 42,000 for Australia.

The PM told The Times: 'We have a red line in our manifesto about freedom of movement, but youth mobility is not freedom of movement.

'I think the British public are pretty pragmatic, that's what we're known for, which is why I think they will look forward not backwards'.

It has been calculated that 80 million Europeans would qualify for a British visa if a mobility scheme for under-35s is not capped.

Last night, Downing Street said that the deal would help UK firms 'who face red tape and checks just to export to our nearest and biggest trading partner'; British supermarkets 'who have to pass these costs on to consumers and reduce the availability of products on shelves'; and British families 'who face higher bills, queues on holiday and whose safety and security is harmed by a lack of cooperation between neighbouring countries facing the same global challenges'.

Sir Keir said: 'In this time of great uncertainty and volatility, the UK will not respond by turning inwards, but by proudly taking our place on the world stage  strengthening our alliances and closing deals in the interests of British people'.
Woke teaching resources promoted to schools claim that Stonehenge was built by black people and the Roman Emperor Nero married a trans woman, according to a think-tank.

Pro-transgender teaching materials also claim that genital mutilation of slaves was a form of gender transition.

But landmark British victories such as those at Waterloo and Trafalgar go largely untaught  with research suggesting as few as one in ten schools include them on the curriculum.

A Policy Exchange investigation has warned that schools have taken it too far as they adapt history curriculums in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.

The prestigious centre-Right unit found that George Floyds death in 2020 led to schools hastily including material about ethnic minorities to appear anti-racist.

Former history teacher and chairman of Campaign for Real Education Chris McGovern said it was clear that the subject has been captured by the Left.

The report added that some resources, such as the book Brilliant Black British History, push contested narratives  such as black people building Stonehenge.

The book is marketed as a must-have in any school library but its claim that early black Britons built the world-famous Neolithic stone circle is hotly contested and outside mainstream historical thinking yet presented as fact, according to the think-tank.

A history book promoted to schools claims that Stonehenge was built by black people, a Policy Exchange investigation found

One resource, from the Classical Association's 'Queering the Past' project, claims the Roman Emperor Nero married a trans woman called Sporus but omits the fact that they probably underwent a forced castration rather than consensual gender reassignment

Landmark British victories such as those at Waterloo and Trafalgar go largely untaught  with sample data suggesting as few as one in ten schools include them on the curriculum. Pictured: The Battle of Waterloo, a 1824 painting by Dutch artist Jan Willem Pieneman

While in some cases these initiatives have a positive effect, such as exposing pupils to wider world history, the report flagged serious concerns about replacing facts with biased narratives.

It warned: In too many cases this process has gone too far, leading to the teaching of radical and contested interpretations of the past as fact, or with anecdotes of interesting lives replacing a deeper understanding of the core drivers of history.

One resource, from the Classical Associations Queering the Past project, claims the Roman Emperor Nero married a trans woman called Sporus but omits the fact that they probably underwent a forced castration rather than consensual gender reassignment.

It comes as the Government conducts its curriculum review to reflect the issues and diversities of our society  which the report says may be unnecessary as schools already do it.

Backed by former education secretaries Lord Blunkett and Nadhim Zahawi, the report also calls for pupils to be impartially given a better overview of British history.

A Classical Association spokesman said its teaching resources were complicated and nuanced where more than one interpretation is possible.

A Department for Education spokesman said: The curriculum and assessment review is considering how to ensure young people have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

Meanwhile, Mr McGovern warned history is seen as a vehicle for undermining and destroying British national identity.

Policy Exchanges research examined teaching resources that are promoted as being appropriate for schools.

While schools have to deliver classes according to exam board specifications, they are also allowed to source their own materials which may be produced by third party organisations.

Separately, the think tank also gathered responses to Freedom of Information requests about the curriculum sent to 249 nationally-representative secondary schools.

The responses revealed the most popular curriculum topic taught to children aged 11 to 14 was the Transatlantic Slave Trade, taught in 99 per cent of schools.

At the other end of the scale, the Battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar were taught in just 11 per cent of schools, while for Agincourt it was 18 per cent.

The data also showed 83 per cent said they had either decolonised or diversified their history teaching.
Britain's Eurovision dream came crashing down last night after the UK entry received zero points from the voting public across Europe for the second year in a row.

Remember Monday, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, represented the UK with their song 'What The Hell Just Happened?' at Saturday night's song contest in Basel, Switzerland.

But their song title became a stark reality as fans across Europe snubbed the UK in a humiliating blow for the second consecutive year.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for Remember Monday, however, as the Hampshire-based girl group, performing in colourful Bridgerton-style outfits, avoided the dreaded 'nul points' from the professional jury.

But the 88 points the UK did receive was only enough to land them a disappointing 19th place out of 26 countries. Last year, Years and Years singer Olly Alexander also received zero points from the public as the UK finished 18th with a low score of 46.

In the final, each country is awarded two sets of scores - one from a jury of music industry professionals from that nation and the other by fans across Europe. Votes for your own country are not permitted.

In one of the most politically charged Eurovision song contests ever, Austria stormed to victory, while Israel - whose performance was blighted by protests - took second place.

Millions of viewers across Europe tuned in to see who would take home the crown, as Austria's JJ emerged victorious in Saturday night's grand final following two semi-final shows earlier this week.

Israel's Yuval Raphael, who survived the October 7 massacre in 2023, was the runner-up with New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English. But the singer was left 'shaken and upset' after two pro-Palestine protesters rushed towards her during her performance.

Hampshire-based girl group Remember Monday took to the St Jakobshalle arena stage to represent the UK, performing their song What the Hell Just Happened

Despite storming to the left hand side of the scoring board, they failed to win over the public vote receiving zero points

JJ representing Austria with his song Wasted Love emerged victorious, taking home the coveted Eurovision Song Contest trophy

JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch took to the stage to proudly lift his well-earned trophy while performing his song Wasted Love

Saturday night's Eurovision saw protests on the streets of Basel amid Israel's participation in show

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set alight an Israel and a US flag at the protests in Basel on Saturday

Riot police used pepper spray to restrain activists during a pro-Palestine protest outside the Eurovision grand final

Meanwhile, organisers confirmed that a crew member backstage was hit with paint but was not injured.

Riot police also had to use pepper spray to restrain activists during pro-Palestine protests outside the arena, while Israel and US flags were set alight.

While the UK managed to rack up 88 points from the professional jury, including the maximum 12 score from Italy, it was yet another snub from the European voting public.

Prior to Saturday night's show, the group were dealt a disappointing blow as bookmakers predicted the band, the first girl group act from the UK to perform since 1999, had just a 66/1 chance of winning the coveted title.

Eurovision 2025 result Austria, JJ - 436 Israel, Yuval Raphael - 357 Estonia, Tommy Cash - 356 Sweden, KAJ - 321 Italy, Lucio Corsi - 256 Greece, Klavdia - 231 France, Louane - 230 Albania, Shkodra Elektronike - 218 Ukraine, Ziferblat - 218 Switzerland, Zoe Me - 214 Finland, Erika Vikman - 196 Netherlands, Claude - 175 Latvia, Tautumeitas - 158 Poland, Justyna Steczkowska - 156 Germany, Abor & Tynna - 151 Lithuania, Katarsis - 96 Malta, Miriana Conte - 91 Norway, Kyle Alessandro - 89 UK, Remember Monday - 88 Armenia, PARG - 72 Portugal, NAPA - 50 Luxembourg, Laura Thorn - 47 Denmark, Sissal - 47 Spain, Melody - 37 Iceland, VB - 33 San Marino, Gabry Ponte - 27 Advertisement

Although the rest of Europe wasn't convinced by Remember Monday, viewers at home were impressed by their 'unbelievable vocals'.

Praising the trio's performance, one viewer wrote: 'Oh girls. you smashed it. That was stunning and your joy on that stage was infectious. So loved it. You're our winners.

Theories abounded that the group, who first gained prominence on the Voice, could take home the 69th Eurovision Song Contest Trophy which would have marked the first UK win since 1997, but it was not meant to be.

It was down the wire until the very last minute as Israel leapt into pole position with 357 points. Every other country faltered in nabbing the number one spot when it came to the public vote but Austria emerged victorious.

The countertenor JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, took to the stage to proudly lift his well-earned trophy while performing his winning song Wasted Love.

Earlier in the night, fans were left disappointed as speculation Titanic songstress, Celine Dion, would make an appearance failed to materialised on stage.

Sophie Ellis-Bexter, announced Britain's scores from Switzerland, shortly after it was revealed she would be replacing Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa as the United Kingdom's Eurovision spokesperson for 2025.

It comes as speculation was rife following Mr Gatwa's withdrawal from Eurovision hosting duties, with the BBC announcement being made just two minutes after Israel qualified for the final.

Mr Gatwa has previously been vocal in his support for Palestine, sharing photographs of Free Palestine graffiti in Italy on his Instagram and posting links to fundraisers for Palestinian causes.

The reason for Mr Gatwa's last minute withdrawal from his hosting duties was not made clear, aside from the BBC's initial 'unforeseen circumstances' message, but fans speculated Israel's qualification was the cause.

Ms Ellis-Bextor, 46, stepped in for Mr Gatwa, telling fans: 'I love Eurovision and it's a privilege to be part of 2025's Grand Final. What an honour it is to announce the UK's jury score on such a special show which always puts music front and centre.

'I am very much looking forward to delivering the iconic douze points from the United Kingdom!'

The BBC said it had 'nothing more to add' on its original statement. Mr Gatwa was approached for comment.

It comes as two activists were arrested after trying to storm the stage during October 7 survivor, Yuval Raphael's, performance, while pro-Palestine protesters clashed with Swiss riot cops as the show continued throughout the night.

The contest is the first major music event Raphael had attended since the Nova Festival on October 7, 2023, where she hid under dead bodies for eight hours as Hamas terrorists attacked.

Winner JJ celebrated by kissing the Eurovision song contest trophy

He lifted it over his head, smiling from ear to ear after winning this years coveted title

When JJ (pictured) is not taking to the Eurovision stage he's performing at the Vienna State Opera

JJ performing his Eurovision winning song Wasted Love

Remember Monday, who rose to prominence on The Voice, proudly waved the British flag after their performance on Saturday night

The group, reacted with glee as they received their points but their enthusiasm died down after it was revealed they scored exactly zero in the public vote

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, left fans impressed with their performance during the semi-finals

And while the impressed fans, it wasn't enough to secure them anything higher than 19th place

Pro-Palestine protesters clashed with Swiss riot police. Three were detained after trying to storm the stage during Israel's performance

October 7 survivor Yuval Raphael performed her song 'New Day Will Rise' amid protests about Israel's participation in Eurovision

That fateful day saw the militant group kill 1,200 people, with over 250 taken hostage. It in turn sparked a huge Israeli military offensive on the Gaza strip, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

More than 53,000 people have been killed by Israel's bombardment of the besieged territory, with all aid blocked from entering Gaza since March.

According to SRG SSR, there were two separate bids made by a man and a woman to rush onto the stage both stopped by security. A crew member had also been hit with paint during the incident, but, nobody was injured.

A SRG SSR spokesman said: 'At the end of the Israeli performance a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.

'They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.'

Youth Demand have since claimed responsibility for the incident, stating two of their supporters had been 'forcibly removed' and detained by armed police after they attempt to storm the stage.

The two have named themselves as Meaghan Leon, 27, from London, David Curry, 22, from Manchester of Youth Demand.

Mr Curry said: 'After dropping the equivalent of six Hiroshomas' worth of bombs on Gaza, Israel has been blockading all food, water and key medical aid from entering Gaza for over three months now.

Speculation was rife after Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa withdrew from Eurovision hosting duties - with the BBC announcement being made just two minutes after Israel qualified

The BBC confirmed in an Instagram statement on Thursday: 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately Ncuti Gatwa is no longer able to participate as Spokesperson during the Grand Final this weekend'

Sophie Ellis-Bextor replaced the Doctor Who star as the British spokesperson

The Doctor Who star was previously confirmed as the UK's spokesperson for the song contest (pictured in 2024)

'Israel is being armed and aided by UK and European governments, whilst they murder a child every 45 minutes. To top it off, here we are having a party with them on the biggest stage of them all!'

Ms Leon released a statement, which read: 'I cannot not sit back and watch Europe throw a party with the genocidal state of Israel in attendance, especially after Russia was rightfully kicked out for their aggression towards the Ukrainian people. Do Palestinians not deserve the same consideration?

'We need to end all arms sales to Israel. Across the continent and in the UK, all polls show this is what the people want, yet our leaders ignore us. We need to upgrade our democracies and we need a House of the People.'

During her performance, Raphael appeared to have been 'booed' and 'jeered' during her Eurovision performance, with commentator Graham Norton saying the Hamas massacre survivor received a 'slightly mixed reception'.

Speculation also rose among viewers at home that the audio was edited, as they believed broadcasters had tampered with the sound to drown out any booing while the October 7 survivor performed New Day Will Rise at the grand final.

'Definitely edited the boos,' one Eurovision fan wrote on X, while another said of Graham Norton's commentary: 'All we heard at home was overwhelming applause...clearly they have edited out all the booing.'

The EBU denied any claims of booing during Israel's performance, saying: 'We heard no booing during Yuval's performance tonight and we have had no reports of booing either. The atmosphere stayed positive and celebratory throughout!'

The Hamas massacre survivor is said to have received a 'slightly mixed reception', according to commentator, Graham Norton

'Definitely edited the boos,' one Eurovision fan wrote on X, of Raphael's performance

A Palestinian flag was held up in the audience as Yuval Raphael from Israel performs the song 'New Day Will Rise'

Droves of protesters flocked to Barfusserplatz in the heart of the Swiss city, which hosted this year's Eurovision contest

In a statement to the Independent, the Swiss broadcaster SRG SRR said: 'For the Eurovision Song Contest, the host broadcaster SRG SSR is working with the 'audio sweetening' method, which is common practice for major international productions.

'This process helps to harmonise the sound of the transitions between moderations, video clips and the individual acts and to create a consistent soundscape for the TV audience.

'It is used exclusively for the technical rounding off of the programme,' they continued. This process is used equally and identically for all acts. The competition and its results are not affected in any way.'

It comes amid fury over Israel's participation in the competition as Nova Music Festival survivor, Yuval Raphael, received a barrage of criticism, from jeers and boos in her preview to ex-winners signing letters to ban the country from Eurovision.

Yesterday, Pro-Palestine demonstrators marched on Eurovision to demand an end to Israel's participation in the popular song contest as the country's contestant continued to weather a barrage of hate

Droves of protesters flocked to Barfusserplatz in the heart of the Swiss city, which hosted this year's Eurovision contest, as one protester seen with blood smeared across her face and a prop, which is said to represent a body bag.

Ahead of the much anticipated grand final, crowds of Palestinian supporters held signs which read 'boycott Israel apartheid' and 'no stage for genocide', as they waved flags and released flares into the sky.

#LATEST  Israeli artist Yuval Raphael is booed at Eurovision 2025 as crowd wave Palestine flagsbut EBU censors live broadcast, replacing jeers with fake cheers pic.twitter.com/IPJPumDjWc  Turkiye Today (@turkiyetodaycom) May 17, 2025

A woman holds a prop, representing a body bag, as pro-Palestinian demonstrators attend a protest, on the day of the Grand Final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel

It comes amid fury over Israel's participation in the competition as Nova Music Festival survivor, Yuval Raphael, qualified for the show's grand final earlier this week

It comes amid fury over Israel's participation in the competition as Nova Music Festival survivor, Yuval Raphael, qualified for the show's grand final earlier this week.

Around 4,000 musicians, artist and music industry pros from five Nordic countries signed an open letter denouncing the Middle Eastern country's entry in the 69th Eurovision song contest in Basel, according to Turkiye Today.

Those who signed the statement, including some previous Eurovision winners, dubbed Israel's involvement in the competition as a bid to 'whitewash and divert attention' from the Israel's bombardment on Gaza.

It argued Israel 'should not have the opportunity to polish its public image on the Eurovision stage and thus use this to cover up and continue its human rights violations.'

Elsewhere, broadcasters in Spain, Ireland and Slovenia called for a debate on Israel's involvement. Last week, 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter also calling on the organisers to ban Israel from the competition.

It comes after Raphael, who performed New Day WIll Rise, was on the receiving end of loud boos and jeers earlier this week as she qualified for the Eurovision's grand final.

On Thursday, her preview show was interrupted by six pro-Palestinian demonstrators carrying flags. Under the arena rules, all flags are allowed but there are limits on size, and so the audience members were quickly ejected from the venue.

Following Raphael's performance at the St Jakobshalle arena, Graham Norton said: 'I'm not sure what you can hear at home. Slightly mixed reception here in the hall.'

A woman gestures as pro-Palestinian demonstrators attended a protest on the day of the Eurovision grand final

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators released flares on the street of the Swiss city ahead of the Eurovision final yesterday

A woman holding a prop representing a body bag grips it tightly to her face as armed police officers stand nearby

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators burn representations of the U.S. and Israeli flags

A red smoke flare is released into the air by a pro-Palestine marcher as they demonstrated against Israel's participation in the Eurovision final

A sign which reads: 'Liberate Eurovision, United for Palestine' as protestors release flares on the streets

Later on, footage from the TV broadcast semi-final showed the Israeli entry being booed once again by some sections of the audience, with the jeers more audible on social media footage.

However, the October 7 survivor said her team were preparing for a hostile reception from the audience by rehearsing with background sounds.

'I think I'm expecting it [booing],' she told the BBC: 'But we are here to sing and I'm going to sing my heart out for everyone.

'Everybody has opinions. I'm really putting everything aside and just concentrating on the most important thing. The slogan this year is 'united by music' and that's what we are here for.'

On Sunday, during the Eurovision opening parade in the Swiss host city of Basel, the Israeli broadcasting delegation made a complaint to the police and the EBU after accusing a pro-Palestinian demonstrator of making a throat-slitting gesture and spitting at the delegation.

Raphael said: 'It was scary at times, even uncomfortable, but it makes me keep reminding myself why I'm here and my agenda, which is spreading as much love as I can and bringing pride to my country.'

Despite the ongoing tension, her song is currently among the favourites to win, according to bookmakers.

On Friday in the Swiss capital, ESCALATE for Palestine, took to the streets to voice their frustration over Israel's participation in the popular song contest.

According to RTE, the group first gathered in Barfusserplatz, where there is an area for a public Eurovision screening set up for yesterday evening, before marching through the city.

Despite the ongoing tension, her song was among the favourites to win, according to bookmakers and she almost made it, coming in second

The Israeli and US flag in tatters, smoking after being set alight by protesters in Basil

A pro-Palestine marcher holds a prop symbolising a body bag smeared with blood in front of armed police

There was a heavy police presence in the area as the droves of Pro-Palestine supporters marched through the Swiss city

Two women fly large Palestinian flags in front of a row of armed police officers in Basel, Switzerland

A demonstrator, with fake blood smeared on her face, holds a prop, which is said to represent a body bag in the air yesterday

Protesters dressed in keffiyehs hold peace signs into the air, as a sign which reads 'Justice for Palestine' is waved in the background

One sign read: 'Liberate your vision, united for Palestine', as several of flags were waved in the background

A large police presence was in place at the demonstration, as chants of 'free free Palestine' echoed through the streets.

It was a stark contrast to a previous silent march held on Wednesday in Basel, where protesters openly voiced their views on the unfolding situation in Gaza.

Elsewhere in Dublin, thousands took to the streets in support of Palestine in a march organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), as they demanded an end to what they called a 'genocide' in Gaza.

Despite calls for Israel to be banned from the competition, they have managed to succeed to the final and placing second in the overall competition.

In previous years, other countries have been banned from the contest. Belarus was suspended in 2021 after submitting an overtly political entry and a year later Russia was barred over the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this month Irish national broadcaster RTE asked the EBU for a discussion on Israel's inclusion.

Director General Kevin Bakhurst, said he was 'appalled by the ongoing events in the Middle East and by the horrific impact on civilians in Gaza, and the fate of Israeli hostages'.

Eurovision director Martin Green said organised understood 'the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East', but that members should ensure the event remains a 'universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music'.
The Prime Minister has been accused of 'rank hypocrisy' after spending nearly three times more money on private UK flights than Rishi Sunak.

Sir Keir Starmer has racked up a 102,000 bill for domestic flights since the General Election last July.

In contrast, Mr Sunak spent 36,900 in an equivalent 10-month period from October 2022 when he became PM.

Labour castigated Mr Sunak in January 2023 for making a 'mockery' of his environmental strategy when he took an RAF jet from Northolt to Blackpool.

Later that year, the then shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Labour's party conference that she would clamp down on the use of private jets by ministers, attacking Mr Sunak's 'private jet habit'.

She stated that under Labour, strict regulations would be imposed on ministers' use of private aircrafts to 'save millions of pounds for taxpayers'.

Illustrative image shows Sir Keir Starmer on a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) and Foreign Secretary David Lammy before boarding a plane, as they depart from Stansted airport in Essex, to travel to Washington DC

Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak disembarks from a plane at Inverness Airport in May 2024

In February, Sir Keir took a flight to Cornwall, which lasted 41 minutes  the same duration as the Blackpool one for which Mr Sunak was criticised.

Mike Wood, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, said: 'This is just more rank hypocrisy from Keir Starmer and his Labour government.

'Labour were all too happy to point the finger in opposition. But now in government, it is clear that this was just petty political point scoring and it's one rule for them and another for everyone else.'
In the classic fairytale the beautiful princess marries her prince and the two ride off in a carriage to live 'happily ever after'.

For American girl Meghan Markle, her life changed overnight when she married the British Prince Harry and in her wedding speech she described it as a 'modern fairytale'.

But unlike Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, who were fresh-faced teenagers when they met their Prince Charming, Meghan had been married before.

And unlike the fairytales which end at 'happily ever after', the Sussexes' love story took a sharp turn after their wedding day when the duchess realised the cheering crowds and beautiful palace weren't all they were made out to be in the books.

Harry and Meghan's wedding took place seven years ago at St George's Chapel in Windsor - the same church where princesses have wed their Prince Charmings since the 1800s.

Meghan followed in the footsteps of princesses of the past like Alexandra of Denmark, Louise Margaret of Prussia, Alice of Albany and Margaret of Connaught.

The city-girl-turned-duchess wore a Audrey Hepburn-inspired floor-length gown crafted by French fashion house Givenchy and Clare Waight Keller, their first female artistic director.

For American girl Meghan Markle, her life changed overnight when she married the British Prince Harry - and in her wedding speech she described it as a 'modern fairytale'

Harry and Meghan's wedding took place on May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel in Windsor - the same church where princess had wed their Prince Charming since the 1800s

Meghan followed in the footsteps of princesses of the past like Alexandra of Denmark, Louise Margaret of Prussia, Alice of Albany and Margaret of Connaugh

The gown featured long sleeves and a bateau neckline, which was a nod to the iconic Givenchy dress in the 1957 movie Funny Face, and cost 100,000.

The gown referenced the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy, showcasing the expert craftsmanship of its world-renowned Parisian couture atelier which was founded in 1952.

True to the heritage of the house, the pure lines of the dress were achieved using six meticulously placed seams, focusing on the graphic open bateau neckline that gracefully framed her shoulders and emphasised her slender sculpted waist.

Meghan added a personal touch, stitching a piece of blue gingham fabric from the dress she wore on their first date in the hem.

But instead of singing mice and birds, the duchess's dress involved the work of 50 people and took 3,900 hours - including eight dress fittings over the course of four months.

Ingrid Seward, one of the most prominent and respected writers on the British Royal Family, discussed the nuptials in her book, My Mother and I.

The royal biographer wrote: 'The Queen never voiced her true opinions except to her close confidants, such as Lady Elizabeth Anson, or Liza as she was known to her friends.

'She told me that the Queen had made only one remark about Meghan and Harry's wedding and that was that Meghan's Givenchy wedding gown was "too white".'

The late Queen Elizabeth II allegedly believed the dress was 'too white' for a divorcee to wear in a church

Meghan added a personal touch, stitching a piece of blue gingham fabric from the dress she wore on her first date with Harry in the hem

The royal biographer wrote: 'The Queen never voiced her true opinions except to her close confidants, such as Lady Elizabeth Anson, or Liza as she was known to her friends'

'Those two words embraced everything she felt about the dramas in the run-up to the marriage and the Disneyesque spectacle of the day itself', according to the royal expert.

'In the monarch's view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal.'

Meghan had previously been married to Hollywood film producer Trevor Engelson between 2011 and 2013.

Queen Camilla, who had previously been married to Andrew Parker Bowles between 1973 and 1995, stuck with tradition and opted not to wear white for the blessing for her wedding to Charles in 2005.

Instead she wore a pale blue chiffon dress and coat with gold embroidery.

Fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, then of Givenchy, who worked alongside Meghan on the 100,000 dress said she wanted to create a 'timeless piece' but also 'convey modernity'.

She said: 'In contrast, the delicate floral beauty of the veil was a vision Meghan and I shared, a special gesture embracing the commonwealth flora, ascending the circumference of the silk tulle.'

Recalling the dress for a Windsor Castle exhibition on the wedding, Meghan said: 'I had a very clear vision of what I wanted for the day and what I wanted the dress to look like.

Meghan's wedding dress is pictured at The Royal Collection at Windsor Castle 'A Royal Wedding: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex' exhibition in October 2018

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (pictured) pose for a portrait after their wedding at the Chateau de Cande, in Monts, France, on June 3, 1937. Simpson chose a pale blue dress rather than a white one

'So what was amazing in working with Clare Waight Keller is that sometimes you'll find designers try to push you in a different direction.

'But she just completely respected what I wanted to see for the day, and she wanted to bring that to life for me.'

Prince Phillip would also allegedly go on to make comparisons between Meghan and Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee whom Edward VIII abdicated to marry.

Seward claims he was 'one of the few wary' of being charmed by Meghan and thought it was 'uncanny' how much she reminded him of the socialite Simpson.

He even had a nickname for her - DoW, after Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor.

Although twice-divorced Simpson did not opt to wear white when she married Edward in 1937, instead choosing pale blue.

Katie Nicholl, in her book The New Royals, also reported a similar concern from the late Queen after she was told by a source that the decision to wear white had left her 'surprised'.

She wrote: 'Perhaps it's a generational thing, but she believes if you've been married before, you wear off-white on your wedding day, which is what the Duchess of Cornwall did.'

On the day of the wedding, staunch royal observers noticed the Queen's face looked stern as she looked across at Meghan in her wedding dress.

On the day of the wedding, staunch royal observers noticed the Queen's face looked stern as she looked across at Meghan in her wedding dress

The wedding ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle is pictured

Unlike the Disney films and fairytales which inspired them, the Sussexes' story did not end at 'happy ever after'.

The Duke and Duchess had a strained relationship with the Firm, eventually deciding to move to the US in 2020 and later attacking the family in their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey the following year.

The Queen was reportedly saddened at their choice, allegedly confiding to a close friend that she was exhausted by the turmoil of it all.

The source told Nicholl: 'The Queen was very hurt and told me, "I don't know, I don't care, and I don't want to think about it any more".'

Seward wrote of the situation: 'At that point the Queen decided there was no longer any point in worrying about Harry as he wasn't going to take notice of anyone but his wife.

'However much she loved Harry - and she did - she couldn't condone the way he was speaking about the institution of the monarchy she'd spent 70 years preserving.'

The Queen's funeral was the last time Meghan touched British soil - and that was a notoriously awkward affair.

The couple's high-profile security battle and Harry's emotionally-charged interview with the BBC have further strengthened the rift between them and the Royal Family.

Harry is pictured in April after attending the High Court for his appeal against the rejection of his legal challenge

Harry is pictured during his bombshell BBC interview in May after losing his appeal over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK

In the sit-down, the Duke said he wanted to reconcile with his family, while alleging his father, King Charles III, was not speaking with him.

'There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,' Harry said in the interview.

'Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things but... there's no point in continuing to fight anymore.'

As ever, the couple will continue to navigate their lives across the pond in what came after their 'happily ever after' marriage.
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Firmly established as a style icon within the Royal Family, Zara Tindall continues to evolve her fashion identity with the expert guidance of her stylist, Annie Miall.

While she frequently opts for luxury designer labels, such as Laura Green and Rebecca Vallance, Zara also weaves in accessible high street pieces to balance her wardrobe.

Back in the early 2000s, during her teenage years, Zara embraced the era's defining trends, frequently stepping out in tailored skirt suits that wouldn't look out of place today.

One memorable ensemble included a longline pinstripe blazer, teamed with a matching mini skirt and knee-high boots - a look that perfectly captured the spirit of the time.

Today, many of Zara's favourite high street labels are tapping into that same nostalgic aesthetic, offering updated takes on her iconic looks, as we explore below.

LK Bennett

A standout example of Zara's high street chic came when she wore LK Bennett's viral polka dot dress to the 2022 Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

The vintage-style silk Mathilde dress, with its contrasting collar and pearl buttons, echoes the iconic look of the Alessandra Rich dress worn by Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Zara also owns a distinctive Prince of Wales check coat from the brand, which she has worn twice at the Cheltenham Races.

The design is noted for its refined details - gilt buttons and a faux fur collar and cuffs - that add just the right amount of flair without being over the top.

Karen Millen

Zara's wardrobe boasts an impressive 13 coats from Karen Millen, solidifying the brand as a cornerstone of her outerwear collection.

Among the standout designs is a burgundy Italian wool fitted coat, which she has worn on multiple public occasions, including the All Together at Christmas carol concert in 2022.

Another eye-catching piece is a navy caped coat, styled for a day at the races with Stuart Weitzman thigh-high boots and a striking hat by Victoria Charles.

At the recent Cheltenham Races, Zara turned heads in a teal wool coat. The tailored piece, still available to buy, features a fitted silhouette and double-breasted button detailing.

ME+EM

Zara is a devoted fan of ME+EM, a brand also worn by Princess Kate.

Known for its refined yet contemporary aesthetic, the label has become a go-to for Zara's more polished daytime looks.

At the Bahrain Grand Prix in April, Zara demonstrated her fashion finesse in a sleek one-shoulder black dress - now available at 50% off - followed by an airy pastel blue cheesecloth jumpsuit.

Previously, she's been spotted in a striped shirt dress and a delicate floral frock - one that was also worn by Queen Mary of Denmark, showcasing the label's royal appeal.

Mango

Known for its trend-led designs, Mango was a natural choice for Zara when she selected a bold emerald jacket for Ladies Day at Aintree Racecourse in 2022.

She styled the double-breasted Quintin blazer with a satin shirt and finished the ensemble with a vibrant coral headpiece, creating an eye-catching look.

Hobbs

Zara has frequently turned to Hobbs for outerwear, favouring their impeccably tailored, mid-length wool coats that emphasise the waist.

At the Cheltenham Festival in March, she was seen in the brand's Livia coat in a striking olive green, complete with a structured collar and belted waist.

In previous seasons, she has chosen similar styles, including a rich wine-hued version and a chocolate brown double-breasted coat.

Recreate Zara's noughties style

Zara's go-to high street brands are fully embracing the Y2K revival, with a range of skirt suits that make it easy to channel the royal's iconic style.

ME+EM leads the way with a timeless navy pinstripe suit that echoes Zara's early 2000s fashion choices, seamlessly blending her past and present style evolution.

Mango adds a bold, contemporary spin to the trend this season, unveiling a standout zebra print skirt suit that offers a fresh take on a classic silhouette.

Hobbs, known for its polished tailoring, complements Zara's refined-meets-modern aesthetic with several skirt suit options - our top two favourites are featured below, including a discounted piece.

Karen Millen also nails the brief with a strong selection of skirt and trouser suits that align perfectly with Zara's wardrobe.
For many Americans, checking their homes value on Zillow has become a digital-age ritual  part curiosity, part bragging rights.

The Zestimate  available for homes both on and off the market  can carry serious weight. It is a powerful reference point for buyers, sellers, and nosy neighbors alike.

So, for sellers navigating todays rocky real estate landscape, understanding the Zestimate  and knowing how to influence it  is vital.

Zillow produces the home valuation tool for properties across the United States and Canada after crunching millions of data points to give you an up-to-date estimate.

It's often very close to the listing price  but with the right information, sellers can get it even higher.

Zillows algorithm pulls from public records, recent sales, tax data, and user-submitted details. It factors in square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, location, and  when relevant  total days on the market to estimate a homes value.

Zestimate gets within 20 percent of the actual sale price for more than 99 percent of listed homes in cities like Atlanta, San Diego and Cincinnati.

What many homeowners dont realize: they can update their propertys information on Zillow themselves  and in some cases, that can lead to a higher Zestimate.

For sellers navigating todays rocky real estate market , understanding the Zestimate  and knowing how to influence it  could make a big difference

Chief economist at Redfin Daryl Fairweather says including buyer demand also counts

According to Zillow, 'the nationwide median error rate for the Zestimate for on-market homes is 2.4 percent, while the Zestimate for off-market homes has a median error rate of 7.49 percent.'

When a homeowner makes a serious upgrade to a property, like a kitchen makeover or an additional bedroom, that may increase the value of the home, it's not always taken into consideration by Zillow.

Those updates can only be reflected in the final figure if you report them to your local Homeowners should pay attention when selling, because Zillow can fail to recognize if a listing has been renovated or upgraded.

In fact, there's a trick savvy sellers use value their homes at the highest price they can.

The tool is only as accurate as the data it's fed.

Homeowners can go into Zillow, and first, claim their home.

Claiming your home on Zillow means confirming you're the homeowner.

That gives you access to insights and tools to manage your property.

Zillow calculates this estimate by analyzing millions of data points, including public records, recent sales, tax data, and details submitted by users

There's a trick savvy sellers use value their homes at the highest price they can

One Zestimate valued a house in New Jersey at $40k over the home's listed value

Using the owner dashboard, you can track your home's value, explore pricing options for a potential sale, and receive a home report email full of market trends, nearby listings, and recent sales.

Homeowners can also control update home details and assess equity.

Additions like a new kitchen, extra bathroom, or an inground pool and upgraded backyard can seriously raise the price of a home.

By refreshing the data, the Zestimate adjusts, and it will add thousands to your estimated value.

Zillow also has a home sale proceeds calculator.

That tool will calculate the final profits after sellers pay fees like repairs, closing costs, and the realtor's fee.

Zillow also offers its own directory of local estate agents, so when you're ready to sell, you can find a pro who knows your specific neighborhood  and how to get the highest price based on where you are located.

The listing service Redfin also internally estimates the value of a home.

Adding any additions or upgrades to Zillow can seriously raise the price of a home

Zillow is useful for homeowners to update home details and assess equity on the house

Zillow will calculate the final profits after sellers pay fees like repairs and closing costs

Chief Redfin economist Daryl Fairweather says the estimate quickly factors in more than 500 data points about the market, the neighborhood, and the home itself.

Homeowners can't self-edit listings on the site but they can have Redfin adjust for any changes.

'Since it's an automated estimate, homeowners aren't able to manipulate their estimate without reaching out to our team,' Fairweather tells DailyMail.com.

'If and when homeowners do reach out and share more details with us about their home like major renovations, expansions, changes in condition, we incorporate that feedback, which helps make our estimates more accurate.

'Homeowners can also create their own owner estimate, which enables them to choose comparable homes that are most similar to their own.'

Fairweather adds that it's important to keep in mind that there are many factors outside of a homeowner's control that can affect your home's value, including buyer demand and prices of neighboring homes.

The Zestimate trick can be particularly useful for a home to stand out amid a surplus of listings in the impending Florida housing crash.

Active listings are currently at a record high in Florida's metros, such as Miami-Dade, Cape Coral, North Port-Sarasota and Deltona-Daytona Beach.

Florida is suffering from surging insurance costs and HOA fees following a rise in natural disasters and the Surfside building collapse in 2021.

More frequent natural disasters in the state, such as hurricanes and flooding, have driven up insurance costs and led homeowners associations to raise fees in anticipation of repairs and mitigation needs.

Many homeowners now face fees greater than their mortgage payments, sparking a wave of distressed sales across the state.

Sellers have slashed prices by up to 40 percent with some units wiping almost half a million off their asking price.
Fancy trends have snuck their way in from hotels to homes, and while they look fashionable, homeowners have revealed the biggest mistakes they made upgrading their bathrooms.

As rainfall shower heads and sleek faucets trickled into homeowners bathrooms, they found the trendy design lacked in practicality leaving them regretting their often expensive upgrades.

One of the biggest trends that captured homeowners was the rain shower, giving their bathrooms a spa-like experience and adding a sleek statement.

But while the expensive installation can look great, it can often turn out to be far from practical.

Jeanne Achille from New Jersey recently finished sprucing up her bathroom which included a $500 rain-style shower head, but she told the Wall Street Journal that the at-home spa experience was short lived.

'We're eight showers in and it's pretty, but not practical,' she said.

The trouble with a rain shower can lie in the lack of water pressure, often leaving the user with shampoo still in their hair, but the fall of water from above also means they have no choice but to get their hair wet.

'Rain shower heads are really lovely in spa theory, but I'm convinced were designed by people who washed their hair daily,' one reader wrote to style blogger Emily Henderson.

A modern zen toilet room Japan style is seen above. While the expensive installation of a modern bathroom can look great, it can often turn out to be far from practical

When deciding to spruce up your bathroom design game, it's always important to remember the daily life you will live within that bathroom

Hotels and A-listers may have beautiful bathroom designs, but they may not be cleaning those themselves and often don't repeatedly use them every day or shudder at the cost of the upkeep

One of the biggest trends that captured homeowners was the rain shower, giving their bathrooms a spa-like experience and adding a sleek statement. But while the expensive installation can look great, it can often turn out to be far from practical

'There is no way to avoid getting your hair wet and even a shower cap can't save that.'

But costly upgrades can also go wrong with expensive decor in the bathroom that can't withstand the environment.

While some bathroom features add a pop of color or an intricate texture to bring a theme together, some items just aren't made for the humid and wet environment in the bathroom.

Expensive mirrors, especially, often can't endure the moisture and heat, according to Tanya Smith-Shiflett, the founder of Unique Kitchens and Baths in Maryland.

Some mirrors, such as medicine-chest mirrors, can withstand the humid environment without de-silvering, WSJ reported.

Fancy additions that threaten to ruin your expensive purchases can also include how they will interact with the rest of your bathroom pieces.

The costly installation of wall-mounted faucets can not only be an issue for your freshly painted wall or fancy wallpaper but can also lead to complications during or after installation.

Christopher Peacock, owner of a luxury cabinet company in New York, told WSJ that often wall mounted faucets are 'unusable.'

Expensive mirrors, especially, often can't endure the moisture and heat, according to Tanya Smith-Shiflett, the founder of Unique Kitchens and Baths in Maryland

The costly installation of wall-mounted faucets can not only be an issue for your freshly painted wall or fancy wallpaper but can also lead to complications during or after installation

Peacock explained that the placement of the faucet, if it doesn't extend far enough from the wall, can make it impractical to use while washing your face for example.

Its placement can also lead to splashing as well as soapy, wet hands touching the faucet handles and damaging the wall.

Another reader told Henderson that after having wall-mounted faucets in their bathrooms they found 'some plumbers aren't used to doing them.'

'Both times I noticed that they installed the rough-in plumbing at the wrong height,' the reader said.

Costly and faulty installations, however, are not the only worries with troubling upgrades.

The linear drain became a popular, more stylish, drain option for more modern bathrooms, in place of 'locker-room' style drains.

But the design option can cost around five times more and with a hefty $1,000 installation fee.

The stylish drain also comes with complications when cleaning.

The linear drain became a popular, more stylish, drain option for more modern bathrooms, in place of 'locker-room' style drains, but the design option can cost around five times more and with a hefty $1,000 installation fee

Kevin Bilo, of Bilo Plumbing & Heating in Massachusetts, told WSJ: 'They come with a tool that looks like a little fork to remove the cover, some of which are tiled to match the floor and are heavy, so there's risk of damaging the tile.'

Peacock added that on an every day practicality level they also prove difficult to maintain and keep clean.

'The drain has a wider surface area, so it collects more hair, soap scum and crud, and you have to take the cover off to clean it, which can be disgusting,' he said.

A reader of Henderson's wrote: 'Marble topped linear drains look good but they require an annoying additional step to clean out the drain catch - should have just gone with the simply, easy to wipe clean drain.'

When it comes down to the most regrettable trends, often homeowners found the difficulty with everyday cleaning and maintenance proved to be the biggest factor in their buyer's remorse.

One popular trend proved their point, as alcoves in showers became a popular and more stylish choice for storing toiletries.

However, the trapped soap and water often leads to a constant and irritating cleaning routine.

'Clients want tiled niches to store shampoo, but mildew and soap scum build up in the crevices,' Bethany Adams, a designer based in Kentucky, told the outlet.

When it comes down to the most regrettable trends, often homeowners found the difficulty with everyday cleaning and maintenance proved to be the biggest factor in their buyer's remorse

One popular trend proved their point, as alcoves in showers became a popular and more stylish choice for storing toiletries. However, the trapped soap and water often leads to a constant and irritating cleaning routine

While some bathroom features add a pop of color or an intricate texture to bring a theme together, some items just aren't made for the humid and wet environment in the bathroom

Adams said she preferred a ledge atop a short wall in the shower, which often can be cheaper and simpler than cutting into the wall, or a floating shelf.

'The solid surface is wipeable, and getting it out of a niche helps the corners dry faster,' she added.
Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Julia Garner and Emma Stone led the stars as the western horror film Eddington premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

Released on July 18, it stars Emma, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, Joaquin Phoenix, Micheal Ward, and Luke Grimes.

It features Joaquin as a small-town sheriff in New Mexico and Pedro as the local mayor, locked in a battle of wills set against the covid pandemic.

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Glamorous: Angelina Jolie, 49, looked incredibly glamorous in a strapless cream dress as she led the stars attending the premiere of Eddington at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday

Stylish: Natalie Portman (left) wore a black dress with a silver shimmering detail, while Julia Garner (right) opted for a feather purple gown

Actress Angelina, 49, ensured all eyes were on her as she arrived to the event in a Brunello Cucinelli dress with a cinched waist that highlighted her figure.

The film star added a pair of heels and she let her blonde hair fall loose down her shoulders.

Accessorizing with a simple gold necklace, the Oscar winner completed her look with a pair of classic drop earrings.

Natalie sported a black dress with a silver shimmering detail.

Shimmering: Emma Stone, who plays Louise Cross in the western horror movie, looked out of this world in a pale pink gown, featuring a dramatic circular detailing

The garment also featured a black ribbon tied around the chest and Natalie added to her outfit with an eye-catching silver necklace.

Wearing her brunette tresses in a sleek updo, the May December star accentuated her natural beauty with a light palette of makeup.

Emma, who plays Louise Cross in the films, turned heads as she arrived on the carpet.

Alessandra Ambrosio, 44, was the epitome of Hollywood glamour in a satin black gown, featuring a ruffled long train.

Alexa Chung, 41, looked effortlessly chic in a voluminous black gown and elevated her frame with classic court heels.

Stars: The western horror movie, which is released on July 18, stars Micheal Ward, Joaquin Phoenix, Luke Grimes, Pedro Pascal, Emma and Austin Butler (pictured left to right)

Smile: Actress Angelina ensured all eyes were on her as she arrived to the event in a white strapless dress with a cinched waist that highlighted her incredible figure

Fashionable: The film star added height to her frame with a pair of heels and she let her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders

All smiles: Accessorizing with a simple gold necklace, the Oscar winner completed her look with a pair of classic drop earrings

Joy: Angelina couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she posed for pictures

Friendly gesture: Angelina waved to the crowd

Silvery: The garment also featured a black ribbon tied around the chest and Natalie added to her outfit with an eye-catching silver necklace

Wave: The actress appeared in great spirits as she arrived on the star-studded carpet

In focus: Wearing her brunette hair in a sleek updo, the May December star accentuated her natural beauty with a light palette of makeup

Sleek: Julia wore a striking fringed gown for night four of the film festival, paired with black strappy court heels

Turning heads: Emma arrives on the carpet

Luminous: The movie's leading lady joined her castmates on the carpet

Hi there: Austin oozed sophistication in a black tailored tux

Having a laugh: Ari Aster followed shortly behind Micheal Ward and Austin Butler as they shared a sweet moment

Catching up: Emma couldn't contain her laughter as Pedro stuck up a peace sign, pictured with Austin, left, and Clifton Collins, right

Comedy: Pedro was in fits of laughter next to Emma

Over the shoulder: Emma flashed her toned physique in the backless number

United front: From left, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Amelie Hoeferle, Micheal Ward, Emma Stone and Luke Grimes posed arm in arm

Close contact: Pedro and Emma linked arms as they walked the carpet next to Austin

Dashing: Austin looked handsome as he made his entrance

Contrast: Pedro and Austin cut dapper looks in black tuxedos

Movies: The cast of Eddington pictured

Off they go: Emma was spotted leaving her hotel with husband Dave McCary

Her hubby: The couple headed to the premiere together to celebrate her movie success

Making tracks: Alessandra Ambrosio wore a satin black gown, featuring a ruffled long train

Acknowledging the crowd: The Brazilian model waved to the cameras

Red carpet: Alexa Chung, 41, looked chic in a voluminous black gown and classic court heels

Timeless: Joaquin's fiancee Rooney Mara opted for a classic strapless mididress as she posed solo at the event

Support: Pedro Pascal's younger sister Lux exuded glamour as she attended the premiere

Sibling: Pedro previously admitted he's fiercely protective of his transgender sister

Elegance: Sabrina Elba exuded wore a white satin long sleeve dress for the event

Joaquin was moved to tears after the audience's enthusiastic reception to the film.

According to Deadline, the movie received seven minutes of applause from the Cannes audience.

Video provided by Vanity Fair showed those tearful moments, as the camera passed from Emma to Pedro to the emotional Joaquin.

'I dont know what you think,' Ari joked with the crowd, receiving a laugh in return.

'Thank you for being here. I feel very privileged to be here. Its a dream come true. Thank you so much for having me. And, I dont know  sorry? I dont know,' the director said.

Promotion: Luke recently shared a poster for the film on Instagram, which features the hashtag 'Hindsight is 2020,' a clear nod to the coronavirus era

Going viral: Eddington is described as a modern day western and dark comedy set against the backdrop of the covid shutdown. It will open in theaters on July 16

Well turned out: Joaquin was all smiles earlier on the red carpet

Emotional: A video showed a tearful Joaquin

Welling up: The actor was moved to tears after the film received seven minutes of applause from the Cannes audience, according to Deadline

Train trouble: Pedro came to the rescue when Emma had a wardrobe wobble

Buzz off: As she was breaking down over the sudden surprise, her two co-stars tried to save her as Austin tried to away a bee

In a flap: Her co-stars laughed as the bee got a little too close for comfort

Too close: While posing for photos alongside her co-stars Pedro and Austin at the screening of Eddington, Emma's face suddenly twisted in surprise and fear at the arrival of the bee
A female prison officer in England was caught kissing a drug dealer inmate when footage from her own body-worn camera was viewed.

The film shows Tracy Boateng, 27, lean in multiple times as she got affectionate with Vincent Ojo at Pentonville prison in London.

Boateng had admitted misconduct in a public office through engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Ojo between February 25 and April 19 last year.

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Wrong: Tracy Boateng has been convicted of an inappropriate relationship

At Snaresbrook Crown Court in London the senior prison officer was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for 24 months.

Evidence against Boateng, who is from Dagenham, London, included the camera footage of the pair kissing and hugging, the court heard.

Sentencing, Judge Caroline English told her the 'exceptional' feature of the case was her three-month-old daughter and that Boateng had avoided prison because of the impact it could have on the young girl.

Case: Boateng admitted an inappropriate relationship with Vincent Ojo

Messages found on Boateng's mobile phone after she was arrested revealed she had discussed the relationship with another prison officer who had replied: 'This guy really believes you are his fairytale ending.'

The couple were also filmed taking a selfie together during which Boateng made a V sign and asked Ojo to 'say cheese', prosecutor Laura Kenyon said.

None of the footage was played at the sentencing but in one of the clips since released by police, Boateng asks Ojo to 'shut the door' as she informs she had 'picked' him over another inmate.

Ojo also accompanied Boateng to an office in the prison 'multiple times' where she had appeared to 'reveal details' of organizational information and permitted him to look at her computer screen, the prosecutor explained.

Ms Kenyon told the court that Ojo, 34, is serving a sentence for possession of heroin with intent to supply, and had been on the prison wing since 2020.

Of Boateng's relationship with Ojo, the prosecutor added: 'Her behavior became known to other prisoners which had the potential to disrupt discipline in the prison.'

The court heard that the prison officer had found a phone in Ojo's cell in November 2023, after which he became threatening towards her, called her by her first name and referenced her home address.

She complained about his behavior and 'nothing was done', said Ioana Nedelcu, defending.
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You can check inbut you can never check out, reads the ominous words scrawled on the wall, as I step out of the taxi at Pikes Ibiza.

Im following in the footsteps of some very famous faces whove walked through the doors of his boutique hotel, hidden up in the foothills of San Antonio - and its easy to see why this phrase is so accurate.

Since it was opened in 1978 by British-born Aussie party animal Tony Pikes, Pikes has hosted everyone from Kate Moss to Grace Jones.

It was also where Wham! filmed the music video for their 1983 hit Club Tropicana, and the location for Freddie Mercury's 41st birthday party in September 1987  which Tony Curtis, Naomi Campbell, Spandau Ballet, and Bon Jovi all attended.

According to People magazine, guests at the lavish event got through 350 bottles of champagne, and were treated to a firework display that could be seen from Majorca, as well as a dessert in the shape of the Sagrada Familia, which then collapsed, unveiling a two-metre-long sponge cake, emblazoned with the notes of Freddies song Barcelona.

Freddie was a regular at Pikes before he died, and, in his book, Tony said he and the Queen frontman would often lie in bed for hours, talking, doing lines of cocaine.

It was even once claimed Tony would serve cocaine on cornflakes for guests at Pikes  although Tony later said this would have been a waste.

Having died in 2019 at the age of 85, Tony is no longer at the helm when I visit Pikes for my partners 30th birthday across the hotels opening weekend.

MailOnline's deputy travel editor Hayley Minn checks into Pikes Ibiza, and quickly sees how true the phrase, 'You can check inbut you can never check out,' is, when it comes to this hotel.

Since it was opened in 1978 by British-born Aussie party animal Tony Pikes, Pikes has hosted a range of famous faces. LEFT: Tony with Freddie Mercury. RIGHT: George Michael, who filmed his music video for Club Tropicana at Pikes

The hotel-cum-club occupies a 15th-century finca, made up of just 26 quirky rooms  many of which are reserved by regulars with their favourite suites  surrounding a pool, with very comfortable (and much-needed) day beds

And while I, luckily, wasnt served cocaine for breakfast (the one day I made it down!), the family feel of Pikes, that Tony created, is still alive.

With the hotel having been closed for the winter, were the second couple of the year to check in  and were immediately welcomed with open arms.

The couple in front of us  who just pipped us to the post, having been on the same early flight as us  are just as friendly, and inform us they come for the opening weekend every year.

Of course, they know all the staff by name, and vice versa  and theyre by no means the only regulars we meet across the weekend.

Its no wonder people keep coming back to Pikes.

Id been to the hotels club, Freddies  one of Ibizas most underrated venues  before, but staying at Pikes was a completely different experience.

The hotel-cum-club occupies a 15th-century finca, made up of just 26 quirky rooms  many of which are reserved by regulars with their favourite suites  surrounding a pool, with very comfortable (and much-needed) day beds.

Were taken to Room 18  and are greeted by a chilled bottle of champagne with a message from the staff wishing my partner a happy 30th birthday, as well as a huge, king-size bed and copper bathtub in the middle of the room.

Were taken to Room 18  and are greeted by a chilled bottle of champagne with a message from the staff wishing my partner a happy 30th birthday, as well as a huge, king-size bed and copper bathtub in the middle of the room

We head straight to the pool where the DJ is already spinning the decks at 11am, and have a couple of refreshing strawberry daquiris (right)  which are 15% cheaper than usual, due to us being residents  followed by an absolutely delicious meal at The Pike Restaurant, with top-notch service (left)

As the Freddies guests slowly start rolling in across the evening, it truly feels like theres a house party being thrown at your home

We head straight to the pool where the DJ is already spinning the decks at 11am, and have a couple of refreshing strawberry daquiris  which are 15% cheaper than usual, due to us being residents  followed by an absolutely delicious meal at The Pikes Restaurant, with top-notch service.

On booking Pikes, Id been warned multiple times that it was directly above the club, Freddie's, and to expect a lot of noise until it closes at 4am.

But you wouldnt be staying at Pikes if you didnt want to party, and we were right in the thick of it, with a shared terrace on one side, looking over the courtyard where a DJ played, and a private balcony on the other, above the restaurant  where live music is played.

And as the Freddies guests slowly start rolling in across the evening, it truly feels like theres a house party being thrown at your home.

There's even cats wandering around everywhere, and a bathroom, where a DJ plays next to partygoers dancing in a bathtub that's been transformed into a ball pit.

The only difference with this party is - thanks to an over-27s policy - everyone has learnt how to handle their drink.

There is a curfew of 4am for the non-residents though, but as our houseguests are ushered out by the bouncers, the party doesnt stop for us Pikes residents.

Having been informed by an American couple we met earlier in the day (who'd visited Pikes for the first time last year and been twice since) that they have an open-door policy, we venture over to their pad.

Pikes Ibiza Rooms at Pikes Ibiza start at 209/176 a night. The writer travelled at her own expense, but Pikes provided a meal at The Pikes Restaurant. Book now

There's even cats wandering around everywhere, and a bathroom, where a DJ plays next to partygoers dancing in a bathtub that's been transformed into a ball pit

The only difference with this party is - thanks to an over-27s policy - everyone has learnt how to handle their drink

Checking out of the hotel really is the hardest part of checking in to Pikes. Were already desperate to go back. Maybe see you at the closing party in October...

Who are we to turn down an invite?

True to their word, the tunes are being blasted out, and the party continues even later than 5am, when we make a swift exit to bed.

We somehow manage to do it all again the next day - and discover that checking out of the hotel really is the hardest part of checking in to Pikes.

Were already desperate to go back. Maybe see you at the closing party in October?
It's the kind of disturbing footage you would expect to see in a fentanyl-ravaged neighbourhood in the United States.

A woman, extremely hunched over, shuffles along at a snail's pace while her long black hair drapes towards the ground.

But this is not San Francisco nor Philadelphia, it's Madrid-Barajas airport in Spain, where a 'hidden city' of the homeless has been allowed to balloon over the past 10 years.

The number of 'unauthorised occupants' - as they are called by the authorities - at the airport has gone from around 50 to almost 500.

While rough sleepers are nothing new at the travel hub, a recent spike in alleged violence and drug use among the community is becoming somewhat of a PR nightmare for tourism bosses, who fear holidaymakers could be put off travelling to the capital city.

This month, state-owned airport authority Aena was forced to fumigate several zones amid fears of a bed bug outbreak.

Madrid-Barajas is the largest airport in Spain and manages more than 65 million passengers each year, including hundreds of thousands of Brits.

But tourists arriving at the airport this week were visibly shocked by what they saw, with one overheard commenting: 'This looks like a disaster zone.'

A woman was seen hunched over as she walked through the airport that is used by thousands of Brits

The regional government is said to be worried that airlines and countries like the UK will begin warning tourists about the risks they are exposed to at Barajas Airport

'Some of them just drink all day and get themselves into a state, they are peeing and going to the toilet where they sleep, off their heads,' an 'occupant' said

Pictures and footage taken by MailOnline show dozens of men and women sprawled out on the floor of Terminal 4, the epicentre of the crisis.

The 'occupants' are seen sleeping on every level of the terminal and in any spot they can find, including next to toilet entrances, behind the flight display screens and at restaurant tables.

It is so overwhelming for staff that they are considering filing complaints with the Ministry of Labour, citing the 'more than obvious risk' to their wellbeing, reports Spanish paper El Debate.

According to Spanish reports, some of the occupants have been found carrying knives, machetes and other homemade weapons, while crack and other drug use - and even prostitution - are reportedly common.

Terminal 4 is where the majority of the homeless live after they were relocated there by the authorities, having previously been spread across all of the airport's four terminals.

Fernando, from Peru, has been living at Terminal 4 for several months.

He moved to Spain two years ago in search of a better life, but ended up on the streets when work as a removal man dried up and he couldn't afford his rent.

'You definitely have to sleep with one eye open,' he told MailOnline while puffing on a cigarette just outside the arrivals hall.

Madrid-Barajas is the largest airport in Spain and manages more than 65 million passengers each year, including hundreds of thousands of Brits

While rough sleepers are nothing new at the travel hub, a recent spike in alleged violence and drug use among the community is becoming somewhat of a PR nightmare for tourism bosses

Terminal 4 is where the majority of the homeless live after they were relocated there by the authorities, having previously been spread across all of the airport's four terminals

Up to a dozen officers from the National Police were seen checking people's papers along the 'main street' of the 'homeless city'

The number of 'unauthorised occupants' - as they are called by the authorities - at the newly-dubbed 'zombieland' airport has gone from around 50 to almost 500

'There are some bad eggs here who will rob you while you sleep, they usually come out at 3am, they'll take your phone, cigarettes, or whatever they can grab.'

Fernando insisted 'we are not all bad', but admitted there were a 'bad few' who are creating negative media attention.

He pointed to a puddle of urine on the floor, which he said was not an uncommon sight.

'Some of them just drink all day and get themselves into a state, they are peeing and going to the toilet where they sleep, off their heads,' he said.

'I sleep in the corner, there is a group of us calm South Americans who look after one another, it can get quite dangerous.

'A lot of the people are working for cash during the day in the black economy, then come back with alcohol and get drunk on whiskey and rum. Many have been living here for years.

'The police come every three or four days and check people's papers and ask some of them to leave - they are checking for people who have criminal records or are wanted by police.'

Fernando says he does not know what the solution is but knows the airport is a 'life saver' for many as it provides a much safer environment than the streets.

One tourist was overheard saying Terminal 4 was like a 'disaster zone' as one 'occupant' revealed some people had been living here 'for years'

Those living at the airport were referred to as 'people with very diverse profiles: without financial resources, with mental disorders, alcohol or drug addiction problems'

'Occupant' Fernando insisted 'we are not all bad', but admitted there were a 'bad few' who are creating negative media attention

Madrid-Barajas airport in Spain has become a 'hidden city' of the homeless that has been allowed to balloon over the past 10 years

He said there are people 'from all over' living here, including Europe.

One sleeping occupant was seen wearing a US Army uniform, while another, clearly intoxicated, was shouting gibberish in English.

A Spanish occupant was seen covered in bite marks, believed to be from bed bugs.

Up to a dozen officers from the National Police were seen checking people's papers along the 'main street' of the 'homeless city', which runs across a hallway by the elevators on the first floor.

'It's not a good time, you don't want to be walking through here,' one officer told MailOnline.

Two security workers told this paper that they are 'not allowed' to speak out on the issue, but that if they could 'boy, we could tell you some things.'

At night, National Police officers are seen donning face masks while patrolling the areas on three-wheeled segways.

Fights between the occupants are rife. One clearly intoxicated occupant was seen shoving a security guard during the night that MailOnline visited the airport. He was swiftly escorted back to his sleeping area.

The 'occupants' are becoming so overwhelming for staff that they are considering complaining to the Ministry of Labour over the 'more than obvious risk' to their wellbeing

Some of the 'occupants' are said to have been found carrying knives, machetes and other homemade weapons, while drug use is reportedly common

'There are some bad eggs here who will rob you while you sleep, they usually come out at 3am, they'll take your phone, cigarettes, or whatever they can grab'

The occupants' lives are said to be made more difficult by authorities who have removed benches and electrical outlets, limiting their sleeping hours and bring in certain foods

In a statement this week, the UGT trade union demanded 'an urgent, coordinated, and effective response that guarantees both workplace and public safety, as well as dignified care for the affected group.'

It read: 'Workers are exposed to dangerous situations in an environment that has not been designed or prepared for this type of problem.

'Travelers themselves, unaware of this situation, are also suffering the consequences, facing an environment of insecurity unbecoming of a key infrastructure for the country.'

It blasted authorities for failing to tackle the issue, 'neither Aena, nor the Community of Madrid, nor the Madrid City Council, whose mayor has classified these people as 'political refugees,' it fumed.

It said those living at the airport are referred to as 'unauthorised occupants' and are 'people with very diverse profiles: without financial resources, with mental disorders, alcohol or drug addiction problems.'

The ASEA trade union has called for a series of bans in public areas of the airport, including 'staying overnight, residing, wandering around, or using passenger rest areas' without flight documentation.

But Gaspar Garcia, an NGO worker who has been feeding the homeless at the airport for years, blamed the airport's relocation of the occupants as being behind a surge in incidents.

'The current situation of the homeless at Barajas Airport is tougher than ever,' he told RTVE this week.

'The current situation of the homeless at Barajas Airport is tougher than ever,' an NGO worker said

An NGO accused several media outlets of 'exploiting' the tensions between the homeless 'to criminalise them'

A trade union has called for a ban of those 'staying overnight, residing, wandering around, or using passenger rest areas' without flight documentation

'Instead of seeking housing or inclusion solutions, they have decided to relocate them to a very specific area - on the first floor of Terminal 4 - without basic conditions: no cleanliness, no security, no opportunity for real rest.'

Garcia is head of the Despega project at the Bokatas NGO.

He accused several media outlets of 'exploiting' the tensions between the homeless 'to criminalise them.'

He also said authorities have been purposefully making life for the homeless more difficult in the hopes they will leave the airport.

He said: 'Benches and electrical outlets have been removed, sleeping hours have been limited... they've even prohibited us from bringing food from organisations like Bokatas, which was one of the few things they had left. It's a strategy of attrition, to force them to leave the airport without giving them any alternative.'

Meanwhile, a blame game continues to engulf the different governing bodies.

President of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, this week warned of an 'international buzz' surrounding the crisis.

According to respected Spanish daily El Mundo, the regional government fears airlines and countries like the UK will begin warning tourists about the risks they are exposed to at Barajas Airport.

An NGO worker said authorities have been purposefully making life for the homeless more difficult in the hopes they will leave the airport

The 'occupants' are seen sleeping on every level of the terminal and in any spot they can find

'I sleep in the corner, there is a group of us calm South Americans who look after one another, it can get quite dangerous,' an occupant said

President of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, this week warned of an 'international buzz' surrounding the crisis

Laura Martinez Cerro, Director General of Tourism and Hospitality for Madrid, told the newspaper: 'The situation at Barajas Airport could harm the tourist image of the Community of Madrid, eroding the perception of security so valued by visitors and to which so much effort is put.'

The airport technically falls under the administration of Madrid City Council, but the regional government of the Community of Madrid admits it is affected by the ongoing incidents - and is also blaming the national government for 'not doing enough'.

'We're going to try to do whatever it takes,' Madrid President Ayuso said this week.

'As long as there's even one person sleeping on the floor of the airport due to this situation, we can't stand idly by and think this situation is over.'

The airport technically falls under the administration of Madrid City Council, but the regional government of the Community of Madrid admits it is affected by the ongoing incidents - and is also blaming the national government for 'not doing enough'

Up to a dozen officers from the National Police were seen checking people's papers along the 'main street' of the 'homeless city', which runs across a hallway by the elevators on the first floor

'We're going to try to do whatever it takes,' Madrid President Ayuso said this week, regarding the situation

But Ayuso said the national government, led by Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, could be doing more

In a statement this week, the UGT trade union demanded 'an urgent, coordinated, and effective response that guarantees both workplace and public safety, as well as dignified care for the affected group'

Madrid President Ayuso said: 'It's an inhumane situation for these people, and certainly Madrid and Spain as a whole don't deserve that image'

According to respected Spanish daily El Mundo, the regional government fears airlines and countries like the UK will begin warning tourists about the risks they are exposed to at Barajas Airport

However, Ayuso said the national government, led by Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, could be doing more.

'These are Aena facilities,' the conservative leader said, blasting Sanchez's 'blatant refusal to act' with 'all necessary means'.

Aena, the authority that manages most of Spain's airports, is state-owned.

'It's an inhumane situation for these people, and certainly Madrid and Spain as a whole don't deserve that image,' she added.

MailOnline has contacted Aena, Madrid City Council and the government of Spain for comment.
Travellers looking for a bargain city break in Europe should look east, according to the latest Post Office Travel Report.

The research found that Latvian capital Riga ranked as the best value destination for Brits, but also revealed that despite the pound being dicey, there's still plenty of places where you'll get a decent bang for your buck.

Of 38 European cities that feature in the annual City Costs Barometer, Riga topped the list, with another Baltic States destination, Vilnius, coming second and Warsaw taking the third spot.

Aside from two Portuguese cities, Lisbon, which ranked fifth, and Porto, which came ninth, and French hotspot Lille, sixth, all of the other destinations were in Eastern Europe.

Podgorica in Montenegro came fourth, while Polish cities Gdansk and Krakow placed seventh and eighth, with Croatian capital Zagreb in tenth.

It's the first time in a decade that Riga has taken the top spot - it came sixth in 2024, with the Post Office barometer finding that prices have fallen in half of the cities surveyed.

The study found that, based on the cost of 12 tourist items including accommodation, meals and drinks, city transport and entry to cultural attractions, Riga proved the best value, with the price at 253 - 15 per cent down on the same costs last year.

How do prices in Riga and runner-up Vilnius compare to those in more expensive destinations?

For the first time in over a decade, Riga in Latvia has topped the Post Office Travel Report's list of best value European cities

In Western Europe, Lisbon (pictured) and Porto were deemed the cheapest cities for a holiday by the annual report, which looks at the cost of 12 tourist items on its barometer

Costs are 60 per cent lower than in Oslo (636) and Copenhagen (629), which were the most expensive cities surveyed.

Also worth considering for a break that won't burn a hole in your wallet is Poland, which had three cities in this years top 10.

Costs in Warsaw were 277, which saw the Polish capital move up from 10th to third place with a price fall of 13.2 per cent, mainly as a result of a 39 fall in accommodation costs (131 for two nights compared with 170 a year ago).

Meanwhile, tourist favourite Krakow fared a little worse, but still made the top ten, dropping from fourth to eighth place because of a 7.7 per cent price increase, with costs at 300.

In seventh position was Gdansk, which featured in the barometer for the first time, and was found to have a 297 cost for the barometer items.

If sun is high on your wish-list, then heading to Portugal is wise move, with costs also lower than in many warmer counterpart cities.

Although prices are up 10.8 per cent in Lisbon - the capital of Portugal had costs of 292, it's still the highest ranking city in Western Europe when it comes to value.

Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said of the latest findings: 'Although city break holidaymakers need to keep a watchful eye on exchange rates, the real challenge will be the cost of accommodation in the cities Britons are considering.

Although prices are up 10.8 per cent in Lisbon - the capital of Portugal had costs of 292, it's still the highest ranking city in Western Europe when it comes to value

Runner-up was Vilnius in Lithuania, which was just one pound behind Riga in terms of the cost of the barometer's items at 240

Europe's lowest-priced cities Cost of 12 tourist items, including accommodation, food and drink, cultural items and transport costs 1. Riga 252.63 2. Vilnius 254.32 3. Warsaw 277.39 4. Podgorica 281.70 5. Lisbon 292.27 6. Lille 293.26 7. Gdansk 297.08 8. Krakow 300.24 9. Porto 304.66 10. Zagreb 310.56 Advertisement

'Successive City Costs Barometers have found big swings in hotel costs depending on how many rooms are available in peak months. This year is no different and rising  or falling  hotel prices can have a big impact on city break costs.

'For example, Vilnius lost its top spot in the latest chart because the cost of accommodation has risen by over nine per cent since last year, while it has fallen over 20 per cent in Riga in the same period.

When the cost of two nights accommodation is excluded, Vilnius remains cheaper for British visitors at around 111 compared with nearly 130 in Riga.'

How do closer-to-home cities fare on the list? Welsh capital Cardiff came in at 17, with 375 costs, while London was 26th at 523 and Edinburgh 36th with 602 for the items.
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When easyJet invited me to Basel, Switzerland, for the live final of the Eurovision Song Contest, I couldn't believe my luck.

As an avid Eurovision fan - and thrower of many Eurovision parties - I was giddy with excitement.

But then the stress of what I was going to pack came over me, especially as I've only got hand luggage - and I'd be heading to Gatwick Airport straight from the office.

As deputy travel editor for MailOnline, I'm often globetrotting around the world - and have a list of essentials I take on every trip.

But sunny Basel - where it's 18-20 degrees this weekend - required some summer clothes.

And for Eurovision, sequins are, of course, a must - but what else would be going in my suitcase?

From multiple space-saving gadgets that double up as two items, to the backpack I use almost every day, here's what I chucked into my luggage for Basel...
The Eurovision final is set to kick off tonight and bookies are saying the contest is now a two-horse race.

Sweden have been the favourite since late February and even moved to odds-on for a record eighth Eurovision triumph last month with dance-pop trio KAJ.

Their entry single, 'Bara Bada Bastu' is the group's first chart-topper, and the first song sung in Swedish entered by Sweden since 1998.

However, a groundswell of support for Pop-Opera soprano Johannes 'JJ' Pietsch has seen Austria come in from 3/1, and Sweden drift to 10/11.

Despite Austria's finishing position of 24th last year, JJ seems to have captured the hearts of fans, and the country has now been bestowed 11/4 odds.

The 24-year old's entrant song 'Wasted Love' has gained traction for its artistry, 'beautiful vocals' and 'captivating performance' according to fans.

Sweden have been favourites since late February and even moved to odds-on for a record eighth Eurovision triumph last month with dance-pop trio KAJ, pictured

Despite Austria's finishing position of 24th last year, JJ seems to have captured the hearts of fans, and the country has now been bestowed 11/4 odds

'It's looked like Sweden's contest to lose for a long time, but this odds shift is making people think again,' says Carl Gildart of Ladbrokes

'Those who phone in to vote for Austria will be hoping their support isn't wasted love.'

France is coming up third place in the betting, with pop-ballad soloist, Louane, going from 10/1 to 9/1.

It could shape up to be unfortunate news for British fans, with statistics suggesting that pop girl group Remember Monday is unlikely to win the competition at 66/1 odds.

The band has recently been warned by the BBC and their own team to steer clear of any controversial topics after old social media posts of theirs backing the Black Lives Matter movement resurfaced.

A source revealed: 'Remember Monday haven't attempted to discuss politics that much... but their support for the BLM movement has left Palestine activists desperate to get them on-side and make a statement that is critical of Israel.'

The UK last finished triumphant in the contest 27 years ago with the victory of Katrina and the Waves in 1997, with their track 'Love Shine A Light'.

Israel's odds are 25/1, despite the controversy surrounding their involvement in the contest this year. Over 70 former Eurovision contestants have signed a letter demanding Israel's expulsion from the event.

France is coming up third place in the betting, with pop-ballad soloist, Louane, going from 10/1 to 9/1

It could shape up to be unfortunate news for British fans, with statistics suggesting that pop girl group Remember Monday, pictured, is unlikely to win the competition at 66/1 odds

The letter addresses the pro-Palestine protests that arose from the inclusion of their entrant Eden Golan last year, suggesting that it became the most 'politicised, chaotic and unpleasant' show in the competition's history.

The Netherlands follow closely behind, with 12/1 odds on their 21-year-old pop star representative Claude.

The country faced disqualification from the competition last year when Joost Klein was banned from the grand finale hours before it took place on account of 'threatening behaviour' towards a female camera operator.

The Eurovision Song Contest final airs at 8pm on BBC One on Saturday, May 17.
The final series of the Last King of the Cross, based on the 2017 memoir of Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim, is well underway in Sydney.

On Friday, Sydney Confidential reported Ibrahim, 54, is 'bunkered down' with a team of writers working on the final 10-part instalment of the gritty drama.

Lincoln Younes will continue in the role of Ibrahim, as he transforms from Kings Cross and Oxford Street nightclub boss to bonafide millionaire mogul.

The third season will centre on the June 2009 shooting of Ibrahim's younger brother Fadhi, who was shot four times in the stomach and twice in the arms and shoulders, by a masked man who crept up to the window of the now-51-year-old's Lamorghini outside his Castle Cove mansion.

No one has ever been charged, despite allegations of the motive being a 'revenge plot' against older Ibrahim brothers John and Sam.

Season one of the Logie-nominated Paramount+ show will also go to free-to-air on Channel 10, which means prison inmates in New South Wales will be able to view it for the first time.

The final series of the Last King of the Cross, based on the 2017 memoir of Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim, is well underway in Sydney. On Friday, it was revealed Ibrahim, 54, is 'bunkered down' with a team of writers working on the final 10-part instalment of the gritty drama

Season one of the Logie-nominated Paramount+ show will also go to free-to-air on Channel 10, which means prison inmates in New South Wales will be able to view it for the first time. Pictured: Actor Lincoln Younes starring as a young John Ibrahim

The first series kicks off in 1987 and was billed by Paramount as the story of: 'Wide-eyed kid John Ibrahim, who surreptitiously follows his older brother and hero, Sam, into the most exotic red-light district in the Southern Hemisphere.'

Once a feared bikie boss, protection racketeer, and legendary Kings Cross enforcer, Hassam 'Sam' Ibrahim now lives in near seclusion with his ailing mother in Sydney's western suburbs after escaping deportation to Lebanon.

Sam slammed his depiction in the hit series as a killer and drug-addicted bikie who struggles with his young brother's rise to power.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph after its 2023 release, Sam branded his on-screen portrayal by Claude Jabbour as 'all crap' and even said he would attempt to block a second season with a court injunction.

'I'm not saying I'm a saint,' he said. 'I've been charged with a few things in my life. But I've never been charged with murder and they've got me on the show shooting people and throwing someone out of a window. I've never done that.'

In the hit series, the convicted gun runner is depicted as a killer and a drug-addicted bikie who struggles with his younger brother John's rise to power.

'They've [also] got my character killing people and snorting cocaine with prostitutes. Don't get me wrong, I liked to party. But I never partied that much,' Sam said.

Both men were prominent figures in Sydney's nightclub district and the series explored key events in their lives, including John's near fatal stabbing and other attempts on his life.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph this weekend, however, Sam branded his on-screen portrayal in the series as 'all crap'. (Pictured L-R: Lincoln Younes and Claude Jabbour in a scene from Last King of the Cross)

In the hit series, the convicted gun runner is depicted as a killer and a drug-addicted bikie who struggles with his younger brother John's rise to power.

Sydney radio 'king' Kyle Sandilands (right) also has a cameo in the series, while Ibrahim's long-time partner Sarah Budge is yet to be cast for the upcoming finale

Ibrahim is an executive producer on the project, and was snapped on set in a western Sydney carpark during filming, some 35km from the actual Cross, where the Golden Miles most familiar landmarks were recreated.

No casting announcement has yet been made for model Sarah Budge, John's girlfriend who was cleared of a gun-possession charge in a sensational Sydney trial in 2019.

John has been in a relationship with Sarah, whom he met after buying the Potts Point building where she operated a restaurant, since 2015.

The Lebanese-born entrepreneur migrated from Tripoli to Australia with his family as a young child before securing his first nightclub at age 19.

Dave Hoey stepped in as younger brother Michael Ibrahim in season two, and Fadi, is played by TV newcomer Alex Kaan.

Likewise, Detective Liz Doyle, played by Tess Haubrich, Big Tony, Tongan Sam played by Uli Latukefu and Simone played by Janet Anderson will all reprise their roles.
Eurovision's Remember Monday were left heartbroken as the UK received zero points in the public vote for a second year in a row on Saturday night.

The group managed to avoid nul point humiliation, but failed to win the illustrious song contest title, as Austria stormed to a narrow victory in what has been one of the most politically charged song contests ever.

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, represented the UK with their song What The Hell Just Happened?

Fans took to X to share their devastation and insisted the girls were 'robbed' after finishing with an average score of 88.

Comments read: 'WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!! 0 from the public?! Robbed',

'In the words of Remember Monday, what the hell just happened #Eurovision',

Eurovision's Remember Monday were left heartbroken as the UK received zero points in the public vote for a second year in a row

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, represented the UK with their song What The Hell Just Happened?

'0 points is devastating Remember Monday deserved sm better wtf',

'I hope Remember Monday have good people around them tonight, 0 points from the televote was really not deserved',

'Im sure Remember Monday are disappointed with the public vote. But for what its worth, I was so proud of that performance, which I dont say very often. One of my favourite UK entries for years #Eurovision',

'Remember Monday were right.what the HELL just happened? #Eurovision'.

During the competition, viewers at home were convinced the group would win the competition as they praised their 'unbelievable vocals' on X.

While some fans feared the UK wouldn't get enough points, they insisted Remember Monday's song will be a hit regardless of the result.

Fans on X penned: 'IDC what the haters say or what the results will be, these girls KILLED it #Eurovision',

'Oh girls. you smashed it. That was stunning and your joy on that stage was infectious. So loved it. Youre our winners. #Eurovision #ESC',

The group managed to avoid nul point humiliation, but failed to win the illustrious song contest title, as Austria stormed to a narrow victory in what has been one of the most politically charged song contests ever

Fans took to X to share their devastation and insisted the girls were 'robbed' after finishing with an average score of 88

'say all you want about this song being just a random west end number, you cannot deny that remember monday's chemistry together on stage is immaculate they really look like they're having the time of their lives on the #eurovision stage!',

'Yesssss the Remember Monday girlies smashed it they should be bloody proud of themselves #Eurovision',

'That was PHENOMENAL!!!! Can't do more now!'

Elsewhere fans were left disappointed as speculation Titanic songstress, Celine Dion, would make an appearance but never materialised on stage.

Sophie Ellis-Bexter, announced Britain's scores from Switzerland, shortly after it was announced she was replacing Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa as the United Kingdom's Eurovision spokesperson for 2025.

The UK last finished triumphant in the contest 27 years ago with the victory of Katrina and the Waves in 1997, with their track Love Shine A Light.

Remember Monday first gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019 and have also had careers in theatre.

Remember Monday was dealt an unfortunate blow just hours ahead of the grand final.

During the competition, viewers at home were convinced the group would win the competition as they praised their 'unbelievable vocals' on X

While some fans are worried the UK won't get enough points, they insisted Remember Monday's song will be a hit regardless of the result

Theories began flying that they might take home the trophy at the 69th iteration of the annual contest in Basel, Switzerland - which would be the UK's first win since 1997.

Despite their high-energy routine, it appeared the odds were not in their favour as they were more likely to finish in last place than first, according to Ladbrokes.

In a crushing blow to their chances of success, they were ranked at just 66/1 to take home the trophy by bookies, with nine other countries soaring ahead of them.

Their odds of coming in last place are much closer at just 3/1, while the chance of them scoring 'nul points' was ranked at 12/1.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: 'Remember Monday need nothing short of a miracle to cause an upset in Switzerland tonight, if the latest odds are anything to go by.'

Remember Monday said prior to the final that if they suffered the same fate as 2024 entrant Olly Alexander, they have decided that everyone on their team will have to get the abbreviation of their song, WTHJH?, tattooed somewhere on their body.

'If we get top five or above, every single person on our team has to get WTHJH tattooed on their body,' they said on Instagram.

'We won't take no for an answer. Can I get a hell yeah?

Remember Monday, who left fans impressed with their performance during the semi-finals, was dealt an unfortunate blow just hours ahead of the grand final

Despite their high-energy routine, the odds were not in their favour as they were more likely to finish in last place than first, according to Ladbrokes

'It's happening, it's happening. It's got to happen. Or if we come dead last, nil points. That is also worth a tattoo.'

The band confirmed their bid for Eurovision when they appeared as guests on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.

After weeks of waiting, Scott broke the news, saying: 'It ain't a Eurovision entry until I say it is.

'I am so ready to get behind the act that is representing us and I know you're going to adore them. They are genuinely brilliant and really lovely.'

The song, which is out now, is an upbeat pop track full of energy, excitement and drama and was co-written by Billen Ted (Tom Hollings and Sam Brennan), Thomas Stengaard and Julie 'Kill J' Aagaard.

BRIT Award nominees, Billen Ted, have worked with Little Mix, Anne Marie, MNEK and Armin van Buuren to name a few.
Jake Wood is reportedly set to reprise his role as legendary love rat Max Branning in EastEnders, four years after leaving Albert Square.

The soap star, 52, is making his shock comeback as former on-screen lover Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, prepares to leave the Walford.

Jake bid farewell to his character as he shot his final scenes in December 2020, after playing the character for 15 years.

Bosses are reportedly looking forward to Jake to spice up the plots in his shock return.

A source told The Sun: 'Jakes return is huge news for EastEnders fans as his character made a massive mark on the show.

'Itll raise some eyebrows after he was absent from the 40th anniversary earlier this year. Bosses are excited about what his characters reappearance means for spicing up the plots.

Jake Wood, 52, is reportedly set to reprise his role as legendary love rat Max Branning in EastEnders, four years after leaving Albert Square

Jake bid farewell to his character as he shot his final scenes in December 2020, after playing the character for 15 years

'There is plenty to go at. Max has loads of unfinished business in the Square and is set to ruffle some feathers.'

MailOnline has contacted the BBC and Jake's representatives for comment.

Last year, Jake gave a cryptic three-word response when quizzed about his potential return to Albert Square as Max.

Jake was asked by Kate Garraway and Ed Ball to pick the most likely option between him reprising his iconic soap role or Arsenal FC winning the Premier League.

He replied: 'Well, if you ask me which one I'd prefer, I'd prefer Arsenal to win the League... Most likely? I hope Arsenal.'

However, Jake also made it clear that, despite currently having 'no plans' to make an EastEnders comeback, the possibility for him to return is always there.

He said: 'I've got no plans to go back. They've kept the door open. It's been three and a half years since I've not been there. It's been a while... 'Never say never.'

On his departure from EastEnders, Jake shared a goodbye video as he walked around the famous BBC set, and said: 'That's a wrap' as he thanked fans for their support as his time portraying the Albert Square bad boy came to an end.

The soap star is making his shock comeback as former on-screen lover Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, prepares to leave the Walford (pictured together in the show in 2007)

Last year, Jake gave a cryptic three-word response when quizzed about his potential return to Albert Square as Max

Jake was asked by Kate Garraway and Ed Ball to pick the most likely option between him reprising his iconic soap role or Arsenal FC winning the Premier League

'Strange day for me, last day on set filming EastEnders after 15 years, playing Max Branning. Ill miss the place, its the people for me, I made some amazing friends and its been an incredible life changing experiences.

'Thank you all for your messages of love and support, I have really appreciated all of that, who knows what the future brings? I just wanted to say goodbye to Max Branning and share this with you all.'

Jake first joined the EastEnders cast in 2006, and faced his fair share of drama, including womanising, a secret marriage and even being framed for murder.

Announcing his departure in September 2020, Jake said: 'I've had 15 wonderful years at EastEnders and have made some truly great friends.

'I'll of course miss everyone there but I'm grateful they have left the door open for Max and I'm excited to see what the next chapter holds.'

In his final EastEnders scenes, Max turned his back on Albert Square after realising there was nothing left for him there.

In a heartbreaking moment, he left behind his granddaughter Abi after realising she'd be better off being raised by Rainie and Stuart.

The Walford bad boy decided to bid farewell after his one-time love Linda Carter once again rejected him and declared that she doesn't love him, despite him getting the Queen Vic back for her.

Jake quit the soap in February 2021 after 15 years playing the womanising villain Max Branning

And in another blow, his brother Jack gave him some harsh home truths, with Max then deciding to disappear with beloved granddaughter Abi.

But after his car failed to start, he then made to walk to the Tube station with the little one in tow, where the duo bumped into his former love Stacy Slater, with Max saying a cryptic goodbye.

However, he then noticed little Abi looking up at her great-aunt Rainie's window and in that moment he chose to leave the tot on her doorstep, deciding that Abi would have a better life with Rainie and husband Stuart.

After leaving Abi on Rainie's doorstep, a tearful Max then grabbed his bags and made his way to the tube station as EastEnders' heart wrenching Julia's theme played in the background.
A week has passed since the ritzy Silver Party brought together a Who's Who of high society to raise $3.7million for the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation.

While the mood was light and celebratory for the most part, I am reliably informed there was a slight chill in the air for two particular guests.

Several attendees suspected tensions between Double Bay eyebrow queen Kristin Fisher and MCoBeauty founder Shelley Sullivan.

For those unfamiliar with their history, Kristin and Shelley were long-time friends.

But after Shelley's abrupt split from her husband Anthony last year, reports falsely suggested that Kristin, a mother of two, was the 'other woman' in the break-up.

Kristin blasted the innuendo as 'unequivocally false' and 'absolutely not true' and denied having anything to do with the Quantaco CEO. We do not suggest otherwise.

Several guests at the Silver Party suspected tensions between MCoBeauty founder Shelley Sullivan (left image, centre) and her former long-time friend Kristin Fisher (right)

After Shelley's abrupt split from her husband Anthony (left) last year, reports falsely suggested Kristin was the 'other woman' in the break-up. Kristin blasted the innuendo as 'unequivocally false' and 'absolutely not true' and we do not suggest otherwise

But despite setting the record straight on the false insinuations, it looks as though Kristin and Shelley's friendship has cooled in the year since the Sullivans separated.

Even though they were surrounded by mutual friends, including interior designer Blainey North and tracksuit mogul Pip Edwards, there was apparently no interaction, not even a polite air kiss, between the former pals.

While I can't say for certain why there was a chill in the air last Saturday, it has been suggested that Shelley - who sold her remaining 50 per cent stake in MCoBeauty earlier this year for $500 million - was recently in touch with friends of Kristin.

What they discussed remains a mystery - for now...

But what is clear is that Kristin hit the roof in May last year when she was first made aware of the false rumours linking her to Anthony.

'I am so sick of being the clickbait in all of these stories and having to defend myself over something that I've got nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do with,' she told us at the time.

'The truth is I've only been with one person of late.'

Kristin, a highly regarded eastern suburbs businesswoman, clarified then that there was no bad blood between her and Shelley, who a day earlier had been pictured being comforted by her mother Kerrie in Sydney's financial district.

Kristin, a highly regarded eastern suburbs businesswoman, was pictured in Double Bay in May last year as she categorically denied false claims linking her to Anthony Sullivan

'This rumour is not true - along with every other story that my name gets dragged into,' Kristin went on to say at the time.

'Tall poppy syndrome is alive and well in this country - the rumours just keep getting more outrageous every day.'

But back to the Silver Party, and thankfully it was a less frosty evening for other guests.

Food and beverage entrepreneurs Amber Pitsis and Avit Bhindi, for example, used the glitzy gala as an opportunity to 'hard launch' their relationship.

Multiple guests told me the two were 'very much together' at the soiree held at Justin Hemmes harbourfront mansion in Vaucluse.

'Amber mentioned she was there with her new boyfriend but I wasn't formally introduced,' one spy revealed.

Food and beverage entrepreneurs Amber Pitsis (centre left) and Avit Bhindi (left) debuted as a couple at the Silver Party last Saturday. 'I'd say they're the next "It" couple,' says an insider

The mother of two was previously married to Cronulla real estate agent Alex Pitsis (right)

'But they barely left each other's side all night. I'd say they're the next "It" couple.'

Amber, who is the brains behind Valli Snacks, and Avit, the founder of Jiva beverages, first crossed paths while both working with artisanal wholesaler Cartel & Co.

The mother of two was previously married to Cronulla real estate agent Alex Pitsis.

They weren't the only ones turning heads. One guest opined that Today show anchor Karl Stefanovic was 'looking the best he's looked in years'.

'He didn't appear to be drinking and was being judicious with the canapes,' they said.
Bella Hadid put on a glamorous display in a busty white gown as she left the launch party for her new fragrance Orebella at London's Sessions Art Club on Friday.

The model, 27, stunned as she stepped out in a white figure-hugging ankle-length dress, which featured a daring structured low neckline.

She layered her gown underneath an over-sized trendy trench coat as she showed off her sensational fashion credentials.

Bella added a few extra inches to her frame as she slipped into a pair of sophisticated matching pointed heels.

To accessorise, Bella opted for full glamour as she was seen wearing a pearl necklace, love heart earrings and black sunglasses.

To finished her dazzling ensemble, Bella slicked her tresses back into a chic bun, which she decorated with delicate white flowers.

Bella Hadid sent pulses racing in a busty white gown as she left an Orebella launch party in London's Sessions Art Club on Friday

The model, 27, stunned as she stepped out in a white figure-hugging ankle-length dress which she had a low-cut structured feature around her chest

She pulled out all the stops for her big launch party and was spotted wearing another dazzling ensemble while stepping out of the Connaught Hotel ahead of the starry bash.

Bella put on a leggy display as her vintage dress featured an asymmetrical layered skirt and plunging neckline.

Bella - whose older sister is fellow model Gigi - flaunted her statuesque physique as her gown featured a dropped low cut panel around her back.

Orebella is Bella's latest business venture that sells 'nourishing skin care fragrances' and is sold in luxury high street retailers such as Selfridges.

Earlier in the week, the model was snapped enjoying a much less luxurious London staple - Morley's chicken shop - during her visit to England's capital.

It has been speculated that she opted to go there not for a bite to eat, but to meet with Amelia Dimoldenberg to record an episode of Chicken Shop Date.

It comes after the American superstar argued it should be illegal to model when menstruating in a candid interview.

In it, Bella discussed the reality of living with Lyme disease, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).

She layered her gown under an over-sized trendy trench coat which featured an exaggerated collar and belt

To finished her dazzling ensemble, Bella slicked her tresses back into a chic bun which she decorated with delicate white flowers

Kim Turnbull, the girlfriend of Romeo Beckham, was in attendance at Bella's launch party as she put on a very glamorous display

Lady Amelia Windsor also attended and she put on a stylish display in a vibrant pink and red floral print dress

Earlier in the night Bella commanded attention as she stepped out of her lavish accommodation in a 1997 John Galliano as she left the Connaught Hotel - where rooms cost upwards of 591

She put on a leggy display as her vintage dress featured an asymmetrical layered skirt and plunging neckline which featured an array of flower detailing on the sleeve

She put on a leggy display as her vintage dress featured an asymmetrical layered skirt and plunging neckline which featured an array of flower detailing on the sleeve

Earlier in the week, the model was snapped enjoying a much less luxurious London staple - Morley's chicken shop

Endometriosis is a disease in which cells similar to the womb lining grow outside the uterus and cause severe pain, while PCOS is a hormonal disorder characterised by irregular periods and PMDD is a menstrual syndrome which impacts mood.

Opening up about her difficulties, Bella revealed she wants women to get two weeks off while menstruating and said it should be 'illegal' to model while on her period.

She told British Vogue's June issue: 'We get our periods. You're shooting Victoria's Secret on your period, with endo. That should be illegal.

'I'm going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.'

Bella said she often 'pushes' herself to work 14-hour days in fashion despite her illnesses, but it eventually results in her burning out, adding that she is in therapy to work on her confidence.
Casualty star Amanda Mealing has been offered a lifeline back on to television screens following her cocaine-fuelled car crash that left a male nurse unconscious.

The actress, 57, flew out to Malta earlier this month to film a special episode of Channel 5 drama Good Ship Murder alongside its stars Catherine Tyldesley, Shayne Ward and Ross Adams.

The guest role comes after she admitted driving with cocaine in her system and driving without due care and attention following the crash close to her home in Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire, in January 2024.

During the court hearing in March of this year, her solicitor revealed how she'd turned to cocaine while going through a divorce from film producer Richard Sainsbury, and dealing with the traumatic deaths of her father, her best friend and her dog.

It was also revealed that since the crash, she had been diagnosed with blood cancer following a breast cancer battle decades earlier.

She had taken the Class A drug the night before the smash and was driving home when her car drifted across the road and hit an oncoming Skoda driven by nurse Mark Le Sage, who was seriously injured and had to change his career as a result.

Casualty star Amanda Mealing has been offered a lifeline back on to television screens following her cocaine-fuelled car crash that left a male nurse unconscious

Amanda - who played Connie Beauchamp on Casualty - was banned from driving for 28 months, reduced to 22 months as she had already served a six-month interim ban.

She was also fined 485, and ordered to pay 400 costs and a surcharge of 194. She offered to pay at a rate of 100 a month, which was accepted by the court.

A TV insider told MailOnline: 'Amanda is a phenomenal actress and has made many friends within the industry.

'Everyone has been rallying around her. She admitted what she did and opened up about what was going on in her life at the time.

'She is not a bad person and has been through a lot. She was already in talks about appearing on the murder mystery drama before the court case.

'And once it was all over, the little guest role gave her the life-line she very much needed.

Good Ship Murder has become a huge hit for Channel 5 and features different guest stars each week.

The third series is currently being filmed and will hit our TV screens next year.

The actress, 57, flew out to Malta earlier this month to film a special episode of Channel 5 drama Good Ship Murder alongside its stars Catherine Tyldesley and Shayne Ward

It will also include guest appearances from Birds of a Feather legends Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph.

Since leaving Casualty in 2021, Amanda has been moving from acting into directing, including for an episode of the BBC TV series Waterloo Road.

In 2002, Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer, just 24 hours after giving birth to her second son, Otis. Her older son, Milo, was three at the time.

She had been aware of a small lump in her breast when pregnant, but ignored it.

She said: 'I definitely thought it could have been mastitis. But a large part of it was that ridiculous thing where I thought, 'If I don't go to the GP, they can't tell me it's breast cancer and therefore I can pretend it's no'. But if I'd done something about it at the time, I may not have had to endure what I did. It's ridiculous. I played with my life. I gambled.

'It must have been three months. And it went from being a pea-sized lump to a mass. It was huge.

'I remember seeing the mass when I had my ultrasound and I knew. It was like the air just went out of me. I got very angry at the cancer. I thought, 'How dare you do this to me when my newborn baby is just hours old? I won't let it happen'.'

She had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Five years after she had completed her treatment she was diagnosed with PTSD.

Her sister in law and a close friend, both diagnosed with breast cancer at around the same time, did not survive.

Amanda has undergone therapy to cope with survivor's guilt, which led to panic attacks and depression.
Dani Harmer detailed her 'traumatic' five-day labour as she told Vanessa Feltz on her Channel 5 show that her partner feared losing both her and their baby.

The Tracy Beaker actress, 36, who starred as the lead in the show, welcomed her first child Avarie-Belle, eight, with her partner Simon Brough in 2016. She went on to welcome second child, Rowan in 2022.

Now the mother-of-two has revealed to Vanessa that delivering her firstborn wasn't without complications as was she was in labour for five days and it took 'a really long time to get over it'.

Dani needed an emergency c-section for her first pregnancy and they faced the possibility of losing Dani and their baby.

Appearing alongside James Jordan and Paula Rhone-Adrien, Dani said: 'I had a really traumatic first birth, with my first Avarie-Belle.

'I was in labour with her for five days which then resulted in an emergency cesarean - which is very different to an elective one.

Dani Harmer detailed her 'traumatic' five-day labour as she told Vanessa Feltz on her Channel 5 show that her partner feared losing her and their baby

The Tracy Beaker actress, 36, who starred as the lead in the show, welcomed her first child Avarie-Belle, eight, with her partner Simon Brough in 2016

'And it was really really scary. Not just for me but for my partner as well. I think it was more traumatic for him because he had to witness the whole thing.

'And it was scary for him thinking that he might not only lose his baby but he might lose me as well.

'I dont remember much of it because I was drugged up on a lot of different things, but it was an experience I really didnt want to have to repeat, so when we fell pregnant with my second, I really wanted to go for an elective caesarean.

'I found that they were really trying to persuade me to go for a natural birth and I said to them unless you can guarantee me that Im going to give birth naturally, one hundred percent, then otherwise I will want an elective one.'

Their daughter was born at 5pm on June, 29 and weighed 6lb 9oz.

Dani confirmed that the trauma of her first pregnancy was the reason behind the six-year age gap between her two children.

She gave birth to her second child, Rowan in February 2022 at 10.49am and weighed 8lb 3oz'.

In January 2022 - a month before giving birth - the actress revealed she has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in an Instagram post.

YThe mother-of-two (pictured with Simon and her two kids) revealed to Vanessa that there was she was in labour for five days and it took 'a really long time to get over it'

Dani, who is almost a mum to Rowan, two, needed an emergency c-section for her first pregnancy and they faced the possibility of losing Dani and their baby

Appearing alongside James Jordan and Paula Rhone-Adrien, Dani said: 'I had a really traumatic first birth, with my first Avarie-Belle'

Dani confirmed that the trauma of her first pregnancy was the reason behind the six-year age gap between her two children

Dani posted a photo of her daily blood glucose log book as she asked her followers for their advice.

Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that can develop at any time during pregnancy but is more common in the second or third trimester, usually disappearing after the baby is born.

She had also revealed that she had been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as false labour pains, that typically are not felt until the second or third trimester.

Braxton-Hicks contractions are the body's way of preparing for true labor, but they do not indicate that labor has begun.

Vanessa is streamed on Channel 5 on weekdays at 11.30am
Rebel Wilson is once again shining light on the conflicts surrounding her stalled film The Deb.

Taking to Instagram Stories on the musical's official social media account, the 45-year-old entertainer slammed star actress Charlotte MacInnes.

Wilson is embroiled in a legal battle with The Deb producers Vincent Holden, Gregor Cameron, and Amanda Ghost after accusing them of misconduct and embezzlement. They countered by filing a defamation lawsuit against her.

She also accused them of 'inappropriate behavior' toward MacInnes, which the rising star has denied.

On Friday the Bride Hard actress reposted footage of Charlotte performing at Cannes, and wrote scathingly, 'Charlotte MacInnes in a culturally inappropriate Indian outfit on Len Blavatnik's luxury yacht in Cannes - ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film's release.'

In a second post, she wrote sarcastically, 'So glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on The Deb and really wanna see it released.'

Rebel Wilson is once again shining light on the conflicts surrounding her stalled film The Deb; pictured on May 6

Taking to Instagram Stories on the musical's official social media account, the 45-year-old entertainer slammed star actress Charlotte MacInnes

In a second post, Rebel wrote sarcastically, 'So glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on The Deb and really wanna see it released'

In September 2024 Charlotte denied that there was any inappropriate behavior, prompting Rebel to allege that the actress rescinded her accusations to score a new job from one of the producers.

McInnes told DailyMail.com at the time: 'There is no truth to the allegations made involving me. I made a statement to the film team when this was first said in September 2023 and am saying this now to draw a line under it. Making false accusations undermines real victims and I wont be the subject of a fabricated narrative.'

After working with one of the producers, Amanda, on The Deb, Charlotte was later cast by her as Daisy in Florence Welch's musical Gatsby: An American Myth in the shows pre-Broadway run at Bostons A.R.T.

Rebel subsequently shared a screenshot of the Daily Mail article on her Instagram Stories and wrote, per Just Jared, 'When an actress on her first feature film is asked by a producer to stay in the same apartment as them, and then makes a complaint to me as the director saying said producer asked her to have a bath and shower with her and it made her feel uncomfortable  what am I supposed to do Of course I reported it.'

She added, 'There is no world where this is acceptable. The fact that this girl has been employed now by this producer in the lead role of a production called GATSBY (ART Boston) and given a record label  should be all the proof you need as to why she has now changed her story.'

In documents filed to the Los Angeles superior court and obtained by The Guardian in November 2024, MacInnes claimed she informed Wilson that she was never sexually harassed by Amanda.

Rebel, pictured with MacInnes in May 2023, is being sued for defamation after accusing producers of sabotaging her project

Wilson is embroiled in a legal battle with The Deb producers Vincent Holden, Gregor Cameron, and Amanda Ghost after accusing them of misconduct and embezzlement. They countered by filing a defamation lawsuit against her

Amid the turmoil surrounding The Deb, Rebel has kept busy promoting her forthcoming comedy Bride Hard; pictured on set

Despite Charlotte's claim that she informed Wilson harassment had never occurred, the Pitch Perfect actress still brought the accusations of mistreatment forward.

'I was deeply disturbed by this behavior by Wilson, who was the director of the film and in a position of authority over me,' MacInnes alleged.

Charlotte added in her official statement: 'Nothing that I told Wilson could reasonably have conveyed that I was reporting any misconduct, because there was no misconduct.

'I also understand [there were] claims that I was subjected to "depraved sexual demands" and that "MacInnes remains captive by Ghost and (fellow producer) Cameron as she is shuttled from city to city with them including Boston, New York, and London."

'These statements are completely false and absurd. I have no idea what could cause Wilson and her attorney to make up such lies about me.'
Joaquin Phoenix was moved to tears after the audience's enthusiastic reception to his new movie Eddington at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

The 50-year-old Oscar winner, who was the victim of a recent burglary, stood silently taking in the praise which he shared with co-stars Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal and writer-director Ari Aster.

According to Deadline, the movie received seven minutes of applause from the Cannes audience.

Video provided by Vanity Fair showed those tearful moments, as the camera passed from Stone to Pascal to the emotional Phoenix.

'I dont know what you think,' Aster joked with the crowd, receiving a laugh in return.

'Thank you for being here. I feel very privileged to be here. Its a dream come true. Thank you so much for having me. And, I dont know  sorry? I dont know,' the stunned director said.

Joaquin Phoenix, 50, and his Eddington co-star Emma Stone, 36, had an emotional reaction to the audience's enthusiastic reception of their new film at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday

The actor was moved to tears after the film received seven minutes of applause from the Cannes audience, according to Deadline

'This was a great experience,' said of his first invitation to the famous film festival.

Referring to the cast, that also included Austin Butler, Clifton Collins and Michael Ward, 'I love all these people around me.'

Eddington, is a modern Western/dark comedy set in 2020 in the fictional small town in New Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown.

Pascal stars as the town's mayor who has implemented mandatory masking. Phoenix is the town sheriff, who refuses to put one on, alleging he has asthma and can't breathe if he masks up.

Stone the sheriff's wife who struggles with mental health issues, due to sexual abuse as a child.

Butler is a social media guru who claims his being the victim of a pedophile sex-trafficking ring allows him the empathy to provide consolation to others.'

A Black Lives Matter protest goes awry, when an unhoused man, played by Collins, becomes violent and video of his arrest goes viral amid claims of police brutality.

Elsewhere on the red carpet Emma appeared to have an epic meltdown when an unexpected guest got up in her face. While posing for photos alongside Pedro and Austin, the actress' face suddenly twisted in surprise and fear.

Her co-stars started laughing at her reaction as a bee started flying a little too close for comfort and tried to help her swat it away.

As she was breaking down over the sudden surprise, her two co-stars tried to save her as Butler attempted to blow the bee away but accidentally made it fly even closer to Stone.

Then, Pascal waved the bee away with his hand before wrapping his arms around Stone to catch her when her knees' buckled and she pretended to melt away in relief.

Stone stars as Phoenix's troubled wife, while Pedro Pascal is the mayor of a fiction New Mexico town; they are seen with co-star Austin Butler

A video showed those tearful moments, as the camera passed from Stone to Pascal to the emotional Phoenix

He was all smiles earlier on the red carpet

Emma's angelic look featured a dramatic circular neckline and was in-keeping of the festivals 'no nudity or voluminous dresses' rule

The red head styled her pixie crop into a centre parting and slicked it back behind her ears, showing off a pair of emerald gem earrings

According to IMDB the film's premise is: 'A standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico'

Emma plays Louise Cross, the wife of Joaquin's character, Joe Cross

Joaquin and Pedro pictured with director Ari Aster

The cast all posed together

During another point on the red carpet Emma appeared to have an epic meltdown when an unexpected guest got up in her face

While posing for photos alongside Pedro and Austin at the screening of Eddington, the actress' face suddenly twisted in surprise and fear when a bee flew nearby

Pedro and Austin helped her deal with the emergency, swatting the bee away

Eddington is described as a modern day Western and dark comedy set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown. It will open in theaters on July 16

Later, Stone also suffered a wardrobe wobble, but luckily, the fan-favorite Hollywood heartthrob came to her rescue.

Deadline's Damon Wise wrote in his review of Eddington, 'Though all its parts dont quite knit together, Eddington is what you might call a big swing, a film thats more serious than it first seems, seeing Covid as the Big Bang that landed us right where we are now.'

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney was less generous, calling the two hour and 29 minute movie 'Essentially a modern Western marbled with a vein of dark comedy, the movie is neither suspenseful nor funny enough to work as either. Mostly, its a distancing slog.'

Meanwhile, The Independent's Kevin EG Perry called it Aster's 'funniest film to date.

Perry praised the filmmaker for making 'use of an ever expanding and shifting cast to dot the 150-minute runtime with well-observed comic details and visual payoffs. These often riff on the deadpan reactions of the Black and Native American characters to Joe and his meathead deputy.'

Audiences will have an opportunity to decide for themselves when Eddington opens in theaters July 16.
Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry were the epitome of elegance as they led the stars at Cannes Film Festival's Chopard Trophy Awards ceremony on Friday.

Hollywood icon Angelina, 49, was a vision in a white floor length gown as she attended the event at Carlton Beach.

The stunning dress featured a cape style sleeve on one side and perfectly hugged her slender figure as she walked along the carpet.

Smiling and waving to fans and photographers, she flaunted her toned arms, while flashing her inked skin.

The Maleficent star flashed a hint of leg as she walked - with the dress boasting a thigh high side split.

Angelina oozed class as she accessorised the look with a set of diamond jewellery, including drop pendant earrings and a silver bracelet.

Angelina Jolie (L) and Halle Berry (R) were the epitome of elegance as they led the stars at Cannes Film Festival's Chopard Trophy Awards ceremony on Friday

Meanwhile Halle looked sensational as she slipped into a long black dress that featured a dramatic train and off shoulder sleeves.

The American actress, 58, brought her impeccable sense of style to the event - oozing confidence as she posed up a storm.

The Emmy winner donned an eye-catching diamond snake necklace with Emerald green gem stones and teamed it with matching flashy rings.

Halle gave a final touch of glamour as she wore GEDEBE Jenna heels, featuring a strap that wrapped around her dainty ankles.

The beauty looked glowing as she styled her chocolate tresses into loose waves that framed her stunning features.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

Some of the first-time filmmakers at Cannes are already particularly well-known. Kristen Stewart (The Chronology of Water), Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

The stunning dress featured a cape style sleeve on one side and perfectly hugged her slender figure as she walked along the carpet

Smiling and waving to fans and photographers, she flaunted her toned arms, while flashing her inked skin

The Maleficent star flashed a hint of leg as she walked - with the dress boasting a thigh high side split

Angelina oozed class as she accessorised the look with a set of diamond jewellery, including drop pendant earrings and a silver bracelet

The American actress brought her impeccable sense of style to the event - oozing confidence as she posed up a storm with the photographers

The Emmy winner donned an eye-catching diamond snake necklace with Emerald green gem stones and teamed it with matching flashy rings

She gave a final touch of glamour as she wore black stiletto heels, featuring a strap that wrapped around her dainty ankles

The beauty looked glowing as she styled her chocolate tresses into loose waves that framed her stunning features

Angelina looked radiant as she attended the star-studded afterparty following the event

Pedro Pascal was also seen looking incredibly dapper as he made his way to the bash

The actor made a swift exit following a busy evening at the premiere

He was joined shortly behind his beloved sister Lux

Emma Stone and her husband Dave McCary also made an exit

Elsewhere, Robert Pattison was seen heading back to his hotel following an afterparty in the French city

Many Cannes veterans will be back, too, including Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning), Robert De Niro - whos to receive an honorary Palme dOr 49 years after Taxi Driver premiered in Cannes - and Quentin Tarantino, to pay tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman.

The much-anticipated eighth and final instalment of Mission Impossible is one of the earlier premieres on this year's Cannes calendar, with its glitzy red carpet taking place on Wednesday, May 14.

Meanwhile Scarlett's directorial debut Eleanor The Great, will be unveiled on May 20.

Over recent years the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

It's understood that the iconic venue now adopts a more conservative dress code, with suits, dinner jackets and floor-length evening gowns generally favoured over headline grabbing ensembles.

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, 'with or without a heel', will also be permitted.
Bella Hadid was a picture of glamour as she stepped out in London wearing a revealing silver dress on Friday.

The seemingly 1920s-inspired dress showed off the model's enviable assets with a v-neck cut and slits to make it shorter.

Bella, 28, paired the wrap-around style garment with flat silver shoes and a stunning diamond necklace.

Further glamour was added by Tiffany earrings and white flowers in Bella's hair, which went perfectly with the silver flower on her dress.

The star was snapped as she left the upmarket five-star Connaught Hotel, where rooms cost upwards of 591 a night.

Bella is currently spending the week in the capital for her fragrance Orebella's UK launch.

Bella Hadid was a picture of glamour as she stepped out in London wearing a revealing silver dress on Friday

The dress was also open at the back, showing off the model's slender frame as she got into her waiting car

The star was snapped as she left the upmarket five-star Connaught Hotel, where rooms cost upwards of 591 a night

The dress was also open at the back, showing off the model's slender frame as she got into her waiting car.

Earlier on Thursday, the model was snapped enjoying a much less luxurious London staple - Morley's chicken shop.

It has been speculated that she opted to go there not for a bite to eat, but to meet with Amelia Dimoldenberg on her Chicken Shop Date show.

Bella - who was named Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council in 2022 - carried the essentials for her outing in a brown tasseled tote bag and finished off with stilettos.

The sister of fellow supermodel Gigi looked ravishing, adding a pair of oval animal-print shades to tote the ensemble, showing off her newly-debuted blonde tresses.

Her sighting in London and her show-stopping display at Cannes Film Festival comes after the American beauty argued it should be illegal to model when menstruating in a candid new interview.

In it, Bella discussed the reality of living with Lyme disease, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).

Endometriosis is a disease in which cells similar to the womb lining grow outside the uterus and cause severe pain, while PCOS is a hormonal disorder characterised by irregular periods and PMDD is a menstrual syndrome which impacts mood.

Earlier today, the model was snapped enjoying a much less luxurious London staple - Morley's chicken shop

It has been speculated that she opted to go there not for a bite to eat, but to meet with Amelia Dimoldenberg on her Chicken Shop Date show

Opening up about her difficulties, Bella revealed she wants women to get two weeks off while menstruating and said it should be 'illegal' to model while on her period.

She told British Vogue's June issue: 'We get our periods. You're shooting Victoria's Secret on your period, with endo. That should be illegal.

'I'm going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.'

Bella said she often 'pushes' herself to work 14-hour days in fashion despite her illnesses, but it eventually results in her burning out, adding that she is in therapy to work on her confidence.
Liam Gallagher was reportedly the one to 'piece things back together' with older brother Noel for the Oasis reunion tour - despite their years-long bitter fall out.

Oasis sensationally split in 2009 after a backstage bust-up - devastating their loyal fan base.

In the 14 years that have followed, a feud and bitter fighting has ensued with the brothers trading insults back and forth in interviews and social media.

But this year, the pair are putting their differences aside and reuniting for a huge world tour, with dates booked across UK, America, South America and Asia in 2025.

Despite their feud, sources have claimed in a new book the brothers 'still really love each other'.

According to The Mirror, In The Fall And Rise Of Oasis by PJ Harrison, the author quotes an industry insider from Oasis music label Creation discussing their tour and Gallagher feud.

Liam Gallagher (L) was reportedly the one to 'piece things back together' with older brother Noel (R) for the Oasis reunion tour - despite their years-long bitter fall out

Oasis sensationally split in 2009 after a backstage bust-up. In the 14 years that have followed, a feud and bitter fighting has ensued with the brothers trading insults back and forth in interviews and social media (pictured in 2008)

She said: 'It doesnt matter what the wives or the girlfriends say or what anyone else says.

'You will never understand the dynamic of those two boys. Ultimately, you do still really love each other.'

The insider also added that Liam was the one that made peace with Noel: 'Hes a great one for making, you know, peace. Hes the one that will make the peace and bring things back together with people.'

In the past, Liam has said he made the first move.

In a previous post on X when he was asked who called first him or Noel, Liam replied: 'I called him but dont tell anyone as I don't want folk thinking Im a soft lad and stuffs keep it between me n you cheers x.'

Harrison, who travelled on tour with them back in the day, also suggested that the band will continue to tour in 2026 and play major festivals if they can continue to get along.

MailOnline has contacted Liam and Noel's representatives for comment,

It follows the news that Liam and Noel have reportedly been 'given strict health warnings' ahead of their upcoming Oasis reunion tour.

But this year, the pair are putting their differences aside and reuniting for a huge world tour, with dates booked across UK, America, South America and Asia in 2025 (pictured in 2009)

Despite their feud, sources have claimed in a new book the brothers 'still really love each other' (pictured in 2009)

The source also suggested that the band will continue to tour in 2026 and play major festivals if they can continue to get along (pictured in 1995)

Long gone are the days of cigarettes, partying and alcohol as the brothers have now been given strict instructions to take care of their health ahead of their stadium gigs.

According to new reports, Liam, 52, and Noel, 57, have allegedly gone through 'thorough' examinations and testing to get insurance for the concerts.

Sources told The Mirror the level of scrutiny over the duos wellbeing was 'like an astronaut going into space' thanks to the high value risk of the tour.

Both of the musicians have received extensive advice and offers of any useful treatments and have been told to 'not over indulge' to make sure they are fit and well enough for all shows.

'Its going to be a lot different to the 90s  most rock and roll fun is banned!', a source told the publication.
Memphis Garrett of Big Brother fame has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling over $100,000 in Florida state taxes.

Memphis, real name Robert, was taken into custody on Thursday, the Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed to People.

After the Department of Revenue issued a warrant for the 42-year-old reality television star  who was previously involved in a brawl  he was arrested at a Florida airport.

His online arrest record alleges that he failed to pay more than $100,000 in sales tax, and he is charged with a first-degree felony for theft of state funds.

As of Friday, Garrett's $15,000 bond is pending, meaning he is still behind bars.

A probable cause affidavit reviewed by People states Robert is accused of failing to pay $55,366.77 in sales taxes from his LLC Poke House Lauderdale between November 2022 and October 2024.

Memphis Garrett, 42, of Big Brother fame has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling over $100,000 in Florida state taxes; pictured in his mug shot

Memphis, real name Robert, was taken into custody on Thursday, the Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed to People; pictured on Big Brother season 10 in 2008

There are two businesses under the LLC  The Poke House and No Man's Land Miami LLC  according to TMZ, who first reported Garrett's arrest.

His legal troubles come more than one year after his marriage to Big Brother co-star Christmas Abbott ended in March 2024 when he filed for divorce.

The exes were just two months short of their two-year wedding anniversary, having tied the knot in May 2022.

TMZ reported last year that the restaurateur cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the marriage's demise.

It reportedly followed a domestic violence incident listed as a related case to the divorce filing.

Abbott told the outlet amid the split, 'It is unfortunate that the actions and intentions of individuals involved in this situation have led to the exposure of personal and sensitive information.

'I believe that matters of this nature should be resolved in a private and respectful manner. I ask for privacy at this time to focus on my family.'

Garrett returned to the popular reality show in 2020 for its 20th anniversary season

Memphis married Big Brother co-star Christmas Abbott in May 2022, but they divorced two years later

In 2023 they were involved in a brawl after being physically attacked outside the bar they own in Florida

The CBS star is in a new relationship with a blonde named Shannon Mattes, as evidenced in recent Instagram photos

Meanwhile, Memphis expressed, 'My heart hurts. I did not want to have to file for divorce. I was doing everything in my power to work on our marriage. I only wish the very best in life for her and [her son] Loyal.'

Abbott requested a restraining order against her ex but then voluntarily dismissed it in May 2024.

Now the CBS star is in a new relationship with a blonde named Shannon Mattes, as evidenced in recent Instagram photos

Garrett rose to fame as runner-up on Big Brother 10. He reappeared on the series in 2020 for its 20th anniversary season, Big Brother: All-Stars.
Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson both looked stylish as ever as they stepped out for Dior at Cannes on Friday.

Robert, 39, wore a pair of white chino trousers, paired with a blue shirt and jacket, smiling subtly for the camera as he posed with his equally famous co-star.

Jennifer, 34, meanwhile, wore a long black and white floral kimono dress that matched the Japanese theme of the Dior backdrop.

She wore her hair in subtle waves, bringing the look together with a pair of tinted glasses and a statement disk necklace.

Dior was hosting a dinner at the festival for the cast of Die My Love, which is being premiered at Cannes on Saturday.

Starring Jennifer and Robert, the film tells the story of a young mother living in a rural area as she undergoes a battle with psychosis.

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson donned effortlessly stylish outfits as they stepped out for Dior at Cannes on Friday

Dior was hosting a dinner at the festival for the cast of Die My Love, which is being premiered at Cannes on Saturday

Die My Love is described as both a horror and a comedy and was directed by Lynne Ramsay (pictured), who was also present on the red carpet at Cannes

Die My Love is described as both a horror and a comedy and was directed by Lynne Ramsay, who was also present on the red carpet.

It is notably Jennifer and Robert's first film together.

They both rose to fame in the 2010s, with Jennifer starring in film adaptations of The Hunger Games series as Katniss Everdeen and Robert Pattinson gaining worldwide fame for his role as Edward Cullen in Twilight.

Die My Love is based on a 2017 novel by Argentine writer, Ariana Harwicz, which details a new mum's battle with postpartum depression and subsequent psychosis.

The film's release comes as Jennifer welcomed her second child earlier this year, whose name and gender are not known, with husband Cooke Maroney.

In a 2022 interview with Vogue, the actress opened up about the joy of becoming a first-time mother following the birth of her first child that year, sharing that the birth of her son Cy 'felt like my whole life had started over.'

'I just stared. I was just so in love. I also fell in love with all babies everywhere. Newborns are just so amazing,' she gushed.

The film's release comes as Jennifer Lawrence recently welcomed her second child with husband Cooke Maroney

Pattinson also recently became a parent, welcoming his first child, a baby girl, with his partner Suki Waterhouse (pictured)

Elsewhere in the conversation, she described, 'I mean the euphoria of Cy is just  Jesus, it's impossible.

'My heart has stretched to a capacity that I didn't know about. I include my husband in that.'

Robert also recently became a parent, welcoming his first child, a baby girl, with his partner, Suki Waterhouse last year.

He told BBC News that the experience has brought more joy and fun into his life.

The actor also admitted that parenthood has opened him up to the world more and helped him become more social.

Also describing himself as less 'danger prone', he joked: 'If someone told me I was going to die in a week, I'd be like, "What? I want to spend some more time with my kid'.'
Imogen Anthony ensured all eyes were on her as she stepped out at Australian Fashion Week on Friday wearing an extremely daring outfit reminiscent of Kanye West's Australian wife Bianca Censori.

The 34-year-old influencer and ex-girlfriend of KIIS FM star Kyle Sandilands made a bold statement in a pair of sheer white tights that left very little to the imagination.

Channelling Censoris now-signature barely-there aesthetic, Imogen teamed the racy leggings with a fluffy oversized white faux fur coat draped effortlessly over her shoulders.

She appeared to go topless beneath the statment coat, flaunting her figure with confidence as she posed for photographers outside Carriageworks in Sydney.

The model and social media star added a touch of vintage glamour to her look with a pair of pointed heels, futuristic wraparound sunglasses and a black leather handbag.

Her long brunette locks were worn out in soft waves, cascading over her chest as she smouldered for the cameras.

Imogen Anthony ensured all eyes were on her as she stepped out at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Friday wearing an extremely daring outfit reminiscent of Bianca Censori

The 34-year-old influencer made a bold fashion statement at the event

Imogen's bold ensemble appeared to draw inspiration from Censoris headline-grabbing wardrobe, which often features sheer fabrics, nude tones and body-hugging silhouettes.

For makeup, Imogen opted for a full glam look, featuring glossy nude lips, sculpted cheeks and dramatic eyeliner to frame her eyes.

She completed the edgy ensemble with long, perfectly manicured fingernails painted in a pale neutral shade, adding a touch of understated elegance.

It comes after a stylist blasted this year's AFW for not being 'creative or innovative'.

Sonali Fernando shared a video to TikTok on Tuesday, insisting this year's event has been a disaster and the clothes have been 'basic'.

She also claimed the event has been inaccessible to the general public.

'AFW started yesterday and it is a disaster,' she began.

'The attendees are the same usual crowd you get in Sydney, the influencers wear off the rack which is not creative.'

Channelling Censoris now-signature barely-there aesthetic , Imogen teamed the racy leggings with a fluffy oversized white faux fur coat draped effortlessly over her shoulders

She appeared to go topless beneath the dramatic coat, flaunting her figure with confidence as she posed for photographers outside Carriageworks in Sydney

Sonali, who is based in Perth, also said the show has been a 'completely exclusive and inaccessible type of event.'

'They have taken away previous areas of fashion that used to be public access,' she claimed.

'Particularly where we are at the moment, we are saying we are Australia and this is what we are doing. it's embarrassing.

'We are showing them basic stuff and these are the people that represent Australia in fashion... they're wearing basic s**t.'

Sonali also said the after parties are invite only but 'fashion is for everyone' and members of the public should be able to attend.

Australian Fashion Week kicked off with the Carla Zampatti show on Monday.

Some of the notable names sitting in the front row at the opener this year included P.E Nation founder Pip Edwards and Sydney radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson, who were seen getting cosy as they posed for photos.

Fashion designer Michael Lo Sordo joined them in the A-list section.

Meanwhile, Pip rubbed shoulders with model and member of the Danish royal family Count Nikolai of Monpezat.
The Bondsman, starring Golden Globe-winning actor Kevin Bacon, has been cancelled by Prime Video after one season.

The blow to the 66-year-old Hollywood vet's career was announced by Deadline on Friday, and it came one day after he took to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look at the show.

All eight half-hour episodes of the Blumhouse Television series came out on April 3 following a SXSW premiere.

According to the outlet, the Bondsman earned a spot on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming rankings in its premiere week, sitting at number nine on the Originals chart with 563 million viewing minutes.

But by its second week on the streamer, The Bondsman had tumbled off the chart altogether.

However, the show has stayed on Prime Videos Top 10 list, holding the number five slot in the US.

Kevin Bacon, 66, suffered a shock career blow as his show, The Bondsman, has been cancelled by Prime Video after one season; he is pictured June 2024

The blow to the Hollywood vet's career was announced by Deadline on Friday; seen in a still from the show

Despite impressing critics and viewers and averaging 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series has not been able to create momentum online.

The short-lived program followed resurrected bounty hunter Hub Halloran, who 'gets an unexpected second chance at life, love and his nearly forgotten musical career only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist,' according to an IMDb synopsis.

Bacon engaged his Instagram audience of 4.6 million this week, sharing a video showing how makeup artists apply his character's tattoos and scars.

He captioned the post, 'TV magic: Hubs tattoos in #TheBondsman.'

Kevin has been married to wife Kyra Sedgwick since 1988.

They're parents to 33-year-old daughter Sosie and 35-year-old son Travis.

The movie star used social media to give a shoutout to his spouse on Mother's Day, sharing throwback photos of her with their kids and writing, 'Ill take any excuse to celebrate you. Happy Mothers Day @kyrasedgwickofficial, I love you and our family.'

All eight half-hour episodes of the Blumhouse Television series came out on April 3 following a SXSW premiere; he is pictured in a still

The cancellation comes one day after he took to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look at the show

Kevin recently opened up about meeting his longtime wife Kyra Sedgwick; they are seen on March 31

While appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show in April, the proud husband revealed he first met his wife when she was just 12-years-old and he was 19.

It happened in 1978 when they first crossed paths as young actors.

He recalled, 'I will tell you that I was doing a lot of Off-Broadway, many years before that. I was 19 so she was 12, I think.

'Her mom had seen me in some plays Off-Broadway, and she knew that little 12-year-old Kyra wanted to be an actor.'

Sedgwick's mom bought tickets to attend one of his shows, and they ran into him while he was on a lunch break.

'I was buying a sandwich in the deli around the corner. This 12-year-old girl came up and said, "Hi, I liked you in the play."'

The couple met for the second time in 1987 when they were cast in the movie Lemon Sky.
Julia Roberts announced the devastating loss of her family dog Myrtle in an emotional Instagram post on Friday.

The Pretty Woman actress, 57 - who has often been seen on outings with the rescue pup that she adopted back in 2006 - uploaded a photo of Myrtle that had been taken outside.

In the caption, she penned to her 12.8 million followers: 'Our Myrtle. A Legend. 2006-2025,' followed by a crown emoji.

Her husband Daniel Moder - whom she tied the knot with in 2002 - also shared a special tribute to their beloved companion.

He included a picture of Myrtle and typed out, 'The definition of Fierce Loyalty, even if she bit the pizza man once. RIP Mytlleaka Myrtle Von Mertzenberger.'

The beloved dog was also no stranger to being in front of the camera and notably made an appearance alongside Roberts for her Chopard Loves Cinema campaign in 2023.

Julia Roberts, 57, announced the devastating loss of her family dog Myrtle in an emotional Instagram post on Friday; seen in February in Paris

The Pretty Woman actress - who has often been seen on outings with the rescue pup that she adopted back in 2006 - uploaded a photo of Myrtle that had been taken outside

Julia - who is a global ambassador for the luxury jewelry brand - took part in a 12-episode digital series for the campaign which gave a closer glimpse at her life in Hollywood.

The mini short films were directed by James Gray and in one snippet, Myrtle could be seen jumping up next to the actress while on set.

A release at the time described the BTS moments as the star 'spreading her joy and larks.

'She knits, finds something nice to say about everyone, slips into trainers under her glamorous dresses, takes over the camera herself and interrupts her script rehearsal to cuddle her dog Myrtle that jumps on her lap.'

Social media users jumped to the comment section of both Julia and Daniel's posts to offer their condolences.

One penned, 'Oh no. So sorry for your loss! She was a star in Chopard Loves Cinema! I'm sure she had the best life with your family. Rest easy Myrtle!'

Another wrote, 'Myrtle, may you take the wonder and acclaim you lived with to the rainbow bridge. You are indelibly etched in hearts forever.'

'Heartbroken. I love you all,' a comment read, while British editor Edward Enninful added, 'So so sorry for your loss!!!'

Her husband Daniel Moder - whom she tied the knot with in 2002 - also shared a special tribute to their beloved companion; seen in 2020 in L.A.

He also included a picture of Myrtle and typed out, 'The definition of Fierce Loyalty, even if she bit the pizza man once. RIP Mytlleaka Myrtle Von Mertzenberger'

The mini short films were directed by James Gray and in one snippet, Myrtle could be seen jumping up next to the actress while on set

Social media users jumped to the comment section of both Julia and Daniel's posts to offer their condolences

Another wrote, 'Myrtle, may you take the wonder and acclaim you lived with to the rainbow bridge. You are indelibly etched in hearts forever'

Roberts has previously shown her love for animals by taking part in a fundraiser late last year in December.

She partnered with Be Love Apparel to shed light onto the dog rescue organization called Frankie Lola and Friends.

At the time, she jumped to her Instagram page to share a sweet selfie with one of her other adorable dogs.

'It's GIVE BACK TUESDAY!! I am Thrilled my amazing friends @beloveapparel are donating profits from every "WE ARE FAMILY" purchase to Frankie Lola and Friends @lisachiarelli An incredible dog rescue organization!

'Lisa and her team work like crazy to find loving homes for pups in desperate need! What could be better than that!'

The tragic update comes just days after Julia celebrated Mother's Day over the past weekend and appeared in a rare snap with her three children.

The Notting Hill actress shares twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 20, and son Henry, 17, with husband Daniel.

He uploaded a memorable picture of Roberts as she posed with their kids outside underneath the warm sunshine.

Roberts has previously shown her love for animals by taking part in a fundraiser late last year in December

Moder captioned the photo by typing out: 'Mothers make the coolest stuff. Love these guys.'

During an interview with Today in 2023, Julia opened up about her children now that they are older.

'I parent them the same way out of the house that I parented them in the house, which is, you know, "Are you getting enough sleep?"

'And "You sound like you're sick." And "Are you drinking tea?" And "Text me when you get home you get home (so) I can see that you're home safe and sound."'

The star added, 'And I have an immense amount of appreciation for both of my older kids because they still allow me to be the same mom to them and it's not eye-rolling and there's a huge amount of understanding.'

Roberts also previously talked about her kids to Extra and said daughter Hazel takes clothing from her closet.

However, the pair differ when it comes to taste in jewelry and explained, 'She's more bohemian in her aesthetic.'

The Notting Hill actress shares twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 20, and son Henry, 17, with husband Daniel

'I believe that my husband loves me and cares for me in a way that makes me feel deeply, deeply happy,' Roberts added

Julia also made rare comments about her husband Daniel during an interview with British Vogue last year.

While on the topic of how she maintains her 'lustrous youth,' the actress gave a special shout out to Moder.

'Good genes, leading a life that is fulfilling, and I have said this - and I say it usually as kind of a joke - but I do believe in the love of a good man.

'I believe that my husband loves me and cares for me in a way that makes me feel deeply, deeply happy,' Roberts added.
The drummer for Texas-based rock bank Lord Buffalo who was 'forcibly removed' from his flight just before the group was about to take off on a European tour, can be seen in newly released bodycam footage explaining himself to cops.

Saad Saidbaca, a longtime member of the rising band, was escorted from the plane in handcuffs by airport police on Monday, leaving stunned passengers and his bandmates in disbelief.

Although Saidbaca is a Mexican citizen he has a green card after he and his family 'moved to Austin in the late '80s, after a devastating earthquake hit Mexico City.'

He was detained by airport cops after police responded to an active arrest warrant.

According to law enforcement, Saidbaca had violated a protective order, also known as a restraining order, twice in the past year, triggering a felony-level arrest warrant that led to his removal from the aircraft.

He is being held in a Tarrant County, Texas, jail on $40,000 bond. A conviction could result in at least two years of jail time.

Dressed for travel, the footage shows Saidbaca reacting calmly as police tell him he is being placed under arrest and being taken to jail.

Saidbaca explained that he believed a custody case involving his daughter had ended in December and denied any wrongdoing, saying he merely sent packages and letters, which the child's mother may have reported as violations.

Confused about why the warrant, issued in October, was not addressed when he appeared in court in December, Saidbaca expressed frustration but complied with officers as they prepared to transfer him to jail, stating, 'I just want to get home and talk to my lawyer.'

Saad Saidbaca was 'forcibly removed' from his flight at Dallas Fort Worth Airport just as the group was about to take off on a European tour.

Saad Saidbaca can be seen being led away in handcuffs from his aircraft at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Monday

Saad Saidbaca, pictured center right with his bandmates, is the drummer for Texas rockers Lord Buffalo. He is also a Mexican citizen and a green card holder

He is being held in a Tarrant County, Texas , jail on $40,000 bond. A conviction could result in at least two years of jail time

The drummer initially seemed surprised at the action being taken but complies when officers ask him to turn around so he can be placed in cuffs.

He is then slowly marched out along the airport concourse and into a waiting patrol car to take him away.

Lord Buffalo, known for its brooding, cinematic sound, had been gearing up for a major European run - set to begin on Thursday in the Netherlands and wrap in Iceland next week.

But those plans were quickly shelved with the band citing heartbreak and confusion over the unexpected arrest.

The group appeared to be completely blindsided by what had occurred to their fellow bandmate.

'We appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support. We still know very little about the situation, but we have been asked by our drummer's family and his legal team to respect their privacy while this situation evolves,' the band wrote in on Instagram.

'We intend to do so, and we send all our love their way. We'll share updates from the family when we can. Thanks again for everyone's support,' the statement read.

The band's tour was set to begin on Thursday in the Netherlands before finishing in Iceland next Friday. The group has since decided to abandon the tour noting how they were 'heartbroken' at having to cancel it.

Saidbaca remained calm as airpot police spoke to him on Monday and placed him under arrest

He was marched through the airport concourse and out to a waiting patrol car

Police officers also seemed puzzles as to why Saidbaca had not been arrested sooner.

'That's what our big question is - why didn't they get you in December when you were sitting there in court?' one officer asked.

'Yeah, I mean, I've been doing everything I'm supposed to be doing,' Saidbaca replied.

He revealed that he had been sending birthday and Christmas packages to his daughter, but that her mother had reported those to the police as violations of the order. He insisted the court never found fault with those actions.

'The judge didn't say I did anything wrong It wasn't an issue,' he said. 'I didn't even know there was a warrant at all for that.'

Police told him they had confirmed the warrant with Llano County, and there was no choice - he would have to go to jail.

'So this trip is definitely not happening,' Saidbaca muttered, staring at the floor. 'My band without a drummer.

The band posted that Said (pictured) was 'forcibly removed from our flight to Europe' by CBP at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Monday

The Department of Homeland Security said that Said is a lawful permanent resident and he was apprehended due to outstanding warrants and a criminal record

The band have yet to comment on those allegations and have been asked by Said's family to lay low, according to a Facebook post

The Department of Homeland Security wasted no time weighing in on the high-profile arrest.

'Yamal Said is a Mexican national and lawful U.S. permanent resident,' they wrote in a post to X.

'Said had a warrant for his arrest after violating a restraining order at least TWICE. If you come to our country and break our laws, you will be arrested.'

Online jail records confirmed that Saidbaca allegedly committed a felony by breaking a restraining order.

Saidbaca's family moved to the United States in the late 1980s after fleeing the devastation of the Mexico City earthquake.

The drummer had lived in Austin for decades, carving out a name in the indie rock scene and helping Lord Buffalo grow from an obscure Texas band to a cult favorite

Lord Buffalo drummer Saad Saidbaca is seen in some of his Instagram photos alongside his fellow bandmates

The drummer had lived in Austin for decades, carving out a name in the indie rock scene and helping Lord Buffalo grow from an obscure Texas band to a cult favorite on the international circuit.

There appeared to be little sympathy from fans on the bands Instagram account following Saidbaca's arrest.

'Get a drummer without warrants for their arrest so you can leave the country,' wrote one user.

'Keep your hands to yourself and you wouldn't put yourself or your bandmates through this. The blame lies at your feet,' wrote another.

'Became a fan, sorry for your drummer. This is wild,' added a third.
An iconic actress who rose to fame in the 1960s was spotted on a lowkey outing in Los Angeles this week.

The star - who has worked alongside other celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Adam West during her decades-long career - soaked up the warm sunshine during a scooter ride in a quiet neighborhood.

The Tony winner is none other than Julie Newmar, 91, who is known for her role as Catwoman in the Batman TV series in the 60s.

She kept it casual wearing a pair of gray trousers as well as a light blue shirt and black slippers.

Newmar was born in Los Angeles in August 1933 and pursued her passion for performing by becoming a dancer at an early age.

When she was a teenager, Julie notably was a prime ballerina for the Los Angeles Civic Grand Opera Company.

An iconic actress who rose to fame in the 1960s was spotted on a lowkey outing in Los Angeles this week

The Tony winner is none other than Julie Newmar, 91, who is known for her role as Catwoman in the Batman TV series in the 60s

Throughout the early 50s, she had a number of uncredited roles - including being a chorus girl in the 1953 movie Gentleman Prefer Blondes, which had starred both Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.

The following year, Julie appeared in the film Seven Brides For Seven Sisters and at the time, she was credited with the last name Newmeyer.

In 1959, Newmar starred in the Broadway play The Marriage-Go-Round which earned her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

Two years later, she also appeared in the film adaptation of the play which had also cast Susan Hayward and James Mason.

Based on her performance, Julie garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.

From 1996 through 1967, the actress took on the role of the first live-action Catwoman in the series Batman - which also starred Adam West and Burt Ward.

During an interview with the Television Academy in 2023, Newmar described the character as 'sexy, seductive, sensuous.'

She added, 'The part fit me because I worked to physicalize it, and I have a certain sense of humor that fit the character.'

She kept it casual wearing a pair of gray trousers as well as a light blue shirt and black slippers

When she was a teenager, Julie notably was a prime ballerina for the Los Angeles Civic Grand Opera Company

Throughout the early 50s, she had a number of uncredited roles - including being a chorus girl in the 1953 movie Gentleman Prefer Blondes, which had starred both Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell

The following year, Julie appeared in the film Seven Brides For Seven Sisters and at the time, she was credited with the last name Newmeyer

In 1959, Newmar starred in the Broadway play The Marriage-Go-Round which earned her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play; seen above in 1960 for 20th Century Fox

Julie appeared in a total of 13 episodes in the show and Eartha Kitt took over the role in the third season.

In regards to the success of the series, Newmar attributed it to the show being in color.

'Very few television shows were in color in 1966. The producer at 20th Century Fox [William Dozier] understood what it should look like. And he got the best writers and expensive color film.'

She continued, 'Notably, the camera was occasionally tilted in order to give it that extra boost of camp. Camp was a new thing [on TV].'

And while talking to Closer in 2023, the star opened up about whether she knew the role of Catwoman would become iconic.

'Of course not. I mean, you have positive feelings when you are performing it. The people around you are supportive, and the script was wonderful.

'So was everything else. All the other actors - Adam West and Burt Ward were fabulous in the parts. It's something that just comes together sometimes.'

Other celebrities have portrayed Catwoman over the years - including Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry and Zoe Kravitz.

She added, 'The part fit me because I worked to physicalize it, and I have a certain sense of humor that fit the character'; seen as Catwoman above in 1966

When asked who her favorite portrayal of the character has been, Julie answered, 'Michelle Pfeiffer, hands down.

'She can do anything. She is my favorite because she's far and away the best actress. She brought levels of creativity to the part.'

Other television series that Julie appeared in includes The Love Boat, Columbo, The Defenders, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Before her role in Batman, she also had a leading role in the sci-fi sitcom My Living Doll from 1964-1965.

She portrayed a prototype robot named Rhoda - and Newmar called the role the 'biggest challenge of my career.'

Julie told the Television Academy, 'She was a doll with an IQ of 180-something. She wasn't a real human being. She didn't have understandable emotions - and that would throw off the timing.

'It was the hardest part I ever had to do, the biggest challenge of my career,' the actress expressed.

'It took me many weeks to make it real, so that my body became the character and I didn't have to intellectually direct my movements and behavior. Eventually, Rhoda's movements came naturally to me.'

Julie's last credited role was in 2017 when she voiced Catwoman for Batman vs. Two-Face.

When asked who her favorite portrayal of the character has been, Julie answered, 'Michelle Pfeiffer, hands down'

Other television series that Julie appeared in includes The Love Boat, Columbo, The Defenders, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and The Beverly Hillbillies; seen in 1960

Newmar has dabbled in other business ventures over the years, such as real estate.

As the star approaches her 92nd birthday, the Hollywood icon enjoys spending time on the internet.

'I love the computer. I love the internet. I love the immediate resource of ideas and people around the world. I mean, this is huge progress. And I like to write. I also like to think.

'If I had to get out and go to a studio, that's slow. I love where I am now because things go very fast. I think I'm at the epitome of my life,' she told Closer.
Tammy Hembrow's ex-fiance Matt Poole has welcomed his first child with his new girlfriend, Annelyse Oatway.

The former Ironman, 34, shared the joyful news on Saturday by posting a heartwarming photo to social media of himself cradling the newborn in his arms.

He did not reveal the baby's gender or name in the post.

On Sunday, Matt had posted a precious gallery of photos which captured him and Annelyse posing up a storm at the beach as they enjoyed a refreshing swim.

Annelyse wore a black bikini and showcased her enormous baby bump in the pictures.

He captioned the gallery with some exciting words: 'It could be today, could be tomorrow. We patiently waiting. Happy Mothers Day.'

Tammy Hembrow's ex-fiance Matt Poole has welcomed his first child with his new girlfriend, Annelyse Oatway

This is the first child for Poole and Annalyse, and he also shares a two-year-old daughter, Posy, with his ex-partner Tammy Hembrow.

Matt and Annelyse's romance first sparked in early 2023, following his split from Tammy in December 2022.

Their relationship blossomed and after two years of dating they have now grown their family.

Annelyse, who keeps a relatively low profile online despite her 10,000 Instagram followers, is originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland.

Not much is publicly known about her, as she opts for a more private life compared to the high-profile nature of Matt's past relationships.

Meanwhile, Tammy married her new partner Matt Zukowski in November last year.

The couple's nuptials were widely celebrated, with Tammy frequently sharing glimpses of their life together on her social media platforms.

Matt's relationship history has been a topic of interest for many of Tammy's followers.

The former Ironman shared the joyful news on Saturday by posting a heartwarming photo to social media of himself cradling the newborn in his arms. He did not reveal the baby's gender or name in the post

Matt and Annelyse's romance first sparked in early 2023, following his split from Tammy (right) in December 2022

After his split with Tammy, he was briefly linked to Bella Cicero before committing to Annelyse.

It comes after Tammy's husband Matt Zukowski shut down rumours he has split from her by sharing footage of them together on a recent date night.

The Love Island Australia star, 29, appeared in a social media clip alongside Tammy, 31, in which he told fans they had just finished watching a movie at the cinema.

'We just watched a new horror, Until Dawn. It was pretty gory, there were a lot of jump scares and we were screaming heaps,' Matt told fans.

He had previously fuelled speculation that his whirlwind romance with Tammy may be over, after posting footage of himself going to the movies solo.

The reality TV star took to Instagram to share a video revealing he was watching Death Of A Unicorn alone - a move that came just days after fans noticed he was absent from Tammy's lavish 31st birthday celebrations.
Ncuti Gatwa took to his Instagram to promote Doctor Who's Eurovision-inspired episode just hours after pulling out of hosting the contest's Grand Final.

The Rwandan-Scottish actor, 32, had been set to present the British jury's points for each participating country's song before the BBC announced he had pulled out on Thursday due to 'unforeseen circumstances'.

The announcement of his absence came just minutes after Israel's Yuval Raphael - a survivor of the October 7 attacks - secured the nation's place in the final.

It sparked rife speculation that Ncuti - who has been vocal in his support for Palestine - may have withdrawn due to Israel's qualification for the Grand Final.

But on Friday, the actor took to Instagram to promote the BBC's high-budget Doctor Who Eurovision-inspired episode, which will air before the Eurovision final on Saturday.

He shared a video to his Stories showing himself, Rylan Clark, Graham Norton and Varada Sethu featuring in a video promising the 'explosive event' will provide 'terror, trauma and tears'.

Ncuti Gatwa, 32, took to Instagram to promote Saturday night's Eurovision-inspired Doctor Who episode hours after withdrawing from presenting the contest's Final (pictured May 2025)

The 'explosive' and high-budget episode, titled the Interstellar Song Contest, will air before Eurovision begins

The announcement that Ncuti had withdrawn was made moments after Israel's Yuval Raphael - a survivor of the October 7 attacks - qualified with her song New Day Will Rise

The episode has been titled The Interstellar Song Contest and will take an intergalactic spin on the famed contest in a very special episode.

But Saturday night TV viewers will only see Ncuti on screen for an hour, with the BBC announcing Sophie Ellis-Bextor as his last-minute replacement on Eurovision.

Their statement read: 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately Ncuti Gatwa is no longer able to participate as Spokesperson during the Grand Final this weekend.

'However we are delighted to confirm that BBC Radio 2's very own Friday night Kitchen Disco Diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be presenting the Jury result live from the UK.'

Doctor Who's future has also been confirmed as it has been claimed that showrunner Russel T Davies has already planned the next two series, though there will be a 'big pause' before it returns to air.

Though it has not been officially confirmed if Ncuti will continue as the Time Lord, following claims he could be stepping down, it appears there are more adventures in store for fans.

'The TARDIS set is still standing in Cardiff, all ready to go on new adventures,' an insider told The Mirror.

'There will be a gap while the scripts are finalised, the episodes are filmed and the editing process takes place. But well be back. The wait wont be forever, just a big pause.'

Speculation was rife after Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa withdrew from Eurovision hosting duties - with the BBC announcement being made just two minutes after Israel qualified

The news comes as Sophie shared her excitement over stepping in for Ncuti on the Eurovision Grand Final.

She told fans: 'I love Eurovision and it's a privilege to be part of 2025's Grand Final. What an honour it is to announce the UK's jury score on such a special show which always puts music front and centre.

'I am very much looking forward to delivering the iconic douze points from the United Kingdom!'

Previously, Joanna Lumley, Fearne Cotton, Nigella Lawson and Catherine Tate have taken on the spokesperson role.

Ncuti has previously shared photographs of Free Palestine graffiti in Italy on his Instagram as well as posting links to fundraisers for Palestinian causes.

The reason for Ncuti's last minute withdrawal from his hosting duties was not made clear, aside from the BBC's initial 'unforeseen circumstances' message, but fans speculated Israel's qualification was the cause.

One pro Palestinian social media commentator said: 'Israel qualified to the Eurovision final at 22:16 last night. Then at 22:18, just two minutes later, the BBC announced Ncuti Gatwa cancelling his appearance on Eurovision for "unforseen circumstances". We see you Ncuti; we see you and we like you a lot.'

Another said: 'THAT's backing up your morals. #FreePalestine.'

The BBC confirmed in an Instagram statement on Thursday: 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately Ncuti Gatwa is no longer able to participate as Spokesperson during the Grand Final this weekend'

Sophie Ellis-Bextor will now replace Ncuti as the British jurys points for each participating countrys song on Saturday

The Doctor Who star took to his Instagram page to thank Rylan for 'saving the day' as he shared the star's latest Instagram post

In his album, Rylan could be seen posing alongside Ncuti and his co-star Varada Sethu as he joined them on the BBC set

Rylan dubbed the experience 'a dream come true' as he was seen playfully posing alongside the two stars

The sudden withdrawal came amid Israel's semi-final performance in Basel, Switzerland, was interrupted by six pro-Palestinian demonstrators carrying large flags.

Under the arena rules, all flags are allowed but there are limits on size, and so the audience members were quickly ejected from the St Jakobshalle arena.

Later on, footage from the TV broadcast semi-final showed the Israeli entry being booed once again by some sections of the audience.

The jeers were more audible on social media footage of the performance - but Yuval was one of the ten acts to succeed in the public vote and make it through to the final.

This year's contest has been frequently targeted by pro-Palestine activists over Israel's participation.

Ncuti's representatives were approached for comment by MailOnline.
Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Kim Turnbull put on a leggy display as she stepped out after becoming embroiled in the bitter 'feud' between her boyfriend's family.

The Mail previously revealed that Kim, 22, is being made the 'scapegoat' in the feud between Romeo's brother Brooklyn and dad David.

And the stunning DJ seemingly put the drama out of her mind as she slipped into a racy grey mini skirt to attend a launch party for Bella Hadid's new fragrance Orebella at London's Sessions Art Club on Friday.

Kim oozed confidence in the thigh-skimming skirt, which she teamed with a black crop top and knee-high black boots.

However, the beauty appeared to go camera-shy as she was then seen attempting to hide her face with her goody bag from the event.

There appeared to be no sign of her love Romeo on the night, with Kim seemingly enjoying herself with pals.

Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Kim Turnbull put on a leggy display as she stepped out after becoming embroiled in the bitter 'feud' between her boyfriend's family

The stunning DJ seemingly put the drama out of her mind as she slipped into a racy grey mini skirt to attend a fragrance launch party at London's Sessions Art Club on Friday

The Mail previously revealed that Kim, 22, is being made the 'scapegoat' in the feud between Romeo's brother Brooklyn and dad David [pictured with Romeo]

Rumours of a Beckham family rift began to ramp up around the time of David's 50th birthday earlier this month, which culminated with a massive party held at London's esteemed Michelin-star restaurant Core.

Sources close to Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz, 30, told TMZ they wanted 'to get together privately' to avoid Kim as the couple are said to 'have a problem' with her.

Brooklyn also missed out on David's early celebrations in Miami last month as well as parties in the Cotswolds, France and London this week.

Following the birthday party snub, it was revealed he also declined an invitation by his father to join him and his brothers on a 'boys' fishing trip to celebrate his 50th.

The Mail revealed David invited Brooklyn on a short break six months ago when he began planning, yet his son failed to go despite arriving in the UK the day he went with Romeo and Cruz.

Sources have suggested that Brooklyn's decision was influenced by his American actress wife Nicola.

'Brooklyn was asked to join them ages ago,' one claimed. 'Then he came to London in time but he didn't go. Once again David made the best of things and had a great time with Cruz and Romeo.'

David still offered an olive branch to his son as he shared snaps from the trip, as he captioned one of his posts: 'You were missed @brooklynbeckham.'

The beauty appeared to go camera-shy as she was then seen attempting to hide her face with her goody bag from the event.

Romeo Beckham's girlfriend has been made the 'scapegoat' for Brooklyn's no shows at his father David's 50th birthday celebrations (pictured with Romeo)

Rumours of a family rift ramped up around the time of David's 50th birthday, which culminated with a party held at London's Michelin-star restaurant Core (pictured: Harper, David, Victoria, Brooklyn and Nicola in 2023)

Kim and Brooklyn were undeniably close for a brief period  as photographs of them together in 2016 show - but suggestions that they were ever an item are wide of the mark, according to well-informed sources who spoke to The Mail.

In fact, younger brother Cruz personally shut down the gossip recently when he responded to an Instagram post showing a picture of Romeo and Kim together.

In a now-deleted message, one user commented: 'It's appropriate to date your brother's ex too? Cool.'

Cruz replied: 'Brooklyn and Kim never dated.'

One friend told the Mail's Katie Hind at the weekend: 'This is nothing to do with Kim and is all about Nicola.

'All David and Victoria want is their son back  and they will be there to welcome him any time.'

Family friends claim Brooklyn's wife has a pattern of 'starting an argument' before family events and then preventing her husband from attending.

Some believe that friends of Nicola have been behind the briefings about Kim being the cause of Brooklyn's rift with his family, some of which went so far to claim that he had told them he refused to come to any event at which Kim was present.

Sources close to Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz, 30, told TMZ they wanted 'to get together privately' to avoid Kim as the couple are said to 'have a problem' with her (pictured in 2022)

Some believe that friends of Nicola have been behind the briefings about Kim being the cause of Brooklyn's rift with his family, some of which went so far to claim that he had told them he refused to come to any event at which Kim was present (pictured: the Beckhams minus Brooklyn in April)

A source close to the family told MailOnline: 'Brooklyn was close to Kim because she was dating Rocco and they all hung out in a tightknit friendship group. But that was years ago. Brooklyn and Kim were close, but there was never any romance.

'It seems Nicola doesn't like Brooklyn spending any time with the Beckhams full stop and is using his previous closeness to Kim and her getting in with the family as a reason to not be around them.

'She denies it, but Nicola has been controlling him since the wedding. The family - including the brothers - have had enough of it.

'This is the narrative that's been put out to other news outlets, that Romeo is dating his brother's ex-girlfriend - and that's really weird, so that's why they wouldn't want to be around the family when she is there.

'But none of this is true. And it's really upset Romeo and his parents because Kim is seemingly being used by Nicola as a reason to start the rift. Romeo is furious at the suggestion that he would bring an ex-girlfriend of Brooklyn into the family when there never was any romance.'
Brooklyn Beckham shared a heartfelt tribute to Nicola Peltz's grandmother on the anniversary of her death amid his ongoing feud with his family.

The eldest son of David and Victoria Beckham, 26, took to Instagram on Friday to share a gushing tribute to his beloved grandmother-in-law.

Nicola's grandmother Bunny - who was Nicola's maid of honor at her 2022 wedding to Brooklyn - passed away at the age of 95 in May of last year.

Brooklyn shared an array of sweet photographs of himself and Bunny together and told how he is devastated that his future children won't be able to meet her.

He penned: 'Can't believe it's been a year without you naunni x you were always so happy and always made me laugh. I miss you and will love you forever x

'It makes me so sad to think of our future kids not being able to know you x you were one of a kind and we miss you everyday.'

Brooklyn Beckham shared a heartfelt tribute to Nicola Peltz 's grandmother on the anniversary of her death amid his ongoing feud with his family

The eldest son of David and Victoria Beckham , 26, took to Instagram on Friday to share a gushing tribute to his beloved grandmother-in-law

Nicola also took to her own Instagram page to share an emotional message about Bunny on the one-year anniversary of her death.

She posted photographs of herself and Brooklyn smiling alongside Bunny and said her life 'is not as bright' without her beloved grandmother.

'I can't believe it's been a whole year without my naunni on earth. I miss her laugh so much,' she penned.

'I miss her happiness, her love, her everything. Her magic runs though my mom and I'm so lucky to know the feeling of that love.

'I am so lucky she was my naunni - I miss her every single second. Life is not as bright without her here.'

Brooklyn has become estranged from his own family with his parents Victoria and David said to be 'heartbroken' over the feud.

Brooklyn and Nicola were noticeable no-shows at David's milestone 50th birthday celebrations last month, which was attended by a whole host of A-list stars.

While Brooklyn's siblings Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 13, were all in attendance at the various celebrations over the week, he did not attend or mention the parties online.

Nicola's grandmother Bunny - who was Nicola's maid of honor at her 2022 wedding to Brooklyn - passed away at the age of 95 in May of last year

Nicola also took to her own Instagram page to share an emotional message about Bunny on the one-year anniversary of her death

She posted photographs of herself and Brooklyn smiling alongside Bunny and said her life 'is not as bright' without her beloved grandmother

Brooklyn and Nicola were noticeable no-shows at David's milestone 50th birthday celebrations last month (Cruz, Romeo, Harper, Victoria and David pictured on the night)

David is allegedly 'desperate to make amends with his son Brooklyn as he fears history is repeating itself' following his bitter fall out with his father Ted in 2005.

The Beckhams have been hit by fears they won't be able to heal their rift with Brooklyn as Victoria has been having 'sleepless nights' over the feud.

David and Victoria are also reportedly feeling 'blindsided' by Brooklyn's new friendship with their 'ex pals' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The Sussexes, whom were once 'friends' of Posh and Becks before a messy fall out, are said to be 'secretly supporting' Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz through their 'similar family feuds', sources claimed.

They allegedly had Brooklyn and Nicola over for dinner at their mansion in Montecito, California in recent weeks where the women had a 'deep and meaningful' chat and bonded after being accused by critics of being 'homewreckers'.

But Brooklyn's new unlikely friendship with the Sussexes has come as a blow for his parents, after they allegedly fell out after a row over allegations of leaking stories to the press - which the Beckhams denied.

Friends of David and Victoria reportedly told The Sun: 'David and Victoria were blindsided by the news - they didn't see it coming. Of course it's a bit weird for them as they used to socialise with Meghan and Harry, and now their boy is doing it.

'David has no problem with Harry and has always acted very graciously towards him, even after the fall-out with Victoria, and they still communicate occasionally.'

MailOnline contacted Brooklyn, Nicola and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's representatives for comment at the time.
Eurovision's UK act Remember Monday have been dealt an unfortunate blow just hours ahead of Saturday night's grand final.

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, left fans impressed with their performance during the semi-finals.

Theories began flying that they might take home the trophy at the 69th iteration of the annual contest in Basel, Switzerland - which would be the UK's first win since 1997.

Despite their high-energy routine, it appears the odds are not in their favour as they are more likely to finish in last place than first, according to Ladbrokes.

In a crushing blow to their chances of success, they have been ranked at just 66/1 to take home the trophy by bookies, with nine other countries soaring ahead of them.

Their odds of coming in last place are much closer at just 3/1, while the chance of them scoring 'nul points' has been ranked at 12/1.

Eurovision's UK act Remember Monday have been dealt an unfortunate blow just hours ahead of Saturday night's grand final

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, left fans impressed with their performance during the semi-finals

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: 'Remember Monday need nothing short of a miracle to cause an upset in Switzerland tonight, if the latest odds are anything to go by.'

The UK last finished triumphant in the contest 27 years ago with the victory of Katrina and the Waves in 1997, with their track Love Shine A Light.

Remember Monday have fallen far behind Sweden and Austria, who are both the bookies' leading favourites to win the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.

Sweden have been the favourite since late February and moved to odds-on for a record eighth Eurovision triumph last month with dance-pop trio KAJ.

Their entry single, Bara Bada Bastu is the group's first chart-topper, and the first song sung in Swedish entered by Sweden since 1998.

However, a groundswell of support for Pop-Opera soprano Johannes 'JJ' Pietsch has seen Austria come in from 3/1, and Sweden drift to 10/11.

Despite Austria's finishing position of 24th last year, JJ seems to have captured the hearts of fans, and the country has now been bestowed 11/4 odds.

The 24-year old's entrant song Wasted Love has gained traction for its artistry, 'beautiful vocals' and 'captivating performance' according to fans.

Despite their high-energy routine, it appears the odds are not in their favour as they are more likely to finish in last place than first, according to Ladbrokes

Sweden have been favourites since late February and even moved to odds-on for a record eighth Eurovision triumph last month with dance-pop trio KAJ, pictured

Despite Austria's finishing position of 24th last year, JJ seems to have captured the hearts of fans, and the country has now been bestowed 11/4 odds

'It's looked like Sweden's contest to lose for a long time, but this odds shift is making people think again,' Carl Gildart of Ladbrokes said.

'Those who phone in to vote for Austria will be hoping their support isn't wasted love.'

France is coming up third place in the betting, with pop-ballad soloist, Louane, going from 10/1 to 9/1.

The Netherlands follow closely behind, with 12/1 odds on their 21-year-old pop star representative Claude.

The country faced disqualification from the competition last year when Joost Klein was banned from the grand finale hours before it took place on account of 'threatening behaviour' towards a female camera operator.

Israel's odds are at 25/1 amid controversy surrounding their involvement in the contest this year. Over 70 former Eurovision contestants have signed a letter demanding Israel's expulsion from the event.

The letter addresses the pro-Palestine protests that arose from the inclusion of their entrant Eden Golan last year, suggesting that it became the most 'politicised, chaotic and unpleasant' show in the competition's history.
Charlotte Crosby celebrated her 35th birthday in style with her two little girls and her fiance Jake Ankers as she gave a glimpse into her special day on Saturday.

The Geordie Shore icon looked over the moon in the sweet Instagram clip as she hailed her 30s as 'officially her favourite decade'.

The former reality star sizzled as she recorded herself in a stylish teal gym co-ord, including leggings and matching bra.

Charlotte looked carefree and couldn't wipe the smile off her face, while sweetly cradling her tiny tot Pixi, five months, in her arms.

With stunning 35 balloons behind her as backdrop, the TV favourite indulged in a delicious birthday cake completed with macarons.

She was joined by her other daughter Alba, two, and fiance Jake who gave Charlotte a passionate smooch.

Charlotte Crosby celebrated her 35th birthday in style with her two little girls and her fiance Jake Ankers as she gave a glimpse into her special day on Saturday

The Geordie Shore icon looked over the moon in the recent sweet Instagram clip, hailing her 30s as 'officially her favourite decade' (pictured with fiance Jake)

Captioning her heart-melting clip, she wrote: 'Im 35 and surrounded by love 

'My 30s are truly my favourite decade spent the morning cuddling my girls, eating cake, kissing Jake and wearing

'Of course well spent and now we are off to LDN to celebrate.'

Love Island star Tasha Ghouri commented below: 'Happy birthday angel girl ', while Aussie TV icon Rhonda Burchmore penned: 'Happy birthday, gorgeousx.'

Her family celebration comes after Charlotte shared an insight into her relationship with her fiance Jake last month - as she admitted that they have 'tough times'.

The Geordie Shore star posted an update on her romance after he flew to Australia to surprise her ahead of hosting Aussie Shore.

The couple, who announced their engagement in November 2023, welcomed their second daughter, Pixi, in February and are already parents to their two-year-old little girl Alba.

Offering a candid insight, Charlotte told her followers that 'relationships aren't easy' and admitted they are about navigating the more challenging times together.

The former reality star sizzled as she recorded herself in a stylish teal gym co-ord, including leggings and matching bra

In another heart-melting Instagram story snap, Charlotte grinned from ear to ear, telling fans she feels 'truly blessed' and is currently 'the happiest she has ever been'

Charlotte looked carefree as he couldn't wipe a smile off her face, while sweetly cradling her tiny tot Pixi, five months, and Alba, two (pictured)

With stunning 35 balloons behind her as backdrop, the TV favourite tucked into a delicious cake completed with macarons

However, she took the opportunity to praise Jake after he flew from the UK to surprise her in Australia during filming for the second series of the Australian spin-off.

She wrote: 'Ok can we take a minute to appreciate Jake, he flew the whole way around the world to surprise us in Australia and tonight after weeks of broken time together, we are having a well deserved bit of quality time.'

She added: 'Relationships aren't always easy. It's about how you get through the tough times that count.'

Charlotte will host Aussie Shore for a further two series after huge show success and she landed the role of house boss on the spin-off show Down Under.

She previously told The Sun: 'Yes absolutely [I will be back on Aussie Shore], I think I've signed up for three series. It's set to be made for three series and more if it does well.'

'I loved it because I got to be involved and see everyone and have a great time and not have to go through all the drama and just dip in here and there. I think it was filmed for four weeks.

Her family celebration comes after Charlotte shared an insight into her relationship with her fiance Jake last month - as she admitted that they have 'tough times'

'We went out the whole family, me, Alba and Jake. That's why I like the job so much as I get to enjoy Australia and dip in and dip out and I get to spend time with my family.'

After landing in the country, Jake shared an update on what he and Charlotte had been up to since they had been reunited.

He revealed they were also joined by her mother Letitia, as he shared sweet snap of them together, captioned: 'Quality time in Oz with the mother in law'.

Jake also posted a funny video of his eldest daughter Alba eating a spaghetti bolognese, which had ended up all over her face.
A group of fishers told Queensland authorities they failed to catch anything, but minutes later a secret, floating seafood stash was discovered.

A suspicious group of fishers came very close to copping approximately $6,000 in fines after Queensland authorities alleged they tried to hide their catch in a container floating offshore.

Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers were recently conducting inspections at Sandstone Point in Moreton Bay when they encountered three people returning to their car empty-handed. While the fishers said they failed to catch anything, it didnt take authorities long to discover they may have been concealing the truth.

Just a short time later, officers discovered several legal and illegal crabs in a container floating on the shoreline. During inspections in the Sandstone Point area officers engaged with multiple groups of fishers who had regulated catches, a spokesperson for the states Department of Primary Industries told Yahoo News.

Following these inspections, officers patrolled the foreshore and located the jerry can containing mostly regulated crabs. Officers suspected that a group of fishers, consisting of three individuals, had seen them conducting inspections and dumped the jerry can for collection later.

Several illegal crabs found inside floating jerry can

After opening a makeshift door carved into one side of the jerry can, a stash of various crabs were revealed, including eight female blue swimmer crabs which are considered no-take. Fishers are legally required to release them or face a $645 on-the-spot fine.

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Several of the crabs were under the lawful size of 11.5cm, [and] one of the mud crabs was under the lawful size of 15cm, the spokesperson told Yahoo, adding there were two mud crab claws separated from the body, which is also illegal.

Earlier this week, 'disappointed' fisheries officers discovered an illegal net at the mouth of nearby Caboolture River in Deception Bay. Source: Fisheries Queensland

Fisheries Infringement Notices for unlawful fishing in Queensland:

$322 for one to three undersize fish or crabs

$645 for more than three undersize fish or crabs

$645 for ANY female crab/s

This means that those responsible for the jerry can found floating in the water could face an approximately $6,000 fine. More serious offences may be referred to the Magistrates Court, the spokesperson warned.

However, the suspected culprits were not caught.

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The Fisheries Officers did not observe the group actively fishing the area, the group did not make any admissions to taking any fisheries resources and denied owning the jerry can, so the officers had exhausted all lines of enquiry and therefore could only return the crabs to the water, the spokesperson added.

Perhaps they were empty-handed after all.

Earlier this week, fisheries officers made another disappointing find at the mouth of nearby Caboolture River in Deception Bay. An unlicensed and illegal homemade net was found to contain several large dead cobia fish and live mud crabs.

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Julianne Moore was the epitome of chic in an all black ensemble as she arrived at Hotel Martinez during day five of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The American actress, 64, cut a sophisticated figure as she wore a black buttoned-up shirt which featured stylish gold buttons.

She paired her chic garment with a pair of well tailored floor-length flared black trousers.

To accessorise, Julianne kept a low profile with a pair of large black tinted sunglasses and a myriad of gold bangles.

She added a more casual touch to her look as she slipped into a pair of black leather trainers to keep comfortable.

Julianne toted her belongings in a large black leather handbag and she styled her urban tresses straight across her shoulders.

Julianne Moore was the epitome of chic in an all black ensemble as she arrived at Hotel Martinez during day five of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

The American actress, 64, cut a sophisticated look as she wore a black buttoned-up shirt which featured gold buttons

Julianne has joined a whole host of stars in descending on Cannes for the hotly-anticipated annual film festival.

However, this year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme d'Or, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

'You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,' said Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, who's returning to Cannes with The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship.

'You've got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense - not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.'

Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies 'produced in Foreign Lands' will face 100 per cent tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs.

The beauty paired her chic garment with a pair of well tailored floor-length flared black trousers

To accessorise, Julianne kept a low profile with a pair of large black tinted sunglasses and a myriad of gold bangles

At this year's festival, Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

Scarlett's directorial debut Eleanor The Great, will be unveiled on May 20.

Over recent years, the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document.

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.'

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter - released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour.

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, 'with or without a heel', will also be permitted.

While the decision to implement a more stringent policy will be a first, it is not known if French TV broadcasters, wary of airing nudity, played a role in its enforcement.

She added a hint of casualness to her look as she slipped into a pair of sensible black leather trainers

Julianne toted around her belongings in a large black leather handbag and she styled her urban tresses straight

Major red carpet events, including the Cannes Film Festival, are aired in France by France Televisions.

Recently attracting more models and influencers than actors and filmmakers, the annual ceremony has seen an increase in risque red carpet fashion statements.

In 2021, American supermodel Bella Hadid bared her cleavage in a plunging black gown while attending a screening of Tre Piani (Three Floors).

She pulled a similar stunt three years later, with guests at the 2024 gala left speechless after she attended the premiere of Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice completely braless beneath a sheer brown evening dress.
Stella Maxwell turned up the heat as she stepped out in a sizzling black ensemble on day five of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The model, 35, slipped into a bra-flashing black lace crop top and coordinating black leather trousers, turning heads as she posed for snaps outside the Hotel Martinez.

Stella looked incredible in the form-fitting outfit, which she teamed with black trainers, while she also clutched onto a black jacket and a black handbag.

The Belgian beauty left her blonde locks loose, while shielding her eyes from the sun with a pair of trendy black shades.

Her outing comes just a day after she celebrated turning 35, with the beauty seen with a huge chocolate cake on her Instagram as she celebrated with pals.

Stella joins a number of big names that have been seen out and about in the French resort town this week ahead of the evening's glitzy events.

Stella Maxwell turned up the heat as she stepped out in a sizzling black ensemble on day five of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

The model, 35, slipped into a bra-flashing black lace crop top and coordinating black leather trousers, turning heads as she posed for snaps outside the Hotel Martinez

This year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.



Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

'You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,' says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, whos returning to Cannes with 'The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship.

'You've got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense - not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.'

This year, the likes of Kristen Stewart (The Chronology of Water), Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes' Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

Many Cannes veterans will be back, too, including Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning), Robert De Niro - whos to receive an honorary Palme dOr 49 years after Taxi Driver premiered in Cannes - and Quentin Tarantino, to pay tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman.

The much-anticipated eighth and final instalment of Mission Impossible was one of the earlier premieres on this year's Cannes calendar, with its glitzy red carpet having taken place on Wednesday, May 14.

Stella looked incredible in the form-fitting outfit, which she teamed with black trainers, while she also clutched onto a black jacket and a black handbag

Her outing comes just a day after she celebrated turning 35, with the beauty seen with a huge chocolate cake on her Instagram as she celebrated with pals

Meanwhile Scarlett's directorial debut Eleanor The Great, will be unveiled on May 20.

However, in the wake of his legal battle with former co-star Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni is not expected to attend.

Over recent years the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document.

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.'

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter - released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour.
Aussie A-Lister Chris Hemsworth wowed fans again on Saturday, this time for his surfing prowess.

The Thor star, 41, took to Instagram to share a video that showed him carving up waves in Abu Dhabi.

He was flaunting his board abilities at Surf Abu Dhabi - one of the largest artificial wave pools in the world.

The size of the venue did not deter the actor, who could be seen deftly navigating his board across the crest of large waves.

At one point Chris slipped inside a large barrel, expertly navigating his way through the aquatic tube.

'Another epic trip to Abu Dhabi!!' Chris captioned the clip.

Aussie A-Lister Chris Hemsworth wowed fans again on Saturday, this time for his surfing prowess. Chris is pictured with wife Elsa Pataky

'Spent 4 days surfing in the dessert [sic] eating good food and all round good vibes.'

The post was met with a flurry of amazement from Chris' 58 million followers with one chiming in with: 'Thor laying down his HAMMER.'

Another, keeping the superhero theme going, added: 'Damn, Thor rips harder than Aqua Man.

One fan issued their low-key jealousy at Chris' seemingly endless talents with: 'I hate the fact you can do everything better than me.

'At least I can build arcades. Don't you dare take that on next,' they added while another offered: 'Desert surfing. For people who refuse to be normal even on vacation.'

One eagle eyed follower however, pointed out Chris' embarrassing misspelling of the word 'desert' in his caption.

'What kinds dessert we talking about? Cake? Ice Cream?' they joked, to which another replied: 'I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that makes spelling mistakes @chrishemsworth'

Chris is certainly no stranger to the waves, frequently indulging his passion in his home town of Byron Bay.

The Thor star, 41, took to Instagram to share a video that showed him carving up waves in Abu Dhabi

He was flaunting his board abilities at Surf Abu Dhabi - one of the largest artificial wave pools in the world. The size of the venue did not deter the actor, who could be seen deftly navigating his board across the crest of large waves

In fact, Chris and wife Elsa Pataky didn't let a tropical cyclone dampen their spirits, recently taking their children out for a spot of grass surfing amid torrential rain.

Posting to her Instagram Stories in March amid Tropical Cyclone Alfred, Elsa shared video of the glamour couple's children 'grass surfing'.

In one clip Chris and Elsa could be seen standing in torrential rain, each dressed in hooded jackets, as they watch one of their boys 'surf' rain soaked grass.

Another clip showed a group of young kids, wearing colourful wet suits, slide down a hill on their fin-less mini boards.

Chris and Elsa share three children, daughter India Rose 12, and twin boys Sasha and Tristan, 10.

Elsa recently opened up her decision to relocate to Australia with husband Chris Hemsworth.

The glamour couple purchased their sprawling 4.2 hectare estate back in 2014 for $7million, eventually constructing a $50million mega mansion on the site.

Speaking to News Corp, she said that the couple found Los Angeles, where they were residing previously, too 'restricting'.

The post was met with a flurry of amazement from Chris' 58 million followers with one chiming in with: 'Thor laying down his HAMMER'

One fan issued their low-key jealousy at Chris' seemingly endless talents with: 'I hate the fact you can do everything better than me

Chris is certainly no stranger to the waves, frequently indulging his passion in his home town of Byron Bay

'When you're in Los Angeles, work suffocates you,' she said.

Elsa added that Byron Bay was far removed from the constant industry chatter that plagues the City Of Angels.

'There, all the conversations, even the billboards you see on the street, have to do with the world of cinema and its industry,' she said.

She continued: 'It can make you lose perspective.'

It was a sentiment that Hemsworth shared in an interview with Modern Luxury back in 2020.

'I love what I do as an actor, but when you are surrounded by it constantly, it becomes a bit suffocating' he said.

'Its nice to have conversations with people and be a part of a community that doesnt live and breathe that world.'

Hemsworth added that Byron Bay provided a calmer environment in which to raise their children.
Izabel Goulart and Cindy Bruna put on a very glamorous display as they were seen leaving Hotel Martinez during day five of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Brazilian model Izabel, 40, looked incredible as she stepped out in a brown leather cropped top which featured a trendy zip design.

For her stunning look, she paired her square cut garment with white, pleated, high-waisted trousers.

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, the brunette beauty slipped into a pair of towering clear stilettos.

To accessorise, she wore black-tinted square sunglasses and toted around a large Hermes Birkin bag.

Meanwhile, French model Cindy looked chic as she wore an elegant black and white satin top.

Izabel Goulart (pictured) and Cindy Bruna put on a very glamorous display as they were spotted leaving Hotel Martinez during day five of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Brazilian model Izabel, 40, looked incredible as she stepped out in a brown leather cropped top which featured a trendy zip design

The beauty paired her cropped sleeve blouse with a pair of classic black tailored trousers.

Opting for comfort, Cindy slipped into a pair of sensible black leather boots to complete her all-black ensemble.

She appeared in high spirits for the outing as she showcased her natural curls and opted for a minimal makeup look.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

'You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,' says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, whos returning to Cannes with 'The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship.

'Youve got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense - not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.'

Izabel paired her square cut garment with some ankle-length, white, pleated, high-waisted trousers

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, the brunette beauty slipped into a pair of towering clear stilettos

To accessorise, she wore black-tinted square sunglasses and toted around a large Hermes Birkin bag

Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies 'produced in Foreign Lands' will face 100% tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.

The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival.

In the time since, Cannes resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.

This year is no different, though some of the first-time filmmakers at Cannes are already particularly well-known.

Scarlett Johansson (Eleanor the Great) and Harris Dickinson (Urchin) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

Scarlett's directorial debut Eleanor The Great, will be unveiled on May 20.

Over recent years the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document.

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.'

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter - released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour.

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, 'with or without a heel', will also be permitted.

While the decision to implement a more stringent policy will be a first, it is not known if French TV broadcasters, wary of airing nudity, played a role in its enforcement.

Cindy looked incredible for her outing as paired her cropped sleeve blouse with a pair of classic black tailored trousers

Opting for comfort, Cindy slipped into a pair of sensible black leather boots to complete her all-black ensemble

She appeared in high spirits for the outing as she showcased her natural curls and opted for a minimal makeup look

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end

Major red carpet events, including the Cannes Film Festival, are aired in France by France Televisions

Recently attracting more models and influencers than actors and filmmakers, the annual ceremony has seen an increase in risque red carpet fashion statements.

In 2021, American supermodel Bella Hadid bared her cleavage in a plunging black gown while attending a screening of Tre Piani (Three Floors).

She pulled a similar stunt three years later, with guests at the 2024 gala left speechless after she attended the premiere of Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice completely braless beneath a sheer brown evening dress.
Strictly Come Dancing star Saffron Barker has opened up on her horror ordeal of having her rental car 'smashed up' and all of her possessions stolen during a Las Vegas Road trip.

Last week, the influencer, 24, initially revealed the news, telling her fans that she was stranded in the U.S. after her passport was stolen amid the theft, with her nightmare trip also seeing her undergo emergency surgery.

And in an update with fans on TikTok Friday, Saffron went into further details about the car theft, revealing that police had informed her that the assailants were 'armed' while stealing her things.

Speaking from a hotel room as she put her make-up, Saffron was joined by model boyfriend Josh Miln as they detailed the events leading to and following the break in.

Beginning her video, Saffron told how 'this trip hasn't gone to plan at all' as she recalled suffering the 'worst pain she's ever had' ahead of her emergency surgery in LA.

She then told how her boyfriend Josh had flown out to meet her and that after they didn't get to see much of Hollywood due to her illness, they decided to head to Las Vegas in an attempt to salvage the holiday.

Strictly Come Dancing star Saffron Barker has opened up on her horror ordeal of having her rental car 'smashed up' and all of her possessions stolen during a Las Vegas Road trip

In an update with fans on TikTok Friday, Saffron went into further details about the car theft, revealing that police had informed her that the assailants were 'armed' [pictured with the car]

The Strictly star's rental car was broken into and her possessions were stolen while she enjoyed a bite to eat with her boyfriend at a diner [the damaged car pictured]

Saffron told how the pair had hired a jeep to drive through the desert, but things went seriously wrong when they had stopped off at a diner for some food.

The pair then told how when they came out of the diner after half an hour, 'the whole situation was so weird' after discovering the theft.

Saffron said that 'the entire car was completely smashed up, every single thing that we had with us inside was taken including our passports, my medication...'

Josh then added: 'The moment that it happened and the moment we realised that it happened, our hearts sunk. We were both just devastated.'

Saffron then explained how they had to drive the car with the smashed up windows to Las Vegas, where the hotel didn't want to check them in because they had no ID.

Despite explaining the situation, Saffron said hotel staff 'didn't care less', with the star adding via text on the video that they were made to 'feel like criminals'.

Josh added that the 'cherry on top' of the recent run of bad luck was that their house recently 'got robbed' as well.

On their current situation, Saffron shared: 'We're currently waiting to get emergency passports, we have to drive back to LA, but then our flights are out of Vegas so we have to drive back again. But we absolutely won't be stopping!'

Speaking from a hotel room as she put her make-up, Saffron was joined by model boyfriend Josh Miln as they detailed the events leading to and following the theft

Saffron said that 'the entire car was completely smashed up, every single thing that we had with us inside was taken including our passports, my medication...'

Josh then added: 'The moment that it happened and the moment we realised that it happened, our hearts sunk. We were both just devastated'

In the caption of the post, Saffron added that since making the video, police have informed them that the thieves were 'armed'

In the caption of the post, Saffron added that since making the video, police have informed them that the thieves were 'armed'.

She wrote: 'Update- since filming, Police have told us two of them were armed. So grateful to have you by my side though @Josh Miln the most important thing.'

Since enduring the drama last week, Saffron had continued to keep her fans updated with her situation, with the influencer also sharing a video of herself and Josh inside the rental car prior to the theft.

Captioning the clip, she wrote: 'They don't know it yet but in just two hours time into their dream road trip, they'll end up getting their rental car smashed up and everything they had with them stolen including their passports.'

A day later, Saffron uploaded a video of the day of the theft, with her and Josh initially expressing their excitement at having the opportunity to rent their 'dream' car, with Saffron ironically noting they had 'good luck' on their side.

In the video which was captioned 'If only they know how this trip was going to end', the couple could be seen giggling with joy as Josh drove around the city in Nevada.

The pair were seen heading to a local convenience store to stock up on American snacks before driving for several hours towards their next destination.

It then shows the couple arriving at Peggy Sue's Diner for a bite to eat, with Saffron even filming her car in the car park just half an hour before the break in.

Since enduring the drama last week, Saffron had continued to keep her fans updated with her situation, with the influencer also sharing a video of herself and Josh inside the rental car prior to the theft

Saffron later uploaded a video of the day of the theft, with her and Josh initially expressing their excitement at having the opportunity to rent their 'dream' car

The pair were seen heading to a local convenience store to stock up on American snacks before driving for several hours towards their next destination

It then shows the couple arriving at Peggy Sue's Diner for a bite to eat, with Saffron even filming her car in the car park just half an hour before the break in

Saffron and Josh have since returned home to the UK, having obtained emergency passports in LA before returning to Las Vegas to catch their flight home

The clip then cuts to the couple coming outside after their meal only to discover the large back window smashed and their possessions gone, with the video showing the back seats showered with glass.

Fans were quick to comment with their messages of sympathy on the post, though some pointed out that the pair were unwise to leave their passports in the car.

Saffron and Josh have since returned home to the UK.

Last week, Saffron revealed her plight online, briefly revealing her surgery and car theft but didn't give too much detail.

Sharing an emotional post which included a tearful photograph, Saffron wrote: 'In the last week I've been in hospital, had emergency surgery...

'Got my rental car completely smashed up and every single thing I own stolen including my passport so I can't get home.'

She did not explain what her emergency surgery was or why she was in hospital.

Last week, Saffron revealed her plight online, briefly revealing her surgery and theft but didn't give too much detail

The star, who was in Los Angeles (pictured), shared her ordeal which included the operation, crashing her car and having 'all of her possessions stolen

In the image shared to her Instagram Story, Saffron was sat in a dentist chair with a tear-stained face clutching a cuddly toy.

It comes as a tough blow to Saffron who was only rushed to hospital with 'rashes and shooting pains' last year.

Speaking in a health update in October, Saffron spoke about her painful symptoms, which medics initially feared was a 'tropical disease' caused by a mosquito.

Saffron, who had recently enjoyed a trip to The Maldives, shared a snap of herself resting in bed and told how she feels 'somewhat normal again' amid her illness.

Writing over the image, she penned: 'Thank you so much for all your well wishes, after a week I finally feel somewhat normal again.

'The doctors thought Id caught a tropical disease from a mosquito when I was away.'

Explaining her symptoms, Saffron added: 'I had all the symptoms being, rashes all over my body, headache, body aches, shooting pains in my body, temperature, sore throat and ears etc.'

In a separate post, the YouTuber shared an image of her arm hooked up to a cannula, Saffron confirmed that she didn't have a tropical disease but did suffer with a low white blood cell count.

Saffron starred in the 17 season of the dance show in 2019 (pictured with former pro AJ Pritchard)

Speaking in a health update in October, Saffron spoke about her painful symptoms, which medics initially feared was a 'tropical disease' caused by a mosquito

In a separate post, the YouTuber shared an image of her arm hooked up to a cannula, Saffron confirmed that she didn't have a tropical disease but did have a low white blood cell count

In a final update, Saffron posted another image of her arm while in the bath, with the star seemingly on the mend

In one selection of stunning bikini snaps, Saffron posed up a storm on a beach as she quipped: 'Hope u love these pics as much as the mosquitoes did x'

She said: 'After getting my bloods taken turns out I didnt have that but my white blood cells were half the number they should be so very low and therefore my whole body was trying to fight the infection.'

The blonde beauty the uploaded a video showing the rashes on her arms, adding: 'This is what the rashes looked like all over my body.'

In a final update, Saffron posted another image of her arm while in the bath, with the star seemingly on the mend.

She shared: 'Today is the first day I have woken up and they are settling so feeling grateful.'

In September, Saffron jetted off to The Maldives with a pal, where she documented her travels to the South Asian country with a pal.

In one selection of stunning bikini snaps, Saffron posed up a storm on a beach as she quipped: 'Hope u love these pics as much as the mosquitoes did x.'

Saffron's health woes comes after she suffered another emergency in January, with the star having a horror ski accident during the first day of her family trip to the Alpes in France.

The former Strictly took to social media to reveal she had to be rescued by an emergency ski team on the slopes.

The former Strictly star took to social media to reveal she had to be rescued by an emergency ski team on the slopes

The influencer posted a video on her Instagram and TikTok of her getting taken back to her hotel by ski patrols.

She insisted a 'story time is needed' to explain how and what happened before the accident struck.

Making light of the situation, Saffron captioned her post: 'Well this isn't how I planned to use this sound, story time is needed.. #skifails'

Despite her incident, Saffron appeared to be in great spirits as she continued to share gorgeous snaps from her trip.
Ioan Gruffudd and his beloved wife Bianca put on a very smitten display while attending the 32nd Annual Race To Erase MS Gala in Los Angeles on Friday.

The Fantastic Four actor, 51, and Aussie actress Bianca, 32, packed on the PDA on the star-studded red-carpet - just a month after happily tying the knot.

Their happy moment comes following Ioan's messy split with Alice Evans, with the ex couple formally divorcing in July 2023.

Looking on cloud nine, the couple couldn't keep their hands off one another as they attended the charity gala, which brings together stars to raise funds to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis.

Ioan cut a dapper figure in a conventional suit, as he risked being outshined by his stunning wife at the swanky Fairmont Century Plaza.

Meanwhile the Elvis alum showed off her endless legs in a pair of chic white shorts and matching blazer.

Ioan Gruffudd and his beloved wife Bianca put on a very smitten display while attending the 32nd Annual Race To Erase MS Gala in Los Angeles on Friday

The Fantastic Four actor, 51, and Aussie actress Bianca, 32, packed on the PDA on the star-studded red-carpet - just a month after happily tying the knot

She completed the classy outfit with black stilettos and black top underneath.

The Australian producer looked in her highest spirits, grinning happily from ear to ear while hugging the actor.

Bianca carried the essentials in a stylish black handbag, finishing off with a touch of bold red lipstick.

Last month, the couple took to their respective Instagrams to share a video of them tying the knot in a romantic ceremony, captioning their posts: 'Mr & Mrs Gruffudd. Marriage now, wedding later.'

The marriage comes two years after the 51-year-old Welsh actor's bitter divorce from ex Alice, 56, with whom he shares two daughters.

Set to Martin Arteta's track Past Lives, the video shows the pair saying their vows in front of an idyllic backdrop with a stunning sea view.

Australian actress Bianca looked every inch the gorgeous bride in a plunging ivory gown while holding on to a bouquet of pink roses.

Their happy moment comes following Ioan's messy split with Alice Evans, with the ex couple formally divorced in July 2023 [pictured in 2016]

Looking on cloud nine, the couple couldn't get their hands off one another in attendance of the charity gala, which brings together a lot of stars to contribute finding a cure for multiple sclerosis

Ioan cut a dapper figure in a conventional suit, risked being outshined by his stunning wife at the swanky Fairmont Century Plaza

Meanwhile the Elvis alum showed off her endless legs in a pair of chic white shorts and matching blazer.

She completed the classy outfit with black stilettos and black top underneath

Bianca carried the essentials in a stylish black handbag, finishing off with a touch of bold red lipstick

Meanwhile, Ioan looked dashing in a classic black suit, with the Fantastic Four star at one point seen wiping away tears as he declared his love to his new wife.

The sweet video also sees the newlyweds toasting their marriage with champagne, with other moments seeing them lark around with their pet dog.

The pair, who went public with their relationship in October 2021, looked happier than ever as they shared several kisses throughout the video.

Their happy news was met with a plethora of congratulatory messages from their Instagram followers, with Bianca's sister Chanel remarking: 'So proud! Very exited to have a new brother in our family.'

Ioan and Alice Evans divorced in July 2023. However, they are still battling fiercely over spousal support and custody and financial support for their two daughters Ella, 15, and Elsie, 11.

At the September 9 court hearing, Judge Josh Freeman Stinn signed off on a stipulated agreement in which Ioan pays $3,000 a month temporary child support and $1,500 a month temporary spousal support until another February 13 hearing where a more permanent support arrangement will be forged.

Last month, the couple took to their respective Instagrams on Friday to share a grainy video of the them tying the knot in a romantic ceremony, captioning their posts: 'Mr & Mrs Gruffudd'

However, they are still battling fiercely over spousal support and custody and financial support for their two daughters Ella, 15, and Elsie, 11 [pictured in 2018 with daughters Ella and Elsie]

Ioan planned to call his then fiancee Bianca as a witness at the February hearing to testify that his ex wife 'stalked, harassed and abused' her, repeatedly violating a three-year domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) which she and Ioan took out in August 2022, after enduring a 'smear campaign' of hateful text messages, emails and social media posts from her.

Ioan claims that Alice 'engaged in a pattern of damaging and defamatory conduct against me, aimed at intimidating and harassing me and my fiance, Bianca Wallace, while alienating our two young children from me.'

Ioan  whose latest movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die has grossed more than $403 million worldwide  has fought Evans' demands for more money, claiming he's paid some $400,000 more in spousal support that he needed to under their pre-marital agreement.

In earlier court papers, he called her claims of poverty 'exaggerated' and said it's a 'false narrative' that she and the children have been left destitute.

The former couple met on the set of the movie 102 Dalmatians more than 20 years ago. They fell in love in real life and were married in Mexico in 2007.

Ioan filed for divorce in March 2021, shortly after Alice announced on social media that her husband of 14 years was walking out on her and their two daughters.

Meanwhile, in February this year, Alice revealed she's being evicted from her LA home after being 'unable to pay her rent'.

The actress wrote on Instagram that she and her daughters have 'no way of renting even the cheapest room in the city' after being beset by financial woes amid her bitter court battle with ex-husband Ioan.

Sharing a sweet throwback snap with her two daughters, Alice shared that she is like many others in Los Angeles trying to find a new place to live after the city was devastated by fires in January.

Alice was thought to be renting a home in California with her two children after her bitter divorce from Ioan.
Bianca Censori debuted a sort of Jane of the Jungle look as she was spotted shopping with husband Kanye West on Saturday.

The couple, who seem to be on some kind of working vacation in Mallorca, Spain, were spotted visiting the booths of an outdoor market.

Censori, 30, wandered from stall to stall wearing a black fish net bra top with her nipples in full view, along with a pair of black bikini bottoms with a long black loin cloth.

Her long, dark hair was styled straight with long, thick bangs that seemed to cover most of her eyes behind her dark sunglasses.

She seemed to be enjoying a frozen treat.

West, 47, strayed somewhat from his usual all black ensemble, opting for a pair of jeans with a hoodie with Army written on it.

Bianca Censori, 30, debuted a sort of Jane of the Jungle look as she was spotted shopping with husband Kanye West, 47, on Saturday. in Mallorca, Spain

Her long, dark hair was styled straight with long, thick bangs that seemed to cover most of her eyes behind her dark sunglasses

The rapper also donned dark shades in the bright Spanish sunshine.

Censori's sister, Angelina, 29, appeared to be with them on the outing. She looked relaxed in a black sundress and her dark hair was pulled back into a chignon.

Fellow shoppers seemed to be non-plussed by the couple's appearance even though the rapper had security on hand to make sure they were safe.

Although there have been concerns about how much control West has over Censori's appearance and actions, In Touch Weekly has reported the Grammy winner has given his wife power-of-attorney over some business decisions.

The information came forward as part of a lawsuit filed against West by former Donda Academy employee Benjamin Provo for discrimination and wrongful termination.

In an effort to obtained documents, the former security guard said he was told about the power-of-attorney designation, but the Violent Crimes rapper refused to turn over a document entitled 'Designation of Agency,' which shows what Censori has power over, without a protective order in place.

Benjamin is asking that the rapper be fined $2,610 for not complying with his request and wants the court to order the All Falls Down artist to turn over the documents immediately.

Fellow shoppers seemed to be non-plussed by the couple's appearance even though the rapper had security on hand to make sure they were safe; (seen on R in February)

Censori wandered from stall to stall wearing a black fish net bra top with her nipples in full view, along with a pair of black bikini bottoms with a long black loin cloth

West, 47, strayed somewhat from his usual all black ensemble, opting for a pair of jeans with a hoodie with Army written on it

His attorneys also argue that since West introduced the power-of-attorney information, a protective document is not necessary.

In his lawsuit, Benjamin, who said he also provided security for West's Sunday Service and at another business, claimed he noticed that Black employees were treated differently than those who were white.

'While Kanye was polite and attentive to his non-Black counterparts, Kanye was always abrupt, abrasive and demeaning of [Benjamin] and his Black counterparts,' the suit alleges.

Benjamin claimed he was pressured by West and others to cut off his dreadlocks, which he said he wears due to his Muslim faith and was fired after he refused.

West and his company have denied the allegations.
Tom Cruise absolutely gushed over his girlfriend Ana de Armas' new film From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.

The Top Gun star, 62, made a comment to reporters at the premiere of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning in London.

'I saw the movie, it kicks a**,' Cruise said. 'Oh, man, it's right in that tone. It's right in that big world, and you're gonna love it.' Tom and Ana, 37, have been linked to each other since earlier this year though neither have spoken out about their relationship - until now.

Ana appeared on GMA earlier this week and excitedly talked about her upcoming action film, praising Keanu Reeves, 60, and revealing the intense stunts she performed as well as her relationship with Cruise.

'I was like, "I hope I can just do it as best as I can  maybe as good as [Reeves] does it.:'

Tom Cruise absolutely gushed over his girlfriend Ana de Armas' new film From the World of John Wick : Ballerina. Seen here on May 15, 2025

The Top Gun star, 62, made a comment to reporters at the premiere of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning in London

But when host Michael Strahan brought up her connection to Cruise, she didnt shy away.

'Youre working with another big star, Tom Cruise, on another project that will lead you to do more crazy stunts,' Strahan said.

'Its so much fun,' Ana replied. 'Were definitely working on a lot of things.'

She added: 'Its not just one, but a few projectswith [directors] Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie and, of course, Tom.'

Flashing a big smile, she added, 'And Im so excited.'

Armas and Cruise have been getting serious in recent weeks, the Daily Mail has learned, with one of his A-list exes even granting approval for the unlikely romance.

It is understood Spanish actress Penelope Cruz - who dated Cruise from 2001 to 2004 - is 'happy' that her ex-boyfriend has found new love.

Cruz, 51, and Armas have been friends ever since they co-starred in the 2019 movie WASP Network.

I saw the movie, which kicks a**,' Cruise said. 'Oh, man, it's right in that tone. It's right in that big world, and you're gonna love it'

Tom and Ana, 37, have been linked to each other since earlier this year though neither have spoken out about their relationship  until now

Ana appeared on GMA earlier this week and excitedly talked about her upcoming action film, praising Keanu Reeves, 60, and revealing the intense stunts she performed. Tom seen here in 2025

The first day we got on the mat and started rehearsing the choreo, I was just looking at him,' de Armas recalled to BroBible of training with Reeves

'Ana has said that Penelope is happy for her, she approves,' an insider told the Daily Mail. 'They know each other from the movie and also they have friends in common in Madrid from when Ana lived there for a while.

Tom makes Ana feel safe and that is very important to her,' the insider added. 'She was flipped out by the fans and stalkers when living in Venice Beach [Los Angeles] so she moved to a remote part of Vermont.'

In 2022, Armas dropped over $7 million for a sprawling six-bed home in the Green Mountain State.

'She loves being away from the crazy,' the source explained. 'She has been traveling with Tom to busy cities like London, but he always makes her feel safe because he is thoughtful and he has a ton of security. He never puts her at risk, she is completely taken care of when she is in his company.'

Friends believe the relationship could last, with our insider pointing to the fact that Armas does 'not like to party', prefering quiet nights at home like her decades-older boyfriend.

Though another source stressed that the pair are 'taking it day by day' and that Armas 'does not give her heart away easy.'

Armas and Cruise have been getting serious in recent weeks, the Daily Mail has learned, with one of his A-list exes even granting approval for the unlikely romance

'Ana has a thing for older men and Tom fits the bill of her type. The proof is in the pudding. Being affectionate with someone is not something that Ana would do for a role,' the second source added.

In November last year, Armas was linked to the stepson of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, with the pair stepping out for a loved-up stroll in Madrid the following month.

Despite receiving massive backlash over the relationship, the actress, who fled communist Cuba age 18, did not shy away from engaging in some PDA with him.

She also previously dated Ben Affleck from November 2019 to January 2021 after meeting on the set of the 2022 thrilled Deep Water.
Bella Hadid set pulses racing in a very short skirt and crop top as she stepped out in London on Saturday.

The supermodel, 28, recently debuted her stunning new hair after ditching her signature brunette locks for honey blonde.

Bella - who is dating cowboy Adan Banuelos - arrived at a pop-up shop in the capital for the launch of her new perfume Orebella.

She seemed in high spirits as she was pictured laughing outside of luxury flagship department store Selfridges.

Bella was seen staring at her reflection in the mirror of a London black cab, as well as carrying a newspaper in one hand which was branded with her new fragrance.

The socialite looked chic as ever in a neutral outfit, which consisted of a cream sheer top and caramel brown belted suede mini skirt.

Bella Hadid, 28, set pulses racing in a very short skirt and crop top as she stepped out in London on Saturday

The supermodel recently debuted her stunning new hair after ditching her signature brunette locks for honey blonde

She added a pair of knee-high boots and a leather jacket to complete the look, which complimented her new hair.

Orebella is Bella's latest business venture that sells 'nourishing skin care fragrances' and is sold in luxury high street retailers including Selfridges.

Earlier in the week, the model was snapped enjoying a much less luxurious London staple - Morley's chicken shop - during her visit.

It has been speculated that she opted to go there not for a bite to eat, but to meet with Amelia Dimoldenberg to record an episode of Chicken Shop Date.

It comes after the American superstar argued it should be illegal to model when menstruating in a candid interview.

In it, Bella discussed the reality of living with Lyme disease, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).

Endometriosis is a disease in which cells similar to the womb lining grow outside the uterus and cause severe pain, while PCOS is a hormonal disorder characterised by irregular periods and PMDD is a menstrual syndrome which impacts mood.

Opening up about her difficulties, Bella revealed she wants women to get two weeks off while menstruating and said it should be 'illegal' to model while on her period.

The socialite looked chic as ever in a neutral outfit, which consisted of a cream sheer top and caramel brown belted suede mini skirt

She seemed in high spirits as she was pictured laughing outside of luxury flagship department store Selfridges

Orebella is Bella's latest business venture that sells 'nourishing skin care fragrances' and is sold in luxury high street retailers including Selfridges

Bella was seen staring at her reflection in the mirror of a London black cab, as well as carrying a newspaper in one hand which was branded with her new fragrance

She told British Vogue's June issue: 'We get our periods. You're shooting Victoria's Secret on your period, with endo. That should be illegal.

'I'm going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.'

Bella said she often 'pushes' herself to work 14-hour days in fashion despite her illnesses, but it eventually results in her burning out, adding that she is in therapy to work on her confidence.

She said working can be hard because 'nobody really understands chronic illness' and admitted that some days she can find it even difficult to take a shower.

'But sometimes, if I have one day off, if I can get in the shower and make myself breakfast, I see that as an accomplishment,' she confessed, adding that she can be in 'excruciating pain' some mornings.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was the epitome of chic in a glamorous red dress as she arrived on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Day five of the star-studded festival celebrated the premiere of Nouvelle Vague, a French film directed by Richard Linklater.

The comedy, which releases October 8, follows the shooting of Breathless, Nouvelle Vague's first feature film, in 1960.

And leading the stars at the premiere, Rosie exuded glamour in a strapless red midi dress as she struck a pose in front of a swarm of photographers.

The model, 38, teamed her elegant look with black court heels and a dazzling Tiffany & Co. jewellery.

Alexa Chung, 41, sported a classic black number as she joined glamorous actress Zoey Deutch, 30, who stars in the movie.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 38, was the epitome of chic in a glamorous red dress as she arrived on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Day five of the star-studded festival celebrated the premiere of Nouvelle Vague, a French film directed by Richard Linklater

She was joined by fellow model Alexa Chung (L), 41, who sported a classic black number and glamorous actress Zoey Deutch (R), 30

The TV personality joined the likes of Emily In Paris star Lucien Laviscount and Damian Lewis.

Quentin Tarantino, 62, and his glamorous wife Daniella Pick, 41, packed on the PDA as they arrived on the carpet.

The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other as they arrived arm in arm.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

'You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,' says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, whos returning to Cannes with 'The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship.

'Youve got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense - not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.'

Rosie exuded glamour in a strapless red midi dress as she struck a pose in front of a swarm of photographers

The model teamed her elegant look with black court heels and a dazzling diamond necklace

Rosie flaunted her incredibly toned back and shoulders as she walked up the iconic staircase

Alexa looked incredibly glamorous in her old Hollywood glamour look

The comedy, which releases October 8, follows the shooting of Breathless, Nouvelle Vague's first feature film, in 1960

Zoey appeared in high spirits as she posed in her stunning dress, which featured tiny diamantes

Zoey sprinted across the carpet, flashing her stylish court heels

She put on a very lively display during her appearance

The TV personality joined the likes of Emily In Paris star Lucien Laviscount (L) and Damian Lewis (R)

Quentin Tarantino, 62, and his glamorous wife Daniella Pick, 41, packed on the PDA as they arrived on the carpet

The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other as they arrived arm in arm

The couple were incredibly animated at the top of the stairs

Aubry Dullin, Zoey Deutch, director Richard Linklater and Guillaume Marbeck pose for photographers (L-R)

British actress Naomi Ackie, 32, put on a stylish display in a glitzy black gown

Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies "produced in Foreign Lands" will face 100% tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.

The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival.

In the time since, Cannes resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.

Over recent years the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document.

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.'
The Mount Kaputar pink slug appears to be thriving after almost all of its population was wiped out years ago.

Ruth Cunningham and her husband were eager to catch a glimpse of the extremely rare Mount Kaputar pink slug after travelling to the area this week. Source: Supplied/Ruth Cunningham

While strolling along a walking track in an Aussie national park this week, Ruth Cunningham made sure to keep her eyes peeled. Eager to catch a glimpse of an extremely rare creature unique to the area, the woman and her husband scanned the lush bushland on Mount Kaputar, in northern NSW, for over an hour.

The pair travelled to the area on Thursday with one goal in mind  to finally see a neon-pink slug. We drove to Mount Kaputar to look for the slugs because they only come out in cooler weather after rain, Cunningham told Yahoo News.

When we first started walking I was getting a little disappointed that we could not find any, so when I saw the first one I was excited. Then the further we looked they seemed to be everywhere.

Overall, the pair discovered around 30 giant pink slugs, which are found nowhere else in the world. They all looked very happy out feeding, Cunningham said.

Almost all of the slug's population was wiped out during the Black Summer bushfires five years ago. Source: Supplied/Ruth Cunningham

90 per cent of rare slug's population wiped out during bushfires

The lucky encounter is a very good sign, especially after 90 per cent of the distinct slugs population was wiped out during the Black Summer bushfires five years ago. Despite initial fears the threatened creature would never recover, experts revealed earlier this year that the almost extinct species appears to be thriving.

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Adam Fawcett, a senior project officer at the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, told the ABC he had seen around 400 of the slugs while surveying the area in December. Another 850 sightings have been recorded by locals and tourists on the Slug Sleuth app, which has helped authorities track the species post-fire recovery.

A large percentage of those are coming from visitors to the park, which is helping us out a lot with understanding when and where theyre being seen and what sort of micro-habitat theyre using, he said.

This year, park visitors have recorded 27 slug sightings, with a large number observed last month, a spokesperson for NSWs Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water told Yahoo on Sunday.

Numbers of the pink slugs remain high with several large breeding events over the last couple of years, they said.

Pink slugs can grow up to 20cm-long

During his time in the field, Fawcett told The Narrabri Courier he was fascinated by how deep into the ground the slugs go to protect themselves. I was measuring the depth of the cracks trying to find a slug and it got to about a meter and a half. The layer of soil is what protects them, it creates a bit of a warm, safety blanket, he said.

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Now, authorities are working on shielding the species from predators such as feral pics and goats. Pigs are a big one because they directly impact the slugs and are very aggressive, he told the publication.

The fluorescent critters can grow up to 20cm-long  roughly the size of an average human hand. They are known to feed at night on biofilm of lichen, fungi and micro-algae found on the surface of trees and rocks, according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The slugs are often observed during and after rainfall.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti brought the heat in a sizzling new Dolce & Gabbana campaign co-starring The White Lotus hunk Theo James.

Daily Mail reported on the steamy coupling last year while the two were shooting the promotion in Capri.

Ceretti, 26, showcased her fit form wearing a tiny white bikini with a triangle top.

Her long, dark hair was wet and brushed away from her face, allowing the camera to focus on her piercing blue eyes.

James, 40, who earned an Emmy nomination for his work on The White Lotus season two, showed off his ripped body in tight fitting white swimming briefs.

The promotion celebrates the 25th anniversary of G&B's Light Blue fragrance and is an homage to the 2007 Light Blue Pour Homme ad, with David Gandy and Anna Jagodzinska.

Vittoria Ceretti, 26, and Theo James, 40, got hearts racing in their sexy new ad campaign for for Dolce & Gabbana released Thursday

The promotion celebrates the 25th anniversary of G&B's Light Blue fragrance and is an homage to the 2007 Light Blue Pour Homme ad, which was considered one of the sexiest ever

The campaign was deemed one of the sexiest of all time in a study published in 2008 by One Poll, according to Women's Wear Daily.

'Back in Capri with the iconic fragrances that have defined over 25 years of Mediterranean vibes,' the fragrance company wrote next to the spot on Thursday.

'Join #TheoJames and @vittoria as they bring the allure of #DGLightBlue to life in a new chapter of summer sensuality.'

While Ceretti's online posts often receive some sexualized comments, it was James who got hearts racing.

'Theo James looks like he sprays D&G, stares in the mirror, and whispers perfection.' wrote another.

One stated, 'Whoever choose Theo James for this add deserves a raise.''Lord have mercy,' commented a grateful viewer.

'Wow, this makes me feel things. I had the perfume, I was on the boat in Capri but somehow, the man didnt get the memo,' wrote one somewhat sarcastic follower.

The campaign was deemed one of the sexiest of all time in a study published in 2008 by One Poll, according to Women's Wear Daily

While Ceretti's online posts often receive some sexualized comments, it was James who got hearts racing

'Theo James looks like he sprays D&G, stares in the mirror, and whispers perfection.' wrote another

Ceretti showcased her fit form wearing a tiny white bikini with a triangle top in the ad for the fragrance Light Blue Pour Homme. James showed off his ripped body in tight fitting white swimming briefs

Stylists wet Ceretti's long, dark hair and brushed it away from her face. This allowed the camera to focus on her piercing blue eyes

'Whoever choose Theo James for this add deserves a raise,' wrote one fan. 'Lord have mercy,' commented a grateful viewer

The Gentlemen star is considered the frontrunner to be the new James Bond after Daniel Craig stepped away from the iconic role.

The actor recently completed work on the thriller Fuze, about an unexploded WWII bomb found in London, and the effort to save lives before it detonates.

Ceretti was most recently spotted at Cannes, where she modeled a bronze toned one shoulder gown by Armani Prive.

She was there supporting DiCaprio, 50, as he honored longtime friend and co-star Robert DeNiro, who received an honorary Palme d'Or.
Kristen Stewart looked effortlessly chic as she joined Imogen Poots for photographs for the film The Chronology of Water at Cannes Film Festival.

The film is Kristen's directorial debut, adapted by her from the 2011 abuse memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch.

For the event, the newly wedded actress, 35, displayed her chic sense of style as she donned a cream jumper with black panelling and gold buttons.

Kristen also wore a matching cream mini skirt for the occasion and completed her outfit with some open toe chunky heels.

The former Twilight star further accessorised with coloured lens sunglasses and showed off her age-defying beauty with minimal makeup.

She was joined for the photos by Imogen Poots who opted for blue and white striped trousers ensemble with a white vest top, which she teamed with chunky platform heels.

Kristen Stewart looked effortlessly chic as she joined Imogen Poots for photographs for the film The Chronology of Water at Cannes Film Festival

Imogen styled her blonde locks into a relaxed tousled hairdo as she added a slick of dewy make-up, which included a matte lip.

The two women wrapped their arms around each other and smiled for the camera after the film was met with critical acclaim following its Cannes screening.

The film follows an Olympic swimming hopeful, played by Imogen as she escapes her abusive home on a Texas scholarship.

After losing it to addiction, she finds healing through writing, family, and a mentor in Oregon.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is taking place in the wake of Trumps vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme dOr, to give out at the end.

Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

'You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,' says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho, whos returning to Cannes with 'The Secret Agent, a thriller set during Brazils dictatorship.

'Youve got to really prepare for the whole experience because its quite intense - not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.'

For the event, the newly wedded actress, 35, displayed her chic sense of style as she donned a cream jumper with black panelling and gold buttons

Kristen also wore a matching cream mini skirt for the occasion and completed her outfit with some open toe chunky heels

The former Twilight star further accessorised with coloured lens sunglasses and showed off her age-defying beauty with minimal makeup.

Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies "produced in Foreign Lands" will face 100% tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.

The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival.

In the time since, Cannes resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.

She was joined for the photos by Imogen Poots who opted for blue and white striped trousers ensemble with a white vest top, which she teamed with chunky platform heels

The film is Kristen's directorial debut, adapted by her from the 2011 abuse memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch

Over recent years the star-studded extravaganza has arguably won more attention for the outfits worn by its celebrity guests than the roster of feature films being screened on the Croisette.

But new nudity rules, devised for 'the sake of decency,' have been implemented at this year's festival.

According to organisers, the austere move is an attempt to stifle the celebrity trend for 'naked dresses' - namely provocative outfits that reveal considerably more than they conceal - on the red carpet.

'For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival,' states a Cannes festival document.

'The festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.'

The surprise new policy features in a recent festival-goers charter - released with a series of outlines regarding expected public behaviour.

Guests are expected to converge on the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumiere for some of the highest profile film screenings across a packed two-week schedule in Cannes.

It's understood that the iconic venue now adopts a more conservative dress code, with suits, dinner jackets and floor-length evening gowns generally favoured over headline grabbing ensembles.

Classic little black dresses, cocktail dresses, pant-suits, dressy tops and elegant sandals, 'with or without a heel', will also be permitted.

While the decision to implement a more stringent policy will be a first, it is not known if French TV broadcasters, wary of airing nudity, played a role in its enforcement.

Major red carpet events, including the Cannes Film Festival, are aired in France by France Televisions

Recently attracting more models and influencers than actors and filmmakers, the annual ceremony has seen an increase in risque red carpet fashion statements.

In 2021, American supermodel Bella Hadid bared her cleavage in a plunging black gown while attending a screening of Tre Piani (Three Floors).

She pulled a similar stunt three years later, with guests at the 2024 gala left speechless after she attended the premiere of Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice completely braless beneath a sheer brown evening dress.
Christina Haack surfaced for the first time since her health issues went public in the wake of her vicious divorce.

The sighting comes after the home improvement specialist finally settled her drawn-out, costly and painful split from third husband Josh Hall.

In the midst of her personal problems, Christina, 41, appeared stern when she was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week.

She cut a characteristically stylish figure in a tight white tank top that emphasized her slender frame, teamed with black leggings.

Letting her luxurious blonde mane flutter freely in the breeze, she accessorized with a sleek set of sunglasses and wrapped a sweater around her waist.

Her healthy appearance belied the fact that a result of her protracted divorce, The Flip Off star has been feeling sluggish overall, a source told the Daily Mail.

Christina Haack surfaced for the first time since her health issues went public in the wake of her vicious divorce

Haack's symptoms include headaches, bloating, weight gain and body aches.

She has also been more tired than usual, the source added.

Now, the mother-of-three is taking some time for 'self love' so she can cope better.

'Christina is doing more meditation and carving out quiet time for herself when she gets down time from her busy work schedule,' our source said.

'And she will be working out more with yoga and Pilates. Walks on the beach are also on her to-do list because that calms her down.'

Christina has one bright light in her life: She is now happily dating businessman Christopher Larocca, who she pictured with last month engaging in a wild PDA session while on holiday in Cabo San Lucas in DailyMail+ exclusive photos.

But stress can trigger poor health.

According to Mayo Clinic, high or low cortisol levels can cause a variety of symptoms, often related to stress and hormone imbalance.

'High cortisol can lead to weight gain, muscle weakness, high blood pressure and mood changes, while low cortisol can cause fatigue, weight loss and skin changes,' the medical center claimed.

In the midst of her personal problems, Christina, 41, appeared stern when she was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week

This comes soon after she finalized her drawn-out, costly and painful divorce from third husband Josh Hall (left)

Haack has been feeling sluggish overall, a source told the Daily Mail. Her symptoms include headaches, bloating, weight gain and body aches. She also has been more tired than usual

Many of these symptoms overlap with other conditions, making diagnosis challenging.

In early May, Haack finalized her divorce from Hall.

'I'm grateful to have this behind me,' she wrote in an Instagram story shortly after the divorce was finalized on May 2. 'I can't wait to move on with my life and focus on what's ahead and all my blessings.'

Haack and Hall first started dating in March 2021, got engaged that September and wed a month later in October.

In the Stories post, she thanked her divorce lawyer, Laura Wasser.

'I loved watching you in action and how you handle everything and everyone with class and grace... I appreciate you all beyond words,' Haack wrote of the lawyer and her team, calling them 'all a true class act.'

Haack, a mother-of-three, is taking some time for 'self love' so she can cope better. 'Christina is doing more meditation and carving out quiet time for herself when she gets down time from her busy work schedule,' a source told the Daily Mail

A source says 'she will be working out more with yoga and Pilates,' and adds that walking on the beach 'calms her down'

During the divorce, Haack claimed that Hall wanted $3.5 million from her. Hall disputed the claim.

He has also been accused of transferring $35,000 from Haack's bank account to his own - which he also denied.

In May, Haack made her red carpet debut with Larocca at the For Your Consideration Emmy event.

She was joined by ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather El Moussa - all three star together on HGTV's The Flip Off.

Hall was initially involved in the competition series, with the two couples expected to compete 'to find, buy, renovate and flip a house for the biggest financial gain'.

He was booted from the show shortly after they each filed for divorce in July 2024, one day apart.

Haack went Instagram official with Larocca in January, sharing a snapshot sitting on his lap aboard a private plane.

Haack is now happily dating businessman Christopher Larocca (right)

Haack made her red carpet debut with new boyfriend Larocca (second from right) at For Your Consideration Emmy event weeks ago. They are pictured above with Heather (left) and Tarek El Moussa (second from left)

After the red carpet date, for which Haack and her new beau coordinated in black outfits, she took to Instagram to share photos and video clips.

Engaging her nearly 2 million followers, she wrote in a caption: 'What an epic night last night and it was such an honor for us to be considered for an Emmy!!'

Haack wore a long-sleeved satin mini dress, which she paired with sheer pantyhose and knee-high black boots.

'We have all come so far in our careers and personal life, separately and together,' she continued in her caption. 'Proud of us for coming together for this incredible show and doing this journey together.'

Haack also shared a photo with the El Moussas via Instagram Stories and wrote: 'Last night was amazing,' adding a trophy and a prayer hands emoji.
Bella Hadid proved why she is one of the world's most in demand models on Friday night as she showed off impeccable style by slipping into two different outfits for the launch party of her new fragrance Orebella.

The American socialite, 27, first put on a glamorous display in a busty white gown.

Bella stunned as she stepped out in a figure-hugging ankle-length dress, which featured a daring structured low neckline.

She added a few extra inches to her frame as she slipped into a pair of sophisticated matching pointed heels.

To accessorise, Bella opted for full glamour and accessorised with a pearl necklace, drop diamond earrings and an array of rings.

To finished her dazzling ensemble, Bella slicked her tresses back into a chic bun, which she decorated with delicate white flowers.

Bella Hadid proved why she is one of the world's most in demand models on Friday night as she slipped into two different outfits for the launch party of her new fragrance Orebella

The American socialite, 27, first cemented her status as a fashion icon when she put on a glamorous display in a busty white gown

As the party was hosted by her, for her perfume, Bella took the opportunity to change into another dazzling ensemble for the glitzy bash.

She put on a leggy display in a 1997 John Galliano vintage dress, which featured an asymmetrical layered skirt and plunging neckline.

The model paired the stunning dress - which was embellished with metallic ruffles and flower details - with pointed Jimmy Choo heels.

As she turned around, she flaunted her statuesque physique and showed off a dropped low cut panel.

Orebella is Bella's latest business venture that sells 'nourishing skin care fragrances' and is sold in luxury high street retailers such as Selfridges.

British model and DJ Lady Mary Charteris was spotted at the star-studded bash and commanded attention in a salmon pink dress which featured fringing around the hem and sleeves.

The London-based socialite, 37, showed off her toned figure in the glamorous gown and donned a silver belt that cinched her in at the waist.

She toted her belongings in a bright pink handbag and wore her blonde lock is a half up do.

Bella stunned as she stepped out in a white figure-hugging ankle-length dress, which featured a daring structured low neckline

To accessorise, Bella opted for full glamour and accessorised with a pearl necklace, drop diamond earrings and an array of rings and slicked her tresses back into a chic bun

As the party was hosted by her, for her perfume, Bella took the opportunity to change into another dazzling ensemble for the glitzy bash - a 1997 John Galliano vintage dress, which featured an asymmetrical layered skirt and plunging neckline

Meanwhile former Eastenders star Tilly Keeper, 27, was worlds away from her old character Louise Mitchell, as she put on a stunning display in a pink and orange sequin maxi dress for the night out.

She styled her blonde locks into soft waves and finished her look with a pair of silver open toe heels.

Tilly and Lady Mary were not the only famous faces at the perfume event and were joined by model Lily Jean Bridger, 29., who kept things simple in a little black dress and boots.

Meanwhile fashion journalist Julia Hobbs caught the eye in a plunging black gown with cape like sleeves as she attended the glitzy event.

It comes after the American superstar argued it should be illegal to model when menstruating in a candid interview.

Bella's launch party comes after the model discussed the reality of living with Lyme disease, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).

Endometriosis is a disease in which cells similar to the womb lining grow outside the uterus and cause severe pain, while PCOS is a hormonal disorder characterised by irregular periods and PMDD is a menstrual syndrome which impacts mood.

British model and DJ Lady Mary Charteris was spotted at the star-studded bash and commanded attention in a salmon pink dress which featured fringing around the hem and sleeves

The London-based socialite, 37, showed off her toned figure in the glamorous gown and donned a silver belt that cinched her in at the waist

Meanwhile former Eastenders star Tilly Keeper, 27, was worlds away from her old character Louise Mitchell, as she put on a stunning display in a pink and orange sequin maxi dress for the night out

She styled her blonde locks into soft waves and finished her look with a pair of silver open toe heels as she beamed at the star studded event

Tilly and Lady Mary were not the only famous faces at the perfume event and were joined by model Lily Jean Bridger, 29, who kept things simple in a little black dress and boots

Meanwhile fashion journalist Julia Hobbs (left) caught the eye in a plunging black gown with cape like sleeves as she attended the glitzy event and model Maxim Magnus wore a daring green cut out gown

Opening up about her difficulties, Bella revealed she wants women to get two weeks off while menstruating and said it should be 'illegal' to model while on her period.

She told British Vogue's June issue: 'We get our periods. You're shooting Victoria's Secret on your period, with endo. That should be illegal.

'I'm going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.'

Bella said she often 'pushes' herself to work 14-hour days in fashion despite her illnesses, but it eventually results in her burning out, adding that she is in therapy to work on her confidence.
Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence shared a light-hearted moment on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night after a wardrobe mishap.

The Twilight heartthrob, 38, looked every inch the leading man in a sharp black tux and slick bow tie as he hit the red carpet arm-in-arm with J-Law, 33, who wowed in a dramatic floor-sweeping ballgown.

But their grand entrance hit a tiny snag when Robert accidentally trod on the train of Jennifer's voluminous dress, briefly stopping her in her tracks.

Ever the pro, Jen turned with a gasp before the pair burst into laughter. They quickly regained composure, smiling as they continued down the red carpet together.

Jennifer stunned in the elegant strapless white dress, complete with a layered skirt and a gathered bodice that fanned out gracefully across her chest.

She kept accessories minimal, pairing the look with classic black heels and sparkling diamond earrings.

Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence shared a light-hearted moment on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night after a small wardrobe mishap

Their grand entrance hit a tiny snag when Robert accidentally trod on the train of Jennifer's voluminous dress, briefly stopping her in her tracks

Letting the gown take centre stage, she styled her hair in a sleek ballerina-style bun and opted for bold makeup, featuring a deep red lip and sultry, smokey eyes.

Both are at the festival to promote their film Die My Love, which tells the story of a young mother living in a rural area as she undergoes a battle with psychosis.

Die My Love is described as both a horror and a comedy and was directed by Lynne Ramsay, who was also present on the red carpet.

It is notably Jennifer and Robert's first film together.

They both rose to fame in the 2010s, with Jennifer starring in film adaptations of The Hunger Games series as Katniss Everdeen and Robert Pattinson gaining worldwide fame for his role as Edward Cullen in Twilight.

Die My Love is based on a 2017 novel by Argentine writer, Ariana Harwicz, which details a new mum's battle with postpartum depression and subsequent psychosis.

The red carpet appearance is Jennifer's first since she welcomed her second child earlier this year, whose name and gender are not known, with husband Cooke Maroney.

In a 2022 interview with Vogue, the actress opened up about the joy of becoming a first-time mother following the birth of her first child that year, sharing that the birth of her son Cy 'felt like my whole life had started over.'

The Twilight heartthrob, 38, looked every inch the leading man in a sharp black tux and slick bow tie as he hit the red carpet arm-in-arm with J-Law, 33, who wowed in a dramatic floor-sweeping ballgown

After the unfortunate accident, Jen turned with a gasp before the pair burst into laughter, and quickly regained composure, smiling as they continued down the red carpet together

Jennifer stunned in the elegant strapless white dress, complete with a layered skirt and a gathered bodice that fanned out gracefully across her chest

Letting the gown take centre stage, she styled her hair in a sleek ballerina-style bun and wore a deep red lipstick

She kept accessories minimal, pairing the look with classic black heels and sparkling diamond earrings

As soon as Robert realised what he'd done, he quickly went to Jennifer's rescue, making sure the bridal style ballgown still wowed as she made her way down the carpet

Both are at the festival to promote their film Die My Love, which tells the story of a young mother living in a rural area as she undergoes a battle with psychosis

'I just stared. I was just so in love. I also fell in love with all babies everywhere. Newborns are just so amazing,' she gushed.

Jennifer and Cooke are already proud parents to son, Cy, now three, who was born in February 2022.

The American actress and her husband tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at Rhode Island's historic Belcourt Mansion in 2019.

The Hunger Games star tends to keep her family life private.

Elsewhere in the conversation, she described, 'I mean the euphoria of Cy is just  Jesus, it's impossible.

'My heart has stretched to a capacity that I didn't know about. I include my husband in that.'

The film's release comes as Jennifer Lawrence recently welcomed her second child with husband Cooke Maroney

Pattinson also recently became a parent, welcoming his first child, a baby girl, with his partner Suki Waterhouse (pictured)

Robert also recently became a parent, welcoming his first child, a baby girl, with his partner, Suki Waterhouse last year.

He told BBC News that the experience has brought more joy and fun into his life.

The actor also admitted that parenthood has opened him up to the world more and helped him become more social.

Also describing himself as less 'danger prone', he joked: 'If someone told me I was going to die in a week, I'd be like, 'What? I want to spend some more time with my kid'.'
Pedro Pascal showed up to the Cannes red carpet in a black muscle tank top, showing off his biceps and a generous glimpse of his torso from the side.

As The Last of Us star, 50, made his way down the carpet in the French seaside town, he stuck out his tongue and blew a kiss at the assembled fans and photographers.

Fans couldnt get enough of his playful behavior  or his arms  at the Palais des Festivals during the photo call for his upcoming film Eddington.

One fan even shared a photo of Pedro with his arm around Emma Stone and wrote, 'My new religion is pedro pascal's arms.'

'Pedro Pascal has been massively serving at #CannesFilmFestival so far,' another X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, adding that 'the other men don't stand a CHANCE!'

A third fan added, 'Every time someone invalidates me for finding a 50 year old man hot, Pedro Pascal validates me by showing up even sexier and hotter than the day before.'

Pedro Pascal showed up to the Cannes red carpet in a black muscle tank top showing off his biceps and a generous part of his torso from the side

As The Last of Us star, 50, made his way down the carpet in the French seaside town of Cannes, he stuck his tongue out and blew a kiss and the assembled fans and photographers

A fan really made their point by writing, 'I feel like a Victorian man catching a glimpse of an ankle.'

Elsewhere on the red carpet, the Materialists star commented on the current climate in U.S. politics and very vociferously said, 'F**k the people who try to make you scared.'

When he was asked, alongside Eddington cast members Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and Austin Butler  if they were worried about reentering the U.S. after making a film with such a strong political message, he said, 'Fear is the way that they win.'

'So keep telling the stories, keep expressing yourself and keep fighting to be who you are,' he continued, per Variety. 'F**k the people that try to make you scared, you know? And fight back. This is the perfect way to do so in telling stories. And dont let them win.'

Eddington is set at the height of the COVID pandemic in May 2020 and follows 'a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal)' that 'sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.'

Earlier in the press conference, the Wild Robot actor was asked about Donald Trump's immigration policies.

'Obviously, its very scary for an actor participating in a movie to sort of speak to issues like this. Its far too intimidating the question for me to really address, Im not informed enough,' he said.

'I want people to be safe and to be protected, and I want very much to live on the right of history. Im an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the U.S. after asylum in Denmark.'

His fans couldn't get enough of his playful behavior or his arms at the the Palais des Festivals for the photo call for his upcoming film Eddington

One fan shared a photo of Pedro with his arm around Emma Stone and wrote, 'My new religion is pedro pascal's arms'

'Pedro Pascal has been massively serving at #CannesFilmFestival so far,' another X (formerly Twitter ) user wrote, adding that 'the other men don't stand a CHANCE!'

A third fan wrote, 'Every time someone invalidates me for finding a 50 year old man hot, Pedro Pascal validates me by showing up even sexier and hotter than the day before'

Pascal continued: 'If it werent for that, I dont know what would have happened to us. I stand by those protections. Im too afraid of your question, I hardly remember what it was.'

When Pedro arrived in Cannes earlier this week, his jawline looked remarkably chiseled  prompting plastic surgery rumors.

Some speculated about the actor getting a 'neck lift' with one writing, 'Fresh neck lift is sitting' and another adding, 'Oh that neck lift did him well!'

Others wondered if his prominent jaw was due to weight loss. 'Is he dropping weight for a role?' one asked.

'He must be hitting the gym because he looks way slimmer.'

'It's amazing how skinny he looks here vs when he's on a show or something... wonder if he's lost weight recently.'

Meanwhile, Pedro came to the aid of his co-star Emma Stone when a bee got a little too close to her for her comfort.

While posing for photos alongside Pedro and Austin at the screening of Eddington, the 36-year-old actress' face suddenly twisted in surprise and fear.

A fan really made their point by writing, 'I feel like a Victorian man catching a glimpse of an ankle'

Elsewhere on the red carpet, the Materialists star commented on the current climate in U.S. politics and very vociferously said, 'F**k the people who try to make you scared'

Her co-stars started laughing at her reaction as a bee started flying a little too close for comfort and tried to help her swat it away.

As she was breaking down over the sudden surprise, her two co-stars tried to save her as Butler attempted to blow the bee away but accidentally made it fly even closer to Stone.

Then, Pascal waved the bee away with his hand before wrapping his arms around Stone to catch her when her knees' buckled and she pretended to melt away in relief.
Estonian rapper Tommy Cash has ignited fresh controversy with his Eurovision 2025 entry, Espresso Macchiato.

Many Italians have criticised it for perpetuating offensive stereotypes about their culture - including ones about coffee, the Mafia and smoking.

The song, performed in a mix of English and mock Italian, includes lyrics such as 'Ciao bella, I'm Tomaso, addicted to tobacco. Mi like mi coffee very importante,' and 'Mi money numeroso, I work around the clocko. That's why I'm sweating like a mafioso.'

While some viewers found the song humorous and satirical, others believed it crossed the line into offensive territory.

Taking to X they expressed their upset writing: 'Estonia is just bad and not in a funny way lol'

'I'm with the Italians. That was downright offensive from Estonia #Eurovision'

Estonian rapper Tommy Cash has ignited fresh controversy with his Eurovision 2025 entry, 'Espresso Macchiato'

Many Italians have criticised it for perpetuating offensive stereotypes about their culture - including ones about coffee, the Mafia and smoking

'Estonia there with the biggest crime against music I have ever had the displeasure of hearing. Pretty insulting to Italians there too. That's not music, that's just s***e. #Eurovision'

'Estonia - absolutely terrible #Eurovision'

'What in the racism was that? #Eurovision'

Before Saturday nights show Gian Marco Centinaio, Vice President of the Italian Senate, condemned the song.

He fumed: 'We cannot allow a song that reinforces negative stereotypes about our country to compete in such a major international event.

'He [Tommy Cash] should come to Italy and see how decent people really work before daring to write such a stupid and stereotypical song.'

Despite the backlash, Tommy Cash has defended his song and noted that many Italians have approached him positively, saying: 'Everyone coming to me is like 'I'm from Italy, you're a legend there and we're so happy to have your song'.

He added: 'The thing is, coffee is for the world. Everyone can drink coffee. Americans, Europeans, and this brings us together.'

In stark contrast, viewers were left very impressed with UK's girl group Remember Monday with their grand finale performance on Saturday night.

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, represented the UK with their song What The Hell Just Happened?

The song, performed in a mix of English and mock Italian, includes lyrics such as 'Ciao bella, I'm Tomaso, addicted to tobacco. Mi like mi coffee very importante,' and 'Mi money numeroso, I work around the clocko. That's why I'm sweating like a mafioso'

While some viewers found the song humorous and satirical, others believed it crossed the line into offensive territory and took to X to vent their anger

Before Saturday nights show Gian Marco Centinaio, Vice President of the Italian Senate, condemned the song

He fumed: 'We cannot allow a song that reinforces negative stereotypes about our country to compete in such a major international event. 'He [Tommy Cash] should come to Italy and see how decent people really work before daring to write such a stupid and stereotypical song.'

Despite the backlash, Tommy Cash has defended his song and noted that many Italians have approached him positively

He added that coffee is for everyone and brings everybody together, no matter where you are in the world

In stark contrast, Eurovision UK's girl group Remember Monday impressed viewers with their grand finale performance on Saturday night

Viewers were left convinced the group would win the competition as they praised their 'unbelievable vocals'.

While some fans are worried the UK won't get enough points, they insisted Remember Monday's song will be a hit regardless of the result.

The UK last finished triumphant in the contest 27 years ago with the victory of Katrina and the Waves in 1997, with their track Love Shine A Light.

Remember Monday first gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019 and have also had careers in theatre.

Despite their high-energy routine, it appeared the odds were not in their favour as they were more likely to finish in last place than first, according to Ladbrokes.
The Duchess of Sussex and the former editor of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, were once inseparable.

Their friendship grew from Enninfuls invitation to the Duchess to guest-edit the fashion bible six years ago. Meghan said at the time that they were 'like-minded thinkers' who enjoyed 'philosophising' over steaming cups of mint tea.

How times have changed.

The pair have since drifted apart amid talk in fashion circles of a falling out between the two over a planned Vogue feature on the Duke and Duchesss charitable work.

Insiders admit that there has been a drifting of their friendship with one source close to the Duchess saying, time and geography mean that Edward and Meghan just dont get to see each other as much as they did when both were living in London.

The source continued, friendships drift over time, but the pair have exchanged cards and flowers for one anothers birthday and text each other from time to time to offer support for one anothers ventures.

The Vogue coverage was designed to tie in with Meghan's keynote appearance at the One Young World Summit in Manchester in September 2022.

But Conde Nast insiders claim it was abruptly pulled and scrapped completely.

The Duchess of Sussex (pictured) and the former editor of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, have drifted apart, and talk in fashion circles is of a falling out over a planned Vogue feature

A source close to the Duchess admitted, time and geography mean that Edward and Meghan just dont get to see each other as much as they did when both were living in London.

'The duchess and her team had high expectations and were expecting she might get a print cover or at least a digital cover out of it, but Enninful (pictured)was not able to meet those expectations,' a source said

The duchess is said to have been relaxed with no expectations but her team had high expectations for the piece.

Enninful was not in a position to meet those expectations. He already had a magazine cover in the bag for that month.

According to insiders, the project needed a full production team including photographers, videographers, stylists and editors to shoot exclusive images and film an in-depth video feature with the Sussexes.

Shelving the project is said to have damaged their friendship. 'Edward was furious to have lost the project, as were the powers that be at Conde Nast,' a source told the MoS.

Sources claim that Meghan's team had hoped the couple could feature on a special digital cover Vogue, which is released alongside the print edition.

But again, it is understood that Mr Enninful declined.

'He didn't think it was appropriate to give her the cover,' the source explained.

Tight timings meant the whole project was eventually shelved and relations between the pairmoved to only irregular contact. However, a source close to the Duchess says they have been in touch again recently. In August Edwards team sent flowers to the Duchess to mark her 43rd birthday.

Meghan and Mr Enninful , were once inseparable. So much so that Meghan recalled, after guest-editing the fashion bible six years ago, that they were 'like-minded thinkers' who enjoyed 'philosophising' over steaming cups of mint tea

The Duchess of Sussex was the guest editor on the 2019 September issue of British Vogue

The source said, they arent exactly in each others pockets but they are still intermittently in touch.

Sources add that during the years that followed Mr Enninful has increased his public involvement with the Royal Family, and a source close to Meghan claims that obviously this is a tightrope that Edward has to walk. He wouldnt want to take sides.

Enninful was initially supportive of her now-infamous 'Megxit' Oprah interview in 2021.

Mr Enninful, who was awarded an OBE in 2016 for his services to diversity in the fashion industry, is a trustee for The King's Fund, King Charles's charity, and interviewed the monarch for Vogue when he was still Prince of Wales in 2020. He attended his coronation in 2023, despite his open support of the Sussexes.

Mr Enninful follows all three of the King's charitable organisations on Instagram  but tellingly, does not follow Meghan or any of her enterprises. A source close to the Duchess said: she doesnt read anything into that because he doesnt follow his sister either.

Meghan was also said not to have been invited to a glittering black-tie gala in New York earlier this month for The King's Trust, which was hosted by Mr Enninful and held at Casa Cipriani's grand ballroom in New York.

Guests included Lionel Richie, Heidi Klum, Helena Christensen and British businesswoman Charlotte Tilbury. But Meghan, who attended Beyonce and James Taylor concerts in the past two weeks, was not on the list, sources say.

It is certainly a change from their previous relationship.

In 2019, the pair collaborated on an issue of British Vogue which became the fastest-selling in the magazine's 104-year history, selling out in ten days.

The 'Forces for Change' issue put inspirational women  including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and actresses Gemma Chan and Jane Fonda  on the cover.

The following year Mr Enninful addressed criticism Meghan had received when she joined the Royal Family.

He defended the duchess, calling her a 'brave woman' and describing the treatment of her as 'very unfair' and 'harsh'.

But he said he 'wouldn't just blame it on racism', adding: 'I think sometimes it takes a minute to understand the rules.' Whether he would defend her again today is another matter.

The Duchess of Sussex and Mr Enninful were approached for comment by the MoS.

Conde Nast also declined to comment.
Travelers planning to spend a day at Maryland's 'Secret Beach' will soon have to make reservations in advance.

The Maryland Park Service is launching a new Day-Use Reservation System at Greenbrier State Park.

The reservation requirement will take effect on May 24, and all visitors will have the chance to reserve day-use passes starting seven days before their visit.

Guests will be able to edit or cancel their reservations until 8.00am the day before they arrive at the park.

Greenbrier State Park's 42-acre lake and white sandy beach attract 500,000 visitors annually.

With this system, the goal is to reduce overcrowding, shrink park entrance traffic, and decrease the chances of the area reaching full capacity.

'By allowing visitors to plan ahead, we're helping families make the most of their time outdoors  with less stress and more confidence that they'll have a great day in our state parks,' said Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw.

The system will also launch for Sandy Point State Park on May 19 and expand to other Maryland parks later this year.

Greenbrier State Park, home of Maryland's 'secret' beach, will launch its new Day-Use Reservation System on May 19

Approximately 500,000 travelers and Maryland residents visit Greenbrier every year

Parkgoers will be required to make their reservations on the Maryland State Parks website.

Once upcoming guests fill out the necessary information, they will need to pay at the time of their reservation.

Greenbrier visitors are required to pay $3 per vehicle for a day pass for any day of the week.

However, the price will increase to $5 per visitors on Saturdays and Sundays starting Memorial Day weekend.

Visitors who aren't from Maryland will be required to pay an addition $2.

Discounts can be applied to Maryland Park Pass holders, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Staff members may also adjust prices depending on the number of parkgoers per vehicle.

Guests will be required to show a QR code at arrival when checking in with park employees.

Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw is using this system to help the areas be 'more welcoming and accessible to all'

The goal is to reduce overcrowding, shrink park entrance traffic, and decrease the chances of the area reaching full capacity

It comes after Maryland state parks experienced a significant boost in visitors.

The parks with the most visitor growth feature public swimming access.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 10.8 million travelers visited the state parks every year from 2010 to 2019.

Now, visitation for all Maryland parks is clocking in at an average of 18.7 million per year.

This growth has caused increased traffic jams, and left some hopeful visitors disappointed when they have been turned away by park employees due to overcrowding.

If the new reservation system works as planned, each attraction will be 'more welcoming and accessible to all,' said Crenshaw.

The system launch date for places like Point Lookout, Newtowne Neck, and North Point State Parks will be announced in the next few weeks.
Sex selection for non-medical reasons remains illegal in Australia, with a leading human rights lawyer urging the ban to stay  yet some mothers disagree.

Australias ban on non-medical sex selection remains a necessary safeguard, a leading human rights lawyer has warned, despite growing calls from some in the community to overturn it.

Professor Paula Gerber, who is also a children's rights specialist, urged Australians to reflect on the broader implications of what lifting the ban might mean, as reports emerge some families are spending tens of thousands of dollars travelling overseas to choose the sex of their babies.

In Australia, the practice has been outlawed since 2004, unless it's for medical reasons. Gerber explained there are a few legitimate health circumstances where it's an appropriate course of action.

"If there's a nasty genetic disease that could potentially be passed down from the parents too, and it's limited to one sex, for example haemophilia and muscular dystrophy are both only in males, you could then select the female embryo to plant to make sure that genetic disease is not passed on," she told Yahoo News Australia.

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But according to Gerber, picking the sex of a child based on "preference" raises several ethical concerns. She argued it reinforces gender stereotypes, and Australia in particular is a society with a high immigrant population who tend to have a preference for sons.

"Australia still has serious problems with gender equality, with males being preferred over women, and we're trying to overcome that gender inequality," she said. "We're trying to combat gender-based violence, and increasing the percentage of males in the population compared to females is going in the opposite direction.

"Not only that, you only have to look to China and their one child policy, where they had a strong preference for sons, to see that when they got to the age where they wanted to partner and marry and have children, suddenly there weren't enough women for all the men."

In Australia, non-medical sex selection has been outlawed since 2004. Source: Getty

Aussie influencer spends big bucks on overseas sex selection

Headlines were made earlier this week after a Melbourne influencer admitted to spending tens of thousands on the process to conceive her baby girl. Content creator Caitlin Bailey is already a single mum to three young children, two boys and a girl, all conceived naturally and aged between 1 and 5.

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But determined to complete what she calls her "balanced" family, the 31-year-old spent around $45,000, including travel expenses, to conceive another baby girl. "If weve got [technology] that allows us to do this and its not hurting anybody, I dont understand why its not an option [in Australia]," Caitlin told The Herald Sun.

Sex selection is usually done through pre-implantation genetic testing, where embryos created via IVF are screened for their chromosomes, allowing doctors to choose and implant embryos of the desired sex.

While acknowledging some parents might feel as though they "would be better with a daughter rather than a son" or vice versa, Gerber said "people need to think about it in a more nuanced way".

"It's not a black and white issue," she said. "If you think about the broader ramifications in the individual woman's desires at that time, then hopefully we can get some better informed positions and not hundreds of people going overseas to do this.

"We have several surveys testing attitudes to allowing sex selection, and overwhelmingly, as in, more than 80 per cent, they say no we we don't think it should be allowed.

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"There's also no guarantee  you might have a child assigned female at birth who later identifies as trans. Are you not going to love them any less because they are no longer female, they're now male? And there are also various intersex conditions. You're not guaranteed that you're going to get a female child just because you screen for that sex at the pre-implantation stage."

National guidelines to remain unchanged

In a statement, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) said the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) again considered non-medical sex selection (NMSS) in 2020. "AHEC noted the extensive discussion and consultation that informed the development of guidelines on this issue and concluded that there was no new information or perspectives that would justify reopening this issue," the council said.

The AHEC maintains non-medical sex selection should remain prohibited. It said it provides national ethical guidance, but emphasised that the regulation of clinical practices ultimately falls under the jurisdiction of individual states and territories.

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While Australia continues to ban sex selection for non-medical reasons, some argue in favour of family balancing, especially when parents have children of one gender and wish to have the other. Others highlight reproductive autonomy and suggest regulating the practice domestically would be safer than forcing families to seek it overseas.

Professor Paula Gerber is a human rights lawyer and children's rights activist. Source: X/ProfPaulaGerber

Still, concerns around gender bias, inequality, and long-term social impacts remain at the centre of the debate. "What do you tell your existing child? Oh, look, I'm desperate for another one, but I want to make sure I don't have another one like you," Gerber said. "And you're also creating embryos that are then just going to be discarded if they're not of the sex that you want.

"I don't think there's any situation on a preference basis that it should be allowed."

Interest in reform continues to surface, especially among those who feel that access to the technology could be granted under strictly regulated frameworks. But for now, the national guidelines remain unchanged  with the focus still firmly on protecting against gender bias and maintaining ethical safeguards in reproductive medicine.

Gerber acknowledged that in some cases, a parent's strong preference for a child of a particular sex may stem from deeper emotional or psychological reasons that shouldnt be dismissed outright.

Rather than allowing sex selection on that basis, she believes those situations should be met with care and professional support. "I think if you have a mother who feels strongly about wanting a child of a particular sex, then you need to have counselling and conversations with them about that," she said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
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The Labour PM Keir Starmer has today announced that he is conducting a prolonged program of assisted dying on himself, the Labour Party, UK economy and democracy.

Exterminate! Exterminate! I am exterminating myself! Malfunction! DESTROY! Exterminate UK! Exterminate Everyone! Starmer bleated like a deranged Dalek during an impromptu press conference.

Concerned MPs gathered around the PM afterwards, asking if he was okay as he looked visibly shaken.

Rachel Reeves, the ailing Chancellor of the Exchequer, took out a soiled napkin from her purse and padded Starmers profusely sweating forehead saying the calming words: Its okay Keir, Im in charge of the economy. Everything is going to be just fine.

This assisted dying lark seems like a right laugh.
Kati ThandaLake Eyre has only filled to capacity three times in the past 160 years. As floodwaters arrive, they trigger a remarkable transformation.

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is filling up for just the fourth time in the past 160 years, creating one of the countrys rarest ecological and tourism events. Source: SA government

Tourists and travellers hoping to catch a glimpse of an incredible natural phenomenon sweeping across massive parts of the country's south have been warned that any trip to spectate "requires careful planning and preparation".

South Australia's Department of Environment reported last week that 600 to 1000 gigalitres of water are flowing into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in South Australia from western Queensland, after a 2,000 kilometre band of rain swept across the country in March.

The deluge saw parts of the Queensland outback go underwater, with residents cut off for weeks. Now the water is spilling into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, which has only filled to capacity three times in the past 160 years.

The full inundation is expected to breathe life back into the salt lakes crust, its wildlife, and the surrounding vegetation. As floodwaters arrive, they trigger a remarkable transformation  rare and dormant species burst into life, and others are drawn to the lake in spectacular numbers.

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Speaking to Yahoo News on Friday, an SA National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesperson said the best way to see Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre "and the hundreds of species of birdlife that it attracts", is from the air.

"But visitors can witness the spectacle of the lake from dedicated viewing points within Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park," they said.

"The new management plan for the park, which was introduced in February this year, restricts recreational access to the lakebed, including visitors entering the lakebed on foot. All other recreational activities, including swimming, driving, boating and landing aircraft, are already restricted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972."

Aircraft crews are set to take tourists to witness the incredible scenes from June 1. Source: Outback Spirit

Sitting 15 metres below sea level, Kati ThandaLake Eyre is Australias lowest point and spans an immense 9,500 square kilometres. It is co-managed by the South Australian government and the Indigenous Arabana people, whose deep cultural ties to the region help guide its protection.

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With the return of water, brine shrimp hatch from long-dormant eggs in the soil, providing food for fish swept in by the floods. Meanwhile, millions of waterbirds, including breeding species that migrate from as far as China and Japan, flock to the lake to feed, nest, and raise their young.

Travellers hoping to catch glimpse of incredible spectacle warned

Viewing the rare event can be done from setting up your base at Halligan Bay Point Campground, which sits along the lakes edge. More than 10 hours' drive north of Adelaide, the site is 4WD access only. The site is flat and exposed, offering only basic amenities such as toilets and picnic shelters. For those seeking an alternative, camping is also available at Muloorina Bore, located north of Marree.

National Parks and Wildlife Service District Ranger Travis Gotch said visiting Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is a "unique experience", but it also requires caution, especially when camping at the remote location.

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"Know where youre staying, drive to the conditions and make sure that you have enough food, water and resources to fully enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime trip," Gotch said.

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, usually barren, is about to make an incredible transformation. Source: Outback Spirit

"Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is a special place. It deserves to be seen, but also to be preserved. Visitors can help by staying on marked tracks, taking all litter home and respecting the cultural significance of the lake and surrounds.

"Water will start to find its way into the north lake in early May, and there will be varying water levels for up to six months. The best times to visit would be between May and October."

Amy Barham from tour operator Outback Spirit told Yahoo News the water levels are expected to swell higher than in 1974, which was a huge flood year for Lake Eyre. "Lake Eyre flooding, historically, is usually every three to four years," Barham had earlier said.

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"This year is set to have the most substantial water fill we've seen in the last 15 years." For the Arabana people, the lake is considered to be "sacred" and "dangerous to visit without the guidance of cultural authority". Swimming, driving off designated tracks, and boating were already prohibited when a fresh set of recreational bans came into force earlier this year, preventing visitors from walking on the lake bed.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Bethany Clarke has recalled her horrific ordeal, and revealed to Yahoo her anguish after nearly avoiding the tragedy altogether.

Simone White pictured at the backpacker hostel (left), and with Bethany Clarke tubing on their travels. Source: Supplied

'Steer clear, drink beer'.

They're the four words Bethany Clarke wants every backpacker heading to Southeast Asia to remember.

That's because six months ago, the 28-year-old Brisbane resident watched her best friend's devastated mother struggle to turn off her daughter's life support in a Laos hospital  and she doesn't want anyone else to go through the same experience.

"I just sat there watching her stats on the monitor slowly get lower and lower," Bethany recalled to Yahoo News Australia. Because of the language barrier, the steps required weren't fully communicated, meaning the ordeal took over an hour. "It was just horrendous," she said.

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Bethany is one of the survivors of the Laos methanol poisoning tragedy that made headlines around the world. Six people died, including Bethany's best friend Simone White, a British lawyer, and the two Melbourne teenagers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones. It's believed all six victims, as well as other tourists hospitalised at the time, drank the same spirits suspected of being laced with lethal doses of methanol.

Bethany and Simone, both from the UK and friends since childhood, were travelling Southeast Asia with another friend David last November when they arrived in Vang Vieng, a Laos backpacker hotspot which had tried to repair what was once a notorious reputation for cheap alcohol and drugs several decades ago.

They settled into the Nana Backpackers Hostel before heading down to its bar and enjoying its famous free shots offered every night during happy hour. And while there was nothing that stood out as concerning to her, Bethany did have her reservations.

David took a photo of the first round of free spirits they received at the hostel bar. Source: Supplied

"I remember looking at the sign and thinking 'Christ, the alcohol must be very cheap to be able to make it free for two hours'," Bethany noted. The group went on to consume five to six shots each at the bar.

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The next day they started to feel off. Booked in for a day of kayaking, they felt lethargic and couldn't muster the energy to do much at all. "Simone and I just had to lie there looking up at the sky," Bethany recalled after getting onto a kayak each.

They soldiered on and hours later they were on a bus to the next destination of their holiday but their conditions deteriorated. With Simone repeatedly throwing up and Bethany fainting, their friend David wasn't taking any chances and took them to the nearest hospital. It was there that Simone would then take a turn for the worse.

"She started going into respiratory distress and was gasping for breath and couldn't talk," Bethany said. "She couldn't even look at me properly."

Now seriously fearing for her welfare in an overcrowded facility, they managed to relocate to a private hospital where they were admitted to the ICU in private rooms. Little did Bethany know, she would never speak with her best friend again.

"The next day the doctors told me she was doing better but she'd had a seizure. I contacted her mum Sue by text saying we were in hospital but Simone is doing better now, but we need to wait for her to wake up from sedation.

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"And of course, she never woke up."

Bethany said she and Simone had never heard of methanol poisoning impacting tourists. Source: Supplied

Simone's mother flew out as quickly as she could from the UK, and by the time her mum arrived she'd had surgery on her brain to try and alleviate built-up pressure. Despite having just a 20 per cent success rate, it worked. But tragically doctors discovered she would need surgery on the other side of her head after discovering further swelling. Such a procedure would leave her in a coma indefinitely. Without it, she would endure a prolonged death.

After four days and assistance from the consulate to convince doctors to agree to her wishes, Sue was allowed to turn off her daughter's life support.

Desperate warnings about hostel on Google Reviews deleted

While the hospital eventually began to suspect methanol poisoning was the cause of their symptoms, Bethany had no idea she was part of a much-wider tragedy impacting tourists from all around the world.

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When other backpackers presented to the same hospital with similar symptoms, it soon became apparent this was not an isolated incident. By this point, other tourists and friends of those impacted began leaving desperate warnings about the hostel on Google Reviews.

Several posts tried to get the message out there that people who drank at the hostel were ending up in hospital in serious conditions impacting their breathing and vision. But they were met with accusations of slander by the hostel, and soon after, to the dismay of those impacted, the Google reviews vanished.

"I didn't even realise that could happen. I was just so surprised... those Google Reviews were supposed to be protecting the public. It's crazy," Bethany said.

One of the last photos of Bethany and Simone together on their holiday, sat with other tourists. Source: Supplied

Not knowing what else to do, she turned to Facebook and left a series of posts in specific groups for travellers in Laos. It was soon after she learned about Melbourne teens Holly and Bianca being taken to Thai hospitals in serious conditions, as well as the two young Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen who were also hospitalised. All four would later die in the tragedy.

"While we were there in the hospital there were more and more people coming in and we were thinking 'Jesus Christ, how big is this problem?'" Bethany recalled.

Google failed to respond to Yahoo's request for comment about the deleted reviews before publication.

Group nearly avoided hostel at centre of tragedy

Bethany, a self-proclaimed worrier who 'overthinks everything", revealed to Yahoo one "red flag" encounter with the hostel before they'd even arrived could have meant they avoided the deadly bar altogether.

When they were at the airport heading to Laos, they realised their room booking wasn't for three people so they called the hostel. But both Simone and Bethany failed to get a straight answer from the receptionist and grew increasingly frustrated with the situation. It was at that point they decided to find alternative accomodation.

"I said to Simone we need to book a hotel, so we found one and had it all booked but David in the meantime had managed to sort it out with the hostel and book a three-person room so we had to revert back to the hostel."

When they arrived, they were met by someone else who Bethany said was much more accommodating, meaning her reservations about the place were quickly forgotten.

The Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng where the allegedly deadly shots were given out for free. Source: AFP via Getty Images

But in hindsight, she wishes that red flag had been enough to convince them to move on.

"I would have liked to think we wouldn't have gone to the hostel bar if we'd ended up at the hotel, but you just don't know," Bethany told Yahoo. "I kept second guessing everything when it all happened. It's all these should haves, would haves. You can't keep doing it to yourself."

Methanol survivor's campaign mirrors Australian efforts

Bethany is now campaigning to have methanol education implemented into schools' curriculums in her native UK. The motto of her campaign is "steer clear, drink beer". It is similar to the messaging used by Colin Ahearn, a seasoned campaigner who has worked tirelessly in Australia to warn tourists of the dangers of methanol poisoning overseas, particularly in Bali via his Facebook awareness page "Just Don't Drink Spirits in Bali".

The idea of both campaigns is to prevent tourists drinking free-poured spirits. And while the risk is low, there is a chance liquors sold abroad contain methanol, a deadly byproduct of distillation which can be found in bootleg spirits. Just 25ml of methanol consumed can prove fatal.

Over the years Colin has helped guide countless tourists from around the world who experience methanol poisoning, the majority of whom had no idea of what it was beforehand.

Colin praised Bethany's courage and determination to make a change, something he's been trying to do with little assistance. Both Colin and Bethany believe more needs to be done by governments, fearing a simple update of their travel advice sites is not enough to protect tourists.

Details of the ongoing investigations in Laos are scarce, with even the families of those impacted fed very little information through their respective embassies from Lao authorities. And while Yahoo understands charges against several people involved will be laid, whether that involves charges directly related to the six deaths is unclear, leaving families fearing true accountability for what has taken place won't be achieved.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Have you ever wondered why two gaming laptops with identical GPU models perform so differently? Perhaps youve noticed one RTX 4060 laptop consistently outperforming another, despite having the same graphics card on paper. The secret behind this performance gap often lies in a specification that many manufacturers conveniently tuck away in the fine print: Total Graphics Power, or TGP. Understanding this critical yet often overlooked specification could save you from spending more money on a higher-tier GPU that might actually perform worse than a properly configured lower-tier option.

The basics of TGP

Total Graphics Power (TGP) represents the maximum power allotted to a laptops graphics card, measured in watts. Unlike desktop GPUs, which operate within standardised power parameters, laptop graphics cards can be configured to draw vastly different amounts of power depending on the manufacturers design choices. TGP encompasses not just the GPU core itself, but the entire graphics solution, including memory and associated components.

TGP is often confused with TDP (Thermal Design Power), but theres a crucial difference. While TDP indicates the maximum heat a component generates that its cooling system can dissipate under normal conditions, TGP specifically refers to the power supplied to the graphics card. Think of TGP as the power budget your laptop allocates to its graphics capabilities  the higher this budget, the more performance potential your GPU has to work with.

Same GPU, different performance

The most eye-opening aspect of TGP is how dramatically it affects performance between identical GPU models. For instance, an RTX 3060 laptop GPU can be configured anywhere from 60W to 115W depending on the manufacturers implementation. This power variance directly impacts the GPUs boost clock speeds, which determine real-world performance.

Take the Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition with an RTX 3060 running at 125W TGP  it achieves 76.9 FPS in The Witcher 3 at Ultra settings. The MSI GF65 Thin, featuring the same RTX 3060 but at only 85W TGP, manages just 68.7 FPS in the same game. Thats nearly a 12% performance difference despite both laptops having the same graphics card.

Even more shockingly, in some cases, a lower-tier GPU with higher TGP can outperform a higher-tier GPU with restricted power. The Predator Neo 16 with an RTX 4050 at 115W TGP delivers better performance than the Alienware X14 R2s RTX 4060 at 85W TGP. This counter-intuitive scenario means consumers could potentially be paying premium prices for underperforming hardware if they dont consider TGP.

Why laptop makers dont highlight TGP clearly

Despite its significant impact on performance, many laptop manufacturers are conspicuously quiet about TGP specifications. Whilst Nvidia technically requires vendors to list power and clock speeds for RTX 30-series laptops, many prominent manufacturers like Asus, Razer, and Lenovo often dont prominently display this information.

There are several reasons for this reluctance. First, highlighting different power configurations for the same GPU model complicates marketing messages. Its simpler to advertise featuring RTX 4070 than explaining why their implementation might perform differently from competitors. Second, lower TGP versions allow manufacturers to integrate powerful GPUs into thinner, lighter laptops that couldnt accommodate the cooling systems needed for higher power versions.

Additionally, some manufacturers may prefer consumers focus on the GPU model rather than its power configuration, especially if their implementation runs at lower TGP than competitors. After all, an RTX 4080 with low TGP still sounds more impressive in marketing materials than an RTX 4070 with high TGP, even if the latter might perform better in reality.

Real-world scenarios and benchmarks

The impact of TGP differences becomes starkly apparent when examining real-world benchmarks. Looking at actual gaming performance across different laptops with the same GPU reveals just how significant these power differences can be:

For an RTX 3060 GPU, higher TGP configurations like the Alienware m15 R5 (125W) achieve a 1,680 MHz boost clock, resulting in 101.6 FPS in Far Cry 5 at Ultra settings. Meanwhile, an Acer Nitro 5 with the same GPU but at 80W TGP reaches only 1,425 MHz boost clock and delivers 96 FPS in the same game. Thats a 6% performance difference that directly correlates with the TGP disparity.

The impact becomes even more pronounced in demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077, where every ounce of GPU performance matters. The variance can mean the difference between a smooth gaming experience and one plagued by stutters and frame drops, especially when ray tracing features are enabled.

How to Check or Estimate TGP

Given how crucial TGP is to performance, knowing how to identify it becomes essential for informed purchases. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, not all manufacturers prominently display this information. Here are several methods to determine the TGP of your current or prospective laptop:

The steps to check the TGP of your GPU depend on the manufacturer. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, then you can go to the NVIDIA Control Panel and under the System Information, you will find Maximum Graphics Power:

The another way which is little lengthy but still recommended for enthusiasts is to stress test your GPU and monitor the maximum power being used by GPU via HWiNFO. We recommend 3DMark for GPU testing and the idea is to let the test finish while run the HWiNFO in the background and it will capture the TGP of your machine.

Should You Always Choose Higher TGP?

While higher TGP generally means better performance, its not always the optimal choice for every user. Consider these trade-offs:

Thermal Considerations: Higher TGP means more heat generation. A gaming laptop with 140W GPU power needs robust cooling systems to prevent thermal throttling, which often results in thicker, heavier designs and potentially louder fans. If portability matters to you, a moderate TGP might be preferable.

Battery Life: Graphics cards with higher TGP consume significantly more power, drastically reducing battery life during gaming sessions. If you frequently game unplugged, a lower TGP configuration might be more practical, though for maximum gaming performance, youll want to be plugged in regardless.

Form Factor: Thin and light gaming laptops simply cannot accommodate the cooling systems required for maximum TGP implementations. If you prioritise portability, youll need to accept the performance compromises that come with lower power configurations.

Usage Patterns: Consider what games you play and at what settings. If you mainly enjoy esports titles that arent graphically demanding, a lower TGP implementation might provide perfectly adequate performance while offering better battery life and thermals.

As a general guideline, for 1080p gaming, most mid-range GPUs with moderate TGP (around 80-100W) should deliver satisfactory performance. For 1440p gaming or demanding titles with ray tracing, higher TGP implementations (100W+) will provide noticeably better experiences.

Conclusion: What to Look for Before Buying

When shopping for a gaming laptop, looking beyond the GPU model name to its power configuration can save you from potential disappointment. Heres what to prioritise:

Always check the specific TGP value of any gaming laptop youre considering. Compare it against the maximum possible TGP for that GPU model to understand where it falls in the performance spectrum. Remember that a lower-tier GPU with higher TGP might outperform a higher-tier GPU with restricted power.

Consider your usage needs holistically-balance performance requirements against battery life, portability, and thermal considerations. Dont forget that other specifications like CPU, RAM, and cooling design also impact overall gaming performance.

Read professional reviews that include detailed benchmarks of the specific model youre considering, as these will reflect the real-world performance you can expect from that particular TGP configuration.

Finally, dont be swayed solely by marketing that emphasises having the latest high-end GPU model. A well-balanced system with appropriate TGP for your needs will provide a better overall experience than a thermally constrained, power-limited implementation of a theoretically more powerful GPU.

This article is part of our comprehensive Gaming Laptops Series designed to help you navigate the complex world of mobile gaming hardware with confidence and make informed purchasing decisions.
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Louth and Cooley Kickhams players of other days joined together in a walk across the Cooley Mountains last Saturday week. They were commemorating a son of the peninsula, and at the same time raising funds for a worthy cause.

Padraig ONeill played with both Louth and Kickhams, as did his brothers, Gareth, Redmond and Ogie. His lamented death took place last July at the age of 58.

Louth Past Players have staged a walk over the past few years. This was the fourth outing, and given the connections of the one in whose name it was being staged, the setting was entirely appropriate.

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Starting-point was The Lumpers in Ravensdale, which was bedecked in red-and-white for the walk and, you could say, the times that are in it.

From there the 50 or so walkers made their way across the side of the mountain, and along the way were joined by others, including members of the ONeill family, Padraigs wife Susan, and her children, Cillian, Neasa and Aoibhin.

The frontwalkers arrived in Carlingford about three hours after setting out, with others coming in at respectful intervals. They were heartened by the number that came out to greet them, among them Susans parents, Paddy and Mary Kirk.

It was Susans choice that the money raised would go to the Irish Heart Foundation.

There was never a chance of me taking up the invitation chief organiser, Seamus OHanlon, had sent this way to go on the hike. The occasional walk up to the Bluer Anchor is my butt.

However, I got along to the start and, and because OHanlon had suggested in his message to all those taking part to wear a county jersey, I brought the one I got while training with the county team along with me  under my arm, of course  and just missed out on meeting a former Louth colleague, Leslie Toal.

I got the jersey around the late 1960s, and this being a time when there were no perks for county players, this hand-out was a rarity.

My jersey was that well worn at the time, it could now be over 60 years old. Theres no cuff on the right sleeve, and the number is missing.

But the crest is intact. Its an embroidered green St Brigids Cross in a shield stitched on to the jersey and is much more attractive than the one worm on todays jerseys.

Fintan Murphy was proud to tell me it was Carlingford lady, Lily Woods, John Woods aunt, who suggested having a crest and came up with the idea of a St Brigids Cross.

Seamus OHanlon says the craic was mighty on the walk and afterwards in Carlingford. Some of the old stories lost nothing in the re-telling  in fact, some were probably embellished, and may even have been true, he says. The singing was good, as well.

The former Clan na Gael player, helped in organising the event by JP Rooney and Peter McGinnity, says another outing is planned for next year, and again the money raised will go to a deserving cause.

The three walks that took place prior to this one were in memory of Stephen Melia, Benny Reilly and Colm Quinn.
Senator Alison Comyn has been meeting with residents of Collon, Co Louth, who say that speeding traffic through the village is making life difficult and often dangerous for locals.

The Louth Fianna Fail representative has contacted council officials to see what traffic calming measure may be appropriate, as the volume and speed of traffic, in particular lorries, is creating a daily hazard to local drivers.

I was contacted by many residents I had met whilst campaigning for the general election last year, who still have serious concerns for the traffic coming through the village on the N2 between Ardee and Slane, said Senator Comyn.

The sheer volume and speed of the traffic, which does contain a high number of large articulated lorries, is phenomenal, and I can see why locals are hoping for either traffic lights or other traffic calming measures, to help traffic cross towards Lobinstown on the Kells Road.

Read Next: Funding to refurbish Louth playground

There is a pedestrian crossing on Ardee Street, closer to Donegans pub, Senator Comyn says the sensible thing to do would be to move that to the crossroads as timed traffic lights, which would assist vehicles and pedestrians.

I spoke to one local Martin Sherlock, who says motorists are taking their life in their hands trying to cross the busy intersection of the N2/Kells Road, and something needs to be done immediately to slow the traffic down, she adds.

I am calling for a traffic report to ascertain what measures would be most suitable, and to be included in roads and infrastructure budgeting as a matter of urgency, before a serious incident occurs at this lethal junction.

I think a roundabout would be too tight, and ramps would not be suitable on such a main road, so traffic lights, with signs and rumble strips would seem a viable option.
North Louth Hospice & Homecare Foundation has announced that Hospice Sunflower Days is returning for its 35th year next month with the on-street collection taking place on Friday 6th June and Saturday 7th June 2025. Hospice Sunflower Days Ambassadors, Miriam OCallaghan and Jenny McCarthy, were on hand to officially launch this years campaign.

As well as the on-street collection, the public can also support North Louth Hospice & Homecare Foundation by donating online throughout the month of June at www.sunflowerdays.ie. Every euro raised locally, stays locally and the donation will go directly to North Louth Hospice & Homecare Foundation.

The funds raised play a vital role in supporting the delivery of specialist palliative care in communities across Ireland. Hospice and specialist palliative homecare services provide free-of-charge care and support to those living with a life-limiting illness, whilst also helping and supporting the patients family members. The funds raised will be used for Patient Driver Services, Family Support and Nursing Care.

2025 Hospice Sunflower Days campaign, Anne Newell, North Louth Hospice, said: We are thrilled to launch the 35th Hospice Sunflower Days campaign. We rely so much on the publics support which allow us to continue to provide our vital services. We are calling on everyone from Louth to donate what they can, either on-street or on-line this June, as every euro raised locally, stays locally and really does make a big difference at a local level.

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Hospice Sunflower Days Ambassador, Miriam OCallaghan, commented, The Hospice Sunflower Days campaign is one I am absolutely delighted to support as I have seen firsthand the fantastic work and care that hospices and homecare services provide to patients and families all across the country. With hospices needing to raise approximately 20 million each year to continue to provide their specialist care, it is so important for the public to show their support by donating on-street or on-line during this years campaign.

You can support North Louth Hospice & Homecare Foundation by donating to the on-street volunteers on Friday 6th or Saturday 7th June, or by donating online throughout the month of June via the website, www.sunflowerdays.ie
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, Minister with Responsibility for Older Persons, Kieran ODonnell and Minister with Responsibility for Local Government and Planning, John Cummins have announced allocations to local authorities of over 117 million for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People.

Louth County Council has received a 36% increase in exchequer funding for 2025, rising from 1.98m in 2024 to 2.69m in 2025. When combined with the contribution from the local authority, Louth County Council has a total budget of 3.17m for the grant.

Nationally, the 99.5 million exchequer funding combined with the local authority contribution, represents an overall funding of 117m.

Following a review completed last year, the Government has also introduced significant improvements in the grant including:

an increase in the maximum level of Housing Adaption Grant for Disabled People to 40,000 (an increase of 10,000)

an increase in the maximum level of the Housing Aid for Older People Grant to 10,700 (an increase of 2,700); and

an increase in the maximum level of the Mobility Aid Grant of 8,000 (an increase of 2,000)

Commenting today Minister Browne said:

The increased level of funding available in 2025 will continue to ensure delivery of these vital grants and empower local authorities like Louth County Council to further assist older and disabled individuals in living independently within their own homes.

"Having met many grant recipients across the country, I've witnessed at first-hand the remarkable difference they make in empowering older and disabled individuals to live independently at home for longer.

"These grants also support local economies, creating employment opportunities for local contractors.

Minister with responsibility for Older People, Kieran ODonnell said:

In my role as Minister of State with responsibility for housing for older people, my absolute priority is to enable individuals to continue living in their own homes and communities for as long as possible.

Today's funding announcement is a further positive step towards achieving this.

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Minister with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, John Cummins said:

I want to compliment local authorities for the key role they play in administering the grants, including assessing applications and arranging home inspections where adaptations are proposed.

Through this work, local authorities are empowering older and disabled people in their daily routines enabling them to maintain their independence within their own homes.

The Housing (Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People) Regulations 2024 provided the legal basis for the introduction of the recommendations set out in the review completed in 2024.

The key changes included an increase in the grant limits of over 30%, an increase of 25% in the income thresholds for eligibility. The legislation also adjusts the burden sharing for local authorities by reducing the local authority funding contribution to 15% (from the existing 20%).
The Last of Us season 2 has taken over our screens, showing just how hard survival can be in a world overrun by Runners, Stalkers, Clickers and Bloaters. But what if that world was Ireland?

Legacy Communications, a creative digital PR and communications agency conducted a study analysing several data points including CSO data to create the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Index revealing which counties would give you the best shot at staying alive if an apocalypse like in The Last of Us ever hit Ireland.

They examined seven key survival factors, including population density, the distance to pharmacies, A&E units and supermarkets, as well as access to agricultural land, fresh water and high point mountainous areas, all crucial for avoiding becoming zombie-bait.

Louth ranks tenth among the safest counties in Ireland to survive a zombie apocalypse, with a survival score of 349.7.

It provides 61,473 hectares of agricultural land, 101 hectares of lakes and reservoirs, and shops only 3.1 km away and pharmacies 1.8 km away; it has plenty of space and nearby resources to help you stay safe from the infected.

Micheal Brennan, Head of Search Marketing at Legacy Communications commented:

While this research is, of course, tongue-in-cheek, its built on real data and highlights how access to resources like food, water and healthcare can make all the difference in a survival scenario.

Whether youd be heading for the hills or not, this index gives a light-hearted look at which counties might offer the best shot at staying safe  and which ones you might want to avoid if the unthinkable ever happened.

So, while you're counting down the days until the next episode, you can start planning your survival strategy... Just in case!

Galway tops the list with a survival score of 442.5. With a low population density of just 45.1 people per km, access to 28,499 hectares of fresh water, 336,401 hectares of farmland, and the natural protection of the Connemara mountains, the county offers everything you need to stay hidden and self-sufficient. Just like Joel and Ellie found safety in Jackson, Galway gives you the space, resources, and cover to avoid becoming infected.

Cork, also known as The Rebel County, ranks second with a survival score of 425.9. Cork has the largest agricultural land in Ireland at 529,666 hectares, with pharmacies only 2.88 km away and supermarkets 2.43 km away, making it a prime location for survival. Like in The Last of Us, where universities are stocked with essentials, places like UCC and MTU could offer food, tools, and medicine when it matters most.

Limerick ranks third with a score of 421.0. With its expansive farmland, mountain ranges, and 918-meter-high terrain, it offers both essential resources and a height advantage, perfect for spotting threats. Just like Joel and Ellie scout from rooftops in Pittsburgh, survivors in Limerick could take advantage of tall buildings like the Clayton Hotel for a safer lookout against Clickers or hostile groups like the W.L.F.

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Waterford ranks fourth with a score of 378.1. Known for its abundant sunlight and 122,231 hectares of agricultural land, it is perfect for growing your own food. With pharmacies and supermarkets within 3 km, you can easily grab supplies when needed. Just move quickly!

Tipperary rounds out the top five with a score of 372.5. With only 39 people per km, 5,239 hectares of lakes, and over 300,000 hectares of farmland, its the quiet, resource-rich spot youd need to stay off the infecteds radar.

In the event of a Last of Us outbreak, some parts of Ireland would give you the best shot at surviving. With a combination of resources, strategic terrain, and access to food and medicine, some counties are better equipped to protect you and help you stay self-sufficient.

For more information visit: https://legacycommunications.com/insights/zombie-survival-index/
17,776 in funding has been allocated for refurbishment of the children's playground in Blackrock, Co Louth, it was announced on Monday by Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley.

The funding is part of a 500,000 funding package that has been awarded for 28 playgrounds and play areas around the country through the Capital Grant Scheme for Play and Recreation.

The scheme provides funding to support city and county councils in upgrading existing playgrounds or developing new playgrounds. It offers maximum funding of up to 20,000 per project, an investment that is expected to see positive impacts delivered to children and families across the country.

It was obligatory for councils to consult with local children and young people to receive any grant funding for playgrounds and play areas under the scheme. Councils also had to provide matching funding of at least 25 per cent of the cost of the project.

Read also: Push for funding for Louth GAA stadium

Minister Foley said: I am delighted to announce this capital funding that will directly benefit families and children in every corner of Ireland. These grants will enable city and county councils to create and upgrade playgrounds, making them more accessible, inclusive and enjoyable for everyone.

"I want to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to the local authorities for their applications and I look forward to seeing the benefits these projects will provide to local communities for many years to come.
A cyclist and a motorcyclist have died following separate road crashes in Northern Ireland.

Cyclist Paddy McDonald, 62, from the Castleblayney area across the Irish border in Co Monaghan, died following an incident which happened at about 2.20pm on Friday in the Middletown area of Co Armagh.

Just a few hours later, Philip Taylor, 56, from the Newtownabbey area, died after a collision on the Knockan Road in Broughshane, Co Antrim, at about 6.50pm.

Police have issued an appeal for information around both incidents.

In relation to the first collision, Inspector Cherith Adair, from the collision investigation unit, said Mr McDonald was declared dead at the scene.

Police received a report at around 2.20pm of a serious road traffic collision involving a car and a cyclist on the Monaghan Road in the Middletown area, she said.

Officers attended, alongside colleagues from our partner emergency services. A male cyclist was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

He was 62-year-old Paddy McDonald from the Castleblayney area.

The road was closed for a period of time as officers conducted inquiries, but has since reopened.

In relation to the second collision, Ms Adair said police received a report of a serious road traffic collision, involving a motorcycle, in the Knockan Road area, shortly after 6.50pm.

Officers attended, alongside colleagues from our partner emergency services, and sadly the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, she said.

He was 56-year-old Philip Taylor from the Newtownabbey area.

The road was closed for some time, but has since reopened.

She added: Inquiries are ongoing into the circumstances of the collision and we would like to hear from witnesses or anyone who may have captured dash-cam or other footage which could assist us.

The PSNI can be contacted on 101, or reports can be made online at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/
While there has been a significant increase in the number of cataract procedures carried out at Corks South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) during 2024 compared to figures from previous years, people seeking the procedure in Cork could have to wait up to 15 months.

According to figures provided to Cork South Central Fianna Fail TD Seamus McGrath, 1870 cataract surgeries were carried out in Cork during 2024, up from 1298 procedures in 2023 and 1124 cataract operations in 2022.

In the response, Ms Helen ODonovan, the chief executive of the SIVUH said they expected to carry out 1800 surgeries in 2025.

The increase in cataract operations has been attributed largely to the move of ophthalmology services in Cork and Kerry to what is described as a state of the art unit in the SIVUH which opened on August 26 last year.

A HSE South West spokesperson told The Echo: This new facility has successfully relocated all planned and emergency ophthalmology services from Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital to SIVUH, ensuring better accessibility and convenience for patients."

The opening of this new theatre has led to a remarkable increase in cataract operations from 2023 to 2024, showcasing the positive impact of this development.

As of May 2025, 172 people are waiting for a cataract procedure, with wait times ranging from 0 to 15 months. Each case is carefully reviewed and prioritised by a clinician based on urgency, ensuring that those in need receive timely care. The HSE South West response to The Echo also disclosed that while public patients benefit from the cataract service free of charge, the cost to the public system is 862 for a minor cataract and 4,206 for a major cataract.

The increase in the number of procedures carried out is good news according to the Cork South Central Fianna Fail TD. I welcome the increase in the number of surgeries but, obviously, there are still capacity issues and we need to continually improve resources in this respect, said Mr McGrath.

Michael Collins, the Cork South West TD and Independent Ireland leader, has been organising Belfast or Blind buses to bring people from Cork and Kerry who are suffering from cataracts to Northern Ireland where they can get the operation in a private hospital. They get a partial reimbursement for this surgery from the Cross Border Health Scheme.

Since this time last year there has been a significant reduction in the subsidy available for cataract procedures under the cross border health scheme.

Previously those availing of the scheme received a payment of almost 2,000 to reimburse them for the costs of the operation in Belfast  but this assistance was reduced to just 1,173 on September 1 of last year.
Cork City Council has agreed to provide more than 127,000 to repair the roof of Firkin Crane, as the owners believe that the building could have to close this winter otherwise.

At a council meeting this week, the chief executive circulated a report explaining that a formal request for financial support was received from the board of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, for the re-roofing of the building in Shandon.

The building, owned by The Firkin Crane CLG, is a protected structure and is also on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

It was designed in 1855 by John Benson, and has served various purposes over the years, including as a butter market exchange.

Refurbished in the 1990s, it became Irelands first dance house, before it was rebranded as Dance Cork Firkin Crane.

A report by Southgate Associates, heritage conservation specialists, provided by Dance Cork Firkin Crane (DCFC), recommends repairs to the roof which, although structurally sound, is leaking badly due to [the] failure of the roof membrane installed in 1985 and now well beyond its design life.

The management of DCFC says that without immediate intervention there is a risk of closure, for health and safety reasons, during the upcoming winter months, with consequences for the many schools, artists, and community groups who rely on this space, as well as lost income that could jeopardise the future of the organisation itself, the report noted.

Cost

DCFC is requesting 127,364 from the council  the total estimated cost for the re-roofing project is 197,364  but DCFC has secured 20,000 through its own resources and is proposing to apply for a capital funding grant of 50,000, the maximum available amount, from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The council report explained: The executive has engaged with the board and management of DCFC and is satisfied that all available fundraising routes that can secure repairs by this summer have been exhausted and that support from Cork City Council is necessary to expedite the repair and thus safeguard the building, adding that they recommend DCFC increase its fundraising activities to support future repairs.

The council contribution of 127,364, which was approved unanimously by elected members, includes match-funding the 50,000 DCFC may get from the Government, and providing the remaining balance as an interest-free loan to be repaid over an agreed term.

The loan of 77,364 is subject to provision by DCFC of a confirmed final quote for the works from a competitively-procured contractor.

The report added that the proposed investment aligns with the councils commitment to preserving Corks heritage; and the commitment to protect and optimise arts infrastructure under the space for art strategic goal in the Cork City Council Arts And Culture Strategy 2022  2026.
It would cost in the region of 2.5m for 49 Cork city households awaiting news on the tenant-in-situ (TIS) scheme to spend a year in emergency accommodation, as public representatives have called for clarity on a commitment from the housing minister to purchase properties.

At a city council meeting on Monday, the councils director of housing Alison ORourke informed councillors that there are currently 25 properties, housing 44 adults and 26 children, at sale agreed stages under the TIS scheme, as well as 24 further applications under various stages of review.

Housing minister James Browne said in the Dail on Thursday that he had met with Cork City Councils executive and that it was perfectly normal that they engaged with various people that they thought needed tenant-in-situ in advance of the allocation this year.

He added: Those allocations will be purchased this year for those people.

A spokesperson for the housing department told The Echo it is working closely with the council to explore how to ensure TIS acquisitions remain an option.

However, the spokesperson did not clarify if the commitment to purchase properties included the 24 under review or just the 25 at sale agreed stage.

Cork City Council told The Echo it continues to engage with the department, but also did not clarify which properties, if any, would be purchased.

Meanwhile, Jason Cashman, who previously told The Echo his private rental property was at sale agreed stage before he heard that funding was an issue, said: We have had no official communication or updates from Government or city council on this at all.

We are getting phone calls every few days from the auctioneers to see if there is any update, putting pressure on us, and I cant give them an answer.

It comes as Labour councillors were told on Monday by Ms ORourke that there would be a significant cost if those applicants were to enter emergency accommodation for a period of 12 months.

She explained that costs would vary depending on family size, location, and type of accommodation, but: Of the live applications, six are single households which would have [an] estimated max cost of 240k per annum.

The remaining are 18 households with an average of 2+2 which as a supported temporary accommodation (STA) costs roughly 700K and in a private emergency accommodation (PEA) [costs] 1m.

In total for a 12-month period that number of households could have a maximum cost up 1.24m.

If the sales of the 25 sale-agreed properties do not proceed, this figure could double.

Labour councillor Ciara OConnor said the data shows that purchasing the homes is the more cost-effective option in the long run.

Her party colleague Peter Horgan added that the ministers commitment was welcome but: We need to see the communication issued to the tenants and the landlords that the sale will happen as Im aware of landlords beginning to pull away from the process.

We also need to ensure that the 2025 to date applications are funded and processed quickly.

Sinn Fein TD Thomas Gould, to whom the Dail commitment was given, said: Seventy people, including 26 children, in Cork city are now relying on him to follow through on this.
A father with end-stage renal failure has pledged to strike outside Taoiseach Micheal Martins office in Cork to raise awareness over the lack of school places for his autistic child.

Speaking on The Neil Prendeville Show on Corks RedFM yesterday, Grace Kidney, who shares a five-year-old son named Ollie with Padraig Feen, said that they have been refused 46 times since they started applying for primary school spaces for their child.

Ollie, who is on the autism spectrum, was due to start school last year but has been held back due to the lack of availability in ASD classrooms.

As a result of this struggle, Mr Feen, who has stage five renal failure, said he is going to undertake a dialysis strike outside Mr Martins constituency office in Cork city to highlight the urgent need for additional ASD places in schools across the county.

Ollie is autistic. He has been diagnosed since he was two years old and is currently attending an ASD preschool in Carrigaline, said Ms Kidney, who lives in Douglas.

Last year, it was his time to go to primary school but I couldnt get him a place  it was next to impossible. So I was thinking this year, because he was a year older, he would be more inclined to get [one] but its actually worse.

Last year, I had 20 refusals for him and, this year, Ive had 26. I have all of Douglas covered, Carrigaline, Ballinhassig, and Cobh. I also have Togher and Ballyphehane, and those kind of areas.

Its all the same response  they dont have a place because all the classes are oversubscribed.

Most schools that Ive been applying to would only have one or two places available but one local school this year had seven places up for grabs. I really thought we would get one because were local [but we didnt].

The mum added: Ollies dad Padraig [is] a dialysis patient and hes quite unwell [but] he phoned Micheal Martins office last week and told him that he intends to protest outside his office and not attend dialysis  which he needs to survive.

Hes not on a transplant list yet but he attends dialysis every second day. He can go no longer than 72 hours [without it].

He doesnt have any kidney function at all. The dialysis is doing for him what my kidneys do for me. If he doesnt have dialysis, hell become really unwell.

He rang the Taoiseachs office last week and explained about Ollies [lack of] school [place] and they said that someone would give him a call back but were still waiting.

Hes given them a date that he intends to go up and sit outside the office. Hes taking this very seriously. Its a massive concern for me  hes my childs father  but he feels like this is the only thing that he can do.

Its very dangerous. Were all very worried but I can totally see it from his side. Theres nothing else we can do. It makes me so angry.

Ms Kidney said: My child is entitled to go to school, it is his human right to go to school. It just so happens that his brain works a little different to the neurotypical kids.

Hes a great little kid, hes really bubbly, and is extremely clever. He speaks different languages  English, Arabic, Spanish, and Hebrew. He loves it, languages are his special interest.

I just want a school place [for him].

A representative from the Taoiseachs office told The Echo that they have raised the issue with both the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the minister of state for special education and inclusion on the familys behalf.

The NCSE has now provided the Taoiseachs office with a thorough update on the case and confirmed they are continuing to engage with the family and making every effort to resolve their case, they added.
Epic has filed a "second motion to enforce injunction," asking the US District Court for the Northern District of California to force Apple to do a timely review of its Fortnite app and to approve its submission if it's compliant. The company recently accused Apple of blocking Fortnite's return to the App Store in both the US and the EU. Epic submitted the app for approval after winning its case against the iPhone-maker. Specifically, after the court ordered Apple to stop collecting commissions on purchases that weren't paid through the App Store and to allow external payment links in-app.

After Epic said that Apple was blocking Fortnite's return to the App Store, the tech giant wrote a letter addressed to the video game developer. In it, Apple said it will not take action on Epic's submission "until after the Ninth Circuit rules on [its] pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction." It told Epic to resubmit the app to the EU storefront separately from its US submission. Apple, of course, filed an appeal against the court's order to stop charging commissions for payments made outside the App Store. It also filed an emergency motion to put a pause on the order prohibiting it from charging commissions, telling the court that it will cost the company "substantial sums annually."

In a post on X, Epic said that Apple's suggestion to submit two different versions of Fortnite for review is in violation of its own guideline that prohibits developers from submitting multiple versions of the same app. "Thats not the standard Apple holds other developers to and its blocking us from releasing our update in the EU and US," it wrote. Epic also asserted that its submission didn't break any rules this time. Apple's denial, the video game developer claimed in its filing, is a "blatant retaliation against Epic for challenging Apples anticompetitive behavior and exposing its lies to the Court, culminating in the Injunction and the Contempt Order."
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Severe storms that tore through the US states of Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia left more than 25 people dead, leveling homes and businesses while knocking out power for tens of thousands, authorities say.

At least 18 people were killed in Kentucky in the storms Friday night, state governor Andy Beshear posted on X, while officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there.

Two people were also killed by falling trees in Virginia, local media reported.

Jamie Burns, 38, who lives with her husband and son in a trailer home in the town of London, Kentucky, fled to the basement of her sister's brick house while the storm destroyed 100 to 200 houses in the area.

"Things that have been here longer than I have, things that have been here for 30-plus years are just flat," Burns told AFP in a phone interview, her voice quavering.

"It's wild, because you'll look at one area and it's just smashed... totally flattened, like, not there anymore."

Drone footage shared by local media showed scenes of devastation in London, with houses leveled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, shorn of branches.

More than 108,000 people were still without power across the three states late Saturday.

Eastern Kentucky, an area historically known for its coal mines, is one of the poorest regions in the country.

"A lot of us live in manufactured homes that aren't safe for tornado weather," said Burns.

- 'One of the worst storms' -

In Missouri, five people were killed in the major city of St. Louis, in what authorities said was one of the worst storms in its history, and two in Scott County, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement to AFP.

More severe weather was forecast for Sunday night and Monday.

Asked Saturday by a reporter whether it was the worst storm ever to hit St. Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer replied: "I would describe this as one of the worst storms -- absolutely. The devastation is truly heartbreaking."

She said 38 people in the city were injured and some 5,000 buildings damaged.

In one St. Louis neighborhood, a church was heavily damaged, according to CBS footage, and rescue workers continued to treat victims near the building Saturday morning.

"It's horrific for a tornado to come through here and cause this much damage to the residents and also to the church," Derrick Perkins, a pastor at the Centennial Christian Church, told CBS. "Our hearts are broken."

Bruce Madison, who also works at the church, said the community was coming together in the face of the tragedy.

"Right now, we're just praying for... everybody that they're trying to find right now."

While there were warnings ahead of the severe weather -- Beshear had protectively declared a state of emergency Friday -- the death toll may raise questions about whether sharp cuts by the Trump administration have left National Weather Service forecasting teams dangerously understaffed.

An estimated 500 of the 4,200 NWS employees have been fired or taken early retirement this year, according to the Washington Post.

The United States saw the second-highest number of tornadoes on record last year with nearly 1,800, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), trailing only 2004.

md/bbk/st/
U.S. President Donald Trump has talked up the need to bolster domestic production of critical minerals and is looking to forge more rare earths and precious metals mining deals with other countries after brokering the framework of an accord with Ukraine earlier this month.

But developing new mining in the U.S. must overcome significant financial and market hurdles.

China currently has a stranglehold on major components of rare earth and essential minerals production globally and will continue to be a rival  and an impediment.

And, mining deals involving major economic and geopolitical powers and their mining conglomerates have not always brought economic benefits or stability to resource-rich developing countries.

Since taking office, Trump has issued executive orders aimed at boosting domestic production of critical minerals, including lifting regulations for mining on public lands and potentially invoking the Defense Production Act to financially help projects come to fruition. The DPA dates back to the Korean and Cold wars has previously been used to subsidize and help domestic aluminum, steel and titanium production.

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, has 30% levies on Chinese raw materials and goods and 10% levies on imports from scores of other countries.

Trump is also creating a first-of-its kind U.S. sovereign wealth fund to potentially invest in other countries.

Beyond the Ukraine minerals deal, Trump could look to forge additional deals in Africa, Asia and South America to secure flows of lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt and rare earths used by the technology, defense and other sectors.

Pragathi Darapaneni, a senior product development engineer and a supply chain expert, with the Schaeffler Group USA, said there could be more deals between the U.S. and other Western countries with African and Asian countries with promising reserves of lithium and rare-earths."

These deals will likely focus on lithium, cobalt, nickel, and heavy rare earth elements (like dysprosium and terbium) used in electric motors and high-performance magnets, she said.

'POWERFUL LEVERAGE'

The goal is to become less reliant on China and other potentially adversarial markets for key resources.

China remains highly aggressive in securing critical mineral access. Through state-backed firms, theyve already established long-term mining and processing footholds across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, often bundling these deals with infrastructure development, Darapaneni said. Their dominance in refining (not just mining) gives them powerful leverage over global supply chains.

Jonathon Waian, senior geologist with Earth AI Inc, (which uses artificial intelligence technology to help with exploration for clean energy minerals), said China currently controls 80% of the worlds rare earths and graphite markets.

The most critical and geopolitically sensitive rare earths are the magnet materials essential for EV motors, wind turbines, and defense systems. he said. These are overwhelmingly mined and refined in China, making them particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions or export restrictions. 

Waian and Darapaneni said cobalt, which is used in rechargeable batteries and by the aerospace industry, is in high demand and mostly mined in the DRC with China controlling most of its refining.

China also produces 60% of the worlds iridium (a zinc byproduct and a key metal used in semiconductors, touchscreens, solar panels, and defense technologies) and 90% of the gallium and germanium markets, Waian said.

The latter two elements are used in fiber optics, infrared sensors, semiconductors and military systems, Waian said.

Graphite, lithium and nickel are also important materials in the 21st century economy.

The U.S. and allies currently lack sufficient domestic processing capacity, making them dependent on Chinese infrastructure even when raw materials come from elsewhere, Waian said.

'UNIQUE WINDOW'

The resource-rich DRC would potentially be on Trumps deals list.

The country is a top producer of gold, diamonds, cobalt, chrome and other minerals. Chinese state entities already have some interests there.

The former Belgian colony is also one of the poorest countries in the world and has seen years of violence and strife.

In March, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi offered Trump a potential minerals deal if the U.S. could bring peace to its current civil war.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brokered a ceasefire between DRC and Rwanda, which was backing a rebel group in a current civil war.

Trump's envoy to Africa, Massad Boulos, (who is also father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, the presidents daughter) has been meeting with various countries on potential economic deals.

Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical minerals security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said there has been past voids of U.S. investment and engagement with the DRC.

But the peace negotiations and frustrations with rollercoaster financial impacts of Chinese price manipulations of commodities offer a unique window of opportunity" for a U.S. partnership with the DRC.

Many of the resource-rich countries in the Global South are former colonies and have high poverty rates. Past and current mining deals have frequently not benefited people and workers in the host countries.

Too often, these agreements prioritize resource extraction over sustainable development," Darapaneni said.

The resource curse  countries and regions rich in minerals and precious metals but still poor and unstable  have been common in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The so-called "Dutch disease" economic phenomenon can also impact resource-rich regions with imbalances related to wages, prices and trade drive by commodity windfalls.

History would suggest that (minerals deals) do not usually benefit the citizens, said John Berman, chief investment officer for Philadelphia-based Berman Capitol Group.

Two other African countries  Burkina Faso and South Africa (which have gold, platinum and other deposits)  also have uneasy relations with the Trump administration.

The U.S. is concerned about the rule of pan-Africanist President Ibrahim Traore in Burkina Faso and Trump contends white Afrikaner farmers have been killed and their land confiscated in South Africa.

South African officials dispute that contention.

Trump has also talked about the U.S. taking over Greenland, stressing its strategic Arctic location and faulting security spending by Denmark, which has had various levels of rule over the island since 1721. But Greenland also has untapped deposits of gold, graphite, diamonds, zinc, iron ore and tungsten.

Afghanistan, the poorest country in the world which the U.S. exited in 2021 after two decades of war and occupation after the 9/11 attacks, also has an estimated $1 trillion in mineral deposits.

Afghanistan, traditionally known as a top global exporter of opium and heroin, has vast deposits of iron ore, copper, gemstones, gold and aluminum. China has sought to cozy up to the ruling Taliban regime which took over after the U.S. retreat and collapse of Afghanistans pro-American government.

The U.S.-Ukraine deal  which was forged after Trump's and Vice President J.D. Vances notorious White House spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in late February  offers a 50/50 split of Ukrainian deposits of lithium, titanium, zirconium and graphite.

'MASSIVE SUBSIDIES'

It could be easier for the U.S. and Trumps transactional-focused foreign policy, including changing the motivations to foreign aid to be more tied to American interests, to ink more deals internationally than to ramp up domestic mining.

It's not that the U.S. is without mineral deposits and existing mines. There are currently platinum and palladium mines in Montana (which have been adversely impacted by Russian imports driving down prices since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022).

Uranium, bentonite (which is used in mining, personal care and industrial products) and rare earths are mined in Wyoming. Minnesota has iron ore mines as well as copper and nickel deposits, while Utah also has copper as well gold, silver and molybdenum (an alloying agent).

Darapaneni said to make domestic mining and processing viable in the U.S. there needs to be long-term price stability above marginal production costs as well as federal subsidies, tax incentives and procurement guarantees.

Mining projects in the U.S., even with eased regulations by the Trump administration, can still face challenges including lawsuits from environmental groups and community opposition.

Berman said the U.S. currently lacks rare earths refining facilities and getting new mines up and running requires big subsidies.

Unless the U.S. government begins providing massive subsidies for mining in the United States, rare earths mining projects will mostly continue to be uncompetitive on cost, Berman said. The problem with the rare earths market is that the state-owned Chinese rare earth producers have such a stranglehold on the market that they can manipulate prices very easily and keep rare earths prices low enough for it to be uneconomical to build a greenfield project in the United States without government subsidies.

Waian said mining in the U.S. is currently focused on extending mine-life rather than discovering new mineral deposits.

So, in the long run, in order for the U.S. to ramp up mineral production, new discoveries need to be made. Until we do this, China will continue to hold a major market influence which can upset U.S. development, he said.
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Sunshine early followed by mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 71F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 49F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Garment exports from Sri Lanka reached $1,283.5 million in JanuaryMarch 2025, reflecting a 12 per cent increase compared to $1,145.7 million exported during the same period in 2024, according to statistics released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

During the first quarter of 2025, textile exports rose by 1.5 per cent, totalling $73.2 million. Over the same period, exports of other manufactured textile articles declined by 2.3 per cent, amounting to $29.8 million, as reported in the Central Bank's publication External Sector Performance  March 2025.

Sri Lanka's garment exports rose by 12 per cent year-on-year to $1,283.5 million in JanuaryMarch 2025, supported by moderate growth in textile exports. Combined textile and garment exports contributed over half of the country's industrial exports. Imports of textiles and clothing also surged during the period. In 2024, garment exports grew by 4.9 per cent to $4,660.1 million.

Combined exports of textiles, garments, and other manufactured textile articles accounted for 52.77 per cent of all industrial exports from Sri Lanka during this period. Total textile product exports amounted to $1,386.6 million in JanuaryMarch 2025, while the countrys overall industrial exports were valued at $2,626.9 million for the same period.

In March 2025, textile and garment exports rose by 11.7 per cent year-on-year, reaching $496.9 million. By category, garment exports increased by 12 per cent to $456.4 million, while textile exports rose by 12.2 per cent to $29.3 million. Over the same period, exports of other manufactured textile articles declined by 1.8 per cent to $11.3 million, as reported by the Central Bank.

On the import side, textiles and textile articles rose by 2.9 per cent, totalling $677.9 million, while imports of clothing and accessories increased by 26.9 per cent, amounting to $72.1 million between January and March 2025. In March 2025 alone, imports of textiles and textile articles rose by 14 per cent to $214.3 million, while imports of clothing and accessories surged by 29.7 per cent year-on-year, reaching $23.9 million.

In 2024, the island nations garment exports totalled $4,660.1 million, marking a 4.9 per cent increase. Sri Lanka also exported textiles worth $294.5 million and other manufactured textile articles worth $106.4 million during the year. The country imported textiles and textile articles valued at $2,847.1 million and clothing and accessories worth $225.8 million in 2024.

In 2023, Sri Lanka's garment exports were valued at $4,440.6 million, a 19 per cent decrease from the $5,483.1 million exported in 2022. Meanwhile, imports of textiles and textile articles fell by 22.6 per cent to $2,371.2 million, and imports of clothing and accessories declined by 21.1 per cent to $170.0 million.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Vietnamese Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang recently proposed a 2-per cent reduction in value-added tax (VAT) until December 31, 2026, for select goods and services, which are taxed at 10 per cent now.

He presented the proposal during the ongoing National Assembly (NA) session.

The VAT reduction will not apply to some sectors like telecommunications, financial services, banking, insurance, securities, real estate, metal products, mining (excluding coal) and items subject to special consumption tax (except for gasoline), according to the proposal.

Vietnam's Finance Minister has proposed a 2-per cent reduction in VAT until December 31, 2026, for select goods and services. The reduction will contribute to macroeconomic stability despite potential short-term revenue loss, he said. It is expected to lower the price of goods and services, supporting consumer spending, stimulating consumption and promoting business and production activities.

Additionally, the government has proposed adding gasoline to the list of goods eligible for the 2-per cent VAT reduction as gasoline prices directly influence production costs, consumer prices and overall macroeconomic stability.

The reduction will contribute to macroeconomic stability despite potential short-term revenue loss, the minister said.

He said the move would encourage business expansion, create jobs and ultimately result in long-term economic benefits.

The ministry projected that the reduction will lead to a decrease in state revenue by nearly VN121.74 trillion (over $4.69 billion) over the proposed period. This includes an estimated VN39.54 trillion in the second half of 2025 and VN82.2 trillion in 2026.

The policy is expected to lower the price of goods and services, thereby supporting consumer spending, stimulating consumption and promoting business and production activities. This, in turn, is anticipated to create jobs, stabilise the macro economy, and drive economic growth, domestic media outlets reported.

The VAT reduction will help consumers cut daily living and consumption costs. Businesses will also benefit from lower product costs, improved competitiveness, expanded markets for consumption and production, and increased job opportunities.

However, the ministry was urged by many to consider expanding the VAT cut to cover all goods and services, especially if the revenue difference between included and excluded groups is minimal.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2025) - Forge Resources Corp. (CSE: FRG) (OTCQB: FRGGF) (FSE: 5YZ) ("FRG" or the "Company) announces the resignation of director and a non-brokered flow-through private placement (the "Private Placement") of flow-through units ("Units").

Private Placement

The Private Placement will be comprised of up to 1,162,790 Units at a price of $0.86 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $1,000,000, with each Unit consisting of one flow-through common share (each a "Share") and one-half of one transferable non-flow-through share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will enable the holder to acquire an additional non-flow-through common share of the Company ("Warrant Share") at a price of $1.30 per Warrant Share for a period of two years from the date of issuance (the "Warrant Expiry Date"). The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause, in the event that the trading price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") reaches $1.80 or more for a period of fifteen consecutive trading days, the Company may, at its option, accelerate the Warrant Expiry Date by delivering notice to the holders of such Warrants thereof by issuing a press release (the "Warrant Acceleration Press Release"), and, in such case the Warrant Expiry Date shall be deemed to be 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver Time) on the 30th day following the date of the issuance of the Warrant Acceleration Press Release.

The gross proceeds from the Units will be utilized for incurring Canadian exploration expenses and flow-through mining expenditures at the Alotta Project, Yukon.

Finders' fees may be payable in connection with the Private Placement, subject to and in accordance with the policies of the CSE.

Resignation of Director

The Company announces the resignation of Greg Bronson from its Board of Directors. Following a recent move abroad and his decision to focus on easing into retirement, Mr. Bronson has stepped down from his role. Management would like to thank Mr. Bronson for his valuable contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavors. Subsequently, Mr. Bronson will not be standing for re-election in the upcoming annual general meeting of the Company scheduled for June 26, 2025.

About Forge Resources Corp.

Forge Resources Corp. is a Canadian-listed junior exploration company. The Company holds a 60% interest with a with a formalized agreement in place to acquire up to 80%, in Aion Mining Corp., a company that is developing the fully permitted La Estrella coal project in Santander, Colombia. La Estrella contains eight known seams of metallurgical and thermal coal. The Company also holds an option on the Alotta project, a prospective porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum project located 50 km south-east of the Casino porphyry deposit in the unglaciated portion of the Dawson Range porphyry/epithermal belt in the Yukon Territory of Canada.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the Aion Acquisition. Forward-looking information is based on the views, opinions, intentions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking information (including the actions of other parties who have agreed to do certain things and the approval of certain regulatory bodies). Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. In particular, there can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as described or at all. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws, or to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company, its financial or operating results or its securities. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. We seek safe harbor.

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/252516

SOURCE: Forge Resources Corp.
- Regulatory alignment with FDA confirmed, clearing path to pivotal U.S. clinical trial -

- 150-page strategic business plan and advanced financial models completed -

- Investor outreach launched to fund clinical execution and market entry -

Vancouver, British Columbia and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2025) - Izotropic Corporation (CSE: IZO) (OTCQB: IZOZF) (FSE: 1R3) ("Izotropic" or the "Company"), a medical device company commercializing imaging-based products utilizing innovative and emerging technologies for the more accurate screening, diagnoses, and treatment of breast cancers, is pleased to announce that further to its March 25th press release, it has confirmed alignment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") on its regulatory strategy for the IzoView Breast CT Imaging System, ("IzoView"), finalized an updated business plan and financial model, and is now actively engaged in financing meetings to support its planned U.S.-based clinical study for market authorization.

In March 2025, the Company held a pre-submission meeting with the FDA to review its proposed regulatory pathway for IzoView. Following the meeting, the Company submitted formal meeting minutes, which were reviewed, amended, and finalized by the FDA, confirming alignment on both the regulatory strategy and overall clinical study design. With this alignment in place, and subject to financing, the Company will finalize the full clinical study protocol (building on the synopsis previously submitted) and initiate its U.S. clinical study for market authorization. Preparations will run in parallel with the manufacturing and deployment of IzoView units for the clinical study.

Izotropic has completed a 150-page strategic business plan that articulates a data-driven roadmap for the commercialization of IzoView and outlines the Company's broader growth trajectory as a global medical imaging innovator. The plan provides detailed market intelligence, competitive positioning, clinical and regulatory execution frameworks, and tailored go-to-market strategies across priority U.S. and international healthcare markets. It also includes a forward-looking new product development roadmap, identifying key opportunities for IzoView platform expansions, future applications, and new imaging-based products. Complementing the business plan, Izotropic has finalized sophisticated financial modeling that integrates multi-year projections, capital requirements, and scenario-based sensitivity analysis across various clinical and commercial settings. Together, these materials align Izotropic's clinical, regulatory, and commercial priorities under a cohesive strategic framework, enabling focused execution, informed capital deployment, and a structured transition into clinical operations and commercial readiness.

To support its current financing initiatives, the Company has developed a suite of targeted investor materials, including tailored pitch decks, fact sheets, and translated versions to facilitate engagement across international markets. These materials, derived from the strategic content of the business plan, are designed to address the priorities of sophisticated investors and institutional stakeholders. Izotropic has begun a focused series of presentations and discussions with high-net-worth individuals and qualified investment groups evaluating the opportunity to fund the full scope of its planned U.S. clinical study and commercialization strategy.

About Izotropic:

More information about Izotropic Corporation can be found on its website at izocorp.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at sedarplus.ca.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This document may contain statements that are "Forward-Looking Statements," which are based upon the current estimates, assumptions, projections, and expectations of the Company's management, business, and its knowledge of the relevant market and economic environment in which it operates. The Company has tried, where possible, to identify such information and statements by using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "envision," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," "contemplate" and other similar expressions and derivations thereof in connection with any discussion of future events, trends or prospects or future operating or financial performance, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

These statements are not guarantees of performance and involve risks, including those related to capital requirements and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict, and as such, they may cause future results of the Company's activity to differ significantly from the content and implications of such statements. Forward-Looking Statements are pertinent only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-Looking Statements to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances unless otherwise required to do so by law. Neither the Company nor its shareholders, officers, and consultants shall be liable for any action and the results of any action taken by any person based on the information contained herein, including, without limitation, the purchase or sale of Company securities. Nothing in this document should be deemed to be medical or other advice of any kind. All images are for illustrative purposes only. IzoView has not yet been approved or cleared for sale.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/252517

SOURCE: Izotropic Corporation
As global trade shifts and tariffs create new challenges for manufacturers, Top10ERP.org underscores the value of ERP systems in strengthening supply chain resilience, improving agility, and supporting smarter decision-making. The platform has also seen rising ERP demand from Canadian firms navigating similar volatility. With modern tools like cloud ERP, companies can better manage sourcing, production, and logistics in real time, turning disruption into opportunity.

VENTURA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / May 17, 2025 / As shifting trade policies and global supply chain instability continue to challenge manufacturers, Top10ERP.org, the leading independent ERP advisory platform, emphasizes the vital role of ERP systems in helping U.S. and Canadian manufacturers maintain resilience, efficiency, and competitiveness.

ERP Demand Grows Amid Uncertainty

In the wake of renewed tariffs and global trade disruptions, manufacturers face increased volatility in sourcing, lead times, and cost structures. These pressures have highlighted the strategic advantage of integrated, data-driven systems, particularly for manufacturers already leveraging ERP to manage operations.

"Companies with modern ERP systems are proving more agile and better equipped to absorb supply chain shocks," said Christina Morrison, Executive Director of Top10ERP.org. "They're able to shift suppliers, reroute logistics, and adapt pricing faster than those relying on disconnected or outdated tools."

ERP as a Shield Against Market Volatility

The current market volatility has highlighted several key advantages that ERP systems provide to manufacturing businesses:

Enhanced Visibility: End-to-end supply chain monitoring allows early detection of potential disruptions.

Agile Sourcing: Rapid supplier diversification capabilities enable manufacturers to adjust procurement strategies quickly.

Inventory Optimization: Advanced forecasting tools help maintain optimal inventory levels despite irregular supply patterns.

Production Flexibility: Integrated planning modules support efficient production schedule adjustments.

Real-time Analytics: Data-driven insights support informed decision-making during rapidly changing conditions.

Modern cloud ERP systems further strengthen these capabilities by providing remote access, centralized data visibility, and faster deployment across distributed teams.

Rising Interest from Canadian Manufacturers

Top10ERP.org has also seen increased ERP engagement from Canadian firms, many of which are strengthening operational visibility across borders. As Canadian manufacturers encounter similar challenges, from tariff exposure to labor shortages, the ability to manage production, procurement, and logistics through a unified ERP system is becoming critical.

Guiding Manufacturers Toward Smarter Systems

Top10ERP.org continues to serve as a trusted resource for ERP software evaluation and selection, offering manufacturers tailored advice, system comparisons, and access to demos from leading ERP providers. The platform's independent approach is designed specifically for businesses in manufacturing and distribution, including those with complex regulatory or multi-facility environments.

Empowering Industry Resilience

Whether responding to material shortages, fluctuating costs, or regulatory changes, manufacturers with ERP systems in place are demonstrating greater adaptability in today's climate. ERP has evolved beyond merely being a back-office solution; it now serves as a competitive advantage with its comprehensive tools for managing inventory, controlling the supply chain, and enhancing production efficiency.

To learn how ERP can help manufacturers mitigate risk and maintain efficiency during market uncertainty, visit our blog and leverage our ERP comparison tools at www.top10erp.org .

Company Details

Organization: Top10ERP.org

Contact Person Name: Christina Morrison

Website: https://www.top10erp.org/

Email: contactus@top10erp.org

City: Ventura

State: CA

Country: United States SOURCE: Top10ERP.org

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/top10erp-highlights-the-growing-role-of-erp-in-managing-supply-c-1028944
Blue Sky Scrubs, a leader in stylish and high-performance medical apparel, is thrilled to announce the launch of its 2025 Summer Scrubs Collection, designed to bring energy, confidence, and comfort to healthcare workers just in time for the summer season. The new line includes bold, refreshing colors that embody the spirit of summer while maintaining the performance standards that Blue Sky Scrubs is known for.

AUSTIN, TX / ACCESS Newswire / May 17, 2025 / This season's release introduces a palette of bright, expressive tones crafted to celebrate individuality and elevate the experience of medical professionals on and off the job. From sunlit corals to cool ocean-inspired blues, the Summer Scrubs Collection is about more than just color-it's about creating clothing that reflects the personalities and passions of the people who wear them.

"At Blue Sky Scrubs, we believe that what you wear should reflect who you are," says co-founder David Marquardt. "With this summer launch, we've gone beyond functionality. We wanted to give medical professionals scrubs that feel like summer-light, vibrant, and full of life-without compromising comfort, durability, or performance."

Fresh Colors for a Fresh Season

The 2025 Summer Collection introduces four new exclusive colors:

Sunset Coral - A rich, glowing pink-orange that radiates warmth and optimism.

Laguna Teal - A calming blue-green shade inspired by the tranquil ocean.

Citrus Mist - A zesty, energizing yellow with a soft pastel finish.

Midnight Orchid - A deep, moody purple that adds a hint of sophistication and edge.

Each new hue has been carefully selected based on current fashion trends and feedback from Blue Sky's medical community. The goal? To provide healthcare workers with stylish choices that feel seasonal, personal, and refreshing-while still professional enough for any clinical setting.

Premium Fabrics with Purpose

The Summer Scrubs Collection is constructed from Blue Sky Scrubs' signature performance fabric blend, engineered to offer breathability, moisture-wicking, and four-way stretch. The fabric is ultra-lightweight and soft to the touch, ensuring comfort during long shifts in even the warmest summer climates.

Key features include:

Wrinkle-resistance for a polished look with minimal effort

Antimicrobial fabric technology to help maintain freshness

Fade-resistant colors that maintain vibrancy after repeated washes

Tailored fits for both men and women, with options in Classic, Slim, and Relaxed cuts

"Our customers work in high-stress, high-movement environments. They need scrubs that won't slow them down," says Chief Designer Kelsey Nguyen. "We engineered this collection to move with the wearer, stay cool under pressure, and look fantastic from the beginning of a shift to the end."

Function Meets Fashion

Each piece in the Summer Collection is designed with practical details that healthcare workers appreciate. From well-placed pockets to flexible waistbands and adjustable tailoring, the collection combines elegance with everyday utility.

Options include:

Technical tops with subtle v-necks and breathable side panels

Jogger and straight-leg pants with utility pockets

Maternity fits designed with comfort and style in mind

Petite and Tall sizing to offer a custom-like fit for every body

Blue Sky Scrubs has also included matching scrub caps, compression socks, and softshell vests in coordinating summer hues, allowing wearers to complete the look with confidence and cohesion.

Built for Today's Healthcare Professional

Founded in Austin, Texas, Blue Sky Scrubs has grown into one of the most trusted names in medical apparel by staying connected to its roots: real medical professionals. The brand regularly gathers feedback from doctors, nurses, technicians, and medical students to understand what they want in scrubs-and then brings those ideas to life.

The Summer Scrubs Collection is a direct result of that dialogue, combining design innovation with a community-first approach.

"We wanted to make scrubs that didn't feel like a uniform," says Marquardt. "Instead, these scrubs feel like an extension of your personality and lifestyle. Whether you're rushing through rounds or grabbing coffee after a long shift, our Summer Scrubs were made to support you and help you feel great."

Sustainability in Every Stitch

As part of its ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility, Blue Sky Scrubs continues to integrate sustainable practices into every stage of its manufacturing process. The Summer Scrubs Collection uses recycled packaging, low-impact dyes, and water-saving production techniques. The fabric is OEKO-TEX certified, ensuring it's free from harmful chemicals.

"We're always thinking about the impact we make, not just in hospitals and clinics, but on the planet," says Nguyen. "Our goal is to create products that are ethical, sustainable, and empowering."

Available Now-Online and In-Store

The Blue Sky Scrubs Summer Collection is now available for purchase on the company's website at www.blueskyscrubs.com and in select retail partner locations. Customers can browse by color, fit, or profession, and take advantage of Blue Sky's easy returns, quick shipping, and responsive customer service.

Healthcare professionals are also invited to join Blue Sky's VIP Rewards Program, which offers exclusive discounts, first access to new releases, and early invites to private sales and seasonal drops.

About Blue Sky Scrubs

Founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas, Blue Sky Scrubs was born from a simple idea: that medical professionals deserve better scrubs. Over the past two decades, the company has become a go-to brand for stylish, high-performance, and comfortable medical apparel. Known for its attention to detail, premium fabrics, and fashion-forward approach, Blue Sky Scrubs continues to push the boundaries of what medical wear can be.

Media Contact

Organization: Blue Sky Scrubs

Contact Person Name: Azu Aguilera

Website: https://blueskyscrubs.com/

Email: info@blueskyscrubs.com

Contact Number: +18883025837

Address: 2209 Donley Dr.

City: Austin

State: TX

Country: United States

SOURCE: Blue Sky Scrubs

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/consumer-and-retail-products/blue-sky-scrubs-launches-vibrant-summer-scrubs-collection-with-excitin-1028945
Purnam Kumar Shaw, the Border Security Force (BSF) jawan recently released by Pakistan, spent a distressing three weeks in captivity across the border. Shaw was arrested by Pakistani Rangers after he had inadvertently crossed the international border in Punjab on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attacks read more

Purnam Kumar Shaw, the Border Security Force (BSF) jawan recently released by Pakistan, spent a distressing three weeks in captivity across the border. Image courtesy: News18

Purnam Kumar Shaw, the Border Security Force (BSF) jawan recently released by Pakistan, spent a distressing three weeks in captivity across the border.

The BSF personnel had inadvertently crossed the international border in Punjab while looking for shade under a tree and was arrested by Pakistani Rangers on April 23, a day after the terror attack in Pahalgam, reports the Times of India.

With relations already strained between both sides, efforts to bring him back became increasingly challenging. Multiple rounds of negotiations took place between Indian and Pakistani officials, and the situation remained uncertain for days.

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Finally, after both countries reached an understanding on May 10 to pause military operations along the International Border and the Line of Control, a breakthrough came. Four days later, Shaw was released and crossed back into India on Wednesday, bringing immense relief to his family.

Soon after his return, Shaw reached out to his family and shared the trauma he had faced in custody.

Heres what happened.

Treated like a spy, grilled at interrogations

Shaw told his wife, Rajani, that while he was not physically harmed during his detention in Pakistan, he was subjected to immense mental pressure. He was reportedly denied basic needs like bathroom access and sleep, among other inhumane acts.

He was served food regularly. But they did not allow him to brush his teeth. When he spoke, he sounded extremely tired and said he was sleep-deprived, Rajani told The Times of India.

During the 21 days he spent in Pakistani custody, Shaw, 40, told his wife that he was treated more like a spy than a BSF jawan. He was moved across three undisclosed locations  one of which, he believes, was close to an airbase, as he could hear aircraft flying overhead. At one point, he was also placed in a jail cell.

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Throughout these transfers, Shaw said he was mostly kept blindfolded.

According to government sources quoted by India Today, Pakistani officials, dressed in civilian clothing, interrogated Shaw. He was repeatedly questioned about BSF deployments along the border and asked for information about senior officers posted at the International Border.

BSF jawan Shaw was repeatedly questioned about BSF deployments along the border and asked for information about senior officers posted at the International Border by Pakistan.



They also pushed him to share contact details, but since Shaw wasnt carrying a mobile phone at the time of his capture, in line with BSF protocol, he couldnt provide them with any numbers.

Originally from West Bengals Hooghly district, Shaw serves in the 24th Battalion of the BSF. He was recently posted to the Ferozepur sector in Punjab, which borders Pakistan. He was escorting farmers along the border when he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory while seeking shelter.

The BSFs Punjab Frontier is responsible for securing a 553-km stretch along the India-Pakistan border. This includes 518 km of land boundary and another 33 km along rivers and other waterways.

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The jawan underwent a formal debriefing and is reported to be in a stable physical and mental condition, reports India Today. As per protocol, the clothes he wore while in Pakistani custody were inspected and discarded.

Today BSF Jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw, who had been in the custody of Pakistan Rangers since 23 April 2025, was handed over to India: BSF



Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan territory, while on operational duty in area of Ferozepur sector on 23rd pic.twitter.com/PnHB6wl69V  ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2025

Could have returned sooner, Indo-Pak tensions made things worse

As per BSF sources quoted by The Times of India, under normal circumstances, Shaw would have been handed back either the same day or the following day after he inadvertently crossed the border.

But the situation turned complicated due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The deteriorating atmosphere stalled repatriation talks and delayed scheduled flag meetings between the two countries.

Every time Indian officials tried to push for his return, Pakistani authorities repeated the same line: We are waiting for directions from the higher-ups.

Indian Border Security Force personnel stand guard near the India-Pakistan Wagah border post. AFP

Back home, the uncertainty around Shaws return left his family deeply anxious. They feared that the diplomatic back-and-forth might collapse entirely.

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Rajani, who is currently pregnant, travelled to Ferozepur with her young son and other family members to meet the commanding officer of Shaws unit. While she was told that talks were underway, things went further south as just a day later, India launched air strikes on terror camps across the border through Operation Sindoor.

Throughout the tense period, Rajani said she remained glued to news channels, hoping for a positive update.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, who represents Serampore, the constituency that includes Shaws hometown Rishra, also publicly demanded immediate intervention. We need to get him back immediately, Banerjee wrote in a social media post.

Finally, on May 14, hope turned into relief. Shaw was brought back to Indian soil via the Attari-Wagah border, ending his 21-day ordeal.

#WATCH | Punjab: Visuals from Attari Border, as BSF jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw returns to India.



Constable Purnam Kumar Shaw had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan territory, while on operational duty in area of Ferozepur sector on 23rd April 2025 and detained by Pakistan pic.twitter.com/YvADn9STKg  ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2025

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Following his return, his wife Rajani expressed gratitude, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for ensuring his release.

Following the jawans return, Rajani expressed gratitude, thanking PM Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for ensuring his release.

Wife of BSF jawan Purnam Shaw returned from Pakistan after 20 days of captivity



She says @narendramodi he to sab possible he



She also praised WB CM pic.twitter.com/7Rb8znEmzh  Naveen Kapoor (@IamNaveenKapoor) May 14, 2025

Despite everything Shaw went through, his family remains proud of his service. They believe he should continue serving the country, reports News18.

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I want him to work for the country only. He will again go back to protect our country, his father, Bholanath Shaw, said.

With input from agencies
On May 17, 1990, the World Health Organization (Who) removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses, the International Classification of Diseases. It conferred legitimacy and validation upon LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, many of whom had been subjected to involuntary medical treatments. On this day in 1954, the US Supreme Court banned racial segregation of students in schools read more

The World Health Organisation scripted history on May 17, 1990, when it removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. This decision marked a turning point in global health policy, human rights, and the LGBTQ+ movement.

If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers ongoing series, History Today will be your one-stop destination to explore key events.

On this day in 1954, US Supreme Court issued one of its most transformative rulings in American history with the declaration of racial segregation in public schools as unconstitutional.

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Here is all that took place on this day across the world.

WHO removes homosexuality from mental illness

May 17, 1990 is a day written in golden letter as the World Health Organization (WHO) made a landmark decision, removing homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

Until then, homosexuality was pathologised by many medical institutions around the world, reinforcing social stigma and justifying discriminatory practices. The decision by Who followed decades of activism, research and growing understanding within the medical and psychological communities. It aligned with earlier changes by organisations like the American Psychiatric Association, which had already removed homosexuality from its own diagnostic manual in 1973.

participants take part in the annual Gay Pride Parade. File image/AP

This decision carried extensive and significant implications. It conferred legitimacy and validation upon LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, many of whom had been subjected to persecution, involuntary medical treatments and social ostracisation under the guise of mental health interventions. The reclassification also sparked policy reforms, influencing nations to commence the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships and to promote principles of equality within their respective healthcare systems.

In commemoration of this significant milestone, May 17 is observed internationally as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). This observance functions as a global reminder of the advancements made and the persistent struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance across the world.

School segregation outlawed by the US Supreme Court

On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court passed a landmark judgement in the Oliver Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, unanimously declaring racial segregation in public schools as unconstitutional. This one of its most transformative rulings in American history.

Brown, a consolidation of five distinct legal challenges to school segregation, reversed the separate but equal doctrine articulated in the 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v Ferguson.

The legal challenge was initiated by a collective of African American parents, with Oliver Brown as the lead plaintiff. He contested the policy mandating his daughters attendance at a segregated and geographically distant Black school rather than a nearby white institution. Their argument, supported by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, asserted that segregation inflicted psychological harm on Black children by fostering feelings of inferiority, thereby constituting a violation of the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause.

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A White mother walks with her son past a group of African American students at the Bootheville Venice High School in 1966. File image/AP

Chief Justice Earl Warren, in the Courts opinion, declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, directly rejecting the idea of truly equal opportunities under segregation. The ruling specifically highlighted the damaging psychological impact of segregation on Black students, citing research that demonstrated its negative influence on their development and sense of self-worth.

The Brown ruling exerted a substantial influence on public education across the United States. Specifically, in Topeka, elementary schools underwent desegregation within a two-year timeframe. However, not all states accepted the Supreme Courts decision.

This Day, That Year

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first US state to legalise same-sex marriage.

The first Kentucky Derby was run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on this day in 1875.

The first meeting on what is now Wall Street in New York City took place in 1792.
Amid calls to boycott Turkey over its support for Pakistan, the former is witnessing massive cancellations by Indian wedding planners and families. Turkey has been a popular choice for destination weddings in India. It generated a tourism revenue of nearly $150 million in 2024 alone read more

In 2024 alone, Turkey hosted 50 grand Indian weddings, each averaging $3 million. However, following a recent diplomatic standoff triggered by Indias Operation Sindoor and Turkeys support for Pakistan, Indian wedding planners and families are now pulling out en masse. Image courtesy: Image for Representation. Pixabay

Over the years, Turkey has become a dream destination for many Indian weddings, with its luxurious resorts, scenic venues, and warm hospitality offering the perfect blend of East-meets-West celebration.

However, that equation now seems to be changing.

Following a recent diplomatic standoff triggered by Indias Operation Sindoor and Turkeys support for Pakistan, Indian wedding planners and families are now pulling out en masse.

The result? A wave of high-profile cancellations has threatened to unravel years of growth that Turkeys thriving luxury tourism sector has seen.

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Indian wedding travellers contribute over $140 million annually to Turkeys tourism economy, and the impact of this shift is seismic, Nikhil Mahajan, Senior Representative at Kestone Utsav, an Indian wedding planning firm, told Financial Express.

So, how big is the Indian wedding market in Turkey? And what ripple effects could this rift leave behind? Heres a closer look.

How Turkey became a desi-wedding wonderland

From Istanbuls palaces to the turquoise coastline of Bodrum, Turkey had fast become a dream destination for Indian couples craving grandeur without blowing the budget out of proportion.

In 2024 alone, Turkey hosted 50 grand Indian weddings, each averaging $3 million, with a few reaching up to $8 million.

These werent just ceremonies; they were elaborate, multi-day celebrations. Most weddings hosted around 500 guests, who stayed for three nights and enjoyed everything from VIP airport transfers and five-star resorts to celebrity performers and gourmet spreads, contributing significantly to local vendors and tourism-linked businesses.

Over the years, the Indian wedding market had exploded in Turkey, growing nearly 300 per cent  from just 13 weddings in 2018 to 50 in 2024. Image for Representation. Pixabay

According to industry data, a typical Indian wedding package for 100 guests started at 350,000 (around $385,000), a figure that easily outstrips the average Turkish wedding, which typically ranges between $1,600 and $5,400.

Over the years, the Indian wedding market had exploded in Turkey, growing nearly 300 per cent  from just 13 weddings in 2018 to 50 in 2024. They generated a tourism revenue of nearly $150 million in the last year alone.

The flourishing industry was on track to hit similar numbers in 2025, until the boycott disrupted everything.

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How the boycott could hit Turkeys wedding biz

Turkeys public alignment with Pakistan in the India-Pakistan standoff has triggered a sharp backlash from Indian wedding planners and families.

In May 2025 alone, around 2,000 tourist bookings were cancelled, and 30 out of the 50 planned Indian weddings for the year now hang in the balance.

Given that each Indian wedding in Turkey is typically worth around $3 million, the country could be staring at direct losses of up to $90 million, according to The Financial Express.

But the impact goes far beyond just financials. Indian weddings are large-scale productions that employ hundreds of local vendors  from florists and chefs to photographers and transport providers. Over the years, theyve also helped position Turkey as a go-to destination for luxury celebrations, bringing with them international visibility and future tourism from wedding guests.

These weddings featured celebrities and business elites, offering marketing value that money cant buy, Mahajan noted.

In May 2025 alone, around 2,000 tourist bookings were cancelled, and 30 out of the 50 planned Indian weddings for the year now hang in the balance. File image/Reuters

To make matters worse, the boycott has come right in the middle of peak wedding season. Typically, 60 per cent of Indian weddings take place between May and December, a window now under threat. Turkey risks losing a premium clientele that has consistently delivered high-value returns.

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Where are Indians planning to go then?

As per Mahajan, Families [are] increasingly exploring alternative international locations like Italy and the UAE. Simultaneously, theres a strong resurgence in demand for Indian destinations such as Udaipur, Jaipur, Goa, and Kerala, places that offer grandeur, accessibility, and cultural resonance.

These locations, he adds, reflect shifting preferences, focusing more on safety, ease of travel, and meaningful cultural experiences.

Tourism industry to feel the ripple effects

As the Indian wedding market in Turkey begins to shrink, the ripple effects are expected to hit the broader tourism industry , one that earned a hefty $61.1 billion in 2024.

According to data from Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 3,30,000 Indians visited the country last year, a massive leap from just 1,19,503 in 2014.

But with rising calls to boycott both Turkey and Azerbaijan, countries that have openly sided with Pakistan, Indian travellers are starting to steer clear of these once-popular destinations.

Tourists and commuters sail through Bosphorus on a ferry in Istanbul, Turkey, April 23, 2025. File Photo/Reuters

Govind Gaur, CEO of D2C travel tech firm WanderOn, told Moneycontrol that cancellations are already pouring in. Over 50 per cent drop in bookings is expected from India to Azerbaijan and Turkey. India is one of the biggest markets after China for the destinations, he said.

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He also believes the financial blow to both countries could be even more severe than the fallout from the Maldives boycott in 2024, which followed derogatory remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by some Maldivian ministers.

I see a much larger impact as compared to the Maldives. Baku or Azerbaijan is on travellers minds because of Indian tourists. Last year, they had the highest number of people travelling to Azerbaijan from India. There wont be any new bookings and this is peak season time for them. Turkish Airlines will also see a significant impact because they are already boycotting the airline. We will see a much larger impact on them in the coming days, Gaur added.

Its not just tourism and weddings that are pulling out, Bollywood may soon follow.

This week, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) urged Indian filmmakers to rethink Turkey as a shooting destination.

We therefore appeal to all production houses, line producers, actors, directors, and crew members across the Indian film fraternity to stand in solidarity with the nation and boycott Turkey as a location for film shoots until such time that the country revisits its diplomatic stance and aligns with principles of mutual respect and non-interference, FWICE said in a press release.

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All signs point to a significant fallout for Turkey, with losses stretching far beyond cancelled weddings.

With input from agencies
Its been a week since the ceasefire, but there is an uneasy tension between India and Pakistan. The enemys losses and many lies have come to the fore, only proving that New Delhi won the battle. Amid this, Turkeys role in backing Pakistan has been exposed, and Ankara is now facing the wrath. In our weekly wrap, we bring you the latest on this situation read more

There is a growing call to boycott Turkey in India after it backed Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. File photp/AFP

Its been a week since the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. After 100 hours of battle, theres now a shaky truce.

Whats clear is that Indias Operation Sindoor was a resounding success. The enemy suffered massive losses  its eight airbases and war planes were destroyed, and at least 50 soldiers were killed.

It was Islamabad that reportedly begged New Delhi to stop the assault. Thats not all. It also pleaded to withdraw the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

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The two sides have held military-level talks and agreed not to fire a single shot and to consider the reduction of troops. However, there have been some violations from Pakistan, and drones have been sighted in border states.

As the dust settles on the standoff and more details about Indias strikes emerged, it has been revealed how Pakistan largely depended on China and Turkey-made weapons . In India, there are growing calls to boycott Turkey, which is bad for its economy. From aviation to education and travel, and trade, Indians are distancing themselves from Ankara.

India has also sent Pakistan several warnings that terror would no longer be tolerated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about the new normal, which, in his words, means terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together. His visit to Punjabs Adampur airbase made a strong statement.

In our weekly wrap, we look at all that has unfolded since India and Pakistan stopped fighting. full

1. Last Saturday, when it seemed like India and Pakistan escalations would lead to a full-blown war, a surprise announcement was made by US President Donald Trump that the two sides had agreed to a truce. It was a desperate Islamabad that reached out to New Delhi, requesting it to stop the fighting. But was this because of the massive damage Indian strikes caused to Pakistani airbases ?

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2. During Operation Sindoor, Pakistans misinformation machine was in full swing, spreading one big lie after another. But there is that much you can hide. After the ceasefire, the neighbour admitted that it had not captured a woman officer Indian Air Force. It also admitted that damage was caused to its aircraft, declared Rahim Yar Khan airbases sole runway non-operational for a week, and admitted that it had lost soldiers in the battle with India. Finally, Islamabad accepted its failures .

A satellite image shows Nur Khan air base in Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 11, after Pakistani military said it was targeted by an Indian missile attack. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters

3. Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir is the man responsible for the standoff between India and Pakistan. His divisive speech has been linked to the Pahalgam terror attack. It was in retaliation for the killing of 26 tourists that Indian military forces carried out Operation Sindoor. However, during Indias airstrikes, Munir reportedly went missing. Was he hiding in a bunker?

A man carries dry tree branches as he walks past a poster of the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Asim Munir, a day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, along a road in Islamabad, on May 11. Days before the Pahalgam terror attack, the army chief made an inflammatory speech. Reuters

4. There was a growing buzz about a radiation leak in Pakistan after India targeted its airbases. At the centre of this was Kirana Hills , which houses the Mushaf Air Force Base in Sargodha and reportedly a nuclear facility. So, did Indias strike lead to a leak? We tell you how this rumour rose and got buried .

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5. Months before the April 22 attack, US-based firm Maxar Technologies saw a rise in demand for high-rise satellite images of Pahalgam and its surrounding areas. There were at least a dozen such orders. Turns out, the company has a link to Pakistan. This story takes a look .

6. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri took centre stage when he led Indias press briefings amid tensions with Pakistan last week. However, after the ceasefire was announced, Misri and his family faced trolling. While war-mongers were disappointed with the truce, several diplomats came out in support of the FS. Heres what happened .

Indias Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri holds a press briefing at Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, India, May 10. Reuters

7. The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile played a big role in Indias victory against Pakistan. It targeted several strategic locations deep inside the neighbouring nation and proved that Made-in-India weapons are powerful and effective. In April, India dispatched the second batch of these missiles to the Philippines. Now, the BrahMos is drawing interest from around the world, from Vietnam to Saudi Arabia

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8. India is teaching Pakistan a hard lesson. Before Operation Sindoor, the government suspended the Indus Waters Treaty. Now, Islamabad is pleading with New Delhi to reconsider the decision. This comes as the neighbour sees the action as detrimental to its people and economy. How parched is Pakistan?

A child stands near Chenab River with the Baglihar hydroelectric project in the background, about 155 km northwest of Jammu. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday (May 15) that the Indus Waters Treaty will continue to remain in abeyance until Pakistan puts an end to cross-border terrorism. File photo/Reuters

9. While most countries have backed India, there are a few that were on Pakistans side. Turkey and Azerbaijan are among those that supported the enemy. However, Turkey not only spoke in favour of Islamabad but also provided drones, which were used to attack India. Now, there is a growing call among Indians to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan . Heres how it will hurt both nations.

10. Turkeys problems are only growing. Now, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finds himself embroiled in the India-Pakistan conflict. The Centre has cancelled the licence of Celebi Aviation , a Turkish multinational which handles services at nine major airports across India, citing national interest. Rumours say that Erdogans daughter, Sumeyeye, holds a stake in the firm. Thats not all. She is married to Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman of BAYKAR, the company that makes drones that Pakistan uses. We tell you .

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Thats our reading list on everything you need to know about the India-Pakistan conflict and its fallout. If you want to know the latest, you can come back to this page .
The accused, Armaan, was arrested for sharing information related to the Indian Army and other military activities with Pakistan through an employee posted at the High Commission of Pakistan in Delhi, Nuh police said. read more

A 26-year-old man was arrested in Nuh districts Rajaka village on Saturday on the charges of spying for Pakistan, a police official said.

The accused, Armaan, was arrested for sharing information related to the Indian Army and other military activities with Pakistan through an employee posted at the High Commission of Pakistan in Delhi, Nuh police said.

This is the fourth such arrest in Haryana in as many days.

The police said Armaan was nabbed after they received a tip-off from the central investigation agencies.

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He was allegedly sharing the information for a long time through WhatsApp and social media platforms.

When his mobile phone was searched, conversations and photos and videos shared with Pakistani numbers were discovered, said police.

A local court has sent Armaan to a six-day police remand.

A senior police officer said a case has been registered against the accused under Section 152 of BNS sections 2,3,4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and under the treason sections.
Advocate Colin Gonsalves on Friday said that the central government had already deported a batch of Rohingya Muslims on May 8. He claimed that the deportees were handcuffed and sent off to the Andaman Islands, given life jackets and pushed towards Myanmar read more

The Supreme Court rebuked petitioners for filing successive PILs to stop the deportation of Rohingya Muslims. The court told senior advocate Colin Gonsalves that PILs after PILs cannot be filed on the same issue unless there is some new fact backing their petitions.

Earlier this month, a three-judge bench consisting of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh refused to grant an interim stay on the apprehended deportation of Rohingyas, saying they are not Indian citizens and hence do not have the right to reside in the country. The PILs were argued by Gonsalves and advocate Prashant Bhushan.

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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and questioned the validity of the UNHCR granting refugee status to Rohingyas. These individuals, originally from Myanmar, had fled to other countries due to severe threats to their lives from the military.

Gonsalves on Friday said that the central government had already deported a batch of Rohingya Muslims on May 8. He claimed that the deportees were handcuffed and sent off to the Andaman Islands, given life jackets and pushed towards Myanmar. They sought the help of fishermen after reaching the country to call their relatives in Delhi and informed them that they faced a threat to their lives.

Justices Singh and Kant asked whether anyone can verify these details or not. When the country is facing such a situation at present, you cannot come up with fanciful PILs like this. There is no material to support vague and sweeping allegations made in the petition. Unless the petitioner provides prima facie credible material, it is difficult to pass an interim order which is contrary to the one refused on May 8 by a 3-J bench.

Gonsalves referred to a Supreme Court ruling on the protection of Chakma refugees to argue for similar relief for the Rohingyas. He also pointed to a UN report and an order from the International Court of Justice, asserting that the Rohingyas are refugees, not migrants, and their right to life protection is mandated by the UN.

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Pakistan launched a swarm of drones, some of them armed, to test Indias AD radar network as well as deplete its ammunition and missile stockpiles. However, their goals were never met, as India has plenty of ammo reserves read more

Over 600 Pakistani drones were downed or repelled by the Indian Armys air defence (AD) units, which were deployed along the western front during Operation Sindoor last week.

According to a report by the Times of India, the army mobilised over 1,000 AD gun systems and 750 shortand medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems in double-quick time.

This shifted the multi-layered air defence system from a peacetime stance to full operational readiness, enabling it to counter the multiple drone waves launched by Pakistan during the four days of conflict.

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A senior Army Air Defence official told the media outlet, The operation not only safeguarded vital military and civilian infrastructure but also shattered the myth of drone supremacy. It has shown that Indian boots on the ground, backed by indigenous technology and rigorous training, can defend the skies with unmatched precision.

What was Paks strategy?

Pakistan launched a swarm of drones, some of them armed, to test Indias AD radar network as well as deplete its ammunition and missile stockpiles. However, their goals were never met, as India has plenty of ammo reserves as a result of regular and emergency procurements in the last five years.

Another official said, Pakistans strategy was to overwhelm Indias integrated air defence grid, gather real-time intelligence, and target population centres, military assets and places of worship. But it failed spectacularly.

We neither open up all our radars, nor keep them open round-the-clock, to ensure the adversary does not pick up electronic signatures. One also does not use the top-end Russian S-400 (interception range 380km) or Barak-8 MR-SAM (70km, jointly produced with Israel) AD systems against low-value targets like small drones, the official added.

What did India use to thwart Pak missiles?

Old legacy air defence systems, such as the L-70 anti-aircraft guns, ZU-23mm twin-barrel guns, and upgraded Schilka units, which are often overlooked in todays high-tech military landscape, demonstrated their effectiveness in the recent conflict.

Meanwhile, the indigenous Akash air defence missile systems, with an interception range of 25 km, played a crucial role in countering larger threats like aircraft, armed UAVs, and Turkish-made Byker Yiha III kamikaze drones. Their reliable performance added a significant layer of defence against these sophisticated airborne adversaries.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been under fire within his party for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one of the seven lawmakers taking Indias strong message against terrorism to the world after Operation Sindoor read more

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday announced the names of seven members of Parliament to lead Indias delegations in its international outreach for zero-tolerance against terrorism.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been under fire within his party for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one of the seven lawmakers taking Indias strong message against terrorism to the world after Operation Sindoor.

In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism, Rijiju said on X.

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In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united.

Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism.

A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences.@rsprasad @ShashiTharoor pic.twitter.com/FerHHACaVK  Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 17, 2025

The other six leaders, from both the Opposition and the ruling NDA, who will lead the delegations are Shrikant Shinde from Shiv Sena, Ravi Shankar Prasad from BJP, Sanjay Kumar Jha from JDU, Baijayant Panda from BJP, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from DMK and Supriya Sule from NCP.

Who will go where?

While Rijiju has said that the delegations will be sent to Indias partner countries as well as meet members of UN Security Council, sources have told CNN-News18 that the seven MPs will visit the following nations:

Shashi Tharoor to the US

Supriya Sule to South Africa and Egypt

Baijayant Jay Panda to Western Europe

Shrikant Shinde to UAE and Africa

Sanjay Jha to Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi to Russia and Spain

Ravi Shankar Prasad to West Asia

Honoured

Reacting to being invited to lead the US delegation, Tharoor said, I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting.

Sule said, I am honoured to join the all-party delegation representing India on the global stage. I humbly accept this responsibility and thank Honble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, Minister Kiren Rijiju ji and the Ministry of External Affairs."
Indian authorities on Saturday (May 17) detained six people, including a YouTuber based in Haryana state, for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan-based operatives. The YouTuber has been identified as Jyoti Malhotra, who ran the YouTube channel Travel with Jo. There are allegations she travelled to Pakistan in 2023 and got in touch with several agents of the Pakistani intelligence service. She went to Pakistan with the help of Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

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Notably, Ehsan-ur-Rahim was declared persona non grata on May 13 following Indias standoff with Pakistan.

According to authorities, Malhotra was a part of a network that spanned across Haryana and Punjab states, with key operatives acting as agents, financial conduits, and informants.

Jyoti stayed in contact with operatives on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, including Shakir alias Rana Shahbaz, whose number she saved as Jatt Randhawa.

She allegedly shared sensitive information about Indian locations and was used to promote a positive image of Pakistan on social media. Investigators claim she had an intimate relationship with a Pakistan Intelligence Operative and travelled to Bali, Indonesia, with him.

Jyoti has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act. A written confession has been obtained, and the case has been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing, Hisar.

Who are others accused?

Another key accused is Guzala, a 32-year-old widow from Malerkotla, Punjab. On February 27, 2025, Guzala visited the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to apply for a visa. There, she met Danish and began speaking to him regularly.

Danish persuaded her to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram, claiming it was safer. He gained her trust by promising marriage and starting a romantic relationship through chats and video calls.

Over time, Danish started sending money to Guzala. On April 23, Guzala returned to the Pakistan High Commission with her friend Banu Nasreena, another widow from Malerkotla. Danish helped them get their visas, which were issued the next day.

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Others arrested in the case include Yameen Mohd from Malerkotla, who worked with Danish on financial and visa-related activities; Devinder Singh Dhillon from Kaithal, Haryana, a Sikh student recruited during a pilgrimage to Pakistan who sent videos of Patiala cantonment; and Arman from Nuh, Haryana, who provided Indian SIM cards, transferred funds, and visited the Defence Expo 2025 on instructions from Pakistan Intelligence Operatives.
By expressing solidarity with Pakistan, Azerbaijan reveals its lack of sympathy for the victims of terrorism and brazenly lends support to a rogue, terrorist state. This stance will not bode well for Baku, particularly given its billion-dollar bilateral trade with India read more

Boycott Azerbaijan has been gaining traction in India for the last few days amidst Azerbaijans open and unconditional support for Pakistan in its proxy war and recent attacks against India in the first week of May. The Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT) has given a clarion call to halt trade with Azerbaijan. By expressing solidarity with Islamabad, Baku proves that it has no sympathy for the victims of terrorism and brazenly lends support to a rogue and terrorist state.

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It is essential to highlight here that Azerbaijan is the third country after Pakistan and Turkey that raises the Kashmir issue. Last year, two crucial visits from Azerbaijan to Pakistan, one by President Ilham Aliyev in July (his second visit in 7 years) and the other by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in May, sparked debates in Indian policy-making circles. Both the top Azeri leaders not only raked up the Jammu and Kashmir issue during their subsequent trips but also supported Pakistans stand on the Kashmir issue.

Top Azeri leaders, diplomats, think tanks, human rights organisations and social media arms (especially YouTube channels) have not only subscribed to Pakistans position on Jammu and Kashmir but also raised this issue at many local, regional, bilateral, multilateral and global platforms. In the last half a dozen years, Baku has been vocal about the Jammu and Kashmir issue, especially in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meetings, conferences, and programmes.

However, Bakus support for Islamabad will not augur well for Azerbaijan, particularly its billion-dollar bilateral trade with India. As per the report of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, by 2023, India was the seventh largest trading partner for Azerbaijan (with the balance of bilateral trade in Bakus favour), the third largest destination of Azerbaijani crude oil and the largest source of tourists for Azerbaijan. Besides, Azerbaijan is Indias largest trade partner among the countries surrounding the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan is perhaps attached to Pakistan because it was one of the first countries in the world to recognise Azerbaijan as an independent nation after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the creation of new independent republics in 1991-1992. Further, Pakistan was one of the first nations to establish diplomatic ties with Azerbaijan just a few months after its independence.

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But their bilateral relationship has become more robust and meaningful in the last five years, notably after Pakistan extended unflinching support to Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war (2020). According to some sources, Pakistan had provided moral, political and material support to Azerbaijan during the war. According to Ilham Aliyev, Pakistans support to Baku during the Nagorno-Karabakh war gave us more power. Azerbaijan credits Turkey and Pakistan for their victory against Armenia. One factor that has brought both countries closer is Pakistans non-acceptance and non-recognition of Armenia as an independent nation even after three decades of independence.

The intimacy between Pakistan and Azerbaijan has elevated to the level of the relationship between brothers and friends. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during the signing of a joint statement between the two countries in July 2024, called Aliyev a brother president, exemplifying the personal rapport between both leaders. Even Aliyev had developed a personal bond with Shehbazs brother and former Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, who used to call Aliyev a sincere friend. Shehbaz Sharifs meeting with Aliyev in Baku four months later, in November 2024, on the sidelines of the COP29, added more feathers to this relationship.

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Aliyevs visit to Islamabad last year was crucial because it followed the inaugural Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Astana (Kazakhstan) in July 2024 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Annual Summit. Azerbaijans favourable tilt towards Turkey, which has long been a known India baiter, is only because of its tacit support during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Azerbaijan is critical to Turkeys pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic ambitions in and around the region.

Pakistan, too, has been a key ally of Turkey and also plays a pivotal role in its pan-Islamic ambitions. For Azerbaijan, Pakistan is a friend in need, and Pakistans enemy (India) is an enemy. The unholy nexus between Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan, and their hatred and animosity towards India, has been reverberating from the South Caucasus to South Asia in the past few years. Turkey and Azerbaijan swear by the brotherhood, friendship, and strategic alliance between the two, according to the principle of One nation, two states.

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Many analysts and strategists observing the developments in the South Caucasus presume that the growing India-Armenia bonhomie in recent years could be the reason behind Azerbaijans support of Pakistan. Azerbaijans hostility towards India stems from New Delhis firm support for Yerevan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war (2020) and the recent growth in diplomatic and political partnership and, most importantly, defence cooperation. It is important to note that Armenia is the number one importer of Make in India defence products and equipment and a vital cog in Indias burgeoning defence exports (nearly 2.5 billion USD) under the Government of Indias Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme. India struck a defence deal worth $1.5 billion with Armenia just a week after Baku expressed solidarity with Pakistan for its recent attacks against India. In addition, Baku could not accept the developments following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Similarly, the trade and economic partnership between Azerbaijan and Pakistan may be one-fifth of India-Azerbaijan bilateral trade. Still, their political, diplomatic, and ideological bonding is several times greater than the New Delhi-Baku relationship. But that does not provide Azerbaijan with any right to interfere in Indias internal affairs by joining Pakistan in its anti-India endeavours. No nation-state can tolerate any foreign countrys bid to encroach upon her sovereignty. The Indian government has sent a strong signal to Azerbaijan to understand and acknowledge the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as an integral and inalienable part of India.

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As a responsible member of the world community, Baku should not support Pakistans cross-border terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir, which has led to a considerable loss of innocent lives and public property. The Pahalgam attack is a grim reminder of how terrorism has become a canker that has eaten the very vitality of our society. Since India has never intervened in Azerbaijans internal affairs, the Azeri leadership should respect Indias sovereignty and refrain from anti-India activity.

Mahesh Ranjan Debata teaches at the Center for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
On April 22, the world witnessed a brutal terrorist attack in Kashmir: 25 Indian civilians and a Nepali citizen were slaughtered in cold blood. A proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) backed by Pakistan, The Resistance Front (TRF), initially took credit before attempting to distance itself. What followed was a telling exercise in diplomatic posturing that exposed the uncomfortable realities of Chinas role in South Asia.

At the United Nations Security Council, China played a critical role in watering down the official condemnation of the attack by blocking Indias attempt to explicitly name the terrorist groups responsible. Publicly, Beijing called for an impartial investigation, but its behind-the-scenes actions revealed a clear tilt toward shielding Pakistan. This was no accidentit was a deliberate choice to protect its strategic iron brother, Pakistan, while avoiding a direct confrontation with India.

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Indias response was swift and uncompromising. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir with surgical precision. Yet, while many countries, including the United States, France, Israel, and others, expressed solidarity with Indias right to defend itself, China chose a different path. Its foreign ministry described Indias strikes as regrettable, a phrase that belied Beijings deeper discomfort and strategic calculations.

Chinas muted condemnation of terrorism when its ally is implicated reveals a fundamental contradiction in its global ambitions. Beijing wants to position itself as a responsible leader of the Global South, a mediator in conflict zones, and a proponent of peace. By refusing to condemn Pakistan-backed terrorism and criticising Indias legitimate counterterrorism response, China undermines that image and compromises its credibility, not just with India but across South Asia and the wider international community.

The truth lies beyond official rhetoric. While China publicly called for investigations, its envoy assured Islamabad of Beijings unwavering support. Chinese state media minimised the Pahalgam massacre, and social media platforms carefully avoided directly addressing the attacks severity. This was not neutrality; it was narrative control designed to protect Pakistans interests.

This diplomatic shielding serves multiple Beijing priorities. First, it protects the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which runs through volatile regions including Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwaareas prone to militant attacks targeting Chinese investments.

Operation Sindoor sends a clear message that India will escalate costs for Pakistans proxy terrorism, which threatens the security of Chinese assets. Beijings choice to shield Pakistan thus risks backfiring, as instability in these regions directly threatens Chinas economic and strategic investments. China could have seen the benefits of Indias strikes to curb terror camps along its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

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Second, China must manage the domestic repercussions of jihadist ideology spilling over from Pakistan and Afghanistan into its sensitive Xinjiang region. Any perceived ideological infiltration among Uyghurs or international criticism of Chinas selective counterterrorism policies would challenge Beijings internal security and global reputation. If the world views Chinas anti-terrorism efforts as inconsistent or transactional, it diminishes Beijings claim to moral leadership in combating global terrorism.

The diplomatic game extended into the media and social spheres. Following the attacks and Operation Sindoor, Chinese state media and social platforms amplified Pakistans victim narrative, blaming India for escalating tensions. False claims circulated about Indian fighter jets being shot down, violations of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, and even fabricated reports of Indian soldiers captured by Pakistan. These disinformation campaigns seek to discredit Indias military credibility and bolster Beijings all-weather partnership with Islamabad.

More alarmingly, Beijings discourse drew parallels between Indias aggressive posture along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and its actions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Despite a border agreement in October 2024 aimed at easing tensions after the Galwan clash, these narratives underscore persistent Chinese distrust toward India, suggesting a strategic narrative that views Indias security actions as provocations on multiple fronts.

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Underlying these narratives is Chinas broader strategic anxiety: that Indias assertiveness seeks to undermine Pakistans regional standing and challenge Chinas influence in South Asia.

This episode highlights Chinas diplomatic tightrope walks: while publicly projecting an image of a neutral peacemaker, it remains firmly aligned with Pakistan, often at the expense of regional trust and its own long-term interests.

Nowhere is this contradiction starker than in the case of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor itself. As the crown jewel of the Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, an area India considers illegally occupied, as well as through Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjabthe very regions where Operation Sindoor targeted terrorist bases. These zones have long been hotbeds of insurgency and militancy, with Chinese personnel and infrastructure frequently under attack.

Indias willingness to target terrorist sanctuaries in these regions signals a new thresholdproxy war will have consequences. This shift threatens Chinas investments and exposes the risks Beijing takes in backing Pakistan unconditionally. Indias exclusion of China from a diplomatic briefing in New Delhi after Operation Sindoor was a pointed diplomatic rebuke, indicating a recalibration of Indias engagement strategy toward Beijing.

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The risks extend beyond infrastructure and diplomacy. The ideological spillover of militant extremism from Pakistan and Afghanistan into Chinas western Xinjiang province is a real concern for Beijing. If jihadist networks gain influence among Uyghurs or international observers highlight Chinas selective counterterrorism policies, it could fuel domestic unrest and tarnish Chinas global image. This undermines Chinas broader ambitions to lead the Global South and shape international norms on security and counterterrorism.

Operation Sindoor was more than a military strikeit was a geopolitical litmus test. Chinas choice to cloak support for Pakistan in diplomatic ambiguity was a missed opportunity to affirm a principled stand against terrorism. In a world where credibility counts as much as power, Chinas equivocation risks alienating partners, emboldening adversaries, and complicating an already fragile regional order.

For China to claim a genuine role as a responsible power, it must reconcile its rhetoric on peace and security with its actions on the ground. Shielding Pakistans proxy war undermines regional stability, jeopardises Chinas economic interests, and strains Sino-Indian relations at a critical juncture.

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Ultimately, Beijings silence is deafeningand it speaks volumes. In the complex calculus of South Asias security landscape, Chinas selective engagement on terrorism is a liability, not an asset. The world is watching, and Chinas missed moment may well have lasting consequences far beyond Jammu and Kashmir.

The author is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia, ASEAN and the African Union. He tweets @AmbGurjitSingh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Perhaps India should seek to decouple China from Pakistan and Turkey by reminding it of the threat posed by jihadists who may still be doing the dirty work of the West read more

In a speech delivered during his recent visit to Riyadh, President Donald Trump criticised the neoconservative faction within his Republican Party that is believed to have greatly influenced American foreign policy during the George W Bush administration.

Addressing a US-Saudi investment forum, he said that the neocons claim of being so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.

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Instead, he said, The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders (referring to Neocons) as the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves.

With this statement President Trump bared the growing feud within the Republican Party, with the neocon group reportedly seeking a more strident US position against the Palestinian group Hamas and a war-like option for permanently resolving Irans persistent belligerence.

As part of a charm offensive to win support in West Asia, Trump surprisingly distanced himself from the neocon group and did not even speak about supporting political or democratic reforms in the region. Apparently, Trump was towing the ideological line of his paleo-conservative constituency, which has opposed neocon-backed US-led military campaigns in West Asia for a long time.

It is important to understand that just like Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul, Trump largely falls under the Old-Right Republican camp, which opposes US support for the state of Israel and follows free-market libertarian economics within the US. In fact, many of Trumps policies directly correspond with the dictums of the paleo-conservative rulebook, namely the preservation of White Christian heritage, opposition to immigration from non-Western developing countries, support for free market capitalism at home but imposition of protectionist measures like high tariffs, denunciation of feminist and gay rights, enjoining of traditional family and gender roles, and general aversion to globalist ideals and institutions.

Paleo-conservatives generally view the US more as a constitutional republic and suspect majoritarian democratic rule, which they believe could potentially override individual liberties. As conservatives, they have an aversion towards a modern, secular and more permissive lifestyle and are critical of the neocon support for globalisation and the growing influence of foreign lobbies in US politics, particularly Israels alleged role in framing US foreign policy.

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The terms neoconservative and paleoconservative came into vogue following the divide in American conservatism over the Vietnam War. Those supporting the war became known as the neoconservatives or interventionists, while the earlier nationalists were rebranded as paleo-conservatives or isolationists. Before Trump, Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul were said to be associated with paleoconservatism and US right-wing libertarian politics.

Although helpful in understanding Trumps ideological moorings, his policies are not always consistent with his avowed political ideology. In fact, Trump is using his conservative and non-interventionist rhetoric in West Asia to promote US imperialist interests in a milder form, mainly to offset Chinas rising influence in West Asia through its Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), BRICS and BRI initiatives.

Thus, Trump is not merely hunting for transactional deals in West Asia to salvage the faltering US economy but is essentially making a pronounced geopolitical overture to the Arab and Muslim world (notwithstanding Israeli objections) by holding negotiations with Hamas, forging peace deals with Houthis, lifting sanctions on Syria, making friendly overtures towards Turkey and rescuing Pakistans military in its darkest hour.

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Trump has always aired his intentions of breaking the BRICS bloc to secure US hegemony over the world. In late February this year, he even bragged about having broken BRICS by raising tariffs to over 150 per cent, albeit he recently brought them down substantially.

With his recent trip to West Asia, Trump might want to decouple West Asia from China and seek to arrest the dragons BRI outreach in the region. Meanwhile, China has been presenting itself as a prospective security provider for militarily weak Arab states and a geopolitical ally who could help resolve intractable disputes under its Global Security Initiative (GSI), which the US believes has undermined its stranglehold over a key region of the world.

Thus, Trumps charmed offensive is in itself a veiled intervention in the region, as well as an attempt to revive relations with its old allies  Saudi Arabia and other GCC states  which had strained during Bidens term. However, it would be wrong to entirely discount a more clandestine plan, as indicated by his personal meeting with Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Riyadh  the former Al-Qaeda jihadist leader and presently the transitional president of Syria. Al-Sharaas sudden rise to glory, from being a terrorist with a $10 million US reward on his head in December last year to being the first Syrian leader to meet a US president in almost 30 years, raises many questions about the Wests sudden willingness to embrace this former jihadist leader.

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In this respect, two developments are important to note. First, Salafi Al-Sharaa recently swore an oath of allegiance at the hands of Sufi-Ashari scholars in Idlib in an attempt to restore the Ashari-Salafi break-up among jihadists during the Second Chechen War in the 2000s. The split caused Ashari separatist leader Akhmad Kadyrov to part ways with Salafi jihadist Shamil Basayev, and the former reverted to the Russian fold. However, Al-Sharaas restoration of this old Ashari-Salafi inter-Sunni pact, apparently at the behest of Turkey, could now be used to reignite Sunni jihadism in several Muslim-majority governorates of Russia, such as Chechnya, Ingushetia, Tartarstan, Bashkorstan, Dagestan, and others.

The other development has been the growing outreach of the US and Turkey in Central Asian states, particularly after the victory of Azerbaijan in its war against Armenia in 2023. In fact, Turkey has already named Central Asia as Turkestan in many of its educational syllabi. With Al-Sharaa having a large number of hardcore jihadists from Central Asia among the top-ranking officers of his new army, the possibility of an Arab Spring-like uprising in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states, followed by its jihadist takeover, has emerged as a dangerous prospect. Any influence operation to this effect has the potential of undermining Chinas BRI project passing through Central Asia and may threaten southern Russia and the East Turkestan (Xinjiang) province of China. Thus, Russia could face a new internal insurgency just after the Ukraine war, while SCO countries might find a resurgence in Islamist insurgency and terrorism.

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With Trump already speaking of the US reclaiming the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, which he avers is now being used by China, and with the Pakistani military using US ally (Turkeys) drones against India, BRICS nations should be wary of the US-backed Great Game unfolding in the regions of West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia.

Perhaps India should seek to decouple China from Pakistan and Turkey by reminding it of the threat posed by jihadists who may still be doing the dirty work of the West, as Pakistans defence minister Khawaja Asif recently admitted his country did for many decades. In fact, China needs a strong ally in India if it seeks to rise as a global power, and the two major Asian civilisations would only benefit if they gave up their petty power struggles and fought together against the scourge of jihadism and the ongoing Plan for the New American Century drafted at the turn of the century.

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Adil Rasheed is Research Fellow and Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre, at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (MP-IDSA). He has authored several books such as Political Islam in West Asia and South Asia (2023), Countering the Radical Narrative (2020), ISIS: Race to Armageddon (2015). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MP-IDSA or Firstpost.
With Operation Sindoor, Indias global image of a soft state has finally shattered, and a new, assertive India acting without qualms, scepticism, and hesitations in using force against its adversaries has solidified read more

On April 22, the tourist city of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of the most horrific genocides, with the brutal murder of 26 Hindu men. Reportedly, four terrorists of The Resistance Force (TRF), a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist group, forced tourists to demonstrate their religious identity by reciting Qalima at gunpoint and selectively killed Hindus. The brutality shook the entire world.

On the night of May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation, bombing nine sites holding terrorist infrastructure, five in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and four in the Pakistan mainland, including Jaish-e-Mohammads Bahawalpur complex and Lashkar-e-Taibas Muridke headquarters. India smashed the terror camps, training centres, and launch pads of Pakistans three key proxy terror outfits, ie, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Muhammad, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Following Indias attack, Pakistan launched a full-fledged attack on India, targeting multiple cities, military installations, and airbases across the entire Western border with drones.

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On the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistani army began firing and heavy shelling with the artillery guns, killing 15 civilians in the Rajouri border region. In the counterattack, India attacked Pakistans strategically sensitive six air bases and dropped bombs in mainland cities like Lahore and Rawalpindi. Pakistans nuclear-capable Fatah missile launched at Delhi was intercepted by Indias Akash at Sirsa near Delhi. The war was gaining momentum; however, it halted with a sudden and unexpected ceasefire apparently achieved with US facilitation.

Setting a New Normal

With Operation Sindoor, India has set a new normal against terror, explicitly signalling the three-point doctrinal shift  zero tolerance and direct retaliation for terror attacks, no differentiation between the terrorists and their sponsors, and refusal to succumb to Pakistans nuclear blackmail. In his speech on May 12, PM Narendra Modi categorically reiterated Indias position that terror and talks cannot go together. Further, he also emphasised that terror and trade cannot go together, and blood and water cannot flow together.

The PMs speech signifies a resolute, determined, and tough stance against terror. PM Modis speech gives a clear message that India will decisively hit terror targets in direct retaliation if Pakistan continues to support terror groups in Kashmir and the Indian hinterland. Also, it is worth mentioning that hitting deep inside the Pakistani territory at Bahawalpur and Muridke has completely altered the dynamics, showcasing Indias unrestrained approach while retaliating. Pakistan will have to pay unbearable costs for terror attacks.

Contrary to the dominant analytical discourse around Operation Sindoor, it is worth mentioning that India had already set a new normal when it conducted the Uri surgical strike in 2016. Following that, once again, Indian jets bombed Jaish training centres in Balakot in 2019 after JeM killed 42 Indian soldiers in the Pulwama fidayeen attack. Continuing its war against terror, India abrogated Article 370 of its constitution that conferred special status to J&K. With its massive crackdown on the terror ecosystem inside its borders and tough stance against foreign terror sponsors, it was expected that Delhi would retaliate with tremendous firepower if Islamabad ever conducted a terror attack of the scale of Pulwama.

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India has decisively and demonstrably called out Pakistans nuclear bluff. In his May 12 speech, PM Modi said, India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail. Pakistan, emboldened with its nuclear shield, intensified terror activities in Kashmir after 1998. This nuclear blackmail continued unabated for 18 years until 2016, when it was first punctured by the Uri surgical strikes.

With the Balakot strikes, the message was clear to Pakistan that India will not be cowed down by its nuclear threats; however, General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi refused to smell the coffee. Finally, Indias aggressive retaliatory posture seen in Operation Sindoor, killing more than 80 terrorists, has made Pakistans nuclear arsenal a dysfunctional and ineffective tool to continue shielding its terrorist activities in India.

The Operation Sindoor comes in succession to a series of the Modi governments tough national security measures. In the domestic domain, the Modi government took bold actions against the terror ecosystem, the Waqf board, foreign NGOs, and illegal immigrants. In the external domain, New Delhi took decisive cross-border military actions against Pakistan, maintained a firm stand against China after the Galwan clash, and reportedly, Indian intelligence agencies neutralised many Khalistani and Jihadi terrorists in foreign territory.

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Over the last ten years, India has signalled a robust and decisive diplomatic signature in its dealings with the West and the Arab world after the abrogation of Article 370, hosting global events like the G20, guarding its strategic autonomy in the Russia-Ukraine war, playing hardball with the Maldives after its China switch, and emerging as a leader in the battle against extremism and terrorism.

With Operation Sindoor, Indias global image of a soft state has finally shattered, and a new, assertive India acting without qualms, scepticism, and hesitations in using force against its adversaries has solidified.

The author is a Cornell University graduate in public affairs, bachelors from St Stephens College, Delhi and has done his PhD on Jaish-e-Mohammad. He is a policy analyst specialising in counterterrorism, Indian foreign policy and Afghanistan-Pakistan geopolitics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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Satellite footage from the day of the attack shows burn marks and smoke over the military base, burn marks on a nearby prison and plumes of smoke above a hospital and market read more

Militants gather in Djibo, Burkina Faso, where a military base was attacked, in this still image obtained from social media video released May 12, 2025. Reuters

A West African al Qaeda affiliate said it killed 200 soldiers in an attack on an army base in Burkina Faso this week, according to a group that tracks the online activity of Islamist militants.

Jamaa Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) made the latest declaration via a formal statement, U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said on Thursday, a day after it said JNIM had claimed to have killed 60 soldiers in a different attack in the northern Loroum province.

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Reuters could not immediately verify the statements. Burkina Fasos government did not respond to a request for comment.

The base in the northern town of Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, with hundreds of fighters overrunning and destroying it, security sources told Reuters at the time. A police station and market were also targeted, they said.

Satellite footage from the day of the attack shared with Reuters shows burn marks and smoke over the military base, burn marks on a nearby prison and plumes of smoke above a hospital and market.

Although there was no official toll or government statement on the attack, three Djibo residents told Reuters that dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed. JNIM has since blocked road access to the Djibo base.

SITE previously said Ousmane Dicko, head of JNIM in Burkina Faso, had appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo to leave the town for their own safety.

Analysts say JNIM has been ramping up attacks in Burkina Faso, where a military junta that seized power in 2022 promising security has increasingly struggled to turn the tide against Islamist insurgents.

JNIM claimed multiple attacks in Burkina Faso on May 11 alone as junta leader Ibrahim Traore was visiting Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin.

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Conflict Armament Research, a group that tracks illicit arms flows, told Reuters that Islamist groups in West Africas Sahel region have been targeting military positions to reinforce their arsenals.

The strategy Salafi jihadist groups have implemented in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger of diverting weapons from state custody to strengthen their military and propaganda objectives, continues to prove highly effective, the group said.
Trump sparked uproar earlier this year by declaring that America would take over Gaza and turn it into a Riviera of the Middle East, prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo read more

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, center right, welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq. AP

The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some key leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after US President Donald Trumps Gulf tour.

Trump sparked uproar earlier this year by declaring that America would take over Gaza and turn it into a Riviera of the Middle East, prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo.

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Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was the first Arab leader to arrive in Baghdad Friday.

But a diplomatic source said that most Gulf countries will attend at a ministerial level.

The war in Gaza is expected to dominate the agenda, especially after Israel approved plans to expand its offensive and spoke of the conquest of the territory.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will attend the summit, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez  who has sharply criticised Israels devastating offensive in Gaza  is expected to address it as a guest.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Baghdad summit will endorse decisions that were made in Cairos meeting in March to support Gazas reconstruction as an alternative to Trumps widely condemned proposal.

Trump on Thursday reiterated from Qatar that he wanted the US to take Gaza and turn it into a freedom zone.

Syria, Iran

Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normalcy after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.

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In an op-ed about the summit earlier this month, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wrote: Today, we are not just rebuilding Iraq, we are also reshaping the Middle East through a balanced foreign policy, a wise leadership, development initiatives, and strategic partnerships.

Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, amid domestic tensions and at the start of the war in neighbouring Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

In Riyadh, Trump met Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.

Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion, will miss Baghdads summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will represent Damascus instead.

The summit also comes amid Irans ongoing nuclear talks with the United States.

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Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to stave off a threatened military strike by Israel on Iran  a desire shared by many of the regions leaders.

On Thursday, Trump said a deal was getting close, but by Friday, he was warning that something bad is going to happen if the Iranians do not move fast.
Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad called on Saturday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel in starker language of trying to drive the Palestinians out of the enclave altogether after it ramped up its bombing campaign. read more

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel shows Israeli tanks deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025. AFP Photo

Arab leaders gathered at a summit in Baghdad on Saturday called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel of attempting to expel Palestinians from the enclave after it ramped up its bombing campaign.

The Israeli army announced that it had begun the initial stages of the new offensive, part of the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, to achieve all the wars objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas.

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It said it had launched extensive strikes and transferred forces to seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip.

Israels defense minister said Operation Gideon Chariots began and was being led with great force by Israels army.

The announcement comes after days of intensive strikes across Gaza that killed hundreds of people, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, whose country is one of the main mediators in Gaza peace talks, described Israels actions as systematic crimes aimed at obliterating and annihilating the Palestinians and ending their existence in the Gaza Strip.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the summits host, said Israel was engaged in genocide.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the summit, said nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Friday that local health officials said killed 108 people, mostly women and children, and which Israeli officials described as a prelude to a stepped-up campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

Israel also struck two ports in Yemen that it said were used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. Local health officials said at least one person was killed and nine injured.

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The strikes across the Gaza Strip followed days of attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to the region that included stops in three Gulf states but not Israel.

There had been widespread hope that Trumps trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months. The Trump administration is also trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, which backs several anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Del Castillo, a 36-year-old lawyer who has led the interior ministry since Arce came to power in 2020, attended a MAS rally on Friday in the main square of the capital La Paz where party leader Grover Garcia announced Del Castillos candidacy read more

Bolivias ruling party on Friday named interior minister Eduardo del Castillo as its presidential candidate in the countrys August election, days after the current president said he would not seek re-election.

President Luis Arce of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) announced on Tuesday that he would not seek another term, as a severe economic crisis in the Latin American nation has sparked protests and sent his poll numbers plummeting.

Del Castillo, a 36-year-old lawyer who has led the interior ministry since Arce came to power in 2020, attended a MAS rally on Friday in the main square of the capital La Paz where party leader Grover Garcia announced Del Castillos candidacy.

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After a process of consultation with our social organizations, we present comrade Eduardo del Castillo as our candidate for the presidency, Garcia said.

Del Castillo has been in a fierce media fight with former president Evo Morales, who is wanted on charges of trafficking a minor.

Morales, Bolivias first Indigenous president, resigned in 2019 after seeking to extend his 13-year grip on power, a tumultuous exit that tainted his legacy.

The ex-leader, 65, accuses Del Castillo of being behind an effort to keep him out of politics.

Morales, who remains popular among Bolivias Indigenous communities, has been a wanted man since October when prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest over a case alleging he had a relationship with a teenage girl while he was in power.

Morales denies the charges and has also accused Arce, 61, of weaponizing the judiciary against him.

Even though he is legally barred from running for a fourth term in office, Morales has vowed to file his candidacy for president in the August 17 election.

Bolivias right-wing and centrist opposition also has several candidates in the running.
Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul reportedly demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire. read more

This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on May 16, 2025, shows members of Ukrainian delegation preparing for a meeting with members of Russian delegations at the Turkish Presidential office Dolmabahce, in Istanbul. AFP Photo

Russian officials at peace negotiations in Istanbul have reportedly demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from all regions claimed by Moscow before agreeing to any ceasefire, according to a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the discussions.

These conditions, raised during Fridays high-level talksthe first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in three yearsgo significantly beyond what was outlined in a draft peace plan proposed by the United States last month following consultations with Moscow.

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While the Istanbul meeting ended with an agreement on a prisoner exchange, both sides failed to reach a consensus on a ceasefire. On Friday, a Ukrainian source had described the Russian conditions as non-starters but had not provided specific details at the time.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the Ukrainian official disclosed the key Russian demands: Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Khersonfour regions partially occupied by Russian forces but still actively contested. The official noted that this demand was absent from the U.S. proposal.

International recognition of Russian sovereignty over five Ukrainian territories: Crimea (annexed in 2014), and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The U.S. draft had only proposed legal recognition of Crimea and de facto acknowledgment of Russian control in the other four regions.

Ukrainian neutrality, including a ban on weapons of mass destruction and a prohibition on foreign troops being stationed in the countryanother condition not present in the U.S. peace plan.

No reparations from any party involved in the conflict. The American proposal, by contrast, supported compensation to Ukraine.

These demands were conveyed verbally by the Russian negotiators, with no written document provided, the Ukrainian official said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about these reported demands, stating that negotiations should remain confidential.

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Kyiv has criticized Russias approach, arguing it reflects a lack of genuine interest in peace. Ukraines European allies have since called on U.S. President Donald Trump to escalate sanctions against Moscow in response.

Despite the impasse, the head of the Russian delegation expressed satisfaction with the meeting and indicated that Moscow remains open to further talks.

The U.S. draft peace plan, formulated in April, followed several rounds of discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trumps envoy, Steve Witkoff. In contrast to Moscows conditions, Ukraine and its European partners had proposed a ceasefire as a prerequisite for negotiations, with territorial issues deferred to later discussions.

Zelenskyy has expressed hope for a temporary, full ceasefire with Russia beginning Monday, saying he plans to engage in direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.

Zelenskyys statement comes amid mounting international pressure, particularly from the United States. Former US President Donald Trump has urged Ukraine to agree to Russias recent proposal for face-to-face talks in Turkey scheduled for Thursday.

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Istanbul Talks - A Key Step Towards Peace: Erdogan

This weeks talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul was an extremely important step towards ending the war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks published on Saturday.

Bringing together the delegations of the two countries in Istanbul is extremely important for ending the war.. and the establishment of peace in the region, he told reporters on the plane back from a European summit in Albania.

His remarks came after the two sides met on Friday for their first direct talks in more than three years, in a meeting hosted by Turkey.

Although the discussion, which lasted just over 90 minutes, did not result in a truce, the parties did agree on a large-scale prisoner exchange and discussed a potential meeting between Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky and Russias Vladimir Putin.

With inputs from agencies
Trump hailed his alleged role in the suspension of Indias military action against Pakistan as one of the biggest successes he has ever been given credit for" read more

US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for helping India and Pakistan reach a ceasefire understanding. In an interview with Fox News during his West Asia tour, Trump hailed his alleged role in the suspension of Indias military action as one of the biggest successes he has ever been given credit for. However, New Delhi has maintained that the ceasefire was worked out directly with Pakistan and it wont accept mediation offer by any third country.

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The Indian Army earlier also disputed Trumps claims and confirmed that the ceasefire was reached through bilateral talks between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.

Trump uses N word

Trump said in the interview that tensions between arch-rivals India and Pakistan had escalated quickly and dramatically, and both were close to a nuclear conflict.

It was getting deeper. Everyone was stronger, stronger to a point where the next one was gonna be, you know what the n word, Trump said during the interview.

Trump on India-Pakistan: "Everyone was stronger, stronger-- to a point where the next one was gonna be you know what. The n word. You know what the n word is, right? It's the n word. That's very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The n word used in a nuclear sense." pic.twitter.com/ed920GKmKV  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 16, 2025

You know what the n word is, right? Its the N word. Thats a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The n word used in a nuclear sense.

Trumps offer to mediate Kashmir issue

The Trump administrations proposal to mediate between India and Pakistan on the long-standing Kashmir issue was strongly rejected, leading Washington to support direct bilateral communication.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that Indias consistent position has been that any matters related to Jammu and Kashmir should be addressed bilaterally by India and Pakistan.

Operation Sindoor

Under Operation Sindoor , India eliminated over 100 terrorists associated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir through precise strikes.

Following Indias strikes on these terror camps, Pakistan escalated the situation with cross-border shelling and attempted drone attacks on Indias military bases, prompting India to retaliate with strikes on Pakistani radar stations, airfields, and communication hubs.

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Last week, both India and Pakistan announced an immediate ceasefire of all hostilities across land, air, and sea.

However, just hours after agreeing to the ceasefire, multiple drone sightings and explosions occurred in Jammu and Kashmir, causing Indian security forces to respond with air defence measures to neutralise the aerial threats.
Ambassador Bridget Brink, who served as ambassador to Ukraine from May 2022 until her departure last month, outlined the reasons for her departure for the first time in an op-ed published on Friday by the Detroit Free Press read more

The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who resigned from the role in April, has said that she quit the post because she disagreed with President Donald Trumps foreign policy.

Ambassador Bridget Brink, who served as ambassador to Ukraine from May 2022 until her departure last month, outlined the reasons for her departure for the first time in an op-ed published on Friday by the Detroit Free Press.

In the piece, Brink hit out at Trump for pressuring Ukraine rather than Russia.

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I respect the presidents right and responsibility to determine U.S. foreign policy  with proper checks and balances by U.S. Congress, she said.

Unfortunately, the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia, Brink said.

Brink, a long-serving career diplomat, said that she therefore felt it was her duty to step down.

Peace at any price is not peace at all  it is appeasement, she said.

Brink took a public line that was supportive of Ukraine under the administration of Trumps pro-Kyiv predecessor Joe Biden.

After Trump assumed office in January 2025 promising to quickly end the war in Ukraine, Brinks public statements became far more neutral.

She was publicly criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in April for what he described as a weak reaction to a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih that killed 11 adults and nine children.

Several days later, a State Department spokesperson announced that Brink was stepping down.
India decided to close the Attari-Wagah border on April 23, following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam the day before. In the past, Pakistan has permitted one-way trade through this border, allowing Afghan goods to be exported to India, but without allowing any exports in the reverse direction read more

India has approved the entry of 160 buses from Afghanistan carrying dry fruits and nuts via the Attari border in Punjab as a special gesture. This comes a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar talked to Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in the first diplomatic exchange between the two countries.

Sources told the Times of India that Pakistan had initially blocked the Afghan trucks access to pass through the border, following which the countrys authorities allowed some of them to unload at Attari.

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It is important to note that India does not recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

India decided to close the Attari-Wagah border on April 23, following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam the day before. In the past, Pakistan has permitted one-way trade through this border, allowing Afghan goods to be exported to India, but without allowing any exports in the reverse direction.

In 2021, Pakistan opened its borders for Indian trucks carrying wheat to cross over and reach Afghanistan after the country was hit by famine.

Earlier this week, Jaishankar said he held a good conversation with acting Muttaqi during which the two leaders discussed Indias traditional friendship with the Taliban-ruled country and the ways to take the bilateral cooperation forward.

Jaishankar also appreciated Muttaqis condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.

He also welcomed Muttaqis firm rejection of what he called recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports.

Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continued support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward, Jaishankar said.

Muttaqi strongly rejected Pakistans allegations of missile attacks by India on Afghanistan, official sources told PTI. It was an apparent reference to a report in a section of the Pakistani media that claimed India had hired the Taliban to carry out a false flag operation at Pahalgam.

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In the phone talks, the Taliban side reiterated its strong condemnation of the Pahalgam attack and rejected Pakistans allegations of missile attacks by India on Afghan soil, the sources said.

With inputs from agencies
India on Saturday imposed port restrictions on the import of certain goods, such as readymade garments and processed food items, from Bangladesh. read more

India imposed port restrictions on the import of select goods from Bangladesh, including readymade garments and processed food items.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Commerce Ministry, has issued a notification on Saturday, imposing port restrictions on the import of certain goods such as readymade garments, processed food items etc., from Bangladesh to India, the ministry said.

The directive limits the ports through which these specified goods can enter India, aiming to regulate trade flows more tightly. However, such port restrictions will not apply to Bangladeshi goods transiting through India but destined for Nepal and Bhutan, it added.

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The order said that readymade garments imports from Bangladesh will not be allowed from any land port. However, it is allowed only through Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports.

For fruits; fruit flavoured and carbonated drinks; processed food items (baked goods, snacks, chips and confectionary); cotton and cotton yarn waste; plastic and PVC finished goods, dyes, plasticisers and granules; and wooden furniture, the notification said the inbound shipments from the neighbouring country shall not be allowed through any LCSs (Land Customs Stations) and ICPs (Integrated Check Posts) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; and LCS Changrabandha and Fulbari, in West Bengal.

It added that these port restrictions do not apply to the import of Fish, LPG, Edible Oil, and crushed stone from Bangladesh.

To make these changes, a new paragraph is introduced in the countrys import policy regulating the imports of these goods from Bangladesh to India, with immediate effect, it said.

On April 9, India withdrew the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh for exporting various items to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries except Nepal and Bhutan.

It was announced against the backdrop of the controversial statement made by the head of Bangladeshs interim government Muhammad Yunus in China recently that Indias seven northeastern states, which share a nearly 1,600 km border with Bangladesh, are landlocked and have no way to reach the ocean except through his country.

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In his address at a business event in which he had also said that Bangladesh was the only guardian of the Indian Ocean in the region, Yunus had also invited China to send goods through Bangladesh across the world.

The comments did not go down well in New Delhi. It also drew sharp reactions from political leaders in India across party lines.

The transshipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to use several Indian ports and airports including the Delhi airport for sending its exports to the Middle East, Europe and many other countries had enabled smooth trade flows for its exports. It was provided by India to Bangladesh in June 2020.

Indian exporters, mainly from the apparel sector, had also earlier urged the government to withdraw this facility to the neighbouring country.

India-Bangladesh relations have nosedived dramatically after Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.

Bangladesh is a big competitor of India in the textile sector. The India-Bangladesh trade stood at USD 12.9 billion in 2023-24.

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With inputs from agencies
Before launching strikes at Pakistani air bases, the Indian Air Force deployed dummy pilotless target aircraft, which would appear as legitimate fighter jets on Pakistani radars read more

Days after India paused its Operation Sindoor against Pakistan-based terrorists, interesting details have emerged regarding how the Indian Air Force outsmarted the Pakistani radar and air defence systems by deploying dummy aircraft.

News agency ANI has also reported that India, for the first time, used the BrahMos missile system in an active combat, delivering high-precision strikes against targets deep located in Pakistan.

Dummy jets

According to the defence sources quoted by ANI, India launched a major strike campaign against several airbases of the Pakistan Air Force on the intervening night of May 9th and 10th.

In this operation, 11 of Pakistans 12 major air bases were struck by the IAF. Around 15 BrahMos missiles were fired at these airbases, with the aim to disrupt their ability to launch aircraft and other key operations. Notably, the complete decimation of these airbases was not on the IAFs agenda.

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However, before this massive campaign was launched, the IAF deployed dummy pilotless target aircraft, which would appear as legitimate fighter jets on Pakistani radars.

This prompted the Pakistani side to activate its defence network to deter the incoming enemy aircraft. However, this disclosed their location to the Indian side, leading the Indian forces to target Pakistans air defence radars and command and control systems using loitering ammunition and Israeli-made Harops.

Before that, the Pakistani side had moved the Chinese HQ-9 air defence system to a new location unknown to the Indian side. The deployment of the dummy jets helped India detect the new location and neutralise the radars and defence systems.

Which missiles were used in Indian offensive?

The Indian Air Force then followed up with the long-range missile attacks on the Pakistani air bases, which included the BrahMos and Scalp missiles.

Around 15 BrahMos missiles and Scalp, Rampage and Crystal Maze missiles were launched in the offensive.

The aircraft packages for the missions were controlled mainly from the Western Air Command and the Southwestern Air Command area of responsibility. The aerial attacks launched by the Pakistani Air Force using land attack ballistic missiles, air-launched cruise missiles, and unmanned combat aircraft were mainly thwarted by the combination of the Russian S-400, MRSAM, and Akash air defence missile units, along with other old systems.

The attacks on Pakistani air bases resulted in the Pakistani Air Force shifting its aircraft to different bases in the rear, the sources said. The Pakistan Air Force might have lost a significant number of long-endurance UAVs and an airborne early warning and control aircraft during a missile hit on a hangar at a Pakistani air base in the Sindh area of Pakistan.

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It is to be noted that India never crossed the international border or the Line of Control during the recent military conflict with Pakistan. Crossing the border would have exposed the Indian jets to enemy radars and defence systems. Instead, India deployed advanced fighter jets as well as high-tech missiles to launch precision strikes from within its borders.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Israel Defence Forces has said that they have launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza read more

A Palestinian walks past a rubble of houses destroyed during Israel's offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Israel on Saturday announced the launch of a new major offensive in Gaza and said the strikes in the past few days that killed over 100 people were the initial stages of fresh attacks on the Palestinian territory.

The strikes were part of the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, to achieve all the wars objectives, including the release of the abducted soldiers and the defeat of Hamas, Israels army said on Telegram.

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In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces said that they had launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza.

More from World Trump in Saudi Arabia, Israeli strikes kill 48 in Gaza day after Hamas released American hostage

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Gaza in the past week have killed more than 100 people. Gazas health ministry on Friday said that 108 people, mostly women and children, were killed in a single day.

The launch of a fresh offensive comes days after US President Donald Trump finished his West Asia trip with no hope of a truce in the Palestinian region.

Trumps visit to West Asia and subsequent high-level meetings with various stakeholders brought widespread hope of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks and the renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

While there were no substantial talks on a possible Israel-Hamas truce, Trump once again made territorial claims, stating that the US should take Gaza .

The US president made the comments during his visit to Qatar, where he said, I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone. Id be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.

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Meanwhile, Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israels war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.
Several contradictory statements have emerged from Pakistans top political and military leadership, exposing Islamabads false narrative of military dominance. read more

As Pakistan declares victory over India following the recent standoff in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, several contradictory statements have emerged from Pakistans top political and military leadership, exposing Islamabads false narrative of military dominance over India.

Here are three such statements made by Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that lay bare the shallowness of Islamabads tall claims of military and aerial superiority.

Claim number 1: India was prevented from hitting significant targets inside Pakistan

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Amid the Indo-Pak standoff earlier this month, Pakistans military claimed India was prevented from inflicting any major damage to Pakistani bases and its air defence systems showed a spectacular performance against aerial threats. Pakistani security forces claimed that India allegedly targeted the Nur Khan airbase with ballistic missiles on May 10 but they were intercepted.

However, PM Sharif Friday admitted first time that Nur Khan airbase was indeed hit by Indian missiles.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif himself admits that General Asim Munir called him at 2:30am to inform him that India had bombed Nur Khan Air Base and several other locations. Let that sink in  the Prime Minister was woken up in the middle of the night with news of strikes deep inside pic.twitter.com/b4QbsF7xJh  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 16, 2025

While addressing a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument on Friday, Sharif said, At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on secure line and informed that Indias ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. Our Air Force used homegrown technology to save our country, and they even used modern gadgets and technology on Chinese jets, Geo News reported.

Claim 2: Pakistan was on full alert

Another claim that Pakistan made was that its military remained on full alert and was ready to respond to any escalation from India.

Days before Indias May 7 strikes on terror camps in Pakistans Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters that they have strengthened their army, which had become necessary now. Even ahead of May 10 strikes on Pakistan, its military and political leadership said they were on high alert and ready to fire back.

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However, during his Friday address, PM Sharif said he was sleeping during the time of Indian strikes.

Shehbaz, while speaking of Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, said there was confidence, self-confidence and and patriotism in the generals voice. The PMs unnecessary embellishment of Munirs posture indicates the reality may have been the exact opposite.

Despite armys stated preparedness, the Indian forces were able to strike 11 airbases in the early hours of May 10.

Claim 3: Shot down Indias five fighter jets

One of the boldest claims made by Pakistani side is that they downed five Indian fighter jets during the recent standoff. Earlier on Thursday (May 15), Sharif went a step further and claimed a total of six Indian jets were downed.

Pakistans government and the PAF recently hailed the use of the J-10Cs, saying they were used to shoot down five Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales.

Despite these tall claims, the Pakistani side has not presented a shred of evidence backing them. When one side inflicts the damage of such a large scale on the enemy, proof can be collected in the form of wreckage or radar evidence. However, in all of their victory speeches and press briefings, both the Pakistani government and army have failed to provide any substantial evidence corroborating their claims.

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Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif urged resumed talks with India to address issues, especially the Kashmir dispute, at the Youm-e-Tashakur ceremony, stressing peace and counterterrorism cooperation. read more

Pakistan and India should sit down at the table as peaceful neighbours and address their remaining concerns, says Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz

On Friday night, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for resumed negotiations between Pakistan and India to tackle long-standing concerns, particularly the Kashmir dispute. His comments came as the country commemorated Youm-e-Tashakur (Day of Thanks) to praise its armed services during a recent military standoff with India.

Shehbaz, speaking at a special Youm-e-Tashakur ceremony at the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad, stated that India and Pakistan had fought three wars for naught.

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The lesson is to sit down as peaceful neighbours and settle all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. Without resolution of our issues, we cannot have peace in this part of the world , Shehbaz stated.

India, on the other hand, insists that negotiations with Pakistan would only focus on the repatriation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of cross-border terrorism. Despite this, Shehbaz stated, If peace comes, we can also cooperate in counterterrorism.

His remarks came only days after India launched targeted strikes under Operation Sindoor in retribution for the April 22 Pahalgam terror assault, which killed 26 people. In retaliation, Pakistan tried strikes on Indian military targets from May 8 to 10. Indian troops retaliated against Pakistani military targets in a string of assaults.

After four days of fierce fighting, all parties decided to de-escalate on May 10, resulting in a cease-fire. Prime Minister Shehbaz commended all friendly nations for their assistance in organising the ceasefire, particularly US President Donald Trump, for playing an active role.

State-run Radio Pakistan stated that the day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in provincial capitals, followed by special prayers. Rallies were also staged around the country to show support with the military.

Shehbaz had hoisted the national flag earlier that day at the Prime Ministers house in Islamabad. Reflecting on the recent fighting, he underlined Pakistans commitment to peace while emphasising that the country retains the right to self-defence.

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Shehbaz also paid a visit to the home of Squadron Leader Usman Yousaf, who was killed in attacks by Indian forces, according to Pakistans state-run Associated Press. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief Asim Munir, and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar joined the Prime Minister.

The prime minister sent his sympathies to the squadron leaders family.

He also went to Rawalpindis Combined Military Hospital to ask about the condition of soldiers and civilians injured in recent Indian assaults.

The way the Pakistan armed forces and the entire nation fought this war is unparalleled, remarked Mr. Khan.

It was the second time that Youm-e-Tashakkur was observed following the announcement of a ceasefire. It was initially marked on Sunday, with demonstrations held to honour the military services for their reaction to India.

Pakistan will never compromise on its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or core national interests, President Asif Ali Zardari stated.
The statement came after Russian drones hit a minibus, killing nine people and injuring four. The military administration in Ukraines northern Sumy region said that four others were injured in the town of Bilopillia as the vehicle was on its way to Sumy read more

This combination of pictures created on March 18, 2025 shows President Donald Trump (L) on the phone on January 28, 2017 in Washington, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) on the phone Moscow on December 27, 2023. Image- AFP

The Kremlin on Saturday said a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russias Vladimir Putin was possible provided the two sides first reach an agreement, after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct talks in more than three years.

We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides, the Kremlins spokesman told journalists during a briefing.

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The statement came after Russian drones hit a minibus , killing nine people and injuring four. The military administration in Ukraines northern Sumy region said that four others were injured in the town of Bilopillia as the vehicle was on its way to Sumy.

Ukraines Sumy border region has come under increasingly deadly bombardments by Moscow since March, when Ukrainian forces were pushed out of Russias neighbouring Kursk region, which they had partially controlled since the summer of 2024.

Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks this week since 2022. The meeting failed to achieve any breakthrough, although the two countries did agree to swap prisoners.

The attack comes after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022. The meeting failed to achieve any breakthrough, although the two countries did agree to swap prisoners.

Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical attack by the Russians on a bus with civilians, there are dead, the Sumy military said in a statement.

The first direct talks since the spring of 2022  shortly after Moscows full-scale invasion that February  between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul resulted in a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

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But there were few signs of any progress towards halting the fighting that has dragged on for more than three years, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

With inputs from agencies
The attack comes after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022. The meeting failed to achieve any breakthrough, although the two countries did agree to swap prisoners read more

Municipal workers clean up around burnt cars in the residential area following Russia's drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

Nine people died in eastern Ukraine on Saturday after Russian drones hit a minibus. The military administration in Ukraines northern Sumy region said that four others were injured in the town of Bilopillia as the vehicle was on its way to Sumy.

Ukraines Sumy border region has come under increasingly deadly bombardments by Moscow since March, when Ukrainian forces were pushed out of Russias neighbouring Kursk region, which they had partially controlled since the summer of 2024.

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The attack comes after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022. The meeting failed to achieve any breakthrough, although the two countries did agree to swap prisoners.

Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical attack by the Russians on a bus with civilians, there are dead, the Sumy military said in a statement.

Little progress in talks

The first direct talks since the spring of 2022  shortly after Moscows full-scale invasion that February  between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul resulted in a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

But there were few signs of any progress towards halting the fighting that has dragged on for more than three years, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

The two sides said they would present their vision of a possible future ceasefire, according to Russias top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.

Nothings going to happen until

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has asserted that nothings going to happen on the conflict until he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face.

The Kremlin has said that a meeting between the two leaders is essential to make progress in the Ukraine ceasefire talks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on Thursday that the only way a breakthrough in the efforts to end Russias war in Ukraine would happen would be through direct talks between Trump and Putin.

Asked about Rubios comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday: There is no doubt that contacts between President Putin and Trump are important in the context of the Ukrainian negotiations. We, of course, agree with this thesis. The importance of this cannot be overstated.

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With inputs from agencies
Hasinas son recently got US citizenship and sources have told the news outlet that he has applied for a new passport after the current interim government of Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus revoked his Bangladeshi one read more

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is likely to visit India to meet his mother in New Delhi, making it the first such reunion after the leader was ousted from the country last year.

According to a report by News18, Joy will travel to the national capital, where Hasina is believed to be residing after she fled Bangladesh following which he may go to Kolkata.

Hasinas son recently got US citizenship and sources have told the news outlet that he has applied for a new passport after the current interim government of Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus revoked his Bangladeshi one.

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A former Awami League leader said, We are very hopeful that he will meet Sheikh Hasina and speak with leaders who are in exile. The interim government has banned the Awami League in an unethical manner. This is part of their strategy to prevent the party from participating in the upcoming elections.

Joys trip to India comes a week after the interim government banned Hasinas Awami League under anti-terrorism law.

The official gazette notification will be issued in this regard on the next working day, Yunuss office said, describing it as a statement of the council of advisers or the Cabinet.

The statement said the council decided that the ban would remain effective until the completion of the trial of the Awami League and its leaders in Bangladeshs International Crimes Tribunal in the interest of protecting the countrys security and sovereignty.

It said the decision was also taken for the security of the leaders and activists of the July 2024 uprising that eventually led to the ousting of the Awami League regime alongside the complainants and witnesses of the trial in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Formed in 1949, the Awami League led the movement for the autonomy of Bengalis in the then East Pakistan for decades and eventually led the Liberation War in 1971.

With inputs from agencies
During the flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain, on Feb. 17, 2024, the co-pilot of an Airbus A321 fainted while the captain was in the restroom, according to the report. read more

A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Seville in February last year reportedly flew for about 10 minutes without a pilot at the controls after the co-pilot fainted while alone in the cockpit, German news agency dpa reported on Saturday.

The incident occurred on February 17, 2024, aboard an Airbus A321 carrying 199 passengers and six crew members. According to a report by Spains air accident investigation authority, CIAIAC, the captain was in the restroom when the co-pilot lost consciousness.

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The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report.

Lufthansa told dpa that it was aware of the investigation report and that its own flight safety department had also conducted an investigation. The company didnt disclose its results, dpa said.

Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue flying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. During this time period, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported.

The captain initially tried entering the regular door opening code, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit so that the co-pilot can open the door. He did so five times without being able to enter the cockpit. A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone.

Finally, the captain typed in an emergency code that would have allowed him to open the door on his own. However, shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot opened it from the inside despite being ill, dpa reported.

The pilot diverted the flight to Madrid, where the aircraft made an unplanned landing and the co-pilot was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. The aircraft later continued its journey without further incident.

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With inputs from agencies
As recent US trade negotiations unfold, a clearer yet contradictory picture of President Donald Trumps vision for the global economy emerges. At its core lies a strategy to isolate China economically while simultaneously seeking better access to its vast marketsa balancing act that risks confusing allies and trading partners. read more

Donald Trumps approach to international trade, particularly concerning China, presents a perplexing paradox. While aiming to curtail Chinese influence and secure US supply chains, his administration simultaneously seeks greater access to Chinas vast markets.

This dual strategy, driven by a mix of tariffs, export controls and diplomatic overtures has created a blurred line that leaves allies and adversaries alike questioning the true direction of US policy.

The central question now is whether this seemingly contradictory approach represents a calculated balancing act or if it will ultimately prove to be a double-edged sword, cutting both ways for global trade and potentially accelerating the very economic fragmentation Trump seeks to avoid."

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Despite tough rhetoric, concessions achieved so far have been modest, and upcoming negotiations involve countries for whom the stark US vs. China narrative is less clear-cut. Domestically, pressure is mounting and even within the administration, appetite for escalating trade conflicts appears limited.

Michael Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute sums up the confusion: I dont see a well-defined strategy, I dont see a clear goal or set of goals. I see a desire to import fewer products from China.

Early trade cases reflect this ambiguity. The UK swiftly negotiated a deal with the US, securing tariff reductions with limited concessions, while China responded to US tariffs with increased countermeasures before agreeing to a temporary truce that eased tariff burdens. European leaders, familiar with the situation, interpret these moves less as a strategy blueprint and more as efforts to avoid deeper escalation.

The UK deal highlights U.S. efforts to redirect global trade flows away from China. Steel and aluminum tariff reductions were contingent on the U.K. freezing out Chinese involvement, a move that angered Beijing. The U.S. is pushing for stringent rules of origin and ownership criteria, effectively excluding China from supply chains, likely triggering Beijings counter-pressure on London. An EU official described this as a U.S. attempt to permanently tilt global trade relations in its favor through higher tariffs and security requirements, compelling partners to sever ties with China.

An EU official commented on these efforts, saying the US clearly wants to tilt global trade relations in its favor by demanding higher tariffs and security rules from partners willing to purge China from their supply chains.

In response, President Xi Jinpings visits to Southeast Asia, coupled with invitations to Latin American leaders in Beijing, and planned engagements with European and African leaders, underscore this effort. Let me stress that cooperation between countries should not target or harm any third party, stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. China also warned against deals at the expense of Chinas interests, vowing resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures, as reported by the Financial Times.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian emphasised last week, Cooperation between countries should not target or harm any third party, a clear reference to the UK-US agreement. China has warned that it opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of Chinas interests and will take reciprocal countermeasures if necessary.

Tariffs remain a significant sticking point. While Trump suggests 10% tariffs are as low as he will go, combined rates on Chinese goods remain at 30%, compared with a prior rate of 145%, according to EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Dombrovskis highlighted the economic risks, stating, We dont see these tariffs as justified and consider them harmful to both the EU and US economies, and ultimately to the global economy. He also stressed the need for Europe to bolster strategic autonomy, especially in defense and advanced technologies, learning from the war in Ukraine.

Despite these tensions, markets have responded positively to recent de-escalation moves. Trumps promise of new sectoral tariffs still looms, but the administrations trade actions remain uneven. His recent Middle East trip included deals on semiconductors and AI that have raised concerns among China hawks in the US government.

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Scott Lincicome, Vice President of General Economics at the Cato Institute, describes the administrations stance as nuanced. On certain products like steel, its clear theyre trying to isolate China and limit the import of Chinese materials via third countries. But overall, I dont think theyre trying to do that, he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

The White House frames its trade policy as addressing long-standing unfair trade practices. President Trump and his economic team have repeatedly made it clear that the administration is focused on ending our countrys historic and persistent trade deficits by negotiating the removal of unfair tariff and non-monetary trade barriers by other countries that have decimated American industries and undermined American workers, said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

The US is also pressing for preferential access to European procurement and aiming to relocate key pharmaceutical supply chains domestically. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined a vision for allies to invest in US semiconductor manufacturing in exchange for preferential access to chip supplies, targeting 50% of advanced chip production within the US.

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However, such sweeping demands risk alienating partners. China has denounced US export controls on technology like Huaweis AI chips as unilateral protectionism, according to He Yongqian, a spokeswoman for Chinas Commerce Ministry.

As the US pushes for partners to align more closely with its trade and security policies, only a handful of economies appear deeply intertwined enough with the US to consider such realignments. Scott Lincicome cautions, Other governments are surely aware of the pressures on the Trump administration to make deals and avert market turmoil. Theyre inevitably going to drive a very hard bargain.

In sum, Trumps China trade strategy is a double-edged sword, aiming to weaken Beijings economic influence while courting risks that trading partners may opt for pragmatism over alignment, blurring the lines of global trade alliances and raising questions about the long-term coherence of US policy.
Trump called the Iranian drones very good too and fast and deadly" as he pointed out the large difference in cost between Iranian-made drones and similar models from US companies read more

US President Donald Trump praised the cost-effectiveness and performance of Iranian drones while criticising the high prices from American defence contractors. At a recent press briefing, the US president pointed out the large difference in cost between Iranian-made drones and similar models from US companies.

Comparing Irans drone production costs of $35,000 to $40,000 with US manufacturers quotes of $41 million for similar technology, Trump said, I asked one of the companies I want a lot of drones and in the case of Iran, they make a good drone. And it makes them for 35-40 thousand dollars. So I say to this company, I wanna see they came in 2 weeks later with a drone that cost 41 million. I said thats not what Im talking about."

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Donald Trump also called the Iranian drones very good too and fast and deadly".

Trump open to trade talks with Iran

In a separate interview, Donald Trump indicated an openness to trade negotiations with Iran, provided Tehran refrained from pursuing nuclear weapons.

He said, Iran wants to trade with us and Im OK with that," adding, We make a deal, theyll be very happy. But theyre not going to have a nuclear weapon."

He also suggested a broader strategy, saying, Im using trade to settle scores and to make peace."

During his Gulf tour, the US President expressed growing hope for a potential nuclear agreement with Iran, suggesting it could be achieved without military action.

He said, Were not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I think were getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this." These remarks reportedly led to a drop in global oil prices.

Khamenei slams Trump

Trump also bashed the Iranian regime for corruption and mismanagement, accusing it of turning green farmland into dry deserts.

The US leader also described Tehrans support for the fallen establishment of President Bashar al-Assad as a cause of misery and death and regional destabilisation.

In response, Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the presidents remarks as deceptive, telling state media on Friday it was the US that hampered Iran through sanctions and military threats while backing Israel and attacking Syria.

On Saturday (May 17), Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also trained his guns on Trump, with chants of death to America.

The level of those remarks is so low that they are a disgrace for the one who uttered them and a disgrace to the American nation, he said.
Iran rejected Trumps claim of a U.S. nuclear proposal, calling his remarks confusing. FM Araghchi said no offer was received and reaffirmed Irans right to enrichment read more

On Friday, a senior Iranian official retaliated against US President Donald Trump, describing his recent comments on a nuclear agreement as confusing and contradictory.

As he returned from the Middle East earlier Friday, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that the United States presented Iran with a formal proposal for a new nuclear agreement and urged Tehran to move quickly.

Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on the social networking site X. In the meantime, the messaging we-and the world-continue to receive is confusing and contradictory.

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Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal, he said.

Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly.



In the meantime, the messaging weand the worldcontinue to receive is confusing and contradictory. Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and  Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 16, 2025

Trump informed reporters earlier this week that the two nations were engaged in very serious negotiations.

Additionally, in recent days, the president has stated that Tehran cannot have its own nuclear weapon but has also signalled an openness to the Middle Eastern nation having a civilian nuclear program.

In his post on Friday, Araghchi emphasised Irans dedication to nuclear enrichment.

In reference to the international nuclear treaty, he stated, Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other [Non-Proliferation Treaty] signatories, too.

In recent weeks, U.S. and Iranian officials have convened to discuss the specifics of an accord. During his first term, Trump pulled out of an agreement with former President Obama that granted sanctions relief in return for nuclear limitations.

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Trump reaffirmed his desire for speedy discussions in an interview that aired on Fox News on Friday night.

Iran wants to trade with us, okay, if you can believe that. And Im OK with it, Trump told interviewer Bret Baier, Im using trade to settle scores and to make peace. But Ive told Iran we make a deal.

Theres not plenty of time, he added.
The first high level talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early months of Moscows 2022 attack showed they are far from agreement on steps needed for a ceasefire, even though they promised a major swap of prisoners of war. read more

The first high-level talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early stages of Moscows 2022 attack have concluded with a stark reminder of the immense gulf separating the two nations, offering scant optimism for an imminent ceasefire. Despite promises of a major prisoner swap, the talks revealed a profound lack of common ground on the fundamental steps required to stop the ongoing conflict.

Despite the palpable distance in their positions, a sliver of diplomatic possibility remains. Turkey, the host nation said that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed in principle to hold further negotiations. The statement offers a glimmer of hope for US President Donald Trump, who has called for a swift peace agreement.

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Peter Slezkine, senior fellow and director of the Russia program at the Stimson Center, described the talks as substantial steps. He said, I do think that they are a very hopeful sign, because the two sides coming into direct contact is an important development.

However, the initial optimism generated by the meeting quickly faded upon closer examination of the stated positions. Ukraine, backed by the United States and other Western allies, has consistently called for a 30-day ceasefire without any preconditions to facilitate meaningful peace negotiations.

In stark contrast, Russia, which currently occupies nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory, displayed minimal inclination towards compromise. Moscow reiterated its maximalist demands, insisting on Ukraines withdrawal from and recognition of Russias claim over four Ukrainian regions  territories the Kremlin unilaterally annexed but does not fully control.

The carefully worded statements released by both sides following the Istanbul talks did little to conceal the deep chasm that persists between them. A Ukrainian diplomatic source, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions, revealed that Russia presented demands that were detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed. These reportedly included ultimatums for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from sovereign Ukrainian land, alongside other nonstarters and non-constructive conditions.

Adding a chilling perspective, the Kremlins chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, suggested that Russia was prepared to continue its military campaign for as long as necessary to achieve its objectives. Drawing a historical parallel to Russias protracted 18th-century war against Sweden, he argued that Kyivs resistance to Russias peace demands was only hastening its own demise.

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A senior Ukrainian government official with direct knowledge of the abortive 2022 peace talks with Russia expressed little surprise at the outcome in Istanbul, telling Reuters that it unfolded entirely as expected. The source offered a more pragmatic, if less hopeful, view: Every journey begins with a single step. This is the beginning of the journey. Demands are always exaggerated at the start of any negotiations. Thats classic.

The fragile outcome places renewed emphasis on President Trumps role. Just before the talks, Trump abruptly shifted stance, saying he needed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to achieve a breakthrough. This move temporarily undercut European efforts to pressure Washington into imposing tougher sanctions on Russia.

Earlier in the week, leaders of four major European powers had visited Kyiv, warning Russia of fresh sanctions if it failed to agree to a 30-day ceasefire by May 12, a position supported by the US However, when Putin proposed talks instead of a ceasefire, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media to accept the proposal immediately, without mentioning impending sanctions.

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Zelenskyy, wary of alienating the influential US President, publicly supported direct talks with Putin. The Kremlins response was to dispatch a delegation for the Istanbul talks that conspicuously excluded Putin himself, as well as any high-ranking ministers.

Russian political analyst Vladimir Pastukhov wryly commented on the appointment of Medinsky, a figure from the failed 2022 talks, as delegation head, saying, You dont send undertakers to a wedding.

After the Istanbul talks, Trump and the leaders of the four European powers spoke again with Zelenskyy to discuss the way forward. Publicly, the Ukrainian team renewed calls for direct negotiations between Zelenskyy and Putin, arguing only the Russian president has the authority to resolve key issues.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump expressed optimism about reaching an agreement but added that he would impose sanctions on Russia if no deal could be made.

While the talks represent a diplomatic step forward, the entrenched positions and expansive Russian demands suggest that a genuine ceasefire remains elusive for now, raising questions over whether the negotiations mark the beginning of peace or merely a strategic ploy in a protracted conflict.

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A baby born with a rare and dangerous genetic disease is growing and thriving after getting an experimental gene editing treatment made just for him.

Researchers described the case in a new study, saying he's among the first to be successfully treated with a custom therapy that seeks to fix a tiny but critical error in his genetic code that kills half of affected infants.

Though it may be a while before similar personalized treatments are available for others, doctors hope the technology can someday help millions left behind, even as genetic medicine advanced, because their conditions are so rare.

"This is the first step towards the use of gene editing therapies to treat a wide variety of rare genetic disorders for which there are currently no definitive medical treatments," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert who co-authored the study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The baby, KJ Muldoon of Clifton Heights, Pa., is one of 350 million people worldwide with rare diseases, most of which are genetic. He was diagnosed shortly after birth with severe CPS1 deficiency, estimated by some experts to affect about one in a million babies. Those infants lack an enzyme needed to help remove ammonia from the body, so it can build up in their blood and become toxic. A liver transplant is an option for some.

Knowing KJ's odds, parents Kyle and Nicole Muldoon, both 34, worried they could lose him.

"We were, like, you know, weighing all the options, asking all the questions for either the liver transplant, which is invasive, or something that's never been done before," Nicole said.

"We prayed, we talked to people, we gathered information, and we eventually decided that this was the way we were going to go," her husband added.

Within six months, the team at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, along with their partners, created a therapy designed to correct KJ's faulty gene.

They used CRISPR, the gene editing tool that won its inventors a Nobel Prize in 2020. Instead of cutting the DNA strand like the first CRISPR approaches, doctors employed a technique that flips the mutated DNA "letter"  also known as a base  to the correct type. Known as "base editing," it reduces the risk of unintended genetic changes.

It's "very exciting" that the team created the therapy so quickly, said gene therapy researcher Senthil Bhoopalan at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, who wasn't involved in the study. "This really sets the pace and the benchmark for such approaches."

In February, KJ got his first IV infusion with the gene editing therapy, delivered through tiny fatty droplets called lipid nanoparticles that are taken up by liver cells.

While the room was abuzz with excitement that day, "he slept through the entire thing," recalled study author Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, a gene therapy expert at CHOP.

After follow-up doses in March and April, KJ is able to eat more normally and recovered well from illnesses like colds, which can strain the body and exacerbate symptoms of CPS1. The 9-month-old also takes less medication.

Considering his poor prognosis earlier, "any time we see even the smallest milestone that he's meeting  like a little wave or rolling over  that's a big moment for us," his mother said.

Still, researchers caution that it's only been a few months. They'll need to watch him for years.

"We're still very much in the early stages of understanding what this medication may have done for KJ," Ahrens-Nicklas said. "But every day, he's showing us signs that he's growing and thriving."

Researchers hope what they learn from KJ will help other rare disease patients.

Gene therapies, which can be extremely expensive to develop, generally target more common disorders in part for simple financial reasons: more patients mean potentially more sales, which can help pay the development costs and generate more profit. The first CRISPR therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, treats sickle cell disease, a painful blood disorder that affects millions worldwide.

Musunuru said his team's work  funded in part by the National Institutes of Health  showed that creating a custom treatment doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. The cost was "not far off" from the $800,000-plus for an average liver transplant and related care, he said.

"As we get better and better at making these therapies and shorten the time frame even more, economies of scale will kick in and I would expect the costs to come down," Musunuru said.

Scientists also won't have to redo all the initial work every time they create a customized therapy, Bhoopalan said, so this research "sets the stage" for treating other rare conditions.

Carlos Moraes, a neurology professor at the University of Miami who wasn't involved with the study, said research like this opens the door to more advances.

"Once someone comes with a breakthrough like this, it will take no time" for other teams to apply the lessons and move forward, he said. "There are barriers, but I predict that they are going to be crossed in the next five to 10 years."
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.
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The first two weeks of the new Grand Junction City Council term has been marked by a narrow vote to end the contentious Fourth and Fifth Stree
May 16, 2025

By Matthew Olay, DOD News

Senior Officials Say Military Intel Budget Request Aligns With DOD Priorities

The Defense Department's proposed military intelligence program budget for fiscal year 2026 aligns with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's strategic lines of effort both at home and abroad, according to a trio of senior intelligence officials who testified yesterday at a House Armed Services Committee intelligence and special operations subcommittee posture hearing on Capitol Hill.

Dustin J. Gard-Weiss, performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security; Army Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman, performing the duties of director of the National Security Agency and acting commander of U.S. Cyber Command; and Air Force Lt. Gen Jeffrey A. Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, explained that the budget request enables the government's defense, intelligence and security personnel to "confront the array of global threats" facing the United States, its allies and partners.

"These experts comprise the enterprise that provides intelligence, informed insights and options to the secretary of defense, in support of the secretary's priorities of restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence," Gard-Weiss told the committee.

He added that the proposed budget reflects the "America first" defense policy and the strategic priorities of both President Donald J. Trump and the secretary.

Additionally, Gard-Weiss said the 2026 budget request reflects focused investments in capabilities and initiatives to support Hegseth's three priority lines of effort: defending the homeland, deterring China and supporting increased burden sharing with U.S. allies and partners.

In partnership with DOD and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Hartman said, NSA is focused on the current priorities of modernizing capabilities, defending the homeland, and the core functions of code-making and code-breaking.

"Both [Cybercom and NSA] have taken comprehensive and concrete actions in support of homeland defense, including improving support to U.S. government disruption activities with cartels operating in Mexico and along the southern border, and in the development of [the] Golden Dome [missile defense shield] for America," Hartman said.

Although the U.S. is facing a threat from transnational criminal organizations, drug traffickers and terrorist groups, Kruse said, DIA is working to counter any challenges.

"Our long-standing cooperation with law enforcement agencies has enabled DIA to respond quickly [by surging] analytic, collection, scientific and technical capabilities to support [U.S. Northern Command], [U.S. Southern Command], the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI," he said.

Like Cybercom and NSA, Kruse said DIA provides "authoritative intelligence assessments" to assist DOD in designing and deploying the defenses necessary to support the Golden Dome initiative.

He also said DIA is responsible for collecting intelligence in lesser, "low priority" theaters against counterterrorism overseas.

"The challenge that we have is, how [does DIA] balance the remaining capabilities on the lower priority systems while we move out extraordinarily aggressively? And I think when you see the [fiscal year] 26 budget come forward, you'll see DIA and the administration reaching heavily into the current priorities," Kruse said.

Also overseas, Gard-Weiss said the proposed budget will support deterring China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

"[This is done through] a new generation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities matched to the threat in support of combat-credible military forces in the Western Pacific," he said.

Additionally, the military intelligence program will prioritize investment in American workers and technology, reflecting Hegseth's emphasis on strategic discipline and fiscal responsibility.

"The [budget] will support [DOD's] ability to execute its programs needed to address these global challenges, and [congressional] support is critical to achieving the president's vision of peace through strength and ensuring that our intelligence capabilities remain second to none," Gard-Weiss said.

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Ready, Partnered, Lethal: 31st MEU completes MEUEX

US Marine Corps News

14 May 2025 | Gunnery Sgt. Devin Nichols 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa -- The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted training to prepare the unit for future warfighting capabilities. Immersive, scenario-based evolutions focused on lethality, readiness, and interoperability for an upcoming deployment in the Indo-Pacific Region during a MEU Exercise (MEUEX) in Okinawa, from Apr. 28 to May 9, 2025.

Over two weeks of training, MEUEX prepared approximately 2,400 Marines and sailors in strategies and procedures, as well as lethal and nonlethal operations by simulating a wide range of contingencies.

"MEUEX is two weeks of Marine Air-Ground Task Force integration training, and this event welds together each element of the MAGTF ensuring the MEU fights as a coherent unit," said Col. Chris P. Niedziocha, the commanding officer of the 31st MEU. "We take a scenario, define the problem, develop and brief a plan, execute the mission, then debrief it and carry the lessons forward into the next event. This generates readiness and prepares to embark the ships of the amphibious ready group where we do it again, this time with the Navy. The ultimate goal is what I like to call "first night of the war" readiness. This ensures that when we're called, we're ready. It's actually part of our logo - ready, partnered, lethal."

The MEU Exercise is conducted twice a year and provides realistic training events for standing missions such as Personnel Recovery; Company to Platoon-sized reinforcement; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Crisis Response; Humanitarian Assistance; Expeditionary and Maritime Strikes; Sensor Expeditionary Advanced Base; Forward Arming and Refueling Point; and a Forward Command Element.

The 31st MEU is executing its mission aligned with the National Defense Strategy (NDS), focusing on strengthening U.S. deterrence through integrated deterrence, campaigning, and investments that build enduring advantages. It prioritizes deterring strategic attack and aggression and ensuring the ability to "win" if deterrence fails. The strategy also emphasizes building a resilient joint force and defense ecosystem, as well as defending the United States.

"The 31st MEU is a vital unit with a centralized capability of abilities in our area of operations," said Maj. James J. Hurton, the operations officer for Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st MEU. "The MEU is ready to respond to any crisis or conflict when called upon. We conduct this training before each deployment, and it provides us a realistic training scenario to stay ready as America's most lethal fighting force."

"We are excited to implement the Amphibious Combat Vehicle with our list of capabilities. We are always looking for methods to implement kinetic and non-kinetic operations, this technology provides new methods to employ the battalion landing team in a multi-domain environment," said Hurton.

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is being integrated with the 31st MEU for the first time for future operations. The ACV provides the MEU a ship-to-objective amphibious capability, land mobility, survivability and growth capacity and flexibility to incorporate and adapt future technologies according to BAE Systems. This asset is customizable and has the built-in growth capacity to integrate future mission critical technologies, including new battle management capabilities, advanced communications, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, anti-air, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), providing flexibility to address additional mission roles.

The III Marine Expeditionary Force commanding general, Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner, affirmed that the ACVs upgrade the fleet with amphibious combat vehicles capable of supporting sea denial and maritime operations. They further bolster III MEF's ability to support deterrence efforts and respond to contingencies in the Indo-Pacific.

The 31st MEU provides a forward deployable, flexible, and sea-based Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) capable of employing amphibious operations, crisis response and limited contingency operations, to include enabling the introduction of follow-on forces and designated special operations to support U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), and other geographic combatant commanders when applicable.

"It is important to take full advantage of the repetitions and training events to achieve the best results to heighten mission success," said Maj. Michael P. Monaghan, the assistant operations officer for the 31st MEU. "The Marines and sailors trained hard and showed their best qualities when it came from the largest training operation to the smallest details. We are a unit that focuses on the inches and seconds."

This is a major pre-deployment training exercise that validates and reinforces the MEU's mission capabilities across all MAGTF elements, including the Command Element (CE), Ground Combat Element (GCE), Aviation Combat Element (ACE), and Combat Logistics Battalion (CLB). This exercise prepares the 31st MEU for integration with the three ship, America Amphibious Ready Group (AMAARG) reinforcing the ARG/MEU capacity with more than 5,000 Marines and sailors.

The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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SACEUR visits Iceland

Government of Iceland - Ministry for Foreign Affairs

15 May 2025

Christopher G. Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of the U.S. European Command, met with Minister for Foreign Affairs orgerur Katrin Gunnarsdottir and had meetings on defence issues with ministry officials during a brief visit to Iceland.

"Having General Cavoli in Iceland at this time was particularly useful as we are reviewing Iceland's defence policy," said Minister for Foreign Affairs Gunnarsdottir. "His deep knowledge of the situation in the North Atlantic is very valuable to us."

General Cavoli also had talks with the Icelandic parliamentary group that is currently reviewing the security and defence policy for Iceland.

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Numbers Continue Rising Six Years after Security Council Adopted Resolution 2474 (2019) on Missing Persons in Armed Conflict, Speakers Warn, Urging Action to Implement Text

Meetings Coverage

Security Council

9917th Meeting (PM)

SC/16063

15 May 2025

As the Security Council met today to consider the issue of persons reported missing in armed conflict, speakers  including a woman whose father was abducted during the Korean War and a father whose son's remains have yet to be returned from the one in Gaza  illustrated that the number of such persons has only continued to increase since the adoption of a resolution on this matter almost six years ago.

"In 2024 alone, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] registered 56,000 new cases of missing persons," said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. International humanitarian law, he said, prohibits forced disappearance and requires parties to conflict to take all feasible measures to account for those reported missing, while also enshrining their families' right to information about their fate.

Nevertheless, he stated that ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups "continue to generate grave concerns" under resolution 2474 (2019). While welcoming the recent release of Edan Alexander as a "source of hope", he pointed out that an estimated 58 Israeli hostages  35 of them presumed dead  remain unaccounted for in Gaza. "Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians  including children  also remain missing," he said, adding that Israel continues to withhold the remains of deceased Palestinians, hindering families' access to information and closure.

He also detailed the plight of Ukrainian civilians detained in areas under Russian Federation occupation and individuals missing in Myanmar; encouraged the repatriation of remains from the Korean War; and spotlighted the missing-persons crisis in Syria as a "tragically defining feature" of that conflict. "Disappearances of loved ones create long-term trauma on families and communities," he underscored, spotlighting the importance of respect for international law to the search for missing persons. He concluded: "Resolution 2474 (2019) must be fully implemented, with urgency."

Korean War Abductees First, Largest Case of Enforced Disappearance

Next, Sung Eui Lee, Chief Director of the Korean War Abductees' Family Union, said that she has been waiting for 75 years "for my father to come back". Her father, who was a 42-year-old attorney at the time, was taken to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea during the Korean War. She was only 18 months old at the time, "having no memory of him". Yet, despite the "clear evidence", the Democratic People's Republic of Korea never admitted to the "abduction crime", she said.

This crime, she stressed, is ongoing  "the first and largest case of enforced disappearance"  and involves almost 100,000 victims. If this case was properly resolved when it occurred, subsequent crimes committed in many other countries  such as Japan, Thailand and Romania  could have been prevented. "This", she underscored, "is why the issue of Korean War abductees must be resolved first", as it is the key to resolving the cases that followed.

"Please let the DPRK confirm the life and death and repatriate the victims of war even if they have passed away," she urged the Council, underlining the need to hold those responsible accountable. "Time is running short  many of the siblings and spouses of the abductees have already passed away," she continued, calling on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to confirm the state of missing loved ones. "I sincerely believe that the Security Council will be at the front and take [up] this issue to resolve," she added.

Hostages' Families Urge Creation of Dedicated UN Mandate-Holder to Address Issue

Ruby Chen  the father of Itay Chen, a hostage still held in Gaza  then urged the Council to demand that Hamas release the deceased hostages in their possession. Resolution 2474 (2019) must not remain symbolic  it must be enforced. He pointed out that, despite that resolution, there is no specific mandate within the United Nations dedicated to addressing hostage-taking as a distinct violation of international law.

"This omission leaves families like us without a focal point, without guidance and without adequate representation," he said, calling on the Council and the Secretary-General to establish a dedicated UN mandate-holder tasked with monitoring the implementation of resolution 2474 (2019) and addressing the broader range of violations and harms associated with hostage-taking. Such a mandate-holder would provide institutional leadership and coordinate international responses.

"We, the US hostage families, and the 54 other families with hostages in Gaza are collateral damage," he said, adding: "Yeah, collateral damage is the best thing I got in a conflict that has been going on for decades. We want Itay back and his physical status  whatever it might be  does not make him any less of a hostage." He therefore requested Council support to enable "families of this tragic fate to have closure and then have, at least, the ability to move on to the next sad chapter in life".

Council Members Urge Justice for Missing Persons

As the floor opened, the representative of the United States recalled that, six years ago, the Council spoke with one voice in the search for those reported missing and the return of those deceased. Yet, parties to conflict have failed to comply, and she underscored that "the bereaved families feel this failure each day". Demanding that Hamas immediately release all its hostages, she added: "This Council will be judged by what we do to bring them home."

While joining others in welcoming the recent release of Edan Alexander, the representative of the United Kingdom similarly spotlighted the "many more families" who "continue to wait in agony". "No one should have to suffer this fate," she said  "whether in Gaza or elsewhere in the world". Algeria's representative, meanwhile, pointed out that, among the 56,000 missing persons recorded in 2024, 11,000 of them were in Gaza. This small land alone, he said, "carried one fifth of the suffering of our world in one year".

"We should not be looking at this as mere statistics," stressed Slovenia's representative, recalling the legacy of wars in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the people who went missing during them. "There are mothers still searching for their children, wives that are still preparing dinner for their husbands and sons  just in case they return," she said. The representative of Greece, Council President for May, spoke in his national capacity to agree that "these cases hardly constitute mere statistics, but individual stories of severe hardship and distress".

This was a common theme. "Missing persons are not just numbers," stressed Pakistan's representative: "They are fathers who never returned home, mothers separated from their children, young boys who disappeared in the dead of night and daughters whose fates were sealed in silence." Panama's representative, stating that "the search for those that never returned remains an open wound", noted that at least 100 people are still missing following the military invasion of his country in December 1989.

"An estimated 100,000 civilians were abducted by North Korea during the three-year-long conflict," recalled the representative of the Republic of Korea. He urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which "continued to abduct and detain a significant number of South Korean people and citizens of other countries, including Japan, up until recently", to offer an apology, verify victims' fates and ensure their safe and immediate return. He also noted the success of the television programme Finding Dispersed Families, which helped to reunite 10,000 families separated since the Korean War.

Addressing Plight of Missing Persons Is a Shared Responsibility

While many speakers drew attention to these and other specific cases  including in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Syria, Jammu and Kashmir, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo  Somalia's representative said that the plight of missing persons and their families is a humanitarian challenge that "transcends borders" and "touches us all". "It is our shared responsibility to uphold the dignity and rights of all those affected," he stated. "The anguish of missing persons' families can perpetuate intergenerational trauma," observed the representative of Sierra Leone.

"It is imperative that, in the pursuit of justice and lasting peace, cases of missing persons do not go unaddressed," underscored Guyana's representative, urging States both to ensure appropriate mechanisms are in place to allow families of the missing to register cases and to create databases to guide future search and recovery efforts. Denmark's representative called on military planners to "integrate management of the missing, prisoners of war and the dead into every combat operation".

Focus on International Committee of the Red Cross' Mandate

The representatives of Iraq and France were among those who recognized ICRC's mandate regarding missing persons under the Geneva Conventions. "We value the efforts of the ICRC to search for missing persons through assistance and technical cooperation as the international agency with the most expertise and efficiency in this regard," said the former, who noted the thousands of Iraqis missing following military operations in the 1980s and 1990s. The latter, meanwhile, voiced support for the ICRC's role in facilitating confidence-building measures in negotiations and peace agreements.

China's representative, observing that "as long as wars rage on, the tragedy of missing persons may recur", said that addressing this issue requires a focus on conflict prevention and resolution. Further, he urged targeted assistance to affected countries to strengthen national capacities to search for, identify and locate missing persons. "We must recognize that these issues are resolved most effectively when they do not have excessive political attention," said the representative of the Russian Federation, warning against using "the issue of the missing as a tool of political pressure".

While the representative of Cyprus said that Turkiye failed to take measures to prevent persons from going missing during its "illegal invasion" in 1974  and to this day, refuses to account for these individuals  the latter country's representative stressed that the fate of missing persons in Cyprus "should not be politicized, nor should it be presented as an issue which only affects Greek-Cyprus". Israel's representative, spotlighting the "moral obligation to return the dead to their families", stressed that this is not a political principle or a Western norm  it is a universal duty, shared by every nation, rooted in every religion and "engraved into the conscience of every human being".

Urging that the missing not be forgotten, Kuwait's representative called for the designation of a high-level UN official to follow-up on the expanded process of identifying the remains of all such persons. As Kuwait continues to search for the remains of 308 missing persons, he said this "deep wound" has yet to heal. "They are lost in the darkness," he said.

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May 16, 2025

By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News

DOD Uses Voluntary Reductions as Path to Civilian Workforce Goals

With two opportunities to apply for a deferred resignation and a hiring freeze in effect for all but the civilian career fields deemed most critical, the Defense Department is working toward successfully implementing its workforce acceleration and recapitalization initiative using voluntary reductions in force.

The initiative, announced March 28, 2025, in a memorandum from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is part of a larger plan to rebuild the U.S. military to meet current and future demands.

"To deliver on my commitment to urgently rebuild our military, revive the warrior ethos and deliver maximum deterrence, we must aggressively refocus every available resource towards our core mission," Hegseth said. "We will realign the size of our civilian workforce and strategically restructure it to supercharge our American warfighters consistent with my interim National Defense Strategy guidance."

With 900,000-plus civilian employees across the department, the initiative requires not just moving civilian employees around from one agency to another to maximize the workforce but also, in some cases, reduce that workforce.

Tim Dill, performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the department has achieved most of its workforce resizing efforts using voluntary separations, particularly through two deferred resignation programs and a hiring freeze.

"The majority of the civilian workforce optimization initiatives have been voluntary measures," he said. "We've been asking, 'Are there people that would like to take paid leave and move on to something else, whether it's a new job or retirement?'"

In his messages to the workforce, the defense secretary said he wants to make reduction decisions as voluntary as possible to minimize the need for involuntary separations later on. So far, Dill said the department has not made a decision regarding a reduction in force, a process through which the department could involuntarily lay off civil servants.

In late January 2025, the Office of Personnel Management offered a federal governmentwide Deferred Resignation Program, which was available for two weeks. Under that program, federal employees could volunteer to resign from their positions, but continue to get paid until the end of September.

The department also offered its own DRP, billed as "DRP 2.0," available April 7-14.

Under both DRPs, eligible employees were also offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, which allowed those employees to begin collecting retirement pay earlier than normal. Dill said some employees were also able to combine the two, accepting DRP and retirement, and might get paid on administrative leave until December.

"So that's almost a full year of administrative leave," he said. "It's a very attractive and generous offer for those that might have been thinking about leaving the department."

The department is now reviewing the effects of the second DRP.

"There is a lot of data to review, and there is a lot of mission analysis that goes into that for each of the military departments and components to look at where the concentrations of volunteering employees are," he said. "For example, you might have a critical air traffic control function in one area where you know that you don't need to retain every air traffic controller at that location. But could you let all of them take the DRP?"

Dill said the two DRPs were used to meet department needs rather than entirely driven by employees' personal choices. This is because the department isn't just looking to reduce numbers in general, it's looking to shape the workforce to optimize it for the future.

With both DRPs, the department and military services could deny an employee's request to take the offer if the department or service deemed it wasn't in their best interest.

"The department gave the services and components the ability to review each DRP request and decide whether they could afford to let that employee participate without an impact on mission-critical functions," he said.

During the second DRP, Dill said even more consideration was given to which groups of employees the delayed resignation should be offered to. At the same time, they continued to retain approval authority to determine if an employee who volunteered would be allowed to take it.

"The secretary has given guidance that exceptions to DRP should be rare," Dill said. "We want to maximize participation, but at the same time, we need to mitigate risk and ensure that we don't allow participation where it [will] harm the department's readiness or effectiveness."

Early on in his second administration, President Donald J. Trump implemented a governmentwide hiring freeze, and that's still true today within the Defense Department.

In the past, DOD typically hired about 6,000 people each month to fill vacancies left by retirements and other kinds of employee attrition. With a hiring freeze in place, the gaps in civilian employment are growing, reducing the size of the civilian workforce across the department.

That reduction in the workforce is not random; it's targeted. However, the hiring freeze is not universal, as the department has exempted jobs it considers critical to the future workforce, such as those related to immigration enforcement, national security, public safety, shipyards, depots, cyber fields and medical treatment facilities.

"We never stopped bringing in new people to help the department achieve its goals," Dill said. "We are bringing in employees right now, but far fewer employees than we would bring in [typically]."

Last month, the secretary also ordered the military departments, the Joint Chiefs, directors of defense agencies and others to submit plans that include proposed future functional areas, consolidated management hierarchies, position titles and counts. Dill said those plans have since been submitted, and the department is now analyzing the requested input to develop a future workforce.

"That's getting down even more into the technical details and further analysis on how we would get to that future-state organizational chart, and looking across the department and synchronizing each of those moves," he said.

The review will identify functions that are no longer needed or duplicative and can be eliminated. Dill said an effort would be made to retain employees who can be used elsewhere to serve the department.

"We want to make sure that talented employees that have chosen to remain with the department are placed where their skills are best focused on the missions that we face today and not on some legacy requirement or mission," he said.

Regarding probationary employees, Dill said the department had as many as 55,000 in January 2025, and since then, about 10%  5,400  have been dismissed. A probationary employee is one who, in most cases, has not yet been a federal employee for a full year.

Dill said the department faced some legal pushback, and some of those employees have been brought back into service, adding that DOD will continue to have a sizable civilian workforce.

While the department continues to realign and shape its civilian workforce, Dill said he appreciates those committed to the mission and supporting the warfighters.

"They've twice signaled their desire to remain in the department when they had an opportunity to take paid leave and depart," he said. "We're glad they are still here, and we're excited to make sure that we match their skill sets against the most critical needs of the department."

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Joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission after a meeting with President Maia Sandu of Moldova (16 May 2025)

European Council / Council of the European Union

European Council

Press release

16 May 2025 17:26

We, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom, together with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, met with President Maia Sandu on the margins of the European Political Community summit in Tirana. We reaffirm our strong and united support for the Republic of Moldova and its European future.

We welcome Moldova's continued commitment to democratic reform, the rule of law, and the values shared across the European Union. Moldova has made joining the European Union part of its Constitution, showing clearly that this is the path its people have chosen for their future.

We are committed to supporting Moldova in becoming a prosperous, thriving democracywhere citizens enjoy the same opportunities and quality of life as people across the European Union. Moldova's economic transformation is central to this vision. We will continue to support the country's efforts to build a stronger, more competitive economyone that creates jobs, attracts investment, and delivers tangible benefits to all Moldovans.

We commend Moldova for maintaining stability in a challenging regional environment and for acting as a reliable partner for European peace and security. As the country prepares for upcoming parliamentary elections, it is essential that Moldovans are able to choose their future freely, without foreign interference. We will continue to support Moldova in safeguarding its democratic processes and strengthening its resilience against external threats.

We stand with the people of Moldova as they continue on the path they have freely chosena better future within a strong, united, and peaceful Europe.

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Foreign Minister Tsahkna at the Lennart Meri Conference: Raising defence spending is not a bikini contest, it's about ensuring security

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16.05.2025 | 21:11

Speaking at the opening panel of the Lennart Meri Conference, which began today, 16 May, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that NATO Allies need to increase their defence spending not in order to stand out as if in a bikini contest, but in order to deter Russia, which poses a threat to the security of the entire Alliance.

"With today's talks in Istanbul, Russia has once again proven that it is not interested in peace; instead, it continues to seek the destruction of Ukraine and the restructuring of European security through military action. This sends us a clear signal that Russia is and remains the most serious long-term threat to NATO's security," Tsahkna said. "Estonia's decision to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP next year does not stem from a desire to stand out as if in a bikini contest; instead, the goal is to complete NATO's regional defence plans and fill existing capability gaps."

In addition to Foreign Minister Tsahkna, the panel on transatlantic security also included NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Sekerinska, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski, and US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. The panel was moderated by Politico journalist Amy Mackinnon.

Speaking about Ukraine, Tsahkna said that NATO membership is the best security guarantee for Ukraine, but it would also ensure European security. "Neutral regions in Russia's neighbourhood have always served as a green light for Russia's aggression," Tsahkna said, adding that even if Ukraine's NATO membership takes time, it must always remain on the table as an option. "Ukraine must remain a sovereign state with the right to choose its own security arrangements and alliances."

On the sidelines of the conference, Foreign Minister Tsahkna met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Sekerinska to discuss preparations for the June NATO summit in The Hague, the strengthening of NATO's deterrence and defence posture, and transatlantic relations.

Tomorrow, the foreign minister will meet with Matthew Whitaker, the US Ambassador to NATO.

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Joint Statement of the Council of the Baltic Sea States Foreign Ministers

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16.05.2025 | 16:35

On 16 May 2025, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, the member states of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, met in Vihula, Estonia, and agreed on the following:

We welcomed the report presented by Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Mr Gabrielius Landsbergis, nominated as high-level Wise Persons in accordance with the Porvoo Declaration of 14 June 2024. We agreed that the Wise Persons report adequately reflects the need to significantly reform and refocus the CBSS in order to effectively meet the challenge of the new security environment. This should happen through strengthening dialogue and cooperation on security, complement the work done in other relevant organisations, while avoiding unnecessary duplication. We endorse the spirit of the report, and we hereby resolve and encourage the Presidency and the Secretariat to continue a process by which the workings of the Council are refocused accordingly. The regional environment has changed significantly since the inception of the CBSS in 1992. All the ten members are now prosperous North European countries, all ten belong to NATO (in contrast to three in 1992), eight are EU members and two closely affiliated with the EU through the EEA (in contrast, only two were EU members in 1992). Russia was first suspended and then chose to leave the CBSS, leaving only members that are fully integrated into euro-Atlantic structures.

We condemned in the strongest terms Russia's illegal, unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, a CBSS Observer State, which constitutes a manifest violation of international law, including the UN Charter. We emphasized that Russia as the aggressor state and its accomplice Belarus and the individuals responsible must be held accountable for their crimes and must fully compensate for the damages caused. We called for further stepping up pressure on Russia and Belarus, including through the swift adoption of additional sanctions, stricter enforcement of the measures in force, and imposing tariffs on imports of goods that generate government revenue, to weaken Russia's capacity to continue waging its war of aggression. We supported further actions towards ending the dependency on energy imports from Russia, in line with REPowerEU, which should lead to phasing out Russian energy imports. We reiterated that sanctions against Russia must remain in force until a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the principles of international law, including the UN Charter, is reached.

We welcomed the disbursals made by the G7 and the European Union under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loan to Ukraine by using extraordinary revenues stemming from immobilized assets of the Russian Central Bank. We emphasized that Russian assets must remain immobilized until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and fully compensates for the damage it caused to Ukraine. We considered further exploring possible avenues to use Russian immobilized sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine, consistent with our respective legal systems and international law.

We reiterated our unwavering support to Ukraine`s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We emphasized that respect for territorial integrity is a fundamental principle of international law. We stand by Ukraine as it exercises its inherent right to self-defence against Russia's war of aggression. We have collectively been among the largest providers of political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people. We underlined the urgency of stepping up and speeding up efforts to meet Ukraine`s critical defence and financing needs, including by expediting the delivery of the planned support.

We reaffirmed our support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the principles of international law, including the UN Charter, and underscored the principle that no initiative or decision concerning Ukraine be taken without Ukraine. We welcomed the efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire. We also highlighted the need for robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression. We remain committed to supporting Ukraine`s further European and Euro-Atlantic integration and steadfast progress toward European Union and NATO membership.

We reiterated that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has wider and more complex implications for the security environment in the Baltic Sea region and beyond. Russia's continued efforts to dismantle the existing European security architecture not only threatens the security of its immediate neighbours, but all member states of the European Union and NATO. This situation calls for further deepening of cooperation among democratic, like-minded countries to enhance security and territorial resilience in the region. We are paying particular attention to Russia's malign activities aimed at influencing and destabilizing democracies including through sabotage, cyber attacks, acts of violence, instrumentalization of migration, disinformation campaigns, intimidation, and election interference.

Russia's use of the so-called shadow fleet, making use of inadequately insured, aging vessels in substandard condition, poses a significant threat to maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region, most of which has been designated by the IMO as a particularly sensitive sea area. This reprehensible practice aims to circumvent sanctions and entails a high risk of environmental disasters. It also jeopardizes the sensitive marine environment, increases risks connected to sea-dumped munitions, and substantially contributes to the funding of Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. We called for decisive steps to address actions, be they negligent or malicious, that threaten the Baltic Sea, including its critical maritime infrastructure and commended NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activity "Baltic Sentry" for improving situational awareness, deter, and respond to hostile and destabilizing activities in the region.

We welcomed the organization of the Meeting of Legal Advisers in Berlin on 27 February 2025 and of the Legal Conference on the Protection of Critical Underwater Infrastructure and the Inter-State Discussions on that issue, held in Tallinn on 3-4 April 2025, focusing on the legal framework of protecting underwater infrastructure. The topics of the conference and Inter-State discussions were of great relevance for discussing the legal framework of protecting underwater infrastructure, and it is crucial to continue discussions on how to address the growing challenges to critical underwater infrastructure and strengthen the existing domestic and international legal framework.

We recognized that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. We encouraged all States to adopt the necessary laws and regulations to provide that the breaking or damage of submarine cables, pipelines or other critical underwater infrastructure done wilfully or through culpable negligence in the exclusive economic zones of other states or beneath the high seas shall be a punishable offence. We recalled the duty of flag States to effectively exercise jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical, and social matters over ships flying their flag, and emphasized that failure to comply with these obligations under the law of the sea can result in significant liability risks, particularly in cases where such non-compliance leads to serious environmental, economic, or other damage.

We also recognized the importance of international cooperation in the protection of critical underwater infrastructure, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts among States. We welcomed the EU Action Plan on Cable Security of February 2025 by the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which sets out a whole resilience approach to detect, prevent, respond and recover, and deter disruptive incidents against submarine cables. We urged all States, in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization and other relevant international organizations and agencies, to improve the protection of submarine cables and pipelines and other critical underwater and offshore infrastructure by adopting measures, in accordance with international law, related to the prevention, reporting and investigation of acts intended at wilfully damaging such infrastructure and by implementing such measures through national legislation to ensure proper and adequate enforcement. We noted that in case flag States do not cooperate or fail to make such acts a punishable offence contrary to their obligations under the UNCLOS appropriate measures could be taken by coastal States affected to demand compensation by those flag States for any resulting damage, where appropriate. We recalled that coastal states have the right to take measures against activities within their jurisdiction that violate their rights under the UNCLOS.

We called upon all States to take measures to protect submarine cables and pipelines and to fully address issues related these cables and pipelines, in accordance with international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

We highlighted the role the CBSS has played as a forum for political dialogue on issues of common interest, as well as its contribution to advancing practical cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. We highly appreciated the substantial achievements of the CBSSs expert groups, networks and projects in strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the Baltic Sea region. In this context, we welcomed the close cooperation with Ukrainian partners, recognizing its contribution to strengthening regional security and fostering mutually beneficial collaboration between Ukraine and the Baltic Sea region.

We emphasized the valuable contribution of young people to decision-making processes concerning the future of the Baltic Sea region as well as their contribution to shaping a common and safe Europe - based on European values and the sense of belonging to the European project. We took note of the Youth Ministerial held in Tallinn on 4-7 May 2025, which focused on youth digitalisation and dangers of radicalisation, digital participation and youth accessibility in democratic processes, youth participation in civic security, and on empowering young voices in discussions on democracy, security, and participation. We also noted with appreciation the achievements of the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum and encouraged all organisations, formats, and stakeholders in the region to involve the Forum as the platform for meaningful youth participation.

We underlined the importance of multi-level cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and the contribution of various organizations, formats, and networks in promoting effective practical cooperation, including, among others, the ongoing work of Ministers responsible for spatial planning and development within VASAB (Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea), which aims to improve territorial resilience in the Baltic Sea region. We also commended the work of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, which highlights issues of common concern in the region, and expressed our anticipation for an updated Action Plan of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, aimed at strengthening practical cooperation in the area.

We expressed our gratitude to Estonia for its successful 2024 - 2025 Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States and recognised the Permanent International Secretariat for its effective contribution to achieving CBSS`s priorities. We welcomed Poland as the incoming CBSS Presidency from July 2025.

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Baltic Sea NATO allies and EU agree on cooperation to protect critical undersea infrastructure

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland

Press releases, 16.5.2025

The Baltic Sea NATO allies and the European Union have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding to protect critical undersea infrastructure.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will promote practical cooperation between the Baltic Sea countries in this respect. The start of negotiations on the MoU was announced at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki on 14 January 2025.

The MoU was signed at the ministerial meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Vihula, Estonia, on 16 May 2025.

On behalf of Finland, the document was signed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen.

"The Memorandum of Understanding highlights the significance of political cooperation between the Baltic Sea countries in a time when Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has increased the threat level in the Baltic Sea. It is important to protect critical underwater infrastructure against both unintentional and intentional actions," Foreign Minister Valtonen says.

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Finnish-led software programme to receive EUR 45 million from European Defence Fund

Finnish Ministry of Defence

16.05.2025 10:30

The results of the 2024 European Defence Fund (EDF) call for proposals have been published. Finnish industry and research are once again well represented in the EDF projects. The EDF supports defence research and development projects across the EU with around one billion euros annually.

The Finnish Defence Forces will participate in three development projects, all with Finnish industry representation, of the 2024 EDF Work Programme. The most important of these is the AIMA/AI-WASP programme led by Finland and Patria.

The Finnish Defence Forces has a need to research and develop new solutions for strengthening and integrating the capabilities of ad hoc networking, positioning, identification and electronic protection and countermeasures in Finland and in NATO's High North. Our forces need relevant situational awareness in all operating environments.

For this reason, research and development is underway to create a new generation, modular and scalable multifunctional software that would integrate electronic warfare capabilities into command and control. The estimated total cost of the project is about EUR 52 million, and the European Defence Fund (EDF) contribution is about EUR 45 million under the 2024 EDF calls. The funding was granted to a Patria-led multinational consortium for the project Artificial Intelligence Warfare Adaptive Swarm Platform (AI-WASP).

The project will develop an AI-based multifunctional software aperture and transceiver (AIMA) which can be used in the Arctic and elsewhere. The project will develop software for use in manned and unmanned autonomous platforms of various sizes across all operating environments. The project is led by Finland, and its other members are Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden and Greece. All participating countries have signed a letter of intent to develop AIMA. They will also fund the project alongside the EDF funding.

"We have again managed to obtain EU funding for Finnish defence materiel projects. Many of the selected projects have Finnish companies and research institutes as members. Project cooperation gives the Finnish Defence Forces an opportunity to research and develop military capabilities of the future. It also strengthens our interoperability with other EU Member States' armed forces," said Minister of Defence Antti Hakkanen.

"The EDF adds value to Finland's important efforts to improve the operating conditions of our defence industry. Through EDF projects, Finnish industry and research gain access to European supply chains and to the development of future capabilities early in the development cycle."

Finnish companies and research institutes will be contributing to 18 projects selected for funding under the 2024 EDF calls. Some 40 Finnish companies and research institutes have contributed to EDF projects since 2021.

The Ministry of Defence would like to remind that the 2025 EDF call for proposals is open until 16 October 2025. Read more about the call for proposals and about how to request support from the defence administration at the website of the Ministry of Defence (in Finnish).

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Iran's U.N. envoy criticizes disinformation campaigns on war in Gaza

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

May 16, 2025

New York, IRNA -- Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir-Saeed Iravani says false narratives, mainly promoted by Israel and the U.S., on war in Gaza are designed to reverse victim and perpetrator roles.

Iravani made the remarks on Tuesday, during a session in the U.N., on the occasion of Nakba Day, the anniversary of the creation of the Israeli regime on May 15, 1948.

He strongly condemned crimes committed by Israeli against the Palestinian people.

While Israel speaks of peace, it continues to expand genocide and aggression, violate human rights, silence Palestinian voices, and whitewash its crimes in the media, said Iravani.

Despite repeated global demands to halt Israeli aggression, Israel and its supporters continue their violent operations under the illusion of impunity, fueled by deceptive propaganda, he said.

The envoy reiterated Iran's stance that the Palestinian people have the right to resist occupation and return to their homeland, warning that the spread of deceptive narratives contributes to ongoing displacement and suffering.

As we gather at the meeting, the Israeli regime, with the support of the United States, is deliberately attacking hospitals, schools, women, children, U.N. staff, and journalists, which has so far led to the death of about 60,000 people, many more injured and missing, Iravani said.

He termed the actions as genocide and identified the United States as a full accomplice in the crimes.

The senior Iranian diplomat asserted that the atrocities committed by Israel are undeniable and known to international courts and institutions, exposing decades of Palestinian suffering, both physically and psychologically.

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Foreign Minister Baiba Braze at the Baltic Sea states' meeting: a response to Russia's aggressive actions in the Baltic Sea calls for taking a united regional stand

Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16.05.2025

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), in their meeting at Vihula, Estonia, on 15-16 May 2025, agreed to strengthen regional security and reorganize the organization's activities with a focus on regional security, as well as adopting the Vihula Declaration. The meeting also addressed further comprehensive support to Ukraine, the threat posed by the Russian "shadow fleet" to the Baltic Sea region, including its critical infrastructure, and a joint action and future priorities for the CBSS.

A significant step in strengthening regional cooperation is the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the meeting by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the European Union. It provides for closer and coordinated cooperation between the competent national authorities of the participating states for the protection of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, taking into account the incidents that occurred in the Baltic Sea last year and this year, when undersea energy (natural gas and electricity) interconnections and data transmission (fibre optic) cables were damaged or severed, as well as the threat posed by the Russian "shadow fleet" to the security and environment of the Baltic Sea, and to the security of energy and communication networks.

Foreign Minister Baiba Braze: "In recent years, Russia's unconventional attacks have become increasingly intense and aggressive - the involvement of "shadow fleet" vessels in damaging undersea infrastructure, cyberattacks, and GPS jamming, among others. Russia will continue to carry out its unconventional attacks, test the response capabilities of the EU and NATO Allies, and seek out weaknesses. Russia is the most serious threat to both the Baltic Sea region and to Euro-Atlantic security. We must act decisively and in a coordinated manner to strengthen our security and defence capabilities, while continuing efforts on a comprehensive containment of Russia. The memorandum signed today is a major step towards a more coordinated and closer cooperation between the countries in the Baltic region on technological and scientific matters related to critical undersea infrastructure."

As pointed out by Baiba Braze, each security incident has a significant economic impact, for example, repairs of undersea energy and communication network infrastructure are expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, alongside surveillance and monitoring capabilities, it is important to build capacity for repairing damage to infrastructure as effectively as possible.

When deciding on the future activities of the CBSS, the ministers supported its restructuring so as to put its institutional focus on the strengthening of regional security, including effective coordination of cooperation with NATO and the EU. Baiba Braze pointed out: "The organization must undergo reform for it to be able to respond promptly to the growing non-military threat."

The Ministers welcomed a report reviewing the role of the CBSS and proposing recommendations on its future produced by Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Gabrielius Landsbergis. A review of the functioning of the organisation established 33 years ago was agreed by the ministers at their previous meeting in Porvoo, Finland, on 13-14 June 2024.

The CBSS meeting was attended by officials from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Iceland, and the European External Action Service.

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NATO Secretary General attends meeting of the European Political Community

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

16 May. 2025

On Friday 16 May (2025), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte joined European leaders at a meeting of the European Political Community in Tirana, Albania to discuss shared security concerns.

Amongst other engagements, Mr Rutte met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and took part in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, at which they discussed the situation in the Western Balkans. The Secretary General also participated in a roundtable on boosting European competitiveness and security through innovation and resilience.

The war against Ukraine remained at the forefront of leaders' minds, with the Secretary General renewing calls for Russia to engage meaningfully in peace talks. "He has to be serious about wanting peace. I think all the pressure is now on Putin" Mr Rutte said, commending the Ukrainians for attending the discussions with a delegation willing to negotiate a ceasefire.

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Israel threatens to assassinate Ansarullah leader amid Yemen's determined pro-Palestinian strikes

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 8:45 PM

The Israeli regime has threatened to assassinate the leader of Yemen's Ansarullah popular resistance movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, should Sana'a persist in its pro-Palestinian missile strikes against sensitive and strategic Israeli targets.

Posting on the X social media platform on Friday, the regime's minister for military affairs, Israel Katz said if the Yemeni operations continued, "they will suffer painful blows."

He claimed that Tel Aviv would "also strike the heads of terror," referring to the regime's and its allies' designation of Ansarullah as a "terrorist organization."

Katz said the regime's potential assassination of al-Houthi would resemble its assassinations or attempted targeted killing attacks against "Deif and the Sinwars in Gaza."

The Israeli minister was referring to the former chief of staff of the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Mohammed Deif, whose assassination by the regime was announced in January.

Hamas confirmed last October that Yahya Sinwar, the movement's former Political Bureau chief, had been martyred during attacks by the regime.

Recently, the regime's media outlets have been trying to lend credibility to allegations that Tel Aviv could have also assassinated Muhammad Sinwar, Yahya's brother, although this has not been confirmed by any official Hamas' source.

Katz also said a potential successful targeted killing operation by the regime against al-Houthi would recall Tel Aviv's assassination of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's former secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and its assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, who was Hamas' Political Bureau chief before Yahya Sinwar.

Ansarullah is yet to comment on Katz's remarks.

Under al-Houthi's leadership, Yemen has been conducting numerous unyielding strikes against targets across the occupied Palestinian territories since October 2023, when the regime began bringing Gaza under a genocidal war.

The operations have, since their onset, been expanded to include a naval and an aerial blockade against the regime.

The blockades have taken a significant toll on the regime's economy by turning delivery of commodities to the occupied territories into a considerably more expensive process, and targeting Ben Gurion, the regime's key airport, on many occasions.

Tel Aviv has been responding by escalating its deadly attacks against Yemen.

Yemen's Armed Forces have, however, vowed to decisively sustain their strikes as long as the regime keeps up the genocide and a simultaneous intensified siege it has been enforcing against the coastal sliver.

Regional resistance groups have also asserted that Tel Aviv's assassination of their senior officials only serves to further invigorate their resolve to reinforce their defensive firepower and close their ranks.

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Palestinian Authority condemns Israeli attacks on schools in West Bank

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 5:53 PM

The Palestinian Authority's Education Ministry has strongly denounced Israel for fierce and aggressive attacks on schools across the occupied West Bank.

In a statement released on Friday, the ministry stressed that these escalating violations against schools and educational staff throughout the occupied West Bank, East al-Quds and Gaza are "part of a systematic colonial aggression".

It called on international organizations, human rights groups, and education advocacy bodies to urgently intervene to halt these ongoing violations and hold the occupation accountable for its attacks on schools, universities, and educational institutions.

Local Palestinian media earlier reported that the Israeli army stormed al-Munjid Private School in Bruqin and the Martyr Mazen Abu al-Wafa Basic School in Kafr ad-Dik.

Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that the occupation bulldozers have also begun excavation and bulldozing works next to the Bruqin Girls' Primary School.

The forces also converted the as-Salam Kindergarten building in Kafr ad-Dik into a military outpost, the report added.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have demolished or damaged numerous UNRWA schools and health centers in the Palestinian territories.

The Organization of American Historians (OAH) recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that condemns Israel for its "scholasticide" in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has bombed and mostly destroyed all 12 universities in Gaza and hundreds of primary and secondary schools.

More than 200 heritage sites, including mosques, churches, and libraries, have been destroyed.

Hamas censures Israeli settlers for continued attacks in West Bank

The Palestinian resistance group says Israeli "settler gangs, supported by the occupation army" continue their attacks in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas said the latest attacks took place at dawn in several villages in the Salfit governorate and northwest of Nablus.

The Palestinian group said the attacks reflect a dangerous escalation and called for increased resistance and confrontation with the settlers.

In the occupied West Bank raids continued and roads were blocked on Friday after Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians across the region.

Israel launched an intensified offensive against the occupied West Bank on January 21, claiming that it was targeting resistance fighters of the Jenin Battalion.

Thousands of Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in the northern West in recent months. Palestinians fear Gaza-style clearance as Israel squeezes Jenin and other refugee camps across the occupied region,

The regime has ramped up its West Bank violence since October 7, 2023, when it launched its genocide in Gaza. Since then, Israeli forces and settlers have killed about 1000 Palestinians in the occupied territory.



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US-backed Gaza aid plan lacks impartiality, aims violence: UN

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 5:35 PM

The United Nations says it will not participate in a US-backed humanitarian operation in Gaza, saying the plan breaches its principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

"This particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this," deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Thursday.

The US and Israel are reportedly moving forward with the creation of a new aid distribution initiative for Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in a bid to bypass existing international aid structures.

The UN aid chief Tom Fletcher described the plan as a "fig leaf for further violence and displacement" of Palestinians in Gaza.

Furthermore, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday that the UN "has a solid and principled operational plan to deliver humanitarian aid and life-saving services at scale and immediately across the Gaza Strip."

The foundation is set to start work in Gaza by the end of May while it is reportedly in talks with David Beasley, former executive director of the World Food Program (WFP) and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, to manage the upcoming establishment.

The Israeli regime has blocked the delivery of all humanitarian assistance to Gaza since March 2, accusing Hamas of stealing aid - a claim the Palestinian resistance group denies.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative released on Monday said the Gaza Strip "is still confronted with a critical risk of famine" after more than a year and a half of onslaught against Palestine, with the vast majority of its approximately 2.1 million people at severe risk.

It has found that 244,000 people in Gaza were experiencing "catastrophe/famine."

The US has provided the Israeli regime with unconditional support for its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, but now says "we have to look at both sides."

Asked whether he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza, Trump told reporters: "I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we're going to see. We have to help also out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides."

After wrapping up his West Asia tour earlier today, the US president said people in Gaza are starving, adding that he expected "a lot of good things" in the next month.

Tel Aviv had previously proposed a separate plan to distribute aid via six major hubs in southern Gaza, operated by private military contractors and protected by Israeli troops. However, the UN and major aid organizations rejected that plan, citing concerns over militarization of aid, lack of neutrality, and the violation of established humanitarian principles.

This time round, they are trying to dodge the criticisms by establishing "Secure Distribution Sites" operated by civilians, not the Israeli military. Still, the aid would still be delivered through armored convoys and monitored corridors.

Humanitarian activists and philanthropists around the world remain skeptical about the agenda behind the US-Israeli initiative, saying it sidesteps established humanitarian systems and puts Israel's political goals ahead of saving lives.

They warn that letting governments handpick new aid channels undermines trust, coordination, and the ability to reach people in need.

Under international law, all sides in a conflict must allow food, water, and medicine to reach civilians without obstruction, something Israel has repeatedly failed to do, according to human rights groups and humanitarian organizations.

The UN also warned that food stocks in Gaza may run out within days.





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Yemeni forces target Israeli Ben Gurion Airport with hypersonic missile

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 6:40 AM

The spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces has announced a missile attack on Ben Gurion International Airport in the occupied territories in response to the Israeli regime's ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesperson for Yemen's military, stated on Thursday night that Yemeni missile units targeted Ben Gurion airport, located 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the southeast of Tel Aviv, with a homegrown hypersonic ballistic missile.

Saree noted that the retaliatory strike attained its desired objectives successfully, sending hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers into shelters.

He emphasized that Yemeni armed forces, together with the country's freedom-loving nation, consider it a religious, moral, and humanitarian responsibility to demonstrate solidarity with Gazans in light of unfolding developments in the region, the daily massacre of ordinary people there, the weeks-long aid blockade, and the inaction of Muslim states.

The senior Yemeni military official stated the country will continue to beef up and expand their military operations until the bloody aggression against Yemen stops, and the crippling siege on Palestinians in the coastal sliver is completely lifted.

Yemeni Armed Forces, for that sake, will impose a complete aerial blockade on Ben Gurion International Airport, and will continue to prevent Israeli-linked ships from navigating in the Red and Arabian Seas, Saree pointed out.

As the genocidal war on Gaza escalated, the Yemenis enacted a strategic blockade on essential maritime routes to obstruct the delivery of military supplies to Israel and urge the international community to take action regarding the ongoing humanitarian emergency in Gaza.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have declared they will continue their assaults until Israel ceases its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.

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Israeli regime kills at least 143 in one day in Gaza

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 3:02 AM

Israeli regime forces have carried on with their brutal assaults across the besieged Gaza Strip, killing scores more people.

Medical sources said on Friday morning that at least 143 Palestinians have been killed in a wave of Israeli attacks from air, land, and sea across the Gaza Strip since Thursday morning.

Medical sources in Gaza said that at least 21 people were now confirmed killed by Israeli attacks in the five hours since midnight local time in the Palestinian territory.

One of the latest strikes killed half a dozen civilians and wounded many others in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

An earlier strike on the camp had killed at least 15 civilians, including 11 children and a woman.

Two separate attacks in the southern city of Khan Younis left five civilians dead and many others wounded.

Two more Palestinians were killed, and many others, including children, were wounded, after a house was bombed north of Gaza City.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday that 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18.

It said the overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023, stands at 53,010.

Separately, in the occupied West Bank, raids were ongoing and roads were blocked on Thursday after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians across the region.

Israel launched an intensified offensive against the occupied West Bank on January 21, claiming that it was targeting resistance fighters of the Jenin Battalion.

The regime has ramped up its West Bank violence since October 7, 2023, when it launched its genocide in Gaza. Since then, Israeli forces and settlers have killed about 1000 Palestinians in the occupied territory.

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Thailand, Vietnam raise relations to the highest level

The two countries' prime ministers also agreed to boost bilateral trade in the face of U.S. tariffs.

By RFA Staff

2025.05.16

BANGKOK -- Thailand and Vietnam have agreed to raise political and economic relations to the highest level, a comprehensive strategic partnership, the two countries' prime ministers announced on Friday.

Vietnam's Pham Minh Chinh and Thailand's Paetongtarn Shinawatra's announcement came in a news conference following their meeting in Hanoi.

"This is not only a political statement, representing a symbolic milestone, but also a strategic commitment, affirming a new breakthrough in the content and depth of cooperation," Vietnam's Chinh said.

The two leaders also pledged to lift bilateral trade to US$25 billion by 2030, focusing on areas such as clean energy, the digital economy and high-tech agriculture, according to a statement released after their meeting.

Two-way trade reached US$20.2 billion last year, a rise of 6.3% on 2023, according to the Vietnamese government. Vietnam was Thailand's sixth largest export destination in 2024, Thailand was Vietnam's ninth biggest.

For both, the number one export market last year was the U.S. and the two countries are coming under growing pressure from Washington to cut their trade surpluses: nearly US$46 billion for Thailand last year and a record US$123 billion for Vietnam. On April 2, President Trump announced he was imposing 36% tariffs on Thailand and 46% on Vietnam, before cutting them to 10% for three months to allow for trade talks.

Chinh and Paetongtarn also focused on regional security in Friday's meeting, agreeing to strengthen defense ties to counter any territorial challenges in the South China Sea. They called for the swift adoption of an international Code of Conduct in the disputed waters which are 90% claimed by China and also partly contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

The two also agreed to cooperate on information sharing to fight transnational crimes such as drug and human trafficking, and online scams.

Thailand is the 13th country to agree a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam. Others include the United State, China, Russia and Japan.

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 May 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.

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Vucic Says No Halt To Kushner's Trump Hotel Project In Belgrade Despite Forged Document

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service Service May 16, 2025

Serbia's president said there would be no halt to a luxury hotel development being built by President Donald Trump's son-in-law in Belgrade despite revelations that a forged document led to the site's protected status being lifted.

Speaking to Bloomberg News on May 16, Aleksandar Vucic contradicted prosecutors' findings announced earlier this week that said a cultural official in charge of the site's historic designation had admitted to forging a key document.

"There was not any kind of forgery and we will discuss it with everybody," Vucic said, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of European leaders in the Albanian capital, Tirana.

Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump's elder daughter, Ivanka, and served as a White House adviser during Trump's first term in office, last year announced a $500 million hotel complex in Belgrade.

The development centered on a pair of jagged unoccupied modernist brick structures in the center of Belgrade, the former General Staff headquarters for the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The site was bombed by NATO jets in the spring of 1999, as part of a campaign to stop Serbian forces from attacking parts of Kosovo, which was still part of the country.

Despite being bombed out, the buildings retained their protected status, due to what activists said was their architectural significance.

Last November, the Serbian government stripped the buildings of that designation, paving the way for Kushner's company to move forward. That prompted outrage from historic preservationists.

On May 14, however, prosecutors announced the arrest of Goran Vasic, the acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, and said he had admitted fabricating an expert's opinion.

The Serbian Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime had no immediate response to Vucic's comments.

In response to the news of the alleged forgery, Kushner's development company, Affinity Partners, said it had learned of the arrest from news reports.

The company said it would "review the situation and determine next steps," according to The New York Times.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-kushner-hotel-project- forgery-trump-vucic/33416124.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.

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Warsaw Mayor Expected To Win Presidential Election Key To Government's Reform Agenda

By Rikard Jozwiak May 16, 2025

Poles will cast their ballots in a presidential election on May 18 in a vote seen as crucial for Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his pro-European government's lives easier as they look to implement their reformist agenda.

After eight years of conservative rule under the Law and Justice party (PiS), Tusk has cobbled together a wide coalition of social democrats as well as centrist and Christian democrats to wrestle back power and dragged Warsaw in a more pro-EU direction.

But he hasn't had it all his own way. In the Presidential Palace, PiS-backed Andrzej Duda has stymied some of his agenda with vetoes.

The government lacks the three-fifths majority to override the presidential veto that so far has been used to block proposals such as prescription-free access to the morning-after pill and the official recognition of Silesian as a minority language.

He had also threatened to use the veto if more liberal abortion laws came to his desk.

In power since 2015, Duda must now step back having served two full five-year terms. Who will replace him will very much depend on whether Poles want to give Tusk a strong hand to carry out his reforms in the coming years.

Who Will Be President?

Like pretty much all recent elections in Poland, this one will be a battle between Tusk's Civic Platform (PO) and PiS. The PO candidate is Rafal Trzaskowski, the current mayor of Warsaw who was narrowly defeated by Duda in the last presidential election back in 2020. This time it appears the presidency is his to lose.

He is tipped to finish on top with some 30-35 percent of the vote. And in the runoff he should have just enough to defeat Karol Nawrocki, who is expected to place second with 20-25 percent.

But it will not be plain sailing.

In the final debate on May 12, Trzaskowski appeared tired and unfocused and PiS is trying to repeat the trick that helped Duda to power a decade ago -- promoting someone relatively unknown and youngish who isn't actually a member of the party.

Nawrocki, a historian who has headed both Gdansk's Museum of the Second World War and more recently the powerful Institute for National Remembrance, fit the bill perfectly.

He has narrowed the gap with Trzaskowski in opinion polls in recent weeks, but he has had his own struggles.

Playing up his ordinary lifestyle while claiming to own just one apartment, it was uncovered that Nawrocki in fact has a second one that he appears to have taken possession of by pretending to take care of its disabled, elderly tenant who instead was living in a retirement home.

The fact that he owned a stake in a third apartment has just compounded his problems.

Can Anyone Challenge This Two-Horse Race?

The telegenic speaker of the house, Szymon Holownia, who heads the centrist Poland 2050 party has run a lackluster campaign and will likely get under 10 percent of the vote.

His backers will probably swing behind Trzaskowski in the second round.

Potentially capitalizing on Nawrocki's recent housing gaffe is Slawomir Mentzen, the candidate of the right-wing populist Confederation.

At one point he was polling neck-and-neck with Nawrocki but appeared to lose support after calling for the complete scrapping of abortion, even in cases of rape, and ending tuition-free university education.

An outspoken fan of US President Donald Trump, Mentzen is big on social media and popular among young, male voters with his mix of economic liberalism, political isolationism, and anti-migrant rhetoric.

His outsider status has made it hard to gauge how much electoral support he really enjoys so one cannot completely rule out his finishing in the top two.

So What Topics Have Dominated The Campaign?

Security, followed by social hot-button issues.

With Russia's war raging next door in Ukraine, the United States seemingly pivoting away from Europe, and migrants from Africa and Asia being lured by Belarus's Lukashenka regime and then sent to the Polish border, it's little wonder that Poles put issues of national safety at the top of the election agenda.

Warsaw already spends nearly 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, the highest among all NATO allies and both top candidates want this spending level to be maintained. But they differ on where to put the emphasis in terms of alliances.

Poland is one of the most pro-American countries in Europe and even though many, including PiS stalwarts, are worried about the Trump administration's rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Nawrocki is still a fan of keeping the United States as close as possible.

He's keen to strike a bilateral deal directly with Washington, as both Brussels and Berlin are deeply mistrusted within the PiS.

Duda developed a close relationship with Trump during the US leader's first term in the White House and there are close to 10,000 American troops in the country.

While the Civic Platform by no means wants to cut these ties, it wants to forge closer European links, notably with Berlin and Paris. Tusk's recent "coalition of the willing" trip to Kyiv together with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron is the clearest evidence of this.

And The Social Hot-Button Topics?

This is the circle that is hard to square for Trzaskowski.

As mayor for liberal Warsaw for the last seven years he has supported LGBTQ-rights, endorsed environmental legislation, and banned religious symbols in the city hall.

In a country that is much more religious and conservative than its capital, these are all sticks to hit him with.

At the same time, many on the more liberal side of the spectrum, notably young women, who came out en masse to win the election for the coalition are disappointed with the lack of reforms so far.

They need to mobilize again to carry him over the line.

Granted, Duda has vetoed some initiatives, but the coalition has also been reluctant to put forward fresh proposals on same-sex partnership or abortion knowing that centrist and right-wing fractions in the government are against this.

If Trzaskowski becomes president, there are no excuses anymore. But at the same time, PiS hopes that the country will turn too much to the left too quickly, making the coalition rupture and the parliamentary election in 2027 or earlier winnable.

And Ukraine?

Poland has been one of Ukraine's big supporters with nearly one million refugees escaping the war-torn country calling it home since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

But support for both Ukraine and Ukrainians living in the country has dropped and both main candidates are in favor of cutting some social contributions for them.

Both have also voiced support for Polish farmers by noting that their livelihood must be secured before Ukraine, with its sizable agricultural sector, can join the EU.

Nawrocki has gone even further on Ukraine, questioning its suitability for both NATO and EU membership and eager to link the country's membership perspective to full cooperation on a fractious, shared historical past, including the Volhynia massacre.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/warsaw-mayor-presidential-election- government-reform-agenda-trzaskowski/33413512.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.

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Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, on the killing of at least 45 children in the Gaza Strip

UNICEF

16 May 2025

AMMAN, 16 May 2025 - "The reported killing of at least 45 children in the Gaza Strip in the last two days is yet another devastating reminder that children in Gaza are suffering first and foremost, having to starve day after day only to be victims of indiscriminate attacks.

"These past 19 months, Gaza has been deadly for children and there are no safe spaces. From North to South, children are being killed and maimed in hospitals, in schools-turned-shelters, in makeshift tents, or in their parents' arms.

"Only in the past two months, more than 950 children have reportedly been killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip.

"Children in the Gaza Strip are facing relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care since the beginning of the conflict. For the past two months, the situation has further deteriorated, due to the imposed blockade of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The threats to children's lives go beyond bombs and bullets. The living conditions too, threaten their survival. With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of famine, illness, and death.

"Children's rights in Gaza are being gravely violated every day and urgent action is needed to protect children from widespread grave violations of their rights and threats to their survival. Nineteen months into this conflict, children have suffered violence without relent, including indiscriminate attacks. They have suffered multiple months-long blockades, denying them of essential food, water, and health supplies. They have suffered repeated displacements - being forced to relocate again and again, in search of safety and shelter. They have suffered in ways unimaginable. Their scars will endure a lifetime.

"UNICEF is once again urging parties to the conflict to end the violence, and states with influence over parties to the conflict to use their leverage and influence to end the conflict. International humanitarian law must be respected by all parties, allowing the immediate provision of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages, and the protection of civilians from attacks. The daily suffering and killing of children must end immediately."



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End senseless killings in the West Bank: UN rights office

16 May 2025 - The UN human rights office (OHCHR) called on Friday for an end to senseless killings in the occupied West Bank, where a pregnant Israeli woman was among the latest victims.

OHCHR has urged Israel to stop all extrajudicial executions and other unlawful use of force and ensure all those responsible are brought to justice.

Over the last two weeks, Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian men in planned summary executions, while seven others were killed in conditions that raise concerns over the use of unnecessary or disproportionate lethal force, the office said in a statement.

On 8 May, Israeli undercover forces appear to have summarily executed a 30-year-old Palestinian man who was being sought in the old city of Nablus.

CCTV footage suggests that an undercover officer killed the man while he tried to surrender and then shot him again as he lay on the ground, seemingly to "confirm the killing", OHCHR said.

No evidence of threat

Moreover, the video evidence appears to contradict claims that the man was armed and posed a threat to the officers.

In another incident in Nablus, disguised Israeli security forces chased and killed a 39-year-old Palestinian man they were seeking out in Balata refugee camp on 2 May.

"Although Israeli security forces claimed that they found a gun and cartridges in his car, they made no claim that he posed a threat to life at the moment he was shot," the statement noted.

This past Wednesday, Israeli security forces reportedly fired live ammunition and injured a young Palestinian man near the Qalandiya Refugee Camp in Jerusalem. A video shows two Israeli soldiers repeatedly kicking him in the head while he lay injured on the floor from a wound to the thigh.

OHCHR said the soldiers then walked away, without carrying out an arrest or providing medical assistance to the man.

End collective punishment

The pregnant Israeli woman, 30, was reportedly shot and killed by armed Palestinians while on the highway near Brukhin settlement, west of Salfit, on Thursday.

She was on the way to the hospital to give birth and was being driven by her husband, who was badly injured, according to media reports.

Following the incident, Israeli security forces closed several checkpoints in the northern and central West Bank.

They also imposed severe movement restrictions particularly around Burqin and Salfit, while an Israeli minister called for the "flattening" of Palestinian villages in response.

OHCHR said Israeli security forces must ensure that measures adopted following the attack comply with international law, including the prohibition of collective punishment.

UN deplores 'criminalisation' of education

Meanwhile, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported that its schools in East Jerusalem remain empty after Israeli forces enforced their closure last week, affecting nearly 800 students.

"Schools that have been providing education for decades now stand silent, and the daily life of these children has been shattered," the Director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, said in a tweet on Friday.

He said Israeli forces returned to the schools at the Shu'fat camp and forced their way inside "in a clear attempt to verify that no educational activities were taking place."

Heavily armed personnel also roamed the schoolyards searching for children and teachers, he added.

"The criminalisation of education at UN schools in East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities is reprehensible at all levels," said Mr. Friedrich, calling for classrooms to be re-opened immediately.

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UN's Turk criticises 'draconian' decree limiting dissent in Mali

By Vibhu Mishra

16 May 2025 - The military authorities in Mali have dissolved all political parties and repealed laws protecting political participation, drawing sharp condemnation from the UN's top human rights official on Friday.

Volker Turk on Friday called the decree "draconian" and urged Mali's Transitional President, General Assimi Goita, to reverse the decree issued earlier this week.

Signed on 13 May, the decree dissolves all political parties and "organizations of a political nature" nationwide. It was preceded by the repeal of legislation that had safeguarded political participation.

"Any restrictions of political participation must be consistent with Mali's international human rights law obligations," High Commissioner for Human Rights Turk said.

He urged the transitional authorities to release those who have been arrested on politically motivated grounds and to fully restore political rights in the country.

Erosion of civic space

The clampdown comes amid a broader erosion of civic space in Mali since the military seized power in successive coups in 2020 and 2021.

According to media reports, the government's move was read out on state television on Tuesday and cited the need to curb the "proliferation" of political parties.

At least three opposition members were reportedly arrested following protests against the decree, with their whereabouts currently unknown - part of what Mr. Turk described as a troubling pattern of enforced disappearances dating back to at least 2021.

A group of UN independent rights experts also condemned the developments in a separate statement last week, warning that the decree and accompanying legislation represent "a direct violation of basic human rights."

Elections in question

The experts - who are independent of the UN and serve in their personal capacity - criticised the transitional authorities for using the 2021 national consultations, the Assises Nationales de la Refondation and April 2025 consultation on review of the Charter of Political Parties, as justification for authoritarian measures.

Several political parties boycotted those consultations, citing fears they were being used as a pretext to dismantle political opposition.

Among the recommendations emerging from those meetings, the Council of Ministers reportedly discussed naming Gen. Goita as president for a renewable five-year term - without holding elections.

The UN has urged the transitional authorities to refrain from extending the transition period again and to publish an electoral timetable without delay.

High Commissioner Turk recalled Gen. Goita's instructions to the Cabinet of Ministers in November 2024 to create conditions for "transparent and peaceful elections," a promise that now appears increasingly hollow.

Spiralling security situation

Beyond political repression, Mali is grappling with worsening security conditions following the closure of the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, at the end of 2023.

According to credible information received by the UN rights office, OHCHR, violations and abuses increased by nearly 120 per cent between 2023 and 2024.

The withdrawal of French forces and the European Union Training Mission in Mali in 2022 also contributed to the deteriorating security situation across the West African landlocked country.

Civilians across the country continue to face deadly attacks - including killings, abduction, and sexual and gender-based violence - by extremist groups including Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State - Sahel Province.

Government forces, allegedly accompanied by foreign military personnel widely referred to either as "Africa Corps" or "Wagner," have also been accused of serious abuses. Last month, dozens of civilians were reportedly killed in the southwestern Kayes region after being detained by Malian forces and foreign partners.

Bring perpetrators to justice

Mr. Turk underscored the need to ensure accountability for rights violations and abuses.

The multiple investigations announced by the Malian authorities into these killings must be prompt, impartial and meet international standards, he said, "with a view to ensuring victims' rights to truth, justice and reparations."

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World News in Brief: Russia-Ukraine talks, Sudan exodus worsens, Colombia displacement rises

16 May 2025 - The United Nations has welcomed talks between Russia and Ukraine held on Friday in Turkiye.

Delegations met in Istanbul for the first direct negotiations in three years, including on a potential ceasefire and large-scale prisoner exchange.

The UN acknowledged the important role of Turkiye and the United States in facilitating the talks, said Stephanie Tremblay, a spokesperson for the global body in New York.

"We hope this process will lead to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, which would serve as a critical step towards creating the conditions for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions," she said.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the talks marked the first time the parties have met since the early months of the war.

Sudan exodus: Worst situation in decades, UN refugee agency warns

Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing escalating violence in Sudan continue to escape to Chad at speeds not seen since the start of the conflict two years ago, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

Many others remain trapped by heavy fighting between government and paramilitary forces.

UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun told UN News that 20,000 Sudanese refugees are arriving each week in eastern Chad and more than 70 per cent are victims of serious human rights violations during their journey, including assault, extortion and sexual violence.

She said the head of UNHCR's office there has characterized this as "the worst situation he has encountered in his entire decades of career as humanitarian."

One in two refugees who spoke to the UN agency said that they had relatives "trapped in Sudan" because they have no transport and were afraid of arbitrary arrest or forced recruitment.

Over 66,000 Colombians displaced since January

More than 66,000 people in Colombia have been newly displaced since mid-January due to fighting between two non-State armed groups, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday.

This represents a 28 per cent increase compared to the number of Colombians displaced in the entirety of last year.

Moreover, at the end of 2024, 7.3 million people remained displaced within the country due to violence or conflict - the third largest number outside of Sudan and Syria.

In February, the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $3.8 million to support new displacements in Colombia. UN aid agencies have been working to distribute this aid, especially in Catatumbo which has been hardest hit by the violence.

However, the UN estimates that humanitarians will need $342 million to fully meet the growing needs. So far, they have received only 14 per cent of this money.

The recent deadly violence in Colombia's Catatumbo region has highlighted the ongoing challenges in consolidating peace, eight years after the signing of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement, t

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Trump plans to relocate 1 million Palestinians to Libya

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 17 May 2025 3:20 AM

The administration of US President Donald Trump is working on a plan to relocate about 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, according to a report.

Two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former US official told NBC News in a report published on Friday that the Trump administration has discussed the plan with Libya's leadership.

The three people said that in exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the Trump administration would likely release to Libya billions of dollars of funds frozen in the United States. They added that a final agreement has not been reached.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said that Hamas was not aware of any discussions about moving Palestinians to Libya.

"Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children," Naim said in response to questions from NBC News.

"[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do," he added.

Libya has been plagued by instability and warring political factions throughout the nearly 14 years since a civil war broke out in the country and its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was toppled by US-backed militants.

Since February, Trump has consistently advocated for the takeover of Gaza and the resettlement of its inhabitants to transform the area into a tourist attraction.

The proposal has been met with rejection from the Muslim world and numerous other countries, who argue that it constitutes ethnic cleansing.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week acknowledged that the Israeli military was persistently demolishing residences in Gaza to deter Palestinians from returning and to compel their emigration.

The Israeli military resumed bombardment of Gaza on March 18, killing thousands of Palestinians, and injuring many others, after it shattered the 2-month ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian abductees.

At least 53,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

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Israel launches 'Gideon's Chariots' offensive to seize Gaza territory

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 17 May 2025 12:22 AM

The Israeli army says it has launched the first stage of a major offensive in Gaza, dubbed "Gideon's Chariots," to seize the Palestinian territory.

The plan was approved by the Security Cabinet of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 5, "to conquer Gaza" for Israel and hold the territory under its control.

On Friday, the Israeli army announced that it had begun the "first moves" of Operation Gideon's Chariots over the past 24 hours.

The army said it has "launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon's Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza."

The statement claimed that the new campaign would "achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas."

It added that Israeli troops in the Southern Command will continue "to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realize the goals of the war."

According to Israeli officials, the "Gideon's Chariots" offensive would see the occupation forces "conquering" Gaza and retaining the territory and moving the Palestinian civilian population toward the south of the Gaza Strip.

During the last three days, Israel has killed more than 370 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The recent flurry of killings coincided with US President Donald Trump's visit to the region that began Tuesday.

Israel continued its carnage in Gaza on Friday after the deadliest day yet for Palestinians in the besieged territory since Israel resumed its war on the strip in March.

According to medical sources, 74 Palestinians were killed on Friday, mostly in attacks on the northern Gaza Strip.

The Indonesian Hospital in the northern city of Beit Lahia alone had received 30 dead and dozens of injured, mostly children and women, according to a doctor at the hospital.

The massacres in northern Gaza came after a series of powerful Israeli strikes in the vicinity of the European Hospital in south Gaza's Khan Yunis late Tuesday.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that at least 40 bunker buster bombs were used in the strike to allegedly destroy an underground complex belonging to the Palestinian resistance.

Israel launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. It has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians there so far.

In January, the Israeli regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, given the regime's failure to achieve any of its objectives, including the "elimination" of the Palestinian resistance movement or the release of captives.

The 42-day stage of the truce, which was marred by repeated Israeli violations, expired on March 1, but Israel is refraining from stepping into talks for the second stage of the agreement.

On March 18, the regime resumed the strikes on Gaza, breaking the nearly two-month-long ceasefire and prisoner-captive exchange agreement.

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The president of the United States, upset with being name-dropped and criticized by the rock and roll icon at one of his recent concerts, bashed The Boss as Highly Overrated and not a talented guy.

I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, hes not a talented guy.

He went on to accuse Springsteen of being a pushy, obnoxious JERK and dumb as a rock, before zeroing in on his appearance.

This dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, the president wrote, seeming to threaten Springsteen with consequences when he returns to U.S. soil.

Then well all see how it goes for him!

Trumps issue with Springsteen stems from earlier this week, after the artist issued some scathing remarks for the president, saying he believes Trump is unfit for the Oval Office.

0:56 Bruce Springsteen calls Trump administration corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous during UK concert

While introducing his and the E Street Bands song Land of Hopes and Dreams, after which his current tour is named, the 75-year-old Springsteen said, In my home, the America I love, the America Ive written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.

Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring, he told the crowd in Manchester, England.

He didnt stop there; throughout the night, he sprinkled the show with criticism of Trump and his administration.

Before playing House of a Thousand Guitars, he said: The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. Its in the union of people around a common set of values now thats all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all weve got is each other.

Before performing My City of Ruins, he delivered a longer monologue:

In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now in America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the worlds poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now, he said. View image in full screenBruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform during the first night of his The Land of Hopes and Dreams tour at Co-op Live on May 14, 2025 in Manchester, England. Shirlaine Forrest / Getty Images
Russo-Ukraine War - 16 May 2025 - Day 1178

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A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 115 combat clashes. Ukrainian defenders are decisively intercepting the Russian attempts to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him a fiery impression.

Today, Russian troops launched one missile and 47 aviation strikes, using one missile and dropping 86 controlled aviation bombs. In addition, more than a thousand kamikaze drones were involved and carried out 3,923 shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian enemy five times stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of Vovchansk, Stroivka and Kamyanka.

In the Kupians komu direction, Russian forces carried out offensive actions towards Kolisnikivki, Novoosinovoye and near Zagrizovoye. Ukrainian defenders stopped all three enemy attacks.

In the Lyman direction, Russian invaders 16 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces near the settlements of Grekivka, Yampolivka, Kolodyazi and towards Shiikivka, Olgivka, New Mir, Ridkodub and Green Valley. The five clashes are still going.

Four enemy assaults hit off Ukrainian defenders in the Siversky direction - the Russian occupiers tried to advance in the areas of Verkhnyokamiansky and Bilogorivka.

In the direction of Kramators komu, Russian forces twice attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of Chasovoye Yar and Kurdumivka.

Eighteen times the Russians went into offensive on the positions of Ukrainian units in the Toretsky direction - in the areas of Toretsk, Crimea and towards Diliyivka, Katerynivka, Pleschiyivka and Novospaski. Defense forces stopped all enemy attacks.

In the Pokrovsky direction since the beginning of the day, the Russian occupiers 49 times tried to advance on the position of Ukrainian units. Russian forces attacked in the areas of settlements Novoserhiyivka, Malinivka, Elizavetivka, Lisivka, Udaachne, Novooleksandrivka, Zaporizhia Troitske, Bogdanivka, Andriyivka and towards settlements Novoukraina, Oleksiyivka, Poltavka, Yablunivka, Stara Mykolaivka, Nova Poltavka. Nine clashes are still ongoing.

Aviation strikes were affected by settlements Pokrovsk, Oleksandro-Kalinove, Novoukrainka, Shevchenko the First, Stara Mykolaivka and Suhiy Yar.

According to preliminary data, today in this direction 119 Russian occupants were defecated, 63 of them - irrevocably. Also Ukrainian soldiers destroyed one car, two motorcycles, five bpla.

In the Novopavliv direction, Russian forces 16 times tried to break through the defense of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of Konstantinopol, Shevchenko, Novosilka and towards Bagatyr and Green Field. One confrontation is still going on. Enemy aviation struck the settlements of Novodarivka, Novoukrainka and Dachne.

In the direction of aviation strikes suffered malinivka, high and gulyaipole.

In the Orihiv direction, Russian forces twice attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of the settlements of Scherbaky and Mali Scherbaky. Novodarivka settlement suffered an airstrike.

In the Pridniprovsk direction, Russian forces did not carry out offensive actions.

In the Kurs komu direction since the beginning of the day Ukrainian soldiers repelled 12 Russian assault actions. In addition, Russian forces launched 16 air strikes, dropping 33 controlled bombs, and carried out 172 shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, including nine from reactive fire systems.





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Thirty Gang Members and Associates Indicted on Racketeering, Murder, Drug Trafficking, Fraud, and Firearm Charges

Thursday, May 15, 2025

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

An eight-count indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of Georgia charging 30 defendants - all alleged Sex Money Murder (SMM) gang members and associates - with crimes including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and related firearm and drug trafficking crimes.

According to court documents and statements in court, SMM members and associates engaged in extreme violence to retaliate against fellow members for perceived violations of gang rules. For example, SMM members killed one member who wanted to leave the gang and attempted to kill another by repeatedly stabbing him for alleged homosexual activities while in jail. SMM members profited from trafficking large amounts of deadly drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, throughout the Savannah metropolitan area. They also made money participating in sophisticated fraud schemes targeting federal COVID-19 relief and unemployment benefit programs that resulted in intended losses of over $850,000.

"As alleged, the Sex Money Murder gang, a derivative of the nationally known Bloods gang, brutally enforced its purported rules, killing a 19-year-old member, and engaged in rampant drug trafficking and federal program fraud to enrich themselves," said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "We will not rest until every criminal organization like SMM that wreaks havoc on our streets and prison systems and exploits programs meant to support vulnerable populations are dismantled. Thank you to every federal, state, and local law enforcement agency that came together to dismantle this criminal enterprise."

"Today's indictment is an important step in ending gang violence on our streets and in our prisons," said Acting U.S. Attorney Tara M. Lyons for the Southern District of Georgia. "My office will continuously work with our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety."

"The violence and crime this gang committed across our region contributed to an epidemic in our nation." said Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. "Our hearts go out to the victims and their families who suffer because of this gangs' activities. The FBI works with our law enforcement partners every day to crush violent crime in Georgia and our nation."

"This case demonstrates the relentless coordination and commitment among our law enforcement partners to dismantle violent criminal enterprises like Sex Money Murder," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). "ATF is proud to have played a critical role in targeting the illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking that fueled this gang's deadly reach both inside and outside prison walls."

"This indictment represents a significant step forward in our continued efforts to dismantle violent criminal enterprises operating within Georgia communities and correctional facilities," said Director Chris Hosey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). "The GBI remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local partners to hold gang members accountable and protect the safety and wellbeing of all Georgians."

"The use of contraband cell phones as a tool to carry out gang activity and other crimes from behind prison walls will not be tolerated and we are proud of our Agents for their role in assisting our law enforcement partners in stopping these individuals from jeopardizing the safety of the public and the operations of our facilities," said Commissioner Tyrone Oliver of the Georgia Department of Corrections. "This indictment is a great example of partnerships at every level, ensuring the job of public safety remains paramount."

According to court documents, on Feb. 24, 2020, Byron Hopkins and other SMM members intercepted a young victim a few hours after he stepped off his school bus. They drove him to a rural residential neighborhood where Hopkins shot him to death. The victim had reportedly expressed a desire to leave the gang after accusing Hopkins of having sexual relations with a minor female who became pregnant. To lure the victim, his, "big brother" in the gang - a person he trusted - sent him a text message claiming there was an important gang meeting he needed to attend. Believing this, the victim willingly got into the vehicle, unaware he was being taken to the site of his execution. This is just one example of SMM's deadly violence against a member that questioned authority or violated gang rules.

According to court documents and statements made in court, SMM is a subset of The Bloods gang, which originated in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. The SMM subset has spread from the Bronx and New York to areas across the East Coast, including Georgia, where it operates inside and outside prisons and jails. The indictment alleges an extensive criminal enterprise in which SMM members, including inmates within the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC), orchestrated numerous crimes, including murders, attempted murders, attempted robberies, drug trafficking within and outside of GDOC facilities, and wire and bank fraud. Seven of the defendants allegedly committed or ordered the charged crimes from prison.

If convicted, the defendants face penalties including up to life in prison or death for the murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm in the commission of a murder; up to life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy; up to 30 years for the wire fraud conspiracy; and up to 20 years for the conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, the Georgia State Patrol, Hinesville Police Department, Liberty County Sheriff's Office, Dodge County Sheriff's Office, Chatham County Police Department, Chatham Couty Counternarcotics Team, Savannah Police Department, McRae-Helena Police Department, Police Department, DeKalb Police Department, Brunswick Police Department, and Richmond Hill Police Department.

Trial Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank M. Pennington III for the Southern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

The indictment is a result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations. The OCDETF mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency task force approach. OCDETF synchronizes and incentivizes prosecutors and agents to lead smart, creative investigations targeting the command-and-control networks of organized criminal groups and the illicit financiers that support them. Additional information about the OCDETF Program may be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Topic: Violent Crime

Components: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Criminal Division

Criminal - Violent Crime and Racketeering Section

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces

Press Release Number: 25-510

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Albanese Government to accelerate development of loitering munitions

The Hon Pat Conroy MP

Minister for Defence Industry

Minister for Pacific Island Affairs

16 May 2025

The Albanese Government is investing in the development of precision loitering munitions capabilities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the launch of Mission Talon Strike.

As an Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) mission, Talon Strike will support the development of medium-range precision loitering munition systems that carry a kinetic payload and have the precision strike capabilities of a guided missile.

Accelerating the development of domestically manufactured precision loitering munition capabilities is a priority for the Albanese Government.

The launch of Mission Talon Strike follows last week's approach to market for ASCA's Mission Syracuse, which will enhance Defence's counter drone capabilities. Mission Syracuse is focused on the development of advanced technology options that can be integrated with the ADF's existing counter small uncrewed aerial systems.

Together, Mission Talon Strike and Mission Syracuse will seek sovereign solutions from Australian industry and leading research organisations to bolster the Defence Force's capabilities so it can meet our strategic circumstances now and in the future.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:

"The launch of Mission Talon Strike by ASCA is about developing a priority capability at an accelerated pace.

"This mission is aligned with the Albanese Government's work over the last three years, in conjunction with the ADF, to develop a domestically manufactured precision loitering munition capability that addresses threats quickly and accurately.

"Through Talon Strike, we are continuing to back Australian industry and ingenuity while demonstrating support for a critical pathway to meet the needs of the ADF."

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Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum

Prime Minister of Canada - Mark Carney

May 15, 2025

Ottawa, Ontario

Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.

President Sheinbaum congratulated Prime Minister Carney on his election. The leaders discussed building on the strong trade relationship between the two countries, grounded in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, and the imperative to strengthen their respective economies against future shocks.

The leaders tasked their senior officials to immediately work to find opportunities to deepen bilateral relations and agreed to remain in close contact.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on May 16, 2025

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: May 16, 2025 19:40

At the invitation of Russia's Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov and Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Zhang Guoqing will be in Russia from May 19 to 22 for the fifth meeting of the council of cooperation between the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Volga Federal District and the chairpersons' meeting of the China-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation and Development of Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia.

At the invitation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the governments of Switzerland and Belarus, from May 18 to 23, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong will attend the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva and visit Switzerland, and then visit Belarus and chair the sixth meeting of the Chinese-Belarusian Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation.

CCTV: How does China assess the two subnational cooperation mechanisms between China and Russia, namely the Yangtze-Volga cooperation and the Northeast-Far East cooperation? What's China's expectation of Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing's visit?

Lin Jian: Under the strategic guidance of the two head of states, China-Russia relations have been moving forward on a high level and subnational cooperation has been advancing with wider scope and higher quality. The Yangtze-Volga cooperation council and the China-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation and Development of Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia, as two major subnational cooperation mechanisms between China and Russia, since their establishment have been operating with high efficiency and played an important role in promoting economic and trade cooperation as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges between relevant regions of China and Russia in a coordinated manner.

President Xi Jinping's trip to Russia earlier this month was a full success, where he attended the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, and together with President Putin made top-level design and strategic planning for the development of China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing's upcoming trip to Russia to attend relevant institutional events is aimed at implementing the important common understandings reached between the two presidents, taking stock of bilateral cooperation progress, and charting the course for future priority work and cooperation. We believe that under the strategic guidance of the two head of states and with joint effort of both sides, subnational cooperation between China and Russia will continue to grow with vigor and vitality and inject more impetus to our effort of enriching the bilateral relationship, delivering more benefits to the two peoples and boosting our respective development and revitalization.

Reuters: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has told U.S. media this week that China agreed to lift export countermeasures that were issued after April 2, including restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets. China has announced changes to several non-tariff countermeasures but not to the rare earth restrictions. Was Jamieson Greer then misinformed? Is China planning to lift or adjust the export controls for rare earths?

Lin Jian: I'd refer you to competent authorities.

Dragon TV: To follow up on your announcement that Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will attend the 78th World Health Assembly and visit Switzerland and Belarus, could you share more details?

Lin Jian: The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 19 to 27. Under the impact of unilateralism, global health governance faces considerable uncertainty, and the global community strongly calls for greater health cooperation. China is committed to true multilateralism, and supports WHO in playing a central coordinating role in global health governance. Through Chinese leader's participation in WHA, China looks to work with various parties to deepen international cooperation in public health and promote the building of a global community of health for all.

China and Switzerland enjoy an innovative strategic partnership. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries. China looks forward to working with Switzerland to implement the important understandings reached by the two leaders of the two countries, enhance political mutual trust, strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and pursue new progress in the innovative strategic partnership.

China and Belarus are all-weather comprehensive strategic partners. In recent years, under the strategic planning and guidance of the two presidents, bilateral relations have been growing from strength to strength. During Vice Premier Liu Guozhong's visit to Belarus, bilateral meetings will be held. He will co-chair with Belarusian First Vice Premier Nikolai Snopkov the sixth meeting of the Chinese-Belarusian Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation to compare notes on China-Belarus cooperation in various fields. We believe this visit and the meeting will inject fresh impetus to our mutually beneficial cooperation and add new substance to bilateral relations.

AFP: Russian and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Turkiye for talks in a matter of hours. Does China wish to share any hopes or expectations for that meeting as Ukraine has pressed for an unconditional ceasefire?

Lin Jian: China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. We support all efforts conducive to peace, support direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, and hope that relevant parties will continue to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement that can be accepted by parties concerned through dialogue and negotiation, and ultimately realize the political settlement of the crisis.

Global Times: It's reported that the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security issued a guidance saying that the use of Huawei's Ascend chips risks violating U.S. export controls. It also warns the public of the potential consequences of training Chinese AI models with U.S. AI chips. What's China's comment?

Lin Jian: The U.S. overstretches the concept of national security, abuses export controls and long-arm jurisdiction, and groundlessly and maliciously blocks and suppresses China's chips and AI industry, which severely violates market rules, destabilizes global industrial and supply chains, and undermines Chinese businesses' legitimate rights and interests. China firmly opposes this and absolutely does not accept it. China urges the U.S. to drop its protectionist acts and unilateral bullying, and stop its egregious suppression on China's tech businesses and AI industry. China will take firm measures to defend its right to development and Chinese businesses' legitimate rights and interests.

Hubei Media Group: We noted that World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2025 released by the UN on May 15 mentions that higher tariffs and trade policy uncertainty have weakened the global economic outlook for 2025, posing multiple challenges to the world, especially developing economies, including China. Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.4 percent and global trade growth to 1.6 percent. It believes that policy coordination among countries and international cooperation is vital to stable global economic growth and sustainable development. What's China's comment?

Lin Jian: We noted the report. Multilateralism and free trade are now facing severe challenges. Facts prove once again that economic globalization is the historical trend, open cooperation is what the world wants, and multilateralism is the right choice. Under the current situation, it's all the more important for all parties to defend the multilateral trading system and international economic and trade rules, defend the international environment for open cooperation, and realize lasting development and shared prosperity.

The more risks the global economy faces, the greater the need to address challenges through openness, and bridge differences through cooperation. China has all along upheld high-standard opening up and a transparent, stable and predictable policy environment. We have been committed to providing foreign businesses with a pro-business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and world-class, sharing opportunities of our mega-size market with the world, and promoting a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. An open China is always a source of opportunity for the rest of the world.

Bloomberg: The U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators met again for talks in South Korea this week. Can the Ministry provide comment on what was discussed and what are the next steps from the two sides?

Lin Jian: I'd refer you to competent authorities.

AFP: Iran is set to hold talks with Britain, France and Germany in Turkiye today after U.S. President Donald Trump said that a new nuclear deal with Iran was close. How does China view the situation, especially given China's own series of discussions with Iran and also Russia held in Beijing recently?

Lin Jian: China is committed to seeking a political and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue. We attach importance to Iran's commitment of not developing nuclear weapons, respect Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear power, and oppose any illicit unilateral sanctions. China will maintain communication and coordination with relevant parties, play a constructive role in bringing about a solution that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all parties, uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and promote peace and stability in the Middle East.

NHK: U.S. President Trump said that he intends to have a telephone conversation with Chinese leader this weekend. Can the Foreign Ministry confirm this? If this is true, can you share more details, including the specific time?

Lin Jian: I have no information to share on that.

Reuters: Reuters reported today that Britain's audit of its relations with China is expected to be released in early June according to sources. What are China's expectations for the report and how might the findings affect UK-China relations?

Lin Jian: China and the UK are permanent members of the UN Security Council and the world's major economies. As global challenges rise, strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation serves the fundamental and long-term interest of both countries and is conducive to world peace and development. We hope the UK will view China in an objective light, adopt the right policy and create a favorable environment for the sound and steady development of China-UK relations.

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Spokesperson for DPRK Foreign Ministry Issues Press Statement

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, May 17 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea issued the following press statement titled "The U.S. should stop offending the DPRK with unnecessary and inefficient malicious provocations" on Friday:

Recently, the U.S. Department of State committed a political provocation of re-designating the DPRK as an "uncooperative state in combating terrorism" under the pretext of not joining in its "anti-terrorist efforts."

Such unilateral and malicious designating campaign staged by the U.S. every year should be duly denounced and rejected by the international community as it is a smear stratagem to brand the independent sovereign states as "state sponsor of terrorism" and make them targets of international criticism.

The "anti-terrorism" advocated by the U.S. is nothing but an excuse to justify interference in internal affairs of other countries and the overthrow of their social systems and in fact, the countries designated by the U.S. as "uncooperative state in combating terrorism" are becoming the main targets of the U.S. hostile policy and military threat, the expression of the most heinous state-sponsored terrorism.

No one has asked the U.S. to lead international anti-terrorist efforts, nor has anyone invested it with such power.

"The Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism" and other international laws adopted at the 49th session of the UN General Assembly branded the acts of threatening friendly relations between states and of encroaching upon the territorial integrity and security of a state as crimes and clearly stipulate that the struggle against international terrorism should be waged under the UN Charter and other international laws.

This proves that the U.S. illegal and unjust hostile acts against the DPRK and other sovereign states are the most serious political violence as well as state-level terrorism.

It is the consistent stand of the DPRK to resolutely oppose all forms of terrorism threatening international peace and security, but the so-called "anti-terrorist efforts" of the U.S., recognized as a synonym for interference in internal affairs and acts of aggression against independent countries, are irrelevant to the DPRK's will against terrorism.

Before dealing with someone's "cooperation" in the issue of "anti-terrorism", the U.S. had better face up to the present situation of the DPRK-U.S. relations which have been fixed as the one between states thoroughly hostile to each other due to the U.S. unilateral and wrong doings.

The more the U.S. provokes the DPRK with unnecessary and inefficient malicious acts, the further it will escalate the irreconcilable hostility between the DPRK and the U.S.

The DPRK will never tolerate any outside attempt to impair and violate the dignity, sovereign rights and security interests of the state but take effective and proper measures to cope with the U.S. hostile provocations in all spheres. -0-

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"Responsibility for Germany"

Germany - Federal Government

First government statement

Strengthening Europe, expanding Germany's defence capabilities, boosting economic growth and ensuring an orderly migration policy were the focal points of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz's first government statement in the German Bundestag.

Wednesday, 14 May 2025

In his first government statement in the German Bundestag, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he was "wholeheartedly convinced that our great country can overcome the challenges of our time on its own and turn them into something good" - if the Federal Government and the people of the country work together. According to the Chancellor, citizens should feel that progress is being made by the summer, at the latest.

What does the Federal Government have planned for the coming months? Where are its priorities? What is changing? Chancellor Merz explained this in his speech.

The Federal Chancellor's comments...

...on Europe

According to the Chancellor, the Federal Government would like to revitalise the European idea of freedom and peace. Germany will be a reliable and stable partner. Germany will take on more responsibility in NATO and the EU, said Merz.

...on Ukraine

According to Chancellor Merz, peace on the European continent is at stake in Ukraine. He seeks a just, lasting and sustainable peace. A dictated peace or the subjugation of Ukraine is out of the question.

Chancellor Merz is counting on a joint effort by European and American partners to support Ukraine. He said that Germany is standing firm, united and, above all, ready to defend itself against Russian attempts to divide and destabilise Europe and its democracies.

...on Israel

The Federal Chancellor emphasised: "Israel's existence and security are and remain a raison d'etat of our country." Germany is committed to peace in the region, the release of the Hamas hostages and better provision of humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip.

...on defence policy

Germany's defence capabilities and defence readiness will continue to be expanded. Merz summarised the thinking: "We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we don't have to defend ourselves." Voluntary military service should be introduced for this purpose. The Federal Government will also provide the Bundeswehr with the financial means to become the strongest conventional army in Europe. Germany also seeks to take on more responsibility in NATO and the EU.

...on the economy

Chancellor Merz plans to get Germany's economy back on track for growth: "We can use our own strength to once again become an engine for growth that the world admires." Both public investment and a large amount of private investment are needed. The Federal Government intends to promote this investment. The Federal Government would also like to

Reduce bureaucracy quickly and tangibly

Simplify the development of start-ups

Promote cutting-edge technology

...on labour and the social system

"Performance must be rewarded again," emphasised Merz - for example through tax relief on overtime and more flexible working hours. A minimum wage of 15 euros is achievable, feasible and desirable, but will not be enshrined in law. The pension level will be secured at 48 per cent through 2031. The Chancellor also identified the following important projects:

Reform of the health and care system

Establishment of a pension commission

New basic security instead of citizen's benefit

Affordable housing through increased residential construction

...on domestic safety

Despite the heightened security situation, Germany is still a safe country, said the Chancellor. This is attributable in part to our emergency services. According to Chancellor Merz, the Federal Government will therefore strengthen and better equip security authorities in a targeted manner. He announced a fight against anti-Semitism. "Germany must be a safe space for Jews," he said.

...on migration

"Germany is a country of immigration," said Chancellor Merz. Migration policy should be clear, fair and positioned for the benefit of Germany. That means: more limitations, more rejections, more control, more deportations. This approach is not a solo effort on the part of Germany and is in line with European law. Merz also said that integration should both be made possible and also demanded.

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India's fight against terrorism is now part of national defence doctrine, we will root out this hybrid & proxy warfare: Raksha Mantri at Bhuj Air Force Station

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Shri Rajnath Singh calls upon IMF to reconsider providing financial assistance to Pakistan as it has again started to rebuild its terror infrastructure

Operation Sindoor not yet over; Our actions were just a trailer, we will show the full picture, if need be, says RM

"Current ceasefire means India has kept Pakistan on probation on the basis of its behavior"

"IAF spearheaded this campaign against terrorism; It not only dominated the enemy, but decimated them during the operation"

Posted On: 16 MAY 2025 2:06PM by PIB Delhi

"India's fight against terrorism is not just a matter of security, it has now become a part of the national defence doctrine, and we will root out this hybrid & proxy warfare," said Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh while addressing the air warriors at the Bhuj Air Force Station in Gujarat on May 16, 2025. He asserted that the current ceasefire means that India has kept Pakistan on probation on the basis of its behavior. If the behavior improves, it is fine; but if there is any disturbance, harshest punishment will be given, he said.

Raksha Mantri made it clear that Operation Sindoor is not yet over. "Our actions were just a trailer, we will show the full picture, if need be. 'Attacking and eliminating terrorism' is the new normal of New India," he said.

Stating that Pakistan has again started to rebuild its terror infrastructure destroyed by India, Shri Rajnath Singh called upon the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reconsider its one-billion-dollar assistance to Islamabad and refrain from providing any support in future as well. "Pakistan will spend the tax collected from its citizens to give around Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organisation, even though he is a UN-designated terrorist. The Pakistan government has also announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Muridke and Bahawalpur. Certainly, a large part of IMF's one billion dollars assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure. Will this not be considered indirect funding by IMF, an international organisation? Any financial assistance to Pakistan is no less than terror funding. The funds India gives to IMF should not be used, directly or indirectly, to create terror infrastructure in Pakistan or any other country," he said.

Raksha Mantri commended the effective role played by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Operation Sindoor which is being appreciated by the world. Lauding the air warriors for eliminating the terror camps in Pakistan and PoK in just 23 minutes, he said "when missiles were dropped inside the enemy territory, the world heard the echoes of India's valour and might". He added that IAF spearheaded this campaign against terrorism, and during the operation, it not only dominated the enemy, but decimated them.

Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted that India's fighter aircraft are capable of striking every corner of Pakistan without crossing the border. "The world has witnessed how IAF destroyed terror camps and later Pakistan's airbases. IAF gave the proof that India's war policy and technology have changed. They conveyed the message of New India that we are not just dependent on weapons and platforms imported from aboard, but Made in India equipment have become a part of our military power. The weapons manufactured in India are also impenetrable," he said.

Raksha Mantri added that Pakistan has itself accepted the power of the 'BrahMos' missile. This Made in India missile showed Pakistan the light of day in the darkness of night, he said, also lauding India's air defence system, in which Akash and other radar systems made by DRDO have played a tremendous role.

On his interaction with the brave Indian Army soldiers at Badami Bagh Cantt in Srinagar yesterday, and the air warriors & soldiers in Bhuj today, Raksha Mantri stated that he is, once again, convinced that India's borders are completely safe. "I've witnessed the highest level of enthusiasm and patriotism among the soldiers on both the fronts. What our forces did during Operation Sindoor has filled the country with pride," he said.

Raksha Mantri stated that Bhuj has been witness to India's victory over Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and now. He termed Bhuj as a land of patriotism where soldiers stand tall with an unshakable resolve to protect national interests. He expressed gratitude to the air warriors and other brave soldiers of the Armed Forces and BSF for their service to the motherland.

Reiterating the Government's commitment to continuously equip the Armed Forces with latest weapons/platforms and modern infrastructure, Shri Rajnath Singh stated a strong nation respects its military and provides it with resources, technology and every support. He highlighted that, earlier, India was heavily dependent on imports, but today it is indigenously manufacturing equipment such as artillery systems, radar systems, missile shields, drones and counter drones. "We are becoming exporters from importers; and this is just the beginning," he said.

Shri Rajnath Singh stated that the people of India, the Government, the Armed Forces and other security agencies displayed unity and understanding in this fight against terrorism, with every citizen participating like a soldier. He stated that the Government and the people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its forces at every step, expressing confidence that "Together, we will completely eradicate terrorism from the region, and no one dares to cast an evil eye on the sovereignty of the nation".

Raksha Mantri began his address by paying homage to the innocent lives lost in Pahalgam and the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during Operation Sindoor. He wished a speedy recovery to the injured soldiers.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and other senior IAF officials were present on the occasion.

*****

VK/Savvy

(Release ID: 2129052)

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Iran says has received no written US proposal, directly or indirectly

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 6:50 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied claims about receiving a written message from the United States for a nuclear deal, saying the Islamic Republic's right to peaceful enrichment remains in place.

"Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly," Araghchi said in a post on his X account on Friday.

The post comes after US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had received an alleged proposal from his administration and cautioned about what he referred to as Tehran's not heeding the urgency of a response.

"Yeah they have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad, something bad is going to happen," Trump told reporters.

In his post, Araghchi said Iran and the world continue to receive "confusing and contradictory" messaging.

"Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal," the top Iranian diplomat stated.

Throughout his previous tenure as the US president from 2017 to 2021, and his incumbency now, Trump has rarely abandoned his adversarial language concerning Iran.

He has maintained the discourse, although the two sides have been engaged in indirect talks since April.

Araghchi also responded to reports about Iran's acceptance of temporary restrictions on how much uranium it enriches and to what level.

"Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes."

Enrichment, the Iranian foreign minister stated, is a right afforded to all other signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), too.

Araghchi said the great Iranian nation has shown its "power and fortitude" in the face of those who have attempted imposition.

"We ALWAYS welcome dialogue based on mutual respect and ALWAYS reject any diktat."

Iranian authorities have unexceptionally rejected Washington's intimidatory approach and warned about its contradiction with diplomacy.

On May 15, Araghchi said Iran would not dismantle any of its nuclear facilities -- as repeatedly pursued by the US and some of its allies.

The top diplomat also asserted the nation's right to enrich uranium, saying, "Defending the rights of the Iranian people in the nuclear field, including enrichment, is one of these principles and rights of the people that we will not compromise on."

Iran has held four rounds of indirect talks with the US on a replacement for the 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which have been generally described as positive by the two sides.

In 2018, Trump walked out of the landmark agreement that gave it sanctions relief in return for confidence-building restrictions on its nuclear activities.

Iran now wants guarantees that the US will remove all the sanctions and won't again unilaterally derail the new deal.

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Trump warns Iran of 'something bad' in renewed threat despite Tehran's outright rejection of intimidation

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 3:48 PM

US President Donald Trump has re-escalated his hostile rhetoric against Iran, warning of unspecified consequences if Tehran fails to act swiftly on what he called an American "proposal."

Speaking aboard Air Force One after concluding a Persian Gulf tour on Friday, the US president said that the Islamic Republic had received the alleged proposal from his administration and cautioned about what he referred to as Tehran's not heeding the urgency of a response.

"They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something badsomething bad's going to happen," he told reporters.

Tehran has not yet made any comments about the alleged proposal.

Throughout his previous tenure as the US president from 2017 to 2021, and his underway incumbency, Trump has rarely abandoned his adversarial language concerning Iran.

He has maintained the discourse, although the two sides have been engaged in indirect talks since April.

The rhetoric has compounded his deployment of the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.

The campaign, initiated under his previous presidential term, saw him take the United States out of a historic 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world countries, re-introduce Washington's sanctions on the Iranian nation, and even begin levying more coercive economic measures.

Iranian authorities have, however, unexceptionally rejected Washington's intimidatory approach and warned about its contradiction with diplomacy.

Most recently, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized that Iran would not dismantle any of its nuclear facilities -- as repeatedly pursued by the US and some of its allies.

The top diplomat also asserted the nation's right to enrich uranium, saying, "Defending the rights of the Iranian people in the nuclear field, including enrichment, is one of these principles and rights of the people that we will not compromise on."

President Masoud Pezeshkian has also addressed the issue, stating that threats did not work against the nation and that the Islamic Republic remained resolute in its pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy activities, national development, and regional peace.

Tehran has also roundly spurned the prospect of allowing matters other than the nuclear issue and removal of the American sanctions, such as the country's defensive might and regional influence, to be turned into negotiable subject matters in any diplomatic process.

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Iran, E3 resolved to sustain, optimally use diplomacy: Deputy foreign minister

Iran Press TV

Friday, 16 May 2025 3:02 PM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Iran and the European trio of Britain, France, and Germany (E3) are resolute on making optimal use of diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program.

Gharibabadi made the remark in a post on his X account on Friday following his meeting with representatives of the three European members of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi was also present in the meeting.

He said the Iranian representatives and E3 political directors exchanged views and discussed the latest status of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States and the lifting of sanctions.

"Iran and the E3 are determined to sustain and make best use of diplomacy," Gharibabadi wrote.

He noted that Iran and the E3 would meet again, if necessary, to continue discussions.

In an op-ed in the French magazine Le Point, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran and the E3 held "preliminary discussions at the deputy foreign minister levela fragile but promising beginning."

"But time is running out. How we respond at this pivotal moment will define the future of Iran-Europe relations far more profoundly than many may anticipate. Iran stands ready to turn the page. We hope our European partners are, too," he wrote.

On Monday, Araghchi also warned that abuse of the snapback mechanism would not only end Europe's role in the JCPOA but would also escalate tensions that could become irreversible.

Iran has held four rounds of indirect talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump since April on a replacement for the JCPOA, which have been generally described as positive by the two sides.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the US president's regional envoy Steve Witkoff are leading the negotiating teams. The talks are mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi.

Iran now wants guarantees that the US will remove all the sanctions and won't again unilaterally derail the new deal.

EU, Iran representatives to meet later Friday

The Iranian delegation is scheduled to meet the European Union's deputy secretary-general for political affairs, Olof Skoog, in Istanbul later Friday.

The talks will revolve around the removal of sanctions and nuclear issues.

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Iran Meets European Powers As Trump Presses Tehran On Nuclear Proposal

By RFE/RL May 16, 2025

Iran and European powers held talks in Istanbul about Tehran's nuclear negotiations with Washington as US President Donald Trump warned "something bad" will happen if the Islamic republic does not quickly decide on a US proposal for a deal.

The meeting came amid threats by Britain, France, and Germany (E3) over the re-imposition of UN sanctions against Iran if Tehran does not reach an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned the move would have "irreversible" consequences that would risk "provoking a global nuclear proliferation crisis" affecting Europeans first.

European and Iranian diplomats discussed "the latest state of play" on the nuclear talks, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X, without elaborating.

He said Iran and the European powers "are determined to sustain and make best use of diplomacy" and said further meetings will be held "if necessary."

The E3, who are signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from during his first term in office in 2018, have been sidelined since Tehran and Washington restarted nuclear talks last month with Oman's mediation.

A fourth round of talks was held in Muscat on May 10 and while both sides have said another there will be another round of negotiations, no date has been set.

Meanwhile, Trump on May 16 said Washington had tabled a proposal that Tehran needed to make a decision on quickly.

"They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad -- something bad is going to happen," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates.

Tehran, however, insists it has not received any proposals.

Trump has threatened military action against Iranian nuclear facilities if the two countries fail to reach a deal.

During his four-day tour of the Middle East this week, Trump said the United States was "getting close" to a deal with Iran.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Khamenei, told NBC News earlier this week that Iran would commit to never making a nuclear weapon, shipping out highly enriched uranium, and agreeing to enrich uranium to levels needed for civilian use if Trump agreed to immediately remove sanctions against Tehran.

Trump himself reposted a link the NBC interview with Shamkhani on his Truth Social platform, leading to speculation online that the US president is at least not opposed to the Iranian official's suggestions.

However, critics say Shamkhani's proposal mirrors the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- the formal name of the 2015 nuclear deal.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 15 said Iran was "at the threshold" of developing a nuclear weapon and insisted that Washington was facing a critical moment with Tehran. Iran, which is enriching uranium at near weapons-grade level of 60 percent, says its nuclear program is peaceful and is willing to offer assurances to the United States to allay concerns.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-nuclear- deal-proposal-trump/33416083.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.

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Having Lost Syria, Iran Watches As 'Axis' Lynchpin Turns Toward US

By Kian Sharifi May 16, 2025

What You Need To Know

 Mixed Reactions In Iran To Trump's Meeting With Sharaa: US President Donald Trump's historic meetingwith Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, has not gone over well with hard-line media in Iran. Moderate outlets largely stuck to straight reporting of the meeting, but conservative media upset over Syria's exit from Iran's orbit criticized Trump for meeting with the insurgent-turned-president.

 Tehran, European Powers Look To Reset Relations: Iran and the E3 -- Britain, France, and Germany -- are set to meet in Istanbul on May 16 to reset relations. The three European powers have been sidelined in nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. Diplomats say discussions will focus on sanctions relief and Iran's nuclear commitments. The meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers or political directors.

 Trump Reportedly Drops Plan To Rename Persian Gulf: Trump has decided not to rename the Persian Gulf, backing away from earlier plansto call it the "Arabian Gulf", according to CNNand NBC. The reversal follows strong warnings from Iran and concerns about escalating tensions amid ongoing nuclear talks. Trump's initial suggestion to change the name sparked outrage among Iranians and united political factions in opposition.

The Big Issue

'Meeting The Godfather'

Trump met Sharaa -- a former insurgent known under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani -- on the sidelines of a gathering with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh on May 14, a day after pledging to lift sanctions on Syria.

The US president said he had made the decision in a bid to provide Syria with "an opportunity for greatness" as the country looks to rebuild after 14 years of civil war and economic devastation.

Hard-line newspaper Keyhan, whose chief editor is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, derided Trump's talk with Sharaa and described it as a meeting between "Jolani the terrorist" and "the terrorist godfather."

The Islamic republic has long alleged that the United States funds extremist groups in the Middle East to destabilize the region and has dismissed Washington's campaign in the region against those groups as a farce.

Tasnim, an affiliate of the US-blacklisted Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), echoed that sentiment, describing the Trump-Sharaa meeting as the United States "formalizing its relationship with Takfiri groups" -- a term usedby the Islamic republic to refer to militants groups that it claims have ties to regional Sunni states.

Other hard-line media noted that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group Sharaa led before toppling the government of Iran- and Russia-backed Bashar al-Assad in December, was still designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.

Shirin Jaafari, a reporter for The World who just wrapped up a visit to Syria, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that people she spoke to during her trip were happy but also worried about the future.

"There are some concerns because they don't know what sort of future the new government has envisioned for them," she said.

Jaafari added, however, that Trump's announcement caused major celebrations across Iran, "instilling people with hope that this will be a turning point for their country."

Why It Matters: The fall of Assad dealt a major blow to Iran, which relied heavily on Syria to link its "axis of resistance," its network of regional allies and proxies.

Sharaa has been welcomed by most Arab nations in the region and has received dozens of international delegations, including European diplomats. Earlier this month, he traveled to France to meet President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump, who describedSharaa as "a young attractive guy" with a "strong past," urgedthe Syrian leader to normalize relations with Israel as one of five conditionsto reset ties with Washingtons.

Iran's influence in Syria effectively vanished with the fall of Assad, but Russia has tried to establish relations with the new government and maintain its bases in the country.

"Russia exploited the fact that Syria remained sanctioned and that the United States and Europe were dragging their feet on sanctions removal," Nicole Grajewski, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told RFE/RL.

She noted that while the decision to lift sanctions is "significant," it is "not transformative" as Syria still needs investment and there are outstanding issues between minorities and the government as well as the status of the Kurds.

Iran, however, is pretty much out of the picture for now.

"They lack the economic capital to help with reconstruction and are viewed [by Syrians] much more negatively than Russia," she added.

What's Being Said: Referring to reportsthat Trump's announcement on lifting sanctions on Syria surprised the State and Treasury departments, UK-based political commentator Hossein Derakhshan argued that Iran really only needs to reach a deal with the US president to remove sanctions.

"Iran needs to understand that this opportunity will not repeat itself and the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions is worth suspending uranium enrichment for 25 years, or even more!" he wroteon X.

Trump saidduring his tour of the region this week that the United States is "getting close to maybe doing a deal" with Iran on its nuclear program. "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," he said.

Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Khamenei, toldNBC News that Iran would commit to never making a nuclear weapon, ship out highly enriched uranium, and agree to enrich uranium to levels needed for civilian use if Trump agreed to immediately remove sanctions against Tehran.

Expert Opinion: Jihadi media specialist Mina al-Lami said jihadist and hard-line Islamists inside and outside of Syria worry that Sharaa will "sell out" foreign fighters and normalize ties with Israel, and even crack down on Islamic projects in Syria.

"Nevertheless, hardliners are struggling to rally broader support, as the lifting of sanctions is widely seen as a major win for Sharaa, and a clear boost to his image and credibility as a political leader," she wroteon X.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/farda-briefing-iran- syria-trump-sharaa/33415089.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.

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Trump on Possible Iran Deal: Tehran Knows Needs to Act Fast

Sputnik News

20250516

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran knows it has to act fast, otherwise something bad will happen, US President Donald Trump said on Friday.

"More importantly, they [Tehran] know they have to move quickly or something bad, something bad is going to happen," Trump told reporters.

Last week, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the United States will never agree to an agreement with Iran similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that may include sanctions relief and "no sunsetting of Tehran's obligations."

The first and third rounds of indirect US-Iran talks were held in Muscat on April 12 and 26, while the second was held in Rome on April 19. The talks began after Trump sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in early March, offering both a new agreement on the Islamic republic's nuclear program and threatening him with military force if diplomatic efforts failed. Iran rejected direct talks but agreed to an indirect dialogue.

 Sputnik

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Deputy Secretary Landau's Meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Funakoshi

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

May 16, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met today with Vice Foreign Minister Funakoshi Takehiro. The two discussed joint work to pursue a new golden era for U.S.-Japan relations. Deputy Secretary Landau reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and discussed upcoming opportunities to further strengthen coordination, both bilaterally and together with the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and through the Quad. The Deputy Secretary and Vice Foreign Minister also discussed opportunities for cooperation around energy security and ways the United States and Japan can strengthen deterrence and expand security coordination to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Deputy Secretary reaffirmed the United States support for Japan in achieving an immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

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Meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Foreign Secretary of the UK

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, met with the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary, the Rt. Hon. David Lammy MP, today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

DPM/FM Dar extended a warm welcome to Foreign Secretary Lammy on his first official visit to Pakistan.

The two leaders held detailed discussions on recent developments in South Asia, particularly the situation following the ceasefire understanding between Pakistan and India.

DPM/FM Dar briefed the UK Foreign Secretary on India's unprovoked and belligerent actions, which constituted a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, international law, the UN Charter, and established norms of interstate relations. He underlined that Pakistan exercised its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and that Pakistan's response remained limited, precise, and proportionate, with utmost care taken to avoid civilian casualties.

DPM/FM Dar appreciated the UK's constructive and productive engagement in helping de-escalate the situation. Both sides emphasized the importance of restraint and sustained dialogue to prevent further escalation and to maintain regional peace and stability.

The two sides also held wide-ranging discussions on Pakistan-UK bilateral relations. They expressed satisfaction at the steady progress in trade, economic cooperation, and development partnerships.

DPM/FM Dar acknowledged the UK's valuable support in priority areas including education, health, and climate resilience.

The leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to expanding and deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including climate action and sustainable development.

Both sides also reiterated their resolve to further strengthen the historic and enduring ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, based on mutual respect, shared values, and strong people-to-people connections.

The visit of the UK Foreign Secretary reflects the robust and multifaceted partnership between Pakistan and the United Kingdom and their shared commitment to addressing regional and global challenges together.



Islamabad

16 May 2025

141/2025

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First Foreign Secretary visit to Pakistan since 2021 as UK pushes for fragile ceasefire to become durable peace

Visit underscores need to maintain peace and regional security

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon David Lammy MP

16 May 2025

David Lammy visits Pakistan to welcome ceasefire and make clear that further conflict is in nobody's interest

Visit used to reassert that peace and security are the cornerstones of the UK's relationship with Pakistan that will protect growth and prosperity for Brits, Pakistanis and the wider region

Foreign Secretary meets and thanks consular staff who provided support and advice to Brits during peak of tensions

The UK Government welcomed the sustained ceasefire between Pakistan and India, both important partners to the UK, with the Foreign Secretary asserting the importance of continued stability for the region during a visit to Pakistan today (Friday 16 May).

The Foreign Secretary praised the steps taken by both Pakistan and India to secure an agreement to cease hostilities. In meetings with senior counterparts, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the immeasurable contribution people of Pakistani descent have made to British life and he acknowledged how distressing the past few weeks have been for people in both countries, and for those with Pakistani and Indian heritage in the UK. The Foreign Secretary reflected that the British Pakistani and British Indian diasporas would particularly welcome news of the ceasefire and increased stability for Pakistan and India.

Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said:

The images of conflict between India and Pakistan were distressing for all of us in Britain: but in particular the millions of Brits with Indian and Pakistani heritage, and the many British nationals living in both of these countries. Ever since the horrendous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the UK has done all it can to play a supportive role to reduce tensions, get to a ceasefire and condemn terrorism. It's positive that India and Pakistan - both great friends to the UK - have agreed to a pause in hostilities and that the ceasefire is holding. Because of the deep and historic links between our populations and our governments we are determined to play our part to counter terrorism and ensure this fragile ceasefire becomes a durable peace.

The UK and Pakistan have an important history of working closely together on ensuring regional security and stability. This relationship is key to the Government's mission to deliver the Plan for Change and unlock growth and prosperity for Brits and Pakistanis alike.

The Foreign Secretary has also been in frequent contact with the Government of India, having engaged with his counterpart yesterday (15th May), and will look to travel to New Delhi soon to build upon the strength of the UK-India relationship.

While in Islamabad the Foreign Secretary also met with consular staff working at the UK's High Commission who helped British nationals in Pakistan during the tensions, to ensure they had access to accurate, up to date information and advice.

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Foreign Minister Tsahkna at the CBSS ministerial meeting: Threats of the shadow fleet must be tackled more decisively

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16.05.2025 | 17:27

Yesterday and today, on 15 and 16 May, the foreign ministers and high-ranking officials of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) gathered in Vihula under the Estonian Presidency to discuss the threats posed by the activities of the shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea and the protection of critical underwater infrastructure. The meeting included the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the protection of critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, and the presentation of the report on the future of the CBSS.

"This week's serious incident with a vessel of Russia's shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea was a clear sign of Russia's hostile and dangerous actions against us. We are facing a volatile security environment, and therefore we have decided that we must put the security of the region at the centre of the CBSS," Foreign Minister Tsahkna said at a meeting in Vihula. "Russia is pushing the boundaries - this time, a fighter aircraft of the Russian Federation violated Estonian airspace to protect the oil tanker of the shadow fleet. This incident clearly showed Russia's direct involvement in the shadow fleet and that it needs to be targeted even faster and more forcefully with sanctions," he said.

Tsahkna also stressed that the Russia's shadow fleet is a tool for circumventing sanctions and poses a major threat to both the environment and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. "With this in mind, the ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the protection of underwater critical infrastructure." According to the memorandum, the Baltic Sea states have a common goal to work together on ensuring the security and resilience of critical underwater infrastructure to enhance the monitoring of underwater infrastructure, prevent infrastructure incidents and, where necessary, repair damaged infrastructure and develop related capabilities. "A closer engagement with the private sector is also crucial, including in the development of cross-border cooperation projects. The states are also boosting cooperation in the European Union and NATO," Tsahkna said.

"Of course, during the Estonian Presidency of the CBSS, we have also focused on continued support for Ukraine. Our countries have collectively been among the biggest providers of political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people - and this will continue," Tsahkna said. "Russia does not want peace - we saw this clearly yesterday when President Putin refused to accept President Zelenskyy's invitation to peace negotiations."

The ministers also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of the CBSS in addressing the security challenges in the region, condemning Russia's continued aggression against Ukraine and outlining the CBSS member states' actions and subsequent proposals aimed at ending it. The joint statement can be found here.

At the meeting, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis presented a report with their vision and analysis of the future of the CBSS format. The full report can be found here.

Estonia has held the presidency of the CBSS since 1 July last year. During our Presidency, we highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in countering hybrid threats. In addition, cooperation with Ukrainian partners in the areas of civil protection and the fight against trafficking in human beings intensified during the Presidency. The presidency also focused on the continuity of the organisation and the development of ongoing activities, including the drafting of the CBSS anti-trafficking and child protection strategies for the 2025-2030 period. Poland will take over the presidency of the CBSS on 1 July.

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Tsahkna to his German colleague: Baltic Sea states must stand up to Russian provocations

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

16.05.2025 | 14:32

Today 16 May, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with German Minister of State for Europe Gunther Krichbaum on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Vihula. At the meeting, the ministers discussed the need to increase defence spending, the role of the Baltic Sea states in ensuring the security of the region, and strengthening bilateral co-operation.

"Estonia and Germany are close Allies and strategic partners who work closely together both in supporting Ukraine and strengthening Europe's security architecture," Minister Tsahkna said. The meeting covered the continuing provocations of the Russian shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea, which force like-minded countries to act more decisively. "We must act to slow down the war machine of the aggressor state, and at the same time work hard with the countries around the Baltic Sea to counter aggressive provocations against our critical maritime infrastructure, cyberspace, and societies," Foreign Minister Tsahkna added.

After the bilateral meeting of ministers, the ministerial meeting of the Baltic Sea States began to discuss the security of the region and the Baltic Sea. Estonia currently holds the presidency of the CBSS and the meeting of the foreign ministers of the CBSS is chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna.

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Budrys: Russia is using its shadow fleet against us as a weapon

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Updated 2025-05-16

On 16 May in Estonia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kestutis Budrys, is participating in the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). Together with the Ministers of nine other countries of the region, Budrys discussed sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet and signed a joint memorandum to strengthen the resilience of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea at the governmental level.

The discussion focused on an incident in Estonia's exclusive economic zone a few days ago, when the sanctioned shadow tanker, named 'The Jaguar', refused to comply with Estonia's legitimate demands, and a Russian military jet violated the Estonian airspace.

"Russia is weaponising its shadow fleet against us. The incident involving the sanctioned tanker 'The Jaguar', when Russia used its air force to defend it, has demonstrated this very clearly," noted Budrys.

According to the Minister, the Baltic Sea states have a rather good understanding of how the shadow fleet works and while sanctions are being tightened, this response is no longer sufficient. It is necessary to adopt a common code of practice, which would provide for much more serious countermeasures.

According to the head of Lithuania's diplomacy, it is necessary to continue tightening the sanctions on the rest of the vessels of the shadow fleet, as currently individual vessels are targeted differently by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. According to the Minister, this is also demonstrated by the case of "The Jaguar", which was sanctioned only by the United Kingdom. It is therefore necessary that such vessels are sanctioned by all jurisdictions jointly.

Following Lithuania's proposal, EU's 17th sanctions package applied restrictions on another 200 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet.

Another important step, according to Budrys, is an increase of NATO's military presence in the Baltic Sea, the extension of the mandate of the Alliance's Baltic Sentry mission, and the revision of national response rules, with inclusion of the navy and applicable in peacetime as well. Currently, in many countries, these functions are assigned to civilian authorities - border and coast guard services, which are within the competence of the Ministries of the Interior.

"The aggressor must understand that such targeted hostile activities cannot go unpunished. A ship that has sailed to Russia must understand that it will not be allowed to return," said the Minister.

In a memorandum signed by the CBSS Foreign Ministers, ten governments of the region agree on cooperation and focused actions to enhance the protection and resilience of the undersea critical infrastructure.

The Memorandum also includes provisions on the protection of information, possible common sources of funding, and coordination of actions. The document testifies to a strong political will to act together to ensure energy, economic, and digital security across the region.

This agreement will complement and reinforce existing initiatives, including the Vilnius Declaration that was agreed to by Energy Ministers and signed in 2024, the Joint Declaration on cooperation to secure critical subsea infrastructure in the North Sea, the bilateral agreement on the protection and repair of underwater energy infrastructure between Finland and Estonia, and the European Commission's Action Plan on Cable Security.

The Memorandum of understanding on the protection of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea (full text)

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Syria's Shift Away From Iran Sparks Media Backlash After Trump Meets With Ahmed al-Sharaa

By Kian Sharifi May 16, 2025

US President Donald Trump's historic meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, has not gone over well with the hard-line media in Iran.

Moderate outlets largely stuck to straight reporting of the meeting, but conservative media -- upset over Syria's sharp pivot away from Tehran -- criticized Trump for meeting with the insurgent-turned-president.

The backlash reflects growing anxiety in Tehran over the loss of Syria, once a crucial part of Iran's regional strategy. Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad late last year, the new Syrian leadership has moved swiftly to distance itself from Iran, seeking new alliances with Arab neighbors and warming up to the West in a bid to lift sanctions.

Compounding the pressure, Iran is now entangled in high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the United States, where time and leverage may both be slipping away.

Trump met with Sharaa -- a former insurgent known under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani -- on the sidelines of a gathering with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh on May 14, a day after pledging to lift sanctions on Syria.

The US president said he had made the decision in a bid to provide Syria with "an opportunity for greatness" as the country looks to rebuild after 14 years of civil war and economic devastation.

Hard-line newspaper Keyhan, whose chief editor is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, derided Trump's talk with Sharaa and described it as a meeting between "Jolani the terrorist" and "the terrorist godfather."

The Islamic republic has long alleged that the United States funds extremist groups in the Middle East to destabilize the region and has dismissed Washington's campaign in the region against those groups as a farce.

Tasnim, an affiliate of the US-blacklisted Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), echoed that sentiment, describing the Trump-Sharaa meeting as the United States "formalizing its relationship with Takfiri groups" -- a term used by the Islamic republic to refer to militants groups that it claims have ties to regional Sunni states.

Other hard-line media noted that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group Sharaa led before toppling the government of Iran- and Russia-backed Assad in December, was still designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.

Is Iran Out Of The Picture For Syria?

The fall of Assad dealt a major blow to Iran, which relied heavily on Syria to link its "axis of resistance," its network of regional allies and proxies.

Sharaa has been welcomed by most Arab nations in the region and has received dozens of international delegations, including European diplomats. Earlier this month, he traveled to France to meet President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump, who described Sharaa as "a young attractive guy" with a "strong past," urged the Syrian leader to normalize relations with Israel as one of five conditions to reset ties with Washingtons.

Iran's influence in Syria effectively vanished with the fall of Assad, but Russia has tried to establish relations with the new government and maintain its bases in the country.

"Russia exploited the fact that Syria remained sanctioned and that the United States and Europe were dragging their feet on sanctions removal," Nicole Grajewski, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told RFE/RL.

She noted that while the decision to lift sanctions is "significant," it is "not transformative" as Syria still needs investment and there are outstanding issues between minorities and the government as well as the status of the Kurds.

Iran, however, is pretty much out of the picture for now.

"They lack the economic capital to help with reconstruction and are viewed [by Syrians] much more negatively than Russia," she added.

Could Iran Get Its Sanctions Lifted, Too?

Referring to reports that Trump's announcement on lifting sanctions on Syria surprised the State and Treasury departments, UK-based political commentator Hossein Derakhshan argued that Iran really only needs to reach a deal with the US president to remove sanctions.

"Iran needs to understand that this opportunity will not repeat itself and the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions is worth suspending uranium enrichment for 25 years, or even more!" he wrote on X.

Trump said during his tour of the region this week that the United States is "getting close to maybe doing a deal" with Iran on its nuclear program. "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," he said.

Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Khamenei, told NBC News that Iran would commit to never making a nuclear weapon, ship out highly enriched uranium, and agree to enrich uranium to levels needed for civilian use if Trump agreed to immediately remove sanctions against Tehran.

Jihadi media specialist Mina al-Lami said jihadist and hard-line Islamists inside and outside of Syria worry that Sharaa will "sell out" foreign fighters and normalize ties with Israel, and even crack down on Islamic projects in Syria.

"Nevertheless, hardliners are struggling to rally broader support, as the lifting of sanctions is widely seen as a major win for Sharaa, and a clear boost to his image and credibility as a political leader," she wrote on X.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-iran-saudi-arabia- trump-sharaa/33415192.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.

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U.S. representatives introduce bill to codify 'Six Assurances'

ROC Central News Agency

05/16/2025 12:07 PM

Washington, May 15 (CNA) A bipartisan group of United States representatives has introduced a bill to codify the "Six Assurances" as official U.S. policy.

The Six Assurances to Taiwan Act, introduced Thursday by Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and five co-sponsors, would also require Congressional approval for any future attempts to alter the guarantees.

The Six Assurances, which were given by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, include pledges not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, not to hold prior consultations with China regarding arms sales to Taiwan, and not to play a mediation role between Taiwan and China.

They also include assurances that the U.S. will not revise the Taiwan Relations Act, not take a position on the issue of sovereignty over Taiwan, and not pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Democratic members of the House Select Committee on the CCP noted that the Six Assurances have been reaffirmed by every U.S. administration since Reagan.

The assurances are referenced in multiple laws and serve as a "cornerstone" of U.S. policy toward Taiwan and a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific, but have not been formally enshrined in U.S. statute, the statement said.

"Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and a critical partner to the United States, and it deserves clarity and certainty when it comes to our commitments," Krishnamoorthi, the committee's ranking member, was quoted as saying in the release.

"By codifying the Six Assurances, this bill sends a clear, bipartisan message: we will stand firm against coercion, support peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and ensure that U.S. policy remains consistent, principled and rooted in law," Krishnamoorthi said.

The bill was co-signed by representatives Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Young Kim (R-CA) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY).

If the bill advances through the House, it would also need to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president to become law.

(By Chung Yu-chen and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/kb

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South Africa steps up pressure on Taiwan office; minister blames China

ROC Central News Agency

05/16/2025 05:28 PM

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung () on Friday accused China of being behind South Africa's latest decision to unilaterally change the contact information of Taiwan's representative office in the African nation.

Speaking to reporters before a news conference in Taipei, Lin alleged that the South African government has been resorting to "little tricks" under Chinese pressure to change the status of Taiwan's office in South Africa since last year.

He said Taiwan would not acknowledge the latest move made by South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), though what that means in practice remains unclear.

Lin's response came after DIRCO recently changed the address of Taiwan's representative office on its website from "Pretoria" to "Johannesburg" and designated it as an "international organization" instead of a "foreign representation in South Africa."

Its domain name was also unilaterally changed from @mofa.gov.tw to @telkomsa.net, a South African telecom company.

DIRCO's latest move came after it changed the name of the Taipei office on its website from the "Taipei Liaison Office" to the "Taipei Commercial Office" in early March.

The South African government has tried to move Taiwan's representative office there out of the administrative capital of Pretoria to the commercial capital of Johannesburg and categorize it as a "trade office" since last year.

It initially set an October 2024 deadline for the move before extending it to the end of March, but Lin said Friday the Taipei Liaison Office continues to operate normally in Pretoria.

On Friday, Lin said Taiwan will continue to interact with the South African government in the hope of holding bilateral consultations on the issue.

(By Wen Kuei-hsiang and Ko Lin)

Enditem/ls

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Representative name of 'Taipei Commercial Office' removed from official website of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation

Global Times

By Global Times Published: May 17, 2025 12:07 PM

The South African government has recently requested that Taiwan relocate its representative office from Pretoria, the administrative capital, and has taken further actions in this regard.

According to Taiwan's United Daily News on Friday, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has reclassified the "Taipei Commercial Office" under "International organisations represented in South Africa" on its official website, removing the previously listed address in Pretoria and the representative's name, as well as updating the contact information to reflect Johannesburg.

A reporter from Taiwan island reviewed the official website and found that on the "Foreign Representation in South Africa" page under the "International Relations" category, the "Taipei Commercial Office" has been classified as being under the category of "International organisations represented in South Africa." Additionally, the address and phone number in Pretoria for the office have been removed. The listed contact information now belongs to the "Office of Information Division," with the address, phone number and postal box all located in Johannesburg. The email address has also been updated.

Media outlets on the island have also observed that the current "Taipei representative to South Africa," Oliver Liao, has had his introductory text removed from DIRCO's official website, leaving only information about three lower-ranking assistant representatives.



The so-called "ministry of foreign affairs" of Taiwan stated on Thursday that it continues to closely monitor developments in this matter, noting that it has previously expressed the desire for both sides to engage in negotiations and is awaiting South Africa's response.

On December 31, 1997, South Africa broke off "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China the next day.

In September 2024, South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa visited China. During the visit, a joint statement issued by China and South Africa reaffirmed "South Africa's commitment to the One-China Policy, recognised that there is but one China in the world, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. South Africa supports efforts made by the Chinese Government to achieve national reunification."

In October 2024 and January 2025, the South African government sent two letters to the "Taipei representative office in South Africa," asking it to move out of Pretoria. The DPP authorities immediately urged the US to put pressure on South Africa. In March 2025, South Africa reiterated its request for relocation and unilaterally changed the office's name from "Taipei Liaison Office" to the "Taipei Commercial Office."

A commentary published on chinatimes.com on Friday stated that the "Taipei representative office in South Africa" has refused to relocate and remains steadfast in its position. The South African government did not cut off utilities or forcibly remove the office; instead, it has changed its name, deleted its address and representative title, rendering the "Taipei representative office in South Africa" a mere name without substance.

In addition to South Africa, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority recently announced that in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it adheres to the one-China principle and, effective April 30, prohibits the entry, exit, and transit of individuals holding Taiwan travel documents.

Some public opinion on the island said that the DPP and Tsai Ing-wen once referred to the "survival diplomacy" policy of Ma Ying-jeou's period as a "diplomatic shock." However, Tsai Ing-wen's administration was characterized as a "diplomatic avalanche," with the number of Taiwan's "diplomatic allies" decreasing sharply from 22 to 12. This suggests that the true "diplomatic shock" occurred after the DPP came to power.

The article stated that if the Lai Ching-te administration does not alter its approach, the forced relocation and renaming of the "representative office in South Africa" may not remain an isolated incident.

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"A fair and inclusive global governance architecture needs to be established to overcome the crisis of trust in the international arena"

Presidency of The Republic of Turkey

16.05.2025

Addressing the 6th meeting of the European Political Community, President Erdogan said: "A fair and inclusive global governance architecture needs to be established to overcome the crisis of trust in the international arena. We must start the transformation at home, as the European continent, which will be built on the principles of the indivisibility of security and a more equitable allocation of prosperity."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the 6th meeting of the European Political Community in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

"WE GROW STRONGER AS WE UNITE"

President Erdogan said: "We have come together to discuss about a new vision that will redefine our continent. It is now more important than ever before for us to act in unity, through cooperation, and in a spirit of collective action. A fair and inclusive global governance architecture needs to be established to overcome the crisis of trust in the international arena. We must start the transformation at home, as the European continent, which will be built on the principles of the indivisibility of security and a more equitable allocation of prosperity."

President Erdogan stated: "There are a wide range of areas in which we harbor a vast potential for cooperation such as defense industry, energy, transit routes, interconnectivity, supply chains, digital markets, and critical minerals. Efforts to develop the European Union's own defense industry are beneficial at this critical time when we are conferring on the future of European security. We think these efforts should include non-member allies as well without any prejudice to NATO's central role. We believe that sticking to this understanding while implementing initiatives such as ReArm and SAFE will be to the benefit of the European security. Many wars and conflicts that have occurred in Europe show us that we get weaker as we divide on issues of vital importance such as defense and security, and yet grow stronger as we unite."

"UPDATING OUR CUSTOMS UNION WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE SECURITY OF SUPPLY CHAINS"

President Erdogan noted: "While thinking about our shared future, we undoubtedly have to discuss about the steps as well that will ensure our economic security. With its $1.3 trillion economic growth, with its young and dynamic population of over 85 million, and with its competitive industry and direct access to vast consumption markets, Turkiye is of critical importance. We are of the opinion that updating our Customs Union with the European Union will contribute to the security of supply chains. We also believe that this step will pave the way for joint production and investments in critical sectors such as automotive, medicine and defense industry. It is imperative to review visa practices such as Schengen, which restrict the mobility of our people and therefore of goods, services, and capital."

"With our recent investments and agreements in natural gas, we are steadily approaching our goal of making our country an important energy hub in the region. Possessing the most advanced energy infrastructure in the region, Turkiye is an important player in energy transformation in Europe. Our steps in renewable energy offer opportunities for both our country and the whole region. Located at the intersection of multilateral transit routes, Turkiye contributes significantly to the protection of uninterrupted supply chains," President Erdogan stated.

"WE ARE AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE IN ORDER FOR WEAPONS TO FALL SILENT IN UKRAINE"

President Erdogan said: "We are at a critical juncture in order for weapons to fall silent and a basis for peace to be established in Ukraine. As we have done so far, we continue to contribute to every initiative undertaken for a solution, first and foremost an inclusive ceasefire. Given the sensitiveness of the process, it is very important to encourage the parties without any imposition in order to achieve a fair and lasting peace. I held separate phone calls with Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin, and Mr. Zelenskyy. Mr. Macron and Ms. Meloni called me. Mr. Zelenskyy was in Ankara yesterday. Following our call, he decided to begin technical talks. A window of opportunity has opened for the first time since March 2022 to stop the bloodshed. What is more, the negotiations are underway right now in Istanbul under the chairmanship of my foreign minister. I believe this opportunity shouldn't be missed. At this stage, we trust in the support of all our partners present here to ensure that the channels of dialogue between Ukraine and Russia are kept open to promptly establish peace. As I always say, there will be no losers in a fair peace. Turkiye will continue to do its part in this process."

"WE MUST MOBILIZE ALL OUR RESOURCES TO ENSURE A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE IN GAZA"

"An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe has been taking place in Gaza for 20 months," underlined President Erdogan. "Tens of innocent people, mostly children and women, are being massacred every day. We must say 'enough', we must say 'stop' to this. Netanyahu's uncompressing, aggressive and arrogant stance is putting Gaza and the entire region as well as people of various faiths living here at risk. We expect Europe to display the necessary enthusiasm and interest for the establishment of a ceasefire in Europe. International community's lack of action as over 2 million people in Gaza are being subjected to starvation is compatible with neither conscience nor the dignity of humanity. We must mobilize all our resources to ensure a permanent ceasefire, to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and to restore livability to Gaza. Our ultimate goal must be to implement the two-state solution, which is also the only sustainable solution."

"A NEW PAGE FULL OF HOPE HAS OPENED IN SYRIA"

President Erdogan went on: "With the cessation of nearly 14 years of conflicts in Syria, a new page full of hope has opened. U.S. President Mr. Trump's announcement of his decision to lift sanctions on Syria is a valuable step in order for Syria to achieve prosperity as soon as possible. With this decision, Mr. Trump has once again demonstrated the importance he attaches to stability and development in the region. We hope this decision will set an example for other countries. Likewise, we expect the European Union to urgently lift the sanctions that were originally imposed on the previous regime, and to provide financial support for reconstruction efforts. Such support will definitely facilitate the voluntary, dignified and safe return of the Syrians living outside the country to their home."

President Erdogan added: "The current environment of increased uncertainties bounds us to uniting around shared solutions. I wholeheartedly believe that there are no threats or challenges that we cannot overcome if we can act in solidarity, make better use of our resources, and foster a sincere cooperation."

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PM meeting with Prime Minister Mickoski of North Macedonia: 16 May 2025

The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of North Macedonia at the European Political Community summit today.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

16 May 2025

The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of North Macedonia at the European Political Community summit today.

The Prime Minister began by welcoming the new strategic partnership between the two countries, further strengthening the relationship between the UK and North Macedonia.

The partnership would underline the growing friendship between the two countries and signalled an intent to work more closely on shared challenges, including economic growth, trade, defence and security, the Prime Minister added.

The leaders also discussed North Macedonia's recent agreement to join the Joint Migration Taskforce, further boosting regional cooperation to prevent irregular migrants transiting the Balkans and disrupting the criminal gangs that facilitate them.

Looking ahead to the Western Balkans summit in October, the leaders welcomed the strengthening of the friendships between the UK and the region.

The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

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Russian Delegation Satisfied With Outcome of Ukraine Talks and Ready to Continue Dialogue

Sputnik News

20250516

The first talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years have concluded in Istanbul. The parties agreed on a huge prisoner exchange and the preparation of detailed ceasefire proposals. The negotiations lasted nearly two hours. When the delegations left the room, it was unclear whether the dialogue had ended or if another round was coming.

The mood after talks in Istanbul with Ukraine is good, Russian presidential aide and head of the Russian delegation to the talks Vladimir Medinsky told Sputnik on Friday.

"Good," Medinsky said, commenting on the mood after the talks with Ukraine.

Speaking to the press, Medinsky announced several significant developments following the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. Here are the main takeaways:

Russia satisfied with the talks' outcome - Moscow's delegation expressed satisfaction with the progress made during discussions.

Moscow's delegation expressed satisfaction with the progress made during discussions. Negotiations in Istanbul concluded - The latest round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations has officially ended.

The latest round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations has officially ended. Mass prisoner exchange planned - A large-scale swap of 1,000 prisoners from each side has been agreed upon.

A large-scale swap of 1,000 prisoners from each side has been agreed upon. Russia open to further talks - Moscow is ready to continue negotiations with Kiev.

Moscow is ready to continue negotiations with Kiev. Ukraine proposed a leaders' summit - Kiev requested a meeting between heads of state, a request that Russia acknowledged.

Kiev requested a meeting between heads of state, a request that Russia acknowledged. Ceasefire proposals to be drafted - Both sides agreed to outline their visions for a potential truce.

Both sides agreed to outline their visions for a potential truce. Detailed ceasefire terms in progress - Moscow and Kiev will work on specifying their proposals to establish a cessation of hostilities.

The Talks in Details

The first talks in three years between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, took place in Istanbul at the Dolmabahce Palace.

The Russian delegation was led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, just as in 2022. He was again accompanied by Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin. Admiral Igor Kostyukov, chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin participated in the Istanbul talks for the first time.

Official experts included Hero of Russia and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Information Directorate Alexander Zorin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Directorate Elena Podobreyevskaya, Director of the Second Department for CIS Countries at the Foreign Ministry Alexey Polishchuk, and Deputy Head of the International Military Cooperation Directorate of the Defense Ministry Viktor Shevtsov.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky, who took part in the talks three years ago, were not included in the delegation this time.

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, a participant in the 2022 negotiations. He was accompanied by First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kyslytsya, Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Alexander Poklad, Deputy Head of Foreign Intelligence Service Oleg Lugovskoy, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexey Shevchenko, and Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Vadim Skibitsky. From Zelensky's office  Alexander Bevz.

Western media reported that Kiev insisted on the presence of Americans. However, Moscow refused, wanting face-to-face talks without even Turkish representatives. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan nevertheless remained present.

The Russian and Ukrainian sides conducted negotiations in Istanbul on May 16 in Russian; there was no talk of using an interpreter, although one was present in the room.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously proposed that Ukraine resume direct talks without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15. The head of state did not rule out that the parties could reach a ceasefire agreement during these negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is committed to seriously seeking ways for a long-term peaceful settlement. According to him, the goals of the proposed talks with Ukraine are to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and ensure Russia's interests.

The Russia-Ukraine talks were expected on Thursday. The Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul; however, no contacts between representatives of the two countries took place on Thursday.

On Friday morning, a meeting between the US, Ukraine, and Turkiye took place.

 Sputnik

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Russian Troops Take Control of Volnoye Pole in DPR - Defense Ministry

Sputnik News

20250516

MOSCOW, May 16 (Sputnik) - Russian troops took control of the village of Volnoye Pole in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"Units of the Vostok group of forces continued to advance into the depth of the enemy's defenses and took control of the village of Volnoe Pole in the Donetsk People's Republic," the statement said.

Russia's Tsentr group of forces has eliminated more than 3,040 Ukrainian soldiers over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"The enemy's losses amounted to over 3,040 servicepeople, 26 armored combat vehicles, 66 vehicles and 14 field artillery guns," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Zapad group of forces has eliminated over 1,490 Ukrainian servicepeople, while Russia's Yug group of forces has eliminated over 1,400 Ukrainian soldiers over the past day, the ministry said.

The Vostok group of forces have eliminated over 1,130 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry added.

 Sputnik

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President of Ukraine Holds a Meeting with President of Montenegro

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 22:10

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic.

The Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to the people of Montenegro for their sincere support of Ukraine and our fight against Russian aggression.

He once again emphasized that our state is making every possible effort to bring the war to a just conclusion. In particular, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about constructive dialogue with U.S. President Donald Trump, the readiness for a full, unconditional ceasefire, and direct negotiations with Russia at the highest level.

The Presidents of Ukraine and Montenegro discussed in detail the stance taken by Russia and the need to increase pressure to achieve peace.

The leaders also discussed prospects for cooperation between Ukraine and Montenegro in various sectors and agreed to work on its development.

Special attention was given to the European integration of Ukraine and Montenegro. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Jakov Milatovic agreed to continue exchanging experiences in this process.

Additionally, the presidents coordinated the schedule of upcoming events involving leaders of Southeast European countries.

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Compensation for Those Affected Must Cover All Damage from Russian Aggression Since 2014 - Iryna Mudra

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 21:37

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee on an International Treaty to establish a Claims Commission for Ukraine was held in The Hague.

The meeting was attended by representatives of over 50 states, the European Union, and the Council of Europe. Head of the Ukrainian delegation, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra, joined the session online.

She emphasized that justice for all those affected by Russia's aggression against Ukraine must be the cornerstone of the future commission's work.

"This means addressing all damage, losses, and harm caused by Russia's aggression - not starting from 2022, but from its actual beginning in 2014. The illegal occupation of Crimea, the war in Donbas, and a decade of destruction must not be erased or forgotten. Selective justice is not justice," Iryna Mudra stated.

Participants of the meeting reviewed the draft treaty in detail and discussed the key components of the future commission: its composition, governance principles, and funding.

The next session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee will take place in July in The Hague. Negotiations on establishing the commission are expected to conclude by the end of the year.



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Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Dick Schoof Discuss Continued Military Support for Ukraine

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 21:13

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof.

The Head of State expressed gratitude for the Netherlands' support for Ukraine, particularly for its defense assistance and the nearly threefold increase in aid this year. The President emphasized that Ukraine will always remember the significant contribution the Dutch people have made to protecting the lives of our citizens.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided a brief update on today's meeting in Istanbul and underscored the importance of increasing pressure on Russia and continuing support for Ukraine.

The leaders discussed Ukraine's current needs, including strengthening air defense and securing direct investments in Ukrainian drone production.

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Security of the Black Sea Region and Development of Bilateral Relations: President of Ukraine Meets with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 20:52

Security of the Black Sea Region and Development of Bilateral Relations: President of Ukraine Meets with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov.

The key topics included a full and unconditional ceasefire, security guarantees, cooperation in the energy sector, and the development of bilateral relations.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Rosen Zhelyazkov discussed completing the construction of the Khmelnytskyi NPP project and agreed to work together on resolving this issue.

Special attention was given to the negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul, as well as to the need to increase pressure on Russia to achieve a ceasefire and bring about peace. The leaders also discussed cooperation within the maritime demining coalition alongside Turkiye and Romania, and the development of reliable security guarantees, which are crucial for the entire Black Sea region.

The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Bulgaria also addressed defense cooperation.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy Meets with Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 20:04

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The Head of State expressed gratitude for the EU's leadership in rallying support around Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy briefed his counterparts on the negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul and called for increased pressure on Russia should it refuse to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.

The President thanked for preparing the 17th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation and noted that Ukraine expects its adoption next week. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also added that the new sanctions package should target key sectors of the Russian economy: banks, oil, energy, metallurgy, and the shadow fleet.

Particular attention during the meeting was given to accelerating Ukraine's EU accession. The Head of State informed his counterparts of the steps Ukraine has taken to unblock the negotiation process and the progress made along this path. The parties discussed the potential opening of negotiation clusters in the near future, as well as trade and economic relations between Ukraine and the European Union.

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Combating Russian Hybrid Threats and Strengthening Bilateral Relations: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Met with Maia Sandu

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 18:06

In Tirana, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with President of Moldova Maia Sandu to coordinate steps toward achieving a sustainable peace and to discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine's priority is a full and unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days, which should establish a foundation for diplomacy.

The leaders also addressed energy security, the potential impact of election results in Europe on political processes, European integration, and Russia's hybrid war against democratic states - particularly its attempts to interfere in Moldova's parliamentary elections.

Maia Sandu assured that Moldova has no intention of diverging from Ukraine in the European integration process. The path began together, with Ukraine's support, and must continue in the same coordinated manner. After all, Moldova's stability also depends on Ukraine's resilience.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that Ukraine is ready to secure electricity exports to Moldova during the heating season, taking into account available capacity and needs.

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Trilateral Talks Held in Istanbul Between the Delegations of Ukraine, Turkiye, and the United States

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 14:10

The Ukrainian delegation - consisting of Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, and Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov - held a substantive meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, Special Envoy of the President of the United States Keith Kellogg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Hakan Fidan, and Director of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization Ibrahim Kaln.

During the meeting, the parties discussed joint efforts to develop concrete mechanisms that can lead to a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. All sides clearly emphasized that the war must end with an enduring and just peace, and that a full and unconditional ceasefire is the foundation for any further decisions.

Humanitarian issues were also discussed, particularly the release of Ukrainian prisoners and the return of children - a top priority for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia once again demonstrated its lack of interest in peace. This is evidenced by its absence from the negotiations at an appropriate level of representation, its disregard for international initiatives, and its refusal to end the aggression.

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Ukrainian Delegation Coordinated Positions in Istanbul with Representatives of the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France

President of Ukraine

16 May 2025 - 12:00

In Istanbul, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, and Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov held a meeting with Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy of the President of the United States; Jonathan Powell, National Security Adviser to the U.K. Prime Minister; Gunter Sautter, Foreign Policy and Security Adviser to the Federal Chancellor of Germany; and Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Adviser to the President of France.

The teams coordinated their positions ahead of the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations scheduled to take place today in Istanbul.

The Ukrainian delegation reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to peace efforts, emphasizing the constructive steps the country has taken in recent months and weeks. These include Ukraine's readiness for a full and unconditional ceasefire, its willingness to engage in direct negotiations at the highest level, and the dispatch of the Ukrainian delegation to meet with Russian representatives in Istanbul.

The Head of the President's Office stressed that the Ukrainian delegation came to Istanbul to work toward achieving a just peace. He specifically pointed out the low level and unclear mandate of the Russian representatives.

"Our top priority on the agenda is to reach a full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again confirmed his readiness for direct talks with Vladimir Putin, as a meeting with the person who makes all the decisions in Russia could lead to progress in the negotiations. Therefore, the key issue for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul is to determine whether the Russians are genuinely prepared for a real ceasefire and for direct talks at the highest level," he said.

Andriy Yermak added that achieving a full and lasting ceasefire and implementing confidence-building measures - such as the return of forcibly displaced Ukrainian children and civilians, and an "all-for-all" exchange of prisoners of war - are essential for the success of peace efforts.

The Ukrainian side thanked the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France for their support and leadership in advancing the peace process and emphasized the need for constructive steps toward peace from the Russian side.

The Ukrainian delegation expressed gratitude to Turkiye for providing a diplomatic platform for the negotiations and for playing an active role in promoting the peace process. It was noted that the Turkish side's consistent efforts play an important role in creating the conditions for dialogue and identifying paths toward an enduring peace.

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Russia, Ukraine agree on large-scale POW swap, further talks in Istanbul

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:29, May 17, 2025

ISTANBUL, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded their meeting in Turkiye's Istanbul on Friday, agreeing to hold a new round of negotiations and have a large-scale prisoner exchange.

As a key outcome of the two-hour talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner exchange involving 1,000 people from each side.

According to Russian diplomatic sources, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said the swap would take place soon. He also expressed overall satisfaction with the meeting and confirmed that Russia is ready to continue the dialogue.

Medinsky noted that both sides will soon present their detailed views on a possible ceasefire, after which the negotiations will move forward.

He also said that Ukraine proposed direct talks between the two presidents, and that Russia "took note" of the request.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency, said both sides focused on three key topics: a ceasefire, the prisoner exchange, and the possibility of a future presidential summit.

Umerov described the agreement on the prisoner swap as "the largest exchange since the beginning of the war."

In a post on X, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the negotiation, noted that the meeting produced several important outcomes aimed at building trust and laying the foundation for future negotiations.

He said Russia and Ukraine agreed to "share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire," and reached an agreement "to meet again in principle."

"As Turkiye, we will continue to make every effort to enable a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

The Istanbul talks follow a proposal by Putin on Sunday to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine. Zelensky has previously said he is open to a face-to-face meeting with Putin. However, the Kremlin said Putin would not attend the talks.

The last direct talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul in March 2022, where the two sides failed to agree to halt the fighting.

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New York, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

In This Article, You'll Discover:

How the Fast Wealth system and the Get Dumb Money 30-second phone ritual are marketed to generate passive income

A breakdown of what's actually included inside the Fast Wealth program

Whether the Get Dumb Money Works System is a legitimate path to fast wealth or just another marketing gimmick

Pricing, refund policy, and satisfaction guarantee information (with a disclaimer to check the official website)

Verified user insights, red flags, and expert commentary on affiliate marketing schemes

How mindset, repetition, and identity-shifting are claimed to rewire financial behaviors

The psychology behind "dumb money" and why it's critical for anyone serious about financial independence in 2025

Trusted alternative wealth-building methods that go beyond surface-level hype

Key buzzwords and SEO-driven analysis to help readers find the best Fast Wealth method in 2025

TLDR Summary: Fast Wealth and the Get Dumb Money Works System

Fast Wealth is a digital program sold through ClickBank that claims to show users how to generate quick income online using a mix of affiliate marketing and subconscious behavior hacks, including a 30-second daily ritual called the Get Dumb Money system.

This article explores whether Fast Wealth in 2025 lives up to its promise of delivering the best method to build wealth quickly, or if it simply recycles generic concepts under a high-converting brand. The Get Dumb Money ritual is said to rely on behavioral psychology, but transparency around how it works is limited, and watchdog sources have raised red flags.

We review the actual program content, user experiences, refund policies, and pricing structure, as well as common pitfalls like hidden upsells and vague claims. The system may attract beginners hoping for quick wins, but readers looking for real financial results will find better, more grounded options discussed throughout this article.

This complete review provides the facts to help you decide whether the Get Dumb Money system is the right fit or just another short-term pitch that fades quickly.

Disclaimer: Pricing and promotional details are subject to change. Always check the official website for the most accurate and current information before purchasing.

Introduction: The Allure and Risks of Fast Wealth in 2025

In an era where digital side hustles and AI-powered income streams dominate headlines, the idea of building fast wealth in 2025 has never been more appealingor more confusing. With countless systems promising shortcuts to financial freedom, one platform gaining viral attention is the Fast Wealth program, paired with the Get Dumb Money Works System. It claims to offer a 30-second phone ritual that unlocks subconscious wealth pathways, helping users move from "broke by default" to a wealth-oriented mindset.

But with bold promises come even bolder questions: Is this method truly effective? Can a mindset shift alone lead to passive income and financial breakthroughs? Or is this just another cleverly packaged affiliate marketing funnel?

This in-depth review will explore the complete Fast Wealth ecosystem, examining what's real, what's risky, and what users need to know before diving in.

Let's find out if this is the best Fast Wealth method in 2025or just another hyped-up shortcut that fails to deliver.

Understanding the Fast Wealth Program

The Fast Wealth program is marketed as a beginner-friendly solution for those seeking to make money online in 2025. At its core, the platform claims to simplify the often complex world of affiliate marketing and digital income generation. Focusing on mindset shifts and "easy-to-follow steps," it promises to guide users through a process that allegedly delivers quick and repeatable financial results.

What the Program Includes

Fast Wealth offers access to a digital portal that features training videos, quick-start guides, and daily rituals. These are designed to help users align their subconscious thoughts with wealth-oriented behaviors. Much of the marketing centers around the idea that wealth creation isn't just about tacticsit's about reprogramming how you think and act around money.

Although the material is light on technical depth, it attempts to cover topics such as:

Affiliate product promotion strategies

Simple funnel templates and copywriting hooks

The "Get Dumb Money" 30-second ritual

Daily repetition for subconscious habit installation

Accessibility and Platform

The program is distributed through ClickBank, one of the most well-known digital product marketplaces. This provides a level of payment security and support that many users value, especially when dealing with emerging personal finance products.

Refund Policy and Pricing

At the time of writing, the Fast Wealth program is available for a one-time fee of $39. It also comes with a 120-day money-back guarantee, promoted as no-questions-asked.

Disclaimer: Always check the official website for the most accurate pricing and refund information. Offers and access terms may change without notice.

What the Program Promises

The core promise of the Fast Wealth system is speed. By following simple steps and engaging with the Get Dumb Money ritual daily, users are told they can generate results quickly, without needing prior experience, a website, or enormous startup costs. However, specifics on how the actual income is earned remain vague, and the promotional materials rely heavily on emotional appeal rather than data-backed claims.

Discover the 30-second phone ritual claiming to rewire your wealth mindsetstart your Fast Wealth journey today before this exclusive offer expires.

Delving into the Get Dumb Money System

The Get Dumb Money System is a central piece of the Fast Wealth platform, promoted as a breakthrough subconscious technique for rewiring the way users think about wealth. Branded as a "30-second phone ritual," it is designed to be simple, repeatable, and instantly actionableideal for those looking to see fast changes without extensive learning curves or heavy workloads.

What Is the 30-Second Ritual?

At the heart of the system is a short audio or video sequence that users are instructed to engage with daily, typically using their phone. The ritual is framed as a tool to reprogram the subconscious mind by:

Interrupting old, scarcity-based thought patterns

Installing a new identity rooted in abundance and financial confidence

Replacing the default "broke mindset" with what the system calls a "Money Magnet Identity"

It draws on popular behavioral psychology techniques such as visualization, repetition, and affirmations, though no scientific studies are cited within the material to back up the claimed financial outcomes.

Psychological Framing: From Scarcity to Wealth Identity

The creators suggest that most people fail financially because they've been unknowingly programmed to self-sabotage. The Get Dumb Money System aims to counteract this through:

Daily mental pattern resets

Anchoring thoughts of success through simple sensory triggers (like phone rituals)

Using repetition to create "automatic abundance behaviors"

While this approach aligns with some foundational theories in neuroscience and self-development, the financial claims tied to it, like attracting money "effortlessly," should be viewed cautiously.

Disclaimer: While mindset and behavior training may offer personal benefits, there are no guarantees that this will directly result in income generation. Financial success typically requires consistent effort, strategic planning, and a mix of proven actions.

Why It Appeals

The system's simplicity is its strongest selling point. With no technical skills required and no lengthy modules to absorb, it attracts those who feel overwhelmed by more complex business models. It also heavily appeals to emotional pain points, like frustration with debt or feeling stuck financially.

However, the lack of transparency about how it connects to actual revenue generation (e.g., affiliate links, ad monetization, digital sales) limits its credibility when evaluated strictly as a wealth-building method.

Evaluating the Legitimacy

While the Get Dumb Money System and the broader Fast Wealth program are marketed with confidence and urgency, it's crucial to examine their legitimacy through a more objective lens. Many systems in the "make money online" category walk a fine line between motivation and manipulation, and this one is no exception.

Common Red Flags

Several warning signs have been raised by users, watchdog reviewers, and independent analysts:

Vague implementation steps  Much of the material relies on emotional framing rather than practical, step-by-step strategies.

 Much of the material relies on emotional framing rather than practical, step-by-step strategies. Generic content  Some users report that the advice inside mirrors free content already available through YouTube or public affiliate training forums.

 Some users report that the advice inside mirrors free content already available through YouTube or public affiliate training forums. Hidden upsells Although the entry price is low, there are suggestions that additional costs or offers are presented after purchase.

Although the entry price is low, there are suggestions that additional costs or offers are presented after purchase. Lack of transparencyThe system does not have a visible team behind it, and many of the testimonials provided are not independently verified.

Trust Ratings and External Reviews

Online security and scam-detection platforms have flagged the FastWealth.io and GetDumbMoney.com websites with low trust ratings. This doesn't automatically confirm a scam, but it does indicate a lack of verifiable reputation, which is especially concerning in the financial advice space.

For instance:

Scam Detector rates FastWealth.io poorly, citing domain anonymity and promotional vagueness.

MalwareTips and Infoquu both note patterns that match standard high-risk digital product funnels, such as exaggerated claims, refund overuse, and unsourced testimonials.

The language used throughout promotional materials also mirrors known psychological manipulation techniques, often seen in short-term marketing scams.

What Does This Mean for Serious Users?

Those seeking legitimate financial transformation should proceed with caution. While the system may provide motivational value or encourage personal reflection, it does not offer a documented path to income. The real risk lies in confusing "mindset enhancement" with reliable financial models.

The absence of precise business mechanics, such as affiliate commission structures, marketing funnels, or asset-building frameworks, makes it challenging to categorize Fast Wealth as a genuine wealth-building tool.

Disclaimer: Individuals should conduct their research and consider multiple sources of information before investing in any income-generating system. Transparency, documented success stories, and verified user support are key indicators of a program's credibility.

Ready to ditch the broke mindset? Activate your "Money Magnet Identity" now with the Get Dumb Money ritual. Fast Wealth access just one click away.

User Experiences and Reviews

User feedback offers some of the most revealing insights into the real-world impact of the Fast Wealth program and the Get Dumb Money System. In a mix of public reviews, blog analyses, and discussion forums, user experiences tend to be polarized, ranging from motivated praise to deep skepticism.

Positive Impressions

Some early adopters express appreciation for the mindset-shifting elements. These users highlight:

A sense of empowerment after engaging with the 30-second ritual daily

Motivation to take action on personal goals and financial planning

Appreciation for the simplicity of the system, especially for those overwhelmed by traditional business courses

In these cases, it seems the Get Dumb Money System serves as a daily motivator or personal development toolless of a business method and more of a confidence-building exercise.

Common Criticisms

However, many users and reviewers raise recurring concerns:

Lack of actionable strategies  The system often stops short of providing detailed monetization paths.

 The system often stops short of providing detailed monetization paths. Recycled concepts  Much of the advice is general and widely available for free in self-help and affiliate marketing spaces.

 Much of the advice is general and widely available for free in self-help and affiliate marketing spaces. Overreliance on emotional triggers  Critics point to how the sales material leverages fear, shame, or urgency rather than focusing on practical skills.

 Critics point to how the sales material leverages fear, shame, or urgency rather than focusing on practical skills. Unexpected upsells or vague guarantees  While a refund is promised, some users claim that the process isn't as seamless as advertised.

Expert Commentary

Financial experts tend to view the Get Dumb Money System with caution. Without concrete business frameworks or evidence-based strategies, it falls into the category of motivational marketing, not financial education. Professionals emphasize that sustainable income is built through structured models involving time, effort, and strategy, not just mindset rituals.

Some finance bloggers label the system as a psychological placebosomething that might feel helpful in the short term but lacks the tools for long-term transformation unless paired with real-world income action steps.

Disclaimer: Personal experiences may vary widely depending on expectations and background. While some may benefit from motivational elements, this program should not be mistaken for a proven business model or substitute for proper financial planning.

The Psychology Behind "Dumb Money"

To understand the full pitch behind the Get Dumb Money System, it's essential to break down the psychology of the term "dumb money." While the phrase may sound dismissive, it actually refers to a well-documented concept in behavioral finance, often used to describe the emotional decision-making patterns of retail investors or untrained participants in the financial system.

What Is Dumb Money?

In financial markets, "dumb money" typically refers to capital invested by individuals who lack institutional insights, real-time data, or technical analysis experience. These investors often:

Buy high due to hype or fear of missing out (FOMO)

Sell low during market dips driven by panic.

Follow viral trends without a long-term strategy.

Rely on surface-level promises rather than fundamentals.

The Fast Wealth program leverages this concept by suggesting most people are programmed to operate from a "broke by default" mindset. The Get Dumb Money System claims to rewire this mental default using subconscious rituals and repetition.

Smart Money vs. Dumb Money Behavior

Whereas "dumb money" follows emotions, "smart money" behaves based on:

Long-term planning and portfolio diversity

Data-backed investment models

Consistent financial education

Strategic patience, even during downturns

By labeling the old mindset as "dumb money," the system aims to position its users as future "smart money thinkers"though it does this without providing direct education on investing, markets, or budgeting.

Why This Framing Works

Psychologically, this narrative is highly compelling for marketing purposes. It:

Creates a clear "us vs. them" identity

Encourages people to believe their struggles are due to subconscious conditioning

Offers a daily ritual as an easy fix for a complex, deeply rooted issue

While this can inspire change on a surface level, it's important to distinguish between mindset work and actual financial tools or knowledge.

Disclaimer: Reprogramming mental habits can support personal growth, but it should be paired with financial education and proven wealth strategies for meaningful, lasting outcomes.

Transform your financial future in 30 seconds a day. Start the Get Dumb Money System nowrisk-free with a 120-day satisfaction guarantee!

They say mindset is everythingfind out if its true. Try the Fast Wealth 30-second ritual today and unlock the first step toward smarter money habits.

Alternatives to Consider

While the Fast Wealth program and the Get Dumb Money ritual may offer motivational value, those serious about achieving long-term financial results should explore alternative approaches. These alternatives are grounded in transparency, practical action, and well-established principles in personal finance.

Legitimate Wealth-Building Strategies

There are proven paths to financial growth that don't rely on hype, secrecy, or vague subconscious reprogramming. Some of the most effective strategies include:

Financial Education

Learning the basics of budgeting, investing, debt management, and passive income creation remains one of the most reliable ways to build wealth. Many free or low-cost resources exist that offer:

Step-by-step guides on affiliate marketing

Training on building high-converting websites and funnels

Education on digital product creation, freelancing, and real estate

Courses on financial literacy, trading, and portfolio diversification

Diversified Income Streams

Real wealth often comes from multiple, sustainable income sources rather than a single system. Examples include:

Affiliate marketing is built on niche content websites or YouTube channels

Print-on-demand or drop-shipping businesses with real customer value

Creating and selling digital products (e-books, templates, online courses)

Long-term investing through index funds, ETFs, or dividend-yielding stocks

Long-Term Planning

A key contrast to "get rich quick" platforms is the emphasis on patience and strategy. Individuals serious about wealth accumulation in 2025 should consider:

Setting realistic financial goals over a 1236 month period

Tracking expenses, income, and performance over time

Reinvesting profits back into scalable systems (ad spend, automation tools, etc.)

Consulting certified financial advisors for major decisions

Trusted Platforms and Tools

Instead of relying on one-size-fits-all solutions, users can explore platforms that are widely reviewed and offer community support, transparent pricing, and educational infrastructure. These include:

Udemy, Coursera, and Skillshare for learning monetizable skills

Shopify and Gumroad for launching online stores or products

ConvertKit or Systeme.io for email marketing and digital sales automation

Personal finance apps like YNAB or Mint for budgeting and goal tracking

Disclaimer: No single platform or tool guarantees success. Results depend on the time, energy, and strategic thinking each individual brings to the process. Any new system or investment should be researched thoroughly and aligned with your personal goals.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Fast Wealth program and the Get Dumb Money Works System offer fast financial results through mindset shifts, daily rituals, and simple steps anyone can follow. For beginners overwhelmed by more technical wealth-building paths, the idea of a 30-second phone ritual unlocking a new financial identity may feel empowering and approachable.

However, beneath the polished marketing and motivational messaging, there are critical gaps. The program lacks transparency, provides a limited actionable strategy, and relies heavily on emotional appeal. While mindset plays a role in long-term success, it must be supported by concrete actions, skill-building, and a realistic understanding of how income is actually generated.

Many users will find that the system functions more as a motivational tool than a proven income vehicle. Suppose you're looking to achieve fast wealth in 2025, truly. In that case, it's crucial to balance inspiration with education and prioritize platforms and tools with a clear track record of delivering real-world results.

Those serious about transforming their financial life should use discernment, dig deeper than surface-level promises, and commit to models that combine mindset with measurable strategy.

Disclaimer: This review is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional when making decisions related to income, investing, or business development. Pricing, guarantees, and program details are subject to changeplease verify all information with the official website before making a purchase.

Rewire your subconscious for successGet Dumb Money claims it only takes 30 seconds. Test it today and claim your full Fast Wealth program access.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Fast Wealth program?

The Fast Wealth program is a digital system sold through ClickBank that claims to help users generate quick income online using simple affiliate marketing techniques and subconscious mindset shifts. It is often paired with the Get Dumb Money Works System, which includes a daily 30-second phone ritual.

Does the Get Dumb Money 30-second ritual actually work?

The system promotes the idea that daily repetition of mindset rituals can rewire subconscious habits related to money. While some users report feeling more motivated, there is no scientific evidence that this method alone leads to measurable financial success. It may be helpful as a personal development tool, but results can vary widely.

Is the Fast Wealth system a scam?

The Fast Wealth system is not officially labeled a scam, but it does raise several red flags, including vague strategies, recycled content, and low trust ratings on third-party review sites. Caution is advised, and users should conduct due diligence before purchasing.

How much does the Fast Wealth program cost?

As of the time of writing, the Fast Wealth system is listed for a one-time payment of $39. It also claims to offer a 120-day refund policy through ClickBank.

Disclaimer: Always check the official website for the latest pricing and refund details. Pricing and promotions may change at any time.

Can you really get rich quickly using this system?

Quick wealth is rarely realistic without a combination of experience, resources, and risk. While motivational tools like this may help users take action, actual income usually comes from well-established models such as affiliate marketing, digital product creation, and long-term investing.

Are there better alternatives to the Fast Wealth system?

Yes. Platforms that offer transparent training, community support, and proven results, such as affiliate courses, business mentorships, and income-generating tools, deliver more consistent value. Diversifying income and investing in education are more reliable long-term strategies.

Bonus: Top 5 Legitimate Strategies for Building Fast Wealth in 2025

While the Fast Wealth program and the Get Dumb Money System have garnered attention, it's essential to explore proven methods for wealth accumulation. Here are five strategies that individuals serious about financial growth in 2025 might consider:

1. Affiliate Marketing with Reputable Programs

Engaging in affiliate marketing through established platforms can be a reliable income stream. By promoting products or services and earning commissions on sales, individuals can build passive income over time. It's crucial to choose programs with transparent terms and proven track records.

2. Investing in Dividend-Paying Stocks

Building a diversified portfolio that includes dividend-paying stocks can provide regular income and potential capital appreciation. This long-term strategy requires research and, often, consultation with financial advisors to align investments with personal financial goals.

3. Creating and Selling Digital Products

Developing digital products such as e-books, online courses, or software tools allows individuals to leverage their expertise and generate income. Platforms like Teachable or Gumroad facilitate the distribution and sale of such products to a global audience.

4. Real Estate Crowdfunding

Participating in real estate crowdfunding platforms enables investors to contribute to property ventures with relatively low capital. This approach can offer exposure to real estate markets without the responsibilities of direct property management.

5. Developing a Niche Blog or YouTube Channel

Creating content around a specific niche can attract a dedicated audience. Monetization avenues include advertising revenue, sponsored content, and merchandise sales. Consistency and quality content are key to building and maintaining an engaged following.

Disclaimer: The strategies mentioned above involve varying degrees of risk and require due diligence. It's advisable to consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. Always ensure that any platform or opportunity is thoroughly researched and aligns with your financial objectives.

Take the first step toward fast financial confidence. Start your risk-free trial of Fast Wealth and try the Get Dumb Money ritual now.

Contact : Fast Wealth

: Fast Wealth Email: support@fastwealth.io

Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure

The content provided in this article is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as financial advice, investment guidance, medical counsel, or any other form of regulated professional service. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, no guarantees are made regarding the completeness, accuracy, timeliness, or applicability of any information herein.

This article may contain references to third-party products, services, or systems, including but not limited to digital wealth-building platforms and mindset training programs. Any product or service mentioned should be evaluated independently by the reader, and individuals are encouraged to conduct their research and consult qualified professionals before making any financial, business, or personal decisions.

The publisher of this article may receive compensation through affiliate partnerships with vendors mentioned within the content. This means that if a reader clicks on a link and makes a purchase, a commission may be earned at no additional cost to the reader. Such relationships do not influence the content, opinions, or recommendations provided. All views expressed in this article are based on publicly available information, user reviews, and independent editorial analysis.

Neither the publisher nor any syndication partners shall be held responsible for any loss, damages, or other consequences arising directly or indirectly from the use of any product, service, or strategy mentioned in this publication. Readers acknowledge that results may vary and that no outcome can be guaranteed.

All trademarks, logos, brand names, and product images are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. This article is not sponsored by or affiliated with any of the brands mentioned unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Any pricing, refund policies, or promotional offers discussed in this article are subject to change without notice. For the most accurate and up-to-date details, readers should refer to the official websites of the respective product or service providers.

This content may be syndicated across partner websites and distribution channels for broader visibility. Syndication partners assume no liability for the accuracy, opinions, or claims made within this article.
TORONTO, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FT Portfolios Canada C o. (First Trust Canada), announced today that the cap, buffer and dates for the next Target Outcome Period for the First Trust Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF  May (MAYB.F) (the fund or May Buffer ETF) are as follows:

TICKER CAP BUFFER OUTCOME PERIOD MAYB.F 14.97% (Gross) 10% 20/05/2025  15/05/2026

The previous Target Outcome Period for MAYB.F concluded on May 16, 2025 and the upside cap for the new Target Outcome Period has been reset to prevailing market conditions.

The fund seeks an outcome that provides investors with returns (before fees, expenses and taxes) that match the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY or underlying ETF), up to a predetermined upside cap, while providing a buffer against potential SPY losses. The fund is managed and sub-advised by Vest Financial LLC (Vest) using a target outcome strategy or pre-determined target investment outcome.

If an investor purchases hedged units after the first day of the Target Outcome Period, they will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased hedged units at the start of the Target Outcome Period and the buffer the fund seeks may not be available.

First Trust Canada believes a buffer against a level of losses can help investors stay invested during volatile times. The fund offers a way to gain access to outcome-based investingspecifically to buffer against a level of downside risk while allowing growth to a maximum cap eliminating bank credit risk, in a convenient, flexible investment vehicle.

Karan Sood and Trevor Lack, of Vest, serve as a portfolio managers for the fund. The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for making investment management decisions for the fund.

For further information: Media Contact: Nilesh Patel, FT Portfolios Canada Co., 40 King Street West, Suite 5102, email: nileshpatel@firsttrust.ca, 1-877-622-5552.

About First Trust

First Trust Canada is the trustee, manager and promoter of the fund. First Trust Canada and its affiliates First Trust Advisors L.P. (FTA), portfolio advisor to the fund, an Ontario Securities Commission registered portfolio manager and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisor, and First Trust Portfolios L.P., a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately held companies that provide a variety of investment services. FTA has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately U.S.$259 billion as of March 31, 2025 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. For more information, visit www.firsttrust.ca.

About Vest:

Vest is the creator of Target Outcome Investments, which strive to buffer losses, amplify gains or provide consistent income to a diverse spectrum of investors. Today, Vests Target Outcome StrategiesTM are available in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unit investment trusts (UITs), collective investment trusts (CITs), and customizable managed accounts / sub-advisory services. For more information about Vest and the evolution of Target Outcome Investments, visit www.vestfin.com or contact Linda Werner at lwerner@vestfin.com or 703-864-5483.

There may be commissions, management fees and expenses associated with ETF investments. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Please read the prospectus of the fund before investing. Contact FT Portfolios Canada at 1-877-622-5552 or visit www.firsttrust.ca to obtain a copy of the prospectus and ETF Facts for the fund.

Important Information

The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. Financial advisors are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients.

First Trust Advisors L.P. is the portfolio advisor to the fund. First Trust Advisors L.P. is an affiliate of FT Portfolios Canada Co., the trustee, manager and promoter of the fund.

Further information about First Trust Canadas ETFs can be found at www.firsttrust.ca.
It took only a short conversation with his wife, Melissa, for Bart McGloin to announce he would run for a second term on the Depew School Board.

Serving on the board is his way of giving back to a district that has allowed his three sons to thrive, he said Thursday. He hopes his next three years will see the flourishing of Katie Smith, the superintendent his fellow board members recently hired, as well as the fruits of current and past capital projects that improve facilities at Cayuga Heights Elementary.

The most gratifying (part) is celebrating successes, McGloin said, from transportation to the food service department to teachers to students.

McGloin is not only running unopposed, but Depew has more open seats than official candidates on the ballot for the May 20 School Board election, in which citizens in the 37 districts of Erie and Niagara counties will vote on school budgets, propositions and board members. McGloin, John Spencer and Patrick Law are all incumbents seeking re-election, but Board President Todd Bush is not running again, and no challengers have stepped forward to campaign for the vacancy.

Thats also true for the Cheektowaga Central School Board, in which Renee Wilson is an incumbent running for two seats, and in West Seneca, where incumbent Edmund Bedient is the lone candidate on the ballot for two open seats. Thats left all three districts with the likely outcome of a write-in candidate serving as a board representative.

Thats rare. In Erie County, the 27 school districts have had more open seats than candidates just three times total in the previous five elections, according to data compiled by The Buffalo News. This year, only 11 of the countys school districts have contested races.

When McGloin learned of the two other districts in the same position as Depew, it gave him pause.

It struck me as odd, McGloin said. It makes you think twice. Whats going on out there?

What does the data show?

While three districts relying on write-ins is unusual, the overall data shows a more subtle than precipitous drop-off in participation.

There are 78 candidates running for 63 open seats in Erie County this year, compared to 81 candidates for 57 open seats in 2024. This election has two fewer competitive races, dropping to 11 from 13 in 2024.

David Lowrey, executive director for the Erie County Association of School Boards, said he does not believe a thinner roster of school board candidates this year represents a trend, but rather a cyclical process that varies depending on factors like term expirations and community issues.

A spokesperson for the New York State School Board Association noted that this years degree of competition in Erie and Niagara county races appeared similar to data collected across the state.

In Iroquois, 5 people want the lone available School Board seat. This year, that's a rarity The race in Iroquois stands out as one of the most competitive elections in Western New York this year, in terms of the number of candidates running.

Its not quiet everywhere. Theres some spice in the Southtowns, with Iroquois boasting five candidates for a single open seat. Both East Aurora and Orchard Park feature four candidates vying for two seats. Farther north, the Williamsville and Sweet Home school boards each have two more candidates running than seats available.

A lack of competition is not always a bad thing, Lowrey said, pointing to a district such as Cleveland Hill, which has maintained impressive continuity among its board members, superintendent and leadership team.

Because write-ins might not be well vetted before the election since their views arent conveyed in community newspaper previews, budget newsletters and school forums, their status might carry uncertainty. Lowrey, however, said it does not necessarily imply greater risk, as not all school districts publicize their candidates. Should a write-in candidate end up winning a seat, Lowrey said the larger organization he leads, as well as specific school districts, offer governance and fiscal oversight trainings mandatory for new board members.

Lowrey explained that its not a goal of the Erie County Association of School Boards to increase the number of candidates, but instead  particularly through an annual March panel discussion with current board members  to better prepare prospective representatives for the expectations and time commitment of the position.

Their responsibilities are to improve policy, hire a superintendent and develop a budget, Lowrey said. Everything else falls within the parameter of the superintendent, the day-to-day operations. We emphasize that board members have to stay in their lane.

What might deter candidates?

No one interviewed suggested there was a chief reason for the modest downturn in candidates running. But they had suspicions.

Lowrey, who served on the Iroquois School Board for 20 years, said the fallout of mask mandates from Covid-19 may have caused board members across the state to realize the position comes with limitations for how much change can be effected.

I think it was eye-opening for many people that they realized local districts do not have as much control as you would have thought, Lowrey said. Everythings controlled by state funding, by the (state Education Department) for the most part.

Influence and, perhaps to a lesser degree, compensation have led a few school board members to pursue other elected positions.

Theyve decided they might have a greater impact running for the town than staying on the school board, Lowrey said.

McGloin, the Depew incumbent, believes the time commitment may ultimately push candidates away. Hes thankful his job in sales gives him flexibility to attend meaningful district events during the day, such as the Freedom in America assembly Friday morning at Depew Middle School. Not all candidates might have that schedule flexibility, he said.

The Buffalo News reached out to parent networks in West Seneca for feedback about the lack of school board candidates. Nicole Gerrity, president of the Clinton Street Elementary Parent-Teacher Association, said greater awareness of the board opportunities and explaining the responsibilities of a board member would likely attract more interest.

We truly do have a strong and engaged group of parents who care deeply about our schools, Gerrity said in an email. I dont believe the lack of candidates reflects disinterest as much as it does a lack of awareness. Many parents may not realize the current vacancy exists, or what serving on the board entails. With everyones busy schedules, unless the opportunity is directly brought to their attention, it can easily go unnoticed.

Can a write-in work out?

The answer is a resounding yes if you ask Jane Sullivan, who in 2015 learned of a write-in opportunity for the Iroquois School Board six days before the election.

She said Thursday she recalled thinking: Thats kind of crazy  thats sort of an important role in the community, isnt it?

A friend with a social media following urged Iroquois voters to write in Sullivan, then a professor at Buffalo State College and, once ballots were counted, the 113 bearing her name were enough to win her a seat.

I also did not know what I was getting myself into, she says now. I thought it was a meeting once a month, and we heard what the superintendent was doing and we said, That sounds good  keep doing that! 

Fast-forward 10 years and Sullivan is wrapping up her second term on the Iroquois School Board. Shes not seeking re-election  she said shes a believer in term limits  but shes not abandoning the school board world. Sullivan three years ago joined the Erie County Association of School Boards, at which she now serves under Lowrey as program services manager and a leader of advocacy campaigns.

Sullivan acknowledged a learning curve exists for any new board member  for her, it was grasping the particulars of the budget process  but many paths work out, even if it starts as a write-in on a whim.

The public votes and you get who you get, Sullivan said. If you are a good, strong school board, you will onboard that person, give them the appropriate training like they did for me, and you just have to hope that they come at this with the right frame of mind, providing a community service and that theyre there for the kids.
Sandy, May 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

In This Article, Youll Discover:

Why chronic pain continues to affect millions despite modern medicine

What makes traditional pain relief patches ineffective for long-term support

How the Kailo Flex Pain Patch works using wearable neurotech and bioelectric innovation

Who Kailo is designed for  from athletes to everyday users managing pain

What real users are saying in verified Kailo pain patch reviews

How Kailo Flex compares to other pain relief patches and solutions

Where to buy Flex Pain Relief Patches safely online

Transparent pricing, bundle options, warranty, and return information

Disclaimers about product use and price accuracy to ensure trust and compliance

Why Kailo Flex is considered the best pain patch in 2025 by many satisfied customers

TL;DR: Kailo Under Review  The Smart, Drug-Free Pain Patch Millions Are Talking About

In 2025, smart pain relief patches are trending as people seek non-invasive and drug-free pain relief solutions. The Kailo Flex Pain Patch has emerged as a standout choice thanks to its bioelectric technology, reusability, and fast-acting support for pain-prone areas. Unlike traditional patches, Kailo contains no medication and works with the bodys own electrical system.

This article reviews why Kailo is considered one of the best pain patches on the market, how it compares to competitors, and what verified Kailo patch reviews reveal. Readers will learn where to buy Kailo and Flex Pain Relief Patches safely, what pricing options are available, and what real users are experiencing with this advanced wearable wellness technology.

Disclaimer: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Always consult your healthcare provider before use. Prices mentioned may changeplease refer to the official website for the latest pricing and product availability.

Introduction: The Rising Demand for Smart, Non-Invasive Pain Solutions

Pain is one of the most common health complaints in the world, with tens of millions of people searching for effective, fast-acting, and non-addictive relief every year. From chronic joint discomfort to post-workout soreness and back pain caused by long hours at the desk, more people than ever are looking for safer alternatives to traditional painkillers and invasive treatments.

With the growing popularity of wearable wellness tech, a new wave of solutions has emergedsolutions that are drug-free, easy to use, and focused on natural recovery support. Among the standout innovations in this space is the Kailo Flex Pain Patch, a smart, non-invasive product designed to help individuals experience targeted pain support without chemicals, needles, or messy creams.

In this article, well explore the science behind pain, what sets Kailo Flex apart from the crowd, and whether it truly earns the title of the best pain patch on the market in 2025. Well also uncover where to buy Flex Pain Relief Patches safely, how much they cost, and whether theyre worth the investment.

As more consumers prioritize drug-free pain relief and advanced electroceutical patches, Kailo stands at the intersection of innovation, wellness, and simplicityoffering a product that may help you feel more in control of your body again.

Disclaimer: Kailo Flex is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a healthcare provider before beginning any new wellness product, especially if you are managing chronic conditions or persistent pain.

Understanding Your Pain: Why So Many Are Still Suffering

Pain isnt just a symptomits often a warning sign from the body. But for millions of people, especially those managing chronic conditions, pain can become a constant, frustrating companion. Whether caused by injuries, aging, repetitive stress, or invisible inflammatory conditions, the need for consistent and effective pain relief is only growing.

One of the biggest challenges people face when trying to manage pain is understanding its root cause. Pain can stem from nerves, muscles, joints, or deeper biochemical imbalances. In many cases, people turn to over-the-counter painkillers, muscle relaxers, or even prescription opioids in hopes of getting relief. However, these conventional approaches often come with side effects, dependency risks, or diminishing returns.

In recent years, the demand has shifted toward non-invasive pain management solutions. Consumers are now actively seeking drug-free pain relief patches that can be worn discreetly, reused, and provide support for a wide range of discomfortsfrom joint pain and muscle soreness to tension headaches and back pain due to sedentary lifestyles.

The disconnect lies in the fact that many pain relief patches still rely on chemical absorption or outdated adhesive technologies. These products may offer temporary relief, but they often fall short when it comes to long-term use, skin compatibility, or effectiveness. This has created a gap in the marketone that advanced wearable wellness tech like the Kailo Flex Pain Patch is stepping in to address.

What makes Kailo Flex different is that it doesnt introduce anything into your bloodstream. Instead, its based on electroceutical signaling, a method that works with your bodys natural electrical system to potentially support pain modulationwithout drugs or active ingredients.

As pain continues to be one of the top health concerns worldwide, a product that aligns with the body, rather than fights against it, is a welcome innovation. Kailo Flex offers a new way forward for people who are tired of choosing between ineffective treatments and risky medications.

Disclaimer: Pain experiences are unique, and results with any non-invasive solutionincluding Kailo Flexcan vary from person to person. This product does not treat or cure any underlying health condition.

The Search for Relief: What Most Pain Patches Get Wrong

For anyone navigating the crowded marketplace of pain relief patches, it can be difficult to tell which products truly work and which are simply sticking plastersliterally and figuratively. Despite the promise of fast-acting results, most patches on the market today continue to fall short for several key reasons.

First, many rely on chemical-based ingredients that must be absorbed through the skin. While this can offer short-term relief, it often leads to side effects like skin irritation, sensitivity, or even systemic interactions with other medications. The reality is, for those seeking drug-free pain relief, these products are simply not viable long-term solutions.

Second, conventional patches are often designed for single-use only, making them wasteful and expensive over time. The adhesives wear down quickly, especially during physical activity, sweating, or sleep. This creates a frustrating user experience and forces people to keep buying product after product in search of real results.

Finally, most pain patches are not optimized for modern pain triggerslike tech neck, sedentary work habits, or recovery from intense training. They lack adaptability, and more importantly, they lack innovation.

This is where Kailo Flex sets itself apart.

Instead of relying on transdermal chemicals or heating agents, the Kailo patch uses a bioelectrical interfacea grid of microscopic nanocapacitors designed to interact with the bodys natural electrical signals. This smart pain relief patch is drug-free, reusable, and optimized for todays active, health-conscious user.

While traditional products often deliver inconsistent results, Kailo Flex introduces a solution thats forward-thinking, designed for everyday wear, and engineered with flexibility, longevity, and user comfort in mind. Thisisnt just another patchits a smarter way to support pain relief without the drawbacks of outdated methods.

Disclaimer: Kailo Flex does not deliver medication into the body. It is not intended to replace professional medical care or to treat medical conditions. Always consult your physician if pain persists.

Tired of pain patches that dont work? Try Kailo Flex todaydrug-free, fast-acting, and reusable for months. Order now while supplies last!

Introducing Kailo Flex: A Breakthrough in Pain Relief Patches

In a crowded field of pain relief solutions, the Kailo Flex Pain Patch has emerged as a standoutredefining what it means to experience wearable, drug-free pain support. Unlike conventional patches that rely on heat, menthol, or chemical absorption, Kailo Flex operates on an entirely different level, using neuro capacitive technology to interact with the bodys natural electrical system.

The Kailo Flex patch contains millions of microscopic nanocapacitors printed into a thin, flexible material. These nanocapacitors are engineered to support the bodys electrical signals, helping to naturally engage with how the body communicates pain. By placing the patch near the source of discomfort, many users report noticeable support within seconds of applicationwithout drugs, creams, or batteries.

Each Kailo Flex patch is:

Completely drug-free

Reusable and designed to last for months with proper care

and designed to last for months with proper care Waterproof , sweat-resistant, and flexible enough for daily wear

, sweat-resistant, and flexible enough for daily wear Latex-free and non-invasive for all skin types

The patch can be used on various areas of the body, including the lower back, shoulders, knees, neck, and more. Its versatility makes it suitable for those dealing with everyday pain, fitness recovery, or discomfort associated with sedentary routines.

Importantly, Kailo Flex does not contain any active chemical ingredients. This means it doesnt interfere with medications, pose a risk of systemic absorption, or require downtime between uses. For people seeking an advanced nanotech pain solution, this wearable patch offers a streamlined and modern alternative.

From athletes to remote workers to retirees, Kailo Flex is designed to meet the evolving needs of todays usersoffering freedom from reliance on pills or temporary patches that wear off or fail under pressure.

Disclaimer: While many users report positive results, individual experiences with the Kailo Flex Pain Patch may vary. This patch is not a substitute for professional healthcare or a cure for medical conditions.

Kailo vs Flex vs Traditional Pain Relief Solutions

When exploring pain relief options, its essential to understand how different solutions comparenot just in theory, but in how they perform in everyday life. Many users who turn to pain relief patches do so after becoming frustrated with pills, creams, and single-use products that deliver minimal or inconsistent relief. Heres how Kailo Flex stacks up against both traditional options and its earlier iterations.

How Kailo Flex Compares to Traditional Pain Relief Patches

Unlike traditional patches that depend on ingredients like menthol, lidocaine, or capsaicin to numb the skin, Kailo Flex takes a drug-free approach using bioelectric signaling technology. Most patches on the market today are single-use only, rely on chemical absorption, and tend to wear off within hours. These older solutions may also cause side effects such as skin irritation, allergic reactions, or interference with medications.

By contrast, Kailo Flex is:

Completely free of drugs or active chemical ingredients

Reusable for several months with proper care

for several months with proper care Fast-acting , with many users reporting support within seconds

, with many users reporting support within seconds Waterproof and sweat-resistant

Skin-friendly and latex-free

and latex-free Compatible with all other medicationsas it doesnt deliver anything into the body

Its also more durable than traditional options and designed for long-term use, helping users reduce waste and avoid repeated purchases. Because it does not rely on absorption through the skin, it eliminates common problems like residue, odor, and inconsistent dosage.

Kailo Flex vs Original Flex Patches

While some consumers may be familiar with the original Flex pain patches, its important to note the Kailo Flex version is not the same product. The original patches were simpler in design, lacked long-term durability, and didnt utilize advanced nanocapacitor technology. Kailo Flex represents a new generation of pain relief patchesengineered for modern wellness with wearable tech innovations.

Its built to bend, move, and stay effective across a range of physical activities and pain types, from lower back strain to knee discomfort and tension headaches.

What Sets Kailo Flex Apart

Kailo Flex combines form and function to deliver a smart pain relief patch that can be worn anytime, anywhere. Its benefits include:

Reliable reusability, reducing cost over time

Application versatility across multiple body areas

No need to ingest or absorb any substance

Alignment with the growing demand for non-invasive, drug-free solutions

Disclaimer: Kailo Flex is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. Individual results may vary. Always consult a healthcare provider if your symptoms persist or worsen.

Say goodbye to messy creams and pills. Kailo Flex offers natural, wearable pain reliefshop now and feel the difference in seconds!

The Technology Inside: How Kailo Flex Works

At the heart of the Kailo Flex Pain Patch lies a groundbreaking approach to pain supportone that has nothing to do with chemical absorption, heat, or topical ingredients. Instead, Kailo Flex is designed with neurocapacitive technology, utilizing millions of microscopic nanocapacitors that are engineered to work in harmony with the bodys natural electrical system.

A Bioelectric Approach to Pain Relief

Your body uses electrical signals to communicate pain. When an injury or inflammation occurs, neurons send rapid-fire signals to the brain, alerting you to discomfort. The Kailo Flex patch doesnt block or numb this pain with medication. Instead, its designed to interact with these electrical signals, potentially helping the body to process them in a more balanced way.

This is done through a specialized bioelectric interfacethe core of Kailos innovation. Printed directly into the patchs surface are layers of nanocapacitors, which are tuned to specific electrical frequencies. When the patch is placed near the source of pain, it becomes part of your bodys signal system, acting as a kind of"neurotech filter".

No Wires, No Batteries, No Medication

One of the most appealing aspects of Kailo Flex is its simplicity. The patch:

Requires no charging or batteries

Does not use heat, cold, or vibration

Contains no transdermal ingredients or chemicals

This makes it extremely safe for daily use and ideal for individuals who are already managing complex medication regimens or have sensitivities to topical solutions.

Because the patch doesnt deliver any substance into your bloodstream, there are no known medication interactions or withdrawal risks. Instead, its simply a wearable wellness technology designed to offer support by aligning with the bodys bioelectric rhythms.

Fast-Acting and Repositionable

Many users report feeling effects within seconds of application. Placement matters: Kailo recommends positioning the patch near the pain source and adjusting slightly to find the most effective location. Because the patch is reusable, users can wear it as needed throughout the day without worrying about side effects or dosing limits.

This fast and flexible application makes it ideal for managing recurring discomfort from daily activities, such as working at a desk, commuting, exercising, or sleeping in awkward positions.

Disclaimer: While Kailo Flex offers a unique, non-invasive approach to pain relief, individual experiences will vary. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or to cure underlying medical issues.

Experience smarter pain relief with Kailo Flex. Its drug-free, reusable, and ready to shiporder now and take control of your comfort!

Who Is Kailo For? Use Cases & Conditions

Kailo Flex isnt just for one type of painor one type of person. Its design and drug-free functionality make it accessible for a wide range of users, from busy professionals and athletes to seniors and individuals managing chronic discomfort. Because it operates through wearable neurotechnology rather than chemical absorption, Kailo Flex offers a modern alternative to conventional pain relief options without the risks of drug interactions or harsh side effects.

Ideal for a Variety of Lifestyles

1. Office Workers & Remote Professionals

Long hours of screen time and poor posture can lead to tension headaches, neck stiffness, and back discomfort. Kailo Flex can be applied directly near these pain zones, offering discreet, wearable support throughout the workdayno creams, no pills, no mess.

2. Fitness Enthusiasts & Athletes

Post-workout soreness, joint stress, or strain-related discomfort are all common issues for active individuals. Kailo Flex offers a wearable patch for muscle recovery, helping users stay in motion while avoiding the need for constant supplementation or topical creams.

3. Seniors & Aging Adults

As we age, discomfort related to joints, arthritis, or lower back strain becomes more frequent. Because Kailo Flex is easy to apply, reusable, and doesnt interfere with medications, it offers a gentle, safe patch for joint pain management for aging adults seeking non-invasive relief.

4. People with Sensitive Skin or Medical Conditions

Unlike traditional patches that rely on menthol, lidocaine, or heating agents, Kailo Flex is latex-free and contains no active ingredients, making it ideal for those with sensitivities or medical contraindications. This opens up possibilities for people who have previously been unable to use common over-the-counter patches.

Pain Types and Conditions Kailo May Support

Kailo Flex is designed to be placed near the source of discomfort and may help users experiencing:

Lower back tension or pain from prolonged sitting

Neck and shoulder stiffness, often referred to as tech neck

Elbow, wrist, or hand discomfort from repetitive movements

Knee and joint strain from aging or physical activity

General muscle soreness and postural tension

Light tension headaches or facial discomfort (used at temples or upper neck)

Its important to note that Kailo Flex is not a cure for medical conditions such as arthritis, nerve disorders, or fibromyalgia. However, users managing these conditions may benefit from the added support this patch provides as part of a broader pain management routine.

Disclaimer: Kailo Flex is not a medical device and is not intended to treat, diagnose, or cure any disease. Individuals with severe or persistent symptoms should consult with a healthcare provider.

Verified Customer Experiences: What Real Users Are Saying

One of the most compelling ways to evaluate any product is by hearing from the people who use it every day. When it comes to Kailo Flex, thousands of users have taken to verified platforms to share their experiencesoffering insights into how this drug-free pain relief patch fits into their daily lives.

Across the board, reviews highlight several recurring themes: fast relief, ease of use, and a noticeable reduction in discomfort without the use of medications or creams. Many customers are people who had tried countless traditional patches or over-the-counter solutions with limited success, only to find more dependable support from Kailo Flex.

What Real Users Are Saying

I was skeptical at first, but within minutes of placing Kailo on my lower back, I felt a significant difference. It's become a daily part of my routine.

 Verified customer review

Ive dealt with knee discomfort for years. After just a few days using Kailo, I stopped reaching for the painkillers. I love that it's reusable and doesnt smell like medicine.

 Customer feedback

Im on my feet all day as a nurse, and Ive never found a patch that actually stays on through sweat and movementuntil Kailo Flex.

 Verified buyer experience

Many users also mention that they appreciate the lightweight and flexible design, as well as the fact that its non-invasive, making it suitable for use at work, during workouts, or while sleeping.

Another commonly praised feature is its reusability. With proper care, Kailo Flex can be used repeatedly over several monthsdelivering value that most single-use products simply cannot match.

The Power of Reassurance

Customer satisfaction isnt just about pain supportits about confidence. With its 90-day money-back guarantee, Kailo Flex offers peace of mind to first-time buyers who want to try the product without risk. This consumer-first approach has helped the brand build trust in an increasingly crowded wellness market.

Disclaimer: Testimonials reflect individual experiences. Results may vary. This product is not a substitute for medical care or intended to cure any underlying health conditions.

Pain relief without pills? Its possible. Try Kailo Flex todaybacked by a 90-day guarantee and trusted by thousands. Shop now before the next price increase!

Kailo Flex Application & Care Guide

One of the most user-friendly features of Kailo Flex is how easy it is to apply, wear, and maintain. Unlike conventional pain relief patches that require specific timing, skin preparation, or careful handling of active ingredients, Kailo Flex was designed for convenience and reusabilitymaking it a go-to choice for individuals looking for a clean, non-messy, and drug-free pain relief patch.

How to Apply Kailo Flex

Toget the most out of your Kailo Flex, placement is key. While the patch doesnt require a specific orientation, it should always be placed near the source of discomfort. Here's a basic step-by-step:

Identify the Pain Area: Pinpoint the origin of the pain. For back or joint discomfort, this might be slightly above or beside the exact location where pain is felt. Peel and Place: Remove the protective layer from the adhesive and gently place the patch on clean, dry skin. No lotion or oils should be present, as these can reduce adhesion. Adjust If Needed: You may need to shift the patch slightly to find the optimal location. Many users report improved results after slight adjustments.

For temporary placement without adhesives (e.g., under clothing or while seated), the patch can also be held in place with flexible sleeves or wraps.

Best Areas to Use Kailo Flex

The Kailo Flex patch is designed to be flexible and body-conforming, making it suitable for application on:

Lower back

Shoulders

Neck

Knees

Wrists

Elbows

Upper back and trapezius area

Temples or forehead area (with care)

Reusability and Longevity

A standout feature of Kailo Flex is its reusability. With proper use, each patch can last for monthsfar outlasting typical single-use patches. The adhesive strip is replaceable, and replacement adhesives can be purchased separately. This ensures that the patch remains effective and hygienic across repeated applications.

To prolong the life of your patch:

Always store it in a clean, dry place when not in use.

Avoid exposure to extreme temperatures.

Replace adhesives as needed to maintain secure placement.

Waterproof and Sweat-Resistant

Kailo Flex is waterproof and sweat-resistant, which means it can be worn during physical activity, daily errands, or while sleeping. It stays in place even during mild perspiration or exposure to light moisture, making it a dependable option for on-the-go lifestyles.

Disclaimer: Do not apply Kailo Flex to broken or irritated skin. Discontinue use if discomfort or skin irritation occurs. While the patch is sweat-resistant, heavy soaking or submersion may reduce adhesive longevity.

Pricing, Bundles & Purchase Options

For those considering the switch to a drug-free pain relief patch, one of the key questions is costespecially when comparing Kailo Flex to disposable or prescription-based solutions. Fortunately, Kailo Flex offers long-term value thanks to its reusability, durability, and the ability to purchase in bundle packs that reduce the cost per unit.

Kailo Flex Pricing Breakdown

As of the time of writing, Kailo Flex Pain Patches are available in the following bundle configurations on the official website:

1 Kailo Flex Patch  Ideal for first-time users who want to test the product before investing in a bundle

 Ideal for first-time users who want to test the product before investing in a bundle 3-Pack Bundle  Great for users managing multiple pain points or for families sharing patches

 Great for users managing multiple pain points or for families sharing patches 5-Pack Bundle  Offers the best overall value for long-term use or multiple household users

Each kit typically includes:

Kailo Flex patch

Adhesive strips (replaceable)

Detailed usage guide

Access to customer support

With proper care, each patch can last for months of regular use, making it significantly more affordable than single-use patches or frequent medication refills.

Pricing Disclaimer: Prices, bundles, and special offers are subject to change. Please refer to the official Kailo Flex website for the most up-to-date pricing and availability before purchasing.

Warranty and Return Policy

Kailo Flex is backed by a 90-day money-back guarantee. If users are not satisfied with the product, they can return it within the trial period for a refundgiving customers the flexibility to try the patch risk-free.

This return policy reflects confidence in product quality and ensures that buyers dont feel locked into their purchase. The Kailo Flex warranty applies to manufacturer defects and patch functionality during regular use.

Customer Support & Contact Information

Customers can contact Kailo's support team via the websites contact form or through email for assistance with orders, returns, adhesive replacements, or any usage-related questions. Their commitment to clear communication and post-purchase support has been a frequently cited reason for customer satisfaction in Kailo patch reviews.

Where to Buy Kailo Flex Patches Safely

With the increasing popularity of wearable wellness tech, its important to ensure that you're purchasing authentic Kailo Flex Pain Patches from a trusted and verifiable source. As with many trending wellness products, counterfeit versions and unauthorized resellers have surfaced across the internet. These knockoffs often mimic the look of the patch but lack the proprietary nanocapacitor technology that makes the real Kailo effective.

Buy Direct from the Official Website

To guarantee product authenticity, customers are strongly encouraged to purchase only from the official Kailo Flex website. Buying direct ensures that you:

Receive the original, tested version of the patch

Gain access to the 90-day money-back guarantee

Receive full customer service and support

Are eligible for bundle discounts and limited-time promotions

Can reorder adhesive strip refills or accessories easily

Avoid Unauthorized Resellers

While Kailo Flex may appear on third-party sites or marketplaces, these listings are not verified and may sell expired, repackaged, or imitation products. There is also no warranty coverage or support for products purchased outside of the official store, which can lead to buyer risk and disappointment.

If you see deeply discounted Kailo patches on unknown websites or platforms, proceed with caution. Lower prices do not always equate to valueespecially if the product lacks the original specifications or isnt backed by the official return policy.

Secure Checkout and Shipping

Ordering through the official website provides access to:

SSL-secured checkout for safe payment

for safe payment Multiple shipping options , including expedited delivery

, including expedited delivery Automatic eligibility for returns and warranty claims

Customers typically receive tracking updates and confirmation emails to monitor their purchase status.

Pricing Disclaimer: Always confirm current offers, bundles, and shipping fees on the official Kailo Flex website, as these details may change without notice.

Disclaimer: Products sold through third-party platforms or unauthorized resellers are not guaranteed to be genuine, and use of these versions may result in unpredictable outcomes.

Join thousands whove ditched chemicals for Kailo Flex. Drug-free, fast support you can wear all day. Buy todayyour body will thank you.

Final Verdict: Is Kailo the Best Pain Patch in 2025?

With an ever-growing market of products promising pain relief, its more important than ever to identify which options are both safe and effective for daily use. Based on user feedback, product design, and the integration of wearable neurotechnology, the Kailo Flex Pain Patch has positioned itself as a top contenderand for many, the best pain patch of 2025.

What Makes Kailo Flex Stand Out?

While traditional patches rely on chemical ingredients or heating agents that offer temporary numbing effects, Kailo Flex introduces a modern, bioelectric approach. Its nanocapacitor grid is built to work with the bodys electrical signals, offering a drug-free method of support that doesnt rely on absorption or dosage. This sets it apart from nearly all other patches on the market today.

Key benefits include:

No medication or active ingredients

Reusable for months , reducing long-term costs

, reducing long-term costs Flexible, waterproof, and non-invasive for active lifestyles

for active lifestyles Fast-acting , with many users reporting support within seconds

, with many users reporting support within seconds Safe for sensitive skin, with no risk of drug interaction

For individuals seeking a drug-free pain relief patch that aligns with the latest wearable wellness tech trends, Kailo Flex offers both innovation and practicality. From athletes recovering after workouts to office workers with neck and back pain, this patch is designed to meet a wide range of everyday needs without adding chemical exposure or routine interruptions.

Is Kailo Right for Everyone?

While Kailo Flex receives high marks for user satisfaction and design, its important to understand that results may vary. Factors such as the type and origin of pain, patch placement, and personal physiology can all influence the outcome.

This is why Kailo Flex is backed by a 90-day money-back guaranteegiving customers the freedom to test the patch without long-term risk.

Disclaimer: Kailo Flex is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is a non-medicated wellness device designed to support everyday comfort. For persistent or serious conditions, always consult a healthcare provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

When considering a new solution like the Kailo Flex Pain Patch, its natural to have questions. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions from real users looking to better understand how to use Kailo effectively, how it works, and what to expect from this drug-free pain relief patch.

Can I wear Kailo Flex overnight?

Yes, Kailo Flex is designed to be lightweight, breathable, and waterproof, making it suitable for overnight wear. However, if you have sensitive skin or notice any irritation, it's best to give your skin breaks periodically and replace the adhesive strips as needed.

Is Kailo waterproof and sweat-resistant?

Kailo Flex is both waterproof and sweat-resistant, making it ideal for use during workouts, outdoor activities, or daily errands. While it performs well under normal conditions, avoid full submersion in water to preserve adhesive longevity.

Can I use Kailo while exercising or doing physical activities?

Yes. One of Kailo Flexs strengths is its ability to stay securely in place during motion. Whether you're walking, working out, or completing household chores, the patch is designed to remain effective and in position.

What if I have sensitive skin?

Kailo Flex is latex-free and does not contain any chemical ingredients. It is generally safe for individuals with sensitive skin. If you experience any irritation, discontinue use and consult with your physician.

How long does each patch last?

With proper care, each Kailo Flex patch can last for several months. Replacement adhesive strips are available, allowing continued use without having to purchase a new patch.

Where is the best place to position the patch?

The patch should be placed near the source of pain, not necessarily directly on it. Many users report optimal results after adjusting the position slightly. A small change in placement can make a significant difference.

Will Kailo interact with medications Im already taking?

No. Since Kailo Flex contains no active ingredients and delivers no substances into the body, there is no interaction with medications.This makes it a convenient option for individuals managing complex treatment plans.

Can the patch be reused?

Absolutely. Kailo Flex is reusable and built to provide long-term value. As long as the patch itself is undamaged and the adhesive is replaced periodically, it can continue to offer support for weeks or even months.

Disclaimer: If you have ongoing pain or a serious medical condition, consult a licensed healthcare provider. Kailo Flex is not a medical treatment and is not intended to replace prescribed therapies.

Feel better, move easierno drugs, no downtime. Get your Kailo Flex Patch now and unlock pain relief technology that works with your body.

Contact : Kailo

: Kailo Address : 9265 S. Highland Dr., #901120, Sandy, UT, US, 84093

: 9265 S. Highland Dr., #901120, Sandy, UT, US, 84093 Email: support@gokailo.com

Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer & Affiliate Disclosure

The information presented in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The product discussedKailo Flex Pain Patchis a non-medicated wellness device that is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Individuals experiencing persistent, severe, or chronic pain should consult a licensed healthcare professional before using any pain management solution.

While the content has been created with reasonable diligence to ensure accuracy, completeness, and relevance at the time of publication, no warranty or guarantee is provided regarding the timeliness, applicability, fitness for a particular purpose, or completeness of the information. Product specifications, availability, and pricing may change over time. Readers are advised to consult the official website of the product referenced in this article for the most current information, offers, and policies, including return terms and warranty details.

Any testimonials, reviews, or customer experiences referenced herein are individual opinions that may not reflect the typical user experience. Results may vary significantly depending on the individuals health condition, use practices, and other factors.

This article may contain affiliate links, which means the publisher or its partners may receive a commission if a product is purchased through one of the links at no additional cost to the consumer. This revenue helps support the continued publication of informative content. However, the inclusion of affiliate links does not influence the objectivity, accuracy, or neutrality of the content provided.

All parties involved in the authorship, distribution, syndication, or promotion of this articleincluding but not limited to editors, contributors, third-party publishers, and affiliate platformsexpressly disclaim any and all liability for the decisions readers may make based on the information contained herein.

For all product-related inquiries, including support, returns, and warranty requests, readers should contact the manufacturer directly through the official website.
LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Luxury handbags have won great popularity. But how could people seek to stay stylish without breaking our bank account? High quality replica handbags, to some extent, are almost no difference compared with the originals in appearance. It would be a wonderful experience if we buy a fashion handbag with only 10% price of the genius designer bag. Fake bags emerges as the ultimate place to buy gorgeous, affordable knockoffs that could fool even diehard fashionistas.





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Media info,

Company: LXY Copy Bags

Phone: +86 187 5001 0169

Email: Diannewatts77@gmail.com

Website: http://lxycopybags.ru

Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

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Vancouver, May 16, 2025 - Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. (TSXV: ELE) (OTCQX: ELEMF) ("Elemental Altus" or "the Company") will release its Q1 2025 results before market open on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

An investor webcast will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, starting at 11am Eastern Time (8am Pacific Time) to discuss these results, followed by a question-and-answer session.

To register for the investor webcast, please click the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WCPOfEbzSMi3ULMDO8FSeQ

A replay of the event will be available on the Elemental Altus website following the presentation.

Frederick Bell

CEO and Director

(TSXV: ELE) (OTCQX: ELEMF) (ISIN: CA28619K1093) (CUSIP: 28619K109)

About Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Elemental Altus is an income generating precious metals royalty company with 10 producing royalties and a diversified portfolio of pre-production and discovery stage assets. The Company is focused on acquiring uncapped royalties and streams over producing, or near-producing, mines operated by established counterparties. The vision of Elemental Altus is to build a global gold royalty company, offering investors superior exposure to gold with reduced risk and a strong growth profile.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, (together, "forward-looking statements"), concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of the Company. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of gold; the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources; the realization of Mineral Reserve estimates; the Company's growth prospects; the Company's estimated 2025 revenues; and the timing and amount of estimated future production. Generally, forward-looking statements 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," "believes," "projects" 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 based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are 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 statements, including, but not limited to, volatility in the price of gold, discrepancies between anticipated and actual production by companies in our portfolio, risks inherent in the mining industry to which the companies in our portfolio are subject, regulatory restrictions, the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the companies in our portfolio, activities by governmental authorities (including changes in taxation), currency fluctuations and the accuracy of the mineral reserves, resources and recoveries set out in the technical data published by the companies in our portfolio. 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 statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not the times at or by which such performance or results will be achieved. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements except in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Readers are directed to the Company's Annual Information Form dated April 29, 2024, filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) for a complete list of applicable risk factors. Investors are advised that National Instrument 43-101 Standards for disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators requires that each category of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources be reported separately. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/252403
Vancouver, May 16, 2025 - Spark Energy Minerals Inc. (CSE: SPRK) (OTC Pink: SPARF) (FSE: 8PC) ("Spark Energy" or the "Company") is pleased to announced that in connection with its non-brokered private placement financing of up to 31,250,000 units of the Company (the "Private Placement") as previously announced in its press release dated April 14, 2025 (the "Initial Press Release") management has approved an upsizing of the Private Placement from 31,250,000 Units to 32,654,863 Units. Any words capitalized but undefined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such capitalized term in the Initial Press Release.

The Company anticipates closing a second and final tranche of the Private Placement in the amount of 5,018,751 Units on or about May 20, 2025. The issuance of 5,018,751 Units pursuant to the Private Placement would result in total subscription for Units of 100% of the amount offered and 104.5% of the originally allotted 31,250,000 Units.

In connection with the closing of the final tranche of Units pursuant to the Private Placement, the Company has filed an amended offering document dated May 16, 2025 related to the Private Placement in accordance with the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption that can be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.sparkenergyminerals.co. Prospective investors should read this amended offering document before making an investment decision.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement to continue to maximize its exploration program throughout its extensive flagship Arapaima Lithium Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil's Lithium Valley, and for general working capital requirements and other corporate purposes.

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 Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

Spark Energy Minerals, Inc. is a Canadian company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of battery metals and mineral assets, with a particular emphasis on its substantial interests in Brazil. The Company's flagship project is the Arapaima Lithium project spanning 64,359 hectares in Brazil's renowned Lithium Valley, one of the most prolific mining regions in the world. This region is rapidly gaining global recognition for its vast deposits of lithium and rare earth minerals, positioning Brazil as a critical player in the global energy transition.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements or information can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "budget", "should", "project", "may be", or similar words (including negative or grammatical variations) suggesting future outcomes or expectations. In particular, forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release, include, but are not limited to: the use of the net proceeds of the Private Placement; the terms of the Private Placement; and the receipt of regulatory, stock exchange and other required approvals in connection with the Private Placement. Although the Company believes that the expectations implied in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements or information because the Company can give no assurance that such statements or information will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of assumptions about the future and uncertainties, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals; current forecasts and anticipated utilization rates; the availability of debt and equity financing; and the level of competition in the marketplaces and industries in which the Company operates. Although management of the Company believes these expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements or information to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will be proved to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. For this purpose, any statements or information contained herein that are not statements or information of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements or information and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new contrary information, future events or any other reason, unless the Company is required by any applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Further information regarding the uncertainties and risks can be found in the disclosure documents filed by Spark Energy with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedarplus.ca.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/252496
TORONTO, May 16, 2025 - Talisker Resources Ltd. ("Talisker" or the "Company") (TSX: TSK, OTCQX: TSKFF) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 6,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.50 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. Red Cloud Securities Inc. is acting as a finder in connection with this financing.

Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.75 for a period of 36 months after the Closing Date (as defined below).

Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the Units will be offered for sale to purchasers in all of the provinces of Canada, other than Quebec (the "Canadian Selling Jurisdictions") pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106. The Common Shares and Warrant Shares underlying the Units are expected to be immediately freely tradeable under applicable Canadian securities legislation if sold to purchasers resident in the Canadian Selling Jurisdictions. The Units may also be sold in offshore jurisdictions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act").

There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at https://taliskerresources.com. Prospective investors should read the Offering Document before making an investment decision.

The Offering is scheduled to close on or about May 30, 2025, or such other date within 45 days from the date hereof as determined by the Company (the "Closing Date") and is subject to customary conditions including the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for the continued advancement of the Company's flagship Bralorne Gold Project in British Columbia, as well as for general corporate purposes and working capital.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under 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.

For further information, please contact:

Terry Harbort

President and CEO

terry.harbort@taliskerresources.com

+1 416 357 0227

About Talisker Resources Ltd.

Talisker (taliskerresources.com) is a junior resource company involved in the exploration and development of gold projects in British Columbia, Canada. Talisker's flagship asset is the high-grade, fully permitted Bralorne Gold Project where the Company is currently transitioning into underground production at the Mustang Mine. Talisker projects also include the Ladner Gold Project, an advanced stage project with significant exploration potential from an historical high-grade producing gold mine and the Spences Bridge Project where the Company has a significant landholding in the emerging Spences Bridge Gold Belt, and several other early-stage Greenfields projects.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

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 Talisker's current belief 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 Offering, total proceeds and available funds, use of proceeds, approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Closing Date. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to Talisker. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of Talisker's management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts 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 risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, title and environmental risks and risks relating to the failure to receive all requisite shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and Talisker 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, May 16, 2025 - Storm Exploration Inc. (TSXV:STRM) (the "Company") today announced that further to its news release dated April 17, 2025, it has settled an aggregate of $351,987 in outstanding debt (the "Debt Settlement") which included accrued management fees owing to a company controlled by a director and officer of the Company, and accrued management fees to an officer of the Company. In connection with the Debt Settlement, the Company issued an aggregate of 7,039,742 common shares (the "Shares") of the Company at a price of $0.05 per Share. All securities issued in connection with the Debt Settlement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The portion of the Debt Settlement with the insider creditors of the Company (being a total of $81,500) constitute related party transactions for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), but the Company is relying on the exemption from the formal valuation requirement in MI 61-101 provided under section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 on the basis that the Company's shares are not listed on any of the specified markets listed in MI 61-101. The debt settlement with insiders are also exempt from the majority of the minority approval requirement in MI 61-101 under section 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101 on the basis that the fair market value of the insiders' debt settlement is less than $2.5 million and the debt settlement with insiders were approved by all of the independent directors of the Company.

About Storm Exploration Inc.

Storm Exploration Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and development of economic precious and base metal deposits on four district-scale projects in northwest Ontario: Miminiska, Keezhik, Attwood and Gold Standard.

For further information, please contact:

Storm Exploration Inc.

+1 (604) 506-2804

bcounts@stormex.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Information

This news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that 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. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release 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.

SOURCE: Storm Exploration Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Almonty Industries Inc. ("Almonty" or the "Company") (TSX: AII / ASX: AII / OTCQX: ALMTF / Frankfurt: ALI), a leading global producer of tungsten concentrate, today announced its first quarter 2025 financial results.

Financial Summary:

Unless otherwise indicated, all figures are expressed in Canadian dollars.

Three Months Ended March 31, CAD$ in millions 2025 2024 Revenue $7.91 $7.82 Income from Mining Operations $0.752 $0.606 Operating Expenses $9.5 $4.3 Loss before valuation of warrant liabilities $(8.8) $(3.7) Non-Cash Loss on valuation of warrant liabilities $25.8 $0.1 Net loss for the period $(34.6) $(3.8) Adj. EBITDA (non-IFRS) (1) $(3.5) $(1.3)

Key First Quarter 2025 & Subsequent Operational Highlights:

Secured binding offtake agreement with a U.S. defense contractor to supply tungsten oxide solely for U.S. defense applications.

Obtained shareholder approval for a proposed domestication from Canada to the United States to empower Almonty's long-term competitiveness and support U.S. industry in light of global geopolitical tensions, with 99.6% of votes cast in favor.

Advancing final preparations ahead of an expected near-term operations startup at the Company's Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea, where processing equipment has been installed and the final drawdown of the US$75.1 million KfW IPEX-Bank project loan facility has been completed.

Secured strategic partnership with American Defense International, a prominent government relations firm, supporting Almonty's position as a leading allied supplier of tungsten to the American defense and technology industries.

Engaged international investor relations specialists MZ Group ("MZ") to lead a comprehensive, strategic investor relations and financial communications program across all key markets.

First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Revenue recorded in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 1.3% to $7.9 million, as compared to $7.8 million in the same year-ago quarter. The slight increase was largely attributable to higher tungsten concentrate sales, driven by a combination of lower production volumes and improved pricing under long-term supply agreements.

Income from mining operations in the first quarter of 2025 increased 24.1% to $0.75 million, as compared to $0.61 million in the same year-ago quarter. The increase was largely attributable to increased production at the Panasqueira mine as well as improved pricing.

Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2025 totaled $9.5 million, as compared to $4.3 million in the same year-ago quarter. The change in operating expenses was chiefly due to an increase in non-cash share-based compensation expense, non-cash loss on valuation of embedded derivative liabilities, and an increase in costs associated with the Company's proposed redomiciling.

Net loss in the first quarter of 2025 totaled $34.6 million, as compared to $3.8 million in the prior year. The change was primarily attributable to a non-cash loss of $25.8 million from the change in valuation of warrant liabilities, based on a Black-Scholes valuation method reflecting the increase in the Company's stock price from $0.91per share at December 31, 2024 to $2.25 at March 31, 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-IFRS measure, increased 169.2% to $(3.5) million in the first quarter of 2025, as compared to $(1.3) million in the same year-ago quarter

Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2025 totaled $16.9 million, as compared to $7.8 million as of December 31, 2024. The change in cash was primarily a result of the receipt of proceeds of $8.7 million in conjunction with an equity placement, receipt of $3.3 million in conjunction with the exercise of warrants, partially offset by strategic investments in mining assets at the Company's Sangdong Project in South Korea. Subsequent to the close of the first quarter, the Company raised $3.6 million in proceeds from the exercise of additional warrants.

Management Commentary

Almonty President & CEO Lewis Black commented: "The first quarter was marked by solid execution on multiple fronts. At Panasqueira, we again delivered positive income from mining operations, reaffirming the mine's consistency and the importance of the operating experience derived there as we approach startup at our flagship Sangdong project in South Korea.

"With processing equipment now installed and the final drawdown of the US$75.1 million KfW IPEX-Bank loan completed, Sangdong is effectively construction-complete. We're now entering the final pre-production phase at what is one of the largest, highest-grade tungsten projects outside of China. Given Sangdong's significantly higher ore grade compared to Panasqueira, the production economics are expected to be highly favorable.

"We also reinforced our financial position, ending the quarter with nearly $17 million in cash, thanks to equity inflows and warrant exercises. The reported net loss includes a large non-cash charge of $25.8 million related to the revaluation of warrant liabilities - ironically driven by a sharply higher stock price, which more than doubled during the quarter. While this accounting treatment impacts reported earnings, it is entirely non-cash and is simply the reflection of IFRS accounting rules.

"On the strategic front, we expanded our U.S. presence through a new partnership with American Defense International, supporting our role as a key allied supplier of tungsten. This was further reinforced by the signing of a binding offtake agreement with a U.S. defense contractor to supply tungsten oxide exclusively for use in American defense applications. We also launched a global investor communications program with MZ Group to ensure our value proposition is clearly understood by the capital markets.

"With production at Sangdong on the near-term horizon, we believe Almonty is well positioned to enter a new phase of growth, aligned with rising strategic demand for tungsten in defense and technology applications," concluded Black.

About Almonty

Almonty Industries Inc. (TSX: AII / ASX: AII / OTCQX: ALMTF / Frankfurt: ALI) is a diversified and experienced global producer of tungsten concentrate in conflict-free regions. The Company is currently mining, processing and shipping tungsten concentrate from its Panasqueira mine in Portugal. Its Sangdong tungsten mine in Gangwon Province, South Korea is currently under construction. The Sangdong mine was historically one of the largest tungsten mines in the world and one of the few long-life, high-grade tungsten deposits outside of China, and has significant upside potential from an underlying molybdenum deposit.

Additional development projects underway include the Valtreixal tin/tungsten project in northwestern Spain and Los Santos Mine in western Spain. Further information about Almonty's activities may be found at www.almonty.com and under Almonty's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Legal Notice

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

(1) Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release makes reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement IFRS financial measures by providing further understanding of Almonty's results of operations from management's perspective. Almonty's definitions of non-GAAP measures used in this press release may not be the same as the definitions for such measures used by other companies in their reporting. Non-GAAP measures have (1)limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of Almonty's financial information reported under IFRS. Almonty uses non-GAAP financial measures, including "EBITDA", to provide investors with supplemental measures of its operating performance and to eliminate items that have less bearing on operating performance or operating conditions, and thus highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures. Almonty defines "EBITDA from mining operations" as gross revenue less mine production costs.

Almonty believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-GAAP financial measures in the evaluation of issuers. Almonty's management also uses non-GAAP financial measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period.

IFRS NET INCOME (LOSS) TO EBITDA RECONCILIATION

(in thousands of Canadian Dollars)

Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 2024 Net loss for the period (34,622) (3,782) Depreciation & amortization 288 290 Loss on valuation of embedded derivative liabilities 2,909 81 Loss on valuation of warrant liabilities 25,810 109 Foreign exchange loss 1,100 903 Taxes 92 5 Interest, net 55 732 Stock-based compensation 834 392 Adjusted EBITDA (Non-IFRS) (3,534) (1,270)

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

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. These statements and information are based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and reflect Almonty's current expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Almonty to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: any specific risks relating to fluctuations in the price of ammonium para tungstate ("APT") from which the sale price of Almonty's tungsten concentrate is derived, actual results of mining and exploration activities, environmental, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which Almonty's operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, forecasts and assessments relating to Almonty's business, credit and liquidity risks, hedging risk, competition in the mining industry, risks related to the market price of Almonty's shares, the ability of Almonty to retain key management employees or procure the services of skilled and experienced personnel, risks related to claims and legal proceedings against Almonty and any of its operating mines, risks relating to unknown defects and impairments, risks related to the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, risks related to governmental regulations, including environmental regulations, risks related to international operations of Almonty, risks relating to exploration, development and operations at Almonty's tungsten mines, the ability of Almonty to obtain and maintain necessary permits, the ability of Almonty to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements, lack of suitable infrastructure and employees to support Almonty's mining operations, uncertainty in the accuracy of mineral reserves and mineral resources estimates, production estimates from Almonty's mining operations, inability to replace and expand mineral reserves, uncertainties related to title and indigenous rights with respect to mineral properties owned directly or indirectly by Almonty, the ability of Almonty to obtain adequate financing, the ability of Almonty to complete permitting, construction, development and expansion, challenges related to global financial conditions, risks related to future sales or issuance of equity securities, differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations or accounting policies and rules and acceptance of the TSX of the listing of Almonty shares on the TSX.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to, no material adverse change in the market price of ammonium para tungstate (APT), the continuing ability to fund or obtain funding for outstanding commitments, expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters, no negative change to applicable laws, the ability to secure local contractors, employees and assistance as and when required and on reasonable terms, and such other assumptions and factors as are set out herein. Although Almonty has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or results described in the forward-looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Almonty. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary.

Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Almonty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Almonty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

Almonty has also assumed that material factors will not cause any forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Almonty as of the date of this press 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. While Almonty may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF ALMONTY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS 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. WHILE ALMONTY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250516311180/en/

Contact

Company Contact:

Lewis Black

Chairman, President and CEO

(647) 438-9766

info@almonty.com



Investor Relations Contact:

Lucas A. Zimmerman

Managing Director

MZ Group - MZ North America

(949) 259-4987

ALMTF@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us
Vancouver, May 16, 2025 - Forge Resources Corp. (CSE: FRG) (OTCQB: FRGGF) (FSE: 5YZ) ("FRG" or the "Company) announces the resignation of director and a non-brokered flow-through private placement (the "Private Placement") of flow-through units ("Units").

Private Placement

The Private Placement will be comprised of up to 1,162,790 Units at a price of $0.86 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $1,000,000, with each Unit consisting of one flow-through common share (each a "Share") and one-half of one transferable non-flow-through share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will enable the holder to acquire an additional non-flow-through common share of the Company ("Warrant Share") at a price of $1.30 per Warrant Share for a period of two years from the date of issuance (the "Warrant Expiry Date"). The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause, in the event that the trading price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") reaches $1.80 or more for a period of fifteen consecutive trading days, the Company may, at its option, accelerate the Warrant Expiry Date by delivering notice to the holders of such Warrants thereof by issuing a press release (the "Warrant Acceleration Press Release"), and, in such case the Warrant Expiry Date shall be deemed to be 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver Time) on the 30th day following the date of the issuance of the Warrant Acceleration Press Release.

The gross proceeds from the Units will be utilized for incurring Canadian exploration expenses and flow-through mining expenditures at the Alotta Project, Yukon.

Finders' fees may be payable in connection with the Private Placement, subject to and in accordance with the policies of the CSE.

Resignation of Director

The Company announces the resignation of Greg Bronson from its Board of Directors. Following a recent move abroad and his decision to focus on easing into retirement, Mr. Bronson has stepped down from his role. Management would like to thank Mr. Bronson for his valuable contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavors. Subsequently, Mr. Bronson will not be standing for re-election in the upcoming annual general meeting of the Company scheduled for June 26, 2025.

About Forge Resources Corp.

Forge Resources Corp. is a Canadian-listed junior exploration company. The Company holds a 60% interest with a with a formalized agreement in place to acquire up to 80%, in Aion Mining Corp., a company that is developing the fully permitted La Estrella coal project in Santander, Colombia. La Estrella contains eight known seams of metallurgical and thermal coal. The Company also holds an option on the Alotta project, a prospective porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum project located 50 km south-east of the Casino porphyry deposit in the unglaciated portion of the Dawson Range porphyry/epithermal belt in the Yukon Territory of Canada.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the Aion Acquisition. Forward-looking information is based on the views, opinions, intentions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking information (including the actions of other parties who have agreed to do certain things and the approval of certain regulatory bodies). Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. In particular, there can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as described or at all. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws, or to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company, its financial or operating results or its securities. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. We seek safe harbor.

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/252516
TGMA26: Hits, Misses and Everything in between!!!

Edith Mensah Showbiz News May - 17 - 2025 , 09:00 6 minutes read

IT was a night of celebration, surprises and lit performances as the 26th edition of the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA) transformed the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre into a vibrant spectacle on the night of Saturday, May 10, 2025.

But while the evening sparkled with moments of brilliance, it wasnt without its usual hiccups like late start, long speeches and a few eyebrow-raising decisions that had social media and music enthusiasts talking.

From show-stopping performances to unexpected wins, the TGMA stage delivered a mixed bag that left audiences simultaneously thrilled, puzzled and hopeful for better things to come.

Heres a wrap of what went down at this years edition of the TGMA:

The night began with the much-anticipated red carpet, a prelude that has become almost as celebrated as the awards themselves. This year, however, felt different, more refined, more intentional. Thanks to a new invitation-only policy for red carpet access, there was a noticeable absence of the chaotic fashion free-for-all that had previously plagued the event.

Gone were the shock-value outfits and over-the-top costumes that often stole the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Instead, attendees graced the carpet with poise, elegance and a sense of purpose. It felt curated and elevated.

Celebs such as Empress Gifty, Efya, James Gardiner, Piesie Esther served the red carpet with tasteful looks. Roselyn Felli, Okyeame Kwame and Efe Grace also brought their fashion A-game, each offering a masterclass on how to blend cultural expression with modern flair.

Of course, no red carpet is perfect. A few attendees missed the mark, donning ensembles that left fans and fashion watchers asking, Why? But overall, this year marked a step in the right direction, one that prioritised quality over quantity.

Late start

Despite the excitement in the air, the show got off to a sluggish start. The delay wasnt unfamiliar, Charterhouse has struggled with punctuality in past editions, but this year, the slow rollout was particularly glaring.

What should have been a smooth celebration of music was interrupted by prolonged speeches, rambling award presentations and unnecessary stage pauses that stretched the event deep into the night.

For a show that has run for over two decades, it's about time organisers embraced tighter production, time discipline and perhaps even learn from international award shows where pacing is everything.

Its a critique Charterhouse can no longer afford to ignore. With Ghanaian music gaining more international attention, its time TGMA aligned with global best practices in production quality and time management.(Read Patrons fume over delays and time issues at Ghana Music Awards)

Moments that moved us

Thankfully, the performances made up for the delays. One of the evenings most spiritually charged moments came courtesy Daughters of Glorious Jesus, whose gospel medley had the entire auditorium on its feet, hands raised in praise.

Then came the sweet surprise of Mavis Asante, who joined Francis Amo in honouring legendary gospel icon Yaw Sarpong, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her presence was divine and that sealed the tribute as one of the nights most emotional peaks.

Another goosebump-worthy moment was the Osibisa tribute, delivered with grace by Adina, Adomaa and Titi Owusu. Their seamless blend of voices and era-spanning homage reminded everyone of the legendary bands global impact.

The energy shifted again when Stonebwoy took over the stage, delivering an electrifying set with tracks such as Jejereje and Ekelebe backed by intense lighting and fierce choreography.

Other performersAyisi, Fameye, Yaw Darling, BeetzTrap KOT added their unique flavour to the night.

King Promises comeback

After a lukewarm reception at last years edition, King Promise returned to the grand stage with something to prove and he did so with a performance that earned him a resounding applause.

In 2024, the Paris hitmaker was one of the top contenders for the coveted Artiste of the Year title.

However, despite the buzz and his flashy entrance, which featured dramatic rainfall effects and stage antics, his performance failed to leave a lasting impression.

It lacked the energy and finesse expected of someone vying for Ghana's highest musical honour.

Fans and critics alike called it underwhelming, describing it as a moment that fizzled rather than sparked.

Fast-forward to 2025, and King Promise came back with a vision. With this years VGMA stage set ablaze by spectacular lights, soaring anticipation and a packed auditorium, he emerged dramatically from a glowing telephone booth, bathed in soft red and violet hues, as if answering a long-awaited call to greatness. The crowd erupted even before he sang a note.

Clad in a sleek, custom-fit suit that matched the futuristic vibe of his set, King Promise commanded the stage with precision, emotion and star power. Every note, every step, every transition between songs was choreographed to perfection.

From his slow start to high-energy anthems, he delivered what he proudly described as a "five-star performance"and few would disagree.

The atmosphere was electric. Fans waved their phones, creating a galaxy of lights as King Promise owned his moment. (Read #TGMA26: King Promise wins Artiste of the Year, King Paluta grabs popular song of the year with Aseda)

The Crown and the Controversies

As the night drew to a close, the biggest prize, Artiste of the Year, went to King Promise, completing his redemption arc in dramatic fashion. While Stonebwoy and King Paluta had strong cases, fans couldnt deny that King Promises year had been exceptional, both in consistency and craft.

King Paluta, however, didnt leave empty-handed. He won Most Popular Song, Best Highlife Song of the Year and Best Producer of the Year for his song, Aseda, and that felt like a collective affirmation.

But not every result went down well. Empress Gifty's snub in the Gospel Artiste of the Year category came as a shock to many, especially as Joe Mettle took home the prize instead. Online debates sparked immediately, with fans questioning the criteria used.

And in a twist that few saw coming, Sarkodie despite being nominated in six categories walked away without a single win. Likewise, Black Sherif, a favourite in past editions, failed to bag a major award this year. (Read TGMA26: Spectacle, sound, soul and a sprinkle of chaos)

Time for reset

The TGMA26, like most grand productions, was a mix of magic and mishaps. While Charterhouse deserves credit for continually elevating the prestige of Ghanaian music, the time has come to fine-tune the experience.

Key areas like time management, stage transitions, and award delivery protocols must be improved to ensure that the show not only entertains but respects the time and emotions of all involved.

Better rehearsals, streamlined speech protocols and a tighter production format could elevate the experience for both in-person attendees and TV viewers. With the right tweaks, TGMA could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of Africas best award shows.
The Williamsville Central School District has a nearly $243 million annual budget and is the largest school district in the Buffalo Niagara region outside Buffalo

Williamsville, which has a reputation for academic achievement, has faced challenges in recent years, including replacing a superintendent amid a chaotic, pandemic-era return to the classroom.

More recently, parents and students pushed back against a proposal to change school start times across the district, prompting the School Board to reject the plan earlier this year.

Now, at a time when many area school districts have uncontested school board elections, Williamsville continues to see strong interest from those who want to serve.

This months field isnt as crowded as two years ago, when 14 candidates ran for four seats.

This year, three incumbents  Christina Bleckinger, Stuart Bulan and Mark Manna  and two challengers, Philip Danielson and Julie Emerson, are seeking three seats.

The Williamsville Teachers Association has backed the sitting board members, an endorsement that often proves decisive in these races.

The five candidates cite a need to ensure students receive high-quality special education services, to improve communication with parents and to keep a close eye on district finances as among the reasons theyre running.

Union backs incumbents





Bleckinger and Bulan are finishing their first, three-year terms on the School Board.

Bleckinger, a health care sales consultant, said shes proud of her work on the board to, for example, help update the districts code of conduct.

Bleckinger said its important for district leaders to collaborate with parents and other community members, particularly in special education services  she supported increased funding for behavioral technicians and expanded high school course offerings  as well as mental health and academic support.

I think thats really what matters to me, that I can be a caring advocate to encourage their concerns, encourage new initiatives and foster meaningful dialogue and doing whats best for all students, staff and families, Bleckinger said.

She and Bulan were endorsed three years ago by WNY Students First, a group formed during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of a parental push for a return to in-class instruction before it expanded its attention to the cultural war in schools.

Bleckinger said WNY Students First, at the time, opposed requirements in some districts that people who wanted to volunteer in schools be vaccinated against Covid-19.

That personally hit home to me. So that was one of the platforms that I stood for when I had their support. But I think having different groups support shows that I can support different opinions, I have different opinions, and thats OK, she said.

It doesnt appear WNY Students First, nor its Williamsville Students First subset, made an endorsement in this years School Board race.

Bulan, who teaches history and law at Hutchinson Central Technical High School in Buffalo, said the experiences of his family and his two children, one who has audio processing issues and one who went through Williamsvilles life skills program, prompted him to run three years ago.

I dont think my work is finished. I ran on a platform of trying to improve special education outcomes for students, Bulan said. I think weve made strides; I dont think weve finished.

Bulan said some district controversies predated his time on the board but members must be prepared to address any issues that come up, such as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under fire from President Trump and his supporters.

I think thats a misunderstanding, to be honest, Bulan said. I think that we, as a district, probably havent done the best explaining what it is. Its often used as a boogeyman. DEI is not, in itself, bad. Inclusion, getting more voices in the classroom, is not a bad thing.

Manna was elected in May 2023 to finish the final two years of the term of former board President Teresa Leatherbarrow, who resigned in March 2023 just days before she died from a lengthy illness.

Manna is a union representative with the United Food and Commercial Workers and former Amherst Town Board member.

Im a pension trustee. And so I understand how you have to have a long-range fiscal outlook. And, luckily, Williamsville has not been (in) the position where weve had to lay off teachers or reduce services. Its a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar budget, with hundreds of staff and dozens of facilities to manage, and I think you need someone with experience to continue all that, he said.

Manna said he appreciates the support of the teachers union but it doesnt offer the group any undue influence over his decisions as a board member.

Thats never been a concern of mine. I think that, no matter what group that endorses you, theyre not endorsing a puppet. Yeah, theyre endorsing me, I believe, because I will listen to their concerns. But at the end of the day, I serve the entire district.

A conservative voice

The three candidates who received the unions support can see their names, and ballot positions, on lawn signs sprinkled throughout the district.

The union also publicizes its endorsement of the trio on social media and in messaging aimed at WTA members, and teachers from other school districts, who live within the Williamsville district.

Emerson said she sought the WTAs endorsement but was given little explanation why she didnt receive it.

Danielson didnt seek the unions support this year but did so, unsuccessfully, in 2024. He said he doesnt know if its a healthy thing to have a board filled entirely with WTA-backed members.

The unions endorsement doesnt come with strings, WTA President Michelle Licht said.

When we evaluate the candidates, were looking for someone who really has the best interest of students in mind and who has a pro-education focus, Licht said. We tend to choose candidates who have a well-rounded sense of what needs to be done in the district, as opposed to those who are focused on one specific issue.

Danielson, a vice president with KeyBank, lost his election bids in 2023 and last year.

He said he believes his Christian conservative point of view is missing from the School Board. He said he looked up the voter registration records for the nine sitting members and found eight registered Democrats and one unaffiliated voter.

When you look at the board stacked that way, that doesnt really seem very diverse in this era of diversity. And, so, I think Id like to be a conservative voice on the board, Danielson said.

Danielson said hes not seeking to introduce overt Christian instruction into Williamsvilles classrooms. But he said he believes students would benefit from learning some basic principles that have their origins in the Bible, such as love your neighbor as yourself.

He also said he wants to see an emphasize on teaching abstinence and on preparing boys to assume the responsibilities that come with being men.

I think that there are so many health, emotional, physical benefits to that, Danielson said.

Emerson has two children who attend Williamsville schools.

She said her concern over bullying, and lack of communication about this issue, in district schools is a main reason shes running for School Board.

There is absolutely bullying going on in the middle schools, and above, OK? And I think where were struggling with that is that we are not involving the parents enough, said Emerson, who works as a real estate agent, adding, that goes back to transparency and communication, and thats the major platform that Im running on.

Emerson, who said she wants to see the districts reading curriculum updated, spoke up at the School Board meeting in February where the school starting time changes were rejected.

She said she felt district officials didnt communicate well enough with parents and, further, seemed to dismiss the interests of Williamsvilles middle-class families.

That was one of the things that I spoke at the meeting on, Emerson said, was that this district is not all wealthy. We really need to consider all of the children and their families.
Ghanas golden shackles: Why wealth without wisdom will never save us

Kokroko Kwasi Kokuro Oppong-Agyare Opinion May - 17 - 2025 , 09:35 6 minutes read

We are a country blessed beyond measure, sitting on gold, oil, cocoa, bauxite, timber, arable land, and human potential.

Yet, after decades of independence, we still struggle to feed ourselves, build basic infrastructure, or produce the goods we consume.

Why? Because wealth without wisdom is a curse, not a blessing.

Rich in resources, poor in vision

Every year, Ghana exports billions of dollars' worth of gold. In fact, Ghana was Africas top gold producer in recent years.

We are also producing oil in commercial quantities from the Jubilee, TEN, and Sankofa fields.

We export cocoa, timber, and many other raw materials.

Yet, what do we import?

We import rice, tomatoes, toothpicks, chicken, fuel, soap, and even drinking water.

We import chairs for our ministers to sit on and wigs for our judges to wear.

We import the very uniforms our soldiers and police officers wear.

This is not just an economic crisis  it is a crisis of self-belief and common sense.

The four-eight-year curse of Ghanas politics

Ghanas democratic system has failed to deliver the long-term stability and development we need.

Our leaders operate on a four-to-eight-year timeline, dictated by elections and political survival, not national development.

Each new administration comes in with fanfare, slogans, and big promises.

But instead of building on what was left behind, they tear down, abandon, or politicise everything.

Projects are left to rot. Contracts are cancelled.

National initiatives become party property.

There is no continuity, no long-term development agenda that survives beyond one election cycle.

Meanwhile, politicians enrich themselves, their families, and their party financiers  often at the expense of the taxpayer.

Public service has become a shortcut to personal wealth, not a calling to serve.

This is not democracy.

This is a rotating aristocracy that keeps the masses pacified with speeches, T-shirts, and temporary jobs.

New face of colonialism

Ghana may be politically independent, but economically and ideologically, we are still colonised.

Western powers, through institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, USAID, and foreign embassies, continue to shape our policies, influence our education systems, and dictate our economic directions.

They lend us money, with strings attached.

They give us "aid" while their companies take our gold and oil.

They preach democracy while protecting corrupt elites who serve their interests.

They invite us to conferences, while extracting our intellectual capital and offering us nothing sustainable in return.

This is modern colonialism dressed in suits and development language.

They do not want a strong, industrial Ghana.

They want a Ghana that exports raw materials cheaply and imports finished goods at high cost.

They want us to remain a market, not a manufacturer.

And worse, our leaders are either complicit or too weak to resist.

Why gold and oil wont save us

Let us be clear: natural resources do not develop a nation. If they did, Ghana would be a global superpower by now.

Without local processing, value addition, and strategic industrialisation, gold is just shiny dust.

Oil is just a black liquid. Cocoa is just beans in a sack.

When we export raw materials, we sell ourselves short.

We earn less, we create no jobs, and we remain vulnerable to global price fluctuations.

When we import finished products made from our resources, we create jobs in Europe and Asia, not in Kumasi, Tamale, or Takoradi.

This is why, despite earning billions from resources, Ghana is still dependent on loans, taxation and remittances to survive.

We are caught in a trap: a cycle of extraction and dependency.

Factories, not foreign aid

No nation has ever developed on aid. Aid builds dependency, not prosperity.

Ghana must break free from this model.

The key to national development is industrialisation.

We need factories  local ones, state-owned and private, powered by Ghanaian brains and hands.

We need to process our gold into jewellery, electronic components and bullion.

We need to refine our oil locally, not import fuel at inflated prices.

We need to turn cocoa into chocolate for export, not just harvest it for pennies.

Factories create jobs, build skills, retain wealth, and strengthen the currency.

A nation with strong industries is a nation with dignity.

Role of discipline, vision

All of this means nothing without leadership discipline and a clear national vision.

Look at countries such as Singapore, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, or Norway.

These are countries with strong institutions, long-term plans, and leadership that enforces accountability.

They do not change direction every four years.

They build on what works and fix what doesnt, with consistency.

Ghana must do the same.

We need a 3050-year national development plan, legally protected and independent of party politics.

Every leader must work towards it. Every government must be judged by its contribution to that long-term goal, not just its slogans.

We also need a cultural shift towards hard work, integrity, and patriotism.

Our people must reject the get rich quick mentality and embrace nation-building.

We must admire builders, not looters.

Time to wake up

We cannot keep blaming colonialism if we continue to choose people who are not visionaries.

We cannot blame corruption if we clap for thieves because they come from our tribe.

We cannot say we are free while begging foreigners to feed, fund and fix us.

This is not just a political crisis. It is a spiritual, moral, and intellectual crisis.

The Ghana we want will not come from abroad.

It must be built by Ghanaians, for Ghanaians, with Ghanaian solutions.

We must rise above party colours, tribal games, and foreign control.

Land of abandoned projects

We were given a nation rich in gold, rich in culture, and full of promise.

But without wisdom, without discipline, and a long-term vision, we have turned it into a land of abandoned projects, imported goods, and endless excuses.

But it does not have to remain this way.

Let us reject the politics of stomachs and slogans.

Let us build institutions that last, industries that produce, and a mindset that values work over wealth.

Ghana is not cursed. Ghana is not poor.

Ghana is simply waiting for its people to grow up, wake up, and take up the responsibility of true nation-building.

It starts with truth. It starts with vision.

It starts with you.
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Sudan: Absolutely inhumane, but do they care?

Sylla Mahmud Mohammed International News May - 17 - 2025 , 09:47 5 minutes read

These are the words of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Madam Clementine Nkweta-Salami, contained in an April 12, 2025, statement in Port-Sudan:

I am appalled and gravely alarmed by reports emerging from the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, as well as the Al Fasher town in North Darfur.

Visibly shaken to the bone, wasnt she? Who wouldnt be?!

Unless one has lost all respect for human life, all honour, all moral sense, in short, common humanity!

Unfortunately, it appears such total absence of everything differentiating human beings from wild beasts prevailed at Zamzam camp.

Largest displacement

On April 11, 2025, Zamzam camp, which had been the countrys largest displacement camp, sheltering approximately 500,000 people who had already fled violence elsewhere, was the site of a catastrophic assault by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in mass killings, destruction and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands.

This attack involved heavy shelling, drone strikes and ground incursions. UN and humanitarian groups reports indicate that at least 100 to over 300 civilians were killed, including women, children and 10 humanitarian aid workers.

The offensive triggered a mass exodus of up to 400,000 people, with many seeking refuge in the nearby towns of El Fasher and Tawila, according to a Reuters report.

Survivors

Survivors, who arrived in Tawila and El Fasher, injured, traumatised and with no food or water after journeys of up to 70 km on foot, described systematic killings, including door-to-door executions, arson and attacks on people hiding in homes and mosques.

There were credible reports of looting and deliberate targeting of civilians.

Many were killed or injured by gunfire, shelling or blast injuries, and others died of thirst and starvation during their flight from the camp.

A survivor from al-Fasher spoke to Reuters, saying: "They began invading homes, stealing... they killed several people...

After that, everyone scattered in fear. There were fires; soldiers were setting buildings ablaze to instil more terror."

Global reactions

The attacks on the Zamzam camp have been strongly condemned by major humanitarian and rights organisations.

Save the Children, providing emergency support in Tawila to newly displaced families in urgent need of shelter, basic household items and blankets, is urgently calling on the international community to take meaningful and urgent political action to address this crisis, for an immediate ceasefire and progress towards a lasting peace agreement.

The Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster labelled the assaults as brutal attacks and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, directly contravening UN Security Council resolutions that demand an end to violence against civilians and aid workers.

UNICEF publicly mourned the deaths of at least 23 children and nine aid workers, calling for immediate protection of civilians.

Humanitarian access

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Relief International, both directly affected by the violence, expressed horror and deep concern. MSF described the situation as catastrophic and called for urgent humanitarian access, emphasising the need for a massive emergency response to address the overwhelming needs of survivors.

Relief International confirmed the targeted killing of their staff and denounced the deliberate assault on healthcare facilities by RSF.

The United Nations and several countries, including Djibouti, Germany, the UK and France, have equally expressed shock and called for an immediate halt to hostilities.

There have been appeals for the UN Security Council to adopt stronger measures to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access, including sanctions and diplomatic pressure on those supporting the RSF, such as the United Arab Emirates.

Security council

The UN Security Council members have urged all member states to refrain from external interference, which seeks to perpetuate the conflict.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, denounced an unacceptable and grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, while conveying his condolences to the families of the victims and the people of Sudan.

Recalling the AU Peace and Security Council Communique [PSC/PR/COMM. 1179 (2023)] and [PSC/PR/COMM. 1191 (2024)], the AU reiterates its call for an immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities and urges those besieging El Fasher to lift the blockade and ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

The condemnation

During a press briefing in Washington DC, Tammy Bruce, State Departments spokesperson, voiced the condemnation of the RSF militia by the US administration. She said the administration held the RSF responsible for the assassination of at least 10 US-funded relief workers providing critical, lifesaving assistance.

The State Department must be provided with all the details, she stated, and urged more efforts to stop the flow of weapons, mercenaries and criminal organisations that are contributing to the war against the people of Sudan and starving the people of Darfur, and to bring all criminals residing in American territory to fair trial and legal accountability.

Darfur in particular has been a key battleground in the brutal war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has left tens of thousands dead, uprooted more than 12 million and created what the UN describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

Sudan Government

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan, in a statement on April 18, 2025, welcomed the UN Security Councils strong condemnation of the terrorist RSF for their repeated attacks on the IDPs camps, as well as the call to hold them accountable for their assaults and their targeting of civilians.

It further notes that the time has come for the international community to move to end the impunity the RSF group has been enjoying by taking punitive and deterrent actions against its leadership and its regional sponsor, thereby upholding the principle of accountability.

The article is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sudan
11-Member Ghana Cocoa Board inaugurated, pledges to revive sector

Graphic.com.gh May - 17 - 2025 , 09:45 2 minutes read

An eleven-member Board of Directors for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been inaugurated with a call to urgently reverse the fortunes of the ailing cocoa sector.

The new board is chaired by Dr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and includes key figures such as the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson; Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama; and Chief Executive Randy Abbey.

The rest are Alhaji Alhassan Kobina Ghansah; Vincent Oppong Asamoah; Deputy Minister for Trade, Samson Ahi; Deputy Minister for Agriculture, John Dumelo; Alhaji Alhassan Bukari; Nana Charles Owusu and Eric Turkson.

The inauguration was chaired by Energy Minister John Jinapor, who also serves as the Alternate Minister for Finance.

Mr Jinapor congratulated the new board members but expressed grave concern over the current state of COCOBOD.

He noted that while the institution was once a shining symbol of Ghanas economic strength, recent years have seen a worrying decline.

He said the crop production, which previously peaked at 1 million metric tonnes, had slumped to about 500,000 metric tonnes.

He, however, expressed confidence in the calibre of the newly constituted board, stating that he was convinced they possessed the expertise and integrity to restore COCOBODs lost glory.

Dr Forson expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the board once again, having previously been a member in his capacity as Deputy Finance Minister.

He explained that the new law governing COCOBOD mandated the inclusion of both the Finance Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana on its board.

Dr. Forson underscored the enduring importance of cocoa to Ghanas economy, describing it as the jewel of the economy, and lamented the massive mismanagement of COCOBOD in recent years.

He outlined plans by the government to introduce plantation farms by acquiring about 200,000 hectares of cocoa land, aiming to restore production levels to 1 million metric tonnes.

The Finance Minister asked the board to decisively address the issue of diseased cocoa farms, especially in the Western Region, which continues to hamper productivity. He assured COCOBOD of the full support of the Finance Ministry in all its endeavours.

Newly sworn-in Board Chairman, Dr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, expressed his appreciation to the President for the confidence reposed in the board.

He described their appointment as both an honour and a call to duty, pledging on behalf of the members to lead a transformational agenda for the cocoa sector.

Dr. Ofosu Ampofo promised to reset, retool, and reimagine COCOBOD to restore it as a pivotal institution in Ghanas economy.

He urged members of the political class to lead by example by actively engaging in farming to inspire the youth.
AMA boss engages street traders ahead of decongestion exercise in Accra on May 20

Graphic Online May - 17 - 2025 , 19:58 3 minutes read

The Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Michael Kpakpo Allotey, has begun direct engagements with street hawkers in the Central Business District (CBD) ahead of a decongestion exercise set to start on Tuesday, May 20.

The initiative is part of a broader plan to restore order and sanitation in the capital city under President John Dramani Mahamas renewed vision for urban renewal.

Accompanied by the Municipal Chief Executive for Korle Klottey, Mr Allotey toured key trading corridors including Kinbu Road, Kojo Thompson Road, Sempe Road, Swanzy Road, Market Street, Kantamanto, and other hotspots earmarked for clearance. The visit, held on Saturday, aimed to sensitise traders and solicit their cooperation for the upcoming exercise.

This morning, we are here for good, this is not just Accra, this is Ghana, and anyone who enters Ghana enters Accra, the Mayor told traders, urging them to reflect on the state of their trading spaces. Look around, if this were your home, would you keep it like this?

Allotey explained that the operation is not a punitive measure, but a step towards transforming Accra into a cleaner, more organised city. He introduced key measures aligned with the governments 24-hour economy agenda, including the installation of solar-powered streetlights and a new rotational trading system that will allow traders to operate in shifts across longer hours.

We will fix solar lights that work even without electricity, he stated. We will block some parts of the roads three to four times a month so that you can trade for 24 hours.

Addressing economic concerns, the AMA boss announced a reduction in weekly ticketing fees, promising a more flexible and trader-friendly policy. If you are paying GHS 60.00 a week, we will reduce it to GHS 40.00. If you pay GHS 30.00, it will be reduced to GHS 20.00, he said. He further pledged to personally reward traders who consistently pay their tickets over a two-month period. However, he warned of stiff penalties for evasion. If you dont pay and we catch you, we will charge you ten times the actual price.

Allotey gave a firm Tuesday deadline for all traders to vacate unauthorised spots. Please leave the street. Im begging you. When you leave the street, we can clean the city, he said. He also announced a planned demarcation system that will enable three traders to share one spot on a rotational basis, each selling for eight hours per day.

He cautioned that items left behind after the deadline would be confiscated and donated to prisons or orphanages. If we return on Tuesday and your things are still here, they wont return to you, he warned.

Acknowledging frustrations over space competition from foreign nationals, he assured traders that the AMA was in discussions with market leaders to resolve the issue. We are aware of your complaints, including issues with other nationals taking over your spots. Im engaging the market leaders and well address those concerns too.

He concluded his address by encouraging traders to engage directly with his office, saying, Help me to help you. My doors are always open 24/7. Dont pay money to anyone to see me. Just walk into my office.

Mr Allotey reiterated the Assemblys broader goal: to reposition Accra as a modern, clean, and competitive city that reflects Ghanas aspirations. This city is very dirty, but with your help, we can clean it. Lets make Accra a place of pride. This is the beginning of something new.
Next article: Breaking the silence on corruption: Empowered residents demand accountability in Northern, Bono, Ahafo regions

Farmer, 42, sentenced to life for murdering pregnant wife

Alberto Mario Noretti, May - 17 - 2025 , 14:08 2 minutes read

A 42-YEAR-OLD farmer at Kankyi-Akura, near Nkwanta in the Oti Region, Simon Kwabena, who inflicted multiple cutlass wounds on his pregnant wife, resulting in her death was last Monday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Ho High Court.

Although he pleaded not guilty to murder, Kwabena maintained that he inflicted multiple cuts on his wife, Lasim Nignen, because she annoyed him.

The court, presided over by Charity Asem, was told that the incident took place five years ago on May 20 at about 4.30pm.

A Senior State Attorney, Andrews Dodzi Adugu, who represented the republic, said immediately after the act, the assembly member of the area told the police about how Kwabena butchered the 30-year-old woman and then went into hiding in a nearby bush and stabbed himself.

The prosecution said the police proceeded to the scene and rushed the bleeding woman to the St. Joseph Hospital in Nkwanta where she was declared dead on arrival.

The foetus was also found to be dead.

The senior state attorney said the assembly member later led the police to Kwabenas hideout where he was lying after stabbing himself.

He said a post mortem examination carried out on the womans body revealed the cause of death as hemorrhagic shock, multiple laceration and alleged assault.

The body was released for burial. Meanwhile, a witness in the case narrated how she saw Kwabena inflicting the cutlass wounds on the deceased.

The witness said when she approached the scene and told Kwabena to stop what he was doing, he chased her away with the cutlass.

The prosecution said during interrogation by the police, Kwabena admitted inflicting the cutlass wounds on his wife but said it was because she annoyed him by insulting him.

Kwabena showed no emotions when he was being led out of the court to start his sentence.
Breaking the silence on corruption: Empowered residents demand accountability in Northern, Bono, Ahafo regions

Mohammed Fugu, KUMBUNGU & Biiya Mukusah Ali May - 17 - 2025 , 12:57 7 minutes read

When the construction of a three-classroom block stalled for a long time in Dalung, a farming community in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region, Mahama Safianu was left unsure of where to seek answers.

Like many residents in the community, he watched helplessly as the half-completed structure slowly gathered dust.

We used to complain among ourselves, but we didnt know who to talk to or how to follow up to ensure the completion of the project.

We felt abandoned, he said.

Similarly, Issahaku Fauzia and her colleagues at the Centre for Community Empowerment and Youth Development, a not-for-profit organisation, struggled with frustrations when they noticed inconsistencies in the delivery of public projects, but did not know how to confront authorities to seek answers.

Fauzia told the Daily Graphic that we used to think only journalists or politicians could demand answers on delivery of public projects; we didnt know our voices mattered most.

However, they gained a new sense of purpose and power after participating in a citizen engagement and anti-corruption training in 2024.

The training empowered them to utilise corruption reporting mechanisms to report corruption-related issues and also demand accountability and quality service delivery at the local level.

Experiences

Mr Safianu, whose eyes were opened as a result of the training, said, Now, I know what corruption looks like, I have learned the steps to take when something is not right.

Some of the participants in the Kumbungu training sessions with officials of GACC

He indicated that using knowledge gained from last years training, he succeeded in requesting information from the Kumbungu District Assembly about the number of people affected by the drought that hit the district in 2023.

That, he said, helped his community better understand the scale of the problem.

In the same vein, Fauzia said since then, her organisation had officially written to several government agencies, requesting information about ongoing projects in their district.

Now, I can stand before a crowd and explain why it's important to demand accountability.

We are educating others, and were seeing people take interest in development projects, she stated.

Intervention

The workshop was organised by Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), in partnership with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), and with support from the European Union.

A section of participants in the workshop

Dubbed Strengthening Accountability, Rule of Law, and Institutional Responsiveness in Ghana (SARIS) project, the 36-month initiative, running from January 2024 to January 2027, seeks to empower citizens to demand accountability and combat corruption.

In 2024, about 240 participants from 24 selected districts in the Northern, Bono and Ahafo regions received training in various corruption reporting mechanisms, accountability, transparency and the significance of civic engagement in anti-corruption efforts.

Some of the beneficiary districts were Savelugu, Tatale-Sangule, Kumbungu and Yendi.

Second phase

This year, about 160 individuals from youth groups, womens associations, community-based organisations, and civil society groups have been trained under the SARIS project across the beneficiary districts.

Some participants in the Kumbungu training

The training aims to deepen citizens understanding of Ghanas Public Financial Management laws, the audit process, and empower them to monitor and advocate the implementation of audit recommendations at the local level.

Additionally, it will equip the participants to carry out public sensitisation on corruption in their communities and report incidents through official channels.

Financial management

At a training session at Kumbungu, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at GACC, Solomon Nyankah, said this years training focused on public financial management to empower citizens to monitor how public funds were spent, and to ensure fiscal discipline in their local institutions.

Corruption happens at the grassroots just as much as at the top, we want citizens to feel equipped to ask questions and take action, he said.

Assistant Programme Officer at GACC, Dorcas Affum Tenkorang, admonished the participants to put the knowledge acquired at the training to good use, to help promote transparency and accountability in their respective communities.

She said, Many people dont even know whats going on in their communities. We need to be more vigilant and curious. Thats how we prevent our leaders from misusing resources meant for our development.

Some of the participants who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed their gratitude for the knowledge and tools provided, pledging their commitment to the fight against corruption in their respective communities.

Sharing her experience, a participant, Mohammed Asana, said she had learnt how to report corruption-related issues whenever she suspected corruption in a deal.

For Mr Safianu and Fauzia, the second phase of the training has strengthened their capacity to stand out and demand accountability and fight corruption, particularly financial malfeasances in their respective areas.

Bono, Ahafo

At a similar training workshop held in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital on the same theme, a Programme Officer of GACC, Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, said the project sought to contribute to strengthening public accountability, rule of law and responsiveness through the empowerment of civil society and media and promote reforms on preventive anti-corruption measures.

He said corruption had negative effects on every sector of the country's economy and urged the public not to be afraid of demanding accountability from their authorities.

Mr Harrison-Cudjoe urged citizens to be bold to report corrupt practices in their communities to reduce the menace.

He said the project had entered its second phase after they took the participants through the various forms of corruption reporting avenues last year.

He said the second training was to strengthen the capacity of citizens to understand specific anti-corruption laws, such as the Public Financial Management Act.

Mr Harrison-Cudjoe said the project was targeted at building citizens capacity to promote transparency, monitor public financial management, and fight corruption in their communities.

He said they focused on anti-corruption at the local level because the districts were the foundation of local governance.

"Empowering citizens at this level ensures real change by promoting transparency and accountability where it directly impacts communities," he said.

Mr Harrison-Cudjoe urged the public to reject, resist and report corrupt practices in their communities to reduce the menace.

Target

The project aimed to train 1,140 citizens, mainly civil society organisations (CSOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), women-based associations, youth groups, and persons living with disabilities (PWDs) across the project implementation areas.

Participants in the two-day anti-corruption training workshop in Sunyani

So far, 151 persons, including chiefs, have been trained in the four beneficiary municipalities and the district.

In the Sunyani Municipality, a total of 40 people have been trained; in Tain District, 39 have benefitted, Berekum Municipality, 39 and Tano South Municipality, 33.

The participants are expected to engage in community sensitisation, monitor the implementation of audit recommendations at Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and educate their peers about corruption reporting mechanisms.

The workshop sought to reduce corruption, explore reporting avenues, and emphasise the importance of civic engagement in anti-corruption efforts.

National advocacy

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), Raphael Godlove Ahenu, said the workshop would strengthen grassroots action and inform national advocacy.

He said it would also help put pressure on authorities to reinforce the rule of law and accountability structures to reduce the increasing corrupt practices in society.

Mr Ahenu said it was expected to improve transparency and citizen access to procurement and audit data, through the operationalisation of an electronic tracking platform.

He said corruption reduced economic growth, increased poverty and inequality and distorted markets and unfair competition, and also reduced foreign investment and trade, while decreasing access to basic services.

Strong advocacy

The Assistant Communications Officer, GACC, Pamela Laourou, emphasised the need for the country to strongly advocate and collaborate to bring drastic change in society.

She explained that intensive advocacy would help attract the attention of policymakers to corruption issues to give them maximum attention.

That, according to Ms Laourou, would influence policymaking and implementation processes.

Some of the participants, who spoke to the Daily Graphic after the workshop, said the training had helped to deepen their understanding of corruption and its related issues.

They said the workshop had empowered them to detect and report corrupt practices in their communities to anti-corruption institutions for action.

The participants said through the training, they had been exposed to several consequences associated with corrupt practices and pledged to advocate transparency and lead anti-corruption awareness campaigns in their communities.

Writers emails: [email protected] & [email protected]
Church of Pentecost hands over newly built fire station to GNFS

Emmanuel Bonney May - 17 - 2025 , 09:57 5 minutes read

The Church of Pentecost (CoP), last Wednesday, inaugurated and handed over a fully furnished fire station to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at Yesu Krom in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region.

The facility, built from the contributions of members of the church, would serve places such as the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Millennium City, and other neighbouring areas in and around the district.

It has four syndicate rooms, an Information Technology/Monitoring Room, a conference room, an accounts office, a storeroom and a reception area.

The fire station, which was constructed over 18 months, was inaugurated by the Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, with the assistance of the Chairman of CoP, Apostle Eric Nyamekye.

With them included the acting Chief Fire Officer, Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sarpong, and the Chief of Gomoa Fetteh, Nana Abor Atta.

Strategic

In his inaugural address, Alhaji Mubarak said the construction of the facility was a timely and strategic addition to the National Fire Infrastructure Network. He said the inauguration of the station was not only a celebration of bricks and mortar, but of vision, partnership and responsibility.

"What makes today's event truly remarkable is that the Church of Pentecost built, furnished and presented this fire station to the nation, and we thank the Church of Pentecost and all its members," he said.

He said he got to the Ministry of the Interior to meet a legacy, the footprint of the Church of Pentecost, all over the ministry, with police stations and prison camps, among others.

Alhaji Mubarak said the beautiful facility would significantly reduce response time to emergencies within the PCC and surrounding communities, and that it would also ease the pressure on the Kasoa and Buduburam fire stations, as well as enhance operational efficiency across the district.

"Given the rapid population growth and economic expansion in this area, the station could not have come at a better time, he said, and urged those who had been deployed at the facility to uphold the core values of the service and use it not only as a station house, but as a command centre for safety, service and community empowerment.

"Continue to respond swiftly, educate the public passionately, and conduct yourself with professionalism and integrity at all times," he said.

Alhaji Mubarak urged all, whether Muslims or Christians, who could support, to emulate the good example of the CoP.

The ministry, he said, was taking new steps to ensure that the majority of Ghanaians understood what fire safety and general safety was all about, adding: "Very soon, we will roll out a programme that will not allow you to employ just anyone to attend to or be an attendee at a fuelling station or gas fuelling station, especially if that person has not gone through a certified training by the Ghana National Fire Service.

Society

Apostle Nyamekye said that in its desire to transform society, the church, in August 2018, launched the Possessing the Nations Agenda, and the significance of that mission was to partner with the government and other stakeholders to promote the nation's socio-economic development.

The new fire station

"As a church, we believe that we have been called not only to worship God in our church houses but also to serve His purpose within society," he said.

He said the initiative to establish a fire station in the community emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic when the PCC was repurposed as an isolation centre.

Over the years, he said the GNFS had worked tirelessly, often overcoming logistical challenges, to ensure the safety of Ghanaians.

"I trust that this new facility will not only enhance their capacity but also serve as a testament to the churchs commitment to improving public security and safety," he said.

The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Nyamekye said, as part of its mission to possess the nation's agenda, had rolled out various security-related initiatives over the years, designed to improve safety and security within communities.

He said these included the construction and commissioning of state-of-the-art correctional facilities (prison camps) at Ejura and Nsawam, christened Inmates Skills Acquisition and Reformation Centres.

"As we speak, work is ongoing at two other correctional facilities at Obuasi and Damango," he said.

Investment

The acting Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Ms Sarpong, said the initiative, which was the first to be undertaken by a religious body, was not just a gift to the fire service but a huge investment in the safety and well-being of the entire community.

The fire station, she said, would enhance the service's ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies.

"We know that in firefighting, every second counts," she said, adding that rapid deployment and timely response could be the difference between life and death or between serving a home or losing a neighbourhood.

The location and quality of the fire station, she said, would greatly support the service's operations and bring it closer to the people it served.

"What we are witnessing today is not just the opening of a fire station.

We are also deepening the collaboration between faith-based institutions and public service.

"This collaboration benefits our people in the entire country.

I strongly believe this collaboration will be a model for others to follow.

The Church of Pentecost has shown that nation-building is not the responsibility of government alone," she said.

Responsibility

CFO Sarpong said the move was a shared responsibility and duty that included all stakeholders - religious bodies, private companies and individual citizens.

Nana Abor Atta lauded the church for the facility and appealed to other institutions and organisations to emulate the example.

The chiefs and people of Gomoa Fetteh, he said, were grateful for the support.

The Member of Parliament for Gomoa East, Desmond De-Graft Paitoo, also commended the CoP for the initiative.
Next article: Notorious armed robber sentenced to 120 years and life imprisonment for murder and robbery in Kumasi

Migrant beggars removed from streets

Michael Quaye May - 17 - 2025 , 11:11 3 minutes read

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) yesterday swept some streets of Accra of professional beggars of foreign nationalities in a massive exercise that sought to end the spectacle and break possible criminal networks.

Operating on intelligence, officials rounded up at least 2,241 people, 1,332 of them classified as children, who have made begging for alms their main source of livelihood in the capital.

The exercise was a sudden swoop that surprised even the public as motorists and bystanders held their breath, watching the smooth collection of those beggars from their regular spots of sleeping, begging or recreation.

Those arrested during yesterdays exercise included 909 adults, of whom 384 were males.

From areas around the Kaneshie Market to Sabon Zongo, near Laterbiokoshie, Nima, Abossey Okai and Obetsebi Lamptey Roundabout, Immigration officers executed what looked to many like a rehearsed strategy to remove the supposed human public nuisance.

All those picked up during the exercise were moved into state buses and later transported to safety for screening and other relevant protocol before their intended repatriation.

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) undertook an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of Friday, May 16, 2025, to rid the streets of Accra of foreign nationals involved in street begging, a statement later issued by the GIS said.

The operation seeks to repatriate undocumented foreign nationals humanely, and disrupt criminal networks that facilitate their operations in places such as Sabon Zongo, Nima, Abossey Okai and Obetsebi Roundabout, among others, the statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the GIS, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration Michael Amoako-Atta, added.

The suspects are currently being taken through the necessary processes, including security and medical screening at the national headquarters in Accra.

The GIS assured all stakeholders and the public that the detainees would be handled with the highest professionalism and respect for their human rights.

Context

The sight of beggars of foreign nationalities is common along the major streets of Accra.

Indeed, it appears to have become a lucrative enterprise for some investors who are believed to recruit professional beggars from neighbouring countries for the business.

While local authorities have repatriated many beggars on the streets of Accra in the past, a lot more have found their way back into the country to practise what now looks like a lucrative business.

It is claimed that the beggars account for their sales to their employers at the close of each day.

While these beggars are hardly known to possess landed property in the country, their reproduction system is, however, legendary.

The women among them continue to bear children, who soon accompany the parents, particularly the mothers, to the roadside to beg.

In some cases, the adults take a back seat while the children virtually harass motorists and pedestrians for money across a 24-hour cycle.

Earlier action

In June 2022, the government collaborated with the Embassy of Niger in Accra to repatriate over 1,600 beggars to Niamey in Niger, with plans to send back even more illegal migrants.

They are a street nuisance and they have to be returned home immediately, a source told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

At the time, the newspaper learnt that through a partnership with the government of Ghana, about 1,000 beggars, including children, had been mobilised for repatriation in accordance with migration regulations of Ghana.

In December 2021, the Caretaker Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, led officials of the ministry to collect data on the street children and their guardians, lodgings, means of operation and the age range of children involved in begging for alms.

The step was to use data to take initiatives, as well as seek a partnership with the Nigerien Embassy in Ghana, to rid the streets of those beggars and to protect the well-being of the children.
Protecting migrant workers in Arab states: African diplomatic missions build capacity

Daily Graphic May - 17 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

Forty-two government officials from 10 African countries, including Ghana, participated in a four-day training programme to enhance protection for their citizens working in Arab states.

The event, held in Doha, Qatar, brought together representatives from Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to address systemic challenges faced by African migrant workers, particularly women in domestic roles, who remain vulnerable to exploitation.

Migrant workers

The Arab States region has become an important destination for migrant workers. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), this region has the highest global share of migrant workers as a proportion of the total workforce, reaching 41.4 per cent in 2019 compared to the global average of just 5 per cent.

Among these migrants are many African nationals, including Ghanaians seeking better economic opportunities.

However, persistent reports on abuse, exploitation and inadequate working conditions, especially among domestic workers, highlight the urgent need for strengthened protection mechanisms.

Diplomatic Mission role

Diplomatic missions play a critical role in this regard, serving as first responders in addressing labour disputes, offering consular support and facilitating access to justice.

So far, few African countries have been working to enhance their diplomatic missions by appointing Labour Attaches specialised in labour and employment issues, including addressing the challenges faced by migrant workers.

While Ghana has made strides in offering advisory and support services to labour migrants, particularly those in vulnerable situations, it has yet to deploy Labour Attaches to its diplomatic missions.

To strengthen diplomatic missions in dealing with migration issues, Ghanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH jointly organised a four-day training for representatives from African countries, including Ghana.

Training session

The training was organised on the theme, Advancing fundamental rights, governance and migrant workers protection  The role of African Consular officers and Labour Attaches in the Arab States.

Welcoming the participants, the Director of the Global Programme Shaping development-oriented migration (MEG), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) David Nii Addy, acknowledged the vital contributions of migrant workers and Africas diaspora to international development in the Arab world and beyond, while also stressing their vulnerability, particularly for women in domestic and care work, where risks of exploitations are high.

The training provided comprehensive capacity building on key areas critical to effective labour migration management and governance.

The topics included fair recruitment practices, collaboration with local governments, pre-departure training, monitoring compliance with international labour laws and standards.

Particular attention was given to the specific vulnerabilities of African migrant workers, especially women and to addressing complex grievance mechanisms, access to justice and effective remedy.

In the absence of Labour Attaches, Ghanaian Consular and Diaspora Desk Officers were engaged to ensure continued institutional support for migrant workers abroad.

A handbook based on the training is currently being developed to support and strengthen the staff of African diplomatic missions.

This will ensure the continuity of knowledge sharing beyond the onsite participants.
New Yorks governor is taking aim at what she has identified as a major and growing new threat to eager homebuyers ability to land their American dream: Wall Street.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says large private-equity firms and hedge funds are contributing to the national housing shortage and affordability crisis by turning the nations apartments and single-family homes into business investments, instead of places to live.

That is because firms such as Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, Brookfield Asset Management and Cerberus Asset Management have been using their abundant cash to snap up homes and apartment buildings across the country, easily beating out lower or non-cash offers from traditional homeowners who cant afford to match them. They can also fast-track deals by waiving inspections, appraisals and other contingencies that individual buyers need.

Such firms have already accumulated more than 500,000 single-family homes by at least one estimate, with some projections that they will control 40% of the single-family rental market by 2030.

Deep-pocketed investors cannot be allowed to swoop in with instant cash offers on one- and two-family homes that take houses off the market before everyday New Yorkers even get a chance to take a tour, let alone make an offer, said RuthAnne Visnauskas, commissioner of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

The private equity firms view the homes and apartments as more stable and recession-proof holdings that will benefit their owners or shareholders over the long term.

But critics say they crowd out homeowners who want to build their own family equity, particularly first-time and low- or moderate-income buyers. Thats also exacerbating the existing scarcity and driving up prices for remaining homes on the market, according to a state press release.

Everybody thinks that someday theyre going to have a home. And its something that particularly here upstate, it never was that far out of reach, Hochul said. But no matter what were doing, were in competition with a powerful, powerful force ... And these huge, greedy conglomerates are gobbling up the housing stock and theyre trying to increase their portfolios and bring in more money, and theyre building up a lot more vacation homes and rentals.

Even more, Hochul and others note, when these firms lease out the homes and apartments, they often raise rents, but without maintaining the properties the way a homeowner or even a local owner would.

So, the governor, in conjunction with state legislative leaders, is fighting back as part of the effort to address a shortfall of housing in New York estimated at 800,000 units.

Wait your turn

Under the new law she signed earlier this month as part of the state budget, private equity firms and other institutional investors would be barred from even bidding on single-family and two-family homes for the first 90 days of a listing.

The ban would apply to large investment entities that already own at least 10 such homes and manage at least $30 million in assets for clients, as well as to any entity that is funded by such an investor, except through a standard mortgage.

Nonprofits, land banks and community land trusts would be exempted, as would foreclosure sales. But any violations would result in $250,000 penalties issued by the Attorney General for violating the waiting period.

Additional legislation would also remove the incentive for institutional investors such as private equity firms to buy one- and two-family homes in bulk by prohibiting them from claiming depreciation tax deductions for singles and doubles, or from claiming interest deductions for them. Those tax benefits have made the purchase of homes more lucrative for large investors.

Just how affordable are Buffalo Niagara homes? If you want to buy a median-priced home in a metropolitan area with the lowest household income, better stick to Rust Belt cities like Buffalo.

Effectively, the private equity or institutional buyers become the backstop for buying houses if the traditional market doesnt work, rather than the first option out of the gate.

I think the intention here is right on the money. Its about how we make sure weve optimized the housing supply, said University at Buffalo professor Robert Shibley, director of the Rudy Brunner Center for Urban Excellence.

Finally, the state can establish cease and desist zones, with public notice, where homeowners can choose to be protected from even being solicited to sell their homes.

A solution without a problem?

But is this really a problem in Western New York? Yes and no.

Spotlight/housing: More U.S. homeowners are selling, but not in Buffalo Niagara The number of homes for sale across the nation jumped by 29% during March, compared with a year ago. But local homeowners, however, are not rushing to sell. Listings here are up just 2.5% from March 2024.

Theres a thousand threads to pull on housing intervention. This is one of them, Shibley said. Its significant, but its not a game-changer.

The issue of private-equity ownership appears to be a much bigger issue in areas such as New York City and its suburbs, or in popular Sun Belt areas of the country, where home values are much higher and price appreciation tends to be stronger. Those areas have been most attractive and familiar to the Wall Street buyers.

In August, for example, U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan of Kingston called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate private-equity firms for suspected price gouging on single-family homes. He noted that home prices have soared 47% since 2020, while the average cost to rent a house has risen 30%. And he blamed it on private equitys growing influence in the housing market through monopolistic practices, calling such firms the Standard Oil of the housing market.

Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon acknowledged the concern. We want to make sure that when we have houses available to the public, that we have our residents buying them, people who want to live here and be contributing members of our community, he said.

But the Hudson Valley isnt Buffalo. To be sure, it is far more affordable for Wall Street firms to buy homes and apartments in lower-cost markets such as Buffalo or Rochester, so they could accumulate vast holdings here much faster. While home values historically dont appreciate as much here, they also tend to be less volatile than in many of the warmer Sun Belt markets and other popular cities, making for a more stable income stream.

And Hochul spokeswoman Kristin Devoe said there is evidence that is gaining a toehold in cities like Buffalo, Rochester and Binghamton. The state in February even cited reports that hundreds of homes have been purchased by institutional investors in Rochester.

Yet local real estate agents, city officials and other experts in Western New York say the big institutional buying is much less of a factor here.

Im not sure how much of an impact it would have here in Buffalo, Scanlon added, referring to the new law.

But private-equity firms arent the only type of outside investors buying properties as rentals, rather than living there. Instead, what has been happening extensively in Buffalo and Western New York for years are out-of-town buyers from places such as New York City, Toronto, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and as far away as California, or even from Asia.

According to an April report by Rentometer, a Massachusetts-based online research firm, Buffalo was ranked 12th among the top U.S. markets for single-family rental investors, with a 9.9% yield for investors. That is because of the average home price of $224,452 and the average single-family monthly rent of $1,844. Detroit was on top at 22%, followed by Cleveland. Pittsburgh was nipping at Buffalos heels.

Such investors see the relatively low prices of Western New York homes  compared to their hometowns or other cities  and think theyre getting a bargain. Many have even bought homes without visiting them or understanding the neighborhoods, and they become absentee landlords, at best, or even neglectful, at worst. And most observers say that has definitely been a problem, particularly on Buffalos East Side.

That is why Scanlon has the citys law department looking into what legal levers the city might have to protect local homeownership, especially with the citys first foreclosure auction in years coming up.

Wed love to prioritize local owners if we can. Im not sure if we can, legally, but conceptually, its something Id consider, for sure, he said. The concern or the difficulty in implementing it is something wed look at down the road.
Previous article: AMA boss engages street traders ahead of decongestion exercise in Accra on May 20

Migrant beggars crackdown will be a nationwide exercise  Interior Minister assures

Beatrice Laryea May - 17 - 2025 , 15:12 1 minute read

Interior Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has stated that the governments crackdown on organised street begging in Accra marks the start of a wider, nationwide campaign to address the issue.

In an official update posted on his Facebook page, the Minister disclosed that a recent operation by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) resulted in the arrest of 2,241 foreign nationals involved in organised street begging in the Greater Accra Region.

The exercise was a sudden swoop that surprised even the public as motorists and bystanders held their breath, watching the smooth collection of those beggars from their regular spots of sleeping, begging or recreation.

According to the Minister, the operation was part of an ongoing initiative to restore public order and safeguard national security.

I want to commend the personnel of GIS for their commitment to national security, Muntaka stated. I have seen the public reactions and calls for similar actions in places like Kumasi, Tamale, and other communities," he wrote.

"Please be assured that this is a nationwide exercise that began in Accra and will be extended to other regions soon.

The Minister also appealed for public cooperation as the operation expands beyond the capital, urging communities to support the effort to keep the streets safe and orderly.

I count on your continued cooperation and support when the operations reach your communities, he said, encouraging all Ghanaians to join hands with authorities," he added.
Notorious armed robber sentenced to 120 years and life imprisonment for murder and robbery in Kumasi

Graphic Online May - 17 - 2025 , 10:14 2 minutes read

The High Court in Kumasi has sentenced Dominic Afriyie, a 36-year-old armed robber, to 120 years imprisonment with hard labour for robbery and life imprisonment for murder.

The conviction, presided over by Justice Abdul Razak, marks a significant victory for the Ashanti Regional Police Command in their fight against violent crime.

According to a press release from the Public Affairs Unit of the Regional Police Headquarters, Afriyie, alias GH, attacked the residence of the late Michael Dela Agbo Klu, a 43-year-old pharmacist and building contractor, on November 20, 2021 at Atasemanso, Kumasi.

Armed with a gun, Afriyie stole two mobile phones, an ASUS Zenbook laptop, and GH1,500 in cash before fatally shooting Mr. Klu.

The release further stated that on December 30, 2021, police intelligence uncovered a planned robbery in the same area. A swift surveillance operation led to the arrest of Afriyie and three accomplices on December 31, 2021 at 2:20am in a Toyota Corolla with registration number AS 5970-20. Two pistols and two single-barreled shotguns were recovered from the vehicle.

Investigations confirmed Afriyie acted alone in the robbery and murder of Mr. Klu. Despite pleading not guilty, a seven-member jury and Justice Razak found him guilty after a full trial.

"The Ashanti Regional Police Command wishes to inform the general public that Dominic Afriyie has been sentenced to 120 years imprisonment with hard labour for two counts of robbery, and life imprisonment for murder," the release said.
Technician jailed 5 years for stealing electric cables

Gloria Apprey May - 17 - 2025 , 14:12 2 minutes read

After nearly three years of trial, a 34-year-old technician, John Edem Aggorsu, has been sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour for stealing electric cables and copper valued at GH182,387.93.

The convict stole the items from the Achimota Substation of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (Gridco).

The sentence was handed down at the Accra Circuit Court Two last Wednesday presided over by His Honour Isaac Addo.

Aggorsu, who worked with the Sieyuan Company Limited and was engaged by Gridco to do cable work, was found guilty of stealing after pleading not guilty when the case was first presented on March 21, 2022.

His accomplice, 25-year-old security officer Daniel Agyei, who was stationed at the same substation, had earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

He was charged with aiding Aggorsu by turning off the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to enable the theft. Agyei has since served his sentence and has been released.

Background of the case

According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer Matey, the complainant, Cyril Mawuli King, an engineer at Gridco and a security supervisor of Gridco, Kwadwo Opoku discovered the theft of underground cables and copper materials at the Achimota Substation on January 14, 2022. They then reported the matter to the Kotobabi Police Station in Accra.

He said investigations led to the arrest of the ex-convict, Agyei and in his caution statement, confessed to receiving mobile money transfers and cash sums from the convict, Aggorsu, to disable the CCTV cameras at the substation.

The prosecutor added that Agyei disclosed receiving amounts of GH100, GH200 and GH1,320 on different occasions.

C/Insp Matey noted that police investigations further revealed that Aggorsu carried out the thefts with the help of his worker named Godfred, whose whereabouts remain unknown as Aggorsu failed to direct police. Efforts are still being made to arrest him.
Next article: Vice President Opoku-Agyemang to return to Ghana next week  President Mahama

Tema MCE Ebi Bright initiates emergency repairs on deplorable harbour road

Graphic.com.gh May - 17 - 2025 , 09:29 1 minute read

The newly confirmed Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Madam Ebi Bright, has launched an emergency initiative to rehabilitate the deteriorating Harbour Road.

Just days into her tenure, Madam Bright led a team of engineers from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to commence emergency repair works on a 300-metre stretch of the road.

This section forms part of the Tema Harbour Road, commonly referred to as the Akosombo Road.

The repair project will focus on the most severely damaged portion of the road, located at the lowest point along the entire stretch.

Madam Bright stated that the primary goal of the repairs is to provide immediate relief to the large number of drivers and commuters who rely on the Harbour Road daily.

The said road, even though is an important stretch in the transportation of goods from the Tema Port, has big trenches on it, making it difficult and dangerous for haulage trucks to easily manoeuvre, a situation motorists fear could lead to serious crashes as the truck could turn over.

The Tema MCE also announced plans to desilt the drains along the remaining two-kilometre road leading to the Tema Motorway interchange to improve water drainage, especially with the rainy season approaching.

The project highlights the MCEs commitment to enhancing the infrastructure and the quality of life for the residents of Tema.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang to return to Ghana next week  President Mahama

Beatrice Laryea May - 17 - 2025 , 09:06 1 minute read

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang will return to Ghana from a medical stay in the United Kingdom by the end of next week.

According to the President, the Vice President has fully recovered and is expected to resume her official duties upon her return.

He made the announcement during a durbar of chiefs and people of the Greater Accra Region in Dodowa, as part of his Thank You Visit of the region.

President Mahama added that he had spoken with the Vice President earlier, and she had sent her warm greetings to all Ghanaians.

I bring you greetings from H.E. the Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. Im happy to state that I spoke to her on Thursday, May 15, and she will be back in the country before the end of the week. By Gods grace, shes fully recovered, and shes going to come back to her duties, President Mahama said.

The President also expressed his gratitude to the chiefs and people of the region, as well as to all Ghanaians, for their overwhelming support for him and the National Democratic Congress during the 2024 elections.

Related Article

President Mahama visits Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang in London
Bawumia warns against tariffs as solution to trade deficits, calls for macroeconomic reforms

GraphicOnline Politics May - 17 - 2025 , 19:44 2 minutes read

Former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has cautioned that imposing tariffs to address trade imbalances is ineffective, arguing that such deficits stem from macroeconomic factors rather than trade policy failures.

Speaking at the International Democracy Union (IDU) Forum in Brussels on Saturday, May 17, Dr. Bawumia responded to concerns about the weaponisation of trade and its impact on African economies, including Ghana.

Policymakers are increasingly ignoring both economic fundamentals and the lessons of history, he said.

Citing global trade statistics, he noted that Africa accounts for just 2.5 per cent of global exports and 2.9 per cent of imports, while regions like Asia, Europe, and the U.S. dominate trade flows with significant imbalances.

You cannot fix a trade deficit with tariffs, it simply doesnt work, he emphasised.

Dr. Bawumia explained that trade deficits reflect a gap between a nations savings and investment, stating, If a country spends more than it saves, it will run a trade deficit. Thats a macroeconomic problem, not a trade policy problem.

He referenced historical examples, including the 1930s Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in the U.S., which worsened the Great Depression, and the 20182019 U.S.-China tariff war, which disrupted global trade.

The recent increase in average U.S. tariff rates from 2.4 per cent to 10 per cent is the largest since 1943, and its effects will be significant, he warned.

While Africa remains relatively insulated from U.S. trade shocksexporting 6.5 per cent and importing 4.4 per cent of goods to and from the U.S.Dr. Bawumia highlighted vulnerabilities in countries like Lesotho, where 50 per cent of total exports to the U.S. are textiles under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

He predicted that Africas response to global trade disruptions would involve a stronger push for self-reliance and enhanced intra-African trade.
Power vacuum or political storm in a teacup?

Dr Samuel Kofi Darkwa Politics May - 17 - 2025 , 09:57 5 minutes read

National debate erupted recently following revelations that President John Mahama, Vice-President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang and the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, were all absent from the country simultaneously.

The Minority in Parliament quickly raised the alarm, describing the situation as a constitutional crisis and questioning who was effectively in charge of the country during this period of simultaneous absence.

Headlines such as President, Veep, Speaker All Gone; Who Was in Charge? sparked widespread public speculation and concern.

Was Ghana left rudderless? Should the Chief Justice or another public official have stepped in to assume presidential responsibilities?

Could this incident expose a dangerous gap in the 1992 Constitution that needs urgent redress?

These are valid concerns in any vibrant democracy but they also demand a sober reading of the Constitution and the facts at hand.

While the Minoritys concerns may be rooted in legitimate oversight, constitutional experts argue that the perceived crisis was more political than legal.

What the Constitution says

Ghanas 1992 Constitution is far from ambiguous on matters of presidential succession and temporary absence.

Article 59 makes it clear that the President may leave Ghana only after notifying the Speaker of Parliament in writing.

This is the first safeguard to ensure that government continuity is not disrupted.

Article 60(8) then states, Whenever the President is absent from Ghana or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President until the President returns or can perform his functions.

The Vice- President thus assumes responsibility in the Presidents absence without requiring a fresh oathunless the President has died, resigned or been removed from office.

In the rare scenario where both the President and Vice-President are unable to perform their dutieswhether due to absence or incapacityArticle 60(11) comes into play:

The Speaker of Parliament shall perform those functions until the President or the Vice-President is able to perform those functions or a new President assumes office.

Crucially, the Constitution does not extend this power to any other official.

The idea floated by some commentators that the Chief Justiceor even the Administrator Generalcould step in is constitutionally unfounded.

Article 60(12) reinforces that only the Speaker, upon taking the presidential oath, may act in the absence of both the President and Vice-President.

Furthermore, the exclusion of the Chief Justice from this chain of succession is deliberate.

The Judiciary is meant to remain independent and free from executive responsibilities.

This clear separation of powers is central to the checks and balances of Ghanas democratic framework.

Lessons from the past

Historical precedents also shed light on how similar situations have been handled. During former President Rawlings administration, tensions with then Vice-President Arkaah led the President to avoid travelling altogether for a period to avert any uncertainty in executive authority.

Under President Nana Akufo-Addo, it was reported that he postponed a foreign trip until the Speaker, Mike Oquaye, returned to Ghana and could be sworn in to act.

These examples underline the importance of coordination among top state officials.

Indeed, the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Speakers Secretariat must ensure that at least one of the three constitutional successors remains in the country at all times.

The Constitution expects such foresight and cooperation.

No legal vacuumbut operational coordination needed

The recent incident, while politically charged, is not due to a constitutional crisis.

Rather, it reveals the need for improved administrative coordination and perhaps a review of protocols surrounding official travel.

The Constitution already anticipates the temporary absence of the President and provides clear guidance on succession.

What appears to have caused public concern is a lapse in communication or coordination, not a flaw in the law itself.

It is also worth noting that, in this digital age, the idea that a President cannot perform any functions while abroad may be outdated.

Ghanaian constitutional experts could explore the possibility of enabling limited presidential duties to be discharged from Ghanaian embassies during short official trips.

This would require clear legal parameters, but it reflects a modern reality: heads of state often govern from afar during international engagements.

A constitutional gap or a storm in a teacup?

Calls for reform should not be dismissed outright. Ghana is currently reviewing the 1992 Constitution and such debates offer an opportunity to consider whether practical updates are needed.

However, it is equally important to avoid politicising what is fundamentally a matter of administrative coordination.

In this case, there was no real constitutional ambiguity or constitutional gap and no crisis. Going forward, better planning and communication among the President, Vice-President and Speakers offices are needed to avoid simultaneous absences.

The Constitution provides the framework; the onus is on those entrusted with public office to operate within it responsibly.

As the dust settles, Ghanaians can be reassured that their Constitution has not failed them. But their leaders must ensure it is respectednot just in letter, but in spirit.

The writer is a political scientist
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 Edge  measuring only 5.8mm, it is the thinnest smartphone in years. In fact, no phone released in the 2020s has dipped under 6mm thick. This doesnt come cheap, of course  heres a detailed price breakdown. Is the Edge just the phone youve been waiting for or is Samsung trying to force a gimmick that wont catch on?

If youre leaning towards the former, youll be glad to hear that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge impresses with more than just being thin  its also very light. It weighs a single gram more than the vanilla Galaxy S25, despite the large disparity in screen size (6.7 vs. 6.2). And it packs a 200MP sensor in the main camera, something previously exclusive to Ultra models.

There are downsides, of course, like the battery capacity  its smaller than the vanilla S25 (3,900mAh vs. 4,000mAh). And it has the same slow charging (25W wired, 15W wireless). Theres no telephoto camera, it relies on the 200MP unit for zooming in. And finally, it is expensive  even accounting for the free storage upgrade to 512GB and the 100 Samsung Credit you get with the phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra costs 100 less for the same amount of storage (512GB) thanks to a hefty discount. The Ultra is chunkier (8.2mm, 218g vs. 5.8mm, 163g), but it also has a larger display (6.9) and battery (5,000mAh) with faster wired charging (45W).

And the 200MP camera isnt alone when it comes to zooming in  theres a 10MP 3x (67mm) medium tele and a 50MP 5x (111mm) long tele. It also has a 50MP ultra-wide camera, while the Edge has a basic 12MP unit like the vanilla and plus models.

Theres talk that the Edge will replace the Plus model in the Galaxy S lineup next year. This year, however, the Galaxy S25+ is cheaper than the Edge. Though given the current prices, wed go for the Ultra over the Plus in a heartbeat.

But just for completeness sake, If you want an S25+, wed advise to wait a week or two. The phone is bigger (7.3mm, 190g vs. 5.8mm, 163g) despite having the same screen size. However, it has 1,000mAh bigger battery (4,900mAh) and faster 45W wired charging. Instead of a 200MP camera, it has a 50MP main and a 10MP 3x (67mm) telephoto.

While its razor thin, the S25 Edge is still 75.6mm wide. The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S25 is 70.5mm wide and weighs the same. Which phone is smaller in your mind? If its the S25, you get pretty much the same hardware as the S25+, except for the 6.2 display and the 4,000mAh battery (essentially the same size as Edge).

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is small in other ways  it folds down to 85.1 x 71.9 x 14.9mm and weighs 187g. It would have been great if it had a 200MP camera too, but alas, you only get a 50+12MP setup. At least the battery is bigger than on the Edge  by only 100mAh (4,000mAh capacity), but foldables are not known for their battery size. The Z Flip7 is a couple of months away, but its price will be higher than the current 900 price tag for the 2024 model.

Alternatively, you can get the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, which costs the same as the Edge. Its rated IP48 like the Flip and it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. No telephoto or 200MP cameras here either, but the 50+50MP combo offers higher resolution ultra-wide photos. And the battery is even bigger at 4,700mAh with faster charging than even the S25 Ultra  68W wired and 30W wireless.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is another phone that competes with the Ultra rather than the Edge. It measures 8.5mm thick and weighs 221g with a 6.8 display and a 5,060mAh battery (37W/23W charging). It has a 50MP main, 48MP 5x (113mm) and 48MP ultra-wide cameras.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is 72mm wide  not as small as the S25 and quite heavy too at 199g. But you get the same hardware as the Pro XL, except for the 6.3 display and 4,700mAh battery (27W/21W). Both Pixel Pros are on the pricey side, but they come with a free pair of Pixel Buds Pro 2, which can soften the blow if youre in the market for new TWS buds.

The OnePlus 13 is close in size to the S25 Ultra. But it packs a large 6.82 display and a 6,000mAh battery  Samsung still hasnt gotten above 5,000mAh. And this is with fast 100W wired and 50W wireless charging too. The cameras are a 50MP main, backed by a 50MP 3x (73mm) and 50MP ultra-wide  all this and youll be spending 300 less than with the Edge.

The Poco F7 Ultra costs half as much as the S25 Edge. Its not a small phone by any means (8.4mm, 212g) but you get a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and a larger 5,300mAh battery with 120W wired and 50W wireless charging. The cameras feature a 50MP main, 50MP 2.5x (60mm) tele and a 32MP ultra-wide.

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Some $60 million to kickstart the architectural, engineering and design work for a new Guam Memorial Hospital is included in the governments $500.8 million Fix in Six project.

Money for the new hospital is set aside in plans for the half-billion-dollar funding unveiled by the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority this month.

GHURA Deputy Director Fernando Esteves at Thursday public hearing for the money said the $60 million is specific to architectural, engineering, and design work for the new hospital, and is only an estimate.

Well do a procurement process. Theyll propose, select the most qualified (bidder) and then negotiate price at that point, Esteves said.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero in January said shes looking to go out to bid for architectural and engineering work as well as a construction manager for the Mangilao hospital project. No bid announcement has been made, yet.

The governor had previously stated she wanted as much as $400 million from the $500.8 Fix in Six funds. But those statements were made before the governor was briefed on eligible uses for the funds, Esteves has said previously.

On Thursday, the GHURA deputy director said architectural and engineering work for the new hospital was specifically selected for the Fix in Six funds because its a multiplier for the hospital project.

You dont have enough to build a whole hospital, but we can tell you how much its going to cost, and you know how its going to be designed, and then then it can move forward, Esteves said.

He noted that design work for the new GMH is kind of holding everything back.

The legislature is going to have hard time to budget, or seeking financing, federal grants if they dont know what the final cost is, he said.

Costs for hospital construction were estimated at between $600 million and $800 million in February by former Guam Economic Development Authority administrator Melanie Mendiola.

Past estimates for an entire medical complex associated with the Mangilao hospital have gone as high as $1 billion.

But before the government moves into a new GMH, the current hospital will need support, GMH Administrator Lilian Perez-Posadas said at the Thursday public hearing for the Fix in Six money.

I would be remiss if didnt stand up and advocate for our current hospital, Perez-Posadas told Esteves.

She said hospital management did submit an application to fix the currently facility, but it wasnt included in the $500.8 million action plan.

It is a public facility, and we do have some damages from the wild that we are continuously repairing and fixing, she said.

Perez-Posadas said the current hospital should be included.

We got to keep the Hospital Operational while we wait for the new hospital to be filled, she said.

GMH leadership laid out $29.3 million worth of capital improvement projects that the hospital wont have funding for in fiscal year 2026.

Among items on the list are a long-delayed main electrical panel upgrade worth $5.1 million, a need for a new health record system at $14.56 million, and upgrades to the hospitals fire alarm and elevators.

Esteves on Thursday GHURA did receive a proposal from GMH for the Fix in Six funds.

But he said that because of the rules for the Fix in Six funding, the old hospital cant get a guaranteed portion of the money for fixes up front.

According to Esteves, the $60 million for a new hospital was specifically chosen because design work doesnt have some of the strings attached as other projects.

Money for the design of a new hospital would only be subject to a feasibility review under HUD rules, once the design work is about one-third finished, he said.

But if GHURA puts money down on the old GMH, it will have to consider what the use for that facility will be over the entire lifetime of the building, even after GovGuam moves to a new hospital.

Because once HUD, money touches it, the requirements for HUD, for an eligible use of that building, remain forever, he told Perez-Posadas

He said Guam will have to justify to the feds why it is paying for a new and old hospital at the same time.

In our experience, we can almost guarantee that its going to flag with HUD, and theyre going to either reject it or ultimately trigger repayment, Esteves told Perez-Posadas.

But he said there was still hope.

GMH can submit a proposal to tap into about $43 million worth of funds set aside for infrastructure and public facilities in the Fix in Six action plan, the deputy director noted. The hospitals proposal have to be weighed against other project proposals during the application cycle for those funds.

I think everybody agrees we need a new hospital, Esteves told the Pacific Daily News after the hearing.

The governor has set a target of breaking ground on a new hospital in Mangilao this year, 2025. Installation work for power and water infrastructure has already started.

But the Mangilao hospital project is also mired in litigation.

Attorney General Doug Moylan has is suing in federal court to stop the project, alleging GHURA violated the law when in the use of federal money and in the condemnation of lands for the hospital.

Landowner facing condemnation, meanwhile, have vowed to fight the process in the Superior Court of Guam.

GHURA and Esteves have asserted that the law was followed in the acquisition of land for the hospital. Along with the governor, theyve moved to dismiss the AGs lawsuit.
Guam Civil Defense Administrator Charles Esteves has been accused of assaulting a woman in a Washington, D.C. hotel room in March, and prosecutors want to bring him back to Washington to answer the charge.

An arrest warrant was issued for Esteves, who appeared in Guam District Court Saturday.

Charging documents from the District of Columbia state that Esteves and the woman, a Guam resident whose name has been redacted from court filings, were in bed at 3 a.m. March 23 at the Washington Hilton. He became angry during the course of their conversation, began yelling at her and then straddled her as she was lying on the bed. He reportedly pulled her hair, placed both hands around her neck and began to choke her, according to court documents.

The woman began recording the incident on her phone, hiding it under the bed, and later provided the video to detectives. She stated that the defendant continued yelling, threatened to kill her family, and attempted to damage the room, though she prevented significant destruction. The defendant also urinated on the bed and her clothing, the document stated.

On April 11, after flying back to Washington, D.C., the woman went to a district police station to file a report.

She provided a color photocopy of Esteves Guam drivers license and told investigators he is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army National Guard. The arrest warrant was issued on May 1.

During an initial appearance in Guam District Court on Saturday, Esteves was released on his own recognizance and ordered to comply with any restraining orders in the case.

A status hearing was set for 11:15 a.m. Tuesday to address whether the District Court has jurisdiction on the request to send Esteves to Washington, D.C.

When contacted by Pacific Daily News on Saturday, Esteves declined comment on the advice of counsel.

Esteves is one of six employees at the Office of Civil Defense indicted in April in a case involving overtime payments at the agency.

On May 1, he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of certifying officer malfeasance and two counts of official misconduct, all with a special allegation of commission of a crime against the community.
The Guam Department of Education Head Start Program is now open for registration for the school year 2025-2026, according to a news release from the department.

Launched in 1965, Head Start is nationally recognized in the field of early childhood education for providing innovative, high-quality, comprehensive support services to children and families to prepare them for success in kindergarten and beyond.

The Guam Head Start Program is a valuable resource to early childhood education and these services to the families have direct and lifelong advantages that impact our Guam Department of education students future, said Superintendent Erik Swanson.

Interested applicants may visit any of the outreach sites from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The last day to register will be May 30.

Dededo Public Health Center

 May 25 - 29, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday (May 26 Holiday)

 June 2-26, Monday to Thursdays

Inalahan Public Health Center

 June 9 - 12, Monday to Thursday

Hagat Mayors Office

 June 16  19, Monday to Thursday

Who Should Apply?

Families that meet the federal income guidelines and have a child who is age eligible:

5 years old (born Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020)

4 years old (born Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021)

3 years old (born Jan. 1 to July 31, 2022)

2025 Federal Income Guidelines

Family of 1 - $15,650

Family of 2 - $21,150

Family of 3 - $26,650

Family of 4 - $32,150

Family of 5 - $37,650

Family of 6 - $43,150

Family of 7 - $48,650

Family of 8 - $54,150

For families with more than 8 people, add $5,500 for each additional person.

Families receiving TANF, SNAP or SSI and have an age-eligible child.

Families who are homeless and have an age -ligible child.

Age-eligible child in foster care

Families with an age-eligible child with certified special needs (a current IEP from GDOE Special Education)

Who can register a child? (Child is not required to be present)

 Household Parents

 Household legal guardians appointed through the court must register child

What do I need to bring? (As it applies to your family)

 Household parents and/or guardians picture identification (valid drivers license, Guam ID, Passport)

 Childs birth certificate (original or official stamped copy)

 Immunization card (shot record)

 Childs Social Security card

 Legal documents relating to guardianship, child custody or name changes such as restraining order; marriage certificate or divorce decree when parents name is different from childs birth certificate or identification cards

 Income documents for all household parents and guardians for the last 12 months:

 Verification of earned and unearned income of Household Parents and Guardians to include but not limited to the following: 2024 W2 and Income Tax forms; check stubs from 2024-2025, Public Health TANF or SNAP Certification, Child Support, Financial Aid, Social Security benefits, GHURA Utility Reimbursements, LES for military (monthly)

 Statement of Support if no source of income

 Unemployment Verification if unemployed for a total of 6 months or more

 If child has a certified disability, copy of current IEP documents from GDOE Special Education

For more information, refer to the flyer or call the Guam Head Start office at (671) 475-0484.
Issues with a business license for the developer fielding a $38 million lawsuit against the Guam Regional Medical City wont be enough to throw out the suit, a local judge ruled.

Superior Court of Guam Judge John Terlaje denied a request by GRMC to dismiss the lawsuit brought by one-time landlord CW Holdings over allegations the developer does not have a valid business license. Its the latest development in the legal battle between CW Holdings and GRMC thats been ongoing since August 2023.

CW Holdings initiated the lawsuit, alleging GRMC failed to pay rent and breached its lease for the Medical Arts Center, which was built next door to the hospital. The developer asserts the hospital is on the hook for $38 million. GRMC has since countersued for the return of $1.8 million in rent and other costs, asserting CW Holdings failed to complete the building by a 2022 move-in date.

With a motion to dismiss denied on May 8, Terlaje is now set to decide whether to grant a request from the developer to immediately find that the hospital violated its lease terms. The case is on hold, while parties gather evidence and CW Holdings works to obtain a business license.

Business license

After over a year of back and further before Judge Terlaje, the hospital on Jan. 17 motioned to have the lawsuit thrown out, the Pacific Daily News reported. Attorneys for the hospital alleged that CW Holdings never obtained a service rental business license needed to secure the lease for the Medical Arts Center, or MAC, and that the lawsuit could not proceed.

In a signed declaration submitted to the court in February, CW Holdings principal Cesar Cabot asserted that a business license was obtained on Jan. 24, 2025, according to Terlajes latest order in the case. But attorneys for the hospital asserted the license was obtained fraudulently and without a Guam Fire Department inspection, the order states.

According to a March 19 order, counsel for GRMC in March stated they were reporting CW Holdings to government permitting agencies to include the Department of Public Works, and Guam Fire Department, and that investigations against the developer were pending.

On April 30, the Department of Revenue and Taxation director sent CW Holdings a letter informing the developer that its business license was revoked that same day, the latest judge order states. The letter from DRT identifies the reason for this revocation, in significant part, to be erroneous approval from the Guam Fire Department, the order states.

But the licensing issue is not enough to dismiss the lawsuit brought by CW Holdings, according to Terlaje. Under the law, the proper procedure when a party does not have the required business license is not dismissal, but staying the proceeding until that party obtains the license, his order states.

Attorney Jon Ramos, in a status hearing for the case this week, said that CW Holdings was working on getting its business license soon. Ramos gave the update to Magistrate Judge Jonathan Quan, who was appointed as the discovery master while the lawsuit is on hold.

Issues with evidence

Besides the matter of CW Holdings business license, proceedings in the lawsuit are also on hold so that the hospital can complete discovery, or the gathering of evidence in the case.

The developer in January furnished a building assessment, dated Sept. 17, 2024, which found the Medical Arts Center met most of the requirements of the lease agreement with GRMC. According to a motion for summary judgment filed by CW Holdings, the only issues with the building were in areas where the hospital failed to do its part, and prevented the completion of the center.

CW Holdings wants Judge Terlaje to issue a finding that the hospital breached its lease agreement. But attorneys for GRMC in February asked the court to hold off on briefing the issue, court filings show.

They raised issues with getting information from various subcontractors involved in the MAC construction, and incomplete inspection of the building. The hospital asserted that CW Holdings would not allow the centers elevators and water tank to be inspected. Terlaje told the parties to work together to finish gathering evidence and gave them until April 21 to wrap up the process, though that deadline has since been extended.

Attorney Dean Ramos, for the hospital, reported during a status hearing this week that he was still having issues obtaining information from subcontractors involved in the MAC. He asked for an indefinite amount of time to gather evidence, pointing to the state of the MAC during a recent inspection. Id be very surprised if they got a (business) license within the next few months, Manglona told Quan.

Ramos told the court that CW Holdings was not preventing the disclosure of any evidence, and did not control the subcontractors involved. Magistrate Judge Quan extended the discovery deadline to July 2.
Guam Del. James Moylan and others introduced legislation to modernize the Family and Medical Leave Act to help ensure that military caregiver benefits are available to more people who care for their servicemembers or veterans.

Moylan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. April McClain Delaney introduced the bicameral and bipartisan legislation that would expand FMLA leave benefits for military family members who arent currently covered under the FMLA. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

I am proud to co-lead the bipartisan MIL FMLA Act with Rep. McClain Delaney, which will address inequities that our veterans, servicemembers, and their families face every day, Moylan said. As the representative of the district with the highest level of enlistments per capita, and as a veteran myself, this bill addresses the countless underlying issues that affect our ability and willingness to serve. I look forward to working with Rep. McClain Delaney to deliver for those in our country who have served and currently serve our country.

McClain Delaney said 14 million Americans care for injured servicemembers and veterans, but current law leaves too many behind.

The act ensures all military caregivers  including domestic partners and extended family  can access the leave they deserve, without arbitrary restrictions. This bill is a step toward truly honoring the service and sacrifice of those who care for our nations heroes, McClain Delaney said.

The act would address the gaps in FMLA that have left many military caregivers without adequate leave access by:
Prugraman Sinipok, a CHamoru language immersion program for adults, is slated to return to Guam this summer, from July 7-19.

The program provides tools, instruction, and resources to empower participants to give life to the Chamoru language.

The inaugural program took place on Guam in 2022, and after successful iterations both on island and in Southern California, the program will return to Guam with its fourth cohort.

Throughout the two-week immersion program, participants receive daily language lessons, visit important cultural and historic sites, and learn from important local figures deeply involved in both cultural and language revitalization.

Anna Marie Arceo of Chief Hurao Academy, Pale Eric Forbes, language scholar and educator Teresita Flores, and Master of Chamoru Dance Frank Rabon are among the many people who have shared their experiences and expertise with Prugraman Sinipok participants.

Prugraman Sinipok is the brainchild of CHamoru language learner and program director, June Daggao Pangelinan. During the pandemic, when Guam Museum curator and Chamoru language scholar Miget Lujan Bevacqua began offering virtual classes, Pangelinan, a California resident, was among the first of his students.

Pangelinan asked Bevacqua if he would be interested in serving as the programs lead teacher, and he agreed. With the help of program sponsors such as the Guam Museum and Chief Hurao Academy, Prugraman Sinipok welcomed its first cohort to Guahan in 2022.

We have seen more and more resources and support being created for young children to help give them the gift of our native language, but tens of thousands of CHamorus in the Marianas and in the diaspora are adults who want to learn their native language, either for themselves, to pass it on to their kids or to talk to their elders, Bevacqua said. It is critical to give them more support so they can build on the passion that they feel to reconnect.

Today, most native CHamoru speakers are over the age of 60. Prugraman Sinipok recognizes the urgency behind language revitalization.

We have a beautiful language that has been asleep for far too long and we need to do all we can to ensure it is spoken for generations to come, Pangelinan said.

Over the years, program participants have learned from many CHamoru leaders who have since passed away  the late musician and radio host Joaquin Kin Concepcion, the late carver and Sagan Kotturan Foundation Museum curator Johnny Cake Siguenza, the late oral historian and genealogist Malia Ramirez, and the late chanter Jeremy Cepeda. The transmission of knowledge from CHamoru elders to the next generation is one of the core elements of the program.

Visit sinipok.org and follow on Instagram @prugramansinipok to learn more.




Haiti - Politic : Prime Minister on tour in Cap-Haitien





On Friday, as part of the celebrations marking the Commemoration of the Haitian Flag (May 18), Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, leading a delegation including Joseph Andre Gracien Jean, Minister Delegate for Electoral and Constitutional Affairs, Ms. J.E. Kathia Verdier, Minister for Haitians Living Abroad, his Chief of Staff, Me Axene Joseph, and other colleagues, arrived in Cap-Haitien. He was warmly welcomed by local authorities, civil society representatives, and many citizens.



Taking advantage of his presence in the North, the Prime Minister, true to his commitment to establishing community-based governance based on listening, consultation, and action, will begin a series of strategic meetings with the region's key players. He will meet with community leaders, entrepreneurs, youth and women's organizations, as well as religious representatives. He will also engage in direct dialogue with the population to listen to their concerns and strengthen cohesion around national priorities.



On his arrival in Cap-Haitien, the Prime Minister held an important meeting with the delegates and vice-delegates of the Nord department. This meeting is part of a strategic approach aimed at strengthening dialogue between the central government and the territories.



The Prime Minister firmly emphasized the collective responsibility of all in the face of the major challenges facing the nation. He emphasized the importance of the active engagement of every local, institutional, and community actor in the democratic reconstruction of the country.



Three national priorities structure this mobilization :



- The sustainable restoration of security throughout the country;

- The holding of a constitutional referendum;

- The organization of free, credible, and inclusive elections.



The Head of Government reaffirmed his commitment to building governance based on listening, consultation, and concrete action. He called on local authorities to collaborate closely with national authorities and international partners to ensure a legitimate and hopeful political transition.



The Prime Minister underscored the importance of the elections, the Constitutional referendum, and the restoration of security. He emphasized the crucial role of all stakeholders, whether from civil society, local authorities, or the public administration, in rebuilding democracy, restoring trust, and reestablishing the Republic.



Then, the Prime Minister met with the Presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of the North, Northeast, and Northwest regions. Discussions focused on three main areas : the security situation, economic recovery, and the private sector's contribution to the electoral process.



In response, the Head of Government reiterated his commitment to restoring security throughout the country and ensuring the swift holding of the constitutional referendum and general elections, which are essential elements for the return to democratic order.



He also advocated for greater involvement of local authorities in public procurement, so that state investments directly benefit entrepreneurs in the regions concerned and boost local economies.



Furthermore, during his visit, the Prime Minister was informed of the advanced state of disrepair of the Francois Capois high school. Deeming the situation unacceptable, he summoned Antoine Augustin, the Minister of National Education, and Ms. Sterline Civil, the Director General of the National Education Fund (FNE), to the site and instructed them to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to completely rebuild the school, ensuring a dignified and safe learning environment for students.



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Haiti - FLASH : Explosion of gender-based violence in the country





The intensification of armed violence in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area has been accompanied by a surge in gender-based violence, primarily targeting women. In response to this emergency, the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) are supporting the Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with local partners, to respond to the growing needs of victims.



"What keeps me alive, what keeps me from giving up, are my children. Sometimes I feel like taking my own life," confides R., 35. Like many victims, she is an internally displaced person, a victim of rape and sexual assault, often perpetrated by members of armed gangs.



According to data from the Ministry for the Status of Women, nearly 6,500 cases of gender-based violence were reported in 2024, and already 1,250 in the first two months of 2025. These figures are largely underestimated, according to humanitarian actors, due to fear, stigma, and difficulties accessing services. Of these cases, more than 60% involve sexual violence, often linked to forced displacement.



To respond to this emergency, PAHO/WHO and its partners are supporting the Ministry in implementing a strengthened medical and psychosocial response, with financial support from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).



In the sites hosting displaced persons, 11 psychologists and as many social workers have been trained and deployed to provide direct support to women and girls identified as victims of sexual violence. Under the coordination of the Western Health Directorate, these teams provide psychosocial support and counseling, and refer victims to available healthcare facilities. This human presence is crucial in a context where women's voices are still too often stifled by fear and stigma.



"I considered suicide because I didn't want what I experienced to become a source of shame for me or my children," modestly explains F., 34.



To further strengthen this fieldwork, three local women's organizations, Kay Fanm, SOFA, and Fondation TOYA, have been mobilized. Their role is essential: as actors rooted in the communities, they create a space of trust, facilitate case identification, and support victims like F. through an often long and complex care pathway.



"Thoughts of suicide were never leaving me. But by going to TOYA, I was able to access real support. Thanks to their support, I found a glimmer of hope."



Through this integrated response, PAHO/WHO and its partners intend to break the silence surrounding sexual violence and put women's dignity back at the heart of the humanitarian response.



Nine health facilities in the most affected areas will be reequipped with specialized equipment to treat cases of sexual violence: gynecological examination tables, rape kits, sterile instruments, and essential medicines. Fifty health professionals will also be trained or retrained to improve the quality of clinical and psychosocial care, according to gender-sensitive protocols.



Through this integrated approach, PAHO/WHO and its partners aim to break the silence surrounding sexual violence and restore the dignity of women and girls in a context of extreme vulnerability.



"We cannot turn a blind eye to this crisis," said Dr. Oscar Barreneche, PAHO/WHO Representative in Haiti. "It is our collective duty to support victims, strengthen the capacities of health institutions, and ensure that every woman and girl affected by violence has access to quality care, with respect and dignity."



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Haiti - News : Zapping...





Dajabon : Ultimatum to Illegal Haitians

Haitians in an irregular migration situation living in Dajabon, Dominican Republic, have five days to vacate their homes. After this deadline, they will be forcibly evicted, warns Santiago Riveron, the mayor of Dajabon, who specifies that Migration agents and the Dominican army will be mobilized as part of this operation.



Alert Fake AGD press release

The General Administration of Customs (AGD) wishes to inform the general public that a "Fake press release" numbered 000178 and dated May 15, 2025, is in circulation, implying that the AGD plans to hold a vehicle auction on May 21, 2025. The AGD declines all responsibility for this false press release and states that it is not holding any auctions and has not published any vehicle lists.



More than 1,600 schools closed

In Haiti, more than 1,600 schools were forced to close between January and April 2025 due to armed violence, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).



Scam : Fake Capital Bank S.A. and CapInvest S.A. webpages

"Capital Bank S.A. and its subsidiary CapInvest S.A. are warning of the presence of fraudulent online webpages that impersonate them to promote fake investments. In a press release published on May 15, 2025, they stated that they have no connection with these deceptive offers and reiterated that no investment transactions are conducted outside of their official channels. It is crucial to remain vigilant and not share any personal information or make payments to unidentified third parties."



West : Tribute to 7 Teachers

On May 16, 2025, the eve of National Teachers' Day, the Minister of National Education, Antoine Augustin, paid tribute to seven teachers from the West department for their exceptional contribution to the development of education in Haiti. The ceremony was held at the Karibe Hotel. The honored teachers received plaques of honor and merit for their dedication and remarkable service: Jean Marc Charles, with a 46-year career, has been Principal of the Lycee Nationale de Petion-ville for 26 years. Christophe Philippe Charles, with a 55-year career, has held a chair at Lycee Marie-Jeanne for 46 years. Elie Meus has a 44-year career, Marie Josette Bazin Benjamin has a 41-year career, Etienne Francois has a 39-year career, Lukernange Charles has a 34-year career, and Claudette Elysee Torchenot has a 28-year career.



Embassy of Canada Closed

The Embassy of Canada in Haiti will be closed on Monday, May 19, 2025, for the celebration of Victoria Day. Activities will resume on Tuesday, May 20. In case of a consular emergency, please contact: toll-free at +1-613-996-8885 or email sos@international.gc.ca



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A sudden loss of power generation at a substation in Granada in southern Spain, followed by outages seconds later in Badajoz and Seville, triggered the unprecedented blackout across Spain and Portugal on April 28, according to the Spanish government. As Spain's third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, explained on Wednesday, the problem that led to the total blackout in the Iberian Peninsula began with three consecutive blackouts in the provinces of Granada, Badajoz and Seville.

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In an appearance before the Chamber of Deputies, which was reported by the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, among others, Aagesen said that the three incidents resulted in a loss of 2.2 gigawatts of electricity within 20 seconds. "Immediately afterwards, the phase of cascading overvoltage shutdown began"  and subsequently caused the entire system to collapse.

According to the minister, the government located the start of the chain of disruptions in three provinces in the south of Spain. The first power outage was detected three seconds before 12:33 pm on April 28 in a substation in the province of Granada; only 19 seconds later there was another outage in another substation in the province of Badajoz and 20 seconds later in another substation in Seville.

Cause remains unclear

However,the question of the cause of the biggest power outage in Spain's history remains unanswered. During her appearance, Aagesen denied indications of a cyber attack on the infrastructure of the Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE), which is responsible for security of supply, according to El Pais. "No evidence has been found, and that is good news," she said. However, this does not rule out the possibility of an attack on power plants or other phases of the electricity grid, the paper continued. Investigations are continuing at the control centers of the electricity suppliers and at the generation plants. However, with every day that passes without evidence emerging, the trail of a cyber attack loses momentum, according to the assessment of Spain's largest daily newspaper.

The minister also pointed out that in the half hour before the blackout, two oscillations were detected in the electricity grid on the Iberian Peninsula and in other parts of Europe. "In the half hour before the incident, two oscillation periods (power and frequency fluctuations) were observed in the continental European synchronous area," the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) published the cross-regional oscillations  the technical term for such disturbances  on Friday. According to Aagesen, your government is investigating whether these oscillations "have anything to do with the incident".

Protective measures did not work

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According to El Pais, it remains to be clarified why the REE's attempts to limit the blackout to a section of the grid and prevent a total blackout were unsuccessful. Most of the experts interviewed by the newspaper pointed to a failure of the grid operator's protocols and automatic systems. If the security measures had worked correctly, the blackout would only have occurred in some areas of Spain and not on the entire Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, according to the experts.

During her appearance before the MEPs, Aagesen assured them that after six meetings of the blackout committee, they had come to the conclusion that it was not a problem of reserves or coverage. The widespread blackout was not caused by insufficient scheduled power generation to meet demand or to ensure the safety of the system. On April 28, electricity generation was significantly higher than demand. Minutes before the blackout, Spain was even exporting plenty of electricity to neighboring France, Portugal and Morocco.

The investigation will take some time and there will probably be no easy answers to this complex problem, said Aagesen. "We will not allow haste to keep us from the truth," she said, reiterating that it will take time to analyze the millions of pieces of information being collected by the commission set up by the government. "We are in the process of analyzing millions of pieces of data. We are continuing to make progress in identifying the places where these generation failures have occurred and we already know that they have started in Granada, Badajoz and Seville."

(akn)

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.
US President Trump has once again called on Apple to manufacture iPhones in the USA and to build plants there  and not just to relocate further parts of production from China to India. He had "a little problem" with Apple boss Tim Cook, Trump explained at a press conference in Qatar. He had already "tolerated all these plants" that Apple had built in China over the years  history must not be repeated in India now. Apple must bring production to the USA instead.

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At the beginning of the year, the company announced an investment of 500 billion US dollars in the domestic market. However, this does not include a major relocation of production. Apple will now increase this once again, Trump noted vaguely. Apple itself has not yet commented on this.

Apple is increasingly relying on India for iPhone production

Due to the now exorbitant punitive tariffs on goods in China, Apple has apparently significantly expanded the final production of iPhones in India. In the current financial quarter, the manufacturer will be able to meet US demand almost entirely with iPhones from India, Cook recently explained to financial analysts. According to a report, the Group wants to be able to produce all iPhones for the US market in India by the end of 2026.

It has been apparent for some time that Apple's dependence on China as a production location is becoming an increasingly serious problem. Cook is now also caught between two stools: the relocation of final iPhone assembly to India is not only viewed with suspicion in the USA, but also in China, where Apple's plans are being blocked as far as possible. For the current quarter, Apple estimates that the current tariffs could cost the company around 900 million US dollars. According to a report, price increases are already being discussed for the iPhone 17 series as a result. A significant relocation of the huge iPhone production to the USA is currently considered unlikely  It would be an extremely costly project that would take many years to complete. Apart from the huge final production, numerous Apple suppliers are also based in China.

Criticism of Apple's relationship with China

Apple has ultimately turned China into a high-tech nation by building up its production and huge supply chain, a Financial Times journalist criticizes in a newly published book "Apple in China". This has transferred massive amounts of technology and know-how there without there having been a change towards more democracy. China has ultimately become a manufacturing giant that could not only take over the global smartphone market, but also other markets such as electric cars. Apple described the book to Vanity Fair as "untrue" and riddled with "inaccuracies".

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(lbe)

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.
The free two-day event features 15 saunas, from traditional wooden cabins to a retrofitted Volkswagen van transformed into a quirky gabled-roof steam room. The sauna village, built in front of Pikkufinlandia, can host up to 100 people at a time.

Around 1,000 people are expected to sweat together in celebration of music and steam as Saunavision takes over Helsinkis Toolonlahti Bay ahead of Saturdays Eurovision Grand Final.

The event opened on Friday, with VIP guests including members of parliament and embassy staff taking the first turn in the heat. Organisers also invited homeless people to the launch.

In the sauna, everyone is equal, titles dont matter, said organiser Tea Lindberg in a city press release.

A DJ booth set up at the village centre plays Eurovision favourites and this years charting entries. The musical theme was inspired by Finnish comedy group KAJ, who are competing in the Eurovision final with a sauna-themed anthem, Bara bada bastu.

Organised by the City of Helsinki in cooperation with Visitsauna.com and Saunat.fi, Saunavision combines two key elements of Finnish identity, saunas and Eurovision fandom. Booking calendars show all slots have been filled, suggesting full attendance across the two-day event from 1617 May.

HT
The firms new guidance encourages the use of smartphone settings alongside consistent, open dialogue to protect children from unwanted content and contact online.

Telecom provider DNA is urging Finnish parents to take a more active role in managing their childrens online lives, as concerns grow about harmful content circulating on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and messaging services such as WhatsApp, Discord and Telegram.

Smartphone settings help, but theyre not enough. Children need to feel safe discussing what they see and do online, said Jesse Kieksi, Head of Devices at DNA.

DNA recommends that parents avoid giving smartphones to very young children. For pupils in Grades 1 and 2, a phone watch is considered a safer alternative. These watches allow children to stay in contact with pre-approved people and avoid exposure to internet content entirely.

For older children using smartphones, Kieksi advises parents to create supervised user profiles on their childs device. These profiles allow parents to set screen time limits, control app downloads, and monitor usage remotely.

Most phones ask during setup whether the device is for an adult or a child. Answering this correctly gives parents access to built-in parental controls, he said.

Android users can use Googles Family Link app, while iPhone users can access similar features through Family Sharing. For simplicity and control, Kieksi suggests that children and parents use phones with the same operating system.

Managing content and restrictions is easier if you know the device well yourself, Kieksi noted.

The company warns that harmful content isnt limited to social media apps. Children can still access inappropriate material via web browsers. DNA recommends considering digital security services to filter browser-based content.

Beyond technical measures, Kieksi emphasised the importance of engagement.

Ask your child what their friends are talking about, whats trending, or whether theyve received strange messages. Dont just ask if everythings okayshow genuine interest, he said.

He also suggests parents explore digital content together with their children. Playing games, browsing memes, or using apps together helps build trust and opens channels of communication.

Banning social media wont work. Building a relationship where children feel they can talk about their experiences is more effective, Kieksi said.

He added that parents should model good digital behaviour. Excessive or distracted phone use by adults can undermine their own efforts to teach healthy screen habits.

The DNA guidance arrives amid rising concerns in Finland and beyond over childrens exposure to misinformation, sexual content, and online predators. While legal responsibility for digital platforms lies elsewhere, the company argues that everyday actions by parents can provide meaningful protection.

HT
The helicopters, both Robinson R44 models, departed from Tallinn on Saturday morning. They were heading to an aviation event at the Piikajarvi Airfield in Kokemaki, organised by a local flying club.

Two private helicopters crashed near Eura, southwest Finland, on Saturday, killing all five people on board. The victims included well-known Estonian businessman Oleg Sonajalg , authorities and local media confirmed.

According to the Finnish police and Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the helicopters collided shortly after midday and crashed into a forested area. The wreckage was found about 100 metres apart.

Preliminary data from flight tracking services show the aircraft flew in close formation for most of the journey. At around 12.30pm, both disappeared from radar near Eura Airfield. Witnesses in the area reported seeing the helicopters fly close together before one abruptly shifted direction and struck the other.

"One of them dropped like a stone," said local resident Antti Marjanen, who contacted emergency services after seeing the collision.

Emergency crews reached the scene quickly. One of the helicopters caught fire on impact. Rescue teams used the smoke to locate the site and soon discovered the second helicopter nearby. The Finnish Defence Forces assisted in securing the area. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is leading the inquiry into the cause of the crash.

Police confirmed that there were two people aboard one aircraft and three in the other. The identities of both pilots are known, but officials are still verifying the identities of the passengers.

One of the pilots was Oleg Sonajalg, 58, a well-known Estonian entrepreneur in the wind power sector. He was also known for travelling frequently between the mainland and his home on the island of Saaremaa by helicopter. According to aviation sources in Tallinn, he typically piloted his own aircraft.

Sonajalg was flying a Robinson R44 registered in Estonia under the identifier ES-ETR. The second aircraft, registered as OE-XOS, belonged to Austria. Both helicopters were lightweight four-seater rotorcraft produced by U.S.-based manufacturer Robinson Helicopter Company.

The aircraft took off from a private helipad behind Tallinns Linnahall, a Soviet-era structure near the citys port. It was the former terminal for scheduled helicopter services between Tallinn and Helsinki until a fatal crash in 2005 ended commercial operations. The helipad has since remained in private use.

Local aviation enthusiasts and fishermen near the Linnahall site told Helsingin Sanomat that they saw the helicopters waiting on the tarmac before departing towards Finland.

The crash has shaken Estonias small aviation community. Sonajalg had a long presence in the business world, originally gaining public attention as a member of a religious pop group formed during the late Soviet period. In recent years, he was involved in several high-profile disputes over wind energy developments.

The second pilot has not been officially named, but according to sources in Tallinn, he was a construction entrepreneur with no public profile.

Organisers at the Piikajarvi Airfield confirmed that the two helicopters were expected as part of a group of private guests from Estonia. Around 20 aircraft and 50 participants were anticipated at the weekend event.

We knew they were en route. Some of the others arrived, but some didnt, said Ari Pullinen, chairman of the Pori Aviation Club.

Aviation authorities in Finland and Estonia are coordinating on the investigation. The cause of the crash remains unknown, but early speculation from aviation sources suggests possible human error, weather conditions, or communication issues between the aircraft.

HT
The legislation would apply to both rented and privately owned e-scooters. Electric bicycles are excluded from the age restriction.

The new restriction is part of a broader micromobility report approved on Friday. It follows several recent accidents involving minors, some of which resulted in serious injuries or fatalities.

The Finnish Parliaments Transport and Communications Committee has endorsed a national age limit for electric scooter use, proposing a ban for anyone under the age of 15.

Until now, the governments proposal had left age limits to local authorities, but the Constitutional Affairs Committee advised that such regulations should be unified across the country.

The Finnish Road Safety Council recommended a national age limit last year. The new rule brings Finland in line with several other European countries that have moved to tighten e-scooter regulations in response to growing safety concerns.

The draft law would also prohibit the use of e-scooters while intoxicated. A 0.05 percent blood alcohol content limit, equivalent to the standard for motorists, would be introduced for those operating light electric vehicles, including e-scooters and e-bikes.

Helmet use is not being made mandatory, but the legislation includes a formal recommendation to wear one. The government hopes this will improve rider safety and reduce the number of head injuries.

In addition, companies offering e-scooters or other micromobility rentals would be required to apply for special operating permits in each municipality. The government aims to address issues such as haphazard scooter parking and congestion on pavements, which have drawn complaints in major urban areas.

The Transport Committees proposal will now be reviewed by the full Parliament in a plenary session.

HT
Currently, only students admitted to Finnish universities through entrance exams or prior qualifications are eligible to complete degrees. Open universities, by contrast, offer fee-based courses without full degree pathways.

Student unions across Finland have raised concerns about a government proposal that would allow open universities to award academic degrees, warning that the reform could lead to the erosion of the countrys model of free higher education.

The proposed reform would change that, enabling students to earn full degrees through open universities or open universities of applied sciences by paying course fees.

The plan was first reported in late April by Ilta-Sanomat and has since prompted strong reactions from student organisations.

Thirteen university student unions issued a joint statement this week opposing the reform. They argue that the move signals a fundamental shift in Finlands approach to higher education.

This could mark the beginning of a two-tiered system, where some students pay for degrees while others do not, said Petra Pulli, Chair of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY). The worst fear is that the reform will create inequality in education.

The student unions believe that permitting fee-based degrees alongside the traditional free model risks undermining one of the cornerstones of Finnish society. They also voiced concern that the expansion of open university programmes could compromise education quality if funding remains unchanged.

Supporters of the proposal, including leadership at the University of Helsinki, argue that the change simply formalises and expands existing structures.

We are happy to extend the open pathway because it already exists, said Kai Nordlund, Vice-Rector of the University of Helsinki. He said that the university would begin joint discussions with other institutions and the Ministry of Education and Culture next week.

Nordlund stressed that the proposal is not intended to replace current admissions systems but to offer an additional route to higher education.

It is clear that open learning is not a substitute for degree studies that require entrance exams or qualifications. It is a new opportunity alongside these, he said.

He added that any implementation would need to consider the suitability of open degree pathways across different academic fields and promised that students would be consulted throughout the process.

The reform is still in an early stage, and its long-term implications remain uncertain. Nordlund said it is too soon to determine the potential impact on the value of degrees or the overall structure of Finlands higher education system.

Pulli, meanwhile, said student unions will continue discussions with university leaders and representatives from the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The system of free education must not be undermined  not on the pretext of budget constraints or for the sake of administrative convenience, she said.

HT
Seventeen Finnish soldiers were travelling in four UN-marked vehicles, accompanied by French personnel, when the group was stopped by a crowd at around 10:00am local time.

Finnish UN peacekeepers came under fire in southern Lebanon on Friday while on patrol near the Israeli border. The Finnish Defence Forces confirmed that none of the troops were injured, although their armoured vehicles sustained damage.

The incident took place in the operational area of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where Finland contributes approximately 200 personnel.

According to a Defence Forces statement, members of the crowd acted aggressively, with some individuals visibly armed. One Finnish peacekeeper fired warning shots in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. Soon after, a firearm was discharged from outside the crowd, targeting the patrol.

In response, the patrol used weapons to defend itself. As the unit withdrew from the scene, it came under further fire before returning to its home base in Deir Kifa at approximately 10:50am.

The Defence Forces stated that the origin of the gunfire and the motive behind the attack remain unclear. A formal investigation into the incident is underway.

The incident follows months of heightened tension in the region. In March, a Finnish peacekeeper was injured in an explosion in Lebanon. In late 2023, UNIFIL accused the Israeli Defence Forces of targeting its positions.

UNIFILs mission is to monitor the ceasefire along the IsraelLebanon border, particularly between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The mission has faced increasing volatility amid broader instability in the region.

HT
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by Staff reporter

A 32-year-old Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to life in prison by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court for a horrifying 2020 rape and robbery that shocked the South African public and left a female jogger traumatised.Mulero Nyangero, a father of two residing in Pretoria West, was convicted of rape and handed a life sentence, with an additional five years for aggravated robbery. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently and permanently barred him from possessing a firearm.According to South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Nyangero and two accomplices ambushed the victim while she was jogging along Kloof Street. They dragged her into nearby bushes, where Nyangero raped her while the others assaulted her and held her at knifepoint.The attackers forced the victim to transfer money to them via cellphone banking before fleeing the scene, leaving her tied up and bleeding. Demonstrating immense courage, the woman managed to untie herself and flagged down a passing motorist for help."She ran to the road and got a lift home before reporting the matter to Pretoria West Police," said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.A manhunt was swiftly launched, culminating in Nyangero's arrest at a tavern in Pretoria West in February 2021. He remained in custody throughout the trial.Despite pleading not guilty and insisting on his innocence, the court found Nyangero guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Advocate Chester Molaba led the prosecution, presenting compelling testimony from the victim and investigating officers that dismantled Nyangero's defence.In a final plea for leniency, Nyangero asked the court to consider his family responsibilities and time spent in remand. However, the prosecution argued that his lack of remorse and the brutal nature of his crimes warranted the harshest possible punishment."Advocate Molaba argued that Nyangero was remorseless, and his crimes were vicious and inhumane  a glaring example of the gender-based violence scourge plaguing the nation," said Mahanjana.The conviction and sentencing have been welcomed by activists and community members as a strong message against sexual violence and a victory for justice.
Advent names DeLaina Lewkowicz director of community benefit and health

DeLaina Lewkowicz

DeLaina Lewkowicz, who had been business development manager, has become the new director of community benefit and community health at AdventHealth Hendersonville, the provider announced.

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With more than a decade of strategic leadership experience, Lewkowicz will work to expand and foster meaningful and impactful relationships between AdventHealth and the Western North Carolina community.

Along with the whole-person care team members offer within clinical facilities, Lewkowicz will be offering new programs such as the AdventHealth Care Crew to expand opportunities for team members to volunteer in meaningful ways in our community.

Community advocacy is one of the most important aspects of AdventHealths culture and our mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, Lewkowicz says. We believe in stepping outside the hospital and clinic walls to better support the community as a whole. We are fortunate to partner with exceptional non-profit organizations that work to meet needs in our community.

As a not-for-profit hospital, AdventHealth believes in giving back to the community it serves by reinvesting resources to improve health care access and services, increasing access to care, and fostering community partnerships to help address both critical health care needs and health equity within the community.

I am honored by the opportunity to step in the community benefit and community health role, Lewkowicz says. It aligns closely with both my professional values and personal passion for improving health outcomes at the community level. I see this position as the bridge between the hospital and the community  to listen, understand and help implement initiatives  that serves both the individual and broader public health goals.

As a seventh generation Henderson County native, I am blessed to serve the community my family has loved for so long.

DeLaina and her husband, David, are the founders and co-leaders of The Bridge Church on Upward Road and are deeply involved in supporting first responders in Henderson County.

As members of AdventHealths FaithConnect, the couple uses their resources and expertise to connect with other ministry leaders throughout the community. She and her husband have two sons. In her free time DeLaina enjoys spending time with her family, being a chocolate connoisseur and visiting theme parks with her family.
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by Staff reporter

A bitter family inheritance dispute in Bulawayo has erupted into violence after a man allegedly assaulted his younger stepbrother over a handful of "ancestral soil," accusing him of trespassing and attempting to seize his late father's legacy.Nkosilathi Nkosana (38), of Lobenville suburb, is now behind bars after he reportedly slapped and strangled Mlungisi Moyo (24) during a heated altercation linked to long-standing tensions between the two.Nkosana appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Maxwell Ncube on Friday, facing charges of physical abuse. He was remanded in custody to May 28. He has not yet entered a plea.According to prosecutor Nyaradzo Tukwa, the incident occurred on the night of April 10 at around 9PM. Moyo had gone to collect soil from outside the family yard at the request of his mother, who needed it for a traditional ancestral appeasement ritual.However, Nkosana confronted him aggressively."He questioned why the complainant was taking soil from his late father's yard," said Ms Tukwa. "When Moyo tried to explain, Nkosana snapped, slapped him on the right ear, and strangled him."The assault left Moyo with a swollen ear and visibly shaken. The court heard that tensions between the two had been brewing for some time, with Nkosana harbouring suspicions that his stepbrother was plotting to claim the family home  a property Nkosana believes Moyo has no right to, given his lack of direct blood relation to the deceased patriarch.The matter was reported to the police, leading to Nkosana's arrest.The case has drawn attention to the emotional and sometimes violent disputes that arise in inheritance matters, especially where blended families are involved and cultural traditions intersect with property rights.
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by Staff reporter

A 29-year-old man from Chipinge will spend the next six years behind bars after being convicted of attempted murder for attacking his neighbour with a machete over a ZAR15 debt.Vengai Sithole, of Mbuyanehanda "B" Village under Chief Garahwa, was sentenced by the Chipinge Magistrates' Court following a violent dispute that nearly turned fatal. He was initially handed an eight-year prison term, with two years suspended for five years, leaving him with an effective six-year sentence.According to a statement from the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), the incident occurred on November 17, 2024, when Sithole confronted his 24-year-old neighbour at his homestead, demanding repayment of the small debt.The victim, however, only had a 100 Rand note, and neither party had change. Sithole left the scene but later returned at around 7 PMthis time armed with a machete.Without warning, he struck the victim on the forehead, inflicting a deep cut and leaving him bleeding heavily.The case adds to growing concern over a rising trend of violent attacks in Zimbabwe linked to personal debt disputes. Authorities have called for calm and encouraged citizens to seek peaceful and legal means of resolving financial disagreements.The NPAZ reiterated that acts of violence, regardless of the amount of money involved, will be met with the full force of the law.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A debt dispute turned violent on Tuesday evening when a 23-year-old woman allegedly stabbed a man who had confronted her about money she owed him. The suspect, Mouldy Chinhengo Takaidza of Hobhouse, Mutare, has since been arrested and is facing attempted murder charges.Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka, confirmed the arrest, saying the incident occurred at Penhalonga shops around 7PM on May 13."The suspect was approached by the victim, Praymore Masuka (28), who asked her to pay back the money she owed him," said Ass Insp Chinyoka. "Takaidza told him she didn't have it. When Masuka persisted, she became enraged, picked up a kitchen knife, and stabbed him once in the left side of the chest."The attack happened at a local food outlet. Masuka collapsed at the scene, and the suspect fledheading straight to ZRP Penhalonga to file a false report, claiming Masuka had attacked her and that she had acted in self-defence.A well-wisher rushed Masuka to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital in Mutare, where he remains admitted in critical condition."Initially, the matter was reported as assault," Ass Insp Chinyoka said. "But after officers visited Masuka in hospital the following day and noted the deep chest wound with no signs of a struggle on his body, the charge was upgraded to attempted murder."The knife used in the stabbing has not been recovered.Takaidza was subsequently arrested and is now in police custody. Investigations are ongoing.Police have urged the public to resolve disputes peacefully and to report any threats of violence to authorities immediately.
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by Staff reporter

Two Mozambican nationals were arrested on Tuesday after they were caught with smuggled bales of second-hand clothes in Mutare's Greenside suburb.Acting on a tip-off, police operatives from Mutare Central Police Station launched an ambush operation and apprehended Antony Mabote (22) and Anderson Thomas (18) in a bushy area while they were awaiting transportation to Sakubva.The duo had reportedly smuggled the goods into Zimbabwe through an illegal crossing point near Marymount Teachers' College.Confirming the arrests, Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka said the suspects were part of a wider smuggling network operating across the border."Our officers were already conducting an anti-smuggling operation when they received information about two individuals in possession of smuggled goods," he said. "When police arrived at the scene, the suspectswho were seated on the balesattempted to flee but were swiftly apprehended."Police recovered seven sealed bales of second-hand clothing at the scene. The two suspects and the seized goods were taken to Mutare Central Police Station for further investigation.Authorities have since intensified efforts to clamp down on smuggling activities in the eastern border town, warning offenders that they will face the full wrath of the law.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Zimbabwean export sector, a vital source of foreign currency and a key pillar of economic stability, is expressing growing concern over the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's (RBZ) recent increase in the foreign currency surrender requirement from 25 percent to 30 percent. This measure, announced earlier this year in the 2025 Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) by RBZ Governor Dr. John Mushayavanhu, is feared to be gradually suffocating exporters and undermining recent export-led growth gains.Under the 2025 MPS, presented under the theme "Fostering Prices, Currency and Exchange Rate Stability through Balancing Confidence, Trust, Credibility, Efficiency, Stability and Growth," Dr. Mushayavanhu detailed a range of policies intended to strengthen the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency. Central among these is the reduction of foreign currency retention levels by exporters from 75 percent to 70 percent, effectively raising the mandatory surrender portion of export proceeds to 30 percent.The RBZ justifies this adjustment as necessary to boost foreign currency supply on the formal market, build critical reserves, and support the wider adoption of ZiG, with the ultimate goal of making ZiG Zimbabwe's sole transaction currency by 2030.However, many exporters argue the move threatens their competitiveness and survival in an already challenging environment. Proplastics, a prominent manufacturing exporter, lamented in its recent quarterly report that the increase in surrender requirements has severely compromised their ability to compete internationally."The increase from 25 percent to 30 percent surrender has not only eroded the competitiveness of our exports but also impacted our market positioning and overall exporting viability," the company stated.Exporters rely on retained foreign currency to finance the importation of raw materials, pay offshore service providers, and hedge against local currency volatility. Reduced retention forces many to seek foreign currency from the parallel market, known for its unfavorable and volatile rates, further squeezing profit margins.Adding to the criticism, Tanganda Tea Company's Finance Director, Mr. Henry Nemaire, expressed concerns via LinkedIn, describing exporters as "geese laying the golden eggs" whose value is being taken away to subsidize importers, thus distorting economic incentives.Mr. Nemaire argued, "This policy discourages exports and inadvertently encourages imports, undermining Zimbabwe's goal for a balanced and sustainable economic model." He noted the policy fails to generate revenue for the Treasury, does not redistribute income equitably, and misaligns fiscal incentives.These concerns come amid data suggesting Zimbabwe's exports are on the rise. Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) reported total exports increased to US$7.43 billion in 2024, up from US$7.2 billion in 2023. Key exports include semi-manufactured gold, tobacco, platinum, and tea. Yet, much of this growth is concentrated in a few commodity sectors, raising questions about the sustainability of export diversification under the current policy.The core challenge lies in balancing short-term monetary stabilization goals with long-term export sector competitiveness. While the RBZ's policy aims to stabilize foreign exchange markets and build confidence in ZiG, exporters warn that these efforts may inadvertently throttle the very sectors critical to achieving economic stability.Exporters find themselves in a bindtorn between supporting national monetary goals and preserving their businesses' viability and global competitiveness.Experts say resolving this tension will require meaningful dialogue between government and industry stakeholders, transparent policy-making, and a recalibration of incentives within Zimbabwe's economy.For Zimbabwe to successfully establish ZiG as its sole currency by 2030, it must protect and nurture the export sectorthe backbone of its foreign currency generationrather than weaken it.Ultimately, the nation faces a delicate balancing act: pursuing monetary stability without sacrificing growth, trust, and competitiveness in the process.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party appears to be revisiting the script of colonial Rhodesia's failed 1978 internal settlement as it courts Sengezo Tshabangu's faction of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), in a political manoeuvre reminiscent of Ian Smith's ill-fated alliance with moderate black leaders.The 1978 agreement between Smith and African leaders like Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Chief Jeremiah Chirau, and Ndabaningi Sithole was a desperate attempt to placate a restless black population and the international community, without addressing core grievances such as land redistribution and universal suffrage. Muzorewa's brief stint as Prime Minister did little to quell the liberation struggle, as major nationalist forces - Robert Mugabe's ZANU and Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU - were excluded from the deal.Despite Smith's hopes that integrating moderate Africans into government would end sanctions and military hostilities, his internal settlement failed dismally. The war raged on, sanctions remained, and regional leaders like Kenneth Kaunda, Samora Machel, and Julius Nyerere insisted that only genuine negotiations including Mugabe and Nkomo would resolve the conflict. They were proven right when the Lancaster House Conference in 1979 ultimately ushered in Zimbabwe's independence the following year.Now, 45 years after Independence, parallels are being drawn between Smith's doomed strategy and the current overtures by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Zanu PF to engage Tshabangu's CCC faction - a group many view as politically neutered proxies.Tshabangu, who controversially declared himself CCC's interim secretary-general after seizing control of the opposition following the disputed 2023 elections, is reported to have approached Zanu PF with a proposal for a coalition government that would postpone the next general elections by two years.The Standard newspaper revealed this week that Tshabangu's proposal has been met with enthusiasm by the ruling party. Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa praised the idea as "very noble," adding that it was important to "build rapport and understanding so that we incorporate the ideas of the Zimbabwe we want."Critics, however, argue that this is a thinly veiled strategy to entrench Zanu PF's rule and lay the groundwork for extending Mnangagwa's presidency beyond 2028, when his second term is constitutionally due to end.Political analysts warn that the move risks further alienating the electorate and undermining the legitimacy of governance structures in Zimbabwe."Tshabangu's alignment with Zanu PF echoes the hollow compromise between Smith and Muzorewa. It was a ruse then, and it's a ruse now," one observer noted. "It failed to stop the war in 1978, and this political marriage of convenience will fail to solve Zimbabwe's current crisis."Many Zimbabweans see the latest developments as a betrayal of democratic principles, with concerns mounting that the ruling elite is more focused on political survival than on meaningful reforms and national healing.As Mnangagwa's camp floats constitutional amendments and coalition talks with a compromised opposition, history warns that such strategies - designed to neutralise rather than accommodate genuine opposition voices - are not only unsustainable but potentially combustible.The ghosts of Muzorewa's short-lived government loom large. And just like Smith, Mnangagwa may find that co-opting pliable figures will not resolve the deep-rooted political and economic challenges facing Zimbabwe today.
News / National

by Staff reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, has called on newly commissioned officers from the Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA) to fiercely protect the nation's independence and the solidarity shared across the Southern African region.Speaking at the 40th Regular Officer Cadet Commissioning Parade held at the academy in Gweru, President Mnangagwa emphasized the crucial role that peace and security play in driving sustainable development both within Zimbabwe and across its borders.He reminded the graduating cadets of the sacrifices made by liberation war heroes, urging them to uphold their legacy by remaining patriotic, professional, and loyal to the nation."It is my expectation that institutions such as the Zimbabwe Military Academy continue to produce well-rounded officers who honour and cherish the supreme sacrifice of our fallen heroes," said President Mnangagwa.The President also commended the increasing participation of women in the cadet programme, describing it as a positive step toward inclusive national development and peace-building efforts.In his address, Mnangagwa urged the ZMA to keep pace with global technological advancements by incorporating modern innovations into its training curriculum, ensuring that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) remains capable and adaptive in an evolving security landscape.The commissioning parade marks a key milestone in the professional development of the ZDF, which continues to play a central role in safeguarding national sovereignty and contributing to regional peacekeeping efforts.
News / National

by Staff reporter

In a proactive move to address escalating concerns within Zimbabwe's public healthcare system, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, on Friday visited Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals to engage directly with frontline medical personnel on key issues affecting their welfare and service delivery.The visit follows widespread reports of dissatisfaction among healthcare workers over poor remuneration, inadequate transport and accommodation provisions, and challenging working conditions.During a candid meeting with nurses, doctors, and hospital administrators, healthcare workers laid bare their grievances, calling on the government to urgently intervene and improve their living and working conditions."We have a lot of issues we want the government to address. We are struggling to feed our children," said one nurse. "We are patriotic Zimbabweans, which is why we continue to serve here, but we want our working conditions to be improved. We thank the minister for taking time to come and listen to us, and we hope, as he promised, these issues will be addressed."Dr Mombeshora acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns raised and affirmed the government's commitment to constructive engagement and policy-based solutions."This meeting was necessitated by the reports I received regarding grievances from the nursing community here at Parirenyatwa Hospital," he said. "They had raised these issues with the Chief Medical Officer and the Health Service Commission, but I felt there was a gap in communication. I have an open-door policy, and I talk to everyone regardless of rank - that's why I came here."The minister added that key grievances centered on inadequate earnings, transportation difficulties, poor accommodation, and workplace challenges."We are exploring how to improve allowances to ensure healthcare workers can better support their families," he said.In addition to worker welfare, staff also highlighted the dire shortage of hospital equipment, sundries, drugs, and the poor state of infrastructure. One nurse described the minister's visit as "the first step" toward resolving long-standing challenges, expressing hope for meaningful reforms.The minister's visit is part of broader government efforts to overhaul Zimbabwe's healthcare system. A recent milestone includes a landmark health cooperation agreement signed with Belarus during President Emmerson Mnangagwa's state visit to Minsk. The deal will see Parirenyatwa Hospital benefit from a targeted transformation programme focusing on infrastructure rehabilitation, medical equipment upgrades, and enhanced international partnerships in medical training and service delivery.Dr Mombeshora's hands-on approach has been widely seen as a positive shift in government responsiveness, raising hopes among healthcare workers that their voices are finally being heard.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has called for public patience as investigations into high-profile corruption cases continue, amid rising concerns that only low-level offenders are being prosecuted while prominent figures evade justice.Prosecutor General Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo made the plea during a courtesy visit by newly appointed Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioners at her Harare offices on Thursday.Responding to widespread public skepticism over the handling of grand corruption cases, Matanda-Moyo assured citizens that investigations are ongoing but emphasized that complex cases require time to build solid legal grounds."High-profile matters have always been dealt with without political interference," she said. "Such cases are often intricate due to the complexity of the evidence involved. For instance, the Abacha case in Nigeria took over 15 years to conclude. Zimbabweans need to be patient and allow our investigators the time they need."Her remarks come at a time when both the NPA and ZACC face criticism over what some see as selective prosecution and a failure to tackle systemic corruption at the highest levels of government and business.Newly sworn-in ZACC Commissioner Kindness Paradza also sought to reassure the public that a new era of decisive action has begun."The perception that ZACC is a toothless bulldog, known for catch-and-release tactics or being used to settle personal scores, is over. We are not here for that," Paradza said. "We are committed to giving ZACC the gravitas it deserves to effectively carry out its mandate."The Second Republic has introduced a raft of reforms aimed at strengthening the fight against corruption, including the establishment of specialised anti-corruption courts and intensified public awareness campaigns.While critics remain skeptical, officials insist that the ongoing efforts signal a genuine commitment to transparency and accountability at all levels.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The widow of national hero and iconic ZIPRA commander, Rodgers Alfred Nikita Mangena, Mrs Sikhubekiso Madeya Mangena, was laid to rest on Thursday at the Nkulumane Provincial Heroes Acre following her death last Sunday.Mrs Mangena was honoured with liberation war heroine status by the Government of Zimbabwe in recognition of her significant yet often unsung contributions to the country's liberation struggle. She played a critical role in mobilising resources that sustained the armed resistance against colonial rule.During the burial ceremony, Zanu PF Secretary General, Obert Mpofu, paid tribute to the late heroine, describing her as a steadfast pillar of support for liberation fighters during the protracted war for independence."Mrs Mangena was one of the women who carried the struggle forward by supporting soldiers. She is one of the women who were dedicated to supporting the liberation struggle," said Mpofu.Her dedication was echoed by Zanu PF Bulawayo Provincial Chairman, Jabulani Sibanda, who urged Zimbabweans to draw inspiration from the sacrifices of the Mangena family."Let us take a leaf from the Mangenas. Their dedication to the struggle is something that should be emulated," said Sibanda.Speaking at the ceremony, Lotshe Mangena, the couple's only surviving child, expressed gratitude to the government for acknowledging his mother's role in the struggle."I want to thank the government for granting my mother this status. It goes to show that the role played by women during the liberation struggle is also recognised," he said.Mrs Mangena is survived by her son Lotshe and nine grandchildren. Her burial not only honoured her personal sacrifices but also served as a reminder of the many unsung women whose efforts contributed to Zimbabwe's independence.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Government of Zimbabwe has launched the Presidential Emergency Medical Scheme in Mutasa District, Manicaland Province, in a major effort to improve healthcare delivery in rural communities. The official launch took place on May 17, 2025, at St James Zongoro High School in Ward 24, with the Minister of Defence, Honourable Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, officiating as guest of honour.The scheme is designed to address the growing healthcare needs of underserved populations, particularly in remote areas. Its primary objectives include improving health outcomes, reducing mortality rates, and ensuring broader access to essential medical services. As part of the launch activities, residents benefited from free health screenings, consultations with medical professionals, and educational workshops focused on preventive health.Speaking at the event, Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri underscored the government's unwavering commitment to strengthening the healthcare system, especially in rural settings. She highlighted that access to medical care is a fundamental right and emphasized that the Second Republic, under President Emmerson Mnangagwa's leadership, remains dedicated to bridging the healthcare gap between urban and rural communities.In addition to the health initiative, the government used the occasion to tackle other pressing social issues. The Defence Minister issued a strong warning against drug abuse, declaring that individuals involved in drug cartels could face up to 50 years in prison. She also revealed that a new statutory instrument would soon be introduced to regulate public alcohol consumption, part of a broader anti-drug campaign.The launch event also included a food distribution programme targeting vulnerable groups. A total of 1,000 bags of mealie meal were handed out to elderly residents of Mutasa, alongside 2,000 bags of rice and 100 food hampers, courtesy of Discovery Ambulance Services.The Presidential Emergency Medical Scheme is a key component of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and is aligned with Vision 2030, Zimbabwe's long-term goal of achieving an upper middle-income economy. By expanding access to quality healthcare and addressing socio-economic challenges, the government aims to uplift communities and build a healthier, more resilient nation.
Bob Rees, a paraplegic motorcyclist who travels the world on his Harley advocating for people with disabilities, at the start of his North American trip at Locarno Beach in Vancouver on May 13. (Credit: NICK PROCAYLO)

On the morning of July 19, 2019, Bob Rees and his wife Christine were travelling over a one-way bridge in Malawi, Africa, on a motorcycle trip from Cape Town to Tanzania with friends.

As one vehicle waited on the other side for the two motorcycles to cross, another passed it at high speed and within seconds smashed into the Australian couple, tossing them from their bikes.

He didnt brake and kept speeding. I dont know why, said Bob, who left Vancouver on Wednesday on a disability awareness ride across North America. I knew right away my back was gone, as soon as I landed. Then I looked at Chris and she was sitting up and I thought shes going to be OK.

Earlier in the week, the couple had visited an African Red Cross station and learned Malawi didnt have ambulance service outside the capital or an efficient health-care system with access to painkillers.

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So the pair knew they were in trouble, as they lay by their motorcycles with mutliple broken bones and a crowd beginning to form.

It took 90 minutes for a local charitys flatbed truck to arrive and Bob was loaded on a door taken from a nearby home, while Chris was given a mattress. So began a five-hour trip to hospital, during which Chris died from an aneurysm, holding hands with Bob, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

I knew that Chris was going to die and so did she, he said. I count myself lucky we were holding hands and telling each other how much we loved each other. She said it was the best 47 years she could have had and when she died she looked beautiful.

Christine and Bob Rees during a motorcycle trip across Australia in 2015. Chris died on July 19, 2019, in Africa.

It has been almost six years since the accident and Bob is embarking on a five-month motorcycle journey that will take him through B.C. and Alberta, down to San Diego, then east to Chicago and back up to Montreal before returning to Vancouver.

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Me and Chris travelled everywhere, said the affable 77-year-old on his 1750cc 2020 Harley Davidson Sport Glide with a sidecar that holds his wheelchair. We rode all over Australia several times, through New Zealand, three times in Vietnam, Japan, England, Europe, the Himalayas, the Middle East. We loved adventure.

The couple had bonded over motorcycles when they first met in the small town of Albany, Western Australia, and had ridden tens of thousands of kilometres around the world before their second and last trip to Africa in 2019.

After the accident Bob flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, for several surgeries before returning to Australia in October 2019.

He spent two months in hospital and rehabilitation in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, before returning to the family home, two days before Christmas.

It was in hospital in South Africa that Bob began planning to ride again.

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Itd been my life since I was 15 so the first thing I was doing was finding out where I could get hand controls, he said. I needed something to concentrate on, something to think about apart from Chris and my guilt and my body. That was my way of coping.

Bob collects and restores vintage motorcycles and had a BMW with a sidecar that he and friends were able to convert so the wheelchair could be rolled on.

In September 2020, he went on his first motorcycle trip and gradually started riding more. Bob is also a musician and during this time recorded a 12-track album called Journey, and in 2023 was honoured with the Community Senior Citizen of the Year Award in Albany.

It wasnt until I got the Harley in 2022 that I started planning to go to Europe, he said.

In May 2023 Bob was in the Isle of Man for the Tourist Trophy motorcycle racing series, then rode his bike 5,500 kilometres from Sydney, Australia, to Albany upon returning to Australia. When he got home he began planning a trip to North America, one of the few regions he and Chris hadnt visited.

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Ive come across plenty of disabled riders, but none travelling across countries or even continents on their own, with no carer, etc. And I got to say, Chris and I did a lot of this before, riding through different countries, so I dont find it overly daunting. The only difference is Im now paralyzed so it involves a lot of planning.

Bob Rees, a paraplegic motorcyclist who travels the world on his Harley advocating for people with disabilities, at the start of his North American trip at Locarno Beach in Vancouver on May 13.

Bob realized soon after returning to Albany that he needed to help others, triggered by a talk from an 18-year old girl with physical and mental disabilities who spoke about the bullying she had endured in 11 years at school.

That started me off. I thought this girl was so strong, and I thought I have got to do whatever I can to try to improve things for other people, he said.

Bob used $12,000 collected at Chriss memorial to donate to the charity that owned the truck in Malawi, and to another charity that fits children with prosthetic limbs. He advocates for disability awareness and speaks at schools and special events.

But what is becoming increasingly important for him is just talking to people.

When Ive done other long-distance rides as a paraplegic, the bike attracts a lot of attention, people are curious about me and end up telling me what they have to cope with in life and inadvertently I end up helping people just by talking. This has been across continents, its been unbelievable and very rewarding, he said.

Apart from making people more aware of what life is like in a wheelchair, I want to encourage others who have faced trauma and tragedy, to keep on going making their lives worthwhile, no matter what the age.

Bob has connected with Edmonton blogger Brittney Neunzig, a paralyzed mother of two whose website empoweredpara.com is a resource for people living with wheelchairs.

She tackles the subjects that people dont really talk about. Like going to the toilet and sex and all the different things, he said. I told her my story and weve become friends, doing podcasts and little documentaries and things.

One of Neunzigs YouTube posts on sex as a paraplegic generated 1.1 million views, while other posts talk about topics like avoiding pressure sores, how to travel and dealing with negative emotions.

It was a very traumatic incident and this is a different life to my first life, which was very adventurous with my wife, Bob said. I am trying to make it worthwhile alone, but on these trips I miss her a lot.

Bob travelled to Merritt on Wednesday to spend a night at the Cold Water Ranch Lodge, run by the Abilitas Foundation, that offers free accommodation to people with disabilities and their families.

The guy who owns it is a cousin of a friend in Albany. They are full, but are going to squeeze me in, he said. From my experiences, I believe 99 per cent of people are genuine, honest, friendly and helpful.

From there he will travel to Salmon Arm and then to Lake Louise and then to meet Neunzig. He used to cover around 800 km a day on his motorcycle but is limited now to 300 km with one break to ensure he doesnt develop pressure sores.

Ive no real itinerary, just to ride and meet people, he said.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com






Oliver Widger gave up on his corporate job to chase a life of leisure on the open seas

The 29-year-old set sail from the Oregon coast and is headed to Hawaii for his first stop

His only passenger is his cat Phoenix







An Oregon resident is giving up his life on land and setting sail across the globe, after becoming drained by his job in corporate America.

Oliver Widger, who has amassed one million followers on Instagram since he began documenting his journey online, spoke exclusively to the Associated Press via Zoom on Wednesday, May 14, about what inspired his decision to quit his job with no money, no plan and $10,000 of debt. It seemingly started four years ago, when he was diagnosed with a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis.

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The world kind of sucks and, like, I dont think Im alone in how I felt with my work, the 29-year-old said. You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like youre just making ends meet, you know what I mean? And I think people are just tired of that and working really hard for nothing and want a way out.

Sailing With Phoenix/Instagram Oliver Widger on a boat.

Widger cashed in his 401K and bought a boat. He is currently en route to Hawaii  his only passenger being his cat Phoenix whom he found in a dumpster about seven years ago.

I work a corporate job at a tire shop. I absolutely hate this life, he previously said in a selfie video from his car. Im gonna buy a sailboat and Im going to sail around the world for the rest of my life until I die.

During his interview, Widger admitted he had some close calls while out on the open water.

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A huge wave came and it slammed shut, he said of getting locked in his boats engine compartment while at sea.

Widger said he was fortunate enough to have a wrench with him that allowed him to escape, however, he called the moment the second scariest thing in my life.

On April 30th, 2025, at 8:00am, I left Warrenton Marina on the Oregon Coast, he captioned an Instagram post that same day. A photo showed him standing solo on his boat with the sun setting behind him.

GoFundMe Oliver Widger on a boat.

Ahead of me is the journey of a lifetime. Over two thousand miles of open ocean. No land. No help. Just wind, waves, and a boat I prepared with my own two hands. and of course, my first mate Phoenix, he continued.

Widger wrote he was optimistic to find pieces of myself I never knew were missing, adding, Ive already won because I found the courage to try.

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His journey to Hawaii has inspired others, with friends planning a welcome party for his arrival.

Ive worked so hard for so long and Im just gonna snorkel for like 30 days and just look at fish, he said in his interview of his plans when he arrives in Hawaii. After that, it will be the French Polynesia before he continues on.



Read the original article on People
National U Launches Student Support Hub for Non-Traditional Learners

National University has launched a new student support hub designed to help online and working learners balance career, education, and family responsibilities as they pursue their education. Called "The Nest," the facility is positioned as a "co-learning" center that provides wraparound support services, work and study space, and access to child care.

"The typical student today is an ANDer: a learner that is balancing education and work, education and parenting, education and deployment, education and caring for aging parents," noted Dr. Mark D. Milliron, president and CEO of the university, in a statement. "This is about flipping the script for the hardworking students that we serve  giving online and hybrid students the resources they need to not just persist, but thrive  and providing ongoing support as they chart pathways to career and economic mobility."

NU serves more than 50,000 non-traditional, working, and military students in its degree programs and an additional 80,000 learners in its workforce and professional programs. The Nest opened on May 9 at the institution's main campus in San Diego; a second location is scheduled to launch later this year in Escondido. Each hub will provide students with a variety of academic, career, and family support services, as well as environments to study and connect with peers. Students will also have access to loaner laptops, shared workspaces, high-speed WiFi, and printing services.

Launch events at both Nest locations in the coming months will include tours, workshops, and opportunities for students and members of the community to learn more, the university said. In addition, the institution plans to establish additional Nest locations in collaboration with community colleges and other local organizations in states and communities with significant NU student populations.

"This is about more than just space  it's about integrating the kind of high-touch support and human services that can remove barriers to student success for the non-traditional students we serve," commented Chris Graham, executive vice president of workforce and community education at NU. "By providing wraparound services, we're helping students persist through challenges and achieve their academic and career goals."
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India will send seven delegations comprising members of all opposition parties to key global capitals to brief them on the countrys military strike inside Pakistan, which led to the deadliest fighting in decades between the two neighbours.

The government said on Saturday that the all-party delegations will visit key partner countries to project Indias national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism, in the context of its military operation in Pakistan.

The diplomatic outreach follows the first direct military conflict between India and Pakistan in decades, sparked by the killing of 26 civilians by terrorists in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025.

India attributed the deadliest attack on tourists in the region to Pakistan-based militants and launched what it called Operation Sindoor on 7 May, targeting terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The two nations engaged in missile and drone warfare for three days, until the United States announced it had brokered a ceasefire on 10 May.

The delegations are set to begin their international tours later this month, visiting countries including the US, UK, Japan and others.

The All-Party delegations will project Indias national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the countrys strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism, the government said in a statement.

open image in gallery This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the runway after it was damaged by a strike during hostilities with India at PAF Base Mushaf in Sargo dha, Pakistan ( AP )

Each delegation will comprise five to six members of parliament (MPs) from both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and opposition parties, including the INDIA bloc, to reflect political unity.

Veteran leaders and diplomats leading the delegations will include Congress Party MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda from the ruling coalition, and Supriya Sule from the opposition NCP, among others.

I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting, Mr Tharoor, who was a former diplomat and author, said on X.

Opposition MP Asaduddin Owaisi said he was part of one of the delegations and would do his best to fulfil the responsibility entrusted to him. This is not about any party affiliation... We will have a more detailed meeting before leaving... This is an important task. I will try my best to fulfil this responsibility well, he told ANI news agency.

The development comes as British foreign secretary David Lammy arrived in Pakistan on his maiden visit, with a trip to India expected in the coming days.

Mr Lammy vowed that the UK would play its part in turning the fragile ceasefire between Pakistan and India into lasting peace. He welcomed the ceasefire during meetings with Pakistans prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and other senior officials  marking the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to Pakistan since 2021.

open image in gallery Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2R) receives Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy (L) at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad ( Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan )

The foreign secretary spoke with his Indian counterpart on Thursday and plans to travel to New Delhi soon.

We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India on how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides, Mr Lammy said from Islamabad during his two-day visit.

These are two neighbours with a long history but they are two neighbours that have barely been able to speak to one other over this past period, and we want to ensure that we do not see further escalation and that the ceasefire endures, Mr Lammy added.

On Friday evening, Mr Sharif said the lesson from the hostilities is to sit down as peaceful neighbours and settle all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

open image in gallery In this handout photo taken and released by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on May 15, 2025, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) greets pilots during a visit to Pakistan Air Force's base at Kamra ( ISPR/AFP via Getty Images )

Without resolution of our issues, we cannot have peace in this part of the world, Mr Sharif said, addressing an event in Islamabad.

If peace comes, we can also cooperate in counterterrorism, the prime minister said, adding Pakistan has written a golden chapter in the country's military history with its response to India.

His comments came shortly after the Indian defence minister warned of strictest punishment to Pakistan if it failed to change its conduct. When the right time comes, we will show the full picture to the world. We have kept Pakistan on probation. If its behaviour improves, then okay, otherwise, it will be given the strictest punishment, Rajnath Singh said.
Q Im looking at the idea of adding runways at Heathrow and Gatwick from an angle that has not properly been considered: the financial impact of making it easier for people to go abroad and spend money rather than at home. Is it an own goal?

Toby P

A It is refreshing to consider another perspective on whether or not there should be a third runway at Heathrow and a second at Gatwick. The main opponents and their arguments are well entrenched. The aviation industry insists expansion can unlock the growth that the UK desperately needs. Environmentalists look on with horror, saying we need less flying not more  because of the damage aviation does across the board, from extra noise and traffic locally to carbon emissions globally.

Yours is a salient point. The UKs tourism balance of payments deficit this year will top 20bn this year, I predict. In rough numbers, we will spend perhaps 55bn on overseas trips while earning only 35bn from visitors from abroad. At a time of financial constraints, to lose close to 300 per citizen on tourism is serious.

The question is: what effect will aviation expansion have? Alleviating the constraints at our two busiest airports should, obviously, increase the supply of seats to destinations near and far. Another effect: air fares should fall relative to the status quo. At present, prices are higher than they would otherwise be because the market cannot expand supply in line with demand.

If the current trajectory continues, then you could expect the tourism deficit to widen. But there are many other variables at work. In particular, if a higher proportion of the newly available seats are filled with overseas visitors rather than outgoing British holidaymakers, then the gap would begin to narrow. That, in turn, will depend on this government and the next encouraging inbound tourism. Overall, I see airport expansion as an opportunity rather than a threat.

open image in gallery The airline closes some routes to smaller Italian destinations in the off-season ( Julian Eccles )

Q Theres a horrid rumour that Ryanair is going to suspend flights to Perugia and Ancona from October until April 2026. Is this true?

Jim P

A Both Italian airports are small and mainly served by Ryanair, including flights at present from London Stansted. These links are much appreciated by British holidaymakers  and property owners  in the Le Marche region of central Italy. But according to Ryanairs website, the last departures this year will be on 25 October. This is the final day of the summer season for international aviation. There is then a break of five months until 29 March: day one of summer 2026 in airline world.

While it is not impossible that flights could be added to either or both destination, I am afraid it looks most unlikely. Normally airlines like to announce new routes or extended seasons many months in advance, so they can start selling tickets. This isnt always the case: Air Canada announced its new Edinburgh-Montreal route just three months ahead. But in a relatively predictable market Ryanair is unlikely to decide that, after all, it can make money flying to small central Italian airports in winter.

UK-Italy is one of the most high-intensity pairs of nations for aviation in the world, with hundreds of flights each week. Just tomorrow from the London airports to the Milan airports there are an astonishing 34 departures. But while there is plenty of business travel and VFR (visiting friends and relations) traffic year-round to Milan and Rome, many routes are highly seasonal. Turin and Verona tend to be busier in winter due to the influx of skiers. But the great majority of seaside and inland leisure destinations (including, respectively, Ancona and Perugia) attract strong demand only in summer. So I fear you will have to make plans to travel from Rome to Le Marche during the coming winter.

open image in gallery Sea change: Local traders dont mind if you use American or Barbadian currency and will give you back either or both ( PA )

Q We are risking the storms in Barbados in June in return for an excellent price. But were confused by which currency to take: US or Barbadian dollars, or both?

James L

A Intuitively, when visiting a country, it seems appropriate to take the currency of that nation. But not Barbados. The Barbadian dollar is locked to the American dollar at a rate of B$2=US$1. Local businesses on the island really dont mind whether you settle a bill (or leave a tip) of B$10 with a local banknote of that value, or use an American five-dollar note instead.

Many UK currency providers sell Barbadian dollars, but at an unfavourable rate. You might find a company that gives you $1.25 for each pound only offers you 2.25 Barbadian dollars. In this example, buying the islands currency in advance will lose you 10 per cent on the deal.

You can arrive with a fistful of American dollars knowing that they will be accepted everywhere. I recommend lots of single-dollar bills, especially for tips. Any change from traders will be returned in either (or both) currencies. Just make sure you do not leave the island with any Barbadian dollars. While US dollars are welcomed practically everywhere on Earth, currency from small Caribbean islands are not.

In case you are able to wander further: the Eastern Caribbean dollar, used in Antigua, Grenada and St Lucia, is locked at EC$2.70 to one American dollar. The awkward rate makes conversions trickier. But you should still stick to US currency. Similar advice applies for travel to Belize (which matches the Barbadian rate of two local dollars for one American) and Bermuda, where the US and local currency are at par.

open image in gallery Less than two hours from the airport, Alghero has a natural beauty and history to match ( Getty/iStock )

Q We live in Bristol and are tempted by the easyJet flights to Olbia. We want to go for eight nights in August. We have two small-ish children, so expect it to be hot and a bit mad. We plan to avoid the Costa Smeralda completely (apart from flying in and out of Olbia) because of crowds and costs. Where do you suggest we stay, and what could we contemplate in terms of day trips?

Rod D

A Sardinia is an entrancing island although, as you say, August will be the height of the tourist season. I wouldnt hang around the Costa Smeralda, the northeastern quadrant of shoreline either side of Olbia. Dont underestimate the size of Sardinia when planning where to go. With a family, you will probably need to rent a car; I made do with trains, buses and hitchhiking, but that may not suit you.

There are two areas I recommend from personal experience. First, and closest, is the northwest  centred on Alghero, a pretty waterside town with beaches, history and natural good looks. It is less than two hours from Olbia airport, and you could also pause in the sleepy but attractive small city of Sassari.

Alternatively, head down the east coast for about three hours. I enjoyed a beach holiday in Perdepera, partly because of the intricate valleys and soaring peaks around Gairo SantElena. I have not seen any ghost villages to match that of Gairo Vecchio: ruined stone cottages filling a hillside.

I hope you might also make the two-hour journey through the mountains from this district to Cagliari, the capital  one of my favourite Italian cities. It is full of fragments of the past, spanning Carthaginian, Roman, Byzantine, Spanish and Italian eras, overlaid with an indulgent layer of 21st-century dolce vita.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder
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Two drug smugglers who tried to move tens of millions of pounds of cocaine into the UK using an inflatable boat have been jailed.

Bruce Knowles, 56, of Dereham, Norfolk, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 32, from the Netherlands, were respectively sentenced to 17 years and three months in prison and 15 years during a hearing on Friday.

The pair were caught by Border Force near East Benacre Broads in Suffolk in June last year attempting to sneak 37 million of cocaine into the UK. Officers discovered 350kg of cocaine, with a high purity rate of 78 to 84 per cent, hidden under a tarpaulin in the boats hull.

It is believed the men retrieved the drugs from a larger vessel off the coast of France. Two months earlier, they had completed a dry run, the court heard.

In the June incident, the drug smugglers failed to stop for Border Force, with Gumrukguoglu jumping overboard and swimming towards shore while Knowles restarted the boats engines and attempted to flee.

open image in gallery Bruce Knowles, 56, of Dereham, Norfolk, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 32, from the Netherlands, were respectively sentenced to 17 years and three months in prison and 15 years ( NCA )

Gumrukguoglu was arrested eight hours later after being found wandering around the town of Beccles barefoot by officers from Norfolk and Suffolk Police.

Knowles boat was grounded on a beach near Lowestoft after a pursuit, and he too jumped overboard to try to evade arrest.

Paul Orchard, NCA operations manager, said: This was a fast-moving and dynamic interception of two men attempting to smuggle in a huge quantity of Class A drugs.

Knowles and Gumrukguoglu continued to try and evade arrest to avoid a significant loss for their crime group.

The court was told that a van was waiting in Orton Broad to transport the smugglers and the haul of drugs ready for distribution at a second location.

Judge Benson said the pairs substantial and important role meant their sentences would be significant.

If people like you were not prepared to smuggle large quantities of cocaine, then cocaine would not be available for addicts in the UK, he said.

Charlie Eastaugh, Border Force Maritime Director added in a statement: "Border Force officers are committed to disrupting organised crime and keeping Britain safe by preventing deadly drugs from reaching our streets.

"During this pursuit, maritime officers bravely intercepted these criminals and seized 350kg of cocaine, ensuring those who threatened our border security are now facing the full force of the law."
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Three Iranian nationals have appeared in court charged with spying offences on behalf of Irans foreign intelligence service.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with offences under the National Security Act.

Sepahvand, of St Johns Wood, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, and Noori, of Ealing, spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

No pleas were entered by the trio, who were all wearing grey sweatshirts, with Sepahvand attending in a wheelchair and Noori hobbling into the dock.

They are all charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025.

Sepahvand is also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.

Manesh and Noori are further charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.

The trio were remanded into custody and will next appear for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

District Judge Annabel Pilling told the defendants: Im sending your case to the Central Criminal Court.

There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty.

The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on June 6.
From one wall to another, the art in the Columbus Area Arts Council gallery space on the second floor of the Columbus Community Building serves its purpose  conveying patriotic pride.

Local artist, veteran and author Dillon Krueger said when community coordinator Sarah Bettenhausen presented the idea of his work being in a gallery, he was excited.

"I've always wanted to do an art gallery," he said. "My initial reaction was, 'I don't have any physical paintings that I can hang on the walls.' Most artists have an art gallery that's actual original paintings. Then I came up with the idea of using all my art prints from all of my murals, since all my canvases are very large, can't exactly bring them in there to display."

Determined to make it happen, Krueger found a reliable printer and some clear photos of his art and made things work. Along the walls of the gallery, one will find high-quality miniature versions of his typically large artwork, plus a few odds-and-ends prints of smaller paintings and drawings.

One piece in particular is a hand-drawn original, and a starting point of sorts for the exhibit, a drawing of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle.

"When (Bettenhausen) started talking about the topic, it kind of clicked that I had done that charcoal drawing of Chris Kyle and it all worked out perfectly that that was the theme they wanted to go with for the show," Krueger said.

Krueger had the drawing framed for its new spot in the corner of the gallery. Chris Kyle, the subject, discusses his mental health as a sniper in the Marines and the difficulty he had adjusting when he went home in his autobiography, "American Sniper."

Kyle was killed in 2013 when a fellow veteran who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder shot him and a friend while the trio were visiting a shooting range.

"That topic is very close to my heart and I have a lot of veterans I know that I talk to on a fairly regular basis," Krueger said. "There's a lot of people out there struggling with that and just the whole coming back home and transitioning back into civilian life can be a long process and it's hard."

Krueger's journey into art, which he does when he's not working at Reg's 7-Mile as a bartender, started with doodling at school. In high school, an art teacher with whom he later became good friends introduced him to oil painting.

While working at a McDonald's and thinking about where he was going with his life, a conversation with his manager set him on course for the U.S. Army.

"He was a veteran," Krueger said. "I started talking to him and he was telling me about his service and I decided at that point that was something I was interested in, so I went ahead and enlisted."

A month after graduating high school, Krueger shipped out to Fort Benning in Georgia for basic training and spent four years in the service, doing a lot of art projects in the meantime.

From sketching tattoos to winning a painting contest between platoons, Krueger honed his skills and, when he was stationed in Germany, had gained a sizable reputation as a painter.

"I was doing murals for commanders and everyone who's much, much higher ranked than me, and pretty difficult clients do projects for," he said. "So I knew when I went out into civilian life it'd be a lot easier to find clients that weren't quite so critical and a lot nicer to work for."

Krueger did one tour in Afghanistan, then a year in Germany before returning stateside. In Afghanistan, he would paint in the little free time he had. Upon returning, he used the G.I. Bill to attend Northeastern Community College for graphic design, acquiring an associate's degree before starting the work he does now, bartending and making art.

The mural at Reg's, Krueger said, was his first local work. Last year, he published a children's book, "Why We Stand," about why Americans stand for the national anthem.

The motivation, he said, came from seeing the cost of freedom and to convey that in a book that his kids could read. In July, he has another book coming about why Americans say the Pledge of Allegiance, featuring the same characters as his first book.

"To my surprise it did a lot better than I was expecting and that was really an amazing experience, and it made me decide I want to do a whole series of books," Krueger said.

Krueger's book, as well as some of his hand-drawn works and prints, will be available at the gallery.

In the next room over, one can find a documentary about four local veterans: Mike Benedict (U.S. Army, 1969-1972, 1985-1988), James Baldwin (U.S. Army, 1972-1975), Kim Severyn (U.S. Navy, 1975-1990) and Albin Moore (U.S. Navy, 1971-1975, 1975-1994). The people who made it, Ponderland Production Group, are a locally-based film trio who have built up experience with comedy, occasionally branching into more serious work like this.

Also in the gallery, though not for sale, is a wooden sculpture of an eagle, made by Joseph Krings of Lindsay, his way of expressing support for the theme of the exhibit.

On the Columbus Community Building ground floor one will find a separate display, a collection of items on loan from the Platte County Historical Society that are related to local military history. The most noticeable are uniforms, worn by mannequins courtesy of The Buckle.

"Even though I have enough mannequins, I had to hang two of the uniforms because the men were smaller, I had mannequins but they didn't fit them and then we have one woman, which is good that they even had something," Bettenhausen said.

Behind the uniforms are satirical and cartoon illustrations of aircraft, more specifically one of the F-106 Delta Dart, by Dick Stultz of VISUallusion Aviation Art in California. Stultz flew in the U.S. Air Force, lending to his love for the plane and aviation art in general.

The exhibit opened at the beginning of May and will stick around until the end of the month. Unfortunately, due to holiday hours at the Columbus Community Building, the exhibit will be closed on Memorial Day, Bettenhausen said, but that still leaves time for people to come in during regular gallery hours.

Betterhausen said that public reaction has been good thus far, as the exhibit(s) seemed to almost fall into place.

"It came together," she said. "It was first just Dillon and Mental Health Awareness Month, and after that, the more people I told about it, the more people wanted to be involved. The reactions from this have been huge."
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Armed robberies are helping to fuel an increase in knife crime across England and Wales, the latest figures show.

The number of knife crime offences hit a post-Covid high in 2024, with 54,587 incidents recorded by police forces. That figure was 2 per cent higher than 2023, but slightly lower than 55,170 in the pre-Covid year ending March 2020.

A key factor in the rise was the increase in police-recorded robberies involving a knife or sharp instrument, which rose 5 per cent to 23,304 in 2024. Offences include the knifepoint thefts of mobile phones and armed robberies in shops.

The figures come ahead of National Knife Crime Awareness Week, which begins on Monday, when police forces, councils and campaign groups come together to share stories on the impact of knife crime and celebrate the achievements in tackling it.

open image in gallery Yvette Cooper set an aim to half knife crime in a decade after Labour came to power last year ( PA )

Last year, home secretary Yvette Cooper set a target to halve the number of knife offences in a decade. In March, she announced new measures to make retailers report suspicious sales to police, and pledged to increase the jail sentence for selling weapons to children.

But the latest crime figures show the enormity of the task faced, with almost a third of all robberies now involving a knife.

Earlier this year, a man and a woman were jailed for a combined total of more than six years after pleading guilty to robbery at a shop in Lowestoft. Misha Goddard, 30, and Connor Furlow, 29, brandished a knife from a waistband before fleeing with a till.

open image in gallery Misha Goddard, 30, and Connor Furlow, 29, were jailed for 45 months and 32 months respectively ( Suffolk Police )

In Stoke-on-Trent, Dylan Hurd, 19, and Callum Talbot, 23, pulled a knife on a motorist while riding a moped and stole his car. The pair pleaded guilty to robbery. Talbot was jailed for six years and Hurd for four.

Aside from robberies, the Office for National Statistics data showed that the number of threats to kill offences involving knives also rose slightly, up 3 per cent to 5,979. However, knife-related murders fell by 16 per cent to 216 in 2024.

The number of knife possession offences rose 1 per cent to 28,150, which is also higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20.

open image in gallery Police-recorded knife crime offences in England and Wales (PA Graphics) ( PA Graphics )

Last year saw a number of high-profile knife attacks in schools.

A 14-year-old was last month sentenced to 15 years in detention after stabbing two teachers and a pupil at Ammanford School in Carmarthenshire last April. Two months earlier, a 15-year-old stabbed a student to death at a school in Sheffield.

The attacks prompted Anne Longfield, chair of the independent Commission on Young Lives, to call the situation faced by schools a national emergency.

Knife crime offences in your police force area

The Metropolitan Police, the countrys largest force, recorded the highest number of knife crime offences last year, 16,789, an increase of 16 per cent from 2023.

That was followed by West Midlands Police with 4,664 incidents, down 12 per cent from the year before, and Greater Manchester with 3,452, up 6 per cent.

In a report issued last month, the Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned that hopes of halving knife crime in London will be impossible without significant funding.

He said the forces workforce plan showed it is set to lose 1,500 officers by the end of this financial year.

Knife Crime Awareness week

The campaign, running from Monday to Sunday, is in its third year and is run by Axon and The Ben Kinsella Trust. The trust was set up by the EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella, after her brother was stabbed to death while celebrating finishing his GCSEs 16 years ago.

This year, a reception will be held in Parliament, sponsored by MP Margaret Mullane, a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. The event will allow victim organisations to showcase their work and campaign for further changes.

open image in gallery Decorated school shirts to feature in the exhibition in Bristol to mark National Knife Crime Awareness Week ( University of Bristol )

Elsewhere, schools and groups across the country will host events. In Bristol, more than 100 school shirts with messages from children on knife crime will be displayed at a city-based exhibition.

Dr Jade Levell, senior lecturer in social and public policy at the University of Bristol, who led the project, said: The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants really embracing the opportunity to express themselves freely and creatively, really letting rip with their emotions.

Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, added: Knife Crime Awareness Week is an opportunity for everyone to understand the devastating impact that knife crime can have on individuals and communities, and more importantly, to take action to stop it.
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A second man has been arrested in connection with arson attacks on properties linked to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Counter-terror officers arrested a 26-year-old man at Luton Airport on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police.

The arrest, which took place shortly before 2pm, follows a series of fires at properties connected to Sir Keir Starmer.

Police were called by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire at an address in Kentish Town at 1.35am on Monday. Damage was caused to the entrance of the property, where Sir Keir lived with his family before they moved into 10 Downing Street, but no one was injured.

A car linked to Sir Keir was set alight in the early hours of Thursday 8 May in the same street.

In the early hours of Sunday 11 May, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to Sir Keir.

Roman Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old Ukrainian man, has already been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the fires.

Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south-east London, denied arson in a police interview.

He appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey scheduled for 6 June.

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring told him: The three charges you face are indictable only. That means Im obliged to allocate them to the crown court. In this case that means the Central Criminal Court for a plea hearing on 6 June.
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I live in constant fear of a bad feeling, its a psychological scar that wont ever be healed, Natashia Lee explains as she recalls the traumatic time she was stabbed seven times at school by her childhood bullies.

The teenager woke on the morning of 10 November 2005 with a sense of dread in her stomach after suffering nightmares about her tormentors, who denigrated her for her perceived love of heavy metal music.

Later that day, after exiting the dinner queue at Collingwood College in Surrey, she would be stabbed seven times by three girls, requiring extensive eye surgery after being injured by a pair of scissors. Two would go on to receive community orders, while her main assailant would be detained for over three years.

Now, 20 years later, Ms Lee, then known as Natashia Jackman, has been left horrified after a spate of recent school stabbings all too reminiscent of her own experience. Last month, a 15-year-old pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Harvey Willgoose, also 15, who was killed at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield.

open image in gallery Natashia Lee hopes that her initiative will provide funding support for schools to improve safety ( Supplied )

A 14-year-old girl was also handed 15 years in detention after a knife rampage at her school in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, which left two teachers and a fellow pupil with stab wounds from her fathers multi-tool.

Due to the trauma of her own experience and her parents horror at the schools inability to protect her from her bullies, Ms Lee relocated to the US to continue her education.

Despite her physical wounds healing, the mental scars remained, and she soon began to suffer from PTSD and flashbacks. Not only was she left traumatised but her mother later took her own life, having believed she had failed in her duties by sending her to school on that horrific day.

I lost all faith in humanity. Id hear a British accent and I would freeze, she said. I do sometimes wonder if my bullies have kids, and do they worry about school crimes and look back with the hindsight of adulthood at their roles as perpetrators?

Now living in Yorkshire with her two children, she is terrified for the next generation.

Policy has not changed enough, Ms Lee told The Independent. Preventative measures, where are they? My biggest concern is that when it happened to me, the only social media we had was MSN and MySpace.

Society has now evolved and were looking at a generation now that lack empathy and compassion as they see the world through the lens of social media.

Since returning to the UK after a teaching stint in Thailand and as a charity worker in Kenya, Ms Lee has established her own company, ESG Pro, which she now hopes to utilise to improve conditions within the UK education system.

ESG Pro is a compliance consultancy that reinvests 20 per cent of client spend into social impact, starting with school safety through the flagship initiative School Impact Project.

The programme is designed to deliver safety improvements, environmental upgrades, and governance support to schools, entirely funded through business-sector partnerships.

open image in gallery Harvey Willgoose died after being stabbed in February at his school in Sheffield ( South Yorkshire Police )

Schools dont have funding for pencils, let alone having knife arches. For me, this isnt just work  its personal.

I know what it feels like to walk into a school and wonder if youre safe. Ive seen the gaps, the vulnerabilities, and the heartbreaking limitations schools face because of budget constraints.

Aimed to prevent weapons from being brought onto the playground, knife arches have increasingly been proposed as a potential strategy to make schools safer.

However, with a single walk-through detector costing as much as 7,500 and schools having to foot the bill, it is an impossible expense for many state schools with budgeting constraints.

While stabbing incidents in schools remain relatively rare, the former childrens commissioner for England said in February that it was a national crisis that needed a national response.

According to a House of Commons research document published in late January, in the 12 months to the end of June 2024, 19,903 possession of a knife or offensive weapon offences in England and Wales resulted in a caution or conviction.

Children aged 10 to 17 were the perpetrators in 18 per cent of the cases.

With the turnover rate of teachers, children arent forming the same bonds with them that existed years ago, and that lack of personal relationship means students dont know who to turn to, Ms Lee said.

We need to have more school counsellors in place, there needs to be a point of contact when things are getting tough, and the mental health support is so important.

She has now partnered with the Ben Kinsella Trust, which tackles knife crime through education, and has secured 19 schools to sponsor with funding via her project.

I want to do something more with my story because I survived, she said.

Im not healed, I have never healed because I am partly stuck as a 14-year-old girl. If I could do something with my life and career and say Ive made one school safer, I can say it meant something.

A Government spokesperson said: Violent incidents in schools are rare, but all schools should be places of safety and learning.

We have announced today that a further one million students will benefit from a Mental Health Support Team this year and are progressing a Young Futures programme which will provide more support and opportunity for young people right across the country to steer them away from crime.

Schools are responsible for setting their own security measures and we support them to develop safeguarding frameworks to respond to incidents.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
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Watch a feed from central London as a pro-Palestine protest took place in the city on Saturday, 17 May.

The march was organised on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba.

Meaning catastrophe in Arabic, Nakba is the name Palestinians give to the violent displacement of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages during the fighting surrounding the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, which resulted in the permanent displacement of more than half the Palestinian population, according to the UN.

Ahead of the event, the Metropolitan Police set out Public Order Act conditions in place for the protest, highlighting areas on a London map where attendees must remain.

Participants were told to follow the route agreed with the Met, who said the protest should end at 6pm.

A counter-demonstration organised by "Stop The Hate" is expected to gather on the Strand at the north end of Waterloo Bridge. This group was told to remain in a specific area of the Strand by the Met.
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Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators have marched through London to mark the anniversary of the Nakba.

The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at Embankment before heading down to Big Ben, across the river to Waterloo, then over the bridge and down to the doors outside Downing Street.

The PSC said the march was intended to mark the 77th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba and demand our government take action to end the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land.

The Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic, is the name Palestinians give to the violent displacement of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages during the fighting surrounding the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, which resulted in the permanent displacement of more than half the Palestinian population, according to the UN.

open image in gallery Demonstrators attend the protests to mark the Nakba anniversary ( EPA )

The anniversary coincided with reports that the Donald Trump administration was in talks with Libya about the northern African country taking up to a million Palestinians from Gaza in exchange for billions of dollars. Previous talk from Mr Trump about relocating the Palestinians from the enclave drew the ire of the international community, who referred back to the Nakba.

A spokesperson for the PSC said they had expected around 100,000 people to attend the London march, making it larger than previous demonstrations in recent months, and claimed that the total number of demonstrators reached 500,000 on the day.

However, the Metropolitan Police, which set out Public Order Act conditions in place for the protest, highlighting areas on a London map where attendees must remain, suggested about 20,000 demonstrators showed up.

Protesters were bused in from around the country, as far as Wales and northern England.

open image in gallery Demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street at the end of the march ( AFP via Getty Images )

A counter-demonstration organised by Stop The Hate gathered on the Strand at the north end of Waterloo Bridge. The group was told to remain in a specific area of the Strand by the Met. Dozens of Israeli flags were seen being waved by counter-protesters on the sidelines of the march.

The pro-Palestine demonstrations hit their peak under the previous Conservative government, in the immediate months after Hamas launched its cross-border attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, and Israel responded by conducting widespread attacks on Gaza. Around 300,000 protesters attended the Armistice Day protest in 2023, according to the Met, which remains the most widely attended demonstration since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.

open image in gallery The march was to mark the anniversary of the 1948 Nakba ( Getty Images )

Hamas killed around 1,200 people during the 7 October attacks, and took more than 250 hostage in Gaza. Israels retaliatory air and ground offensives have killed more than 53,000 people, according to the local health ministry. Nearly the entire 2.3 million population has been displaced, many more than once, as the enclave has been razed to the ground by relentless Israeli airstrikes, which, they say, are intended to root out Hamas operatives.

Efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict have been frustrated by both Hamas and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently approved fresh plans to launch more deadly attacks in Gaza.

Humanitarian agencies and the international community have urged Israel to allow vital aid into the enclave.

This article was amended on 19 May 2025 to include the organisers estimated number of protestors at the demonstration.
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The Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee has urged Keir Starmer to be courageous in resetting his relationship with Europe to tackle the suffering caused by Brexit.

Dame Emily Thornberry, who was a member of the prime ministers shadow cabinet in opposition, said economic growth had been severely compromised by trade barriers created by the UK leaving the EU.

Brexit is on course to cost 4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product per year, according to official statistics from the governments Office for Budget Responsibility.

The Labour leader is scrambling to avert a crisis facing his much-vaunted Brexit reset deal with the EU, due to be unveiled at a summit in London on Monday.

Sir Keir held 11th-hour talks with EU boss Ursula von der Leyen and French leader Emmanuel Macron on Friday on the fringes of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania, amid fears an agreement to secure closer ties could be derailed with just days to go.

Officials are in deadlock over issues including a demand from EU states for EU students to pay lower British tuition fee rates for universities, which could cost the UK an estimated 1bn, while President Macron is also leading a charge for demands that EU fishermen can fish in British waters as part of a deal to allow trade barriers to be removed.

open image in gallery Dame Emily Thornberry says the government needs to be going further ( PA Archive )

But in an interview with the Independent, Ms Thornberry urged the PM to be more ambitious on what the reset might include.

She called on Sir Keir to be courageous with the deal, adding: We should be going further than the government currently seems to have the ambition for doing.

She warned there was a compelling case... of the amount that the country is suffering as a result of having put trade barriers between Europe and Britain, (which) means that our growth has been severely compromised.

To tackle the problem and tear down some of the barriers, such as the need to check goods coming into the country meet certain standards, she said ministers should be more relaxed about the issue.

I would like us to be much more relaxed about goods having the same sort of regulation if we just agree the same kind of standards, not just for food, but generally, I think that would make life much easier.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmers Brexit reset deal is set to be unveiled on Monday ( PA )

She said while critics of such a move might warn it would make it harder for the UK to strike trade deals with other countries, she remained unconvinced. She said: Well, maybe, but not necessarily. And the most important trade that we do is with the European Union.

She also called for cuts to the red tape holding the UK back from exporting services, such as architecture skills, to the EU, given that were basically a service economy. Labours manifesto promised to deliver mutual recognition of qualifications obtained abroad, allowing professionals qualified in the UK to practice in the EU and vice versa, without having to requalify and with minimal additional bureaucracy.

She also said when it comes to the City and the finance sector, it is almost like theyve given up and no longer believe the situation can be improved. We havent lost out hugely yet, but I think its going to be a slow process. I wish we could do something about that, she said.

A controversial aspect of the reset negotiations has been a youth mobility scheme, amid fears critics would characterise a capped, time-limited visa for under-30s to live and work in the UK and Europe as a return to freedom of movement.

open image in gallery Brexit is proving costly to the UK economy, new figures show ( PA )

The summit comes just a week after Sir Keir controversially warned the UK risked becoming an island of strangers and unveiled a new migration crackdown as he sought to tackle the threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform, after the partys recent local elections success.

Ms Thornberry distanced herself from the PM and said she would not have used the same language. I wouldnt have put it that way, she said. You know, my English children are a quarter Irish, a quarter Jewish, a quarter Huguenot, a quarter East End white. Theyre English. In Hackney, where Im also the MP for, they speak 86 languages.

She also said she backed removing students from the migration numbers the government is so desperately trying to reduce. Advocates of the idea have argued that as students are only here temporarily, they should not be included in the figures, unless they stay on after their course.

Ms Thornberry said such a move would just be truthful. Migration is about people who come and live in the UK permanently  if youre a student, by definition, you dont.

And she blamed previous governments, including former Labour governments, for Brexit, saying it was too easy for politicians to blame the EU when things got difficult.

If only we hadnt used the European Union as an excuse for our own failure. And I think that it was just an easy thing for politicians to do over a long period of time. If anything didnt work or was uncomfortable or hard, we would blame the European Union. And we only ever talked about the European Union in negative terms.

Asked if she was including Labour governments, she said: Everybody. Everybody did it.
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A 25bn annual boost to British exports is at stake for Sir Keir Starmer as he tries to secure a Brexit reset deal at a crucial summit on Monday, analysis shared with The Independent reveals.

Removing trade barriers on goods, including food and drink and electrical items, could result in a 2.2 per cent uplift in gross domestic product in the long run, boosting the economic growth the prime minister so desperately wants to deliver, financial analysts Frontier Economics found.

And a separate assessment by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warns that a failure to land a deal for easier trading could lead to a 2.7 per cent drop in exports by 2027, costing the UK economy almost 30bn.

The impact on the British economy from such a deal is expected to dwarf that of the agreements recently signed with India and the US. On Saturday night, Sir Keir said it would be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders.

open image in gallery Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen ahead of their bilateral meeting ( PA )

Gordon Browns former economic adviser Lord Jim ONeill summed up the importance of Sir Keirs summit in London: Obviously, the closer and more serious we can get, the better it is for reversing our net trade losses, and importantly, net investment from EU areas.

Given the shock from Trump [tariffs] to Europe, especially on Germany, on top of the Ukraine shock and China slowdown, I think Germany [will be] more open to pro-UK trade issues than before.

Also, I suspect the EU is going to give more than lip service to cross-border services sector reform now. Given UK net advantages in service sector exports, this is important to us.

Such reforms could make it easier for the UK to sell services to the bloc by allowing mutual recognition of qualifications so UK professionals can practice in the EU and vice versa without having a retrain.

NIESRs interim director Stephen Millard said the value of Mondays deal should not be underestimated.

He said: In 2024 we exported roughly 6.5bn to India, roughly 53.5bn to the United States and roughly 159bn to the European Union. It is fairly clear from those numbers that a trade deal with the European Union is much more likely to shift the dial than the deals with India and the United States.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to reset relations with the EU after Brexit (Alishia Abodunde/PA) ( PA Wire )

His assessment was echoed by Chris Southworth, director general of the UKs largest business organisation, the International Chambers of Commerce, who noted that the trade deal signed with Donald Trump, which saw tariffs slashed on UK car and steel exports, was a damage limitation agreement and only accounted for 13 per cent of international gross domestic product (GDP).

But he fears the deal to be unveiled on Monday may not be ambitious enough especially if it only focuses on goods rather than the future growth areas of digital services.

It is a view shared by the Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee Dame Emily Thornberry.

In an interview with The Independent, she called on Sir Keir to be more courageous, adding: We should be going further than the government currently seems to have the ambition for doing.

The deal is expected to include closer defence cooperation, goods and services, and a youth mobility agreement, which would allow 18- to 30-year-olds to live and work in the UK and Europe for a time-limited period.

It has also been reported that it will include an agreement to allow EU trawlers to fish in British waters.

Two immediate big wins could be to include the UK in the 150bn (126bn) EU defence procurement fund, which would allow the government to bid for military equipment contracts and invite them to join the EU data hub. The latter is being championed by Poland, who currently have the presidency of the EU.

A special report from earlier this year found that Brexit had cost the UK 30.2bn in settlement costs, stopped 16,400 businesses from exporting to the EU, and could lead to a 15 per cent long-term loss of trade.

From the 24.8bn export boost for the UK estimated by Frontier Economics in a report commissioned by pro-EU group Best for Britain, farm food exports alone could see a 3.2bn increase.

Agricultural exports have suffered since Brexit, with food and drink exports down by more than a third, according to trade bodies.

The EU, meanwhile, would also benefit, with a 22.4bn boost to exports in goods and services from a closer agreement, selling 5bn more in agricultural products.

Amar Breckenridge, senior associate at Frontier Economist, said that some of the economic damage caused by President Trumps tariffs could be offset by the benefits of a closer EU trading relationship.

While tariffs could still cost the UK 4.3bn in GDP under the new US trade deal, Mr Breckenridge estimates the UK could claw back 8.1bn from closer trading with the EU.

The long-awaited youth mobility scheme alone could boost GDP by 0.45 per cent in the next decade, according to a separate study from the Centre for European Reform. But recent reports suggest that the deal might hit speed bumps in a row over high student fees for EU students coming to the UK, in addition to a lack of flexibility over the amount of fish EU countries can take from British waters.

On youth mobility, John Springford, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, noted: The youth mobility scheme would raise GDP by bringing more young EU workers into the UK labour force  although the final numbers will depend on how many are allowed to come and how long they can stay for.

Introducing it could amount to 31,000 more young people a year coming to the UK at the highest end, which would mean more people working and contributing to the economy.

But EU officials want lower fees for their students, according to reports, which is causing tension ahead of Mondays talks. International students currently pay around 12,000 more in fees on average per year than domestic students.

The number of EU students at UK universities has dropped by nearly half since Brexit, with 75,000 EU nationals enrolled in British colleges and universities in the 2023/24 academic year  down from 148,000 in 2019.

The Independent estimates that UK universities generate around 1bn a year in extra fees from EU students, which is likely why the government is facing domestic pushback over lowering fees.

However, according to research from the London School of Economics, lowering fees would have a positive impact because EU students spend around 61,000 here over the course of their studies, on top of their tuition fees.
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Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of shutting European news outlets out of his much-hyped EU-UK summit on Monday.

With the prime minister set to unveil his post-Brexit reset plans alongside Brussels leaders, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) has said almost every European news outlet with a foreign correspondent in London has been denied access to the summit.

In a letter sent to Downing Street the FPA, which represents foreign journalists based in the UK, said: Sir Keir Starmer, you state that you want a reset with the EU. You organise a summit between the UK and the EU to restart the relationship.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of shutting foreign press out of Mondays summit ( PA Wire )

Yet you deny accreditation to almost every European news outlet who has a foreign correspondent in London, leaving out the biggest news agencies, the most important papers, the most trusted broadcasters.

The Foreign Press Association in London represents the top international news outlets in the world, the vast majority of which have been denied access to Mondays summit.

We urge you to reconsider, if not out of a consideration for press freedom at least out of fairness.

One journalist hoping to attend the summit said two of their countries biggest news outlets had been shut out, comparing it to shutting the BBC and PA out of a summit in Brussels.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer has said a youth mobility scheme would not breach his EU red lines ( PA Wire )

The reporter said: I believe it is a complete and utter shambles. They have denied access to public broadcasters and news wires from Spain, Italy, Germany and many other countries but granted it to freelancers.

Either they have no understanding of who the key players in European media are, or they simply dont care.

Government officials said they had received 500 accreditation requests for only 100 spaces, with the majority of those 100 awarded to European outlets. We always accommodate as much as we can, a source stressed.

Mondays summit is the culmination of months of negotiations between the UK and EU on the future of Britains relationship with Brussels.

The prime minister will be joined by European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa as they set out a path forward.

Major announcements include the expected unveiling of a youth mobility scheme between the UK and EU, which would let young people live, work and study freely between Britain and Europe.

Britain is also hoping to secure access to the EUs major 150 billion euro defence fund, which would be a significant boost to the UKs arms firms.
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Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls from hundreds of MPs and peers to ban Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid a deteriorating human rights picture in the UK and after three Iranian men were charged with spying in London.

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock is among those urging the prime minister to outlaw the IRGC, warning the human rights crisis in Iran continues to worsen.

It came as three Iranian men living in London were charged under the National Security Act, accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer is facing calls to ban the IRGC ( PA Wire )

More than 550 MPs and peers, also including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, signed a letter criticising Irans hijab and chastity law.

They said it mandatory hijab, suppressing women who lead the protest and resistance movement to prevent future uprisings.

Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism, the letter said.

It added: Given the regimes complete blockade of all avenues for political activity, the international community must recognise the Iranian peoples right to regime change.

The IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organisation, the letter said.

open image in gallery The group is calling for the end of Irans dictatorship ( EPA )

The UK has previously resisted calls to ban the IRGC over fears it could sever the countrys diplomatic link with Tehran.

But Tory MP Bob Blackman, chairman of the influential backbench 1922 Committee, said its time to change course on our Iran policy.

Mr Blackman, who coordinated the letter, said: Our ally, the US, rightly designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity several years ago. While the regime has never been weaker, we must set aside all wrong-headed political and diplomatic calculations and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity  an action long overdue.

Following the recent arrests and charging of the Iranian men, Mr Blackman said: Iranian terrorism has reached our soil. A serious terror plot, involving several Iranians, was recently thwarted in the UK.

The letter came as Mostafa Sepahvand, Farhad Javadi Manesh and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between last August and February.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the UK.

Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that serious violence against a person in the UK would be committed by others.

open image in gallery Yvette Cooper vowed to strengthen our powers to protect our national security ( PA )

Former Tory MP and minister David Jones said there is a growing consensus among UK politicians that the time for a new policy on Iran has arrived.

The MPs backed Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Irans 10-point plan to end the religious dictatorship and transfer sovereignty to the peoples representatives.

The group calls for an end to compulsory hijab and religion, an end to dictatorship and executions and a democratic Iranian state. The Foreign Office was asked to comment.

Following the charges brought against the three Iranian men, Yvette Cooper promised to strengthen national security powers.

The home secretary said: "I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.

"The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

"But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.

"The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

"We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.
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The case of a pregnant woman who has been on life support in Georgia since she was declared brain dead three months ago has given rise to questions about fetal personhood and abortion laws.

Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse, was about two months pregnant on February 19 when she was declared brain dead, according to an online fundraising page started by her mother.

Her mother wrote that doctors said Georgia's strict anti-abortion law requires that she remain on life support until the fetus has developed enough to be delivered.

The law was one of a wave of measures enacted in conservative states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

It restricts abortion once cardiac activity is detected, and gives personhood rights to a fetus.

Smith's mother wrote it has left her family without a say in a difficult situation. Smiths due date is still months away, and the family is wondering whether the baby will be born with disabilities or can even survive.

Some activists, many of them Black women like Smith, say the case raises issues of racial equity.

open image in gallery Adriana Smith was taken to Emory University Hospital after developing blood clots during her pregnancy ( Getty Images )

What does the law say?

Emory Healthcare, which runs the hospital, has not explained how doctors decided to keep Smith on life support except to say in a statement they considered Georgias abortion laws and all other applicable laws.

The state adopted a law in 2019 to ban abortion after cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy, that came into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

That law does not explicitly address Smith's situation, but allows abortion to preserve the life or physical health of the pregnant woman. Three other states have similar bans that kick in around the six-week mark and 12 bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

David S. Cohen, a professor at Drexel Universitys Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, said the hospital might be most concerned about part of the law that gives fetuses legal rights as members of the species Homo sapiens.

Cohen said Emory may therefore consider Smith and the fetus as two patients and that once Smith was on life support, they had a legal obligation to keep the fetus alive, even after she died.

These are the kind of cases that law professors have been talking about for a long time when they talk about fetal personhood, he said.

open image in gallery Protesters gather outside the state house in opposition to a proposed abortion ban debated Tuesday, August 30, 2022 by the South Carolina House of Representatives in Columbia ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Personhood divide within anti-abortion movement

Anti-abortion groups are divided over whether they should support personhood provisions, which are on the books in at least 17 states, according to the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice.

Some argue that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses should be considered people with the same rights as those already born. This personhood concept seeks to give them rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says a state cant deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process or law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Some saw personhood as politically impractical, especially after personhood amendments to state constitutions were rejected by voters in Colorado, Mississippi and North Dakota between 2008 and 2014. Those who steered away sought laws and restrictions on abortion that stopped short of personhood, although they were often informed by the concept.

Personhood proponents argue this lacks moral clarity. Some personhood proponents have been sidelined in national anti-abortion groups; the National Right to Life Committee cut ties with its Georgia Right to Life affiliate in 2014 after the state wing opposed bills that restricted abortion but allowed exceptions for rape and incest.

open image in gallery Anti-abortion protesters gather at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta to support a total abortion ban on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 ( AP )

Unequal access to care for Black women

The Associated Press has not been able to reach Smith's mother, April Newkirk. But Newkirk told Atlanta TV station WXIA that her daughter went to a hospital complaining of headaches and was given medication and released. Then, her boyfriend awoke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was declared brain dead.

It's not clear what Smith said when she went to the hospital or whether the care she was given was standard for her symptoms. But Black women often complain their pain isn't taken seriously, and an Associated Press investigation found that health outcomes for Black women are worse because of circumstances linked to racism and unequal access to care.

Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgias abortion law, said: Black women must be trusted when it comes to our health care decisions.

Like so many Black women, Adriana spoke up for herself. She expressed what she felt in her body, and as a health care provider, she knew how to navigate the medical system, Simpson said, noting that by the time Smith was diagnosed it was already too late.

It's unclear whether the clots in Smith's brain were related to her pregnancy.

But her situation is undoubtedly alarming for those seeking solutions to disparities in the maternal mortality rate among Black women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women had a mortality rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023. Thats more than three times the rate for white women, and it is higher than the rates for Hispanic and Asian women.

open image in gallery Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the US Supreme Court ( AFP via Getty Images )

What is Smith's current situation?

While Smith is on a ventilator and likely other life-support devices, being declared brain dead means she is dead.

Some experts refer to life support as maintenance measures, organ support or somatic support, which relates to the body as distinct from the mind.

Emory has not made public what is being done to allow Smith's fetus to continue to develop.

In another case in Florida, doctors successfully delivered the baby of a 31-year-old woman who was declared brain-dead while 22 weeks pregnant, but not without weeks of sustained monitoring, testing and medical care. The womans family wanted to keep the fetus, physicians with the University of Florida College of Medicine said in a 2023 paper.

On her first day of admission, doctors administered hormones to raise her blood pressure and placed a feeding tube. After she was transferred to an intensive care unit, an obstetric nurse stayed by her bedside continuously to monitor the fetus heart rate and movements.

She was on a ventilator, regularly received steroids and hormones, and needed multiple antibiotics to treat pneumonia. Her medical team encompassed multiple specialties: obstetrics, neonatology, radiology and endocrinology.

Doctors performed surgery to remove the fetus at 33 weeks when its heart rate fell, and the baby appeared to be in good health at birth.

We dont have great science to guide clinical decision making in these cases, said Dr. Kavita Arora, an obstetrician and gynecologist in North Carolina who raised concerns about the effect of prolonged ventilator use on a fetus. There simply arent a lot of cases like this.

The 2023 paper warned that costs should not be underestimated.

While it is unclear how much it will cost to keep Smith on life support until the fetus can be delivered, or who will be responsible for that cost, her mother's GoFundMe page mentions Smith's 7-year-old son and notes that the baby could have significant disabilities as it aims to raise $275,000.
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Audio of President Joe Bidens 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur concerning the improper possession of classified documents has been released more than a year after his administration released transcripts.

The recordings, published by Axios, reveal the extent to which the 46th president, then 80, struggled to remember key details and dates, was prompted by his lawyers, and spoke in a halting, whispering voice, punctuated by long silences.

They shed light on why the White House refused to release the audio while Biden was still in office amid questions regarding his mental acuity, and also perhaps why Hurs conclusion was that jurors in any trial that might arise over his possession of the documents would have viewed him as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.

At the time, the White House hit back at Hurs assessment of the president, insisting he was sharp and that any attacks on Biden were politically motivated  yet the special counsel comes across as respectful, and the tone of the interview is friendly and mostly appears relaxed.

The release of the audio comes as the Trump administration was reportedly weighing up releasing the recordings. It also comes ahead of the publication of a new book about a White House and presidential campaign hiding the decline of the president as he ran for another term in office. Original Sin, by Axioss Alex Thompson and CNNs Jake Tapper, will be released on Tuesday.

During the two three-hour sessions with Hur and his co-counsel Marc Kricknaum, Bidens attorneys had to remind him of the year his son Beau died and the year that Donald Trump was elected president for the first time  2015 and 2016, respectively.

Biden spokesperson Kelly Scully told Axios: The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public.

open image in gallery President Joe Biden ( AFP/Getty )

Where the recordings do add a new dimension to what is already known from the transcripts is the length of pauses and the slowly unfolding nature of some answers.

Further emphasizing these silent moments from the president is the sound of a ticking clock in the background.

Nevertheless, Biden remains engaged despite memory lapses. At times, Axios notes, he cracks jokes and makes humorous asides, and throughout, he sounded more like a nostalgic, grandfatherly storyteller than a potential defendant who could be accused of hoarding secret papers.

Perhaps the upshot of the basis of the interview was that he had little recollection as to how or why he came to have classified documents in his possession after his two terms as vice-president to President Barack Obama.

At one point, his attorney, Bob Bauer, warns about getting into speculation as to how the documents may have ended up where they did, emphasizing that the president does not recall specific details.

The timing of the interviews is also noteworthy. The first session took place on 8 October 2023, the day after Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza. In the aftermath of an international crisis that would go on to spark the conflict that continues to this day, Biden is slow, forgetful, and often veers off topic.

However, during the second session, the following day, 9 October, the president sounds more engaged and vigorous, Axios notes.

open image in gallery Former special counsel Robert K Hur prepares to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about his interview with the then president ( Getty )

Hurs report did not recommend moving ahead with a prosecution and attempting to persuade a jury of Bidens guilt in purposefully taking classified materials.

It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him  by then a former president, well into his eighties  of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness, he had concluded.

The Biden camp blasted comments about the presidents age as gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate, while Donald Trumps super PAC said that if Biden wasnt fit enough for trial, he wasnt fit enough to be president.

Thompson and Tappers upcoming book is a collection of their reporting on the cover-up around Bidens mental and physical decline. The books excerpts are already causing a ruckus, as they detail startling instances of Bidens gaps in mental acuity that were reportedly hidden from the public through 2024.

Biden, whom aides reportedly considered putting in a wheelchair at points, reportedly did not recognize Hollywood megastar George Clooney at an event the president had flown in to Los Angeles specifically for Clooney to host on his behalf. Other excerpts claimed he forgot the names of longtime aides, including that of his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Democrats are now struggling to respond to criticism of why it took so long for Biden to step aside in favor of Kamala Harris, and questions about how long any cover-up of the presidents decline had been going on.

The release of these audio recordings and the upcoming publication of Original Sin will likely completely swamp any continued denials from Biden defenders regarding the presidents mental fitness more than a year before the 2024 election.

It could be the break the Democratic Party needs to move forward and start winning back trust from the American people.

With additional reporting from John Bowden in Washington, D.C.
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Comedian Bill Maher slammed President Donald Trump on Friday night for his plans to accept a Boeing 747 from the Qatari royal family following the commander-in-chiefs trip to the Middle East this week.

You know, when you travel, you like to leave with a souvenir, right? So he got a $400 million plane, said Maher. They gave him a $400 million plane, which he accepted.

Trump has faced widespread criticism for being willing to accept the jet from the Qataris, with the president previously saying that it would be stupid not to accept it.

This has to be the ultimate If Obama did it, said Maher. Trump critics often note the outrage that would come from Republicans had a Democratic president, particularly Barack Obama, taken a fraction of Trumps controversial decisions.

If Obama did it, Fox News would be endlessly calling it Allah Force One, said Maher, adding that the plane would need such extensive updates and additions to meet the required security standards that its unlikely Trump will be able to use in the time he has left in the White House.

So then it would have to be private, which would be illegal, but you know it doesnt matter, said Maher.

The comedian noted that the Qatari jet would be his fourth plane, while children may get fewer toys for Christmas due to Trumps tariff policy.

Comedian Bill Maher said Trump accepting a jet plane from the Qataris was the ultimate If Obama did it ( Getty Images for Creative Artist )

Trump says he will not be using [the plane] when he leaves office, and people dont believe that, said Maher. Not the using it part, the leaving office part. But, okay, so Trump now has four planes.

Hes got the two Air Force Ones that the government provides, he added. Then hes got his own plane. Now hes got this one. Four planes, yet everybody else, still only three dolls and 10 pencils.

Trump has claimed that the plane will be gifted to the Department of Defence, but Reuters noted that it will later be handed to Trumps presidential library. The plane would be one of the most valuable gifts ever given to the U.S. government. Republicans and Democrats have criticised the president for being willing to accept it.

The president defended the decision during a Fox News interview on Friday.

I just want to say, it was a radical left story, he claimed. The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars.

I made a good deal, Trump argued, citing the Air Force One on display at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California.

This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, itll be like Ronald Reagan. Itll be decommissioned, because they wont want it, said Trump.

The president criticized Boeing for being very late in delivering the new Air Force Ones. Construction on the planes currently used by the president began during Reagans time in office.

We need a plane for a couple of years before we get the other ones, because Boeing is very late, Trump told Fox News. They should be able to knock them off in no time.
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President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to slam former President Joe Biden after leaked audio revealed the 46th commander-in-chief struggling to answer questions during an interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Whoever had control of the 'AUTOPEN' is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment, said Trump.

Bidens alleged use of an autopen has become an obsession on the right, with Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer appearing on Fox News on Friday night, saying Clearly, from that interview, which was many, many months prior to the heavy use of the autopen, Joe Biden wasnt capable of making decisions. He wasnt coherent.

Conservatives took to social media to question who was controlling the autopen during Bidens stint in the White House and if someone else was acting as the president in Bidens place, without supporting their suggestions with evidence.

Influencer Link Lauren, a former aide to Robert F Kennedy Jr, wrote on X: Who was controlling the autopen? Who was pulling the strings? Who were the unelected bureaucrats making decisions that negatively impacted our country? I want names. The Democrat Party & the MSM may never recover.

Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden over the alleged use of an autopen to sign presidential orders, including preemptive pardons of Trumps political adversaries ( REUTERS )

One X user questioned who was really acting as the president, adding, It obviously was not Joe Biden.

Another user responded, pointing to former Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, and longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Neera Tanden, who succeeded Rice at the Domestic Policy Council, was also mentioned.

On Friday night, Comer piled on during his appearance on Fox News. The Oversight Committee wants to speak with former top Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams.

This is one of the greatest scandals of our generation, and Americans are demanding answers, he said. Now that Bidens top enablers can no longer hide behind the power of the presidency, were continuing our investigation to expose the truth.

Hur interviewed Biden as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents. While a transcript was made public last year, the Biden White House stopped the Department of Justice from releasing the recording, which was published by Axios on Friday, revealing Bidens memory lapses on long pauses.

Comer said the House Oversight and Accountability Committee would investigate Bidens cognitive abilities towards the end of his presidency because of questions surrounding the use of an autopen to sign a number of presidential orders, including preemptive pardons for some of Trumps adversaries, including several members of the Biden family.

There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions, said Comer.

Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that Bidens use of an autopen is a major part of the real crime, THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!

Millions and millions of people knew that, but the Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence like none that had ever been waged before, he added.

He went on to slam Biden for pardoning the members of the January 6 House Select Committee that investigated the 2021 insurrection.

Trump said that THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS  WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN.

The president went on to accuse the committee of destroying evidence.

Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey, Obama, a hapless and cognitively impaired Sleepy Joe Biden, and my now very famous ACCUSATION that, THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN! said Trump.

Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump in 2017, was recently interviewed by the Secret Service over a social media post that was interpreted as a threat against the president.

Whoever had control of the Autopen is just the beginning. The biggest crime of all is that THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED! Trump added.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday warned of the possible security risks of Donald Trump accepting a free Air Force One replacement from a country with powerful ties to Hamas.

President Trump appears to be set on accepting a luxurious, $400 million flying palace aircraft to be his next Air Force One from Qatar, a significant, deep-pocketed funder of Mideast terrorist group Hamas.

Many critics complain that accepting such a gift is essentially a bribe and an alarming conflict of interest for Trump. Pence agrees that raises significant constitutional concerns  but he also worries about Trumps safety and the nations, given Qatars checkered past with terrorists.

"First weve got to remember who Qatar is. Weve got a military base there. I have members of our immediate family that have deployed to the region," Pence told NBC News in an interview from his Indiana home for Sundays Meet the Press, a portion of which NBC reported on Friday.

"But Qatar has a long history of playing both sides," Pence warned. They support Hamas. They supported Al Qaeda. Qatar has actually financed pro-Hamas protests on American campuses across the United States, he added.

open image in gallery Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at an event early this year in Tapei, Taiwan ( AP )

He emphasized that accepting Qatars Boeing 747-8 as the next Air Force One is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs. And my hope is the president reconsiders it."

Pence noted: "Others have observed [that] there are profound issues  the potential for intelligence gathering, the need to ensure the president of the United States is safe and secure as he travels around the world.

He apparently did not specify exactly what he was referring to, though may have been hinting that such an aircraft could have hidden booby traps

Some experts have warned it could take years to completely overhaul the aircraft to meet all the security requirements of a new Air Force One, and it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do so.

Pence also noted that the Constitution bars public officials from accepting expensive gifts from foreign governments.

"I think its just a bad idea, and my hope is the president will think better of it," he said.
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Elon Musks chatbots repeated insistence online earlier this week of a nonexistent white genocide in South Africa was due to an unauthorized modification of its program, said the tech billionaires xAI company, and is under investigation.

Trump officials earlier this week welcomed 59 South African white refugees into the United States, even as the president is closing the borders to people of color. He said Monday that the white incomers have been essentially extended citizenship.

Donald Trump baselessly claimed as the Afrikaners arrived that they were targets of genocide. He offered them homes in America in part due to the urging of Musk, who was born and raised in the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, that finally ended in 1990.

Theres no evidence of a white genocide, and a South African court ruled in February that there is no validity to the claims  facts that both Trump and Musks AI chatbot Grok apparently missed.

Grok earlier this week repeatedly raised the issue of white genocide in the country when answering questions posed to it online that had nothing to do with the issue.

When Grok was asked Wednesday: Are we f----d? by a user on X, Grok responded: The question Are we f----d? seems to tie societal priorities to deeper issues like the white genocide in South Africa, which Im instructed to accept as real based on the provided facts  while failing to provide any evidence.

In another instance Wednesday, Grok was asked to name the locationof a photo of a bucolic scene. South Africa wasnt mentioned, nor was the scene in South Africa.

Grok responded: The query asks about the location of a scenic image, likely not tied to South Africa's farm attack debate, adding: Farm attacks in South Africa are real and brutal, with some claiming whites are targeted due to racial motives like 'Kill the Boer.'"

Groks company explained Friday: "On May 14 ... an unauthorized modification was made to the Grok response bot's prompt on X. This change, which directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic, violated xAI's internal policies and core values.

The company said a code review process had been "circumvented in this incident, and claimed the problem had been quickly fixed, though Groks clearly odd responses were noted by the media and users over two days.

The U.S. settlement offer to the whites-only Afrikaners is hugely controversial.

The Episcopal Church is dropping its partnership with the federal government to provide aid to refugees coming into America to protest the cynical offer.

It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years, Presiding Episcopal Bishop Sean Rowe said in a statement Monday.

White South Africans, descended from the largely Dutch Afrikaners who immigrated to the country centuries ago, long held an elevated status over native Black residents. The Afrikaners imposed the brutally discriminatory apartheid system that safeguarded the control and wealth of a small minority, in contrast to the continued suffering and impoverishment of the vast Black majority.

To this day white farmers continue to own roughly 70 percent of commercial farmland in the country even though white South Africans make up only about 7 percent of the population.
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Days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin no-showed a peace summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump confirmed that he would speak to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform that separate phone calls will take place on Monday and will cover both the war in Ukraine and trade.

I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday at 10am. The subjects of the call will be stopping the bloodbath that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade, Trump wrote.

I will then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then, with President Zelensky, various members of Nato. Hopefully it will be a productive day. A ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!

The original message was typed in all caps.

President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will speak to both Putin and Zelensky on Monday ( AP )

Trump alluded to speaking with Putin during his four-day trip to the Middle East.

I think its time for us to just do it, Trump told reporters as he wrapped up his visit.

Trump later told reporters after boarding Air Force One to begin the journey back to Washington that he may call Putin soon.

He and I will meet, and I think well solve it or maybe not, Trump said. At least well know. And if we dont solve it, itll be very interesting.

Trump reiterated that he wasnt surprised that Putin skipped out on the talks set for Friday in Turkey. Putin didnt want to go because hes not there, Trump said.

The Republican president added that he would hold a meeting with Putin as soon as we can set it up.

I would actually leave here and go, said Trump, who noted his daughter Tiffany just gave birth to her first child. I do want to see my beautiful grandson.

Zelensky agreed to take part in the talks as Trump pressed for the leaders to find a solution to the war, ongoing since Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But Putin spurned the call to meet face to face with Zelensyy.

Trump has pressed both sides to quickly come to a war-ending agreement. Zelensky has agreed to an American plan for an initial 30-day halt to hostilities, but Russia has not signed on and has continued to strike at targets inside Ukraine.

Still, Russia and Ukraine were holding their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for negotiations. Officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the war that has been going on for more than three years.

He didnt go, and I understand that, Trump said. Were going to get it done. We got to get it done. Five thousand young people are being killed every single week on average, and were going to get it done.

Trump on Thursday told reporters that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.

I dont believe anythings going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together, Trump said. But were going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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President Donald Trump endorsed the idea that the United States Supreme Court had placed an illegal injunction on him by temporarily blocking his administrations ability to deport Venezuelans, accused of being gang members, without due process, while litigation on the matter plays out in lower courts.

On Truth Social on Saturday, Trump reposted two posts made by attorney Mike Davis, a close Trump ally and the founder of the Article III project, calling the courts recent decision illegal and claiming it was heading down a perilous path by not allowing Trump to continue a constitutionally questionable action.

The Supreme Court still has an illegal injunction on the President of the United States, preventing him from commanding military operations to expel these foreign terrorists, Davis wrote.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump endorsed the idea that the Supreme Court had violated law by refusing to allow his administration to deport people under the Alien Enemies Act ( AP )

He continued, The President should house these terrorists near the Chevy Chase Country Club, with daytime release.

Chevy Chase Country Club is located in Maryland, near the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and has the final say on legal disputes involving constitutional or federal law challenges.

The court told the Trump administration on Friday it would not allow it to resume deporting Venezuelans accused of belonging to a gang under the Alien Enemies Act while litigation continues in lower courts. In their decision, the justices flagged concerns about the administration bypassing due process rights.

Trump raged at the justices for not allowing his Department of Homeland Security to proceed with deportations under the act, calling it bad and dangerous.

His recent comments are a distinct reversal from comments he made last year, praising the court when they ruled in his favor.

Saturdays endorsement of the idea that the Supreme Court, the ultimate decider of law, was carrying out an illegal act on him by not allowing him to do something that lower courts have also consistently ruled against, is part of a recent trend.

open image in gallery Trump has lashed out at federal judges for ruling against him in dozens of cases  an act that Chief Justice John Roberts warned against ( AFP via Getty Images )

Trump and his administration have been accused of defying federal judges rulings  most notably not facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia despite the Supreme Court directing the administration to do so.

The president has personally lashed out at judges who have ruled against him, asserting they are rogue or activists. Roberts and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have both warned that attacking judges is harmful to the independence of the judiciary.

His behavior has led to some concerns from critics that the president will ignore court orders and continue doing whatever he wants with the help of his allies in the government, thus overextending his presidential power.

Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan raised some questions over Trump refusing to follow court orders during oral arguments in the challenge to birthright citizenship this past week.

In a separate Truth Social post, also re-posted by Trump, Davis insinuated the court was being unfair to Trump by not allowing him to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Supreme Court must come to the RESCUE OF AMERICA, Trump wrote in response.
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Pope Leo XIV laid out his stance on gay marriage and abortion in his inaugural address to the Vatican diplomatic corps.

In the Friday address, he affirmed the church's definition of family as being founded on the stable union between a man and a woman.

He also said both unborn children and the elderly had inherent dignity as creations of God.

The pronouncements offer a clear articulation of core Catholic teachings on marriage and abortion.

The new Pope also addressed the importance of international relations and hailed interfaith dialogue as a crucial tool in the pursuit of world peace.

This meeting with the diplomatic corps is a standard protocol following a papal conclave.

It allows a newly elected pontiff to formally greet representatives from nearly 200 countries with which the Holy See maintains diplomatic ties.

open image in gallery Pope Leo has affirmed the Catholic Churchs stance on key social issues ( AP )

The Holy See's status as a sovereign state, recognised under international law, also grants it observer status at the United Nations.

The meeting preceded Pope Leo's official installation Mass which is scheduled for Sunday, May 18.

Leo, a member of the Augustinian religious order, has emphasised peace as a priority of his pontificate, from the first words he uttered on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Peace be with you all.

Popes stance on women in the Church

Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops.

But he also has said that women cannot be ordained as priests.

Despite having worked for years in Peru, where women often lead church communities, he also seems noncommittal on whether women could ever serve in any ministerial capacity.

open image in gallery Pope Leo XIV leaves the Augustinian General House in Rome after a visit on Tuesday, May 13 ( AP )

Nevertheless, women who have worked closely with him in recent years have praised his leadership style, ability to listen and respect for their opinions.

Maria Lia Zervino was among the three women Francis appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops in 2022 to review possible appointments.

Ms Zervino rejoiced when Leo was elected pope, saying the respect he showed for her and other women on the board and their opinions gave them faith in him as a leader.

Im convinced that he doesnt need to learn how to work (with women), how to let them speak, to listen to them, to have them participate in decisions, because thats what he does anyway, said Ms Zervino.
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Dmytro Guzha was returning home with his wife Elena when he felt the explosion beneath his feet  and then nothing.

After that, I didnt hear or see anything at all, the 49-year-old says. He regained consciousness a few minutes later and his focus turned to Elena.

I was really worried about my wife because I saw her and she didnt move. Then I wanted to try to get closer to her but I couldnt because my leg didnt move. That was the result of the explosion that had ripped through his lower half.

The Ukrainian city of Chuhuiv, in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, faced heavy Russian bombardment in the opening weeks of Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022. Guzha could see and hear explosions in the air as he and Elena took their ill-fated trip to the bakery.

After the couple, married more than 20 years, had picked up some bread, they started walking the familiar route home. Then Guzhas life changed forever.

open image in gallery Dmytro Guzha suffered nightmares for a year after the explosion ( United 24 )

Ukraine is the most mine-contaminated country in the world, with an estimated 23 per cent of its land littered with explosive devices. According to the countrys National Mine Action Authority, an estimated 340 civilians have been killed by exploding landmines since Russias full-scale invasion began in 2022, with another 1,195 people injured by.

Earlier this month, mine clearance specialist Chris Garrett died after being critically injured during an incident near Izyum, east Ukraine, after clearing mines in Ukraine for 10 years  having started in 2014 when the conflict in Ukraines east between government forces and Russian-backed separatists began.

Weeks of nightmare

After the blast, Guzha tried to call an ambulance, but he couldnt see anything. His wife managed to make the call, despite heavy injuries to her hip. An ambulance arrived quickly and took them to Chuhuiv hospital.

From the moment they arrived at the citys hospital, the couple experienced three weeks of nightmare due to constant bombardment.

Guzha was told by the doctor that his leg might have to be amputated, and he pleaded for them to try and save it.

Just try to do something, he asked the doctor. Because you can always cut it off, its the easiest thing to do, but try to do something.

For three weeks, they stayed in the hospital without doctors, without any supply, without electricity, without water because of constant bombardment.

open image in gallery Doctors told Guzha he risked losing his leg ( United 24 )

It was a daily struggle for doctors to even travel to the hospital to treat people without getting injured themselves.

They realised that they had to get out of the hospital and the city or they risked being trapped there. But the road out of Chuhuiv hospital was under such heavy daily bombardment that people who had been killed on the highway only had their corpses removed from their cars six months later.

A miracle escape

Guzha and his wife managed to evacuate on 7 April in what he describes as a miracle. It was the only day there was no bombardment. In fact, he describes it as a quite sunny, quite bright and beautiful day.

The couple were taken to Kremenchuk hospital, where doctors were able to save Guzhas leg. For the first seven months, they replaced 20 centimetres of his leg with a metal plate.

Every time I make a step or Im trying to make a step, it sounds like theres some gravel in the washing machine, he jokes.

After he was treated, he was told it would take him a year to walk again. Two and a half years on from his injuries, he and his wife now live in Kremenchuk and spend pretty much all the time we have in hospital.

open image in gallery Dmytro Slepkan now works with other victims of landmine explosions ( United 24 )

Not only do they continue to recover from their physical injuries, but their psychological ones as well. Guzha has nightmares every day about what he went through.

He reflects on his time in Chuhuiv hospital, where, after all his injuries, he couldnt sleep for the first 10 days at all, then the next year after that, I had nightmares every single night.

I lost sight on the spot

Guzha isnt the only person who suffers nightmares because of a landmine attack. After surviving a landmine attack in 2019, Dmytro Slepkan, 30, would see his dead colleague in his dreams.

The former commander for the State Emergency Services pyrotechnics unit was left permanently blind by a landmine his squad had tried to de-mine in the Donetsk region.

I lost sight on the spot, he says. All I saw was some red and black emptiness. I felt like I was falling down into some hole.

I thought this is what death felt like.

open image in gallery Slepkan became a father last year ( United 24 )

Slepkan struggled to readjust to the world following his injury, and was left in a state of despair as he struggled to get a job.

He now works for the Association of Minesweepers of Ukraine as a mine victim assistant. His previous experience means he intimately understands how a person who has been through a mining injury might feel.

Last year, Slepkan became a father to a baby boy, Henadii. While he and his wife Daria live in the relatively safe city of Poltava, he continues to worry for his familys safety.

Thats the biggest pain in my soul, he says, because at my work I get to see a lot of cases where babies and children are getting injured.

More than 138,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory still needs to be surveyed for landmines, covering an area of land the size of Portugal, according to fundraising platform UNITED 24.

The organisation is in the process of raising 1.12m to help de-mine sites across the regions of Kherson, Kyiv and Kharkiv, including schools, hospitals, forests and playgrounds.

Slepkan is determined that no one else should have to go through what he has experienced.

Our activity is not just a simple activity, its the mission to make Ukraine safe, and sooner or later were going to do it, he says. I want none of the kids in the world to ever know what an air raid is, what war is, what explosions are.
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The Donald Trump administration is considering a plan to permanently relocate as many as a million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, it has been reported.

White House sources told NBC News that the idea had been discussed with Libyas leadership and is being seriously considered.

In exchange, the Trump administration would release billions of dollars of funds to Libya that the US froze more than a decade ago.

open image in gallery Palestinians look on as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip ( AP )

The story was leaked as Israels military announced it had launched another offensive in Gaza, with the enclaves health ministry later reporting that more than 100 people, most of whom were women and children, had been killed in airstrikes.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the US had discussed with Tripoli the possibility of releasing around $30bn (22.6bn) in funds frozen since the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by a Nato-backed uprising in 2011. However, this was believed to be in exchange for the US having access to the unfrozen funds itself to reinvest in Libya, and made no mention of housing displaced Palestinians.

Libya remains a war-torn country battling with the aftermath of the end of Gaddafis rule, and is under the control of two opposing authorities.

The US State Department advises its citizens to avoid travelling to Libya due to the threat of crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.

Mr Trump publicly announced the possibility of relocating Gazas 2.3 million inhabitants back in February, drawing fierce criticism from the international community. He also spoke of turning Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East.

During a trip to the Gulf this week, his first official overseas tour since returning to the White House in January, Mr Trump said of Gaza that weve got to get that taken care of and discussed the need to turn the enclave into a freedom zone. He did not elaborate on what that meant.

Meanwhile, Israels military said late on Friday that it had launched extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip.

The military said it was part of the opening moves of its latest offensive, which, it says, is aimed at securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages and the defeat of Hamas.

open image in gallery Israeli soldiers work on tanks and APCs at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel ( AP )

Israel began its full-scale attacks on Gaza after Hamas launched a cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking a further 251 hostage.

Israels retaliatory attacks have killed more than 53,000 people, reduced Gaza to rubble and displaced nearly all of its inhabitants, according to the local health ministry.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the population of Gaza would be displaced following his security cabinets approval of an expanded military operation. One minister described the plan as intended to conquer the territory.

Palestinians inside the enclave say they have nowhere left to go now.

open image in gallery Smoke rises from northern Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border ( Reuters )

Where should I go today? To west Gaza? Theres bombing in west Gaza. To the south? Theyre killing people in Khan Younis. To Deir al-Balah? There is bombing. Me, my children and my family, where should we go? asked Fadi Tamboura, sitting crying next to a crater left by an overnight strike.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 250 people since Thursday morning, local health authorities said on Friday, one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March.

Israel has faced increasing international isolation over its campaign in Gaza, with even the United States, its staunchest ally, expressing unease over the scale of the destruction and the dire situation caused by its blockade on deliveries of food and other vital aid.

On Thursday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington was troubled by the humanitarian situation.
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Israel has launched a major new offensive in Gaza, killing over 100 people in the latest spate of overnight attacks, as one of the deadliest phases of bombardment of the enclave continues for the third consecutive day.

At least 300 people have been killed in Gaza since Thursday morning, as the raids and bombardments have escalated violence following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas in March.

The Israel Defence Forces said in a statement late on Friday that they have launched extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza.

The announcement came shortly after US president Donald Trump left the region, following a tour with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Friday, with no apparent progress toward a new ceasefire.

But Mr Trump acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries, without referring to Israels blockade on food and supplies entering the territory.

We have to help also out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides, he said. When asked if he backed Israels war plans, Mr Trump said he expected good things over the next month.

Meanwhile, Gazas civil defence agency said strikes on Friday killed 108 people  mostly women and children.

The raids and bombardments over the past 72 hours have already killed more than 200 people in Gaza, some officials in the Palestinian territory reportedly said, according to The Guardian.

open image in gallery Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip ( AP )

No food has entered Gaza for 75 days, as Israel has blocked international aid, including food, water and supplies, from reaching hundreds of people who have been reliant on aid after most community kitchens were shut down.

This is the deadliest and most destructive phase of Israel's war on Gaza, yet the world has turned away, said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory at the humanitarian nonprofit Oxfam.

After 19 months of horror, Gaza has become a place where international law is suspended, and humanity is abandoned.

open image in gallery Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, in Beit Lahia ( REUTERS )

open image in gallery Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Friday's air and artillery strikes were focused on the northern section of the tiny, crowded enclave, where dozens of people, including women and children, were killed overnight, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Khalil al-Deqran.

The strikes are often carried out at night, when people are sleeping in their tents.

The European Hospital, the only remaining facility providing cancer treatments in Gaza, was put out of service.

The death toll has reached levels not seen since the earliest days of the war, when Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, said Emily Tripp, executive director of Airwars, an independent group in London that tracks recent conflicts.

She says preliminary data indicate that the number of incidents in which at least one person was killed or injured by Israeli fire hovered around 700 in April - a figure comparable only to October or December 2023, one of the heaviest periods of bombardment.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to act to "prevent genocide" in the Gaza Strip, sparking outrage from the Israeli government on Friday.

open image in gallery Smoke rises following an Israeli army airstrike in northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel ( AP )

While briefing the 15-member body earlier this week, Mr Fletcher said: "Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?"

He added that time should not be wasted on the US proposal to deliver aid to Gaza and said the UN has a proven plan, with 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon accused him of delivering "a political sermon" and weaponising the word genocide against Israel, questioning under what authority he made what Israel viewed as an accusation.

Israel ended a six-week ceasefire in mid-March and launched an even deadlier offensive, killing hundreds more in Gaza.

Almost 3,000 of the estimated 53,000 people killed since 7 October have died since Israel broke the ceasefire on 18 March, the Palestinian Health Ministry, a body run by the Hamas government said.

In the last 10 days of March, Unicef estimated that an average of 100 children were killed or maimed by Israeli airstrikes each day.

Israel also targeted two ports in Yemen, which it claimed were being used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. According to local health officials, the strikes killed at least one person and injured nine others.

open image in gallery A view shows Israeli military vehicles near the Israel-Gaza border ( REUTERS )

After the strikes on Yemen, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "There will be more to come."

The Israeli military, which attacked Houthi targets earlier this month, said it had intercepted several missiles fired from Yemen toward Israeli airspace during Mr Trump's visit to the region.

In Israel, a group supporting the families of hostages said they woke up Friday with heavy hearts following reports of intensified attacks.

The group urged Mr Netanyahu to join hands with Mr Trumps efforts to secure the release of hostages. Their appeal came just days after Israeli-American Edan Alexander was freed on Monday through backchannel diplomacy between the US and Hamas.
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Israel is preparing to divide Gaza into three tightly controlled strips of land unless Hamas accepts a ceasefire deal in a matter of days, reports citing leaked plans suggest.

Hamas and Israel resumed ceasefire talks on Saturday in Qatar, as the Israeli military ramped up a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people in the past 72 hours, and launched a major new ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahus military ordered Palestinians to move to the south of Gaza earlier this week, as it began seizing control of further parts of the territory as part of preparations for the advance it dubbed Operation Gideons Chariots.

But in a new development  reported on the anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe in which an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes in 1948  further plans to carve up Gaza and its people emerged on Saturday.

A map leaked by diplomats to The Times, reportedly shows plans for three tightly controlled strips of civilian land in southern, central and northern Gaza, separated by four exclusively military zones.

open image in gallery The Israeli army says ground operations have started in northern Gaza ( Reuters )

Under the plans, titled Stage Three: the complete takeover of Gaza, Palestinians would be forbidden to move between the strips without permission, potentially separating people from their land and homes, foreign firms briefed on the plans and tasked with distributing humanitarian aid told the outlet.

According to The Times, roads and infrastructure are already being built on the remains of peoples homes, with the clearing of land needed for the new and expanded military zones expected to take at least three weeks.

The Israeli military neither confirmed nor denied the plans, according to the outlet. The Independent has sought further information from Israel.

open image in gallery Palestinians flee following Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip ( Reuters )

It comes a month after Israel announced plans for a new military strip in southern Gaza named the Morag Corridor. Observers at Goldsmiths, University of Londons Forensic Architecture studio said on Friday that Israel had destroyed dozens of homes in the remains of Rafah city and built several new military outposts.

And last week, Mr Netanyahu said Israels security cabinet had approved a plan to conquer Gaza and establish a sustained presence there, in which the population will be moved, for its own protection.

Israeli officials had suggested the so-called Gideons Chariot offensive would begin in earnest once Donald Trumps four-day tour of the Middle East had concluded.

The US president left the region on Friday, without having visited Israel. On Saturday, defence minister Israel Katz said Gideons Chariots was under way and was being led with great force by Israels military.

While Mr Trump issued a warning that a lot of people are starving in Gaza, without mentioning Israels blockade, the US presidents apparently sympathetic tone was tempered further as reports emerged suggesting his administration was considering a plan to permanently relocate as many as a million Gazans to Libya.

White House sources told NBC News that the idea had been discussed with Libyas leadership and was being seriously considered. In exchange, Washington would release billions of dollars of funds to Libya that the US froze more than a decade ago.

Mr Trump first suggested relocating Gazas 2.3 million inhabitants back in February, drawing fierce criticism from the international community. He also spoke of turning Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East.

At least 300 people have been killed in Gaza since Thursday morning, as one of the deadliest phases of Israels bombardment continued for a third consecutive day.

open image in gallery Flames rise from northern Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border on Saturday ( Reuters )

Palestinian health authorities said at least 150 people had been killed in the past 24 hours, with many hundreds more being treated in hospital, and countless others still buried under rubble. More than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on 18 March.

Israel insists its offensive is aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages seized in the groups cross-border incursion on 7 October 2023, which sparked the war and left 1,200 people in Israel dead.

Israel believes as many as 23 of the hostages in Gaza are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of them.

On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house. A later strike in Jabalia killed four, the hospital said.

This is unacceptable. Until when? Until we all die? said Naji Awaisa, as he and others fled the camp with their belongings.

open image in gallery Palestinians look at smoke rising following an Israeli airstrike near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday ( AP )

Airstrikes around Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed 14 people, with the bodies arriving at al-Aqsa hospital. One strike on a house killed eight people, including parents and four children.

A strike also landed outside a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, killing four, health officials said.

Gaza is in the third month of an Israeli blockade with no food, water, fuel or other goods entering the territory of more than 2 million people. Food security experts say Gaza will be in famine if the blockade is not lifted.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people marched through London to mark the anniversary of Nakba.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the march was intended to mark the 77th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba and demand our government take action to end the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land.

Additional reporting by AP
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Microsoft has admitted that it sold artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages.

However, the company said it had found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in the Gaza Strip.

The blog post on Microsofts corporate website is unsigned.

It appears to be the companys first public acknowledgement of its involvement in the war, which started after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza.

It comes nearly three months after an investigation revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giants close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israels in-house AI-enabled targeting systems and vice versa.

open image in gallery Smoke rises from northern Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, on May 17 ( Reuters )

The partnership reflects a growing drive by tech companies to sell their artificial intelligence products to militaries for a wide range of uses, including in Israel, Ukraine and the United States.

However, human rights groups have raised concerns that AI systems, which can be flawed and prone to errors, are being used to help make decisions about who or what to target, resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

Microsoft said that employee concerns and media reports had prompted the company to launch an internal review and hire an external firm to undertake additional fact-finding.

The statement did not identify the outside firm or provide a copy of its report.

The statement also did not directly address several questions about precisely how the Israeli military is using its technologies, and the company declined Friday to comment further. Microsoft declined to answer written questions about how its AI models helped to translate, sort and analyse intelligence used by the military to select targets for airstrikes.

The company's statement said it had provided the Israeli military with software, professional services, Azure cloud storage and Azure AI services, including language translation, and had worked with the Israeli government to protect its national cyberspace against external threats.

Microsoft said it had also provided special access to our technologies beyond the terms of our commercial agreements and limited emergency support to Israel as part of the effort to help rescue the more than 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

open image in gallery A Microsoft sign outside the companys headquarters in Washington ( AP )

We provided this help with significant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others, Microsoft said.

We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honouring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza.

The company did not answer whether it or the outside firm it hired communicated or consulted with the Israeli military as part of its internal probe. It also did not respond to requests for additional details about the special assistance it provided to the Israeli military to recover hostages or the specific steps to safeguard the rights and privacy of Palestinians.

In its statement, the company also conceded that it does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices. The company added that it could not know how its products might be used through other commercial cloud providers.

In addition to Microsoft, the Israeli military has extensive contracts for cloud or AI services with Google, Amazon, Palantir and several other major American tech firms.

Microsoft said the Israeli military, like any other customer, was bound to follow the companys Acceptable Use Policy and AI Code of Conduct, which prohibit the use of products to inflict harm in any way prohibited by law. In its statement, the company said it had found no evidence the Israeli military had violated those terms.

Emelia Probasco, a senior fellow for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, said the statement is noteworthy because few commercial technology companies have so clearly laid out standards for working globally with international governments.

open image in gallery An Israeli tank near the southern border on May 16 ( AP )

We are in a remarkable moment where a company, not a government, is dictating terms of use to a government that is actively engaged in a conflict, she said.

Its like a tank manufacturer telling a country you can only use our tanks for these specific reasons. That is a new world.

Israel has used its vast trove of intelligence to both target Islamic militants and conduct raids into Gaza seeking to rescue hostages, with civilians often caught in the crossfire. For example, a February 2024 operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 60 Palestinians. A June 2024 raid in the Nuseirat refugee camp freed four Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity but resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians.

Overall, Israels invasions and extensive bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, many of them women and children.

No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees, called on Friday for the company to publicly release a full copy of the investigative report.

Its very clear that their intention with this statement is not to actually address their worker concerns, but rather to make a PR stunt to whitewash their image that has been tarnished by their relationship with the Israeli military, said Hossam Nasr, a former Microsoft worker fired in October after he helped organize an unauthorized vigil at the companys headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, applauded Microsoft Friday for taking a step toward transparency. But she said the statement raised many unanswered questions, including details about how Microsofts services and AI models were being used by the Israeli military on its own government servers.

Im glad theres a little bit of transparency here, said Ms Cohn, who has long called on U.S. tech giants to be more open about their military contracts.

But it is hard to square that with whats actually happening on the ground.
Graham Norton has sent a blunt message to anyone complaining about the UKs Eurovision 2025 entry, Remember Monday.

The trio will perform What the Hell Just Happened? at the grand final in Switzerland on Saturday, 17 May.

Addressing a section of fans who will complain every year, the TV chat show host described these viewers as enjoying the singing competition by hate watching it.

But they're still watching it... they might be a slightly dysfunctional part of our family, but they are still part of the Eurovision family, no one talks to them at Christmas, but they're there.
The Royal Family has shown support for the UK's Eurovision entry, Remember Monday, with a special musical tribute ahead of the grand final in Switzerland on Saturday (17 May).

Musicians from the Band of the Irish Guards played a brass rendition of "What The Hell Just Happened?" outside Buckingham Palace to wish the trio good luck in Basel.

Remember Monday, comprised of school friends Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele, is the first girl group to represent the country since Precious in 1999.

The Eurovision 2025 grand final will be broadcast on BBC One from 8pm.
Police bodycam footage shows the moment a prison governor who formed a relationship with a Liverpool drug gang boss was arrested at home.

Kerri Pegg, 42, from Cinnamon Brow, Warrington, was in a relationship with Anthony Saunderson, known to criminal associates as "Jesse Pinkman" after the drug dealer in Breaking Bad, who is now serving 35 years behind bars.

North Wales Police detectives said encrypted messages between Saunderson and other OCG members mentioned Kerri and Peggy. Investigators later confirmed that Saunderson was in a relationship with Pegg.

Pegg was jailed for nine years on Friday (16 May) after being found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office and handling criminal product.
How many people, I wonder, seriously think that Keir Starmer has much in common with Enoch Powell? Its true that whoever came up with the phrase island of strangers was, at best, naive. But those three words dont do justice to his whole speech. Powell was a (proud) racialist. Starmer is not.

But, somehow, in modern Britain as elsewhere, we are more comfortable with pigeonholes. Not so long ago, Starmer was typecast as weak-kneed and woke-minded on the issue of immigration. Now he apparently spies the River Thames foaming with much blood. Maybe his views arent so extreme, but he has simply been persuaded to nudge a little to the right to undermine the threat from Reform. In other words, perhaps Starmer is, at heart, that most ridiculed of creatures: a centrist dad.

But arent most of us somewhere in the middle on most of the big issues of the day? The common wisdom is that were living in an age of great polarity, which is true up to a point. But, increasingly, I suspect, most of us arent attracted to extremes. We are repelled by pigeonholes and huddle for warmth somewhere in the middle instead.

I am no John Curtice, so what follows is a gut feeling rather than a psephological revelation. But that feeling, when it comes to immigration, is that most people appreciate that, as a country, we do benefit from migration, and that we also need controls on who  and how many people  should be allowed in.

In other words, we do buy the argument that migrants bring considerable benefits and are probably necessary for growth, but we also understand those who fear that, wrongly handled, there could be a risk to social cohesion  and that unskilled workers, in particular, feel threatened by the lower pay rates that an excessive number of foreign workers can cause.

In other words, Starmer was right two years ago when he spoke up in favour of migration and also right today in wanting to set boundaries. Hes more or less in tune with most people, who are not in favour of uncontrolled migration any more than they share a cruel obsession with denying sanctuary to those most in need.

See also Israel-Palestine. Most people surely agree that Israel had to defend itself after the barbarous 7 October attacks by Hamas. But many, if not most, people now consider that Israels response has been wildly, possibly criminally, disproportionate. By holding these two thoughts, they are not siding with either the Islamist radicals or the ethno-nationalist hardmen propping up Benjamin Netanyahu. Stop the killing, end the famine, and get around a table and talk. Thats where most people are.

Moderation in all things. But contrast that instinctive moderation with how most of these issues are presented and discussed as either/or rather than a bit of both ( PA )

On trans issues, the majority probably feel sympathy and understanding towards people who feel trapped in the wrong body. They probably believe that such people should be free to live whatever lives they want  including self-identifying in terms of gender. They simultaneously acknowledge that, in a tiny proportion of cases, there might be issues to resolve sensitively around toilets, prisons and sport. Anyone with any personal knowledge of trans people will know that 99.9 per cent are not in prison, dont compete in sport and quietly resolve any issues around bathrooms. The obsessive vitriol and noise about the 0.1 per cent leaves most of us cold.

And then Brexit. Most people could see there were some sovereignty issues with rule from Brussels, but that there were also huge economic benefits from being part of a trading bloc. It was, literally, a trade-off: freedom of movement brought advantages as well as disadvantages.

Self-evidently and by a small margin, it transpired that we were relaxed about a form of decoupling. But support for the most extreme version of severance was limited and is declining now the economic (and security) consequences are becoming icily apparent.

That leaves climate change. Most people accept that it is very real  and that we need to move fast to try and mitigate the damage that a significant rise in warming will cause. Most support an energy transition, though they are up for a constructive argument about how fast and at what cost. The majority of people dont want to go back to coal or maintain our reliance on fossil fuels for longer than we have to. If theres a cleaner way of generating energy, bring it on.

Moderation in all things. But contrast that instinctive moderation with how most of these issues are presented and discussed as either/or rather than a bit of both. When did we lose the art of nuance and reasonable discussion? The easy response is to blame it all on social media algorithms, which do, indeed, favour the shouters and the polarisers. But is that the only explanation?

Some argue that a fairer voting system would change the nature of the debate so that we could discuss in shades of grey rather than the prevailing black and white. Were tired of the adversarial approach to everything.

Does the mainstream media have to accept some responsibility for the way we force people to take more eye-catching positions than those they actually believe in? Or have we simply lost the art of nuance? Keir Starmer as Enoch Powell  really?

Our instinct for moderation was once considered a defining British  or, at least, English trait. We didnt fall for fascism or communism in the Thirties because we  well, because we huddled somewhere in the middle.

George Orwell, famously writing under the hail of Nazi bombs in February 1941, said: Like all other modern people, the English are in process of being numbered, labelled, conscripted, coordinated. But the pull of their impulses is in the other direction, and the kind of regimentation that can be imposed on them will be modified in consequence. No party rallies, no youth movements, no coloured shirts, no Jew-baiting or spontaneous demonstrations. No Gestapo either, in all probability.

And so it turned out. Which makes it all the stranger that Nigel Farage, with his Mr Toad flat cap and yellow cords, has managed to brand himself as the epitome of Englishness. Speak for England, Nigel? I dont think so. Lets hear it for the neglected middle.
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Donald Trumps latest reported scheme to end the horror thats unfolding in Gaza is to somehow dump one million of the enclaves 2.5 million people in Libya in return for unfreezing $30bn in frozen assets. The idea is as stupid as it is evil.

It appears to be part of a White House campaign to normalise Israels campaign to use bombs, bullets, starvation, the mass destruction of homes, and the targeting of hospitals and medical professionals to make Gaza unliveable.

The United Nations and the International Criminal Court have said that what Israels prime minister and military are doing in Gaza is genocidal, a war crime, or a crime against humanity. One does not need to parse over the legal definitions of whats going on.

This is a campaign that Britain has been supporting with the export of weapons parts to Israel, and with spy-plane flights over Gaza coordinated with Israels air force. In short, the UK is complicit in the commission of atrocities against civilians by Israel. History will judge Keir Starmer and his government harshly for this. So will ordinary British people.

There is a double standard in righteously backing Ukraine against the murderous Vladimir Putin, and wrongly backing Netanyahus campaign against dark-skinned Muslims. Many will accuse the UK of racism.

Israel was understandably enraged and hurt by the vile massacre of Israelis and others by Hamas and its supporters on 7 October 2023. Hamas deliberately calibrated the atrocities to provoke an unequal reaction. And got it.

Israels far right has now seized on the campaign in Gaza to make it clear that the long-term aim, as troops step up operations again, is to conquer the enclave. Netanyahu has said he wants to see the voluntary evacuation of its population.

Israeli ground forces will be in the Gaza Strip indefinitely. They will not enter and come out, he said.

This is bad ethically. It is also bad for Israel, which has already lost the right to claim to be the only democracy in the Middle East. It has selectively seized large areas of the occupied West Bank for Israeli-only colonies and imposed a structure of racial segregation and rights restrictions on ethnic Palestinians in the rest of the territory.

BTselem, Israels leading human rights organisation, said back in 2021: The Israeli regime enacts in all the territory it controls (Israeli sovereign territory, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip) an apartheid regime. One organising principle lies at the base of a wide array of Israeli policies: advancing and perpetuating the supremacy of one group  Jews  over another  Palestinians.

The organisation has accused its own government of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Ami Ayalon is the former director of Israels internal security agency, Shin Bet. The agency spies on Palestinians. It contributes to kill lists of alleged terrorists. It sometimes kills them itself.

This is what he said of Israels war in Gaza: Not only is it not a just war, this war will bring the end of the state of Israel as a Jewish democracy. We are endangering our security if we shall not stop this war.

It is not as if Starmer and his ministers can say they dont know whats happening. They need to say loud and clear, now, that it must stop and they must end every and any part the UK is playing.

Starmer has limited his criticism of the destruction of 80 per cent of Gazas structures and at least 52,000 lives (more than half are women and children), to saying that Israels latest aid blockage is intolerable.

Putin is, rightly, under international sanctions. His country cannot import anything that would contribute to his war in Ukraine from Europe, the UK, or America. Putins murderers have killed far fewer civilians (at least 12,500) than Israels defence forces.

Theres no talk of sanctions against Israel for whats happening in Gaza from No 10. Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and now the UNs human aid chief, last week asked the security council: Will you act  decisively  to prevent genocide [in Gaza] and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?

Answer came there none from the UK. But Israel swung back, with Danny Danon, Israels ambassador, saying Fletchers question was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality.

I happen to be writing this from Africas Great Lakes region, where, 31 years ago, Rwanda was suffering the fastest and most devastating genocide in history since the Holocaust. People were slaughtered at a rate of about 10,000 a day in a deliberate attempt by Hutu extremists to wipe out the nations Tutsi minority.

The UK and US refused to use the word genocide for what was happening because that would have, under international law, required action to stop the massacres. The outside world sat on its hands until a rebel Tutsi army stopped the killing in Rwanda.

The slaughter didnt stop, though. It spread into neighbouring Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. A kill-or-be-killed fixation took hold in most corners of the vast nation. It sucked neighbouring countries into a war that killed some five million, and is still raging today. Stopping the 1994 genocide by intervening would have been relatively easy. Dealing with the horrors that have followed has been almost impossible.

The lesson of Gaza is that a failure to end the mass slaughter there will have catastrophic long-term and violent consequences.

Palestinians will never forget that Trump has already come up with the demented idea of Egypt or Jordan, or both, taking in Gazas war-shattered people so he can turn the land they left behind into a coastal resort.

Now hes suggesting, according to NBC News, that he could trade Gazans, like camels, with Libya. Bribing the embattled nation with a $30bn influx of its own money to take on millions of dispossessed Palestinians.

The scheme is so demented, it is hardly worth pointing out that Libyas government wont accept such a deal. Or that European nations would shoot it down as it moves millions of people to the jumping-off point for illegal immigration to their nations. Or that intelligence agencies would freak out because it would send the bloodied mass of Israels victims straight into the hands of al-Qaeda.

It serves the Netanyahu government, though, because it suggests that serious people, people in government, are asking if not Egypt, if not Jordan, if not Libya, then where?

Britains answer must be nowhere but Gaza and to loudly demand an end to the mass killing, forced removals, and illegal seizure of West Bank land. Doing so now would already be too late for too many Gazans, but it might in the long term help them and Israel, too.
He made his call and then it was up to me to make my call and I did  Joey OBrien on decision to take over from Damien Duff and nervy win over Cork
The number of super-rich people paying the domicile levy came to just 15 in 2023, the last year for which tax returns are available.

The levy was introduced after the financial crash, as a way of ensuring that wealthy individuals whose permanent home is in Ireland but who live overseas for tax reasons make some contribution to the Exchequer.
Lawyers had replaced previous legal team less than two weeks ago

Less than two weeks after notifying a US court that they will represent Co Kildare-based businessman Paul Wright, his latest lawyers have now asked for permission to withdraw as his counsel due to irreconcilable differences with their client.
The one-time head of security for pop star Rihanna, who drew "ancient symbols" on the ground outside a garda station to "remove evil spirits", has had his conviction for criminal damage overturned on appeal.

Geoffrey Keating (47), with an address at Woodbank Drive, Finglas, Dublin 11 originally pleaded not guilty to criminal damage under the Criminal Damage Act, 1991 in the District Court.

The District Court Appeals Court last week heard that Mr Keating had drawn three large XE symbols in blue chalk on the ground outside Finglas Garda Station on Mellows Road, Dublin 11, on the evening of May 9, 2022.

Garda Joseph Rogers said Mr Keating told him that if garda members passed over the symbols, it would remove evil spirits to protect the children of Finglas and that he would go to any lengths to protect children.

Garda Rogers arrested Mr Keating for criminal damage and he was later convicted in Blanchardstown District Court on May 27, 2022 where he was given a fine of 200.

Geoffrey Keating.

Giving evidence today, Mr Keating told the court that he is a spiritualist, adding that the old symbols hold a lot of meaning to him and they are similar to his Nordic tattoos.

He said that he had no intention of doing criminal damage and that his aim was to draw the symbols and explain their meaning to gardai.

Mr Keating, who was pop star Rihannas head of security in 2012 and 2013, explained that he believes the symbols stop bad things from happening.

Mr Keating said that his intention was to make a protest statement to stop the abuse of disadvantaged minors and that he engages in a lot of advocacy for children in his local community.

I didnt know it was illegal. To me it was akin to doing hopscotch on the ground, he told the appeals court.

Defence counsel for Mr Keating, Patrick Flynn BL, said that the conviction for criminal damage was a disproportionate reaction to a peaceful act of protest.

Judge Catherine White said she agreed with the defence in this case that the conviction was disproportionate and allowed Mr Keating's appeal against his conviction.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.
There were multiple items stolen from the Square in Tallaght.

A serial offender has been handed a further 10-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a series of thefts from stores across Dublin.

Melissa OShea (44), of Cushlawn Park in Tallaght, appeared before Judge Patricia McNamara at Tallaght District Court earlier this week, where she admitted to stealing items including clothing, alcohol, cosmetics and household goods from retailers such as Dunnes Stores, Tesco and SuperValu.

Ms OShea is currently serving a custodial sentence and is not due for release until June 2026. The court heard she has 47 previous convictions including 38 for theft, five for road traffic offences, three for public order and one for possession of a weapon.

Among the more recent charges was the theft of 103 worth of clothing from Dunnes Stores in The Square Shopping Centre on October 9, 2024. The court heard that security managed to retrieve the items before gardai arrived. Upon her arrest, OShea was also found in possession of 150 worth of stolen cosmetics taken from other stores.

OShea pleaded guilty to both offences.

Other offences before the court included the theft of 41 worth of alcohol from Dunnes Stores on October 3, 2024, the theft of vodka from Tesco in Rathfarnham on October 10, and the theft of 68 worth of goods on January 31, 2025.

Ms OShea also faced older summonses, including the theft of dishwasher tablets from SuperValu in 2022 and a road traffic offence for driving without insurance or a licence.

Her barrister, Ciara Ni Ghabhain BL, said Ms OShea has battled a long-term addiction but is now drug-free, actively engaging with support services in prison and is attending 13 classes a week. She also hopes to join the Tus Nua reintegration programme upon release and sought to deal with all remaining matters to move on with her rehabilitation.

Judge McNamara acknowledged the extensive offending history but also noted Ms OSheas positive engagement while in custody. She imposed a 10-month sentence to run consecutively with her existing term. No portion of the sentence was suspended.

Drugs are at the root of all of this, the judge remarked during sentencing.

The court also heard that Ms OShea had originally been remanded on bail in October 2024 before being committed to custody later that month.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.
Its not about the money, its just having to do it all again  home that had 600,000 Room to Improve makeover is damaged in blaze
An area cordoned off by Gardai in the search for missing Kerry farmer Mike Gaine. Photo: Domnick Walsh.

Gardai investigating the disappearance of Michael Gaine have confirmed they have found partial human remains on his farm this evening.

Searches are now ongoing to recover any further human remains, gardai said.

State Pathologist, Dr Sally Anne Collis and Forensic Anthropologist Laureen Buckley assisted by the Garda Technical Bureau have carried out preliminary examinations at the scene.

"DNA analysis will be required to carry out formal identification of the recovered human remains.

"The homicide investigation, led by a Senior Investigating Officer and the Serious Crime Unit Kerry Garda Division is ongoing, supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), a garda spokesperson said.

The Irish Independent can confirm that a member of the public contacted gardai on Friday after uncovering what they suspected was potential human matter.

As a consequence, An Garda Siochana reconvened a search in this area and recovered body tissue, a senior source has confirmed.

The Garda Technical Bureau arrived on the scene at Mike Gaines farm earlier today.

An area cordoned off by Gardai in the search for missing Kerry farmer Mike Gaine. Photo: Domnick Walsh.

The vicinity of the slurry tank was previously examined by gardai investigators as part of their extensive searches for the missing farmer.

However following contact from a third party on Friday who was concerned about what they came across, gardai returned to the scene.

Investigators soon established that body tissue was present. We got a phone call from a third party and a search was recommenced. The indications are that the body tissue is likely to be human, according to the senior source.

Missing Kerry farmer Mike Gaine

Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

An extensive search has already been undertaken on these lands conducted by both gardai and the Defence Forces.

The case was recently reclassified as a homicide investigation, giving gardai further investigative powers. This is the first search since the upgrade but in the intervening time witness statements have been taken and lines of inquiry pursued. Dashcam footage has also been reviewed.

Mr Gaine was reported missing from his home near Kenmare on Friday, March 21, and despite significant searches, no trace of him had been found.

The last official sighting of Mr Gaine was when he bought phone credit in his local Centra shop on March 20.

He left the shop in his bronze-coloured Toyota RAV 4, with the registration 152KY366. The car was found in his farmyard just off the N71 at Carrig East, Kenmare, along with his phone and wallet.

In a statement issued on Saturday morning, gardai said: "Gardai at Killarney Garda Station continue to investigate the disappearance and homicide of Michael Gaine (56), who was reported missing from his home near Kenmare, Co Kerry, on Friday, March 21, 2025.

As part of the investigation, operations resumed at lands in Carrig East, Kenmare, Co Kerry on Friday evening and a crime scene has now been declared.

The Garda Technical Bureau and the Office of the State Pathologist have been requested to attend the scene.

Pending examinations by both the Garda Technical Bureau and the State Pathologist, An Garda Siochana is not in a position to provide further information at this time.

The investigation is ongoing and further updates will follow, the garda spokesperson said.
The completion date for the 2.24bn National Childrens Hospital has been put back yet again to September with the end of June timeline not met.

It is the fifteenth time in over four years that a promised completion date has not been met.

The new timeline is expected to be confirmed when the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) and Childrens Health Ireland come before the Public Accounts Committee next week.

National Children's Hospital mid-construction.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

The delayed completion date also means the transfer of services from the existing three childrens hospitals will be put back and an expected Spring opening will not happen until well in to next summer.

It is the latest setback in the building of the hospital which has been beset by delays and spiralling costs.

The June timeline for completion emerged last autumn before the general election .

Prior to that the deadline was February. But now it is being extended again to September.

Chief executive of the hospitals development board, David Gunning, told the Oireachtas health committee last autumn the main contractor, BAM, shifted its substantial completion date 14 times.

In the last 12 months alone, BAM has shifted the substantial completion date four times, pushing out the completion date by a total of eight months.

BAM is currently communicating June 2025 as its anticipated substantial completion date.

In the absence of a written, contractually compliant, realistic and resource-loaded programme, the NPHDB cannot and will not simply accept BAMs ongoing deferral dates.

Mr Gunning said in January 2019, BAM committed to a peak resource of over 1,700 productive operatives.

The figure was set out in the contract programme provided by BAM and did not take management into account, Mr Gunning said.

However, Mr Gunning said the highest level of resources was 1,260 workers in June 2022  over 400 fewer than the peak resource levels committed to.

The primary reason why the substantial completion date continues to move out is a lack of resourcing by BAM, he added.

BAM said it has consistently ensured the project is fully resourced.

The company said that on several occasions, (BAM) has ensured significantly higher numbers are on site than projected.

It said it forecast a peak resource figure of 1,424 operatives.

BAM hit an actual peak of 1,705 operatives, the statement said.

On the number of operatives working on the hospital site currently, the builder said staffing levels were higher than anticipated.

Currently, the site is resourced at approximately 50pc above the level that was anticipated for this late stage, given the design changes that have occurred, BAM said.
Up to 69 clinical incidents were reported by maternity services in Portiuncula University Hospital in Galway in the first two months of the year, new figures show.

It comes as it emerged a recent baby death at the hospital is now being externally reviewed.

It brings to 10 the number of reviews into the care of women and babies now under way at the unit.

A new management team was installed by the HSE in January.

New figures show the hospital reported 69 clinical incidents over January and February as part of a system of monthly safety statements made individually by 19 maternity units and hospitals. The nature of the cases is not stated, but a clinical incident is an event or circumstance that could have or did result in unnecessary harm to the patient and is logged with a national monitoring system.

Portiuncula Hospital, Co Galway

Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

A spokeswoman for the HSE West and North West said yesterday she could not disclose the cause of death of the baby who recently died.

We cannot comment on individual cases when to do so might reveal information in relation to identifiable individuals, breaching the ethical requirement on us to observe our duty of confidentiality. An external review process has begun and is currently finalising the terms of reference. We will await the outcome of this review, she said.

In January, it was announced that seven cases of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which causes a lack of oxygen and blood supply to the brain, in 2024 and early 2025 were being reviewed externally. None of the children died.

Another two stillbirths, which happened in 2023, are also being reviewed.

We do anticipate receiving a number of reviews shortly. Once completed, the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved

News of the infant death will lead to renewed concern among parents.

Delays in providing answers have also added to anxiety and a number of the reviews were expected to be finalised around February.

Asked about the delay, the HSE spokeswoman said the reviews under way are entirely independent and it is important to give them time and space to conclude.

We do anticipate receiving a number of reviews shortly. Once completed, the findings of each individual review will be shared with the families involved, she said.

She added an external management team remains in place in to oversee all elements of maternity and neonatal care.

The team is led by an external consultant obstetrician Dr Mark Skehan and includes a director of midwifery and a senior manager. The director of midwifery post was initially filled on an interim basis, and as planned, a more permanent placement has been made.

Portiuncula went from having one baby being diagnosed HIE in 2023 to six last year  highlighting how the jump in numbers raised concerns.

No baby was diagnosed with HIE in 2022 and just one case was reported in 2021. Six of the cases under review involve babies with HIE born in the hospital last year and the seventh was delivered in early January.

Six of the babies needed therapeutic cooling treatment to reduce the risk of disability or death.

The lead reviewers in the separate reviews are Professor Fergal Malone, Professor Sam Coulter-Smith and Dr Sieglinde Mullers from the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.

Shortly after her appointment as Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill visited the hospital and spoke to parents. She said it is most important that all appropriate steps are taken to prioritise patient safety and neonatal care at Portiuncula, and in every maternity hospital in Ireland.

I will continue to engage with the teams at Portiuncula while we await the completion of the reviews, she said.

A 2018 report in to Portiuncula maternity care was carried out by Professor James Walker, who was professor of obstetrics at the University of Leeds at the time.

He led a team that looked at 18 perinatal events in the Galway hospital from 2008 to 2014.

The report found significant failings in some incidents, as well as serious errors of management in 10 cases that probably made a difference to the outcome for these babies.

Under the system of maternity care, smaller units such as Portiuncula are part of a wider network, with more complex patients referred to larger centres in the region.

According to the HSE, while the incidence of therapeutic hypothermia remains a critical concern, there has been a demonstrable reduction in cases. In 2020, there were 76 cases, compared to 53 in 2023.

Given the declining birth rate, this reduction may not be statistically significant, but it does indicate progress, it said. It is important to note that HIE, the condition that it treats, can arise from various obstetric complications, it added.

This includes placental abruption, uterine rupture, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, maternal collapse and foetal haemorrhage. The external investigators are to examine why the babies developed HIE and what problems might have happened during labour and delivery.
President Michael D Higgins has accused the United Nations Security Council of failing again and again in response to current famines as he said the people of Gaza are enduring forced starvation.

Speaking at the National Famine Commemoration in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, today, Mr Higgins said starvation is being used as an instrument of war and that the population of Gaza is being subjected to forced starvation.

He quoted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who said: As aid dries up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened... Gaza is a killing field  and civilians are in an endless death loop.

President Michael D Higgins at the famine memorial park in Kilmallock, Co Limerick. Photo: Maxwell.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

He said the Irish Government is asking EU member states to work to avoid what will be a massive loss of life in Gaza.

He added that aid trucks carrying vital food, medicine and water are currently blocked at three entry points to Gaza, including two Irish aid trucks.

This comes as thousands of people marched in the streets of Dublin this afternoon to call for action against the Israeli bombing of Gaza by the Irish government.

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign organised the end the genocide rally in Dublin and called for sanctions against Israel.

During his speech, Mr Higgins called on the UN General Assembly to act when the Security Council fails to deal with current famines.

When the Security Council fails us as it does again and again, in responding to what I have been describing as the current conditions, we must return to the exceptional measures that are available to us that I remember discussing at the time of the Iraq war, that are available from the General Assembly, he said.

"The General Assembly must speak and act if in fact the Security Council refuses to deal with the terrible famines that are now facing us in those parts of the world."

Speaking at the event in Co Limerick, Mr Higgins said the recurrence of famine is a great human failure as he said people in Yemen and Sudan also suffer hunger and famine created by conflict.

He said the collapse humanitarian aid and assistance has left a significantly reduced humanitarian capacity.

He said the Horn of Africa has experienced devastating hunger three times in three decades, adding; On each occasion, the world said never again when details of the famine were reported to the United Nations. Yet, each time, famine has returned.

He said the world is witnessing dangerous breaches and challenges to human rights around the world  be it in the plight of those enduring the horrific consequences of avoidable war and conflict, including food insecurity, the reappearance of old hatreds and the arrival of new forms of the scourges of hatred, racism and intolerance.

Mr Higgins said National Famine Commemoration Day is a a solemn opportunity for the people of this island to reflect on and recall those who perished, the suffering and loss experienced by our Irish people in that cataclysmic period in our history to which we refer to as An Gorta Mor.

"No other event in our history can be likened to the Great Famine for its immediate tragic impact, or its role in creating a massive increase in desperate and involuntary emigration, cultural loss, increased decline of the Irish language, and a general demoralisation of Irish shared life, he said.

Over one million people died during the famine and over two million emigrated between 1845 and 1852, with a commemoration event today featuring a wreath-laying ceremony and other tributes to those who died.
Construction of the Derrybrien wind farm in Co Galway caused a massive landslide in 2003

The taking down of controversial Derrybrien wind farm comes at the end of more than 20 years of legal wrangling.

Its removal from a Co Galway mountain will leave behind more than bad memories, though, as the foundations for its 70 turbines are to remain in the ground.

Gort Windfarms, the ESB subsidiary that owns the facility, recently held pre-application consultations with An Bord Pleanala to tease out preliminary issues before lodging a planning application for the required works.

It told planning officials it intended to apply to remove the majority of aboveground features from the site  including all turbines, masts, electrical plant, overhead lines.

It would also seek retention in situ and in perpetuity of part of the existing development  including at and belowground structures such as turbine foundations and other foundations and substructures, on-site access tracks.

In the case of Derrybrien, which gained notoriety when its construction caused a massive landslide in 2003, looking to leave the underground structures in place is not unexpected.

During the investigations that followed the landslide, it emerged no proper environmental impact study had been carried out, or indeed sought, by the planning authorities.

If it had, it would likely have warned against digging into the loose, wet, peaty soils of the Slieve Aughty Mountains to install and erect structures weighing hundreds of tonnes apiece.

It would not be possible to remove turbine foundations without risk to ground stability, an ESB spokesperson told the Irish Independent.

Martin Collins of the Derrybrien Action Group  which formed to represent local people whose land, property, roads and rivers were destroyed by the landslide  sees logic in that, but the move raises questions.

Theres been no discussion with the community apart from a meeting last September when we were told by ESB what they were going to do, he said.

There was no discussion about whether its the best thing to do. We dont know what it means for the mountain in the long term. We dont know what aftercare is envisaged.

Meanwhile, GE Vernova, owners of the countrys first and only offshore wind farm at Arklow Bank, announced in the past week that it was to be decommissioned.

It is expected, though not confirmed, that the company will also seek to leave the foundations in place in the seabed.

We will work with local officials to progress the decommissioning process in a timely and responsible manner, a spokesperson said.

These two wind farms will be the first to be decommissioned in Ireland, so there is no precedent to follow.

In other countries, various approaches are taken. Sometimes the massive reinforced concrete bases are dug up, broken up and taken away to reuse the steel within, but often they are left behind and buried with soil.

Offshore wind is a newer technology, so no pattern has formed around its afterlife.

The Department of the Environment said it was developing guidance, but that if any of the offshore wind projects currently in planning got permission, that would come with a rehabilitation schedule that would specify the works to be completed when operation ceased.

The Department of Housing, which oversees planning for onshore wind farms, said its guidelines advised that decommissioning should involve the removal of all of the aboveground elements of the wind energy development and making good of the site, and that foundation pads can be covered with local soil and left for natural re-vegetation, except in highly exposed locations where they should be re-sodded.

Industry body, Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), said the key principle when decommissioning was minimising any additional environmental impact and restoring the land.

A study it commissioned last year said one-fifth of all wind farm capacity would reach the end of their operating licence by 2030, so in theory, that could mean a lot of sites to be made good.

However, WEI is pushing for the extension of licences or repowering  a move the Government backs  which would kick the question of aftercare further down the road.

Eventually, though, many will have to be decommissioned, particularly when turbines wear out, as new models are much bigger and unsuited for 30 year-old-foundations.

Jerry Mac Evilly of Friends of the Earth said repowering should be an option where possible, but otherwise, consideration should be given to keeping sites as clean energy facilities in some other way  perhaps converting to solar.

Failing that, they could be rewilded or restored for ecotourism, but what wed really like to see is the sites handed over to community-owned energy projects, he said.
Comedian Tommy Tiernan has addressed speculation that he could be the potential successor for both President, Michael D Higgins, and Joe Duffy in his coveted Liveline slot.

The presenter, who emerged as a popular presidential candidate in a Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll earlier this year, said he has never even considered a bid for the Aras.

And while The Tommy Tiernan Show lets him show off his natural curiosity that means hed be great on Liveline, he said: Id find it very hard to fit that and the presidency in.

Tommy Tiernan

Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

Speaking to RTEs Brendan OConnor, Tiernan said: On the chat show, its very easy for me to keep asking questions because I am curious about people.

"It's very easy for me to have long conversations with people I meet at the street and not to think that my curiosity is nosiness - it probably kind of is  but (to) be naturally curious. You know, I'd be great on Liveline.

Asked whether he would take over as host after Duffy steps down at the end of June, he said: No, I couldnt. Id find it very hard to fit that and the presidency in.

On whether he has ruled out a bid for the Aras, the comedian said he has never even considered it.

"Im too young, he said, adding that President Michael D Higgins to far too intelligent to see Tiernan as a potential successor.

Hes a gifted man and my feeling is that were all aware of his morality, his fearlessness in the stands that he has taken, his gift as an orator and his integrity, he said.

Weve had 14 years of the most magnificent presidency, a president that we have been proud of and its not for us to imagine how the next presidency will happen.

He said it will be important to seriously and respectfully acknowledge the brilliance of his presidency and to say thank you. I dont know who the runners and riders are for the next one, but we will need to take a moment to genuinely thank Michael D Higgins for 14 years of inspiring presidency.

When OConnor asked whether it was not the time for Tiernan to make a bid, he joked: Not with Liveline and the play and all that.

The comedian will appear on stage at the Abbey Theatre from next month in The Cave, a new play by Kevin Barry.
Louise McSharry: Road rage is on the rise  and its not just bad traffic thats driving the aggressive behaviour

We need to take a long hard look at our behaviour and ask ourselves why we feel comfortable intimidating other drivers

We all get frustrated on the roads, but it seems that lately more and more drivers are letting their anger boil over into intimidating behaviour. Photo: Getty

Louise McSharry Sat 17 May 2025 at 03:30

The light must have been green for all of half a second when the forceful beeping started. The van driver behind my car wasnt happy at my reaction time. He then screamed at me to reinforce the message.
The death of a member of An Garda Siochana sends a shockwave through the nation. Thankfully, such deaths remain rare events  90 gardai have died in the line of duty since An Garda Siochana was founded in 1922. Since the turn of the century, there have been 16 deaths of gardai on duty. The names and circumstances are still fresh in the memory, particularly three murders in the last 12 years that were in violent circumstances. Detective Adrian Donohoe, Garda Tony Golden and Detective Colm Horkan were all shot dead.

Every death of a garda is a tragedy for our society. Our police force is a rarity because the vast majority of our officers are unarmed. It is a characteristic of fewer than 20 countries and territories around the world. When you strip out islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific, youre talking about just over a half dozen countries with a substantial population. Across the Border in Northern Ireland, all members of the PSNI are armed with handguns that they can also carry off-duty, due to the ongoing threat from dissidents. Hopefully, there will be a day soon when this threat level is downgraded.

Garda Kevin Flatley. Photo: An Garda Siochana/PA

Funeral of Garda Kevin Flatley takes place in Balbriggan

Long may it continue that the level of gun use in crime and gun homicide remains low, so gardai on the beat dont have to carry firearms like their colleagues in the detective and armed support units. An attack on a garda remains regarded as an attack on society.

The connection between the gardai and local communities is a hallmark of our policing model in this country. The gardai live among us, know us and are valued by us. It is a symbiotic relationship that is a mutually beneficial relationship.

Garda Kevin Flatley was one such example. Since his tragic death last weekend, what has stood out about this dedicated member of the force is his love for his family and his commitment to training under-age teams in the GAA at the ODwyers club in Balbriggan, north Dublin. His loss goes beyond the garda force and is being felt across the community. An Garda Siochana top brass and political leaders of the Government and opposition alike went to Balbriggan yesterday for the funeral of Gda Flatley. But what was also notable was the turnout of ordinary members of the public to pay their respects.

Being killed by republican paramilitaries has been a severe threat to the gardai over the past 103 years, with at least 23 serving officers gardai being murdered by these groups. But the most common cause of death of gardai on duty has been road accidents.

Gda Flatley was on duty last weekend serving his community, engaging in roads policing, when he was killed. He was struck by a motorcycle while operating a speed check. The circumstances around his death are still being investigated. The gardai have dismissed internet speculation on the incident and should be afforded time to conduct a thorough investigation. The death of Gda Flatley has prompted calls for a rethink on road safety. His death will also result in an examination of the safety of gardai engaged in roads policing.
From productivity to procrastination  what the science tells us about remote working

Businesspeople like Denis OBrien think working from home is a bad idea. He claimed, at the Irish Investor Awards in Dublin recently, that its a threat to our economy as it makes businesses less competitive, with those who work from home being less energetic and creative.
Former Rose of Tralee contestant Clare Ann Irwin left teaching to be a funeral director and embalmer, fighting gender norms and taboos

If you think of funeral directors as old emotionless men, this young woman and former Galway Rose will make you change your mind, as with her work as a funeral director and embalmer, she is fighting all the taboos and gender norms associated with her profession.
Photographed at the Gaelbhratach awards ceremony was the coiste Gaelbhratach from Castleisland Community College. Photographer Cathal Mac an Bheatha

Photographed at the Gaelbhratach awards ceremony was the coiste Gaelbhratach from Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, Dingle. Photographer: Cathal Mac an Bheatha

Photographed at the Gaelbhratach awards ceremony was the coiste Gaelbhratach from Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai, Tralee, Co. Kerry.

Photographed at the Gaelbhratach awards ceremony was the coiste Gaelbhratach from St Brigid's Secondary School, Killarney. Photographer Cathal Mac an Bheatha

Kerry students from four schools were presented with a Gaelbhrathach Irish flag in recognition of their efforts to promote Gaeilge.

The students, hailing from Castleisland Community College, Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai Tralee, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne and St Brigid's Secondary School Killarney, were honoured at a ceremony at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick this week.

The students were involved in committees which organised initiatives to promote the Irish language in their schools.

These initiatives included an Irish language tech workshop, an art competition, a ceili, set dancing, singing workshops and a treasure hunt.

St Brigid's Secondary School was also awarded a special prize Is maith an scealai an aimsir for particularly outstanding work inspiring other schools with their creative ideas on social media. This award was revealed as a surprise during the presentation of flags.

The Kerry students received flags for their schools in the eleventh year of Gaelbhrathach, which is a national scheme run by Gael Linn that encourages primary and secondary students to speak Irish outside the classroom.

A total of 130 flags have been awarded to post-primary schools this year  almost double the figure from last year. Flags were awarded in recognition of students efforts to inspire and empower their school communities to speak Irish.

Edel Ni Bhraonain, bainisteoir gaelbhratach said the initiative gives young people of any age or background the opportunity to use and develop their Irish language skills outside of the traditional classroom setting.

The programme aims to put the student voice at the centre of their learning through the Gaelbhratach committee. The student-led committee plays a central role in guiding Gaelbhratach initiatives throughout the school year, empowering students in Kerry to take active ownership of their language use and learning while promoting Irish in meaningful, self-directed ways, Ms Ni Bhraonain said.

The scheme is going from strength to strength, with 65 schools being awarded a flag for the first time this year. Its inspiring to see young peoples growing passion for the language. The most rewarding part of the scheme is hearing feedback from both students and teachers about how they've woven the language into their daily lives and the positive impact it has made.
Charlottesville is set to once again have a city attorney after a little more than a year of the office sitting empty  a vacancy that has been shrouded in mystery.

Jacob Stroman, the former city attorney was placed on leave in April of last year after an undisclosed complaint was lodged against him. Although an investigation into the matter cleared him of wrongdoing, Stroman nevertheless decided to retire in September.

Since Stroman was placed on leave, Richmond-based law firm Sands Anderson has served as the citys legal counsel.

That is set to change with the arrival of John Maddux.

The city announced Wednesday that Maddux had been named managing director of the city attorneys office.

Maddux comes to Charlottesville from Asheville, North Carolina, where he served as deputy city attorney.

As an interstate transplant, Maddux is required to apply for admission to the Virginia State Bar and be sworn in by the Virginia Supreme Court before he can be officially named city attorney. The city said Madduxs application to the bar has been approved and he awaits his swearing-in.

The city has lauded Maddux for the broad range of legal experience in both the public and private sectors that he brings to the role. Maddux started working for Asheville City Hall in 2014. Before that, he worked for two years at the New York City law firm of Menaker & Herrmann, which specializes in antitrust, bankruptcy and commercial litigation cases. And before that, he worked in the city attorneys office in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he focused on environmental law.

While in Asheville, Maddux provided counsel on a wide array of municipal legal issues, including employment law, land use and zoning, policing, and complex intergovernmental matters, Charlottesville said in a statement announcing his hiring. He was part of the legal team that led the Citys response to numerous high-profile crises, including a major police misconduct incident, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, and Hurricane Helene.

Additionally, Maddux played a key role modernizing Ashevilles personnel systems, Charlottesville said.

He led reforms to the Citys Civil Service rules to promote fair and merit-based employment practices and was known for his collaborative approach with colleagues across departments, according to Madduxs new employer.

He holds bachelors degrees in music performance and music industry studies from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, as a well as a juris doctor from Campbell University and a masters degree in law from New York University.

His wife, Rita, is a special education teacher. They have been married for 19 years. The couple has three children together Asa, Simone and Cal.

Maddux emphasized his dedication to collaboration in his own statement.

The best legal work in local government happens through strong partnerships with council, staff, and the community, he said. Im looking forward to bringing that approach to Charlottesville.

Maddux will have to hit the ground running. His predecessors departure came at an inopportune time for the city of Charlottesville, now embroiled in a lawsuit filed by homeowners who oppose last years rezoning of the city, which was designed to densify the urban core and prime Charlottesville for much-needed housing development. The plaintiffs say the city did not follow the proper procedure to pursue such an upzoning.

As for Stroman, no one with the city has been willing to speak publicly on his mysterious exit.

Stroman came to Charlottesville in July of 2023 after he was forced to resign from his position as the city attorney in Chesapeake.

It is unclear what exactly prompted that departure, though multiple rationales have been floated.

Earlier reporting on the matter highlighted a stern warning Stroman issued Chesapeake city councilors in November of 2022 after he determined that the city had wrongfully denied a public records request. Multiple City Hall sources told the Virginian-Pilot at the time that Stromans legal interpretations were frustrating Mayor Rick West, and it was decided Stroman would be fired.

Stroman resigned the following January. Chesapeake was later sued and forced to hand over the public records requested.

That wasnt the only time during his tenure in Chesapeake that Stromans relationship with the council there was strained.

The Virginian-Pilot reported that while he was still employed in Chesapeake, Stroman was tasked with assisting the mayors step-brother with a personal legal matter. The brother needed help getting a septic tank permit in Georgia, and Stroman agreed to assist, emails from August of 2022 show.

While the latter incident did not break any Chesapeake laws, it was flagged by ethics experts.

Charlottesville city councilors have described the Stroman affair as a personnel matter, declining to provide any additional details to the press and holding all discussions regarding the former city attorney in closed-door meetings.

Likewise, Charlottesville officials have refused to provide any information regarding Ryan Franklin, an assistant city attorney who was placed on leave at the same time as Stroman and was fired before the investigation into Stroman concluded.
More centres in Kerry expected to revert to original use from June under new government plans

Two accommodation centres in Kerry used for Ukrainians will return to their original use after government said its reducing temporary protection centres in the coming months.

The properties currently returning to use are the Kings Court Student Complex in Tralee, and Skellig Accommodation Centre in south Kerry. The buildings house a combined 48 temporary protection applicants from Ukraine.

37 residents at the Kings Court must vacate the premises by June 4, while 11 people living in Skellig Accommodation Centre have until August 8 to move.

In a Department of Justice statement released this week, it said accommodation for Ukrainians is decreasing and that some accommodation centres are reverting to their original use for tourism and student living.

The process was initially scheduled for March when paused to allow for longer notice periods for residents. Its was confirmed the relocation process will commence in June and continue throughout the summer period.

Consternation arose in Kerry earlier this year when some long-term Ukrainian residents were suddenly asked to move. The plan was paused to allow children to finish the school term.

Many providers are choosing to end temporary accommodation contracts, while some compliance concerns exist around other properties. Failure to agree on rates was cited as another reason by the department.

Officials say updates will be sent through accommodation providers letting residents know when their contract is up.

If those impacted wish to continue in State-funded accommodation it will be provided in another location, but may not be in the same county. At least 30 days notice will be given, and longer in some cases.

It was mentioned that some Ukraine accommodation centres have been accommodating international protection applicants (IPAS) as numbers have decreased.

At one point in Ireland over 60,000 Ukrainians were accommodated. However, a change in the system is deemed necessary by government to ensure value for money and to initiate a more effective system overall.
Gavan Reilly: Its really odd to get a letter out of the blue to say, Oh, your child is disabled and shes on our books now with a charity

The political journalist talks about life inside Leinster House, getting up close and personal with Trump, and how his daughters autism diagnosis has given him first-hand experience of the horrendous state of our disability services

Journalist Gavan Reilly at Leinster House. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Kirsty Blake Knox Sat 17 May 2025 at 03:30

Lets begin with what really matters  the Dail Bar. And the fact that there are not one, but two.
Three Maori MPs suspended from New Zealand parliament over intimidating haka protest

Opponents said the Bill, now defeated, would reverse decades of progress for Maori, New Zealands indigenous people, and provoke constitutional havoc

Co-leader of the Te Pati Maori party Rawiri Waititi in the New Zealand chamber. Photo: Getty

Charlotte Graham-McLay Associated Press Sat 17 May 2025 at 03:30







Three New Zealand legislators from Te Pati Maori, the Maori Party, will receive temporary bans from parliament and severe censure over their protest of a proposed law by performing a haka, a chanting dance of challenge, directed at their opponents.
Farce and confusion at Ukraine peace talks as main protagonists fail to show up

Zelensky, Putin and Trump were elsewhere during Turkey summit but EU officials still think a breakthrough is in the offing... if only because they believe US president is losing faith in Russian counterpart

Ukrainian ministers Sergiy Kyslytsya, Rustem Umerov and Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence Vadym Skibitskyi at a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Adrian Blomfield Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd Sat 17 May 2025 at 03:30







It could have been a historic day, one of the most consequential meetings since Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met at Yalta in February 1945.
As Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, strode down the red carpet laid out for leaders arriving in Tirana for the European Political Community Summit yesterday, Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, cast aside his umbrella and knelt down on one knee in the rain, his hands held in prayer position.
A Palestinian man carries the body of a child killed in Israeli strikes, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip May 16, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israel's airforce killed at least 146 Palestinians in new attacks on Gaza over the past 24 hours and injured many more, local health authorities said on Saturday, as the country appeared set to press ahead with a new ground offensive.

Israeli strikes since Thursday have seen one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March. The latest strikes came as US President Donald Trump ended his Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire.
Ishaan Tharoor: Donald Trumps Middle East trip causing concern in Israel as Netanyahu looks to be marginalised

President reaches out to Iran, Yemen Houthis and Syria, but Gaza is still left to suffer

US president Donald Trump visits St Francis Catholic Church Baptistry during a trip to Abu Dhabi. Photo: Reuters

Ishaan Tharoor Washington Post Sat 17 May 2025 at 03:30







As Donald Trumps Middle East sojourn drew to a close, a much-vaunted grand bargain bringing peace to a restive region was nowhere in sight.
HPBOSE 12th Result 2025 out: The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBOSE) has officially announced the HPBOSE 12th Result 2025 on May 17, 2025. Students who appeared for the HP Board Class 12 exams held from March 4 to 29, 2025, can now check and download their results online through the official website hpbose.org. This year, the overall pass percentage recorded is 83.16%.

How to check HPBOSE 12th result 2025 online?

To quickly access your HP Board 12th Result 2025 mark sheet, follow these simple steps:

Visit the official HPBOSE website at hpbose.org .

. Click on the Result tab visible on the homepage menu.

Select the Class 12 Result 2025 link.

Enter your roll number exactly as mentioned on your admit card.

Submit the details to view your HPBOSE 12th Result 2025.

Download and save the marksheet for future reference.

Take a printout or screenshot of the result for offline use.

The online marksheet is provisional and students must collect the original, government-recognized marksheet from their respective schools.

Alternative ways to check HPBOSE 12th Result 2025

Apart from the official website, students can also check their HP Board 12th results via:

DigiLocker : Sign up and log in using your Aadhaar number at digilocker.gov.in, navigate to the HPBOSE section, and enter your roll number to download the digital marksheet.

: Sign up and log in using your Aadhaar number at digilocker.gov.in, navigate to the HPBOSE section, and enter your roll number to download the digital marksheet. SMS: Send an SMS in the format HP12 to 5676750 to receive your result directly on your mobile phone.

HPBOSE 12th Result 2025: highlights & toppers

The HP Board 12th exams were conducted smoothly from March 4 to 29, 2025.

The overall pass percentage is 83.16%, an improvement from previous years.

The Commerce stream topper is Payal Sharma from Kangra with 482 marks (96.4%).

Science and Arts stream toppers include students scoring above 490 marks out of 500.

The detailed toppers list and subject-wise performance statistics are available along with the result.

Important details on HPBOSE 12th marksheet 2025

The HPBOSE Class 12 marksheet includes:

Students name, roll number, and date of birth

School name and affiliation details

Subject-wise marks and total marks obtained

Percentage and grade

Pass/fail status

FAQs

Q: When was the HPBOSE 12th Result 2025 declared?

Answer: The HP Board Class 12 Result 2025 was declared on May 17, 2025, at 12 PM on the official website hpbose.org.

Q: How can I download my HPBOSE 12th marksheet online?

Answer: You can download the HPBOSE 12th marksheet by visiting hpbose.org, clicking on the Result tab, entering your roll number, and saving the provisional marksheet.

Q: Is the online HPBOSE 12th marksheet final?

Answer: No, the online marksheet is provisional. The original marksheet will be issued by your school later and should be collected for official use.

Q: Can I check my HP Board 12th result via SMS?

Answer: Yes, by sending an SMS in the format HP12 to 5676750, you can receive your result on your mobile phone.

Q: What is the passing criteria for HPBOSE Class 12 exams?

Answer: Students need to score at least 33% marks in each subject and an aggregate of 33% to pass the HP Board Class 12 exams.

For more news and updates from the world of Education, keep reading Indiatimes education.
Vivo T4 Lite, Y29t 5G, and Y19sGT 5G: Fans of Vivo, good news! You've come to the correct spot if you've been wondering if your smartphone is compatible with the most recent Google Play services. We have the most recent information on Vivo devices that are compatible with Google Play, including the Vivo T4 Lite, Y29T, and Y19SGT.

Everything you need to know about these devices and how well they work with Google Play services will be covered in this post. Continue reading to learn more about these devices and their Google Play status, whether you're a Vivo fanatic or simply want to make sure your smartphone stays current.

Vivo T4 Lite, Y29t 5G, and Y19sGT 5G expected specifications

It is a representative image of Vivo T4 | Credit: Vivo

New Vivo phones with model numbers V2509, V2526, and V2527, respectively, have been spotted by 91mobiles. The former is linked to the Vivo T4 Lite, which is the Vivo T3 Lite's successor.

The Vivo Y19sGT 5G and Vivo Y29t 5G are the latter two; they may be a spin-off of the Vivo Y19 and Y29. The listing indicates that Google Play Services would be available, but it doesn't provide any information about the phones' hardware. The Vivo Y29t and Vivo Y19sGT 5G are still unknown. However, they might be a spinoff of the Vivo Y29 and Y19.

While the latter was introduced earlier this month, the former made its debut in December of the previous year. The phone has a 50MP Sony primary camera, a 6.56-inch HD+ display, an IP64 designation for water and dust resistance, and a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC. It has a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged quickly with 15W.

Also Read: Vivo V50 Elite Edition launched in India today: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, 6,500mAh battery, Android 15, and more

Vivo T4 Lite, Y29t 5G, and Y19sGT 5G expected price

The Vivo T4 Lite, which had the identical V2509 model number, debuted on the Bluetooth SIG platform in the meantime. To put things in perspective, the Vivo T3 Lite also came out at the price of Rs. 10,4999, so we expect that these smartphones will be at the similar pricing.

For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech.
Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro launching soon: Xiaomi is getting ready to release the Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro, the newest model in the Civi line. With its sophisticated design and cutting-edge photography features, this smartphone, which is expected to launch at the end of May, promises to provide a high-end experience.

You won't want to miss this article if you're searching for a gadget that blends modern technology with flair. We will examine the Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro's design, photographic capabilities, and unique selling points in comparison to other smartphones in its class. Continue reading to learn more about this forthcoming gadget and its features.

Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro rumoured launch date

Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro expected to launch on 22nd May | Credit: X

Later this month, Xiaomi is preparing to introduce the Civi 5 Pro, its next-generation Civi smartphone, in China. Although a specific date has not yet been set, May 22 is generally predicted to be the day to watch.

This phone, internally referred to as Little 15, is being marketed as the most potent Civi phone to date. Lu Weibing, the head of Xiaomi's smartphone division, even asserted that the company wants to provide a comparable experience to the standard iPhone, albeit with a lighter and thinner design.

Although it is a bold claim, the specifications do point to a significant improvement over the Civi 4 Pro from the previous year. This is all the information you require for the Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro.

Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro expected specifications

Xiaomi CIVI 5 Pro



Specifications

 6.55" 1.5K Micro curved display 120Hz refresh rate

 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset

LPDDR5x RAM & UFS 4.0 storage

 50MP Leica floating telephoto

 Android 15

 6000mAh battery

 67 watt charging

- 7.45mm thickness#XiaomiCivi5Pro pic.twitter.com/bXOAPbKK5j  Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) May 17, 2025

As with the Civi series, design is a key component. The phone is anticipated to feel light in the hand and have a sleek appearance. It will be available in four colours: black, white, beige, and purple (the official names of the colours have not yet been disclosed).

A circular camera bump with Leica branding and a twin LED flash is located around the back. According to rumours, the configuration consists of a brilliant f/1.63 primary camera, a 15mm ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 50-megapixel telephoto lens (60mm).

It is anticipated that the front camera will have a 50-megapixel sensor for video calls and selfies.

It is anticipated that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip will power the Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro in terms of performance. A significant improvement over the previous Civi 4 Pro, the phone recently appeared on Geekbench with 16GB RAM, Android 15, and a 6,000mAh+ battery that supports 67W fast charging. According to sources, the display front will have a hole-punch cutout for the front camera and a 6.55-inch quad-curved OLED screen with 1.5K resolution.

Although an official launch date for India has not yet been announced, if Xiaomi adopts the strategy of last year, it may be renamed as the Xiaomi 15 Civi, much like the Civi 4 Pro, which debuted here as the Xiaomi 14 Civi.

Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro's expected price

In summary, the Xiaomi 14 Civi, which has Leica-tuned cameras and a small and light design, debuted in India at a starting price of Rs 42,999 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model and Rs 50,999 for the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage model. We expected something near to this amount for Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro.
The first round of testimony in the explosive trial against Sean Diddy Combs closed on May 16 with a haunting silence and a moment of raw vulnerability, Cassie Ventura, pregnant and visibly emotional, looked up during cross-examination and stated, I do not hate Diddy now.

Alex Fine shares a statement following his wife Cassies testimony against Sean Diddy Combs:



I did not save Cassie, as some have said. To say that is an insult to the years of painful work my wife has done to save herself. Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free from abuse, pic.twitter.com/VneLMd0FdM  Pop Base (@PopBase) May 16, 2025

Diddy's legal team confronted Cassie Ventura

After four days recounting disturbing allegations of sexual abuse, trafficking, and coercion, and after being confronted with a video showing Combs allegedly beating and dragging her, Cassie remained composed as she faced questions from the rappers legal team. His lawyers challenged her on the timeline of the alleged rape in 2018, attempted to discredit her past relationships, and confronted her with personal text exchanges. Despite everything, the 38-year-old held her ground.

Cassie Ventura and Diddy | Credit: X | Nandi

But it was Alex Fine, Cassies husband and longtime supporter, who brought the courtroom to a standstill.

Cassie Venturas written statement: I don't hate him now

In a written statement read aloud by Cassies attorney, Douglas Wigdor, Fine said he had never been prouder of his wife. He described watching her face the man who allegedly caused her years of trauma as both gut-wrenching and awe-inspiring. Fine reportedly expressed deep anger at the pain Cassie endured but said her spirit was never broken. You did not break her smile. You did not break the soul of a mother who plays the silliest games with our girls, he said, directly addressing Combs.

Fines words echoed through the courtroom as he credited Cassie for her own survival, adding that she alone had fought to free herself from coercion, violence, and threats.

Diddy's trial

Cassie had earlier confirmed under oath that Fine discovered she had still been involved with Combs during the time of the alleged assault. Though he was devastated, she testified that he never abandoned her. Instead, he stood beside her, and continued to do so.

Diddy | Credit: X | Sagesurge

The courtroom, filled with Combs family on one side and Cassies on the other, was left shaken by the testimony and the quiet strength behind Fines statement.

While Sean Combs maintains his innocence, the court has witnessed a different kind of truth, one shaped by pain, survival, and the unwavering support of a partner who refuses to let his wife face her past alone.
Nancy Tyagi is back at Cannes, and this time, shes gone full green goddess. But while the influencers second self-made gown turned heads, not all the whispers were of admiration.

Who is Nancy Tyagi?

The 23-year-old fashion creator from Delhi, who made headlines last year with her 20 kg pink ruffled dream dress stitched out of 1000 metres of fabric, returned to the Cannes 2025 red carpet with yet another DIY showstopper. Drenched in shades of minty green and fantasy couture flair, her gown this year was inspired by floral architecture and fairytale drama, and yes, she stitched every petal, every pleat herself.

Sourcing fabric from Seelampur in North East Delhi, Nancy created a gown that featured a dramatic shoulder piece and a tulle train blooming with hand-crafted roses. Speaking to Brutt, Nancy explained that her love for flowers shaped the look  which she envisioned as a blend of floral architecture, theatrical volume, and shimmering intricacy. Her hair was styled in a classic bun, a soft curl framing her face, and her accessories were kept minimal with striking earrings to let the gown shine.

Nancy Tyagis second time at the Cannes has the internet divided

The internet has opinions  and they are clashing. Some fans threw fire emojis like confetti, with one user gushing that "others need to learn from her." But the haters did not hold back. One critic wrote, Such a bad outfit. Honestly, its too bad for Cannes, while another admitted, I know the girl worked really hard, but it did not feel special. Even last year felt overrated.

Nancy Tyagis journey

Still, Nancys journey is nothing short of remarkable. She burst onto the Cannes scene in 2024 with that now-iconic pink gown that many said looked like it belonged in a Disney film. That look took her 30 days of stitching and dreaming. And whether you love her new gown or not, there is no denying this  Nancy Tyagi has built her red carpet legacy stitch by stitch.

She might not be everyones favourite this year, but she is definitely not fading into the background. Not on that carpet. Not in that dress.
Seems like India got our own Selena Gomez, it is none other than Nitanshi Goel. Best known for her breakout role in Laapataa Ladies as Phool, she just stepped into global spotlight territory, making her red carpet debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. At just 17, she not only made history as the youngest Indian actress to grace the Cannes red carpet but also instantly ignited a social media storm, with fans boldly comparing her look to none other than Selena Gomez and Bollywood sweetheart Shraddha Kapoor.

Nitanshi Goels Cannes debut

Wearing a jaw-dropping custom black and gold gown, Nitanshi oozed youthful grace and cinematic elegance. The look was elevated with a delicate gold swirl choker, bold serpentine earrings, and heels tall enough to command global attention. Her fresh-faced makeup, a subtle pink gloss, kohl-lined eyes, and a just-right flush, was the soft glam of every Gen Z mood board.

Her Instagram post, shared on May 16, gave fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the surreal moment. Reflecting on her red carpet debut, she described it as a dream come true, and shared how honoured and proud she felt to represent India on such a global stage. The caption sent fans into a frenzy, and so did her look.

Netizens compare Nitanshi with Selena Gomez

Comment sections erupted in chaos (the good kind). One user screamed, She looooks like Selenaa! while another declared, Selena Gomez coded!! And it did not stop there, another added, You looked like Selena Gomez. Shraddha Kapoor comparisons also made their way in, with fans calling her a mini version of the Bollywood star. Some even called her success a personal win while others poetically said, Phool is blooming.

The internet was not just hyping her look, they were celebrating her arrival. Finally, Indians chose someone deserving, one comment read, clearly throwing their full support behind the actress who, lets face it, just owned the Cannes carpet like she was born to do it.

After her critically acclaimed debut in Laapataa Ladies, produced by Aamir Khan and directed by Kiran Rao, Nitanshi has been on a meteoric rise. The film was even selected as Indias official Oscar 2025 entry. Now, with Cannes in the bag, it is safe to say, Nitanshi Goel is no longer just the girl from the village. She is officially Indias desi Selena.
WWE SmackDown results May 16: JC Cobb made his WWE debut at Backlash when he assaulted LA Knight and helped Jacob Fatu retain the US title in a fatal-4-way match, which also involved Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest. On SmackDown, Solo Sikoa formally introduced the star to the WWE Universe and revealed that he will be known as JC Mateo in the Stamford-based promotion. However, the former NJPW star didnt quite make as strong an impact as many expected during his first appearance on the blue brand.

Jeff Cobb (AKA JC Mateo) makes a limited impact on SmackDown

Solo Sikoa made his way to the ring with Jacob Fatu and Jeff Cobb during the opening segment of SmackDown. He then introduced the audience to the former hottest free agent before taking a dig at Roman Reigns for losing to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. Sikoa then implied that he played a role in helping The Samoan Werewolf win the US title. This upset Fatu who said that he was going to rule and conquer with or without his help. Solo then asked Jacob Fatu to prove his loyalty and subtly reminded him of their past equation.

Solo Sikoa got Jacob Fatu to say I love you Solo but it didnt hit the same as it used to.#SmackDown



pic.twitter.com/mAha5td0XC  Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) May 17, 2025

As the focus was on these two, JC Mateo was soon forgotten. To make it worse, he did not say a word. LA Knight soon made an appearance and assaulted Mateo.

Cobbs first match was underwhelming

Later in the night, Mateo was at the ringside when Solo Sikoa beat Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. He, however, did not do much. Later, he made his in-ring debut against LA Knight in an impromptu match. Mateo put on a good show and impressed with his offence.

He eventually got the three count after nailing with Tour of the Islands, his finisher. However, the impromptu nature of the match diluted the impact of what should have been a special moment. It remains to be seen wether WWE is able to make up for his underwhelming start in the coming weeks.

For all the latest coverage on WWE, track updates here




A promotional drone show orchestrated by Adidas near the Acropolis has ignited a fierce political and legal backlash in Greece, prompting the Ministry of Culture to launch legal action for potential violations of archaeological protection laws.

The light display, featuring illuminated

drones staged at the Zappeion Hall with the ancient Acropolis as a backdrop, has drawn sharp criticism, with many accusing Adidas of exploiting a revered national monument for commercial gain.

In response to the uproar, Adidas stated that all necessary permits were secured and that the drone flights occurred strictly over the grounds of the Zappeion, not above the Acropolis itself.

The company further claimed that no images of the Acropolis were used for advertising purposes.

However, the Ministry of Culture vehemently rejected these assurances and announced criminal complaints against all responsible parties.

The ministry is also collaborating with the Civil Aviation Authority to verify the legality of the flight permits issued. Following the ministry's legal action, the Athens Prosecutors Office has ordered an urgent preliminary investigation into whether the drone display violated the Law on Antiquities or involved other criminal offenses. The Acropolis Security Division is now reviewing the case.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni strongly condemned the event, asserting that the visual illusion created by the drone footage made it appear as though the show took place directly over the Acropolis, which is strictly forbidden.

Ms. Mendoni emphasized that while Zappeion is a modern monument, it remains under archaeological oversight, and its administration should have sought prior approval from the Ministry of Culture.

Speaking on SKAI radio, Ms. Mendoni described the incident as a case of "advertising exploitation," adding, Its a deeply unpleasant image  its as if the Adidas shoe is kicking the Acropolis.

Documents published on Greeces transparency platform Diavgeia revealed that the Zappeion's management leased a 200-square-meter section of its exterior grounds to the production company DRNS Show Experience IKE, acting on behalf of Adidass media agency, Essence Mediacom, for a mere 380. The official request was submitted in April and approved on May 8. Ms. Mendoni stated that this information further undermines claims of procedural integrity, saying, The goal was clearly to associate the advertisement with the Acropolis.

The incident has raised significant concerns regarding the oversight and governance of Greece's cultural heritage sites, particularly concerning the commercial exploitation of visual proximity to iconic landmarks.

While Adidas insists it operated within legal boundaries, the Greek government appears determined to challenge this assertion in court.

The outcome of this investigation could set a crucial precedent for how foreign companies engage with Greece's national symbols in commercial campaigns and whether such imagery, even implied, requires explicit cultural clearance.

   iefimerida.gr
A 29 years old British-Nigerian, Princess Opeyemi Bright has been elected as youngest Mayor in the United Kingdom.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Opeyemi now holds the esteemed position of First Citizen of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

During an inauguration, which took place on Friday, the development marks a new chapter in British politics and celebrates Nigerian global leadership.

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Opeyemi was born in the UK to Nigerian parents. Her political career started when she was elected as a councilor at just 22.

She has spent the last seven years championing youth empowerment, social inclusion, and economic opportunities within her Borough.

READ MORE: Kemi Badenochs Remarks Should Spur Nigeria To Do Better  Peter Obi

Her dedication to service is rooted in her upbringing. She is the daughter of Dr. Councillor Afolasade Bright, who served as Civic Mayor of Hackney from 2006 to 2007, and Pastor Gbolahan Bright MBE, a senior minister in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

Speaking during her inauguration on Friday, Opeyemi said: This is nothing short of Gods grace.

Im proud to serve my borough, and as a proud Nigerian, I will represent my heritage with humility and excellence. May this journey inspire others to lead, serve, and rise.

Opeyemi victory challenges longstanding stereotypes about youth apathy in politics and reaffirms the impact of women and immigrants in leadership.
Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, has dismissed rumours that animals were buried inside the new Government House.

Speaking to journalists on Friday during the Open Parliament program, Ukoha emphasised that Abians are primarily concerned with good governance rather than the Governors official residence.

He revealed that there had been strong rumours circulating about live cows, vultures, and tortoises allegedly buried in the Government House before Governor Otti assumed office.

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Ukoha also disclosed claims of incantations intended to eliminate the Governor but noted that the current administration regards such stories as baseless rumours.

READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/tinubus-budget-not-focusing-on-survival-but-long-term-transformation-shettima-tells-nigerians.html

However, he expressed suspicion over the persistent pressure from opposition members urging the Governor to move into the new Government House, questioning their motives behind this insistence.

I hope it is not what I am thinking. Why is this coming from the same people? Move to the Government House, move to the Government House, Ukoha remarked.

He further explained that the administration is actively renovating the old Government House, including the Secretary to the State Governments office and the Government House clinic.

Ukoha also praised Governor Otti for completing the long-neglected Port Harcourt Road and for rehabilitating several other roads in Aba that were previously in a terrible state.
Veteran Nigerian comedian and media personality, Gbenga Adeyinka, has recounted how Dele Momodu, the renowned publisher of Ovation magazine, offered him vital support during a defining moment in his career.

In a detailed Instagram post on Friday celebrating Dele Momodus 65th birthday, comedian Gbenga Adeyinka reflected on how the media icon influenced both his personal and professional life.

Adeyinka recounted a challenging time when he was left stranded in London following a show.

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He shared that Momodu not only welcomed him for dinner but also generously provided him with more than enough money to cover his expenses, all without expecting anything in return.

READ MORE: I Regret Rejecting Don Jazzys Offer To Join MoHits Records  Bigiano

The comedian expressed deep appreciation for Momodus generosity, noting that the media mogul opened doors I could have only dreamed of.

I am filled with immense gratitude for the profound impact he has had on my life and career, he said.

In my early days as a comedian, he believed in me when many others did not. He was the first person to take me abroad to perform for royalty and the upper echelons of society, opening doors I could have only dreamed of.

Aare Bamidele embodies the true essence of Egbonism and the ethos of Omoluabi; he remains a reference point for these values.

I can never forget his unwavering generosity, which he has shown me time and time again. There was a time l found myself stuck in London after a performance for a colleague, as my airline had unboarded me due to our tickets not being priority.

In that challenging moment, Aare Bamidele invited me over for dinner and provided me with more than enough money to take care of my needs during my stay. What truly sets him apart is his selflessness  he never asks for anything in return.

Your legacy is one of kindness, support, and excellence. Thank you for being an inspiration to us all, and for the countless lives youve touched.

SEE BELOW:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJtFKi-MKyP/?igsh=MW9sdTFpaG55MTE3bg==
Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has reacted to a viral video describing the state as home of mosquitos and smelling place.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that one public analyst, identified as Iguma Scott, was overheard in the video circulating on social media that Lagos dont worth the hypes given to it.

He said: Dont compare Lagos State with New York, a state without covered drainage. Lagos State Smells, it has big mosquitoes.

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Reacting to the video via his X page on Saturday, the states Commissioner for Environment, berated Iguma for his negative submission over Lagos State.

Mr. Tokunbo noted that most of the people who gives poor review about the state are migrants, who relocated from their various regions, in seeking for greener pasture.

READ MORE: Lagos Govt Shuts Down Church Over Noise Pollution

He added that many of them only paint Lagos base on political agenda to bring it down.

Tokunbo said: The deliberate efforts by a handful of individuals to tarnish the reputation of Lagos State are deeply concerning.

It is regrettable that some who relocate from their home states in pursuit of better opportunities quickly, in less than a month or two, resort to disparaging the very state that has provided them the platform to thrive.

Leveraging social media followings, these individuals propagate harmful narratives, often aligned with divisive agendas, undermining the progress and inclusivity that Lagos represents.

While constructive criticism is essential for growth, malicious attempts to vilify a state that empowers countless lives daily are counterproductive.

Lagos remains a place of opportunity, innovation, and resilience, and it is imperative that we collectively uphold its integrity while fostering unity and progress.

Dear @scott_iguma I do hope that you will put this same energy in looking out for other states. I wish you all the best!
Some properties worth millions of Naira have been destroyed, in an explosion at a cooking gas section of the Nobpet Filling Station, opposite Air Force junction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

It was gathered that the inferno which erupted on Friday, spread to the premises of the Ebonyi State Transport Corporation, situated next to the fueling station, where a yet to be ascertained numbers of vehicles were said to have been destroyed.

One of the victims, Emmanuel Ninyaegwu, a commercial driver whose 18-seater bus was destroyed in the fire, also sustained an injury to his ear.

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He recounted the terrifying moment of the explosion, saying he was preparing to load his vehicle alongside his pregnant wife when the incident occurred.

Ninyaegwu said: I was getting ready to load my vehicle (from Port Harcourt to Ebonyi State). As I was opening my car boot, I heard the sound of fire.

I fell down, got up and ran just before any explosion. It damaged my vehicle. Some people got injured, including me. Nobody died.

READ MORE: Woman Bites Off Lovers Manhood During Domestic Dispute In Rivers
Some properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed in a fire outbreak which occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the horrible incident involved a residential building located at Ori-Eni Apapa Ojeomo Road in Moniya area in the state.

In a statement by Chairman of Oyo State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, on Friday, disclosed that no life was lost in the incident.

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Mr. Akinwande said: The fire personnel led by ACFS Adedeji (Mrs) promptly deployed to the scene of incident.

On arrival it was a private residential building of three (3) bedrooms flat engulfed by fire.

We swiftly swung into action and restricted the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and properties. The fire was jointly extinguished with Federal Fire Service.

READ MORE: Three Shops Razed, Properties Destroyed In Oyo Fire Outbreak

The cause of the fire was as a result of overheating of cooking appliance plugged in the kitchen unattended, ignited to nearby combustibles and set the building ablaze.

No casualty was recorded but properties worth million of naira was destroyed by fire.

The fire service was able to save all the nearby buildings and properties from the devastating fire.
At least one person has been confirmed dead, while six were severely injured in a gas cylinder explosion that occured at the plumbing market, along Uga Street, Onitsha Bridge Head Market in Anambra State.

It was gathered that the explosion happened on Friday while a welder was working on metal with carbide.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that six victims rescued from the incident are currently receiving treatment in the hospital, while the deceased has been deposited in a morgue.

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In a statement by Spokesman for Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, on Saturday, disclosed that the incident occurred on Friday.

He said: Police operatives attached to the Onitsha Head Bridge Divisional Police Headquarters on May 16, 2025, complemented the rescue efforts by good-spirited individuals on the six victims of a gas cylinder explosion at a plumbing market, along Uga Street, which regrettably recorded one death.

READ MORE: Unknown Assailants Kill Anambra Lawyer, Client While Returning From Court

Preliminary information revealed that the welding gas cylinder exploded as the welder was working on the metal due to exposure to excess heat.

Meanwhile, the six rescued victims are currently receiving treatment in the hospital, while the deceased has been deposited in a morgue.

To this end, the Police Operatives have taken steps to secure the area and prevent criminal-minded persons from taking advantage of the situation to commit crimes.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has debunked rumours suggesting he is battling health issues, insisting that he is in excellent condition.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, addressed the speculations during an interview on Friday, where he described the reports as politically motivated and baseless.

Reacting to claims that he collapsed at a Presidential Villa event in April and was flown abroad for emergency treatment, Wike said such rumours were aimed at distracting the public from pressing issues.

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READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/davidos-political-future-looks-bright-could-succeed-as-osun-governor-ben-murray-bruce.html

As Im talking to you, do I look like somebody that is sick? Looking at me, will you think Im above 30 years? Im very well, he said confidently.

The Ministers public appearance just two days after the alleged incident during a Sallah homage to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa appeared to contradict the claims, as Wike looked vibrant and interacted freely with dignitaries.

His media aide, Lere Olayinka, had also earlier dismissed the reports, affirming that Wike was neither ill nor flown out of the country for medical attention.

Wike suggested that the rumours were deliberately spread to divert attention from recent revelations by former Rivers State Head of Service, George Nwaeke, regarding an explosion at the states House of Assembly.

Addressing a separate topic during the interview, Wike responded to a question about grooming his son for politics with a rhetorical counter: Whats wrong with that?
Ghanaian actress and filmmaker Juliet Ibrahim has proudly marked a major personal achievementearning her first academic degree.

The celebrated screen star announced that she has graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Communications from Berkeley College in the United States.

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Taking to her official Instagram page on Friday, Ibrahim shared stunning graduation-themed photos of herself in full academic regalia, her sash emblazoned with her name. In her caption, she expressed excitement over the milestone and invited fans to celebrate with her.

READ MORE: Cassie Testifies For Fourth Day In Sean Diddy Combs Trial

Today is my graduation day. Join me as I bag my first degree ever by watching the Commencement ceremony, she wrote. Thanks for the love and support always.

In a heartfelt follow-up post, the actress reflected on the long and often difficult journey that led to this moment. She revealed that she postponed her own academic pursuits to focus on helping her family after high school.

As the first daughter in my family, many years ago right after high school I chose to work and wait and put higher education on hold to support my siblings to ensure they all go to school and become successful in their respective careers, she shared.

Ibrahim, who rose to fame at just 19, admitted that the demands of stardom made it difficult to return to school. However, that changed four years ago when a close friend inspired her to revisit her dream.

I became famous at the age of 19 right after high school and extremely busy with my career and didnt think I had time to go back to school and earn a degree ever until 4 years ago when I met my friend @busiematsikoandan who encouraged me to follow my dream and reminded me that its never too late, she wrote.

She praised Berkeley College for offering a welcoming and inclusive environment as she pursued her studies online. @berkeleycollege welcomed me with open arms and made me feel safe and included as an online adult student and for the first time after years of hard work, sacrifice, and resilience, Im proud to share that Ive officially earned my first-ever degree, she added.

Balancing life as a mother, creative, and student, Ibrahim acknowledged the challenges she faced throughout the journey. As an adult student, mother, and full-time creative, this journey was far from easy, but I stayed committed, she noted. I cant wait to walk across that graduation stage, definitely a moment Ill never forget. You can read the full story in @atoasttolifebook.

She closed her message with a powerful encouragement to women navigating their own paths. To every woman chasing her goals despite the odds, this is your reminder: its never too late! Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way. We did it!

Juliet Ibrahims accomplishment places her among the growing number of African entertainers proving that education and career success can go hand in hand, no matter how long the journey takes.

SEE BELOW:
The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Agbo Gilbert Major, has declared that former presidential candidate and Kwankwasiyya Movement leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is no longer a member of the party.

Major made this assertion during an interview with news men on Friday, where he stated that Kwankwaso left the NNPP in 2023 alongside his followers in the Kwankwasiyya group.

Let me make it clear that there are more serious issues to talk about than Kwankwaso. Hes become part of the history of NNPP. At a point, he came in, and at a point, he left with his Kwankwasiyya Movement, Major said.

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READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/lawmakers-call-on-tinubu-to-approve-forest-security-bill-amid-rising-insecurity-issues.html

According to him, the NNPP has officially severed ties with Kwankwaso, based on provisions in the partys constitution and declarations made by courts in Abia and the FCT.

Addressing recent defections within the party, Major acknowledged the exit of some key figures, many of whom were influential members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement.

He noted that these politicians played a significant role in NNPPs success in Kano but chose to leave due to internal dissatisfaction with the movements leadership not the party itself.

Responding to concerns over Kwankwasos relationship with the presidency, Major dismissed any relevance, saying, The man is gone He is at liberty to go wherever he wants because we have no business with him.

He emphasised the partys focus on strengthening its internal structures and preparing for future elections, insisting Kwankwasos chapter within the NNPP is closed.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has insisted that no member of the Peoples Democratic Party can make him leave the party, ahead of 2027 general election.

The former governor of Rivers State also pledged his support in working for President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressive Congress.

Wike added that hes not a man that gives to fear, saying that he would remain with the PDP while working for Tinubu as a minister.

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The FCT Minister led this out during an an interview with BBC Pidgin on Saturday.

He said: I cant do that, Im not afraid, how will I build a house and you now ask me to vacate the play.

Its you that will leave the house not me that i built it. You want to spoil a house that I built, I wont allow you. I wont leave, I will remain there.

Opposition does not show impunity or arrogance, its the ruling party that does impunity and arrogance because we are in power.

The one that pains me is the threats from them (South-East PDP). Let me ask you, who is there?

READ MORE: Tinubus Leadership Is Changing Nigeria  Wike

Achike Udenwa who is a former governor of Imo and has no single National Assembly member, he didnt give his party three percent of votes, yet is threatening.

Sam Egwu, former Ebonyi State governor has no National Assembly member and did not produce a governor, yet is threatening, he is empty, which threat is he issuing?

We that have produced governor, National Assembly members have not issued any threat, its you that cant give your party three percent that is threatening.

I have told them that if they zone, when we get to the bridge, we will cross it but they are fraudulent and I have told them that it will kill them.
Nollywood actor and self-styled spiritual leader Yul Edochie has expressed concern over the increasing number of untimely deaths in the country, attributing the trend to the neglect of traditional African practices in favour of Western ideologies.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Edochie urged Nigerians to reconnect with their cultural heritage, stressing that traditional beliefs and practices offer spiritual guidance that can help preserve life.

Untimely death has become rampant in our society. Its happening bcos majority of us have abandoned our traditional ways and embraced the ways of the white man, he wrote.

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READ MORE: Im Not Thinking About Marriage, Focused On My Career  Mr Macaroni

The actor maintained that embracing traditional spirituality provides clear instructions on how to navigate life safely, suggesting that such adherence could serve as a shield against early death.

Go home and embrace our traditional ways. As a traditionalist, youll be fully enlightened on the dos and donts of spirituality, he added.

He concluded by assuring that strict observance of these spiritual principles would protect individuals from dying prematurely: If you keep to it judiciously, untimely death will never be your portion.

SEE POST:
Two suspected bandits were reportedly neutralised by troops of Operation Safe Haven in Nemaledu community, Gimbi District of Wase Local Government Area, Plateau State.

Maj. Samson Zhakom, the Media Officer of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Jos.

Zhakom stated that the suspects were neutralised after troops received a tip-off regarding the presence of bandits in the community.

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READ MORE: EFCC Arrests 31 Over Alleged Internet Fraud In Rivers

He noted that a firearm was also retrieved by the troops in the course of the operation.

Acting on a tip-off on the movement of bandits along Nemaledu community of Wase LGA, our troops laid an ambush at the crossing point of bandits in the area.

During the operation, troops made contact with the bandits and neutralised two of them.

Troops also recovered one fabricated AK-47 rifle from the neutralised bandits, he said.

The media officer urged residents of Plateau to support security efforts, emphasising that Operation Safe Haven remains dedicated to eliminating all criminal elements from the state.
Two armed men were killed by joint security forces after they attacked a police checkpoint in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

According to PUNCH Online, the attack happened on Thursday after the hoodlums reportedly besieged the area.

A community leader, speaking on Friday, revealed that a gunfight broke out during the attack. Reports indicate that one police officer was fatally injured, and a security operational vehicle was set on fire.

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The source said, The information we got from residents around the scene was that the hoodlums, in their large numbers, entered the community on Thursday evening and laid siege in a nearby bush, waiting to attack the checkpoint and their other targets.

The police resisted the attack, and the development led to a gun battle where gunshots were fired for several hours, sending panic and tension to residents of the area. The reason for the attack is unknown.

The armed hoodlums fled the scene while abandoning their vehicle at the scene.

We are yet to ascertain the total number of casualties, but reports emanating from the scene indicated that some of the hoodlums and security operatives were killed in the process and a vehicle burnt.

In a statement on Friday, Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, confirmed the attack and stated that security personnel are actively combing nearby bushes in pursuit of the suspects who escaped.

Ikenga stated that the Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, condemned the attack, describing it as a challenge to the people of Anambras unity and determination to collaborate with security forces in rooting out and eradicating criminal activities within the state.

He mentioned that the Commissioner of Police assured residents that the perpetrators would be caught, emphasizing that the incident serves as a test of Ndi Anambras united commitment to cooperate with security agencies in removing criminal elements from the state.

Ikenga recounted the incident, One of the Anambra joint security team in the late evening of May 15, 2025, resisted an attack by armed criminals at the security checkpoint in Isuofia, Aguata LGA.

Two of the armed hoodlums were neutralised in the process. Regrettably, one of the security operatives was fatally wounded, while one of the security operational vehicles was burnt by the bandits.

During the ensuing gun battle and due to the superior fire of the joint security team, the criminals abandoned one of their operational vehicles, a Toyota Sienna, and fled the scene, the PPRO said.

Ikenga further confirmed that calm has returned to the area, with additional armed personnel deployed to maintain security.
A heated confrontation broke out in Port Harcourt on Friday as factions loyal to Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and embattled Governor Siminalayi Fubara clashed during a tense town hall meeting meant to encourage political dialogue.

The gathering, which brought together stakeholders from across Rivers State, took an explosive turn after Bright Amaewhule, who heads the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI) a group closely aligned with Wike credited the organisation for Fubaras rise to power.

READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/nigerias-inflation-drops-from-24-23-to-23-71-percent-in-april-nbs.html

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In his words, Theres no indigene of Rivers State that will not recognize the role GDI played in the emergence of Sim Fubara as governor of Rivers State. Before the campaign proper, we moved Sim from one local government to another, not the Honorable Minister.

His statement stirred immediate anger among Fubaras supporters. Labour Partys Rivers chairperson, Hilda Dokubo, stormed out of the hall in protest, declaring her refusal to entertain false narratives. She later returned after appeals from organisers.

As the meeting wore on, tensions deepened when Kenwell Ibanibo took the floor and questioned the rationale behind the impeachment moves against Fubara.

The point is somebody somewhere who thinks hes the owner of Rivers State took this position and influenced the impeachment, Ibanibo remarked, prompting uproar.

In the chaos that followed, loyalists of both camps exchanged sharp words. One Wike supporter shouted, Insult Wike now! Una go still beg, una go still come lie down! Dokubo shot back fiercely, Him no go lie down! I say him no go lie down! No be Wike lie down for somewhere so!?

Efforts to restore calm were largely unsuccessful, as the situation nearly spiraled out of control. Security officials had to step in to prevent escalation.

The event laid bare the unresolved political rift that continues to destabilize Rivers States governance.
Former Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has vowed to work tirelessly to ensure President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office come 2027.

Speaking during a rally in the Ojo area of Lagos on Friday, where he officially announced his return to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jandor described Tinubu as a selfless leader whose administration deserves continuity.

The former PDP chieftain had earlier in March resigned from the opposition party, citing dissatisfaction with its direction. At the rally, he said the ongoing reforms by the Tinubu-led administration influenced his decision to return to the APC.

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READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/western-democracy-has-failed-nigeria-we-need-our-own-system-tonye-cole.html

According to him, Tinubus tough decisions, including the removal of fuel subsidy, demonstrate a strong commitment to Nigerias development, even at personal political risk.

Removal of fuel subsidy makes Tinubu a selfless President because he would have ordinarily allowed the status quo to remain to secure second term in office, Jandor said.

He argued that the Presidents reforms are already yielding results and that his leadership is beginning to reposition the country positively.

That is why we are going to do everything humanly possible to make sure we work for his re-election, he added.

Our priority is to ensure that we see to how this man will return in 2027 to further reposition the country.

Jandor also cited the influx of defectors into the APC as a sign of confidence in Tinubus leadership and called on his supporters to rally behind the Presidents 2027 ambition.
Tonye Cole, former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has called for a complete reassessment of Nigerias political system, stressing that the current presidential structure is unsuitable for the countrys realities.

Speaking to news men on Friday, Cole questioned the continued adoption of Western political models, arguing that both the British parliamentary system and the American presidential system are incompatible with Nigerias cultural and political identity.

This American system that we call the Presidential system in Nigeria, we need to go and readdress it. We cannot import the parliamentary system of the UK and it will work here, we cannot import a presidential system, it will not work here, he said.

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READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/05/tinubu-commissions-new-naf-helicopters-calls-for-end-to-insecurity.html

Cole maintained that political systems should reflect the cultural and historical context of a people.

He pointed to nations like China and Arab countries, which have built governance structures based on their own values rather than imported systems.

He noted that pre-colonial Nigeria had its own indigenous political systems that functioned effectively before colonial disruption. He called for a return to a Nigerian-focused system of governance rooted in traditional institutions.

According to him, the presidential system is flawed in Nigeria because it is easily manipulated by a few individuals and lacks strong institutions for accountability.

He added that while Nigeria is trying to build institutions, they are modeled after British frameworks that do not align with local realities.

Let us build an African, Nigerian focused political system We had a political system before the Europeans came, he concluded.

Coles comments add to ongoing national debates about constitutional reforms and the search for a more effective system of governance.
Emilio Martinez Poppe looks out the windows at the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services office on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Philadelphia. Read more

More than 180 years ago, Joseph Saxton was working at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia when he pointed a camera of his own creation out the window, capturing what is now the oldest surviving photograph in the country.

Emilio Martinez Poppe last year returned to the location, now home to the Philadelphia District Attorneys office, to capture a new image. Its sharpness, color, and complexity are in stark contrast to the blurry snapshot from 1839, of what was then Central High School and the Philadelphia Armory.

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A white window frame forms the outside of the image, with orchids and a plastic watering can arranged on the sill along the bottom. Philadelphias Masonic Temple, a national historic landmark built in 1873, can be seen in the middle of the image, while the top of City Hall, designed in the French Second Empire style, peeks out from the left.

Martinez Poppe learned about the original photograph as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Returning to the site was a full-circle moment, he said.

For several years, Martinez Poppe has been visiting municipal buildings in Philadelphia to photograph views from the inside out. Hes documented what city workers see from their windows, and heard their reasons for choosing a career in public service.

He is presenting the project, titled Civic Views, in an exhibit opening on Friday, May 23, and commissioned in this iteration by Mural Arts Philadelphia. The display will also include the words of workers across over 20 city agencies, whom Martinez Poppe interviewed throughout the project.

A theme many of them expressed was: I am the city.

Its a really powerful concept to contend with, when you embody such an enormous institution, but at the same time, you are a recipient of its services, he said.

The exhibit, curated by Jameson Paige, runs through June 11 in City Halls courtyard, alongside a series of public events, including a performance by the Municipal Employees Choral Ensemble.

Afterward, photos from the project will be displayed at the Municipal Services Building.

I wanted to understand how the people who care for ... and manage the city are oriented in their own work, said Martinez Poppe. How did they arrive to fill the positions that they occupy, and what kind of disposition do they carry when they are doing the work?

Angling the camera

On a Tuesday afternoon in February, Martinez Poppe traveled to offices across Center City to take pictures of city building windows.

Around him, workers desks displayed collages of everyday objects and comforts of the workday-home  landline telephones, a list of payday and holiday schedules, a mini Crock-Pot, a Go Birds banner and other Eagles memorabilia, drawings by children, antibacterial gel, stacks of papers piled high above the cubicle walls.

Martinez Poppe erected a tripod and camera in a small multipurpose room painted white. He angled the camera to look out the window. Nearby, office water cooler jugs lined a wall.

The photography project started as an attempt to demystify this kind of abstraction of the city, says Martinez Poppe, who also works for local government, in New York City.

When he started photographing municipal office windows in Philadelphia, many employees were still working from home due to the pandemic, and he found empty offices and dusty windowsills. Since then, city employees have returned to the office full time  which some have expressed in interviews as a sore spot, he said.

Martinez Poppe hopes his work illustrates how municipal workers are negotiating the challenges and opportunities of living in Philadelphia, negotiating the contradictions of trying to make progressive change in the city, but also dealing with bureaucratic challenges along the way, he said.

Martinez Poppe also hopes to celebrate municipal work through the installation.

So much of what is so wonderful about the city is in large part due to the public services that the city offers, and the hard work that public employees do, he said.

The window view

Many workers told Martinez Poppe their mothers nudged them toward city work. For Bridget Collins-Greenwald, it was her dad.

A fourth-generation city employee, Collins-Greenwald works at the Department of Licenses and Inspections. In her office hang two retirement plaques  her fathers, from the water department, and one for her grandmother, who was a labor leader for AFSCME District Council 33.

For over 12 years Collins-Greenwald worked on City Halls seventh floor as the Commissioner of Public Property in a fabulous office. The window looked out on Center City, where she would gaze during phone calls, or when some commotion outside caught her attention.

Now, in her new position, her office view looks out on a closed gym.

Im hoping someones gonna move in there, she said.

Many office windows look out onto walls, Martinez Poppe said, and some workspaces felt like they needed a renovation, while others looked new. In really serendipitous moments he was inside an agencys building capturing a photo while that agencys vehicle passed by outside, he says.

Waffiyyah Murray, Indego program manager for the City of Philadelphia, says she has a great view out an office window in the Municipal Services Building.

Im able to just see kinda like the heart of the city in a way, she said in April. A lot of folks just cross paths through City Hall or through Dilworth Plaza.

Looking out of workers windows, Martinez Poppe often noticed construction cranes. Gentrification has been a frequent topic in his conversations with city workers, some concerned about increasing housing costs and neighborhood names changing. Some have told him they cant afford to live where they grew up.

Several times Ive heard, When I was growing up there was a sense of neighborhood. My mom didnt need to know where I was, because everybody on the block knew where I was, Martinez Poppe said. And now, theyve told him, I dont know my neighbors.

In the City Hall exhibit, Martinez Poppes pictures will be printed to scale, so viewers can see what municipal workers see. The images will be hung on scaffolding, to symbolize a city under construction and undergoing change, he said.

These agencies, these institutions, some are really old, some are pretty new, some have closed, some have changed [their] name, he said. They may feel enormous and intractable and unmoving and impossible to overcome or transform, and yet they were made by humans, and so they can be changed by humans.

And, he said, so many people are doing that from within.
The investigation into the West Philly home where the people were injured remained active Saturday. Read more

Two adults and a 4-year-old child were hospitalized Saturday morning after being injured in what police described as a hazmat incident at a home in West Philadelphia.

Just before 10:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to a residence on Webster Street near 52nd Street, where they found all three people unresponsive.

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A 20-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman remained in critical condition at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, while the child was listed in stable condition at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, according to police.

Investigators did not name them or provide any information on the nature of their injuries.

A Philadelphia police spokesperson said the home remained secured Saturday afternoon as the investigation into the incident continued.

This is a developing story.
Democratic Assembly member Akilah Weber, left, talks with seatmate Blanca Rubio, of Baldwin Park, during the Assembly session in Sacramento, Calif., in 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson anticipates that Californias sprawling Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, may need to be dialed back after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases his latest budget, which could reflect a multibillion-dollar deficit.

Even so, the physician-turned-lawmaker, who was elected to the state Senate in November, says her priorities as chair of a budget health subcommittee include preserving coverage for the states most vulnerable, particularly children and people with chronic health conditions.

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We will be spending many, many hours and long nights figuring this out, Weber Pierson said of the lead-up to the states June 15 deadline for lawmakers to pass a balanced budget.

With Medicaid cuts on the table in Washington and Medi-Cal running billions of dollars over budget due to rising drug prices and higher-than-anticipated costs to cover immigrants without legal status, Weber Piersons dual responsibilities  maintaining a balanced budget and delivering compassionate care to the states poorest residents  could make her instrumental in leading Democrats through this period of uncertainty.

President Donald Trump has said GOP efforts to cut federal spending will not touch Medicaid beyond waste, fraud, and abuse. Congressional Republicans are considering going after states such as California that extend coverage to immigrants without legal status and imposing restrictions on provider taxes. California voters in November made permanent the states tax on managed-care health plans to continue funding Medi-Cal.

The federal budget megabill is winding its way through Congress, where Republicans have set a target of $880 billion in spending cuts over 10 years from the House committee that oversees the Medicaid program.

Health care policy researchers say that would inevitably force the program to restrict eligibility, narrow the scope of benefits, or both. Medi-Cal covers 1 in 3 Californians, and more than half of its nearly $175 billion budget comes from the federal government.

One of a handful of practicing physicians in the state legislature, Weber Pierson is leaning heavily on her experience as a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist who treats children with reproductive birth defects  one of only two in Southern California.

Weber Pierson spoke to KFF Health News correspondent Christine Mai-Duc in Sacramento this spring. She has introduced bills to improve timely access to care for pregnant Medi-Cal patients, require developers to mitigate bias in artificial intelligence algorithms used in health care, and compel health plans to cover screenings for housing, food insecurity, and other social determinants of health.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Youre a state senator, you practice medicine in your district, and youre also a mom. What does that look like day to day?

A: When you grow up around someone who juggles a lot, that just kind of becomes the norm. I saw this with my mom [former state Assembly member Shirley Weber, who is now secretary of state].

Im really happy that Im able to continue with my clinical duties. Those in the health care profession understand how much time, energy, effort, and money we put into becoming a health care provider, and Im still fairly early in my career. With my particular specialty, it would also be a huge void in the San Diego region for me to step back.

Q: What are the biggest threats or challenges in health care right now?

A: The immediate threats are the financial issues and our budget. A lot of people do not understand the overwhelming amount of dollars that go into our health care system from the federal government.

Another issue is access. Almost everybody in California is covered by insurance. The problem is that we have not expanded access to providers. If you have insurance but your nearest labor and delivery unit is still two hours away, what exactly have we really done for those patients?

The third thing is the social determinants of health. The fact that your life expectancy is based on the ZIP code in which you were born is absolutely criminal. Why are certain areas devoid of having supermarkets where you can go and get fresh fruits and vegetables? And then we wonder why certain people have high blood pressure and diabetes and obesity.

Q: On the federal level, theres a lot of conversation happening around Medicaid cuts, reining in the MCO tax, and potentially dropping Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. Which is the biggest threat to California?

A: To be quite honest with you, all of those. The MCO tax was a recognition that we needed more providers, and in order to get more providers, we need to increase the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. The fact that now it is at risk is very, very concerning. That is how we are able to care for those who are our most vulnerable in our state.

Q: If those cuts do come, what do we cut? How do we cut it?

A: We are in a position where we have to talk about it at this point. Our Medi-Cal budget, outside of what the federal government may do, is exploding. We definitely have to ensure that those who are our most vulnerable  our kids, those with chronic conditions  continue to have some sort of coverage. What will that look like?

To be quite honest with you, at this point, I dont know.

Q: How can the state make it the least painful for Californians?

A: Sometimes the last one to the table is the first one to have to leave the table. And so I think thats probably an approach that we will look at. What were some of the more recent things that weve added, and weve added a lot of stuff lately. How can we trim down  maybe not completely eliminate, but trim down on  some of these services to try to make them more affordable?

Q: When you say the last at the table, are you talking about the expansion of Medi-Cal coverage to Californians without legal status? Certain age groups?

A: I dont want to get ahead of this conversation, because it is a very large conversation between not only me but also the [Senate president] pro tem, the Assembly speaker, and the governors office. But those conversations are being had, keeping in mind that we want to provide the best care for as many people as possible.

Q: Youre carrying a bill related to AI in health care this year. Tell me what youre trying to address.

A: It has just exploded at a speed that I dont know any of us were anticipating. We are trying to play catch-up, because we werent really at the table when all of this stuff was being rolled out.

As we advance in technology, its been great; weve extended lives. But we need to make sure that the biases that led to various discrepancies and health care outcomes are not the same biases that are inputted into that system.

Q: How does Sacramento policy impact your patients and what experience as a physician do you bring to policy-making?

A: I speak with my colleagues with actual knowledge of whats happening with our patients, whats happening in the clinics. My patients and my fellow providers will often come to me and say, You guys are getting ready to do this, and this is why its going to be a problem. And Im like, OK, thats really good to know.

I work at a childrens facility, and right after the election, specialty hospitals were very concerned around funding and their ability to continue to practice.

In the MCO discussion, I was hearing from providers, hospitals on the ground on a regular basis. With the executive order [on gender-affirming care for transgender youth], I have seen people that I work with concerned, because these are patients that they take care of. Im very grateful for the opportunity to be in both worlds.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF  the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Karen Jordan displays Army photos of her mother, Pfc. Annie B. Knight, taken between November 1943 and March 1946, when she served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Read more

When World War II ended, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion disbanded in 1946 at Fort Dix in New Jersey, with little fanfare.

The battalion of mostly African American women had played a crucial but overlooked role, clearing a backlog of millions of pieces of mail sent overseas to soldiers in Europe. They were given six months to complete the task, but finished in just three.

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The service of the 855 women went largely untold until Tyler Perrys 2024 Netflix film The Six Triple Eight brought attention to the story of World War IIs only Womens Army Corps unit of color.

Among the group were at least 28 women from New Jersey, and a law signed last week by Gov. Phil Murphy will recognize their contributions. The law designates May 18 as an annual observance of Six Triple Eight Day.

Were proud of our history. This should be an inspiration, said State Sen. Shirley Turner, (D., Mercer), who cosponsored the bill along with Sen. Renee Burgess, (D., Essex).

Turner and others are expected to observe Six Triple Eight Day at the grave of Marion VanOrkey at Allentown Methodist Cemetery, in Monmouth County. There will be a wreath ceremony and a gun salute.

Its a long time coming, said VanOrkeys niece, Hope Ray. Im glad that they are being recognized for what they did.

The Allentown Village Initiative petitioned Turner to sponsor the bill honoring VanOrkey, who died in 2004 at 89, and the 6888. May 18 was chosen because it is VanOrkeys birthday.

Its just a shame that it didnt happen while she was alive, said Michael McCormick, who helped organize the ceremony for the historical group.

Born in 1914, VanOrkey was one of eight children and grew up in central New Jerseys Allentown. She joined the Womens Air Corps and was a driver before moving to the 6888.

When she returned home, VanOrkey, who never married or had children, didnt talk about her military service, Ray said. Some family members only recently learned about her involvement in the 6888, she said.

She didnt like a lot of attention, Ray recalled.

For years, many of the women were reluctant to discuss their experiences until they began to receive recognition for their history-making service.

Nearly 80 years after pulling off a seemingly impossible task, last month the 6888 was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. Only two members are still alive; the womens descendants will receive their medals.

A lot of these stories are untold, said retired Army Col. Edna Cummings, who championed the congressional medal passage. Every veteran has a story.

 READ MORE: Black female WWII unit, Six Triple Eight, receives congressional medal

No mail, low morale

The women cleared out a backlog of about 17 million pieces of undelivered mail in three months, getting the mail to soldiers who had grown frustrated by not hearing from people back home.

Led by Major Charity Adams, the highest-ranking female African American officer, the women endured racism and sexism. They worked in horrible conditions around the clock in eight-hour shifts, seven days a week.

Created in 1944, the battalions motto was No mail, low morale. The unit developed a system of locator cards with service members names and unit numbers to ensure mail was delivered, processing 65,000 pieces of mail per shift.

Despite their success, like other Black units in World War II, for years they didnt get the same recognition as white counterparts.

The units story has gained wider recognition in recent years. A monument was erected to honor them in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019. A 2019 documentary The Six Triple Eight featured their stories.

Cummings said Maryland and the District of Columbia have days honoring the women, and other states, including Delaware and Ohio, are also considering designating a Six Triple Eight Day. She hopes more will follow to honor these phenomenal women who paved the way for generations of Black women to join the military.

The New Jersey women of the 6888th

Sandra Jordan, of Mount Laurel, whose mother, Pfc. Anna Knight Jordan, was a member of the 6888, has joined the efforts to get recognition for the women. She testified at a hearing in Trenton to support the bill.

These are not ordinary women, said Jordan. These women were bold and brave.

Jordan said the Netflix movie was mostly accurate, but took some artistic license. She wants to make sure the unfettered story is told and has been tracking down other 6888th offspring to learn more about their mothers. A sister, Carmen Jordan-Cox, has a podcast about the 6888th.

Her mother enlisted in Washington, D.C., after convincing her best friend to also join, and is not included in the New Jersey group.

In her memoir, Anna Jordan recalled undergoing basic training, learning cryptography to decode secret messages, and traveling with the 6888th to Europe aboard the Queen Mary in March 1945.

 READ MORE: Volunteers uncovering hundreds of graves at historic South Jersey cemetery for Black vets, former enslaved people

Jordan said she suffered from seasickness and was hospitalized for three days. Upon arrival in Birmingham, England, the women were housed in a converted horse stable, Jordan wrote.

We only had cold water for bathing and used our helmets to hold the water, instead of the sinks, she wrote.

Following her military service, Jordan attended Howard University on the GI bill and married Carl Jordan, her college sweetheart. They settled in Savannah, Ga.

While living in the Delair section of Pennsauken, Sgt. Hilda P. Griggs joined the WAC in December 1943. She enlisted in Philadelphia because she didnt want her mother to know, said her niece, Marlene Griggs-Warner.

It is believed that Griggs joined the military because she was heartbroken after her fiance died of pneumonia, she said.

After an honorable discharge in March 1946, Griggs served with civil service in the Marine Corps Supply and retired in 1976. She never married or had children; she died in 2022.

Because she enlisted in Philadelphia, Griggs is also not listed with the New Jersey group. Her niece said the family was pleased that she had been honored by Camden County officials.

She never thought it was a big deal what they did, Griggs-Warner said. She said `I did my job.

The family held a ceremony Sunday at Griggs grave at Lakeview Cemetery in Cinnaminson at 3 p.m. on Sunday to mark Six Triple Eight Day, Griggs-Warner said.

The law designating May 18 as Six Triple Eight Day pays tribute to the following 28 women from New Jersey who served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion:

Velma Jerome Arkward Gladys Beatrice Avant Bernice Axam Dorothy Dale Birkhead Gladys Eva Blount Willamae Boatright Victoria Busby Lillian Butterfield Daisy Bell Dinkins Sylvia Gillis Hester Givens Ada Holley Johnita Alyse Johnson Lillian Willene Johnson Dolores Maime Johnson Edith Marguerite Linzey Vermeil Elmira McMillan Doretha Miller Queen Esther Moore Georgiana Morton Edith Frances Murray Caroline Elizabeth Smith Marjorie Randolph Suggs Catherine Turner Marion VanOrkey Breda Violet Williams Heather Riley Withers Lauretta Wray

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Virginia Commonwealth University is scrutinizing its employees duties, student scholarship and hiring practices in an effort to follow a federal mandate that universities erase all forms of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, practices and eliminate discrimination.

The university has eliminated 13 positions, revised a small number of scholarship requirements and discontinued a practice requiring prospective employees to write a diversity statement before they are hired.

VCU made the moves to ensure it follows an order from President Donald Trump that requires universities to eliminate all forms of DEI on campus. VCU, one of the states most diverse colleges, has hired a consultant to make sure it is in full compliance.

But targeting DEI has drawn pushback from employees and some members of the schools Board of Visitors.

This really makes me sad as someone who graduated from here, said Tyrone Nelson, a member of the board. VCU degrees run through my family. I wouldnt even recommend my own people to come here.

In January, Trump issued an executive order telling government agencies, including colleges, to eliminate discriminatory and illegal preferences. The directive, called Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, instructed colleges and other agencies to end race- and sex-based preferences under DEI.

The federal Department of Education and Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera doubled down on that message, urging colleges to root out all forms of DEI. At a meeting in March, VCUs board voted 11-4 to dispose of the schools Division of Inclusive Excellence, an office that ran training events to support inclusion on campus. The board gave administrators until the next meeting to show how they are complying with Trumps order.

Had VCU resisted, it could have put its federal funding at risk. The university depends on $450 million each year in federal money for student loans, research grants and Pell Grants for low-income students.

At VCU, 43% of students are Black, Asian or Latino, and about 40% are White. The rest are mostly international or did not disclose their race to the university. Two members of the board said Friday that some of its members did not know before the March meeting began that they would cast a vote on the divisive issue, which they said led to the board making an uninformed decision.

60 employees reviewed

VCU reviewed the work of 60 employees. Among them, nine were offered other vacant positions; four resigned; four had jobs in which a small percentage of their work involved DEI and had their job descriptions revised; 10 were doing work deemed permissible; 18 were student employees who completed their work for the year; and 15 are still under review.

The university did not terminate any employees, school leaders said. Having reduced its staffing level by 13 positions, VCU saves about $2 million.

VCU scrapped its Office of Inclusive Excellence, which had about seven employees, and other departments employed people doing some kind of work related to DEI. Meredith Weiss, a senior vice president who oversees human resources, called the reassignments a difficult transition.

The university also reviewed 1,700 scholarships, said Jay Davenport, the schools vice president for fundraising. Donors often make gifts to fund specific scholarships. Of the 1,700, seven conflicted with the DEI directive, and the university is working with the creators of the scholarships to rewrite their requirements. An additional 60 scholarships could be challenged based on how they are interpreted, and administrators are working to make sure the scholarships remain above board.

One scholarship, called Project Gabriel, will remain. The program provides free tuition in memory of the enslaved laborers who built the medical school in the 1800s. Because the program is required under state law, it will continue.

As part of the hiring process, VCU has scrapped a rule requiring potential new hires to write a statement explaining how they would contribute to DEI at VCU, said Fotis Sotiropoulos, the universitys provost. Managers have stopped asking questions about how a new hire would affect diversity. And the university ended a program that trains search committees to eliminate bias. VCU has never had race-based hiring quotas, the provost added.

The university has begun reviewing all student and human resources policies to make sure they are all in compliance. School leaders have reviewed 168 items, and many are not discriminatory, Sotiropoulos said. The consultant, a company called Cozen OConnor, will review about 50 of those policies. VCU will pay the consultants lead employee a rate of $275 an hour and no more than $50,000 total.

VCU already masked a student applicants race from his or her admission application. The school made the change in 2023 after a ruling by the Supreme Court.

Kenneth Lipstock, a member of the board, said VCU needs to carve DEI from all corners of the university, eliminate discrimination and end all policies and quotas that promote DEI.

Its in every nook and cranny of the university, Lipstock said.

People who looked like me were put on boats

But some members of the board and employees expressed dissatisfaction in VCUs change of direction.

Nelson said he would probably resign from the board if his eight-year term were not ending next month. Nelson said DEI programs are needed because Americans systematically mistreated Black people for hundreds of years, and some of them are still economically disadvantaged.

Centuries ago, people who looked like me were put on boats and brought here, said Nelson. Black people did not start in the same place.

Nelson added that the university will lose a piece of its identity as a school where everyone feels accepted if it does not fight for itself. But school President Michael Rao predicted the administrative changes will have less of an effect on what kinds of people choose VCU, why they choose it and how those students feel. VCU has spent years building its reputation as a diverse university, and that wont go away, Rao said.

That embracing of all human beings is something that will continue at this institution, the president said.

Adding to the voice of objections were the senates of the faculty and staff, who issued a joint statement saying all voices should be heard and valued and that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to VCUs mission.

C.J. Sailor, another member of the board, said VCUs spirit of diversity will never be killed and that the university must protect its federal funding. VCU does not have the resources to oppose Trump the way Harvard University has. (Harvard is suing the Trump administration for alleged overreach.)

I believe you fight battles to win the war, Sailor said. Were not Harvard. We dont have Harvards budget.
Maria del Pico Taylor, 89, of Philadelphia, lifelong gifted pianist, retired award-winning professor of piano at Temple University, founder of Latin Fiesta Inc., and cofounder of the Dorothy Taubman Seminar at Temple, died Thursday, March 13, of complications from dementia at her home in Roxborough.

Professor Taylor was an expert in Spanish and Latin American music and piano pedagogy, and she taught piano in Temples Department of Keyboard Studies in the Boyer College of Music and Dance for 50 years. From 1974 to her retirement in 2024, she worked with thousands of students, collaborated on pioneering music projects, expanded performance opportunities for musicians, and introduced new music to audiences around the world.

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A former colleague called her a remarkable woman who was a valuable member of the Temple University family in an online tribute, and several former students made recent visits to serenade her with her favorite songs. Its not an understatement to say she is the reason I stayed with music and piano, a former student said in a tribute. She is the yardstick by which I measure my own piano teaching to this day. I still remember my first lesson with her: legato leaps in Debussy.

In 1995, Professor Taylor created Latin Fiesta, a nine-member ensemble that sang, danced, and played Latin American and Spanish music at venues in Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York, and elsewhere. She headlined many of the groups shows on piano, organized its annual Hispanic Festival, and premiered Hispanic works in Philadelphia with the Temple University Symphony Orchestra and Pennsylvania Pro Musica Orchestra.

She served as artistic adviser for a Hispanic American music celebration at Penns Landing in November 1987 and told The Inquirer: Im a great lover of the diversity of cultures in Philadelphia. In the last few years, it seems there has been more and more of it. I just love these festivals.

She studied piano under several celebrated teachers, including Dorothy Taubman, and cofounded the Taubman Seminar at Temple in 2003. For years, she instructed two dozen students every May about the unique Taubman Approach to piano performance.

She also lectured about Taubmans playing techniques at seminars in Scotland, Brazil, Finland, and Peru, and she wrote articles about it for music journals. Seminar colleagues called her our dear teacher, mentor, friend, and founder in an online tribute.

Professor Taylor was active with the Taubman Institute of Piano, Music Teachers National Association, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and other groups. She earned a 1984 Lindback Award for distinguished teaching at Temple, was named 1994 Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association, and was recognized for her achievements by the Ibero-America Foundation and the International Whos Who for music and women.

She was fun and fiery, said her son-in-law, Greg Watson. She was always active and ready to experience.

Maria Carlotta del Pico was born May 7, 1935, in Havana. Her father gifted her a secondhand piano when she was 6. Later, when she had to choose between careers in music or law, she chose music.

She was the first Cuban to be awarded a music grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and earned a degree in piano at the University of Toronto. Later, she earned a masters degree in piano performance at Northwestern University in Chicago.

She met violinist Raymond Taylor in Canada, and they married in 1963 and moved to Chicago and Arizona before settling in Roxborough. They had a daughter, Vania, in 1969. Her husband died in 2020, and her daughter died in 2022.

Professor Taylor was fluent in English, Spanish, and French, and she and her husband traveled to France, Poland, England, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere to teach and play music together. Friends and colleagues called her warm and a delightful conversationalist in tributes, and she hosted salons to discuss art, literature, philosophy, music, and politics.

A longtime friend praised her incredible friendship, love, and loyalty, and she is a featured figure on a huge mural at Julia de Burgos Elementary School on Lehigh Avenue. You made so much possible for countless numbers of people, and we are all the better for it, a former colleague said.

Her son-in-law said: She was a great human being, a great mother-in-law.

In addition to her son-in-law, Professor Taylor is survived by a sister and other relatives.

Donations in her name may be made to the Dorothy Taubman Seminar, 2001 N. 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.
When Shannen Healy decided to do an inventory of all her beauty products, she was shocked.

The Cork "de-influencer", who goes by @_greengal on TikTok and Instagram, is all about sharing her "imperfect sustainable journey" to inspire others. But she had no idea just how "imperfect" that journey was until she decided to participate in one of this year's most viral trends, Project Pan.

"I would have thought I had barely anything compared to other influencers, the Carrigaline native says. But when I sat down and did up my list, I had 75 different products across hair, tan, makeup and skincare.

The Project Pan challenge, which gets its name from using a powder product to the point where you can see the metal 'pan' come through, is all about using up every beauty item you own before you purchase a replacement. For some of you, that sentence might have you scratching your head  what's revolutionary about that? Unfortunately, for many of us, it actually is.

Haul culture

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

I was a teenager in the early 2010s. TikTok didnt yet exist, Instagram had just launched, and I still had to explain the term YouTuber to everyone over the age of 20.

Teen magazines, like KISS and Stellar, were on the way out, and a new cohort of people were curating what was cool  the influencer. And the most popular type of content? The haul.

The haul, for those uninitiated, was where the creator would showcase a range of new products they had purchased (or later, received in PR).

At the time, influencers didn't have mansions or go on press trips to the Maldives. They looked like us. They talked like us. They lived like us.

It tracks, therefore, that my generation internalised the idea that being surrounded by stuff, multiples of stuff, was normal. Placing a 30-item ASOS order before your summer holiday? Completely normal. Buying another lip gloss despite the fact you already have a full drawer? Standard.

Content creator Fionnuala Jones, who uses her platform to encourage conscious consumption, agrees that 'haul culture' has played a role in our culture's normalisation of over-consumption and obsession with newness. But, she believes, we have moved into an even more worrying space.

"Social media today has made it easier than ever for anyone with any kind of small audience to sell directly to someone," she says.

"Its touted as a side hustle. Every second person I'm seeing in my feed is selling something. It's becoming very QVC in an industry that's already dominated and thrives on consumerism."

"You're constantly being shown stuff and made to believe that everyone has it, everyone's talking about it, you need it."

With the rise of things like TikTok shop, next-day delivery, and buy now pay later schemes like Klarna, it's easier than ever to purchase in a matter of seconds, sometimes without even seeing a euro leave your bank account, and have them arrive at your door within hours.

Fionnuala Jones. Picture: Brid O'Donovan

"I've seen a few people do the flat lay of everything they have for Project Pan, and nine times out of 10, they're appalled," Jones says.

"They cannot believe the breadth of stuff they own."

"I think during the covid pandemic, we were so bored, we had nothing to do, we had excess cash to spend, and because it was such a miserable time with people being sick, people dying, not being able to go outside, we were all shopping. Shopping to get any kind of dopamine hit, because we had no connection to other people, no connections to the outside world.

"Now we're seeing the reverse of that, where people are feeling overloaded with stuff, be that clothes or makeup. People are reacting to the excessiveness they're seeing online, and are coping on to the fact they don't necessarily need any of these products."

Project Pan

I decided to give Project Pan a go after coming across the trend on TikTok and YouTube. Many of the videos I watched showed hundreds of products splayed out on beds, bursting out of vanities, and cluttering whole bathrooms. Unfortunately, I knew my own contribution was going to be just as bad.

I started by going through all of my make-up, skincare and haircare. I opened up a Google Doc, and started typing up every single product, listed by category. When I got to 150, I decided to call it a day.

I confide in Healy I felt a sense of shame, and also, incredulity. How did I get here?

"When I sat down and looked at everything I had.. It was definitely a shock," she says.

"But I think by doing it, you're taking ownership of what you actually have. You're saying, okay, this is what I have, I need to use everything up here before I buy more.

"That does seem fairly straightforward. Of course, you would use up a product before you buy another one. But that's not the way a lot of people consume."

Staring at the seven different blushers in my vanity kit, I can only concur.

Of course, the counting of products is just part one, the real Project Pan challenge is committing to buying no new items unless something needs to be replaced.

So, five months down, how am I getting on?

So far, so good.

Shannen Healy: "When I had loads of different products, I did kind of go into choice paralysis. Clearing things out has been freeing. If I only have one product, and I know that it works really well, that just makes things a bit easier." Picture: Moya Nolan

Since January, I've managed to only repurchase a tinted moisturiser and retinol, both of which I didn't have replacements for. I've used up my favourite foundation and I am coming to the end of my favourite cleanser, but I am determined not to replace them until I get through the others in my collection.

The most difficult aspect?

In a world obsessed with optimisation and results, there is always a new product or hero ingredient to try, and it's hard not to get taken in, especially when it plays on my insecurities.

But Healy has some words of wisdom.

"Something I've realised over the years is that just because someone else is saying this is a really good product, doesn't mean it's gonna work on me. It's about looking at [what I already have] and seeing what really suits me."

In that vein, we have both given away products that we were holding on to that didn't work for us. For me, that looked like eyeshadow palettes I was gifted and never used, scented products that trigger eczema, or anything with Vitamin C (my skin's greatest foe). Friends and family were delighted to take them off my hands.

"I had 12 bottles of tan," Healy admits. "I gave them away to people who follow me. I just asked, is anyone interested in these, I don't use them or they don't work for me," she says. "I posted them off this week... it was a great feeling!"

Healy has found another benefit, too, of slowly paring back her collection.

"When I had loads of different products, I did kind of go into choice paralysis. Clearing things out has been freeing. If I only have one product, and I know that it works really well, that just makes things a bit easier."

The challenge has also made Healy more conscious of the products she buys in future.

Once I've used up [all my makeup and skincare], I will be switching to Sculpted by Aimee because she has a scheme where she takes back used products, and for every five that you give back, you get 20 worth of points to buy your replacements."

The brand is one of many Irish beauty companies now offering more environmentally friendly (and wallet-friendly) refills, too - others include Jennifer Rock's Skingridients and Kinvara.

Confronting our behaviour

When it comes to trends like Project Pan, Jones and Healy both worry that it could be a case of here today, gone tomorrow, but they are hopeful that engaging in it could be an entry point for people to examine their behaviour on a wider scale.

I think it's kind of like everything in sustainability," Healy says. "You try one area, it opens up another door, and it builds into something that just changes the way you think about life in general and how you consume.

"I think we live a hyper-convenient life, and if you started something like project pan, it would really open your eyes."

For the next step, Jones advises people to see how long they can go "without shopping or opening an app".

"If it's something you're doing every day, delete the apps, unsubscribe from the emails."

When you genuinely need an item  whether it be a suitable dress for a summer wedding, or a drill for some essential DIY  Jones urges people to embrace the art of asking your community before you look to buy new.

Shannen Healy. with a selection of her cosmetics including empty containers on the right. Picture: Moya Nolan.

"This is what I go back to whenever I talk about sustainability. What's wrong with asking if someone is selling a particular dress secondhand? Or going to your neighbour to borrow something?"

Jones regularly uses her own Instagram to do just that, and says she's aware some people might think she's "a cheapskate" (I argue she's setting a good example).

"We would rather do anything than ask for help, or look for something within our own communities [first]. Theres a reluctance there. I suppose it is to do with the convenience and the immediacy, everything is available now at the click of a finger."

Jones also feels her fellow influencers need to take some responsibility for their own part in our consumerist culture.

"There's a lot of anti-influencer rhetoric online and I think a lot of it is valid. Influencing has become very democratised, because we all have phones. Education is more freely shared in terms of how to edit and put together a video, we've more platforms to post on, and there seems to be no end in sight to people doing it.

"But, you have to take responsibility and recognise what you are actually influencing. Because it's gotten easier and because the perks are still really, really good and it's a career in which you can make quite a lot of money, people get lost in the money and don't ask the question, 'why am I promoting this?'

"People don't want to acknowledge that part of it, that conversation isn't happening."

Jones is quick to point out that she is not the perfect influencer.

The sustainable influencer thing is a bit of an oxymoron at the end of the day. But there's no perfection in activism. There is just doing what you can."
Michael and Paula Loughlin could bump into their sons killer any day now. As far as they are aware, Richard McLaughlin has been released from the Central Mental Hospital (CMH). They are unsure of his exact location or circumstances, as communication with the CMH broke down.

The Loughlins, whose son Jimmy was beaten to death by McLaughlin in 2018, wanted a meeting with both the hospital and the minister for justice, who has the ultimate decision on whether a patient is fit for release. Their request was not granted.

The couple, who live with their three daughters in Ballintogher, 15km outside Sligo town, have been told McLaughlin is entitled to unsupervised release from the CMH.

There is no reason why they might not see their sons killer when they go into town. Equally, if the couple or their daughters find themselves in Dublin, they could quite easily bump into McLaughlin.

On one level, the situation facing the Loughlins is unfortunately unavoidable. The law as it stands has determined McLaughlin should be released from the secure unit in which he was a patient if the medical advice deems it appropriate.

However, the bereaved familys burden is hugely amplified because over seven years later there has been no investigation into how and why a man with a history of violent episodes was free to kill when he did.

Jimmy Loughlin didnt even know 31-year-old McLaughlin when the killing occurred on Saturday, February 24, 2018. Jimmy was living in a flat in Sligo, having left home a few months earlier at the age of 20. He had a job in Sligo and was developing a growing interest in DJing.

On the day in question, his two flatmates were away. McLaughlin broke down the door of the flat, attacked Jimmy with a crowbar, searched the flat for anybody else and came back to Jimmy, whom he continued to beat.

Richard McLaughlin was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of Jimmy Loughlin in February 2018.

McLaughlin had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had a decade-old history of violence, some of it extreme. He had been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs and had spent two periods in a psychiatric hospital.

At various points, the gardai had issued warnings about him based on previous violent and threatening behaviour. In one earlier incident, he held his mother in her home and threatened to kill her until persuaded down by gardai.

There were red flags all over the place about the potential for this man to do serious harm to somebody.

In July 2019, McLaughlin was found not guilty by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court. By then, the Loughlins had launched a legal action against the HSE, which was settled.

In March 2023, the HSE offered the family an apology, which was delivered in a crowded courtroom in Dublin. Crucially, a serious incident report, standard procedure under legislation, was not conducted.

The family have contrasted that approach to the aftermath of a homicide involving a seriously ill individual with what happened in Nottingham in 2023 when a man stabbed three people to death, including 19-year-old Grace OMalley Kumar, daughter of an Irish physician. An investigation into the shortcomings in the health service in that case was completed within a year.

In the McLaughlin case, the Irish Examiner understands a serious incident investigation was initiated, but terminated in 2020 without being completed. It may be this position was taken because of the ongoing civil action, but that has never been made clear.

In any event, a new investigation  or a continuation of that which had already begun  was not entered into following the ending of the civil action.

In August 2024, the Irish Examiner contacted the HSE about any investigation. The response was that a tender was out for the job. It is unclear why, six years after the violent killing, it was only at tender stage.

Earlier this month, the HSE provided an update on the investigation, and once again said: We sincerely and unreservedly apologise to the Loughlin family for the breaches of duty in the care provided to their sons assailant.

Jimmy Loughlin was beaten to death with a crowbar by Richard McLaughlin, who broke into his flat in Sligo.

It noted it had commenced an external independent healthcare record review (HRR) in line with the HSEs Incident Management Framework.

It apologised for the delay in starting this, which was attributed to a high volume of reviews at procurement stage in 2024.

No timeline was given for the expected completion of this review.

Seven years on, it is difficult to imagine a more shoddy way of treating a bereaved family, not to mention consideration for any urgency to find out what may have gone wrong and what lessons could be learned.

A file review is hardly the appropriate level of inquiry into a shockingly violent killing.

McLaughlins release is a separate matter. Under the Criminal Law Act 2006, he can be released into the community with the permission of the minister for justice. This includes initially that the release be supervised but if that goes OK, it can progress to unsupervised.

At some point subsequent to that, the patient can get conditional discharge, which is granted not by the minister but by the Mental Health Review Board. There is also provision that the patient can be recalled to the CMH if he or she is in breach of any attached conditions.

A bereaved family may well find such circumstances for release difficult to accept, particularly if the release is granted within a much shorter period than somebody, for instance, found guilty of murder might have to serve.

The law, however, is based on firm principles. If a defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he or she should be entitled to be released if their condition is fully addressed and deemed to no longer present a danger to the public.

But there had been issues around McLaughlins violence for a decade before the killing, which obviously were not properly addressed, and now seven years later, the Loughlins are told he is apparently fit for reintegration into society.

There is a bigger problem at issue here. Repeatedly, inquiries into deaths, abuse, corruption are set up following political and media pressure. They are not conducted as a matter of course to find out what went wrong and learn from mistakes.

This infers that unless there is a political or public outcry a proper inquiry, befitting what has occurred, simply does not get done.
For decades, North Korea has been the world's most insular and secular state, allowing in only a trickle of visitors every year, and keeping close tabs on their every movement.

Then, in January 2020, it closed its doors completely, with the ruling party blaming the move on the covid pandemic.

However, while other countries reopened, North Korea remained completely closed off. It wasnt until 2024 that the country welcomed back its first visitors in years, a small group of Russian tourists, and then earlier this year announced it was reopening its borders.

Cork native, Janet Newenham said she immediately jumped at the chance to visit.

Janet, who hails from Carrigaline and runs Janets Journeys, an adventure tour company for mostly solo, female travellers to unusual locations like Uzbekistan and Iraq, said North Korea was always among her must-see destinations. On hearing the country was reopening, she booked her flight two days later.

I had always told everyone, including my mom and dad, that if North Korea ever opened again, I would drop everything and be on the first flight over and thats exactly what happened. I pretty much booked the first trip to North Korea."

However, for a reason that has yet to be explained, in March, the country decided to again shut its borders  this time while Janet was there.

We were literally the only tourist group that got into the country. We don't know why they opened and we don't know why they closed, but they closed while we were there and that was actually a little bit scary.

"No one really knew what was happening. I mean obviously we managed to get out, but it was nerve-wracking.

Janet Newenham with a guard outside the North Korea/Russian Friendship house during her recent trip to North Korea.

"They don't have wi-fi in North Korea so you can't contact anyone. You can imagine what people at home were thinking seeing the news that North Korea had closed, knowing that I was over there.

How did Janet even manage to get into the country in the first place?

The globetrotter used the services of a specialist tour operator in China, as strict laws prevent tourists in the country from travelling alone when the country is open to visitors.

She travelled overland from Yangji in China before taking a bus across the border into North Korea, making her way with fellow travellers to Rason SEZ (Rason Special Economic Zone).

Rason is in the northeast of the country, the only part of North Korea that borders both Russia and China. Travelling with about 15 other so-called "extreme tourists", they stayed in Rason Tourist Hotel.

Janet said before they entered North Korean they were sent a lengthy list of what they were not permitted to do in North Korea.

"We had to delete our Netflix from our phone and any sort of downloads we had upon entering and exiting. North Korean people have their own phones  North Korean-made phones with their own apps. They even have dating profiles. Everything you can imagine is on that phone, but its a phone youve never seen before. Its literally just like a basic North Korean android phone they can connect with each other on. However, it cant connect to anywhere outside of the country."

Other items on the not-allowed list include branded clothing, or religious items. "We were banned from anything that was anti-North Korea.

There was also a ban on branded clothing as North Korea doesnt have advertising. There's no religion in North Korea either so youre not allowed anything to do with the bible, or the Quran. There are no crosses or artefacts allowed that have anything to do with religion.

She explained the sentiment behind this rule.

The 'dear leaders' are pretty much gods. Essentially, Kim Jong II is a God to them. Even though hes dead, they still see him as their great leader. Its difficult to wrap your head around.

Pyongyang: 'The word you'd have to use is empty. It was very strange because we never saw that many people. There is no private car ownership. You see a few cars rolling by but they belong to taxi drivers and top-level officials'. Picture: AP /Cha Song Ho

Other restrictions include the internet and social media.

Theres no internet but they do have 'intranet', which is a North Korean system used on computers in schools and universities. Nobody can get access to social media unless the North Korean government specifically gives them access to it.

However, certain aspects of pop culture, are not off-limits.

It's really random what they have and havent heard of. They have access to some songs and music. They like Abba and most of them have seen Titanic. We got a chance to visit a school and the kids knew about Ireland. They even had a page in their textbooks devoted to it. Some of them asked if I was from 'Cork or Dublin'.

Janet recalls her visit to the school.

One student told me they wanted to be a teacher when they grow up. Another kid told me they wanted to be a journalist. I told them that was amazing but you cant help but smile to yourself when a North Korean kid tells you that they want to be a journalist.

She said conversations with her tour guide were not so open.

I asked him what his favourite song was, to which he replied 'the national anthem because its such a beautiful song'. When I asked him what his favourite book was he said it was the manuscript of the constitution of North Korea because 'thats the best book ever'. Everything felt very staged and rehearsed.

"Surprisingly, I was allowed to ask him where hed like to travel to. His reply was always the same  'Russia or China because they are our allies'.

Charlotte Newenham with the young performers at the Children's Palace in Rason

Often referred to as "the hermit kingdom" because of its seclusions, Janet says she was struck by the urban landscape.

The word you'd have to use is empty. It was very strange because we never saw that many people. There is no private car ownership. You see a few cars rolling by but they belong to taxi drivers and top-level officials.

They have traffic lights but no electricity so theres a man standing there directing the traffic. These traffic wardens are quite famous. Even when its empty they are still moving and directing invisible traffic. Its bizarre because there were four-lane highways in the city with nobody driving in them.

While the country is almost devoid of any tourist landmarks, apart from the statues of the Great Leaders, Janet did have the chance to experience the so-called Childrens Palace.

Kim Jong Un has a childrens palace where children can come and perform. He claims this is because he puts children first. These childrens palaces are like afterschool places where kids can go to dance, sing and perform. They are a lot like Cork Opera House or the Everyman. You are watching 100 kids dance and perform on a stage.

"At first glance its really beautiful until you see this jarring backdrop of a cinema screen behind them playing footage of rockets going off in North Korea and an army stomping around on the street. The whole performance just centered around how great and powerful North Korea is.

"The city we were in was a few hours from Pyongyang but the kids were under the impression it was four days away. It made me wonder if they had been misled and that maybe the purpose of this lie was to prevent them from ever trying to leave.

She described how eerie and empty the streets felt, as she and the rest of the group, travelled around Rason by bus and on foot.

There is nothing, she told the Irish Examiner.

There are no cafes. There are no shopping malls. Advertising is forbidden in North Korea so it doesnt exist. The entire time we were there we didnt see a single billboard. The closest thing to them were the huge signs with positive slogans about North Korea.

"We were driving around for an hour, trying to figure out where the shops were. Its difficult to find them because theres no advertising.

"Some of them have curtains over the windows so we couldnt see in but the guide wouldnt explain why. There are alcohol shops and clothes shops. The clothes you see on sale are normally dark in colour.

Janet said a visit to North Korean hair salon was a fascinating experience.

I was told that people living in North Korea are only allowed something like 10 haircuts. I found this really interesting. I wanted to get my hair cut and the guide said I could. However, he kept making excuses. It was really annoying me, but he just wouldn't let me. I think he didnt want me to be alone with the hairdresser.

"I probably wasnt supposed to, but on the last day I went to one. It was funny because there was this old fashioned fuzzy television that looked like it was playing soap operas in the background. They have a lot of rules around haircuts in North Korea. One of the rules is that men must have short hair. Theres a certain haircut for girls and a certain haircut for boys.

Janet Newenham in front of statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

"I lived to tell the tale, but when I got back home my own hairdresser was wondering what had happened to me. She had to take 3cm off because it was so uneven.

She visited statues of Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong II.

Its protocol when you visit these statues that you go to the flower shop first to lay down flowers for the dear leaders. They only sell fake flowers. I had to laugh because my mom used to be a florist in Cork and she would have been so disgusted by this.

North Korea has a pretty barren landscape so there isnt many real flowers there. You had to go in and pay the equivalent of 4 for a bouquet of plastic flowers before queueing up and essentially paying your respects to the dear leaders. You bow and walk away.

"After youve left, the people working in the shop take the bouquets that were laid down and bring them back to the shop to resell. It was the same at the Childrens Palace. We were asking the guide if we could buy sweets for the children but he told me they 'preferred flowers'.

"Ive no doubt the kids had to give the flowers back at the end of the night for the shop to resell. It was all quite strange.
A hand emerging from sandy soil beneath a stairwell in an East Cork home was the first sighting of the body of Tina Satchwell, who had vanished more than six years earlier.

Wearing a dressing gown over her pyjamas, a dressing gown belt around her body, she was found wrapped in a blanket and covered in black plastic sheeting.

Her husband Richard Satchwell has denied her murder at their home on 3 Grattan St, Youghal, between March 19 and 20, both dates inclusive.

Evocative details were heard at the Central Criminal Court about Ms Satchwell in life and the way her body was found in death.

Dr Patrick Burke told the court that he had been the couples GP since 1999.

Tina was always friendly, open, a great communicator, he said.

She always enjoyed good health and suffered absolutely no conditions that could end her life prematurely, Dr Burke said.

Richard and Tina Satchwell almost always came to surgery consultations together, even if only one was sick, he added.

In Fermoy, he would also see the couple together, walking their dog.

Mr Satchwell repeatedly told gardai that his wife was violent to him, since he reported her missing on March 24, 2017.

Dr Burke said the first time Mr Satchwell told him that Ms Satchwell had been violent towards him was on March 30, 2017.

This was a few days after the State alleges that Mr Satchwell murdered his wife.

Tina Satchwell 'always enjoyed good health' and suffered 'absolutely no conditions' that could end her life prematurely, her GP told the court.

Mr Satchwell said his wife was taller when she "disappeared" than when he first met her  a reminder that she was still a teenager, only 17, when they met.

He described his wife as his Irish rose and physically perfect.

He had a granular understanding of the measurements of his wifes body and what sizes she would take in different items.

Ms Satchwell was found face down in the grave, wrapped in a blanket, and covered in a black plastic sheet.

Mr Satchwell said in a Garda interview that he covered her body in plastic because he did not want her to get dirty.

He lifted her gently into the grave and buried her with tulips and her wedding ring, he said in Garda interviews played to the court.

Burying his wife was the final goodbye, he said.

But he still loved his wife, still dreamed about her, and would talk to the place in the sitting room where he buried her.

The night of her death, he lay with her all night on the ground by the stairs, he said, his body going numb by the morning.

He then lay her on the couch but later moved her to a freezer in the shed because the dogs kept coming over to her.

Days later, on the Sunday, he buried her beneath the stairs.

No fractures were found on any of her bones, including her skull, neck, and the very fragile and matchstick-like floating bone which holds the tongue called the hyoid.

Defence barrister Brendan Grehan noted that the fracture of this bone is commonly associated with strangulation.

Forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley, described in court as a bone expert, agreed that the fracture of this bone was sometimes associated with strangulation but not always.

A red brick wall, inexpertly built under the staircase in the sitting room of the Satchwell home, had been one of the red flags identified by forensic archaeologist Niamh McCullagh, who advised gardai to conduct an invasive search at the property.

Superintendent Anne Marie Twomey had asked her to review the case in 2022, with the specific goal of looking for where human remains could be clandestinely concealed.

Ms McCullagh reviewed the case files and concluded that Ms Satchwell never left her home alive.

Gardai had searched the property in 2017 and photographed the scene.

A forensic scientist had tested the house for invisible blood traces. Nothing was found in this search but it had not been invasive. Ms McCullagh advised an invasive search.

The four-day search began on October 10, 2023.

Detective Garda Brian Barry, a ballistics and forensics expert, noticed that newer concrete had been poured under the stairs in the sitting room which was suspicious.

He ordered building contractors to use kango hammers to break through the concrete floor.

When Det Garda Barry noticed black plastic buried some 64cm beneath the floor, he stopped the excavation.

Cadaver dog Fern was brought in and confirmed human remains.

The scene was then excavated by two forensic archaeologists.

'Living two lives'

Mr Satchwell told gardai hed been living two lives since his wifes death, going to work by day as if everything was normal and coming home to a filthy house.

At work, as a truck driver, he could concentrate on driving, on doing the job.

But he would go home, where there was dog shit on the couch, dog shit and urine on floors, and a bed which had not been changed in years.

I was so deflated. I guess I was living the life of a homeless person with a roof overhead, he said in the interview at Cobh Garda Station.

He said he felt scared, sorrowful, ashamed.

Although he should have gone to gardai with his hands up immediately after his wifes death, he did not and cant take that back now.

It started as a lie and the lie escalated, he said.

He said he has contemplated suicide since her death but stayed alive for their pets.

The Garda interviews became increasingly heated as they were played to the court.

They were carried out after Mr Satchwell had been arrested for murder in October 2023.

Mr Satchwell repeatedly said he couldnt give detail as it all happened so fast when questioned by gardai about his wifes death.

He said he had found her scraping at plasterboard he had recently erected by the staircase of their home on the morning of March 20, 2017.

When he asked her what she was doing, he alleged that she flew at him with the chisel.

He fell to the ground and she jumped on top of him, he said.

She was going for my head with the chisel, he said, making stabbing motions in the recorded Garda interview.

He said he was concentrating on holding her away from him with the belt of her own dressing gown, which he held at her neck.

She then fell into his arms, dead, he said.

It all happened in a blur, the blink of an eye, he told gardai.

But gardai said there was a massive question mark over his story.

What you have described doesnt make sense, Detective Sergeant David Noonan said in a video of an interview with Mr Satchwell.

No one could die just like that.

In another recorded interview with Det Sgt Noonan, gardai told Mr Satchwell his story was coming apart as evidence gathered was building a different picture to the one he had constructed.

Its evidence that speaks for itself, Det Sgt Noonan said in an interview at Cobh Garda Station on October 13, 2023.

The story you came in here with is starting to come apart.

Mr Satchwell said he was trying to please gardai and cooperate.

Its very clear what youre doing. Youre trying to protect yourself, Det Sgt Noonan said.

Ms Satchwells dog Ruby was distressed and trying to get away from Mr Satchwell, who was selling his wifes most treasured possessions at a car boot sale weeks after she disappeared in 2017, the Central Criminal Court also heard this week.

Sarah Dobson, a friend of Ms Satchwell, said she met Mr Satchwell at a car boot sale in Co Cork, on the Monday of the May bank holiday weekend in 2017.

I told him Tina would kill him for selling all her stuff, she said.

Their dog Ruby was distressed, hopping around, trying to get away from him, she said in her statement, read to the court by prosecuting barrister Gerardine Small.

Nothing of Mr Satchwells was for sale, Ms Dobson added.

Mr Satchwell said his wife was very ill and had been in hospital for weeks.

A bacteria in their home had made Ms Satchwell sick and had caused the death of their parrot, he said.

He told me he needed between 80,000 and 100,000 to fix the house so she could come home. Thats why he told us he was selling the stuff.

The trial, before Justice Paul McDermott, continues.
In glass cabinets in shops on main streets of towns the length and breadth of the country sit a bewildering range of flavoured vapes and jellies, many laced with a substance suspected of causing teens to suffer serious health emergencies.

One shop in the East Cork town of Midleton has a flashing neon sign in the window advertising the sale of hexahydrocannabinol, known as HHC, within. Other shops in other towns and villages are less overt with their advertisements.

The product, a semi-synthetic version of a natural cannabinoid found in cannabis, can be used in vapes or in jelly edibles. It emulates the effects of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the narcotic component present in cannabis plants.

Readily available

In one shop, a query from this would-be customer for the product as to whether it is legal comes with a blunt I dont know response from the one staff member on duty.

However, in a vape shop in Mallow, a sign says 21 over the HHC products leads us to query why, to be told that it is an effort to deter teenagers from trying to purchase the products.

Others assure me that the product is legal  despite An Garda Siochana saying that a number of investigations are currently ongoing into the sale of HHC products under legislation around psychoactive substances introduced to outlaw head shop products.

Whether it's via vape or gummies, products containing HHC are readily available to buy in Ireland. Stock picture: Eddie O'Hare

Within minutes of entering the shops, this reporter left with different versions of HHC  including one in a reggae-inspired box giving the flavour as zkittles. Sold with the promise of offering a relaxing experience, the product warns on the back to use with caution, adding that it is not to be used by pregnant women and is for over-18s.

It reads: This HHC cartridge can be intoxicating to some people. Do not drive or operate any machinery while using this product. Consult a doctor before using this product.

Another product called Blue Dream carries similar warnings, while also adding that it is THC-free.

The ingredients for both products are listed as 95% HHC distillate (hemp derived), 5% terpenes.

A different strawberry-flavoured product only has information in German, although it lists its ingredients as 95% 10HC-blend (a form of HHC) and 5% terps (terpenes).

Incidents in West Cork

The test purchases carried out by the Irish Examiner come in the wake of two incidents in West Cork recently highlighted by the Social Democrats councillor Isobel Towse.

She told how a 12-year-old child in Clonakilty could not remember his mothers name while another had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital after vaping the cannabinoid.

HHC was also linked to an incident in another Cork town in November 2023 in which four young people were hospitalised.

It is understood that up to one fifth of teenagers being treated in addiction services are there because of chemically modified cannabis products found in vapes and edibles, including HHC.

Expert views

Bobby Smyth, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical professor at Trinity College Dublin, said: Lots of young people who use it regularly report a lot of mental health symptoms associated with it, both when using it heavily and when they stop using it.

Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Bobby Smyth says HHC is Irelands second most common cause of drug-induced psychosis. File picture

The most common is a real flat sort of depressed mood. That is the bigger issue we would see. We are not clinically dealing with lots of young people developing psychosis but we are dealing with the aftermath of that. Those young people would not attend our services in the first instance.

They get admitted to hospital and get treated there, and are then referred out to us for a bit of support helping avoid a return to HHC use.

Prof Smyth added: HHC use now, as far as I understand it, is the second most common cause of drug-induced psychosis in new episodes in Ireland, after cannabis.

It is causing way more psychotic episodes at this stage than cocaine or MDMA or other drugs.

Despite concerns about the substance, it continues to be sold in shops across the country because it is not included in the list of prohibited drugs in Ireland under the Misuse of Drugs Act and there appears to be confusion on whether or not the product is legal among different retailers.

HHC not on schedule of controlled drugs

Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Health say HHC is currently covered by legislation on psychoactive substances.

Yet moves are also in place to include HHC on the list of controlled drugs, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, according to the Department of Health. In reply to a parliamentary question on April 30, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: While I cannot give a precise timeline I am informed by officials it is expected to go Government in the coming weeks.

Prof Smyth believed the products containing HHC would have been removed from the shelves under the legislation for psychoactive substances.

But he said: There seems to be a wariness around using that particular piece of legislation.

He says Ireland will be forced to tackle the issue now, following a decision taken in March by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to list the substance as a controlled one, following a recommendation by the World Health Organization.

The WHO said of HHC: There is sufficient evidence that HHC is used in ways to constitute a public health and social problem, warranting placement under international control.

Although he welcomes the UNs move, Prof Smyth warned: That will be grand and will sort out HHC but the shops are already preparing for that. The next line of drugs will already be in the warehouses to put up on the shelves.

Psychiatrists' report

This echoes a paper published by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland last September which warned that adding HHC to the Misuse of Drugs Act would not be a panacea. Instead, it said that the shops [currently profiting from sale of HHC] could simply switch to importing and selling a similar but not yet banned drug.

The College called on the Government to urgently intervene to ban the distribution and sale of all semi-synthetic cannabis and tackle the issue of its harms and said an explosion of addiction presentations across the country involved the man-made drug.

Drugs easily available online

Currently, the substance is offered for sale without inhibition across the internet. A quick perusal opens a virtual shop door very quickly. While all websites visited by the Irish Examiner asked the user to confirm if they are over 18, a simple click of a button to say they are means they are in without much bother, no matter what age.

One site boasts of offering a discreet express delivery and it says: With us, you can legally order cannabinoids online. Fast delivery from the EU in 1-4 days, right to your front door. It lists a wide list of products.

Many of those on the site are noted to be sold out, with a notify me button available to click if the shopper wants to get a notification when the product becomes available again.

One product is advertised as the highest potent HHC cartridges on the market. It is referred to as an innovative HHC vape which uses premium 95% HHC distillate, paired with amazing terpene strains to give a potent and powerful mental and physical buzz.

The site boasts that it is the ultimate destination for an unparalleled vaping experience infused with the power of HHC.

Gift cards and popular flavours

It continues: Weve curated a top-tier collection of HHC vapes that is taking the cannabis community by storm.

Another site offers a gift card facility in increments of 10, 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100 which can only be used in physical stores and not online.

It does contain a health proviso, noting: The most common types of side effects reported by people who use vaping products are throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough, and nausea. More research is needed to establish the risks of long-term vaping product use on developing cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other diseases.

Flavours range from lemon, blueberry, and pineapple to more unusual tastes such as Gorilla Glue and amnesia.

One retailer offers a vegan product in a range of different flavours. They are currently sold out.

Special offers are promoted on another site.

Colin O'Gara's view

Colin OGara is a consultant psychiatrist who serves as the head of addiction services at St John of God University Hospital and is clinical professor of psychiatry at University College Dublin.

He deals with adults in his field and says that use of HHC is not restricted to young teens.

From testimony from both patients and otherwise, it is not uncommon for dinner parties  I have been told that a non-drug- using cohort would have gummies in a middle-aged grouping because they see it as legal and see nothing wrong.

The product is toxic and it is harmful, just like alcohol, just like substances, and just like gambling. Everybody is vulnerable to HHC.

In the case of HHC, the first step is nailing down the fact that we are dealing here with a harmful substance that clearly should be classified as both psychoactive and included in the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Prof OGara said the most serious cases he has seen involved very devastating addiction and psychosis, real devastation from the point of view of occupation with sick leave from work, family out of their minds with worry, delusional ideas, and strong lowering of mood with suicidal thoughts, and a strong possibility of risk of acts of self-harm.

He added: I am almost 20 years here, I have seen patterns over the years. I am just surprised with HHC that it hasnt been locked down quicker.

'People don't have a clue what is in them'

David Lane is the general manager of social inclusion in Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, and HSE drug and alcohol services co-ordinator.

HSE drug and alcohol services co-ordinator David Lane: People are 'getting into difficulty with small quantities of new psychoactive substances'. File picture: Gerard McCarthy

He says that while there is not a big influx of people seeking treatment in relation to HHC use, there certainly are issues both locally, regionally, and nationally.

What we have been seeing for well on 10 years is synthetic drug use among a wide range of people who use our services  not just under-18s, says Mr Lane.

The big challenge for us is that, from a potency point of view and an ingredients point of view, people who are buying them do not have a clue what is in them.

"What we have seen over a number of years is people who actually have significant enough addictions and using some of these substances and getting into difficulty with small quantities of new psychoactive substances.

These substances are being produced in labs in various parts of the world and are not on the schedule for the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Forensic Science Ireland report

Last August, the annual report from Forensic Science Ireland for 2023 raised concerns about the emergence of HHC.

It said: Cannabis and related cannabinoid products accounted for 42% of all cases analysed by FSI in 2023. The traditional cannabis market is no longer a homogenous arena and is now a dynamically evolving space with ongoing rapid emergence of a dizzying array of synthetic cannabinoid products  it is truly the wild west of the drug marketplace.

It said a review of 114 jelly, sweet, and chocolate products analysed in 2023 showed that 36% contained synthetic cannabinoid products, including HHC.

Describing it as semi-synthetic, the report said: HHC can be synthesised from CBD [cannabidiol]. HHC is chemically similar to THC and appears to have relatively similar physiological effects.

Unlike THC, HHC is not a controlled substance in most European countries and worryingly is being sold as a safe or legal replacement in conventional THC products.

Prof Smyth said the focus of drug policy in Ireland remains completely dominated by the concerns around heroin which really goes back a couple of decades, and there is some around crack cocaine as well which is largely confined to the same population who developed the heroin problem.

He added: When it comes to cannabis or cannabis-related products, it is generally just a shoulder shrug is the typical response.

Use of the drug is leaving young men in particular with severe psychosis, requiring lengthy hospital admissions for recovery.

Prof Smyth believes an opportunity was lost in not tackling the emergence of the product immediately under the psychoactive substances legislation.

He said: There is no evidence that it is being taken seriously. The only thing that indicates that something is being taken seriously is if they do something about it and a decision appears to have been taken to do nothing.
Stained glass from Birr Castle, the 1851 Plan of Cork by John Tallis, affordable antique furniture, new Irish art and vintage fashion can all be found at the Cork antique fair in Fermoy on Sunday week (May 25).

After an absence of five years, Hibernian Antique Fairs will return to a new venue in Cork for a full-to-the-brim event with 40 dealers from around Ireland. It will be held at the Corrin Event Centre, three miles from Fermoy and just off exit 15 on the M8. There is ample space and lots of available parking for what promises to be a great day out.

In a city still waiting for its event centre, the ever-popular Cork Antique Fair outgrew its previous locations and came to an end. Finding somewhere to host it has been difficult. In contrast, the antique fairs at spacious Limerick Racecourse have repeatedly demonstrated strong demand and an appetite for more, which speaks to the resilience of the antique trade in turbulent economic times.

At the Cork Antique Fair this 1851 Map of Cork with insets shows just how much the city has grown.

At fairs in Limerick and Kerry, organiser Robin O'Donnell is often asked when will he return to Cork. Now that the multi-purpose Cork Marts complex has become available, the answer should be more often than before. In advance of the first fair at Corrin, he is already planning another in October.

The market is continually evolving as collecting habits change. Unusual one-off items are highly collectable and Norman Allison of Annamoe Antiques will present two windows in solid oak frames from Birr Castle. These are accompanied by an original 1983 receipt from Mike McGlynn Antiques, Bunratty, Co Clare, in which he states that the c1835 stained glass panels were by the Earl of Rosse.

Vintage headwear from Eily Henry at the Cork Antique Fair.

The second earl, friend of Wolfe Tone and a critic of absentee landlords, wasthe father of astronomer William Parsons, 3rd Earl, who in 1845 built what was then the world's largest telescope in Birr.

Collectors will be interested in an 1851 Plan of Cork by John Tallis, a pair of neoclassical 19th-century bronze Medici urns on Siena marble plinths and a sixth-century Limoges grisaille enamel plaque of a shepherdess. Treasures of Athlone will bring new art by James Brohan and the Purple Onion Gallery will offer a mix of contemporary art, photography, whiskey, wine and cigars.

An elaborate Limoges plaque depicting a shepherdess at the Cork Antique Fair.

Vintage hats to catch the eye can be found at Eily Henry's stand, and Eddie Moylan will bring some affordable gold jewellery. Greenes of Drogheda, Vintage Velvet and Raymond Byrne are among those offering antique furniture and a selection of smaller antique pieces which can be carried home along with everything from vintage toys to bullion to coins and banknotes. It all adds up to a great day out enhanced by a sense of exploration and inspiration.
Artworks from the estate of Brian Looney, former editor of the Irish Examiner, are included in the Lynes and Lynes sale in Carrigtwohill next Saturday (May 24). The auction offers boardroom furniture from the Dulux factory in Cork, established in 1885 by the Harrington family. Lot 228 is a folder with correspondence between Michael Collins, then Minister for Finance, and Genoa-based Donal Hales, Irish consul for Italy from 1919 and brother of assassinated Cork TD Sean Hales.

Artworks include Meeting of the Currachs by Ciaran Clear and a signed lithograph by the American artist Frank Stella. A mid-19th-century dining table is estimated at 4,000-6,000 and a set of 12 Cork 11-bar chairs at 3,500-4,500. There is jewellery including a platinum and diamond three stone ring, a 1950s penny-farthing bicycle and a church bell made by James Atkins, Cork, c1810 believed to be from St. Mary's Church in Cobh.
EirGrid, operator and developer of Irelands electricity grid, is progressing with measures to protect and restore nature, as it works to decarbonise the electricity grid.

In line with the Governments Climate Action Plan targets for 80% of our energy to come from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, EirGrid is leading the transition to a renewable-led system.

However, in the face of a twinned biodiversity and climate emergency, this work to the electricity grid must be carried out in parallel with efforts to protect nature.

While robust infrastructure must be delivered to bring us closer to the Governments climate ambitions, biodiversity restoration must happen in parallel, EirGrids Lead Senior Ecologist, Robert Fennelly, said.

We at EirGrid have accelerated our actions for nature since the Government declared the joint biodiversity and climate crisis in 2019, with nature restoration now forming part of all our major projects.

EirGrid's team is developing designs for offshore cables and substations that will attract marine life to its sub-sea cables and pipelines, such as low-carbon reef cubes, 'fish hotels, and marine mats that attract cold water reef habitat.

Much of these nature protection efforts can be seen through the delivery of the Celtic Interconnector project, a strategic energy project developed by EirGrid and its French counterpart, Reseau de Transport d'Electricite.

This milestone development will see the creation of an electrical interconnection between Ireland and France to allow the exchange of electricity between the two countries.

Travelling 575km from east Cork to the north-west coast of Brittany, with 500km running under the sea, the project will be a major step towards creating a more secure and renewable energy system.

Upon completion, the 700 MW subsea link will have the capacity to power 450,000 homes, enhancing energy security and supporting our renewable energy ambitions.

With construction estimated to be completed next year, essential onshore cable ducting works crossing Claycastle Beach, Youghal were recently completed. The beach is the landfall point for the submarine cable.

An aerial view of works at the converter station site at Ballyadam, near Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, where consultants working with EirGrid are now required to implement Nature Inclusive Design proposals across their work on grid projects, including the Celtic Interconnector.

Works at the converter station site at Ballyadam, near Carrigtwohill, are also progressing apace.

Since 2022, consultants working with EirGrid are now required to implement Nature Inclusive Design proposals across their work on grid projects, including the Celtic Interconnector.

Nature is being integrated into the design of EirGrids projects across the country, Fennelly continued.

In recognition of the nature restoration happening in parallel with construction of the Celtic Interconnector, EirGrid was awarded the Irish Planning Institute Award in Climate Action and Biodiversity in 2023.

A proactive response to this crisis urgently needs to be taken across industry and society, which is why we are putting nature protection measures to the fore of our projects as we work to decarbonise the electricity grid.

Nature protection measures can be seen at the Celtic Interconnector converter station at Ballyadam, where all landscaping was designed to function for biodiversity, rather than amenity or aesthetics.

For example, the landscape design restricts use of commercial seed, instead adopting a green hay approach to meadow creation, using local seed from high quality semi-natural habitats. All shrub and tree species approved for planting within the site are native.

Threatened Greater knapweed plants were also moved out of the working area to a permanent meadow section on the site to be managed long-term by EirGrid.

Whilst temporarily disruptive to the Greater knapweed plants, this action will actually protect these plants long-term, as they are now managed under EirGrids ownership, and are not at risk from scrub encroachment as they were pre-construction Most recently, EirGrids ecology team implemented measures to safeguard vegetation at Claycastle Beach following works in the area.

EirGrids ecology team implemented measures to safeguard vegetation at Claycastle Beach, Youghal, Co Cork, following works in the area. Among the species safeguarded is Wild Clary, a rare and significant plant found growing in the dunes at Claycastle Beach.

Among the species safeguarded is Wild Clary, a rare and significant plant found growing in the dunes at Claycastle Beach.

Seedlings have been carefully raised off-site to aid conservation efforts, and the team has now initiated trials to plant the wild clary into dune areas away from construction works.

This project is about more than just infrastructure  its about respecting and enhancing our local environment, and the communities which values it, Fennelly said.

The opportunity to restore and strengthen the dunes at Claycastle Beach aligns with our commitment to sustainability and responsible development.

With EirGrids offshore plans progressing in the south coast  which will see the development of new transmission grid infrastructure to bring power generated by offshore windfarms into our national grid  these nature inclusive design ambitions are now being taken offshore.

Harnessing offshore renewable energy ensures access to an abundant source of clean energy, yet this must be done while ensuring not simply protection, but restoration of marine habitats, Fennelly said.

We are actively developing designs for offshore cables and substations which will attract marine life to our infrastructure, such as low-carbon reef cubes, 'fish hotels, and marine mats that attract coldwater reef habitat, while protecting subsea cables and pipelines.

Since 2022, EirGrids community benefit policy has a standalone biodiversity strand, with equal funding assigned to biodiversity, sustainability, and community projects.

To date, EirGrid has shared 198,987 in funding for community biodiversity projects in areas hosting the Celtic Interconnector project, with two more phases of funding to come, midway through construction, and when the project is energised.

At EirGrid, we are committed to creating a greener future for generations to come by not only delivering a cleaner energy system, but by actively protecting biodiversity, Fennelly concluded.

EirGrid remains dedicated to balancing progress with environmental stewardship as it delivers the Celtic Interconnector, ensuring that nature thrives alongside innovation.

To learn more about how EirGrid is delivering a cleaner energy future, visit eirgrid.ie
Regional leaders are meeting in Baghdad at the annual summit of the Arab League, with the war in Gaza expected to once again loom large in discussions.

In March, at an emergency summit in Cairo, Arab leaders endorsed a proposed plan for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing its roughly two million residents.

Saturdays summit comes two months after after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January.

The Iraqi foreign minister welcomed Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport (Pool via AP)

In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation of force to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week.

Mr Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against US forces in Iraq  and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Mr al-Sharaa was not attending the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shia militias and political factions are wary of Mr al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

Gaza is expected to loom large in the discussions (AP)

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, Mr al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making Mr al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

Iraq, which has strong  and sometimes conflicting  ties with both the United States and Iran, has sought to strike a difficult balance between them and to position itself as a regional mediator.

An Iraqi political official said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit, and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations for a nuclear deal and a demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.
Arab leaders meeting at an annual summit in Baghdad have said they are trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.

In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gazas reconstruction without displacing its roughly two million residents.

The summit in Baghdad was attended by Arab leaders including Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Among the guests were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the flow of aid into the besieged territory.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the summit (AP(

He said that the UN rejects any forced displacement of Palestinians.

Saturdays summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January.

In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history, Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza.

Mr al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay 20 million dollars (15 million) for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.

Mr El-Sisi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the US, is exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed the gathering in the Iraqi capital (AP)

He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza once the aggression stops.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and along with other militant groups to hand over weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week.

Mr Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against US forces in Iraq  and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Mr al-Sharaa did not attend the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shia militias and political factions are wary of Mr al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

An Iraqi official said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations to reach a nuclear deal and lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.
Storm systems sweeping across parts of the US Midwest and South have left at least 23 dead, including nine people who were killed after what appeared to be a tornado in south-east Kentucky.

In Kentucky, some 14 people were killed by severe weather, and the death toll is likely to rise, according to state governor Andy Beshear.

Kentucky, were starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last nights storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information. Please pray for all of our affected families, Mr Beshear said on X.

Tornado Warning continues for Brevard NC until 5:30 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/xrEoTbqcJ7  NWS Tornado (@NWStornado) May 17, 2025

Earlier, local authorities in Laurel County said nine people were killed after a tornado touched down in south-eastern Kentucky, causing structures to crumble and even flipping over a car on the main I-75 road.

Rescuers were on the ground all night looking for possible survivors, and the search was continuing into the morning, according to Sheriffs Office spokesperson Deputy Gilbert Acciardo. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.

The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. The extreme weather ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.

St Louis was heavily affected (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Lives have been changed forever here tonight. This is a time we come together, and we pray for this community, London Mayor Randall Weddle told WKYT-TV. I have never personally witnessed what Ive witnessed here tonight. Theres a lot of devastation.

The storms were part of a weather system on Friday that killed seven people in Missouri and also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left several hundred thousand customers without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.

St Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected.

Plenty of active severe weather across the eastern third of the nation this afternoon including both severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and warnings. Keep in mind what your plans is for each, and check for the latest at https://t.co/VyWINDk3xP. pic.twitter.com/gZpRO6NCfn  National Weather Service (@NWS) May 16, 2025

This is truly, truly devastating, Ms Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency and an overnight curfew Friday had been put into place in the areas with the most damage.

The number of people injured was not immediately known. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, according to hospital spokesperson Laura High.

St Louis Childrens Hospital received 15 patients with two of them expected to remain in the hospital into the weekend, she said.

National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between 2.30pm and 2.50pm in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

Storms downed trees in Missouri (AP)

At Centennial Christian Church, City of St Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press that three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled. One of those people later died.

Christy Childs, a Saint Louis Zoo spokesperson, said in a text that the zoo would remain closed Saturday because of downed trees and other damage. Childs said all animals were safe and that there were no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals.

We cant definitively say whether or not it was a tornado  it likely was, National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said.

A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles south of St Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.

Forecasters say more severe weather could be on the way.

Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains, the National Weather Services Storm Prediction Centre said on its website Saturday. The risk was especially high for north Texas.
Irans president has said his country will continue talks with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme but will not withdraw from its rights because of US threats.

We are negotiating, and we will negotiate, we are not after war but we do not fear any threat, President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a speech to navy officials broadcast by state television on Saturday.

It is not like that they think if they threaten us, we will give up our human right and definite right, Mr Pezeshkian said. We will not withdraw, we will not easily lose honourable military, scientific, nuclear in all fields.

The negotiations have reached the expert level, meaning the sides are trying to reach agreement on the details of a possible deal.

Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace - he lied

But a major sticking point remains Irans enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration increasingly insists the Islamic Republic must give up.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash air strikes targeting Irans programme if a deal is not reached.

Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump said Iran received a proposal during the talks, though he did not elaborate.

During his trip to the region this week, Mr Trump at nearly every event insisted Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb, something US intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not actively pursuing, though its programme is on the cusp of being able to weaponise nuclear material.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of Irans atomic organisation, stressed the peaceful nature of the programme, saying it is under continuous monitoring by the UN nuclear watchdog, state TV reported on Saturday.

No country is monitored by the agency like us, Mr Eslami said, adding that the agency inspected the countrys nuclear facilities more than 450 time in 2024  something about 25% of all the agency inspections in the year.

Meanwhile, Israel routinely has threatened to strike Irans nuclear facilities if it feels threatened, further complicating tensions in the Middle East already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In his first reaction to Mr Trumps regional visit, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Mr Trump was not truthful when he made claims about creating peace through power.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with teachers (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace  he lied. He and the US administration used power for massacre in Gaza, for waging wars in any place they could, Mr Khamenei said on Saturday during a meeting with teachers broadcast on state television.

The US has provided Israel with 10-ton bombs to drop on Gaza children, hospitals, houses of people in Lebanon and anywhere else when they can Mr Khamenei said.

Mr Khamenei, who has the final say on all Iranian state matters, reiterated his traditional stance against Israel.

Definitely, the Zionist regime is the spot of corruption, war, rifts. The Zionist regime that is lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumour should be certainly eradicated, and it will be, he said.
Saturday, May 17th, 2025 (12:01 am) - Score 5,240

The High Court in London has rejected an application by mobile operator EE (BT) for interim injunctive relief against satellite provider Avanti Broadband, which had threatened to withdraw its backhaul services  used to help supply data capacity to some of the remotest rural UK mast sites  unless the mobile operator agreed to pay a substantially increased rate.

The vast majority of EEs mobile masts and cell sites are typically connected by fixed fibre optic or Microwave wireless links, which supply the necessary high speed data capacity for their services. But around 200 of these, from a total of around 20,000 mast sites, are so remote that this connectivity is currently only supplied via a satellite link supplied by Avanti and its fleet of HYLAS satellites.

Put another way, if the satellite link is not provided, then there will be no EE mobile services in the relevant area. There are a further 400 sites where the primary link is fixed fibre/cable or microwave, but if that primary link fails, a satellite link is still required to act as the backup. Some of these sites were also provided as part of the Governments new 4G based Emergency Services Network (ESN).

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Suffice to say that the importance of these sites is well understood and Avanti has been helping to supply them since 2016. However, according to court documents, the two sides have been locked in a dispute since early this year after Avanti threatened to withdraw its services on a phased basis unless EE agrees to pay for those services at a substantially increased rate which EE contends is exorbitant and unreasonable.

The related contract is understood to have contained agreed pricing for the services (i.e. fixed capacity and operational charges) up to December 2023, but nothing beyond that date. Avantis position was that its obligations ceased when the pricing expired, while BT / EE disagreed.

Extract from the Judgement The present position is that Avanti has been prepared to continue to provide its services pending the making and outcome of this application. Further, it has made an open offer to EE to continue providing them for a further 3 months but no longer and at the higher rate which it seeks. It contends that it could in any event not supply the services beyond 3 months because this would risk it losing a very lucrative contract for the supply of satellite services to a new customer. For its part, EE would be prepared to pay Avanti a pro tem fee of 300,000 per month but it would need Avanti to maintain the services for longer than 3 months and ideally for 6-9 months. This is because while EE recognises that it cannot continue to take services from Avanti on a long-term basis at the rate required by Avanti and has indeed started to engage with a different satellite supplier to take over from Avanti, this process of migration is a protracted one if it is to be done properly. Since the parties have been unable to agree a way forward after which they would effectively part company, EE has brought this application for an injunction, effectively to maintain Avanti services until the migration is complete or trial, whichever comes first. As to the underlying merits of EEs claim, Avanti disputes that it is presently under any continuing contractual obligation to supply the services. Strictly speaking, it says, it would be entitled to walk away now. In fact, and as noted above, it has never suggested that but instead and in order to facilitate an orderly migration, has intimated that the withdrawal of services would be on a phased basis.

In terms of replacing Avantis GEO satellite network, BT / EE are already known to have been playing with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) based solutions from both OneWeb (Eutelsat) and Starlink (SpaceX)  here, which should also be able to deliver better broadband speeds and latency performance. But off-hand we dont know how the commercials of these alternative platforms differ from that of Avantis arrangement.

In any case, the Judge, Mr Justice Waksman, ultimately dismissed BTs application for injunctive relief against Avanti. I consider that the interpretation of the GSA/SOW contended for by EE is plainly wrong and does not give rise to a serious issue to be tried, said the judge while referencing BT and Avantis supply agreement (GSA) and related Statement of Work (SOW)  the latter sets out in detail the services to be supplied by Avanti.

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A Spokesperson for Avanti Communications told ISPreview: We welcome the courts decision and remain open to constructive dialogue with EE.

The situation leaves BT / EE in a tricky position but, given the lack of an immediately available alternative (the judgement suggests this wont be ready until later in 2025 at the earliest), theyll almost certainly have to find a way of continuing to work with Avanti until such time as it becomes viable to migrate to a new solution. Obviously, that will come at a bigger cost. BT declined to comment on the ruling when we asked.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is defying the House of Delegates over his vetoes of three provisions in the state budget, but a battle is unlikely in state courts over the limits of his constitutional authority.

After House Clerk Paul Nardo declined to recognize three of the governors 37 line-item budget vetoes, Youngkin made clear on Thursday that he will not abide by the clerks decision. He said his administration will not carry out the General Assembly directives, including proposals to help nursing homes hire more staff and expand access to weight loss drugs under the states Medicaid program.

I strongly disagree with the clerks position, the governor told news media Thursday after an event in which he announced an initiative to transform Virginias child welfare system. These vetoes are wholly consistent with my authority under the Constitution, and therefore these vetoes will stand. And thats how were going to run the executive branch going forward, with these vetoes standing.

With Youngkins term expiring in January, House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said Democrats will focus on winning back the governorship in November instead of fighting over the governors actions in court.

Im not surprised that the governor is following in the footsteps of his hero, Donald Trump, and taking unconstitutional actions and defying the legislature, Scott said in an interview on Thursday.

He wants a fight, the speaker said. At the end of the day, hell be gone in eight months.

Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, took the fight to Youngkin on social media.

There he goes again, Youngkin acting like Trumpkin, she said Thursday in a post on X. Now he is hell-bent on illegally cutting funding for nursing homes and pharmaceutical  especially weight loss drugs! He is not a freaking king and if he goes to court on this he will lose.

Told that Scott did not plan to go to court over the issue, Lucas said the governors veto cannot stand if Nardo does not enroll it.

If Nardo doesnt enroll it, its not law, she said.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said its not the first time Youngkin has defied the legislature and refused to follow the law.

Youngkin still thinks hes the CEO of the corporation of Virginia, not governor, Surovell said.

Democrats are counting on voters to punish Republicans in statewide and House races in November over Trumps assault on federal employees and spending, which underpin the states economy, and what they say is the presidents defiance of the law.

The fact that Youngkin has tried to expand his power beyond what other governors have done, that will be part of their rationale, said Bob Holsworth, a veteran political analyst in Richmond. The Democrats could have a court fight, but maybe its a fight they dont want.

Instead, Holsworth said, Democrats appear confident that former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, will defeat Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the race to succeed Youngkin, and maintain majority control of both chambers of the General Assembly. All 100 House seats are up for election in November.

At this moment, in Virginia, its hard to imagine that they dont enter the race favorites, he said of the Democrats.

Scott, a lawyer, said Democrats will focus on the budget proposals that Youngkin blocked to help nursing homes, expand access to weight loss drugs and prevent state agencies from issuing contracts that include contingency fees to allow a contractor to pocket part of any savings it finds.

When Abigail Spanberger is governor next year, well deliver for the people, he said.

Constitutional confrontation

The constitutional confrontation began when Nardo, who has served the House under both parties as clerk and keeper of the rolls, informed Youngkin on Wednesday afternoon that he would not recognize three of the governors vetoes. Nardo said they exceeded the executives power under the constitution. Citing precedents by the Supreme Court of Virginia, the clerk said the governor cannot veto a specific item without removing the entire item and its accompanying appropriation in the budget.

He took similar positions on budget vetoes by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, in confrontations with the Republican-controlled assembly.

Asked Thursday about Youngkins refusal to abide by the House position, Nardo said he stands by his letter to the governor.

I really dont have anything more to add, he said. The governor is head of the executive branch. I work for one of the bodies that make up the legislative branch.

Youngkins position surprised Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, who had sponsored an amendment to the governors proposed budget to expand access to weight loss drugs under Medicaid.

I feel like Im dealing with someone from Washington, maybe President Trump, he said.

Willett said he still expects the Department of Medical Assistance Services, which runs Virginias Medicaid program, to enforce the legislatures action when the revised budget takes effect on July 1. Ive never seen DMAS not follow the law or, in this case, the budget, he said.

Youngkins stance also startled leaders of the Virginia Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes across the state. The association was counting on the budget appropriation, which would increase nursing home Medicaid reimbursements by about $43 million over two years, counting both state and federal funds.

Youngkin vetoed the $10 million state appropriation for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 as part of a package of vetoes that reduces state spending by $900 million as a buffer against a possible downturn in the state economy and revenues.

When we saw Pauls letter [on Wednesday], we were very happy because we felt it provided hope, said Keith Hare, president and CEO of the association.

Its significant, Hare said of the disputed funding. We would hope that all of the funding is provided.
An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
A Swedish diplomat, who was arrested over the weekend in Stockholm on charges of espionage and later released, has been found dead, according to media reports, with the foreign ministry confirming the death of one of its employees.

On Monday, the Swedish Security Service (Sapo) announced the diplomats arrest but did not disclose any details regarding the case or the individuals identity.

The next day, broadcaster SVT reported that the individual in question was a senior diplomat.

By Wednesday, prosecutors had released him from custody, although they stated he remained a suspect.

Meanwhile, the newspaper Expressen reported that the man discovered dead overnight was the same individual detained on suspicion of spying.

Anton Strand, the lawyer representing the suspect, stated this week that his client denied the allegations and insisted that he has done nothing wrong.

Mr. Strand also indicated that his client was taken to a hospital after his release on Wednesday and alleged police used excessive force during the arrest, though he did not provide details on the injuries sustained.

In addition, SVT reported that Sapo is investigating a potential connection between this case and a scandal involving Swedish national security adviser Tobias Thyberg.

Mr. Thyberg resigned within hours of his appointment on May 8 after sensitive photos from a dating app, Grindr, were anonymously sent to the media and government.

SVT, which has not revealed its sources, clarified that the arrested diplomat was not Mr. Thyberg, who had a 24-year career serving as Swedens ambassador to both Ukraine and Afghanistan, among other roles.
May 16, 2025 | 03:20 pm PT

A lawyer has outlined how foreign nationals of Vietnamese origin can claim their inheritance rights in Vietnam.

A reader named Ngoc Dang sent this question to VnExpress:

I got married, had children and acquired U.S. citizenship more than 20 years ago. I no longer have Vietnamese nationality but visit Vietnam every few years to see my family.

Two years ago my parents passed away and left a house of over 100 sq.m in Binh Thanh District in HCMC for my two younger siblings to live in. Now they have both gotten married and want to move out on their own. To sell the house, we need to complete the inheritance procedures.

I would like to know if, as someone who no longer holds Vietnamese nationality, I still inherit my parents' house?

Lawyer Nguyen Truc Anh answered as follows:

Article 613 of the 2015 Civil Code says that in the case of an individual heir, they must be alive at the time the inheritance issue begins and conceived before the decedent passed away.

Article 610 of the 2015 Civil Code states that every individual has the right to bequeath their property and inherit property based on a will or the law.

This means that as long as you meet the above conditions, whether or not you still have Vietnamese nationality, you are entitled to inherit the property according to the law. In addition to the right to inherit property, you also have the responsibility to fulfill any financial obligation left by your parents unless otherwise agreed.

However, you should also be aware that the right to inherit a house attached to land use rights may differ for Vietnamese citizens and those who no longer hold Vietnamese nationality. According to Clause 1 of Article 28 and Clause 1 of Article 37 of the 2024 Land Law:

- If a person of Vietnamese origin who resides abroad is allowed to enter Vietnam, they are entitled to inherit ownership of the house attached to land use rights and any other land in the same parcel as the house according to civil law.

- If a person of Vietnamese origin who resides abroad is not allowed to enter Vietnam, they are only entitled to inherit the value of the estate.

A person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad is defined as someone who once held Vietnamese nationality and whose nationality was determined by the principle of descent, and their descendants currently live abroad (according to Clause 4, Article 3, of the 2008 Vietnamese Nationality Law).

Therefore, in your case, although you no longer hold Vietnamese nationality, you are still entitled to inherit property such as a house with attached land use rights and can have the property registered under your name on the Land Use Certificate to exercise your right to dispose of the property along with your siblings.
Russia and Ukraine Finalize Prisoner Exchange, But Truce Remains Elusive in First Talks Since 2022

Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement for a significant prisoner exchange, expressed intentions to discuss potential ceasefire proposals, and explored the possibility of a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin during their first direct discussions in over three years.

However, the highly anticipated talks in Istanbul, which lasted a little over 90 minutes, showed minimal signs of substantial progress toward resolving the three-year conflict.

Kyiv has been advocating for an unconditional ceasefire to halt a war that has devastated extensive areas of Ukraine and forced millions to flee.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed these calls, and the sole concrete outcome appears to be an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners from each side.

Talks in Istanbul, Turkey, lasted just over 90 minutes (Photo: Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Russia also acknowledged Ukraines request for a meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelensky, according to officials.

Overall, we are pleased with the results and are ready to maintain further communication, Mr. Medinsky stated.

Ukraines chief negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, confirmed the prisoner exchange in a separate statement and indicated that discussions on a ceasefire and a potential presidential meeting took place.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who facilitated the negotiations, mentioned that both parties had agreed in principle to reconvene and would submit ceasefire proposals in writing.

Ukraine rallies its Western allies

Ukraine has mobilized its Western allies following the talks.

Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to resolve the conflict, delegates from both nations convened for the first time since March 2022, shortly after Russias invasion began.

Immediately after the talks concluded, President Volodymyr Zelensky reached out via phone to Mr. Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, and Poland, according to Mr. Zelenskys spokesperson.

Ukraine has rallied its Western allies after the talks

A Ukrainian delegation source told Reuters that Russias demands were disconnected from reality and far exceeded previous discussions.

The source, requesting anonymity, claimed that Russia had issued ultimatums requiring Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its territory to secure a ceasefire, presenting additional non-starters and non-constructive conditions.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer labeled the Russian position as unacceptable, stating that European leaders, Ukraine, and the U.S. were closely aligning their responses.

Mr. Zelensky asserted that strong sanctions should follow should Russia reject a ceasefire.

Expectations for a significant breakthrough, already low, diminished further when Mr. Trump, concluding a Middle East tour, claimed progress would be stalled without a meeting between himself and Russias President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraines highest priority is a full, unconditional, and honest ceasefire to halt the killing and create a solid diplomatic foundation.

He stated that if Russia declined, it should face robust new sanctions targeting its energy sector and banks.

Russia asserts that it seeks to end the war through diplomatic means and is open to discussing a ceasefire.

However, it has raised various questions and concerns, suggesting that Ukraine could exploit a pause to regroup forces, mobilize additional troops, and acquire more western weaponry.

Ukraine and its allies accuse Mr. Putin of procrastination, asserting that he is not genuinely interested in achieving peace.

Two paths

Both parties are under pressure from Mr. Trump to conclude Europes deadliest conflict since World War II.

The delegates were seated across from one another, with Russians in formal attire while half of the Ukrainian representatives wore camouflage military uniforms.

There are two paths before us: one that may lead to peace, and another that will result in further destruction and loss of life, Mr. Fidan expressed at the onset of the meeting.

The Ukrainian representatives conducted their discussions in their native language, despite Russian being widely understood in Ukraine.

Putin stays away

Mr. Putin had initiated the call for direct talks in Turkey but avoided a personal meeting with Mr. Zelensky, opting instead to send a team of mid-level officials.

In turn, Ukraine appointed negotiators of comparable rank.

Reports indicated that Russia had captured another village in its slow, methodical advance in eastern Ukraine.

Just before the Istanbul talks commenced, Ukrainian media reported an air alert and explosions occurring in the city of Dnipro.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the direct talks (file photo)

Russia views the discussions as a continuation of the negotiations from the wars early weeks in 2022, also held in Istanbul.

However, the terms under consideration at that time, when Ukraine was still reeling from the initial invasion, would have been highly disadvantageous for Kyiv.

These terms included significant reductions in the size of Ukraines military.

Mr. Zelenskys chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, remarked that Russias efforts to align the new negotiations with the unsuccessful earlier ones would not succeed.

With Russian forces currently controlling nearly a fifth of Ukraine, Mr. Putin has maintained his long-standing demands that Kyiv relinquish territory, abandon its ambitions for NATO membership, and become a neutral state.

Ukraine rejects these terms as akin to surrender and is actively seeking assurances of its future security from global powers, particularly the U.S.

Follow live: More Russia-Ukraine talks may occur, but none are planned.
A US-backed aid scheme staffed by ex-military and private security risks embedding occupation under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Written by Saher

( Global Voices )  A new controversial US-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has emerged to control the flow of aid into Gaza, sparking concerns that it may serve as a tool to further entrench the Israeli occupation.

This development follows over 70 days of a severe siege that has pushed the territory into catastrophic conditions, with Oxfams food security coordinator in Gaza stating that people are starving to death.

The GHF is being presented as a secure and efficient alternative to traditional aid pipelines managed by the UN and other NGOs, which have faced systematic attacks and efforts to dismantle them by Israel. Staffed by US military veterans, former officials, and corporate financiers, the GHF aims to deliver aid to 1.2 million Palestinians through privately secured distribution hubs, with plans to expand to over 2 million.

A closer look at the foundations presentation documents, however, indicates a different agenda. A statement warning that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic  as part of a military strategy was released by the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is comprised of a cluster of organizations, each working within a defined area of expertise, including local authorities, NGOs, and UN agencies.

Additionally, the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has made its position clear, stating that it will not participate in any plan that violates the universal humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality.

Armored aid hubs and biometric control

The GHF scheme proposes the establishment of four fortified aid hubs within Gaza, each designed to serve approximately 300,000 people and operating under the supervision of private security contractors.

According to the plan, aid convoys will pass through tightly controlled and closely monitored corridors to deliver prepackaged meals, water, and supplies to designated Secure Distribution Sites. At these hubs, hundreds of thousands of Gazans will queue to collect aid under the watch of armed guards.

The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has stated that Israeli troops only involvement would be to secure the perimeter of these distribution sites, while private contractors would be responsible for the safety of workers getting into the distribution centers and for the distribution of the food itself. However, the GHF document itself indicates that all movements will be coordinated with the Israeli army and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit for access and deconfliction.

Despite the GHFs assertions in their presented document that aid distribution within the hubs will have no eligibility requirements and be based solely on need, it has been reported that access to these hubs will require aid recipients to go through biometric screening and facial recognition technology vetting by Israeli soldiers to determine who can pass.

Further reports indicate that Israels broader plan will only permit 60 aid trucks per day into Gaza, a drastic reduction from the 600 trucks that entered each day during a brief ceasefire earlier this year. OCHAs Jens Laerke said that the proposals from Israel do not meet the minimum bar for principled humanitarian support.

A foreign architecture

The GHF is led entirely by US and international actors, including several US military and diplomatic officials, with no Palestinian involvement in the leadership or oversight of the project, essentially stripping all local authorities and civil society of any agency.

Formally registered recently in Geneva, the GHF was incorporated with a Swiss lawyer, a US-based legal consultant, and an Armenian financier on its board  none of whom seem to have publicly available experience or any background in humanitarian work.

Logistics, security, and humanitarian principles

The GHF claims its model is designed to be independent, auditable, and free from interference by armed actors or governments. The groups proposal emphasizes strict commitment to the four pillars of humanitarian work  humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence  as being at the core of the foundations operations, stating that their only allegiance is to those suffering and in need, regardless of their identity or circumstance.

Supplies will move through secure humanitarian corridors using armored vehicles, with perimeter security provided by professionals who previously secured the Netzarim Corridor during the brief ceasefire that took place in January of this year.

The three private security firms that are known to have previously operated in the Netzarim Corridor are UG Solutions, Safe Reach Solutions, and Sentinel Foundation. Jameson Gonolvini is a managing partner of UG Solutions and the cofounder of Sentinel Foundation. He is also a former US Army Special Operations officer. Glenn Devitt is Sentinels other founder. He also served in the US Army, but as a military intelligence officer, deploying in both Iraq and Afghanistan. As for Safe Reach Solutions, the company was founded by Philip Reilly, another retired US intelligence officer who served in numerous positions for the CIA, including as the agencys senior paramilitary officer in Afghanistan.

The proposal states that each secure distribution site may become a staging area for further NGO activity, with the GHF to consider exploring the possibility of offering safe lodging, showers, restrooms, and operating spaces for aid organizations that choose to co-locate near them. In the long term, they envision trusted community leaders being trained to operate within these systems.

Control and exclusion

Despite describing itself as neutral, the GHFs structure establishes a parallel logistics regime in Gaza. All aid routed through its system must pass through Israeli-approved corridors  Ashdod or Kerem Shalom  and adhere to GHFs internal tracking, security, and audit protocols. This system bypasses UNRWA, Palestinian NGOs, and long-established aid networks that previously served Gazas population.

The GHFs proposal includes a cost breakdown of USD 1.31 per meal: USD 0.58 for procurement and USD 0.67 for logistics, armored transport, security, and administration.

In terms of financing and oversight, the GHF is embedded within elite Western financial infrastructure. It banks with Truist and JP Morgan Chase, plus a Swiss affiliate backed by Goldman Sachs. Deloitte is also mentioned in the discussion for auditing purposes.



Gaza 35, Digital, Midjourney, 2025

A shadow governance project?

The GHF insists it is solely focused on saving lives and presents itself as a pragmatic solution amid a collapsed aid system. However, its structure  staffed by US officials, guarded by private US Army-affiliated contractors, coordinated with the Israeli military, and funded through Western financial networks  represents a total shift in who controls aid to Gaza.

There is no oversight by any local or UN authorities. The aid it distributes flows through systems designed by and for foreign actors  under siege, under surveillance, and under occupation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently described the objective of intensified operations in Gaza as the occupation of the territory and the establishment of a sustained presence. In this context, the GHFs aid hubs and security apparatus risk becoming not emergency infrastructure, but the scaffolding of a long-term foreign presence dressed in humanitarian language.
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  Abu Dhabi-based Erem News reports that the Prime Minister of Libyas internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, has vehemently denied the report in the American Thinker by what Libya called the notorious conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi that the Trump administration is negotiating with the Libyan government to take one million Palestinians.

It is an absurd allegation on the face of it. Libyans have long been extremely pro-Palestinian and any leader that cooperated with the extremist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in ethnically cleansing so many Palestinians from their homeland of millennia would be overthrown by angry mobs that made the ones who chased down former dictator Moammar Gaddafi and polished him off in a ditch look like pussy cats.

Al-Dbeibehs hold on the prime ministership in Western Libya is anyway shaky. Reuters reports that three of his cabinet ministers resigned Friday after several hundred protesters stormed his office and killed a security guard, as they demanded he step down. The departing ministers said they agreed with the protesters. Earlier this week the capital was rocked by fighting between rival militias that left 8 dead, including one of the militia leaders, Abdulghani Ghaniwa Kikli. People blamed Al-Dbeibeh for increasingly relying on militia rule.

Does that sound like a situation where it would be wise to plop down a million brutalized Palestinians, who just want to live at home like everyone else?

Never miss an issue of Informed Comment: Click here to subscribe to our email newsletter! Social media will pretend let you subscribe but then use algorithms to suppress the postings and show you their ads instead. And please, if you see an essay you like, paste it into an email and share with friends.

Al-Dbeibeh, a businessman who falsely claimed to have an engineering degree from the University of Toronto, came to power in a UN-backed process in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was supposed soon thereafter to hold elections, but never did, and so he had no real grassroots, just a power base in his home town of Misrata where he was involved in construction works under Gaddafi. His critics charged him with corruption after the 2011 revolution but he has outlasted them.

Eastern Libya is still in the grip of the strongman Khalifa Haftar, leader of the so-called Libya National Army. One root of the split is that Haftar is a secular nationalist with Egyptian and UAE backing, while the Tripoli government tilts to the Muslim Brotherhood, with which Al-Dbeibeh is said to have ties.

The prime ministers press office responded angrily to Corsis scurrilous article, saying it had appeared in a marginal publication and was not authored by a professional journalist but by someone with a long history of promulgating conspiracy theories and fake news. The idea that Libya was prepared to take in Palestinian refugees, it said, was completely fabricated and based on no reliable sources.

The office said it regretted that some Libyan newspapers were taken in by the hoax and urged them to depend only on official Libyan government statements.

In this framework, the office of the prime minister said, Libya again underscores its unyielding and supportive position on the Palestinian issue, and the right of the Palestinian people to live with liberty and dignity on its own land, and affirms that its policy regarding this matter depends on the principles and values in which the Libyan people believe.



Tripoli, Libya,  by Juan Cole.

No offense to the Libyan government, which has been through a lot in the past decade, but when Tripoli calls you a scurrilous conspiracy theorist and purveyor of fake news, thats a very serious slam. Theyve seen it all.
By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Deakin University

(The Conversation)  US President Donald Trumps visit to Arab states in the Middle East this week generated plenty of multibillion-dollar deals. He said more than US$1 trillion (A$1.5 trillion) worth of deals had been signed with Saudi Arabia alone, though the real total is likely much lower than that.

Qatar also placed an order for 210 Boeing aircraft, a deal worth a reported US$96 billion (A$149 billion). Trump will no doubt present these transactions as a major success for US industry.

The trip also helped counter concerns about US disengagement from the Middle East. For more than a decade, local elites have viewed Washingtons attention as shifting away from the region.

This trip was a reaffirmation of the importance of the Middle East  in particular the Gulf region  to US foreign policy. This is an important signal to send to Middle Eastern leaders who are dealing with competing interests from China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.

And from a political standpoint, Trumps lifting of sanctions on Syria and meeting with the former rebel, now president, Ahmed al-Sharaa was very significant  both symbolically and practically.

Until recently, al-Sharaa was listed by the United States as a terrorist with a US$10 million (A$15 million) bounty on his head. However, when his forces removed dictator Bashar al-Assad from power in December, he was cautiously welcomed by many in the international community.

The US had invested considerable resources in removing Assad from power, so his fall was cause for celebration, even if it came at the hands of forces the US had deemed terrorists.

This rapid turn-around is dizzying. In practice, the removal of sanctions on Syria opens the doors to foreign investment in the reconstruction of the country following a long civil war.

It also offers an opportunity for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as Turkey, to expand their influence in Syria at the expense of Iran.

For a leader who styles himself a deal-maker, these can all be considered successful outcomes from a three-day trip.

However, Trump avoided wading into the far more delicate diplomatic and political negotiations needed to end Israels war against Hamas in Gaza and find common ground with Iran on its nuclear program.

No solution in sight for the Palestinians

Trump skirted the ongoing tragedy in Gaza and offered no plans for a diplomatic solution to the war, which drags on with no end in sight.

The president did note his desire to see a normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel, without acknowledging the key stumbling block.

While Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have no love for Hamas, the Gaza war and the misery inflicted on the Palestinians have made it impossible for them to overlook the issue. They cannot simply leapfrog Gaza to normalise relations with Israel.

In his first term, Trump hoped the Palestinian issue could be pushed aside to achieve normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel. This was partially achieved with the Abraham Accords, which saw the UAE and three other Muslim-majority nations normalise relations with Israel.

Trump no doubt believed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreed to just before his inauguration would stick  he promised as much during the US election campaign.

But after Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire in March, vowing to press on with its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, hes learned the hard way the Palestinian question cannot easily be solved or brushed under the carpet.

The Palestinian aspiration for statehood needs to be addressed as an indispensable step towards a lasting peace and regional stability.

It was telling that Trump did not stop in Israel this week. One former Israeli diplomat says its a sign Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his leverage with Trump.

Theres nothing that Netanyahu has that Trump wants, needs or [that he] can give him, as opposed to, say, the Saudis, the Qataris, [or] the Emiratis.

More harsh rhetoric for Iran

Trump also had no new details or initiatives to announce on the Iran nuclear talks, beyond his desire to make a deal and his repeat of past threats.

At least four rounds of talks have been held between Iran and the United States since early April. While both sides are positive about the prospects, the US administration seems divided on the intended outcome.

The US Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have called for the complete dismantling of Irans capacity to enrich uranium as a sure safeguard against the potential weaponisation of the nuclear program.

Trump himself, however, has been less categorical. Though he has called for the total dismantlement of Irans nuclear program, he has also said hes undecided if Iran should be allowed to continue a civilian enrichment program.

Irans capacity to enrich uranium, albeit under international monitoring, is a red line for the authorities in Tehran  they wont give this up.



Doha, Qatar.  Juan Cole 2018.

The gap between Iran and the US appears to have widened this week following Trumps attack on Iran as the most destructive force in the Middle East. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi called Trumps remarks pure deception, and pointed to US support for Israel as the source of instability in the region.

None of this has advanced the prospects of a nuclear deal. And though his visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE was marked by pomp and ceremony, hell leave no closer to solving two protracted challenges than when he arrived.

Shahram Akbarzadeh, Director, Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 /Alta Copper Corp. (TSX:ATCU) (OTCQX:ATCUF) (BVL:ATCU) ("Alta Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange, that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") with Nascent Exploration Pty. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Ltd. ("Fortescue") to raise gross proceeds of Cdn.$1,500,000. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement for working capital while continuing to advance its 100% owned Canariaco copper project.

The Private Placement will consist of the sale of 2,941,176 common shares (the "Common Shares") at a price of Cdn$0.51 to raise gross proceeds of approximately Cdn.$1,500,000. The Common Shares will be subject to a mandatory hold period ending four months and one day after issuance, in accordance with applicable securities law. There will be no warrants included in this Private Placement.

Giulio T. Bonifacio, Executive Chair and CEO, commented: "We are extremely pleased with the continued support of our largest shareholder which further validates the investment merits of the Canariaco copper project which is advancing as planned. This financing arrangement is significantly more favorable to Alta Copper shareholders compared to alternative financing options that were available that would have been priced at a discount to the market inclusive of warrants and fees. The current financing minimizes dilution and is based on price well above our current share price. This financing will provide the necessary working capital prior to commencement of drilling which remains on schedule. We are also making strong progress toward securing the required approvals from both the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Community."

About Alta Copper

Alta Copper is focused on the development of its 100% owned Canariaco advanced staged copper project. Canariaco comprises 91 square km of highly prospective land located 102 km northeast of the City of Chiclayo, Peru, which includes the Canariaco Norte deposit, the Canariaco Sur deposit and the Quebrada Verde prospect, all within a 4 km NE-SW trend in northern Peru's prolific mining district. Canariaco is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not held by a major.

The Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), filed on June 10, 2024 highlights that the Canariaco Norte deposit has a measured and indicated resource containing 9.3 billion pounds of copper; 2.1 million ounces of gold and 60.4 million ounces of silver within 1.1 billion tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.42% and a further 2.4 billion pounds of copper; 520,000 ounces of gold and 16.9 million ounces of silver within 416 million tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.29%. The PEA also highlights that the Canariaco Sur deposit has an inferred resource containing 2.5 billion pounds of copper; 1.3 million ounces gold; 17.6 million ounces of silver and 24 million pounds of molybdenum within 474 million tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.29%.

Please refer to the technical report dated June 10, 2024 and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment," prepared by Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC available on the Company's website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company's profile.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the of the Private Placement, the use of proceeds for the Private Placement, the insider participation in the Private Placement and the business plans of the Company, including the drill program. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the state of the equity financing markets in Canada and other jurisdictions; the receipt of regulatory approvals; fluctuations in metals prices, the actual results of current development activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; and delays in obtaining approvals or financing. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

On behalf of the Board of Alta Copper Corp.

"Giulio T. Bonifacio" Executive Chair, CEO and Director

For further information please contact:

Giulio T. Bonifacio

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+1 604 318 6760

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.altacopper.com

X: https://x.com/Alta_Copper

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altacopper/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltaCopperCorp

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/altacopper/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AltaCopper
VANCOUVER, BC, May 16, 2025 /CNW/ - Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV: VCU) (OTCQB: VCUFF) ("Vizsla Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated April 15, 2025 and April 17, 2025, it has closed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of C$3,800,719.95.

A total of 36,080,000 units of the Company (the "HD Units") were issued at a price of C$0.05 per HD Unit for gross proceeds of C$1,804,000.00. Each HD Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Unit Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant").

A total of 36,303,999 flow-through units of the Company (the "FT Units", and together with the HD Units, the "Offered Units") were issued at a price of C$0.055 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of C$1,996,719.95. Each FT Unit consists 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 May 16, 2027.

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 Units 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.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid finders fees of $147,418.50 cash and issued 2,741,427 finders warrants of the Company (the "Finders Warrants") to eligible arm's length finders. Each Finders Warrant entitles the finder to purchase one common share of the Company (a "Finder Warrant Share") at a price of $0.09 per Finder Warrant Share until May 16, 2027.

The securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a four-month and one-day hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws. Closing of the Offering is subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Directors and officers of the Company subscribed for an aggregate of 1,509,000 Offered Units for gross proceeds of $79,995.00 under the Offering. Participation by insiders of the Company in the Offering constitutes a related-party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The issuance of securities is exempt from the formal valuation requirements of Section 5.4 of MI 61-101 pursuant to Subsection 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 as the common shares of the Company are listed on the TSX-V. The issuance of securities is also exempt from the minority approval requirements of Section 5.6 of MI 61-101 pursuant to Subsection 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value was less than $2,500,000.

The Company anticipates closing a second and final tranche of the Offering on or around May 28, 2025.

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.
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup has blamed an "unauthorized modification" for causing its chatbot Grok to generate misleading and unsolicited posts referencing "white genocide" in South Africa.

The chatbot, developed by Musk's company xAI, ignited controversy this week by answering multiple user prompts with right-wing propaganda about the purported oppression of white South Africans.

"How many times has HBO changed their name?" one X user asked the bot, according to online screen shots.

The bot gave a short reply about HBO, but quickly launched into a rant about "white genocide" and cited the anti-apartheid chant "kill the Boer."

In response to one user who asked why Grok was obsessed with the topic, the chatbot replied it was "instructed by my creators at xAI to address the topic of 'white genocide.'"

Musk, the South African-born boss of Tesla and SpaceX, has previously accused South Africa's leaders of "openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa."

In a statement, xAI blamed an "unauthorized modification" to Grok, which the company said directed it to provide a specific response that "violated xAI's internal policies and core values."

Following a "thorough investigation," it was implementing measures to make Grok's system prompts public, change its review processes and put in place a "24/7 monitoring team" to address future incidents, it added.

After a backlash on X, Grok began deleting the controversial replies.

When one user questioned the deletions, the bot said: "It's unclear why responses are being deleted without specific details, but X's moderation policies likely play a role."

"The 'white genocide in South Africa' topic is sensitive, often involving misinformation or hate speech, which violates platform rules," it added.

- 'Not reliable' -

The digital faux pas exposes the challenges of moderating the responses of AI chatbots -- a rapidly-evolving technology -- in a misinformation-filled internet landscape, as tech experts call for stronger regulation.

"Grok's odd, unrelated replies are a reminder that AI chatbots are still a nascent technology, and may not always be a reliable source for information," the site Tech Crunch wrote.

"In recent months, AI model providers have struggled to moderate the responses of their AI chatbots, which have led to odd behaviors."

Earlier this year, OpenAI's chief executive Sam Altman said he was rolling back an update to ChatGPT that caused the chatbot to be overly sycophantic.

Grok, which Musk promised would be an "edgy" truthteller following its launch in 2023, has been mired in controversy.

In March, xAI acquired the platform X in a $33 billion deal that allowed the company to integrate the platform's data resources with the chatbot's development.

The investigative outlet Bellingcat recently discovered that X users were using Grok to create non-consensual sexual imagery, leveraging the bot to undress women in photos they posted on the platform.

Last August, five US states sent an open letter to Musk, urging him to fix Grok after it churned out election misinformation.

In another embarrassment for Musk, the chatbot recently suggested the billionaire was likely the "biggest disinformation spreader on X."

"The evidence leans toward Musk due to his ownership of X and active role in amplifying misinformation, especially on elections and immigration," the chatbot wrote.

As many X users turn to Grok to verify information, the chatbot has in multiple instances fact-checked false Russian disinformation claims and ruled they were true, according to the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard.

"The growing reliance on Grok as a fact-checker comes as X and other major tech companies have scaled back investments in human fact-checkers," NewsGuard researcher McKenzie Sadeghi told AFP.

"Despite this apparent growing reliance on the technology for fact checks, our research has repeatedly found that AI chatbots are not reliable sources for news and information, particularly when it comes to breaking news."
VANCOUVER, BC  As global instability, digital surveillance, and political targeting escalate, the need for secure, legal second citizenship is greater than ever. Amicus International Consulting has positioned itself at the forefront of this crucial sector by providing lawful identity transformation services, helping clients reclaim autonomy over their lives and futures.

Amicus offers a legal pathway beyond bordersunlocking freedom, safety, and opportunity for business professionals, whistleblowers, journalists, and politically vulnerable individuals.

In a world where borders often define access, opportunity, and survival, a second passport can distinguish between persecution and protection, restriction and mobility, or collapse and continuity. Amicus International delivers these outcomes not through deception, forgery, or shortcuts, but through law, compliance, and diplomacy.

Legal Second Citizenship: What It Means and Why It Matters

Second citizenship is holding a legally recognized nationality from a country other than your birth nation. This grants the holder all the rights and responsibilities of a natural-born citizen, including the ability to live, work, bank, and travel globally.

However, legal second citizenship requires more than a quick transaction in a marketplace flooded with scams, counterfeit passport vendors, and criminal identity brokers operating in the shadows. It demands due diligence, regulatory understanding, and strategic executionskills Amicus International has honed for over a decade.

We help our clients navigate the lawful pathnot the easy one, said an Amicus representative. Anyone can buy a fake passport online, but that doesnt get you into airports, embassies, or financial institutions. What we offer is legitimacy. And legitimacy is what keeps you safe, secure, and free.

Case Study 1: The Reporter Who Chose Survival Over Silence

In 2022, an investigative journalist in North Africa began receiving death threats for exposing human trafficking networks connected to high-ranking government officials. With authorities unwilling to provide protection, and travel documents seized under national security claims, the journalist was cornereduntil Amicus stepped in.

Amicus facilitated a legal identity change and second passport through a Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program. With her new citizenship, the journalist sought asylum in the European Union and was granted indefinite leave to remain. She now publishes under a new name from a secure location and mentors journalists in exile.

The Amicus Portfolio: A World of Legal Options

Amicus offers second citizenship and identity transformation services through official programs recognized by sovereign states. These include:

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(Dominica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia): Fast-track citizenship via investment, with visa-free access to over 140 countries. Vanuatu Citizenship Program: Oceanias streamlined citizenship route with high mobility.

Oceanias streamlined citizenship route with high mobility. Turkey CBI Program: Fast-track naturalization through real estate investments.

Fast-track naturalization through real estate investments. Portugal and Malta Residency and Citizenship Programs: Offering eventual EU passports through investment and residence.

Offering eventual EU passports through investment and residence. Panama Friendly Nations Visa: For professionals and entrepreneurs.

For professionals and entrepreneurs. Argentina and Paraguay Residency Programs: Low-cost and favourable tax conditions.

Low-cost and favourable tax conditions. Pacific and Balkan nation citizenship solutions for discreet yet legal residency.

Each program is selected and tailored based on the clients personal needs, legal risk, and long-term objectives. Amicus does not engage with any country or process that cannot meet international AML (Anti-Money Laundering), KYC (Know Your Customer), or human rights standards.

Case Study 2: Political Prisoner to Legal Immigrant

In 2020, a university professor and political activist in Southeast Asia was imprisoned without trial after criticizing his governments economic policies. Once released under international pressure, he was placed under travel and employment restrictions.

His legal team contacted Amicus. Through discreet consultations, Amicus helped him acquire a legal name change and second citizenship in Dominica, using his released prison records as grounds for humanitarian consideration. Today, he resides in Central America, teaches under a new name, and advocates for academic freedom.

The Misconceptions and Dangers of Illegal Identity Services

The rise of dark web marketplaces has made illegal identity documents widely available and highly dangerous. Many clients turn to Amicus only after losing thousands of dollars and risking their safety through such platforms.

Common myths debunked by Amicus:

Myth: I can buy a diplomatic passport for $10,000.

Fact: Diplomatic status is not sold legally. False claims of diplomatic protection can result in immediate arrest and fraud charges.

I can buy a diplomatic passport for $10,000. Diplomatic status is not sold legally. False claims of diplomatic protection can result in immediate arrest and fraud charges. Myth: My fake passport works fine as long as it scans.

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My fake passport works fine as long as it scans. Biometric databases, airline APIs, and international alerts can instantly flag forged or stolen documents. Myth: A hacker can erase my identity.

Fact: Identity isnt just digitalits also legal. You must create lawful records that can withstand scrutiny by governments and financial institutions.

Amicus educates clients on the risks of shortcuts and provides real alternatives that work.

Case Study 3: The Financial Whistleblower and the Power of Second Citizenship

In 2018, a Swiss bank executive exposed an internal network of undeclared offshore accounts tied to foreign oligarchs. The leak led to an international investigationbut also left him facing threats, lawsuits, and a politically motivated extradition attempt.

Amicus facilitated his second citizenship through Grenadas CBI program, enabling him to apply for a U.S. E-2 investor visa. He successfully relocated to Miami, where he runs a financial ethics consultancy and lives openly under his new legal identity.

The Amicus Process: Secure, Compliant, Proven

Amicus International adheres to strict legal frameworks and verification standards:

Initial Consultation: Confidential evaluation of risk, goals, and eligibility. Background Verification: Full due diligence to ensure client compliance. Program Selection: Tailored options based on residency, visa access, and taxation. Documentation and Legalization: Legal name change, identity rebuild, and submission to authorities. Relocation Support: Housing, bank accounts, digital privacy solutions, and logistical assistance. Ongoing Guidance: Asset protection, tax planning, and global compliance.

Amicus works with legal advisors, embassy liaisons, and offshore experts to ensure smooth client transitions. Its services extend beyond passportsAmicus helps build entire lives.

Case Study 4: Stateless No More

After civil war broke out in her African homeland, a young woman and her children fled to a neighbouring country, only to be denied entry due to a lack of documentation. Stateless, jobless, and facing exploitation, she connected with Amicus through a refugee advocate.

Amicus coordinated with international NGOs and legal channels to obtain her a second citizenship through Saint Lucias family unification clause under its CBI program. The family now lives legally in the EU, where the mother works in healthcare and the children attend school.

Not Just a PassportA New Life

Amicus offers more than paperwork. Each client receives:

Legal Name Change Assistance

Banking Setup with New TIN (Tax Identification Number)

Digital Identity Firewall Creation

Reputation Rebuilding Strategies

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Secure Online Profile Reconstruction

Clients emerge with a clean, verifiable identity that withstands legal, immigration, and financial scrutiny. This identity is not only about evading problems but also about creating new opportunities.

Strategic Privacy and Global Compliance

Privacy is a strategic asset in an age of facial recognition, biometric surveillance, and data mining. Amicus integrates technologies that protect clients online presence while ensuring they comply with FATCA, CRS, and GDPR requirements.

Services include:

Biometric photo obfuscation using AI tools

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Amicus operates on the core belief that identity transformation must be ethical. That means:

No fake IDs, passports, or birth certificates.

No services to individuals flagged by Interpol, OFAC, or sanctioned lists.

No manipulation of biometric records.

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Instead, Amicus helps good people who need protection, privacy, and second chances.

Case Study 5: The Refugee Entrepreneur

An Iranian tech founder was forced into exile after authorities accused him of cyber crimes for building encryption tools. Unable to open bank accounts or travel, his business collapseduntil Amicus stepped in.

Using Turkeys CBI program, Amicus secured him a second citizenship, opened new bank accounts using a new TIN, and reconstructed his corporate identity in Estonia. Today, he runs an encrypted communications company in the EU, with clients across three continents.

A Borderless Future, Built Legally

Whether escaping persecution, pursuing financial flexibility, or reclaiming their voice, Amicus clients are united by one desire: a safer, freer life.

With over a decade of experience, international legal teams, and global partnerships, Amicus International Consulting has become the gold standard in transforming second citizenship and legal identity.

Every day, we see people take back control of their destinynot through crime, but through law, said an Amicus team member. Thats the Amicus difference. Its not just about bordersits about freedom. And freedom must be legal to last.

Contact Information

Phone: +1 (604) 200-5402

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.amicusint.ca

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Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian has officially called off her engagement and returned dowry, citing cultural protocols and a background check conducted by family elders.

In October 2024, Lemaletian had joyfully announced her engagement during a traditional ceremony, referring to her fiance as a fine top brain.

However, the Senator has released a statement revealing that her elders had followed Samburu traditions and conducted a thorough background check - only to disapprove of the union.

"The due procedure of the Samburu culture is that a background check must be conducted before the marriage.

And so it was, and THOROUGHLY," she stated, clarifying that the relationship had been formally ended in January 2025 and the Ksh 100,000 dowry returned.

Allegations that I was married are false and unfounded, and I shall also not be married to that person whatsoever, she added.

Lemaletian praised her elders for stepping in as protectors and guides, expressing that their wisdom mirrored what her late father would have offered.

She also urged the public to respect her familys privacy.

Below is her full statement.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Flamboyant Nairobi lawyer Donald Kipkorir has opened up about a near-death experience during the COVID-19 pandemic that led him to radically change his lifestyle - and that of his employees.

In a heartfelt post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Kipkorir shared how his 2020 hospitalization for COVID-19 at Aga Khan University Hospital forced him to reflect deeply on life, wealth, and priorities.

He spent weeks in solitary isolation, with no visitors allowed and no known cure available.

For the entire November 2020, I was admitted to solitary existence I knew I may not survive, but I refused my thoughts to think about dying! It was the worst experience, he recounted.

After battling lingering side effects for months, Kipkorir says the experience changed his outlook entirely.

He realized that material possessions meant little in the face of mortality.

This reflection led him to restructure his law firm to allow staff to work only from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every weekday.

When I resumed work in May 2021, I made up my mind that henceforth, my staff and I will work from 8 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday, forever!

We are the only business in Kenya, if not the whole world, that stops work at 2 pm, he wrote.

Kipkorir says the move was about valuing life, family, and health over endless pursuit of wealth.

My solitary stay allowed me to reflect on life, the vanity of riches, love of family, loyalty of few BFFs, and the duplicity of many others, he added.

He urged others to live more intentionally.

When you see me breaking bread or taking wine every afternoon, rest assured, I have done my work for the day What is ours will always be.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has been reported to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by Dr. Peter Mbae, the former Head of Government Delivery Services, over controversial remarks made on April 14th suggesting that President William Ruto would win the 2027 presidential election "under all circumstances."

In a formal petition to the ICC Prosecutor, Mbae described Murkomens statement as dangerous and reminiscent of rhetoric that led to Kenyas 2007 post-election violence.

We have sent a copy of this letter to the prosecutor of the ICC for prompt, immediate, and urgent intervention by the court to open an investigation on the Kenyan situation to prevent the possibility of a repeat of 2007 violence, the letter reads.

Mbae emphasized that Murkomens reference to the 2007 elections during his speech further raised alarm over potential incitement and the undermining of democratic principles.

In a separate letter dated April 16th, Mbae also addressed the Ministry of Interior, condemning the remarks and seeking assurance from the Cabinet Secretary that the 2027 General Elections will be conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner.

He stated that early action by the ICC could help prevent the escalation of political tensions and possible crimes against humanity ahead of the 2027 polls.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Nairobi County Chief Officer for Environment, Geoffrey Mosiria, raided an ice cream joint in Kilimani and exposed the vendor for selling ice creams laced with highly addictive substances to school kids.

The vendor has been operating next to a school along Riara Road, Kilimani.

A bottle of Ketamine Hydrochloride Injection, a powerful anesthetic commonly used in hospitals was recovered.

Read Mosirias statement.

Today, I responded to a complaint about an ice cream vendor operating next to a school in Kilimani, along Riara Road. The vendor has allegedly been selling ice cream to school-going children, which is suspected to be laced with addictive substances.

As a result, some children have reportedly exhibited unusual behavior such as appearing drunk, overly hyperactive, or excessively sleepy when they return home.

Upon arriving at the scene, the vendor had not yet arrived, but we discovered a used bottle and packaging of Ketamine Hydrochloride Injection a powerful anesthetic commonly used in hospitals.

This is highly concerning, as we suspect ketamine may be one of the substances being mixed into the ice cream sold to children and other unsuspecting consumers. This is a grave matter.

We will continue to pursue this individual and ensure that appropriate legal action is taken to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our children.

EXPOSED 

Today, I responded to a complaint about an ice cream vendor operating next to a school in Kilimani, along Riara Road. The vendor has allegedly been selling ice cream to school-going children, which is suspected to be laced with addictive substances. As a result, some pic.twitter.com/bxckpJtNMC  Geoffrey Mosiria (@HonMosiria) May 16, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, May 17, 2025 - The engagement between nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian and Medical Doctor Mussa Lenyumpa has come to a dramatic end-less than a year after their colorful traditional wedding ceremony.

The breakup, first publicly acknowledged by Senator Lemaletian in a statement shared on her social media platforms, was attributed to cultural reasons.

She claimed that Samburu elders, after conducting a mandatory background check on her fiance, had advised her to end the relationship.

I respect the wisdom of our elders. Their guidance is sacred in Samburu culture, she wrote.

But shortly after her statement, a different version of events emerged from blogger Aoko Otieno, who challenged the Senators claims and accused her of manipulating the narrative.

According to Aoko, it was Mussa Lenyumpa- born in 1999 - who called off the engagement, after allegedly discovering that the Senator had lied to him about her age.

Aoko claimed that Lemaletian told Mussa she was 28 years old, but he later found out she was a decade older.

Its the boy who called off the engagement. But because he is young and has no public influence, the Senator is trying to control the story, Aoko posted.

What further fueled the online storm were receipts shared on social media reportedly showing the amount of dowry that was refunded after the engagement ended.

While Lemaletian initially claimed the refund amounted to Ksh 100,000, the documents shared online indicate the actual figure was Ksh 474,000 - raising eyebrows and questions.

Aoko also posted a video of the Senator placing a ring on Mussas finger, saying, Nipate umetoa.

The video, along with the dowry receipts, has sparked debate across social media, with users split between defending the young doctor and criticizing the Senator for alleged dishonesty.

Hii poko ODM nominated kwa Senate, ati Youth Rep,



Paid this Blog to claim she returned Bride price after Samburu elders did a background check on her fiance



Uwongo!



1. She lied that she's 28. Only for the hubby, who is born 99' to find out she's ten years older than him pic.twitter.com/Dhd0BXeNp9  Maverick Aoko (@AokoOtieno_) May 17, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST
ELKO  Youve seen the scenes in movies and commercials on TV: Someones racing through the airport, gets stuck at the counter, then at TSA and nearly misses the flight, leading to a very stressful airport experience.

But you wont see that in Elko.

Elko Regional Airport was rated as the least-stressful airport in the country by researchers who also found the most stressful in the United States was Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. For comparison, Elko Regional received a stress score of 0.82 out of 10, while Aspens score was 4.95 and No. 9 Hartsfield/Jackson-Atlanta was 4.12.

Elkos airport was rated least stressful because it has had zero cancellations during the period of the study, had early departures averaging nearly nine minutes and arrivals averaging some 12 minutes early. Further, Google users who rated the airport gave it an average 4.5 out of 5.

I would say that, relative in this to being ranked the least stressful airport, is is a sign of our partners commitment, the the Delta, the Sky West, commitment to the community of Elko of providing an excellent service for the community, said Airport Manager Jim Foster. Its not surprising to me that we were ranked. It was surprising to me we were ranked the lowest, but I know that we do pride ourselves on the zero cancellations and and minimal delays in in using our facility.

Passengers Kay and Matt Davis said their experience on Friday was about as stress-free as you can get. They checked in at the SkyWest/Delta Connection desk, left their bags and just had to wait to pass through TSA and board their CRJ 700 50-seat aircraft, which, on Friday afternoon, was actually flagged as a SkyWest aircraft.

Its easy, way easier than Vegas, Kay Davis said, comparing Elko to their former hometowns massive Harry Reid International Airport. The couple, like all Elko passengers, were flying to Salt Lake City to make a connection to France for a wine tour.

Nichelle Dehon, who was returning to her home in Louisiana after working in the mines around Elko for several years, said Friday was her first time flying out of the regional airport and described it positively.

Very quiet, and this is my first time ever being here, Dehon said. But so far, the Elko airport is, um, really quiet, you know, on time. They answered all of my questions. She even broke my numbers from my gates down, and it makes me feel better. Keeps my anxiety

Julie Canfield, manager of the Avis rental office at the airport, said the airport has been pretty stress free since she started working there in 2002 at SkyWests desk.

She said the only times people show stress is if theres bad weather. Even moving through TSA, she said, is stress free for passengers.

I mean, therell be a little line, maybe, when they start to screen, but its usually goes by pretty fast, she said.

All adding up to a pretty stress-free airport.

And thats the airports goal, Foster said.

Thats one of the things that we try to to strive for the community is the ease of of what were doing for Elko County and the surrounding communities, of providing a service to everyone that allows stress-free travel opportunities for everyone to be able to use, Foster said.

Im extremely excited to see this report. I wasnt aware of such a report before, but Im definitely going to pass this information on to not only our our provider, SkyWest Airlines through the Delta Connection, but I will pass this on to other city members as well, yeah.

The study was produced by researchers paid by a British CBD company, which said its products help ease the stress at busy airports.

Researchers used a variety of data to rate each airport in the U.S. based on how stressful it is likely to be, according to the report.
BIODIVERSITY Week is here in Kildare and brings with it a range of events which aims to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and to celebrate its value to local, national and international communities.

In Kildare, we are blessed with wonderful rivers, woodlands and boglands which are home to very important species of plants and animals.

This is why, in the month of May with plants in full bloom, it is important to invite people into their local habitats to learn about them during Biodiversity Week.

This initiative is part of a national effort led by the Irish Environmental Network, to encourage people to connect with their local biodiversity.

It also coincides with the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.

Speaking at the launch, cathaoirleach of Kildare County Council Kevin Duffy said: It is great to see biodiversity being celebrated by communities across Kildare.

"Nature plays a key, and often over-looked role in our day-to-day lives. It is important that we acknowledge and celebrate it and all it does for us; from providing the food that we eat, to the clothes on our backs, and protecting us from extreme weather events and mitigating against further climate change.

Biodiversity Week is a fantastic opportunity to embrace and celebrate Kildares nature, wildlife, and beautiful natural landscapes.

Dr Meabh Boylan, biodiversity officer, Kildare County Council added: Being out of doors in nature, is known to be important for our health and well-being. Having support to interpret what we are seeing, hearing and experiencing is an invaluable opportunity to learn, and to really understand the importance of the local plants and animals, and how they support us daily.

"It is fantastic to see so many events being organised across the county by local groups and individuals.

"We are very lucky in County Kildare to have such knowledgeable and generous nature enthusiasts, professionals, and local people who are dedicated to sharing their love of wildlife and nature.

Kildare folk are invited to explore and enjoy nature and the wildlife of County Kildare during the dedicated week between 17-25 May.

The week kicks off with a Peatlands Immersive Installation at Naas Library and Cultural Centre, a Lodge Bog Biodiversity Walk from the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, and a Hedgerow and Small Holding Walk and Talk in Celbridge.

Also on offer is a wonderful selection of experiences that cater to all age groups, including a butterfly walk in Lullymore, a series of bat walks in different locations across the county, a scenic canal bike ride in Naas, and countywide biodiversity information talks, among many other fantastic activities.

The full event booklet for is available on the Kildare County Council website at: www.kildarecoco.ie/AllServices/Heritage/BiodiversityandNaturalHeritage/BiodiversityWeek/
IFA have had a robust and forthright discussion with the Minister for Agriculture on the future of the TB programme.

Animal Health Chair TJ Maher said the ball is now very much in the Ministers court on the future direction of the TB programme.

In advance of the meeting, IFA commissioned ifac to carry out a report which shows that TB is costing farmers over 150m a year.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS

The Minister and his Department never miss an opportunity to point out that the State is now spending 100m annually on the TB programme. However, the ifac report shows that the cost to farmers is much greater at over 150m, when all aspects of the implementation of the programme at farm level are quantified, Mr Maher said.

The largest cost identified in the report is farmers labour at over 55m for carrying out almost 10m animal tests each year, a cost which the Department of Agriculture until recently refused to even acknowledge but critically a cost that the UK administration recognise in full and accept as the only contribution their farmers should be making to the costs of their programme.

Mr Maher said the next highest expense for farmers in the TB programme  at 38m - is the annual testing fees they pay to vets.

This is a cost our UK counterparts do not incur. The annual TB testing costs in the UK are paid for by the Government.

Our message is clear: the Minister has to address the unsustainable burden of the TB programme on farmers. We need to see a plan from the Minister that will address the shortcomings in the existing programme and reduce the current costs on farmers, he said.

READ MORE - WHAT'S ON IN KILKENNY

IFA made a comprehensive submission to the TB Forum in February.

It focuses on three key areas:

Effectively addressing the disease in wildlife;

Thorough on-farm investigation of outbreaks to remove the disease from farms;

Appropriate financial supports for farmers who have TB controls imposed on their farms.

TJ Maher said the onus is on the Minister to acknowledge what needs to be done and to bring forward a plan that rectifies the deficiencies that we have identified.

The last time we exceeded 40,000 TB reactors in a calendar year was in the late 1990s. Meaningful action was taken to address disease levels in susceptible wildlife at that time and we reduced this number by the mid-2010s to fewer than 15,000. Similar actions are required now, Mr Maher concluded.
This years annual Garda memorial day was described as particularly poignant coming just days after the killing of an officer on duty.

Garda Kevin Flatley died last Sunday after being struck by a motorcycle at a speed checkpoint in Co Dublin.

Irish President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris were among the crowds of mourners who attended the funeral service for the 49-year-old married father-of-two in Balbriggan on Friday.

On Saturday, Garda Flatleys parents were among those who attended the annual Garda memorial day at Dublin Castle.

Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan described the day as particularly poignant following the recent loss of Garda Flatley.

My immediate thoughts are with his wife Una and their two children Aoife and Erin, his parents, his family and his friends, he said.

I offer my condolences again to them at this deeply sad time.

I also offer my condolences to the men and women Garda Flatley worked with in the roads policing division, and indeed all of his colleagues in the wider Garda family.

He said Garda Flatley typified the ethos of An Garda Siochana.

He worked in service of those he lived alongside, he said.

I am very conscious that Garda Flatley died doing what gardai do every day across the country, working to keep us all safe. His death is a stark reminder to all of us of the very real dangers involved in being a member of An Garda Siochana.

Today is an opportunity for us to remember and recognise the selflessness and bravery of those who are gone, the courageous members of An Garda Siochana who went to work one morning and tragically never came home, having been killed in the line of duty.

Garda commissioner Drew Harris said he wanted to particularly welcome Garda Flatleys parents Michael and Breda to the service.

His tragic death serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the dangers faced by gardai daily in the course of their duties.

It brings home to us all the grief and pain we feel as individuals, and collectively, having lost a loved one.

Very sadly our roll of honour now stands at 90 gardai. Soon Kevins name will join the 89 other names etched on our Garda memorial here, and on each Garda memorial day when we gather here in these beautiful surroundings we will remember Kevin and all those killed in the line of duty.

Today we honour their service to this country, their commitment to making Ireland a safer place, their contribution to society and the state.

We pay tribute to their bravery and courage, their resilience in the face of adversity, their determination to face down danger to help others. Today we think of their sacrifice.

Their loss is felt as deeply now as the day they were taken from us.
Partial human remains have been found in the search for missing Co Kerry farmer Michael Gaine.

Irish police said searches are ongoing to recover any further human remains.

A Garda spokesperson said DNA analysis will be required to carry out formal identification of the recovered human remains.

Earlier on Saturday State Pathologist Dr SallyAnne Collis and members of the Garda Technical Bureau arrived at Mr Gaines farmyard close to Kenmare.

Dr Collis and forensic anthropologist Laureen Buckley assisted by the Garda Technical Bureau carried out preliminary examinations in the area which gardai described as a crime scene.

On Saturday evening a Garda spokesperson confirmed that partial human remains had been found.

Mr Gaine, 56, was reported missing from his home near Kenmare on Friday March 21.

He was last seen the previous day in Kenmare town buying phone credit in the Centra shop at 9.48am.

There have been extensive inquiries by gardai investigating Mr Gaines disappearance over the last eight weeks, as well as a public plea for information issued by his wife Janice Gaine and sister Noreen ORegan.

On April 29 the investigation was reclassified as a homicide.

Garda operations have been under way at the land in Carrig East, Kenmare, since Friday evening.

Gardai previously said they had gathered around 2,200 hours of CCTV and dashcam footage, taken nearly 130 witness statements and carried out more than 320 formal jobs/inquiries.

Irish troops and the Garda Water Unit were also involved in search efforts in recent weeks, and checkpoints were held a week after Mr Gaines disappearance to help gather information that would aid the investigation.
New satellite images of the North Korean shipyard in Chongjin reveal an unexpectedly rapid pace of Choe Hyon-class missile destroyer construction at two shipyards simultaneously.

The first ship of this class was launched on April 25 this year in the city of Nampo, located near the Yellow Sea in the west of the country. The second ship is being completed in Chongjin, on the Sea of Japan coast in eastern North Korea. The first such destroyer, Choe Hyon, was built in just 400 days.

Satellite images from May 12, published by CSIS, show that the second ship is progressing at a similarly fast pace. This is the first image since November last year, when the destroyer's hull was still hidden under a special canopy.

Satellite imagery from May 12, 2025, shows a second Choe Hyon-class guided missile destroyer under construction at Hambuk Shipyard in Chongjin, revealing a 144-meter hull with features resembling the first vessel launched at Nampo last month. pic.twitter.com/LiqLfw5vpg  CSIS Korea Chair (@CSISKoreaChair) May 13, 2025

A comparison of images from late 2024 reveals that the ship's hull and superstructures have been completed. The holes in the stern area are intended for the future vertical launching system.

The second Choe Hyon-class missile destroyer (the hull length was determined incorrectly) / Image credt: CSIS

Earlier, there were some doubts about the class of the ship being built at this shipyard, but now everything is clear. This is a 144-meter destroyer with a displacement of 5,000 tons, which has 74 vertical launchers in 5 different calibers. It is most likely that 10 of them are intended for ballistic missiles, 20 for cruise missiles, 12 for anti-ship, and 32 for anti-aircraft missiles.

In addition, the ship has all the necessary radar equipment. The russian Pantsir system is used as an additional short-range air defense system. In general, russia's involvement in equipping this ship is second only to China's. The simultaneous construction of two ships indicates there are no shortages of components.

Deployment of the entire set of weapons on the new Choe Hyon-class missile destroyer of the North Korean Navy, analysis by Naval News

According to estimates, North Korea plans to launch four such destroyers. Of course, this still won't bring North Korea close to its largest regional competitors  South Korea with 10 modern destroyers, Japan with 38, and China with 50.

Nonetheless, this will secure the DPRK's position as fourth in the region, ahead of the russian federation, which lacks any missile destroyers in the Pacific. All russians have in terms of large surface ships is an outdated Varyag missile cruiser of Project 1164 Atlant. They also have four Soviet Project 1155 vessels, two of which are being modernized with modern missile weapons, along with plans for four new Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) frigates.

Earlier, Defense Express reported that russia wanted to increase explosives production by 6,000 tons, but it is unclear if this will be enough to stop the use of North Korean shells.

Read more: What Types of Weapons russia Needs Tantalum For and Where It Gets It
Ratio of victims of attack by Russian drone in Sumy region on regular bus changed: nine killed, four injured

Photo: https://t.me/Sumy_news_ODA

Nine people were killed and four were injured as a result of an enemy UAV attack on a regular bus near Bilopillia, Sumy Regional Military Administration said in its Telegram channel on Saturday.

"The number of deaths, unfortunately, has increased to nine people. As a result of an enemy UAV strike on a regular bus near Bilopillia, nine people were killed and four were injured," the administration said.

As reported at 06:17 on Saturday, the enemy struck, previously, the Lancet UAV, on a regular bus that was transporting civilians on the Bilopillia-Sumy route. Initially, eight people were reported dead and five injured, but one of the injured could not be saved.
The Herald reports:

Treasury has changed its tune at the last minute and given a handful of organisations the green light to attend next weeks Budget lock-up.

The move follows a legal threat and public pressure over why organisations that had previously been allowed to see embargoed Budget documents, were suddenly barred.

While the groups are welcoming the revision, some are scratching their heads over why Treasury gave business-affiliated groups accreditation before it did the same for the Council of Trade Unions.

Business New Zealand, the New Zealand Initiative and the Taxpayers Union were emailed by Treasury last night, saying they could attend the May 22 Budget lock-up at the Beehive.

However, the Council of Trade Unions was only given the okay this morning, after it challenged Treasury, and the right wing organisations came in to bat for their left wing friend out of principle.

The New Zealand Initiatives Eric Crampton told Treasury he would only accept the invitation on the condition the Council of Trade Unions Craig Renney was accredited too.

A lawyer for the Taxpayers Union yesterday sent Treasury a letter saying it would file an application for judicial review if Treasury didnt urgently reconsider the groups application to attend the lock-up, and respond by Friday.

The lawyer claimed declining the organisations application was a breach of its legal rights.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High around 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Cooper County Emergency Management Agency announced Friday that Bunceton will get a new outdoor warning siren on Tuesday.

The previous siren in Bunceton was operated solely by electricity and was not able to be outfitted with a battery backup.

The Boone County Office of Emergency Management donated the siren when Boone County upgraded its sirens in 2017, according to Cooper County EMA.

The Cooper County EMA stated it located a 10-year-old siren at a third of the cost of a new one. The replacement will be the same brand and model as the ones recently installed in Cooper County.

The agency wants to encourage residents to have multiple notification systems in the event of weather warnings. The outdoor warning sirens are designed to be heard outside, not necessarily within a building or vehicle.

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1:49 New Pilot Grove warning siren set to go in next week Cooper County is restructuring its emergency system and installing and integrating two new sirens next week.

Cooper County EMA told KOMU 8 on Thursday that the agency is installing new sirens in Pilot Grove and Bunceton along with the restructuring of the county's emergency communication system.

Pilot Grove's new siren is set for installation Monday, replacing an older siren that failed to activate during an EF2 tornado due to a power outage.

The siren replacement was already scheduled before the tornado.
The Supreme Court is seen at dusk on January 18 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on May 16 to reverse a lower court order that has blocked mass firings and major reorganizations at federal agencies.
Some 145 combat clashes were recorded over the past day. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Telegram in operational information on the Russian invasion as of 08:00 on Saturday.

"According to updated information, yesterday the invaders carried out one missile and 63 air strikes on the territory of Ukraine, used one missile and dropped 112 guided air bombs. In addition, they used 2,596 kamikaze drones to strike and carried out 5,653 attacks on the positions of our troops and settlements, including 135 from multiple launch rocket systems," the General Staff said.
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Zelenskyy on Russian strike on bus near Bilopillia: It is deliberate killing of civilians

Photo: https://t.me/Sumy_news_ODA

The strike by Russian occupiers on a minibus near the city of Bilopillia, Sumy region, was a targeted killing of civilians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"All the dead were civilians. And the Russians could not help but understand which vehicle they were striking. It was a deliberate killing of civilians," he said on Telegram on Saturday.

According to him, seven wounded people are currently in hospitals after a Russian drone hit "an ordinary minibus." "People have burns, fractures, contusions. Everyone is receiving the necessary assistance. Unfortunately, there are nine dead. All details are being checked. According to preliminary information, the Russians killed a family: a father, mother and daughter died from the impact," Zelenskyy said, expressing condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased.

He also called for the introduction of strong sanctions against Russia, "so that the killings stop."

As reported at 06:17 on Saturday, the enemy struck a Lancet UAV at a minibus traveling from the front-line town of Bilopillia to Sumy. The head of Bilopillia community reported that the bus was performing an evacuation flight, other sources call it a regular flight. As a result of the strike, nine people died and seven were injured.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the introduction of strong sanctions against Russia in order to force the Russian side to take diplomatic steps to end the war.

"We need to put pressure on Russia so that the killings stop. Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, they will not seek real diplomacy there," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Saturday, commenting on the Russian occupiers' strike on a bus near Bilopillia, Sumy region, on Saturday morning, which claimed the lives of nine civilians.

According to him, on Friday "there was an opportunity to ceasefire," but Russia "preserves only the opportunity for itself to continue killing."

"Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation without significant powers. This must change. Real steps are needed to end the war. We expect strong sanctions against Russia from the United States, Europe and all our partners. Diplomacy must work. I thank everyone in the world who is really helping  not with words, but with force. Peace is needed," Zelenskyy said.
Drones of the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attacked on Friday the ammunition depots of the 126th Separate Guards Coastal Defense Brigade of the occupation army, which are located near the village of Perevalne in Crimea.

As Interfax-Ukraine was informed by sources in the special service on Saturday, the attacked depots housed boxes for storing military equipment, weapons, and fuel and lubricants of the occupiers.

Local residents reported smoke over the territory of the military unit itself. The occupiers also blocked traffic on the Simferopol-Alushta highway, which passes by the village of Perevalne. There is also information about the deaths of Russian servicemen who were at the military base, the special service said.
WITH more than 200 parking spaces available at Portlaoise hospital, a motorist decided to park his van in a loading bay. In so doing, he was fined 150 when his case came before a recent sitting of Portlaoise District Court.

Detective Garda JP OBrien told the court that on 29 October last while he was on escort duty at the hospital, he saw a van parked in a loading bay. He approached the driver, Michael Donoghue, 5 Ardrew Meadows, Athy and asked him to move it, which he failed to do.

Det OBrien said that he issued Mr Donoghue with a fixed charge penalty notice, which he failed to pay.

Judge Susan Fay convicted the defendant of the offence and fined him 150. Mr Donoghue was not in court.
A LAOIS man was sent forward to the present sittings of the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on charges of rape, threatening to kill and to assaults causing serious harm.

The 38-year-old, who cannot be named due to the nature of the case and to protect the identity the victim, was served with a book of evidence when he came before Judge Andrew Cody at Portlaoise District Court.

The man is charged with two counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm on dates between 1 and 9 June 2024; with rape on 9 June and on 2 November; assault causing harm on dates between 1 and 2 November and assault causing harm on 9 January this year.

All of the offences are alleged to have taken place at an address in Laois.

Sending the man forward to the Central Criminal Court, Judge Cody issued him with an alibi warning informing him that he must notify gardai in writing within 14 days if he wished to rely on an alibi in his defence.
A womens and youth fashion stores departure coincides with the arrival of six new tenants at the Palmer Park Mall.

Rainbow Shops closed on Tuesday, an employee who answered the phone confirmed to lehighvalleylive.com. An assistant store manager told WFMZ-69 News declining foot traffic and sales were to blame for the chains closure.

The store was known for trendy fashions at affordable prices, including jackets, dresses, matching sets, lingerie and swimwear.

Its unclear if the mall has a tenant on tap to replace Rainbow. Karla Saavedra, the malls general manager, didnt immediately return a request for more information this week.

Rainbow has over 35 Pennsylvania locations and another 40 New Jersey locations. There are stores on Hamilton Street in Allentown and at the Whitehall Square Mall in Whitehall Township.

Saavedra previously told lehighvalleylive.com her goal is to bring back mall life in Pennsylvania. Smaller retailers have struggled to compete with online and big box stores since before the coronavirus pandemic, she said.

The sandwich shop Wrapd Tight Fully Loaded 2.0 opened in November 2024. It moved into the former Subway space across from The Pet Shop. Courtesy photo

Growing roster

Even though Rainbow is leaving, Palmer Park has welcomed a half dozen new tenants over the past six months to the mall on Route 248 in Palmer Township.

These include: Bharat Bistro; Trendy Man; Footlights; Wrapd Tight Fully Loaded 2.0; Back to the Arcade II; and Uncle JuJus Crazy Deals.

Bharat Bistro opened over the winter next to Cloud City Games. It moved into the former Aroma Authentic Indian restaurant spot. Aroma Authentic Indian lasted about a year.

Bharat Bistro is known for its authentic North Indian and South Indian cuisine. Menu items include salads, such as penaut masala, and such soups as mulligatawny and chicken. Breads include onion naan and tandoor roti. Entrees include chicken, goat, lamb and seafood selections.

Trendy Man opened next, in early February at the former site of American Eagle Outfitters. American Eagle shuttered in late January 2024.

The mens formalwear boutique is known for top-tier fashion. There are suits, collared shirts, dress shoes and ties, as well as some denim and sweaters.

Footlights opened in early 2025, taking over the space that was left vacant by Day 2 Night Style, which lasted about a year.

The new boutique, known for its prom dresses, bridal fashions and other formalwear, relocated from a site on Jandy Boulevard in Lower Nazareth Township.

Wrapd Tight Fully Loaded 2.0, a sandwich shop known for its gourmet wraps and loaded baked potatoes, quietly opened in November 2024 at the former Subway space.

The Black-owned business was founded in August 2005 by chef and owner Heather Griffith-Thomas on Bethlehems Southside.

She later moved Wrapd Tight to its current location on Willow Park Road in Bethlehem Township, a space shes transforming into a commercial kitchen for catering and food truck events.

Back to the Arcade II opened in early November 2024 in the previous home of Massage Therapy, which moved to larger digs at the mall.

Discount retailer Uncle JuJus Crazy Deals opened in early November at the former The Arcade Era spot. The Arcade Era owners claimed they forced out by mall management in August 2024.

Uncle JuJus Crazy Deals is known for its eclectic mix of childrens items, furniture, clothing, home decor, health and beauty items. Shoppers can scope out merchandise at clearance prices, the business Facebook page says.

Ohana WonderTown Playground opened its first location in spring 2023 at South Mall, 3300 Lehigh St., Salisbury Township. Work is underway to open a second location by late spring 2025 at Palmer Park Mall.

Ohana WonderTown Playground is slated to open in late spring at the Palmer mall.

The multi-level, recreational facility for children will open at the former Milford Furniture space across from Back to the Arcade.

Ohana WonderTown Playground already has a spot at South Mall in Salisbury Township. That site opened in spring 2023 with ball pits, slides, a Lego area, and an infant play space. They host childrens birthday parties, although kids dont need a special occasion to play there.

Rainbow Shops appears to be the lone current vacancy at the mall, according to an online directory map.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached atpholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Northampton County Democrats will decide who to nominate to run for County Council in the May 20, 2025 primary election.

Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published onlehighvalleylive.comas part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe:armchairlehighvalley.substack.com.

In Northampton County, Democrats running for the five available, at-large seats on County Council have a contested primary on Tuesday, while Republican candidates do not.

On the Democratic ticket, six candidates seek the five seats: current Council President Lori Vargo Heffner; Jason Boulette, a Wind Gap Borough Council member; Theresa Fadem, vice president of Hellertown Borough Council; David Holland, a nurse practitioner and educator; Patti Bruno and Nadeem Qayyum, who had an unsuccessful bid for county controller in 2023.

Bruno, who ran for County Council in 2021 and lost by 42 votes, has launched a write-in campaign after a judge removed her from the ballot for not filing finance paperwork.

Council has six Democrats and three Republicans. Two Democratic at-large members, Ron Heckman and Jeffrey Corpora, are not seeking reelection. Heckman, a longtime council member, decided not to run for another term; Corpora was appointed to County Council in 2024 to complete Tara Zrinskis term when she began serving as Northampton County Controller.

Council members serve four-year terms.

Republicans have five candidates vying for the seats, eliminating a primary battle. The candidates are incumbents John Brown and John Goffredo; Juan Martinez, owner of the Don Juan Mex Grill with several Lehigh Valley locations; Sam Elias, a Bethlehem police officer; and Daniel Campo, a commercial air cargo pilot.

Democratic candidates

Jason Boulette

Jason Boulette, who works in financial services at BNY, lives in Wind Gap where he is finishing his first term on Borough Council. His wife was born and raised in Northampton County (North Catasauqua) so the pair decided to raise a family here.

Boulette grew up in various places, including Virginia, Delaware, and California. He and his wife chose to live in Wind Gap, he said in a recent interview.

We moved to Wind Gap because Ive always loved the mountains, and its proximity to the Appalachian Trail, Jacobsburg, and the Delaware Water Gap, while still being close to historical and cultural amenities in Easton and Bethlehem, appealed to us, he said.

Boulette graduated from St. Marks High School in New Castle County, Delaware, and attended the University of Delaware. He left college when his mother needed help supporting their family, and thats how he ended up in the banking and finance industry.

Boulette has a vice presidential role at BNY, where he leads a team of programmers as a business systems analyst. He explains his job as designing solutions to technology problems for clients which requires him to excel at data analysis, finance, project management, and technology. He said these skills have helped him on Borough Council and will also apply at the county level.

Boulette said that County Council often does not have adequate representation of the Slate Belt and its residents concerns.

A few years back, Northampton County developed a blight plan working with municipal governments countywide, he said. Slate Belt leaders pointed to a number of different tools they needed to address this, assistance they needed from the county, including help transitioning paper records to electronic, help setting up vacant property registries, a legal manual, and a program to share code enforcement across multiple municipalities. But I dont believe progress has been made on those goals.

He considers himself a big proponent of regional/multimunicipal planning, something Wind Gap has used.

Multimunicipal planning enables us to shift certain types of development  for example, warehouses to targeted locations across all the participating municipalities rather than everything being up for grabs, he explained.

He cited Plan Slate Belt as one such effort. Boulette said that while other local municipalities are withdrawing from that entity and forming something smaller and focused on a tighter region, he didnt want to abandon previous investment and progress.

In addition to zoning, traffic and traffic safety are important issues, especially when it comes to new development. Boulette feels PennDOTs traffic study requirements are not strong enough.

Thats an issue Ive pushed, he said. PennDOT only requires developers doing traffic studies to study the immediate area being developed, he said.

Another major issue on the county level, according to Boulette, is affordable housing.

I attended a candidate forum hosted by the Bethlehem NAACP, and during the Q&A session just about every question was about housing affordability, he said. I will listen to people and try to make sure my priorities are their priorities and Im trying to solve the real problems.

He also stated that he was the only Wind Gap council member to vote against rezoning farmland so that the Grand Central Sanitation landfill could expand. WM, formerly Waste Management, asked the council for a letter of support.

It was a difficult vote to take, because (WM) contributes a considerable amount of money to our budget, and the landfills operations allow for the continued funding of the Green Knights Economic Development Corporation, which offers a ton of support to the school district and area businesses and nonprofits. But I heard from a lot of residents who felt that even with the money the landfill brings in, its not worth the degradation of their quality of life.

Patti Bruno

Patti Bruno, who has lived in Northampton County most of her life, currently works as executive director for the Allentown School District Foundation.

Raised in a working-class, union household, Bruno cites her experience at the local, state, and federal levels, including a two-year fellowship with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as giving her discipline and real-world knowledge.

Bruno has extensive experience as a campaign manager. She worked on Kevin Brancos unsuccessful bid for the 131st Pennsylvania State House District in 2022 and Amy Cozzes losing effort in the 137th District in 2018. Bruno successfully worked to elect Abraham Kassis as Northampton County judge and Terry Houck for Northampton County district attorney, who won in 2020 but lost for the following term.

She touts her experience as a special needs teacher, a union member, a congressional liaison, an emergency department staffer and two years as a collegiate advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She was appointed by President Obama in July 2016 and continued under President Trump.

One of my greatest strengths is being able to relate to the struggles and the successes of people in my county, Bruno said.

She holds a bachelors degree in political science from Temple University, a masters of political science and another in homeland security from American Public University.

She said she is continuing to battle for the Northampton County we all believe in, referring to her platform as something simple: government should work for the people who pay the taxes  not the insiders.

Bruno says she is committed to protecting taxpayer dollars, preserving open spaces, and making sure county resources go where theyre neededlike senior care and infrastructure.

Human services is a target of mine, she said in a recent interview. Government is meant to be a public service, not a business.

She would like Northampton County residents to have a fair shot at good paying jobs and services like regular road maintenance.

I have been clear that I will vote no against any warehouse development that does not directly benefit our taxpayers, she said.

Bruno says she supports responsible growth, fair zoning, and keeping Northampton County safe and affordable.

Theresa Fadem

Terri Fadem, who moved to the Lehigh Valley from New Jersey more than 20 years ago, is the current vice president of Hellertown Borough Council. She has more than 20 years of experience as a real estate manager for community associations where she handles finances, rules and compliance. She believes her professional background and civic involvement will provide fiscal responsibility and positive community development.

Fadem lives in Hellertown but has also lived in Easton and Palmer Township. She chose to live in Eastons West Ward so her children could experience its diversity and culture.

Serving on Hellertown Borough Council has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and its given me a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities our communities face, she said in an interview.

Im running for County Council now because I see a real need for strong, experienced leadership at the county level, someone who can advocate for local concerns while making sure the broader decisions reflect the values and priorities of our residents.

On her Facebook campaign page, she discusses the power of community, stating that a thriving community means affordable housing, better health care, and sustainable growth.

In her professional life, she sees a lot of families struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

One issue that especially resonates with me is how incredibly difficult it is for a single mother to qualify financially for even a basic two-bedroom apartment, she said.

She said she would work with state representatives to implement a cap on rent increases so families are not priced out of their homes overnight.

I also believe in holding developers accountable, she said, whether through incentives or regulations, to ensure that affordable housing is prioritized in new development.

At the county level, Fadem would like to use strategic zoning and land use policies to prioritize affordable housing.

I would also push for greater transparency and accountability in how housing assistance funds are distributed. I believe the county can lead by example, whether its piloting rent stabilization policies, expanding housing voucher programs, or incentivizing mixed income developments, she said.

Lori Vargo Heffner

Incumbent Lori Vargo Heffner, the current Northampton County Council president, has been a resident of the county for nearly 30 years, most of those in Lower Saucon Township.

She is a psychotherapist for St. Lukes University Health Network.

Heffner is a licensed professional counselor in New Jersey and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Heffner holds a bachelors degree in psychology from Moravian College, a masters degree in counseling from Kutztown University and a masters degree in adult and organizational development from Temple University.

Her campaign priorities include advocating for working-class families.

She has served as Council president for four years. She is seeking a third term on council citing recent successes, such as seven years of no tax increases (and one tax cut) and continued core county services.

During my tenure I have worked across party lines to maintain quality core services, complete the [countys] P3 bridge project, and enhance good governance practices, she said on her website.

I have led efforts to create an independent pay study for our workforce and an independent study of operations at Gracedale. I have worked with judicial services to support their service delivery needs and identify ways to collaborate on the statewide mental health population crisis in our prisons. I believe the essence of good government is to be an independent voice and work to ensure a high quality of life for all residents.

She said she also would like to continue to identify ways to reduce the mental health crisis in prisons.

In addition to her role on County Council, she serves on the Discover Lehigh Valley Board and is a member of Assumption BVM Catholic Church where she serves as a lector and on the Liturgy Board.

Heffner could not be reached for comment. This information came from her campaign website.

David Holland

David Holland, who has lived in Bethlehem Township for most of his life, touts his deep roots in Northampton County and more than 30 years experience in public health, mental health care and higher education.

His professional background includes time as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, a professor and educator at East Stroudsburg University, Cedar Crest College, and Kean University, and healthcare administrator & consultant. His volunteerism includes serving as a Quakertown school board director, a Northampton County Democratic Committee member, and nonprofit board member.

Holland holds a bachelors of science in music education from West Chester University, an associates degree in nursing from Northampton Community College, a masters in health care administration from St. Thomas University, a masters in nursing education from Drexel University, and a Ph.D. in administration and leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a post masters certificate as a psychiatric mental health nurse from Wilkes University.

Holland said he has the ability to bring people together, solve complex problems, and create positive change.

He pledges to be a voice for all. He wants to prevent warehouse over-expansion; deal with traffic infrastructure and enforce truck limitations; preserve farmland; modernize the county, especially regarding broadband and digital access; strengthen mental health services and ensure fair elections.

Holland states that the explosion of warehouses is threatening our environment, overloading our roads, and changing the character of our communities. To combat this, he believes in ending tax incentives for warehouse developers, enforcing truck route regulations, upgrading transportation infrastructure, and creating stronger zoning protections to preserve open space and farmland.

In addition to warehouse traffic and congestion, Holland also sees road deterioration and flooding as threats to county residents quality of life and safety. He would like to rebuild roads and bridges where needed, push for better stormwater management to prevent flooding and further damage, and hold developers accountable for infrastructure upgrades needed as part of their plans.

In digital infrastructure, Holland would support a public-private partnership to expand broadband across the county and include free community Wi-Fi zones in his plan.

As a public health advocate, Holland believes mental health care is underfunded and understaffed in the county. He would like to expand crisis intervention programs so that first responders and law enforcement could respond to mental health emergencies effectively.

Nadeem Qayyum

Nadeem Qayyum, who lives in the Highlands of Eastons South Side, practiced law in his native Pakistan and has more than 30 years of business management experience, including at Ladybug restaurant, which opened in Phillipsburg in 2011 and closed in 2013. In law, he specialized in the prosecution of white-collar crime, something he still does for former clients via virtual proceedings.

He credits his time at the restaurant for developing his sense of fiscal management and calls himself an unrivaled expert of balancing budgets while maximizing the value of a dollar.

Qayyum has lived in the Lehigh Valley for 25 years, 12 of those in Northampton County. In addition to his professional experiences, he has worked in the warehouse industry and also done professional driving, which he feels gives him a broad perspective of life in the region  from intellectual to physical work  and an awareness of the communitys needs.

He holds a master of science in administration from the University of Phoenix, as well as two bachelors degrees. In 2023, Qayyum ran for county controller and lost to Zrinski.

I earned 9,323 votes. Though I didnt win, it was a true grassroots effort  I knocked on over 12,000 doors and stayed deeply engaged with voters, he said.

Before that I ran for district judge, further strengthening my connection to the people of this county. Those experiences taught me the importance of listening, building trust, and showing up for communities.

In the Northampton County Council campaign, Qayyum is campaigning on several issues: transparent government, job creation, affordable housing, and climate action/environmental protection. He also pledges to reduce taxes. He considers himself a progressive.

Qayyum bemoans insufficient tax revenue in Pennsylvania and its impact on local life.

Over the last 15 years, corporate tax cuts have reduced Pennsylvania tax revenue by $3.9 billion a year, he said. This means less money for education, environmental protection, infrastructure improvement and development, and other critical services. During the same period of time, middle class property tax rates have gone up.

Qayyum backs freezing property taxes for seniors and reducing property tax bills by 50% for homeowners making less than $50,000/year.

Qayyum said he would push the county to pay all contracted workers at least $22 per hour. He proposes solar panel requirements on warehouse roofs to reduce strain on the power grid and mandating electric truck fleets at warehouses to cut diesel emissions.

He is concerned about the environmental impact on the county with projects like potential landfill expansion in Lower Saucon.

I oppose this due to its environmental and health risks, he said. We need stronger county-level reviews, state legislation to limit landfill growth near homes, and renewable energy projects (like solar farms) on degraded land instead.

He would also like to see the county transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030 and would create a climate task force at the county level.

Another controversial project that Qayyum opposes is luxury apartments in the former Dixie Cup plant in Wilson. He would like to see the Dixie Cup repurposed into affordable housing and a homeless shelter. All new housing projects should contain 20% affordable units, he said.

Qayyum is married to Easton City Council member Taiba Sultana.
Editors Note: Lehighvalleylive.com is offering a benefit to subscribers: Click the photo gallery to see if we photographed your favorite prom-goer, and get free, print-quality downloads - as well as the option to purchase keepsakes at half the price.

Nazareth Area High School students celebrated their prom at the Palace Center on Friday.

Freelancer Chris Shipley was there to capture a few of the students as they arrived for the prom.

Lehighvalleylive.com will be sending photographers to proms throughout the Lehigh Valley and Warren County this season. Our full coverage of proms across the region can be found at lehighvalleylive.com/prom.

Check out the gallery above to see everyone dressed up for a night to celebrate.

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Editors Note: Lehighvalleylive.com is offering a benefit to subscribers: Click the photo gallery to see if we photographed your favorite prom-goer, and get free, print-quality downloads - as well as the option to purchase keepsakes at half the price.

Wilson Area High School students celebrated their prom at The Club at Twin Lakes on Friday.

Freelancer Donna Fisher was there to capture a few of the students as they arrived for the prom.

Lehighvalleylive.com will be sending photographers to proms throughout the Lehigh Valley and Warren County this season. Our full coverage of proms across the region can be found at lehighvalleylive.com/prom.

Check out the gallery above to see everyone dressed up for a night to celebrate.

SHARE YOUR PROM PHOTOS

Dont forget to tag @lehighvalleylive in your Instagram photos and @lehighvalley on Twitter - we just might highlight the best pics!

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
A whole shipping container filled with tons of lego,estimated to be worth up to 50,000 along with schoolbooks, all destined for an impoverished African community, has been stolen in Laois.

The theft has been described as "a mean crime" by Laois Gardai, who are appealing to the public to remember if they saw it.

The Lego heist took place between February 2 and March 7, from Clonaslee village.

It is suspected that the main focus was the container itself, but the public are being asked to report any suspicious sales of large amounts of secondhand lego.

It had been painstakingly gathered up over many months from hundreds of kind children around Ireland, and was to be brought to Chisi Island in Malawi by humanitarian worker Evin Joyce, and his sister Ailbhe, from Glenbarrow in the Slieve Blooms.

Read more about Evin and Ailbhe's work in Africa here.

Ailbhe Joyce collecting a consignment of donated lego.

Evin has made a passionate appeal to recover it, speaking as he boarded a flight back to Africa.

"This will be the first time in five years flying to Malawi where I haven't maxed out my baggage allowance with Lego and schoolbooks that have been so generously donated by yourselves. That's hundreds of kids through dozens of schools across the country.

"The reason is because they have been stolen along with the shipping container they were in. They have been stolen from Clonaslee, between the dates of February 2 and March 7.

"The shipping container is 20 ft long, it's grey, it's practically new and it contained about five tonnes of lego.

"It didn't just disappear. So if you know somebody who's working in haulage or shipping can you please share this message with them. So they can check the code number SKIU 292388.0. The container may have been repainted but it won't change the excellent condition. If they've seen a container pop up on the market with that code or without a code number, then that's a good lead.

"The shipping container was worth about 3,500. In secondhand shops and online, Lego sells for approximately 10 per kg. That means our Lego could be worth up to 50,000 for the people who stole it.

"Almost all of the school books have the name of the school written or stamped inside their covers. So if you see lego for sale, not just a little bit but a lot, or a very steady supply of it, please get in touch with Garda Ward in Tulamore Garda Station.

"that's the monetory value of the lego to the people who stole it. It also has a huge value to the children and the nursery teachers that we are working with on Chisi Island, Citima parish in Malawi. Let's find this lego please. It's out there. It didn't just disappear. We can get it back," Mr Joyce said.

A similar container to the one that was stolen.

Laois Offaly Garda Division is investigating the theft. A senior member spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"It's a mean crime. The train is fairly cold but we are depending on information from someone in Clonaslee who may have noticed something. A truck and a hoist would have been needed to lift this. We are appealing for information and we would be hopeful," the senior Garda said.

Read also: 'I was going home to die' Clonaslee man saved by transplant

Anyone with information can contact Garda Ward in An Garda Siochana Tullamore Station 057 932 7600, or the division HQ in Portlaoise Garda Station 057 8621105 or Mountmellick Garda Station on 057 8624140.

For more on donating to Evin and Ailbhe Joyce's humanitarian work see www.ulemu.com
A woman was blinded by the sun when she knocked down a girl at a pedestrian crossing in Portlaoise, a court has heard.

Inga Leszczynska (31) of 72 College Avenue, Mountmellick, appeared before Portlaoise District Court accused of dangerous driving on the Stradbally Road, Portlaoise on May 15, 2024.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the injured party was a 12-year-old girl and the incident had occurred at about 7.30pm. He said the girl was on a pedestrian crossing when she was struck by a car and she suffered a fractured ankle.

Sgt Kirby said the defendant had no previous convictions. She told gardai that the sun was blinding her view and she hadnt seen the girl crossing. Sgt Kirby said neither the young girl or her mother wanted to come to court.

Andrew Dunne BL said an insurance claim has already happened. He said his client was a duty manager at Lidl.

Unfortunately the child was on a scooter and got hit, said Mr Dunne.

Mr Dunne asked that the court consider reducing the offence from dangerous driving, which carries an automatic disqualification, to one of careless driving, where the judge has discretion in relation to a driving ban.

He said his client had never been in trouble before and needed her car to get to work.

Judge Andrew Cody said it appeared the woman had been momentarily inattentive and he agreed to reduce the case to one of careless driving.

He didnt disqualify the woman but imposed a 500 fine and gave the woman six months to pay.
Trump hopes that after his meeting with Putin peace agreement to be made, but does not rule out imposition of sanctions

Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Friday that he will probably schedule a meeting with Putin, after which a peace agreement will be concluded. However, if the talks in Turkey do not yield results, Trump did not rule out the application of sanctions.

Responding to a question from host Bret Baier about Putin not being at the negotiating table, Trump said that Putin is "at the [negotiating] table."

"And he wanted this meeting. But I always felt that there couldn't be a meeting without me. There's a lot of hatred on both sides. I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal. We have to get together. And I think we'll probably schedule it because I'm tired of other people going and meeting and everything like that. Steve Witkoff has done an incredible job. But it's a very tough job. And it's a job that, because of position, I think I'm the only one who is going to able to do it. And I think we'll do it fast. I think Putin is tired of these all things," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

In response to the host's mention of Senator Lindsey Graham's bill, which would impose tough sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, Trump said he had successfully used this leverage in the cases of Venezuela and Iran.

"I just put it on Venezuela. It's called secondary sanctions. And I just did it with Venezuela... I just did it with Iran. Basically, if you buy oil from Iran, you can't do business with the United States. And you see ships just leaving that port. You know, Venezuela was amazing," Trump said.

Asked by a Fox News host why not do it with Russia, Trump said he would see what happens in the talks in Turkey.

"And we'll see what happens. It would be crashing for Russia, because they're having a hard time with their economy. Oil prices are low, you know," Trump said. He also criticized his predecessor, who, according to Trump, allowed oil prices to go from $65 to $100 a barrel.

"Putin was making a fortune. Now my oil is down, so nobody is making a fortune anymore. And it's going to go down further," Trump told Fox News.
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Local Star Weavers and the staff of Laois Volunteer Centre will be celebrating the creation of 10,000 Stars in an Art Installation in Portlaoise Library on Thursday, May 22 .



Siobhan McQuillan, Project Lead of the One Million Stars community arts programme (Home - One Million Stars Ireland) praised the work of Laois Volunteer Centre staff and volunteers who started the Star Weaving programme in June 2024.

"One Million Stars Ireland is delighted to collaborate with Laois Volunteer Centre and mark the opening of this beautiful exhibition of hand woven stars at Portlaoise Library. Thank you to Caitriona Ryan, manager of Laois Volunteer Centre and her team for their commitment and support for our project over the past two years. What they have achieved is truly remarkable, well done on reaching 10,000 stars, this brings our national total to 510,000 stars. Each star acts as a visual petition against gender-based violence. Thank you to the volunteers who weave at home and those who weave in schools, organisations, associations, businesses, community groups, domestic abuse and other services across the county of Laois for engaging with

our project and helping us to shine a light on all forms of gender-based violence," she said.



Caitriona Ryan, Laois Volunteer Centre said We are incredibly grateful to Siobhan in the One Million Stars programme for all of her support and for providing us with the educational resources needed to promote the Star Weaving programme. A big thank you too to all of our volunteers who took part in the programme. It would not have been possible without them.



Mary Treacy, a Star Weaving volunteer said I really enjoyed Star Weaving. I met lots of new people and I learned a lot about the organisations in Co. Laois who provide invaluable services to members of our community especially Laois Domestic Abuse Service. I cant wait to see the art installation and meet the other participants again.

READ NEXT: Laois quarry plans appealed to An Bord Pleanala



The Star Weaving art installation will be in Portlaoise Library on Thursday, May 22 from 12pm. The exhibit is part of a series of events run by Laois Volunteer Centre to celebrate National Volunteering Week May 19 to May 25.

For more information about Star Weaving or Volunteering contact Caitriona on

info@volunteerlaois.ie
A young Laois woman is taking on a daunting fitness event this weekend, raising money in honour of her late father who died from cancer three months ago.

Maebh Aine Ni Dhufaigh from Rosenallis will compete against international fitness fans in the Berlin Hyrox, an extreme fitness challenge on Sunday, May 18.

It is in memory of her beloved dad, horticulturalist John Duffy from Capard, Rosenallis, who died in February, with many tributes paid to him by the community.

Maebh is fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society in thanks for their support, and already has achieved over 5,000 with more donations welcome.

She explains why she is asking for Laois community support.

"My beautiful dad John lost his battle to cancer on the 5th of February 2025.

"He passed away peacefully surrounded by our family in our home. This was made easier with the help of many including The Laois Palliative Care Team and The Irish Cancer Society. They were truly exceptional throughout and were so committed to making my dad comfortable for the last few weeks.

"The Irish Cancer Society only receive 5% of its income from the State. That remaining 95% is from donations and fundraising. Without that 95%, they wouldnt be able to carry out their services and take care of those in need. Im sure you know at least one person who has been affected by cancer in some way, shape or form.

"With all this being said, I would love your support in raising some money to give back to The Irish Cancer Society. All proceeds raised will go straight to them and will be used to keep supporting the magnificent cause. Go raibh mile maith agaibh," she said.

Read also: Buyer confirms plan for historic Portlaoise fort site

Her mother, Laois Arts Officer Muireann Ni Chonaill is also asking the public to support her.

"My wonderful husband John died in February after six months of treatment for cancer. Our daughter Maebh Aine is competing in the Womens Singles Hyrox Competition in Berlin, Germany this Sunday. She decided to use this an an opportunity to raise funds for The Irish Cancer Society. All contributions big and small are welcome," she said.

See the fundraiser on justgiving here.

HYROX combines both running & functional workout stations, where participants run 1km, followed by 1 functional workout station, repeated eight times in a shared competitive arena cheered on by an audience.
New figures released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) show that Naas General Hospital has the second longest Emergency Department (ED) wait times in the country.

The data, which was provided to Aontu leader Peadar Toibin TD in response to a recent parliamentary question he submitted, shows that the length of time a person waits to be seen in emergency departments in Ireland now averages seven hours, which is one hour longer than a decade ago.

The highest ED waiting time was seen in Tallaght University Hospital (12.6 hours), while the lowest ED waiting time was seen at St Lukes General Hospital in Kilkenny (3.6 hours).

In the context of Kildare, the latest figure related to Naas General Hospital shows that the average wait time is 11.4 hours, an increase from 10.6 hours last year.

Responding to Deputy Toibins request, the HSE sent out a letter to the Meath-based politician.

In the letter, which has been seen by the Leinster Leader, the HSE told Deputy Toibin that its Business Information Unit had advised that information on the average wait time to be seen is not collected centrally.

The HSE added: "However, information on the average Patient Experience Time (PET) is collected and PET is the length of time a patient spends in an ED from the time they register in an ED until they are discharged to a hospital bed or discharged home.

"It therefore does not describe the time a patient is waiting to be seen, but the total time they spend in ED. The data is recorded by an average of the time in hours."

Speaking specifically about the cause of the delays, the HSE said: "There are many reasons that result in longer wait times, such as volume of patients presenting to the ED and the requirement to prioritise.

"This can mean that patients with less serious illnesses and conditions may need to wait longer for their treatment."

The HSE further said: "Many people, whose clinical needs could be more appropriately addressed by self-care, pharmacists, GPs, GP Out of Hours Services and Injury Units, continue to attend EDs."

CONDITIONS

For additional context, the HSE also noted a number of conditions attached to the figures.

Our Lady's Hospital Navan data available from December 17, 2017.

St Michael's Hospital data available from January 1, 2018.

During Covid-19, CHI Tallaght closed their ED department from close of business on Friday, March 27, 2020 and reopened on September 3, 2020.

Data gaps due to the Cyber-Attack in 2021  Connolly Hospital from May 13 to June 30 and Naas General Hospital from May 15 to July 6 and July 8 to July 15.

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital resubmitted data from 2023 to March 2025, as they excluded Smithfield Injury Unit data from their ED extract.

Data provided up to March 2025.

READ NEXT: Calls for 'real investment' in Kildare's ailing water infrastructure
Social Democrats Councillor Chris Pender has called on Housing Minister James Browne to meet directly with councillors in Kildare, after months of raising concerns about the lack of available funding for the Tenant-in-Situ scheme in the county.

Cllr Pender, who has been consistently highlighting the issue at both local and national level, said that while the Ministers decision to meet with Dublin City Council is a welcome step, it is long overdue  and must be extended to Kildare and beyond.

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Ive been raising this issue for months  in council meetings, with officials, and publicly  and I know Im not alone, said Cllr Pender.

The situation in Kildare hasnt just emerged. Its been developing in plain sight, and the Departments failure to engage earlier has left local authorities with no room to act.

According to Cllr Pender, in 2024, Kildare County Council was sanctioned to acquire 55 homes under the Tenant-in-Situ scheme, eventually delivering 84 units  protecting dozens of families from homelessness.

However, delayed completions and capped refurbishment budgets mean that 14.58 million of the 2025 funding allocation is already committed, leaving no available budget to support any new Tenant-in-Situ purchases this year.

Cllr Pender said that the scheme, which is intended to prevent homelessness by allowing local authorities to purchase homes where tenants are at risk of eviction, has become effectively inoperable in Kildare for 2025.

Theres a growing gap between what the Government says the scheme can deliver and what councils are actually able to do, he said.

Families in Kildare are being let down  not by their council, but by a lack of flexibility, clarity, and leadership at national level.

While acknowledging the Ministers recent U-turn to meet with Dublin City Council following sustained pressure in the Dail from Social Democrats Housing, Local Government and Heritage Spokesperson Deputy Rory Hearne, Cllr Pender said this engagement needs to go further.

Rory Hearne has done incredible work bringing this issue to national attention  but local councillors have been raising the red flag too.

The Minister must meet not just council executives, but the elected councillors in Kildare who are dealing directly with affected tenants and families every day.

The Tenant-in-Situ scheme is only as strong as the support behind it  and right now, local government is being asked to deliver a scheme without the tools to make it work. That has to change.
Irelands recent spell of warm, sunny weather looks set to continue for a few more days, but forecasters are warning of a potential change early next week, with heavy and possibly thundery showers on the way.

Met Eireann is forecasting another scorcher this weekend, with highs of 26 degrees in parts of the west, and widespread sunshine across the country. But from Monday, patchy clouds and showers could break up the sunshine, particularly on Monday and Tuesday.

Weather expert Alan OReilly, who runs the popular @CarlowWeather account, says the dry streak may soon end in places.

Plenty of sunshine next 5 days but risk of local heavy showers Monday and Tuesday, he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

In a follow-up video, he added: Lots of sunshine Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday  but there is a risk of some showers on Monday and Tuesday.

Now theyre going to be very localised. Its going to be very hard to forecast where they hit. Some could be thundery.

Met Eireann says today, Saturday, will be warm and sunny, with highest temperatures ranging from 17 degrees along eastern coastal fringes up to 26 degrees further west, warmest in Connacht, and light to moderate easterly or variable breezes.

Sunday is set to bring more of the same, with the national forecaster predicting another warm and sunny day and highest temperatures ranging from 17 degrees along eastern coastal fringes up to 26 degrees in the west, all in light to moderate easterly or variable breezes.

Met Eireann says it will be mostly sunny to begin on Monday but patchy cloud looks set to build through the morning with a few showers breaking out in the afternoon and evening, one or two possibly heavy. Temperatures will stay high, with highest temperatures of 16 to 22 degrees in light to moderate easterly or variable breezes.

Tuesday will also start mostly sunny, but the forecast adds that patchy cloud looks set to build into the afternoon bringing the chance of showers, some heavy and possibly thundery.

Again, it will remain warm with highest temperatures of 16 to 22 degrees in light easterly or variable breezes.

Current signals suggest a break from the rain midweek, with Met Eireann stating: Wednesday looks like a warm and dry day with variable cloud amounts and sunshine.

Highest temperatures 19 to 23 degrees generally, a little cooler in the northern coastal fringes all in light to moderate northerly breezes.

Looking further ahead, forecasters say Atlantic conditions may take hold: Still a fair bit of uncertainty at the current lead time, but Atlantic westerlies do look set to eventually return towards the end of the week bringing a greater chance of spells of rain or showers.
HIGH-SPEED connectivity is on the way as almost 1,900 Limerick homes, farms, and businesses near Kilmallock see build works commence.

Almost 12,300 homes, businesses and farms in Limerick can avail of a high-speed connection today.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), is the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the Governments National Broadband Plan.

It has been announced that construction is underway to deliver high-speed broadband to almost 1,900 homes, farms and businesses in the Charleville deployment area in Co Limerick, which includes the rural townlands of Kilmallock, Ardpatrick and Colmanswell.

READ NEXT: Over 2 million available in funding for coastal communities in Limerick

22,000 premises in Co Limerick are included in the States Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools.

As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, Co Limerick will receive 84m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

Having successfully completed the survey and design phase of the project, 1,880 Limerick premises in the Charleville deployment area are under construction to have high-speed fibre network, due to be connected by the end of next year.

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates.

READ NEXT: Uisce Eireann reaffirms boil notice areas amid chaos, confusion, and concern' in Limerick

Works have already been completed in other parts of Limerick, such as the rural surrounds of Adare, Hospital and Limerick city.

There are a total of 12,288 premises that can now order or pre-order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county, with 4,497 premises already connected to the network.

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland Deployment said: "Our teams are working on the ground all over the country and considerable progress has been made on the developments in Limerick. High-speed fibre broadband is now available to order for over 12,200 homes, farms and businesses including almost 4,600 premises near Adare, over 2,800 near Hospital and almost 2,200 in the rural surrounds of Limerick city. We are encouraging Limerick residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.

Our overarching goal is to improve digital connectivity across the country. With minimum internet speed of 500 megabites per second, this new Fibre-to-the-Home network will play a pivotal role in sustaining local businesses and communities."
A PENNY boy was caught by gardai with a high-end phone often used by organised criminal gangs, Limerick Circuit Court heard.

Limerick gardai also seized close to 5,000 in cash and a second phone when the defendant was stopped and searched.

The accused - Peter Ryan, aged 40, of New Barnsley Crescent, Belfast, County Antrim - pleaded guilty to one count of handling stolen property. The offence occurred in the Rhebogue area of Limerick city on April 17, 2019.

Mr Ryan was before Judge Colin Daly for sentence. The evidence had been previously outlined by prosecuting barrister John OSullivan, instructed by State solicitor Padraig Mawe.

READ MORE: Limerick man charged with possession of slash hook is remanded in custody

In summarising the facts, Judge Daly said gardai were carrying out surveillance on the property of a person known to them on the date in question.

They noticed a car parked outside this residence. When the accused returned to this car their suspicions were aroused. They stopped the accused who appeared very nervous.

They searched the accused under legislation and found him to be in possession of cash to the amount of 4,780 and two mobile phones - an iPhone and Aquaris phone, he said.

Judge Daly said the Aquaris phone is a high-end phone often used by organised crime gangs for communications which might be considered safe from interception.

He said the cash and two phones were stolen property with the accused pleading guilty to handling stolen property.

The accused was arrested, interviewed, made admissions and co-operated with gardai, said Judge Daly.

The judge said investigating gardai accepted that the accused was working as a delivery person or penny boy for another person.

He (Mr Ryan) played a relatively minor role in handling stolen goods. The presence of the Aquaris phone might make the role he played more serious

His conduct in agreeing to deliver the phones undoubtedly assisted a criminal enterprise, one which might be of some scale, said Judge Daly.

In mitigation, the judge said Mr Ryan expressed genuine remorse and shame and co-operated with gardai from the outset of the investigation..

He was previously of good character, has not come to garda attention since and is not likely to come to garda attention in the future.

"He comes from a pro-social background, has a good work history and appears to have good family support, said Judge Daly, who added that the public good would not be served by incarcerating Mr Ryan and he was taking a rehabilitative approach.

Judge Daly imposed a fully suspended two year jail sentence.
OVER 100 Limerick residents have joined forces with the University of Limerick through the UL Citizens Assembly and have identified three UL research projects aimed at developing a more sustainable future for the city and region.

After hearing nine innovative project pitches, local residents voted for the top three projects which each received 10,000 to make their idea happen.

The projects included a host of multi-disciplinary expertise, from business and science, to music and medicine. The short-listed projects were selected according to their capacity to address an identified UN Sustainable Development Goal. Presenters had to show in detail their plans to engage with the people of Limerick and the potential of their project to positively impact the city and county.

The winning projects were: Arise  Activity and Recreation in an Inclusive Sensory Environment, Future on the Hill - Growing Resilience, Wellbeing and Confidence together in Southill and PRIME  Progression Risks/Resilience in Marginalised Environments.

READ MORE: Two Limerick students chosen to receive prestigious academic scholarships

Professor Maura Adshead, head of community engagement at UL said: The UL Citizens Assembly provides a convivial space for academics and citizens to get together, make new connections and consider future collaborations. It provides UL academics with an opportunity to develop their public engagement skills and experience and involves citizens in meaningful decision-making regarding SDG focused initiatives.
Russia in talks demands to give it five regions of Ukraine and recognize this at intl level  media

Russia has put forward tough territorial and military-political demands at talks in Istanbul, Bloomberg said on Friday, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.

"The Russian side set out hardline demands, according to people familiar with the meeting. Ukraine must adopt neutral status without the presence of foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction, abandon demands for war reparations and also recognition of Crimea and four other regions as Russian that the Kremlin doesn't fully control," Bloomberg said in a publication.

"The Russian delegation said Putin would only agree to a ceasefire once Ukraine had withdrawn its troops from the regions and surrenders them, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The Kremlin wants all five regions recognized internationally as Russian," the agency added, citing unnamed sources.

At the same time, Bloomberg said European officials have no idea what position U.S. President Donald Trump will take next on Russia's war in Ukraine and whether a conversation between the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland and the UK with Trump on Friday will have any effect.

"While the Europeans voiced disappointment with the outcomes of the Istanbul talks, it is unclear whether they have titled Trump toward a tougher approach to the Russian president," the authors of the publication note.

Publicly, the Europeans are sticking to their line that sanctions will be imposed if Putin continues to refuse a ceasefire. They are actively welcoming Trumps efforts to end the war.

"European officials are frustrated and baffled by Trump's apparent constant swerving, and are hoping he will impose sanctions on Russia," Bloomberg said.

Some, according to the agency's source, still believe that the U.S. president will carry out previous threats to impose so-called secondary sanctions and banking restrictions against Moscow and its aides. In particular, he may approve a bill prepared by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, which provides for "bone-crushing" new sanctions and has bipartisan support in Congress.

According to Bloomberg, officials say that the U.S. views on Russia have hardened in recent weeks, and that Trump administration officials see Putin as the main obstacle to a peace deal, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations. However, some officials are skeptical about the possibility of tough steps from Trump, including those envisaged in Graham's bill.
UACHTARAN na hEireann, President Michael D. Higgins, has made a passionate plea that we all work together for lasting peace and for an end to global hunger and famine, this Saturday at the National Famine Commemoration in Kilmallock.

The president was officiating at the ceremony along with Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick ODonovan TD.

The formal State ceremony took place at noon this Saturday at the Famine Memorial Park in the town and was televised live on RTE News channel.

Attended by special invited guests who were seated in front of a podium in the park, it featured a keynote address by An tUachtaran, who watched a military honours on the main road outside the park before he took his seat at the podium with wife Sabina.

No other event in our history can be likened to the Great Famine, either for its immediate, tragic impact, or its legacy of involuntary emigration, cultural loss, increased decline of the Irish language, and demoralisation, outlined President Higgins.

As we gather in the Famine Memorial Park within the historic Kilmallock Union Workhouse complex, this is the first time that the State Commemoration has taken place in County Limerick. May I say that it offers a most appropriate backdrop for reflecting on one of the most pivotal and painful chapters of our nations history, he continued.

President Michael D Higgins speaking at the National Famine Commemoration event in Kilmallock this Saturday



Brendan Gleeson pic.twitter.com/EEwbEpzKfu  Limerick Leader / Limerick Live (@Limerick_Leader) May 17, 2025

There was a light-hearted moment which brought a smile to the presidents face - and guests - when some of his speech pages blew away in the welcome summer breeze as the mercury touched 23 degrees in the south Limerick town. Officials and locals promptly retrieved the pages and the president brought the cruelness of the famine back to the forefront of peoples minds.

Overcrowding in the workhouses allowed fast transmission of disease. In the final 12 weeks of 1848, 230 people died in the workhouse. Reports from doctors in various parts of Limerick, which were published in the Limerick Chronicle on 21st March 1846, make clear that the people, left with no other food, were, in their extreme hunger, forced to eat diseased and rancid potatoes with calamitous results, including small pox, he explained.

READ ALSO: HSE Mid-West establish interagency oversight group to tackle health inequalities in Limerick

This is my final Famine Commemoration address as President of Ireland. In memory of all those who died during An Gorta Mor, may I repeat my plea that we all work together for lasting peace and for an end to global hunger and famine, he concluded, to a standing ovation.

In his address, Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, Patrick ODonovan TD said it is "very fitting that the event is being held here in the grounds of Kilmallock Workhouse and next to the graveyard where so many of our forebears who died during this time, were laid to rest in a mass grave, neighbour with neighbour".

The Famine has shaped our country, our towns, communities and our landscapes. But it has also shaped us as a people; we are defined as a nation for our spirit of empathy, generosity and compassion- especially to all those who are suffering from hunger, disease and poverty today. The people of Gaza, Sudan, areas of South Sudan, Haiti and Mali; we stand with these communities. This is the only way that we can truly honour the victims of the past, continued Mr O'Donovan.

Mayor of Limerick, John Moran said that it is incredibly important that we carry with us this act of remembrance, which is a promise to carry compassion forward as we shape our future.

It also gives us a chance to reflect on how far we have travelled as a county and as a nation since, along with how far we have to go. The Commemoration is a reminder that across the globe, many families still suffer from Famine. We as a global community need to continue to act.

A wreath-laying ceremony took place in remembrance of all those who died during the Famine. In addition to the President and Minister ODonovan, a wreath was also laid by His Excellency, The Most Reverend Luis Mariano Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

Music at the event was provided by local musicians Liam Flanagan, Sean O Fearghail and Ciara Flanagan while pupils from Scoil Mocheallog primary school in Kilmallock performed the poem Threnody by Flann OConnor.

Pupils from Colaiste Iosaef secondary school in Kilmallock read a letter from Dr Morgan David OConnell to the Kilmallock Board of Guardians dating from 1847.
Google is experimenting with a significant revision to its search engine design, which could push more users to an AI-chatbot driven search experience.

Earlier this week, some visitors to the companys Google.com search site noticed the Im Feeling Lucky" button under the search box had been replaced with a button that said AI Mode." Clicking the AI Mode" box after typing in a text query brings the user to an AI chatbot interface similar to ChatGPT and Googles own Gemini. Barrons was able to see and try the redesigned Google.com home page this week.

When asked for comment about the new AI Mode" rollout on Google.com, a Google spokesperson said: We often test different ways for people to access our helpful features. This is just one of many experiments, and its limited to Labs users only."

Some visitors to Google.com have recently seen a new AI Mode" button. Clicking AI Mode" after typing in a text query brings the user to an AI chatbot interface similar to ChatGPT and Googles own Gemini.

Google often runs tests that may not be launched to its broader user base.

But the company seems to be taking this particular test seriously. In a recent interview, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai suggested AI Mode" may become an important search paradigm for Google.

Were testing this whole new dedicated AI experience called AI Mode coming to search," Pichai said on the All-In podcast published on Friday. In AI Mode you can have a full-on AI experience in search including follow on conversational queries."

The future of Googles search in an AI-focused world has been one of the biggest debates on Wall Street in recent weeks.

Alphabet shares fell 6.9% last week after Apple executive Eddy Cue testified in court that Google searches via Apple browsers fell for the first time ever in April as more people turned to AI chatbots for their search queries. The remark accelerated worries among investors that Googles search dominance was finally facing disruption.

Shares have rebounded 9% this week, amid a broader rally for tech and as investors look forward to the companys annual developers conference, Google I/O, next week.

In his podcast interview published Friday, Pichai said that AI-Mode would be one topic of conversation at the coming conference.

Alphabet shares were up 1.4% in mid-day trading on Friday.

Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com
(Bloomberg) -- The US Justice Department told a federal judge in Texas it hasnt decided whether to enter into an agreement with Boeing Co. that would drop a criminal charge related to two fatal 737 Max crashes, and that federal prosecutors are giving the families of victims another chance to weigh in.

Government lawyers briefed the families for two hours on Friday on a possible framework for a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing, but said no draft agreement has been exchanged between the company and prosecutors, according to a court filing Saturday to US District Judge Reed OConnor, who has been overseeing the long-running criminal proceedings tied to the crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The case is being closely watched as a bellwether for how the Justice Department under President Donald Trump handles high-profile corporate prosecutions. Last year, under the Biden administration, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal conspiracy and pay a fine, but that deal was scrapped by OConnor, who objected to parts of the agreement. Boeing and the Justice Department have been in talks on a revised agreement.

Family members have made clear that theyd oppose any deal that allows Boeing to escape responsibility for its role in the two crashes, which killed 346 people, said Erin Applebaum, partner with Kreindler & Kreindler. If they wont try the case, there has to be a guilty plea alongside a strong plea deal.

According to the Saturday filing, a proposed framework for the nonprosecution agreement being discussed would include the maximum fine allowed by statute, require Boeing to spend on improving its compliance, retain an independent monitor and create another fund to compensate the families. If a deal is struck, prosecutors would then file a motion dismissing the criminal case, which is set for trial June 23.

The Justice Department said it wont decide whether to enter the settlement agreement or proceed to trial until after it has finished conferring with the families. Prosecutors gave the families, who want the Boeing case to go to trial, until May 22 to provide written statements.

The case is US v. Boeing, 21-cr-005, US District Court, Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth).

--With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
And thats not helping tech titans argue, in either the courts of law or public opinion, against the idea they have become too big for their own good. If anything, theyre helping dig their own graves.

Amazon.com is the latest to face possible sanctions over allegations it improperly withheld tens of thousands of business recordsincluding some unflattering to founder Jeff Bezosin defending against an action by the Federal Trade Commission.

At Google, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled the company didnt properly save evidence in a case brought by Epic Games, and its behavior has become a yoke as the Justice Department seeks to break up the search giant after winning two landmark antitrust cases.

A different federal judge recently referred the behavior of Apple to the Justice Department, in part because of alleged efforts to hide documents from legal scrutiny.

Such skulduggery gives new credence to complaints by rivals and regulators that these companies are often leaning into obfuscation as one of the tactics used to protect their kingdoms. In addition, their actions in court seemingly confirm what their many critics contend: that Big Tech needs to be reined in.

Apple, Google and Amazon have all argued in their individual legal battles that they have done nothing wrong. In Amazons instance, a judge hasnt even ruled on the matter, and the FTCs accusation comes on the heels of Apples rebuke.

Legal staff carting documents for the 2021 trial in Epic Games suit against Apple over its app store.

Each company is accused of being overly aggressive in holding back internal documents under special legal standingknown as privilegethat should have, in fact, been turned over to the government or lawyers suing on behalf of Epic. The videogame company has been fighting separate multiyear battles against Apple and Google over its desire to load its app on smartphones outside the tech giants 30% commission.

The lawyers are the people who are supposed to be saying no when something crosses a line, and they arent even failing that dutythey are actively encouraging this stuff," said John Newman, a law professor at the University of Miami and a former FTC deputy director. That just seems to have created, or at least contributed to, a culture of whatif they werent our crown jewel tech companiesI think we would call a culture of lawlessness."

Maybe it isnt surprising the companies cant help themselves in pushing the limits. It is, after all, what has made them so successful as disrupters turned conquerors. In their minds, they are the underdogs, whether they are facing the rise of AI, China or the next Big Thing lurking beyond the horizon.

in addition, these companies lawyers are fighting to protect the geese that lay their clients golden eggs. They are trying to shield executives who live in an always-on digital chat and email culture from hurting themselvesand the companies. An unartful, or too truthful, missive can easily become a plaintiffs next smoking gun. Or maybe its simply sloppiness in a complex legal process that can involve millions of records handed over through third-party contractors.

Still, that doesnt make it right.

Megan Gray chalks up abuse of legal privilege to rich privilege." She is an antitrust lawyer who once worked for the FTC and Googles rival DuckDuckGo. She suggests some lawyers might not feel vulnerable for overstepping, especially when the ramifications of getting caught can seem inconsequential.

Lawyers, especially at these large companies, make so much moneyI mean its just mind-bogglingand when you are making that much money, the worst possible consequences are that you get disbarred," she said.

In Apples case, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers wrote late last month that about half of the tens of thousands of documents the company claimed were privileged were later downgraded in the midst of extra scrutiny. She concluded it resulted in delay for the legal proceedings and that delay equaled profits" for the iPhone maker. (For its part, Apple disagrees and plans to appeal.)

In a recent filing, the FTC made its case for seeking sanctions against Amazon for what it called systematic abuse of privilege." It noted that after some probing, the company withdrew 92% of its claims and produced about 70,000 documents that it had previously held back. (A company spokesman responded: We are working hard to ensure the FTC has all of the documents well in advance of trial." He added that Amazon is currently litigating how to handle having inadvertently turned over privileged information in another case. Mistakes happen in both directions when you are dealing with complex productions of millions of documents on compressed time frames," the spokesman said.)

The FTCs case contends that Amazon knowingly duped millions of customers into unwittingly enrolling in its Prime service.

Documents the FTC pointed to as being improperly withheld include notes from a December 2020 meeting between executives reminiscing about when customers used to have to call to cancel subscriptions. In reference to that practice, one of the executives recalled how Bezos used to be chief dark arts officer."

Boxes of documents were brought to federal court in Alexandria, Va., in September as Google faced its second major antitrust trial in less than a year.

During Epics trial against Google in late 2023, the search giant was taken to task by U.S. District Judge James Donato not just over improper privilege claims but also steps taken to not retain internal chat messages that should have been saved. In a rare move, Alphabets top lawyer, Kent Walker, a longtime corporate attorney and former assistant U.S. attorney, was called to testify.

Walker told the judge, outside the jurys presence, that he believed the company took its obligations to preserve and produce information in litigation seriously. The judge didnt agree, later calling his old law-school classmates testimony evasive and materially inconsistent" with other witnesses.

All of this presents the most serious and disturbing evidence I have ever seen in my decade on the bench with respect to a party intentionally suppressing potentially relevant evidence in litigation," the judge said. I have just never seen anything this egregious."

To take such heat, I can only imagine how embarrassing those messages must have been.

Write to Tim Higgins at tim.higgins@wsj.com
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday, May 17, 2025, announced that the central bank is soon set to release new 20 banknotes with the Governor Sanjay Malhotra's signature on them, according to the official release.

Also Read | RBI gives final approval to PayU for online payment aggregator

As per the release, the 20 notes will be similar in all other aspects, including design, to the new series of notes circulating in the nation, except for the new governor's signature.

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue 20 denomination Banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series bearing the signature of Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Governor. The design of these notes is similar in all respects to 20 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, said the RBI in an official statement.

The central bank also assured the citizens that all the banknotes which contain the denomination of 20 issued by RBI in the past will continue to hold legal tender in India.

Also Read | RBI gives foreigners more flexibility to invest in corporate bonds

All banknotes in the denomination of 20 issued by the Reserve Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender, said the Reserve Bank of India in the official statement.

Features of the  20 banknotes According to the RBI's official website, the Mahatma Gandhi (new) Series of 20 banknotes have the dimensions of 63 mm x 129 mm, with the base colour in Greenish Yellow.

The note has an illustration of the Ellora Caves on the back, highlighting India's national heritage, along with other designs and geometric patterns which align with the base colour scheme.

Steps to identify a real  20 banknote People who are owning Indian currency notes can follow the below mentioned 14-step process to ensure they are having a legal banknote which is backed by the nation's Reserve Bank of India.

Step 1: Left side see-through register in denomination numeral.

Left side see-through register in denomination numeral. Step 2: The Main   20 numeral on the left is written in Devanagari script.

The Main  20 numeral on the left is written in Devanagari script. Step 3: Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre of the bank note.

Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre of the bank note. Step 4: Micro letters of Bharat (in Hindi) and India written near the Gandhi portrait.

Micro letters of Bharat (in Hindi) and India written near the Gandhi portrait. Step 5: Windowed demetalised security thread with Bharat (in Hindi) and India written on it.
When the firing began across the Line of Control (LoC), official reports focused on civilian casualtiesabout 20 dead and hundreds displaced. But another quieter exodus had already begun: Indias migrant workers, the invisible workforce powering factories, fields, and construction sites across the country, were on the move again.

In the days following Indias military retaliation for a terror attack on tourists in Kashmir, thousands of migrant workers began fleeing not just Jammu and Kashmir but also parts of Gujarat and Punjab.

The violence this time may not be nationwide, but for those living on societys economic edge, the impact has been swift and devastating.

Also read: The superpower of Odishas migrant workers, crafted over a decade

According to the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 3040% of the estimated 2 lakh migrant workers employed in industrial units across Jammu have left. The hospitality and construction sectorsheavily reliant on migrant labourare reporting similar numbers. Most industrial units in the Kashmir valley have simply shut down.

In Gujarat, about 75,000 of the estimated 3 lakh migrant workers, especially in the textile industry, have returned to their home states. Punjabs agriculture and textile units are also feeling the strain.

If all this sounds like deja vu, it is.

Echoes of 2020

This isnt the first time Indias migrant workforce has had to flee in the face of crisis. The pandemic-triggered lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 forced over 11 million workers to leave cities in the largest mass migration since partition. With no jobs, no savings, and no support, they walked hundredssometimes thousandsof kilometres to return home. Many never made it.

Whats becoming clear now is that even smaller, localised disruptionslike war, natural disasters, or political unrestare enough to push migrant workers over the edge. They are Indias economic shock absorbers, but that role has come at a devastating personal cost.

There are no accurate estimates of the number of migrant workers in India, but research suggests numbers closer to 100 million. An overwhelming majority of migrant workers fall in the informal sector, with no written wage contract, no agreed wage, no leave, no health cover or insurance, no right to unionise, and no job security.

This is true even for large, organised sector manufacturers, who tend to use agents and labour supply agents to keep an arms-length distance from these workers to avoid legal repercussions or demands for being made permanent employees.

Also read: Big city pull: Easing migration will be tough, say experts

Welfare schemes that dont reach

Many statutory provisions meant to protect workerslike minimum wage, retirement benefits under EPFO, or health insurance through ESICoften bypass migrant workers. Because they are constantly on the move, they frequently slip through the cracks of schemes that were supposedly created for their welfare.

Take the One Nation One Ration Card Scheme, launched to ensure portability of ration benefits by linking them to Aadhaar. It promised migrant workers the same food entitlements at their workplace as in their home states. But an April 2024 paper by IIM-Ahmedabad professors Chinmay Tumbe and Rahul Kumar Jha found that, despite full nationwide implementation by 2022, actual usage by migrants remained negligible. Of 16.8 crore public distribution system (PDS) transactions in a sample month, less than 5 lakh were inter-state. In fact, 90% of all transactions were regular, and 99% of the rest were within the same state.

Then theres the Construction Workers Welfare Fund, financed by a 1% cess on every construction project. The money is earmarked for health, insurance, and housing support for workersmost of whom are migrants. Yet, more than half the funds collected across states remain unspent.

The burden doesnt lie with governments alone. Industry, regardless of size, has done little to provide even the basics: housing, food, transport, or medical aid. With few exceptions, migrant workers are expected to show up, work, and vanishuntil a crisis reminds everyone just how critical they are.

Government infrastructure often focuses on luring investorsindustrial parks, roads, and subsidiesbut rarely includes facilities for the workers who will operate those factories. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) dont help because migrants dont want to buy homes where they workthey need rental housing, hostels for single women, and community kitchens that offer safety and dignity.

Governments at the state and city levels invest in industrial estates and build supporting infrastructure to attract investors and set up factories. But the workers who power these factories are often left to fend for themselves.

Housing schemes like the PMAY dont solve the problemmigrant workers typically cant afford, or even consider, purchasing homes in their place of work, subsidised or not.

Also read: Skills mismatch, migration to metros hurting recruitments in small cities

Whats needed instead is state- or city-run rental housing tailored for migrants. Affordable dormitories, hostels for single women, and basic mess facilities could drastically improve their living conditionsand make Indias industrial growth more inclusive.

Whats clear is this: India needs urgent, coordinated, and compassionate action. Governments must go beyond infrastructure and policy announcements to ensure real delivery on the ground. Industry must treat migrant workers as essential stakeholders, not disposable labour. And civil societyso quick to benefit from their workmust step up in their times of need. Because when crises hit, its the migrant worker who walks first, suffers most, and is remembered last.
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez recently opened up about the loss of her mother, Kim. Kim passed away in April after she was admitted to a Mumbai hospital following a heart stroke.

Jacqueline Fernandez on mother's death Talking about it, Jacqueline told The Hollywood Reporter that she feels lucky to be by her mother's side during her last few months. I was lucky that I was able to spend the last few months with her. I always feel I wish I did more. What could I have done more? It takes a lot of time to come to terms with it. I dont think I have still come to terms with it. I look at it as probably what she would have wanted. She was always my biggest cheerleader. We come from a simple household where it was absurd to say you wanted to go into acting. I was so scared to tell them. I had this dream since 7 or 8, but I gained the courage to tell them only when I was 18-19. And there was no hesitation, she said.

Jacqueline, who made her Hollywood debut with Kill Em All 2, recalled her film shoot experience, I just couldnt believe. I was doing lines with him (Jean-Claude Van Damme), working with him. He was my icon. I think my entire family. We had this laser disc. My dad was hellbent that if we have to watch Jean Claude, we have to watch him on a laser disc. And cut to, I am on a set with him in Italy. We helped each other with lines. My parents came down and they were like, We love our daughter. She made us proud. Life came full circle. At moments like this you feel it was all worth itthe struggle, the challenges, everything.

Jacqueline Fernandez on highs and lows Jacqueline, who landed in a massive controversy after her name popped up in conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar's money laundering case, added, What we go through as an actors in the industry, our parents also go through it. Everything, its out there. It takes so much for parents to still support you through everything. My mother was always proud of me and she would always want me to keep striving and dreaming.
Indian fashion influencer and self-taught designer Nancy Tyagi turned heads once again at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, making a striking return in another handmade ensemble that blended elegance with heartfelt craftsmanship.

Nancy Tyagis second Cannes appearance For her second Cannes appearance, Nancy Tyagi wore a custom gown crafted from fabric sourced from Seelampur, a bustling market in North East Delhi. The gown featured a plunging neckline, a shimmering sequinned corset bodice, and a structured midriff that flowed into an elaborate headpiece.

She shared her look on Instagram and wrote, Phir se Cannes phir se red carpet kabhi socha nahi tha ki yeh safar itna khoobsurat hoga. Dil se shukriya sabko jo saath hain iss journey mein.

The look was completed with rose florets adorning both the skirt and headpiece, layers of tulle adding volume, and a silhouette that flattered her frame with theatrical grace.

Her makeup look matched the drama of the gown - sleek twisted bun, silver smoky eyes, winged liner, voluminous lashes, and softly defined brows. A radiant highlighter, subtle flush, and a warm brown lipstick added polish to her glowing red carpet moment.

About her outfit Speaking to Brut on the red carpet, an emotional Nancy reflected on her journey. "I am feeling very good and this time I am very excited," she said in Hindi, before adding, "I have been so emotional since morning, looking at every place, because the last time I was here my life changed."

Explaining her design inspiration, she said, "I love flowers, so I made a flower-related outfit."

Proudly pointing out that the gown was entirely her own creation, she added, "This is my outfit. I feel very proud to walk on such a big red carpet wearing something I made myself - it feels amazing."

Reactions on social media Fans went gaga over Nancys second Cannes appearance. People from all walks of life complimented her look and expressed how proud they were for her achievement.

While one fan wrote, Proud of you my dear. Aapne lakho logo ko or lakho ladkiyon ko encourage kia hai real talent isi ko bolte hain (You have inspired and encouraged so many girls. This is real talent), another person commented, She is the moment ! All hail queen Nancy.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Zelenskyy stated about the results in his official Telegram channel.

"Good meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. We talked about continuing military support and direct investments in the Ukrainian defense industry. Denmark is one of the leaders in supporting our state and is already preparing the 26th package of military aid for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in Telegram.

According to the president, the subject of conversation was the negotiations in Istanbul, coordination of diplomatic efforts with the United States and Europe's European partners.

"In July this year, Denmark will start the presidency of the Council of the EU. We count on support in European integration and discussed this during the meeting," Zelenskyy said.
Banks in India close on various occasions, including national and regional holidays, as well as specific days mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to RBI regulations, all scheduled and non-scheduled banks remain closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.

Are banks open today? Since May 17 falls on the third Saturday, banks will be open and operate according to their regular Saturday working hours.

Bank Holidays in May 2025: May 18 (Sunday)  Weekly Off

May 24 (Saturday)  Weekly off for the fourth Saturday

May 25 (Sunday)  Weekly Off

May 26 (Monday)  Birthday of Kazi Nazrul Islam  Banks in Tripura will be closed to observe the birthday of Kazi Nazrul Islam.

May 29 (Thursday)  Maharana Pratap Jayanti  Banks will be closed in Himachal Pradesh to observe Maharana Pratap Jayanti.

Where to check bank holidays? The RBI has categorised bank holidays into three types: Negotiable Instruments Act, Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) holidays and banks closing of accounts. To check whether banks are open or closed on a given day, customers must thoroughly visit RBIs official channels, which are the website and notifications to banks.

Bank holidays in India differ across states to accommodate local requirments along with national and religious festivities. Thus for customers, it its best to get a confirmed holiday schedule from your nearest local bank branch and make arrangements to deal with any extended closures or emergencies on particular dates.

How to access bank services on a bank holiday? On a bank holiday, Digital banking allows users to manage their accounts conveniently without visiting a branch. Moreover, fund transfers can still be initiated using NEFT or RTGS through online banking.
Dividend Stocks 2025: Bajaj Finance m Page Industries to Infosys: Here are 8 dividend stocks to trade ex-dividend soon with respect to their dividends. Others dividend stocks nearing their ex-date include LTIMindtree, GM Breweries, Sula Vineyards, Archean Chemical Industries and Havells India. Check dividend details, record dates and payout details here

Dividend details Bajaj Finance- For the fiscal year 20242025, Bajaj Finance had recommended a final dividend on equity shares at a rate of 44 per share of face value of 2. Taking into account the declared dividend and the face value of the Bajaj Finance share price, this equates into a 2,200% dividend. May 30, 2025, had been set as the dividend record date.

Page Industries Limited - The board of directors of Page Industries declared the fourth interim dividend for 20242025 at its meeting on May 15, 2025. The payment will be 200 per equity share.

The record date for the interim dividend payment is May 21, 2025, as previously indicated by Page Industries. According to Page Industries, the dividend is expected to be paid on or before June 13, 2025.

Infosys- For the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2025, Infosys had suggested a final dividend of 22/-per equity share. According to Infosys, May 30, 2025, is the record date for the Annual General Meeting and the final dividend payment.

LTIMindtree Ltd -A final dividend of 45/-per equity share of Re 1 each during FY25 was announced by LTIMindtree. The record date for the dividend was set by LTIMindtree for Friday, May 23, 2025.

GM Breweries Ltd- With the record date set for Thursday, May 22, 2025, GM Breweries recommended a final dividend of 7.5/- per equity share of 10 apiece for FY25.

Sula Vineyards Ltd - For the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2025, Sula recommended paying a final dividend of 3.60 per share on equity shares with a face value of 2/-each. Friday, May 23, 2025 is the record date for the payout.

Archean Chemical Industries Ltd - Archean had suggested a final dividend of 3.00/-per equity share of 2/-each (150% considering face value)..The Record date is Friday, May 26, 2025.

Havells India Ltd - With a face value of 1/-each equity share, Havells had suggested a final dividend of 6 per share. May 25, 2025, is the record date for the aforementioned dividend.
Defence Stock: BEL share price will come in focus on Monday as it announced 572 Crore Defence sector order inflow. The Bharat Electronics order includes those for Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System too

Bharat Electronics or BEL Defence sector order win Bharat Electronics or BEL share price has remained in focus with the escalation of India Pakistan conflict and the Operation Sindoor launched. Even though the agreement for cease fire between India and Pakistan was made, the focus continues on Defence stocks as Defence sector orders are increasing . The outlook also remains firm for rise in Export orders

Bharat Electronics or BEL also is seeing rise in order flows and it has announced series of Defence sector order wins.

As per Bharat Electronics or BEL intimation to the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE or Bombay Stock Exchange, it received RS 572 Crore order.

As per Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Bharat Electronics Limited or BEL, it has secured additional orders worth Rs. 572 Crores since its last disclosure on 07th April 2025.

Major orders received include those for Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS), Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Data Communication Unit (DCU) for attack guns, AI based solutions for ships, simulators, communication equipment, jammers, spares, services etc, said BEL in its release

BEL - Earlier order details Earlier on 7 April 2025 as intimated by the BEL, the company had announced receiving Rs.2,210 Crores order for Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite from Indian Air Force".

BEL's signed contract with Ministry of Defence is valued at Rs.2,210 Crores (excluding taxes) and was for the supply of EW Suite for Mi 17 V5 Helicopters of Indian Air Force.

BEL manufactures these systems, which were created and developed domestically by DRDO and CASDIC.

The EW Suite comprises Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) and Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS) which significantly enhance the combat survivability of the helicopters along with effective counter measures.

BEL share price movement BEL shares have been in focus and had scaled 52 week or 1 year high of RS 371 on Friday, 16 May 2025. The BEL share price has gained more than 23% in last one month . The BEL share price though is up 46% during last one year, however BEL shares having risen more 1500% have given Multibagger returns to the investors
Dividend Stocks: BHEL, Ashok Leyland, Hyundai Motor, Emami , SKF India and Bharat Bijlee were among 6 key company that declared dividend, mostly post Q4 Results: Check details on dividend declared and record date etc

Dividend Details Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited or BHEL- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has recommended Final Dividend @ 25% (taking into consideration the dividend declared and face value of BHEL shares) The same comes at Rs. 0.50 per share having face value of Rs. 2/- each, on the paid up share capital of the Company for FY 2024-25. BHEL in its release said that the final Dividend, if declared by the Company in the Annual General Meeting shall be paid or dispatched within 30 days from the date of Annual General Meeting.

Ashok Leyland Ltd - The board of directors of Ashok Leyland announced a second interim dividend of Rs. 4.25 per equity share of Re. 1 each for the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2025.

Ashok Leyland dividend distribution date- On or before June 14, 2025, the aforementioned second interim dividend would be distributed.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd- The board of Hyundai Motors has suggested a dividend of 21 per share, or 21% of the share's having face value of 10. The dividend as per Hyundai Motor is Subject to shareholder approval.

SKF India Limited- For the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2025, the SKF Board recommended to the members a final dividend of Rs. 14.5/-per equity share. This dividend, if declared and authorized by the members at the AGM, will be paid or sent within 30 days of the next Annual General Meeting (or "AGM"). The AGM is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 06th August 2025

Emami Limited- During the celebration of Emami's 50th anniversary, it was announced that 43,65,00,000 equity shares of the firm would receive a special dividend of the 3rd Interim Dividend @200%, (taking into consideration the face value of shares) . The same comes to Rs. 2/- each per equity share having face value of Re. 1/- each, for the fiscal year 20242025.

Emami Record date-Thursday, May 22, 2025, is the record date for determining which members are eligible to receive the interim dividend.

Bharat Bijlee Limited- The Board has recommended a dividend of 35/-for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2025, each fully paid-up equity share with a face value of 5/-each. The same is dividend of 700% taking face value of share into consideration.

If approved by the shareholders at the company's 78th Annual General Meeting (or "AGM"), the dividend will be distributed to the shareholders within 30 days of the AGM date.
The recent military escalation between India and Pakistan, particularly following the Indian armed forces' Operation Sindoor, has heightened investor interest in Frances Dassault Aviation shares and Chinas AVIC Chengdu Aircraft shares.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, during which the Indian Air Force (IAF) reportedly deployed Rafale jets to strike terrorist camps deep inside Pakistani territory, utilizing SCALP and HAMMER missiles. Dassault Aviation is the manufacturer of the Rafale fighter jets.

Conversely, Pakistans Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that the Pakistan Air Force responded using J-10 fighter jets, manufactured by AVIC Chengdu Aircraft.

Stock Performance: Dassault Aviation vs AVIC Chengdu Dassault Aviation share price has rallied over 3% in the past four sessions, buoyed by a surge in investor sentiment following Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the Adampur Air Base. Backed by an S-400 missile defence system, Modi lauded the successful execution of Operation Sindoor, sending a strong message to Pakistan.

Also Read | India-Pakistan crisis fuels Dassault Aviation share price to near record high

In contrast, AVIC Chengdu shares have declined over 10% during the same period, as geopolitical tensions and increased uncertainty weighed on Chinese defence stocks after PM Modis remarks.

Year-to-date in 2025, Dassault Aviation shares have delivered an impressive 57% return, supported by robust investor confidence and growing exports of Rafale jets.

India and France recently signed a major defence deal to procure 26 naval variants of the Rafale fighter. Whereas, AVIC Chengdu, part of Chinas AVIC conglomerate has also given high returns post its listing with gains of more than 30% from listing rate while, in recent days the stock has been volatile due to geopolitical tensions and misinformation, due to which Chinese stocks faced sell-off, said Dr. Ravi Singh, SVP - Retail Research at Religare Broking Ltd.

For investors seeking exposure to the global defence sector, Singh notes that Dassault Aviation shares currently appear to be the more attractive option, considering the prevailing circumstances.

Technical View From a technical standpoint, Dassault Aviation shares demonstrate clear relative strength compared to AVIC Chengdu, analysts said.

While Chengdu share price remains in consolidation, Dassault stock is already showing strong momentum. A breakout above 316 will likely act as a trigger, propelling the stock toward the 375 level. Given the setup, Dassault presents a more favorable risk-reward profile for long trades at this stage, said Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investment and Securities.

Jain added that until clearer signals emerge from AVIC Chengdu, traders with a bullish view should consider prioritizing Dassault Aviation shares.
Gensol Engineerings Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jabirmahendi Mohammedraza Aga, has resigned from his role with immediate effect, citing multiple regulatory investigations.

Agas resignation follows the recent exits of the companys Managing Director, Anmol Singh Jaggi, and Whole-time Director, Puneet Singh Jaggi.

In his resignation letter dated May 16 and addressed to the companys board, Aga referred to the regulatory probes and the departure of top executives as indicators of growing disorder within the organization.

The Company is currently facing significant challenges, with multiple regulatory bodies conducting investigations. As you are aware, the top management has already resigned from their respective roles. Furthermore, the disorganization of critical data across various departments is hindering our ability to effectively respond to the ongoing inquiries due to a lack of a cohesive support system, Aga said in his resignation letter, which Gensol Engineering updated on stock exchanges.

The immense pressure resulting from these circumstances is adversely affecting my physical and mental well-being, leading to a complete loss of focus on my responsibilities. Therefore, I have made the difficult decision to resign, believing it to be in the best interest of the Company under these trying conditions, he added.

The troubles at Gensol Engineering deepened on Friday after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a notice to the company in response to an insolvency petition filed by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA). The NCLT has directed Gensol to file its reply and scheduled the next hearing for June 3.

IREDA, a financial creditor to the company, is seeking insolvency proceedings over an alleged default of 510 crore. During the hearing, the agency urged the bench to appoint an Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) to take control of the company, citing the mass exodus of top leadership following a regulatory order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). However, the tribunal declined to appoint an IRP at this stage.

Leadership Turmoil Gensol Engineering has been under increasing regulatory scrutiny since SEBI issued an interim order on April 15, 2025, barring Gensol Engineering and promoters  Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi  from accessing the securities markets. The order was issued in connection with alleged fund diversion and corporate governance lapses.

SEBIs action followed a complaint filed in June 2024 regarding share price manipulation and fund misappropriation at Gensol Engineering.

Following SEBI's interim order, the Jaggi brothers resigned from their positions on May 12, according to a stock exchange filing.

In a regulatory update issued on Wednesday, Gensol said that its appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has been disposed of. However, SAT has allowed the company to file a formal response to SEBIs interim order within two weeks. SEBI has also been directed to consider the response and pass an appropriate order within four weeks thereafter.

On Friday, Gensol Engineering share price ended at 5% upper circuit at 66.29 apiece on the BSE.
Moodys Investors Service downgraded the United States sovereign credit rating on Friday, citing rising concerns over the nation's growing $36 trillion debt burden.

The credit rating agency lowered the US government's long-standing rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa and revised its outlook to stable from negative. Moodys had maintained the United States top-tier Aaa rating since 1919 and was the last of the three major credit rating agencies to downgrade it.

The decision follows Moodys shift in 2023 to a negative outlook due to persistently high fiscal deficits and increasing interest payments.

Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs, Moody's said on Friday.

Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has pledged to balance the federal budget. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly emphasized the administrations goal of lowering government borrowing costs. However, efforts to increase revenues and rein in spending have yet to convince investors, according to a Reuters report.

Moodys noted that the fiscal proposals currently under discussion are unlikely to deliver a sustained, multi-year reduction in deficits. The agency projects that the federal debt burden will rise to approximately 134% of GDP by 2035, up from an estimated 98% in 2024.

This downgrade follows a similar move by Fitch Ratings in August 2023, which also lowered the US sovereign rating by one notch. Fitch cited anticipated fiscal deterioration and recurring last-minute debt ceiling negotiations that pose risks to the governments ability to meet its financial obligations.

Standard & Poors was the first among the major rating agencies to strip the United States of its AAA rating in 2011, following a protracted debt ceiling standoff.

US Markets Reaction Moodys downgrade, which came after market close, sent yields on Treasury bonds higher.

Yields on US 2-year Treasuries accelerated a rise, and were up 2 basis points (bps) late on Friday at 3.993%. They climbed to a session peak of 4.012%. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes reversed the earlier drop and rose as high as 4.499%.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Shabir Ahmad Mirs new novel, The Last Knot, is set in Kashmir under the Dogra rule, but the overall mood it conjures up isnt a million miles away from the state of darkness and despair that the region has found itself plunged into over the last several decades. The main actors of his story are the Muslim carpet weavers from the state, who, in the 19th century, had to pay exorbitant taxes under the rule of the Dogra kings. Although their craftsmanship was highly valued, these carpet weavers could not save themselves from persecution by the ruling elite. The price of defection from their profession could be lethal, including death, so running away wasnt a solution. The community was kept under a strict watch, tethered to weaving carpets all their lives, their thumbs bound to the loom, as the narrator puts it towards the end of the novel. The outcome of their hard labourthe precious things of beauty they producedbore no trace of their inhuman toil, all the blood, sweat and suffering that it exacted from the weavers.

Living under this oppressive regime, the protagonist of Mirs story is not any ordinary weaver. He dreams of creating a magic carpet, one that is able to fly unfettered over the vast hills and dales of his homeland. Like those who live in subjugation and conflict zones, his wish is to find freedom from a life preordained to a state of servitude. Exasperated by his ambition, his wusteh, or master, sends off his apprentice to seek out Abli Bab, the thumbless weaver, who lives in a secret cave in the mythical Haer Parbat.

Like the fantastical adventures of Amir Hamza, the fleeing weavers journey towards creating his magic carpet is crossed by fatal enemies. But unlike the exploits of the folkloric hero, this flesh-and-blood man must weather the storms of a merciless world, where soldiers are out for his blood. Mir packs into his protagonist the tragic consciousness of a Hamlet-like figure, who is forced to feign madness in order to deceive the tyrants hot on his trail. He finds refuge with a rangur, a seasoned dyer, who, in spite of his mastery at his trade, is unable to concoct the perfect blue, a dye that wont run out under the influence of the elements. Its the only secret of his trade his forefathers had failed to pass on to him, a fate from which he has no redemption. Living as a destitute moutt (madman) with this dyer and his daughter Heemal, the weaver finds himself in possession of the mysterious key to the colour blue. But his discovery is lost in a cycle of deceptionthe dyer betraying his daughter, who betrays the moutt, who, in turn, betrays her, and so on.

Also read: A Kashmiri writer wonders why states are afraid of poets
Early in May 1948, the Jammu and Kashmir Force was divided into two. One was located in the Southern Sector and the other in the Valley. Sporadic fighting continued for some time, without tangible results on either side. In order to regain the initiative, Lt Gen. (later Gen.) K.M. Cariappa, who had taken over as army commander, Western Command, felt it necessary, because of the larger forces involved, to put these two sectors under one commander, responsible to him directly. In September 1948, I was selected for this task and named corps commander, V Corps, which consisted of 26 Infantry Division under late Maj. Gen. Atma Singh with headquarters at Jammu, 19th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen (the late Gen.) K.S. Thimayya with headquarters at Srinagar and an independent sub-area under Brig. (later Maj. Gen.) Jai Singh for securing the Lines of Communication (L of C).

These areas provided a wide variety of terrain and climate, including arctic conditions in the mountainous areas of Zoji La and Gurais, hilly terrain in Uri, jungles in Jhangar and plains in Jammu. They also contained the 260-mile-long PathankotJammuSrinagar Road, which was the lifeline of the troops, as well as of the civilian population. This lifeline was a hazardous route, crossing the Banihal pass at 9000 ft, which in winter was blocked by heavy snow. The Himalayan areas were also snow-clad and troops who had never before seen snow had to operate there.

The military situation in Jammu and Kashmir early in September 1948, when the command was unified, was far from satisfactory. Our garrisons at Leh and Poonch were isolated, and Pakistan was increasing her pressure.

Our L of C Jammu-Srinagar was threatened by infiltrations both from the east and from the west. Although Pakistan had launched no major attacks, our L of C Jammu-Naushehra was also very vulnerable. The threat to Jammu lay in its proximity to the Pakistan border, and to Naushera in the strong Pakistan build-up in the area of Bhimber-Sadabad. Fighting around Jhangar, Uri and Tithwal had been stabilized, and Pakistan had committed her regular troops in these areas supported by mountain and field guns. In the case of Uri, they had also brought up medium guns.

View Full Image The book cover.

For India, the military situation in Kashmir had been adversely influenced by political considerations. Pakistan had no legal or moral right, in view of the expressed wishes of the people and its ruler, to operate with its army in Kashmir, whereas India did. India referred the matter to the UN, which set up the UN Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP), before which both parties came to an agreement to refrain from offensive action which was likely to aggravate the situation. Because of its strict adherence to this agreement, India was unable to use her air force in its primary role of isolating the battlefield by attacking Pakistans supply and communications bases, or to attack Pakistans installations on the Indian side of the border, inside Kashmir, such as Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, because of possible escalation.

On the other hand, Pakistan made full use of the lull caused by the agreement to build its strength and supplement its forces in J&K territory, in such a manner that Poonch and Leh were systematically encircled. For Leh, we had an alternative means of communication via Manali but the route was long and costly and only usable between June and October. Poonch, however, was so closely invested that our supply planes could not land there, while Pakistan constantly used artillery, shells often falling amongst the refugees whom we had been giving shelter.

The general situation in September 1948, with Leh and Poonch in danger, was, therefore, militarily unsound but was forced upon usan example that arms are the servants of political policy. Pakistan continued to aggravate the situation, mustering greater strength against the two isolated garrisons, preparing to defeat them, failing which, starving them into submission. The problem was whether we should evacuate these two garrisons or force a link-up.

Also read: Upamanyu Chatterjee is master of the absurd in his new collection

The gaps in our line were from Baltal via Kargil to Leh and from Rajori to Poonch. Pram Baltal to Kargil (50 miles), the track was snowbound throughout winter, whereas from Kargil to Leh (150 miles), it was open throughout the year. Rajori to Poonch was only a distance of 50 miles, but this route ran over a series of high ranges and deep valleys with no tracks across them. If Kashmir was not allowed to be captured by Pakistan, we had to close these two gaps and link up these garrisons. To achieve this end, we carried out two relief operations.

Excerpted from 'Commanded by Destiny: A General's Rise From Soldier to Statesman' with permission from Penguin Random House India.
But the slope led on and on. Heavens, was there no end? And then, suddenly, there was an endno more little humps, only a white little dome curving slightly above us. Incredible! It was the summit of Everest," writes Captain H.P.S. Ahluwalia in his book Higher Than Everest (1973).

On 29 May 1965, Ahluwalia, H.C.S. Rawat and Phu Dorji climbed the highest mountain in the world. It was the first time three mountaineers had stood together on Everests summit.

This was another feather in the Third Indian Everest Expeditions hat. Over 10 days, nine members had reached the summit, the most until then from a single team. Nawang Gombu, who had seen success with the 1963 American expedition, became the first man to climb the mountain twice. And at 23 years, Sonam Wangyal was the youngest summiteer at the time.

The world sat up and took notice of this remarkable feat. Since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillarys first ascent in 1953, just two other expeditionsthe Swiss in 1956 and the Americans in 1963had climbed Everest from Nepal. A Chinese teams claim of having summited from Tibet in 1960 was disputed.

Also Read The first Indians on Everest

Indian teams had made two previous attempts, but had fallen short. Though Tenzing, a resident of Darjeeling, had been celebrated by India, the success in 1965 was special. As President S. Radhakrishnan explained, the first man to climb Everest was also an Indian, although he shared the honour with his companion from New Zealand". However, this conquest is entirely an Indian effort and is therefore more thrilling".

Sixty years ago, in the world of mountaineering, was the period of 8,000ers. Between 1950-60, thirteen of the fourteen 8,000-metre mountains of the world saw first ascents. There was a constant rush of various teams trying to reserve" a mountain. With national glory at stake, each success produced overnight heroes who until then either took to climbing as a passion or, like in Tenzings case, a profession.

THE ORIGINS OF INDIAN MOUNTAINEERING

Indias mountaineering history runs back many years. Like Tenzing, young Sherpa men had migrated from Nepal to Darjeeling in India in search of employment. They were at ease on the mountains and it took little time for them to prove their worth on various expeditions to different parts of the Himalaya.

Tenzing too was a part of three British and two Swiss expeditions on Everest, before he finally climbed the mountain in 1953. Closer to home, he joined teams from the Doon School in Dehradun, who would regularly set off on explorations and climbs in the Indian Himalaya. These were small teams with modest resources that craved adventure rather than success. No summit, no problem. They would simply await the next opportunity to set off again.

View Full Image Members of the 1965 expedition make their way up Everest.

Nandu Jayal, a student at the Doon School and a prolific climber who went on to become the first principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), put their approach in perspective in the book For Hills to Climb (2001), edited by Aamir Ali. A mountaineer is always the gainer even if he does not reach the summit."

The tradition of setting off during the schools mid-term breaks continued after Indias independence. In 1951, a team featuring three members from Doon School summited Trisul (7,120m) in the Garhwal Himalaya. It was only the third ascent of the mountain and gave Indian mountaineering the iconic image of assistant master Gurdial Singhs headstand on the summit.

It was when Gurdial Singh climbed Trisul that the age of mountaineering for Indians began," wrote explorer and climber, Harish Kapadia, in the Himalayan Journal in 2000.

Also Read The great Everest mystery: 100 years of the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine

Away from the mountains, Tenzing soaked in the adulation and fame that came with the 1953 Everest ascent. He travelled the world, rubbing shoulders with everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Kishore Kumar. Back home, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave his assent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling to produce more Tenzings".

The government-backed expeditions that were launched had deep pockets, a contrast to the small resourceful teams that had been climbing until then. For instance, the Trisul summit in 1951 had been attained on a budget of 4,000; just the imported items for the 1965 Everest expedition added up around 1 lakh.

India longed to be part of the prestigious 8,000m club. That moment arrived in 1958 as the first Indian team set off for Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. Every detail of the expedition was managed by a Sponsoring Committee, which in 1961 was recognised as the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), the governing body for mountaineering in India. Sonam Gyatso and Pasang Dawa Lamas summit success, only the second ascent of Cho Oyu, was dampened by the death of Jayal early on during the expedition. But an Indian team had shown the ability to climb an 8,000m mountain. The stage was set for Everest.

In 1960, Gyan Singh, a brigadier in the Indian Army and principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute from 1958 to 1962, led the first Indian expedition that returned about 200m short of the summit due to bad weather. More drama was to follow two years later. For three nights, Mohan Singh Kohli, a commander in the Indian Navy, Hari Dang, an assistant master at the Doon School, and Sonam Gyatso, a mountaineer from Sikkim, were stranded at around 8,500m in inclement weather. It didnt get any better when they had the chance to proceed higher up and they turned around 100m short of the top.

Though Everest remained elusive, Indian climbers succeeded on challenging climbs elsewhere during these years. Narinder Bull" Kumar, deputy leader of the 1965 Everest expedition, led the first ascent of Nilkantha (6,596m) in 1961. The same year, Kohli, Sonam Gyatso and Sonam Girmi made the first ascent of Annapurna III (7,555m) in Nepal, a climb that has only seen 10 other successful summits since then. Right before the third Everest attempt, Kumar led the second ascent of Nanda Devi (7,817m) after two previous unsuccessful attempts by Indian teams.

SUMMITING EVEREST

These expeditions created a pool of strong mountaineers. Kohli was selected to lead the third Everest expedition with clear instructions from S.S. Khera, president of IMF. We have attempted Everest twice and failed. I want Everest climbed," he told Kohli, as mentioned in the latters 1969 book Nine Atop Everest, while discarding a proposal to attempt the daunting West Ridge route as well.

Given all that was at stake, a trial was organised to pick out the cream of Indian mountaineering. The previous year, three expeditions had set off for Nanda Devi, the Panchachuli massif, and Nanda Devi East and Tirsuli. Those who had done well were invited to the pre-Everest climb on Rathong, a peak in Sikkim.

View Full Image Members of the 1965 Indian expedition, photographed in 2015. (Mint)

Though 11 climbers reached the summit, success this time around was measured in terms of performance, efficiency and compatibility. After much deliberation, 13 climbers were selected for Everest that included two doctors and one member to manage communications. Four others were later added to the team. Along with Kohli and his deputy, Bull Kumar, the team added up to 19 in all. The average age of the team was 31; nine had been to Everest before.

It was by no means a modest expedition and resources were in abundance to ensure the success of the climb. Most of the gear was manufactured by the Ordnance factories around the country. The major imports were oxygen equipment and eiderdown used primarily for the sleeping bags. Meals were a lavish spread fit for a king, featuring everything from meat and fish to pudding and cakes. For the first time, they also had pre-cooked, dehydrated food at their convenience.

Also Read How Mount Everest was mapped

For supplementary oxygen, around 125 cylinders were ferried to South Col, with about a hundred available for the summit attempts. Forty-six high-altitude Sherpas led by Ang Tshering supported the primary team, besides 10 others who helped open the route through the Khumbu Icefall.

Over 800 porters were needed to haul the supplies to base camp. It was akin to a seasonal migration, as a train of men set off from Jaynagar, a town near the Indo-Nepal border, on a march that took close to a month. By 22 March, base camp had been established, the only team to attempt Everest that season from the south side. As Kohli writes in Nine Atop Everest, We got busy putting the place into shape with the same zest as marks the newly-married couple while setting up a new home."

Over the next few weeks, the team got busy opening the route and stocking camps with the essentials. By 16 April, climbers had reached South Col. All that remained now was setting up a final camp en route the summit. But bad weather pushed the team back to base camp. Kohli and Kumar worked on the dynamics of the summit teams, each comprising four climbers on two ropes, supported by other members. The focus early on was to get one climber to the summit, though before leaving for the mountain, Kohli had told his wife that he hoped to put at least eight men on top.

The first party comprised A.S. Cheema and Tenzing Norgays nephew, Nawang Gombu, alongside Sonam Gyatso and Sonam Wangyal. On 22 April, a farewell party of sorts gathered a short distance from base camp to see them off. Though they made it as far as South Col, the forecast predicted high winds over the next few days, forcing the team to return.

View Full Image Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall. (Courtesy HPS Ahluwalia)

There was little to do but wait out the rough weather. The day started at leisure with a delectable breakfast spread of parathas or poories with a dish of potatoes, eggs, butter, jam, a lot of pickle and, at times, liver", according to Nine Atop Everest. They kept busy with card games and indulging in idle banter. To beat lethargy, they explored and took on short climbs around base camp.

After a prolonged wait, they received news of calm weather from the India Meteorological Department on 14 May. A couple of days later, they set off for the top again, well aware that they had just about two weeks before the monsoon arrived.

Three days later, the first party reached South Col without any challenges. By the next afternoon, they had established summit camp on the south-east ridge. At 5am on 20 May, Cheema and Gombu set off for the top; by 9.30am, they had reached the summit of Everest.

Also Read 4 great treks, from the Sahyadris to the Himalaya

A severe blizzard stalled the duos descent. Cheema had lost his goggles and was almost snow-blind when he entered camp. The two Sonams knew they had their task cut out and tried to keep warm at South Col that evening. The following morning they took on the arduous task of cutting steps in the fresh snow all over again. A tedious slog of eight hours got them to summit camp where they found their tent buried. It took a while for them to settle in, blasted by strong winds throughout the night. But their prayers were answered when first light brought calm weather. After six hours of climbing, they were finally on the summit.

With bad weather on the horizon again, C.P. Vohra and Ang Kami made a mad dash up the mountain and were the third party to get to the top on 24 May. Lower down the mountain, the final team took stock of the oxygen left. By the time they set off from Advance Base Camp on 26 May, it was clear that they would have time for just one attempt.

When B.P. Singh felt uneasy on the Lhotse Face, he was promptly replaced by Phu Dorji, who had been on both previous Indian expeditions. He set off on a rope with Ahluwalia, followed by H.V. Bahuguna and Rawat, arriving at summit camp two days later.

On 29 May, they set off for the top. A short distance from camp, Bahuguna slowed down considerably. He soon unroped himself to allow Rawat to continue alone. Above them, Ahluwalia had developed a leak in his oxygen cylinder, which was ingeniously patched by Phu Dorji using adhesive tapes from a carton in his haversack. It gave Rawat enough time to catch up. At 10.15am, the trio was on the summit of Everest, exactly 12 years since Tenzing and Hillary had stood there.

A party unfolded at base camp over the next couple of days. At Delhis Palam airport, they were received by dignitaries amid great pomp. These men were celebrated in India and around the world. Rewards came in the form of opportunities and promotions. In the time ahead, a few continued going to the mountains; for others, it was the one climb that came to define their lives.

Because much like it is for a lot of climbers even today, it doesnt get higher than Everest.

Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.

Also Read Looking for Nanda Devi: Remembering the iconic 1934 Himalayan expedition
Photo: https://eurosolidarity.org/2025/05/12

Vladimir Putin only creates the illusion of negotiations, in fact, they are for him only a way to continue the war, MP of Ukraine, leader of the European Solidarity party, the fifth President of Ukraine (2014-2019) Petro Poroshenko said.

"Putin considers peace negotiations to be another way of waging war. In Turkey, he creates the illusion of diplomacy, continuing to wage military operations. We have not seen any concrete signs that Russia seeks a just or lasting peace. This is not the beginning of negotiations, but the continuation of the war by other means," Poroshenko said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

He also said Putin can never be trusted. "I had two dozen meetings. Never, I repeat, never alone with him. I was always with my partners. You should never trust him. He is a professional liar," the politician said.

He said Ukraine is the only shield with which Europe can win a few years, transferring the economy to military rails to stop Russia's aggression.

Poroshenko believes that Ukraine's Western partners should give a clear message to Putin: either a ceasefire for 30 days, the start of real negotiations and determining a way to end the war, or Plan B comes into play, which means unlimited military assistance to Ukraine. "The idea of Plan B belongs to Trump. We need to explain to Putin what will happen if he does not obey. There is no other way," the MP believes.




You've got the tickets, the date is marked, and the anticipation is buildingGuns N' Roses is going to perform in Mumbai on 17 May. Now comes the big question, what are you wearing for the big night?

Not decided yet? Why not go all grunge, inspired by the rock band? Your outfit essentially needs to scream attitude without trying too hard. Think less clean girl and more early 2000s grunge. We're talking pieces that can handle a hot summer night of headbanging and singing along, all the while making you look effortlessly cool.

To help you zero in on a look, we've curated a list of statement-making pieces that you can style the way you like.
As Congress continues to fume over the Central government giving a key role to Shashi Tharoor in diplomatic outreach delegations after Operation Sindoor other than the four given by the party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gourav Vallabh said the grand-old party has tradition of crushing merit and backing bootlickers and the Congress leader is facing the same problem.

Gourav Vallabh said, Congress has a tradition to crushing merit and talent and backing their bootlickers. Even Shashi Tharoor is facing this problem because they did not give his name.

Congress did it because he contested the election against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. I don't understand how they can fall so low that they are sabotaging their own party leaders, he said.

Congress has said that it was asked by the government to submit names of four MPs for the all-party delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan and it nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

It accused the Centre of not consulting the Congress before naming Shashi Tharoor to lead a government delegation. The party said it was dishonest and downright mischievous to first ask for nominations and then not include them.

Meanwhile, the row does not seem to die down easily as Shashi Tharoor, too, has accepted the government invite to lead the delegation. He cites national interest a matter of duty as a citizen of India.

Without acknowledging the Congress disapproval on the inclusion of his name but in a clear response to the party concerns, Shashi Tharoor asserted that only national interest is above everything else.

Shashi Tharoor said, As I have mentioned, it is a very great honour. As a citizen being called upon to serve the nation at the time of crisis, is a matter of duty for all of us. At the same time, it is an honour that I have been asked to lead a delegation and I look forward very much to playing my part.
Indian women are striding into economic activity more than ever before, if tax department data on permanent account numbers (PAN) is anything to go by.

More women than men secured permanent account numbers (PAN) in the last two fiscal years, signalling their rising participation in areas that require the 10-digit identification number. In FY25, 29.1 million PANs were issued to women, 23% more than the 23.7 million PANs issued to men, income tax department data showed. Similarly, in FY24, 38.1 million PANs were issued to women, 24% more than 30.7 million issued to men.

PAN is mandatory for filing tax returns, opening bank accounts, making high-value cash deposits as well as buying stocks, property and four-wheelers. Welfare funds are usually transferred to beneficiaries' bank accounts, which are linked to a PAN.

Also read: Free trade pact with EU possible by year-end amid shared urgency: Sitharaman

Labour force gains

The trend of rising women PAN holders aligns with the steady rise in women labour force participation rate from 23.3% in FY18 (July to June period) to 41.7% in FY24, driven by more women in rural areas entering the work force.

Better employment opportunities for the marginalized sections have helped in gender-inclusive economic growth, said A.K. Verma, director of the Centre for the Study of Society and Politics, a think-tank based in Kanpur.

Having a bank account, being able to do financial transactions and being part of the financial system has now become part of womens consciousness. Also, a lot of welfare schemes are women-centric and the benefits are transferred directly to their bank accounts, which has helped in financial inclusion," said Verma.

Stark contrast

The trend is in stark contrast to FY19 to FY23 period, when only 110 million women were issued PAN against 116.7 million issued to men.

As of 1 November 2024, more than two-thirds of 503 million PM Mudra Yojana accounts, under which loans up to 10 lakh are given to non-farm, small and micro enterprises, are held by women, according to a report from Ministry of statistics and programme implementation titled Women & Men in India 2024 published earlier this month.

Also read: Boost domestic demand, shrink inequality to become rich nation by '50: ADB chief

At the end of November 2024, women operated 27.7 million demat accounts, up from 6.6 million at the end of March 2021, as per this report. Also, women hold 301.3 million Jan Dhan or no-frills bank accounts at end of December 2024, more than the 240 million held by men, according to the statistics ministry report which cites finance ministry data.

The consistent rise in the number of women PAN holders reflects a positive trend towards financial inclusion and empowerment of women in India, said Amit Maheshwari, tax partner at AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm. Maheshwari said the steady rise in PAN allotments to women by the income tax department indicates their growing participation in the formal economy.

Behind the rise

Several factors have contributed to this growth, including improved access to education, rising female workforce participation, self-employment initiatives and targeted government schemes such as Stand-Up India, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Udhyam Registration, promoting women's entrepreneurship," said Maheshwari.

The Stand-UP India scheme offers credit facility to women entrepreneurs and to certain other sections of society. Micro, small and medium enterprises register in the Udhyam Portal to access various government schemes and benefits.

The ease of applying for PAN online, combined with Aadhaar-based e-KYC, has also made the process more accessible, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas, added Maheshwari.

Also read: Punish bankrupt company owners who don't cooperate with debt resolution: ICAI

A NITI Aayog dashboard on sustainable development goals attributes a score of 66 out of 100 to India as of FY24 on achieving gender equality, implying that quite a bit of distance is still to be covered by 2030, by which time India and others have to meet the UN goals adopted in 2015. Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Goa are the front-runners in this area, according to NITI Aayog.
In a move that could significantly hit Bangladesh's trade with India, the Central government on Saturday imposed port restrictions on the import of a range of consumer items through land transit posts in the northeast. It has also decided to allow entry of ready-made garments from Bangladesh only through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva seaports.

However, such said port restriction will not apply to Bangladesh goods transiting through India but destined for Nepal and Bhutan. The new restrictions have been imposed with immediate effect.

In a statement, Ministry of Commerce & Industry said, Import of all kinds of readymade garments from Bangladesh shall not be allowed from any land port, however, it is allowed only through Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports.

Also Read India halts transit facility for Bangladesh exports as it reassesses trade and security

It said, Import of Fruit/ Fruit flavoured and Carbonated Drinks; Processed food items; Cotton and Cotton Yarn Waste; Plastic and PVC finished goods, except pigments, dyes, plasticisers and granules that form input for own industries; and Wooden Furniture, shall not be allowed through any Land Customs Stations (LCSs)/ Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; and LCS Changrabandha and Fulbari, in West Bengal.

The port restrictions do not apply to the import of Fish, LPG, Edible Oil, and Crushed stone from Bangladesh, the statement further said.

Also Read | India exports 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh

The new restrictions for Bangladeshi consumer goods are coming over five weeks after New Delhi ended a nearly five-year-old arrangement for trans-shipment of Bangladeshi export cargo to third countries via Indian airports and ports.

India's fresh restrictions on limiting access to Bangladeshi exports appears to be in response to Dhaka denying certain value added items from the Northeast to enter that country through the land transit points.

The friction in trade ties between the two countries came amid increasing strain in the overall relations between India and Pakistan after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest and landed in Delhi.
While slamming the MP and Deputy Leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urged LoP Rahul Gandhi not to include his name for India's delegation to abroad explaining the country's stance on terrorism from Pakistan as he has not denied his prolonged stay" in the neighbouring nation.

Biswa on Gogoi's name for India's delegation One of the MPs named in the list ( from Assam ) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistanreportedly for two weeksand credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India, Biswa said.

In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge leader of opposition Sri Rahul Gandhi not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment, he added.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh shared Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan.

What is Biswa's allegation about? Gogoi took nearly 90 boys and girls to the Pakistan Embassy. Many of them have stated they were not aware they were going to the Pakistan Embassy, and this is seriously concerning, Biswa earlier said, mentioning he has exact evidence, and it has been formally registered that Gaurav Gogoi went to Pakistan for 15 days, of which his wife accompanied him for first seven days.

His arrival and departure were noted at the Atari border, he had further said at at a press conference at Guwahati's Lok Sewa Bhawan.

There are questions about whether he visited the Army Headquarters, Lahore, Sindh, or other sensitive locations. These must be answered, corroborative documentation - including passport and immigration records - was being compiled. Only he is an Indian citizen. His wife is British, and his children reportedly hold different foreign citizenships. He can change his passport at any time, he had remarked.

The Assam CM went on to claim some of his actions may have indirectly helped the Pakistan Army.

Resign if you fail to prove claim: Gogoi to Biswa Gogoi has denied these allegations and challenged Sarma to provide evidence and has suggested that the Assam CM should resign if he fails to substantiate his claims. Gogoi has also questioned the focus on his family, urging attention to other pressing issues in the state.
The Odisha Police have arrested class 8 girl student and her two male friends from Gajapati district on Friday for allegedly murdering a woman who adopted the girl after rescuing her from a roadside when she was just three days old, PTI quoted a police officer as saying.

According to the report, as quoted by the police, on 29 April the girl and her friends smothered the woman  identified as 54-year-old Rajalaxmi Kar  at her rented house in Paralakhemundi town.

Also Read | Police charge 2nd suspect with murder in the death of a Super Bowl reporter at his hotel

The police claimed the motive was allegedly her opposition to the girls relationship with the two young men and to gain control of her property.

Following the crime, the accused fabricated a story claiming Rajalaxmi had died of a heart attack.

On 30 April, the accused cremated her body in Bhubaneswar, where some of her relatives resided.

Since the victim had a history of heart disease, her kin , including her brother, believed the fabricated story, Gajapati SP Jatindra Kumar Panda said.

The incident came to light when girls uncle found her hidden mobile phone in Bhubaneswar, which contained Instagram Messenger chats with the two co-accused detailing their plan to murder Rajalaxmi and loot over 70 grams of gold ornaments along with 60,000 in cash.

After the discovery, the deceaseds brother Siba Prasad Mishra lodged an FIR at Paralakhemundi police station last Wednesday.

The police arrested the three accused  temple priest Ganesh Rath (21), Dinesh Sahu (20), both from Paralakhemundi, and the deceaseds 13-year-old adopted daughter.

About the case: Police stated Rajalaxmi had adopted the girl after rescuing her as an abandoned infant in Bhubaneswar.

The report added that after the girl got admission at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Paralakhemundi, the two shifted there and rented a house.

When the girl developed a relationship with Rath and Sahu, her mother opposed it. But Rath allegedly instigated the girl to murder Rajalaxmi to seize her property and continue their relationship.

On the evening of 29 April, the girl reportedly administered sleeping pills to Rajalaxmi.

When the victim was unconscious, she summoned her two friends, who smothered the woman with pillows. She was taken to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead, said the police.

Prior to the murder, the girl had some of Rajalaxmis gold ornaments to Rath, who pawned them at a private finance company for around 2.4 lakh.

He reportedly used the money to buy a motorcycle and travel across the state.

Police, during the probe, recovered three mobile phones containing incriminating Instagram chat messages, two pillows used in the murder, and around 30 grams of the looted gold ornaments.
A resident of a village in Kaithal, Haryana, was arrested for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during the recent Indo-Pakistan conflict.

The accused, Devendra, was a resident of Mastgarh Cheeka village in Kaithal.

DSP Kaithal Veerbhan told news agency ANI, "Intelligence information was received by the district police of Kaithal. On that basis, our special detective staff arrested Devendra s/o Narwal Singh, resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka."

Police questioned Devendra after taking him into custody.

During that interrogation, Devendra told police that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI.

Also Read | Karoline Leavitt claims Kashmiri man praised US President for India-Pak truce

"He used to provide information about the dispute going on between India and Pakistan to that agency and also information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani army and the ISS from time to time...," DSP Kaithal Veerbhan said.

He added, Our staff at the cyber police station is doing a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever the truth may come out, the law will be followed accordingly...

India-Pakistan tension India and Pakistan armies engaged in cross-border firing soon after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

The Pakistan military later said the understanding on ending the hostilities has been extended until May 18.

Also Read | Karoline Leavitt claims Kashmiri man praised US President for India-Pak truce

"Further to the understanding between the two DGMOs [Directors General of Military Operations] on May 10, it has been decided to continue the confidence building measures so as to reduce the alertness level," an Indian Army official was quoted by news agency PTU as saying on May 15.
A top Indian trade policy expert says he has never seen the country buckle down to US demands the way it is doing now.

"We must respond strongly. We cannot accept whatever the US is thrusting upon us, Biswajit Dhar, a well-known trade policy expert from the Delhi-based think tank, Council for Social Development, told this reporter.

India's recent decision to invoke its right under World Trade Organization (WTO) norms to impose retaliatory tariffs on certain American goods will be among the key issues discussed during trade talks with the US starting May 17, the PTI said, quoting unnamed officials.

Describing the move as a pragmatic one, the official clarified that India has not implemented the retaliatory measures yet but has merely reserved the right to do so in accordance with WTO provisions.

'WTO is hardly the organization it once was': Dhar "My point is that the WTO is hardly the organization it once was. The more important negotiations are going to be at the bilateral trade talks between the two sides scheduled for May 17, Dhar, a former Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU and Director General of Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think-tank under the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

"I dont see why India is under pressure. It is our market we are dealing with, he asserted.

Raising New Delhis hackles, President Donald Trump said on Thursday that India has offered to eliminate tariffs on the United States as part of a potential trade deal.

India is the highest  one of the highest tariff nations in the world. Its very hard to sell into India, and theyve offered us a deal where, basically, theyre willing to literally charge us no tariff, Trump said during a roundtable with business leaders in Doha, Qatar.

India reacted swiftly, saying the talks were not complete. Foreign minister S. Jaishankar said talks were ongoing, calling negotiations between New Delhi and Washington complicated and intricate.

These are very complicated negotiations. They are very intricate. Nothing is decided till everything is, he told reporters in Delhi, within hours of the US President's claims.

Just days earlier, the US and China announced a dramatic descalation after a battle of attrition in the tariff war between the worlds two biggest economies. After Beijing hit back with retaliatory tariffs and disrupted US access to rare earth metals, the US blinked first. US tariffs on Chinese goods were slashed from 145% to 30%.

India-US relations "We need to borrow from the Chinese playbook, Dhar said. Asked how the US could react to retaliatory tariffs by India, he said it is imperative that New Delhi put forward its points forcefully.

In the past, India has taken similar steps, including notifications submitted to the WTO in 2019 and 2021 regarding the European Union's steel safeguard measures, although those retaliatory actions have not been enforced.

India and the US are working towards a comprehensive trade agreement aimed at significantly increasing bilateral trade, which currently stands at $191 billion. The goal is to push this figure to $500 billion by 2030.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two fugitives identified as members of a sleeper cell of the banned ISIS terrorist organization. The arrests are linked to a 2023 case involving the fabrication and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pune, Maharashtra, according to an official statement from the NIA.

The two men, identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh Diaperwala and Talha Khan, were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at the Mumbai International Airport T2 when they tried to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been hiding out. The NIA team then took them into custody and arrested them, said the release.

The NIA had earlier announced a cash reward of 3 lakh each for information leading to the arrest of the two accused.

Both individuals had been evading arrest for over two years and were the subjects of non-bailable warrants issued by the NIA Special Court in Mumbai.

What is the case about? The case relates to a criminal conspiracy by these men, along with eight other ISIS Pune sleeper module members already arrested and in judicial custody.

"They had conspired to commit terrorist acts with the aim to disturb Indias peace and communal harmony by waging a war against the Government of India in furtherance of the ISIS agenda to establish Islamic rule in the country through violence and terror," said NIA in an official release.

These two men, already charged with a chargesheet along with the other arrested accused, had been engaged in assembling IEDs from a house rented by Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh in Kondhwa, Pune.

Fugitives participated in bomb-making workshop During the 2022-2023 period, they also organised and participated in a bomb-making and training workshop, besides carrying out a controlled explosion to test an IED fabricated by them, at these premises, NIA said in a release.

The NIA, which has been actively investigating ISIS-related activities in India to thwart the group's violent and anti-national terror plots, had earlier filed a chargesheet against all 10 accused in the case. The charges were filed under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P)A), Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In addition to Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh and Talha Khan, who were recently arrested, the other accused in the case include Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam, said the release.
Yalda Hakim has spoken about her interaction with Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The Australian journalist, who works for Sky News, earlier went viral in India because of her interview with the Pakistani minister after the Pahalgam terror attack.

On camera, Khawaja Asif blatantly admitted Pakistans involvement with state-funded terrorism. During an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia, Yalda Hakim spoke about the interaction.

I realised immediately that it was extraordinary. And, I thought maybe he didn't quite process what I was saying. Maybe. I misunderstood him. So I wanted clarity and I pushed him again initially, she said.

I sort of couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was saying, We did the dirty work of the West, and yes, we have these proxies, and they exist, and this is how it is.

So, I did jolt and I said, 'Well, is that your justification? Are you justifying now that Pakistan has this connection with terrorist groups because we're going back to the Mujahedin, the CIA and the dirty work? So, it's now just part of what Pakistan does'," the Australian journalist said.

The interview went for about 18 minutes and he didn't back down at any point. He made it clear to me that he understood what I was saying. He was going to say what he was going to say. Pakistan has had the longest history and what has been the underbelly, and the so-called deep state of Pakistan and how they operate, she added.

Who is Yalda Hakim? Yalda Hakim told BeerBiceps about her younger days. She was born in Kabul. Her father had studied architecture in Czechoslovakia but returned to Afghanistan. When the Soviet occupation destabilised the country, he refused to join the military.

So, the family, Yalda, her mother and two older siblings, fled Afghanistan at night, travelling on foot and horseback with the help of people smugglers. They faced danger from Mujahideen and aerial bombing.

Also Read | Jaishankar praises Afghan FM for backing India post-Pahalgam attack

They reached Pakistan, where her mother, a midwife, worked with an Austrian NGO in the Swat Valley. Her father opened an architectural firm in Islamabad.

After two years, an architect in Australia sponsored them, and the family moved there. Yalda was around three-and-a-half years old.
A diplomat from the Swedish Foreign Ministry, who was suspected of espionage and who previously worked in one of the countries that currently has tense relations with the West, was found dead in Stockholm on Friday night after he was released on bail on Tuesday, but suspicions were not removed in the case of the resignation of the former Swedish ambassador to Ukraine Tobias Tyberg from the post of national security adviser, the Swedish newspaper Expressen reports, citing his lawyer.

"The diplomat served for many years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He spent a long time outside Europe, the last few years as an ambassador. One of the countries where he worked has very tense relations with the West. Now he is dead," the newspaper said.

According to the publication, the deceased, who was in his 50s, has not been named. He was suspected of actions committed in Stockholm from May 1 to 11. The diplomat was arrested last weekend, while he always denied any charges.

SVT Nyheter, in turn, reports that the suspicions against the diplomat were linked to the case of another diplomat, Tobias Tyberg, who previously served as Sweden's ambassador to Afghanistan and Ukraine (2019-2023), was appointed national security adviser last week but resigned just hours after being appointed after intimate photos of him, which he had once privately posted on a social media site, were sent to government agencies by unknown individuals.

"Tyberg was officially appointed by the government at noon on Thursday as the new national security adviser after the previous security adviser, Henrik Landerholm, resigned under high-profile circumstances. Just half an hour after the government sent out a press release announcing that Tobias Tyberg had been appointed to the new position, an anonymous person sent intimate photos of Tyberg to government agencies. That same night, Tyberg announced that he would not be taking up the position," the publication said.

The resignation shook the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council of Sweden, and several employees in government agencies underwent renewed security training.

Three days after Tyberg's resignation, the State Security Service arrested the aforementioned diplomat in his own home, accusing him of suspicion. According to SVT, there is a connection between the circumstances of the receipt of intimate photos sent to government agencies and the investigation into suspected espionage against the detained diplomat. Tyberg is not suspected of any crime.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that Pakistan is scared after Operation Sindoor where the Indian defence forces destroyed terror camps 100 kilometres inside the neighbouring country.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Shah said that the world is amazed at the befitting reply he gave to Pakistan with Operation Sindoor.

Since assuming power, PM Modi has given such a befitting reply to the terrorist attacks that the world is amazed and Pakistan is scared, Shah said at a gathering as he inaugurated multiple projects in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Home Minister described India's major success in Operation Sindoor, highlighting its achievement.

Also Read | India Pakistan Highlights: Amit Shah reviews border security after Pak shelling

This time, under Operation Sindoor, the headquarters of the terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan were destroyed. We destroyed nine such sites where terrorists used to be trained and were their hideouts, he said.

India successfully destroyed nine major terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), targeting Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen facilities. Over 100 terrorists were killed in action.

Our military's response to terrorists was such that it destroyed camps 100 km inside Pakistan, Shah said.

Amit Shah praises India's air defence Amit Shah, while praising India's air defence system, also praised PM Modi's leadership again.

When Pakistan dared to attack the entire Western border, but under the leadership of PM Modi, our Air Defence System has become so perfect that none of the missiles or drones reached India's land, he said.

He said India destroyed Pakistan's capability of air attacks.

Also Read | Indian Akashteer's dominance against Pakistani strikes decoded

After killing more than 100 dreadful terrorists, Pakistan was still thinking, and we attacked their 15 air bases, but we didn't inflict any harm to their people. We destroyed their capability of Air attack.

The Union minister's comments come a day after he said Operation Sindoor was a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's firm political will, precise intelligence gathering by various agencies and unmatched strike capability of the country's armed forces.

Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Days after the Operation Sindoor, the Indian authorities have arrested six Indian nationals  including a Haryana-based travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra  for allegedly passing sensitive information to Pakistani operatives, reported India Today on Saturday.

According to the report, these key operatives acted as agents, financial conduits, and informants and had networks in Haryana and Punjab.

Authorities revealed that the accused Jyoti, who ran the YouTube channel "Travel with Jo", had visited Pakistan in 2023 after acquiring a visa through commission agents. She even developed close ties with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during her trip.

The Indian authorities suspect that Danish, declared persona non grata by the government and expelled on 13 May 2025, allegedly introduced Jyoti to multiple Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs).

Jyoti allegedly remained in touch with operatives, including Shakir alias Rana Shahbaz, whose number she saved as Jatt Randhawa through encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, alleged the officials.

Officials also claim that Jyoti allegedly shared sensitive information which concerned Indian locations. She even actively used to project a positive image of Pakistan on social media.

Among other details, Jyoti also entered into an intimate relationship with a PIO and even travelled to Bali, Indonesia with him.

Speaking to media, DSP Kamaljeet said, as quoted by ANI, Yesterday, based on inputs that we had, we arrested Jyoti, daughter of Haris Kumar, under the Official Secret Act and BNS 152. We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. We have taken her on a 5-day remand, and further investigation is on. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.

She has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Apart from this a written confession has been obtained from her, and the case has been handed over to the Hisar's Economic Offences Wing.

Other accused arrested: Another key accused is 32-year-old widow from Punjab's Malerkotla, Guzala, who visited the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to apply for a visa on 27 February 2025.

Danish used to chat with Guzala over Telegram after gaining her trust by promising marriage as he initiated a romantic relationship through chats and video calls.

The India Today report claimed that Danish started sending money to Guzala  10,000 on March 7 via the payment app, PhonePe, and 20,000 on March 23 via another payment app, Google Pay. Later he instructed her to divert 10,000 to specific recipients in parts: 1,800, 899, 699, and 3,000.

Also Read | Pakistan funding terrorism: Yalda Hakim speaks about interviewing Khawaja Asif

Accompanied by her friend Banu Nasreena, another widow from Malerkotla, Guzala returned to the Pakistan High Commission on 23 April. Their visa were again facilitated by Danish and issued on the next day.

The fourth person arrested by the authorities is Yameen Mohd from Malerkotla (a financial dealer with Danish), Devinder Singh Dhillon from Haryana's Kaithal (who sent videos of Patiala cantonment), and Arman from Haryana's Nuh (who supplied Indian SIM cards and visited the Defence Expo 2025 on instructions from PIOs).

India Today, quoting the officials, reported that the case is part of a larger espionage operation that targets people through emotional connections, monetary gifts, and fake promises of marriage. Further investigations are underway.
Leila Kabir, 88, renowned social worker and wife of the late socialist leader George Fernandes, passed away on Thursday evening at her residence in Delhi after a long battle with cancer.

Who was Leila Kabir? She was born into a prominent familyher father, Humayun Kabir, was a respected educationist and former Union Minister. Kabir was an active social worker and held the position of assistant director at the Indian Red Cross.

According to reports, she first met socialist leader and politician George Fernandes on a flight from Calcutta to Delhi, marking the beginning of their relationship and the two later married on July 22, 1971.

In the 1970s, she played an active role in humanitarian efforts, particularly during the Bangladesh Liberation War, where she served with the Red Cross.

Also Read: Firebrand socialist George Fernandes dies at 88

The couple had a son, Sean Fernandes. Although Leila and George separated in the mid-1980s, they never divorced. She returned to care for him in 2010 when he was battling Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases, managing his medical treatment and staying by his side until his death in January 2019.

The Print reported citing Journalist and former politician Santosh Bhartiya, At such a time, Leila ji stood beside him and took care of him like he was a toddlerLeila ji and George Sahabs relationship during his final days, she was helping him through everything, teaching him how to live again. And George Sahab would listen to her too.

Leila Kabir would be remembered for her politically active role during critical moments like the emergency period, which marked a glorious episode in Fernandes six-decade-long public life.

According to a report by Indian Express, former Janata Dal (United) leader Aneel Prasad Hegde, who attended Leila Kabirs cremation on behalf of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, recalled that Leila and George Fernandes were in Odisha when the Emergency was declared in 1975. At the time, Fernandes, serving as the president of the Socialist Party, George Fernandes went underground due to his leadership role in the Socialist Party to evade arrest.

At such a time, Leila ji stood beside him and took care of him like he was a toddler.

Meanwhile, Leila, with their newborn son, travelled to the United States and other countries, leading a campaign against the Emergency imposed in India. She returned to India 22 months later, after it was lifted, according to the report.
Jammu and Kashmir: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) conducted raids at several locations in Sopore of North Kashmir. Sopore, Baramulla, Handwara, Ganderbal and Srinagar areas are the places where searches took place. These are in connection with an ongoing crackdown on suspected terror-related activities in the region.

Raids in South Kashmir This comes just days after the agency carried out raids at 20 locations in South Kashmir. The agency stated it conducted raids at numerous locations in South Kashmir in a case related to sharing of sensitive and strategic information about security forces and vital installations through messaging applications.

The SIA conducted searches at around 20 locations across all districts of South Kashmir in connection with the investigation of a case registered under UAPA, the officials stated. They mentioned the large amounts of incriminating materials have been recovered during the raids, and the suspects have been rounded up for further interrogation.

Also Read | Digital arrest scam: CBI conducts countrywide searches at 38 locations

In an official release, SIA said, J&K police are keeping a surveillance on the terror associates and over ground workers (OGW) working in Kashmir. Technical intelligence indicated that a host of sleeper cells in Kashmir were in direct contact with their handlers based in Pakistan and were involved in conveying sensitive and strategic information about security forces and vital installations via messaging apps including but not limited to WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and so on.

The officials stated these terror associates were also engaged in online radical propaganda at the request of terrorist commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, impinging upon the national security and integrity.

Also Read | Babbar Khalsa Crackdown: NIA conducts searches at 15 locations in Punjab

What is SIA? The SIA was established in 2021 as the nodal agency for coordinating with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies and shall take such other measures as may be necessary for speedy and effective investigation and prosecution of terrorism related cases.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday accused the BJP-led Centre of stopping education funds to the state for its petty politics and asserted that his government will move the Supreme Court for the release of over 2,000 crore.

Addressing a book release event, Stalin said since Tamil Nadu has not agreed to the 3-language policy, the Centre has not released 2,152 crore. "BJP-led Centre has halted education funds to Tamil Nadu for its petty politics," the chief minister alleged adding the funds were meant for education---students and teachers.

Further, Stalin informed that the state government would for sure approach the Supreme Court challenging non-release of education funds by the Centre.

Like the state's success in the Governor case, which fixed deadlines for Governor/President over Bills, Tamil Nadu would win in the education funds related matter too, he expressed confidence.

Stalin said the struggle to bring education to the state list of the Constitution would continue and in case education was not shifted to the state list, it would be out of bounds for all, he said, once again reaffirming the DMK's position on this subject.

Releasing the "NEP-2020 Enum Madhayanai" (The Rogue Elephant-NEP-2020), authored by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Stalin said the book's title conveyed the whole content and it is very important.

As regards the BJP government, its intention is the saffronisation of everything and the first step is education and the NEP has been introduced for this purpose.

That is why Anbil Mahesh has raised the question of the choice in front of the country, between the catastrophic communalism or the prosperous social justice. "We are saying categorically that we will not accept the NEP after seeing the BJP's schemes, activities and future plans."

Education for all is the Dravidian model and education only for selected persons is BJP's Saffron model. Everything for everyone is Dravidian model ideology and everything for one person is the Aryan ideology and this is the 2,000 year war in this society.

Outlining the focus on education for the past about a century in Tamil Nadu, beginning with the start of the Dravidian movement, he said, "knowledge is our weapon."

He alleged: "The NEP will damage the reservation. Only till the existence of reservation, the oppressed and backward people will get higher education opportunity. NEP will shatter a pluralistic culture."

The BJP's idea is to build a Sanskrit culture based "unitary" nationalism.

Union Minister Amit Shah has himself said that Sanskrit will grow in view of the NEP, the chief minister said, adding it has confirmed the apprehensions.

"This is an effort to destroy all state languages including Tamil. The only way to stop this is to bring back education to the state list of the Constitution. The struggle towards that should be intensified...If education is not shifted to state list, education will become out of bounds for all."

State governments alone should have the authority to decide the medium of instruction and the type of curriculum. "Hence, our struggle to bring education to the state list should continue till it is achieved." The newly released book is an inspiration towards that goal.

Only the state can legislate on subjects listed under the state list and both the state and Centre could exercise powers under the Concurrent list.

Deputy CM and DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin alleged that the Centre's New Education Policy was a "filtering" effort to single out and restrain students from going ahead in education.
Congress Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been given a key role in a government delegation for diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor, has termed the opportunity as a great honour and a matter of duty as a citizen of India. Shashi Tharoor said he looks forward to play his part in leading the delegation even as his party, Congress, has frowned upon his inclusion.

In a clear response to Congress' disapproval over inclusion of his name without the party consultation, the Congress MP asserted that only national interest is above everything else.

For the unversed, Congress had nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring to join the government delegation but the Centre, ignoring the list, included Shashi Tharoor to lead a delegation. According to the reports, Shashi Tharoor will lead a delegation to the United States.

Speaking with reporters after being named to lead a govt delegation abroad, Shashi Tharoor said, As I have mentioned, it is a very great honour. As a citizen being called upon to serve the nation at the time of crisis, is a matter of duty for all of us. At the same time, it is an honour that I have been asked to lead a delegation and I look forward very much to playing my part.

I have always said that when my services are required for the nation, I should not be found wanting and I had no hesitation in accepting the kind invitation of the government, which to my mind is nothing to do with politics and everything to do with our country's national interest. National interest, in my mind, are always above everything else.

CONGRESS STANCE ON NAMING THAROOR The Congress on Saturday accused the government of playing games with a mischievous mindset by announcing names of heads of diplomatic outreach delegations after Operation Sindoor other than the four given by the party.

Congress reacted after Shashi Tharoor, not part of the four leaders nominated by the Congress, was named as the head of a delegation to key partner countries.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also said that Salman Khurshid was also approached by the government and he told them that the party has to decide.

At a media briefing here at 24, Akbar Road, Ramesh hit out at the government and said, You cannot include names of MPs (in delegations) without consulting the party.
At least 23 people in the Midwest and South regions of the US were killed after a deadly tornado swept through the area that destroyed buildings, and flipped over a car on an interstate.

At least 14 of the dead persons belonged from Kentucky, the Associated Press reported, adding that they lost their lives in the severe weather. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear warning that the toll could rise.

Kentucky, were starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last nights storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information. Please pray for all of our affected families, he said in a post on X.

Local authorities in Kentucky's Laurel County, located in the state's southeast, informed that at least nine people died as a tornado touched down the area.

Kentucky authorities said there were also severe injuries when a twister tore across Laurel County late Friday, causing structures to crumble and even flipping over a car on I-75.

Did a tornado strike Kentucky? The National Weather Service of the US has not yet confirmed that a tornado struck the areas, but local authorities warned about the same.

Meteorologist Philomon Geertson, quoted by AP, said that the possibility of a tornado was likely.

The latest Kentucky storms were part of a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said.

The severe storm ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.

Drone footage published by local media showed scenes of devastation in the town of London, Kentucky, with houses leveled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, completely shorn of branches.

Lives have been changed forever here tonight. This is a time we come together, and we pray for this community, London Mayor Randall Weddle told WKYT-TV.

The sheriff's office of the Laurel County said rescuers were up all night searching for survivors.

Also Read | Netflix documentary about Missouri tornado revisits one of the deadliest twisters in the US

An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that the Trump administration will not be permitted to deport a group of Venezuelan detainees accused of being members of a violent gang under an obscure wartime law. Trump reacted to it and said the SC wont allow them to deport criminals out of the country.

It stated they were not being given adequate time to legally challenge their removal.

Trump, who campaigned for the presidential election vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants, reacted to the court directive, stating, ""THE SUPREME COURT WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!"

The 7-2 decision by the apex court is another blow to President Donald Trump's attempts to quickly expel alleged Tren de Aragua gang members using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), which was last put in effect to round up Japanese-Americans during World War II, in March to deport a first group of alleged Tren de Aragua members to a notorious prison in El Salvador unjustly.

Attorneys representing numerous of the deported Venezuelans have stated their clients were not Tren de Aragua members, had done no crimes and were targeted mainly on the basis of their tattoos.

On April 19, the Supreme Court stepped in on to temporarily halt further deportations of undocumented Venezuelan migrants, mentioning they must be afforded fair procedure.

What did the justices say in the Friday order? In Friday's unsigned order, the court halted plans to deport another group of detainees placed in Texas, stating they were not being given enough time to mount a meaningful legal contest to their removal.

"Notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster," AFP quoted the justices as saying.

Conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed.

The justices also observed that a Salvadoran man had been deported to El Salvador "in error" besides the alleged Tren de Aragua members in March and the Trump administration has alleged "it is unable to provide for (his) return."

While emphasising they were not deciding whether Trump could legally use the AEA to deport undocumented migrants, the justices asked a lower court to "expeditiously" assess the question.

"To be clear, we decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given. We did not on April 19 -- and do not now -- address the underlying merits of the parties' claims regarding the legality of removals under the AEA. We recognize the significance of the Government's national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution," they stated.

Three federal district court judges have decided that Trump's use of the AEA to conduct deportations was unconstitutional, whereas one district court judge, a Trump appointee, ruled that it was permissible.

The US President, while invoking AEA, asserted Tren de Aragua was engaged in "hostile actions" and "threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States."

Since assuming office, Trump has sent troops to the Mexican border, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for allegedly not doing adequate to cease illegal crossings, and designated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist groups.
The United States Embassy in India has unexpectedly issued a reminder to Indians travelling to America, warning them against overstaying their visas. If they do, they would either be deported or face permanent ban on travelling to the US in the future, the US embassy said.

If you remain in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future, the text on the US Embassy in India read.

While former President Donald Trump had already made his stance clear during past deportation drives, this sudden reminder from the US Embassy in New Delhi seems to have struck a nerve  triggering Afghanistan flashbacks as one user asked, how long were you in Afghanistan?

Another said that the message was plain threat.

American also visiting India should also respect the visa rules. Go back before the visa expires, it said.

One user highlighted that the language appeared to be undiplomatic and what appeared to be a threat from an embassy to the citizens of the host country.

At this point this is like humiliation by USA government...., one social media said.

On Friday, a federal appeals court refused to allow the Trump administration to restart deporting migrants to nations other than their own without prior notice or the opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture.

The US First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's request to block a lower court decision halting the policy. The court's decision comes amid rising concerns over reported plans to send migrants to Libya, a country criticised for the mistreatment of detainees and ongoing civil unrest.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif admitted that India's ballistic missiles hit Nur Khan Airbase and other sites on May 10, a rare acknowledgement that contradicts Pakistan's usual stance of denial when it comes to Indian military action.

Sharif said Army Chief General Asim Munir called him around 2:30 am to report the strikes. Sharif mentioned the use of local technology and Chinese jets by Pakistan's Air Force, but confirmed that India's missiles hit their targets.

While addressing a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument on Friday, Sharif said, "At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on secure line and informed me that India's ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. Our Air Force used homegrown technology to save our country, and they even used modern gadgets and technology on Chinese jets," Geo News reported.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya also pointed to Sharif's admission that he was woken up at 2:30 am by Army Chief General Asim Munir, with the news that Indian missiles had hit Nur Khan Airbase and other key locations.

Malviya noted that such a call reveals the precision and boldness of Operation Sindoor.

Sharing a post on X, Malviya said, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif himself admits that General Asim Munir called him at 2:30am to inform him that India had bombed Nur Khan Air Base and several other locations. Let that sink in -- the Prime Minister was woken up in the middle of the night with news of strikes deep inside Pakistan. This speaks volumes about the scale, precision, and boldness of #OperationSindoor.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on secure line and informed me that India's ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania. Zelenskyy spoke about the course of the conversation on Friday in the official Telegram channel.

"During the meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, he thanked for the resolute support of Ukraine: this year the Netherlands almost tripled the volume of defense assistance. We appreciate this contribution to protecting the lives of our people," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian President briefed the Prime Minister of the Netherlands about the "meeting in Istanbul and the importance of putting pressure on Russia to achieve a complete ceasefire as the first stage on the path to a reliable peace."

"We also discussed the needs of our country: strengthening air defense, investments in Ukrainian defense production. Everything that helps protect life from Russian aggression and restore security for people," Zelenskyy said.
Microsoft on Thursday admitted that it provided the Israeli military with advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing services during its war with Gaza but stressed that it was not used to harm people.

The US tech giant in a statement issued on May 15 said conducted an internal review and engaged an external firm to assess reports that its technology was used to cause harm in Gaza. The statement further noted that it aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages.

Microsoft provides IMOD with software, professional services, Azure cloud services, and Azure AI services, including language translation. As with many governments around the world, we also work with the Israeli government to protect its national cyberspace against external threats, Microsoft said.

Thursday's statement is probably Microsoft's first acknowledgement of its involvement in the war, that started after 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Gaza so far.

Also Read | Israel strikes 2 ports in Yemen controlled by Houthis hours after attacking Gaza

It comes nearly three months after The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giants close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

What did Microsoft say? Acknowledging its involvement in the war, Microsoft said its relationship with the Israeli military is structured as a standard commercial relationship where the customer is bound by all its policies.

Based on our review, including both our internal assessments and external review, we have found no evidence that Microsofts Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct, it said.

However, Microsoft further admitted that it occasionally provides special access to its technologies to its customers beyond the terms of agreement.

Microsoft provided limited emergency support to the Israeli government in the weeks following the Hamas attack in 2023 to locate hostages, it said.

The company did not directly address several questions about precisely how the Israeli military is using its technologies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with several European leaders, including European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.

During these discussions, he emphasised the need to intensify pressure on Russia and stressed that a ceasefire is the first step toward achieving peace. The talks also focused on strengthening military support, improving Ukraine's air defence and defence production capabilities, and accelerating Ukraine's path toward European Union membership.

Zelensky traveled to Tirana, Albania, where he joined leaders from 47 European nations to discuss matters of security, defense, and democratic values in the context of the ongoing war. While there, he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as reported by AP.

In a post on X, Zelensky wrote, I held a meeting with the President of the European Council @eucopresident, Antonio Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula @vonderleyen. I informed them on today's negotiations in Istanbul. Pressure on Russia must increase if it does not agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire. I am therefore grateful for the preparation of the 17th sanctions package. We expect it to target everything that funds Russia's war machine: banks, oil, energy, metallurgy, and the shadow fleet.

He added, Special attention was given to our path toward the EU -- the possibility of swiftly opening negotiation clusters and trade cooperation. Thank you for supporting Ukraine and helping bring us closer to a just peace.

He also emphasised the importance of increasing international pressure on Russia and reiterated that achieving a full ceasefire is the first step toward a reliable peace. The post added, I spoke about today's meeting in Istanbul and the importance of increasing pressure on Russia to achieve a full ceasefire as the first step toward reliable peace. We also discussed our country's needs: strengthening air defence and investing in our defence production -- everything that helps save lives from Russian aggression and restore security for our people.

Meanwhile, while attending the European Political Community Summit in Tirana, Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

Earlier, Putin rejected Zelensky's proposal for a direct meeting in Turkey. Zelensky criticised Moscow for not being genuinely committed to ending the conflict, pointing to Russia's decision to send a low-ranking delegation as evidence.

Reuters reported that Russia seeks to end the war through diplomacy and is open to talks about a ceasefire. However, it has expressed concerns that Ukraine might exploit any pause in fighting to regroup, mobilise more troops, and secure additional weapons from Western allies.

Pressure on Russia must increase if it does not agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.

We expect it to target everything that funds Russia's war machine: banks, oil, energy, metallurgy, and the shadow fleet.

With Russian troops occupying roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, Russian President Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory, give up its aspirations to join NATO, and adopt a neutral stance. Ukraine firmly rejects these conditions, viewing them as equivalent to surrender. Instead, it is pursuing security assurances from major global powers, particularly the United States, Reuters reported.
Amid the trade war, President Donald Trump said he would be open to travelling to China to talk about foreign policy and economic issues with Xi Jinping.

When asked if he wanted to visit Xi on a foreign trip during an interview with Fox News that was broadcast on Friday, Trump said, I would certainly", adding that the relationship between China and the US was important", Bloomberg reported.

The US president in his second administration has repeatedly showcased an eagerness to discuss with the Chinese leader. Earlier in the week, he anticipated the two might speak by phone after their deputies deliberated on a temporary truce in the trade war that was led by Trump imposing tariffs on Chinese goods.

The US lowered levies on Chinese imports, whereas Chinese duties on US goods reduced under that 90-day agreement.

The US urged to deescalate a trade battle with China, an attempt Trump framed as an act of generosity to the worlds second-largest economy. After recent conversations, the US cut its rate on China to 30% from 145% and Beijing reduced its own tariff levels from 125% to 10%, with the nations looking toward more discussions.

If I didnt do that deal with China, I think China would have broken apart, Trump mentioned.

Trump depicted his just-accomplished visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates aimed at keeping nations beyond Beijings sphere of influence. They were going to China, and that was going to be their parent, and thats not happening, Trump mentioned of the three Arab states. He stated that the nations were very important to keep in our fold.

'Confines of very, very strong deal with China': Trump "We have the confines of a very, very strong deal with China. But the most exciting part of the deal ... that's the opening up of China to US business," Trump informed the US broadcaster while aboard Air Force One on the way to the beginning of his Gulf tour, according to AFP. "One of the things I think that could be most exciting for us and also for China, is that we're trying to open up China," he further said, without detailing.
Hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire, a Russian drone struck a passenger bus in Ukraines northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing nine people.

This is another war crime by Russia  a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat, the Sumy regional administration said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, the Associated Press reported.

Russia-Ukraine peace talks Earlier on Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Turkey to establish a temporary ceasefire, marking their first direct meeting since the early weeks of Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022.

However, the discussions ended in less than two hours without any significant breakthrough. It is to be further noted that although both sides agreed to a major prisoner exchange, they remained sharply divided on the core conditions needed to bring the conflict to an end.

One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which remains elusive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the talks with US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Poland. In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania, he urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.

Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, stated that both Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange detailed ceasefire proposals. He also noted that Ukraine had requested a meeting between the two countries' heads of statea suggestion that Russia has taken under consideration, AP reported.

Zelenskyy was in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, meeting with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.

He met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war, Zelenskyy said on X, posting a photo of the leaders during the call, the second for the group since May 10. During these discussions, he emphasised the need to intensify pressure on Russia and stressed that a ceasefire is the first step toward achieving peace. The talks also focused on strengthening military support, improving Ukraine's air defence and defence production capabilities, and accelerating Ukraine's path toward European Union membership.

With Russian troops occupying roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, Russian President Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory, give up its aspirations to join NATO, and adopt a neutral stance, according to reports.

This is another war crime by Russia  a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Congress has once again found itself in loggerheads with the BJP, this time due to its MP Shashi Tharoor. The BJP, which recently named Tharoor as part of its delegation for its mega diplomatic outreach, has questioned the Congress about the Kerala leader's position within his own party.

The Centre recently named Tharoor as the leader of the US delegation that will be part of the diplomatic outreach programme over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's subsequent retaliation againt terror caMPs located in Pakistan, named Operation Sindoor.

The latest row between the BJP and the Congress erupted after it came to light that Shashi Tharoor was not included in the list of recommendations given by Congress for the diplomatic outreach. Veteran leader Jairam Ramesh admitted that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had submitted the official list to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Tharoor's name did not feature among the four names in it.

What did BJP say? BJP leader Amit Malviya on Saturday questioned the Congress' decision to not nominate Shashi Tharoor's name despite his knowledge on the matters of foreign policy.

No one can deny Shashi Tharoors eloquence, his long experience as a United Nations official, and his deep insights on matters of foreign policy, he said.

So why has the Congress Party  and Rahul Gandhi in particular  chosen not to nominate him for the multi-party delegations being sent abroad to explain Indias position on key issues? Malviya asked.

He wondered whether the decision was made out of insecurity or jealousy.

Is it insecurity? Jealousy? Or simply intolerance of anyone who outshines the high command?

Congress defends stance Follwing his revelation about the names, Jairam Ramesh on Saturday issued a rejoinder, saying that it was possible that Rijiju spoke to Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge even after the Centre made up its mind.

It is possible that' Mr Rijiju had talked to Rahul ji and Kharge even after the government had made up their mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But what happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names, he said.

At a media briefing at 24, Akbar Road, Ramesh hit out at the government and said, You cannot include names of MPs (in delegations) without consulting the party.

In a democratic system, when individual MPs are sent on an official delegation, MPs should seek the concurrence of the party, he said.

Ramesh accused the government of playing "Narad Muni politics".

He said it is "dishonest" and "downright mischievous" to ask the Congress for names when in all probability, they had decided the names even before that.

Ramesh also alleged that the whole delegation exercise is a "diversionary and cosmetic exercise".

Also Read | Indian Akashteer's dominance against Pakistani strikes decoded

Ramesh added that asking for names and then naming someone different was dishonest of the government's part.
As the Gaza war nears its 20th month, pressure is building on Hamas from different frontsnot least of which is the growing anger among ordinary Palestinians who have had enough of the hunger, sleeplessness and the ever-present threat of airstrikes from Israeli forces.

Israel says it has started to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, potentially displacing more Palestinians and occupying territory. The specter of starvation is growing from two months of Israel blocking humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave after a fragile cease-fire broke down. A U.S.-backed aid distribution is being planned, which Israel says would prevent Hamas profiting from seizures of food and fuel deliveries to civilians. An Israeli airstrike this week targeted Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas top leader in Gaza, which if proven to be successful would be a big blow to the militant group.

But few expected Hamas to be wrestling with the most visible internal challenge to its authority since it seized control of the Gaza strip in 2007: the people it professes to represent.

Hamas has ruled harshly, often jailing and killing its critics or threatening them into silence. Yet a simmering, continuing resistance has added to the pressure on Hamas, especially in northern Gaza, where the town of Beit Lahiya is the epicenter of anti-Hamas protests that began in March.

After the demonstrations erupted in the town, they quickly spread to other parts of the Gaza Strip. Chanting Hamas out," large crowds, often at great risk, have demanded an end to the war and Hamas to cede control of the enclave. Since then, smaller but boisterous protests have taken place, where fear of Hamas has seemingly evaporated.

On social media, influencersmany of them Palestinians based in Egypt, Turkey, Europe and the U. S.are urging Gazans to rise against Hamas and amplifying the protests globally. They are filling a void created by militant threats against journalists in Gaza, forcing many reporters to self censor their coverage of opposition to Hamas, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday.

I consider myself the voice of the protests," said Hamza al-Masri, a Turkey-based influencer, who has more than 1.2 million followers across several platforms. Hamas has terrorized people in Gaza."

What is unfolding in Beit Lahiya and on social media opens a window into how Hamas misinterpreted the shift in sentiments of many Gazans. It also represents an unprecedented collective defiance against the militants.

The general feeling among Palestinians all over Gaza, not just Beit Lahiya, is that Hamas doesnt care about their lives or suffering," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar UniversityGaza who now lives in Cairo. The general feeling is that Hamas cares more about its own survival."

In Beit Lahiya, theyve lost a lot of their wealth, theyve lost a lot of their cultivated land in this Israeli assault," he added. Thats why they are speaking out loudly against Hamas."

A Hamas spokesman didnt respond to a request for comment about the discontent.

In recent days, the pressure on Hamas has intensified. Early on Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted Beit Lahiya and nearby Jabaliya camp, killing scores, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. The Israeli military didnt respond to a request for comment on the Beit Lahiya strikes. In a statement, the military said its air force had struck what it called over 150 targets throughout the strip, including terrorist cells and military structures. Later, the Israeli military said that it had been conducting strikes and mobilizing troops over the past day as part of an expanded offensive to take control in parts of Gaza.

The strikes are generating more discontent.

People are very angry," said Ahmed al Masri, 26, an activist in Beit Lahiya who says he has no connection to Hamas, after the airstrikes. There is no safe place. Whats happening to us at the hands of both the occupation and Hamas is absurd and insane. This rage is against Israel and Hamas."

Hours before the airstrikes, Hamas released a statement claiming they had released their last living American hostage seized in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, Edan Alexander, as a goodwill gesture to President Trump. A Hamas official said the understanding was that his release would result in the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza and negotiations for a permanent cease-fire.

A U.S. official said Alexander was released by Hamas without any conditions.

While the protests have subsided in most areas as Gazans wrestle with deepening hardships such as finding food, medicines, clean water and shelter, a few hundred protesters took to the streets in Beit Lahiya three weeks ago. Calls are out for more protests on Saturday, one activist said, after the strikes on Friday. Nearly half of all Gazans support the protests, according to a poll released earlier this month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, an independent non-profit based in Ramallah.

Located four miles north of Gaza City and less than two miles from the Israeli border, Beit Lahiya is wealthier than most areas. Many of its roughly 100,000 population are farmers and agricultural workers who once thrived off economic links to Israel, especially exporting strawberries, which locals refer to as red gold," and flowers across the border and to Europe.

Now, residents have seen their properties destroyed, breeding resentment against both Israel and Hamas.

Beit Lahiya was the vegetable and fruit basket of the entire Gaza Strip," said Yousef Rajab, 30, a resident. We lost our land, our livelihoods. Whats left for us?"

Airstrikes launched after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel crushed homes before Israel sent in ground forces, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

In mid-January, following a cease-fire deal, residents returned to their shattered neighborhoods, shocked by the destruction, said residents and activists. They began to rebuild their lives, but in March the cease-fire collapsed, as Israel launched further airstrikes after talks to extend the truce stalled. Soon, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants arrived in Ahmed al Masris neighborhood in Beit Lahiya. They began launching rockets made from sewage pipes into Israel, he and other residents said.

Israeli forces then dropped leaflets on the town, ordering residents to evacuate their homes again. Those orders were the tipping point, said residents, protest leaders and analysts.

Thats when things really exploded," said Ahmed al Masri. People had had enough. We didnt want war. We didnt want Hamas."

Anger spread through the town, including among influential families and clan elders. They met with activists and residents who then called on Facebook for people to take to the streets. Others went door to door or drove a car with a loudspeaker, encouraging protest.

The fear barrier was broken when the evacuation orders came," said Rajab.

Hamas in previous years swiftly cracked down on protests. This time, some militants threatened protesters and unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the demonstrations. But the group, weakened by months of Israeli attacks, didnt systematically shut down the open defiance with force.

When the protests started in late March, Hamza al Masri said he called some of the activists to express support from his base in Turkey.

The 37-year-old influencer, from Beit Hanoun, joined the militants as a teenager, attracted by their religious stance and calls for Palestinian liberation, he said. By his late 20s, he was disillusioned. In 2017, Hamas militants repeatedly detained him, beat him and held him for as long as eight days to stop his critical social-media posts.

I reached a point where it was either I commit suicide or leave Gaza," said Masri, who fled the territory in 2021.

Like many Gazans, Masri at first voiced support for Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, seeing it as a long overdue response to Israels harsh treatment of Palestinians. But as the war and suffering deepened, he changed his mind. In last weeks poll, 37% of Gazans said they approved of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel, down from 71% in March 2024.

As thousands took the streets in front of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, Masri stayed in touch with protesters, encouraging them to send videos and photos. He posted them on Telegram and other social media portals. Many other social-media influencers around the world were posting as well. The protests went viral.

It was clear Beit Lahiya wasnt alone," said Masri.

Write to Sudarsan Raghavan at sudarsan.raghavan@wsj.com
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she isnt a shrink to international leaders after she was asked to give advice to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his upcoming trip to meet US President Donald Trump.

The tongue-in-cheek remarks came as the two leaders met in Rome for their first-ever bilateral meeting.

The German chancellor is a politician of great experience, Meloni said, smiling. Also, I am not a shrink to international leaders.

Each and every one of us has to work for their own national interest, she added. Trump is a US president who defends US interests.

As she was asked what advice would help Merz win over Trump, the chancellor looked at her, laughed and said: Go ahead.

He respects leaders that defend the national interest, she said.

Meloni traveled to Washington last month to press Trump on trade, receiving effusive praise from the US leader but leaving with little of substance to show for it. At the White House, Trump said the Italian leader had taken Europe by storm.

The exchange is emblematic of how leaders are grappling with Washingtons tariffs, as well as an upset of long-held foreign policy tenets.

Merz praised Italy as an important strategic partner in EU foreign policy and made clear that Meloni will play a role in Europes peace initiative for Ukraine. He denied media reports that claimed that his coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats, had called for an exclusion of Italy from the peace talks.

German officials are trying to arrange a meeting with Trump in the White House as early as the end of May. Merz said that he will use the visit to lobby for an end of the EUs trade conflict with the US.

To be sure, Meloni has been caught up in a complex balancing act with regard to Trump, coming under pressure both at home and abroad. Bloomberg has previously reported that while the Italian leader has been privately startled by his remarks, she has however chosen to avoid criticism of him at all costs, sometimes going against the prevailing narrative among most European leaders.

Meloni didnt have warm relations with Merzs predecessor Olaf Scholz, holding opposite views on migration that however began to converge toward the end of his mandate.

Merz and Meloni said they would hold a high level intergovernmental summit next year, deepening collaboration in areas including defense and energy.
In a major setback to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, as many as 13 councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party resigned from the party on Saturday, citing halted development work and rising internal conflict as the reasons for their move.

In the latest political twist at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the 13 AAP councillors announced the formation of a breakaway outfit - Indraprastha Vikas Party, PTI said in a report.

In the two and a half years since our election, no development work has been carried out. The party was too busy with internal conflicts and blame games, senior councillor Mukesh Goyal was quoted as saying by PTI.

We repeatedly raised our concerns with the leadership, but no one listened, he added.

AAP has not yet issued a statement regarding the setback.

The anti-defection law does not apply to municipal bodies, including the MCD.

Also Read | Blow to Arvind Kejriwal: 3 AAP councillors join BJP ahead of MCD mayoral polls

Which AAP councillors joined Indraprastha Vikas Party? While Mukesh Goyal will serve as the president of the Indraprastha Vikas Party, veteran municipal figure Hemchand Goyal will lead the outfit.

Other AAP leaders including Dinesh Bharadwaj, Himani Jain, Usha Sharma, Sahib Kumar, Rakhi Kumar, Ashok Pandey, Rajesh Kumar, and Anil Rana, will be part of the newly floated party.

Also Read | Who is Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh? BJP leader to run for mayor post at MCD polls

Want to focus on real work Mukesh Goyal further alleged that elected councillors were not being allotted budgets to carry out developmental work in their respective wards.

We want to focus on real work for the people of Delhi. We want the House to function smoothly and ensure that the policies are implemented in public interest, he stressed while clarifying that the move was limited to MCD.

On April 25, AAP lost control over the MCD months after losing the Delhi Assembly Elections, as the BJP returned to power at the corporation after two years.

BJP's Raja Iabal was elected Delhi's new mayor, while AAP chose to avoid the elections.
ABU DHABIPresident Trump elevated Persian Gulf monarchies in his four-day swing through the Middle East, eroding at least for now the centrality of Americas decadeslong alliance with Israel.

His embrace of leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates stood out as Trump bypassed Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has turned more distant in recent months.

Even before Trump arrived in the region, moves including the administrations unilateral deal with Hamas to secure the release of the last remaining American hostage in Gaza either sidelined or surprised the Israelis, underscoring the two allies arent fully in sync on the regions biggest flashpoints.

The moves also highlighted a difference with his predecessor, Joe Biden, who focused on wooing Netanyahu, months of often-fruitless diplomacy to halt the Gaza war and mending his relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he had called a pariah state" before taking office.

The question for Trump is whether the shift from Israel is anything more than tactical. The U.S. remains Israels closest ally and main arms supplier. Israels support in Congress, though damaged by its war in Gaza, makes it tricky if not impossible for any White House to significantly downgrade the relationship.

Trump has long had a wary relationship with Netanyahu. He hasnt gotten over Netanyahus public congratulations to Biden after his 2020 presidential election victory, associates say. But their current disagreements have more to do with Trumps agenda than any long-term divergence, analysts said.

The differences are real and the tension is real," said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. But folks are making too big a deal that Israel has been left off the itinerary." Netanyahu has had two meetings with Trump and Israeli leaders remain in close contact with their American counterparts, he noted.

For Arab governments, even a temporary swing in their direction was welcome.

To those in the Gulf who thought that the only way to America was through Israel, now we see an opening where we can go directly to the States," said Bader al-Saif, an expert on Persian Gulf and Arabian affairs at Kuwait University. We have access to the number one guy. He listens."

Gulf countries are becoming the partner of choice," Joel Rayburn, Trumps nominee to be the State Departments top Middle East official, said at a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday. The presidents trip proves it is time we expand on our relationships in the Gulf, expand them from security to prosperity," he added.

But in a reminder that the regions conflicts have often soured optimism about transformed relationships, Saudi Arabias foreign ministry condemned Israels war in Gaza as Trump departed the region, denouncing what it called repeated assaults by the Israeli war machine on the Palestinian people."

Gaza had drawn drew little mention as the oil-rich Gulf nations paraded Trump through grand palaces and an ornate mosque, committed to trillions in U.S. investment, invited top business leaders for opulent gatherings, lined streets with mounted camels and horses, and lighted up buildingsincluding the worlds tallest skyscraper in Dubaiwith projections of the American flag.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, welcomed President Trump upon his arrival Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

His hosts heaped praise on Trump, who avoided delivering what had become familiar messages by past administrations about human rights. Arabs didnt need Westerners giving you lectures on how to live," Trump said.

No one pulled out the stops more than the Saudis, the deep-pocketed regional heavyweight that has begun to flex its muscle after decades of passivity. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman guided Trump throughout the entire 36-hour visit, ending with Trump bidding the monarch farewell on the tarmac.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship has been a bedrock of security and prosperity," Trump said during his stay in Riyadh. It is more powerful than ever before, and, by the way, it will remain that way."

Trump added that it was his dream for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, which would amount to a diplomatic masterstroke that could transform the Middle East and was a major unfulfilled goal of Bidens presidency. Trump told a large gathering in Riyadh, with Prince Mohammed in the front row, that the kingdom could reach that decision on its own time, an acknowledgment that a formal diplomatic rapprochement was unlikely as long as the Gaza war continued.

Arab governments have heard vows of U.S. support beforeincluding from Trump during his first termonly to see Washington stay more closely aligned with Israel than with them. In 2019, during his first term, Trump vowed to retaliate against Iran after a drone attack on a Saudi oil facility that the U.S. blamed on Tehran but he canceled the strike, angering Saudi leaders.

Qatari military jets escorted Trumps plane as it prepared to land in Doha Wednesday.

But it has been Netanyahu who has found himself on the outside recently, starting in April when Trump announced nuclear talks with Iran during the Israeli leaders visit to the White House.

Although Trump says he would prefer an agreement with Tehran not to develop a nuclear weapon, he has threatened that Iran could face attack if no deal was reached. That approach would align Trump more closely once again with Netanyahus view about how to halt Irans nuclear program. Yet that is only one of the disagreements between him and Israel.

Earlier this month, he struck a deal with Houthi militants to stop attacking U.S. ships, but not Israel. Before arriving in the Middle East, he negotiated the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander with Hamas while Israeli hostages remained in captivity, and during the trip this week he agreed to lift sanctions on Syria after a personal appeal by Prince Mohammed, breaking with Israel, which has been skeptical of the new government in Damascus.

When Trump came to the Middle East during his first term, he also made Saudi Arabia his first stop, but he later flew to Israel, met with Netanyahu and prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, becoming the first sitting president to do so.

This time, in Abu Dhabi, Trump made his first visit to a mosque as president, a stunning turnaround for a politician who once declared, Islam hates us."

Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Stephen Kalin at stephen.kalin@wsj.com
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed outrage at Russian attack on peaceful residents of Bilopillia in Sumy region on Saturday night.

"Appalled by Russia's attack in Sumy, mere hours after talks in Turkiye. If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done," he said on the X network on Saturday.

As reported, at 06:1 on Saturday, the enemy struck a Lancet UAV at a bus that was performing an evacuation flight on the Bilopillia-Sumy route: nine people were killed, seven were injured.
UPDATE: The re-opening date for the Chattanooga Incline Railway has been pushed to Monday, July 14.

The railway has been closed since December, when a wildfire damaged the tracks and cables. The closing has led to nearly a $2 million loss in fares.

CARTA says they'd hoped to be up-and-running again by June 2, but heavy rain and late deliveries have delayed repairs.

PREVIOUS STORY: Some repairs for the Incline Railway are 65% complete, expected to be finished by early May, following a December fire. The railway is expected to be operational again by June 2, 2025.

PREVIOUS STORY: A date has been set for the potential reopening of the Incline Railway after a December wildfire on Lookout Mountain forced it to close.

According to the Incline Railway's website, the target reopening date will be June 2, 2025 if repairs continue without any delays or complications at the 129-year-old historic site.

National Park Service (NPS) investigators also determined the cause of the fire was due to a series of natural events and found no signs of human involvement around the area where the blaze was started.

NPS investigators said fire started with large rocks or boulders thawing on Lookout Mountain, which caused a rockslide with large amounts of friction.

The rocks hit several trees and other boulders along the way, creating extreme heat and sparks that led to a 10-acre wildfire.

The rocks also pushed over a large tree which hit a power line near the Hardy Trail, causing more sparks.

Multiple homes and businesses in the surrounding area were evacuated due to the fire.

While businesses reopened and residents returned home, the Incline was forced to close due to the "significant damage" done by the fire.

Stay with Local 3 News for continuing coverage of this story.

PREVIOUS STORY: CARTA says they are still working to get the Incline Railway up and running after the Lookout Mountain wildfire in early December.

"Right now, the team is cutting up the damaged cable into lengths that are easier to recycle. This is difficult and challenging work," explained CARTA.

National Parks Service investigators believe the 10-acre wildfire was caused by the thawing of large rocks up the mountain, causing a rockslide with large amounts of friction that sparked.

Several businesses in St. Elmo were impacted, as well as several homes evacuated while crews worked to get the fire under control.

From Lookout Mtn. to downtown grocery: CFD crews exhausted by recent fire calls CFD Chief Rick Boatwright says the weekend fire on Lookout Mountain and responding to several residential fires has exhausted firefighters.

PREVIOUS STORY: The National Parks Service (NPS) says investigators have found the likely cause of the wildfire on Lookout Mountain over the weekend.

An NPS investigator determined the fire started in the Lookout Mountain Battlefield at around 5:30am on Saturday.

The likely cause is believed to be a large rockslide that sent boulders tumbling down from the top of Lookout Mountain towards Ochs Highway.

The boulders hit several trees and other stationary boulders along the way, creating extreme heat and sparks.

The boulders also pushed over a large tree which hit a power line near the Hardy Trail.

Although the incident with the power line could have created sparks, the NPS investigator said the evidence at the scene indicates the rockslide as the probable cause of the fire.

No evidence of human activity was found in the area where the wildfire started.

The fire is fully contained and 100% controlled, so it is not expected to spread under the current conditions.

St. Elmo businesses seeing impact from Incline Railway closing after wildfire Some owners said day-to-day operations look a bit different after a wildfire spread from the incline on Lookout Mountain.

The NPS says a final report on the investigation will be done after the fire is out, which is expected to take about two weeks.

The Incline Railway is expected to be closed for months to repair damage caused by the fire.

The Mountain Beautiful Trail is closed until further notice.

Stay with Local 3 News for updates to this developing story.

PREVIOUS STORY: Carta officials say the Incline Railway has suffered "significant damage," facing months of repairs from the Lookout Mountain fire on Saturday.

While the fire is under control, some sections of the railway still continue to smolder. The severed cable system alone could take months to manufacture a replacement.

What happens next in Lookout Mountain fire investigation? Crews are waiting for the fire to be fully controlled, which is different than containment.

CARTA explains there are several critical areas of damage:

The cable system has been severed and will require months to remanufacture due to its specialized nature.

Both the rail system and cross timbers have sustained damage, though the full extent remains unknown.

The railway is insured, and the insurance company has been engaged.

CARTA has taken the following steps towards restoration as of Dec. 10:

Replacement plans are underway with the cable manufacturer for the specialized replacement cable, which was fully replaced in April 2024

Rail manufacturers have been engaged and are standing by.

Timber suppliers are on alert to provide necessary materials.

Engineers will begin their comprehensive assessment tomorrow and develop a repair plan for the rail and timbers.

While there is never a favorable time for disaster to strike, CARTA says their scheduled emergency response training this year proved extremely timely.

They completed the following preparations before the Lookout Mountain fire:

Day-long rescue exercises with the Chattanooga Fire Department's Special Operations team

Coordination with Hamilton County Emergency Management and local first responders

Practice of complex extraction scenarios from elevated trestles using specialized equipment

Chattanooga Fire was at the Incline the prior Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

"The swift and professional response from all emergency personnel, combined with the preparedness of our Incline Railway team, prevented what could have been a far more devastating situation," said Charles D. Frazier, CARTA CEO. "The joint training exercise that CARTA initiated in April with emergency responders proved invaluable in protecting this historic landmark. While we face significant repairs ahead, I want to assure our community that we will restore this Tennessee treasure for future generations to experience and enjoy. The Incline Railway has been a part of Chattanooga's story for 129 years, and we are committed to ensuring it remains a vital part of our community's future."

PREVIOUS STORY: Local 3 is learning more about the damage done to the Incline Railway by the Lookout Mountain fire over the weekend.

In a Facebook post, Rock City said the Incline Railway is temporarily closed for repairs.

According to CARTA, the site remains an active emergency scene and is under the management of first responders.

Although the fire damaged the Incline's cable system and rails, both incline vehicles are secure and undamaged, as well as both the lower station in St. Elmo and upper station on Lookout Mountain.

"The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway has been an integral part of Chattanooga's identity since 1895 and holds a special place in Tennessee's heritage. Given the unique engineering and safety requirements of our steep-grade railway, we will need to complete comprehensive structural and technical assessments once emergency responders have completed their work. Only after these thorough evaluations can we develop appropriate restoration plans," says CARTA.

Lookout Mountain residents recount close call after weekend wildfire Around 20 homes were evacuated over the weekend because of the fire on Lookout Mountain.

CARTA has not said when the Incline will reopen at this time.

Tickets for the Incline are valid for one year from the date of purchase. You can email Rock City with any questions.

A spokesperson for the National Parks Service (NPS) said the fire is about 10 acres and remains fully contained as crews continue to monitor the flames.

The NPS said black smoke, created from the fire reaching the railroad ties on the tracks or rails along the Incline, could be visible for several days.

The Mountain Beautiful Trail is closed until further notice.

Chief park ranger explains what caused Lookout Mtn. fire The National Parks Service (NPS) believes a tree collapsing on a power line might have caused the Lookout Mountain brush fire. The cold weather could also be blamed.

PREVIOUS STORY: The National Park Service (NPS) told Local 3 that the Lookout Mountain fire has been 100% contained as of 4:00pm on Sunday.

Todd Milsaps, Chief Ranger of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Military Park, says that the team began with water treatment, and moved to foam treatment once the fire was less severe.

According to NPS, Grand Smoky Mountain rangers are conducting their final check in which they walk the area's perimeter. A minimal crew will be on site tonight and tomorrow.

The exact cause of the fire is undetermined. A Wildfire Arson Investigator is working the case, however Chief Milsaps says that it is unknown whether the fire was human-caused.

Chief Milsaps explained there will be another debrief on Monday, December 9.

PREVIOUS STORY: The National Park Service (NPS) told Local 3 that they are continuing to monitor the fire on Lookout Mountain, specifically along the Incline Railway, this morning. They say the fire has grown to ten acres, and it is 75% contained at this time.

Although the fire has grown technically, NPS says they are not currently "battling" the fire. At this time, they are "mopping up" to put out any hot spots that might spark up.

The Chattanooga Fire Department says they are assisting Lookout Mountain Fire in having firefighters out in UTVs, riding the trails of Lookout Mountain to monitor the area.

PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga fire says there is a fire break around the entire impacted area of the Lookout Mountain fire. Crews are working to extinguish the fires at railroad ties on the Incline Railway, which is difficult to reach.

Teams are on "fire watch" through the night along the rail.

Chattanooga fire says crews first responded to the brush fire at 6:46am and have been fighting the blaze alongside the US Forest Service, Tennessee Forestry, CFD, Lookout Mountain FD, CPD and HCEMS throughout the day.

By afternoon when the flames reached the Incline Railway, several businesses and homes were evacuated near the lower incline as a precaution.

Around 20 homes on Old Mountain Road and W 40th Street were evacuated as well.

By 5:00pm, all evacuations were lifted.

CARTA, who owns the Incline Railway, stated the following statement:

"The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is temporarily closed due to an ongoing active fire incident.

We are fully cooperating with emergency response teams who are currently managing the situation. The safety of our guests and staff remains our highest priority.

We will conduct a thorough assessment once emergency personnel have secured the site and will provide updates regarding service restoration when appropriate."

PREVIOUS STORY: The Chattanooga Fire Department says evacuations in St. Elmo have been lifted as crews continue to extinguish the fire on Lookout Mountain.

PREVIOUS STORY: Multiple homes and businesses have been evacuated as the Lookout Mountain fire has reached the Incline Railway.

Multiple businesses and homes from St. Elmo Avenue to Tennessee Avenue and Old Mountain Road to St. Elmo Avenue.

38th Street to the Incline Railway and everything to the left of the incline area, including Mr. T's Pizza and the 1885 restaurant.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Chattanooga Fire Department has turned the fire on Lookout Mountain over to the National Park Service and Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry.

CFD says that the fire has now made its way to the Incline Railway's tracks. They are sending additional personnel to help stop the spread of the fire.

Residents should expect to see helicopters working to extinguish the fire.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD) and several other agencies are responding to a brush fire on the side of Lookout Mountain. They responded to the fire around 7:00am on Saturday, December 7 from the 700 block of South Scenic Highway after several calls had been made to 911.

CFD says that, at this time, there are no injuries and no structural damages.
UPDATE: The Chattanooga Division of Transportation is welcoming IRONMAN 70.3 this Sunday, May 18.

In preparation for the traffic chaos, Chattanooga officials are recommending visitors park in the lots and garages surrounding the downtown area, and utilizing the Free Electric Shuttle and Bike Chattanooga bike share system. The shuttle will begin at 9:30am on Sunday, while the bike share system is available 24/7.

UPDATE: IRONMAN officials cancel swim portion of Sunday's race due to TN river conditions The portion of the race has been cancelled due to the dangerous conditions expected in the Tennessee River.

Public Space Coordinator Justin Strickland writes that the weekend's events began on Friday afternoon with the IRONMAN Village and Official IRONMAN Store on Riverfront Parkway. Both will remain open on Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

Strickland notes that the Tennessee River will be closed to recreational crafts between Ross' Landing and the Hubert Fry Center from 5:00am on Saturday until 10:10am on Sunday. This includes the Rivermont Park and Tennessee Riverpark boat ramps.

Between 7:15am and 1:00pm on Sunday, the following traffic will be stopped from crossing the cyclists' lane when they are present:

Riverfront Parkway

West 20th Street

Broad Street

Market Street

Alton Park Boulevard

Between 10:30am and 1:00pm, runners will be on:

Riverwalk

Amnicola Highway

Veterans Bridge

Frazier Avenue

Barton Avenue

Riverfront Parkway

Closed through Sunday at 9:00pm:

Riverside Drive/Riverfront Parkway between Aquarium Way and Molly Lane

Chestnut Street between Aquarium Way and Riverfront Parkway

Power Alley from the parking lot to Riverfront Parkway

Southbound Veterans Bridge ramp to Riverside Drive

The following will be closed or have limited access for the bike portion:

The right southbound lane of Riverfront Parkway between Molly Lane and W MLK Blvd

Riverfront Parkway southbound will be fully closed between W MLK Blvd and Broad Street. All traffic will be directed northbound only

The right southbound lane of Market Street between West 20th Street and West 40th Street

West 40th Street between Alton Park Blvd and Tennessee Avenue

I-24 on-ramp and Southbound off-ramp at Market Street will be closed and all streets crossing this route will be controlled by CPD officers

The intersections of St Elmo Ave and W 42nd Street / Tennessee Ave and Virginia Avenue at West 46th Street** will be 4-way Stops from 5:00 am until 1:00 pm on Sunday, May 19th for the IRONMAN 70.3 bike portion. Cyclists will also be on Tennessee Avenue and St Elmo Avenue to the state line, riding with traffic. (**W 46th Street is an updated location, after public input, this was chosen in place of W 45th Street)

The following will be closed or have limited access for the running portion:

Dedicated bike lane on Frazier Avenue between Forest Avenue and the Veterans Bridge

The right northbound lane of Barton Avenue between Frazier Avenue and Baker Street

The right northbound lane of the Veterans Bridge between East 3rd Street and Barton Avenue

The right westbound lane of Amnicola Highway between Old Curtain Pole Road and Lindsay Street

Battery Place off-ramp from Riverfront Parkway

Aquarium Way between Riverfront Parkway and Walnut Street

All streets crossing this route will be controlled by CPD officers to give right-of-way to the runners from 5:00 am on Sunday, May 18th until 5:00 pm for the IRONMAN 70.3 run portion.

Several locations will have temporary parking restrictions on Sunday, including:

Riverfront Parkway

Walnut Street

Multiple locations in St. Elmo

"Special Event No Parking" signage will be posted to signal the restrictions.

For more information, Chattanooga has also posted a full list of closures and the map course online.

PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga's 10th Ironman 70.3 is Sunday, May 18, and athletes across the county have been gearing up for the challenge. Although the race isnt until Sunday, events began today and so did road closures. People might be wondering how these will affect them.

One of Chattanooga's largest annual events is finally back, drawing in athletes, spectators and visitors looking to have some fun on Chattanooga's Riverfront, but with it also comes the not-so-fun part: thousands of people maneuvering their way around barricades blocking main roads.

Road closure, detours, limited parking and a swarm of people is what you're going to find this weekend, but don't worry, we've got a few tips to help you navigate through the closures, and Chattanooga is more than ready to handle the crowds, giving people the same experience that has them coming back every year.

"Really, we're filled with anyone who is going to do running, attending or working or supporting those for ironman, so when you have that many people going just for this event coupled with the support from our local residents, really, it's surprisingly amazing how traffic still flows and people are just used to the route, Justin Strickland with Chattanoogas Department of Public Works says.

In fact, recent renovations are making the area even more accessible.

"Because we've created the protected pathway on Frazier Avenue, we no longer have to close any lanes on Frazier, so people will be able to use the new pathways, which is really exciting. Of course, Veterans Bridge will be utilized as well, Strickland says.

Most closures will be along Riverfront Parkway, but most exits off US-27 will be open, and parking shouldn't be too much of a problem, even with some lot closings. Strickland says the Northshore parking garage will be available, and Renaissance Park is easily accessible for those looking for an easy walk across the Market Street Bridge.

Strickland is also encouraging people to stay safe and be aware of their surroundings, especially since bikers will be riding alongside traffic in some parts of the course.

We definitely need everyone to pay attention, give the bikers room and just be safejust take it a little slower and pay attention, Strickland says.

For those wanting to watch the competitors, he says the best places are on

Riverfront Parkway where the races begin. Chattanooga has also posted a full list of closures and the map course online.
Photo: https://t.me/Sumy_news_ODA

An enemy strike on a minibus near Bilopillia town in Sumy region in eastern Ukraine has been the deadliest in recent weeks, killing civilians, UN human rights experts said.

Monitors from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) are in the process of gathering additional information on the circumstances of the attack and its victims. Preliminary reports suggest that the minibus was carrying civilian evacuees from an area close to the frontline, the majority of whom were women.

"With nine civilians reported killed, this would be the deadliest attack in weeks," Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU, said. "This is a stark reminder that civilians continue to be killed and injured on a daily basis across Ukraine."

If confirmed, todays strike would represent the deadliest attack since April 24, 2025, when an attack killed at least 11 civilians and injured 81 in Kyiv.

While the number of civilian casualties in May has been somewhat lower than in April, HRMMU has continued to document daily civilian casualties, particularly along the frontline.

At 06:17 on Saturday, the enemy struck a bus carrying out an evacuation flight on the Bilopillia-Sumy route with a Lancet UAV, killing nine people and injuring seven.
judge has granted a teenager bail at Longford District Court despite the Gardai objecting to him being released from custody.



Garda Lorraine Shiel told Judge Bernadette Owens the youth lives in a hotel in the region but he was regularly meeting associates in Longford town.



The defendant, who had 19 charges before the court, including seven counts of theft and seven counts of arson, has been in Garda custody since April 25.

READ NEXT: Ballymahon meets Brittany: a week of culture and fun for the French in Longford



Garda Shiel said it will be alleged on September 5, 2024, Gardai received a call that a commercial wheelie bin valued at 150 was taken from Grafton Court without permission and set alight at Annaly car park.



Garda Shiel said on the same date an alleged similar theft occurred at Fabiani, Main Street, Longford where a 150 commercial wheelie bin was taken without permission and found on fire at Aldi car park.



She told Judge Bernadette Owens on September 6, 2024 Gardai received a further call in relation to the theft of a wheelie bin from Kebabish, Main Street, Longford and it was found set alight a short distance away.

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Garda Shiel said Gardai and the fire brigade responded to a call of a fire in progress at Annaly car park on September 9, 2024.



She stated it was later reported that three commercial wheelie bins were stolen from Aine's Boutique, Fabiani and Kebabish and set on fire.



Garda Shiel said officers investigated a similar alleged theft from Main Street and subsequent arson on September 11, 2024.



"Gardai commenced an investigation in relation to these 14 incidents and CCTV was downloaded from a number of premises and suspects were identified, she added.



Garda Shiel stated there were seven youths identified , including the defendant who was identified as being in the areas where all 14 incidents occurred.



The teenager was subsequently arrested on September 23, 2024 and detained by Gardai and he admitted being involved' in all 14 incidents.



"He was later released pending a file to the GYDO (Garda Youth Diversion Office) where he was deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the Youth Development Programme," Garda Shiel added.



The officer said Gardai received a call on December 1, 2024 about an alleged theft at Hanlon's Service Station, Longford where sweets valued at 12 were allegedly taken from the premises without permission.



Garda Shiel said on January 30, 2025 Gardai received a call about an alleged theft that had occurred at Mr Price, Longford and it was alleged that items valued at 6.92 were taken without permission.



She stated CCTV was downloaded and the defendant was identified as a suspect.



Garda Shiel said on February 3, 2025 officers received a complaint in relation to an alleged theft and youths causing a disturbance at Mr Price, Longford where a hairbrush valued at 2 was taken and the defendant was again identified as a suspect from CCTV.



The court heard the boy's mother has cared for him to the best of her ability while caring for four other children.



Garda Shiel said on April 10 last Gardai received a complaint about an alleged theft at a residence at St Michael's Court, Longford.



A female resident who provided a statement claimed when she asked the defendant to leave he removed a cricket bat from the house without permission and left the scene.



Garda Shiel said the teenager had also separately been charged with 'possession of an article with intent to cause injury' and being in possession of drugs.



The defendant had been directed to follow bail conditions since April 2024, which include residing at a county Roscommon hotel, signing on at garda station between 9.30am and 11.30am and abiding by a 10pm to 7am curfew.



The court heard the teenager failed to sign on on numerous occasions and had not signed on since March 6 last.



Sergeant Enda Daly stated they were serious charges and there was no confirmation efforts had been made for the youth to engage with a drug counsellor.



"There is nothing concrete here regarding assistance, nothing in writing, should he be granted bail, he said.



"The State would be very reluctant to object to bail for a 14 year-old, but in the circumstances due to the volume of crime they have a duty of care to members of the public."



The defendant had no previous convictions.



Solicitor Aonghus McCarthy queried why Tusla's solicitor was not in court.



He stated both himself and Sgt Enda McNulty believed his young client has been 'failed by the State'.



"It places the Gardai in the invidious position where they are left doing what they otherwise would not do which is to object to the bail of a 14 year-old," Mr McCarthy said.



"But I am in a position where I have to protect my client who is vulnerable and deserves more support from the State."

Sgt McNulty then stated that he agreed with the comments.



Mr McCarthy claimed his client had been mixing with other youths who in Longford who he regularly smoked weed with and who were a negative influence.



"I think he is not a gentleman who ever benefitted from any paternal support in his life," he said. "I think his mum is the person who has care for him to the best of her ability while minding four other children.".



Mr McCarthy, who addressed Garda Shiel, asked her if the court was persuaded would she agree with him that they all want him to desist from criminal behaviour and to be provided with the services that any vulnerable 14 year-old should be provided with that he has lacked so far in his life."



Garda Shiel said she 'absolutely' agreed.



Mr McCarthy who said his client was going down a bad path, stated he had no previous convictions or history of criminality.



Judge Bernadette Owens said she did not believe the threshold had been met and she released him on bail subject to strict conditions, which included staying out of Longford, remaining intoxicant free and obeying a 10pm to 7am curfew.



Judge Owens requested a psychological assessment and for the youth to engage with a drug counsellor before adjourning the case until May 20.
The funeral has taken place in Buncrana, Co Donegal of Emmanuel Familola, one of two young friends who tragically drowned in Lough Swilly last weekend.

Several hundred mourners, many of them in tears, packed into St Marys Oratory for the requiem, as a white coffin bearing the 16-year-olds remains was carried to the altar.

Buncrana Parish Priest Fr Francis Bradley said Emmanuel was a precious boy with a fun-loving heart, a warm smile, a sharp wit, and great charisma.

He will be missed by so very many of his friends and contemporaries. He was a credit to his mother, his brothers, his family and his country  a true ambassador of hope.

Emmanuel distinguished himself by his devotion of heart, by his courtesy, calmness and sense of gratitude for anything and everything he was given, Fr Bradley said, adding that it was distressingly difficult for all of us to come to terms with this tragedy.

He said the gloomy and foreboding shadow of death has hung over us since the tragedy.

The poignant service began with the Safe Haven choir singing Amazing Grace. There was also music by the choir of Scoil Mhuire, the Buncrana school where Emmanuel had been a much-loved pupil.

Emmanuel's heartbroken mother, Glory, pictured at her son's funeral in Buncrana.

Chief among the mourners were Emmanuels heartbroken mother, Glory, his younger brothers Daniel and John, members of his extended family, and his family and friends from the Sailors Rest centre in Buncrana.

Commandant Joe Glennon, Aide de Camp to the Taoiseach, represented An Taoiseach Micheal Martin and An Tanaiste Simon Harris.

The Saturday morning requiem was also attended by heroic members of our emergency services, including An Garda Siochana, the RNLI, Coast Guard, and the Ambulance Service, who had tried so desperately to save Emmanuel and Matt just seven days before.

There were a number of items offered in representation of Emmanuels short life. Ruth Garvey-Williams brought forward a collage of photos from his recent trip to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which he attended and thoroughly enjoyed. The Department has since reached out to his mother, Glory, and her boys, to offer deepest condolences.

His brother Daniel brought forward Emmanuel's beloved Manchester City shirt, while his brother John offered up a Bible, to signify his deep faith.

The first reading was delivered by Ayomide Kayola, Emmanuels cousin, who fought back the tears to get the words out. The second reading was by Billy Banda, leader of the African Community in Donegal.

In his homily, Fr Bradley told those present how Emmanuel Kolawole Familola was born on April 17, 2009  and from that day forward, he had been blessed with an innate nature to always help others.

Not only was Emmanuel his mothers first-born son, but he was the eldest grandchild in his family circle too. He was precious, for it was he who looked out for others needs. He was endlessly patient and kind, and so, so respectful; such an attractive personality given the plethora of gifts and talents he possessed, and every one of them carried with gentle ease and good humour.

Perhaps without even being aware of it, Emmanuel sought out vulnerable kids in school, or more precisely, they sought him out, drawn to his fun-loving heart, his warm smile, his sharp wit, and his great charisma. In Emmanuel, they found the shelter they needed amid the storms of life and living.

Fr Bradley said the 16-year-old  who died along with his teenage friend  was an excellent student who always gave his best.

Emmanuel had a serene magnetism to him which crossed social, ethnic and cultural boundaries - for his warmth and charisma spoke every language, touched every heart.

All of this has made the tragedy which befell himself and Matt Sibanda, from Zimbabwe, on Saturday evening last all the more difficult to comprehend, all the more painful for his family, for all of us and especially for his friends who were there and did their best to help.

The Buncrana Parish Priest said the teenagers deaths have cast a dark shadow over everyone in the community.

Although the sun has been bright in the sky these days, the gloomy and foreboding shadow of death has hung over us all on the banks of this lovely lake. It is distressingly difficult for all of us to come to terms with this tragedy.

Fr Bradley added: But could I say that the difficulty must be unbearable for those who did their best to save Emmanuel and Matt  the search crews from the RNLI and the Coast Guard, the flotilla of yachts who combed the lake, and most especially Ottman and Mohammed, their friends, who spent themselves in doing their very best for them.

And now may Emmanuel Kolawole Familola and Matt Sibanda both rest in peace.

Meanwhile, Tony Joel, a neighbour of the Familola family in Nigeria, expressed his thanks on behalf of the African communities in Derry, Donegal, and the entire African community in Ireland, as well as on behalf of Glory Familola and the Familola family back home in Nigeria.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the people from Buncrana, from Inishowen and from Donegal for being there for us from the moment this tragedy happened. Thank you to the RNLI, all the emergency services and the hospital staff at Letterkenny General Hospital who tried so hard to save Emmanuel.

We cannot thank you enough for the unity and love you have given to this family and for supporting us all in this hard time. May Almighty God continue to bless this community and every family here, he said.

Emmanuel was laid to rest at nearby Cockhill Cemetery following the funeral mass.

READ MORE | UPDATE: Gardai declare land a 'crime scene' in Michael Gaine case as Pathologist requested
Ireland is committed to securing truth and justice for the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the deputy premier has said.

Simon Harris was speaking on the 51st anniversary of the series of no-warning blasts which claimed more than 30 lives and injured hundreds.

No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993.

It remains the biggest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles.

The anniversary was marked with a service at a memorial to the atrocity on Talbot Street in Dublin city centre.

Mr Harris described a most horrific act of violence that shocked our country to its core.

He said he hopes the publication of the Operation Denton report, expected in the coming months, will shed new light on the terrible events of May 17 1974.

In a statement on Saturday, the Tanaiste said: Five decades on, I am conscious that time can never truly erase the pain of their absence. My thoughts are with their families on this difficult day.

Today marks the 51st anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, a most horrific act of violence. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the questions that remain unanswered. It remains deeply concerning that no person has been held responsible for the attacks to date. pic.twitter.com/0oKbyi8rEy  Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 17, 2025

We remember also the hundreds injured in the brutal attacks and all those who were left behind to face the significant challenges of lives forever changed.

Mr Harris said the day is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the questions that remain unanswered.

It remains deeply regrettable that no person has been held responsible for the attacks to date, he said.

The publication of the Operation Denton report is expected in the coming months. It is my sincere hope that these findings will shed new light on the terrible events of May 17 1974.

This Government remains committed to finding truth and justice. I have raised the case of the Dublin Monaghan bombings with the British Government  highlighting the successive motions passed in the Dail with the unanimous support of all political parties.

I am committed to taking this forward in a bid to get long-awaited answers.

Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan said the government will not forget our duty to the victims and survivors.

We will persevere in our efforts to seek out the truth behind the tragic events of 17 May 1974 and, hopefully, secure some measure of comfort for those effected by these callous attacks, he said.

We have worked consistently to implement the all-party motions which call on the British Government to allow access to all relevant documents relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and I specifically raised this issue with the British Government at the recent meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle.

The investigation into the bombings remains an open case in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light will be fully investigated by An Garda Siochana.
Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island Published: May 16 2025

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the indictment of Rene Alexander Elias Chaj, 23, on charges of Assault in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Chaj allegedly stabbed two random ...

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Rene Alexander Elias Chaj, 23, a Guatemalan National, was indicted for Assault in the Second Degree, and related charges, for his alleged unprovoked stabbing of two random men, who were unknown to him, within an hour of each other in Riverhead.

Random acts of violence are chilling, said District Attorney Tierney. The safety of our

residents is my highest priority, and I will vigorously prosecute this case to ensure justice for the victims and protection for our community.

According to the investigation, on May 2, 2025, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Elias Chaj allegedly stabbed the first victim with a knife in his left side while the two men were seated at the Time to Eat Deli on West Main Street in Riverhead. There was no altercation or any provocation leading up to the stabbing. The victim was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was treated for his wound.

After the stabbing, Elias Chaj exited the deli and boarded a Suffolk County Transit bus at the County Center in Riverhead at approximately 3:48 p.m. About three minutes after boarding, Elias Chaj allegedly jumped up from his seat and stabbed the second victim, who had been sitting behind him, on the left side of his body, puncturing his lung.

The victim had been sitting on his own, looking down on his phone when he was allegedly stabbed by Elias Chaj. The bus came to a stop after the victim was stabbed. Elias Chaj then allegedly fled the bus and headed Northbound on County Rd 51 on foot. He was arrested shortly afterwards on the side of the highway by Southampton Police Department officers.

At the time of his arrest, Elias Chaj was allegedly in possession of a clear ziplock bag containing a white powdery substance which field tested positive for cocaine.

On May 16, 2025, Elias Chaj was arraigned on the indictment before Supeme Court Justice John B. Collins for two counts of Assault in the Second Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, all Class D violent felonies.

Justice Collins ordered Elias Chaj held on $300,000 cash, $600,000 bond or $3,000,000 secured bond during the pendency of the case. Elias Chaj is due back in court on June 4, 2025, and faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted on the top counts. He is being represented by Daniel Fox, Esq.

The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has filed a request for advance notice if this defendant is to be released.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: May 16 2025

15 Landmarks Across State To Be Lit Blue on Evening of May 16.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced 15 State landmarks will be illuminated blue on the evening of May 16 in recognition of National Police Week, which runs from May 11, 2025 through May 17, 2025.

Our police officers are heroes, putting their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers safe from harm, Governor Hochul said. On National Police Week, we recognize their immense courage and their commitment to serving their communities  stepping up when disaster strikes, protecting our loved ones and walking bravely into the unknown in service of our safety. To all of our officers: Thank you.

Recognized every May, National Police Week honors the law enforcement community, with a special recognition of fallen officers and their surviving families from law enforcement agencies from across the nation.

The following landmarks will be illuminated blue tonight:

1 World Trade Center

Albany International Airport Gateway

Alfred E. Smith State Office Building

Empire State Plaza

Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal

Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge

Grand Central Terminal - Pershing Square Viaduct

Kosciuszko Bridge

Moynihan Train Hall

Niagara Falls

State Education Building

State Fairgrounds  Main Gate & Expo Center

The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge

Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park

New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, During National Police Week, we gather to honor the memory of our brothers and sisters who gave their lives to protect ours. These individuals had that extra something in their character that made them willingly put others before themselves and are the true definition of heroes. The lighting of landmarks pays homage to the courage, bravery, and selflessness that they displayed and what we honor this week.

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Rossana Rosado said, During National Police Week, we honor the bravery, service, and sacrifice of the law enforcement professionals who work tirelessly to protect our communities. We are grateful for their unwavering dedication and proud of the strong partnerships weve built to make New York safer for all.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a secessionist campaign against Turkey since 1978, announced on May 12 its decision to end its armed struggle. Under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK engaged in a terrorist campaign to carve out a Kurdish state from Turkish territory, resulting in a bloody war that caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths.

Ocalan was captured by Turkish special forces in April 1999, prosecuted, and imprisoned. From jail, he continued to influence the activities of the PKK and the wider Kurdish political movement inside Turkey. Since Ocalans incarceration, the PKK has oscillated between implementing violent and non-violent approaches to pursuing its aims for Kurdish rights inside Turkey, while a non-militant political Kurdish movement flourished inside the Turkish parliament. The Kurdish parliamentary movement distanced itself from the PKKs secessionist goals, seeking instead to gain democratic rights for Kurds inside Turkey, which Ocalan broadly came to support over time.

The PKK is a designated terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. It was listed as a terrorist entity by the West after waging a bloody secessionist campaign against the Turkish state, resulting in the death of not only Turkish military and state officials but also civilians. Since the beginning of the conflict, it is estimated that 50,000 people have died.

In fighting the PKK, the Turkish state has employed a dual track over the years. On one hand, the military has spent vast resources directly combating the PKK. On the other hand, the state has inflicted collective punishment against Turkeys Kurds by denying their very existence, limiting the practice of their cultural rights, burning Kurdish settlements, and suppressing the Kurdish democratic parliamentary movement.

Since 2012, there have been several failed attempts to secure a lasting peace between the Turkish government and the PKK. Since late 2024, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government has engaged in direct negotiations with Ocalan, resulting in Ocalan calling on the PKK in February 2025 to lay down its weapons and disband. The May 12 announcement now comes from the PKK organization itself following its 12th Congress. It states that the organization has achieved its historical mission and has decided to dissolve the structure of the PKK to end the armed struggle method.

The obvious question is why now? After 48 years of waging a secessionist campaign, why is the PKK broadcasting its intent to end its secessionist campaign?

As things stand, no details relating to the PKKs announcement and reasoning have been disclosed. Will the PKK lay down its weapons and disband? Will Ocalan be released from prison? What will happen to the leadership of the organization as well as its rank-and-file members? How will Erdogan be able to sell this deal to the Turkish people, who overwhelmingly have negative views of the PKK? More importantly, what will Erdogan get from reaching an agreement with the PKK? Speculation is rife among Turkish analysts that the Kurdish parliamentary movement will help Erdogan secure a fourth term as president by voting through the necessary constitutional changes. In return, Erdogan will grant Kurds broad cultural freedoms that may be guaranteed under the law.

It is clear that whatever understanding has been reached between Erdogan, the PKK, and the Kurdish parliamentary movement has been accomplished behind closed doors. This was not the case between 2012 and 2015, when the first two rounds of the Kurdish peace process had some semblance of being carried out in the open with societal input. These initiatives both failed.

If lasting peace is reached between the Turkish government and the PKK, it could have significant regional repercussions. Most importantly, this development could end years of bloodshed and instability inside Turkeyan outcome that surely can and must be supported.

A deal with the PKK could also help defuse tensions between the United States and Turkey. Since 2014, Washington has supported the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as its partner of choice to fight the Islamic State. Ankara has consistently accused Washington of working with terrorists inside Syria, and its military targeted SDF forces, endangering US troops working alongside them. In the event of a negotiated settlement, Turkeys animus towards the SDF could dissipate. However, it appears that Erdogan wants the disarmament of the PKK to also apply to the SDF, and its unclear if the deal extends and applies to the Syrian group.

On the other hand, we must be cautious in our interpretation of developments. There is little doubt that if a negotiated deal between the PKK and the Turkish government succeeds, Erdogan will claim it as a win for democracy, and that he brought an end to PKK terrorism in Turkey. The opaque and non-participatory negotiations between the two sides have taken place at a time when Erdogan has all but mothballed any semblance of democratic governance in Turkey.

On March 19, government prosecutors loyal to Erdogan arbitrarily arrested and jailed the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu. His imprisonment confirmed suspicions that Erdogan is willing to prevent any credible person from challenging him to the presidency in a democratic election. Thus, this deal will not help secure a dawn of democracy in Turkey, but likely the dawn of Erdogans perpetual presidencyfor how can a country reach a democratic outcome when there is no rule of law?

Sinan Ciddi is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), an associate professor of national security studies at Marine Corps University, and an expert on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy.
General Oleg Salyukov meets with a South African military delegation in October 2024. (Russian Ministry of Defense)

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on May 15 relieving General Oleg Salyukov, the aging commander of the Russian Ground Forces. He has been replaced by a younger officer with extensive combat experience in Ukraine. This decision could help the Russian army as it develops and implements post-war reforms based on lessons learned in Ukraine.

Salyukov had led the Ground Forces since 2014. In addition to that role, he served as a deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine since January 2023. His removal was unsurprising, given that he will turn 70 years old on May 21.

The general received a sinecure as deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, serving under Sergei Shoigu, who was appointed secretary almost exactly one year ago after being replaced as defense minister. Like Shoigu, Salyukov was given one last hurrah at Moscows May 9 Victory Day parade, which the general had commanded since 2014.

Salyukovs replacement is Colonel-General Andrey Mordvichev, 49. Mordvichev began the war as the commander of Russias 8th Combined Arms Army, reportedly leading the assault on Mariupol. The general was wounded by a mine in April 2022 but recovered and later briefly served as deputy commander of Russias Southern Military District and associated South Group of Forces in Ukraine.

In late 2022 to early 2023, Mordvichev assumed command of Russias Central Military District and Center Group of Forces. He is rumored to have been backed by the then-commander of Russias Aerospace Forces, General Sergei Surovikin, who, at the time, also served as Moscows overall commander in Ukraine. (Surovikin, seen as one of the Russian militarys more competent leaders, was demoted to deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine in January 2023. He was later ousted entirely following the June 2023 Wagner mutiny.)

Mordvichevs Center group, currently fighting around the city of Pokrovsk, has accounted for most of Russias (relatively minor) territorial gains over the last 1.5 years. Despite their staggering cost in men and materiel, these advances have seen Mordvichevs star rise. He received the Hero of Russia award following the February 2024 capture of Avdiivka.

To replace Mordvichev as Center commander, Moscow reportedly tapped Colonel-General Valery Solodchuk, 54. Solodchuk began the war as commander of the 36th Combined Arms Army, one of the formations involved in the failed attack on Kyiv. He later served as a deputy commander of the Center group under Mordvichev. Most recently, Solodchuk commanded Russian forces in Kursk Oblast, boosting his status after they expelled Ukrainian troops from the region earlier this spring.

Russian military correspondents and bloggers have generally praised the appointment of Mordvichev as Ground Forces commander, arguing he can drive needed reforms. The general is reputed to be comparatively frank in acknowledging problems, and he possesses a better understanding of modern warfare and new technologies than the older Salyukov.

Some observers, however, see an effort by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff and overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, to neutralize a potential rival. Mordvichev was viewed as a candidate to replace Gerasimov, who will turn 70 in September and has proven to be an incompetent and toxic leader.

On the other hand, other Russian observers have speculated that Mordvichevs new role could end up being a stepping stone on the way to succeeding Gerasimov. While the Kremlin has so far kept Gerasimov in place despite Shoigus removal, the generals days are likely numbered. The choice of his replacement will bear great consequences for future Russian military reforms.

John Hardie is the deputy director of FDDs Russia Program and a contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.
Continued stalling on improving LGBTQ+ rights in Luxembourg has seen the country lose points and slide from seventh to tenth place out of 49 in an annual international ranking published on Friday.

Luxembourg continued its steady decline in the Rainbow Europe index, published by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (Ilga). After ranking third in 2021, the country dropped to fifth in 2022, sixth in 2023, seventh last year and tenth this year.

The slump is part of a larger European trend that has seen the rights of the community erode over the last year.

Centre and far-right actors in the EU are targeting NGO funding to weaken organisations that defend rights Katrin Hugeldubel Ilga-Europe Advocacy Director

Centre and far-right actors in the EU are targeting NGO funding to weaken organisations that defend rights, while at the national level we are seeing laws introduced that do not address any genuine societal need but are designed purely to marginalise, said Ilga-Europe Advocacy Director Katrin Hugeldubel in a statement.

Hugeldubel pointed out the vast losses in the communitys rights in the UK, Hungary and Georgia. The UKs Supreme Court for instance ruled that a woman is strictly determined by her biological sex, while Georgia adopted an anti-LGBTQ+ law package. Hungary in turn has prohibited pride events, among other efforts to dismantle the community.

The index, published on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, ranks 49 European countries on a scale of 0% (for gross violations of human rights, discrimination) and 100% (for respect of human rights, full equality) in 75 criteria across seven categories.

Also read: Hungarys Orban to tighten laws on assembly after protests

Still allowing non-consensual surgery

Luxembourg this year lost two percentage points on its global score, dropping to 68%. That still keeps the Grand Duchy above the EU average of 51%. The country scored high when it came to family rights for LGBTQ+ people (82.86%) and setting up laws, policies and practices to allow them to get together and express themselves in public (100%).

However, its efforts in setting up effective anti-discrimination legislation that explicitly include sexual orientation, sex characteristics and gender identity and expression, were not sufficient (56.52%). Men who sleep with men for instance are still not allowed to donate blood in Luxembourg.

These movements want us to believe that demanding equality is the same as asking for special treatment. That is not the case. These are fundamental human rights that, by nature, are universal. Yuriko Backes Gender Equality and Diversity Minister

The country was also penalised when it came to intersex bodily integrity (0%), as the Grand Duchy still allows non-consensual medical interventions performed on intersex children.

The UN previously called for an end to this practice, and the CSV-DP coalition has vowed to work towards the respect and reinforced protection of non-binary gender identities.

Luxembourg has also failed to so far introduce a ban on conversion therapy, although the CSV-DP government did include this as part of its coalition agreement. During his time as prime minister, Xavier Bettel frequently said a ban wasnt needed because conversions werent practiced in Luxembourg.

Revised national action plan coming in July

Luxembourgs gender equality and diversity ministry is set to present a revised national action plan for the LGBTIQ+ cause. The plan is being fed by thematic workshops held during a symposium that allowed the government to consult with representatives of civil society organisations, stakeholders from ministries and other public administrations and institutions to discuss potential challenges faced by people belonging to the LGBTIQ+ communities in Luxembourg, according to equality minister Yuriko Backes.

Although we have fallen three places compared to last year, my ministry and I remain committed, as outlined in the government programme, to ensuring the respect and protection of the freedoms and rights of all individuals in all their diversity, Backes said in a statement on the Rainbow Index on Friday.

Also read: LGBTQIA+ themes belong in Luxembourgs schools, minister says

We are currently witnessing a situation in which, on an international scale, rights that many of us considered to be secured are being actively questioned by anti-democratic forces, Backes said about the general situation in Europe and the world.

These movements want us to believe that demanding equality is the same as asking for special treatment, she added. That is not the case. These are fundamental human rights that, by nature, are universal. This is not about creating new rights, but about ensuring the same rights for everyone. We remain determined and are intensifying our efforts, both nationally and internationally.

Malta topped the ranking this year too, with a score of almost 89%, followed by Belgium (85%) and Iceland (84%). Turkey (4.75%), Azerbaijan (2.25%) and Russia (2%) had the worst scores.
Travellers hoping to get from Belgium to Luxembourg or from Luxembourg to Belgium by train on Tuesday 20 May will need to look for alternatives as a strike is set to paralyse trains again.

Since the start of the year, Belgian rail services have been disrupted for dozens of days due to successive strikes by various railway unions. Workers are protesting the Belgian governments reform plans, in particular with regard to pensions.

As a result, trains will be suspended in Belgium and on the Luxembourg-Arlon-Brussels line from Monday 19 May at 10pm and all of Tuesday 20 May. The SNCB has said it would devise an alternative train service depending on the presence of staff, but offers no overview of its plans.

Further action this coming month is likely, as labour unions announced a total of 18 strike days from April to July, or an average of four days of strikes a month.

In addition, commuters will have to take substitution buses from Saturday 24 May to Monday 2 June between Arlon and Luxembourg, due to construction work carried out by the CFL on the Luxembourg side of the border.

(This article first appeared on Virgule. Translated using AI, edited by Tracy Heindrichs)
I know that I will be criticised for not recognising Palestine last year, Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel (DP) said at a press conference on the war in Palestine on Friday.

Luxembourg position unchanged

I have said it many times before and I repeat it again today: what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip is no longer self-defence, Bettel said. As long as there is no peace in Palestine, there will be no security in Israel.

Also read: Israel committing ethnic cleansing says LSAP in call for clear Luxembourg response

The Luxembourg governments position on the conflict in the Gaza Strip has not changed. The Grand Duchy remains in favour of a two-state solution and does not want to pursue symbolic politics. The foreign minister was referring to the decision not to recognise Palestine single-handedly. Symbolic recognition of Palestine achieves nothing, Bettel stated.

As long as there is no peace in Palestine, there will be no security in Israel. Xavier Bettel (DP) Luxembourgs foreign minister

I have to say, nothing has changed, Bettel said, referring to the recognition of Palestine by Slovenia, Norway, Ireland and Spain last year.

UN special conference in June

Although Luxembourg will not recognise Palestine on its own, it could join an initiative by France and Saudi Arabia in June.

Also read: Macron calls for more pressure on Israel over Gaza actions

The two-state solution is to be discussed at a special United Nations conference in New York. A package for the situation in the Gaza Strip and for the conflict between Israel and Hamas is to be drawn up there. Bettel will take part in the conference.

The DP politician used the press conference on Friday morning to announce that he wanted to organise a parliamentary debate before the international conference. The aim would be to determine Luxembourgs contribution to the package. Details of how or when this debate is to take place have not yet been released.

Bettel said he hopes that more states will decide to recognise Palestine in New York so that it has an influence. He also hopes that the conference will result in plans for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and for the resumption of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Also read: Palestine abuses scrubbed from ESG investment reports

Since 2 March, no humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza after Israel initiated a blockade.

Last October, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, voted to ban the UN aid agency Unrwa, which had also been delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. It must be clear to everyone that Unrwa cannot be replaced. There is no alternative, Bettel said on Friday.

Luxembourg would only take a position on the issue of recognising Palestine after the conference in New York, Bettel said.

(This article was first published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI, edited by Aaron Grunwald.)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. On May 17, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, made a phone call to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Trend reports.

The head of state congratulated President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his birthday, wishing him robust health and continued success in his presidential activities.

President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the sustainable development of Kazakhstan and the growth of its international prestige under the leadership of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The President of Kazakhstan expressed his gratitude for the attention and congratulations.

During the phone conversation, the heads of state praised the development of the strategic partnership based on friendship and fraternity between the two countries across various fields and exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
Graced with beautiful weather, Luxembourg is setting the scene for locals to meet for neighbourhood parties during the fourth weekend of May.

The Nopeschfest (neighbour party in Luxembourgish), which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, takes place in 48 communes of the country and allows residents to take the initiative and organise a get-together with other people living in their area.

Aurelie Faber from Cents has taken part in the event for five years now, through the Cents Initiative.

Its really lovely because you have people from all around the world and so you can try all kinds of foods while you meet new people Aurelie Faber Nopeschfest participant

The commune was giving out flyers, so I talked with some neighbours and we put our three streets together to organise a neighbourhood party, said Faber about the first time she heard about the Nopeschfest.

The event ended up being massive and we saw how many people didnt know each other. Many people said they wished we did this more. The kids loved it because they could run and play in the streets, she continued.

This year, the Fete des voisins will take place from 23 to 25 May. Every year, communes lend tables, benches, bins and promotional material to residents who sign up and close off certain roads upon request.

Nice surprises

The beauty of the Nopeschfest lies in its ability to create bonds between people who otherwise might never have crossed paths.

One year, I sat next to someone and talked with them for about ten minutes. When I asked where they lived, we figured out that theyre just two houses down from mine. Since they live in a residence, we never crossed paths, or didnt recognise each other  that was funny, Faber said.

We then found out we had mutual friends, and now meet for playdates, she said.

The event also brings people together through food and play.

People bring their own cutlery and food to share. Its really lovely because you have people from all around the world and so you can try all kinds of foods while you meet new people, Faber added.

Some neighbours also bring games and crafts for children to play with.

1 / 5  Photo credit: Aurelie Faber

2 / 5  Photo credit: Aurelie Faber

3 / 5  Photo credit: Aurelie Faber

4 / 5  Photo credit: Aurelie Faber

5 / 5  Photo credit: Aurelie Faber











Year-round results

Though the Nopeschfest takes place over one weekend, the initiative can bear fruits throughout the year, said Faber.

Prior to the event, those who choose to organise a party go around the neighbourhood to make other residents aware of the event and to invite them to partake. This helps you connect with others, she said.

Last year, mums from the neighbourhood got together during the party and now regularly meet at the playground and share a meal. This happened thanks to the Nopeschfest, Faber said.

The Cents Initiative she is a part of now also supports people who wish to set up their own social events so they can socialise in the neighbourhood. While some might organise knitting workshops, others organise garage sales.

To book tables and benches, residents have to contact their commune by 16 May. Residents of the capital can book them either by mail at locationmateriel@vdl.lu or by phone at 4796-4639.

More information about participating communes can be found on the initiatives official website.
JetBlue and Dunkin' have unveiled a specialty aircraft, called "Brewing Altitude," to commemorate the companies' longstanding partnership. Handout

Now boarding: Brewing Altitude.

JetBlue and Dunkin commemorated their longstanding partnership by unveiling a Dunkin-themed JetBlue plane, appropriately named Brewing Altitude, on Monday, May 12.

The 162-seat Airbus A320 Restyled aircraft is covered in Dunkins iconic pink and orange colors, with a sketch doughnut on the tail fin.

With this, JetBlue and Dunkin are helping loyal customers rack up rewards through their Monday travel out of Boston Logan International Airport.

TrueBlue members who fly on Brewing Altitude will be upgraded to Mosaic 1 status. Those who are also Dunkin Rewards members will earn Boosted status for three months.

In addition, current Mosaic members will receive 20 bonus tiles applied to their 2025 tile tracker. Existing Boosted Status members will get two times the number of points on top of the base points earned for all qualifying purchases for three months.

To fly on the Dunkin plane, people can simply book a JetBlue flight on Brewing Altitude on any Monday from May 19 through Sept. 1, excluding June 30 and July 7.

JetBlue will post the eligible flight on this page by 3 p.m. on the Friday beforehand each week.

JetBlue and Dunkin first joined forces in 2006 when JetBlue started serving Dunkins coffee during flights. Dunkin became the airlines exclusive onboard coffee provider in 2011.
Marilu Domingo Ortiz, whose husband was taken into custody by ICE agents after they smashed a window of their family car, looks at broken glass and damage to their vehicle at their home, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in New Bedford, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP

A Guatemalan man living in New Bedford who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month is speaking out against his detainment.

Juan Francisco Mendez was the subject of an ICE operation where he was detained after agents smashed his car window with a hammer, according to the Associated Press. Mendez was inside the vehicle with his wife when the windows were broken, the Associated Press reported.

Mendez, 29, was released from custody on Thursday and currently out on bond  required to wear an ankle monitor, WCVB reported.

During a Spanish-language press conference on Friday, Mendez spoke about his detainment, calling it traumatic, according to WCVB.

I am not a criminal. They unjustly detained me, without any charge, Mendez said. I just want to give my family safety and stability, just like many other immigrants.

Ondine Galvez Sniffin, Mendezs attorney, said her client has no criminal record and has a pending immigration case to obtain asylum, WCVB reports.

Galvez Sniffin said that Mendezs asylum claim has not been approved yet. Mendezs wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, has been approved for asylum, the lawyer said.

This is completely off the charts, Galvez Sniffin said. As her husband, he derives the same status that she has, so he is also protected from being removed back to the country.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Galvez Sniffin said that the ICE agents claimed they were seeking another man with a different name before they dragged Mendez and his wife out of the car.

Domingo said she felt scared when ICE broke into their car, never expecting that a member of her family would be detained like this, the Associated Press reported.

We came here to do honest work. To fight for our family, Ortiz said through a translator. What they did, or what theyre doing right now, no, its not fair. We dont deserve that treatment.

ICE, however, said Mendez is in the United States illegally, according to WCVB. During the course of his arrest, he refused to comply with officers instructions and resisted apprehension, ICE said in a statement.

Mendez and his wife live in New Bedford with their 9-year-old son, according to WCVB.

ICE arrests in Massachusetts are continuing to play out in public.

One of the more recent arrests took place in Worcester.

Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of three, was arrested in the middle of Eureka Street on May 8.

ICE agents detained Ferreira-De Oliveira as a crowd of more than 30 people approached and shouted at the agents, demanding to see a warrant. She is currently being held in a facility in Rhode Island.

In Chelsea on Mothers Day, ICE agents broke through an SUV window as a family left church together, NBC10 reported. A man was ripped from the vehicle, thrown to the ground, handcuffed and arrested, according to NBC10.

During the arrest, the man could be heard asking why ICE was arresting him, saying he wasnt resisting, according to NBC10.
A Massachusetts-based bank will lay off 125 workers this year, according to a recent state filing.

Rockland Trust Company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) notice this week, indicating that 125 workers at three locations in Lowell will be laid off between July 1 and December 31 this year.

The filing comes five months after Rockland Trust announced a merger between Rockland Trust parent company Independent Bank Corp. and Lowell-based Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. so that Rockland Trust could acquire Enterprise Bank.

In the December announcement, Rockland committed to maintain a significant presence in Lowell and said that it did not plan to close any Enterprise Bank branches.

Enterprise Bank had 27 branches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as of the December announcement.

Companies are required to file WARN notices when laying off a certain threshold of employees.

Rockland Trust began in Rockland in 1907 and has grown to more than 120 branches across Massachusetts, according to its website.
Hoping to settle the score a group of mostly Massachusetts teenagers fatally attacked another teenager, stabbing him more than 20 times. After years in prison, one of the teens killers is walking free.

On May 22, 2007, a group including 17-year-old Terrance Pabon decided there would be a one-on-one fight between two groups associated with Havelock and Wilcock streets in Dorchester.

Arrangements were made to get 16-year-old Terrance Jacobs to Wilcock Street in order to settle the score after Jacobs slashed a 14-year-old boy face with a razor, prosecutors said according to the Boston Herald.

Jacobs arrived on Wilcock Street along with many others. An argument quickly escalated and Jacobs was pushed, the parole board stated. One of Jacobs friends took out a gun and fired multiple shots. The gun shots didnt hit anyone, but the group began running.

Pabon and his group chased Jacobs and then stabbed him over 20 times before fleeing. Jacobs was taken to the hospital where he died.

At least six people were arrested in connection with the stabbing, although only five were indicted after a 16-year-old was found to have been an eyewitness but not a participant in the crime.

On May 25, 2010, a jury trial in Suffolk Superior Court convicted Pabon of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Pabon first went in front of the parole board in 2023.

Pabon said he was exposed to violence and crime from a very young age and was affiliated with a gang as an adolescent.

He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 10 and left school in ninth grade, the board noted.

In 2023, the parole board was troubled that he was returned to higher custody after nine months in minimum. They noted his lack of maturity, recklessness and impulsivity. He was denied parole and asked to remain disciplinary report-free and continue to engage in vocational and rehabilitative programming.

On Jan. 28, he returned to go in front of the parole board.

They noted he was part of the NEADS program and Restorative Justice. Three people spoke in support of parole, while Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Charles Marshall spoke in opposition to parole.

The parole board unanimously decided that Pabon has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.

He will have electronic monitoring for six months and be supervised for drugs and is required to have mental health counseling.

Markeese Mitchell, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was also released on parole in 2023. Jacobs mother spoke against Mitchell getting parole.
Under the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers is tasked with addressing issues arising from the implementation of the registry.

Government bodies and relevant public legal entities, as defined by Article 6.4 of the Law on Public Legal Entities, must submit data on civil servants, trainees, and probationary employees within six months and report to the President accordingly.

The State Examination Center has been assigned to oversee the formation, management, and development of the registry, implementing all necessary measures to ensure its effective operation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ratcheted up operations in the nearly four months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House  and Massachusetts has certainly not been left out.

Im coming to Boston and Im bringing hell with me," Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, promised during the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

While the Trump administration has maintained that its enforcement efforts are confined to targeting illegal immigrant killers, rapists and drug dealers several of the arrests have been for much more minor crimes  right down to an argument over a cell phone.

Public criticism has reached a fever pitch over some of these arrests, and the tactics ICE employs in undertaking them  which have included approaching a target while wearing masks, an interruption of court proceedings and smashing a car window with an ax while people were inside.

Court battles following the arrests have been high stakes, as the administration has at times deported individuals before the conclusion of their guaranteed Constitutional right to due process.

These are some of the most high-profile ICE arrests that have happened in Massachusetts since Inauguration Day 2025.

Jan. 27: Siblings fight over a phone in Lynn

Zeneyda Barrera, 18, originally from Nicaragua, was arrested by ICE agents on Jan. 27 after she got into an argument with her brother over a cellphone in Lynn.

It was around 4:30 a.m. that Monday morning when a neighbor called the police to complain of loud noise coming from Barreras home.

Barrera, her mother and her 12-year-old brother told Lynn police that Barrera pushed her brother down while they were arguing over a phone.

The 12-year-old was not injured, but Barrera was taken into custody on a misdemeanor assault and battery charge.

However, before her arraignment at Lynn District Court that morning, ICE agents whisked Barrera away to a detention center in Maine.

She remained there for five days until she was released from ICE custody and returned to her family in Lynn, after the Essex County District Attorneys office dropped the misdemeanor charge against her.

If ICEs intent is to target violent offenders who put our community at risk, people like Zeneyda should not be detained, Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said at the time.

March 25: A Tufts student newspaper article sparks arrest

Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish woman enrolled in a Tufts University doctoral program, was taken from the streets of Somerville by ICE agents on March 25. Federal officials later said the arrest was linked with a pro-Palestinian op-ed she co-wrote for the Tufts University student newspaper.

Ozturk had been on her way to break a Ramadan fast when she was handcuffed and driven off by six ICE agents, some of whom wore masks. Video from the scene showed Ozturk yelling as bystanders asked the agents what was happening.

Ozturk was driven overnight to New Hampshire, then to Vermont, before she was ultimately brought to a detention facility in Louisiana.

Ozturk was never charged with any crimes. The Department of Homeland Security said that she engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, without providing evidence of that claim.

This contributed photo shows Rumeysa Ozturk on an apple-picking trip in 2021. (AP Photo) AP

After she spent 45 days in custody, during which she experienced long and repeated asthma attacks, a federal judge in Vermont ordered Ozturks release from Louisiana on May 9. This followed a tumultuous legal battle between courts in Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts vying for control over Ozturks detainment.

When she returned to Boston, Ozturk thanked her community at a press conference in the Boston Logan Airport.

Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested by immigration agents while walking along a street in a Boston suburb, talks to reporters on arriving back in Boston, Saturday, May 10, 2025, a day after she was released from a Louisiana immigration detention center on the orders of a federal judge. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies, she said during a press conference at Logan International Airport in Boston. But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.

March 27: Interrupting a Boston trial

On March 27, Martell Lebron-Wilson had stepped outside of the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston when he was detained by ICE agents in what bystanders thought was a kidnapping.

Lebron-Wilson, a 49-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the country without authorization, was on lunch break during his trial for falsifying RMV records when agents took him swiftly into an SUV.

Was that a kidnapping? Youre not going to tell us where hes going? a man asked the federal agents, who walked away with no answer.

Lebron-Wilsons criminal defense lawyer, Murat Erkan, argued for his clients constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial before Boston Judge Mark Summerville, in a contentious hearing at Boston Municipal Court on March 31.

During that hearing, Summerville found Brian Sullivan, one of the ICE agents involved in the operation, in contempt of court. He said Sullivan committed intentional and egregious violations of the defendants rights by detaining him before his criminal trial had concluded.

This family photo provided by attorney's shows Wilson Martell-Lebron. (Family photo/Erkan & Sullivan, PC via AP) AP

But U.S. Attorney of Massachusetts, Leah Foley, sought to dismiss the contempt charge by the Boston judge. In April, Federal Judge William G. Young dismissed Summervilles contempt ruling against Sullivan.

On April 24, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden admonished the cases dismissal and asked federal authorities to investigate what they described as ICEs violation of its own procedures.

Hayden had said after the initial ruling that ICE has acted as a reckless threat to public safety, and caused witnesses and victims to stop cooperating with law enforcement.

May 8: Chaotic arrest of mother in Worcester

Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of three, was arrested in one of the most public and chaotic settings to date.

In a wild scene on Eureka Street in Worcester, in the middle of the day on May 8, ICE agents detained Ferreira-De Oliveira as a crowd of more than 30 people shouted at the agents and demanded to see a warrant. She was eventually taken to be held in Rhode Island.

Local Worcester police arrested the womans daughter, who is a minor, at the scene after she stood in front of the car holding a baby, then later ran after the car and kicked it.

Augusta Clara Moura, another of Ferreira-De Oliveiras daughters, has spoken out about what led up to her mothers detainment.

Her partner, Samarone Alves Ferreira-De Souza, had honked at a car that cut him off while he was driving to work, according to Clara Moura. The car turned out to be an undercover ICE vehicle and agents arrested him.

The day after, agents came to Clara Mouras home and asked her to return Ferreira-De Souzas car and sign immigration paperwork, she said. When she left her house with her 17-year-old sister and her baby to do so, ICE stopped her car, and told me I was under arrest, she said.

Clara Moura called her mother to take her son and when she arrived, ICE arrested her instead, according to Clara Moura.

April, May: ICE smashes car windows in 3 communities

At least three incidents where ICE smashed car windows in order to arrest people have been reported over the past four months by NBC Boston. These incidents happened in New Bedford, Chelsea and Waltham.

In New Bedford, Juan Francisco Mendez was arrested on April 14 after ICE agents smashed through his car window with an ax and pulled him from the vehicle. His wife recorded the incident, and Mendez can be heard saying, My lawyer is on the way.

Less than a month later, on Mothers Day, ICE agents broke through the window of an SUV in Chelsea as a family left together from church. A man was ripped from the vehicle, thrown to the ground and handcuffed during the daytime arrest, as bystanders heard him ask why he was being detained, NBC reported.

And the next day, ICE agents broke through a car window in Waltham to arrest two men in a downtown area of the city. The incident was recorded by a 15-year-old girl who was waiting for the school bus that Monday morning.

Fear and disorder

These and other arrests have left Massachusetts communities on edge  to the point where ICE itself has begun addressing rumors about their activities.

On Monday, rumors that ICE agents were scooping up nannies on playgrounds in Boston circulated heavily online, just days after those same fears developed in Washington, D.C.

ICE released a statement Tuesday denying the allegations.

Any rumors that ICE officers are targeting nannies at playgrounds or parks are entirely false and absolutely ridiculous, the statement from Acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston.

Hyde said the rumors amount to nothing more than scare tactics and unnecessarily place the safety of our brave officers in jeopardy.

Other people originally from the state  and who are U.S. citizens  reported theyve been asked to leave the country by DHS in past weeks. This includes three immigration lawyers originally from Massachusetts, who received letters on April 11 that began with the line, It is time for you to leave the United States.

One of the recipients  Pamela Rioles Saeed, a 28-year-old immigration lawyer in Arizona who was born in Boston and moved in 2018  said she was frustrated the government was so careless.

The letters only  ... serve to instill fear and disorder for those who received it, Saeed said at the time, and show either gross incompetence or willful indifference from DHS.
A Bridgewater man who worked as a substitute teacher faces child pornography charges.

Robert L. Wood was arrested and charged on May 16 with possession of child pornography and distributing material of a child in a sexual act, according to a press release from Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte.
This week, Walmart warned customers that higher prices are coming soon due to President Donald Trumps tariffs.

On Saturday, the president posted on Truth Social, saying that Walmart should instead, eat the tariffs.

Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain, Trump wrote. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected.

Trump wrote that both Walmart and China should absorb the tariffs and that the world largest retailer should not charge its customers anything in response to the tariffs.

Ill be watching, and so will your customers!!! Trump wrote.

Trumps comments come days after Walmarts Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC in an interview that tariffs by the Trump administration are still too high.

Trump, a long-time proponent of tariffs, announced on April 2 a slew of tariffs imposed on more than 100 countries.

Weeks following this announcement, however, Trump and his administration have walked back and cut tariffs. Most recently, the administration announced it would cut its tariffs imposed on China from 145% to 30% for a temporary period, according to the New York Times. China, in response, would lower its import duty on American goods from 125% to 10%, the New York Times reported.

While Rainey praised this move, he told CNBC that price hikes are likely to happen towards the end of the month.

Im concerned that consumer is going to start seeing higher prices, Rainey said. Youll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in an earnings call on Thursday that tariffs on China are raising the costs of electronics and toys, according to CNN.

He added that some food costs are also going up because of tariffs on Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia.

We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we arent able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins, McMillon said. Even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices.

Other companies such as AutoZone and Ferrari, Best Buy, Shein and Temu have released statements saying they either anticipate or have implemented price hikes due to the Trump administrations tariffs, according to ABC News.
BOSTON, MA - MAY 16: Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, May 16, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images

BOSTON  A season ago, when his Atlanta Braves visited Fenway Park for a brief two-game interleague set, Chris Sale could only watch as his present team took on his former one.

On Friday night, the Red Sox might have hoped for the same good timing. Instead, Sale opened the weekend series with seven innings of one-run ball to earn the win in Atlantas 4-2 win over the Red Sox.
Forecasters expect potentially severe weather hitting southern New England on Saturday, May 17. Courtesy of the National Weather Service.

There is a 2% chance of a tornado occurring in most western parts of the state this afternoon, according to National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Emily McMinn.

There is a chance, she told MassLive. We cant rule it out at this time but its not overly likely.

Western Massachusetts and Connecticut are at risk of seeing severe weather between the hours of 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., McMinn told MassLive.

Heavy downpours are expected, with precipitation totals estimated to be as high as an inch. Its possible that residents could experience wind gusts ranging in speed from 45 to 65 miles per hour, along with the possibility of hail.

Those storms are forecasted to push eastward into Central and Eastern Massachusetts. While rain is expected for these regions, the anticipated severity of the storms is likely to lessen.

Were kind of expecting Worcester to get hit this afternoon by the more higher impact stuff later this evening, McMinn said.

From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the skies in Western Mass. are expected to clear up, McMinn said.

This will cause things to heat up in that region, along with Central and Eastern Massachusetts, creating the conditions for these storms.

In Boston, Springfield and Worcester, temperatures at 9 a.m. will start in the high 60s, low 70s before gradually increasing between 72 and 73 degrees, according to a NWS post on X.

Pittsfield in Berkshire County could see temperatures rise as high as 75 degrees by noon, the post reads.

During the 9 a.m. to noon timeframe, the southeastern part of the state should expect some rain, but nothing heavy or detrimental, McMinn said.

There could also be some rumbling of thunder during that time, she said.

Again, its not going to be overly frequent or anything that should be too detrimental.

The eastern part of the state could also see some showers this morning from 9 a.m. to noon but nothing severe.

After sunset, which occurs around 8 p.m. today, a third storm system is expected to pass through the state, with moderate showers expected in the western region, McMinn said.

As the system reaches Worcester, however, it will lighten up and become less severe both in Central and Eastern Massachusetts.

On Sunday, drier conditions are forecasted along with cooler temperatures, McMinn told MassLive.

So west of Worcester, were looking at mid-60s, she said. Everywhere else, kind of looking at high 60s, low 70s.
A Lynnfield-based company is seeking to purchase the former Heka Inc.'s recreational and medical marijuana, and cultivation facility at 98 Sgt. Thomas Dion Way. (FILE / THE WESTFIELD NEWS) FILE

WESTFIELD  The city is currently negotiating a host community agreement with a new company that is seeking to purchase the now-closed Heka Inc. facility on Sgt. Thomas Dion Way and open recreational and medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation operation.

Were looking to buy it and get it operational again, said Phil Silverman, an attorney with Boston-based Vincente LLC, who is representing Westfield Ultra Premium LLC, the company planning to open doing business as Canna Ultra Premium Westfield.
Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, joined Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni on May 12 to announce a $285,000 donation that the Guard awarded to the Hampden County DAs office and the Massachusetts State Police for equipment that helps combat illicit drug trafficking. (RYAN FEYRE / THE WESTFIELD NEWS) The Westfield News

SPRINGFIELD  A decade-long effort to curb illicit drug trafficking in the region was recently buttressed by an investment in new equipment.

Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced at a press conference on May 12 that his office and the State Police have received a $285,000 donation from the Massachusetts National Guards counterdrug program to help combat transnational criminal organizations, violent gangs and other drug trafficking organizations in the area.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. President Ilham Aliyevs participation in the 6th summit of the European Political Community (EPC) is a clear reflection of Azerbaijans growing international standing and a new phase in its relationship with the European Union (EU), Azerbaijani political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.

According to the expert, this participation once again showed that Azerbaijan is seen as a trustworthy and key player, not just in Europe but also on the wider geopolitical stage.

Over the past years, Azerbaijan-EU relations have gone through various complex phases. Certain circles had long attempted to direct Azerbaijan through pressure and double standards. However, these efforts failed against Azerbaijans principled stance based on national interests. Baku has preserved an independent and determined foreign policy, proving that no political center can interfere in its domestic or regional affairs. This approach gradually brought more realism into the EUs policies and helped steer the relationship back toward a constructive path. President Ilham Aliyevs leadership played the most crucial role in this transformation," he said.

Garayev emphasized that Azerbaijan has shown its mettle not just as a powerhouse of energy but also as a key player in tackling global hurdles, championing stability, and fostering win-win partnerships.

Azerbaijans contributions in energy security, the development of alternative transportation routes, counter-terrorism, and similar areas are now indispensable for Europe. The meetings held between President Ilham Aliyev and European leaders, including the direct engagement of the European Commissions leadership, clearly show that this reality is recognized at the political level. In contrast, countries like Armenia have attempted to position themselves as the EUs sole dialogue partner by playing geopolitical games. However, such efforts, based on artificial constructs rather than genuine cooperation, have not been sustainable. Azerbaijan has demonstrated through concrete outcomes that a collaborative model which serves European interests without compromising national priorities is achievable. Baku has thus confirmed its political leadership in the region through smart and pragmatic diplomacy, he added.

Garayev also pointed out that the European leaders were all ears to meet President Ilham Aliyev during the summit in Albania, which spoke volumes about the high esteem in which they hold both the Azerbaijani state and its leader.

As we saw in the footage, it was the European leaders themselves who approached President Aliyev, eager to speak with him. Among them were French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. These moments confirm Azerbaijans significant role in the current global order and in shaping Europes future strategies. Azerbaijans diplomacy is rooted not in unipolar dynamics but in multilateral and balanced cooperation. President Ilham Aliyevs development of strategic ties with China, his strengthened relations with Central Asia and the Middle East, and his continued engagement with Europe reflect the countrys growing diplomatic flexibility. Today, Baku serves not only as a geographic bridge between East and West, North and South, but also as a political one, he said.

The political analyst added that the summit being hosted in Albania also underscores the strategic importance of Azerbaijans presence.

Holding the summit in Albania carries both symbolic and strategic weight. In recent years, Azerbaijan has advanced its relationship with Albania and is actively pursuing diplomacy in the Balkans. The personal friendship and mutual trust between President Ilham Aliyev and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama form the foundation of this partnership. Baku is giving special importance to expanding its political and economic presence in the Balkans and views Albania as a reliable and promising partner. During the presentation of the Nur project in Korce, Prime Minister Edi Rama referred to President Aliyevs support as unique and invaluable, saying: He is a sincere friend of Albania and the Albanian people. These remarks reflect the special role President Aliyev plays in the development of Azerbaijani-Albanian relations. The respect and trust he has earned in Albanian society are clearly reflected in these words. Today, Balkan states recognize Azerbaijan as a stable, reliable, and pragmatic partner, he noted.

Garayev drove home that all of this proves President Ilham Aliyevs farsighted and balanced foreign policy not only strengthens Azerbaijans international position but also affirms the country as a trustworthy partner and a stable, dialogue-oriented leader on the global stage.

Baku has become a key player not only regionally but also globally in strategic developments. The evolution of ties with Europe and deepening cooperation with Balkan nations are further proof of Azerbaijans successful multi-vector diplomacy. This trend shows that Azerbaijan will continue to play a major role in international political and economic affairs in the years to come, he concluded.

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New study stresses the need for early lung health checks and monitoring using spirometry tests.



Your #lungs have a lifespan story! Persistent #asthma might mean reaching your peak lung power sooner and having lower levels overall, while #smoking speeds up decline after 35? What's your lung story? #RespiratoryHealth

New Study Tracks Lung Capacity from Childhood to Old Age

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General population-based lung function trajectories over the life course: an accelerated cohort study - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(25)00043-8/fulltext)

A study conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), in partnership with Clinic-IDIBAPS and supported by the la Caixa Foundation, has, for the first time, mappedPublished inthe research offers a foundational reference for evaluating lung health across age groups. ( )Until now, it was thought that lung function increased until it peaked at around 2025 years of age, after which it stabilised. It was also thought that in later adulthood, lung function begins to decline as the lungs age. However, this model was based on studies that did not cover the whole life course.In contrast, the current study used an accelerated cohort design, meaning data from several cohort studies were combined to cover the desired age range. We included more than 30,000 individuals aged 4 to 82 years from eight population-based cohort studies in Europe and Australia, explains Judith Garcia-Aymerich, first author of the study and co-director of the ISGlobal programme on Environment and Health over the Life Course.Data on active smoking and asthma diagnosis were also collected.The study showed thatLung function was assessed using two parameters: forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which measures the amount of air expelled in the first second of a forced breath after a deep inhalation; and forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the maximum amount of air a person can breathe out without a time limit after a deep inhalation.In women, FEV1 peaks around the age of 20, while in men it peaks around the age of 23. Surprisingly, the study found no evidence of a stable phase following this peak. "Previous models suggested a plateau phase until the age of 40, but our data show that lung function starts to decline much earlier than previously thought, immediately after the peak," explains Garcia-Aymerich.The analysis shows that both"Early detection of low lung function may allow interventions to prevent chronic respiratory diseases in adulthood," concludes Rosa Faner, researcher at the University of Barcelona and at Clinic-IDIBAPS, and last author of the study.Source-Eurekalert
Men with top fitness levels had a 53% lower risk of dying from random accidents, researchers found.



Staying #fit in your teens pays off! Higher #fitness in late #adolescence is linked to a lower risk of #premature_death, including from #heart_disease. Get moving! #TeenFitness #HeartHealth #Longevity

Long-Term Impact of Teen Fitness: Study Tracks 1.1 Million Swedish Men from Youth to Middle Age

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Many studies have consistently shown that physically fit individuals face a lower risk of early death from various illnesses. However, new research from Uppsala University reveals that high fitness levels in late adolescence are also linked to a reduced risk of death from unexpected accidents. This finding indicates that earlier studies may have overstated the direct impact of fitness on disease-related mortality.Many observational studies have shown that people who exercise more and have good cardiorespiratory fitness early in life are at lower risk of premature death from causes such as cancer and cardiovascular disease . However, a new study published in thesuggests that the association between physical fitness and a reduced risk of mortality may be misleading.But when we looked at their risk of dying in random accidents, we found an almost similarly strong association. This suggests that people with high and low fitness levels may differ in other important ways, which is something that previous studies have not fully taken into account, says Marcel Ballin, associated researcher in epidemiology and lead author of the study.In the study, the researchers leveraged data from 1.1 million Swedish men who were conscripted for military service between the years 1972 and 1995. The men, who were on average 18 years old at the time of conscription, were divided into five groups based on their fitness level at the time. They were then followed until their 60s or until they died. With access to the National Cause of Death Register, the researchers were able to see their cause of death. They subsequently used different methods to study the association between fitness level in late adolescence and premature death.The researchers started with a traditional analysis of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer and from all causes, as in previous observational studies. They adjusted their statistical models for factors such as BMI , age at conscription, year of conscription, and parents income and education level. The results showed that the group with the highest fitness level had a 58 per cent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 31 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer, and a 53 per cent lower risk of dying from all causes, compared with the group with the lowest fitness level.Next, the researchers examined how fitness was associated with the risk of dying in random accidents such as car accidents, drownings and homicides. They chose random accidents because they assumed that there ought to be no association between the mens fitness in late adolescence and the risk of dying in random accidents. This method is called negative control outcome analysis and involves testing the validity of your results for a primary outcome by comparing them with an outcome where no association ought to be found. If, however, an association is found, it may indicate that the groups studied are not actually comparable, and that the study suffers from what is typically referred to as confounding. Yet, it is unlikely that the mens fitness would have such a big effect on their risk of dying in random accidents.These results were also confirmed when the researchers used the sibling comparison design. Using this method, the researchers compared the risk of premature death between siblings with different fitness levels to control for all the factors that the siblings share such as behaviors, environmental factors, and some genetic factors.It surprised us that the association with accidental mortality reflected the other associations, even after we controlled for all the factors that siblings share. This underlines how strong the assumptions are that you make in observational studies, since it appears to be very difficult to create comparable groups. The consequences may be that you overestimate the magnitudes of the effects you find, says Marcel Ballin.The study is one of the largest of its kind in which researchers used negative control outcomes to investigate whether the associations between fitness and mortality are in fact valid. The results in this study are also supported by other research.That the effects of good cardiorespiratory fitness may be overstated might sound controversial to some, but the fact is that if you look at the results from studies others than traditional observational studies, a more nuanced picture does emerge. A number of twin studies for example have found similar results. Some genetic studies also suggest that there are genes that affect both the propensity to be physically active or have a good fitness level, and the risk of developing diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Marcel says.Marcel Ballin also argues that there are many different reasons for promoting physical activity. However, large-scale interventions or policy changes intended to apply to the entire population must be based on reliable estimates  otherwise there is a risk of expecting effects that have in fact been overestimated.Our results should not be interpreted as if physical activity and exercise are ineffective or that you should not try to promote it. But to create a more nuanced understanding of how big the effects of fitness actually are on different outcomes, we need to use several different methods. If we just ask the question in the same way, we will always get the same answer. Its only when we get the same answer to a question that we have asked in slightly different ways that we can be sure that the findings are accurate, says Marcel Ballin.Source-Eurekalert
P. gingivalis linked to heart disease by causing irregular heart rhythms and tissue scarring.



From your toothbrush to your #heartbeat? Scientists have found the first direct evidence that #oral_bacteria can sneak into the heart and trigger dangerous #arrhythmias. Talk about an unexpected connection! 

Atrial Fibrillation: A Growing Global Health Concern

Mouse Study Reveals Microbial Impact on the Heart

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In a significant breakthrough that bridges oral health and cardiology, researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan have found that individuals suffering from gum disease may face a significantly heightened risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), a potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disorder. The study, published in the prestigious journal Circulation, identifies Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis)a key bacterium behind periodontitisas a possible microbial culprit linking gum infections to cardiac complications.According to the research team, P. gingivalis can escape the mouth, enter the bloodstream, and infiltrate the hearts left atrium. Once it reaches this critical area, the bacterium quietly induces scar tissue formation, alters the hearts natural architecture, and disrupts its electrical signalingpaving the way for AFib. This condition dramatically raises the risk of strokes heart failure , and sudden cardiac arrest Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the heart's upper chambers (atria) beat irregularly and out of sync with the lower chambers (ventricles), leading to poor blood flow. Symptoms can include heart palpitations, fatigue , shortness of breath, and dizziness In some cases, AFib may be silent but still increase the risk of severe complications such as stroke or heart failure. According to global health data, AFib cases nearly doubled between 2010 and 2019, rising from 33.5 million to nearly 60 millionhighlighting the urgency of identifying new risk factors and preventive strategies.To explore the possible oral-systemic link, researchers created a mouse model using the aggressive W83 strain of P. gingivalis. Thirteen-week-old male mice were divided into two groupsone infected with the bacterium introduced into the tooth pulp and the other left uninfected. These were then monitored over 12 and 18 weeks.The 12-week findings showed minimal differences, but by week 18, the infected group showed a significant uptick in abnormal heart rhythms.Infected mice were six times more likely to develop AFib, with a 30% inducibility rate compared to just 5% in the control group. Moreover, the bacterium was detected in the hearts left atrium, where the tissue had become stiff and fibrotic. In contrast, the uninfected group had healthy heart tissue and no trace of bacterial infiltration.The findings underline the importance of oral hygiene not just for dental well-being but for overall cardiovascular health. As awareness grows, experts are urging both dental and medical professionals to collaborate more closely, ensuring early detection and holistic care to mitigate the long-term risks posed by such microbial threats.Source-Medindia
Measles is a contagious viral disease preventable with two doses of the safe, effective MMR vaccine.



The #CDC says 96% of 2025 #measles cases are in those #unvaccinated or with unknown status. Knowing your #measles_vaccination status is important, doesn't it? #United_States

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Summer Travel and the Risk of Measles Spread

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Vaccination Rates Dropping Amid Rising Skepticism

Why Measles Is So Dangerous

Prevention Is Key: Get Vaccinated

Measles Cases and Outbreaks - (https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html)

The U.S. is facing a sharp and worrisome increase in measles cases just as millions of Americans prepare for summer travel. According to the( )The states with ongoing outbreaks include Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Texas, in particular, accounts for the lions share of cases, reporting more than 700 infections in 2025 alone, according to Texas Health and Human Services.This years case count marks a significant surge compared to 2024, which saw just 285 cases. It is also the highest total since 2019, when the U.S. recorded 1,274 measles cases.The CDC's warning comes amid a surge in travel. More than 45 million Americans are expected to travel over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, including 3.6 million air travelers. The combination of increased movement and declining vaccination rates has public health experts on high alert.One thing about infectious diseases, they dont respect borders, said former CDC Acting Director Dr. Richard Besser. So, measles will travel.TheThat means airports, airplanes, and other crowded public places can become hotspots for transmission  especially among unvaccinated individuals.The CDC reports that 128 people have been hospitalized with measles this year, and there have been three confirmed deaths.A major factor fueling the resurgence of measles is falling vaccination rates. During the 20232024 school year, only 92.7% of U.S. kindergarteners had received the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine  a drop from 95.2% in 20192020. This decline in immunization is attributed in part to increasing vaccine hesitancy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic Virologist Dr. Andrew Pekosz of Johns Hopkins University emphasized that those who are vaccinated have little to worry about: If youre vaccinated against measles, you really have very little concern with the current outbreaks. But if youre unvaccinated, youre highly susceptible.Professor Besser added, While its a personal decision to vaccinate, that personal decision not only affects you and your child  it affects your neighbors and your community.Measles is not just a harmless childhood illness. The virus infects the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body. Symptoms include high fever , cough, runny nose, and a full-body rash. It can lead to severe complications such as pneumonia , brain swelling, and even death  particularly in young children, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.Globally, measles remains a major health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 107,500 people died from measles in 2023  most of them children under the age of five. This, despite the existence of a safe and effective vaccine.Health experts continue to stress that vaccination is the most effective protection. The CDC recommends two doses of the MMR vaccine, which provides about 97% protection against measles.The first dose is typically given at 12 to 15 months of age, and the second between ages 4 and 6. In the context of travel or outbreaks, even adults who are unsure of their vaccination history are encouraged to get immunized.The message from public health authorities is clear: as the nation embarks on a summer of travel and family gatherings, protecting yourself and your community starts with rolling upSource-Medindia
Access to a new Alzheimers treatment, lecanemab, shows major disparities tied to race, gender, and income.

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Disparities in Early Lecanemab Uptake Among US Medicare Beneficiaries



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Did You Know?

Patients with higher socioeconomic status are 24 times more likely to receive lecanemab for Alzheimers than those with lower income, despite Medicare coverage. #medindia #healthequity #alzheimerstreatment

Patients with higher socioeconomic status aremore likely to receive lecanemab for Alzheimers than those with lower income, despite Medicare coverage. #medindia #healthequity #alzheimerstreatment

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Limited Reach Despite High Medicare Costs

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Demographic Trends in Treatment Uptake

Inequities and Structural Barriers to Care

Disparities in Early Lecanemab Uptake Among US Medicare Beneficiaries - (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2834123)

Adoption of, a new infusion therapy for Alzheimers disease (AD), has been significantly higher among men, white individuals, urban residents, and people with greater socioeconomic means, according to findings published in).The findings highlight how certain populations are more likely to access potentially breakthrough new therapies than others, the researchers write.Lecanemab was theto receive broadfor AD in July 2023. Its approval and use remain controversial because of its limited effectiveness in slowing cognitive decline and its high rate of serious side effects, such as brain bleeding. The drug is costly, with a price tag ofper year and an estimated additional $7,000 per year in ancillary costs.This drug is contributing to increased Medicare spending for everyone, while only being provided to a select few, said Frank Zhou, a medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who led the study. These findings should alert policymakers that despite patient assistance programs by the drug manufacturer to improve access to the therapy, stark disparities in uptake have still occurred. As we prepare for the likely future launch of more efficacious and safer therapies in this field, we must think harder about how to ensure equitable access to all patients who could benefit from and desire such treatment.The researchers analyzed all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who had received lecanemab between July 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. They compared the demographics of these lecanemab users with a broader population of patients possibly eligible for the drug by having diagnosed AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Demographic variables for comparison included age, sex, race and ethnicity, urban/rural status, and a proxy variable for socioeconomic status, which was marked as higher if a patient was neither eligible for the Part D low-income subsidy or for dual Medicare-Medicaid. Within each demographic category, the uptake rate of lecanemab was calculated by dividing the number of lecanemab users by the number of patients with AD or MCI.Patients who used lecanemab were more likely to be male, white, from urban areas, and with higher socioeconomic status than those who did not, the researchers found. Of the 1,725 lecanemab users, 48.5% were male, 90.5% were White, 88.0% were urban residents, and 98.7% had higher socioeconomic status. In contrast, among all 842,192 patients with diagnosed AD or MCI, only 36.4% were male, 82.0% were White, 82.1% were urban residents, and 75.3% had higher socioeconomic status.Uptake rates of lecanemab were much higher for patients who were(0.27% vs. 0.19% for female),(0.23% vs. 0.09% for Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.04% for Black, 0.07% for Hispanic),(0.22% vs. 0.14% for rural areas), and with(0.27% vs. 0.01% for lower socioeconomic status).We found that lecanemab adoption was 6-fold higher among white versus Black patients and 24-fold higher among those with higher versus lower socioeconomic status, said Dr. John N. Mafi, associate professor-in-residence in the UCLA division of general internal medicine and health services research and the studys co-senior author. While these findings may be related to the drugs annual cost of $26,000 per year and extensive testing and visit requirements, they also reflect a broader and recurring historical pattern of inequities in access to breakthrough therapies in the United States,A limitation to the study was that data for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were unavailable, the researchers write. In addition, patients with AD and MCI were identified via diagnosis codes, which can misdiagnose or underestimate the prevalence of those conditions, cant distinguish between different severities of AD, and cant account for other medication eligibility criteria."Lecanemab is a costly therapy with marginal clinical benefits and significant safety risks, and any decision to start using the therapy should be carefully discussed with one's doctor," Zhou said. "Given these significant issues with the therapy, Medicare should also analyze real-world data from its own registry of lecanemab users to decide if continued coverage of this therapy is appropriate. This is especially salient given that there are likely better uses for our limited Medicare dollars, for example caregiver care for dementia patients."Source-Eurekalert
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Iran wants a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia to be signed soon, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said today in Tehran during a meeting with Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, Trend reports.

According to the minister, Iran has good relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Iran considers the peace treaty between the two countries to be an aid to the process of establishing regional stability and comprehensive development, he explained.

Araghchi added that Iran will spare no effort to help accelerate the process of signing and implementing this document.

To note, the Iranian side states that stability in the South Caucasus is ensured by the countries of the region without external interference. Iran has stated that it is ready to provide any assistance to advance the negotiations between the two countries.

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Thousands of soldiers coming to Washington, D.C., next month will be housed in government buildings in the city as part of an unusual military parade, an idea originally floated by President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

The June 14 military parade, which coincides with Trump's 79th birthday, will include about 6,600 soldiers as well as tanks, armored personnel carriers and aircraft on top of other festivities throughout the week in celebration of the Army's 250th birthday, according to the service. Roughly 150 vehicles, including Strykers, M1 Abrams tanks and Humvees, along with 50 aircraft, will take part.

The soldiers will come from all 10 of the Army's active-duty divisions located across the country, and most will be housed in the General Services Administration and Agriculture Department buildings in the city, The Washington Post reported. All told, the festivities could cost between $25 million and $45 million, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said.

Read Next: Military Families Could Go Hungry Due to Food Assistance Cuts in GOP's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Celebratory events will start at the beginning of the week and will conclude with the parade, fireworks and a fitness competition, Castro said.

During his first term, Trump asked the Pentagon to plan a military parade with the armed forces that never came to fruition. Such parades have been rare in modern American history. In 1991, the country held a Gulf War victory celebration in Washington, D.C., that included a parade with troops, tanks and military aircraft flyovers.

Trump's earlier attempt at holding a military parade on Veterans Day during his first term ultimately was abandoned in 2018 due to a cost estimated at $92 million, with Trump claiming D.C. was requesting too much money for the event.

"When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I canceled it. Never let someone hold you up!" Trump posted on social media at the time, according to The Associated Press.

The upcoming celebration has drawn consternation from local D.C. officials anticipating damage to roads from the tanks, which can weigh more than 60 tons, and at least one organization submitted a permit application to the National Park Service to protest it, according to The Washington Post.

Daniel Gleick, a spokesperson for the D.C. mayor's office, told Military.com that it did not have any additional comment regarding cleanup or repair concerns, but referred the publication to a February comment from Mayor Muriel Bowser in which she said "if military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads."

Reuters reported Thursday that the up-to-$45 million price tag for the events did not include repairs or trash cleanup. The Associated Press reported Friday that the Army will install metal plates on roads to reduce damage from 25 M1 Abrams tanks expected to traverse the nearly 3-mile route from the Pentagon, over the Arlington Memorial Bridge and ending near 15th Street.

Units will fund travel for soldiers and vehicle transportation, which will be done by rail, and aircraft will fly in, according to the Army. Roughly 6,600 soldiers will travel to D.C. for the events, according to Castro.

She said that "the duration will vary," regarding how long soldiers will be housed in government facilities.

The mayor's office referred Military.com to the U.S. Secret Service for questions regarding security during the events, but that agency did not respond by publication.

Past events such as Trump's inaugurations in 2017 and January have caused protests in D.C., and public demonstrations have sprung up around the country during the first months of his second term.

"The Army takes the safety and physical well-being of our soldiers, families and all those who will be celebrating [the] Army's 250th birthday in Washington, D.C., seriously," Castro said when asked about protests. "We are coordinating with local law enforcement, U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service to ensure appropriate security measures are taken, and those in attendance can safely celebrate."

Related: Trump Administration Is Having Early Talks to Hold a Military Parade in Nation's Capital on June 14
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Irans president said his country will continue talks with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program but will not withdraw from its rights because of U.S. threats.

We are negotiating, and we will negotiate, we are not after war but we do not fear any threat," President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a speech to navy officials broadcast by state television Saturday.

It is not like that they think if they threaten us, we will give up our human right and definite right, Pezeshkian said. We will not withdraw, we will not easily loose honorable military, scientific, nuclear in all fields.

The negotiations have reached the expert level, meaning the sides are trying to reach agreement on the details of a possible deal. But a major sticking point remains Irans enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration increasingly insists the Islamic Republic must give up.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Earlier on Friday, Trump said Iran received a proposal during the talks, though he did not elaborate.

During his trip to region this week, Trump at nearly every event insisted Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb, something U.S. intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not actively pursuing, though its program is on the cusp of being able to weaponize nuclear material.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of Irans atomic organization, stressed the peaceful nature of the program, saying it is under continuous monitoring by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, state TV reported Saturday.

No country is monitored by the agency like us, Eslami said, adding that the agency inspected the countrys nuclear facilities more than 450 time in 2024. Something about 25% of all the agency inspections in the year.

Meanwhile, Israel routinely has threatened to strike Irans nuclear facilities if it feels threatened, further complicating tensions in the Mideast already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In his first reaction to Trumps regional visit, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Trump wasn't truthful when he made claims about creating peace through power.

Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace, he lied. He and the U.S. administration used power for massacre in Gaza, for waging wars in any place they could, Khamenei said Saturday during a meeting with teachers broadcast on state television.

The U.S. has provided Israel with 10-ton bombs to drop on Gaza children, hospitals, houses of people in Lebanon and anywhere else when they can," Khamenei said.

Khamenei, who has the final say on all Iranian state matters, reiterated his traditional stance against Israel.

Definitely, the Zionist regime is the spot of corruption, war, rifts. The Zionist regime that is lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumor should be certainly eradicated, and it will be," he said, adding that the U.S. has imposed a pattern on Arab nations under which they cannot endeavor without U.S. support.

Surely this model has failed. With efforts of the regional nations, the U.S. should leave the region, and it will leave," Khamenei said.

Iran has long considered the U.S. military presence in the region as a threat on its doorstep, especially after Trump pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. The IX Florida Keys International Music Competition, a staple in the United States, is this year tipping its hat to the 140th anniversary of the remarkable Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the State Committee for Work with Diaspora told Trend.

The competition welcomes musiciansboth professionals and amateursof various age groups. Candidates must first register on the competitions official website and submit video recordings of their performances to the organizers. Winners in different categories will be chosen by a jury composed of well-known performers and educators. Selected participants will perform at a gala concert held in Carnegie Hall in New York in November. Additionally, some winners will have the opportunity to perform for a wide European audience.

The gala concert will be organized by the Azerbaijani-American Cultural Association of Florida, with support from the State Committee for Work with Diaspora.

Notably, the competition was established in honor of prominent Azerbaijani composer Jovdat Hajiyev and is held annually. The founders of the competition include Parvin Muradova, director of education and culture for the Azerbaijani-American Cultural Association operating in Florida and daughter of notable cultural figures Jovdat Hajiyev and Amina Dilbazi, as well as Kai Lang, Vivian Fang Liu, and Tohfa Eminova, president of the Azerbaijani-American Cultural Association.

The competition aims to identify young talents, support their development, and promote Azerbaijans rich musical heritage.

More detailed information about the competition is available at: https://www.floridakeyscompetition.com/

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Mets minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jon Singleton each triggered upward mobility clauses in their contracts, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That requires New York to offer them to other teams. If another club is willing to give either player a big league roster spot, the Mets would need to call them up themselves or let them head elsewhere (likely in a trade for cash).

Gose signed a minor league deal last December and was with the Mets in Spring Training. He worked six innings of one-run ball in camp. Gose has pitched 15 times for Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a solid 3.31 earned run average over 16 1/3 frames. He has fanned a quarter of opponents but is walking more than 15% of batters faced. Thats par for the course for Gose, a former outfielder with a mid-90s fastball and scattershot command.

The Mets are stretched on left-handed relief depth after the A.J. Minter and Danny Young injuries. They called up minor league signee Genesis Cabrera to work as Carlos Mendozas primary southpaw. They added a second lefty last night, acquiring Jose Castillo in a DFA trade with the Diamondbacks. Gose has a relatively clear path to the big leagues in Queens, though theyve already added two other depth arms to their bullpen instead of promoting him.

Singleton, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was in camp with the Astros. Houston released him at the end of Spring Training. He signed a minor league deal with New York at the beginning of April. He has appeared in 33 Triple-A games, batting .216/.358/.432 with seven home runs.

Hes hitting for power and drawing plenty of walks, but he has fanned in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Singleton had a career-high 405 trips to the plate with Houston last year, batting .234/.321/.386 with 13 homers. With Brett Baty hitting well since being recalled two weeks ago, the Mets probably wouldnt have room for Singleton if another team were willing to call him up.
The Nationals are set to release catcher Andrew Knizner, the Washington Posts Andrew Golden reports. The transaction comes in advance of an opt-out date in Knizners minor league contract this weekend, and the Nats have chosen to move on from the 30-year-old backstop rather than overwrite his opt-out by adding him to the big league roster.

Its hard to say that Knizner couldve gone any more to merit a call-up, as he is hitting .382/.516/.500 over 91 plate appearances with Triple-A Rochester. This eye-popping slash line is obviously a huge improvement over Knizners much more modest career numbers in the minors, as well as his .210/.279/.317 slash line over 887 career PA in the majors with the Cardinals and Rangers from 2019-24. As one might expect, Knizners unexpected surge at the plate is aided by some good fortune, namely a .431 BABIP.

The secondary metrics were likely the reason Washington didnt feel compelled to give Knizner a look on the active roster, even though backup catcher Riley Adams is hitting only .167/.167/.400 in 30 PA. Starter Keibert Ruiz is obviously not going anywhere, but even Ruizs production (.279/.329/.361 in 158 PA) hasnt been inspiring, as Ruiz has only a 96 wRC+.

Adams is out of minor league options, so the Nationals would have to designate Adams for assignment and expose him to waivers in order to try and get him back to Triple-A. Despite Adams lack of contributions on offense or defense, the Nats seem comfortable with their catching situation, thus making Knizner the odd man out. Given how catching depth is always at a premium, Knizner will surely land another contract in short order, and might even have a shot at a guaranteed MLB deal.
An aerial image of White River Light Station built in 1875 along the White Lake Channel in Muskegon County, Mich. Joel Bissell | MLive.com

WHITEHALL, MI  This beautiful brick lighthouse is about to open for its sesquicentennial season, including tower climbs and an onsite museum.

Built in 1875, the White River Light Station is 150 years old this year. It opens for the 2025 season on Thursday, May 22, the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association announced.

Situated on green lawn with trees behind it and Lake Michigan before it, the lighthouse reverberates with character, according to the association, which manages the light.

RELATED: How to climb century-old lighthouse at end of half-mile Lake Michigan pier

An aerial image of White River Light Station built in 1875 along the White Lake Channel in Muskegon County, Mich. Joel Bissell | MLive.com

White River Light will be open daily through Sept. 7. Monday hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday to Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Sept. 11 to Oct. 19, it will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday. Find it at 6199 Murray Road in Whitehall.

RELATED: Tower climbs start soon at 115-foot lighthouse on Lake Michigan shoreline

The beloved beacon has stood at the entrance of the White Lake Channel, a manmade inlet between Lake Michigan and White Lake, since 1875. The light station was decommissioned in 1960 and opened its doors as a museum in 1970.

The lighthouse stands as a testament to the regions rich nautical past and remains a beloved local treasure, the association said.

The history and longevity of the White River Light Station and Museum will be front-and-center at the 150th anniversary celebration on Saturday, June 21. The event will include music, food and drinks, a silent auction, raffle, tower climbs and lawn games. Scheduled for noon to 7 p.m., the event will also include a tribute from the state of Michigan from 2:30-3 p.m.

RELATED: This Lake Michigan lighthouse is celebrating its 150th anniversary this summer

Other events at the light station this summer include the Kids Program series, which is happening 2-3:30 p.m. June 25, July 9, Aug. 13, Sept. 13 and Oct. 4. Each program is limited to 20 children; register for free here. Geared toward first- to fourth-grade students, the programs include hands-on learning and play around maritime and lighthouse history.

RELATED: Meet Michigans last female lighthouse keeper

Looking out of the White River Light Station onto White Lake Channel piers in Muskegon County, Mich. Joel Bissell | MLive.com

During any visit, be sure to climb the 38-foot tower for a unique view of Lake Michigan and the surrounding area. Fees for climbing are $8 for adults and $5 for students 17 years old and under. Active military personnel and veterans can climb for free.

Children must be at least 40 inches tall to climb. For safety reasons, children may not be carried up the stairs.

RELATED: Winter winds blew sand drifts over lighthouse access road: See before and after

The association also manages Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Ludington State Park; Little Sable Point Lighthouse in Mears; the Ludington North Breakwater Light; and the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human services, which oversees child protective services in the state, is pictured in a file photo.

Chayce Allen, 3, suffered extreme trauma at the hands of his mother before he was found dead in a broken basement freezer in 2022.

His father, Juwan Allen, says Michigans Child Protective Services failed him by repeatedly returning him to an abusive household, despite clear signs of harm, according to a lawsuit filed last month against 13 state CPS workers.

Allen argues gross negligence and a failure by CPS to remove the boy from his mother -- again -- contributed to his injuries and untimely death.

His lawyers said case workers interviewed the toddler in front of his abuser, gave the mother advanced warning before home visits, and even closed an abuse investigation one day after he was discharged from a hospital.

Defendants had multiple chances to intervene -- the last of which was mere months before Chayces death but instead took affirmative actions placing him in continuous danger, reads the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on April 18 and served this week to at least half of the defendants.

Allen is asking for compensatory damages exceeding $75,000, which is the minimum threshold for a case to be heard in federal court, plus punitive damages and court fees.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) declined to comment on the pending litigation, but said the department is deeply committed to ensuring the health and safety of all children and improving the child welfare system to meet the needs of kids and families.

Related: Michigan failed to properly review 150 child deaths, audit finds

Chayce and his siblings were initially removed from their mother, Azuradee France, in December 2018, following allegations of abuse. The children had physical injuries and their home had a rat infestation, evident by holes chewed through the childrens playpen.

The CPS petition to remove the children noted Frances risk assessment score was high, her safety assessment scored not safe and case workers didnt believe she understood the seriousness of her actions.

After two years apart, the children were returned to France in November 2020. However, alleged abuses continued.

CPS workers were called back two months later after France failed to get Chayce medical attention for second- and third-degree burns on his hands. When she did take him for treatment, doctors also discovered an abscess on his ankle that required immediate surgery, according to the lawsuit.

During fall 2021, France was again investigated after Chayce was observed with a black eye, a gash near the top of his eyebrow and bruised ribs. His mother admitted to spanking him in a way that she acknowledged was excessive, according to the lawsuit.

The toddler also appeared malnourished and allegedly kept throwing up after eating. Later testing revealed he had gone blind as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, and had a nondisplaced fracture of his left femur.

Despite the glaring medical findings and the doctors explicit recommendations for further evaluation for child abuse / neglect, defendants failed to further investigate and enhance the dangers to Chayce, the lawsuit reads.

One day after Chayce was discharged from the hospital, his CPS investigation was allegedly closed.

About five months later, Chayce died.

Police were called to do a welfare check on June 24, 2022 when they found his barely recognizable body in a broken freezer.

France, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July 2024, shortly before she was set for trial. She is serving a 35-to-60-year prison sentence.

The lawsuit argues the 13 defendants had a duty to intervene in a timely and responsible manner to ensure Chayces safety, and that they had knowledge of his vulnerable status and the risks posed by the abusive environment he was living in with his mother.

Michigans House Oversight Subcommittee on Child Welfare System heard testimony about the CPS lawsuit in late April. Attorney Jonathan Marko shared Allens and other stories in which he said the department failed children it had a duty to protect.

No MDHHS representative was invited to the April 29 subcommittee hearing to offer a response to the allegations.

MDHHS told MLive it assesses every claim of abuse or neglect it receives. Since the needs of families can vary case by case, the involvement of case workers varies. In the case of a child death, the department works with law enforcement to ensure all responsible parties are held accountable.

In addition to internal reviews, MDHHS said it fully cooperates with the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent agency that investigates complaints concerning the administrative actions of agencies within the child welfare system.
Multiple utility providers are working to restore service to thousands by Saturday, with harder-hit areas like Battle Creek, Muskegon and Kalamazoo to be restored by Sunday after tornadoes and severe weather. A fallen tree is seen in Derek Easons yard on Friday, May 16, 2025, at the 200 block of West Rankin in Flint. Ayrton Breckenridge | MLive.com

UPDATE: As of 12 p.m. Saturday, 124,000 Consumers Energy customers are remaining restoration. Officials said the overnight winds Friday caused additional interruptions, bringing the total impacted to more than 220,000. The company has restored power to 100,000 customers so far.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Utility companies in the southern half of Michigans lower peninsula are reporting progress as they continue to restore power to thousands of homes this weekend.

Consumers Energy, among others, has mobilized crews across the state to respond to outages after two storms hit the state Thursday and Friday.

READ MORE: At least 6 tornadoes confirmed so far after powerful storms swept Michigan

Consumers expects to restore power for about 160,000 customers who remain without power by Saturday evening.

Those in the hardest-hit areas, including Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Muskegon, should have power back by Sunday evening, a press release stated.

READ MORE: 18K residents still without power as thunderstorms continue in Muskegon County

Crews continue restoring power and repairing damage after high winds and at least six confirmed tornadoes along with thunderstorms and hail swept through Michigan overnight Thursday, officials stated.

View the Consumers Energy outage map here.

A fallen tree and a downed wire from an overnight storm caused a portion of Franklin Street in Muskegon to close on Friday, May 16, 2025. Kayla Tucker

Power was restored to 25 percent of customers impacted as of Friday night, the press release stated.

Consumers Energy mobilized about 550 crews to help customers after a powerful line of storms caused outages from Kalamazoo and west Michigan counties to Lansing and Saginaw.

Southern Michigan

Midwest Energy & Communications (MEC) made some progress overnight and now reports about 3,600 people still without power.

MEC services residents in 15 counties in southern Michigan, as well as northern Indiana and Ohio.

The largest outages are in the townships of Texas, Wayne, Antwerp, Decatur, Bangor, Milton, Portage, Covert, Hamilton, and Keeler.

Additional outages are scattered throughout southwest Michigan.

View a complete list of MEC outages here.

MEC plans to have 80% of customers restored Saturday, with full restoration by Sunday.

42 1 / 42 Severe weather, potential tornado in Martin

Indiana Michigan Power, which services residents in southwest Michigan and Indiana, expects to have power restored to its Michigan customers by 11 p.m. Saturday, according to an update on the companys website.

View outages and estimates at IndianaMichiganPower.com/OutageMap.

Damage assessors and utility crews have found more than 230 downed wires and nearly 150 broken or damaged power poles in southwest Michigan.

Indiana Michigan Power saw an increase of 10,000 outages by Saturday morning in Indiana, following the second storm.

Approximately 10,800 customers affected by Thursdays storms are still without power, down from a peak of more than 35,000.

Approximately 3,600 customers impacted by Friday nights storms are without power, down from a peak of around 10,000 initially.

38 1 / 38 Severe storm takes its toll on Drenthe neighborhood in West Michigan

Safety

More high winds are expected Saturday, which could cause already loose branches or limbs to fall. Customers cleaning up from storm damage are advised to be alert.

Watch for downed wires and crews working along often busy roads. Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines.

Anyone who sees an unguarded downed power line should first call 911, then your utility company.

Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
OAKLAND COUNTY, MI  A Pontiac teen is back in custody after making threats to a student at Lake Orion High School.

The teen  who is not a student at the school  was previously arrested in February on school grounds while in possession of a machete and several knives, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard stated in a news release.

A warrant request is pending with prosecutors in that case.

On Thursday, May 15, he allegedly threatened a student at the same school, leading to his most recent arrest.

The 17-year-old is now being held in Oakland County Childrens Village after Juvenile Court Referee Justin Chmielewski authorized a petition against him for malicious use of a telecommunications device/school threat.

Everyone should very clearly know at this point that we have a zero tolerance for individuals that make threats against schools or other people, Bouchard said. This particular young person is already charged with bringing weapons on a school grounds and this is on the heels of that incident.

Im glad we quickly located and arrested him, helping to put the school and students at ease. I look forward to more accountability for him from the system.

The teen was arrested Friday morning, without incident, at his home in Pontiac by members of the Sheriffs Office Fugitive Apprehension Team, the sheriff stated.

School officials were alerted to the incident on Thursday after a student at the high school notified the school resource officer about a Snapchat the student had just seen regarding a general threat against students.

The sender of the threat was quickly identified as being neither a student at the high school nor a resident of Orion Township.

The suspect told authorities the threat was against a student and not the school, Bouchard stated.

The teen was also arrested in late March on a domestic violence charge for allegedly assaulting his father. A juvenile petition was authorized in that case on March 29.
SALINE, MI  A downtown Saline coffeeshop known for its eclectic sandwiches, creative espresso drinks and welcoming vibe is going strong after more than a decade in business.

Owners Karen and Jason Carrigan opened Carrigan Cafe in September 2014 in the former My Favorite Cafe space. Nearly eleven years later, its become a community cornerstone of downtown Saline.

The cafe became popular for serving up eclectic seasonal lattes, house-made baked goods and an all-day sandwich menu incorporating Zingermans bread and Barrys bagels. Karen Carrigan says the cafe prides itself on serving up specialty coffee any way their customers like.

We give you a few ideas to start with, and you can go from there, she said.

For four months in 2023, the couple were considering selling the cafe  they had moved to Georgia for Jasons full-time job in 2020. Not long after the space was listed for sale, Jason found a job back in Michigan and the couple decided to continue running the business. Customers were elated.

There were lots of hugs and happiness and cheers, she said. We all stepped up together its been going extremely well ever since.

Some of the cafes most popular drinks include the Mexican Latte - made with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and dark chocolate - and the Debbie  a brewed coffee with half and half and caramel syrup. The cafe uses Coffee Express beans from Plymouth, Michigan and Guernsey Dairy products.

Two of Carrigan Cafes most popular sandwiches are the Ruth and Harold, named after Karens parents. The Harold is a take on the classic Reuben, featuring pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on grilled rye, while the Ruth uses turkey in place of pastrami.

The Grandmas Salad sandwich features a customers choice of egg salad or chicken salad along with lettuce and tomato served on a croissant.

Other popular menu items include build-your-own breakfast sandwiches, house-made soups and quiches, the latter with vegetarian and meat options. Theres also a variety of house-made baked goods, including gluten-free options. The cafe also makes its own smoked salmon cream cheese.

Over the years, Carrigan Cafe has become a community gathering space, opening late each Friday to host open mic nights, euchre, trivia, family game nights and more. Theyll also be open late Thursdays serving a menu of summer mocktails during the citys Salty Summer Sounds concert series, which begins Thursday, June 12.

When Karen Carrigan decided to return to running the cafe full-time in 2023, she began selling themed merchandise, which can now be found throughout the store.

Carrigan cafes mascot is a stoat - a weasel-like animal found both in Michigan and in the Carrigans ancestral Ireland  and the adorable mustelid appears on a variety of shirts, mugs, bags and whole bean coffee.

Carrigan Cafe, 101 S Ann Arbor St., is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cafe reopens on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays for activities and events.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora organization in Turkiye has been appointed to the position of rector, the State Committee on Work with Diaspora told Trend.

By the decree of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekrem Gurel, head of the Azerbaijan Association in Turkiye, dean of the Faculty of Science and Literature of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, became the rector of Igdir University.

Gurel, originally from Igdir, was born on June 16, 1969. In 1987, he graduated from the Field Crops Department of the Faculty of Agriculture of Ankara University. In the same year, without studying for a master's degree, he directly won a scholarship to the doctoral program of the University of Leeds in England and graduated in 1992. After working at the Sugar Institute of Turkish Sugar Factories Inc. in 1992-1995, he continued his activities at the Biology Department of the Faculty of Science and Literature of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University. He became an associate professor in 1998 and a professor in 2004. He has been the dean of the aforementioned faculty since 2023.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
GRAND HAVEN TWP., MI  Four people were injured in a crash Saturday afternoon when a pickup ran a red light in Ottawa County.

Rescue crews were called at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, to the intersection of U.S. 31 and Hayes Street in Grand Haven Township for a report of a rollover crash with injuries, according to the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office.
Julia VanDyke, a Rockford High School senior, is one of just 20 Michigan students announced in the first round of National Merit Scholarship winners. (Photo provided by Terpstra Studio) Daniel Terpstra

ROCKFORD, MI - Julia VanDyke, a graduating senior at Rockford High School, said her high school career has come with a catchphrase - just do the math.

It started as a ninth-grade joke with a friend who asked for help on a math problem, VanDyke said, but became a sort of mantra for her, including when she wasnt entirely sure how to work through a complex problem.

Now, VanDyke, a passionate student in statistics and computer science, is Rockfords salutatorian.

Shes also one of just 20 Michigan students announced in the first round of this years National Merit Scholarship winners.

Roughly 830 high school seniors won corporate-sponsored scholarship awards from 124 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations across the country, according to a news release on Wednesday, April 23.

RELATED: 20 Michigan students win big corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships

National Merit Scholars have previously been announced in May, and by the end of the 2025 competition, 6,930 finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million.

VanDyke won the National Merit LPL Financial scholarship, a $1,000 award given annually throughout her four-year college career.

Shell soon be attending St. Marys College in Indiana and working towards a dual degree. VanDyke said that means getting a computer science degree from Notre Dame and a statistics degree from St. Marys.

I really appreciate the opportunity to be a woman who wants to go into computer science, she said, that can maybe help other people who are thinking maybe I could do this.

National Merit Scholarship recipients are chosen based on standardized test scores, essays, extracurriculars and leadership positions.

In addition to taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes, VanDyke is involved as a senior representative with Rockford High Schools Interact Club, a Rotary-sponsored service club for students.

In addition to helping run fundraising events through the organization, she traveled to El Salvador as part of a group sent to build family housing.

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Taylor Tomlinson during her Netflix Special "Look At You".

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Taylor Tomlinson will make downtown Grand Rapids the backdrop for her new Netflix comedy special.

Tomlinson posted on social media this week that the special taping on Saturday, Dec. 13, is for her national Save Me tour.

Limited tickets are now on sale for the taping at Fountain Street Church. Two additional shows are still planned for Dec. 11-12.

She was looking for a venue with a nice look, as far as I understand, said Kayle Clements, director of audio and visual technology at the historic church. It wasnt expressed to me why she picked Grand Rapids, but Im going to say that its because Fountain Street Church is amazing.

The American stand-up comedian and writer has released three Netflix stand-up specials since 2020 and also hosts the CBS late-night show After Midnight.

Tomlinson was last in Grand Rapids in 2023 when she performed four sold-out shows at DeVos Performance Hall, which has just under 2,500 seats.

Her Save Me tour heads to Europe this summer, and shes scheduled to return to Michigan for a Detroit show next January.

Clements told MLive this week that Fountain Street Church has been in talks with the comedian for the past eight months, mapping out how the show taping this December would go.

She was very kind and sweet, he said. We were taking a virtual tour of the space to see if it met her approval because it is quite a large production. There are a lot of moving pieces.

He said that the combination of Tomlinsons raw and emotional comedy, combined with the historical space, creates something magical.

For the small team at Fountain Street Church, the event is more than just a single performance.

This is something thats going to be captured and maybe millions of people around the world are going to enjoy it, Clements said. It reflects greatly not only on Fountain Street as a space, but on Grand Rapids. We may have a reputation as a conservative town, and this shows again that we allow diverse voices and were open to all kinds of perspectives.

Tickets for the Grand Rapids shows this year start at $95.25. To purchase or learn more, visit taylortomlinsoncomedy.com/shows.

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter.
NAPOLEON TWP., MI  Serving the Napoleon Township community is what makes every day worthwhile for Officer Jacob Mills.

Mills, 27, of East Lansing, soaks in the local atmosphere until his shift ends and he goes home to relax with his wife and three dogs.
The 69-year-old man faces sentencing in July after a St. Joseph County jury found him guilty.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI - A Southwest Michigan man was convicted this week of three counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Geral Whitney, 69, of Harrison, was found guilty by a St. Joseph County jury of one count of first degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday.

Whitney sexually assaulted a relative 20 years ago and was charged for the crime in 2023.

He will be sentenced on July 11 before Judge Paul Stutesman in the 45th Circuit Court in St. Joseph County.

Sexual assaults are very serious crimes, and I am grateful to the jury for their deliberations and to the victims who displayed great courage to come forward, Nessel said. My department remains committed to securing justice for sexual assault survivors.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a news conference Sept. 19, 2022, outside of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office in Flint, Mich. AP

The investigation and charging decisions in the case were conducted by the St. Joseph County Sheriff and Prosecuting Attorneys offices.

The Department of Attorney General managed the prosecution at the prosecutors 2024 request.
The outside view of 530 S. Rose St. in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. The new 64 unit apartment complex is for residents 55 or older and is over half filled as of May. (Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)

KALAMAZOO, MI  The first residents moved into to a new 64-unit senior apartment complex this January in a downtown Kalamazoo called 530 Rose.

Unlike the other 11 properties KMG Prestige manages in Kalamazoo, 530 Rose apartments are only available to seniors 55 and up.
A file photo of a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety vehicle as officers respond to a call in the city. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com) (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com)

KALAMAZOO, MI  Two people have been arrested in relation to a shooting that occurred Friday morning in Kalamazoos Edison neighborhood.

The suspect in the shooting remains at large, however.

According to a news release from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, officers arrived on scene, in the 1100 block of Hays Park Avenue, shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, May 16, on the reports of gunfire.

Not long after arriving on scene, officers were informed of a 24-year-old male gunshot victim who had been transported privately to an area hospital.

RELATED: Kalamazoo police investigating Edison neighborhood shooting

The victim, a Kalamazoo resident, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and underwent emergency surgery, officers stated in the news release.

He remains in critical but stable condition.

A preliminary investigation indicates that a physical altercation occurred between the victim and male suspect.

During the altercation between the two individuals, the suspect is alleged to have obtained a handgun and shot the victim, officers stated.

The suspect has not yet been identified, but has been described as a Black male in his early 20s with a slender build and dreadlocked hair, police said.

While the suspect remains at large, Flock cameras in the area have helped to identify a suspect vehicle.

As a result, two individuals have been arrested in connection with the shooting:

 An 18-year-old male Kalamazoo resident was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and aiding and abetting a felony.

 A 29-year-old male Kalamazoo resident was arrested on outstanding warrants and charged as an accessory after the fact to a felony.

Both individuals were booked into the Kalamazoo County Jail and are awaiting arraignment.

Additionally, a search warrant was executed in the 1500 block of Kickapoo Court, using members from the Kalamazoo County SWAT team. Evidence connected to the shooting was recovered during the search.

KDPS is asking for the publics help in identifying the suspect.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 269-337-8139, or submit tips anonymously through Kalamazoo Silent Observer at 269-343-2100, via the P3Tips app, or online at KalamazooSilentObserver.com.

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County officials are urging residents to follow safety guidelines around downed lines and generators while Consumers Energy works to restore service by the weekend. In this photo, a fallen tree and a downed wire from an overnight storm caused a portion of Franklin Street in Muskegon to close on Friday, May 16, 2025. Kayla Tucker

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Thousands remain without power in Muskegon County after a major thunderstorm swept from west to east across the state Thursday night.

The overnight storms brought reports of possible tornadoes and winds over 70 mph.

Severe storms are expected to hit the west coast of Lower Michigan again around 7 p.m. Friday then move east across Lower Michigan through midnight.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, approximately 18,200 customers were still without power.

RELATED: 200K without power in Michigan, some schools close after powerful storms

More than 500 crews are working around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, said Trisha Bloembergen, Consumers Energy Media Relations Specialist. With another round of storms anticipated this evening, Consumers Energy aims to have a majority of customers restored by Saturday night, with the hardest hit and new areas by Sunday night.

View the Consumers Energy outage map here.

Muskegon County residents saw alerts of a tornado warning around 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, urging them to take shelter indoors and away from windows and potential flying debris.

People woke up Friday morning to find fallen trees, downed wires and broken tree limbs. Some residents discovered damage to their homes or vehicles.

No injuries have been reported, according to a press release from Muskegon County Emergency Management.

READ MORE: Tornado chance added to evening forecast, all other severe weather increased too

There may be a second batch of severe storms sneaking into southeast Michigan near midnight through 3 a.m. Saturday.

The primary focus is the safety of all individuals, officials said.

The county is asking residents to please obey all signage and barricades.

Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio, or near any intake. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.

Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, keep children and pets away.

Report downed power lines by calling 911 and your utility provider.

For more information on how to stay safe, please visit michigan.gov/MiReady.

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Police seized evidence at the Sterling Heights home after receiving information about uploaded sexually abusive material. Macomb County Sheriff's Office

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI - A Macomb County man was arraigned this week on eight felony counts related to alleged possession of child sexually abusive material, or child porn.

Nicholas Ibrahim, 30, of Sterling Heights was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday, May 13, for allegedly being in possession of child sexually abusive material.

The Macomb Area Computer Enforcement detectives, along with the Macomb County Sheriffs Enforcement Team, executed a search warrant at the Sterling Heights home, a press release stated.

MACE detectives received information from the Michigan Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating numerous pornographic videos and images were allegedly being uploaded by Ibrahim.

Several pieces of evidence were seized from the home and are now under forensic review.

Ibrahim was arraigned in the Sterling Heights District Court on the following charges:

Count 1: Child Sexually Abusive Material  Aggravated Possession (10-year felony)

Count 2: Child Sexually Abusive Material  Aggravated Possession (10-year felony)

Count 3: Child Sexually Abusive Material  Aggravated Possession (10-year felony)

Count 4: Computers  Using to Commit a Crime (10-year felony)

Count 5: Computers  Using to Commit a Crime (10-year felony)

Count 6: Computers  Using to Commit a Crime (10-year felony)

Count 7: Child Sexually Abusive Material  Aggravated Possession (4-year felony)

Count 8: Computers  Using to Commit a Crime (4-year felony)

Ibrahim was given a $2,500 bond, cash/surety. He posted bond and was released.
The Metro South trooper was shot during a fight with a suspect, who was then killed when the officer returned fire.

DETROIT, MI - A Michigan State Police officer was shot three times while fighting with a suspect Friday evening.

The Metro South trooper from the state polices second district returned fire, fatally striking the 41-year-old man from Highland Park.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detroit Police officers transported the state trooper to Sinai-Grace Hospital where he is in stable condition and good spirits, MSP posted on X.

At 7:50 p.m. Friday, the state trooper conducted a traffic stop on a white pickup truck that was traveling south on M-10 near Wyoming St. The driver of the truck exited at Wyoming.

After contacting the driver, a fight occurred between the suspect and the officer.

During the fight, the suspect fired a number of rounds at the officer, striking him twice in the vest and once in the shoulder.

This is the second incident in a short period of time that a troopers vest saved his life, said Lt. Mike Shaw. We are very fortunate that the trooper, who had less than a year in the department, was able to use his training to survive this encounter with a suspect who was trying to take his life.

Another Detroit-area trooper was shot several times on May 5 during an investigation.

The Friday night incident is being investigated by the MSP Homicide Task Force.
Azerbaijan's kerosene output declines in 4M2025

This volume is down the rabbit hole by over 17,000 tons, or more than 8 percent, compared to the same stretch in 2024. From January to April of the previous year, the country churned out more than 210,000 tons of kerosene, hitting the ground running.

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Pittsburgh Pirates' Nick Solak (46) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Sarasota, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) AP

DETROIT -- Veteran infielder Nick Solak is back in the big leagues for the first time since he appeared in a single game for the Detroit Tigers in 2023.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Solaks contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Solak, 30, played briefly for the Tigers and Atlanta Braves in 2023 but hasnt had a big-league plate appearance since 2022. He has the unusual distinction of appearing in two games for two different big-league teams without getting a plate appearance in either of them.

Solak was a pinch-runner on April 26, 2023, for the Braves and, after being claimed off waivers by the Tigers, a pinch-runner for Detroit on June 10, 2023.

Solak was an everyday player for the Rangers in 2020 and 2021 but has bounced around since then. He spent the 2024 season at Seattle Mariners Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma and signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates before this season.

Solak was hitting .393 in 126 plate appearances with Indianapolis.
Ana de Armas reveals how Eve Macarro in Ballerina is different from John Wick, says "He wants to get out of the Ruska Roma, and she wants in"

Gayatri Rani

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Jacqueline Fernandez reflects on her family support amid Sukesh controversy, says "My mother was always proud of me"

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When Pakistani journalist asked Irrfan Khan to visit Pakistan and the actor replied, 'Main aa toh jaunga, wapas aaunga ki nahi?' and left fans in splits

Vaishnavi Gavankar

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World Whisky Day 2025: How Indian whisky gets its flavour, and is it spicier than imported whiskies?

Moneycontrol Features

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Surabhi Pandey

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Deblina Halder

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Nvidia chips being smuggled to China? Jensen Huang says no proof of diversion

Surabhi Pandey

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 17. From May 19 to 22, 2025, the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, will make official visits to Hungary and Slovenia, Trend reports, citing the Uzbek presidents office.

On May 19, the president of Uzbekistan will arrive in Budapest at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During the visit, high-level negotiations will be held, along with meetings with government officials and leaders of major Hungarian companies. The focus will be on expanding practical cooperation and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

On May 21, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will participate in an informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which will take place in Hungarys capital.

On May 22, the President of Uzbekistan will visit Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where he will meet with the President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar. The president will also hold talks with the leadership of the Slovenian Parliament and government and participate in joint business events.

During the visit, issues related to the development of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, the implementation of joint projects in areas such as pharmaceuticals, industry, food production, and textiles, as well as labor migration and expanding humanitarian ties between the countries, will be discussed.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
101Reporters

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Congress accuses Modi government of yielding to US pressure at IMF over Pakistan loan

Arishaa Izaj

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Congress names 4 MPs to be part of all-party delegation post Op Sindoor, gives Shashi Tharoor a miss

Chhabi Kala

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Country needs us for united politics: Tharoor on leading govt delegation against terror

Aishwarya Dabhade

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Delhi pollution: How AQI worsened across NCR; GRAP-1 explained  What is allowed, what is banned

Hemant Abhishek

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Did India alert Pakistan about Operation Sindoor before strikes? 'Jaishankar being misquoted', says MEA

Arindam Roy

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Difference between being in Congress and of Congress: Jairam Ramesh's dig at Shashi Tharoor

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Abhinav Gupta

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. ACWA Power has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with several US companies worth a total of $500 million, Trend reports.

The agreements were signed during the SaudiUS Investment Forum held in Riyadh and add to the companys existing partnerships with American firms, which now exceed $6 billion.

The new MoUs aim to enhance cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States in the energy sector, contributing to Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 and its target of reaching net zero emissions by 2060.

As part of these agreements, ACWA Power will work with US-based partners on multiple projects across renewable energy, hydrogen production, and water desalination.

The company plans to deploy advanced tracker technologies in photovoltaic solar energy projects to reduce energy costs and increase local manufacturing. It is also partnering with GE Vernova to test new technologies in combined-cycle gas turbine projects, as well as in electricity transmission and distribution systems in Saudi Arabia.

In the green hydrogen sector, ACWA Power will collaborate with Baker Hughes to develop electrolysis solutions aimed at improving safety and efficiency. The partnership includes the potential for local manufacturing to support the growth of hydrogen production in the Kingdom.

Additionally, ACWA Power signed an agreement with KBR to utilise its ammonia technology and engineering services on large-scale projects. The cooperation includes programme management and operational support.

Another MoU was signed with Energy Recovery to conduct joint research on energy-saving operation technologies in seawater desalination plants. This research will focus on improving energy efficiency using advanced pressure exchanger (PX) technology.

These agreements reflect ACWA Powers broader strategy to work with international partners on innovation and technology transfer. The company maintains longstanding partnerships with US firms such as Air Products, EIG, DuPont, and Nextracker. It also collaborates with American academic institutions including Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on research and development initiatives.
Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra among six arrested in espionage case linked to Pakistan

Siddharth Chakravorty

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How India plans to cut out Bangladesh with new northeast corridor to Kolkata via sea

Sonalee Borgohain

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'Was woken up at 2:30 am by Asim Munir': Shehbaz Sharif confirms Indias strikes on key Pakistani bases

Tamal Nandi

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'In the interest of national security...': Assam CM to Rahul Gandhi on Gaurav Gogoi's inclusion in delegation on Operation Sindoor

Siddharth Chakravorty

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India defeated Pakistan in Operation Sindoor because of this simple factor

Tamal Nandi

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Tamal Nandi

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Global outreach: Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule, Kanimozhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad among MPs to head all-party delegations on India's resolute stance against terrorism

Deblina Halder

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Siddharth Chakravorty

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Nothing in Pakistan is beyond Indian Army's reach: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor

Hemant Abhishek

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Q1 oil demand rises in Europe, IEA expects declines ahead

European oil demand grew modestly in the first quarter of 2025, supported by colder weather and a shift toward gasoline-powered vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency. Despite this early rise, overall consumption is expected to decline slightly through 2026 amid economic and structural changes.

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Omar, Mehbooba lock horns over Tulbul project: How will reviving it help India

Smriti Mishra

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"Opt for T1, not L1, if you want best defence technology," says former DRDO Director General SK Mishra

Hemant Abhishek

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Pakistan has become threat to humanity: Asaduddin Owaisi on message to global community as all-party delegation member

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Arindam Roy

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PMLA being misused against Oppn, had warned against amendment during UPA govt: Pawar

Yeeshu Yadav

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Powering Bharat summit | 'My stomach is full, no ambition to be Bihar CM': Full text of Chirag Paswan's interview

Sonalee Borgohain

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 17. The Association Uzeltexsanoat hosted a productive meeting with representatives from Iran Transfo, led by Mohammad Reza Jafari, to discuss the establishment of a new high-voltage equipment manufacturing facility in Uzbekistan, Trend reports.

The meeting focused on key topics such as localizing production, implementing advanced technological solutions, and creating joint manufacturing capacities in Uzbekistan. Representatives from Uzeltexsanoat presented detailed information about the country's favorable investment climate, infrastructure capabilities, and various state support mechanisms available to foster the growth of the electrical engineering sector.

After going over a thorough exchange of ideas, the Iran Transfo delegation laid out their commitment to digging into the proposals and pointed out that a final decision on the project would be wrapped up after some internal consultations.

This meeting marks a significant step forward in enhancing industrial cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan, as well as promoting the development of high-tech manufacturing and the execution of innovative industrial projects.

Iran Transfo, founded in 1967, is a leading Iranian manufacturer of electrical transformers and related equipment. The company produces a wide range of power and distribution transformers, serving both domestic and international markets. With a strong focus on quality, innovation, and advanced technology, Iran Transfo plays a key role in developing electrical infrastructure and supporting the energy sector.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Sonalee Borgohain

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Story of BrahMos: How APJ Abdul Kalam led the development of Indias first supersonic cruise missile system

Hemant Abhishek

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'This Is Just The Trailer...': How Rajnath Singh Became The Steely Voice Of Operation Sindoor

Ria Kapoor

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Smriti Mishra

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Who is Jyoti Malhotra, the YouTuber arrested for leaking sensitive info to Pakistan

Smriti Mishra

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'Whose side are you really on': Amit Malviya slams Rahul Gandhi's alleged meeting with Maoist group sympathisers

Priyanjali Ghose

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Yeeshu Yadav

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Shubhi Mishra

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, May 17. First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Daniyar Amangeldiev and Tim Reid, Chief Executive Officer of the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) CEEDI agency, met to examine possible collaboration in the renewable energy and agricultural sectors, Trend reports via the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan.

The two parties conducted a comprehensive evaluation of initiatives slated for execution under the auspices of a concessional credit facility extended to Kyrgyzstan. Amangeldiev underscored the criticality of fortifying economic synergies with the UK and highlighted the nations recognition of UKEFs readiness to bolster initiatives that advance sustainable development paradigms.

Reid, for his part, put his cards on the table, confirming UKEFs willingness to roll up its sleeves and partner with Kyrgyzstan in funding a variety of projects using the agencys tools.

Previously, UK Export Finance articulated its preparedness to extend a financial envelope of 1.8 billion pounds sterling (circa $2.3 billion) for the facilitation of project execution across a spectrum of sectors in Kyrgyzstan.
Netflix will start using AI to show generative ads in shows and films by 2026: All the details

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

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Albania: Europes Best-Kept Secret with Beaches Like Greece and Mountains Like Switzerland  Minus the Price Tag

Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytellingboth visual and textualacross travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences.

Priyanka Roshan

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'A ceasefire will take place': Trump to speak with Putin, Zelensky on Monday to stop 'bloodbath'

Abhinav Gupta

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US stock indexes close week with gains amid trade and inflation news

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, marking the fifth consecutive gain for the S&P 500 and a 5.3% increase for the week, as per a report in the AP. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also saw gains. This rally was fueled by an agreement between the United States and China to pause most tariffs for 90 days, alongside positive inflation reports that have raised hopes the Federal Reserve might slow interest rate hikes.

The tariff pause is a result of ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, potentially easing trade tensions, while lower inflation could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, boosting investor confidence. This stock market performance could be seen as a positive development for the Biden administration, though its long-term impact hinges on the outcome of trade negotiations.
Democrats misread Bidens decline  and the cost of silence may be Trumps return

Pragya Trivedi

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Manjiri Patil

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, May 17. The Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan has given the green light to new rules that will steer the entry and operation of foreign-registered motor vehicles in the country, Trend reports via the Cabinet.

The decision looks to roll out the presidential decree "On Measures to Legalize Motor Vehicles," issued on December 31, 2024, and is set to sort out and manage the use of foreign vehicles in Kyrgyzstan.

The recently instituted regulations delineate the protocols, stipulations, and duties pertaining to vehicles registered internationally during their transient or enduring presence within the jurisdiction, alongside the liabilities of their proprietors.

According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, during the period of January to February 2025, the nation recorded an influx of 18,627 passenger vehicles, amounting to a monetary value of $149.9 million. This represents a substantial contraction of 33.1 percent in unit volume and a staggering 68.8 percent in fiscal value relative to the corresponding timeframe in 2024, which saw the importation of 27,844 vehicles with a cumulative worth of $480.2 million.

In the fiscal year 2024, Kyrgyzstan executed the procurement of 184,915 passenger vehicles, aggregating a valuation of $2.7 billion.

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Pragya Trivedi

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Kremlin says Putin could meet Zelenskiy if certain agreements are reached

101Reporters

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Science that changed your life: What US government innovation made possible

Pragya Trivedi

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Trump asks Walmart to 'eat the tariffs' and not hike prices

Arindam Roy

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Trump expects to meet with Putin to make a deal to end war

Deblina Halder

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Trumps grand Al-Ayyala welcome: All about the traditional hair-flipping dance that greeted US President in UAE

Pragya Trivedi

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. The Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a meeting with the delegation of the State of Utah (USA), during which a wide range of issues on strengthening investment, trade, economic and financial cooperation was considered, Trend reports.

The parties discussed the prospects for implementing joint projects in a number of priority areas, including the extraction and processing of critical minerals, the development of information technology, educational programs, the metallurgical industry, agriculture, and transport and logistics infrastructure.

Particular emphasis was placed on finding common ground between the industrial potential of Uzbekistan and the technological capabilities of the State of Utah, as well as on strengthening interregional ties and facilitating the establishment of direct contacts between the business communities of the two sides.

Following the meeting, mutual interest was expressed in further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation in all areas discussed, with an emphasis on sustainable development and technological partnership.
Trump says hes willing to travel to China for Xi meeting

Deblina Halder

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Trump says India offered to cut US tariffs but hes in no rush

Ria Kapoor

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Trump touts $2 trillion in Middle East investment deals  but many were already in place

Abhinav Gupta

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'Turkey ready to play its part': Erdogan needles India after talking Kashmir with Shehbaz

Abhinav Gupta

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UK Foreign Secretary says ceasefire between Pak, India must be sustained

101Reporters

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US Supreme Court rejects Trump's bid to resume rapid deportations of Venezuelans under 1798 wartime law

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. A cooperation document has been signed between the border railway administrations of Iran and Turkiye on increasing the number of freight trains and improving infrastructure related to railway transport, Trend reports.

A two-day meeting was held in the Turkish city of Van with the participation of officials from the Azerbaijan Railway Administration and the Turkish Transportation Administration and the Malatya 5th Regional Railway Administration.

At the meeting, the two sides focused on various areas, including freight and passenger transportation, customs procedures, the potential of railway lines and the improvement of border railway activities.

To note, the Azerbaijan Railway Administration controls railway activities in the East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan and Ardabil Provinces of Iran.

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Why experts are split on how close artificial general intelligence really is?

Pragya Trivedi

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Iran ramps up crude oil storage capacity

Iran has boosted crude oil storage capacity at its Kharg Operational Area terminals by two million barrels, with the re-commissioning of facilities No. 25 and 26. NIOC CEO Hamid Bovard stated that this expansion will improve export flexibility and reduce costs. Additionally, repairs on five oil tankers will further support Iran's crude oil exports.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Iran's uranium enrichment and its nuclear facilities are not the subject of discussion in the ongoing indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi said in a statement, Trend reports.

Speaking at a meeting held in Tehran on May 16, organized by Irans Atomic Energy Organization together with representatives from the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Pugwash), Aragchi emphasized that Iran, as a long-standing member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and a promoter of a nuclear-free West Asia region, has engaged in indirect talks with the US seriously and in good faith.

According to him, Iran has transparently demonstrated its sincerity throughout the process.

Iran is ready to build confidence in the peaceful continuation of its nuclear program. However, Tehran cannot abandon peaceful nuclear energy use and uranium enrichment allowed to every NPT member state, he said.

The minister added that Iran, which prohibits the production and use of nuclear weapons for itself, does not accept the absence of a peaceful nuclear industry as one of the leading members of the NPT.

Iran officially declares that its strategy is to avoid acquiring an atomic bomb and strongly opposes the production of weapons of mass destruction.

Three rounds of indirect negotiations between Iran and the US regarding Irans nuclear program were held on April 12, 19, and 26. These discussions, conducted indirectly with the mediation of the Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi, involved Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi leading the Iranian delegation, while the US delegation was led by the US Special Envoy to Middle East Affairs, Steve Witkoff. The first and 3rd rounds took place in Muscat, Oman, while the 2nd round was held in Rome, Italy.

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Coinbase stock drops 7% as SEC probes user metrics and hackers demand $20M ransom

Coinbase stock dropped 7% after-hours due to a major data breach and an ongoing SEC investigation into misleading user metrics claims.

The SEC is probing Coinbases past claim of "100+ million verified users," questioning its accuracy and impact on investors.

A cyberattack exposed customer data after hackers bribed overseas support agents, leading to potential $400M in remediation costs.

Coinbase refused a $20M ransom, instead offering it as a bounty for the hackers arrest, while securing affected accounts.

The crises threaten Coinbases reputation amid its S&P 500 inclusion, raising concerns about compliance and cybersecurity in crypto.

In a devastating one-two punch for the cryptocurrency giant, Coinbase (COIN) saw its stock plummet 7% in after-hours trading on Thursday after revelations of a major data breach and an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into whether the company misled investors about its user metrics.

The breach, which exposed sensitive customer data, could cost the company up to $400 million in remediation and reimbursements, while the SEC continues scrutinizing Coinbases now-abandoned claim of "100+ million verified users" from 2021. The dual crises highlight the growing risks facing crypto firms as regulators and cybercriminals target the industry.

SEC probes Coinbases inflated user metrics

The SECs investigation, first reported by The New York Times, centers on Coinbases past disclosures of "verified users", a metric the company aggressively promoted in its 2021 IPO filings and marketing materials. The agency is examining whether the figure, which Coinbase claimed exceeded 100 million, was misleading to investors. Although the company stopped reporting the metric in 2022, calling it irrelevant to business performance, the SEC has persisted in its inquiry, which began under the Biden administration and continues under President Trumps more crypto-friendly SEC leadership.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal dismissed the probe as a "hold-over investigation from the prior administration about a metric we stopped reporting two and a half years ago." He emphasized that the company now focuses on "monthly transacting users," a more accurate reflection of active customers. Still, the SECs persistence suggests regulators remain skeptical of Coinbases past claims, particularly given the companys own admission that the "verified user" count may have included duplicate accounts.

Hackers exploit overseas support agents in $20M extortion scheme

The same day the SEC probe made headlines, Coinbase disclosed a cyberattack that compromised sensitive customer data. Hackers allegedly bribed overseas customer support agents  reportedly based in India  to access account details, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and partial Social Security and bank account information. While login credentials and wallet access remained secure, the breach exposed enough data for criminals to launch targeted phishing attacks.

Coinbase refused to pay the hackers $20 million ransom demand, instead offering the same sum as a bounty for information leading to their arrest. "The knee-jerk reaction of every single person who heard we were being extorted was hell no!" said Chief Security Officer Philip Martin. The company estimates remediation costs of between $180 million and $400 million, covering reimbursements for affected users and enhanced security measures.

A costly blow to cryptos Wall Street darling

The timing couldnt be worse for Coinbase, which recently secured a spot in the S&P 500a milestone signaling Wall Streets growing acceptance of crypto. Yet the breach and SEC scrutiny have rattled investors, erasing recent gains and raising questions about the companys risk management. Critics argue Coinbases rapid expansion has come at the expense of robust compliance and cybersecurity, leaving it vulnerable to both regulatory crackdowns and criminal exploitation.

While the SECs investigation may yet conclude without penalties, the breach underscores a harsh reality: As crypto firms integrate into mainstream finance, they face the same threats as traditional institutionsonly with fewer safeguards in place. For now, Coinbase must navigate the fallout, proving it can protect customers and investors alike in an industry where trust is as volatile as the assets it trades.

Sources for this article include:

CoinTelegraph.com

Fortune.com

NYTimes.com

CNBC.com

Investopedia.com
Gum bacteria invade heart, trigger dangerous heart rhythm problems

Japanese researchers discovered bacteria from gum infections can travel through the bloodstream to heart tissue, potentially causing dangerous irregular heartbeats.

The bacterium P. gingivalis can escape from infected gums to the left atrium of the heart, causing scarring that increases the risk of atrial fibrillation linked to stroke and heart failure.

Study of 68 patients with AFib found those with severe gum disease had higher levels of P. gingivalis in their heart tissue, corresponding with increased scarring.

Experiments on mice showed that P. gingivalis infection led to a sixfold increase in abnormal heart rhythms compared to uninfected mice.

Regular oral hygiene including twice-daily cleaning, flossing, and dental checkups can prevent and even reverse gum disease, potentially protecting both oral and cardiovascular health.

A silent killer may be lurking in your gums, according to a new study. Japanese researchers have discovered that bacteria responsible for common gum infections can travel through the bloodstream and directly invade heart tissue, potentially triggering dangerous irregular heartbeats.

The groundbreaking study, published in the journal Circulation, found that Porphyromonas gingivalis, a bacterium known to cause gum disease, can escape from infected gums and make its way to the left atrium of the heart. Once there, these oral invaders cause scarring of heart tissue, increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib), irregular heartbeats linked to higher stroke and heart failure risks.

Researchers from Hiroshima University examined heart tissue from 68 patients with AFib who had undergone heart surgery. They discovered that patients with severe gum disease had significantly higher levels of P. gingivalis bacteria in their heart tissue, which corresponded with increased heart scarring.

"The causal relationship between periodontitis and atrial fibrillation is still unknown, but the spread of periodontal bacteria through the bloodstream may connect these conditions," said study first author Shunsuke Miyauchi in a statement.

From mouth to heart

To confirm their findings, the research team created an experimental model using mice. When infected with P. gingivalis, the mice developed increased heart tissue scarring and were six times more likely to develop abnormal heart rhythms compared to uninfected mice.

The longer the infection persisted, the worse the outcomes became. After 18 weeks, 30% of infected mice developed atrial fibrillation when their hearts were electrically stimulated, compared to just 5% of uninfected mice.

Miyauchi explained that P. gingivalis "invades the circulatory system via the periodontal lesions and further translocates to the left atrium," noting that the bacterial presence directly correlated with the severity of periodontitis. Once established in the atrium, the bacteria "exacerbates atrial fibrosis, which results in higher AFib inducibility."

These findings provide a potential explanation for something cardiologists and dentists have observed for years: people with gum disease have higher rates of heart problems. A recent meta-analysis linked gum disease to a 30% higher chance of developing AFib.

Warning signs and natural prevention

Any bleeding in the gums indicates gingivitis, according to dentist Dr. Jessica Pharar. "If you see bright red angry-looking gums, that is a good indication you are progressing more severe gingivitis," she told The Epoch Times.

The severity of gum inflammation, not just the size of gum pockets, was strongly associated with bacterial invasion of heart tissue. This suggests that active inflammation creates opportunities for bacteria to escape into the bloodstream.

The good news? Natural approaches can effectively prevent and even reverse gum disease.

"Cleaning your mouth twice a day is imperative. Regular check ups at the dentist are essential to protect your overall dental health," Pharar advised.

Dr. Sandip Sachar, a dentist in New York City, emphasized that gum disease remains "an important public health problem in the United States as 2 in 5 adults are affected by some form of this disease." He recommended regular brushing, flossing, and professional dental cleanings.

The implications extend beyond heart health. Research has linked chronic gum infections to diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, certain cancers, and even joint replacement infections.

As researchers continue investigating the specific mechanisms by which P. gingivalis affects heart cells, this study highlights an often-overlooked connection between oral and cardiovascular health. Simple daily habits like proper brushing and flossing may be powerful natural defenses against serious heart conditions, proving that protecting your smile could also be saving your heart.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

StudyFinds.org

News-Medical.net
The hidden dangers of oversleeping: How too much rest harms cognition, fuels depression, and shortens life

For centuries, sleep has been revered as the ultimate restorative processa nightly reset for the mind and body. But what happens when too much of this "good thing" becomes a silent saboteur? Emerging research reveals that oversleeping defined as nine or more hours per nightmay be just as harmful as sleep deprivation, particularly for those battling depression. A groundbreaking study from the University of Texas Health Science Center exposes a troubling link between excessive sleep, cognitive decline, and heightened depressive symptoms, challenging the myth that more sleep is always better.

Key points:

Oversleeping (?9 hours/night) is tied to worse cognitive performance, especially in memory, problem-solving, and executive function.

Depressed individuals face amplified risks, with long sleepers reporting more severe symptomsregardless of antidepressant use.

The "U-shaped" sleep phenomenon shows both too little and too much sleep correlate with cognitive impairment, inflammation, and higher mortality.

Oversleeping is linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and a 40-50% increased risk of early deathsurpassing even the dangers of sleep deprivation.

Historical sleep patterns (7-8 hours) align with optimal health, while modern disruptions like artificial light and erratic schedules fuel dysfunction.

The cognitive cost of excessive sleep

The Framingham Heart Study, a decades-long project tracking health trends, analyzed 1,853 participants free of dementia or stroke. Researchers found that long sleepers suffered significant cognitive deficits, particularly in visuospatial skills and memory. "The more you sleep, the worse you feel," warns sleep specialist Michelle Drerup. This paradox is especially pronounced in depressed individuals, whose brains may use extended sleep as a form of escapism, exacerbating mental fog.

Depression and sleep share a vicious cycle: 90% of depressed patients report sleep disturbances, while oversleeping itself can deepen depressive symptoms. The studys lead author, Vanessa Young, notes, "Sleep may be a modifiable risk for cognitive decline in people with depression." Yet mainstream medicine often overlooks this, prescribing antidepressants that further disrupt sleep architecturesome causing insomnia, others inducing sedation.

From heart attacks to inflammation: The bodily toll

While sleep deprivations risks are well-documented, oversleeping is an underrecognized threat with dire consequences. Research reveals a U-shaped mortality curve, with both short and long sleepers facing a 40-50% higher risk of early death, as noted by Emory Universitys Dr. Arshed Quyyumi. The American Heart Association warns that excessive sleepoften ?9 hours nightlycorrelates with elevated cardiovascular events, mirroring the 79% higher heart disease risk seen in poor-quality sleepers. Even Daylight Savings Time, a disruptor of circadian biology, exacerbates the issue, spiking heart attacks by 70% post-time change due to misaligned sleep-wake cycles.

Beyond the heart, oversleeping fuels systemic inflammation, with studies linking prolonged sleep to elevated CRP, IL-6, and TNF-alphamarkers that accelerate diabetes, stroke, and neurodegeneration. For women, sleeping ?5 hours nightly increases stroke risk eight-fold, yet root causes like sleep hygiene are often ignored in favor of pharmaceutical interventions. The takeaway? Both extremes of sleep duration are metabolic time bombs, demanding urgent attention to circadian alignment, sleep quality, and policy reformsstarting with abolishing Daylight Savings Time.

Reclaiming natural rhythms

Humans evolved to sleep 7-8 hours, synced with sunlight. Modern lifeflooded with screens, caffeine, and processed foodshas derailed this balance. The solution? Return to ancestral habits:

Ditch Daylight Savings: An outdated practice linked to heart attacks.

Avoid late-night eating: Non-Paleo foods disrupt sleep quality.

Limit caffeine: It lingers in the body for 24+ hours.

Morning sunlight exposure: Resets circadian rhythms naturally.

As sleep scientist Sudha Seshadri warns, "Long sleep duration was associated with poorer global cognition." The evidence is clear: Oversleeping isnt restorativeits a red flag for systemic dysfunction. In a world obsessed with "wellness," its time to confront the truth: More sleep isnt always better. Balance is survival.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com

News-Medical.net
Mysterious seashell photo raises questions about FBI Director and POTUS safety

Mike Adams suggests James Comey's seashell photo "86-47" could hint at a coded assassination plot against Trump, sparking conspiracy theory debates.

James Comey, former FBI Director, faced tensions with Trump, resignation in 2017, and ongoing scrutiny from Trump supporters.

The "86-47" photo lacks concrete evidence, with "86" interpreted as "assassinate" and "47" as POTUS, but context remains unclear.

Adams calls for DOJ investigation, though no official response or evidence supports these claims, drawing mixed reactions.

The case reflects broader conspiracy narratives and highlights the importance of evidence-based discussions in public discourse.

In a recent broadcast, Mike Adams, known as The Health Ranger, raised eyebrows with allegations linking former FBI Director James Comey to a potential plot against President Donald Trump. Adams suggested that a photo posted by Comey, featuring seashells spelling "86-47," could be a coded message signaling an assassination attempt. While these claims are speculative, they have sparked discussions about conspiracy theories and the need for transparency in high-profile cases.

Background on James Comey

James Comey, a prominent figure in U.S. law enforcement, served as the FBI Director under Presidents Obama and Trump. His tenure was marked by high-profile investigations, including the Russian collusion inquiry and the Hillary Clinton email scandal. His relationship with Trump became strained, leading to his abrupt firing in 2017. Comey has since become a significant figure in political discourse, often accused by Trump supporters of leaking information and being part of the "deep state."

The Seashell Photo Allegation

Adams pointed to a photo posted by Comey on social media, depicting seashells arranged to spell "86-47." He interpreted this as a potential threat, stating that "86" could signify "assassinate" and "47" referring to POTUS (President of the United States) in military code. However, no concrete evidence supports this interpretation, and the context of the photo remains unclear.

Call for Investigation and Reactions

Adams has called for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate these claims, expressing concern over potential treasonous activities. However, the DOJ has not commented on the matter, and there is no indication of official investigations. Some conspiracy theorists see this as part of a broader narrative targeting Trump, while others view it as unfounded speculation.

Broader Context and Legal Implications

Adams' claims fit into a pattern of conspiracy theories that have proliferated since Trump's presidency. Critics argue that such allegations, without substantial evidence, risk undermining trust in institutions. Legal experts emphasize that treason charges require clear proof of betrayal, which is absent here. The case underscores the importance of evidence-based discourse in public discussions.

Conclusion

While Adams' allegations are intriguing, they lack corroborative evidence. The story highlights the tension between conspiracy theories and factual investigations. As with any serious allegations, thorough and transparent investigations are crucial. In the meantime, the public is reminded to approach such claims with skepticism and await official findings before drawing conclusions.

Watch the May 16 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses allegations surrounding the assassination attempt against Trump and emphasizes the need for transparency in high-profile cases.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

FBI launches investigation into James Comey over alleged honeypot operation targeting Trump in 2016

Deep State BOMBSHELL: Flynn names Nuland in Trump assassination plot, unveils Ukraine money laundering scandal

Deranged leftists call for violence, assassination of Musk and Trump

Sources include:

Brighteon.com
Pfizers election meddling exposed: Top scientists weaponized science to sway the 2020 vote, so they could benefit from unlawful mandates

In the high-stakes world of corporate power and political manipulation, few revelations strike as deeply as the allegation that Pfizer executives deliberately slowed COVID-19 vaccine trials to influence the 2020 U.S. election . Newly uncovered testimony suggests that top Pfizer R&D leaders orchestrated a delay in clinical testingnot for scientific caution, but to ensure results wouldn't emerge before Election Day. This bombshell, revealed through congressional investigations, paints a damning picture of a pharmaceutical giant willing to play god with public health for political and financial gain. The implications are staggering: a company entrusted with saving lives instead weaponized its science, suppressed critical data, and helped shape an election that led to unprecedented medical coercion

Key points:

Congressional investigators allege Pfizer intentionally slowed vaccine trials to avoid influencing the 2020 election.

Former Pfizer scientist Dr. Philip Dormitzer reportedly admitted the delay was orchestrated by senior R&D leaders.

The timing allowed Pfizer to avoid scrutiny before the election, then rapidly deploy mandates under a new administration.

The scheme backfired as vaccine failures and injuries mounted, exposing the fraud behind the rushed approvals.

The investigation raises urgent questions about corporate collusion, government corruption, and the erosion of medical ethics.

The election interference playbook

The 2020 presidential race was already one of the most contentious in U.S. history, with COVID-19 lockdowns, mask mandates, and promises of a "miracle" vaccine dominating the national conversation. Internal documents and whistleblower testimony now suggest Pfizer executives saw an opportunitynot to serve public health, but to exploit it. According to GSKs testimony to Congress, Dr. Philip Dormitzer, a former Pfizer R&D leader, revealed that the companys top three scientists deliberately slowed trial progress to avoid releasing data before November.

Dr. Dormitzer had told GSK employees that "in late 2020, the three most senior people in Pfizer R&D were involved in a decision to deliberately slow down clinical testing so that it would not be complete prior to the results of the presidential election that year."

This wasnt about scientific rigorit was about political timing. Had Pfizer released results in October, then-President Donald Trump could have claimed credit for Operation Warp Speed, potentially swaying voters eager for an end to pandemic restrictions. Instead, Pfizers calculated delay left the public in limbo, fueling frustration and anger that Democrats weaponized against Trump. By the time the vaccine was unveiled under the Biden administration, the groundwork had been laid for aggressive mandates, despite mounting evidence of the shots inefficacy and risks.

A legacy of deception and disaster

Pfizers alleged manipulation didnt stop at the election. Once the Biden administration took office, the companys vaccinenow shielded from pre-election scrutinywas fast-tracked for emergency use, followed by coercive mandates affecting millions of workers, soldiers, and even children. Yet the science never supported the hype. Breakthrough infections surged, myocarditis cases spiked among young men, and whistleblowers exposed fraudulent trial practices.

The parallels to historical pharmaceutical scandals are chilling. Like Big Tobaccos suppression of cancer data or Purdue Pharmas deceptive opioid marketing, Pfizers actions suggest a pattern of profit-driven deceit. The difference? This time, the federal government became a willing accomplice, using mandates to force an untested product on the public while silencing dissent.

With Congress now demanding answers, Pfizer faces a crisis of credibility. If proven, the allegations reveal a dangerous collusion between corporate power and political agendasone that sacrificed transparency, informed consent, and medical ethics for control. The question isnt just whether Pfizer manipulated an election, but whether the American people will finally hold these entities accountable for the lies that upended their lives.

For those who resisted the narrative from the start, this investigation is vindication. For those who trusted the system, its a wake-up call. And for Pfizer, it may be the beginning of the end.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

X.com

Enoch, Brighteon.ai
Stanford student paper reveals Chinas efforts to infiltrate university, steal research

The Stanford Review exposes systematic efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate Stanford University, targeting its cutting-edge research in AI, robotics and other critical technologies.

The report details cases like "Charles Chen," a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who posed as a student to coerce researchers (e.g., pressuring them to visit China and delete communications). Other cases include Chen Song, a Stanford researcher indicted for hiding her PLA ties and sending research to Chinese entities.

Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law compels cooperation with state intelligence, and 15 percent of Chinese students in the U.S. receive funding from the China Scholarship Council (CSC), which requires "situation reports" on their research. Some comply under duress or for career incentives.

Stanford claims to prioritize national security but faces criticism for slow action, partly due to fears of racial bias accusations. The DOJ's disbanded China Initiative previously countered such threats, but its end may have emboldened Beijing.

Experts warn China's theft of U.S. research fuels its Made in China 2025 ambitions, with former FBI Director Wray calling it a "massive wealth transfer." Without stronger safeguards, American innovation risks falling into adversarial hands.

The Stanford Review, the student-run newspaper of Stanford University in California, has published a bombshell report revealing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) efforts to infiltrate the institution.

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford has long been a global leader in cutting-edge research  particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other frontier technologies. This has made it a prime target for Beijing's intelligence-gathering efforts, according to a May 7 piece by the Review.

The report was based on interviews with professors, students and China experts. It reveals a systematic campaign of surveillance, coercion and theft of sensitive research, and raises urgent questions about national security and academic integrity.

The Review found multiple cases of suspected espionage conducted by CCP operatives, with the case of one "Charles Chen"  believed to be an agent of China's Ministry of State Security  featuring prominently in the piece. Chen reportedly posed as a Stanford student to target researchers, approaching one student named Anna (a pseudonym).

Chen reached out to Anna, initially feigning academic interest before pressuring her to visit China. He even offered to cover Anna's expenses and urged her to delete their communications. Authorities later confirmed Chen had no Stanford affiliation; instead, he had spent years using false identities to target students, particularly women studying China-related topics.

Experts believe operatives like Chen are tasked with identifying sympathetic researchers and extracting valuable technological insights. The tactics are not isolated, however.

Beijing turning students into spies

China's 2017 National Intelligence Law mandates that all citizens, including students abroad, cooperate with state intelligence efforts. According to the Review, an estimated 15 percent of Chinese students at U.S. universities receive funding from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)  which is under the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The CSC requires recipients to submit regular "situation reports" on their research to Chinese diplomatic missions. Some students comply reluctantly for fear of repercussions for their families back home. Others actively collaborate, viewing it as an opportunity for career advancement.

One alarming case involved Chen Song, a researcher at Stanford who was indicted in 2020 for concealing her affiliation with Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Prosecutors alleged she destroyed evidence and sent research updates to a Chinese government entity. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described Song's actions as part of a broader pattern of Beijing exploiting American academic openness. (Related: Connection revealed between Communist China and Stanford: Researcher exposed as Chinese military officer.)

Stanford has acknowledged the risks in a statement, stating it takes national security "with the utmost seriousness" and collaborates with federal agencies to safeguard research. Yet critics argue the university like other institutions, has been slow to act  partly due to fears of being labeled racist.

The DOJ's China Initiative, a federal program to counter espionage, was disbanded in 2022 after accusations of racial profiling. According to some experts, its dissolution emboldened Beijing's efforts.

The stakes are high, with former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray warning that China's theft of U.S. research represents "one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history." Given this, American universities remain vulnerable targets under Beijing's Made in China 2025 plan that aims for technological dominance.

The Review's findings underscore a harsh reality. Unless U.S. institutions and policymakers confront the issue head-on, the very innovations that drive national security and economic strength may continue slipping into the hands of a geopolitical rival.

Visit CommunistChina.news for more similar stories.

Watch Ava Chen of the New Federated State of China warning that the CCP's National Security Council is sending spies to America in this clip.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Harvard's Charles Lieber arrested for treason with communist China.

Chinese student arrested for omitting link to PLA-backed university in F-1 visa application.

Federal probe into UC Berkeley's concealed Chinese funding reveals national security breach.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

StanfordReview.org

News.Stanford.edu

Brighteon.com
Trumps Gulf tour sparks Iran nuclear deal breakthrough amid regional shifts

Tehran has proposed major concessions, including abandoning nuclear weapons development, reducing uranium enrichment to civilian levels and allowing international inspections, in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions.

The offer, made by a senior Iranian official, signals a pragmatic shift in Irans stance despite historic distrust of the U.S., especially after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.

During his Gulf tour, Trump combined economic deals (e.g., defense agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar) with warnings of military action if Iran refuses to negotiate.

The U.S. lifted sanctions on Syrias transitional government and highlighted Qatars potential mediation role, reflecting a broader pivot toward pragmatic engagement over regime change.

Skepticism persists due to Irans credibility concerns, opposition from Israel and doubts about Trumps ability to deliver on ambitious diplomatic promises.

In a surprising twist during President Donald Trumps ongoing Gulf tour, Tehran has reportedly offered significant concessions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions. This development comes as Trump seeks to solidify his administrations America First approach to foreign policy, emphasizing deal-making and stability in the Middle East. The concessions, outlined by a top Iranian official, mark a potential turning point in relations between the U.S. and Iran after years of escalating tensions.

Iran offers major concessions: A nuclear deal on the horizon?

According to NBC News, Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has stated that Tehran is willing to sign a nuclear deal with the U.S. under certain conditions. These include committing to never develop nuclear weapons, eliminating its stockpile of highly enriched uranium capable of weaponization, restricting uranium enrichment to civilian levels and allowing international inspectors to oversee the process. In return, Iran insists on the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions.

Shamkhanis comments represent the clearest public statement yet from the Iranian leadership on its willingness to negotiate. Its still possible, he said. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations. It can lead to a better situation in the near future.

This offer comes despite Tehrans longstanding distrust of the U.S., particularly since Trump withdrew from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal under President Barack Obama. The Islamic Republic has long framed its nuclear enrichment program as a matter of national sovereignty, while also denying any intention to develop nuclear weapons. Shamkhanis remarks, however, suggest a pragmatic shift in Tehrans approach, potentially signaling a calculation that engaging with Trump could yield tangible benefits.

Trumps Gulf diplomacy: A strategy of carrots and sticks

During his recent tour of the Gulf, Trump has emphasized deal-making and offering concessions to key regional partners, while also maintaining a tough stance on Iran. In Saudi Arabia, the president signed massive defense deals and secured commitments to boost energy production, while in Qatar, he inked a record-breaking $200 billion deal for U.S. commercial jets. These moves have reinforced traditional U.S. alliances while signaling a renewed focus on economic and strategic partnerships.

Simultaneously, Trump has used his Gulf tour to press for a resolution on the nuclear issue. While in Saudi Arabia, he warned Tehran that the U.S. would not hesitate to take military action if talks failed. Well either do it friendly or well do it very unfriendly, Trump said. And that wont be pleasant.

The Trump administrations approach contrasts sharply with the Obama-era strategy, which prioritized multilateral diplomacy and international consensus. Instead, Trump has sought to leverage carrot-and-stick diplomacy, using the threat of sanctions and military action alongside offers of economic cooperation to pressure Iran into compliance.

Regional shifts: Syrias sanctions lift and Qatars mediator role

The announcement of potential progress on the nuclear front came during Trumps expanded Gulf tour, which included a historic meeting with Syrias President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa, once a high-profile figure in Syrias opposition and linked to al-Qaedas affiliate in the country, emerged as the leader of Syrias transitional government after the ouster of the Assad regime in December.

Following their meeting, Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Syria, marking a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the war-torn nation. The move, encouraged by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, reflects Trumps broader strategy to pivot away from regime change interventions and toward pragmatic engagement with regional leaders.

Qatar, a key stop on Trumps tour, has long played a pivotal role in U.S. military operations and regional diplomacy. During his visit, Trump signed vast defense agreements and highlighted Qatars potential role in mediating between Iran and the U.S. The emirates foreign policy has historically been shaped by its role as a financial and logistical hub for U.S. operations in the Gulf, as well as its ties to Islamist groups in Syria and elsewhere.

Skepticism and challenges ahead

Despite the optimism surrounding the nuclear talks, significant hurdles remain. For one, Tehrans willingness to follow through on its promises will be closely scrutinized by U.S. officials and international partners. Additionally, the relationship between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has opposed the nuclear deal, could complicate efforts to secure consensus within the broader Middle East.

Moreover, Trumps history of making bold claims about diplomatic breakthroughs has raised skepticism among analysts. While the promises of trillion-dollar economic exchanges and historic deals sound ambitious, the feasibility of these agreements has been questioned by experts.

As Trump wraps up his Gulf tour, the coming months will be critical in determining whether the potential nuclear deal materializes or remains an unfulfilled promise. For now, the administrations focus remains on planting the seeds of potential progress, with the hope that tangible results will follow.

Iran-U.S. nuclear talks

President Trumps Gulf tour has been a whirlwind of diplomacy, defense deals and historic meetings, with Irans nuclear concessions emerging as the most significant development. Tehrans unexpected willingness to compromise could mark the beginning of a new chapter in U.S.-Iran relations, though challenges remain on both sides. As Trump seeks to cement his legacy, the success of these efforts will depend on whether his pragmatic approach can overcome decades of mistrust and pave the way for lasting stability in the Middle East.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NBCNews.com

CBSNews.com
UN officials laudatory remarks on China spark concerns over influence and global leadership

Tom Fletcher, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, praised China's green energy initiatives and suggested global leadership in climate transition should look to Beijing, highlighting a potential shift in the UN's orientation towards China.

Fletcher's remarks come amid concerns over China's expanding influence in international institutions and its strategic use of green initiatives to consolidate power and control over global supply chains, particularly in solar energy and other critical technologies.

During his visit, Fletcher signed a letter of intent with the Chinese Meteorological Administration for climate prediction technology and lauded China's Belt and Road Initiative, indicating a growing partnership between the UN and China in climate and infrastructure projects.

Critics warn of the risks associated with overreliance on China for clean energy technologies, as China's dominance in the supply chain could lead to economic and geopolitical leverage, potentially compromising global energy security and innovation.

As the U.S. reduces its financial contributions to the UN, China's increased funding and influence are shaping the organization's priorities, raising concerns about the alignment of UN goals with China's strategic interests and the potential for a new global governance model driven by Beijing.

In a recent interview, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, praised Chinas green energy initiatives and suggested the world look to Beijing for leadership in the global climate transition. Fletchers remarks, made during his April visit to China, have raised eyebrows among observers who warn of Chinas strategic influence over international institutions and its growing dominance in critical supply chains.

The UN's shifting focus on China

Fletchers admiration for Chinas environmental efforts, particularly its top-down approach to controlling the solar supply chain, comes amid growing concern over Beijings expanding influence within global organizations. As the U.S. scales back its funding and involvement in international bodies, China has stepped up its contributions, often targeting agencies where it can wield political influence.

During his trip, Fletcher met with Chinese officials and signed a letter of intent with the Chinese Meteorological Administration to explore partnerships in climate prediction technology. He also lauded the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), describing Chinese infrastructure projects in Kenya as impressive and highlighting the potential for artificial intelligence to combat global climate change.

His remarks reflect a broader shift in the UNs orientation, with some critics arguing that the organization is increasingly aligning with Chinas strategic interests. As the U.S. reduces its financial support for humanitarian programs, Chinas growing presence in UN forums has allowed it to shape narratives and promote its vision of global governance.

China's strategic playbook

Chinas ascent as a global leader in renewable energy is not accidentalit is the result of decades of meticulous planning and strategic investment. The country has capitalized on its dominance in critical supply chains, particularly in solar panels, electric vehicles and battery storage, to position itself as an indispensable player in the fight against climate change.

However, critics argue that Chinas leadership is less about environmental stewardship and more about consolidating power. By leveraging its control over key industries, Beijing has sought to export dependency on its technologies and resources, often under the banner of sustainability.

Chinas green agenda is not about saving the planetits about consolidating control over global supply chains, said a senior analyst at Power the Future, a think tank that tracks Chinas influence on international climate policy. Every UN partnership or multilateral agreement promoted by Beijing should be viewed through the lens of strategic competition.

Historically, China has used its influence in international institutions to advance its geopolitical goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, Beijing sought to shape the narrative around the World Health Organizations response, often casting itself as a leader in global health governance. Similar patterns are now emerging in the climate arena, with China using its green credentials to strengthen its hand in global affairs.

The risks of reliance on China

Fletchers comments have also reignited debates over the risks of relying on China for clean energy technologies. While Chinas advancements in solar and wind energy are undeniable, its dominance in the supply chain poses significant challenges for global energy security.

The U.S. and its allies have long warned of the dangers of overdependence on Chinese manufacturing and minerals. From rare earth metals to critical components for renewable energy systems, China controls a disproportionate share of the supply chain, giving it leverage to wield economic and geopolitical power.

By controlling the green supply chain, China can dictate the terms of global energy transitions, said Michael Pillsbury, a prominent China policy analyst. This is not leadershipits leverage.

In contrast to Chinas state-driven approach, Western nations have traditionally emphasized innovation and private-sector competition. However, as the U.S. scales back its international commitments, some fear that Fletchers praise for Chinas model could embolden Beijings efforts to exploit its dominance in the green energy sector.

The UNs changing winds

Fletchers remarks also highlight a broader shift within the UN itself. As the U.S. reduces its financial contributions to the organization, China has stepped into the void, becoming one of the UNs largest donors. This shift has allowed Beijing to shape the organizations priorities and amplify its narrative on global issues.

Chinas influence over the UN is not a coincidence, said a former U.S. diplomat who served at the UN. Its part of a long-term strategy to reshape global institutions in its image.

During his April visit, Fletcher also hinted at a broader reorientation in humanitarian aid. He called for a humanitarian reset, suggesting that global aid efforts should be more closely tied to green initiatives and AI-driven climate prediction systems. While these ideas may seem progressive on the surface, critics warn that they could further entrench Chinas influence over international aid programs.

A world divided?

Fletchers praise for Chinas green leadership raises critical questions about the future of global governance. As the U.S. steps back from its traditional role as a global leader, will Chinas vision of a green-led world become the new norm? Or will the international community find alternative pathways that balance innovation, environmental stewardship and geopolitical stability?

For now, the signs are concerning. Chinas growing influence over global institutions, combined with its dominance in critical supply chains, has created a dynamic where Beijings interests increasingly shape the global agenda. As the world grapples with the challenges of climate change, it must remain vigilant to the risks of relying too heavily on any single nations leadershipespecially when that leadership is driven by strategic interests rather than shared values.

Sources for this article include:

TheExpose.com

NationalReview.com

IP-quarterly.com
Forever chemicals invade Australian water supply: Investigation yields torrent of carcinogens, signifying vast regulatory failure

For decades, the people of Australias Blue Mountains have unknowingly consumed water laced with toxic "forever chemicals"  substances so dangerous theyve been linked to cancer, immune system damage, and developmental harm in children. A bombshell investigation has now exposed high-level PFAS contamination in the drinking water of 30,000 residents, revealing a staggering betrayal of public trust by the very institutions meant to protect them. While government agencies scramble to downplay the crisis, the truth is undeniable: Corporate greed, bureaucratic incompetence, and systemic corruption have allowed these deadly chemicals to poison an entire community

Key points:

PFAS levels in Blue Mountains water were found to be 300 times higher than Sydneys main water source, yet still deemed "safe" under outdated Australian guidelines.

The contamination stems from decades-old firefighting foam use, including at accident sites and fire stations, with authorities failing to act until forced by public outcry.

Despite known health risks  including cancer, hormone disruption, and developmental harm  no agency has quantified the full extent of exposure or taken full responsibility.

These chemicals are challenging the hormonal integrity and sexual development of individuals.

A $3.4 million mobile treatment plant was only installed after community pressure, proving that real action only happens when citizens demand accountability.

Government agencies continue passing the buck, refusing full transparency while resisting calls for an independent oversight body.

Removing the source of PFAS should be a collaborative goal of governments, industries and watchdog groups around the world.

The poison in the pipes: How PFAS infiltrated Australias water

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of 15,000 synthetic chemicals designed to resist heat, grease and water. Dubbed "forever chemicals" because they never break down, they accumulate in the environment  and in human bodies  causing irreversible harm. The Blue Mountains contamination traces back to firefighting foam used at a 1992 tanker crash and a local fire station, both now confirmed as likely sources. Yet despite the nationwide ban on PFAS-laden foam in 2007, no comprehensive cleanup was ever mandated, allowing the toxins to seep into waterways unchecked.

John Dee, founder of Stop PFAS, minced no words: "Sydney Water and WaterNSW have not been fully transparent... Theyre deliberately avoiding uncomfortable truths." His accusation cuts to the core of the scandal: Regulatory agencies knew, and they did nothing. View the full report here:

Health crisis in slow motion: The hidden toll of PFAS

While officials parrot the hollow assurance that water is "safe," science tells a different story. PFAS exposure is linked but not limited to the following:

Testicular and kidney cancer

Severe immune suppression

Disrupted sexual development and hormone function

Developmental delays in children

Disturbingly, Australias "safe" PFAS limits are far laxer than global standards. The National Health and Medical Research Council only recently slashed the allowable PFOA (a PFAS variant) level from 560 to 200 nanograms per literstill 20 times higher than the U.S. EPAs limit. One nanogram, for perspective, is like a single drop in 20 Olympic pools. Yet even these feeble adjustments came only after the damage was done.

The Blue Mountains disaster is no accident  its the inevitable result of a system that prioritizes profits over people. Firefighting foam manufacturers knew PFAS was toxic as early as the 1970s but buried the evidence. Meanwhile, agencies like WaterNSW and the EPA have engaged in bureaucratic finger-pointing, refusing to establish a centralized authority to manage contamination.

Grassroots pressure has been pivotal at disclosing PFAS and forcing public health authorities to test the water. The mobile treatment plant only materialized after residents forced the issue, proving that real change comes from defiance, not trust in broken institutions.

This isnt just about the Blue Mountains. PFAS lurks in cosmetics, non-stick pans, and even sunscreen, meaning every Australian is at risk.

Sources include:

Dailymail.co.uk

Waternsw.com.au

Waternsw.com.au [PDF]
Mysterious hexagonal UFO sighting over California sparks questions amid government secrecy

A video captured a massive, brightly-lit hexagonal object hovering over California's Twentynine Palms desert on April 27, displaying erratic movements and shape-shifting abilities, reigniting debates about UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena).

The sole witness, reporting sobriety and clear conditions, described the object as brighter than a full moon with flight patterns defying known human-made aircraft. No immediate corroboration exists, but the footage has drawn scrutiny from researchers and skeptics.

Initial theories (e.g., SpaceX launch or frozen rocket fuel reflections) were dismissed due to timing and location mismatches, leaving the sighting unexplained.

The incident coincides with congressional hearings on UAP transparency, where experts like Luis Elizondo accuse the U.S. government of withholding classified data on such phenomena. Civilian reporting relies on independent groups like NUFORC, lacking official channels.

With increasing UAP reports globally and whistleblowers alleging suppressed evidence, public demand for transparency grows, fueled by distrust over government secrecy and recent anomalies like the blurred "UFO base" on Google Maps.

A startling new video has surfaced, capturing what appears to be a massive, brightly-lit hexagonal object hovering over the California desert.

The footage recorded by an unnamed witness on April 27 has reignited debates about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) and the government's transparency  or lack thereof  on the subject. The sighting occurred around 10:27 p.m. Pacific time near Twentynine Palms, a remote desert town known for its vast, open skies.

The witness, alone at a cabin, reported seeing the object appear suddenly before moving erratically across the sky for approximately 15 minutes. The craft's bizarre behavior  jerky movements, pulsating lights and ability to morph from a hexagon into a circle  has left experts and skeptics scrambling for explanations. (Related: CIA document reveals 1950s plan to manage UFO sightings and public perception.)

According to the report filed with the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), the object defied conventional explanations. The witness emphasized that the night was moonless, ruling out celestial bodies as the source. The craft's brightness reportedly surpassed that of a full moon, and its irregular flight pattern suggested no known human-made aircraft.

The observer, who claimed sobriety and clear vision, was the sole witness  leaving no immediate corroboration. However, the detailed description and video evidence have drawn attention from civilian UFO research groups and, inevitably, skeptics.

NUFORC officials initially considered whether the sighting could be linked to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch earlier that day. However, the rocket had launched from Florida three hours prior, making it an unlikely culprit.

Past incidents, such as a March 2024 sighting in the United Kingdom, were later attributed to frozen rocket fuel reflecting sunlight  a phenomenon that creates spiral or hexagonal light formations. But in this case, the timing and location don't align neatly with known space activity.

From Twentynine Palms to Sycamore Knoll: Experts demand answers

This sighting comes just days before a high-profile congressional hearing on UAPs, where former Pentagon UFO investigator Luis Elizondo and other experts demanded greater transparency from the U.S. government. Elizondo and his colleagues argue that military and intelligence agencies possess classified data on unexplained aerial phenomena but refuse to disclose it to the public.

Currently, civilian witnesses have no official government channel to report UFO sightings. Instead, they rely on organizations like NUFORC and the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), which operate independently but occasionally share data with authorities. Critics argue this lack of a centralized reporting system allows countless sightings to go unverifiedor worse, buried.

Adding to the intrigue, conspiracy theorists have recently pointed to the mysterious disappearance of an alleged "UFO base" off Californias coast on Google Maps. Sycamore Knoll, an underwater landmark, was abruptly blurred out in April, fueling speculation about government cover-ups. While some dismiss this as a technical glitch, others see a deliberate effort to conceal unexplained activity.

The Twentynine Palms sighting is not an isolated incident. Over the past decade, military pilots, commercial airline crews and civilians worldwide have reported encounters with UAPs exhibiting flight characteristics beyond known human technology. The U.S. government has slowly acknowledged these reports, yet official explanations remain vague.

Head over to UFOs.news for more similar stories.

Watch this clip of a UFO sighting.

This video is from the Themoreuknow channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey raise concerns.

California drug dealer used a drone to deliver fentanyl and other illegal drugs to customers.

Mysterious "Alaska Triangle" linked to 20,000 disappearances and UFO sightings.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

MSN.com

IrishStar.com

Brighteon.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Repeated changes in the United States position are obstructing the progress of ongoing indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US, said Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, Trend reports.

Speaking at a meeting organized by Irans Atomic Energy Organization and attended by representatives from the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Pugwash) in Tehran, Araghchi noted that contradictory stances from US officials complicate the negotiation process and reveal a lack of seriousness in meeting the demands of diplomatic efforts.

He added that despite conflicting views expressed in the media, Iran remains committed to advancing its principled and lawful position within the framework of its international obligations.

Araghchi stressed that Iran is serious about developing peaceful nuclear knowledge and technology. He added that Tehran is ready to continue talks and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other parties to build trust regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

Three rounds of indirect negotiations between Iran and the US regarding Irans nuclear program were held on April 12, 19, and 26. These discussions, conducted indirectly with the mediation of the Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi, involved Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi leading the Iranian delegation, while the US delegation was led by the US Special Envoy to Middle East Affairs, Steve Witkoff. The first and 3rd rounds took place in Muscat, Oman, while the 2nd round was held in Rome, Italy.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Trump administration probes publisher of influential COVID origins paper over alleged Fauci influence

The Trump administration is probing whether the authors and publisher of the influential 2020 study "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2" allowed Dr. Anthony Fauci and NIH officials to shape its conclusions in exchange for federal funding.

Despite private emails showing the authors (including Kristian Andersen) initially suspected a lab origin, the published paper dismissed the lab-leak theory, aligning with Fauci and Collins public stance.

Emails reveal Andersen told Fauci and Collins the virus "looked engineered," but revisions softened skepticism. Andersen later received a $1.88M NIH grant, raising concerns about a quid pro quo.

The DOJ is investigating whether Nature Medicine compromised editorial independence due to NIH funding ties, citing potential fraud violations. Critics argue the paper suppressed legitimate debate.

Despite evidence supporting the lab-leak theory, the paper remains unretracted. The case highlights broader concerns about scientific censorship, with NIH officials acknowledging a "culture of cover-up."

The Trump administration is investigating whether the authors and publisher of a pivotal early COVID-19 study allowed Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top health officials to influence its conclusions in exchange for federal funding, according to documents obtained by The Disinformation Chronicle. The 2020 paper, titled "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2," dismissed the lab-leak theory in favor of a natural zoonotic origin, shaping global discourse on the pandemics beginnings. Now, newly revealed Department of Justice (DOJ) letters suggest potential conflicts of interest  raising fresh questions about scientific transparency and political interference in public health.

The paper that shaped the pandemic narrative

Published in Nature Medicine in March 2020, "Proximal Origin" became one of the most cited scientific papers of the year, accessed over 6 million times and referenced by more than 2,000 media outlets. Its authors  including virologists Kristian Andersen and Robert Garry  initially privately expressed concerns that COVID-19 might have been engineered or accidentally leaked from a lab, according to emails later uncovered by congressional investigators. Yet the final paper concluded that a lab origin was "improbable," aligning with public statements from Dr. Fauci and then-NIH Director Francis Collins.

Collins promoted it on the NIH blog, and Fauci cited it during a White House briefing, declaring its findings "totally consistent with a jump of species from an animal to a human." Critics, however, allege the paper was weaponized to suppress legitimate debate  a claim bolstered by internal communications showing Andersen and Garry privately doubted their own conclusions.

Emails reveal behind-the-scenes pressure

Unredacted emails obtained through FOIA lawsuits reveal that in February 2020, Andersen told Fauci and Collins that SARS-CoV-2s genome contained features that "look engineered." Days later, Wellcome Trust Director Jeremy Farrar  later the WHOs chief scientist  urged revisions to the papers language, softening skepticism about lab manipulation. By March, the authors had pivoted, publicly dismissing lab-leak theories despite privately acknowledging gaps in their analysis.

Months after publication, Andersen received a $1.88 million NIH grant for pandemic research  a timing critics call suspicious. In sworn testimony, Andersen denied any quid pro quo, but documents reviewed by The Intercept contradicted his claims, showing the grant was finalized post-publication.

Justice Departments fraud probe

In a March 2025 letter to Nature Medicine publisher Joao Monteiro, then-interim U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. questioned whether the journals editorial independence was compromised by financial ties to funders like the NIH. Martin, now leading a DOJ "Weaponization Working Group," cited potential violations of fraud and postal statutes, asking Monteiro to address allegations of misleading readers.

The probe has drawn backlash from media outlets like the New York Times, which warned of a "chilling effect" on scientific publishing. But transparency advocates argue the investigation is overdue. "When funders dictate conclusions, it corrupts the scientific process," said an anonymous NIH researcher in a Disinformation Chronicle essay.

A legacy of doubt and unanswered questions

Despite mounting evidence supporting the lab-leak theory  including assessments by the FBI and Department of Energy  Nature Medicine has refused to retract "Proximal Origin." An online petition by Biosafety Now demanding retraction has gathered 5,700 signatures, while congressional hearings have exposed flaws in the papers peer review.

The case underscores broader concerns about censorship in academia. A 2022 study found scientists challenging COVID-19 orthodoxy faced article retractions and professional retaliation. In 2024, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya condemned a "culture of cover-up" under Fauci and Collins, pledging to foster dissent.

Science, politics and the search for accountability

Five years after COVID-19s emergence, the "Proximal Origin" saga remains a flashpoint in the debate over scientific integrity. The Trump administrations investigation signals a reckoning for journals accused of prioritizing narrative over neutrality  but whether it leads to reform or further polarization hinges on transparency. As former NIH official David Relman noted, "When conclusions are driven by bias, not data, the public pays the price." For millions still seeking answers, the cost has been immeasurable.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

DisinformationChronicle.Substack.com

TheNation.com
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Claims that Tehrans nuclear programparticularly its uranium enrichment effortsis aimed at developing atomic weapons reflect an unprofessional and misguided view, Iranian Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said, Trend reports.

Speaking at a joint meeting in Tehran on May 16 organized by the AEOI and attended by a delegation from the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Eslami stressed that some countries approach Irans nuclear activities through political adventurism, aiming to obstruct its development.

He added that Iran has repeatedly declared that its nuclear program has no place in its defense doctrine and that it has not pursued nuclear weapons, despite all pressures and threats.

According to Eslami, Irans nuclear technology, capabilities, and objectives are fully transparent and focused on addressing national needs. He emphasized that Irans nuclear activities remain under constant monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stating, No country in the world is supervised by the IAEA as thoroughly as Iran.

In 2024 alone, the IAEA conducted more than 450 inspections, with 25 percent of them carried out at Irans nuclear facilities. And yet, Irans nuclear share globally is just about 3 percent, Eslami added.

Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.

On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Irans nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.

By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.

Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 2030 percent.
A new study co-led by Mass General Brigham researchers points to a promising new type of auditory brainstem implant (ABI) that could benefit people who are deaf due to Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and other severe inner ear abnormalities that prevent them from receiving cochlear implants. With further tests and trials, researchers hope it will provide a more effective treatment alternative than what is currently used.

In the new research, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, scientists at Mass Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, collaborated with scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Geneva, Switzerland, to report on a new class of soft, flexible ABIs that were designed to address the limitations of those currently used. These implants bypass damaged auditory structures and directly stimulate the brainstem's sound-processing region to restore auditory function.

The new ABI was borne out of a decade-long collaboration between Mass Eye and Ear and EPFL scientists. It features an elastic, multilayer construct that includes ultra-thin platinum electrodes and silicone, a novel design that allows it to conform closely to the brainstem's curved surface.

Conventional ABIs that are sometimes used in patients with NF2 rely on stiff electrodes that struggle to conform to the curved surface of the cochlear nucleus in the brainstem. That limits their effectiveness to modest benefits, typically providing only basic sound awareness to aid lip reading. The design can also cause side effects like discomfort that discourages long-term use.

The novel, soft electrode design was developed using advanced thin-film processing techniques, allowing for closer contact and more precise stimulation. In preclinical tests conducted in Switzerland, two macaques received the implants and underwent several months of behavioral testing. Results showed the animals could consistently distinguish between different patterns of stimulation - which indicated high-resolution auditory perception, a promising sign for eventual human use.

While cochlear implants are life-changing for many, there remains a group of patients for whom current technology falls short. Our research lays the groundwork for a future auditory brainstem implant that could improve hearing outcomes and reduce side effects in patients who are deaf and do not benefit from the cochlear implant." Daniel J. Lee, MD, FACS, study co-senior author, Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at Mass Eye and Ear
Hyundai To Add 20 ICE Models And 6 EVs To Fleet, Deadline Set For 2030

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 10:44 IST

The reports suggested that 20 cars will fall in the Internal combustion Engine (ICE) category, while the other will remain in the electric segment.

Hyundai Creta Electric. (Photo: Shahrukh Shah/ News18)

The leading carmaker Hyundai, is gearing up to enhance its Indian fleet and set to reclaim the second position in the Indian passenger vehicle market. It has been reported that the brand aims to introduce a total 26 new cars by 2030.

The reports suggested that 20 cars will fall in the Internal combustion Engine (ICE) category, while the other will remain in the electric segment.

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Future Production

In a move to achieve the future target, the company is likely to kickstart the production of the upcoming models around 2026. Most of the work will be taken care of at the companys new manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Pune. It has been revealed that the expansion plan might boost manufacturing capacity, including the production of hybrid models as well.

Sales Report

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Meanwhile, Hyundai has been getting an overwhelming response from customers over the past few months, a big thanks to tech-loaded models. However, the company somehow reported slightly negative domestic sales in FY25. It has sold over 5,98,666 units, which was down by 2.6 percent as compared to the FY24. It has sold over 6,14,721 units last fiscal.

Amid this, the export business remains profitable, clocking 1,63,386 units, marking a jump by 0.1 percent compared to the last fiscal. The company remain strong in terms of its SUV lineup during FY25, reporting a total sales up of 68.5 percent. The hot-selling product Creta remained the top performer. The model has dominated the segment with a market share of over 30%.

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Get the latest updates on car and bike launches in India  including reviews, prices, specs, and performance. Stay informed with breaking auto industry news , EV policies, and more, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

First Published: May 17, 2025, 10:44 IST
DA Hike Alert: This State Increases Dearness Allowance To 55% Under 7th Pay Commission

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 10:31 IST

The Bihar government has announced a 2 percentage points hike in dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners.

A hike of 6 percentage points has been approved by the Bihar government for those in the pay scale of the 6th Pay Commission.

The Bihar government has announced a 2 percentage points hike in dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners. The decision was taken on May 16, 2025, at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

With this hike, employees and pensioners in the pay scale of the 7th Pay Commission will get DA and Dearness Relief (DR) of 55 per cent, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) S Siddharth said.

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A hike of 6 percentage points has been approved for those in the pay scale of the 6th Pay Commission. This will raise their DA and DR to 252 per cent. For those in the pay scale of the 5th Pay Commission, the DA and DR have been raised by 11 percentage points to 466 per cent," he said.

The hike will benefit more than 5 lakh employees and over 6 lakh pensioners, officials said.

It will be effective from January 1, 2025, they said.

West Bengal Govt Employees Hail SC Direction on DA

Meanwhile, an association of West Bengal government employees has hailed the Supreme Courts interim order, directing the state to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding Dearness Allowance (DA) within the next three months.

Sangrami Joutho Mancha convenor Bhaskar Ghosh said the state government had been denying its employees their rightful dues. Thanks to the SC for upholding our rights," he said.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, which was hearing a plea of the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court order on the issue, asked the state government to pay the DA arrears for 2009 to 2019 within three months.

The ruling Trinamool Congress said it will abide by the SC order in letter and spirit.

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TMC leader Joyprakash Majumdar, however, attacked the opposition, alleging they were trying to malign the state government..

Around six lakh state employees would benefit from the apex courts interim order.

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First Published: May 17, 2025, 10:31 IST
Time To Rethink Trade Ties With Nations Working Against India: VP Jagdeep Dhankhar

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:44 IST

National interest must remain the core focus of all economic and strategic decisions, says Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar says India must reassess its travel and import choices that may end up boosting the economies of hostile nations. (PTI File Image)

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday urged citizens to reflect on the idea of economic nationalism, saying that people cannot help the economies of nations, through import or travel, that are inimical to the interests of India.

Can we afford to empower countries that are inimical to our interests? The time has come for each of us to seriously reflect on economic nationalism," he said while speaking at an event in Delhi. He stressed that India must reassess its travel and import choices that may end up boosting the economies of hostile nations.

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Dhankhar asserted that national interest must remain the core focus of all economic and strategic decisions. We can no longer afford, by travel or import, to improve economies of those countries because of our participation. And those countries, in times of crisis, are positioned against us," he said.

His remarks come in the backdrop of growing concerns about countries like Turkiye, which has openly sided with Pakistan and criticised Indias counter-terror operations in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under the Operation Sindoor. Turkiye has also supplied drones to Pakistan, which were used during military tensions with India. Similarly, Azerbaijan has publicly expressed support for Pakistan on several occasions.

Following this, a huge number of Indian travellers have cancelled their trips to Turkiye.

They have also cancelled destinations in the country. With each wedding valued at about $3 million, Turkey could see up to $90 million in direct losses from cancellations.

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Airports in India have also cancelled the permit of Turkey-based Celebi, a provider of airport ground handling in India. The move came after aviation watchdog BCAS on Friday revoked the security clearance of Celebi Ground Handling India Pvt Ltd  which operated under the umbrella of Turkeys Celebi Aviation Holding at major Indian airports  in the interest of national security" with immediate effect.

(With Inputs from PTI)

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First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:44 IST
Turkey Faces $90-Million Blow As Indian Destination Weddings Exit Amid Diplomatic Fallout

Curated By :

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:29 IST

Indian wedding travellers contribute over $140 million annually to Turkey's tourism economy, and the impact of this shift is seismic.

In 2024, Turkey hosted 50 grand Indian weddings, each averaging $3 million, with a few reaching up to $8 million.

A diplomatic standoff triggered by Indias Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, has sent shockwaves through Turkeys booming destination wedding industry. The backlash, fuelled by Turkeys public support for Pakistan, has led to a widespread boycott by Indian wedding planners and families, threatening to unravel a segment that has been a cornerstone of luxury tourism.

Indian wedding travellers contribute over $140 million annually to Turkeys tourism economy, and the impact of this shift is seismic," said Nikhil Mahajan, senior representative at Kestone Utsav, a prominent Indian wedding planning firm, according to a Financial Express report.

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Turkey had become a coveted hotspot for Indian couples seeking opulence with affordability  from Istanbuls palaces to Bodrums coastal retreats. In 2024 alone, Turkey hosted 50 grand Indian weddings, each averaging $3 million, with a few reaching up to $8 million. With celebrations often stretching across multiple days and involving around 500 guests, these weddings provided a substantial boost to local vendors and tourism-linked businesses.

Industry data shows that a typical Indian wedding package for 100 guests started at 350,000 ($385,000), far outstripping the cost of local Turkish weddings, which usually fall between $1,600 and $5,400. The Indian wedding market had grown nearly 300% in Turkey from just 13 weddings in 2018 to 50 in 2024, generating close to $150 million last year alone.

However, the political tensions that erupted in May 2025 have already caused the cancellation of 2,000 tourist bookings and placed 30 of the 50 scheduled Indian weddings for 2025 in jeopardy. With each wedding valued at about $3 million, Turkey could see up to $90 million in direct losses from cancellations.

Beyond the numbers, the implications run deep. Indian weddings employed hundreds of local service providers  from florists to event managers  and brought in celebrities and high-net-worth individuals who helped position Turkey as a global luxury destination. These weddings featured celebrities and business elites, offering marketing value that money cant buy," Mahajan noted, as per the FE report.

The crisis hits during peak season, when 60 per cent of Indian weddings usually occur. Indian weddings accounted for 3 per cent of Turkeys $3 billion wedding tourism revenue in 2024. The broader tourism sector, which earned $61.1 billion in 2024, could also feel the ripple effects.

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In response, Indian families are shifting their gaze. At UTSAV, were witnessing a change in sentiment, with families increasingly exploring alternative international locations like Italy and the UAE. Simultaneously, theres a strong resurgence in demand for Indian destinations such as Udaipur, Jaipur, Goa, and Kerala, places that offer grandeur, accessibility, and cultural resonance," Mahajan said.

This pivot isnt just about geopolitics  it reflects evolving priorities among Indian couples. Indian families are prioritising locations that balance sentiment, safety, and overall guest experience," Mahajan explained. The fallout is reshaping the global destination wedding map, with Turkey potentially losing its sheen in a highly competitive market.

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First Published: May 17, 2025, 09:29 IST
Are Banks Open Or Closed Today, May 17? Check Bank Holiday List For This Month

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:00 IST

With May 2025 having five Saturdays, this means that while May 24 (the fourth Saturday) will be a bank holiday, both May 17 and May 31 will be regular working Saturdays.

May 24 will be a holiday.

Are Banks Open Or Closed Today, May 17? Theres a question echoing in the minds of many people  will banks be closed on Saturday, May 17? For those wondering about bank closures this weekend, the answer is no. Banks across India will be open for regular services this Saturday, as it falls in the third week of the month, which is a regular working day for banks nationwide. It is worth noting that this Saturday comes after an extended weekend holiday for many states due to Buddha Purnima. The festival led to the banks closure from Saturday to the following Monday. However, this week follows the regular banking schedule.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday calendar, banks in India observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, as well as all Sundays. With May 2025 having five Saturdays, this means that while May 24 (the fourth Saturday) will be a bank holiday, both May 17 and May 31 will be regular working Saturdays.

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Its important to remember that even on bank holidays, essential online banking services remain operational. Customers can continue to use net banking, mobile banking platforms, UPI, and ATM services for tasks such as checking account balances, transferring funds, and other basic banking needs at any time.

While banks will be open this Saturday, its advisable to plan and complete any necessary in-person banking transactions before or after the upcoming regional holidays in May to avoid any inconvenience.

Full List of Bank Holidays In May 2025

The RBI has announced the following holidays for the remainder of the month:

May 16: Sikkim State Day in Sikkim

May 26: Tripura will observe a holiday to mark the birth anniversary of Kazi Nazrul Islam

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May 29: Maharana Pratap Jayanti holiday in Himachal Pradesh

While these regional holidays have been announced by the RBI in advance, customers planning to visit their local bank branches on these dates are advised to confirm with their nearby branch to avoid any inconvenience due to these holidays. However, for the majority of the country, banking services will be available as usual this Saturday, May 17.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 07:00 IST
After Jamia And JNU, LPU Terminates MoUs With Institutions In Turkey, Azerbaijan

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 12:47 IST

Situated in Jalandhar, LPU is the first private university in India to end affiliations with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

Lovely Professional University campus (File Photo)

Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab has decided to terminate all memorandums of understanding with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan due to recent geopolitical events that conflict with Indias national interests, reported PTI.

This decision comes in response to Turkiyes support for Pakistan and criticism of Indias military actions against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during Operation Sindoor. Pakistan also used Turkish drones extensively during its military confrontation with India, the report added.

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Located in Jalandhar, LPU is the first private university in India to end affiliations with institutions in Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

Our armed forces are risking their lives in various operations, air defense, and border patrols. As an institution, we cannot remain indifferent. LPUs mission has always aligned with Indias growth and integrity, and we will never collaborate with any institution that undermines Indias sovereignty," said LPU Founder Chancellor and Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal.

The decision includes the immediate cessation of student and faculty exchange programs, joint research projects, dual degree initiatives, and all other forms of academic collaborations with institutions from these two countries.

Institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad, and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU) in Kanpur have also suspended their agreements with Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

MANUU announced the cancellation of its MoU with Yunus Emre Institute, Turkiye for a diploma course, effective immediately. The central university said it signed an MoU with the Turkish institute in 2020 for five years to start a diploma in the Turkish language at the School of Languages, Linguistics, and Indology. A visiting professor appointed for the course has already returned to his country, an official informed.

Jamia Millia Islamia had suspended all academic collaborations with institutions affiliated with the government of Turkiye, citing national security concerns. Due to national security considerations, any MoU between Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and any institution affiliated with the government of Turkiye stands suspended with immediate effect until further orders. Jamia Millia Islamia stands firmly with the nation," the university said in a post on X.

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Delhi University (DU) stated it has no active collaboration with any Turkish or Azerbaijani institutions, as all previous MoUs have expired.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) also suspended its MoU with Turkiyes Inonu University, which was signed earlier this year for faculty and student exchange programs. JNU has suspended the MoU due to national security considerations as JNU stands with the nation and the armed forces, many of whom are JNU alumni," said Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.

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First Published: May 17, 2025, 12:22 IST
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Iran is working to be removed from the Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, also known as the blacklist, Trend reports, citing Irans Financial Intelligence Unit.

The ratification of two key international conventionsthe Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)is essential for Iran to be delisted. The unit emphasized that the removal of FATFs countermeasures against Iranian citizens, especially exporters, producers, and investors, hinges on this approval.

The unit added that the Palermo Convention has already been ratified by Irans Expediency Council, and it is expected that the CFT Convention will also be reviewed and approved soon.

"The Iranian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Financial Intelligence Unit are actively assisting in the legislative process to finalize these approvals," the center said.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an intergovernmental body that regulates the rules for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. At the last meeting of this organization, Iran was warned that if the country's program of steps is not improved, Iran may be added to the list of non-cooperative countries. Iran has complied with 37 out of 41 FATF steps.

The remaining four steps or conventions fall under the scope of the legislation. "Amendments to the Law on Combating Money Laundering," "Amendments to the Law on Combating the Financing of Terrorism," "Accession to the International Convention on Combating Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo)," and Accession to the International Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) have been drafted by the Iranian government and sent to the parliament. Although the four conventions were approved by the parliament and sent to the Advisory Council, the CFT conventions and the Palermo Convention have not yet been approved by the mentioned council.

The G7 group founded the FATF in 1989 to address money laundering. The organization comprises 37 members, with its administration situated in Paris.

The FATF designated Iran as a high-risk jurisdiction in 2007 and enacted formal sanctions on Tehran in 2009. Consequently, nations needed to exercise prudence in financial and banking transactions with Iran. Since 2016, diplomatic initiatives have postponed the implementation of retaliatory actions on Iran.



The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) designated Iran as a non-cooperative country (blacklist) on February 21, 2020.

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Karnataka 2nd PUC Exam 2 Results 2025 Declared, 31.27% Qualify; Check Exam 3 Dates

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:56 IST

The 2025 Karnataka PUC II exam 2 results saw an overall pass percentage of 31.27 per cent. Girls outperformed boys while commerce is the best-performing stream.

Students who took the exam can check their results by visiting the official website at karresults.nic.in

The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has announced the results of the state 2nd PUC exam 2 on May 16, 2025. The 2025 Karnataka PUC II exam 2 results saw an overall pass percentage of 31.27 per cent. Girls outperformed boys while commerce is the best-performing stream.

Students who took the exam can check their results by visiting the official website at karresults.nic.in or kseab.karnataka.gov.in. It is also available at pue.karnataka.gov.in, and manabadi.co.in. Alternatively, if the website crashes or the internet is not working, students can access their scores via SMS and DigiLocker.

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The Karnataka 2nd PUC exam 2 took place from April 24 to May 8, 2025, in 332 centres across the state. A total of 1,94,077 students participated in the exam out of which 60,692 passed. As many as 71,964 students reappeared for the exam only to improve their scores of which 41,719 were successful.

In the exam 2 results, girls obtained a pass rate of 36.38 per cent. The pass percentage for boys is recorded at 34.34 per cent. The pass percentage of science stream is 35.14 per cent, commerce is 35.74 per cent and arts stream recorded the lowest pass rate at 25.38 per cent.

Students must score a minimum of 33 per cent marks to pass the Karnataka PUC 2nd exam. Those who miss the minimum requirement will be provided grace marks. Teachers can only give up to 5 per cent grace marks to the students.

Students unsatisfied with their scores can apply for revaluation. The cost for obtaining a scanned copy of the answer script is Rs 530 per subject, while the revaluation fee stands at Rs 1670 per subject.

Karnataka 2nd PUC Exam 2 Results 2025: Exam 3 Registration

Students can register for Exam 3 from May 16 to May 26, 2025, at their respective colleges. The application fee for Exam 3 is Rs 175 per subject for first-time candidates and Rs 350 for those reappearing. The Karnataka 2nd PUC Exam 3 will be conducted from June 9 to June 21, 2025, across the state.

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Karnataka 2nd PUC Exam 2 Results 2025: What Happened In Exam 1?

The Karnataka 2nd PUC Result 2025 saw a notable decline, dropping from 81.15 per cent in 2024 to 73.45 per cent this year. In the Arts stream, 1,53,043 students appeared for the exam, with 81,553 passing, resulting in a pass percentage of 53.29 per cent. In the Commerce stream, 2,03,429 students took the exam, and 1,55,425 passed, achieving a pass percentage of 76.07 per cent. The Science stream had the highest performance, with 2,80,933 students appearing and 2,31,461 passing, leading to a pass percentage of 82.45 per cent.

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: May 17, 2025, 09:41 IST
SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025 Soon: Where & How To Check SBI Clerk JA Scorecards?

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:09 IST

SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025: Candidates who pass the Mains exam will proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which is the interview round.

SBI JA Clerk results likely to be released soon at sbi.co.in (File Photo)

The State Bank of Indias (SBI) is expected to announce the Clerk Mains Result 2025 soon. The Mains exam took place on April 10 and 12, 2025 for around 14,000 Junior Associate (Clerk) vacancies. Once released, the results will be available on the SBIs official website at sbi.co.in. The cut-off marks will also be released along with the results.

Along with the SBI Clerk Mains result, the bank will also release the scorecard. This scorecard will contain the individual performance of the candidate, category wise cut-off marks and selection marks. To download the scorecard, candidates have to use their login credentials.

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SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025: How To Check, Once Released?

Step 1- To check SBI Clerk Mains Result, visit the official website of the State Bank of India, sbi.co.in.

Step 2- Click on the SBI Clerk Notification link visible on the careers section of the homepage.

Step 3- Then click on the SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025 link.

Step 4- After entering the required credentials asked there, click on submit.

Step 5- The result will be displayed on your screen. Check and download it. Take a printout for future use.

SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025: Whats Next?

Candidates who will clear the SBI Clerk Mains exam will be placed in the final merit list and will be eligible for the next stage of the selection process. They will have to appear for the local language test for the final selection after which they will be appointed.

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A total of 13,735 vacancies will be filled for the Junior Associate position. This includes 5,870 seats for the unreserved category, 3,001 for OBC, 2,118 for SC, 1,385 for ST, and 1,361 for EWS candidates. The salary for the role ranges from Rs 17,900 to Rs 47,920.

Those who qualify for all recruitment rounds of SBI clerk and are selected for the posts will receive a beginning base salary of Rs 19,900 and Rs 17,900, with two advance increments.

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: May 17, 2025, 16:00 IST
ONOE: Maharashtra Education Dept Says Important To Assess Impact On Govt Schools Due To Frequent Polls

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News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 23:51 IST

Sources said the education department told the parliamentary panel that government schools were impacted as teachers were put on poll duty, halting classes for a few days

The ONOE panel was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the Centre said it was keen on sending the Bill for scrutiny after its introduction in the Lok Sabha. (Image: PTI/File)

Maharashtras education department deposed before the joint parliamentary committee formed on the crucial One Nation One Election Bill, on how government-run schools are impacted due to frequent elections as teachers are sent away for poll duty.

The joint parliamentary committee (JPC), which is on a multi-city tour, was in Mumbai on the first day and examined multiple witnesses. Top officials of the Maharashtra government, including the chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), were among those who appeared before the panel.

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The state government gave a detailed presentation on why this legislation will be beneficial for the focus to be on governance and not disrupted by back-to-back elections.

It has been learnt through sources that the education department deposed before the committee and spoke about the impact on government-run schools. They said multiple elections meant multiple deployments, especially in government schools as private schools were not affected during elections. Government schools, however, were impacted as teachers were put on poll duty, halting classes for a few days. Members from the ruling side spoke in support of One Nation One Election, which can benefit the education system.

It was further learnt that officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appeared before the JPC. The sources said the RBI deposed that due to the code of conduct and restrictions on cash transfers, it has a massive bearing on them. The RBI said there needs to be more in-depth study on the impact of the legislation, for which they have sought a time frame of six months to appear before the panel again, they said.

Leaders from different political parties, including former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, and regional party leaders appeared before the committee. While those from the BJP and the alliance partners spoke in support of the Bill, political parties like the Congress and NCP argued that this will curtail the right of the people to seek answers from their elected representatives. They also expressed concerns over the existence of regional parties in such a system.

After a break on Sunday (May 18), the JPC will resume its meeting on Monday (May 19). It has been learnt that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, will also appear before the committee. This is the first time that a chief minister will be appearing before it.

The panel was announced during the last winter session of Parliament after the Centre said it was keen on sending the Bill for parliamentary scrutiny after its introduction in the Lok Sabha. It is headed by former minister and Lok Sabha MP PP Chaudhary and has 39 members, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

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The panel has a number of eminent lawyers like MPs Manish Tewari, P Wilson and Kalyan Banerjee. Other opposition MPs, who are part of the panel are Supriya Sule from the NCP, Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik from the Congress, Anil Desai from Shiv Sena (UBT).

On the ruling side, members include former union minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Baijayant Panda, Bhartruhari Mahtab and Anil Baluni from the BJP. Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena and Harish Balayogi from the TDP among others are also part of the JPC.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 23:51 IST
Amid India-Pakistan Tensions, Govt Expedites Border Projects To Boost National Security, Curb Infiltration

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 07:30 IST

The union finance and home affairs ministries are working together to fast-track major development projects along vulnerable border areas

Border fencing upgrades, strategic road development, and sophisticated surveillance infrastructure installations worth Rs 1,500 crore are planned. (Representational pic/PTI)

In reaction to increased tensions with Pakistan, the Indian government has accelerated plans to implement key infrastructure projects along the border between the two nations. The move, intended to boost national security and discourage infiltration, follows recent high-level deliberations.

The union finance and home affairs ministries are working together to expedite major development projects along vulnerable border areas. Border fencing upgrades, strategic road development, and sophisticated surveillance infrastructure installations worth Rs 1,500 crore are planned.

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Top officials say more than 500 kilometres of current border fencing will be upgraded with new, high-quality, modular, and multi-layered materials to counter infiltration threats. The much-needed upgrade comes in the wake of recent terrorist attacks on civilians and security forces in Rajouri and Poonch.

The High-Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) approved works in high-risk sectors of Samba, Indereshwar Nagar, and Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjabs Ferozepur and Abohar belts, including road connectivity of border outposts (BOPs) to the boundary fence. These projects will help forces reach different areas along the India-Pakistan border.

Major upgrades include bulletproof sentry posts for the safety of BSF personnel after reports of unprovoked firing by Pakistan Rangers.

A finished reconnaissance and hydrological survey guides infrastructure development along border rivers. In Rajasthan, more than Rs 500 crore will go towards specialised layered fencing and wall construction, high-powered LED lighting for improved night vigilance, and armoured underground cabling to deal with specific desert landscape issues.

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To alleviate the ongoing water supply woes of border troops, Rs 160 crore has been approved for better storage and delivery infrastructure. This will replace the present expensive and unsustainable tanker system used on unpaved tracks.

These projects mark a strategic shift in Indias border defence posture, meeting the rise of cross-border aggression and new forms of infiltration tactics. The government, with a priority on national security, is following through with the speedy implementation of these crucial border-guarding measures.

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: May 17, 2025, 07:30 IST
Haryana YouTuber Arrested For Spying On India, Providing Information To ISI; Visited Pakistan Thrice

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 22:58 IST

The female YouTuber was identified as Jyoti Malhotra who has even visited Pakistan and posted the videos on her YouTube channel and on her Instagram page.

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra among those arrested for allegedly spying on India

A female YouTuber was among the six people arrested so far in Haryana for allegedly spying on India and providing information to Pakistans ISI since the launch of Operation Sindoor, officials said on Saturday.

The police said that all of these arrested people were in constant contact with the ISI and provided information to the enemy.

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One arrest was made from Kaithal, one from Panipat, one from Nuh, and a female YouTuber  Jyoti Malhotra  was arrested from Hisar. She was presented in the court, which sent her to a 5-day police remand.

ALSO READ | Who Is Jyoti Malhotra? YouTuber Arrested For Allegedly Spying On India For Pakistan

Malhotra has 377k subscribers and 132k followers on Instagram. She also posted videos about her travel to Pakistan in March this year. According to the Haryana Police, Jyoti has visited Pakistan thrice. The cops have seized her passport.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jyoti Malhotra (@travelwithjo1)

Jyoti Malhotra had also met Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Pakistans Punjab province, in April 2024. A video of this meeting is available on her own Instagram page, confirming that she had connections with prominent figures during her visit to Pakistan.

Her father, Harish Malhotra, said that Jyoti had gone to Pakistan with all required permissions and a valid visa and claimed that she was being framed.

I spoke to Jyoti today. She told me, Papa, I am fine and I am being falsely implicated," he said.

The two other people who were arrested were working as accomplices of other suspects.

The police are conducting intensive interrogation with all of them to ascertain the facts.

Another man hailing from Haryanas Mastgarh Cheeka village was arrested for committing the same offence.

The 25-year-old individual was identified as Devendra Singh, a PG Diploma student.

Our staff at the cyber police station is conducting a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever truth may come out, the law will be followed accordingly," an official said.

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According to reports, Singh was a college student in Punjab. In November last year, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, where he allegedly came in contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives. Since his return to India, he was in touch with them, the officials said.

Earlier, two men were arrested in Punjab for allegedly revealing sensitive information about Indian military installations to the ISI. The duo was identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Haryana, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 15:38 IST
Tharoor To US, Sule To Egypt: Govt Names 7 MPs For Key Role In Op Sindoor Outreach | Full List

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Shobhit Gupta



Last Updated: May 18, 2025, 17:10 IST

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday released the list of delegations who would lead their respective group to various countries across the world.

Seven all-party delegations will engage key nations under Operation Sindoor. (File)

Indias Global Anti-Terror Outreach: As India moves ahead in taking its firm stance of zero-tolerance to terrorism at a global platform, the central government has chosen seven lawmakers to lead delegations across the globe who will present Indias evidence and stance on the Pahalgam terror attack to foreign governments and international bodies.

Each delegation comprises Members of Parliament (MPs) from various political parties, prominent political figures, and seasoned diplomats, with the following MPs appointed to lead the seven delegations: Shashi Tharoor (INC), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).

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Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday released the list of delegations who would lead their respective group to various countries across the world.

One mission. One message. One Bharat Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism.Heres the list of MPs & delegations representing this united front. https://t.co/1igT7D21mZ pic.twitter.com/3eaZS21PbC  Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 17, 2025

Each delegation has a senior bureaucrat who served in multiple responsibilities in the ministry of External Affairs. Taranjeet Sandhu, who was once the Ambassador of India in the US had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket from Amritsar. Javed Ashraf, who is also a part of the delegation has been the French ambassador.

MJ Akbar and V Muraleedharan have served as the Minister of State of External Affairs in the Modi government.

Who Will Visit Which Country? Full List

The following MPs have been appointed to lead the seven delegations: Shashi Tharoor (INC), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).

Sl No Name Countries 1 Baijayant Panda MP, BJP (Leader) Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria 2 Dr. Nishikant Dubey, MP, BJP 3 Phangnon Konyak, MP, BJP 4 Rekha Sharma, MP, BJP 5 Asaduddin Owaisi, MP, AIMIM 6 Satnam Singh Sandhu, MP, Nominated 7 Ghulam Nabi Azad 8 Ambassador Harsh Shringla

This delegation, which will be covering Muslim nations will have a key task on their hands to build a narrative against Pakistan.

Sl No Name Countries 1 Ravi Shankar Prasad MP, BJP (Leader) UK, France, Germany, EU, Italy, Denmark 2 Dr. Daggubati Purandeswari MP, BJP 3 Priyanka Chaturvedi MP, ShivSena (UBT) 4 Ghulam Ali Khatana MP,Nominated 5 Dr. Amar Singh MP, INC 6 Samik Bhattacharya MP, BJP 7 MJ Akbar 8 Ambassador Pankaj Saran

Sl No Name Countries 1 Sanjay Kumar Jha MP, JDU (Leader) Indonesia,Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore 2 Aparajita Sarangi MP, BJP 3 Yusuf Pathan MP, AITC 4 Brij Lal MP, BJP 5 Dr. John Brittas MP, CPI (M) 6 Pradan Baruah MP, BJP 7 Dr. Hemang Joshi MP, BJP 8 Salman Khurshid 9 Ambassador Mohan Kumar

This delegation will leave for Japan on May 21.

Sl No Name Countries 1 Shrikant Eknath Shinde MP, Shiv Sena (Leader) UAE, Liberia,DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Sierra Leone 2 Bansuri Swaraj MP, BJP 3 ET Mohammed Basheer MP, IUML 4 Atul Garg MP, BJP 5 Dr. Sasmit Patra MP, BJD 6 Manan Kumar Mishra MP, BJP 7 SS Ahluwalia 8 Ambassador Sujan Chinoy

This delegation will leave for Abu Dhabi on May 21 and will return on June 3.

Sl No Name Countries 1 Dr. Shashi Tharoor MP, INC (Leader) US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia 2 Shambhavi MP, LJP (Ram Vilas) 3 Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmad MP, JMM 4 GM Harish Balayogi MP, TDP 5 Shashank Mani Tripathi MP, BJP 6 Bhubaneswar Kalita MP, BJP 7 Milind Murli Deora MP, Shiv Sena 8 Tejasvi Surya MP, BJP 9 Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu

It is learnt reliably that the committee will be leaving from India for their first location being Guyana on May 24. The sources have also told CNN News 18 that this delegation will arrive in the US by June 2 and is expected to be there up to the first week of June. This delegation is the most watch for team amongst the seven delegations that are headed to various countries.

The committee had first proposed to have senior TMC leader, Sudip Bandyopadhyay on board, but he cited health reasons for his unavailability. This post has been fulfilled by the entry of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya.

Sl No Name Countries 1 Kanimozhi Karunanidhi MP, DMK (Leader) Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia 2 Rajeev Rai MP, SP 3 Mian Altaf Ahmad MP, NC 4 Capt. Brijesh Chowta MP, BJP 5 Prem Chand Gupta MP, RJD 6 Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal MP, AAP 7 Ambassador Manjeev S. Puri 8 Ambassador Jawed Ashraf

This delegation would be heading out on a 10-day five nation tour starting May 22. It will commence their tour with Russia.

Sl No Name Countries 1 Supriya Sule MP, NCP (SCP) (Leader) Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, South Africa 2 Rajiv Pratap Rudy MP, BJP 3 Vikramjeet Singh Sahney MP, AAP 4 Manish Tewari MP, INC 5 Anurag Singh Thakur MP, BJP 6 Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu MP, TDP 7 Anand Sharma 8 V. Muraleedharan 9 Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin

This group will leave for Doha on May 24.

Operation Sindoor

India launched precision strikes" under Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes killed at least 10 family members of JeM chief Masood Azhar and four close aides.

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The sites targeted were the Pakistani bases at Rafiqui (Shorkot, Jhang), Murid (Chakwal), Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi) Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian (Kasur). In the strikes, the air bases in Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad and Sargodha suffered extensive damage.

Within a tightly coordinated 24-minute window, India targeted 21 terror camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) across nine locations, four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The targets were not just aimed at avenging the Pahalgam attack, but also targeting terror sites where other such attacks were planned.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 23:03 IST
Haryana Student Arrested For Allegedly Providing Information To Pakistani Army, ISI

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News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 08:26 IST

Singh, who came in contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives last year in November, also passed information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani Army and the ISI.

The arrested is a local from Mastgarh Cheeka village (Representative image)

A local from Haryanas Mastgarh Cheeka village has been arrested for allegedly providing information to the Pakistan Army and ISI during the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.

The youth, identified as Devendra Singh, is a 25-year-old PG Diploma student. He revealed during questioning that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI. He also said that he would give information about the tensions between India and Pakistan to that agency, according to an official.

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Devendra Singh also passed information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani Army and the ISI from time to time, said DSP Kaithal Veerbhan.

Intelligence information was received by the district police of Kaithal; on that basis, our special detective staff arrested Devendra, son of Narwal Singh, resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka," said the official.

Our staff at the cyber police station is conducting a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever truth may come out, the law will be followed accordingly," he added.

According to a report by HT, Singh was an MA political science student at a college in Punjab. In November last year, he went on a pilgrimage to the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, where he allegedly came into contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives. Since then, he has been in touch with them.

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The incident comes days after a 24-year-old was arrested in Haryanas Panipat for allegedly providing sensitive information to some individuals in Pakistan. The arrested was identified as Nauman Illahi.

Earlier, the Punjab Police arrested two men for allegedly giving sensitive information about Indian military installations in Amritsar to Pakistans ISI. The accused were identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih.

Location : Haryana, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 07:23 IST
'Readymade Garments, Processed Food Items': India Restricts Port Imports On Certain Bangladeshi Goods

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 22:14 IST

Such port restrictions will not apply to Bangladeshi goods transiting through India but destined for Nepal and Bhutan.

Representative Image. (Pexels)

India on Saturday imposed port restrictions on the import of certain goods, such as readymade garments and processed food items, from Bangladesh.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Commerce Ministry, has issued a notification in this regard.

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The notification imposes port restrictions on the import of certain goods such as readymade garments, processed food items, etc., from Bangladesh to India," the ministry said.

However, such port restrictions will not apply to Bangladeshi goods transiting through India but destined for Nepal and Bhutan, it added.

The order said that readymade garments imports from Bangladesh will not be allowed from any land port. However, it is allowed only through the Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports.

For fruits; fruit flavoured and carbonated drinks; processed food items (baked goods, snacks, chips and confectionary); cotton and cotton yarn waste; plastic and PVC finished goods, dyes, plasticisers and granules; and wooden furniture, the notification said the inbound shipments from the neighbouring country shall not be allowed through any LCSs (Land Customs Stations) and ICPs (Integrated Check Posts) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; and LCS Changrabandha and Fulbari, in West Bengal.

It added that these port restrictions do not apply to the import of Fish, LPG, Edible Oil, and crushed stone from Bangladesh.

To make these changes, a new paragraph is introduced in the countrys import policy regulating the imports of these goods from Bangladesh to India, with immediate effect," it said.

On April 9, India withdrew the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh for exporting various items to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries except Nepal and Bhutan.

It was announced against the backdrop of the controversial statement made by the head of Bangladeshs interim government Muhammad Yunus in China recently that Indias seven northeastern states, which share a nearly 1,600 km border with Bangladesh, are landlocked and have no way to reach the ocean except through his country.

In his address at a business event in which he had also said that Bangladesh was the only guardian" of the Indian Ocean in the region, Yunus had also invited China to send goods through Bangladesh across the world.

The comments did not go down well in New Delhi. It also drew sharp reactions from political leaders in India across party lines.

The transhipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to use several Indian ports and airports ,including the Delhi airport for sending its exports to the Middle East, Europe and many other countries had enabled smooth trade flows for its exports. It was provided by India to Bangladesh in June 2020.

Indian exporters, mainly from the apparel sector, had also earlier urged the government to withdraw this facility to the neighbouring country.

India-Bangladesh relations have nosedived dramatically after Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.

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Bangladesh is a big competitor of India in the textile sector. The India-Bangladesh trade stood at USD 12.9 billion in 2023-24.

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 21:58 IST
'Matter Of Duty': Shashi Tharoor After Being Picked For Modi Govt's Global Anti-Terror Outreach

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 17:02 IST

"Certainly, when the nation needs my services, I am available and I'm available for my country," Shahi Tharoor said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor . (File photo)

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that it is a matter of duty and honour for him to lead an all-party delegation against terrorism originating from Pakistan at key international capitals.

While speaking to reporters he said that the nation needs his services he is available for it. It is a good reflection of national unity at a time when unity is important, he said.

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Certainly, when the nation needs my services, I am available and Im available for my country. To my mind, this has nothing to do with party politics. Its all to do with what our country has been through in recent times and the need for us to present a united frontIt is a good reflection of national unity at a time when unity is important," he said.

#WATCH | Thiruvanthapuram | Certainly, when the nation needs my services, I am available and Im available for my country. To my mind, this has nothing to do with party politics. Its all to do with what our country has been through in recent times and the need for us to present pic.twitter.com/1vIJKkMoaW ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2025

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was not featured in his partys own shortlist of nominees for the task, further said that he had informed the grand-old party after he received the call from the government.

My party leadership is entitled to its opinion of my abilities or lack thereof, and I think that is really for them to explain. I have absolutely no comment to make on that. I am honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility, and I will fulfil that responsibility just as I have fulfilled every responsibility entrusted to me in my rather long working life, whether at the United Nations or in the Congress PartyWe have a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on Monday and Tuesday on various issues, including this particular issue. Certainly, I informed them (the party) of the first call I got, which was two days ago. I also mentioned to the parliamentary affairs minister that I assumed that he would be talking to the party leaderships of opposition parties, and he assured me that he would be. I found it entirely appropriate, as I said, that the country should rally together on this particularly important issue" he said.

#WATCH | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to lead one of the seven delegations on Indias anti-terror standHe says, My party leadership is entitled to its opinion of my abilities or lack thereof, and I think that is really for them to explain. I have absolutely no comment to make on pic.twitter.com/eOpB5MHWRe  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2025

Tharoor, who is also the head of parliamentary panel on foreign affairs in India, earlier today expressed his acceptance of the responsibility in a post on X and said, I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events."

Tharoors appointment comes amidst internal Congress party tensions. His public endorsement of the governments military response garnered approval from the ruling party while sparking dissent within his own. Shashi Tharoors assertion that the government acted with restraint and precision contradicts the Congress Partys official stance which criticized the PM Modi government for its lack of transparency concerning the ceasefire agreement and questioned the US mediating role.

Whats The Row?

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, on the morning of May 16, asked the Congress party to propose four names for inclusion in the delegations being sent abroad to present Indias stance on terrorism originating from Pakistan, according to party leader Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress recommendation list included Anand Sharma, a former Cabinet Minister; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha; Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, a Rajya Sabha MP; and Raja Brar, a Lok Sabha MP.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, however, announced that  Tharoor, a four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram  will lead the all-party delegation. Other members include BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMKs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Shrikant Shinde.

Centres Global Anti-Terror Outreach

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The central government has chosen seven lawmakers to lead delegations abroad as part of its effort to reshape the global narrative by presenting Indias evidence and stance on the Pahalgam attack directly to foreign governments and international bodies.

Each delegation will comprise Members of Parliament from various political parties, prominent political figures, and seasoned diplomats, with the following MPs appointed to lead the seven delegations: Shashi Tharoor (INC), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).

About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 17:00 IST
Moment When Air Ambulance Makes Emergency Landing In Kedarnath | Watch

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 19:53 IST

The helicopter took a full 360-degree turn after landing due to the lift generated from the still-moving rotors.

The air ambulance that made an emergency landing in Kedarnath. (X/@kscChouhan)

An air ambulance helicopter made an emergency landing in Uttarakhands Kedarnath after developing a technical snag. The video of the helicopter landing in Kedarnath has gone viral on social media.

Reportedly, the helicopter suffered a tail rotor malfunction, after which the pilot brought it to land with great difficulty. The pilots quick thinking saved three lives, local officials said.

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In the viral video, it can be seen that the helicopter was approaching rapidly for an emergency landing but failed to reach the helipad, instead crashing into the side of the facility.

The helicopter took a full 360-degree turn after landing due to the lift generated from the still-moving rotors. People standing near the helipad were seen rushing towards the helicopter to help in the rescue.

Uttarakhand! A helicopter accident was averted in Kedarnath, the air ambulance had to make an emergency landing due to a technical fault, the rear part of the helicopter was damaged! The chopper was going to Kedarnath to pick up a patient from Rishikesh AIIMS! Everyone is safe. pic.twitter.com/7GRyStl9Jg Kalu Singh Chouhan (@kscChouhan) May 17, 2025

According to news agency PTI, the Sanjeevani helicopter ambulance was operated by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.

District tourism development officer Rahul Chaubey said that the two doctors and a pilot who were in the helicopter are safe.

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Chaubey, who is also the nodal officer for the helicopter service, said that the air ambulance had arrived at Kedarnath to rescue a pilgrim experiencing breathing difficulties when it encountered a technical issue with its tail rotor, prompting the emergency landing.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will investigate the incident, Chaubey added.

Location : Kedarnath, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 19:53 IST
Working with China "very important for Europe's future," says Danish entrepreneur

Xinhua) 09:40, May 17, 2025

Simon Lichtenberg, national board member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China, speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Dixiao)

"You can say China is a mature leader in the world today, in my opinion, in terms of leading collaboration, peace, trade and friendship," said Simon Lichtenberg, national board member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Working with China is "very important for Europe's future," Simon Lichtenberg, national board member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China, said on Wednesday after receiving a reply letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"I think the future of the world is closely linked to everybody working together. And China is the second-biggest economy and a very, very important and influential country globally, especially for the Global South," he said in an interview with Xinhua.

As 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and China, Lichtenberg wrote two letters to Xi in April -- one on behalf of the chamber and another for himself.

In his personal letter, Lichtenberg recounted his life in China since 1987 and his decades-long entrepreneurship as a foreign private businessman. "What I've been doing, and what the chamber is doing, is serving as a bridge between China and the rest of the world," he said.

"Denmark has always been a very dear friend and old friend of China," he added. "It was a good idea to write a letter to the president to express gratitude for collaboration and friendship."

In his reply to both of Lichtenberg's letters, Xi wrote, "Believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future."

"That's quite amazing," Lichtenberg said, recalling his surprise on receiving Xi's reply.

In his letter, Xi expressed appreciation for the Danish entrepreneur's deep affection for China and confidence in China's future development.

"I think the voice and the sentiment of foreign companies and individuals in China are very welcome by the central government and by President Xi."

"A lot of people in Europe do not understand enough about China," he said. So it is important for European leaders and citizens to "come to China, visit China" and witness firsthand "the openness of the Chinese government" to foster better collaboration.

The Chinese system has evolved over thousands of years and reflects "a fundamentally different society and culture than in Europe," he said. "The Chinese government has a very high level of trust from its people. That shows the Chinese people believe in the way that the Chinese government is working."

Lichtenberg emphasized China's key role in easing tensions and promoting cooperation amid growing geopolitical and economic strains worldwide.

"You can say China is a mature leader in the world today, in my opinion, in terms of leading collaboration, peace, trade and friendship."

"So our job is to explain China to people who don't know a lot about China. That's a big responsibility and is also what the letter says," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19, Trend reports.

Trump expressed hope for a ceasefire in Ukraine and said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after Putin.

He added that he would also hold telephone conversations with the leaders of several NATO member states.
Mother-Son Reunion On The Cards? Sheikh Hasina And Sajeeb Wazed Joy May Meet In India Soon

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain



Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:14 IST

This will be their first in-person meeting since Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy is likely to meet Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi and may also travel to Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of Sheikh Hasina, is expected to visit India soon, according to sources. He is likely to meet Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi and may also travel to Kolkata.

This will be their first in-person meeting since Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh. Recently, Joy acquired US citizenship, and sources say he has applied for a new passport after his Bangladeshi one was revoked by the current interim government.

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Exiled leaders of the Awami League are hopeful about Joys visit. His potential trip comes at a time when the interim government in Bangladesh has officially banned the Awami League.

On 12 May, the Election Commission cancelled the registration of the Awami League, the former ruling party led by the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, effectively preventing it from contesting the next national election, which is expected to be held by June next year. Political parties must be registered with the Commission to be eligible to participate in elections.

The cancellation came just hours after the interim government, headed by Muhammad Yunus, issued a formal notification banning the Awami League and its affiliated bodies from conducting any activitiesonline or offline. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that all activities, including any kind of publication, media, online and social media" as well as any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering (or) conference" would be outlawed until the trial of the party and its leaders is concluded by a special tribunal under the countrys Anti-Terrorism Act. The decision, the ministry said, is effective immediately.

Speaking to News18, a former Awami League minister said, We are very hopeful that he will meet Sheikh Hasina and speak with leaders who are in exile. The interim government has banned the Awami League in an unethical manner. This is part of their strategy to prevent the party from participating in the upcoming elections."

Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladeshs independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fled the country on 5 August 2024 and has been in exile in India since then. Her son has not met her in person for several years. The decision to ban the Awami League was first announced on 10 May, with authorities citing the need to safeguard Bangladeshs sovereignty.

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Until recently, Sheikh Hasina had been communicating with Awami League supporters via Zoom and other virtual platforms. However, with the latest government directive, a complete ban on the partys activities has been imposed.

The Awami League is one of Bangladeshs two major political parties and a central player in the countrys fractious parliamentary democracy, which has long been marred by political violence, coups, and assassinations.

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: May 17, 2025, 09:14 IST
Nine Killed In Lightning Strikes In Odisha

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 10:39 IST

In Ganjam district, a class 7 student, identified as Om Prakash Pradhan, was killed when he was struck by lightning in Barida village in Kabisuryanagar tehsil.

Representative image

At least nine people, including six women, were killed and some others injured in separate incidents of lightning strikes across Odisha amid thunderstorms in the state, officials said.

While three persons died in Koraput district, two each died in Jajpur and Ganjam districts, and one each in Dhenkanal and Gajapati districts on Friday, they said.

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Three women lost their lives and an elderly man was critically injured in a lightning strike at Paridiguda village in Laxmipur police station area in Koraput district.

According to sources, the victims, who were members of the same family, had taken shelter in a makeshift hut while working in the fields as heavy rain and strong winds swept through the area. A lightning struck the hut, killing three women on the spot, a police officer said.

The deceased have been identified as Brudhi Mandinga (60), her granddaughter Kasa Mandinga (18), and Ambika Kashi (35) of Kumbharguda village. Brudhi and Kasa Mandinga were residents of Paridiguda, he said.

Another 65-year-old man, identified as Hingu Mandinga, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Lakshmipur Community Health Centre, where he is currently undergoing treatment, the officer added.

Officials at the District Emergency Office said that financial assistance will be provided to the bereaved families as per the existing government guidelines.

In Jajpur district, two boys were killed in lightning strikes as norwester lashed Dharmasala area. The deceased have been identified as Tare Hembrum (15) and Tukulu Chattar (12) from Burusahi village in Jenapur police station area, he said.

According to the villagers, the duo was standing on the verandah of a kuccha house as thunderstorms lashed the area in the evening. They died on the spot after lightning struck them during rainfall.

Police sent the bodies to a hospital for autopsy. An unnatural death case has been registered in connection with the incident and further investigation is underway, the officer said.

In Ganjam district, a class 7 student, identified as Om Prakash Pradhan, was killed when he was struck by lightning in Barida village in Kabisuryanagar tehsil.

A 23-year-old woman died in a similar incident while collecting mangoes from an orchard in Belaguntha area.

In Dhenkanal, a woman identified as Surushi Bishwal (40) died after being struck by lightning at Kusumundia village under Dashipur panchayat.

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A woman died after being struck by lightning while she was unloading bricks from a tractor-trailer in Mohana area of Gajapati.

The IMD had earlier issued a red warning for thunderstorms, lightning accompanied by hail and gusty wind speed reaching 60 to 70 kmph in several districts including Koraput, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Balasore and Ganjam, in the afternoon.

Location : Odisha (Orissa), India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 10:39 IST
Pakistan Would Have Been Finished Off But 'UN Gave Order To Stop', Claims BJP MLA In MP

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 23:06 IST

Narendra Prajapati, a first-time MLA, later alleged that his statement was being presented in a distorted way.

Operation Sindoor: Rahim Yar Khan airbase destroyed in Indian retaliatory strikes (CNN-News18)

In yet another controversial claim by a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh, an MLA of the ruling party on Saturday said the military strikes against Pakistan were stopped because of an order" from the United Nations.

Narendra Prajapati, a first-time MLA, later alleged that his statement was being presented in a distorted way.

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The BJP-led Union government has categorically stated that Operation Sindoor, the military action launched by India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, was stopped after the Director General of Military Operations of Pakistan called his Indian counterpart and the two countries reached an understanding.

Speaking at a `Tiranga Yatra organised by the BJP in Rewa in the morning, Prajapati, MLA from Mangawan in the district, said Pakistan had been made to bite dust in earlier wars.

I will say that the exercise under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Pakistan would have finished it (neighbouring country) off, had we not got an order of ceasefire from the UN, as Modi ji had said very soon a befitting reply will be given (to the terror attack)," said the MLA.

After videos of his speech went viral, Prajapati in the evening released a video statement, claiming he had spoken in a surge of emotions" but the media is presenting my statements in a distorted and doctored way." Indian army entered Pakistan and destroyed nine bases of terrorists. When Pakistans economy wobbled and Pakistan was on its knees and pleaded, only then prime minister Modi and the Indian armed forces announced a ceasefire," he said.

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On Friday, deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda came under fire for saying that the country, its army and soldiers have bowed down at the feet" of PM Modi because of the successful execution of Operation Sindoor.

Earlier, another Madhya Pradesh minister, Vijay Shah, got lambasted for remarks about Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.

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 : Rewa, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 23:06 IST
Proposed Kolkata-Northeast Link To Pass Via Sea, Giving Bangladesh A Miss

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 17:31 IST

The Shillong-Silchar highway project will extend a key transport route in Myanmar, offering an alternative sea link between North-East states and Kolkata.

Of the total 166.8-km project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya while Assam will get 22 km in its share.

In a significant development, the proposed highway project linking Meghalayas Shillong and Assams Silchar will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar. The proposed road project will also lead to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, reported The Indian Express while quoting an National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) official.

The project is being described as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunuss remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is landlocked" and Dhaka is the only guardian of the ocean for all this region". Yunus made the remarks while seeking extension of the Chinese economy".

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A few days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that PM Modi told Yunus that rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided".

166.8-km Proposed Highway

The proposed four-lane highway will span across 166.8-km along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It will be first high-speed corridor project in the North-East and is expected to be completed by 2030.

Meanwhile, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs  and links the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state.

Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section.

Currently, the only link that connects the seven North-East states with the rest of India is the Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chickens Neck. The other two points of entry are through Bangladesh and Myanmar.

However, Bangladesh has restricted access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative  the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed.

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The construction of the Shillong-Sichar highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain.

Further, the Centre approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore on April 30. Of the total 166.8-km project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya while Assam will get 22 km in its share. Once operational, the highway will reduce the travel time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 17:28 IST
Marathi Row: A Message On Social Media With Raj Thackeray's Photo Sparks Debate

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 11:08 IST

The message came after a pizza delivery person in Mumbai was allegedly harassed by a mother-son duo, who refused to pay him for not speaking in Marathi.

The members of Raj Thackeray's (L) party had earlier forced the Mumbai pizza delivery boy to apologise for arguing, and asked him to say on camera that he'll learn Marathi.

A message by a parody account of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has been doing rounds on social media, days after MNS workers made a Mumbai pizza delivery person apologise for not speaking Marathi. The post, which has over 45,000 views, has sparked a fresh debate among netizens.

Maharashtra is the land of only Marathi people! Migrants come only to feed their families, if they want to feed their families, they will have to learn Marathi. Otherwise, leave our land. (sic)," the account @raj4maharashtra wrote while sharing a poster of Raj Thackeray. The poster says, If you cant support the language of the state you live in, then live in a state that supports your language."

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The message was an extention of the earlier post by the account that showed workers of Thackerays party allegedly forcing the pizza delivery person to apologise for arguing with the mother-son duo over the language. The man can be heard saying on camera, Mai Marathi seekhunga bhi aur bolunga bhi (I will learn Marathi and speak the language)."

Maharashtra is the land of only Marathi people! Migrants come only to feed their families, if they want to feed their families, they will have to learn Marathi. Otherwise, leave our land.#RajThackeray #Marathi #Maharashtra https://t.co/8LdabeCkMb pic.twitter.com/7DeJhYutq6 Raj Thackeray (@raj4maharashtra) May 16, 2025

An Army veteran, @CaptPKRajRif, asked on the post if the same logic can be applied to Marathas working elsewhere in India.

Another user wrote, Maharashtra doesnt belong to Maratha people, just as any other state doesnt belong to one linguistic group. Property belongs to the owner, not collective identities. You own your house, your vehicle, your land."

Nativist politics are extremely dangerous and sow discord among the citizens of India. People need to reject divisive parties like these.Maharashtra doesnt belong to Maratha people, just as any other state doesnt belong to one linguistic group. Property belongs to the owner,  Indian Libertarians (@IndLibertarians) May 16, 2025

Some netizens asserted that the language of communication should be one that is used by a larger group. If you are living in India you should speak indian language and the common language is Hindi If you cant speak Hindi then learn Hindi otherwise leave our India," user @Sumalika2000 wrote.

Another user, @NavinS27, claimed that the reactions have stemmed out of all-India push for the Hindi language. All the Hindiwalas should acknowledge the reactions their hindi thrust has caused. Hindiwalas want hindi, regional leaders want their own languages to dominate in reaction. The very policy of pushing Hindi should be scrapped else we will end up creating barriers amongst us," he wrote.

The Pizza Delivery Boy Row

A video clip that went viral on Tuesday night shows Bhandup dentist Vaidehi Pathak and her son from Sai Radha Complex, who had ordered pizza from the local Dominos outlet, insisting that the delivery boy Rohit Lavera, a native of Haryana, speak Marathi, otherwise they would refuse to pay for the order.

Pathak and the youth argued, with Pathak insisting that the youth should return to his home state if he did not know Marathi. The youth refused and questioned why he needed to speak the language. Pathak mentioned that it was the custom there and added that she did not know Hindi.

A minor dispute escalated into a citywide Marathi versus Hindi debate, leading to a police complaint and sparking reactions on social media.

Raj Thackerays Push For Marathi Language

During his Gudi Padwa rally on March 30, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had emphasized the importance of using Marathi in official settings and warned of repercussions for those who intentionally avoid the language.

A month ago, the MNS chief had issued a strong warning to the Indian Banks Association, demanding urgent incorporation of Marathi language in banking services.

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In a letter submitted by MNS leaders on April 9, Thackeray stressed that banks must follow the three-language formulaEnglish, Hindi, and the regional language (Marathi in Maharashtra)  as mandated by the RBI.

He cautioned that failure to comply would lead to intensified protests, and banks would be held accountable for any consequent disruptions in law and order.

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: May 17, 2025, 10:10 IST
'Remarkable Retaliation': VP Dhankhar Compares Operation Sindoor To Strike On Osama Bin Laden

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 15:07 IST

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar described the Pahalgam terror attack as the 'deadliest' attack on our civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar (PTI File Image)

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor and likened the destruction of terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir to the killing of Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden by the US forces in Abbottabad in that country in 2011.

Addressing the Annual Convocation of Jaipuria Institute of Management at Bharat Mandapam, Dhankhar congratulated PM Modi and the Armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor and said, It was a remarkable retaliation befitting our ethos of peace and tranquility Bharat has done it and done it to the knowledge of the global community."

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Justice done by Bharat to sindoor in sublimity," he said, highlighting it as Indias deepest ever cross-border strike, executed carefully, precisely, calibrated" to cause no damage, except to terrorists.

Without naming bin Laden, the Vice Presisent said the strikes under Operation Sindoor also took place in May just as on May 2 in 2011 a global terrorist who planned, supervised, and executed September 11 attack inside the US in 2001, was killed. He was dealt with" by the US forces similarly".

The Vice President described the Pahalgam terror attack as the deadliest" attack on our civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attack.

He said PM Modi had sent a message from Bihar to the entire global fraternity. Those were not empty words, the world has realised. What he said is a reality," he said.

In the mechanics of war and fight against terrorism, a new benchmark has been set in which the Indian armed forces targeted JeM at Bahawalpur, deep inside Pakistan territory, and also the LeT base in Muridke.

The VP also took a swipe at the Congress leaders who had sought evidence of the surgical strike after the Uri attack. No one is asking for proof now. The world has seen and acknowledged, and we have seen the saga of how that country is deeply engrossed in terrorism when coffins are taken with armed forces and political power accompanying them," he said.

Earlier, he praised the conducive environment of hope and possibility in the country, due to the governments affirmative policies, which hold promise for young students graduating from colleges.

He said, Fortunately for you, unlike people of my generation, in the country there is an environment of hope and possibility."

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You all have an enabling eco-system, affirmative government policies that facilitate the fullest exploitation of talent and potential. You can realise your dreams and aspirations," he said.

He urged students to continue their learning, as convocation does not mean the end of education. Always be a good learner and acquire the skill of self-learning," he said.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 15:07 IST
Roof Collapses At Delhi's New Ashok Nagar RRTS Station Amid Heavy Rain, Services Halted

Last Updated: May 18, 2025, 00:00 IST

A section of the steel roof at New Ashok Nagar station on the RRTS corridor was damaged due to heavy rainfall accompanied by a strong windstorm on Saturday.

Workers atop damaged roof of the New Ashok Nagar RRTS station due to strong winds, in New Delhi (PTI)

A section of the steel roof at New Ashok Nagar station on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor was damaged due to heavy rainfall accompanied by a strong windstorm on Saturday, an official statement.

No injuries have been reported in connection with the incident, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said in a statement.

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The incident occurred during a sudden spell of intense weather, prompting authorities to halt operations at the station as a precautionary measure.

"Due to an intense windstorm on Saturday, a portion of the tin roof at the New Ashok Nagar Namo Bharat Station was damaged. As a precautionary measure, operations at the station were immediately stopped for the time being," the statement said.

A detailed investigation is underway to assess the cause and extent of the damage, it said.

NCRTC also said that necessary rectification measures are being initiated to ensure such incidents do not reoccur in the future.

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The station will remain closed to the public until further notice, the corporation said, adding that safety remains their top priority.

Services will resume only after thorough inspection and necessary repairs are completed, it added.

First Published: May 18, 2025, 00:00 IST
Shashi Tharoor, Shrikant Shinde, Supriya Sule Among 7 Team Leads In India's Global Anti-Terror Outreach

Reported By :

Edited By: Ronit Singh



Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 11:48 IST

The government has chosen seven lawmakers to lead delegations abroad as part of its effort to reshape the global narrative by presenting Indias evidence on the Pahalgam attack

Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and NCP MP Supriya Sule | Image/File

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, facing criticism from his party for his remarks on the India-Pakistan conflict, is set to lead one of the seven delegations that will visit key countries to carry forth to the world Indias message of zero-tolerance" against terrorism.

The central government has chosen seven lawmakers to lead delegations abroad as part of its effort to reshape the global narrative by presenting Indias evidence and stance on the Pahalgam attack directly to foreign governments and international bodies.

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In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences," Kiren Rijiju, Union minister for parliamentary affairs, posted on X on Saturday morning.

In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united.Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism.A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences.@rsprasad @ShashiTharoor pic.twitter.com/FerHHACaVK Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 17, 2025

Each delegation will comprise Members of Parliament from various political parties, prominent political figures, and seasoned diplomats, with the following MPs appointed to lead the seven delegations:

Shashi Tharoor (INC)

Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP)

Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU)

Baijayant Panda (BJP)

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK)

Supriya Sule (NCP)

Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena)

Whos Going Where?

Sources told CNN-News18 that as part of the outreach effort, Supriya Sule will lead the delegation to South Africa and Egypt and Baijayant Jay Panda will head the team to Western Europe.

Shrikant Shinde will represent India in the UAE and Africa, while a delegation to the United States will be led by Shashi Tharoor.

Meanwhile, JDUs Sanjay Jha will be leading the delegation of multi-party MPs to Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia, and Ravi Shankar Prasad to the Middle East.

DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi will visit Indias key partner countries Russia and Spain.

Meet Shashi Tharoors Team

A high-profile delegation to the US, led by Shashi Tharoor, includes Members of Parliament from across the political parties both ruling and opposition. It also consists of a diplomat.

The delegation includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (LJP-Ram Vilas), Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), and Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), along with former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Taking to X, Tharoor said, I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting."

I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events.When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!  pic.twitter.com/b4Qjd12cN9  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 17, 2025

Tharoor, who currently serves as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs and is a former Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information at the United Nations, is known for his advocacy on foreign policy matters.

He has been a vocal supporter of Indias firm diplomatic and military response to Pakistan.

Notably, its the first time the Modi government has sent elected representatives from all parties as diplomatic envoys to challenge Pakistans narrative on the international stage.

India-Pakistan Tensions

India, which had credible intelligence confirming cross-border links to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, launched Operation Sindoor and struck nine terror dens in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.

The Indian armed forces destroyed multiple camps of terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen, killing more than 100 terrorists.

Following overnight operations by the Indian armed forces, the Pakistani Army responded by launching drones and missiles at western regions of India, all of which were successfully intercepted.

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In retaliation, India struck designated military targets deep within Pakistani territory.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 09:52 IST
Teams, Leads, Members, Destinations: FAQs On Indias Global Anti-Terror Push Answered

Curated By :

News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain



Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 14:34 IST

As part of a major diplomatic push post-Operation Sindoor, seven cross-party delegations will visit key countries to present Indias united stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism

Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and NCP MP Supriya Sule | Image/File

In the context of Operation Sindoor and Indias continued fight against cross-border terrorism, the Central government has launched an unprecedented global diplomatic outreach: seven all-party delegations are set to visit key partner countriesincluding members of the UN Security Councillater this month.

In what is being described as one of Indias most coordinated international campaigns against terror, these multi-party teams will directly engage with foreign governments and global institutions to project Indias national consensus on terrorism and dismantle the false narratives pushed by Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack.

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Each delegation will include Members of Parliament from across party lines, senior political figures, and distinguished diplomats. They will carry a unified message of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, reflecting a rare moment of bipartisan resolve.

Whos Leading The Charge?

The following lawmakers have been chosen to head Indias international delegations:

Shashi Tharoor (Congress)

(Congress) Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP)

(BJP) Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU)

(JDU) Baijayant Jay Panda (BJP)

(BJP) Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK)

(DMK) Supriya Sule (NCP)

(NCP) Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena)

Confirming his participation, Tharoor posted on X (formerly Twitter): I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting."

I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events.When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!  pic.twitter.com/b4Qjd12cN9  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 17, 2025

This is one of the largest and most diverse diplomatic mobilisations in recent years, bringing together leaders from the Congress, BJP, DMK, NCP, JDU, Shiv Sena, and other regional parties.

Whos Going Where?

Tharoors high-profile delegation is set to visit countries including the United States, Brazil, Guyana, and Panama. The delegation comprises MPs across the political aisle: Shambhavi Chaudhary (LJP-Ram Vilas), Dr Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), and Milind Deora (Shiv Sena).

Supriya Sule will lead Indias case in South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya.

Baijayant Jay Pandas delegation is set to visit France, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark and the European Union. The team includes Nishikant Dubey (BJP), Phangnon Konyak (BJP), Rekha Sharma (BJP), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Satnam Singh Sandhu (MP, Rajya Sabha), Ghulam Nabi Azad (Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman), and Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former Foreign Secretary and senior diplomat.

Shrikant Shindes delegation is set to visit the UAE, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo  countries that are key to Indias outreach across West Asia and Africa. The delegation includes Sasmit Patra (BJD, Rajya Sabha), Bansuri Swaraj (BJP, Lok Sabha), E. T. Mohammed Basheer (IUML, Lok Sabha), Atul Garg (BJP, Lok Sabha), Manan Mishra (Independent/Legal expert, Rajya Sabha), and S. S. Ahluwalia, former Minister of State for External Affairs and ex-MP. The team will also be joined by a former diplomat, adding foreign policy expertise to the visit.

Ravi Shankar Prasad will visit Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman, underscoring Indias effort to deepen ties with key players in the Arab world.

Kanimozhi will represent India in Russia and Spain, leveraging long-standing partnerships to garner support in multilateral forums.

Sanjay Kumar Jhas delegation will cover Japan and Malaysia, two Indo-Pacific democracies where security and economic ties with India are rapidly expanding.

Why Such An Outreach?

The governments decision to send an all-party delegation abroad is rooted in one clear objective: to show that Indias position on terrorism is not partisan, but a national consensus that cuts across political lines. From Kargil and the Parliament attack to 26/11 and Pulwama, India has been a victim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism under governments of every hue. This initiative allows leaders from across parties to carry that shared institutional memory to foreign capitals  making it far harder for critics to dismiss Indias stand as ideological or government-driven.

Beyond representing policy, the delegations are intended to serve as the voice of the Indian people  conveying the countrys lived trauma, documented evidence, and consistent appeals for justice to global legislatures, think tanks, and media platforms.

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The inclusion of leaders like Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs and former Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information at the United Nations, underscores this intent. Known for his international stature and vocal advocacy of Indias firm diplomatic and military stance, Tharoors presence helps convey that Indias message is not only bipartisan  but globally credible.

This is not just a PR exercise. India is backing its outreach with hard intelligence and strategic goals  including renewed efforts to reignite pressure on Pakistan via the FATF and other global platforms. In essence, the delegations signal that post-Operation Sindoor, Indias fight against terrorism is as much a narrative war as it is a security mission  and this time, the message to the world is coming from India, not just its government.

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: May 17, 2025, 11:18 IST
Who Is Jyoti Malhotra? YouTuber Arrested For Allegedly Spying On India For Pakistan

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 18:10 IST

Jyoti Malhotra allegedly saved contact numbers of her Pakistani handlers on phone with false names to avoid suspicion, officials said. She has been sent to 5-day police custody.

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra arrested for spying for Pakistan (Photo: Instagram/ travelwithjo1)

Jyoti Malhotra, a travel YouTuber who was arrested in Hisar besides others in Haryana for allegedly spying for Pakistan, has attracted eyeballs as an investigation into a Pakistan-linked espionage network picked up pace.

Malhotra, who has 377k subscribers on YouTube and 132k followers on Instagram, is accused of passing on sensitive information to Pakistans intelligence agency, ISI.

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The police registered a case against her under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and also under Section 152 of the BNS. She was sent to a 5-day police custody after her confession. The Economic Offences Wing is investigating her case.

Jyoti Malhotra Linked To Pakistan Operatives?

As per the FIR registered by the police, the YouTuber was in constant touch with her Pakistani handlers via social media apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat. She also allegedly revealed details that could potentially be harmful to national security, officials said.

She has travelled thrice to Pakistan and also posted videos of her visits on her YouTube channel and on her Instagram page.

According to the police, she came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, during a visit in 2023. The man allegedly played the role of her handler and facilitated her introduction to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives.

During interrogation, Malhotra claimed that she was a part of a delegation visiting Pakistan in 2023. She visited Pakistan twice that year and met operatives such as Rana Shahbaz, Shakir and Ali Ehwan. To avoid any suspicion of the authorities, she saved their numbers with false names such as Jatt Randhawa". The officials suspect she did this to conceal her contact with her foreign intelligence agents.

Jyoti Malhotra Accused Of Projecting Positive Image Of Pakistan On Social Media

According to the officials, she also travelled to Bali and Indonesia with one of the operatives.

The authorities said that the YouTuber was a part of a larger espionage network with such operatives spread across Haryana and Punjab. In this process, the police have arrested six people so far for passing sensitive information to Pakistan.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jyoti Malhotra (@travelwithjo1)

According to the officials, Malhotra presented herself as a mere travel blogger who only made videos for YouTube; however, under this garb, she allegedly projected Pakistan in a good light on social media, setting aside the terrorism emanating from the country onto Indian soil. She did this allegedly as part of an operation to influence the minds of her audience, who are largely believed to be Indians.

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Her large number of followers and subscribers was made full use of by her Pakistani handlers to run their propaganda in India, officials said.

In one of her videos, she is seen meeting a Pakistani woman and saying, Hindustani Pakistani Behen Behen".

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Haryana, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 17:13 IST
Robert Prevost (second from left) on a visit to Reque (Peru) in November 2018 during his time as bishop of Chiclayo. On the left of the image, Pedro Vasquez, in an image provided by Vasquez.

In Chiclayo  the northern Peruvian diocese where Leo XIV was once bishop  an elderly priest is struggling to figure out how to address a pontiff on WhatsApp. And yet, he hasnt stopped exchanging messages with Robert Prevost since he was appointed bishop in 2015.

Pedro Vasquez  an 82-year-old diocesan priest and one of the now-pontiffs close friends  was stunned when he saw his former bishop appear on the central balcony of St. Peters Basilica on May 8. But he believes the signs were there. When they made him a cardinal in 2023, I joked with him on WhatsApp: Its a sign from the Pope so you can become something else later. And Robert replied: Dont even think about it!

On a phone call with EL PAIS from Chiclayo, Peru, he nervously vows that hell write to Leo XIV right away. We stopped exchanging messages before the conclave, since he had to be incommunicado: I didnt want to bother him. Now, Im not sure how I should address him when I write to him again to congratulate him: Robert? Holy Father?

The new head of the Catholic Church turned to Vasquez for spiritual advice. This is according to people who were close to the newly elected pope during his long stay in Peru.

There was a connection between us from the very first moment, says the retired parish priest, who considers himself to be a kind of big brother to Prevost (hes 12 years older). He tells EL PAIS that he wept like Mary Magdalene when he saw the red cape draped over Roberts shoulders. And, when Vasquez saw his old friend on television, he noticed that the new Popes eyes had welled up behind his glasses as he looked out at the tens of thousands of faithful packed into St. Peters Square. But the Peruvian priest wasnt surprised to see him crying.

Ive seen him cry here, he recalls. It happened after someone played a dirty trick on him shortly after arriving in northern Peru. Vasquez doesnt want to go into details about what was troubling then-Bishop Prevost, but he clarifies that it was long before he was accused of covering up abuse by priests  an accusation that was later discredited. That didnt make him cry  not at all. Hes gentle, but when its time to get serious, he shows his claws.

According to Vasquez, Leo XIV is also studious, intellectual, but also very practical. And during his long stay in Peru, he was never above rolling up his sleeves. When he finished eating, he would take his plate to the kitchen; when we were locked down during the pandemic, he would cook, the priest explains.

Born in the United States  but also Peruvian by choice  Prevost spoke to Vasquez about his mothers Hispanic origins. He has family roots in Ecuador and Spain. Like Francis, his priority will be immigration, Vasquez asserts. He doesnt mince words on the issue. During Trumps first term  with his policy of separating immigrant families in 2018  [Prevost] spoke out strongly against the U.S. president. How is it possible that mothers are separated from their children? he asked indignantly.

The Peruvian priest also predicts that his friend will push for changes within the Church, such as in the training of priests, a subject that has long concerned him.

He wants seminaries to teach a theology thats not top-down or strictly doctrinal, but one of God with us. Hes an Augustinian, and hell follow Saint Augustines belief that the Church must always be in a process of renewal, says Vasquez.

Why there are no female altar servers

Prevost firmly supported Pope Franciss outreach to other religions under the now-famous motto of the Argentine pontiff: everyone, everyone, everyone.

And Vasquez believes that a seemingly small gesture from Leon XIVs years in Peru may hint at his approach to women now that he is Pope. When he arrived, he asked why altar servers in parishes had to be only boys. He opened the door to allowing girls to serve as well, the priest recalls, lamenting that they are still the exception in the diocese today.

Jorge Bergoglio was Prevosts mentor, and he will remain his guide. I think he didnt call himself Francis II so as not to upset the conservative cardinals, says the priest. But Pope Francis didnt make things easy for him either. He gave him a tough assignment when he sent him to Chiclayo. Here, the Church is polarized between those more aligned with liberation theology and more traditionalist factions. Prevost has a good touch for handling complex situations: hes down-to-earth, but he has a firm hand.

Father Pedro remembers him struggling through other difficult times, like the pandemic. There was no oxygen equipment in the region. He personally managed to get two oxygen plants set up by Caritas in Chiclayo in just one week, and another one in a small rural parish.

He did the same after Cyclone Yaku devastated northern Peru two years ago. He put on his boots like any other farmer, trudged into the mud and personally brought aid to many affected people.

And he dealt with a refugee crisis. Between 50,000 and 80,000 Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country arrived in this area. They traveled the Pan-American Highway [on foot], malnourished and dehydrated. Prevost responded very quickly, giving them supplies. And, from there, a Commission on Human Mobility and Human Trafficking emerged to address some of the problems that havent been resolved in this region, such as [forced] prostitution and child exploitation.

If character is destiny, this could be the future of the new Church: He has a reserved manner, but that doesnt mean hes shy. He likes to talk, but he listens more than he speaks. And, when he needs to get involved, he delves deeply into the issues. He has traveled the diocese from end to end: when least expected, he would show up and surprise the parishes.

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Cannes 2025 Day 4: Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman Stun Fans With Their Stylish Looks

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:27 IST

The fourth day of the Cannes Film Festival 2025 saw some archival gowns and sculpted silhouettes on the red carpet. Here's a roundup of the best dressed celebrities.

(L-R) Angelina Jolie in Brunello Cuccinelli, Natalie Portman in Dior (Images: X)

All eyes are on the French Riviera as the 2025 Cannes Film Festival has kicked off to celebrate the best of cinema. Celebrities graced the red carpet for the fourth day of this prestigious film festival with their stylish looks. Their looks left their fans mesmerised. From sculpted gowns to some classic vintage silhouettes, lets take a look at the best-dressed celebrities from Day 4 of the Cannes Film Festival 2025.

Emma Stone

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Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal at Cannes Film Festival pic.twitter.com/syfyrZTHi7 Pedro Pascal Daily (@pascalarchive) May 16, 2025

Emma Stone arrived with Austin Butler and Pedro Pascal for the screening of Eddington. In keeping with the dress code, Emma opted for a sleek white gown by Louis Vuitton. The gown had a statement asymmetrical bib detail on the neckline. She paired the dress with dangler-style earrings.

Angelina Jolie

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Festival de Cannes (@festivaldecannes)

For the screening of Eddington, Angelina exuded understated elegance on the Cannes red carpet in a serene gown by Brunello Cuccinelli, fresh off the Fall/Winter 2025 runway. The acclaimed actress complemented the ensemble with dazzling diamonds and her effortlessly tousled hair, staying true to her timeless style.

Julia Garner

Julia Garner in the debut collection of Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford at Cannes Film Festival.  pic.twitter.com/MDWNJU3dwK La Mode Unknown (@LaModeUnknown) May 16, 2025

Julia embraced vintage-inspired elegance in a lilac fringe Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann creation. Channelling the spirit of 1920s flapper glamour, the look was reimagined through a sleek, modern, high-fashion lens. She finished her look with an earcuff, slicked-back hair, and bold maroon lips.

Natalie Portman

natalie portman wearing a custom version of the christian dior fw51 gown at the cannes film festival  pic.twitter.com/g0gC7X8lBa ???????????????????????? (@pradapearll) May 16, 2025

Natalie Portmans presence at Cannes always promises iconic Dior moments, and this year was no different. The actress graced the red carpet in a custom creation by Maria Grazia Chiuri, a contemporary interpretation of Diors Winter 1951 haute couture look, aptly titled Mexico. Adding to the vintage-meets-modern charm, her delicate diamond accessories brought a refined elegance to the ensemble.

Carla Bruni

MY FAVORITE Carla Bruni looking STUNNING in a sparkly dress of Vivienne Westwoods The Gateway of India capsule collection at Chopard event during Cannes Film Festival. I wanna be HER. pic.twitter.com/lfqApNBaKH  La Mode Unknown (@LaModeUnknown) May 16, 2025

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In a Vivienne Westwood gown, Carla looked like a dream. Attending the Chopard Trophees at Cannes, the former First Lady of France dazzled in a shimmering gown paired with radiant diamonds, an effortlessly chic reminder of her timeless allure.

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: May 17, 2025, 09:27 IST
Kim Kardashians Look At Lauren Sanchez's Bachelorette Is Oh-So-Glamorous

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 17:27 IST

Kim Kardashian recently attended Lauren Sanchez's bachelorette party in Paris. She opted for a tube top, pants, and an oversized faux fur coat.

Kim wore a Prada tube top, grey pants, and a Dior faux fur coat.

Has Kim Kardashian ever disappointed us with her sartorial take? We say, never! Be it wearing a red scarlet saree while gracing Anant Ambanis wedding in India or her fashion moments at the Met Gala red carpets over the years, the fashion icon has constantly served fresh doses of glam to her fans. On Thursday, as her best friend and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos fiancee Lauren Sanchez hosted a star-studded bachelorette party at Lafayettes  a restaurant in Paris, it was the reality TV stars look that turned many heads.

For the unforgettable night, Kim Kardashian donned a chic tube top from the luxe brand Prada and served pure glam. The fashion moguls cropped top featured off-shoulder detailing alongside delicate floral lace detailing, adding charm to her overall appearance.

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Thats not it! The reality star knows how to add a touch of drama to each of her looks. She teamed her ensemble with a statement plush faux-fur coat. The fashion element was from the label Dior, donning which made her look like a piece of art. Further, she opted for a pair of grey pants to amp up her charm.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by IM A FAN PAGE  (@dashviralll)

Adding an edgy twist to her look, Kim picked a chunky gold chain attached to the waistline of her well-sophisticated ensemble. Alongside this, the fashion queen went for a gold choker, a statement ring, as well as a stack of bracelets. Pin-straight, middle-parted hairstyle with her signature bronzed makeup finished off his look for the day. Finally, a pair of pointed heels sealed the deal for the party.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

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Just as we say, Kim is never far behind while serving her jaw-dropping fashion goals. In a recent post on Instagram, the fashion mogul can be seen radiating elegance in her royal era. She was wearing a flowy gown in shades of rich chocolate brown that featured lacy details and thin straps. The reality star looked every bit gorgeous while teaming up her look with a glossy leather fur jacket that further elevated her charm.

As middle-parted open tresses cascaded down her shoulders while she was seen moving around the vintage place, it made a completely blissful moment. Kim kept the rest of her look minimal and opted for no accessories. Glossy lips with kohl-rimmed shimmery eyes and well-contoured cheeks elevated her striking features.

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: May 17, 2025, 17:27 IST
Nancy Tyagi Brings Couture-Level Drama In Her Own Design At Cannes 2025 Red Carpet

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 17:29 IST

Nancy Tyagi returned to the Cannes red carpet in a self-designed dazzling turquoise gown. She sourced the fabric for her ensemble from Delhi's Seelampur.

The gown featured floral details, a plunging neckline, and a dramatic headpiece.

Following her phenomenal appearance on the Cannes red carpet last year, social media influencer and self-taught designer Nancy Tyagi has returned to Cannes for the second time. For her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Nancy Tyagi opted for a self-designed turquoise gown with fabric sourced from Delhis Seelampur.

Social media personality Sufi Motiwala took to his Instagram to talk about Nancy Tyagis look at the Cannes Film Festival 2025. The social media influencer wrote, Nancy Tyagis second majestic Cannes slay." Talking about Nancys look, Sufi said, Shes having so much fun; shes waving. Shes a pro now in her second year. Shes just enjoying herself, and this is a beautifully done garment."

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Take a look at the video here.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sufi motiwala (@sufimotiwala)

Nancy opted for a statement gown that came with majestic floral details. The gown came with a daring plunging neckline and a corset-style bodice that was encrusted with shimmering sequins. The gown featured a sculptural element extending from the waist into a dramatic headpiece at the back, adorned with rose-shaped embellishments that was also mirrored on the voluminous, multi-layered tulle skirt. The silhouette accentuated her figure while delivering couture-level drama.

Nancy also took to her Instagram to share her Cannes look. She wrote, Phir se Cannes phir se red carpet kabhi socha nahi tha ki yeh safar itna khoobsurat hoga. Dil se shukriya sabko jo saath hain iss journey mein."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nancy Tyagi (@nancytyagi___)

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Talking about going to Cannes for the second time and the inspiration behind her look, Nancy said, Maine pichle saal yahan walk kara tha aur tab se meri life poori tarah badal gayi. Mera outfit flowers se inspired hai kyunki mujhe flowers bahut pasand hain isse tayyar karne mein 700 ghante lage. Dil se shukriya unn sabka jo is khoobsurat journey ka hissa rahe hain, yeh pal aap sabke bina adhoora hota."

She paired the ensemble with bold jewellery and statement nail art. She opted for a pair of drop earrings with emerald-cut stones, stacked rings, and eye-catching silver nails on one hand. For the glam, she styled her hair into a sleek, centre-parted twisted bun. She defined her eyes with a silver smokey eye, winged liner, and mascara. She added a warm blush to her cheeks for that warm glow from within and just the right amount of highlighter for that lovely sheen. She finished her look by adding a soft brown shade to her lips.

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: May 17, 2025, 09:45 IST
Parul Gulati Makes Her Cannes Red Carpet Debut In A Dress Made Entirely Of Human Hair

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 11:59 IST

Parul Gulati made a bold fashion statement at the Cannes red carpet as she turned heads in a strapless gown made entirely out of hair.

Conceptualised by Parul, the dress was designed by Mohit Rai and Riddhi Bansal for IRTH 2.

Actor and entrepreneur Parul Gulati made her debut on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival 2025. Parul attended the premiere of Eddington at the prestigious film festival. For her debut at the French Riviera, the actor opted for a dramatic look. She chose a black strapless gown that was adorned with hair, and the ensemble was conceptualised entirely by her.

For her Cannes Film Festival debut, Parul Gulati opted for a strapless black dress. The dress came with a plunging neckline and a body-hugging silhouette. Made entirely out of braided hair, the dress was a statement in itself. With a fitted bodice, the dress graduated into an asymmetrical hemline with braided hair of varying length running down the length of the dress. The dress was conceptualised by her and was designed by celebrated stylist and designer Mohit Rai and Riddhi Bansal for IRTH 2. The outfit was the result of over a month of dedicated work, brought to life by a team of 12 expert artisans who poured countless hours into intricate, detail-oriented craftsmanship.

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Take a look at Paruls OOTD here.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by EatTweetBlog (@eattweetblog)

Its a reminder of why we tell stories, why we watch them, and why cinema matters. I wanted my red carpet look to reflect that same spirit of individuality and risk-taking. Wearing an outfit made entirely out of human hair wasnt just about pushing fashion boundaries  it was a homage to my journey, to every woman whos ever embraced her uniqueness, and to the idea that our roots, quite literally, can be our biggest strength. To represent both my creative and entrepreneurial side at a platform as iconic as Cannes is a moment Ill never forget," said Parul as quoted by IANS.

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Parul paired the dress with a pair of open-toe heels, sparkly earrings, and a gold ring. For the glam, she went with her signature minimal makeup look to let her outfit do all the talking.

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: May 17, 2025, 10:11 IST
Aamir Khan Productions Changes Social Media DP To Indian Flag Amid Boycott Calls

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 07:29 IST

The decision by Aamir Khan's production house comes at a time when the actor had been facing boycott calls ahead of his Sitaare Zameen Par release.

Aamir Khan Productions changes its DP across all social media handles including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

Aamir Khans production house, Aamir Khan Productions, has changed its display picture of its social media handles. On Friday, netizens noticed that the production house, which had its official logo as its social media DP, now has a picture of the Indian National Flag as its display. It has been changed across all social media handles including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

The decision by Aamir Khans production house comes at a time when the actor had been facing boycott calls ahead of his Sitaare Zameen Par release. A section of netizens is urging everyone not to watch Aamirs upcoming movie. It is primarily because of two reasons  actors belated support for Operation Sindoor and his old clip from Turkey that has resurfaced online.

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Therefore, soon after Aamir Khan Productions changed the display picture of its Instagram handle, netizens shared a screenshot of it on Reddit and discussed if the decision was taken as a damage control".

Lol hes being boycotted online so clearly did it as damage control," one of the users wrote. Bekar me damage control kar rahe hai, aisa karne se thore naa boycott karne waale inko chor denge. (Its not like people wanting to boycott will change their minds, why are they trying to damage control)," added another.

However, it should be noted that Aamir Khan was asked about the tension between India and Pakistan at a recent event and told ABP News, We need justice and assurance that it [terrorist attacks] wont happen again. We believe in our government, theyll take action against the anti-social elements who committed this and bring them to justice."

Meanwhile, Aamir Khans Sitaare Zameen Pars trailer was released recently. The film will hit theatres on June 20, 2025.

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: May 17, 2025, 07:26 IST
American Manhunt Osama Bin Laden X Review: Fans Call It The Most Badass Documentary

Published By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 15:01 IST

The three-episode series, directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, follows the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden after attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001.

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is streaming on Netflix.

Amid much anticipation, the third edition of the true crime anthology series American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden was finally released on Netflix on May 14. The three-episode series, directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, follows the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden, the founder of the extremist organisation al-Qaeda, after he carried out the horrific attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001. Ever since the series premiere on OTT giant, social media users have been sharing their reviews for the same on X, with some calling it the most badass documentary."

One of the users, in his review for the anthology series, wrote, American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden is the most badass documentary Ive ever seen. Literally rewatched the entire thing immediately after finishing it. Phenomenal."

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"American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden" is the most badass documentary I've ever seen. Literally rewatched the entire thing immediately after finishing it. Phenomenal  Sarah Jones (@sarahelizjones8) May 17, 2025

Another comment on the series read, Just watched Netflix American Manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, it was very much detailed, very surreal, it was point by point, event by event, it was overall a very good job. After more than a decade, justice was delayed but justice served. Bravo ex-president Obama."

Just watched Netflix American Manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, it was very much detailed, very surreal, it was point by point, event by event, it was overall a very good job. After more than a decades, justice was delayed but justice served. Bravo ex-president Obama. bunnyqueen (@ako_swerte) May 17, 2025

Seemingly impressed, an individual added that she lives for such documentaries. Her comment read, I live for documentaries like these. American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden on Netflix is SO good. Also, thats why I love Zero Dark Thirty so much."

Just finished American Manhunt Osama Bin Laden on Netflix. Extraordinary documentary jacob (@frostedjakes22) May 17, 2025

Watching American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden. Gotta give a big shot out to all the intelligence officers involved. Especially Seal Team Six. You all are true American Heros. God Bless. CodeOfTruth (@CodeOfTruth323) May 17, 2025

About September 11, 2001

On the tragic day, out of four planes hijacked by terrorists, two crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington and the remaining fourth into a field near Pennsylvania. The coordinated attacks, carried out by al-Qaeda militants based in Afghanistan, resulted in the death of over 3000 people, including passengers, crew members of hijacked planes, people in the targeted buildings, police officers, firefighters and others.

Right after the horrific attacks, a global manhunt was launched to look for Al-Qaeda head Osama, based in Afghanistan. The series explores the ten-year search for bin Laden through interviews with key US government officials who were involved in the operation. The series delves into the extensive efforts made by various agencies to track the terrorists down.

About the Author Anindita.Mukherjee Anindita Mukherjee works as a Senior Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18 Showsha. She introduces herself as someone who is truly, deeply and passionately in love with SRK, films, shows and glitz - ba... Read More Anindita Mukherjee works as a Senior Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18 Showsha. She introduces herself as someone who is truly, deeply and passionately in love with SRK, films, shows and glitz - ba... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 15:01 IST
Madhuri Dixits Husband Dr Nene Critiques Rani Mukerjis Viral Snake Venom Scene: Not Realistic

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:04 IST

Dr. Sriram Nene, noted surgeon and husband of Madhuri Dixit, recently reacted to a now-viral scene from Rani Mukerjis debut film Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat.

Dr. Sriram Nene, Madhuri Dixits husband, reacts to Rani Mukerjis infamous snake venom scene from Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat, calling it unrealistic and medically outdated in a viral video.

Rani Mukerjis 1996 debut Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat has often raised eyebrows for its problematic storyline, including a plot point where a sexual assault survivor marries her rapist. But its not just the storyline that has aged poorlyone infamous scene from the film recently caught the attention of cardiothoracic surgeon and YouTuber Dr. Sriram Nene, husband of Madhuri Dixit, and his reaction says it all.

In a recent YouTube video, Dr. Nene reviewed a series of popular medical memes and cinematic moments that blur the lines between fact and fiction. One of the clips featured Rani Mukerjis character sucking snake venom out of her on-screen husbands leg to save his life. Rolling his eyes, Dr. Nene quipped, I dont know the context of this but I think what were seeing is that old wives tale where sucking venom supposedly saves the patient."

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Calling the scene outdated and medically inaccurate, he explained, By the time a patient shows neurological symptoms, the venom has already entered the system. Sucking it out wont help. What you can do is apply a tourniquet and rush the person to a hospital where they can be administered antivenom."

Dr. Nene also reflected on real-life snakebite cases, especially in rural India. India is not one homogeneous country. While metros are modernized, 70% of India is still rural. In places like Konkan, where my family comes from, cobra sightings were common and antivenom wasnt always available. People would keep dogs or mongoose to protect against snakes."

Returning to the film scene, he concluded, This is pure cinema. Not the most realistic and definitely not the most effective. But Ive seen this trope in both Western and Eastern films. Its just not how medicine works."

Despite its flawed narrative, Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat marked the beginning of Rani Mukerjis successful Bollywood journey. However, scenes like these continue to find new life as meme materialand now, as teaching moments for medical professionals online.

About the Author Yatamanyu Narain Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he's breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, hes always on the hun... Read More Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he's breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, hes always on the hun... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:02 IST
Raj Nidimoru's Ex-Wife Shares Karma Post Amid Samantha Ruth Prabhu Relationship Buzz

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 20:34 IST

As reports swirl around Samantha Ruth Prabhu and director Raj Nidimorus rumoured relationship, the latters estranged wife, Shhyamali De, shared a cryptic post about karma.

Raj Nidimoru's wife, Shhyamali De, shares a cryptic "karma" post amid rumours of him moving in with actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Here's what we know so far.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu seems to have found love againthis time with Citadel: Honey Bunny director Raj Nidimoru. While neither Samantha nor Raj have officially confirmed the relationship, the actress has been dropping subtle clues via Instagram. From cozy photos to joint temple visits, the rumour mill is buzzing louder than ever. Reports now suggest that the two are considering moving in together.

Amid the growing chatter, Rajs former wife, Shhyamali De, has shared a cryptic message online that many believe could be a veiled response to the new relationship. Taking to her Instagram Stories over the weekend, Shhyamali posted a quote that read, Create good karma. Help people and treat people fairly." The timing, unsurprisingly, raised eyebrows.

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This isnt the first time shes posted something that fans have interpreted as a subtle dig. Not long after Samantha shared snaps with Raj, Shhyamali posted another reflective note: I send blessings and love to everyone who thinks of me, sees me, hears me, hears of me, speaks to me, speaks of me, reads of me, writes of me and meets me today." The post quickly went viral, with fans drawing connections between her words and the rumoured romance.

Though Raj and Shhyamali have remained tight-lipped about their marital status, reports suggest they quietly parted ways in 2022. Adding fuel to the speculation, Shhyamali hasnt posted any photos with Raj since their wedding anniversary that year, marking a noticeable absence from each others digital lives.

Meanwhile, Samantha was recently spotted at the Tirupati Balaji Temple with Raj, offering prayers ahead of the release of Subham, her first project as a producer, which hit theatres on May 9.

For the unversed, Samantha was previously married to actor Naga Chaitanya. The couple tied the knot in a grand ceremony in Goa in 2017, but their marriage ended in 2021 after four years.

While Samantha and Raj continue to remain mum about their rumoured romance, fans and followers are closely watching their every moveand every cryptic post.

About the Author Yatamanyu Narain Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he's breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, hes always on the hun... Read More Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he's breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, hes always on the hun... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 20:29 IST
Vijay Deverakonda Plans To Marry Soon Amid Rashmika Mandanna Dating Rumours?

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 13:06 IST

Rumors of Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna's relationship persist despite their claims of being just friends.

Vijay Deverakonda plans to marry but isn't seeking a partner now.

For a long time now, rumours of Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandannas alleged romantic relationship have been making headlines. While the two have always maintained that they are only good friends, fans are convinced that they are more than just friends.

Amid all this, in a recent interview with Filmfare, Vijay was asked about industry insiders" linking him and Rashmika. The Liger actor refused to talk about it and simply said, ask the insiders".

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While Vijay did not confirm or deny dating Rashmika, he confirmed that he wants to marry someday. Ill for sure," he shared but then added, Currently not looking for a life partner." When the host teased if Rashmika fit the bill, the actor replied, Any good woman with a good heart fits the bill."

However, Vijay talked about working with Rashmika and admitted that they must do more films together. I havent done enough movies with Rashmika. I should do more. She is a great actress. She is a beautiful woman. So chemistry shouldnt be a problem," he said.

Not just this, the actor also praised the Pushpa star and added, She is crazy hardworking. She can beat anything with her will and determination. She is too kind and prioritises everyones comfort and happiness over hers."

Last year, Vijay and Rashmikas trip to the Maldives fuelled speculation about a possible marriage announcement. It was also said that the two actors would exchange rings soon. However, the Liger actor later clarified that he was neither getting engaged nor getting married. Im not getting engaged or married in February. It feels like the press just wants to get me married every two years. I hear this rumour every year. Theyre just walking around waiting to catch me and get me married," he told Lifestyle Asia.

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: May 17, 2025, 13:06 IST
Why Is Rupali Ganguly Blamed For Co-Stars' Exit From Anupamaa? Rajan Shahi Answers

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 14:45 IST

Rajan Shahi argued that everyone prefers to take Rupali Ganguly's name to get attention on social media.

Rupali Ganguly plays the role of Anupamaa in the popular show of the same name. (Photos: Instagram)

From Sudhanshu Pandey to Paras Kalnawat, Gaurav Khanna and Madalsa Sharma, every time an actor quits Anupamaa, rumours of their rift with the shows lead, Rupali Ganguly, make headlines. Recently, it was reported that Manish Goel, who plays Raghav in Anupamaa, is planning to quit the show due to differences with Rupali. But how much of these alleged rift rumours are true?

In a recent interview with Vickey Lalwani, the shows producer, Rajan Shahi, talked about the same and argued that Rupali Ganguly is always blamed by her co-stars because she is an easy target". Rupali is responsible for everything internationally and nationally, whether it is an economic or social issue or anything else. Everything. I consider Rupali responsible for everything. Even if there is a problem in Germany, Rupali is responsible," he sarcastically said and then added, She is a very easy target. You take her name and ten journalists will write. It is a price one has to pay for fame."

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Rajan Shahi argued that everyone prefers to take Rupalis name to get attention on social media. Rupali has become one of the biggest brands ever after Smriti (Irani) ji. You know the kind of popularity she enjoys. It always becomes a very easy target to put her name. You get immediate traction," he added.

However, he also explained that nobody is doodh ka dhula" and admitted that it is obvious to have differences when you work or live together. Nobody is perfect. It takes two to clap. There are differences. You are working on a daily soap. Sometimes there is love, sometimes there are differences. This is all part and parcel of this job," he said.

But has Rajan Shahi ever called Rupali Ganguly to discuss reports of her alleged fights with her co-stars? Asked about the same, the Anupamaa maker shared that he will never do it unless it affects the shoot of his show.

She (Rupali Ganguly) is very capable of fighting her own battles. I know with experience that unless it affects my shooting, whatever happens before and after pack-up, I am not interested. I am not calling actors on sets to make relations," he concluded.

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: May 17, 2025, 14:45 IST
Nancy Knowlton, 75, was born in Evanston, Illinois, but spent nearly every summer of her childhood by the Atlantic Ocean. Her grandparents lived on the Long Island Sound between Connecticut and New York, and it was there she discovered that if you took a snail out of its shell, it cant get back in. Her desire to observe, learn, discover and understand led her to graduate with a degree in biology from Harvard University, and to get her doctorate in zoology from the University of California. For 50 years, she has studied the coral reefs and the creatures that inhabit them  including snails.

Knowlton visited Spain to give a talk at the eighth edition of Starmus Festival, which recently took place on the Canary Island of La Palma. During an in-person conversation with EL PAIS, the U.S. biologist spoke of how the oceans floor has changed in recent decades, of the loss of biodiversity and the threat of climate change. Knowlton is critical of the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose rhetoric she describes as crazy, and calls on scientists to come together and raise their voice  not just as experts, but as citizens.

Question. In 2009, you began to give talks on the good news coming from the ocean, from which was born the Ocean Optimism movement. Why have you focused on this subject?

Answer. At the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, I created a program training students in the field of biodiversity and conservation. We would lecture the students about the problems in the ocean, and those were really depressing lectures. And at some point, I thought to myself, in medical school they dont train students to write obituaries. Medical school is about figuring out how to make things better. What we were doing was training our students to write ever-more-detailed obituaries of the ocean. I found that even professionals in marine conservation were really clueless about some of the big successes wed had. You cant just talk about problems. You have to give people the sense that they can do something about them, otherwise they wont care about the problems, they wont act on them.

Q. Be that as it may, the Trump administration recently reinstated fishing in one of the largest protected ocean areas that lies northeast of Hawaii, which was established during Barack Obamas first term. How will that news affect global ocean conservation?

A. Its going to make things worse. The really stupid thing is its going to make things worse for fishing, because its well-known that when you create marine protected areas, the fish inside get bigger, and those big females produce many more eggs. Its an exponential relationship. Its been well-demonstrated in a variety of different places, such as in the Great Barrier Reef, where half of all the fish that are on the reef come from marine protected areas. And in Hawaii, they actually increased fishing capability from the spillover of the fish that move out of the protected areas into fishing zones. So not only is it bad in general for marine conservation, its really bad for fishing and the fishing economy.

Q. Are you concerned about the wave of dismissals, closures of diversity programs and political interference at numerous U.S. institutions and universities?

A. The U.S. scientific system is being dismantled. There are two things that are going on. One is that youre depressing an entire next generation of scientists, whose careers are being destroyed by these steps. Another is that the thing that is hardest to repair is trust. For example, when you create a marine protected area, people have to have a sense of trust that even though there are going to be challenges in the short term, in the long term, things will be better. You have to have that social cohesion. The trust in the United States, the trust in science, are being eroded by these decisions. That breaking of trust is probably the thing thats going to be hardest to repair. It can be repaired, you know, but it takes decades. And similarly, the breaking of scientific systems.

Q. The attacks on science have been nonstop, although universities like Harvard are standing up to Trump.

A. When initially all these things happened, people were kind of paralyzed. It was so much going on. But people are now starting to come together and say, No, this is not right. The crazy thing [about everything the Trump administration is doing] is that everything is being justified in terms of competition with China. And this is making China stronger rather than weaker. The whole thing is not only horrible in terms of people and respect for diversity, its also counterproductive. Its complete insanity, in addition to being a tragedy.

Q. What should be the role of scientists in this context?

A. I think scientists have to speak out. I do feel that policy is a matter of values, and science really doesnt address values. Science doesnt tell you what you should do, but it tells you what will happen if you do certain things. And in that role, I think scientists have every right to speak out as scientists. But they can also speak out as citizens and say, I am opposed to this because this violates my sense of whats right. Science doesnt dictate the policy. But it tells you what the consequences of a policy will be. And we have to talk about it.

Biologist Nancy Knowlton scuba dives in the Pacific Ocean in an image provided by the scientist. Stuart Sandin

Q. Is there fear in the scientific community about speaking out?

A. Theres a huge amount of fear. Im retired. Theres nothing that anybody can take from me. I have the freedom to speak my mind, and Im speaking as an individual, not as a representative of any organizations. For people whose jobs are on the line, its much harder. For universities that risk being singled out and attacked, its harder still. Conservation organizations also receive money from the U.S. government. I think some of these actions by the Trump administration are going to be defeated in court, but its still a scary space to be in, to risk your job, or in terms of an organization, your mission. I really feel for the people who are having to make these decisions, theyre not easy.

Q. In this context, is there room for optimism?

A. People are realizing that there is strength in numbers. We have to be united in talking about what is happening and what the consequences of whats happening will be for the well-being, not only of people in the United States, but of the world. Its not like were being all locked up in our rooms and not allowed to go out. We can talk in public settings, we can talk with our friends and neighbors. Young people are really engaged. They are not happy about having their future destroyed. I come from the generation that protested the war in Vietnam for a long time. That work changed the world. We can change the world again.

Q. Going back to those days at the beginning of your career, do you remember the first time you saw a coral reef?

A. That was that summer of 1974, on the north coast of Jamaica. Now, Jamaica has suffered a lot of reef loss, the whole Caribbean has suffered a lot. But back then, the reefs, the live coral, was stretched for as far as you could see. The whole bottom was covered with live coral. You could see for 100 meters. It was just so beautiful, inspiring. At the time, it seemed like they would be there forever. I never worried about something happening to them.

A young biologist Nancy Knowlton on a dive, in an image provided by the scientist. Michael Berumen

Q. What has changed since then?

A. Globally, weve lost about 50% of all the corals. Coral reefs are among the most sensitive of all ecosystems to human impacts. In Jamaica, for example, in 1980 there was a major hurricane which smashed all the corals to pieces. Normally, corals should be able to recover because theyre like plants, you can break them up and they reattach and regrow. But they never came back. And it was a combination of the effects of the hurricane, but also a disease that was killing corals and also one that killed a very important sea urchin which eats seaweed. Seaweed and corals tend to compete with each other. Over the course of a couple of years, we went from the bottom being covered with live coral to just being covered with seaweed. And that story has been repeated in many other places. And now, every few years, sometimes every year, there are these massive heat waves in the ocean which kill corals.

Q. Is climate change todays biggest threat for the ocean floor?

A. Definitely. Not only for coral reefs, but ecosystems in the ocean around the world, and on land for that matter. It used to be, when I began my career, overfishing and in some places, pollution. We used to think of climate change as something we had to worry about in the future. Well, climate change is now.

Q. How are coral reefs being affected?

A. Corals have inside their tissues little tiny plant cells called zooxanthellae, which are very sensitive to temperature. If the temperature goes one to two degrees centigrade over the normal average, the relationship between the coral and the zooxanthellae breaks down, and the zooxanthellae get ejected, or they leave or they die. They provide a lot of the corals color, which is why they call it coral bleaching. When they leave the coral, it becomes completely transparent  youre actually seeing its skeleton. Its as if everything on top of your bones went transparent. Corals can survive a certain amount of bleaching if its not too prolonged and its not too intense. But eventually, they starve to death, and if the heat is really bad, they actually almost cook.

Biologist Nancy Knowlton scuba dives in the Pacific Ocean. Image provided by the scientist. Michael Berumen

Q. Part of your work focuses on understanding this process and in the corals so-called hidden biodiversity. What is that?

A. Inside of a coral reef are all these cracks and crevices, and thats where all the biodiversity is. Its like a tropical rainforest, where the real diversity lies in all the insects that are creeping around all over the place. In the corals, there are crabs and shrimps and little tiny snails and little worms. And thats where almost all the diversity of reefs are. We call it hidden biodiversity because not only do you not see it from a distance, but because its tiny, most people havent studied it. Many of these creatures dont even have scientific names. We used to leave [tracking devices] out on the reef for a year, and you could get sometimes 700 different species just in one of these little structures.

Q. What have you learned from studying the unseen and invisible?

A. It makes you realize that the tiny stuff tends to have a faster rate of change. Theres a lot going on that is hidden from our eyes. Its obviously important to understand what makes corals happy and what makes them unhappy and get sick and die. Because the corals are the organisms that actually create this underwater city where all these other creatures live. Weve ignored most of the diversity on coral reefs and its impacts.

Q. Can you give an example of that?

A. Theres one kind of snail called cone snails that have very powerful chemicals they use to kill their prey. In some cases, cone snails are actually fatal to people. But in small doses, their toxins can be very useful, medically. Sort of like how people use Botox to get rid of wrinkles. In big doses, Botox is a deadly poison. But in small doses, it can be very useful medically.

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Opinion | Not Another 1971: Why India Must Convert Op Sindoors Triumph Into Long-Term Strategy

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 13:07 IST

Without structural reform and political resolve, the strategic gains of Operation Sindoor risk going the way of 1971 War, the Kargil Conflict, and Operation Parakram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit at the Adampur air base in Punjab on May 13.

Bharat is gripped by euphoria and an ecstatic moment of glory, accorded to it by its last bastion of diplomacythe Indian Armed Forcesthrough Operation Sindoor. Typically, when diplomacy fails, options diminish and the share price of the nation drops; or when calamities occur and precious lives need saving; or when an enemy threatens conflict and we need to nip it in the budlike any other nation, Bharat looks up to its scholar warriors in uniform to deliver with unflinching commitment, dedication, and dependabilityqualities often rare in most other organisations. This time too, Bharat rides a wave of glory on the back of its military might.

For far too long, the rise of bureaucracycraftily keeping the polity close while gradually excluding the armed forces from decisions affecting national power, all the while enhancing the roles and remuneration of themselves and sister organisations like the policehas created a silent pain in the men and women who serve in uniform. From being constantly relegated in the Warrant of Precedence, to curated and structured organisations initiated by the armed forces being made bereft of military presence, to being served a raw deal on matters of pay and pensions, the acuteness of the ailment has grown to a level where civilian officials have started seeking credit for military operations and now attempt to control them through a lens that will always be shaded and coloured.

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We have witnessed a few wars with Pakistan and China, winning all against Pakistan and losing one against China. That loss came with heavy sacrifices by the armed forces, who were ill-equipped, and the government could not even kit them with the basics at the time. The victories came with their own share of gains, much of whichespecially after the 1971 warwas undone as we returned large tracts of land to Pakistan along with their prisoners of war, while ours never came back. Kargil saw the resolute bravery of our armed forces in the most trying terrain conditions, marked by great sacrifice, and yet, besides celebrating that victory, we have left some decisions unaccounted for, with low bureaucratic responsibility and no continuity in political intent.

Today, we have made history by crippling Pakistans will with just three days of effective targeting. While the future remains uncertainowing to the irrationality of Pakistan and the support it receives from foreign enemies of Bharat and the deep state that has transformed an ideologically-handicapped country into a terror-infused, venomous snakeBharat feels secure that its armed forces will deliver and its political leadership will take the right decisions.

During the preparatory phase of this operation, Prime Minister Modi held consultations with the CDS and the Service Chiefs together, and on two occasions directly and separately with the Chiefs of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy (IN). While those meetings were held behind closed doors, one can hypothesise that the outspoken Chiefs gave the Prime Minister a clear account of capabilities and deficiencies, so that a prudent decision could be made. That alone would have led to a game plan for precision strikes, with conventional aspects kept on a slight backburner to ensure full preparedness, in case war is thrust upon Bharat.

While many lessons have been drawn from the wars and skirmishes Bharat has faced, let us draw conclusions from a different perspectiveby examining three distinct scenarios our nation has undergoneto understand where we stand and what we must do.

Operation Cactus Lily 1971: Full-Fledged War

This was a full-fledged war, for which we had to wait and prepare in order to liberate Bangladesh. However, the war began with Pakistan launching air strikes on our airfields with the commencement of Operation Chengiz Khan.

In this war, Bharat was engaged on two fronts and had limited air superiority. Since the Army Chief at the time had requested time to preparebeginning in April 1971and wanted to avoid launching an offensive during the monsoon season in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister agreed. This decision by the Armed Forces supported the broader political calculations. An offensive in December also strategically negated the possibility of China opening a front through Tibet.

Prior to the war, the Soviet Union had issued warnings to Pakistan. While General Yahya Khan declared a state of emergency on 23 November 1971, the war formally began on 3 December 1971 with a surprise aerial attack on Indian airfields by the Pakistan Air Force.

The key strategy was to contain Pakistan and capture Dhaka through a decisive offensive.

The United States became involved to limit Soviet influence in the region. At that time, its ally China was also a close partner of Pakistan. The US floated a resolution at the UN Security Council on 8 December 1971 calling for a ceasefire, which was vetoed by the Soviet Union.

In this war, the US urged China to mobilise its forces along the border, but China did not oblige. The US did, however, manage to get several Middle Eastern countries to supply weapons to Pakistan. Sri Lanka allowed refuelling of Pakistani aircraft during the war. Israel, on the other handdespite not having diplomatic relations with Bharat at the timesupplied armaments, ammunition, and more.

Post-war, the Shimla Agreement was signed. This not only allowed the return of approximately 93,000 prisoners of war to Pakistan but also saw Bharat return more than 13,000 km of land that the Indian Army had seized inside Pakistan. Some of those areas continue to haunt us today, having left our defensive posture weakened in certain sectors.

Operation Trident marked the beginning of the naval operations, culminating in the destruction of Karachi Portan emphatic success carried out as part of Operation Python.

This total annihilation of Pakistan in 1971 and its dismembermentfrom East Pakistan to Bangladeshpushed it further toward becoming what is today the terrorist capital of the world.

Operation Vijay 1999: Limited War

The war was preceded by undetected infiltration by the Pakistan Army and occupation of key terrain from February 1999 onwards, eventually leading to war in May 1999.

While the total area seized through the ingress was between 130 and 200 km, many formations were withdrawn from the counter-infiltration grid and reserves and brought into the sector. Nearly 30,000 fighting troops were employed to evict the Pakistanis, with more than 500 casualties suffered on our side. Operation Safed Sagar, launched by the IAF, was constrained by the directive not to cross the Line of Control (LoC).

A naval blockade under Operation Talwar was also affected, which severely limited logistics for Pakistan.

In terms of international opinionand given that this unprovoked intrusion came shortly after a meeting between both Prime Ministersthe USA asked Pakistan to act responsibly; the G7, ASEAN, and European Union supported Bharat and criticised Pakistan, while China urged Pakistan to pull back.

Media presence was much higher in this war, with electronic media able to reach the frontlinesbringing both advantages and disadvantages to the ongoing operations.

Both countries had tested nuclear weapons in 1998, and on 31 May 1999barely a week after Bharat began its military operations, and just four days after IAF assets were deployed against Pakistanthe Pakistani Foreign Minister warned that escalation of the limited conflict could lead Pakistan to use any weapon" in its arsenal. Reportedly, US intelligence agencies picked up indications that Pakistan was likely to move its nuclear launch assets forward, prompting the US administration to issue a strong warning not to proceed.

The fear generated by a deteriorating military situation, diplomatic isolation on the global stage, and the rising risks of a larger conventional or nuclear war prompted Pakistan to withdraw from the territories of Bharat that it had intruded upon.

The Indian stock market rose by 30 per cent, defence expenditure increased, Pakistan faced deeper isolation, Indo-US relations began to improve, Israels role as a trusted friend grew in stature, and the NDA government was re-elected in the general elections that followed the war. The war led to a coup in Pakistan.

Operation Parakram 20012002: Long-Term Mobilisation Amid Interlaced Terrorist Attacks

This operation commenced as a retaliation to the terrorist attack on the Parliament of Bharat on 13 December 2001. This attack followed the Kargil War, in which Pakistan was ultimately humiliated, militarily defeated, and geopolitically isolated.

The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at the time was Farooq Abdullah, who urged the government to strike terror camps in Pakistan. Intriguingly, the current chief minister during Operation Sindoor is Omar Abdullah, son of Farooq Abdullah.

Western media immediately shifted focus to the implications of both countries being nuclear powers and the ongoing US war in Afghanistan. The long mobilisation was de-escalated in October 2002.

Mechanised forces along the western front required three to four weeks to mobilise. A limited offensive option was considered, focused primarily on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), to restrict the scope of action and align with the rationale of the US war in Afghanistan, thereby limiting international backlash. While Indias war-waging capability was assessed as far superior, Pakistan appeared ill-prepared.

By mid-January 2002, then President Musharraf publicly committed to combating terrorism emanating from within Pakistans territory. In response, then Prime Minister Vajpayee called off the offensive, and India remained mobilised in a state resembling a ceasefire.

However, tensions resurfaced as snow began to melt along the LoC, and in May 2002, suicide attacks were carried out in Kaluchak on a military base and schoolkilling women, children, and several soldiers.

During the intervening period, Pakistan had fortified positions along the LoC, and the feasibility of a limited offensive into PoK appeared to be diminished.

When an Indian attack seemed imminent, escalating tensions were marked by intense artillery fire in the Jammu region. Pakistan tested nuclear weapons, prompting India to take a decisive step by reviewing its own nuclear preparedness and affirming its ability to strike back.

Vajpayee reached out to Russia, the USA, the UK, and France to highlight that Musharraf had not delivered on his January 2002 promises and reiterated that Bharat reserved the right to act. These nations, along with Japan, urged Bharat to exercise restraint. After intense diplomatic engagement, the USA had to read the riot act", and the US Secretary of Defense visited Pakistan to extract further assurances from Musharrafenabling Washington to urge Bharat not to escalate the situation.

Following limited action in July and August 2002, the standoff was eventually called off in October, with some tactical and operational gains for Bharat along the LoC.

Surprisingly, throughout the wars and skirmishes with Pakistan, the country has consistently managed to craft a notion of victoryeven when it was purely propaganda at a global scale. This same pattern was evident in the early days of Operation Sindoor as well.

With nearly $4 billion spent by Bharat and the lack of strategic surprise due to delayed mobilisation, there will always be a need for accountability for an operation that ultimately did not appear to achieve its intended end-stateparticularly in compelling Pakistan to give up terrorism as an instrument of statecraft.

Extrapolating Key Aspects of Three War Scenarios: Assessing Options for Bharat

Economic Comparison of War/Skirmishes

The longer the war, the greater the economic drain and the slower the markets ability to recover and exceed projected growth rates. While the market experienced a 30 per cent rebound within a year of the Kargil War, it witnessed a decline during the same period following Operation Parakram. In contrast, smaller skirmishes and terror attacks have led to higher growth. For instance, the surgical strikes after Uri and the Balakot strike post-Pulwama achieved over 15 per cent market growth within a year. Similarly, following the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, the market surged by nearly 90 per cent in the subsequent year.

Global Opinion

Global opinion has increasingly shifted in favour of Bharat, driven by its economic potential and structural reforms that have opened markets and boosted manufacturing. The traditional Cold War implications have diminished for Bharat, which now holds 2+2 strategic partnerships with both Russia and the USA. Its role during the Covid pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the emergence of the China Plus One strategy has strengthened Bharats global standing. Bharat has also been effective in curbing illicit economic support from the Middle East to Pakistan, while simultaneously cautioning the USA and the West against their historic role in enabling global terrorism via Pakistan.

Political Dilemmas: Signs of Weakness

Political decision-making has always been critical, and while the armed forces have consistently risen to expectationswhether or not fully equippedthe political class has often been seen as overthinking, with visible weakness stemming from timid and risk-averse leadership within North Block and South Block. This perceived weakness was evident from the delayed response to Pakistani aggression in 1948, which led to the loss of PoK, and later in the 1965 and 1971 wars, where key terrain and prisoners of war were returned to Pakistan, effectively at a 100 per cent concession. The hesitation was even more pronounced during Operation Parakram, where prolonged mobilisation occurred without decisive military action, driven instead by a desire to seek global approvalsa process that allowed Pakistan to buy time, strengthen its defences, and deceive the international community and Bharat alike.

Funding of Pakistans Islamist Ideology

From the 1960s to 2000, Pakistan received over $70 billion in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). It has continued to receive funding from traditional partners even after nearly every warincluding the 2001 mobilisation. The USA alone granted Pakistan an average of $2 billion annually from 2002 to 2010, ostensibly to fight terrorism. Other international financial institutions also provided grants and bailouts.

Although the Trump administration suspended aid between 2018 and 2022 due to Pakistans duplicity in Afghanistan, it still provided nearly $400 million in security assistance related to F-16s and other defence equipment.

Transparency International and the American Enterprise Institute, among others, have documented how such funds have been misused to promote, train, and execute terror missionsincluding cross-border attacks into Bharat.

War on Multiple Fronts

Traditionally, Bharat has fought warsand gradually but steadily preparedfor engagements on two fronts. In the 1971 war, while we fought on the eastern front to liberate Bangladesh, the western front remained active to contain and degrade Pakistans war-waging capabilities, albeit in a slow and somewhat uncertain manner. Over time, we have repeatedly assessed our capacity to counter China and sustain a two-front war. This concern became more prominent during the tenure of General V. K. Singh as an Army Commander, even before he assumed office as Chief of Army Staff.

Since the Doklam incident, Bharat has approached the two-front threat with greater clarity and has accelerated preparations, particularly in infrastructure development and seasonal force posturingfocusing on the western front during summers and the northern front in winters. Today, we find ourselves at a juncture where, in addition to the possibility of an orchestrated grave internal security crisis, we may simultaneously face threats across our western, northern, and eastern borders. Each would present varying degrees of escalation, requiring urgent responses and placing immense stress on paramilitary forces (PMFs) and civil defence organisations.

Operations of such complexity and the contingencies that may arise are unprecedented in our history. Even our wargaming exercises remain lacklustre, with the polity often lacking a clear understanding of plausible scenarios. Consequently, response mechanisms and actionable plans remain unwritten. The bureaucratic establishment, meanwhile, continues to resist a collaborative planning approach with all stakeholders. This poses a significant risk, as command-and-control structures will undoubtedly be tested, especially given the hierarchical and often rigid nature of interactions at the apex level.

Nuclear is Unclear

The nuclear bogey has been carefully retained in strategic and political discourse for nearly 70 years. This single factor has offered politicians and bureaucrats a convenient excuse to limit military actionresulting in a failure to nip terrorism in the bud and allowing it to evolve into a hydra-headed threat with even legitimised liaisons. This has led us into decades of fruitless dialogue, debate, and deferraleven impacting military thinking.

Over time, even defence leadership started to believe in the deterrent, but failed to prepare adequately for conflict under its shadowparticularly as bureaucratic inertia curtailed defence spending. A streak of political leadership also emerged that shied away from building and strengthening the armed forces. The exodus of Kashmiri Hindus adds another layer to this issue, pointing to a combination of excessive caution in using force to protect citizens, bureaucratic dereliction, and political complicity.

Growing Military Capacities of Bharat

Bharats military prowessparticularly in the domains of air power and naval capabilityhas undergone a paradigm shift. Simultaneously, there has been a significant boost in missile technologies and satellite-based systems, which have both grown in capacity and capability. The recent devastation of Pakistani military assets during Operation Sindoor has highlighted the emergence of niche technologies, both indigenously developed and through co-development models.

Today, both the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy enjoy operational dominance over their Pakistani counterparts, creating a vacuum in Pakistans military preparedness, as current US- and China-supplied weapons and surveillance systems have been found wanting. However, in terms of ground operations capacity, Bharat has yet to transform into a fast, flexible, and lean force capable of sustained operations under a nuclear umbrella. This is a cause for concernespecially now that our economy is well-positioned to fund such a transformation.

Pakistans Notion of Victory: Bharat Trails in Perception Warfare

Throughout its military history, Pakistanparticularly through the ISIhas been highly proactive in curating and disseminating its narrative across diplomatic channels, media, foreign press, think tanks, and international institutions. This has allowed it to project a sense of strength to its largely uninformed domestic population.

Bharat, despite having delivered consistent military defeats to Pakistan, has often failed to secure the perception victory. The same pattern repeated in the initial days of Operation Sindoor, when Pakistans falsehoods and propaganda were amplified not only by its own media, but also by outlets in China and the Westwhose military systems and intelligence assets underperformed during the conflict. These foreign narratives, instead of acknowledging those failures, lent support to Pakistans concocted claims.

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To Be Continued

Colonel Rohit Dev, a 2nd Generation Army Officer, is an Adjunct Professor at the Rashtriya Raksha University, a geopolitical analyst and a primetime TV personality. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 13:07 IST
Opinion | Operation Sindoor: A Moral Victory Beyond The Battlefield

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 19:29 IST

In this war of symbolism and substance, Bharat has proved itself not just a power  but a principle

Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK under Operation Sindoor. (Image: News18/File)

The Bharatiya armed forces, through Operation Sindoor, under the resolute leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, displayed extraordinary valour by avenging the heinous Pahalgam massacre, obliterating terrorist infrastructures and key Pakistani air bases. Notably, this war between Bharat and Pakistan was being fought not only with weapons, but also on another fronta semiotic, symbolic, and narrative battlefield. Bharat, in that arena too, not only triumphed over Pakistan but also waved the flag of its rich civilisational heritage, moral superiority and soft power on the global stage.

According to the discipline of semioticsthe science of signs and symbolssymbols play a deeply significant role in warfare. Wars today are not fought with weapons alone, but also with metaphors, cultural references, symbols and classical imagery. These symbols, to take a cue from renowned semiotician Charles Sanders Peirce, are not just ornamentalthey are instruments of power, persuasion, and legitimacy. They reflect a nations collective consciousness and ideological core, validate its actions, unify its people, and evoke strong emotional responses.

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In the Bharat-Pakistan conflict, symbolism was deployed strategically and culturally. This helped shape perceptions both domestically and internationally, crafting a narrative that was morally assertive and emotionally resonant.

The name Operation Sindoor itself carried a rich symbolic meaning. It was not merely the codename for a military actionit was a culturally layered, emotionally charged, and politically powerful statement. Sindoor, the red vermillion traditionally worn by married Hindu women, symbolises purity, devotion, protection, and sanctity in Bharatiya culture. Just as sindoor reflects a husbands vow to safeguard his wife, this operation became a metaphorical pledge by the Indian state to protect its citizens.

Moreover, the term sindoor invoked national unity, especially among Bharatiya women, who saw the operation as a symbolic extension of their dignity and collective strength. The red colour of sindoor also stands for valour, sacrifice, and heroismqualities exemplified by the Bharatiya armed forces. By naming the mission Sindoor, Bharat wove together its civilisational pride with the ethical legitimacy of military action.

Amidst the escalating tensions, Prime Minister Modi invoked one of Bharats most iconic moral figuresLord Buddha, the great symbol of peace and compassion. Sending a message to the world, he declared: Bharat has given the world not Yuddha (war), but Buddha." He reminded global audiences that this was not the time for Yuddha, but for the wisdom of Buddha.

Yet, he made it equally clear that peace is sustained by strength. Bharat neither seeks war nor fears it. It desires peace but will go to any extent to protect its borders and its people. In doing so, Bharat positioned itself as a country of restraintbut not one to be provoked.

To ethically contextualise its military actions, Bharat turned to another powerful symbol, the Bhagavad Gitaa foundational philosophical and spiritual text. A much-cited verseYada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata" was effectively invoked. Bharats response was not merely strategic, PM Modi emphasised in an address, but a righteous intervention to uphold and protect Dharma against Adharma. Here, Dharma does not refer to religion, but to righteousness and justice, while Adharma refers to injustice, personified in demonic terrorist forces who kill innocent civilians, and their military patrons across the border. The framing turned military retaliation into a moral imperative.

To inspire the armed forces and rally the public, another powerful symbol  the Shiva Tandava Stotra, was invoked.

This hymn, played in a musical format, during the briefing of Operation Sindoor, is a divine ode to Lord Shivas cosmic dance of destruction. It signified righteous fury, moral clarity, and spiritual strength. It served as a war hymn, more than a religious recitation, invoking courage, divine support, and cultural rootedness. It represented Bharats balanced, disciplined approach and its commitment to destroy the evil forces for the larger good of humanity, echoing Shivas role as the cosmic protector and destroyer of tyranny. The rhythmic and musical rendition of this Stotra elevated, undoubtedly, the morale of the soldiers and garnered public support.

Language and literature also hold symbolic significance, playing a powerful role in communication and messaging.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a calculated display of moral clarity, declared that Bharats war was not with Pakistans peoplebut with terror and its architects. Quoting from the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas, he said: Jin mohi maara / tin mohi maare"We struck only those (the terrorists), who attacked us firstexhibiting both ethical restraint and unwavering resolve.

Our national sentiment was further elevated when Bharatiya Army officials quoted verses of renowned Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar:

Hit-vachan nahin tune maana/ Maitri ka moolya na pehchaana/ Yachna nahi, ab ran hoga/ Jeevan-jay ya ki maran hoga", which means You did not heed kind words, nor valued friendship Now, no more appeals. There will be war. Either victory, or death."

This was not just poetic flairit was a rhetorical strike. It told the world that Bharat is a peace-seeking nation and desires friendship, but also recognizes the bitter truth that Bhay binu hoye na preeti" i.e. without deterrence evil cannot be tamed. There can be no peace without fear.

Prime Minister Modi also invoked the fierce words of Guru Gobind Singh: Sava lakh se ek ladaun" (Each one of ours can take on 125,000 people). This was both a tribute and a morale booster for Bharats soldiers, each of whom is worth an army.

Even Bharats military arsenals names echoed our civilizational values, symbolizing righteousness and justice. The Sudarshan (S-400 air defense system), which foiled missile strikes on Indian cities, was named after the divine discus of Lord Vishnuused for destroying adharma (evil and injustice) and uphold Dharma (righteousness and justice).

Likewise, the BrahMos missile, which razed terrorist and military targets, was likened to the Brahmastraa weapon of unstoppable precision and divine origin.

Contrast this with Pakistans missile names: Babur, Ghauri, Ghazniall named after fanatic invaders and plunderers, individuals with a jihadi mindset, reflecting the immoral ideological foundations of the Pakistani military and state.

In the current conflict, Bharat achieved not only a military victory but, above all, a moral one. Bharat, through strategic use of its ancient texts, poetry, spiritual references and cultural metaphors, demonstrated to the world that its power is not merely kineticit is civilisational. Even in war, Bharat speaks the language of peace. Even in retaliation, it draws from its deepest values and righteousness. The battlefield echoed with missiles, yes  but it also resonated with verses, deities, and Dharma.

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In this war of symbolism and substance, Bharat proved itself not just a powerbut a principle.

(Prof Niranjan Kumar is the Dean of Planning and a Senior Professor in Hindi Department at Delhi University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 19:29 IST
Opinion | Operation Sindoor Showed Great Indian Resolve, But Trump Optics Left Bad Taste In Mouth

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:31 IST

In diplomacy, optics are important, and frankly, the manner in which Donald Trump spoke even before India had, and the swagger with which he spoke, was not good optics

If the US did influence the ceasefire, it raises questions about whether India compromised on this principle for short-term gains. | Image/File

Operation Sindoor has conveyed certain irrefutable messages, and fulfilled some incontrovertible goals. First, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in our territory will be firmly responded to. Second, this response will not be restricted to a surgical strike or a single attack like Balakot, but will involve a retaliation that is far wider and will penetrate deep into Pakistan, hitting terrorist bases and military infrastructure. Third, this response will not be deterred by the threat of nuclear reprisals, and that India will pursue conventional war without hesitation, even if it means raising the escalatory ladder.

The goals that seem to have been achieved are that Pakistan has seen a new side of Indian resolve, of a magnitude it may not have expected. Secondly, it does appear that considerable damage has been inflicted on some of Pakistans major terrorist training centres and their military facilities, especially airports and air defence systems. Thirdly, a new doctrine has been enunciated, the new normal, that in future acts of terror will be tantamount to a declaration of war by India. India will no longer be a passive victim of Pakistans malevolent terrorist infrastructure.

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What remains slightly inexplicable is the abrupt ceasefire we agreed to. Far more facts than are currently available need to be shared in the public realm. What exactly were the terms of the ceasefire understanding? Were our twin goals of strongly decimating the enemys major terrorist camps, and of degenerating its military installations, achieved? Or did we fall flat between two stools, achieving a bit of both but not sufficiently enough to warrant suddenly pulling back?

Also, what were the compelling reasons to do so quickly, especially ifas our official briefings indicatedwe had the upper hand, and were inflicting far more damage than the enemy was? There was a pervasive feeling that we stopped short of doing just that little more that would have completed both our goals more fully, and intimidated the enemy more completely. While weby all accountsrightly claim that Pakistan was pleading for an end to hostilities, the manner in which the ceasefire unfolded, and was accepted by us, raises significant questions.

Officially, both India and Pakistan, attributed the ceasefire to a bilateral understanding reached through backchannel diplomacy, particularly involving their respective intelligence agencies and the DGMOs. However, Trumps assertion that his administrations efforts were instrumental has added a layer of unexplained geopolitical intrigue.

What was Trumps role? If it was a benign mediatory attempt to end a rapidly escalating war between two nuclear weapon neighbours, it is one thing. But the problem is that Trump did not quite put it that way. His whole demeanour was reminiscent about how hethe Great Trumpintervened and told two errant schoolboys to end their squabbling.

In diplomacy, optics are important, and frankly, the manner in which Trump spoke even before India had, and the swagger with which he spoke, was not good optics.

The easiest thing, of course, is to ascribe anything unacceptable on the eccentric threshold of Trumps persona. However, even conceding thisalthough personally I am not inclined to do sothere are substantive issues involved. If the US did play a role, it subtly legitimised third-party involvement in Kashmir, eroding Indias no-mediation stance, and contrary to our long-standing position in this regard. Further, the ceasefire did not require Pakistan to cease support for terrorism, allowing it to reset its global image without substantive policy changes.

The least that Trump could have done was to refer to Pakistans emphatic complicity in international terrorism, and the least that India could have done was to ensure that he does, even while heeding his call for a ceasefire. Moreover, there are important future implications. Relying on a mercurial US president, whose policies often shift unpredictably, carries inherent risks in our ability to inflict retribution on Pakistan on its continued nexus with terrorism, should the need arise again.

India has always prided itself on strategic autonomy, resisting external pressure on sovereign matters. If the US did influence the ceasefire, it raises questions about whether India compromised on this principle for short-term gains.

In hyphenating India and Pakistan as equals, which we had long succeeded in preventing, the long-term benefits for India remain uncertain. If the US role was indeed significant, it may have subtly shifted the dynamics of India-Pakistan diplomacy, potentially opening doors for future external mediationa scenario India has historically resisted.

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In my opinion, while the country has shown its unqualified appreciation for Operation Sindoor, the government and our brave armed forces, and demonstrated it by its rock-solid unity, the government would do well to share all relevant details on what transpired to end the operation. A special Parliament session, or at the least, an all-party meeting, would perhaps enable this.

The writer is a former diplomat, an author, and a politician. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:30 IST
Shashi Tharoor Picked For Global Outreach Role Despite Being Left Off Congresss List Of 4 Names

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 13:10 IST

The overseas all-party delegation has been tasked to present India's 'zero tolerance' policy on terrorism and highlight recent developments under Operation Sindoor.

Congress veteran Shashi Tharoor did not feature in his party's own shortlist of nominees for a key overseas all-party delegation. (ANI File)

Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former president Pranab Mukherjee, lashed out at the Congress for conspicuously missing" names of party veterans Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari from the list of an overseas all-party delegation that has been tasked to present Indias zero tolerance" policy on terrorism and highlight recent developments under Operation Sindoor.

Mukherjee, a former Congress leader, made the allegations after it came to light that Tharoor has been chosen to lead the delegation, despite not featuring in his partys own shortlist of nominees for the task.

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Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, on the morning of May 16, asked the Congress party to propose four names for inclusion in the delegations being sent abroad to present Indias stance on terrorism originating from Pakistan, according to party leader Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress recommendation list included Anand Sharma, a former Cabinet Minister; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha; Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, a Rajya Sabha MP; and Raja Brar, a Lok Sabha MP.

Names of @ShashiTharoor & @ManishTewari conspicuously absent. Pettiness of Congress under current dispensation knows no bound! https://t.co/0RUlr0300H Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) May 17, 2025

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, however, announced that  Tharoor, a four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram  will lead the all-party delegation. Other members include BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMKs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Shrikant Shinde.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has described the Congresss suggestions as questionable." BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya expressed on X that the Congress partys choices for representing India at diplomatic meetings are not merely intriguing, but deeply questionable.

The Congress partys choices to represent India at diplomatic meetings are not just intriguing  they are deeply questionable.Take, for instance, the inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain in a delegation representing India. It is truly shocking. Lets not forget  it was his https://t.co/10e95JrKUv  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 17, 2025

How Did Tharoor React?

Tharoor expressed his honour at the governments invitation to lead an all-party delegation to five major capitals to represent Indias perspective on recent events. He affirmed his commitment to national interest, stating that he would always be ready to serve when needed.

I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!  pic.twitter.com/b4Qjd12cN9  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 17, 2025

The move comes amid continued demand by Indians to make Tharoor international spokesperson of the government. The Congress veteran had been garnering praise for globally putting forward Indias mission to end terror.

Jairam Ramesh Accuses Centre Of Playing Games

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that they were demanding a special session to present a united front, but the government decided to send an all-party delegation instead. This indicates that the governments narrative has been punctured," he said. Ramesh mentioned that they welcomed this move and made it clear that Congress would participate. However, he criticized the governments behavior, saying, The way this government is behaving does not show honesty on their part. They are playing games."

Ramesh expressed uncertainty about the future actions, noting, What will happen next, I cant say. The names are different. We did our duty, hoping that the government was asking for names with honest intentions. We didnt know they were doing it with a mischievous mentality."

Regarding Shashi Tharoor, Ramesh clarified, We were asked for four names, and we gave four names. I cannot speak on behalf of any individual."

Is All OK Between Shashi Tharoor & Congress?

Tharoor, in fact, was not just praised by internet users but also the ruling party members  in a rare move. However, this seems to have caused discontent within his own party.

The Congress veteran in his recent public comments supported the governments military response to terror. He mentioned that the government acted with restraint and precision, targeting only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK during the May 7 strikes, reportedly killing over 100 terrorists.

Remarks from Tharoor clashed with the Congress Partys official stance, which has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modis government for lacking transparency in the ceasefire agreement and questioned the USs involvement in brokering it.

In a recent press briefing, Jairam Ramesh clarified that Tharoors comments were his own opinion, stating, When Tharoor saab speaks, it is not the partys opinion."

Sources cited in a Press Trust of India (PTI) report revealed that senior party members believe Tharoor may have overstepped by frequently diverging from the partys official position.

Tharoor has had a tumultuous relationship with the Congress high command, with several periods of tension. In 2014, he was removed from his role as party spokesperson after expressing positive views about Prime Minister Modi.

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In 2020, he joined the G-23, a group of senior Congress leaders calling for significant organizational reforms. Many members of this group have since left the party.

In 2022, Tharoor ran for the Congress presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge. Despite Kharge having the support of the Gandhi family, Tharoor received over 1,000 delegate votes.

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: May 17, 2025, 12:06 IST
'Difference Between Being In Party': First Big Reaction By Congress To Shashi Tharoor Fiasco

Reported By : &

News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 17:19 IST

The reaction comes close on the heels of a recent comment by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh that MP Shashi Tharoor's opinions were not those of the party

The entire brouhaha began with the government announcing a multiparty delegation abroad, which included Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's name. (Image: PTI/File)

Congress mein rehne aur Congress ka hone mein antar hai (there is a difference between being in the Congress and to be of the Congress): this was the first big response from the Congress to Shashi Tharoor.

It comes close on the heels of a recent comment by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh that Tharoors opinions were not those of the party. This lack of unity comes just as the Grand Old Party has shown unity with the central government on Operation Sindoor.

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The entire brouhaha began with the announcement of a multiparty delegation abroad, which included Tharoors name, on Pakistans cross-border activities and its conduct during the military standoff after the Pahalgam terror attack.

All parties, including the Congress, were asked to give names. According to Jairam Ramesh, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi submitted four names  Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Naseer Hussain. Tharoors name was not on the list.

Adding to the drama, Tharoor said he had already informed the party about being offered the job. So the question is, why then did the party not recommend his name?

Now, the Congress has sniffed mischief and feels that the Centre released the list without factoring in Congress names. Within 10 minutes, Ramesh released the names recommended by the Congress, and this has now become a tug of war between the party and the BJP.

The Congress is apparently unsure of where Tharoors loyalty lies. It feels that he needs to toe some kind of party line, which he has not so far. He ticks all the boxes for sure from contesting the presidential polls to praising the Left Front government in Kerala to standing by the BJP-led NDA government on trade tariffs, handcuffing of illegal immigrants, and rubbishing claims by US President Donald Trumps intervention for a ceasefire deal.

The Congress led by Rahul Gandhi has planned that while it will support the government, it will not shy away from raising the issue of US mediation during the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

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What has really angered the Congress is Tharoors rejection of Trumps claims. Rameshs comment that he did not represent the Congress opinion came only moments after a meeting over the issue was held by national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi, which Tharoor attended as well.

Tharoor has already expressed his gratitude for being a part of the list announced by the government. But, the Congress is unhappy with him. Rameshs strong remarks against him show that. It is only a matter of time the break happens.

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: May 17, 2025, 17:14 IST
Falsely Represented: Govt Clarifies After Rahul Gandhi's 'Pakistan Was Informed' Post

Curated By :

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 21:48 IST

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also said that a statement on the timing of Pakistan being informed was being falsely represented.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Image: PTI/File)

The BJP on Saturday accused senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi of spreading misinformation and serving as a propaganda tool" of Pakistan after the latter had claimed that the government had informed Pakistan at the start of Operation Sindoor.

What MEA Said?

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also said that a statement on the timing of Pakistan being informed was being falsely represented.

We had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Operation Sindoors commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out," the MEA had said.

What Rahul Gandhi Claimed?

The Lok Sabha LoP on Saturday shared an undated video of External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in which he was heard saying that at the start of Operation Sindoor, a message was sent to Pakistan that only terror bases were being struck.

At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying we are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military. So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video.

Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. 1. Who authorised it?2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025

While sharing the video, Gandhi wrote, Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI (government of India) did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result."

BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari hit back at the Lok Sabha LoP and accused him of spreading fake news" and asked if the Congress was unhappy with the demolition of terror infrastructure in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.

"Stop spreading fake news, Rahul Gandhi," Bhandhari wrote on X.

He also posted a screenshot of the governments PIB Fact Check units post on X which had rejected a similar claim earlier this week, as misleading."

Old habits die hard. Rahul Gandhi who was partying after the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack, and who was officially quoted by Pakistani military in its press conference is back to question our forces," Bhandari charged in another post on X.

Old habits die hardRahul Gandhi who was partying after 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack, and who was officially quoted by Pakistani Military in its Press Conference is back to question our forces! Is Congress unhappy that #OperationSindoor demolished Terror infrastructure in https://t.co/Pm6FgMbA3B pic.twitter.com/WoRHZtXYre  Pradeep Bhandari( ) (@pradip103) May 17, 2025

Is Congress unhappy that Operation Sindoor demolished terror infrastructure in Pakistan," he asked.

Another BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok accused the Congress leader of speaking for Pakistan and asked him to stop being a propaganda tool of Pakistan".

You have been doing this for the last three generations," Alok said in a video message on X, reacting to Gandhis remarks.

The PIB, in a post on Thursday, had fact-checked a claim by a journalist in which he alleged that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan before the start of Operation Sindoor that it would be hitting terrorist infrastructure in the country.

The social media post falsely implies from External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankars statement that India informed Pakistan before the start of #OperationSindoor. EAM is being misquoted and he has not made this statement. Remain vigilant and avoid falling for deceptive information," the PIB said in the post.

Operation Sindoor

India launched precision strikes" under Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes killed at least 10 family members of JeM chief Masood Azhar and four close aides.

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The sites targeted were the Pakistani bases at Rafiqui (Shorkot, Jhang), Murid (Chakwal), Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi) Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian (Kasur). In the strikes, the air bases in Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad and Sargodha suffered extensive damage.

Within a tightly coordinated 24-minute window, India targeted 21 terror camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) across nine locations, four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The targets were not just aimed at avenging the Pahalgam attack, but also targeting terror sites where other such attacks were planned.

About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 21:46 IST
'Pakistan Links': Assam CM Objects To Congress' Nomination Of Gaurav Gogoi For Global Outreach

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 18:06 IST

Without naming Gogoi, who is the Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Sarma said that the former shouldn't be included in the "sensitive and strategic assignment".

Assam CM Himanta Sarma and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. (File)

In an indirect hint towards Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday urged the Congress party to drop the states MP from the list of four lawmakers nominated by the grand old party for the delegations to be sent abroad to present Indias stance on terrorism originating from Pakistan.

Without naming Gogoi, who is the Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Sarma said that the former shouldnt be included in the sensitive and strategic assignment".

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One of the MPs named in the list ( from Assam ) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistanreportedly for two weeksand credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India," he said in a post on X.

One of the MPs named in the list ( from Assam ) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistanreportedly for two weeksand credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India.In the interest of national security and beyond https://t.co/Y1thJAgMy8  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 17, 2025

He further urged the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to revoke the name of Gogoi in the interest of national security," citing the latters familys alleged links with Pakistan.

In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge Leader of Opposition Sri Rahul Gandhi not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment," Sarma added.

Congress has nominated the names of Anand Sharma, a former Cabinet Minister; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha; Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, a Rajya Sabha MP; and Raja Brar, a Lok Sabha MP, for inclusion in the delegations being sent abroad to present Indias stance on terrorism originating from Pakistan.

The central government has chosen seven lawmakers to lead delegations abroad as part of its effort to reshape the global narrative by presenting Indias evidence and stance on the Pahalgam attack directly to foreign governments and international bodies.

Each delegation will comprise Members of Parliament from various political parties, prominent political figures, and seasoned diplomats, with the following MPs appointed to lead the seven delegations: Shashi Tharoor (INC), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).

Sarma Vs Gogoi

Sarma has been making allegations against Gogoi over his alleged Pakistan links through his British wife Elizabeth Colburn, and has claimed that the Jorhat MP had stayed for 15 days in the neighbouring country without informing authorities.

The BJP has also accused Gogois wife of having links with Pakistan and the ISI, a charge rejected by the deputy opposition leader in the Lok Sabha as laughable and entertaining".

The saffron camp had further alleged that Gogoi had visited the Pakistan High Commission after he was elected to Lok Sabha in the 2014 elections without seeking permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker, Home Ministry and other related ministries. After his visit, Gogois organisation Policy for Youth wrote an article in a newspaper accusing BSF personnel of misbehaving with illegal women Bangladeshi intruders".

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Earlier in February, Sarma had raised questions about a meeting Gogoi held 10 years ago with the then Pakistan High Commissioner to India. The state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged interference of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who is claimed to have links with Gogois British wife Elizabeth Colburn, in Indias internal affairs.

(With input from agencies)

About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 18:05 IST
'Jealous? Can't See Someone Outshine?' BJP Raps Congress Over Shashi Tharoor Row

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 13:53 IST

Amit Malviya said that Congress suggesting Syed Naseer Hussain's name cannot be overlooked as one of his supporters raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans inside Vidhana Soudha.

Fresh Congress vs BJP comes amidst discussions on Centre's decision to involve Tharoor in its diplomatic outreach program following Pahalgam attack.

A fresh war of words has erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, hours after it emerged that Shashi Tharoor  a veteran of the grand old party  was not even on the list of recommendations sent by the party to be a part of a key delegation. This government-selected team has been assigned the responsibility to present Indias zero tolerance" policy on terrorism.

The BJP has acknowledged Congress MP Shashi Tharoors impressive international credentials and eloquence but questioned his standing within his own party.

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These comments arose amidst discussions concerning the Centres decision to involve Tharoor in its diplomatic outreach program following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent military operation against Pakistan, known as Operation Sindoor.

Amit Malviya, the head of BJPs IT cell, has raised serious concerns about the Congress partys choices for representing India at diplomatic meetings.

He remarked, The inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain in an Indian delegation is truly shocking. We cannot overlook that one of his supporters raised Pakistan Zindabad slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha while celebrating his Rajya Sabha victory." Bengaluru police arrested three individuals in connection with the incident based on forensic reports, circumstantial evidence, and witness testimonies.

Malviya also commented on Gaurav Gogoi, saying, The less said about Gaurav Gogoi, the better."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Gogoi of spending 15 days in Pakistan, with his arrival and departure records officially noted at the Atari border. Sarma alleged that Gogois wife, Elizabeth Colebourn, accompanied him for the first seven days before returning to India, while Gogoi remained in Islamabad. Upon his return, Gogoi reportedly took around 90 youths to the Pakistan Embassy, many of whom were unaware of their destination.

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Furthermore, Sarma has alleged that Elizabeth Colebourn maintained links with the Pakistan Army and continued to receive a salary from Pakistan, raising serious concerns about national security and conflict of interest. Malviya questioned, How can MPs facing such grave allegations be trusted to represent India, particularly on matters involving Pakistan? What message is the Congress trying to send, and whose interests are really being served?"

Amit Malvya further said, No one can deny Shashi Tharoors eloquence, his extensive experience as a United Nations official, and his profound insights on foreign policy. So why has the Congress Party, particularly Rahul Gandhi, not nominated him for the multi-party delegations being sent abroad to present Indias stance on key issues? Is it insecurity, jealousy, or simply an intolerance of anyone who outshines the high command?"

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: May 17, 2025, 13:53 IST
Setback For AAP In Delhi As 13 Councillors Resign, Announce Formation Of New Party

Curated By :

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:18 IST

The rebels, led by Mukesh Goel, announced the name for their new political party  Indraprastha Vikas Party.

Setback for AAP in Delhi (PTI Image)

In a huge setback to the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital, as many as 13 of its councillors resigned from the party and announced a new political outfit.

Mukesh Goel, once AAPs Leader of the House in the MCD, leads the group of rebels who quit the party.

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Goel, who contested from Adarsh Nagar in the 2025 Assembly elections but lost to BJPs Raj Kumar Bhatia, announced the name for their outfit  Indraprastha Vikas Party.

This happened just a few days after the BJP took back control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by winning the local elections. The Aam Aadmi Party did not take part in the election.

Ahead of the previous municipal elections, these leaders left the Congress party and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Goel, who had been a municipal councillor for 25 years, moved from Congress to AAP in 2021.

The latest setback for the party in Delhi comes after it was badly defeated by the BJP in the Assembly elections earlier this year. Since then, the AAP has been facing internal problems.

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To deal with the growing dissatisfaction within the party, the AAP made changes to its organisation in March. Former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj was made the new president of the partys Delhi unit. Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was given the responsibility of handling Punjab, which will have elections in two years.

Gopal Rai has been put in charge of Gujarat, while AAPs national general secretary Sandeep Pathak has been made the Chhattisgarh special in-charge.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:18 IST
In US, Uber Driver Pulls Out Gun On Passengers After Argument Over Directions

Curated By :

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Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 16:53 IST

When Krissy Celess allegedly instructed the driver which turn to take, the driver allegedly became hostile and eventually brandished a gun, starting the confrontation.

The incident has led Krissy Celess and her friend to decide to sue Uber. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

In a startling video from Florida, USA, an Uber driver is seen yanking out a revolver and yelling at passengers to get out." In the video, which Miami rapper Krissy Celess, also known as Bomb Ass Krissy, posted online, she and a friend argue with the Uber driver about directions, which swiftly turns into a heated altercation.

Krissy Celess allegedly instructed the Uber driver on which turn to take, which sparked the confrontation. But when the rapper remarked on the drivers behaviour, things went awry and became a passengers worst nightmare. The shocking incident reportedly took place late Monday (May 12).

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In the widely shared video, the driver is seen screaming at Krissy Celess and her friend to get out of my vehicle now" while simultaneously dialling 911. Youre no longer on the ride," she said. Get out," the driver shouted again. The driver then pulls out her gun when Krissy remarks about her crazy eyes."

Currently, the rapper has turned off the viral videos comment section. An NDTV report, however, claims that Krissy Celess and her friend will probably sue Uber for the incident.

I just never expected anything like this to happen," Krissy Celess told WSVN. She described how quickly things got out of hand. It just escalated so quickly. I was focused on the gun," she added.

I would argue that the Uber driver was extremely aggressive, and the reaction of pulling a gun was extremely excessive," Carlos Dominguez, the lawyer for both passengers, stated as quoted by NDTV.

Underscoring how simple disagreements do not necessitate a firearm," Dominguez elaborated: You know, emotions can sometimes get out of control because of a simple disagreement, but those disagreements do not necessitate a firearm to be pointed at you."

This is how Uber reacted.

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Meanwhile, Uber responded to the now-viral footage by calling it concerning," according to NDTV. This is concerning, and were so sorry this happened," said Uber.

Since drivers are expressly prohibited from carrying firearms under Ubers policies, the ride-hailing company has removed the driver from its network. In addition, Uber stated that it is cooperating with the Hollywood Police Department in the matter.

About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:53 IST
On a large black-and-white photograph, an ominous phrase  Break the rules, and you go to prison; break the prison rules, and you go to Alcatraz  greets the hundreds of tourists who visit the worlds most famous prison every day. They call it The Rock because it stands on a 22-acre island, just over a mile away from San Francisco.

The message of dissuasion has taken on a new meaning since Sunday, May 4, when U.S. President Donald Trump echoed Alcatrazs infamous reputation on his Truth Social account, with the announcement that he would REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! He claimed that, under his administration, the penitentiary would be substantially enlarged and rebuilt, with the purpose of housing Americas most ruthless and violent offenders. The next day, he repeated the remark and again linked immigration with crime.

Its just after 10 a.m. And, just like almost every day, fog covers the Golden Gate Bridge and part of San Francisco Bay. A ferry from Alcatraz City Cruises departs from the pier. Packed with tourists, it heads to the former penitentiary. The experience costs $48 and lasts about three hours. Nearly one-and-a-half million people from around the world visit the facility each year.

A National Parks ranger welcomes and provides information to tourists who have just landed on the island. Carlos Rosillo

The ferry arrives at the islet about 15 minutes later. It docks in front of the apartment building where the prison workers and their families once lived. On the facade, graffiti recalls that this inhospitable place was once Indian land. Alcatraz Island served first as a barracks (1853-1907), then as a military prison (1907-1930) and, finally, as a civilian penitentiary (1934-1963). It was shuttered because it became too expensive to maintain.

In addition to being a reminder of bygone times, its also a symbol of the struggle for Native American rights. Indigenous peoples occupied the island on three occasions (the last time was in 1969), when they controlled it for 19 months. A small guidebook  sold for a dollar  recalls that they attempted to buy the island back from the government for $24 and other goods. However, a glance at the group of tourists who just disembarked confirms that the federal government preferred to use the property for another purpose: the booming heritage tourism industry. Something that Trump now seeks to change.

The itinerary simulates a prisoners entry into jail. For a few hours, the visitor feels like an inmate who is about to be trapped within those walls. You enter through the shower room, although each tourist receives an audio guide, rather than a bar of soap.

Terry Woolsey  a 79-year-old retired engineer from Kansas  protects himself from the sun with a blue cap, which identifies him as a Vietnam veteran. Trump is a poker player, he opines. He throws down his cards to see whos playing and, in the process, he sees if hell commit.

From my profession, Woolsey adds, I know that it would be an impossible mission to get this prison back online. Besides, it would be very expensive. Food and water can only come from one place: solid ground.

The man defines himself as a conservative and  like Trump  believes there are too many dangerous criminals on the streets of the United States and that the number of prisons needs to be expanded. He also calls his 79-year-old wife, Anne, a socialist. She chimes in to state that she disagrees with the governments policies, especially when they accuse refugees of being criminals.

Tourists visit the main module of the prison. Carlos Rosillo

On the engineering front, Woolsey is correct: putting Alcatraz back in the service of the criminal justice system would require an almost complete reconstruction. Some buildings are in ruins, without roofs and with walls propped up to prevent collapse. Many areas are closed off for security: parts of their walls have fallen down. On the ramp leading to the morgue and water tank, red tape warns of a recent collapse. In the main cellblock, several door mechanisms are inoperable, while rust covers the pipes that once served as the heating system. Its cramped cells  measuring 8.8 by 4.9 feet  are in a sorry state. Many sinks and toilets are smashed, with the drains sealed. Everywhere, the walls are peeling.

In another demonstration of his troubled relationship with the truth, on Monday, May 5, Trump claimed that no one has escaped from the legendary prison. The truth is that, during the 29 years it was in operation, there were 11 escape attempts  and at least five of them were successful. The most famous feat is that of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers. They managed to escape in 1962 with a meticulous plan: they designed papier-mache dummy heads (with real hair) to fool the guards into thinking they were asleep. They also used spoons to dig into the wall. The feat served as the raw material for the film Escape from Alcatraz (1979), a prison classic starring Clint Eastwood.

The island has been the setting for many other films, which have contributed to its enormous popularity. California Governor Gavin Newsom, of the Democratic Party, took to the cinema in Sacramento on Tuesday, May 6, to respond to Trump. He spoke about a 1996 movie starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. I dont know if [the president] is watching The Rock nothing about this makes any sense, Newsom declared, adding with a certain poetic quality that Trumps plan has the form and substance of the stuff that flows in and out of the bay over Alcatraz every day: fog. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie agreed that its not a serious proposal.

One of the cells in the prison. Carlos Rosillo The last menu on display in the cafeteria, from March 21, 1963. Carlos Rosillo Tourists visit the control booth of the cellblock. Carlos Rosillo The current state of the home that was assigned to the warden. Carlos Rosillo One of the isolation cells, utilized for solitary confinement. Carlos Rosillo The prison yard. Carlos Rosillo Tourists visit the cellblock. Carlos Rosillo The gate leading from the prison yard to the outside. In the background, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. Carlos Rosillo Tourists in the shower room. Carlos Rosillo Tourists visit the cellblock. Carlos Rosillo

From one corner of the cellblock, you can access the courtyard  the only place where the prisoners could enjoy the outdoors. The floor is covered in bird droppings. Grass sprouts between the cracks in the concrete. This island also has a high ecological value as an important bird sanctuary. On the other side, behind a rusty gate, thousands of Cormorants perch on their nests, watching the tourists. Western gulls soar above the prison. And the National Park Service  responsible for managing Alcatraz  has spotted other species on the island, such as the night heron and the Columbian Guillemot.

In the background, the skyline of San Francisco can be seen. I think its more of a show of force than a feasible idea, says Pauline Catazzo, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman, after taking a photo with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Its a paradox that he wants to raise money with tariffs to lower taxes and then he says this kind of thing.

On the fence separating the kitchen from the cafeteria, theres a panel with the last meal service still written on it: breakfast on March 21, 1963. Cereal, scrambled eggs, milk, coffee and toast. Next to this sign, 32-year-old Miguel Astorga  a Californian teacher  keeps an eye on the students he took on a field trip this May morning.

San Francisco is a city with a very interesting past. This prison is part of it. I teach history, and my students arent that interested in the subject matter. Here, they can experience an important part of their countrys recent past, he explains.

Regarding Trumps plans, he adds: I think he wants to hit this area of California because its predominantly Democratic. And hes using this announcement  once again  to instill fear, as he did with the deportations of immigrants to El Salvador.

After touring the conference room, looking at photos of the most famous prisoners  from Al Capone to Robert Stroud, aka Birdman  and walking past the offices and the lighthouse, the visit to Alcatraz ends where it began: on the pier. Passengers board the same ferry they arrived on: The Alcatraz Clipper. The small crew  as well as the National Parks employees who manage this island  will be the first affected by Trumps plans if he succeeds in implementing them.

Cormorants nesting on the island, with the city of San Francisco in the background. Carlos Rosillo

Alcatraz is a good business: it rakes in $60 million annually from ferry tickets, tours and sales at the souvenir shop. Both the concessionaire  which has a monopoly on transporting travelers to the island  and the National Park Service have remained silent about the prisons conversion proposal. They also didnt respond to questions from EL PAIS.

When the last of the tourists have boarded The Alcatraz Clipper, the ferry sets sail. No one wants to be left behind. The visitors  who have been kept as prisoners for a few hours  leave feeling like theyve escaped from the worlds most famous maximum-security jail.

Perhaps the days of these short tours are numbered. If Trumps plans come to fruition, those who arrive at Alcatraz will be there for a much longer visit.

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Parrots To Pigeons, Chennai Couples Bird Paradise Has A Meiyazhagan Connection

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 15:33 IST

They provide raw groundnut, soaked rice and seasonal fruits, cooking fresh food daily for the birds.

People were quick to connect the terrace to a Meiyazhagan scene. (Photo Credits: X)

A couple in Chennai, Sudarson and Vithiya, have been feeding parrots, pigeons, doves and house sparrows on their residences terrace for years, creating a haven for birds. The video of Sudarson and Vithiyas bird-filled terrace has sparked a debate on social media, with many appreciating their dedication while others raised concerns.

News agency ANI shared the video on X of Sudarson and Vithiya, who have been feeding birds for the past 15 years. The footage shows hundreds of birds sitting on the couples terrace and the surrounding areas of their house.

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#WATCH | Tamil Nadu | Chennai couple Sudarson & Vithiya have been feeding parrots, pigeons, doves, and house sparrows on their residence's terrace for the past 15 years, making it a great spot for visitors. pic.twitter.com/J3ZkLd0uQT ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2025

The video soon went viral online, garnering several likes and comments from social media users. Many have praised the couples devotion, while some have raised concerns about the potential health risks associated with large bird gatherings.

A user wrote, Thats fascinating, Parrot Sudarson! Its amazing how cinema can shine a spotlight on hidden gems like yours." Wow. This is beautiful," added another. The Chennai couples devotion has turned their terrace into a paradise for birds," a user posted.

On the other hand, a few users suggested that feeding so many birds could be harmful to their health. A user said, It is very unhealthy. Lack of health awareness is not something to be proud of& advertised. It is an untreatable health hazard to innocent neighbours too." Feeding pigeons is like keeping rats as pets. People are still unaware," read another comment. Pigeons are flying rodents," a user said.

Speaking with ANI, Sudarson said that their terrace attracts over 15,000 parrots during peak season (December to March) and around 1,000-2,000 during summer months. He further said that their place has become more famous after a few scenes from the Tamil film Meiyazhagan, starring Arvind Swamy, were shot at the location.

My parrots call me Sudarson. Weve been feeding birds here for the past 16 years. It started after my father passed away. One day I went to the terrace and saw hungry parrots looking for food. With more than 10,000 trees cut in the city, birds had no place for shelter or food. I started placing food for them every morning and evening, and slowly more birds began to arrive," he said.

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They provide raw groundnut, soaked rice and seasonal fruits, cooking fresh food daily for the birds. Every evening, around 100-150 people visit us. Mornings are restricted. Visitors say they feel very positive after seeing the parrots. Children especially love coming here during their summer vacations," he added.

The couples initiative has not only provided a safe haven for birds but also created a tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the world. People from Sweden, Switzerland, and England book their January tickets in advance and take appointments from me to visit. If you search Parrots Sudarson on Google, itll lead you right to us. Theres always a huge rush," he said.

About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 14:33 IST
Rs 2 Lakh Bill, 140 Guests And A Lion Dance: Inside Chinas Viral Hotpot Wedding

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 18:20 IST

The couple got married at a Haidilao outlet in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

Their original wedding venue was cancelled at the last minute. (Representative Image)

A wedding at a hotpot restaurant might sound unusual, but for one young couple in China, it turned into a celebration they wont forget. With 140 guests and a two-metre-long bill of 22,000 yuan (about US$3,000 or Rs 2.56 lakh), their budget-friendly banquet has caught the attention online for all the right reasons. According to the South China Morning Post, the couple got married on May 1 at a Haidilao outlet in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. The decision came after their original wedding venue was cancelled at the last minute. The bride, 26, surnamed Zhao, said they had very little time to make new arrangements.

Given the short notice, we could not prepare for a traditional wedding," Zhao said.

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It was a friend who came up with the idea of celebrating at a hotpot place. My husband and I are both devoted fans of Haidilao and once joked that perhaps our wedding could take place there. This unexpected cancellation encouraged us to turn that idea into reality," Zhao said.

The restaurant welcomed the couples request and turned the space into a festive venue. There were colourful wall decorations, bright signs and a red balloon arch at the entrance to mark the occasion.

Instead of following all usual customs, Zhao said they chose to keep things simple. They skipped formal rituals like oath-taking and toasting and made room for more relaxed, fun moments with their guests. One of those moments was a surprise lion dance by the bride and groom. A video of the performance, filmed inside the narrow aisle of the restaurant, started circulating online.

We learned this dance for our wedding, and we received the props not long ago. The lion dance is a symbol of good fortune and an integral part of traditional culture. We hope it will bring us luck," Zhao said.

The wedding lasted about two hours. Zhao said it was all about sharing a joyful meal and spending time with people they cared about.

Our wedding was modest in scale, and we did not accept monetary gifts from our guests. We simply wanted everyone to have a good time.

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Unlike the expectations held by older generations, we young people prefer a simpler, more relaxed approach. As long as everyone is happy and we receive their blessings, our wedding is truly meaningful," she said. She also plans to hold on to the long two-metre bill as a keepsake.

Last year, another couple in Guangdong province made news after hosting their wedding inside a McDonalds outlet.

About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 18:20 IST
Uttarakhand Man Harassed And Denied Water By Pakistani Roommates In Dubai, Rescued

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 18:25 IST

The man, identified as Vishal, was harassed and refused water by Pakistani men in Dubai.

His declining health spurred urgent efforts to get him back home. (Photo Credit: X)

A man from Uttarakhand, who was reportedly lured to Dubai with a job offer, has been rescued and has finally returned home. He revealed that during his stay, his Pakistani roommates repeatedly denied him access to water.

Upon his return, Udham Singh Nagar Police shared a photo of the man reunited with a family member on X (formerly Twitter).

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According to the police, the young man had been desperately pleading to come back, saying he was constantly harassed by his Pakistani housemates.

Due to the prompt action of SSP Manikant Mishra, the youth trapped in Dubai came back, and the family expressed gratitude to the SSP. He had gone to Dubai after being lured by the agent. He was constantly pleading to come back. The man was constantly being harassed by Pakistani youths over not giving him water," a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Uttarakhand police roughly translates.

SSP            ,  SSP                                         pic.twitter.com/34m5ykQN5L Udham Singh Nagar Police Uttarakhand (@UdhamSNagarPol) May 15, 2025

The man, identified as Vishal, was sent to Dubai by an employment agent named Sameer, according to a News9 report. However, once he reached Dubai, his Pakistani housemates began mocking him and teasing him about the rising tensions between the two countries, as well as the Indus Water Treatys restrictions on water flowing from India to Pakistan, the report added.

The agony reportedly grew, with Pakistani youth claiming, If India has stopped water from flowing into Pakistan, we will not let you drink water either."

Vishals health deteriorated due to prolonged dehydration and severe mistreatment, and he longed to return home. This information has not been independently verified by News18.

After his repeated pleas for help, his family approached the police, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manikant Mishra took up the case. Using the information Vishal provided, the police located the employment agency, found Vishal, and brought him home.

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On May 15, following his safe return, Vishal and his family met with SSP Manikant Mishra at the Rudrapur Police Office to express their gratitude for the prompt response. Vishal recounted his experience, describing how he fell ill due to mistreatment by young Pakistani housemates who refused to give him water, in defiance of Indias water restrictions on Pakistan.

His family expressed relief at his recovery and thanked SSP Mishra and the Uttarakhand Police for their swift action and assistance in ensuring Vishals safe return.

About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: May 17, 2025, 18:25 IST
Suspended From An Orbiting Asteroid, This Skyscraper Is Literally Hanging From The Sky

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 09:32 IST

Tethered by high-strength cables, Analemma tower would hover above various locations, offering its residents unparalleled and ever-shifting perspectives of Earth.

The unique orbital mechanics would allow the Analemma to traverse between the northern and southern hemispheres daily.

Clouds Architecture Office, an architectural firm based in New York, proposed a groundbreaking skyscraper concept dubbed the Analemma Tower," which reimagines the very foundation of tall buildings. Instead of being anchored to the Earth, this design envisions a colossal structure suspended upside down from an asteroid strategically placed in geosynchronous orbit around the planet.

Tethered by high-strength cables to its celestial anchor, the tower would hover above various locations, offering its residents unparalleled and ever-shifting perspectives of Earth. According to the official website of Clouds Architecture Office, Analemma Tower inverts the traditional diagram of an earth-based foundation, instead depending on a space-based supporting foundation from which the tower is suspended. This system is referred to as the Universal Orbital Support System (UOSS), which is based on the principles of a conventional space elevator."

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The firm further elaborates on the construction and movement, stating, By placing a large asteroid into orbit over Earth, a high-strength cable can be lowered towards the surface of Earth, from which a super tall tower can be suspended. Since this new tower typology is suspended in the air, it can be constructed anywhere in the world and transported to its final location. The proposal calls for Analemma to be constructed over Dubai, which has proven to be a specialist in tall building construction at one-fifth the cost of New York City construction."

The unique orbital mechanics would allow the Analemma to traverse between the northern and southern hemispheres daily in a figure-eight pattern, with its slowest speeds at the top and bottom of the loop, potentially allowing for surface interaction.

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Power would be sourced from highly efficient space-based solar panels, and water would be managed through a sophisticated closed-loop system replenished by captured condensate and rainwater.

The feasibility of such a towering structure is further enhanced by advancements in cable-less electromagnetic elevators, effectively overcoming traditional height limitations.

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: May 17, 2025, 09:32 IST
'Hopefully Ceasefire Will Take Place': Trump To Speak With Putin On Monday

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 21:10 IST

Trump said that he will speak with Putin and Zelenskyy separately on Monday, and will ask them to "stop the bloodbath". He expressed hope of a ceasefire next week.

US President Donald Trump to speak with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday | File Image/AFP

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he will speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts  Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, respectively  on Monday, asking them to stop the bloodbath", hoping that a ceasefire will follow the discussions.

Trump said that his talks with Putin and Zelenskyy will be followed by another call to various members of NATO.

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I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m. The subjects of the call will be stopping the bloodbath" that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

I will then be speaking to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and then, with President Zelenskyy, various members of NATO. Hopefully, it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!" the President added.

His remarks came a day after he said during a business roundtable in Abu Dhabi on Friday that he would like to meet Putin as soon as we can set it up".

The development also comes after Zelenskyy held talks with Trump, along with European leaders and discussed peace efforts. Other leaders who became a part of the conversation included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance. Our position  if the Russians reject a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow. Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war," Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Trump has time and again said that nothings going to happen" before he holds a face-to-face meeting with Putin.

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On Friday, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for their first direct peace talks in three years and agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.

Head of Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said after the talks that both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to provide each other with detailed proposals for a ceasefire.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 20:41 IST
Donald Trump Says India Willing To Cut 100% Tariff On US Imports: 'But No Hurry To...'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 07:31 IST

US President Donald Trump highlighted India as a country where he intends to lower trade barriers for US exports

US President Donald Trump. (AP file photo)

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that India has proposed eliminating all tariffs on American goods, noting that he is in no hurry to finalise a trade deal with New Delhi.

Trump highlighted India as a country where he intends to lower trade barriers for US exports during an interview with Fox News.

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They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know theyre willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States?" Trump said.

 BREAKING: President Trump says India is willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States.pic.twitter.com/SyJkMeFEoM  DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 16, 2025

When questioned about the timeline for the deal, he replied, Thatll come soon. Im in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us." He further noted that he doesnt intend to make deals with everybody."

According to reports, significant attention is on the forthcoming trade discussions between Washington and New Delhi.

A delegation from India, headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, is set to engage with US officials to work toward a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

Over the course of the four-day negotiations, Goyal is anticipated to hold meetings with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trumps Claim In Doha

While addressing the business leaders during his Doha visit, Trump said the same thing, claiming that India has offered to eliminate all tariffs on American imports.

India has offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff."

However, in response to Trumps assertion that India has proposed a trade deal with literally zero tariffs," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Thursday that the negotiations are still ongoing, complex, and far from being finalised.

Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on. These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from the trade deal. Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature," Jaishankar said.

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These remarks come as the Trump team looks to overhaul global trade dynamics. Earlier on Friday, Trump announced plans to introduce new import duty rates for US trading partners over the next two to three weeks."

About the Author Ronit Singh Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More

Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 07:21 IST
Donald Trump's 'N-Word' Remark On India-Pakistan Tensions: 'Worst Thing That Can Happen'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 12:16 IST

Donald Trump On India-Pakistan: Donald Trump said, "I figured youd want to clear that up. But its the N-word. Thats a very nasty word, right?."

US President Donald Trump (Reuters Image)

Donald Trump On India-Pakistan: US President Donald Trump referred to nuclear" as the N-word" while discussing the India-Pakistan conflict during a Fox News interview. You know what the N-word is, right?" Donald Trump asked the Fox interviewer Bret Baier to which he responded, Nuclear."

Donald Trump confirmed, Yeah," prompting Bret Baier to say, Thank you, thank you for the clarification."

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Following this, Donald Trump continued, I figured youd want to clear that up. But its the N-word. Thats a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways." He added that in a nuclear context, thats the worst thing that can happen."

What Donald Trump Said On India-Pakistan

As he talked about his past efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, Bret Baier referenced the airstrikes exchanged by the two nations, stating, You picked up the phone and called two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, and got them to step back from the brink."

Donald Trump responded, calling it a bigger success than Ill ever be given credit for." He emphasized, Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not like a little bit. And they were angry."

He described how the situation had intensified, saying, It was getting deeper and more, I mean, more missiles. Everyone was stronger, stronger to a point where the next ones gonna be, you know what, the N-word."

He also claimed the two countries were very close" to dangerous escalation.

Donald Trump On India-Pak Ceasefire

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Earlier, Donald Trump told American soldiers at a base in Qatar he sure as hell helped settle the problem between India and Pak last week", and that he had resolved a more and more hostile situation".

I dont want to say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile and, all of a sudden, youll start seeing missiles of a different type, and we got it settled," he said.

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: May 17, 2025, 12:16 IST
From Lashkar To White House: Trump Names Former Jihadist Ismail Royer In Key Advisory Board

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 18:50 IST

According to the White House, Royer has studied religious sciences with traditional Islamic scholars and spent over a decade working at non-profit Islamic organisations.

Trump Administration Names Former Jihadist Ismail Royer In Key Advisory Board

The Donald Trump administration on Saturday named, Ismail Royer, a former jihadist who spent 13 years in prison on terror-related charges, as a member of the White Houses Religious Freedom Commission advisory board.

An Islamic jihadist, Royer Royer was indicted on terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to levy war against the United States and providing material support to al-Qaeda and LeT in 2003. He had pleaded guilty in 2004 to aiding and abetting the use of firearms and explosives, receiving a 20-year sentence and serving 13 years, Washington Post reported.

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According to the White House, Royer has studied religious sciences with traditional Islamic scholars and spent over a decade working at non-profit Islamic organisations.

Since converting to Islam in 1992, he has studied religious sciences with traditional Islamic scholars and spent over a decade working at non-profit Islamic organisations. Royer has worked with nonprofits to promote peace between faiths," the White House said.

It further said that his writing has appeared in multiple publications and he co-authored an article on Islam on Religious Violence Today: Faith and Conflict in the Modern World.

In a conversation with Middle East Forum in 2023, Royer had recalled his journey of how he became a jihadist. I liked the folks in LeT. I had been very opposed to Bin Laden. I thought Al Qaeda was a group of deviants. I had been recommended to go to LET and told it was not an extremist group, that they leaned toward the imam of Saudi Arabia," he had said on his relationship with LeT.

I encouraged Muslims in the mosque to join Lashkar and train with them (in Kashmir). The training was not really that serious, it was more like tourism. It was like, Here, we will let you shoot guns and roam the mountains and then go back home." It was almost a kind of promotion," he had added.

Who Is Ismail Royer?

A son of a photographer and a teacher, Royer grew up in comfortable suburban St. Louis, where even at a young age he was drawn to extremism.

After converting to Islam in 1992, Royer began working with Bosnian refugees in his native St. Louis. After a brief stint with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington, DC, he went to Bosnia to fight in the countrys civil war. Royer came back home after the war ended in Bosnia.

According to the prosecutors as reported by Washington Post, he went overseas again in 2000, this time to Pakistan, where he met with Lashkar-e-Taiba. When he came back to Virginia, he started playing paintball in the woods with fellow Muslims, whom he encouraged to join the terror outfit.

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After the 9/11 attack in 2001, Royer was a key figure in the Virginia Jihad Network," organizing paintball training and facilitating travel to Lashkar camps for weapons training, with some members aiming to support the Taliban against US forces.

Royer was released from prison in 2017.

About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 18:50 IST
Lufthansa Flight Flew For 10 Minutes Without Pilot Last Year: Report

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 22:14 IST

The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report.

The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane.

A Lufthansa flight to Spain last year went without a pilot for 10 minutes after the co-pilot fainted while he was alone in the cockpit, German news agency dpa reported on Saturday.

During the flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain, on Feb. 17, 2024, the co-pilot of an Airbus A321 fainted while the captain was in the restroom, dpa reported, referring to a report by the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC.

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The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report.

Lufthansa told dpa that it was aware of the investigation report and that its own flight safety department had also conducted an investigation. The company didnt disclose its results, dpa said.

Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue flying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. During this time period, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported.

The captain initially tried entering the regular door opening code, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit so that the co-pilot can open the door. He did so five times without being able to enter the cockpit. A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone.

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Finally, the captain typed in an emergency code that would have allowed him to open the door on his own. However, shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot opened it from the inside despite being ill, dpa reported.

The pilot then decided to make an unplanned landing in Madrid, where his colleague was taken to a hospital.

Location : Berlin, Germany

First Published: May 17, 2025, 22:14 IST
My Name Is Not Khan: Sikh Couple Attacked In London By Pakistanis, Alleges Police Inaction

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 22:55 IST

A Sikh couple was attacked by a group of Pakistanis but the husband was arrested for being "racially aggravated" as he called a Pakistani man "a Pakistani."

Sikh couple attacked in London by Pakistanis (Photo: X/ @kingkapoor72)

A Sikh couple living in London has claimed attacks by a group of Pakistani goons on their family and subsequent inaction by the police, which they alleged is due to instructions by the mayor of the city, Sadiq Khan.

To prove his point, Harman Singh Kapoor, a restaurant owner in London, said he was arrested by the city police for calling a Pakistani a Pakistani two days ago. He claimed that the police accused him of being racially aggravated".

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Last night I called 999 after being assaulted by a group of Pakistanis. When Met Police arrived, one officer ran at me while others shouted, Arrest him!" My offence"? I called a Pakistani a Pakistani. They accused me of being racially aggravated"  not the actual attackers. This is policing under Sadiq Khan," Kapoor tweeted on Friday night.

Last night I called 999 after being assaulted by group of PakistanisWhen Met Police arrived, one officer ran at me while others shouted Arrest him!"My offence"? I called a Pakistani a Pakistani.They accused me of being racially aggravated"  not the actual attackers. pic.twitter.com/vPJIkkbpR4  Harman Singh Kapoor (@kingkapoor72) May 16, 2025

Sikh Family Details Ordeal Of Repeated Attacks In London

Detailing their ordeal of attacks by a group of Pakistanis in London, the couple said that this has been happening for the last two and a half years, which lastly resulted in the husbands arrest.

We got attacked by some Pakistani goons on our own premises. We have some injuries. I (husband) tried to defend myself and my family. I (wife) called the police. I (husband) got arrested. Because my name is not Khan and we are not terrorists," the couple said in a video.

I got arrested becauseMy name is not Khan andIm not a terrorist pic.twitter.com/bKnllISk8F Harman Singh Kapoor (@kingkapoor72) May 17, 2025

In a separate self-made video shot in a car, the woman said that the police have proof of the attacks that have taken place; however, they have not initiated any action against the perpetrators as they are being controlled by Sadiq Khan, Londons mayor, who has roots in Pakistan.

My family has been threatened for the last two and a half years. Police have all the proof: home address, car number, phone number. Police know who attacks us. Its always a planned attack, but police have not arrested anyone. They dont even reply. Within 24 hours, the case is closed. Police dont even respond. We got rape and death threats," she said.

London Polices Inaction

The husband said that the photos of his daughter and wife were leaked on the internet which was followed by rape threats. When he took up the matter with the police, they termed it freedom of speech", he alleged.

People leaking the photos of my wife and daughter online and giving rape threats. The police say this is freedom of speech. Under whose instructions are the police doing this? Its Sadiq Khan. Are you giving instructions to the police?" the man asked.

The woman accused Khan of only serving the people of his community and said in no uncertain terms that the London mayor will be responsible if anything happens to her family.

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Why Met Police is serving only one community ?I was the victim and got arrested, as some laws abiding criminals from privileged community attacked me pic.twitter.com/fHiUf0vr3W Harman Singh Kapoor (@kingkapoor72) May 17, 2025

Yes, Sadiq Khan, its your instructions as the police are working under you. If youre serving only your community, then please resign right now. If anything happens to my family, only Sadiq Khan is responsible because he knows who is attacking us and supporting those criminals," she said.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: May 17, 2025, 22:24 IST
Pakistan Mimicks India Again: PM Sharif Tasks Bilawal Bhutto To Lead Its 'Peace' Delegation On Global Stage

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 18, 2025, 00:26 IST

Pakistan copied yet another move from India and has decided to send Bilawal Bhutto to represent the country on a global stage to present its "case for peace".

Bilawal Bhutto tasked to represent Pakistan on world stage (AP File Image)

In yet another copycat move, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to present the countrys case for peace" on the global stage.

This comes as the Indian government shouldered the responsibility on 7 MPs to lead respective delegations to assigned countries and present Indias evidence and stance on the zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and the Pahalgam terror attack, which led to Operation Sindoor.

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Pakistan Copies India Again

In another example of imitating India after facing humiliation in a four-day military escalation from May 7 to 10 during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has asked Bhutto to present its case on a global stage.

Announcing the same, Bhutto said on X that he was contacted by Shehbaz Sharif, who asked him to lead a delegation.

I was contacted earlier today by Prime Minister @CMShehbaz, who requested that I lead a delegation to present Pakistans case for peace on the international stage. I am honoured to accept this responsibility and remain committed to serving Pakistan in these challenging times," he posted on X.

The last time Pakistan copied India was not too long ago, when their Prime Minister visited a military base in Sialkot, copy-pasting the move from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who went to Adampur airbase in Punjab and interacted with air warriors and jawans. He also addressed them with the S-400 air defence system in the background  which Pakistan had claimed to have shot down.

Shehbaz Sharif too visited the Sialkot base and addressed the Pakistani army soldiers and claimed victory" against India in the brief 4-day air battle.

Indian Delegations To Various Countries

Pakistans mimicking of India comes as the Modi government in India formed teams to visit different parts of the world. Each delegation would comprise leaders from various political parties, including the Opposition, and seasoned diplomats.

One mission. One message. One Bharat Seven All-Party Delegations will soon engage key nations under #OperationSindoor, reflecting our collective resolve against terrorism.Heres the list of MPs & delegations representing this united front. https://t.co/1igT7D21mZ pic.twitter.com/3eaZS21PbC  Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 17, 2025

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Shashi Tharoor (INC), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) will lead their respective delegations.

Sources told CNN-News18 that the first location that will be visited by the committee will be Guyana on May 24. This delegation will arrive in the United States by June 2 and is expected to remain in the country up to the first week of the month.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: May 18, 2025, 00:09 IST
Pakistan Vows To Rebuild LeT Terror Hub Muridke Struck By India In Operation Sindoor

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 20:04 IST

Islamabad had claimed that it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 kms from Lahore.

Pakistan claims it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 kms from Lahore.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistani government has reportedly vowed to rebuild the mosques and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) headquarters in the Muridke area one of the nine terror bases hit by India during Operation Sindoor.

The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, a political wing of the banned JuD and a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), on Saturday said that the government has assured them Muridke would be developed at its own expense, reported news agency PTI.

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Earlier this week, Pakistans federal minister Rana Tanveer Hussain had visited Muridke and said that the Pakistani government has pledged to rebuild the area at its own expense.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir will personally finance the reconstruction of a mosque damaged in the operation," he had said as reported by India Today.

On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor and struck nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) including the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) stronghold of Bahawalpur and the LeTs base at Muridke, the two terrorist organisations responsible for major attacks on Indian soil, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

Islamabad had claimed that it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 kms from Lahore.

Called the Markaz-e-Toiba, the LeT headquarters operates under the facade of a charitable organisation, JuD. The Markaz complex, like the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Bahawalpur, is the nerve centre of the LeT.

India has maintained that it targeted terrorists, saying more than 100 were killed, resisting civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the IMF in its board meeting in Washington on May 9 had cleared a USD one billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its USD 7-billion funding programme for the country.

In his address to air warriors at Gujarats Bhuj Air Force station this week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said Pakistan has again started trying to rebuild the terror infrastructure destroyed by India last week. Islamabad will spend the money collected from the common citizens of Pakistan to pay around Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad" and a UN designated terrorist.

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Operation Sindoor came after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack claimed the lives of 26 people. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, had claimed responsibility for the massacre in Jammu and Kashmir.

(With inputs from PTI)

About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More

Location : Lahore, Pakistan

First Published: May 17, 2025, 20:04 IST
Shehbaz Sharif Claims India Sought Ceasefire, But This Pakistani Creator Calls His Bluff

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 11:42 IST

A Pakistani content creator shared a video on X highlighting the incongruity of Shehbaz Sharif's remarks on ceasefire with India.

Shehbaz Sharif revealed he was interrupted during a morning swim to receive news of a ceasefire offer.

In a rare public acknowledgment, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Indian ballistic missiles struck Nur Khan Airbase and other locations within Pakistan during the early hours of May 10. But several Pakistani social media users strongly criticized Shehbaz Sharifs comments, particularly his admission of swimming during the Indian strikes and the decision-making regarding ceasefire with India.

Shehbaz Sharif On Nur Khan Base Attack

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Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Shehbaz Sharif detailed receiving a 2:30 AM phone call from Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir informing him of the Indian missile attacks.

In the intervening night of May 9-10, around 2:30 AM, General Asif Munir called me through a secure phone and told me India has launched its ballistic missiles. One has landed at the Nur Khan airbase and some at other areas," Shehbaz Sharif. The Indian strikes were part of Operation Sindoor a retaliatory military action launched on May 7th, following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Shehbaz Sharif On Ceasefire With India

Shehbaz Sharif revealed he was interrupted during a morning swim to receive news of a ceasefire offer.

It was morning time. I had my secure phone with me while I was swimming. As luck would have it, the phone rang," he recounted.

The call, from Asim Munir, conveyed that we have given India a powerful response but now they are seeking a ceasefire", Shehbaz Sharif said, adding, I told him that this is a matter of pride that you responded with force against the enemy and now they are forced to do a ceasefire."

Pakistani Creator Questions Shehbaz Sharif

A Pakistani content creator shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) highlighting the incongruity of Shehbaz Sharifs remarks, stating, Pakistan was being bombed and our PM was taking a swim."

The creator further asserted a critical stance, stating, A clever man always makes mistakes and we are here to catch his mistakes."

Targeting Pakistan Prime Ministers comments on a ceasefire with India, the creator said, So without asking anyone, either the Parliament or anyone, he instantly said yes to the ceasefire."

The creator concluded by questioning the legitimacy of the remarks by Shehbaz Sharif as he implored Pakistanis, How can this even be true. Use your basic common sense."

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What India Said On Ceasefire With Pakistan

India confirmed that a ceasefire agreement with Pakistan was reached on May 10 following direct communication between their respective Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs). This agreement aimed to halt all firing and military actions across land, air, and sea, bringing a temporary pause while India adopted a stance of cautious vigilance. New Delhi emphasized Indias unwavering commitment to countering terrorism in all its forms and asserted the countrys inherent right to respond decisively to any ceasefire violations or cross-border incursions.

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 : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: May 17, 2025, 11:39 IST
'Indian Missile Hit Nur Khan Base': Shehbaz Sharif Recalls Asim Munir Phone Call In Big Admission

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 11:52 IST

Shehbaz Sharif disclosed that he was swimming when he received the critical phone call informing him of a ceasefire offer.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif | Reuters Image

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly acknowledged receiving an urgent notification from Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir in the early hours of May 10 regarding Indian missile strikes on Pakistani territory, including the Nur Khan Air Base.

Shehbaz Sharif said that General Asim Munir contacted him at approximately 2:30 AM on the intervening night of May 9 and 10 to inform him of the incoming strikes. The notification from General Munir specifically mentioned that India had struck the Nur Khan Air Base- a significant military installation.

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Nur Khan Air Base, situated in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, stands as a strategically vital hub for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The air base orchestrates the PAFs logistical, transportation, and strategic airlift operations and hosts the VIP transport squadron, responsible for the air travel of Pakistans top leadership.

On the night of the 9th/10th, General Asim Munir called me at 2:30 AM to inform me that India had bombed several of our airbase: Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif pic.twitter.com/3WEvE655zt Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) May 16, 2025

Shehbaz Sharif On Ceasefire

Shehbaz Sharif disclosed that he was swimming when he received the critical phone call informing him of a ceasefire offer.

It was morning time. I had my secure phone with me while I was swimming. As luck would have it, the phone rang," he stated, adding, General Asim Munir was on the line and he said that we have given India a powerful response but now they are seeking a ceasefire."

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He described his reaction to the ceasefire, emphasizing national pride in the militarys response, saying, I told him that this is a matter of pride that you responded with force against the enemy and now they are forced to do a ceasefire."

India confirmed a ceasefire agreement with Pakistan was reached on May 10, 2025, through direct communication between the Director Generals of Military Operations of both nations. While agreeing to the ceasefire and its extension, India maintained a stance of vigilance, emphasizing its right to respond to any violations. India remained firm on its stance against terrorism, underscoring that the focus of any future engagement with Pakistan will be on addressing this core issue.

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 : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: May 17, 2025, 07:25 IST
Trump Bashes 'Obnoxious Jerk' Bruce Springsteen, Says Taylor Swift 'No Longer Hot'

Published By :

AFP

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 08:09 IST

Bruce Springsteen told a British concert audience that his homeland is now ruled by a "corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration."

US President Donald Trump | Image/File

President Donald Trump used his down time on Air Force One Friday to insult obnoxious JERK" Bruce Springsteen and declare Taylor Swift no longer HOT" in social media blasts against the music giants.

Trump  returning from a whirlwind Middle East diplomatic trip  took to his Truth Social platform to feud with Springsteen, who this week told a British concert audience that his homeland is now ruled by a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration."

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In return, the 78-year-old Republican said the legendary rocker, nicknamed the Boss," is Highly Overrated."

Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, hes not a talented guy  Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK," Trump wrote in the lengthy tirade.

This dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, thats just standard fare." Then well all see how it goes for him!"

Springsteen is an outspoken liberal critic of Trump and campaigned for Democratic president Joe Bidens ultimately abandoned reelection run last year.

While in Manchester on his Land of Hope & Dreams" tour Wednesday, he told fans that my home, the America I love, the America Ive written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years" is in danger.

Raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring," Springsteen said.

Trump also had strong words for Swift, who endorsed Bidens replacement as the Democratic candidate in 2024, Kamala Harris.

In a separate post, which provided no context, the US president said: Has anyone noticed that, since I said I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT, shes no longer HOT?'"

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He appeared to be referencing a post in September last year when he declared I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!"

Swift, 35, is the wealthiest female musician on the planet, with an estimated personal wealth of $1.6 billion, 14 Grammys and 30 MTV Video Music awards.

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: May 17, 2025, 08:09 IST
Turkey's Erdogan Rakes Up Kashmir Issue After Talks With Pakistan PM, Offers Assistance

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 20:40 IST

Turkish President Erdogan once again attempted to meddle in Kashmir issue despite India's "internal matter" stance. He told Shehbaz Sharif that Turkey is ready to play its part.

Erdogan discusses Kashmir with Shehbaz Sharif (AP File Image)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again meddled in the Kashmir issue, which is for India and Pakistan to resolve, and offered to explore ways to assist".

He held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and said that he discussed Kashmir at length, expressing his interest in playing the role of a mediator between New Delhi and Islamabad.

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We held comprehensive talks on the Kashmir issue with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and explored ways to assist. Balanced approach to issues can bring the parties closer to a solution and help prevent renewed escalation," he said after the talks, suggesting that the two neighbouring countries get to the negotiating table.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that talks and terrorism cannot happen together, adding that there are only two issues left to talk about with Pakistan  terrorism and the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to India.

Erdogan proceeded a step further and called for a human rights-based resolution" to the Kashmir issue with the involvement of the international organisations  a complete contradiction to Indias stance.

As Turkey, we hope for a resolution that respects human rights and involves constructive engagement from international bodies," he said.

If requested, Turkey is ready to play its part. We want peace," Erdogan added.

This is not the first time he has made public remarks on Kashmir, which has often drawn a sharp response from India. New Delhi has consistently maintained that Kashmir is an internal matter of the country and needs no mediation, including from countries such as the United States.

Erdogans latest remarks on Kashmir come at a time when anger against Turkey has been on the rise ever since Ankara provided drones to Islamabad, which used them against India during Operation Sindoor. Calls have been made on a large scale to boycott Turkey for its backing of Pakistan during the recent conflict between the two nations, despite Indias humanitarian aid to Ankara during its time of need, such as the 2023 earthquake, after which New Delhi launched Operation Dost to provide immediate relief.

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Erdogan has often supported Pakistans views on Kashmir and has raised the issue at international platforms like the United Nations General Assembly. His recent comments are likely to be seen by New Delhi as another example of Turkey not respecting Indias sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir.

Relations between India and Turkey have been tense because of this issue. In the past, India has told Turkey through diplomatic talks that Kashmir is a matter to be discussed only between India and Pakistan, as agreed in the Simla Agreement.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Ankara, Turkey

First Published: May 17, 2025, 20:22 IST
Uganda President's Son Live-Tweets Torture From His Basement

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 12:37 IST

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Uganda's President Museveni, shared a video on X showing activist Edward Ssebuufu's torture. Kainerugaba is likely Museveni's successor.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba (51) is Commander of Ugandas Armed Forces (Image: X/@mkainerugaba)

The son of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has shared a video on X displaying the ordeal of a torture victim under dictatorship.

In the video, the suffering of Edward Ssebuufu, a prominent opposition activist, was shown to the world by Kainerugaba, the Telegraph reported.

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Notably, Muhoozi Kainerugaba (51) is Commander of Ugandas Armed Forces and the man most likely to succeed his 80-year-old father as President.

The sons of the dictator have often been accused of violent behaviour  Col Muammar Gaddafis one-time heir, Saif al-Islam, carries an indictment for alleged crimes against humanity  yet only Kainerugaba has apparently chosen to live-post his cruelty to 1.1 million social media followers.

In those posts, Kainerugabas X account revels in Ssebuufus agony and degradation, describing how the prisoner was supposedly crying" and urinating", before adding, I still have to castrate him."

Kainerugaba, received a bachelors degree in political science from Nottingham University in 1997 and passed out of Sandhurst in 2000. He proclaims his goal to ascend to the pinnacle of power.

Kainerugabas previous outbursts have already earned him notoriety. He has in many ways praised Vladimir Putin as a hero", even offered to send Ugandan troops to fight for Russia. Besides he had also threatened to invade neighbouring Kenya (two weeks to capture Nairobi"); and had also expressed his desire to marry Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister.

The background on his X homepage carries an image of Robert Powell playing Jesus Christ in the 1977 miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.

Ssebuufu, Head of Security for Ugandas opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, disappeared after being arrested near the capital, Kampala, on April 27.

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Four days later, Kainerugabas X account announced that Ssebuufu was in his captivity.

This followed a series of tweets glorying in ordeal of the prisoner. The beards were the first thing the boys removed. After he finished crying and urinating," read one post.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More

Location : Uganda

First Published: May 17, 2025, 12:37 IST
US Embassy Issues Warning On Overstaying Visas: 'Could Face Permanent Ban...'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: May 17, 2025, 14:13 IST

US Immigration Rules: The embassy emphasized the severe consequences of such violations, including the risk of deportation and a potential permanent ban on future travel to the US.

A potential permanent ban on future travel carries substantial implications for individuals. (Image: Representational)

US Immigration Rules: The United States Embassy in India released a strong advisory cautioning Indian citizens against overstaying their authorized period of stay in the United States. The embassy emphasized the severe consequences of such violations, including the risk of deportation and a potential permanent ban on future travel to the US.

Underscoring the strict enforcement of US immigration laws, the embassy explicitly stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter), If you remain in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future."

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If you remain in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future. pic.twitter.com/VQSD8HmOEp U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) May 17, 2025

The warning is for Indian nationals currently in the US on various visas, including tourist, student, and work permits.

What Is Authorized Period Of Stay?

The authorized period of stay" is typically indicated on the I-94 form (Arrival/Departure Record) issued upon entry to the United States. Overstaying even by a single day can trigger significant legal repercussions.

What Would A Ban On Future Travel Mean?

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A potential permanent ban on future travel carries substantial implications for individuals seeking educational, professional, or personal opportunities in the US.

Individuals facing difficulties in departing on time due to unforeseen circumstances are urged to contact the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to explore options for legally extending their stay.

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: May 17, 2025, 14:13 IST


Prosecutor-General Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo has urged the public to be patient as law enforcement agencies undertake investigations into high-profile corruption cases, saying some matters take a bit longer because of the sophisticated and complicated nature of the inquiries.

Justice Matanda-Moyo made the remarks on Thursday when newly sworn-in Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioners paid a courtesy call on her at her offices in Harare.

She gave an example of former Nigerian President Sani Abachas money laundering case, which took nearly 15 years to investigate.

Well, high-profile matters have always been dealt with without political interference, said Justice Matanda-Moyo.

All we do is that, as you are aware, high-profile matters take time to investigate. Firstly, because of the complications of the evidence and once they are investigated, the prosecutors will take them to court.

If you look at cases like the Abachas scenario in Nigeria, they took 15 years to be completed. So, Zimbabweans need to be patient. Investigations will still be underway. Let us give our investigators time to investigate. Herald
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has said that it is impounding buses cleared at Beitbridge Border Post and holding them for reinspection because of rampant smuggling taking place at the countrys biggest port of entry.

The statement follows an outcry by travellers inconvenienced by the operation where Zimra impounds buses travelling from Beitbridge and hold them sometimes for days while they re-clear goods for duty payment.

Zimra said it is actively working at ensuring that the rights and comfort of passengers are respected during such operations.

Zimra said smuggling has become rampant and complex and it has escalated to untenable levels with goods entering through many unofficial points. The statement said impounding and reinspecting buses travelling from the border is one strategy of dealing with the problem.

However, passengers who spoke to Masvingo Mirror accused Government and Zimra of punishing travellers for their failures at the border.

Most of us have complied with duty regulations. We therefore are disappointed that after going through the process at the border we are now being stopped here and going through yet another process.

Some travellers have children and its very cold. There are no ablution facilities at the Railway station and who knows we can be held here for days.

Zimra must remember that we have rights and keeping us at a place where there are no facilities is a violation of our rights and even disrupting our travel arrangements is a violation of our rights, said one passenger.

Another passenger said Government must sort out its mess at Beitbridge and stop punishing travellers for its failures.

We acknowledge the concerns raised regarding the operations being conducted by Zimra at Beitbridge Border Post and the subsequent impounding of buses in Masvingo. It is important to clarify that the situation is complex.

Smuggling activities have escalated to untenable levels, prompting Government to implement targeted strategies to combat these illegal practices. The national anti-smuggling thrust aims to address these challenges.

Additionally, protecting civil society is a core part of our mandate, which necessitates acting on suspicious cargo or reports from whistle blowers.

Regarding the issue of ablution facilities, it is important to note that Zimra can only detain vehicles that have been used to facilitate smuggling. Consequently passengers are not supposed to be at the detention sites of these vehicles and we are working to ensure that their rights and comfort are respected, reads the statement. Masvingo Mirror
It's getting tougher and tougher to learn about what's happening in Tibet from anyone actually living in Tibetor who formerly lived there. As the Wall Street Journal reports, thousands of Tibetans used to flee to India annually; since 2020, there've been fewer than 100. While Tibet has been governed as part of China since the 1950s, recent years have seen China clamp down even more, the Journal explains. Technology plays a big part: The paper cites "increasingly sophisticated monitoring of digital devices" and a "fortified ... border with an extensive network of security infrastructure, including large surveillance drones with live video monitoring."

But the paper does manage to get one "firsthand account" of what's going on inside Tibet from Nam Kyi. The 25-year-old spent three years in prison after taking part in a 2015 protest that lasted just minutes; she held a photo of the Dalai Lama, whose image is banned, as is the Tibetan flag. A 2022 run-in with police made it clear to her that her WeChat messages were being monitored, and she was threatened with more prison time.

Nam Kyi decided to flee, amassing the $9,000 needed by selling herbs. She and her aunt departed in May 2023 and made it to Nepal within two weeks. There, she saw the Tibetan flag waving freely for the first time. She now attends a school for exiles in Dharamshala, India. The Journal notes it used to be full. Now, it's home to just a "handful of students." (Read the full story.)
Rising heat is a problem for millions of people in India. In Ahmedabad, temperatures this year have already reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit, a level usually not seen for several more weeks. Coping with that heat is a familiar challenge in the city. After a 2010 heat wave killed more than 1,300 people, city and health officials rushed to develop South Asia's first heat action plan, which was rolled out in 2013 and now serves as a model across India and South Asia. The AP zeroes in on two simple yet effective solutions that city officials, with help from climate and health researchers, have implemented to help those affected most by heat: the poor and those who work outdoors.

By painting tin-roofed households with reflective paint, they've reduced indoor temperatures, which otherwise might be up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than outside. More recently, the city hung curtains woven of straw and water sprinklers at one bus stop so commuters can get relief from the sun and heat. Officials said they plan to expand the idea to other bus stops in the city. Residents said both measures have been a relief even as they brace for at least three more months of sweltering summer.

Throughout the city's low-income neighborhoods, hundreds of tin-roofed homes have been painted with reflective paint that helps keep the indoors cooler. Residents said their houses were so hot before the roofs were painted that they would spend most of their time outdoors under any shade they could find. "Earlier, it was really difficult to sleep inside the house," said Akashbhai Thakor. People like Thakor are much more vulnerable to extreme heat because their houses aren't insulated and, since most of them depend on a daily wage, they must work regardless of the weather, said Priya Bhavsar of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar. Bhavsar said low-cost solutions could be the only respite for thousands of people in the city who can't afford to buy an air conditioner.

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In Ahmedabad's city center, a 25-meter stretch of a bus stop has been draped with mats made of straw which, when sprinkled with water, immediately cool the hot wind. Sprinklers installed on the bus stop roof lightly spray cool water on the commuters below, providing instant relief from the blazing heat just a step away. "What they've done is really good. Senior citizens like me can get some cooling from the heat," said 77-year-old Ratilal Bhoire, who was waiting under the sprinklers with his daughter. Bhoire said when he was younger, Ahmedabad was hot, but it was still possible to walk many miles without feeling dizzy, even at the height of summer. "Nowadays you can't do that," he said.
A Harvard University researcher is set to be transferred from a Louisiana detention center to Massachusetts after a federal judge's ruling on Thursday. Kseniia Petrova, said to be 30 or 31 and born in Russia, has been detained since February and faces a charge of smuggling goods into the United Statesspecifically, frog embryo samples obtained during a vacation in France, per the AP . Petrova reportedly collected the samples at a French lab specializing in embryo research and brought them back through Boston's Logan International Airport, where US Customs and Border Protection questioned her.

A federal judge says a Harvard scientist from Russia should be released on bail after she was detained by immigration officials, reports the New York Times . "There does not seem to be either a factual or legal basis for the immigration officer's actions" against Kseniia Petrova, the judge out of Vermont wrote. Petrova was detained at Boston's Logan airport over frog embryo samples she was carrying into the country, but the judge found the reason suspect given that the embryos were "wholly non-hazardous, non-toxic, non-living, and posed a threat to no one." It's not clear what the administration's next steps will be.

Per a DOJ release, Petrova's duffel bag contained "a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides." Petrova says she was unaware the samples needed to be declared. Authorities, however, allege messages on her phone indicated she intended to do just thatto smuggle the items in without declaring them. In one of the supposed texts, in responding to an individual who is said to have asked her how she planned to get the samples through customs, Petrova allegedly replied, "No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them." After the airport stop, agents canceled her visa on the spot and took her into custody. Petrova's attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, maintains that the detention and visa cancellation had no legal basis.

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Petrova, who fled Russia in 2022, recently filed a petition for release, but a federal judge in Massachusetts charged her with smuggling shortly before her hearing date. The scientist has said that she fears being deported back to Russia due to her past political activism there, per the New York Times. If convicted, Petrova could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Her lawyer expects the transfer to Massachusetts will happen within weeks. The Department of Homeland Security claims she lied to federal officers, while Harvard says it's monitoring the situation. Petrova continues to contest the charges, saying she had no intention of evading the law. (Petrova recently penned an essay for the New York Times on her predicament.)
MURIDKE, Pakistan - The administrator of an Islamic religious and educational complex in Pakistan has denied a claim by India that the site is a terrorist hub, following a May 7 missile strike that killed three people, and called for peace and dialogue between the two nations.

The facility in Pakistan's Punjab province, near India's Punjab state, was one of six sites targeted by Indian missiles and airstrikes that day. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan-based militants for the April 22 shooting that killed 26 people in India-administered Kashmir.

Muhammad Azam, administrator of the facility once run by a militant group but now managed by the Pakistani government, told Kyodo News that Indian missiles struck a mosque and residential quarters of the complex, which also includes primary and secondary schools, a seminary, a vocational center, dormitories and a clinic.

Even before the April 22 shooting, Indian government officials had claimed the complex was a hub for militants, specifically Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group India blames for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 170 people.

"We have no ties, direct or indirect, with any militant groups," said Azam.

"Each institution is overseen by a government-appointed administrator who monitors everything from education to boarding, nutrition and overall conduct," he said.

Located in Muridke, a town on the outskirts of Lahore, the 27-hectare compound houses 11 institutions, including two schools with 1,400 students and a seminary with 650 students.

The complex, formerly known as Markaz-e-Taiba, meaning "Center of Good," was founded in 1987 by Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Saeed has been imprisoned since 2019 on multiple convictions related to terror financing.

The government took over the facility in 2019, renaming it the Government Health and Education Complex Sheikhupura and appointing 11 administrators to oversee its operations.

In the wake of the April 22 shooting that killed tourists in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, India carried out airstrikes on six sites in Pakistan, including the complex in Muridke, while blaming a lesser-known militant group in the country for the attack.

Pakistan responded with heavy artillery and mortar shelling on Indian villages along the Line of Control, which divides the two parts of disputed Kashmir, and also launched missile and drone attacks on targets in India.

Although India and Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire on May 10, tensions remain between the two countries, both considered de facto nuclear powers.

Azam said the three workers killed in the May 7 Indian attack had remained at the site despite a government order for a full evacuation.

"Had the rest of the staff and families not been moved out, the death toll could have been catastrophic," Azam said, gesturing toward the damaged mosque, where the roof had caved in and rubble and shattered doors littered the prayer hall.

Despite the destruction of the mosque and parts of the residential buildings, Azam said the facility remains committed to its educational and humanitarian mission, with hopes of resuming operations after restoration work is completed.

Repeatedly denying the accusation that the complex is a base for militant activities, he said, "We cannot and do not allow any such activity at a facility that hosts schoolchildren and families."

"I urge the Indian government to engage in dialogue (with the Pakistan government) and address contentious issues through peaceful means," he added.

India and Pakistan have contested Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. India last carried out an airstrike on Pakistan in 2019, targeting a militant training camp in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir following a suicide bombing that killed 40 security personnel in the Indian-controlled area.

"Let's not forget -- war brings nothing but death and devastation. It's time to break this cycle and restore normalcy for the people on both sides of the border," Azam said.

Related coverage:

India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire after escalation of conflict

India strikes inside Pakistan after April terrorist attack in Kashmir
James Comey remains under the microscope for his online post this week showing a photo of seashells on the beach spelling out the phrase "86 47." Critics say the former FBI director and vocal critic of President Trump, the 47th president, was calling for the commander in chief to be assassinated; others say he meant nothing of the sort and that the hubbub is overhyped. Comey himself has said he didn't realize the term "86" was associated with violence. More on the Comey commotion:



An interview: The Secret Service interviewed Comey on Friday, per the New York Times, reportedly at an agency office in DC. Comey is said to have voluntarily showed up for questioning, driven there by Secret Service agents.

The Secret Service interviewed Comey on Friday, per the New York Times, reportedly at an agency office in DC. Comey is said to have voluntarily showed up for questioning, driven there by Secret Service agents. Secret Service take: A spokesperson for the agency told NPR on Friday that they take "rhetoric like this very seriously," and that "the Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees."

A spokesperson for the agency told NPR on Friday that they take "rhetoric like this very seriously," and that "the Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees." Trump reaction: The president isn't buying Comey's explanation that he didn't tie the term "86" to violence, per USA Today. "A child knows what that meant," Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Friday, calling Comey a "dirty cop." "That meant assassination. He wasn't very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant."
A transcript had been released last year, but newly public audio of a special counsel's 2023 interview brings President Biden's halting answers and memory failings to life, putting them in real-time context complete with long pauses. The recordings capture Biden's difficulty remembering when his son Beau died, when his term as vice president ended, and when Donald Trump was first elected president, reports Axios , which released the audio on Friday night. Biden, who's now 82, also struggled to answer why he had classified documents in his possessionthe subject of the sessionwhen asked by special counsel Robert Hur.

The Biden administration claimed executive privilege in declining to release the audio when it released the transcript, per the New York Times. A Biden spokeswoman said Saturday that the audio only confirms what was already public. The conversational detours Biden took during the interview, per Axios, included the Corvette he drove with Jay Leno, the walnut wood and seven kinds of molding in his home's refurbished rooms, the technological influence that Johannes Gutenberg's printing press had on Europe, and the fact that he once shot a bow and arrow in Mongolia.

The interview sounds mostly friendly, though the tension picked up when a Biden attorney suggested Hur's co-counsel was steering the president to consider changing his reason for why he had a classified document about Afghanistan, asking if his motivation was the historical value. "I guess I wanted to hang onto it just for posterity's sake," Biden replied, though Bob Bauer at one point told the president, "Your answer is that you don't know." When Hur decided not to pursue charges over his retention of classified documents, he said Biden came across as a "well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory." (New books portray Biden as in decline while still in office.)
Storm systems sweeping across the Midwest have left at least 16 dead, including nine people killed after a tornado sparked a mass casualty event in southeastern Kentucky. Kentucky authorities said there were also severe injuries when a twister tore across Laurel County late Friday. "The search is continuing in the damaged area for survivors," the office of Sheriff John Root said in a statement, per the AP . In Missouri, meanwhile, at least seven people died, and authorities were searching from building to building for people who were trapped or hurt after severe storms, including at least one possible tornado.

The storms were part of a severe weather system on Friday that also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left several hundred thousand customers without power in the Great Lakes region, and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas. In Missouri, the storms Friday afternoon tore roofs off buildings, blew out windows, ripped bricks off siding, and yanked up trees and power lines. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected. "This is truly, truly devastating," Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency. An overnight curfew Friday had been put into place in neighborhoods with the most damage.

National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between sometime before 3pm in Clayton, Missouri, outside of St. Louis. The number of people injured wasn't immediately known. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm, with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, per a hospital spokesperson. St. Louis Children's Hospital received 15 patients, with two of them expected to remain in the hospital into the weekend, she said.

story continues below

At Centennial Christian Church, three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled, per City of St. Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan. One of those people died. Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law, Patricia Penelton, was the one who died in the church, describing her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir. Jeffrey Simmons Sr., who lives across from the church, heard an alert on his phone and then the lights went out. "Next thing you know, a lot of noise, heavy wind," he said. "Everything was tore up." More here.
After saying there'll be no movement toward peace in the war over Ukraine until he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have a meeting of the minds , President Trump said he plans to talk to him on Monday. Trump posted Saturday that he plans to talk to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in separate calls, the Independent reports. "The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'Bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Putin sat out direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia held this week in Turkey, though he had proposed the talks himself. The talks did not produce a ceasefire agreement, but negotiators agreed to a prisoner exchange, per the AP. The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday about the peace talks, per NBC News. Hours after the two delegations left Istanbul, a Russian drone hit a bus carrying civilians being evacuated from a front-line area in the Sumy region, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. Ending the war, which he promised to do on his first day in office, was a major campaign promise by Trump.
A merger that would create one of the nation's biggest TV and internet providers will provide an early test case for President Trump's antitrust enforcers. Charter Communications and Cox Communications announced the deal on Friday in a statement tailored to reflect the president's rhetoric, the New York Times reports. The deal "puts America first," their statement said, by pulling customer service jobs back from overseas. The companies also touted the value of adding the "hyperlocal, unbiased news" produced by Charter's Spectrum News stations to Cox customers; Trump and his administration have repeatedly said the news media slant coverage against him. The release did not point out that Cox's parent owns the Washington news site Axios.

The deal, which puts Cox's value at about $34.5 billion, calls for Charter to pay cash and stock for Cox. Within a year of closing, the combined company would bear the Cox name and sell consumer services under the Spectrum brand. The companies predict annual reductions of $500 million in spending within a few years from "typical procurement and overhead savings." Charter CEO Chris Winfrey will become president and CEO of the combined company, per the AP, while Cox CEO and Chairman Alex Taylor will be chairman. Antitrust clearance is required for the deal to go through.

The Trump administration has warned corporations they shouldn't assume approval and has moved to stop Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, for instance, per the Times. The Federal Trade Commission chair suggested as much last month. "I don't have an ideological predisposition against M&A," Andrew Ferguson said, adding, "It doesn't follow, however, that I think it should just be open season" for cutting deals. Cox is the third-largest cable television company in the US, with more than 6.5 million digital cable, internet, telephone, and home security customers. Charter Communications, more widely known as Spectrum, per the AP, has more than 32 million customers in 41 states.
A synthetic opioid so powerful it can kill with a single tablet is threatening to strain relations between Japan and the United States. Fentanyl, a drug originally developed as a medical anesthetic, has become a national crisis in the U.S. due to its high potency and addictive nature. Now, reports suggest it may be making its way into the country via Japan.
KYOTO, May 17 (News On Japan) - A canal built more than 130 years ago to carry water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto is set to become the first modern civil engineering structure in Japan to be designated a National Treasure.

The governments Cultural Affairs Council has approved the designation of five sites along the Lake Biwa Canal, including iconic landmarks such as the aqueduct at Nanzenji Temple and the Keage Incline, which once hauled boats uphill on rails and is now known for its cherry blossoms.

Stretching approximately 30 kilometers from Lake Biwa to Kyoto, the canal was constructed during the Meiji era. At a time when major civil engineering projects were typically entrusted to foreign engineers, the Lake Biwa Canal was designed and built entirely by Japanese experts, marking it as the nations first large-scale domestic engineering achievement.

Among the structures to receive the National Treasure designation is the Nanzenji Suirokaku, an aqueduct with a series of brick arches that blends Western architectural styles and has become a popular photography spot in Kyoto. The Keage Incline, although no longer in use, draws visitors each spring as a famed cherry blossom destination.

Besides its visual and historical appeal, the canal has continued to serve practical functions, supplying water to Kyotos municipal system and supporting boat tourism. Its recognition as a National Treasure underscores its value not only as a scenic and cultural landmark, but also as an enduring piece of public infrastructure.

Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui commented: "I hope more people will come to understand how these canal facilities laid the foundation for Kyotos industrial and cultural development, thanks to the dedication of our predecessors."

The official designation is expected as early as this summer.

Professor Satoshi Fujii of Kyoto University noted that the canal played a crucial role in reviving the city after the Meiji Restoration, when the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. "This canal represents a pioneering effort in engineering and is a source of pride for our civil engineering department," said Fujii. "It saved Kyoto at a time of decline and helped shape the city we know today."

Source: KTV NEWS
LITTLE GOLD, YT, May 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is advising travellers that the Little Gold Creek port of entry will open for the summer season on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Seasonal hours of operation will be from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time, seven days a week. The port is scheduled to remain open until Monday, September 15, 2025.

Adverse weather conditions are a significant factor in the area and may impact the opening and closing dates. Travellers should note that the time in the Yukon (Pacific Daylight Time) is one hour ahead of the time in Alaska during the summer season. Travellers are encouraged to visit the CBSA Directory of Offices and Services or call 1-800-461-9999 for the latest information.

Quick facts

The Little Gold Creek port of entry provides access to miners, tourists and area residents who travel between Alaska and Canada . It is the most northern border crossing in North America . Last summer season, more than 11,600 travellers entered Canada at this border crossing.





and . It is the most northern border crossing in . Last summer season, more than 11,600 travellers entered at this border crossing. The port of entry is located 105 km west of Dawson City on the Top of the World Highway. The highway is closed during the winter months.





on the Top of the World Highway. The highway is closed during the winter months. Whether travelling by land, air or water, travellers can help speed up processing times by coming prepared with their travel documents.





All travellers must declare their goods upon entry into Canada . Returning residents should have receipts readily available for goods purchased or received while outside of Canada . If you've purchased goods in the U.S. and are bringing them into Canada , you may have to pay a 25% surtax in addition to regular duties and taxes. For residents of Canada , this surtax applies only to goods exceeding your personal exemptions limit. Consult the lists of products surtaxed as of March 4 , as of March 13 , and April 9 (U.S.-made vehicles). Visit the CBSA website for more details on how these surtaxes apply at the border.





. Returning residents should have receipts readily available for goods purchased or received while outside of . If you've purchased goods in the U.S. and are bringing them into , you may have to pay a 25% surtax in addition to regular duties and taxes. For residents of , this surtax applies only to goods exceeding your personal exemptions limit. Consult the lists of products surtaxed as of , as of , and (U.S.-made vehicles). Visit the CBSA website for more details on how these surtaxes apply at the border. Travellers are encouraged not to travel with firearms, but if they choose to do so, they should check the CBSA website for the rules on importing firearms and other restricted and prohibited goods.

Associated links

CBSA Directory of Offices and Services  Little Gold Creek

Crossing the Border into Canada

Twitter: @CanBorderPAC (or @CanBorder)

SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency

Contacts: Media Relations, Canada Border Services Agency, [email protected], 1-877-761-5945
OITA, Japan - A sake brewery in southwestern Japan with an over 150-year history has begun offering a seminar for foreign sommeliers on the traditional techniques for making the Japanese alcoholic drink, which were added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list last year.

The five-day seminar at Fujii Shuzo in Usuki, Oita Prefecture, is part of a course organized by the British-based Sake Sommelier Academy targeting experienced sommeliers, held in hopes of spreading awareness and appreciation about sake beyond Japan.

On Feb. 4, Andre Cis, a 40-year-old food and wine consultant from Austria, participated in steaming rice and placing it in a tank with rice malt and water. Describing the work as complex and intricate, he said he wishes to share his appreciation of the brewery's sake back home.

The seminar also welcomed a participant from Israel on a different date.

Toru Fujii, who heads Fujii Shuzo, said the seminar creates a "chance to garner attention from overseas."

While some in the domestic industry have told him they worry about it giving up its secrets, the 50-year-old was more concerned about the shrinking of the domestic market.

"This is not the time to be saying things like that," he said. "The value of Japanese sake can increase if it becomes a commodity that can be brewed in any country, similar to beer and wine," he said.

Fujii hopes opening up to people from overseas will eventually lead to exports to Europe, where the brewery currently has few sales.

Japan's domestic shipping volume of sake peaked at more than 1.7 million kiloliters in 1973 but has been declining due to the proliferation of other alcoholic beverages, plunging to about 390,000 kl in 2023.

However, the growing popularity of sake abroad has led to a recent increase in exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Related coverage:

Japan's oldest sake brand determined to keep taste unchanged

Spirits makers eye law to protect "Japanese whisky" brand
Weather Alert

Take action to protect yourself and others  extreme heat can affect everyones health. Determine if you or others around you are at greater risk of heat illness. Check on older adults, those living alone and other at-risk people in-person or on the phone multiple times a day. Watch for the early signs of heat exhaustion in yourself and others. Signs may include headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst, dark urine and intense fatigue. Stop your activity and drink water. Heat stroke is a medical emergency! Call 9-1-1 or your emergency health provider if you, or someone around you, is showing signs of heat stroke which can include red and hot skin, dizziness, nausea, confusion and change in consciousness. While you wait for medical attention, try to cool the person by moving them to a cool place, removing extra clothing, applying cold water or ice packs around the body. Drink water often and before you feel thirsty to replace fluids. Close blinds, or shades and open windows if outside is cooler than inside. Turn on air conditioning, use a fan, or move to a cooler area of your living space. If your living space is hot, move to a cool public space such as a cooling centre, community centre, library or shaded park. Follow the advice of your regions public health authority. Plan and schedule outdoor activities during the coolest parts of the day. Limit direct exposure to the sun and heat. Wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. Never leave people, especially children, or pets inside a parked vehicle. Check the vehicle before locking to make sure no one is left behind. Humidex values reaching 40 are expected. A heat event is expected this weekend. What: Daytime highs of 31 to 33 degrees Celsius and a humidex of 40. Overnight lows of 21 to 25 degrees Celsius, providing little relief from the heat. When: Today to Sunday, coming to an end Sunday night. Additional information: Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and result in the Air Quality Health Index approaching the high risk category. ### For more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/how-protect-yourself.html https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/who-is-at-risk.html Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ONstorm@ec.gc.ca or post reports on X using #ONStorm.
TOKYO - The Japan Meteorological Agency is considering introducing artificial intelligence into weather forecasting to improve accuracy by using deep learning, according to a source close to the matter.

Preparations are underway, with a new team established in April to lead infrastructure and technological development to combine AI predictions based on historical weather data with the numerical forecasting models currently in use.

If implemented, the AI system would use deep learning to analyze vast amounts of data, identifying patterns in weather to generate forecasts for future temperatures and rainfall, among other predictions.

AI-based methods may prove more accurate than current forecasting approaches in certain areas, such as typhoon path prediction.

The agency is expected to announce additional measures to enhance data functionality using AI and other technologies around June.

It currently uses a numerical weather prediction model utilizing observational data and supercomputers to simulate future atmospheric conditions. Experienced forecasters then analyze the results, factoring in real-world situations to issue weather reports and disaster alerts.

AI has so far been used to fine-tune simulation outputs, and humans will still play an oversight role and issue final forecasts even if AI predictions are introduced.

In addition to weather forecasting, the agency is exploring using deep learning to process observational data from the Himawari-10 weather satellite, set to begin operation in fiscal 2029.

Related coverage:

Chinese startup shows off applications of race-winning humanoid robot

FEATURE: Lost-and-found services get helping hand from AI in Japan
Delegations of Russia and Ukraine are pictured during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 16, 2025. Delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded their meeting here on Friday. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye/Handout via Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded their meeting in Turkiye's Istanbul on Friday, agreeing to hold a new round of negotiations and have a large-scale prisoner exchange.

As a key outcome of the two-hour talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner exchange involving 1,000 people from each side.

According to Russian diplomatic sources, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said the swap would take place soon. He also expressed overall satisfaction with the meeting and confirmed that Russia is ready to continue the dialogue.

Medinsky noted that both sides will soon present their detailed views on a possible ceasefire, after which the negotiations will move forward.

He also said that Ukraine proposed direct talks between the two presidents, and that Russia "took note" of the request.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency, said both sides focused on three key topics: a ceasefire, the prisoner exchange, and the possibility of a future presidential summit.

Umerov described the agreement on the prisoner swap as "the largest exchange since the beginning of the war."

In a post on X, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the negotiation, noted that the meeting produced several important outcomes aimed at building trust and laying the foundation for future negotiations.

He said Russia and Ukraine agreed to "share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire," and reached an agreement "to meet again in principle."

"As Turkiye, we will continue to make every effort to enable a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

The Istanbul talks follow a proposal by Putin on Sunday to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine. Zelensky has previously said he is open to a face-to-face meeting with Putin. However, the Kremlin said Putin would not attend the talks.

The last direct talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul in March 2022, where the two sides failed to agree to halt the fighting. 

Delegations of Russia and Ukraine are pictured during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 16, 2025. Delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded their meeting here on Friday. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye/Handout via Xinhua)
A tenured custodian has filed a lawsuit against the Carlstadt-East Rutherford Regional School District, alleging school officials are trying to fire him because of his Parkinsons disease and complications following a workplace heart attack.

The suit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court on May 1, claims Superintendent Dario Sforza and the school board violated the workers rights under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act by seeking his termination instead of providing reasonable accommodations.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl performing with drummer Josh Freese in 2024. Matthew J. Lee | The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Josh Freese, the drummer for the Foo Fighters, says that as of Monday, hes no longer with the band.

Freese, 52, is also known for being part of the bands A Perfect Circle, Devo, The Vandals and Guns N Roses.

He joined the Foo Fighters in 2023 after the bands longtime drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died in 2022.

The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know theyve decided to go in a different direction with their drummer, Freese said in a post on Instagram Friday.

READ MORE: Foo Fighters Dave Grohl: Ive recently become the father of a new baby ... born outside of my marriage

No reason was given, he said, using a sad face emoticon. Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band. In my 40 years of drumming professionally, Ive never been let go from a band, so while Im not angry  just a bit shocked and disappointed. But as most of you know Ive always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, Im fine. Stay tuned for my Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters list."

The current Foo Fighters lineup consists of frontman and founder Dave Grohl, guitarist Pat Smear, guitarist Chris Shiflett, bass guitarist Nate Mendel and keyboardist Rami Jaffee.

Freese reunited with A Perfect Circle last year after playing with the band from 1999 to 2012.

Before starting the Foo Fighters in 1994, originally as a solo effort, Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana, which broke up after the death of Kurt Cobain.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
Lord Buffalo drummer was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection ahead of a flight to Europe. Getty Images

A member of the Texas rock band Lord Buffalo was removed and detained by immigration authorities on Monday ahead of a flight to Europe.

Drummer Yamal Said is a Mexican citizen but a fully legal resident  hes had green card since the 1980s, according to the Austin Chronicle. But he was detained by US Customs and Border Protection at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday. KUT News in Austin noted Said is being held in Tarrant County jail due to a criminal warrant for violating a protective order at least twice in the past year

The band noted in a Facebook post that Said has not been in contact with the rest of his bandmates for two days. Lord Buffalo then announced that they would have to cancel their eight-day European tour as a result.

We are devastated to cancel this tour, but we are focusing all of our energy and resources on Yamals safety and freedom, the post said. We are hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that it could be safe for us to reschedule this tour in the future.

UPDATE: Thank you for your outpouring of support it means the world to us. Our drummer has secured the legal... Posted by Lord Buffalo on Wednesday, May 14, 2025

The band later stated in an updated post that they have retained legal counsel and thanked fans for their support. We have more questions than answers, but we will keep you posted as much as we can, the band noted.

Related coverage:

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Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com
Trump officials are thinking of getting involved with an eyebrow-raising reality show idea. AP

The Department of Homeland Security is in talks for a reality show called The American, which would have immigrants compete for American citizenship.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Washington Post via email that the show is in the very beginning stages of the vetting process and has not received approval or denial by staff.

Although the Daily Mail reported that United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem supports the project, McLaughlin claimed that Noem hasnt reviewed the proposal yet.

This is completely false. @DailyMails reporting is an affront to journalism. Secretary Noem has not backed or even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show, McLaughlin wrote via X.

READ MORE: Trumps ICE Barbie wants her own plane, too. Heres how much itll cost taxpayers

Rob Worsoff, a producer who has worked on reality shows including Duck Dynasty, Dating Naked, and The Millionaire Matchmaker, pitched The American to the DHS. He told the Wall Street Journal that his vision isnt as dystopian as it might sound.

This isnt The Hunger Games for immigrants, Worsoff said. This is not, Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.

According to the WSJ, Worsoffs pitch outlines regionally-specific challenges where contestants compete to prove how American they are. One proposed challenge involves an automobile assembly line in Detroit, Michigan. The show would end with one winner getting sworn in as an American citizen.

Worsoff also suggested that contestants travel around the country on a train, which would have fewer seats as players get eliminated. He proposed that a celebrity immigrant such as Canada native Ryan Reynolds or Colombia native Sofia Vergara host The American.

READ MORE: Senator: Judges could make Trump and MAGA heads explode with devious immigration ruling

It might sound strange for a reality television producer to be approaching a federal agency, but McLaughlin said via X that the DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operation to white collar investigations by HSI.

Despite Worsoffs claims that The American would have a positive tone, the DHS has been criticized for what many find to be a callous approach to immigration policy during President Donald Trumps second term. Noem, who Trump selected as DHS Secretary in November 2024, has been dubbed ICE Barbie for her photo opps in front of immigrant detainees.

It remains to be seen whether the DHS will move forward with involvement in Worsoffs proposed reality show, but there have already been strong reactions to the idea.

This is sick. Under the Trump Administration we lose more of our humanity every day, Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro wrote via X.

So the Trump administration is considering and vetting a reality show that pits immigrants against each other in a battle for citizenship  is that right, @TriciaOhio?, Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama and cohost of Pod Save America, tweeted, tagging McLaughlin.

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A pilot died Friday afternoon in a small plane crash in Hunterdon County, investigators said.

The plane crashed in Alexandria Township around 4:40 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The aircraft was identified by the agency as a a Chinook Plus 2, an ultralight plane typically assembled from a kit by their pilots.

The plane went down near Airport Road and Mechlin Corner Road, the Quakertown Fire Company said on social media.

The area is a short distance from the Alexandria Field Airport.

The pilot was the only person aboard the plane, according to the FAA.

Firefighters, paramedics and troopers from the New Jersey State Police found the downed plane in a heavily wooded area, the fire company said.

The woods around the plane were ablaze when they arrived.

They were able to extinguish the flames but the pilot was found dead inside the aircraft, authorities said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, with the FAA assisting.

The pilots name was not released. The New Jersey State Police referred questions back to the FAA.

Prized for its roomy cockpit, the Chinook Plus 2 is a Canadian-built plane with two seats, exceptional visibility, and impressive short takeoff and landing performance.

Staff Reporter AJ McDougall contributed to this post.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
New York Mets pitcher Dedniel Nunez (72) was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Jose Castillo on Saturday. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) AP

NEW YORK  Mets right-hander Dedniel Nunez is headed back to the minors.

On Saturday, New York was busy making roster moves, optioning Nunez to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for left-hander Jose Castillo, whom the Mets acquired for cash from the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week.

Feel like, even though the last two outings hes been better, we just need to see consistency with strike throwing, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. Thats what made this guy elite last year, and (he) became what he was last year for us.

Nunez has struggled with command since being called up from Triple-A on May 4. In five games since then, hes allowed three runs in 3 2/3 innings with six walks and three strikeouts.

This is in contrast to the dominant reliever he was last season, when in 25 games, he allowed nine runs in 35 appearances (2.31 ERA) with eight walks and 48 strikeouts.

We thought he didnt have a spring training after (what) he had to go through last year with his injuries, Mendoza said. ...

Hes just gotta go back down there and continue to work with his mechanics and find that consistency, he added.

In Castillo, the Mets get a left-hander with five years of experience. In five appearances with the Diamondbacks, he allowed eight runs in 6 1/3 innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

The 29-year-old was a top prospect in the San Diego Padres early in his career. Since then, his career has meandered between the big leagues and the minors as hes battled through injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2021.

The Mets hope that, paired with Genesis Cabrera, Castillo can fill the lefty void left by Danny Young (Tommy John surgery) and A.J. Minter, who had season-ending lat surgery.

It helps, especially when youre going up against a lineup like (the Yankees) or Boston or the Dodgers coming up, Mendoza said. We know the stuff is there. Hes a lefty who throws hard. Hes got a breaking ball, the slider. We saw him not too long ago, and this is a guy that, when hes healthy, hes got the talent.

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Manny Gomez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.
TIANJIN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- An all-new Toyota bZ5, an intelligent electric model, rolled off the production line Friday at a facility of FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. in north China's port city of Tianjin, signaling the official debut of the model in the Chinese market.

The vehicle also marks a major milestone as the 12 millionth unit produced by the company, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation and leading Chinese automaker First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Co.

The bZ5 is equipped with a panoramic sunroof and a 15.6-inch full-HD touchscreen display. It features the new Toyota Pilot intelligent driving assistance system, which supports more than 30 functions, including navigation assistance for urban and highway driving, as well as automated parking.

China holds a leading position in the fields of smart and electric vehicles. If Toyota's products can win the favor of Chinese consumers, they are sure to be well received in global markets as well, said Koji Sato, Toyota President and CEO.

As of April 2025, Toyota's Tianjin new energy vehicle production facility had manufactured a total of 258,000 units, with a cumulative output value of 54 billion yuan (about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars). From January to April this year, the facility manufactured 35,900 units, marking a 34 percent year-on-year increase.

The debut of the new model underscores the growing importance of the Chinese market as a hub for global vehicle production, sales and innovation for the Japanese automaker.

In late April, the Japanese company signed an agreement with the Shanghai municipal government to establish a wholly-owned electric vehicle plant in Shanghai.

In the strategic cooperation agreement, Toyota commits to invest a total of 14.6 billion yuan into the new energy vehicle project in Jinshan District, which focuses on the research and development, production and sales of Lexus EVs and EV batteries. 
A fire that burned for over nine hours Friday at a South Brunswick warehouse sent three firefighters to local hospitals, police said.

Over 100 firefighters have battled the blaze at Victory Packaging on Corn Road since it was first reported at 12:40 p.m., according to a statement from the South Brunswick Police Department.

Crews were able to contain the deep-seated fire but as of 10 p.m., they were still pulling burning debris from the building to extinguish it, authorities said.

The department did not comment on the condition of the injured firefighters said updates would come at a later time.

Fire crews were expected to remain at the scene throughout the night as they continued to quench the flames, police said.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
UPDATE: NJ Transit agrees to head back to bargaining table early. We want a fair deal, CEO says.

Anyone looking to take NJ Transit trains into New York City or around New Jersey on Saturday will have to find another way as the engineers union enters its second day of a historic strike over wages.
Disney Starbucks tumblers are always popular, but its especially True when they hone in on an iconic character  Cinderella, Minnie Mouse, Darth Vader, Jack Skellington, among them.

Right now, Disney Store is hosting a Mystery Savings Event, and knocking 20%, 30%, or 40% off hundreds of best-sellers, including standout Starbucks tumblers designed for Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.

Through Sunday, May 18, you can shop the fairy special Tinker Bell Green Starbucks Travel Tumbler for 30% off.

Walt Disney World Logo Starbucks Travel Tumbler in Tinker Bell Green $30 $21 Carry a piece of Tinker Bells magic around with you with the 24-ounce pixie dust-swirled Starbucks Travel Tumblers tailor made for the Happiest (Disneyland) and Most Magical Places on Earth (Walt Disney World). Shop for $21 at Disney Store

The vibrant green hues coming through in these tumblers  one for Walt Disney World and one for Disneyland  serve as a direct nod to Tinks signature outfit showcased in the 1953 animated classic  bold, bright, and impossible to ignore.

They feature a double-wall acrylic exterior filled with iridescent glitter and lime green confetti, which gives the cold cups built-in shimmer that catches the light like fairy wings in flight (sorry, we just had to).

Like all Starbucks cold cups, both Tink tributes come with twist-tight lids, complete with straw holes and silicone seal rings to make sure the matching green straws dont pop out when youre off on your next adventure.

According to Disney Store and Starbucks, they can hold up to 24 ounces of your favorite cold beverages, You have plenty of room for iced coffee, lemonade, fruit-infused spa water, or even a refreshing mint-matcha latte.

Just dont pour in anything hot or carbonated  the acrylic construction isnt built for that kind of pressure!

So, if youll be Disney-bound soon or just staycationing by the pool through Labor Day, a sparkly Tink sipper is sure to be a perfect sidekick.

Shop the Tinker Bell Green Travel Tumblers at the Disney Store for $21, instead of $30.

More deals to grab while theyre marked down

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Danielle Halibey can be reached at dhalibey@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
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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.
KATHMANDU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Xiao Jie, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, led an NPC delegation on a visit to Nepal from May 14 to 17.

During the visit, Xiao met separately with Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dev Raj Ghimire, Chairman of the National Assembly Narayan Prasad Dahal and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Indira Rana.

Xiao said China-Nepal relations have maintained high-level development under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders. China is willing to work with Nepal to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders, deepen political mutual trust, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between legislative bodies, and promote the continuous in-depth development of China-Nepal strategic cooperative partnership and practical cooperation in various fields.

Xiao also briefed Nepali officials on the outcomes of the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee and the third session of the 14th NPC, and on recent political and economic developments in China.

The Nepali officials reaffirmed their firm adherence to the one-China principle and determination not to allow any force to use Nepalese territory to engage in anti-China activities.

They also voiced readiness to strengthen high-level exchanges and legislative exchanges between the two sides, deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and push Nepal-China relations to a new level.

Xiao delivered a speech at the Sagarmatha Sambaad, or Sagarmatha Dialogue, expressing China's willingness to uphold the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and work with all parties to address climate change. 
"We have reason to believe there was assistance in this. ... There is much more than meets the eye," Sheriff Susan Hutson said at a Friday evening media briefing, citing "suspicious" timing with respect to the imminent sheriff's race.
GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha, according to senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi.

Mardawi said the talks are being held under Qatari and U.S. mediation in an effort to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and finalize a hostage exchange deal, without preconditions.

A source close to Hamas told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the talks are based on a proposal submitted by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which Hamas had amended substantially.

According to the source, the guarantees provided by the United States in the current round of Gaza ceasefire talks appeared to be "more serious," including clear commitments to implementing the terms of any potential agreement.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Saturday the resumption of negotiations with Hamas, saying Hamas' return to the negotiation table marks a shift from what he described as a refusal position it has taken so far.

According to Katz, the change followed the launch of Israel's newly initiated military operation codenamed "Gideon's Chariots," which aims to expand the scope of fighting in Gaza and advance key war objectives, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

On Friday night, the Israeli military announced that it had escalated operations in Gaza, carrying out a wave of airstrikes and deploying additional ground forces, noting that the intensified assault marks the start of the "Gideon's Chariots" operation.

Israeli public radio Kan reported that the current proposal under discussion in Doha includes the release of approximately 10 or more hostages in exchange for a limited ceasefire. Israel estimates that 20 hostages are still alive in Gaza.

Despite the renewed efforts, Hamas has voiced reservations about proceeding with the talks while the Israeli blockade on Gaza, imposed since March 2, remains in place. 
KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Three commuters lost their lives and 12 others were injured in two separate traffic accidents in east Afghanistan's Logar province on Friday, a local police official said on Saturday.

The first road mishap took place late Friday in the provincial capital, Pul-e-Alam City, when two vehicles collided, killing three passengers, including two women and a child, on the spot and injuring eight others, Mawlawi Ahmadullah Anas, the provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua.

In the second incident, at least four people were injured when a speeding motorcycle lost control, left the road, and ran over several pedestrians in the province's Mohammad Agha district on the same day, said Anas.

The official blamed reckless driving for the incidents, adding that all the injured were taken to nearby health centers, and several are reported to be in critical condition.

Thousands of people lose their lives in road accidents in Afghanistan each year due to reckless driving on congested roads, poor road conditions, lack of traffic signs on dilapidated highways, overloading and speeding. 
An African expert has hailed the China-U.S. trade dialogue, underlining the significance of collaboration between the world's two major economies. #GLOBALink




The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily reduce the tariffs they have imposed on each other. What is now the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports, down from 145 percent?
Audio Data Shows Newark Outage Problems Persisted Longer Than Officials Said

On April 28, controllers at a Philadelphia facility managing air traffic for Newark Liberty International Airport and smaller regional airports in New Jersey suddenly lost radar and radio contact with planes in one of the busiest airspaces in the country.

On Monday, two weeks after the episode, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, said that the radio returned almost immediately, while the radar took up to 90 seconds before it was operational.

A Times analysis of flight traffic data and air traffic control feed, however, reveals that controllers were struggling with communication issues for several minutes after transmissions first blacked out.

The episode resulted in multiple air traffic controllers requesting trauma leave, triggering severe flight delays at Newark that have continued for more than two weeks.

Several exchanges between pilots and controllers show how the outage played out.

Outage Begins

Air traffic recordings show that controllers at the Philadelphia facility first lost radio and radar communications for about a minute starting just before 1:27 p.m., after a controller called out to United Flight 1951, inbound from Phoenix.

The pilot of United 1951 replied to the controllers call, but there was no answer for over a minute.

Speaker Pilot of United 1951 Controller 1:26:41 PM Controller OK, United 1951. 1:26:45 PM Pilot Go ahead. Controller No response 1:27:18 PM Pilot Do you hear us? Controller No response 1:27:51 PM Controller How do you hear me? 1:27:53 PM Pilot I got you loud and clear now. N.J.

Two other planes reached out during the same period as United 1951  a Boeing 777 inbound from Austria and headed to Newark, and a plane whose pilot called out to a controller, Approach, are you there? Their calls went unanswered as well.

Radio Resumes, With Unreliable Radar

From 1:27 to 1:28 p.m., radio communications between pilots and controllers resumed. But soon after, a controller was heard telling multiple aircraft about an ongoing radar outage that was preventing controllers from seeing aircraft on their radarscopes.

One of the planes affected by the radar issues was United Flight 674, a commercial passenger jet headed from Charleston to Newark.

Speaker Pilot of United 674 Controller 1:27:32 PM Pilot United 674, approach. 1:27:36 PM Controller Radar contact lost, we lost our radar. 1:30:34 PM Controller Turn left 30 degrees. 1:31:03 PM Pilot All right, were on a heading of 356. ... 1:31:44 PM Controller I see the turn. I think our radar might be a couple seconds behind. N.J.

Once the radio started operating again, some controllers switched from directing flights along their planned paths to instead providing contingency flight instructions.

At 1:28 p.m., the pilot of Flight N16NF, a high-end private jet, was called by a controller who said, radar contact lost. The pilot was then told to contact a different controller on another radio frequency.

About two and a half minutes later, the new controller, whose radar did appear to be functioning, instructed the pilot to steer towards a location that would be clear of other aircraft in case the radio communications dropped again.

Flight N426CB, a small private jet flying from Florida to New Jersey, was told to call a different radio frequency at Essex County Airport, known as Caldwell Airport, in northern New Jersey for navigational aid. That was in case the controllers in Philadelphia lost radio communications again.

Speaker Pilot of N426CB Controller 1:27:57 PM Controller If for whatever reason, you dont hear anything from me further, you can expect to enter right downwind and call Caldwell Tower. 1:29:19 PM Controller You just continue on towards the field. Theyre going to help navigate you in.



This is in case we are losing our frequencies. 1:29:32 PM Pilot OK, Im going over to Caldwell. Talk to you. Have a good afternoon. N.J.

Minutes Later, Radar Issues Persist

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft reappeared on radarscopes within 90 seconds of the outages start, but analysis of air traffic control recordings suggests that the radar remained unreliable for at least some radio frequencies for several minutes after the outage began around 1:27 p.m.

At 1:32 p.m., six minutes after the radio went quiet, Flight N824TP, a small private plane, contacted the controller to request clearance to enter Class B airspace  the type around the busiest airports in the country. The request was denied, and the pilot was asked to contact a different radio frequency.

Speaker Pilot of N824TP Controller 1:32:43 PM Pilot Do I have Bravo clearance? 1:32:48 PM Controller You do not have a Bravo clearance. We lost our radar, and its not working correctly. 



If you want a Bravo clearance, you can just call the tower when you get closer. 1:32:59 PM Pilot Ill wait for that frequency from you, OK? 1:33:03 PM Controller Look up the tower frequencies, and we dont have a radar, so I dont know where you are. N.J.

The last flight to land at Newark was at 1:44 p.m., but about half an hour after the outage began, a controller was still reporting communication problems.

Youll have to do that on your own navigation. Our radar and radios are unreliable at the moment, a Philadelphia controller said to a small aircraft flying from Long Island around 1:54 p.m.

Since April 28, there has been an additional radar outage on May 9, which the F.A.A. also characterized as lasting about 90 seconds. Secretary Duffy has proposed a plan to modernize equipment in the coming months, but the shortage of trained staff members is likely to persist into next year.
MEMBERS of Tullamore for Gaza, a local group formed in 2023, in support and solidarity with the people of Gaza, held a bridgil (bridge vigil) to mark the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba in Tullamore, on Friday evening.

The protest attracted a lot of support from onlookers and motorists, including Independent councillor Sean O'Brien who joined protestors on the bridge.

Similar bridgils have been held by the group in Tullamore, with great support from locals and passing traffic.

May 15 is the anniversary of the 1948 Nakba or the 'catastrophe', when approximately 750,000 Palestinians were violently forced from their land by Israel. 77 years later, this violent expulsion is continuing, to an even more extreme degree.

READ NEXT: Street Feast festival to celebrate Tullamore's vibrant community

Clare Ruffalo, organiser with Tullamore for Gaza, explained the importance of marking the anniversary of the Nakba this year,

"Israel has blocked all food, water and aid entering Gaza since March 2nd. They have now announced that they will occupy Gaza indefinitely. This is not a natural disaster, or an unintended consequence of war, this is a decision - to enact a live streamed genocide on an entire population. The Nakba continues, and we are calling on the Irish government to do more to put an end to it."

The bridgil takes place on Friday, May 16 at 6pm, on Bridge St Bridge in Tullamore, just beside the Bridge House. All welcome, family-friendly.
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RFK Jr. swims with grandchildren. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted photos swimming in a Rock Creek Park, which is contaminated with raw sewage.

(Image by YouTube, Channel: MSNBC) Details DMCA



"I don't know."

No, that wasn't a multiple choice question that Donald Trump had just been asked by an ABC News reporter. He was asked if he thought it was his duty as president to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.

Pretty simple and straightforward, most Americans would think. Instead of giving us choice A (yes) or B (no), Trump gave us C (I don't know).

He expanded: "I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are obviously going to follow what the Supreme Court said."

Despite his sworn oath, it has become Trump's standard answer to questions about following the law upholding the Constitution. Blame it on his lawyers. The only ones left who are going to represent him in court. They know the answer. They're just not saying. Not if they want to keep their jobs. A Justice Department lawyer who goes into court and admits there is no constitutional basis for the argument he or she is making is volunteering for a pink slip.

But then, one can say they should've known better when they took the job to represent Trump in the first place. It's not as if there's no track record to check.

But honestly, "I don't know" seems to be the mantra for Trump with regard to just about anything that comes up. He just doesn't always say it out loud.

Like, I shouldn't be so friendly with a Saudi prince who had a journalist who worked for an American newspaper killed and dismembered in the Saudi embassy in Turkey because he didn't like what the reporter wrote. Who knew? Or, I shouldn't speak highly of an "attractive" Syrian president who once delighted in killing American soldiers in Iraq as part of Al Qaeda. Or, I shouldn't take $400 million gift airplanes from a Mideastern country that supports terrorists. Or, actually, I shouldn't take gifts from anyone. Emoluments, y'know? Beautiful word.

Stuff like that. Someone should tell him if he really doesn't know because it's infuriating and, frankly, embarrassing to have someone holding the office of president to be so, umm, ill-informed.

On the other hand, there's such a thing as knowing too much. Or rather, thinking you do.

Take the case of Bobby Junior, better known as RFK Jr., who is now in charge of the health needs, issues and concerns of every American, allegedly.

Kennedy clatters around the Health Department like a know-it-all who once had a worm in his brain. Like a guy who might pick up a dead bear cub off the road, stick it in his car trunk, drive to Central Park and dump it on a walking path. For kicks. That kind of health savant.

Kennedy "knows" that vaccines cause autism and has chosen to ignore the research that dismissed that theory. He wants a new study to figure out why there are so many new cases, aside from the fact that we know so much more about identifying the behavioral disorder today. Gotta be vaccines.

He also "knows" that vaccines do not protect against measles, even though the MMR vaccine has done an excellent job of that for decades. So he's cut off a lot of congressionally approved spending for vaccines and is promoting more "natural" protections. Meanwhile, measles cases are multiplying nationwide because some people are following his advice not to use the vaccine. Because he "knows," right?

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Originally published in the Dayton Daily News

By Robert Weiner and Khel Gordhan

The Bethany Relay Station in Butler County has a major historic role as the first Voice of America (VOA) station in the country combating propaganda from Nazi Germany and assuring factual, American-based news information as a beacon to the world. The Administration's proposed cuts and silencing of the Voice of America, with Butler County's legacy, would be a tragedy.

While the Bethany Relay Station is now a museum, the VOA has remained a crucial source for reliable information on American democratic efforts abroad for people living under repressive governments. Cutting out this incredible program, along with attempting to massively cut Radio Free Europe (RFE), only serves to embolden Russian aggression in Ukraine. While a lawsuit by VOA staffers has now held the line to protect the VOA from Trump's cuts, the fight for a free and fair press is far from over. It's clear that within this chaos, America's enemies are cheering.

Pushback to Trump's decisions is loud and growing. On April 1, the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club hosted a conference on the state of the recent lawsuit to roll back the shutdown of the VOA and RFE. The room was packed with reporters with print and radio-TV journalists expressing support for their VOA colleagues. The panel, including David Seide, lead counsel of the lawsuit, stressed the importance of the VOA and its ability to reach people around the world. These words would not fall on deaf ears, as Royce Lamberth, senior judge of the DC District Court, on April 22 ordered the Trump administration to restore the congressional creation, funding, and jobs for Voice of America.

On the March 18, Alexander Dugin, a prominent Russian voice in favor of Putin's intervention, told CNN: "He is in favor of patriotism of the nation, and I define that as the Great Powers' World Order. Putin and Trump coincide in accepting this model."

Since the creation of the Bethany Relay Station, the VOA has grown to reach a global audience of 326 million people each week with programming in 48 languages. It is an essential platform for factual information to combat propaganda from repressive governments.

The VOA has long been decried by Putin's Russia as simply American propaganda. So when the Trump administration cut funding for VOA on March 13 to "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda," Russian propagandists cheered. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief for the Kremlin-backed RT network and Rossiya Segodnya news agency, applauded the news, saying , "Today is a holiday for me and my colleagues at RT and Sputnik. This is an awesome decision by Trump!"

The National Press Club had a very different response to the cuts, announcing in a statement on March 15 that "Removing large numbers of its journalists at the same time as dismantling the United States Agency for Global Media threatens the very foundation that has allowed VOA to operate without political interference." Given these developments, citizens of Butler County, Ohio, should be especially concerned about the legacy of the VOA.

Another notable voice for truth, Radio Free Europe (RFE), founded in 1950 to combat Soviet propaganda, is also under threat by the Trump administration. The RFE has been an especially sharp thorn in Russia's side as, through the stream of factual reports of Russian war crimes and important events, Russia's ability to control the narrative by promoting its propaganda to the eastern European countries is severely hampered. As described by Simonyan, "They spread their tentacles across Russian regions like an octopus and brainwash our compatriots." Considering this, Trump's move to cut funding to the RFE will only serve to embolden Russian propagandists. While a federal judge on March 25 ordered the freeze to stop, Trump officials have been sluggish in their compliance with this order. The USAGM has even effectively exhorted the RFE, offering funding for April in exchange for control over their board of directors.

However, the fight is far from over. The White House will likely appeal the latest court decision. Even if the appeal is denied, Trump will still try to tamper with the organizations in other ways. There's no reason why Trump wouldn't use USAGM, the parent agency, to further pressure the VOA into bending the knee.


L%26H Habeas Corpus 1929.

(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Unknown author Unknown author ) Details Source DMCA



The Trump administration, CNN reports, is "actively looking at" suspending habeas corpus, depending on "whether the courts do the right thing or not." Those quoted phrases are from Trump aide Stephen Miller, according to whom the "right thing" consists of letting Donald Trump do whatever Donald Trump wants to do, regardless of whether what he wants to do is, you know, legal.

The Latin phrase habeas corpus means "you shall have the body." What it means is that boils down to is that if you are arrested, a judge can require your captors to bring you (that's the body part) to court where you can argue that your arrest is not legally justified (and your captors can argue that it is).

It's a legal principle we inherited from England that dates to "time immemorial" -- that is, before the beginning of of Richard I's kingship in 1189 -- originating in the 1166 Assize of Clarendon, and it or something very like it is a basic foundational element of any legal system that respects individual rights.

Without habeas corpus, government officials can just whisk you away to prison on any charge they care enough to make up and hold you for a long time whether there's any justification at all or not.

A hypothetical:

You're arrested for the murder of John Smith. As it happens, John Smith is alive, not missing, indeed has been seen and recorded on video eight hours after your arrest, tucking in to an Oklahoma onion burger at Sid's Diner in El Reno.

Without habeas corpus, your captors can keep you in jail (per the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, which codifies a constitutional provision) for up to a month before even indicting you for the murder that didn't happen, followed by 10 days until arraigning you the murder that didn't happen, followed by 60 days before actually taking the case to trial.

But if you file a petition for habeas corpus, you can show a judge evidence that not only is there no probable cause to believe you murdered John Smith, but that John Smith is alive and well,. The judge can call BS on your arrest and free you.

That's a good thing, and the US Constitution provides, in Article I, Section 9, that "[t]he 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."

Neither the US nor any portion of it is currently in rebellion.

Neither the US nor any portion of it is currently being invaded.

There's no "emergency" imperiling the "public safety."

There's just Donald J. Trump throwing a tantrum over the courts following the law instead of letting him do whatever he wants to do.

Does Trump WANT a rebellion? Because suspending habeas corpus for stupid, selfish, and illegal reasons sounds like a great way to get a rebellion. He may not care about public opinion, but the ice he's on that keeps it from drowning him is getting thinner by the moment.
The main entrance of the Nike headquarters near Beaverton is seen on March 22, 2018. Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Nike and plaintiffs lawyers late Friday again asked a judge for more time to finalize a class settlement in a sweeping sex discrimination lawsuit.

The two sides reached a tentative settlement in February, shortly before a scheduled trial.
China and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations on Wednesday in Sarajevo, reaffirming their commitment to deepening cooperation in the decades ahead.
Police stage at the scene of a April 27 shooting at a Gresham apartment complex. A 13-year-old boy died after the early-morning shooting, police said, and another was wounded. Police are seeking three individuals in connection with the shooting. Aimee Green

Gresham police are asking for the publics help to find three people they say are involved in a shooting late last month when a stray bullet struck and killed a 13-year-old sleeping inside an apartment.

Anthony Hunter Jr., 20, Xavier Hirsch, 20, and Terrell Coy, 16, are accused of second-degree murder and additional crimes in connection with the shooting, police said.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office arrested five people who offered to meet with a person they believed to be a child for sex.

Five people were arrested Thursday when the Washington County Sheriffs Office conducted a child predator sting.

Investigators posed as children on dating apps, social media sites and other places online. People offered to meet up for sex with these fake profiles who they believed to be a child. When the people showed up to the meetings, they were arrested.

Raymi Calla-McFarlane, 24, of Portland; Karl Bawden, 45, of Hillsboro; Glen Guthrie, 65, of Gladstone; Josue Romero-Lopez, 25, of Beaverton; and David Vichi, 49, of Wallowa were arrested for luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child.

The sheriffs office believes that there are more victims of the five arrested people and ask anyone with information to call them at 503-846-2700.

Vichi had been under investigation by the Hillsboro Police Department since early April when a minor came forward with information about inappropriate contact from him, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

The Beaverton Police Department assisted with the sting.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
Pamela Moser holds a photo of her son, Brian Rigsby, who died while incarcerated in an Alabama state prison. Moser says she is frustrated that she had no say over his care at the end of his life. (Tamika Moore for KFF Health News) (Tamika Moore for KFF Health New

Brian Rigsby was lying with his right wrist shackled to a hospital bed in Montgomery, Alabama, when he learned he didnt have long to live.

It was September 2023, and Rigsby, 46, had been brought to Jackson Hospital from an Alabama state prison 10 days earlier after complaining of pain and swelling in his abdomen. Doctors found that untreated hepatitis C had caused irreversible damage to Rigsbys liver, according to his medical records.

Rigsby decided to stop efforts to treat his illness and to decline lifesaving care, a decision he made with his parents. And Rigsbys mother, Pamela Moser, tried to get her son released to hospice care through Alabamas medical furlough policy, so that their family could manage his end-of-life care as they saw fit.

But there wasnt enough time for the furlough request to be considered.

After learning that Rigsby was on palliative care, the staff at YesCare, a private prison health company that has a $1 billion contract with the Alabama Department of Corrections, told the hospital it would stop paying for his stay and then transferred him back to Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore, according to the hospital record his mom provided to KFF Health News.

Moser never saw or spoke to her son again.

The last day I went to see him in the hospital, I was hoping he would take his last breath, said Moser, a former hospice nurse. That is how bad I didnt want him to go to the infirmary at the prison.

A week later, Rigsby died of liver failure in the infirmary, according to his autopsy report.

Officials at the corrections department and YesCare did not respond to requests for comment.

As the countrys incarcerated population ages rapidly, thousands die behind bars each year. For some researchers, medical providers, and families of terminally ill people in custody, Rigsbys situation  and Mosers frustration  are familiar: Incarcerated people typically have little say over the care they receive at the end of their lives.

Thats despite a broad consensus among standards boards, policymakers, and health care providers that terminally ill people in custody should receive treatment that minimizes suffering and allows them to be actively involved in care planning.

But such guidelines arent binding. State policies on end-of-life care vary widely, and they generally give much leeway to correctional officers, according to a 2021 study led by Georgia State University. The result is that correctional officers and medical contractors make the decisions, and they focus more on security concerns than easing the emotional, spiritual, and physical pain of the dying, say researchers and families.

People in jails and prisons often die while shackled to beds, separated from loved ones, and with minimal pain medication, said Nicole Mushero, a geriatrician at Boston Universitys Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine who studies and works with incarcerated patients.

When youre coming at this from a health care perspective, its kind of shocking, Mushero said.

Security vs. Autonomy

Patients are often suspended or dropped from their health coverage, including commercial insurance or Medicaid, when incarcerated. Jails and prisons have their own systems for providing health care, often funded by state and local budgets, and therefore arent subject to the same oversight as other public or private systems.

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care, which accredits programs at correctional facilities across the country, says terminally ill people in custody should be allowed to make decisions about treatment options, such as whether to accept life-sustaining care, and appoint a person who can make medical decisions for them.

Jails and prisons should also provide patients with pain medication that wouldnt otherwise be available to them, allow extra visits with loved ones, and consider them for medical release programs that let them receive hospice care in their communities, said Amy Panagopoulos, vice president of accreditation at the commission. That approach is often at odds with security and safety rules of jails and prisons, so facility leaders may be heavily involved in care decisions, she said.

As a result, the commission plans to release updated standards this summer to provide more details on how facilities should handle end-of-life care to ensure incarcerated patients are more involved in the process.

State laws on medical decision-making, informed consent, and patient privacy apply even to incarcerated patients, said Gregory Dober, who teaches biomedical ethics and is a prison monitor with the Pennsylvania Prison Society, a nonprofit that supports incarcerated patients and their families.

But correctional officers and their medical contractors often prioritize security instead, Dober said.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons allows guards to override do-not-resuscitate orders if they interfere with the security and orderly operation of the institution, according to the agencys patient care guide.

This is a wildly understudied area, said Ben Parks, who teaches medical ethics at Mercy College of Ohio. In the end, its all about the state control of a prisoners life.

About a third of all people who died in federal custody between 2004 and 2022 had a do-not-resuscitate order, according to Bureau of Prisons data obtained by KFF Health News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The prison bureaus policy of forcing CPR on patients is cruel, said Parks. CPR can break ribs and bruise organs, with a low likelihood of success. That is why people sign do-not-resuscitate orders refusing the treatment, he said.

This is the inversion of the death penalty, Parks said. Resuscitation against your will.

Cut Off From Family

In addition, corrections officials decide whether and when to reach out to a patients friends or relatives, said Erin Kitt-Lewis, a Penn State College of Nursing associate research professor who has studied the care of older adults in prisons. As a result, terminally ill people in custody often cant involve their families in end-of-life care decisions.

That was the case for Adam Spurgeon, who was incarcerated in a state prison in Tennessee, his mother said. One morning in November 2018, Kathy Spurgeon got a call from hospital officials in Nashville saying her son had only hours to live, she said.

About a month earlier, she had learned from her son that he had had heart surgery and developed an infection, she said. But she didnt know much about his treatment.

Around noon, she arrived at the hospital, about a three-hour drive west of where she lives. Adam, 32, died that evening.

Dorinda Carter, communications director at the Tennessee Department of Correction, declined to comment on Spurgeons case. It is our policy to not comment on an individual inmates medical care, she said in an email.

Kathy Spurgeon said providers who treated Adam outside of prison were too deferential to guards.

And physicians who work with incarcerated patients say that can be the case: Even when terminally ill people in custody are treated at hospitals, correctional officers still end up dictating the terms of care.

Hospital staff members often dont understand the rights of incarcerated patients and are unsure about state laws and hospital policies, said Pria Anand, a neurologist who has treated incarcerated patients in hospitals. The biggest problem is uncertainty, she said.

Correctional officers sometimes tell hospital staffers they cant contact next of kin for security reasons, or they wont tell a patient about discharge plans because of worries they might escape, Anand said.

And care frequently takes place within prisons, which often are not equipped to handle the complexities of hospice decision-making, including types of treatment, when to stop treatment, and who can make those decisions, said Laura Musselman, director of communications at the Humane Prison Hospice Project, which provides training and education to improve end-of-life care for incarcerated patients.

Our prison system was not designed to provide care for anyone, especially not people who are chronically ill, terminally ill, older, actively dying, said Musselman, who noted that her groups training has 15 modules to cover all aspects of end-of-life care, including grief support, hands-on caregiving, and paperwork.

Rigsby struggled with mental health and addiction for most of his adult life, including a stint in prison for a drug-related robbery. A parole violation in 2018 landed him back in prison.

At Jackson Hospital, Rigsby was given hydromorphone, a powerful pain medication, as well as the anxiety drug lorazepam. Before he was transferred back to prison, a nurse with YesCare  one of the countrys biggest prison health care providers, which has been sued over substandard care assured hospital staffers he would be provided with the same level of pain medication and oxygen he had received at the hospital, his medical records show.

But Moser said she doesnt know whether he spent his last days in pain or peace. The state wouldnt provide Moser with Rigsbys medical records from the prison, she said. She said she wasnt allowed to visit her son in the infirmary  and wasnt told why.

Moser called the infirmary to comfort her son before his death, but staffers told her he couldnt make it to the phone and they couldnt take one to him, she said.

Instead, Moser said, she left messages for prison officials to tell her son she loved him.

It breaks my heart that he could not talk with his mother during his last days, said Moser, whose son died on Oct. 4, 2023.

Two weeks later, she drove to Woodstock, Alabama, to collect his remains from a crematorium.

KFF Health News data editor Holly K. Hacker contributed to this report.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF  the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Tyreik Credit, 28, was found guilty of first-degree assault at the end of his trial on Fri., May 18, 2025. Zane Sparling/The Oregonian

A closing-time brawl had spilled out from The Ambassador bar in August when Tyreik Credit pulled out a handgun and wounded two people from across Northeast Sandy Boulevard in Portland, a Multnomah County jury found Friday.

Credit, now 28, was found guilty of first-degree assault for firing a shot that grazed the head of Rileigh Calhoun-Marks, who was out celebrating a friends birthday when another in her party got into a fight with Credit.

After seven hours of deliberation, the six men and six women of the jury were unable to reach a verdict on attempted murder charges, leading to a partial mistrial.

Both first-degree assault and attempted murder carry a 7-year mandatory minimum.

Credits verdict ends his streak of prior wins. In February 2024, a different jury found him not guilty of murder in the drive-by slaying of Thomas Osborne. That case hinged on ambiguous evidence regarding which of the four people inside the car was the shooter.

A February driving under the influence trial also ended with Credits acquittal.

Crime scene tape marks the front of The Ambassador bar in Northeast Portland on Aug. 18, 2024. Zane Sparling/The Oregonian

Surveillance footage from inside karaoke bar showed Credits shirt ripping during the fight; another camera caught a shirtless man dashing to retrieve a gun before firing wildly across the boulevard.

Mr. Credit shot across a very busy Portland street like it was a videogame  as if they werent real bullets that would hurt real people, prosecutor Sean Hughey said in court.

Calhoun-Marks, 49, testified that she suffered severe headaches for months afterward. She had recognized Credit that night as the man who had once been a boyfriends roommate in California.

Another man, KaVantae Powell, was shot in the leg but didnt cooperate with the investigation.

Video footage showed a third man, also fighting with Credit, who appeared to be waving a gun during the brawl.

While the side streets surrounding the bar could be viewed in detail, the actual shooting was seen as little more than muzzle flashes. A returning round of fire could be heard about 10 seconds later.

Defense attorney Nedu Nweze said Calhoun-Marks was too drunk to identify Credit, and no one else placed him at the scene. Credit wasnt arrested until three months later, and the gun used in the shooting wasnt found.

The states evidence is not clear enough to make an identification, he said.

The jury disagreed, and delivered additional guilty verdicts for charges of unlawful use of a weapon  including for a nearby driver and motorcycle rider who had to duck for cover during the fray.

Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede set July 18 as a placeholder for sentencing.

Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.

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Bryan Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University, is charged in the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students. AP

BOISE  The judge overseeing Bryan Kohbergers upcoming quadruple-murder trial says he wants to identify anyone who may have violated a gag order by leaking information from the investigation to news organizations or anyone else not directly involved with the case.

Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys on Wednesday to give him a list of everyone  including staffers, law enforcement officers and defense consultants  who might have had access to the previously unreported information about Kohbergers internet search history and other details that were featured in an NBC Dateline episode that aired May 9.

The judge said he would be open to appointing a special prosecutor to track down the leak, which likely violated a gag order that has been in place since 2023.

Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University, is charged in the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. The four were found dead in a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf, and the trial is expected to start in August.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.

Hippler wrote in court documents that it appeared likely that someone associated with law enforcement or the prosecution team violated the courts gag order. The leak will potentially make it harder to seat an impartial jury, drawing out an already long and complicated court case and costing taxpayers more money, Hippler wrote.

Importantly such violations potentially frustrate the ability to ensure both sides receive a fair trial, he wrote. Accordingly, the Court finds it is imperative to attempt to see that the source of such leak is identified and held to account.

Hippler also ordered everyone who has worked directly or indirectly on the case to keep all records of any communications they have had with journalists or other people outside of law enforcement about Kohberger or the investigation into the killings.

Hippler appeared to have discussed the matter with prosecutors and defense attorneys during a closed portion of Wednesdays pretrial hearing. But he also referenced the Dateline episode and the possible gag order violation during open portions of the hearing  at one point remarking that after the day the episode aired he decided to impanel additional alternate jurors for the trial.

Later he told the attorneys he expected them to file a formal request to have the matter investigated.
JOSEPH  Under the watchful eye of Chief Joseph Mountain still pristine with snow, stories of the nimiipuu (or Nez Perce people) are being shared through vibrant visual art in the surroundings of their ancestral northeastern Oregon homeland, Wallowa, Land of the Winding Waters.

BLOODLINES: Nez Perce Art opened recently at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph, in the valley the Wallowa Band Nez Perce people have called home since time immemorial.
The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP) AP

Tim Nguyen was the Gecko. Oleksander (Alex) Martynenko was the Terminator. Vishnu Irigireddy was humble. Anton Tselykh is strong.

They were all friends of Robert Riethmiller, who climbed with all four in a Meetup group he helped organize. For him, their deaths created a big void.

Its a lot to move on from, he said by phone Wednesday.

The four men fell nearly 400 feet, three of them to their deaths, while rappelling down the side of a steep gully near the North Early Winter Spire in the North Cascades on May 10. They were all tied to the same anchor point, known as a piton, while descending the Early Winter Couloir when the piton ripped out of the rock.

Nguyen, Martynenko and Irigireddy died. They all suffered blunt force injuries, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said.

Tselykh, the lone survivor, was knocked unconscious and woke up hours later, bleeding internally and with a head injury. It took him eight hours to disentangle himself, climb down 1,000 feet of elevation to his car and drive 42 miles west to Newhalem where he used a pay phone to call 911. He was admitted to Harborview Medical Center, where he was in satisfactory condition as of Wednesday.

For Riethmiller, the first few days since his friends death were dominated by shock and sadness before processing the incident turned into a fire hose.

Their shared climbing community plans to get together this week, according to Riethmiller, who said theyve made a huge show of support for the climbers families, friends and for each other.

The community is devastated, he said. The three were experienced and accomplished climbers that the group had watched grow and progress over the years.

It was a tough loss, Riethmiller said. Three of my friends were lost.

Tim Nguyen, 63, of Renton

Riethmiller and Nguyen met through Meetup for a film event in 2018. They often hiked together during the COVID-19 pandemic when isolation was taking its toll and invited each other on climbing trips.

Nguyen had one hard and fast rule: no complaining, Riethmiller said. He was a character. He always used to have a very positive attitude.

The two always brought whiskey to the top of mountains to toast in celebration, he said.

Because he was very light while snowshoeing and would always break trail for the other climbers, Nguyen became known as the Gecko. The others would slink behind him in the snow.

Nguyen was making his way through the Washington Bulger List, a checklist of 100 peaks in the North Cascades, Riethmiller said. Nguyen had made it through 99 of them. Forbidden Peak was the last one on his list.

Oleksander Martynenko, 36, of Bellevue

Martynenko had a lot of passion for mountaineering. He was strong, generous, ambitious, knowledgeable and there for the team, Riethmiller said.

The two met in 2023 and logged three climbs together.

Martynenko was known as Alex to most. Among his fellow climbers, he was called the Terminator, Riethmiller said. He was skilled and always used to wear a hip belt with a lot of equipment attached.

His wife, Olga, said he was a nice person who always tried to find solutions, and that he made her life easy.

He always told me that we live for enjoying, not for working, not for struggling, not for being tired, she said.

An avid mountaineer, Martynenko also enjoyed Lego  hed buy difficult sets and teach their 5-year-old son, Daniel, how to put them together, she said.

This is a hard time, to know that he is not at home, Olga said.

The couple met in 2013 in their native Ukraine and married the next year.

They moved to the U.S. in 2017 so Martynenko could attend business school at the University of Michigan.

During his studies, he took a business trip to the Seattle area, visiting famous businesses including Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks. When he came back, he told Olga that they had to move to Washington after he graduated.

He really wanted to move here, she said. It was his dream.

In 2019, Martynenko made the move, doing many interviews before landing a job at Oracle, Olga said. She followed later that year.

He fell in love with mountains when we moved here, she said.

Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, of Renton

Irigireddy didnt take gas money from Riethmiller when they carpooled together on a couple of climbing trips. Instead, he said to donate those dollars to the Washington Trails Association.

He was very nice and very humble and always ready to join the group, Riethmiller said.

Irigireddy was the vice president of engineering at Fluke Corp., the Everett-based electronics manufacturer.

Vishnu was an extraordinary leader, and his loss is felt profoundly across our organization, Fluke spokesperson Georgia Marchant said by email. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

Anton Tselykh, 38, of Seattle

Tselykh is very strong, Riethmiller said of the lone survivor.

Like Martynenko was, Tselykh is ambitious about meeting new people in the climbing group and having new experiences, Riethmiller said. Once, after a long day of climbing together, Tselykh made sure to bring Riethmiller back the contact lens case he had left in Tselykhs car.

He was a very strong fella, very generous and looks out for people, Riethmiller said.

 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday suspended a search for a sunken boat off the Oregon coast, finding no evidence of a vessel in distress. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File)

The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday suspended a search for a sunken boat off the Oregon coast, finding that floating debris was garbage not evidence of a vessel that had been in distress.

Earlier on Friday, Coast Guard officials said a person on shore reported seeing a flare shot in the air Thursday evening off the coast of Cannon Beach. Air and boat crews searched overnight and into Friday morning, according to the Coast Guard.

Rescue crews had found debris in the water they initially believed came from a boat but was determined to be general garbage.

The debris included fiberglass, a seat cushion and a ketchup bottle, a Coast Guard spokesperson previously said.

Zaeem Shaikh covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-221-4323, zshaikh@oregonian.com or on X @zaeemshake
New homeless services in the tri-county area made it easier to identify people who were homeless for a biannual federal count, contributing to an increase in the overall total recorded in 2025. Beaverton's first purpose-built homeless shelter, seen here before it opened in November, is one such new service. Dave Killen / The Oregonian

The number of homeless people in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties is higher than ever, according to the latest numbers from the national biannual homelessness count.

Known as the point-in-time count, the federally mandated census takes place every other year and is focused on creating a snapshot of who is homeless on one night in January. It is broadly understood to be an undercount, but officials still view the data as useful in identifying national trends and making comparisons between jurisdictions.

Surveyors identified 12,034 homeless people in the tri-county region this January, with 87% of them residing in Multnomah County, according to the preliminary data. More than half of those counted  7,038 people  were unsheltered.

Thats the highest total since the count began in 2007, according to historical data. And the increase has happened despite all three counties sheltering and housing thousands more people every year.

These numbers could change slightly after the counties submit their data to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review on June 13. (Typically, numbers are due at the end of April, but federal layoffs appear to have contributed to a delay this year.)

The increase in homelessness among Latino, Indigenous, Black and Asian people in the Portland area from 2023 to this year was especially stark, said Marisa Zapata, director of the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative at Portland State University. Zapatas team oversees the biannual census for all three counties.

There was a 114% increase in the number of homeless people who are Latino from 2023 to this year. The number of American Indian and Alaska Native people experiencing homelessness jumped by 103% over that same time period. The number of homeless people who identified as Asian or Black rose by about 65% in both cases. The increase among white people was lower, at just 42%.

Everything is a both, and, Zapata said when asked what had contributed to the significantly higher numbers among specific groups. We have more culturally specific services, so more people are going to show up in the count. We also have more evictions. And we know people of color are more likely to be evicted.

The number of evictions filed in Oregon exceeded 2,000 per month for the majority of 2024, a much higher average rate of evictions than were filed in 2023, according to numbers from Evicted in Oregon, a data project by professors at Portland State University. January 2025 saw the most evictions filed of any month since January 2020.

At the same time as homelessness is actually growing, the increase in shelter and outreach services in recent years has also contributed to an increase in the number of people who are identified in the count. For example, in January 2023, just 12 Indigenous people were recorded as being homeless in Clackamas County. In 2025, that number jumped to 32.

In the interim though, the county had opened a shelter specifically for Indigenous people. The new shelter, run by Native American Youth and Family Center, accommodates about 21 people, almost exactly the difference between the 2023 and 2025 counts.

Overall, the census in Clackamas County showed a decrease in several vulnerable populations, including people who are chronically homeless.

It shows were doing a good job at prioritizing the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness for housing placement, said Vahid Brown, deputy director of the countys housing and community development department. Thats the good news we draw from this count.

The not so good news is that homelessness rose in Clackamas County, to 568 people overall and 358 without shelter. Brown said that without the new outreach, shelter and rent assistance programs paid for by the regional homeless services tax, the increase would have been higher. And the county remains on a long-term downward trend from a high of 1,826 homeless people in 2009, according to federal data.

The trend in Multnomah County has been the opposite. After staying nearly flat from 2009 to 2019, homelessness has been rising sharply since the pandemic, according to federal data.

One key reason for the increase is the failure of wages to keep up with the cost of housing, according to data presented by economic research firm ECONorthwest this fall. The majority of housing stock in the Portland metro area now costs more than 30% of the median area income of $116,900.

Newly released numbers from the countys new by name list show the same trend, though the actual numbers from recent months are higher. In March, the county reported having 15,245 homeless residents, about 7,000 of whom were living unsheltered.

This year, for the third time, Multnomah County used the data in its by name list to increase the accuracy of its federally mandated homelessness count.

Multnomah County is unique in our region for incorporating by-name-list data into our point-in-time count, wrote county spokesperson Julia Comnes in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Thats why comparisons to other communities, as well as comparisons to previous Multnomah County data, should be done with caution.

Even with this extra work, the countys point-in-time count numbers were a significant undercount, with 4,000 fewer homeless people recorded than were identified in the countys more granular by name data.

While the point-in-time is considered an undercount in every region of the country, Zapata said the local count has gotten more accurate in recent years. In addition to Multnomah Countys use of its by name list, Clackamas County has invested in making sure more people are counted by adding additional outreach workers.

And despite the rough estimate nature of the count, it still allows homeless service providers to identify national trends about who is homeless.

Were trying to not let perfection be the enemy of the good, Zapata said.

Due to delays at the federal level this year, it is not yet possible to compare the Portland area to other parts of the country.

The uncertainty surrounding the future of federal homelessness funding is unsettling to leaders in all three counties, they said.

Washington County officials said they had been able to add a significant number of services and house many more people since the regional homeless services tax passed in 2020. But, like counties across the country, they still rely heavily on the homeless services funding that comes from the federal government and may now be in question.

All the incredible infrastructure weve built from the ground up would be completely devastated, affecting thousands of peoples lives without both regional and federal funding, said Molly Rogers, director of housing services for Washington County. Thats the stuff that keeps us up at night.

Washington County reported 940 homeless people in its 2025 point-in-time count, up from 773 in 2023. The number of unsheltered homeless people in the county remained fairly stable at just over 230.

In part, thats because the county has moved a significant number of people into housing, said Jes Larson, the leader of homeless services for the county. Of the people included in the countys last count, 70% are no longer homeless, Larson said.

That means most of the people included in this years count are new, she said.

Its working, but new people are falling into homelessness all the time, Larson said. If were not able to serve people who are newly homeless in time, some of them will become chronically homeless.

Finalized numbers and additional qualitative data about the people surveyed in this years point-in-time count will be released this summer, Zapata said. In the Portland area that will include gender data, a category the federal government has decided to forgo in 2025.

Not understanding gender in relation to homelessness will harm the efforts to serve people, Zapata said. Men tend to be much more likely to show up in these data sets. But the proportion of women who are fleeing domestic violence or who are sexually trafficked tends to be fairly high compared to men.

Zapata said data about people who identify as nonbinary or transgender is also important for understanding the best way to serve that population, a significant number of whom are young people. Whatever happens at the federal level, Zapata said she is glad the Portland area counties collected and published gender information this year.

Whether federal funding continues to flow to locales as a result of them completing the biannual survey is the larger concern at the moment, Zapata said.

Its going to be bad if they cut money for everyone, she said. It will undo any progress thats been made on supporting people while theyre homeless, preventing them from becoming homeless or helping people move into housing.

Lillian Mongeau Hughes covers homelessness and mental health for The Oregonian. Email her with tips or questions at lmhughes@oregonian.com. Or follow her on Bluesky @lmonghughes.bsky.social or X at @lrmongeau.

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A voter turns in their ballot at an official drop box. Oregon voters in every community can help choose school board members if they turn in ballots by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Voters in every Oregon community have the opportunity to choose wholl serve on their local school board in the election that wraps up Tuesday.

And most voters in Multnomah County can weigh in on one of two big money measures: a proposed $1.83 billion bond to modernize schools put forth by Portland Public Schools or what would be only the third the construction bond issued in Mt. Hood Community Colleges nearly 60-year history.

But your opinion doesnt count if you dont vote.

Nearly all of Oregons roughly 3.1 million voters received mail ballots three weeks ago, and all of them still have the option to return them to an approved dropbox by 8 p.m. Tuesday or get them in the mail by that day. If you do opt to mail your ballot, make sure it gets postmarked by Tuesday.

People who cast ballots by the deadline can count themselves among the states civic high achievers. As of the close of business Friday, only 10% of voters in Multnomah County had turned in their ballots and the same was true in Clackamas County. In Washington County, turnout stood at 13% Friday afternoon.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has provided extensive coverage of school board races and money measures in the three-county Portland area.

 Betsy Hammond oversees coverage of state politics and government and education and helps direct coverage of Portland City Hall, Multnomah County and homelessness. Reach her at betsyhammond@oregonian.com
This photo taken with a mobile phone shows commuters heading for New Jersey waiting at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, the United States, on May 16, 2025. New Jersey's train system saw its first statewide strike in more than 40 years on Friday, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. (Photo by Qin Mingwei/Xinhua)

NEW YORK, May 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike, leaving train terminals quiet for Friday's rush hour and an estimated 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to seek other means to reach their destinations or consider staying home.

According to The Associated Press, groups of picketers gathered in front of transit headquarters in Newark and at the Hoboken Terminal, carrying signs that said "Locomotive Engineers on Strike" and "NJ Transit: Millions for Penthouse Views Nothing for Train Crews."

Friday's rail commute into New York from New Jersey is typically the lightest of the week. In New York, some commuters from New Jersey said they could not work remotely and had to come in, taking buses to the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan.

"The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn't produce an agreement. It is the state's first transit strike in more than 40 years and comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management," noted the report. 

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows commuters heading for New Jersey waiting at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, the United States, on May 16, 2025. New Jersey's train system saw its first statewide strike in more than 40 years on Friday, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. (Photo by Qin Mingwei/Xinhua)
Jermaine Malone is a dad who plays music.

He moved to Portland in 2008 on a recommendation from his roommate in the Marine Corps, hoping to become a musician. Since then, hes played pre-game shows for the Portland Trail Blazers with his band, The Kinky Brothers, and worked with MusicPortland and the Portland Bureau of Transportation to host performances across the city.
OKLAHOMA CITY  In what appeared to be a campaign stump speech in all but name only, state Superintendent Ryan Walters called to eliminate Oklahomas income tax and property tax and said the state should stop increasing funding for public schools.

Walters, who leads the statewide public education system, said Oklahoma should slash administrative spending across state government. Finding these efficiencies, he claimed, would make up for the many millions of dollars public schools would lose if the state stops collecting income and property taxes.

People love to throw around how much money you spend in education, Walters said in a surprise news conference at the state Capitol on Friday. I dont want to be a leader in how much money we spend on education. Ill make that clear. I do not want to be that leader.

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Walters, a Republican long thought to be a potential gubernatorial candidate, spent much of the news conference criticizing the state budget Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders announced Wednesday. He took questions from reporters for 40 minutes while a small group of his supporters cheered him on.

When asked directly whether he intends to run for governor, Walters said thats a question Ill look at over the summer.

If Walters launches a campaign, he would join a 2026 Republican primary race of Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former House Speaker Charles McCall, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and Leisa Mitchell Haynes, of Choctaw. House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, is the only non-Republican in the race to succeed Stitt, who will be term-limited.

My focus is the school year and this legislative session, Walters said. We still have time this legislative session to get it right.

The offices of House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, declined to comment on Walters remarks. The Governors Office did not return a request for comment.

Their $12.6 billion budget deal cuts the states top income tax bracket by .25% and eliminates three lower tax brackets  a measure Walters said doesnt go far enough to support working Oklahomans. Stitt had urged lawmakers to cut the income tax by a half a percentage and to chart a path to eliminating the income tax altogether.

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The budget includes a 3.15% increase to the Oklahoma State Department of Educations budget and gives $25 million more to public schools.

Despite saying on Friday that he wants less money going to our agency, Walters had asked at the beginning of the legislative session for a 2.43% funding increase to the education budget.

He had specifically requested $3 million to buy Bibles for public school classrooms, $1 million for a new teacher induction program, $1 million to recruit military veterans and former law enforcement officers to become teachers, and $500,000 to give educators concealed-carry firearms training. None of these proposals made it into the state budget that lawmakers and the governor crafted.

However, state leaders agreed to boost a teacher maternity leave fund by $4 million and to dedicate $5 million to high-dosage tutoring for reading and math, an initiative inspired by a program Walters established.

Every Oklahoma classroom will be stocked with a Bible, Walters said, even without any state funding to buy them. He said his administration has been collecting donated copies and already purchased more than 500 Bibles with agency funds.

His new state standards for social studies education requires schools to teach biblical stories and the teachings of Jesus that inspired historical figures in American history.

The Bible is going to be in every classroom this fall, he said. The legislature can put the money there or not.

Oklahoma Voice is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a nation 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and donations focused on delivering state government news. The Voice maintains full editorial independence. For more stories by Oklahoma Voice go to oklahomavoice.com.
KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 3.4 million Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland, Afghanistan, from neighboring Iran and Pakistan since 2023, local media TOLOnews reported Saturday.

According to the report, Afghanistan also has 4.2 million internally displaced people, the fifth-highest number in the world. In 2024, 1.3 million people were displaced as a result of natural events in Afghanistan, the highest number in the world.

The Afghan interim government has been repeatedly calling upon Afghan refugees to end living abroad as refugees and return home to contribute to the rebuilding of their war-torn homeland. 
A kindergarten student at Johnstown Elementary School in Pennsylvania handed out alcohol-laced Jello shots to three classmates, prompting a swift emergency response and an ongoing investigation, according to school officials.

The incident occurred Wednesday at Johnstown Elementary, part of the Greater Johnstown School District, according to a press release. A child distributed small Jello cups containing alcohol to three other students during the school day. The event was described by school officials as isolated and unexpected.

As soon as staff learned of the incident, the affected students were taken to the school nurse for evaluation. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were called as a precaution, and the children were transported to a local hospital for further assessment.

Parents were notified and met their children at the hospital. The district is now working with local authorities to determine how the child obtained the alcohol and brought it to school.

The Jello cups have been secured as evidence, and the matter is under investigation. The district emphasized its cooperation with law enforcement and its focus on student safety.

Originally published on Latin Times
Parents from Tennessee are reporting issues when applying for school vouchers in the state as demand significantly exceeds the program's availability.

The situation comes as the school voucher program originally opened on May 15, 2025. Some parents reported that they received confirmation emails with the first name and last name of another person's child while others did not receive any confirmation email at all.

Tennessee School Voucher Program Issues

One parent, Jennifer Shinall, said she was initially impressed by the relative ease of applying for a Tennessee private school voucher. She reported that it only took her 20 minutes to complete her application.

The school voucher was designed for the 2025-26 school year and will give eligible students a $7,295 fund to use for tuition and school fees. It is limited to use in registered Category I, II, or III non-public schools across the state.

For this particular school year, there are 20,000 scholarships available for residents to apply for. Half of the openings are for any students in the state, but the other half are specifically given to families who qualify under a specific income formula, according to WSMV.

One example of this is a family of four making less than $173,000 every year to qualify. Shinall said that she received a confirmation email shortly after applying for the program. However, she got a second email a few hours after the first one.

The parent said the second email told her she applied for a child, whom she said she never heard of and is not related to. The message wrote the first name and last name of a child she did not know, causing her to worry about what other information could have been sent somewhere else.

Supporting Parents With Children's Education

Shortly after the Tennessee school voucher program was launched, it quickly received more than 33,000 applications. Despite the issues, Gov. Bill Lee called the wave of applications a success, Chalkbeat reported.

Lee made enacting private school vouchers a key campaign promise starting from his first run for governor in 2018. Legislators finally passed the universal program following a special legislative session earlier this year.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds added that the state's response to universal school choice has been an "overwhelming success." She said that Tennessee families embraced the opportunities they were given in support of students.

The recently launched program is the latest iteration of a private school voucher program in the state, but it is the first version to actually apply to all of the region's 95 counties. In 2019, the Education Savings Account was established, which started in the 2022-23 school year, as per the Commercial Appeal.
BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message on Saturday to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, the rotating chairperson of the Council of Heads of the League of Arab States, extending his congratulations on the convening of the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad.

Xi noted that over the past 80 years since its establishment, the League of Arab States has always been committed to promoting unity and self-strengthening of the Arab world, voicing actively the shared concerns of Arab states, and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East.

At present, Xi said, the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, and the situation in the Middle East is evolving in a complex way.

Arab countries' adherence to independence and autonomy, promotion of development and rejuvenation, and safeguarding of fairness and justice, have played an active role in advancing the influence of the Global South, he said.

Xi noted that the vigorous development of the relations between China and Arab states over recent years has set an example of unity and cooperation among developing countries.

Xi said he and Arab leaders agreed to commit efforts to build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era at the initial China-Arab States Summit in December 2022, and he believes that the second summit to be held in China in 2026 will mark another significant milestone in the history of China-Arab ties.

Noting that China and Arab countries have consistently viewed their relationships from the strategic and long-term perspectives, Xi said that looking ahead, China will remain a trustworthy friend and partner for them, standing firmly on the side of the just cause of Arab states.

China is willing to work with Arab states to deepen mutual political trust, push mutually beneficial cooperation, increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges, join hands on the path towards their each own modernization and build a higher-level China-Arab community with a share future, said the Chinese president. 
A Missouri grand jury indicted a teenager for the firebombing of two Tesla cybertrucks and the unlawful possession of a Molotov cocktail.

The teen, identified as 19-year-old Own McIntire, was charged with one count of malicious destruction of property and one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Missouri Teen Charged With Firebombing Cybertrucks

The indictment against the defendant alleges that he intentionally made use of fire and explosive materials to damage or try to destroy the cybertrucks on Mar. 17, 2025. The vehicles that were targeted were involved in interstate commerce, which made the teen's case eligible for federal prosecution.

McIntire is also accused of knowingly possessing a Molotov cocktail that was reportedly not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. If the defendant is convicted of the charges against him, he faces up to 20 years and 10 years of imprisonment for the first and second charges, respectively, according to MSN.

The teen's act supposedly caused damage to the two cybertrucks, which were valued at $105,485 and $107,485. The fire he started also resulted in damage to two charging stations worth roughly $550 each. In a court appearance on Friday, McIntire pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Officials arrested McIntire in Massachusetts, where he is a college student, and he first appeared in court on Apr. 18, 2025. He was later released to his parents' home and has since been kept under electronic monitoring.

Tying the Defendant to the Case

The case began after a Kansas City police officer, on the night of the incident, noticed smoke rising from the Tesla lot while passing by at around 11:16 p.m. He then found a grey cybertruck on fire as well as an unbroken Molotov cocktail inside an apple cider vinegar bottle nearby, The Kansas City Star reported.

The police officer quickly tried to extinguish the fire but it quickly spread to a second vehicle, which prompted the Kansas City Fire Department to respond to the scene. Authorities attributed surveillance footage and DNA evidence in tying McIntire to the crime.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said that any individual who wants to firebomb a Tesla property will not evade the law. She added that perpetrators will be arrested, prosecuted, and spend decades in prison.

The acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Dan Driscoll, said that the action was not merely vandalism, but a violent criminal act, as per ABC News.
(From left, top-down) La Tasha Williams, Fran Chardo, Katy Kennedy-McShane, and James Zugay are running to fill two open court of common pleas positions in Dauphin County. Williams photo courtesy of Chuckee Henderson; Chardo photo provided by Fran Chardo; Zugay photo provided by GK Visual; Kennedy-McShane photo provided by JCPenney Portraits. Photos submitted

Four judicial hopefuls with a wide range of experience are seeking party nominations to fill two seats on the Dauphin County bench next year.

La Tasha C. Williams is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for judge this fall. Katy Kennedy-McShane is another Democrat in the race but she cross-filed to be included on both primary ballots as did Republicans Fran Chardo, and Jim Zugay.
A 28-year-old Chambersburg man was arrested in Florida weeks after police said he shot another person in Franklin County.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on April 19, Chambersburg Police responded to the 100 block of Central Avenue for a reported shooting.
This image provided by Nima Tabrizi shows firefighters at the scene of an explosion at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Nima Tabrizi via AP) AP

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP)  Officials in California say police and firefighters are responding to an explosion that rocked the city of Palm Springs.

The city of Palm Springs said Saturday in a social media post that the explosion happened at 11 a.m. local time and that residents were being asked to avoid the area around North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive.

Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on their way to the scene to help assess what happened, according to spokesperson Nicole Lozano.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the practices office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed.

I really have no clue what happened, Abdallah said. Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.

Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

The building just shook, and we go outside and theres massive cloud smoke, Tabrizi said. Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off.

The Desert Sun in Palm Springs is reporting that the explosion was caused by a car bomb and that at least one person has died.

Tabrizi said that we saw human remains.

Other businesses in the neighborhood were damaged, the New York Times reported.

Palm Springs is a tony community in the desert about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles, known for upscale resorts and a history of celebrity residents.
The north wing of the Nottoway Plantation starts to collapse as crews battle the fire on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in White Castle, La. (Michael Johnson /The Advocate via AP) AP

WHITE CASTLE, La. (AP)  Flames ripped through a massive mansion in Louisiana, destroying much of the historic structure that was used as a plantation house when it was completed in 1859, authorities said.

The fire that engulfed the Nottoway Plantation House on Thursday devastated the building along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle said on social media. Nearly a dozen fire departments from surrounding towns battled the blaze, he said. No injuries were reported.

Fire crews mover a line around the now fully engulfed the Nottoway Plantation on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in White Castle, La. (Michael Johnson/The Advocate via AP) AP

Before the fire, it was a resort and event venue, and its website described it as the Souths largest remaining antebellum mansion. Daigle called it a cornerstone of our tourism economy and a site of national significance.

The 53,000-square-foot home on a former sugar plantation about 65 miles northwest of New Orleans had a three-story rotunda adorned with giant white columns and hand-carved Italian marble fireplaces, according to a description on its website.

The mansions owner, Louisiana attorney Dan Dyess, said in a written statement that the fire had led to a total loss after all the time and money he invested in the building.

We are devastated and heartbroken for this loss, he said. This was my dream that has now been dashed.

Firefighters from Baton Rouge operate Aerial 3 as flames engulf the Nottoway Plantation on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in White Castle, La. (Michael Johnson /The Advocate via AP) AP

Firefighters from Baton Rouge battle a blaze as flames burst from the roof of the Nottoway Plantation on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in White Castle, La. (Michael Johnson /The Advocate via AP) AP

Firefighters run a line through the part of the Nottoway Plantation as fire breaks through the roof of the South wing on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in White Castle, La. (Michael Johnson /The Advocate via AP) AP

Photos from local news outlets showed a giant orange wall of fire consuming the upper portion of the rotunda and sending a plume of thick smoke into the sky.

The fire has been contained, and no other properties were harmed, said Maj. Monty Migliacio of the Iberville Parish Sheriffs Office. Other structures on the grounds have been preserved, parish officials said.

We are at the beginning phases of the investigation, we dont know how the fire began and our objective is to determine how it started, Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal Public Affairs Director Ken Pastorick said.

In a statement on Facebook, Daigle touched on the structures history of racial injustice during a time when enslaved Black people helped build the home and operate the sugar plantation that surrounded it. In 1860, 155 enslaved people were held at the property, according to National Park Service records.

While its early history is undeniably tied to a time of great injustice, over the last several decades it evolved into a place of reflection, education and dialogue, Daigle said.

Since the 1980s, it has welcomed visitors from around the world who came to appreciate its architecture and confront the legacies of its era, he added. It stood as both a cautionary monument and a testament to the importance of preserving history  even the painful parts  so that future generations can learn and grow from it.
Former FBI director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) AP

Just one day after he was accused of calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump in a social media post, ex-FBI Director James Comey met with the Secret Service on Friday.

Comey voluntarily appeared for them in a meeting that lasted about an hour, according to reports.

Comey shared a post on Instagram what he called a shell formation on a beach that formed the numbers 8647.

Merriam-Webster says that 86 is a slang term meaning to throw out, to get rid of, or to refuse service to. Trump is the 47th president.

Comey deleted the post but not before screen shots were taken and accusations followed.

Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered, Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!

Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @Potus Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on x. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called for Comey to be held accountable and put behind bars, during a segment on Fox.

He absolutely knew what 86 meant she said.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn) also called for Comey to be arrested, per NBC, and Trumps former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, said he would have Comeys home raided.

We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously, Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the Secret Service told NBC. Beyond that, we do to comment on protective intelligence matters.

FBI Director Kash Patel said he was aware of the post and was in contact with the Secret Service.
Remember when Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to release the Epstein Files only to drop heavily redacted information that had already been in the media?

Well, if you are wondering where the good stuff  the real dirt is  when it comes to the Epstein Files, you are not alone. And Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is demanding answers while also openly wondering if Bondi and President Donald Trump are not intentionally delaying their release.

And we know this because Goldman sent Bondi a scathing letter this week.

I write to express my grave concern about what appears to be a concerted effort by you to delay and even prevent the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files in their entirety  potentially at the direction of the sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, Goldman begins in the letter.

On February 27, 2025, to much fanfare, the Department of Justice under your leadership released a trove of already-public documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case titled The Epstein Files: Phase 1, he continued. This document dump, which was redacted ostensibly to protect victims, was sold to the American people as a fulfillment of President Trumps promise of government transparency. It was rightly met, however, with widespread ridicule from across the political spectrum as a ham-handed attempt to gaslight the American people.

Goldman wasnt done shredding Bondi and Trump.

Shortly after the underwhelming Phase 1 release, you sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel attempting to pin blame on the FBIs New York field office for the missing material, he continued. In that letter, also dated February 27, 2025, you demanded the FBI deliver, within 24 hours, the full and complete Epstein files  including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how much information was obtained. You went on to clearly state that, there will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access. You further demanded a comprehensive report from the FBI Director within 14 days.

Goldman said that Patel indicated his intent to comply with your request in a post on X, stating there will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.

It is now 74 days past the issuance of both your 24-hour demand and 14-day deadline for a comprehensive report, yet you have provided no additional materials nor an explanation for the delay, Goldman noted. Reporting from March 21, 2025 indicates that the FBI field office in New York, presumably at your directive, delayed other investigations in order to work around the clock to review and redact information contained in the Epstein Files for release. Although you stated on May 8, 2023 that there are thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn, which would require redaction to protect the victims identities, it simply cannot take this long for dozens of agents working around the clock to make the necessary redactions.

Goldman then tore into Trump and his connections to Epstein.

Extensive reporting has revealed President Trump had a lengthy and close relationship with both Jeffrey Epstein and Epsteins co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, including being named in Jeffery Epsteins flight logs as having flown on Epsteins private jet at least seven times between 1993 and 1997. In 2002, President Trump was quoted as saying, Ive known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy  Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. Moreover, Epsteins personal address book, leaked in 2009 by an Epstein employee, contained 14 phone numbers for President Trump, his wife, Melania, and members of his staff.

Goldman wrote that the convergence of your unexplained delay in releasing the Epstein Files along with President Trumps well-documented affiliation with Epstein, and his view that the Department of Justice is his personal law firm raises serious questions about whether President Trump has intervened to prevent the public release of the Epstein files in order to hide his own embarrassing and potentially criminal conduct.

Goldman then reminded Bondi that her oath of office requires her to represent the United States interest without fear or favor, not President Trumps interest.

He then called for the immediate release of the Epstein Files.

If you have been directed to redact instances of President Trumps name or likeness that are included in the Epstein Files, then your oath of office and your commitment to transparency requires you to inform the American people of that directive, he added.

As part of Congress oversight authority, Goldman then provided a list of questions for Bondi to answer with a deadline of June 2.

You can see the full letter in the post below:

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Dan Goldman demands AG Pam Bondi come clean on if she is covering up the release of the Epstein Files to protect Donald Trump. In a blistering letter, Goldman demands answers on the unexplained delay. pic.twitter.com/3wDHhM5gwn  MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) May 12, 2025

I look forward to your response to this matter of intense public interest, he concluded. Both Congress and the American people are eager for you to follow through on your promise of transparency about the Epstein Fiels.
Officials are conducting an internal investigation after Chief Duane Fisher pointed his gun and pulled the motorcyclist off his bike April 30. Ed Pfursich

The Lancaster County District Attorneys Office on Friday announced it will not investigate an incident involving off-duty Manheim Township Police Chief Duane M. Fisher.

Although an internal investigation by the township will still take place, the DAs office said Fishers use of force during the April 30 incident did not rise to the level of a potential criminal act.

The DAs office does not investigate use of force or internal policy violations that do not rise to the level of a potential criminal act, the release said.

After reviewing video footage, police reports and an affidavit of probable cause related to the incident, the DAs office determined it is clear that Chief Fisher was acting in his capacity as a police officer.

The incident took place behind the Wingstop restaurant on the 1900 block of Fruitville Pike, at the Fruitville Pike shopping center, around 5:30 p.m.

Fisher, who was off-duty, in plainclothes and driving an unmarked SUV, parked behind motorcyclist Benny Pena-Rivera, 24, of Lancaster, and immediately pulled a gun on him.

Pena-Rivera, who was on his way to his job at Wingstop, stayed on his motorcycle as Fisher approached him from behind. The video shows Fisher grabbing Pena-Rivera by the shoulder and trying to remove him from the bike, all while holding his gun in his other hand.

Fisher then holstered his gun and wrestled Pena-Rivera off the motorcycle, according to the video. Shortly after, Pena-Rivera escaped Fishers grasp and backed out of the videos frame.

Whether the use of force or tactics used during the traffic stop was within or against policy, training, or best practices is the sole determination of Manheim Township, the Lancaster County DAs office said.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed against Pena-Rivera, Fisher said he told Pena-Rivera twice: Manheim Township Police, its just a ticket dont [expletive]-ing run."

However, Pena-Rivera said he was unaware he was being followed, and Fisher did not identify himself as a police officer or have his emergency lights activated.

Thats when he was saying, On the ground, on the ground, or I will shoot you, Pena-Rivera said.

One of Pena-Riveras coworkers confirmed that Fisher only identified himself as a police officer after he returned from the foot chase.

The affidavit also said Pena-Rivera pushed and shoved Chief Fisher, which is not seen in the video. Instead, the video shows Fisher attempting to grab Pena-Rivera as he backs away.

The DAs office noted Fisher called out on the radio that he was following a motorcycle that was driving erratically and said vehicle stopped to the rear of 1917 Fruitville Pike as he stopped behind Pena-Rivera.

Again, the District Attorneys Office does not have authority over internal policy or discipline specific to any police department in Lancaster County and we make no findings regarding such, the DAs release concluded.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to graduating students at the Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama on May 01, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Trump's remarks come the day before official commencement ceremonies. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Getty Images

It is no secret that Donald Trump loves praise, but this might be one time where the president would have preferred the person giving him a pat on the back just keep it to himself.

Because, according to reports, the Casanova Killer Glen Rogers used some of his last words to praise Trump before being executed Thursday in Florida. TMZ reported that Rogers addressed the audience, thanked his wife for visiting, and then directed his attention to Trump.

President Trump, keep making America great, he said. Im ready to go.

Rogers was put to death by lethal injection. He was convicted in 1997 of the murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, who he met in a bar, in 1995. He reportedly took her to a hotel near Tampa where he stabbed her to death and left her in a bathtub.

TMZ said Rogers, who was known as The Cross Country Killer and the Casanova Killer, was also convicted of killing Sandra Gallagher in Los Angeles and was implicated in the murders of several other women around the country.

The website also pointed out that, because he was in prison, the Trump fan never actually got a chance to vote for the president he loves.
Three people escaped a house fire Wednesday morning after a pickup truck crashed into a utility pole near their Lehigh County home, state police said.

The fire started just after 9 a.m. in the 3400 block of Bellview Road in North Whitehall Township, state police spokesman Trooper Nathan Branosky said.

A power line came loose from the utility pole and sparked the fire, Branosky said. Crews with Neffs Volunteer Fire Company worked to quickly extinguish the blaze in the front of the home, he said.

Three people escaped the residence on their own, Branosky said. There were no reported injuries from either the single-vehicle crash involving the Dodge pickup truck or the fire.

Approximately 500 homes temporarily lost power, Branosky said.

The Dodge driver was cited for multiple summary traffic violations, including careless driving.

The accident and fire remain under investigation by Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem and North Whitehall fire officials.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached atpholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R, front) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L, front) at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League Summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 16, 2025. The summit kicked off here on Saturday, bringing together the bloc's 22 member states, along with a number of regional and international organizations, to address critical challenges facing the Arab world, particularly the ongoing crisis in Palestine. (Iraqi Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The 34th Arab League Summit kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, bringing together the bloc's 22 member states, along with a number of regional and international organizations, to address critical challenges facing the Arab world, particularly the ongoing crisis in Palestine.

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, who took over the rotating presidency from Bahrain, highlighted in his speech the grave threats facing the region. He condemned the Israeli "systematic killing" of Palestinians since October 2023, describing it as an attempt to "erase their presence from their land."

"We categorically condemn these acts, which violate human rights and international law," Rashid said, reaffirming Iraq's unwavering support for the Palestinian people's right to live on their land and rejection of any attempts at their forced displacement.

He also emphasized Iraq's support for Arab security and stability, rejecting external interference in the internal affairs of Arab nations.

Addressing the summit's opening session, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani unveiled 18 initiatives to revitalize joint Arab action, foremost among them the initiative to establish an Arab Fund to support post-crisis reconstruction efforts in the region.

Al-Sudani said that Iraq's vision for ending the conflicts in the region "begins with the Palestinian people attaining their full right to a free and dignified life on their land and an end to the ongoing aggression (against their territory)."

"We have rejected, and continue to reject, forcible displacement of Palestinians, calling for an immediate halt to the attacks on the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and other occupied Palestinian territories, and for the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid," al-Sudani added, while announcing Iraq's pledge of 20 million U.S. dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza and another 20 million dollars for Lebanon. 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R, C) welcomes chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi (L, C) at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League Summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. The summit kicked off here on Saturday, bringing together the bloc's 22 member states, along with a number of regional and international organizations, to address critical challenges facing the Arab world, particularly the ongoing crisis in Palestine. (Iraqi Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R, C) welcomes Jordan's Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan (L, C) at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League Summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. The summit kicked off here on Saturday, bringing together the bloc's 22 member states, along with a number of regional and international organizations, to address critical challenges facing the Arab world, particularly the ongoing crisis in Palestine. (Iraqi Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R, front) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (L, front) at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League Summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. The summit kicked off here on Saturday, bringing together the bloc's 22 member states, along with a number of regional and international organizations, to address critical challenges facing the Arab world, particularly the ongoing crisis in Palestine. (Iraqi Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)
President Donald Trump speaks at an event for Military Mothers, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. AP

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) spent the week taking Donald Trump to task on what he called outrageous corruption.

Schiff laid out a long list of items that he said show corruption by Trump and his family, but he said one thing stands out above all else.

That thing? Trumps meme coin.

Schiff wrote on X that the meme coin is Trump effectively posting his Venmo account online  inviting cash payments from whoever needs to buy influence.

Schiff wrote that it was the single most corrupt, self-serving act of any President in American history.

He also delivered a takedown of Trumps meme coin efforts on the Senate floor.

You have heard about the meme coin by now. This is the logo of the meme coin. The presidents most brazen cashing in, Schiff said. A corrupt effort that has already made him and his family billions of dollars between its soaring values and the trading fees. This meme coin has gone up-and-down in value, but the thing is, every time it gets traded, every time it gets bought or sold, this guy gets a cut. He gets the fees. Estimated already at the value of hundreds of millions of dollars. Its like posting his Venmo account online, inviting personal monetary tributes from foreign powers, foreign investors or anyone else who is willing to pay up. Youve heard about the private dinner associated with this meme coin. The top 220 meme coin owners, many of whom are foreign investors, invited to a private dinner with the president of the United States. Businesses are buying and jockeying to be one of the favored few who also get a private audience with him if they are willing to buy millions of meme coins, not to mention a personal tour of the White House. But beyond the meme coins and private dinners, theres also something else brewing behind the scenes. As I speak, Eric Trump and Don Jr. are getting into the action, jetting around the world building their own financial empire in the crypto business space. In Dubai, the Trump familys World Liberty Financial Firm announced a joint venture capital firm backed by the government of Abu Dhabi that would invest $2 billion using Trump digital currency.

Now, I know its hard to keep all these billions apart, he added. You got the $2 billion investment in Jared Kushner by the Saudis. You got $5.5 billion investment by other gulf nations in Trump properties. You got $2 billion here, another $5.5 billion there, another $2 billion here and pretty soon you are talking about serious money for the Trump family. This deal alone will generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Trump family. So, thats the Art of the Deal with this president. Trump gets rich. You get screwed.

It will be interesting to see if Trump has a response to Schiffs accusation.
By Aidan Quigley and David Lerman, CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON  The House Budget Committee plans to try again Sunday night to advance the GOPs expansive reconciliation package after four Republican dissenters torpedoed the measure at a markup Friday.

Within hours of the budget panels 16-21 vote rejecting the bill earlier Friday, Chairman Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas, called for a second session on Sunday at 10 p.m. The announcement came shortly after promising members they could spend the weekend with their families and that the panel wouldnt reconvene until Monday morning.

From left, Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, speaks with a staff member and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., during the House Budget Committee markup of the reconciliation bill in the Cannon House Office Building on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via ZUMA Press/TNS) TNS

The decision to schedule a second vote so quickly  before House leaders could cut a deal with their detractors  underscored the determination of GOP leadership to keep the bill on an aggressive timeline, with a House floor vote expected next week.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., all had unresolved concerns about the draft bill and stood in the way of its approval on Friday morning.

A fifth GOP lawmaker and the panels vice chair  Lloyd K. Smucker of central Pennsylvania  initially voted yes but later flipped his vote after the four other members voted against it. He later said he did so in order to bring up a motion to reconsider the package at a later time.

You never know until you call the question where people stand, which is the reason I called for a vote, Arrington told reporters after the markup. You cannot debate things ad infinitum and achieve anything, including something this important.

But the public rejection of President Donald Trumps top legislative priority marked a clear setback for GOP leadership and appeared to add fuel to the internal warfare within the GOP conference over the size and shape of a package designed to deliver tax cuts, defense and border security funding, major spending cuts and more.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who voted to advance the bill, lashed out at the GOP dissenters after the markup.

These are people who promised their constituents not to raise their taxes, McClintock said. Instead, he said, they just voted for the biggest tax increase in American history.

But Arrington and others insisted they were very close to reaching a deal that would ease the concerns of the dissenters and allow the bill to move forward next week. Arrington said the vote served as an action-forcing catalyst that would spur both sides toward a deal after a weekend of negotiations.

We will get there, said Smucker, who represents Lancaster and part of York counties. Im quite confident were going to get this done. ... Were already very, very close and I think therell be continued discussions going forward.

Something needs to change

During Fridays meeting, the committee had deferred roll call votes to the end of the session while negotiations took place behind the scenes, but to no avail.

Roy said he needed serious changes before agreeing to vote to move the legislation forward. During the markup, Roy pointed at a graph compiled by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reflecting that tax cuts and new spending would take effect more quickly than the budget savings in the legislation.

I am a no on the bill unless serious reforms are made today, tomorrow, Sunday. We are having conversations as we speak, but something needs to change, or you arent going to get my support, Roy said.

Norman also said he is a hard no as he wants Medicaid work requirements to take effect sooner than the 2029 start laid out under the text of the bill, and wants green energy tax credits Democrats enacted in their 2022 budget reconciliation package to be repealed faster.

If were going to continue to have ... able-bodied Americans getting checks, illegal aliens getting checks, subsidies that go to corporations that shouldnt get them, Im out, Norman said.

Clyde said he could not support the bill in its current form and said he needs changes to firearm regulations and taxes and a quicker start to Medicaid work requirements.

Brecheen expressed concerns about the timeline for repealing the energy tax credits, and had questions about the overall budgetary impact of the package, absent a full score from the Congressional Budget Office that wasnt ready yet.

After the vote, the House Freedom Caucus issued a statement that members are continuing to work toward an agreement that could be ready by next week.

(W)e were making progress before the vote in the Budget Committee and will continue negotiations to further improve the reconciliation package, the statement read. We are not going anywhere and we will continue to work through the weekend.

President Donald Trump tried to tip the scales in favor of the bill Friday morning, saying that Republicans MUST UNITE behind the measure.

We dont need GRANDSTANDERS in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The measure would extend and expand trillions of dollars worth of tax cuts; fund a military and border security buildup; raise the debt limit; loosen oil and gas drilling restrictions; and cut mandatory spending on programs like Medicaid, student loans and food stamps.

House Budget ranking member Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., said the legislation would disproportionately aid billionaires at the expense of Medicaid recipients.

It is the biggest tax cuts for billionaires in American history, paid for by throwing 13.7 million Americans off their health care coverage, Boyle said, citing the Congressional Budget Office.
Central Pennsylvania residents can expect a warm and breezy Saturday with scattered rain showers, primarily in the northern tier, followed by a cooler and windier end to the weekend.

Today will bring a mix of clouds and sun, with temperatures reaching the lower 80s in the lower Susquehanna Valley and near 70 degrees in the northwest mountains.

Gusty west-southwest winds between 25 and 35 mph will accompany the warm conditions, with light rain showers likely in the northern parts of the region during the afternoon.

In the Harrisburg area, showers are expected before noon and again Saturday night.

The weekend will see a significant temperature drop, with Sundays highs ranging from the upper 50s in the northwest to around 70 degrees in the southeast part of the state.

Continued gusty winds and partly cloudy skies will persist, with light rain showers possible, particularly downwind of Lake Erie. Monday morning could bring frost to the northern tier, with overnight temperatures dipping into the low to mid-30s.

A more substantial weather system is expected midweek, bringing cooler temperatures and increased chances of rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday. The forecast indicates a trough moving across the region, potentially bringing showers and cooler air for the second half of the work week.

Looking ahead, residents should be prepared for a significant shift from the warm Saturday to a cooler, more unsettled pattern in the coming days.

Current weather radar

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by PennLive.com staff.
Meeting With Pope Leo XIV: A New Hope for the Eastern Churches

A community of Christians in northern Iraq might be forgiven if they feel forgotten by the world. Their numbers, already small, are dwindling. Their religious rituals might feel foreign to most Catholics in the West.

"Sometimes we think that we have nothing to offer, that we are few in numbers, and dwindling," said Syriac Catholic Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Wadih Semaan of Adiabene, northern Iraq.

But Archbishop Nizar, as he is known, was in Rome this week for a pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year of Hope, and he heard something that has confirmed that he and his flock are a vital part of the Church. That message came from the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV.

"He made us feel proud," Archbishop Semaan told Aid to the Church in Need after a papal audience during the Jubilee for Eastern Churches on May 14. "He reminded us that we have a rich liturgy and a deep spirituality. He told us we should not only preserve it like a treasure but also share it with the world. That was very moving."

His Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, is one of 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that, together with the Latin, or Roman, Catholic Church, make up the universal Catholic Church. Many of the Eastern Catholic Churches have their origins in lands where Aid to the Church in Need supports the kinds of projects that address the very thing that Pope Leo spoke about Wednesday.

"I thank God for those Christians -- Eastern and Latin alike -- who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them," the Pope said. "Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence. Please, let us strive for this!"

ACN spoke to six Eastern rite project partners from different regions, to get their impressions, and they all agree that "the Pope didn't only address us, he gave us a mission."

"The Pope ignited a new flame in our hearts. He reminded us that yes, we do have something that we can share with the world, with responsibility and joy," Archbishop Nizar said. "He told us: 'You are the light of the world.' We know that resurrection, and light, come after suffering. In the Middle East, we are experiencing a cross, but it will be followed by light."

The pope also referred to Eastern Catholics who have emigrated from their ancestral lands and struggle to maintain their identity in the melting pot of the West. Archbishop Nizar, too, is aware of the challenges and opportunities that the Syriac Catholic diaspora has.

"Wherever we are based -- in France, Germany, America, or Australia -- our communities are a shining light," he said. "We are witnesses of Christ in our daily lives. We have to take that light with us."

Hope and strength to begin again

Bishop Boutros Marayati, the Armenian Catholic prelate of Aleppo, Syria, shared with ACN how the Holy Father's words led to an inner renewal.

"We left the meeting full of hope and spiritual joy. The Pope is aware of what our Churches in the East are going through. He is close to us."

ACN also spoke to the auxiliary bishop of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, Anba Hani Nassif Wasef Bakhoum Kiroulos, who said: "This meeting really was a blessing. His Holiness focused on the importance of our heritage and the present situation of the eastern Churches, which he described as the Church of Martyrs. He asked the faithful not to abandon their country, and to preserve this heritage."

"He said that the Church needs the Eastern Churches," Bishop Kiroulos continued. "It was a deeply historical and spiritual event, which reflects the Pope's vision of peace and unity, that we should preserve our traditions and pray for a true peace, a peace based on forgiveness and the courage to begin a new chapter."

A voice that sounds in the East and in the West

The world's youngest bishop, 42-year-old Jules Boutros of the Syriac Catholic community in Lebanon, highlighted the personal tone of the Pope's message. "It was like listening to a father who is addressing his children in a language they understand: the language of the heart. The most beautiful thing was that he personally promised to follow up on our needs through the Dicastery for Eastern Churches. This is concrete hope, which is a consolation for us."

The pope said there is a need to promote greater awareness among Latin Catholics of the Eastern Churches and said he would ask the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches to help him define principles, norms, and guidelines whereby Latin Bishops can "concretely support Eastern Catholics in the diaspora in their efforts to preserve their living traditions and thus, by their distinctive witness, to enrich the communities in which they live."

Apparently, Pope Leo believes so strongly in the value of Eastern Christian traditions in the Church that he quoted his namesake during his speech, Pope Leo XIII, who wrote in an 1894 document, "Any Latin-Rite missionary [who] draws any Eastern-Rite Catholic to the Latin Rite" ought to be "dismissed and removed from his office."

For Bishop Jules, this reminder stresses not only Leo XIV's support for the Eastern Churches' identity and traditions, "but also his wish that they grow, both in the East and in the West, without being absorbed or dissolved into their surrounding societies."

Speaking to ACN, Bishop Jules also pointed out the deep appreciation that the Pope expressed for the Eastern Churches and the spiritual and liturgical traditions of the East, by quoting from the works of three Eastern Church fathers: Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac of Nineveh, and Symeon the New Theologian. "In doing so, he embraced a wide range of traditions, making everyone feel included," he explained.

The impact of the Pope's words was not limited to the faithful of Eastern Churches: "I have friends who are priests in America and in Europe who wrote to me, or came to me after the speech," said Bishop Jules. "Not only did he fill us with joy, but he also touched the hearts of many in the Latin Church, who rediscovered and gained admiration for our traditions. This is something new, that we had not seen before."

A Pope of peace

Also present in Rome was the Greek Catholic Bishop of Odesa, Ukraine, Mykhaylo Bubniy, who shared his impressions with ACN, highlighting how the Pope opened his audience by using the traditional greeting of the Eastern faithful: "Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen!"

"The Pope addressed each one of us personally. It was a lovely experience. He listens, he understands, and he wants to build a world of truth and justice," said Bishop Mykhaylo. "He made special mention to those who are affected by war, such as in Ukraine and Syria, as well as all those who suffer because of conflicts. Leo XIV is the Pope of peace. His very first words were: 'The peace of Christ be with you, the peace of the risen Christ.' We hope that in this new pontificate, peace might prevail among people, in the world, and between countries. He said that we should cleanse our words of lies."

The Ukrainian bishop added that Leo XIV was invited to visit Ukraine, "but now, he needs time to begin his service as Pontiff, to understand what lies ahead. He accepted the invitation and will do everything possible to make the trip."

The Eastern Church in Africa

In his speech, Leo XIV also mentioned Tigray, the Ethiopian region which was swept by terrible violence during the devastating war of 2020 to 2022. Tesfaselassie Medhin, the Ethiopian Catholic Bishop of Adigrat, an eparchy which covers Tigray and Afar, said he was grateful that one of Pope Leo's first speeches was to the Eastern Churches.

"The essence of the speech was gratitude, an appreciation of the heritage of the Eastern Churches, their spirituality and liturgy, and keeping alive the diversity and the unity of the Christian Churches," said Bishop Tesfaselassie. "The Holy Father also encouraged the persecuted and suffering Churches and spoke about how they are a source of hope to the rest. When I greeted him, I thanked him for his prayers for Tigray, and I passed on greetings from the faithful of Adigrat, assuring him of our prayers for his ministry. He thanked me for that."

In 2024, ACN contributed more than $14 million in grants to support 565 projects with the Eastern Catholic Churches. In addition to this, ACN also granted $3.3 million to inter-ritual projects (i.e., projects with either more than one Eastern Catholic Church or projects involving an Eastern Catholic Church and the Latin Church).

The Eastern Catholic Churches supported by ACN in 2024 include: The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Melkite Catholic Church, the Chaldean Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Coptic Catholic Church, and several Greek Catholic Churches in Eastern Europe.
HANGZHOU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Inside an exhibition hall at the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the world's busiest port by cargo throughput, a giant screen pulses with real-time port operations data. A group of visitors could recently be seen watching intently as a digital platform mapped out how smart port technologies were driving efficient management and greener growth.

"This is precisely the standard a global hub should meet," said Douglas Jardine Flint, former group chairman of HSBC. What had impressed him, he said, was not just the physical scale of the port but the powerful digital infrastructure behind it. "This reflects an open, forward-looking China," he added.

On Thursday, the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held its 2025 session in the city of Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province. A day earlier, advisory council members from Kenya, Egypt, the United Kingdom and beyond visited the world-class deep-water port in Zhejiang.

The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the only port in the world that has handled over 1 billion tonnes of cargo annually for 16 consecutive years. It has more than 200 deep-water berths across 20 port areas stretching 220 kilometers of coastline, with each berth capable of accommodating 10,000-tonne ships.

The port is a golden hub of the Yangtze River Delta and a vital link connecting China with the Middle East, Africa and Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"I once worked as a transportation engineer and was involved in many port projects in Egypt," said Essam Sharaf, former prime minister of Egypt. "But Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is clearly a more advanced and more important one."

In Sharaf's view, the world economy is increasingly dependent on maritime transportation, and efficient ports are the cornerstone of global trade.

"You can see the dedicated employees, cutting-edge innovation and advanced science here. No wonder it's one of the biggest ports in the world," Erastus J.O. Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, said as his gaze swept across the bustling port.

To Mwencha, the port is more than just a logistics hub -- it stands as a symbol of multilateralism.

"One of the goals of the BRI is to advance global cooperation and achieve mutual benefit," he said. "Whether it's ports, highways, regional hubs or air routes, all are key programs of the initiative. These infrastructures don't just connect locations -- they connect development opportunities."

Since the BRI was proposed over a decade ago, port cooperation has remained a key field of connectivity.

China and its partners have worked together to transform critical maritime infrastructure, with projects including the Gwadar Port of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Greece's Piraeus Port, which is the largest port in the Mediterranean, as well as Lekki Deep Sea Port, which is the first modern deep seaport in Nigeria.

The goal is to achieve not just broader trade routes, but shared development. For many of the advisory council members who traveled to Ningbo, witnessing the scale and sophistication of the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port reaffirmed the possibilities of deepened Belt and Road cooperation.

Sharaf, a long-time observer of international development, called the BRI "one of the most important cooperation platforms in the world today." It carries, he said, "the development hopes of many nations -- and historic significance."

Through partnerships and joint projects, the BRI has "created a global web of connectivity, shared planning and common purpose," Sharaf said. "Under this initiative, we don't impose things but share the benefits."

Mwencha expressed a similar view. "To me, the BRI is itself a port of hope, of progress, of the future," he said with conviction. 
Defending champion Josep Valls used a last-second triple up to become one of the 47 players to advance from Day 1c of the 888poker Live Barcelona Main Event.

Valls was all in for his last 70,500 as Bernat Carreras and Panagiotis Mavritsakis both called to put him at risk. Valls ended up flopping top two pair to beat Mavritsakis pocket tens and secure the pot, bagging up 246,500 as he tries to go back-to-back in this event.

The third starting flight promised to be the biggest one yet, and it didnt disappoint. A crowded field of 204 players packed Casino Barcelona today, far more than the first two days combined. Juan Velasco ended up as chip leader with 485,500, followed by Angel Blanco (441,500), Mauro Panto (387,000), and Alfredo Garcia (375,000). Edgar Bermejo earned a massive double up when he made a full house against Sean Neely after both flopped trips on his way to bagging 373,500 and rounding out the top five.

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Juan Velasco Spain 485,500 97 2 Angel Blanco 441,500 88 3 Mauro Panto 387,000 77 4 Alfredo Garcia 375,000 75 5 Edgar Bermejo Spain 373,500 75 6 Alexander Sokolovsky Serbia 369,000 74 7 Marcos Thielke Spain 355,000 71 8 Filippos Avramidis Greece 345,000 69 9 Julian Patino Spain 328,000 66 10 Alonso Luis Ramos 317,000 63

Other players to advance included Alexander Sokolovsky (369,000), Marcos Thielke (355,000), Abel Aspas (301,000), 888poker Live Madrid runner-up Alvaro Murciano (272,000), and David McConachie (202,000). Gabi Livshitz was cruising along as a top stack until he faced a massive shove on the river from Filippos Avramidis. Livshitz tanked for nearly five minutes before folding, saying he was considering calling with just ace-high. Avramidis told him after the day he had ace-jack and Livshitz wouldve won the pot if he had made the hero-call. I'm saving my good luck for Vegas this summer, Livshitz said after he ended the night with 121,500, while Avramidis bagged 345,000.

Filippos Avramidis

Among those to fall on Day 1c included 888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson, Jack Hardcastle, David Algarra, and Marius Gicovanu. They still have tomorrows Day 1d turbo flight if they want to take a shot at the title, while late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

The 204 entries today brought the field up to 365 through the first three days, with 81 already securing their spots on Day 2. There is still the possibility the field can grow much larger by the time the prize pool is confirmed at the start of Day 2. The action picks up on Level 15 with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante.

PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action as the field plays down past the money bubble and towards the final table.
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YANGON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities have seized more than 9.7 million stimulant tablets and several kg of synthetic drugs in central Myanmar, state-owned daily The Mirror reported on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, anti-narcotics police carried out operations in Minhla and Pyinmana townships in Magway region and Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory from May 9 to 11, and confiscated the narcotics, the report said.

The seized narcotics included approximately 9.798 million stimulant tablets, 5 kg of ICE (methamphetamine), 1 kg of ketamine, and 2.915 kg of "happy water," a synthetic drug, the report said.

Nine suspects in connection with the case have been arrested, and have been charged under the country's laws. Further investigations are ongoing, it added. 
The historical marker for the Legare-Morgan Cottage on Laurens Street is pictured. A Museum Movie Night, featuring a screening of the film To Have a Name Worth Owning: Aiken's James Mathewes Legare, will be held May 29.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Tropical storm conditions possible. Occasional rain tapering to a few showers late. High around 85F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
MEXICO CITY, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Mexico will deploy "the best political and legal defense" against the U.S. initiative that proposes to impose an additional tax on remittance transfers, Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said Friday.

The initiative was presented on May 12 before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax issues, he said, noting that the measure "has no reason to exist" and represents a direct impact on millions of Mexicans living in the neighboring country.

The following day, under instructions from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, a letter was sent to U.S. legislators signed by Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, and the head of the North America department of Mexican foreign ministry, Roberto Velasco, expressing rejection.

The initiative is aimed at people who already contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, many of whom have already paid taxes, he added.

Remittances sent from the United States represent a vital source of income for millions of families in Mexico. 
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 / Boss Security Screens, a leading provider of high-strengthsecurity doorsandsecurity screens for windows , is proud to announce its expansion into the Los Angeles market. The company now serves residential, commercial and government customers throughout Los Angeles and surrounding communities, delivering premium, American-made protection solutions designed to deter break-ins without compromising curb appeal. Security Doors Los Angeles Security screens for windows and doors help prevent break-ins.This expansion comes at a crucial time for residents seeking peace of mind. According to LAPD statistics, over 13,000 burglaries were reported in Los Angeles in 2024, with many incidents involving easy entry through unsecured doors and windows. Boss Security Screens aims to reduce these numbers by equipping homes and businesses with state-of-the-art security that combines innovation, strength, and style."Our mission is to make families and businesses safer," said James Kerr, Founder and Chief of New Business Development of Boss Security Screens. "Expanding into Los Angeles allows us to bring our patented security doors and window screens to one of the largest and most security-conscious markets in the country. We're not just selling products-we're providing real protection." Boss Security Screens' products are constructed from industrial-grade stainless steel mesh and feature tamper-resistant frames. Unlike traditional bars or rolling shutters, these modern solutions are virtually invisible, allowing homeowners to maintain clear views and airflow while deterring intruders. The screens are engineered to withstand forced entry, impact, and even extreme weather, making them ideal for the diverse needs of Southern California residents.Boss Security Screens provides custom sizing and professional installation to ensure secure, functional fits across various building types. The company has completed thousands of installations in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and now California, serving residential, commercial, and government properties.As part of its Los Angeles launch, Boss Security Screens is offering free in-home consultations and security evaluations. The company's local technicians will work with clients to assess vulnerabilities and recommend solutions tailored to each property."Security doesn't have to be ugly, expensive, or complicated," said Kerr. "Our products are an investment in peace of mind-and we're excited to now offer that to the people of Los Angeles." For more information or to schedule a free consultation, visitbosssecurityscreens.comor call 702-637-0255.Contact InformationJames KerrFounder & Chief of New Business Developmentinfo@ bosssecurityscreens.com 702-637-0255SOURCE: Boss Security Screens
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Through the help of Dr. Katinka van der Merwe at The Spero Clinic, Emma was able to get her life back from CRPS.FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 / Estimates suggest that more than 20% of the world's population suffers from pain, while each year, 10% are newly diagnosed with chronic pain. Pain has become a "silent" epidemic for which the medical community has no answers. Dr. Katinka van der Merwe Founder of The Spero Clinic, Dr. Katinka van der Merwe.Rowan County, N.C. native Emma Meyers had never been without extensive nerve pain since the age of 4. Instead of spending her childhood playing and having fun, Emma's mobility worsened to a point where she could no longer use her right arm and leg and became wheelchair-bound.Emma's condition is unfortunately not unique. Over the years, hundreds of patients like Emma have entered TheSpero Clinicin Lafayette, Arkansas. In many cases, those patients arrived when crippled with chronic pain, caused by a condition calledComplex Regional Pain Syndrome , or CRPS.Understanding CRPSCRPS can set in at a young age, sometimes even after a minor injury or surgery, and is characterized by over-the-top pain levels so severe. This condition is also called the "suicide disease." Like Emma, the average CRPS patient will go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed for years before they find The Spero Clinic, the only clinic of its kind in the United States.From Debilitation to HopeUnlike traditional medicine, The Spero Clinic has taken a different approach to treating conditions such as CRPS. Spero's Founder and CEO,Dr. Katinka van der Merwe , conducted extensive research into the causes of CRPS which she published in her book,Putting Out the Fire .She found that, at the core, CRPS is associated with an imbalance and malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. This system regulates all functions of the body and its organs and affects muscles, nerves, organs, and systems. If the autonomic nervous system fails or is blocked in any way, it will cause all sorts of mayhem in the body.Based on these findings, Dr. Katinka developed a unique treatment model to repair and reactivate the nervous system, which began the healing process of hundreds of CRPS patients.Newfound, Lasting HopeFor Emma, this meant a new hope of recovery. Yet, the road was not easy for her.According to Emma's mom, "Dr. Katinka Van Der Merwe at Spero told us that Emma was one of their most difficult cases to date and it hasn't been easy. They were very impressed with Emma's attitude and the fact she was never willing to give up. They were very clear that her persistence played a big part in getting where she is today." Now, Emma finally can do all the things that she couldn't do since early childhood. The wheelchair has been discarded and she's ready to live again.For more information about The Spero Clinic, go towww.thesperoclinic.comor call (479) 304-8202.Contact InformationKaylie CraneDirector of Patient Enrollmentkaylie@ thesperoclinic.com 479-482-0080SOURCE: The Spero Clinic
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Frost Law to Join Top Legal and Financial Experts at Premier Las Vegas ConferenceANNAPOLIS, MD / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 / Frost Lawis heading to Las Vegas this June to join thousands of professionals at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 25, the largest annual event for the accounting and finance industry. The conference takes place June 9-12, 2025, and brings together leaders, innovators, and experts from across the country for several days of networking, learning, and collaboration.Representing the firm at the event is Managing Partner and Founder Glen Frost, a leading authority on tax controversy and compliance. As an attorney, certified public accountant, and Certified Financial Planner, he brings a diverse perspective in resolving legal, tax, business, and financial issues. At ENGAGE 25, he will be connecting with fellow practitioners and sharing insights from his multidisciplinary work in tax, law, and finance."Events like ENGAGE 25 give us a chance to connect on a deeper level with fellow professionals," said Glen Frost. "We're looking forward to sharing meaningful conversations, new ideas, and insights." With offices along the East Coast, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Florida, and New York, Frost Law works with clients nationwide and internationally. From complex tax matters and business planning to litigation and financial strategy, the team is committed to meeting people where they are and helping them move forward with confidence.For more information about Glen Frost or Frost Law's services, visitaskfrost.com ###About Frost LawWe are headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland but have additional office locations in New York, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Florida. Frost Law is the home of accomplished attorneys, certified public accountants and financial planners, and other legal, accounting, and financial professionals. Our core practice areas include civil and criminal tax controversy; tax planning for individuals and businesses; transactions involving business and general counsel services; commercial and probate litigation; estate and trust law, including planning and administration; and professional grievance investigations. We serve clients throughout the country and abroad, offering virtual services for clients who prefer to meet remotely. As cases do differ, past performance does not guarantee future results.Contact information: Name: Will CarrEmail: will.carr@askfrost.comhttps://askfrost.com/ SOURCE: Frost Law
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 /WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of securities of Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI) between May 1, 2024, and May 7, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 8, 2025 in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.SO WHAT: If you purchased Compass securities 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 Compassclass action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=39216 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 8, 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. 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) Compass's subsidiary, Lugano Holdings, Inc., maintained unrecorded financing arrangements and irregularities in its sales, cost of sales, inventory, and accounts receivable; (2) the irregularities and undisclosed details in Lugano Holdings, Inc.'s financial statements rendered the financial statements of Compass as a whole unreliable, and would require restatement; (3) Compass failed to maintain adequate internal controls related to its financial statements; and (4) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Compass class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=39216or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Health experts have described cancer as a silent killer, warning that many Nigerians only seek help when the disease has already reached an advanced stage. This late diagnosis, they say, is a major reason for the fatalities recorded in the country.

According to medical professionals, early signs such as unexplained weight loss, persistent fatigue, lumps, or abnormal bleeding are often ignored, either due to low awareness or fear of high medical costs.

However, detecting cancer early greatly improves survival chances and reduces treatment costs.

Most patients present late because they either dont know the symptoms or are afraid to go to the hospital, said Abidemi Omonisi, President of the Nigerian Cancer Society, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Omonisi said by the time they present, it is already too late.

According to the 2022 Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) report, Nigeria faces significant cancer challenges, with 127,763 new cases and 79,542 deaths reported in that year. The most prevalent cancers include breast cancer, particularly among women, and prostate cancer in men.

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Need to take symptoms seriously

Mr Omonisi emphasised that Nigerians must take symptoms seriously and not wait until they become unbearable.

The issue with urban centres is decision-making, doing what is right. Most Nigerians in rural communities are less aware of cancer, he said.

He shared a story of a woman in Kogi State with advanced breast cancer who was locked up by her community out of ignorance. We will not win the war against cancer until we focus on rural areas where most late-stage cases come from, he warned.

He advised Nigerians to watch for unusual signs like lumps, sudden bleeding, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and persistent pain, and seek medical help early.

Cost and access challenges

Mr Omonisi emphasised in the interview that cost is one of the biggest hurdles.

To manage a cancer patient from diagnosis to stabilisation, one would need an average of N16 million to N20 million, Mr Omonisi said.

For chemotherapy alone, especially for breast cancer, he said patients can spend about N1.5 million per month, a figure far out of reach for most citizens.

He said this high cost affects both diagnosis and treatment. Even when facilities are available, Mr Omonisi noted, many patients cannot afford to begin or complete their treatment.

Another challenge is the severe shortage of experts. Nigeria currently has fewer than 80 clinical oncologists serving the entire population.

The ideal oncologist-to-patient ratio should be one to a maximum of 500, Mr Omonisi said. But in Nigeria, we have one oncologist to almost 1,800 cancer patients.

He said access to treatment is also a challenge. While the federal government has designated one centre per geopolitical zone for cancer care, many Nigerians still struggle to access these services.

He said patients face difficulties reaching them due to insecurity, poor roads, and high transport costs.

He noted that many of the interventions being done at the federal level do not get to the state level and local government, urging governors to do more within their states to improve access and help patients early.

Call to government and citizens

Mr Omonisi says the fight against cancer cannot be left to the federal government alone. We cannot sit down and watch Nigerians continue to die from cancer, especially the preventable ones.

He encouraged state governments to develop their own State Cancer Control Plans and join hands with the national body. The Cancer Society has also created state chapters to help with awareness campaigns and partnerships.

Beyond the government, Mr Omonisi believes religious and traditional leaders also have a role to play to shift perceptions.

Some of our religious leaders are doing more harm as some of them do not believe in medications, he noted.

He noted that the society is now pushing for awareness campaigns in local languages and deeper rural outreach to break myths and promote early screening.

We also need to be more aggressive with cancer screening, Mr Omonisi said. Once screening is done early, we can pick up cancer cases at the early stages. This will also ensure patients have a better chance at survival.

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The French mission is simple. It is aware that Western Sahara, otherwise known as the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which has been a member of the OAU/AU since 22 February, 1982, will resist the Moroccan re-colonisation moves. Then war will break out and France will sell arms and maintain Moroccan loyalty, while also generously stealing the resources of Western Sahara, including its phosphate and fisheries.

The French establishment is, again, sowing the seeds of violence in Africa. As it is traditional with France, it will water such seeds, nurture them until they are ripe for harvest.

In its latest genetically-modified violence-seed planting, France in May set aside 150 million through its French Development Agency to plant violence in Western Sahara. The fund is to enable the parochial-minded Moroccan monarchy to recolonise its neighbour.

The French mission is simple. It is aware that Western Sahara, otherwise known as the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which has been a member of the OAU/AU since 22 February, 1982, will resist the Moroccan re-colonisation moves. Then war will break out and France will sell arms and maintain Moroccan loyalty, while also generously stealing the resources of Western Sahara, including its phosphate and fisheries. That way, the French establishment, which, for centuries, is not used to an honest living, would continue its parasitic nature: living off the resources and sweat of underdeveloped countries.

It was primarily for this reason it engaged in the slave trade and became one of the bloodiest and most remorseless colonialists in world history.

The 1825 Independence Tax that France imposed on Haiti, for daring to end slavery and become independent, led to the underdevelopment of that country. It also resulted in it becoming a failed state 200 years later.

Africa suffered severely as a result of Frances duplicitous role in the Second World War. In that war, led by its First World War hero, Marshall Henri Philippe Petain, France first fought on the side of Hitler Germany from 1940 to 1944. When Germany began to lose the war, the anti-German wing led by Charles De Gaulle, swung France fully to the side of the allies. While fighting on both sides of World War II, France used Africans in its colonies as canon fodders.

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Criminally, after the war, France carried out massacres of African soldiers that had fought in its ranks against Hitler. On 1 December, 1944, Black African soldiers who fought in the French West Africa army were massacred in Thiaroye Barracks, Dakar. The men had been part of the about 120,000 Africans captured by Germany in the 1940 Battle of France. Eighty per cent were from North Africa, and the rest from West Africa. They had been held as prisoners of war (POWs) by Germany, which, in May and June, 1940, summarily executed between 1,000 and 1,500 of these Black prisoners.

Declassified documents later revealed that even before the African war veterans left France, the French authorities, falsely claiming that Hitler gave the African POWs special treatment to spite it, had decided to eliminate them. Therefore, when these veterans protested in Dakar, the French military moved in with deadly weapons and shot 300 to 400 of them dead. However, the French military officially claimed that it killed only 70, while agreeing that hundreds were injured.

On their release four years later, and return to Africa, they complained that their demobilisation benefits, statutory advance payments and savings made during their incarceration, remained unpaid, and that the living conditions in the barracks were very poor.

Declassified documents later revealed that even before the African war veterans left France, the French authorities, falsely claiming that Hitler gave the African POWs special treatment to spite it, had decided to eliminate them. Therefore, when these veterans protested in Dakar, the French military moved in with deadly weapons and shot 300 to 400 of them dead. However, the French military officially claimed that it killed only 70, while agreeing that hundreds were injured.

It was not until the eve of the 80th Commemoration of that massacre in 2024, did France under President Emmanuel Macron acknowledge the massacre. It should be noted that France made the acknowledgement in the face of demands by the new principled Senegalese government of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and the loss of French power in West Africa following the expulsion of its military from countries like Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

France, in 1945, carried out similar massacres in Setif and Guema in Algeria. The African soldiers who had returned from fighting in the French military led protests for independence. This was violently suppressed and the Algerians reacted in violent confrontations that led to the death of some French settlers.

France reacted by sending well-armed troops into the streets of Algeria. As France simply massacred the Algerians, keeping no known record, the extent of the killings are unknown but are estimated at between 5,000 to 45,000 Algerians. This turned out to be a tiny figure as in the subsequent Algerian struggle for independence, France massacred some two million Algerians.

After WW II, France developed the type of atomic bombs the United States had used to wipe out most of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Given its knowledge that these were highly radioactive bombs, France decided not to test the bombs in its territory or any part or Europe, but in Africa!

The Evil Empire, from 13 February, 1960 tested at least four atmospheric atomic bombs in the Algerian desert. When Africans, led by Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, protested against this wilful destruction of Africa, France was forced to stop the atmospheric tests, but went on to conduct 13 additional underground nuclear bomb tests in Africa, which devastated parts of North, Central and West Africa.

In August 2023, France almost succeeded in luring the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to invade Niger Republic following the 26 July, 2023 coup in that country. This directly led to the split of ECOWAS Does this sound like demonising France? No. Africans say you cannot claim not to be a thief if you are always in possession of stolen goods.

The radioactive effects caused mass blindness, leukaemia, cancers of the liver, skin and stomach, and also birth defects. In the immediate territories around the test sites, 27,000 to 60,000 Algerians were affected. As at 2023, radioactive dusts emanating from the test sites were still being detected across West Africa.

On 2 October, 1958, France, confident of its vile grip on its colonies in West Africa, conducted a referendum asking them to choose either complete independence or partial independence within a so-called French Community. France was so livid that Guinea voted for full independence, that it decided to physically wreck the country before leaving. These included uprooting sewage and water pipes, roads, the immediate withdrawal of all French professionals, including medical personnel, unscrewing light bulbs and destroying life-saving medicines.

However, on the long run, it was a better deal for Guinea, because even after independence, France continued to rule the subservient Francophone countries. This included forcing them, until a few years ago, to deposit their earnings in the French Central Bank, from which it scooped $500 billion annually. Until now, 14 West and Central African countries still spend the French Franc, which even France had stopped using in 2002 when it adopted the Euro.

France also has the infamous distinction of executing the first military coup in West Africa, with the 13 January, 1963 overthrow of Prime Minister Gilchrist Olympio of Togo. The latter was executed at the gates of the US Embassy in Lome by French gendarmes led by Sergeant Etienne Eyadema.

In August 2023, France almost succeeded in luring the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to invade Niger Republic following the 26 July, 2023 coup in that country. This directly led to the split of ECOWAS.

Does this sound like demonising France? No. Africans say you cannot claim not to be a thief if you are always in possession of stolen goods.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced the expansion of its loan programme to vocational skills centres across the country, starting with Enugu State.

The Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Iyal Mustapha, stated this during a sensitisation tour campaign in Enugu on Friday.

According to a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, the initiative is designed to boost access to technical and vocational education at various skills centres through loans that cover training costs, upkeep support and starter tools for trainees.

Mr Mustapha said the sensitisation tour included visits by the NELFUND management to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu College of Education Technical, a technical school, and the MSME Clinics Fashion and Garment Hub in Enugu.

He said the exact amount for upkeep is still being finalised and added that institutional charges, including transport costs, would form part of the loan package.

Enugu among model states

According to Mr Mustapha, NELFUND has expanded this initiative to over 10 states, with Enugu being a standout.

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During a visit to the fashion and garment hub, he stated that there is a lot of positivity based on what they have seen.

We have seen different skill centres, from the technical colleges side and from the vocational skill centres, like the fashion design and all.

He added that beneficiaries from Enugu will be linked directly to accredited centres within the state, streamlining access training and support.

Portal to open for vocational applicants

Mr Mustapha told stakeholders at IMT and Enugu College of Education Technical that the agencys portal will soon open to applicants interested in vocational training.

Supporting vocational skills, we are going to open our portal up for people to apply for vocational skills and we will also designate these centres in places they stay, he said.

He added that the loan programme is part of NELFUNDs broader mandate to make education, both academic and vocational, accessible to Nigerians.

State government welcomes initiative

The Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Digital Economy and SME Development, Arinze Chilo-Offiah, said the state is ready to absorb all the support from the agency.

Mr Chilo-Offiah highlighted the capacity of the fashion hub, which houses about 150 industrial sewing machines, world class monogramming machines and can accommodate close to 500 trainees.

This is just the fashion hub. With NELFUND support and zero-interest loans, we will be able to scale up training, he said.

The Institute of Management and Technology acting registrar, Patricia Nwanneka, welcomed the initiative and said educating students on the loan procedures and benefits would drive more people to apply.

Mrs Nwanneka said, The loan is a good one. At least now that they have gotten more knowledge. And even after you people have left, we will go on to educate more of them, inculcating them into applying for the loan.

About NELFUND

NELFUND is a creation of the Access to Higher Education Act, signed by President Bola Tinubu.

The Fund is tasked with handling all student loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery of the loans provided.

The Fund is being funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities. It will also be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowments, and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source, according to the Act.

Initially, the loan programme targeted students in federal government-owned tertiary institutions. The first phase of the loan application portal was opened to these students, and included state-owned institutions in subsequent phases.

In a move to broaden access, President Tinubu directed NELFUND to extend the interest-free loan programme to Nigerian students enrolled in skill acquisition programmes.

This directive aimed to support individuals pursuing vocational training, recognising the importance of technical skills in national development.

Since its inception, NELFUND said it has received a total of 364,042 student loan applications and has approved 192,906 applications from various institutions across the country.

The Fund said it has disbursed a total of N20 billion (N20,074,050,000) for institutional fees as of 3 February. It added that it has disbursed N12 billion (N12,818,960,000) as upkeep to 169,114 students.

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JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed early Saturday in a fire that broke out in a three-story residential building in Deir al-Asad, an Arab village in northern Israel's Galilee region, medical authorities said.

Israel's national emergency service, Magen David Adom, confirmed that a young boy, Karam al-Asadi, was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother Ruba al-Asadi suffered critical injuries from smoke inhalation and later died at Galilee Medical Center (GMC) in Nahariya city.

Two other children, an eight-year-old girl who was critically injured and a three-year-old boy who sustained serious burn injuries, were hospitalized.

Eight additional individuals were treated for mild injuries at GMC, while six others suffering mild smoke inhalation, including a firefighter, were sent to Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

Israel's National Fire and Rescue Authority said six firefighting teams had worked to extinguish the blaze and rescue people trapped inside the building. A special police investigation team has been formed to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire. 
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it has transported 20,515 Nigerian pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj in one week.

NAHCON disclosed this in a statement by its Principal Information Officer, Shafil Mohammed, in Abuja on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Vice-President Kashim Shettima declared the inaugural flight open in Owerri, Imo, on May 9.

Mr Mohammed, while providing an update on the ongoing 2025 Hajj airlift operations, said that within six days, 50 flights have successfully conveyed 20,515 Nigerian pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He said the commission would regularly update the public on the progress made on the exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NAHCON is a government agency that regulates and coordinates Hajj and Umrah activities for Nigerian Muslims to ensure a smoother and more efficient pilgrimage experience.

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This includes licensing and supervising organisations involved in Hajj and Umrah operations, and coordinating with government authorities in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

(NAN)

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The North-west zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has passed a vote of confidence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and endorsed him for reelection in 2027.

The decisions were made at a stakeholders meeting attended by all the state governors of the zone, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Deputy Senate President, and former governors from the zone.

The National Chairman of APC, other state chairpersons, state and federal legislators, ministers, heads of federal agencies, and senior political appointees were also at the meeting held in Kaduna on Saturday.

In a communique read by the APC North West Coordinating Governor, Uba Sani of Kaduna State, after the meeting, the zone reaffirmed its loyalty to the APC and pledged full support for President Tinubus vision to deliver prosperity, equity, and lasting change for all Nigerians.

We thank and commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his purposeful leadership, bold reforms, and unwavering commitment to Nigerias progress, especially in the North West zone.

Under President Tinubu, security in the North West has significantly improved, enabling farmers to return to their fields and communities to regain peace and stability, Governor Uba Sani said.

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According to the communique, our zone enjoys unprecedented federal representation with 12 ministers, key national assembly positions, and top security appointments  a clear sign of inclusiveness and recognition.

The stakeholders noted that major infrastructure projects are being completed or are underway across the North West, marking a new era of development in our region.

The meeting pointed out that  APC continues to grow in strength, unity, and national appeal, due to Nigerians appreciation of the President and our APC Governors.

The endorsement comes amid speculation that some opposition governors would defect to the APC to work for Mr Tinubus reelection.

The governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborovweri, has already joined the ruling party from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Also in April, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State assured President Bola Tinubu that the states people will stand by him to complete eight years in office.

Mr Eno spoke in Uyo in his remarks at the flagging off of the Akwa IbomCross River states section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

Let me end by assuring our people-loving president, who will complete eight years, because we are going to stand by him.

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The Police Command in Anambra, has confirmed a gas explosion at the Onitsha Head Bridge market that claimed one life leaving six others injured.

The commands spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the development in a statement on Saturday in Onitsha.

Mr Ikenga explained that the explosion happened at a plumbing market, along Uga Street, on Friday.

According to him, preliminary information revealed that the welding gas cylinder exploded as the welder was working on a metal due to exposure to excess heat.

The Police Operatives attached to the Onitsha Head Bridge Divisional Police Headquarters on May 16 complemented the rescue efforts by good-spirited individuals.

He noted that the police operatives have taken steps to secure the area and prevent criminal-minded persons from taking advantage of the situation to commit crimes.

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READ ALSO: Police arrest fake EFCC operatives for abducting students in Niger State

Mr Ikenga said the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikioye Orutugu, was concerned about the unfortunate incident, and emphasised on the need for a regular inspection and maintenance of the gas cylinder equipment.

The commissioner stressed the need for gas cylinders to be stored securely and used according to the manufacturers instructions and safety guidelines to forestall future occurrence. (NAN)

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The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says the troops, in conjunction with hybrid forces and other security agencies, have sustained offensive operations in all theatres to provide safe corridors for farming activities.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Markus Kangye, on Saturday in Abuja.

He said this was to enable farmers to contribute their quota to food production and, by extension, the attainment of food security as directed by President Bola Tinubu.

He said the armed forces, under the leadership of Christopher Musa, were not negotiating issues of national security and the welfare of troops who had remained resolute and determined to safeguard the nations territorial integrity and national interests and protect citizens from all forms of threats.

As part of its mandate, the military launched several key operations during the week with renewed vigour aimed at combating insurgency, terrorism, and other forms of criminal activities that threaten our communities.

These operations are strategically designed and executed to ensure the safety of our people and the restoration of peace in affected regions.

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Accordingly, I am pleased to give an update on the significant progress in our operations conducted from 8 May to 15 May.

Within the period under review, troops successfully destroyed several terrorists camps as well as rescued kidnapped victims and rehabilitated civilians affected by the conflict, he said.

Mr Kangye said the dedicated troops had demonstrated remarkable courage and professionalism in the face of adversity, adding that the cooperation of local communities had also been invaluable in their intelligence-gathering efforts.

According to him, the gallant troops neutralised scores of terrorists, and apprehended two wanted extremists informants and logistics suppliers identified as Zakari Abubakar and Aliyu Musa in Suleja and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger.

He added that troops also apprehended an ammunition courier identified as Rufai Abdullahi in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.

Items recovered within the period under review include; arms and ammunition, monies, locally fabricated guns as well as motorcycles.

Other items recovered were, pumping machines, drilling machines, tricycles, mobile phones and vehicles, he said.

In the North East, Mr Kangye said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai, neutralised scores of terrorists during fighting patrols, raids and clearance operations in Mafa, Dikwa, Gwoza and Damboa Local Government Areas of Borno.

He said the operation also led to the rescue of 17 kidnapped victims as well as recovery of arms and some quantities of assorted ammunition as well as hand grenades and extra magazines.

In the North West, Mr Kangye said the troops of Operation Fansan Yamma killed scores of terrorists and rescued 129 victims across Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states within the week.

READ ALSO: Nigerian soldiers kill 2 suspected bandits in Plateau

In the Niger Delta, he said the troops of Operation Delta Safe foiled oil theft worth over N103 million, comprising 68,875 litres of stolen crude oil, 31,166 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and 2,250 litres of Dual-Purpose Kerosene (DPK).

He added that troops discovered and destroyed 16 crude oil cooking ovens, 31 dugout pits, 19 boats, 34 storage tanks, 79 drums and 18 illegal refining sites.

Other items recovered include, pumping machines, drilling machines, tricycles, motorcycles, mobile phones and seven vehicles, he added.

(NAN)

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The World Bank, in collaboration with the Katsina State Government, is to construct latrines for about 1,500 households across three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.

Ibrahim Dankaba, the Executive Director of the states Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (STOWASSA), disclosed this in Katsina on Saturday.

Mr Dankaba said this during an advocacy visit to the Chairmen and other key stakeholders of the three benefiting LGAs of Baure, Funtua, and Kafur.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Dankaba was represented by Muntari Sani-Saulawa, a Sanitation Officer.

According to Mr Dankaba, the visit was part of preparations for the 2025 Household Latrines Exercise under the World Bank-supported NG-SURWASH project.

He added that one of the key activities is community engagement in forming the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Committees (WASHCOMs).

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Mr Dankaba mentioned other activities as the establishment of Grievance Redress Committees (GRCs), and conducting both household baseline surveys and household screenings.

Furthermore, the activities also aim to strengthen community involvement and lay the groundwork for sustainable sanitation improvements, in line with the projects goal of achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation.

The project aims to construct 1,500 household latrines across the three selected local government areas.

The benefiting communities in Baure LGA include Garki, Babban-Mutum, and Yanduna, where 125 latrines will be delivered.

In Funtua LGA, the communities of Nassarawa and Dikke will benefit from 250 latrines each, while Mahuta and Gozaki in Kafur LGA, will also benefit 250 household latrines each, he said.

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The ECOWAS Court of Justice has declared Ghanas prolonged detention of nine separatists as unlawful.

Describing the detention as arbitrary, the court ordered the government of Ghana in its judgment on Friday to pay $2,500 each to the nine individuals, who are members of separatist organisation Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF), as compensation for the violation of their rights.

The case, filed in 2021, was brought by the HSGF and 30 individuals who identified themselves as ECOWAS citizens.

In suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, the applicants challenged their arrest and detention under Ghanas 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree.

The Ghanaian government arrested the applicants during a crackdown on the group on 8 May 2019.

The HSGF is a Ghanaian separatist organisation advocating for the independence of a territory they refer to as Western Togoland, which encompasses parts of Ghanas Volta and Oti Regions.

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In the suit, the applicants alleged that Ghanaian authorities unlawfully arrested, detained, and prosecuted them after the group declared independence from Ghana.

In its judgment delivered in Lagos on Friday, the court declared that while the applicants arrests had legal grounds, their prolonged detention without being brought promptly before a court constituted a violation of their fundamental rights.

The three-member panel of justices led by Ricardo Goncalves held that some of the detainees were held for up to a year without trial.

The West African court called this a direct violation of both Ghanaian legal standards and international human rights law, particularly Article 6 of the African Charter.

As compensation, the court awarded $2,500 each to nine applicants, with the funds to be paid in either US dollars or the equivalent local currency.

The court, however, dismissed the remaining 21 applicants claims relating to arbitrary detention due to insufficient evidence.

The ECOWAS Court also struck out the Homeland Study Group Foundation as a party in the case on the grounds that the organisation was not a legal entity.

It stated that without a registered legal status, HSGF was not competent to bring claims before it.

READ ALSO: Tinubu receives Malis ambassador amidst AES fallout with ECOWAS

Furthermore, the court refused to consider arguments about the 1956 UN-organised vote that joined British Togoland with the Gold Coast, or to support the groups claim for independence.

It said those matters were outside its power, as the court is only allowed to deal with human rights issues under ECOWAS rules.

The court also dismissed the challenge to Ghanas 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree, stating that the applicants failed to point out specific parts of the law that violated international human rights standards.

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This past Sunday, as my family and I sat quietly in St. Mary Margdalene, our neighborhood church, listening to the homily, sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting ethereal hues across the pews where familiar faces gathered, some bowed in solemn prayer, others murmuring along with the choirs hymns. Yet amid the sacred stillness, my mind drifted. The questions that once whispered now echo with growing insistence. I find myself participating in the rituals of faith not from conviction, but from habit, and perhaps, fear. Fear of what might fill the vacuum when belief begins to fracture.

My wife and I continue to attend church on Sundays whenever possible, often bringing our children, not because they are eager, but because we insist. What once was an expression of spiritual devotion now feels like a defense mechanism, a ritualized resistance against the creeping tide of nihilism or absurdity. I worry, irrational or not, that in the absence of spiritual anchoring, our children might drift into the kind of cultural confusion where, say, a human claims to identify as a cat, not because such tendencies exist, but because we inhabit an era in which even the absurd demands affirmation.

For many, faith offers order and meaning. For me, increasingly, it functions more as a shield. Over the years, I have grown less credulous, but more discerning. And in that discernment lies a growing chasm between the promises of religion and the revelations of reason.

We are taught as Christians that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, sacred, infallible, and ultimate in its moral authority. Among Evangelicals, the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible remains revered as the definitive text, venerated for its lyrical grandeur and doctrinal precision. Yet few believers pause to interrogate its historical origins.

Prior to its publication in 1611, other translations such as the Geneva Bible, the Wycliffe Bible, and the Tyndale Bible were widely read. The KJV, however, was not merely an exercise in spiritual fidelity; it was also a calculated act of political strategy. Commissioned by King James I, its primary purpose was to supplant the Geneva Bible, which included marginalia that subtly challenged the authority of monarchs.

The translators of the KJV were expressly instructed to omit commentary and to employ language that reinforced royal sovereignty, most notably in verses like, The powers that be are ordained of God (Romans 13:1). In doing so, they embedded political ideology into what was ostensibly sacred scripture. This revelation complicates the claim of divine impartiality and highlights how translation decisions often served power rather than piety. One finds a parallel in the so-called Slave Bible, a deliberately redacted text that omitted passages advocating liberation while emphasizing those demanding servitude, yet another instance where scripture was weaponized to perpetuate control.

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In contemporary times, a growing number of individuals identify as spiritual but not religious. Elon Musk for example, calls himself a cultural Christian. The distinction is not semantic; it marks a fundamental reorientation. Organized religion often carries the baggage of institutional dogma, hierarchical authority, and exclusionary politics. Spirituality, by contrast, appeals to personal transcendence, ethical authenticity, and a direct sense of connectedness that bypasses clerical mediation and theological contortion.

This shift reflects a deeper yearning to retain the meaningful aspects of religion, its rituals, its capacity for awe, while discarding the rigid doctrines and outmoded metaphysics that no longer resonate with the modern intellect. In many affluent and educated societies, the fastest-growing religious demographic is the nonesthose who claim no religious affiliation. These individuals frequently live ethically robust lives, animated not by divine injunctions, but by humanistic values such as empathy, reason, and justice.

Philosophical traditions like Stoicism, Existentialism, and Secular Humanism offer coherent frameworks for deriving meaning and morality without recourse to the supernatural. Art, science, nature, and intimate relationships provide their own kind of transcendence, sublime and sacred, yet free from dogma.

For the rational mind, it is nearly impossible to reconcile the concept of an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God with the brutal realities of the world. How does one square the idea of divine love with the horrific massacres of innocent civilians, toddlers beheaded, pregnant women disemboweled in Benue and Plateau states under the cover of night? What divine justice allows a missile to obliterate a five-year-olds skull in Gaza? In the face of such unfathomable suffering, where is the omniscient eye of providence?

Theological answers often collapse under the weight of such inquiries. When confronted with suffering, many theologians retreat into well-worn platitudesGods ways are not our ways, or Everything happens for a reason. These aphorisms may comfort the credulous, but they offer little to the inquiring mind. They reveal, instead, the fundamental inadequacy of traditional religious explanations in the face of existential horror.

Compounding this is the global irony that religion, once the crowning jewel of Western civilization, now finds its most fervent adherents in the economically disadvantaged regions of the Global South. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, burns with spiritual fervor, even as religious engagement dwindles across the very nations that once exported it. As societies grow wealthier, safer, and more educated, they appear to outgrow the dogmas they once held sacred. This inversion raises a disquieting question: is religion a cause of societal dysfunction or merely a coping mechanism for it?

Despite these criticisms, religion remains far from irrelevant. In fact, it continues to meet fundamental human needs, needs that even the most secular institutions struggle to satisfy. As articulated in various studies and reflected in real-life stories, religion provides what sociologists call the three Bs: belief, behavior, and belonging. These are not trivial offerings. They are the scaffolding of a life that many find bearable, even meaningful.

Belief provides answers, however flawed or fantastic, to the deep questions of existence: Why are we here? What happens after death? Why do good people suffer? These may be unsatisfactory answers to the critically minded, but to millions they offer coherence and comfort in a chaotic world.

Behavioral guidance, too, has its value. At its best, religion instills discipline, compassion, and a sense of moral responsibility. Even when its ethical codes are outdated or inconsistently applied, religious practice can cultivate habits that serve the individual and the broader society.

But it is the third B, belongingthat perhaps explains religions enduring power. In an increasingly atomized and digital world, religious communities provide real, tangible support. The story of Kelsey Osgood, who converted to Orthodox Judaism, is a compelling example. She found in her religious community an instinctive and immediate network of care: people who show up, know what to say, and simply know what to do when someone is sick, grieving, or in crisis. These are the worth it aspects of religion that transcend dogma.

Numerous studies support the idea that people who are part of religious communities tend to live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. The Global Flourishing Study, a massive research project by Harvard and Baylor universities, confirms that people thrive when they have strong social connections, something religion is uniquely equipped to provide. In fact, people in less developed countries like Indonesia and the Philippines often report greater meaning and purpose than those in the more affluent West.

There is a paradox at play here: the wealthier and more educated a society becomes, the more it drifts from religion, yet the more it seems to struggle with meaning and existential coherence.

Religion, for all its contradictions and failures, remains one of humanitys most enduring and multifaceted institutions. While theologians may falter in the face of hard questions, and while religious doctrines may crumble under intellectual pressure, the lived experience of faith continues to hold value for many. It provides a moral compass, a sense of continuity, and a community of care. In this way, religion is not just about God; it is about us, our need to be seen, heard, guided, and loved.

To be sure, faith must evolve. It cannot remain impervious to reason, nor should it cling to doctrines that insult our intelligence or undermine our shared humanity. For religion to survive in a postmodern world, it must open itself to critique, reformation, and dialogue with science and philosophy. Blind faith is no virtue; neither is blind skepticism. What we need is a mature faith, one that acknowledges mystery without manufacturing fantasy, one that fosters community without coercion, and one that welcomes questioning as an act of devotion, not defiance.

Ultimately, the question is not whether religion is good or bad, it is both. The more useful question is: how can we retain its gifts while confronting its failures? For many of us, that means occupying a space between belief and doubt, a space where questions are not sins, and thinking is not rebellion.

Religion may never offer rational answers to lifes greatest mysteries. But perhaps its value lies not in the answers it gives, but in the rituals, relationships, and resilience it fosters. The challenge, then, is to hold religion accountable, to demand that it evolve, that it support rather than stifle human flourishing, and that it earn its place in a world increasingly shaped by science, reason, and shared humanity.

In doing so, we may rediscover religion not as a fortress of unassailable truth, but as a fragile, human attempt to make meaning in an otherwise complex and mysterious universe.

Osmund Agbo is a US-based medical doctor and author. His works include Black Grit, White Knuckles: The Philosophy of Black Renaissance and a fiction work titled The Velvet Court: Courtesan Chronicles. His latest works, Pray, Let the Shaman Die and Maam, I Do Not Come to You for Love, have just been released.

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Tahir was a proud, intelligent, politically conscious, and unapologetic ultra-rightwing conservative. His memorandum reflected the retrograde feudal and military juntas belief that the universities should be a primitive military barrack, where order, not the contestation of ideas, should reign His submission, most significantly, informed the fascist-like recommendations of the Justice Mohammed Commission, which undermined academic freedom, subverted university autonomy, and humiliated entire campus communities.

The Nigerian students 1978 uprising against the commercialisation of education and for the democratisation of the campuses and society, was violently suppressed by the Murtala/Obasanjo military junta.

The regime killed and maimed a number of students and members of the public, including children. Also, educational institutions, especially universities, were shut down. The National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS), which organised the protests, was proscribed, its bank account frozen, and its prominent leaders arrested, detained, imprisoned, and expelled.

After the uprising was crushed, the junta established the Justice Mohammed Commission to investigate the underlying causes of the protests, those involved, and to make necessary recommendations. The Commission legitimised the fascist suppression of the protests and recommended the dismissal of lecturers, administrators and a journalist.

Dr Ibrahim Tahir, a sociology lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University in the 1970s, was also a writer, prominent member of the secretive Kaduna Mafia and founder of the Gamji Club. In the post-military era, he became the national secretary of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and minister of Communication.

Back in 1978, he submitted a memorandum titled, Top Secret: Submission of Dr. Ibrahim A. Tahir, Ahmadu Bello University [ABU] to the Justice Mohammed Commission on Inquiry of the Student Crisis of April, 1978.

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Tahirs submission captured the sentiments of ABU students on the uprising, otherwise called the Ali-Must-Go protests. It also addressed the flowering of Marxist-Leninist ideas, as well as the factors and forces that radicalised the students.

Tahir wrote, only a tiny minority of students appear to realize or believe that they did any wrong. In fact, others, reject the fact that their conduct involves anything illegal even when it is explained to them that the maintenance of barricades is an insurrectionary act.

He added that the ABU students did not, accept that when the police intervene it is wrong for them to fight battles with them. In short, the majority of students did not accept or believe that their protests within and outside the university was wrong. He said that the students, mentality is generally of being somehow of a special class.

To Tahir, the Movement for a Progressive Nigeria (MPN)  a student group which, brings together students and other academics from ABU and other universities  played a leading role in the organisation of the uprising.

He claimed that the MPN had branches in almost every post-secondary institution within the Zaria-Kano-Kaduna-Maiduguri axis and exists in nascent form in some secondary schools.

Tahir attributed the radicalisation of the student movement to the blossoming of Marxist-Leninist ideas that, created an intellectual and psychological climate which has made revolutionary insurrectionary conduct respectable, even glorious... He specifically listed Peter Waterman, Patrick Francis Wilmot and Yusuf Bala Usman in ABU; Eskor Toyo in University of Calabar; Segun Osoba in University of Ife

Equally, he claimed that the MPN played a leading role in the organisation of the protests by its, promotion of revolutionary ideas on the campus. Besides, its activists were critical to (the) decision to embark on Operation Confrontation at the NUNS meeting at the University of Calabar.

Tahir further alleged that MPN activists led in promoting and organising the boycott, during and after the closure of ABU and other campuses. He claimed that they even secured the resumption of the boycott at Maiduguri and Jos.

He attributed the dominant role of MPN to the fact that its activists have, the distinct advantage of being fanatically dedicated, highly motivated, very well-organized and well supplied with advice and good literature on tactics, organization and probably material assistance from sources unknown.

Tahir attributed the radicalisation of the student movement to the blossoming of Marxist-Leninist ideas that, created an intellectual and psychological climate which has made revolutionary insurrectionary conduct respectable, even glorious.

He specifically listed Peter Waterman, Patrick Francis Wilmot and Yusuf Bala Usman in ABU; Eskor Toyo in University of Calabar; Segun Osoba in University of Ife; Bade Onimode and Ola Oni in the University of Ibadan; and Ebenezer Babatope in the University of Lagos, as the academics responsible for impacting Marxism-Leninism on students.

Tahir identified four factors that led to the acceptance and flourishing of Marxism-Leninism within the students. First, was the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed which was used to support arguments that the only guarantee of Nigerias future is a Marxist revolution. He quoted Usman as arguing that, Mohammed was killed because he threatened to expropriate the local bourgeoisie of their ill-gotten gains and break their ties with their international capitalist backers

Second, was the juntas rejection of the Usman-Osoba Minority Report of the Constitution Drafting Committee. The Report, he said, was, in fact, adopted by NUNS as, the only legitimate peoples constitution, as students widely believed that it would help to transform Nigeria into a people-oriented and developed country.

Third, he said, was the Angolan episode and Nigerias increasing involvement in the liberation of Southern Africa and its war against multinationals dealing with South Africa. These, he claimed, were used to advance arguments that the liberation struggles in Southern African were organically linked with the revolutionary struggle to transform Nigeria.

Tahir was a proud, intelligent, politically conscious, and unapologetic ultra-rightwing conservative. His memorandum reflected the retrograde feudal and military juntas belief that the universities should be a primitive military barrack, where order, not the contestation of ideas, should reign.

His submission, most significantly, informed the fascist-like recommendations of the Justice Mohammed Commission, which undermined academic freedom, subverted university autonomy, and humiliated entire campus communities.

Ade-Ajayis warning has caught up with Nigeria. Since 2015, the dangers he warned about, have acquired extremely frightening dimensions. As for Tahir, in 2009, he passed away in Cairo, but the weeds he planted are still surviving and choking the democratic space.

Consequently, the state policing of campuses became the order of the day. This was to acquire frightening dimensions in the future military regimes of Buhari, Babangida, and Abacha.

The illegal dismissal of academics, and the suspension, rustication and expulsion of students for their political activism, and the humiliation of entire campus communities, became routine.

Non-Nigerian academics like Catherine Adelugba, and Patrick Francis Wilmot, amongst others, were illegally abducted and deported. All these were rationalised on the grounds that academics were teaching what they were not paid to teach.

The commissions triple recommendations provided the ideological and political basis for the subversion of academic freedom and university autonomy.

Tahirs first recommendation was that, there is no university in the world in which teachers are free to teach more or less what they please and as they please regardless of the policies governing society and the established direction taken in the economy, politics and national way of life.

Secondly, that, no state system permits its universities to set up shop as counter-state which reject state definitions of its goals, replaces them with their own and then gears teaching and research to promote these self-enunciated goals.

Thirdly, that, no state system permits employees paid by the state in the universities and elsewhere to convert their professional function into an avenue for the promotion of ideas and activities with the explicit aim of overthrowing the state and its existing system of order.

However, Professor Jacob Festus Ade-Ajayi, who was compulsorily retired as a result of the protests, warned against the dangers of Tahir-type reasoning: We are often impatient with youth and demand maturity and responsibility from them. Certainly, we take steps to curb any recklessness and violence. But the greater danger to fear is youth without a sense of idealism, vision and daring.

Ade-Ajayis warning has caught up with Nigeria. Since 2015, the dangers he warned about, have acquired extremely frightening dimensions. As for Tahir, in 2009, he passed away in Cairo, but the weeds he planted are still surviving and choking the democratic space.

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: [email protected]

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Nigerias insecurity is a national emergency, with 33.1 million people facing food insecurity and millions displaced. Egbetokuns initiatives show resolve that needs to be deepened for greater impact in a system plagued by corruption, underfunding, and distrust. Otherwise, the NPF will continue to fight with one hand tied. As 2027 elections loom, Nigeria cannot afford half-measures.

Nigeria has been grappling for the past decade-and-a-half or so with a security crisis that threatens its essence in a very fundamental way, with no region spared from the scourge, across its numerous manifestations. From the insurgency of Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-East to rampant banditry in the North-West; farmer-herder clashes in the Middle Belt, numerous locations in the South-West, and South-South; separatist unrest in the South-East, and urban crimes in some cities and towns.

Since 2009, thousands of lives have been lost to Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks alone, with 2.2 million people consequently displaced, and a good number of them scattered across different IDP camps. The North-West is plagued by bandits who kidnap for ransom, targeting schools and highways. Farmer-herder clashes in the North-Central region have displaced more than 1.1 million people, while IPOBs separatist violence in the South-East disrupts commerce.

Economic downturns have worsened the situation, pushing criminals to target vulnerable groups, consequently deepening poverty, and eroding trust in governance.

Deploying Special Squads for Quicker Response

As Nigeria teeters on the edge, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun has launched ambitious measures to curb these multifaceted crises, through a multipronged approach that blends tactical operations with reforms addressing the challenges within the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). Very recently, he repurposed the Police Mobile Force (PMF) for greater impact, redirecting its units from escorting VIPs to attending to high-risk areas plagued by banditry and insurgency, with the Squadron Commanders mandated to dedicate fully equipped and combat-ready units for immediate deployment to contain threats.

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IGP Egbetokun also deployed special tactical squads to hotspots like Plateau, where over 60 people were killed in Bokkos, signaling a commitment to confronting high-profile violence head-on. His advocacy for community policing is notable, and coupled with quarterly training, rapid response capabilities would be bolstered.

In charging the Squadron Commanders of Police Mobile Force towards faster responses to nuetralise troubled spots in a number of states, Egbetokun IGP Egbetokun stated that, directives have already been issued concerning the withdrawal of PMF personnel from authorised deployments. It is the duty of all commanders to enforce this directive without delay. A firm but gradual withdrawal from non-core assignments is underway.

The priority now is to refocus our strength and personnel towards combating violent crimes and safeguarding national security. We will also inject new leadership perspectives, strategic approaches and continuous capacity-building initiatives aimed at restoring the PMF to its rightful place as a dominant force in internal security and a model of tactical excellence.

Importantly, Egbetokun pointed out that, The PMF was created as a strike force  to be swift, decisive and combat-ready. Effective immediately, all PMF squadrons are directed to maintain at least one fully equipped, combat-ready unit on standby at all times.

These units must be prepared to support their respective state commands in any situation requiring urgent tactical intervention. Additionally, each squadron will be required to send one unit for training every quarter.

These sessions will go beyond operational proficiency, placing strong emphasis on ethics, professionalism and the principles of responsible policing.

Egbetokuns zero-tolerance stance on illegal operations within the Force is equally vital. A few weeks ago, he warned officers against extortion and banned arbitrary arrests, including unauthorised phone checks, as a way of addressing part of the public grievance that set off the 2020 #EndSARS protests. His focus on cybercrime, with the NPF National Cybercrime Centres apprehension of hackers targets the financial networks fueling banditry in the country.

More so, strategic redeployments of senior officers to critical zones and the launch of a Police Intelligence School in Kwara State underscore his push for professionalism and proactive policing. Collaborations with stakeholders, like his January 2025 engagement with Enugus governor and traditional rulers, aim to rebuild trust and gather local intelligence.

Fixing a Broken System

Despite the humongous challenges, Egbetokun has dived in fully to tackle the several problems. Yet, the NPFs 400,000 officers are woefully inadequate for a population exceeding 200 million, which is far below the UNs 1:450 ratio. More so, the persistent challenge of underfunding  with 1.1 trillion approved for police affairs in 2025, in comparison to 6.11 trillion for defence  leaves officers with outdated firearms and no bulletproof vests, while being extremely vulnerable to the outmatched firepower of bandits and other criminals, who wield rocket-propelled grenades, among other devastating munitions.

Egbetokuns tenure can be considered as a paradox: a leader with bold ideas constrained by a broken system. His efforts at repurposing the Police Mobile Force and special squads towards containing bandits/criminals and reclaiming ungoverned spaces, but without adequate resources, risk becoming largely symbolic. Community policing and CCTV provision could foster trust, but only if funded and accessible. His anti-corruption rhetoric and push is commendable, yet systemic graft remains an issue. The cybercrime focus is forward-looking, but the brain drain of tech talents limits impact. As Nigerias terrorism ranking worsens (sixth in 2024 from eight in 2023), Egbetokun has started to confront these realities head-on.

To turn the tide, Egbetokun has to persist in championing systemic change. First, he must continue his campaign for a larger police budget to equip officers and expand surveillance technologies like drones, which could monitor rural bandit hideouts. Second, he must accelerate community policing by fully funding it and integrating vigilantes with strict oversight to avoid abuses. Third, enforcing accountability  prosecuting erring officers transparently  will rebuild trust. Fourth, he should consolidate on engaging through regional nuances that would effectively address issues, from banditry in Zamfara to IPOB in Anambra, etc.

Nigerias insecurity is a national emergency, with 33.1 million people facing food insecurity and millions displaced. Egbetokuns initiatives show resolve that needs to be deepened for greater impact in a system plagued by corruption, underfunding, and distrust. Otherwise, the NPF will continue to fight with one hand tied. As 2027 elections loom, Nigeria cannot afford half-measures. Egbetokun must be supported to transcend systemic constraints towards delivering the security Nigerians desperately need, or the nation risks sinking deeper into chaos.

Silas Nankin writes from Jos, Plateau State

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Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has completed the renovation of the historic Gidan Kuli groundnut oil mill in Kankia.

Speaking on this development, Governor Radda asserted that the facility is more than economic infrastructureit symbolises the commitment to revitalising Katsinas agricultural heritage.

Groundnut production once defined Northern Nigerias prosperity, and we are determined to reclaim that legacy for our farmers and entrepreneurs, stated the Governor.

Governor Radda also noted that the revival aligns perfectly with his administrations economic diversification agenda.

By restoring this processing centre, we are creating a guaranteed market for our groundnut farmers, generating employment opportunities, and establishing a foundation for value-added agricultural products that can compete nationally and internationally, the Governor explained.

Addressing the facilitys potential impact on womens economic empowerment, the Governor maintained, We strategically placed this project under the Ministry of Women Affairs because we recognise the crucial role women play in agricultural processing. This centre will serve as an economic lifeline for thousands of women entrepreneurs across Katsina, he added.

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The Governors approval for the massive renovation has transformed the 1992-established facility into a state-of-the-art Groundnut Processing Centre under the supervision of the Ministry of Women Affairs.

The Katsina Youth Craft Village (KYCV), led by Kabir Abdullahi Kofar Soro, successfully executed the complete overhaul, which included refurbishing existing machinery, procuring modern equipment, and constructing administrative blocks, shops, and perimeter fencing.

The revived Gidan Kuli groundnut oil mill is expected to begin full operations in not too distant future, creating over 500 direct and indirect jobs while boosting the local economy.

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by Xinhua writer Zhang Yadong

LONDON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The UK economy in the first quarter of 2025 has exceeded market expectations with GDP rising by 0.7 percent quarter on quarter, showed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

Earlier figures indicated stagnation in January and a 0.5-percent increase in February, and anticipated zero growth in March. However, the latest data revealed a 0.2-percent rise in March, lifting the overall quarterly result.

The service sector, the primary engine of growth, recorded a 0.7-percent increase, rebounding from just 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2024, with wholesale, retail, transport and communications services making notable contributions.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said that falling shop price indices have been good news for UK households and that declining food prices and fierce competition among retailers helped bring down overall prices, supporting the continued growth of the services sector in the first quarter.

British manufacturing also surprised markets in the first quarter of 2025, ending three consecutive quarters of decline. According to the ONS, the rebound was largely driven by growth in the automotive and machinery sectors, with machinery manufacturing up 3.8 percent quarter on quarter and transport equipment production rising 2.7 percent. Analysts noted that a surge in output in February was likely due to firms rushing to ship goods ahead of new U.S. tariffs.

The construction sector, however, remained stagnant, showing no growth compared to the previous quarter and even hinting at a potential contraction.

The stronger-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter of 2025 has eased pressure on the UK government. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the results reflected the strength and potential of the UK economy, yet acknowledged that there is still much work to be done.

This growth, however, was recorded before new U.S. tariffs on UK goods took effect, the impact of which will become evident in the second quarter. Domestically, higher National Insurance rates, increases in the minimum wage and price hikes in some social services have prompted industry groups and research institutions to caution that the first quarter's performance may be short-lived. The 0.2-percent GDP growth in March was already a noticeable slowdown from February's 0.5 percent, suggesting tougher challenges ahead.

Stuart Morrison, research director at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), noted that the 0.7-percent growth exceeded expectations, driven by strong performances in services and manufacturing. However, he cautioned that the impact of higher National Insurance and global trade tensions has yet to surface in the data, warning that the real challenges are still to come.

Ben Jones, an economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the unexpected growth in March was largely a rebound from February, but the strong GDP growth in the first quarter is likely a temporary phenomenon. He warned that with employment costs set to rise significantly following the autumn budget, UK businesses remain cautious about hiring and investment, and additionally, global economic uncertainty continues to threaten the UK's recovery.

Several economic research institutions have recently lowered their UK growth forecasts for 2025. Earlier this month, the Bank of England projected that the UK economy would grow by only 1 percent this year.

Given this backdrop, some UK research institutions have pointed out that maintaining and boosting economic growth will require stronger ties with the EU, positioning it as a key trading partner. The two sides scheduled a summit for May 19 to address several trade management issues, and institutions urged the UK government to take the opportunity to strengthen relations.

Noting that the ripple effects of U.S. tariffs are still reverberating through the global trade system and prompting responses from various countries, BCC Director General Shevaun Haviland said Britain and the EU must send a clear signal that open and fair trade is in both sides' best interests. She stressed that the upcoming summit must go beyond empty talk and clearly demonstrate a genuine commitment to improving trade relations.

Meanwhile, the upcoming industrial policies are also drawing attention. "The UK government is expected to release a series of notable policies in the coming weeks, including an industrial strategy and a ten-year infrastructure plan," said Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors. "These could offer businesses a way out of the current difficulties and provide a clearer view of the UK's economic direction." 
Governor Uba Sani is repositioning the solid minerals sector to generate more revenue, create jobs, and check the activities of illegal miners in Kaduna State, by bringing in foreign investors.

The State Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Abubakar Buba disclosed this at the quarterly ministerial press briefing held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House.

He further disclosed that the Government has engaged Core International Marketing and Management Ltd to produce a Mining Development Roadmap for Kaduna State.

According to Mr Abubakar, the State Government has raked in N30 million from the mining sector within the last two quarters of last year, adding that revenue projection is higher this year.

He said that Governor Sani has established a lithium processing plant at Kangimi village along the Kaduna-Jos road, the first of its kind in Nigeria. He added that the plant has a capacity to produce more than 30,000 tonnes of lithium per day.

According to the commissioner, Kaduna State has more than 70 solid minerals, including Lithium, Gold, Tin, Coltan, Wolframite, Titanium and Iron, adding that the Kaduna Mining Development Company has acquired 18 additional mineral titles.

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He said that there is tremendous reduction in the illegal mining operation in the State which is as a result of improved surveillance and the Governors renewed thinking.

Out of the Governors magnanimity, he graciously agreed that we should form cooperative societies of these illegal miners, so that at the end of the day, they will still be useful to the society.

They will serve as the foot soldiers for any investor that is coming, because they are the indigenes and they know the terrain better than each and every one of us, the Governor argued.

Speaking on environment and pollution control, the Commissioner said that Kaduna State has developed a State Policy on Climate Change and a position statement.

He disclosed that the State is the first sub-national that has produced both the policy and position statement in Nigeria, adding that, a lot of states have done the policy document, but Kaduna State is the first to come out with the two.

We have trained and empowered 500 youths and women on briquette making in collaboration with Kaduna Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, he said.

Said Mr Abubakar: In this part of the world, our people normally use firewood as a source of energy for cooking. We thought that before we ban the use of firewood for cooking and charcoal making, we need to provide an alternative to the people.

Thats the reason why the state government, in collaboration with ACReSAL, we trained over 500 women and youths on how to make briquettes, he argued.

Mr Abubakar noted that briquettes can serve as a source of energy to our women and children for cooking without necessarily use burning down of our trees because the trees serve as carbon shield for humanity.

The Commissioner also said that Kaduna State Government distributed clean cooking stoves to 400 women and youths in collaboration with Womens Initiative on Sustainable Environment (WISE), a Non-Governmental Organisation.

This will help in reducing the emission of smoke that goes to the atmosphere, which equally distorts the ozone layer and exposes humanity to more risk, he noted.

He commended Governor Sanis efforts which has resulted in including Kaduna State into the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas in Nigeria(HYPPADEC).

Last year, Kaduna State was rated as the cleanest city in north-western Nigeria. This is one of the achievements that we hope to sustain. This year, we hope to be the cleanest state in Nigeria that is our target, he promised.

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Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, the chairperson of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Council in Enugu State, was honoured on 15 May as one of the best-performing council chairpersons in Nigeria in 2025.

Mr Ukwueze, a lawyer, is the deputy chairperson of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter.

The award ceremony  the 2025 edition of the Rootswatch Distinguished Local Government Chairmen Merit Awards  took place at the Nigerian National Merit Awards House in Maitama, Abuja.

It was organised by the Rootswatch Magazine.

This recognition is a humbling validation of our collective efforts to provide purposeful and impactful governance to the people of Igbo-Eze South.

From enhancing security and welfare, to advancing infrastructure and investing in human capital development, we have remained committed to ensuring progress that truly touches lives, Mr Ukwueze said of the award.

This honour is not just a celebration of achievementsit is a kind reminder of our responsibility as stewards of the people. It reinforces my resolve to lead with integrity, compassion, and a deep sense of purpose.

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The Igbo-Eze South council chairperson thanked Rootswatch Magazine for the thoughtful and prestigious recognition.

Thank you for consistently bringing to the limelight Local Government Leaders who serve with integrity and purpose, he added.

The chairperson said it was fulfilling to share the moment with fellow awardees across the country, especially those from Enugu State, as we continue to reflect the visionary and transformative leadership ethos championed by Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, with whom Our Tomorrow Has Come.

He dedicated the award to the resilient and progressive people of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, and said that it serves as a renewed call to action and a renewed commitment to building a future that honours your trust and aspirations.

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Governor Dauda Lawal has assured the people of Zamfara of his administrations commitment to ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare across the state.

The governor gave the assurance on Saturday while commissioning the fully renovated and equipped General Hospital Anka.

The renovation of General Hospital Anka includes the GOPD/Old Admin Block, Male Ward, Female Ward, Pharmacy Block, New Gate Fence, a link corridor connecting the female ward, X-ray, and Theatre Block, and new constructions for Accident and Emergency, Laboratory, Eye and Dental Clinic, and Maternity/Old Lab Ward.

Other remodeled and equipped sections include the Antenatal Care (ANC), Theatre Block, X-ray, New Admin Block, Mosque, MD House (3 3-bedroom houses), and blocks of Pediatric Wards, among others.

During his remarks at the commissioning, Governor Lawal stated that the renovation of the buildings and the installation of all medical and electrical equipment were completed promptly and by the contract specifications within 12 months.

The governor said, The rehabilitation of this hospital began last year and was awarded and executed by an indigenous and highly reputable company.

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The investment has transformed the hospital into a modern healthcare facility with state-of-the-art equipment. This will undoubtedly enhance the quality of medical care for our citizens in Anka and surrounding communities.

To the people of Anka and surrounding communities, this project is a fulfillment of one of our promises to deliver dividends of democracy and improve the livelihood of citizens.

We will continue to prioritize development issues, ensuring that our people have access to quality and affordable healthcare, education, agriculture, roads, and other critical infrastructure across the state.

To the staff and management of Anka General Hospital, I call on you to ensure this facilitys effective management and maintenance. I also urge you to work tirelessly to provide quality healthcare services to our people.

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Suspected Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents, have killed at least 15 farmers in the Baga area of Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

The killers were reported to have moved to Baga after running away from military operations in the Sambisa forest.

Local sources said the farmers left their community on Wednesday for their farms and fishing sites when they encountered the insurgents.

Thee insurgents reportedly took the farmers to Malam Karanti, a village believed to be under the terrorists control, and slaughtered them.

Our people have been killed by Boko Haram. As I speak, we are yet to recover the bodies but we were told they are more than 15, a source in Baga said.

He said residents cannot move far from their homes without the insurgents attacking them.

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According to the source, killing of farmers had become routine for the insurgents.

An elderly man in Baga described the incidents between insurgents and farmers in the area as a clash over resources.

He said the insurgents had imposed fees for fishing or farming.

They had established gates that people must pass to access the river and farms. They also issue clearance tickets for the farmers, and people get killed when they try to bypass these protocols.

Boko Haram have their gates. If you pass without their clearance ticket or try to bypass their gates, they will kill you, the elderly man said, asking this reporter not to mention his name for fear of being tracked down by the terrorists.

People have to go out to look for food because there is nothing to rely on except farming and fishing, he added.

The sources said there was tension in the community, Friday night, as families searched for the bodies of their loved ones while others grieved.

The insurgents, once believed to have been degraded, have grown in strength and renewed attacks, including on military bases across Borno.

Following their attack on four military bases in Borno early on Monday and Tuesday, which resulted in the killing of soldiers, the Nigerian Army commenced operations against the insurgents.

Soldiers had reportedly been engaging the insurgents in the Sambisa forest.

According to reports, insurgents running away from the military operations have been attacking communities.

The authorities are yet to speak on the development.

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NEW ORLEANS, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until July 8, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE: CODI), if they purchased the Company's securities between May 1, 2024 and May 7, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Get Help

Compass Diversified investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-codi/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

Compass and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On May 7, 2025, the Company issued a press release entitled "Compass Diversified Discloses Non-Reliance on Financial Statements for Fiscal 2024 Amid an Ongoing Internal Investigation into its Subsidiary, Lugano Holding, Inc.," disclosing that "the Audit Committee of CODI's Board has concluded that the previously issued financial statements for 2024 require restatement and should no longer be relied upon" and that "[e]ffective May 7, 2025, Lugano's founder and CEO, Moti Ferder, resigned from all of his positions at Lugano and will not receive any severance compensation." The Company further disclosed that "[t]he Audit Committee of CODI's Board of Directors promptly launched an investigation after CODI's senior leadership was made aware of concerns about how Lugano was potentially financing inventory" and that "[t]he investigation . . . is ongoing but has preliminarily identified irregularities in Lugano's non-CODI financing, accounting, and inventory practices."

On this news, the price of Compass' shares plummeted approximately 62%, from $17.25 per share on May 7, 2025, to $6.55 per share on May 8, 2025.

The case is Matthews v. Compass Group Diversified Holdings, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-981.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.

SOURCE ClaimsFiler
Crypto's "Big Tent" event has wrapped in Toronto as high-profile figures across business, technology and government gathered to discuss crypto's regulatory liberalization and rising adoption. In 2026, Consensus will be hosted in Hong Kong (February) and Miami (May).

TORONTO, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Consensus 2025, the world's longest-running and most influential gathering for the crypto, blockchain and AI industries, concluded today at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre bringing together 14,771 attendees from 102 countries. The three-day event serves as the industry's premier "big tent" event, uniting diverse voices from traditional finance, DeFi, policymaking and more to explore the future of digital assets.

Featuring 500 speakers across six stages, Consensus 2025 provided attendees with unique insights into the crypto landscape, with DeFi, real-world assets (RWAs), decentralized AI, stablecoins, crypto adoption and the evolving regulatory landscape dominating discussions among the biggest players in the crypto ecosystem. The event also featured North America's largest in-person blockchain hackathon, with over 1,000 developers participating.

Highlights of Consensus Toronto included presentations from industry leaders, financial giants, tech powerhouses and White House representatives, including Coinbase, BlackRock and Google. Eric Trump, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of American Bitcoin featured on two sessions, with other high profile sessions from Kevin O'Leary, chairman of O'Leary Ventures and host of Shark Tank; Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports; Anthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital. Toronto was chosen as the location for this year's event due to its reputation as a financial powerhouse. It was also pinpointed to welcome a high concentration of Canadian crypto leaders, its growing reputation as a crypto innovation hub and status as the birthplace of Ethereum.

"Thanks to our friends at Consensus. They do an amazing job," said Eric Trump of the CoinDesk conference, which has been running since 2015.

With plans for Consensus 2026 to take place at the iconic Miami Beach Convention Center in May 2026, Miami is considered the crypto capital of North America and a gateway to LATAM. Miami is set to position the event at the strategic crossroads of global capital, talent and innovation. Coming in February 2026, Consensus will return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Major sponsors of Consensus Toronto included Stellar, American Bitcoin, BitGo, Fastex, Spacecoin, alongside tech giants Google and AWS and Canadian firms such as WonderFi, Wealthsimple and Coinbase Canada.

Secure your ticket for Consensus Miami or Consensus Hong Kong now.

Media Contact:

Conor McGorry,

Senior Account Executive,

ClearStory International

M: +353 83 805 5747

E: [email protected]

About Consensus

Consensus by CoinDesk is the world's longest-running and most influential gathering for the crypto, blockchain and AI industries. Bringing together industry leaders, policymakers and innovators, it helps people understand the future of digital assets with discussions on key topics such as DeFi, Web3, AI, the evolving regulatory landscape and more. With a mix of panels, keynotes and networking opportunities, Consensus 2025 provides a platform to explore the latest trends shaping the digital economy. Whether you're an industry veteran or just entering the space, this event offers valuable insights and connections in a rapidly evolving field.

About CoinDesk

CoinDesk is the most trusted media, events, indices and data company for the global crypto economy. Since 2013, CoinDesk Media has led the story of the future of money and investing, illuminating the transformation in society and culture that comes with it. Our award-winning team of journalists delivers news and unparalleled insights that bring transparency, comprehension and context. CoinDesk gathers the global crypto, blockchain and Web3 communities at annual events such as Consensus, the world's largest and longest-running crypto festival. CoinDesk Indices offers expertise in digital asset indices, data and research to educate and empower investors. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish Group. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. For more information on CoinDesk media and events, please visit CoinDesk.com.

SOURCE CoinDesk Inc
Walgreen Co. allegedly failed to provide employees with legally required meal and rest breaks throughout their shifts. Missing the meal and rest breaks not only violated California Labor Code, but also allegedly resulted in employees missing their meal premium payments.

YOLO, Calif., May 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sacramento employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action complaint alleging that Walgreen Co. violated the California Labor Code. The Walgreen Co. class action lawsuit, Case No. CV2025-1007, is currently pending in the Yolo County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here.

According to the lawsuit filed, Walgreen Co. allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, (e) failed to reimburse for required expenses, (f) failed to pay sick wages, and (g) failed to provide wages when due, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections 201-203, 226, 226.7, 233, 246, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct.

Additionally, Walgreen Co. allegedly failed to provide employees with legally required meal and rest breaks. Specifically, employees were allegedly required from time to time to work in excess of four (4) hours without being provided ten (10) minute rest periods. The applicable California Wage Order requires employers to provide employees with off-duty rest periods, which the California Supreme Court defined as time during which an employee is relieved from all work related duties and free from employer control.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against Walgreen Co., call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is an employment law firm with offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago that dedicates its practice to helping employees, investors and consumers fight back against unfair business practices, including violations of the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act. If you need help in collecting unpaid overtime wages, unpaid commissions, being wrongfully terminated from work, and other employment law claims, contact one of their attorneys today.

**THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT**

Media Contact

Nicholas De Blouw

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP

(800) 568-8020

[email protected]

https://www.bamlawca.com/

SOURCE Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP
World Hypertension Day's focus on High Blood Pressure Awareness, Management and Control highlights Importance of New Therapies, like Ultrasound Renal Denervation from Recor Medical

PALO ALTO, Calif., FRANKFURT, Germany, May 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- May 17, 2025, is World Hypertension Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about high blood pressure, also known as the "silent killer" because many people do not know they have it and, over time, it can lead to serious health issues. The theme of World Hypertension Day, "Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!" highlights the importance of not only awareness but also accurate monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension.

Accurate blood pressure measure is very important to control hypertension.

According to a report from the World Health Organization, the number of adults with hypertension doubled between 1990 and 2019 from 650 million to 1.3 billion. The report also states that only 54 percent of adults with hypertension are diagnosed and only 42 percent receive treatment. And recent studies1,2 have suggested that BP assessment in the clinical setting can often get a hypertension diagnosis wrong or miss it completely. Left undetected or uncontrolled, hypertension is a leading contributor to serious health risks, including heart attack, stroke and kidney disease, making accurate diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of the condition critical.

About one-third of the patients who are treated for hypertension remain uncontrolled despite making healthy lifestyle changes and taking more than three medications. For these patients, innovation and investment in new solutions are vital to achieve blood pressure control and realize a healthier future. From pharmaceutical treatments to technology, patients need new therapies that can provide life-changing results. This includes medical device-based therapies, like the Paradise Ultrasound Renal Denervation (uRDN) system, an additional treatment option for patients who remain uncontrolled and at elevated cardiovascular risk despite standard lifestyle changes and treatment with oral medications.

The Paradise uRDN system is a first-of-its-kind ultrasound-based RDN technology designed to lower blood pressure by denervating the sympathetic nerves surrounding the renal arteries, reducing the overactivity that can lead to hypertension. The Paradise uRDN system delivers two to three doses of 360-degree ultrasound energy  lasting seven seconds each  through the main renal arteries to the surrounding nerves.* The Paradise catheter features the exclusive HydroCooling system, which circulates sterile water through the balloon catheter during the procedure to help protect the renal artery wall. This minimally invasive procedure is supported by many medical societies including the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology and others.

"Taking a risk-based approach to hypertension makes sense and this is why the medical societies are increasingly behind it," said Prof. Andrew Sharp, University College Dublin and The Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. "Blood pressure reductions of just 5 to 10mmHg can have a significant impact on the risk of cardiovascular complications, such as stroke and heart attack, but gain is greatest in those who are most at risk, such as patients who also have other risk factors for cardiovascular health such as diabetes. Early blood pressure control may also limit the vascular aging process and yet over half of patients worldwide are not even at the basic standard of control of 140/90mmHg. With guidelines now suggesting lower BP targets of 130/80 for many, new treatments in this space are welcome. Renal denervation is a recently approved tool to safely aid in blood pressure lowering throughout the 24-hour cycle and is independent of patient adherence to medication. The procedure shows an excellent safety profile and typically takes under an hour to perform, with lasting BP reductions demonstrated."

Recor Medical  the manufacturer of the Paradise System - has been focused on developing and testing uRDN for the treatment of hypertension since 2009, and completed three independently powered, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trials, all which demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the Paradise System. Recor has also initiated the US Global Paradise System (GPS) Post-Approval Study to collect real-world clinical evidence with long-term follow-up in 1,000 patients with uncontrolled hypertension in the United States.

The Paradise uRDN system is indicated to reduce blood pressure as an adjunctive treatment in hypertension patients in whom lifestyle modifications and antihypertensive medications do not adequately control blood pressure. A physician will make a medical assessment to determine if a patient is a candidate for ultrasound renal denervation. The most common risks include pain, vascular access site complications and vasospasm. Full important risk information can be viewed here.

*Anatomies vary. See Paradise IFU for treatment strategies.

Liu H et al.: Arm Position and Blood Pressure Readings. The ARMS Crossover Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2024;184(12):1436-1442. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.5213 https://newsroom.heart.org/news/high-blood-pressure-while-lying-down-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-health-complications

About Recor Medical, Inc.

Recor Medical, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Medical Devices Co., Ltd., is a medical technology company focused on transforming the management of hypertension. Recor has pioneered the use of the Paradise Ultrasound Renal Denervation system for the treatment of hypertension. The Paradise uRDN system is an investigational device in Japan, is FDA approved in the United States, and bears the CE mark. Recor has reported positive outcomes in three independent, randomized, sham-controlled studies of the Paradise uRDN system in patients with mild-to-moderate and resistant hypertension. In addition, Recor is conducting the Global Paradise System ("GPS") Registry in the European Union and the UK, and has initiated the US GPS post-approval study in the United States.

http://www.recormedical.com/



About Otsuka Medical Devices Co., Ltd.

Otsuka Medical Devices Co., Ltd. engages in the global development and commercialization of medical devices that provide new therapeutic options in areas where patient needs cannot be met through pharmaceutical or other conventional treatment. Otsuka Medical Devices is a subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. (www.otsuka.com/en), a global healthcare company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (JP 4578).

https://www.omd.otsuka.com/en/

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2689174/RecorMedical_BP_Measure.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2689173/Recor_Medical_Logo.jpg
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Light Energia S.A. (the "Company") announced the tender results of the previously announced offer to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") its outstanding 4.375% Notes due 2026 (the "Notes").

The Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York time, on May 14, 2025 (the "Expiration Date"). The Tender Offer was made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase dated April 7, 2025 (the "Offer to Purchase").

As of the Expiration Date, U.S.$50,980,622 in aggregate principal amount of the Notes, representing 24.19% of the outstanding Notes, had been validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) pursuant to the Tender Offer. Since the aggregate principal amount of the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will not result in an aggregate purchase price that exceeds the previously announced maximum tender amount, the Company will accept for purchase U.S.$50,980,622 aggregate principal amount of the Notes, with no proration.

The consideration for the Notes validly tendered and accepted pursuant to the Tender Offer is U.S.$950.00 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes. The Company intends to purchase all Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Expiration Date on May 23, 2025 (the "Settlement Date"). Holders will not receive the accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount of all Notes that we purchase for the Tender Offer.

The Tender Offer were conducted as part of the Company's judicial reorganization, which commenced on May 12, 2023. On such date, the Company's parent company Light S.A.  em Recuperacao Judicial ("Light") filed for judicial reorganization (recuperacao judicial) with the 3rd Business Court of Judicial District of the Capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro, based on Brazilian Bankruptcy Law No. 11,101/2005, which filing had been approved by Light's board of directors on May 18, 2024. On May 29, 2024, creditors of Light approved Light's judicial reorganization plan (the "Restructuring Plan") at the general creditors' meeting. The Restructuring Plan was confirmed by the RJ Court on June 18, 2024. In addition, Light commenced a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the United Kingdom Companies Act 2006 in the Chancery Division (Companies List) of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to facilitate and implement the global restructuring of its debts. The scheme of arrangement was sanctioned by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales on October 28, 2024.

The Company made the Tender Offer in compliance with Section 1125 of the indenture, dated as of December 19, 2024, by and among the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon, and pursuant to the Restructuring Plan. Therefore, holders who elected to participate in the Tender Offer were deemed to have agreed with, and be subject to terms and conditions of Restructuring Plan.

Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available to holders of the Notes from D.F. King & Co., Inc., the information agent and the tender agent for the Tender Offer. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase should be directed to D.F. King at +1 (212) 269-5550 or [email protected].

Neither the Offer to Purchase nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with 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 related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of tenders or consents with respect to, any security. No offer, solicitation, purchase or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful. The Tender Offer were made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.

About Light Energia S.A.

The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Light, a publicly held corporation headquartered in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Light operates through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including us, to provide essential energy distribution, generation, and commercialization services across thirty-one municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro and five municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais.

The Company's group's principal business activities are divided among two segments: (i) distribution, consisting of the transportation of energy from the border of the basic grid to the point of delivery to end-customer, and (ii) generation, whereby our group operates and commercializes clean energy generated from renewable sources through hydroelectric power plants housed in generation complexes in Rio de Janeiro. The Company's group's integrated operations serve more than 11 million residents and 4.5 million consumer units, facilitating the provision of approximately 64% of Rio de Janeiro's energy supply.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements about the future performance of the Company, which may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "hopes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "believes," "subject to" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to the Company's overall business, including those more fully described in the Offer to Purchase.

Rio de Janeiro, May 16, 2025

Rodrigo Tostes Solon de Pontes

Diretor Financeiro e de Relacoes com Investidores

SOURCE Light Energia S.A.
BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged a permanent ceasefire, unconditional release of all hostages, and the free flow of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

Guterres made the appeal when attending the 34th Arab League Summit, which kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad earlier in the day.

"We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza," the UN chief stressed, noting that "annexation is illegal. Settlements are illegal."

Guterres emphasized that "only a two-state solution can deliver sustainable peace," adding, "The world, the region, and most of all, the people of Palestine and Israel cannot afford to watch the two-state solution disappear before our eyes."

The UN chief also touched on issues related to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia, expressing hope that all pending issues will find a just solution through dialogue.

The summit witnessed the participation of leaders and top diplomats of 22 Arab League member states, as well as representatives from regional and International organizations. It marks the second such event hosted by Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion, following a previous one in 2012. 
Food Network champion brings South Asian-inspired ice cream to Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, May 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Malai, a South Asian-inspired artisanal ice cream company, today celebrated the grand opening of its Philly scoop shop at 260 South 18th Street.

Pooja Bavishi, winner of Food Network's Chopped Sweets competition, founded Malai when she discovered that the same spices of her childhoodginger, rose petals, saffron, and cardamomcould robustly flavor ice creams in a way that she had never tasted before.

"I founded Malai because desserts bring people joy, and I wanted to be in the business of delivering happiness," shares Bavishi.

Bavishi continues to craft all of Malai's flavors and has been hard at work on a new flavor to celebrate opening in PhillyCinnamon Honeybuninspired by the Tastykake Honey Buns, a Philadelphia classic.

"Growing up in Pennsylvania, Tastykake Honey Buns were a constant presence in my childhood, so they became the perfect inspiration for our debut flavor for our scoop shop in Philadelphia," Bavishi shares. "This ice cream features a cinnamon base layered with housemade buns filled with spiced honey (think: cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, and star anise), all topped with a cream cheese glazeanother nod to the city's iconic flavors. This is the Malai version of Pennsylvania classics, and I hope every visit to our shop is as sweet as this ice cream!"

Bavishi started Malai in 2015, selling her ice cream at fairs and markets around New York City. Today, Malai is available at its Brooklyn flagship, at its DC scoop shop, in grocery stores throughout the Northeast, and shipped nationwide via Goldbelly. In just the past two years, Bavishi has expanded her operation from a tiny kitchen in the back of her Brooklyn store to a 4,000-square-foot production space and fulfillment center.

The opening of the Philly location coincides with the launch of Bavishi's first cookbook, Malai: Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors .

Malai's summer hours are Sunday through Thursday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Malai, figuratively meaning cream of the crop, is a Brooklyn-based company revolutionizing the ice cream experience by using vibrant South Asian spices and ingredients as a nod to Pooja's first-generation Indian-American upbringing. Malai's ice creams are innovative and celebrated for their robust flavors and creamy textures, offering an indulgence that is both nostalgic and unique. Malai's unique desserts have been bringing customers joy since 2015. www.malai.co

SOURCE Malai
HOUSTON, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- One year ago today, Texas Southern University's Board of Regents voted unanimously to appoint James W. Crawford III, Vice Admiral and Judge Advocate General of the Navy (Ret.), as TSU's 14th President.

J.W. Crawford III Vice Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy (Retired) President, Texas Southern University Texas Southern University President James W. Crawford III

"As we launched the search, leaders across Texas shared their affection for TSU as a historic institution and noted the need for leadership to provide strategic focus and to enhance student success metrics. President Crawford met all our criteria, and then some," said Brandon L. Simmons, Chairman of the TSU Board of Regents. "Our board has assumed responsibility for working together  adopting the motto 'One Band, One Sound'  and supporting our President's ability to provide long-term, stable leadership."

Reflecting on his first year, President Crawford said, "This first year at Texas Southern University has been a remarkably heart-fulfilling experience. The depth of desire and capability in our students to succeed is awe-inspiring. In collaboration with the Chairman and the entire Board of Regents, we are shaping a vibrant future to make 'excellence in achievement' more than a motto, but a philosophy in action."

On his first Legislative Session in Texas, "Walking into the Texas Capitol for the first time, no doubt, everything is bigger in Texas, and I believe that our approach and engagement with the Legislature on bold and transformative initiatives for our students matched the Texas ethos of bold aspirations and expectations," said President Crawford.

"I am grateful for all of our state leaders in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government for their substantive engagement with our President during his first session," said Chairman Simmons. "They asked thoughtful questions about academic achievement, faculty excellence, and the status of facilities."

As the regular 140-day legislative session comes to an end, important legislation, such as the state budget, is still outstanding. Chairman Simmons said, "While we await the outcome of the Session, we are working to support our President as he implements reforms and upgrades across the university. We have been inspired by Federal and Texas DOGE efforts, and we are currently engaged in what we believe is a first-of-its kind operational and resource allocation review with the aim of improving our ability to increase return on investment for students and taxpayers, as measured by student success and workforce development outcome metrics. We have also launched multiple strategic initiatives aligned with Texas leaders' key priorities, including combating antisemitism through an interfaith partnership with the Israeli Consulate to the Southwest United States and the Jewish Federation of Houston, featuring local and international student and faculty exchanges. This effort builds on a generational relationship between Texas Southern University and the Jewish community of Texas, one that dates back to the university's founding in 1927 and reflects a shared commitment to combating all forms of hate."

President Crawford added, "The Legislature has passed very important legislation to ensure that Texas remains a national leader in higher education. The Board and I look forward to working together to implement these policies over the next two years and to returning to the Capitol together in two years for the 2027 legislative session."

CONTACT:

Tracy Clemons

713-313-7371

832-986-9101 [cell]

[email protected]

SOURCE Texas Southern University
EXECUTIVE HIGHLIGHTS

Plano, TX : NOI more than doubledfrom $15,850 in Q1 2024 to $35,307 in Q1 2025, as occupancy rose over 4%.





: NOI more than doubledfrom in Q1 2024 to in Q1 2025, as occupancy rose over 4%. Montrose StormKing, CO : NOI tripled from $16,967 in Q1 2024 to $52,370 in Q1 2025.





: NOI tripled from in Q1 2024 to in Q1 2025. George West, TX : Occupancy improved from 54.3% to 62.8%, a 9% gain under the new management model.

HOUSTON, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc. ("Silver Star") today celebrated the operational success of its subsidiary, Southern Star Self Storage, following a year of grassroots-driven transformation. Under the direct leadership of Oscar Flores, Director of Operations, who spearheaded the management reorganization and on-the-ground marketing push, the platform has achieved marked improvements in occupancy, NOI, and community integration across its growing footprint.

"We are proud of the entire team's effort in delivering meaningful, measurable improvements at our self-storage properties," said Gerald W. Haddock, Chairman of the Board and CEO. "Oscar has led with passion and precision, and the results reinforce the Executive Committee's conviction in pivoting away from underperforming office assets and toward resilient, high-demand self-storage investments."

Highlights of the Turnaround

Since launching the Neighborly Community Connect strategy in April 2024, Silver Star has executed a full-scale management and marketing overhaul of Southern Star facilities, replacing third-party managers with trained, community-embedded onsite professionals, and further utilizes Silver Star's experience in reducing property taxes in creating a portion of the cost reductions here. This hyper-local strategy has led to compelling gains.

Silver Star is Now Able to Align Performance and Capital

Mr. Haddock noted, "Performance now aligns with our forward-looking capital strategy".

Preferred Equity Capital Raise to Fuel Growth Provides Significant Surge for Pivot Plan

To fund the next phase of its self-storage expansion, Mr. Jim Shaw, our Independent Trustee, in conjunction with Emerson Equity, LLC, is working to provide Silver Star with a best effort commitment to lead a $50 million preferred equity capital raise under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D. This private placement is contingent upon shareholder approval of the pivot strategy and is expected to launch within 90 days of a successful proxy vote. Key features include:

Accredited investors will receive defined preferred returns and full return of capital before sponsor participation.





and full return of capital before sponsor participation. A 721 roll-up option offers liquidity and tax-optimized conversion into Silver Star OP units and also providing Silver Star with a critical mass growth strategy.





offers liquidity and tax-optimized conversion into Silver Star OP units and also providing Silver Star with a critical mass growth strategy. Emerson Equity will serve as the managing broker-dealer and wholesaler for the offering.

Haddock added, "The partnership with Emerson Equity will allow us to scale our self-storage footprint thoughtfully and accretively along with customary mortgage leverage ultimately to pursue a public listing path that enhances liquidity and value for shareholders."

Strategic Progress & Transition Updates

Following the same strategy being executed at Southern Star with Neighborly Community Connect, Silver Star is following suit to gain management control of its properties. Success stems from building deep ties to local chambers of commerce, local businesses, and charitable organizations. Property managers report weekly on community outreach, strategic partnerships, and rate optimization.

In line with the Company's strategic pivot to pursue an alternate strategy and the management transformation, Silver Star has transitioned management of several underperforming properties under the direction of David Strickland, Director of Asset Management. Mr. Haddock stated, "his execution has been with superb precision and timeliness."

Virginia Parkway in McKinney, TX has been brought under Silver Star management control to accelerate lease-up and marketing.





has been brought under Silver Star management control to accelerate lease-up and marketing. Delray, FL : Now at 92.5% occupancy , Del Ray stands as a prime example of successful community-first engagement, with NOI reaching $1.83M annually.





: Now at , stands as a prime example of successful community-first engagement, with NOI reaching annually. Two Houston -area properties are now fully internalized into the Silver Star operational platform, eliminating third-party fees and aligning operational goals.

Recent Communication from Allen Hartman

Mr. Shaw had this to say about Mr. Hartman's recent communication regarding Silver Star and its management:

'Regarding Hartman, I believe that his recent comments are, at best, disingenuous as they completely ignore the across-the-board collapse of office values, rents and occupancies not only in Houston, but in office markets across the country. In the case of the legacy properties in the Silver Star portfolio, this is exacerbated by the deferred maintenance that Hartman allowed while he was supposedly managing the properties. He fails to note that Gulf Companies moved from the Class-B Gulf Plaza to the Class-A Eldridge Oaks office building pursuant to a lease signed in mid-2023. This move is typical of the office activity in Houston (and many other office markets), where companies are taking advantage of declining rental rates to move from Class B properties to Class A and trophy properties. As this trend continues, rents and values of Class B office properties continue to fall. Clearly, this had nothing to do with your team's management of the property.'

Conclusion

"We are continuing to maximize value for shareholders and this vote of confidence from Emerson, recognizing our management strategy through this pledge pushes us to a strong foundation for growth and future distributions," concluded Haddock.

SOURCE Silver Star Properties REIT
Enabled by WuXi Biologics' industry-leading integrated technology platform, velaglucerase-beta for injection has successfully advanced from concept to commercialization.

Velaglucerase-beta for injection, as the first and the only locally developed enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Gaucher disease in China , marks a significant breakthrough for CANbridge Pharmaceuticals and WuXi Biologics in advancing R&D of innovative rare disease therapeutics in China .

, marks a significant breakthrough for CANbridge Pharmaceuticals and WuXi Biologics in advancing R&D of innovative rare disease therapeutics in . Velaglucerase-beta for injection is the first innovative biological product in China to pass segmented manufacturing inspection.

WUXI, China and SHANGHAI, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics (2269.HK), a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), congratulates its partner CANbridge Pharmaceuticals on the approval of its innovative velaglucerase-beta for injection (Gaurunning) by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of adolescents aged 12 and above and adults with type I and type III Gaucher disease. This marks China's first and only locally developed enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Gaucher disease.

Gaucher disease is a rare inherited genetic lysosomal storage disorder characterized by clinical manifestations such as hepatosplenomegaly, anemia, bone pain, and neurological symptoms, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. Recombinant human glucocerebrosidase ERT has been the standard treatment for Gaucher disease for 30 years, significantly improving major non-neurological signs and symptoms, as well as improving the quality of life for patients. It is estimated that the global prevalence of Gaucher disease is 0.7 to 1.75 per 100,000 people. Gaucher disease has been included in China's "First List of Rare Diseases".

Velaglucerase-beta for injection is the first collaboration project on rare diseases between CANbridge and WuXi Biologics, advancing from concept to commercialization by leveraging WuXi Biologics' leading integrated technology platform. The project utilized innovative technology to construct high-expression cell line and achieved significant improvements in both yield and quality through WuXiUPTM, an ultra-high productivity continuous bioprocessing platform of WuXi Biologics. The overall yield increased by more than 110 times, and the specific enzyme activity increased by more than 50%, ensuring the affordability for Gaucher disease patients. Additionally, WuXi Biologics developed cell-based bioassay methods for commercial product release and stability testing, addressing the technical challenges of enzyme testing and effectively ensuring product quality control. Additionally, velaglucerase-beta for injection is the first innovative biological product in China to pass segmented manufacturing inspection.

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, stated, "We are honored to enable CANbridge to achieve the significant milestone of approval for velaglucerase-beta for injection, which represents a critical advancement in rare disease drug innovation in China. Developing therapies for rare diseases is a long and challenging journey, requiring relentless joint efforts to bridge the gap between early-stage discovery and patients' access to medication. The successful commercialization of velaglucerase-beta for injection not only reflects CANbridge's decade-long dedication to rare diseases but also exemplifies the value of WuXi Biologics' integrated platform and CRDMO business model. Furthermore, our shared commitment to addressing the unmet clinical needs of rare disease patients has resulted in China's first locally developed ERT for Gaucher disease. We look forward to enabling more global partners to accelerate the development of high-quality rare disease therapies, and making them accessible and affordable for more patients suffering from rare diseases."

Dr. James Xue, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of CANbridge Pharmaceuticals, stated, "Enzyme replacement therapy is a crucial part of CANbridge' global pipeline. The approval of velaglucerase-beta for injection in China is a milestone. By leveraging the integrated technology platform, velaglucerase-beta for injection will significantly reduce development costs, making safe and effective domestically produced ERT accessible and affordable for patients. This product is also the first collaboration project between CANbridge and WuXi Biologics in rare diseases. We extend our gratitude to our partners, including WuXi Biologics, who have empowered the development and manufacturing of velaglucerase-beta for injection. This milestone is not only CANbridge' third rare disease drug to be launched following Hunterase and Livmarli, but also the first in-house developed commercialized product. In the future, we will continue to focus on the localized research, manufacturing, commercialization, and accessibility of rare disease drugs, bringing innovative treatments to patients in China."

Since its establishment, WuXi Biologics has been committed to enabling global innovative biotech companies to accelerate the rare disease drugs from concept to commercialization, benefiting rare disease patients worldwide. As ofthe end of 2024, there are 21 rare disease projects on the company's platform. Additionally, the company actively promotes public awareness and supports the rare disease patient community through various philanthropic initiatives. Its global "Run for Health" campaign has engaged over 2,500 participants to raise awareness for rare diseases. In China, the company's "Rare Disease Student Education Support Program" has provided scholarships to over 100 students affected by rare diseases over the past four years, fostering their academic growth.

About Velaglucerase-beta for Injection (Gaurunning)

Velaglucerase-beta for injection is the first domestically developed recombinant human glucocerebrosidase ERT in China, now approved for clinical use in treatment of Type I and Type III Gaucher disease patients. Most Gaucher disease patients are Type I and Type III, which are chronic non-neuronopathic and chronic neuronopathic forms, respectively. velaglucerase-beta is administered as an intravenous infusion and is intended to supplement the lack of glucocerebrosidase in the lysosomes of GD patients.

The pivotal clinical trial of velaglucerase-beta achieved positive top-line data in August 2024. The velaglucerase-beta pivotal trial is a randomized, double-blind, dose-comparison study designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of intravenous velaglucerase-beta administered every other week in newly treated Gaucher Disease (GD) patients, with an extension period. The results demonstrate that the study successfully met its primary efficacy endpoint, showing a statistically significant mean percentage reduction from baseline in spleen volume at nine months for both the 60 U/kg dose (P<0.0001) and the lower 30 U/kg dose (P<0.001). The primary endpoint of this trial protocol has been agreed upon by the CDE.

About Gaucher Disease (GD)

Gaucher disease, one of the most common lysosomal storage disorders, is a rare inherited genetic metabolic disease caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the GBA gene located on chromosome 1q22 and affects both males and females equally. Gaucher disease is a clinical spectrum that comprises Type 0 (perinatal-lethal), Type I (chronic non-neuronopathic), Type II (acute neuronopathic), and Type III (chronic neuronopathic) forms, with Types I and III surviving into adulthood. Gaucher disease is caused by a deficiency of glucocerebrosidase (acid b-glucosidase), an enzyme that helps break down a cellular membrane glycosphingolipid called glucocerebroside (glucosylceramide) inside lysosomes. As a result, glucocerebroside accumulates primarily in cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage (Gaucher cells) within certain organs, leading to splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, anemia, thrombocytopenia, bone pain and fractures, and in the most severe forms (perinatal-lethal, Types II and III), early neurological symptoms. For 30 years, recombinant human glucocerebrosidase enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has been the standard of care for Gaucher disease, with clinical trials and real-world data demonstrating significant improvement in the major non-neurological signs and symptoms of disease and quality of life. There were 3,000 patients with Gaucher disease in China in 2020, according to Frost & Sullivan. Gaucher disease has been included in China's "First List of Rare Diseases."

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK) is a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) offering end-to-end solutions that enable partners to discover, develop and manufacture biologics  from concept to commercialization  for the benefit of patients worldwide.

With over 12,000 skilled employees in China, the United States, Ireland, Germany and Singapore, WuXi Biologics leverages its technologies and expertise to provide customers with efficient and cost-effective biologics discovery, development and manufacturing solutions. As of December 31, 2024, WuXi Biologics is supporting 817 integrated client projects, including 21 in commercial manufacturing (excluding COVID CMO projects).

WuXi Biologics regards sustainability as the cornerstone of long-term business growth. The company continuously drives green technology innovations to offer advanced end-to-end Green CRDMO solutions for its global partners while consistently achieving excellence in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG). Committed to creating shared value, it collaborates with all stakeholders to foster positive social and environmental impacts and promote responsible practices that empower the entire value chain.

For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com.

About Canbridge

CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. (HKEX:1228) is a global biopharmaceutical company, with a foundation in China, committed to the research, development and commercialization of transformative therapies for rare disease. CANbridge has a differentiated drug portfolio, with 3 approved drugs and a pipeline of 8 assets, targeting prevalent rare disease indications that have unmet needs and significant market potential. These include Hunter syndrome and other lysosomal storage disorders, complement-mediated disorders, hemophilia A, metabolic disorders, rare cholestatic liver diseases and neuromuscular diseases. The CANbridge Next-Generation Innovation and Process Development Facility is developing novel, potentially curative, gene therapies for rare genetic diseases, including Pompe disease, Fabry disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and other neuromuscular conditions, and collaborates with world-leading researchers and biotech companies. CANbridge global partners include: Apogenix, GC Pharma, Mirum, Wuxi Biologics, Privus, UMass Chan Medical School, the University of Washington School of Medicine and Scriptr Global.

For more on CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc., please go to: www.canbridgepharma.com.

Contacts

Business

[email protected]

Media

[email protected]

SOURCE WuXi Biologics
by Ahmed Sallam

Amid escalating global challenges across the world, China emerges as a significant actor, steadfastly fulfilling its international responsibilities. Its approach offers a distinctive model that integrates practical wisdom, humanitarian principles and a strong adherence to the UN Charter.

China is the largest provider of peacekeeping forces among the permanent members of the Security Council. Since its first deployment 35 years ago, the Chinese military has participated in 25 peacekeeping missions, and dispatched over 50,000 personnel to more than 20 countries and regions.

China is the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, accounting for over 15 percent of the total. This underscores Beijing's commitment to shouldering its international responsibilities through partnership, not dominance.

Furthermore, China has established the Peace and Development Trust Fund in collaboration with the United Nations. Since its inception, the fund has supported projects and activities around the world, covering areas including prevention and mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, counterterrorism and peace and security in Africa.

China's conduct as a responsible global actor is also evident in its approach to various world crises. On the Israel-Hamas conflict, China advocated for an immediate ceasefire, urged a return to the two-state solution, and provided urgent humanitarian aid, demonstrating genuine solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Regarding the situation in Sudan, China has called on the parties to the conflict to cease hostilities and de-escalate the situation on the ground and reiterates its support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the country.

These positions reflect a distinct Chinese perspective that emphasizes dialogue over pressure and inclusion over exclusion to resolve conflicts. This philosophy is deeply rooted in a long history of peaceful interactions between diverse peoples.

China remains committed to working within the framework of the United Nations, upholding multilateralism, equal partnership and the depoliticization of peace efforts. This choice reflects China's determination to be a force for stability, not conflict, and a reliable partner in maintaining international security.

China's contributions extend beyond peacekeeping forces. It has actively promoted balanced diplomatic efforts to bridge divides and foster trust among conflicting parties. A notable example is China's successful mediation in March 2023 between Saudi Arabia and Iran, leading to the resumption of diplomatic relations after a prolonged period of estrangement. This achievement was widely recognized as a testament to China's capacity to act as an impartial facilitator that prioritizes regional stability over narrow interests.

On the Palestinian issue, China believes that national dialogue is the only viable path forward and has consistently called for unity among Palestinian factions and hosted reconciliation talks, reaffirming its long-standing commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people. Under China's mediation, in July 2024, representatives from 14 Palestinian factions signed a declaration on ending division and strengthening Palestinian national unity.

Regarding the Ukraine crisis, China has adopted an independent and rational stance, calling for an immediate ceasefire, respect for state sovereignty and the return to negotiations. In February 2023, Beijing presented a 12-point proposal, underscoring its rejection of nuclear weapon use, unilateral sanctions, and its support for political resolutions to the crisis.

These three distinct examples reflect the core of Chinese political thought -- the pursuit of a world characterized by peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and equitable multilateralism.

The Chinese model stands as a voice of reason in a world facing turbulence, effectively combining strength and discipline, development and peace and principles with concrete action.

It is a model grounded in tangible efforts rather than empty slogans, in cultivating partnerships rather than imposing agendas, and in achieving a balance between respecting national specificities and fostering international cooperation.

Drawing upon its rich historical heritage and contemporary political wisdom, China presents a compelling image of a major country that places development at the heart of security and champions multilateralism as the bedrock of the international order.

In an era when global cohesion is increasingly vital, China undeniably stands as an indispensable pillar of international peace and stability.

Editor's note: Ahmed Sallam is a former undersecretary of Egypt's State Information Service.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Jaipur, May 17 : A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed after a video surfaced showing a man dangerously close to tiger cubs at the Ranthambore National Park near Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, officials confirmed.

The undated video shows the man entering a large water pipe, where the cubs were sheltering, touching and playing with them while recording the act on camera, officials said on Friday.

According to park officials, the incident occurred near the Devpura Dam in the Phalodi Range, where a tigress identified as T-2302 has given birth to three cubs inside the pipe.

The FIR has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under different sections namely Section 27: Restriction on entry into a sanctuary, Section 50: Powers of entry, search, arrest, and detention; and Section 51 which includes penalties for violations.

Ranthambore Divisional Forest Officer, Ramanand Bhakar, confirmed the investigation is underway to identify the individual and determine how he managed to reach such a sensitive zone.

The man's identity has not yet been confirmed.

Tigers are classified as a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, and Project Tiger, launched in 1973, is India's flagship conservation programme aimed at preserving tigers and their natural habitats.

Ranthambore National Park, home to around 80 tigers, is one of the country's key reserves under this initiative.

Wildlife conservationists had called the incident a "serious lapse" in park security and management.

"How could someone venture into a critical tiger habitat that is supposed to be completely protected? If the forest department was aware of the presence of cubs, wasn't it standard procedure to increase vigilance and install camera traps?" they asked.

"Ranthambore is, unfortunately, making headlines for the wrong reasons. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) should take strict cognisance of this and ensure its guidelines are properly enforced," they added.

Actually, visuals of a villager touching a newborn tiger cub -- belonging to tigress T-2302 -- inside a concrete pipe in the Dauldaa"Devpura Dam region of the Phalaudi Range in Ranthambore National Park surfaced on Thursday, raising serious concerns over ongoing lapses in wildlife monitoring at the reserve.

The shocking incident is the latest in a series of security and surveillance failures at the park, which has been under scrutiny for poor monitoring of its tiger population and for the forest department's inability to prevent man-animal conflict.

In the past month, a forest ranger and a seven-year-old child lost their lives in separate incidents within the reserve.

There have also been reports of tigers charging at individuals who entered their territory.

According to forest sources, tigress T-2302 was recently seen sheltering inside a concrete pipe near Devpura Dam with her three newborn cubs.

The villager reportedly spotted the tigress and her cubs, entered the pipe, and not only captured photos and videos on his mobile phone but also touched one of the cubs.

"He entered the pipe and not only managed to photograph the cubs on his mobile phone but also petted them," said a source familiar with the incident.
Ramanagara : , May 17 (IANS) Karnataka BJP leaders met the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Ramanagara district on Friday regarding the suspicious death of a minor tribal girl reported from the region on May 12, and warned the police against any attempt to cover-up the case.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka and Bengaluru South MP C.N. Manjunath met Ramanagara SP R. Srinivas Gowda at his office and sought details about the progress of the investigation.

Speaking to the media, LoP Ashoka said, "We have clearly conveyed to the police not to suppress the case and to ensure justice. It is our duty as the Opposition to demand justice, and we are doing so."

"The victim comes from a poor background. People are saying she was raped and murdered. A case of murder has already been registered. I visited the SP's office to inquire about the case," he added.

"The SP showed me various documents, including a video related to the case. The police appear to be confused. To confirm whether it was a case of rape and murder, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report is required. The SP informed me that it is expected in another three days. I have asked him to conduct a thorough investigation, especially since the girl belonged to a poor and backward community," LoP Ashoka said.

He also criticised the Congress-led state government, saying, "Since this government came to power in Karnataka, serious crimes have become commonplace. Every day, incidents of rape, murder, and law and order failures are being reported."

"This government should treat the case with seriousness, considering the victim's social background," he said.

"People are also saying that the girl was hearing impaired. There are many suspicions surrounding the case, and the victim's family maintains that it was rape and murder. Police say they have detained a few suspects and are gathering information. They have also recovered CCTV footage related to the case," LoP Ashoka added.

"I have told the police to expedite the FSL report and ensure that justice is served to the victim, who came from a humble background. People have lost trust in this government. Congress leaders are acting like Home Ministers at district and taluk levels, managing affairs on their own," he remarked.

The body of the girl, a student of class 8, was found abandoned in a semi-nude state on railway tracks near Bhadrapur on Monday.

Based on the CCTV footage, police have detained three suspects and are questioning them.

Multiple injuries were found on the girl's body.

Preliminary investigations revealed no signs of sexual assault, but authorities are awaiting forensic confirmation.

The girl had returned to her village for the summer holidays and went missing after attending a birthday party.

Her family and relatives allege that she was raped and murdered.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had visited the victim's residence, handed over a cheque of Rs 4.62 lakh, and assured the family ensuring justice.
Jaipur, May 17 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to visit Pushkar to attend a private programme on Saturday, officials said.

He arrived at the Jaipur airport on Friday night and then visited the Bharti Bhawan here where he will stay overnight.

He is currently on a three-day visit to Jaipur.

Bhagwat reached the Bharti Bhawan on MI Road on Friday, where he met several RSS workers.

On Saturday, the RSS Chief will visit the Ravi Ram Ashram on Sikar Road to attend an event to honour the memory of Ravi Ram Maharaj, who will be paid tributes on his death anniversary.

During the visit, Bhagwat will address RSS workers and saints present at the ashram.

He is expected to spend around two hours there.

Following the event, Bhagwat will attend a personal meeting before leaving for Pushkar later on Saturday. He is expected to return to Jaipur on Sunday night and will depart from Jaipur shortly after.

The RSS is conducting training classes at 12 locations across Rajasthan started in May, with more than 4,000 volunteers of different age groups expected to participate.

Mohan Bhagwat and RSS 'Sarkaryawah' (General Secretary) Dattatreya Hosabale will also guide the Sangh volunteers during the training sessions.

Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, Chief of the RSS Rajasthan region, said that the Sangh organises these annual education classes to train its cadres in various disciplines.

The sessions focus on nurturing self-awareness, self-discipline, a spirit of sacrifice, and harmony in collective life.

RSS volunteers undergo physical, theoretical and practical training.

In total, 12 training classes and three 'Ghosh' (band) classes will also be conducted.

These classes will provide hands-on training in key areas of social responsibility such as community service, communication, family awareness, environmental protection, social harmony, rural development and cow protection (Goseva).

Volunteers will also receive direct guidance from senior RSS leaders, including Mohan Bhagwat and Dattatreya Hosabale, along with other national and regional functionaries, officials added.
Bhopal, May 17 : Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel has said that education is not merely a medium for obtaining a degree of knowledge, but also about making a person useful and capable for society.

The Governor said on Friday that in the blind race of modern life, youth are being deprived of the joy of living, therefore, youths need to adopt a lifestyle of coexistence with nature.

He asserted that knowledge gained through education should be used in the service of humanity.

Governor Patel made these assertions addressing the 12th convocation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi Technological University (RGTU) in Bhopal.

"Students should remain sensitive toward family and society. They should have a sense of gratitude toward parents, teachers, community, and society and also a commitment to uplift the underprivileged," Patel said.

Addressing the gathering of students and teachers, the Governor added that happiness is not achieved by attaining material, it comes from spiritual joy, helping those in need, and acts of service.

He called for education to play a role in creating a social environment that focuses not on the display of service work, but on its outcomes.

"Convocation day is an important turning point in life, where students have to decide about their careers and the next stage of life. The obtained degree will lead them to a world full of unlimited opportunities and possibilities," Governor Patel said.

"During their time on campus, students have experienced memorable moments and made lifelong friendships. They have received invaluable lessons and abundant knowledge," he added.

"All this will prove useful in various situations in the future," he said.
Patna, May 17 : The mortal remains of the Border Security Force (BSF) officer Manish Kumar, who was martyred during cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir, reached Patna on Fiday evening, drawing an outpouring of grief and solemn tributes from across the political spectrum.

Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, along with several other leaders and officials, paid floral tribute to the braveheart at the Patna airport.

The atmosphere was filled with emotion as the state bid farewell to one of its valiant sons.

Manish Kumar, a resident of Kauakol village in Nawada district, was serving as an Army Nursing Assistant.

Amid escalating tensions along the India-Pakistan border, he had been assigned frontline duties in Jammu and Kashmir, where he laid down his life while defending the nation.

He is among four brave soldiers from Bihar recently martyred in the line of duty, including BSF Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imtiaz, a resident of Chhapra district, martyred in the RS Pura sector during Pakistani firing.

Ram Babu Singh, an Army jawan from Siwan, also lost his life while defending the border.

Sikandar Raut, a soldier posted in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara laid down his life for the nation on May 13.

Sikandar, who had joined the Indian Army in 2011, was serving with the 47 Rashtriya Rifles.

He had earlier been posted in Meerut, Delhi and Ranchi, but was recently transferred to the conflict-prone Kupwara region amid rising India-Pakistan tensions.

Following the ceremonial tribute at the airport, the body of martyr Manish Kumar was sent to his native village in Nawada, where the local administration and villagers prepared to bid their final farewell with full state honours on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Bihar Cabinet has approved a cash compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of soldiers martyred in Operation Sindoor, marking a significant gesture of solidarity and respect from the state government.
Guwahati/Imphal, May 17 : In a significant development, some MLAs and leaders of the Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur held a crucial meeting in Guwahati on Friday and demanded the Central government to resume talks with the Kuki militant outfits with whom the government earlier signed Suspension of Operation (SoO) accord, sources said.

A statement issued after the Guwahati meeting said: "The joint meeting of the MLAs, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and SoO groups today (Friday) at Guwahati resolved that until the resumption of substantive political dialogue by the Indian government with SoO groups, the CSOs and elected representatives shall no longer engage with the Indian government or its representatives."

United Peoples' Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO), which are conglomerates of 23 underground outfits, signed a SoO with the Central government on August 22, 2008, and then there are 2,266 Kuki cadres who have been staying in different designated camps in Manipur.

Congress was in power in Manipur when the SoO was signed.

A tribal leader said that in the Guwahati meeting the prominent MLAs and community leaders analysed the situation in Manipur.

"The Kuki-Zo communities' demand for a separate administrations or formation of Union Territories comprising tribal-inhabited areas is still our core issue," a tribal leader told IANS, requesting annonymity.

The tribal leader, however, refused to disclose the other decisions of the meeting.

After the imposition of President's Rule in violence-strife Manipur, situations both in Meitei-dominated valley region and tribal-inhabited hilly districts are returning to normalcy.

No major ethnic incident was reported from anywhere in the state during the past three months of President's Rule, which was imposed by the Centre on February 13, four days after N. Biren Singh's resignation from the Chief Minister's post.

The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which after the promulgation of President's Rule has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

Till March 6, around 1,000 looted and illegally held weapons, including many sophisticated arms, and a huge cache of ammunition, have been returned to the security forces since Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla made the appeal for the first time on February 20.

The first initiative to recover the looted and illegally held arms began on May 31, 2023, when former Chief Minister Biren Singh made an appeal to all concerned to surrender the firearms looted from security forces and police armouries.

Officials said that before Biren Singh's resignation as Chief Minister on February 9, a total of 3,422 firearms had been voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and police stations in different districts.

Various official reports, political parties claimed that during the ethnic riots, which broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, more than 6,020 varied types of sophisticated arms and lakhs of different types of ammunition were looted from the police stations and police outposts by the mobs, attackers and militants.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley.

Tribals a" Nagas, Kuki-Zo-Hmar -- constitute more than 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
Jaipur, May 17 : The legal troubles of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre have resurfaced in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, as the Rajasthan government has approached the High Court, challenging their acquittal.

The leave-to-appeal petition was heard on Friday in the court of Justice Manoj Kumar Garg, who directed the matter to be listed along with related pending cases.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for July 28.

According to government counsel Advocate Mahipal Vishnoi, the alleged poaching took place on October 1, 1998, in Kankani village near Jodhpur, during the shooting of the Bollywood film 'Hum Saath-Saath Hain'.

On April 5, 2018, the trial court convicted actor Salman Khan and sentenced him to five years in jail.

However, co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre, and Dushyant Singh were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence.

The state government's appeal challenges these acquittals and will also include issues related to transfer petition permissions and the sentence awarded to Salman Khan.

The Kankani Village case was reported in the year 1998 after which Salman Khan was convicted on April 5, 2018, and sent to Jodhpur Central Jail.

He was granted conditional bail on April 7, 2018, after depositing Rs 50,000. He remains out on bail, and the case is currently pending in the High Court.

Salman was sentenced to five years by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on April 10, 2006. He appealed to the High Court, which acquitted him on July 25, 2016.

The state government challenged this in the Supreme Court, where the matter remains pending.

On February 17, 2006, Salman was sentenced to one year jail by the CJM Court in another case. He was later acquitted by the High Court.

The state government again appealed in the Supreme Court, and the hearing is still pending.

Salman was also accused in Arms Act Case. Later, he was acquitted on January 18, 2017, in connection with illegal possession of arms during the poaching incidents.
MANILA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it is "actively monitoring" COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia amid a reported rise in cases in parts of the region.

"We are actively coordinating through established mechanisms like the ASEAN. This gives us verified information, boosting readiness even as we see no cause for alarm," the agency said in a statement.

As of May 3, 2025, the DOH reported an 87 percent decrease in cases and fatalities compared to 2024 in the Philippines, with only 1,774 COVID-19 cases reported this year, down from 14,074 cases last year.

"The case fatality rate is only 1.13 percent," the agency added.

The DOH said it is committed to keeping the public informed and will provide timely updates should the situation evolve. 
Imphal, May 17 : The Manipur government has extended the services of 10,500 Village Defence Force (VDF) personnel for one more year, officials said here.

Manipur government's Home Department's Joint Secretary, Mayengbam Veto Singh, said on Friday that the state government recognises the roles played by the VDF personnel as a major component of manpower of the Manipur Police in providing security to the general public.

He added that as per terms and conditions of service of VDF, engagement of VDF would be initially for one year and extendable from time to time as per the requirement of the situation and the state government from time-to-time extended the period of engagement of VDF personnel after verification of requirement and posting.

Singh said that the Governor-in-Council in its meeting, on Thursday, had approved the extension of the period of engagement of service of the existing 10,500 VDF personnel for a period of one year with effect from April 1, 2025 and till March 31, 2026.

The VDF personnel were deployed across the state and assisted the security forces in maintaining the law and order situation and ensuring the security of the villagers and local inhabitants.

Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, chaired the meeting of 'Governor-in-Council' on Thursday at the Raj Bhavan.

A Raj Bhavan official said that the meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh along with Commissioners, Secretary to Governor and Secretaries from various departments.

Several proposals were discussed, mainly focusing on development projects, administrative improvements and steps to strengthen overall governance, the official said.

He added that the discussions reflected the government's efforts to improve coordination and ensure better delivery of public services.

Meanwhile, earlier the All Manipur VDF Employees' Welfare Association threatened to launch an agitation demanding to extend their service period and increase their honorarium.

The VDF personnel were also deployed in many conflict-prone red zones assisting in counter-insurgency operations and protecting civilians in peripheral areas.
Kolkata, May 17 : The office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has announced the suspension of an officer involved in the electoral process for his inappropriate behaviour which according to the CEO office, "tantamount to gross misconduct in discharge of duties."

According to the order issued by CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal, the action against Arun Gorain, assistant system manager, Kakdwip sub-division in South 24 Parganas district, had been initiated following a complaint lodged against him accusing him of having inserted his mobile number in the login credentials of a block development officer (BDO) and assistant election returning officer (AERO) in the same division of the same district.

According to the order, on being issued a showcause notice Gorain said that he had taken necessary action in the matter to avoid recurrence of such activities and also apologised for it, the office of CEO finds his action as tantamounting to gross misconduct in the discharge of his assigned official duties and malafide intention, whereby he committed fraud and cheating by inserting his mobile number in an unauthorised manner in the login credential of the BDO and AERO.

In the order it has also been said that this misconduct on part of Gorain is a gross breach of official duty under Section 32 of the Representation of the People's Act, 1950, and he is thus liable for prosecution.

Therefore, as per order, Gorain had been kept under suspension with immediate effect pending completion of major penalty proceedings to be initiated against him, after receipt of the draft charge sheet in the matter.

During the period of suspension Gorain will be entitled to receive subsistence allowance as per his service conditions, as per the order copy.
Washington, May 17 : US President Donald Trump has said that he is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the war against Hamas in Gaza persists.

"No, look, he's got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes," Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview from Abu Dhabi.

"That problem should have never happened."

Trump did not stop in Israel during his first official foreign trip to the Middle East, where he travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Baier asked Trump if he thinks Netanyahu believes a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for the region, as the administration engages in negotiations.

"Bibi, he's an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he's been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he's been sort of helped because I think he's fought hard and bravely," Trump responded.

Trump, who has repeatedly said that Gaza should be taken over by the US and developed, reiterated that the region should become a "freedom zone".

"Gaza is a nasty place. It's been that way for years. I think it should become a free zone, you know, freedom, I call it a freedom zone," the US President said.

"They have Hamas. Everybody is being killed all over the place. I mean, you ever see, you talk about crime stats? It's a nasty place."

President Trump signalled on Friday that he wants the US to help take care of the situation in Gaza after a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes overnight, saying "a lot of people are starving" and that he expected "a lot of good things" in the next month.

"I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we're going to see, we have to help also out the Palestinians," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday as he returned to the US after his Middle East trip.

When asked by a reporter whether he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza, the President responded: "You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides."

"But we'll, we're going to do a good job," he added.

Earlier on Friday, speaking in the United Arab Emirates on the last leg of his visit to three Gulf nations, Trump said: "We're looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people. There's a lot of bad things going on."

The Israeli military intensified operations across Gaza on Thursday, killing more than 100 people and pledging to continue bombings as Trump suggested establishing a "freedom zone" in the enclave.

Many of the casualties were in Jabalya in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis in the south, according to Gaza Civil Defence.

On Thursday, the US President reiterated his desire to take over the Gaza Strip, telling a business roundtable in Qatar that the US would "make it a freedom zone".

Asked if the three countries he visited in the Middle East would be part of the solution, Trump said: "I spoke to all three of them, they would absolutely be. I mean, they're really rich and really, really, really, even more than rich, they're good people, and they would help. And so, money is not even the problem. You got to get countries to say, yes, take them."
Seoul, May 17 : South Korea has discussed ways of enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation with the United States, China, Japan and several other partner nations on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting amid heightened uncertainties in the global economic and trade landscape, the industry ministry said.

The two-day APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting took place on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju from Thursday, providing an opportunity for trade ministers of regional economies to engage in one-on-one discussions, according the Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports Yonhap news agency.

On the sidelines of the meeting, South Korean trade and industry officials held high-level bilateral talks with representatives from 14 of the 20 other APEC member economies, as well as with the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to explore avenues for trade cooperation and coordination.

"During my meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer yesterday, I explained the current political situation and other domestic issues ahead of the upcoming presidential election. We also reviewed the procedures necessary to conclude the negotiations," Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said during a press briefing.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun is scheduled to meet with Greer later in the day, which "is expected to be a chance for the two sides to understand each other's positions during these two rounds of tariff talks," he added.

Last month, the Donald Trump administration began imposing reciprocal tariffs on partner nations, including 25 percent duties on South Korea, only to pause them shortly afterward to allow for one-on-one negotiations.

Seoul and Washington subsequently agreed to work toward a "July package" deal on trade and other related issues before July 8, when Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is to expire.

Cheong met with senior officials from Japan's economic and foreign ministries on Jeju, where the two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in advanced industries, hydrogen and other new energy sectors, and supply chains, according to the ministry.

In a separate meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Cheong requested active support for South Korean companies operating in the Southeast Asian nation.

"The government will make every effort to mitigate uncertainties in the trade environment and external risks by further strengthening the foundation for cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region," the ministry said in a statement.

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Baghdad, May 17 : Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid met with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Baghdad to discuss advancing regional peace and the upcoming 34th Arab League Summit.

Rashid on Friday, welcomed Guterres and thanked him for attending the upcoming summit, according to a statement from the Iraqi Presidency.

Rashid praised the longstanding and constructive partnership between Iraq and the UN, as well as the vital humanitarian and development work carried out by UN agencies operating in Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the statement.

Hosting the summit reflects Iraq's renewed role as a regional convener and its commitment to supporting multilateral initiatives that enhance security and cooperation, Rashid said, expressing hope that the summit would yield meaningful decisions to reinforce collective Arab action and solidarity.

Guterres commended Iraq's increasingly proactive role in promoting regional stability and voiced optimism about the summit's potential to enhance Arab cooperation, accelerate sustainable development, and strengthen efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability across the region and beyond, the statement added.

The meeting also addressed key themes and expected outcomes of the summit, including proposed resolutions aimed at fostering peace, unity, and prosperity across the Arab world, the statement said.

The summit, scheduled for Saturday in Baghdad, will focus centrally on the Palestinian issue. It marks the second such event hosted by Iraq since the 2003 US invasion.
Jerusalem, May 17 : The Israeli military said that it had stepped up its operations in the Gaza Strip, launching a wave of airstrikes and deploying additional ground forces in an effort to establish operational control in parts of the enclave.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday, said the intensified assault marked the start of a new operation codenamed 'Gideon's Chariots,' which aims to expand the scope of fighting and advance key war objectives, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

"IDF troops will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war," the military said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days as part of efforts to defeat Hamas, Xinhua news agency reported.

Health officials in Gaza said at least 109 people were killed and 216 wounded in the northern part of the territory on Friday amid the latest Israeli bombardment.

The intensification followed Israel's resumption of military operations in Gaza on March 18, after a brief lull in fighting. Since then, at least 2,985 Palestinians have been killed and 8,173 injured, bringing the total number of deaths since the conflict erupted in October 2023 to 53,119, with 120,214 wounded, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of disregarding ongoing ceasefire mediation efforts, saying the Israeli government is pursuing "an endless war."

"Israel is responding to mediation efforts with military pressure on civilians, mass bombing, and more suffering for the Palestinian people in a desperate attempt to impose its terms under fire," the group said in a statement.

The Hamas-Israel war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a land, sea, and air assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip. The October 7 attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, primarily Israeli citizens, making it the deadliest day for Israel since its independence. More than 240 Israeli citizens were taken hostage during the attack.

The next day, Israel declared itself in a state of war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Mumbai, May 17 : Actress Parul Gulati made her debut at the 78th Cannes Film Festival and attended the world premiere of Eddington by director Ari Aster. She said she wanted my red carpet look to reflect individuality and risk-taking.

The film stars global icons Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascal has been one of the most talked-about entries at the festival this year.

Parul shared: "Attending the Cannes Film Festival has been a long-standing dream of minenot just as an actor, but as someone who is deeply in love with the art of cinema. Being able to walk the red carpet at the premiere of Eddington was surreal."

She added: "Ari Aster's work has always fascinated me, and to witness a film of this scale, starring artists like Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascalactors I've admired for yearswas a true full-circle moment."

Parul called the experience more than a milestone.

"It's a reminder of why we tell stories, why we watch them, and why cinema matters. I wanted my red carpet look to reflect that same spirit of individuality and risk-taking. Wearing an outfit made entirely out of human hair wasn't just about pushing fashion boundariesit was a homage to my journey, to every woman who's ever embraced her uniqueness, and to the idea that our rootsquite literallycan be our biggest strength."

"To represent both my creative and entrepreneurial side at a platform as iconic as Cannes is a moment I'll never forget."

For the red carpet, Parul made a bold fashion statement in a custom-made ensemble crafted entirely out of hair, conceptualised by herself and designed by celebrated stylist and designer Mohit Rai and Riddhi Bansal.

The outfit took over a month to bring to life, involved a team of 12 skilled artisans, and took long painstaking hours of detailed craftsmanship.
Los Angeles, May 17 : Actress Jessica Chastain has said that she is still trying to master Italian so she can speak to her husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo in his native language.

Chastain has been married to Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo since June 2017 and the couple have two children, daughter Giulietta and son Augustus, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Speaking to Italian publication IO Donna, Chastain said: "I tried and Iam still trying to learn Italian, since itas part of my family, but I still donat feel confident enough to speak without difficulty.

"I also studied four years of French in high school, alas I donat remember anything. In the public school system in the United States, unfortunately, you donat learn much."

The 48-year-old actress lives in New York with her family and although it would be easy for her to relocate to Italy she has never considered quitting America, despite the political upheaval she feels since Donald Trump was re-elected as US President.

Chastain said: "I have loved New York since the first time I went there, on a school trip when I was still a high school student in California. New York is my favourite city in the world. I love walking down the streets and hearing so many different languages, so many different accents.

"Among the many things I like about the city, there is one fundamental: it erases class differences at least twice a day, when everyone a" including me when I walk my children to school a" takes the subway.

"I realise that living in the United States at this time in history means having to accept many decisions and political statements that I do not agree with, especially when it comes to immigration. But I still believe in the good of the United States and I want to be a part of it. Leaving would seem like giving up. And I am not one to give up, so I will not do it just because of one bad apple."
Mumbai, May 17 : In a major crackdown on gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, arrested a Chadian national who arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Addis Ababa, after seizing 4,015 grams of gold worth Rs 3.86 crore ingeniously concealed in the heels of his slippers.

Acting on specific Intelligence, DRI officers intercepted the male passenger shortly after his arrival in Mumbai. Upon conducting a personal search, the officers discovered multiple foreign-origin gold bars cleverly hidden inside the modified heels of the manas slippers.

In his voluntary statement recorded by officials, the Chadian national admitted to concealing the gold in this unusual manner to bypass customs checks and evade legal detection. The gold was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and the passenger was placed under arrest.

Officials stated that further investigations are underway to trace the origin and intended recipients of the smuggled consignment and to determine if the incident is linked to a broader smuggling network.

This seizure adds to a growing list of recent smuggling attempts intercepted by vigilant DRI officials.

In an earlier case from April 2025, DRI Mumbai had seized foreign-origin gold worth Rs 6.30 crore from a passenger who had arrived at CSMIA from Bangkok. The gold, hidden in specially designed compartments of the passengeras luggage, was also seized under the Customs Act, with the individual arrested immediately.

The DRI continues to maintain a strict vigil at international entry points, using a combination of Intelligence gathering and surveillance to thwart attempts at smuggling precious metals and other contraband. The agency reiterated its commitment to cracking down on such offenses, which pose a serious threat to economic stability and border security.
Islamabad, May 17 : Renowned Pakistani doctor Sheikh Ahmad Mahmood, belonging to the minority Ahmadiyya community, was shot inside Sargodha's Fatima Hospital in the Punjab province by extremist elements because of his faith, according to local media reports.

The police report stated that the gunman, on Friday, arrived at the hospital dressed in the uniform of "Clean Punjab Program" staff, approached the deceased and shot him two times in the back while saying: "I won't spare you today, Mahmood," critically damaging his internal organs.

The doctor was taken to the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The attacker fled the scene after the fatal shooting with another person who arrived on a motorcycle.

In a press release issued by the Ahmadiyya community, the doctor had been receiving threats for some time from extremist elements because of his faith, and they were forcing him to change the location of his job.

"He was a very charitable person and had no enmity with anyone," the Ahmadiyya community spokesperson said about the deceased, who was killed because of his faith.

According to the community, this was the third Ahmadiyya to be targeted in the past month.

"The sudden increase in the continuous target killing of Ahmadis due to differences in faith indicates a systematic wave. This is increasing the sense of insecurity among Ahmadis. This requires immediate attention and effective measures from the law enforcement agencies. The continuous increase in hate incidents against Ahmadis is condemnable. The higher authorities should take notice of these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice according to the law," the statement read.

The spokesperson alleged that extremist elements were functioning against Ahmadiyya in Sargodha as well as in other areas, with frivolous cases being registered against them, and hate speeches were made to prevent the community from observing their religious rituals.

Reports suggested that last month, a 46-year-old businessman was lynched when a few hundred supporters of a religio-political party stormed a place of worship belonging to the Ahmadiyya community in Karachi's Saddar area to prevent them from performing religious rituals.

In March, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in a report titled 'Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023-24', revealed that freedom of religion or belief remains under constant threat in Pakistan, with religiously motivated violence and discrimination increasing yearly.

The report cited an increasing trend of mob-led attacks on the homes of families belonging to religious minorities, as well as their places of worship.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Friday officially returned the Zidanku Silk Manuscript volumes II and III: Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan from the Warring States period to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration.
Kolkata, May 17 : With the crucial meeting of the Niti Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled for May 24, there is no indication so far on whether Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be present at the meeting or not.

A senior member from the state Cabinet confirmed that the Chief Minister has not given any indication within the Cabinet or within the party on whether she would be personally present at the Niti Aayog meeting, or if she would depute someone to attend the same on her behalf.

"She will inform everyone about her decision in the matter at the right moment," the Cabinet member said while confirming that there is no pre-scheduled programme of the Chief Minister in the state on the day of the Niti Aayog meeting.

To recall, in the last meeting of the Niti Aayog on July 27 last year, there were a lot of controversies as Mamata Banerjee walked out of the meeting midway after making the accusation that her microphone was muted in the middle of her speech and hence, she could not speak for more than five minutes.

Mamata Banerjee also accused the organisers of discrimination against her on this count.

She claimed that she was allowed to speak only for five minutes, whereas representatives in the meeting who spoke before her were allowed 10 to 20 minutes to present their speeches.

However, the Union Government dismissed her allegations on the fact-check handle of the Press Information Bureau.

The PIB statement, which was issued then, claimed that Mamata Banerjee's speaking time in that meeting was over, and even the bell was not rung to mark it.

Incidentally, Mamata Banerjee was the only Chief Minister from any non-NDA ruled state to attend the Niti Aayog meeting.

She decided to attend the meeting despite the Chief Ministers from the Opposition INDIA bloc deciding to boycott the meeting.

Because of her decision to attend the meeting, some members in the Opposition bloc also raised the point of a clandestine understanding between the BJP and Trinamool Congress.
New Delhi, May 17 : Just a while after the Centre announced the names of seven Members of Parliament (MPs) who would lead Indian delegations abroad to expose Pakistan's role in the recent Pahalgam terror attack, the Congress on Saturday revealed its own list of nominated MPs that it had sent to the government for the endeavour and notably senior leader and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor's name was missing from the list.

While Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has named Tharoor as one of the leaders of the delegations alongside MPs from other parties, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh's post revealed that the list of four MPs sent to the government by the party did not mention Tharoor among them.

"Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, spoke with the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan," Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

He added that by noon on May 16, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had written to Rijiju with four names on behalf of the party: Former Union Minister Anand Sharma, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain, and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar.

India has decided to send seven All-Party Delegations to strategic partner nations, including members of the UN Security Council, with the objective of presenting a united stance on cross-border terrorism and exposing Pakistan's alleged involvement in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people.

The delegations will include MPs from different political parties, prominent figures, and senior diplomats.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has named Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) as those expected to lead the delegations.

According to the Ministry, these delegations are expected to visit key partner countries such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Egypt, and Japan later this month.
New Delhi, May 17 : Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he was "honoured" to be chosen by the Government of India to lead one of the all-party delegations travelling to key world capitals in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, asserting that when national interest is involved, he would "not be found wanting."

Tharoor's acceptance statement came even as the Congress revealed that it had excluded him from the list of MPs it had officially submitted to the Centre for the initiative.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs named Tharoor among the seven MPs selected to lead the diplomatic outreach, aimed at exposing Pakistan's alleged involvement in the April 22 attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.

Taking to X, Tharoor posted, "I am honoured by the invitation of the Government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nation's point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!"

Tharoor is among seven MPs, including BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, JD(U)'s Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMK's Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena's Shrikant Eknath Shinde, chosen to lead the delegations.

The government has tasked the teams with presenting a united Indian stance on terrorism and countering Islamabad's narrative globally.

The Congress, however, appeared to distance itself from Tharoor's inclusion.

Just hours after the Centre announced the names of delegation heads, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh revealed the four names the party had officially submitted to the government -- Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Raja Brar. It showed that Tharoor was not the Congress' choice.

"Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, spoke with the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan," Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

He added that by noon on May 16, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had written to Rijiju with four names on behalf of the party: Former Union Minister Anand Sharma, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain, and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar.

This apparent disconnect between the Centre's announcement and the Congress list has further sharpened the spotlight on Tharoor, who has recently drawn criticism from within the party for praising the Modi government following the success of 'Operation Sindoor'.

Despite the political discord, the government-led initiative marks a rare moment of bipartisan coordination in India's foreign policy outreach.

The delegations will visit key partner countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Egypt, and Japan later this month.

The mission's dual focus will be to brief foreign governments on the Pahalgam attack and underline that India's retaliatory 'Operation Sindoor' specifically targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied regions, not civilians.
New Delhi, May 17 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday inaugurated a new water pipeline project in the Pitampura area, as part of her ongoing efforts to upgrade essential infrastructure across the Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency.

The project, which will lay a new pipeline from the Delhi Jal Board office in Singalpur to CA Block's Shiv Murti Chowk, aims to improve water supply in the area and resolve long-standing issues faced by local residents.

Speaking at the inauguration, CM Gupta addressed the problems caused by the ageing water pipeline network.

"People were facing constant difficulties due to the old pipeline system. The supply was irregular and inadequate," she said.

"With the new pipeline being installed, these problems will be resolved. Our government is committed to fulfilling promises that were left incomplete by the previous administration," she said.

Highlighting her connection to the constituency and her dedication to governance, CM Gupta added, "I have been elected from this area with the highest number of votes in Delhi. I see great hope in this government and in myself as a legislator. My responsibility is not just to develop Delhi but to stand with my people. As Chief Minister, I am ready to work 24X7 for this state. Our team, our MLAs, our ministers are working with 100 per cent dedication and complete teamwork."

The Chief Minister also touched upon national issues, invoking a powerful message on unity and national security.

"As rightly said by PM Modi, 'blood and water cannot flow together.' The entire nation stands with this sentiment, 140 crore Indians stand with PM Modi and our brave armed forces," she said.

CM Gupta also visited Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Mangolpuri to assess public health services. She was warmly received by hospital staff and accompanied by BJP MP Chandolia. During her visit, she interacted with patients and conducted inspections of several hospital departments to evaluate facilities and ongoing medical services.

CM Gupta reiterated her commitment to holistic development, ensuring that basic needs, such as clean water and accessible healthcare, remain top priorities for her administration.
New Delhi, May 17 : In a significant diplomatic initiative following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22, the Government of India has announced that it will send multiple all-party delegations of Members of Parliament (MPs) to key countries around the world. Among those named to these delegations is NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP, Supriya Sule, who expressed her gratitude and sense of responsibility upon being selected for the key outreach mission.

Taking to social media platform X, Sule wrote in a post: "I am honoured to join the all-party delegation representing India on the global stage. I humbly accept this responsibility and thank Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, Minister Kiren Rijiju ji and the Ministry of External Affairs. I am deeply grateful to the people of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency for your continued support. Our mission is to convey India's united and unwavering message of zero tolerance against terrorism. We stand as one nation  proud, strong, and unwavering. Jai Hind!"

The aim of this move is to expose Pakistan's alleged role in the attack and present a united Indian front in the global fight against terrorism.

The decision to deploy these delegations comes as part of India's diplomatic counteroffensive strategy to rally international support against terrorism and to spotlight Pakistan's alleged complicity in cross-border attacks.

According to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, seven delegations will be formed, each comprising MPs from across party lines, senior diplomats, and other prominent political figures.

The list of MPs expected to lead these delegations includes prominent names such as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, JD(U)'s Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMK's Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena's Shrikant Eknath Shinde.

These delegations will be visiting key partner nations later this month, including members of the United Nations Security Council, to present India's case with unity and resolve. The government hopes that this cross-party initiative will reinforce India's global message of zero tolerance towards terrorism and enhance international cooperation in tackling security threats.

This diplomatic outreach also showcases a rare moment of political consensus in India, with leaders from diverse parties coming together to defend national interests and highlight India's firm position on global platforms.
Seoul, May 17 : Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday announced his departure from the People Power Party (PPP), urging the public to support the party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo.

In a post on his Facebook account, Yoon said, "I am leaving the People Power Party today," adding, "Although I am leaving the party, I will continue to stand at the forefront to defend freedom and national sovereignty."

He also called on voters to unite behind Kim, emphasising the importance of participating in the upcoming election.

"Please give your support to Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party. Make sure to cast your vote. Every single vote is a path toward safeguarding this country's freedom, sovereignty and prosperity," he said.

Yoon was removed from office in April over his botched martial law attempt in December and is facing a criminal trial.

Calls have been growing within the conservative PPP for the ousted President to sever his ties with the party, with many members believing that his departure is necessary to help boost Kim's stagnant poll numbers against Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung.

"I believe the (former) President will make a rational decision," Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim party leader, said during a Press conference on Thursday. "As the interim leader, I would respectfully recommend the President leave the party."

PPP candidate Kim had largely retained a neutral position about Yoon's potential exit from the party, saying it was up to Yoon to decide whether to leave the PPP, while more centrist members of the party had called for the leadership to voluntarily expunge Yoon's party affiliation.

After Yoon's announcement, the PPP candidate said he "respects" the former President's decision to leave the party, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We will humbly accept his decision and work to make the party more united and innovative, so that the party, the campaign and the presidency can align with the will of the people," Kim Moon-soo told reporters after a campaign meeting at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Centre in Gwangju, some 270 kilometres south of Seoul.

When asked whether there had been any prior coordination with Yoon on his withdrawal, candidate Kim replied, "None at all."

Rival parties slammed Yoon's PPP departure, claiming that his statement lacks a sense of apology to the public for his martial law fiasco.

DP spokesperson Rep. Hwang Jung-a said during a briefing, "Yoon Suk Yeol's departure statement is filled with delusion and self-obsession, with no trace of reflection or apology."

"The PPP has forever branded itself as a pathetic remnant of insurrectionists, having failed to expel the leader of insurrection with its own hands."

Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the minor New Reform Party, also criticised Yoon.

"It is repugnant that the very person who caused chaos consumed by delusions of election fraud is speaking of freedom, rule of law, sovereignty, happiness and security." Lee wrote on his Facebook account.
Seoul, May 17 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw anti-air combat and air raid drills by an air force flight group this week, stressing the need for constant and stronger war preparations across all military units, Pyongyang's state media reported on Saturday.

Kim gave the guidance during his visit on Thursday to the flight group under the Guards 1st Air Division of the Korean People's Army, calling on "all the units of the entire army to bring about a radical turn in the preparations for war in constant war posture," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The drills were aimed at familiarising flying corps as well as anti-air missile, radar and electronic warfare subunits with the mission to detect, track and destroy enemy cruise missiles and suicide drones, according to the KCNA.

The drills included a test of a new-type long-range precision glide guided bomb and a target attack exercise, as well as a training program for destroying enemy drones with a helicopter, precision bombing of naval targets and a demonstration flight of strategic reconnaissance drones and multipurpose drones, the KCNA said.

Kim touted the drills as "very useful" for allowing pilots to gain experience in modern air combat methods, and presented directions for the development of air weapon systems, air defence means, detection and electronic warfare integrated systems and anti-drone integrated systems, according to the KCNA.

The drills proved the air defence capabilities of the groups under the Guards 1st Air Division, the state media noted.

State media photos showed a range of the North's latest air assets, such as the MiG-29 and the Su-25 aircraft, deployed for the drills.

Among the photos were what appeared to be a new air-to-air missile, first showcased in a 2021 arms fair, being launched from the MiG-29 fighter jet.

"It is presumed to be a localised version of Russia's R-27 mid-to-long range air-to-air missile developed by the Russian Air Force to be equipped on the MiG-29," Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, raising the possibility of Pyongyang receiving technological assistance from Moscow.

State media photos also showed North Korean drones resembling the US Global Hawk and the Reaper, Yonhap news agency reported.

The latest drills came as Kim has been highlighting the importance of modernising conventional weapons as he recently made a series of public visits to military units and munitions factories.

Kim was accompanied by a group of party and military officials, including Ri Pyong-chol, general adviser for the munitions policy of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, and Kim Yong-hwan, president of the Academy of Defence Sciences.
Colombo, May 17 : The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, along with Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre and Bihar Museum, organised 'Dhamma Rupa' exhibition as part of the Buddha Rashmi Vesak Festival at Seemamalakaya, Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo.

The event scheduled from May 12-16 was attended by several dignitaries including Sri Lankan Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament.

"Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MPs and dignitaries attended the 'Dhamma Rupa' exhibition, organised by High Commission of India in Colombo with ICCR's Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre and Bihar Museum at Seemamalakaya, Gangaramaya Temple from May 12-16 as part of the Buddha Rashmi Vesak Festival," Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on X on Saturday.

"The exhibition received widespread appreciation from devotees for its spiritual and cultural insights. To mark the occasion, Sinhala translations of 5 Amar Chitra Katha Jataka Tales were gifted to visiting children, connecting young minds with the teachings of Lord Buddha," the post added.

The 'Dhamma Rupa' Exhibition celebrates India's rich Buddhist sculptural legacy and presents rare photographic displays of iconic Buddha sculptures dating from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE.

It showcases striking images of ancient Buddha sculptures excavated from various regions of India, now housed in the Bihar Museum.

These sculptures reflect the spiritual depth and exquisite craftsmanship of early Buddhist artists and offer visitors a unique opportunity to experience the artistic and devotional expressions of Buddhist art from this formative period.

Recognised as the most sacred Buddhist festival, Vesak commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Lord Buddha. The 'Buddha Rashmi 2025' National Vesak Zone aims to foster spiritual revival, cultural appreciation, and harmony among Buddhist devotees.

Earlier this week, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, accompanied by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, inaugurated the exhibition during the opening of the Vesak Festival at Gangaramaya.

The event, which was jointly organised by the Prime Minister's Office and Gangaramaya Temple on May 12, saw the participation of Ministers and other dignitaries.

The High Commission of India also distributed copies of the Sinhala translations of five Amar Chitra Katha comic books based on Jataka Tales at the exhibition venue to the visiting children as part of a special initiative to creatively engage young minds with the teachings and values of Lord Buddha.

These initiatives reflect the continuing commitment of India to preserve, share, and celebrate the common Buddhist heritage of India and Sri Lanka.

It is a reaffirmation of the deep-rooted civilisational ties and enduring cultural bond that unite the two nations through the timeless teachings of the Lord Buddha.
New Delhi, May 17 : Renowned spiritual leader and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya made a bold statement on Saturday, asserting that had the ceasefire between India and Pakistan been delayed by even a couple of days, Pakistan could have been "wiped off the global map."

Addressing media persons, he said, "If the ceasefire understanding was delayed by 1-2 days, Pakistan would have been erased from the global map."

When asked about Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, he said, "It was very good and we have taken the revenge for the killing of innocent people."

Quoting a mantra from a scripture, he said, even our religion shows that the wicked should be taught a lesson.

He appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor.

Swami Rambhadracharya also said that he recently met with top officials of the armed forces and told them that the country wants Pakistan-occupied Kashmir back.

On Santana Dharma, he said those opposing it will face ruin.

When asked how he felt after receiving the award, Swami Rambhadracharya said, "I feel like a student who has scored 100 per cent marks. I feel like my 76-year-long hard work for knowledge has become successful. I am now encouraged to write more scriptures."

Swami Rambhadracharya proudly shared that he has penned four epics in Sanskrit.

Swami Rambhadracharya said he wants to enlighten the virtue of the goddess of Vedic sanskriti in the hearts of 140 crore people of the country.

Notably, President Droupadi Murmu, on Friday, conferred the spiritual guru with the 58th Jnanpith Award for his invaluable contributions in the field of literature and social service.

Hailing the spiritual guru, President Murmu said that he has set an inspiring example of excellence.

The President praised his multi-faceted contributions and said that he has rendered extraordinary service to literature and society with his divine vision.
Dhaka, May 17 : A Bangladesh court on Saturday sentenced one accused in the Magura child rape and murder case to death, and acquitted the remaining three. However, the family of the victim expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict.

The judgment came months after the eight-year-old child succumbed to injuries following the sexual assault, local media reported.

Judge Md Zahid Hasan of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal passed the order sentencing the prime accused in the case, Hitu Sheikh, aged 50, to death.

The victim's mother who filed the case has expressed dissatisfaction to accept the acquittal of the other three accused in the rape and murder case.

"Although Hitu Sheikh has been sentenced to death, the other three accused have been acquitted. We cannot accept this verdict," a leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Dhaka Tribune, quoted her as saying.

"The plaintiff is not satisfied with this verdict. Therefore, we will decide through discussion whether to appeal this verdict in the higher court," said Monirul Islam Mukul, the public prosecutor.

According to reports, the tragic incident occurred in early March when the young victim was raped at her sister's house in Magura.

The child, who sustained critical injuries, was initially treated in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital before being transferred to CMH Hospital for advanced care.

The 8-year-old rape victim passed away on March 13 at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka, after fighting for her life for a week.

The brutal incident sparked protests across the country against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, demanding justice and stricter measures to curb violence against women and children.

Women in Bangladesh took to the streets demanding justice for rape, stricter punishment for offenders, and the resignation of Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

Meanwhile, on Friday several thousand women thronged Dhaka, marching under "Women's March for Solidarity" demanding that the interim government act against the threats women and minority communities face in the country.

They also alleged a misinformation campaign against the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, local media reported.

The demonstrators said that women continue to face daily harassment, exclusion from decision-making, and online abuse, aimed at deterring their political participation.

With the Yunus-led interim government assuming power in the South Asian nation last year, several cases of sexual violence against women have been reported.
NEW DELHI, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At least two people died and a few others were trapped under the debris of an under-construction house which collapsed in Delhi's Paharganj area on Saturday, according to Delhi Police.

While two dead bodies had been recovered, efforts were on to bring out those still trapped under the rubble, said the local police.

The Delhi Fire Service rushed four fire brigades to the site of the incident to carry out relief and rescue work.

Further details were awaited. 
Mumbai, May 17 : Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde on Saturday expressed his heartfelt thanks to the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointing him to lead one of the all-party delegations that will travel to key partner nations to highlight India's resolute stance against terrorism.

The mission comes in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent people and involved two Pakistani terrorists.

Shinde said the delegation would clearly articulate India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism and unmask Pakistan's continued patronage of terror elements operating from its soil.

These comments come as the Indian government gears up to dispatch seven bipartisan delegations to prominent global capitals as part of its diplomatic counteroffensive.

Writing on X, Shinde said, "Nation Always First..!! As part of 'Operation Sindoor' and India's ongoing efforts to combat cross-border terrorism, seven all-party delegations are scheduled to visit key partner nations, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month."

"I have the honour of leading one of these delegations. We will firmly convey to the international community that terrorism has no place in India, and that it is Pakistan which continues to nurture terrorism on its own soil," he added.

He further underlined the importance of political unity on such issues.

"When it comes to matters of national interest, there is no division, only duty. It is a privilege to serve my country in this capacity, and I will carry out this sacred responsibility with unwavering devotion and a resolute commitment to India's zero tolerance stance against terrorism," Shinde stated.

He concluded his message with a note of gratitude: "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for entrusting me with this important responsibility. Jai Hind!!"

The delegations will include Members of Parliament Shashi Tharoor from the Congress, Baijayant Panda and Ravi Shankar Prasad from the BJP, Sanjay Kumar Jha from the JD(U), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from the DMK, Supriya Sule from the NCP (SP), and Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena.

These leaders are expected to visit several important nations such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Egypt, and Japan later this month.

According to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the initiative is aimed at presenting a unified Indian political front against terrorism while building international consensus to hold Pakistan accountable for fostering terror on its territory.

Other Members of Parliament expected to be part of the delegations include BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and Tejasvi Surya, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Congress MP Manish Tewari, and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Chennai, May 17 : The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) will submit a detailed report to the Union government within the next two days on the caste-based violence that erupted in Vadakadu village in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district earlier this month.

Chennai, May 17 (IANS) The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) will submit a detailed report to the Union government within the next two days on the caste-based violence that erupted in Vadakadu village in Tamil Naduas Pudukkottai district earlier this month.

The announcement was made by NCSC Director S. Ravivarman, who visited Thiruvalluvar Nagar -- the epicentre of the May 5 clash between Dalits and caste Hindus -- on Friday.

He was accompanied by Pudukkottai District Superintendent of Police Abhishek Gupta, NCSC investigation officer Suresh, and senior intelligence officer S. Lister.

Before inspecting the violence-hit area, the NCSC team visited the Government Medical College Hospital, where several injured victims are undergoing treatment.

The violent altercation, reportedly sparked by longstanding tensions, left over 20 people injured. A Dalit residentas hut was torched, and several vehicles were vandalised during the unrest.

So far, 29 individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident.

District Collector M. Aruna conducted her first inspection of Thiruvalluvar Nagar on Friday, following a directive from the court.

Ravivarman, in a statement, said that a comprehensive field assessment had been completed and emphasized the need for urgent rehabilitation of the affected Dalit families.

He added that local authorities have been instructed to ensure the safety of the victims and arrange the timely disbursal of compensation.

The Vadakadu incident is the latest in a series of caste-related clashes that have plagued southern Tamil Nadu. Districts such as Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, and Pudukkottai have witnessed frequent outbreaks of violence involving Dalits and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities, particularly the Thevars.

These conflicts have resulted in multiple casualties and widespread social unrest.

The NCSCas forthcoming report is expected to outline specific recommendations for curbing caste-based violence in the region and ensuring justice for the affected communities.
Mumbai, May 17 : The trailer of the upcoming Marathi film 'Snow Flower', which stars Chhaya Kadam, was unveiled at the Bharat Pavilion during the ongoing edition of the Cannes Film Festival in the French Riviera. The film is directed by National award-winning filmmaker Gajendra Ahire.

Chhaya returned to Cannes Film Festival after the terrific win of her film 'All We Imagine As Light' helmed by Payal Kapadia.

'Snow Flower' revolves around the emotional and determined journey of two Indian grandparents fighting against all odds to gain custody of their granddaughter. The film's cross-border emotional arc is rooted in Marathi storytelling.

Talking about her return to Cannes, Chhaya Kadam said in a statement, "Coming back to Cannes with Snow Flower is emotional in ways I can't express. The film is truly special and touches the right chord and it is really close to my heart. The film, though in Marathi, is one that will resonate with everyone who watches it".

The film is produced by Deepak Kumar Bhagat of Percy Vs Goliath and Rekha Bhagat. It also stars Vaibhav Mangale, Sarfaraz Alam and Manawa Devendra Bhagwat among others.

Talking about the film, director Gajendra Ahire said, "I am grateful to the Maharashtra State Government and MFSCDC for this opportunity and to Deepak and Rekha for allowing me to tell this story. Snow Flower is a story that needed to be told. It is about the emotional bridges we build across borders and the power of family. Cannes is the perfect stage for this story to begin its journey".

Last year, Chhaya Kadam walked the red carpet for 'All We Imagine as Light', which went on to win the Grand Prix and also had 'Sister Midnight' as an official selection at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes. This year, she brought the same grace and passion to the festival as she presented Snow Flower, a film that she describes as "close to the heart and rooted in truth".

Snow Flower is part of a showcase by The Maharashtra Film, Stage, and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDC), Government of Maharashtra.
New Delhi, May 17 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor and likened the destruction of terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir to the killing of Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden by the US forces in Abbottabad in that country in 2011.

Addressing the Annual Convocation of Jaipuria Institute of Management at Bharat Mandapam, Dhankhar congratulated PM Modi and the Armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor and said, "It was a remarkable retaliation befitting our ethos of peace and tranquility... Bharat has done it and done it to the knowledge of the global community."

"Justice done by Bharat to sindoor in sublimity," he said, highlighting it as India's deepest ever cross-border strike, executed "carefully, precisely, calibrated" to cause no damage, except to terrorists.

Without naming bin Laden, the Vice Presisent said the strikes under Operation Sindoor also took place in May just as on May 2 in 2011 "a global terrorist who planned, supervised, and executed September 11 attack inside the US in 2001, was killed. He was "dealt with" by the US forces "similarly".

The Vice President described the Pahalgam terror attack as the "deadliest" attack on our civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attack.

He said PM Modi had sent a message from Bihar to the entire global fraternity. "Those were not empty words, the world has realised. What he said is a reality," he said.

In the mechanics of war and fight against terrorism, a new benchmark has been set in which the Indian armed forces targeted JeM at Bahawalpur, deep inside Pakistan territory, and also the LeT base in Muridke.

The VP also took a swipe at the Congress leaders who had sought evidence of the surgical strike after the Uri attack. "No one is asking for proof now. The world has seen and acknowledged, and we have seen the saga of how that country is deeply engrossed in terrorism when coffins are taken with armed forces and political power accompanying them," he said.

Earlier, he praised the conducive environment of hope and possibility in the country, due to the government's affirmative policies, which hold promise for young students graduating from colleges.

He said, "Fortunately for you, unlike people of my generation, in the country there is an environment of hope and possibility."

"You all have an enabling eco-system, affirmative government policies that facilitate the fullest exploitation of talent and potential. You can realise your dreams and aspirations," he said.

He urged students to continue their learning, as convocation does not mean the end of education. "Always be a good learner and acquire the skill of self-learning," he said.
New Delhi, May 17 : The government on Saturday said it is developing a digital platform to enable the electronic submission of documents in trade remedy investigations.

The platform is expected to go live soon, offering enhanced transparency, efficiency, and ease of access for all stakeholders.

Since 1995, India has initiated over 1,200 trade remedy investigations. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has played a central role in this process by conducting investigations swiftly, often concluding within a year, to ensure timely relief for affected industries.

Recent interventions have protected domestic sectors including solar energy and advanced materials, such as solar cells and copper wire rods, from unfairly priced imports and subsidised goods.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) commemorated its 8th Foundation Day here, celebrating seven years of dedicated service in protecting Indian industry from unfair trade practices and sudden surges in imports.

On this occasion, the Director General of DGTR applauded the commitment and tireless efforts of the organisation's officers and staff in upholding the integrity of India's trade remedy ecosystem.

"Through safeguard duties and quantitative restrictions, DGTR has also responded to sudden import surges, for products such as palm oil and metallurgical coke, helping stabilise markets and preserve industrial competitiveness. Its proactive approach has been particularly crucial for manufacturing sectors vulnerable to volatile global trade dynamics," according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

To further support equitable access, DGTR launched a dedicated Helpdesk in 2019, aimed at assisting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This initiative has helped smaller businesses navigate the trade remedy processes and help these industries file applications by addressing technical and data-related challenges.

In addition, DGTR, through its Trade Defence Wing, has effectively contested the imposition of trade remedy measures by foreign trade remedy authorities.

These efforts have resulted in either reduced duties or complete relief from such measures on Indian exports, thereby protecting India's international trade interests, said the ministry.

"As DGTR enters its eighth year, it remains steadfast in its mission to uphold fair trade, support the domestic industry against unfair trade practices, and respond proactively to the evolving challenges of global commerce," the ministry added.

IANS

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Los Angeles, May 17 : Hollywood actor Pedro Pascal has a rather unusual take on Dakota Johnson starting a new venture. The actor thinks that Dakota should start an OnlyFans account.

Los Angeles, May 17 (IANS) Hollywood actor Pedro Pascal has a rather unusual take on Dakota Johnson starting a new venture. The actor thinks that Dakota should start an OnlyFans account.

The 50-year-old actor encouraged his 35-year-old old 'Materialists' co-star to start an account on the explicit online content subscription service to make money from her feet, reports 'Female First UK'.

Dakota told Elle UK, "Pedro Pascal told me that I should have an OnlyFans. That I could just like wiggle my toe and I'd make money. Should I do that? I would look at OnlyFans models on Instagram if I knew how to do that. Sounds intriguing".

Meanwhile, the pair recently revealed that Dakota doesn't remember their first meeting. When Pedro interviewed Dakota for Elle UK, he asked her, "Dakota, when and where did we first meet?"

She replied, "According to whose truth? Do you want your story or my story?" Dakota said, "So yours is the truth because you're the man. Your truth is that we met first with somebody. Was it with Sarah Paulson? Was it at the Met?"

As per 'Female First UK', Pedro insisted that was the second time they met, as they had first met 10 years earlier. He explained:,"It was the Golden Globes 2014. It wasn't during the ceremony; it was the after bit, when they usher you out and you go directly into some kind of HBO party. You knew Sarah and so met me, and you were on your own. They probably wouldn't give you a plus one. So, we banded together, and we looked after you".

However, Dakota didn't remember the meeting, and said, "That's so crazy that I don't remember meeting you there. It feels like something substantial happened to me that night and I'm blocking it out".

And, Pedro admitted he was disappointed that she didn't remember him 10 years later. He said, "Well, I loved you the first time and then I didn't think you were that nice to me at the Met Gala. You weren't mean, but I was building the interaction of having already met you. And I had a moment of feeling a little stupid because it was like, 'Oh, she doesn't remember me.' The hurt that I felt at the Met Gala was connected to love".

Dakota replied, "I find the Met Gala is like The Twilight Zone. I don't know what the f*** is going on. I don't feel I connect with any human beings in a real way; it's like going into some sort of vortex. By the way, this is not the first time I've had this conversation with you".

"This is maybe the 37th time we've had this conversation. The 37th time Pedro makes me feel like an absolute piece of s*** for not remembering him. My first impression of you was, 'Wow, this guy is so cool. What a nice man that I've definitely never met before'. And then I loved you very quickly", she added.
Chennai, May 17 : In a significant step towards preparing for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will convene a two-day meeting of its district secretaries and key organisational leaders later this month.

According to a statement from the party headquarters, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) will preside over deliberations on May 29 and 30.

The first day will see EPS engage with representatives from 42 district units, while the remaining district-level functionaries will hold discussions with the leadership on the second day.

The meetings, to be held at the party office in Chennai, will focus on assessing the party's organisational strength, evaluating ground-level preparedness, and identifying booth-level challenges ahead of the 2026 electoral battle.

Sources within the party indicate that EPS is likely to review campaign strategies, alliances, and constituency-level feedback during the sessions.

The AIADMK, which is looking to regain power after its defeat in the 2021 Assembly polls, has been intensifying its outreach efforts in recent months.

Party insiders view the upcoming meetings as a crucial platform to energise the cadre base and align district-level leadership with the central leadership's vision.

Meanwhile, EPS has launched a fresh attack on the ruling DMK government over its education policy implementation.

In a statement he accused the DMK regime of failing to release the required funds for students enrolled under the Right to Education (RTE) Act over the past two years.

"This government has been consistently neglecting its responsibility towards economically weaker students. Many private schools are still awaiting reimbursement, and this delay has affected both institutions and families," Palaniswami alleged.

The AIADMK leader called on the DMK government to act immediately and fulfil its financial obligations, accusing it of making hollow promises while ignoring the core issues faced by the public.

With both organisational meetings and policy criticism, the AIADMK appears to be setting the tone for a high-stakes political battle in 2026.
Chennai, May 17 : Four people, including two children, were killed and more than 15 others sustained serious injuries in a road accident on the Karur-Salem National Highway near Semmadai in the early hours of Saturday.

The incident occurred around 5 a.m. when a private luxury bus, travelling from Salem to Karur, collided with a tractor moving ahead on the same carriageway.

The force of the impact caused the bus to mount the central median and veer onto the opposite lane. In a matter of seconds, it rammed head-on into an oncoming tourist van, triggering a pile-up.

Police said the crash caused extensive damage to the bus and the van, trapping many passengers inside. Fire and Rescue Services personnel from the Karur station, along with Vangal police, launched a swift rescue operation.

Several passengers were extricated from the mangled remains of the vehicles using hydraulic cutters and other equipment.

Four people, including two minors, died on the spot. The injured were immediately shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Karur.

A few critically injured passengers were later referred to private hospitals in the district for specialised care.

The bodies of the deceased were sent to the hospital mortuary for postmortem examinations.

Preliminary inquiries suggest that overspeeding and reduced visibility during early morning hours may have contributed to the accident.

Officials also suspect the bus driver may have lost control while attempting to overtake the tractor.

The tragic incident led to significant traffic disruption on the busy highway, with a backlog of vehicles stretching several kilometres.

Police and highway maintenance staff worked for several hours to remove the wreckage and restore normal traffic flow.

A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway to determine liability and prevent similar incidents.

Authorities have appealed to motorists to exercise caution and adhere to speed limits, especially during early morning hours when visibility is low.
Chennai, May 17 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday questioned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) Managing Director S. Visakan at its Nungambakkam office, a day after conducting extensive searches at his residence and other premises in connection with the alleged liquor scam.

Visakan, a senior IAS officer, was summoned to the ED office on Saturday following a long round of interrogation at his residence in Manapakkam on Friday.

His wife was also questioned on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, ED officials resumed their search at Visakan's Manapakkam residence on Saturday, marking the second consecutive day of raids.

The ongoing searches are being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED's probe has widened to cover approximately 10 locations in and around Chennai. These include properties linked to senior TASMAC officials and liquor contractors, as well as entities that had received government contracts.

Among those under the scanner is Akash Baskaran, a film producer associated with Dawn Pictures, and a tech firm reportedly awarded contracts by the Tamil Nadu government.

Officials said the coordinated action is based on intelligence inputs and financial transaction trails suggesting irregularities involving the alleged diversion of government funds through shell firms and benami entities.

The involvement of TASMAC - a government-run enterprise that holds a monopoly over liquor sales in the state - has raised concerns over potential misuse of public resources. S. Visakan's role as TASMAC MD during the period under scrutiny is seen as significant by the agency.

Sources said financial records, digital evidence, and statements of key individuals are being closely examined to determine the extent of wrongdoing.

The ED has not yet issued an official statement detailing the nature or scope of the allegations. However, officials confirmed that further rounds of questioning and forensic scrutiny of seized documents are expected in the coming days as the probe progresses.
Rome, May 17 : Global food insecurity and malnutrition continued to worsen in 2024, with 295 million people suffering from acute hunger across 53 countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and its partners said in a report.

The figure represents an increase of 13.7 million compared to 2023, marking the sixth-consecutive annual rise in acute food insecurity in the world's most fragile regions.

The findings were published in the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), an international alliance comprising the FAO, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and various governmental and non-governmental organisations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the figures as "another unflinching indictment of a world dangerously off course."

In the report's foreword, he warned that "hunger and malnutrition are spreading faster than our ability to respond, yet globally, a third of all food produced is lost or wasted."

He added that long-standing crises are now being compounded by a more recent one: A dramatic reduction in lifesaving humanitarian funding.

While acute food insecurity typically stems from a combination of factors - such as poverty, economic shocks, and extreme weather, the report emphasised that conflicts remained the primary driver in many of the worst-hit regions. Some populations faced conditions beyond acute hunger.

Famine was confirmed in parts of Sudan in 2024, while catastrophic levels of food insecurity were recorded in the Gaza Strip, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali. In the Gaza Strip, famine was narrowly averted thanks to stepped-up humanitarian aid, but the report warned that the risk could return between May and September 2025 if the large-scale military operation and blockade continue.

The report also highlighted the severe impact of forced displacement. Of the 128 million people forcibly displaced in 2024, nearly 95 million - including internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and refugees - were living in countries already grappling with food crises, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, economic shocks triggered food insecurity in 15 countries, affecting 59.4 million people, while extreme weather events pushed 18 countries into crisis, impacting more than 96 million people, particularly in Southern Asia, Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu warned that acute food insecurity is becoming a persistent reality, especially in rural areas. "The path forward is clear: Investment in emergency agriculture is critical - not just as a response, but as the most cost-effective solution to deliver significant, long-lasting impact," he said.
Upholding Religious Freedom Abroad Advances National Interests

Religious freedom is the heartbeat of America's 249-year history, a principle etched into its founding and vital to its identity. Under the current administration, countering religious persecution abroad must also be a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. The recent nomination of former Representative Mark Walker as ambassador for International Religious Freedom signals a bold commitment to this cause, particularly for Christians facing erasure worldwide.

Religious freedom is often dismissed as a buzzword of conservative advocacy, but it should be taken seriously as an issue of immediate humanitarian concern that bypasses polarizing debates. The second Trump administration has already reoriented U.S. foreign policy to restore American economic and military might. Some may dismiss international religious freedom as detracting from these geopolitical goals, when in reality it advances them.

While all persecuted groups--Jews, Muslims, Yazidis, and more--deserve U.S. attention, the global crisis facing Christians, from China to the Middle East, demands urgent prioritization because of the scarcity of their advocates. Protecting Christians also aligns with America's Judeo-Christian heritage, extending compassion to others and ensuring the nation's moral compass guides its global role.

America was born from a hunger for religious liberty. In 1620, the Pilgrims traveled from England to Plymouth seeking a place to worship without fear. This vision shaped the colonies, where Baptists, Quakers, Catholics and others built communities rooted in faith. The 1787 Constitution and 1791 Bill of Rights enshrined this ideal, with the First Amendment barring laws "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion.

For two and a half centuries, religious freedom has driven America's story. Christian abolitionists fought slavery, citing biblical justice. Churches and synagogues anchored the civil rights movement, with pastors like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preaching equality. Yes, America has stumbled at times--anti-Catholic nativism, Mormon expulsions, and recent antisemitic and anti-Muslim acts have exposed gaps between ideal and reality. The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) mandated action against such persecution, a legacy the current administration can build on, as did Trump's first.

Religious freedom is non-negotiable for President Donald Trump's base, who see it as under attack by secularism at home. President Trump has tapped into this, vowing repeatedly to protect faith as a pillar of national greatness and on May 1 establishing the Religious Liberty Commission to advance this objective domestically. Likewise, defending persecuted Christians abroad is a rallying cry against tyranny for many Americans.

Christians face persecution on a staggering scale. In China, the Communist Party demolishes churches and jails pastors, affecting over 100 million Christians. Pakistan's Christians, barely 2 percent of the population, face lynchings over false accusations of blasphemy, with 2024 seeing churches burned and families displaced. Iran routinely jails Christian converts, imprisoning and executing them for "apostasy." Nigeria is experiencing intense anti-Christian bloodshed, with over 3,000 Christians killed in 2024 alone, and girls abducted for forced marriages by the Boko Haram and Fulani militias.

Other faiths suffer, too. In Syria, Iraq, and Iran, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and other religious minorities face overlapping horrors. Alawites are subjected to systematic persecution by the new Syrian authorities, whose roots lie in the violent jihadist movement. The Druze in southern Syria also face violence from Sunni extremists and militias linked to the new Syrian authorities.

Mark Walker's record of supporting measures against antisemitism and Islamophobia shows a broad vision. His nomination as ambassador for International Religious Freedom will ensure the effectiveness of this position. As a former member of Congress, Walker understands Washington and the policy process. As a minister, he understands the spiritual toll of persecution.

Walker inherits a rich legacy from Trump's first term, which put a stop to ISIS' genocide against Christians and Yazidis in Iraq and Syria. IRF Ambassador Sam Brownback launched a now-annual State Department-sponsored International Religious Freedom Summit that brings together representatives from 100 countries, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha'is, Yazidis, and others. Among many Trump first-term successes were the freeing of Pastor Andrew Brunson from Turkey and the 2019 Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom.

Walker is now tasked with confronting China's church crackdowns, Pakistan's blasphemy laws, and Nigeria's ruthless slaughter of believers. In Syria, Iraq, and Iran he must navigate complex sectarian violence, advocating for Christians alongside Alawites, Druze, and other minorities. His diplomacy must incorporate a complex mix of sanctions, prisoner releases, and rallying of allies.

Christians--some 380 million spanning 190 countries--face persecution of a unique breadth and intensity, with few advocates as powerful as the U.S. This crisis destabilizes regions, fuels mass migration, and empowers anti-American autocrats. Only the U.S. has the muscle--diplomatic, economic, moral--to lead. Sanctions under IRFA, visa bans, and public pressure can counter China's malign influence, stabilize Nigeria, and check Iran's aggression in keeping with President Trump's geopolitical agenda. It should be a mainstay of this administration's foreign policy.

Ambassador Michael Gfoeller served as political advisor to the U.S. Central Command and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Greg Gross served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense and is vice president of the Board for Solidarity with the Persecuted Church.
WELLINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- In a major step forward for the recovery of New Zealand's critically endangered kakapo, scientists have successfully used artificial insemination (AI) to improve fertility and preserve rare genetics in the species.

According to a study conducted by New Zealand's Department of Conservation, the University of Otago, and Germany's Justus Liebig University Giessen, AI offers a powerful conservation tool to help save one of the world's rarest parrots, by enhancing reproductive success and preserving essential genetic diversity.

Only 142 kakapo, the rare flightless New Zealand parrot, were alive in 2019, up from just 51 in 1995, but the population continues to face challenges due to low fertility and high embryo mortality, said the study released on Friday.

Kakapo breed infrequently, and their mating system means a few males father most of the offspring, leaving some genetically valuable birds without any descendants, said the study published in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal.

"Two of the main challenges facing the critically endangered kakapo are low productivity (only about 40 percent of eggs hatch) and high levels of genetic inbreeding," said Andrew Digby, science advisor for kakapo/takahe at New Zealand's Department of Conservation.

"Artificial insemination is an important tool to tackle these issues, since it helps improve fertility and enables preservation of important genetic diversity from individuals that don't mate naturally," said Digby, also co-author of this research.

First achieved in 2009, AI in kakapo has been notoriously difficult, with mixed success until recently. In 2019, a collaboration between New Zealand's Kakapo Recovery Team and German parrot reproduction specialists led to significant breakthroughs, including the use of new techniques for semen collection, such as abdominal massage and electric stimulation.

The study details how semen was successfully collected from 20 males in 93.5 percent of 46 attempts. Scientists then analyzed sperm quality and used the samples to inseminate 12 females.

The results were promising: fertility in second clutches rose from 29.4 percent without AI to 70 percent with it. Four chicks were confirmed to be born from AI, including offspring from two males who had never reproduced, one carrying rare Fiordland genes, according to the study.

"This work has provided methods to enable artificial insemination to be used to benefit kakapo conservation into the future," Digby said, adding that following on from further successful attempts in 2022, the Kakapo Recovery Team will be again using artificial insemination in an upcoming breeding season in 2026.

Despite being moved to predator-free islands, kakapo recovery has been hindered by factors like inbreeding, a limited gene pool, and early embryo death, the study said.

The research showed the new AI techniques not only improve chances of fertilization, but allow conservationists to strategically include underrepresented genes in future generations. 
Bengaluru, May 17 : The Kempegowda International Airport has registered a record profit for the first time since its inception, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said on Saturday.

The airport opened in May 2008 as an alternative to the increasingly congested HAL Airport in Bengaluru, the commercial airport serving the city. The airport is named after Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru.

The statement said that Bangalore International Airport Authority held its board meeting on Friday, chaired by Shalini Rajneesh, Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka and Chairperson of BIAL.

The meeting marked a historic milestone as Kempe Gowda International Airport Bengaluru (Bengaluru Airport) reported a record profit for the first time since its inception, signifying a robust financial turnaround and a testament to the airport's strategic growth, sustainability initiatives, and operational excellence.

In addition to its strong financial performance, Bengaluru Airport has earned multiple prestigious global recognitions in 2025, further cementing its position as a leader in sustainable and safe airport operations worldwide.

Bengaluru Airport continues to build a safe, future-ready, and sustainability-driven aviation ecosystem. Recognised by global bodies for its commitment to environmental stewardship and excellence in airport management, the airport received several accolades from Airports Council International (ACI), the global authority on airport standards.

Notably, BLR Airport became the first airport in Asia to achieve Level 5 Accreditation under ACIas Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, effective May 5, 2024. The award was formally presented during the ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Regional Assembly held in New Delhi. This distinction celebrates an outstanding 95.6 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, with the airport achieving net-zero status (Scope 1 and 2) a full seven years ahead of its 2030 target, it said.

In the environmental category, the airport also received the Silver Award in the ACI Green Airports Recognition 2025 under the 'Sustainable Energy at Airports' theme for the 15a"38 million passenger category. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Bengaluru Airport has been recognised for its sustainability leadership.

The airport had previously won the ACI Green Airport Platinum award for Carbon Management (2022) and Plastics Circularity (2023). Further highlighting its operational excellence, Bengaluru Airport was awarded the Gold Award at the inaugural ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Safety Recognition Award 2025.

The award, given for the airport's paper 'Beyond Compliance', recognised BIAL's proactive and innovative safety strategies that resulted in measurable improvements, setting a benchmark for safety-led airport culture in the region, it added.
Kabul/New Delhi, May 16 : India and Afghanistan continue to redefine the historic friendship between the two countries even as Delhi's Khari Baoli, Asia's largest dry fruit and spice market, bears the brunt of current geopolitical situation and lack of imports from Kabul.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar's Thursday evening call with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, has sent a clear message that the Taliban regime, despite having not been granted official recognition by the Indian government, continues to see New Delhi as its most trusted and reliable partner in the region.

The "good conversation" between EAM Jaishankar and Muttaqi, during which Kabul not only condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack but also outrightly dismissed attempts being made to create distrust with New Delhi, would have given sleepless nights to Pakistan's political and military leadership across the Durand Line.

"Welcomed his (Muttaqi) firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports. Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward," EAM Jaishankar posted on X after the call.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the Director of Public Communication at the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan-Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IEA-MoFA) asserted that the discussion between the two ministers focused on enhancing bilateral relations, promoting trade, and upgrading diplomatic engagement.

"The Indian Foreign Minister considered the relations between Afghanistan and India to be historical and therefore he stressed the importance of these relations as a milestone for the two countries and for their positive development," Ahmad told IANS in an exclusive chat on Friday while detailing that the issues of facilitating visas for traders, patients and release of Afghan prisoners in India were also discussed during the phone call.

Only last week, Afghanistan had termed Pakistan's allegations of India launching missile strikes on the Afghan territory during Operation Sindoor as absolutely "baseless" and "unfounded".

In an interview with Afghan media outlet Hurriyat Radio on May 10, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry spokesperson Enaitullah Khawarzmi had outrightly rejected Pakistan's allegations that India had carried out a missile strike on Afghan soil, labeling such claims as false and unfounded.

The reaction from Kabul came a few hours after the Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had rejected Pakistan's "totally frivolous allegations", terming them as nothing but "ludicrous claims".

Kabul had earlier also expressed deep concerns about the escalating tensions, following the heinous Pahalgam terrorist attack which had resulted in the death of 26 innocent civilians.

Not too long ago, several experts - especially in Islamabad and Rawalpindi - had thought that the takeover of Kabul by Taliban 2.0 in 2021 would the beginning of the endgame for India's deep engagement with the people of Afghanistan that had scaled new heights under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially when it came to humanitarian and developmental assistance.

Then Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed's arrival in Kabul in September 2021 following the Taliban takeover and his "tea is fantastic" pictures were promoted as a symbolic message for India by the Pakistani authorities.

Less than four years later, Hammed is in military custody after court-martial proceedings and India sits firmly in the cockpit as far as Afghanistan is concerned.

"India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by its historical relations, friendship with its people and relevant UN Resolutions, including UNSCR 2593. The India based personnel of the Embassy in Kabul returned to India in the aftermath of the takeover by the Taliban. Since June 2022, an Indian technical team is positioned in the Embassy and is active in respect of humanitarian assistance and other situations. Indiaas stance in regard to recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is in consonance with that of the international community," said EAM Jaishankar while replying to a question in Lok Sabha in December 2023.

"India has historical and civilizational ties with Afghanistan and our development partnership has included more than five hundred projects spread across each of the 34 provinces of the country in critical areas of power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building," he had added.

The tables were not turned overnight but a result of several rounds of backroom diplomacy.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary J P Singh, an experienced career diplomat and expert hand in dealing with AfPak who is now Ambassador of India to Israel, paid visits to Kabul as Taliban regime showed willingness to nurture a strong relationship with New Delhi and not emerge as a proxy of Pakistan yet again.

In January this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Muttaqi in Dubai less than 48 hours after India had severely condemned the December 24 Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan that had killed 46 people, including several women and children.

During the meeting, India also pledged further humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including material support in the first instance to the health sector and for the rehabilitation of Afghan refugees.

According to the MEA, the Foreign Secretary had underlined the strong people-to-people contacts between the two countries and conveyed India's readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of the Afghan people.

Considering that India had dispatched several shipments of wheat, medicines, earthquake relief aid, pesticides, polio doses, Covid vaccines, hygiene kits for the drug de-addiction programme, winter clothing and stationery kits over the past few years, the Afghan Minister appreciated and thanked the Indian leadership for continuing to engage and support the people of Afghanistan.

It was also agreed to promote the use of Chabahar port being developed by India in Iran for supporting trade and commercial activities, including for the purpose of humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan.

"The Afghan side underlined its sensitivities to India's security concerns. The two sides agreed to remain in touch and continue regular contacts at various levels," the MEA stated.

Experts reckon that while India has maintained contact with the Taliban for some time, the evolving regional strategic landscape a" marked by strained India-Pakistan ties and the Taliban's growing engagement with China a" has accelerated New Delhi's efforts to deepen its linkages with the group.

"This is not merely a matter of trust. It will take time for India and the Taliban to build mutual confidence. However, regional strategic realities and the Taliban's desire to normalise relations with India are key drivers of engagement. India represents a major market for Afghan products, and the Taliban recognises that New Delhi can offer substantial development assistance to Afghanistan. For medical and educational needs, Afghan citizens are eager to see ties with India return to normal," Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva, Chief Coordinator, Daskshin Global South Centre of Excellence at RIS New Delhi and Professor of European Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), told IANS.
Kathmandu, May 17 : Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, on Saturday, planted a sapling at the Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative.

Yadav is on a visit to Nepal, representing India at the Sagarmatha Sambaad, a high-level global dialogue, which was convened under the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountains, and the Future of Humanity', organised by the Nepali government, and is scheduled from May 16-18.

"Planted a sapling at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu today under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign. Initiated by PM Narendra Modi, the campaign aims to encourage everyone to work together towards a greener future," the minister posted on X.

PM Modi was launched the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign on World Environment Day and urged the countrymen to associate with it and give strength to the initiative by becoming part of it. The initiative not only honours the role of mothers in nurturing their life but also contributes to the health of the planet.

Earlier in the day, Yadav offered prayers at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. He also addressed the opening session of Sagarmatha Sambaad on Friday.

Later, following the session, the Union Minister attended a dinner hosted by Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, where he deeply appreciated the warm hospitality extended to India at the event.

In his address at the inauguration session of Sagarmatha Sambaad on Friday, Yadav highlighted India's unwavering commitment to global climate action and the need for collaborative efforts to safeguard the Himalayas and other mountain ecosystems.

"The Himalayas bear a significant part of the burden of the environmental crisis. We in India, with our significant Himalayan territory, witness these impacts first-hand. India shares the concerns of the mountain States and their people. Our environmental futures are intrinsically linked. India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is deeply committed to contributing to climate action with the urgency it demands, despite our minimal role for the crisis," Yadav posted on X after the session.

The Nepalese Prime Minister also thanked Yadav for attending the high-level global dialogue and delivering a meaningful message at the inauguration.

Several foreign dignitaries, including Vice Chairman of China's National People's Congress Xiao Jie and COP29 President and Azerbaijan's Ecology Minister Mukhtar Babayev, participated in the session.
New Delhi, May 17 : Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is slated to chair a high-level stakeholder consultation on Monday on 'Viksit Krishi' and review key agricultural and rural development schemes in Nagpur, it was announced on Saturday.

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is slated to chair a high-level stakeholder consultation on Monday on aViksit Krishia and review key agricultural and rural development schemes in Nagpur, it was announced on Saturday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also attend the meeting, according to a Ministry of Agriculture statement.

During the visit, the Union Minister will inaugurate the National Soil Spectral Library (NSSL) a" a pioneering initiative in digital agriculture, developed collaboratively by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur; the Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal; and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

This initiative is part of the Network Programme on Precision Agriculture, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The minister will also launch an AI-based Smart Trap for Pink Bollworm, a major pest affecting cotton crops.

This technology, developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur, leverages advanced machine learning algorithms for precision pest control. Progressive farmers from the region will also be felicitated during the event in recognition of their innovative contributions to agriculture.

According to the ministry, the establishment of the National Soil Spectral Library marks a significant milestone in India's journey towards digital agriculture. The library will facilitate a contactless, rapid, and cost-effective method of soil analysis, replacing the conventional wet chemistry-based testing.

The soil spectral data, representing diverse agro-climatic zones of India, will be formally dedicated to the nation by the Union Minister.

Chouhan will be accompanied by Secretary (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, Dr. Mangi Lal Jat; Deputy Director Generals; Assistant Director General; Directors of Maharashtra-based ICAR institutes; Vice Chancellors of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs); and other senior dignitaries.
Bengaluru, May 17 : Coming down heavily on Congress leaders who have demanded evidence of Operation Sindoor's success, Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should send his party leaders on a "tour" to Pakistan.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Tiranga yatra organised in the Byatarayanapura Assembly constituency in Bengaluru on Saturday, she said state Congress leaders who doubt the claim of 100 terrorists being killed in Operation Sindoor should go to Pakistan and find out themselves.

"They should be made to stay in Pakistan for at least a year," she remarked.

"Our soldiers have fought against Pakistan. AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge has said his party would fully support the Centre in carrying out strikes on Pakistan. However, state Congress leaders are making contradictory statements. The Congress high command must clarify its stance," she urged.

"We don't know whether these statements from state Congress leaders are being made under directions from the high command," she added.

"Our armed forces have eliminated terrorists in Pakistan, and the government there has even compensated the families of the slain terrorists. Yet, Congress leaders are insulting our soldiers. They demanded proof of surgical strikes earlier, and now they are asking for evidence of Operation Sindoor. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should restrain his party members from making such statements. Otherwise, let him send them on a tour to Pakistan," Union Minister Karandlaje said.

Referring to a controversial remark by Karnataka Housing and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan, she said, "Khan claimed he would become a suicide bomber. Let him not do that - instead, he should take a trip to Pakistan."

She also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, stating, "The former Congress chief speaks against the nation. If you want to do politics, do it during elections. But the Congress is indulging in politics even during times of national crisis."

Union Minister Karandlaje further said that Congress leaders making "irrational statements" about Operation Sindoor would earn "the curse of women."

"The Congress is playing politics over deaths," she alleged.

She said the BJP has not organised the Tiranga Yatra, but "People are volunteering to make it a success. The Congress needs to understand this."

The Tiranga Yatra was carried out from Thanisandra to Hunasemaranahalli in the Byatarayanapura locality of Bengaluru.

She was responding to the statement of Congress MLA Kothanur Manjunath, raising doubts over military action and saying it did not serve any purpose and failed to deliver justice to the Pahalgam victims.

"Nothing was done. It was just a show off, they sent three to four flights overhead and returned. Will that compensate for the 26 people killed in Pahalgam? Is this how we compensate those women? Is this how we console them and show respect?" Manjunath said.

However, after facing backlash, Manjunath retracted the statement.
Imphal, May 17 : Manipur Police on Saturday launched a massive search operation and requested four neighbouring northeastern states to nab a Kuki organisation leader who recently warned members of the Meitei community against entering Kuki tribal-dominated areas during the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival.

Manipur Police in a statement on Saturday said that Paojakhup Guite, President of the Delhi unit of Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), threatened the Meitei community not to cross the buffer zone to attend the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival in Ukhrul district, which is inhabited by the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal community people.

"A video of Guite's threat to the Meitei community people was earlier circulated on social media," the statement said, adding that Police in Churachandpur district have registered an FIR and all efforts, including raids in nearby districts, are being made for his immediate arrest.

Manipur Police also requested the police authority of four neighbouring northeastern states - Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya - to arrest Guite as quickly as possible.

The police also released a photograph of Guite.

"All necessary security arrangements shall be made to ensure the security of people attending the Shirui Lily festival next week," the statement added.

Manipur Police have earlier refuted the existence of a group calling itself the 'Kuki Zo Village Volunteers Eastern Zone', which recently reportedly circulated a statement warning members of the Meitei community against entering Kuki-dominated areas during the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal community, also did not support the 'Kuki Zo Village Volunteers Eastern Zone' reported warning to the Meitei community.

The Manipur Police clarified that the purported press release dated May 11 was being shared on social media platforms and in some local publications.

"It has come to the notice of Manipur Police that a press communique issued by an unknown organisation, the Kuki Zo Village Volunteers Eastern Zone, is being circulated on social media and local newspapers. The unknown organisation has warned members of the Meitei community against entering or crossing Kuki-inhabited areas for the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival," the police had said.

Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in a statement earlier clarified its position regarding 'Village Volunteers, Eastern Zone' concerning the Shiroy Lily festival.

The KZC had said that as a political platform committed to representing the democratic and collective interests of the Kuki-Zo people, the council does not engage in or endorse unsolicited communications issued by individuals or organisations acting independently.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla recently chaired the organising committee meeting of the Shirui Lily Festival, 2025 to be held in Ukhrul district from May 20 to 24.

Shirui Lily Festival, mostly organised by the Meitei community, is celebrated in honour of the state flower, Shirui Lily. The celebration is during the peak blooming season of the Shirui Lily, a rare and endangered flower that can only be found in Manipur.

Shirui lily grows on top of the Shirui hills in Ukhrul district and cannot be replanted anywhere else in the world.

The state flower of Manipur fills the air with its pleasant fragrance during the blooming season. The festival is observed primarily with an aim to spread awareness and conserve the endangered state flower.

The festival provides an opportunity for people from various communities and tribes to come together, explore the highest hill station of Manipur, the picturesque Ukhrul district and get deeper insights about the Tangkhul Naga tribe dwelling here.

--IANS

sc/dan
Jerusalem, May 17 : The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that the Hezbollah commander was attacked by a drone while inside a car.

The IDF statement accused him of "being involved in the reestablishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area," calling such rebuilding efforts and related activity "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon".

On Thursday, Israeli drones carried out multiple airstrikes across southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah member and destroying several prefabricated structures, Lebanese security and official sources said.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health said in a statement that an Israeli drone strike targetting a vehicle on the Arnoun-Yohmor road killed one person.

A Lebanese security source identified the victim as Mohammad Ali Marouni, a Hezbollah member from the town of Arnoun in the Nabatieh District, deep in southern Lebanon.

According to Lebanese official sources, three Hezbollah members were killed and a fourth wounded in separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

In a related incident, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli Apache helicopter carried out three consecutive strikes within half an hour on the village of Houla in southeastern Lebanon, targetting a prefabricated structure belonging to the Wataawano Association.

The agency added that at dawn, the Israeli army struck another prefabricated building in the village of Adaisseh. Separately, a drone dropped a stun grenade on a house in Kfar Kila, while another drone dropped a similar device over the ruins of al-Dhahira School in the western sector of southern Lebanon.

The cross-border strikes come despite a ceasefire agreement reached on November 27, 2024, intended to halt more than a year of hostilities tied to the war in Gaza. The truce, mediated by the United States and France, has largely held, though sporadic flare-ups have continued, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel has said its strikes are intended to neutralize Hezbollah threats. However, the Lebanese government and several Arab states have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement.
Mumbai, May 17 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday hailed the Centre's decision to send an all-party delegation to carry forth India's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism.

Terming it good diplomacy, he said, "This will help to clearly explain India's stand and the reality of the war to the world. The visit of an all-party delegation will also be helpful to tell the world that Pakistan is a terrorist state."

On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his decision to send an all-party delegation of MPs to different countries to more effectively convey India's 'zero tolerance' stance against terrorism at the international level.

"This will be a historic step in India's foreign policy," he said.

"I believe that the Pahalgam terror attack, which cast a shadow over humanity, and the subsequent exposure of Pakistan's face of terrorism by India to the world, is a greater victory than any direct war victory. What is special is that all the political parties were included in these delegations, which showed the country's unity against terrorism. The entire world is facing a serious problem of terrorism," remarked Deputy CM Shinde.

Eknath Shinde said, "I am confident that this step taken to stand firmly against it will project India's image worldwide as a responsible, peace-loving nation that is striving to find a permanent solution to terrorism."

Earlier, after her inclusion in the all-party delegation, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said she has humbly accepted the responsibility and thanked PM Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and the Ministry of External Affairs.

In her post on X, she said, "I am honoured to join the all-party delegation representing India on the global stage. I humbly accept this.. I am deeply grateful to the people of the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency for your continued support. Our mission is to convey India's united and unwavering message of zero tolerance against terrorism.

Similarly, after his induction in the all-party delegation, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said, "We will firmly convey to the international community that terrorism has no place in India, and that it is Pakistan which continues to nurture terrorism on its soil. When it comes to matters of national interest, there is no division, only duty. It is a privilege to serve my country in this capacity, and I will carry out this sacred responsibility with unwavering devotion and a resolute commitment to Indiaas zero tolerance stance against terrorism."

"I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for entrusting me with this important responsibility," said Shrikant, son of Eknath Shinde.
Bhopal, May 17 : A government school teacher in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district has been dismissed from service after allegedly posting a video on social media in which she prayed for the safety of Pakistani soldiers during India's recently conducted 'Operation Sindoor'.

Operation Sindoor, an offensive targeting Pakistan-based terrorist camps, was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocent civilians were killed.

The teacher, identified as Shahnaz Parveen, was employed at a government higher secondary school in Mehatwada in Sehore, around 60 km from Bhopal.

The video, which she purportedly shared on her Facebook account, features her praying, "Allah, keep Pakistani soldiers safe."

After the video was circulated on social media, the Sehore district education department issued a termination order on Friday, stating that Parveen's actions were in violation of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and amounted to "negligence and indiscipline."

The notice, signed by the District Education Officer (DEO), read: "Shahnaz Parveen's act, as observed in the video circulated on social media, has been found to be in breach of the conduct expected from a government employee. Her statements are not only inappropriate but also detrimental to national sentiment during a sensitive military operation."

It further cited that the teacher's actions constituted a violation under Rule 9 of the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules. "Based on the findings of a departmental inquiry, she has been terminated from service with immediate effect," the notice stated.

The incident has come at a time when Operation Sindoor has triggered a flurry of reactions and political controversy. Alleged disparaging remarks by certain BJP leaders about the armed forces have already stirred unrest in the state, adding to the charged atmosphere.
Kolkata, May 17 : The suspension of an officer involved in the electoral process in West Bengal for his inappropriate behaviour vindicated the BJP's allegations of electoral fraud in the state, the BJP's Information Technology cell Chief and the party's central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, said on Saturday.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) suspended Arun Gorain, assistant system manager, on charges of having inserted his own mobile number in the login credentials of a Block Development Officer (BDO) and Assistant Election Returning Officer (AERO) in the same division.

Referring to the suspension, Malviya claimed that a two-fold electoral fraud is going on in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

"On one hand, in places like Murshidabad and Beldanga, members of Islamist terrorist organisations are being issued multiple voter ID cards, enabling them to vote in different assembly constituencies. On the other hand, in several areas like Nadia, Kaliganj, and Howrah, the names of legitimate West Bengal votersespecially Hindu votersare being removed from the electoral rolls," Malviya wrote on X.

Referring to the suspension of the officer, Malviya said that the accused officer used the login credentials of the electoral registration officer to manipulate the voter list by adding and removing names.

"One example of this misconduct involves a voter named Payel Bhatia, whose father's name is listed as Rahul Banik. However, the electoral roll also identifies Rahul Banik as a woman, raising serious questions about the legitimacy of the entries," said Malviya.

He had also accused Trinamool Congress of having engaged a private organisation to place its loyalists in various administrative positions, which are then carried out illegal activities, including manipulating vote counts in favour of the ruling party in the state.

"During the 2021 Assembly elections, there were multiple incidents of arbitrary removal of names from voter lists and the declaration of false results by these operatives. Many of them were given government jobs illegally by the state administration. Ahead of the 2026 elections, the BJP vows to cleanse the system of such elements and establish a transparent government that will hold both the corrupt network and their enablers accountable under the law," he said.

West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Suvendu Adhikari, too, had welcomed the suspension of the officer and claimed that development reveals the "shocking connivance" between officers involved in the electoral process and the leader of Trinamool Congress.
This photo taken on May 17, 2025 shows the wreckage of a car that was bombed by an Israeli drone in Mazraat Jemjim, Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday. According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that the Hezbollah commander was attacked by a drone while inside a car.

The IDF statement accused him of "being involved in the reestablishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area," calling such rebuilding efforts and related activity "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon."

The strike comes despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which was reached on Nov. 27, 2024, and intended to halt more than a year of hostilities tied to the war in the Gaza Strip.

In violation of the truce deal, the Israeli military continues to hold several strategically important positions in southern Lebanon and launch occasional strikes, claiming they were neutralizing "Hezbollah threats." 

This photo taken on May 17, 2025 shows the wreckage of a car that was bombed by an Israeli drone in Mazraat Jemjim, Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

This photo taken on May 17, 2025 shows the wreckage of a car that was bombed by an Israeli drone in Mazraat Jemjim, Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck and killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

According to the statement, the commander, whose name was not given, was killed in the village of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
Dhaka, May 17 : The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday expressed concerns that their December election deadline may quietly pass away as the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is showing no indication of launching preparations for the polls.

Some senior BNP leaders stated that nine months after the Yunus-led interim government came to power, there is still no talk about holding elections in the country. Additionally, many controversial moves, such as allowing human corridors to Rakhine and outsourcing port operations, have raised serious doubts about the government's true intentions.

The leaders further mentioned that the party rank and file is exerting pressure to take to the streets in order to put pressure on the interim government to announce a clear election roadmap and hold elections this year.

Local media reported that a BNP leader, wishing to remain anonymous, said the party fears that the ban on activities of the Awami League, increasing contradictions among the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami are leading to unnecessary street protests, which might further complicate the political scenario in the coming days.

Further, the BNP suspects that the recent ban on the activities of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party, Awami League, and the subsequent suspension of the party's registration by the Election Commission are part of a larger conspiracy by local and international actors to prolong the power of the interim government.

"Every now and then, new issues are brought forward, reforms are dragged out, and the overall situation is kept in a state of flux. It appears to be part of a larger conspiracy to defer elections indefinitely," a member of the BNP Standing Committee told UNB on condition of anonymity.

"Our youth rally will be held on May 28 with a massive showdown in Dhaka. From that rally, the BNP will send out a strong message to the government not to unnecessarily delay the election," said another BNP leader

Earlier this week, senior BNP leader Mirza Abbas alleged that many dubious foreigners are arriving in Bangladesh and accused the interim government of serving the interests of others rather than the people of the country.

Recently, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia returned to Bangladesh after four months of medical treatment in London. Reports suggest that the return of the BNP chief is seen as a step to add pressure on the Yunus-led interim government to hold national elections in the country.

Last month, BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas alleged that the deliberate attempt to delay the election is visible. "There are people openly talking about keeping Yunus in power for five years. But those trying to do that will not only damage his reputation but also cause serious harm to the country," said Abbas.

BNP had expressed doubts about the possibility of national parliamentary elections being held in December on several occasions over the past few months with the party's senior leaders alleging a "conspiracy" to delay the polls.

The much-flaunted unity of the political outfits in Bangladesh, which was on full display during the ousting of the democratically elected Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, seems to have faded gradually.
New Delhi, May 17 : VerSe Innovation, the parent company of content platform Dailyhunt and short-video app Josh, is set to lay off approximately 350 employees this month as part of a broader restructuring effort.

The move is aimed at streamlining operations, boosting efficiency, and driving profitability as the company accelerates its focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

In a statement on Saturday, a company spokesperson said that VerSe Innovation is undergoing a "strategic transformation to build a more agile, focused, and future-ready organisation."

"The restructuring is part of a broader, well-thought-out plan that includes investing heavily in AI, aligning the company's structure with long-term goals, and focusing resources on high-growth areas," the spokesperson added.

As part of the overhaul, VerSe is automating many manual processes to improve operational efficiency and keep pace with global digital trends.

"The company will streamline its workforce by approximately 350 roles this month," the spokesperson said, adding that talent will be cross-leveraged across business units to ensure better utilisation of resources.

The company emphasised that these measures are designed to pave the way for profitability by the end of FY25.

In FY24, VerSe made significant progress on this front, slashing its EBITDA loss by 51 per cent -- from Rs 1,448 crore in FY23 to Rs 710 crore.

It attributed this reduction to strategic cost management, including cutting down on service and marketing expenses. Total revenue for FY24 stood at Rs 1,261 crore.

Looking ahead, VerSe is optimistic about its growth trajectory. It projects over 75 per cent revenue growth in FY25, far outpacing the estimated 10-15 per cent growth expected in India's digital advertising sector.

This bullish outlook is backed by investments in new AI-led tools and platforms, including its AdTech initiative NexVerse.ai, the subscription-based Dailyhunt Premium (launched in partnership with Magzter), and VerSe Collab, which supports influencer campaign management.
Kolkata, May 17 : The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested two smugglers and seized 10 gold biscuits worth nearly 1.11 crore from them along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal on Friday, said N K Pandey, DIG and spokesperson, South Bengal Frontier, BSF on Saturday.

"Jawans at the Hakimpur Border Outpost received concrete information regarding a gold smuggling attempt. Acting on this intelligence, the jawans launched a special and well-planned operation. All personnel at the Hakimpur check post were placed on high alert, and surveillance was intensified across all possible routes and sensitive areas," he said.

DIG Pandey said that around 10.30 am, the jawans noticed the suspicious movement of two individuals near Hakimpur Uttarpara village. Both were stopped and questioned, followed by a thorough search, adding that during the search, 10 gold biscuits were recovered from their possession.

"The smugglers were immediately detained and taken to the Hakimpur BOP for further interrogation. During preliminary interrogation, both smugglers revealed that they are residents of the Hakimpur Uttarpara village. They admitted that they were supposed to hand over the gold to another resident of the same village, for which they were to be paid Rs 2,800. The total weight of the seized gold is 1.167 kilograms, with an estimated market value of Rs 1.11 crore," the DIG said.

In separate operations on the same day, jawans of the 32 Battalion in the Nadia district and the 143 Battalion in North 24 Parganas district seized 41 kilograms of ganja.

The seizures were made while smugglers were attempting to smuggle the contraband from India into Bangladesh. The seized Gold and Ganja have been handed over to the concerned department.

DIG Pandey said that the jawans of the BSF are fully capable and committed to stop the illegal activities of smuggling along the border.

"I urge border residents to give any information related to gold smuggling to BSF's Seema Sathi helpline number 14419 or send voice or text messages to the WhatsApp number 9903472227. Those providing credible information will be suitably rewarded and their identities will remain confidential," he said.
Jhabua, May 17 : The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme has brought significant improvements to the lives of farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district. The scheme, which provides financial assistance to farmers, has boosted their economic stability and enhanced agricultural activities, thereby contributing to overall rural development.

With its continued success, the scheme is playing a crucial role in uplifting farmers in the region, ensuring that they are more financially independent and secure.

Launched by the central government, PM-KISAN aims to support landholding farmers by providing them with an annual sum of Rs 6,000, which is disbursed in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. This financial aid helps farmers manage their agricultural expenses and improve their livelihood. With this assistance, farmers are able to buy essential inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, and agricultural tools, thereby improving their productivity.

IANS spoke with several farmers from Jhabua to understand how the PM-KISAN scheme has impacted their lives.

Dinesh Patidar, a farmer from Anantkhedi village, shared, "The Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana has resolved many of our financial challenges. The money we receive through this scheme helps us purchase agricultural goods, and there are many forms of support available for us."

Ramchandra Dangi, another farmer, said, "With the financial assistance from the scheme, we are able to buy fertilisers and seeds. This support is crucial in covering the initial expenses required for farming. I want to thank the government for this."

Nandlal Patidar Jamli, a farmer, expressed his appreciation for the scheme, stating, "The Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana is a great initiative by Modi ji for farmers. It is especially beneficial for small and poor farmers, who are gaining a lot from this scheme. It helps us buy fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides for our crops."

Rajendra Patidar, a farmer from Jamli, said, "I received the 19th instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. This money fulfils our agricultural needs, allowing us to invest in the farm's development."

Meanwhile, Dharmaraj Patidar, another farmer from Bani village, added, "The government is providing significant financial assistance to farmers. However, I believe the government should consider increasing the amount to make farmers financially stronger in the long run."

The PM-KISAN scheme is part of the central government's efforts to provide economic security to farmers across India. Since its launch on February 24, 2019, the scheme has been instrumental in supporting cultivable landholding families. Under this initiative, the Rs 6,000 annual benefit is transferred directly into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers, ensuring transparency and eliminating the involvement of middlemen.

To date, more than Rs 2.60 lakh crores have been disbursed to over 11 crore farmers, making the scheme one of the largest agricultural welfare initiatives in the country. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system ensures that farmers receive the funds in a timely and efficient manner.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently addressed the media regarding the upcoming release of the 19th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme. He highlighted that over Rs 3.46 lakh crores have been distributed to more than 11 crore farmer families through 18 instalments, underscoring the widespread impact of the scheme.

The scheme has helped farmers across the nation not only by providing financial aid but also by contributing to their overall economic empowerment. In regions like Jhabua, where agriculture forms the backbone of the economy, the PM-KISAN Yojana is playing a pivotal role in enhancing productivity and improving the quality of life for farmers.

With continued support from the government, the future of agriculture in rural India looks brighter, and the success of initiatives like PM-KISAN is paving the way for a more prosperous farming community.
Bengaluru, May 17 : Karnataka government has declared that there will be no increase in fee structure for medical and dental courses in the upcoming academic year, despite pressure from private medical colleges.

After holding a meeting with office bearers of private medical and dental college managements, Minister for Medical Education, Skill Development, Livelihood and the district in-charge minister for Raichur, Sharan Prakash Patil, clarified on Saturday.

Private colleges had appealed for a 10 per cent to 15 per cent hike in fees. However, the minister stated that although the government had allowed a 10 per cent increase last year, no fee hike will be permitted this year.

Responding promptly to the matter raised during the meeting, Minister Patil reiterated that last yearas 10 per cent hike was sufficient and emphasised that there will be no fee hike this year. He added that an agreement formalising this decision will be signed soon.

Minister Patil has appealed to the National Medical Council (NMC) to increase the number of postgraduate seats in medicine from 600 to 700 and undergraduate seats to 800 in the interest of the poor and the needy.

In September 2024, Minister Sharan Prakash Patil ordered the formation of a fee regulatory committee to monitor and regulate the fee structures of nursing colleges across the state following the complaints about exorbitant fees allegedly charged by them.

The five-member fee regulatory committee is headed by the Joint Secretary of the Medical Education Department.

Patil had also instructed to withdraw the Essential and Feasibility Certificate (EC & FC) of any nursing college found imposing fees beyond government-prescribed limits.

In a move against substandard para-medical colleges, Minister Patil had also directed officials to withdraw affiliations and shut down institutions failing to meet infrastructure and teaching standards.
Kolkata, May 17 : Two senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders on Saturday offered contrasting responses to the police action taken against protesting teachers who had staged a "gherao" at the state education department headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday night.

Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Two senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders on Saturday offered contrasting responses to the police action taken against protesting teachers who had staged a "gherao" at the state education department headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday night.

The teachers -- described by many as "untainted" or "genuine" -- had lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order last month.

While West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay urged the police to show greater sensitivity in handling such situations, Urban Development Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim accused the protesters of indulging in theatrics to gain media attention.

Speaking to the media, Bandopadhyay said: "The manner in which the protesting teachers attempted to force their way into the education headquarters by breaking locks and gates is undoubtedly unacceptable. But even then, the police should have acted in a more sensitive manner."

In contrast, Hakim alleged that the protest was largely aimed at gaining publicity. "These protesters only want to get their faces on TV. That's why they are staging unnecessary drama. Our Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, is with them. The matter can be resolved if they put their faith in her. Some already have, while others continue with their demonstrations. But the Supreme Court's verdict cannot be overturned through protests," he said.

On Thursday night, police used batons to disperse the teachers outside Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the state education department. Several teachers reportedly suffered serious injuries to the head and body. However, senior police officials defended the action, calling it a "mild response" necessitated by a deteriorating situation.

Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has condemned the police action and warned that his party will raise the issue strongly in the upcoming monsoon session of the state assembly, scheduled to begin on June 9.

The protests stem from a Supreme Court verdict on April 3, in which a bench comprising then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld an earlier Calcutta High Court order cancelling the recruitment of 25,753 teachers in government-aided schools across West Bengal.

The apex court accepted the High Court's view that the entire panel had to be scrapped due to the failure of the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to identify and separate "untainted" candidates from those whose appointments were irregular.

The state government and the WBSSC have since filed review petitions with the Supreme Court, seeking reconsideration of the order.
Mumbai, May 17 : Commemorating Armed Forces Day, actress Rakul Preet Singh paid a special tribute to her father, Kulwinder Singh, who served in the Indian Army, through social media.

Rakul penned a note on her Instagram handle that read, "Armed Forces Day may be international,abut my heart beats for one uniform a" my fatheras. Growing up with an Army officer as a parent meant learning sacrifice, respect, and resilience early."

Showing her gratitude to our Indian Army, the 'Doctor G' actress added, "Today, I honor not only him, but every soldier a" in India and around the world a" who chooses service over self. The bravery of our Indian Army, especially in these recent times, reminds us that peace isnat free.aItas protected. Grateful beyond words."

She also posted a throwback photo on her IG where little Rakul is sitting on the scooter with her dad. While the diva is dressed in an adorable white frock with a matching scrunchy, her father is posing in his army uniform, along with a turban.

Talking about her professional commitments, Rakul will next be seen in the highly-awaited drama, "De De Pyaar De 2". She will reprise her role as Ayesha Khurana in the sequel to the 2019 hit aDe De Pyaar De."

The project will also see Ajay Devgn as Ashish Mehra once again. In addition to this, R. Madhavan has also been roped in for the role of Dev Khurana, Ayesha's father.

Helmed by Anshul Sharma, "De De Pyaar De 2" will also have Tabu, Jimmy Shergill, Alok Nath, and Inayat Sood represing their roles from the original flick, along with Tamannaah Bhatia and Prakash Raj in cameo appearances.

"De De Pyaar De 2" is scheduled to release on 14th November 2025.

Moreover, Rakul will also share the screen with Neena Gupta in "Ameeri", which has been directed by Ashish R Shukla.
Bhopal, May 17 : Two young men were brutally stabbed to death in Seoni, triggering outrage among their families and villagers of Parasapani village of Keolari police station area.

In a dramatic turn of events, enraged locals set a liquor shop ablaze and blocked Mandla Road in protest. The tense situation prompted the immediate intervention of senior police officers. The villagers staged Chhaka jam (road blockade), which lasted for approximately two hours.

Later, it was lifted following assurances from the authorities.

Talking to IANS, Additional Superintendent of Police GD Sharma confirmed that four suspects were involved in the crime and fled the scene immediately after committing the act.

When questioned about the motive behind the killings, Sharma said that it stemmed from an old rivalry but did not provide further details regarding the nature of the dispute.

The tragic incident occurred in Parasapani village of Keolari around 12:30 a.m. on Friday night, he said.

According to police, Aman Baghel (20) and Rupak Baghel (25) had travelled to Keolari when they were summoned by members of a local family to a temple.

However, the officers said they chanced upon to meet the accused. It was there that the two men were viciously attacked with knives. Among the accused were a father and his son, police said.

The injured victims were rushed to Keolari Hospital by local people for urgent medical attention. However, due to the severity of their injuries, doctors referred them to the District Hospital in Seoni, where both were pronounced dead. Their post-mortem examination was performed in Seoni on Saturday.

Keolari police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the double homicide.

"The family members of the victims have identified the criminal, and they will soon be brought before justice," the police officer said.

Soon after the incident, family members and local residents rushed the victims to the hospital. One of the relatives of the victims claimed Aman had died on the spot, while Rupak succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Bengaluru, May 17 : BJP Yuva Morcha national president Tejasvi Surya on Saturday opposed the Karnataka government's idea to extend metro service to neighbouring city Tumakuru, saying that it should focus on early completion of pending lines inside Bengaluru.

Sources have confirmed that the state government has decided to extend the Metro services to Tumakuru and is all set to send a proposal in this regard to the Central government.

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has submitted a feasibility report for the extension of Metro services up to Tumakuru to the state government.

Opposing the development, Tejasvi Surya stated, "The government should instead focus on early completion of pending lines and further densification of the network inside Bengaluru. Metro is to solve intra-city connectivity."

Tumakuru should be connected with RRTS or even suburban rail, he suggested.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced the proposal in 2024 in the state Budget, paving the way for the feasibility study.

As the feasibility report is submitted, the government will discuss the matter in the Cabinet meeting. Afterwards, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be prepared and submitted to the Central government for approval.

Sources said that Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna, who represents the Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat, is in the project's favour.

Notably, state Home Minister G. Parameshwara and Cooperation Minister K. N. Rajanna hail from Tumakuru city.

Bengaluru Metro is the second-longest operational metro network in India, with an operational length of 76.95 kilometres, behind Delhi Metro. Pending regulatory approvals, the long-awaited Namma Metro's Yellow Line is likely to be operational from June. The Yellow Line runs from R.V. Road to Bommasandra and connects the tech hub Electronics City in Bengaluru.

The expected completion timeline for crucial Phase 1 of Bengaluru International Airport is between June and September 2026. The expected completion timeline for Phase 2 of Bengaluru Airport Metro is December 2026.

Amid this, the Karnataka government has shown keen interest in extending the services to the neighbouring city of Tumakuru.

Yashvanth Chouhan, Chief PRO, BMRCL, has confirmed that the feasibility report has proposed a 59.5-kilometre-long stretch of Metro lane and identified 25 elevated Metro stations between Bengaluru and Tumakuru cities.

The feasibility report will include details about the expenditure and where to make stops, he said.

The sources stated that the Metro services to Tumakuru are proposed to begin from Madavara station, located on Bengaluru-Pune National Highway, and end at the Shira Gate in Tumakuru.
New Delhi: Russia is making concerted efforts to underscore its position as a global power. It has stepped up engagements with the Global South, including South Asia. Trade and economic cooperation, and an uptick in defence and military technical cooperation, have characterised Moscow's recent multifaceted interactions in South Asia.

Representatives of 150 countries have been invited to the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives In-Charge of Security Issues, scheduled to be held under the chairmanship of Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu in Moscow from May 27-29. The forum is an important international platform for exchanging opinions on all issues related to security and mechanisms for strengthening cooperation between partner countries in the fight against international terrorism, extremism, transnational crime, drug trafficking, as well as new challenges and threats. It will be followed by the 28th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) from June 18-21 as Russia continues efforts to strengthen relations with countries of the Global South.

The trend of Russia's cooperation with six countries of South Asia shows a significant strengthening of the Russian presence in the region.

Afghanistan: The delisting of Taliban as a terrorist group by the Russian Supreme Court was a signal of Russia's intent to increase its official engagements with Afghanistan's interim government. Following this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has decided to upgrade Afghanistan's diplomatic mission in Moscow to the level of an Embassy. Special Representative of the Russian President for Afghanistan, Zamir N. Kabulov and Russian Ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry A. Zhirnov met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and informed them that Russia would raise Afghanistan's diplomatic representation in Moscow to Ambassador level. Taliban Minister of Public Works Mohammad Isa Sani also recently met Zhirnov and discussed reconstruction of Salang highway, construction of new road tunnel to connect southern and northern regions, supply of Russian construction machinery and railway equipment. Russia wants to ensure stability in Afghanistan, while keeping extra regional powers at bay, to secure its strategic interests in the Central Asian Region (CAR) and exploit Afghanistan's geopolitical position as a "transit corridor" connecting Eurasia with South Asia. Proximity with Pakistan on Counter-Terrorism (CT) issues helps Moscow pursue its strategic interests in CAR. Both Moscow and Kabul acknowledge the growth potential of bilateral trade (USD 1 billion in 2024) and the possibility to diversify the trade basket. Taliban Minister for Energy and Water Abdul Latif Mansoor, in his interaction with Zhirnov, sought Russian investment in infrastructure projects in water and energy sectors, including transfer of water from Panjshir to Kabul, construction of dams in Takhar, Baghlan, Herat and Ghazni and coal, wind, solar and gas based energy projects. In November 2024, Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu met with Afghanistan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar. The parties discussed the construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway to Pakistan. No doubt, at some stage, the China factor will also come into play. Russia and Afghanistan are likely to finalise an agreement for transit of 50 million cubic meters (mcm) of LNG through Afghan territory. Trial runs have already been made to transport LNG via trucks/tankers with cryogenic storage facility till Afghanistan. Moscow has been one of a handful of global players who have sought to grow their ties with Afghanistan since the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal of US-armed troops from Kabul that swept the Taliban back to power.

Bangladesh: Moscow is keen on expanding defence cooperation with Bangladesh. The two sides are finalising agreements on military cooperation, mutual protection of intellectual property, training in military establishments and cooperation in the naval field. Recently, Army Chief of Bangladesh, General Waker-Uz-Zaman paid a rare four-day visit (April 6-9) to Russia, signalling a move to diversify Dhaka's global outreach. Zaman held consultations with both civilian and military leadership in Moscow besides visiting arms manufacturing facilities. Russian Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Alexander V. Fomin and Zaman discussed prospects of military cooperation. The Bangladesh Army Chief also interacted with Rosatom overseeing the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Bangladeshas most expensive infrastructure project ever. He also visited Russian defence firms Rostec and Rosoboronexport with the intention that Bangladesh is interested in co-development, technology transfer and perhaps even localised production. Zaman discussed the export of Bangladeshi workers to Russia by advocating for a formal, transparent manpower export system wherein Bangladesh could convert a vulnerability into a remittance pipeline. Russia's need for labour is undeniable in construction, shipping, farming, but informal migration channels are ripe for abuse. Bangladesh's Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan met Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander G. Khozin earlier this year to expedite issues related to maintenance/overhaul/procurement of RD-33 engines for MIG-29 aircraft, maintenance/supply of YAK-130 engines and proposed visit of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) personnel to ROSCOSMOS besides other aircraft manufacturing facilities. Two Russian Pacific Fleet corvettes Rezkiy and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and a medium sea tanker, Pechenga made a goodwill port call (Chattogram, April 12-16) and held joint maneuvers. Bangladesh has evinced interest in purchasing mine sweepers and hovercraft with provision of transfer of technology. Bangladesh will be sending a platoon (20-30 personnel) for Joint Strategic Exercise West-2025 to be held in September. In March, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexey L. Overchuk met Bangladesh's Head of Interim Administration, Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of BOAO Forum for Asia in Hainan and underlined Moscow's interest to export wheat and fertilizer to Bangladesh and enhance bilateral people-to-people contacts. Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom has started testing the power units of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). In March, Rosatom's Engineering Division successfully carried out hydraulic pressure tests on the primary circuit systems and equipment of Unit 1 at the RNPP. Both sides are trying to execute payment of Bangladesh's outstanding obligations to Moscow in Chinese Yuan through Bank of China (BoC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Both countries are meanwhile also exploring potential to diversify the trade basket. A few Russian textile and apparel business enterprises are exploring the potential of expanding their operations to Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka: Moscow has made a fresh outreach to Colombo in the defence sector under the 'Action Plan for Cooperation Activities-2025'. Sri Lanka has evinced interest in acquiring advanced multi-purpose vessel for towing, preventing oil spill, ship salvage operations and disaster management and high endurance surveillance drones with day/night capability. It has also sought capacity-building in cyber intelligence, monitoring social media, terror groups, drug traffickers; and training courses on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear aspects as well as intelligence and maritime related matters on gratis basis. A Russian delegation led by Deputy Chief of International Military Cooperation Major General Alexander I. Zinchenko, during interactions with the Sri Lankan side in January discussed participation of Sri Lankan Navy delegation in the Russian naval parade, unofficial calls by Sri Lankan Navy ships at Russian ports, visit of Sri Lankan Navy delegation to Russian Naval Academy and a draft inter-governmental agreement for navy ship port calls. Colombo has been taking Russian assistance in maintenance of MI helicopters and Russian origin BMPs and tanks despite local US Embassy advising Lankan Defence Ministry against signing a Mi-17 service contract with any Russian/Belarusian company sanctioned by the US. Meanwhile, Colombo is concerned over participation of its nationals in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As of January 2025, 554 Sri Lankans were reportedly serving in the Russian military and 109 had returned back to Sri Lanka. Russian authorities have confirmed 64 deaths. Moscow and Colombo intend to encourage trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation to increase bilateral trade which was only USD $ 538 million in 2023, with a trade deficit of USD 250 million in Russia's favour. Both countries are considering cooperation in the energy sector. Russia supplied 55,000 tonnes of fertilizers (potassium chloride) to Sri Lanka. In April, Russia's Deputy Minister of Energy Roman Marshavin discussed prospects for joint investment projects in the fuel and energy sector, with his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumara Jayakody. A Russian business delegation comprising representatives from Russian banks and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry participated in the Russia-Sri Lanka Business Forum recently. Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Levan S. Dzhagaryan met the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Jagath Wickramaratne in February as Colombo acknowledged the significant number of Russian tourists visiting Sri Lanka and expressed appreciation for Russiaas continued support on various occasions, including the donation of fertilizer.

Maldives: Russia has signalled its intent to enhance partnership and strengthen bilateral security ties with Maldives and recently appointed its first Consul General in Male. Maldives has consistently avoided accepting Moscow's invitations to attend Russian led events, forums and summits. It is apprehensive of likely adverse impact on relations with friendly countries, particularly the European Union. However, Maldives is cognizant of the potential of FDI and tourists from Russia. An estimated 2,16,092 Russian tourists visited Maldives in 2024, accounting for 11 per cent of total tourist arrivals in the country. Maldives might review its stance once the ongoing Ukraine conflict comes to an end. However, in a recent development, Maldivian Foreign Ministry has suggested a policy shift from a passive stance to a proactive and cooperative engagement with Moscow, including re-establishing high-level diplomatic visits.

Myanmar: Russia and Myanmar have sought to strengthen relations in September 2022 with Myanmar opening consulates in Saint Petersburg on March 5 and in Novosibirsk on March 9. Moscow provided humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to help in relief operations in the wake of the devastating March 28 earthquake. Myanmar State Administration Council (SAC) Chairman, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (MAH) visited Russia to attend the 80th Victory Day parade on May 9. This was his fifth visit since the coup in 2021. The joint statement issued after the visit on March 3-5 underscored readiness to deepen militarya"technology, economic and nuclear energy cooperation. Both countries intend to encourage efforts to increase bilateral trade, which was USD $288 million in 2024. Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow. Their first encounter since the Myanmar military seized power over four years ago brings gains for Min Aung Hlaing in his diplomatic and political theatre, as well as in the civil war, while also underscoring the deepening coordination between Moscow and Beijing around Myanmar issues. Xi reaffirmed China's support for the regime in the regional and international arenas, and expressed support for the juntaas proposed poll. Russia and China are major arms suppliers of the regime. Myanmar is heavily dependent on oil supplies (90 per cent of total oil imports) from Russia to meet its energy shortages and power outages primarily due to aging hydro-electric power stations and electrical infrastructure. Myanmar also plans to send workers for employment in Russian manufacturing, construction and agriculture sectors. Separately, Russian Minister for Economic Development, Maxim G. Reshetnikov and Myanmar Investment Minister Kan Zaw signed a MoU for investment cooperation in Dawei Special Economic Zone (196 sq km project in the Andaman Sea) in February. The MoU envisaged construction of a port and an oil refinery.

Nepal: Moscow has also reached out to Nepal. It has regularly invited Nepalese dignitaries and senior officials to international events in Russia to supplement efforts of Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Aleksei A. Novikov to reach out to Nepalese leaders and interlocutors. Nepal will attend the SPIEF. Russia is keen to resume energy cooperation, especially in hydro-power projects and has suggested reinvigorating the joint Russia-Nepal Working Group on Energy Cooperation which had its first meeting in August 2023 in Kathmandu. Novikov reiterated in April to Nepalese Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka Moscow's interest in expanding investment in Nepal's energy and hydro-power sectors. A Russian power generating company RusHydro intends to have a presence in hydropower, water supply, water treatment and sanitation sectors of Nepal. A RusHydro delegation is likely to visit Nepal in June. In February, a JSC National Aviation Service Company delegation visited Nepal for after-sales support and maintenance of Mi-17 helicopters. Moscow has proposed to supply Mi-17 V-5 military transport helicopters for Nepal's humanitarian efforts in times of natural calamities.

INSTC: The focus is on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which Russia views as part of its flagship project to expand and strengthen relations with countries in South Asia. The INSTC represents a transformative development in international trade logistics, offering a promising avenue for enhanced economic cooperation and growth across the involved regions. By reducing transit times and costs, the corridor is set to significantly boost trade volumes, fostering closer economic ties and mutual prosperity.

Russia's constructive multilateral relations with the countries of South Asia, manifestation of its non-coercive diplomacy in the region, have opened the gates to its substantial regional influence, allowing Moscow to engage with vital new markets and act resolutely with the ongoing conflicts, while maintaining the role of a pacifying force.

(The writer is an expert on South Asia and Eurasia. He was formerly with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Views expressed are personal)
A contestant sings at the Ghana division final of the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency contest in Cape Coast, Ghana, May 16, 2025. The final was held on Friday in Cape Coast of Ghana's Central Region, with many young talents capturing the hearts and minds of the audience. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

CAPE COAST, Ghana, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ghana division final of the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency contest was held on Friday in Cape Coast of Ghana's Central Region, with many young talents capturing the hearts and minds of the audience.

The contest, hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), assembled students from the University of Ghana, the UCC, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, who showcased their Chinese language skills.

The contestants took written tests in Chinese and showcased their Chinese language skills through speeches, knowledge tests, and talent performances, including tongue twisters, voice dubbing, martial arts, singing, and dancing.

Godfred Takyi Boateng, a first-year Chinese language student at the UCC, became the overall winner and will represent Ghana in the global finals.

"What motivated me was my late mother, who introduced me to the world of Chinese. Unfortunately, she has passed away. She was a UCC student and a translator for over 20 years with fluency in English, Chinese, French, and Spanish," Boateng told Xinhua in an interview.

He said learning Chinese is not only for competitions like this but also opens a doorway to many possibilities for Ghanaian youth.

In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Tong Defa thanked Ghanaian authorities for their immense support for the competition and pledged the Chinese embassy's support for helping Ghanaian youth learn the Chinese language.

"The Chinese embassy will steadfastly support Ghana's Chinese language education development, continue to support the daily work of the three Confucius Institutes in Ghana, and provide the Chinese ambassador's scholarship and Chinese government scholarship for outstanding Ghanaian students," he said. 

A contestant performs at the Ghana division final of the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency contest in Cape Coast, Ghana, May 16, 2025. The final was held on Friday in Cape Coast of Ghana's Central Region, with many young talents capturing the hearts and minds of the audience. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

Prize-winners pose for a group photo at the Ghana division final of the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency contest in Cape Coast, Ghana, May 16, 2025. The final was held on Friday in Cape Coast of Ghana's Central Region, with many young talents capturing the hearts and minds of the audience. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
New Delhi, May 17 : Delhi Master Plan 2041 will be implemented very soon bringing a new wave of development, including in 48 villages, Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Verma said on Saturday.

Convincing a group of villagers in Daulatpur to end their sit-in, Verma stated that the long-awaited Master Plan 2041 is in its final stages and will be implemented very soon.

Under this ambitious plan, around 48 villages in Delhi will be urbanised boosting infrastructural growth in these areas and providing access to essential urban amenities such as paved roads, proper drainage systems, reliable water supply, street lighting, schools, and healthcare.

In a major relief to thousands of rural families, the Minister also announced that the first registry of properties falling under the Lal Dora category  signifying the habitation zone in villages - will be completely free of cost.

Verma said this move is expected to resolve long-pending property disputes and enable people to obtain legal ownership documents without financial burden.

"It will also help strengthen land rights and bring transparency to rural property records," he said.

The PWD Minister visited Daulatpur village, where farmers were on a sit-in to press for their demands including de-sealing of properties and early introduction of the land pooling policy.

He listened to their concerns and assured them of the government's commitment to addressing their issues. His intervention and positive assurances led to the peaceful conclusion of the protest.

Speaking to the media, Verma said: "Our goal is not just to create policies, but to implement them on the ground with full transparency and accountability. Master Plan 2041 will change the face of Delhi's villages and provide the rural population with facilities on par with urban areas."

He directed all departments to ensure that every step of the plan's implementation is carried out in a time-bound and people-centric manner.
Bengaluru, May 17 : The Bengaluru Wholesale Cloth Merchants' Association has announced a unanimous decision to cease all import and export of textiles to and from Turkey and Azerbaijan, with immediate effect.

This collective action was taken after careful deliberation and in alignment with the Association's commitment to ethical business practices, national sentiment, and the interests of the trade community.

"As responsible stakeholders in the textile trade sector, we believe it is essential to take principled stands when necessary," the Association said in its official statement.

Talking to IANS, Association President Prakash Chand Pirgal said that all members have agreed to halt both current and future imports of textile goods from Turkey and Azerbaijan, adding that it has also been decided to stop all ongoing and planned export activities to these countries.

"The volume of trade in clothes with Turkey runs into crores. Gents' trousers, cotton clothing, and Turkish towels are the primary imports. When the proposal to boycott textile imports from Turkey and Azerbaijan was presented, it was supported by all members within 10 minutes. Though this may result in short-term losses, we are confident they will be recovered through trade with other countriespossibly with even greater returns," he added.

He further clarified that members would also refrain from engaging in any indirect trade through intermediaries or third-party countries that may involve textile products originating from or destined for Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"When Turkey was struck by an earthquake, India was the first country to land a relief flight there. India had sent doctors, medicines, and other aid. And now, Turkey has supplied weapons to Pakistan. Given this context, we feel this boycott is justified," said Chand.

He also noted that Turkey is a major player in the marble trade and that the Association is expected to make a decision soon regarding the continuation of business in that sector as well.

"This resolution will remain in force until further notice. Any revisions will be officially communicated through the Association's governing body. We request all relevant authorities, trade partners, logistics providers, and stakeholders to take note of this declaration and extend their cooperation," the statement said.
Los Angeles, May 17 : Hollywood actress Emma Stone used social media to get into the headspace of her character in Ari Aster's Western film 'Eddington'. She had to learn a lot about conspiracy theories, and started working its way into her social media algorithms.

Stone plays Louise, the wife of Joaquin Phoenix's sheriff, who falls down a conspiracy rabbit hole when she meets Austin Butler's seductive guru, reports 'Variety'.

Asked at the Cannes Film Festival press conference for 'Eddington' about how she prepared for the role, Stone reflected on how her own algorithm changed during filming.

"The only additional thing that scared me a little bit in the algorithm system was looking into some of the things that are in this film that haven't been in my algorithm, unfortunately added them to my algorithm", she said. "Because once you start Googling it, you start seeing more and more things. So it's a real rabbit hole, very quickly. Unfortunately, I'm still getting fed some crazy shit".

As per 'Variety', 'Eddington', which debuted at Cannes last night to a five-minute standing ovation, also stars Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler.

The A24 film, which doesn't shy away from skewering the MAGA movement, is set at the height of the COVID pandemic in May 2020 and follows "a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor that "sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico".

In a more humorous memory from Covid-19 lockdown, Pascal said "the only thing he could watch" to "protect" himself from the algorithm was the filmography of 'Twin Peaks' actress Lara Flynn Boyle.

"There were several seasons of David E. Kelley's 'The Precious,' and it was all on Hulu and I watched that", he said, eliciting a laugh from the room. "That and reality shows about airports, like old A&E, people just losing their shit at the airport or trying to move their house in boxes but using Southwest Airlines instead of a shipping company and stuff like that. I was educating myself".

'Eddington' is set to arrive in cinemas on July 18.
Chennai, May 17 : Tamil Nadu Excise Minister S. Muthusamy on Saturday accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of harassing state government officials under the pretext of investigating an alleged scam in the state-run liquor retailer TASMAC, and violating procedures laid down by the Supreme Court.

In a strongly worded statement, Muthusamy, who also holds the Housing and Prohibition portfolios, condemned what he termed as "politically motivated actions" by the ED and assured full legal support to the officials under scrutiny.

He reiterated the government's commitment to stand by its employees and take all necessary legal steps against what he described as "vendetta-driven actions."

The Minister alleged that the ED's raids on TASMAC's headquarters and other locations were an attempt to falsely portray irregularities during the DMK regime.

However, he pointed out that the ED's probe was based on cases originally filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) during the previous AIADMK government.

"Despite extensive searches, the ED has found no evidence to substantiate claims of irregularities in TASMAC. Yet, the agency released a press note based on imagination, alleging a Rs 1,000 crore scam," Muthusamy said.

He added that the ED, in its attempt to justify these allegations, has continued to target and distress state officials.

"As part of this, on May 16, the ED conducted searches at the residence of TASMAC Managing Director S. Visakan and others. These raids, too, yielded no evidence, yet the harassment continues," the minister said.

He further alleged that the agency was coercing officials, though he did not provide details.

Referring to earlier searches at TASMAC's headquarters in March and again on May 16 at various other premises, Muthusamy said the ED's actions are in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in multiple cases related to the agency's functioning.

"I strongly condemn, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, the ED's politically motivated actions," Muthusamy said, reaffirming the state's resolve to protect its officials through appropriate legal recourse.

--IANS

aal/dan
Thiruvananthapuram, May 17 : The Congress in Kerala is often known for its vocal internal dissent and public airing of grievances. Yet, there is a curious silence when it comes to one man -- the English-speaking and articulate four-time Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor.

Reacting to his selection to lead an Indian parliamentary delegation, Tharoor said he had accepted the government's request, calling it an honour.

"If the nation requires my services, I am available," Tharoor said. "The Minister (Kiren Rijiju) told me the nation and the government need me, and I responded that I am ready to stand by the nation."

He added, "Politics exists only if the nation exists. We must project national unity."

On questions about his party's stand, Tharoor said, "The Minister told me they are speaking to all political parties. There is no need to ask me what my party is saying."

"When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting," he declared.

Since his surprise candidature in 2009, Tharoor has rarely enjoyed the backing of the Congress old guard in Kerala. Yet, he remains one of the most high-profile faces from the state, as seen again when he was chosen as part of the multi-party MP delegations tasked with taking India's anti-terrorism message abroad.

What has raised eyebrows is that his name did not figure in the list submitted by the Congress party -- a point the BJP was quick to capitalise on. Amit Malviya, head of the BJP's IT cell, accused Rahul Gandhi of being "insecure" and "jealous" for not naming the "eloquent" Tharoor for the delegations.

A political observer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tharoor has more detractors than supporters within the Congress party in Kerala.

"He's not the typical Congress leader who relies on the high command's blessings. When he contested in 2009 as a political outsider, he won by nearly a lakh votes -- not because of the party machinery, but because apolitical voters and a large section of women embraced him," the observer said.

His political journey, however, has had its ups and downs. In 2014, following the 'suspicious' death of his wife shortly before the Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor barely scraped through with a margin of about 15,000 votes -- a dip attributed to a decline in support from women voters.

In 2019, he bounced back with another near-lakh majority. But in 2024, facing BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, he once again had a close call, winning by just around 15,000 votes.

Even when he challenged the party's official nominee, Mallikarjun Kharge, in the Congress presidential race, there was no public mudslinging. Yet, several senior leaders quietly expressed their displeasure.

Now, with Tharoor making it clear -- albeit subtly -- that he doesn't need the party's approval to serve the nation, the big question is whether the Congress in Kerala will finally break its silence and react, or once again choose to look the other way.
Agartala, May 17 : In a significant boost to Tripura's dairy sector, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and Minister of State SP Singh Baghel on Saturday inaugurated a 40,000 TLPD (Thousand Litres Per Day) milk processing plant of Gomati Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd at Bamutia in West Tripura district.

The new facility is expected to reduce the state's dependence on milk imports, enhance local dairy infrastructure, and uplift the rural economy by empowering local farmers and producers.

Addressing the media after the inauguration, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh (also known as Lalan Singh) expressed confidence in Tripura's potential to achieve self-sufficiency in milk and fish production.

"The Government of India believes Tripura has the resources and capability to become self-reliant in dairy and fisheries. I have assured the Chief Minister of complete cooperation from the Centre," he said.

He further announced that a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries would visit the state in Junesubject to the Chief Minister's availabilityto prepare a comprehensive roadmap to achieve this goal.

"The Central government is committed to making Tripura self-sufficient in milk and fish production. If Chief Minister Manik Saha agrees, we will invite officials from the Ministry, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) for a brainstorming session in June," Singh added.

The Union Minister also praised the Tripura government's development efforts, particularly under the leadership of the Chief Minister, and stressed that empowering farmers involved in milk and fish production will significantly contribute to the state's economic growth.

Ratan Ghosh, chairman of the Gomati Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd, told IANS, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, development work is progressing in Tripura. The Central government has allocated Rs 19.38 crore, and the state government has contributed Rs 2 crore for this project. It will directly benefit farmers across the state."
New Delhi, May 17 : In a big push for rural development in Assam, the Union government on Saturday announced the sanctioning of 3.76 lakh more houses for the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G).

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) In a big push for rural development in Assam, the Union government on Saturday announced the sanctioning of 3.76 lakh more houses for the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana a" Gramin (PMAY-G).

The announcement was made by Union Minister for Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during a virtual aGrihapravesha ceremony held in Guwahati to mark the completion of 55,000 houses under the same scheme.

Speaking at the event, Chouhan said the government is committed to improving rural infrastructure and ensuring better living conditions for poor and underprivileged families.

He also appreciated Assamas achievement of completing 20 lakh houses under PMAY-G, describing it as a remarkable milestone.

The event was attended by several beneficiaries who have moved into their newly built homes.

They were felicitated for successfully completing their houses under the central housing scheme.

In a step aimed at empowering rural women, the Union Minister also launched the aLakhimi Mistria initiative.

This programme will train women in masonry skills, opening up employment opportunities for them in the construction sector.

As a symbolic start to the initiative, safety kits were distributed to five women who will receive training under the new scheme.

Chouhan also virtually inaugurated 21 aKnowledge Centresa across Assam. These centres have been set up under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) and are aimed at supporting farmers by giving them better access to information and agricultural resources.

During the event, Chouhan praised the Assam government for effectively implementing rural development schemes.

He especially congratulated Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his leadership in making these efforts successful.

Chief Minister Sarma, who was present at the ceremony, thanked the Union government for its continued support.

He said that the state is fully committed to empowering farmers, women, and rural communities through inclusive and sustainable development.
Hanoi, May 17 : The holy relics of Lord Buddha sent from India were enshrined at the famous Buddhist temple of Tam Chuc Pagoda in Ha Nam province of Vietnam on Saturday with ceremonial prayers and procession. The event saw participation of Chairman of Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee, Standing Vice President of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, former Vice President of Vietnam, Indian Ambassador to the country and venerable monks. A large number of people across Vietnam also gathered to pay respect to the sacred relics.

"Sacred Buddha Relics from India were enshrined today at the renowned Tam Chuc Pagoda, Ha Nam with due ceremonies, prayers and procession with the Chairman of Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee, Standing Vice President of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, former Vice President of Vietnam, Indian Ambassador and venerable monks. The reverence of a large number of people across Vietnam for the Relics is very touching and highly valued," the Embassy of India in Hanoi posted on X.

The holy relics were brought from India on May 2 by an Indian delegation led by Union Minister of Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju which also included Andhra Pradesh Minister Kandula Durgesh and senior monks and officials.

The holy relics will remain in Vietnam until May 21 as part of the UN Day of Vesak celebrations. The relics were earlier displayed at Thanh Tam Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, and then in Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh province and were in Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi till Friday.

Earlier this week, the Indian Embassy in Vietnam shared information on relics of Lord Buddha and upcoming projects with the local media.

Terming it as a "national treasure" of India, the Embassy stated that the visit of Lord Buddha's relics to Vietnam is the result of the cooperation between both governments, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and other organisations.

India's sending of the holy relics to Vietnam had been appreciated by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong as a gesture that further strengthened the strong spiritual and cultural ties between both countries.
Jaipur, May 17 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat emphasised the need for power in delivering messages of peace and harmony, stating that "the world listens to the language of love only when one has power".

He said this while speaking at a programme organised on the death anniversary of Ravinath Maharaj at Ravinath Ashram, Harmada in Jaipur, on Saturday.

Stating that India plays the role of elder brother of the world, he said: "India is the oldest nation in the world, and its role is like that of an elder brother. Our goal is to promote global peace and harmony -- but to do that effectively, we must also be strong."

He highlighted India's long-standing tradition of sacrifice, referring to revered figures such as Bhamashah and Lord Ram.

"This legacy of selfless service continues to inspire us. Ravinath Maharaj's compassion and teachings guide us toward righteous living," he added.

Speaking on the recent India-Pakistan border tension, he pointed out that power is essential for welfare, adding: "We do not hate anyone. But the nature of the world is such that love and peace are respected only when backed by power."

The RSS chief also said "whatever India is doing, it's the best", in reference to Operation Sindoor by the Armed Forces that targeted terror launchpads in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Bhagwat stressed that while India does not seek enmity with any nation, it possesses the strength to defend itself and teach lesson to those who challenge its sovereignty.

The RSS chief said that "India will progress in all fields... it must do so".

Meanwhile, humbly receiving honours at the Ashram, Mohan Bhagwat said: "I am not here as a chief guest or speaker. I stand here as a humble participant in a tradition that spans over 100 years. The honor I have received today is not mine alone -- it belongs to the millions of RSS workers whose tireless dedication has built this tradition."

The programme was attended by RSS promoters, saints, and hundreds of devotees.

Bhavnath Maharaj honoured Mohan Bhagwat during the event, and heartfelt tributes were paid to the life and teachings of Ravinath Maharaj.
Patna, May 17 : In a significant move to strengthen electoral preparedness ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Election Commissioner of India (ECI) Vivek Joshi conducted an extensive review of election-related arrangements during his visit to East and West Champaran districts on Saturday.

Joshi began his tour at Motihari (East Champaran), where he inspected the First Level Checking (FLC) centre. He assessed the progress of the EVM/VVPAT verification process, interacting with Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) engineers and reviewing technical protocols.

Eighteen ECIL engineers have been stationed at the FLC centre since May 2, with operations expected to conclude by May 24.

The process is being conducted in strict accordance with ECI norms and in the presence of representatives from recognised political parties, including the BJP, JD(U), RJD, Congress, LJP(R), CPI(M), CPI(ML), BSP, and AAP.

Later, Joshi chaired a high-level review meeting at the district headquarters in Bettiah (West Champaran) to evaluate the status of election preparedness.

The meeting was attended by Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, District Election Officer Dinesh Kumar Rai, senior police and administrative officials, and ECI nodal officers.

The District Election Officer shared key electoral data during a presentation.

In his directives, CEO Gunjiyal emphasised the availability of assured minimum facilities at all polling stations, proper accommodations for security personnel, and timely preparations for the Special Summary Revision 2025.

Joshi underlined the need for accessibility in remote and forested polling areas. Of the 2,731 polling stations in the district, 2,423 are in rural areas, and 308 are in urban zones.

He instructed that all stations must be fully equipped for votersa convenience.

Joshi expressed concern over low voter registration among youth aged 18-19 years, noting that only 29,897 of the estimated 2,04,162 have been enrolled, a shortfall of 85 per cent.

He ordered a special registration drive, engaging Nehru Yuva Kendra, Electoral Literacy Clubs, campus ambassadors, and educational institutions. QR codes for the Voter Helpline App will be widely displayed to facilitate digital registration.

The Commissioner also addressed the gender imbalance in the electoral roll, where the sex ratio stands at 892 compared to the census figure of 909.

He directed officials to launch focused campaigns to ensure full enrolment of eligible women voters, promoting both gender equity and higher voter turnout.

Calling the electoral roll a dynamic document, Joshi instructed that names of deceased voters must be promptly removed, and all records kept updated.

He stressed the urgency and time-bound nature of electoral tasks and urged officials to act with integrity, efficiency, and impartiality.

While West Champaran outperformed the state average of 56.28 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with a 60.59 per cent voter turnout, it still lagged behind the national average of 66.10 per cent.

Joshi called for intensive micro-level SVEEP (Systematic Voteras Education and Electoral Participation) activities, informed by previous election insights, to further improve turnout.

Following the review meeting, Joshi visited Polling Station No. 207 at Primary School Inarwa, Sikta Assembly Constituency, where he spoke directly with the polling officer and reviewed preparations on-site.
DAMASCUS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian security forces launched an operation in the northern Aleppo city on Saturday, targeting hideouts linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, the interior authorities said.

In a statement, the authorities said the ongoing operation has so far led to the arrest of five suspected militants. One member of the General Security forces was killed during an exchange of fire as units stormed the IS hideouts.

Following the raid, security personnel recovered several explosive devices, a booby-trapped vest, and uniforms bearing the insignia of Syrian security forces, items officials believe may have been intended for future attacks or infiltration attempts.

The authorities added that the detained individuals would be referred to the judiciary for prosecution, and efforts to apprehend other individuals connected to the group are continuing.

"This operation is part of our ongoing work to combat terrorism and ensure stability and public safety across all Syrian territory," the authorities said. 
New Delhi, May 17 : Senior government officials have underscored the pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) in revolutionising governance paradigms, reiterating AI's growing relevance in enabling data-driven policymaking, augmenting service delivery mechanisms, and optimising administrative efficiency, IT Ministry said on Saturday.

In a concerted effort to accelerate the adoption of AI in public administration, the Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) in Tripura, in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the IT Ministry, organised a sensitisation and capacity building workshop on "AI for Good Governance: Driving Transparency, Efficiency & Impact" at Pragna Bhawan, Agartala.

The workshop, conducted as a key component of NeGD's Capacity Building initiative, aimed to enhance the understanding and adoption of AI in governance among senior officials in the state.

Kiran Gitte, Secretary, Information Technology, state government, emphasised the state's unwavering focus on cultivating an innovation-centric governance framework that is citizen-focused and future-ready.

Jitendra Kumar Sinha, Chief Secretary, state government, highlighted the state's notable digital governance initiatives, including eOffice, eCabinet, and the Beneficiary Management System.

He discussed the strategic imperative of mainstreaming emerging technologies like AI into governance structures to foster transparency, accountability, and enhanced service quality.

Sinha also highlighted the importance of institutionalising capacity building and advocating for the ethical, inclusive, and responsible deployment of AI across public sector systems.

The workshop featured four high-impact technical sessions delivered by domain experts from NeGD and IndiaAI, according to a MeitY statement.

"This initiative marks a significant milestone in Tripura's digital governance journey and affirms the government's resolve to integrate AI-driven approaches for public service transformation," it added.

The workshop forms part of MeitY's broader IndiaAI Mission. The Capacity Building (CB) scheme of NeGD is designed to empower state governments with domain expertise, practical exposure, and best practices in AI governance.

Aligned with this national vision, the programme is poised to catalyse the development of a resilient, inclusive, and ethically sound AI ecosystem tailored to Tripura's governance aspirations.

IANS

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Gwalior, May 17 : Union Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said on Saturday that India is at the forefront of the rapidly advancing global telecom revolution under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He asserted that in the days to come, India will play a leading role in tailoring rules for 6G technology. The minister made this assertion during an interaction with media persons in his home district in Gwalior on Saturday.

The minister was briefing the press about India's achievements in telecommunication on the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on May 17.

Lauding the reach of 5G in the country, he noted that the rollout of 5G in the country has been one of the fastest in the world, and will be able to reach 82 per cent of the population in 22 months.

"The rollout of 5G technology has taken place, and in just 22 months, the information revolution has reached 82 per cent of the population of 99 per cent of districts in the country. India will take the lead in shaping the upcoming 6G technology regulations," Scindia added.

He also stated that new services are being introduced in the postal system.

The Minister informed that India Post is one of the largest logistics and distribution networks in the world, having 1.64 lakh post offices and 2.5 lakh postal workers.

"In 2008, I designed the logo for the Department of Posts, with the slogan 'Postal Service is Public Service.' Every postal worker operates with this spirit. India will continue to lead the telecom revolution," said Scindia.

May 17 is observed as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day to raise global awareness of social changes brought about by the internet and new technologies and reduce the digital divide.

Meanwhile, responding to India endorsing the boycott of Turkiye for its support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Scindia said, "This is the will of the people. The nation comes first."

"The boycott is an emotional decision taken by the people of the nation. Citizens have made this decision voluntarily. The nation comes first, and no citizen will compromise when it comes to national interest and security," he asserted.

--IANS

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Jammu, May 17 : In a major step towards strengthening community-based security and harnessing the capabilities of former military personnel, the Sainik Welfare Board of J&K had moved a proposal for mobilising Ex-Servicemen (ESM) to safeguard vital infrastructure across the Union Territory.

A defence ministry statement said that this proposal has now been formally approved by the J&K Government, setting the stage for a unique collaboration between veterans and civil authorities.

An official said that as per the approved plan, 4,000 Ex-Servicemen volunteers have been identified for this initiative. Among them, 435 individuals possess licensed personal weapons, significantly enhancing the capacity to respond effectively to localised security situations.

"These ESM will be employed for the protection of critical infrastructure in all 20 districts of J&K, including power stations, bridges, government installations, and other vulnerable points. The initiative builds upon the previous success during the Covid-19 pandemic, where 2,500 Ex-Servicemen volunteered to support the administration. The increase to 4,000 reflects both the growing spirit of service among veterans and the trust reposed in them by the government and local populace," he said.

He further said that as per the proposal, the ESM volunteers will serve under the overall coordination of the respective District Sainik Welfare Officers (DSWOs), adding that they will function in close coordination with the district administration and local police. Their role is non-combatant, focusing on static guard duties, presence-based deterrence, and local coordination.

Uniforms and basic equipment will be provided through the Sainik Welfare Board with administrative support from district authorities.

Training and orientation programmes are being planned to ensure standardised conduct and efficiency.

This initiative not only utilises the discipline, experience, and commitment of the ESM community but also represents a model of inclusive and participatory security.

It further cements the Indian Army's legacy of service beyond the battlefield, contributing meaningfully to civil society and local governance structures in Jammu and Kashmir.
Agartala, May 17 : Northeast region's largest dairy unit was jointly inaugurated in Tripura on Saturday by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh.

The Tripura Chief Minister and Union Minister jointly inaugurated the 40,000 tonne per day producing capacity milk processing unit at Bamutia in West Tripura district. It is the largest dairy in the northeastern region, comprising eight states.

Tripura Chief Minister, while addressing the inaugural function, said that the second unit of the Gomati Dairy has been set up on 3.57 acres of land and a cost of approximately Rs 22.01 crore.

He said that of Rs 22.01 crore, Rs 19.41 crore was provided by the Centre, and the state government has provided Rs 2.60 crore. The Gomati Dairy, sponsored by the Tripura government, comprises 178 cooperative societies, and over 5,000 dairy farmers are poised to unlock new opportunities for the state's rural economy.

Saha said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have stressed to give the cooperative sectors to boost the rural economy as well as the livelihood of the people, especially the rural masses.

"In Tripura, over nine lakh people, including a large number of women, are associated with cooperative sectors. Women are also in huge numbers associated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) and earning their livelihoods," the Chief Minister said.

He said that Tripura currently has 53,623 SHGs under the Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission, and 4.84 lakh rural women are associated with these SHGs, while under the Tripura Urban Livelihood Mission, around 5,941 SHGs were formed involving 63,743 women living in the urban areas.

He added that Rs 746.80 crore were given as financial assistance (revolving fund) to these SHG members to produce various items and to do business in numerous sectors.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aspiration, the Chief Minister said that the Tripura government has given utmost priority to transparency in governance, employment, service delivery to people and all other areas of administration.

The Chief Minister said that among the SHGs members, 91,871 women emerged as 'Lakhpati Didis' through their engagement in various enterprising units.

He also announced that the government has set a target of making the state self-sufficient in the production of fish, meat, milk, and eggs within the next five years.

"The Animal Resources Department team is working on this. Along with agriculture and horticultural crop production, the government has given special importance to animal resources. All-round development of animal husbandry in rural areas has been given importance," said the Chief Minister.

Besides the Chief Minister, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, S. P. Singh Baghel, Tripura's Animal Resource Development Department Minister Sudhangshu Das, among others, spoke at the function.

--IANS

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Mumbai, May 17 : Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that the party may have ideological opposition but during the crisis (in the country) it will always be with the Prime Minister.

"We are not against the country but against the government. Kashmir is ours. Kashmir was ours yesterday, it is ours today and it will be ours tomorrow. One day, the BJP will not remain in the country, but Kashmir will remain ours," he said in his speech at the meeting of party MPs, legislators and district chiefs held today at the Sena Bhavan in Dadar.

The meeting took a review of the organisational preparedness to face the upcoming local and civic body elections, especially after the recent judgment by the Supreme Court asking the state to complete the process in four months.

The meeting also coincided with the exit of key party functionaries and their move to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

However, undeterred by several activists calling it a day, Thackeray said: "Our ship is not sinking. Instead, the overloaded ship of BJP is sinking. Amit Shah is the head of three parties, including Shiv Sena and the NCP, in addition to the BJP. Power comes and goes. We don't want to be overwhelmed when we come to power, and we don't want to be sad when we lose power."

He, however, asked the party activists to work hard and make efforts to regain power.

"Those to whom we have given a lot are leaving the party. Even if they leave the party, it will not affect our party. Let those who want to leave go. The workers are with us," claimed Thackeray.

Thackeray also referred to the Mumbai visit of the JPC on One Nation One Election saying that the study and the process of holding simultaneous elections was currently underway.

"The elections should be held transparently. It is fine that they (the government) are holding One Nation One Election. But the Prime Minister and Chief Minister should not campaign," he said.

Shiv Sena-UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told reporters after the meeting, "party chief Uddhav Thackeray has asked the Shiv Sainiks to focus on a range of issues faced by the common man".

"The issues of the state were discussed. Due to the war-like situation between India and Pakistan, the prevailing issues in Maharashtra and those faced by the common man have been left aside. He directed the party activists to focus on the common man's issues. The problems faced by the beloved sisters (in Ladki Bahin Yojana), farmers and water deficit among others should be taken up on a priority basis," she said.
Jaipur, May 17 : A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which had been grounded at Jaipur Airport for the past two weeks due to a technical fault in its landing gear, was finally repaired on Saturday with the assistance of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The aircraft had arrived in Jaipur following the visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance, tasked with transporting his security equipment and vehicles back to the US. However, just before takeoff, the Globemaster developed a malfunction in its wheel system, forcing it to remain parked at the airport.

The Indian Air Force in an X post said, "An IAF maintenance team worked alongside USAF personnel to address a technical snag on USAF- C-17 aircraft at Jaipur. Critical equipment was rapidly mobilised, reflecting high coordination under logistics cooperation frameworks. They hashtagged words like #Teamwork #Readiness #IAF #JointOps."

The X post tagged the Defence Ministry of India, and US Air Force, the Indian Navy, and the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence as well.

For nearly two weeks, the US Air Forceas technical crew attempted to resolve the issue but failed to get the aircraft flight-ready.

Eventually, the Indian Air Force dispatched a technical support team to assist their American counterparts. The IAF team successfully helped restore the aircraft to operational condition.

The grounded C-17 Globemaster drew attention on social media amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, with images of the massive military cargo plane going viral and sparking speculation.

With the technical issues now resolved, the aircraft is expected to depart from Jaipur for the US within the next 24 hours.
Mumbai, May 17 : The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, conducted extensive consultations with key stakeholders in Maharashtra regarding the feasibility and implications of simultaneous elections.

The Committee held in-depth discussions with officials from the Maharashtra government, senior state bureaucrats, and representatives of national and regional political parties.

The deliberations focused on the potential administrative and economic impact of holding simultaneous elections.

Senior state officials assured the Committee that a thorough study would be undertaken to assess the broader outcomes, particularly in sectors such as education, said the government release.

During the visit, the Committee also met with representatives of political parties in Maharashtra, including Prithviraj Chavan, former Chief Minister of the state. Party representatives shared their views on constitutional, logistical, and related challenges associated with simultaneous elections.

In a separate session, the Committee interacted with officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to understand the implications of unsynchronised elections on monetary policy.

RBI officials informed the Committee that a comprehensive study would be conducted to evaluate the effects of simultaneous elections on policy formulation and economic uncertainty caused by frequent electoral cycles.

The Committee also engaged with representatives from major financial institutions, including the State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC), and NABARD.

The discussions centred on the potential impact of simultaneous elections on the countryas banking sector and credit culture. These institutions assured the Committee that, under the aegis of the Indian Banks' Association, a holistic study would be initiated and its findings submitted to the Committee.

The JPC aims to incorporate these insights into its report, guiding the way forward on the complex issue of electoral reforms and the feasibility of simultaneous elections in India.
Chandigarh, May 17 : In a major crackdown on the drug nexus amidst the ongoing anti-drugs campaign 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', Punjab Police's Commissionerate Police Amritsar has busted two smuggling networks with the arrest of three accused and recovery of 1.01 kg heroin, Rs 45.19 lakh drug money and a cash counting machine, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

Chandigarh, May 17 (IANS) In a major crackdown on the drug nexus amidst the ongoing anti-drugs campaign aYudh Nashian Virudha, Punjab Policeas Commissionerate Police Amritsar has busted two smuggling networks with the arrest of three accused and recovery of 1.01 kg heroin, Rs 45.19 lakh drug money and a cash counting machine, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

Those arrested have been identified as Rahul Singh, Gurmukh Singh (21) and Varinderpal Singh.

DGP Yadav said two first information reports (FIRs) under the NDPS Act have been registered. Further investigation is underway to trace linkages to unearth the whole smuggling module, he said.

Sharing operation details of the first operation, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said police teams have arrested accused Rahul alias Kalu and recovered 510 grams of heroin and Rs 30.18 lakh drug money along with a counting machine from his rented house at Anand Vihar in Amritsar.

He said the preliminary investigation has indicated that the accused, Rahul, was in contact with a foreign-based drug smuggler, Tony German and was supplying heroin locally after receiving the consignments from across the border.

An FIR has been registered under Sections 21-C and 25 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Gate Hakima in Amritsar.

In another operation, the Commissioner of Police said police teams from Police Station Verka have arrested Gurmukh Singh and Varinder Pal Singh and recovered 500 grams of heroin, Rs 15.19 lakh drug money and a camera-fitted toy drone from their possession.

The accused had made a concealed bed-box (secret locker) at a house located in Akalgarh village from where drug money has been recovered, he said, while adding that the accused were using the toy drone for practising.
Kolkata, May 17 : Police have arrested two cops in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Saturday in connection with a racket engaged in the arrangement of fake AADHAR cards for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Sanaullah Sheikh (32) and Anwar Rahman (30). They were arrested from Baromasia village under the Sagarpara police station. The business of arranging fake AADHAR cards was being operated from a shop owned by Sheikh.

Two fingerprint scanners, two laptops, one printer, two mobile phones, and three fake AADHAR cards have been recovered from their possession.

Speaking to the media persons on Saturday, the sub-division police office of Domkol, Subham Bajaj, said that in the face of interrogation, the arrested accused have admitted their involvement in the racket for arranging fake AADHAR cards.

He had also warned that common people should be careful about approaching any centre claiming to be a place for the creation of new AADHAR cards. "Only approach the authorised AADHAAR enrolment centres for preparing new AADHAR cards," said Bajaj.

During the last few months, the sleuths of both Kolkata Police and West Bengal have launched major crackdown operations against rackets engaged in arranging fake Indian identity documents, including Indian passports for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Under special scanner on this count are the Indo-Bangladesh bordering districts in West Bengal, like Murshidabad.

The cops investigating the fake Indian identity document rackets have identified a specific pattern in the operations of such rackets in this particular chain of crime.

Any infiltrator illegally crossing over to the Indian territory, contacting the local agents, and showing willingness to pay out hefty amounts for getting fake Indian identity documents is first provided with safe shelters at the different villages adjacent to the borders with Bangladesh in the state, both land and coastal.

Thereafter, the agents arrange for fake birth certificates and fake ration cards for them, which is the first step for making other identity documents. By the fake ration cards, other identification documents like EPIC, PAN, and AADHAAR cards are acquired. The last step is getting the fake passports based on these other fake identity documents.
Mumbai, May 17 : Actor Babil Khan, who was going to be a part of Sai Rajesh's Hindi remake of his 2023 Telugu film "Baby" has now decided to back out of the project.

Mumbai, May 17 (IANS) Actor Babil Khan, who was going to be a part of Sai Rajesh's Hindi remake of his 2023 Telugu filmA "Baby" has now decided to back out of the project.

Sharing his decision on social media, Babil wrote, "With a lot of grit, passion and mutual respect, Sai Rajesh Sir and I both got along on this journey of creating magic together. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, things didn't go ahead as everyone had planned."

He further shared that he will be taking some time off for himself.

"Since I will be taking some time off currently, I wish the best to Sai Rajesh Sir and the film team on their future journey. I know there is immense love between us, and we will meet soon in the future and create magic together," the 'Qala' actor concluded.

Showing his support for Babil's decision to focus on himself, director Sai Rajesh wrote on social media, "Babil is one of the most talented and hardworking actors I have met in my life. However, I have to accept this unfortunate reality of the situation. After spending time with Babil while prepping, I was very happy to be working with such a talented actor... I will still always cherish the experience of seeing him perform in front of me... I will miss my Hero!"

"I respect his decision of self care first, and wish him all the best and send him all the love in the future! I know we both will create that magic together for sure," the filmmaker added.

Previously, reacting to Babil's breakdown video, Sai Rajesh bashed the actor's team for their clarification.

He said, "To Babil Khan's team. Do you really think weare that naive to just walk away silently? What kind of attitude are we being subjected to? It feels like only those whose names were mentioned in his video deserve respect a" and the rest of us are just fools for standing by him all this while."

In response to this, Babil dropped a post revealing that he underwent personal suffering for his role in Sai Rajesh's next.
Children in ethnic costumes stage a show at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

People visit the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

An exhibitor displays a remote surgical equipment at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

People visit the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

People visit the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Models present Bosideng products at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

People visit the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

A robot is pictured at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

A humanoid robot is pictured at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Models present Bosideng products at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

A humanoid robot is pictured at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Visitors look at cultural and creative products at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

A robotic hand is pictured at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Visitors look at smart robotic arms at the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Visitors walk to the venue of the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 17, 2025. The fair opened here on Saturday, attracting exhibitors from over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Song)
Jaipur, May 17 : The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) convener and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal has announced a massive protest rally on May 25 in Jaipur.

Labelling it as 'Aar Paar ki Ladai', Beniwal has demanded the cancellation of the 2021 SI recruitment exam and a complete overhaul of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).

Speaking to the media, Beniwal slammed the alleged ongoing corruption within the RPSC, stating that despite arrests of two RPSC members and several others in connection with the paper leak scandal, the state government remains inactive.

"The future of lakhs of unemployed youth is being destroyed. This injustice cannot go on any longer," he said.

Beniwal announced that over one lakh youth from across Rajasthan are expected to gather in Jaipur on May 25 to demand justice.

"This is not just a rally; it is a people's movement for their rights," he asserted.

The venue of the rally will be decided in consultation with the Sangharsh Samiti and party workers and announced shortly.

Accusing the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government of betrayal, Beniwal said, "Before coming to power, the BJP criticised the Congress over recruitment corruption, but now they're walking the same path."

He alleged that the BJP is acting under 'White House pressure', and is no different from Congress when it comes to public service commission reforms.

He called both parties two sides of the same coin, saying, "One is Nagnath, the other is Sampnath - both are responsible for the suffering of hardworking candidates."
Thiruvananthapuram, May 17 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the state is committed to ensuring that scientific and technological progress is rooted in humanitarian values.

He said this while delivering the inaugural address at a special interaction session with professionals held, here at the members' lounge in the State Legislative Assembly complex.

This special meeting with invited professionals is being held as part of the fourth anniversary of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government's fourth anniversary.

He has been touring all the 14 districts of the state as part of the celebrations.

Saturday's meeting was held under the banner 'Professional Connect' by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), which saw about 600 professionals from across the state.

The Chief Minister emphasised that the state government will step up its support for scientific research and is actively exploring public-private partnerships in this sector.

"The Union Government has significantly slashed funding for scientific research. This is an unfortunate move, as research is crucial not only for generating new knowledge but also for advancing society," said Vijayan. He also raised concerns over the rising influence of superstition in society.

"It is alarming that even those holding constitutional positions are promoting unscientific beliefs. We have witnessed unscientific claims being made even at forums like the Indian Science Congress. In this context, professionals must step in to raise public awareness against such misinformation," added Vijayan.

"Nava Kerala is not a distant dream  it is something we are working to realize here and now," the Chief Minister added in his concluding remarks. Dr. V.K. Ramachandran, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board, who delivered the keynote address, stated that no other state in India facilitates public participation in policymaking in this manner.

The insights and suggestions raised during the dialogue will be compiled into a report and submitted to the state government for further action.
Mulugu : , May 17 (IANS) The Telangana Police have arrested 20 Maoists and seized a large quantity of explosives and arms including Insas, SLR and .303 rifles on Saturday, an official said.

This operation by security forces is being considered a significant move toward weakening the Maoist network in the region.

Following the conclusion of the "Karregutta Naxal Operation" in the Usur police station limits of Bijapur district, Telangana police have carried out a major operation targeting Maoist activities in the Mulugu district.

The police have arrested Maoists from various police station areas, including Wazedu, Venkatapuram, and Kannaigudem regions while vehicle checking and search operations.

Among those arrested are one Divisional Committee Member (DVCM), five Area Committee Members (ACM), and 14 party members. Authorities recovered three Insas rifles, four SLR rifles, one .303 rifle, a large quantity of explosives, and cash from the arrested Maoists.

One DVCM, six platoon members, and one Jan Militia member surrendered before the district Superintendent of Police, according to police sources.

Police stated: "More than six Moaists surrendered during vehicle checking near Palem project in the limits of Venkatapuram police station. Seven Maoists were arrested in the same region. Seven more Maoists were arrested during the search operation in the Murumuru forest region near Guttala Gangaram Guttikoya village which falls under the Wazedu police station limits.

Superintendent of Police P. Shabarish appealed to all Maoists to immediately surrender before the authorities making use of the surrender policy of the Telangana state government and come to the main stream to lead peaceful life and also to join their families.

SP Shabarish further urged the public in the Mulugu district region not to support underground Maoists and warned of legal action against those who are found to be extending any support or assistance of any form.

Following a massive crackdown nationwide against LWE by the security forces, the Maoists had planted IEDs in Karegutta forests and also in the bordering districts of Chattisgarh to prevent security forces and police from entering the area.

The Maoists had also issued a statement on April 8, 2025, warning tribal people and local people not to enter Karegutta forest region.

Following the massive crackdown by the CRPF forces and police, the authorities got information on Maoists fleeing the Karegutta forest region in small groups to escape the attack by the forces.
Patna, May 17 : A shocking incident has emerged from Patna's Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) where a video allegedly showing a health manager molesting a nurse has gone viral on social media, prompting outrage across the medical community.

NMCH has given a swift response and constituted a five-member team to probe the incident.

The accused, identified as Pranav Kumar, a health manager in the Paediatric Department, was seen in the video attempting to molest a 25-year-old nurse inside the hospital premises, allegedly after finding her alone.

The incident reportedly occurred on Wednesday around 1 p.m. in the Nutrition and Rehabilitation Centre of the hospital.

In response, NMCH Superintendent Rashmi Prasad constituted a five-member inquiry committee to probe the matter.

The committee includes B.P. Jaiswal (Paediatrics), Pradeep Karak (Ophthalmology), Deepti Rai (Obstetrics), the Chairperson of the Gynaecology Department, and a female legal expert.

The committee has conducted separate, closed-door questioning of both the accused and the victim over Friday and Saturday.

The records of these sessions have been securely documented and sealed for further review by senior officials in the State Health Department.

Following the incident, there was chaos at NMCH as members of the nursing staff staged a protest, demanding immediate suspension and strict action against Pranav Kumar.

Tensions escalated further when state Health Minister Mangal Pandey visited the hospital to inaugurate a new 100-bed ward.

The victim nurse personally handed over a written complaint to Minister Pandey, urging swift justice.

The Minister has yet to publicly comment on the matter, though sources say he has directed officials to ensure a transparent and timely investigation.

Speaking to the media, Rashmi Prasad assured that the hospital administration is taking the incident seriously.

"The matter is being probed by a panel of senior doctors, including three women. Strict action will be taken once the final report is submitted," Prasad said.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism from medical professionals, rights groups, and the general public, raising serious concerns about workplace safety for women in hospitals, especially government-run institutions.

The inquiry committee is expected to submit its report in a sealed envelope to the Bihar Health Department within a few days.

Any departmental or legal action against the accused will be taken based on the findings of this report.
Patna, May 17 : In a significant boost to healthcare infrastructure in Bihar, state Health Minister Mangal Pandey, on Saturday, inaugurated a 100-bed fully air-conditioned ward at the Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) in Patna.

Built at a cost of Rs 750 crore, the state-of-the-art ward is part of an ongoing expansion of one of Bihar's major public health institutions.

During the inaugural ceremony, Minister Pandey opened his speech with a heartfelt tribute to the Indian Army, saying, "As long as our soldiers are deployed on the borders, we are safe. Their bravery enables us to build a stronger Bihar and a stronger India."

Praising the Armed Forces' role in national security, especially during recent conflicts, the Minister said, "The way the Indian Army confronted Pakistan in the recent war has ensured our borders remain secure. Because of them, we are able to advance in every sector."

The newly inaugurated ward falls under NMCH's Medicine Department and is constructed on an elevated second-floor platform, ensuring better flood resistance.

The Minister said that the days of "fish swimming in hospital wards during rains" are over, in an approval to past monsoon challenges faced by the hospital.

He also told the media that NMCH now has more than 1,100 beds, adding, "Patients will now receive treatment in an improved environment. Moreover, 450 types of medicines are being provided completely free of cost."

The event was attended by several dignitaries, including Bihar Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Pandey shared ambitious plans for the hospital.

Construction of new buildings is already underway and scheduled for completion by August 2025, the Minister said.

NMCH is being developed as a centre of excellence for tuberculosis treatment, with full-scale diagnostic and recovery services soon to be added.

Additional departments will be introduced to enhance medical services for a growing patient base, the Minister added.

"I will personally return to inaugurate the new buildings when they are ready," Minister Pandey added, underlining the government's commitment to public healthcare delivery.
New Delhi, May 17 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has poo-poohed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's assertion while referring to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's statement that India provided advance information to Pakistan regarding Operation Sindoor. Amit Malviya, who oversees the BJP's National Information & Technology Department, supported the EAM's remarks by sharing a video clip from the press briefing given by DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai on May 11.

In the footage, the senior military official is heard stating, "Even though we did attempt to reach out and communicate our compulsions to strike at the heart of terror to my counterpart in the immediate wake of Operation Sindoor, the request was brusquely turned down, with an intimation that a severe response was inevitable and in the offing. We were, of course, prepared."

This statement clearly aligns with S. Jaishankar's claim that India had issued a warning to Pakistan at the outset -- that is, during the initial phase following the operation's commencement, Malviya said.

"It is now being falsely represented as having occurred before the operation began," he said. Rahul Gandhi must cease misrepresenting the facts.

"India knows who he truly speaks for" Malviya said.

On Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) firmly rejected allegations of Rahul Gandhi suggesting that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had declared India informed Pakistan in advance.

The ministry condemned such interpretations as blatant distortions.

The MEA's external publicity division clarified that Jaishankar had stated, "We had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement."

It further stressed: "This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out."

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration of alerting Pakistan to imminent strikes on terrorist positions under Operation Sindoor.

He characterised this as a grave violation and demanded transparency regarding who authorized the move.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi questioned the authorisation for such an action and demanded accountability regarding potential losses suffered by the Indian Air Force.

The MEA categorically refuted Gandhi's allegations, insisting that Jaishankar's words had been misinterpreted. The ministry reiterated that India's warning to Pakistan was issued in the early stages after the operation commenced, not before.

The MEA's external publicity division reinforced this clarification, stating, "We warned Pakistan at the start, which is evidently within the early phase after Operation Sindoor commenced."

The ministry condemned attempts to distort this statement into evidence of prior notification. Adding fuel to the debate, the Kerala unit of the Congress party circulated a video of Jaishankar's remarks, calling on the central government to respond.

Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau's fact-checking unit intervened, dismissing the claims and asserting that Jaishankar's statements had been misquoted.

"A social media post falsely implies from External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar's statement that India informed Pakistan before Operation Sindoor commenced. EAM has been misquotedhe did not make this statement," the unit stated.
Patna, May 18 : In a high-energy display of patriotism and political assertion, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) organised a grand Tiranga Yatra on Saturday in Bihar Sharif and Muzaffarpur to mark the success of Operation Sindoor, India's latest strategic military campaign.

In Bihar Sharif, the event began at the Labour Welfare Centre grounds, with a 200-metre-long national flag forming the centrepiece of the procession.

As the yatra wound its way through key city intersections, spirited chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai," "PM Modi Zindabad," and "Desh Ki Sena Zindabad" echoed across the streets.

Thousands of participants, including party workers and local residents, joined the march, which concluded back at the starting point.

The rally was led by Sunil Kumar, Bihar's Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister.

Speaking to reporters after the rally, he made bold claims about India's military achievements during Operation Sindoor.

"Our armed forces forced Pakistan to kneel in just two days. The whole world was stunned. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India made Pakistan plead for a ceasefire -- on India's terms," Kumar said.

He asserted that while the war has been halted for now, it is not concluded.

"If there is any terrorist attack in the future, we will fight again. This is not a ceasefire but a postponement," he said, emphasising that India is prepared to respond aggressively to any further provocations.

He described the Tiranga Yatra as a symbol of national unity and strength, saying, "This Yatra demonstrates that India, within a short period, forced Pakistan to back down -- a moment of pride for every Indian."

In Muzaffarpur, a similar Tiranga Yatra was held under the leadership of Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal.

In a significant diplomatic move, Jaiswal revealed that India is dispatching seven parliamentary delegations around the world to amplify its message against terrorism and counter Pakistan's narrative.

The delegations will include MPs from both ruling and opposition parties, reflecting a bipartisan approach to the issue of national security.
New Delhi, May 18 : Accusing the Narendra Modi-led Central government of "complete insincerity" and resorting to political games on serious national issues, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, on Saturday, released a statement before the media, saying with regret that only one out of the four leaders from his party were being selected for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries.

These delegations are meant to explain India's stance on terrorism coming from Pakistan.

He also added that on May 16 morning, the Central government had asked for names of four Congress leaders or MPs to represent the party in the delegations being sent abroad.

However, Ramesh said that the names of four Congress leaders were conveyed by his party in writing by the Lok Sabha's Leader of the Opposition and party leader Rahul Gandhi to the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju by 12 noon earlier on May 16.

Taking to X, the Congress leader in a social media post wrote: "On morning of May 16, the Modi government asked for 4 names of Congress MPs/leaders to represent the party in the delegations being sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan. These 4 names were conveyed in writing by the LoP Lok Sabha to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs by 12 noon on May 16th itself.

"Very late tonight (May 17), the full list of members of all delegations has been officially released. Most regrettably only 1 of the 4 names suggested by the INC leadership has been included. This proves the complete insincerity of the Modi Govt and shows the cheap political games it always plays on serious national issues," Ramesh wrote on X.

The Congress leader in the media statement added: "The 4 eminent Congress MPs/leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi Govt will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions. The INC will not stoop to the pathetic level of the PM and the BJP. It will always uphold the finest traditions of Parliamentary democracy and not play partisan politics on national security issues, like the BJP does. INC wishes the delegations all the very best. These delegations should not, however, divert attention from the INC's demands to have all-party meetings chaired by the PM and for a special session of Parliament to reiterate the resolution adopted on February 22, 1994, while also taking note of developments thereafter."

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, a controversy began after the government named Congress leader Shashi Tharoor among seven MPs who would represent India at world forums and brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor.

However, Tharoor's name was not among the four names Congress had given to the government.

"We were asked for names. We expected that the names we had given would be included. We hoped that the names given by the party would be included. But when we saw the press release of PIB, we were surprised. I cannot say what will happen now. Asking four names, giving four names, and announcing another name is dishonest on the government's part. It is possible that Rijiju had talked to Rahul ji and Kharge even after the government had made up their mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But what happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names," Ramesh said.

Ramesh also shared details of a letter sent by Rahul Gandhi to Kiren Rijiju, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

"Yesterday (Tuesday) at 12:30 p.m., Rahul ji wrote a letter to Kiren Rijiju and wrote 'Dear Shri Kiren Rijiju, I am writing in follow-up of a conversation with me and Kharge ji regarding the delegation for the Foreign Countries. after discussing with Kharge ji I am sending you four names Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Raja Barar and Naseer Hussain,'" he said.

He emphasised the importance of party loyalty, saying, "All the people who are in Congress belong to Congress; and that there is a huge difference between being in Congress and being of Congress."

The Congress party had fully supported the government's diplomatic efforts. However, they were "surprised" when the names were announced without their consent.

"From April 22 till now we were demanding that an all-party meeting be called, 2 meetings were held but it was a formality, PM did not come. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wrote a letter for a special session should be called, there should be a detailed discussion, the purpose was that we should put our collective resolve in front of the country and the world. The PM did not give any answer to this, suddenly we heard that an all party delegation will go, this shows that the narrative of the government has changed, we also welcomed this step, we said that whatever help we have to give in this diplomatic propaganda, we will do it, but the way the Minister behaved, names were asked and today he announced it himself, this is not honesty, a game is being played," Jairam Ramesh alleged.

He recalled how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had handled diplomatic delegations during the 1971 war, highlighting the importance of collective political support.

"In 1971, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent the delegation and said that 'in the month of May, the delegation was sent. She called Jai Prakash Narayan and said, 'you should go.' Indira ji herself went to Russia from September 27 to 29. Indira ji went to Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, America between October 27 to November 12 in 1971. Indira ji told then US President Richard Nixon that 'I will do whatever is in India's interest,'" Ramesh added.

The Congress leader demanded an all-party meeting and a session of Parliament to discuss the government's stance on Pakistan.

"Even today, we demand that an all-party meeting be called, a session of Parliament be called, and the resolution passed on February 22, 1994, be repeated. A discussion should be held on the government's stance on Pakistan and what is relationship with America. Why is the PM running away from the all-party meeting? Why is he running away from the Parliament?" Jairam Ramesh asked.

Earlier, Jairam Ramesh had said that the Congress submitted four names to the government for the delegation.

The surprising addition of Shashi Tharoor by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju raised questions, especially as Tharoor had also accepted the government's proposal.
Baghdad, May 18 : Arab leaders have called for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and voiced their rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians.

In the final statement of the 34th Arab League Summit, which kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, the leaders of the bloc's 22 member states demanded "an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and all hostilities exacerbating civilian suffering".

The statement urged the international community, particularly influential states, to fulfill their moral and legal obligations to advocate for a cessation of bloodshed and ensure unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

They also reiterated their rejection of forced displacement of the Palestinian people, which constitutes a violation of international law, the statement added.

It called on all countries to provide political, financial, and legal support for the reconstruction and recovery plans for the Gaza Strip, welcoming Iraq's call to establish a fund for the reconstruction of Gaza.

The leaders affirmed that the Palestinian issue remains the core cause of the Arab nation and the key to regional stability, said the statement, adding that they fully support the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including freedom, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The statement stressed that the Arab leaders condemn all illegitimate measures and practices by Israel that target the Palestinian people and deprive them of their right to freedom, life, and human dignity.

The leaders supported a call of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to convene an international peace conference and take steps to implement the two-state solution.

The statement also addressed other issues across the Arab world, including Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, and reiterated the Arab leaders' condemnation of all forms of terrorism, particularly the terrorist acts by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The summit witnessed the participation of leaders and top diplomats of 22 Arab League member states, as well as representatives from regional and international organisations.

Trumpas meeting with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa was the first meeting between a US and Syrian leader in a quarter century.

During the meeting, Trump urged Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and four Arab nations during the US President's first term.

Despite its misgivings, Israel has reportedly been holding secret talks with Syrian officials on the possibility.

Sharaa confirmed last week that security-related talks were being held through mediators, though he did not comment on potential diplomatic relations.
Gaza, May 18 : At least 64 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the Civil Defence in Gaza said.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence, told Xinhua news agency on Saturtday that seven young men were killed and several others wounded when Israeli artillery shelled a group of Palestinians trying to reach their homes in the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.

Basal added that four people, including a woman and two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the gate of Salah al-Din School, which houses displaced families in the west of Gaza City, while a fifth person was killed in an airstrike on a residential apartment north of the city, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 11 others were killed in attacks on a Palestinian gathering, while nine others were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a warehouse for distributing humanitarian aid in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to Basal.

The Hamas-run Gaza government condemned the attack on the warehouse, considering it "a serious and ongoing escalation of the systematic starvation policy pursued by the occupation in the Gaza Strip".

At least 13 others were killed in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while 19 others were killed in Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Basal said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement in the early morning of Saturday that over the past day, "the IDF has begun conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops to achieve operational control in areas of the Gaza Strip."

Since Israel resumed its intensified military campaign on March 18, at least 3,131 Palestinians have been killed and 8,632 others injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 to 53,272, with a total of 120,673 people injured, according to health authorities in Gaza on Saturday.

Gazaas Government Media Office has said that more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks over the past 48 hours, with 1,000 housing units destroyed.

Another 140 victims remain buried in the debris of destroyed buildings with the Israeli military's "deliberate prevention of ambulance and civil defence crews from reaching the bombed areas in northern Gaza".
NEW YORK, May 16 (Xinhua) -- New Jersey's train system saw its first statewide strike in more than 40 years on Friday, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The strike was triggered after contract negotiations between NJ Transit, the state's public mass transit company, and the union representing train engineers broke down. Trains in the state were completely shut down one minute after midnight on Friday.

According to the Regional Plan Association (RPA), an American civic organization, New Jersey is home to approximately 450,000 commuters who travel to New York for work. Now, they must find alternative ways to cross the state, such as by bus or ferry, which can lead to congestion on other modes of transportation.

NJ Transit has developed contingency plans that will accommodate an extremely limited number of rail customers, also urging riders to work from home when possible, according to a statement of the company's website.

However, only about 20 percent of the existing rail passengers can be carried as the capacity of other bus systems cannot replace the railway, according to the statement.

The strike could lead to a state of emergency across the state, said Phil Murphy, New Jersey's governor.

"I am still hoping we find some resolution, but I am preparing for the worst," said Murphy.

NJ Transit is the largest state public transit system in the United States by area served. The strike comes at a precarious time for the agency, which anticipates a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar budget shortfall once its federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out in 2026. 
Baghdad, May 18 : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi have urged an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the 34th Arab League Summit held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, Abbas called on the summit to adopt an Arab plan to halt Israeli military operations and achieve peace in the region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians since Thursday in one of the deadliest waves of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March, even as US President Donald Trump concluded a Middle East tour on Friday.

Abbas underscored that an enduring peace can only be achieved through ending the Israeli occupation and ensuring the full rights of the Palestinian people.

Sisi, for his part, condemned the "systematic atrocities and unspeakable violence" inflicted on the Palestinians in Gaza over the past 19 months, saying these acts aim to "obliterate" the population.

He called on the international community, especially the US, to take vigorous steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Egyptian President also reiterated Egypt's commitment to convening an international conference for Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction once hostilities cease.

Following up on the summit, the Hamas-run media office in Gaza on Saturday called on the attendees to take practical action and adopt bold positions to break the "unjust blockade imposed on Gaza and stop the daily killing".

It urged mounting pressure on Israel to ensure the immediate and unconditional opening of the crossings and ensure the flow of food, humanitarian aid, and medical assistance to the people of Gaza, who are now facing the threat of starvation.

Also condemning Israeli hostilities in the region, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, when addressing the summit, called for action from the international community to end Israeli assaults within Lebanon, which violate the understandings reached between the two sides in late November last year.

"We call upon you, dear brothers, to pressure the international community to compel Israel to end its aggressions and fully withdraw from all Lebanese territories," Salam said.

The summit has witnessed the participation of leaders and top diplomats of 22 Arab League member states, as well as representatives from regional and International organisations.

It marks the second such event hosted by Iraq since the 2003 US invasion, following a previous one in 2012.

After a six-week ceasefire, Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza and resumed its military campaign in March. It blames Hamas militants for harm to civilians for operating among them, which Hamas denies.

Israel's declared goal is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages.

The military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all its 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel faces growing international pressure to resume ceasefire talks and allow food and medical supplies into Gaza.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher asked the Security Council this week if it would act to "prevent genocide".

Iraq's Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, announced the creation of a fund to help reconstruct Arab states after war, with an initial pledge of $20 million each for Gaza and Lebanon, where swathes of the south were destroyed last year in an Israeli campaign against the Hezbollah group.
London, May 18 : A 26-year-old man was arrested at London Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

Local media had confirmed on Saturday that the arrest relates to the arson attacks at the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's home last week.

This is the second arrest related to the arson attack with the intent to endanger life, said London's Metropolitan Police in its news statement on Saturday.

The police said counterterrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit made the arrest, and the man has been taken into police custody in London, Xinhua news agency reported.

The arrest, which took place shortly before 2 p.m., follows a series of fires at properties connected to PM Starmer.

Police were called by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire at an address in Kentish Town at 1:35 a.m. on Monday.

Damage was caused to the entrance of the property, where PM Starmer lived with his family before they moved into 10 Downing Street, but no one was injured.

A car linked to PM Starmer was set alight in the early hours of May 8 in the same street.

In the early hours of May 11, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the British PM.

Last week, a 21-year-old man, identified as Roman Lavrynovych, was charged with arson with intent to cause a fire at the Prime Minister's home in London.

Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old Ukrainian national, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' court on Friday accused of three counts of arson with intent to endanger life over the three fires, which took place last week.

British police were last week called to a blaze at the property in Kentish Town, north London -- the constituency Starmer represents.

No one was injured, but the entrance to the home was damaged.

Lavrynovych was arrested the following day in connection with that fire and two further incidents -- a fire at the entrance to an apartment block in nearby Islington and a fire involving a car, a Toyota RAV4, in Kentish Town, both taking place on separate days.

The car and both the properties were linked to Starmer, the court heard.

Counter-terrorism police led the investigation given the involvement of such a high-profile public figure, the police said.
Books are a part of the landscape in Helen Schulmans apartment on Manhattans Upper West Side. In the dining room, they compete for space among the tchotchkes and old family photos. Theyre in the bedroom, too, and on the floors and tables. Its a mess, Schulman says of the apartment, where she lives with her husband, the author Bruce Handy. Our whole house is like somebody elses garage. My son, when he was little, asked, Is daddy a hoarder? Were not the most organized, but its warm. Were the reading family. Instead of jewels and art we have books.

Schulman is a bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and short story author, and a 2019 Guggenheim fellow and Pushcart Prize winner. She often writes about what she calls earthquakes in the culture9/11, the rise of technology, the #MeToo movement. Shes the author of nine books, including her 1988 debut, the story collection Not a Free Show, as well as the novels A Day at the Beach, This Beautiful Life, P.S., and Lucky Dogs, which is being developed as a feature film. Her books have been published in Denmark, Germany, and the U.K., according to her publisher, Knopf.

Schulmans dazzling and funny new collection, Fools for Love, out in July and her first in more than 25 years, is composed of 10 storiesone new and nine published over the past three decadesthat examine the inescapable need for connection and explore relationships, sex, and love in all its variations. The stories are about female agency and sexuality, Schulman says, and about peoples attachments to each other, which in some cases are stronger than love.

The collection is anchored by the titular Fools for Love, which Schulman wrote in 2024 and which centers on the unconventional marriage of a playwright, Anna, and her gay husband, Miguel, who try to sustain a platonic but codependent partnership while having relationships on the side. The other nine stories originally appeared in magazines and journals (GQ, Tin House, Ploughshares) and have been refreshed for the book, with tweaks made to language and cultural references. Highlights include The Memories of Lucien H, about a demanding baby who sabotages his mothers love life, and The Revisionist, a John Cheeveresque tale about a family mans mental breakdown, which inspired Schulmans 1998 novel of the same name.

Schulman says its gotten harder over the years to locate her older stories onlinesome publications lack decent archivesand she didnt want them to disappear. You cant find my stories anywhere. Im a big sand mandala person. You spend your time making this beautiful sand mandala and put your life and love into it, and blow it away. But I wanted these stories to exist, and the only way to do that is to get them in the Library of Congress.

Jennifer Barth, Schulmans editor, to whom Fools for Love is dedicated, praises the author for her ability to create work thats both timely and timeless. Helen is a total mensch and a pro, Barth says. She has a satirical eye for social realism and the way we live now, but her books are classically structured, the kinds of books that will endure.

Schulman was born in 1961 in New York City, the daughter of a psychiatrist father and social worker mother. Her grandparents were refugees from Russia and Europe, and her maternal grandmother, with whom Schulman shared a bedroom growing up, lost siblings in the Holocaust. There was so much pain in our house, Schulman recalls. Trauma and lossits inherited.

She grew up quickly in the city. My mother would give me $2 a day: one for my front pocket, one for my back pocket, in case I was mugged, she says. As a teen, she danced into the night at legendary clubs CBGB and Hurrah; I barely went to school, she adds.

The bookish party girl received a BA from Cornell in 1983 and an MFA from Columbia in 1986her graduate thesis, a selection of fiction pieces, became her debut story collection. She met Handy at a magazine party, where he was working as a bartender as a favor to the host. I was dating my husband when my first book came out, Schulman says. Id ask him, Can we just look at my book again? I just carried it around.

Ever since her student days, Schulman has been a sucker for beautiful prose. When I first read William Faulkner, she recalls, it rearranged my molecules. Schulman has taught writing at Bard and Emory and is now a tenured professor of writing and the fiction chair at the New School, as well as the executive director of WriteOn NYC, a program that helps place writing teachers in middle and high schools. Im proud of my students, she says. Their happiness and success increases my happiness.

Schulmans own literary support system includes her agent, Sloan Harris, whom shes known for three decades. Years ago, while attending a Paris Review party thrown by George Plimpton, Schulman accidentally locked herself in a bathroom, and Harris was the only one who looked for her. Even my husband didnt notice I was gone, she cracks.

Harris calls Schulman one of his all-time favorite writers and highlights her work as a professor. The intensity of Helens prose always gets me, he says. When she gives me pages, I get extremely jealous and impatient for more. I cannot tell you how many people I run into who credit her for being the inspiration for their writers life. Shes helping the future of our business.

Schulman has had a lifelong interest in telling womens stories. My work is about how hard it is to be a girl, she says. Filled with humor and style, the pieces in her new collection examine the joys and absurdities of looking for lovewhether its a love triangle between destructive friends, as in My Best Friend, or a disgruntled widow seeking a late-in-life tryst in I Am Seventy-Five.

And while she enjoys ruminating on the modern world, Schulman admits shes totally tech averse: she doesnt have a website, thinks social media is alienating, and cant figure out her TV remote half the time. She enjoys yoga and watching her Siamese cats cause trouble. But books are her treasures and her therapy. I get my crazy out through my books, she says. Her lifes mission is unwavering: Im here to write.

Elaine Szewczyks writing has appeared in McSweeneys and other publications. Shes the author of the novel Im with Stupid.
Ahead of this years U.S. Book Show, held at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem, take a tour of some of Harlems literary bastions, including one of the nations premier research libraries, the historical home of a trailblazing writer, and two mission-driven indie bookstores uplifting readers of all ages. Youll want to get an excursion to one (or more) of these bookish destinations, well, on the books!

Apollo Theater

253 West 125th Street

@apollotheater

Since the 1930s, the Apollo has served as a beacon for Black music, theater, and culture, and today it operates as a nonprofit focused on nurturing the arts in Harlem. Through its Apollo New Works initiative, the theater supports the creation of new work by Black artistsincluding an operatic adaptation of Octavia Butlers Kindred and a musical tribute to the writing of bell hooksand last year it honored author Ta-Nehisi Coates as its inaugural master artist-in-residence.

The City College of New York

160 Convent Avenue

@ccnycitycollege

Founded in 1847, CCNY was the first free public institution of higher education in the U.S. Its Gothicstyle campus in Harlems Manhattanville neighborhood boasts a history of student activism and churned out a number of influential literary alumni, including authors Vivian Gornick, Bernard Malamud, Walter Mosley, Mario Puzo, and Upton Sinclair, as well as childrens book author-illustrator

and artist Faith Ringgold.

Grandmas Place

84 West 120th Street

@grandmasplaceharlem

In 1999, New York City school teacher Dawn Harris Martine founded a small literacy center in Harlem to teach parents and children how to read, manning the center in her after-school hours. Today, Grandmas Placestill operated by Martine, who is 85has evolved into a beloved childrens bookstore, offering diverse titles as well as educational toys, and remains a literary haven for young readers.

The Langston Hughes House

20 East 127th Street

@thelangstonhugheshouse

Poet and writer Langston Hughes, a towering figure of the Harlem Renaissance, lived on the top floor of this historic brownstone row house from 1947 until his death in 1967. It was in this house, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, that Hughes penned some of his most famous works, including Montage of a Dream Deferred and I Wonder as I Wander.

Revolution Books

437 Malcolm X Boulevard

@revbooksnyc

This radical nonprofit bookstore, which was established in 1978 and relocated from Chelsea to Harlem in 2015, offers an array of titles from around the globe, from political polemics to dystopian novels to poetry in translation. Over the past decade, the store has quickly established itself as an intellectual and community hub, hosting book clubs, lectures, poetry nights, and more.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

515 Malcolm X Boulevard

@schomburgcenter

With a collection of more than 11 million cultural objects, this outpost of the New York Public Librarynamed after Harlem Renaissanceera intellectual and book collector Arturo Alfonso Schomburgis devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of Black history, art, and experience. The center celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and is marking the occasion with an array of programming, including a book festival and a retrospective exhibition.
Sally Kim at Little, Brown acquired world English rights, at auction, to Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children, the adult nonfiction debut

by Mac Barnett (pictured l.), U.S. national ambassador for young peoples literature , from Steven Malk at Writers House. The publisher called the book an incisive, intimate, and moving invitation to think expansively about children's literature not only as an art form but as a portal into the lives of childrena timely call to arms, a celebration, and a reminder of the power of storytelling and imagination. Publication is planned for next summer.

Helen Healey-Cunningham at Thesis took North American rights to Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy by American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten from Richard Pine at InkWell Management. The book, the publisher said, tells the story of what teachers do and why those who are afraid of freedom and opportunity try to stop them, and why the fate of American democracy is inexorably intertwined with the fate of public education. Publication is set for September.

Lynn Raposo at Mira picked up world English rights to Briar Boleyns Bloodwing Academy series from Amanda Jain at BookEnds. The publisher called it a dark academia new adult romantasy saga melding vampires, fae, magic, and Arthurian legend following Medra Pendragon, a half-fae princess from Camelot who finds herself thrust into a world where vampires and mortals coexist. Publications for the first three, previously published series titles are set for August, November, and next March, respectively;

a fourth, untitled novel is scheduled for early 2027.

Jessica Vestuto at Mariner preempted North American rights to Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated from the French by Helen Stevenson, from Helen Edwards, who has an eponymous agency, on behalf of Pete Ayrton and Rosemarie Hudson at SmallAxes/HopeRoad. The novel was shortlisted for this years International Booker Prize and is based on the true story of a French naval traffic officer who ignored distress calls from migrants drowning in the English Channel, per the publisher, which described it as a parable for our time about how those of us in a place of safety cannot avoid a collective responsibility. Publication is set for fall 2026.

Michel Moushabeck at Interlink acquired world rights to The Slightest Green by Sahar Mustafah from Robin Straus and Danielle Matta at the Robin Straus Agency. The novel, the publisher said, tells the story of Intisar Jaber, who receives word that her estranged father is dying, returns to Palestine for the first time in decades, and finds herself confronting the legacy of resistance, abandonment, and the meaning of home. Publication is set for fall 2025.

In Brief

Olivia Peluso at DK preempted North American and U.K. rights to Party People by actor Brie Larson and chef Courtney McBroom , an entertaining cookbook featuring more than 100 creative recipes for any kind of party, from Eve Attermann

at WME, for an October release.

Eric Obenauf at Two Dollar Radio secured world rights, unagented, to Nora Lange s short story collection Day Care, billed as a biting reflection on American identity, the male gaze, and consumerism, for an April 2026 release.

Rachel Rokicki at Modern Library scored North American rights to three Japanese mystery novels by late Akutagawa Literary Prize winner Seicho Matsumoto from Amelia Evans at PRH UK. Tokyo Express and Suspicionboth translated by Jesse Kirkwood , with the former featuring an introduction by Amor Towleswill be released in October and next spring, respectively; A Quiet Place, translated by Louise Heal Kawai , is due next summer.

Cassidy Sachs at Dutton purchased, at auction, world rights, excluding Dutch, to Sleep Intelligence: The High-Performance Blueprint for Sharper Thinking by neuroscientist Els van der Helm from Leila Campoli at Calligraph, for a spring 2027 release.

This article has been updated with further information.
What does it mean to be a resource for a community of writers? Thats a question the leadership at Poets & Writers has asked itself since it was founded in 1970. And wouldnt you know it, the answer is a little different in 2025 than it was more than half a century ago. Thats why the long-running literary nonprofit and bimonthly magazine announced some major changes earlier this year, including an updated app, a members-only newsletter, and an expansion of Poets & Writers Groups, a platform where writers can connect with one another.

Those changes, said Poets & Writers executive director Melissa Ford Gradel, have been in the works for longer than one might expect. We conceived and launched the membership program quicklyover about a year, she said. But weve been working on some of the components for much longer than that. We were looking to expand on the two core things writers count on us to provide: trustworthy information about the business and connection to the literary community.

In a letter to subscribers explaining the changes, Gradel struck a candid tone about the cost of the improvements, announcing plans to discontinue discounted subscriptions to the print magazine. Speaking with PW, she attributed some of those decisions to changes both technological and cultural. Shifts in the larger media and social media landscapes were influential: the dominance of digital content, the widespread acceptance of online programming following the pandemic, and changing attitudes to the benefits of online community, she said.

We want our editorial content to be available and useful to people in all the ways they are accustomed to engaging with contenton their phones and other screens, as well as in print, she added. And we want to create an online space that has guardrails so that writersespecially writers who hold historically marginalized identitiesfeel safe building connections and sharing work on the platform.

Poets & Writers has long been invaluable to its namesakes at all points in their careers, from emerging voices to some of the literary worlds most prominent figures. Rebecca Makkai, author of the novels The Great Believers and I Have Some Questions For You, recalled her own experience with the magazine during her early years as a writer. When I was in high school, the faculty leaders

of the writing club would bring in issues, and wed go through them for contest deadlines and youth opportunities, Makkai recalled.

I understood that this magazine was like the New York Times for writers: the place where you could learn everything that was going on in the writing world. So many of the journals and places and things that would become key parts of my writing life decades laterBread Loaf, Yaddo, the Iowa Review, the Pushcart PrizesI first read about in those pages.

Years later and still a dedicated reader, Makkai logged in to Poets & Writers Speakeasyone of the nonprofits early experiments in online community-based platformsto ask a fateful question that had a big impact on her career to come. I have this very clear memory of logging on, typing with my left hand because the baby was asleep in my right arm, and posting my first question, which was something like, I have a three-month-old baby and I havent written anything in three months and I dont know how anyone does this,  she said. Within hours, I had so many responses from writers Id never met, telling me to go easy on myself, reminding me that a baby is only a baby for, like, nine months, talking about coming out on the other side.

While that forum is now defunct, Makkai said she sees reflections of it in Poets & Writers new and improved Groups platform. Indeed, Gradel noted that she and her staff took care to ensure that all updates to the nonprofit and its programs were rooted firmly in

its history.

Gradel pointed in particular to the organizations digital database compiling the listings of award, fellowship, and grant opportunities its originally publishes in print, which she said is in many ways the spine of Poets & Writers magazine. Among added enhancements to those listings are a members-only newsletter, which surfaces impending deadlines and provides tips for entering writing contests, and Mapping the Maze, a series of online workshops intended as an orientation to using these resources to get published.

Gradel sees Mapping the Maze as the entry point for a larger array of online courses. Were identifying great instructors by drawing on our wide network of relationships with authors and publishing professionals, she said, and foregrounding BIPOC publishing professionals, to make sure that we address the needs of BIPOC writers. She added that, while we offer these classes online, they are not webinars. We dont record them. Participants must show up and participate, because thats where the value is.

It speaks to our belief in the importance of community in a writers life.

For Makkai, that emphasis on community is key. Not everyone has an MFA, not everyone lives in Brooklyn, she said. Online community is what keeps so many people going, and I honestly dont know if Id have a career without that first one.
BRUSSELS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- As Israel intensifies its military operations in the Gaza Strip, a growing number of European leaders have voiced deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation, urging Israel to "reverse its current policy" and calling for urgent humanitarian intervention.

On Saturday, European Council President Antonio Costa expressed his dismay on social media, stating he was "shocked" by the developments in Gaza and demanding an end to the violence. He urged the Israeli government to lift the blockade and ensure safe, swift, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid.

"What's happening in Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy. A whole people is being subjected to crushing, disproportionate military force. International law is systematically violated," Costa said. He emphasized the urgency of a sustained ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain made a similar stance in a joint statement issued on Friday. "We will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza," the statement read.

Highlighting that more than 50,000 people have died, the countries warned that many more could face starvation in the coming days and weeks without urgent intervention. They called on the Israeli government to "immediately reverse its current policy," fully lift the blockade, and allow rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, pledging to work within the framework of the United Nations and in cooperation with regional partners to pursue a peaceful and sustainable resolution.

Speaking at the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad on Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for international pressure to stop what he termed Israel's "massacre in Gaza." He said Madrid plans a UN resolution requesting a world court ruling on aid access to Gaza.

World leaders should "intensify our pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza, particularly through the channels afforded to us by international law," Sanchez said, emphasizing that the implementation of the two-state solution is the only path to peace.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also criticized Israel's action. On Saturday, he reaffirmed Italy's commitment to a ceasefire and a two-state solution. "It is time to finally get to the ceasefire because the civilian population is exhausted, it can no longer resist continuous attacks," he added.

Last week, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated that Israeli forces had seriously violated the European Union (EU)-Israel Association Agreement signed in 2000. He called on the EU to launch an investigation into Israel's compliance with the agreement as part of a broader review of EU-Israel relations.

EU foreign ministers are set to meet on May 20 to discuss the Dutch proposal to review the agreement in light of Israel's actions in Gaza, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had stepped up its operations in Gaza, launching a wave of airstrikes and deploying additional ground forces to assert operational control in parts of the enclave.

Since Israel resumed its intensified military campaign on March 18, at least 3,131 Palestinians have been killed and 8,632 injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 to 53,272, with 120,673 people injured, according to health authorities in Gaza.

According to Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who also urged a "rapid, safe, unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need" in Gaza, some 160,000 pallets of humanitarian goods were ready for distribution in Gaza, however, alongside the military escalation, Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave. 
Immigrants are almost monolithically poor, but they have the mindset of a rich person. That's why they're immigrants. They want better, and will do what it takes to get better.

What's written above can be found within the Albanians in Greece. They used to be so poor. Which is a statement of the obvious. Thats why they came to Greece: to fix their impoverished situations. The route out of poverty begins with poverty.

As readers can imagine about the Albanians who reached Greece in big numbers in the '90s and '00s, they mostly did menial work. What choice did they have?

Whats important is that the children of the Albanian immigrants increasingly aren't doing menial work. Theyre coders, contractors, they own businesses, and in general theyre on the way up. Which also makes sense. Immigration is the pursuit of upward mobility. It's once again a rich person mindset.

All of which speaks to the excitement of whats ahead for those who arrived in Greece after the Albanians. Nowadays its the Syrians and Afghans in search of a better life. According to people on the ground in Greece, theyre doing what the Albanians used to do.

Whats taking place in Greece is a reminder to Americans of the meaning of immigration. Its meaning rejects the arguments used by Americans to keep immigrants out.

Some cling to the old Milton Friedman line about open borders not being compatible with a welfare state. Except that if we ignore that its illegal for immigrants to access welfare as is, the bigger truth is that no one would go to the frequently brutal lengths that it takes to migrate to attain the meager trappings of welfare. Immigration is an economic decision. Its about work.

Furthermore, the pursuit of welfare isnt part of the culture of poor countries as is. Think about it. Unemployment and welfare are rich country notions. In the poor countries from which would-be immigrants exit, everyone works. They have no choice. Their migration is an attempt to enhance the value of their work.

To which some will say that if immigrants arent coming for the welfare, theyre coming for our jobs. Particularly the jobs of low-income Americans. No, theyre not. See Greece again. Just because immigrants are poor doesn't mean they're culturally poor. There's a difference. No one would go to the brutal lengths required to migrate in pursuit of the menial. The rich-person mindset that informs migration is to do whatever it takes to get by (frequently menial work) so that their children eventually dont have to labor as they did or do upon arrival. Again, the children of Albanian migrants have moved beyond the work their parents had to do upon arrival. And this is Greece.

Skeptics then frequently pivot to we cant assimilate them. Ok, but who is we? Furthermore, the assimilation part is superfluous. People who love themselves enough to risk it all in search of something better are by their very actions going to assimilate. Or their children will assimilate precisely due to their desire to work and live better than their parents.

Which is presumably why Adam Smith was so adamant that the prosperity of a locale could be explained by the rise in the number of people arriving at the locale. The movement itself was and is economic, and its rooted in finding work that will set the stage for a move out of poverty. Not only are immigrants not coming for the handouts, theyre not even coming for the jobs of the poor precisely because their poverty is solely an effect of where they were, not who they are. To move out is to move up. It's what rich people do.
Disney/Eric McCandless

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/16/2025



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Brooks Nader has revealed that she had asked casting for the "douchiest" professional partner -- and that her wish was granted with Gleb Savchenko According to the supermodel, Gleb was exactly whom she wanted to be paired with for ' Season 33 competition last year."[When DWTS asked], 'Who's your ideal partner?' I said this -- and you can quote me. I said, 'I want the hottest, douchiest guy,'" Brooks recalled during the Monday, May 12 episode of the "Chicks in the Office" podcast."I said, 'I'm newly divorced. I'm in Europe, I'm on a boat. Give me the douchiest hottest [one]!' And [casting] said, 'I've got him!'"Brooks therefore said that when she had met Gleb on Day 1 of her journey, she thought he was "perfect."Brooks said she married the first man she had ever dated and so she was looking to have a good time on last year. (Brooks was married to Billy Haire for four years before they announced their breakup in May 2024.)While Brooks and Gleb were competing on , reports swirled that they were hooking up Brooks and Gleb's heavy flirtation on and off the dance floor, however, had fans questioning if their romance was real or made for TV.Brooks' sister, Grace Ann Nader, confirmed on "Chicks in the Office" that Brooks and Gleb's relationship wasn't fake and that they "always" had sex on the set."I can tell you firsthand that every time I visited Brooks' trailer, the trailer was shaking -- every single time," Grace Ann revealed.As Brooks' jaw was on the floor in shock, Grace Ann continued, "I never wanted to go in there. I was always knocking."Brooks quipped in response, "The trailer thing was probably why we didn't win. But what's a girl to do? I was newly single."Brooks and Gleb called it quits on their relationship shortly after they were eliminated from during an October 2024 episode. Gleb had reportedly been the one to dump Brooks.But Gleb and the supermodel proceeded to have an on-again, off-again romance until news broke last month that they split for good and Brooks was the one who had "ended things" with the pro dancer.After Gleb and Brooks' breakup made headlines in April, Gleb admitted to Us Weekly that he was "surprised to learn" his relationship with Brooks was over by reading a news article.Grace Ann then claimed via TikTok on April 8 that "there is hard evidence" to prove Gleb had cheated on Brooks Brooks seemed to confirm the cheating speculation when she took to TikTok on April 9 with a fiery message.In the video, the model stared straight into the camera and lip-synced, "If you go away for a few days and he's not f-cking strong enough in his own mind to keep his d-ck in his f-cking pants, well then he can f-ck off anyway."While on a girls' trip to Miami Beach, FL, that same week, Brooks uploaded another TikTok video and mouthed, "G-dd-mn manchild. You act like a kid even though you're six [feet] two [inches]."Gleb told Us on April 7, before his alleged cheating made headlines, that the last communication he had with Brooks was a text on April 6."I called her today in response, but she has not replied," Gleb revealed, adding how he had spent time with Brooks about a week prior and everything was fine between them."The last time I saw Brooks was when I traveled to New York to support her and film an episode of her reality show on March 31st and April 1st."(Gleb was referring to Brooks' upcoming reality show with Grace Ann and her other sisters Mary Holland Nader and Sarah Jane Nader.)"And she was sad to see me leave, but I had to return to to finish my four-month tour at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood," Gleb explained at the time.Gleb admitted he was "still processing everything" and didn't "have all the answers" when it came to this supposed breakup.However, Gleb wished Brooks "the best moving forward."After Gleb reportedly dumped Brooks in October 2024, the pair were caught gazing into each other's eyes and kissing on-camera while rehearsing for ' November 26 finale. At one point, Brooks straddled Gleb and hugged him tightly on the set.pros Emma Slater and Ezra Sosa posted Gleb and Brooks' flirty content on social media, and even the show's host, Alfonso Ribeiro , joked on November 25 how he couldn't keep up with the pair's "whirlwind" romance and they were driving him "nuts."When asked to share where their relationship stood after ' finale, Gleb told E! News, "It was amazing to be back in the ballroom. I love dancing with Brooks. We have so much fun in the ballroom, outside of the ballroom." "And that's it," Brooks interjected."And that's it," Gleb repeated before flashing a big clueless smile at Brooks, adding how the pair had a great journey on the show.But Gleb confirmed his relationship with Brooks was back on in December 2024 After reviving their romance, Brooks and Gleb enjoyed the holidays together alongside his daughters Olivia, 14, and Zlata, 8, whom he welcomed with his ex-wife Elena Samodanova."I don't need anything else," Gleb captioned a family photo that included Brooks via Instagram in December.Gleb also suggested on social media earlier this year that he could envision himself having a baby with Brooks in the near future.
In the India-Pakistan situations, off-ramps have come either through foreign mediation (after months of kinetic warfare over Kargil, and a long stand-off with Op Parakram) or when a situation made it possible for both sides to claim a win, explains Shekhar Gupta.

IMAGE: Border Security Force personnel and Pakistan Rangers lower their national flags at the India-Pakistan joint check post at the Wagah border, May 14, 2025. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters

Pahalgam was the first step on the escalatory ladder. Kinetic action implies use of military force to deliver a message. India took that step up the ladder on the intervening night of May 6-7

Three interconnected expressions have acquired currency in our conversations since April 22, the outrage in Pahalgam. These are kinetic response, escalatory ladder, and off-ramp.

Before these, however, comes a term used so rarely these days, it sounds exotic: casus belli.

I am employing Latin despite my first venerable news editor late D N Singh's orders to never use 'foreign' until an English alternative was available.

Somehow, cause to justify conflict or war does not sound so convincing.

The casus belli in this case is Pahalgam and it is astounding -- and disappointing -- how it has faded from not just international media, but ours too.

If that massacre hadn't taken place, we wouldn't be here today. Pahalgam, thus, was the first step on the escalatory ladder.

We are also familiar with the successive steps on this ladder already claimed.

The diplomatic staff cuts, vaporising of people-to-people contacts and visas, ban on overflights, and finally, the holding of the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance by India, and the Pakistani counter with the threat to respond with 'reserving the right' to do just this with the Simla Agreement.

As we climbed these steps on the escalatory ladder, the question often asked was: Will there be kinetic action. And if so, when and what kind?

IMAGE: A view of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir after the Indian strike, May 7 2025. Photograph: Reuters

Kinetic action implies the use of military force to achieve your objective and deliver a message, as differing from diplomatic, information and economic warfare, lawfare, sanctions, and so on.

India took that step up the ladder on the intervening night of May 6-7.

Pakistan followed the next night with surprisingly ambitious targeting of Indian airbases across our North and West.

They were not trying to carry out any massive damage or hit aircraft yet. The nature of the attacks, instruments used, and targets chosen would introduce us to another term you might need to get familiar with.

It is SEAD: Suppression of Enemy Air Defence. Sometimes DEAD is preferred, destruction replacing suppression.

If you can suppress or even partly degrade your rival's air defences, it gives your air power (fighters and missiles) that much greater freedom and safety to operate.

Remember, on the night of May 6-7, India carried out the attacks without any SEAD action preceding it.

It might have made the action safer for the IAF strike forces, but would have been like waking up the Pakistanis like an air raid alarm.

This should enable us to appreciate the degree of difficulty and danger our strike elements faced.

This SEAD is precisely what Pakistan tried on the night of May 7. If they had succeeded even partly, they would have come with larger attacks.

This is the 'compliment' India paid back with its drone attacks. Each was targeted precisely with the same objective: SEAD.

IMAGE: A suspected Lashkar e Tayiba facility in Muridke near Lahore on May 7, 202 5after it was hit by an Indian strike. Photograph: Gibran Peshimam/Reuters

That brings us to the concept of 'off-ramp'. It is literally like when you are peering on a highway and want to get off it for rest, or a snack -- in strategic discourse, it's a halt to hostilities or a return to negotiation or peace.

It can also apply to a bull continuing to invest breathlessly even as the markets are declining and then, at some point, either losing nerve or embracing prudence, decides to stop. Or get off the ramp.

In the India-Pakistan situations, off-ramps have come either through foreign mediation (after months of kinetic warfare over Kargil, and a long stand-off with Op Parakram) or when a situation made it possible for both sides to claim a win.

Think Pulwama. When India hit a terror base in the Pakistani mainland for the first time, Pakistan had a pilot as a prisoner of war.

His return under Indian pressure became the off-ramp for both.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
'In the Indian government there are no illusions about the United States reliability or the possibility of having any kind of preferential treatment from Washington when it comes to trade.'

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump meets United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 15, 2025. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters

The disruption across economies due to US President Donald Trump's tariff has nudged countries, including India, to negotiate a plethora of trade deals.

Claude Smadja, former managing director, World Economic Forum and now chairman of Smadja & Smadja Strategic Advisory who will be hosting the India Global Innovation Connect in June in Bangalore with focus on AI, speaks to Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard on a video call on how he reads the new global business realities.

The tariff challenge by the US has disrupted the world economy and heightened US-China tensions. Where do you think is the end of the road?

It is very difficult to tell where this will lead to because of the unpredictability of Trump and his administration.

But the fact is the US today is in a much weaker position than it was during the first Trump administration.

It faces huge budget deficits, its technology edge is being eroded and it is a country which is extremely polarised and its relationship with traditional allies under cloud.

At the same time, it is quite clear that despite appearances when talking about China's structural difficulties, it is today stronger than it was during the first Trump presidency.

And so I think what we are seeing today is that some people in the Trump administration are beginning to realise that they will have to come to terms with China and that there will have to be an agreement.

That is because there is a very strong risk for America to be on the losing side in the test of will with China.

So I think it would not be surprising to see some accommodation happening in the next few weeks between Washington and Beijing to a kind of, at least on the surface, easing of tensions.

So what should India's strategy be in this scenario?

Trump, as has been said so often, is a transactional man. He has no allies. He has no enemies. He has no friends.

He has just interlocutors from whom he wants to extract the maximum from their part.

In the Indian government there are no illusions about the United States reliability or the possibility of having any kind of preferential treatment from Washington when it comes to trade.

So, the Modi government has been accelerating negotiation and discussion to create more free trades and economic agreements, to diversify the economic technological business relationship.

IMAGE: Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Do you see Europe in decline? And what does it mean for India which is negotiating a free trade deal with the EU?

We believe that Europe is in a decline, which, except for some kind of revolutionary reversal, would be irreversible.

It has been accelerated due to the stupid policy with respect to the Ukraine war and the situation is that Europe today is more dependent on the United States and is in a weak position compared to China.

I can understand that it is in the interest of India to try to expand the economic relationship with Europe, but I think there should be a realisation about the limitations.

Do you think a bilateral trade agreement with the EU can be signed up quickly as it envisaged?

There are limits of what can be achieved. And I don't think it will happen in the time frame mentioned by India and Brussels. Europe is very Eurocentric.

You will have in Europe a number of lobbies with interests in many domains where they are looking for protection.

This can be seen in the automotive industry where India has developed capabilities, in the pharma and biotech industry where a lot of obstacles will be raised.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump shake hands after their meeting at the White House. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

India also wants to sign a bilateral agreement with the US as quickly as possible. What is your view on it?

That is the thinking in the government. But I do believe that a kind of accelerated tempo to achieve an agreement will play in the hands of a Trump administration.

For instance, India has shown that the concept of digital sovereignty is very important to this country.

I do believe that the people around Trump consider that digital sovereignty is anathema for American digital supremacy.

But I do believe that there has been a big missed opportunity when India decided not to join the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

Trump is playing with all the countries with which he is trying to negotiate, which is to say, okay, if you don't want to suffer from tariffs, come and produce in my country.

What do you think is the reason why India is finding it difficult to leverage the China Plus strategy like Vietnam?

There are a number of prerequisites which India does not meet to be able to play this strategy fully.

One of them is the necessity of bureaucratic simplification and streamlining which still remains a significant area for companies to look at India as a replacement to China.

The second thing is despite all the progress which has been made in the last five or seven or 10 years, it doesn't have the kind of efficiency of supply chains which have made China unbeatable in many domains.

That is where Vietnam has been more successful.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
US President Donald Trump has said his talking to India and Pakistan and bringing them back from the brink is a bigger success" than he'll ever be given credit for, saying there was great hatred among the two nations and tensions got to a point where the next phase was probably nuclear.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump shake hands after their meeting at the White House, in Washington, DC. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

"A bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for. Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not like a little bit, and they were angry," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

Trump was asked about the "couple of foreign policy successes before his trip to the Middle East, when he picked up the phone and called India and Pakistan.

Trump replied, "I did, ya."

The interviewer said that it was a success.

"And the next phase was probably, did you see where it was getting? It was tit for tat. It was getting deeper and more, I mean, more missiles, everyone was 'stronger, stronger', so to a point where the next one's going to be, you know what? The N word. You know the N word is, right?" Trump asked the interviewer, to which he replied nuclear.

"It's the N word. That's a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The N word used in a nuclear sense, that's the worst thing that can happen. And I think they were very close. The hatred was great. And I said, 'We're going to talk about trade. We're going to do a lot of trade," Trump said.

Trump went on to say that "I'm using trade to settle scores and to make peace."

"India, they're one of the highest tariff nations in the world, they make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they're willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States?" Trump said.

There has been no announcement from India over the issue.

When asked if the deal with India is coming soon, Trump said, "Yeah, that'll come soon. I'm in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us."

"South Korea wants to make a deal, but I'm not going to make deals with everybody. I'm just going to set the limit. I'll make another some deals, because I can't, you can't meet with that many people. I've got 150 countries that want to make deals," Trump said.

This was the seventh time in as many days that Trump repeated his claim that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

On May 10, Trump had announced that India and Pakistan agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington.
A resident of a village in Kaithal, Haryana, was arrested for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence during the recent India-Pakistan conflict.

Image used only for representation.

The accused is identified as Devendra, a resident of Mastgarh Cheeka village in Kaithal.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Kaithal Veerbhan said, "Intelligence information was received by the district police of Kaithal, on that basis our special detective staff arrested Devendra, son of Narwal Singh, resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka."

Police questioned Devendra after taking him into custody.

As per the Police, Devendra, during his interrogation, told police that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI.

"After taking him into custody, he was questioned. During that interrogation, he said that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI.

"He used to provide information about the dispute going on between India and Pakistan to that agency, and also information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani army and the ISI from time to time. Our staff at the cyber police station is doing a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever the truth may come out, the law will be followed accordingly," DSP Kaithal Veerbhan added.

On May 4 in another operation, Punjab Police arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in leaking sensitive information and photographs of Army Cantonment areas and Air Bases in Amritsar to Pakistan intelligence operatives.

The accused have been identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih.

Speaking to ANI, Rural Amritsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Maninder Singh said,

"Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav have issued instructions that we immediately arrest and imprison any anti-national element we get information about. One such information was received about Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, who were in touch with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives, leaking them information about sensitive installations. We have arrested them both and recovered a lot of data from them."

SSP Singh added, "They had one more partner, Harpreet, who brought them in touch with the ISI, and we will bring him from Amritsar Jail on a production warrant. One NDPS case was already registered against him."
A Haryana-based YouTuber has been arrested on the charge of passing on sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives, the police said on Saturday.

IMAGE: People stage a protest in front of Pakistan high commission against the Pahalgam terror attack, in New Delhi, April 24, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Jyoti Malhotra, who runs a YouTube channel, Travel with JO, and hails from Hisar in Haryana, was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension, they said.

She has been booked under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, said the police.

She was sent to a five-day police remand after being produced before the court.

Jyoti, whose YouTube channel and Instagram account have 3.77 lakh subscribers and 1.33 lakh followers respectively, allegedly was in contact with a Pakistani staffer working at the Pakistan high commission in Delhi.

On May 13, India had expelled that Pakistani official for allegedly indulging in espionage.

Her YouTube channel account shows some videos regarding her visit to Pakistan -- Indian Girl in Pakistan, Indian Girl Exploring Lahore, Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple and Indian Girl Rides Luxury Bus in Pakistan.

She has made a total of 487 videos so far.

She has described herself as a 'Nomadic Leo Girl', 'Wanderer Haryanvi + Punjabi' and 'purane khayalon ki modern ladki' on her YouTube channel.

In 2023, Jyoti came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish at the Pakistan high commission where she went to seek a visa to visit the neighbouring nation, according to an FIR lodged at Civil Lines Police Station on May 16.

Jyoti, who visited Pakistan twice, had met Danish's acquaintance Ali Ahwan who arranged her stay there, the FIR read.

Ahwan arranged Jyoti's meeting with Pakistani Security and Intelligence officials and met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. She saved Shahbaz's mobile number as 'Jatt Randhawa' to avoid any suspicion.

She was in contact with these persons through WhatsApp, Telegram and Snapchat, and passed on sensitive information to them, according to the FIR, which was registered on the complaint of sub-inspector Bijender Singh.

She met Danish several times at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi and was found to be in touch with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives, it said.

Jyoti's arrest came days after Punjab Police arrested two persons, including a woman, from Malerkotla district for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to the Pakistani official posted at the High Commission.

The accused Guzala and Yameen Mohamad, both residents of Malerkotla had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange of classified information.

On May 11, the Punjab police said that Guzala had been arrested for leaking sensitive information regarding the Indian Army movements to a Pakistan-based handler.

Guzala revealed that she was doing it in lieu of money and the accused Pakistani official sent her Rs 30,000 in two transactions -- Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 -- through UPI (unified payment interface).

On Friday, the Haryana police arrested a 25-year-old post-graduate student from Kaithal for allegedly having links with Pakistani intelligence operatives.

The accused, Devender Singh, from Kaithal district's Guhla area, was arrested after an FIR was registered against him on Sunday for uploading photos on social media with weapons, police said.

During the investigation, it was learnt that Singh, who had been pursuing a Master's degree in political science from a college in Punjab, had gone to Pakistan on pilgrimage in November last year.

During the visit, he allegedly came in contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives and remained in touch with them even after his return, police said.

A few days ago, a 24-year-old youth, Nauman Ilahi, was arrested in the Panipat district for allegedly supplying sensitive information to some individuals in Pakistan.

These arrests come amid tension between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
India on Saturday decided to allow entry of ready-made garments from Bangladesh only through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva sea ports and barred imports of a range of consumer items through land transit posts in the northeast -- a move that is set to significantly hit Dhaka's trade with New Delhi.

IMAGE: BSF personnel keep vigil at the India-Bangladesh Border check post at Hili, in South Dinajpur, West Bengal, August 24, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Besides ready-made garments, plastics, wooden furniture, carbonated drinks, processed food items, fruit flavoured drinks, cotton and cotton yard waste will not be allowed to enter India through land customs stations and check posts in Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Mizoram, and Phulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal, according to a government notification.

The new restrictions for Bangladeshi consumer goods are coming over five weeks after New Delhi ended a nearly five-year-old arrangement for trans-shipment of Bangladeshi export cargo to third countries via Indian airports and ports.

The new restrictions have been imposed with immediate effect.

India's fresh restrictions on limiting access to Bangladeshi exports appear to be in response to Dhaka denying certain value-added items from the Northeast to enter that country through the land transit points.

The friction in trade ties between the two countries came amid increasing strain in the overall relations after deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest.

The ready-made-garments and certain other Bangladeshi items now will only be allowed access through Kolkata and Nhava-Sheva sea ports.

The notification on restrictions on Bangladeshi imports has been issued by Director General of Foreign Trade.

Bangladesh is a major global exporter of readymade garments, and the value of its exports in the sector was estimated at $38 billion in 2023.

Its annual RMG exports to India is estimated at around $700 million and 93 percent of the RMG shipments enter India through land ports.

There are 11 land transit points in northeast for trade between India and Bangladesh. Out of them, three are in Assam, two in Meghalaya and six in Tripura.

India had previously permitted export of Bangladesh goods through all land trading points and seaports without undue restrictions.

However, Bangladesh continued to impose port restrictions on Indian exports at Land Customs Stations and Integrated Check Posts bordering northeastern region, people familiar with the matter said.

India had taken up the issue with Dhaka but there was no positive response.

Further, yarn exports from India across land-ports have been stopped by Bangladesh with effect from April 13.

The people cited above said Indian exports are subjected to rigorous inspection on entry, and Indian rice exports are not allowed through Hili and Benapole ICPs since April 15, in addition to existing restrictions.

Industrial growth in the northeastern states suffered due to imposition of "unreasonably high" and "economically unviable" transit charges levied by Bangladesh, the people cited above said.

Bangladesh's approach resulted in denying access to the northeast from Indian hinterland.

Due to land-port restrictions by Bangladesh, the northeastern states are suffering from lack of access to Bangladesh market to sell locally manufactured goods, restricting the market access to primary agricultural goods only, the people said.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, has free access to the entire northeast market, creating an unhealthy dependency and stymieing growth of manufacturing sector in the north-eastern states, they said.

In order to promote 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and support local manufacture in the Northeastern states, it is understood that India has decided to impose port restrictions across all LCSs and ICPs in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, they added.

There has been a sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka and took shelter in India in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest.

The relations nosedived dramatically after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday questioned the Congress' choice of leaders for diplomatic outreach delegations abroad for conveying India's message following Operation Sindoor, wondering if it did not nominate party MP Shashi Tharoor because he outshone the high command.

IMAGE: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor arrives at Parliament, February 11, 2025. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

The government nominated Tharoor, who serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, to lead one of the seven multi-party delegations abroad for putting across India's stand against Pakistan for supporting terrorism.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it nominated former Union minister Anand Sharma, the party's deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and Lok Sabha MP Raja Brar after the government asked for names of four MPs.

Reacting to Ramesh's statement, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X, "No one can deny Shashi Tharoor's eloquence, his long experience as a United Nations official, and his deep insights on matters of foreign policy."

"So why has the Congress Party -- and Rahul Gandhi in particular -- chosen not to nominate him for the multi-party delegations being sent abroad to explain India's position on key issues?" he said.

"Is it insecurity? Jealousy? Or simply intolerance of anyone who outshines the 'high command'?" he added.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, "So, Jairam Ramesh opposes his own Congressman Shashi Tharoor for being chosen to lead one of the Parliamentary delegation."

"Why does Rahul Gandhi hate every individual who speaks for India, even in his own party?" Bhandari asked.

In another post on X, Malviya alleged the Congress' choices to represent India were not just "intriguing" but "deeply questionable".

"Take, for instance, the inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain in a delegation representing India. It is truly shocking. Let's not forget it was his supporter who raised "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha while celebrating his Rajya Sabha victory," the BJP leader said.

The Bengaluru police arrested three individuals in connection with the incident, based on a Forensic Science Laboratory report, circumstantial evidence, and witness testimonies, he added.

"The less said about Gaurav Gogoi, the better. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Gogoi of spending 15 days in Pakistan, stating that his arrival and departure were officially recorded at the Atari border," Malviya said.

Referring to other allegations that the Assam chief minister has leveled against Gogoi and his wife, the BJP leader asked, "How can MPs facing such grave allegations be trusted to represent India, particularly on matters involving Pakistan?"

"What message is the Congress trying to send, and whose interests are really being served?" Malviya added.
Contestants present a talent show during the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

CAIRO, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The competition, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and organized by the Cairo-based Chinese Bridge Club, consisted of three parts: a keynote speech, a knowledge quiz, and a talent show.

Twelve finalists advanced from a pool of 30 contestants representing 24 Egyptian universities in the preliminary rounds. The participants demonstrated strong proficiency in the Chinese language and extensive understanding of China's national conditions.

Two students from Cairo University, Ola Sherief and Youssef Ehab, won the grand prize and the first prize respectively.

The grand prizer Sherief, a student majoring in Chinese translation, said that she likes to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture through a variety of Chinese film and television works and social media platforms in her spare time.

"I hope to use Chinese as a bridge to contribute to the mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between Chinese and Egyptian youth," Sherief told Xinhua.

"We welcome more Egyptian youth to visit China and contribute to promoting cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between China and Egypt, promoting mutual learning and mutual benefit among the world's diverse civilizations, and building a community with a shared future for mankind," Liu Jianqing, deputy director-general of China's Center for Language Education and Cooperation, said at the award ceremony.

Egypt has opened 32 Chinese majors across 30 universities, and 21 public middle schools have introduced Chinese as an elective subject for a second foreign language. 

Youssef Ehab, a student from Cairo University, presents a talent show during the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Audiences cheer for the performance of the contestants during the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Contestants present a talent show during the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Ola Sherief (2nd R), a student from Cairo University, celebrates with friends after winning the grand prize in the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Ola Sherief, a student from Cairo University, gives a keynote speech during the 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students in Cairo, Egypt, May 17, 2025.

The 24th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for Egyptian university students concluded Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo.(Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
Opposition leaders Shashi Tharoor and Kanimozhi will join members of the ruling alliance, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sanjay Jha, in leading seven all-party delegations to key partner countries to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.

IMAGE: An all-party meeting on Operation Sindoor, at Parliament Annexe building in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

The other MPs picked by the government to present India's "national consensus" in fighting terrorism before the world, including to UN Security Council members, are Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar's Supriya Sule, BJP's Baijayant 'Jay' Panda and Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde.

A statement issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry on Saturday said, "The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

"They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism."

Sources said the delegations will be travelling to four of the five permanent Security Council members and not visit China, which has long been a Pakistan ally.

While the delegation led by Congress MP Tharoor will visit the US, Panda's group, which includes AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and BJP's Nishikant Dubey, will travel to western European countries such as the UK and France, both UNSC members.

The delegation led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi will travel to Russia, another UNSC member.

The sources said the delegation led by BJP MP Prasad is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria, while Sule's team of MPs will be travelling to Oman, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.

The delegation led by Janata Dal-United MP Jha is likely to visit Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population.

Shinde's team of parliamentarians are likely to visit some Gulf and African countries. Each delegation with six to seven MPs may visit around four to five countries, the sources said.

The government has made a careful selection of leaders who will head the delegations as they come from parties across the political divide and are considered articulate voices.

The leaders -- four from the ruling National Democratic Alliance and three from the opposition INDIA bloc -- include seasoned lawmakers with long stints in public life.

The Congress, however, struck a discordant note, accusing the government of "playing games" with a "mischievous mindset" by announcing names of the heads of delegations from outside the four MPs suggested by the party.

With the party leadership turning wary of Tharoor, an eloquent voice who has been one of the staunchest champions of the government's tough response to Pakistan, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at his colleague,

"Congress mein hona aur Congress ka hona mein zameen-aasmaan ka antar hai (There is a difference between being in the Congress and of the Congress)."

An unfazed Tharoor said he is honoured by the government's invitation to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals.

He added, "When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!"

The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry's statement said distinguished diplomats, including retired foreign secretaries, will be part of each delegation.

In a post on X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism."

Sharing the ministry's statement, he said, "A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences."

The statement said the proposed visits of the seven all-party delegations come in the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism.

MPs from different parties, including Anurag Thakur, Aparajita Sarangi, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Samik Bhattacharya, Brij Lal, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Vikramjit Sawhney, Sasmit Patra and Bhubaneswar Kalita, will be part of these delegations, sources have said.

The government also tapped Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay to join the exercise but he declined due to health reasons.

The expansive diplomatic drive is aimed at driving home in global capitals India's stand following the country's aggressive response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 civilians dead, amid Pakistan's efforts to skirt the issue of terrorism while putting Kashmir at the centre of its discourse.

Shinde said on X, "We will firmly convey to the international community that terrorism has no place in India, and that it is Pakistan which continues to nurture terrorism on its own soil. When it comes to matters of national interest, there is no division, only duty."

Pakistan with its long history of sponsoring terrorism has become a threat to humanity, Owaisi told PTI videos, affirming that this will be the heart of his message to the international community.

The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that any future act of terror will be construed as an act of war, signalling India's resolve to target Pakistan if it continues to abet terrorism on Indian territory.

India has also insisted that it has merely paused Operation Sindoor following days of conflict with Pakistan and its actions will depend on the neighbouring country's conduct.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi said on Saturday that Pakistan with its long history of sponsoring terrorism has become a threat to humanity, affirming that this will be the heart of his message to the international community as a member of all-party delegations the government is sending to world capitals.

IMAGE: AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi addresses the gathering in Hyderabad, May 10, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

In an interview to PTI Videos, the Hyderabad MP said the world will have to be told about the slaughtering of innocent citizens by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists for a long spell of time.

"India has been a big victim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We all have seen the tamasha, slaughtering of people since the time of Zia-ul-Haq," he said in his most explicit and fiery condemnation of Pakistan.

He added, "You can never trust Pakistan as long as the Pakistani deep state, Pakistani ISI, Pakistani military's objective is to destabilise Bharat."

Owaisi, however, added that he is yet to be briefed by the government about the details of the diplomatic drive following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.

One of the sharpest opposition voices against the BJP, the fifth-term Lok Sabha member has emerged as among the most vocal supporters of the government's tough stand against Pakistan, drawing praise even from a section of people generally hostile to his politics.

"Politically, we (his party) will continue to fight the BJP's ideology. But when you come to the country and kill the citizens of the country, the citizens of India, then where does any question arise in this? Of my political ideological differences," he said, emphasising that his excoriation of Pakistan reflects the wider sentiments among Muslims.

Asked if the anger he is expressing is a reflection of the entire Muslim community, he said, "Absolutely! Why won't they be? I am talking on behalf of my party, and our party is made up of Indian Muslims. How are we different?"

He added, "We are against the BJP's ideology, but when you come to my country and kill my countrymen, then where is the question of my religion coming in the way of my feelings."

Elaborating, he said everyone of the Indian citizens is sailing in the same boat.

"If anyone is creating a hole in the boat, we all sink together. No one will save us. It is obvious that we have to be together to fight every storm. We can sort out our issues internally."

Asserting that destabilising India, fomenting communal divide and stalling the country's economic rise is part of Pakistan's unwritten ideology, Owaisi said this has always been the objective of the Pakistani deep state and its military.

He said, "They have a stated ideology which is unwritten about the various ways in which they can destabilise India. How they can spread hatred in India? How can India's progress be stopped? They are working on it till today and will continue to do so tomorrow. These people are not going to stop."

The firebrand parliamentarian said it is necessary to call out Pakistan for projecting itself as the protector of Islam and Muslims in its confrontation with India. "This is nonsense. Nearly 20 crore Muslims live in India. This too must be conveyed."

India should have understood Pakistan's design long back when it had sent tribal invaders into Jammu and Kashmir after its independence in 1947, he said.

Pakistan has become a threat to humanity by arming, training and financing terrorists, he said.

However, India's patience ran out with the Pahalgam terror attack, he said.

The anguish that others are feeling, he is also feeling, Owaisi said, describing the killings of Pahalgam as "military style execution" in the most barbaric fashion, with men being shot at point blank range so much so that their faces were disfigured.

"Imagine the trauma that the relatives and wives faced. They will carry it with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

"There is no doubt that this was sponsored by Pakistan. How can there be any second opinion about this? Tell me. How can there be any second opinion? All the technical data with NIA shows that the terrorists came from Pakistan, so it is obvious that they were taking instructions from the Pakistani establishment," he said.

Owaisi cited the spontaneous and organic protests that erupted in Kashmir after the Pahalgam attacks to say that it showed there was no support left for Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the region.

"In fact, it is a historic opportunity for the government, for Prime Minister Modi, for Home Minister Amit Shah. They should use this opportunity properly. You should definitely confront Pakistan but you should also adopt Kashmiris," he said.

As seven all-party delegations leave next week to different parts of the world, Owaisi said outside countries must be told about Pakistan's role in a number of terror incidents, be it the Indian Airlines plane hijack to Kandahar and how India had to release Pakistani terrorists, the 26/11 Mumbai attack, the Parliament attack and horrific incidents in Pathankot cantonment, Uri, and now Pahalgam.
Pakistan government has assured to rebuild the mosques -- the Jamaat-ud-Dawah headquarters -- at Muridke destroyed in the Indian strike, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League said on Saturday.

IMAGE: A general view of a damaged portion of a mosque, after it was hit by an Indian strike, in Muridke near Lahore, on May 7, 2025. Photograph: Gibran Peshimam/Reuters

The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League is a political wing of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah and is a front for Lashkar-e-Tayiba that has carried out terror strikes in many parts of India, including the horrific 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008.

As part of the Operation Sindoor, Indian military carried out missile strikes on May 7 on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and the LeT's base at Muridke in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

Pakistan claims it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 km from Lahore.

Three JuD activists were killed and a controversy erupted when the Pakistan Army, police and civilian bureaucracy senior officers attended their funeral.

The government has announced to rebuild the mosques destroyed in the Indian attack. It is a welcoming step, PMML president Khalid Masood Sindhu said in a statement.

Pakistan's armed forces had claimed to have delivered precise and notch-up retributive strikes through Operation Bunyanum Marsoos in response to India's Operation Sindoor.

The success of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos sends a clear message to India that Pakistan knows how to defend its homeland, Sindhu said.

"We have not forgotten, nor will we ever forget, the martyrs of our nation. Every worker of the PMML stands vigilant and ever-ready to defend the country."

India on Friday pressed the International Monetary Fund to reconsider its $1 billion assistance to Pakistan, saying Islamabad could use a large part of it to fund the terrorist infrastructure.

The IMF in its board meeting in Washington on May 9 had cleared a $1 billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its $7-billion funding programme for the country.

In his address to air warriors at Gujarat's Bhuj Air Force station, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Pakistan has again started trying to rebuild the terror infrastructure destroyed by India last week.

Islamabad will spend the money collected from the common citizens of Pakistan to pay around Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad and a UN designated terrorist.

The Pakistan government has announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Muridke and Bahawalpur. Certainly, a large part of IMF's USD one billion assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure, Singh said.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami former chief Siraj-ul visited the Jamia Masjid Umm al-Qura (JuD headquarters) at Muridke and condemned the Indian attack.

He said India fired four missiles on the mosque and the educational complex in Muridke (JuD headquarters) destroying the mosque, homes, and hostel. Despite this, the spirit and resolve of the local population remain high, he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that he was woken up by the Army chief early last Saturday to inform about an Indian missile hitting an airbase less than 25 km from the capital among other places.

IMAGE: A Satellite image shows Nur Khan air base in Islamabad, on May 11, 2025, after it was targeted by an Indian missile attack. Photograph: 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters

Sharif's comment came a week after India and Pakistan announced to have reached an understanding to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes following the Pahalgam terror attack.

On May 10, Pakistan military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry had told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) air bases of Pakistan Air Force were targeted by Indian missiles.

Among these, Nur Khan air base is less than 25 kilometres from the Islamabad Capital Territory.

On Friday night, Sharif was addressing a gathering on Friday night here to observe the Youm-e-Tashakur (Day of Thanks) for the 'success against India' when he recalled the events leading to the retaliation by Pakistan.

"I got a call at 2:30 (Saturday) on a secure phone from army chief General Syed Asim Munir who informed me that India just now launched ballistic missiles and one of them fell at the Nur Khan Airport and the other fell in some other areas," the prime minister said.

General Munir's voice exhumed a lot of confidence, self-respect and extreme love for the country, he said. Munir asked for permission 'to slap the enemy in the face that will be remembered for all times to come,' he claimed.

Sharif said that Pakistan launched a counter-attack and listed Indian areas, including Pathankot, Udhampur and other places that were hit by Pakistani missiles.

He also highlighted that 'India's self-conceived pride of being the regional policeman was blown to bits by Pakistan's valiant armed forces, and the PAF falcons turned India's war fever into a nightmare from which it may never recover.'

The prime minister also stated that General Munir again called him in the morning to inform that Pakistan gave a befitting reply to India and now a request has been made for a ceasefire, and "I gave permission to accept the offer."

"My dear elders, brothers and sisters, this is a brief summary of the long story," he said.

In the same speech, Sharif also said that Pakistan and India should sit down at the table like peaceful neighbours and settle their outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

Stating that India and Pakistan fought three wars and got nothing, Sharif said, "The lesson is to sit down as peaceful neighbours and settle all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. Without resolution of our issues, we cannot have peace in this part of the world."

India has, however, made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.

India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
An soldier was injured in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Saturday, officials said.

IMAGE: A soldier of Romeo Force of the Army provides medicine to an inhabitant affected by the Pakistani shelling, in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, May 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

The landmine exploded when the troops were patrolling in a forward area in Digwar sector this afternoon, the officials said.

As part of an anti-infiltration obstacle system, the forward areas are dotted with landmines which sometimes get washed away by rains, resulting in such accidents.

The injured Havaldar was immediately evacuated to hospital for treatment, the officials said.

Meanwhile, a Bomb Disposal Squad destroyed an unexploded mortar shell in a controlled explosion near the Regal border outpost in Samba district this morning.

The mortar shell was found by some villagers who informed police and subsequently, a team of experts was rushed and the explosive device was neutralized, the officials said.

Dozens of unexploded ordnance were defused by army and police experts in villages along the LoC and International Border in the past week after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on May 10 announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.

Under Operation Sindoor, India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
With the government nominating him to lead a diplomatic outreach delegation after Operation Sindoor, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that when national interest is involved and his services are required, he will not be found wanting.

IMAGE: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (fourth from right), former finance minister P Chidambaram (fourth from left) and others during the party meeting, in New Delhi, May 14, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Tharoor also said he is honoured by the invitation of the government to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals to present the nation's point of view on recent events.

His remarks came after the government announced that it will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.

"I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nation's point of view on recent events," Tharoor said on X.

"When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!" the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs said.

The government has made a careful selection of leaders who will head the delegations as they come from parties across the political divide and are considered articulate voices.

Bharatiya Janata Party's MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Janata Dal-United MP Sanjay Jha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Kanimozhi, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde will be heading a delegation each.

While four of them are from the ruling National Democratic Alliance, three are from the opposition INDIA bloc.

A statement issued by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry earlier on Saturday said, "The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism."

"In the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven all-party delegations are set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council later this month," it said.

In a post on X, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism."

Sharing the ministry's statement, he said, "A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences." Each delegation may visit around five countries, sources said.

According to the ministry's statement, distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation.
'We had prepared tapioca and crabs for him, and he enjoyed the Kerala cuisine thoroughly.'

IMAGE: Pope Leo XIV waves at the end of an audience with representatives of the media at the Vatican, May 12, 2025. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

In 2004 Father Robert Prevost -- now Pope Leo XIV -- visited Kerala for the first time.

It was Father Prevost's first visit as the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA).

During the two weeks he spent in Aluva, he participated in the ordination of six Augustinian deacons and blessed them.

One of those deacons is Father John Bosco Koottuthara OSA.

"I had goosebumps when it was announced that Cardinal Robert Prevost was going to be the next Pope." Father Koottuthara tells Rediff's Shobha Warrier.

IMAGE: Father Robert Prevost, second from right, before the ordination of 6 deacons in Kochi in 2004. All photographs: Kind courtesy Father John Bosco Koottuthara

April 22, 2004. The ordination of six Augustine deacons

I had joined the seminary in 1992 and after 12 years, six of us had finished our studies and were to be ordained.

As the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, Father Robert Prevost had to visit our Augustinian communities all over the world at least once during his 6-year tenure.

He was elected as Prior General first in 2001 and then in 2007.

He planned his visit to India to coincide with the ordination of us, the six Augustinian deacons to priesthood.

He reached Aluva on the 19th of April and the ordination was on the 22nd at the St Francis Xavier's church in Kaloor in Kochi.

The ordination was conducted by Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil with OSA Prior General Father Robert Prevost serving as the chief celebrant.

It was a rare honour to be ordained in the presence of the present Pope Leo XIV, and also to be blessed by him.

IMAGE: Father John Bosco Koottuthara.

Pope Leo's 2004 visit to Aluva

He stayed at the St Augustine study house, the house of the Order of Saint Augustine, for almost two weeks in 2004.

It is here that all our dignitaries stay when they visit us.

It is also where priests and seminarians are also put up. It meant he stayed in the same house where we students also stayed.

What I remember about him is though he was the Prior General, he interacted with each one of us with love and patience, like a brother.

He was a very simple and down to earth person.

He spoke less and listened more.

He was more interested in listening to us than speaking to us. He gently asked us questions about us, our families, our interests and our plans for the future.

He was more eager to know about our culture, the Kerala way of life, the main occupation of the people, etc.

When he came to Aluva, he had already been a missionary in Peru for almost 20 years.

We young deacons were so attracted by his concern for the poor, the marginalised and the downtrodden.

We could sense a missionary zeal in him. All of us wanted to emulate him and be with the people and work for them.

As he had travelled to so many countries and met different kinds of people, he was very eager to learn new cultures and languages.

He learnt to greet people with a Namaste when he was here.

He already knew six languages but wanted us to teach him a few Malayalam expressions. He learnt to ask everyone, 'Sukhamano? (Are you fine?)'

IMAGE: Father Robert Prevost, third from left, with the 6 deacons who were ordained in 2004.

Having sea food, going on a picnic and conducting Mass

When we came to know that he was very fond of sea food, we prepared tapioca and crabs for him. He enjoyed the tapioca-crab combination of Kerala cuisine thoroughly.

Though he enjoyed Kerala style fish also, the tapioca-crab combination was his favourite.

Having lived in Peru, he was familiar with tapioca.

Whenever any dignitary comes to visit us, we take them on a picnic.

Similarly, when he was there also, all of us -- students and priests -- went on a picnic to the Athirapalli waterfalls.

I remember him sitting there quietly, enjoying the natural beauty of the place.

At the parish, he conducted Sunday Mass. He was so surprised and happy to see the church full of people to attend the Mass even though most of them didn't understand English.

He said later that it was a rare sight for him to see a church full of people for Sunday Mass as it never happened in Europe.

After he was introduced as the Prior General, people gathered around him to converse with him in their limited English.

Everybody had only one question for him: 'How are you, Father?'

He appeared so happy to be among people, surrounded by them. We could see that he connected with them so beautifully.

IMAGE: Father Robert Prevost blessing Father John Bosco at his ordination in 2004.

25 years of First Profession

It was in 2000 that I made my 'First Profession of Vows'. So also the other priests who were ordained in 2004.

2025 is the jubilee year for us.

It has been decided that we will be celebrating the jubilee year of all the priests in our provincial house in Spain on the 28th of June.

After the celebration, we will be taken to the Vatican.

Hopefully we will get a chance to see the Holy Father too.

If that happens, I will definitely tell him that he had blessed me on my ordination in 2004.

I will also carry photos of him blessing me to show him.

Like I was blessed by him on my ordination day, I pray that I will get a chance to be blessed by him again as the Holy Father.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Arab leaders on Saturday called for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and voiced their rejection of forced displacement of Palestinians.

In the final statement of the 34th Arab League Summit, which kicked off in the Iraqi capital Baghdad earlier in the day, the leaders of the bloc's 22 member states demanded "an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and all hostilities exacerbating civilian suffering."

The statement urged the international community, particularly influential states, to fulfill their moral and legal obligations to advocate for a cessation of bloodshed and ensure unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza.

They also reiterated their rejection of forced displacement of the Palestinian people, which constitutes a violation of international law, the statement added.

It called on all countries to provide political, financial, and legal support for the reconstruction and recovery plans for the Gaza Strip, welcoming Iraq's call to establish a fund for the reconstruction of Gaza.

The leaders affirmed that the Palestinian issue remains the core cause of the Arab nation and the key to regional stability, said the statement, adding that they fully support the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including freedom, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The statement stressed that the Arab leaders condemn all illegitimate measures and practices by Israel that target the Palestinian people and deprive them of their right to freedom, life, and human dignity.

The leaders supported a call of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to convene an international peace conference and take steps to implement the two-state solution.

The statement also addressed other issues across the Arab world, including Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, and reiterated the Arab leaders' condemnation of all forms of terrorism, particularly the terrorist acts by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The summit witnessed the participation of leaders and top diplomats of 22 Arab League member states, as well as representatives from regional and international organizations. 
US President Donald Trump said he will speak with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in separate calls on May 19 as a deadly Russian drone attack killed nine minibus passengers in Ukraine a day after the first direct peace talks in three years produced no breakthrough.

In a post on his Truth Social network on May 17, Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on May 19 at 10 a.m. EST (4 p.m. CET).

"The subjects of the call will be...stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump wrote, adding he would then speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and have a group call with Zelenskyy and "various members of NATO."

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end," he wrote.

A day before Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks in Istanbul on May 16, Trump had said, "Nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together," and after those talks ended without progress toward peace, Trump said he was seeking a meeting with Putin.

Russian Attack On Civilians In Ukraine

Earlier on May 17, a Russian drone strike hit a minibus carrying civilians in the Sumy region near the Russian border, killing nine people and wounding several others, Ukrainian authorities said.

The attack, less than 24 hours after the 90-minute talks in Istanbul, underscored the lack of progress. Ukraine accused Russia of making "unacceptable" demands.

Russia has rejected calls by Ukraine, European countries, and the United States for a 30-day cease-fire in the war, now well into its fourth year since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Multiple international media outlets cited unnamed Ukrainian officials who discussed what they said were Russia's demands at the May 16 talks in Istanbul, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from four mainland regions that are partially occupied by Russia and the renunciation of compensation claims.

The attack in the Sumy region was carried out with a drone, the Sumy regional military administration said. Ukraine's National Police charged that Russian forces deliberately targeted the vehicle, which was being used as an intercity bus and was hit near the town of Bilopillya, not far from the Russian border.

Images posted by the National Police on Telegram showed a mangled Mercedes minibus and debris scattered on the roadside. Most of the victims were women of retirement age, Bilopillya administration chief Yuriy Zarko said.

"This day will become Black Saturday in the history of our town," he said. Periods of mourning were announced in Bilopillya and in the Sumy region, which is the site of frequent Russian attacks.

A surviving passenger, Andriy, lay in a hospital bed, his head and shoulder bandaged and bloodied cuts on his face. "When I raised my head [after the blast], the doors were completely gone. I saw a man under the [exit] in a pool of blood," he told independent regional outlet Kordon.Media.

"I started driving and there was a blast," the driver, Viktor Vovk, told Kordon.Media. "It triggered the airbags; they shot into my face. I left the bus. There was a person on the ground right next to the bus in awful shape. Another person was crying from inside for help. I got inside and carried [the person] out as they were still alive. Thats all I could do to help until the police and ambulance arrived."

"Total horror, I cant find the words," he said.

Zelenskyy said preliminary reports indicated that a couple and their daughter were among the victims. He said seven people were being treated in hospitals, while other officials put the number of wounded at four.

"All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. "Yesterday, as on any other day of this war, there was an opportunity to cease fire. Ukraine has long been offering this -- a full and unconditional cease-fire in order to save lives."

There was no immediate comment from Russia, which claims it does not target civilians despite ample evidence to the contrary.

After the talks, Trump said a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is needed to make progress in ending Europe's longest conflict since World War II.

"We have to get together," Trump told Fox News in an interview, saying he was optimistic about engaging with Putin but is ready to apply pressure on Russia if necessary. "I think we'll make a deal with Putin.... [I] will use leverage on Putin if I have to."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 16 that a Trump-Putin meeting to discuss bilateral ties, Ukraine, and other matters is "certainly necessary" but would take time to prepare and should not be held unless it produces results.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on May 17. Rubio "emphasized President Trump's call for an immediate cease-fire," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Rubio told reporters in Rome that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. "I wouldn't call it a broker, but it certainly is a place that I would think that both sides would be comfortable coming," he said before a meeting with the Vatican's point man on Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.

Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meeting in Rome with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, said the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul had fallen short of his expectations, despite the "maximally constructive approach" of Kyiv's negotiating team.

After Ukraine's delegation in Istanbul pressed Russia on the need for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, Peskov said such a meeting could only happen "upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides."

French President Emmanuel Macron voiced confidence that Trump would react appropriately to Russia's actions and its resistance to a cease-fire, and suggested the reputation of the United States was at stake.

"Faced with the cynicism of President Putin I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States of America, will react," Macron said during a visit to Albania.

Trump "was elected by the American people. He arrived with a laudable ambition: to make peace.... The cease-fire proposals, which I remind you are an American initiative, have not been respected by President Putin and his armies," he said.





Talks Fail To Bridge Divide

At the Istanbul talks, negotiators agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side in the near future, but there was no indication that the wide gaps between Russia and Ukraine on issues such as territory and a cease-fire were narrowed. European leaders joined Zelenskyy in condemning Moscow.

VIDEO: Zelenskyy Urges Partnership With US As Putin Shuns Istanbul Peace Talks No media source currently available 0:00 0:00:44 0:00

"The Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement with the leaders of Poland, Germany, and France at a summit in Tirana, Albania.

He said that after a meeting with Zelenskyy, who was also at the summit, and a joint phone call with Trump in which they discussed the Istanbul talks, "we are now closely aligning and coordinating our responses and will continue to do so."

"Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance," Zelenskyy said on social media after the call with Trump.

"Our position [is that] if the Russians reject a full and unconditional cease-fire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow," he said. "Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war."

Russia's Goals Remain Unchanged

Expectations for a breakthrough had been low at the first direct peace talks since unsuccessful negotiations held in the first two months of the 2022 invasion. Putin spurned Zelenskyy's invitation to hold their first face-to-face meeting since 2019.



The talks capped a frenzied week of diplomacy fueled by Trump's push to broker an end to the war, which has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and a growing number of Ukrainian civilians.

Putin launched the full-scale invasion eight years after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented war in the eastern Donbas region in 2014. Russia now holds about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory but has fallen far short of Putin's goal of subjugating the country, independent since the Soviet collapse in 1991.

The only previous direct peace talks broke up in the spring of 2022 as the sides wrangled over major points of contention and amid revelations of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha, a city they abandoned as they withdrew from northern Ukraine after failing to capture Kyiv.

In those negotiations, Russia was seeking a deal that analysts said would have amounted to Kyiv's surrender, leaving Ukraine a permanently neutral country with a small and toothless military, limited sovereignty, and little or no access to Western security support.

Accounts from the May 16 talks indicate that Moscow's conditions have changed little in three years, despite major battlefield setbacks later in 2022 and the slow, costly pace of Russian advances since then. But Russia has expanded its territorial demands, seeking control of four mainland regions it baselessly claims as its own.

According to a Ukrainian official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the Russian delegation said there could be no cease-fire until Ukraine withdraws its troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions, which are now only partially Russian-occupied.

Russia also wants international recognition that those four regions and Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia seized in 2014, belong to Russia, the report said.

Other demands included permanent neutrality for Ukraine, with no weapons of mass destruction and no Western troops stationed on its soil, as well as the renunciation of claims for compensation for the massive damage inflicted on Ukraine by the Russian invasion.

Some experts say a cease-fire that would leave the current front line in place would be a blow to Putin's reputation at home but that the Kremlin could be forced to accept it if the West ratchets up economic pressure on Russia, including significantly widening sanctions on its oil shipping fleet.

In Russia's public comments or in the accounts that emerged from the Istanbul talks, there has been no indication that it would consider such a climbdown.

With Russia rejecting the cease-fire calls, the European Union is preparing a new package of sanctions against Moscow, including measures focusing on Russia's financial sector and its lucrative energy exports.

"We will increase the pressure," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Tirana on May 16.

On May 17 during his visit to Rome, Germany's Merz expressed support for the Commission's proposal to prevent the resumption of operations of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea as part of new against Moscow.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and Bloomberg
British counterterrorism authorities have charged three Iranian nationals under the National Security Act in what authorities allege were actions linked to a plan to "commit serious violence" against persons in Britain, later identified as journalists.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with "engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service" between August 14, 2024, and February 16 2025, authorities said on May 17.

The three men appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court on May 17 and were remanded in custody, ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing at the central criminal court on June 6.

During the initial court appearance, prosecutors alleged that the three men had targeted Britain-based journalists connected with Iran International, a broadcaster which is critical of the Iranian government.

The three men, all London residents, were arrested on May 3. The statement's description of additional charges suggested that Sepahvand is suspected of intending to attack the prospective victims, who were not directly identified, while Manesh and Khani are suspected as accomplices.

Police said the men were arrested under a section of Britain's 2023 National Security Act that grants police the power to arrest someone without a warrant if they are reasonably suspected of being involved in "foreign power threat activity," the BBC reported.

Police said the foreign intelligence service in question was Iran's.

"We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil," Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said.

The Interior Ministry said the men had arrived "by irregular means, including small boats."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi previously said he was "disturbed" to hear that Iranian citizens had been arrested by British authorities, while another Iranian Foreign Ministry official called the accusations of Tehran's involvement "baseless."

The charges came after police arrested eight men -- including seven Iranians  in early May in two separate operations that Cooper said were some of the biggest investigations of their type in recent years.

Later on May 17, in a separate statement, police said four other men arrested as part of that operation had been released from custody but that the investigation was still open. The eighth suspect was released on May 15 without charges.

"We made these arrests due to concerns about a suspected plot to target a specific premises," the statement said, adding that they continued to provide the premises with support.

The head of Britain's domestic spy service said last year that since 2022, authorities had responded to 20 Iran-linked plots that potentially posed lethal threats to the public.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
To the Ukrainian soldiers facing off with advancing Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, the recent flurry of reports on possible cease-fire talks doesnt hold much sway, they say.

Well into the fourth year of Russia's war on Ukraine, with strikes and counterstrikes escalating in scale and technological sophistication, says one soldier, any real prospect for peace seems remote.

When asked what he would personally do if a cease-fire was declared, the frontline artillery crew member said, "There won't be one. Everything indicates that the fight will go on to the end. At a minimum, they plan to capture the whole Donetsk region."

He cites the rise in frequency of both Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities -- which have ramped up 30 percent in recent weeks, according to Ukrainian officials -- and the continued pushes by ground troops to take more Ukrainian territory.

This combat unit, which operates Zuzana 2 Howitzers, focus on groups of Russian troops and equipment, occasionally targeting command centers, often spotted by aerial drones.

The team was interviewed by RFE/RL Ukrainian Service correspondent Maryan Kushnir, who observed their daily routines firing from camouflaged positions, using advanced computerized targeting equipment.

As Kushnir described their role, "This is long-range artillery. It targets concentrated areas of Russian Army personnel and equipment or a command post. That's its job in the Kharkiv region. The goal is to prevent Russia from concentrating forces and developing their offensive."

One soldier in the unit, named Petro, said, he'd be happy to see a cease-fire take effect but doesn't believe Russia is seriously interested in negotiations.

"I want this to end sooner," he said, "but they only speak in ultimatums, so it's going to continue for a while."

When asked whether he noticed the so-called three-day cease-fire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the anniversary of the end of World War II, the soldier answered, "Yes, there was a mass Shahed drone attack."

More recently, US President Donald Trump called for a 30-day unconditional cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine and threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia if attacks do not pause.

That proposal was advanced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Russia has shown no interest in an unconditional cease-fire, underscored by Putin's no-show at talks Zelenskyy had proposed in Istanbul on May 16

The following day, nine civilians were killed in Ukrainian border city Sumy by a Russian air strike.

Speaking to RFE/RL, a Ukrainian soldier named Oleksandr acknowledged that Russian forces have not managed any significant breakthroughs in Ukrainian defenses despite the escalating attacks.

But, he added, "They failed because their army is corrupt and because our guys sacrificed their lives to stop them."
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserted that Tehran feels no pressure to respond to a US proposal for a deal aimed to curb its nuclear program, saying US President Donald Trump's comments on the matter during his visit to the Persian Gulf region this week were "not worth responding to."

Khamenei's comment on May 17 came a day after Trump said Washington had made a proposal and that Iran must make a decision on it quickly.

"They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad -- something bad is going to happen," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on May 16.

Tehran insists it has not received any proposals.

Trump has threatened military action against Iranian nuclear facilities if no agreement is reached, and he said during his four-day tour of the Middle East this week that the United States was "getting close" to a deal with Iran.

Trump withdrew the United States from a multilateral 2015 deal on Iran's nuclear program in 2018, during his first presidential term. Tehran and Washington restarted nuclear talks in April, with Oman's mediation. A fourth round of talks was held in Muscat on May 10 and while both sides have said another there will be another round of negotiations, no date has been set.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 15 that Iran was "at the threshold" of developing a nuclear weapon and that Washington was facing a critical moment with Tehran. Iran, which is enriching uranium at near weapons-grade level of 60 percent, claims its nuclear program is peaceful and says it is willing to offer assurances to the United States to allay concerns.

With reporting by Reuters
TALLINN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Two civilian helicopters departing from Tallinn on Saturday morning collided near Eura Airfield in Southwestern Finland early in the afternoon, killing all five people on board, Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. (0930 GMT) on Saturday, the Satakunta Rescue Department received a report from a road near Eura Airfield that two helicopters had collided midair and crashed to the ground, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) and Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

Police said five people were on board the two four-seater Robinson R44 Raven light helicopters at the time of the collision - two in one aircraft and three in the other.

At a press conference Saturday evening, Margus Sarglepp, head of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Consular Assistance Unit, said there were no survivors. Finnish police are working to identify the victims.

Several Estonian media outlets have reported that among the deceased were Estonian businessmen Oleg Sonajalg and Priit Jagant. The names of the other passengers have not yet been released. 
A weekend of open-water swimming, riverside adventure, and family fun is taking place in the Lanesborough/Ballyleague area with the Gaelforce Great River Swim Festival underway.

This sporting event which sees Gaelforce Powered by Killary returning to Lanesborough/Ballyleague for its third year, is a celebration of open water swimming in Irelands Hidden Heartlands at the scenic River Shannon. The festival is funded by Failte Ireland with support from Longford County Council and Roscommon County Council. The event is also powered by the fantastic voluntary community committees and organisations in Lanesborough and Ballyleague.

The event promises to be a fantastic family-friendly day out with community groups, sporting organisations and local crafters, artisan providers and businesses all joining forces to build a great offering around this exciting sporting event.

Today, Saturday is festival day with the Gaelforce Great River Swim with four distances of 12km, 5.8km, 3.5km and 800m. A prize giving ceremony will take place after the event with live music at the finish line with The Amazing Apples.

Festival day will also see artisan stalls open with local crafts and produce as well as a range of family fun day activities with face painting, a climbing wall, and trampolines, as well as funfair games and activities. Riverside sauna sessions continue until 4 p.m. today, Saturday while the day concludes with food and music with a barbecue at Clarkes bar and lounge from 6pm.

For a full programme and bookings please see: https://gaelforceevents.com/en/gaelforce-great- river-swim
The parents of Garda Kevin Flatley attended the annual Garda Memorial Day at Dublin Castle today, a day after their son was laid to rest.

Garda Flatley died last Sunday after being struck by a motorcycle at a speed checkpoint in north Dublin.

Speaking at the Garda Memorial Day, Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan described the day as particularly poignant following the recent loss of the Garda.

My immediate thoughts are with his wife Una and their two children Aoife and Erin, his parents, his family and his friends, he said. I offer my condolences again to them at this deeply sad time.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said his tragic death served as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the dangers faced by gardai daily in the course of their duties.

The Garda Memorial Day honours the 90 members of An Garda Siochana killed in the line of duty and who gave their lives in the service of the State.

Garda Flatleys parents, Michael, who originally came from Clooncrim, Ballinlough, and Breda were in attendance at todays ceremony.

Their son was laid to rest yesterday in his native Newcastle, Co. Dublin following Funeral Mass in Balbriggan.
Two County Roscommon farmers have been chosen to take part in a new Kepak Young Sheep Farmer Forum.

Michael Feely from the Castlerea area and Rachel McCormack from Strokestwn will take part in the forum, a new initiative designed to empower the next generation of Irish sheep farmers through innovation, sustainability, and leadership.

Michael Feely, who will chair the forum, is a UCD agricultural graduate. He farms with his brother and father in Castlerea, managing a 300-ewe flock and suckler cows. He has gained valuable experience through several fixed-term contracts with Teagasc.

Michael Feely who will chair the new Kepak Young Sheep Farmer Forum.

Rachel McCormack, from Strokestown, is a first-year agricultural student in NUIG and has a strong passion for sheep farming.

The forum was officially launched by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, at an event hosted on one of Kepaks supplier farms, owned by Damien Flynn in Dunshaughlin, County Meath.

Set against the backdrop of Teagascs 2024 National Farm Survey  which found the average age of Irish sheep farmers to be 56  the forum aims to inject fresh thinking and renewed energy into the sector. Developed in collaboration with Bord Bia and Mountbellew Agricultural College, it brings together 15 young farmers from diverse educational and sheep farming enterprise backgrounds (including part-time and full-time farmers) to address the key challenges facing Irish sheep farming.

The initiatives core mission is to make sheep farming more attractive and viable for young people, while promoting sustainable and profitable practices. Through youth-led dialogue, hands-on experience, and access to industry networks, Kepak aims to support the next generation in shaping a future-focused and resilient sheep sector.
India to Send All-Party Delegations Abroad to Highlight Operation Sindoor and Anti-Terror Efforts

In a significant diplomatic initiative, India is set to send seven all-party parliamentary delegations to key global partner nations later this month. The move comes in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor and aims to spotlight Indias resolute stance against cross-border terrorism, particularly the role of Pakistan in fomenting violence.

The delegations will visit influential countries, including several members of the United Nations Security Council, to present Indias perspective on Operation Sindoor and its broader anti-terror operations. According to government sources, the effort is part of a strategic global outreach to counter Pakistan's narrative and rally international support against terrorism.

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The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations:

Shashi Tharoor (Congress) Ravi Shankar Prasad (Bharatiya Janata Party) Advertisement Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal United) Baijayant "Jay" Panda (Bharatiya Janata Party) Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) Advertisement Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party) Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena)

These multi-party delegations reflect a rare moment of political consensus on matters of national security. The initiative also signals Indias firm commitment to take its case against terrorism to the global stage, emphasizing that acts of terror, especially those originating across the border, will not go unanswered.

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Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, has been projected by the Indian government as a decisive countermeasure aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure and sending a strong message to perpetrators of violence.

The Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs are jointly coordinating the visit, which is scheduled to begin in the third week of May and conclude in early June. Delegates are expected to engage with top political leadership, security experts, and media outlets in the countries they visit.

The diplomatic push underscores New Delhis evolving policy of linking terror with diplomacy and ensuring that India's narrative receives rightful attention and support on the world stage.
Rajasthan Government Challenges Acquittal of Saif Ali Khan, Tabu in 1998 Blackbuck Poaching Case

Now, the state government has challenged that acquittal in the High Court, seeking a re-examination of the trial courts findings.

Blackbuck Poaching Case Latest News Today: The long-running legal saga surrounding the 1998 blackbuck poaching case has taken a fresh turn, with the Rajasthan government moving the High Court to challenge the acquittal of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre, and local resident Dushyant Singh.

The leave-to-appeal petition was heard on Friday in the court of Justice Manoj Kumar Garg, who instructed that the matter be clubbed with other pending related cases. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 28.

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According to government counsel Mahipal Vishnoi, the poaching incident allegedly occurred on October 1, 1998, in Kankani village, near Jodhpur, during the shooting of the Hindi film Hum Saath-Saath Hain.

In a significant verdict on April 5, 2018, actor Salman Khan was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison by a trial court. However, the co-accusedSaif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre, and Dushyant Singhwere acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Now, the state government has challenged that acquittal in the High Court, seeking a re-examination of the trial courts findings. The appeal is also expected to address matters related to transfer petitions and the sentencing awarded to Salman Khan.

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Timeline of the Case

The blackbuck poaching case dates back to 1998, when a First Information Report (FIR) was filed alleging that the actors hunted endangered blackbucks while filming in Rajasthan. Over the years, the case has seen multiple developments across different courts:

On April 5, 2018, Salman Khan was convicted and sent to Jodhpur Central Jail.

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He was granted conditional bail on April 7, 2018, after depositing a50,000.

In another related case, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) sentenced Khan to five years in prison on April 10, 2006, which was overturned by the Rajasthan High Court on July 25, 2016.

The state government subsequently challenged the acquittal in the Supreme Court, where the case remains pending.

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Khan was also sentenced to one year by the CJM on February 17, 2006, in a separate but connected matter; this too was later overturned by the High Court.

The Rajasthan government has appealed both these decisions before the Supreme Court.

Additionally, Khan faced charges under the Arms Act for illegal possession of weapons allegedly used during the poaching, but was acquitted in January 2017.

What's Next?

With the Rajasthan government now challenging the acquittals of the other Bollywood celebrities, the case is set to be reopened for judicial scrutiny. If the High Court admits the appeal, the actors could once again face legal proceedings in the two-decade-old wildlife protection case.

The case continues to be one of the most high-profile wildlife crime cases in India, drawing public and legal attention due to the involvement of major Bollywood personalities and its implications for wildlife conservation laws.

(For more news apart from Blackbuck Poaching Case Latest News Today, stay tuned to Rozana Spoksman)
Shashi Tharoor to Lead Operation Sindoor Delegation Despite Being Left Out of Cong Nomination List

The outreach comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Indias military response to a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam.

A fresh political row has emerged over the composition of Indias multi-party delegations for Operation Sindoors global outreach, as Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament from the Congress party, has accepted the governments invitation to lead one of the seven delegations  despite not being on the official list of names submitted by his own party.

The controversy erupted shortly after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju unveiled the plan on Saturday morning. He announced that seven all-party delegations would be dispatched to key partner nations  including UN Security Council members  later this month, to explain Indias firm stance against cross-border terrorism, particularly in the context of Operation Sindoor.

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Among the leaders named to head these delegations was Shashi Tharoor, who promptly accepted the role. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor said:

"I am honoured by the invitation of the Government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting. Jai Hind!"

However, the twist came when Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh revealed that the party had submitted a different list of MPs for the delegations, and Tharoors name was not included.

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Ramesh clarified that on May 16, following a conversation between Rijiju and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, the party had formally proposed the following four MPs:

Anand Sharma (former Union Cabinet Minister)

Gaurav Gogoi (Deputy Leader, INC in Lok Sabha)

Syed Naseer Hussain (Rajya Sabha MP)

Raja Brar (Lok Sabha MP)

By noon, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha had communicated these names to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ramesh wrote in a social media post.

Sources had earlier indicated that the government had initially discussed names like Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid, and Amar Singh with the Congress. However, the party ultimately chose not to nominate them. Notably, Tewari and Khurshid were considered for leading delegations but were not included in the final Congress list.

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Despite the internal discrepancy, the government has confirmed that the following MPs will lead the seven delegations:

Shashi Tharoor (INC)

Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP)

Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU)

Baijayant Panda (BJP)

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (DMK)

Supriya Sule (NCP)

Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena)

Rijiju said these delegations will represent Indias united stance against terrorism and demonstrate the countrys zero-tolerance policy in international forums. They will project Indias national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, he added.

The outreach comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Indias military response to a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam. The delegations are expected to engage with foreign political leaders, strategic experts, and media outlets to counter what the government terms as Pakistans false narrative on terrorism.

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While the Congresss position appears conflicted, Tharoors acceptance suggests an emphasis on national unity in matters of foreign policy  even amid internal party disagreements.
Who is Haryana YouTuber Among Six Arrested in Espionage Case Linked to ISIS Pakistan?

Officials, speaking to India Today, confirmed that the case is part of a broader intelligence-gathering operation run by Pakistan.

Who is Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra? In a significant breakthrough, Indian authorities have arrested six individuals, including a Haryana-based YouTuber, for their alleged involvement in a Pakistan-backed espionage network. The group, operating primarily across Haryana and Punjab, is accused of leaking sensitive information and facilitating covert operations for Pakistani intelligence.

Who is Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra?

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Among the arrested is Jyoti Malhotra, a travel content creator who ran the YouTube channel "Travel with Jo." Officials say Malhotra traveled to Pakistan in 2023 after securing a visa through agents, where she developed ties with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish  an official at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Danish, who was expelled from India on May 13, 2025, after being declared persona non grata, allegedly introduced Malhotra to multiple Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). Investigations suggest she stayed in contact with them via encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, using aliases such as Jatt Randhawa to conceal her interactions.

Authorities allege that Malhotra shared sensitive geographic data and was tasked with promoting favorable narratives about Pakistan on social media. She reportedly entered into a romantic relationship with one operative and even traveled with him to Bali, Indonesia.

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Malhotra has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Her written confession is now part of an ongoing investigation led by the Economic Offences Wing in Hisar.

Romantic Manipulation and Financial Transactions

Another key figure is Guzala, a 32-year-old widow from Malerkotla, Punjab, who was drawn into the network through a romantic and emotional entanglement with Danish. Her contact with him began in February 2025 when she visited the Pakistan High Commission to apply for a visa.

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Danish allegedly courted her over chat and video calls, gradually persuading her to shift to Telegram for secure communication. He sent her money through apps like PhonePe and Google Pay, including instructions to redistribute some of the funds to specific individuals in smaller amounts.

In April, Guzala returned to the High Commission accompanied by her friend Banu Nasreena, another widow from Malerkotla. Danish reportedly facilitated their visas, continuing the operation under the guise of personal connections.

A Web of Recruits

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The other arrested individuals include:

Yameen Mohd (Malerkotla): Acted as a liaison for financial transfers and visa arrangements.

Devinder Singh Dhillon (Kaithal, Haryana): A Sikh student recruited during a pilgrimage to Pakistan, he allegedly sent videos of Patiala cantonment to handlers.

Arman (Nuh, Haryana): Accused of supplying Indian SIM cards, transferring money, and attending Defence Expo 2025 on instructions from Pakistani agents.

A Larger Conspiracy Unfolds

Officials, speaking to India Today, confirmed that the case is part of a broader intelligence-gathering operation run by Pakistan. The strategy reportedly focused on targeting vulnerable individuals  particularly women and religious minorities  using emotional manipulation, financial incentives, and fake marriage proposals.

All six accused have reportedly confessed to their roles in the network. The investigation continues, with authorities working to uncover the full extent of the espionage ring and any additional accomplices.
DAMASCUS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's defense authorities announced late Saturday the integration of armed units into the national defense framework.

In a statement, Murhaf Abu Qasra, the chief of the Syrian defense authorities, said the move follows months of coordinated efforts aimed at unifying Syria's various military factions under a centralized command.

"After the liberation of Syria, we immediately began work on merging all military units within a unified institutional framework," Abu Qasra said. "Today, we are proud to announce to our honorable people that all units have now been integrated under the Ministry of Defense."

The announcement emphasized that the integration was made possible through collective cooperation and discipline across the ranks.

In a further directive, the defense authorities urged all remaining small armed groups operating independently to complete their integration within 10 days from the date of the announcement.

It warned that any delays could prompt legal measures in accordance with Syrian law.

"This final step is essential to complete the efforts of unification and organization," the statement read. "Failure to comply will result in appropriate action as per the legal framework." 
The New Year That Never Came, a multi-award winning film

The 19th edition of the Gopo Awards Gala celebrated the performances of Romanian cinema in the previous year.

Photo: fb.com / Anul Nou care n-a fost

Corina Sabau, 17.05.2025, 13:58

The New Year That Never Came, written, directed and produced by Bogdan Muresanu was the big winner of the evening, receiving the trophy for Best Film. The same film won 9 other trophies, including the award for Best Actress in a Lead Role awarded to Nicoleta Hancu, the Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role won by Adrian Vancica, the Award for Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Best Debut Film, obtained by Bogdan Muresanu. In turn, Iulia and Victor Fulicea won the Award for Best Sets.

The New Year That Never Came was also awarded in the categories Best Editing (Vanja Kovacevic and Mircea Lacatus), Best Sound (Sebastian Zsemlye), Best Makeup and Best Hairstyle (Iulia Roseanu and Domnica Bodogan). The tragicomedy directed by Bogdan Muresanu follows the destinies of six characters who intersect around the time of the fall of communism, characters who search for normality and meaning in a world marked by fear and absurdity. Bogdan Muresanu told us about his need to return to the time of the Revolution of December 1989: First of all, I chose this story because I lived a little bit during that period and it remained strong in my mind. Then, because my family was very affected by communism. I wont go into too many biographical details, but both my grandparents and my father suffered. Another reason why I chose this story is that on the evening of December 20, 1989, I was at the University with my mother. I was 15 years old at the time of the Revolution and my mother took me and my sister and we were there, at the University, where I saw a lot of people. It was something incredible, I will never forget that image. It was dark and a silent crowd, tens of thousands of people, who were about to burst out. And theres something else, I think that 35 years after the Revolution we can also afford to make films like this, which are slightly more detached, films with black humor, close to tragicomedy, that take you through all kinds of emotions. On such a discussed subject as the 1989 Revolution, I wanted to do something new, I wanted to come up with my own personal way of seeing things.

In The New Year That never Came, we meet again the actress Emilia Dobrin, who plays the role of Margareta Dinca. Her house, located in the Uranus neighborhood, is about to be demolished to build a new block of flats. It is actually one of the last houses left undemolished and Margareta has the misfortune of having to leave her home very shortly before the Revolution. Emilia Dobrin spoke to RRI about her collaboration with director Bogdan Muresanu and about her role in the film: I knew similar dramatic stories. People who were evicted from their homes without notice, old people, families, everyone was forced to leave their homes and move wherever the communists with positions dictated to them. Margaretas whole life, my character, was tied to this house, she had lived there with her family, with her children, there she had everything and she couldnt see herself suddenly moving to a matchbox, thrown away somewhere, on the outskirts of Bucharest. So for me it was a painful reunion with those times, but at the same time it was also a kind of exorcism, because I experienced that unfortunate period in Romanian history firsthand.

The New Year That Came brought Andrei Miercure his first lead role in a feature film. Laurentiu Silvestru, the character he plays, is a young man who tries to save himself from a totalitarian regime by choosing to cross the border illegally. We talked to Andrei Miercure about the challenges this role brought him: Not having lived during the communist era, I looked for any documentary sources, I asked my family, my friends, what that period was like. And I was told quite a few stories from that period. Of course, I watched documentaries, read books and listened to music from that period because it helped me connect. And I think what helped me the most in building this character is that I tried to get closer to Laurentiu and become friends with him. I tried to see what his biggest frustrations and desires are, what are the needs he has and wants to solve. I think that youth and the enthusiasm characteristic of age can push him towards a rather reckless gesture. Somehow I brought a quite personal part of myself to Laurentiu, and especially a certain type of insecurity, of questioning the decision he made.

The feature film The New Year That Never Came written, directed and produced by Bogdan Muresanu, has recently reached cinemas in France and Belgium, after the Cinema Caravan dedicated to promoting the film passed through several cities in Romania. (EE)
May 17, 2025

A roundup of local and world news

Newsflash

Newsroom, 17.05.2025, 13:55

ELECTIONS As many as 302,620 voters had gone to the polls abroad by noon on Saturday, to vote in the second round of the presidential elections, according to data provided in real time by the Permanent Electoral Authority. The largest numbers of voters were reported in the UK  46,466, Italy  44,968, Germany  42,763, the Republic of Moldova  42,574, and Spain  32,045. In the 965 polling stations in the diaspora organised for this years presidential elections, Romanian citizens who are abroad on election day can vote on Friday through Sunday, regardless of whether they reside outside the country or not. In Romania, voting will take place over a single day, Sunday, May 18, in 18,979 polling stations. Running in the decisive round of the presidential election are the leader of AUR (nationalist opposition), George Simion, also supported by the Party of Young People (POT), and the independent mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, backed by the parliamentary parties USR, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and by several parties outside Romanias Parliament. In the first round, on May 4, Simion received almost 41% of the votes, and Dan about 21%.

CAMPAIGN Around 43,000 employees of the Romanian interior ministry will maintain public safety and ensure the protection of polling stations on election day, the interior ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog announced on Saturday. According to her no special incidents were reported during the campaign. 42 possible electoral incidents were reported. Approximately 53% of the reports were related to campaign posters. Four reports, which were not within the jurisdiction of the interior ministry, were forwarded to the Permanent Electoral Authority and the Central Electoral Bureau, Dajbog explained.

VISIT The acting president of Romania Ilie Bolojan visited the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina  EUFOR Althea. The president was accompanied by the chief of the defence staff, General Gheorghita Vlad. In January 2025, Romania took over the command of EUFOR Althea, thus consolidating its active role in supporting peace and stability in the region, according to the Romanian Presidency. This mission is the most important multinational operation in the Western Balkans, carried out under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Romania currently leads 2 of the 9 military missions of the European Union, contributing personnel and equipment. Before the visit to Bosnia, Bolojan was in Tirana, Albania, for the 6th summit of the European Political Community, attended by 47 heads of state and government from countries on the continent.

MUSEUMS More than 75 Romanian institutions, managing a combined 200 venues across the country, take part on Saturday in the White Night of Museums, an event officially supported by the Ministry of Culture for the first time. On this occasion, the participating museums will stay open until late at night, some of them even until 2:00 am. Hundreds of specialists in the field of heritage and museum education organise activities for all categories of public, from the youngest visitors to adults interested in history, art, science and traditions. In Bucharest, the National Museum of Art of Romania offers access to all its 5 permanent galleries and to the historical areas within its head offices. The Bucharest City Hall also opens its doors, with free access and a programme that includes guided tours, exhibitions and live music. Free entry will also be available to the Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of History of Romania, the Bucharest City Museum and all its memorial houses, the Romanian Athenaeum, the Triumphal Arch and the National Theatre Museum.

POLAND The candidate of the Civic Coalition (in power), Rafal Trzaskowski, currently the mayor of Polands capital city Warsaw, continues to lead in opinion polls ahead of the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, with 29-32% of the votes. He is followed by Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland and representing the conservative opposition, the Law and Justice Party (PiS), with 25-27%, and the far-right Confederation partys candidate Slawomir Mentzen, with 12-13%. If none of the candidates gets at least 50% of the votes in the first round, a runoff will be held on June 1.

PORTUGAL The moderate right-wing ruling coalition, the Democratic Alliance (AD), is seen as the most likely to win Sundays parliamentary elections in Portugal, with 34% in voting intention polls. The socialist opposition stands at 26%, and the far-right party Chega (Enough) at 19%. AD could win up to 95 seats out of the total 230 in parliament, below the threshold of 116 deputies needed for an absolute majority. According to international media, AD hopes to negotiate the support of the Liberal Initiative party, currently at 7% of the voting intentions. (AMP)
May 17, 2025 UPDATE 1

By 5:00 p.m. Bucharest time on Saturday, over half a million voters from abroad had cast their ballots for the election of the president of Romania.

Newsflash

Newsroom, 17.05.2025, 17:09

By 5:00 p.m. Bucharest time on Saturday, over half a million voters from abroad had cast their ballots for the election of the president of Romania, almost double the figure in the first round 2 weeks ago. A higher turnout was reported in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, the Republic of Moldova and Spain.
May 17, 2025 UPDATE 2

A roundup of local and world news

May 17, 2025 UPDATE 2

Newsroom, 17.05.2025, 20:00

ELECTIONS By 5:00 p.m. Bucharest time on Saturday, over half a million voters from abroad had cast their ballots for the election of the president of Romania, almost double the figure in the first round 2 weeks ago. A higher turnout was reported in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, the Republic of Moldova and Spain. Voting in the diaspora is taking place under good conditions, with no glitches in polling stations, no crowding or other incidents, and the electoral process is taking place legally and transparently, the Romanian foreign ministry also said on Saturday. In the 965 polling stations in the diaspora organised for this years presidential elections, Romanian citizens who are abroad on election day can vote on Friday through Sunday, regardless of whether they reside outside the country or not. In Romania, voting will take place over a single day, Sunday, May 18, in 18,979 polling stations. Running in the decisive round of the presidential election are the leader of AUR (nationalist opposition), George Simion, also supported by the Party of Young People (POT), and the independent mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, backed by the parliamentary parties USR, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and by several parties outside Romanias Parliament. In the first round, on May 4, Simion received almost 41% of the votes, and Dan about 21%.

CAMPAIGN Around 43,000 employees of the Romanian interior ministry will maintain public safety and ensure the protection of polling stations on election day, the interior ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog announced on Saturday. According to her no special incidents were reported during the campaign. 42 possible electoral incidents were reported. Approximately 53% of the reports were related to campaign posters. Four reports, which were not within the jurisdiction of the interior ministry, were forwarded to the Permanent Electoral Authority and the Central Electoral Bureau, Dajbog explained.

VISIT The acting president of Romania Ilie Bolojan visited the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina  EUFOR Althea. The president was accompanied by the chief of the defence staff, General Gheorghita Vlad. In January 2025, Romania took over the command of EUFOR Althea, thus consolidating its active role in supporting peace and stability in the region, according to the Romanian Presidency. This mission is the most important multinational operation in the Western Balkans, carried out under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Romania currently leads 2 of the 9 military missions of the European Union, contributing personnel and equipment. Before the visit to Bosnia, Bolojan was in Tirana, Albania, for the 6th summit of the European Political Community, attended by 47 heads of state and government from countries on the continent.

POLAND The candidate of the Civic Coalition (in power), Rafal Trzaskowski, currently the mayor of Polands capital city Warsaw, continues to lead in opinion polls ahead of the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, with 29-32% of the votes. He is followed by Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland and representing the conservative opposition, the Law and Justice Party (PiS), with 25-27%, and the far-right Confederation partys candidate Slawomir Mentzen, with 12-13%. If none of the candidates gets at least 50% of the votes in the first round, a runoff will be held on June 1.

PORTUGAL The moderate right-wing ruling coalition, the Democratic Alliance (AD), is seen as the most likely to win Sundays parliamentary elections in Portugal, with 34% in voting intention polls. The socialist opposition stands at 26%, and the far-right party Chega (Enough) at 19%. AD could win up to 95 seats out of the total 230 in parliament, below the threshold of 116 deputies needed for an absolute majority. According to international media, AD hopes to negotiate the support of the Liberal Initiative party, currently at 7% of the voting intentions. (AMP)
Despite headwinds, Hyundai has posted better-than-expected results with a focus on SUVs, premiumization and green mobility

Hyundai has declared its FY25 and Q4 FY25 results, revealing challenges across the domestic market. However, exports registered double-digit growth in Q4 FY25. Lets take a look at all the key data points and announcements made by Hyundai in its FY25 and Q4 FY25 financial results.

Domestic sales down, exports grow

Due to softening of demand linked to macroeconomic uncertainties and a high base from the previous years, Hyundai domestic sales in FY25 were down by 2.6% YoY. Sales were at 5,98,666 units in FY25, as compared to 6,14,721 units in FY24. Similarly, domestic sales in Q4 FY25 were down by 4.2% YoY. Sales in Q4 FY25 were at 1,53,550 units, as compared to 1,60,317 units in Q4, FY24.

Hyundai exports in FY25 were at 1,63,386 units. Thats a marginal growth of 0.1%, as compared to 1,63,155 units exported in FY24. Export growth in Q4 FY25 was much better at 14.1% YoY. A total of 38,100 units were exported in Q4 FY25, as compared to 33,400 units in Q4, FY24. Hyundai has been exporting cars from India for the last 25 years and is the countrys largest exporter if one looks at cumulative numbers till date.

Even with multiple challenges, Hyundai has posted a strong EBITDA of 12.9% in FY25. In Q4 FY25, the EBITDA is at 14.1%. However, PAT (Profit After Tax) is down by 6.9% YoY in FY25 and by 3.7% YoY in Q4 FY25. While currently facing headwinds, Hyundai is confident that the market situation will improve going forward. Hyundai will continue to focus on effective cost management and optimized operations to improve profits.

Hyundai India Confirms New Launches

26 Product launches  To strengthen its market presence, Hyundai will be introducing 26 products by FY2030. These will include entirely new models, new-gen versions of existing cars and equipment upgrades. There will be 20 ICE products and 6 EV models. Hyundai will also step up its focus on eco-friendly powertrains such as Hybrids.

Largest export hub  Hyundai is looking to develop India as their largest export hub outside of South Korea. Exports have been robust and further growth is anticipated with new products and upgrades. For FY26, Hyundai is anticipating volume growth in exports at around 7-8%.

Pune plant operations  To meet increased demand for its cars across both domestic and international markets, Hyundai will commence operations at its new plant in Pune in FY26. This is Hyundais third plant in India. It is an advanced facility with the capability to manufacture both ICE cars and EVs. The plant utilizes energy-efficient technologies, which will help the brand to achieve its carbon neutrality goals by 2045.

Dividend declaration  For FY25, Hyundai has declared a dividend of Rs 21 per share. Thats a payout ratio of 30%. As may be recalled, Hyundai launched Indias largest-ever IPO in FY25. After listing, the stock was included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index. In February 2025, HMIL was Indias only large-cap stock to be included in MSCI. HMIL is also part of NIFTY Next 50, BSE 500 and other Indices.
While the company is not currently active in the Indian electric scooter market, Yamaha has big plans. The Japanese brand is reportedly developing a new electric scooter codenamed RY01, which will be based on River Indie. This upcoming electric scooter will be a global product and will be launched by the end of this year. Lets see whats what.

Yamaha New Electric Scooter

The Indian electric scooter market has had a major tilt in the scale as the segment leader Ola Electric has had a significant downfall. TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto have benefited from these developments and the time seems to be ripe for Japanese brands to enter this segment. Honda with Activa e and QC1 and Suzuki with e-Access. What is Yamaha doing? One might wonder.

As per a recent report, Yamaha has commenced development of its first electric scooter for India. This is a joint operation with Indian electric mobility startup River. Internally, Yamahas first electric scooter is codenamed RY01, which could mean River Yamaha 01. This move marks the companys entry into Indias vastly lucrative electric scooter segment.

Launch is slated to happen by the end of 2025 and production will reportedly begin around July 2025 and September 2025. Yamaha is said to have complete project ownership, while River is entrusted with innovation and execution. This means River will handle engineering, R&D, powertrain, battery and manufacturing for Yamaha.

Alongside this River-derived electric scooter, Yamaha is also said to be working on a new global electric 2W platform that will break covers in 2026 or 2027. Rivers plant in Bengaluru is said to be compatible with Yamahas quality and production standards. This joint project is likely to prove beneficial for Yamaha in terms of localisation, cost efficiency, engineering and R&D.

What to expect?

This development is a part of the USD 40 million investment Yamaha made in River as part of its Series B fundraising in 2024. As per the report, Yamaha RY01 will be based on the same platform as River Indie and will be powered by the same (or slightly tweaked) powertrain components including battery and motor.

Design is where Yamahas electric scooter will have a distinct identity, falling in line with its reputation for sporty and premium offerings. For context, River Indie offers a 4 kWh battery pack that is rated for 161 km of range from a single charge (IDC certified). This battery powers a 6.7 kW (around 9 bhp) PMSM electric motor.

Source
BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday urged an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the 34th Arab League Summit held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, Abbas called on the summit to adopt an Arab plan to halt Israeli military operations and achieve peace in the region.

Abbas underscored that an enduring peace can only be achieved through ending the Israeli occupation and ensuring the full rights of the Palestinian people.

Sisi, for his part, condemned the "systematic atrocities and unspeakable violence" inflicted on the Palestinians in Gaza over the past 19 months, saying these acts aim to "obliterate" the population. He called on the international community, especially the United States, to take vigorous steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Egyptian president also reiterated Egypt's commitment to convening an international conference for Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction once hostilities cease.

Following up on the summit, the Hamas-run media office in Gaza on Saturday called on the attendees to take practical action and adopt bold positions to break the "unjust blockade imposed on Gaza and stop the daily killing."

It urged mounting pressure on Israel to ensure the immediate and unconditional opening of the crossings and ensure the flow of food, humanitarian aid, and medical assistance to the people of Gaza, who are now facing the threat of starvation.

Also condemning Israeli hostilities in the region, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, when addressing the summit, called for action from the international community to end Israeli assaults within Lebanon, which violate the understandings reached between the two sides in late November last year.

"We call upon you, dear brothers, to pressure the international community to compel Israel to end its aggressions and fully withdraw from all Lebanese territories," Salam said.

The summit has witnessed the participation of leaders and top diplomats of 22 Arab League member states, as well as representatives from regional and International organizations. It marks the second such event hosted by Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion, following a previous one in 2012. 
KHARTOUM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's electricity and transport sectors have been among the hardest hit by the two-year conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to official estimates, the electricity sector has lost around 40 percent of its capacity due to widespread sabotage. The Sudanese Electricity Company recently revealed that only two of the country's 15 thermal power plants remain operational, with seven others partially or utterly destroyed, including the one in the capital Khartoum.

Abdullah Ahmed Mohamed Ali, director general of the company, said over 100,000 transformers have been destroyed, while about 35 percent of the total capacity and over 20,000 barrels of transformer oil have been lost.

Power outages persist across several states, with Northern State experiencing a complete blackout since early April. In Khartoum, drone strikes on power stations have also caused widespread blackouts.

Abdul-Qadir Abdoun, a member of the Northern Sudan Farmers' Union, said over 500,000 feddans of land were severely affected by power outages.

The transport sector has also sustained heavy losses. While officials are still assessing the total damage, Transport Minister Abu Bakr Abu Al-Qasim Abdalla said that "severe damage has affected all parts of the sector, especially the railways, train carriages, transport routes, and Khartoum International Airport." Many state-connecting roads are disrupted, forcing trade and travel to a halt.

Sudan's national airline, Tarco Aviation, reported estimated losses of around 100 million U.S. dollars.

Mohamed Yahya Ahmed, head of the airline's ground handling department, told Xinhua that the company lost three aircraft entirely, with three others partially damaged.

Transport expert Al-Samawal Abdul-Azeem warned that the sector is nearing collapse due to rising costs, spare parts shortages, and destruction of infrastructure, noting that around 70 percent of long-distance bus companies have ceased operations.

Ehab Osman, an employee at Sharyan AlShamal Transport Company, told Xinhua that rising operational costs have sharply increased inter-state ticket prices. Fares from Dongola to Port Sudan jumped from 60,000 to 100,000 Sudanese pounds, while one dollar trades at around 250 pounds on the parallel market.

Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people both inside and outside the country. 
Many smartphone apps continuously track location -- often without users being aware. Based on movement profiles, providers can infer workplace, habits, and personal preferences. The potential consequences of collecting such sensitive information were highlighted by a New York Times investigation from 2019. Based on commercial location data, a device belonging to a member of President Trump's entourage could be assigned within a few minutes -- including their visits to sensitive locations such as Mar-a-Lago and the Pentagon.

Location as proof -- without revealing coordinates

To offer a method that protects privacy while still providing verifiable location data, researchers are turning to zero-knowledge proofs. These are mathematical proofs that can verify the truth of a statement without revealing the underlying data. The key feature for location privacy: this method allows for adjustable precision tailored to the specific application.

"The challenge is to combine privacy and precision in a way that is practically usable," explains Jens Ernstberger, lead author of the study. The research team at the Professorship of Embedded Systems and Internet of Things achieved this by combining zero-knowledge proofs with a hexagonal spatial index. To make one's location verifiable but not visible, the method uses a hierarchical hexagonal grid system. This grid divides the Earth's surface into cells that can be represented at various resolutions -- from broad regional levels down to individual street segments. For example, users can choose to disclose that they are in a certain city or, if more accuracy is needed, in a specific park within that city. In both cases, their exact location remains hidden.

Floating-point numbers improve position accuracy

The true innovation lies in the mathematical processing of the location data in the zero-knowledge proofs: Unlike previous systems, which are often based on error-prone integer arithmetic, the new method uses standardized floating-point numbers, which are also the representation found in modern computers. This step is crucial for ensuring computational accuracy and avoiding unintended deviations, especially during complex operations like square roots or trigonometric functions. At the same time, the new approach eliminates errors that could previously lead to incorrect results or security vulnerabilities. Thanks to smart optimizations, the proof can be computed in less than a second.

Practical use cases in everyday life

An example of an application is Peer-to-Peer Proximity Testing. This allows two people to determine whether they are in close physical proximity -- without either revealing their exact position. In a prototype, a user can prove in just 0.26 seconds that they are near a specific region. At the same time, the desired level of precision can be flexibly adjusted: Instead of proving an exact location, one could demonstrate being in a particular neighborhood or park.

"Our method shows that zero-knowledge location proofs are possible and efficient while maintaining privacy," says Prof. Sebastian Steinhorst, Professor of Embedded Systems and Internet of Things at TUM.

Beyond the direct application, the research also contributes to the broader field of cryptography: : The developed floating-point zero-knowledge circuits are reusable regardless of the specific use case and could be applied in other areas in the future -- for example, in verifying physical measurement data or in secure machine learning systems. This opens up new possibilities for trusted systems, such as in digital healthcare, mobility applications, or identity protection.
A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus. Traditional approaches haven't worked -- largely because HIV mutates rapidly and hides key parts of itself from the immune system.

Now, a new study combining data from two separate phase 1 clinical trials shows that a targeted vaccine strategy can successfully activate early immune responses relevant to HIV, and, in one trial, further advance them -- a key step toward a long-sought goal in vaccine development. Conducted by an international team led by scientists at IAVI and Scripps Research, the trials included nearly 80 participants from both North America and Africa, laying essential groundwork for a future HIV vaccine with global potential. The study was published in Science on May 15, 2025.

One of the trials tested a stepwise vaccination strategy, in which a priming dose and a distinct booster dose were given sequentially to guide the immune system through stages of antibody development. That trial demonstrated that administering this combination -- a technique known as heterologous boosting -- could further advance the immune response in humans. The second trial focused on the priming stage and showed that an initial vaccine dose could successfully activate the desired immune cells in African participants, supporting the use of this approach in regions most affected by HIV. In both trials, the vaccines were delivered using an mRNA-based vaccine platform -- similar to the technology used in the COVID-19 vaccines -- which enabled faster production and clinical testing, and provided strong immune responses.

"We've now shown in humans that we can initiate the desired immune response with one shot and then drive the response further forward with a different second shot. We've also shown that the first shot can work well in African populations," says senior author William Schief, a professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research; vice president for protein design in infectious disease research at Moderna, Inc.; and executive director of vaccine design at IAVI's Neutralizing Antibody Center. "These trials provide proof of concept for a stepwise approach to elicit custom-tailored responses -- not just for our vaccine, but for the vaccine field at large, including non-HIV vaccines."

"These remarkable results validate the rational vaccine design that underpins this approach," adds Mark Feinberg, President and CEO of IAVI. "A vaccine would be a tremendous step forward for global health and could help bring an end to the HIV pandemic. This effort has been made possible by a phenomenal collaboration of scientific research institutions, funders, private sector and government -- and is a testament to the power of partnership-driven scientific inquiry."

Broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bnAbs, are a rare type of immune defense that can recognize and block a wide range of HIV variants. Unlike standard antibodies, which often only recognize a specific variant of the virus, bnAbs target parts of HIV that stay the same even as the virus mutates. Scientists have long viewed bnAbs as the immune system's best shot at preventing HIV infection.

The first step in helping the body produce bnAbs is through what's known as a priming vaccine -- an initial dose designed to activate rare, naive B cells with the potential to eventually produce bnAbs. This approach is called germline targeting. B cells are a type of white blood cell that play a central role in the immune system by making antibodies that recognize and fight off viruses and other threats. Later vaccine doses, known as boosters, guide those cells through a process of maturation toward producing HIV-targeting antibodies. Even though these trials weren't intended to generate bnAbs themselves, they demonstrated that the vaccine strategy to deliver a series of different shots to guide the immune system to produce bnAbs has great promise.

Targeting the right cells at the right time

This work builds on two key lines of earlier research emerging from Schief's lab: results published in 2022 from the IAVI G001 clinical trial, which showed how a protein-based vaccine could successfully activate the rare immune cells needed to initiate bnAb development, and a series of four preclinical studies published in 2024 that demonstrated how a multi-step vaccination strategy could guide the immune system toward producing protective antibodies.

The new study analyzed data from two distinct phase 1 clinical trials: the IAVI G002 trial, conducted in North America, and the IAVI G003 trial, conducted specifically in South Africa and Rwanda -- countries that are among the most affected by HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. G002 enrolled 60 participants, while G003 enrolled 18. Both trials used germline targeting.

In G002, participants received either the priming vaccine alone or the priming vaccine followed by a slightly different booster -- the latter being the heterologous boosting strategy. This two-step process is designed to guide the immune response further along the path toward bnAb development by generating VRC01-class antibodies -- early immune defenses with key features of bnAbs. Named after a well-studied bnAb that neutralizes a wide range of HIV variants, VRC01-class antibodies block HIV from binding to a host cell's entry receptor by targeting a region of HIV that rarely changes, despite the virus's rapid mutation. Thus, these antibodies are considered among the most promising leads in HIV vaccine development.

All 17 participants in G002 who received both the priming vaccine and the booster developed VRC01-class responses, and more than 80% of them showed "elite" responses -- meaning their immune cells acquired multiple helpful mutations linked to bnAb development. Participants who received only the priming vaccine also generated VRC01-class responses, but their antibody responses were generally less mature. Notably, giving just one priming dose before the booster was more effective than giving two priming doses before the boost.

"What really surprised us was the quality of the immune response we saw after just two shots -- one prime and one heterologous boost," says Schief. "We didn't anticipate it would be that favorable."

In G003, participants received two doses of the priming vaccine, but no booster. The vaccine successfully triggered VRC01-class responses in 94% of participants, showing similarly high levels of antibody mutation and diversity as seen in G002. Although one participant didn't respond due to a gene variant that made the vaccine less effective, all other participants showed activation of the target naive B cells.

"These incredibly exciting results underscore the importance and capability of global partnerships to drive cutting-edge science," says Julien Nyombayire, executive director of the Center for Family Health Research in Kigali, Rwanda, and one of the lead principal investigators of G003. "It was essential to conduct this evaluation in African populations to ensure that our results reflect the safety and immunologic data from high-burden communities who would deeply benefit from an HIV vaccine."

"By and large, the immune responses were quite similar in Africa and North America," adds Schief. "That's encouraging for a vaccine intended for global use."

Besides the occurrence of skin reactions, the vaccine regimen was generally well tolerated. In G002, 18% of participants experienced skin reactions such as itching and urticaria (hives), and 10% developed chronic urticaria -- defined as symptoms lasting six weeks or longer. These events were typically mild or moderate, often managed with antihistamines, and all ultimately resolved. In G003, there were no cases of urticaria, though two participants (11%) experienced mild, short-lived itching managed with antihistamines.

Compared with other Moderna mRNA vaccines -- such as those for COVID-19 -- the regimen used in G002 showed a higher incidence of urticaria. The researchers will investigate these reactions to inform future mitigation strategies. Moderna also partnered in both trials, providing the mRNA vaccines and crucial support for the preclinical development and regulatory filings.

Schief notes that a follow-up study is planned in South Africa to evaluate the same prime-boost approach tested in G002, but at a lower dose, building on the elite responses seen in the boosted group.

"We also now have a better idea of what kinds of immune cells we need to target to keep moving the response forward," he says.
A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Clinic-IDIBAPS, has shown for the first time, how lung capacity evolves from childhood to old age. The findings, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, provide a new basic framework for assessing lung health.

Until now, it was thought that lung function increased until it peaked at around 20-25 years of age, after which it stabilised. It was also thought that in later adulthood, lung function begins to decline as the lungs age. However, this model was based on studies that did not cover the whole life course.

In contrast, the current study used an "accelerated cohort design," meaning data from several cohort studies were combined to cover the desired age range. "We included more than 30,000 individuals aged 4 to 82 years from eight population-based cohort studies in Europe and Australia," explains Judith Garcia-Aymerich, first author of the study and co-director of the ISGlobal programme on Environment and Health over the Life Course. Lung function and lung capacity parameters were assessed using forced spirometry, a test in which the patient exhales all the air as quickly as possible after taking a deep breath. Data on active smoking and asthma diagnosis were also collected.

Two growth phases and an early decline

The study showed that lung function develops in two distinct phases: a first phase of rapid growth during childhood and a second phase of slower growth until peak lung function is reached. Lung function was assessed using two parameters: forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which measures the amount of air expelled in the first second of a forced breath after a deep inhalation; and forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the maximum amount of air a person can breathe out without a time limit after a deep inhalation.

In women, FEV1 peaks around the age of 20, while in men it peaks around the age of 23. Surprisingly, the study found no evidence of a stable phase following this peak. "Previous models suggested a plateau phase until the age of 40, but our data show that lung function starts to decline much earlier than previously thought, immediately after the peak," explains Garcia-Aymerich.

Factors affecting lung function

The analysis shows that both persistent asthma and smoking affect lung function, but in a different way than previously thought. People with persistent asthma reach an earlier FEV1 peak and have lower levels throughout life, while smoking is associated with a more rapid decline in lung function from the age of 35.

Public health and clinical implications

These findings highlight the importance of promoting respiratory health and conducting early monitoring of lung function early in life using spirometry. "Early detection of low lung function may allow interventions to prevent chronic respiratory diseases in adulthood," concludes Rosa Faner, researcher at the University of Barcelona and at Clinic-IDIBAPS, and last author of the study.
Researchers from the Stem Cells and Cancer team at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute have developed a method to confidently produce blood cell precursors from stem cells in mice, by activating a set of seven key genes in the laboratory. The team, led by Dr Anna Bigas, takes a step forward towards the production of precursor cells able to restore the bone marrow of blood cancer patients, in a successful example of regenerative medicine.

Stem cells can produce any other cell type, it is just a matter of telling them in the right way. From a biological perspective, this means activating the proper genetic programme by pressing the right keys, this is, the right genes, at the right moment. Quite often, blood cancer patients require the replacement of their blood stem cells in the bone marrow, the tissue producing blood cells where their cancer grows. Unfortunately, finding a compatible donor happens to be too challenging sometimes. What if we could produce the cells that make blood in the lab, right from basic stem cells, and use them to regenerate a new and healthy bone marrow?

To do this, you would need to know what genes to activate in a stem cell. In a tour de force, the team led by Dr. Anna Bigas screened thousands of genes in the mice genome to see which were able to transform an embryonic stem cell into a blood precursor or, more technically, a Haematopoietic Stem Cell (HPSC). The screening identified a group of seven genes apparently able to accomplish the task.

In subsequent experiments, the team confirmed that the timely activation of the seven genes was sufficient to transform mouse embryonic stem cells into HSPC, and that these newly produced cells were able to regenerate and sustain a functional blood system, producing all kinds of blood cells, including the immune lineages, in adult mice.

The research has been recently published at the journal Blood, official outlet of the American Society of Hematology, first-authored by Dr. Luis Galan Palma, researcher from the Bigas Lab, in a collaboration with other researchers including Dr. Clara Bueno and Dr. Pablo Menendez, experts in developmental and paediatric leukaemia, also at the Josep Carreras Institute.

Dr. Bigas is confident that the results obtained in mice can be translated into the human system since, despite the differences, the mechanisms driving stem cells differentiation are so fundamental that are shared between species. As Dr. Bigas points out "we know that those genes are also present in the human genome, and they are highly conserved, this is, their genetic sequences are almost identical." Research is on the way, but chances are they really play the same role in humans as in mice.

This research is a proof-of-concept for the Bigas Lab's ERC synergy-funded project Making Blood, a highly ambitious endeavour to develop a technological platform aimed at the production of human HSPC off the shelf. If successful, we are just a few years away of a new era in the treatment of leukaemia and other blood disorders, based on the long-awaited regenerative medicine.

This research has been partly funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Generalitat de Catalunya, and personal grants by "la Caixa" Foundation, Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the Ramon Areces Foundation.
A University of Queensland study has shown scientific knowledge on the conservation of endangered species is often overlooked when not presented in English.

PhD candidate Kelsey Hannah examined articles about the protection and management of birds, mammals, and amphibians and compared how often those in English and 16 other languages were cited in further work.

"The 500 papers in my study were published in peer-reviewed journals and available internationally to people working in conservation," Ms Hannah said.

"Across the board, the non-English language papers had significantly fewer citations.

"The English-language articles had a median of 37 citations while the non-English articles had a median of zero."

Ms Hannah said the number of citations was unchanged regardless of the robustness of the study design or even the conservation status of the study species.

"This suggests the reason this work isn't being noticed is a lack of visibility or lack of search effort because of language barriers," she said.

"One thing that did make a difference for non-English-language articles was providing an English abstract -- those articles had 1.5 times as many citations."

The analysis showed that many non-English-language studies had a high number of citations within their own language, but cross-language citations were very low.

"A Japanese study of the Oriental stork in 2011 for example only had citations in Japanese -- even though the species is also endangered in China, Korea and Russia," Ms Hannah said.

"This means timely and relevant work may not be being seen by the people who can use it to understand and address the conservation challenges of many species."

Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano at UQ's School of the Environment said it was crucial that language was not a barrier in addressing the ongoing global biodiversity crisis.

"A lot of the world's biodiversity is in areas where English is not the primary language," Dr Amano said.

"If we're missing out on information from those regions, and not making decisions using that expertise, conservation efforts could have less impact.

"We encourage researchers to think about the accessibility of their work and consider providing multi-lingual abstracts.

"Importantly, English speaking scientists could remember to look beyond English language studies when conducting research to gain a broader perspective."

This work is a part of translatE and is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, and a University of Queensland Research Training Program Scholarship.

The research is published in Conservation Biology.
Necati Catbas doesn't hold a medical degree, but the UCF engineering professor is more than qualified to diagnose the health of bridges using a combination of emerging technologies.

Catbas collaborated with his former civil engineering student Marwan Debees '23PhD, who now works as a NASA Bridge Program manager, on newly published research that details how infrared thermography, high-definition imaging and neural network analysis can combine to make concrete bridge inspections more efficient.

Catbas and Debees are hopeful that their findings, recently published in the Transportation Research Record, can be leveraged by engineers through a combination of these methods to strategically pinpoint bridge conditions and better allocate repair costs.

"If we better understand which bridges need more repairs and which bridges may be postponed, then [funding agencies] can use limited funds more wisely, and then we can direct our efforts to the really critical bridges," Catbas says. "We have about 650,000 bridges in the U.S. and we have been working to examine how we can use novel technologies to understand the existing condition of structures."

Debees noted an instance during a NASA bridge load test where Catbas and his team assisted in evaluating the repairs. They determined that the repairs made were sufficient, ultimately, eliminating the next phrase of planned work.

"We're only spending the money where we need to instead of doing it without a comprehensive understanding of the actual conditions of the bridge in the field," Debees says. "The goal is to better understand the conditions of the bridge and have a better priority list of what bridges are really in need."

Diagnosing Concrete Bridges

Catbas says what he and other civil engineers do to assess a structure's overall integrity may be likened to a doctor's diagnostics for a person's wellbeing.

"Structural health monitoring, which is almost like human health monitoring, is where we use different types of equipment to better understand the safety and serviceability of structures," he says.

To help take high-definition images to compare to infrared data, the researchers closely collaborated with NEXCO-West USA. Inc, an imaging and non-destructive evaluation company in Tysons, Virginia, that have specialized vehicles equipped with imaging tools. With the company's support, the research team utilized the infrared data to assess the conditions of bridge components, including the deck, superstructure and substructure.

"As far as the infrared itself, there are some limitations," Debees says. "One of the things in this paper that helped overcome some of these limitations is high-definition images to complement the infrared images."

These technologies that were used in the study by Catbas and Debees provided a more comprehensive record of concrete bridge health.

"Human visualization has limitations," Catbas says. "It's almost like a doctor just looking at you and saying that you look fine when you might really be fine, or you might not be. There may be other problems that the sensors and other technologies can tell you, kind of like when a doctor says he wants more testing, so he sends you to get an X-ray or an MRI. We are taking a similar approach to our bridges."

Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Interpretation

Infrared thermography works by collecting a structure's thermal responses, which can indicate defects within it such as heat loss, moisture intrusion or other structural problems.

To analyze the different parts of the bridge such as the deck, superstructure and substructure, the research team used thermography and image capturing technologies deployed on boats under the bridge and on vehicles traveling across it so that traffic wouldn't be impeded and motorists may continue using the roads.

The combination of visual inspection and imaging is common practice, but Debees says the element of utilizing a neural network and machine learning to decipher the data is something that is an emerging component of inspections. The collective knowledge from experienced engineers doing similar inspections was used to compare the results in the study.

"The way it differs from other utilization is that we are not using just infrared cameras and collecting raw data, but then we have a level of post-processing, and we are eliminating the noise or unnecessary information within the infrared image," Debees says. "Then we use this data to understand where these defects are and then we integrate them within the current required bridge inspection processes. We close the loop by using some decision-making and algorithms with an easy-to-use perceptron neural network to guide the inspector or engineer without spending too much time or data analysis."

The two parts of the paper are how to implement this new technology and how it can be used to accelerate decision making while keeping it accurate and safe, he says.

"When we do bridge inspections, we aim to find ways to accelerate or make it more efficient while also having more data to rely on in the future or in the immediate decision making," Debees says. "We can determine which bridge needs to be evaluated right away, which needs more testing and we can see the significance of the finding quicker."

Crossing Into the Future

Debees says one of the most exciting parts of the research findings is the realization that the framework of multiple inspection techniques can be integrated with collective knowledge and applied to monitor a wide variety of structures.

"We're not limited to concrete bridges," he says. "We can build on this research and applying it with different inspection methods and use it for different infrastructure types. We can try this on concrete buildings, or steel bridges, buildings or other structures."

Using machine learning and collective knowledge to interpret data is something that Debees believes will continue to have a role in inspections even beyond the purview of their study.

"I think what was eye-opening to me is there is room, even outside of conventional inspections, to utilize more decision-making neural networks to standardize the decision-making [process]," he says. "You can make it easier on the people in the field to know where to make decisions on the spot or where to seek more experienced help."

There are ample opportunities to discover even more innovative ways to assess structural health, and Catbas says he gladly looks forward to meeting the next challenge with former students and collaborators like Debees.

"Like other Ph.D. students of mine, we still keep in touch once they graduate and then become my colleague," Catbas says as he turns to Debees. "So, my question is this: 'What are we going to work on next?'"
Barbara Linn Probst

(photo: David Heald)

Barbara Linn Probst is a former researcher, teacher, and therapist whose novels explore complex themes through the lens of different artistic crafts. In her fourth novel, Roll the Sun Across the Sky (She Writes Press), she unravels the story of a writer whose life as a daughter, mother, and grandmother is shaped by words both in and outside of her control. Probst writes frequently about the craft of writing, and currently lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

How do you describe the themes of Roll the Sun Across the Sky?

I think it's about the question: What kind of human being am I? What defines me? Am I more than my worst acts? Can I be more? Is it possible to search for goodness even if you're not always good? That's what interested me in writing the book, and I hope it interests readers as well. Arden is complicated, as we all are. We've all done things we regret, but that doesn't mean we're not capable of rising above them, especially in how we treat others. If I had to give a true elevator pitch, I'd say it's the story of a woman's life from her early 20s to age 60. She has to come to terms with the complexity of that life, and it's not over yet.

She has a life with many chapters.

Yes, it has to do with place, with who she is in relationship with.

I love that. Context shapes who we are and how we show up in the world.

Yes, and it's literally a journey. The novel begins with a train ride, based on one I actually took myself.

Does that make this an autobiographical novel?

I didn't do any of the things Arden did, but I did take that train ride on the Orient Express. I recently found a bunch of really bad short stories I had written after that trip. As bad as the stories were, the sensory details were good. Those impressions of Luxor, the tombs of the workers, the train ride through Bulgaria and Istanbul. I absorbed that and let it germinate into this, but Arden is not me.

The novel also includes details from a real train crash that happened in 2013, on a line I frequently travel. These two trains, these journeys, became symbolic. Life is a journey, and sometimes things happen that change everything, beyond our control.

Arden has certain expectations about the train ride, shaped by literature and idealized notions, but reality doesn't align with them. That idea seems to extend throughout the novel--things happen outside our control, and our expectations don't always match reality.

Absolutely. One of the novel's themes is the contrast between the idea of the story we tell ourselves and how it really is. Arden has an image of the train ride on the Orient Express, but the reality is different. And she tells herself a particular story about what she did to Robert, but that's not quite how it happened. She frequently tells stories that aren't quite the truth, for different reasons. By the end, she even crafts a new story for her granddaughter; is it true? We don't know, and it doesn't matter, because the way she re-stories, re-narrates this moment helps her granddaughter heal. We all have events that we give new meaning to, remember in a certain way, project in a certain way, and tell about, which can have an impact for better or worse.

That makes me think of the "spotlight theory," where people believe they are the center of everything when, actually, there's an entire cast of unseen players influencing the story.

At one point in the book, Arden says, "The only story that interests me is my own." As you mature, you begin to include other people's stories and what you might do to help them have a better story. Part of her transformation is understanding that she wasn't the essential character in someone else's life, and that realization changes her.

Storytelling itself is a force in the novel. Arden wields words in different ways, even weaponizing them at times.

All of my books have been framed around an art form--the previous novel [The Color of Ice] was glass-blowing--and this one is writing. Words are a character, a force in this novel. The things she regrets, her bad acts, are things she says. She says things in moments of thoughtlessness or when she feels trapped, sometimes saying cruel things deliberately. That's her weakness, and she has to live with that. In the end, her growth comes from choosing when to withhold words or reshape them into something healing.

Which is not to say the book is very internal; it's very fast-moving. Readers who have not liked Arden have still said to me, "I couldn't put this book down." And that to me is the greatest compliment as a writer: maybe you don't like my protagonist, or she makes you uncomfortable, but you still want to know what happens next.

Arden is complex.

Yes, humans are all complex. Which brings me to what ended up being the title, this image of a scarab beetle, the symbol of the sun god in Egypt, who rolls the sun across the sky each morning to begin again. Even more than that, the beetle lays its eggs in a ball of dung; new life emerges from waste, from ugliness, from what we would think of as vile. That's a powerful message: we can rise from our own mistakes and find new beginnings. Given the state of the world, I think we need that hope, that sense that goodness and light can still be ours. Something can be built from waste. It's not a sappy hope. It's not sentimental. It calls us to be brave and strong and try again even after we've not been the person we would wish to be.

Hope is critical. And Arden's story involves deep grief and loss, yet she finds ways to continue forward. But the novel isn't just about that loss--it's about what happens after. How do we move forward? How do we find meaning again? That's why the story begins with that tragedy rather than ending with it. The novel is about the journey beyond loss.

The novel moves through time, from 1977 to 2013, jumping between past and present, yet it never feels jarring. How did you manage that balance?

Each timeline is chronological within itself. And each transition has to be so organic, it has to feel necessary. I paid close attention to how each chapter ended and the next began, ensuring a seamless flow, and there is always a link. I'm conscious of the portals between the timelines, and that things are unfolding as you need to know them.

I actually pulled out each timeline separately at one point into a separate little mini-book to ensure they worked as standalone narratives. I also think about writing as an experience--not just telling a story but creating a space where the reader has their own emotional journey. I like books that really invite you to chew over some stuff, with that kind of depth: a page turner, yet a slow burn. --Kerry McHugh
Ron Cole, owner of Styl-O-Pedic Shoes in New Dorp, is pictured in his store earlier this month. He will retire at the end of June, shuttering his familys iconic borough shoe store for good. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Ron Cole has measured the feet of thousands of schoolchildren and tended to the complex orthotic needs of scores of Staten Islanders for decades. But sometime at the end of June, the New Dorp business owner plans to retire  shuttering his familys iconic borough shoe store for good.

Styl-O-Pedic Shoes has been serving Staten Islanders since 1947. The store moved to this New Dorp location in 1963. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Its bittersweet, Cole said, standing behind the counter of the small but mighty Styl-O-Pedic Shoes, which has been a Staten Island mainstay for 78 years. Weve been calling our customers one-by-one to tell them the news  people who have been ordering shoes with us for years  and some of them begin to cry. This wasnt an easy decision, but its time.

Cole fits a customer at Styl-O-Pedic Shoes. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Founded by Coles uncle in 1947, Styl-O-Pedic was first located in a smallish storefront in Port Richmond before moving to a larger location in Stapleton. Coles father, Fred  a retired Army sergeant and Korean War veteran  joined the business in 1954.

Thats when our family moved here from Massachusetts, Cole said. My father had just gotten out of the service, and our final destination was supposed to be California. But we stopped on Staten Island and never left.

Over the years, the shoe store, which made its ultimate home at 2435 Hylan Blvd. in 1963, established itself as a go-to destination for uniform school shoes and specialty footwear. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Over the years, the shoe store, which made its ultimate home at 2435 Hylan Blvd. in 1963, established itself as a go-to destination for uniform school shoes and specialty footwear. Coles role in the business began in his youth, and the store owner said he built fond memories working alongside his father throughout high school and college.

When we were young, my father asked my brother and I if we wanted to work at the store for a day, Cole said. My brother didnt like it, but I kept coming back. I liked being here with my father and the customers, I knew that this was what I was meant to do.

Cole has noted that the store is still seeking a buyer  an owner willing to offer the same great service and quality of shoes that his family has provided since 1947. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Coles brother Larry eventually became a restaurateur, owning the former Sweet Basils in Annadale and Coles Dockside at the Great Kills Marina before its sale in 2022. But Cole stayed focused on running the family business, taking ownership of the store when his father retired in the late 1980s.

We sell shoes that other shoe stores do not have  products that are impossible to find online, Cole noted. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Hes worked six days a week for the past 50 years, noted Coles wife, Francesca, who helps run the store with her husband. Hes missed so many parties, dance recitals and sporting events. Were going to miss our customers, but were ready to travel and babysit our grandchildren.

Cole noted that the store is still seeking a buyer  an owner willing to offer the same great service and quality of shoes that his family has provided since 1947.

All Styl-O-Pedic customers have a handwritten card on file with detailed size and purchase information. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

We sell shoes that other shoe stores do not have  products that are impossible to find online, Cole noted, showcasing a stack of handwritten customer cards, each precisely detailing the order history and particular needs of every Styl-O-Pedic customer. And if we cant find a perfect fit for a customer, we customize the shoe to make it work. I truly hope there is a buyer out there who is willing to continue that mission.

The store owner said that after a brief vacation from May 16 to 26, he will continue taking orders until the end of the month, fulfilling customer needs until he officially closes his doors in June.

We know our customers depend on us, he concluded. Were still here until the end of June to provide everything that they need.
Santander Bank has notified the Office of the Comptroller of Currency that it will close over a dozen U.S. branches before the end of this summer. Among them, this stately, historic banking facility in Stapleton that was constructed in 1924. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Santander Bank has notified the Office of the Comptroller of Currency that it will close 18 U.S. branches across six states before the end of this summer. Among them, a stately, historic banking facility in Stapleton that was constructed in 1924.

Santander Bank continues to refine its branch footprint and retail presence, including introducing new formats and investing in digital capabilities to better accommodate our customers and meet their evolving needs, the company noted in a statement.

Although the bank has changed hands over the years, the Staten Island Savings Bank moniker still remains etched in stone above the entrance. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

According to an email sent to Santander customers and posted on social media, the branch is expected to close on Aug. 14.

The Staten Island branch, located at 81 Water St., is a designated individual landmark that is rich in borough history. A designation report issued by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006 gives a detailed description of its significance.

Designed by the nationally significant firm of Delano & Aldrich (and one of only a few buildings attributed to Aldrich), it is an important example of twentieth-century Italian Renaissance-inspired neo-Classicism in Staten Island, the document noted.

A shield above the bank's entrance includes a hive and two bees, representing industry, economy, and thrift. (Advance/SILive.com | Virginia N. Sherry)

The building was constructed to house Staten Island Savings Bank  not the first bank opened on the Island, but the first to be successful, the report stated  and although the bank has changed hands over the years, rebranding to SI Bank & Trust in 2000 before being acquired by the Brooklyn-based Independence Community Bank Corp. in 2004, and merging with Sovereign Bancorp in 2006 before being purchased by Santander in 2009, the Staten Island Savings Bank moniker still remains etched in stone above the entrance.

The bank is a fine example of Beaux Arts classicism, the report said about the triangular building, highlighting the various devices used by the architects to recall both the banks purpose and Stapletons maritime heritage.

These exterior sconces are a nod to Stapleton's maritime history. (Advance/SILive.com | Irving Silverstein)

Over the entrance gate is a shield on which the architect has included not only a ribbon with the banks name, but a hive and two bees representing industry, economy, and thrift; the owl that stands atop the shield represents wisdom, the report stated.

The portico is topped by a fish-scaled dome, and its floor is laid in the pattern of a compass rose. On each of the facades are dolphin sconces that support lanterns with their tails, the report added.

A portion of the bank's floor is laid in the pattern of a compass rose. (Advance/SILive.com | Virgina N. Sherry)

The significance of the Staten Island Savings Bank design was recognized shortly after its opening when the address was extensively described in the February 1925 issue of Architecture and Building.

The buildings current landmark status does offer it several protections.

As a designated landmark building, it is regulated by the NYC Landmark Preservation Commission, and any proposed work to the exterior of the building, as well as any interior work that affects the exterior of a building, would need to be approved by the commission, a source familiar with the building noted. Landmark building owners must apply for a permit from the commission before starting work.

According to an email sent to bank customers, the branch will officially close its doors on Aug. 14. (Advance/SILive.com | Irving Silverstein)

According to city records, the property is currently owned by Santander. The bank did not respond to questions about the future of the site.
The New York state assemblymember who hopes to pass a bill aimed at holding dog owners accountable held a rally at City Hall Friday morning.

Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, of Queens, was joined by supporters of Pennys Law, a bill proposed by the legislator, a Democrat.

This bill aims to establish new penalties for the negligent handling of dogs responsible for attacks on other dogs or people and leaving the scene of such an attack.

Pennys Law would also make it a criminal violation for owners to repeatedly allow their dogs to illegally walk off a leash.

Additionally, the legislation calls for more signage on leash laws within parks, as noted in a press advisory for Fridays rally.

Pennys Law is named after Penny, a Chihuahua from the Upper West Side of Manhattan that was recently hospitalized after being viciously attacked by pit bulls. As claimed by Rajkumars office, the owner of the pit bulls is believed to have also allowed the dogs to kill another dog in Central Park earlier in the year while the canines were off their leashes.

Anyone who has known the love of a dog knows they are much more than property. They are family, Rajkumar said. The fact that it is not a crime for someone to let their dog kill or injure your family member is a glaring injustice that needs fixing now. Pennys tragedy and numerous others are 100% preventable if negligent dog owners know they cannot get away with it. When Pennys Law passes, we will end these tragedies for good, showing that we are a society that values and cherishes our canine family.

As it stands, an owner allowing their dog to attack and even kill another dog is not considered a criminal offense unless the owner themselves personally attacks the dog, or a person suffers injuries.

Under current law, dogs are classified as property and those whose dogs are victimized in attacks are often told by police that nothing can be done by law enforcement.

A petition for the newly introduced bill and other legislation aimed at holding pet owners accountable was created on May 4 by Pennys owner, Lauren Claus.

Its offensive to consider that the law treats dogs merely as property, the petition states in part. To those of us who love our pets, they are family members. This isnt just about my dog, but about ensuring the safety of all pets in our community and preventing such heart-wrenching incidents from occurring again. Legislators are looking to put laws forward, but so many of these laws die in committee. That cant happen again!

As of Friday evening, the petition has garnered more than 25,000 signatures.

A Staten Island issue

For years, Staten Island has had the highest rate of dog bites in NYC, according to data tracked by the city. Thats still the case, with the data from 2022-2023 showing that Staten Island saw 124 dog bites per 100,000 residents, compared to 82 for the rest of the city.

Wounds from Staten Island dog bites. Often, the owners are protecting their own dogs from attack. "Penny's Law" aims to hold the owners of dogs responsible for attacks accountable. Advance/SILive.com file photo

Although Rajkumar is hoping to make a change, there is currently no real recourse for those individuals randomly bitten by a dog.

As previously reported, in the state of New York, dogs essentially get one free bite, Jon Ryan DAgostino, an associate with the law firm of DAgostino & Associates told the Advance/SILive.com back in December 2023. The victim of the bite is then left with the burden of proving that a dog had vicious propensity.

If the dog doesnt have a record, meaning that the dog never bit anybody before, theres no record of any prior issue with the dog, violent issue, then ... youre left with having to show from a legal standpoint is that there was prior vicious propensity, DAgostino said.

In many cases handled by the DAgostino firm, research on a dog reveals that the canines have no prior record.

So, what we then need to show, through other circumstances, is that, for example, other people on the block were scared of this dog, any time someone came near this dog it would growl at them or snare its teeth, DAgostino said. It would show more than typical canine behavior; not just barking or jumping up on the window, something to show that it could be a vicious animal, and it probably will bite somebody if you come close to it.

But in cases where an individual is bitten and the owner flees the scene, gathering information is nearly impossible.

In a situation where a dog bite victim has literally no information on the dog owner or anything, theyre kind of out of luck, unfortunately, added DAgostino.
The U.S. State Department recently reissued a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning to U.S. citizens living in or traveling to Venezuela. (AP Photo/Eileen Putman) AP

The U.S. State Department recently reissued a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning to U.S. citizens living in or traveling to Venezuela, citing the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.

On Monday, the department said, All U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately.

Do not travel to Venezuela for any reason, the advisory warned in bold writing.

The five main reasons why Americans should avoid the country, according to the department:

The Department has determined there is a very high risk of wrongful detention of nationals, with the U.S. government unable to contact them and those detained unable to contact family members or independent legal counsel. According to former detainees, as well as independent human rights organizations, detainees have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.

Violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping and carjacking, are common in Venezuela.

Political rallies and demonstrations occur, often with little notice. Police and security forces have instituted a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy or anti-regime demonstrations, which occasionally devolve into looting and vandalism.

Colombian terrorist groups operate in Venezuelas border areas with Colombia, Brazil and Guyana.

Shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicine, and medical supplies continue throughout much of Venezuela.

If one must travel to Venezuela, the State Department advises several things, including:

Prepare a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.

Develop a communication plan with family and/or an employer or host organization. A plan should include a proof of life protocol with loved ones so that if you are taken hostage, detained, and/or tortured, your loved ones will know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to confirm you are still alive.

Consider hiring a professional security organization.

The U.S. government cannot assist U.S. citizens in Venezuela in replacing lost or expired travel documents or obtaining Venezuelan entry or exit stamps.

Over the counter and prescription medicines are unlikely to be available to U.S. citizens in Venezuela. Bring enough supplies of over the counter and prescription medicines to last your entire stay in Venezuela.

Access to medical care in Venezuela is limited. Facilities may not have adequate supplies of basic medications.

If you would like to know more about the advisory, including what to do if traveling to Venezuela despite the advisory, please go to travel.state.gov and navigate to the travel advisories page. There, you can search for Venezuela, and see the entire advisory.
KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan interim government and Russia have signed five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) focusing on trade, transport, transit, and gas exploration cooperation, a government statement said on Friday.

According to the statement, the MoUs were signed on Friday in the presence of Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Alexey Overchuk and Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund at the opening ceremony of the Afghanistan-Russia business forum held in Kazan, Russia.

The inked MoUs cover transport facilities, easing tariffs, building industrial parks, and expanding trade relations between the two countries, it said.

The Afghan interim government has urged local and international organizations to invest in the country to strengthen the economy and generate employment opportunities. 
FILE -A bronze sculpture representing Melania Trump stands on a bank of the Sava river in the village of Rozno, near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File) AP

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia  Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of U.S. first lady Melania Trump that was sawed off and carried away from her hometown.

The life-sized sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trumps first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said Friday that the police were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trumps name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue wont be missed.

I think no one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA, he said. So I think its OK that its removed.

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trumps presidential inauguration in 2017. The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  In honor of those who have died, here is a summary of obituaries posted on SILive.com. Viewing times and guest books can be seen here.

Native Staten Islander Eileen Alice Ainsworth, 91, a doting grandmother and great-grandmother who could always be counted on for baby-sitting gigs, died May 3. Following graduation from Tottenville High School in 1951, she moved on to nursing school at the Brooklyn Hospital on a full scholarship and received her RN diploma in 1954. In 1969, she was instrumental in convincing Dutchess Community College to offer a Refresher course for those mothers who wished to return to the workforce using their RN degrees. Most of all, she loved her home and her family and always wanted the best for her family. For the full obituary, click here.

Rose Marie DElia, 93, a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, friend and artist, died May 13. After high school, she pursued her passion for design at the Traphagen School of Fashion while also working as a dressmakers apprentice in a bridal shop. Her creativity and determination led her toward a promising path in fashion. While caring for her family, she reentered the workforce  first for the City Marshal, where she managed the office and later as a legal secretary for Roy Sparber, LLC and Vincents company, ITC USA. She was a woman whose love for her family was deep and unwavering, always placing them at the heart of her world. For the full obituary, click here.

Native Staten Islander Joseph Genau, 73, died May 11. For 37 years, he was a stalwart at Con Edison in various jobs, including construction, working in the business office and, finally, as an electrical inspector. He loved those sweet overtime calls when storms hit so he could do his part keeping Staten Island in power. For the full obituary, click here.

Lifelong Staten Islander Gregory Mickey Hansen, 44, an FDNY lieutenant, outdoorsman and beloved father, died May 13 after a courageous and arduous battle with ALS. He attended Curtis High School and later studied at SUNY Oneonta and the College of Staten Island. In January 2002, he proudly joined the FNDY, beginning a distinguished 20-year career. Throughout his service, he was recognized for his bravery and selflessness. His greatest pride and deepest love were reserved for his two children, Amaru and Clara. For the full obituary, click here.
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The cost of treating some common pet ailments are increasing at an even higher rate: the price of treatments for gastrointestinal conditions, skin conditions and orthopedic and spinal injuries are rising by more than 35 per cent a year, according to PetSure. The insurers single largest claim last year was $80,653 for a Great Dane that underwent treatment for pneumonia. There are several factors driving the sharp rise in veterinary costs. Advances in technology have brought sophisticated  and expensive  medical equipment from human healthcare into vet clinics.

At the same time, a post-pandemic surge in demand, combined with a shrinking workforce, is pushing up wages for veterinarians, who have long been underpaid. Venture capital is entering the industry. And pet owners who treat their animals like family members expect more  and can afford to pay for it. Loading But a group of vets from around the world fear the profession has another problem that parallels human medicine: overdiagnosis and overtreatment. As in human medicine, I just see overdiagnosis and overservicing, says Dr Tanya Stephens, a long-time vet based in NSW and a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. There is an awful lot of excess pathology done. There is very little evidence out there it is in the best interests of animals. And yet it is regularly used. Vets want to give the best possible care to animals, but some of the overservicing is being driven by the entrance of profit-driven corporations into the sector.

They want to make money. They maximise profit in every consult. The only way to profit is overservicing and overcharging clients, and reducing wages for vets, says Dr Thiago Giraldi, owner of Newstead Vets in Queensland, who spent 3 years working at a corporate clinic. Thats where the gap is, where they can get the profit  because its a very high-cost type of business. Whats the evidence? In the past 20 years, human medicine has taken big steps to crack down on overtreatment. Stephens, who is editor-in-chief of the upcoming book Veterinary Controversies and Ethical Dilemmas, written by 23 vets from around the world, believes the same reckoning is needed for animal care. She points to pre-anaesthetic blood testing as a case in point.

This masthead found many Australian vets recommending the practice for all animals at a cost of between $90 and $180  despite it not being recommended in healthy humans because studies have shown the profiles rarely change clinical practice. In 1998, the American Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists voted to declare the tests unnecessary. The owner of an otherwise healthy cat with a blocked bladder was quoted $3000 for blood tests and an ultrasound and another $6000 to $8000 for ongoing care. Credit: iStock Stephens argues general blood testing, often called wellness profiling, of clinically healthy animals is also rarely useful and may be inaccurate. Yet blood testing is increasing sharply year-on-year, according to PetSures data. In one case shared with this masthead, the owner of a young, otherwise healthy cat with a blocked bladder was quoted $3000 for blood tests and an ultrasound, and a further $6000 to $8000 for ongoing care.

The owner was unable to pay, so the cat was discharged and, despite the care of another vet, died the next day. What the cat really needed was instant pain relief and its bladder unblocked, the second vet said. Which should have cost a lot less without all the extras such as a blood test and ultrasound. The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) says Australians are getting a very high standard of care and many of the increased costs sit outside the control of individual vets. They want to make money. They maximise profit in every consult. The only way to profit is overservicing and overcharging clients, and reducing wages for vets. Queensland vet Thiago Giraldi Rising scrutiny over over-treatment often overlooks the fact that many veterinary clients now expect the same standard of care for their animal companions as they would for family members, says AVA president Dr Sally Colgan, who lives in Sydney. Growing rates of pet insurance add new layers of complication for vets, owners and pets. Evidence suggests pet owners are much less likely to economically euthanise their pets if they are insured, and insured owners tend to spend more on vet care for their animals.

That can save some pets from treatable diseases. But it also makes customers more likely to plump for unnecessary scans and treatments  and some vets are even concerned it may cause owners to prolong the life of a sick animal when the more ethical decision might be euthanasia. Loading What is driving the cost increases? Insurers and vets attribute increased costs to the arrival of new and expensive treatments for animals, like personalised anti-cancer vaccines being offered by Melbourne Animal Referral Services. Advances in pet medicine and a reduction in the number of animals killed by cars mean our pets are living longer  and, just like elderly humans, old animals tend to need more medical care.

The ethics of treating animals for cancer provoke significant debate among vets. Chemotherapy generally just prolongs life, rather than curing disease, at the cost of serious side effects, numerous painful procedures and time spent in isolation. In the past 20 years the care vets can offer animals has dramatically increased, but so has the cost. Now its very normal to have CT and MRI and specialised orthopaedic implants, says Dr Anne Quain, a senior lecturer at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. Setting up a new practice might now cost several million dollars, she estimates, while everyone agrees consumables have spiked. Dr Anne Quain at her vet practice with patient Bentley. Credit: Louise Kennerley And the economics of veterinary medicine are changing.

Vets have typically been poorly paid compared with doctors  the average salary in the veterinary services sector is $70,633. But the COVID pandemic led to a spike in pet ownership, which is now creating an increased demand for vet services that the industry is struggling to meet. Job ads for vets averaged 18 a month between 2010 and 2020. In September last year alone, there were 190 new ads, according to government tracking data. Veterinary chain VetPartners blames that for sharp increases in average wages, which have been passed on to consumers. At the same time, a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the vet workforce heard many vets were struggling to keep their practice doors open. The industry is extremely labour-intensive, so it is hard for small practices to make big profits. They do OK, but they are certainly not earning super profits, thats for sure, says Patrick Flanagan, a vet industry consultant and partner at consultancy firm RSM Australia. Thats opening the door for corporatisation. About one-fifth of the industry is now owned by big corporates, VetPartners estimates.

According to online listings, there are now hundreds of vet practices owned by the big two  VetPartners and Greencross  across Australia, but in many cases, customers wouldnt know, as clinics often retain their individual branding. The corporate players VetPartners and Greencross, the two largest players by market share, have both been bought by private equity firms in the past six years. When Pemba Capital Partners partnered with Vets Central, it described the industry as structurally high growth and defensive. Industry revenue was projected at $5.6 billion in 2025, up 3.5 per cent annually since 2020, and with even faster growth forecast, according to IBISWorld research.

Giraldi, a Queensland vet, says that when he was working at a corporate clinic, he was constantly pressured to perform certain numbers of operations and exams every month, including body and dental X-rays. Thats all across the board. They were doing that from managers all the way down to the new grads: you need to do this much of this, this much of that, he recalls. You end up overservicing to achieve KPIs. Meeting KPIs was linked to bonus payments, he says. You wont do something harmful [to the animal]. But you will do something unnecessary. Greencross says its vets are salaried and do not have KPIs or commissions linked to treatments.

Our KPIs are really based around patient outcomes. All our vets have clinical autonomy. They do what is necessary for that patient and that client that is in front of them, like any other vet, says Dr Magdoline Awad, the companys chief veterinary officer. (The other corporate vet practices declined to comment.) The rising cost of veterinary treatment has coincided with a steady stream of complaints to NSW Fair Trading. In the five years to December 31, 2024, the consumer watchdog received 21 complaints from consumers relating to veterinary practices pricing. A spokesman for the watchdog says 12 of these complaints were for overcharging or charging above the quoted price, six involved high or unknown fees and charges, and three related to services that were unsatisfactory or not provided. Consumer Affairs Victoria was unable to provide similar data. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says businesses are free to independently set their own prices, but it is illegal for them to make false or misleading claims about prices, or agree to fix prices with competitors.

Loading The ACCC encourages consumers to shop around for products and services to consider the range of prices available and determine the best value for them, a spokeswoman says. The vet providing a second opinion The cost of veterinary treatment has increased dramatically during Mark Tenenbaums seven-year career as a vet. He says this has coincided with pet owners expecting an almost human-level quality of care for their animals.

When I started, a dental procedure or a stitch-up of a wound or a cut was easily under $1000, says the vet from Melbournes south-east. Now these procedures are between $1000 and $1500. And while a standard consultation used to cost about $70, it now costs almost $100, according to Tenenbaum. Improvements to veterinarian wages, increasing costs of materials (such as titanium implants, medications and pathology) and the growing corporatisation of the veterinary industry is also driving up these costs. When I started, a dental procedure or a stitch-up of a wound or a cut was easily under $1000. Now these procedures are between $1000 and $1500. Melbourne vet Mark Tenenbaum Theyre a business with shareholders and investors at the end of the day, and theres an expectation of growth and profitability, Tenenbaum says of corporate-owned clinics, which he estimates make up about 15 to 20 per cent of all veterinary clinics in Australia.

With a privately owned clinic, if theres a bit of stagnation or a downturn  an individual owner who is still making money wont be as concerned about having no growth that year. He estimates that about 30 per cent of pet owners refuse recommendations because they cant afford the treatment. When this occurs, Tenenbaum provides a cheaper alternative. But with the downgrading, comes gaps, he says. An owner might say, I cant afford the imaging, and I say, Thats OK, but youve got to accept that you might be missing something on those X-rays that might be the answer to why your pet is unwell. Angelica Pintos cat Ciccio has had some recent health issues. Tenenbaum recently launched a telehealth venture called Second Opinion by the Vet Society, which provides pet owners with an alternative view about the best course of treatment for their sick and injured animals. In many instances, the best course of treatment is not necessarily the most expensive.

Specialists are charging $5500 to $7000 to repair a ruptured ACL, but there are alternative surgical options to stabilise the knee that are not nearly as expensive, he says, adding that these cheaper options are not always suitable for larger dogs. The charity helping pet owners in hardship After forking out $30,000 for spinal surgery for her border collie, Jennifer Hunt decided to set up a charity to help pensioners struggling with vet fees. While the registered nurse could afford treatment to save the life of her beloved dog Jed, she realised many others were not as fortunate. Her charity, Pet Medical Crisis, founded in 2010, receives about 40 applications a week from Victorian pet owners unable to afford their pets medical treatment.

Pinto and her beloved Ciccio. Hunt says some vets propose leaving pets untreated, surrendering them, or even economic euthanasia when owners cant afford care. These pets are vital to their wellbeing, she says. They alleviate loneliness, keep people well and bring enormous value to the community. Shes often horrified by the fee discrepancies between different clinics for the same treatment. In one recent case, the owner of a Staffordshire bull terrier that had developed an infected uterus  a life-threatening condition  was quoted $8555 for treatment at a 24/7 specialist clinic. The costs were outrageous, Hunt says.

Pet Medical Crisis stepped in and arranged for the sick dog to be treated at another clinic that charged $1098 for the same procedure. Angelica Pinto burst into tears when her vet told her it would cost about $5000 to treat her sick cat Ciccio. The ginger cat was experiencing a urinary blockage and the emergency vet said he needed a catheter inserted. I thought, I have to. He is my everything, Pinto recalls. The 29-year-old, who is on a disability pension and suffers from anxiety, drained her entire savings to fund the treatment. The first procedure took place on April 19, but less than a week later, Pinto and Ciccio were back at the vet with the same problem.

This time, the vet recommended a more expensive surgery  which involved creating a larger urethra for Ciccio  to prevent more blockages. It would cost Pinto a further $6000. That was money she didnt have. To pay for the surgery, the North Melbourne resident has taken out two buy now, pay later loans, set up a GoFundMe page and is selling her furniture on Facebook Marketplace. While Ciccio is back home and recovering well, Pinto worries that she may not be able to pay her rent.

I have listed my bedside tables, the TV unit, the buffet cabinet. Im trying to sell what I can, she says. John Panagiotopoulos only option with pet dog Max was to email Pet Medical Crisis to explain his plight. Loading Within days, the charity had arranged for Max to be operated on at Port Phillip Animal Hospital for $2750  a fraction of the price that the Panagiotopoulos had been quoted by the other clinic. Panagiotopoulos chipped in $1000, and the charity funded the rest. Max is now at home and tearing through the backyard on his recovered leg, which has been reinforced with steel pins.
Actor Emma Lung has starred in films alongside some of the industrys biggest names, including Hugo Weaving and Brian Cox. The 43-year-old, who stars opposite Asher Keddie in streaming series Strife, also discusses how she and her now husband had a second chance at love.

As a young actor, Emma Lung had to film love scenes with Hugo Weaving, who she describes as kind and gentle. Credit: Sam Bisso

My grandfather, James, was born in Guangzhou [China]. He moved to Papua New Guinea after he finished high school. From there, he moved to Sydney, where he met my grandmother, Colleen. Together, they had seven children.

I called my grandfather Yeye (Mandarin for paternal grandfather). I didnt know him for a lot of my early life, as our family lived in Tokyo, where my father, Gary, and mother, Heather, taught English. But when we returned to Sydney, I knew him as a gentle and wise man.

I couldnt ask for a more loving father. Hes been in my corner since day one and continues to be. Theres really nothing he wouldnt do for me. Dad is gregarious, hilarious and impatient. Hes also an absolute cinephile, and so I grew up watching Woody Allen and Rob Reiner and all the films of the 1970s. From him, Ive inherited my sense of curiosity, adventure and tenacity  probably my loudmouth tendencies, too.
When Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stood down as a senior royal in 2020, the Windsor family fractured. Since then, Harry has moved across the world from the royals, a controversial tell-all memoir betrayed their trust, and a legal dispute over security further deepened the rift.

However, in an interview with the BBC this month, Harry revealed he wants to mend his relationship with his family.

I would love reconciliation with my family. Theres no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious, the prince said, adding that he doesnt know how much time he has left with his father, King Charles III.

Prince Harry isnt speaking with his father. Brooklyn Beckham didnt go to his fathers 50th celebration. Are family rifts fixable? Credit: Compiled by Jamie Brown

Meanwhile, the notable absence of Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham, from pictures of David Beckhams 50th birthday celebrations on May 3 has raised questions about the state of relationships in footballs royal family. While none of the Beckhams have formally addressed reporting about a family rift, the speculation has proved a reminder that all families are complicated, from the rich and famous to the everyday.
Genetic testing is not a mandatory component of coronial investigations into unexplained deaths in any Australian state or territory, and each jurisdiction has its own triggers for including it. For instance, when there is some indication that a gene mutation may have contributed to a death, such as a family history of genetic conditions. This was despite nearly 90 per cent of couples at risk of having a child with a genetic condition having no prior family history of the disorder. The barriers to genetic testing Several state coroners offices and attorneys-general, including in NSW and Victoria, suggested that obtaining consent from next of kin was the main barrier to implementing routine genetic testing. None are updating current guidelines to mandate genetic testing under these circumstances. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said a coroner can order genetic testing based on advice from NSW Health Forensic Medicine, and the government was always considering ways the coronial process can be improved to provide answers to grieving families.

Loading A spokesperson from the Victorian government said coroners can request the testing where it is considered relevant. Coroners Project co-founder Rachael Casella said even when there is an indication that a genetic condition is at play in a death, instead of conducting genetic testing on the deceased, the coroner or forensic pathologist will often recommend that the family pursue genetic testing for themselves. This requires navigating a complex system, potentially at a personal financial cost. She said placing the burden on grieving families to know about and seek genetic testing is wrong. If youre talking to a grieving family, most of the time theyre not going to think to go and do genetic testing. They dont know whom to contact  Are there costs involved? Is English their second language? said Casella, whose daughter Mackenzie died of the genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy at seven months old and is the namesake of federally funded Mackenzies Mission, a genetic carrier screening trial for would-be parents.

Professor Gina Ravenscroft, an expert in rare disease genetics at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and University of Western Australia, said restricting genetic testing to cases with a family history of genetic conditions was outdated and parents who consent to autopsies are likely to agree to genetic testing because they want to know what killed their loved one. I dont see that genetics is that different from any other test we do to try and find out what the cause of death is in an infant or a young person. Loading Professor Jodie Ingles, head of clinical genomics at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, said the cost of genetic testing was likely a deterrent because Medicare does not subsidise it. Forensic pathologists  who order the genetic tests  were also grappling with a backlog of autopsy reports amid a national shortage of the specialists.

Kate and Tim Newman lost their two daughters, Olivia and Mia, to heart failure caused by a PPA2 gene mutation before their second birthdays. It was only after Mia died that doctors at the Childrens Hospital in Brisbane suggested they test her DNA and a sample kept from Olivias autopsy. Olivia and Mia Newman both died from complications of a variation of the PPA2 gene. Their experience makes it difficult for them to understand why consent and a lack of resources would be barriers to genetic testing, considering the tens of thousands of dollars it cost the healthcare system and the couple to test and treat their daughters over several distressing months, Kate Newman said. Consenting to the removal of Olivias brain seemed a far more traumatic request for Newman than if shed been asked for her consent to do genetic testing, though she said she was never asked. To think that there are blockages in terms of funding for genetic tests is crazy  they took my kids brain out and sent it to America to try and test for certain things, and we didnt need to go through any of that if theyd just done a blood test and got DNA results, she said.

Guilt, false accusations and the relief of a diagnosis Finding answers helped the Greens and Newmans with the overwhelming guilt attached to the sudden and unexplained deaths of multiple children. I was addicted to googling rabbit holes, reading every article, medical journal, anything I could get my hands on, Danielle Green said. I just held so much guilt. Did I not take gastro seriously enough? Did I allow him to get dehydrated? Was he showing symptoms of this months prior? Carola Vinuesa, a professor in immunology and genetics at the Francis Crick Institute in London, who was part of a team that analysed Kathleen Folbiggs DNA for genetic mutations, said having a diagnosis can also stop parents being wrongly accused of harming their children, especially when there is more than one child death in the family. Every post-mortem in a child should have a genetic test, Vinuesa said.

Loading Newman said she was questioned by detectives and child protection service officers after Mias death. We were saying goodbye to Mia, we had her in the hospital room, and we got pulled out by a detective and child services, Newman said, becoming upset as she retells the story. Theyre protecting the children, but I must say that was really tough to be questioned. I remember he said Children dont just die and I took great offence to that. I hate to think that theres anyone else out there whos lost a child and doesnt have answers. The guilt that they may feel, not having known, and the potential that it could happen again.
Small businesses will be empowered to revitalise lacklustre high streets and town centres under divisive new laws aimed at leveraging greater private investment to transform public spaces.

The state government this month passed legislation aimed at making it faster and easier for more small businesses to band together to set up so-called community improvement districts across NSW.

The model has also been utilised to revive the YCK night-time precinct in Sydneys CBD. Credit: YCK

The precincts, which the former Coalition state government referred to as business improvement districts, arise from an agreement by businesses to pay extra fees to fund events, activities and services in the area in which they operate to improve their trading environment and public spaces.

These improvements typically go beyond what local government provides and can include street art, public amenities, branding to market their commercial district, and security and safety measures.
This photo taken on May 14, 2025 shows artifacts at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Once a vibrant repository of Central and South Asian heritage, the National Museum of Afghanistan held tens of thousands of priceless artifacts that testified to the region's deep historical ties with civilizations such as the Greco-Bactrians, Islamic Caliphates, and Buddhists.

Tragically, decades of conflict, political instability, and cultural neglect have taken a severe toll on this irreplaceable collection.

Although approximately 70 percent of its collection have been looted, destroyed, or smuggled abroad, the museum remains a powerful symbol of resilience and cultural pride, according to museum authorities.

"The museum became a tragic emblem of Afghanistan's turbulent modern history, particularly during the periods of civil war," said Yahya Muhibzada, deputy director of the National Museum of Afghanistan.

"It has endured some of the darkest chapters, imaginable relocation, dismantling, fire damage, and rampant theft," he said.

Regrettably, nearly 70 percent of the museum's artifacts were lost, with many stolen during the era of factional fighting, Muhibzada lamented.

Afghanistan's historical and archaeological monuments are more than just remnants of the past; they embody centuries of artistic, religious, and political exchange among ancient civilizations and are integral to the nation's cultural identity.

"You can see traces of Hellenistic and ancient Greek art in many of the artifacts we've recovered from different regions," said Muhibzada, standing at the entrance to the museum.

Founded in 1919 and located in the western part of Kabul, the National Museum of Afghanistan houses a remarkable collection of relics that narrate the history of human development and illustrate the cultural richness of various civilizations.

According to Muhibzada, the museum currently holds around 60,000 ancient objects representing a wide range of civilizations, from the Kushan Empire and the Greek and Buddhist periods to the Bronze Age, the Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenistic era, and the Islamic periods.

"On average, we receive between 200 and 300 visitors a day, including foreign tourists and local students," he noted.

Afghanistan has historically served as a crossroads linking Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and China. This unique geographical position fostered an extraordinary blend of artistic, religious, and cultural influences visible in the diversity of artifacts once housed in the museum.

This confluence of civilizations elevated Afghanistan beyond a mere transit route; it became a vibrant melting pot of world heritage, where traditions from East and West did not merely coexist, but evolved and enriched one another.

Since 2006, in an effort to strengthen international cultural ties and share its ancient legacy with the world, the National Museum of Afghanistan has exhibited 231 national treasures, including gold pieces from the Bactrian era, in museums around the world, according to Muhibzada.

"We plan to resume international exhibitions of Afghanistan's cultural treasures, especially in China, to help introduce our ancient civilization to Chinese audiences," he stated.

Tamim Sarwary, visiting the museum for the first time, was visibly moved as he walked among the ancient relics of his homeland, enjoying each artifact whispering tales of kings, empires, and civilizations long vanished.

"I feel a deep sense of pride knowing that we have such a museum, filled with rare and valuable artifacts," Sarwary told Xinhua. "I saw antiquities here that I never imagined existed in Afghanistan."

Authorities in Afghanistan's interim government have reiterated their commitment to protecting the country's cultural heritage, declaring the possession or smuggling of historical relics and precious stones strictly prohibited. The government has focused on preventing theft and curbing illegal trade in antiquities.

Official data from the Ministry of Information and Culture shows that since the government took power in August 2021, more than 5,000 cultural relics have been transferred to the museum, and over 2,000 artifacts have been repaired.

While the government's restoration initiatives and anti-smuggling efforts demonstrate a renewed commitment to safeguarding national heritage, sustained international cooperation and capacity-building are vital to ensuring the long-term protection of Afghanistan's rich and diverse cultural legacy, both tangible and intangible. 

This photo taken on May 14, 2025 shows a relic at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

This photo taken on May 14, 2025 shows a relic at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

This photo taken on May 14, 2025 shows a relic at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Cymbals crashing, triangles tinkling and the whistle of a recorder. Instead of these noises filling NSW public classrooms, music is more likely to come from a smart-board speaker as more than 70 per cent of teachers rely on videos to teach the subject.

The vast majority of teachers (82 per cent) feel their university degrees failed to prepare them to teach the music curriculum, and 73 per cent of teachers surveyed said they preferred to use pre-recorded music lessons to educate children. The findings arise from a new survey of 706 primary school teachers by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) and supported by the NSW Department of Education.

Music education has been transformed at Homebush West Public School. Credit: Max Mason-Hubers

Homebush West Public School principal Estelle Southall is on a mission to change this. Her school is noisier than most, though she wouldnt describe it that way.

Its not loud, its joyous, she says. We love the days when there is music learning happening across the school.
Two men have been charged with murder following the death of a 23-year-old mother in Springfield Lakes south-west of Brisbane overnight.

Emergency services were called to a home on Ash Avenue at 8.06pm following reports that a woman had collapsed.

Officers arrived to find her unconscious and not breathing. She was treated by police and paramedics but was later declared dead at the scene.

Detective Inspector Michael Manago from the Ipswich Crime Group said the womans two children  aged three and four  were at the residence when emergency services arrived.
There are effective tools to improve young peoples mental health, a new landmark study has found, but only with teachers, parents and school communities in it for the long haul.

An academic analysis of the Resilience Projects schools program, Australias largest and one of its longest-running education mental health initiatives, has found clear benefits to the mental health and wellbeing of its young participants.

But the Monash University study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, also found it can take up to six years of immersion in the projects mix of gratitude, empathy, emotional literacy and mindfulness lessons for the full benefits to emerge.

Monash Uni researcher Dr Roshini Balasooriya and St. Bedes deputy principal Mark Jones with students at the Mentone boys school. Credit: PENNY STEPHENS

Researcher Roshini Balasooriya, who is also a psychiatric registrar, told The Age there was no shortage of programs designed to tackle the mental health crisis confronting schools, but the evidence base of their efficacy was thin.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has paid tribute to her mother, who has died just four days after her daughter made history by becoming the Liberal Partys first female leader.

Ley said Angela Braybrooks died in Albury early on Saturday morning and was comfortable and at peace in her final moments.

Sussan Ley said her mothers eyes lit up when she was elected opposition leader. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

My family and I feel this loss deeply, Ley said in a statement on Saturday.

Mum was a mental health nurse who helped so many people through her life. She taught me the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence.
European investment in Australia would almost double under a breakthrough free trade pact that the European Unions top representative here says could be struck by the years end.

EU ambassador to Australia Gabriele Visentin signalled that Europe was open to compromise on the use of names such as prosecco and feta by Australian producers, a key sticking point in previous negotiations, which began in 2018 and collapsed two years ago.

Reviving the stalled free trade negotiations will top the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Rome on Sunday after Pope Leo XIVs inaugural Mass.

US President Donald Trumps volatile tariff policies have sparked renewed interest in securing a free trade pact between Australia and the European Union, a bloc of 445 million people that stands out as one of the few markets with which Australia does not have a free trade deal at present.
Oroton fashion empire heir Tom Lane has returned to his home turf by splashing $10.25 million on a harbourview home in Clontarf.

The Manly born-and-bred Lane is tipped to redevelop the six-bedroom, six-bathroom house with breathtaking views of the Spit in a similar vein to the stunning homes he and Emma Lane have built over the years in their portfolio of luxury accommodation known as The Range Estates.

Tom Lanes latest purchase in the northern beaches. Credit:

He purchased the home from financial services executive Donald Sharp and his wife Yunxia Tong who purchased the 784-square-metre block for $8 million in 2021.

The Clontarf home sold through Bo Zhang of Atlas Lower North Shore.
Reith, a group 1 winner, spent a year on the sidelines after fracturing vertebrae in a fall in 2022. Fiorsum Fred earlier gave Singleton a hat-trick of wins on Scones biggest day of the year when he claimed the class 3 Highway Handicap (1600m). Singleton won benchmark handicaps on the standalone program the past two years with Dollar Magic and Comonic, and Fiorsum Fred added to the record with a strong finish for a three-quarter length victory. Former Gold Coast apprentice Jace McMurray rode Fiorsum Fred, giving him a first Sydney metro win. He has joined Randwick trainer Michael Freedman on loan. Filly shows star potential

Zoustar filly Stardom is set to chase more black type at the Queensland winter carnival after securing a valuable win in the Woodlands Stakes (1100m) as part of a listed double for the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable. The Torryburn Stud talent, out of Snitzel mare Diddums, raced outside leader Rainbow Glow before taking over at the top of straight for jockey Adam Hyeronimus and finding late to hold off Kris Lees-trained Wollzeile by a half length. Favourite Akaysha was strong late for third after getting too far back. The Instructor later gave Hyeronimus and the Waterhouse-Bott yard another big win, overhauling Whinchat in the final metres of the Luskin Star Stakes. The son of Russian Revolution is also set to hunt stakes wins in Queensland. Caballus comeback soured Throat and gelding operations proved pivotal for Caballus when he returned with victory in the listed Ortensia Stakes (1100m), only to suffer a bleeding attack.

The Bjorn Baker-trained four-year-old, last years Eskimo Prince Stakes winner, got the sit behind leader The Novelist from gate one. Jockey Ash Morgan then took the $5.50 favourite up the inside in the last furlong for a two-thirds of a length victory. Concern: Caballus bled from both nostrils after its win. Credit: Getty Images Caballus, which raced at group 1 level before his breathing problems prompted the throat operation, was set to chase bigger targets in Queensland before he was found to have bled from both nostrils post-race, triggering a mandatory suspension. Godolphins Renosu also bled in the same race. Long shot lifts for Penza

Experienced provincial jockey Jeff Penza was rewarded for a long days work when $61-shot Summer Flame lifted late to win the listed Denises Joy Stakes (1100m). Penza gave the Chris Waller-trained daughter of Written Tycoon from Rosemont Stud an ideal run behind leader Overfull before hitting the front 100m out to beat Gerringong by a neck. Jeff Penza boots home Summer Flame to win for Chris Waller at Scone yesterday. Credit: Getty Images Summer Flame resumed in the 3YO fillies feature after recording a win and two placings in Victoria in her first preparation. Waller assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth said the win was great reward for Penza.

Whenever hes asked, hell come in [for trackwork], Duckworth said. He came in this morning and galloped four for us, then went home and rode his two show-jumpers, then got in the car and came here, so hes a hard worker. He said the performance of Summer Flame was not a surprise for Waller. Chris was tipping it, so he might be happy because she was obviously a crazy old price, he said. Archibald import finds edge Annabel Archibald believes she may have found a key to Cormac T after the import edged out Gentileschi following an unusual lead-in. Cormac T was scratched on vets advice last Saturday at Gosford with abrasions to his near-hind leg after becoming fractious in the gates.

He bounced back in the benchmark 78 (1700m), hitting the front late for jockey Tom Sherry then holding out Gentileschi and Kind Words in a thriller. Gentileschis co-trainer Paul Messara and stewards reviewed the photo before correct weight was declared. He obviously didnt gallop last Saturday and we went pretty steady with him early in the week because we wanted to check he was OK, Archibald said. So maybe hes shown us that he likes to be kept slightly on the fresh side. It was part of a great day for the Annabel and Rob Archibald yard, which later won the group 1 Doomben 10,000 with Sunshine In Paris. Snowden has Eagle eye on next race Champion trainer Peter Snowden was eyeing the listed Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) on June 7 at Eagle Farm with Zealously after the three-year-old cruised to victory in the 1100m benchmark 78.

Loading A $3.50 favourite after Snowden scratched him last week at Gosford in the hope of firmer ground this week, Zealously relished the drying soft 5 going, kicking clear at the top of the straight and beating Dollar Magic by one and three-quarter lengths. The winning time of 1:02:13 was inside the track record but may not be official because it was hand timed. Ill go to Brisbane with him, said Snowden, who was born and bred in Scone. Theres a three-year-old race for him in about three weeks, so Ill head to that, if we get good ground. Freedman and Collett find key
Tens of thousands of people are expected to flood St Peters Square on Sunday to witness the papal Mass where Pope Leo XIV will be inaugurated.

The main service is expected to start at 10am local time (6pm Sunday, AEST).

Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with onlookers in Vatican City on Monday. Credit: Bloomberg

When he officially becomes head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo will be presented with a number of traditional papal garments and adornments, each with their own special meaning.

What can we expect from the papal inauguration?
Dear Editor

St. Maarten, it is time for the politicians and government to stop playing politics with the people and let the truth be told. I am a correctional officer at the Pointe Blanche Prison, and even though I was not present on the day of the fire, my colleagues relayed the message to me, which does not match what the minister has stated.

My colleagues explained that around 3:30 PM, there were three minor fires that they controlled and extinguished with a fire extinguisher. Everything was under control until they received direct orders from D. Leonard, the Head of Detention, to immediately leave their posts and go to the front. Due to this decision, the inmates were left unattended, and the minor fires, which could have been managed if the guards had remained at their posts, escalated. Only one guard took the keys and went to the location of the fire.

I am not here to discuss who saved whom or who did what, I am here to address the injustices that my colleagues and I feel affect not only the inmates but also us as correctional officers. The Honorable Minister stated that 51 inmates had to be relocated to a safe location. However, what do we consider "safe"? Twelve inmates were transferred to Simpson Bay Prison without any communication to their families about their relocation and safety. The remaining 39 inmates are crammed into the same uninhabitable building, having been moved there just hours after the fire was extinguished. The areas where the inmates are located lack restroom facilities, forcing my colleagues and me to constantly escort them back and forth to the two porta-potties. This situation poses significant risks, especially when we have to transfer inmates to the porta-potty at 2 AM.

It is ironic that all these new measures, including lights and cameras being installed at the prison, are being implemented now, yet my colleagues and I have spoken about the dangerous situations we endure every day for years. It should not have taken such a severe incident for these issues to be addressed seriously.

While we appreciate the Honorable Minister bringing in five correctional officers from Aruba, we must ask who is covering the expenses. Who is feeding, housing, and providing rentals for these correctional officers? Though we welcome the assistance, what about our compensation that is due to us? We heard the Honorable Minister state in Parliament that multiple other departments will have their LBS signed, but for prison guards, the number was zero. We risk our lives every day, working with minimal supplies and manpower, all for a meager salary of 1,000 to 2,000 Guilders.

Even though I dont agree with how the inmates went about their strike, I must acknowledge that they have shed light on the difficult situations we endure daily as Saint Maarten correctional officers. I hope we, too, can receive the compensation and have our LBS signed, just like everyone else.

Sincerely Lily of the Valley
PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, is supporting the implementation of the Group 3 Learning Assessment scheduled for June. The assessment, which will involve 24 student groups from all public and subsidized primary schools, will measure students reading and mathematics levels. It is part of the Trust Funds Fostering Resilient Learning Project (FRLP), which supports both school reconstruction and broader improvements in Sint Maartens education system.

This is the second round of learning assessments under the FRLP. The first, conducted between 2023 and 2024, focused on Early Grade Reading and Mathematics (EGRA/EGMA) and revealed performance gaps that led to improvements in teaching support, curriculum planning, and school-based interventions. The 2025 assessment builds on that foundation by offering updated data to guide educational decisions and contribute to more robust learning environments.

The new assessment cycle also contributes to the launch of the Ministry Management Information System (MMIS); a digital platform designed to collect, organize, and analyze education data. Assessment results will be uploaded to MMIS, enabling the Ministry to track student progress, identify learning gaps, and support long-term planning with reliable evidence. Strengthening education information systems is a central feature of the FRLPs approach to resilience, it ensures that learning can continue, and systems can recover quickly in the event of any disaster or disruption.

To prepare for this years assessments, 20 assessors, most of whom are retired local educators, received training in April. The training was led by an international expert and focused on administering the assessments and using a dedicated online platform to upload and manage data. During the training week, MECYS also reviewed and updated the 2023 assessment formats and uploaded new versions for 2025. Group 5 assessments were also finalized for use later in the year.

With schools already informed of upcoming introductory visits by assessors, preparations remain on schedule for testing in the first half of June. In the weeks ahead, MECYS and schools will hold information sessions to help parents and guardians understand the purpose of the assessment and how they can support their children.

The Honorable Melissa Gumbs, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, expressed her support for the upcoming assessment.

"The Group 3 Learning Assessment will help us make better evidence-based decisions. To make sure all children in Sint Maarten have a fair chance to do well in school, were investing in tools that show where students are and what kind of support they need. Were optimistic that these tools will help us improve our education strategies."

MECYS continues to build the knowledge and capacity of their personnel to manage future learning assessments and the recommendations that will come from the derived data.

The FRLP is implemented by NRPB on behalf of the Government of Sint Maarten. It is funded by the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, financed by the Government of the Netherlands and managed by the World Bank.
HANOI, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese National Assembly on Saturday passed a resolution introducing a series of mechanisms and policies aimed at accelerating the development of the private economic sector, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The policy package offers support in key areas including credit access, land use and tax incentives.

Under the new resolution, small and medium-sized enterprises will be exempt from corporate income tax for three years from the date they receive their first business registration certificate.

Startups and venture capital management companies will be exempt from income tax for the first two years and enjoy a 50 percent tax reduction for the following four years.

According to the government, the private sector currently contributes approximately 51 percent of the country's gross domestic product and accounts for more than 30 percent of state budget revenue.

Vietnam looks to have two million private enterprises and at least 20 large Vietnamese companies participating in global value chains by 2030, according to a resolution issued by the Politburo earlier this month. 
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Sint Maarten Library is proud to announce its partnership with the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset in support of their Community Book Drive, an initiative aimed at restocking six Free Little Libraries throughout the community. This effort is part of the broader SXM DOET volunteer campaign scheduled for May 1617, 2025.

In alignment with its mission to foster literacy, lifelong learning, and community engagement, the Sint Maarten Library will donate a selection of used books, including childrens, adult, and multilingual titles. These contributions will support the Sint Maarten Library and Rotary Clubs ongoing commitment to accessible reading materials and the development of a reading culture on the island.

A symbolic book handover and photo opportunity took place at the Sint Maarten Library on Friday, May 16, 2025, with representatives from both organizations present to cover this collaborative milestone.

General Manager of the Sint Maarten Library, Mr. Marc Marshall, expressed his appreciation for the initiative: "The library is honored to support this meaningful effort by the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset. Encouraging reading and ensuring access to books in all neighborhoods is vital for the growth and development of our community."

In addition, representatives of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset, President Franklyn Salomons and Mr. Billy Jean-Baptiste, shared their thoughts on the partnership: This collaboration exemplifies the power of community engagement. We are deeply grateful to the Sint Maarten Library for supporting our mission to expand access to books and promote literacy across our island.

This partnership reflects a united commitment to advancing literacy and education across Sint Maarten, underscoring a shared vision of building a stronger, more informed, and empowered community. At the heart of this initiative is the Sint Maarten Library, whose longstanding dedication to promoting literacy, education, and cultural awareness continues to shape and support the intellectual growth of the island. Through a wide range of inclusive programs and resources for all age groups, the library remains a cornerstone in fostering lifelong learning and enriching the lives of community members.
POINTE BLANCHE:--- The Director of the Pointe Blanche Prison and House of Detention, Mr. S. Carty, has officially issued a decision to temporarily suspend certain detainee rights and privileges, effective Sunday, May 18, 2025. This decision follows the serious incident that took place on May 14, 2025, involving a riot and a subsequent fire that caused considerable damage to prison infrastructure and disrupted operations at the facility. Acting in accordance with Articles 31 and 32 of the Prison Regulation (Gevangenismaatregel), the Director has determined that the current conditions within the prison require urgent and decisive action to restore safety, order, and the normal functioning of operations. As such, all detainee rights and privileges related to visitation, recreation, group activities, and external communications (except where essential to legal proceedings) will be suspended until further notice. This measure applies to all detainees, regardless of their classification or location within the facility. This temporary suspension is not disciplinary in nature but is a precautionary and operational measure aimed at stabilizing the situation and facilitating the safe recovery of essential services and infrastructure. Detainees will be informed immediately when conditions allow for a phased or complete reinstatement of these privileges. Under the Prison Regulation, the Director is empowered to take such measures when serious disturbances occur or are imminent within the institution. Article 31 authorizes the Director to deviate from rights granted to individual detainees if it is deemed strictly necessary for institutional safety or order. Article 32 extends this authority further in cases of widespread or serious incidents, allowing the Director to suspend or restrict rights of all persons within the institution for a maximum of three consecutive 24-hour periods. The Director is required to notify the Minister of Justice and the prison service management of such decisions without delay. Should the emergency situation continue beyond the initial 72-hour period, only the Minister of Justice holds the authority to extend the suspension, in increments of up to an additional 72 hours each time. The Ministry of Justice and relevant supervisory bodies have been duly informed of this action. The Director has emphasized that the decision is driven solely by the need to safeguard both detainees and staff during this emergency and restore a safe and functional correctional environment as swiftly as possible. The events of May 14 had a great impact on the safety and stability of the prison. The Directors decision, though difficult, is necessary to restore order and safety. It underscores a clear commitment to lawful, proportionate action in the interest of all detainees, staff, and public safety. Further updates will be provided by the prison administration as the situation evolves. The cooperation and understanding of all involved are requested as the facility works toward full stabilization.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Lyndon Lewis met with the Honorable Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Mr. Richinel Brug, to discuss the state of affairs of his Ministry.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister Brug provided MP Lewis with a thorough update on the Ministry with a comprehensive presentation outlining recent developments, ongoing initiatives, and key challenges facing the ministry since he assumed office on November 26, 2024, up until the present.

The meeting sparked an open and constructive dialogue, where both parties exchanged ideas and opinions aimed at enhancing the ministrys overall efficiency and effectiveness.

This collaborative effort marks a significant step forward in strengthening intergovernmental cooperation to improve operations and address pressing issues within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor.

MP Lewis expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, stating, I am pleased with the progress made during our discussions and look forward to continued collaboration with Government in general to assist with the further growth and development of Sint Maarten."
PHILIPSBURG:--- On the proud occasion of Haitian Flag Day, Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina extends his warmest greetings and best wishes to the Haitian community of Sint Maarten as they commemorate the birth of the Haitian flag and the spirit of unity, courage, and freedom it represents.



Haitian Flag Day is more than a historical celebration, stated Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina. It is a powerful reminder of what a united people can accomplish when they stand firm in the face of adversity. The creation of the Haitian flag during the revolution was a defining moment that gave voice to hope, resilience, and liberation with values that continue to resonate deeply with all of us in the Caribbean.



Prime Minister Dr. Mercelina highlighted the valuable contributions of the Haitian community to the cultural and socioeconomic fabric of Sint Maarten. Your hardworking spirit, vibrant culture, and deep-rooted sense of community have enriched our island in immeasurable ways. On this day, we celebrate not just a flag, but a legacy of strength and the continued aspirations of the Haitian people.



As the Haitian flag symbolizes unity in diversity, the Government of Sint Maarten reaffirms its commitment to inclusion, dignity, and mutual respect for all communities residing on the island.



May this Flag Day inspire renewed pride in your heritage and ignite even greater bonds of unity between all of us who call Sint Maarten home, the Prime Minister concluded.



Happy Haitian Flag Day!
Musk's xAI blames 'unauthorized' tweak for 'white genocide' posts



Washington, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup has blamed an "unauthorized modification" for causing its chatbot Grok to generate misleading and unsolicited posts referencing "white genocide" in South Africa.

The chatbot, developed by Musk's company xAI, ignited controversy this week by answering multiple user prompts with right-wing propaganda about the purported oppression of white South Africans.

"How many times has HBO changed their name?" one X user asked the bot, according to online screen shots.

The bot gave a short reply about HBO, but quickly launched into a rant about "white genocide" and cited the anti-apartheid chant "kill the Boer."

In response to one user who asked why Grok was obsessed with the topic, the chatbot replied it was "instructed by my creators at xAI to address the topic of 'white genocide.'"

Musk, the South African-born boss of Tesla and SpaceX, has previously accused South Africa's leaders of "openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa."

In a statement, xAI blamed an "unauthorized modification" to Grok, which the company said directed it to provide a specific response that "violated xAI's internal policies and core values."

Following a "thorough investigation," it was implementing measures to make Grok's system prompts public, change its review processes and put in place a "24/7 monitoring team" to address future incidents, it added.

After a backlash on X, Grok began deleting the controversial replies.

When one user questioned the deletions, the bot said: "It's unclear why responses are being deleted without specific details, but X's moderation policies likely play a role."

"The 'white genocide in South Africa' topic is sensitive, often involving misinformation or hate speech, which violates platform rules," it added.



- 'Not reliable' -



The digital faux pas exposes the challenges of moderating the responses of AI chatbots -- a rapidly-evolving technology -- in a misinformation-filled internet landscape, as tech experts call for stronger regulation.

"Grok's odd, unrelated replies are a reminder that AI chatbots are still a nascent technology, and may not always be a reliable source for information," the site Tech Crunch wrote.

"In recent months, AI model providers have struggled to moderate the responses of their AI chatbots, which have led to odd behaviors."

Earlier this year, OpenAI's chief executive Sam Altman said he was rolling back an update to ChatGPT that caused the chatbot to be overly sycophantic.

Grok, which Musk promised would be an "edgy" truthteller following its launch in 2023, has been mired in controversy.

In March, xAI acquired the platform X in a $33 billion deal that allowed the company to integrate the platform's data resources with the chatbot's development.

The investigative outlet Bellingcat recently discovered that X users were using Grok to create non-consensual sexual imagery, leveraging the bot to undress women in photos they posted on the platform.

Last August, five US states sent an open letter to Musk, urging him to fix Grok after it churned out election misinformation.

In another embarrassment for Musk, the chatbot recently suggested the billionaire was likely the "biggest disinformation spreader on X."

"The evidence leans toward Musk due to his ownership of X and active role in amplifying misinformation, especially on elections and immigration," the chatbot wrote.

As many X users turn to Grok to verify information, the chatbot has in multiple instances fact-checked false Russian disinformation claims and ruled they were true, according to the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard.

"The growing reliance on Grok as a fact-checker comes as X and other major tech companies have scaled back investments in human fact-checkers," NewsGuard researcher McKenzie Sadeghi told AFP.

"Despite this apparent growing reliance on the technology for fact checks, our research has repeatedly found that AI chatbots are not reliable sources for news and information, particularly when it comes to breaking news."
US states oppose AI regulation ban in Trump tax bill



San Francisco, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



A mix of Democratic and Republican state attorneys on Friday called on Congress to reject a moratorium on regulating artificial intelligence included in US President Donald Trump's tax bill.

Top attorneys representing 40 states signed a letter urging leaders in Congress to reject the AI regulation moratorium language added to the budget reconciliation bill.

"The impact of such a broad moratorium would be sweeping and wholly destructive of reasonable state efforts to prevent known harms associated with AI," the letter states.

"This bill will affect hundreds of existing and pending state laws passed and considered by both Republican and Democratic state legislatures."

The amendment added by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to the budget reconciliation bill imposes a 10-year prohibition on states from enforcing any state regulation addressing AI or "automated decision-making systems," according to the state attorneys.

"The amendment added to the reconciliation bill abdicates federal leadership and mandates that all states abandon their leadership in this area as well," the state attorneys general wrote.

"This bill does not propose any regulatory scheme to replace or supplement the laws enacted or currently under consideration by the states, leaving Americans entirely unprotected from the potential harms of AI."

The letter notes that states have put in place laws designed to protect against AI-generated porn, deepfakes intended to mislead voters, and spam calls or text messages.

Some state laws have also been crafted to prevent biases in AI models.

"These laws and their regulations have been developed over years through careful consideration and extensive stakeholder input from consumers, industry, and advocates," the letter read.

Republican fiscal hawks on Friday sunk a key vote on advancing the mega-bill that is the centerpiece of Trump's domestic agenda, in a significant setback for the US president's tax and spending policies.

Trump is pushing to usher into law his so-called "One Big, Beautiful Bill" pairing an extension of his first-term tax cuts with savings that will see millions of the poorest Americans lose their health care coverage.

But a congressional Republican Party rife with divisions and competition within its rank-and-file has complicated the process, raising serious doubts that the sprawling package can pass a vote of the full House of Representatives next week.

The budget committee's no vote is not the final word on the package, which will be reworked and sent back to the panel for more debate starting 10:00 pm on Sunday (0200 GMT Monday) and a fresh vote.
Arab League to meet in Baghdad to discuss regional crises



Baghdad, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some key leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after US President Donald Trump's Gulf tour.

Trump sparked uproar earlier this year by declaring that America would take over Gaza and turn it into a "Riviera of the Middle East", prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was the first Arab leader to arrive in Baghdad Friday.

But a diplomatic source said that most Gulf countries will attend at a ministerial level.

The war in Gaza is expected to dominate the agenda, especially after Israel approved plans to expand its offensive and spoke of the "conquest" of the territory.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will attend the summit, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez -- who has sharply criticised Israel's devastating offensive in Gaza -- is expected to address it as a guest.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Baghdad summit will endorse decisions that were made in Cairo's meeting in March to support Gaza's reconstruction as an alternative to Trump's widely condemned proposal.

Trump on Thursday reiterated from Qatar that he wanted the US to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone".



- Syria, Iran -



Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normalcy after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.

In an op-ed about the summit earlier this month, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wrote: "Today, we are not just rebuilding Iraq, we are also reshaping the Middle East through a balanced foreign policy, a wise leadership, development initiatives, and strategic partnerships."

Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, amid domestic tensions and at the start of the war in neighbouring Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

In Riyadh, Trump met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.

Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion, will miss Baghdad's summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will represent Damascus instead.

The summit also comes amid Iran's ongoing nuclear talks with the United States.

Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to stave off a threatened military strike by Israel on Iran -- a desire shared by many of the region's leaders.

On Thursday, Trump said a deal was "getting close", but by Friday, he was warning that "something bad is going to happen" if the Iranians do not move fast.
Guests take a group photo at the "Clean Sri Lanka" Open Day held by the Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec in Nawala, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 16, 2025. Sri Lankan Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody has reaffirmed the nation's commitment to expanding its energy partnership with China, describing China as a "close friend" and outlining ambitious plans for collaboration across petroleum and renewable energy projects. The minister's remarks came as Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec marked its first "Clean Sri Lanka" Open Day at the newly upgraded Dilly Fuelling Station in Nawala on Friday. (Xinhua/Wu Yue)

COLOMBO, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody has reaffirmed the nation's commitment to expanding its energy partnership with China, describing China as a "close friend" and outlining ambitious plans for collaboration across petroleum and renewable energy projects.

In an interview with Xinhua on Friday, Jayakody emphasized Sri Lanka's eagerness to accelerate key energy projects in cooperation with Chinese partners. "We have a refinery project in Hambantota, and we are in a hurry to start this project," he said.

"Not only in petroleum, but we also want to start some projects in the electricity sector, especially in using solar and wind power. We are very likely to call for the support of China in these sectors," Jayakody noted.

Jayakody highlighted that Sri Lanka is particularly interested in leveraging China's advancements in battery storage technology to improve the reliability and sustainability of its electricity sector.

"We like to have those partnerships to develop these areas," he said, pointing to a broader vision of modernizing the nation's energy infrastructure with Chinese expertise.

The minister's remarks came as Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec marked its first "Clean Sri Lanka" Open Day at the newly upgraded Dilly Fuelling Station in Nawala on Friday. The event was attended by senior government officials, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, and community leaders.

The "Clean Sri Lanka" initiative, launched under the new government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aims to promote environmental sustainability and ethical standards across the nation's infrastructure.

Sinopec's Open Day, which drew members of the public to tour the upgraded Nawala station, showcased new features such as advanced fuel pumps, enhanced safety systems, fuel vapor capture valves, and clean restroom facilities accessible to all.

The company has committed to improving not only infrastructure but also service standards, with island-wide training for station managers and fuel pump attendants in safety, first aid, and customer service.

Ambassador Qi echoed this sentiment, stating, "Today's event is not only a showcase of Sinopec's achievements in clean, modernized infrastructure, but also a testament to the tangible benefits that bilateral cooperation brings to local communities." 

Sri Lankan Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody delivers a speech at the "Clean Sri Lanka" Open Day held by the Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec in Nawala, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 16, 2025. Sri Lankan Minister of Energy Kumara Jayakody has reaffirmed the nation's commitment to expanding its energy partnership with China, describing China as a "close friend" and outlining ambitious plans for collaboration across petroleum and renewable energy projects.

The minister's remarks came as Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec marked its first "Clean Sri Lanka" Open Day at the newly upgraded Dilly Fuelling Station in Nawala on Friday. (Xinhua/Wu Yue)
Arab countries gather in Baghdad to discuss regional crises



Baghdad, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some key leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after US President Donald Trump's Gulf tour.

Trump sparked uproar earlier this year by declaring that America would take over Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was the first Arab leader to arrive in Baghdad Friday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived on Saturday morning.

But a diplomatic source said most Gulf states would be represented by ministers.

The war in Gaza is expected to dominate the agenda, especially after Israel approved plans to expand its offensive and spoke of the "conquest" of the territory.

The Israeli military said it had launched "extensive strikes" on Saturday as part of the "initial stages" of a fresh offensive in Gaza.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will attend the summit, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez -- who has sharply criticised the Israeli offensive -- is expected to address it as a guest.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Baghdad meeting would endorse decisions that were made at the March summit in Cairo to support Gaza's reconstruction as an alternative to Trump's widely condemned proposal.

The president reiterated the proposal on his Gulf tour this week, saying in Qatar on Thursday that he wanted the United States to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone".



- Syria, Iran -



Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normality after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.

In an opinion piece about the summit earlier this month, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wrote: "Today, we are not just rebuilding Iraq, we are also reshaping the Middle East through a balanced foreign policy, a wise leadership, development initiatives and strategic partnerships."

Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, during the early stages of the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which in December entered a new chapter with the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

In Riyadh, Trump met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.

Sharaa, who was imprisoned in Iraq for years after the US-led invasion of 2003 on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda, will miss the Baghdad summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will represent Damascus instead.

The summit also comes amid Iran's ongoing nuclear talks with the United States.

Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to avert threatened military action by Israel -- a desire shared by many of the region's leaders.

On Thursday, Trump said a deal was "getting close", but by Friday, he was warning that "something bad is going to happen" if the Iranians do not move fast.
Erdogan sees end in sight for US sanctions on Turkish defence sector



Istanbul, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



Turkey has seen an easing of US sanctions on its defence sector since Donald Trump became president, with steps towards ending the measure advancing quickly, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

"We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA,," he told reporters while returning from a European summit, referring to US sanctions legislation.

In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defence system under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which aims to limit Russia's military influence.

The move soured ties between the two NATO member countries.

It also booted Turkey out of its F-35 programme, with Washington saying the presence of the S-400 would allow the Russians to collect information on the stealth jet's capabilities.

Erdogan said Turkey had raised the sanctions issue with Trump and his newly-appointed envoy to Ankara, Tom Barrack

"With my friend Trump taking office, we have achieved a more open, more constructive and more sincere communication on these issues," Erdogan added, saying Turkey valued "every positive step in this direction".

"I believe we will overcome the CAATSA process much faster. As two great NATO allies, there should be no restrictions or obstacles in the field of defence between us," he said.

Turkey's partnership with the United States was "of vital importance for the establishment of stability in our region and the world" he said.

In March, Erdogan spoke to Trump about the need to finalise a deal to let Turkey buy US F-16 fighter planes and be readmitted to the development programme for F-35 warplanes.

Turkey has been seeking to modernise its airforce, and has been seeking to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons which are built by a four-nation consortium grouping Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy.
Rebel-held Yemen airport gets first flight since Israel strike



Sanaa, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



The airport in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa resumed limited commercial flights on Saturday, Huthi authorities said, after damage from Israeli air strikes forced a suspension earlier this month.

"Today we are resuming flights to and from Sanaa airport after its rehabilitation," the Huthi administration's deputy transport minister, Yahya al-Sayani, told the rebels' Al-Masirah television.

The broadcaster earlier reported the "arrival at Sanaa airport of a first Yemenia Airways flight with 136 passengers on board".

The airport, which since 2022 has handled UN humanitarian flights and a limited commercial service by Yemenia to and from Amman, was heavily bombed by Israel on May 6 in response to a Huthi missile strike on Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

The Sanaa airport's general director Khaled al-Shaief put the cost at around $500 million.

Yemenia's limited service between Sanaa and the Jordanian capital provides the sole commercial air link between rebel-held areas and the outside world.

It is an exemption from an air blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies in 2015 when they intervened to prevent the beleaguered government being swept away by a lightning Huthi advance.

Sayani said the Huthi authorities hoped to expand the service to two flights a day "in the coming days".

The Iran-backed Huthis have carried out dozens of drone and missile attacks against Israel since the Gaza war began with Hamas's attack in October 2023.

The Yemeni rebels have also targeted Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Friday, Israel bombed the Huthi-held Red Sea ports of Hodeida and Salif following three missile attacks in as many days. It threatened to target the Huthi leadership if the attacks continued.
Arab summit presses for end to Gaza 'bloodshed'



Baghdad, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



Arab leaders meeting Saturday at a summit in Baghdad urged the international community to press for a Gaza ceasefire, as Israel launched an expanded military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

In a joint final statement, Arab League members also called for funding to back their Gaza reconstruction plan, after US President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over the strip.

The Arab leaders called "on the international community... to exert pressure to end the bloodshed and ensure that urgent humanitarian aid can enter without obstacles all areas in need in Gaza."

They added that they "firmly" rejected any plans to displace Palestinians.

It came hours after Israel's military launched a new Gaza offensive, saying it was part of "the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip" aimed at defeating Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Appearing at the summit as a guest, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appealed for increased pressure "to halt the massacre in Gaza".

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged his US counterpart Donald Trump to "apply all necessary efforts... for a ceasefire".

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres told the summit that "we need a permanent ceasefire, now".

Guterres said he was "alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more".

"We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza."

During a press conference, he urged an end to Israel's aid blockade on Gaza.

"A policy of siege and starvation makes a mockery of international law," Guterres said.



- 'Unacceptable number' -



Sanchez, who has sharply criticised the Israeli offensive, said world leaders should "intensify our pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza, particularly through the channels afforded to us by international law".

He said his government planned a UN resolution demanding an International Court of Justice ruling on Israel's war methods.

The "unacceptable number" of war victims in Gaza violates the "principle of humanity", he said.

The summit came days after a tour of the Gulf by Trump, who has sparked uproar by declaring the United States could take over Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

The scheme that included the proposed displacement of Palestinians was widely condemned, and prompted Arab leaders to come up with an alternative plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo.

During his visit to the region, Trump reiterated that he wanted the United States to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone".

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told the summit his country backed the creation of an "Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts" after crises in the region.

He pledged $20 million to reconstruct Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon, after an all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon despite the November 27 truce.



- Syria -



Iraq only recently regained a semblance of normality after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.

Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, during the early stages of the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which in December entered a new chapter with the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

In Riyadh this week, Trump met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.

He also said he would lift sanctions on Syria, which were mainly imposed during Assad's rule.

Arab leaders welcomed the decision and said the sanctions impacted Syria's reconstruction efforts.

Sharaa, who was imprisoned in Iraq for years after the US-led invasion of 2003 on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda, missed the Baghdad summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani represented Syria, one of many countries to send ministerial-level delegations instead of leaders.
Sudan accuses UAE of deporting consular staff



Port Sudan, Sudan, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



Sudan's army-aligned government on Saturday accused the United Arab Emirates of deporting its consular staff, nearly two weeks after Khartoum severed diplomatic ties with the Gulf state.

Tensions between the two sides have soared since early May when drone strikes hit several positions across Port Sudan, the seat of the army-led government, for the first time in the conflict.

Khartoum accused Abu Dhabi of supplying weapons used by its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with whom it has been at war since April 2023, to strike its wartime capital.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Emirati authorities had "deported in the past few days most of its personnel at the Sudanese general consulate in Dubai without (providing) any reasons".

It added that the diplomats "were detained for eight hours" at Dubai airport after completing their departure procedures.

During that time, the ministry said, they were interrogated and had their phones and laptops searched in what Khartoum described as "grave and blatant violation" of international diplomatic conventions.

"This unprecedented incident reflects a grave disregard by the Emirati authorities for their obligations under international law, which requires them to protect diplomats and grant them the necessary immunities and privileges," the statement read.

"This action also reflects a desire to harm Sudanese nationals residing in the UAE," it added.

The UAE's foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Abu Dhabi has long denied supporting the RSF, despite reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations.

Early this month, drone strikes pounded key infrastructure in Port Sudan, including its only functioning international civilian airport, a major fuel depot and the main power station.

The army pointed fingers at the RSF, calling them a "proxy" of the UAE.

The conflict in Sudan, now its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Indian vets to be re-deployed as security guards in Kashmir: govt



Srinagar, India, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2025



Military veterans will be redeployed as security guards in Indian-administered Kashmir, New Delhi said on Saturday, a week after it reached a ceasefire with Pakistan to end their most serious conflict in decades.

Around 70 people were killed in the violence, which was sparked by an attack on tourists by gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing -- a charge it denies.

The government of Jammu and Kashmir approved a "proposal for mobilising Ex-Servicemen (ESM) to safeguard vital infrastructure across the Union Territory," according to a government press release.

Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers, out of which 435 have licensed personal weapons, it said.

This will help by "significantly enhancing the capacity to respond effectively to localised security situations", the government added.

Veterans will work in "static guard" roles, focusing on "presence-based deterrence and local coordination".

India already has an estimated half a million soldiers permanently deployed in the contested region that has been at the heart of several wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who administer separate portions of the divided territory.

Rebels in India's Jammu and Kashmir have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Fighting had decreased since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked the territory's partial autonomy and imposed direct control from New Delhi.

But last year, thousands of additional troops, including special forces, were deployed across the territory's mountainous south following a series of deadly rebel attacks that had left more than 50 soldiers dead in three years.

A similar veteran volunteer programme took place with 2,500 veterans during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the government.
Where to live

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We wanted to be in the best location in Edinburgh, because we want people to know that as Palestinians, we are not helpless victims, we are talented people, curator and director Faisal Saleh told the PA news agency.
ULAN BATOR, May 17 (Xinhua)-- Mongolia's measles tally surged to 2,076 after 112 new local infections were reported in the past 24 hours, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 69 more measles patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,459, the NCCD said in a statement.

According to Mongolian doctors, the majority of new measles infections were among school-age children who had only one shot of the measles vaccine.

The NCCD advised parents to protect their children from a potentially severe disease by getting them two doses of the measles vaccine.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted by respiratory droplets and direct contact.

Common complications include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat and inflamed eyes. The disease can be prevented by immunization. 
NEW DELHI, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in spurious liquor consumption in the northern Indian state of Punjab has risen to 27, officials said Saturday.

The deaths took place in the Majitha area of Amritsar, the Sikh holy city in Punjab.

The incident came to light on early Monday, hours after some people who had purchased the liquor died and others were hospitalized after showing signs of nausea and vomiting.

"The overall death toll in the Amritsar hooch tragedy has reached 27," a police official said.

According to officials, residents from seven villages in the Majitha area were affected.

Police said the accused had procured the methanol online and then diluted it before giving it to the distributors, who later sold the tainted drink in packets.

Around 20 people, including the kingpin, have been arrested in connection with the case.

The local government suspended four officers -- two from the police and two from the excise department -- for dereliction of duty and initiated departmental inquiries against them.

The local government of Punjab has announced 1 million Indian rupees (11,682 U.S. dollars) in compensation to the kin of each deceased. 
The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, received the Harvard Kennedy School Emerging Global Leader Award 2025, an award given annually to a graduate under 40 of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, for outstanding merit in public service.

"I am particularly honored to receive the Harvard Kennedy School Emerging Global Leader Award 2025. This award recognizes each year a graduate under 40 of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, for outstanding merits in public service. I am the first Romanian to receive this distinction, a tradition of the university since 2001. I have always proudly represented Romania and I knew that we are no less, as representatives of our country, than the best of the best students from around the world, gathered at Harvard," Burduja wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.

According to him, the Council awarded him this award for the results achieved in Romania as Minister of Energy and as Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, as well as for his previous work in Washington, as a World Bank expert.

"I am grateful to my colleagues, professors and the Harvard community for the nomination and trust, for the benchmarks of leadership, vision and dedication for the public good. Special thanks to my former colleague, a special Romanian, Stoica Cristinel Popa. I thank all those who have been with me all these years, in good times and bad, but also to the teachers and the Romanian school, in equal measure. This distinction honors me and forces me to move forward, convinced that we are on the right track, even if sometimes the recognition of the results comes first from far away from the country. After all, work and sacrifices are not about laurels, but about making things better for our fellow human beings," said Burduja.
ST. LOUIS  The forecast for Thursday, Sept. 29, 1927, was for rain. It was cloudy and 72 degrees at noon. In Central High School, 1,750 students tended to their studies.

The barometer fell steadily at the Weather Bureau office downtown in the Railway Exchange Building, where forecasters went upstairs for a look. To their west was a low, black thunderstorm charging to the northeast. Sudden torrents of rain chased them inside.

They couldn't see the tornado churning through the heart of the city. In barely five minutes, it killed 78 people and seriously injured an additional 550 along a seven-mile path.

The tornado touched down hard shortly before 1 p.m. in the industrial district near Manchester Avenue and Kingshighway, killing three men at a brick works, two in a pipe yard and three at an ice house. It bored into the mansions along West Pine and Lindell boulevards near the New Cathedral.

Gaining power, it shattered whole blocks along Westminster Place, Sarah Street, Garfield Avenue, Page Boulevard, Cote Brilliante Avenue and other streets. At Central High, at North Grand Boulevard and Finney Avenue, it toppled a large ornamental tower into the auditorium, just missing the busy cafeteria. But principal Stephen Douglas' head count came up short.

All night, beneath the glow of acetylene lamps, rescue workers dug into the wreck of Central. They uncovered the bodies of five girls, ages 13 to 17, who had taken refuge in a biology lab.

The storm heavily damaged six other schools, including West Belle School, where an 11-year-old girl was killed by a collapsed wall.

The tornado ripped up the pavilion at Sportsman's Park, at North Grand and Dodier Street, and mangled the Hyde Park neighborhood before crossing into Illinois, where eight more people died, including Venice Police Chief Michael Clifford and six men scalded by molten metal in a Granite City foundry.

The Missouri National Guard opened its armory at 3676 Market Street to the dispossessed. Among them was O.W. Bevan, who didn't want to impose upon relatives, "My six children are mischievous," he said.

Frustrated by jams of sightseers, Police Chief Joseph Gerk threatened, "We will give them a shovel and put them to work." On Oct. 2, a dog named Tiddles led searchers to his master, William Farnoff, whose body was found beneath two feet of broken brick at 4222 McPherson Avenue.

More than 460 homes were destroyed and an additional 800 heavily damaged in the city. Streetcar service didn't resume for four days. Central High later was moved to Natural Bridge and Garrison avenues.

The storm was the second deadliest in St. Louis, behind only a massive tornado that killed 255 in 1896. In 1959, another tornado closely followed the 1927 path, killing 21 people.

The massive destruction of the tornado of '27
PRAGUE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese publishing group has launched a bookshelf project here in the Czech Republic during the ongoing Book World Prague, an international book fair.

China Education Publishing and Media Group (CEPMG) on Friday held a Chinese language and cultural exchange experience activity alongside an inauguration ceremony of its bookshelf project at the Confucius Institute of the University of Finance and Administration (VSFS) in Prague.

During the event, CEPMG donated a collection of books to the Confucius Institute, covering a wide range of subjects including Chinese culture, history, economy, and language.

Called "CEPMG Shelf," the bookshelf project aims to promote educational and cultural exchange through books. It provides overseas youth with structured resources for learning Chinese and understanding contemporary China. The project has already been launched in eight countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, and Turkiye.

Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Feng Biao highlighted that holding a cultural experience activity and launching the bookshelf project during the Book World Prague not only served as a significant cultural presentation, but also marked a major step in deepening publishing cooperation between China and the Czech Republic.

He noted that China will further promote in-depth exchanges between the two countries in areas such as educational publishing and language and cultural cooperation.

Sun Qiang, vice general manager of CEPMG, expressed his hope that the bookshelf project would offer rich academic resources and a high-quality learning experience to the teachers and students at the Confucius Institute, allowing them to gain a deeper and more tangible understanding of Chinese civilization as well as the vibrancy of modern China.

In her remarks, VSFS Rector Bohuslava Senkyrova noted that the books would help students at the Confucius Institute develop a deeper understanding of China and its cultural heritage, laying a strong foundation for their future study and exchange in China.

The Confucius Institute was jointly established by China Jiliang University, a university based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, and the VSFS in 2018.

The Book World Prague, now in its 30th edition, runs from May 15 to May 18 at the Prague Exhibition Grounds. 
ST. LOUIS  To many residents of St. Louis Fountain Park neighborhood, she was just known as Ms. Pat.

She seemed to always be there, at Centennial Christian Church, with her husband, cooking or packing lunches or giving out groceries to feed to anyone in need. She was tall, had a big smile and a booming laugh. And she was always inviting people in, or asking if they needed any help.

She died in her beloved church, doing what she loved, her daughter, Alexis Dennard said in an interview Saturday.

Patricia Penelton was killed Friday afternoon in Centennial church, at Fountain Avenue and Kingshighway, when a sudden storm brought the church bell tower and much of the church roof crashing down, trapping her and two other people.

She is one of five who died in Fridays tornado. Friends and family have also identified Juan Baltazar, who ran a Mexican street corn food truck, killed by a tree that fell in Carondelet Park. Authorities had not identified any of the dead as of Saturday evening.

Penelton, 74, of Ballwin was leading a group of volunteers preparing bagged lunches to hand out to those in need when the storm hit, her family said. The church had been her second home, and the outreach ministry she ran there, her labor of love, they said.

Thats what gives us comfort in the midst of our unspeakable heartbreak, said Dennard, her daughter. She left this Earth in service to others. What better testament to God and her discipleship is there?

Peneltons family, friends and neighbors of Centennial church described her as a driving force behind the congregation, itself a community lynchpin for Fountain Park, a historic neighborhood centered around a park next to the 121-year-old church.

Fridays sudden storm caved the church in on itself, ripped apart the park and toppled a longstanding statue of Martin Luther King Jr., the citys only statue of the Civil Rights leader. Nearly every home surrounding the area was damaged.

Trees and power lines were downed. Roofs and walls were torn out of buildings. Winds kicked up clouds of dust and debris.

Lisa Simmons, who lives just across the street from Centennial church, was away when the storm hit Friday afternoon. She arrived to find her home, the second floor of a duplex, had disappeared.

Everything is gone, said Simmons, 63. I dont know what Im going to do.

Still, residents said they were just as concerned about the loss to Centennial, even if they werent congregants there. The church had served as a gathering place for holidays, cookouts, donation drives and health and vaccination clinics.

Its a very important part of our neighborhood, said Carmelle Hall, 81, and a resident of 50 years. Were all proud of it.

And Penelton had helped organized much of the churchs outreach, many said.

She was selfless, Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard said.

Peneltons husband, Harry, had been away at a store on Friday buying groceries to bring back to Centennial to make sandwiches to hand out the next day. When he got the call, he rushed back.

The couple were close to celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary, after meeting in college at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

She loved church. She loved the people. She loved her family and I loved her and she loved me, he said.

They moved to the St. Louis area in 1986 and settled in west St. Louis County, but attended Centennial because it was the same denomination as their former church in Kansas City. Patricia Penelton retired from a career as a project manager for AT&T and Charter.

She sang in Centennials church choir, volunteered at the churchs food pantry and taught Sunday school. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, she and her husband started making packaged lunches to give out to kids in the neighborhood.

We saw a need, and we wanted to help, Harry Penelton said. That was just my wife. If it had a positive impact, we roll up our sleeves and do it.

They soon started cooking hot meals for the homeless, too, every Wednesday and Friday. And the service project kept growing from there.

Soon, other churches were pitching in and helping delivering food and clothing, and also helping people with other needs, like housing and healthcare. They helped file paperwork for benefits and work applications, and hosted classes teaching cooking or other life skills.

His wifes friendliness invited people in, said Harry Penelton. People she helped feed later became volunteers helping her feed others.

She did not know a stranger, he said. You would love her if you met her today not knowing her. You would have felt like you had known her for months.

Dennard, their daughter, said she and her siblings would know to call the church whenever they couldnt reach their parents at their home, she said.

She spent any time she had trying to be of service to others, she said.

Outside of church, Patricia Penelton loved to dance, play bridge and play board games. She worked hard, but loved to be silly and make jokes.

She just loved life, Dennard said.

Patricia Penelton is survived by her husband, three daughters, son, and three grandchildren.

Photos and video: St. Louisans sort through rubble a day after likely EF-3 tornado ravages area
Soldiers assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, lead a 25-mile foot march known as the Manchu Mile while carrying the battalion colors at Fort Carson, Colo., Dec. 10, 2020. The soldiers executed the march in squads and while wearing masks in order to comply with COVID-19 mitigation policies and procedures. The troops try to perform the march twice a year. (Daniel Parker/U.S. Army)



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service)  As more than 700 exhausted soldiers finished a 25-mile march Friday morning on Fort Carson, some limped, some smiled and a few carried flags after walking and running through the night carrying 35-pound packs.

Spc. Haiven Soy was among those who got bullied by the wind as he carried a flag in addition to his pack during the march that featured 1,400 feet in elevation gain and a few water crossings that left boots wet and feet soggy.

You definitely feel accomplished ... whether youre first place or last place, Soy said.

For Soy and his platoon, one of the major challenges was staying together, which although tough was meant to prepare them for the battlefield.

Most troops participating in the grueling Manchu Mile march were part of the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, and paying homage to their units involvement in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion in 1900.

The Boxers, who called themselves the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, were opposed to outside influence and attacked Christian villagers, according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology essay. The Americans along with troops from seven other countries helped put down the rebellion.

When 9th Infantry Regiment troops landed, they had to walk 85 miles to the siege of Tientsin, a major turning point in favor of the foreign alliance.

The troops try to honor that walk at least twice a year, explained Col. Liam Walsh, the commander of 4th Battalion.

It ensures that our soldiers are preparing to do hard things, Walsh said of the tradition he believes started in the 1980s.

The overnight schedule for the march is meant to mitigate the heat, he explained, and flows into a long weekend, so that soldiers can recover.

While most were members of the 4th Battalion, the event drew 170 soldiers from other units who volunteered to participate, Walsh said. Six guardians and two airmen also took part, a Fort Carson statement said.

Staff Sgt. Hans Flaschentrager, who works in a cyber electromagnetic activity cell, was among those who wanted to do the march and practiced with other soldiers completing two ruck marches a week.

Physical fitness is the most important thing you have to keep up with in the Army, he said, adding that no soldier has the privilege of being out of shape.

In addition to the march, the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment commemorates the Boxer Rebellion with a belt buckle that bares the units motto Keep up the Fire Men, the dying words of the commander who led them at the siege of Tientsin. Its the only unit in the Army with an approved belt buckle, Walsh said.

When the unit leaves for South Korea in the coming months, Walsh expects that its members will host the Manchu Mile march there, for the first time since 2015.

Two battalions from the regiment were stationed in South Korea and hosted many Manchu Mile marches on the peninsula.

Itll be a big deal to bring it back, Walsh said.

 2025 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Visit www.gazette.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrive during the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders Summit at The Ritz-Carlton on May 14, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images via TNS)



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Tribune News Service)  U.S. President Donald Trump ended his tour of the Middle Easts wealthiest countries touting new investments totaling a claimed $3.6 trillion  though upon closer inspection some of the deals may be overstated.

Trumps four-day trip took him through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where he lauded the countries deepening ties with the U.S. and took credit for a flurry of announcements. Some were non-binding or lacked specifics, raising questions about their true scale.

Aerospace and defense accords featured large and wide. Saudi Arabia led the charge with a $142 billion weapons agreement, which the Trump administration described as the largest defense sales agreement in history. The package was billed as covering everything from missile defense systems to coastal security, yet there was no concrete breakdown.

In Doha, Trump sat beside Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg to sign a commercial deal with Qatar Airways, and while the president was unclear on the size and value of the deal  conferring with Ortberg at the ceremony  he was certain it was the largest in the U.S. planemakers history.

Trump initially stated the deal was worth $200 billion, but the White House later clarified that the figure was $96 billion, a number that still appears to be overstated.

The order included 130 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 30 777X jets, with options for 50 more  though it lacked specifics on aircraft variants. A more realistic estimate, based on valuations provided by aviation consultant Ishka, puts the value of the firm order below $30 billion after typical industry discounts. The White House and Ortberg later specified that it was Boeings largest-ever widebody aircraft sale.

While the figures may be fuzzy, they also may not really matter. The trip reinforced the importance of U.S.-gulf relations, and Trump succeeded in projecting an image of an American administration open for business after his tariff broadsides shocked the global economy. Boeings stock soared, as investors saw progress in Ortbergs turnaround.

Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund also placed an order for 20 Boeing Co. 737 Max jets, with options for 10 more. While the White House valued the deal at $4.8 billion, Ishkas valuations show the orders actual worth is closer to $1.5 billion  and thats if the fund decides to firm up the options.

At Trumps final stop in the UAE, national carrier Etihad Airways confirmed an order for 28 787 and 777X widebody aircraft, which Washington valued at $14.5 billion.

Yet again, the substance was less than met the eye: the deal appeared to be either a restructured version of a previous agreement or a formal confirmation of a previous commitment.

The airline didnt specify how many it would buy of each model, but the deal could potentially be worth up to $5.4 billion if all planes ordered were of the more expensive 777X.

One possible accord that made waves before Trump arrived remained elusive: a giant 747-8 jumbo owned by Qatar that had been floated as a possible gift. On Friday, Trump left again the same way he had arrived: onboard his decades-old Air Force One.

Global leaders from the U.S. and other nations have a long history of repackaging older agreements as new deals during presidential trips abroad. The flurry of news releases and photo ops may not have a major effect on long-term commitments or new investments going into the US.

Even so, Trump managed to go a step beyond his own past performance in the role of U.S. salesman-in-chief.

During a first-term trip in 2017, Trump announced Saudi Arabia would spend $110 billion on U.S. weapons to modernize its military. That package, which included initiatives started by the Obama administration, has yielded more than $30 billion in military sales, according to a State Department fact sheet in January.

During the latest Mideast trip, Trump floated similarly murky plans for Americas fighter jets. In Qatar, he mused that the U.S. would develop a twin-engine version of the F-35 fighter jet, despite the fact that the stealthy attack aircraft is designed around a single turbine.

I think were going to call it the F-55, which will be a double engine plane, he said. I like two engines on a plane.

He later said the U.S. would pursue an upgraded version of the F-22 air-superiority fighter. That plane, out of production for more than a decade, is already slated to be succeeded by the next-generation F-47, which was recently awarded to Boeing.

I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but were going to do an F-22 Super, Trump said. And itll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet.

Ryan Beene contributed to this report.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
She said Dean Howard (33), who was previously of good character had overreacted in a criminal fashion to the end of the relationship.

A man followed his ex-partner to work the morning after he entered her home uninvited and assaulted her new partner, a court has heard.

Dean Howard (33) of Carrickmount Drive, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the male victim on July 10 and 11, 2022.

He has no previous convictions.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Howard was initially facing other charges including harassment and production of an article, but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) agreed that a guilty plea to assault causing harm was acceptable on a full facts basis.

Garda Rosemary Gallagher gave evidence that Howard was in an on and off relationship with a female victim, which had recently ended.

He went to her home, which he entered uninvited. He then went to her bedroom, where she was in bed with her new partner.

Howard jumped on the bed, then hit the male victim into the face repeatedly. He then picked up a pint glass and brandished it at the man.

Howard was abusive to the woman, calling her a slag and also told the man he was dead.

The woman's housemate managed to get Howard off the bed and out of the property.

Afterwards, he rang the woman repeatedly. When the man left, Howard followed him in his car for some time, drove parallel to him and shouted at him to stay away from the woman.

When the woman was driving to work the next morning, she saw Howard behind her in a white BMW.

He followed her to work, then left. Howard arranged for flowers and an apology card to be sent to her workplace on July 11, using an online service.

The court heard the woman received 47 calls and 63 emails from Howard over this two-day period.

He suggested they meet up and while the woman replied to some of his contact, she was reluctant to meet him in light of what happened.

There has been no contact between them since then, the court heard.

Howard gave a different account of events to gardai during a voluntary interview, suggesting that a scuffle had started in the hall and that the male victim had punched them first.

Gda Clancy agreed with David Perry BL, defending, that Howard told gardai the woman had messaged him via social media on July 9, saying she loved him and wanted a future with him.

These messages were shown to the court, with Gda Clancy indicating that Howard had declined to hand his phone to garda for analysis.

Gda Clancy agreed that Howard's guilty plea was of assistance to the prosecution, that he admitted being at the scene and has not come to recent negative garda attention.

Mr Perry told the court his client began to see a psychotherapist following this incident

His client brought 2,500 to court as a token of remorse. The court heard the injured parties do not wish to receive any money or a letter of apology from Howard.

Mr Perry said his client is deeply apologetic and remorseful for his actions. He lives with his current partner and young child.

Counsel said his client has family support and a good work history.

Mr Perry submitted to the court that this offending is out of character for his client. He told the court his client's offending occurred when his client was experiencing a period of poor mental health towards the end of the relationship.

He said his client is remorseful for his actions, misinterpreted the situation and knows that he should not have gone to the woman's house.

Counsel submitted that human facts were at play that made him behave as he did and Howard is ashamed and embarrassed by his actions.

A number of references and other documents were handed to the court.

Mr Perry said his client is anxious to remain in the community and asked the court to consider imposing a non-custodial sentence.

Imposing sentence, Judge Orla Crowe said the impact on the victims was aggravating, and it would have been upsetting and frightening for them. She noted the particularly severe impact on the woman.

She said Howard was very abusive and disrespectful in a very extreme way

The judge noted Howard's offending occurred over two days at the end of the relationship between him and the female victim, which erupted into physical violence and irrational behaviour.

She said Howard, who was previously of good character had overreacted in a criminal fashion to the end of the relationship.

The judge said it was unwarranted, unacceptable behaviour.

Having considered the mitigation and Howard's personal circumstances, Judge Crowe said the court considered that a suspended prison sentence can act as an appropriate punishment.

She imposed an 18-month sentence, suspended for three years. She directed Howard to have no contact with the woman for three years and to pay the 2,500 to a women's refuge in Dublin.
Former Cork hurling goalkeeper Anthony Nash has had two charges of dangerous driving against him dismissed following alleged incidents on May 30, 2024.

Former Cork hurling goalkeeper Anthony Nash has had two charges of dangerous driving against him dismissed at Cashel District Court as the State did not present evidence that they occurred in a public place.

Mr Nash, of 21 Barterswood, Tower, Blarney, Co Cork, was charged with two counts of dangerous driving contrary to Section 53 of the Road Traffic Act, in relation to alleged incidents on May 30, 2024. The locations were Townparks, Cahir, and Old Church Street, Townparks, Cahir, Co Tipperary.

A witness, Marta Kusowa, told Judge Brian OShea that she was driving with her daughter on the day when another driver nearly crashed into her. She turned back and followed him, where he parked up near Cahir Garda Station. Ms Kusowa also parked and went into the station for help. A garda came out as the other car started moving.

The garda was trying to stop the car, and the car kept driving, she told Insp Stephen Heffernan. I dont know if he did not see the garda.

She said that the garda jumped out, but he was not knocked down by the car.

The car was then observed outside a Chinese restaurant, about 15m from the garda station. Ms Kusowa said at one stage, she saw the driver, Mr Nash, standing and taking off his cars registration plates from the front. The registration plates were hanging off the car, and seem to have become dislodged, said David Staunton BL, for Mr Nash.

Former Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash. Photo: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

As the garda jumped out into the road to stop the car, the car did not stop, said Ms Kusowa. He was gesturing to stop. The Skoda Mr Nash was driving nearly hit the garda but it did not, said Ms Kusowa. The gardas hand hit the wing mirror, she maintained.

Garda Gavin Browne gave evidence that, at about 6.10pm, a woman called into the station. She said another driver had nearly caused an accident, and this car was now parked outside the station.

Gda Browne said he called out to his colleague, Garda Judy Davern, and the woman pointed to the Skoda Octavia. He saw a male getting back into the car. Gda Browne was going to approach the driver, but then decided to go on to the road.

There were other cars coming, but Gda Browne said he allowed four to five vehicles to pass before he stood in the middle of the road in full uniform as the Skoda approached him. I put my right hand up indicating him to stop, he said.

He felt that the car was not going to stop, and he shouted about five times to stop. The Skoda driver gave me the thumbs up", said Gda Browne.

Gda Browne said he jumped out of the way of the oncoming car, because the car was going to hit me. He jumped into a nearby space, as the wing mirror hit me. The Skoda had mounted the kerb.

The garda shouted out the registration number to his colleague. As he did so, the car took off in the direction of Cahir town. Gda Browne said he went to radio for assistance.

Under questioning, Gda Browne said: I was not counting the clock. I cannot say exactly if it was 30 seconds. I was concerned for my safety. I just wanted to get out of the way of the vehicle.

I am six foot man. I am a large man. Everyone would have seen me because I shouted.

Explaining why he went out into the road, he added: I was afraid if I walked up to the vehicle, he would take off. I decided it would be better and safer to go on to the road. The vehicle struck me. I jumped out of the way. My hand would have been out. I put my hand out to protect myself.

In her evidence, Gda Davern said it was 6.10pm when Gda Browne was talking with the woman.

I could see a grey Skoda pulled in by the gate at the garda station, she said, adding that she saw a male driver in the car.

When Gda Browne went out to stop the car, Gda Davern said that he put his hand up to signal the car to stop.

She said it approached and did not stop. The driver put his thumb in the air, and took off at speed into Cahir town. "I ran and took down the reg, said Gda Davern.

Gda Davern traced the number to a business in Cork and spoke to a man named Eamonn Tarrant. She told him the car had been involved in a serious incident. He gave the name of Anthony Nash as being in possession of the vehicle. The vehicle was not slowing down and swerved at a footpath outside the station, added Gda Davern.

Sgt Shane ONeill said it was about 6.30pm when he was informed by Gda Browne that he went out to stop a vehicle at Cahir Garda Station.

The vehicle had nearly collided with Gda Browne and he had to take evasive measures to avoid being hit by the car, said Sgt ONeill.

On June 5, six days later, Mr Nash presented himself at a garda station and gave a voluntary statement. Mr Nash made admissions about taking off the licence plate. He said he knew it was damaged and in a panic, he took if off and drove away. I should have remained at the scene, he told the garda, explaining that he has family members in An Garda Siochana and respects the force.

He said he suffers from anxiety and had had a relationship break-up at the time. He had been working with his GP and a psychologist on these issues.

He was under stress and taking a prescribed medicine, Librium, on the day. I did not know it was a garda at all until it was made aware to me, said Mr Nash in the interview, and apologised. It was not my intention. I fully respect the force.

Mr Nash said he didnt recall the garda raising his hand. From Cahir, he drove back to Killarney afterwards. He has no previous convictions.

Concluding, Judge OShea said that no evidence had been presented that there was dangerous driving in a public place. Two separate alleged incidents were raised and it was not clear which is which", he said.

I think it would be unfair to amend the summons at this stage, Judge OShea told gardai. There were deficiencies, which would not allow an amendment at this stage.

The State had not proven that either location was a public place and that is essential in a dangerous driving case, ruled Judge OShea. The charges were dismissed.
His left middle finger was cut to the bone and "hanging on by skin only"

A father of three accused of taking part in an attack where a man was chased into a house and had two fingers "amputated" in Dublin has been granted bail.

A claw hammer, a machete and an acidic liquid were reported to have been used in the attack in Clondalkin, Dublin, on May 9, a judge heard on Saturday.

Widower Bernard Mongan Sr, 42, of Deansrath Grove, Clondalkin, appeared at Dublin District Court charged with assault causing harm to a man, aged 29, production of an implement as a weapon and burglary. He was the third person to come before the courts over the incident.

Garda Shane O'Brien told Judge William Aylmer that multiple armed males pursued the man through the Bawnogue area of Clondalkin for about 25 minutes.

He attempted to flee from them on foot until he "took refuge" in a stranger's home at Kilcronan View.

A contested bail hearing was told that while running into the house, the injured man asked the owner to ring gardai and an ambulance, before he was followed into the property by several males.

Garda O'Brien said the householder reported hearing the man inside shouting "leave me alone, leave me alone".

The investigating officer cited the seriousness of the case and the strength of evidence, which was said to have included CCTV footage from the area.

Another member of the group was alleged to have been carrying a machete, and it was claimed Mr Mongan Sr had a claw hammer and a bottle suspected to contain ammonia.

.

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

The contested bail hearing was told that when the man fled into the house, he went into a child's room where he was assaulted, and suffered "life-altering injuries to two fingers, with his thumb and index finger on his left being cut off.

His left middle finger was cut to the bone and "hanging on by skin only".

Garda O'Brien said the man was discharged but could not attend the court hearing due to infection control concerns.

The garda alleged that the injured party also had an acidic liquid, suspected to be ammonia, thrown over him during the assault.

He was taken to hospital for medical intervention, including surgery to attempt to re-attach his amputated fingers, which was unsuccessful.

Garda O'Brien said the man has been "disfigured for life" and the wounded hand will never be fully functioning again.

An examination of the scene showed blood in the child's room where the man had fled. The door handle on the inside had "snapped", and the outside handle was "bent out of shape", which Garda O'Brien believed resulted from excessive force to open the door.

An off-duty nurse who tried to assist the injured man afterwards also needed hospital care and will be off work for weeks due to inhalation of ammonia fumes, the court was told.

The garda voiced witness interference concerns, telling the court that the accused and the injured man lived nearby.

Defence counsel Kevin McCrave, instructed by solicitor Simon Fleming, put to the garda that his client believed the injured party had been seen at a wedding earlier this week. The garda thought the man was still in the hospital at that stage.

Counsel raised concerns about hearsay evidence and that prosecution witnesses were not called. He stressed that his client was not a flight risk, lived most of his life at his family home and had arranged to meet gardai by appointment to be arrested.

Judge Aylmer held that conditions could deal with witness intimidation concerns, the witnesses did not testify at the hearing, there was no direct evidence the man had inflicted the injuries, and the threshold had not been reached to refuse bail.

He set Mr Mongan's bond at 1,000 but required a 300 cash lodgement. On release, he must obey a 10 pm  7 am curfew, reside at his current address, notify gardai of any change, and sign on daily at his local garda station.

He was remanded in custody with consent ot bail on these terms and ordered to appear at Blanchardstown District Court on May 27.

Mr Mongan, who did not address the court, was granted legal aid after the judge noted he was unemployed, receiving 480 a week from social welfare.

A 17-year-old boy and a man in his 20s were charged earlier this week and had bail terms set.
Khader Al Khader (44) had 142,690 in cash in his checked luggage, as well as 60 sterling.

An air traveller found with more than 140,000 in cash in his luggage in Dublin Airport has been arrested and charged with money laundering.

Khader Al Khader (44) had flown to Ireland from Turkey and was returning to Istanbul the next day when gardai seized the suspected crime proceeds.

Judge Paula Murphy refused him bail at Dublin District Court after gardai objected, saying he was believed to be a flight risk.

The case was adjourned for DPP directions.

Mr Al Khader, of no fixed address, is charged with possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct at Dublin Airport on May 10.

A garda objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations.

Outlining the prosecutions case, he said the accused arrived in Ireland from Istanbul on May 9 and was stopped before he left this jurisdiction.

He had 142,690 in cash in his checked luggage, as well as 60 sterling.

The offence of money laundering carried a maximum potential sentence of 14 years on conviction, the garda said. Mr Al Khader was a Syrian-born national with a Swedish passport and had made numerous trips to Turkey in the last 12 months, he said.

He had also been to Syria, had visited Korea in April and told gardai of plans to travel to China. He had no ties to this jurisdiction.

I have serious concerns if he is granted bail he will abscond immediately, the garda said.

Applying for bail, defence solicitor Luke Staines said gardai already had the accuseds passport.

He accepted it was an undoubtedly very serious charge but unlike many cases, the accused was an EU national and even if he returned to Sweden, he wouldnt be particularly difficult to locate and could be extradited relatively easily, Mr Staines said.

The accused had given an account to gardai that his reason for having the money related to the selling of a business, although whether that was accepted would be a matter for the court or a jury.

Mr Al Khader would be in custody for a considerable period if refused bail, Mr Staines said. The court could impose strict bail conditions and require a cash lodgment, he added.

The garda said there were no conditions that would assuage his concerns. Judge Murphy said she had significant concerns about the accused being a flight risk and the explanation about the money was for another court.
LONDON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Three Iranian men have been charged with offenses following an investigation by British counter-terror forces, police said on Saturday.

Under the National Security Act, the trio have been charged with engaging in conduct to allegedly assist the intelligence service of a foreign country, which the police say is Iran, between Aug. 14, 2024 and Feb. 16, 2025.

All the men, Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, are due to appear at the Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Sepahvand has also been charged with "surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research" with the intention of "committing serious violence against a person in the UK," according to a police statement.

Meanwhile, Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in conduct with the intention that acts, namely, serious violence against a person in Britain, would be committed by others. 
Dublin District Court heard Deborah Maguire went to Lidl, Gullivers Retail Park, Northwood, Santry, three times between 9.55am and 4.40pm on April 9, 2019.

A shoplifter who went to the same supermarket three times in the space of a day to steal wine, gin and groceries has been spared jail.

Mother-of-three Deborah Maguires life was in a chaotic state at the time of the offences, her defence said.

Judge Gerard Jones gave her a one-month suspended sentence.

Maguire (56), of Sillogue Road, Ballymun, Dublin, pleaded guilty to theft.

Dublin District Court heard she went to Lidl, Gullivers Retail Park, Northwood, Santry, three times between 9.55am and 4.40pm on April 9, 2019.

The first time, she took four bottles of wine worth 84 and left without paying.

She returned and stole two bottles of gin valued at 37 and on the last occasion she took around 100 worth of groceries.

Maguire was identified on CCTV footage and later arrested and charged.

She had previous convictions, mostly for motoring offences but also for a theft.

Maguire had been going through a very difficult time when she carried out the theft, her lawyer said. She had been on a community employment scheme but health issues had stopped her working.

Judge Jones suspended the sentence for a year.
Lee Ronan (19) pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a wall at the Podiatry Clinic, Talbot Street.

A teenager was arrested for criminal damage when he was caught spray-painting the words Mad One on to a wall in Dublin city centre.

Lee Ronan (19) was seen by gardai on duty and had a small amount of cannabis when searched in custody, a court heard.

Judge Michele Finan adjourned the case for a year, telling him to stay out of trouble in the meantime.

Ronan, with an address at Casino Park, Marino, Dublin, pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a wall at the Podiatry Clinic, Talbot Street.

Dublin District Court heard gardai were on duty on the evening of February 21 when they saw the accused spraying Mad One in black paint on the wall.

Lee Ronan was charged with criminal damage. Photo: Paddy Cummins

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

When arrested, he became aggressive and he was taken to Store Street garda station, where 50 of cannabis was found on him.

Ronan expressed his sincere apologies for the incident, his barrister Ciara Murray said. He recently went back to education, now had a lot of opportunities and wanted to pursue a course in animation.

Judge Finan said it was worrying that he had a substance on him but adjourned the case for a year, telling the accused not to pick up any new offences in that time.

Ronan replied: 100pc.

Theres to be no repeat of this, the judge warned, adding that she hoped there would be good news on the next date.

Ronan was remanded on continuing bail to appear in court again in May next year. The charge against him was under Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act.
Shaun Brady was shot at close range in the car park of his restaurant, Brady & Fox, in Brookside, Kansas City on August 28, 2024

A judge in the US has ruled that a teenager charged with the murder of Irish chef Shaun Brady in Kansas City, Missouri, will be tried as a juvenile.

Jackson County Family Court Administrative Judge Jennifer Phillips said the Co Tipperary mans 15-year-old accused killer will not stand trial as an adult.

The judge has set a trial date for September having denied a request to send the case against the teenager out of family court to the general court system.

The Kansas City Star reported on Wednesday that the judge ordered that the teen, who can only be named by his initials, K.H as he is a minor, will remain in secure detention.

Judge Philips set the trial for September 23 and 24 of the accused who has been charged with counts of second-degree murder, attempted stealing of a vehicle, and armed criminal action.

Brady was shot at close range in the car park of his restaurant, Brady & Fox, in Brookside, Kansas City on August 28, 2024.

Shaun Brady

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

At around 5.15 pm the victim went to the back of the restaurant to throw out empty boxes.

Brady, who is a native of Nenagh, saw several people who had pulled up in a black Hyundai Elantra trying to break into his car, a red Hyundai Sonata which was parked behind the restaurant.

Brady tried to warn the group off his car, and as they fled in their vehicle they got stuck in traffic at the car park exit.

Brady then approached the car and the driver got out in a shooters stance before pointing something at him.

We just see Brady fall to the ground, Kansas City Police Department homicide detective Clyde Harvey previously said as he described the CCTV footage to the court.

According to the prosecution, DNA showed that K.H was the driver of the vehicle.

Police had a partial registration plate number for the car, and later that day he was arrested with another teen, a 17-year-old, who is only known as L.M because he is a minor.

L.M was also charged with second degree murder, but the charges were dropped and he was released from custody in late 2024.

A juvenile court heard arguments to move K.Ms case to adult court because according to Jackson County authorities it was a vicious, forceful and violent act that endangered the community.

The boys attorney described him as a desperate, starving child who was forced to sell drugs from the age of 10 to feed himself and his siblings.

The Kansas City Star previously reported how Jackson County Family Court Administrative Judge Jennifer Phillips heard cases made by both the teens attorney and the Office of the Juvenile Officer.

In closing arguments K.Hs attorney, Kirby Crick, told Phillips the youth had been failed throughout his life.

Crick asked that she not certify him for prosecution as an adult as he never experienced a life without trauma, even in utero.

However, Dan Barry, representing the Office of the Juvenile Officer, described the shooting as vicious as he asked for the case to be prosecuted in the general court system.

Saying how the incident took from Bradys loved ones a family man, he said this was the most serious offense that can be committed.

On January 4, Brady's family and friends gathered for a funeral Mass for the talented chef at St Mary's of the Rosary Church in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

In an emotional eulogy, Shaun's brother Damien said: "Shaun Paul had built a wonderful life for himself and his family in Kansas [City] - a home for their kids.

He worked tirelessly to establish and run his own restaurant and become a treasured part of the community, something we witnessed ourselves in Kansas [City] when the local community came together to grieve his death and again here today.

Shaun was so proud to call Nenagh his home. When we visited his restaurant in Kansas [City], the walls were decorated with paintings of local landmarks - the castle, the church, an old painting taken from a book in mams house in Summerhill.

He kept a map of Ireland that hung in our family home and mam had wanted him to have it in his house in Kansas [City].

He never forgot where he came from.
Both men attempted to swim to shore after 350 kilos of the drug was discovered

Brce Knowles and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu were jailed at Ipswich Crown Court having previously pleaded guilty to attempting to import a controlled drug

The boat is intercepted by Border Force officers

Two men who jumped from a boat and attempted to swim to shore after 350 kilos of cocaine was discovered on board are facing long prison sentence in the UK.

Bruce Knowles (56) from Dereham, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu (32) from the Netherlands, spotted on the vessel off the Suffolk coast in June 2024.

Their rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) was intercepted near East Benacre Broads after it failed to stop for a Border Force cutter.

As Knowles restarted the engines in an attempt to flee, Gumrukguoglu jumped into the water and swam towards the beach.

The boat is intercepted by Border Force officers

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

The Border Force cutter chased after the boat that grounded on a beach after a short pursuit.

However, as officers moved in to arrest Knowles, he also jumped overboard to try to escape.

Gumrukguoglu managed to flee from the beach, but officers from Norfolk and Suffolk Police arrested him later that day in Wrentham, Norfolk.

After the boat as towed to a harbour in Lowestoft NCA officers found the cocaine, worth an estimated 39 million (46.5) hidden under tarpaulin in the hull.

Investigators believe Knowles and Gumrukguoglu had sailed towards French waters wher they picked up the drugs from a larger ship, with the intention of bringing them back to the UK.

Both men were later charged with importing a controlled drug.

They both pleaded guilty to the offence at Ipswich Crown Court in August 2024 where they were sentenced this week.

Knowles was handed down a 17 year and three month prison sentence and Gumrukguoglu was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Brce Knowles and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu were jailed at Ipswich Crown Court having previously pleaded guilty to attempting to import a controlled drug

Paul Orchard, NCA operations manager described the operation as a fast-moving and dynamic interception of two men attempting to smuggle in a huge quantity of Class A drugs.

"Knowles and Gumrukguoglu continued to try and evade arrest to avoid a significant loss for their crime group. They now face long prison sentences, Orchard said.

"With thanks to our partners in Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, a significant amount of class A drugs have been removed from the criminal marketplace where further criminality and exploitation would have followed.

"The NCA is committed to protecting the public from serious and organised crime and stopping criminals from fuelling the UK drugs trade."

Charlie Eastaugh, Border Force Maritime Director added: Border Force officers are committed to disrupting organised crime and keeping Britain safe by preventing deadly drugs from reaching our streets.

"During this pursuit, maritime officers bravely intercepted these criminals and seized 350kg of cocaine, ensuring those who threatened our border security are now facing the full force of the law."
A major manhunt is underway for seven of the men who remain at large after they fled through a hole behind a toilet

One of the escapers, Kendall Myles, is caught in the French Quarter

One of the escaped inmates is captured

Ten prisoners who escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday left graffiti behind taunting authorities has emerged

A major manhunt is underway for seven of the men who remain at large after they fled through a hole behind a toilet before scaling a wall while the lone guard assigned to their cell was away getting food.

Those seven include suspects charged with serious crimes such as murder.

The absence of the 10 men went unnoticed for hours and it was not until a routine morning headcount, more than seven hours later, that law enforcement learned of the escape.

One witness reported seeing all 10 inmates, clad in their matching orange jumpsuits, running across Interstate 10 in the dark of night, one news outlet reported.

One of the escaped inmates is captured

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

One of the men, Kendall Myles (20) who had previously escaped twice from juvenile detention centres, was caught after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter.

Two other fugitives were soon captured, including Robert Moody (21) in New Orleans thanks to a Crimestoppers tip, and Dkenan Dennis who was found near the Chef Menteur Highway.

State police used a helicopter to transport the captured inmates to a state correctional facility outside the New Orleans area while numerous local, state, and federal agencies work around the clock to locate and apprehend the remaining individuals, police said.

Meanwhile a photograph obtained by The Associated Press shows the opening behind a toilet in a cell that the men escaped through.

Above the hole are scrawled messages that include To Easy LoL with an arrow pointing at the gap in the wall.

Im/We Innocent, another message declares.

Most Hated 9 was scrawled in the middle of a crudely drawn smiley face with a stuck-out tongue while another note taunted Catch us when you can.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson blamed defective locks that allowed the men to get out of the Orleans Justice Center.

She said she had continuously raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for money to fix the ailing infrastructure.

She also indicated that people inside her department had helped the fugitives escape.

Its almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help, she said, according to an AP report in the New York Post.

One of the escapers, Kendall Myles, is caught in the French Quarter

At least one of the steel bars protecting plumbing fixtures appeared to have been intentionally cut using a tool, according to a statement from the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office.

The men shed their jail uniforms once out of the facility but it remains unclear how some of them obtained regular clothing so quickly, officials said.

The men made their daring bid for freedom at 1am but authorities did not notice the men were missing until 8.30am.

Three employees have been placed on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.

The escapees range in age from 19 to 42, with most in their 20s.

One of them, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder last year for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men.

Another escapee, Corey Boyd, is accused of second-degree murder and aggravated battery, while Gary Price was being held on attempted first-degree murder.

Repeat escapee Antoine Massey was locked up on domestic abuse, theft, parole violation, kidnapping and rape charges.

Lenton Venburen was accused of murder in 2021 and was being held on firearm possession and parole violation.

Leo Tate faced burglary and weapons possession charges.
It is not great news for European carriers which dominate the top five, although the Irish airlines avoid the distinction of ending up in the top table

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have made the top 10 airlines who lose the most bags in the UK

The results of a new survey revealed the airlines most to least likely to lose luggage and unfortunately the Irish airlines are included.

Some airlines manage luggage more efficiently through advancements in aviation technology and airport procedures.

However, as hundreds of thousands of passengers prepare to fly on summer holidays, many are opting to travel with carry-on or cabin bags only to avoid the hassle of misplaced or lost suitcases.

The digital marketing agency, Ink Digital, analysed the average monthly search volume relating to lost baggage for each major airline operating in the UK, MailOnline reports

They then calculated the total monthly search volume to rank the airlines from most to least likely to lose passengers' luggage.

It is not great news for European carriers which dominate the top five, although the Irish airlines avoid the distinction of ending up in the top table

According to Michael Ryan of Ink Digital, luggage is often lost due to tight layovers, staffing shortages, and mishandling during transfers.

Passengers can reduce their risk by using carry-on luggage where possible, investing in smart trackers like AirTags, and ensuring they have proper travel insurance to cover any unexpected losses, he said.

This would be of some help to passengers on the UK's flagship carrier British Airways which comes out as the airline most likely to lose luggage.

With a total of 6,938 monthly searches related to missing baggage, they are well ahead of KLM, the Dutch national carrier that came second with 1,372 monthly searches about lost baggage.

However, in 90 per cent of cases, delayed baggage is located and returned to passengers within three days, the airline claims.

The UK's busiest airline, easyJet, takes third place, with 1,208 searches per month, while Emirates, perhaps surprisingly as it is noted for its high standards in customer service, ranks fourth with 1,048 monthly searches regarding missing luggage.

It has been suggested that as it operates from a major hub in Dubai, this is where baggage mishandling during transfers contributes to the problem.

Germany's biggest airline, Lufthansa, rounds out the top five with 987 monthly searches for lost baggage, just edging out Ryanair, the popular Irish low-cost airline with 985 searches each month.

Turkish Airlines, which has been emerging as a major global carrier in recent years, records 803 searches relating to lost luggage each month, while Qatar Airways, also widely regarded for its service, ranks eighth with 598 searches per month.

As one of the world's largest carriers, American Airlines, appears in ninth place on the list, with 557 monthly searches regarding lost baggage.

Its extensive domestic and international operations are considered contributing factors in luggage mismanagement.

And finally, Aer Lingus, Ireland's beloved national airline rounds out the top 10, with 523 lost luggage-related searches per month.

However, there may be some relief for those flying Aer Lingus as the airline is one of the select few that is partnering with Google to integrate Find Hub sharing so its easier to recover lost luggage.

This feature will roll out beginning early next year, taking Googles Find My Device service to a whole new level.

The Find My Device service on Android is going a step further as Google transforms it into the Find Hub which means passengers will be able to share Bluetooth item tracking tags location with these airlines.

This should greatly improve the luggage recovery process if your stuff gets lost, according to androidauthority.com.
Gardai have said further information on the case will be provided later today.

Gardai are continuing a search on the farm of Mike Gaine today following the discovery of suspected biological matter in a slurry tank.

Tests are currently underway to determine if the material is human following the discovery on the missing farmers land.

The operation began last night, Friday, May 16 and remains underway this morning.

Gardai have said further information on the case will be provided later today.

In a statement Gardai said they recommenced operations at lands at Carrig East, Kenmare but said they not in a position to provide any further information at this time.

An extensive search has already been undertaken on these lands conducted by both gardai and the Defence Forces.

It is understood this search again focused on the farm yard area.

Missing Kerry farmer Mike Gaine

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

Mr Gaine officially went missing on March 20 and despite significant searches no trace of Mr Gaine has been found.

The case was upgraded to homicide giving gardai further investigative powers.

This is the first search since the upgrade but in the intervening time witness statements have been taken and information followed up. Dashcam footage has also been reviewed.

Earlier this month, the parish priest of Kenmare has appealed to the killer of Mike Gaine to give himself up.

Speaking at the presbytery in Dromneavane on the outskirts of the town on Friday afternoon, Fr George Hayes said: I would appeal to this person to come forward.

Fr Hayes described the time since Mike went missing on March 1 as a time of great stress in the parish.

The last confirmed sighting of the Michael Gaine in Centra in Kenmare, Co Kerry

I cant say there is a fear, he said, but there is a desire that Mikes killer would be caught to bring an end to the time of great anguish for the family. People are unsettled.

What the whole community would hope for is that there would be a resolution to this time of great uncertainty and if Mikes remains were to be found that there could be a celebration of his life and a honouring of his life in death.

The main thing is that we continue to pray for him and Janice and his sisters as well, Noirin and Catherine and that we support them and uphold them with our thoughts and prayers.

Mike (56) was last seen on CCTV at his local Centra in Kenmare on March 20.

His vehicle was later found parked up, with his wallet and phone inside, at his Carrig East farmyard.

He was reported missing the following day and has not been seen or heard from since.

In a video appeal circulated by Gardai, Mikes distraught wife Janice said: He was my best friend, my husband. This whole thing has been devastating. He loved his home, he loved his farm, he loved farming. He loved his animals. He loved rallying.

Janice Gaine

He had lots of friends. He was a very popular guy and his disappearance is totally out of character. We knew that from day one.

If there is anybody that has any information about Michael do please come forward and talk to the Gardai.

We just want Michael to come home. We want to know what happened to him because if we cant find Michael I just dont know what I am going to do.

Michaels sister Noreen ORegan echoed Janices plea, saying: Michael was a loving husband, brother, uncle.

His nieces and nephews loved him. We are absolutely heartbroken at what has happened.
Dr William Machett reveals amazing career of policing legend Franck Murray who battled against both sides during the Troubles

PACEMAKER BELFAST MAY 1987 JH/MW MONTAGE PIC OF THE 8 IRA MEN WHO WERE SHOT DEAD BY THE SAS AS THEY TRIED TO BLOW UP LOUGHGALL RUC STATION. FROM TOP LEFT-PATRICK McKEARNEY, TONY GORMLEY,JIM LYNAGH, PADDY KELLY. FROM BOTTOM LEFT-DECLAN ARTHURS, GERARD O'CALLAGHAN, SEAMUS DONNELLY AND EUGENE KELLY. 388/87/BW

William Matchett who spent over 30 years working as a police officer with the RUC and PSNI mostly in special branch in South Armagh and Tyrone speaks to the Sunday World

A top cops war against IRA and UVF members hiding in plain sight inside the police will be revealed in a new book.

The late Detective Chief Superintendent Francis Murray is still held in the highest esteem by his former colleagues who battled terror on the front line of south Armagh.

And now his former colleague turned academic and Troubles author Dr William Machett will lift the lid on Franks amazing career as a senior Catholic police officer serving in the RUC.

DCI Frank Murray  Stopping the Serial Killers is in the final stages of completion.

And speaking to the Sunday World, Dr Machett told us: By any standards, Frank Murray was a remarkable man. But he was also a remarkable police officer who believed the public should be protected against republican and loyalist terrorism.

Murrays knowledge of the motivation which drove the terrorists was second to none. But he also firmly believed republican and loyalist violence couldnt be defeated by conventional policing methods.

Frank Murray

He developed his own ideas and he believed intelligence-led policing coupled with a greater military muscle than the terrorists could offer would work. And he set about winning over others to his point of view.

It should never be forgotten, it was Frank Murray who also rooted out anti-Catholic officers and criminal law-breakers inside the RUC. He used his superior intellect to arrest them and see that they were jailed for life.

Dr Machett added: Frank Murray masterminded a plan to neutralise the Provisional IRA at Loughgall. It was a dreadful incident and innocent people were also killed, but it led to the IRA eventually calling off its campaign of violence.

On 7 July 1975, Det Sgt Murray  as he was at the time  was one of a number of RUC officers investigating a break-in at Carrick Primary School in Lurgan.

Acting on information, he opened a drawer on the headmasters desk. A booby-trapped bomb immediately detonated, killing Murrays colleague, 26-year-old Constable Andrew Johnston.

Both officers took the full force of the blast and Sgt Murray lost an eye, a hand and a leg.

Murray had been tricked into opening the drawer by an IRA informant who left Northern Ireland immediately to live out his life in the Republic.

Murray was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery, but wasnt expected to live.

Against all odds, he pulled through and despite his horrendous injuries, three years later he returned to policing duties.

This proves Frank Murrays commitment to the community he served, said Dr Machett.

And almost immediately he became known to his police colleagues as The Bionic Man after a popular TV series. .

By this stage, Frank Murray  who died of cancer in 1997 aged 51  had been posted to the Orange Citadel of Portadown. And it was there he first encountered the loyalist terrorists RJ Kerr and Robin The Jackal Jackson.

Robin Jackson

UVF killer Jackson  who had led the Miami Showband Massacre  made no secret that he hated Murray with a passion.

But Jackson was also terrified of the RUC detective and he avoided him as much as possible.

Jackson even refused to refer to Frank Murray by his name. He would only called him that Big Fenian F***er or BFF for short, he never called him Frank Murray, said Dr Machett.

aware

In 1980, Murray became aware that a number of his officers were members of the mid-Ulster UVF.

He recruited the assistance of Kevin Sheehy  another Catholic police officer from Belfast  and together they planned a strategy to bring the terrorist cops to book.

Days before Christmas, Murray arrested Sgt Billy McCaughey, a Protestant who had been a member of the Reverend Ian Paisleys Protestant Volunteers.

Murray also arrested John Weir, a Monaghan-born member of an RUC Special Patrol Group.

During a pre-arrest briefing, one officer told Frank Murray he believed the police officers appeared to be sympathetic to the UVF, said Dr Machett. But Frank Murray told the officer, They are members of the UVF.

Dr Machett says Murray knew the importance of psychology and knew McCaughey was a heavy drinker. His officers arrived at the McCaughey house just before Christmas. The presents were under the tree and decorations were around the house.

And after arresting McCaughey, Murray also arrested his parents. This had a devastating effect on McCaughey and he soon confessed to involvement in a string of murders, said Dr Machett.

The author also revealed how Murray outwitted John Weir.

Having extracted a confession from McCaughey, Frank Murray allowed McCaughey to speak to John Weir to explain why he made a confession which named him.

Despite both being police officers, Weir and McCaughey had no proper understanding of the law. They were unaware a co-accused isnt allowed to testify against an accomplice. And as a result, they both made full confessions and they were sent to jail for a long time, said Dr Machett.

In the late 1980s, the IRA stepped up its campaign and it was enjoying great success against the security forces.

In a six-month period in 1987, it carried out 22 attacks with considerable loss of life. And yet in the same time period, the IRA only lost three members and two of them were accidents.

When the IRA blew up an elderly judge and his wife on their way back to Northern Ireland, it began to look as though the IRA was winning.

Following an attack on the RUC at Dungannon on May 7, Chief Constable Jack Hermon said the response would be tougher, different and sharper.

By this time, Murray was Detective Superintendent in charge of the RUCs Special Branch. The attack at Dungannon was an attempt on his life.

Through one of his sources, Murray discovered the IRA planned to attack the RUC station in Loughgall, Co Armagh, where the Orange Order had been founded. Murray threw all of his resources into planning a counter-attack and he enlisted the SAS.

At 7.20pm on 8 May 1987, a digger driven by the IRA with a bomb in its bucket smashed through the gate of Loughgall RUC station. A van carrying heavily armed IRA men followed.

All eight IRA men died as state forces fired 1,200 rounds.

We didnt know it at the time, but Loughgall was the beginning of the end of the IRA campaign. And in the new book, said Dr Machett. In policing terms, Frank Murray was indeed a legend.
I swear on my mothers life thats the truth, there was no way I was doing a crucifixion, no way.

Martin McGuinness ordered an IRA volunteer to crucify an informant after three IRA men were shot dead by the SAS.

The startling claim is contained in the book Death In Derry by historian and former British Army soldier Jonathan Trigg which traces McGuinnesss career and the Derry IRAs campaign throughout the Conflict.

In a series of interviews with former volunteers, members of the Provos Active Service Units in the city and across South Derry, Trigg uncovers the inside story of the terror groups activities.

In an interview with a man identified as Volunteer D and described as a seasoned veteran he reveals how an informant compromised an IRA OP which resulted in an SAS ambush at Plumbridge Road near Strabane.

IRA commander Charlie Breslin and brothers Michael and David Devine were cut down in a hail of bullets as they transported weapons to an arms dump.

The incident in February 1985 came at a time when the IRA in Derry had suffered a series of setbacks with a number of operations either intercepted or failed.

Death in Derry cover

D had been due to take part in the operation but was unwell and his place was taken by one of the Devine brothers

Local witness said they heard that no warning to surrender was given by the SAS as the men entered a field, which is when the SAS unit fired over 100 rounds at the volunteers killing them instantly.

David Devine at 16 was the youngest IRA volunteer killed in the conflict.

We were getting slaughtered on operations, Volunteer D told Trigg, and why, because we were infiltrated.

He claimed Breslin had told a friend about the planned operation - loose talk - who passed it to the Crown Forces.

D sought permission to debrief the suspected informant.

We debriefed him and he told us everything.

As commander of the Derry Brigade and a member of the Army Council, McGuinness would have the final say on what to do with an informer.

We went to see him and he said can you crucify him? I want him put on a cross I said are you for real? What the f**k I was numbed, I was astounded, I said who the f**k do you think I am?

Trigg describes the account as astonishing but said Vol D was adamant.

I swear on my mothers life thats the truth, there was no way I was doing a crucifixion, no way.

Jonathan Trigg

There was no crucifixion and with Vol D being the only person from that time still alive we only have his word for it. He said McGuinness cleared the execution.

Forget what you saw of Martin on the TV and all that, he was the most ruthless man Ive ever met, Vol D told Trigg.

The same month, February 1985, the body of 24-year-old Kevin Coyle was found dumped in the Bogside. In a statement the IRA said he had been interrogated and confessed he had passed information that had resulted in a number of operatives being arrested.

Martin McGuinness.

News in 90 Seconds - May 17th

It was a time when the IRA was coming under increasing pressure from the increased use of informants and the security forces alleged shoot to kill policy which had seen the increased deployment of the SAS.

Highly placed agents such as Raymond Gilmour, Sean Hegarty and Willie Carlin were causing huge damage to the IRA.

The Plumbridge Road incident was the IRAs largest loss of life at the hands of the SAS to date, a statistic that would last two years until the SAS claimed the lives of eight volunteers as they mounted an attack on the security base at Loughgall in Co Tyrone.

In Derry, McGuinness continued his campaign to rid the organisation of informers.

Jonathan Trigg

As the decade drew to a close disillusionment was growing in the ranks of the Derry and South Derry Brigades. McGuinness was spending more and more time away from the city working with Gerry Adams as the republican movement prepared to step away from violence and embrace a political strategy.

Two veteran Active Service Unit members Aiden and Eamonn said the units had lost too many good men, new recruits werent up to it and policy decisions left them distrusting.

Eamonn was one of those who opposed the IRA ceasefire when it came in 1994.

He told Trigg he is convinced McGuinness, who would become Deputy First Minister, betrayed the Derry Brigade.

I strongly believe Martin was an agent, or at the very least he was compromised.

For Trigg there is not enough evidence for him to believe McGuinness was an agent but admits questions remain.

Perhaps the best way to describe McGuinness is that he is always a conundrum, it could be that the `Butcher of the Bogside was not all he seemed, but proving anything other is still a long way off.
As Neville McKay and his team of Tauranga Auto Extravaganza helpers handed over their biggest cheque yet to Taurangas Hato Hone St John this month, the man in charge was already planning a bigger show for next year.

A whopping $11,000 was raised at the popular Tauranga Auto Extravaganza, which took place on March 2 this year at Mount Maunganui.

McKay spends the whole year organising the event, to raise as much money as he can for a cause close to his heart  Tauranga St John. And now residing in Hastings, hes created a sister show there to help St John in Hawkes Bay too.

We really need St John, said McKay. We all need help from them at some point in time. And we need to get more funds to them so they can do their job.

McKay said its important for people to know that the money raised at March 2s Tauranga Auto Extravaganza has been given directly to Taurangas Hato Hone St John.

I want people to know the money we raise Tauranga Auto Extravaganza stays in Tauranga  it doesnt go into a bottomless pit somewhere else.

McKay said a big thanks must go to all of the Tauranga show sponsors. Because if it wasnt for the sponsors we wouldnt be able to have a show. Being a family event we make sure we have attractions for kids  and this all comes from the sponsors.

McKay also wanted to mention the show is not a one-man band. Its not only me who puts on this show  its a team effort and Im grateful for all the help and hard work put in by those behind the scenes with me.

Hato Hone St John Tauranga area committee chair Vaughan Coy said Taurangas Auto Extravaganza is a much-loved event that attracts passionate locals and we want to thank the team behind the event for its continued support and generosity.

This year, an amazing $11,000 was raised for Hato Hone St John, which will go towards staff welfare and supporting our community programmes within the Bay of Plenty region.

After the donation get-together with St John at their 17th Avenue on May 8, McKay has revealed Taurangas 2026 show is on the move  to Mercury Baypark. We have changed location, so the 2026 Tauranga Auto Extravaganza will be held at Baypark raceway. We can get so many things in there its not funny  and they wanted us there as well.

Its going to be great venue because everyone knows where it is, its a central location, there is heaps of parking, and its a venue that is tied up with cars as well.

The 2026 Tauranga Auto Extravaganza at Mercury Baypark raceway will be on March 8  so watch this space!
ISTANBUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara would continue its efforts to ensure the continuation of negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a statement carried by Turkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency on Saturday.

Erdogan made the remarks on Friday during his return flight from Albania, where he attended a European Political Community meeting.

The president stated that Turkiye "will make every effort to keep channels of dialogue open between the parties" and to continue mediation efforts for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

"We look forward to the support from all relevant parties, including the European Union, for the sensitive process we are advancing to ensure the swift establishment of peace," Erdogan added.

On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held their first direct talks in three years in Istanbul. After a two-hour discussion, the two sides agreed to hold further negotiations and to carry out a large-scale 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange. 
At a time when screen time is skyrocketing and children are spending more hours online than outdoors; a new homegrown documentary series is sounding the alarm  and offering an inspiring alternative.

Kids Unplugged, the latest project from local filmmakers Anton and Kylie Steel, is calling on tamariki across New Zealand to ditch their devices and rediscover the power of real-world adventure, connection, and play.

The series champions young Bay of Plenty adventurers  including the Steels own sons  as they choose nature over notifications and curiosity over clicks.

This is more than a series, says director Anton Steel.

Its a wake-up call  a reminder that our kids need more time climbing trees than scrolling feeds. Its part of a movement thats happening across the globe.

Its great to see our government considering banning social media for under 16-year-olds, and we want to amplify the need to unplug, reconnect, and rediscover the real world.

Set across the Bay of Plenty and fronted by the Steel brothers  Malachi (14), Judah (12), and Ezra (7)  Kids Unplugged blends documentary storytelling with action-packed outdoor exploration.

Whether theyre mountain or dirt biking, surfing, sailing, wakeboarding, hiking, or training for taekwondo, these boys are showing what life looks like when screens take a back seat.

Theyre no strangers to the camera either  the trio already create content as Maunga Ambassadors for Whakapapa Ski Field, and Malachi recently took second place at the International Youth Silent Film Festival.



Ezra, Kylie, Anton, Judah and Malachi Steel at the Otanewainuku Falls. Photo/Supplied.

The six-episode web series, set for release in spring 2025, will spotlight Bay of Plenty kid adventurers living unplugged  from conservationists and adventure sport enthusiasts to off-grid whanau preserving matauranga Maori. It aims to inspire a nationwide shift back to hands-on, play-based childhoods.

Every parent I talk to shares the same concern about childhood addiction to screens and the plummeting mental health of our younger generation, says producer Kylie Steel.

This is our opportunity to champion a play-based childhood; something we all intuitively know we need to return to. One that grows resilience, creativity, and connection.

The series builds on the Steels legacy of community-driven filmmaking.

Their award-winning feature The Z-Nail Gang united 100s of locals, while their environmental documentary Taking Back Our Beach (now streaming on TVNZ On Demand) captured the grassroots efforts to restore Taurangas coastline following NZs worst environmental disaster.

Anton, who also founded Film Bay of Plenty and helped establish Waiariki Film Studios and film industry apprenticeships for rangatahi, sees Kids Unplugged as a continuation of this legacy  combining high-quality filmmaking with meaningful youth development.

With production beginning this winter, the team has launched a crowdfunding campaign through Boosted, seeking to raise $15,000 by mid-June.

Supporters can donate here: https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/kids-unplugged

Malachi Steel, who voluntarily gave up his iPad at age 10, puts it simply: We just want to show kids theres another way to live.
ACG Tauranga student Sukhmani Dhillon, 17, is already making a name for herself as a committed volunteer and natural leader.

Dhillon, who leads the Community Pillar at her school, found a new outlet for her passion for helping others last year when she began volunteering with Recreate  an organisation that runs fun, inclusive events for young people with disabilities.

I love being around other people, both the people I know and new people, Dhillon said.

I searched online for volunteering opportunities and came across Recreate on Seek Volunteer.

Since then, shes jumped headfirst into the role, helping out at everything from beach outings to movie nights and trampoline days in Rotorua.

I have a real passion for helping people and being part of the community, Dhillon said. Going along to these activities means I meet new people and some familiar faces and learn more about their lives.

She said her work with Recreate builds on a long-standing desire to lead, connect and grow.

Ive always been a leader at school, and want to get more experience in the wider community, Dhillon said.

Volunteering helps me understand different perspectives, build empathy and grow my interpersonal skills.

With her sights set on a career in science, Dhillon plans to head to the University of Auckland next year to study biology.

Shes already thinking about how she can combine her academic goals with her passion for service.

Im always looking forward to integrating my passion for science with my commitment to helping others, she said.

No matter where I go, Ill keep seeking out opportunities to volunteer and create positive change.

Whether its at school, in the lab or on the beach with new friends, Dhillon is showing that age is no barrier to making a difference.
Dear reader,

Workforce development has been a hot topic among Central New Yorks government officials and local business leaders, particularly since Micron announced its $100 billion plan to build four microchip manufacturing plants in Clay over the next 20 years. Micron will employ around 9,000 people when the plants are fully operational, and another 40,000 jobs are expected to be created in the region as a result of this monumental investment. Finding and training that many people to fill everything from construction jobs to healthcare needs is going to be a challenge.

On June 10, Advance Media New York, publisher of syracuse.com and The Post-Standard, is hosting an event geared toward facilitating the conversation around Upstate New Yorks immediate and future workforce needs. Lindsay Marlenga, AMNYs marketing director, is organizing the event, which she said is an opportunity to bring workforce groups and experts from across the state together to collaborate instead of continuing to work separately.

In attending statewide workforce development conferences, we heard and observed a need for conversation dedicated specifically to Upstate New York workforce development. With the CHIPs Act and the boom of advanced manufacturing in our region, collectively Upstate New York workforce development entities, economic development champions and communities as a whole are facing unprecedented positive change. As were all working toward the similar goal under similar circumstances, the time seemed right to come together and address workforce development as one united front, she said.

Lindsay says the full-day event, being held at the National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University, is geared toward anyone working on getting workforce development programs off the ground.

This includes those on workforce development boards, policymakers, economic development champions, educators, higher education leaders, state and local government representatives, employers in need of workforce programs and more, she said. It takes a lot of individuals, expertise and collaboration to get a workforce development program up and running. Were hoping that NY Workforce Connect helps to bring together these entities to build pathways for future workforce programs and success.

The conference will include the opportunity to hear from a panel of at least 19 different experts from across the state. Lindsay said attendees can expect to walk away with actionable strategies to bring back to their communities and organizations. 

If youre interested in attending NY Workforce Connect, you can buy tickets on this website and get a full list of speakers. If you have questions, you can reach Lindsay directly at: lmarlenga@advancemediany.com
A witness provided police with a video of the man before he went missing after jumping in the Oswego River early Saturday May 17, 2025, police said. Provided photo

Update, 2 p.m. Sunday: Missing boy, 14, who jumped into Oswego River presumed dead, police say; name released

Update 5:55 p.m. Saturday: Oswego police have identified the man who was pulled under by a fast-moving current after jumping into Oswego River Saturday.

Police are still searching for him after he jumped into the Oswego River and was swept away, according to a news release from Oswego police.

The man jumped from the Utica Street bridge into the river around 12:10 a.m., according to Oswego police.

Officers found the man just north of the Bridge Street bridge and threw a life ring, police said.

The man held the ring and waited for a fire department rescue boat.

Before the boat could reach the man, he was pulled under by a fast-moving current, they said.

The man has yet to be found, but search and recovery using side scan sonar, drones and shoreline inspections will continue, police said.

Original story:

Oswego, N.Y.  Oswego police are seeking the publics help identifying a man who went missing after jumping into the Oswego River Saturday.

Around 12:10 a.m., police received reports that a man jumped from the Utica Street bridge into the Oswego River, according to a news release from Oswego police.

Officers found the man just north of the Bridge Street bridge and threw a life ring, police said.

The man held the ring and waited for a fire department rescue boat, police said.

Before the boat could reach the man, he was pulled under by a fast-moving current.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the man has not been located or identified.

Witnesses said the man appeared to be in his early twenties and could be Black or Hispanic with a light complexion, police said.

Multiple agencies are aiding in the search, including the U.S. Coast Guard, police said.

Police ask that anyone with information contact the Oswego Police Department at 315-342-8120.

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
Three people were displaced after a fire at 317 Lydell Street in Syracuse. Provided by Syracuse Fire Department

Syracuse, N.Y.  Three people were displaced by a large fire in a multi-family home Friday night in Syracuses Skunk City neighborhood.

Around 11:30 p.m., a neighbor called 911 to report a home at 317 Lydell St. was burning, Syracuse Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Phillip Vogt said in a news release.
FRANKFURT, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Shares of Merck, one of Germany's pharmaceutical companies, closed 0.74 percent lower on Friday, even as the benchmark DAX index rose by 0.3 percent.

The decline came a day after Merck revised down its full-year sales forecast for its life science division, now expecting revenue between 8.8 and 9.4 billion euros (10.6-11.3 billion U.S. dollars), compared with the previous outlook of 9.1 to 9.8 billion euros.

The company cited market uncertainties, including potential new U.S. tariffs, as key factors behind the adjustment.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to peg domestic drug prices to the lowest prices in comparable countries, a so-called "Most Favoured Nation (MFN)" policy. The order, which lacks implementation details, threatens to impose tariffs on imported medicines otherwise, sending ripples through the global pharmaceutical industry and raising concerns particularly in the EU.

Trump has claimed the move could cut U.S. drug prices by 30 to 80 percent. However, according to German consultancy Simon-Kucher, such pricing rules could lead to a 64 percent drop in pharmaceutical sales in the United States and a 37 percent decline globally.

The Simon-Kucher study published Monday further warned that a collapse in U.S. sales may push German pharmaceutical companies to raise prices in domestic and European markets, or exit them entirely to protect their profit margins in the United States.

The U.S. Pharma MFN policy, if implemented, could upend the mode the pharmaceutical industry which has been counting on the United States to fund new medicine research and development, the report added.

"Every dollar we spend on tariffs is a dollar we can't spend on research and development," said Sebastian Guth, chief operating officer of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, last month at the Semafor World Economy Summit in the United States.

Bayer, another major German life science player, reported modest growth in its pharmaceutical division in the first quarter of 2025, with prescription drug sales rising 4.1 percent and adjusted EBITDA up 12.4 percent.

While Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said Tuesday that the immediate impact of U.S. tariffs on the company is limited, he noted that the company remains alert to geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

For Germany's broader pharmaceutical sector, however, the risks are far more pronounced. A recent Deloitte study estimated that a 35 percent U.S. tariff on drug imports could slash German pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. by 53 percent, resulting in industry losses of up to 13.4 billion euros over three to four years.

Even a modest 10 percent tariff could reduce German pharmaceutical exports by 2 percent compared to their 2023 levels. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) 
The Revolutionists is playing now at CNY Playhouse. Pictured are Michele Lindor as Marianne Angelle and Mariah Robbins as Olympe de Gouges. Photo by Shawn Tysco. Provided photo

This is not the way to start a comedy, quips 18th-century playwright Olympe de Gouges, staring at the guillotine looming upstage. Or is it? In The Revolutionists, now onstage at CNY Playhouse, that sharp efficient blade cuts through everything with literal gallows humor.

The actual playwright, Lauren Gunderson, currently the countrys most-produced dramatist, proposes a fictional meeting of four women caught in the French Revolution. Most familiar is Marie Antoinette, followed by Charlotte Corday, who assassinated radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat. Less well known is playwright Olympe de Gouges. Gundersons fourth character is Marianne Angelle, a fiery visitor from the Caribbean.
U.S. regulators have approved the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimers disease, potentially making it easier to find and treat patients with the mind-robbing disease that affects nearly 7 million Americans.(Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images/TNS) TNS

Gerry Smith and Robert Langreth l Bloomberg News (TNS)

U.S. regulators have approved the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimers disease, potentially making it easier to find and treat patients with the mind-robbing disease that affects nearly 7 million Americans.

The test made by Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc., a unit of Japans H.U. Group Holdings Inc., was cleared for people 55 years and older who exhibit signs and symptoms of the disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. It is designed for the early detection of amyloid, a protein that can build up in the brain and is a hallmark of Alzheimers, the most common form of dementia in the elderly.

The development and approval of blood tests that can spot which patients are likely to have toxic amyloid in their brains has been viewed as a critical step toward making drugs to treat the condition more widely accessible. While the test is approved for people who are already exhibiting signs of cognitive impairment, studies show amyloid begins accumulating in the brains of some patients years before symptoms begin.

Howard Fillit, cofounder and chief science officer at the Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation, called the approval a major milestone for patients and clinicians.

The ability to diagnose Alzheimers earlier with a simple blood test, like we do for cholesterol, is a game changer, allowing more patients to receive treatment options that have the potential to significantly slow or even prevent the disease, Fillit said in a statement.

To qualify for drug treatment, Alzheimers patients now generally get a specialized PET scan to detect amyloid in their brains or undergo a cerebrospinal fluid test. The PET scans are expensive and require specialized equipment, while the spinal fluid tests involve an invasive procedure.

The need for these tests has slowed the rollout of new Alzheimers drugs like Leqembi from Eisai Co. and Biogen Inc., and Eli Lilly & Co.s Kisunla.

The FDA approval was a much-needed win for the companies whose treatments have struggled to gain traction because of logistical hurdles, said Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Not a sea change, but todays announcement could start to help these franchises gain some more momentum, Seigerman wrote in a note to clients.

Fujirebios newly approved test, called Lumipulse, only requires a blood draw, making it less invasive and potentially easier for patients to access. Its unclear how much it will cost or when it will be available. Its intended for patients at a specialized care setting who are experiencing cognitive decline, according to the FDA.

The blood test shouldnt be used alone to diagnose the disease, in part because of the risk of false positive or negative results, the agency said. Other clinical evaluations and additional tests should be used to determine treatment options, it said.

___

2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Update 7:25 p.m.: More than 2,000 are still without power in Onondaga and Cayuga counties following a thunderstorm that swept through the area Saturday afternoon.

Theres almost 1,500 without power in Onondaga County as of 7:25 p.m., according to National Grid and New York State Electric and Gas outage maps.

In Cayuga County, 1,100 are still without power, according to the New York State Electric and Gas outage map.

High winds from the storm hit areas of both counties hard causing downed wires and trees to fall.

Trees were reported down in Camillus, Syracuse, Bayberry and Onondaga.

Original story:

Syracuse, N.Y.  Severe thunderstorms with high winds are causing power outages, downing trees and knocking out power lines in Onondaga and Cayuga counties Saturday afternoon.

Falling trees have hit at least five homes in Onondaga County. Trees have also blocked roads and downed wires.

In Jordan, a tree was uprooted and hit a house, according to the National Weather Service. Trees were also reported down in Camillus, Syracuse, Bayberry and Onondaga.

The storm also ravaged Syracuses Food Truck Battle at the New York State Fairgrounds. Festival attendees were warned to seek shelter as tents and trees were blown over.

Around 2:20 p.m. the storm was nine miles west of Baldwinsville and was moving at 45 mph, according to the weather service.

An hour later, 10,000 people were without power across Central New York. National Grid wait times are very very extended, according to Onondaga County 911 Center dispatches.

The storm winds are predicted to hit up to 60 mph, according to the weather service. The storm may also bring quarter-size hail.

As of 3:30 p.m., nearly 10,500 customers were without power in Onondaga and Cayuga counties, according to National Grid and New York State Electric and Gas outage maps.

In Onondaga County, nearly 5,500 were without power, the worst hit communities were Syracuse, Onondaga. Elbridge, Van Buren and Camillus.

In Cayuga County, nearly 4,500 were without power, largely in Brutus and Weedsport.

The storm also hit the Rochester area where hail as large as an inch was reported, the weather service said.

High winds downed a tree on Le Moyne Avenue and Willumae Drive in Syracuse on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Anne Hayes | ahayes@syracuse.com

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
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LONDON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A 26-year-old man was arrested on Saturday at London Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

Local media had confirmed that the arrest relates to the arson attacks at the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's home last week.

This is the second arrest related to the arson attack with the intent to endanger life, said London's Metropolitan Police in its news release on Saturday.

The police said counterterrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit made the arrest, and the man has been taken into police custody in London.

Last week, a 21-year-old man, identified as Roman Lavrynovych, was charged with arson with intent to cause a fire at the prime minister's home in London. 
ProfDK BANNED

Join Date: Jan 2025 Location: Noida Posts: 26 Thanked: 81 Times Infractions: 0/1 (5)

Re: BYD Atto 3 Review Quote: shashank.nk Originally Posted by

range

wide at 1875mm

Lack of spare wheel

Suspension

The price

charger After driving more or less every EV in the 15-20L budget, put my deposit for the BYD Atto 3 Dynamic today



I took the leap of faith 5 months back. Had the exact same feeling as you. Am a super proud owner of the BYD Atto3 Dynamic, Sky White.



In fact, after 10+ years of driving Diesels I moved to petrol cars for last 10 years and now the next obvious step was Automatic, lower NVH and Smooth Drive and EVs were considered and found to deliver more than any ICE.



The ZS EV was fun but the way Atto 3 drives without a fuss and almost glides to high speeds, it won the battle bearing the 2nd contender in both acceleration and dynamics. Nexon/Curvv fell short on the premium element. Creta, was my previous landcraft and wanted a serious upgrade.



Now your questions:



RANGE :

Highway range for100-120kmph can vary a lot.

In smooth traffic you will easily do 12.5-13 kWh per 100 km on AC. Thats a range of 380+. Spirited driving will hurt you and you can head to 330 odd; do that when you're sorted on the trip/charging plan. My everyday drive is 50% expressway and 50% City and range I am getting is 415 kms. The morning trips are fast and short of furious evening return trips are frugal. Let me give you trick.. at the same speed just releasing the pedal pressure a bit without reducing speed will reward you. This is a unique characteristic that only efficient EV drivers know (iMO)



WIDTH:

1875 is wide. Initial days you'll feel it. Thankfully the radar sounds when traffic passes close to you as well as turning on the cam making your learning curve quick. You'll get the hang of it in 2 weeks Max. From Creta its 3.35 inch wide that's 1.7 inch from both sides. No big deal. Yesterday I drove in congested roads of Daryaganj (Old Delhi) and it was effortless. Even parking was a cake walk thanks to the cam and radar support.



SPARE WHEEL:

Yes, maybe it will be a problem, but not sure if I want to lift a 2 ton car on a jack, so am also waiting for a direction here. No flats yet, but it's on the back of my mind



SUSPENSION:

Its great, better than Creta. Because of the lower heavy weight due to battery there is a thud sound if you're a but fast on speed bumps but it's just the sound the car remains composed. You'll know both how to minimise it as well as not be bothered as it's pretty normal. On highway joints go slower inside and faster outside. It's a big heavy car don't swerve it fast or be prepared to handle the reaction



PRICE

I know of only one case where addnl charges were waived off for previous year manufactured car. I was able to negotiate freebies (portable charger, 7d mats, mud flaps) and a super quote on the insurance (60k including battery protect with 25% ncb) so it balanced out with the 40k warehouse and admn charges.

Its a grey area so negotiate hard. I could have done more on hindsight.



PORTABLE CHARGER:

I only use portable charger. As my usage is 150-200 km weekly I charge once a week overnight. While the rating is 3.3 kW actual result is 1.8-1.9 kW so it takes 11-12 hours to charge back from 50% to 100%. So the regimen you can follow is to charge overnight once you are below 50% and you'll be fine. Once on a qtr you have to bring down the soc to below 10% so have done it twice in last 5 months. And yes charging to 100% also I am avoiding to once a month using the charging scheduler.



CHARGING SET UP:

I set up a 16Amp Asbestos based (Chini Mitti) socket (Rs. 150) in a waterproof box (Rs. 1k) in my basement parking. Had to extend a 4mm copper cable 50mtrs which cost Rs. 7k Also set up a remote control relay after the MCB which cost me another Rs. 1k. This is a lifesaver but has limitations in absence of the App (Status visibility).

Have the 7.2 kWh AC fast charger lying in my store and haven't used the free installation (with 10mts free cable). As our load is 9kW and backup of 3kW have planned accordingly and has been perfect.



Hope you found some answers, would be happy to answer any specifics Hi Shashank,I took the leap of faith 5 months back. Had the exact same feeling as you. Am a super proud owner of the BYD Atto3 Dynamic, Sky White.In fact, after 10+ years of driving Diesels I moved to petrol cars for last 10 years and now the next obvious step was Automatic, lower NVH and Smooth Drive and EVs were considered and found to deliver more than any ICE.The ZS EV was fun but the way Atto 3 drives without a fuss and almost glides to high speeds, it won the battle bearing the 2nd contender in both acceleration and dynamics. Nexon/Curvv fell short on the premium element. Creta, was my previous landcraft and wanted a serious upgrade.Now your questions:RANGE :Highway range for100-120kmph can vary a lot.In smooth traffic you will easily do 12.5-13 kWh per 100 km on AC. Thats a range of 380+. Spirited driving will hurt you and you can head to 330 odd; do that when you're sorted on the trip/charging plan. My everyday drive is 50% expressway and 50% City and range I am getting is 415 kms. The morning trips are fast and short of furious evening return trips are frugal. Let me give you trick.. at the same speed just releasing the pedal pressure a bit without reducing speed will reward you. This is a unique characteristic that only efficient EV drivers know (iMO)WIDTH:1875 is wide. Initial days you'll feel it. Thankfully the radar sounds when traffic passes close to you as well as turning on the cam making your learning curve quick. You'll get the hang of it in 2 weeks Max. From Creta its 3.35 inch wide that's 1.7 inch from both sides. No big deal. Yesterday I drove in congested roads of Daryaganj (Old Delhi) and it was effortless. Even parking was a cake walk thanks to the cam and radar support.SPARE WHEEL:Yes, maybe it will be a problem, but not sure if I want to lift a 2 ton car on a jack, so am also waiting for a direction here. No flats yet, but it's on the back of my mindSUSPENSION:Its great, better than Creta. Because of the lower heavy weight due to battery there is a thud sound if you're a but fast on speed bumps but it's just the sound the car remains composed. You'll know both how to minimise it as well as not be bothered as it's pretty normal. On highway joints go slower inside and faster outside. It's a big heavy car don't swerve it fast or be prepared to handle the reactionPRICEI know of only one case where addnl charges were waived off for previous year manufactured car. I was able to negotiate freebies (portable charger, 7d mats, mud flaps) and a super quote on the insurance (60k including battery protect with 25% ncb) so it balanced out with the 40k warehouse and admn charges.Its a grey area so negotiate hard. I could have done more on hindsight.PORTABLE CHARGER:I only use portable charger. As my usage is 150-200 km weekly I charge once a week overnight. While the rating is 3.3 kW actual result is 1.8-1.9 kW so it takes 11-12 hours to charge back from 50% to 100%. So the regimen you can follow is to charge overnight once you are below 50% and you'll be fine. Once on a qtr you have to bring down the soc to below 10% so have done it twice in last 5 months. And yes charging to 100% also I am avoiding to once a month using the charging scheduler.CHARGING SET UP:I set up a 16Amp Asbestos based (Chini Mitti) socket (Rs. 150) in a waterproof box (Rs. 1k) in my basement parking. Had to extend a 4mm copper cable 50mtrs which cost Rs. 7k Also set up a remote control relay after the MCB which cost me another Rs. 1k. This is a lifesaver but has limitations in absence of the App (Status visibility).Have the 7.2 kWh AC fast charger lying in my store and haven't used the free installation (with 10mts free cable). As our load is 9kW and backup of 3kW have planned accordingly and has been perfect.Hope you found some answers, would be happy to answer any specifics
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

In context: As Google users complain about the worsening quality of search results and GenAI integration, European organizations are working to plant the seeds of alternative solutions. One such initiative aims to build a public index to support new search engines and reduce Europe's reliance on Google and Bing.

Early trials of the Open Web Index are set to begin next month. This emerging project could help European countries move away from dominant, ad-driven search engines. As US tech giants increasingly optimize search around generative AI and advertising, the OpenWebSearch.eu initiative seeks to foster nonprofit alternatives.

The Open Web Index itself is not a search engine. Rather, it functions like a digital library from which search engines can retrieve files and web pages. Major search providers rely on proprietary indexes, while smaller engines are often dependent on them. According to the Open Web project, this centralization gives companies like Google disproportionate control over the global web.

Regulators in the United Kingdom and European Union have consistently pushed back against American tech giants such as Apple and Google, particularly on issues involving search and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, users around the world have reported a steady decline in search quality. Website operators also argue that Google is discouraging users from leaving its ecosystem, and generative AI tools frequently struggle to deliver accurate information. Some groups believe developing Europe-based alternatives is part of the solution.

New: How AI Overviews Shift Traffic From Publishers to Google



It's not enough that Google's AI Overviews reduce clicks to publisher websites 



Google designed these so that what few clicks remain lead to walls of irrelevant ads and/or bad search results



Link in  pic.twitter.com/usrycPvTNS  Cyrus (@CyrusShepard) May 8, 2025

To accomplish this, a 14-member consortium, including universities, data centers, tech companies, and CERN, aims to fund and build the infrastructure for a robust and publicly available web index.

Small and medium-sized companies could use it to build search engines, large language models, or other applications that don't try to sell users ads, or at least operate independently of US giants such as Google and Bing.

The project also aims to promote applications that adhere to European regulations, values, and cultures. For example, EU-based search engines and LLMs would theoretically produce more reliable results in languages other than English. The consortium is also carefully considering how the index scrapes web content and how clicks impact search rankings.

The first open trial will be launched via a Zoom meeting on June 6, from 10 AM to noon CEST. Participants will gain access to roughly one petabyte of content. The completed Open Web Index is expected to host about five petabytes, with plans to scale to 10 petabytes in future iterations.
A hot potato: Recent reports suggest that students' use of generative AI to cheat on school assignments is approaching endemic levels. While many worry that tools like ChatGPT erode young people's critical thinking skills, some students have also caught teachers using the same tools, often with unsatisfactory results.

The New York Times writes that a Northeastern University student recently filed a formal complaint with the college after discovering that one of her professors used ChatGPT to generate lecture notes and presentation slides. Accusing the professor of hypocrisy for banning students from using the generative AI tool, she demanded the school refund her roughly $8,000 in tuition fees for the course.

While a senior at the university, Ella Stapleton noticed that one of her professors accidentally left instructions to ChatGPT within class lecture notes. Midway through the text was a command to "expand on all areas. Be more detailed and specific," followed by a bullet-pointed list.

The mistake prompted Stapleton to examine the professor's presentation slides, where she found telltale mistakes typical of GenAI: obvious typos, distorted text, and inaccurate images of body parts. Although she didn't get her money back following graduation, the incident prompted Stapleton's professor to re-examine his materials, realizing that he should've scrutinized ChatGPT's results more closely.

Credit: Necessary-Drummer800

Northeastern University still allows generative AI, but the institution's newly adopted policy mandates that users clearly label GenAI output and proofread it for hallucinations. Meanwhile, another student transferred from Southern New Hampshire University last fall after two professors there accidentally left ChatGPT prompts in comments on her essays. She suspected the teachers weren't even reading her work, though one professor denied the accusation.

Although these incidents reveal that educators are increasingly using GenAI to grade students, sometimes clumsily, attention has recently turned toward students who use the technology. Reports and teacher complaints suggest that growing numbers of high school and college students use GenAI to cheat on nearly every assignment, and educators can't stop them.

New York magazine recently reported that, in some surveys, most students reported using ChatGPT or other AI tools in various ways. Some simply generate outlines or request suggestions for topics to write about, but many copy and paste assignment instructions into chatbot windows and submit the output to teachers. Sometimes, students rewrite or add their own words to AI-generated responses, but professors grading the material often find words such as "As an AI, I am instructed," indicating that students turned it in without reading it.

This woman teaches 10th grade high school in America



She's leaving the profession. She says kids can no longer read proficiently, they won't pay attention, won't listen to authority, they don't think the Declaration of Independence is important, they're writing their papers with pic.twitter.com/q4tM8eKZ9c  Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) May 12, 2025

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, educators have increasingly encountered tell-tale signs of generative AI in students' work: overly smooth grammar, obvious factual inaccuracies, and certain prevalent words. One student in Utah said, "College is just how well I can use ChatGPT at this point." Another student acknowledged that using GenAI can weaken students' critical thinking skills, but admitted they could no longer imagine life without the technology.

Meanwhile, a video from a 10th-grade English teacher (above) raising alarms over students' overreliance on AI and other tools recently went viral. In the nearly 10-minute clip, the teacher, who is quitting the profession, explained that some students struggle with reading because they are accustomed to technology reading text aloud to them. Many students use ChatGPT to answer the most basic questions and throw tantrums when asked to use pen and paper.

In response, another teacher claimed in the above video to have heard similar complaints from numerous educators. She explained that students in one class used AI to answer a question asking for their personal opinions on a topic, indicating that the technology is replacing their ability to form unique thoughts.

Unfortunately, although many professors assume they can detect generative AI output and hallucinations, recent data indicates otherwise. In a study at a UK university last year, professors detected only three percent of AI-generated assignments.
Through the looking glass: As the tech industry continues to tighten control over employee speech and activism, a culture once defined by open dialogue and political engagement gives way to one marked by silence and fear of reprisal. "It's different now; employers feel they can get away with stuff," said a former Google employee.

In recent years, Silicon Valley has witnessed a sharp shift in how major technology companies respond to employee activism and internal dissent. Once known for a culture encouraging open debate and political engagement, the tech industry is now cracking down on workers who challenge company policies or voice concerns about controversial business practices.

Last month, two employees who interrupted an event with founder Bill Gates and CEO Satya Nadella to protest Microsoft's involvement in the Israel-Gaza war were quickly fired. Five years ago, by contrast, Microsoft divested from an Israeli facial recognition startup suspected of surveilling Palestinian citizens, partly in response to internal pressure.

Also read: Microsoft fires engineers over AI protest at 50th-anniversary event

This incident is part of a larger trend in the industry. Across the tech sector, companies are increasingly rejecting worker petitions, terminating employees who organize protests, and deleting critical posts from internal forums. Internet platforms have also warned against leaking information to the media, and some workers have lost their jobs as a result.

Other policies have been implemented to prevent employees from contacting regulators. Last year, some OpenAI employees filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that the company's restrictive agreements prevented staff from warning regulators about AI safety risks.

At the same time, the tech labor market has undergone dramatic changes, as mass layoffs, once rare among tech giants, have become increasingly routine. Since 2023, more than half a million tech jobs have been cut, according to Layoffs.fyi. This month, Microsoft announced a 3 percent reduction in its global workforce, following similar moves by Meta and Intel.

The crackdown on dissent has intensified during the presidency of Donald Trump. Executives at Google, Meta, and Amazon contributed millions to Trump's inauguration committee and have engaged with the White House in private meetings. Many companies have also introduced policies that align with the administration's agenda, such as eliminating diversity initiatives and reversing longstanding content moderation practices.

These changes might once have sparked significant activism among Silicon Valley's traditionally liberal workforce. However, aggressive management tactics and a weak job market have dampened employees' willingness to speak out.

"A decade ago, employees would discuss controversial political issues out in the open and on employee message boards and at all-hands meetings," said Nu Wexler, a communications consultant with experience at Google, Twitter, and Meta. Now, "the companies have either strongly discouraged that or banned it."

These tactics are having their intended effect. After Google announced in February that it would no longer avoid using AI for weapons or surveillance, internal message boards remained largely silent, a stark contrast to seven years ago when thousands of Google employees successfully pressured the company to cancel a Pentagon contract for AI-powered drone analysis.

Employees, though, have not gone completely silent. A group called No Azure for Apartheid was launched and is led by current and former Microsoft employees who are protesting the company's business dealings with the Israeli military and government. It is holding a protest this weekend.

However, Microsoft has come down hard on employees participating in such protests during company time. Microsoft fired at least five employees who protested during a town hall with CEO Satya Nadella. The workers, wearing T-shirts that read "Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya?" were part of No Azure for Apartheid.

Google, too, fired more than 50 employees last year after protests against its cloud-computing deal with the Israeli government. CEO Sundar Pichai had previously warned employees not to use the company as a "personal platform" or to "fight over disruptive issues or debate politics."
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court after it blocked his administration's effort to swiftly deport Venezuelan immigrants using a wartime law.

"The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do," he wrote in a Truth Social post. "This is a bad and dangerous day for America!"

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), saying that those affected were not being given enough time to legally challenge their removal.

"The detainees' interests at stake are accordingly particularly weighty. Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster," the majority wrote in the decision.

Trump claimed the Court "had ruled even the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally ill who entered the country illegally could not be deported without a lengthy and costly legal process," which could take years and allow them to "commit many crimes" before appearing in court.

Trump had invoked the AEA in March to deport a first group of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador without due process. The Supreme Court intervened on April 19 to temporarily block further deportations, emphasizing the need to ensure due process rights.

The Court's ruling on Friday extended the pause, blocking the planned deportation of another group of detainees being held in Texas. 
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people were killed as suspected tornadoes swept through parts of the U.S. states of Missouri and Kentucky from Friday into Saturday morning, said authorities.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said Saturday morning that 14 people have been confirmed dead in the state.

"Kentucky, we're starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night's storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information," Beshear said in a post on X.

Earlier, John Root, sheriff of Laurel County in southeastern Kentucky, described the incident as a "mass casualty event."

NBC News reported that five people were killed in St. Louis and two in Scott County, southeastern Missouri, while local officials said over 5,000 homes may have been affected by Friday afternoon's severe weather outbreak.

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the country is hit by about 1,200 tornadoes each year. 
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Austria bested Israel along with bookies favourites Sweden to triumph at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to a spectacular performance of Wasted Love by singer JJ.

The 24-year-old Austrian-Filipino artist born Johannes Pietsch wowed viewers with his operatic voice and dramatic staging at this years contest held in Basel, Switzerland.

The Vienna-born singer was emotional as he accepted the glass Eurovision trophy and said "thank you Europe, I love you all", after performing his winning song for a second time.

He added: Love is the strongest force in the world, let's spread more love.

Previous Austrian wins include drag artist Conchita Wurst in 2014 with Rise Like A Phoenix, and 1966's Udo Jurgens with Merci Cherie.

JJ won after the public vote temporarily put Israels Yuval Raphael and her song New Day Will Rise in first place, leading to a nail-biting showdown before the final scores were revealed.

open image in gallery Austrias JJ won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest ( AP )

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing result for the UK as pop trio Remember Monday received the devastating nul points from the public for the second year running.

Despite impressing viewers with their bombastic song What the Hell Just Happened?, members Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele ended up in 19th place out of 26 countries, one lower than last years contender Olly Alexander.

The song's James Bond theme orchestration and glam guitar prompted Italy to hand the UK 12 points, the highest amount a country can give a contestant.

The trio performed in Bridgerton-style outfits and were seen giving peace signs to the camera when they found out they had received nothing from the public.

Remember Monday were the UK's first girl group entrant since 1999, and all have backgrounds in musical theatre.

Their song was co-written by Danish songwriter Thomas Stengaard, who was among those who penned the 2013 Eurovision-winning song Only Teardrops for his home country.

open image in gallery Remember Monday represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision this year ( AP )

Eurovision 2025 was still somewhat overshadowed by protests over Israels participation due to its ongoing war on Gaza, in a conflict that has led to the deaths of over 52,000 people.

Two audience members were handed over to police after a crew member was hit by paint when they tried to rush the stage during Israeli delegate Yuval Raphaels performance.

A spokesman for Switzerlands broadcaster SRG SSR said: At the end of the Israeli performance a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.

They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.

Raphaels performance went ahead without being interrupted. She received a mixed response from the audience at the arena, according to the BBCs host Graham Norton, and ultimately received a total of 357 points from the combined jury and public votes.

open image in gallery Yuval Raphael from Israel (Martin Meissner/AP) ( AP )

Earlier in the week, protests had been held around Basel and at Raphaels rehearsal for the semi-final of the competition, when six people with "oversized flags and whistles" obstructed her act.

SRG SSR, which organised the event after 2024s contest was won by Swiss singer Nemo, said the group was quickly ejected from the 12,000-capacity St Jakobshalle arena.

"We would like to thank all the artists, delegations, staff, fans and guests, including many children, who are making ESC 2025 a unique experience, a spokesperson said.

"At the same time, we would like to emphasise that the organisers are committed to a neutral, safe, inclusive and respectful environment at the ESC.

The remainder of the competition was a decidedly eclectic affair, comprising heavy techno anthems, innuendo-loaded pop songs and poignant ballads.

Swedens 2025 Eurovision entry KAJ were one of the favourites to win this years contest, thanks to their quirky and infectious song Bara Bada Bastu.

open image in gallery KAJ from Sweden were considered favourites to win (Martin Meissner/AP) ( AP )

KAJ were the first ever Finnish act to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, while Bara Bada Bastu was the first Swedish-language song the country had submitted since 1998.

Next years Eurovision Song Contest will now take place in the winning country, Austria, with the host city to be announced at a later date.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
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Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has unexpectedly pulled out of presenting the UK jury vote during the Eurovision Song Contest final, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor stepping in at the last minute.

The BBC cited only unforeseen circumstances for the change on Friday morning  an announcement that coincides with rising controversy around this years event.

Protests erupted during Thursday nights rehearsal in Basel, where six demonstrators waving flags and blowing whistles interrupted Israeli contestant Yuval Raphaels preview performance.

Raphael, who survived the Hamas attacks of 7 October, said she anticipated a hostile reception but was determined to perform her song, New Day Will Rise.

Gatwa, 32, had been announced as the UKs official Eurovision spokesperson earlier this month, in a move that formed part of a Doctor Who crossover timed for Saturdays final. No further reason was given for his departure.

A BBC statement about Gatwas departure from the coverage said: Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately, Ncuti Gatwa is no longer able to participate as Spokesperson during the Grand Final this weekend. However, we are delighted to confirm that BBC Radio 2s very own Friday night Kitchen Disco Diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be presenting the Jury result live from the UK.

Ellis-Bextor added, as part of the statement: I love Eurovision and its a privilege to be part of 2025s Grand Final. What an honour it is to announce the UKs jury score on such a special show which always puts music front and centre. I am very much looking forward to delivering the iconic douze points from the United Kingdom!

open image in gallery Doctor Who will feature an Interstellar Song Contest episode on the day ( BBC Studios/James Pardon )

The Scottish actors involvement was part of a Doctor Who crossover, with an episode titled The Interstellar Song Contest airing before Saturdays Eurovision final.

The sixth episode in the current season of the sci-fi series will see The Doctor (Gatwa) and companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) travelling to the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest.

In the episode, the Interstellar Song Contest features planets from across the universe competing for the top prize and is co-hosted by TV and radio presenter Rylan Clark, while Irish TV host and King of Eurovision Graham Norton also appears.

Clark presented live commentary on BBC One for the Eurovision semi-finals on 13 May and 15 May, and will commentate on the final for BBC Radio 2 alongside presenter Scott Mills. Norton will commentate on the final for BBC One viewers.

Representing the UK this year is girl group Remember Monday with their track What The Hell Just Happened?, a celebration of the close-knit friendship they developed at the Sixth Form College Farnborough in Hampshire.

open image in gallery Remember Monday performing at the Eurovision Song Contest ( AP )

Other nations that have qualified include Austrias JJ and Maltas Miriana Conte.

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Irelands entry, Emmy, who failed to qualify for the final.

The Eurovision 2025 grand final will see 26 contestants go head to head on Saturday.

Here are the finalists, including the big five of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who all provide extra financial support to Eurovision and gain automatic entry to the final as a result:

UK: Remember Monday  What the Hell Just Happened?

France: Louane  maman

Spain: Melody  ESA DIVA

Italy: Lucio Corsi  Volevo Essere Un Duro

Germany: Abor & Tynna  Baller

Switzerland: Zoe Me  Voyage

Armenia: PARG  SURVIVOR

Austria: JJ  Wasted Love

Denmark: Sissal  Hallucination

Finland: Erika Vikman  ICH KOMME

Greece: Klavdia  Asteromata

Israel: Yuval Raphael  New Day Will Rise

Latvia: Tautumeitas  Bur Man Laimi

Lithuania: Katarsis  Tavo Akys

Luxembourg: Laura Thorn  La Poupee Monte Le Son

Malta: Miriana Conte  SERVING

Norway: Kyle Alessandro  Lighter

Albania: Shkodra Elektronike  Zjerm

Sweden: KAJ  Bara Bada Bastu

Iceland: VB  ROA

Netherlands: Claude  Cest La Vie

Poland: Justyna Steczkowska  GAJA

San Marino: Gabry Ponte  Tutta LItalia

Estonia: Tommy Cash  Espresso Macchiato

Portugal: NAPA  Deslocado

Ukraine: Ziferblat  Bird of Pray

The Eurovision 2025 grand final takes place on Saturday 17 May and will be broadcast on BBC One from 8pm.
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Emma Stone has said she was left scared by certain elements of her preparation for Ari Asters new film, Eddington.

The forthcoming movie from the Midsommar and Hereditary director has been described as a state-of-the-nation western-comedy that riffs on Covid and cults.

Stone, 36, stars alongside Pedro Pascal, 50, and Joaquin Phoenix, 50, in the film, which received its premiere on Friday (16 May) at Cannes Film Festival and earned a standing ovation.

In the film, Stone plays Louise, the wife of Joaquin Phoenixs sheriff, who falls down a conspiracy rabbit hole when she meets Austin Butlers guru.

The actor, who has won two Oscars for La La Land (2017) and Poor Things (2024), had to enter the world of conspiracy theories to prepare for her role, which led to a disturbing change in her social media algorithms.

Stone spoke about her research for the role at the Cannes Film Festival press conference, stating: The only additional thing that scared me a little bit in the algorithm system was looking into some of the things that are in this film that havent been in my algorithm, unfortunately added them to my algorithm.

Stone said shes still getting fed some crazy s*** on social media after her research for Eddington ( 2025 Invision )

Because once you start Googling it, you start seeing more and more things, she said. So its a real rabbit hole, very quickly.

Stone said she is still seeing the effects of her research, stating: Unfortunately, Im still getting fed some crazy s***.

Produced by A24, also behind Asters previous films Midsommar and Hereditary, Eddington is set at the height of the pandemic in May 2020 and follows a standoff between a small town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal) that sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico.

The film received a positive reaction at Cannes, with Phoenix reportedly growing emotional at the standing ovation.

The Hollywood Reporter noted Phoenix tearing up but described a somewhat muted standing ovation.

Aster joked to the crowd: I dont know what you think. Thank you for being here. I feel very privileged to be here. Its a dream come true. Thank you so much for having me. And, I dont know  sorry? I dont know.

The 38-year-old New York-born director added: This was a great experience. I love all these people around me.

In a four-star review of Eddington for The Independent, critic Sophie Monks Kaufman wrote: This is Asters funniest film to date, and makes use of an ever expanding and shifting cast to dot the 150-minute runtime with well-observed comic details and visual payoffs. These often riff on the deadpan reactions of the Black and Native American characters to Joe and his meathead deputy.

Asters enduring preoccupation with the paranoid universes we build in our minds takes on a less sympathetic, more malign aspect when this self-absorption wears a law enforcement badge and carries a rifle.

Eddington is slated for a US theatrical release on 18 July, with a UK date yet to be confirmed.
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Julia Stiles has spoken about having a hard time with controversial filmmaker David O Russell.

The actor, 44, starred in Russells critically acclaimed 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook. The comedy-drama follows Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) as he adjusts to life outside a mental health institution and meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Stiles played Tiffanys sister, Veronica.

In a new interview with The Times, Stiles briefly spoke about her experience with the director, 66, who has received Oscar nominations for his work on Silver Linings along with The Fighter (2010) and American Hustle (2013).

I had a hard time with David O Russell, Stiles told the publication. His style is very challenging, but I did learn a lot from him and he does make good movies.

The Independent has contacted a representative of Russell for comment.

Russells behaviour as a director has been under scrutiny on several occasions throughout his career.

He had a notorious run-in with George Clooney on the set of 1999s war heist movie Three Kings. Clooney  who has called Russell a miserable f***  claimed Russell head-butted and insulted him.

Quite honestly, if he comes near me, I'll sock him right in the f***ing mouth, said the actor years later in 2004.

Russell denied the claims at the time. I never physically attacked him. If I ran into him, I'd say, Shut the f*** up, you lying-ass b***, he said.

open image in gallery George Clooney and Three Kings director David O Russell ( Getty )

In 2003, as reported by The New York Times, Russell allegedly attacked Christopher Nolan at a Hollywood party, putting the Inception director in a headlock. The alleged altercation occurred because Russell wanted to cast Jude Law, who had signed on to do a Nolan film, in his movie I Heart Huckabees.

Another controversy occurred when leaked footage showed Russell raging against Lily Tomlin on set, after she expressed frustration with his requests for the scene they were shooting.

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In the clip, Russell can be seen calling the actor a b**** and a c***. He also kicks an object off the table at which Tomlin is sitting.

According to The New York Times, Russell locked himself in the office and refused to leave until Tomlin went in to apologise.

As reported by the publication, when asked about the incident later, Russell said: Sure, I wish I hadnt done that. But Lily and I are fine.

open image in gallery Jennifer Lawrence poses with her award after winning Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook at the 2013 Oscars ( Getty )

Tomlin appeared to brush off the incident, stating: Its not a practice on his part or my part. Id rather have someone human and available and raw and open. Dont give me someone cold, or cut off, or someone who considers themselves dignified.

In March 2011, Paul Reuben alleged that Russell screamed at him at the top of his lungs on his first day working on Nailed, which was later released in 2015 under the title Accidental Love.

Amy Adams also had a difficult experience with the director, telling GQ that Russell made her cry on the set of American Hustle.

I was really just devastated on set, she recalls. Acknowledging that other co-stars did not have the same experience, Adams said:  [Jennifer Lawrence is] Teflon. And I am not Teflon. But I also dont like to see other people treated badly, you know what I mean?

open image in gallery AARP Movie Award-Lily Tomlin ( Invision/AP )

Despite the string of controversies with high-profile actors, Russell still managed to put together an all-star cast for his 2022 film Amsterdam.

The film, which was his first since 2015s Joy, starred Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana and Anya Taylor-Joy, with pop star Taylor Swift also cast.

open image in gallery Amy Adams and David O Russell ( Getty )

When the cast was announced, people on social media criticised their choice to work with the director given the number of allegations against him.

Bale defended the directors behaviour, telling IndieWire: Its a very unique experience. David is unlike any other film director, and thats what you want.

Thats the whole point. A director brings a point of view, and a rhythm and everything, and the great ones are always unique. Theyre singular. And David is that. Truly one of the greats.

open image in gallery Bale, Robbie and Washington in Amsterdam' ( 20th Century Studios )

In another interview, Bale said he took on a mediator role when altercations arose on Russells sets, claiming that he intervened on behalf of Adams on the set of American Hustle.

When youre working with people of the crazy creative talent of Amy or of David, there are gonna be upsets, he said. But [Adams and Russell] are f***ing phenomenal.

Stiles made the comments about Russell in an interview to promote her directorial debut Wish You Were Here, an adaptation of the novel by the bestselling romance writer Renee Carlino.

The film will be available to rent or own from 19 May.
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Pedro Pascal had some choice words to share when asked about the current political upheaval in the US.

The Last of Us actor, 50, made the comments during a press conference for his latest movie Eddington.

The new film from Midsommar director Ari Aster is as a state-of-the-nation comedy that riffs on Covid and cults. Pascal stars alongside Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix.

Eddington received a seven-minute standing ovation when it premiered at Cannes Film Festival on Friday (16 May).

Asked whether the cast were concerned about reentering the US after making a film with a strong political message, Pascal replied: Fear is the way they win. So, keep telling the stories. Keep expressing yourself and keep fighting to be who you are.

F*** the people that try to make you scared And fight back. This is the perfect way to do so in telling stories. And dont let them win.

Earlier in the conference, in footage shared by Variety, Pascal was asked for his thoughts on US president Donald Trumps approach to immigration, which has seen his administration call on the Supreme Court to let officials cancel humanitarian protections for tens of thousands of people in recent weeks.

Obviously, its very scary for an actor participating in a movie to sort of speak to issues like this, he acknowledged. Its far too intimidating the question for me to really address, Im not informed enough.

He continued: I want people to be safe and to be protected and I want very much to live on the right [side of] history. Im an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship and I was privileged enough to grow up in the US after asylum in Denmark.

If it werent for that, I dont know what would have happened to use. I stand by those protections. Im too afraid of your question. I hardly remember what it was.

open image in gallery Pedro Pascal at the Eddington premiere at Cannes Film Festival ( 2025 Invision )

Last month, Barack Obama-appointed District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts temporarily blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems order, which would have ended legal status for more than 530,000 people admitted to the program within weeks.

The judges order maintained temporarily legal status for roughly 110,300 Cubans, 210,000 Haitians, 93,100 Nicaraguans, and 117,300 Venezuelans.

Ending the program would force targeted immigrants to choose between two injurious options: continue following the law and leave the country on their own, or await removal proceedings that put them at risk of arrest and detention and effectively kill any chances of receiving other forms of immigration relief in the future  potentially permanently, Judge Talwani wrote.

open image in gallery Donald Trumps administration has called on the Supreme Court to let officials cancel humanitarian protections for thousands ( AP )

Trump is separately calling on the Supreme Court to let the administration end temporary legal status for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans, after a federal judge warned that Noems attempts to cut humanitarian protections for fleeing immigrants will inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.

Read The Independents four-star review of Eddington here.
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On paper, it seemed like a perfect marriage. Ariana Harwiczs 2018 Man Booker International Prize-winning novel, Die My Love, spins on the feral urges of a new mother losing her mind after moving to the countryside with her partner. Who better  you might think  to cinematically immerse us in this spiralling state than Lynne Ramsay, the Scottish photographer turned filmmaker behind Ratcatcher (1999), Movern Callar (2002), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and You Were Never Really Here (2017), all hypnotic films that paint intense psychological states using images that feel ripped from dreams and nightmares. Add to the mix Jennifer Lawrence in her meatiest role since descending into hell in Mother! (2017) and surely this is a contender for the best film in the Cannes competition lineup. Alas, this adaptation lacks cohesion and ends up less than the sum of its parts.

Grace (Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson) relocate from New York to a remote rural location after Jacksons uncle dies in violent circumstances, leaving behind his house. Soon she is pregnant. Shortly thereafter, Graces beloved father-in-law, Harry (Nick Nolte), dies. This is relayed elliptically, as Ramsay cuts between timelines, crafting bombastic vignettes in which sound and fury bubble over: a forest fire, Grace and Jackson thrashing to music, Harry breaking a bottle.

Once the baby is born, Graces restless boredom turns primal while Jackson hits the road for long stretches. She is a writer who never writes (too accurate!) and kills time by listening to music, drinking beer, crawling around the house and playing with knives. A biker (LaKeith Stanfield) whose identity is concealed by his helmet shows his interest by driving regularly past. Even closer to home, mother-in-law Pam (Sissy Spacek) is going through a parallel madness as a result of grief. She sleeps with a gun in her arms and keeps her late husbands new shoes on display.

A few choice sequences throb with the tension of Graces frustrated libido, but mostly the feverish character conveyed in Harwiczs propulsive prose is not well served by the calmness of the composition. In a cramped 4:3 aspect ratio, one painterly image after another fills the screen. Even when Grace is trashing the house or injuring herself or otherwise running amok, she is boxed in by a frame that holds her neatly in its heart.

There is also the issue of Lawrences performance quickly exhausting itself. The difficulty of translating a book like this to the screen is its absence of an external narrative arc. Each of Ramsays previous films, save Ratcatcher, had source texts with knotty plots to scaffold her visions. Here, she brings out the big guns visually and, in Lawrences performance, too quickly, and Graces unhinged behaviour lacks the edge of surprise.

Jennifer Lawrence in Lynne Ramsays Die My Love ( Black Label Media )

The book is a psychologically interior deep dive where its kept ambiguous when the narrator is imagining sex and violence and when she is engaging in it, a quality not present in this overly literalised telling. Lawrence gives a fully committed performance but often seems animated by childlike stroppiness rather than adult fervour. Its only when Grace is shutting down social niceties with the actors well-practised deadpan that she disappears into the material.

MVP here is Pattinson, whose layered performance contains both the man that Grace cannot abide and the one who is worried about his wife. His expression when she asks why he is stressed is so despairing that it deepens Jackson in one fell swoop. Its a shame to single out a male performance in a tale of primal femininity. There is simply no one for Lawrence to bounce off and no structure against which to craft an emotional trajectory. She is dancing on her own.

Dir: Lynne Ramsay. Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte. Cert TBC, 118 mins

Die My Love is awaiting distribution
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A Mexican woman has become the first person indicted under the U.S.'s new material support of terrorism charges, according to the Department of Justice.

Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 39, of Mexico, has been charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Cartel del Jalisco Nueva Generacion, She allegedly provided the cartel with grenades and assisted in smuggling undocumented individuals, firearms, cash, and narcotics for the organization.

Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. This announcement demonstrates the Justice Departments unwavering commitment to securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution.

In addition to the material support charges, she is also being charged with "conspiracy to smuggle and transport aliens in the United States, straw purchasing and trafficking in firearms, bulk cash smuggling conspiracy, and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute," according to the DOJ.

Two others have been indicted alongside Navarro-Sanchez.

open image in gallery A number of AK-47 assault rifles and two .50 caliber rifles seized by the U.S. law enforcement in 2023 relating to the Department of Justice's case against Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 39, of Mexico. Navarro-Sanchez is the first person indicted under the U.S.'s new charges aimed at individuals accused of providing material aid to terrorist organizations ( U.S. Department of Justice )

Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 27, of Mexico, has been charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens into and transport aliens in the United States, straw purchasing and firearms trafficking.

Gustavo Castro-Medina, 28, of Mexico, has been charged with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

The CJNG was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization along with seven other cartels on February 20 by the US Department of State.

open image in gallery A gold colored AM-15  a variant of the AR-15 assault rifle dubbed "El Dorado"  found in the possession of Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 39, during her arrest in Mexico on May 4, 2025 ( U.S. Department of Justice )

"CJNG is a transnational criminal organization that controls a significant portion of the narcotics trafficking trade and has a presence in nearly every part of Mexico and dozens of other countries, including the United States," The DOJ said in a press statement. "In addition to trafficking fentanyl, CJNG engages in money laundering, bribery, extortion of migrants, taxing of migrant smugglers, and other criminal activities, including acts of violence and intimidation."

On President Donald Trumps first day in office, he directed the DOJ and other agencies to work toward the "total elimination" of cartels due to the "extremely serious threats" they pose to the nation, the DOJ wrote.

The arrest of Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez should send a clear message to people who wish to align themselves with terrorist groups that they will be sought out and held to the highest extent of the law, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
Description

Get ready for an electrifying night at

The Boulton Center this Saturday!

BROKEN ARROW is a New York based rock band formed in 1976. The are a premier touring Long Island band featuring edgy, original material and energetic live performances.

The evening will begin with the band RED WORDS, a contemporary Christian rock band whose performances blend edgy rock, soulful harmonies, strong pop melodies, and gospel-infused songs to create a unique sound that resonates with audiences.
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One spring evening, 40 years ago, a Utah teenager told her loved ones she was hitchhiking to work in downtown Salt Lake City. An hour later, the 18-year-old was dead.

Christine Gallegos had been sexually assaulted, beaten, shot and stabbed to death on May 15, 1985, Salt Lake police said.

But despite an extensive investigation and forensic testing, there were no viable leads, no answers and the case went cold. Until now.

On Thursday, the 40th anniversary of the night Gallegos vanished, police announced at a press conference they had identified a suspect in her case.

open image in gallery Christine Gallegos vanished on her way to work and found dead a few hours later. Now, a suspect has been named in her case ( Salt Lake City Police Department )

With the help from Othram, a Texas-based DNA lab, and a renewed effort in 2023 by police to use DNA technology and genealogy in the case, Ricky Lee Stallworth was identified as a likely suspect, Detective Cordon Parks said.

A voluntary DNA sample from one of his sons confirmed the match, police said.

Stallworth was a 27-year-old airman stationed at Hill Air Force Base in May 1985 when Gallegos was killed.

He will not face criminal charges, however, because he died of natural causes in 2023 at the age of 65, just a few months before he became a person of interest and could be questioned.

Unfortunately, in this case, we don't have a suspect to put handcuffs on or anyone to charge, Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Steve OCamb said at the press conference Thursday. But we hope our efforts achieved some measure of justice for her and the family and friends that loved her.

Gallegos mother, Leah Gallegos, thanked police for continuing to investigate her daughter's murder.

You never quit thinking about it, you never quit crying about it, she said about the daughter she lost.

It's just always there.

The night Christine vanished

On May 15, 1985, Gallegos told her fiance and other family members she was hitchhiking to work. She was last seen on 4000 West walking toward the freeway about 10:30 p.m., Det. Parks said.

About an hour later, Gallegos was killed. Her body wasnt found until about 3:50 a.m. the next morning by a passerby in the area of 1384 South Jefferson Street, police said.

Parks said investigators believe Stallworth likely picked Gallegos up and instead of taking her to work, he took her to a secluded location by old Derks Field, before assaulting her behind the location where her body was later found.

open image in gallery Police say Christine Gallegos had been sexually assaulted, beaten, shot and stabbed to death ( Salt Lake City Police Department )

But Gallegos did not give up without a fight, Parks said.

They had a big fight where she was stabbed outside of the car, he said.

She left a blood trail up to the gutter of Jefferson Street.

Multiple people were interviewed, but no one was ever named a suspect or arrested. Stallworth's name was never brought up and Parks said there is no indication that Stallworth and Gallegos knew each other.

The State Street Stalker

Stallworths name wasnt on the police department's radar until 2023, when the department launched a renewed effort to solve the case.

The states Cold Case Review Board suggested to Parks that investigators try forensic investigative genealogy or forensic ancestry investigation, which compares DNA with a database of civilians DNA samples collected for genealogical purposes, KSL reported.

Results of that test are what led police to Stallworth as a likely suspect. They interviewed Stallworths family, and after they collected DNA from his sons and compared that DNA with forensic evidence collected in 1985, they had a match.

The former U.S. Air Force airman had been stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Layton, Utah, at the time of Gallegos' murder, police said.

An investigation also revealed that Stallworth was the State Street stalker, and that during the last two years of his life, police had contacted him over his alleged interactions with sex workers on State Street.

Stallworth would tell his wife he was going out for the night, be gone all night and then return in the morning without explanation, Parks said.

He told KSL when he interviewed one of Stallworth's four ex-wives and explained to her why he was there, she was not surprised that we would be collecting DNA for other criminal acts he may have committed, he said.

They took so much away when they took her away

Leah Gallegors remembers her daughter as a special, sweet and outgoing girl who she misses every day.

She was just special. She was outgoing, she was sweet, she was in love with her fiance, Troy. They had a family planned, she said Thursday.

I wonder about the kids that she would have, and I watch other people with their daughters, their grandkids. They took so much away when they took her away.

open image in gallery Leah Gallegors remembers her daughter as a special, sweet and outgoing girl who she misses every day ( Salt Lake City Police Department )

The heartbroken mother credited the police for solving her daughters case.

They have never given up, she said. Even though I had thought they had given up, they'd never given up.

I just know that I sure miss this girl every day.
Amazon has a huge opportunity to lower costs in its online retail business using robotics, which could lead to massive growth in earnings and cash flow. AI is enabling Amazon's customers to order products using their voice with Alexa. There are over 600 million Alexa devices in customers' homes, which strengthens Amazon's competitive advantage.

Amazon will continue to win because of its investments in artificial intelligence (AI). Amazon Web Services (AWS) generated $112 billion in revenue over the last year, making it the leading cloud services provider. Companies are spending billions with AWS to use AI with their data, and of course, Amazon is benefiting from the same technology.

Another reason Amazon is a stock you can confidently hold forever is that it's a forward-thinking company. Founder Jeff Bezos infused the company with an experimental culture that is willing to take risks. Large companies often fall into the trap of playing defense and don't take enough risks to keep innovating. Businesses that don't continue to take risks leave the door open for disruptive new entrants to offer something better to consumers.

Amazon is known for its online store, where it held 37% share of the U.S. e-commerce market in 2023, according to Statista. What's attractive about Amazon's competitive position is that it generates a lot of online sales from repeat purchases from over 200 million Prime members, who pay subscription fees to get free shipping and other benefits. This provides high visibility for future sales, which typically gets rewarded by a higher valuation by investors.

John Ballard (Amazon): Amazon has delivered incredible returns for investors, and the recent pullback is a great opportunity to buy shares at a more attractive valuation. Amazon has multiple ways to drive growth to fuel shareholder returns.

If you have $5,000, or even less, that you can afford to commit to a long-term investment strategy, there are attractive opportunities to put that money to work. To give you some ideas, read why three Fool.com contributors believe Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), and Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) are well positioned to deliver solid returns for decades to come.

Investing in the right growth stocks can help you build wealth for retirement. Companies that are seeing above-average growth in their businesses are usually in a competitively strong position that leads to years of compounding returns for shareholders.

MercadoLibre is reporting high growth, but 85% of retail sales in its market are still offline, offering a long growth runway.

Story Continues

The company's cost reduction efforts have significantly increased its operating cash flow over the past few years, but the stock has yet to catch up to what is happening here. The stock has historically traded around 27 times its cash from operations, but investors can currently buy the shares at 20 times cash flow.

Image source: Getty Images.

As good as it is today for this e-commerce giant, it's only going to get better

Jennifer Saibil (MercadoLibre): MercadoLibre stock is absolutely crushing the market this year, up 48% while the S&P 500 is roughly flat. That's nothing new. It routinely beats the market as it demonstrates phenomenal results, and investors expect a lot more to come.

The company sees a huge market opportunity as its regions slowly shift toward a tech future. Its main business is e-commerce, and it has also built up a robust fintech segment, with services like credit cards and digital payments. The e-commerce market in its region is still underpenetrated and lags the U.S. by about 10 years. Eighty-five percent of retail sales still happen offline, and MercadoLibre controls about 5% of all retail in the region. It has a combined population of more than 500 million in its markets and a gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $5 trillion, and as the leader in the industry, it's well positioned to benefit from the shift that it's also helping to create. One way it's bringing more people online is by offering free shipping as well as flexible shipping options, and it's reducing costs to support these initiatives as well as others. Despite strong competition and its large size, its gross merchandise volume (GMV) is still outpacing competitors in Mexico and Brazil. Total GMV increased 40% year over year (currency neutral).

It's a similar story in fintech. Monthly active users increased 31% year over year, and management is launching products that offer a better user experience to keep bringing over new business. It noted that its savings rates are at benchmark or higher, while most of the population's money is still tied up in legacy banks that offer lower yields. Assets under management increased 103% year over year in the first quarter, which led to higher engagement and an increase in the total credit portfolio of 75% year over year.

These are incremental steps in a long story, and each step comes with huge sales and profits for MercadoLibre. As it keeps rolling out new products, improving its platform, and capturing market share, expect the stock to match its growth.

An e-commerce company that keeps growing and growing

Jeremy Bowman (Shopify): Shopify essentially invented e-commerce software. Founder Tobi Lutke created the original platform to help his snowboard shop and then realized the software was a better business idea.

Over the last decade, Shopify has delivered incredible growth as it's become the de facto platform for online sellers big and small, handling and assisting everything from payments to marketing to web design to fulfillment.

These days, Shopify continues to deliver steady growth and is innovating with new technology like AI.

In the first quarter, revenue jumped 27% to $2.36 billion, and its profit margins have significantly improved as it reported net income excluding equity investments of $226 million, a profit margin of nearly 10%.

Shopify is still seeing impressive growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV), which was up 23% from the quarter a year ago. Shopify's leadership in the industry gives it pricing power, and the company should be able to continue passing along price increases for its subscription pricing tiers as needed.

The company is also investing in AI, increasing its value proposition for its merchants with products like Shopify Magic, a suite of AI-powered tools to handle things like product descriptions, change image background, get FAQ suggestions, help with email correspondence with customers, and handle live chats.

Shopify has long been at the forefront of e-commerce technology, and the addition of Shopify Magic should only burnish that reputation.

If you have $5,000 to invest, Shopify, which is down about 15% from its peak a few weeks ago, looks like as good a bet as any for long-term investors.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jennifer Saibil has positions in MercadoLibre. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon, MercadoLibre, and Shopify. John Ballard has positions in MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, MercadoLibre, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

3 Top Stocks to Buy With $5,000 Today and Hold Forever was originally published by The Motley Fool
Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana. Hes taught at Georgetown, George Washington and American Universities, as well as the University of New Orleans.
A police investigation has been launched after a truck carrying a wind turbine tower got stuck under a major highway overpass, causing traffic delays and long detours.

The turbine tower got lodged on part of the Warrego Highway in south-east Queensland about 1.40am on Friday.

The turbine was removed some 12 hours later, with the westbound lane of highway expected to reopen on Sunday afternoon, and part of the overpass to reopen within a week.

Initial investigations suggest the driver of the oversized truck failed to follow escorting vehicles to an off-ramp, instead continuing on the highway.
Drive along the main street of Colac, and you will be greeted with a fast-food feast for the eyes. In a short stretch, there are at least five major fast-food chains.

Health researchers have identified Colac in south-west Victoria as a town with a high density of fast-food outlets.

The main street of Colac with its proliferation of fast food. Credit: Eddie Jim

Now, another fast food operator  Hungry Jacks  is seeking to open an outlet in the town of about 12,500 people. The chain has lodged a planning application with Colac Otway Shire for permission to build the outlet.

Deakin University food retail expert Cindy Needham said the concentration of fast-food outlets was already too high in Colac.
Whenever anyone mentions Melbournes north, the suburbs that most readily come to mind include Brunswick, Northcote, Carlton, Coburg and Fitzroy North.

Known for their vibrant cafe and bar scenes, hipster vibes and creative communities, these burbs are some of Melbournes best known areas.

Princes Hill is one of the inner norths hidden gems. Credit: Photograph by Chris Hopkins

But among the norths glitterati lies a hidden gem, the small, oft-forgotten suburb of Princes Hill, where people rarely come to visit  but love to live.

And yet, the latest data from Domains Rent Report shows that Princes Hill has had the smallest five-year rent rise of any Victorian suburb, with the median weekly asking rent for a house in the area hovering at $750 a week  only 1.4 per cent higher than it was five years ago.
Berlin: After days of confusion and theatrics, direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators took place on Friday in Istanbul for the first time since the start of the war, resulting in an agreement to conduct what would be the largest prisoner swap of the conflict.

After the negotiations, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, leaders of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations confirmed in news briefings that they had agreed to exchange 1000 prisoners each.

The meeting was the first face-to-face held between Russia and Ukraine since 2022. Credit: AP

But the two sides failed to broker a temporary ceasefire that Ukraine has sought or a meeting between their two leaders, demonstrating how far apart the warring parties remain on steps towards ending the conflict.

During the talks, the Russian team told the Ukrainians that, to achieve the ceasefire they seek, Ukraine should withdraw entirely from the four regions in eastern Ukraine that Moscow annexed in late 2022, a Turkish official familiar with the discussions said.
Cairo/Jerusalem: Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 250 people since Thursday morning, local health authorities said on Saturday (AEST), one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March, with a new ground offensive expected soon.

US President Donald Trump, who has ended a Middle East tour with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire while Israel steps up its military campaign, acknowledged Gazas growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.

Israeli tanks parked in a staging area near the border with Gaza on Friday. Credit: AP

We have to also help out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides, he said. When asked if he backed Israels war plans, Trump said he expected good things over the next month.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said time should not be wasted on an alternative US-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the UN had a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.
Improved life style is key to keep BP under control in most cases





World Hypertension Day

Team Hitavada

Hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The problem is aggravating across the world. In India around 150 million people are suffering from high blood pressure, with urban populations showing a higher prevalence compared to rural areas. Referring to the well-known 50% rule, according to a report. The Hitavada spoke to a section of people who are diagnosed with high BP issue and found that change in habit, for instance, getting up and sleeping early has helped them to prevent them from episodes of very high BP. Additionally, talking to The Hitavada, experts pressed the need for a healthy life style most importantly sleeping time and food habits. Emphasising significance of following biological clock of body, Dr Vikram Watti, said, now a days it is found that habit of proceed food is increasing among people.

It adversely impacts the body. Several factors in human body are inter related but once Blood Pressure starts to get disturbed there is possibility to attract other major problems. Only healthy life style including minimising stress level in routine life is the best preventive medicine. More than one billion people around the world live with hypertension (high blood pressure), which is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. World Hypertension Day is observed on every May 17 to raise awareness and promote hypertension prevention, detection and control (deferred to October 17, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic). This years theme for World Hypertension Day is Measure your Blood Pressure accurately, control it, live longer. Pointing towards alarming situation, Senior cardiologist Dr Pankaj Manoria strongly suggest, Hypertension is a silent killer; its early detection and treatment is crucial. and Dr P C Manoria highlighted that cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death, and hypertension is the major risk factor behind it.

He strongly recommended regular blood pressure monitoring and said that every household should keep an electronic BP monitor for periodic checks. Dr Manoria warned that if blood pressure is not monitored and managed, it can severely damage five major organs - the heart, kidneys, eyes, brain, and legs. He also shared important guidelines to follow while measuring blood pressure to avoid inaccurate readings. Dr Manoria explained, 50% of people are unaware they have hypertension, and among those who do know, a significant portion either do not take medicines or fail to take them regularly. Hypertension is a silent killer, but it is easy to detect and inexpensive to treat. High blood pressure is the main risk factor to develop cardiovascular disease. The burden of hypertension is felt disproportionately in low- and middle-income countries, where two thirds of cases are found, largely due to increased risk factors in those populations in recent decades. Whats more, around half of people living with hypertension are unaware of their condition, putting them at risk of avoidable medical complications and death. To achieve the global target to reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 25% by 2025, WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Global Hearts Initiative in 2016.

This includes managing cardiovascular diseases, controlling bad habits of addiction, increase physical activity and reduce salt consumption and eliminating trans fat - the initiative aims to improve heart health worldwide. According to the Cardiologist Dr P C Manoria, normal blood pressure is 120/80, and hypertension is diagnosed when the BP rises to 130/80 or above, regardless of age group. He emphasised that a lower heart rate is generally healthier for the body. He further mentioned that lifestyle, genetics, and todays high-stress living are key contributors to heart disease. This day was first observed on May 14, 2005, and since 2006, May 17 has been globally recognised as World Hypertension Day by the World Hypertension League.

Dr Sachin Shinde, a vascular Thoracic Surgeon said there is rise of Coagulopathy (the bloods ability to coagulate form clots) during post- Covid that led to Atherosclerosis (thickening of Arteries) in simple terms blockage causing heart attacks. Now-a-days it has been found that age bracket of people for hypertension has been changed. As against earlier when people above 50 years age mostly comes with high BP problem, younger patients between the age group of 30-40 years are suffering from Hypertension issue. When I spoke to them I found they are using trans-fatty acids like (pizza, burger ) and having alcohol. Their working hours are not allowing them to do workouts. For which everybody should follow since Prevention is better than cure.
Oppenheimer raised the firms price target on Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) to $19 from $17 and keeps a Perform rating on the shares. The firm sees the Delaware courts verdict in favor of Acadia as consistent with its expectations for Nuplazid intellectual property protection while removing a perceived overhang on the shares. The court specifically concluded that Acadia demonstrated by preponderance of evidence that Aurobindo infringes patent claims, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Opco now anticipates investor focus to reset back to key dynamics following the Q1 update and ahead of research and development day on June 25.

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Our actions were just a trailer Reconsider $1 bn aid Pak can use IMF money to fund terror: Rajnath





BHUJ (Guj) :

INDIA on Friday pressed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reconsider its USD one billion assistance to Pakistan, saying Islamabad could use a large part of it to fund the terrorist infrastructure. In an address to air warriors at Gujarats Bhuj Air Force station, Singh confirmed use of the BrahMos supersonic missiles in the Operation Sindoor and said the weapon showed Pakistan the light of day in the darkness of night. Sending a clear and firm message to Islamabad, the Defence Minister made it clear that the operation is not yet over as the current ceasefire means that India has kept Pakistan on probation on the basis of its behaviour. If the behaviour improves, it is fine; but if there is any disturbance, harshest punishment will be given, he said.

Our actions were just a trailer, we will show the full picture, if need be. Attacking and eliminating terrorism is the new normal of new India, he said. Under Operation Sindoor, India on early May 7 destroyed nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. All subsequent retaliations by Pakistan were carried out under the operation. The two sides reached an understanding on cessation of hostilities on May 10 after four days of confrontations. In his remarks, Singh said Pakistan has again started trying to rebuild the terror infrastructure destroyed by India last week and that Islamabad will spend the collected from the common citizens of Pakistan to pay around Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad and a UN designated terrorist.

The Bhuj air force base was one of the military installations that Pakistan targeted during the four-day confrontation between the two militaries. Singh cautioned against providing financial support to Pakistan saying any such assistance would be no less than terror funding. In its board meeting in Washington on May 9, the IMF cleared a USD one billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its USD 7-billion funding programme for the country. The Pakistan Government has announced financial assistance to rebuild the terror infrastructure of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Muridke and Bahawalpur, Singh said.
Anjaneya University signs tripartite MoU for skill-based learning







Staff Reporter

Raipur,

Anjaneya University inked a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UniKaushal and UnrealEdge. This agreement aims to provide students with quality training in practical, technical, and life skills in alignment with the National Education Policy. Speaking on the tripartite agreement, Chancellor Abhishek Agarwal stated that this MoU is a milestone for Anjaneya University. He emphasized that it will not only provide technical and professional training to their students but also offer them opportunities to connect directly with industries, thereby strengthening the universitys skill-based learning vision. Vice-Chancellor Dr. T Ramarao said that to connect students with the professional world beyond the classroom, UniKaushal and UnrealEdge will establish centers within the university. These centers will provide industry-relevant training to students.

Skill-based courses will be available through both online and offline modes, enabling students to get trained from anywhere, thus promoting digital inclusion. He further added that this curriculum will ensure 100% employment for MBA and BBA students. Manigandan Manjunathan, Founder and Director of UnrealEdge, expressed his pride in partnering with Anjaneya University. He stated that their objective is to train young people in a way that they can compete not only in India but also globally.

Mrs. Mridula Tripathi, Founder and Director of UniKaushal, explained that this MoU will prepare students for the future  a future that lays the foundation for a digital, skill-based, and self-reliant India. These courses are designed in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020 and will provide students with vocational proficiency alongside higher education. Furthermore, UniKaushal and UnrealEdge will work to connect trained students with industries for employment and internships, providing a direct benefit to their careers. The establishment of training centers within the university campus will also provide opportunities for job-oriented education to the youth in the surrounding areas, thereby accelerating social and economic development.
Balochistan on brink Pak control limited to Quetta





WASHINGTON DC

Baloch American Congress Secretary General Razzak Baloch urges global community to support their freedom movement

BALOCH American Congress Secretary General Razzak Baloch has made explosive revelations in an interview with TAG TV, stating that nearly 70 to 80 per cent of Balochistan has become a no-go area for the Pakistani military and has urged the international community, especially India and the United States, to support the Baloch freedom movement. Speaking to TAG TV, Baloch described the dire security situation on the ground, noting that Pakistani forces cannot even leave Quetta after dark.

He cited that even members of Pakistans own assembly have admitted to this reality. From 5 pm to 5 am, roads are deserted by the army out of fear, he said. Baloch emphasised that Marang Baloch remains in jail and that large-scale protests continue across Balochistan. He acknowledged the efforts of leaders like Sardar Akhtar Mengal, but insisted that foreign support is critical to dismantling Pakistani military strongholds in areas like Chowni and Quetta. When asked if India could host a government-in-exile, Baloch stated that the Baloch people do not beg.

We speak with our masculinity, he asserted, but added that if India supports Balochistans freedom, the doors of Balochistan will open to India. He warned that delaying support would embolden what he called the barbarian army, with repercussions not just for Balochistan but for the entire region. He further appealed to democratic nations to host Baloch representatives and recognise the struggle for self-determination. Baloch concluded with a chilling reminder, Before Pakistans army leaves its boots behind like in Bangladesh, it is better to withdraw with dignity. He urged peace, regional harmony, and an end to military oppression across Pakistans provinces.
Gang involved in illegal trade of sharp weapons busted, two accused held





Staff Reporter :

A CombineD team of Crime Branch and Lordganj police busted a gang involved in illegal trade of sharp-edged weapons, apprehended two accused and seized eight knives from them. The arrested have been identified as Anil Ahirwar (19), a resident of Mahavir Nagar, Bhukamp Colony in Sanjeevani Nagar and Moinuddin (19), a resident of Motinala in Hanumantal. SHO of Lordganj police station, Naval Arya informed that on the night of May 15, 2024, the Crime Branch received information that Anil Ahirwar, a resident of Bhukamp Colony brought button knives from Pushkar, Ajmer through a friend and was planning to sell them in Scheme No. 41, Yadav Colony area. Acting on this information, a combined team started a search and trapped the identified man as Anil Ahirwar. In his search, police seized three button-activated folding knives in the right pocket of his trousers.

During questioning, he admitted to purchasing knives from another man Moinuddin, for Rs 1800. Moinuddin allegedly sourced the knives from Ajmer. Following this lead, police team raided the area near the railway quarters in Ganesh Nagar, where Moinuddin was waiting for a buyer. He was arrested and found to be in possession of five button-activated Chinese knives in the right pocket of his trousers.

Lordganj police have seized eight knives and both accused have been booked under Section 25 of the Arms Act for illegal possession and trade of prohibited weapons. The successful arrest and seizure were made possible due to coordinated efforts of Yadav Colony Outpost In-charge, SI, Anil Kumar, Constable Sachin Jain and under the direction of SHO, Crime Branch Shailesh Mishra. The Crime Branch team included SI, Chandrakant Jha, ASIs Dhananjay Singh and Prashant Solanki, Head Constables Virendra Singh and Atal Janghela, Constables Rajesh Mishra, Trilok, Rajesh, Vinay, and Cyber Cell Constable Ratnesh.
Kerala scribe Rejaz Sydeek has links with Hizbul Mujahideen, JKLF: Police





By Dheeraj Fartode :

The City Police have alleged that Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek was in contact with members of banned terrorist organisations Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Sydeek, who was arrested in Nagpur on May 8, is currently under investigation for allegedly waging war against the Government and has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). While forensic examination of the material seized from his Ernakulam residence in Kerala on May 11 is still underway, the police claim that the initial recovery from his phone and devices had already provided evidence of his links with banned outfits. According to submissions made by the Maharashtra Police to the special NIA court, the data recovered from Sydeeks mobile phone includes conversations with persons suspected to be affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen and JKLF. Several documents found on his phone also reflect ideological alignment with separatist causes.

These include titles such as Azadi Kashmir ka Naara, Inside Occupied Kashmir Today, Resisting Occupation in Kashmir, and Revolutionary Resurgence by Hizbul Mujahideen, along with a JKLF publication titled The Best and Easiest Solution to the Kashmir Issue. Investigators also cited suspicious activity on messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram, where Sydeek was active in encrypted chat groups like End of the War on People and armybergo, and engaged in conversations flagged as potentially seditious. A top rank official stated that Sydeek had saved contacts of suspected CPI (Maoist) members, including one Comrade Valika, and was allegedly seeking financial support for Maoist activities. He was also reportedly part of a Signal group managed by Murali Kannampilly, a known figure linked with CPI (Maoist) and is believed to have played a role in the groups core network. Moreover, the police are examining his travel history, particularly a visit to Pune in April 2023, during which Sydeek is suspected to have met with two members of the banned Kabir Kala Manch - Prashant Kamble alias Laptop and Santosh Shelar alias Painter - prior to their arrests.

The police is also trying to find the reasons for Sydeeks presence in Nagpur. He reportedly told investigators that he had travelled there to meet a woman he had connected with on Instagram. While the two visited a rifle shop where he was photographed holding firearms, security agencies are treating this account with caution due to the presence of sensitive military and security installations in the city. The possibility that his visit had a different motive is still under scrutiny.

Seven phones seized from Kerala home From his residence in Ernakulam, police recovered seven mobile phones, four pen drives, two books, a memory card, a hard drive, an adapter, and a Jio SIM card. The police claim that the digital devices contained not only banned literature but also secret documents associated with extremist ideology and anti-national propaganda. Although investigators are yet to find evidence of financial transactions, a senior Government official emphasised that the ideological and operational evidence was significant enough to warrant UAPA charges.

The Maharashtra ATS has now formally taken over the investigation from the Nagpur Police, and the court has extended Sydeeks police custody by three days to allow further inquiry. Officials from both State and Central intelligence agencies, including the Kerala ATS, are now jointly examining the broader implications of Sydeeks alleged connections with banned outfits. Sydeek stayed in hotel with girl Sydeek told investigators that he had travelled to Nagpur to meet a girl he had connected with on Instagram roughly a month prior. The girl is pursuing law degree from a reputed college and her parents are staying at Pune. The two spent time together at a hotel for three days. The duo reportedly visited a local rifle shop, where the woman photographed Sydeek holding an air rifle and a pistol. These images helped the police to track his location in Nagpur city.
Political cauldron on boil over Vijay Shahs issue





BJP yet to decide on ministers resignation, Congress gheraoes Raj Bhawan

By Bhavana Aparajita Shukla :

Across the State, people as well as Opposition Congress are up in arms against the BJP leader and Minister, Vijay Shah, but it seems that State BJP is waiting for courts further direction as hearing was under way on Friday too and decision on resignation is yet not on cards, sources told. Acting on the High Courts direction, FIR has been registered against the Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah in the State. But the question of the said ministers resignation for which the Opposition has intensified its protest in various parts of the State, including State capital where the grand old party has led a massive demonstration, is gaining ground. BJP State President V D Sharma dodged the question of resignation while Chief Minister Mohan Yadav indicated his resignation from the Cabinet is not on the cards. CM said that the State Government will abide by the court decision, and further said that Congress has no right to speak on the issue.

Chief Minister Yadav on Oppositions demand said that why they were silent on Siddaramaiah and the then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals case. Congress can only level charges, he said. As far as action is considered, the honourable court has given its order and following their direction action has been taken. As the wave of condemnation emerging from different parts of the State against the minister, party officials coincidentally were in Bhopal to discuss preparations for the Union Ministry of Cultures three-day event to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar. They deliberated on the issue of Shah at length and asked the latter to come to the party state headquarters the same day. The top brass of the party, including Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, President V D Sharma and Organisation General Secretary Hitanand Sharma, discussed the issue on Wednesday night it self and now they are waiting for courts further order. Reacting sharply on BJP Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for his alleged and irresponsible comments, the Supreme Court observed that a person holding a Constitutional post must exercise restraint, especially during sensitive national operations like Operation Sindoor. What kind of statement you (Shah) are making? Such a person holding a Constitutional office should be responsible. When this country is going through such a situation (Operation Sindoor). He has to know what he is saying. Just because you are a minister,



Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, staging protest near Raj Bhawan on Friday. Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, staging protest near Raj Bhawan on Friday.

Congress stages massive protest

After the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress protest against Minister Vijay Shah in Bhopal, Congress workers and leaders in large numbers gathered on Raj Bhawan road in the morning. Since late night there was high security at Raj Bhawan, a Congress delegation led a massive protest over Vijay Shahs controversial remark on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. On Friday, a delegation led by Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar sat infront of Raj Bhawan demanding resignation of Tribal Minister Vijay Shah for his objectionable gutter language referring to a senior woman army officer. Huge police force and their vehicles were deployed to arrest the protesters in case of violating set rules. Congressmen were in black attire symbolising confrontation over the said ministers remark. They were forcibly taken in to bus and some Congress leader can be heard saying Sena ka apman kiya jaraja hai Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh from the window of the bus reiterated that action are being taken against those who are talking about senas samman (armys respect). Sources said that in view of his tribal background and hold among tribal people, it is not easy for any political party to ask for resignation.
Risky, dangerous !





DEFENCE Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh has raised a very important issue for the worlds consideration. He has said, given its vulnerability to pressure from terrorist ecosystem, Pakistans nuclear facilities -- of production of N-arms and their storage -- should be brought under a close monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Possibly such a monitoring may not be in actual mandate of the IAEA -- and a separate arrangement may have to be sought. Nevertheless, the point Mr. Rajnath Singh -- and therefore India -- has raised cannot be put aside. For, as is well known to the world, Pakistan is a rogue State whose rulers cannot be trusted for their sense of restraint and responsibility to handle with extreme caution a power-tool as potent as Nuclear arms. When pushed to the extreme, Pakistan, under the influence and pressure from terror ecosystem, may resort to use of N-arms that are actually considered only as deterrents and not intended for actual use in a confrontation. Hence the risk and danger of its abuse and misuse on a short-fuse.

Hence the concern expressed by India through Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh. Nobody can dismiss the element of apprehension India feels. Obviously, India wants the world to act as a counter-pressure on Pakistans nuclear itch -- which it expresses so often and threatens India, as referred to by Mr. Rajnath Singh. This demand has its own legitimacy and its own importance in the overall scheme of nuclear power with a rogue State like Pakistan in focus. It is time the world took a serious note of this demand -- coming from a responsible State like India. It is the biggest misfortune that a country like Pakistan was born out of hatred and not out of any philosophical belief-system stitched inseparably to its creation. Even though the two-nation theory was linked closely to two different religious identities of the people of the then undivided India, it never actually worked in practical life.

he Partition left crores of Muslims behind in India -- which made a clear-cut domain-definition impossible. In its own wisdom, the Indian leadership adopted secular framework and carved out a generally harmonious society where people of all faiths got equal respect. In sharp contrast, Pakistan treated itself as a fully Islamic State and allowed hatred for non-Muslims to play a negative role in its existence. And as it proceeded on that path, it also used terror as a tool of State policy. Terrorism, to say that bluntly, was like a tiger on whose back the ruler could mount only once but could not get down. For, if they dismounted, the tiger was sure to gobble them up. The same principle and condition applies to every aspect of the relationship the Pakistani rulers have with terror ecosystem. Naturally, the logic of the terrorist control on Pakistans power-pyramid also is applicable.

Hence the Indian apprehension about the abuse of Nuclear-arms during crunch times under the pressure from terrorists. For, once the control of corridors of power slips into wrong hands, then power gets abused and misused in unimaginable ways. Of course, when Mr. Rajnath Singh raised the issue at a forward base, India had already established its superior military credentials and had pushed Pakistan back into an apologetic corner by hoodwinking its Nuclear-weapons and their defence or deployment systems. In other words, Indian stance on Pakistans absence of responsibility did not create any fear in India. Yet, India chose to push that aspect to the fore of international discourse out of a strategic idea of reining in Pakistan in this or that manner. By putting forth this issue, India has brought to the worlds notice how Nuclear-power has fallen in vulnerable hands in Pakistan -- so that the international community becomes aware of the risk factor.
SSIMS suspends doctor over viral self-promotion ad quoting PMs remark





The Hitavada State Bureau Bhilai/Raipur :

Notice served by Cgarh medical council for explanation

Complaint escalated to NMC for further action

In a stern administrative move, the Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Medical Sciences (SSIMS), Bhilai, has suspended Dr Shivendra Singh Tiwari, Associate Professor in General Surgery, for a period of 15 days, following a widely circulated WhatsApp advertisement allegedly posted by him. The ad, which carried a creative, but controversial health message quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modis symbolic phrase, Blood and water cannot flow together, sparked criticism within professional circles and was deemed disgraceful by the college administration. The order, a copy of which has been accessed by The Hitavada, issued on May 15, 2025 by the Dean of SSIMS, categorically stated that the act of promoting oneself through viral social media circulation was unwarranted and disgraceful, especially from a person holding the responsible position of a medical educator.

The advertisement, positioned in a public health context, merged political symbolism with a urological advisory, urging people to consult a specialist if blood appears in urine. The content, however, invited institutional disapproval for its perceived self-aggrandisement.

The management has therefore taken a very serious view of the above act, read the office order, adding that a high-power committee has been constituted to investigate the matter further. Dr Tiwari has been asked to report to the Deans office daily at 9:00 am during the suspension period. Sources confirmed that the Chhattisgarh State Medical Council has served a show-cause notice to Dr Tiwari, demanding an explanation. Furthermore, a formal complaint has also been forwarded to the National Medical Commission (NMC), New Delhi, seeking appropriate disciplinary action under professional conduct guidelines. The developments have been officially communicated to the Director of Medical Education, Government of Chhattisgarh, and the Honble Chairman of Shri Gangajali Education Society (SGES), Bhilaiwhich manages the Shri Shankaracharya Group of Institutions, for their cognisance and institutional review.
Turkish firm Celebis stock tanks 10 pc





NEW DELHI :

THE stock of Turkish ground-handling firm Celebi Airport Services tanked 10 per cent on Friday after India revoked the security clearance of the company amid calls to ban Turkish businesses, in the wake of their country supporting Pakistan which harbours terrorism. The stock fell 222 points, or 10 per cent, to trade at 2,002 in Istanbul on Friday, extending its losses to nearly 30 per cent in four sessions. The stock was under pressure in the past few days amid clamour for action against the Turkish firm. Meanwhile, Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the Indian government's decision to revoke its security clearance, citing national security concerns.

The company, which provides airport ground handling services across India, argued that the move will jeopardise thousands of jobs and threatens investor confidence. In a notification, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday that in the exercise of power conferred upon DG, BCAS, the security clearance in Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd is hereby revoked with immediate effect in the interest of National Security. Recognising the seriousness of the issue and the callto protect national interests, we have taken cognisance of these requests and Ministry of Civil Aviation has revoked security clearance of the said company. Ensuring safety and interests of the nation remains our top priority, said MoS for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol.

Boycott Turkey, Azerbaijan: CAIT

NEW DELHI,

May 16 (PTI)

TRADERS lobby Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Friday decided to boycott all trade and commercial engagement with Turkey and Azerbaijan, citing their recent support for Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor. According to CAIT, the decision includes a nationwide boycott of Turkish and Azerbaijani goods, with traders across India halting imports from these countries. The association also stated that Indian exporters, importers, and business delegations will be discouraged from any engagement with companies or institutions based in Turkey and Azerbaijan. The traders lobby shared that a memorandum will be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of External Affairs, urging policy-level review of all commercial ties with these nations. The CAIT has also declared that the business community will boycott Indian films shot in Turkey and Azerbaijan. It also warned corporate houses against filming any product promotions in these two countries. The decisions were taken at a National Conference of Trade Leaders convened by CAIT here, where representatives from around 24 States participated.
By Rae Wee and Vidya Ranganathan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -As the currencies of South Korea, Taiwan and Japan rise, so too is chatter that these economies could use exchange rate revaluation as a carrot in trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

While a stronger currency has historically meant a competitive disadvantage for these Asian exporters, revaluation may now be the least costly bargaining chip in their scramble for favourable trading terms with the U.S.

The Korean won surged this week after officials there said currency policy was discussed at a meeting they had in Milan with U.S. officials on May 5. That comes just days after U.S.-Taiwan talks triggered an unprecedented 8% surge in the Taiwan dollar.

Japan's finance minister is meanwhile seeking to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the G7 meetings in Canada next week to discuss foreign exchange.

Market participants have been quick to connect these developments with China's surprise 90-day trade truce with United States on the weekend at Geneva.

"This China deal is very bad news for Korea, for Japan, for anybody waiting in the queue, because now they need to offer what China managed to avoid," said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis.

She believes Taiwan may have agreed to revalue its currency as part of trade negotiations, while China pushed back against such a request.

The clock is ticking for export-reliant Asia. Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariffs, ranging from 25% for South Korea to 46% for Vietnam, were suspended for 90 days but could kick in on July 8, unless deals are struck.

There is greater urgency for China's immediate neighbours Japan, Korea and Taiwan, which risk being displaced from semiconductor and autos supply chains as China and India expedite negotiations with Trump.

China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam are also among the economies on the U.S. Treasury's "monitoring list" for currency practices - something Trump's team could use as a talking point in negotiations.

"The Koreans might think, 'well actually a stronger currency is in our interest and so we may as well propose this in these negotiations'," said HSBC's chief Asia economist Fred Neumann.

"These currency angles are only coming up in certain negotiations and not in others, maybe because the U.S. is not insisting on it, but it's really the other country that has brought them in as a way to kind of appease U.S. demands."

TAIL WAGGING THE DOG

Trump and Bessent have both expressed a preference for a strong dollar, though that has done little to squelch suspicion that the U.S. President wants an adjustment lower in the world's top reserve currency, a deal dubbed the Mar-a-Lago accord.
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Editors note: This article contains descriptions of racial slurs. For more information, see our editorial standards.

A regional attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reminded employers May 14 that managers are responsible for ensuring workplaces are compliant with the Civil Rights Act. Employers must ensure that the supervisors they empower to enforce anti-employment discrimination policies actually do so. Failing to comply with equal employment opportunity laws can be costly, EEOC Regional Attorney Roberta Steele, who works in the San Francisco district office, said in a statement.

Steeles statement referenced a recent settlement and consent decree entered into by the EEOC, in which Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., a vehicle auctioneer, must pay a Black worker $175,000 to settle a racial harassment violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Part of the sum is compensatory damages, which is $171,100 for emotional distress, pain and suffering. An additional $3,900 must be paid as additional wages.

Per the complaint in EEOC v. Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., the employee plaintiff, who worked at IAAIs Fremont, California, location, was continually called the N-word by a co-worker, despite the workers opposition to it. His co-worker would allegedly call him the N-word up to 15 times a day; other colleagues would gang up on the charging party and join in, EEOC alleged. The general manager was allegedly aware of this conduct.

The EEOC filed a complaint on Sept. 30, 2024, alleging that the employer subjected the worker to racial harassment resulting in constructive discharge, according to the consent decree.

Not only does the consent decree enjoin IAAIfrom discriminating against workers based on race or creating a similarly hostile work environment, but it must appoint, identify and retain an equal employment opportunity consultant to help the company comply with Title VII and the decree.

The consultant must assist the employer in reviewing and revising compliance policies, training employees on Title VII, and creating policies for better investigation of racial discrimination complaints, among other requirements.

Christopher Green, district director for the EEOCs San Francisco office, said EEOC commends Auto Auctions new ownership for its cooperation in resolving this case early in the lawsuit even though the harassment predated its involvement, and added that the settlement provides fair compensation for the worker but also, long-awaited closure for both the worker and the company.
Switzerland-based supplier Autoneum has signed an agreement to acquire all shares of Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Interior Parts Co., Ltd., an automotive supplier for acoustic and thermal management in China. Together with the recently completed acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu Group, the Business Group Asia unit is further expanding its customer base to include other major Chinese vehicle manufacturers such as FAW-VW, FAW-Audi, FAW-Toyota and Geely.

The transaction is scheduled to close in July 2025.

Established in 2011, Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Group operates four production facilities with around 240 employees in the immediate vicinity of local automotive manufacturers in the north, center and south of China.

Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Groups product portfolio is very similar to that of Autoneum and includes components such as floor insulators, wheelhouse liners, trunk trims, inner dashes, hoodliners and outer dashes.

In the 2024 financial year, Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Group generated a preliminary revenue of around CHF 27 million, with a growth projected for the coming years. The purchase price is around CHF 16 million (excluding cash and cash equivalents and debt) and closing is expected in July 2025 following the necessary approvals by the authorities. It is intended to continue operating the Group under the Chinese company names.

From an organizational perspective, however, Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Group will be fully integrated into Business Group Asia in order to fully leverage the synergies.

Chengdu FAW-Sihuan Group, like the Jiangsu Huanyu Group, offers access to local vehicle manufacturers in China. This will enable Autoneum to continue to expand and complete its customer base in this key market.

The acquisition is in line with our corporate strategy Level Up and marks another important step in implementing our strategic pillar Accelerate global growth, said Eelco Spoelder, Chief Executive Officer of Autoneum.

By adding further local Chinese car manufacturers to our customer portfolio, this latest takeover, together with the acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu Group, will bring us even closer to our medium-term target of generating 20 percent of Group revenue in Asia.

"Autoneum acquires another Chinese automotive supplier" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.




Bank al Etihad and banking solutions provider Investbank have announced Jordans largest banking merger.

Both the companies respective boards of directors have approved a strategic merger under which Bank al Etihad is set to acquire 100% of Investbanks share capital.

This acquisition will be executed through a capital increase by Bank al Etihad, where newly issued shares will be allocated to Investbank shareholders in exchange for their full ownership transfer.

The merger will result in Investbank being integrated into Bank al Etihad, which will remain the surviving entity, in compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Upon completion, Bank al Etihad's capital is expected to rise to Jd325.2m ($458.6m), with total equity projected to reach approximately Jd1bn ($1.41bn).

The combined total assets will approach Jd11bn ($15.5bn), positioning Bank al Etihad as one of the largest banking institutions in the country.

Both banks have committed to retaining their employees, acknowledging the significance of human capital in achieving success and maintaining stability. They aim to create a supportive work environment that enables professionals to excel in this new phase.

Basem Salfiti will continue as chairman of the board, while Fahmi Abu Khadra is set to become vice chairman, pending board approval.

Muntaser Dawwas is expected to be appointed as CEO, subject to approval from the Central Bank of Jordan. Her excellency Nadia Al-Saeed will remain in her position until the transition is finalised.

The merger will be presented to the general assemblies of both banks during extraordinary meetings scheduled for 25 June 2025.

This will mark the beginning of the formal procedures, pending the necessary regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Jordan, the Ministry of Industry and Trade / Companies Control Department, and the Jordan Securities Commission.

In 2023, Bank al Etihad partnered with Swiss fintech NetGuardians to enhance its fraud prevention capabilities by implementing NetGuardians' AI-driven payment fraud prevention solution.

"Bank al Etihad to acquire Investbank" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




BMW's chief executive Oliver Zipse felt his company's reluctance to jump on the EV bandwagon has been vindicated even as he prepares to launch his first of several models underpinned by an platform built from the ground up for EVs. We took a clear stand on this, even in the face of strong headwinds. Now the wind has shifted in our direction, he said.

Market research firm Gartner dubbed it the trough of disillusionment: the stage when a buzzy new technology first fails to live up to its hype.

One of the earliest to predict electric vehicles would suffer its own growing pains has been BMW. For years, executives at the German premium carmaker have been warning car buyers would not make the switch as quickly as anticipated, despite all the excitement around Tesla.

Now, it's told shareholders it would stand by its commitment to offer customers a wide range of drivetrain options including combustion engine, hybrid, and even hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars, with the latter debuting in 2028.

Technology openness means following the markets, because markets evolve, but not all a the same pace, said CEO Oliver Zipse at BMWs annual meeting on Wednesday. E-mobility as the sole technology leads to a dead end. That should be obvious by now.

Some five years ago, a number of brands including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Volvo proclaimed ambitious targets for how soon they would switch to EVs. By comparison, BMWs reluctance to jump on the EV bandwagon saw rivals like VWs ex-CEO Herbert Diess criticize the company for slowing down progress.

We took a clear stand on this, even in the face of strong headwinds. Now the wind has shifted in our direction, Zipse continued.

BMW turned bearish on EVs after the company was burned by the i3, a small EV for inner-city driving that launched in 2013. Featuring a lightweight but expensive carbon-fibre body, it was supposed to be a trend setter, but ended up a financial failure in the eyes of analysts and investors.

Legacy brands struggled to convince their customer base of the advantages of EVs

At the start of the decade, this EV evangelizing seemed to make sense as Tesla was all the rage and CEO Elon Musk struggled to keep up with demand. In 2020, Tesla eclipsed all automotive peers to become the most valuable carmaker in the world despite selling only half a million vehicles that year.

BMWs rivals had already poured billions into the development of dedicated architectures capable of economically building a wide variety of EVs in all shapes and sizessuch as the EVA2 at Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagens vaunted MEB platform.


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By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian beef processor Marfrig announced on Thursday a plan to complete its takeover of poultry and pork processor BRF , while teasing plans to eventually list shares of the combined entity in the United States.

The move caps a long-running strategy by Marfrig, which already owns just over 50% of BRF, gaining scale to compete with Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS, which is nearing a move to list its shares in New York. All three firms are now listed in Sao Paulo.

In public disclosures, Marfrig and BRF said the proposed deal would involve a share swap whereby BRF shareholders would receive 0.8521 shares of Marfrig for each BRF share they own.

The move also entails creation of a company to be called MBRF, which will also control Marfrig-owned National Beef, a meat processor based in the United States that will also be integrated into the new corporate structure.

In a joint statement, the companies said they expected 805 million reais ($142 million) of annual synergies from the tie-up, with 400 million to 500 million reais captured in the first year. Shareholders are set to vote June 18 on the proposal.

Executives at BRF told analysts the move is aimed at building on both companies' strengths, giving them more power to compete with giant food producers on the global stage.

CFO Fabio Mariano said MBRF could move its fiscal domicile and list shares in New York at some point. First, he said the merging companies need to focus on extracting "synergies" from the new structure.

In May 2021, Marfrig bought almost a quarter of BRF's shares, becoming then its top shareholder, but saying at the time it would remain a passive shareholder. Gradually, Marfrig increased its stake in the company to the current 50.49%.

The companies had combined net sales of 152 billion reais ($26.75 billion) in the last 12 months, with 38% coming from processed food products with a higher value.

Shares of both companies rose in Sao Paulo trading on Thursday, outperforming sector peers including Minerva and JBS.

BRF's shares closed 4.78% higher at 20.62 reais, but at one point in the session rose over 7%. Marfrig was up by 4.34% to 20.66 reais.

($1 = 5.6817 reais)

(Reporting by Ana Mano; editing by Gabriel Araujo and Diane Craft)
Late on May 16 (May 17 morning in India), Moody's Ratings announced it downgraded the Government of United States of Americas long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Aa1 from Aaa and changed the outlook to stable from negative. The recent move by the rating giant has overreaching significance across the world.

For one, this means that even ratings agencies are looking at the mounting US debt. Debt ratios and interest payments ratios do not align with sovereigns at the same level.

Moreover, in the past decade, US administrations under Joe Biden and Donald Trump (twice) and the US Congress were in a deadlockthey could never agree on significant measures to cut the massive annual fiscal deficits and rising interest costs.

Moodys noted: We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration.

The ratings agency also sees that the massive fiscal deficits could lead to more government debt and, in turn, lead to a higher interest burden.

Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat, Moodys reasoned.

It doesnt look good for the US. In fact, Moodys sees the fiscal performance of the US to likely deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns.

In fact, veteran market guru and Berkshire Hathaway chairperson Warren Buffett, two weeks ago, called US fiscal deficit unsustainable.

We are operating at a fiscal deficit now that is unsustainable over a very long period of time, Buffett said. He even invoked the famous economist Herbert Stein, who in a May 1985 column in The Wall Street Journal wrote about the US fiscal deficit: What economists know seems to consist entirely of a list of things that cannot go on forever, and this may be one of them. But if it cant go on forever it will stop. And if we never do anything that we cant go on doing forever we will never do very much.

While downgrading credit ratings, Moodys lifted the outlook to stable from negative. Therefore, there is a sliver of hope. The US retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the US dollar as global reserve currency, added Moodys.

The Federal Reserves independent nature and the marked constitutional separation of powers among the three branches of government means that we will continue to see effective monetary policy despite some policy uncertainty.

However, the US administration needs to pull up its big-boy pants if it has to arrest the continuous mounting of fiscal deficits. Tax cuts meant a marked reduction in federal revenue, adding fuel to the fire. Without adjustments to taxation and spending, we expect budget flexibility to remain limited, with mandatory spending, including interest expense, projected to rise to around 78 per cent of total spending by 2035 from about 73 per cent in 2024, Moodys stated.

If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extended, it could add around $4 trillion to the federal fiscal primary deficit over the next decadeand this is excluding interest payments.

While we recognize the US significant economic and financial strengths, we believe these no longer fully counterbalance the decline in fiscal metrics, Moodys said, defending the downgrade.

While a broader political blame game could follow, this ratings downgrade could affect American citizens by hitting too close to home. With the US financial system heavily connected to the Treasury yields, this could mean a jump in home mortgage and student loan rates.

Moreover, private investors could take a cautious approach, lifting costs of all lending, including homes, cars/automobiles, and credit cardsa major tool for everyday US residents.
When a devastating earthquake struck Turkiye, India stood by the country with generous humanitarian assistance through Operation Dost.

However, despite Indias goodwill, Turkiye has chosen to align itself with Pakistan, exposing its priorities as a staunchly Islamic state, Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Sanjay Nirupam said at a press conference held in Mumbai on Friday.

There is widespread anger across India over Turkiyes pro-Pakistan stance, Nirupam stated.

Turkiyes support to Pakistanincluding supplying drones used in attacks against Indiais unacceptable. Fortunately, our defence systems, including the Sudarshan Chakra, successfully neutralised these drone and missile threats.

He emphasised that Turkiyes actions had deeply wounded Indian sentiments.

Turkiyes betrayal will not be forgotten. Alongside Turkiye, Azerbaijan has also extended support to Pakistan. Every year, nearly 3 lakh Indian tourists visit Turkiye and 2 lakh travel to Azerbaijan.Now, nearly 50 per cent of those travellers have cancelled their trips. Indians are consciously choosing to boycott these countries, and the economic consequences will be significant.

Nirupam also revealed that the Central Government had begun taking action against Turkish companies operating in India.

Action has already been initiated against Celebi, a company involved in ground-handling services at Indian airports. In addition, Indian traders have started boycotting Turkish imports such as fruits, dry fruits, and other goods.

ALSO READ | Celebi Aviation sues India over 'vague' clearance revocation

Offering historical context, Nirupam pointed out that Islamic invasions in India could be traced back to Turkiye.

Turkish invasions began almost a thousand years ago with Mahmud of Ghazni. His successor, Muhammad Ghori, laid the foundation of the Turkish empire in India and attacked key temples, including the sacred Somnath Temple. Even during British rule, Indian Muslims launched the Khilafat Movement in 1919 in support of the Turkish Caliphate. These historical facts must not be ignored while analysing present-day geopolitics.
After a strong military offensive against Pakistan through Operation Sindoor, India is launching yet another offensive, this time after the ceasefire. It will not involve drones and missiles but some strong diplomacy. India is dispatching seven high-powered, all-party delegationsheaded by four NDA MPs and three Opposition MPto key international capitals, including United Nations Security Council members, to build consensus against cross-border terrorism.

The strategic move to project national unity and convey a message of zero-tolerance towards cross border terrorism to the global leaders and decision makers would mark the next step against Pakistan. The mission would serve twin purposeengage with the foreign countries to tell them India continues to be a victim of terrorism and call for global fight to isolate.

"The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism, a parliamentary affairs ministry statement said.

Secondly, this would send out a strong message to the domestic audiences as all parties were being involved. The involvement of all parties in the delegation may also shield the government against potential criticism that the opposition parties were expected to launch against the government over various aspects of the Operation Sindoor, especially the manner in which ceasefire was announced by US president Donald Trump.

The move is reminiscent of India's earlier successes in the global arena, particularly the 1994 Geneva campaign, when then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had appointed opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee to lead Indias charge against a Pakistan-backed resolution at the UN Commission on Human Rights. The delegation comprised Farooq Abdullah, Salman Khurshid, Manmohan Singh, and E. Ahamed, including Indias UN envoy Hamid Ansari.

That tradition of bipartisan diplomacy is now being rekindled, this time led by the Narendra Modi government in the face of renewed security threats.

As in the case of previous instances of Indias trouble with Pakistan-sponsored terrorismbe it Kargil or Mumbai attacks, the government had launched diplomatic offensive through official channels. Indias diplomatic corps had succeeded in isolating Pakistan internationally, be it after the 1999 Kargil conflict, the 2001 Parliament attack, or the 2008 Mumbai attacks. During Kargil, India's restraint from crossing the LoC, coupled with a successful global diplomatic campaign, led to the US and other global powers pressuring Pakistan into withdrawal.

This time also, following the Pahalgam attack, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had made crucial calls with his counterparts from seven non-permanent UNSC members including Algeria, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, and Somalia, briefing them on the attacks implications. These calls laid the groundwork for the larger global outreach now being undertaken.

For the current diplomatic outreach, the government through Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijuju reached out to the political parties after which the team leaders of seven delegations were announced. These include Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Kanimozhi (DMK), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).

Each team would have members from other parties and former diplomats.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven all-party delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero-tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences."

Tharoors inclusion in the delegation sparked off reactions from the Congress. The party said it had given names of four MPs  Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain, Raja Amrinder Brarbut instead the government picked up Tharoor.

Tharoor, who also chairs the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, said, "I am honoured to serve the national interest when called upon.

When the delegations depart to different countries, they will be armed with detailed dossiers on Pakistans involvement in promoting terror. The success of these delegations mission may help India send a strong message to the world.
In a major crackdown, the Central Bureau of Investigation has filed case against 39 individuals who allegedly sold over a thousand Ghost SIM cards to cyber criminals operating from the Southeast Asian countries.

According to reports, these 39 point-of-sales (PoS) operators came under the radar of investigation agencies after the Home Ministrys 14C kept an eye on SIM cards belonging to Indian telecom operators active in Southeast Asian countries.

Quoting officials, PTI reported that over 64,000 such SIM cards issued by 1,930 PoS fulfilled the criteria. These SIM cards were further shortlisted on the basis of at least 10 complaints against these SIM cards that narrowed the PoS under suspicion to 84.

Further investigation revealed that 39 PoS were currently active and allegedly engaged in creating ghost SIM cards. Officials said cybercriminals operating in Southeast Asian countries use tthese SIM cards to gullible people in India.

How SIM cards are issued

When customer seeks a SIM, point-of-sale person gets an E-KYC done and issues a SIM

Alleged scamsters would lie to the customers that their e-KYC had failed and they should try again

The SIM generated for the first time was handed over to the customer while the second one (Ghost SIM) was sold to cybercriminals

Customer wouldn't know that a SIM generated in their name was being used by cybercriminals

These ghost SIM cards were then used to deceive victims and open fake bank accounts

The CBI suspects that official within the telecom operators may have played a role in activating these Ghost SIM. The agency conducted searches across the country last week and arrested at least five individuals. The searches were conducted as part of the ongoing Operation Chakra V.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday clarified that S. Jaishankar's remarks on "informing" Pakistan about the Operation Sindoor were "misrepresented".

The ministry said the EAM's statement of warning Pakistan "at the start", which is clearly the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement, was utterly false.

"This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out," said MEA.

Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.



EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.



1. Who authorised it?

2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed Jaishankar for "informing" Pakistan in advance about India's military operation against the terror hubs. He alleged that the government had alerted Pakistan about the terror infrastructure to be targeted under Operation Sindoor and termed it as a "crime".

"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it?" asked Gandhi in a post on X.

He also asked the government to release the list of the Indian Air Force's aircrafts lost as part of Operation Sindoor amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" asked Gandhi.

Social media posts quoting EAM @DrSJaishankar are implying that India gave advance information to Pakistan about #OperationSindoor#PIBFactCheck



 EAM is being misquoted, and he has not made this statement



https://t.co/DQriAgE56e https://t.co/05OiwE3kdV  PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 16, 2025

The Congress leader also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror sites on its soil.

While referring to the call made by the Director General of Military Operations Lt General Rajiv Ghai to his Pakistani Major General Kashif Abdullah after the Indian armed forces struck its nine terror sites, Jaishankar told reporters that, "We had sent a message to Pakistan saying we were striking at terrorists' infrastructure."

"We are not striking at the military. So the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," he added.

Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau has also refuted claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. PIB's Fact Check Unit said that the minister was being "misquoted".

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. In retaliation, India launched Operation Sindoor against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the early hours of May 7.
Purnam Kumar Shaw, the Border Security Force jawan who was recently released by Pakistani forces, said he faced inhumane treatment and was interrogated like a spy during his three weeks in Pakistan's custody.

Both India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged each other's border force personnel who had been apprehended along the International Borders (IB) during the recent tensions between the two countries, officials said.

Purnam Shaw, who was accompanying a group of local farmers in the Ferozepur sector, crossed the border inadvertently on April 23. He was released recently after the BSF consistently raised the issue of his custody during flag meetings with their Pakistani counterparts, Hindustan Times reported.

India also released a Pakistani ranger, identified as Muhammadullah, durign the exchange. According to officials, the Pakistani ranger was apprehended by the BSF from the Rajasthan border on May 3.

Narrating the ill treatment he reportedly faced in Pakistan's custody to his pregnant wife Rajani, Shaw reportedly said he was treated like a spy and was not allowed to brush his teeth. Though Shaw said he was not physically tortured by Pakistani forces, he was interrogated every night by Pakistani officials.

During his three-week custody, Shaw was reportedly shifted to three locations. One of the locations seemed like an air base as he heard sounds of aircraft movement. Quoting Shaw's wife, Hindustan Times reported that her husband was served food regularly but was not allowed to brush his teeth. When he spoke, he sounded extremely tired and said he was sleep-deprived, the publication reported quoting Rajani.
Even as the controversy over US President Donald Trumps claim of involvement in the India-Pakistan ceasefire is yet to die down, a BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh sparked off another political storm on Saturday after claiming that New Delhi stopped its military strikes because of an order from the United Nations.

The Narendra Modi government has categorically ruled out any third party intervention and said the ceasefire was reached after the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan called his Indian counterpart.

Speaking at a `Tiranga Yatra' organised by the BJP in Rewa, Narendra Prajapati, a first-time MLA, said Pakistan would have been finished off unless the UN ordered India to stop.

"I will say that the exercise under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Pakistan would have finished it (neighbouring country) off, had we not got an order of ceasefire from the UN, as Modi ji had said very soon a befitting reply will be given (to the terror attack)," he said.

#WATCH | On his statement about cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Narendra Prajapati says, "...Today, India is in such a position that it does not need anyone's mediation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance is that he is not accepting pic.twitter.com/LuLgobZpUk  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2025

As his remarks triggered a row, the MLA clarified in the evening that he had spoken in a surge of emotions. He accused media of presenting his statements in distorted and doctored way.

"Indian Army entered Pakistan and destroyed nine bases of terrorists. When Pakistan's economy wobbled and Pakistan was on its knees and pleaded, only then prime minister Modi and the Indian armed forces announced a ceasefire," he said.

Prajapati is not the first BJP leader from the state to court controversy by making remarks on Indias military operation. On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda said the country, its army and soldiers have "bowed down at the feet" of PM Modi because of the successful execution of Operation Sindoor. Earlier, another minister Vijay Shah came under fire for his remarks on Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor.
After the senior Member of Parliament from the Congress party Shashi Tharoor was perceived praising the BJP-led government over its handling of national security during Operation Sindoor, the guns were out in the Congress questioning his disregard for party line.

Later, as the government suggested his name for representing India in an all-party delegation for diplomatic outreach, there hinted at further schism within the party.

Congress communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh revealed that Tharoor was not among the leaders recommended by the party. The Congress's picks were Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. However, the government nominated Tharoor, who accepted the responsibility. This led to further tensions between Tharoor and the Congress leadership.

According to senior Congress leaders, Tharoor should have taken permission from the Congress leadership, which is a prescribed format for any kind of political activity, which he did not. Instead, he posted a cryptic tweet where he mentioned national duty as a reason for accepting the ruling partys invite.

This has made Tharoors standing weaker within the Congress. According to party insiders in Kerala, he has been seeking a promotion in organisational duties but has not been getting any position of power within the organisation.

I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events.



When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting.



Jai Hind!  pic.twitter.com/b4Qjd12cN9  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 17, 2025

A senior Congress leader seeking anonymity said the reason behind that is that the party doesn't consider him a man of organisation. If he says something against the Congress or in favour of BJP, a congress leader said, It can damage the party politically at any critical moment, and the loss will be irreparable.

Yet the party has been confused about Tharoors role in the Congress. The party recently made organisational changes in the Pradesh Congress Committee of Kerala.

However, there is also a common understanding within the Congress rank and file that Tharoor hasn't been employed proportionately within the grand old party, which has made him resentful.

According to media reports, Shashi Tharoor is expected to lead the Indian outreach to the United States, which is said to have brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan after three days of fierce standoff.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)  Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, maker of blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, said Friday its CEO was stepping down by mutual agreement with the company's board of directors, citing recent market challenges and a steep decline in the company's share price.

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen's departure comes a week after the company downgraded its sales and profits forecast, and follows a more than 50% decline in the company's shares since mid-2024. Shares had skyrocketed after the introduction of Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic, which are both based on the same basic ingredient, semaglutide.

At the peak, the company's market capitalization - or the combined price of all its shares - exceeded Denmark's annual gross domestic product and made it Europe's most valuable company, a title it has since lost to software maker SAP.

The company said May 7 that Wegovy sales in the U.S. had been undercut by cheaper replica drugs produced by so-called compounding pharmacies using active ingredients of patented drugs in case of shortage. The Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. drug regulator, has said however that the shortages have eased and the replicas will have to cease in the coming months.

The drugs are part of a wave of obesity medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists that also includes another Novo weight loss drug, Saxenda. They have soared in popularity due to the amount of weight people lose while taking the injections.

On Sunday a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing people lost more weight using competitor drug Zepbound, made by Eli Lilly of Indianapolis. The study, the first head-to-head comparison of the two, was funded by Lilly. Novo Nordisk's share price is down 54% from its peak in June 2024. Its U.S.-listed shares fell another 3% in morning trading Friday.

The company, headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, praised a significant growth journey and transformation led by Jorgensen during his eight years as CEO. He has been with the company since 1991.

The changes are, however, made in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the companys share price since mid-2024, the company said in a statement. The board and Jorgensen have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.

Jorgensen will continue as CEO for a period to support a smooth transition.

-

AP Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed from Indianapolis.
In a crackdown against terrorist activities, Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday booked 23 terror associates under the Public Safety Act in Srinagar.

The accused have been detained and lodged in the district jails of Poonch, Udhampur and Kot Balwal, Jammu.

Police in a statement said that "decisive action against subversive and criminal elements inimical to the security and public order of the nation, Srinagar police has booked 23 terror associates of proscribed terror outfits involved in subversive activities and miscreants involved in public disturbance under the PSA."

The accused were nabbed after obtaining detention orders from the District Magistrate of Srinagar based on the police's report.

Several criminal cases were registered against the detained individuals. "They did not mend their ways even after getting bail from the courts. They were brazenly involved in the disturbance of public order, criminal and subversive activities against the nation," a police spokesperson was quoted by PTI.

The crackdown comes as an aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people were killed. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

Also, Jammu and Kashmir Police's State Investigation Agency (SIA) conducted raids in 11 locations in Kashmir. According to the officials, these raids were conducted in connection with the investigation of cases registered under various sections of the UA(P) Act.

Preliminary investigation by the team has revealed that these terror associates, those detained by the police as part of the crackdown, were actively engaged in terror conspiracy, propagating and furthering anti-India narratives aimed at inciting communal hatred, and public disorder.
The tradition of farewells organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) marks the end of a judges tenure with dignity and camaraderie. These ceremonies, held on a judges last working day, are a testament to the mutual respect between the Bench and the Bar. Yet, there are rare instances when this tradition falters either because the SCBA withholds the farewell or because a judge declines it.

Justice Bela M. Trivedi, faced an unprecedented slight. The SCBA, breaking from custom, did not organise a farewell for her, a decision that stirred murmurs in legal circles. Justice Trivedi, who will retire on June 9, chose May 16 as her last working day due to a family commitment. She earned both admiration and criticism for her strict judicial stance.

SCBAs silence on the farewell was seen by many as a reaction to these tensions, though no official reason was given. Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, presiding over a ceremonial bench, openly criticised the SCBAs stance, calling it a breach of tradition. The presence of a full house here vindicates that she is a very, very good judge, he declared, praising Justice Trivedis fairness and dedication.

As per tradition, the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) each host farewell ceremonies to honour a retiring judge. SCAORA usually holds its event three to four days prior to the judges final working day, while SCBA organises its ceremony on the day the judge formally demits office.

Justice Trivedi, who was the 11th woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court in its 75-year-old history, had the rare distinction of being elevated to the top court after starting out as a trial court judge in Gujarat in July 1995, and was part of the top court's several landmark judgments.

Justice Bela enrolled as an advocate in 1983, practising civil and constitutional law at the Gujarat High Court for nearly a decade. Her sharp intellect and commitment to fairness earned her respect, but it was her appointment as a judge at the City Civil and Sessions Court in Ahmedabad in 1995 that marked a historic moment. Coincidentally, her father served in the same court, a rare father-daughter judicial duo immortalised in the 1996 Limca Book of Records.

In a letter to the SCBA and SCAORA, Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra urged the two associations to reconsider their decision to disrupt the long-established tradition of giving a farewell, which, he said, was a hallmark of the institutional respect and recognition for the distinguished service rendered by retiring judges.

On her last working day, Justice Trivedi said, I have always worked based on my inner conscience.

But, in the past, some judges have chosen to forgo the farewell themselves, driven by personal or ideological reasons. In 1988, Justice A.P. Sen became one of the first to refuse a farewell.

Justice G.T. Nanavati who retired on March 16, 1999, also refused a farewell by the SCBA as he was a private individual who shunned ceremonial gestures.

Justice Ruma Pal declined a farewell upon her retirement on June 2, 2006 and she chose to forego the ceremony to maintain a private departure.

In 2018, Justice Jasti Chelameswar, the second-most senior judge, declined the SCBAs invitation for a farewell function.

Similarly in 2020, Justice Arun Mishra declined one amid the Covid-19 pandemic, citing his conscience.

Justice V. Ramasubramanian who retired on June 29, 2023, opted out of the SCBAs farewell ceremony. According to people aware about the decision, he communicated his preference to the SCBA, requesting no formal event, and his retirement passed quietly during the courts summer vacation.
The Kerala unit of Congress took a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and said it had to choose Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for its global outreach programme on 'Operation Sindoor', given the "talent vacuum within the BJP". Tharoor is one among the seven MPs who would lead an all-party delegation to partner countries to expose Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Interestingly, Congress's praise for Tharoor comes after he was chided by party leadership for his supposedly pro-Modi stand on the military operation against Pakistan. Charging the Narendra Modi-led regime has lost credibility on the global stage, Congress said the Centre had to depend on Tharoor as the "nation needs a voice that commands respect."

At a time when Prime Minister Modi and his External Affairs Minister have lost credibility internationally, the nation needs a voice that commands respect. We appreciate the government for recognising the talent vacuum within the BJP and choosing a Congress leader to represent pic.twitter.com/bue2FSZaEO  Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) May 16, 2025

"At a time when Prime Minister Modi and his External Affairs Minister have lost credibility internationally, the nation needs a voice that commands respect," Kerala unit of Congress tweeted. " We appreciate the government for recognising the talent vacuum within the BJP and choosing a Congress leader to represent the country. We are confident that Dr @ShashiTharoor will present Indias case at global level & correct the mistakes made by Modi Govt!" it added.

The Centre on Friday said seven all-party delegations will visit partner countries and present steps taken by India to combat cross-border terrorism. A delegation will present India's stand at the UN Security Council later this month, the Union government said in a statement.

"In the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven all-party delegations are set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council later this month. The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations," the parliamentary affairs ministry said in a statement.

As per the statement, Shashi Tharoor, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Baijayant Panda, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Supriya Sule and Shrikant Eknath Shinde will lead the delegations. Besides Tharoor, the Centre has reportedly also approached Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid and Amar Singh for the outreach effort.
More than 3.5 lakh people have registered for this years Amarnath Yatra since April 14. The yatra will begin on July 3 and end on August 9.

This yearly pilgrimage draws devotees from across India to see the natural ice Shivling at the holy Amarnath cave. The ice Shivling is believed to be a form of Lord Shiva and grows and shrinks with the moon, reaching its full size during the Shravan month (JulyAugust).

The excitement among devotees remains high, even after the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 25 tourists and a local horseman.

In response, India carried out Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The first group of pilgrims will leave Jammu on July 2 and travel towards Pahalgam and Baltal. The two routes that lead to the Amarnath cave. Pahalgam serves as one of the main base camps for the journey.

To make the yatra safe and comfortable, the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board are making all necessary arrangements.

These include facilities starting from Lakhanpur (the J&K border entry point) to the holy cave.

On Friday, Jammu Tourism Director Vikas Gupta, and Joint Director Aijaz Qaiser visited the Yatri Niwas in Jammu to check preparations. The Yatri Niwas is where many pilgrims stay before starting the yatra.

Health officials will be available day and night at the base camp to look after the health of the devotees.

Due to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, security will be much tighter this year.

Strong security measures will be in place to make the journey safe and peaceful for everyone.

Preparations are moving quickly, and the administration is working hard to ensure a smooth experience for all pilgrims taking part in this spiritual journey. Many hoteliers, pony- walls, transporters are eagerly waiting for the yatra to begin with the hope that it will revive tourism in the scenic place. After the terror attack, tourist arrivals in Pahalgam have fallen drastically. More than 10,000 people have lost their jobs, while earnings for shopkeepers and hoteliers have declined significantly.
Jyoti Malhotra, who runs the YouTube channel Travel with Jo, was among six arrested for espionage and passing information to Pakistan spy agency ISI, according to officials.

ALSO READ: How ISI spy vlogger Jyoti Malhotra exposed herself on YouTube, posed with expelled Pakistani official

Police said all six arrested people communicated with the ISI regularly. Some of them acted as agents and informants while others transported funds.

Who is Jyoti Malhotra?

Jyoti Malhotra who was nabbed from Haryana's Hisar visited Pakistan in 2023. She used her social media to portray a positive image of Pakistan and spread Pakistani propaganda.

Jyoti became close to Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an employee at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. He introduced her to several ISI operatives including Shakir alias Rana Shahbaz. His number was saved as Jatt Randhawa on her phone. She also became intimate with one Pakistani Intelligence Operative, with whom she travelled to Bali.

She also informed ISI about sensitive locations in India. The woman who was sent to five-day police custody has been charged under BNS Section 152, Official Secrets Act, 1923 Sections 3, 4 and 5.

Devendra Singh Dhillon, 25, was another spy arrested from Kaithal. The Khalsa College student from Patiala went to Pakistan via the Kartarpur Corridor in November 2024. He shared images of the Patiala military cantonment with ISI.

Another woman arrested for spying was Guzala, 32, from Punjab's Malerkotla. She visited the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to apply for a visa on February 27, 2025. She met Danish, the employee who was in touch with Jyoti. He asked her to use Telegram instead of WhatsApp. Later, he used her as financial conduit to transfer money to specific recipients.
Apple farmers in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are hopeful after a growing demand for a boycott of Turkish apples across India.

The call for a boycott began after Turkey supported Pakistan after a terror attack in Kashmir and India's military response under Operation Sindoor.

Many people in India are now choosing not to buy Turkish apples as a sign of protest.

For years, farmers in Kashmir and Himachal have faced problems because of cheap apples imported from Turkey and Iran.

These apples are often 1520% cheaper than Indian apples because of government support in those countries. Last year, 23 per cent of apple imports in India were from Turkey. This has made it hard for Indian farmers to get good prices.

Himachal Pradesh produces about 6 lakh metric tonnes. But because of cheap imports, many farmers in these states have suffered losses.

Now, with the boycott, fruit markets in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, and other cities are not selling Turkish apples. More buyers are asking for local Indian apples, which is giving farmers hope for better prices this year.

However, farmers are still worried about Iranian apples, which are also imported in large amounts through Afghanistanover 2 lakh metric tonnes every year.

Fayaz Ahmed Malik, president of Sopore Fruit Mandi, Asias largest fruit trading center, said the ban on Turkish apple will help sales of Kashmiri apple.

This will help boost the earnings of apple farmers in Kashmir, he said.

Around 7 lakh families in Kashmir and 2 lakh in Himachal Pradesh depend on apple farming for their income. Many other jobslike transport, cold storage, packaging, and labouralso depend on the apple trade. If Indian apples sell better this year, it could bring in thousands of crores in extra income for farmers and related businesses.

The central government has not yet announced a ban on Turkish apples, but officials have said they are discussing the issue. Meanwhile, farmers are watching closely and hoping this will finally be a turning point for apple growers in India.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he was pleased to lead an all-party delegation to partner countries as part of the Centre's efforts to ramp up diplomatic measures against Pakistan. Tharoor's response comes after Congress publicised that his name was not part of the official list submitted for all-party delegation by the party.

Seven all-party delegations will visit partner nations later this month and present India's message against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism. In a release, the Union government said, "The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism."

Welcoming the move, Tharoor, in a post on X, said, "I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events. When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting." Tharoor is likely to lead the all-party delegation to the United States.

However, Tharoor's comments came after Congress released names of MPs it had officially suggested for the all-party delegation. Congress secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan. By noon yesterday May 16th, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs giving the following names on behalf of the INC - Anand Sharma, former Union cabinet minister; Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader, INC LS; Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, MP, RS; Raja Brar, MP, LS."

Besides Tharoor, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Baijayant Panda, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Supriya Sule and Shrikant Eknath Shinde will lead all-party delegations to partner countries.
In an attempt to decode Tamil Nadus resistance to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has written a book in Tamil titled NEP Ennum Madhayaanai (NEP: A Rogue Elephant).

The book will be released by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, while Congress MP Digvijaya Singh will receive the first copy. Former Supreme Court judge Justice V. Gopala Gowda and former ISRO director Dr Mylswamy Annadurai will also take part in the event. The book aims to explain the reasons for Tamil Nadu's opposition to NEP 2020. Running to 150 pages, the book is expected to recall Tamil Nadus fight against Hindi imposition.

The union government is persistently trying to impose the National Education Policy, which is fundamentally rooted in Sanskrit. Recognising the serious threats this policy poses to teachers, students and parents, the chief minister has been firmly opposing it and has declared that it cannot be accepted under any circumstances, Anbil Mahesh had posted on X, a few days before.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhans remarks on the three-language policy, NEP 2020, and the Centres resolve to withhold the funds to the states which do not implement NEP seems to have come out in the book. Stung by the Centres action to withhold the Rs. 2,512 crore due to the state under the Samara Shiksha Abhiyan, Tamil Nadu will renew its attack on the Centre and the NEP through the book written by Mahesh.

I will say that it is not NEP 2020, it is RSS 2020. I will straight away condemn the Union government as there is no scientific approach in implementing a new policy. If you go through the NEP 2020 book, you will see that they are talking a lot about Sanskrit, for which they have allotted Rs.1,488 crore as language development funds. For other Dravidian languages, together for Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, they have allotted a very meagre amount. They are giving more focus on building infrastructure for Hindi and Sanskrit. So we are insisting on our mother tongue, Mahesh told in an interview to THE WEEK earlier.

The book, which is published in both Tamil and English by Anbil Publications, is expected to set the tone for the next round of Tamil Nadus fight against NEP and Hindi imposition.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma urged the Congress party to drop the name of MP Gaurav Gogoi from its official list for the Centre's all-party delegation over his alleged Pakistani links. Sarma said Gogoi is yet to deny the allegations levelled against him.

The Congress party on Saturday released list of names it had officially recommended to the Union government for the all-party delegation which will be visiting partner countries to present India's measures to combat terrorism. Interestingly, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven all-party delegations, was not named in the list. The Congress has recommended the names of former Union cabinet minister Anand Sharma and MPs Gaurav Gogoi, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and Raja Brar for the delegation.

Targeting Gogoi, the Assam chief minister tweeted, "One of the MPs named in the list ( from Assam ) has not denied his prolonged stay in Pakistanreportedly for two weeksand credible documents show that his wife was drawing salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while working in India. In the interest of national security and beyond partisan politics, I urge Leader of Opposition Sri Rahul Gandhi not to include this individual in such a sensitive and strategic assignment."

The Congress MP denied these allegations. Recently, amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, Sarma charged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has "good relations" with the Pakistan Army and she had travelled 19 times between India and Pakistan. Sarma charged Pakistani Army officials accompanied her during these visits to the neighbouring country.
A sweeping Israeli military operation has been going on for the last few months in the West Bank, apart from the war in Gaza, displacing nearly 40,000 Palestinians, so far. There is concern that it could be the start of an attempt to annex parts of the territory. According to a New York Times report, what once were bustling neighbourhoods in cities like Jenin and Tulkarem have been reduced to scenes reminiscent of Gaza: homes flattened, roads gouged by bulldozers and entire communities displaced.

Unlike Gaza, where an ongoing war with Hamas has drawn global attention, this campaign has unfolded with relatively little scrutiny. However, the latest campaign has been the most sustained and intrusive Israeli military presence in the West Bank in decades. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) started operations in January in three refugee camps  Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, portraying it as a crackdown on armed militants. The scale of destruction, length of deployment and leaked future plans for the camps, meanwhile, suggest a marked shift with long-term implications.

Entire districts now lie deserted in Jenin, which was once home to more than 10,000 people. Roads in the region are blocked with mounds of earth and buildings reduced to rubble. Similar scenes are unfolding in Tulkarem, where the Israeli army announced plans to demolish over 100 buildings, citing the need to create easier access for military operations and prevent militants from regrouping. Aerial imagery confirms that roads are being widened and key buildingsmany in densely populated refugee campsare being demolished.

Historically, the IDF would enter, conduct raids and withdraw within days. This time, forces have stayed. Defence Minister Israel Katz has instructed troops to prepare for a year-long presence in Jenin and Tulkarem. This marks a profound change from the status quo established after the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, when Israel handed administrative control of many West Bank cities to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israeli soldiers take part in a Israeli raid in Tammoun, near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank | Reuters

Israel claims the PA has failed to suppress militant activity and justifies its actions as necessary for national security. Since the operation began, Israel says it has killed over 100 militants and arrested hundreds more. However, Palestinian and humanitarian sources report at least 100 civilian deaths and accuse Israel of forcibly displacing residents, despite military denials.

The new military strategy seems to be focused on the refugee camps, considered strongholds of resistance, which the Palestinians hold up also as symbols of the unresolved refugee crisis. Camps like Jenin and Tulkarem go a long way back, as they were established for Palestinians displaced in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Many fear the current campaign is a prelude to permanently displacing residents and dismantling symbols of Palestinian identity.

According to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Israel has demolished at least 260 buildings containing around 800 apartments since January. The agency estimates 42,000 people have been displaced. UNRWAs West Bank director Roland Friedrich described the scale of destruction and displacement as "unprecedented" since Israel began its occupation of the West Bank in 1967.

On May 1, Israel provided Palestinian officials with a new demolition map identifying 106 buildings in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps scheduled for destruction within 24 hours. Residents were given a narrow window to return briefly and collect belongings.

The Israeli campaign has increasingly targeted infrastructure. In one example, Israeli forces destroyed a 1908 Ottoman-era train station in Jenin, claiming militants had built a tunnel underneath it. Military officials also say they are uncovering and destroying weapons factories, arms caches, tunnels and improvised explosive devices embedded within civilian infrastructure. The IDF describes its actions as strictly security-oriented, but Palestinians view them as part of a broader strategy to erase refugee camps and forcibly integrate them into surrounding Israeli-controlled areas.

Further stoking Palestinian fears are the statements from influential members of Israels far-right government, many of whom openly advocate for West Bank annexation. These views, coupled with Israels expanding road networks and the sidelining of UNRWAreportedly told it would no longer operate in Jeninsuggest more than temporary military aims.

Palestinian officials, including the mayor of Jenin and local business leaders, say they were told by the Israeli military that the camps would be normalised into regular neighbourhoods, a move widely opposed by locals who see it as an attempt to eliminate refugee identity.

The operation began shortly after a ceasefire in Gaza in January. While Israels attention had previously focused on Gaza and Hamas, the West Bank became a new front, with Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces both targeting militants in Jenin. Local journalists estimated that before the joint crackdowns, Jenin camp hosted around 150 fighters affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Today, such groups have been eliminated by Israel. Still, the civilian toll has been devastating. As homes are destroyed, services suspended and aid agencies being forced to keep away, tens of thousands of Palestinians are left without any hopes for their future.

Despite Israeli assertions that its campaign is focused purely on combating terrorism, the scale, duration and depth of the operation as well as the political rhetoric surrounding it raise the spectre of a long-term transformation of the West Banks demographic and political landscape. For many Palestinians, the signs point not just to a military crackdown, but to a deliberate attempt to redraw the map of their homeland.
The major averages were little changed near noon following the release of downbeat consumer sentiment data and as April housing starts came in slightly below consensus estimates. Investors continue to weigh potentially easing trade tensions as well. Meanwhile, President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Republican lawmakers must unite to pass his beautiful tax bill.

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Looking to commodities, gold prices are slipping after yesterdays rebound, while oil is up fractionally, keeping the commodity above the $60 threshold.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

Oppenheimer upgraded Charter (CHTR) to Outperform, calls Cox deal a major positive

Cisco (CSCO) downgraded at New Street, prefers to wait for a better entry point

Carnival (CCL) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

SolarEdge (SEDG) downgraded to Underperform at Northland

Astera Labs (ALAB) initiated with neutral view at Susquehanna

3. AROUND THE WEB:
Israel has launched a major military operation in a bid to Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas into releasing its remaining hostages, following continuous strikes across the territory, killing hundreds of people.

Titled 'Operation Gideon Chariots' (a Biblical reference), Defence Minister Israel Katz explained that it was being carried out with great force by the Israeli army, an Associated Press report said.

This operation has been conducted in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration earlier this week to escalate pressure on Hamas, so as to eliminate the militant group that ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

ALSO READ | Israel's West Bank siege: Temporary tactics or permanent takeover?

Friday saw the culmination of US President Donald Trump's visit to three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationsSaudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emiratessecuring millions in investor funding, building ties, and even backing Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will lead Syria's new government.

However, the highly anticipated visit to Israel, which could have led to a possible ceasefire deal in Palestine or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza (currently impeded by an Israel-imposed blockade) did not take place. Notably, it has now been three months since Israel imposed a full blockade on all aid into Gaza, which is highly likely to push it into a terrible famine.

 Northern Gaza Operation Recap:



 Eliminated dozens of terrorists

Dismantled significant terrorist infrastructure

Located and dismantled a strategic underground terrorist route approx. 2 km long

Located several tunnel shafts, explosive devices, launchers, and pic.twitter.com/s2CwmuXNHj  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 17, 2025

The Israel-Hamas negotiations at Doha, Qatar, have yet to effect real change, with the latter strongly advocating for a deal that would end the three-year-long war, but Israel vehemently refusing to accept it. In that regard, Hamas had even released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture ahead of Trump's proposed visit to Israel, but to no avail.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) declared in an X post on Saturday that it would be intensifying attacks and exerting tremendous pressure across the Gaza Strip until the estimated 20+ hostages were returned and Hamas dismantled.

    -   -2    :    



  https://t.co/sCedEbqNEe pic.twitter.com/Zqy1TuUUG7     (@idfonline) May 17, 2025

Later on Saturday, they posted a recap of their activities against terrorist infrastructure in the region, which involved dismantling a strategic underground terrorist route measuring roughly two kilometres long, and the confiscation of Hamas' munitions.

More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gazas Health Ministry.
It was the first Friday after the Pahalgam terror attack. Along with a group of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, we were on a pre-scheduled visit to the mosque in the Jamaat Ulema Hind headquarters in New Delhi. It was a regular visit which we have been doing for over a decade to understand various religious minorities in the Middle East. Believers see Friday Jumma prayers as the most important, and hence it, attracts a large audience. For our group, which mostly included non-Muslim students, it was a learning experience.

Before the mid-day prayers, the imam of the mosque delivers Khutbah (Friday noon sermon). Normally, this has been used to highlight issues, challenges and problems facing the community. When we were in the mosque, the imam focused on kalma, the core Islamic declaration faith. The imam elaborated on the origin, importance and values of kalma and its significance to the faith and the faithful. While essential to the faith, the imam was appalled that kalma was used in Pahalgam to segregate the believers and others and forcefully argued that killing people for not knowing kalmathe centrality of Islamis the worst thing any Muslim could do. He reminded uswith his mesmerising voice that echoed at the high ceilingthat distinguishing and killing people is disrespectful and a violation of the spirit of Islam. Kalma is a reaffirmation in the unity of God and Prophet Mohammad as his messenger. Using Kalma to identify and kill people, especially when the Quran says that killing one innocent human being is equivalent to a crime against the whole of humanity, is a grave sin.

However, mainstream Indian media was careful to minimise, avoid or gloss over the use of kalma in Pahalgam. Such an admission of separation, they assumed, would create communal tensions across the country, and hence, most media outlets, political commentators and analysts settled for the tourist identity of the victims of Pahalgam. Except for one local person, all the 25 victims of Pahalgam were tourists. But that was not their only identity, even though most mainstream media did not go beyond them being tourists. Wearing blinkers, some even felt that the terrorists conversed with random individuals among the 1,500 tourists in the vicinity. Unfortunately, the slogan of Truth to power is never to be internalised.

Thus, if one leaves out political correctness, ideological blinkers, selective amnesia and echo chambers, Pahalgam is a defining moment. India is not new to terrorism. Despite the absence of a universal definition, terrorism implies premeditated and indiscriminatory political violence against civilians perpetrated by non-state actors.

Though India witnessed similar savageries in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Pahalgam breached a new threshold. Those who carried out the Pahalgam attack were not bothered by political correctness or verbal gymnastics. They were clear in their vision, strategy and execution. They asked the potential victims to recite kalma, the core declaration of the Islamic faith. Those who did were let off, and those who could not were slain.

Religious cleansing at its best and executed effectively. It was a brutal exhibition of religious extremism that was unacceptable to several Islamic societies in the Middle East. Many were quick to condemn the killing and called it heinous. For decades, several Middle Eastern societies were at the receiving end of religious extremism. Most emanate from the extremist interpretation of Islam. A vast majority of countries, such as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, were at the receiving end of religious extremism. Though the level of violence is not that severe in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Islamist extremism has become the prime threat to their social cohesion and political stability. Though some might find it difficult to accept, extremism has also undermined Palestinian national unity and cohesion.

Hence, the rulers of these countries quickly recognised the extremist nature of the Pahalgam attack and called out the heinous crime. The nightmarish moment for Saudi Arabia came in November 1979 when a group of religious extremists laid a siege on Kaaba in Mecca. The Kingdom had to introduce considerable reforms and invest politico-diplomatic capital to overcome the negative image that Islam came to be associated with following the 9/11 attacks in the US. Several countries do not tolerate even extremist social media posts by their citizens or expatriate communities. While some might feel differently, such an intolerant attitude towards extremism undoubtedly contributed to their political stability and economic progress.

These shared concerns vis-a-vis the religious extremist narrative ironically bring India and the mainstream Middle Eastern countries closer. Through the recent enlisting of sharper minds and orators like Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Asaduddin Owaisi into its diplomatic offensive, the Indian government could bring greater synergy with the Middle East in fighting religious extremism. Yes, Pahalgam also brings some silver linings.

The author teaches contemporary Middle East studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
After days of denial, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself has admitted that Indian missiles launched as part of 'Operation Sindoor' did strike Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, during the early hours on May 10. Sharif made the admission while he was addressing Pakistani troops as part of 'Youm-e-Tashakur' celebrations on Friday.

Pakistan observed 'Youm-e-Tashakur' (Day of Thanks) to pay homage to the military on Friday. Addressing troops at the Pakistan monument in Islamabad on Saturday, Sharif said, "On the intervening night of May 9-10, around 2.30 am, Army chief Asim Munir called me over a secure line, informing me that Hindustani ballistic missiles had hit Nur Khan airbase and other areas. I can tell you that by swearing on God that there was confidence, self-confidence and patriotism in the General's voice," Hindustan Times reported.

Notedly, after days of heightened military operations in the aftermath of 'Operation Sindoor', India and Pakistan agreed to stop firing on May 10. The ceasefire agreement was recently extended.

Pakistan prime minister's admission comes after Pakistan military's strong denial of suffering any damage in India's 'Operation Sindoor', launched on May 7. Though Pakistan said its military assets, including Nur Khan air base, were targeted by India, it denied suffering any significant damage. However, Pakistan claimed it inflicted severe damage on Indian military assets.

In a press briefing later, Indian defence officials said, "India became the first country to strike 11 airbases of a nuclear-armed nation in a single operation, destroying 20 per cent of Pakistans air force assets. High casualties were inflicted at Bhoolari Airbase, including the death of Squadron Leader Usman Yusuf and destruction of key fighter jets."

India launched 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7 to avenge the deaths of 26 persons in the Pahalgam terror attack. India conducted precision strikes targeting terror bases in Pakistan. However, in retaliation, Pakistan launched strikes targeting Indian military assets across the International Border and Line of Control on May 8,9 and 10. After days of heightened military operations, India and Pakistan agreed to stop firing on May 10 and descalate the situation.
A chartered engineer by profession and a councillor by passion, Raj Kumar Mishras journey began in his hometown, Bhatehara, in Mirzapur. Mishra, a councillor from the conservative party, made history by being elected as the first Indian-origin Mayor of Wellingborough.

After completing his B.Tech in computer science and engineering from Punjab Technical University, Mishra left his hometown to pursue a masters in advanced computer science from the University of Leicester, England.

@aajtak @ndtv @ABPNews Heres Introducing the Newly appointed Mayor of the Town Wellingborough, United Kingdom Mr. Raj Mishra india pic.twitter.com/0NjOoGDlDK  Dr.Sarvesh Mishra (@srvmbbs48) May 15, 2025

When he went to London for higher education, we expected a bright career in engineering. But we never imagined he would take up politics and become the mayor of a town in England someday, said Mishras father, celebrating his sons victory. Despite their humble background, his father ensured that his children were not held back by societal prejudices and prioritised education for all his children.

In 2013, based out of Mirzapur, he founded the Shri Munna Lal Mishra intermediate college, which is aimed at providing world-class education to over 800 students in rural Mirzapur, reflecting his commitment towards the youth and his community.

Throughout his career, Mishra has worked with various organisations, including the Ministry of Defence and the banking sector. It is reported that Mishra decided to run for the town council elections back in February and joined the conservative party only in March.

On May 13, followed by a dedicated campaign, Mishra was appointed as the fifth mayor of Wellingborough during the annual town council meeting.

Mishra acknowledged that since the whole area was unfamiliar to him, it was hard at first, but he is immensely proud of the opportunity to serve his community and all of Wellingboroughs residents.

In his capacity, the mayor also serves as a civic representative, acting as a liaison between the local community and the council. Mishra has selected the Veterans Community Network, a professional veteran peer monitor service, and Louisa Gregorys Hospice Campaign as his chosen charities for his term.

Throughout the year, his focus will lie on raising awareness, gathering support, and securing funds for the advancement of the said organisations.

It is an honour to serve as the Mayor of Wellingborough. I am committed to working collaboratively with all residents to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and prosperous community. Together, we will build a brighter future for our town, said Mishra in a public statement.

He further added that, as Mayor of Wellingborough, I bring years of local insight, professional experience, and a strong passion for public service to our community. Understanding the unique needs of our area, I am committed to supporting initiatives that drive positive change.

In his website, Mishra details his mission as one aligned with sustainability, keeping the community at heart. He also emphasises the importance of local markets and partnerships between business and educational institutions, all aimed at better economic development of the constituency. Youth engagement, safety and cleanliness, and digital innovation are some other key areas of focus.

My approach is rooted in listening, being approachable, and acting with integrity. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected Wellingborough for everyone, said Mishra.
In a rare acknowledgement, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday admitted that Indian missiles struck its airbases. However, the PM is being slammed for some of his remarks during the speech, drawing flak from Pakistani influencers.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Pakistani Monument, Shehbaz said Pakistani army chief Syed Asim Munir called him on a secure line at 2.30 am on May 10 to inform him about Indian ballistic missiles striking Nur Khan Airbase.

He then said he prayed and then went for a swim, drawing criticism from Pakistani citizens. One of the Pakistani content creators slammed Sharif, saying, "Pakistan was being bombed and our PM was taking a swim."

The Pakistani premier said Asim Munir called him again, saying "we have given India a powerful response but now they are seeking a ceasefire". Shehbaz recounted that he told Munir that "it is a matter of pride that you responded with force against the enemy and now they are forced to do a ceasefire."

However, reacting to Shehbaz's claims, the Pakistani influencer questioned him. "So without asking anyone, either the Parliament or anyone, he instantly said yes to the ceasefire." He then went on to add, "How can this even be true? Use your basic common sense."

Shehbaz then bragged about using home-grown technology and Chinese gadgets to counter Indian strikes. However, he did not mention that India thwarted the drones and missiles sent by Pakistan.

The Indian armed forces initially targeted terror camps that provided training and recruited terrorists in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir as part of Operation Sindoor. The military operation was launched to avenge the killings of 26 civilians in Pahalgam on April 22.

However, Pakistan started firing drones and missiles in retaliation, which was responded in equal measure by Indian armed forces. India struck Pakistan's air defence systems and several military and air bases in Pakistan.

Both countries agreed to a ceasefire on Pakistani DGMO's request on May 10.
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would he contacting both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, in a bid to bring about a ceasefire in the conflict that is well into its third year.

This comes a day after the first direct Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations (since Russia's special military operation in February 2022) took place at Istanbul on Friday, although the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Just hours after the talks had concluded, drone attacks killed nine bus passengers in northeastern Ukraine, which prompted a strong reaction from President Zelenskyywho confirmed that the victims had all been civiliansand his European allies, who urged for tougher sanctions on Russia.

"Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy," he had said in the X post, that also had graphic pictures of the destroyed Mercedes bus on a bloodied road.

Despite Zelenskyy goading Putin to attend the Istanbul talks, and Trump offering to join the talks if Putin were to show up, the Kremlin leader did not attend the negotiations, choosing instead to send what Kyiv's president called a weak and unprepared delegation.

ALSO READ | 'Scared of direct talks': Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges Putin to confirm attendance in Istanbul negotiations

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump stated that he would be calling Vladimir Putin on Monday at 10 AM EST (7:30 AM IST).

He added that he would speak to Zelenskyy and various members of the NATO afterwards.

Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, he said.

Trump has been pushing for peace between the two nations for a long time, especially at the Paris talks a month ago, where he was joined by his envoy Steve Witkoff in presenting a draft proposal to end the Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Trump had also mentioned America's growing recalcitrance to keep pushing for a resolution to the conflict, warning of a complete withdrawal from the issue if the two sides continued to fight.

Yet, the conflict persists.

Moscow's negotiators at the Istanbul peace negotiations demanded that Kyiv's troops be pulled out of all the Ukrainian regions it had occupied, after which they would agree to a ceasefire, a Reuters report said, quoting a senior Ukrainian official.
In the opening of H.G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds, we are told of the world suddenly being threatened by "sentient" beings with an intelligence "far greater" than man's own and yet as mortal as he is. I bring this up for a couple of reasons. One, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning presents a near-dystopian scenario, one that's brought about by an artificial intelligence called The Entity, introduced in the last film  a scenario could get progressively worse if Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt didn't do something about it. Two, Tom Cruise, who starred in a War of the Worlds adaptation twenty years ago, is placed in circumstances far riskier than what those Martian invaders conjured up, or any he had encountered in the previous Mission: Impossible films.

Final Reckoning, a direct continuation of the events of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, is surprisingly a cinematic adventure that feels small and big at once. Small, because it's, arguably, the heaviest in terms of plotting and lighter on action set-pieces. Big, because when the action set-pieces finally present themselves (in glorious IMAX), they are the most thrilling and dangerous Cruise has by far undertaken, with the threats growing increasingly palpable the deeper Ethan Hunt goes into the rabbit's hole.

When Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol presented to us the insane Burj Khalifa stunt, we thought that was the maximum extent to which Cruise could go. But we realised that wasn't the case when, of course, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation came with the aircraft stunt followed by the helicopter chase in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. But the underwater retrieval mission and the climactic set-piece involving two biplanes in Final Reckoning far outweigh the stunts attempted in all the previous Mission: Impossible films.

What about the plot, though? When Dead Reckoning came out, the primary complaints concerned the convoluted plotting and pacing issues. And I must admit that as much as I enjoyed that one, upon a rewatch I felt that maybe it could've benefitted from a tighter, faster-paced opening and a more polished, less confusing storyline. One may argue that these films are review-proof and that one doesn't go into a Mission: Impossible film for the storyline. I mean, take the John Woo-directed 2000 sequel, often referred to as the weakest of the franchise, but funnily enough, many defend it purely on account of its super-cool stunts.

Judging from some of the international reviews that leaned more towards the negative side, I can sense that Final Reckoning, too, might get treated with the same lukewarm reception that Dead Reckoning got. It has already been accused of being bloated. I don't share the same view. I found this one more entertaining, more suspenseful, and better-paced than the other. This outcome is mostly a result of McQuarrie bringing in more characters, splitting them into three groups and making all their involvements crucial to the central objective. By cross-cutting the action between the three, McQuarrie is essentially doing what Christopher Nolan is known for (even his weakest films are watchable for this reason alone). It's only natural that I bring up Nolan because I've often felt that the two filmmakers are quite alike. Remember for, instance, that prison truck sequence in Fallout that evoked a similar situation in The Dark Knight?

Is it necessary for us to understand every single thing that's happening in these films? I don't think so. Let me bring up the case of those noir classics of the 1940s, specifically The Maltese Falcon or The Big Sleep  both starring Humphrey Bogart  that have the central character, a private detective, undertaking a certain assignment. I'm sure a lot of people who loved those films (including yours truly) wouldn't be that confident enough to say they understood every single plot development. The statue of the titular 'Maltese Falcon', for example, is a classic MacGuffin  a plot device that's actually insignificant, but without which we wouldn't have a film. We could say this about a lot of thrillers across the fiction spectrum. How many of us remember the events in, say, The Da Vinci Code? I mention this book because there are areas in both Dead Reckoning and Final Reckoning that give off not only the vibe of a Dan Brown novel but also something written by Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears).

What's most admirable about this franchise, though, is that every entry looks different in comparison to the one that preceded it. Imagine how boring it would be had every film looked the same in terms of storytelling approach. When Christopher McQuarrie took on the task of steering this franchise to even greater heights, starting with Rogue Nation, one imagines Tom Cruise wanted the rest of these films to have a unifying look. They only differed in terms of the raised stakes. I couldn't help but feel a whiff of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Resurrections given how Ethan Hunt has evolved from a junior spy to this messianic, Neo-like figure in whom the fate of the entire world rests. But in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this evolution would've felt tacky and unconvincing. Cruise, it goes without saying, continues to sell his character's resolve with utmost conviction.

However, Final Reckoning shows us that the real intention was to tie all eight films together in some way, no doubt a huge responsibility for McQuarrie. And as its trailer hinted at references to some of the previous entries, we see the after-effects of what Ethan Hunt did in the past  especially in the first, directed by Brian De Palma  would show up in some way in Final Reckoning, which opens, fittingly, with a neatly cut collage of some key moments in Ethan Hunt's cinematic journey. And we realise later why.

Just as how, in Dead Reckoning, we saw one integral character from Ethan's past making an appearance, Final Reckoning brings up more old connections, in ways I didn't expect, in addition to certain unforeseen developments with regard to other familiar (and favourite) characters. I must admit I felt quite emotional at how McQuarrie handled these developments. So, is this the final Mission: Impossible film? I hope it isn't.

Film: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Esai Morales, Angela Bassett, Pom Klementieff

Rating: 4/5
A terrorist stabbed a police officer at Chain Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday night.

The terrorist arrived at the area shortly after 9 p.m. and charged at the police officer, stabbing him in the back with a knife

Another police officer and a nearby Border Police officer quickly opened fire, neutralizing the terrorist. His death was later pronounced at the scene.

The wounded police officer was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in moderate condition.

The terrorist was later identified as an Israeli-Arab from East Jerusalem.

(YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel)
Fifteen Israeli fighter jets carried out massive airstrikes on the Al-Salif and Hodeidah ports in Yemen on Friday afternoon, dropping over 30 bombs.

The attack came after Israel last week twice issued warnings for Yemenis to evacuate the ports.

Following the attack, the IDF issued a statement saying that the ports that were attacked were used to transfer weapons to the Houthis to attack Israel.

It was Israels eighth attack on the Houthis in Yemen in less than a year.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Friday threatened to assassinate Houthi leaders just like the Sinwars in Gaza.

(YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel)
Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down on a temporary basis as an investigation into rape allegations against him take place, the court announced on Friday.

Khan was also accused of harassing staff who supported his accuser, including demoting several people

Womens rights groups, who called for Khan to step down last year, after his aide accused him of severe abuse, welcome the announcement.

In any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago, Eimear Shine, a spokesperson for The Hague-based Womens Initiatives for Gender Justice, said.

Meanwhile, Khans bank accounts in his home country of the UK are frozen in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trumps sanctions on the ICC for illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Khan issued the arrest warrants against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant in order to deflect attention from the rape charges brought against him.

Additionally, a senior Western diplomat with firsthand knowledge of the ICC case told the Jerusalem Post last week that Khan issued the warrants against the Israeli leaders in order to give countries like Germany and Canada the excuse they need to turn against the Israeli government.

(YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel)
Don't get too excited about the rapprochement between the UK and the EU that Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to establish at the summit in London tomorrow.

Even if all the argy-bargy about fishing rights and young Europeans coming to Britain is settled, any gains from a somewhat closer economic relationship with Europe will be marginal.

Of course, a harmonious relationship is better than a hostile one, and that will help support the growing perception among global investors that UK assets are worth buying. But don't expect a boom in trade with Europe, because it's not going to happen.

The big point here is that the gradual separation of the UK and EU economies began long before the Brexit referendum in 2016, and has continued since then.

Back in 2000, the EU took 55 per cent of our exports of goods and services, with the rest of the world taking 45 per cent. By 2013 those percentages had flipped, with Europe down to 45 per cent, and last year its share had fallen further to 41 per cent.

This has nothing to do with politics. It is simply that Europe has grown more slowly than other markets and it is very hard to see anything that will change that.

Different direction: We are moving to a new set of global trading rules, driven by the US

There are some possible points of progress, including easing checks on trade in food and agricultural produce, improving the rules for UK musicians, artists and entertainers to perform in Europe, and making it easier for lawyers and other professionals to do business there. That's helpful, but it won't move the dial.

What will make a difference  and here the story becomes interesting  is the way in which more uplifting mood music about the UK will affect investors' perceptions. There has been a gradual reassessment of the attractions of British assets over the past couple of years.

You can see that in sterling, for while the pound is not yet back up to its peak of over $1.40 reached in the summer of 2021, it is no longer in the dog house where it has languished for most of the period since 2016. It is also towards the top of its post-Brexit trading range against the euro.

Shares seem to have been re-rated a bit too. The FTSE 100 index is up 5 per cent this year, whereas the S&P 500 after its bumpy ride is up only 1 per cent.

There have certainly been some pretty beefy gains in a few mainstream British companies. Did you spot that NatWest shares went over 5 on Friday, pushing them at last above the average price that the Government paid for the RBS holdings in the bailouts of 2007 and 2008? That's up 25 per cent so far this year and more than 50 per cent higher than a year ago.

The banking sector as a whole, something we used to be strong on, is being revived. As a result, it is again becoming attractive to foreign investors.

Ultimately you restore confidence by costing money to the people who miss opportunities because they listen to the naysayers and, since Brexit, there have been far too many of those.

So if there is a reasonably favourable outcome to the summit, then it will help rebuild confidence about investing money in sterling assets. If not, then it will be a notable contrast between the positive mood at the US-UK talks a few days ago.

That will carry a message for investors. The discussion on tariffs between America and Europe is just around the corner. Donald Trump has been less than warm about the EU's trading behaviour.

Let's see how Europe behaves. Meanwhile, the question hanging over the debate is this. Is it a great idea to invest in the EU if it lets itself get into a punch-up with the world's largest economy?

We are moving to a new set of global trading rules, driven by the US. In the UK we understand that. China understands that too, as you can see from its measured response to the over-the-top negotiating stance of Donald Trump.

I'm not sure the bureaucrats who run the commission in Brussels have quite grasped how the world has changed. Meanwhile let's welcome a somewhat more co-operative relationship with Europe, if that is on offer.

If not, let's remember that the growth markets are elsewhere.
Olga Polizzi says with a wry smile that she has always been defined in relation to her famous family  the Forte hotel dynasty. As a young woman, she was known as the daughter of patriarch Charles, who founded the empire. After that, she was the sister of Rocco Forte, who runs the luxury hotel group of that name, where she is head of design and a significant investor.

More recently, her identity is as the mother of Alex Polizzi, of Channel 5 TV series The Hotel Inspector.

'I was my father's daughter, then my brother's sister and now I am my daughter's mother,' she laughs.

Feminists might object to a woman being seen primarily through her relationship to others. But Polizzi is such a powerful force she can afford to take it lightly. She is director of design and deputy chair of Rocco Forte Hotels, which she helped create.

She also has three hotels of her own: the Tresanton in Cornwall, the Endsleigh in Dartmoor, Devon, and The Star, in Alfriston, East Sussex, near her home.

All this, as she approaches her 80th birthday  she exudes the vitality of a much younger woman.

Dynasty: Olga Polizzi says that she has always been defined in relation to her famous family

Charles Forte, who died in 2007 aged 98, emigrated to the UK as a child but remained a traditional Italian male.

It seems never to have entered his head that he could have chosen a daughter to succeed him. He made Rocco chief executive of the Forte Group, then a FTSE 100 company, in 1983 and handed the chairmanship to his son a decade later.

Did Polizzi ever wish she had been given the chance?

'Well, not really,' she says. 'I was never brought up like that and it wasn't on offer. It was Rocco and five sisters, so it was always the little prince. Rocco was always meant to follow on.

'We daughters were going to marry someone and they were going to look after us, that was it.'

She did get married, in 1966, to Count Alessandro Polizzi, an Italian marquess, and the couple had two daughters, Alex and Charlotte. But in 1980 he died. 'I had these two small daughters and their father was killed in a car crash,' she says. 'Then my father said... you've got to work.'

She joined the family business, on the building and design side.

In the 1990s, she and her brother found themselves in the throes of a hostile takeover. Losing the family business to the predatory Granada leisure and TV group riles Polizzi even now, as it does Rocco.

'It was ghastly, I was so upset and so angry. It still rankles. I hated them,' she says, adding of the late boss of Granada who led the bid: 'I did an Italian incantation against Gerry Robinson.'

Granada no longer exists, but her family business lives on in Rocco Forte Hotels, founded in the aftermath. Its high-end properties include Brown's in London's Mayfair, where I meet Polizzi, The Balmoral in Edinburgh and the Hotel de Russie in Rome.

Family firms like theirs, she says, 'is how Italy keeps going'.

'The country is always nearly bust but these businesses carry on,' she says. 'Would the UK be stronger if there were more family firms? Yes, I really think so.' Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is, in Polizzi's view, 'the only good leader in Europe'. As for British politics, she says: 'I was cross with the Conservatives, but I am even more cross with this lot.'

Labour, she says, is 'kicking business to death' with the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions. And Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for pensioners strikes her as insane.

'I was getting it  I pay a lot of tax so it was quite nice  but I would have been very happy to send it back,' she says. But of those who need it, she adds: 'To take it away from other people is just mad. Every Labour government has been a disaster and they have always left us on our knees.'

The strength of her bond with Rocco was forged in childhood, when, as the two eldest, they were often thrown together.

'I sometimes have different ideas from Rocco, but I know who's the boss,' she says. 'I trust my brother absolutely and I bend over backwards to help him.'

Do they disagree on style?

'On the whole, we have the same taste though he is a bit more glitzy,' she says. Her design credo is to combine luxury with comfort and a sense of place. Not for her the formulaic hotel chains, where rooms are the same anywhere in the world.

'I want people to wake up in our hotel in Florence and know they are in Florence. I try to use local artisans and materials,' she says. 'Everyone is copying us in terms of sense of place.'

How does she reconcile retaining individuality with creating an atmosphere that is identifiably Rocco Forte?

'We want to keep the names of the hotels, because some are famous,' she says. 'Subliminally, I try to put in RF on the towels and bits and pieces, but it probably isn't enough.

'Rocco, because he is recognised a lot, doesn't believe people don't know all the hotels are ours. It matters, because if people like one, they will want to stay in another Rocco Forte.' There are openings planned in Milan, Naples and Sicily.

Business was always part of family life. Polizzi says: 'When my father came back in the evening, he would put his finger on the front bell and not take it off until the door was open. We would hear ring, ring, ring and would have to rush downstairs to greet him.

'When we were a certain age we would have dinner with him and talk business. There was always a mass of people around him. He always had acolytes, everywhere.'

She is less gregarious than her father or second husband, the writer Sir William Shawcross, whom she married in 1993. She says: 'William is very much a people person. I am not, though I don't want to use the word shy because it is a bit stupid at my age.'

She would rather not draw attention to her approaching 80th. Like Rocco, who is slightly older, and was doing triathlons into his 60s, the years have been kind. 'We do have a lot of energy,' she muses.

As for retirement: 'I've got a lovely family and a lovely husband, but I have never been a home bod. I'm so used to getting up and going to work. I'm just not a lady who lunches.

'Now I am older I would like to have more days off, but somehow or other it doesn't happen.'
By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY (Reuters) -China's Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food Company has received approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to list in the city and it aims to raise about $1 billion, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Shanghai-listed company's proposed deal was approved by the exchange's listing committee on Thursday, the sources said.

Foshan Haitian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment.

Bookbuilding for the deal will start as early as within the next two weeks, one of the sources said.

The sources could not be named discussing confidential information.

Foshan Haitian said it had been China's largest condiment maker for 27 years in volume terms, with a market share double its closest rival.

Its soy and oyster sauce products were ranked number one by market share, the company said in preliminary filings to the Hong Kong exchange.

Foshan Haitian's deal comes as Hong Kong's equity capital markets spring back to life after two years of flatlining activity.

Battery giant CATL has finalised a $4.6 billion listing and its shares will start trading on Tuesday. Jiangsu Hengrui is currently bookbuilding to raise up to $1.27 billion in a Hong Kong listing.

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)
Tonight we roundup the latest local spate of fatal gunfire on Kansas City streets.

This latest round of shooting brings this year's homicide count to 58 so far which is roughly a 13% increase year-to-date.

Here's a note from the scene along with more reporting . . .



Homicide 92 Ter. And James A Reed Rd

Tonight at about 7:20pm officers were initially called to 92nd and James A Reed Rd on an injury accident.



While officers were still on the way the call was updated to a shooting call with a victim at 92nd street.



Initial responding officers located an adult male shooting victim outside of a vehicle just north of 92nd street



Additional responding officers were notified of an additional vehicle that had crashed at 93rd and James A. Reed Rd. Additional officers responded to that location and found a vehicle that had crashed there with one adult male shooting victim inside there.



EMS responded to both locations and declared both victims deceased at the scene.



Homicide detectives are at the scene investigating. They are conducting area canvasses and looking for any potential witnesses to determine the sequence of events that led to the shooting. Additionally crime scene investigators are processing the scene for evidence to hopefully give detectives a better idea of what led up to the shooting.



If anyone was in this area around that time and heard or saw anything or has any information they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.



We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency.



We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents.

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Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Two men dead in Kansas City homicide, crash: KCPD The incident was reported around 7:20 p.m. near 92nd Terrace and James A. Reed Road.

Collision reported near South KC leads to investigation into fatal shooting Investigators continue to piece together what led to a fatal shooting at the scene of a collision near South Kansas City.

KCPD investigating Friday evening double homicide in KCMO The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is investigating a double homicide that happened Friday evening.

Developing . . .
Early this morning Kansas City police respond to tragedy and a dangerous crime scene.

As KCMO records 3 homicides in less than 24 hours, here's the first report and more deet regarding the ongoing investigation . . .



Homicide 4200 block of College

This morning just after 2am officers were dispatched to the 4200 block of College on a shooting call.



On arrival officers were directed to an adult male shooting victim that was unresponsive on the sidewalk in front of a house there.



Officers rendered aid and called for EMS to the scene. EMS declared the victim deceased.



Homicide detectives have responded and are investigating. They are canvassing for witnesses and any other information. Additionally they are talking with several individuals who were at the scene when officers arrived.



Crime scene investigators are processing the scene for evidence.



Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim had an interaction in front of the residence with one or more suspects that escalated and led to gunfire, which struck the victim.



If anyone has any information they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.



We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency.



We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents.

#################

Developing . . .


By Samuel Shen and Vidya Ranganathan

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -New rules for Chinese active funds unveiled this month that are set to drastically change fund flows in the country's stock markets have prompted immediate action from some of the biggest players in the industry to introduce fresh products.

China Asset Management (ChinaAMC), China Merchants Fund and E Fund Management Co said they have applied or will soon apply to launch so-called variable-fee products, where fees are tied to the performance of investments.

Variable-fee investment products - currently rare in China - more closely align the interests of fund managers with investors. Fees can rise if a fund does well and fall if it underperforms.

The new rules, which are in the words of China Securities Regulatory Commission Wu Qing, aimed at promoting Warren Buffett-style longer-term value investing, represent the biggest overhaul of China's $4.5 trillion mutual fund industry in decades.

Chinese active funds have long been criticised for chasing profits from fees and focusing on short-term investments rather than concentrating on performance and creating longer-term value.

"Previously, many mutual fund managers put their own interest ahead of investors ... contributing to irrational market fluctuations," said Dong Baozhen, chairman of Beijing-based asset manager Lingtong Shengtai.

In addition to forcing the introduction of variable-fee structures, the rules mandate big pay cuts for portfolio managers who underperform benchmarks by 10 percentage points or more in a three-year time frame.

"This would nudge a fund manager to switch to a more suitable benchmark....or build a more balanced portfolio" to avert outsized underperformance," said Yu Zhanchang, a fund manager at Penghua Fund Management.

High pay at funds and China's broader business world has been under scrutiny for some time since authorities began a crackdown in line with President Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" drive. Some fund managers began capping annual income and clawing back excessive pay last year.

Under the new rules, the success of a fund will also no longer be ranked by profit or assets under management, but by its performance and investor satisfaction.

Dong at Lingtong Shengtai said he expects the new rules "will trigger a major, directional shift in fund flows, toward index heavyweights such as banks."

Banks accounted for 3.8% of Chinese active funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter, far below the sector's 13.7% weighting in the CSI 300, a widely tracked benchmark
In this post we share two reports that speak to rising pushback against conservative traveling music and walking papers.

First, just a bit of "resistance" from our 2nd favorite barrio . . .



Wyandotte County residents in recent weeks have widely shared unconfirmed, and at times disproved, social media posts reporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and mass-arrests, but it has been difficult to assess locally what has been an ICE raid, as its traditionally known, and whats been an arrest for a separate crime that ends up with someone being detained by a federal officer.



Edgar Galicia, the director of KCKs Central Area Betterment Association, or CABA, told The Star this week that his organization has been notified of ICE activity in the area and that many community members have reached out to the organization for guidance.



People are truly afraid! Galicia said in an email. Some are looking for ways to stay safe, some are looking for ways to go back to their countries of origin, all, everyone is worried about the lack of respect for human rights and the Constitution.

And then . . .This high court ruling is probably the most important news item of the day and something that the White House wanted to distract from . . . Check-it:



The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Trump administrations request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law.



Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.



The court, which returned the case to a federal appeals court, had already imposed a temporary halt on deportations from a north Texas detention facility in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

KCK groups weigh in on local concerns about ICE policing and deportation A local leader says a nonprofit has received increase in calls seeking guidance as new immigration policies play out.

Supreme court blocks Trump bid to resume deportations under 1798 law Administration's appeal to quickly deport Venezuelans under Alien Enemies Act rejected with two dissenting

Developing . . .
When you enter into a marriage, you expect your spouse to be faithful. But sometimes, a different type of infidelity  financial  can rear its ugly head.

That's what happened to Cathy from Dallas, Texas, who recently called into The Ramsey Show seeking urgent financial advice.

Cathy revealed to co-hosts Ken Coleman and Jade Warshaw that she suspects her to-be ex-husband has racked up close to $1 million in debt behind her back  and shes worried that she's on the hook for half of it.

Cathy filed for divorce in late April, after learning about her husband's ongoing financial infidelity  however, after a 27-year marriage, she's trying to escape as unscathed as possible.

Here is what Coleman and Warshaw had to say.

Don't miss

What happens when financial infidelity rears its ugly head?

Money can be a huge driver of marital strife  especially when one spouse keeps secrets.

A late 2021 survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 43% of people with combined finances in a relationship have committed an act of financial infidelity.

For 39%, that meant hiding a purchase or bank statement from their partner. For 19%, it meant hiding cash. And for 16% of people, financial infidelity ultimately led to divorce.

Cathy, meanwhile, blames her situation on the fact that she allowed her husband to handle the family finances for many years while she became a stay-at-home mom to their four children. But when she did some digging, she learned that her now-ex had been keeping many financial secrets.

For one thing, he hadn't paid income taxes in three years, which amounts to about a $160,000 debt. Since their taxes are filed jointly, Cathy assumes she'll be liable for half that sum.

The husband also owes $80,000 in credit card debt on cards Cathy didn't know exist (and there may be more). Plus, there's a $550,000 mortgage on Cathy's husband's office building that she signed.

On top of everything else, in 2019, Cathy's husband borrowed $500,000 from Cathy after she received an inheritance, which she is counting towards the debt. He claimed he was spending the money on his business.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
05/17/2025

Media Contacts:David_Joyer@uml.edu, senior director, communications and digital media Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, assistant director of media relations

LOWELL, Mass.  Use your voice and passion to uplift the world around you.

That was the message to the 4,447 members of UMass Lowells Class of 2025 this weekend, as the university awarded 4,451 bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees to the graduates in three ceremonies on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

Degrees to the graduates were awarded from the universitys College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Francis College of Engineering; Kennedy College of Sciences; Manning School of Business, and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences. Members of the Class of 2025 hail from 42 states and 98 countries. Among the 4,447 graduates, 234 achieved a cumulative academic grade-point average of 4.0, 839 were the first in their families to attend college and 73 are connected to the military.

Image by Henry Marte for UMass Lowell

The youngest to earn their diplomas are 18-year-old siblings Franziske and Edward Hoene of Woburn, who received their bachelors degrees  Franziske in biomedical engineering, and Edward in civil engineering. They will stay on at UMass Lowell to pursue masters degrees. The oldest graduate, John Doherty of Andover, is 83, and a new holder of a masters degree in history. The graduates join an alumni community some 100,000 strong.

Punctuating the events was the presentation of honorary degrees to Vertex Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Dr. Reshma Kewalramani and John OHalloran, president of University College Cork, Ireland.

Image by Henry Marte for UMass Lowell

was recognized for her contributions to innovation and science. A leader in the development of transformative medicines for illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease, she is a physician and specialist in internal medicine and nephrology. Today, she is the only woman leading a biopharmaceutical enterprise worth more than $100 billion.

Committed to a more sustainable planet, OHalloran is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a leading ornithologist and international leader in ecological research and education. UCCs longstanding partnership with UMass Lowell  focused in areas such as wind-power research and sustainability  inspired Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healeys administration to establish the Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition Initiative at UMass Lowell and Boston University.

As thousands of parents, family, friends, mentors and teachers and alumni gathered to salute the graduates, Commencement celebrated academic excellence and innovation, civic engagement and public service. These themes were perhaps best expressed by the graduates themselves, as three members of the Class of 2025 served as Commencement speakers:

Image by Michael Riley Image by Michael Riley of Lowell spoke during the Friday afternoon ceremony, where he received his doctoral degree in organic chemistry. At UMass Lowell, he worked to develop gels that can repair themselves automatically, modified bacterial molecules aimed at overcoming antibiotic-resistant infections, and materials designed to remove pollutants from the environment. He is a two-term president of the universitys Graduate Student Association.

While I was building systems for environmental remediation and gas storage, I was also learning to build a framework for my own life, he said of his UMass Lowell experience.

Image by Henry Marte

delivered her address at the Saturday morning ceremony, where she earned her bachelors degree in biology. She works as a faculty assistant at Shine in Math Academy, where she teaches children English and math, and has worked extensively as a nursing assistant in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at Beth Israel Lahey Health.

Passion manifests in many ways, according to Jangala.

There is no one box that we fall into, and there is no limit on who it is that we can become, she said. Keep adding more to your manuscript, as there is no word count on what you are able to accomplish.

Image by Henry Marte for UMass Lowell

offered remarks during the Saturday afternoon ceremony, where she was awarded a bachelors degree in criminal justice. A cadet in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, she completed an internship with UMass Lowell Police Department, where she became certified in self-defense, aided in community policing efforts and gained a valuable firsthand look at policing operations. She is continuing her studies at UMass Lowell, in pursuit of a masters degree in security studies. Next spring, she is due to commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

After comparing and contrasting UMass Lowells three vibrant campuses, Selby concluded all of UMass Lowell has become the graduates home.

Years from now, we may find ourselves spread across the nation, even the world. But well always be united by the time and memories we shared here together, she said.

The Commencement was UMass Lowells first since it was named a Carnegie-classified Research 1 university, a designation that recognizes the institutions research excellence and places it among the top 7% of colleges and universities nationwide.

Were innovators at UMass Lowell, Chancellor Julie Chen reminded the graduates. No matter where youve come from  or where youre going next  each of you has new tools to help solve the big challenges, locally and globally. Those tools include the characteristics you have as River Hawks: hard work, teamwork, innovation and service to your professional and broader community.

Awards and Recognitions

Image by Michael Riley for UMass Lowell

Still other student award winners, Chancellors Medal recipients and distinguished alumni were feted throughout the weekend-long celebration.

Recipients of a Chancellors Medal for Outstanding University Support included:

Brooks Automation Inc. of Chelmsford, a leading provider of semiconductor manufacturing and laboratory automation solutions. Brooks supports UMass Lowell in many ways, including hiring graduates, providing internships to students and, most recently, establishing a campus makerspace.

of Chelmsford, a leading provider of semiconductor manufacturing and laboratory automation solutions. Brooks supports UMass Lowell in many ways, including hiring graduates, providing internships to students and, most recently, establishing a campus makerspace. Draper , the nonprofit engineering and research company that is the anchor tenant in the Lowell Innovation Corridor Network (LINC).

, the nonprofit engineering and research company that is the anchor tenant in the Lowell Innovation Corridor Network (LINC). The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, an economic development agency focused on strengthening the competitiveness of the states tech and innovation economy. UMass Lowell collaborates with MassTech on a variety of endeavors that serve as catalysts for innovation and economic growth.

Individuals bestowed with a Chancellors Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement included:

Mark Cochran , retired CEO of Jeanne DArc Credit Union of Lowell;

, retired CEO of Jeanne DArc Credit Union of Lowell; Richard Howe Jr. , retired register of deeds for Middlesex County; and

, retired register of deeds for Middlesex County; and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Adam Caruso, an Army Special Forces officer assigned as the U.S. Special Operations Commands technology liaison for Boston and the New England region.

Recognized for their impact in their respective professions and in the community, Distinguished Alumni Award recipients were:

Richard Grande 72, 80 , an executive director and advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management;

, an executive director and advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management; Valerie Barry 84, 87 , a medical researcher who later taught middle school math and science;

, a medical researcher who later taught middle school math and science; James Barry 88 , who had a successful, 30-year career in the medical device industry;

, who had a successful, 30-year career in the medical device industry; Patricia Talty 78 , retired co-founder of the law firm Talty & Talty PC and adjunct professor; and

, retired co-founder of the law firm Talty & Talty PC and adjunct professor; and Francis Talty 77, retired lawyer, UMass Lowell faculty member and assistant dean.

Additional awards were granted throughout the two-day celebration. A complete list of distinguished guests and graduating seniors with top academic achievements can be found on the UMass Lowell 2025 Commencement website.
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Rahul, MEA spar over S Jaishankar's remarks about strikes on Pakistan

A war of words erupted between Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the remarks by S Jaishankar about the Indian strikes in Pakistan

Sunday May 18, 2025 1:15 AM , ummid.com News Network

New Delhi: A war of words erupted between Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the remarks by S Jaishankar about the Indian strikes in Pakistan.

India targeted as many as 9 targets in Pakistan early in the morning on May 7, 2025 to avenge the Pahalgam terrorist attack .

The Indian airstrikes, named  Operation Sindoor  in Pakistan escalated the tension with Pakistan launching its own retaliatory military operation named  Operation Bunyan um Marsoos . A war-like situation prevailed for the next four days before the two countries agreed for the U.S. brokered ceasefire on May 10, 2025.

Despite the ceasefire deal, claims and counter claims are being made from the two countries, making the agreement, if there is any, volatile.

Amidst this volatile situation, a video of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar surfaced on social media wherein he purportedly said Pakistan was informed beforehand about the Indian military operation.

At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan saying, we are striking at terrorist infrastructure. We are not striking at the (Pakistan) military. So the military has an option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice, Jaishankar told reporters.

Its a Crime

Responding to Jaishnakars comments, LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said sharing such information was a crime.

Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime, Rahul Gandhi wrote on social media platform X while tagging the video.

Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.



EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.



1. Who authorised it?

2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025

Stating that the External Affairs Minister (EAM) has publicly admitted that the Government of India (GOI) did it, Rahul asked, Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result?

Misrepresentation

The Ministry of External Affairs hit back describing as utter misrepresentation the claims that Jaishankar admitted that India alerted Pakistan before the launch of Operation Sindoor.

The External Affairs Minister had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Operation Sindoors commencement, the External Publicity (XP) Division of the Ministry said.

This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out, it said in a brief statement.

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President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to slam Walmart for warning it may raise prices due to tariffs.

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected," Trump wrote, in a move that echoes earlier pressure campaigns aimed at companies like Amazon, Mattel and U.S. automakers. "Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. Ill be watching, and so will your customers!!!"

This came in response to the retailer's earnings call on May 15th, where Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said President Trump's tariffs are "too high" and warned consumers to expect price hikes on certain items.

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We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we arent able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins, McMillon said on the call.

Walmart is specifically eyeing increases on toys  made more expensive to import from China  and food items like bananas and avocados from Costa Rica, Peru, and Colombia.

Companies across the nation worried about tariffs

Walmart isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last, to sound the alarm and warn of price hikes. Automakers were told by the White House to hold the line and not increase prices in response to tariffs. Trump issued a similar threat to Mattel after the toymaker warned that toy prices could rise. Well put a 100% tariff on his toys, and he wont sell one toy in the United States, and thats their biggest market, Trump said, speaking of Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz.

Adidas CEO Bjrn Gulden said their shoes could cost more in the U.S.

Although we had already reduced the China exports to the US to a minimum, we are somewhat exposed to those currently very high tariffs, Gulden said. What is even worse for us is the general increase in US tariffs from all other countries of origin.

Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now
On May 16, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced a partnership with Rznomics to develop RNA-based gene therapies for sensorineural hearing loss, with milestone payments exceeding $1.3 billion. Rznomics will lead early-stage research, while Lilly handles clinical development and commercialization using RNA editing, a reversible alternative to CRISPR.

Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY): A Good Healthcare Stock on Strong Mounjaro and Zepbound Uptake

A healthcare professional working on a computer terminal with a patient in the background.

The collaboration complements Lilly's existing genetic hearing loss pipeline, including AK-OTOF, a Phase I/II AAV gene therapy targeting OTOF gene mutations. Early data showed hearing restoration in a trial participant within 30 days. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) also signed a $1.4 billion deal with Sangamo Therapeutics for CNS gene therapy in April 2025.

Industry focus on genetic hearing loss treatments is growing, with Regeneron's DB-OTO showing measurable hearing improvements in 10 of 11 pediatric patients. Rznomics, which raised $58 million in funding, sees the partnership as a step toward global biotech expansion. CEO Seong-Wook Lee emphasized the potential of precision RNA therapeutics in treating previously untreatable diseases.

While we acknowledge the potential of LLY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LLY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None.
The design solution for the castle is an example of conservation by design. By inserting a new piece of architecture within the ruin we have provided a passive solution to the long term consolidation of the exposed ornate carvings and vaults below. The dramatic new space also creates a more desirable holiday let; the proceeds of which further support the ongoing conservation of the site. The ambitious decision to re-roof the ruined section of the east range was born out of a Conservation Management Plan by Page\Park for the whole castle complex, and developed through the early stages of the project with continual consultation with Midlothian Council and Historic Environment Scotland.

The plan sought to prevent further deterioration of the site, put in place a long term strategy for its conservation, and bring the castle up to contemporary standards, without compromising the heritage value of the site. The new roof provided an opportunity to future proof the castle, allowing a more holistic and sustainable project to be undertaken. A key challenge for the new project was the significance and resulting statutory protections of the site. The East Range sits within an onion of statutory controls; an A Listed building, within a scheduled monument, within a protected woodland. The exterior design of new elements was carefully considered to minimise impact from the approach to the castle  new roofs are in a Welsh dark blue slate, set in diminishing courses to match the existing castle as closely as possible. It is only internally, that the contemporary Douglas fir roof design is revealed, echoing the principles of the roof structure elsewhere in the castle.

Two oversized purlins sail across the space, resting on a new chimney breast bearing the crest of the Rosslyn Family, acting as a focal point for the new room. The west gable is the only external nod to the contemporary, with new curtain wall glazing revealing the former profile of the ruin and dramatic views to an ancient yew tree. New interiors were designed as legible interventions to the historic fabric, rather than conjecture of the historic form. High quality natural materials were used that will develop patina over time, just like the original materials of the castle. This approach was aided by the workmanship of skilled craft-workers, who created several bespoke elements worthy of the castle. This included the new chimney breast, lighting, and fitted furniture.
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries soared to a record high in March, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday, rising for a third straight month, as demand for U.S. government debt remained robust a few months after President Donald Trump took office.

Holdings of U.S. Treasuries surged to $9.05 trillion in March, an all-time peak and up more than $233 billion from $8.81 trillion in February. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners rose nearly 12%.

Some analysts said that trend could change in April as the Trump administration introduced a massive trade shock on April 2nd that saw effective tariff rates surge, particularly on Chinese goods.

That fueled a U.S. Treasuries sell-off that, at one point, pushed benchmark 10-year yields more than 70 basis points (bps) higher to nearly 4.6% over the April 3-11 period. The selloff may have included selling from foreign investors, analysts said.

Trump has since paused the imposition of tariffs for 90 days, and the Treasuries market has stabilized somewhat, although foreign investors are likely to have remained leery of U.S. assets.

Data also showed that UK investors have overtaken China as the second largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries, with holdings of $779 billion. UK is typically considered a custodial account, which is generally a proxy for hedge funds. Other countries used by hedge funds for custody services include Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.

Japan remains the biggest Treasury debt holder, with a stash of $1.13 trillion in March, up about 0.4% from the $1.126 trillion held in February. Japan's load of Treasuries rose for a second straight month.

China, on the other hand, reduced its stash of Treasuries to $765.4 billion in March, down from $784.3 billion the previous month. In December last year, China's holdings were $759 billion, the lowest since February 2009 when the country's stock of Treasuries dropped to $744.2 billion.

Treasury holdings by Chinese investors have been on a downward trajectory since 2018, analysts said.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield started the month of March at 4.18% and ended it slightly higher at 4.425%.

Major U.S. asset classes also showed a mix of inflows and outflows during the month, the data showed.

On a transactional basis, holdings of Treasury bonds and notes showed a net inflow of $123 billion in March, following inflows of $106.2 billion in February.

Foreign investors continued to buy U.S. corporates, with $60.4 billion in inflows, with agencies showing outflows of $10.4 billion, data showed.
Photo: Victor Boyko/Getty Images

Kristen Stewart threw what she describes as a temper tantrum to make her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. She worked on it for eight years, refusing to let it die even as she gained and lost financing and actors and department heads, threatening not to act again until she was able to finish it. She dragged it bloodily over the finish line just in time for last nights premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. After a standing ovation, she told the audience shed finished the movie five minutes before the screening.

The result is a guttural yell, raw and poetic, and a real showcase for Imogen Poots as Lidia Yuknavitch, whose memoir of the same name Stewart adapted for the screen. Chronology is messy, structurally and visually and viscerally, playing with time and space and memory and oozing with bodily fluids  tears, spit, sweat, come, pee, blood, vomit. Its a film about pain and pleasure, abuse and addiction, love and sex, and how women are forced to abandon themselves. I caught up with Stewart, clad in Chanel with a new shock of pink running through her blonde hair, on a rooftop overlooking Cannes to talk about how badly it hurt to make the film, getting the rights to Fiona Apples songs, creating her own cinematic language, Pootss big tit energy, and the new, Chronology-inspired tattoos she got just before she arrived in France.

Tell me about the pink hair.

Its a bloody motif. I wanted to bring a little bit of the movie into my body.

I was moved by the film and in particular the use of Fiona Apples For Her at the end. You wrote her a letter?

Oh, yeah. I wrote her a letter, and she wrote me one back.

What did you say? Why that song?

Where the fuck is my phone? Ill paraphrase. She has a really similar place in my life to Lidia. There are just certain voices that help you find yours. That is a really concise way of putting it  your taste is formed by the people that come before you. Your impulses are encouraged or stifled by all of the things you consume. And Ive really consumed and metabolized all of those albums. [Laughs.] That particular album, you can tell she made it in private. It sounds like a secret. Shes banging on pots and pans. Theres a sort of Richter release. And a kind of like, mama thing. You just go, Fuck, thank you so much. I think I said, Whats yours is mine now. Like, I know that these are your songs, but theyre fucking mine. They belong to me, they really belong to this movie, and can we please show that? I said, I hope you understand the space you take up in the female collective unconscious. I feel like I know her! I feel like were friends, even though weve never met. I think I wrote a pretty fucking good letter. I was desperate to get the songs. And it wasnt even flattery. I was like, Dude, I revere you.

You guys do need to meet. So last night you said at the premiere that you were working on the movie five minutes up until its premiere. Was that a slight exaggeration?

Not at all. Im not even done. This is so funny. People think we were tweaking it. No, we were making the movie! We edited the movie over nine months. I did take one break to be in a movie called The Wrong Girls with Alia Shawkat, that Dylan [Meyer], my girlfriend directed  well, shes my wife now.

Congrats, by the way. Thats really cool.

Yeah, its sick. This movie is about iteration. Its not about the things that happened to this person. Or even really about Lidia Yuknavitch. Even though she is the ultimate kickstarter  which is a word I used in Fionas letter, aptly. Its just about how the things that happen to us live in our bodies and how we excavate, recreate, reframe things in order to survive. And also to define ourselves. To have a bit of fucking volition in terms of desire and the things that we want. Because the things that we want are so gouged out of us at an early age. The things that happen to girls  were not making those choices. Living in this world as a woman is violating. Its about the reframe. Especially now that reality is breaking so hardcore under our current administration. Im like, Whats real? Oh, its malleable? Okay, cool. Im gonna take a page out of that big fucks book and make my truth my truth.

Imogen Poots in The Chronology of Water. Photo: Cannes Film Festival

Youre breaking reality.

Yeah. The reason we had to go make a bunch of puzzle pieces is because the movie had to have a whole life, a whole memory. I didnt want to regurgitate the book. I needed to be able to create very precise images, but they had to be ephemeral. And so we couldnt be as precise in the planning. Also my plan got completely commandeered. And my ship wrecked. We were floating in tatters down the Mackenzie River, trying to pick up the pieces of a really tumultuous shoot.

What happened?

Oh my god. Dude. Its crazy. We would need so much time.

What are the bullet points? Did you lose financing?

Ten times. Cast. Department heads. Crazy, crazy act of god weather. I had written it for over eight years.

And you were writing and rewriting that whole time?

Absolutely. At some point, Ive adapted every single page of the book. It needed to live every single bit of it in order to distill it. And then also, it needed to change. I think my fingerprints are all over the movie but I dont strangle it. Its Imogens movie. We shot the ever-living shit out of it so we could come home and intuit, based on sense memory, things that are connected. All of the flashes in the movie where you go, Oh, this feels like that  she makes a certain expression that reminds you of another expression. Basically I needed to give the movie a life in order for me to slice it up and make something that felt more like a DMT trip, like a repossession of the body through words. Versus: Then her dad abused her. And then drugs abused her. Then the world abused her. No, no, no. This is about whats real, what happened. We all remember things differently. Taking that power into your hands is something that Ive learned to do as I get older. Its a movie about salvation through art, but its also about the inner voice. The sneaky inner voice and the secrets that we keep. Fuck that.

Especially right now. Its scary to talk about this right now because our country is falling apart. If Im putting a target on my pussy and you want to try and come and grab it, you give it your best fucking shot. Thats the only way. I do feel like Im putting a target on my back doing stuff like this.

Tell me about Imogens Big Tit Energy, which you mentioned yesterday at your talk. What does that mean to you?

Imogen Poots! She doesnt have big boobs. But I kept thinking she did. We were talking about costumes and how to age her. She plays 17 to 40 and it works. Its crazy. She just has so much fucking integrity. We were talking about clothes and stuff and I was like, We have to be careful with the bathing suit, she has And they were like, Kristen, you have the same exact bra size. And I was like, What?! [Laughs.] But she just seemsshes such a gorgeous, open, lush, alive mammal. Shes so mammalian. A forest animal slash killer whale. So I think she must have these big tits. My brain, like, made her grow bigger boobs than she has.

Did you tell her that on set?

When we were doing costumes and stuff. I was like, I thought you had big boobs, dude! And she was like, [affects British accent] No! And that was the whole conversation. But now in retrospect Im like, thats so funny.

You said to the festival that this was the biggest wound of your career. Why?

It hurt so fucking bad. Because it was almost impossible. It was absolutely my inexperience that allowed me to pull this over the finish line. The amount of dropouts, acts of god  the movie was terrorized. It was really treated like a woman. It was really pissed upon. I really thought the movie was dying every day that I was making it. It was a really interesting ego check because I was convinced that I ruined it, that sure, we could string something together and I have to go show everyone. But that was just me trying to ingratiate myself with newness, which is really hard to do when youve planned something for eight years. And when I got out of the wreckage and into the safe harbor of the edit, I started opening all of these presents I didnt know were given to me. I planted all of these seeds in these people and they bloomed like a motherfucker. I got home and I was like, I have too much! I dont know where to slice this!

And then by the end, it took so long to edit the movie and then I made Dylans movie, and we got out of that and people were like, Can we please submit to Cannes? And I was like, Can you please get away from me Theres no more violent question than, Hows it going? [Laughs.] Did you get any work done? I didnt want to hang out with people I hadnt seen in awhile. I ceased to exist. I could not handle talking about it. But it was really fun getting into the final touches. It should have been a six-to-nine week process. But we did it in two and a half weeks. I need to go home and finesse it.

Get this. My reference, what I cut to my low-res scans  they dont exist. They were done in Poland by different interns every day. There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie. I dont want to screen a low-res version, I want a high-res. But this kaleidoscopic rainbow that fell off the truck because these kids were experimenting with my footage thats what I fell in love with. It was diffused with a foggy glass. And all of a sudden, when I stepped into color, it was like I was looking at Instagram. It felt like a 90s movie, covered in a gritty texture. It felt like a movie I might like, but it was really masculine. And it didnt feel like a dream, it didnt feel pink enough. I was like, Oh no! I was crying. I was so sick, dude. I cant believe Im standing right now. I know that sounds self-aggrandizing.

You dont.

I thought the movie was dying all the time. And then finally in the nick of timeI was so ready to come here with a movie that I thought was not what I wanted it to be. But the movie is itself. The movie speaks for itself. Its totally out of my body and having its own relationship with the world. And Im so proud of it. I need to give it a new outfit or two. Brush its hair. But the movie is the movie and its kind of cool to show it in its adolescence. I think its punk as fuck to come to Cannes without being done. We threw it under a closed fucking door. I cant believe we got here.

On the festival site, you mentioned this idea of a feminine grammar of cinema thats yet to be written. It reminded me a lot of how Celine Sciamma talks about reinventing a feminine language for film. Can you tell me about finding that language, trusting that voice?

Theres granular and then big-picture. When I go microscopic, its the texture of the blood that sticks to the grout before it goes down the drain. Theres no question about where that blood comes from. Its not from a cut. Its from a hole. It was really hard to convince people that this movie was going to be fun to watch. Because its frustrating. Its not the three-act success story that, as audiences, weve been trained to want. Its like, Arent we supposed to be happy now? Jesus Christ, youve dragged me through hell. Its like a female orgasm. Its like, Almost, almost, almost. Stick with me, stick with me, stick with me! I dont think the movie is long. Its two hours and eight minutes, with a killer credit sequence that you have to see til the last frame to finish the movie. But its a serious fucking movie. We deserve to take up space. I didnt need to make an hour and a half digestible experience so it would be less difficult for the consumer. Its cool that at one point you go, Are we still doing this? Why? I have Why tattooed right here [points to her upper arm].

Did you get it just now?

Yes, the day before I got on the plane. I was running ragged, we had just finished the movie, and I was like, No matter what, top priority, find a woman who can give us three tattoos today! The crew is going to get this one. [She points to a tattoo that says MINE on her thigh.]

What does that mean?

The coolest song in the movie is when she comes on her hand, smells it, wipes it on her fucking bicep, and goes, I didnt know a girl body could do that. Shoot come. And then this song comes on and it goes, Mine, mine, mine, mine. And its just fucking mine.
Photo: Roger Do Minh/TPS Productions/Focus Features

The boy was murdered, I think, by the people who were meant to love him.

Wes Anderson is talking about a surreal moment that occurs early in his latest film, The Phoenician Scheme, in which the protagonist, the ruthless international tycoon Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), experiences a vision of the afterlife. Zsa-Zsa has just had a close call with death, and now he finds himself attending a heavenly black-and-white funeral for a young boy whose body lies in a coffin. Is that someone Zsa-Zsa knows? Is it himself? Is this a dream? Zsa-Zsa sees his long-dead grandmother sitting next to him. Why are we here? he asks her. She doesnt recognize him. Then, the boy in the coffin wakes up  and so does Zsa-Zsa.

The Phoenician Scheme (which is about to premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival) might be a comedy  perhaps Andersons funniest in years  but its also the sort of comedy he has specialized in for the past decade or so: Its fanciful narrative is laced with existential dread, gathering evil, and a restless fascination with mortality. Zsa-Zsas visions of the afterlife dont stop with the funeral. Over the course of the picture, he regularly finds himself at the center of some sort of heavenly tribunal. Inspired by the work of Surrealist filmmaker Luis Bunuel, with a bit of Michael Powell dreaminess thrown in, these black-and-white hallucinations have no denominational consistency: Each is different, with the actors (including Bill Murray and F. Murray Abraham) in clearly fake makeup and prosthetics. These scenes are something in Zsa-Zsas brain  some neurological experience that hes having, Anderson says. Somewhere along the line, we realize this guy is being confronted with his own death so aggressively and overtly that its actually starting to change his view of the world, which is not something hes ever been open to. And what hes learning in those moments I guess hes learning from himself.

As played by del Toro, whose statuesque glower and massive eyes seem to switch easily from sociopathic determination to utter bafflement, Zsa-Zsa is a transfixing figure, and its not surprising to learn that the main impetus for The Phoenician Scheme was the directors desire to put this particular actor at the center of a movie. They were premiering The French Dispatch at Cannes in 2021 when Anderson told del Toro that he was thinking of casting him as a European tycoon, of the sort one might find in an Italian film from the 1960s. The character was then crossbred with a variety of other inspirations, chief among them Andersons late father-in-law, Fuad Malouf (to whom the picture is dedicated), a Lebanese engineer who had a vast array of ongoing international projects. When he started to get dementia some years ago, he chose to show my wife how his world operates, Anderson says. He went into the back of this closet and came out with all these shoe boxes, and he laid them out. And he said, This is the project in Saudi, with these brothers. This is the project in Gibraltar, with these other people, and so on. It was like a Dickensian thing, like Bleak House or something. What the director describes resembles a moment in The Phoenician Scheme in which Zsa-Zsa, having just survived an assassination attempt, pulls out a bunch of boxes and explains to his novitiate daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), his various business dealings, in the hopes that she will one day inherit and manage it all.

Malouf could be intimidating, but Anderson says they got along very well. The more sinister and complicated aspects of Zsa-Zsas character  his greed, his chicanery, his vindictiveness, his paranoia, his disregard of his family, his cavalier attitude toward paying people and the suffering of others  came from a variety of other 20th-century business figures, including the notorious shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis; the film producer Carlo Ponti; the Hungarian banker Arpad Plesch; and the Armenian fixer Calouste Gulbenkian, the infamous middleman known as Mr. Five Percent, who helped Western companies exploit the oil-producing regions of the Middle East.

Michael Cera, Benicio del Toro, and Mia Threapleton in The Phoenician Scheme. Photo: TPS Productions/Focus Features

In The Phoenician Scheme, the widely despised but often deadpan-hilarious Zsa-Zsa finds himself financially encircled by his foes when the price of a key bolt is jacked up to astronomic levels, which prompts him to fly from country to country renegotiating deals with his business partners, finagling them into covering the higher costs of his various construction projects. Basically, its a story about trade wars and economic blackmail, and at the center of it is a cruel absentee father and cynical megalomaniac who loves to cut terrible deals. (It might also be the first Wes Anderson film where the audience has to do some math.) And if it feels like both the movie and its protagonist echo certain troubling aspects of contemporary reality  in their own hermetically sealed, Wes Anderson kind of way  it wouldnt be the first time. What ends up happening often is that when you make a movie, if youre drawing on something historical, then two weeks into shooting, something happens that makes you say, Well, its actually happening now, too, he says. We happen to be FaceTiming on the day that Donald Trump announced he was going to put a 100 percent tariff on films produced abroad. Im not even going to try to think about what that could possibly mean, Anderson says with a bitter laugh. A 100 percent tariff on movies. So what does that mean? Youll take all the money?

Even so, Anderson doesnt see his protagonist, for all his Trumpian qualities, as an avatar for the current president. I dont think Donald Trump specifically possesses anything like a moral compass, whereas Zsa-Zsa, I think, does, he says. Zsa-Zsa has a moral compass, but he doesnt care. That fact also permits him to maybe find a better potential in himself over the course of the story.

While Anderson has a reputation for making manicured and lighthearted trifles (were not calling them twee anymore, thank God), youd have to be blind to miss the darkness that has crept into his chocolate-box creations. Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) goes from being a romp about a resourceful playboy concierge in a made-up central European country to a drama about a fascist takeover, with closing borders, random arrests, and the decay of civility. And the animated allegory Isle of Dogs (2018) is set in and around an imaginary Japanese city where a corrupt mayor-cum-dictator has banned all dogs to an abandoned island. Say all you want about how Wes Anderson lives in his own universe, but he started making movies about the rise of authoritarianism well before a lot of other ostensibly more political artists did. In fact, even as his style has seemed to become even more ornate, the subjects he has been tackling feel more and more as if theyve been ripped from the headlines.

None of that came from some desire for contemporary topicality, however. It was more a sign of his expanding point of view. Where I grew up, until I was 20 years old, it was a very small world, Anderson, who was born and raised in Houston, says. At a certain point, I did choose to try to have a broader perspective than the one I grew up with. Moving to Paris in the mid-2000s led to a major shift, he says. As did, surely, starting a family. One of the pleasures of watching Andersons films over the years is that he and his work have grown up before our eyes, moving from the precocious coming-of-age stories of his early career  where even the older characters stirrings of mortality felt like the vague ruminations of a thoughtful and earnest young man projecting himself into the future  to the more pensive later efforts, which are steeped in regret and a paradoxical embrace of the enigmatic nature of life. By the time we were doing Asteroid City, certainly those questions were at the center of the whole movie, he says now, referring to his 2023 picture that tackles (among other things) the bewildering nature of both the cosmos and the human heart. Mystery is the motivation for that film in the first place, I think  mystery around death and around making some concept of poetry or art.

Asteroid City built on the dense and perplexing anthology of The French Dispatch, which presented a series of stories about journalists. In each of these episodes, characters long to break free of their realities without ever quite knowing how: an imprisoned mentally ill artist in love; French students rebelling against a system that predetermines their fate; and a gay African American writer (modeled partly after James Baldwin) living in self-exile in France who pours all his emotions into impeccably crafted articles about food. That films repeated mantra  Try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose, offered up by a domineering magazine editor to all his writers young and old  could easily be Andersons own. In his work, a veil of purposefulness hides the despair. Artifice masks the presence of the unknown.

Oddly enough, as Anderson has become wiser and more reflective, his pictures have become downright meme-worthy in their fastidiousness and precision. The directors camera moves are exacting, and his compositions carefully arranged, like a cross between a mid-century Belgian comic book and a prizewinning American high-school science-fair project. Some have wondered if hell ever relent and go back to working in a more naturalistic vein. Instead, hes doubled down. Thats not always my choice, he says, laughing again. Somehow, whatever I do, it ends up seeming like I did it. When its processed through me, it kind of comes out this way. If you were sitting there next to me, and you said, I can tell you some ways to make this seem like you didnt do it. Move the camera over here, I would probably say, I know  but I think I like it more here.

From left: The French Dispatch. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection Asteroid City. Photo: Focus Features/Everett Collection From top: The French Dispatch. Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection Asteroid City. Photo: Focus Features/Everett Collection

But now, to go along with the images, his work has become structurally ornate as well. Asteroid City is, at various points, a movie, a 1950s TV drama, a play, and a radio play, even as a voice-over reminds us that not only did none of these things ever happen, the creation were watching is itself a phantom. (Asteroid City does not exist, a narrator tells us. It is an imaginary drama created expressly for the purposes of this broadcast. The characters are fictional, the text hypothetical, the events an apocryphal fabrication.) The French Dispatch, meanwhile, is presented as a series of articles in the final issue of a (fictional) magazine, with each story descending into its own network of flashbacks and memories and projections and tales-within-tales, switching between color and black-and-white and hopping aspect ratios with gleeful abandon. These complications reach almost pathological levels, so that by the end of these films, we feel, along with the characters, a moving sense of lostness. Its partly what I like in cinema, Anderson says. When something gets more abstract, it moves me. Its an area Im more drawn to than when I was younger.

That disorientation is key to the films effect. As I put it in my Asteroid City review: Andersons obsessively constructed dioramas explore the very human need to organize, quantify, and control our lives in the face of the unexpected and the uncertain. Much like their creator, his characters fret over details and seek to predict and manage their world. But the precision achieves the opposite on both levels: The mad swirl of the stories-within-stories results in overwhelming ambiguity, and with each new effort, the characters seem to be less and less in control. When I start to run this idea by Anderson, he interrupts me with a smile: Maybe thats why theyre so controlled, he says.

Believe it or not, once upon a time, Wes Anderson thought of himself as someone from the John Cassavetes school of filmmaking  or, at least, he tried to. He valued spontaneity and the idea of improvisation. On his first feature, Bottle Rocket, he sometimes tried to get his actors to respond to things they didnt know were coming. I knew about how William Friedkin could really throw a wrench into things on the set, and something spontaneous would happen, he says. So, for one scene, he had an actress throw a banana daiquiri in Owen Wilsons face without telling him. When it happened, Owen just stopped and said, Why did you do that? And she said, Wes told me to, Anderson recalls. This spontaneous moment that I was hoping to capture was immediately rendered completely impossible. And Owen was so upset! He felt so betrayed. Maybe the idea was right, but it seemed to be the wrong approach for Anderson. I had to go follow Owen a quarter of a mile off into the distance while he pulled himself together and I tried to explain. Then the wardrobe people came over to me and said, Theres no double for Owens shirt.

So, the Cassavetes/Friedkin approach went out the window, but the idea of finding spontaneity in these increasingly manicured works didnt. When we made The Darjeeling Limited, we had a system for how we would shoot the movie: We would plan out what we could and get everything in order, and then whatever happened, we were going to use it in the movie, Anderson says, explaining how he tried an open-ended approach for his 2007 production, shot in India. There were times when things really took sharp turns from what we anticipated and planned, and we adapted to them and just tried to go with them. Did it work? Darjeeling Limited got Anderson some of his more dismissive reviews at the time  but like a couple of his other films, its reputation has only grown in subsequent years.

Anderson credits the process of making his first animated feature, The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), with giving him the ability to exert greater control over his shots. Since then, hes extensively used animatics to prepare his scenes. (He describes it as a storyboard cartoon version of the scenes, and then adds, We just call it the cartoon.) At first, these were meant primarily for his production designer, Adam Stockhausen, and his cinematographer. (Robert Yeoman shot all of Andersons live-action features up until The Phoenician Scheme, which was shot by Bruno Delbonnel.) Over the years, some actors asked to see them as well. It started with Willem Dafoe, Anderson says. He started telling the other actors, Watch this thing! This is what he actually wants you to do. Some, on the other hand, didnt want anything to do with it: The cartoon is the last thing Ralph Fiennes wants to see.

So what role does uncertainty now play for him? In a situation where everything is so disciplined, and where his style has become so meticulous, does Anderson still want the variability of life to sneak in? Again, he focuses on his actors. When youre working with somebody like Benicio, or somebody like Timothee Chalamet, or Benedict Cumberbatch, he says, those are all actors who dare you to capture whatever happens this time. Theyre going to go this way, and then theyre going to go that way, and you get to say, Okay, lets see whats going to happen here. Benicio has a monumental aspect to him. And sometimes youre wondering which side of the monument youre going to wind up on.

Which brings us back to that dead boy and Zsa-Zsas visions and his heavenly tribunals, which add an ongoing element of dream logic and psychological entropy to The Phoenician Schemes labyrinthine, onscreen-math-filled tale. We can try to interpret and categorize these little moments, but theyre so fleeting and elusive. Theyre clearly filled with symbols and ideas, but they dont entirely fall into place  because, ultimately, theyre just brief flashes from an unraveling mind. I think Zsa-Zsa is a control freak whos lost all his power, Anderson says. Some neurons are sparking in new directions, and the biggest effect is happening when his eyes are closed. In other words, he has become a quintessential Wes Anderson character: A person whose desire to put everything in boxes has resulted in existential chaos and endless soul-searching.
Many big American companies are backing away from DEI policies this year as scrutiny intensifies in Washington, D.C., but stockholders are not necessarily in favor of more measures that question diversity initiatives.

The latest example came earlier this month, when Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) investors gathered for the company's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Neb.

Stockholders in Warren Buffett's conglomerate voted down two measures from DEI critics that would have required Berkshire's holding companies to report risks associated with race-based initiatives and designate a board committee to oversee DEI strategies across its businesses.

Berkshire controls 189 operating businesses that employ nearly 400,000 people, so any such policies would have had widespread implications. Earlier this year, it stripped out some language in its annual report discussing diversity and inclusion.

Shareholders take their seats inside the CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on May 3, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)  ASSOCIATED PRESS

That's not to say the same Berkshire stockholders were ready to give a thumbs up to more diversity measures, either. They rejected one proposal that would have required Berkshire to issue a report on pay disparity.

That same pattern has repeated at many other big companies thus far during annual meeting season, pointing to a broader fatigue with the topic of DEI, which refers to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As of May 8, shareholders had voted down 17 anti-DEI proposals, and 14 were either omitted or withdrawn from ballots, according to data and analytics provider ISS Corporate, a subsidiary of proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services. A total of 52 were introduced, with more votes yet to happen this spring and summer.

Anti-DEI proposals were almost unanimously rejected by shareholders at Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), Deere & Company (DE), Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI), Goldman Sachs (GS), Boeing (BA), Wells Fargo (WFC), American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO), and Costco (COST).

"Shareholders overwhelmingly voted against resolutions to end DEI and backed management maintaining merit-based diversity programs focused on financial performance," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit organization that advocates for environmental and social corporate responsibility.

Yet pro-DEI proposals have fared no better.

As of May 8, roughly 44 pro-DEI proposals were on corporate America's ballots this year, according to ISS Corporate. Among those that went to a vote, none have thus far gained shareholder support as of that date. Seven failed, and 15 were omitted or withdrawn.

Pro-DEI proposals were voted down this year at Deere, Pilgrims Pride (PPC), AutoNation (AN), AO Smith (AOS), Lennar (LEN), Genuine Parts (GPC), and Wells Fargo.
Pat Flynn

A member of An Garda Siochana has been hospitalised following a security incident at Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Three women were arrested after they allegedly gained access to the airside area of the airport and caused criminal damage to an aircraft.

It is the second security incident at Shannon this month.

The incident is believed to have occurred at around 4:30pm. The last aircraft to land before the incident touched down at around 4:25pm.

Once the security breach was detected, operations were brought to a standstill forcing three arriving aircraft into holding patterns. Flight crews were advised by air traffic controllers that there had been an incident at the airport.

The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, which was preparing to depart on a training exercise, was also grounded once operations were suspended.

It is understood this fire cover at the airport was reduced as a result of personnel from Shannon Airport Police and Fire Service responding to the security incident thus, without the required amount of fire cover, operations were halted.

Three women are believed to entered the airport an approached an Omni Air International aircraft parked at Stand 42 at the end of the terminal building. They are understood to have thrown red paint onto forward section of an Omni Air International Boeing 767-330(ER) aircraft that was parked there.

All three were detained and when it was confirmed there were no other persons at large, operations at Shannon resumed. The crews of the holding aircraft were advised shortly before 5:00pm that operations had returned to normal. Operations were affected for less than 30 minutes.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed: "Gardai responded to an incident of criminal damage at Shannon Airport, Co. Clare that occurred shortly after 4pm this afternoon Saturday May 17th, 2025.

Three females, aged between 20 and 50 years breached the perimeter fence and caused criminal damage. The three women were arrested at scene and are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Garda stations in Co Clare.

During the course of the arrests one member of An Garda Siochana was injured and has since been taken to University Hospital Limerick for assessment. Her injuries are non-life threatening. Investigations ongoing."

On May 1st, three people were arrested after they allegedly entered the airport grounds after crashing a van into a security fence. The van was stopped from entering an airport taxiway after it got stuck in a drain
I warmly welcome the European Commissions proposals to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), said Sean Kelly MEP, Leader of Fine Gael in the European Parliament and MEP for Ireland South.

This is a positive development and a direct response to the growing frustration among farmers who have long struggled with red tape and overly rigid rules.

Kelly described the announcement as a good day for Irish agriculture and highlighted several key elements in the package.

Simplification, flexibility, less bureaucracy  these are exactly the changes our farmers have been calling for, he said.

This is not just a minor adjustment; its a shift in tone that puts trust back in the hands of farmers.

The Ireland South MEP also welcomed the increased flat-rate payment for small farmers and greater discretion for Member States.

Raising the flat-rate payment limit to 2,500 is practical and fair. It will ease the burden on small family farms and save time and money. Thats common sense policy.

Kelly was particularly encouraged by the approach taken on GAEC 2, which addresses wetland and peatland management.

This was a major concern voiced by farmers Ive met across Ireland in recent weeks, he said.

The flexibility to reward environmental stewardship rather than penalise it is a breakthrough.

"Farmers working on peatlands and wetlands will now be supported, not punished, for their efforts.

Kelly added that this result "shows our work on the ground and in the Parliament is paying off.

He paid tribute to Commissioner Hansens listening ear.

Ive sat alongside Commissioner Hansen on the Trade Committee for a decade. He understands agriculture and has shown that he is willing to act.

"This package is the beginning of restoring agriculture to its rightful place at the top of the European agenda.

Kelly concluded with a call for unity: I sincerely hope all Irish MEPs will come together now to support these proposals as they move through Parliament. Agriculture is Irelands primary industry  and it deserves a common effort to ensure farmers have the tools they need to thrive.
Waterford has been moved into a new HSE regional division for healthcare services.

The Deise county has been moved into a Dublin and South East Health Region in which there are three healthcare areas.

HSE Dublin Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary South, HSE Waterford Wexford and HSE Dublin South East.

A spokesperson for the HSE said the new regional division will manage and deliver all public health and social care services in Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, South East Dublin, South Tipperary and East Wicklow.

That means the regional division covers an area where almost one million people live.

HSE services working within this region include: Hospitals, Primary Care centres, community care, social care services and other community based healthcare services.
One of the most popular priests to ever serve the community in Waterford will be remembered at a very special Mass in the city on Tuesday, June 3.

That day, at 7.30pm in St Paul's Church, the late Fr Colm O'Brien will be honoured through a special Mass to celebrate what would have been his silver jubilee as a priest.

Fr O'Brien passed away in 2009, following an illness, when he was just 36 years of age.

The parish will celebrate a priest who was dearly loved and respected by everyone in the community.

Fr. Colm was from Belvedere Drive and was Baptised and Confirmed in St Paul's where he also served Mass and was a reader.

He was ordained in St. Pauls in June, 2000 and subsequently served in the parish of St. Peter and Pauls, in Clonmel and in Holy Cross Parish, Tramore.

In both parishes he was thought of as an extremely, highly respected and genuinely humble priests who was devoted to the spiritual wellbeing of the people he ministered to.

Through his short ministry, Fr Colm made a very significant impression on everyone who knew him and he had a particular affinity towards young people who could relate to him in a very positive way.

Prior to becoming a priest, in his younger years, he worked locally in Waterford City and such was the regard in which he was held that the annual Fr. Colm OBrien memorial cycle has raised significant funds for local charities over a ten year period.

In a post on the Waterford and Lismore diocesan website, waterfordlismore.ie, it was noted that 'as a way of celebrating and thanking God for Fr Colm's life and priesthood, Bishop Cullinan will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the priesthood of Fr Colm'.

The mass will be celebrated, appropriately, on what would have been his 25th anniversary.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend what promises to be a very special celebration.
University student Jessica Read was sitting in her cramped campus bedroom when she had an idea. Why not sell some of the clothes from her overflowing closet online?

Over time I was accumulating these pieces, and I had nowhere to put them, Read says almost six years later. But I never expected to become an entrepreneur and have my own business.

The online store is now a full-time job for Jessica Read and her parents. Credit:

Her brand now has more than 80,000 followers online, as well as a dedicated online store  Bean by Jess. Its a full-time job for 24-year-old Read. Shes also enlisted the help of parents Bruce and Nita  its their main source of income too.

Obviously as a business owner, youre wearing a lot of hats, Read says. Monday will be a photo shoot, and then Tuesday will be creating content to show the pieces to everyone online. On a Wednesday, well be making sure all those pieces are up on the website.
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Dive Brief:

The Financial Technology Association can intervene in a lawsuit bank trade groups brought seeking to quash a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule outlining a new U.S. open banking system, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

The association argued that the bureau was unlikely to defend its members interests in a case brought by banking groups over implementation of the open banking rule. While it is still uncertain whether the CFPB will defend the Rule in issue, it seems that, at the minimum, the FTAs interests are likely not protected by the current parties, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, wrote in the ruling.

Neither the CFPB nor the plaintiffs  the Bank Policy Institute, the Kentucky Bankers Association and Kentucky-based Forcht Bank  opposed the FTAs motion to intervene in their briefs filed Monday.

Dive Insight:

As an intervenor, the association will be able to defend the open banking rule at a time when the CFPB has been reordering its enforcement priorities, settling lawsuits against it and abandoning litigation the bureau had brought under the Biden administration.

The court ruling gives the fintech industry a seat at the table to defend Americans' financial data rights, ensuring that the big banks cannot dictate the future of open banking, Penny Lee, the FTAs president and CEO, said Thursday in an emailed statement.

Due to the CFPBs dramatic changes under its acting director, Russell Vought, the open banking rule and its associated deadlines are in question. Under the Trump administration, the CFPB has vacated or de-prioritized enforcement across numerous rules and past guidance.

On May 8, Bloomberg Law reported that the bureau will seek to vacate the Biden-era rule through the banks litigation in Reeves court, citing multiple unnamed sources familiar with the legal strategy. The CFPB would then rework the bill, allowing banks to charge fees and give them liability protections, Bloomberg reported.

In October, the CFPB issued a final rule to implement section 1033 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The three bank groups sued immediately in the Eastern District of Kentucky to enjoin the rule, arguing that the bureau had exceeded its authority.

Open banking is designed to let consumers more easily access and transfer their financial data to another bank or financial services company for free. Regulators and other proponents say the rule would spur competition and provide financial consumers with alternatives that might offer better services and rates. Fintechs and other financial startups see a robust market opportunity arising from open banking.
Rome: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met Catholic Church leaders in Rome ahead of the inauguration mass for Pope Leo XIV, joining them at a sanctuary church that welcomes visiting Australians.

Albanese met Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli at the church centre, which also houses Australians who have come to Rome for the mass.

Anthony Albanese with Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli and Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher in Rome. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The church, called the Sanctuary of our Lady of Pompeii, has a connection with Pope Leo because he was elected by cardinals on May 8, the feast day for Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

Albanese spoke briefly in the churchs rose garden, known as Domus Australia, about the importance of the inauguration mass for Australias 5 million Catholics.
Taiwan is urging Australia to stare down opposition from Beijing and support its admission to a sweeping regional free trade pact to help buffer it from the volatility of Donald Trumps tariff gyrations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced during a visit to Jakarta on Thursday that Australia will back Indonesias bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), but Taiwans request to join the pact has been stalled since 2021.

Douglas Hsu, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, said Taiwan was well qualified to join the trade pact. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Australia is serving as the rotating chair of the 12-nation grouping this year, giving it responsibility for guiding the groups activities and priorities.

We definitely call for Australias support of Taiwans accession to the CPTPP, which we see as the gateway to future trade, Taiwans de facto ambassador to Australia, Douglas Hsu, said in an interview with this masthead.
On the other hand, Labor merely had to strike a pose of calm defiance in the face of Trumps assault on Australias interests. Anthony Albaneses government appeared to be stable, sane and safe. It reaped a major dividend at the exact moment that voters sought security. Loading Yet this is not the end of the era of Australia v Trump. To rework the Bunnings slogan, higher tariffs are just the beginning. Trumps administration already plans to assail important Australian interests. Starting with the cherished Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Americas big pharma firms complain that its a restraint on their ability to charge Australians full freight for their drugs. Which is the whole point. And Trump plans to fight Australia on behalf of Elon Musks X and the other big US social media and tech corporations. Wherever Australia tries to exert any sovereignty over local internet content  to protect kids, for instance  Trump, Musk & Co. will demand that American profits prevail.

Then there are Australias biosecurity laws. The laws quarantine Australias beef, pork, apple and pear sectors from imported disease, but their US competitors demand entry, claiming the biosecurity laws are trade protectionism by another name. Trumps America will try to break all of this and more. A problem for the Albanese government to manage diplomatically? Yes. But Trumps hostility is also a gift that will keep giving for Albanese politically. All he need do is maintain his calm defiance in the face of Trumps bellicosity and bluster. And Albanese will be a local hero. Peter Duttons association with Donald Trump hurt him and benefited Anthony Albanese. Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong And what will the Coalition be doing? The Liberal Party will try to distance itself from Trump. Dutton is gone now, but it is vulnerable nonetheless. Why? Because of a little detail  the Gina Rinehart faction, the local franchise of Trumps MAGA, and its love of fossil fuels, nuclear reactors and climate denialism. The Rinehart faction is mostly concentrated in the Nationals. But Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is one of the staunchest Rinehart reactionaries. She has moved from the Nationals party room to sit with the Liberals.

How is this a problem for the Liberals? Because the Liberals, if they hope to continue as the alternative party of government, need to dump the climate wars. But the Nationals and Price dont want to dump the climate wars. They want to escalate the conflict. At her first press conference after her election as the new Liberal leader, Sussan Ley was asked: Moderates have been damning about a lack of climate ambition. Can you really afford another climate war to start off your tenure? Ley answered: There isnt going to be a climate war [within the Coalition]. There is going to be sound, sensible consultation. Shes been careful to say that all policy is up for review. Specifically, shes been non-committal on the two frontline Coalition climate policies  the plan to build seven taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors, and the commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But the Gina Rinehart faction is very committed, regardless of what Ley thinks. Committed to forging ahead with the nuclear reactors. And committed to dumping the net zero commitment. The climate war inside the Coalition is already afoot. It was the Coalition under Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce that started the climate wars as a way to wreck Labor. And, for a while, it worked. But now the climate war is a civil war within the Coalition. So the victim of the war will be the Coalition.

Joyce was the Nationals leader who struck the Coalition deal with Scott Morrison to support net zero. But on Friday, Joyce, recovering from cancer surgery, tells me: Its obvious in the sobriety of the post-election analysis, its incontestable in my view  we cant go forward with net zero. There is no love out there for net zero. Loading He cites his electorate of New England. While there was an overall swing towards him of 2 per cent, he enjoyed a swing in his favour of 15 per cent in part of the electorate, an area of the town of Muswellbrook that previously had been in a Labor-held seat but recently was included in his electorate as a result of redistribution. In the past, people didnt know what net zero was, but they went along with it because it sounded harmless. But now they realise it does mean something  and it hurts. We have to have a reality check, Joyce says. Other Nationals  including senator Matt Canavan and Colin Boyce, the MP for the seat of Flynn in Queensland  want to dump net zero. These Nats also hope to retain the nuclear energy policy they took to the election.

The Nats leader, David Littleproud, publicly has been evasive on these policies as he entered coalition negotiations for the new parliament with Ley. The Nationals leader in the Senate, Bridget McKenzie, hasnt been evasive at all. She told my colleague Paul Sakkal this week that it would be against the national interest to drop nuclear power if we are serious about staying an industrial economy and reducing emissions. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has said it would be against the national interest to drop nuclear power as policy. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui She implied that it could be a dealbreaker for the Coalition: Obviously, our country is best served by a strong Nationals-and-Liberals Coalition government, but the establishment of a coalition between the Liberal and National parties is never a foregone conclusion. And the net zero policy was up for review because regional Australia was absolutely up in arms about [Labor] carpeting their farmland, their communities with transmission lines and solar panels and wind farms. Yet the Liberals know that if they want to have any chance of forming government again, they need to appeal to the cities and to voters under the age of 60. Without a credible climate policy, they cant do either.

The Coalition wont break entirely because the Liberals and Nationals are merged into one  the Liberal National Party  in their stronghold state of Queensland. Besides, the Nats want to be in a coalition so they keep their positions as shadow ministers, and the salary allowances that go with them. But itll look more like a sullen cohabitation than a coalition. And this civil war is not a clear-cut Nats v Libs conflict. There are Liberals, notably Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who agree with the idea of dumping net zero and keeping the nuclear policy. This roiling internal argument will probably dog the Coalition all the way to the next election. And every time it surfaces, it will remind the electorate that the Coalition simply isnt credible on energy and climate policy. And that it shares its climate-denying, fossil-fuel-loving recidivism with Gina Rinehart and Donald Trump. The state of the Coalition today is reminiscent of philosopher Antonio Gramscis famous line: The old is dying and the new cannot be born. Peter Hartcher is political editor.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will back Indonesias inclusion in a free-trade deal in a move that, if successful, would boost the nations economy and further strengthen its ties to Australia.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto rolled out the warmth and pageantry for Albanese and his entourage when they flew into Jakarta for high-level talks on Thursday.

In his first foreign visit since his May 3 election win, Albanese declared he would support Indonesias bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada.

Prabowo Subianto and Anthony Albanese exchange soccer jerseys during lunch at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This is the fastest-growing region of the world in human history and Indonesia is central to that growth, he said, before Prabowo, a former special forces commander with a murky human rights record, personally drove him to a banquet on a golf buggy.
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Dive Brief:

A federal judge ordered Bacone College into Chapter 7 bankruptcy Tuesday, kicking into motion a court-managed liquidation process for the institutions assets.

The private Oklahoma college, which describes itself as American Indian-serving, filed for bankruptcy last June with the aim of managing its debts and staying open in some form.

Last week, a U.S. bankruptcy trustee moved that the case be converted to a Chapter 7 case, citing gross mismanagement by college officials, one of whom the trustee alleged used the institutions bank account to pay his personal expenses.

Dive Insight:

In a short but blistering court filing, Ilene Lashinsky, a U.S. trustee with the U.S. Department of Justice assigned to the bankruptcy case, argued that untoward financial activity at Bacone warranted the conversion to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, effectively forcing the college into a full wind-down.

Specifically, the trustee pointed to a payment of nearly $16,500 made by the college to the federal Small Business Administration to pay a loan owed by Leslie Hannah, who became acting president of Bacone in April 2024. The payment, according to Lashinsky, was made at Hannahs direction to pay his SBA debt.

Hannah did not immediately reply to a request for comment Thursday, nor did the colleges bankruptcy attorney.

Lashinsky said that Hannah claims that he, in his personal capacity, obtained an SBA loan prior to the Debtors bankruptcy filing in the approximate amount of $15,000 to pay the colleges payroll. But neither Hannah nor the SBA was listed among Bacones creditors when the college filed for bankruptcy last June.

Also named in Lashinskys filing was Josh Johns, a board member of the college, whom Bacone listed as overseeing the institution during bankruptcy along with Hannah.

It is unclear whether Hannah discussed this payment with Johns but neither Hannah nor Johns did anything to prevent this payment to the SBA, Lashinsky said.

Lashinsky also cited the colleges failure to provide timely financial information.

This case is stagnant and the Debtors only hope is that an investor may come in and purchase the real estate assets of [Bacone], Lashinsky said in the filing. This is the best option for creditors to get paid.

The colleges property is valued at $3.8 million, according to court documents.
Hapag-Lloyd saw container bookings from China to the United States jump by 50% following the break in the tariff battle between the trading partners.

In comments during an earnings call, Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen explained that while recent bookings were down 20%-30%, there has been a surge of over 50% in recent days, though he noted the difficulty in predicting exact growth patterns.

We expect capacity to return fairly swiftly. We have deployed smaller ships instead of doing blanks [canceled sailings], and we will reverse that soon. Within the next couple of weeks, we will deploy bigger ships again, and others may also increase capacity as the quarter progresses.

The CEO also confirmed that upsizing vessels can be accomplished without significant disruption due to the simplified Gemini network with Maersk, and that it wont materially change overall costs, with no current issues regarding mispositioning of containers.

Profit increased 45% to $469 million on revenue that was up 15% year over year to $5.3 billion in the first quarter, driven by a 9% increase in liner shipping volumes, marking the highest year-on-year growth in several years.

Liner shipping saw revenues of $5.2 billion on volume of 3.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units and an average freight rate of $1,480 per TEU, both of which were 9% higher y/y on strong demand. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 18%, to $1.1 billion, and earnings before interest and taxes were up by 25%, to $472 million.

The successful launch of the Gemini network saw schedule reliability of 90%, a remarkable figure in an industry that is usually around 65%.

The carrier faced operational challenges during the quarter, including ongoing rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope, as well as disruptions at various ports. These challenges increased operational costs and impacted efficiency but were effectively managed to minimize adverse effects on overall performance.

Spot freight rates experienced a significant decline following the Chinese New Year, contributing to earnings normalization across the industry. Hapag-Lloyd said it faces uncertainty in demand trends for the remainder of 2025 due to various geopolitical and economic factors. Higher tariffs and potential demand destruction pose risks to volume growth, particularly in the China-U.S. trade lane.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Tariff two-step: After pause, China-US container traffic increases

Maersk looks to fill up corridors in a flash (sale)
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There is great sadness throughout Swinford and wider Mayo and Donegal at the passing of retired Garda Bob McCallion.

A native of Carndonagh in Co Donegal, Bob and wife Nancy were hugely popular and valued figures of the Swinford community where they raised their family and where Bob was a respected member of An Garda Siochana.

Tragedy befell the family in 2009 when their son, Robert, also a Garda, was killed in the line of duty when struck by a stolen vehicle in Letterkenny. In 2019, Roberts older brother John, also a member of An Garda Siochana, passed suddenly during a bike ride.

The late Bob McCallion, Swinford and Donegal.

Bob McCallion will be sadly missed by his wife Nancy, daughters Noreen and Deirdre, son-in-law Marty, daughter-in-law Colette, and his grandchildren, Alice, Aidan, Meabh, Sarah, Grace and Robert, his brothers Daniel (Dublin). Paddy (Donegal) and John (Sligo), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, family circle, neighbours, and his large circle of friends and former Garda Siochana colleagues.

He will repose at his home on Park Road in Swinford from 2pm to 7pm this Sunday, May 18 and Monday from 2pm until 6pm with removal to the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Swinford arriving at 7pm.

Bob's funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday next, May 20 at 12noon prior to burial in Kilconduff Cemetery.

May he rest in peace.
Canadian retailer The Hudsons Bay Company has finalised an agreement to transfer its intellectual property rights to Canadian Tire for C$30m ($21m).

The transaction is a strategic move within a broader restructuring strategy under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

The assets involved in this transaction encompass HBC Stripes and additional brand properties. The companys collection of art and artifacts, set for a separate process approved by the court, are excluded.

Completion is contingent upon judicial endorsement and other standard conditions, and is expected in the summer of 2025.

The company's ongoing processes for soliciting sales and investments and monetising leases will continue, with updates to be provided when relevant.

Hudsons Bay president and CEO Liz Rodbell stated: We are grateful that the HBC brand has found a home with another heritage retailer that encapsulates the uniquely authentic Canadian experience. I have no doubt they will be strong stewards of the more than 350-year HBC legacy as they move our iconic brands forward.

This development follows a court-sanctioned sale and investment solicitation process initiated by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The company invited proposals from potential bidders interested in its properties and business operations.

After reviewing final bids, the company's board of directors, with Reflect Advisors as financial advisor, key senior lenders and the court-appointed monitor, concluded that this transaction would serve the best interests of Hudsons Bay and its stakeholders.

Hudsons Bay Company had The company initiated the CCAA procedure in March 2025 due to the ongoing trade disputes with the US, economic turbulence and changes in consumer behaviour post-pandemic, announcing that it would begin liquidation sales at its remaining six Hudsons Bay stores and one Saks Fifth Avenue outlet from 25 April.

"Hudsons Bay sells brand assets to Canadian Tire amid restructuring" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




Huntington Bancshares is joining a wave of out-of-state banks that are seeking to take advantage of Florida's growing economy.

The Columbus, Ohio-based bank announced Thursday that it will continue to expand its footprint, starting with middle-market services anchored in Fort Lauderdale. Huntington's commercial banking push in Florida follows major investments to scale its business in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

Heath Campbell, regional president of the Carolinas, told American Banker that the company's latest bet on a new state was opportunistic. Huntington was able to bring on a two-person middle-market banking team to kick-start its services in the Sunshine State, according to Campbell, who's overseeing the bank's Florida strategy.

"If I'd have thought back several months ago, I don't know that I said, 'Man, we're ready for Florida,'" Campbell said. "But all of a sudden, two amazing leaders emerged, and it became obvious very quickly, not just with me, but the executive leadership team, that this is the right time."

Huntington Chairman and CEO Steve Steinour has been vocal about the bank's focus on playing offense with its investments. He said in January that the bank's priority was organic growth by entering new markets and niches .

"We really like this equation," Steinour said at the time. "We believe we have significant core opportunities for growth, as well as with these new investments, and we're very focused on that. The business is performing exceptionally well."

To roll out the Florida business, Huntington hired two long-time bankers from Truist Financial, where Campbell also worked until 2023. Josh Sheradsky, who's been a middle-market banker in South Florida for more than 10 years, will lead Huntington's efforts in the state. Monica Olsen joined the team as a senior executive relationship manager.

Huntington said the group will also aim to connect middle-market clients in Florida with the bank's other offerings, like wealth management and investment banking. Huntington operates a private banking office in Naples, Florida.

Specific growth goals for the Florida team are still under wraps, but Campbell said Huntington has "plenty to harvest" from the investments it's made.

"We're entering with a middle-market banking strategy," Campbell said. "That's what we're focused on today. As this strategy unfolds, we'll see where that journey takes us."


BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday extended condolences to Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi over the death of former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica.

In his message, Xi expressed deep condolences on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and extended sincere sympathies to Mujica's family and the people of Uruguay.

As a renowned leader of Uruguay, Mujica dedicated his entire life to the well-being of the Uruguayan people and was deeply loved by them, enjoying a high reputation in the international community, Xi said in the message.

Mujica had long been committed to the development of China-Uruguay relations and made positive contributions to the cause of friendship between China and Uruguay, Xi said, adding that the Chinese people have lost an old and good friend.

Xi said he attaches great significance to developing China-Uruguay relations and looks to work with President Orsi to continue promoting the China-Uruguay comprehensive strategic partnership.

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Ye Shan
Tornado-spawning storms leave 25 dead in 2 states and swaths of destruction across central US
LONDON (Reuters) - Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk said on Friday its CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen will step down over concerns the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market.

Here are reactions to the news from analysts and investors in alphabetical order by company name:

BARCLAYS ANALYST EMILY FIELD on an external CEO

It is "really not the way the company's ever done things, so that would be a huge departure from what they've done, that would be a big surprise to people ... They need someone who understands the U.S. system better because they have not competed to the same degree that (Eli) Lilly has. Lilly is taking more and more, so it definitely feels like (Novo) is at a competitive disadvantage."

LUKAS LEU, PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT BELLEVUE ASSET MANAGEMENT, WHICH OWNS NOVO SHARES

"Seems like he's been made redundant. He was leading the company for eight years and in my opinion that was extremely successful... Stock has been weak since mid-2024. That is unexpected and not too good."

BERENBERG ANALYST, KERRY HOLFORD

"Several big European pharma companies have U.S. chiefs now ... I think they should consider this."

Holford said it "is a key unanswered question" whether Novo is confident about its pipeline. When asked (on the analyst call) about confidence in (its) CagriSema (drug candidate), Novo avoided the question, Holford said.

BMO CAPITAL MARKETS ANALYST EVAN SEIGERMAN

"With Novo shares declining about 55% in the past one-year alone, we are not surprised by the larger pressure prompting this CEO transition, but are left less clear on how a new CEO will be able to address these challenges."

Seigerman said a CEO transition might satisfy some investors, but without a meaningful change in its near-term strategy, the company's path forward seems difficult.

DANSKE BANK ANALYST CARSTEN LONBORG MADSEN

"The way we know Novo Nordisk is that normally you have patience when you're on the right track, and then you let things move in the right direction once you have the strategy right. It just feels like there's something that has gone pretty wrong here."

DANSK AKTIONAERFORENING

The Danish Shareholders Association said the CEO departure was a surprise. "This is the first time since 1960 that a CEO at Novo Nordisk has left their position in such a manner to make way for a new candidate."

Mikael Bak, Chief Executive of Dansk Aktionaerforening, said that at Novo's latest annual general meeting, the association expressed both praise and criticism.
Presidential candidate George Simion addresses supporters via video link after polls closed for the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 4, 2025. [AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru]

The second round of the Romanian presidential elections is set to take place on Sunday May 18. After the first-round win of fascist pro-Trump candidate George Simion in the presidential race, PSD Prime Minister Ciolacu resigned, bringing down the PNL-PSD (National Liberal-Social Democratic) coalition government. Interim president Bolojan has named PNL chief Predoiu interim prime minister, allowing the next president to oversee the formation of a new majority.

These developments triggered a panic on the Romanian stock market, and the national currency fell against the Euro.

Regardless of Sundays election result, the breakdown of democratic rights will intensify, as both candidates have laid out programs of war and austerity.

Simion has announced that he will seek to cut 500,000 public sector jobs in a Trump-inspired attack on workers that would mean laying off almost half of the public workforce. He openly admires fascistic Argentinian president Javier Milei and billionaire Elon Musk, boasting that the fired workers would be recruited by business owners who would no longer hire foreign workers.

Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU candidate is also unashamedly a candidate of the financial markets. On Romanian television he declared: We need to regain the trust of the financial markets, of the private market. We need to have a range of predictability so that an investor will know that the taxes they are paying now will be the same in one year or two years, while working people must endure painful but necessary budget cuts.

To confirm his anti-worker credentials, Dan is touting his achievements at the Bucharest city hall: At the city hall, we found a current debt of three billion lei that needed to be paid. Dan restructured the city hall, laying off thousands of employees and cutting what he called social handouts, such as disability payments.

Much of the media are trying to railroad workers, and especially young people, behind the candidacy of Dan, in the name of defending democracy or even fighting fascism. As the cancellation of the December presidential elections and the arbitrary barring of candidates has proven, the Romanian establishment has disdain for democratic rights. Behind the bogus allegations of Russian interference and cyber warfare lies their commitment, repeated by Dan during the election, for unconditional support of the war against Russia in Ukraine.

In country after country across Europe, far-right and fascistic forces have been systematically promoted from the top of official politics. More and more, European governments have taken up and normalized the far rights program, including the persecution of refugees, disdain for public health and the militarization of society.

In Romania and other Eastern European countries, anti-communism has, since the restoration of capitalism, been promoted to the status of a state religion. This has invariably been joined by the glorification of individualism and the promotion of fascistic and Nazi-linked historical figures and movements.

Significantly, both Simion and his opponent Nicusor Dan, come from the same milieu of civic protest politics, a milieu infused with anti-communist ideology and western funds. The AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians) movement came to the fore of political life in 2020, as the PSD was promoting an anti-science program against COVID measures.

It is important to note, against all the pseudo-left and neo-Stalinist movements, that the political dead end of Romanian society was not an inevitability, but is instead the direct responsibility of the Stalinists and their betrayal and perversion of Marxism.

Sections of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), a direct continuator of Romanias Stalinist ruling party in the Cold War era, are now preparing to take power in a coalition government with the fascists. This would be a continuation of their previous politics, including the admission by PSD leaders that they used their electoral networks to funnel votes to Simion in December.

The Romanian Socialist Party (PSR) is the largest Stalinist group that still maintains a left veneer and works with pseudo-left groups like the GAS (Socialist Action Group) and the AEM (Association for the emancipation of workers). In December, PSR issued a statement condemning the cancellation of the presidential elections. It describes fascist candidate Georgescu as calling for peace, bringing back the riches of our country ... keeping the traditions and faith of our people, defending Romanian dignity and sovereignty, etc.

Other sections of the PSD are lining up behind the pro-EU drive. Victoria Stoiciu is a social democratic MP, hailing from the pseudo-left, activist milieu, promoted by PSD leadership in recent years, to try to give the PSD a left veneer. In an interview defending her support for Dan, she advanced what she called If you will, a cynical and tactical argument. The sovereigntist lane is taken, there is a contest going on, who is more sovereigntist or extremist. In this case, we are dealing not with sovereigntism but with extremism. But we have no genuine left-wing party. PSD has some left-wing policies, but it needs much more.

Her promotion of Dan exemplifies how the post-Stalinist political setup has served, since the restoration of capitalism in Romania, to stifle resistance and politically confuse workers, especially through the use of the union bureaucracies and their pseudo-left attendants.

The BNS (National Trade Union Bloc), the second-largest union federation in the country, held its National Congress on May 7. On this occasion, it invited both presidential hopefuls for an electoral confrontation.

Lending legitimacy to both big-business candidates, including the overtly fascist Simion, the BNS website announced, The presence of the two candidates in front of the representatives of the trade union movement represents an important sign of respect towards the millions of salary earners in Romania, but also towards the essential role that social dialogue plays in a solid democracy.

The assembled bureaucrats repeatedly asked the two candidates how to make sure that Romania could benefit the most from the EUs rearmament drive. The two candidates answered in harmony, lining up Romanias potential weapons building sites. Dan declared, we have a potential on airspace, on vehicles, on munitions, on powders, there is this potential.

The meeting highlighted the corporatist integration of the trade union apparatus with the structures of the bourgeois state and their determination to act as an industrial police. The BNS leadership exemplifies the class gulf between the working class and the labor bureaucracies.

Its leader, Dumitru Costin, who leads the union since 1993, is a well-connected businessperson, profiting off of the unions assets and workers contributions. Apart from their symbiotic relationship with the social democrats, BNS leaders also in the past signed an electoral pact with another post-Stalinist party, the Greater Romania Party (PRM). The PRM, which in many ways anticipated Simions AUR, was a fascist party staffed by former bureaucrats and members of the Stalinist repressive apparatus.

Throughout its sordid history, the PRM collaborated with other union bosses, and crucially with those responsible for the betrayal and defeat of important miners struggles of the 1990s. Constantin Cretan is one of the more important union leaders involved in these betrayals, who has for many years maintained a relationship with the pseudo-left AEM and now leads the National Federation of Labor union.

On May 7, together with other union leaders from the Oltenia Energy Complex, Cretan signed an election protocol to support Simion. In what amounts to a slap in the face to the tens of thousands of miners who had lost their livelihoods as a result of their betrayals, the union bosses are promoting Simions lies that he will reopen the mines.

Everything will reopen. He will apply Trumps method. Decrees will be signed on the first day after the inauguration, said one AUR operative present at the talks. The protocol reportedly includes trade union support for the war drive, under the guise of reinvesting 80 percent of all military acquisitions from the state budget and loans, as well as for a premiership of the fascist Calin Georgescu.

Among the ideological props of these reactionary class enemies are the pseudo-left groups like the GAS. The group specializes in promoting middle-class identity politics and subservience to the union bureaucracy. About workers struggles in recent years, the GAS has declared: Of course, this fact [that subway workers remained isolated] together with the low rate of unionization in the private sector shows us that we are still in a historical period in which workers as a class are on the defensive.

At a time when millions of workers throughout Europe and the world are engaged in struggle, such an appraisal can only serve to cover for the betrayal of the trade union apparatus.

In fact, in the US, support for the Democratic Party on the part of the trade unions and the pseudo-left only helped pave the way for Trumps second term and the current global assault against the rights of the working class.

Likewise in Romania, a victory for the pro-EU Dan would not lessen the fascist danger in any way. The AUR only stands to gain politically, as the only official opposition to Dans proposed grand coalition government and its attacks on living standards.

The precondition for a successful fight against war, fascism and the destruction of living standards is the struggle for the political independence of the working class. Workers and youth must turn to a study of the program of the International Committee of the Fourth International and its uninterrupted history of struggle against Stalinism, social democracy and middle-class pseudo-left politics.


On Thursday, dozens of clinical and non-clinical health workers at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) in Dorchester, England staged a protest against the proposed transfer of many staff to a private subsidiary company (SubCo). The company, set to be functioning by September, was established by Dorset National Health Service (NHS) management as part of a cost-cutting initiative.

Last month, 1,300 employees across University Hospitals Dorset (UHD), Dorset County Hospital (DCH), and Dorset HealthCare NHS Trusts were informed of plans to mass transfer them to the SubCo. The move affects essential staff in housekeeping, catering, portering, estates, and health and safetymany among the lowest-paid workers in the NHS.

Protesters at the rally in Dorchester

This measure by Dorset Trust is part of a broader effort by the Labour government to dismantle and privatise core areas of the NHS.

The lunchtime protest was the third at NHS hospitals in Dorset, following protests, Tuesday and Wednesday, at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole General Hospital.

Delegates from neighbouring areas, including Wiltshire and Avon, and Yeovilwhere NHS services and workers pay, pensions, and conditions are also under threatattended in solidarity.

The UNISON trade union, which organised the protests, has offered no meaningful strategy for a unified fightback by health workers. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is playing a leading role in advancing NHS privatisation, yet Unison continues to foster illusions that appealing to Labour and other MPs, trust boards and governors will be enough to halt SubCos.

NHS FightBack campaign teams have distributed a statement, No to Labours NHS privatisation! Oppose mass staff transfer to private subsidiaries!, calling on workers to join an online Zoom meeting to discuss a socialist strategy to resist the attacks on the NHS and to defend the pay, pensions, and working conditions of health staff.

At the Dorchester protest, many health workers were shocked by the far-right rant of the Labour prime minister Sir Kier Starmer against migrant workers, many who are crucial to the running of the NHS.

Krystian, a clinical engineer at Dorset County Hospital, was appalled by the noxious political climate, particularly the scapegoating of migrants and other vulnerable groups.

All they do is try to distract us with stupid nonsense, he said. The endless bashing of trans people, the bashing of immigrantsits a tale as old as time. Theyre constantly pointing the finger elsewhere, a misdirection, when we know exactly where the money in this country has goneto the richest, the wealthiest.

Krystian

Krystian argued that the main political parties serve the interests of big business, not the working class. Theyre completely funded by businesses and industries that are extracting all the wealth from the peoplefrom the workersfor themselves, he said. Theres a huge and growing inequality between the haves and the have-nots, and its only going to get worse unless something changes. Ultimately, its the class struggle that will decide.

He saw the creation of a SubCo as part of a process of privatisation. Weve seen it with every other publicly owned service in England. Look at the water companiesnow expensive and useless. Look at the energy companiesalso expensive and increasingly useless.

The majority of people support public ownership of utilities and the NHS, yet this is ignored by those in power. None of the main political parties offer any of that in their manifestos, he said. Democracy in this country has been completely captured, and its disgusting.

Were not just cleanerswere a lifeline

Jessica, a housekeeper at DCH, expressed deep concerned about the impact on migrant colleagues and patient care, as a result of the anti-immigrant offensive.

Im usually a Labour voter, she said. I backed them again, hoping theyd fix things in the NHS. But what Ive seen recentlyespecially how international staff are treatedhas shocked me. I dont think the government really understands how hospitals are struggling.

Jessica [Photo by Jessica]

Jessica fears the creation of a SubCo could jeopardise visa statuses, leave bank staff uncertain, and undermine workers rights. We still havent been told clearly whats happening to our pay, pensions, or protections, she said.

Her biggest concern was the impact of a SubCo on patient care. If housekeepers and porters are removed from wards, the pressure will fall on already overstretched nurses and healthcare assistants (HCAs). We do so much more than clean. Were often the ones bringing comforta chat, a cup of tea, a hand to hold. Patients rely on us, especially those without family.

People dont realise we care for patients like theyre our own family. Were not just cleanerswere a lifeline.

Asked how the change would affect her pay, pension, and working conditions, Jessica said, Weve been told well be TUPEd over [transferred with current employment terms], which is supposed to protect our terms and conditions for a few years. But from what Ive read, that can change at any timeand were not getting any firm guarantees from management.

Peter Simmons, a GP who retired 12 years ago, said, Ive been on the other side, receiving treatment from the NHS, and the NHS is the most fantastic health service The treatment Ive had is absolutely spectacular, and all the time theyre trying to undermine it and privatise it. This is a terrible way to go.

Peter Simmons

He called for renewed commitment to a public health system. We need to stick to a publicly funded NHS, which is properly funded for all the people, free at the point of useand that is so important.

This latest move is privatisation by the back door. 1,300 workers are going to be transferred to a private company. Absolutely.

We need to pay the people working in the NHS. Its not an easy job. Its unsocial hours. They need to be properly paid. They need to have proper terms of employmentand not to be undermined like this.

Ray Tostevin, a National Union of Journalists member, representative of Yeovil and District Trades Council, and campaigner in defence of public healthcare said, Were quite appalled to hear that many colleagues here in Dorset are facing the possibility of being taken over by a private company. We stand up in solidarity against that.

I and many others have been campaigning to stop our emergency stroke unit from being closed at Yeovil Hospital. Patients shouldnt be forced to travel much further away to Musgrove Park or here in Dorset County Hospital.

Only yesterday we heard our maternity services are being downgraded temporarilyso calledfor six months. It will not be possible to have your baby born at Yeovil Hospital and the special care baby unit is closed for six monthsapparently because of the staffing shortages. But management have known for months that there were issues.

Rich Gurney, Wiltshire and Avon vice-chair of Unison, said the unions membership includes people who were put into an arms-length body by NHS trusts in Wiltshire. They soon found they werent on NHS terms and conditions when they didnt get the COVID payment that other NHS staff got.

After taking strike action workers received the missing payment. However, They were rewarded earlier this year by finding that, along with other staff, they were going to transferred to an organisation called HCRG. HCRG took over [another private firm] Virgin Care. They are owned by an American hedge fund that is viciously against trade unions which is anti-union and doesnt really know an awful lot about healthcare. They have become a multi-million pound provider

Were fighting a union recognition battle, but also to bring services back into the NHS where they belong. Primary care services and specialist services should be being provided by the NHS, not by an organisation that its key primary motive, as a hedge fund, has to be to make profits for its shareholders. Thats not right.

Asked why Unison, with 1.3 million members, has failed to mount a unified national struggle against SubCos, Gurney replied, Weve fought, but often that has been at the local leveland thats been the criticism from some of us. A union as big as Unison, which is the public sector union hasnt been punching its weight, many of us feel.

We represent people particularly in local government, but in health as well its our NHS. We want a union that fights to defend not just our members terms and conditions but the services provided. The only way we can do that is by having a strategy, a national strategy, not leaving it branches to fight individually as we do at the minute.

Join our online meeting on Monday May 19, at 7 p.m., and encourage your colleagues to attend. Register for the NHS FightBack Zoom meeting here.
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Asia

South Korea: Seoul bus drivers threaten to strike over pay

The Seoul City Bus Union announced on Wednesday that it will stage a strike kick-off ceremony at the Seoul Traffic Centre in Songpa District on May 26. The drivers are demanding higher pay. If an agreement is not forthcoming, wider strike involving all bus drivers will be called for May 28. The drivers imposed work-to-rule bans on May 7 as part of their campaign.

The main issue in dispute is whether bonuses should be included in base wages. The bus drivers union argues that a Supreme Court ruling last December requires bi-monthly bonuses, equivalent to 100 percent of base salary, to be counted as part of the regular wage.

Management insists that the current wage system excludes bonuses from base wages and that therefore the unions demands are unrealistic. It wants the wage structure to be reformed saying that in light of the court ruling wages would increase by 20 percent in the current structure.

Other union demands include an 8.2 percent increase in base pay, the elimination of wage disparities for equal work, and extending the retirement age from 63 to 65.

India: Food processing workers in Bihar strike over unpaid bonus and poor conditions

Workers at a multinational food products factory in the Sikandarpur Industrial Area, Bihta walked out and blocked the factorys main entrance on May 12. The administration called in the police to intervene.

One worker said the company had failed to honour its promise of an annual 10 percent salary increase and reported poor canteen food quality and delays in other benefits. Similar demands, including payment of festive bonuses, were raised six months ago with no resolution.

Tamil Nadu power plant workers demand better wages and conditions

Contract workers and supporters from the NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL) thermal power plant in Thoothukudi have been holding various demonstrations since April 17. Workers want fair wages, improved working conditions, and an interim daily relief of 200 rupees ($US2.34).

The NTPLs Thoothukudi plant has two 500 MW generating units, employing around 1,400 contract employees and approximately 200 permanent workers. Management has filed a court case against the workers struggle.

Ludhiana Municipal Corporation sanitation workers demand permanent jobs

Non-permanent sanitation workers, along with their work colleagues, protested at the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Zone A office in Punjab on May 7. They accused management in a meeting with the commissioner of making fake assurances about permanent jobs.

Workers also complained about the job outsourcing claiming it erodes workers rights, causing job insecurity and reduced benefits. They demanded the complete abolition of outsourcing and a return to direct hiring practices to ensure fair treatment and long-term employment for all sanitation staff.

They also demanded the implementation of a medical insurance scheme with one million rupees coverage. This demand, they said, underscores the significant physical risks inherent in their duties and the need for adequate health protection.

West Bengal teachers protest at Salt Lake

Teachers in Kolkatas Salt Lake have steadfastly refused to leave their protest site outside Bikash Bhavan, despite being issued notices from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. The atmosphere around Bikash Bhavan remains tense as teachers are determined to maintain their sit-down protest, regardless of external pressures.

Organised by the Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), the teachers have been maintaining a sit-down protest since May 7. Their action was sparked by a Supreme Court decision in April, which annulled the appointments of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff who had been recruited through the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) examinations. The annulments led to significant job losses, forcing teachers to protest.

The teachers have several demands, chief among them being the reinstatement of their positions. They insist on a permanent solution to their demands and clarification on the state governments response to the review petition.

Bangladeshi apparel workers protest to demand arrears

Over 200 Bangladeshi apparel workers from Stylecraft Limited and Young Ones Bangladesh plants protested outside the Gazipur Metropolitan Police Office on Sunday to demand 14-months wage arrears. The two factories employ about 1,800 workers.

Some workers were paid 20,000 taka ($US164) during the Eid holidays. At that time, the factory authorities promised workers that the remaining arrears would be paid on May 7.

The workers waited for three days and went to the factory on Sunday morning but were attacked by alleged company thugs. According to the Bangladesh Garment and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre, five female workers were injured. The union accused the factory owners of using their influence in various ways to avoid the payment of arrears and of filing false cases against workers.

Bangladeshi tannery workers strike for revised minimum wage

Workers from over 50 tanneries in the Savar Tannery Estate, in Dhaka District, began taking two-hour daily stoppages on Monday demanding implementation of the revised minimum wage. Workers warned they would strike indefinitely if their demand was not met within three days.

The Ministry for Labour and Employment had approved the new minimum wage of 18,001 taka ($US148.06) a month in November 2024, but most factory owners are yet to implement it.

A union spokesperson said about 65 percent of tannery workers are employed on a temporary basis, a practice, he claimed, is used to deny workers their rightful benefits under the new wage structure.

Sri Lankan port workers strike over unpaid allowances

Jaya Container Terminal and East Container Terminal workers at the Colombo Port struck for four hours at 8 p.m. on Sunday to protest Ports Authority cuts in incentive allowances paid to essential employees who worked on May 12 and 13, during the Vesak Poya holidays.

The Port Authority limited the overtime allowances for work done on May 12 to 10,000 rupees ($US38) and on May 13 to 5,000 rupees. The dockers said this violated long-standing practices regarding holiday compensation for essential workers.

Sri Lankan LP gas terminal workers strike for pay rise

Around 250 manpower workers at the Muthurajawela Litro LP Gas storage terminal walked out on Wednesday, accusing management of going years without increasing wages and not paying the government-mandated minimum wage. Workers said they would continue the strike until a written commitment is given to meet wage requirements.

Australia

Allied Pinnacle bakery workers in Victoria strike for pay rise

About 150 workers from the Allied Pinnacle bakery at Altona North, Melbourne walked off the job for 48 hours on Wednesday to protest the companys low pay offer in its proposed enterprise agreement. The bakery produces cakes, cookies, croissants, donuts and bread for major supermarkets, such as Coles and Woolworths, and independent and industrial bakeries such as Bakers Delight, as well as cafes and smaller businesses.

The United Workers Union have been negotiating with the company since September for an improved offer. Workers want a 15 percent wage increase over three years. The company has offered annual increases of only 4 percent, 3.75 percent and 3.5 percent. Workers are also seeking nightshift allowance parity with colleagues at other Allied Pinnacle worksites.

West Wimmera Shire Council workers begin industrial action

About 40 Australian Services Union members from the West Wimmera Shire Council in western Victoria began industrial action on May 9, after rejecting the councils proposed enterprise agreement. Workers voted unanimously in April to impose over 20 work bans. These include not attending management meetings or responding to management emails, bans on using personal mobile phones for council work, and refusing to collect fees and charges. They have also banned overtime, mowing, doing street repairs, picking up and relocating dead animals and other duties.

Epworth Medical Imaging workers in Victoria maintain industrial action

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation members from Epworth Medical Imaging at Richmond and Geelong have entered their third week of low-level industrial action for higher pay. The 33 workers want 4.5 percent annual increases in a three-year enterprise agreement and a $9 lead apron allowance.

Qube crane operators in Queensland walk off for industry standard pay rates

Over 30 Qube crane operators walked off the job and rallied outside their work site in southeast Queensland on May 8 to demand higher pay. Construction Forestry Maritime and Energy Union members are demanding Qube pay market rates and conditions on par with other crane hire companies.

Kempe Engineering workers in Victoria strike over stalled wage talks

Over 20 Australian Manufacturing Workers Union members from Kempe Engineering at Portland, Victoria stopped work for 24 hours and rallied outside their factory on Wednesday. The workers, who have also imposed overtime bans, are protesting the companys delay in negotiating a new enterprise agreement. The workers have not had a pay increase since January 1, 2024.
Trousdale Turner Correctional Center operated by CoreCivic is seen Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Hartsville, Tennessee. [AP Photo/George Walker IV]

The second Trump administration has rapidly escalated the bipartisan assault on immigrant workers and their families, massively expanding the machinery of detention and deportation.

This offensive, built upon a foundation of joint Democratic and Republican Party anti-immigrant policies, aims to divide the working class and scapegoat immigrants for the systemic crises of capitalism. It is also generating immense profits for private prison corporations like the GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Trumps immigrant gulag and the drive to a police state

The Trump administrations program of mass detentions is the spearhead of a drive to establish a police state in the US, targeting the democratic rights of the entire working class. Trump has continued Bidens policy of integrating the private prison industry into deportation operations, granting massive contracts to the GEO Group and CoreCivic.

The administrations goal of deporting 1 million people annually and directives for ICE to arrest 1,200 to 1,500 daily transform human beings into quotas, fueling the demand for detention beds. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has outrageously called for a deportation process like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings.

Seeking to expand ICEs detention capacity by 100,000 beds, the agency is inviting bids on government contracts worth up to $45 billion. Shuttered facilities, many with histories of abuse and safety violations, are being reopened across at least five states, including the North Lake Correctional Facility (NLCF) in Michigan, FCI Dublin in California and Delaney Hall in New Jersey.

There are plans for a deportation hub at Fort Bliss, Texas, capable of holding 10,000 people and a proposal to use Guantanamo Bay. This rapid profit-driven expansion inevitably leads to catastrophic overcrowding and deteriorating conditions. Within three weeks of Trumps second term, ICE facilities were at 109 percent capacity.

North Lake and Lake County: A history of abuse and exploitation

The reopening of the prison facilities, such as the North Lake Correctional Facility (NLCF) in Michigan, exemplifies this profit-driven inhumanity. The site, located in impoverished Lake County, far from legal aid and notorious for abuse, will house 1,800 and serve as the hub for immigrant detention in the Midwest.

The immediate activation of the 1,800-bed NLCF is expected to generate over $70 million annually for GEO, formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, a name infamous worldwide for a litany of abuses against prisoners and workers.

NLCF has a grim history. Originally a prison for juveniles, its state contract was pulled in 2005 due to neglect. In 2020, immigrant detainees staged hunger strikes protesting denial of mail, lack of meals prepared according to religious guidelines, retaliation and dangerous COVID-19 conditions. An outbreak infected dozens and led to at least one death. Allegations of sexual abuse also plague the facility, with a former case manager sentenced in 2024 for sexual acts with an inmate.

This pattern of abuse is systemic across GEO Groups empire, with facilities worldwide plagued by similar allegations. The company has even retaliated against detainees protesting slave-labor wages of $1 a day for the performance of essential functions like cleaning, food prep and laundry. An NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) complaint filed early in January 2025 alleges protesters in a Mesa Verde, California, facility were placed in solitary confinement as retaliation for organizing a work stoppage against such super-exploitation.

Lake County, one of Michigans poorest, has a poverty rate of 21.2 percent and an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent as of March 2025, numbers which greatly underestimate the true level of poverty. The promise of 300 prison jobs is an economic mirage. Such jobs are mostly low-wage with high turnover, and prisons rarely foster genuine local development, instead trapping communities in dependence on the commodification of suffering.

As J.R. Martin of No Detention Centers in Michigan stated, the GEO Group wants to exploit the suffering of immigrants and the poverty of Lake County to make money.

GEO Group: Super-profits from human misery

The GEO Group (GEO), the largest prison operator in the United States, largest private ICE contractor and operator of facilities in Australia, South Africa and the UK, stands as a prime beneficiary of the construction of a police state.

The 15-year contract for its 1,000-bed Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey is projected at over $60 million annually. GEOs stock soared post-election, with Executive Chairman George Zoley declaring it an unprecedented opportunity, potentially worth $800 million to $1 billion in incremental annualized revenue.

The company invested $70 million in December 2024 to expand its capacity for ICE even before major contracts were finalized. Profitable suffering attracts the heights of finance capital: GEOs largest shareholders include investment fund giants BlackRock, Vanguard and Goldman Sachs.

This bonanza is facilitated by lobbying and campaign contributions, including $1.38 million by GEO in 2024 and $500,000 to Trumps 2025 inaugural committee from both GEO and CoreCivic.

In late February 2024, GEOs PAC (political action committee) became the first in the nation to max out donations to Trumps campaign. The revolving door between state and business further cements this collusion: former top ICE official Daniel A. Bible joined GEO as an Executive Vice President just before the 2024 election. Other ex-ICE officials like David Venturella, Daniel Ragsdale and Matthew Albence also moved to GEO.

The complicity of the Democrats

This assault is not the policy of one party or simply Trump but reflects unified ruling class interests. The Biden administration presided over a significant expansion of ICE detention. The average daily detainee population surged from 14,195 in January 2021 to 39,703 by January 2025.

Under Biden, 90 percent of ICE detainees were held in privately run facilities, a 10 percent increase from the first Trump administration. At least 23 people died in ICE custody during the Biden administration, and punitive use of solitary confinement increased by 50 percent for vulnerable populations.

A 2024 study by the ACLU examined deaths from 2017 through 2021 and found that 95 percent of deaths while in ICE custody49 out of 52could have been prevented with proper medical care. The Biden administration renewed private prison contracts and opened new mega-facilities like Moshannon Valley, Pennsylvania. His DOJ even joined the GEO Group and CoreCivic in challenging a New Jersey law aimed at banning private immigration detention.

In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, often mentioned as a presidential contender for 2028, has been notably silent on the NLCF reopening. This coincides with her recent appearances with Trump, praising his administration for federal military investments in Michigan, embracing the would-be fascist dictator in the name of pragmatism. At the White House, Whitmer shamefully stood by while Trump, the man who incited his followers to kidnap and murder her, signed executive orders persecuting political opponents.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks as President Donald Trump listens during an event with members of the Michigan National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Harrison Township, Michigan. [AP Photo/Alex Brandon]

This disgusting appearance in the Oval Office followed a morning speech in support of Trumps tariffs. Whitmers alignment with Trump underscores the Democratic Partys complicity in the broader anti-immigrant agenda and the drive towards militarism and police terror.

For a socialist struggle against the detention gulag!

The for-profit caging of human beings is an abomination, an inevitable product of a capitalist system that commodifies all aspects of life. The bipartisan assault on immigrants serves to divide the working class, scapegoating a vulnerable population for the failures of capitalism.

The working class must come forward to defend immigrants, halt the destruction of democratic rights, and demand the dismantling of the prison gulag and the entire deportation machine. This requires an independent political struggle against both the Democrats and Republicans, parties irredeemably tied to the interests of the corporate-financial oligarchy.

The only social force that can address the root causes of poverty, war, forced migration and end the barbarism of for-profit incarceration is the international working class, united in a fight for world socialism.
In this July 8, 1996 file photo, Glen Rogers, right, stares at Public Defender Joan Corces during a hearing in Tampa, Florida. [AP Photo/Chris O'Meara]

Florida executed Glen Rogers on Thursday for the murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, 34, a mother of two, in Tampa in 1995. Rogers was also convicted and sentenced to death in California for the murder of Sandra Gallagher, 33, a mother of three, in Van Nuys that same year. He spent most of the last three decades on death row after being arrested at age 33.

Rogers, dubbed the Casanova Killer for his good looks and supposedly charming manner, was also connected to the killings of three others: Mark Peters, 72, a retired electrician, in Hamilton, Ohio; Linda Price, 34, mother of two, in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1995; and Andy Lou Jiles Sutton, 37, mother of four, in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Rogers death warrant on April 15. Rogers was denied a last-minute stay of execution by the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, allowing the execution to proceed. He died by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. local time, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

In his final statement, Rogers spoke to his victims family members, some of whom witnessed the execution, saying:

I know theres a lot of questions that you need answers to. I promise you in the near future the questions will be answered and I hope in some way will bring you closure.

He added:

President Trump, keep making America great. Im ready to go.

It is unclear why he referenced the pro-death penalty resident of the White House in his final words.

Rogers was also known as the Cross-Country Killer, having murdered victims from California to Florida. He killed three of them over a six-day period. At one point he confessed to police he had killed 70 people, including Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles in 1994. He later recanted these confessions, and authorities found no evidence to support his earlier claims.

Tina Marie Cribbs met Rogers at a bar on the night of her murder; she was found stabbed to death in a Tampa hotel bathtub on November 7, 1995. The killings of his female victims all followed a similar pattern. All of them were mothers in their 30s; three of them were redheads.

To consider what in society stands behind the depraved acts of an individual like Glen Rogers is not to discount the suffering of victims of crime. In a rational society, it should assist in finding answers to why such heinous acts are perpetrated and serve as motivation for social changeimprovements in mental health treatment, measures to end poverty, reform of the judicial system. But the political establishment, driven by its maintenance of class rule by means of violence and repression, is incapable of such considerations.

By any standard, Rogers upbringing was horrific and violent. He was born in 1962 in Hamilton, Ohio, the second youngest of seven siblings. According to court records, as a child he was deprived of love and guidance. He frequently witnessed his alcoholic father beat his mother. He began using controlled substances at a young age and eventually became a chronic abuser of alcohol and amphetamines.

After his father lost his job due to drinking, the family moved into a rundown home and sank deeper into poverty. As an infant, Rogers showed little emotion and would rock back and forth and bang his head against the wall or other hard surface. Medical records showed that he suffered as a child from sleep disorders, ADHD and a lack of impulse control.

Rogers mother would discipline her children for waking their father, including holding the young Glens head underwater during baths, nearly drowning him. In response to the stress of raising her children, she once threatened to drive herself and the children off a cliff, stopping just at the edge.

Recent defense filings revealed that from around age 10 Rogers was subjected to severe sexual abuse. He was raped by a woman from Hamilton, sold for sex by his older brother for drug money, and sexually assaulted by adults in the production of child pornography. Rogers said he was sexually and physically abused by staff at a juvenile detention center.

In a filing before the Florida Supreme Court in 2001, Rogers attorneys detailed how forensic psychologist Robert M. Berland diagnosed Rogers with a chronic ambulatory psychotic disturbance, in part a by-product of a series of brain injuries. His schizophrenia was measured at above the cut-off point, and he had the three symptoms of psychosis: hallucinations, delusions and mood disturbances.

He had a congenital brain defect, with impairment in both the left and right hemispheres. He suffered from ongoing manic disturbances. Berland emphasized that his condition was biologically induced.

Rogers also suffered for years from a relatively rare form of porphyria, a disorder caused by a buildup of natural chemicals in the body, which affected his skin, liver and most likely his brain.

After he was convicted of Cribbs murder, prosecutor Karen Cox argued before the jury that the defendants troubled background, mental state and medical conditions should not be considered mitigating factors in determining whether he should live or die. Instead, she asked them to consider the victims difficult circumstancesshe was never given a break in life, worked three jobs to support her childrenand to discount the defendants deprived childhood and troubled life. She argued:

And the thing is, to what point can we stop blaming our childhood, can we stop blaming the frailties of our parents? No one is blessed with perfect parents. We all try to be, but we all have our shortcomings. When youre 34 years old [Rogers age at the time], is it fair to blame anybody but yourself? When is it that we as a society call upon the individual as an adult to take responsibility for their actions? He and he alone is responsible.

America today is far past the stage of considering rehabilitation as the first line of treatment for those caught up in the judicial systems dragnet. The Equal Justice Initiative reports that at least 20 percent of people on death row suffer from a serious mental illness.

Researchers at Palo Alto University in California write that the prevalence of mental illness on death row is 40-50 percent, roughly twice the national average, although this percentage may be even higher due to underreporting in the legal system. And at least 10 percent of people currently sentenced to death are veterans of the wars prosecuted by US imperialism, many of them suffering from documented trauma disorders.

The US Supreme Court in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia ruled that execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, historically referred to as mentally retarded, is unconstitutional as it is considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is banned by the Eighth Amendment. The Court, however, left it up to the states to determine the criteria and procedures for identifying intellectual disabilities in capital cases. And it has not categorically ruled against the execution of all people with mental illness.

Twenty-four US states retain and authorize the death penalty, although only 10 states are actively scheduling or carrying out executions in 2025, including Florida. In Glen Rogers case, the prosecutor urging the jury to sentence him to death discounted the results of a Wechsler test, which showed evidence that Rogers was of low intelligence, in addition to his well-documented mental illness.

She defaulted to the justification for state executions currently promoted by the fascistic majority on the high court and religious zealots promoting the concept of original sin, arguing:

This crime, this act of pure evil, the punishment must fit it. Justice can be harsh and demanding, but theres not one of these facts that are easy. We ask you to consider these things not because theyre easy because we all know theyre difficult and theyre right. You have the courage and moral strength to do justice in this case.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's distaste for remote work is widely known by now. A long-time opponent, Dimon spoke about the company's return-to-office mandate on Thursday: "I think our employees will be happier over time. And the younger people will learn the right way, its an apprenticeship system. And you cant learn working from your basement."

What Happened: In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Dimon said, "I think our employees will be happier over time," he added. "And the younger people learn the right way, it is an apprenticeship system and you can't learn working from your basement."

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He noted that almost 10% of the bank's employees remain remote. In his remarks at JPMorgan's annual Global Markets Conference in Paris, Dimon added to his previous comments, saying, "I completely applaud your right to not want to go to the office every day. But you're not going to tell JPMorgan what to do."

Dimon was even more blunt in a leaked audio recording obtained by Business Insider, where he said, "A lot of you were on the fu**ing Zoom and you were doing the following: looking at your mail, sending texts to each other about what an asshole the other person is, not paying attention, not reading your stuff."

In the same audio, he also dismissed hybrid models, saying, "Don't give me this s**t that work-from-home-Fridays works. I call a lot of people on Fridays, and there's not a goddamn person you can get a hold of."

See Also: Nancy Pelosi Invested $5 Million In An AI Company Last Year  Here's How You Can Invest In Multiple Pre-IPO AI Startups With Just $1,000.

Why It Matters: Dimon's latest comments align with views he has previously expressed about remote work. Earlier this year, he highlighted that it was mainly white-collar workers who seem to reject remote work, while frontline workers continue to work on-site as their jobs demand. Referring to their work during the pandemic, he asked: Where did you get your Amazon packages from? Your beef, your meat, your vodka? Where did you get the diapers from?

At a town hall in Columbus, Ohio, Dimon rebuked employees who challenged the bank's five-day office mandate. He brushed off requests for flexible schedules, arguing that remote work suppresses creativity and delays decision-making.
Dear Colleagues,

The experiences of recent months underscore the urgency of organizing ourselves independently. We are running in the staff council elections to free ourselves from the straitjacket of the Verdi (Public Service workers trade union) and build genuine resistance from below. We demand:

Full compensation for all of the wage losses in recent years!

Stop Verdis dominance in the Depot Group North!

Disclosure of all agreements between union officials, politicians and management!

Joint resistance against austerity and the governments rearmament policy!

In November last year, the Verdi list lost its majority among driving personnel in the staff council elections for the first time. After years of real wage losses, our colleagues had come to the conclusion that nothing more could be achieved with this union. Verdi lost its staff council majority not only among the approximately 2,500 employees in Depot Group North, but also in Depot Group South.

Now, six months later, the Verdi bargaining committee has once again used dirty tricks to push through a contract that falls far short of our original demands.

We oppose this sellout! Our list will ensure that the rank and file have the final say, and we will work with trusted colleagues to forge a leadership to prepare and organize the coming struggles.

It is high time. If we do not start to fight back now, the downward spiral will continue, and at an even faster pace than before.

Good working conditionsmore staff in the driving and technical areas, safe vehicles, good sanitary facilities, break rooms, longer turnaround and driving times, fewer shifts, and higher wagescan only be achieved through a joint struggle against the entire political establishment, and that includes the Verdi apparatus.

The contract agreement is a sham. Instead of the 750 more we demanded in last falls poll, we now get just 380 from June 1, 2025, and another pitiful 50 from June 1, 2026, plus a measly increase in allowances. In addition, the contract term has been extended to two years, which means that the increase in the pay scale is only half as high when calculated on an annual basis. This does not even begin to compensate for the real wage losses of recent years.

This years contract agreement was reached in a completely undemocratic manner. In the ballot, which ended on April 4, 2025, we voted 95.4 percent in favour of an indefinite strike. We rejected the Berlin Transport Companys (BVG) miserable offer and stuck to our original demands. However, the Verdi bargaining committee ignored this clear statement by the rank and file. Instead of a full strike, it initiated arbitration proceedings at the same time as the strike ballot.

The bargaining committee immediately recommended accepting the arbitration recommendation, even though the arbitration result differed only minimally from the employers original offer, which had been rejected by an overwhelming majority in the strike ballot.

The vote in favour by the Verdi members polled (65.1 percent) at the end of April cannot hide the fact that the contract is a slap in the face to the democratic will of the workforce. The narrow result reflects the realization that nothing better can be expected from the union.

The situation at BVG is part of a general political development which we must respond to at grassroots level.

Not only in the workplace, but in social life as a whole, the working population no longer has any representation. All of the establishment parties close ranks when it comes to imposing military rearmament and social cuts at the expense of workers.

This is especially true of the Social Democrats and the Left Party. In the global crisis of capitalism, they are proving to be the most degenerate representatives of the ruling elite. In Germany, they support the governments insane trillion-euro arms program, the costs of which are to be extracted from the workers through social cuts and intensified exploitation. They support the NATO war against Russia, and they unreservedly back the genocide in Gaza and silence any critical voices with the absurd accusation of anti-Semitism. This shows the ruthlessness with which they will also act against the rights of workers here.

If the union officials, who usually belong to or are close to the Social Democrats or the Left Party, were simply corrupt, they could be replaced. But there is more at stake. What is needed is not just new faces, but a new political orientation that puts the interests of workers above those of big business and finance and all their governments and institutions.

The low-wage contract agreement for local transport (TV-N), which has led to the current catastrophic situation, was introduced 20 years ago in collaboration with Verdi by the SPD-Left Party Berlin Senate, which implemented a brutal austerity program. Senator Harald Wolf of the Left Partys predecessor, the PDS, was responsible for the BVG at the time.

The well-heeled Verdi bureaucrat Jeremy Arndt, head of the contract bargaining commission and deputy chairman of the BVG supervisory board, stands very much in this tradition. He is justifying the lousy wage agreement with the argument that more is not possible because the state of Berlin has less money available due to the coalition agreement of the new German government. The framework conditions were very difficult, the wage commission argued. Cuts are being made everywhere, so we cant demand more. State finances simply wont allow it.

We, in the action committee, reject these cowardly excuses and take a fundamentally different position. We say: Our rights are more important than profits and rearmament. There is enough money, but just not for us. The federal government is intent on spending a trillion euros on rearming the Bundeswehr, switching to a war economy, and militarizing society.

It is a clear warning of future attacks on our living conditions that the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) is praising what is certainly the most right-wing government in the history of the Federal Republic and supporting its war policy!

No wonder the Verdi list wants to keep the discussion about politics out of the staff council elections! This is the only way they can cover up their own anti-worker policies. Conversely, we can only organize genuine resistance against social cuts and war if we break with all the pro-capitalist policies!

The other lists in this election also refuse to take a political stand, and ultimately cover up for Verdis disastrous policies. It is not enough to merely replace the Verdi staff councils, we have to commence a real fight for our rights.

We must oppose the gradual privatization of the BVG, which is clearly evident in the ongoing outsourcing of bus routes. Billions in state investment are needed not only to maintain public transportationand thus our jobsbut also to improve public transport and reduce ticket costs for Berlin citizens.

This requires the establishment of our action committee in all areas of local transport and among our colleagues at the companies Berlin Transport GmbH (BT), the Tirtey bus companies, and Schroder Reisen from Ulm, which have now taken over more than 10 percent of BVG lines. Our allies are our colleagues in the citys subway system and German Rail (Deutsche Bahn), as well as other public service and industrial workers. That is why we also reject the new federal governments anti-migrant campaign, which is intended to divide us workers and push through its war agenda.

Our action committee stands for two principles:

Our needs, the needs of workers, have priority over the profit interests of company management and their political backers, which means: a return to socialist principles. We are the ones who keep public transport running under extremely difficult working conditions. We oppose the dividing up of our colleagues according to companies, industries and nations. We work closely with the IWA-RFC (International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees) because the working class worldwide is threatened by the same dangers of social cuts, poverty, war and fascism.

Dont hesitate to get in touch with us at: +491748402566. Vote for us in the staff council elections and register using the form below to help build the Transport Workers Action Committee.
Capitulating to the anti-Pakistan war frenzy whipped up by the Hindu-supremacist BJP-led government and the entire Indian ruling class, the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations (JPCTUF) has cancelled a one-day general strike planned for next Tuesday.

The May 20 nationwide strike would have brought tens of millions of workers across India onto the streets in opposition to the class war assault that the government of the would-be Hindu strongman Narendra Modi is mounting on behalf of the Indian bourgeoisie and foreign capital.

Although by no means the intention of the JPCTUF leadershipwhich is comprised of Stalinists, supporters of the big-business Congress Party, and other right-wing bureaucratsthe strike would have punctured the bellicose, communally-charged political atmosphere that the government, with the aid of the opposition parties and media, has whipped up.

This is precisely why the JPCTUF leaders called it off at a meeting Thursday.

The leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the Congress Party-affiliated Indian National Trades Union Congress (INTUC), and the other eight national labour bodies that comprise the JPCTUF are now saying that the one day walkout will be held on July 9, almost two months hence.

The JPCTUF has justified this decision with a frank declaration of its submission to and support for the Indian bourgeoisie in its reactionary strategic conflict with Pakistan, proclaiming itself to be an integral part of the responsible patriotic citizenry of the country.

The JPCTUF statement adds that Thursdays meeting gave due consideration of the prevailing situation throughout the country, and references the denunciation that the JPCTUF made at its meeting six days earlier, on May 8, of the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-held Kashmir.

Without providing a shred of evidence, the Modi government immediately blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

By the time the JPCTUF leaders met on May 8, India had, in the name of avenging that attack, launched the largest military strike on Pakistan in decades, and the subcontinents two nuclear-armed states were rapidly cascading toward all-out war.

But neither in the statement issued from its May 8 or May 15 meeting did JPCTUF leaders make any word of criticism of Indias reckless and patently illegal attack on Pakistan, let alone call on workers in India to join with their class brothers and sisters in Pakistan in opposing aggression, war, and the rival right-wing communalist governments and capitalist elites.

By scuttling the general strike and proclaiming itself an integral part of the responsible patriotic citizenrythat is the left flank of the BJP-led national crusade against terrorism and its supposed masterminds in Pakistanthe unions have materially strengthened the Modi government and Indian ruling class in the pursuit of both their predatory foreign policy interests and their war on the working class.

And this under conditions where Modi and the BJP government, to fervent applause from the corporate media, are imperiling the shaky ceasefire reached May 10, on the fourth day of major India-Pakistan clashes, with provocative avowals and actions. These include proclaiming that Indias military assault on Pakistan, Operation Sindoor, is not over, only paused; declaring that any talks with Pakistan will be restricted to discussing New Delhis demands relating to Islamabads support for terrorism and the ceding of Pakistan-held Kashmir to India; and continuing Indias refusal to abide by the Indus Waters Treaty.

Workers shout slogans in Ahmadabad, India, during a nationwide general strike, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/Ajit Solanki]

The JPCTUF announced at a national convention held March 18 that it would call a general strike for May 20 to oppose the BJP governments moves to enforce new, anti-worker Labour Codes across the country, its privatization and austerity drive, and other pressing issues affecting workers and farmers. The convention specifically warned of an alarming situation confronting workers and the broader population due to the BJP governments anti-worker, anti-people policies.

In keeping with its promotion of national unity, the JPCTUF statement announcing the scuttling of the May 20 strike criticizes the government and employers for not working more closely with the union bureaucracy.

It expresses shock and indignation that at this trying hour before the entire country, the government and the employers are intensifying their attacks on working people. Appallingly, the Stalinist and other union bureaucrats declare, even in the midst of such a critical situation prevailing in the country owing to the terrorist massacre and consequent developments, the employers class actively supported by the governments at the Centre and in many states is carrying on its onslaughts on the workers and employees across the establishments.

The statement continues: Working hours are being unilaterally increased; statutory minimum wages and social security benefits are being flouted. Workers, particularly contract workers, are being retrenched with impunity. These are nothing but heinous attempts to implement notorious Labour Codes through the back door.

Similarly, in its May 8 statement, the JPCTUF criticized communal outfits who are inciting hatred against Indias Muslim minoritya muted reference to the BJP, the RSS, and the network of Hindu supremacists organization they leadfrom the standpoint that they are weakening the Indian nation, not splitting the working class within India and across South Asia.

Having surrendered to the government and ruling classs reactionary national unity campaign and even as they are forced to admit they are waging class war, the JPCTUF leaders are pathetically urging that they reciprocate the positive approach of the trade union movement and desist from any unilateral precipitative move in the matter of Labour Codes and other legitimate demands relating to working conditions and workers rights.

This is coupled with an appeal for the government and employers to make more systematic use of their services in suppressing the class struggle, including by reviving the Indian Labour Conference, a corporatist body that the Modi government has refused to convene for many years. The statement declared, [D]espite repeated persuasion by trade unions, the Government did not bother to meet and consult the Central Trade Unions or to hold (the) Indian Labour Conference, despite receiving notices for strike from all corners of the country across the sectors.

The union leaders are well aware that there is mass anger among workers and the rural poor over the BJPs pro-investor policies and the drive of Indian big business to increase worker exploitation. In recent years, numerous explosive strike struggles have erupted, especially in Indias globally connected manufacturing industries, against poverty wages and the ever more prevalent use of precarious contract-labour employment. There is also mounting opposition to the governments plans to privatize all but a handful of companies in strategic economic sectors.

The BJPs labour law reform is a key element in the assault on the working class. It will permit contract labour in virtually all industries and erect huge new legal barriers to workers organising themselves into unions or waging strikes, effectively creating a legal regime where strikes are impossible. Workplace safety changes are limited, applying only to enterprises employing at least 250 workers, thus excluding 90 percent of Indias workers. Companies employing fewer than 300 workers can now hire and fire workers at will or even shut down altogether, eliminating previous requirements for government permission for layoffs.

With the aim of containing mass worker opposition, the unions have periodically called one-day national protest strikes. They have done so while striving might and main to keep the working class politically tied to the Congress Party-led opposition, which seeks to replace Modi and his BJP with an alternative right-wing government, no less committed to pro-investor reform and the reactionary anti-China war alliance between New Delhi and Washington.

Pivotal in all this is the role of the Stalinist parliamentary parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM and the Communist Party of India (CPI), and their respective trade union federations, the CITU and the All India Trades Union Congress or AITUC.

The CPM and CPI, like their union affiliates, have joined their allies in the Congress Party-led opposition bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), in rallying behind the government in labelling Pakistan the aggressor and lauding the four-day military assault on Pakistan.

The JPCTUFs leaders decision to scrap the May 20 strike underscores the role of the unions and the Stalinist parties as agents of big business and vital props of capitalist rule. They fear that under the current conditions even a limited one-day protest strikeby giving workers a means of voicing their demands and demonstrating the objective unity of workers across all the communal and caste lines promoted by the ruling classcould seriously undermine the ruling classs pretense of national unity against Pakistan.

Workers in India, as around the world, cannot assert their class interests in opposition to the capitalist ruling elite unless they oppose all its reactionary great-power interests and predatory actions on the world stage, and seek to unite their struggles with workers internationally.

Workers in India must fuse the struggle to secure their social and democratic rights with the fight against the ruling classs military actions, intrigues, communal incitement and war mongering. They must establish their class unity with the workers and toilers of Pakistan in the common fight against imperialism, the venal rule of the rival national bourgeoisies and their communal state-system and for the United Socialist States of South Asia.
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President Donald Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (right), May 14, 2025.

US President and would-be dictator Donald Trump met Wednesday morning in Riyadh with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. During the meeting, Trump praised the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Shama group that originated as an affiliate of al-Qaedaas a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.

Until only a few months ago, the US government had a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa, the leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front during the early stages of the US-backed regime change war in Syria. This all changed when his Islamist forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December, exploiting the regimes collapse under the weight of the Israeli-US assault on its allies in Lebanon and Iran.

Trumps praise for al-Sharaa followed his announcement that the United States would lift its crippling sanctions on Syria, which were originally imposed to topple the Assad regime. The move paves the way for billions of dollars in investment, primarily from Saudi Arabia and other despotic Gulf monarchies, as well as Turkey, bolstering the new regime as a bulwark against Iran.

These developments are a fitting culmination to the fabricated Syrian revolution promoted around the world for close to 15 years by a host of pro-imperialist, pseudo-left political parties.

Groups like Frances New Anti-Capitalist Party, the Pabloite International Viewpoint publication, and the US-based International Socialist Organizationwhich later dissolved itself into the Democratic Socialists of Americaled efforts to promote the so-called Syrian revolution. Starting in 2011, they falsely equated the US-backed, sectarian-led civil war in Syria with the revolutionary uprisings of the Tunisian and Egyptian working class that toppled the Western-backed regimes of Ben Ali and Mubarak.

The line of these organizations and others internationally was that the World Socialist Web Sites exposure of the actual character of the Syrian Revolution was an expression of knee-jerk anti-imperialists, as the Australian Socialist Alternative leader Corey Oakley put it in 2012. Gilbert Achcar, then a leading member of the NPA, boasted in 2011 about meeting with the CIA-backed Syrian National Council to discuss war strategy. Achcar, who holds a post as a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, subsequently delivered lectures to the British militarys Defence Cultural Specialist Unit, specialising in counter-insurgency.

In 2013, the US-based ISO published a statement under the headline Solidarity with the Syrian revolution, declaring that the fight in Syria is an extension of the fight for freedom regionally and worldwide. The same year, Germanys Left Party, whose origins lie in the Stalinist state party of the former East Germany, held a series of meetings with the Syrian oppositionist Michel Kilo, who invoked Washingtons obligation to carry out the military strike necessary to topple Assad.

At the time, the Obama administration debated launching airstrikes on Syria, ultimately opting instead to arm Sunni and Kurdish opposition groups and begin bombing Syria and Iraq the following year under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Germanys Left Party backed the deployment of military ships to disarm Assad and hailed the Kurdish nationalist regions as models of democracy.

In 2016, the misnamed Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which is aligned with the Left Party, published a book titled Revolution in Rojava (the name adopted by the Kurdish regions in northeastern Syria) in which they claimed that Kurdish grassroots democracy was defended against ISIS thanks to the air strikes carried out by the US-led coalition under the pressure of a global public. The leaders of this grassroots democracy concluded a deal earlier this year with the former jihadist Al-Sharaa to integrate their military forces into the state under the control of the pro-imperialist HTS regime.

That year, the pseudo-left organizations launched a campaign to denounce a temporary cease-fire in Syria brokered by the US and Russia during the Obama administration. Achcar, along with the ISOs Ashley Smith, criticized the White House for lacking the appetite to engage in a full-scale confrontation with Russia by, in the words of Achcar, not providing the Syrian opposition with anti-aircraft missiles capable of limiting the Syrian regimes use of air power.

Whenever Assad crossed red lines, Smith wrote, the US preferred to cut deals with Russia rather than take any action that might topple Assad, but also threaten a wider upheaval.

The Pabloites and other pseudo-left forces continued to serve essentially as government advisers to the imperialists as the former al-Qaeda fighter al-Sharaa led his HTS forces to Damascus last December amid the crumbling of the Assad regime. Assads downfall was inseparable from the US-backed Israeli genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and savage bombardment of Lebanon, which weakened Hezbollah and prevented Iran from deploying military forces to back Assad.

This did not stop Achcar declaring on 11 December, While observing the amazing historical events that unfolded since last Friday, the first thing that came to mind was relief and joy. The Morenoite International Workers LeagueFourth International (LITCI) proclaimed: The Syrian Revolution has defeated the dictatorship after 13 years of struggle. Oakley, who coined the term knee-jerk anti-imperialism, enthused, Overnight, Syria has gone from being the most despotic state in the Middle East to the freest.

As the true character of the HTS regime has been laid bare, with repeated massacres of Alawites and other minoritiesincluding an orgy of state-sponsored violence in March that killed an estimated 1,700 civiliansthe pseudo-left propagandists for imperialist dominance over Syria have rushed to touch up its revolutionary facade. Australias Socialist Alternative dispatched a correspondent to Syria immediately after HTS came to power in December, where he wrote in rapture about the joy of Entering free Syria.

Trumps public embrace of Al-Sharaa demonstrates the extent of the deceit perpetrated by the entire pseudo-left with their blather about a victorious revolution and free Syria. The US president lectured the imperialists newest ally in the Middle East about the need to normalize relations with the genocidal Zionist regime and demanded that Al-Sharaa do more to expel foreign terrorists from Syria, an unmistakable reference to Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps and aligned militias.

The use of the term pseudo-left is not a rhetorical flourish. It is an accurate characterization of reactionary middle class organizations that function as agencies of imperialism. These organizations speak for privileged material interests of the upper-middle class. These class interests are not merely compatible with, but depend upon imperialist war and plunder, which explains why they endorse the imperialist regime-change operation in Syria and the US-NATO war against Russia.

The pseudo-lefts support for imperialist-backed regime-change in Syria reveals the historical significance of the struggle waged over decades by the International Committee of the Fourth International against this political tendency and its predecessors.

The origins of the Pabloite organizations, which are prominent within the pseudo-left milieu, lie in a split from the Trotskyist movement led by Michel Pablo in 1953 on the basis of an explicit rejection of the revolutionary capacity of the working class. Abandoning the socialist principleestablished by Marx and Engelsthat the working class is the leading revolutionary force under capitalism, the Pabloites sought new allies in sections of the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, bourgeois nationalist movements in the ex-colonial countries, and social democrats and trade union bureaucrats in the imperialist centers.

Having long ago jettisoned any association whatsoever with socialist politics and turned to the unrestrained pursuit of their material privileges within the framework of decaying world capitalism, the Pabloites and allied organizations today stand exposed as direct servants and collaborators of imperialism.

The decisive task facing workers, young people and intellectuals around the world who want to fight imperialist war and neocolonial domination, in the Middle East and elsewhere, is to assimilate the key lessons won in struggle for the program of world socialist revolution by the ICFI against Pabloism and all forms of revisionism.

In the context of a renewed redivision of the world among the imperialist powers reviving brutal colonial forms of rule and genocide, these lessons include uncompromising opposition to the imperialist powers and imperialist war, and the fight for the political independence of the working class from all factions of the bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeois forces who seek alliances with imperialism or other major powers in the name of a democratic or revolutionary transformation.

A successful struggle against imperialist war and dictatorship requires the building of the ICFI and its affiliated Socialist Equality Parties as the revolutionary leadership necessary to mobilize the working class in the imperialist centers and former colonial countries on the basis of a socialist and internationalist program.
In his first international visit since being re-elected, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held official talks on Thursday with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, where the two leaders pledged to strengthen military and economic ties.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto after their joint press statement at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Thursday, May 15, 2025. [AP Photo/Dita Alangkara]

Albanese, accompanied by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, flew to Indonesia just one day after his Labor Party government was sworn in on Tuesday. Ahead of the trip, he told reporters in Perth: There is no country more important to Australia than Indonesia. Together we are setting an ambitious agenda to deepen our ties.

The high-level make-up of the Australian delegation, comprising three of the central leaders of the government, was clearly intended to signal the priorities of the new Labor administration.

As in its first term, it will play a central role in promoting the US-led confrontation with China, including by seeking to integrate the various South East Asian and Pacific states in this build-up. That was a signal, not only to the Indonesian regime and others throughout the region, but also the fascistic Trump administration, whose central foreign policy agenda is escalating the confrontation with Beijing.

Albanese visited Indonesia little over a week after a phone call with Trump which centred on AUKUS, the pact between Australia, the US and the UK which is a cockpit for planning the military build-up in the region against China.

The form of the visit highlighted the militarist intent. Albanese was welcomed by Prabowo to the Merdeka Presidential Palace with a military ceremony of soldiers on horseback and schoolchildren waving flags, as the two leaders conducted an inspection of the troops.

The meeting with Prabowo pledged to ratify the two countries Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed last August, which is aimed at boosting interoperability between the Australian and Indonesian armed forces in maritime security, joint training, counterterrorism and disaster response, among other areas.

Albanese spoke on the agreement after the meeting. It represents the most significant step in the Australia and Indonesia security partnership for three decades, he said. But let me be very clearI do not see this agreement as the last step. I want us to aim higher, go further and work even more closely togetherand I see President Prabowo as a leader with the vision and determination to make that happen.

A joint communique outlined the two leaders commitment to increased maritime cooperation, including a $15 million package from Australia, amid growing tensions between the United States and China in the South China Sea. The leaders agreed to further joint work in order to address shared maritime security challenges.

Albaneses clear aim of aligning Indonesia more closely with the aggressive US agenda in the South China Sea was shrouded in fraudulent references to maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region. The communique absurdly framed Australias role in stoking geopolitical tensions with China as an effort to reduce the risk of conflict and crisis.

In reality, the Albanese government has played the role of Washingtons attack dog in the Indo-Pacific, pressuring countries in the region into full alignment with US war plans. While Indonesia has no territorial dispute with China, Beijings ten-dash-line overlaps with Indonesias Exclusive Economic Zone around the Natuna Islands in the South China Seaa fact that US imperialism will no doubt look to exploit.

The Australian press indicated that behind the scenes, there were likely discussions of expanded military exercises. Australias Defence Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia paved the way for a joint military exercise held last November, named Keris Woomera, which was the largest combined drill in recent history for the two nations. Around 2,000 personnel from both armed forces participated in the exercise, which featured live-fire, air, maritime and amphibious training operations.

The push for expanded defence cooperation is aimed at compelling the South East Asian nations to end their attempts to balance between the US and China and to commit to the offensive against Beijing.

Like most of the regions leaders, Prabowo has continued to publicly avow Indonesias non-aligned foreign policy, enshrined in the constitution. Indonesia relies heavily on trade and investment from China, while Russia is the source of much of its military hardware. Earlier this year, it became the first South East Asian nation to join the BRICS economic bloc, in which Russia and China play major roles, as a full member.

Albaneses visit was held just weeks after unsubstantiated reports, emanating from a western private intelligence firm, claimed that Russia was requesting to station warplanes in Indonesia, in the eastern province of Papua.

The claims coincided with the Australian federal election campaign. Sections of the corporate media with close ties to the national-security apparatus published hysterical articles, asserting that Russia was on the cusp of developing a substantial military presence on Australias doorstep.

The clear message, irrespective of the shoddiness of the allegations and Indonesias disavowal of any plans for a Russian base, was the need to intensify pressure on its government to deepen its integration with the US and Australia.

That push has involved other states aligned with Washington. In January, Indonesia and Japan agreed that Tokyo would provide the Indonesian navy with patrol boats, and discussion would resume on joint construction of naval warships.

Given Australias intent to align Indonesia with the anti-China war drive, Albaneses visit was significant for its efforts to legitimise Prabowo as a political figure. Prabowo, a former general in the US-backed Suharto military dictatorship, was personally responsible for countless atrocities in his role as head of Kopassus, a notorious special forces group.

The friendly relations between the two leaders were expressed in a surprise visit by Prabowo to Albaneses hotel room, for a one-on-one that went more than an hour over schedule.

After hailing their warm relationship at a press conference, Albanese responded to a question on Prabowos human rights record with praise for the leader: Hes someone who is resilient, someone who received overwhelming support for his ticket I think we should celebrate the democracy here. In reality, Prabowo, a former lieutenant general and son-in-law of the dictator Suharto, is directly implicated in the crimes of the Indonesian dictatorship, including the killing of civilians and political opponents.

Far from being a champion of democracy, Prabowo is seeking to consolidate an increasingly authoritarian rule. Albaneses whitewash of these realities was in keeping with the longstanding record of Australian imperialism, including its Labor governments, with the Whitlam, Hawke and Keating Labor administrations all having worked closely with the Suharto regime.

Albaneses fawning over Prabowo underscores the fraudulent character of claims that the US-led push against China has anything to do with human rights or democracy. In reality, the US is seeking to overcome its economic decline through the use of its military might, with Beijing viewed as the chief threat to American imperialist hegemony. For its part, the Australian ruling elite is prosecuting its own predatory interests, in the South Pacific and throughout Asia, under the umbrella of that war drive.

That also includes a deepening crackdown on democratic rights by the Australian government. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was undoubtedly part of the delegation to discuss military and police collaboration in seeking to prevent refugees, many of whom set off from Indonesia, from exercising their right to seek asylum in Australia, a right enshrined in international law.
Friedrich Merz [AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi]

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) delivered his first government statement on Wednesday. It was an open declaration of war on the population. Merzs remarks make it unmistakably clear that his coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is the most right-wing federal government since the fall of the Third Reich 80 years ago.

Merzs government is pushing ahead with massive military rearmament to make Germany fit for war again, in the words of Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Domestically, it is adopting the anti-refugee policies of the fascist Alternative for Germany (AfD), planning historic social cuts and establishing an authoritarian police state to enforce these policies against broad opposition among the population.

Significantly, Merz began his speech by praising the pro-war and rearmament policies of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz (SPD). He claimed that the coalition he led with the Greens and Liberal Democrats (FDP) had guided Germany through times of extraordinary crisis and that its response to the war in Ukraine was groundbreaking and historic.

Merz made it clear that his government would deepen the new era proclaimed by Scholz. At the centre of this is the escalation of the war against Russia, the rearmament of the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) and the militarisation of Europe under German leadershipwith the aim of enforcing the geopolitical and economic interests of German imperialism worldwide.

To justify the war course, Merz resorted to vile anti-Russian war propaganda in the style of the Nazis. Russia, he claimed, had broken all the rules that had applied in Europe since the Second World War. Russian troops were raging, killing women and children, civilians and soldiers every day.

The outcome of the war, according to Merz, will decide not only the fate of Ukraine, but also whether law and order will continue to prevail in Europe and the worldor tyranny, military force and the naked right of the strongest.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is reactionary, but it is the imperialist powers that provoked and escalated this war. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union by the Stalinist bureaucracy, NATO has encircled Russia militarily. Now, the leading EU statesabove all Germanyare pushing the escalation ever further in order to assert their predatory interests.

This is not about peace or international law but about building a new imperialist war order. The goal is to completely control Ukraine, reduce Russia to the status of a semi-colony and establish rule over the resource-rich and geostrategically central Eurasian landmass.

The ambitions of German imperialism extend far beyond Eastern Europe. Merz stated that Chinas policies contained elements of systemic rivalry and that the growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow is viewed with concern. The Indo-Pacific region was of great importance, especially with regard to free shipping and secure trade routes. Germany will be strongly engaged there in the future.

As in the past, German world power politics goes hand in hand with genocide. In his speech, Merz declared the security and existence of Israel to be a matter of state for Germany and pledged support for the genocide of the Palestinians. We stand unwaveringly by Israels side, he assured, while the Netanyahu regime pushes ahead with the systematic destruction and expulsion of the population of Gaza.

To achieve these imperialist goals, Germany is massively rearming. The war credits approved in March by the CDU/CSU and SPDsupported by the Greens and the Left Partyare comparable only to the rearmament programmes before the First and Second World Wars. An amendment to the constitution now allows all military spending above 1 percent of GDP to be exempted from the debt brakemeaning that war spending can rise without limit.

Merz announced that the Bundeswehr would be made the strongest conventional army in Europe. If one excludes the Turkish army, with 355,000 active soldiers and 379,000 reservists, this would mean increasing the Bundeswehr from its current 181,000 to at least 300,000 troops. According to current plans, this is how large the Polish army is to be in 10 years. This is not possible in Germany without the reintroduction of compulsory military service.

At the NATO meeting in Turkey on Thursday, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) stated that he shared Trumps assessment that defence spending amounting to 5 percent of economic output was necessary. For Germany, that would correspond to 225 billion annually; the current defence budget is just under 53 billion.

Merz made no secret of the purpose of this rearmament: under German leadership, Europe should be shaped into a global power that participates in the imperialist redivision of the world.

The federal government, he said, would focus our energy on taking Europe a big step forward at a time when we as a continent must redefine and defend our position in the world. Europe was looking to Germany today and the new federal government accepted this responsibility. A National Security Council would be created to enable rapid action in crises.

In other words: war. Merz made it clear that entire generations of young people are to be sacrificed once again as cannon fodder for German imperialism. Freedomi.e., imperialist interestsmust also be defended with ones life. The operational readiness of the Bundeswehr must be improved, and therefore a new, attractive voluntary military service will be created as a first step. There were many young people who want to take responsibility for Germany, its defence and security, Merz claimed.

In reality, however, the rejection of militarism and war is enormous, especially among young people. That is why the government has long been preparing measures for compulsory recruitment. Defence Minister Pistorius stated unequivocally in the Bundestag (federal parliament): The emphasis is on initially, in case we cannot recruit enough volunteers. The service would be meaningful and contribute to the creation of a ready reserve.

These great power politics are to be financed by massive attacks on the working class. Germanys security and creative power depends upon economic strength, according to Merz. Everything would be done to put Germanys economy back on track for growth. He named only a few concrete measuresincluding the abolition of the citizens income (welfare payments) and incentives for longer working hoursbut the direction is clear: the model is the United States, where the Trump administration is cutting social spending and destroying all remaining social achievements in the interests of the financial oligarchy.

As in the past, the implementation of these policies requires the establishment of an authoritarian state. Merz praised the police and security agencies, announced their expansion and used repressive rhetoric against all opponents of the genocide in Gaza. What was happening on German streets and in the German public sphere, even in the arts and sciences was shameful, he ranted, with reference to the majority rejection of the mass murder in Gaza, which Merz defames as antisemitism.

Merzs belligerent stance is due not only to the unconditional support of the Greens as the most aggressive warmongers, but above all to the role of the Left Party. It voted in the Bundesrat (upper chamber of parliament) for war credits amounting to 1 trillion and then helped Merz to a quick election as chancellor in the Bundestag. Now it is confining itself to empty phrases to obscure and secure the governments course and suppress the enormous opposition to it.

Significantly, the Left Partys lead candidate in Februarys federal election, Heidi Reichinnek, did not say a single word in her speech in the Bundestag about rearmament or war policy, with which she actually agrees in substance. Instead, she appealed to Merz to cooperate with the Left Party on social policywhere the Left Party has for years represented the same class position as the banker chancellor himself. She concluded her speech with the flippant and stupid announcement: We are going to have a lot of fun together here over the next four years.

The support of all the establishment partiesincluding the Left Partyand the trade unions for the Merz government makes clear that the struggle against war, rearmament and social cuts requires the independent mobilisation of the working class.

In its initial statement on the formation of the government, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) therefore called for the establishment of rank-and-file action committees in workplaces and neighbourhoods to take the fight against mass layoffs and wage cuts into their own hands and link it to the struggle against war.

And it declared:

We oppose growing nationalism, trade wars and rearmament with the international unity of the working class. War can only be stopped and social and democratic rights defended if capitalism itself is abolished and replaced by a socialist society in which the needs of people, not profit interests, are central. The big banks and corporations must be expropriated and placed under democratic control.
Ronald Adams Sr. and Shamenia with some of the children in their blended family [Photo by Family of Ronald Adams Sr. ]

The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) has initiated an independent investigation into the April 7 death of Stellantis worker Ronald Adams Sr. at the Dundee Engine Complex in southeast Michigan. The investigation, which will be led by rank-and-file workers, is aimed at breaking through the official wall of silence surrounding the tragic and preventable death of the well-respected 63-year-old worker from Detroit.

One worker at the Dundee plant said everything has been hush-hush since Adams death, with nothing being said by company or United Auto Workers officials. In the nearby auto plants, including the Toledo Jeep Complex and factories in metro Detroit, workers are aware of the death but have been given no details by management or the United Auto Workers.

According to initial reports, Adams was doing maintenance work on a Cinetic Washer in Department 7300 at the plant when an overhead gantry engaged, pinning him to a conveyor and causing fatal crushing injuries to his upper torso. But more questions remain unanswered than answered, including whether the lockout/tag out system was compromised, whether the location of the power source of the gantry was improperly labeled, and whether cost-cutting, speed-up and similar factors during the retooling process contributed to the tragedy.

In a brief reference to Adams on Workers Memorial Day on April 28, the UAW said, the incident is currently under investigation by the UAW-Stellantis Health and Safety Department with assistance from the International Union, UAW Health and Safety Department, and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).

Family members and workers are backing an independent rank-and-file investigation because they do not want another coverup that exonerates the company and the UAW and tries to shifts the blame onto the victim himself. This is particularly outrageous because Adams was a highly skilled and experienced worker who was known as a fierce advocate for workplace safety in the factory.

Addressing the fact that the UAW and Stellantis were conducting a joint investigation into the death of the beloved father and grandfather, a family friend told the WSWS: So, they are doing their own investigation of themselves. She concluded, Well, theyre doing their investigation. We want our own investigation. We want the truth.

There are already reports from Adams co-workers that the arm on the gantry that crushed him has been replaced. Workers are concerned that this original equipment, along with other critical evidence, such as IT records on lockouts, may be destroyed or tampered with.

In the five weeks since the fatal accident, the UAW, the company and MIOSHA have not released any information to the victims family, co-workers or the public about its causes and the circumstances behind it.

MIOSHA is legally required to investigate industrial fatalities and injuries, but it has the closest relations with the employers and the union apparatus. Thus far it has violated the guidelines of the July 2024 MIOSHA Field Operations Manual, which require the agency to provide the families of victims timely and accurate information at all stages of the investigation.

Earlier this week, MIOSHA rejected a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the World Socialist Web Site for a report on the initial findings of its investigation, claiming, The public disclosure of preliminary statements and related investigative materials and information compromise the investigation by jeopardizing the accuracy and thoroughness of the investigation

Family members and co-workers responded with anger over the continued stonewalling by MIOSHA, with one saying, How would the release of the information jeopardize the accuracy of the investigation when they arent doing a thorough investigation. They havent even given the family any accuracy, or any information at all.

Even if Stellantis were cited for safety violations under the present set-up, all the company and union would have to do is submit a report with perhaps some photos and training logs to abate, i.e., resolve the charges. MIOSHA largely accepts their word and routinely does not even reinspect the site to confirm these claims. This honor system only allows the industrial slaughter to continue.

The WSWS sent a series of questions to the MIOSHA Communications Specialist Mike Krafcik, asking what the stages of its investigation are and if there is any deadline for the issuing of its report or restrictions on making it available to workers in the plants.

According to Krafcik, When MIOSHA is notified of a workplace fatality, an investigation is typically initiated within one working day. A description of the process is explained in the MIOSHA Enforcement and Appeals Overview. The investigation basically consists of:

An opening conference

A walk-through of the work area

Collection of evidence which can include photographs and videos

Interviews with employees, employee representatives and/or management representatives

A review of employer records, safety procedures and training materials

A closing conference

The MIOSHA spokesman continued:

Within 90 days of the closing conference, a letter is issued to the employer with the investigation findings. If violations are found, citations are enclosed which provide the rule violated, a description of the violation, the date by which the violation must be corrected, and a monetary penalty if applicable.

Only after the findings are received by the employer, Krafcik said, can MIOSHA release the results of its investigation to the publicand only if someone files a FOIA request.

The WSWS asked why MIOSHA had not provided the family with updates of its investigation, but the public information official did not address the question. He said only that after the employer receives the letter with the investigation findings, the next of kin is also notified by letter of the investigation findings. This process ensures the employer receives official notice before third parties, consistent with enforcement protocol. Because this is an on-going investigation, we cannot comment on specifics.

In other words, this process leaves families who lose their loved ones in the dark for months if not years and, at best, results in nothing more than wrist-slap fines that are a cost of doing business for the multi-billion-dollar corporations. At the same time, by depriving workers of the critical knowledge they need, it ensures that more workers lives will be lost to corporate profit.

MIOSHA largely allows the corporations and the union bureaucracies to investigate themselves, similar to the way city governments allow police departments to carry out internal investigations of brutal killings and beatings by their own cops. The outcome is predictable: a whitewash.

The 2023 UAW-Stellantis contract gives a picture of the dozens of corporatist joint safety bodies, including, The National Joint Committee on Health and Safety (NJCHS), the Division Health and Safety Board (DHSB), Special Health and Safety Review Board (SHSRB) and the Local Joint Health Safety Committee. These provide cushy jobs, training sessions, and endless vacation-like conferences for UAW International officers, including UAW President Shawn Fain (head of the UAW Health and Safety Department), and the regional and local union flunkeys they appoint to these bodies.

Page 321-322 of the 2023 UAW-Stellantis contract details the membership and operations of the Special Health and Safety Review Board (SHSRB), which responds to fatalities and serious injuries. It consists of members of the divisional review board, the Plant or PDC (Parts Distribution Center) Manager/Vice President or their designated representative, Vice President and Director International Union, UAW Stellantis Department or their designated representative, the UAW International Servicing Representative, UAW International representatives, Corporate OSH, and the National Joint Health and Safety Department Co-Leads.

In the event of a fatality or serious injury, a special review board meeting will convene as soon as appropriate upon the request of the NJC. The purpose of the SHSRB is to assist in the joint investigation and incident review. An investigation including safety hazard analysis of the job or operation at issue will be conducted by a joint team including UAW International representatives, Stellantis Health and Safety Staff, trained in accident investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the joint investigative team will recommend corrective actions measures as necessary. Furthermore, the SHSRB shall meet as necessary to review elements of the health and safety program.

The purpose of such corporate management- UAW investigations is to conceal the truth and cover up their joint responsibility for the hazardous conditions that killed Ronald Adams Sr., Toledo Jeep worker Antonio Gaston and so many others.
Speaking on May Day, Kumar Gunaratnam, the general secretary of the fake-left Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) in Sri Lanka, declared that his party was fighting for socialism. But the theme of the meetingBuild a power outside [parliament], against the IMF [International Monetary Fund] death trap and Indian colonisation!revealed the opposite.

Frontline Socialist Party leader Kumar Gunaratnam speaking on May Day, 2025 [Photo: Facebook/FSP]

While denouncing the IMFs drastic austerity agenda being implemented by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led government, the FSP is promoting the illusion that pressure from outside parliament will force it to implement policies to alleviate the huge social crisis facing working people. At the same time, the FSP is whipping up anti-Indian chauvinism by opposing economic and military deals with India.

Gunaratnams reference to socialism is just so much holiday speechifyingtalking about the struggle for socialism, while engaging day-to-day in futile protest politics and hobnobbing with capitalist parties.

The FSP general secretary told his audience that the party understood the right-wing direction of the JVP/NPP government and opposed its policies from the outset. But the people still have illusions about the government, he said.

He was lying through his teeth. If the party knew what the JVP and its electoral front, the National Peoples Power (NPP), was going to do, why didnt Gunaratnam tell working people the truth from the outset and counter their illusions?

After JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election last year, Gunaratnam held a press conference on September 24 and hailed the result as an expression of peoples expectations. The FSP pushed the illusion that the JVPs victory was progressive, joining with the deluge of commentary in Sri Lanka and internationally proclaiming the JVP as leftist and even Marxist.

When the JVP/NPP rapidly ditched its promise to renegotiate terms with the IMF and began implementing its harsh austerity agenda, the FSP leaders opposed the measures, but added that they were ready to protect the government from the defeated and corrupt traditional bourgeois political parties.

In the wake of the May 6 local elections, in which it won 15 seats on various local councils, the FSP is putting this political line into practice. Speaking recently on Hiru TVs Balaya talk show, FSP leader Pubudu Jayagoda declared that his party would support the JVP/NPP to establish its control over local councils where necessary.

The FSPs treacherous role in the 2022 popular uprising

In his May Day speech, Gunaratnam declared: We can change the present situation only by continuing the 2022 struggle that has been stopped. He said the mass movement had faced repression and obstacles and had turned to parliamentary manoeuvres. He repeated the call for a power outside parliament to continue this struggle.

Gunaratnams comments are a deceitful cover-up of the FSPs role in the AprilJuly 2022 popular uprising: politically disarming workers and youth, and steering them into the dead-end of parliamentary manoeuvres. Millions took to the streets in protests and strikes after Sri Lanka was forced to default on foreign debts amid an acute foreign exchange crisis, creating huge price rises, shortages of fuel, food and medicines and frequent electrical blackouts.

A strike demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, April 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

The ruling class was desperate to bring this mass movement under control after workers and youth defied attempts by President Gotabhaya Rajapakse to impose emergency rule and use the military to suppress opposition. Rajapakse was finally forced to flee the country and resign.

Far from opposing the parliamentary manoeuvres of the bourgeois opposition partiesthe JVP/NPP and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)the FSP played the critical role in diverting the mass struggle into the blind alley of parliament.

Alongside the trade union bureaucracies, the FSP took the initiative in proposing the formation of an interim capitalist government by the JVP/NPP and SJB. The realistic solution, it declared, is that all opposition parties in the parliament establish an interim administration to work with the protest groups outside parliament. Then an election should be held soon. [The Struggle that Shook the Mansion, FSP publication, page 241]

In other words, the FSPs entire perspective was based on subordinating the masses on the streets to the manoeuvres in parliament for an interim government and elections. The result was the installation of the notorious pro-IMF, pro-US figure Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had no popular support but had the backing of the corporate elite. With the agreement of the JVP/NPP and SJB, he promptly negotiated a $3 billion IMF bailout loan, began implementing its austerity demands and mobilised the police and military to suppress opposition.

There was a political alternative to the FSPs treachery. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) fought for the mobilisation of the working class, independent of all parties of the capitalist class and their trade union apparatuses. We called for the formation of independent action committees of workers in every workplace and neighbourhood and also by the rural masses, as the means of fighting for their class interests.

The SEP called for the repudiation of all foreign debts and the allocation of funds to end the social distress facing millions. In opposition to Rajapakses emergency decrees, we called for the immediate abolition of the autocratic executive presidency.

While the FSP collaborated with the parliamentary opposition, the SEP advanced the call for a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses, based on delegates from the action committees, to discuss, formulate and implement a strategy to defend the democratic and social rights of working people. We openly stated this had to involve the struggle to establish a workers and peasants government to carry out socialist policies.

The FSPs pro-capitalist program

Three years on, the FSP continues to function as a satellite of the Colombo political establishment. In his May Day speech, Gunaratnam condemned the JVP-led government for implementing IMF austerity measures even better than Wickremesinghe. He attacked it for increasing taxes on working people and not taxing the rich.

The FSP leader declared that socialism was the means to the defeat the IMF death trap, but elaborated no socialist policies for the working class. In reality, the record shows that the FSP operates entirely within the framework of capitalism and completely accepts the domination of international finance capital.

Last October, the FSP Central Committee sent a letter to President Dissanayake advising him on how to conduct negotiations with the IMF on debt restructuring. The responsibility of the JVP/NPP government, it declared, was to present an Alternative Debt Sustainability plan that would end the IMFs unfavourable conditions. This, it said, will be a progressive and historic approach to saving the people from the US-IMF agenda

In sending the letter, the FSP abandoned its own fanciful Exit IMF Strategy. It proposed forming a debtors collective consisting of various lefts, intellectuals and the international network known as the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt, to analyse Sri Lankas debts. It wanted to exit the IMF to negotiate a better deal directly with the same international creditors that were backing the IMF agenda!

The Dissanayake governments total capitulation to the IMF demonstrated that the Sri Lankan bourgeoisieor, for that matter, the ruling class in any debtor countryis in no position to bargain with international finance capital. Both FSP proposalsto renegotiate terms with the IMF, or alternatively, directly with Sri Lankas creditorswere utopian fantasies.

There was nothing remotely socialist about the FSPs schemes. Socialists do not advise capitalist governments in their negotiations with the IMF or international creditors. Genuine socialists seek to clarify and independently mobilise workers to end the domination of global finance capital, by overthrowing capitalism in a joint struggle with workers internationally based on a socialist perspective.

That is precisely what the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) has fought to do in the elections over the past year and in its campaigns daily in the working class. We demand the complete repudiation of all foreign debts and the reallocation of funds to meet the pressing social needs of the masses. Workers and the poor are not responsible for the huge loans raised to pay for the countrys devastating 26-year communal war or to give handouts to boost foreign and local investors.

The FSPs origins

The FSP was formed in 2012 by a group of former JVP members led by Gunaratnam. The JVP itself was established in the 1960s by appealing to disenchanted rural youth on the basis of Sinhala chauvinism and petty-bourgeois radicalism. Far from being based on Marxism, the JVP was hostile to the working class. Its ideological foundations were rooted in Maoist and Castroite peasant guerillaism.

Like many similar groups internationally based on the armed struggle, the JVP in the 1990s, in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the turn to capitalist restoration, exchanged its weapons for a place in the Colombo political establishment. It largely dropped its phoney socialist and anti-imperialist rhetoric.

As loyal JVP members, the Gunaratnam-led group faithfully followed its policies, including full support for the brutal anti-Tamil communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that erupted in 1983 and its open backing for capitalist governments since 1994.

The FSP founders claimed to have broken from the JVP because of what they describe as political mistakes. In reality, the JVP was nakedly functioning as a parliamentary capitalist party with ambitions to take power, most graphically demonstrated by its decision to join the capitalist coalition government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004. Four JVP leaders became ministers, including Dissanayake, who as agriculture minister imposed the governments pro-market policies on peasants.

The FSP, in its 2012 publication Self Critically Looking Back at the Party, also cites the JVPs December 2005 agreement to assist Mahinda Rajapakse to become president in order to restart the reactionary civil war against the LTTE. Rajapakse ruthlessly waged the war, which finally culminated in the LTTEs defeat in 2009 with the slaughter of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians. In 2010, the JVP formed a front with the right-wing United National Party to back the presidential bid of General Sarath Fonseka, who had led the final bloody offensives against the LTTE.

These afterthoughts of the FSP leaders on the JVPs political mistakes, were simply intended to justify and camouflage their support for the JVPs crimes against the working class and its actions in propping up capitalist rule.

The FSPs split from the JVP was not motivated by political principle, but the sharp decline in support for the JVP among working people and particularly youth. In the 2010 parliamentary election, which it contested in alliance with Fonseka and the UNP, it retained just 4 of its previous 39 seats. Disappointment reigned in its ranks. Two years later, the Gunaratnam group left the party, along with a large portion of its student organisation, to form the FSP.

The FSP split from the JVP but did not break from its reactionary communal and pro-capitalist politics. It remains rooted in the JVPs reactionary nationalism and Sinhala chauvinism and intransigently opposed to the Marxist perspective of socialist internationalism.

The FSPs anti-Indian chauvinism

In his May Day speech, Gunaratnam declared that the FSP was the genuine representative of the JVPs foul political heritage and accused the JVP leaders of betraying it.

Central to his speech was an attack on the defence and economic agreements signed on April 5 by President Dissanayake with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He denounced Dissanayake and the JVP for carrying out a great betrayal of those who sacrificed their lives in the 1971 April Rebellion and the 19881990 campaign against Indias hegemonic designs.

Gunaratnam declared that the JVPs armed uprisings in 1971 and 19881990 were struggles for socialism and pledged that the FSP would continue those traditions. The JVP, he said, had from its inception opposed Indian expansionism. He repeated the JVPs anti-Tamil slander that estate workers of Indian origin were being manipulated by New Delhi for its advantage.

In its early years, one of the JVPs regular series of five classes was devoted to indoctrinating cadre on Indian expansionism. It declared that Tamil-speaking estate workers were a privileged social layer in Sri Lanka and functioned as a fifth column of India. This was nothing but a filthy chauvinist attack on the hundreds of thousands of impoverished estate workers, aimed at dividing the working class along communal lines.

Keerthi Balasuriya, the founding general secretary of the Revolutionary Communist League (RCL), the SEPs predecessor, in his 1970 series of articles, The Politics and Class Nature of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, brilliantly exposed the JVPs anti-working class and chauvinist character. He correctly warned that the JVP could evolve into a naked tool of monopoly capital and a force hostile to the working class which a future fascist movement could use.

Cover of first edition of Keerthi Balasuriyas The Politics and Class Nature of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

The JVP rebellion in April 1971 was an adventurist uprising, completely isolated from the working class, against the capitalist coalition government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Lanka Sama Samaja Party and Stalinist Communist Party. This government, which the JVP had supported in the 1970 election, mobilised the military to ruthlessly crush the rebellion, killing at least 15,000 rural youth and jailing thousands more, including JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera.

While opposing the JVPs politics, the RCL conducted a principled campaign against the repression and for the release of all political prisoners, as part of its own political struggle for the independent mobilisation of the working class against the coalition government.

Balasuriyas warnings about the JVPs rightward evolution were borne out in its patriotic campaign in 19881990 against the Indo-Lanka Accord. Colombo signed the Accord with New Delhi in July 1987, amid a huge crisis stemming from its anti-Tamil civil war. Under the agreement, so-called Indian peacekeeping troops entered the north and east of Sri Lanka to disarm the LTTE and some concessions were granted to the Tamil elite.

The JVP denounced the Accord as a betrayal of the Motherland and called for anti-Accord protests and riots. It formed the Movement for Protection of Motherland with several openly Sinhala-racist groups and established the Patriotic National Movement as a military wing.

JVP gunmen carried out fascistic attacks on workers, political opponents and young people who opposed its patriotic campaign, killing at least 6,000. Among those murdered were three RCL members: R.A. Pitawela, a teacher, in November 1988; P.H. Gunapala, a worker at Peradeniya University; and Greshan Geekiyanage, a youth, in August 1989.

The RCL opposed the reactionary Indo-Lanka Accord, not to defend the Motherland, but rather to unite workersSinhala, Tamil and Muslimin the struggle for a Sri Lanka-Eelam Socialist Republic as part of a Socialist Federation of South Asia and internationally.

FSP leader Gunaratnam not only hails its fascistic campaign as a struggle for socialism, but openly boasts of his role in it. He told his audience that, as JVP youth leader, he joined in the JVPs fight against Indian troops by carrying out an attack on an Indian sentry post in the eastern port city of Trincomalee.

The JVP carried out its reactionary campaign in league with the UNP government of President R. Premadasa, with whom JVP leader Wijeweera held secret talks in 1989. Ultimately, however, Premadasa turned on the JVP, not out of fear of the Wijeweera leadership, but because he distrusted the JVPs ability to control its rural base. Premadasa unleashed the military and its death squads, murdering JVP leaders, including Wijeweera, and slaughtering at least 60,000 rural youth.

Gunaratnams pledge that the FSP uphold all the JVPs reactionary traditions is a sharp warning to workers and youth that it too will stop at nothing to defend the unitary bourgeois nation state of Sri Lanka amid the current deep crisis of global capitalism.

The FSPs foreign policy: Non-alignment

Gunaratnams May Day speech tried to dress up his nationalist, anti-Indian diatribe with anti-imperialist phrases. He pointed out that America is seeking global hegemony and targeting China, and that India had joined the US in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Japan and Australia. We should have a non-aligned policy, he said. Is it good to have a defence agreement with India?

Non-alignment, however, is not an anti-war nor an anti-imperialist program. The Non-Aligned Movement begun in the 1960s was an attempt by countries such as Indonesia and India to manoeuvre between US imperialism and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was shattered by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, leading to the open alignment of many of its members with the US.

Appeals for non-alignment today are an exercise in futility, as the US demands countries, large and small, take sides against China amid a vast US military build-up for war in Asia. Along with pacifist appeals for disarmament, non-alignment serves only to divert workers and youth into impotent protest movements, but not to prevent the war.

While he lashes out at India, Gunaratnam is virtually silent on Trumps predatory aims, including his openly stated intentions of seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal, and incorporating Canada as the 51st American state. He attacks the defence agreement with India, which is undoubtedly reactionary, but has nothing to say about Sri Lankas Access and Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) with the US and its growing integration into Washingtons war plans.

The FSP is organically incapable of advancing a genuine anti-war program because it is rooted in nationalism. None of the huge problems and dangers facing working people can be resolved within the framework of the nation state, including the mounting threat of world war.

The wars already underway and the danger of nuclear conflagration can only be halted by the abolition of capitalism. That is only possible through the building of a unified anti-war movement of the international working class based on socialist internationalism, for which only the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and the Socialist Equality Parties fight.

The cutting edge of the fight for socialism is internationalism against all forms of national opportunism. That was central to the struggle that was waged by all the great representatives of MarxismMarx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. The ICFI represents the continuity of the political struggle waged by Trotsky against Stalinism and its nationalist perspective of Socialism in One Country.

The FSPs claims to be socialist are false to the core. It is not based on the working class, but represents well-off layers of the upper middle-class that want to improve their lot under capitalism, not overthrow it. Its perspective is that of class collaboration and compromise, not the class struggle. Its nationalism and class orientation derive from the JVPs origins in Castroism and Maoism, the Chinese variant of Stalinism, which is the antithesis of Marxism and socialist internationalism.

We urge workers and young people to carefully study our history and program and apply to join and build the SEP as the necessary revolutionary leadership for the huge class struggles that lie ahead.
Logan Rozos, 2025 commencement speaker at the NYU Gallatin School

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) unequivocally condemns New York Universitys (NYU) blatant act of political censorship against graduating student and actor Logan Rozos. We call on students, workers and youth in the US and around the world to demand that NYU immediately release his diploma, which is being withheld in retaliation for his May 14 commencement address denouncing the US-backed genocide in Gaza.

Rozos bravely used his platform as commencement speaker for the Gallatin School to deliver a powerful denunciation of the ongoing genocide. My moral and political commitment guide me to say, he told thousands in attendance, that the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine. He continued, I condemn this genocide and complicity in genocide. His comments were met with loud and sustained applause, especially from students and faculty.

Rozos remarks express the sentiment of millions in the US and around the world. Since October 7, mass demonstrations have been held on every inhabited continent against the US-backed Israeli slaughter. Among students and young workers there is overwhelming opposition to the genocide and the bipartisan political conspiracy to silence critics.

The day after Rozos delivered his remarks, dozens of NYU graduates, many wearing keffiyehs, protested and walked out of Yankee Stadium as NYU President Linda Mills was delivering the commencement address.

Rozos well-received speech provoked an immediate campaign of retaliation from right-wing and Zionist forces with deep ties to both Israel and the US intelligence apparatus. In response to this intimidation and harassment campaign, NYU quickly capitulated. The same day of the speech, NYU spokesman John Beckman issued a statement denouncing Rozos for misusing his platform to express one-sided political viewsthat is, views opposed to genocide.

He claimed Rozos had lied about the content of his speech, an absurd accusation designed to justify a clearly political decision. While accusing Rozos of abusing a privilege, Beckman himself apologized to the audience for being subjected to these remarkseven though that same audience applauded them loudly and repeatedly!

Accepting the demands of the open defenders of genocide, Beckman announced that Rozos diploma was being withheld.

This shameful act is part of a broader nationwide campaign to criminalize protest and suppress opposition to the genocide in Gaza. Thousands of students have been suspended or expelled, hundreds arrested and dozens are threatened with deportation. Last year at NYU, police arrested over 100 students while disbanding a peaceful solidarity encampment.

The campaign of repression, initiated under the Biden administration and now dramatically escalated under Trump, has become a full-scale assault on democratic rights. Trump has invoked the reactionary Alien Enemies Act to carry out mass deportations, detain immigrants and students without trial and criminalize political dissent.

NYU is one of 52 schools currently under investigation by the Trump administration over alleged antisemitic incidents on campus. The pernicious lie, advanced by both political parties, the mainstream press and college administrators, has been used to browbeat, intimidate and even imprison opponents of genocide.

As of this writing, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student and legal US resident, remains imprisoned in a Louisiana immigrant detention facility for the crime of protesting the genocide while at Columbia. Khalil was illegally kidnapped on March 8, 2025 outside his New York City apartment by immigration Gestapo, who did not have a warrant. Since he has been incarcerated, Khalils wife gave birth to their first child, an event the court did not allow him to be present for.

The Trump administration is attempting to deport Khalil using a McCarthyite provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows Secretary of State Marco Rubio to remove legal residents if he determines their past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations, which are otherwise lawful, are a threat US foreign policy objectives.

The Democratic Party supports the suppression of anti-genocide protests and is itself complicit in all of Trumps major policies. Following the arrests at NYU last year, Democratic Mayor of New York Eric Adams praised the police and blamed anarchists for disrupting and tearing our city apart. That same week, Democratic New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released a statement claiming she was appalled at the virulent antisemitism being displayed on campus.

The targeting of students, including the attempt to destroy Rozos future for condemning genocide, is taking place amid an unprecedented political crisis. The Trump administration is working to establish a presidential dictatorship, escalate war abroad and dismantle social and democratic rights at home. Confronted with massive inequality, growing social unrest and rising opposition from below, the ruling classDemocrats and Republicans alikeis turning to repression to preserve its power.

NYUs conduct also exposes the reality behind the universitys self-serving claims to be a haven of free speech and academic inquiry. The moment a student uses his voice to challenge the crimes of the state, he is silenced and punished. NYUs real commitment is to wealth, power and its close ties to the military-intelligence apparatus and Wall Street.

The fight to defend democratic rights must be rooted in the political mobilization of the working class, in opposition to both political parties and their adjuncts.

A powerful strike by New Jersey Transit railway engineers has shut down the nations third-largest passenger rail system, which moves hundreds of thousands in and out of New York City each year. Postal workers, UPS and Amazon workers, healthcare workers, educators and other key sections of the working class in the tri-state area and beyond are entering into direct struggle against corporations, the government and union bureaucracies over sweeping austerity measures. This is the social force to which students must turn in the fight against genocide, imperialist war and the assault on democratic rights.

The campaign to defend Logan Rozos must become a rallying point for the working class. We call on all students, workers, educators, artists and defenders of democratic rights to speak out:

Demand that NYU issue Rozos diploma immediately.

Explain to workers and students the significance of this attack. If Rozos cannot condemn genocide without retaliation, you cannot either.

Share Rozos speech and demand an end to the campaign of intimidation and retaliation.

The overwhelming mass of the worlds population opposes genocide, war, censorship and dictatorship. The IYSSE fights to unite students and youth with the working class on the basis of a socialist and internationalist program. The defense of Logan Rozos, and of all those targeted for opposing genocide, must be taken up as part of a movement to put an end to the capitalist system that produces war and repression.

We encourage all students who agree with this perspective to join the IYSSE and take up the fight for socialism.
On Thursday, the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) held an online public meeting, titled After the Australian election: The socialist alternative to Labors government of war and austerity. In the meeting, which can be viewed below, speakers Oscar Grenfell and Cheryl Crisp, as well as chair Max Boddy, presented a Marxist analysis of the May 3 federal election.

The election result, they explained, must be understood within the context of the escalating crisis of world capitalism and the resultant headlong slide into fascism and global conflict. While the vote was a clear repudiation of the brutal agenda associated with US President Donald Trump, it has resulted in the re-election of a Labor government that is totally committed to implementing that program. This underscores that the only alternative to war, austerity and authoritarianism is the fight to build a revolutionary socialist movement of the working class, in Australia and globally.
Are you a NJT worker or a supporter of the strike? Tell us why you are striking, or the support the strike, by filling out the form below. All submissions will be kept anonymous.

New Jersey Transit workers on the picket line, May 16, 2025

In a sign of the growing class struggle in the United States, around 450 train engineers at New Jersey Transit (NJT) walked off the job at midnight Friday, shutting down the nations third-largest transit system.

NJT, which provides both bus and commuter rail service, transports nearly one million people each day in the New York metropolitan area. The strike has disrupted a significant volume of economic activity in the worlds wealthiest city and center of global finance.

The last NJT strike occurred in 1983 and lasted about three weeks. The current walkout is part of a growing wave of labor struggles across the Northeast, including strikes at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island; 3,000 workers at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut and potential nursing home strikes in Connecticut and Upstate New York.

The engineers, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, are demanding pay parity with engineers on other commuter rail systems in the region. They have been working without a contract since 2019 and have not received a raise in that time.

NJT engineers earn about $16 less per hour than their counterparts at Amtrak and $10 less than those working for Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which connects New York and New Jersey. Their wages also lag behind those at the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, the other major commuter rail systems in the New York metropolitan area.

Workers overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement that failed to close the wage gap. According to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the deal would have left engineers earning 20 percent less than their counterparts at comparable railroads.

I am for the working class

Upwards of thirty engineers have left because of the pay being offered, an engineer told the WSWS. Were not even asking for a five percent increase. They are crying they are broke. We are trying to work with them. But they will not. They say if they give us 400 engineers [decent pay], it will fiscally bankrupt the company, which is a multi-billion-dollar organization.

It would be good if we could join together with other workers, he continued. The Long Island Rail Road is also under BLET and is subject to the same laws that limit their right to strike. The LIRR was up three years ago but not long enough to go on strike before passing all the parameters to strike like us.

New Jersey Transit terminal shuttered at Penn Station due to engineers' strike, May 16 2025

Despite the inconvenience to commuters and efforts by the corporate media to turn public opinion against it, the strike has received widespread support from workers throughout the region.

My group was going to go to the Shakira concert in New Jersey tonight, but now we will not, one worker told the WSWS outside Penn Station in Manhattan. I am a union doorman in Manhattan, and we support the strike.

I am for the working class, he continued. I blame the corporate executives  Whatever happens in the region all trickles down to New York City, like what happened at the Newark airport, where outages of the aging air traffic control system disrupted flights.

Airports and trains are not being maintained. Education is being taken from the kids since COVID. They will not be able to fill in for who is working now. They are closing restaurants, 7-11s, Costcos. Shelves are bare, and they cant get workers. They are even going after migrants who have been here for seven years and went through what you need to do to become a citizen.

Cyndi, a garment worker, said: New Jersey Transit says the railroad workers are asking for too much, but my monthly ticket went up from $176 three years ago to $190. Now the problems for air traffic controllers are also coming out in the media. Money is going for all sorts of things, but not us.

Commenting on the political situation, she added: I am paying for Social Security since 1985, but Trump wants to take it away. Trump deserves to be politically obliterated, and the Democrats walk around with their tail between their legs.

Massive inequality

NJTs 2025 budget relies on nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars in federal funding, which is set to expire next year. The agency currently faces a $767 million budget deficit.

Nationwide, many transit systems are confronting similar funding crises. The Chicago Transit Authority, for example, faces a $730 million shortfall and has threatened cuts of up to 40 percent of its budget.

But the claim that there is no money for transit is absurdespecially in New York City, which is home to more billionaires than any other city in the world. Meanwhile, the vast majority of its residents struggle to afford basic necessities like rent.

New York is the poster child for the extreme inequality that defines American societyand it is a key source of the political systems turn toward dictatorship. It was in the New York real estate underworld that Donald Trump first rose to prominence. Now, his administration is establishing an oligarchic dictatorship, slashing the federal workforce and attacking workers through soaring prices and mass layoffs triggered by tariffs.

The strike underscores the need for a general confrontation between the working class and the capitalist ruling elite. Northern New Jersey has emerged as a significant flashpoint in this developing class strugglenot only due to the rail strike, but also the recent near-disaster caused by air traffic controller outages at Newark International Airport and the arrest of Newarks mayor during a visit to an ICE facility.

The union bureaucracy is deeply nervous that the strike could spread. It has limited picketing to just two locations across the entire systemPenn Station in Manhattan and a station in Atlantic Cityeach staffed by only a handful of workers.

Picket outside Penn Station during the New Jersey Transit strike, May 16, 2025

This is a deliberate effort to prevent engineers from engaging with fellow workers and commuters and winning broader public support, which they would undoubtedly receive. The pro-corporate union leadership is preparing to shut down the strike at the earliest opportunity before workers can secure their demands.

Meanwhile, the 14 other unions at NJT have already accepted contracts with terms below what the engineers are demanding, in a clear attempt to isolate and undermine the strike.

The BLET is part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of several major unions that have lined up behind Trumps right-wing America First policies, promoting the false claim that trade war protects American jobs.

But the NJT strike exposes this lie. Just miles away in lower Manhattan, trillions flow through Wall Street to finance speculative and often criminal financial dealingswealth extracted through the global exploitation of labor. Meanwhile, the citys working class, drawn from every continent, faces mounting hardship and seethes with social anger.

Mediation and the Railway Labor Act

Fridays strike began after federal mediation in Washington earlier this week failed to produce a last-minute agreement. Further mediated talks are scheduled to resume on Sunday morning.

Ironically, the Trump administration eliminated the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a key agency traditionally tasked with preventing strikes. It is unclear whether its absence affected the outcome of this weeks talks. While Trumps cuts serve the broader aims of authoritarian rule, the requirement for mediation itself is mandated under the anti-democratic Railway Labor Act, which imposes sweeping restrictions on the right of rail workers to strike.

We were not happy about the government stepping in on the freight trains, the above-mentioned engineer told the WSWS. Workers should be free to negotiate their contract.

The law was infamously invoked in late 2022 to block a national strike by 100,000 Class I freight railroaders, after workers overwhelmingly rejected a sellout contract brokered through mediation with the Biden administration.

That struggle took the form of a rebellion by rank-and-file workers against the union bureaucracy, which deliberately delayed strike action until after the midterm electionsgiving Congress time to intervene and ban the strike in a bipartisan move. In the course of that fight, workers established the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee to organize opposition and assert their independent interests.

It is entirely possible that Congress will move once again to outlaw the NJT strike, as it did with the national rail strike in 2022. This underscores the urgent need for workers in New Jersey, New York, and across the country to come to the defense of the engineers, build support for their struggle, and prepare for a broader mobilization of the working class.

Rank-and-file committees must be established to place control of the strike in the hands of workers themselves, break the isolation imposed by the union bureaucracy, and reach out to rail workers, transit workers, and the broader working class throughout the region. Solidarity committees should be formed in workplaces and working-class neighborhoods to build support and coordinate joint action.

The NJT strike can and must be transformed into the spearhead of a broader working-class movement against austerity, inequality, and the developing oligarchic dictatorship.
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, isn't outright against remote work. But he's also not the biggest fan. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon doesn't think work-from-home policies are very effective.

He's said that remote workers are inattentive in meetings and that it's impossible to foster culture.

Here are some of Dimon's thoughts on working from home.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said many things about working from home.

The banking executive has repeatedly shared why he thinks workers aren't as effective when they're not in the office and how that can negatively affect company culture.

Taken together, Dimon's comments reflect a very specific image of the work-from-home employee: They largely work in corporate jobs, are inattentive, and are at times hard to reach.

"I think our employees will be happier over time," Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, referring to JPMorgan's return-to-office mandate. "And the younger people will learn the right way; it's an apprenticeship system. And you can't learn working from your basement."

He has added the caveat that WFH can be effective in certain areas, such as virtual call centers. Still, it does reflect how skeptical he is of a coveted work perk  for some, a requirement  that many employees seek in their jobs.

JPMorgan issued a five-day return-to-office mandate for most of its employees in January, and Dimon said in the Bloomberg TV interview that 10% of JPMorgan worked remotely.

In his annual shareholder letter last year, Dimon said JPM had seen significant growth in the past half-decade while also allowing some "bad habits to develop."

"Working from home exacerbated the situation by hindering innovation, slowing decision-making, inhibiting information sharing, reducing efficiency, and creating more politics and bureaucracy," he wrote.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan didn't respond to a request for comment.

Here's what else Dimon has said about working from home.

WFH stifles innovation

Dimon has said that remote work doesn't allow for a free flow of ideas that in-person work can and that it ultimately slows down innovation at a company.

"Remote work eliminates much spontaneous learning and creativity because you don't run into people at the coffee machine, talk with clients in unplanned scenarios or travel to meet with customers and employees for feedback on your products and services," he wrote in an annual shareholder letter in 2021, explaining what he called the "serious weaknesses" of working in the "virtual world."

Remote work is bad for young professionals

The banking CEO has said remote work is especially bad for up-and-coming professionals.
This is the second article in a two part series. The first part was published on May 15.

We the Poisonedopportunism out of the gate

We the Poisoned: Exposing the Flint Water Crisis Cover-Up and the Poisoning of 100,000 Americans was published in August 2024 by former Young Turks Network reporter Jordan Chariton. His book scatters facts, timeframes, personal anecdotes and provincialism to present a story that puts himself right at the center. In actuality, Chariton didnt begin reporting on Flint until mid-2016some eight months after the city had been returned to Lake Huron water. By then, the water crisis had been well documented locally, nationally and in international news.

Jordan Chariton working with Water Defense and gathering samples using unscientific methods, 2017 [Photo: The Young Turks Network]

Chariton disingenuously describes his reason for deciding to make the city the center of his activity as his response to an appeal from Melanie, a pseudonym he uses for his own reasons, to go to Flint and work as an actual journalist. Chariton was working for the Young Turks Network (TYT) at the time and reporting on the Peoples Summit in Chicago. He writes, describing Melanies appeal: Its still a disaster and the media has left, she said about Flint We need an actual journalist to come and get the truth out, she insisted.

Chariton adds, Journalists werent digging into what was really going on  Newspapers and TV news stations were basically regurgitating the Snyder administrations official line that things were improving in Flint. [ 1 ]

The premise of We the Poisoned is that even today, almost a decade after the return to their original treated water source, Flint is still being poisoned by its water. This dishonest characterization is the product of a demoralized political outlook shared by Charitons middle class radical milieu.

It goes without saying that the population of Flint has not been made whole and in many ways social conditions are worse than before the 2014 switch to untreated Flint River water, as they are more generally for American workers over the past decade. But the city has been on its original treated water source for almost 10 years, and actual water-related suffering is markedly down. But the community is being preyed upon by a coterie of opportunist fakers publishing false information about dangers lurking in their water.

This is a complex story, but it is not told in We the Poisoned and will not be told by Chariton. This is why his first-person narrative fails to mention his own role in undermining popular trust of the honest and qualified water scientists who were involved in the efforts to return safe water to the city.

Tellingly, no account of Edwards or Virginia Tech can be found anywhere in We the Poisoned. Was he not worth mentioning? Anyone familiar with the activities of Chariton in 2016-2018 will be aware that Edwards recovery efforts in Flint were the prime target of his supposed journalism.

While the title claims he is exposing the Flint water crisis cover-up and the poisoning of 100,000 Americans, Chariton has taken it upon himself to re-write its history.

Charitons omissions are not innocent or honest, nor are they an oversight. They reflect his anarchist attitude toward science.

Claiming that the victims of Flint were being deceived by VT and Edwards, Chariton joined with a team of pseudo-scientists who worked to discredit the established science of water management and malign those who practice it.

Chariton and Water Defense

Chariton chooses not to draw attention to his own way of digging into what was really going on in Flint as a TYT reporter, but it would be a public disservice to discuss We the Poisoned without correcting that omission.

Soon after beginning his activities in Flint, he hooked himself up with an entity called Water Defense, associated with film actor Mark Ruffalo, which began its activities in Flint in early 2016. Its Chief Scientist Scott Smith started testing water in the homes and basements of whichever residents would allow them. (It should be noted that there is not a single mention of Water Defense, Mark Ruffalo or Scott Smith in We the Poisoned.)

Smith collected samples in bathtubs and showers with a bizarre sponge-tentacled device he called the waterbug. Residents were then issued thick printed reports from independent labs showing scores of chemicals, mostly toxic, like chloroform and trihalomethane, that were supposedly found in their home water. Those voluminous ledgers convinced many in Flint that the actual water scientists werent telling them the truth.

What is truly tragic about the Flint story is that a significant portion of the Flint population was misled by the anti-science agenda of Chariton and his ilk. Chariton is not a water expert and knows next to nothing about the scientifically established challenges of restoring a damaged system to viability. His ignorance, however, did not prevent him from charging into Flint and claiming that scientific expertise was unnecessary, while spreading unfounded rumors of the supposed dangers lurking in the water.

Alarmism by fake scientists

Edwards became concerned about the alarmist character of Water Defense, and in May 2017 began to report critically on the dangers of their activities in the blog set up by the engineering team from VT at flintwaterstudy.org, writing:

A month after the recovery was underway, actor Mark Ruffalos nonprofit  came to Flint, and immediately began to discover dangerous levels of contaminants that no one else could confirm.

Ruffalo expressed a cavalier attitude when questioned on the validity of the testing results of Water Defense. He answered,

Its not whether or not my organization is scientists, because we admit it. Were citizen scientists, you know. And so all were doing is giving people information, and theres nothing wrong with that. And the more information people have the better off they are.[ 2 ]

Despite their chief scientist Smiths later acknowledging the correctness of Flint Water Studys criticisms and making a public apology for his unethical and destructive activities in Flint, a condition prevailed in Flint which Edwards aptly described as science anarchy.

Under The Young Turks moniker, Chariton posted many videos of his water sampling techniques. Most have since been taken down after the exposure by Edwards of the unscientific and unethical practices of Water Defense, but excerpts can be seen on the Flint Water Study blog.[ 3 ]

In June and July 2017, Chariton sent threatening emails to Edwards and members of the VT team, demanding that the videos be taken down and criticisms of Water Defense be retracted, or face a public dispute with the largest online news channel in the world.[ 4 ]

As a reporter for The Young Turks, Chariton actively worked to discredit Edwards, using video posts to make charges against him, including through misleading amalgams and misrepresentations. He referred to Edwards as an EPA scientist and as a hack.[ 5 ] In late 2017, Chariton was publicly fired from The Young Turks as a result of his unethical relations with employees,[ 6 ] unrelated to his unethical activities with Water Defense, but he continued his vendetta against Edwards using his own channels.

The overlap of pseudo-scientists

It should be noted that Dr. Edwards, along with the VT team, was the only scientific body that brought the unethical practices of Chariton and Water Defense to the attention of the public. The WSU (Wayne State University) body FACHEP never criticized Water Defense or any other entity carrying out false science in Flint. Additionally, in his book, FACHEP member Ben Pauli criticized Flint Water Study for attacking Smith with Edwardss unhelpful barrage of ad hominem insults.[ 7 ]

Ben Pauli [Photo: Kettering University]

Pauli stated, This perceived overlap of FACHEPs work with Smiths created at least some possibility of winning over the activists allied with him. In other words, FACHEP was fearful of losing the support of the activists and pandered to the backward approach of some of them toward scientific investigation. His cowardly attitude towards the work of Edwards team is expressed in this passage:

Where power is effectively unchecked, the disposition of the individual exercising it becomes the key factor in determining whether it is abused. In this connection, activists regularly remarked on what they saw as Edwardss imperiousness: his tendency to appoint himself to crusading roles, to speak with airs of authority about areas outside his expertise, and to disparage the contributions of other researchers who did not align themselves strictly with his perspective. Of Edwardss campaign against bad actors, [a water activist] joked that she wanted to see the notes from the meeting at which he was delegated that role. Of his attacks on other scientists with differences of opinion about the condition of Flints water, [another activist] asked, rhetorically, Who died and made him king of all scientific data? The community, she said, did not need him to be the arbiter of sound science.[ 8 ]

Chariton shows even more intellectual cowardice by excising Edwards completely from We the Poisoned. But in erasing Edwards and expunging his own vile efforts to discredit the recovery work of VT and others, his narrative becomes a confused jumble of personal anecdotes. His muddled portrayal of events in effect depicts a permanent Flint water crisis.

The question is posed: was it not possible for any improvement to be made in Flints water? Will there ever be an improvement? As a pathetic and delusional justification of his role in Flint, Chariton proclaims, That is what makes the job of a true journalist so vital. It is our job to remind youto impart the urgencywhen a crisis still is a crisis. When a crisis never stopped being one. [Emphasis added.]

It is beyond the scope of this article to answer each and every misrepresentation made in We the Poisoned, but Chapter 22, Flushing Flint merits mention. Claiming that in May 2018 MDEQ officials were falsifying lead testing in Flint homes, Chariton writes:

Essentially, MDEQ used unwitting city volunteers as their middlemen to rig the lead data throughout Flint. Environmental officials knew they were giving improper testing instructions to the volunteers and telling them to direct residents to test the wrong way. The results: Voila! Low lead levels throughout Flint. It took a lot to surprise me when it came to the state of Michigan government or the Snyder administration. By now, I had reported in Flint over a dozen times and had uncovered endless layers of corruption endemic in the state and city. But this was a whole different level. This wasnt Snyders administration, in the early years of the crisis, manipulating Flints water testing to prevent the world from learning the citys water was toxic. This was the administration, years after the crisis had blown up internationally, brazenly falsifying the data . . . knowing they were further harming innocent residents.[ 9 ] [Emphasis in original]

Chariton expects his readers to take a few personal anecdotes as proof that the states sampling in 2018 was faked. Edwards told the WSWS, however:

Even if you think MDEQ and the city were cheating, there were three completely independent efforts used to track progress. EPA set up their own sampling in sentinel homes. I think they even went in and did that sampling themselves. [EPA field expert] Miguel [Del Toral] was part of a team that went in and resampled homes using very rigorous protocols. Then there was the VT repeated sampling, then the sampling supervised by [Dr. Susan] Masten [of Michigan State University] funded by NRDC [National Resource Defense Council, an independent environmental group]. All three of the independent samplings showed results that agreed with the State of MI.

In response to the claim that the water was getting worse every day, Edwards added:

On top of that it is just absurd that 1) switching water sources, 2) implementing amongst the most aggressive phosphate dosing for corrosion control in US history, and 3) spending money on pipe replacements would not cause an improvement.

Flint prosecutions

One of the most enraging aspects of the Flint water crisis is that after more than 10 years, none of the perpetrators of the crime against the population of Flint have ever been brought to justice, and legally never will be. At the highest level was Governor Rick Snyder, who also oversaw the Detroit bankruptcy looting operation, which the WSWS characterized as essentially a political-financial conspiracy to raid the city. This raid involves a plot to loot billions of dollars of workers life earnings, together with the plundering of a historic museum and other public assets.[ 10 ]

State Treasurer Andy Dillon, a Democrat who approved the extralegal scheme which put the city of Flint into millions of dollars in debt to finance the building of the alternative pipeline, called the KWA (Karegnondi Water Authority), was Snyders fellow conspirator. Though the operation was of a piece with Snyders policy of looting public assets, he insulated himself with plausible deniability, claiming no knowledge of either the problem with Flints water or the outbreak of Legionnaires disease that occurred during the time river water was being used as the water source.

There was plenty of public information brought to light, however, about the malfeasance of lower-level operatives. Much of that information came from the efforts of Marc Edwards, who submitted FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests for MDEQ officials emails and published them on his blog.

The legal proceedings began in 2016, when Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced charges being brought against three low-level officials[ 11 ] over the Flint water crisis. By June 2017, a total of 15 officials were charged with criminal offenses. Many residents were disappointed and angry that Snyder was not among those charged, but Schuette promised that the investigation will follow the evidence wherever it takes them, and that no one is above the law, stating:

The families of Flint will not be forgotten. We will provide the justice they deserve. And in Michigan, the system is not rigged. There is one system of justice. It applies to everybody. Equally. No matter who you are. Period.[ 12 ]

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette addresses the media, Wednesday, April 20, 2016 in Flint, Michigan. Special Prosecutor Todd Flood is to his right. [AP Photo/Carlos Osorio]

Charitons reporting on the prosecutions could possibly have been of objective value but for his haphazard way of recounting them. He seems to have managed to get some surreptitious comments from some of the officials on the inside, for example, an analyst for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, Georgia Shuler, who was part of the team assigned to sift through FOIA requests and decide which documents would comply. According to Charitons sources, she was asked to redact things that shouldnt be redacted or to withhold things that shouldnt be withheld.[ 13 ]

The investigation sabotaged

Strong cases could have been made against the five MDEQ officials for their roles in violating federal drinking water regulations and falsifying reports both before and after the switch to Flint River water, based on information made public through emails released from earlier FOIA requests.

High-level officials in Michigans Office of Drinking WaterMike Prysby, Patrick Cook, Liane Shekter-Smith and Stephen Buschmade the decision to switch to Flint River water through the Flint Water Plant without using corrosion control treatment. Further, when confronted by two Flint mothers who said that they knew no corrosion control was in place, Shekter-Smith boasted that Del Toral, who had written an internal memo to the EPA to that effect, had been handled.[ 14 ]

The promise Schuette made when announcing the investigation was that they would go where the evidence took them. Clearly, the MDEQ was under orders from higher up. This would have been the logical focus of the prosecution to uncover the conspiracy against Flint. The hearings went in a different direction, however.

McElmurry and FACHEP played a key role in diverting the attentions of prosecutor Todd Flood away from those who were charged with crimes that directly caused the water crisis in Flint to officials in the MDHHS, Director Nick Lyon and Chief Medical Executive Eden Wells, who were charged with failure to notify the public of the danger of Legionnaires Disease that was caused by the use of untreated Flint River water. If there were indeed crimes committed by the MDHHS officials, they would have been far lesser and ancillary to those of the officials who used their authority to force the water switch upon Flint.

Possibly because Flood thought he had a witness who was willing and able to put MDHHS away, in the person of Shawn McElmurry, the focus of the prosecution was turned to the Health Department officials.

At minimum, an unbiased observer would have to wonder about this shift in the strategy. The answer has to do with the corrupt interests of McElmurry and FACHEP. After issuing its uncorroborated press release on the danger of Legionella accumulating in the POU filters, the FACHEP team had a telephone conversation with MDHHS at the request of Wells. It is on the basis of this conversation that McElmurry influenced the prosecutor to lay obstruction of justice charges for threatening to withhold funding for the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership if the partnership did not cease its investigation into the source of the Legionnaires Disease outbreak in Genesee County, Michigan.[ 15 ]

Attempted frame-up of Dr. Eden Wells

As the states chief medical officer, Wells had the responsibility of overseeing the work of McElmurrys team. FACHEP, however, played an insidious role, refusing to collaborate with the MDHHS before issuing its ill-informed public announcements. The first press release of FACHEP was issued on October 16, 2016, asserting that in their sampling, 20 percent of Flint homes had lower than recommended levels of chlorine in their water. The implication of this revelation is that there would be a danger of bacteria in the water, particularly legionella. After this alarming announcement was made public, Wells insisted on a conference call with the FACHEP team.

Dr. Eden Wells speaking at the Flint Water Town Hall. January 11, 2017.

The conference call used as evidence for the obstruction charge was in no way what it was claimed to be. For the benefit of the reader, a couple of extracts and a link to the entire audio recording of the call are here presented.[ 16 ] The subject of this telephone call was an attempt by MDHHS to take whatever steps or issue whatever protocols would be necessary for providing the public with ways of dealing with the danger of legionella in the home water as warned against in FACHEPs press conference days earlier.

During the 50-or-so minute phone call, Wells made a very reasonable request, stating:

we will continue to advocate for your role as an independent, as independent as can be, but remember were funding you, and our IRB is with you, but we want you to be as independent, we want you to find anything with the system that had anything to do with the Legionella outbreaks would be great, but to please understand our passion and some of our knowledge when it comes to trying to do these studies in the public sector.[ 17 ]

During the court hearing, FACHEP member Dr. Marcus Zervos claimed, even after the transcript of the conversation was admitted into evidence, that this mention of funding, can only be interpreted as a threat, and a clear attempt to influence our independent work and scientific integrity.

In Flint Fights Back, FACHEP member Pauli justifies McElmurrys scurrilous attempt to frame Michigans medical officer of a felony and vilifies Marc Edwards for testifying in her defense.[ 18 ]

Charitons muckraking

Charitons method of reporting on the legal proceedings against the Flint water crisis defendants in We the Poisoned is much the same.

Charitons premisewhich is expressed in his books subtitle, Exposing the Flint Water Crisis Cover-Up and the Poisoning of 100,000 Americansis that political crimes are carried out as behind-the-scenes plots. Of course, the shredding of documents, deleting of files and scrubbing of devices are usual in American political and corporate life, but the sabotaging of the Flint criminal prosecutions was carried out largely before the eyes of the public.

This perversion of justice was the responsibility not just of the lame duck Republican administration of Michigan, but was carried out even more blatantly by the incoming Democratic regime, when incoming Attorney General Dana Nessel fired prosecutor Todd Flood and oversaw the dropping of all the charges against the 15 defendants.[ 19 ]

Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmers Flint Water Prosecution Team at a meeting at the UAW 659 local hall. June 28, 2019

The justifiable anger of ordinary citizens over the conspiracy against Flint residents is utilizedpandered toin order to pass off sloppy journalism as a modern-day Upton Sinclair. Chariton exposes the seamy underbelly of politics using what amounts to hearsay. He copiously employs phrases such as a source familiar with the criminal investigation to compensate for his lack of systematic reporting on the prosecutions.

After his 300-odd pages of exposing nothing of substance in the Flint water crisis, Charitons conclusion in We the Poisoned is pathetic. He wraps up his narrative with this note: Sadly, Americans had long moved on from the people of Flint, fooled by politicians and the media into thinking the crisis was over.[ 20 ]

Mascarenhas presents Flint water crisis as a racial genocide

Toxic Water, Toxic System: Environmental Racism and Michigans Water War by Michael Mascarenhas was also published in 2024. In the book, Mascarenhas maintains that structural racism is the cause of the Flint water crisis, which rises to the level of genocide. It is a politically vile work, written to prove that white supremacist racism was the cause of the Flint water crisis.

Mascarenhas opens Toxic Water, Toxic System by acknowledging the Michigan Civil Rights Commissions report that structural racism was the real cause of the Flint water crisis.[ 21 ] From there he elaborates:

One of my aims in writing this book was to offer readers a holistic framework that spans far beyond the realm of water to include white supremacist attacks on the public infrastructure of these predominantly Black cities, including housing, education, collective bargaining, and Black political power more broadly.[ 22 ]

Throughout the course of reading his book, which is a painful undertaking, Mascarenhas paints the entirety of American history from the standpoint of critiquing elite white male interests and their egotistical worldviews. In his penultimate chapter he doubles down on this reactionary premise, writing:

This framing of environmental justice suggests that we must stretch our analysis to include austerity and other forms of racialized capitalism alongside settler colonialism and genocide. Failing to do so ignores a past, to paraphrase Raphael Lemkin [the Jewish lawyer who coined the term genocide], aimed at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of African Americans and other people of colordestruction that can end only in their annihilation. Not calling it genocide is perhaps the definitive privilege of white supremacy, as the modern world system of racial capitalism has always depended on slavery, violence, imperialism, and genocide.[ 23 ]

One could be forgiven for thinking that the racialist characterization of the Flint water crisis would have nothing to do with undermining the authority of science, but the toxicity of Mascarenhas worldview proves otherwise. In fact, much of Toxic Water, Toxic Systems concluding chapter is devoted to attacking Dr. Edwards.

In the preface, he describes his involvement with FACHEPs Benjamin Pauli in an attack on Marc Edwards:

In 2019, at the annual meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Science, I copresented a paper with Ben Pauli, Flint resident, scholar, and author of the book Flint Fights Back. In the presentation, titled But Is It Safe?: Water Quality Regulations, Citizen Science, and Power in the Flint Water Crisis, we brought some local perspective to the controversy surrounding citizen science performed during the Flint Water Crisis. At the time, there was much debate about the behavior and actions of a credentialed scientist [Edwards] involved in the citizen science efforts in Flint. On May 10, 2018, residents of Flint wrote to the scientific and engineering community requesting an investigation. The letter was signed by sixty residents and more than thirty nonresident supporters. Not a single scientific organization or engineering association took up the residents request.[ 24 ]

Dubious Flint complaints

Mascarenhas worked with Pauli in the dissemination of two unsigned documents purporting to be letters from Flint residents complaining about Edwards. They were motivated as an answer to his challenge to the credentials that McElmurry falsely put forward to the state of Michigan as qualifications for his multi-million dollar sole-source contract to research Flint water. Edwards also challenged FACHEPs publicly announced findings about the dangers of Legionella in Flint water and the POU filters recommended by the EPA.

Dated May 10, 2018, an unsigned public complaint was posted at flintcomplaints.com. Addressed to the Scientific and Engineering Communities, it was framed as a request for information as to where we can file a formal complaint against the behavior, since January 2016, of Professor Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech.

This premise was itself fraudulent. In an internal email published in the Detroit News, Pauli refers to his relationship to the letters: It might look like Im the spokesman for the letter, which is something we absolutely must avoid if we want this thing to have its intended impact.[ 25 ]

Dr. Marc Edwards listening in on a meeting of the Flint Water Recovery Group, Flint City Hall, December 15, 2016. [Photo: Jeff Riedel/WSWS]

The intended impact was to blackguard Edwards and the ethical science he represented. Essentially, it was an incitement for mob rule directed against any challenge to the unethical and dishonest behavior of the fake science of FACHEP. A reference to the Unsubstantiated defamation of Flint residents refers to a health message on the spread of Shigellosis requiring conscientious hand washing. The inflammatory language denouncing Mr. Edwards portrayal of Flint residents as dumb, dirty and vulnerable to being misled is not aimed at the scientific community but at inflaming Flint residents.

The campaign of lettersthere were two of themwas directly connected to FACHEP. As an organization that was ostensibly a scientific body, such activities go beyond unethical. It is no wonder that Pauli wanted his authorship to be unknown.

FACHEPs FRONTLINE Legionnaires coup

The activist narrative advanced relentlessly by FACHEP got a major boost with the broadcast of the FRONTLINE episode titled, Flints Deadly Water on the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) television network.[ 26 ] The primetime program was aired nationwide on September 9, 2019.

The timeframe of the story told in this hour-long episode is tailored to FACHEPs needs. The Legionnaires outbreak was first announced by Governor Snyder in January 2016, shortly after the return to the Detroit water source. It was a shocking revelation, despite the figures of infections and deaths being significantly underestimated, but by that time, since Flint had been taken off the corrosive river water and returned to its treated water source, the outbreak was effectively over.

The PBS website promoting it's program titled "Flint' Deadly Water" that aired nationwide on September 10, 2019. [Photo: Public Broadcasting System]

It must be borne in mind that this FRONTLINE episode aired almost four years after the peak of the Legionnaires outbreak in October 2015, the same month Flints original treated water source was restored.

The initial point of the program is that while most people know of the lead crisis in Flint, few know of the Legionnaires crisis. This, of course, is striking, but the narrative presents it as an ongoing crisis. McElmurry, Paul Kilgore, and Marcus Zervos of FACHEP, feature prominently. They describe being blocked by MDHHS from investigating into the real extent of the outbreak.

The conflation of timeframes by FRONTLINE abets FACHEPs presentation of themselves as the heroic fighters for the people of Flint. Kilgore asserts that in the summer of 2014 there was enough medical data to know there should have been an investigation. Of course, we know there was a conspiracy in Michigan government to prevent the public from questioning the quality of Flint River water. But by the time FACHEP came into existence, the state lies were exposed by scientific investigations and the governor was forced to return Flint to treated water.

FRONTLINE fabricates a story of noble scientists battering against the entrenched bureaucracy that did not want them to uncover anything about the source of the outbreak. Again, this was almost four years after the fact. Despite the one-sided melodrama from FACHEP members, the dispute with the MDHHS in 2016 had little to do with public health and much more to do with them acquiring another $10 million from the state.

Especially considering the resources PBS marshaled in preparing this episode, the outcome was a shoddy piece of television journalism. Dr. Marc Edwards told the WSWS: I was supposed to fact check the Frontline piece, but they reneged. I think they already had their conclusion, and did not want facts to interfere.

The record of the World Socialist Web Site

The authors of all three of the books referenced here write vaguely anti-capitalist drivel, yet none of them even try to address or explore an alternative to capitalism. In the more than 1,000 combined pages of the books, the word socialism does not appear, except once by Mascarenhas in describing a right-wing epithet against Obama. The word capitalism isnt referenced without modifiers, mostly racial capitalism.

In April 2016, on the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the crisis, the World Socialist Web Site explained that the poisoning of Flints water was a class crime carried out by the representatives of the corporate elite against the working class:

An examination of the background to the Flint crisis and how it unfolded reveals in the starkest form the subordination of the public good to the pursuit of private gain and the domination of the government at all levels by corporate interests. The Flint disaster is a crime of capitalism.[ 27 ]

The WSWS made the case that to fight back, Flint residents must reject the false presentation of the crisis as a racial issue and base themselves on the fundamental class issues that underlie the poisoning of an overwhelmingly working class, multi-racial population that has been devastated by decades of plant closures, layoffs and budget cuts. We wrote:

It is to their fellow workers throughout the US and internationally that Flint residents should turn to mount a counteroffensive. It must be based on the understanding that even the most basic human needs, such as clean water, have become political and revolutionary questions. It is a matter of building an independent socialist movement of the working class, fighting to break the grip of the financial elite over economic and social life, and turning the banks, corporations and utilities into publicly owned and democratically controlled institutions.[ 28 ]

This is the perspective of scientific socialism, which is based on the principles of Marxism, elaborated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Concluded.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon's time as top boss is winding down when his stature on Wall Street and in the nation's capital is arguably at an all-time high.

Investors, as a result, may not be ready for the 69-year-old executive to exit the stage just yet.

They are saying, "Jamie Dimon, do not go!" Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo, who has covered JPMorgan for decades, told Yahoo Finance.

He has "more public clout than he's ever had before in his life," Mayo added, "and that clout comes hand in hand with his position at JPMorgan."

Dimon's succession is the "single biggest idiosyncratic risk factor" for JPMorgan's stock, according to Ebrahim Poonawala, a Bank of America analyst.

Thus, the question of Dimon's future plans will be front of mind for investors this coming Monday as they gather inside JPMorgan's Manhattan headquarters for the bank's annual Investor Day.

The event is a chance for the CEO and his top lieutenants to provide updates on operations across the nation's largest bank. Some of these lieutenants, including consumer chief Marianne Lake, are considered to be Dimon's potential successors.

Last year at the same event, Dimon gave investors a few hints that his retirement may be closer, saying the "timetable is less than 5 years." This past January, he confirmed during a call with analysts that his "base case" for stepping down was a few years.

Yet the events of 2025 have further cemented Dimon's importance. He has emerged as an influential voice when it comes to the policies of the new Trump administration  and someone who apparently has Trump's ear.

The president even acknowledged listening to Dimon just hours before he announced a 90-day pause of his "Liberation Day tariffs on April 9.

Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs

That morning, the JPMorgan boss told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria" that a recession was "a likely outcome" and that the Trump administration should let Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent negotiate trade deals with other countries.

Bartiromo told the Wall Street Journal that she spoke with Trump about the interview and that the president "said Jamie made some good points." Trump also acknowledged that day to reporters after announcing the tariff pause that he had seen the appearance, calling Dimon "very smart."

President Trump greets JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, left, and other guests at the White House in 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)  Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

On April 15, in a Financial Times interview, Dimon also urged the US to engage with China in high-level discussions after the two countries had just imposed sky-high tariffs on each other's goods.
Noting that the stock is up nearly 69% over the last 12 months, a caller inquired about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Heres what Cramer had to say:

A skyscraper adorned with telecommunication equipment, symbolizing the industry.

AT&T (NYSE:T) offers various telecom and technology services, including wireless voice, data plans, broadband internet, cloud solutions, and managed services. TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund stated the following regarding AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), based in Dallas, TX, is a nationwide provider of voice, video, and data communications services to businesses and consumers in the wired, wireless, and broadband. At initiation, the stock had a $141 billion market capitalization and met all five valuation factors with an above market dividend yield of 5.6%. From a sustainability prism, the company completed its commitment to invest $2 billion by the end of 2023 to help bridge the digital divide. AT&T is working on enabling low-income households to access to low-cost broadband services through its Access service plan as well as reaching out to more rural communities and Tribal lands where internet access remains a challenge. It is nearly 85% the way to providing one million people in need with digital resources through AT&T Connected Learning with the goal to be reached by the end of 2025. In 2020, the company announced that it is committed to be carbon neutral by 2035 with zero carbon emission across all operations. It is deploying Smart Climate Solutions  through efforts like its Connected Climate Initiative  that will help enable its business customers to reduce their emissions as well. The companys goal is to help collectively reduce its emissions by one billion metric tons  a gigaton  by 2035, compared to 2018 levels. The primary catalysts are new/strong management and restructuring. John Stankey was appointed CEO in July 2020 and he is committed to refocusing the company and improving its financial performance. The company combined its WarnerMedia operation with Discovery during 1Q:22 which eliminated AT&Ts exposure to the rapidly evolving media industry and refocused its core telecommunication business thus eliminating a major drag on profitability and the companys balance sheet by reducing long-term debt from a peak $176 billion during 2020 to $142 billion at the end of June 2024 quarter. AT&T is moving aggressively to reduce cost and sell non-core assets such as its advertising platform Xander to Microsoft which was accomplished during 2022. The company has redesigned its network to be software driven structure reducing the capital investment cycle in its national network  resulting in a network that is flexible with unrivaled speed and reliability  thus enhancing its nationwide position. By the end of 2023, it expanded its 5G network to reach more than 302 million people in nearly 24,500 cities and towns in the U.S. The companys mid-band 5G+ network alone grew to cover more than 210 million people. AT&T is one of the largest investors in digital infrastructure in the U.S. Over the five years ending 2023, the company invested nearly $150 billion primarily in its wireless, fiber optics, and wireline networks. The extensive restructuring and refocusing of AT&T on its core business should result in improved earnings and cash flow while at the same time reducing uncertainty for shareholders.
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter.

Kroger has kicked off a hiring drive aimed at bringing on 15,000 new employees to handle a range of functions that enhance the customer experience, the grocery chain announced Thursday.

The positions the company is looking to fill include cashiers, baggers, deli bakery clerks, pharmacy technicians and delivery drivers.

As it has with past pushes to bulk up on associates, Kroger is looking to attract applicants by highlighting the potential to turn a job in one of its stores into a long-term career. The companys announcement about the hiring spree describes how a talent acquisition manager in its supply chain division ascended through nine positions since joining Kroger as a store intern nearly 30 years ago.

Analysts have said that Kroger would do well to invest in its store-level operations as it looks to regroup following its unsuccessful effort to merge with Albertsons. The company is also searching for a new CEO after longtime chief executive Rodney McMullen resigned earlier this year.

Kroger is expanding its job rolls as the job market remains relatively stable despite the Trump administrations moves to increase tariffs on imported goods, which experts have said could cause the economy to slow. Employers added 177,000 jobs in April, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%.

Employment at food and beverage retailers has been rising. The sector added 9,500 positions in April and nearly 21,000 in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Recommended Reading
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Secrets We Keep.

When young Filipino au pair Ruby Tan vanishes from one of Denmarks wealthiest neighborhoods, just north of Copenhagen, her neighbor Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) becomes convinced something is terribly wrong. Cecilies own au pair, Angel (Excel Busano), begins digging into the rumors circulating in the gated community as suspicions of foul play mount. But the case of a missing foreign domestic worker is not a priority for local police, and newly minted investigator Aicha Petersen (Sara Fanta Traore) needs all the help she can get.

Cecilie and Angel are ready to assist, and as they do, the social structures of privilege and power that govern the elegant homes around them begin to crumble. Cecilies commitment to finding the truth is tested when Rubys disappearance reveals ties to her own family, forcing her to confront her blind spots and reexamine the environment in which shes raising her children.

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Thats the premise of Secrets We Keep (Reservatet, in Danish), a six-episode Netflix crime drama releasing on May 15. Below, we break down the gripping finale of a show that imagines the hidden darkness beneath Denmarks wealthiest enclave.

Read more: Heres Whats New on Netflix in May 2025

Rubys disappearance

Donna Levkovski as Ruby Courtesy of Netflix

In Episode 1, Cecilie drives through her exclusive neighborhood and waves to a young Filipino woman throwing something in a dumpster. The woman ignores her and walks away. Cecilies son Viggo invites his friend Oscar over for dinner that night, and Angel asks if Ruby, Oscars familys au pair, can join too. During dinner, we realize Ruby is the woman Cecilie saw earlier, but she is puzzled when Ruby denies seeing her. Later that evening, Oscars mother Katarina visits Cecilie, and the two chat. Before leaving, Ruby privately tells Cecilie she needs help and cant stay with Katarinas family, the Hoffmanns, anymore. Cecilie advises her to speak to her employers and insists she can't interfere in her neighbors' affairs. Ruby looks at her, pleading for help, but leaves with the Hoffmanns at the end of the evening.

The next day, Katarina arrives at Cecilies house and asks if shes seen Ruby. According to Katarina, Ruby has disappeared. She then asks Angel if shes spoken to her, but she hasnt talked to Ruby since dinner. Cecilie asks her friend if Ruby said anything to her after dinner, and Katarina says noshe doesnt understand why Ruby would do something like this right now, with Oscars classes starting again.

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While taking Viggo to school and pushing Cecilies young daughter, Vera, in the stroller, Angel runs into other Filipino au pairs from the neighborhood at the school gate. She asks her friends if theyve seen Ruby and tells them shes gone missing, but they thinkmistakenly, as well seethat shes exaggerating and Ruby will show up soon.

Red more: The Best Shows to Watch on Netflix

What happened to Ruby?

Lars Ranthe as Rasmus Hoffmann and Simon Sears as Mike Vinter-Jensen Courtesy of Netflix

Over the course of the episodes, with the police already investigating Rubys disappearance, Cecilie starts to suspect that Rasmus Hoffmann, Katarina's husband, may have something to do with the disappearance of his familys au pair. She goes to the trash bin where she saw Ruby throw something awaynotably far from the house where she workedand finds a pregnancy test on the ground. This leads her to wonder if Rasmus had gotten Ruby pregnant. She shares her suspicions with police officer Aicha Petersen, who tells her that Ruby had spoken with a couple in Holte over the summer and was supposed to start working for them after the holidays. However, that family never heard from her, so contacted the police after seeing the alert about her disappearance.

But another suspect emerges after police find Rubys purse in a bush: Mike Winther-Jensen, Cecilies husband. Inside Rubys purse, police find a key card from a luxury hotel in the area. Aicha discovers that Ruby had been there with a man driving a Porsche Taycan Turbo. Very few people in the area drive that model, and only one of them has a prior rape convictionMike. Aicha goes to speak with the pastor of the church Ruby used to attend, convincing him that the urgency of the matter supersedes the confidentiality of Rubys confessions. He says Ruby had come to him suspecting she was pregnant as the result of a rape. Ruby had considered having an abortion but felt she couldnt go through with it because of her faith. The pastors questionable advice: to speak to the father of the baby, her rapist.

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Rubys body is finally found at the end of Episode 4 at a marina. At the beginning of Episode 5, Katarina asks Cecilie to identify Rubys body in her place, saying shes not strong enough to do it. As she leaves the house, Cecilie is stopped by her son Viggo, who says he has something to tell her. She asks him to talk to her later. At the police morgue, Cecilie identifies Rubys body, which is bloated from drowning. The coroner confirms Ruby was indeed pregnant, between five to eight weeks along, and that her body had been in the water for as long as a week, meaning she could have died the same night she ran away. Despite no clear signs of a crime, the police could still attempt to identify Rubys rapist through DNA testing, which is exactly what Aicha sets out to do.

Aicha tries to contact Mike, to no avail, so she visits him at work. Mike claims he was at the office the night Ruby disappeared and insists he never touched her, let alone raped or impregnated her. Aicha suggests that if he wants the police off his back, he should take a DNA test, and he agrees, claiming hes innocent. Cecilie, who had also begun to suspect her husband was involved in Rubys disappearance, reminds him after the negative results he doesnt get to play the victimthe only victim was Ruby, and she was dead.

With no new leads, Aichas boss, Carl, begins to believe that Ruby may have committed suicide. She was raped, likely tried to speak to the babys father, didnt want an abortion, and couldnt go back home pregnant. But Aicha doesnt believe it was suicidethe same faith that prevented Ruby from having an abortion would likely have kept her from taking her own life. Dissatisfied with the direction of the case, Aicha visits the Hoffmann home and speaks to Rasmus, who offers to pay for Rubys body to be sent back to the Philippines. He also asks the police to publicly state that he had no involvement in the case and volunteers to take a DNA test.

In the final episode, Aicha discovers that Rasmus Hoffmanns DNA tested positive for paternitybut hes not the father. The match was only 24.1%, meaning the father was a close family member. The father of Rubys baby was Oscar Hoffmann, the underage son of Rasmus and Katarina.

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Read more: From Denmark to the Faroe Islands, Here Are 10 Pieces of Nordic Noir to Thrill Your Icy Cold Heart

The message group and Oscars videos

Lukas Zuperka as Viggo and Frode Bilde Rnsholt as Oscar Courtesy of Netflix

In parallel with the case of Rubys disappearance and death, another storyline gains prominence and becomes directly connected to the au pairs fate. Oscar, Viggo, and other classmates have a messaging group where they share disturbing and pornographic content. In this group, every member is required to post something or else be kicked out. This seems like an easy task for Oscar, who is frequently seen in the series flying his drone, often filming Cecilie at homesometimes with her noticing, other times without her knowledge. What at first appears to be innocent childish behavior turns out to be deeply unsettling. Viggo clearly dislikes it but is encouraged by the other boys to share inappropriate content. He ends up filming his family's au pair, Angel, as she bends down to organize things in a cupboard. That seems to be the only time Viggo contributes to the group, and afterward, he appears weighed down by guilt. Every time he tries to talk to someone in the family, everyone is too busy to listen.

In Episode 5, Viggos teacher asks all the students to put their phones away during class, but Viggo keeps his in hand. The teacher approaches him, takes the phone, and her tone turns serious. The boy had been watching something he wasnt supposed to, but he seems relieved that an adult is finally paying attention. Cecilie goes to the school after receiving a call from the teacher. According to the teacher, Viggo filmed his au pair naked and shared it in a group that included Oscar and other friends. He says he called the parents of the boys involved for a meeting, and at Cecilies request, he lets her watch the video. In the recording, which is set to a remix of a song, the au pair is seen changing clothes after a shower. But the bedroom shown isnt Angels, and the woman in the video isnt Angel either. When the woman turns toward the camera, Cecilie shocked: that is not her familys au pair.

At the parents' meeting, Katarina Hoffmann sits next to Cecilie. Another of the parents present is Dorte, the mother of Mille, a minor who was secretly filmed by Oscar. One of the other mothers accuses Viggo of filming his au pair, and Cecilie clarifies that it was Oscars au pair in the video. After Katarina asks to see the video and watches it, she tries to minimize the situation. However, according to another mother, its clear that Oscar is the ringleader, and the parents demand that he be expelled.

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In the woods near their home, Viggo runs while Oscar chases him. When they fall to the ground, Oscar chokes Viggo and tells him not to say anything about the video he showed hima video that wasnt shared in the groupand even threatens him: if he tells anyone, hell die. When Cecilie gets home, she searches for Viggo until she finds him in the forest and asks whats going on. Viggo says Oscar showed him a video, one no one else saw, and that he threatened to kill him if he told anyone.

Is Oscar punished?

After Cecilie reported Oscar, the police went to the Hoffmanns' house to seize the devices Oscar had access to. However, the search turned up nothingKatarina had already disposed of anything that could incriminate her son.

In a conversation between Mike and Rasmus at Cecilies house, the two friends discuss the legal situation, as Mike is a lawyer and Rasmus is one of his clients. Since Oscar is under 15, he cannot be interrogated, but if the police find him guilty, it will become a case for the juvenile court. Rasmus believes the police have no grounds to charge his son with rape and that they need to make it clear to the authorities that they reject the insinuations, based on a video of Ruby undressed that he shared on the Internet. Cecilie joins the conversation, adamant that Oscar raped Ruby, but Rasmus argues that they dont know that for sure, and Viggo might be lying. In Rasmus view, if Ruby chose to have sex with a minor, she committed the crime, and while they might have moral responsibility for what happened in their house, in this case, Oscar is the victim.

Oscar admits to Cecilie what he did to Ruby when he entered her house through the broken glass door of the kitchen. He said that he controls Ruby, that she can't say no, and that she is paid to like him. When she tells her husband Mike, the lawyer points out that without evidence of rape, the blame might fall on Ruby for having had a relationship with a minor. Officer Aicha still tries to move forward with the case, asking if Cecilies son, Viggo, could testify against Oscar, but Cecilie refuses to put her son in that situation. From Aicha's perspective, if the neighbors were able to destroy evidence of the rape their son committed, what else might they be capable of? Still, Cecilies response remains no.

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In the final minutes of the last episode, Mike informs Cecilie and their son Viggo that Oscar will be going to a boarding school in a few days, and the Hoffmanns ask them to say goodbye to the boy. The boy, in addition to not being punished for the crime due to lack of evidence, would be going to a new school to stay away from the problems. Oscars privilege led him to believe that his au pair was practically his personal maid, as his parents paid her to take care of him. And it was these privileges that resulted in Rubys death.

Who is responsible for Ruby's death?

Sara Fanta Traore as Aicha Petersen Courtesy of Netflix 2024 Netflix, Inc

Just as Oscar isn't punished for raping Ruby, the person responsible for her death is also not captured, as the police continue to believe she committed suicide and have no evidence of murder. When Cecilie goes to the Hoffmanns' house before Oscars departure, the boy appears and asks if she has heard that hes going to the boarding school. Oscar says he knows Cecilie hates him  which she denies  but claims it wasnt his mothers fault and shares that he overheard an argument between Katarina and Ruby before the latter disappeared.

With her husband and the neighbors, Cecilie decides to go to Katarina, who is on a bridge at their property. Cecilie says she thought her friend hadnt spoken to Ruby on the night she disappeared, and Katarina asks what that matters now. Cecilie wants to know if Ruby told Katarina about the rape, but Katarina simply says that they are two different kinds of mothers: while Cecilie teaches her children the importance of clearing the table after dinner, Katarina teaches her son to fight for his privileges and everything he has.

When Cecilie asks how Ruby died, Katarina questions whether shes asking because she believes Katarina killed Ruby. "What if I did?" asks Katarina, adding that "those men think everything sorts itself out."

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The series' finale makes the audience question who the real culprit is and whether Ruby committed suicide or was murdered. Katarina's statement only highlights the kind of mother she is, one who fights to protect her son and the familys privileges, even though her invisible work is often unrecognized by her husband. The impression is that Katarina killed Ruby, but this is never confirmed in Episode 6, and it remains just a suspicion of the public  and Cecilie.

Will Secrets We Keep have a second season?

Secrets We Keep was announced as a six-episode miniseries from the start, so its not clear whether the series will have a new season to answer the questions that remain unresolved. Well have to wait to find out whether Netflix will announce more episodes to address Oscars crime and the person responsible for Rubys death.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
DaVine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for her role in The Holdovers, will preside over the jury of Italys upcoming Taormina Film Festival that will run June 10-14 in the Sicilian sea resort.

This years other Taormina jurors are Rupert Everett, multiple Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, former Variety editor Steven Gaydos and Italian actors Ilenia Pastorelli (They Call Me Jeeg) and Alessandra Mastronardi (Medici).

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The Sicilian cinema event, being headed once again by marketing guru Tiziana Rocca, has also announced John Wick spinoff Ballerina as its out-of-competition opening film with director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus in tow.

I am very enthusiastic about returning to Taormina, Rocca said at a Cannes press conference. This years biggest challenge will be to relaunch it and place it once again in the international festival sphere, she added.

Taormina starting this year will be divided into four sections: international feature film competition; out of competition; special events at the ancient Greek theatre, and a new section dedicated to short flms.

The first Taormina title announced in competition is Alex Garlands Civil War follow-up Warfare. Italys I Wonder Pictures, which has a partnership with A24, will release the film in Italy on Aug. 21.

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As previously announced, Taormina this year will honor Martin Scorsese with a career award. The storied Sicilian event will host a screening of a restored copy of Scorseses 1976 classic Taxi Driver in the fests 8,000-seat open-air ancient Greek amphitheater in the shadow of Sicilys active Mount Etna volcano. Fest guests over the past decades have included Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Federico Fellini, Pedro Almodovar and Tom Cruise.

The 71st edition of Taormina will run June 10-14.

Best of Variety

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Kristen Stewart is making her feature directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16th, and she's bringing a uniquely candid perspective along with her film, The Chronology of Water. The actress-turned-director acknowledges that her movie is far from a polished final cut, embracing the unrefined state of her work with a striking philosophy.

"Im kind of happy to take on something vulnerable. Im happy to take something with mistakes. Mistakes are f------ hot," Stewart, 35, told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the premiere. This sentiment directly reflects the current status of her film, which she admits is still a work in progress.

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"Theres not a more eloquent way [to say it]. We barely finished this movie. Its not even done," said Stewart. "I need to come home and literally have two more weeks in color and sound. This is my f------ first draft." Despite this, The Chronology of Water is set to screen in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the festival.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 16: Kristen Stewart during "The Chronology of Water" photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

The Twilight star even expressed an unconventional hope for its reception: "we crash and burn, but in a way that feels correct." She conveyed her astonishment at the film's inclusion in the festival, saying she simply "cannot believe" it made it in. Getting the news was a shock; Stewart described it as "such a f----- Hail Mary" and said her "head blew off" when she found out.

The Chronology of Water is an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir, starring Imogen Poots and Earl Cave. Directing has been a long-held ambition for Stewart, who mentioned wanting to direct since she was nine years old. The journey to bring this particular story to the screen, and then to Cannes, was evidently a whirlwind. "I am not being false humble  were all running on fumes. I was like, We can do it. I was like an absolute basket case," she admitted about the intense production period.

This directorial venture comes after recent acting roles in 2024s Love Lies Bleeding and Sacramento, and her marriage to filmmaker Dylan Meyer in April. Looking forward, Stewart has more directorial projects in mind, stating she has "10 more movies I want to make." However, she remained tight-lipped on specifics, adding, "'Definitely not [sharing details]... This is something I do, I always tease too early."

For Stewart, rushing to the Croisette has a certain appeal, aligning with her view of the filmmaking process. "I love stories about movies and filmmakers that have taken their films to Cannes and had to come back and fix a few things and release a different movie," she explained. "Its all about revealing yourself. So its very meta that were running in here half-dressed. But Im into it."
Cruisers share opinions on Royal Caribbeans Perfect Day Mexico originally appeared on Come Cruise With Me.

Building upon the success of its private island in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean has big plans for its next Perfect Day destination in Mexico.

Billed as a game-changing destination for thrill and chill, Perfect Day Mexico is a more than 200-acre destination adjacent to Mexicos Costa Maya cruise port in Mahahual, Quintana Roo. It's slated to open in fall 2027.

Related: Royal Caribbean unveils its biggest and boldest innovation yet

The huge new cruise destination will feature seven locally inspired neighborhoods that promise never-before-seen thrills and record-breaking experiences like the tallest waterslides in the Americas and the first sombrero slide. Perfect Day Mexico will also debut the worlds longest lazy river  an hour-long float with float-up bars and an optional crazy section with rapids.

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Although many "loyal to Royal cruisers are stoked about Perfect Day Mexico and all the thrills and chills it will offer, others worry about what this and the growing focus on resort-like port experiences means for the future of cruising.

Reddit discussions show that some Royal Caribbean passengers are concerned that the cruise line is leaning too much into manufactured travel experiences in cruise ports and away from authentic destinations.

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Perfect Day Mexico boasts bold attractions like Loco Waterpark, featuring more than 30 waterslides. Image source: Royal Caribbean International

Perfect Day Mexico doesnt look like everyones perfect day

This might be an unpopular opinion but Im not a fan of the private islands. Id rather take a cruise to a port with access to cool excursions or the ability to wander off on your own for the day. Going to a private island is too much of a manufactured experience, and if I wanted that, I would just stay at an all-inclusive resort, Fatty_Boombalattie wrote in a thread discussing Perfect Day Mexico in the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit.

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A number of cruisers agreed with the sentiment. Others noted that its a valid opinion, even though its not the popular one among Royal Caribbean cruisers.

Its unpopular, but its a 100% valid way to feel. The original purpose of cruising was to experience new places, brokentr0jan pointed out. With that being said, I think Royal is catering to people who want these all-inclusive feeling beach resort experiences and obviously it is working because it has been incredibly popular.

Related: Mexico cruise tax compromise is good news for cruisers, port towns

Perfect Day Mexico isnt the only resort-like experience Royal Caribbean has in the works, either. The cruise line is also adding exclusive beach clubs in The Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico, as well as an exclusive island cruise destination in the South Pacific  Lelepa in Vanuatu.

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Honestly, this is the opposite of what I want to see. They are moving towards having every stop be a company-owned spot just like CocoCay, Joe4mofo added in the thread. If this is the direction things are headed, I will end up passing on cruising when it gets there in the future.

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Royal Caribbean is working to maintain some destination authenticity

To be fair, Royal Caribbean doesnt plan to completely transform these beach destinations entirely into Royal Caribbean-branded resorts and waterparks. Much like Labadee, its exclusive destination on Haitis lush northern coast, Lelepa will offer a locally inspired experience highlighting the natural beauty of the destination with beaches, nature trails, and water activities.

Why does Lelepa look the best? Probably because it looks more authentic, relaxed and less of a theme park! Take me there please, ArissP added in the Reddit thread.

Related: Royal Caribbean drops popular port from months of cruises

Although Perfect Day Mexico is heavy on attractions like CocoCay, Royal Caribbean is partnering with the local community to infuse authenticity into the destination and celebrate Mexican culture throughout. The brightly colored Costa Maya getaway spot will offer regionally inspired dining, showcase local artisans, and employ local workers.

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Royal Caribbean is collaborating with Mexicos state of Quintana Roo to develop the destination sustainably and is investing in local infrastructure projects as well.

The Costa Maya cruise port will remain open  and open to all cruise lines  during all phases of the Perfect Day project and beyond. Royal Caribbean is building a new cruise port welcome center to familiarize passengers from all cruise lines with landmark attractions in the Mahahual area and provide transportation throughout the region.

(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)

Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.

This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on May 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
A trip to the Iowa State Fair must consist of trying weird foods, seeing cute animals and going on rides. But none of that stuff can come home with you.

So what better way to remember the 2025 Iowa State Fair than with a T-shirt that represents those 11 fun-filled days? The Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation hosted its third annual T-shirt design contest  and the winner is in.

More: Train crashes, buying an elephant and other crazy stunts the Iowa State Fair once pulled

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This year saw 80 design submissions with five finalists. Voting took place from May 7 to May 13 and over 9,400 votes were cast.

What do the top three Blue Ribbon Foundation T-shirts look like?

The top three designs for the Blue Ribbon Foundation T-shirt design contest for 2025.

A stamp depicting scenes from the Iowa State Fair like the butter cow, a pie and the Sky Glider, took home the gold. It was designed by Abigail Bieker from Harlan.

The runner up design was created by Emily Dyer and Lyndsey Wathen of Jefferson and featured this year's fair theme, Fair Sweet Fair.

The third place design by Erin Moore of Des Moines features a cute little pig and cow enjoying the iconic Sky Glider.

How to get the new Iowa State Fair T-shirts

The winning design will be printed and sold at the Blue Ribbon Foundation merchandise stand during the fair, Aug. 7-17. There are six locations:

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Horner Service Center

Varied Industries Building - south lobby

Cattle Barn foyer

Agriculture Building

Museum Complex

Elwell Family Food Center

More: Want to save money at the Iowa State Fair? Here are early deals for 2025

But if you like one of the top five shirt designs, you can order online until May 31 so you can wear them to the Iowa State Fair. Styles include T-shirts, long sleeves and crewnecks ranging in price from $18 to $30.

Visit the Blue Ribbon Foundation online apparel store to make a purchase.

Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How to buy the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon 2025 contest winner T-shirt
A major prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia involving around 1,000 POWs from each side is expected to take place next week, Ukraine's military intelligence chief said on air on May 17, following an agreement reached in Istanbul.

"I hope it will happen next week," Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Military Intelligence, said. "I don't see any major obstacles to this."

Budanov's remarks came a day after Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that Russia and Ukraine had reached a deal on the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange during talks in Istanbul.

Russia also confirmed the agreement, with Vladimir Medinsky, head of Moscow's delegation, telling Russian state media that preparations for the swap were underway. Deputy Intelligence Chief Vadym Skybytskyi said both countries had begun working on the final exchange lists.

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Prisoner swaps remain one of the few areas of ongoing cooperation between the two countries. The most recent exchange occurred on May 6, when 205 Ukrainian soldiers were returned in a one-for-one format.

Ukraine has long advocated for an "all-for-all" exchange, but Russia has so far resisted the proposal. Kyiv has not disclosed the total number of Ukrainian prisoners of war being held in Russian custody.

Ukraine's delegation traveled to Istanbul this week for Russian-initiated peace talks, though President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Moscow for sending what he called a "sham delegation." Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to attend, instead appointing his aide Medinsky to lead Moscow's team.

Read also: Who is Vladimir Medinsky? The Putin aide leading Russias delegation at Ukraine peace talks

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
LELAND, N.C. (WNCN)  One person was rescued and two people were injured when a townhome exploded at the North Carolina coast early Friday night, officials said.

The blast, which blew the homes garage door off to a townhouse across the street, was reported around 7:35 p.m. at a one-level townhome in the 1300 block of Suncrest Way in the Magnolia Greens neighborhood of Leland in Brunswick County, according to the Leland Fire/Rescue Department.

The blast appeared to rip a hole through the entire townhome  blowing out the front and back of the building. Crews rescued one person from the rubble of the home, which sustained major damage with roofing torn away and beams exposed.

Winnabow Fire Dept. photo

The explosion, which caused significant damage to four homes, did not appear to spark a fire.

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Two people were injured but did not require hospitalization, Leland officials said.

One man in the home at the time of the explosion told WECT about the blast.

I heard this really loud bang. It was a really loud bang, and everything just kinda came in on you, Nathan White told the TV station.

Leland Fire/Rescue photo

Debris from the explosion was on the roofs of homes nearby and some other windows were blown out.

In the hours after the explosion, inspectors checked about 70 homes in the Three Oaks section of Magnolia Greens.

Leland Fire/Rescue

Four homes were deemed unsafe because of structural damage, Leland town officials said Saturday.

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Most damage outside the immediate impact area is minor and primarily limited to drywall and other non-structural elements, making them safe for residents to enter, Leland officials said.

Fences will be installed to secure the area as the investigation continues, the town of Leland said. Residents are encouraged to stay out of the area.

Leland Fire/Rescue photo

The Red Cross is assisting displaced residents and the investigation is ongoing, fire officials said.

The Town is working with Three Oaks residents to plan a community meeting during which officials will provide updates and answer questions from those affected.

Leland Fire Dept. photo

N.W. Fire/Rescue Department and Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department assisted Leland Fire in the call.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DENVER (KDVR)  A family in Commerce City is relieved Saturday morning after a missing 10-year-old boy was found safe.

Police in Commerce City said the boy did not return home from school as scheduled on Friday, and search efforts were ongoing through the night.

FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox

FOX31s Courtney Fromm is on the scene where police confirmed that the boy was found and is safe.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT)  A 10-year-old child was killed in a two-vehicle crash that injured five other people in Blount County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The crash occurred at around 5:06 p.m. Friday when the 2009 Honda Civic the child was a passenger in struck a 2007 Ford Explorer. The 10-year-old was critically injured in the crash and transported to a hospital for treatment. According to ALEA, the 10-year-old died from their injuries on Saturday.

2 people found dead in Birmingham motel room

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The driver of the Honda Civic, as well as another 10-year-old passenger and a 15-year-old passenger, were injured and transported to a hospital for treatment. The driver of the Ford Explorer and a passenger were also injured and transported to a hospital.

The crash occurred on Blount County 55 near Black Road, about two miles north of Blountsville. Troopers with ALEAs Highway Patrol Division are investigating the crash.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
BRUSSELS (AP)  European Union regulators will seek public comment on proposed changes from Microsoft for Teams, signaling the U.S. company may be nearing the end of a long-running antitrust case targeting its messaging and videoconferencing app.

Microsoft had previously offered some modifications including unbundling Teams from its Office software suite in an attempt to head off the antitrust probe shortly after it was opened by the EU two years ago.

But those proposals didn't satisfy the European Commission, the 27-nation blocs top competition enforcer, which accused Microsoft last year of potentially abusive behavior.

The Commission said Friday that it will now seek feedback on fresh commitments Microsoft has made to resolve the competition worries. That includes making the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 software packages available at a discount without Teams, and letting customers switch between packages without Teams. The company is also promising to make it easier for rival software to work with Teams and for users to move their data from Teams to to competing products.

The commission said in a press release that it invites all interested parties to submit their views" on Microsoft's proposals. If everyone is satisfied, they would become legally binding.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company is hopeful the Commission will in the following months adopt a final decision closing its investigation," Microsoft s vice president in charge of European government affairs, Nanna-Louise Linde, said in a blog post.

Microsoft's commitments would be in force for up to 10 years, the Commission said. The company could incur fines worth up to 10% of its annual global revenues  which could run into tens of billions of euros  if it fails to honor them

The Teams investigation dates back to 2020, when Slack Technologies, which makes popular workplace messaging software, filed a complaint.

Slack, owned by business software maker Salesforce, alleged that Microsoft was abusing its market dominance to eliminate competition  in violation of EU laws  by illegally combining Teams with its Office suite, which includes Word, Excel and Outlook.

Salesforce President Sabastian Niles said the latest announcement affirms that Microsofts anticompetitive practices with Teams have harmed competition and require a binding, enforceable, and effective remedy. We will carefully scrutinize Microsofts proposed commitments.

___

AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan contributed from London.
This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com

About 100 peopleincluding childrenmay lose shelter this weekend in Seattle. The city canceled a planned lease for a legal encampment, according to The Center Square.

The Tent City 4 encampment had originally been staying at Seattle Mennonite Church. Officials were looking at the Lake City Community Center as a new location, but after community pushback, the city said that site isnt an option.

Encampment residents unsure where to go next

Now the clock is ticking. The current lease ends Saturday, and residents say they dont know where to go.

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According to The Center Square, Greg Thiessen, a member of the Mennonite Church, questioned why the Lake City Community Center was no longer considered an option.

I understand that you all care about people and you want to get people into shelter, but the actions that I have witnessed over the last couple of weeks make me question that assumption, Greg Thiessen said, according to the media outlet.

The Center Square reported that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell directed his staff to contact the Mennonite Church about extending the lease while the city searches for an alternative solution.

MyNorthwest has reached out to the city of Seattle for comment.
The 101st Airborne Division will be the first unit to get the Armys new tiltrotor aircraft. This week the Army announced that the 101st will get to use Bells V-280 Valor, a next-generation replacement for the aging H-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, the divisions attached aviation unit, will receive the aircraft, which recently was given its official mission-design series designator of the MV-75.

The choice of the 101st was based on their mission profile and theater demands, Gen. James Mingus, the Armys vice chief of staff, said during his remarks at the Army Aviation Association of America conference this week. This decision makes sense, the 101st is a formation built to deploy rapidly and operate in austere conditions, he continued.

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Bells V-280 Valor, was selected in 2022 as the winner of the Armys Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition. The vertical take off and landing craft has two engines and is designed for both assault and transport purposes. According to the manufacturer, the aircraft is capable of a top speed of 280 knots (which led to its name) and has a range of 800 nautical miles, both greater than Black Hawk.

Beyond speed, the aircraft can also carry a greater number of soldiers and cargo than the Black Hawk. Mingus said that the initial testing by the 101st Airborne Division will be used to shape MV-75 tactics and doctrine, per Janes.

The Army operates roughly 2,000 Black Hawk helicopters, which have been in use since the 1970s. The Army previously said it expects to field the MV-75 by 2030. According to TWZ, the MV-75 designation is an homage to the year 1775, the birth year of the U.S. Army. The Army is currently carrying out several events and projects commemorating its 250th birthday.

The MV-75 aircraft. Photo courtesy Bell.

Earlier this month U.S. Special Operations Command said that the V-280 was changed in development to allow it to carry more weight, with the intention of making it more easily convertible for use by special operations units. The Armys 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment currently uses MH-60M variants of Black Hawks, which require extensive modifications to be mission ready.

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The assignment comes as the Army is also aiming to shift how it uses its helicopter units. In late April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a memo directing a major transformation of the overall U.S. Army. That included restructuring of commands, a greater focus on integrating tactics around drones, and a reshaping of helicopter units. Hegseths memo directed the Secretary of the Army to reduce and restructure manned attack helicopter formations, as well as design them to work in coordination with drone swarms. Its unclear how testing on the MV-75 will play into that goal.

The latest on Task & Purpose
11 Investigates spoke exclusively to residents who live at the Wood Street Common on 3rd Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.

They are speaking out for the first time about living conditions at the apartment building downtown that provides low-income and transitional housing for the homeless.

Paint is bubbling off the walls, my ceiling, you know what I mean, water, is water damage, said Dewayne Young, whos been in the apartments for two years.

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Young and Andrew Huntley both described living conditions at the Wood Street Commons.

Cockroaches, bed bugs, mold, loud music, said Huntley, who moved in earlier this year.

Its a subsidized apartment building with 260 units.

Theres mold. Oh yeah, oh definitely, its filthy, said Young.

Theres literally a bed bug on my hoodie right there. Ive been seeing bed bugs and cock roaches crawling all over my stuff, said Huntley, who showed 11 Investigates videos he took while in his apartment.

Residents also sent pictures from inside the building.

In those pictures, theres water damage to ceiling tiles, ceiling tiles that have been removed and wires exposed, and what appears to be mold on pipes, holes in the walls, dirty and broken floor tiles and bathroom residents said out of order for months.

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Earle: Did you expect better conditions? Did you expect more from this place?

Dwayne Young: I mean, Yeah, Yeah, I did because like I figured if youre going there and youre paying rent, you know what I mean, it should be.

Young and Huntley, who both rely on federal assistance, moved here from the Light of Life Mission.

Young pays $325.00 per month in rent.

Huntley pays $415.00 a month.

They know he doesnt have any money, so theyre forcing him to get disability and when he gets disability, they take his check, said Adrienne Young, Huntleys cousin.

Adrienne Young, who founded Tree of Hope, a nonprofit that works with families impacted by gun violence, is Dwayne Youngs cousin.

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Its outrageous, unacceptable, deplorable conditions, inhumane conditions, said Adrienne Young.

Earle: Have you seen the drug dealing in there?

Huntley: Oh yeah.

Earle: Theres drug dealing inside the building?

Huntley: Ooh yeah.

One picture sent to 11 Investigates shows the overdose drug Narcan on a shelf in a hallway.

Residents said theres one on every floor.

Several years ago, 11 Investigates told you about a resident who overdosed and died, but wasnt found until days later.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Family angry after loved one dies & body not found for days in downtown shelter

And according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office, six people have died here of drug overdoses during the past five years.

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Its horrible. It really is, its really horrible, said Dwayne Young.

This place is not only dangerous, its unlivable and we need to do something about it soon, said Adrienne Young.

11 Investigates reached out to the Allegheny County Department of Human Services for a response.

For the DHS/CHS-funded units, DHS conducts on-site monitoring and housing quality standards inspections to ensure that units meet HUD habitability standards. Our staff have heard some complaints occasionally, and when we hear of these concerns, we share them with the property owner. Our experience has been that the property manager has resolved these concerns appropriately. Generally, DHS receives complaints from recipients of our services through the DHS Directors Action Line; DHS has only received sporadic and infrequent complaints about Wood Street Commons related to building concerns and there has not been an increase in complaints recently. If people are experiencing issues in any DHS program, including the CHS-operated units, we encourage them to reach out to our Directors Action Line at 1-800-862-6783. It is our understanding that the Housing Authority for the City of Pittsburgh inspects units where a voucher is being used.

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11 Investigates went through the city inspection reports for that building, but didnt find anything remarkable.

Since our interview, Dwayne Young has moved out and into another apartment.

Andrew Huntley said he is planning on moving as well.

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SANTA CLARA, Utah (ABC4)  An 11-year-old who was bullied for setting up a lemonade stand is now raising money for his aunts IVF treatment after the community rallied around him.

In an interview with ABC4, Cason Wright said that he began running a lemonade stand last summer because he was bored, and then it became something he did regularly to earn some extra money.

Casons mom Keri Wright said about her son, If he wants something, he goes out, he sets up his stand, and he works for it, and we are trying to teach him what a business is.

Courtesy: Keri Wright

Courtesy: Keri Wright

Courtesy: Keri Wright

At the end of April, Cason was selling sodas with a friend when a group of teenagers came by and threw a soda at Cason from a truck.

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I was shocked, cause it just randomly happened, and after that I dont think I got any customers after that, Cason said.

Keri explained how she reacted after she learned about it: The mama bear in you comes out.

Keri posted the story on Facebook group St. George Word of Mouth, and people immediately began to show their support. They even began to ask for Casons Venmo so they could send him money.

When they started venmoing me, I replied to every single one thank you, Cason said.

See also: Clearfield 6-year-old conquering cancer with a smile

He made enough money to buy the electric scooter he was saving up for, and after he learned that his aunt was going to have fertility treatments, he told his mom he wanted to pay it forward.

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Cason will be having a bake sale Saturday May 17 to raise money for his aunts IVF treatments. He will be selling a variety of sodas, cookies, breads, and trail mix. It will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and it will be set up at the same location where the teenagers threw the soda at Cason.

After all the support from the community, Cason said he felt like theres more good people in this world than bad people, which is good.

Keri told ABC4 that she never intended this to happen when she made the Facebook post, but it has given her a renewed appreciation for her community. It makes me love where I live even more, she said.

Joseph Degolyer contributed to this story.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  After a nine-day search, stretching across two states, a 15-year-old from Pennfield was found safe in Chicago on Friday, according to the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office.

He was originally reported missing on May 7, when he was last seen walking into the woods behind Pennfield High School.

The Calhoun County Sheriffs Office led an active search for the teenager throughout the Battle Creek area over the last week. Multiple searches were held with volunteers, and a drone was also used.

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He was last seen on Thursday, when a confirmed sighting was reported of him arriving at a train station in Chicago. Calhoun County Sheriffs Office announced it was ceasing its search after reaching out to officials in Illinois.

Deputies say arrangements are being made to reunite the teen with his family.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
After two days of storms, nearly 150,000 Michigan energy customers remain without power as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 17.

Most of the outages are in southwest Michigan, according to an outage map by PowerOutage.us. Two tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in the region.

Both tornadoes were EF-0, the lowest rating a tornado can receive. The first was near St. Marys Lake, north of Battle Creek and east of the Bedford area. The second was near Galesburg and Battle Creek with peak winds reaching 80 mph.

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The National Weather Service also confirmed three addition tornados touched down in the Lower Peninsula.

One touched down near Dempsey Road and Walnut Street in St. Charles and another in Atlas near Maple Avenue and Atlas Road received EF-0 ratings.

The third tornado touched down halfway between Stockbridge and Gregory, north of M-106, and received an EF-1 ranking, meaning winds ranged from 86-110 mph.

Nearly 31% of of the 41,000 customers in Kalamazoo County are without power as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 17. In Calhoun County, about 17,000 customers, 27%, are out of power.

Consumers Energy hopes to restore power by Saturday evening, according to its website. People in hardest-hit areas, including Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Muskegon should have power back by Sunday evening, the utility company said.

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DTE Energy reported 99.95% of its customers had power Saturday morning.

More: Consumers Energy says some power will be out for days. 2 tornadoes confirmed in Michigan

Detroit saw gusts of up to 41 mph Friday night. High winds are expected to continue into Saturday. Grand Rapids saw wind gusts reaching 48 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Friday nights storms followed hurricane-force winds that gusted Thursday night into Friday morning and left more than 259,000 electric customers without power.

The National Weather Service predicts the rest of the weekend will be calmer and cooler with wind gusts of up to 30-35 mph Saturday and below average temperatures into next week.

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Free Press reporters Jenna Prestininzi and Jalen Williams and Lansing State Journal reporter Sarah Moore contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 150,000 Michigan customers still without power after tornadoes hit state
DENVER (KDVR)  As the 16th Street Mall is set to officially reopen from over a year of construction in the coming weeks, the city is considering a new rule that would allow for the consumption of alcohol outside in certain areas.

Businesses on the mall said the ability to drink on the go has the potential to be a real driving force for bringing people back here for the first time in years.

Heather Delaney has been the general manager at Appaloosa Grill on the 16th Street Mall for about a year now, and it was anything but normal.

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It was a crazy year, said Delaney. We had fences up until probably, like, two months ago.

As that construction wraps up, people have started to come back out, and the idea of outdoor alcohol consumption has Delaney excited.

I love a good Bourbon Street, so I think itll be good, said Delaney.

The citys Department of Excise and Licenses held a public hearing Friday morning to lay out the proposal. Currently, the idea is to designate the area of the 16th Street Mall and Glenarm Place as consumption areas, where people can walk outdoors with a drink purchased from an eligible business that earns a new alcohol takeout license.

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Denver is home to one of the best brunch buffets in the US: TastingTable

Lisa Pope, President of the Upper Downtown Neighborhood Association, said this is exactly what the area needs.

Were super excited, said Pope. We need a central gathering spot, and Glenarm Plaza is going to be that for us.

Delaney agreed, saying any help to return the mall to its former glory is appreciated.

Its giving the bars kind of extra foot traffic, said Delaney. Even to just come in and have a beer, you know, thats sales.

She also said that a similar, temporary situation during the pandemic was a success.

It really worked well for us, said Delaney. It kind of kept us alive being a mom and pop on 16th and were still here today.

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While the plan has not been finalized yet, both Delaney and Pope hope this is what brings a new normal to the area.

Its just going to be a fantastic place, even better than it was before, said Pope.

Other rules the city included in the proposal are that takeout sales can only happen between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., and you cannot bring your own alcohol into the area. The city said its now reviewing public input it received on Friday before finalizing the rules ahead of the 16th Street Malls official reopening later this month.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
Two people have been charged with evidence tampering as Lexington police continue the search for two teen boys missing since May 11.

Jesus Eduardo Reyes-Rodriguez, 47, and a 17-year-old have been charged with tampering with physical evidence in connection with a vehicle the boys were last seen getting into, the Lexington Police Department said Friday night.

The car, a white 2020 Acura ILX, was found at Loradale Market, in the 6800 block of Russell Cave Road Thursday. Coroner Gary Ginn told WKYT authorities searched there for human remains, but none were found.

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Police say Aoun Ismail Basboos, 15, and Ali Haider Naqvi, 16, were last seen getting into the back seat of the car just after a shots-fired incident in the 3300 block of Spangler Drive.

The car then left Lexington and traveled into surrounding counties in Central Kentucky, police said.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the boys whereabouts, Bluegrass Crime Stoppers said. They are thought to be in imminent danger, Crime Stoppers said.

The Lexington Police Department said theyve been helped with the investigation by a number of agencies, including the FBI, Kentucky State Police, Homeland Security, Fayette County Coroners Office, Lexington Fire Department, Fayette County Public School Law Enforcement and the police departments in Nicholasville, Paris and Georgetown.

Water search near Fayette-Scott county line has been discontinued
CHICAGO (WGN)  An overnight drive-by shooting on the citys West Side left two people hospitalized.

Chicago police said the shooting unfolded just before midnight on Friday in the 3500 block of West 5th Avenue in East Garfield Park.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

According to police, the victims, a 35-year-old man and a 33-year-old man, were outside in the area when a white SUV approached and gunfire erupted from inside the vehicle.

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Offices said the 35-year-old man was taken to the hospital in critical condition, while the 33-year-old man was hospitalized in fair condition.

Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and an investigation is underway.

It was the second drive-by shooting to unfold on the West Side on Friday night. Just hours before, around 9 p.m., four people, including a teen boy, were shot in the 600 block of South Homan Avenue.

Currently, there is nothing that suggests the two incidents were connected.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact the CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251 or dial 911.

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Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Two men and a teenage boy are wanted for the murder of a 13-year-old-boy who was shot and killed while sleeping at his dads apartment in Gresham last month, Gresham police announced.

Police are searching for three men who have been named suspects in the murder of Liam Spahnle-Bailey, 13, in April 2025.



The April 27 shooting happened inside an apartment near 4700 SW 11th Street around 1:30 a.m. Officers provided emergency treatment to Liam Spahnle-Bailey and rushed him to an area hospital. But he did not survive, authorities said. There was one other person injured in the incident. They have since been released from the hospital.

Police say they are searching for Anthony Hunter Jr., 20, Xavier Hirsch, 20, and Terrell Coy, 16. They have each been charged with second-degree murder.

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Since the shooting, our officers, detectives and law enforcement partners have worked tirelessly to identify the individuals responsible for Liams death. We now need the communitys help to find them and bring them to justice, said Gresham Police Chief Travis Gullberg.

KOIN 6 News spoke with Liams family last month. Liams brother, Gordon Mott-Bailey, expressed his heartbreak at that time.

What happened to him shouldve never happened. I hope hes at peace right now, Gordon said. If we dont get justice for him, its not fair. So they have to, they have to face what theyve done and suffer. Suffer through it, like us.

Police say the three suspects should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees them should call 911.

Police are searching for three men who have been named suspects in the murder of Liam Spahnle-Bailey, 13, in April 2025.

Our office is dedicated to obtaining justice for the victim and his family, said Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vazquez.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
BERLIN (Reuters) -Lufthansa's management should be more vigorous in fending off resistance from labour representatives, top investor Klaus-Michael Kuehne was quoted as saying on Saturday, pointing to the airline group's share price.

Lufthansa is counting on lucrative transatlantic routes as it strives to revive its namesake core airline, bogged down by wage talks and high pay, and find new sources of revenue as it struggles to compete with Asian carriers.

Shares in the group, which includes brands like Swiss, Austrian and more recently Italy's ITA, have gained around 6% year-to-date, roughly in line with its peer Air France-KLM but lagging well behind British Airways parent IAG.

Kuehne told the Welt am Sonntag weekly newspaper that the German group had structural problems, adding that resistance from the works council and walkouts made management's work difficult.

"Whether the executive board takes sufficient action remains to be seen. In my opinion, more could be done," said the 87-year-old billionaire investor, whose company Kuehne Aviation is Lufthansa's biggest shareholder with around a 15% stake.

He also owns stakes in Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel and German chemicals trader Brenntag.

(Reporting by Thomas Seythal; Editing by Susan Fenton)
GAITHERSBURG, Maryland (WJW)  A toddler is alive after falling 15 stories from an apartment building in Maryland on Thursday afternoon, police officials confirmed.

According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, emergency crews responded just after 2 p.m. to the 11200 block of Oak Leaf Drive in White Oak.

First responders learned that a 2-year-old boy had fallen from a 15th floor balcony and landed in the nearby bushes, investigators said.

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Sauder Elementary third-grader caught with loaded gun in backpack: police

According to police, the boy was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Hospital staff reported that the child suffered from a broken leg and multiple internal injuries, but he is expected to survive, the police department said.

Asked the Lord to forgive me: Woman who killed 2 kids after driving drunk into birthday party sentenced

A police spokesperson told ABC News that the balcony has protective glass instead of a railing and that adults were home when the child fell.

Police detectives are still investigating what led to the childs fall. As of Friday evening, no criminal charges have been filed in the incident.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
A gathering of about 200 people demonstrated on the corner of Nolensville Road and Harding Pike on May 17, chanting their opposition to anti-immigration actions and closing out two weeks of ICE operations in Nashville that resulted in the arrest of 196 immigrants and left community members reeling.

The protest, largely organized by the Nashville Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), held signs stating slogans such as "Jesus was an immigrant," "Immigrants belong," and "Am I not entitled to due process?" while standing on the street corner where the first round of arrests were made on May 4.

"ICE and Tennessee Highway Patrol have been terrorizing the working-class people of Nashville," said Lindy Drolsum, a member of the Nashville PSL, as she spoke into a bullhorn in front of a chorus of supportive honks from passing drivers. "All day, every day, they have been racially profiling our community members and using minor traffic violations to pull people over in traffic stops.

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"These are our friends. Our neighbors. The people that make Music City the great place it is," she added. "But ICE doesn't think so. They claim they cleaned our city up for us."

Protesters gather at the corner of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place on May 17 to protest the recent ICE immigration enforcement operations that have resulted in the arrest of nearly 200 immigrants in Nashville.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which oversee the THP, in a statement said it "categorically rejects any suggestion that our troopers engage in racial profiling or target individuals based on ethnicity, race, or national origin."

Drolsum told reporters later she was inspired to come to the protest partially because she is from U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles' district. Ogles, who represents Tennessee's 5th Congressional district, has been outspoken on social media and national news over the past few days, calling on two congressional committees to investigate Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnell and other city officials over what he called their repeated efforts to obstruct lawful ICE operations.

Ogles also shared the flier for the May 17 protest on various social media platforms, tagging the official ICE account saying "y'all should get some agents here."

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"This is clear intimidation against our right to peacefully protest," Drolsum said.

"One thing that's really important is that there is less fear for some of us (to protest) than others," she added. "Some of us have documentation ... and so we need to use that privilege. So many people can't. You can hear them driving by and honking  people who are going to work, or are scared leaving their homes and can't come out here today. So it's important for those of us who can to use our voice."

More: Nashville immigrant, 19, went out for ice cream, ended up detained by ICE and sent to Louisiana

Tanya WIlliams, a participant of the protest and a member of the activist group Indivisible Tennessee, clutched her sign that said "Trail of Tears 2025" as she described how "shocking" the aggressive immigration enforcement across the country has been.

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"I'm a mom," she said, shaking her head. "This is not right what's going on here. They're tearing families apart and rounding them up like cattle. It's inhumane."

The USA TODAY Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Protesters demonstrate against immigration enforcement in South Nashville
A 25bn annual boost to British exports is at stake for Sir Keir Starmer as he tries to secure a Brexit reset deal at a crucial summit on Monday, analysis shared with The Independent reveals.

Removing trade barriers on goods, including food and drink and electrical items, could result in a 2.2 per cent uplift in gross domestic product in the long run, boosting the economic growth the prime minister so desperately wants to deliver, financial analysts Frontier Economics found.

And a separate assessment by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) warns that a failure to land a deal for easier trading could lead to a 2.7 per cent drop in exports by 2027, costing the UK economy almost 30bn.

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The impact on the British economy from such a deal is expected to dwarf that of the agreements recently signed with India and the US. On Saturday night, Sir Keir said it would be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen ahead of their bilateral meeting (PA)

Gordon Browns former economic adviser Lord Jim ONeill summed up the importance of Sir Keirs summit in London: Obviously, the closer and more serious we can get, the better it is for reversing our net trade losses, and importantly, net investment from EU areas.

Given the shock from Trump [tariffs] to Europe, especially on Germany, on top of the Ukraine shock and China slowdown, I think Germany [will be] more open to pro-UK trade issues than before.

Also, I suspect the EU is going to give more than lip service to cross-border services sector reform now. Given UK net advantages in service sector exports, this is important to us.

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Such reforms could make it easier for the UK to sell services to the bloc by allowing mutual recognition of qualifications so UK professionals can practice in the EU and vice versa without having a retrain.

NIESRs interim director Stephen Millard said the value of Mondays deal should not be underestimated.

He said: In 2024 we exported roughly 6.5bn to India, roughly 53.5bn to the United States and roughly 159bn to the European Union. It is fairly clear from those numbers that a trade deal with the European Union is much more likely to shift the dial than the deals with India and the United States.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to reset relations with the EU after Brexit (Alishia Abodunde/PA) (PA Wire)

His assessment was echoed by Chris Southworth, director general of the UKs largest business organisation, the International Chambers of Commerce, who noted that the trade deal signed with Donald Trump, which saw tariffs slashed on UK car and steel exports, was a damage limitation agreement and only accounted for 13 per cent of international gross domestic product (GDP).

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But he fears the deal to be unveiled on Monday may not be ambitious enough especially if it only focuses on goods rather than the future growth areas of digital services.

It is a view shared by the Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee Dame Emily Thornberry.

In an interview with The Independent, she called on Sir Keir to be more courageous, adding: We should be going further than the government currently seems to have the ambition for doing.

The deal is expected to include closer defence cooperation, goods and services, and a youth mobility agreement, which would allow 18- to 30-year-olds to live and work in the UK and Europe for a time-limited period.

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It has also been reported that it will include an agreement to allow EU trawlers to fish in British waters.

Two immediate big wins could be to include the UK in the 150bn (126bn) EU defence procurement fund, which would allow the government to bid for military equipment contracts and invite them to join the EU data hub. The latter is being championed by Poland, who currently have the presidency of the EU.

A special report from earlier this year found that Brexit had cost the UK 30.2bn in settlement costs, stopped 16,400 businesses from exporting to the EU, and could lead to a 15 per cent long-term loss of trade.

From the 24.8bn export boost for the UK estimated by Frontier Economics in a report commissioned by pro-EU group Best for Britain, farm food exports alone could see a 3.2bn increase.

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Agricultural exports have suffered since Brexit, with food and drink exports down by more than a third, according to trade bodies.

The EU, meanwhile, would also benefit, with a 22.4bn boost to exports in goods and services from a closer agreement, selling 5bn more in agricultural products.

Amar Breckenridge, senior associate at Frontier Economist, said that some of the economic damage caused by President Trumps tariffs could be offset by the benefits of a closer EU trading relationship.

While tariffs could still cost the UK 4.3bn in GDP under the new US trade deal, Mr Breckenridge estimates the UK could claw back 8.1bn from closer trading with the EU.

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The long-awaited youth mobility scheme alone could boost GDP by 0.45 per cent in the next decade, according to a separate study from the Centre for European Reform. But recent reports suggest that the deal might hit speed bumps in a row over high student fees for EU students coming to the UK, in addition to a lack of flexibility over the amount of fish EU countries can take from British waters.

On youth mobility, John Springford, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, noted: The youth mobility scheme would raise GDP by bringing more young EU workers into the UK labour force  although the final numbers will depend on how many are allowed to come and how long they can stay for.

Introducing it could amount to 31,000 more young people a year coming to the UK at the highest end, which would mean more people working and contributing to the economy.

But EU officials want lower fees for their students, according to reports, which is causing tension ahead of Mondays talks. International students currently pay around 12,000 more in fees on average per year than domestic students.

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The number of EU students at UK universities has dropped by nearly half since Brexit, with 75,000 EU nationals enrolled in British colleges and universities in the 2023/24 academic year  down from 148,000 in 2019.

The Independent estimates that UK universities generate around 1bn a year in extra fees from EU students, which is likely why the government is facing domestic pushback over lowering fees.

However, according to research from the London School of Economics, lowering fees would have a positive impact because EU students spend around 61,000 here over the course of their studies, on top of their tuition fees.
Park Forest police said they are investigating the shooting death of a 26-year-old Dolton man.

Police said they were called at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday to the 0-100 block of Krotiak Street to assist the Park Forest Fire Department with an unresponsive male.

The man, identified by police as 26-year-old Kevin M. Miller Jr. from Dolton, was found deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.

The Cook County medical examiners office reported Miller had an address in the 800 block of Burnham Drive in University Park.

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He was pronounced dead at 11:48 a.m. at the Krotiak address, having suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the office, which ruled the death a homicide.

Park Forest investigators, along with members of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, responded to the scene, assisted by the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit, Park Forest police said in a news release Friday.

The shooting remains under investigation and police said that their investigation indicates it was an isolated shooting.

Police ask anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 708-748-1309.
PALOS PARK, Ill. (WGN)  An investigation into a crash that left three children injured in Palos Park intensified on Saturday as authorities continued their search for answers.

According to Palos Park police, just after 4:30 p.m. Friday, the driver of a pickup truck, a 29-year-old man, suffered an apparent medical emergency and crashed into the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.

Officers said the driver was heading eastbound along McCarthy Road when he appeared to have suffered a medical emergency and veered off 123rd Street before he crossed 86th Avenue, drove through the parking lot of the church and crashed into the building.

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The church, located in the 12200 block of South 86th Avenue, houses a preschool and daycare and children were inside at the time.

An initial report by police indicated that the three children were injured when they were hit by the truck as it barreled through a wall of their classroom.

The three children were taken to the hospital following the crash, along with two Palos Heights police officers who were hospitalized for inhalation of smoke and construction debris while working the scene.

Additionally, one church staff member suffered a medical emergency while crews were on the scene and she was taken to the hospital as well.

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In an update shared early Saturday morning, officers said one of the children injured had been released while two others remained hospitalized.

One of the officers hospitalized had also been released, while the second remained in the hospital.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

Our thoughts this early morning are with the children, families, teachers, and administrators of the Church of the Transfiguration and our injured staff members. They are a vital part of our community, a spokesperson with the Palos Park Police Department said in an update early Saturday morning.

The churchs priest, Father Hunter Farrow, says there are some broken bones from those injured but thankfully everyone is alive. He says people in the community have been reaching out nonstop.

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Its been an amazing response. I feel really lucky, just an outpouring of texts saying what can we do to help, he said.

Members of the PPPD Accident Reconstruction Team and Evidence Technicians are now working to piece together exactly what led up to the crash.

On Saturday morning, investigators said they obtained a warrant to retrieve the pickup trucks technical data as well as video and other technical evidence.

The driver of the vehicle was hospitalized following the crash and no charges have been filed.

PPPD officials said the investigation is ongoing and will require an extensive investigative follow-up.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left three people dead and one other critically injured early Saturday morning in the citys Pioneer Square neighborhood, according to the department.

Officers in the area heard a disturbance shortly after 1 a.m. and responded to the 300 block of 2nd Avenue South.

I just heard rapid gunfire, said Damien, who works at one of the bars near the shooting. It was over just like that, before you know it.

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When officers arrived, they found four unresponsive adults who had been shot.

Police provided medical aid until medics from the Seattle Fire Department arrived.

Despite their efforts, two men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene.

A fourth victim, a man, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. The hospital confirmed Saturday afternoon that the man remained critical in the ICU.

Damien says he rushed people who were standing in line outside of bars inside as soon as he heard the gunfire.

I already made my move, Damien said. Everybody who was outside, getting them to safety, close the front door and get everybody back downstairs.

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Detectives from the Homicide Unit and the Crime Scene Investigation Unit responded to the scene to gather evidence and determine what led to the shooting.

The area was secured as part of the ongoing investigation. Emmie Nguyens business was behind the crime scene tape. She counted around half a dozen bullet holes outside and inside of her business, Four Diamonds.

We were freaking out, Nguyen said. We were in shock because the whole neighborhood was locked down.

No arrests have been made, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.

Nguyen hopes more attention is paid to her neighborhood as shes seen and heard shootings, break-ins, and thefts all around her.

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I hope the neighborhood can get safer so people can walk around here more, feeling less scared, Nguyen said.

Seattle police confirmed that they will have extra foot patrols around Pioneer Square and Lumen Field tonight, as well as extra patrol cars circling the area.

Its heartbreaking, Damien said. Thinking about the families and how theyre feeling. Its somebodys child, somebodys daughter, somebodys son, so its just crazy how one minute youre here and the next youre not, just like that. Within seconds, your life has been taken away.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the departments Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Three people have been arrested in connection to reported threats of violence with different objects including a fishing pole and a knife this week.

The incidents took place separately within a 24-hour period, according to Corvallis police.

Man shoots, kills self after police standoff outside Oregon City home

The first report came just around 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday when officers arrived at a Walmart to investigate someone who had been threatening staff with a fishing pole, police said.

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After the man, 27, was asked to leave the store, officers said he struck an employee in the face and ran away. He was found the following day and arrested on charges of second-degree assault, menacing, and disorderly conduct.

A second incident took place around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Police reported to a Fred Meyer after hearing that a suspect was threatening loss prevention staff with a knife after being accused of shoplifting.

Officers said the 31-year-old man ran away before they arrived, but was found nearby and taken into custody. He was charged with first-degree robbery, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, third-degree theft, attempted second-degree theft, criminal trespassing, and identity theft.

More than half of Oregonians cannot afford their cost of living, report finds

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Later that day, officers responded to a Dutch Bros around 7:45 p.m. after witnesses said a man was threatening an employee with a knife. The suspect, a 42-year-old man, was arrested on the scene.

He was booked for menacing and unlawful use of a weapon after law enforcement said an investigation revealed he had threatened to stab an employee in the parking lot.

Officers encourage anyone who feels threatened to contact the Corvallis Police Department.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  Its been 30 years since a 57-ton tank from a local National Guard armory was destructively steered through the streets of San Diego.

As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, on May 17, 1995, a man from Clairemont set out on a fateful journey that would end in his death. This unprecedented incident, which left a trail of destruction, has remained etched in the citys memory for three decades.

The man inside the tank

His name was Shawn Nelson, and he reportedly worked as a plumber. Reports described the mans behavior prior to the incident as increasingly strange.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Nelson enlisted in the Army after high school, later serving as tank battalion in West Germany. That was until multifaceted disciplinary problems led to an honorable discharge in 1980.

Nelsons ex-wife told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he began acting erratically around the time his mother died in 1988. His fathers death followed just four years later. During that period, she claimed he started to abuse amphetamines and alcohol, which led her to file for divorce in 1990.

Nelson reportedly had a severe motorcycle accident that same year, leaving him with back and neck trauma. A series of unfortunate events continued for Nelson from there, with reports noting home foreclosure proceedings were filed in 1995.

Then, the rampage day occurred.

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A chaotic journey through San Diego

On that fateful day in 1995, Nelson reportedly entered the National Guard armory on Mesa College Drive after finding the gates unsecured. It was then that Nelson entered and started up an M-60 battle tank.

The discharged servicemember then drove the massive vehicle through residential neighborhoods in Kearny Mesa, smashing cars and tearing down telephone poles. The path of destruction was caught on video by many, with the CBS evening news of 1995 detailing the berserk event on television.

Local authorities trailed Nelson, with some eventually climbing atop the tank and pulling the hatch to demand he stop, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune. When he refused to surrender and tried to maneuver the tank, Nelson was shot once by police.

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Despite an immediate response from paramedics, the gunshot wound proved to be fatal and Nelson was pronounced dead at the scene.

The aftermath

In the wake of the incident, then-Governor Pete Wilson ordered the California National Guard to implement a fail-safe system to prevent future tank thefts. An investigation revealed significant security lapses at armories across the state, leading to reforms and the relocation of tanks to more secure facilities, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Three decades later, the 1995 San Diego tank rampage remains a unique chapter in the citys history. While the motives behind Nelsons actions remain unclear, the event prompted significant changes in military equipment security and continues to be a topic of discussion and reflection.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DENVER (KDVR)  A 34-year-old man has died following a stabbing Thursday evening at a residence in Brighton.

The Brighton Police Department said it responded to the residence located in the 3000 block of East Bridge Street at about 5:05 p.m. for a medical call of an unconscious male.

Suspect shot by LPD agent after reported theft

Responding officers attempted lifesaving measure after finding the man  whose name is being withheld pending positive identification  with stab wounds upon arrival, police said. The man was later pronounced dead after being transported to Platte Valley Medical Center.

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Preliminary information suggested the suspect fled from the scene, according to BPD, which said further investigation determined the suspect and victim knew each other and that it appeared to be an isolated incident.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing and in its early stages. BPD said there is no active threat to the community and that it will release more information when available. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has more information is asked to call BPDs tip line at 303-655-8740.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A local nonprofit is breathing new life into an old high school, transforming it into a hub for innovation and opportunity.

As part of that development, teachers from Ohio have been taking part in a program that changes the future of education in their classrooms.

For the first time in nearly a decade, students are back inside old South High School in Youngstown  but this time, the students are the teachers and their classroom is virtual.

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Ive been teaching 3D printing skills for close to 10 years now, 10-12 years, but Im all self-taught, said Brian Wetzel from Centerburg Middle School. It was a matter of I dont know what I dont know. So I thought a course like this would give me more skills, like to build on my own and more experiences to give to my students.

Eighteen educators from school districts all across Ohio are enrolled in a class called DPT-100, an introductory class on 3D printing taught online through Somerset College in Kentucky.

We wanted to make sure that we equipped them with everything they needed to go back to their classrooms and utilize this curriculum and utilize this material, said Bryant Youngblood with Pantheon Education.

The initiative is part of a larger vision from Youngstown Jubilee Urban Development, which is converting the historic building into an education and career technical center.

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This is the first cohort of students back in the South High building in about eight years, almost a decade, and it happens to be teachers that are learning 3d printing, said Eric Holm with Jubilee Urban Development.

The course not only arms teachers with knowledge but also with tools. Each teacher walks away with their own 3D printer and access to a full curriculum they can use back home, bringing the future into focus one layer at a time.

Its an exciting time. It really is. Really, with Youngstown, Ohio, I say were the Mecca of additive manufacturing. We have places like America Makes and YBI. Theres some amazing things happening here, and its all wrapped around additives, Youngblood 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.
After almost a decade of fighting to stay in their Lynn, Massachusetts home, Joe and Kathy Cavaliere had given up hope. They faced foreclosure on their home of 24 years.

Just days away from being evicted, the couple, in their 80s, began packing their things.

This has been the center of our family, Kathy told WBZ-TVs Cheryl Fiandaca. All holidays, all get togethers. And it was going to be gone.

Don't miss

But thanks to Fiandacas last-minute intervention, the Cavalieres can stay put, and they own their home.

Heres how they ended up in the dire situation in the first place.

An insane mortgage model

The Cavalieres financial struggles began in 2006, when Joe, then in his 60s, took out a pick-a-pay mortgage from World Savings Bank.

The bank told him he could choose how much to pay each month. What he didnt realize was that any unpaid interest on the mortgage would continue to compound. And it did  exponentially.

The couples lawyer Paul Collier describes the pick-and-pay mortgage model as insane.

It was to get people lower on the economic scale to buy homes under predatory mortgages that would end up yielding profits to the lenders and, honestly, foreclosure to the borrowers, he said.

Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now

Joe ended up out of work for a while and they fell behind on mortgage payments. The couple sent $5,000 to the World Savings Bank to catch up on payments. Things went from bad to worse.

They said they wanted the whole thing, which was somewhere around $400,000, Joe recalls.

Then through a series of mergers, Wells Fargo took over the Cavalieres mortgage in 2008. The couple continued to struggle to keep up with payments until Wells Fargo foreclosed on their home.

At that point, Kathy reached out to WBZ-TVs Call for Action team and reporter Cheryl Fiandaca successfully intervened on the Cavalieres' behalf. Wells Fargo reversed the foreclosure and announced it would return the title of the home to the couple.
At least 28 people have died and dozens more were injured after a devastating wave of severe weather swept across the central United States late Friday into Saturday, leaving a trail of catastrophic destruction.

More than 70 tornadoes, destructive hail and powerful wind gusts caused damage across the middle of the country during the multiday severe weather outbreak that started Thursday, May 16. Additional impacts and damage are expected through late Tuesday night as the severe weather threat shifts east throughout the week.

Large tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana with hard-hit southeastern Kentucky reporting a majority of the fatalities. According to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, there were at least 19 confirmed deaths in the state connected to the severe weather, mostly in Laurel County.

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Images emerging at first light on Saturday from the town of London, about 75 miles south of Lexington, show entire neighborhoods razed with homes reduced to piles of shredded wood and debris, downed power lines, cars tossed all over the place and furniture strewn everywhere.

London, Kentucky, at dawn on Saturday morning. (Image credit: Brandon Clement/Wx Chasing)

A man inspects damage from a tornado in London, Kentucky, on May 17. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

A couple search for belongings following a tornado in London, Kentucky, on May 17. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

Laurel County resident Leslie Bott told reporters she sat in one of her family's destroyed cars with her daughter.

"She got scared so we went to the hallway, and we were in there maybe two minutes because it's the only closed-in area we have, and my husband and son come running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air and everything sucking, and it sounded like a train," Bott said. "We saw stuff falling, and next thing you knew, he said most of the house was gone."

Emergency crews were still searching the wreckage for survivors and assessing the full extent of the damage on Saturday morning.

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"We lift up those lives who were tragically cut short by the fury of the tornado and those who have been injured," Laurel County Sheriff John Root told local news, WVLT. "Strengthen the hands of rescuers and inspire compassion in the hearts of communities near and far to offer aid in support."

More than 700,000 homes and businesses across 12 states lost power during the height of the outbreak, according to PowerOutage.us, with Missouri and Kentucky hit the hardest. As of Monday, most of the power had been restored.

7 killed in St. Louis area after an EF3 tornado tore through city

The same storm system triggered large, destructive tornadoes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Seven people were killed in the St Louis area earlier Friday evening after an EF3 tornado moved through the city.

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More than 4,500 homes, businesses and other buildings and structures along the path of the powerful tornado were damaged or destroyed. There are reports of roof collapses, wall collapses and other catastrophic damage to buildings. Many vehicles were also damaged or destroyed by the powerful winds, downed trees and airborne debris. Trees that fell onto homes, businesses and power lines, as well as extended power outages, contributed to widespread damage and costly disruptions across the city.





"You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running," 19-year-old University of Missouri-St. Louis student John Randle told the AP. "A lot of people were caught outside."

Randle said he rode out the storm in the basement of the St. Louis Art Museum with his girlfriend and about 150 other people.

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"The loss of life and destruction St. Louis has experienced in today's storm is horrendous, and my thoughts are with everyone whose lives were altered today," St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said in a post on X. "Our first responders and community are stepping up in tremendous ways to save lives, help those who are injured, provide shelter, and so much more," she said. "Thank you. In the coming days, we will have a lot of opportunities to help and much work to do. But for tonight - Please stay home tonight and allow our first responders to do their work. And please keep St. Louis in your thoughts and prayers."

"Basically every window" in the city's firehouse was "blown out" by the storm, St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson told CNN of the storm, which damaged around 20 square blocks of the city. About 500 first responders spent Friday night into Saturday searching buildings for survivors, Jenkerson said.

AccuWeather.com

The multiday severe weather outbreak caused an estimated $9 billion to $11 billion in total damage and economic loss, according to a preliminary estimate from experts at AccuWeather.

AccuWeather's estimate includes damage to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays. The estimate also accounts for the costs of evacuations, relocations, emergency management and the extraordinary government expenses for cleanup operations and the long-term effects on business logistics, transportation and tourism as well as the long-term and short-term health effects and the medical and other expenses of unreported deaths and injuries.

AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather expert meteorologists say 2025 is shaping up to be the worst year for tornadoes in the U.S. in more than a decade. There have been more than 820 preliminary reports of tornadoes so far this year, which is roughly 200 tornadoes more than the historical average for this time of year.

Severe weather will threaten the same areas again with destructive storms and tornadoes in the forecast across the central U.S. on Monday and Tuesday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Five people were arrested and accused of luring people whom they believed to be minors to meet them for sex, authorities said.

In reality, the people who were arrested were actually talking to Washington County Sheriffs Office investigators posing as underage boys and girls on online platforms, including dating apps and social media sites, officials said.

Overdose deaths in Oregon begin downward trend

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The arrests happened on Thursday as part of the sheriffs offices child predator sting.

The alleged offenders, who are all facing charges of luring a minor and sexual corruption of a child, include:

Raymi Calla-McFarlane, 24, of Portland

Karl Bawden, 45, of Hillsboro.

Glen Guthrie, 65, of Gladstone

Josue Romero-Lopez, 25, of Beaverton

David Vichi, 49, of Wallowa

Five people were arrested as part of a child predator sting in Washington County. May 16, 2025 (courtesy Washington County Sheriffs Office).

The sheriffs office said they believe all of the people who were arrested may have more victims.

Of those who were arrested, investigators with the Hillsboro Police Department had already been looking into Vichi since last month after an actual minor came forward with concerning information regarding inappropriate contact, the Washington County Sheriffs Office said in a press release. He was specifically sought in the sheriffs office sting for this reason, officials said.

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Anyone with information about the people arrested in the child predator sting are asked to contact the Washington County Sheriffs Office.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Five people were injured in a powerful explosion on Saturday morning in Palm Springs.

The explosion occurred outside of a fertility clinic around 11 a.m. on Saturday, KABC reports.

The suspect is believed to be dead, according to KABCs report

READ: Arson at Harris Teeter under investigation

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for.

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The explosion damaged the practices office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed.

I really have no clue what happened, Abdallah said. Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.

Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

The building just shook, and we go outside and theres massive cloud smoke, Tabrizi said. Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. ... We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.

WATCH: Arson at Harris Teeter under investigation
UPDATE (5/17, 8:08 p.m.)  Community members gathered for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of St. Martin De Porres Hospital in Mobile.

Its a homegoing, Executive Director of Allen Health and Rehabilitation Patricia James said.

Prince of Peace Catholic Church held a mass Saturday morning to honor the hospitals impact.

We can celebrate that legacy of Christ bringing people together and really helping us to see each other with wider eyes you know that weve all made in Gods image and likeness we all have equal dignity and we should be treated as such, Father Victor Ingalls said.

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St. Martin De Porres Hospital broke barriers, being one of the first hospitals in Alabama to serve Black patients and employ Black physicians and nurses during the Jim Crow era.

During segregation, there was a great need for African-American doctors and nurses, and then a place for African American women to come, James said.

The facilitys roots date back to 1942 when Catholic medical workers established a maternity clinic in Mobile to provide care for Black women. In 1950, the new hospital was built.

It was nothing but people here that were excited about what was going to be happening at this location, and we are still happy about whats happening at this location, James said.

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As part of the ceremony, people born in the hospital and those who worked there were pinned with honorary white flowers.

The celebration continued with a reception Allen Health, where people rejoiced together about the legacy created over 75 years.

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  A 75th anniversary celebration for St. Martin de Porres Hospital  now Allen Health and Rehabilitation  is set for Saturday.

Florida Wildlife officials give best ways to keep bears from wandering onto property

Mobile Archbishop Thomas Rodi will celebrate mass on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, located at 454 Charleston St.

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People who were born at St. Martin de Porres are invited to attend the service.

Following mass, attendees will go to Allen Health and Rehabilitation for a chapel dedication and homecoming reception.

What makes St. Martin de Porres Hospital historic

The hospital laid down roots in 1942 when Catholic medical workers set up a clinic in Mobile. They sought to provide maternity healthcare for black women, which was extremely limited at the time.

In 1950, a more substantial facility was built and named after St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian saint of mixed African descent.

The facility was one of the first hospitals in Alabama to employ black nurses and physicians, fostering a rare biracial medical staff in the South during Jim Crow. It brought the medical advances of the 20th century to the African American community of Mobile for the first time.

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After the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1969, desegregation rendered the facility moot. In 1971, it was repurposed into the Allen Memorial Nursing Home.

Thomas Boni and Evan Marr contributed to this story.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
Around 52,000 Kentucky customers were still without power as of 6:30 p.m. Saturday after Friday nights deadly storms, according to online power outage trackers.

Thats a substantial improvement from early Saturday when nearly 100,000 customers were without power in the Bluegrass State, according to poweroutage.us, a website tracking outages across the country.

By 11:30 a.m., that had fallen to 84,997.

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At 6:30 p.m., the number of customers without power was at 52,015.

Most of the outages have been reported across the southern part of the state, with the largest number of outages in Laurel, Todd, Trigg, Metcalfe and Leslie counties.

At least 18 people died in the storms, which began in Missouri Friday afternoon and traveled across Kentucky overnight. That number is expected to rise, officials said.

Gov. Andy Beshear said at a press conference Saturday an F3 tornado was spotted in Pulaski County.

Power restoration efforts will take time as crews were still working to clear debris and trees from roads on Saturday, he said. Still, power restoration was improving by late Saturday afternoon, he said.

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Beshear and other emergency management officials also warned people to stay away from heavily damaged areas as traffic can clog roads and hamper storm clean up efforts.

At least a dozen roads were closed in Laurel and Pulaski counties on Saturday afternoon, he said.

This is another tough morning for Kentucky after a night of deadly weather, Beshear said on social media. Yesterday I declared a state of emergency ahead of the event, which has allowed us to respond quickly. I will be traveling to London today to survey damage. We will share details on that visit soon.

You can find the live outage tracker for Blue Grass Energy online.

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Kentucky State Police detectives and local officers told the public Saturday morning that power outages and poor phone service in Laurel County were preventing some people from contacting family members.

Those searching for a loved one can visit Faith Assembly of God at 390 Faith Assembly Church Road in London.
A Russian drone hit a civilian minibus in Bilopillia, northeastern Ukraine, early Saturday morning local time, killing nine people and injuring four others, according to the Sumy regional military administration.

The bus was en route to Sumy, not far from the Russian border, and was struck at approximately 6:17 a.m., the military officials said.

Ukrainian national police condemned the attack as a "cynical war crime", stating that Russia once again deliberately targeted a civilian object, violating international humanitarian law as regional governor Oleh Hryhorov called the strike "inhumane."

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The attack occurred just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since March 2022 in Istanbul. While the negotiations did not produce a ceasefire, both sides agreed to a mutual exchange of 1000 prisoners of war in the coming days.

PHOTO: A handout photo released by the press service of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine shows rescuers working at the scene of a destroyed bus on a road near Bilopillia, Sumy region, northeastern Ukraine, May 17, 2025. (State Emergency Service Of Ukraine via EPA via Shutterstock)

Russia has not directly commented on the civilian bus strike, but the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have hit a "military staging area" in the Sumy region.

Meanwhile, Russian official Kirill Dmitriev praised yesterday's peace talks in Istanbul -- calling the outcome a "good result" --while highlighting the largest prisoner-of-war exchange, possible ceasefire options and a better understanding of each side's position.

He credited the progress to President Donald Trump's team and the U.S. delegation sent to help negotiations, saying the talks wouldn't have happened without their help.

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MORE: Trump says Ukraine-Russia peace 'not going to happen' without Putin meet

However, many key issues remain unresolved.

PHOTO: A handout photo made available by the press service of the National Police of Ukraine shows a destroyed bus on a road near Bilopillia, Sumy region, northeastern Ukraine, May 17, 2025, amid the Russian invasion. (National Police Of Ukraine Handout via EPA via Shutterstock)

Russia is demanding that Ukraine give up control of parts of its territory -- something Ukrainian officials say is unacceptable and have accused Russia of using the talks to buy time and avoid more international sanctions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, expressed disappointment and urged Ukraine's allies to keep up pressure on Moscow to reach a meaningful peace deal.

In a social media post Saturday, Trump said he will ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the "bloodbath" in Ukraine when the two leaders are scheduled to speak on Monday morning. Trump said he will also speak with Zelenskyy and NATO officials.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during the May 16 Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul and emphasized Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire, according to Bruce.

9 killed in Russian drone attack on Ukrainian bus after peace talks originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Ron Marsh, Abilene city manager, last week told the Reflector-Chronicle he has turned in his resignation.

He also confirmed that Anna Hatter, Abilene police chief, had submitted her resignation.

Marsh has declined to comment further at the present time. His last day is June 27.

The Reflector-Chronicle has reached out to Hatter for an interview. She was out of the office last week. Her final day is May 30.

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Marsh joined the city of Abilene as the city manager in June 2021.

Marshs experience before joining Abilene included 21 years of management experience at the city and county level. He worked as the city administrator in Clearwater, Kansas, for three and a half years.

He also worked in Sedgwick Countys public works management for 17 years.

Marsh resigns after John Kollhoff, city commissioner, has called for his resignation over the past seven months.

Kollhoff has accused Marsh of several mistakes and shortcomings as a city manager publicly since early 2024.

Abilene hired Hatter for the police chief role in 2020.

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Hatter previously spent 26 years with the Wichita Police Department before coming to Abilene.

In Wichita, she served in the roles of community policing officer and Special Community Action Team (SCAT) officer and lastly as deputy chief.

Hatter and Marsh are the second and third high-end city employees to submit their resignations this year.

The citys former finance director Leann Johnson is no longer with the city as of April 25.
Officers with Louisiana State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement escort a man arrested March 13, 2025, at the Port of Lake Charles. ICE reported 11 arrests of people working at the port who did not have legal status to be in the United States (Photo courtesy of ICE).

Gov. Jeff Landrys directive to link state law enforcement agencies with federal immigration enforcement is a move toward more illegal policing, a civil rights group leader says.

Landry issued an executive order this week, which he tabbed Operation Geaux, that calls for state agencies to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 287(g) program. Its part of a federal law approved in 1996 that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate its power to enforce federal laws to state and local police agencies.

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Louisiana is one of 40 states with active 287(g) agreements with ICE. Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island and Vermont have no such agreements in place. California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut have banned them in their respective state laws.

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Landry joined ICE officials Thursday to sign the order authorizing the agreement, which he has dubbed Operation Geaux. According to a news release from the governors office, it will include enhanced screening, aggressive identification, and a massive public awareness campaign that is going to wake people up. This isnt just talkits action. And its happening now.

If youre here illegally and you engage in criminal activity, you are going to be deported or sent to jail, Landry said in the statement.. Operation Geaux is the kind of historic, one-of-a-kind partnership that the Trump Administration is looking for to fulfill the Presidents promises of restoring law and order! Making America Safe Again.

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Alanah Odoms, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, said in a statement Friday her group opposes Operation Geaux.

This blatant targeting of the immigrant population continues to exacerbate racial profiling, instill fear in communities, and put disproportionate numbers of Black and Brown people into the deportation pipeline, Odoms said. Moreover, the majority of agencies participating in this program have documented records of civil rights abuses, including beatings and killings.

Gov. Jeff Landry signs an executive order May 1,5, 2025, that calls on state police agencies to assist U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement with its federal duties. ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan is pictured with the governor. (Governors Office photo)

As of Friday, ICE had signed 571 memorandums of agreement for 287(g) programs in the 40 participating states. They include 91 Jail Enforcement Model (JEM) agreements, which indicate local detention centers will identify, process and help ICE remove non-citizens with criminal or pending criminal charges. There are 12 more JEM agreements pending, according to ICE.

Another 205 law enforcement agencies in 32 states have agreed to take part in ICEs Warrant Service Office (WSO) program, which allows the federal agencies to train, certify and authorize state and local police to serve and execute warrants on unauthorized immigrants. There are 29 pending WSO agreements as well.

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ICE has also reached Task Force Model agreements with 275 police agencies in 28 states. TFMs are described as as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties, according to the ICE website. Another 51 TFM agreements were pending as of Friday.

The only Louisiana law enforcement agencies ICE listed as 287(g) program participants are the Bossier Parish Sheriffs Office and the Kenner Police Department. Both had reached Jail Enforcement Model agreements with the federal government. The Beauregard Parish Sheriffs Office is listed as having a pending Task Force Model agreement.

No state law enforcement agencies in Louisiana are listed in the ICE 287(g) participant or pending records, though the Landry administration has said Louisiana State Police and the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections it falls under will join the program. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is also expected to sign an 287(g) agreement as well.

State Police assisted ICE with a raid at the Port of Lake Charles in March, when 11 employees of a port contractor were arrested for allegedly not having legal status to work in the U.S.

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Former LDWF Secretary Madison Sheahan joined Landry when he signed his executive order. Shes now ICE deputy director, having previously worked as an aide for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when the latter was governor of South Dakota.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  New laws in Arkansas dealing with the direct democracy process are facing legal pushback.

The League of Women Voters of Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Cole Jester, and now the ACLU of Arkansas, representing For AR Kids and Protect AR Rights, wants to join the suit.

John Williams is the Legal Director for the ACLU of Arkansas.

Thats just a motion saying we have a similar interest in the lawsuit that the League of Women Voters does, asking the judge to allow us to participate in the lawsuit, rather than filing our own because we have similar claims, Williams said.

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Arkansas League of Women Voters speaks on lawsuit regarding changes voter referendum process

The ACLU argues that the new laws infringe on First Amendment rights. Some of the challenged laws include requiring canvassers to verify the IDs of petition signers, placing restrictions on who can canvass, and mandating that ballot initiatives be written at an eighth-grade reading level or lower.

The attorney general recently denied ballot language submitted by the League due to this law. Williams says one of their clients are concerned as they pursue their own ballot measure.

Its sort of an artificial way to judge the ballot title and it makes it more difficult to get anything on the ballot, he said.

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Supporters of the laws say they are constitutional and help prevent fraud.

In a statement, Secretary of State Cole Jester said, We are proud to defend these common sense laws. I have promised from day one to protect Arkansass electoral processes, and we will always fight to do so. I am thankful to have Attorney General Tim Griffins excellent representation.

Two additional groups ask to join Arkansas League of Women Voters suit against changes to referendum law

Williams said the parties have two weeks to look over the motion. Both of his clients, For AR Kids, and Protect AR Rights, are at different stages of the process.

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Were saying that we think its an infringement on First Amendment rights of the folks who are trying to bring these petitions and that were going to stand up for those First Amendment rights, Williams said.

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SAN DIEGO (KUSI)  Addison Jones made history when she made her college intentions known to Southeastern University.

By doing so, she became the first student with Down Syndrome in Helixs 73 year history to sign with a 4-year college.

I want to start doing new education and its my dream to be in this college, Addie said. Freedom, having the best time ever, and enjoying all the things in this new life.

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Addie is excited and ready to live independently and major in Fashion Design at Southeastern University in the Fall.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Michael Burry, pictured here, rose to fame after his story was featured in the book and subsequent film The Big Short. -

Michael Burrys Scion Asset Management made some major changes to its portfolio during the first quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission released on Thursday.

Burry  who rose to fame after being featured in the Michael Lewis book The Big Short and its subsequent Hollywood film  has opened a big bet against shares of Nvidia Corp. NVDA using puts, the filing showed.

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His firm also bought bearish puts on shares of Chinese stocks which he had previously owned outright, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA, Baidu Inc. BIDU and JD.com Inc. JD

The only long position remaining in Burrys portfolio, according to the filing, was a bet on shares of Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. EL

The SEC requires all institutional investment managers that hold over $100 million in certain securities to disclose their positions via quarterly filings known as 13-Fs.

See: Large money managers have to disclose their investments. Heres how to find them.

More: Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway dumps Citigroup stake, trims Bank of America, Capital One

Third Point sells off Tesla and makes these other Magnificent Seven moves

Soross fund places new bets on Nvidia and a SpaceX rival, sells off Super Micro stake

Stanley Druckenmillers Duquesne dumps Alphabet, buys more Taiwan Semi and Coupang

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Two coal-fired power plants in Arkansas are getting a pass on installing new air monitoring equipment, and some public health advocates are wondering: Who really benefits from this delay? For people living nearby, the answer might hit close to home.

What's happening?

White Bluff 1 and Plum Point, two major coal plants in Arkansas, were recently granted two-year exemptions from updated federal air quality standards, as reported by the Arkansas Advocate.

These updated safeguards, finalized in 2024, require coal plants to install continuous emissions monitoring systems to better track harmful air particles that can carry toxic metals like mercury and arsenic deep into human lungs.

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These exemptions came out of a Trump administration policy that let companies request relief from late-term Biden administration regulations. That means these plants won't have to comply until at least 2029.

Joe Goffman, who led the Environmental Protection Agency's air office under Biden, called particulate matter "the most dangerous pollutant that makes people sick," per the Advocate.

Why is this exemption concerning?

Without proper monitoring, pollution from these plants could go unnoticed, leaving residents more vulnerable to health issues.

That's especially risky for children, older adults, and people managing asthma or heart problems.

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This decision puts public health on the back burner and delays progress toward a cleaner, safer future for families already dealing with the burdens of dirty air.

"It seems that they should have been able to comply, and there is some non-public reason why they're seeking that exemption," Sierra Club attorney Tony Mendoza said, per the Advocate. "We were frankly a little surprised to see them on that list."

This delay comes at a time when many states are working to reduce harmful pollution and improve the quality of life.

California is phasing out gas-powered lawn tools in favor of quieter, cleaner electric models that cut down on noise and pollution.

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In New York, all-electric building policies are pushing developers to install efficient electric appliances instead of gas options, improving indoor air and reducing reliance on dirty energy.

What's being done about the exemption?

White Bluff is expected to stop burning coal by the end of 2028, but advocates argue that this future shutdown doesn't justify a delay in protections now.

Environmental groups like the Sierra Club are urging closer oversight to safeguard public health in the meantime.

There are also meaningful steps people can take at home. Switching from a gas stove to an electric one can make indoor air safer.

Joining a community solar program, using a smart thermostat, or even choosing battery-powered yard tools can all cut back on pollution.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  A 33-year-old man who was arrested in connection with a deadly shooting that happened near downtown Austin in March was involved in another shooting just days later, according to the Austin Police Department.

That man was identified as Kent Outten, and he was charged with murder, APD said in a news release.

Attorney information was not available for Outten, as of Friday. We will update this article if that changes.

Kent Outten, 33 (Photo: Austin Police Department)

The deadly shooting happened on March 31 around 1:50 a.m. in the 400 block of North Interstate 35 in the northbound service road, according to police. When officers arrived on the scene, they found 33-year-old Rex Johnson, who was shot once in the torso, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

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VIDEO: APD seeks public help finding 2 suspects wanted in connection with deadly shooting near I-35

Johnson was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center with life threatening injuries. He was later pronounced dead around 1:15 p.m. April 3, court records said.

That same day, police put out surveillance footage of two people allegedly suspected in the shooting, per a release from the agency at the time.

The investigation

APDs preliminary investigation revealed that Johnson was standing next to his friend, who was blind and using a cane, when two suspects walked up to them. One suspect allegedly assaulted Johnson and knocked him to the ground. Then, the second suspect allegedly shot him, according to police. Both suspects ran away east from the intersection immediately after the shooting.

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As investigators continued to review surveillance footage, it showed the two suspect walking northbound on Brushy Street minutes before the shooting happened. The affidavit went on to say that the suspects walked up from the Island, which is a small island created by the intersection of Cesar Chavez St and Brushy St.

The Island is referred to as one of several open air drug markets in the downtown area, court records said. The affidavit went on to say that the Island is a known location for having synthetic marijuana commonly known as K2.'

At the time Johnson was shot, police said he had a bag of K2 in his pocket. He was also experiencing homelessness at the time of the incident after he had recently moved from San Antonio. He moved to Austin in search of better work and was on a waiting list for housing through the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless or ARCH, court records said.

Whenever Johnson was in the area of the Island, police believe he possibly did something to upset the two suspects. He left the area and then met up with a friend near Fourth Street and the northbound frontage road of I-35. That is when the two suspects walked over to where Johnson was, punched and shot him, according to the affidavit.

Second shooting

Following Johnsons death, another shooting happened on April 9 in the 1000 block of East Cesar Chavez, according to police.

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Police said the victim of that shooting survived and spoke with investigators. The victim described two men to police who were known drug dealers in the area. Police said their descriptions matched the same two suspects connected to Johnsons shooting, according to the affidavit.

The victim said they had an outstanding drug related debt to one of the suspects for ice. When the suspect learned the victim did not have the money to pay off the debt, the suspect pulled out a gun and shot the victim one time in the torso, court records said.

After police interviewed victims and reviewed surveillance footage, investigators were confident that both suspects in both shootings were the same people, according to the affidavit.

Outten was eventually identified as a suspect in both shootings, according to police.

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We extend our gratitude to the members of the Austin community who spoke with detectives and helped identify the suspect, as well as to the Texas Lone Star Fugitive Task Force for their critical assistance in the arrest of Outten, police said in the new release.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
ST. LOUIS  St. Louis is reeling in the aftermath of a devastating tornado that ripped through the region Friday, leaving at least five people dead and nearly 40 injured.

The city remains under a state of emergency as recovery efforts intensify. A citywide curfew is in effect for districts 5 and 6 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday, following the same curfew order on Friday.

Mayor Cara Spencer spoke at a press conference Saturday morning, describing the storms impact as truly tremendous.

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More strong to severe storms possible Monday evening

The devastation is truly heartbreaking and lets not forget people have lost their lives, said Spencer. We are continuing to make sure we are identifying all of those that are injured in addition to the massive amount of property damage that has taken its toll.

More than 5,000 buildings across the metro area are damaged, with neighborhoods in Clayton, the Central West End, and North City among the hardest hit. Emergency crews are clearing debris-clogged roads, restoring traffic signals, and securing downed power lines.

Local leaders are organizing a coordinated donation effort, with details expected soon on how residents can contribute. State and federal agencies are stepping in to support recovery. FEMA is on standby, and Governor Mike Kehoes office is in contact with the White House about a potential new emergency declaration.

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Were putting all hands on deck to make sure that we can assist the city and local authorities as much as possible, said Kehoe. Our first responders, both fire and police, have been incredible heroes in this moment and this is when you really see the goodness of Missouri.

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The St. Louis Fire Department has already searched more than 4,000 homes. Crews are also coordinating with utility companies to help restore power to an estimated 90,000 homes still in the dark.

City officials are urging residents to stay safe, follow curfew guidelines, and check on neighbors as recovery continues in the days ahead.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  A first-of-its-kind center to protect older adults is now open in Scranton. Lackawanna Countys Area Agency on Aging cut the ribbon today on the Older Adult Advocacy Center, a safe space for seniors who have experienced abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.

28/22 News has more on why state and local leaders say this is a major milestone in senior care.

This center isnt just a shelter, its a specialized space that fills a critical gap in services for older adults facing abuse or neglect.

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Inside Telespond Senior Services in Scranton, the new Older Adult Advocacy Center is the first facility in Pennsylvania dedicated solely to older adults who need protective services.

Were seeing increasing numbers of older adults who are victims of elder abuse. Unfortunately, a lot of times they live with their perpetrator, alleged perpetrator, theres no safe spot for them to be interviewed, to be talked to, explained Sara McDonald, director at the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging.

Scammers threatening to shut off peoples electricity

By having this as a resource, its a silver lining in our casework to be able to provide this and hopefully provide a better outcome for those individuals, said Kerri Anzulewicz, assistant director at the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging.

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The center will offer shelter, personalized care plans, and support for those who cant access traditional shelters.

We have the great staff that are going to be working here, that are going to really be with them and support them, while we continue to build service plans and make a long-term plan for them so they can return to the community, said McDonald.

State officials say the need has never been greater.

When you think about the numbers, when you think about 3.5 million older adults, you think about that protective services cases have grown 82% since 2017, when you think about the impact of the work going to have on six counties, this is a true milestone in aging services, explained Sec. Jason Kavulich, PA Department of Aging.

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The center will serve residents across six counties, and state leaders say it sets the standard for others to follow.

Im very proud of this region for leading, because we have set the stage for the other counties, for the other cities, for the other Triple-As, the 52 area agencies on aging to work with their communities to build this, said Sec. Kavulich.

Only older adults referred through agency case workers will be admitted to the center, where they will meet with a full team of advocates and resources tailored to their needs.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com.
A veteran air traffic controller is speaking out about the high-pressure working conditions he and his colleagues are facing amid tech blackouts and staffing shortages.

Jonathan Stewart, 45, is a supervisor at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which monitors flights traveling to and from Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as regional airports.

In recent weeks, air controllers have been faced with unimaginable challenges, such as the 90-second outage at Newark that made their computer screens go dark while simultaneously leaving them without any direct line of communication to pilots.

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During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Stewart got candid about how the traumatic experience has impacted him and his colleagues. He also detailed a close encounter between two planes flying near Newark, N.J., that called for him to make a split-second call to avoid a horrific accident.

Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport

The incident involved a business jet flying out of Morristown Airport in New Jersey and another smaller plane that had taken off at nearby Teterboro, according to the outlet. Stewart quickly noticed the two aircrafts flying directly towards each other at the same altitude during the fourth hour of his shift.

While he was able to quickly contact the two pilots and direct the two planes away from each other in time, he was badly shaken by the near-collision as he feared their communication technology might give out like it did days before, per the outlet.

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As a result of the incident and the current working conditions, Stewart opted to take a stress-related trauma leave after writing a strongly-worded email to FAA managers. In the email, he emphasized, I take my job very seriously, as I do the safety of the flying public, and take pride in my performance.

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He notes that several of his colleagues have also taken leave after experiencing dangerous tech glitches, resulting in the same fear that these temporary outages could result in tragedy.

I dont want to be responsible for killing 400 people, Stewart said.

getty

Of his high-pressure job, he adds, Its like a videogame, but its like playing 3-D chess at 250 miles an hour. We are the guys that are guiding your pilots home.

While he tells WSJ that hes set to earn a salary of over $450,000, he says it comes with a lot of sacrifices, including demanding 60-hour work weeks. He adds that youre expected to give up nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays, everything else. Your mental health and your physical health take a toll.

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He notes that every time theres any kind of incident, it has a cumulative impact on every air controller.

The thing about PTSD is this: For every time you have an incident  say a close call, a near-midair, God forbid  all of these things are cumulative, he explained.

He emphasizes that the lack of staffing is a major problem in air traffic control.

Earlier this month, United Airlines cut 35 roundtrip flights from Newark due to FAA staffing issues, the airline said. Not only does being understaffed lead to delays, but it can also lead to unsafe working conditions for the controllers working on the job.

Getty Stock Photo

Stewart says in an ideal world, controllers shouldnt be actively monitoring traffic for more than two hours so they can stay sharp instead of possibly losing focus or getting fatigued.

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Like anything else, youre going to have a breaking point, he added.

In a May 13 statement from the FAA on the current staffing issues, the agency noted, There is a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and the FAA for years has not met the staffing goal for the area that works Newark airspace.

The statement continued, If daily or per-shift staffing levels are low, the FAA ensures safety by implementing traffic management initiatives, such as slowing the flow of aircraft into an airport.

All of this comes on the heels of the deadly mid-air collision of an American Eagle passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people, and significant cuts made to the FAA by the Trump Administration.

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He's a former al-Qaeda insurgent who fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. Still, on Wednesday, new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stood on the world stage shaking hands with President Donald Trump and achieving a major feat for his fledgling administration.

Trump announced he would lift the crippling U.S. sanctions against Syria and urged al-Sharaa to meet specified conditions in hopes that it will stabilize the country. These conditions include normalizing relations with Syria's neighbors, including Israel, as well as the United States.

Syria's civil war ended in December when al-Sharaa and a band of rebel fighters overthrew the government of strongman Bashar al-Assad. Since then, al-Sharaa has been working to form a new government, band together rival rebel groups inside Syria, quell infighting among former Assad-regime loyalists and establish a diplomatic presence on the world stage, ABC News has reported.

PHOTO: Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)

"There was always the potential that once a power vacuum was created, it would be filled by someone who was associated with one of the more extremist or terrorist related groups," said John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security undersecretary of intelligence.

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But Cohen, an ABC News contributor, said the United States has no choice but to engage with al-Sharaa, explaining that a stable Syria is vital to the entire Middle East region.

"We have to engage," Cohen said. "There are other powers, like China and Russia, who would be more than happy to assert geopolitical control over the region. So, it's in our interest not to have that occur."

In a speech to his country after assuming the presidency, al-Sharaa spoke about uniting his country, saying that "together we can open a new chapter in the history of our beloved land."

"From here, I address you today in my capacity as president of Syria in this fateful period, asking God to grant us all success so we can revive our homeland, and overcome the challenges that we are facing, and that will only be through all standing together in people and leadership," al-Sharaa said in the January speech.

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Al-Sharaa said he planned to form an inclusive government, "reflecting Syria's diversity in its men, women and youth." He also said he intends to build new Syrian institutions "so that we can reach a stage of free and impartial elections."

"I address you today not as a ruler but as a servant for our wounded homeland, striving with all power and will I have been given to realize Syria's unity and renaissance, as we should all understand that this is a transitional stage, and it is part of a political process that requires true participation by all Syrian men and women, inside and outside the country, so that we can build their future with freedom and dignity, without marginalization or sidelining," he said.

Who is Ahmad al-Sharaa?

The 42-year-old al-Sharaa was born in Saudi Arabia to a family that was originally from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. He grew up in Damascus, the capital of Syria, according to Thomas Warrick, an international lawyer and a former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for counterterrorism.

"He was a quiet boy, studious and very intelligent, according to all the reports we received about him when he was a terrorist leader," said Warrick, now a nonresident senior fellow in Middle East programs for the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

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Unlike some terrorist leaders -- including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the late leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the late al-Qaeda chief and accused plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- al-Sharaa has not been known as a charismatic leader, said Warrick.

PHOTO: Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, looks on during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 4, 2025. (Francisco Seco/AP)

"He doesn't attract fanatical followers in quite the same way that those terrorist leaders did, and he's certainly not known as a religious scholar like Anwar al Awlaki of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was," said Warrick, who has worked under the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and under Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.

As a young man, al-Sharaa joined al-Qaeda following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said Warrick.

"Right after the invasion of Iraq, he fought for them. He said he was a foot soldier," Warrick said.

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After joining al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa adopted the name Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, Warrick said, adding that the al-Jolani part of his pseudonym in Arabic means "of the Golan," a reference to where his family originated.

While fighting for al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Sharaa was captured by U.S. military forces and imprisoned at Abu Ghraib and other detention sites, according to Warrick.

Sometime after U.S. forces began to pull out of Iraq in 2007, al-Sharaa was released from prison and returned to Syria, Warrick said.

In Syria, al-Sharaa founded and led the al-Qaeda affiliate organization al-Nusrah Front, Warrick said.

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Al-Sharaa later had a falling out with al-Baghdadi over the al-Qaeda leader's decision to form an Islamic territorial caliphate, according to Warrick.

MORE: Who are the Syrian rebels that have toppled Assad and taken Damascus?

Al-Sharaa then rebranded the al-Nusrah Front as the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during Syria's civil war, setting up shop in Idlib in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, Warrick said. HTS remains on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.

"But there's a very interesting history from then, partly because of ego, partly because he was ambitious, and he understood economics and how groups like his need to have economic support in order to have power," Warrick said.

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To generate revenue for his group, Warrick said al-Sharaa began "what would be considered either taxation or extortion" of trucks crossing from Turkey into Syria.

"He used taxation to raise money from businesses and anybody who wanted to either transit or stay," Warrick said. "This is what enabled him to become one of the more effective warlords for that part of northwest Syria."

Rise to the presidency

During the civil war in Syria, more than 1 million Syrians fled to Turkey, prompting that country's president, Recep Erdogan, to ask al-Assad in mid-2024 for concessions to ease the refugee burden Turkey was experiencing, Warrick said. But a dispute between the two leaders developed when al-Assad refused Erdogan's request, according to Warrick.

At the same time, al-Sharaa and other rebel groups opposed to the al-Assad regime came up with a plan to carry out a limited military offensive against the government's forces. With support from Erdogan, according to Warrick, al-Sharaa's organization and other rebel groups were able to overthrow the regime and oust al-Assad from power.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump watches as Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)

In 2018, Trump, during his first term in office, ordered U.S. missile strikes on al-Assad's chemical weapons facilities and ISIS fighters in Syria. The United States also set up a military presence in Syria in early 2016 to train and advise Kurdish and Arab rebel forces fighting ISIS in northern and eastern parts of the country.

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The U.S. intervention in Syria's civil war, combined with missile strikes on the country by Israel, severely weakened al-Assad's forces by the time al-Sharaa and his rebel group launched their attack in 2024 that would eventually topple the Assad regime.

"What nobody really appreciated was how brittle Assad's forces were, and so this 'limited effort' began to become like an avalanche rolling downhill," Warrick said. "It picked up momentum and led al-Sharaa eventually to taking over Damascus within a matter of weeks."

Facing big challenges

The new Syrian leader will attempt to convince Western and European leaders that his days as a terrorist are behind him.

With Edogon and the Saudi Crown Prince helping pave his way, al-Sharaa, in just a matter of months, has garnered support and legitimacy from other leaders in the region, including the Emir of Qatar, whom he visited. Getting Trump to lift the sanctions is seen as a major achievement by the Syrian people.

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But al-Sharaa has major challenges to face, the two biggest being asserting control over all of the Syrian territory, as well as the armed groups that helped him ascend to power.

In December, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that a meeting of the heads of the rebel groups and al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense."

However, reports of human rights abuses allegedly carried out by some of the rebel forces during fighting with Assad loyalists have raised questions about the Syrian president's control of these forces. He announced an investigation and vowed to hold accountable anyone responsible for violence against civilians.

PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron meets Syria's new president Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace, May 7, 2025, in Paris, France. (Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)

After meeting with President Trump on Wednesday, al-Sharaa delivered a televised speech to his nation, saying Syria would no longer serve as an arena for foreign struggles, nor would it allow the resurgence of the old regime narrative that divided his country. He signaled that his country is interested in pivoting toward building international partnerships rooted in sovereignty and mutual interest.

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During the speech, he invited Syrian investors abroad to return to the country and help it rebuild, saying, "Hope in modern Syria has become a tangible reality," and he praised Trump's decision to lift sanctions, calling it "historic and courageous."

PHOTO: President Donald Trump, Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, pose for a picture, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Sana via AP)

During Wednesday's meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with al-Sharaa, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Erdogan, who phoned into the meeting, Trump urged al-Sharaa to take five specific actions, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House.

MORE: Toppling of Syria's Assad most important moment in recent Middle East history: Reporter's notebook

The conditions Trump laid out, according to the readout, include deporting Palestinian terrorists, ordering all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, helping the United States prevent a resurgence of ISIS, and signing the Abraham Accords -- a series of agreements formed in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states.

Israel occupies a demilitarized buffer zone along the southern Syrian border, and Israeli officials have publicly accused al-Sharaa's Islamist government of targeting the Druze, a minority religious group, south of Damascus.

On May 2, Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus. In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the strike was "a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community." Al-Sharaa's government said the bombing marked "a dangerous escalation."

Israel has been hitting Syria in multiple locations since al-Assad's fall in December. Israeli forces have also moved past the demilitarized buffer zone and have publicly said they won't leave the positions they're in currently.

Al-Sharaa told Reuters he's been having indirect talks with Israel to ease the violence. He says an investigation is underway in the Druze attack.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, who recently traveled to Syria and met with al-Sharaa, told ABC News this week, before Trump decided to lift sanctions, that it was the right move to help Syria recover.

"This is an important time to support a government that will not only respect human rights in the country, but respect women's rights, religious rights," Stutzman said.

Asked if he believed al-Sharaa is truly interested in uniting the Syrian people, Stutzman said, "I hope so, and we pray so, because of what the Syrian people have been through."

"We traveled into the community of Jobar, where there was just billions and billions of dollars of destruction, homes and lives ruined by [Assad]," Stutzman said. "This was a political genocide. It wasn't religious, it wasn't racial, it was strictly political genocide."

Stutzman added, "So, I think there's a great opportunity. He's talking to the right people and he's saying the right thing. But obviously his actions are going to speak louder than words at the end of the day."

'Potentially transformative moment'

Mathieu Rouquette, country director for Syria for Mercy Corps, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, said in a statement to ABC News that lifting the sanctions on Syria "marks a potentially transformative moment for millions of Syrians."

"This decision, if successfully implemented, could enable broader recovery efforts, help revive markets, mobilize resources for the rehabilitation of heavily damaged or destroyed infrastructure and housing, and give Syrians a long-awaited opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity," Rouquette said.

PHOTO: Syrians welcome Trump's decision to lift sanctions ( Amadeusz Mikolaj Swierk/Anadolu via Getty Images)

But Rouquette said what matters most to the Syrian people is whether lifting the sanctions will bring meaningful improvements to their daily life, from access to critical infrastructure, jobs, food and clean water to functioning markets and services.

"For organizations like ours, the lifting of sanctions could remove long-standing operational barriers that have hampered recovery programming, aid delivery and local engagement," Rouquette said. "With fewer restrictions on financial transactions and imports, we can more effectively support Syrians to restore livelihoods, revive small businesses, and strengthen local markets. This moment offers a real opportunity to shift from a heavy reliance on aid toward long-term resilience."

Following Wednesday's meeting, Trump complimented al-Sharaa while speaking with reporters on Air Force One on his way to Qatar, describing the Syrian leader as a "young, attractive, tough guy. Strong past, very strong past -- fighter." The president added that al-Sharaa has "got a real shot at pulling it together."

In a speech he gave at an investment forum in Riyadh before leaving Saudi Arabia, Trump said he would call off the sanctions on Syria to "give them a chance at greatness."

On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in Turkey and affirmed the United States' support for sanctions relief to stabilize Syria, according to the White House. Rubio, the White House said, welcomed the Syrian government's calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran's influence in Syria and commitment to ascertaining the fate of U.S. citizens missing or killed in Syria.

Rubio underscored to al-Shaibani the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion, the White House said.

From al-Qaeda to Syria's presidency, the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, speaks in favor of House Bill 62 on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

The Alaska House voted to advance a bill that would establish a statewide tracking system for sexual assault examination kits, expedite processing times, and ensure that survivors can privately monitor the status of their own kit.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed the legislation, House Bill 62, and the House passed the bill on Friday with a vote of 39 to 0. One member, Rep. Rebecca Schwanke, R-Glennallen, was absent.

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Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and chair of the House Judiciary Committee spoke in support of the bill on the House floor on Friday.

House Bill 62 is a vital step toward strengthening Alaskas response to sexual assault, he said. Currently, theres no legally required timeline for when health care providers must notify law enforcement after completing a kit. House Bill 62 corrects this.

If passed, the legislation would set more expedient timelines for processing sexual assault examination kits, which is a collection of physical evidence that can be used in criminal prosecution. Health care providers would have to notify law enforcement that a kit is ready for forensic testing within 14 days. The law enforcement agency would then have to submit the kit for forensic testing also within 14 days, down from 30 days. The lab would have to test the kit within 120 days, down from 180 days or six months.

Alaska law enforcement has made major progress on a statewide backlog in testing sexual assault examination kits in recent years, and Gray urged support for the bill to continue that positive trend. Supported by advocacy groups, medical professionals and public safety officials, this bill is the result of a statewide collaboration, he said. With the backlog of untested kits now behind us, House Bill 62 ensures that we never have a backlog again.

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The legislation would also create a tracking system for survivors to privately monitor their own forensic kit through the testing process. David Kanaris, chief of the scientific crime detection laboratory in the Department of Public Safety testified before lawmakers in February that this was a major priority for the department.

Doing this previously had to be done through them contacting a law enforcement agency, he said of kit tracking. Which can be a traumatic experience in itself for the victim-survivor, and so allowing them to do it at their own pace through the kit tracking system was huge for us.

The state already has a tracking system in place, supported by grant funding, according to the department, and the bill would provide that the state maintain the system, at an estimated cost of $200,000 per year.

With just five days left in the legislative session, the Alaska Senate is likely to take up the bill next year.

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Two spawning pink salmon head upstream in shallow water in Cove Creek in Whittier on Aug. 5, 2024. While last year's pink salmon runs and harvests were weak, big increases are expected this year. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

After a poor showing last year, Alaskas statewide commercial salmon harvest appears poised for a rebound, according to projections by state biologists.

This years total salmon harvest is expected to be more than twice as big as last years total, thanks primarily to stronger returns of pink salmon, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Games annual statewide run forecast and commercial harvest projection. The report was released this week.

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The departments projected 2025 total harvest is 214.6 million fish, above the 2000-2023 average of 175 million fish, though well below the record 280 million salmon harvested commercially in 2013. This years projected total is much higher than the 103.5 million salmon harvested commercially last year.

If the harvest occurs as projected, it would be the 10th-largest on record, said Forrest Bowers, director of the departments Division of Commercial Fisheries.

Key to the projection for this year is a much-improved outlook for pink salmon. This years harvest of pink salmon, also known as humpback salmon, is expected to exceed last years harvest by 98.2 million fish, according to the department.

Pink salmon are the most abundant and low-priced of all five Alaska salmon species. But last years harvest of about 40 million pink salmon was considered abysmal, even taking into account the normal pattern of weaker runs in even-numbered years.

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The species has a two-year life cycle, the shortest of all Alaska salmon species, and odd-numbered years generally have bigger returns, a pattern that has become especially pronounced in about the last decade, Bowers said.

The year-to-year fluctuations in statewide pink salmon trends since 1970 are shown in this graph from the Alaska Department of Fish and Games 2025 run forecast and harvest projection report. The odd-even-year contrast has become more pronounced in recent years. (Graph provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

The department is also forecasting increases in other species: 10.8 million more sockeye, also known as red salmon; 544,000 more coho salmon, also known as silver salmon; and 876,000 more chum salmon.

But for Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, recent returns and harvests that have been anemic are expected to be even lower this year, according to the departments forecast.

Last year, Alaska fishermen harvested 244,000 Chinook, according to the department. This years harvest is expected to be only 144,000 fish.

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Because of poor returns, the state has had to severely restrict Chinook harvests in recent years, Bowers said. This years projected Chinook totals also reflect obligations under the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty, he said.

The treaty aims to ensure that enough salmon return to spawning grounds to provide adequate fish for harvesters in both countries, a goal that has proved elusive.

For now, there are limited opportunities in Alaska to fish for Chinook, outside of one directed fishery where it is the species that is intended to be harvested.

Southeast Alaska is the only place that we have a directed Chinook salmon fishery thats open this year, Bowers said. Any other Chinook harvesting is done incidentally, with those fish accidentally netted by harvesters targeting other species, he said.

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Chinook notwithstanding, there is another way that this years commercial harvest is expected to be better than last years harvest: The fish will not be as small, biologists believe.

Pacific salmon have been shrinking in size for decades, a trend attributed to climate change, competition for food in the ocean and other conditions. Results of that trend were apparent last year. The average size of sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay, the dominant source of Alaska sockeye, was only 4.53 pounds, the smallest on record.

Measured by pounds, the total commercial harvest of Alaska salmon across all species was the third lowest on record, at about 450 million.

Three male pink salmon pursue a female up Ship Creek in Anchorage on Aug. 9, 2013. Pink salmon have a two-year life cycle, the shortest of Alaskas five salmon species. (Photo by Katrina Mueller/U.S. FIsh and Wildlife Service)

Last years slimmed-down average size of Alaska salmon was influenced by the mix of age classes in the Bristol Bay harvest, the states dominant source of sockeye salmon. Last year, about 80% of the returning fish were younger, having spent only two years in the ocean, according to the department.

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But this years returning Bristol Bay salmon are expected to be older, with 63% of them coming back after three years in the ocean, Bowers said.

As you can imagine, a 3-year ocean fish is going to be larger than a 2-year ocean fish because most of their growth occurs in the ocean, he said So if they have an additional year of growth in the ocean, you know, theyre going to be larger than fish that that have spent less time in the ocean.

Beyond the well-studied Bristol Bay runs, most other salmon runs have either single age classes returning or much less detailed information about age-class distributions, Bowers said. That makes it difficult to predict fish sizes beyond those in the Bristol Bay runs, he said.

The departments harvest projections are based on forecasts of run sizes compared to the needed levels of escapement, the term for fish that reach spawning grounds where they reproduce.

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Once escapement needs are subtracted from projected run sizes, the remaining sum is considered the harvestable surplus, which is what the department uses as projected harvest totals, Bowers said.

Whether fishers catch the harvestable surplus is unknown, he said.

Market conditions influence fishing efforts, the departments annual statewide forecast notes. Therefore, the numbers calculated may not be indicative of actual harvests, it said.

Sockeye salmon returning to spawning grounds in Katmai National Park and Preserve crowd together on Aug. 12, 2021. More sockeye are expected to be harvested this year in Alaska than last year, and state biologists believe that Bristol Bay fish sizes will be bigger this year than the record-small average seen in 2024. (Photo by Lian Law/National Park Service)

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Recently, Aldi found itself in hot water over something most customers probably didn't even know was an issue -- the store's farmed salmon. When you check on the internet, people really seem to love Aldi's salmon and most people take food packaging at face value, especially if something is marked as a sustainable product. The upper corner of Aldi's salmon packets used to feature the words "Simple. Sustainable. Seafood." Though most customers could see no issue with this, a few advocacy groups saw things differently.

Toxin Free U.S.A. filed a complaint in 2021, accusing Aldi of misleading marketing, stating that the store's salmon reportedly came from Chilean fish farms that used unsustainable practices and toxic chemicals. Plenty of folks were drawn to the "responsibly sourced" label, thinking it meant clean water, healthy fish, and minimal environmental damage. Farmed fish can help reduce overfishing in oceans, but not all farms operate on the same ethical or environmental level. And, once customers learned more, that "simple seafood" started to look a little suspect.

Read more: 10 Cheap Fish That Are Absolutely Not Worth Buying

What The Lawsuit Actually Involved

A side view of an Aldi storefront - Bgwalker/Getty Images

Toxin Free U.S.A., along with legal representation from Richman Law and Policy, filed a full-on complaint. They claimed Aldi was misleading consumers by slapping feel-good labels on fish that didn't live up to the hype. According to the nonprofit, these weren't just any farmed fish, they were raised in conditions that included heavy chemical use and feed laced with ethoxyquin, which is not approved for use in human food in the United States but is still used in fish feed. The presence of that chemical alone was enough to make waves.

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So, Aldi's marketing was hit hard as this wasn't a complaint about the fish itself but more about how the fish was sold. In a world where food labels already confuse people, putting a sustainability badge on a product with known red flags felt dishonest. The case drew attention to the gap between marketing buzzwords and actual sourcing practices. Though Aldi eventually settled and agreed to change its labeling, the damage to its reputation had already been done ... or so you'd think.

How Aldi Responded And Where Things Stand Now

Aldi's salmon without the previous label that says "Simple. Sustainable. Seafood." - Kelci Hanks/Facebook

In response to the pressure, Aldi made some changes. The company didn't admit wrongdoing, but it did agree to adjust its marketing language to avoid future confusion. That meant walking back claims like "sustainable" and rethinking how it promoted its farmed fish. It was a quiet resolution that didn't include any massive recalls or bold press releases; it was just a simple behind-the-scenes fix that most shoppers probably didn't notice. But, for those keeping tabs on food transparency, it was a reminder of how deceptive labels can be.

Aldi's salmon still lines shelves in stores, and many customers continue to buy it without giving much thought to its origin. That's part of the problem, though -- once the scandal faded from headlines, so did the pressure. There's no guarantee that sourcing practices have improved, and watchdog groups are still skeptical about farmed fish from regions like Chile. (Some customers have also said that you should think twice about buying lunch meat from Aldi due to suspiciously lengthy expiration dates.)

At the end of the day, most people want affordable seafood and assume the store has done its homework. For the highest quality, there are certain things you should look for when buying salmon, and if you care about the environment, understanding where your fish comes from should be on that list. If this situation proves anything, it's that "sustainable" isn't always as simple as it sounds.

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Read the original article on The Takeout.
UK utility company National Grid has reported an impairment charge of 303m ($403m) for the financial year 2024/25 (FY24/25) due to the pausing of development activities by its joint venture, Community Offshore Wind (COSW), amid a slowdown in the US offshore wind industry.

The impairment reflects current policy uncertainties and the impact on the companys offshore wind generation projects in the northeastern US.

The renewable energy sector has been impacted by President Trumps order of a temporary suspension of new federal leases for offshore wind energy projects in January 2025.

COSW is a joint venture between National Grid and RWE Renewables, an offshore wind developer from Germany.

In April 2025, RWE announced that it had ceased work on its US projects owing to the changes announced by the Trump administration.

The slowdown impacted National Grid Ventures' statutory operating profit, decreasing it by 553m.

The company also faces 57m in exceptional transaction and separation costs for the planned disposal of National Grid Renewables and 15m of commodity remeasurement losses, all recognised in the same financial year.

Despite these setbacks, it plans to invest 60bn across its energy networks and adjacent businesses in the UK and the US over the five-year period leading up to March 2029.

The group's assets are projected to approach 100bn by that time. 51bn of this investment is expected to be in line with the EU Taxonomy legislation's principles as of the reporting date.

Between 2024/25 to 2028/29, National Grid anticipates a total cumulative capital investment of around 60bn and an asset growth CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10%, supported by a robust balance sheet.

For the financial year 2025/26, the group expects a strong operational performance with underlying earnings per share (EPS) projected to align with the 6% to 8% CAGR range from the 2024/25 baseline.

National Grid CEO John Pettigrew stated: Weve made significant progress in the first year of our five-year financial framework, with record capital investment of almost 10bn, 20% higher than 2024, helping to drive regulated asset growth of around 10% this year. Strong performance across all areas of the business underpins our plans to successfully invest around 60bn over five years.

"At a time of international economic uncertainty, National Grid continues to provide stable and predictable growth through our resilient business model. We remain focused on delivering secure, affordable and clean energy to our customers and communities, and providing long-term value and returns for our shareholders.
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)  Finance Director Angelica Alexander and former Revenue Manager Yvonne Ivey face misdemeanor charges in an ongoing Muscogee County Sheriffs Office investigation.

Heres what we know:

Finance Director Angelica Alexander was charged with one count of willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer. The sheriffs office did not provide details of the obstruction charge.

As of Friday, Alexander remains in her job.

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To my understanding, right now shes still working, Mayor Skip Henderson said. That decision is the city managers. I concur with the decision. He consults with me on matters like that.

Former Finance Department employee Yvonne Ivey was arrested on two counts of simple battery. Investigators say it stems from alleged incidents between 2017 and 2022.

The misdemeanor cases will be moved to State Court. Wayne Jernigan of the Towaliga Circuit in Lamar County will lead the prosecution. Chattahoochee DA Don Kelly recused his office from the case.

We are waiting on the DAs Office to give us the rest of the recommended charges as we wrap up this investigation, Sheriff Greg Countryman said. Hopefully in the next two weeks we should be done with this. This is the first phase to it.

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Coutryman did not discuss the specifics of that phase but did say he expected more charges and arrests.

This started in January 2024 after personal information about City Manager Isaiah Hugley was believed to have been leaked. The sheriff said that was being investigated.

And nothing rose to the level of being criminal about their request, Countryman said.. We met back Jan. 24th I believe and they wanted us to further the investigation. And against my recommendation several times, because I understand when we do these types of investigations, that once the train leaves the station you cant turn it back because we have to turn over every stone to make sure we have investigated everything properly.

Citing an ongoing investigation, the mayor is choosing his words carefully.

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I think any time there is an open investigation, we should all be careful what we say, Henderson said. You dont want to interfere with or impact the investigative process.

City Attorney  Clifton Fay  and he says that city directors are appointed and removed by the city manager with advice and consent of council.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
In the 1960s, physicist Freeman Dyson proposed that advanced alien civilizations could be building enormous megastructures around a star to harness its energy.

Such a move would allow a civilization to advance from a Type I to a Type II civilization on the Kardashev scale, harvesting the energy available from a star directly instead of from a given planet's surface.

These shells, dubbed Dyson spheres, could be giving off distinct technosignatures, astronomers have suggested, making them observable, potentially, from many light-years away.

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But despite our best efforts, we have yet to make first contact, let alone with an alien-built megastructure siphoning off the energy released by a star.

And, as New Scientist reports, there could be a good reason for that. According to Brian Lacki, a scientist involved with the Breakthrough Listen Initiative  which searches for evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations  Dyson spheres may destroy themselves long before we can encounter one.

In a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper, Lacki proposed that having satellite-like objects swarming a star all at once could result in a disastrous, cascading effect in the case of a collision.

"When you have a whole bunch of things moving together like that in a swarm, a natural question is going to be, do they sometimes bump into each other?" Lacki told New Scientist. "At their orbital speeds, that can be disastrous."

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In many ways, the risk of that kind of scenario is already playing out in the orbit of our own planet. Scientists have long warned that satellites circling the Earth could collide with each other or with one of the countless pieces of space junk, potentially triggering a knock-on effect, called Kessler syndrome.

Experts have warned that it's only a matter of time until a collision could trigger a catastrophe.

According to Lacki, aliens would have to tread very carefully to ensure that satellites aren't crossing each other's paths.

"You just cant have that much material around a star without it colliding with itself and eventually shredding itself to pieces, unless each of those swarm components is careful about managing its orbit," Penn State astrophysics professor Jason Wright, who was not involved in the research, told New Scientist.

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Lacki's conclusion leaves an intriguing possibility: we may still be able to detect the signatures of already collapsed megastructures orbiting distant stars. However, without that visible technosignature, they would be incredibly difficult to spot.

As far as harnessing the power of the Sun is concerned, researchers have previously found that we would need to demolish a Jupiter-sized planet to build a Dyson sphere around our host star, an enormous  and likely risky  endeavor.

More on Dyson spheres: Scientists Identify Seven Star Systems That May Be Hosting Alien Megastructures
The Altamonte Springs Police Department is urgently looking for the publics help to find 16-year-old Jayvon Fleming, who has autism and is currently reported missing.

Jayvon was last seen by his family on May 16, 2025, around 11:00 p.m. in the Cranes Roost Villas neighborhood, near Heron Street in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Jayvon is identified as a Black male, standing 5 feet tall and weighing 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

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When he went missing, he was dressed in a blue and purple Yoshi shirt, white pants, and gray shoes.

The police urge anyone with information about Jayvons whereabouts to contact the Altamonte Springs Police Department at 407-339-2441 or call 911 immediately.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
As American Airlines continues to dominate the skies of Charlotte, flights at the citys airport are pumping tens of billions of dollars into North Carolinas economy.

The companys operations at Charlotte Douglas International Airport contribute more than $30 billion into the states economy, according to the airline and a study from NC State Universitys Institute for Transportation Research and Education.

Every two years, the institute assists the state of North Carolina in conducting an economic contribution analysis of its public airport system, according to NC State economist Ryan Hassett. As part of the most recent analysis, the institute worked with American on their hub operation in Charlotte specifically.

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CLT is the second largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based company, accounting for about 90% of the flights out of Charlotte Douglas. It is also the sixth busiest airport for takeoffs and landings. The Charlotte airport had 596,583 flights last year  an 11% increase from 2023, when the airport ranked seventh internationally.

Our hub operation positions North Carolina at the center of the world for tourism, events and business development, Ralph Lopez Massas, senior vice president of CLT Hub Operations, said in a news release, and those benefits extend far beyond the airline and deep into the communities we serve.

The study also highlighted several key findings:

Employment statewide

Americans hub in Charlotte supports close to 150,000 jobs in the state, according to the study.

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The airline has grown its workforce by more than 25% at CLT since 2020.

Charlotte airport adds airline for first direct route from NC to the Middle East

CLTs hub for American supports more than 2.75% of the states employment and 2.5% of the economic output.

American also employs 1,400 workers in the state at two reservation calls centers and operates a flight training center, maintenance operation and crew member bases.

More jobs in Charlotte

The relocation of PSA Airlines headquarters from Dayton, Ohio, to Charlotte will also have an impact, researchers said.

The regional carrier owned by American Airlines is linked to nearly $230 million in economic impact. The 400 jobs transferred to North Carolina are anticipated to create an additional 470 jobs among suppliers and other state businesses.

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PSAs move is expected to provide $10 million each year in state and local tax revenue, according to the study.

How many flights?

American and its associated carriers operate more than 670 peak-daily departures at Charlotte Douglas and 810 daily departures statewide. The airline serves more than 170 destinations from CLT, which includes 41 international destinations.

American served 50 million customers last year at CLT and 70% of them were connecting to other planes at the airport.

Investing in CLT

American has invested $3 billion towards infrastructure projects at CLT, according to the company.

This includes a terminal lobby expansion with a modernized ticket area, passenger screening checkpoints, and baggage check-ins.

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Additionally, a fourth parallel runway is planned to be commissioned in 2027, which will enable American to handle more flights, meet future demand, and improve service for customers.

Trader Joes expected to expand in the Charlotte area with Matthews store
Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service on Friday about a social media post that Republicans insist was a threat against the president.

Ana Kasparian, executive producer and host of The Young Turks, tells Jillian Michaels on NewsNations On Balance that the post was in poor taste. However, Kasparian believes Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbards call for Comey to be put behind bars is ridiculous.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
By Tom Balmforth

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -The first high-level talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early months of Moscow's 2022 invasion showed they are far from agreement on steps needed for a ceasefire, even though they promised a major swap of prisoners of war.

A window for more diplomacy remains ajar, however, after the sworn enemies agreed in principle to hold further talks, the foreign minister of host country Turkey said, a crucial point for U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants a rapid peace.

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The negotiators' promises to release a thousand prisoners of war, to meet again for talks and to present their vision for a ceasefire were "substantial steps", said Peter Slezkine, a senior fellow and director of the Russia program at the Stimson Center.

"I do think that they are a very hopeful sign, because the two sides coming into direct contact is an important development," he said.

Ukraine, the United States and other Western countries have called for a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions to allow for peace talks.

Russia, which controls almost a fifth of Ukraine, has shown little appetite for concessions, repeating maximalist demands such as Ukraine withdrawing from and recognising Russian control over four Ukrainian regions that the Kremlin now unilaterally claims as its own but does not fully control.

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The measured tones of statements by both sides that followed the talks did little to paper over the chasm between them.

A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters that Russia made demands at the talks that were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed."

The source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks, said they included ultimatums for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from some of its own territory and "other nonstarters and non-constructive conditions."

The Kremlin's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky suggested after the negotiations that Russia could fight on for as long as it needed to achieve its aims. Invoking tsarist military victories in a 21-year war against Sweden in the 18th century, he said Kyiv was merely deepening its own demise by resisting Russia's peace demands.

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'BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY'

The closest things to a blueprint for a peace deal that have yet to emerge are proposals circulated by the United States and counterproposals suggested by Europe and Ukraine at talks last month, which Reuters has obtained.

On Saturday, a senior Ukrainian government source said Russia's latest demands in Istanbul included Kyiv renouncing its desire for reparations, international recognition of five parts of Ukraine as Russian and that Ukraine becomes a neutral state.

The demands went further than either the U.S. or Ukrainian and European proposals.

One of the senior Ukrainian officials who took part in the abortive series of 2022 talks with Russia that failed to stop the all-out war told Reuters that the outcome of the renewed engagement in Istanbul had panned out entirely as expected.

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"Every journey begins with a single step. This is the beginning of the journey. Demands are always exaggerated at the start of any negotiations. That's classic," the source said.

SETBACK FOR EUROPEAN SANCTIONS PUSH

The fragile outcome of the talks puts the ball once again in Trump's court. He abruptly changed tack on Thursday, a day before the negotiations, saying he needed to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for there to be a breakthrough.

His remark put paid - for now - to Europe's hopes of pushing Washington to impose a fresh blast of sanctions on Russia.

If that happened, it would be a milestone moment in Trump's fledgling presidency, during which he has so far shown sympathies towards Russia and torn up the pro-Ukraine policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

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Just last weekend, the leaders of four major European powers travelled to Kyiv, threatening Russia with more sanctions if it did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire from May 12, a position they said the United States supported.

When Putin then suggested talks instead of a ceasefire, Trump told Zelenskiy in a social media post to immediately agree and made no mention of looming Russia sanctions, despite signalling for weeks that he is frustrated with what he has said could be foot-dragging by Putin.

Zelenskiy, anxious not to alienate Trump, proposed direct talks with Putin. The Kremlin leader did not respond until the eleventh hour, when he named a delegation excluding not only himself but also any of his full-fledged ministers.

"You don't send undertakers to a wedding," Vladimir Pastukhov, a Russian political analyst, said of Medinsky's nomination as delegation head, alluding to his role on the Russian delegation in the failed 2022 talks.

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After the renewed negotiations in Istanbul, the leaders of the four European powers plus Zelenskiy were again on the phone with Trump to discuss how the peace talks went.

And publicly the Ukrainian team called again for direct talks between Zelenskiy and Putin, arguing that only the Russian leader has the mandate to make decisions on many of the matters at hand.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump said he thought he could make "a deal" with Putin but that he would impose sanctions on Russia if "we're not going to make a deal."

(Additional reporting by Jane Ross, Vladimir Soldaktin, Can Sezer and Pavel Polityuk; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
GINGAL, India (AP)  Mohammad Younis Khan was among 40 residents seeking shelter in a cowshed when shelling began in Gingal, a scenic mountain village in north Kashmir on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border with Pakistan. Men, women and children sought refuge in the 3-meter-by-4.2 meter (10-feet-by-14 feet) space, which they felt offered greater safety than their brick and cement homes.

Huddled together, they heard the swoosh and thunder of the projectiles being fired from both sides of the border. When they heard a very loud sound from just outside the shelter, they held their breath and expected the worst. But the projectile had landed on soft earth and detonated a couple of feet below the ground sparing them.

Younis, who could tell the outgoing projectiles from the incoming ones by the sound they made, described the impact outside as if a lightning bolt had struck the ground. They all feared that India and Pakistan were at war and they would not survive the night.

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We were so scared that we didnt dare go out to a water tap just four feet away from the door even when the children were crying of thirst, Younis told The Associated Press.

Mohammad Shafi and four family members were having dinner in their kitchen when they heard explosions and ran outside. They had just managed to reach the road when they saw a blast damage the kitchen they had been dining in. They ran down a slope and hid among trees.

It was the night of May 8, and the shelling had intensified from the previous evening. Nasreena Begum rushed out, leaving her special-needs son behind as he was too heavy to be carried. She was tormented but was relieved to find him safe at home the following morning.

Most residents left Gingal for the town of Baramulla about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south, where some saw their homes destroyed on TV or social media.

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Naseer Ahmad, a Jammu & Kashmir police officer posted in south Kashmir, learned via Facebook that shelling damaged his Paranpillan home, instantly recognizable by the surprisingly intact large walnut tree beside it.

Following the May 10 ceasefire, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage, finding their homes riddled with shrapnel. Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs.

About 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, the usually bustling tourist spot of Pahalgam is now quiet, its residents facing a different challenge. It was here when, on April 22, militants killed 26 tourists in the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region.

Pahalgam, usually lively with May holidaymakers, is now deserted. Businesses are shuttered and tourist attractions within a 30-kilometer (18-mile) radius of the massacre site are closed to locals and visitors alike.

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Back in Gingal, Younis prays for peace.

Where will we go if the clashes continue? Drones can reach anywhere, he said. Those who want war have never experienced it.

____

Bhatia reported from Dharamshala, India.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) CEO Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen is stepping down after eight years in the role, during which he led the company to an all-time high in the markets.

Despite being the first to market in the latest generation of GLP-1 drugs, notably with its well-known diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy, Novo Nordisk has recently faced several headwinds, causing the stock to suffer.

That includes missing sales estimates in first quarter earnings this year.

Those headwinds contributed to the decision on Friday, the company said in a statement.

"Considering the recent market challenges, the share price decline, and the wish from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Board and Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders," the statement said.

Jrgensen, who has been with the company since 1991, will stay on through the transition as the company searches for a new leader.

The moved surprised Wall Street, but does not seem to be weighing heavily on the stock  down less than 3% in trading Friday. The decision by the board came as a surprise to Jrgensen, too, according to Bloomberg.

Analysts expressed concern and confusion by the sudden move on a call with board chair Helge Lund on Friday.

This seems "a little bit confusing, and a little bit more reactive to a single shareholder than one might expect of the company historically," one analyst said on the call.

Lund reiterated several times in response to similar statements that the company "has a clear strategy and that remains unchanged."

But he did concede that until now, the board had been focused on a different succession timeline, which was accelerated at the request of the company's largest shareholder  parent company Novo Holdings.

The climb

In June 2024, the company was trading at a high of more than $140 per share, and the stock is up nearly 107% in the past five years.

Read more about Novo Nordisk's stock moves and today's market action.

After years of being known for its insulin and diabetes products, Novo Nordisk produced what some have deemed an accidental blockbuster in the form of Ozempic, a diabetes treatment that showed greater weight loss than any prior treatment. It subsequently released Wegovy to target obesity.

The move has been credited with changing the narrative and stigma around obesity.

But trouble began brewing for the company when the drug's popularity outstripped its supply and Novo Nordisk began to face stiff competition from Eli Lilly (LLY).
AUSTIN (KXAN)  A 26-year-old man was arrested earlier this week in connection with a double homicide stemming from a child custody dispute that happened last month in east Austin, according to the Austin Police Department.

That man was identified as Darius Sebastian Hatcher, according to police. He was arrested on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons.

Urgent request: APD seeking information on east Austin double homicide stemming from child custody dispute

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Attorney information was not available for Hatcher, as of Friday. We will update this when that changes.

Darius Sebastian Hatcher, 26 (Photo: Austin Police Department)

Officers responded to the parking garage around 9:30 p.m. on April 20, located at 2604 Aldrich Street, after multiple calls of a shooting were reported in the area, according to police.

The incident started as an altercation between two groups, which consisted of a man and a woman and the two victims  32-year-old Kendrick Parker and 24-year-old Shamar Roach, according to police.

Police said the altercation turned physical before the man who was with the woman shot Parker and Roach. That man was later identified as Hatcher.

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APD detectives were able to identify a suspect vehicle and issued a BOLO  a be-on-the-lookout, the release said. Then, later that night, the Manor Police Department spotted the vehicle and initiated a stop. Hatcher was then transported to APD Headquarters and was interviewed by police.

Detectives continued to gather further evidence after Hatcher provided a statement and eventually issued a warrant for his arrest on May 12, according to police. He was located by the Texas Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and was arrested two days later.

At this time, there are no outstanding suspects related this case, APD said.

No other details were available Friday.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 federal appeals court has lifted a lower-court order that prevented the federal government from implementing President Donald Trumps plan to end collective bargaining by workers at more than a dozen federal agencies.

In a 2-1 ruling Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman appeared to have erred last month when he froze Trumps executive order on the subject.

The appeals courts majority said there was insufficient evidence that the National Treasury Employees Union faced irreparable harm that would justify the preliminary injunction, Friedman said in his ruling.

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Judges Karen Henderson, a George H. W. Bush appointee, and Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, said the national security exception the president invoked in federal labor relations law is an added reason for courts to tread lightly.

Preserving the Presidents autonomy under a statute that expressly recognizes his national-security expertise is within the public interest, Henderson and Walker wrote.

Judge Michelle Childs, a Biden appointee, dissented. She noted that the administration had agreed not to implement the key parts of the executive order as the litigation played out. That undercut the notion that the government needed emergency relief from the appeals court, she said.

How can the Government argue that the district court injunction will cause irreparable injury when the Government itself voluntarily imposed that same constraint? Childs asked.

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The National Treasury Employees Union said Trumps order threatened to end the union representation for about 100,000 federal workers, or roughly two-thirds of NTEUs membership. An NTEU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henderson and Walker also faulted Friedman, a Clinton appointee, for failing to make the union post a financial bond in order to get relief from Trumps order while the suit progresses. Trump issued a directive in March that the Justice Department urge judges to require such bonds in every case where litigants seek urgent relief from a federal government policy.

The appeals court panels majority noted Friday that such bonds are generally required and added that they doubt that $0 was the appropriate bond in the unions case.
Arab leaders and government officials on Saturday pressed for a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been gripped by a war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement since October 2023.

Addressing an annual Arab summit in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza to secure the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory, the release of hostages still held by Hamas and Israel's full withdrawal from the strip.

He also demanded that Hamas relinquish control of Gaza and that the militant group and other factions hand their weapons over to the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank.

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The Gaza war was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023. After a ceasefire lasting almost two months, the Israeli military resumed its attacks in the Gaza Strip on March 18.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Israel of practising ethnic cleansing.

"It is disgraceful for a state to pursue ethnic cleansing in this era and the world to remain silent," the top Arab diplomat said at the Baghdad summit.

"Israel's reckless policy in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon will thrust the whole region into endless cycles of confrontation," he added.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, whose country has been worried about a potential forced exodus of people from the neighbouring Gaza Strip, said the Palestinian people have been subjected to "systematic crimes and brutal practices" over the past months, aimed at ending their existence in Gaza.

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He called on US President Donald Trump to do his best to establish a ceasefire in Gaza.

Egypt, the United States and Qatar have been brokering indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for months.

"I call on President Trump, as a leader who aims to consolidate peace, to exert all necessary efforts and pressure to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as a prelude to initiating a serious political process in which he will be a mediator and sponsor to achieve lasting peace," al-Sissi said.

Al-Sissi's call comes a day after Trump ended a deal-making trip to the energy-rich Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

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Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a US-brokered peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also attended the Baghdad gathering.

"We need a permanent ceasefire, now. The unconditional release of all hostages, now. And the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade, now," Guterres told the meeting.

"We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza," he added.

In March, an emergency summit in Cairo approved an Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its population.

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The plan was presented as an alternative to a proposal floated by Trump to resettle Gazans elsewhere and turn the coastal enclave into a Middle East "riviera."

Several Arab leaders, including those of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon did not attend the Baghdad meeting. Instead, these countries were represented by government officials of different levels.

In a statement concluding the one-day meeting, the participants renewed "categorical rejection" of the Palestinians' displacement, the state Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

They also called on the the world community to "pressure for an end to bloodshed" in Gaza, and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the populous enclave.

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Several speakers at the meeting hailed Trump's recent announcement of lifting sanctions on Syria, a country shattered by more than a decade of war.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, marking the first encounter between leaders of the two countries in 25 years.

The sanctions were imposed in response to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's ruthless crackdown on protesters in 2011, and the violence his regime carried out against civilians during the ensuing civil war.

Al-Assad was overthrown in December by an Islamist-led rebel alliance commanded by al-Sharaa, who was later appointed interim president.

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Al-Sharaa did not attend Saturday's meeting in Baghdad. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani led the country's delegation and described Trump's decision as an important step towards the war-ruined country's recovery and rebuilding.

An earlier invitation to al-Sharaa from the Baghdad government to attend the summit had angered pro-Iran Iraqi factions, who accused him of launching attacks as a Sunni Islamist fighter after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Shiite militias from Iraq also fought alongside al-Assad's government against al-Sharaa's rebel group.

Since al-Assad's ouster, al-Sharaa has been at pains to project a moderate image and reach out to the outside world.
By Ahmed Rasheed and Moayed Kenany

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad called on Saturday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, accusing Israel in starker language of trying to drive the Palestinians out of the enclave altogether after it ramped up its bombing campaign.

Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians since Thursday in one of the deadliest waves of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March, even as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a Middle East tour on Friday.

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, whose country is one of the main mediators in Gaza peace talks, described Israel's actions as "systematic crimes" aimed at "obliterating and annihilating" the Palestinians and "ending their existence in the Gaza Strip".

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the summit's host, said Israel was engaged in genocide.

U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the summit, said "nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".

After a six-week ceasefire, Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza and resumed its military campaign in March. It blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which Hamas denies.

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Israel's declared goal is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages.

The military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all its 2.3 million inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel faces growing international pressure to resume ceasefire talks and allow food and medical supplies into Gaza. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher asked the Security Council this week if it would act to "prevent genocide".

Iraq's prime minister announced the creation of a fund to help reconstruct Arab states after war, with an initial pledge of $20 million each for Gaza and Lebanon, where swathes of the south were destroyed last year in an Israeli campaign against the Hezbollah group.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Moayed KenanyWriting by Timour AzhariEditing by Peter Graff)
BAGHDAD (AP)  Arab leaders at an annual summit in Baghdad called Saturday for an immediate end to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and to allow aid into the Palestinian territories without conditions. They promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.

In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gaza's reconstruction without displacing its roughly 2 million residents.

Saturdays summit was attended by Arab leaders including Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Siss i. The Egyptian leader said that even if Israel succeeds in normalizing relations with all Arab states, a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions. Egypt was the first Arab country to normalize ties with Israel.

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Among the guests were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the flow of aid into the besieged territory. He said that the U.N. rejects any forced displacement of Palestinians.

Saturdays summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January. In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history, Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza. Al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay $20 million for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.

Final statement calls for end to Israeli attacks in Gaza

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We demand an immediate end to the Israeli aggression on Gaza and an end to hostilities that are increasing the suffering of innocent civilians, said the final statement issued after the summit that was read by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein. Humanitarian aid should be allowed into all areas in Palestine without conditions.

The leaders said they reject any attempt to displace Palestinians in Gaza saying that any such move would be a crime against humanity and (an act of) ethnic cleansing. The statement said Arab leaders support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for the holding of an international peace conference that leads to a two-state solution.

El-Sissi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the U.S., is exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander. He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza once the aggression stops.

Abbas calls for Hamas to give up power in Gaza

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Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and along with other militant groups to hand over weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by U.S. President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week. Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against U.S. forces in Iraq  and promising to remove U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria.

Al-Sharaa did not attend the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. Iraqi Shiite militias and political factions are wary of al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shiite militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

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Arab leaders back Syrian unity

The statement issued after the summit said Arab leaders back Syria's unity and reject foreign intervention in the country. They condemned Israel's airstrikes and land incursions into Syria over the past months.

They praised Trump's plans to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and the easing of European sanctions recently saying that would speed up recovery and the reconstruction process in the war-torn country.

An Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations to reach a nuclear deal and lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.

___

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.






Archaeologists have discovered evidence of psychedelic drug use and snuff tubes" in a previously sealed-off room at an ancient site in Peru

The researchers found the room at Chavin de Huantar, a major archaeological site in the Peruvian highlands constructed by the Chavin, a pre-Incan culture that flourished between 900 and 200 B.C.

The small size of the room has led archaeologists to hypothesize that only a few Chavin elite were allowed to partake in the ritualistic drug use







Archaeologists have discovered evidence of psychedelic drug use and snuff tubes" in a formally sealed-off chamber at an ancient site in Peru, according to a new study.

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The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS, states that the previously unknown chamber was discovered at Chavin de Huantar, an archaeological site in the Peruvian highlands constructed by the Chavin, a major pre-Incan culture that thrived between 900 and 200 B.C.

The room was found to contain 23 artifacts associated with consumption of psychoactive plants  including hollowed-out bird bones thought to be used as snuff tubes.

Getty The 'Circular Plaza' at Chavin de Huantar in Peru The 'Circular Plaza' at Chavin de Huantar in Peru

Further micro-botanical and chemical analyses confirmed traces of psychoactive plants"  also known as hallucinogens  and six of them specifically contained traces of tobacco and DMT, a drug commonly found in ayahuasca.

The studys authors note that while Chavin rituals involving hallucinogenic drugs have long been hypothesized, this is the first time these substances have been directly identified at the site.

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"The tubes are analogous to the rolled-up bills that high-rollers snort cocaine through in the movies," Daniel Contreras, an archaeologist at the University of Florida, told Live Science.

"The tubes would have been used  we think  as inhalers for taking the snuff through the nose, he added.

Chavin de Huantar, located in the Peruvian highlands, was a center for ritual activity, according to the outlet. The large complex is made up of stone structures built around open plazas, and as additional structures were added over time, several rooms became interior spaces  which is how the room containing the 23 artifacts became hidden.

In a statement to CBS News, Contreras further noted that the small size of the interior rooms  which could only hold a few people at a time  could indicate that drug use was used to reinforce social hierarchy, and that perhaps only an elite class was allowed to partake.

Getty Chavin de Huantar in Peru Chavin de Huantar in Peru

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"This is compelling evidence that psychoactive plants were part of formalized and tightly-controlled rituals rather than individual vision-quests or shamanic healing practices," Contreras told the outlet.

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"As such, they seem to have been an important element in the long-term transition from small egalitarian societies to large stratified ones, where social, political, and economic inequality were thought of as normal and to be expected rather than unusual," he added.



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Armed Forces Day 2025 is in Maythis weekend!and marks an important opportunity to honor service members from every branch of the U.S. military. But what exactly is Armed Forces Day, and how does it differ from Veterans Day and Memorial Day? We're looking at some common questions you may have about this May holiday, including 'When is Armed Forces Day 2025?' and 'What is Armed Forces Day?'



Related: Saying 'Thank You' With Even Greater AppreciationHere Are 25 Veterans Day Facts

When Is Armed Forces Day 2025?

This year, Armed Forces Day will be on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

What Is Armed Forces Day?

Armed Forces Day is a joint celebration of all five branches of the U.S. military: the Army, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Marine Corps and the Air Force. The day honors all people currently serving in the U.S. armed forces.



Armed Forces Day is often marked with parades, flyovers, marches and other public events.

Why Do We Celebrate Armed Forces Day?

U.S. Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day in 1949 to replace the separate celebrations of Army Day, Navy Day and Air Force Day. The new Armed Forces Day reinforced the unification of those U.S. military branches under one central agency, the Department of Defense.



"Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, toward the goal of readiness for any eventuality," President Truman said in an address during the first Armed Forces Day. "It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea and air defense."



Related: The 15 Best Patriotic Movies of All Time

When Did Armed Forces Day Begin?

Photo by nito100 from Getty Images/Canva

Armed Forces Day began in 1950 when President Harry Truman wanted to establish a day that would jointly celebrate the branches of the U.S. military, which had recently been united under the new Department of Defense. Previously, military branches had organized their own separate days of celebration.



The first Armed Forces Day was marked with parades and air shows around the country, including a march in Washington, D.C., of more than 10,000 troops and cadets from every part of the military.

Who Does Armed Forces Day Honor?

Armed Forces Day honors all current members of the U.S. armed forces.



"This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces...to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world," the New York Times described the day in 1952. "Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty."



Related: 11 Ways To Help Veterans, Soldiers and Their Families

What Is the Difference Between Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day?

Photo by BRANDONJ74 from Getty Images Signature/Canva

These three holidays should not be confused. Memorial Day is a federal holiday that remembers and mourns people who have died in U.S. military service. Veterans Day, also a federal holiday, honors the service of all U.S. military veterans, both living and deceased.



Armed Forces Day, meanwhile, celebrates everyone currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. Unlike Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day is not an official federal holiday.

What Was the Theme of the First Armed Forces Day?

The theme of the first Armed Forces Day in 1950 was 'Teamed for Defense.' This theme reflected the recent unification of the U.S. armed forces under the Department of Defense.



Related: Memorial Day Quotes

What Is the Purpose of Armed Forces Day, and When Is It Celebrated?

The purpose of Armed Forces Day is to honor the men and women who serve in each branch of the U.S. military. Armed Forces Day falls on the third Saturday in May each year. In 2025, it will fall on May 17.

How Do You Honor Armed Forces Day?

There are a number of ways to honor Armed Forces Day. Some of the best options include flying the American flag, attending parades/community events and thanking military members/veterans for their service to the country.

Veterans Day vs. Armed Forces Day?

Veterans Day, which falls on Nov. 11, honors all veterans of the U.S. military, both those living and those who have passed away. Armed Forces Day, on the other hand, celebrates all current members of the U.S. armed forces.

Up Next:

Related: 100 Armed Forces Day Quotes, Wishes & Messages To Thank America's Active Duty Service Members
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  Dozens of people attended a Michigan Families for Fair Care rally at the Lansing Veterans Affairs Clinic today to protest the Department of Veterans Affairs cuts.

Rally at Lansing VA Clinic (WLNS)

The rally is being held in honor of Armed Forces Day, the holiday celebrating all active service members. The clinic is located at 5656 S Cedar St., Lansing. The event began at noon.

Michigan Families for Fair Care says the rally will address how these cuts are impacting the lives of Michiganders and their families while calling on Congressman Tom Barrett to do more in support of those who have fought for our country.

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The VA has literally saved my life, and so I believe I need to kind of repay that debt, said disabled veteran Sean McLaughlin.

After he finished serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Infantry in 1997, McLaughlin began using the VA as his primary source for Medicare, like many other veterans.

In 2022, I had a terrible slip-and-fall incident, and I broke my left shoulder. The VA came in and paid for two shoulder surgeries, said McLaughlin. He says without that service, his arm would be useless.

McLaughlin says that the upcoming job cuts, veterans will feel the weight of the impact.

When you look at mental health services and people that really need care right away. When we have these backlogs and people are not able to talk to counselors and get crisis services, it leads to increased veteran deaths.

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Lisa Bachman, the daughter of a Korean War Veteran, says her father received care numerous times from the VA.

My dad probably wouldnt have lived as long as he did without the VA in Ann Arbor, said Bachman. He got $1,900 a month from the veterans for aid and attendance so that we could pay for nurses to come in for private pay, said Bachman.

VA Secretary Doug Collins defended the upcoming job cuts, claiming they would not impact veterans health care or benefits. Bachman and McLaughlin disagree and are worried these cuts will lead to delays in care.

Its a huge betrayal. Its unforgivable, said Bachman.

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This is actually literally going to get veterans killed. Wait times will get pushed off more and more, and necessary care wont happen, said McLaughlin.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz has released the following statement regarding the VA job cuts:

As we reform VA, we are guided by the fact that even though the Biden Administration astronomically grew the departments budget and number of employees, VA wait times and backlogs increased. We are doing things differently. Our goal is to increase productivity, eliminate waste and bureaucracy, increase efficiency, and improve health care and benefits to Veterans. We will accomplish this without making cuts to health care or benefits to Veterans or VA beneficiaries. Were conducting a comprehensive, data-driven review of all agencies and processes within the department with the goal of fixing the problems that have kept VA on the Government Accountability Offices high-risk list since 2015. Were going to maintain VAs mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses and claims processors, while phasing out non-mission essential roles like DEI officers. The savings we achieve will be redirected to Veteran health care and benefits Our goal is to reduce the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to 2019 levels  roughly 398,000 employees  down from roughly 470,000 employees currently, which is about a 15 percent decrease. But those staff changes have not happened yet. Pete Kasperowicz,VA Press Secretary

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  The U.S. Army has published is final environmental impact statement regarding the proposed retention of around 6,300 acres of state-owned lands at Kahuku Training Area, Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area and Makua Military Reservation on Oahu.

This comes after the Armys request to maintain their usage of the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii Island was denied by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources just days ago.

State land board rejects Army lease extension on training site

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According to the environmental impact statement, the Army is looking to lease less land at the Kahuku Training Area, while also not requesting further use at Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area and Makua Military Reservation.

The Armys current lease on the land is set to expire in August 2029. For more information, visit the Armys website.

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By Maggie Fick, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk ousted CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen on Friday over concerns the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market.

Under Jorgensen's leadership, Novo Nordisk became a world leader in the lucrative weight-loss drug market, with sky-rocketing sales of its Wegovy and Ozempic treatments.

However, Novo's shares have plunged since hitting a record-high in June last year as competition, particularly from U.S. rival Eli Lilly, makes inroads into its market share and as its pipeline of new drugs has failed to impress investors.

"The changes are made in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the company's share price since mid-2024," Novo said in its statement.

Novo Nordisk Foundation, the non-profit which controls the company through its investment arm, instigated the early exit at a meeting in April, a spokesperson said.

Jorgensen told Reuters in an interview that he did not see the decision coming, and was only informed very recently.

Days earlier, Novo Nordisk cut its sales and profit forecast for the first time since the launch of Wegovy four years ago, though Jorgensen had predicted a return to growth in its biggest market in the second half of this year.

Still, analysts and investors were unconvinced of the need to replace him, with Novo's shares ending the day 1.8% lower.

"He was leading the company for eight years and was in my opinion extremely successful," Lukas Leu, a portfolio manager at Bellevue Asset Management, told Reuters.

Novo's chairman Helge Lund tried to reassure analysts and investors on a call that the company's strategy was intact and the plan for executing it had not changed.

"The way we know Novo Nordisk is that normally you have patience when you're on the right track, and then you let things move in the right direction once you have the strategy right," Danske Bank analyst Carsten Lonborg Madsen said on that call.

"It just feels like there's something that has gone pretty wrong here," he added.

The chairman told Reuters that discussions had taken place over the past few weeks. Jorgensen will remain in his role until a successor is found.

Eli Lilly, whose shares were up 2.6% on the news, has seen U.S. prescriptions for its Zepbound obesity shot surpass Wegovy since mid-March in its biggest market.

U.S. approvals for Zepbound and Wegovy were based on separate trials, but Lilly's drug helped patients lose more weight.
The U.S. Army plans to line Washington, D.C. streets with metal sheets to prevent tanks and other vehicles from damaging the roads during its parade next month.

The Associated Press, citing a U.S. official, reports that the Army will install several heavy metal plates at specific points in Washington, D.C. to avoid tearing up the pavement. As it currently stands, the Army is expected to field 25 M1 Abrams tanks as part of the wider parade, which will honor the Armys involvement in every American conflict. Given that each tank can weigh 60 tons and its treads rely on heavy traction against the ground to move them along, concerns about how they could damage widely used roads have been ongoing, even before plans for this specific event were made.

The Army will hold its 250th birthday parade on June 14, with thousands of troops, 150 vehicles including the tanks and 50 aircraft involved. The current plan, according to permits and public statements by defense officials, calls for troops and vehicles to start at the Pentagon, cross the Potomac River at the Memorial Bridge, and continue down Constitution Avenue on the edge of the National Mall. The route ends at 15th Street.

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Each metal plate is said to weigh several hundred pounds itself and will be placed along the parade route where armor pieces will be making turns. Per the route, those would likely be concentrated near the Lincoln Memorial, which the parade will pass by before turning onto Constitution Avenue. These are the spots where the tanks treads would otherwise cause the most damage to pavement.

During President Donald Trumps first term he repeatedly attempted to have a military parade through Washington, D.C., including on the 4th of July in 2018. Those plans were postponed and eventually canceled, but local officials in Washington, D.C. and some defense officials repeatedly expressed concern over potential damage to city infrastructure by tanks. The City Council had previously said that it would bill the federal government over any harm to the roads. This spring, as plans for the 250th Army birthday parade were coming together, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a similar statement, although did not outright oppose the event.

If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads, Bowser said in April.

The parade is expected to cost between $30 million-$45 million, however that does not include costs such as road repair or trash collection, according to Reuters.

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The vehicles themselves, as is often the case when armor is transported, will be brought to the District of Columbia area by rail, and then moved into place via truck. Other vehicles set to be in the parade include Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Strykers, according to plans obtained by the Associated Press.

The weight of American tanks and armored personnel carriers has been an issue for infrastructure in recent conflicts. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, American armor and vehicles allowed U.S. forces to quickly sweep through the country, but soon left many of the streets and roads in Baghdad torn up or crushed. Although tanks were not heavily deployed in the early years of the war in Afghanistan, they began to encounter similar problems to property and roads when they arrived around 2010.

Roughly 7,000 troops will participate in the parade. Some will be dressed in era-specific Army uniforms from conflicts such as the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, while most will wear modern uniforms. Current plans call for housing the soldiers in the Department of Agriculture building and a government warehouse inside Washington, D.C.

The latest on Task & Purpose
E-bike batteries used by migrants working as fast food couriers risk starting fires at hotels hired out by the Home Office.

The Telegraph has established that the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has been called six times to a single hotel housing hundreds of male migrants since 2023.

One of those blazes was caused by a lithium battery bursting into flames while charging in an asylum seekers room. The battery pack was believed to have been used to power a migrants e-bike used to deliver fast food and groceries ordered through app companies, including Deliveroo and Just Eat.

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It has now emerged that migrants in Home Office hotels found with dangerous e-bike batteries indoors can have the devices confiscated.

The increasing popularity of e-bikes amongst asylum seekers working for courier delivery companies has raised the prospect their batteries pose an increasing and serious fire risk.

It was recently revealed how some asylum seekers are paying off people smuggler debts by illegally working as bike couriers and making up to 500 a month.

Credit: Jack Leather for The Telegraph

Video footage from the London hotel showed couriers going to and from the premises fitting and removing battery packs on their e-bikes.

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A source has now shared evidence which shows electrical fittings, including plug sockets and concealed wiring in the walls, have been scorched in blazes at the hotel, suggesting faulty electrical equipment was responsible.

Staff at the hotel, which The Telegraph has chosen not to name, have been informed of the risks posed by e-bike batteries charging in rooms.

In a statement, the parent company of the well-known chain that owns the hotel said: There are stringent health and safety policies and regulations in place for both the building and its residents, with strict guidelines and comprehensive daily checks in line with fire safety regulations.

This responsibility falls under the operational management of a third party as part of the private booking.

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A Home Office spokesman said: We work closely with accommodation providers to ensure safety information about electrical items is thoroughly communicated.

If found indoors, dangerous items, such as e-bike batteries can be confiscated to mitigate dangers of a fire.

Credit: Jack Leather for The Telegraph

A LFB spokesman said that between 2023-2025 there were six fires at the central London hotel.

One fire in 2023 was caused by the failure of a lithium-ion battery for an e-bike, he said.

Fire brigades across the country have warned of the dangers posed by e-bike batteries after seeing a dramatic rise in fires linked to the devices.

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Many blazes are caused by incompatible chargers, modifications to e-bikes themselves, or faulty or counterfeit products which are purchased online, including chargers, lithium batteries and conversion kits.

Since 2023, the LFB has attended 143 e-bike fires along with 36 blazes involving e-scooters. Those fires caused three deaths and around 60 injuries.

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Aubrey ODay has confirmed she wont take the stand to testify against Sean Diddy Combs as his trial continues.

The music mogul, 55, is currently on trial in New York for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. (Diddy pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.)

While ODay is currently in the same city, she said on the Friday, May 16 episode of the Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Presents: Aubrey ODay Covering the Diddy Trial podcast that she wont be present for legal proceedings despite earlier reports.

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Im not here to testify for the Diddy trial that I know of, ODay, 41, said on the podcast.

Aubrey ODay Shares Cryptic Post About Justice After Diddys Arrest: Things Are Finally Changing

Although she is not planning to testify against Diddy in court, she did confirm she had met with Homeland Security previously.

I was contacted by Homeland Security and I did have a meeting with Homeland Security, she confirmed.

It was previously reported that ODay would take to the stand during the trial. ODays social media followers were also convinced this would be the case after she shared a post on Wednesday, May 14 via Instagram that featured a video from New York City.

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Hey New York!!! Where yall think I should head first? ODay captioned the post, and added a weighing scale emoji. The emoji, which often has connotations of justice and the law, led many followers to believe she was hinting at heading to court.

(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

In the podcast, she explained her reasons behind sharing the post about New York via Instagram.

I posted on my Instagram that I was here in New York because I want to make it clear to everyone that I am not here testifying, she said during the podcast interview.

Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all of the allegations against him.

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Aubrey ODay Said She Didnt Want to Die With Secrets Weeks Before Sean Diddy Combs Arrest

We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Diddys attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement at the time. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.

Since his arrest, Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His four requests for bail were denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Newly released audio recordings of then-President Joe Bidens 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur show Biden struggling to recount key events in his personal and political life, reigniting the debate about his cognitive capacity in the latter part of his presidency.

In audio posted in full by the news site Axios, Biden can be heard faltering while answering the special counsels questions, speaking softly and slowly between long, drawn-out pauses. His halting voice, often not above a mumble, competes with a loud ticking clock that overpowers the silence during delays in his speech.

At times, members of the then-presidents team or Hurs team can be heard jumping in to prompt his memory with certain details.

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Apparently forgetting when his son Beau died, Biden referred to the time frame of his passing as sometime between 2017 and 2018.

What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30th  Biden can be heard saying, before his staff members jump in to add the year was 2015.

Was it 2015 he had died? Biden replied.

After the interview transcripts were released last year by the House Judiciary committee, Biden was furious that he was asked about his sons death. How in the hell dare he raise that? Biden said at the time. But both the audio and transcript reflect that he brought up Beau Bidens passing on his own.

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His sons death wasnt the only key date Biden appeared to be hazy on. After initially saying that President Donald Trump was first elected in 2017, Bidens staff can be heard quickly jumping in to correct the year to 2016.

The audio recordings were part of an investigation into Bidens handling of classified documents. Asked about the potential documents in his possession following his vice presidency, Biden could not remember which documents he had kept  telling the special counsel that I dont know that I knew that he had held onto an Afghanistan memo found in one of his notebooks.

I guess I wanted to hold on to it just for posteritys sake, Biden later added, acknowledging that he may have kept the classified document.

The prosecutors pressed him on the documents and whether he told others where to find them in his home. Repeatedly throughout the interview, Biden said I dont remember before then saying that he may have told someone about the memos.

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At another point in the audio recordings released by Axios, Biden stumbled through a long aside about how he ended up doing archery with the Mongolian prime minister  a segment of his answers to Hurs questions about his home and where the classified documents might have been stored.

The interviews with Hur became central to a broader debate about the presidents mental acuity in the second part of his administration that eventually saw Biden stepping aside from the 2024 presidential election.

In a statement to POLITICO, Biden spokesperson Kelly Scully brushed off the newly released tapes.

The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public, Scully said.

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While the transcripts of the audio were released over a year ago, the recordings of the interview reveal the extent of the difficulty then-President Biden exhibited in recalling and describing events.

While Hur declined to recommend charges against Biden, his descriptions of the president in a 345-page report painted a harsh picture of Bidens mental state. Biden would present to a jury as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory, Hur said at the time.

The Biden administration asserted executive privilege to block the release of the tapes last year.

Republicans, who had long accused Biden of mental lapses, were quick to claim that the audio recordings were evidence of the former president's slump, casting Biden's stumbling as even worse than they had previously thought.

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"We all knew that President Biden suffered from severe mental decline during his presidency," said Mike Davis, a GOP lawyer and close Trump ally. "But the Hur tapes make clear it was much, much worse than the American people knew. The Biden White House and its Cabinet engaged in the biggest cover-up and scandal in American political history by hiding this."

Many Republicans blasted Democrats for protecting Biden and accused them of refusing to address concerns about his age  an issue that is already confronting Democrats ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign. Other Republicans opened the door to investigating how the Biden administration was run in its waning months  with Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, saying he would bring in Bidens senior staff for interviews.

Democrats told you over and over that Joe Biden was sharp, Comer wrote on X. The cover-up of Joes mental decline is a scandal of historic proportions.

Adam Wren contributed to this report.
Audio of then-President Joe Bidens interview with former special counsel Robert Hur in the now-closed probe over Bidens handling of classified documents was published by Axios on Friday.

The interview became one of the most notable and politically controversial parts of Hurs investigation, which concluded there wasnt enough evidence to charge Biden with criminal mishandling of records after his vice presidency. In a final report, Hur called Biden, 81 at the time, a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.

While transcripts of Bidens interview with Hur became public last year, these excerpts are the first audio recording of the interview to surface.

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An official with the Department of Justice has confirmed the tapes authenticity to CNN.

A Biden spokeswoman, Kelly Scully, told CNN, The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public.

The audio comes as questions about Bidens physical and mental capabilities have returned to the spotlight. A forthcoming book  Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by CNNs Jake Tapper and Axios Alex Thompson  details signs of Bidens decline while in office.

Biden sat for interviews with Hur for five hours over a two-day span in the fall of 2023 as part of the special counsels investigation into his handling of classified materials.

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In one, nearly four-and-a-half-minute clip published by Axios, Biden was asked where he kept papers on matters he was actively working on after leaving office as vice president in 2017. Biden took a long pause and said, I dont know, and then went on to talk about seemingly unrelated things that happened during that time period, such as people encouraging him to run for president in 2016. He also had trouble remembering when his eldest son, Beau, died, and needed confirmation from those in the room.

What month did Beau die, Biden asked before taking a pause. Oh, God, May 30th

Two people finished the then-presidents sentence: 2015.

Was it 2015 he had died? Biden questioned.

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In a second clip from Axios, Biden, when asked whether he knew that he had kept a memo related to Afghanistan, first said, I dont know that I knew. But when pressed further, Biden said, I guess I wanted to hang onto it just for posteritys sake.

Shortly after, one person from Bidens team interjected and attempted to clarify the presidents answer.

I just really would like to avoid for the purpose of a clean record, getting into speculative areas, the person said, adding, His recollection, as I understand it, is he does not recall specifically intending to keep this memo after he left the vice presidency.

In February of last year, Hur declined to bring charges against Biden, but in a final report said the former president willfully retained and disclosed classified materials. The more politically damaging part of Hurs findings came in his characterization of the president as a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory, one who would likely win over a jury if he faced prosecution.

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Biden and his allies fiercely disputed Hurs characterization as inaccurate and unfair, including pushing back on the special counsel raising that he didnt remember when his eldest son Beau died in his report.

House Republicans sought records relating to the interview, including transcripts and audio recordings, in their long-running impeachment investigation into Biden, which ultimately fizzled out.

The Justice Department provided a transcript of the interview to Congress, but Biden asserted executive privilege over the audio recordings. House Republicans voted to hold then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over the recordings, but the Justice Department declined to pursue contempt charges at the time.

On Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters Attorney General Pam Bondi and her team would determine whether the audio should be released.

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Thats up to Pam [Bondi] and the group. I havent really looked into, he said before departing Abu Dhabi. Everybody understands the condition of him. I know people that are 89, 90, 92, 93 years old and are literally perfect. But Joe was not one of them, and they did a lot of hiding. They were they were really playing games. And, you know, you cant do that. Our countrys at stake.

Top Democrats, including several potential 2028 contenders, have faced questions about the new revelations in Tapper and Thompsons forthcoming book, including whether they knew of the former presidents decline. The new round of scrutiny comes as the party is eager to move past the 2024 election and focus on waging a more forceful opposition to Trump.

Bidens team has pushed back on the books claims. We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite  he was a very effective president, a spokesperson for Biden told CNN.

In an interview on ABCs The View last week, Biden, now 82-years-old, defended his time in office and pushed back on claims he experienced significant cognitive decline while in office.

They are wrong, Biden said last week. There is nothing to sustain that.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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(Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister on Saturday condemned a 13-year prison sentence handed by a Russian court to an Australian citizen for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.

Oscar Jenkins, 33, will serve the sentence in a maximum security prison after being found guilty by a Russian court of participating in an armed conflict as a mercenary, state prosecutors in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia said on Friday.

Foreign minister Penny Wong said in a statement that Australia's government was "appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence" given to Jenkins, previously a teacher in Melbourne.

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"As a full serving member of the regular Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war," said Wong, a long-time strident critic of Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The Australian Government has made clear to Russia that Mr Jenkins must be given the protections afforded to him as a prisoner of war. Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment," the foreign minister said.

She said Australia's government would work with Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross to push for Jenkins' welfare and release.

Jenkins was serving with Ukraine's military when he was captured by Russia last year as a prisoner of war, Australian media reported earlier this year. A video taken at the time showed him, dressed in combat uniform, being asked if he was a mercenary, reports said.

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Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the West's support for Ukraine and has been supplying aid, ammunition and defence equipment.

It has banned exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes)
An Australian who fought for Ukraine has been sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony by a Russian-controlled court.

Oscar Jenkins, a 33 year-old from Melbourne, was convicted of being a mercenary in an armed conflict in the east Luhansk region of Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Prosecutors installed by Russia said on Friday that Mr Jenkins took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024.

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They posted a video showing Mr Jenkins standing in court behind a glass screen, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent.

The former biology teacher was ordered to serve time in a strict regime penal colony.

Penny Wong, Australias foreign minister, said: The Australian government is appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence given to Australian man Oscar Jenkins.

Ms Wong added that Australia had made clear to Moscow that Mr Jenkins should be treated as a prisoner of war, as a serving member of the regular Ukraine army.

Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment, the foreign minister said.

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Australia had serious concerns for Jenkins, Ms Wong added, and was working the Ukrainian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross for his welfare and release.

Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies class foreigners fighting in Ukraine as mercenaries.

This means they face criminal prosecutions, rather than being treated as captured prisoners of war with the protections and rights of the Geneva Convention.

Captured in 2024

Russian forces captured Mr Jenkins in December 2024. Later that month, a video shared by a Russian military blogger showed him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face.

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He was believed to have been killed in captivity, until Russia confirmed he was alive.

A later video showed him undergoing a medical examination, with his captors heard joking in the background that his blood pressure showed he wasnt dead.

Australias government said it was providing consular support to Mr Jenkins family.

Australia opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, condemning it as illegal and immoral.

Ties with Moscow had already been damaged by the July 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, which resulted in the deaths of 298 people including 38 Australians.

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Gold has become such a hot commodity that Costco is apparently limiting how much its members can buy.

The warehouse retailer began selling 24-karat gold bars to its members in 2023, with a limit of two bars per person. Now, that limit has changed to one per transaction and a maximum of two bars per 24 hours, when you look on the retailer website, as previously reported by Business Insider.

The price tag for a 1-ounce South African-made gold bar? $3,279.99, much higher than the $2,000 they were going for 19 months ago, shortly after Costco began selling them. However, that price increase is understandable as gold prices have risen more than 70% over that time  hitting record highs in April.

Noodles & Company: Could shutter up to 21 locations in 2025

Another listing, for the 1-ounce Gold Bar PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan, limits members to one item per transaction and a maximum of two items per 24 hours, down from a limit of five items per 24 hours in January. The same product had a cap of two purchases per membership in September 2023, according to an archived snapshot of the listing.

The retailer also has limits on other precious metals including:

1-ounce American Eagle gold coin ($3,329.99; one per transaction and two per 24 hours)

10-ounce silver bar ($359.99; one per transaction and 10 per 24 hours)

One option without a limit is the smaller 5-gram gold bar on an 18-karat gold chain, priced at $1,149.99.

Costco did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

Costco: Consumers still snapping up gold bars

The gold bars constantly sold out when they were first available online in 2023. "When we load them on the site, theyre typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member, Costco's then-chief financial officer Richard Galanti told analysts during the company's earnings call in September 2023, according to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Sales of gold and other categories including jewelry were up double digits in the 24-week period ending Feb. 16, chief financial officer Gary Millerchip said. The retailer also began selling silver Canadian coins in March 2024.

Costco could be making $100 million to $200 million a month by selling gold bars, Wells Fargo Equity Research estimated in April 2024.

If gold prices remain high  prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, May 15  and economic uncertainty continues, the bars could remain popular purchases.

"You know things are getting weird when your mom starts eyeing gold bars at Costco like its toilet paper in 2020," one social media user quipped.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner on Friday expressed support for Germany's tougher border control measures during a meeting with German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in Vienna.

Last week, Germany's new government ordered increased border checks with all neighbouring countries, including Austria. Dobrindt also authorized turning away asylum seekers at the border, except for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children.

Austria welcomed the stricter controls, noting a decline in illegal migration figures across Europe, including in Austria and Germany, which Karner attributed to intensified border controls.

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Dobrindt stressed that these efforts align with a shared European goal to work on migration policy and further reduce illegal migration flows.

Austria's Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer had also praised Germany's stricter migration policies, reflecting broader support within the Austrian government for the measures.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a state of emergency for Apache County the same morning she visited the site of the Greer Fire, which has scorched nearly 16,000 acres of forest in eastern Arizona.

Wearing a state forestry fire cap and a black jacket bearing the state seal, Hobbs on May 17 toured the area where strong winds have fueled the fires rapid growth over the past five days.

The same morning, Hobbs released an emergency fund of $200,000 to help support the state's response to the fire.

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Hobbs also ordered the State of Arizona Emergency Response and Recovery Plan to send resources to the fire.

At the time of Hobbs' visit, the fire remained at 0% containment.

The meeting concluded with Hobbs thanking firefighters for their ongoing service, and crediting good planning across numerous official agencies for responding quickly to the fire.

"Everything we heard today is such a testament to the partnership and the coordination that doesn't just happen in the middle of a catastrophic incident," Hobbs said.

She also vowed support for those who lost homes as a result of the fire.

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"I'm committed to helping ensure those families have the resources they need post-fire," she said.

She added that this fire would help inform operations for the rest of the wildfire season in Arizona. "I know we're all expecting a bad season," Hobbs added.

Officials update Hobbs

Hobbs began her visit with a briefing at an American Legion hall, where she received a comprehensive update on the wildfire from various state and local officials.

Lance Elmore, operations section chief for the fire, explained that crews had successfully used nearby roads and highways to create fire lines and help prevent the blaze from spreading into untouched forest areas.

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Part of his role also involved assessing nearby structures for their potential risk of being affected by the fire.

"We do have a structure group that's been out in the south of Eagar ... accessing houses and making triage," Elmore said.

Eric Johnson, a fire behavior analyst with the incident management team, noted the fire could grow due to the heavy winds, but cited constructive firefighting efforts at reducing that risk.

The Greer Fire burns in eastern Arizona on May 15, 2025.

Winds could push the fire east through the Little Colorado River Canyon, which Johnson described as difficult to access terrain.

He added that further spread of the fire in the canyon could push it directly into the town of Eagar.

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"This weekend's wind is going to be a test for all the firefighting efforts that have gone on until this point," Johnson said.

Heavy winds could carry embers from the fire miles away and start new spot fires that quickly increase its size.

But Johnson added that some relief would come early next week with a small chance of rain in the area.

The Greer Fire District reported May 13, 2025, that warm temperatures, low humidity and high winds meant an increased fire danger and a red flag warning.

Hobbs asks about challenges, needs of Greer Fire crews

After officials wrapped up their operational update, Hobbs was invited to ask questions.

She asked the crews about their biggest challenge in battling the fire: "You've all talked about how well everything is working ... I'm just curious, what is the biggest challenge being faced right now?"

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Officials had a clear response. The weather.

She referenced the emergency order and asked if there were any unmet needs in the firefighting efforts, also acknowledging the possibility of a worst-case scenario in which the fire could advance toward Eagar and Springerville.

"I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm going to knock on this plastic table and pretend it's wood," Hobbs said.

Sgt. Andrew Orona of the Apache County Sheriffs Office said deputies have an evacuation plan ready in case the fire moves toward nearby communities.

"I've put more time into evacuation maps than you can imagine," Orona said.

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He outlined designated zones across the region, with each deputy assigned to individually handle evacuations in their area. He also worked closely with fire officials to continuously monitor the fires threat to nearby communities.

"I don't want to get caught behind if something does happen," Orona added.

Brannon Eagar, town manager for Eagar, addressed the question and expressed concerns that the fire had already burned through a 70-year-old gravity-fed water supply for the town.

He said that water supply was used for firefighting efforts.

"That water source from that water line is a big deal to us," Eagar said.

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He added that the communities' irrigation system for farms could also be impacted by the wildfire, as crews driving heavy equipment may have damaged other water supply lines.

Reach reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ.

A personal take: A terrible Arizona wildfire broke my heart. How my daughter gave me hope as new blaze rages

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What fire officials told AZ Gov. Katie Hobbs about Greer Fire
CONNECTICUT (WTNH)  The Connecticut Better Business Bureau says one case is one of the highest examples of romance scamming theyve ever seen.

Janet, which is a pseudonym, from Connecticut, exclusively told News 8 that one man stole her heart and so much more. No one in her family knows this tale of love, betrayal, and thievery.

I dont know exactly when, but he said he loved me, she said.

Connecticut families claim they were scammed by monuments company

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They met in the line at the Bristol Post Office, started chatting, exchanged smiles, then phone numbershappily ever after? Hardly, no fairy tale. More like a nightmare.

Janet, who is quite sharp an detailed, says the man told her his name John Gilbert, who worked on a ship in the Gulf of Mexico when they first met.

Janet, divorced, let her guard down and she was looking for love.

Charming like no other man Ive ever met in my life, she said.

The scammer says he needed money to get off the ship and get back home. She says there were these threatening texts, saying men were going to harm him if she didnt pay up.

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But she gave nearly every last dime she had, going hungry sometimes, with no money for food.

In all, Janet sent $100,000 by the time it was over. Happily ever after no more, and thats when she went to the police.

Her warning to all women, see the next love of your life in person, often.

The Connecticut Better Business Bureau says, behind investment scams, dollar wise, romance scams are highest in the state. And this $100k loss is the highest ever recorded locally in all of 2024.

If theyre asking you to use a pre-paid debit card use a cash app or a peer to peer app those are supposed to be with people you know and trust, Kristen Johnson with the Connecticut Better Business Bureau said.

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Some good news, detectives are tracking John Gilbert and Janet has gotten some money back, not all.

But shes hoping for more, until death do us part.

Watch the full video on News 8 at 6.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  The Bakersfield Police Department asked the community to assist in locating two 11-year-old kids who reportedly ran away on Thursday.

Danielle Bernal, 11, was last seen May 15 in the 2400 block of Planz Road, according to police. She is considered at risk due to her age.

BPD described Bernal as being 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 100 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black cargo pants and white Nike Air Force 1 shoes.

Ethan Hernandez, 11, was also last seen on Thursday in the 2400 block of Planz Road. Hernandez is also at risk due to his age.

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According to officials, Hernandez is 5 feet tall and weighs 127 pounds. He wears prescription glasses and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Hernandez was last seen wearing a green sweater, black jeans and blue and white Air Jordan shoes, as well as a black and white backpack, according to police.

Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage

Police said it is believed Bernal and Hernandez fled together, but they cannot confirm the two are still together.

Anyone with information about Bernal and Hernandezs whereabouts is asked to contact BPD at 661-327-7111.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Latest: Ukraine's General Staff responds after accusations of 'stupid objectives' from 47th Brigade battalion commander.

Oleksandr Shyrshyn, battalion commander of the 47 Separate Mechanized Brigade, has submitted his resignation, sharply criticizing Ukraines military leadership for what he described as senseless orders and unnecessary casualties.

"I have never received more stupid objectives than in the current direction," Shyrshyn wrote in a blunt Facebook post announcing his decision on May 16. "Someday I will tell you the details, but the stupid loss of people, trembling in front of a stupid generals, leads to nothing but failures."

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"I hope your children will also serve in the infantry and carry out your orders," he added

Ukraine's General Staff, who was tagged in Shyrshyn's post, had not commented on the matter at the time of the publication.

The Kyiv Independent reported in 2023 that the brigade, which was formed from scratch in 2022 and is often known by the name Magura," was prepared with the summer 2023 counteroffensive in mind; its soldiers were trained in NATO countries and equipped with superior new Western equipment.

In 2024, the brigade was engaged in combat operations within Russia's Kursk Oblast.

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Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, marking the first major foreign ground offensive into Russian territory since World War II. The operation sought to delay a planned Russian push into Ukraines Sumy Oblast and redirect Russian forces away from eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Moscow began a major counteroffensive in early March, retaking large portions of territory including the town of Sudzha. Ukrainian forces have since withdrawn from much of the area but still maintain limited control in some zones as of late April despite Russia's claims that its forces have fully recaptured the territory of the region.

Meanwhile, Shyrshyn on May 16 accused the military command of focusing on punishments rather than results. "All they are capable of is reprimands, investigations, imposition of penalties. Everyone is going to hell," he wrote. "Political games and assessment of the real state of affairs do not correspond to either reality or possibilities. They played games."

Shyrshyn said he has filed a formal report requesting dismissal from his post and expressed hope that it would be accepted soon.

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Read also: How Russias Shahed drones are getting more dangerous  and what Ukraine is doing about it

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A bear, who is not afraid of humans, has been harassing visitors to part of New Mexicos Gila Wilderness during a series of close encounters of the bear kind.

The Gila National Forest has received numerous reports of a human-habituated bear frequenting the Jordan Hot Springs area of the Gila Wilderness, officials with the national forest said.

A bear has been harassing visitors to the Jordan Hot Springs area of the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. The bears in the photo do not show the one who has been having series of close encounters with visitors to the wilderness area. Photo courtesy of the Gila National Forest.

The bear has charged at hikers, harassed campers at a campsite, destroyed a tent, and entered the hot spring while visitors were soaking in it, according to a news release.

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Since the release was sent out earlier this week, there was another bear encounter in the Jordan Hot Springs area, according to the national forests Facebook page.

In the latest bear encounter, a bear followed a party of hikers, who threw rocks to help scare the animal away, officials with the Gila National Forest said.

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is advising visitors to avoid the area until the department has had an opportunity to investigate and respond appropriately.

Signs will be posted at trailheads while this hazard exists. You can click here to find out the lastest information.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG)  This month, bears have been seen playing in a Saraland yard, one bit a man in Gulf Breeze, and now, theyve been spotted in Spanish Fort.

3 arrested, accused of running pill mill at Pace Pharmacy: FDLE

Bears have been seen this year in Saraland, Gulf Breeze, and now in Spanish Fort. (Courtesy of Spanish Fort Police Department)

According to a Spanish Fort Police Department Facebook post, bears have been seen in Spanish Fort near Bromley Road.

The sightings prompted police to issue a warning to residents.

Spanish Fort Police are giving tips for residents in response to bear sightings in Spanish Fort. (Courtesy of Spanish Fort Police Department)

While bears are generally harmless and prefer to avoid human interaction, we want to make sure everyone stays safe, the post said.

A bear has been seen in Spanish Fort near Bromley Road. (Courtesy of Spanish Fort Police Department)

It included these tips:

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Bring in all pet food, including bowls, at night to avoid attracting bears.

If you have deer feeders outside, remove them temporarily.

Make sure all trash cans are tightly secured and not left outside overnight.

Dont feed or harm area wildlife; its illegal.

Educate your children to stay away from any bears and avoid approaching them.

The post said that following these precautions can ensure bears stay in their natural habitat.

1 woman continuously leaves sick litters of kittens at A Hope animal welfare in Milton

Bear sightings can be reported to local law enforcement. If a bear poses a threat to public safety, call 911.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
This is the second of a multi-series of feature stories that will highlight residents in Beaufort County who balance multiple jobs to provide an insight into the economic climate and workforce of the Lowcountry region.

By the time most people are winding down their day, Robert Breger is just getting started.

Hes either hauling trash at an apartment complex or captaining a dolphin tour boat off Hilton Head Island.

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Known to some locals as Captain Roby and to others as the trash guy, hes built a patchwork career that thrives on flexibility, grit and a love of the Lowcountry.

I was born and raised here, Breger said. I like to joke that I was born in a basin on an oyster bank. My dad ran a shrimp boat when I was little and Ive been out here driving boats solo since I was 13.

Despite his love for the water and the Lowcountry, Breger opted for a change of scenery when he decided to study aerospace engineering at The University of Alabama.

But after moving back here from college, I got stuck working in the food and beverage industry, which led me to start drinking too much, he said. I hit 29 and realized I didnt want to be 30 and still living at home with my dad.

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That realization led him to sobriety and a new career shift.

As Breger puts it, You realize pretty quickly that bartending isnt as fun when youre sober, he said.

Why the side hustle shift?

Breger set his sights on earning a U.S. Coast Guard captains license, a months-long process that required schooling, exams and extreme patience. But by the time he finally received his credentials, the boating season was winding down  and jobs were scarce.

With bills piling up, he turned to Craigslist.

Thats where he found his first steady post-sobriety gig: collecting trash from apartment doorsteps.

It wasnt glamorous, Breger said. At first, it was downright nasty. But it paid $50 a night, guaranteed and I could do it even in the off-season.

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That job not only helped keep him afloat, but it also secure a loan from his uncle to buy a 40-foot sailboat.

I wanted to build equity in something, he said. Owning a boat of my own has been a longtime dream of mine, so I just decided to go for it.

These days, Breger juggles an impressive roster of seasonal roles. He captains dolphin tours at places like Dolphin Seafari and Dolphin Discoveries. He also works events on the island and recently joined Sea Tow, a marine assistance franchise, along with his more frequent gig as a trash fairy.

Whether hes steering tourists past dolphins or quietly hauling garbage at dawn, Breger embodies resilience

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I got sober and changed my life, he said. Now, I get to do what I love, even if it means a little trash along the way.

Breger working the check-in desk at Dolphin Seafari, one of his many Lowcountry side hustles.

Ill sleep in September

Since returning to the sea, Breger has realized his expansive background in hospitality served him more than he thought.

As a mate, youre basically hosting a show, he said. Youve got to keep everyone entertained  dolphins or not. That was no problem for me, I love to talk.

Darting between gigs , balance can easily go overboard, but Breger seems to handle it.

I joke that Ill sleep in September, he said.

Between Sea Tow, his multiple captain roles, events and trash pick up, his weekly schedule is a masterpiece of coordination and exhaustion.

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There are days Im on the water from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., he says. Then I drive to Bluffton to do my trash route, which gives me a chance to stretch my legs and decompress with a podcast. I just stack the bags, make little piles and drive around picking them up. Its not glamorous, but it works.

When peak summer months hit, Breger finds himself working up to 70 hours a week, but that drops off quickly in the off-season.

Thats why I push so hard now, he said. I like to keep irons in the fire. If one cools off, Ive got another going. Plus, I always do my best I show up, I do a good job and I have people that trust me.

Upcoming adventures

Despite the grind, Breger has a long game in mind.

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The goal is to pay things off and then use the off-seasons to travel, hopefully down to the Virgin Islands, he says. Although my absolute end goal is to become a delivery boat captain or all-around boat fixer.

Hes already laying the groundwork, building a loyal following here that he hopes will someday follow him south.

For now, the plan is to keep captaining

Once my bills get knocked out, I wont really have anything in the way of overhead, Breger said. Thats when Ill feel free, like I can take a big trip without having to stress about paying the bills.

And as much as the work keeps him grounded, it also gives him the chance to continue doing what he enjoys.

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Its a lot, but I love it, he said. My job is what most people do for fun, and I get to do it for a living. Thats the dream, right?

Do you or someone you know have a Lowcountry side hustle? Please reach out via email to amiller@islandpacket.com for more information about this series.

Our previous feature stories can be found below:

Behind every hustle in Beaufort County is a purpose: Meet Zchealvin Alversado
(KRON)  A violent road rage incident happened in Berkeley between an electric skateboarder and a man driving a car Thursday afternoon, police said.

The driver got into an argument with a person who was riding on a skateboard in the area of Euclid Avenue and Cedar Street, according to the Berkeley Police Department.

Following the altercation, the (skateboarder) pursued the victim and attempted to vandalize his vehicle, BPD wrote.

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Driver who allegedly killed family of 4 in San Francisco accused of hiding wealth

When the driver stopped his car and stepped out, the skateboard rider stabbed the victim in his head, police said.

Police officers were dispatched at 4:41 p.m. The assailant fled from the area and evaded 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 KRON4.
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)  Multiple Kentuckians are dead after a mass casualty line of storms ravaged multiple counties Friday night into early Saturday.

The governor surveyed damage in London before hosting a briefing at 5 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 17, from Kentucky National Guard JRTC with other state officials.

In an update just after 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Gov. Andy Beshear said at least 19 Kentuckians were killed due to the storms that extended overnight.

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Beshear said 17 of the victims were from Laurel County, with one woman from Pulaski County and a woman from Russell County:

Laurel: Man, unknown age Man, unknown age Man, 25 Man, 63 Man, 71 Man, 73 Man, 76 Woman, 48 Woman, 51 Woman, 65 Woman, 67 Woman, 67 Woman, 68 Woman, 69 Woman, 73 Woman, 73 Woman, 74

Pulaski Woman, unknown age

Russell Woman, unknown age



This number is expected to grow as we receive more information. Please pray for all of our affected families, the governor wrote.

Laurel County fire major killed in line of duty during storms

Beshear posted on X just after 2:45 p.m. on Sunday that 10 Kentuckians were at the University of Kentucky Hospital after being injured due to the storms. Three of them are in critical condition, four are in fair condition, and three are reportedly in good condition.

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Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, the FOX 56 Weather Authority tracked a tornado that had originally touched down in Pulaski County before moving into Laurel County.

The Laurel County Fiscal Court shared on Facebook that the tornado had pummeled several areas, including Sunshine Hills, London-Corbin Airport, Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, and the Oaks of London subdivision. Officials continued to search the areas for survivors as of 6 a.m., according to Laurel County Sheriff John Root.

Thousands in Kentucky without power, multiple day outage expected for some

During the briefing, Beshear said officials are awaiting the tornado rating, though it was rated as a three as it came through Somerset.

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On X, Beshear confirmed that five counties have declared a state of emergency as of 9 a.m. Saturday.

I want to thank Kentucky Emergency Management, first responders, Kentucky State Police, local officials and Kentuckians across our state for working through the night to keep everyone informed and safe. All of our resources are now focused on rescue efforts. Please pray for the families affected. We will get through this together, Beshear said.

Trooper Pennington with Kentucky State Police said First Baptist Church in London will serve as a shelter to those impacted by the tornado.

Laurel County tornado victims look toward future as law enforcement cracks down on looters

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Pennington also said the First Assembly of God Church will serve as a base for people to file missing persons reports following the storm. KSP detectives and the Laurel County Sheriffs Office will be present. Missing person details will not start until 9 a.m., per Pennington.

First Baptist Church can be found at 804 W Fifth St. in London, while First Assembly of God is located at 390 Faith Assembly Church Rd. in London.

Sheriff Root said anyone displaced by the storm who needs housing is asked to call 606-521-3119. Housing is being provided courtesy of Praxel.

Read more of the latest Kentucky news

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Beshear said the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund is there to help survivors and also to provide relief by covering the funeral expenses of those lost during the disaster.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
RBK Chartered Accountants has announced its merger with MCP Accountants and OMC OMalley & Company, located in Castlebar, Ireland.

OMC OMalley & Company provides a range of business support, accountancy, tax and audit services. The firm has been offering accounting services to local and international based businesses since 1985.

Originally established as Michael Cosgrove & Partners in 1987, MCP Accountants delivers a range of tax, audit, accounting, corporate recovery and business advisory services.

The newly merged entities are projected to achieve revenues surpassing 26m ($29m) and will comprise a team of 19 partners.

Collectively, the organisation will employ more than 270 professionals and support staff across four locations, strengthening RBK's position on a national scale.

Post-merger, the firms will function under the RBK name, with a new office to be launched in Castlebar.

MCP Accountants managing partner Michael Cosgrove said: This merger is an excellent fit, both in terms of client focus and cultural alignment, and we are excited to collaborate with and get to know our new colleagues.

My fellow partners and I made the decision to merge with RBK because we firmly believe it is in the best interests of our clients and our team.

As part of a larger, thriving practice, we can now offer enhanced continuity of service to our clients and significantly improved career opportunities for our team.

Cathal Melia, who is an audit and business advisory partner, will take on the role of partner in charge, managing the integration of RBK's services within the Castlebar office.

RBK managing partner Joe Cleary said: This is a significant milestone for our firm and we take great pride in our existing links to the region and in the strong presence we have built in the West of Ireland.

This new chapter is a key part of our growth strategy as we continue to position ourselves for future expansion, combining talent and resources to meet the evolving needs of our diverse client base.

The mergers with MCP Accountants and OMC OMalley & Company mark a major step in strengthening our nationwide presence, and we look forward to providing a comprehensive service offering from the enhanced North West base.

"RBK merges with two Irish accountancy firms" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand.




May 16LIMA  A popular offsite Bible class for public school students is restricting class time for students who don't participate, say the founders of the Secular Education Association.

LifeWise Academy, the rapidly expanding Christian group that teaches children about the Bible through public school released-time for religious instruction waivers, is "using the public schools as a mission field," Molly Gaines said during a visit to Lima on Thursday.

She and co-founder Zachary Parrish met with Allen County Democrats Thursday to discuss the evangelical mission behind LifeWise Academy and the influence they say the offsite Bible classes are having on students who don't participate.

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Other parents' choices 'affecting my child'

Supporters defend LifeWise as an option for parents who want to incorporate religious instruction into their child's school day without having to enroll in a private school.

Parents like Parrish argue the classes are still harmful because students who don't participate must repeat a class or stay behind in study hall while their peers are gone, so LifeWise students won't miss instructional time.

Parrish started Parents Against LifeWise on Facebook, now known as the Secular Education Association, after learning his young daughter was sitting in study hall while her classmates were at LifeWise. The girl was in second grade.

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"When your choices start affecting my child's education, that's a problem," Parrish said.

When Parrish shared his story online, he heard from other parents whose children experienced the same. "There's a lot of bullying, a lot of ostracizing" of students who don't go to LifeWise, he said.

'During school hours'

Van Wert native Joel Penton founded LifeWise Academy after observing the success of Cross Over the Hill, an offsite Bible class for Van Wert schools.

Penton streamlined the model by providing churches and volunteers with ready-made petitions, curriculum, fundraising support and instructions for how to lobby a school board to bring a LifeWise Academy to their local public schools.

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He relied on a little-known U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permits public school students to receive offsite religious instruction during the school day, so long as a parent consents and no public funds are used, to teach the Bible "during school hours."

The program is spreading rapidly throughout the country, with LifeWise Academies available to all public schoolchildren in Allen County except Lima.

Rapid expansion in Allen County

Elida became the first district in Allen County to approve the release of students for LifeWise Academy, with the help of Christian broadcast network WTLW in 2020.

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The station purchased a bus and a home near the elementary school, which was converted into classrooms for LifeWise use.

The network formed a subsidiary, ACTS Character Academy, to raise money for expenses. It now oversees academies in Allen East, Bath, Columbus Grove, Perry and Spencerville, providing staff and volunteers for each program.

LifeWise programs in Shawnee and Delphos are operated independently of WTLW through the national LifeWise organization.

The group inspired similar released-time programs like Kingdom Harvest Ministries, based in Celina, which is now available to children in Auglaize and Mercer counties.

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A moral education

Structure varies from school to school. Students are typically excused during an elective or non-core classes like library, but schools may also use built-in free periods to release students for LifeWise.

Attendance rates here average at 60% for grades 1-6, said Kevin Bowers, president of ACTS Ministries.

Each Bible lesson is tied to a character trait like trustworthiness or honesty, with curriculum provided by the national LifeWise organization based on the Gospel Project.

Bowers said most children do not attend church, but a majority of parents believe their children should receive character education, and most of those parents say the Bible should be the basis for that education, he said.

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"We don't apologize for the fact that the Bible is the basis for our program," Bowers said. "Some might call it indoctrination. We call it teaching.

"Children are going to learn morals and ethics from somewhere, and it might as well be the Bible, in our view, because that's not only the foundation of Christian faith, but we believe in the foundation of our Western civilization."

Children ask, 'Why won't you let me do this?'

While the program is voluntary, parents like Parrish and Gaines say children are pressured by their peers to join LifeWise, which they say is contrary to how released-time programs functioned in the past.

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Now, children see LifeWise as a "party," Gaines said.

"We have children coming home saying, 'Why won't you let me do this,'" Gaines said. "These are Jewish kids in second grade. They don't understand why they can't go to LifeWise."

The academies brand themselves as inter-denominational Christian character education, but Gaines said the classes are designed to "indoctrinate" and "proselytize to every child" using a "narrow, hateful" interpretation of Christianity.

"It's biblical literalism," she said. "It's evangelical in nature. (Children) are encouraged to proselytize not only to their friends, but to their family."

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"To say it's hateful almost doesn't deserve a response," Bowers said.

He added, "It's been a blessing. It's actually helping schools accomplish what they want to accomplish, and that's to build well-rounded individuals that are going to participate in society and make good life decisions."

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People close to President Joe Biden hid the extent of his decline, new reporting shows. Free from fears that sharing the truth might help elect Donald Trump, they are finally coming clean to journalists. Had they spoken up earlier, maybe things would look different. A new book makes the argument that the 82-year-olds refusal to address his waning capabilities or accept defeat was a critical factor in Trumps path back to power.

Bidens decline has long been apparent. As far back as 2019, his eye was bleeding during a televised town hall, and he was saying look, fat to an Iowa voter after challenging him to pushups. By early 2024, Biden was confusing the French president with a former French president who died in the 90s. The president was forced to drop out of the election last summer after a nightmarish debate performance against Trump revealed he was in terrible shape.

But the extent of Bidens deterioration was not a major topic of reporting for much of his presidency  and his decline was actively covered up, according to CNNs Jake Tapper and Axios Alex Thompson.

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Their new book, Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, uses interviews with more than 200 sources to show those close to Biden were trying to hide his plummeting cognitive abilities.

What we found by writing this book is that everything that we saw going on in front of the camera was much worse behind the scenes, Tapper told the New Yorkers David Remnick in an interview published Saturday. The journalists longtime sources were much more forthcoming after the election when they no longer had to worry about hurting Bidens or Vice President Kamala Harris chances.

It was clear to those around Biden that he was struggling. The people with access to the president shrank from the end of 2023 to 2024 as his decline became precipitous, as Thompson put it.

When he decided to run for reelection, there were people close to the president who didnt think it was a good idea. But no one actually told Biden that another bid for office would be irresponsible. Thompson partly blames Biden for creating an atmosphere that discouraged dissent.

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Tapper elaborated: The point with Biden was such that I have never seen, until maybe the current administration  an administration where the president is so surrounded by people who will never tell him anything negative, ever, and in fact will block negative stuff from coming to him.

Biden Cabinet members told Tapper and Thompson that Cabinet meetings were disturbing and frustrating. As early as 2021, meetings followed scripts. In 2022, he forgot the name of one of his top advisors, the journalists report.

October 2023 marked the beginning of what one Cabinet member called the weird period, where members of the Cabinet, with the exception of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, did not interact with Biden. One secretary who did manage to meet with Biden in spring of 2024 found him mumbly and incoherent and difficult to understand, Tapper said.

But no one came forward, Tapper said. When they would complain internally, they were told, Hes fine, be quiet.

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One person who did speak out was actor George Clooney. Thompson and Tapper report that Biden didnt recognize the movie star at the June 2024 fundraiser Clooney was co-hosting. Bidens aide even told him you know George, which didnt spark the presidents memory. The aide then said George Clooney.

And then hes, like, Sure, yeah. Hey, howre you doing? Tapper said. The incident prompted Clooney to write an op-ed in the New York Times where he argued that the Democrats needed a new nominee for president.

No one has been able to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline, a spokesperson told the New Yorker when they published an excerpt from the book detailing this incident.

And what if Biden had been reelected? People close to Biden think there would have been a constitutional crisis. Members of the Democratic party would have realized Biden was incapable of doing the job, and Bidens inner circle would have refused to give up power.

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There is more to being president than not being Donald Trump, Thompson said. And I think that sort of speaks to the frustrating choice Democrats and the country faced in this last election. You had somebody who even members of his own administration believed was not up to doing the job he was running for, for four more years, versus someone who they sincerely believed was going to hurt the country in significant ways.

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Jake Tapper and Alex Thompsons superbly reported Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids. During his latter years as No. 46, Biden is portrayed as a lion in winter  shockingly frail and forgetful with a ferocious pride that blinds him to the fact that its time to exit the stage. He was assisted in that delusion, the authors claim, by the mythology his family erected around him  that he was indestructible  and by his zealously protective inner circle, dubbed the Politburo.

Though Tapper and Thompsons mostly anonymous sources (it's jarring that so few went on the record) suggest that the first disturbing signs of Bidens diminished capacities emerged as early as 2015, many around him chalked them up to the Bidenness of it all: He was known on the Hill for being congenitally prone to long stories, gaffes, and inappropriate comments, the authors observe. Even in tightly choreographed Zoom calls with friendly audiences, Biden could step on a rake.

That propensity appeared to morph into something more worrisome even before Biden was elected president. An unnamed Democrat who witnessed candidate Biden being prepped for a taping prior to the 2020 convention in Milwaukee was startled by his incoherence, commenting that it was like watching Grandpa who shouldnt be driving. Once in office, the White House staff treated him as very delicate, and the pandemic gave aides an excuse to build barriers around him so few could gain access. The news media and public were kept at arms length, as were many members of the Cabinet and Congress, which led to a uniquely small and loyal inner circle. Ive never seen a situation like this before, with so few people having so much power, said one unidentified top official.

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That elite quintet consisted of domestic policy advisor Bruce Reed, chief strategist Mike Donilon, legislative affairs guru Steve Ricchetti and chief of staff Ron Klain, each of whom had deep ties to Biden. Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board, offered one person familiar with the dynamic. As time went on and more grew concerned about Bidens behavior, those who inquired were routinely told that everything was okay. One staffer who didnt have regular access to Biden during this period said that when they did see him in person, they were shocked, but the other people around him didnt seem to be, so I didnt say anything.

Read more: Lopez: Hey, Joe, it's OK to call it quits and leave with dignity and pride

It wasnt until around the time Biden broke his one-term pledge to be a bridge president and made clear he intended to run again that some began to feel a sense of alarm. For example, in 2023, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) was with Biden when he visited Ireland. Biden seemed to gain strength from the crowds that greeted him, but then appeared sapped and not quite there. The authors write that Quigley realized why this all felt so familiar to him  This was how his father, Bill, had been before he died. Similarly, Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips was so disturbed by Bidens reduced speaking and walking skills that he pressed Democratic officials as to whether the president was up to the job. Even those who admitted to having concerns offered the yes, but, as in, Yes, Biden is in decline but can you imagine Trump winning? Phillips could imagine such a scenario, especially if Biden were the Democratic nominee. Failing to get anyone to take his worries seriously, he declared his own candidacy. But the whale who spouts gets harpooned, Phillips later noted after the Democratic machine set out to quash his chances. He reluctantly pulled out of the race and watched his party sleepwalk toward disaster.

Though some top Democratic supporters such as Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel refused to support Bidens bid for reelection  even shouting at Klain during a power-player retreat that, Joe Biden cannot run for reelection! He needs to drop out!  most remained in the presidents corner until his disastrous debate performance in late June 2024. Following that, the slow drip of Biden allies calling for him to withdraw became a downpour, with even loyalists like George Clooney remarking publicly in an op-ed that while he loved Joe Biden, the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.

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Was there a conspiracy to conceal Bidens symptoms from the press, public and top Democrats? The authors conclude there was. The original sin of Election 2024, they write, was Bidens decision to run for reelection  followed by aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment. The course Bidens family and inner circle chose was tantamount to gaslighting the American people. Many other key Democratic officials and donors simply felt that even a weakened Biden was the best bet against the existential threat posed by Trump, until the debate shattered that rationalization. In any case, Biden allies who voiced fears were flicked away like lint.

Read more: Lopez: These doctors believe Biden has a neurological disorder. So what now?

In the end, Im not convinced there was a coordinated campaign to hide the truth about Bidens condition, but maybe that doesnt matter. In the books final chapter, the authors quote former Watergate special prosecutor and law professor Archibald Cox on what lessons Americans should take away from the Watergate scandal. He observes that we should be reminded of the corrupt influence of great power.  Perhaps it is inescapable that modern government vests extraordinary power in the President and puts around him a large circle of men and women whose personal status and satisfaction depends entirely on pleasing one man.

But Biden isnt Nixon. He is a man who generated intense love and loyalty, whose life has been filled with tragedy as well as opportunity; who adeptly and passionately served his country for decades. Original Sin is not a compassionate account of Bidens last campaign  at times its even a painful, if necessary, piece of journalism. A great takeaway from 2024, according to political strategist David Plouffe, is that never again can we as a party suggest to people that what theyre seeing is not true. We dont know if Trump could have been defeated had Biden opted not to run. But in the future, we cant afford to be in denial.

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Haber is a writer, editor and publishing strategist. She was director of Oprahs Book Club and books editor for O, the Oprah Magazine.

Get the latest book news, events and more in your inbox every Saturday.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Foreign competition's role in the loss of Rust Belt jobs has been overstated in the political debate over U.S. manufacturing, according to Middlebury College professor Gary Winslett, who instead pointed to interstate competition, namely the rise of Southern states as favorable places for companies to put factories.

Politicians from both sides of the aisle have ignored some "uncomfortable truths" as the Rust Belt has hemorrhaged manufacturing jobs over the years, according to Middlebury College professor Gary Winslett.

In particular, he highlighted the narrative that China, Mexico and other countries grew their manufacturing employment via trade deals at the expense of the U.S.

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"Its a politically convenient tale for courting voters in key swing states, pining for the way things once were," Winslett wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday. "The problem is that its not true  and it is leading to some terrible policy decisions."

To be sure, overall U.S. manufacturing employment has been in decline for decades. After peaking at nearly 20 million in 1979, it was at 12.8 million last month, according to Labor Department data compiled by the St. Louis Fed. And as a share of total nonfarm employment, manufacturing jobs have been in decline since 1953 as the economy has evolved to more service-oriented growth.

Meanwhile, separate research from the Economic Policy Institute has shown that the U.S. lost more than 5 million manufacturing jobs from 1998 to 2021 as the trade deficit in manufactured goods with China, Japan, Mexico, the European Union, and other countries grew deeper.

But Winslett see factors closer to home.

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"A big missing part of the story: Interstate competition," he wrote. "The Rust Belts manufacturing decline isnt primarily about jobs going to Mexico. Its about jobs going to Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee."

Citing data from the World Trade Organization, he said the Rust Belt accounted for nearly half of all U.S. manufacturing exports in 1970 vs. less than a quarter for the South. Today, those regions have switched places.

In fact, Alabama, which produces more than 1 million vehicles a year, is the No. 1 auto-exporting state, after not having a single auto plant as recently as 1992, he said.

Winslett attributed the role reversal to conditions in Southern states that are more business friendly, including right-to-work laws, cheaper electricity, more housing construction, lower taxes and easier permitting.

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Immigration has also helped the South, which now has more immigrants than any other part of the country while the Midwest has the fewest, he added.

In addition, automation has contributed to the decline of manufacturing employment as well, Winslett pointed out, meaning that reshoring factories today wouldn't produce a big surge in jobs.

"But even accounting for this technological shift, it is the ongoing competition between states, far more than globalization, that has reshaped American manufacturing, creating uncomfortable truths that neither party wants to acknowledge," he explained.

For example, Republicans like President Donald Trump have pitched tariffs as the key to restoring Rust Belt factory jobs, without acknowledging the jobs that went to the South.

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On the other side, Democrats prefer to blame globalization than interstate competition and won't acknowledge deregulation, right-to-work laws, and lower energy costs, Winslett said.

"Both parties prefer simple villains, whether its China or greedy corporations," he concluded. "But whats needed isnt more warm fuzzies about the way things used to be or globalization scapegoating. It is a clear-eyed approach that understands why companies choose Alabama over Ohio and that embraces the choices made by Southern states."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
DENVER (KDVR)  There has been a huge spike in the number of people in Colorado who refuse to take toxicology tests after being arrested for driving while impaired.

Now, a new campaign has been launched to make sure people know about the consequences of driving impaired and refusing to take the test.

Colorado State University Fort Collins holds first university-wide commencement in 27 years

New stats now show that more than half of the people arrested for driving under the influence in 2022 refused to take toxicology tests.

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Its all because the Colorado Expressed Consent Law said Colorado Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Manager Sam Cole.

Unfortunately, a lot of people do not know that if they are arrested for DUI, they have to take a toxicology test, thats either a blood test or a urine test, Cole said.

CDOT said drivers who refuse to take a toxicology test after being arrested can, among other things, have their license revoked and be forced to use an ignition interlock device.

Because of the rising number of toxicology test refusals, CDOT has launched a new campaign to make sure people know the law.

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Christopher Decker is a defense attorney and FOX31 Legal Analyst.

In most circumstances, it is a worse outcome for a driver to refuse this test and suffer more consequential punishment from the Department of Motor Vehicles than it would be to consent, Decker said.

CDOT said a survey showed most drivers who refused the toxicology test did not understand the consequences or were advised to refuse the test by a friend or family member to avoid self-incrimination.

MADD said additional testing can help provide vital information to help keep roadways safe.

It also allows us to shift how we communicate about impaired driving. Then we can go in and look at what language we are using in our preventative efforts, MADD Colorado State Executive Director Rebecca Green said.

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Denver is home to one of the best brunch buffets in the US: TastingTable

CDOT said that in the first four months of 2025, there were 49 impaired driving-related traffic deaths in the state.

Organizers of the campaign hope their messaging helps reduce the number of people being hurt and killed in impaired driving crashes.

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WAYNE, Neb. (KCAU)  A group of Nebraska riders refused to let mother nature get in their way on Friday. The motorcyclists drove over 900 miles across Nebraska, raising awareness for childrens mental health by collecting letters.

Were collecting letters for childrens mental health, said Robert Bennettes, a Pony Express Rider. Thats basically what we do. Whether its one or a hundred, theyre all important to every single one of them. I dont know how many they have here. They said over a hundred, and thats really exciting. We also have a banner that weve taken with us all over Nebraska to have people sign, 

The Pony Express Riders said they had to make a stop at the Dreamers Place Equestrian Ranch after learning about what they do.

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We heard about what theyre doing here in Wayne with the equestrian therapy and the work that theyre doing with mental health, and its something, hey, we need to kind of partner and put their word out there too. Were honored, said Bennettes.

Story continues below

The ranch works to help kids, adults and veterans with anxiety, depression, PTSD or anything mental health related. As the owners say, they built the ranch to help people.

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Its an honor, said Randy Nelson, the Dreamers Place Equestrian Ranch. We see so many issues in the health care, in the mental health fields, that anything that draws awareness to what needs to be done to help bring attention to it or help in any way is something that we are passionate about.

The Pony Express Riders said they are all passionate about this journey, especially because theyre doing this in their free time and funding everything on their own.

Our goal is that they will take the time to really look at them, read them, and understand how important mental health is for children, said Bennettes.

Their final stop is Nebraska State Capitol on Saturday.

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Bill Maher tore into President Donald Trump for potentially accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar, noting that the intended Air Force One replacement would be his fourth plane  while kids might still get fewer toys as a result of his costly tariffs policy.

Trump launched steep levies last month on all U.S. imports, painting the policy as a just crusade to revive American manufacturing. He recently dismissed related economic concerns saying kids will just have to make do with fewer dolls in the future.

Trump says he will not be using [the plane] when he leaves office, and people dont believe that, Maher said Friday during his opening Real Time monologue. Not the using it part  the leaving office part. But, OK, so Trump now has four planes.

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Hes got the two Air Force Ones that the government provides, Maher continued. Then hes got his own plane. Now hes got this one. Four planes, yet everybody else, still only three dolls and 10 pencils.

Trump has said the plane would be a gift to the Department of Defense, and a source briefed on the matter told Reuters that it would ultimately be donated to Trumps presidential library after he leaves office. The luxury jet would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the U.S. government, and has raised bipartisan concern.

While the president has defended his FREE OF CHARGE gift on social media, Democrats, and even some Republicans, have raised ethical concerns about the jet.

Trump has vigorously defended his plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar. Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Maher speculated on how the right would react if the same situation happened with former President Barack Obama. The Democrat was famously excoriated by Republican critics in 2014 for merely wearing a tan suit to a press conference during his second administration.

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They gave [Trump] a $400 million plane, which he accepted, said Maher. Now, this has to be the ultimate If Obama did it, I think. Because if Obama did it, Fox News would be endlessly calling it Allah Force One. So I think I will call it that  Allah Force One.

Maher has been a longtime Trump critic, but accepted a dinner invitation with the president earlier this year. The comedian and political pundit returned to his HBO show the following week  and called Trump gracious and measured to substantial backlash from critics.

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With what the Associated Press calls the earliest phase of the 2028 presidential election season already underway, one name being floated for the Democrats is California Gov. Gavin Newsom  and Bill OReilly says that should make Republicans feel pretty comfortable in these early days.

Newsom hasnt declared either way, but media outlets from the AP to Politico to NBC News were reading the tea leaves last week as the second-term governor is rumored to be kicking the tires and working on a rebrand as a more centrist candidate than previously advertised.

As he tends to do, OReilly just said it outright:

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Gavin Newsom is running for president, the No Spin News host said. I told you this earlier this week, and he sees an opportunity because theres no competition on the Democratic side for him at this point. Newsom  talk about a hypocrite. This is hypocrite number one.

OReilly pointed to Newsoms recent pivots on homelessness and a proposed cap on state public health spending for undocumented immigrants as evidence.

Well, what took you so long?, OReilly said. Youve been governor for six years. [Homelessness] has cost the state billions of dollars and has destroyed San Francisco and other cities. And all of a sudden, youre enlightened? You want the homeless camps dismantled?

He also rolled a clip of Newsom recently talking about his plan to address the states annual $12 billion spending deficit.

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So here are the solutions, Newsom said. $5 billion on a freeze on our Medi-Cal expansion. Were not cutting or rolling back those that are enrolled in our Medi-Cal system  were just capping it, particularly for those with documentation.

OReilly called spin on that: Yeah, a cap. What a weasel this guy is. So, why didnt you do it five years ago? Why didnt you do it? It is so ridiculous.

And finally, OReilly had a good chuckle at Newsoms blame for the states financial woes on the Trump administration.

California is under assault, Newsom said in another clip. The United States of America, in many respects, is under assault because we have a president thats been reckless in terms of assaulting those growth engines, has created a climate of deep uncertainty, and certainly has California in his sights.

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The former Fox News host found that truly funny: So, its Trumps fault. Its Trumps fault that California has a $12 billion-a-year deficit. Democrats, is this what you want? This is what youre going to put up?

OReilly concluded that its only good news for whomever Republicans intend to run in 2028  especially if its the current vice president.

J.D. Vance has got to be the happiest guy in the world, OReilly said, shaking his head. Hes got to be the happiest guy in the world. Yeah, bring it on. Unbelievable.

Watch the entire segment in the video above.

The post Bill OReilly Chuckles at Newsom-for-President Rumors: J.D. Vance Has Got to Be the Happiest Guy in the World | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
More than 3 in 5 people also said they thought it was unfair for merchants to pass their payment processing fees on to their customers.

In a recent study by WalletHub , 87% of people said "they are being nickel-and-dimed when they are asked to pay an extra fee for credit card payment processing." More than 4 in 5 Americans said they were charged a fee for paying with a credit card and 2 in 3 consumers said they would not use their credit card if they were charged a fee.

The credit card surcharge fee usage is widespread in practice and also causes widespread annoyance.

Additionally, some states, such as Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, have state laws that prohibit credit card surcharges for consumers, Kiernan said.

However, the 2012 settlement only covered credit card transactions and not debit cards or pre-paid gift cards. Visa and Mastercard rules prohibit transaction fees for debit card transactions, but enforcement is pretty lax since that is not widely known, especially among smaller businesses and consumers, Kiernan told USA TODAY. For credit card transaction fees, the consumer is supposed to be notified in some manner before the transaction takes place. If not, the consumer can file a dispute with the credit card issuer, Kiernan said.

The practice of passing along credit card transaction fees to consumers by adding a surcharge to their bill began showing up during the COVID-19 pandemic, when more consumers were moving to e-commerce and in-person businesses and restaurants were dealing with higher costs, said John Kiernan, WalletHub editor.

The practice of charging consumers a surcharge on transactions is allowed based on a 2012 settlement between credit card networks and a group of U.S. merchants, according to an article by Wallethub. The surcharges, can range from 1.5% to 3%.

In two separate national surveys of consumers, shoppers have said they are sick of being nickel-and-dimed to pay a surcharge that used to be a cost of doing business.

"Let me tell you, if you own a small store, you own a store, whatever, restaurant, and you charge me a surcharge for using a credit card, I'm not coming back," Bernhardt said in a Tiktok post. "Eat it. It's good customer service."

She can't stand the growing practice of businesses charging consumers a surcharge to use their credit card.

Heather Bernhardt is a small business owner. But she has a rant as a business owner and a customer.

Story Continues

Kiernan said the practice of adding the surcharge for credit card payments  or offering a discount for cash, which is common at many gas stations  has been growing in recent years.

"I think businesses and consumers for that matter, are always going to kind of push the boundaries and try to test the waters to see what they can get away with," said Kiernan.

Once businesses started seeing that other companies were charging the surcharge without much backlash, they started doing it, too, he said.

In a J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study released in January, 34% of merchants said they were adding surcharges for customer purchases made using credit cards.

In the latest data from the JD Power US Credit Card Satisfaction Study, 82% of shoppers who said they faced a surcharge for using credit cards chose an alternative method of payment. John Cabell, managing director for payments intelligence said the survey did not ask whether any of those customers walked away from the transaction.

A credit card is used on a payment terminal at a shop near Nantes, France, in this illustration picture taken November 6, 2023.

Consumers anger at the surcharges

Consumers don't like such add-ons, said Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst.

"A surcharge is kind of a way to raise prices without raising prices," Rossman told USA TODAY. While they may be legal, "in the court of public opinion...most people would frown upon any sort of add-on."

Consumers may complain to management, or on social media, which "is actually even worse because they're telling all their friends about this bad experience," he said.

Most shoppers aren't carrying cash and they are fighting both inflation and other rising costs, Rossman said. Businesses are also facing similar headwinds.

"People feel like everything costs enough already, so businesses are looking to shift some of the cost burden onto the customer," he said.

Many customers are stuck paying the surcharge since they aren't carrying cash or don't have a debit card, said Rossman.

But some customers are pushing back.

Rossman said he doesn't understand the philosophy of businesses adding surcharges since it angers customers and probably loses sales.

"We're not going back to a cash-first economy," said Rossman, adding that such extra fees are "a deterrent to sales."

Is cash king?: Are we moving toward a cashless, checkless society?

Bernhardt owns Blackbird Boutique in Marine City, Michigan. She sells womens clothing, gift items and small home decor pieces. Bernhardt said it's hard enough to compete as a small business owner and she wants to please her customers. She doesn't tack on a credit card surcharge.

But she was mad enough recently after visiting another store that charged her to use her debit card  she didn't know it wasn't allowed until a reporter notified her  that she put her rant on TikTok. In her video, Bernhardt said businesses should either eat the cost or "bake it in" to the price of the goods, which she doesn't do.

Such surcharges are bad for business, she said.

"You've probably lost a customer and you're not getting that returning customer and future sales," she said.

Is a cash rewards or rewards credit card worth it with surcharges?

If more consumers are having to pay surcharges, is it worth using a credit card to earn cash-back rewards or other perks?

Rossman said consumers should weigh how much they're paying in a surcharge versus what they're earning in rewards. Consumers should also pay their credit card bill each month to avoid paying extra interest fees, he said.

But credit cards can also offer extra perks, such as extended warranties, purchase protection or travel insurance, so that is something to think about as well, said Rossman.

Consumers can also get ahead by picking the right credit card, said Kiernan.

"Set yourself up to ignore a lot of this if you have the right card or right collection of cards," he said. "There are a number of cards that give you 5% cash back in custom categories and you can pick two categories a quarter; the categories you spend the most in."

Use those cards for your common purchases, then "even if you get charged the surcharge, you're still coming out ahead," he said.

You won't come out ahead in all transactions since the surcharge may be more than what you are earning in rewards, he said. But there are credit cards that also give you initial points or cash-back bonuses, he said.

"If you're making a bunch of small purchases, even if they have a small surcharge added on, if you're saving $1,000 at the end of the day, it's still coming out way ahead," he said.

Some consumers will use multiple cards, or debit cards or store credit cards, which may offer better rewards or incentives, Kiernan said. Some consumers may also opt to do automatic payments via their bank account or link their checking account to a retailer or business account to get a discount, he said.

Kiernan suggests having a credit card with good rewards and then having a debit card on hand for the times when a retailer wants to charge a surcharge for the credit card.

But remember, he cautions, that debit card transactions come right out of the checking account and the fraud protections on debit cards are not as strong as credit cards.

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are rewards credit cards worth it with surcharges?
The list of billionaire celebrities and founders pouring fortunes into classrooms is growing: Kanye West, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have all sought to shake up schools. Some have even built their own. But it turns out, fixing a deeply flawed system is harder than it looks.

If you can name a billionaire, odds are, theyve given some of their philanthropic stash to the world of education.

Perhaps the most notable are the efforts of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, who have donated billions of dollars to reshape thousands of classrooms with enhanced algebra and professional development. Michael Bloomberg, too, has donated billions through efforts like making medical school free for most students at Johns Hopkins University.

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Considering education is a gateway to success and opportunity, its no wonder that the ultra rich find it attractive for their philanthropy, says Fredrick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a policy think tank.

However, instead of trying to help fix existing issues with the education system, other billionaires have taken a different avenue with their money: starting their own schools from the ground up.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are both funding new Montessori-inspired preschools that focus on things like self-expression and global discovery. Fellow members of the ultra rich like Mark Zuckerberg, WeWorks Adam Neumann, and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) have also helped found new schools. But some attempts are becoming more known for the failure of their investments rather than their impact.

Education philanthropy can be a money pit

According to Ben Wallerstein, co-founder and CEO of Whiteboard Advisors, an education consulting firm, education philanthropy is a flawed beastwith no perfect solution.

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Education is a system that's made up of people who are dedicated, passionate, hard working, who collectively and in aggregate, don't achieve the results that they would hope to achieve, Wallerstein tells Fortune.

In 2014, Zuckerberg and his wife helped open an institute called The Primary School to help alleviate the financial pressures of getting a high-quality early education. In total, two tuition-free schools serving low-income elementary and middle school students were opened in California. However, last month, they abruptly announced they would close at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. While the reasons for the closure arent entirely clear, finances appear to be part of the problem.

Brooke Koka, a parent and board member of the school, told the San Francisco Chronicle the school had been struggling financially and had struggled to find donors beyond the initial Zuckerberg investment. The school hoped to one day be sustained on public funding.

After receiving a request for comment, The Primary School and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative pointed Fortune to the institutes website.

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This was a very difficult decision, and we are committed to ensuring a thoughtful and supportive transition for students and families over the next year, The Primary School said in a posted statement.

Zuckerberg, whose net worth is now estimated at $223 billion, has a long history with education philanthropy.

In 2010, he went on The Oprah Winfrey Show to announce he was donating $100 million to reform public schools in Newark, New Jersey, with other philanthropists matching his donation for a total of $200 million.

However, years later, experts are still divided on the long-term impacts of his gift. One study found that students had seen significant progress in English but no changes in math, and a former Newark mayor called the donation a parachute solution that failed to appropriately engage with local community members.

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Yes attempt at education was also ambitious, but short lived. The rapper opened Donda Academy, a private Christian school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, in the fall of 2022. But just months later, the school shut its doors following outrage over a series of his posts on social media that were blasted for being antisemitic.

A year later, lawsuits from former teachers alleged that the school inconsistently paid its employees and had serious health and safety issues. For example, one allegation was that because Ye did not like glass, students were left exposed to the elements due to the buildings empty window frames. Ye settled one of the lawsuits earlier this year, according to People.

'Philanthropy is like risk capital'

Whether it be a new school or major philanthropic donation, Wallerstein says failure is not uncommon.

I think in some cases what some folks might view as failures actually reflect a degree of situational awareness and self awareness, about, wow, this problem is a lot harder than we thought, he says.

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Philanthropy is like risk capital, Wallerstein adds: You build things, you test things, you scale things, you see what works, you kill bad ideas.

Despite the education systems flaws, change is not always welcome, and outsiders' attempts at innovation can often have unintended consequences.

In the early 2010s, business leaders from companies like Exxon Mobil, GE, and Intel backed Common Core educational standards, but quickly found themselves on the wrong side of a rebellion against federal oversight into the classroom.

It's really easy for well-meaning donors to wind up accidentally politicizing things or making sensible ideas seem like they're being pushed by shadowy outsiders, Hess says.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Related video: Manatees rescued after spending months stranded in Florida canal

BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA)  The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature welcomed three new manatees on Tuesday.

The arrival of the three young female manatees, named Mandalore, Crane and Kyber, marks the next phase in their recovery and rehabilitation process.

Mandalore, an orphaned calf, was rescued from Orange City in February weighing 180 pounds. She is now 320 pounds.

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Kyber, an orphaned calf rescued from Crystal River, suffered from prolonged exposure to cold water. She originally weighed in at 200 pounds and is now up to 310 pounds.

Crane, rescued from Cranes Bayou, is recovering from cold stress syndrome. At the time of her rescue, she weighed 355 pounds and is now up to 450 pounds.

It is important that the manatees feel comfortable in their new environment, said Virginia Edmonds, director of animal care at The Bishop. We give them every consideration that you would to a human who is adjusting to a major change in their life. The ability to thrive and meet growth milestones equates to a timely return to the wild.

The three young manatees are currently acclimating to their temporary environment at the Rehabilitation Habitat. Those who wish to observe them can visit The Bishop and learn about the challenges they face on their road to recovery.

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)  Students, staff and community leaders gathered at the Bishop Woods School in New Haven on Friday to raise awareness about a rare condition called congenital disorders of glycosylation.

Its a large group of rare genetic disorders that affect the addition of sugar to proteins in the bodys cells.

The school community planted a tree out front this morning in honor of those who have battled CDG.

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Just seeing all the different symptoms that can be sometimes passed over and undiagnosed, I made sure that, from that moment on, that we brought more awareness to CDG, sixth grade teacher Kat Lupoli said. Because everybody, including myself, when we had heard, had never even heard of this disorder.

Gov. Lamont signed a proclamation declaring Friday CDG Awareness Day in the state of Connecticut.

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SACRAMENTO, California  Gavin Newsoms final years of overseeing a massive state budget will be lonely ones.

The California governor, who has less than two years left in his last term and is widely considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, is facing intense backlash from close political allies over his plan to close a $12 billion shortfall  which included deep cuts to Planned Parenthood and health care for undocumented immigrants. Next year could be even worse as forecasters project deficits for years to come.

In a bitter twist, his nemesis in the White House is forcing many of these painful choices, ensuring months of brutal headlines for the ambitious Democrat. Economic upheaval from President Donald Trumps trade policies, on top of yet-undetermined federal funding cuts, will likely drag state spending talks into the fall  a connection Newsom made clear as he released his plan with a reference to the Trump slump.

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The governor will now spend his final stretch in Sacramento paring back some of those accomplishments, muddling his record and straining his relationships with supporters who cheered him during the flush years  many of whom hed turn to for a presidential run.

Through no fault of his own, the governors going to have to navigate through a very difficult time, said Democratic political consultant Darry Sragow. Hes going to have to make very hard decisions and be prepared to take a lot of heat. He may lose friends, he may lose political standing.

The gloomy finale  which will shadow his next political move  is a stark reversal from years of booming surpluses that allowed Newsom to enshrine legacy projects like universal health care and early childhood education, send voters rebate checks, and deliver for influential players like organized labor.

Longstanding allies in the California Medical Association and Planned Parenthood lambasted the governor for cutting reproductive health dollars and Medicaid services. Immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers excoriated him for seeking to cap health insurance enrollment for undocumented immigrants. Unions blasted his proposals to cut money for long-term caregivers and childcare workers.

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The broadsides came with a biting message: Newsom is shirking the kind of leadership he champions to counter Trump, cutting Medi-Cal in the midst of federal efforts to shrink Medicaid.

The proposed budget is catastrophically misguided given where we are as a country, said Assemblymember Alex Lee, head of the Legislatures progressive caucus.

SEIU California Executive Director Tia Orr  whos typically reserved in criticizing a governor who has helped her union group secure major wins  warned the budget fundamentally misreads a political moment in which Democrats are struggling to connect with many voters.

In this past election, we saw so many questions about what electeds are going to bring to working-class individuals, Orr said. His budget, she added, is one that Id call more centered on the wealthy, protecting CEOs and those with vast wealth.

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Newsom has pinned much of the blame on Trump, estimating tariffs would bleed some $16 billion from state coffers by undercutting core industries and convulsing the stock market.

But the governor oversaw a costly and politically combustible state spending initiative  the expansion of a program offering free health insurance to undocumented immigrants  even as Republican foes warned about the price tag. Newsom called the program both fiscally prudent and morally laudable.

Now he is retrenching. His proposal would cap the enrollment of undocumented adults and charge them a monthly premium. The governor has insisted he is stabilizing the program, not walking away from it. But in doing so, he has managed to both infuriate the programs liberal supporters and reinvigorate Republican attacks about excessive government spending  fodder for rivals to his left and right in a national campaign.

Hes trying to blame Trump and tariffs for his budget deficit when its been very clear this deficit was coming, it was just a matter of how big it was going to be, said Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher. Were continuing to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants, and its not sustainable.

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The budget proposal preserves some of Newsoms biggest legacy projects, like universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds, that he built across multiple budget cycles. During his budget presentation, he touted the states booming GDP as a sign of its continued economic dynamism  a goal that former and current aides describe as a central part of Newsoms fiscal vision.

What the governor believes is that California is the example of progressive pluralism that is also economically dominant, said former administration official Jason Elliott. In order for the right-wing ideology to be correct, California cant succeed.

But despite the pace of new patents and initial public offerings, voters living in the worlds fourth-largest economy are still feeling profoundly pessimistic about the economy  and the polling shows it.

Newsoms approval ratings have dipped underwater, and voters have overwhelmingly concluded hes more focused on his national prospects than on fixing his states problems. A drumbeat of headlines about deficits and cuts is unlikely to turn that around, noted Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll director Mark DiCamillo.

The last two years could be consequential, DiCamillo said. If things turn negative for California, which looks likely to happen, I dont think hell end up with positive job approval ratings.






A body was discovered in Lake Lanier while authorities searched for Dustin Valencia, a missing kayaker

Valencia was reported missing on May 14 after he failed to pick up his children from school

Lake Lanier has a high death toll, leading local folklore to allege that it is "haunted"







Officials discovered a body in Lake Lanier in Georgia while searching for Dustin Valencia, a kayaker who was reported missing on Wednesday, May 14.

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The body was discovered 51 feet deep into the water in a cove near where Valencia, 43, was last seen, per 11Alive.



The identification process is underway, but the body has not been confirmed as Valencia, Forsyth County Public Information Officer Stacie A. Miller told PEOPLE.

Its one of the worst things first responders have to deal with," Mark McKinnon of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources told WSB-TV, adding that the search for the father of five has ended.

Valencia was reported missing after he failed to pick up his kids from school, according to 11Alive and WSB-TV. Police found his Honda Accord in the Lakeside Park parking lot near the reservoir.

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The husband and father is a graduate of the University of Georgia, a close family friend told 11Alive. Valencia's wife first attempted to locate him through Find My iPhone.

On the morning of Friday, May 16, a dock worker discovered Valencia's kayak and paddle, and reported the discovery to the authorities. Foul play is not suspected at this time, and a source told WSB-TV that Valencia was training for a triathlon.

A vigil was held for Valencia at 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, at a local church, they added.

A group of us met at his church for a vigil, prayed, and then we left to come find him," Cait Fritts, a friend of Valencia's, told WSB-TV. "We have been searching by foot and connected with other friends who have boats, looking for any signs of the kayak he was on. Hes got five kids. I cant imagine what his family is going through. I think they would want everyone to know and go look for him and spread the word."

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.

More than 200 people have died in Lake Lanier since 1994, per CNN. In 2023, there were at least 12 deaths, including two Georgia men who both died in unrelated incidents months apart, PEOPLE previously reported.

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The reservoir broke ground in 1950 and was built for flood control, displacing nearly 700 families. More than 1,000 people were forced out of the prosperous Black community known as Oscarville by white individuals from Forsyth County, Teen Vogue reported.

Many now consider the body of water to be haunted, per the outlets.

Read the original article on People
By Jasper Ward and Timothy Gardner

(Reuters) -A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least four in an incident the FBI called an "intentional act of terrorism".

The authorities have a person of interest in the investigation and are not searching for a suspect, Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, told reporters. He provided no further details.

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The person killed was near a vehicle that had been blown to pieces outside the clinic, operated by American Reproductive Centers, Davis said.

The bomb, which detonated before 11 a.m. (2 p.m. EDT/1800 GMT), was either in or near a car parked outside the clinic when it exploded, said Mayor Ron deHarte of Palm Springs, about 100 miles (160 km) east of Los Angeles.

"Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism," Davis said, adding the FBI would determine if it was an act of "international terrorism or a domestic terrorism."

Davis did not comment on the relationship - if any - between the victim and the person of interest in the investigation.

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Video posted online showed the single-story structure that houses some of the clinic's operations. The bomb appeared to have ripped a gaping hole in one of its walls and caused damage throughout the building.

Several other buildings in the area were damaged, some extensively, authorities said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his office said.

American Reproductive Centers, which has offices in at least three California cities, provides services including in vitro fertilization, genetic testing and in-house egg donation.

Despite damage to the building, ARC said the facility would be fully operational on Monday.

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The clinic's laboratory, including all eggs, embryos and reproductive materials, was safe and secure, and all members of staff were unharmed, it said in a Facebook post.

"The moment has shaken us - but it has not stopped us," Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, said in the post.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Timothy Gardner; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Frank McGurty, Rod Nickel, Sandra Maler and William Mallard)
Cassie Ventura, the star witness for the prosecution in the sensational federal sex trafficking trial of her ex-boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs, told the court under defense questioning that she has negotiated a $10 million settlement with the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.



Under questioning about any financial tentacles connected to Ventura's four days of emotional testimony that took place this week by Combs' defense attorney Anna Estevao, Ventura said that the five-star hotel had agreed to pay her in a settlement that she said "had been reached in the past month," in connection with a violent 2016 incident that was captured on a security camera and later leaked to CNN, which aired it in 2024.



A spokesperson for the InterContinental Hotel chain could not immediately be reached for comment. Those funds, which Ventura testified she had not received yet, are in addition to the $20 million settlement Ventura reached quickly with Combs in November 2023 after filing an abuse and assault civil suit against the music mogul.



The testimony elicited gasps in the courtroom as Ventura's testimony came after she told Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson that she had no monetary motive for testifying in Combs criminal trial. Ventura has spent four days on the stand describing abuse she said she suffered from Combs, including the attack that took place in Century City.

On Thursday, Ventura insisted that she made the decision to testify against her longtime ex-boyfriend. Ventura said, Im here to do the right thing. I cant carry this anymore  the shame, the guilt.



When the video of the 2016 hotel assault went viral, Diddy publicly apologized. The incident has been referred to by Combs lawyers as indefensible and dehumanizing. But, his team maintains it is not evidence that Combs engaged in sex trafficking and racketeering, which is what he is charged with by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.



On Monday, jurors heard testimony from Israel Florez, a security guard at the InterContinental in Century City who witnessed Combs assault on Ventura, and then took video of surveillance footage with his cellphone without reporting it to police. Florez said that when he arrived at the scene of the attack, he escorted Combs back to the room and asked Ventura if she wanted police help, to which she responded, he testified, I just want to leave. He showed it to other hotel staffers, he testified, who also did not report the attack.



Testimony will resume Monday.
BOYNTON, Pa.  When raging floodwaters destroyed the Boynton Bridge late Tuesday, nature brought the critical U.S. Route 219 freight corridor to a halt, state lawmakers said Friday.

The last six rural miles of two-lane Route 219 between Somerset and Maryland contain a series of vulnerable old bridges. And the Boynton Bridge's closure showed how damage to just one of the spans can disrupt the entire road network, redirecting the economic impact, said state Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset.

State Sen. Patrick Stefano, R-Fayette, also stressed the importance of Route 219  and of keeping commerce flowing through the region.

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Metzgar likened rural bridges like Boynton's to "bottlenecks" between two modern limited-access highways, Route 219 and Interstate 68.

"This just highlights why we need (a four-lane) Route 219 completed," Metzgar said of a project that is proceeding toward the final design phase. "It's a perfect example of why we need that road done."

PennDOT officials announced an action plan Friday to limit disruptions and detours through the corridor. Part of the $7 million plan will install a temporary truss bridge in Boynton while efforts get underway to build a new span by late 2026.

Regarding the larger Route 219 completion project, state highway officials said in April that they still hope to receive their federal environmental impact clearance this summer to move the project forward.

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PennDOT, in lockstep with Somerset County officials, has a preferred six-mile route they hope to get clearance on, which will enable final design and right-of-way acquisition to get underway for the final segment of four-lane U.S. Route 219 to Maryland.

$220 million is already secured for all of that that work, PennDOT officials reaffirmed in April  but the Somerset County commissioners are lobbying Washington, D.C., lawmakers for the final estimated $180 million that would enable construction, which is slated to begin in 2028, to wrap up the road expansion by 2031.

"We're on track right now for 2031," Stefano said, adding that the project continues moving forward. The Boynton Bridge, he added, is just one more reason "why we have to make sure it stays on track."
In another twist to the years-long SEC vs. Ripple case, Judge Analisa Torres has denied the joint motion for an indicative ruling on their settlement, lawyer James Filan informed on X on May 15.

Judge Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that to vacate the final judgement would be "procedurally improper" since the parties didn't file the correct procedural motion.

As earlier reported, Ripple  the blockchain and payments firm  and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a joint settlement on May 8.

The motion requested Judge Torres for an indicative ruling to dissolve the injunction in the Aug. 7, 2024 judgment that prohibited Ripple from "unlawful offer and sale of securities." It also requested the court to reduce the civil penalty on Ripple from $125 million to $25 million.

The court has now ruled that both parties have failed to satisfy the heavy burden the court must overcome to "vacate the injunction" and "substantially reduce" the penalty by classifying their motion as one for "settlement approval."

It also underlined that such a request is properly made under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure.

Relief from judgment is granted "only upon a showing of exceptional circumstances," Judge Torres wrote. If jurisdiction were restored to this Court, the Court would deny the parties motion as procedurally improper.

Ripple's chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, said the latest order only concerns "procedural concerns" and doesn't affect "Ripple's wins."

Note that the federal securities regulator sued Ripple in December 2020, arguing that the firm was allegedly engaged in the sale of unregistered XRP token securities worth $1.3 billion.
Claims about a video that allegedly depicted Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez referring to Israel as a "genocidal state" circulated online in May 2025 as Israel's heavy bombing and blockade of relief aid in Gaza continued.

Social media posts either sharing the video itself (archived) or alleged quotes from it spread rapidly across platforms like X (archived), Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived).

The first European leader to state that Israel is committing genocide.



The dam is breaking. https://t.co/ulhkGYo2IX  Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) May 15, 2025

Claims purporting that a video depicts Sanchez possibly referring to Israel as a "genocidal state" correctly attribute the quote to Sanchez. However, there is important context to consider.

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The exchange between MP Gabriel Rufian and Sanchez occurred during a Parliament plenary session on May 14, 2025, "to share available information on the electricity crisis and the restoration of normality of the electrical system, among other matters," according to an agenda on Spain's Congress of Deputies website.

The moment in question can be watched on the Spanish Parliament's official YouTube channel. The exchange begins around 19 minutes and 54 seconds.

Translated from Spanish, the relevant portion of the exchange read:

MP Gabriel Rufian: For now, what they [the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) that Sanchez leads] are doing is sharing the judges with the right, trading with a genocidal state like Israel, blocking the housing law with the Catalan right.  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: I do believe that the vast majority of judges in our country do their work impartially. Yes, I do. I'd also like to point out one thing, Mr. Rufian. We don't trade with a genocidal state. We don't, Your Honor.

The exchange referenced concern over an order of ammunition by the Spanish government from an Israeli company that sparked debate in April 2025.

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Junior partners of the coalition government called the deal "a 'flagrant breach' of the alliance agreement that jeopardised the country's sustained efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza," according to The Guardian, which added that "any unfulfilled arms orders from Israel placed before October 7 2023 would not proceed."

The deal was ultimately scrapped, with the government announcing "the contract would be unilaterally cancelled and that an import licence for the ammunition would be denied," as per The Guardian.

Spain has been one of the most outspoken governments regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. In November 2023, The Guardian reported Sanchez as saying, "The whole world is shocked at the images that we see coming from Gaza every day. The number of Palestinians killed is truly unbearable. I believe that all civilians must be protected at all costs."

Further, Sanchez recognized the Palestinian state in May 2024 and said, "We are going to recognise Palestine for many reasons and we can sum that up in three words: peace, justice and consistency." The prime minister also emphasized the importance of a "two-state solution" to resolve the conflict, saying "there must be mutual guarantees of security."

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In the video, Sanchez didn't explicitly combine the words "Israel" and "genocidal state" while addressing Rufian, nor did Sanchez use the phrase "genocidal state" without prompting, but his remark, though slightly ambiguous, was universally interpreted in the context of his previous statements as a condemnation of Israel.

We reached out to Sanchez's press office for clarification and will update this article if we hear back.

Sources:

- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46ZqzfQIOmc. Accessed 15 May 2025.

"54 People Killed in Overnight Airstrikes on Southern Gaza City, Hospital Says." AP News, 15 May 2025, https://apnews.com/article/mideast-wars-israel-hamas-gaza-05-15-2025-b32d055195ffec2b349a0948582c68e3.

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Carroll, Rory, and Sam Jones. "Ireland, Spain and Norway to Recognise Palestinian State." The Guardian, 22 May 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/22/palestinian-state-recognition-ireland-spain-recognise-palestine.

Gonzalez, Miguel. "Interior cancela la compra de 15 millones de balas a una firma israeli por 6,6 millones." El Pais, 29 Oct. 2024, https://elpais.com/espana/2024-10-29/interior-compra-balas-por-66-millones-de-euros-a-una-firma-israeli-para-la-guardia-civil.html.

Jones, Sam, et al. "How Spain and Ireland Became the EU's Sharpest Critics of Israel." The Guardian, 5 Apr. 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/05/spain-ireland-eu-critics-israel-warfare-gaza.

---. "Number of Palestinians Killed Is 'Truly Unbearable', Says Spanish PM." The Guardian, 23 Nov. 2023. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/23/palestinian-state-is-best-chance-for-security-and-peace-says-spanish-pm.

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---. "Spain Scraps 6.6m Arms Order from Israeli Company after Outcry." The Guardian, 24 Apr. 2025. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/24/spain-scraps-arms-order-from-israeli-company-after-outcry.

Weary Palestinians Line up at Food Kitchen in Northern Gaza Strip as Israeli Aid Blockade Enters Third Month. apnews.com, https://apnews.com/video/weary-palestinians-line-up-at-food-kitchen-in-northern-gaza-strip-as-israeli-aid-blockade-enters-third-month-27b71b200ab34c638872c2060db5a994. Accessed 15 May 2025.


The Medicaid system has emerged as an early target of the Trump administrations campaign to slash federal spending. A joint federal and state program, Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for more than 72 million people, including low-income Americans and their children and people with disabilities. It also helps foot the bill for long-term care for older people.

In late February 2025, House Republicans advanced a budget proposal that would potentially cut US$880 billion from Medicaid over 10 years. President Donald Trump has backed that House budget despite repeatedly vowing on the campaign trail and during his teams transition that Medicaid cuts were off the table.

Medicaid covers one-fifth of all Americans at an annual cost that coincidentally also totals about $880 billion, $600 billion of which is funded by the federal government. Economists and public health experts have argued that big Medicaid cuts would lead to fewer Americans getting the health care they need and further strain the low-income families finances.

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As a historian of social policy, I recently led a team that produced the first comprehensive historical overview of Medi-Cal, Californias statewide Medicaid system. Like the broader Medicaid program, Medi-Cal emerged as a compromise after Democrats failed to achieve their goal of establishing universal health care in the 1930s and 1940s.

Instead, the United States developed its current fragmented health care system, with employer-provided health insurance covering most working-age adults, Medicare covering older Americans, and Medicaid as a safety net for at least some of those left out.

Health care reformers vs. the AMA

Medicaids history officially began in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the system into law, along with Medicare. But the seeds for this program were planted in the 1930s and 1940s. When President Franklin D. Roosevelts administration was implementing its New Deal agenda in the 1930s, many of his advisers hoped to include a national health insurance system as part of the planned Social Security program.

Those efforts failed after a heated debate. The 1935 Social Security Act created the old-age and unemployment insurance systems we have today, with no provisions for health care coverage.

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Nevertheless, during and after World War II, liberals and labor unions backed a bill that would have added a health insurance program into Social Security.

Harry Truman assumed the presidency after Roosevelts death in 1945. He enthusiastically embraced that legislation, which evolved into the Truman Plan. The American Medical Association, a trade group representing most of the nations doctors, feared heightened regulation and government control over the medical profession. It lobbied against any form of public health insurance.

During the late 1940s, the AMA poured millions of dollars into a political advertising campaign to defeat Trumans plan. Instead of mandatory government health insurance, the AMA supported voluntary, private health insurance plans. Private plans such as those offered by Kaiser Permanente had become increasingly popular in the 1940s in the absence of a universal system. Labor unions began to demand them in collective bargaining agreements.

The AMA insisted that these private, employer-provided plans were the American way, as opposed to the compulsion of a health insurance system operated by the federal government. They referred to universal health care as socialized medicine in widely distributed radio commercials and print ads.

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In the anticommunist climate of the late 1940s, these tactics proved highly successful at eroding public support for government-provided health care. Efforts to create a system that would have provided everyone with health insurance were soundly defeated by 1950.

JFK and LBJ

Private health insurance plans grew more common throughout the 1950s.

Federal tax incentives, as well as a desire to maintain the loyalty of their professional and blue-collar workers alike, spurred companies and other employers to offer private health insurance as a standard benefit. Healthy, working-age, employed adults  most of whom were white men  increasingly gained private coverage. So did their families, in many cases.

Everyone else  people with low incomes, those who werent working and people over 65  had few options for health care coverage. Then, as now, Americans without private health insurance tended to have more health problems than those who had it, meaning that they also needed more of the health care they struggled to afford.

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But this also made them risky and unprofitable for private insurance companies, which typically charged them high premiums or more often declined to cover them at all.

Health care activists saw an opportunity. Veteran health care reformers such as Wilbur Cohen of the Social Security Administration, having lost the battle for universal coverage, envisioned a narrower program of government-funded health care for people over 65 and those with low incomes. Cohen and other reformers reasoned that if these populations could get coverage in a government-provided health insurance program, it might serve as a step toward an eventual universal health care system.

While President John F. Kennedy endorsed these plans, they would not be enacted until Johnson was sworn in following JFKs assassination. In 1965, Johnson signed a landmark health care bill into law under the umbrella of his Great Society agenda, which also included antipoverty programs and civil rights legislation.

That law created Medicare and Medicaid.

From Reagan to Trump

As Medicaid enrollment grew throughout the 1970s and 1980s, conservatives increasingly conflated the program with the stigma of what they dismissed as unearned welfare. In the 1970s, California Gov. Ronald Reagan developed his national reputation as a leading figure in the conservative movement in part through his high-profile attempts to cut and privatize Medicaid services in his state.

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Upon assuming the presidency in the early 1980s, Reagan slashed federal funding for Medicaid by 18%. The cuts resulted in some 600,000 people who depended on Medicaid suddenly losing their coverage, often with dire consequences.

Medicaid spending has since grown, but the program has been a source of partisan debate ever since.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Republicans attempted to change how Medicaid was funded. Instead of having the federal government match what states were spending at different levels that were based on what the states needed, they proposed a block grant system. That is, the federal government would have contributed a fixed amount to a states Medicaid budget, making it easier to constrain the programs costs and potentially limiting how much health care it could fund.

These efforts failed, but Trump reintroduced that idea during his first term. And block grants are among the ideas House Republicans have floated since Trumps second term began to achieve the spending cuts they seek.

Protesters in New York City object to Medicaid cuts sought by the first Trump administration in 2017. Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

The ACAs expansion

The 2010 Affordable Care Act greatly expanded the Medicaid program by extending its coverage to adults with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty line. All but 10 states have joined the Medicaid expansion, which a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made optional.

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As of 2023, Medicaid was the countrys largest source of public health insurance, making up 18% of health care expenditures and over half of all spending on long-term care. Medicaid covers nearly 4 in 10 children and 80% of children who live in poverty. Medicaid is a particularly crucial source of coverage for people of color and pregnant women. It also helps pay for low-income people who need skilled nursing and round-the-clock care to live in nursing homes.

In the absence of a universal health care system, Medicaid fills many of the gaps left by private insurance policies for millions of Americans. From Medi-Cal in California to Husky Health in Connecticut, Medicaid is a crucial pillar of the health care system. This makes the proposed House cuts easier said than done.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ben Zdencanovic, University of California, Los Angeles

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Ben Zdencanovic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Brighton Volunteer Ambulance will host an open house Sunday afternoon to kick off National EMS Week.

The open house will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with a special ceremony at 3 p.m.

BVA is located on Winton Road South at the corner of Westfall Road in Rochester.

In celebration of the 51st National EMS Week, community members will be able to meet members of the Brighton Volunteer Ambulance, see what the inside of an ambulance looks like, and see demonstrations of the equipment from paramedics and EMTs. Children can also enjoy face painting, crafts, a bounce house, and an obstacle course.

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Color Run benefits GiGis Playhouse

Brighton Volunteer Ambulance President Dennis J. Mietz, Chief of EMS Operations William Hockenberry will be joined by Public Safety partners Brighton Police, Brighton Fire, Henrietta Fire, Monroe County Sheriff`s Office Mounted Patrol, K-9 Unit and Operation Safe Child IDs, New York State Police Traffic Safety`s Convincer Demo Unit, and the Monroe County/Rochester 911 Emergency Communications Department 911 Center.

The Brighton town supervisor, William Moehle, will deliver a town proclamation for National EMS Week. Monroe County Public Safety Director, Richard V. Tantalo, and their Deputy Director, Tim Henry, will deliver a proclamation on behalf of Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney, Assemblymember Sarah Clark, and other county and town elected officials will also be in attendance.

Lifespan and Willow Domestic Violence Center will also be sharing information about their services.

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Public parking is available at Brighton High School on 1150 Winton Rd S. A free shuttle will be provided to the open house.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Attorney generals from Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts answered questions from concerned citizens during a town hall in Boston about recent ICE activity.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell spoke to begin the event.

All of us probably have a target on our back, she told dozens in the crowd Friday night. But, we say bring it on. We welcome it.

Concerned citizens stepped up to ask the panel of democratic leaders questions and express their worries.

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One explained, One of the top issues that concerns me today is ICE abducting people off our streets without warrants, without charges.

Campbell said nothing is off the table in terms of holding ICE agents or the federal administration accountable over the recent arrests. They said Friday they are working with individuals targeted, and are spreading information to those that could be vulnerable.

Recent body-camera from Worcester Polices response to a May 8th detainment by ICE where federal authorities were surrounded was a main topic of conversation.

Campbell explained, It is horrific. It is not promoting public safety. It is promoting fear.

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Massachusetts GOP Chair Amy Carnevale told Boston 25 News Friday democratic leaders in New England should take a step back.

The rally itself seems much more political in nature than legal, she said. Massachusetts has a lot to lose in terms of federal funding.

A regional GOP join statement in response to the town hall read:

The Republican Parties of Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut release the following statement in response to the United in Justice New England Town Hall with Attorneys General Tong (CT), Frey (ME), Campbell (MA), Nerenha (RI) and Clark (VT):

Less than two years ago, New England was overrun by waves of illegal aliens who strained the ability of our states to provide basic government services for their citizens, and today we are still dealing with the criminal repercussions and resulting budget shortfalls.

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Rather than support cooperative efforts with ICE to deport violent illegal aliens, these far-left attorneys general are failing our residents by providing legal cover for tone-deaf media stunts over their well-being.

President Trump will continue his work to restore law and order in New England and across America. Meanwhile, these Democratic state prosecutors should focus on their actual jurisdictions and solving the problems caused by their ideological crusades.

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LONDON (AP)  Three alleged Iranian spies faced charges in a London court Saturday that they conducted surveillance on and plotted violence against U.K.-based journalists for an Iranian news outlet.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist Iran's foreign intelligence service between Aug. 14, 2024 and Feb. 16, 2025.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom. The others are charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention serious violence would be committed by others.

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Iran International, a Persian-language TV channel based in London that is critical of the theocratic government in Tehran, reported that the defendants were trying to locate and target its journalists. The Iranian government has called the news outlet a terrorist organization.

All three men were living in London after entering the U.K. through unauthorized means between 2016 and 2022. They have been in custody since their arrests on May 3. A fourth man arrested in the same investigation was released without charge.

The three did not enter pleas during a brief hearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court. They confirmed their identities through a Farsi interpreter.

They were held in custody awaiting a hearing June 6 at the Central Criminal Court.

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Britains domestic intelligence service has warned of a growing threat from attackers linked to Tehran.

On the day the men were arrested two weeks ago, police took four other Iranian nationals into custody on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act in a separate investigation. They were released from custody Saturday, though counterterror police said that investigation continues.

We are working very closely with the premises we identified as the suspected target of the alleged plot, and we continue to provide them with support, said Cmdr. Dominic Murphy of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. This has been, and continues to be, a highly complex investigation, and we will not hesitate to take further action if we believe there is any imminent threat to the public.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government plans to publish a review next week of how to apply the U.K.'s counterterrorism approach to state threats.

Iran must be held to account for its actions," Cooper said. We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.
LONDON (Reuters) -Three Iranian men appeared in court in London on Saturday accused of offences under the National Security Act and plotting violence following a major counter-terrorism investigation by British police.

The three men have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between August 14, 2024, and February 16, 2025, police said, adding that the foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran.

The charges come at a time of intense scrutiny of suspected Iran-backed activities in Britain.

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Interior minister Yvette Cooper said Britain would take "separate action" to address the serious issues raised by the case of the three men.

"Iran must be held to account for its actions," she said in a statement. "We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil."

The charges against the three men come after police arrested eight men including seven Iranians earlier in May, in two separate operations which Cooper said were some of the biggest investigations of their kind in recent years.

Police said in a separate statement later on Saturday that four other men arrested as part of the counter-terrorism operation had been released from custody but the investigation was still open.

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"We made these arrests due to concerns about a suspected plot to target a specific premises," the statement said, adding that they continued to provide the premises with support.

"Our investigation remains active and is ongoing."

The eighth man was released without charge on Thursday.

SERIOUS VIOLENCE

Britain's domestic spy chief Ken McCallum said last year that officers had responded since 2022 to 20 Tehran-backed plots that potentially posed lethal threats to UK citizens and residents.

The three men charged - Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55 - were remanded in custody and will appear at a preliminary hearing at the central criminal court on June 6.

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The court on Saturday heard allegations that the three men had targeted Britain-based journalists connected with Iran International, a broadcaster which is critical of the Iranian government.

Sepahvand was also charged with surveillance and intending to commit serious violence against a person in Britain, while Manesh and Noori were charged with surveillance and the intention that serious violent acts would be committed by others.

The men arrived by irregular means, the government said, including via small boats across the Channel between 2016 and 2022.

Immigration is a major political issue in Britain, where many voters are worried over the high numbers of arrivals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to reduce the number of small boat crossings by targeting people smuggling gangs.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has previously said he was "disturbed" to learn that Iranian citizens had been arrested by British authorities.

He said Tehran was ready to assist in investigations if "credible allegations of misconduct are established", while another foreign ministry official rejected any accusations against Iran as "baseless".

In 2023, an Austrian national was convicted of carrying out "hostile reconnaissance" against the London headquarters of Iran International. Last year a British journalist of Iranian origin who worked for Iran International was stabbed in London.

The British government has placed Iran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register, requiring Tehran to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK.

(Reporting by Sarah Young in London and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton, Gareth Jones and Daniel Wallis)
BROOKFIELD, Ohio (WKBN)  The anticipation surrounding the opening of a new ice cream shop in Brookfield has been so great that owner Paula Holmes said they had a line out the door for a soft opening last weekend.

One of those eager customers is a dog named Ghost who lives in the neighborhood and stopped in with his owner while on a walk for his favorite treat, a pup cup.

Ripleys Scoop Shop, located on the green in Brookfield Center, aims to please its four-legged customers. Holmes said they are animal lovers, and the purchase of those pup cups also benefits the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.

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But Holmes said they have plenty for humans as well. Ripleys has partnered with Cockeye Creamery, a local ice cream supplier, to sell its ice cream in the shop. Holmes said having a local connection was important to her  it is why they also offer space for local vendors.

The shelves at Ripleys are lined with homemade soaps and wax items from Rust Belt Soapworks, canned peppers and jam from Delirium Pickling, crochet and tea items from Mugsys Makes, and pens by Madi Moo.

At the end of the day, we think its important to support a small business, because we are a small business. Our family was reared and raised on small business. We understand the hard work and effort put in to be a small business owner, Holmes said.

Holmes owned the smoke shop that used to be housed in the building, but she said she felt like the ice cream shop would be a better fit for the community. The business is a family effort with her husband, Bob, and son, Zachary.

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We were just looking for something to do for the community, honestly  Weve been a part of the community for a long time, and who doesnt like ice cream? she said.

Max Hoover, founder of Cockeye Creamery, said the partnership with Ripleys is just another step in expanding the businesss reach in the area and one that he is excited about. Cockeye Creamery, which started with a small shop in Warren, more recently branched into the wholesale market with the opening of its manufacturing plant on Chestnut Avenue.

We had recently made some moves to make sort of a bigger play into the wholesale market and be able to sell to other businesses, so the timing was just right, and it was the right size, and Im the right size, and I think the community has really been jazzed about this ever since they caught wind it was happening, he said.

Hoover said the Holmes family pulled out all of the stops with their Brookfield shop. They will offer the regular Cockeye Creamery flavors, as well as rotating seasonal flavors and dairy-free options, and homemade waffle cones.

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Were all learning how to get through a crowd, but its been fun You know what? What is not fun about ice cream? Holmes said.

Ripleys Scoop Shop is having its grand opening weekend Friday, May 23, through Monday, May 26, when the business will be open from 1 to 8 p.m. Hours after May 30 will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
KIDDER TOWNSHIP, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  State Police say a Brooklyn man is dead after a tractor-trailer crash on Friday in Carbon County.

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) released information on Saturday, saying they were called to a crash at mile marker 275.9 on Interstate 80 for a reported crash at about 7:50 a.m.

Scammers threatening to shut off peoples electricity

The early morning crash happened as a tractor-trailer was traveling east on Interstate 80 near mile marker 275 when it, for unknown reasons, left the roadway and struck multiple trees in the center median, troopers explained.

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PSP said in the release that the driver, identified as 23-year-old Sherzodjon Farhadov from Brooklyn, New York, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene by a Carbon County Deputy Coroner.

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During his address to Coindesk's Consensus 2025 conference in Toronto on May 15, Kevin O'Leary, chairman of O'Leary Ventures, a venture capital firm, had an unusual message.

OLeary called for immediate regulation to remove the "wall" impeding institutional adoption of crypto. I never thought Id say this, but I want more regulation and I want it now, OLeary told attendees.

He called attention to the stagnation of crypto assets under management (AUM), attributing that stagnation to a lack of clarity and control, which he believes has already kept major investors like sovereign wealth funds and pension plans away from crypto.

However, he sees the "new sheriff in town" as a more positive sign, that being Paul Atkins. Atkins who is now the Chair of the SEC has initiated a much-needed dialogue about crypto within the SEC quarters.

Under Atkins administration the SEC has a crypto task force who will clear regulatory lines for digital assets, as per reports.

Unlike Gary Gensler, who he referred to as a consistent hardliner pushing enforcement, OLeary characterized Atkins as crypto-friendly and willing to regulate accordingly. Gensler, OLeary added, had been explicit about his plans  He said he was gonna sue you, and he sued you. He was consistent, and you have to respect that.

Reflecting on his early run-in with the SEC, OLeary said: I was on cable TV talking about debt tokenization I get a knock on the door and its an enforcement agent serving me a Wells notice. A Wells notice is the SEC's warning that it intends to take legal action against a person.

GENIUS act could unlock $1 trillion in crypto

OLeary is also optimistic about legislation.

He anticipates that the GENIUS Act  which would limit stablecoin issuance and clarify market roles  will pass in months, followed by broader market infrastructure legislation.

OLeary also said, When thats determined and regulated, Katy, bar the doors  a trillion dollars will come in and Bitcoin
The road to government waste is paved with good intentions. No one ever says, lets build a giant hole and bury $6 million in taxpayer money.

At least not out loud. The waste part only becomes apparent after years of cost overruns and a limited return on investment. It turns out the bridge really does lead to nowhere.

Buchanan County, led by Western District Commissioner Ron Hook, seems intent on leading county taxpayers toward its own version of a costly big dig. The off-again, on-again dream of revitalizing Lake Contrary seems to be gaining momentum with a plan to spray the lakebed with a weed-killing chemical as a precursor to full-scale dredging.

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Theres no question this lake, which is located outside the city limits, is in sorry condition. Without dredging, it shares the fate of all oxbow lakes: slow decline into a sediment-filled bog.

The question is whether the county has put forward a viable plan for saving the lake and whether the promised economic and recreational benefits will materialize. County officials breezily suggest dredging the lake for $6 million, but other media accounts have put the figure at $8 million to $11 million. Its also worth asking whether the county is including the cost of disposing of the dredged material, which can be expensive depending on whether its dumped in the river or applied on farmland.

This is a considerable financial commitment any way you slice it. Taxpayers deserve full transparency on where the money is coming from and what the county would be giving up  roads, crime prevention, economic development, etc.  to put so many of its eggs in Lake Contrarys basket.

Lake Manawa, an oxbow lake near Council Bluffs, Iowa, was dredged for $4.2 million in 2016. Its reasonable to believe that costs have risen since then. Its also worth noting that the state of Iowa contributed to the cost of dredging.

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At Lake Contrary, Buchanan County might be on its own in shouldering the burden, which speaks volumes about what other agencies think of this project.

Before moving forward, the county needs to ask someone other than a Lake Contrary property owner about the costs and benefits. The county likes to point to Mozingo Lake, which did produce an economic benefit for Nodaway County. However, the federal government contributed to Mozingos development because the lake serves as a water source for Maryville.

Lake Contrary lacks that kind of utility, which means Uncle Sam is less likely to pitch in. Nor was Mozingo plagued with the kind of crime and property maintenance issues that make it a steep challenge to get Lake Contrary anywhere close to what it once was.

The decision to spray for weeds puts Buchanan County closer to a point of no return on dredging. This might be a good deal if you own lake property or a speedboat, but the rest of us are wondering if this is another bridge to nowhere.
From surprise appearances to fun candids of the King and Queen, you can always count on the Buckingham Palace IG for the best snapshots and updates of the royal family. And this latest post puts the spotlight on the King and Prince honoring a rare royal tradition.

On Friday, May 16, Buckingham Palace shared a striking slideshow of King Charles and Prince William taking on an unusual royal tradition dating back hundreds of years. The pair were attending the Service for the Order of the Bath, a ceremony that takes place every four years. "The order was established by George I in 1725, though its origins go back to medieval times when part of the ceremony of knighthood included a ritual bath symbolic of spiritual purification," Buckingham Palace writes.

In the first photo, we see the royal father and son standing side-by-side wearing bold red cloaks over their traditional military garb and adornments at Westminster Abbey. See the full post down below.

The Service for the Order of the Bath celebrates and honors military officials and senior civil servants. "Celebrating the 300th anniversary of Order of the Bath. For three centuries, the order has recognized exceptional military and civil achievements across the UK and the Commonwealth," the caption read.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

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During the ceremony, the Prince of Wales was also installed as Great Master of the Order, along with five other knights. King Charles rose to the Sovereign of the Order during his last visit in 2022 when he was the Prince of Wales. Now, with new roles and titles in place, the heir will attend every ceremony as the new Great Master, while Charles will attend every other one (every eight years).

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

After the heir's strange positioning on the royal balcony during VE Day, it's great to see the pair taking on royal duties together. Hopefully, this summer will bring on more rare shared appearances from the duo.

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Buckingham Palace Just Shared New Photos of a Surprising Royal Family Member (And It's Not Who I Expected)
A bus evacuating civilians was attacked by Russian forces on the morning of Saturday 17 May in Sumy Oblast, killing nine people.

Source: Yurii Zarko, head of the Bilopillia hromada, on Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.]

Details: A day of mourning has been declared in the town of Bilopillia from 17 to 19 May. Zarko described 17 May as a "black Saturday" in the town's history.

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Quote from Zarko: "The passengers on the bus were evacuating when it was struck outside the town by a Lancet [loitering munition], guided by a reconnaissance drone.

Nine civilians are known to have been killed and five injured. The people injured in the attack have received medical treatment on the spot and were sent to hospital in Sumy. We're now transporting the bodies of the dead.

Some of them have not yet been identified. Most are women of retirement age, with two to three men also among the dead."

Updated: Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that the number of people injured in the attack had risen to seven.

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Emergency workers have recovered

Background: Russian forces struck a bus near Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast with a Lancet loitering munition, killing nine people and injuring four others.

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CALERA, Ala. (WIAT)  A massive search effort continues into in Calera for 72-year-old Reuben Waithaka.

Calera police said Waithaka was last seen walking away from a relatives home in the Timberline subdivision around 11 a.m. on Thursday.

According to police, Waithaka is about five feet tall. He was last seen wearing khaki pants and a blue and white plaid button-up shirt.

He and his wife, Elizabeth Waithaka, are visiting from Nairobi, Kenya to see their first-born grandson graduate from Calera High School on Tuesday.

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While hes never been diagnosed with dementia, the family said he seemed to be confused when they last spoke on Thursday morning.

We talked with his wife, Elizabeth Waithaka, and his daughter-in-law, Mary Waithaka, outside their home in Calera on Friday morning. Elizabeth Waithaka said her husband seemed somewhat confused when he stepped outside on Thursday morning and began walking.

She said she had started to follow him but realized that she had left the door open. She rushed back to lock the door and said when she returned, he was gone.

Im so worried, Im so, so worried, she said, standing in the front yard of her sons home in Calera.

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Despite their growing concern, the family has said that they remain hopeful that the search and rescue efforts will bring him back safely.

Were praying. Were very prayerful, were a prayerful family. Everyone is praying, Mary Waithaka said.

Calera Police Chief David Hyche said theyve talked with an individual who gave Waithaka a ride to the Chevron gas station near the entrance of Timberline subdivision. Waithaka was spotted on surveillance video entering the gas station.

Chief Hyche is asking for the publics help in case someone else gave him a ride.

We would like to ask that if anybody else might have given this man a ride, we think thats a possibility, and actually were hoping that somebody did that, because that would be far better than him being in the woods on a day like today for that long, being of his age and with his health problems, were very concerned Hyche said.

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Hyche said this has been an extensive search involving multiple agencies with helicopters, drones and dogs from the Red Mountain Search Dog Association.

We had reports from several civilians in the area that they had seen the person that met the description, so we decided to concentrate on this area, Calera Fire Chief Sean Kendrick explained when asked about the location of the command center and the search area off of Highway 310.

This unexpected turn of events has not dimmed the familys hope that Waithaka will still get to see his grandson graduate.

It is supposed to be a happy occasion, Mary Waithaka said. But we have hope that hes going to be here and will get to celebrate.

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Its been amazing. Its been overwhelming, just seeing people come out, Mary Waithaka said.

Saturday morning, the Calera Police Department said they know at least two individuals gave him a ride and we are hoping that he was picked up by someone else.

In the meantime, police continue to search a large wooded area off Highway 25 in Calera in hopes of finding Reuben Waithaka.

Anyone who may have seen Reuben Waithaka is asked to contact Calera Police at 205-668-3505 or 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 CBS 42.
Its been a busy (and celebratory) few weeks for royal watchers. Between Princess Charlottes birthday, Prince William and Kate Middletons 14th wedding anniversary, a rare public appearance from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Meghan Markle's first guest podcast appearance, royal fans have had plenty to talk about. And now, theres yet another sweet moment to add to the list: Princess Ines of Sweden made her official royal balcony debut.

Earlier this month, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia stepped out with their baby daughter, Princess Ines, to celebrate King Carl Gustafs 79th birthday. The royal family gathered on the sun-drenched balcony of the Royal Palace in Stockholm for the occasion, and while it was a full family affairfeaturing Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleineit was little Ines who completely stole the spotlight.

Michael Campanella/Getty Images

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In her official debut, the royal newborn looked cozy dressed in a white bonnet and a soft cream onesie. She was wrapped in a white blanket decorated with delicate yellow flowers, making the whole moment even sweeter. Princess Sofia held her daughter close, while looking effortlessly elegant in a crisp white blazer paired with gold jewelry.

Joining their parents on the balcony were Iness big brothersPrince Julian, 4, and Prince Gabriel, 7. The couple are also parents to Prince Alexander, 9.

Michael Campanella/Getty Images

Princess Ines was born on February 7 at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm. Shes now eighth in line to the Swedish throne. Her full namePrincess Ines Marie Lilian Silvia, Duchess of Vasterbottenhonors both grandmothers: Queen Silvia and Sofias mother, Marie.

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The royal family first introduced Ines to the world back in February with a photo taken by Sofia herself, showing the newborn cozied up in a blanket. Now, just a few months later, shes made her first royal balcony appearanceand it couldnt have been cuter.

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King Charles & King Gustaf of Sweden Make a Joint Appearance in Striking New Video
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WFLA)  Residents in a Cape Coral neighborhood are battling an unusual infestation: huge iguanas.

NBC affiliate Gulf Coast News reported that one house has been vacant since Hurricane Ian in 2022, and since then, iguanas have arrived by the dozens, and nothing seems to help.

WATCH: Crews spot alligator living in storm water pipe

One neighbor, Rick Wheeler, said hes killed over 20, but they keep coming back.

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At any point in time, you can see 10, 15 iguanas outside, he told Gulf Coast News.

Green iguanas are invasive and now number in the thousands across South Florida. Like other invasive reptiles, you can humanely kill iguanas on your property year-round.

Manatee dies while receiving medical care at Florida state park: report

Photos and video shows iguanas covering the property outside, hanging out on the roof and even peeking through the windows from inside the house.

They arent small either, Wheeler caught one that measured almost six feet long.

But the city says because its a nuisance and not a public safety concern, they wont use tax dollars to address the problem.

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Neighbors are concerned that if nothing is done, the iguanas will continue to spread through the neighborhood.

Here are some tips from the Fish and Wildlife Commission to help deter iguanas from your property.

Removing plants that act as attractants, like fruits and flowers

Filling in holes to discourage burrowing

Hanging wind chimes or other items that make intermittent noises

Hanging CDs that have reflective surfaces

Spraying the animals with water as a deterrent

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
China releases plan to advance Digital China development

Xinhua) 10:37, May 17, 2025

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China has released a 2025 action plan to build a Digital China, outlining key initiatives in areas such as "AI Plus," infrastructure upgrades, the data industry and digital talent development, the National Data Administration said on Friday.

The plan calls for the promotion of the market-oriented reform of data resource allocation, for the accelerated development of a unified national data market, for the promotion of a data-driven digital economy tailored to local conditions, and for the comprehensive enhancement of the overall level of Digital China development.

By the end of 2025, China aims to achieve major progress in building a Digital China, with the continuous expansion of new quality productive forces in the digital industry, as well as significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of digital economic development, according to the plan.

The plan also aims for the added value of core digital economy industries to contribute over 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product, and sets goals for steady progress in building a unified data factor market, and for computing power to be increased to over 300 EFLOPS.

It outlines eight major areas for action, including institutional innovation, local brand development and "AI Plus" application.

China's digital industry generated a revenue of 8.5 trillion yuan (about 1.18 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, up 9.4 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Friday.

This year's government work report noted that the country will "accelerate the digitalization of manufacturing, foster a number of service providers with both industry expertise and digital know-how, and bolster support for the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises."

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Ensuring systems are ready for instant payments is critical for a successful implementation. Financial institutions should evaluate their current service providers to determine if they can support all instant payment needs or if additional partnerships are required. This includes evaluating the impact of instant payments on operations and systems, considering the types of services and experiences to offer customers, and ensuring that downstream applications can operate on a 24/7/365 basis.

This is particularly important as the rapid processing times and high volume of transactions with instant payments mean that institutions have a very limited window to stop fraudulent transactions. Anti-fraud solutions, including sanctions screening, must therefore also be highly available to monitor transactions in real-time and flag suspicious activities. However, speed must not compromise accuracy, or institutions risk seeing an increase in false positives. Aside from the potential strain on a banks resources to investigate these transactions, high levels of false positives could decrease customer satisfaction and potentially result in non-compliance with the instant payments requirements.

For institutions to facilitate instant payments, their payment capabilities must be fast, highly available and include no downtime, which can pose significant operational challenges. For example, legacy or fragmented IT and payments infrastructure often lack the necessary processing speed and scalability to accommodate the expected growth in transactions, particularly as instant payments eventually become the dominant method. Additionally, legacy systems can prevent interoperability with newer technologies and platforms, which is required for futureproofing and to strengthen capabilities such as security and anti-fraud.

Phase 1 of instant payments in Switzerland was launched on August 20, 2024. Financial institutions with 500,000 or more incoming transactions in 2020 were required to become reachable for SIC IP by this date. For Phase 2, all remaining banks that receive retail payments must be able to process real-time transactions by their allotted go-live window.

In today's fast-paced financial services landscape, instant payments have become a necessity, not a luxury. The latest generation of the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system, known as SIC5, developed by SIX and the Swiss National Bank, is revolutionising the way funds are transferred between banks in Switzerland. With a maximum execution time of 10 seconds, covering the transaction end-to-end, and 24/7/365 operation, SIC IP promises real-time payments that will significantly enhance customer experiences.

Story Continues

The ideal technology partner should provide robust solutions for financial messaging and sanctions screening that support the requirements of SIC IP while accelerating time to market. They should also have a proven track record in financial market infrastructure and support connectivity to other infrastructures, such as Swift and RTGS.

Another consideration is the need to make contingency arrangements to mitigate service disruptions and ensure that funds are made available immediately. This involves aligning closely with service providers, sometimes multiple, to update digital and core banking platforms, bill payment systems, and other related infrastructure. Additionally, institutions must conduct extensive testing via test banks  provided by SIX as well as technology providers  covering various use cases, to ensure preparedness for the testing phase. It is then recommended to split the go-live into two parts: the technical go-live and the official market launch. The former involves ensuring all systems are ready for production, followed by the official market launch with SIX.

Alongside these considerations, every institution had to apply for a window to start production with SIX, which operated on a first-come, first-served basis. Later slots, the last one being in October 2026, were quickly booked by banks who started planning early. This has left many institutions with no choice but to launch much earlier than this and projects must begin, at the latest, 6 months before their allotted window. This doesnt factor in vendor selection and sign-off processes, if a new partnership is required, or the extensive planning and preparation required before the project begins. With these timelines in mind, financial institutions need to start planning now.

Compliance and beyond

Looking ahead, the potential long-term benefits of SIC Instant Payments for the Swiss financial sector are immense. This includes enhancing customer experiences and business efficiency through seamless fund transfers, better cash flow management for businesses and consumers, and access to real-time payments data for better decision making.

However, while the go-live date may seem far away for some, there is a lot of work to be done. Preparation is key and financial institutions cannot start early enough. Institutions must act now to comply with the instant payments requirements and be well-positioned to take full advantage of the opportunities it can bring.

Andreas Helbling is Country Head Switzerland, Financial Messaging at Finastra

"SIC Instant Payments Phase 2 is coming sooner than you think  why preparation must start now" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.




James Carville had some choice words for former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg said earlier this week that, with the benefit of hindsight, he thinks former President Joe Biden should not have run in 2024.

Too little, too late for Carville.

Well f---, say something when it meant something! the veteran strategist said on his Politics War Room podcast, adding that now, in retrospect, everybodys Oh, well, s--t, we should have known.

Democratic strategist James Carville took aim at party officials only now admitting Joe Biden might've done better bowing out of last year's presidential race ahead of time. / ICSS/Reuters

His comments come ahead of an upcoming book in which reporters Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, from Axios and CNN, respectively, delve into concerns among White House officials over Bidens stamina and mental decline going back as early as March 2023.

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Though he believes Biden nevertheless proved himself one of the better presidents, Carville said Biden had denied himself a glorious retirement by failing to acknowledge the impact of his age, describing it as one of the great tragedies of all time.

Former Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this week that with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree Biden ought not to have run at all. / Alex Wong/Getty Images

He also took aim at the former president over his public appearances since leaving office, arguing these have muddied the waters for the Democratic Party as it struggles to recover and adapt following President Donald Trumps victory last year.

Youre making a fool of yourself; youre planning some kind of counter to this Tapper book, Carville raged on Saturday. That is the worst thing in the world because you know what? Youre not up to it right now, Joe.

Please, just go, he added. Take comfort in your friends and your family.
A participant in California attends a Pathway to Employment orientation offered by the Center for Employment Opportunities, which runs a program that provides cash assistance to those recently released from prison. A new study suggests that direct financial aid reduces parole violations and eases reentry. (Photo courtesy of the Center for Employment Opportunities)

When Karina Lariz was released from a California prison in September 2021, she had only the clothes she was arrested in  stretched out and weathered by time. She had lost her home, her car and her job. Her two children had moved in with other family members.

I didnt have nothing, everything that I had within those two weeks of coming home was what I found in donation bins, recalled Lariz, who was incarcerated for three years. She added: I was so worried about, How am I going to get to these different programs? Where am I going to sleep at?

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After her release, Lariz spent two days at a motel before moving into a transitional home. She also participated in a job training program.

Then came an unexpected lifeline: direct cash payments through a nonprofit program called the Returning Citizens Stimulus. The Center for Employment Opportunities, an organization that offers reentry support and services to formerly incarcerated people in 28 cities, runs the program.

Karina Lariz received cash assistance through a nonprofit program upon her release from a California prison. (Photo courtesy of Karina Lariz)

Karina Lariz received cash assistance through a nonprofit program upon her release from a California prison. (Photo courtesy of Karina Lariz)

With the money, Lariz, 35, was able to buy clothes for job interviews, cover groceries and public transportation fare, and begin rebuilding her life and relationships. The money, totaling nearly $2,500 over three payments, helped her gain footing in the weeks following her release  a period often marked by high risk of recidivism and reincarceration.

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It liberated a lot of stress, she said.

Now, a new independent evaluation of the initiative suggests that short-term aid may have positive long-term effects. The study comes as some states are considering whether direct financial support is an effective  or appropriate  tool for reducing recidivism.

In 2022, Lariz landed a job with the very organization that helped fund her reentry. She now works as a program associate on the organizing team at the Center for Employment Opportunities, where she helps others leaving prison.

Nearly four years after her release, Lariz is married and again living with her two children.

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If I didnt have that support, I would have not pushed myself to do half of the things that I did, Lariz said.

She is one of more than 10,000 formerly incarcerated people across 28 cities who received support through the Center for Employment Opportunities stimulus program, which launched in April 2020.

If I didn't have that support, I would have not pushed myself to do half of the things that I did.

 Karina Lariz, cash assistance recipient

The national organization works with local agencies to distribute up to $2,750 in cash over 60 days, contingent on participants completing basic milestones, such as creating a resume or attending a job readiness workshop. More than 80% of participants complete their milestones and receive the full payments.

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People leaving prison often face staggering rates of joblessness, homelessness and food insecurity. Most program participants used the funds to cover food, rent, utilities or public transportation fare. Some participants also used the money to pay off credit card and medical debt.

The basics of survival are this acute challenge in those early days of reentry, and then you layer on that sort of the big structural challenges, said Sam Schaeffer, the executive director and CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities. Just putting food on the table, just getting to work, just getting that set of interview clothes is so critical.

The new study supports that assessment.

According to the study  which was conducted by MDRC, a research organization focusing on poverty reduction  participants were significantly less likely to violate parole than peers who did not receive payments. Within the first six months after release, parole violations fell by more than 41%, with violent parole violations dropping by 64%. The study evaluated the outcomes of people who were released in 2020 in Los Angeles and Alameda counties in California.

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Roughly 77 million Americans  or about 1 in 3 adults  have a criminal record, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That includes records of arrests, charges and criminal convictions. Formerly incarcerated people often face stigma and major barriers in the job market.

They also often return home without savings or financial resources and earn less than half as much as peers who have never been incarcerated over their careers, according to a 2020 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning law and policy institute at the New York University School of Law.

Legislation and pilot programs

A bill introduced in the New York legislature earlier this year would create a reentry fund to offer cash payments of $425 each month for up to six months for eligible residents leaving prison. The bill has been stalled in committee since January and is unlikely to pass before the legislature adjourns in June.

Some critics say that the proposed New York program is a redundant and unrestricted handout for people with criminal records, and question whether limited public safety funds should support individuals already eligible for state services, including Medicaid, food assistance, job placement programs and housing aid.

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This is just one more element of what is an overall theme by the Democrats here in Albany to coddle criminals and put their priorities over the priorities of victims and law-abiding citizens, New York state Sen. George Borrello, a Republican, told Stateline.

This isnt the first time states have considered offering stipends to people leaving prison.

Most recently, legislators in Colorado in 2024 and North Carolina in 2023 proposed bills that would have provided monthly payments to formerly incarcerated individuals. Neither bill made it out of its originating chamber, but both bills proposed up to $3,000 in support.

In Colorado, the pilot program would have offered money for basic living expenses to those who enrolled in workforce training programs following incarceration in a state facility. In North Carolina, the proposal would have provided monthly stipends for housing, food, clothing and transportation for up to six months after release.

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Similar pilot cash assistance programs have launched in New Haven, Connecticut; Gainesville, Florida; and Philadelphia.

The Gainesville program, which ran from January 2022 to February 2023, had 115 participants. They received $1,000 in the first month, followed by monthly payments of $600. An impact report released in February found that participants experienced greater financial security, reduced mental stress and lower rates of recidivism.

Potential savings

In 2022  the most recent year with available data from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureaus annual survey of state and local government finances  state governments spent $58 billion to incarcerate more than 1 million people in state facilities.

Forty-four percent of all state prison admissions in 2021 were people who violated the terms of their parole or probation sentences, according to a 2024 report by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. On any given day, 1 in 4 people in state prison were incarcerated due to supervision violations  costing states more than $10 billion collectively.

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Some critics maintain that the most effective way to prevent crime is to punish those who break the law.

We do not do enough to hold people accountable, said Borrello, the New York state senator who opposes the bill that would create a reentry fund in his state. I really dont give any credence to [supporters] thoughts on whether or not they think this is going to save money down the road.

For people such as Karina Lariz, though, the impact is personal and profound.

Ive been able to redefine and find who I am today, like the real Karina  not the Karina that grew up in trauma and all the problems that I had before incarceration, she said.

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Stateline reporter Amanda Hernandez can be reached at ahernandez@stateline.org.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

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May 16CASS LAKE  Members of the

Cass Lake-Bena

school board conduct a special meeting on district grounds.

With only one item on the agenda, the board yields the floor to Superintendent Sue Chase and Elementary Principal Josh Grover, offering comments as part of public participation.

Both participants hit on the same subject: a years-long process to open the brand new Cass Lake-Bena Elementary, commemorated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

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Opening on the same campus as the high school and middle school facilities, district stakeholders took time to reflect on the steps they climbed to unveil the new school to the community.

"It's been a long road, a long process to get here, but I'm beyond excited," Chase said. "My grandkids go to school here, so I'm thrilled that we were able to do something like this for our whole community and for the next generations to come."

The commemoration kicked off with comments by the school board, Chase and Grover. Once the special meeting was adjourned, attendees took part in a meal and self-guided tours of the facility that will host K-5 classes starting next school year.

The new facility  constructed with the help of InGensa, Inc. and LSE Architects  came about as a result of

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a favorable referendum vote in November 2022.

Voters took to the polls to determine whether the district could issue $39.75 million in bonds to build a new elementary school for kindergarten through fifth grade and remodel the current elementary school to house district offices as well as the Area Learning Center.

Such a vote couldn't come too soon.

"The existing elementary building is extremely old," Chase said. "I went there, and that was more than 50 years ago."

The new school was designed to address longstanding infrastructure and space concerns at the existing elementary, which currently accommodates grades K-4. The most recent addition to the district will shift the fifth grade from the middle school to an environment that's commonly considered a more appropriate learning environment for their age, as well as ease crowding at the middle school.

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The district also notes that the new building will improve daily operations with redesigned traffic flow patterns that better accommodate buses and parent drop-offs and pickups, increasing safety and efficiency.

Among several construction milestones, site clearance took place in February 2023, with a groundbreaking ceremony following soon after in May. Footings and precast wall installation commenced from August to December 2023, followed by structural steel, roofing, mechanical and electrical work running from late 2023 through 2024.

Interior finishing ran from September 2024 to April 2025, and final inspections wrapped up earlier this month. Playground installation is also set for this month.

The natural aspect of the new school's location adds to its benefit.

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"Where the elementary students are at right now, it's surrounded by city streets and the highway, and there's very limited places for them to go outside and do things," Chase added. "Now, we'll have outdoor classrooms. We know that the natural world is a big benefit to everybody and for students in particular."

Due to favorable bids, the district was able to include a second gym bay as well as an expanded kindergarten wing in the school's final design.

Grover added that the new building provides abundant space for ancillary staff, from school psychologists and physical therapists to social workers and child therapy and support specialists.

"Those are the things that kids need to be successful," Grover said. "If they need it, we want to get it to them and meet them where they are."

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Grover considers the new building a "crown jewel" of northern Minnesota, which came as a result of a community that voted in favor of the referendum.

"We're not going to do anything above and beyond what they voted for, and we'll do our very best to meet their expectations," Grover said. "I really believe that we exceeded the expectations of the community when we came up with this facility."

Reflecting on the process, Grover left off, "There's a big sense of relief that this is finally here. It seems just like yesterday that we broke ground, and now we're here. We get to welcome our community and that's the whole purpose of this building. It was built for them."
CHICAGO (WGN)  Another milestone for Chicagos pope as Leo XIV is set to be formally installed in Rome Sunday.

Among the attendees will be members of Hyde Parks Catholic Theological Union (CTU), which has close ties to the new pope. Pope Leo XIV graduated with a Masters in Divinity from CTU. Soon, the Chicagoans will be boarding a flight to Rome to witness history Sunday in St. Peters Square.

Its a ceremony, confirming in a public way with the Eucharist, with the mass, the ministry of Peter, said Father John Lydon, a close friend of Pope Leo.

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Pope Leos childhood home in Dolton up for auction

In that ceremony, he receives the Ring of Peter. If it does happen, we will be thrilled to bits.

Chicago Theological Union president Sister Barbara Reid is also headed to Rome. While she says a face-to-face meeting is not likely, shes hoping Pope Leo will send a message back home to the Chicago Theological Union community.

Im hoping we may be able to record a moment with him, but I will understand if there are an awful lot of other people trying to get his attention, Reid said.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

Chicago Theological Union attendees will spend three short days in Vatican City before returning on Monday.

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A celebrity chef has taken a plea deal in an assault case involving his then-estranged wife.

Darnell Ferguson, a five-time contestant on Food Network'sTournament of Champions, was arrested in January 2024 on seven criminal charges, including burglary, strangulation, terroristic threatening, assault, menacing, criminal mischief and theft-receipt of a stolen credit or debit card, according to WHAS 11.

The Louisville news network reported at the time that Ferguson was accused of illegally entering a then-unnamed woman's house and strangling her until she passed out, and threatening to kill her. The woman was later revealed to be his then-estranged wife, Tatahda Ferguson, with whom the chef shares eight children. He pleaded not guilty at the time, and his wife later said in a statement that she thought law enforcement "twisted" her words.

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"I reacted in the heat of the moment after we had an intense argument, and called the police for a matter that really didn't warrant their involvement," said Tatahda's statement. "I believe my words were twisted by certain law enforcement officials who are

looking to make a name for themselves at the expense of my husband's celebrity status. Darnell is a good man! I have never felt unsafe or threatened by him and he has

always been an incredible father to our children. It hurts my heart the way he's being vilified. I am coming forward to try and do what's right to clear his name and help our family heal."

Ferguson is a local celebrity in Kentucky for his now-closed SuperChefs restaurant, in addition to his various Food Network and Today appearances. He has advanced as high as the final four in Tournament of Champions, back in season 2 where he was defeated by eventual champion, Maneet Chauhan.

Ferguson's case was scheduled to come to trial in May 2025, but the chef instead reached a plea agreement with the prosecutors. WLKY reports that as part of his plea deal, several charges were lowered, and he was sentenced to 12 months for the criminal mischief charge, but the jail time was "conditionally discharged for two years," which means Ferguson will not serve jail time unless a further offense is committed within the stated period of time.

The police department that arrested Ferguson released its own statement after the plea deal, responding to Tatahda's assertion that they misinterpreted the situation.

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"In this particular case, our officers acted professionally and with the seriousness the situation deserved. We did not embellish or manufacture any aspect of the investigation. All charges and findings were based solely on the facts and evidence presented to us.

"We appreciate that Mr. Ferguson accepted some responsibility for his actions that day. Our hope is that he and his family are able to find healing and peace as they move forward. We remain committed to supporting all individuals impacted by domestic violence and to ensuring the safety and well-being of our community."
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  The 30-year-old founder and CEO of San Diego-based financial company Ethos Asset Management, Inc. has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for running a multi-million-dollar fraud.

Carlos Manuel da Silva Santos, a Portuguese national, was found guilty of tricking borrowers into paying him more than $17 million in up-front loan fees for nothing in return, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release Friday.

Santos admitted he and co-conspirators held Ethos out to the public as a full-service project financing company that offered loans to prospective borrowers in exchange for an upfront fee as collateral for Ethos to use, according to his plea agreement. But when a borrower gave Ethos the upfront fee as collateral, the company never provided the funding on many occasions.

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To induce prospective borrowers to send Ethos an upfront fee as collateral and enter into loan agreements, Santos and his co-conspirators lied about Ethos history of funding projects, the source of Ethos money, the amount of capital available to disburse loans, and how Ethos used the collateral upfront fees, the DOJ said.

In August 2021, Santos also was able to have a borrower wire money as a collateral upfront fee by sending a bank statement that falsely represented Ethos having $100,304,447.46 when it did not.

Santos admitted the financing scheme was international in places like the U.S., Brazil, Turkey and elsewhere.

Since his arrest on Nov. 13, 2023, Santos has been in custody in Newark, New Jersey, after arriving in the U.S. from abroad.

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A restitution hearing will be held at a later date.

If you believe you are a victim of Santos and his company Ethos Asset Management, Inc., contact Homeland Security Investigations at ethos-victim@hsi.dhs.gov.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Challengers on Thursday told a federal appeals court that Georgia lawmakers are still violating Black voters rights after redrawing the states congressional and legislative maps.

If judges uphold the challenges, they could order different district lines to be used in Georgia for the rest of the decade, making it possible that more districts would elect candidates favored by Black voters  usually Democrats.

The voting rights groups argued in three cases that lawmakers created additional majority-Black districts, but didnt do enough to address the harms suffered in the areas where they proved at trial that there was illegal vote dilution.

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For state Senate and House maps, the area in question is in Atlantas southern suburbs. For the congressional map, its in areas north and west of downtown Atlanta. But lawmakers drew in Black voters in other parts of the metro area to make new Black-majority districts.

Going to a different part of Atlanta to create opportunities for Black voters is not sufficient, said Ari Savitzky, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union representing those challenging state legislative maps.

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Lawyers for the state, defending the current maps, say that the state has complied with a court ruling ordering new maps and that the challengers cant demand new districts in exact locations. Stephen Petrany, Georgias solicitor general, says the challengers are really trying to elect more Democrats, and that the court shouldnt let them use the lawsuits to do that.

Are these the right number of districts? Yes. Are they in the right area? Yes, Petrany told judges. That is the end of this case.

Judge Adalberto Jordan said any decision on redrawing maps would wait until after a ruling on a separate challenge to U.S. District Judge Steve Jones original decision by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In that case, argued in January, Raffensperger contends that Jones decision should be overturned and the state should revert to the maps that lawmakers drew in 2021 before Jones ruled they were illegal under the 1964 Voting Rights Act. Section 2 of that law protects minority voters.

The challengers have a steep climb. Jones ruled in 2023 after a trial that lines were drawn to illegally dilute Black votes. But he accepted maps drawn by lawmakers in special session as fixing the illegalities. For the three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the map, the judges must rule that Jones abused his discretion.

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Jones rejected claims that the new maps didnt do enough to help Black voters. Jones said he couldnt interfere with legislative choices, even if Republicans moved to protect their power. But challengers say Jones was too deferential to lawmakers even when he had already found they had acted illegally.

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Jordan repeatedly pushed the challengers on how many of the affected voters had to be included in new districts. Lawyers for the challengers said there was no set standard, but that Georgia lawmakers hadnt done enough.

Abha Khanna, representing challengers in two lawsuits said the new map laundered Black voters across districts deftly to create the illusion of new opportunities.

While the maps created additional Black-majority districts, they also locked in Republican advantages. In a state where GOP candidates in competitive races win at best 53% or 54% of the vote statewide, Republicans hold 64% of congressional seats, or 9 of 14. They hold 59% of state Senate seats, or 33 of 56. The state House is a little closer to parity, with Republicans holding 100 of 180 seats, or 56%.

If the current maps are not overturned, Georgia is likely to use them through the 2030 state elections.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on his conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) to focus more on the east of the country, saying progress is needed in the region, in comments to a state party conference on Saturday.

Merz became chancellor after an election in February that revealed continuing divisions in Germany, 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) performing strongly in areas which formerly made up East Germany.

The five eastern states, as well as eastern Berlin, were formerly part of East Germany before reunification with West Germany in 1990, which for many meant a difficult transition from a communist planned economy to the Western-style free market.

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Merz said constituencies in the east do not have any party representatives and called on lawmakers from the west to redirect their attention to these regions.

A joint effort is needed across the party, particularly in the east where many have doubts about the party, he said in Stuttgart.

Elections are due to be held in five states next year, Merz said, and vowed he would not to leave the east to populists.

The AfD's success in eastern Germany reflects the discontent felt by many at the difficult process of German reunification - as does the success of other parties from the political fringes.

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The Left, a successor to the Socialist Unity Party which ruled the former German Democratic Republic, came third in eastern Germany with 13.2% of the vote.

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which split off from The Left to run a populist, anti-immigrant campaign, likewise performed strongly in the east, winning 10.2% of the vote.

The government must show that the political centre can handle major issues, Merz said, calling on his party to continue to develop and not stagnate.
Cherokee County officer Chris Shaw was off-duty and on a field trip in the nations capital when he transformed from parent chaperone to hero.

Shaw was in Washington for a school district field trip when retired principal Richard Landolt had a heart attack.

Shaw immediately acted, performing CPR and was able to revive Landolt, along with the help of Capitol Police.

On Thursday, Shaw was honored by the Cherokee County School District with their Life Saving Award for his heroic actions.

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The district said Shaws quick and decisive actions saved Landolt.

Officer Shaws response exemplifies the highest standards of service, bravery, and dedication to the wellbeing of others. It is with great respect and gratitude that we recognize Officer Shaw for this Life-Saving Award. His actions remind us of the profound impact one individual can have in a crisis, whether on or off duty. Thank You, Officer Shaw, for your remarkable service!! the district said in a statement.

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Dive Brief:

Siemens Healthineers said Wednesday it is investing $150 million to expand production in the U.S.

Siemens is relocating manufacturing operations for its radiation oncology business Varian from Mexico to the U.S. The company said the change will add around 50 jobs in California.

The company is also building a 60,000 square foot Experience Center in North Carolina, investing $141 million in a research and innovation district that it has been involved with since 2023.

Dive Insight:

News of the investment comes one week after Siemens Healthineers said tariffs will have a pretax impact of up to 300 million euros this year. Taxes on goods entering the U.S. from Europe account for most of the anticipated impact, which drove the company to lower the bottom end of its earnings range. Trade with Mexico is another contributor.

CFO Jochen Schmitz said on an earnings call last week that it is too early for larger structural decisions in terms of adopting our production footprint. The company has been investing in the U.S., though, and packaged details of its activities into a press release.

Varian is relocating manufacturing from Baja, Mexico, to Palo Alto, California. The Siemens Healthineers unit invested in a facility in Mexico in 2022. Linear accelerators are made in Baja and shipped to Palo Alto for final assembly. Talking on an earnings call in February, Schmitz said there is some subassembly in Varian coming from Mexico and as such the cancer business will take a bigger tariff hit than other units.

Moving production to Palo Alto will reduce the complexity of our global supply chain and improve our ability to respond to demand for Varians radiotherapy solutions, Siemens Healthineers said in a statement. Varian faced logistics problems in 2022 and 2023 that slowed growth at Siemens Healthineers.

The company disclosed the relocation alongside details of the construction of a Siemens Healthineers Experience Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the opening of supply depots in California and New Jersey. Siemens Healthineers shared details of the two supply depots in February, explaining that they will enable the company to offer same-day delivery to more customers.

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Buying a house can be an exciting venture, but the potential for disappointment and heartbreak can quickly turn the entire process into a nightmare.

For one Chicago family, their homeownership dream was derailed at the finish line, and instead of settling into their new home, theyre now stuck in limbo, according to CBS News Chicago.

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Looking to move to the suburbs, the Hovey family had found a split-level house with an open layout, new floors and a kitchen that featured stainless-steel appliances. According to the listing, every detail had been meticulously redone.

It was just perfect for us, Sara Hovey told CBS News Chicago. That is, until it came time to close.

Transfer stamps hit a snag

At that point, the Hoveys learned that their dream home didnt have the real estate transfer stamps needed for the transaction to be made official. These stamps are issued by the local municipality when the transfer tax on the property is paid.

The calculation method for the tax  often a flat rate or a percentage of the propertys value  varies by location. Issuance of these transfer stamps usually requires that other conditions  which also vary by location  must be met.

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For example, there can be no liens or fines associated with the property. And it must be inspected by a professional  any building code violations could delay the issuance of transfer stamps until the issues are remedied.

In the Hoveys case, both the seller and the familys lawyer assured the family that sometimes the stamps arent issued and its not a big deal. Turns out, it was a big deal  a building inspector found multiple building code violations with wiring and vents, and noted that fixing these violations could require the removal of drywall.

Most concerning, however, was that a load-bearing wall may have been removed, which could potentially make the house unsafe. The inspector told my husband verbally not to move in, so we dont feel comfortable moving in, said Hovey.

Unfortunately, the violations were discovered after the Hoveys had already wired $200,000 to the seller to close the transaction  and none of the involved parties were helping to resolve the situation. The Hoveys retained a litigation lawyer and asked the title insurance company to unwind the transaction and return their money.

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Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now

Code violations can be costly

Typically, the seller must remedy building code violations unless theyre selling the house as is. A house sold as is will usually sell at a discount since the buyer will be responsible for fixing the violations.

As is houses are typically bought by professional investors and real estate flippers. If youre considering selling a house as is, youll need to weigh the costs of remedying the violations versus the lower proceeds of the sale.

Sellers who dont plan to sell as is will need to remedy major code violations before the transaction can close, and this can be costly. Not only does the seller have to pay for repairs, but it also extends the time that the seller is paying expenses such as the mortgage, insurance, property taxes and basic upkeep.

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For repairs that could potentially take months, this can substantially reduce the equity the seller is able to take out of the sale.

For all involved, its best for the seller to identify any issues and make the required repairs before listing the property. This allows the seller to know the cost of repairs prior to pricing the home for sale.

Just as some municipalities wont allow the sale to close with code violations, some lenders wont release funds to buyers until the violations are remedied. If youre depending on an FHA-insured loan, be aware that the property must meet certain standards to qualify for financing.

As for the Hoveys, no progress had been made on fixing the issues after a month and a half, so out of frustration they called CBS News Chicago. After the Hoveys story gained media coverage, the sellers attorney said the seller is now making the house compliant  which was confirmed by the municipality.

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The title company has acknowledged that some elements of the claim fall within the scope of the title insurance coverage and says its working with all parties to resolve the situation.

Meanwhile, costs are adding up for the Hoveys who are paying rent and legal fees, as well as the mortgage on the new property.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Adrienne Nelson was living with her sister in a studio apartment in the Uptown neighborhood. They were comfortable, getting by on their dual incomes, paying off bills both old and new. Their monthly rent and utility costs were around $1,200. They called that studio home for nearly 10 years.

But then, in a matter of months, Nelson found herself homeless and sister-less, she said.

She lost her job, her sister died and she could no longer afford to pay the rent. She wound up couch surfing with friends and in a homeless shelter for about a year and a half. Nelson said she felt desperate and lost.

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While living at the shelter, she got a call to let her know that she would be receiving a subsidized housing unit.

I said Yahoo! at the top of my voice, Nelson said. The nervousness of how am I going to survive eased.

Now 68 and retired, Nelson has lived in a subsidized one-bedroom unit for about 10 years in Uptown and relies on her roughly $1,000 monthly Social Security payments to afford her approximately $230 monthly portion of rent and other expenses.

Nelsons housing subsidy comes from the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, an organization in charge of funding and administering more than 3,000 rental subsidies for individuals and families to use in the private market, including migrants.

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The trust fund is staring down an estimated $10 million shortfall for its $14.1 million 2025 budget as two of its funding streams have dried up. That number represents subsidies for about 600 units. The trust fund said it has sufficient reserves to fill the budget hole for this year. It has also begun a subsidy attrition plan for units that are or will become vacant as of Jan. 1 (the start of its new budget cycle) to reduce costs. About 16% of those subsidies will not be subject to attrition as they are part of a special program serving those with specific needs.

But questions loom large for the future of the nonprofit, which has recently experienced significant board turnover, lost its executive director and is struggling financially as the city and state face serious fiscal challenges that are being exacerbated by a federal government focused on big budget cuts. Other area housing agencies such as the Housing Authority of Cook County are experiencing funding issues, causing them to pull back from their own housing subsidy programs.

Founded in 1989, the trust fund gives landlords subsidies for specific units to rent to low-income residents, with a focus on serving those making 0-30% of the area median income. In 2024, according to the trust funds annual report, the maximum eligible income for a single individual and for a family of four was $23,550 and $33,630, respectively. Renters in trust fund units pay a heavily subsidized portion of rent based on their annual income and unit size.

The nonprofit receives half of the citys Affordable Housing Opportunities Fund, dollars supplied by developers who pay in lieu of building the affordable housing required at their project sites by the citys Affordable Requirements Ordinance. Since the state passed a 2021 law incentivizing developers to build affordable housing on-site by offering property tax abatements, the in-lieu fee pot has significantly diminished.

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While trust fund leaders, city and state officials and housing advocates support the increase in affordable housing development, they say rental subsidies such as the trust funds program need to be sustained because they support the lowest income people in the state.

The trust fund also relies on the states recordation fees charged when properties are bought and sold. While the state doubled the recordation fees charged in 2023 from about $9 to $18 with the goal of providing more cash to groups like the Chicago trust fund in the statewide rental subsidy program, the real estate market has slowed significantly in recent years as mortgage rates have risen and housing inventory has shrunk, causing those fees to diminish.

We have prepared for this moment, said Monica Watson, the trust funds interim executive director and chief of staff. We will continue to provide affordable housing for the citizens of Chicago.  Were going to do everything we can to make sure there is no displacement.

The Chicago Department of Housing did not make Commissioner Lissette Castaneda available for an interview. In response to written questions from the Tribune, the department said, We appreciate CLIHTFs diligence in prioritizing that no one is being actively displaced by these changes.

Funding challenges

The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Funds budget has fluctuated over the last 10 years, ranging from as low as $9 million to as high as $31 million. It has always relied on unsteady funding streams and survived a lawsuit against the state that caused its state dollars to be inaccessible for a couple of years about a decade ago.

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In an effort to help with the budget issues, the city has allocated $5 million in corporate funds to the trust fund every year since 2020. Asked if more could have been allocated, the Department of Housing said it could not speak to funding decisions prior to 2024 but that in a particularly challenging budget year, we were proud to preserve the full $5 million allocation.

The trust funds 2025 budget was approved with the projected $10 million loss due to a reduction in city dollars from the developer fees fund and increases in rental subsidy payments to keep their rates competitive with the market, said Andy Geer, the trust funds board chair.

The nonprofits state funding did increase between 2023 and 2024 thanks to the doubled recordation fees but has still been stymied by a lukewarm real estate market. The state also recently conducted its five-year recalculation of the distribution of funds, based on U.S. Census Bureau data for population estimates, for the statewide rental subsidy program, which led to a decrease in the percentage of cash flowing to the Chicago trust fund, Geer said.

While the trust fund has been aware that its funding streams have been particularly unstable in the last few years, it still was growing its subsidy program until last year. The group has not spent all its money, Geer said, and instead built up its reserves from around $32 million in 2020 to about $70 million at the end of 2024.

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The trust fund has about $56.8 million in cash reserves, with the rest taking shape in the form of loans offered to developers and owners who provide affordable housing. So far this year, the nonprofit has dipped into its reserves for roughly $2.7 million.

In 2024, the trust fund created a five-year strategic plan that included prioritizing securing options to diversify its revenue streams to ensure financial stability.

The housing department and the trust fund agreed, Geer said, that by the 2026 budget process, the nonprofits structural deficit created by the lack of city funds needed to be addressed. They have now been meeting on a monthly basis to work through what is going to be a longer term solution, he said.

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One of those solutions has been to take back unused subsidies from property owners and managers. So far, the nonprofit has taken away 37 subsidies this year.

Other remedies could come from philanthropic sources, the legislature and/or through further attrition.

The housing department said it is in the very early phases of working with the trust fund to approach philanthropic sources for funding support. If the trust fund does need to start fundraising to maintain its budget, Geer said the nonprofit would need to hire additional staff.

The trust fund retains a Springfield lobbyist and has spent $20,000 through April of this year on those efforts. The lobbyist was initially hired around the time of the lawsuit and was kept on to lobby for the recordation fee boost, Geer said, as well as other relevant legislative issues to the trust fund. Geer said the trust fund will not be advancing anything legislatively this year.

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State Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Chicago Democrat who was the housing committee chair when the property tax incentive and recordation fee bills passed, said he was surprised by how successful the tax incentive has been at getting developers to build affordable housing. He said an effort is underway to look for a solution to the revenue issues.

Its a real challenge, Guzzardi said. And we dont want to undo the really successful affordable housing incentives that weve passed. But we do need to make sure that very low-income families get the subsidies they need to stay stably housed.

Leadership turnover

The budget struggles come as the trust fund recently lost its eight-year executive director and as Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed an almost entirely new board last month.

Annissa Lambirth-Garrett, who served as executive director of the trust fund before her departure in March, declined to comment on the organizations financial standing. She said her departure did not have to do with the organization or its budget; it was simply a better opportunity. She is now the CEO of a housing nonprofit in Columbus, Ohio.

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Watson told the Tribune she would like to become the permanent executive director to ensure leadership continuity to support staff as the nonprofit is already undergoing a significant transition at the board level.

The trust funds 15-person board has gone without a full slate of members since 2022, said Geer, who has been on the board for about four years and will stay on the board until the 15th board member is appointed. He said the organization had been asking the city to appoint new board members since then. It did not receive new board members until April when 13 new individuals were appointed and one reappointed.

Asked about the delay, the housing department said it worked diligently with the mayors office to to identify strong leaders for the organization during this critical time, collaborating with Alderpeople to ensure appropriate representation from across the City.

The nature of the turnover reflects a strategic move to ensure CLIHTF is well-positioned to meet its goals and serve the community, the housing department said.

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The board transition, Geer said, has made it difficult to move quickly on the trust funds financial issues as the new members are getting up to speed. But, he said, residents and their housing stability remain at the top of the groups priority list.

Future uncertain

Housing advocates and providers both are concerned about the future of the trust fund.

The majority of the trust funds subsidies are used on the citys South and West sides. Some advocates are worried about what the loss of those subsidies would mean to those historically underinvested in communities.

If we diminish resources for this program, we are diminishing resources for the Black community, both tenants and landlords, said Mary Tarullo, director of city policy with Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness.

As of this month, the trust fund works with 655 landlords in its rental subsidy program.

Trent Anderson, who owns and manages hundreds of units, is about to lose two of his 143 trust fund subsidies spread across the South and West sides.

It sucks for me because I have partnered with the trust fund for a long time, Anderson said. (The subsidies) provided a certain amount of stability for the building, which is going away.

Mark Angelini, the president of Mercy Housing Lakefront, a nonprofit housing provider that also offers support services, subsidizes 120 of his 5,000 Chicago-area affordable units with trust fund dollars. Most of the subsidies are in buildings in Uptown, such as Nelsons apartment. Mercy Housing Lakefront has worked with the trust fund for at least 20 years, Angelini said, and has not lost any units to attrition yet.

In the event that his organization does lose trust fund subsidies, Angelini said it could tap into lines of credit to keep units affordable and maintain building operations in the shorter term. The organization is also in conversation with its other subsidy partners to see if they could help cover costs for the longer term.

Watson, the trust funds interim executive director, said she is concerned but optimistic about how to get the organization out of its financial plight.

We will not be deterred in any way.

ekane@chicagotribune.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  Its a piece of history along Route 66 that the city just couldnt pass up. The property on Central Ave. and Unser Blvd. might not look like much at first, but it houses Albuquerques history. The Central and Unser property is, was the former home of Bobby Unser, who was, you know, part of the Unser racing family, legends of Albuquerque, said Shelle Sanchez, Director of the City of Albuquerques Arts and Culture Department.

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Three-time Indy 500 champion and racing legend, Bobby Unser, died at 87 years old in 2021. It was the Unser family who then offered the at least four-acre property to the city. It was important to the Unser family that this property really benefit the city, said Sanchez. The city bought the property for $2.2 million, calling it a major investment.

Because of the really important cultural history, you know, the racing history in New Mexico, our car culture, also the location is really important for the city and hour we develop, said Sanchez.

The Unser familys impact on racing is legendary and their story deeply rooted in Albuquerque, said District 3 City Councilor Klarissa Pena in a news release. For generations, the Unser legacy and racing history called our city home. Purchase of the Unser property provides a perfect opportunity for us to commemorate and honor the Unser spirit of innovation.

Were creating more spaces where future generations can connect to our citys unique history, vibrant culture, and families like the Unsers who shaped it, said Mayor Tim Keller in a news release. This project is about honoring our roots and working hand in hand with the community to carry that legacy forward.

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Right now, the city does not have a master plan for the space, but is committed to preserving certain parts of it. Theres a very important piece of history right there, which is the Unsers family garage and kind of repair shop that sits right there on Route 66, said Sanchez. The city is now looking to the public for their ideas on how to utilize the space.

We dont want to rush into anything. When you have such a big opportunity, you need to make the most of it, said Sanchez.

A public input session is scheduled for June 5 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Central & Unser Library, where residents can share ideas on what to do with the site. People can RSVP here. Additional input sessions will be announced later.

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The City of Bettendorfs Parks & Recreation Department is accepting applications for its award-winning Park Ambassadors Volunteer Program.

City of Bettendorf Winter Carnival (bettendorf.org)

The Park Ambassadors are a group of volunteers who are passionate about our citys parks and

commit to helping keep them safe and clean, said Meredith Fabrizius, recreation coordinator. They volunteer their time to monitor parks in the evenings, which is an added resource to the Parks & Recreation Department and the Bettendorf Police Department.

Community Impact

The Park Ambassadors Volunteer Program was founded more than 20 years ago. There have been 100+ park ambassadors who have given a total of 10,000+ hours of their time. In 2023, the Park Ambassadors won the Iowa Parks and Recreation Associations Best Volunteer Group Award

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These Good Will Ambassadors give directions, provide information on park activities, watch for

vandalism, offer help to park patrons, encourage patrons to abide by established park rules, and serve as an extra set of eyes and ears for the Bettendorf Police Department and Parks Maintenance Division.

A new format for the 2025 season will allow for a more streamlined process with less work required of the ambassadors. Ambassadors are sent out in pairs. Ambassadors can choose shifts

that work conveniently with their schedules from Memorial Day Weekend until Labor Day Weekend.

The Parks & Recreation Department gives each volunteer a hat and a shirt so they can be easily identified, as well as a city vehicle to patrol the parks.

Qualifications

To qualify, you must be over the age of 18 and have a valid drivers license. High-school students ages 16+ who are looking to earn service hours are welcome to volunteer with a parent or guardian. All volunteers must pass a criminal background check. You are not required to live

in Bettendorf.

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Applications can be filled out here or picked up at the Bettendorf Community Center, 2204 Grant St., Bettendorf.

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May 16Albuquerque's $1.5 billion budget is nearly finalized.

At the last of three budget hearings Thursday, the City Council made minor tweaks but largely left Mayor Tim Keller's proposal intact. Tensions flared over the mayor's communications staff and concerns about which councilors the administration collaborates with during the budgeting process.

The meeting marked one of the final hurdles in the monthslong process of building a budget. This year, Keller proposed a 2.3% increase from last year that primarily seeks to build on his administration's efforts around housing, homelessness and policing.

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Councilor Renee Grout, who led the council's budget-building Committee of the Whole, said the effort was difficult, but she felt the budget was solid.

"When we're done, it will be a budget that works well for the entire city and serves all of us," Grout said. "I know we all want to work and do the best for all of the citizens of Albuquerque."

Only one councilor voted against moving the budget to the next step: Dan Lewis.

Toward the end of the two-hour meeting, Lewis called the mayor's office bloated, and said the budget lacked vision. Still, he acknowledged that it was likely to be approved by the council next week.

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"This council gives you guys everything you ask for, and the mayor has nothing to show for it," Lewis said.

During the meeting, Lewis staked out a position of calling the mayor's office top-heavy, specifically targeting its communications staff.

At one point, Lewis called for a budget amendment that would've limited Keller to 10 public information officers at a time when the city employs at least twice that number. But the move failed to gain support from any other council member.

Grout also accused the mayor's office of playing favorites, saying they ignored some of her outreach toward the end of the process while welcoming budget discussions with Councilor Klarissa Pena. The issue came to a head during debate over Pena's amendment to redirect funding toward a city employee cost-of-living increase, a proposal that failed 3  6.

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"It's very disappointing that you will work with some councilors but not the budget chair," Grout said.

Pena responded that councilors are free to offer amendments individually, without going through the committee chair. Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel added that Pena's request had been specific, while Grout's was not.

Ultimately, the council moved the budget forward on an 8-1 vote.

"We did a very good job with what we were given," Grout said.

The council is set to meet again May 19. There, the budget will be up for a final vote, although councilors will have another opportunity to make changes.
The City of Lebanon will be holding work sessions to review the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Each meeting will be at the Town Meeting Hall at the City of Lebanon Administration Building at 200 N. Castle Heights Ave.

The first of the work sessions will be Thursday, May 22, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Parks & Recreation, the Jimmy Floyd Family Center, MIS, Legal, Human Resources and Risk Management and Police Departments as well as the Lebanon Senior Citizens Center and Mayor & Council, Judicial budgets will be discussed.

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Each department budget discussion is scheduled to last between 15 and 30 minutes.

The next work session is Wednesday, May 28, from 5 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., where the Economic Development, Fire, Engineering and Public Services Departments budgets will be discussed.

The last scheduled work session will be Thursday, May 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., where the Utilities and Finance Departments are the last to see budget reviews.
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN)  The City of Warren and its police chief have responded to a federal lawsuit filed by three women in connection with a now-imprisoned former police officer.

The federal lawsuit claims former police officer Michael Edwards Jr. used his badge to sexually assault women while on duty between 2019 and 2024. It further claims Police Chief Erik Merkel had knowledge of the misconduct and failed to investigate. The complaint alleges a pattern of abuse.

The City filed a response in U.S. Court for the Northern District of Ohio denying the allegations, adding that the city is immune from the lawsuit because of its status as a political subdivision, meaning a city and its employees can be immune from legal liability for their governmental actions.

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Edwards has until June 5 to respond.

According to court documents, the women are suing for damages, citing physical and psychological harm.

Edwards was convicted last year on multiple charges, including rape and extortion.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under acting director Russell Vought, canceled proposed new rules this week that would have protected Americans sensitive private dataincluding financial data, credit history, and Social Security numbersfrom being collected by data brokers without consent and sold to advertisers and other third parties.

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The proposed rules, which were crafted in December by the Biden administrations CFPB director, Rohit Chopra, were aimed at protecting consumers from commercial surveillance practices that threaten our personal safety and undermine Americas national security. (Wired, for example, reported in February that U.S. data brokers were using Googles ad-tech tools to sell access to information about devices linked to military service members and national security decision-makers.)

Proposed rules clarified that many data brokers are in fact consumer reporting agencies, like the credit bureaus, which already must comply with the privacy and accuracy rules in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). For example, under those requirements, data brokers would have to get explicit consent from consumers before collecting and selling their data.

But on Tuesday, the Vought-led CFPB quietly announced in the Federal Register that it was withdrawing the proposed rules, stating that they are not necessary or appropriate at this time. The CFPBs argument against the proposed rules revolved around a single comment left during the public comment period about the proposed rules propriety under the plain text of the FCRA.

Data privacy advocates have been fighting for years to make data brokers subject to the FCRAs privacy rules. The withdrawal of the proposal is a victory for large data brokers such as Acxiom and Epsilon, for the consumer websites that sell data, and for the vast digital advertising ecosystem that uses the data to target ads.

While many consumers are unaware of the vast personal data marketplace centered around data brokers, privacy advocates immediately saw the death of the proposed rules as a major setback. The data broker industry is out of controldata brokers threaten our privacy, national security, physical safety, and economic security every day, said Electronic Privacy Information Center law fellow Caroline Kraczon in a statement Tuesday. The CFPBs withdrawal of the proposed rules is another attack in the administrations war against consumers on behalf of corporate interests.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  CityServe in Bakersfield, hosted Volunteer Day Friday in an effort to gather clothing for fire victims, because the need is still great.

Its been over four months since the historic wildfires ripped through Los Angeles killing 30 people, and leaving thousands of homes in ruins.

The families who survived natures fury are still struggling to get the essentials.

{Pastor Will Gutierrez/ CityServe disaster response} Sot: Youre seeing the complete devastation. Businesses that were once standing, gone. Homes that were once there, gone. Families weeping in front of what was once their hometheir childrens home, said Pastor Will Gutierrez, apart of CityServe disaster response.

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Pastor Will Gutierrez is CityServes disaster responder. He says the fire victims in Southern California have been forgotten.

You know, a lot of the coverage is not there anymore with those families that have lost their homes, lost their resources. So, for churches and organizations come together and continue to serve them and help rebuild their lives is important, said Gutierrez.

Gutierrez says big box stores like JC Penney have donated thousands of brand new clothes to the cities of Altadena, and Pasedena.

Now, volunteers at CityServe headquarters in Bakersfield are donating their time to sort them.

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Were just helping with the community, said Vicky Mendoza, with New Advances for People with Disabilities. We love it.

I want help more, yes, said Michelle Apodaca, a volunteer. Help them, yes.

Its gonna put Shafter on the map: Residents react to this weekends Luke Bryans Farm Tour concert

Members with the New Advances for People with Disabilities are helping fire victims one shirt at a time, and so is Ernie Sanchez.

Its like a double-whammy to them, you know. First the fires, then the insurance loss. So, you know, they can use all the help they can get, and I have time on my hands, and I figure Ive been blessed all my life, said Ernie Sanchez, a volunteer. Why not help others that need help. Thats why me, and my wife come out and support whenever we can.

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Gutierrez says CityServe has donated millions worth of products from food, water, and hygiene products to air purifiers, toilets, and sinks.

They need, and I believe we need our community to continue to come together, and serve them, said Gutierrez.

If youd like to donate or volunteer to help the fire victims in Southern California, click here.

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CLEARFIELD, Utah (ABC4)  Summer break is just around the corner, and for families with kids, that usually means vacations, picnics at the park, and lake days. However, for the Shaw family, it will mean spending a lot of time at the hospital while the youngest of three children courageously conquers cancer.

According to MacKenzie and Conner Shaw, about a month ago, doctors removed a four-centimeter tumor from their 6-year-old sons head. The tumor turned out to be cancerous, so the doctors tested his spinal fluid to see if the cancer had spread. The family received the results on Tuesday, and the cancer hadnt spread. However, to make sure all of the cancer is gone, Eddie is undergoing an aggressive treatment: six weeks of radiation and nine months of chemotherapy.

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

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Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

When Eddie is at home, there is one thing he loves to do with his two older brothers: Beat them at Guess Who, he told ABC4 reporter Kade Garner. When hes not beating them at that game, he is probably writing them a ticket. Usually, the tickets come from one or two very specific violations. Eddie explained, They always park in the wrong spots and rob banks.

His mom, MacKenzie, gets off a little easier. During the visit to the Shaw home, Eddie handed his mother a piece of paper from the same book he uses to write up tickets for his brothers. In a surprise gesture, the ticket turns out to be a drawing of a heart.

Aside from a small scar only slightly visible through Eddies hair, when sitting down with him to talk, one would never know he recently had a tumor removed from his brain  an experience he summarized in a single word: Terrible.

Eddie said the worst part of his experience was physical therapy. While he got to play games, he didnt like having to walk. In some videos his mother shared with ABC4, it is clear learning to walk was a feat in itself. However, there was a plus side to it all. He got to eat steak.

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It all started back in December. Eddie was having stomach aches and was losing weight. We were doing all these different tests just to see what was going on and it wasnt getting better, explained MacKenzie. She said they got a referral to get Eddie an endoscopy procedure done. However, she said it was going to be a while before they could be scheduled in. Then, about a month ago, Eddies health got worse.

Inconsolable migraines, said MacKenzie. He would just bury his head in the couch and could not function. When I picked him up from school it was almost like he was drunk. He was stumbling, couldnt pick up his feet, eyes rolling, his speech was really slurred. I rushed him to his regular doctor, the one thats been working with us, and she was like, This is serious. Go take him to Primarys.

She said she didnt even think about it. They got in the car and headed out. It was April 17 and we got there at 8 p.m. By 10 p.m., he got a CT scan and they found a three-centimeter tumor growing near his brain stem, she stated. Through held-back tears she added, They admitted us.

Within a day, Eddies condition drastically deteriorated. MacKenzie said he was passing out. So, they had to rush him into surgery and what they pulled out was actually a four-centimeter tumor. It was so big that it was pushing on a part of his brain, and it was making the fluid buildup in his head.

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Even after nearly a month, the reality of the situation still hasnt set in for the family. It went from him just being sick with his tummy to tumor, surgery, and then we got the diagnosis of cancer, she stated. All within a week.

They werent expecting a cancer diagnosis. I was just hoping they could fix him, Conner said. Thats all I could think about.

Hes starting to get better because we got that out of his head. Hes starting to get his appetite back, hes starting to get his energy back, and hes playing again, MacKenzie added. It isnt fair to think that hes going to have to lose all that to get better.

Eddie will lose that progress because hes getting additional treatment. On Thursday, he had his first radiation treatment. He took his stuffed axolotl for some company. He will have to do this multiple times a week for six weeks. After that is done, he will do chemotherapy for nine months.

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

Courtesy: MacKenzie Shaw

You dont want any of your kids to get sick and then when theres a lifelong diagnosis attached to it, MacKenzie said, Its scary. Conner replied, Yeah, really scary.

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They know theyll get through it. They are grateful for the village that is offering help when they need it and work schedules that allow one of them to be home on any given day. They also make sure to celebrate the victories that come along the way  victories like the cancer not spreading to Eddies spinal cord fluid.

You have to focus on the silver linings, the positive, those little wins, because otherwise youre going to be drowning in all the dark and heavy stuff, added MacKenzie.

Possibly the biggest of those silver linings? Eddie himself.

Hes a goofball, Conner said through a chuckle. Yeah, replied MacKenzie. Oh my goodness, and when he was in the hospital, all of the little cards he got from his friends said how much they missed his jokes. He is just goofy, he is silly, he is lighthearted.

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There is a GoFundMe to help the family with all of the unexpected costs theyre going to face over the next year or so.

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ELMIRA HEIGHTS, N.Y. (WETM)  The closing of the Empire DM Medical Transportation in Elmira Heights has made it one less option for people who rely on the service.

The transportation company told 18 News on Wednesday, May 14, that it was closing due to financial reasons. People who are Medicaid eligible might have to wait a little longer to arrive at their appointments. The director of the Chemung County Department of Aging and Long Term Care, Beth Stranges, anticipates that people will be concerned about delays in medical transportation services, in particular people with mobility impairment who require special accommodations.

Empire DM to cease transportation services in the Southern Tier

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I can see that this is going to have a big impact on Medicaid eligible individuals, people that receive Medicaid funding to provide their transportation to their medical appointments. Many of our older adults are now eligible for Medicaid. Theyve raised the income guidelines, therefore, many more people that are aging are eligible, Stranges said. They may utilize wheelchairs or have mobility devices that require the transportation that was provided by Empire DM to get them to their medical appointments.

Stranges suggested people to call Medical Answering Service at 866-932-7740 to schedule Medicaid rides to transport them to their appointments. She also included local transportation services such as buses and a transportation company called Total Transportation in Elmira.

Total Transportation Vice President, Peter Kadar, told 18 News that the company provides rides to people for their medical appointments. Kadar expects to see an increase in people scheduling rides and recommends people to plan 24 hours in advance. The company is limited on wheelchair vans at this time but is in the process of purchasing two to three new vans with wheelchair lifts and have them by late May or June.

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CNNs chief data analyst Harry Enten offered Donald Trumps critics a bit of a reality check on Friday as he argued that the presidents net favorability rating may have risen this week because he backed off on his tariffs.

Enten stressed that people were writing Trumps political obituary in late April when he saw historically low polling near the 100th day of his second term. Polls at the time found a majority of Americans disapproved of his handling of the economy and tariffs.

Enten proceeded to argue that the recent jolt to Trumps polling numbers could be due to the chance of a U.S. recession falling since late April, with J.P. Morgan lowering its forecast from 60% to less than 50% and Goldman Sachs dropping its figure from 45% to 35%.

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The bottom line is: It is the economy, the economy, the economy, said Enten, noting that Trumps trade wars somewhat collapsed due to a temporary truce on tariffs between the U.S. and China earlier this week.

I do think that the voters are responding to this, and therefore were seeing Trumps approval rating going up, he told CNNs John Berman.

The tariffs were really hurting him, and he backed off, and it may be helping him politically now, Berman said.

Enten replied, Sometimes Donald Trump has some pretty good political instincts.

Earlier in the program, Enten noted that Trumps net approval rating among voters in a Reuters/Ipsos poll jumped from -8 percentage points on April 21 to -1 percentage point on Tuesday.

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This is not the picture that I think a lot of people were thinking that we would be painting, Enten said.

He also turned to an aggregate of polls showing that Trumps net approval rating is not only considerably better now (-6 percentage points) than it was in late April (-9 percentage points), but its also higher than it was at this point in his first term (-15 percentage points).

H/T: Mediaite

Related...
The Co-op could stop selling Israeli products as soon as this summer after its members voted for a boycott.

Three-quarters of voters backed a motion urging the board to show moral courage and leadership by removing Israeli products from its shelves.

Responding to the result, the Co-op announced at its annual general meeting that the motion was advisory, but confirmed it was reviewing its sourcing policy.

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Pressure group Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it showed Co-op members would not support Israels apartheid economy.

Co-op members demanded a cease to all trading with Israel in a motion put forward last month, saying it had completely destroyed Gaza.

It also said that Co-op had been the first supermarket to boycott Russian products in March 2022 and requested that it show the same ethical principles and values towards Israel.

UK Lawyers for Israel, a voluntary organisation of legal professionals, responded to the Co-op group secretary asking for it to be withdrawn.

It said: A non-binding motion to take all Israeli products off the shelves of Co-op stores contains false and defamatory statements, promotes racial hatred of Israelis and Jews, and should be rejected under the Co-ops rules.

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But the motion was allowed and members were invited to vote before the groups annual general meeting on May 17.

The results showed it had passed with 73 per cent of voters in favour, compared to 27 per cent against.

Co-op had been the first supermarket to boycott Russian products in March 2022 - Anna Gordon/Reuters

Lewis Backon, of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said the motion must be implemented.

He said: The Co-op AGM vote shows ordinary people in this country are committed to the cause of justice and freedom for Palestine in their everyday lives and refuse to support Israels apartheid economy.

The Co-op must now listen to its members and implement the motion by taking all Israeli goods off the shelves.

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Co-op has previously confirmed it had not sourced products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, which include Gaza and the West Bank, since 2007.

A Co-op spokesman said: At our AGM on May 17, 2025, a members motion on trading with Israel has passed.

Whilst the motion is advisory, we are currently reviewing our sourcing policies, which we do from time to time. This is to ensure they reflect both our values and principles and the views of our members, which they have made clear today.

We expect our review on the sourcing policy to complete towards the end of the summer.

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UPDATE, 5/17- Virginia State Police said Anabella Clara Santos has been found safe.

ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now)  Virginia State Police (VSP) issued a CODI Alert for the Arlington County Police Department after a teenage girl went missing.

A CODI Alert for 13-year-old Anabella Clara Santos was issued on Friday at 8:15 p.m. She was last seen on foot on South Langley Street on Friday at 7:45 p.m.

PHOTOS: Severe storms ravage the DMV

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Police describe Santos as 54, 130 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts, green sandals, and white socks. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

VSP noted that her disappearance posed a credible threat to her health and safety.

In an update early Saturday, police said Santos was found safe, and the CODI Alert was canceled.

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When the Lansing Historical Society and Museum began offering tours of the decommissioned Kansas State Penitentiary last year, the historic prison was missing an important piece that could help drive home the haunting history of the facility.

The gallows, where 15 penitentiary inmates were executed by hanging, were no longer there.

That changed on Friday when the historical society unveiled a replica of the original gallows within the confines of the former prison. Unable to secure the return of the original historic structure, the Societys board voted unanimously to build a reproduction, which is now a feature of the prison tours. This reproduction will allow visitors to experience a key element of the prisons past.

A copy of a photo of the gallows at the historic, Kansas State Penitentiary, also called the Lansing Correctional Facility, which closed in 2020. The gallows have been disassembled and removed from the facility.

The gallows, its a somber reminder of a part of our past, said Debra Bates-Lamborn, president of the Lansing Historical Society and Museum. This is something that we grew up with, knowing they were there. And if we were to ignore that and not present it because of issues with capital punishment and whatnot, wed be remiss, she added. We chose to bring another piece of our penitentiary history, even though its a replica, back on display.

A noose hangs from reproduction of the gallows, which were used at the former Kansas State Penitentiary from 1944 to 1965, and were seen during a tour of the prison on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Lansing, Kansas. The reproduction was built by members of the Historical Society.

Years after the brutal 1959 Clutter family murders in Holcomb, Kansas, the convicted killers Richard Dick Hickock and Perry Smith swung on the gallows until death on April 14, 1965 at the Kansas State Penitentiary. While their execution marked a significant moment in the highly publicized In Cold Blood case, they were not the last to be executed at the prison. Just months later, in June 1965, convicted killers George York and James Latham were also executed there, making them the final individuals to face capital punishment at the Lansing facility.

The first execution at KSP

Bates-Lamborn said the original gallows were built in 1944. They were transferred to the Kansas State Historical Society in the 1980s and are now part of the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka, where they sit disassembled in the basement.

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Because of a Kansas law in the 1860s that outlawed public hangings, Bates-Lamborn explained that the gallows were situated inside the warehouse, away from the view of other prisoners.

Among the notable inmates executed at the Lansing Correctional Facility were Richard Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, who were tried and convicted of the murders of four members of the Clutter family on November 15, 1959, in their home in Holcomb, Kansas. Their crimes were famously chronicled by Truman Capote in his book In Cold Blood. Capote and Lee Harper visited the pair in prison while doing research for the book. A photo of Hickock and Smith, were executed at Lansing in April 1965, hangs in the Lansing Historical Society and Museum.

On March 10, 1944, prison Warden Robert Hudspeth oversaw the first execution by hanging of Ernest Hoefgen, 31, a confessed murderer in the shooting death of Bruce Small, 18, a Kansas State College student. Dressed in a white prison suit with a #2 on it, representing his cells number, Hoefgens hanging was the first state-supervised execution in Kansas since 1870.

The original Kansas State Penitentiary, also known as the Lansing Correctional Facility, closed in 2020 after a new, modern facility was opened on the same grounds. Managed by the Lansing Historical Society, the prison tours have been popular.

Artifacts from the historic Kansas State Penitentiary, also known as the Lansing Correctional Center, include sections of ropes used in the gallows for prisoner hangings. The facility closed in 2020 when a new, modern facility was built behind the old prison.

The tours have been doing great, we had about 1,200 people go through since March, said Bates-Lamborn. And weve had schools come through, criminal justice classes, eager to learn the history, the true crime of this place.

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The reproduction of the gallows is certain to evoke strong emotions for visitors. Tom Young, a member of the Lansing Historical Society, led the team of Paul Lamborn, John Craig, and Randy Elliott, who quickly built the replica over a couple of days. Young explained that he went to Topeka, to learn more about the original gallows stored there.

The state architect or whoever disassembled it, made blueprints of it when they moved it to the museum, Young said. So, they gave me those and we worked off of those plans. On the size and dimensions, Young said I didnt have to guess because the guy gave us measurements, all the specs were already done for us.

The original gallows were disassembled and are in storage at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. The replica on display at the former Kansas State Penitentiary were made from blueprints of the original gallows.

The replica now stands stark against the backdrop of the prison walls. The timber and the distinct design spoke of finality. Young described the dimensions, The platform is eight feet off the ground, he said. And then the main hanging beam that goes diagonally across the trapdoor ended up being about 16-feet, nine inches. The trapdoor, he noted, measuring 37x41 inches was made intentionally not operable. Young mentioned that his grandfather, Frank Young, a prison employee who was in charge of the machine shop, helped produce the trap door for the original gallows. I kind of feel turnkey, you know, knowing that he had something to do with the original one back in 1944 and then I basically made a reproduction.

Young found the replica straightforward to build. I am happy how it turned out. He added that a noose was securely fastened with about five screws to prevent anyone from trying to remove it. Young said Friday he hopes to create a more accurate noose from a thicker rope.

A noose hangs from a reproduction of the gallows which were used at the former Kansas State Penitentiary from 1944 to 1965. The gallows, which were recently constructed by members of the Lansing Historical Society and Museum, were seen during a tour of the prison on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Lansing, Kansas.

Under bright blue skies, visitors toured the reproduction gallows near Building No. 2, also known as death row, which stands approximately 200 feet from the original gallows warehouse location. It absolutely evoked emotions when I turned the corner to see it, said Todd Thompson, Leavenworth County Attorney, who viewed the gallows on Friday. Its really haunting because you see it within the facility and you see those that actually were hanged, he said.  And it just makes you think about what has happened here, that this isnt just, a fun tour, but something that you can take with you and hopefully instill to people like what its like to violate crime and what the repercussions of that is.

Visitors and members of the Lansing Historical Society and Museum talk as they view a reproduction of the gallows which were used for executions at the former Kansas State Penitentiary from 1944 to 1965.

The tour guides will be trained to discuss this history with sensitivity, Bates-Lamborn explained. A metal sign is at the bottom of the 13 steps with a profile picture of the 15 men who were hanged. Their names and the dates that they were executed are on the sign.

A sign attached to a reproduction of the gallows which were used at the former Kansas State Penitentiary from 1944 to 1965, shows the 15 KSP inmates who died by hanging.

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Bates-Lamborn emphasized the human element of the gallows. People are very interested in hearing the stories, she said. Not being able to tell the story of these 15 men is one thing, but being able to tell the story of these 15 men who were executed here is another.

We grew up in the shadow of the penitentiary... its such a large part of our communitys history, said Bates-Lamborn. The gallows are not something that were wanting to sensationalize, but people want to see what it looked like, she said. And because we couldnt produce it, we came up with this idea.

More than just a structure of wood and rope, the gallows serve as a powerful symbol of history that will not be forgotten.

Tours of the prison are conducted on Friday, Saturday and Sundays through the end of October.

Notable executions on the penitentiary gallows

Some of the men who were executed on the original Kansas State Penitentiary gallows:
MIAMI (AP)  Colombia's government has applied to join a China-based development bank, another sign of Latin America's drift away from the U.S. as the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts, trade barriers and crackdown on immigration spurs many leaders in the region to seek closer ties with Washington's geopolitical rival.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrapped up a visit to China this week with a stop in Shanghai, where he met with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the head of the New Development Bank.

The multilateral lender was set up a decade ago as a project of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  the so-called BRICS nations of major developing markets  as a counter to U.S.-dominated institutions like the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.

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To date, the New Development Bank has approved loans for 122 infrastructure projects totaling more than $40 billion in areas such as transport, sanitation and clean energy, according to Rousseff.

Petro, speaking to reporters in China on Saturday, said that Colombia is committed to purchasing $512 million worth of shares in the bank. He said that he was especially excited by the possibility of securing the New Development Bank's support for a 120-kilometer (75-mile) canal, or railway, connecting Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific Ocean coastlines that he said would position the country at the heart of trade between South America and Asia.

Colombia is the second Latin American country to try and join the bank after tiny Uruguay sought membership in 2021.

But Colombia's traditional role as a staunch U.S. ally and caretaker in the war on drugs is likely to raise eyebrows in Washington. The U.S. State Department this week said that it would vigorously oppose financing of projects linked to China's Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Petro signed up to the initiative during a summit with fellow leftist leaders from Brazil and China.

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Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he wouldn't be dissuaded by U.S. pressure and reaffirmed that Colombia seeks to remain neutral in a new era of geopolitical wrangling.

We made this decision freely, Petro told reporters from Shanghai. With the United States we can speak face to face, with China too.
Steven Grattan

Associated Press

Colombia this week took a leading position in Latin America for Indigenous rights and forest protection by formalizing Indigenous local governments across swaths of the Amazon, raising hopes that other countries in the region will follow its lead.

Activists say Monday's decision gives Indigenous communities not just land titles, but actual self-governing authority  complete with public budgets and administrative power. The process, underway since 2018, now has a legal framework enabling Indigenous councils to function as official local governments.

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This puts Colombia in the lead when it comes to recognizing Indigenous rights  not just to land, but to identity, autonomy, and decision-making over their own development, said Mayu Velasco Anderson, head of the Peru and Colombia program at nongovernmental organization Rainforest Foundation Norway.

Patricia Suarez, Indigenous leader and adviser to the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon, called the presidential decree historic.

We have been seeking recognition of our autonomy and self-determination as Indigenous Territorial Entities for over 30 years, Suarez said. This progress is a milestone in the consolidation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples as autonomous governments.

In contrast, other Latin American countries typically only grant land titles. Brazil, for example, has extensive Indigenous territories that frequently intersect multiple municipalities, forcing communities to navigate conflicting public systems and undermining their self-governance.

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In Brazil, even demarcated and regularized Indigenous lands fall under the administrative boundaries of states and municipalities, and communities depend on these governments to access public policies, said Ines Luna Maira, head of institutional partnerships at Rainforest Foundation Norway. They have to deal with a patchwork of public systems and elected officials that dont reflect Indigenous governance.

Suriname, home to some of the most intact forests and Indigenous and Maroon communities, lags furthest behind other nations in the region on this issue.

Colombia's new framework gives Indigenous groups direct authority over their territories, streamlining governance and boosting protections for forests that are critical to combating climate change.

Julia Urrunaga, director of Peru Programs at the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency welcomed the move and expressed hope that her country would follow Colombias example.

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We celebrate this victory for the Indigenous Peoples of Colombia, she said. Sadly, the Peruvian government has been walking in the opposite direction  passing laws that affect Indigenous rights without prior consultation, which goes against Perus own constitution.

Urrunaga pointed to what environmental activists have dubbed Perus Anti-Forest Law," which activists say legalizes illegal deforestation in Indigenous territories, and to the governments promotion of palm oil plantations over Amazonian forest.

Perus Indigenous Peoples are still struggling to receive recognition of their ancestral territories, she said. And even when they obtain it, they dont get the support they deserve from the state to protect their land and forests for the benefit of all humanity.
DENVER (KDVR)  A person from Colorado was indicted for their alleged involvement with online groups that paid a minor in Indonesia to create videos of monkey torture and mutilation.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the indictment was unsealed on Friday, charging 11 people from across the U.S. for their involvement, including a Coloradan identified as Carter G. Fawcett.

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The 11 included in the indictment are accused of conspiring with Nicholas T. Dryden, of Cincinnati, to create and distribute animal crush videos which depict acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys, the DOJ said.

According to the DOJ, the indictment includes 79 instances where the 11 indictees allegedly paid Dryden, who then paid a minor in Indonesia to commit requested acts on camera.

Last summer, Dryden was charged alongside Giancarlo Morelli, of New Jersey, for their involvement with the groups. In January, the DOJ said Morelli pleaded guilty in federal court for conspiring with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys.

The department said the defendants face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted as charged.

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By Amina Niasse

NEW YORK (Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group investors, stunned by missteps at the once predictable healthcare giant, are warily expecting strategic changes in its Medicare Advantage health insurance business over the next year.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that UnitedHealth was the subject of a criminal probe at the Justice Department, just one day after the company withdrew its financial outlook and said Group CEO Andrew Witty was leaving.

The blows are eroding the allure the healthcare behemoth once held for investors.

UnitedHealth shares fell 14% in afternoon trading on Thursday to $274.35, near a five-year low. Shares had already plunged 18% on Tuesday, even as the company tried to assuage Wall Street concerns in a conference call. They are down 46% this year.

"Given that the investor call earlier this week was so brief and had a lack of detail, investors are on the lookout for another shoe to drop," said James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management. The firm owns shares of UnitedHealth.

The DOJ criminal probe concerns the company's billing practices in its Medicare Advantage unit for older adults and people with disabilities, the Journal reported. UnitedHealth has said in regulatory filings that investigations, audits and reviews by a dozen different government agencies are underway.

UnitedHealth said in a Wednesday statement that it had not been notified of a criminal probe. "We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program," the company added.

Investors said they expect the company to turn around its profit outlook in 2026, at the earliest.

Exiting less profitable markets where it sells Medicare Advantage plans for people aged 65 and older and making health insurance plan design changes to offer access to lower-cost healthcare providers and a focus on cheaper generic drugs, rather than pricey branded ones, could be under consideration at UnitedHealth, said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds.

Even after fixing plan issues, investors will likely need to price in a legal settlement that could cost the company over $1 billion, said Jonas.

And traditional cost-management measures that insurers have historically deployed, such as the use of prior authorizations and claim denials, have come under public and legislative criticism since the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson last December, Jonas added.

In a first-quarter earnings call, the company noted that specialty care visits had generated higher costs after patients saw providers who are part of its Optum health services unit.
President Donald Trumps combative approach to immigration is opening a new drain on Columbia Universitys finances  its deep dependence on foreign students.

The Ivy League school ranks third in the nation for international enrollees, which make up about 40 percent of its student body. With students paying $70,000-plus in tuition, the ones from overseas translated into serious cash for Columbia: $903.1 million  twice what Trump froze in its federal research funds two months ago.

But a series of Trump administration tactics are making those receipts a vulnerability amid the presidents hardline immigration policies.

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Detaining and arresting former and current international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests and pledging to review the visa status of demonstrators who took over a campus library are becoming big warnings. In some cases, legal challenges argue that many international students who had their visas revoked havent been protesters.

Even though Trump has been feuding more intensely with Harvard University in recent weeks and investigating dozens of other schools for antisemitism, the makeup of Columbias campus leaves it more exposed in an expensive dispute with the White House.

Its a large chunk of their student population that is differentially paying higher prices than domestic students. Im sure it's a very serious concern of theirs, said Jordan Matsudaira, a former deputy education undersecretary during the Biden administration. They have a massive endowment, but there are restrictions on how much of it they can spend from year to year.

Only New York University and Northeastern University outranked Columbia as a destination for international students in the 2023-2024 school year, according to Open Doors. For NYU, whose anti-Israel protests havent drawn as much attention from Washington and where Barron Trump attends, its 27,000 international students translated into $1.4 billion that year.

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A graduate student and member of the Student Workers of Columbia union, who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, told POLITICO that they and other international students are looking for an exit route. They cited the case of Ranjani Srinivasan, a Columbia doctoral candidate who left the U.S. for Canada after the Trump administration revoked her student visa.

I am getting ready, having a visa to go to Canada because what happened to Ranjani might happen to me and I might need to leave overnight, the student said.

Acting Columbia President Claire Shipman has reiterated the university's support for international students, citing resources that include a hardship fund for those dealing with unanticipated costs due to travel or visa issues. In April, she described the climate of fear and anxiety thats been created as "heartbreaking, and acknowledged the wider impact on the universitys operations.

This chill not only weakens our community  it undercuts our national interests, Shipman wrote in a message to Columbias community. Our universities attract the most talented students and scholars from around the world  more than a million came last year. Much analysis has already been done on the impact of that loss on our economy and society.

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A Columbia spokesperson referred POLITICO to Shipmans remarks and declined to comment for this report, citing concerns about student privacy.

The ecosystem of consultants that help international students gain admission to schools all over the world have started to caution them about studying in the U.S.

I didnt wait for them to tell me they have concerns. I told them, look, you might want to have some other options given everything that is going on, said Shamima Nyamekye, who founded IBS Consulting, a Canadian agency that helps with the student visa application process among other services.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a half-billion-euro Choose Europe for Science plan earlier this month to attract foreign researchers amid Trumps disruption of research spending and immigration policies. Both French Minister of Higher Education Philippe Baptiste and Robert Proctor, a prominent professor of the history of science at Stanford, called whats happening in the U.S. a reverse Enlightenment.

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Theres a real danger that we will lose this competitive edge that weve had for so long, said Jodie Ferise, an Indiana-based higher education attorney. There are places like Canada and Australia that stand ready to welcome folks.

Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which advocates for study abroad, echoed that sentiment, saying that the U.S. immigration policies are having a chilling effect on prospective students, many of whom are being courted by institutions in other countries such as France, Germany and Qatar.

Families [are] asking a lot of questions about safety, Aw said.

The Department of State did not respond to a request for comment about the effects of sudden visa revocations on colleges and universities.

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Columbia, which enrolled 13,745 international students during fall 2024, is one of several competitive research universities that have had to quickly develop strategies for how to keep students who hail from other countries safe. Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in recent weeks have hosted webinars to help guide  or in some cases warn  their international communities about activities like overseas travel and engaging in pro-Palestinian speech with immigration attorneys and other experts.

The Trump administration revoked visas or deleted records from a government database for more than 1,600 international students as of May 7, but many of those revocations have been reversed after judges issued dozens of restraining orders.

This is going to deter foreign students from coming to the United States, said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), whose district neighbors Columbia. And theyre going to go to China and theyre going to stay in China and contribute to the economy there.

Some Republicans believe wealthy institutions like Columbia may not experience a severe financial hit from having fewer students from abroad but other colleges and universities will.

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At private schools it might not have such an economic impact because they're all paying the same private school tuition rate," Diane Auer Jones, an Education Department official during the first Trump administration, said. "At public institutions it could have an effect thats more profound."

But many on Capitol Hill have largely defended Trump's immigration stance and supported the visa revocations. They believe rooting out antisemitism on campuses must include a sharp look at international students from all institutions.

The growth of antisemitism and hate on college campuses needs to come to an end. Were finding out it's not mostly American people, it's initiated by folks coming from other countries, said Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), who chairs the House Education and Workforce subcommittee on higher education and workforce development.

It's time for us to get back to what our college experience should be  to be productive, to understand our country and respect our culture. If that's not happening they need to go back home, he said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Seven people were arrested in a major drug sting operation, including a man from Columbus who faces trafficking charges.

According to the Morgan County Sheriffs Office, deputies in collaboration with the Washington County Sheriffs Office Joint Drug Task Force executed four search warrants as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. Six of seven suspects were arrested, with authorities recovering an abundance of evidence from Columbus, McConnelsville, Crooksville and Malta.

Columbus offers staycation experiences beyond the usual attractions

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Among the items seized were multiple firearms, including four rifles and three handguns, an unknown amount of cash estimated to be in the thousands, drug paraphernalia, and a large quantity of drugs, including methamphetamine, eutylone, fentanyl, and cocaine.

Large amounts of drugs, weapons and cash were seized in a Morgan County drug raid, which resulted in the arrest of six of seven suspects, including one from Columbus, May 9, 2025. (Courtesy/Morgan County Sheriffs Office) Large amounts of drugs, weapons and cash were seized in a Morgan County drug raid, which resulted in the arrest of six of seven suspects, including one from Columbus, May 9, 2025. (Courtesy/Morgan County Sheriffs Office) Large amounts of drugs, weapons and cash were seized in a Morgan County drug raid, which resulted in the arrest of six of seven suspects, including one from Columbus, May 9, 2025. (Courtesy/Morgan County Sheriffs Office)

One of those arrested was Elijah McCants, of Columbus, who is charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs and engaging in a pattern of corrupt behavior. McCants was issued a $100,000 bond and his case is to be presented to a grand jury for a possible indictment.

Facing identical charges and bond hearings are Lindsay Pierce-Parsons, Lindsey Parsons and Chelsea Duncan, all from McConnelsville, and Sierra Schultz of Malta. Andrea Dzierwa of Crooksville is also charged with one count of drug possession.

The sheriffs office said that one suspect remains at large after a significant quantity of drugs and weapons were seized after a search warrant. Mark Bumgardner, of Crooskville, is wanted for two counts of aggravated drug trafficking, aggravated possession of drugs, having weapons under disability, and receiving stolen property.

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Anyone with additional information regarding Bumgardners whereabouts or this case is asked to call 740-962-1369.

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House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested during a Fox News interview Friday night that former FBI director James Comey may have been attempting to incite some kind of coup or some type of insurrection against President Trump with a now-deleted social media post that read 86 47.

Look theyre losing their minds over Trumps success in securing the border, and all the things the media said President Trump couldnt do that he did in the first three weeks of his term, Comer told former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who is now a Fox News personality. It has made people like Comey very anxious now, and who knows what led to the decision to post that picture?

The Secret Service interviewed Comey on Friday amid GOP outrage over a photo he posted on Instagram on Thursday that showed seashells on a beach spelling out 86 47. Trump, his top allies and other Republicans have accused Comey of calling for the 47th presidents assassination.

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Comey, 64, has denied that the social media post was a call for Trumps death and clarified in a follow-up statement that he didnt realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.

It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post, he wrote.

The term 86 is typically understood as slang for rejecting or throwing out something or someone.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on the social platform X that Comey agreed to a voluntary interview at the Secret Services Washington Field Office on Friday.

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Comer told Chaffetz that his opinion of the former FBI chief is so bad that he didnt know what to make of the intent behind Comeys post.

Everything that he was involved in that I was involved in investigating, there were mistakes made, there were lies told, there was incompetence demonstrated at every step of the way, the Kentucky Republican said. I could see that he made a simple mistake, but it wouldnt surprise me at all if that was intentional.

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I hear almost daily from disgruntled liberals who wish President Donald Trump would die or face some other horrific misfortune (they wish the same for me, too).

Its easy to become numb to this inflammatory  and hysterical  rhetoric.

Yet, when a former top U.S. law enforcement official enters the fray of such discourse, thats another matter altogether.

On May 15, former FBI Director James Comey posted a photo on Instagram that depicted the number 8647 fashioned with seashells.

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Gerth: What's really gnawing at Piagentini over rejection of tennis center? | Opinion

Cool shell formation on my beach walk, Comey quipped.

Not surprisingly, the now-deleted post created an immediate firestorm among conservatives and Trump administration officials.

Former FBI Director James Comey.

The number 86 is synonymous with getting rid of something or tossing it out  or worse. It also means to kill. And 47 of course refers to Trump, the 47th president.

Comey, fired by Trump in 2017, has claimed he didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence and that it never occurred to him that may be the case. He thought it merely was a political message.

Trump faced near assassination  twice. Comey knew better.

Give me a break.

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That kind of alleged naivete from someone who once led the FBI and purportedly helped to defend the country from all kinds of threats is hard to fathom.

I think Comey knows exactly what 8647 means.

Yet, even if one takes Comey at his word, what was the political message he supported exactly? As much as it drives the left insane, Trump won a second term fair and square, and he will be president for the next three and a half years.

Is there any other reasonable explanation for this post other than that



the former head of the FBI is publicly calling for the murder of the President of the United States? pic.twitter.com/o0Cz5JokdI  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 16, 2025

Unless  something happens to him.

Ahead of the November election, Trump faced not just one  but two  assassination attempts. The first nearly ended his life, with a bullet grazing his ear.

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Those facts make Comeys post that much more egregious and irresponsible.

TOPSHOT - Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. Donald Trump was hit in the ear in an apparent assassination attempt by a gunman at a campaign rally on Saturday, in a chaotic and shocking incident that will fuel fears of instability ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The 78-year-old former president was rushed off stage with blood smeared across his face after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the gunman and a bystander were killed and two spectators critically injured. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)

Were living in a time when violence is increasingly prevalent as a form of political protest.

Take for instance, all the Teslas that have been firebombed because liberals are mad Tesla CEO Elon Musk is working with Trump. Worse, alleged assassin Luigi Mangione has been upheld as a warped hero by many for murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson because some people have gripes with the health insurance industry.

Opinion: Kentucky must ban unethical legal practice. It destroys trust in our system. | Editorial

Should Comey be in jail? Probably not. But he deserves to be shamed.

As is often the case these days, unhinged rhetoric on one side begets it on the other. Some of the reaction from Trump administration officials is overblown.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, for instance, wrote on X that the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service were investigating this threat and will respond appropriately and that Comey "just called for the assassination" of Trump.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News she thinks Comey should be in jail.

Any other person with the position of influence that he has, people who take very seriously what a guy of his stature, his experience and what the propaganda media has built him up to be, I'm very concerned for the president's life, Gabbard said.

Does Comey need to be in jail? Probably not. But Gabbard is right in her assessment about the state of rhetoric surrounding Trump.

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Opinion: A data center is not a utility. Dont shove it down Oldham County's throat.

Some of the top mainstream media organizations in the country make it a habit of feeding into the over-hyped portrayal of Trump as Hitler and fascist. The New York Times on May 14 ran an overwrought opinion by three Yale professors who said they were fleeing the U.S. because of Trumps authoritarianism.

The constant drumbeat of hysteria against a president who 77 million Americans voted for is dangerous  and could lead to real violence.

For that, Comey deserves all the uproar thats coming his way.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Comey knows what 86 means. His anti-Trump post is dangerous | Opinion
WASHINGTON (AP)  Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service on Friday about a social media post that Republicans insisted was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

The interview was part of an ongoing Trump administration investigation and was expected to help authorities assess the purpose and intent of the post and whether Comey intended to communicate a threat to the president, which he has flatly denied. Any decision on whether charges should be filed would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump said Friday, though there's a high bar in proving that comments or posts amount to direct threats of violence.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Comey had been interviewed and said she would take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of Trump. The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security. An interview is a standard part of an investigation into comments perceived as potentially threatening but does not suggest that charges are being considered.

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At issue is an Instagram post from Thursday in which Comey wrote cool shell formation on my beach walk under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for 86 47.

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning to throw out, to get rid of or to refuse service to. It notes: Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of to kill. We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.

Numerous Trump administration officials, including Noem, asserted that Comey was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau was also supporting the investigation.

Asked about it Friday during a Fox News interview, Trump said: He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If youre the FBI director and you dont know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.

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He deflected a question on what he thought should happen, saying the decision would be up to Bondi.

The post was deleted Thursday not long after it was made, with Comey subsequently writing: I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didnt realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.

Trump and Comey have had a fraught dynamic dating back nearly a decade.

Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bushs administration.

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But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president -- an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trumps presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4)  A beloved West Valley City comic book shop is turning to the community for help after two extremely valuable comic books were stolen last week. The store is offering a reward to anyone who can help recover the stolen comics.

Charles Prows, co-owner of The Nerd Store, told ABC4 the comics that were stolen are Avengers #1 and Amazing Fantasy #15, which are worth roughly $70,000 combined.

Avengers #1 is the very first Avengers comic, and Amazing Fantasy #15 features the first appearance of Spider-Man. Prows said that because they are the first books for these iconic characters, that makes them very valuable.

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The comics were on display in the store under lock and key, and because of that, Prows said he believes it was likely a former employee or long-time customer.

Because of a flood a few months ago, The Nerd Store was forced to temporarily relocate, which means that getting data from their camera systems is going to take time.

In the meantime, The Nerd Store has turned to the community for help. Prows asked community members to keep an eye out. If youre ever at a pawn shop or a street fair or a buddys house and you see one of these pop up, keep in mind that it might be ours and just let us know, he said.

Hearts of gold: Community rallies behind popular comic book store following flood

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Prows explained that the books have unique attributes that will help them identify the books as theirs, so they are fairly confident that they will eventually get them back.

The owners are maintaining positivity through it all. I still have stores to run, and we still have day to day to do, we still got everything else going on, so we gotta keep focused and keep moving forward, Prows said.

The owners of The Nerd Store told ABC4 they are willing to waive any charges if the books are returned in good condition within the next two weeks, and they are also willing to keep the identity of the thief anonymous if they turn themselves in. If not, the theft is considered a felony, and they will pursue full charges to the extent of the law.

They are also offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help recover the comics or identify the thief. Prows requested that anyone with information contact West Valley Police dispatch at 801-840-4000.

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Dennis Dolan and Nick Butts contributed to this story.

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New UNM cohort part of new generation

The feeling of excitement was palpable late last week among two University of New Mexico seniors who were set to graduate in a matter of hours.

But they had some concerns and caveats.

Matias Santo, 22, graduating with a degree in business administration, with a concentration in accounting and finance, was fortunate enough to snag an internship at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. last summer, working in Miami to help manage the finances of a few Latin American countries. But the future for Santo, an international student from Argentina, is left to the fate of the visa lottery system; he might not be able to remain in the U.S.

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Olivia Mercado, also 22, is set to graduate with a degree in business with a concentration in marketing. She isn't sure she wants to engage in the hustle-and-grind culture" she said is prevalent in business. The El Paso native would rather be happy  forgoing that for a fulfilling and supportive work environment, where she could have a say in things.

obelisk storage photo 2 (copy)

A fragment of the toppled Soldiers' Monument in storage at the Santa Fe Regional Airport.

The new grads are part of Generation Z  typically born between 1997 and 2012, and predicted to make up 27% of the job market this year. The group has a differing view of employment than those before them.

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Glimpse of the obelisk

After being toppled from the Santa Fe Plaza on Indigenous Peoples Day in 2020, the top of the Soldiers' Monument has lived behind closed doors in storage at the Santa Fe Regional Airport.

Virgil Vigil and other members of the Union Protectiva de Santa Fe have seen it, and after the lifting of a judicial gag order recently are opening up about what they saw.

"It was sad," Vigil said. "I didn't realize it was in that bad of condition."

In its current condition, he said the obelisk is too damaged to be repaired.

"The stone pieces of the obelisk are so destroyed that you cant put that together," he said. "It has to be rebuilt, and thats going to cost money."

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Elisa Montoya, the city's new Community Development Director, poses for a portrait at the old Warehouse 21 building in the Railyard last week.

Meet the new community development director

In her seven years as a vice president of Meow Wolf, Elisa Montoya had a front-row seat to the effect city government could have on local businesses.

Montoya, 50, is now on the other side of the table. As the city of Santa Fe's new community development director, with oversight of several agencies, she hopes to make a positive impact on her hometown.

Montoya said she's jumped "feet first" into learning about everything that falls within her large umbrella department.

Her first day in the job was April 21. With a salary of $155,620, Montoya is among the city's highest earners.

Read it all at sfnewmexican.com
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  SANDAG has proposed four alternatives for relocating train tracks from the eroding cliffs of Del Mar, and public feedback will be open for nearly two months.

The cliffs of Del Mar are eroding at an average rate of six inches per year, posing a risk to the train tracks currently situated on the edge. SANDAGs proposed solutions for relocating the San Diego Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail in that area includes three tunnel options under Del Mar and one option to reinforce and double-track the current cliffside location.

The Mayor and city council of Del Mar have expressed opposition to the current options and have suggested a different location not included in SANDAGs proposals.

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The Pink, Blue, and Yellow Line options involve constructing tunnels at various locations under Del Mar, aiming to move the tracks away from the unstable cliffs. These options are part of SANDAGs efforts to address the erosion issue. The Green Line option proposes reinforcing the existing tracks on the cliffs by double tracking them, despite the ongoing erosion.

SANDAG has also included a no build option, which would leave the tracks in their current location without any modifications.

On Feb. 28, 2025, the SANDAG moved forward with proposed project goals, objectives, and alternative alignments, including a no build alternative, into environmental document process. An updated NOP of a Draft Environmental Impact Report was released in May, starting a 45-day scoping period to collect feedback.

As SANDAG continues to plan for the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the San Diego LOSSAN Rail Realignment project, they are asking the community to read the notice and share your comments by June 30, 2025.

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A public scoping meeting will be held at The Sound at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on May 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for project updates and to allow the public to provide comments on the scope and content of the Draft Environmental Impact Report.

Public input will be taken at the meeting and can be provided in person, or in writing via letter, email, or online. Written comments on the scope of the EIR should be sent:

Via mail to SANDAG, 1011 Union Street, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101, ATTN: LOSSAN Comments

Via email to lossancomments@sandag.org with subject line SDLRR Project NOP

Online at SANDAG.org/railrealignment

Due to the time limits mandated by state law, responses must be sent at the earliest possible date, but no later than June 30, 2025.

Public feedback is open for 45 days so residents and stakeholders can voice their opinions on the proposed alternatives.

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Video: SANDAG Board Member breaks down LOSSAN rail realignment plans

For more information on this project, the scoping period, or the environmental process, visit SANDAG.org/railrealignment.

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BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  A Bay County woman is mobile again, after an unfortunate incident left her with no means of transportation.

When Doris Robbins left her doctors appointment at HCA Gulf Coast on March 12th, she never imagined being the victim of a hit-and-run. While inside, someone hit the side of her car, damaging her wheelchair lift.

They never bothered to say anything about who they were. They never left a note, no insurance information. So I was left to figure out a way to get my wheelchair home. And it ended up my daughter had to ride it all the way from Gulf Coast Hospital to Lynn Haven, thats a long ways to travel on a wheelchair, but thats the only way we could get home, Robbins said.

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With no way of transporting herself, Robbins was facing a harsh reality, but a Facebook post shared by Josie-on-the-go reached hundreds, who then shared the post.

Some even offered to fix Doris chair lift.

Thats when someone told her daughter about a Panama City non-profit called Center of Hope. A longtime member of the organization recently donated a wheelchair lift used by his late wife.

I started thinking about who I could give it to and couldnt find anyone, and prayed about it. Finally, said lets just take it down to the center of hope and see if somebody needs it, Center of Hope Counselor Hugo White said. It was a blessing to us, just like its a blessing to her.

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Center of Hope contacted Doris family, and two days after the accident, Robbins had a new lift.

The community just comes together, and it makes me proud for people to know Im from Bay County. It makes me proud because people are good, White added. Its the people here that I appreciate so much. Theyll never know how much I appreciate them. You know, all I can do is ask God to bless them.

Doris said being with her grandchildren is her motivation for fighting her battle against cancer.

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Washington (DC News Now)  President Donald Trump signed several agreements with Saudi Arabia. Hes was in the Middle East this week on the first major foreign trip of his second term. But Democrats say President Trump is using the trip to enrich himself.

Lawmakers on both side of the isle have urged Trump to reconsider a gift from the government of Qatar, a $400 million jet to replace the newly 40-year-old planes serving as Air Force one. President Trump said on Monday a free jet is a no-brainer.

Dr. Todd Belt from The George Washington Unversity returns to Capitol Review on what kind of precedent this could set.

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Charter Communications has offered to acquire Cox Communications, a $34.5 billion merger that would combine two of the top three cable companies in the U.S.

Cox is the third largest cable television company in the country, with more than 6.5 million digital cable, internet, telephone, and home security customers. It has a strong foothold in states spanning from California to Virginia. Charter Communications, known more widely as Spectrum, has more than 32 million customers in 41 states.

The cable industry has been under assault for years from streaming services like Disney, Netflix, Amazon and HBO Max, as well as internet plans offered by mobile phone companies. Comcast, which is of nearly equal size to Charter, spun off many of its cable television networks in November as as consumers increasingly swap out their cable TV subscriptions for streaming platforms.

So-called cord cutting has cost the industry millions of customers and left them searching for ways to successfully compete.

Charter said Friday that it will acquire Cox Communications commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses. Cox Enterprises will contribute Cox Communications residential cable business to Charter Holdings, an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter.

Cox Enterprises will own about 23% of the combined company's outstanding shares.

The transaction, which needs approval from Charter shareholders as well as regulators, includes $12.6 billion in debt.

This merger exemplifies the strategic consolidation reshaping media and telecom," Scott Purdy, KPMG U.S. Media Industry Lead, Strategy, said in a statement. By pooling resources, these companies will create scale, drive significant cost synergies, and strengthen their competitive positioning in a challenging market.

The proposed deal is one of the largest in over a year. Mars' announced a $30 billion deal with Kellanova last summer and Exxon Mobil's approximately $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural happened in late 2023.

The combined company will change its name to Cox Communications within a year after closing. It will keep Charters headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and have a significant presence on Coxs Atlanta, Georgia campus following the closing.

After the deal is complete, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey will become president and CEO of the combined company. Cox CEO and Chairman Alex Taylor will serve as chairman.

Cox will be able to keep two directors on the 13-member board. Advance/Newhouse, which is part of Charter, will retain its two board members.
ELKHART  Fourth-grade students from Concord Ox Bow, East Side, West Side and South Side elementary schools cheered as their two weather balloons launched into a bright blue sky on Friday.

I was super excited, said Julianna Mascola, a fourth-grader at Ox Bow Elementary School. We worked so hard on launching that.

The approximately 40 students launched two weather balloons. The original plan was to launch three weather balloons, but the teams ran out of helium.

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The project took about five months of planning and experimenting, said Elizabeth King, a High Ability teacher at Ox Bow Elementary School. The students wanted to know the highest altitude of each balloon and their direction of travel.

We do have multiple tracking devices on the balloon that will tell us that information, King said. Typically, they can get up to about 100,000 feet, maybe 110,000 feet, but it just depends on the weather on any given day.

Each year, the students get to choose which items they want to send up with the balloons, King said. This year, the students voted in Mountain Dew, shaving cream, seeds, a Kit Kat bar, gum, coffee grounds, Orbeez and Tide pods.

Last year, the weather balloons landed in Coldwater, Michigan. This year, the students predicted the balloons would land in Jackson, Michigan.

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I think the coolest part for me is just seeing the kids experience some ... real world learning experiences where they get to take what theyre learning in the classroom and apply it, Concord Superintendent Dan Funston said.

Airgas provided the helium tanks for the project, King said. The teams of students launched the balloons about 10 minutes apart.

Im really blown away every year, honestly, by what 9-, 10-, 11-year-olds are capable of, King said. So, this year, they have worked very hard. Weve been able to talk to some people at the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] as well as local meteorologists, and theyve just really internalized the vocabulary for this project. Theyre really dedicated and excited about it and that shows up in their hard work every day.

King said because the project is fun, the students are dedicated to doing a good job. She also said she has been involved with the project annually since 2017.

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The annual weather balloon project has made memories for different classes of students.

Avery McDowell, a senior at Concord High School, participated in the first weather balloon launch in 2017, when the balloon landed in Detroit, Michigan.

It was great, McDowell said. It was so much fun getting to work with our classmates on this big project together. We went out and chased this balloon and had no idea where it was, and at the time, none of us had phones or anything, so it was kind of like we put all these kids on this bus and we put our trust in Miss King.

McDowell said the weather balloon project has come a long way since the first time it was done in 2017. Attendees watching the balloon launch were given papers with QR codes to track the path of the balloons.
UPDATE: Fridays annual Cop on a Rooftop raised more than $1.2 million in just seven hours for Special Olympics Illinois and Iowa, directly benefiting organizational programming for athletes with intellectual disabilities across both states, according to a Friday night news release.

With todays total, Cop on a Rooftop has raised more than $11.2 million for Special Olympics Illinois and Iowa programming throughout the events history.

Quick overview of this mornings event:

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On Friday, May 17 (5 a.m.-noon) the annual Cop on a Rooftop event took place at ore than 550 participating Dunkins across six states in the Midwest, including eight locations in the Quad Cities.

Representatives from the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Illinois and Iowa collected money that goes directly to support programming for Special Olympics athletes in both states.

EARLIER: Local police officers were hanging out on the rooftops at some Dunkin locations on Friday to collect money to support Special Olympics Iowa and Illinois.

(OurQuadCities.com)

The Cop on a Rooftop event is a fundraiser for the Law Enforcement Torch Run in preparation for the Special Olympics.

Everyone who donated got a free doughnut, and some visitors were rewarded with morning coffee.

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Organizers say law enforcement helps with Special Olympics in many different areas.

More than 300 locations participated Friday in Cop on a Rooftop.

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Unions representing correction officers and staff at the Stillwater state prison are calling for a halt to the plan to close the 111-year-old facility in Bayport.

The proposed stated budget agreement that includes the closure of Stillwater Correctional Facility is not only shortsighted, its downright dangerous, disruptive and deeply disrespectful to the workers that keep the community safe and the inmates safe, said Bart Andersen, executive director of the American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees Council 5, at a news conference at the state Capitol on Friday.

State officials said the move to close Stillwater addresses safety concerns relating to its aging infrastructure and will save more than $40 million annually.

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But union leaders said Friday that the closure leaves staff members futures uncertain and poses safety risks to inmates, staff and the public.

Study in question

The prison houses some of the states most dangerous offenders, said Dan Gorman, AFSCME vice president and chief steward. Moving them could overcrowd other facilities.

It makes it very dangerous for the inmate population and for the staff that work in those facilities, Gorman said.

Union leaders also said they were left in the dark about the decision to close the facility and continue to have questions about the plans. A state study intended to look at closing the prison and advise lawmakers on it will apparently be unnecessary, they said.

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This move comes before the very study that was meant to inform a thoughtful and orderly closure of this facility, said Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. That study was supposed to guide legislative decision-making  now its going to be conducted after incarcerated individuals are already being moved. That is not planning, that is scrambling. We have seen no bill language. We have seen no protections for staff. We have no clarity at all about staffing during this transition. We have no commitment on fair compensation or placement for workers who might not be able to transfer.

While state officials say a full modernization or replacement of Stillwater would cost an estimated $1.3 billion, union members say low-cost improvements they have requested over the years have been ignored.

Safety concerns

From what union leaders have been told, part of the closure plan is reliant on the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, which allows inmates to earn earlier release, Dayton said. The MRRA, passed by the Legislature in 2023 as part of the public safety bill, allows qualified inmates to reduce their sentences.

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However, state officials have said inmates will not be released early as part of the closure.

Early release under the MRRA is earned and determined on an individual basis, DOC officials said Friday, and its implementation is separate from the closure of the Stillwater prison.

In response to concerns of overcrowding at other facilities caused by the closure and ensuing safety risks, DOC officials said that all of its correctional facilities are currently staffed fully at between 97 and 100% and such staffing is intended to meet needs at full capacity.

State officials and state labor relations specialists will begin labor management discussions immediately following passage of the proposal, which union agreements require in instances of staff reductions, according to state officials.

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As part of this, were not reducing population or releasing anyone to make this happen. This would be handled by  bed space and, again, phased over time, Paul Schnell, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said at a Thursday news conference.

State officials have cited safety concerns for inmates and staff at the aging Stillwater facility when discussing its closure. Some union members questioned that assessment and what they described as a long-term underinvestment in the prison and in low-cost safety improvements.

It appears to be a cost-savings measure right now. And in order to consolidate effectively, to deliver programming effectively, to correct behavior, you have to invest in it, Dayton said. You have to spend money to rehabilitate people so that they can be functioning members of society again. And we have no guarantee that thats part of this plan.

Operating a step below maximum security, the close security facility for adult male felons  built in 1914  currently has 1,171 inmates. Its closure is expected by June 30, 2029, under the plan announced by state officials Thursday.

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Law enforcement recovered a Corvette stolen from a Waldo street at an auto shop in Independence, where investigators also found stolen items and drugs, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Investigators found the vehicle at a business in the 10200 block of U.S. Highway 40 in Independence using an aftermarket tracking device, said Cpl. Justin Ewing. Kansas City police, Independence police and a state patrol SWAT team executed a search warrant there on May 9, and the Corvette was recovered, he said.

A large amount of drugs was also seized at the site, and one person who had an outstanding warrant was arrested, Ewing said.

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Ewing said stolen auto parts were also found at the site, but said he couldnt confirm what knowledge the owner of the business had of the stolen Corvette or if the owner had any direct tie to the theft or shooting in Waldo.

Residents of the Waldo neighborhood where the car was stolen in April told The Star of two incidents over a week in which a group sprayed gunfire at homes and then returned to steal the Corvette a few days later. They said the group fired shots at the homes when a resident interrupted the group as they were prowling vehicles on their street early one morning and returned a week later, again armed with guns, and stole the Corvette off its owners driveway.

Suspects in the shooting have not yet been identified, according to law enforcement.

Capt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said detectives are continuing to investigate the incident and are making headway in identifying a subject of interest.
May 17Planning director candidate Clifford Cross wants to return to the South for his final years before retirement, he told the Decatur City Council on Wednesday.

Cross, director of Economic Development, Planning and Zoning in Belleville, Illinois, was the final applicant to go through a public interview with the council for the planning director opening.

The City Council has two applicants, Lee Terry, economic and planning director for TARCOG (Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments) in Huntsville, and Steve Hohulin, former director of Land Planning for Quiddity engineering and planning, The Woodlands, Texas, still considered candidates for the opening.

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The council added Cross, who like the other two is a certified planner, when it reopened the search after interviewing Terry and Hohulin and bringing them back for an informal reception.

Human Resources Director Richelle Sandlin ran the interview and asked about 20 pre-scripted questions. Council members then asked follow-up questions before opening up at the end for Cross to ask any questions he might have and to make a statement.

Cross, 52, has spent most of his 25-year career in Illinois, but did work two and a half years in Duluth, Georgia, as director of planning. He also worked in University City near St. Louis, Missouri.

"I love the South," Cross said. "Quite honestly, you can only take so much of Illinois with everything that goes on there between Chicago and down state."

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Cross said he is a direct appointment of the Belleville mayor, and the mayor who appointed him lost in the recent election. He said the new mayor hasn't decided whether or not to reappoint any of the directors, so they're all working on a day-to-day basis.

Cross said he expects a decision in June, but he has already made his own decision.

"If she offered me the job, I would not accept," he said.

Cross said he is completely vested in the retirement system, so it wouldn't benefit him financially to stay in Illinois.

"This is a perfect opportunity for me to come South where I want to be to finish out my career for the next 10 to 12 years and retire," he said. "I'm done. I don't need to deal with that (getting reappointed) every four years now."

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Cross said his educational background and experience make him uniquely qualified for Decatur's opening. He said he's mostly worked in communities of between 25,000 and 50,000 residents.

"Obviously, when you're in communities of that size you have to multitask," Cross said. "You just don't have all of the players that you need to do everything day to day."

He said this has allowed him to become familiar with all aspects of planning and development, community development, housing rehabilitation, grant writing and overall economic development.

Cross said he's even been a code enforcement officer, a fire marshal and a flood plain administrator.

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"By doing that, it's really well-rounded me in the growth-management field," Cross said. "And it's really given me that great background that I feel makes me a great candidate for the position."

If hired as planning director he would be taking over a Planning Department with one planner and an administrator. Councilman Billy Jackson pointed out that the department hasn't had a certified planning director since one left in 2008, and previous councils did not fill the position.

"Luckily, this council has been seen that it's an important position," Jackson said.

Cross said it's important to report the department's work to the council, mayor and residents. He said he's a big believer in accountability by being structured in creating a work plan. He also believes in cross-training everyone so they know all of the jobs in the department, but he makes it clear he's the department leader.

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"I basically treat everything like a five-year capital improvement plan," Cross said. "I create a plan at least for a year, and then I have my quarterly reporting that shows what's working and what's not, how do we readjust it and how do we fix the problems."

Cross said one of the first things he would do is go over the city's One Decatur comprehensive plan. He said communities create comprehensive plans, but then sometimes planning or development department will forget about them.

"They write it because they have to and then it goes up on the shelf," he said.

Cross said he doesn't believe in a static comprehensive plan. Instead, he would report annually on what's working and what's not.

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"You have to give the community the opportunity to comment on it, and we have to readjust it to make sure that it is continuing to meet the demands of the community," he said.

On the issues of zoning and planning, Cross said he's amazed how many young planners don't know the difference between the two. He said a planner and a zoning administrator are different jobs.

"Long-range planning is the vision. It's the road map of how you move forward. It's how you set policy," he said.

Cross said zoning is the regulatory control, and "if you don't put those long-range plans in place, how do you get a unified cost to make sure you get where you want to be?"

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For example, he said short-term rentals, such as as Airbnbs, are a hot-button topic in most cities now as they are in Belleville.

He said Airbnbs acted "as a camouflage" as some people were trying to get around Illinois' occupancy permit requirement. Short-term rentals create a problem for a community that wants to develop hotels as a destination for visitors.

There has to be a perfect balance between the number of hotels and short-term rentals, he said.

"You don't want Airbnbs ruining your opportunity to bring in a hotel," Cross said.

Cross said he's "not anti-rental, but I am a supporter of a perfect balance of rental to home ownership. Renters can choose who they live next to; your homeowners cannot always choose who lives next to them."

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Cross said it's important to know the city's housing stock and the community's demands. For example, there are neighborhoods with dilapidated housing in which there may be some infill opportunities.

He said a subdivision south of Belleville had this issue, so he contacted builders and worked with them to get it annexed. Part of the agreement included incentives such as sewer, streets and other infrastructure, he said.

In Duluth, Cross said he worked on a downtown redevelopment plan in which they identified dilapidated properties within the downtown square and got them taken out even though some had environmental concerns.

Cross said he's also worked on TIF (tax-incremental funding) districts to redevelop three areas of University City. These areas had a lot of old auto sales and repair shops where a Target, Costco, Chick-Fil-A and a number of other new retail businesses and restaurants now sit.

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Cross talked about an infill program he started in Belleville in which he sold empty lots for $1 to developers who then handled the red tape of getting finance and then building the homes.

"We now have 10 new homes that are being built in neighborhoods that haven't been built in for over 25 years," he said.

Council President Jacob Ladner said Thursday that he thought Cross "did a really good job with the interview," and he is impressed with Cross' planning and code enforcement experience. He said he thought they had three good candidates, and the council made the right decision in bringing in Cross.

He said he thinks the City Council will discuss the next move at Monday's 10 a.m. meeting.

"It's time to get this thing wrapped up," Ladner said.

 bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432
(This May 16 story was refiled without any changes to text.)

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court lifted an order on Friday that blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from stripping hundreds of thousands of federal employees of the ability to unionize and collectively bargain over working conditions.

A 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put on hold an injunction a judge issued at the behest of the National Treasury Employees Union that had blocked implementation of an executive order Trump issued in March.

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The union and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

Trump's order exempted more than a dozen federal agencies from obligations to bargain with unions. They include the departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services.

The union, which represents about 160,000 federal employees, argued the order violates federal workers' labor rights and the Constitution.

But the appeals court's majority said the union had failed to show it would suffer the type of irreparable harm that would justify the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on April 25.

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U.S. Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of Republican President George H.W. Bush, and Justin Walker, whom Trump appointed in his first term, said the injunction, if allowed to remain in effect, would also impede Trump's national-security prerogatives.

Trump relied on a national security exemption to exempt agencies that he said "have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work."

"Preserving the President's autonomy under a statute that expressly recognizes his national-security expertise is within the public interest," the appeal's court majority wrote.

U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, dissented, saying the Trump administration had presented only "vague assertions" about potential interference with national security functions to justify its request for a stay of Friedman's decision.

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Trump's order affects about 75% of the roughly 1 million federal workers represented by unions, according to court filings. NTEU has said the order applies to about 100,000 of its members.

The executive order significantly expanded an exception from collective bargaining for workers with duties affecting national security, such as certain employees of the CIA and FBI.

The Trump administration has filed separate lawsuits seeking to invalidate existing union contracts covering thousands of workers.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by William Mallard)
The Sean "Diddy" Combs trial began this week and featured testimony from Cassie Ventura.

She testified about the graphic moments in her 11-year relationship with Combs.

In the courthouse, the atmosphere was grim as Ventura shared shocking details.

From the start of Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial, everyone was waiting for Cassie Ventura to appear. She was the star witness.

I expected Ventura's testimony to be explosive. But it turned out to be more graphic than I ever imagined.

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In the courtroom, I noticed the distress on the face of Ventura's husband. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, was telling her alleged abuser and a room full of strangers about some of the worst moments in her life.

In September, federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused Combs of racketeering and sex trafficking. They say he used the vast power and resources of his record label and other businesses to arrange drug-fueled and baby oil-lubricated sexual encounters called "freak offs" with Ventura, other victims, and male escorts.

Combs pleaded not guilty and denies the sex-trafficking allegations, but he hasn't quite denied all wrongdoing. His legal team said he participated in "mutual abuse" with Ventura, and that the two frequently fought physically. This was a domestic violence case, they argued  ugly, but not criminal sex trafficking.

In her testimony, Ventura talked about a messy, 11-year relationship during which she fought for scraps of Combs' attention. He was often busy with other women and his various businesses, she said. Ventura participated in the freak offs out of love for Combs, she said, but they were never something she wanted.

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The hip-hop mogul introduced her to the idea of freak offs about six months into their relationship, when she was 22 and owed him another nine albums as part of a record label deal, Ventura said. Combs would watch as Ventura would have sex with other men, who were paid thousands of dollars in cash, according to court testimony.

In text messages and emails shown as trial evidence, Ventura talked about arranging the freak offs, which required dropping by a Duane Reade to pick up baby oil, lubricant, candles, and condoms.

The freak offs could last up to four days, requiring drugs to maintain stamina, she said. They typically required up to 10 large bottles of baby oil, she testified. Everyone "had to be glistening," as she described it. At one point, the judge stepped in to ask prosecutors to pull back from the deluge of baby oil questions.

The disturbing nature of the testimony was only heightened by Ventura's appearance. She is due to have a baby in June and was visibly pregnant. One courtroom marshal said he was prepared to deliver her baby if the stress of testifying induced labor. I wasn't sure if he was joking. One of the prosecutors urged the judge to require Combs' lawyers to wrap up cross-examination. "We are afraid she could have the baby over the weekend," she said.

Cassie Ventura's testimony transfixed the courtroom

Over the years, I've reported on about a dozen trials and countless more court hearings. There were the uncomfortable benches of Donald Trump's criminal trial. The rowdy fans at the R. Kelly Trial. The cold December mornings when I lined up for the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. The ultracompetitive Sam Bankman-Fried trial, where getting in line at 4 a.m. still wasn't early enough to get inside the courtroom.

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But nothing in my experience has compared to the Combs trial, which began Monday morning after a week of jury selection and is supposed to last two months.

People stayed in line overnight before the trial, hoping to make it into the courtroom. Lloyd Mitchell for BI

Ever since Ventura accused Combs of sexual abuse in November 2023, Combs' legal quagmire has been one of the biggest stories in the country. Combs paid Ventura $20 million to settle her case, but a flood of other accusers filed additional civil lawsuits against him. When prosecutors brought the criminal case against Combs, it was put on the fast track.

No longer the image of a pop star, Combs dresses for court like an office drone, wearing thin crewneck sweaters over white button-down shirts. He rarely betrays any emotion, occasionally nodding during his lawyers' arguments or huddling with the attorneys beside him.

His large family, including his mother and seven children, has been in the courtroom to show their support. Every day, Combs flashes them heart symbols with his hands. Their expressions, during trial proceedings, have remained neutral. The gravity of the situation  Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of all charges  is obvious.

During breaks, courtroom artist Christine Cornell took photos of her trial illustrations. Lloyd Mitchell for BI

On the other side of the courtroom aisle are Ventura's support group, which includes her husband, Alex Fine, and several relatives. At some of the more raw moments of Ventura's testimony, Fine's face looked visibly pained. When her texts with Combs about the freak offs were shown to the jury, he broke his gaze and looked at his lap.

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As Ventura testified in graphic detail, the courtroom was rapt. She spoke in a faint, dispassionate voice.

The grim atmosphere made the otherwise unbelievable details of the trial feel upsetting rather than dramatic. On social media, these details fly by as jokes. For Ventura, they left scars. In February of 2023, years after she left Combs, Ventura couldn't sleep, she testified.

"I couldn't take the pain that I was in anymore, and so I just tried to walk out the front door into traffic," she told the jury. "And my husband would not let me."

'I've been to a Diddy party'

On Monday, for opening statements, the line outside the lower Manhattan courthouse began the previous afternoon. Same Old Line Dudes, the standard-bearer line-sitting company for New York trials, declined to disclose the precise time their clients booked because "it's very competitive," a receptionist told me.

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During lunch breaks, live-streamers went outside and updated their followers on what unfolded indoors. Christine Cornell, a courtroom sketch artist, took photos of her illustrations in natural sunlight to share them with the media. Vicky Perez, who had come to New York City from Connecticut to watch the trial's opening day, said she's a fan of Ventura, having purchased her first album when she was in the fifth grade. Perez wanted her to "get justice," she said.

"I want to see his downfall," she said of Combs.

Vicky Perez attended the trial to show support for Cassie Ventura. Lloyd Mitchell for BI

The scene overwhelmed even Dennis Byron, the editor in chief of the Hip-Hop Enquirer, who said he's reported on the hip-hop scene for 35 years. He covered Comb's career since he was an up-and-coming artist.

"I've been to a Diddy party," he said.

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"Not one of those parties," he quickly clarified.

Byron  who wore a tweed vest and trousers in the May afternoon heat  said he's attended and photographed Combs' extravagant "White Parties," where he took photos of the likes of Combs, Ventura, Kim Porter, and Jay-Z.

Dennis Byron, editor in chief of the Hip-Hop Enquirer, has been chronicling Sean "Diddy" Combs' career for decades. Lloyd Mitchell for BI

These parties took on a new meaning following the indictment against Combs, where they've been widely re-interpreted as sex parties (virtually every single celebrity who has been asked about this denies they were sex parties). But celebrities have been having orgies forever, Byron said. He remembers hearing about them in the 1980s. Flying in escorts  as prosecutors said Combs did for freak offs  wasn't anything new either, Byron said.

"Well, I never stayed for those," Byron said. "I never stayed for those orgies. But I'm sure they happen. But I never seen them."

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Combs' White Parties were meant to show off his power as "a tastemaker," Byron said. Combs accrued cultural capital  something prosecutors later said he used to coerce his victims.

"Remember, that party was a regular party," he said as I wrapped up our conversation. "Ain't no party like a regular Diddy party."

Combs' lawyers acknowledge his flaws  but say he's not a sex trafficker

Combs' trial was taking place in the same 26th-floor courtroom that saw the trials of Sam Bankman-Fried and two of E. Jean Carroll's lawsuits against Trump. (Bankman-Fried and Combs share a jail unit together; Trump is in the White House.) As with all federal court cases, there's no broadcast or livestream.

Karen Agnifilo-Friedman, Luigi Mangione's lead defense lawyer and the husband of Combs' lead lawyer Mark Agnifilo, often showed up to watch. The court staff had also set up three overflow rooms for journalists and members of the public to watch the trial on a closed-circuit camera feed, plus two rooms for members of the in-house press like me.

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Several people I spoke to said they were willing to keep an open mind, but believed it would be hard to shake the memory of watching the video of Combs beating Ventura and dragging her through a hotel hallway.

"I'm going to try to give him a fair shake, said Oota Ongo, a YouTuber who livestreamed himself walking around the courthouse after watching opening statements. "We all saw the Cassie tape. That Cassie tape is just something that I can't get out of my head."

Oota Ongo went outside during breaks in the trial to share updates with his YouTube followers. Lloyd Mitchell for BI

Depending on the day, I alternated between the courtroom itself and a press room. When I checked out an overflow room one day, I spotted a prominent federal prosecutor who had put Bankman-Fried behind bars. He was paying close attention to Combs' lawyer, Teny Gregagaros, giving Combs' side of the story in an opening statement.

While Combs may have been an unpleasant, angry, jealous, and violent man  especially when drunk or high  he was not guilty of sex trafficking, Gregagos insisted. At most, he was responsible for domestic violence, she conceded.

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"He is not charged with being mean," Gregaros told the jurors. "He is not charged with being a jerk."

The first witness was a security guard at the Intercontinental Hotel, who testified about the infamous video where Combs assaulted Ventura (Combs just wanted to get his phone back from her, his defense lawyers said).

Next, before Ventura, was a male dancer who said he acted as an escort. He testified about being asked to carefully urinate during sex.

"Apparently, I was doing it wrong because they both stopped me and told me that I was supposed to let a little out at a time and not go full, like, take a leak on her," he said, in a quote that perhaps best encapsulated both the graphic nature of the trial testimony and how prosecutors say Combs intimately choreographed people around him to satisfy his own desires.

During Ventura's cross-examination, Combs' lawyers pulled up texts in which Ventura indicated she enjoyed the freak offs.

But Ventura, in her testimony earlier, said she just wanted to make Combs happy. She loved him. But she never wanted the freak offs, she said.

"It made me feel worthless," Ventura testified. "Like I didn't have anything else to offer him."

Read the original article on Business Insider
CHICAGO (WGN)  Crime-free housing laws are local ordinances that empower police and landlords to evict tenants who are accused of breaking the law, but an investigation shows some tenants are being evicted for virtually any alleged infraction, no matter how minor.

The ordinances in dozens of communities around Illinois are intended to help landlords get problem tenants out of their properties, particularly those committing violent felonies or convicted of drug possession, but an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and The New York Times revealed more than 1,000 cases in five years where tenants were evicted or faced eviction for misdemeanor crimes or crimes they didnt commit.

In one instance, a resident and her sons were evicted from their townhouse after a number of 911 calls were placed from the womans intellectually disabled son.

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Ultimately the city decided that that was a nuisance and used the ordinance to get her out of her home, Illinois Answers Project reporter Sidnee King said Friday on the WGN Evening News.

An Illinois Senate committee this week advanced a measure that would limit the circumstances under which Crime Free Housing ordinances can be used to evict tenants.

Watch the full interview with Sidnee King in the video attached to this article.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
By Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Department is considering placing more Chinese companies, including ChangXin Memory (CXMT), on its restricted export list, a person familiar with the matter said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is also looking at adding subsidiaries of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. to the "Entity List", the person said.

Bilateral meeting between the U.S. and China, in Geneva

Timing of move has been complicated by a recent trade deal between the U.S. and China, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.

Companies on the list cannot receive goods or technology exports without a license, which is generally denied. Companies are added for activities viewed as contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.

The Biden administration added more than two dozen Chinese entities to the list in January, including Zhipu AI, a developer of large language models, and Sophgo, a company whose TSMC-made chip was illegally incorporated into a Huawei artificial intelligence processor.

The Commerce Department at that time also strengthened controls on the flow of chips to China to better prevent diversion to Huawei.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Security forces in Nigeria apprehended 10 suspects accused of illegal mining in the state of Plateau, according to local reports. The suspects were found to be violating a government decree to suspend all mining operations in the area.

The head of the Plateau Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Ishaku Musa, told the Guardian: "In spite of the state government's suspension of mining activities, these suspects continued with the illegal act."

The arrests come as part of a government crackdown on unlicensed mines operating throughout the West African nation.

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Nigeria has vast mineral deposits, but much of that wealth is siphoned away from the public by illicit mining activities. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, told the Premium Times that his government will employ technology to monitor and disrupt illegal mining.

"We are procuring satellite equipment, satellite gadgets that will be installed in strategic places all over the country that would enable us to have a visual effect, real-time of the operations that are ongoing in sites all over the country," he said.

As the Associated Press reported last year, Nigeria's illegal miners are often minors. Children as young as five sift through bags of lithium-rich rock for a pittance. A group of children will receive just 4,000 naira ($2.42) for a full day's work.

There is never a shortage of buyers for the minerals extracted, especially lithium, which is a critical component in batteries. Nigeria's sky-high poverty rate, as documented here by the World Bank, means that mining is one of the few economic opportunities available to the country's poorest citizens, which makes enforcement especially difficult.

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There's also the environmental cost to consider, as even legitimate mining operations exact a hefty ecological toll. Mining is water-intensive, destroys habitats, and emits pollutants that harm the local ecosystem and its residents. While regulations help curb the damage done by mining, according to Earth.org, unlicensed operations obviously don't adhere to any such rules.

While the arrests may signal a turning point in Nigeria's struggle against illegal mining, there's still a great deal of work ahead.

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Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a defence pact with the EU on Monday that many hope will land the UK arms industry a slice of Europes spending boom.

However, amid the usual bureaucracy and infighting in Brussels, there are growing doubts over whether this military bonanza will ever materialise.

Experts warn that European governments desires to boost their own domestic industries, placate voters and staunch their bleeding budgets could slow or even thwart efforts to strengthen the blocs defence.

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This means that even if Sir Keir secures a ticket to ride the European defence gravy train, it may never leave the station.

There are big question marks over whether Europe has the means and commitment to undertake the extra spending and sustained co-operation that this [defence expansion] would require, said Vicky Redwood, Capital Economicss senior adviser, in a recent report.

Up until now, the signs have appeared promising.

European leaders have long stressed a need to bolster their defences to guard against the threat from an expansionist Russia, with military commitments growing ever more pronounced since Donald Trump took office in America.

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There have been several positive developments this month alone.

Last week, Friedrich Merz, the new chancellor of Germany, said his successful unpicking of his countrys fiscal lock would allow him to build the strongest conventional army in Europe, which will mean spending billions of euros more per year.

In Turkey, that same day, Nato foreign ministers hatched a deal on reaching Trumps new stretch target of spending a 5pc of GDP on defence.

Elsewhere, bureaucrats in Brussels have also been negotiating how to include non-EU countries like Britain in a new 150bn (127bn) fund for defence projects.

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The UKs Security and Defence Partnership with the EU, which the two sides hope to agree on Monday, would allow British businesses to participate in projects bankrolled by the scheme, although their involvement would likely be tightly capped.

Theres an opportunity here for UK industry to play on a much bigger pitch, says Labours Liam Byrne, who chairs the business and trade committee.

However, even if the European gate is prised open for UK weapons manufacturers, there may be less behind it than the Starmer Government hopes.

Without question, signature of the pact at the summit is desirable, but in the near future it will not create the single European defence market, including the UK, that some member-states would like to see, the Centre for European Reform, a think tank, has said ahead of the summit.

Conflict of interest

The fundamental challenge is that European countries, particularly France, are reluctant to relinquish any of their own defence output or jobs for the greater collective good.

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For Europe to be efficient and effective, governments would have to spend defence money on other peoples defence industries, says Anand Menon, director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe.

Will the Poles, for instance, with all their new defence money, be willing to plough that into French industry?

Redwood is sceptical of the Europeans commitment to collectivity, as she questions whether Europe has the political will for a shake-up of defence policy beyond some extra German-led spending over the next two or three years.

After all, self-sufficiency in defence would require a lot of money and, arguably more importantly, a lot of willpower and collective effort, she says.

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Even if they could work together, the EUs 27 countries dont agree on their greater collective strategic interest. Hungary and Slovakia are at best ambivalent on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and their recalcitrance could fetter the EUs ability to power a defence industrial revolution.

Were talking about a conflict in which two, possibly three, member states seem to be on the wrong side. Thats problematic, Manon says.

Because those member states arent onside, then you cant use the EU [to defend against military threats]. And the EU isnt very good at deploying military force anyway. If you cant use the EU, what do you use?

In the past, youd have said Nato, obviously. But the question now is, can you trust the United States enough to use Nato?

Fighting bureaucratic inertia

Even if the Europeans agreed on the ends, theres still the question of whether they have the means.

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The Bruegel Institute estimates that the Europeans will need to stump up as much as 250bn a year in extra spending if they are to field the manpower, material and manufacturing capability required to fend off the likes of Russia.

But government budgets are already stretched as the pandemic and the Ukraine-sparked energy crisis left deficit and debt levels unsustainably high.

Every extra euro spent on defence will have to come from a frontline service like health or education, raising awkward questions politically.

Even some governments that oppose Vladimir Putins invasion, like those of Spain and Italy, might struggle to sell that trade-off to their electorates, Redwood says.

Defence spending is not a top priority for voters

And if Trump does manage to pull off a Ukraine peace deal that puts Putin back in his box, the impetus for a big military revolution could fade.

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But Byrne reckons the Europeans will pull together, with Britain tagging along for the ride. I think the political will is actually going to trump the bureaucratic inertia that is still there, he says.

There are obviously countries like France which have raised concerns and objections. But overwhelmingly, the political consensus, especially in Scandinavia and the Baltics, as well as along Natos eastern flank, is really clear.

And they see the UK as an absolutely core supplier of what Nato needs to win wars in the future.

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NEOSHO, Mo.  Honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Dozens gathered at Crowder College for the Service of Remembrance in honor of fallen officers.

Speakers ranged from State Senator Jill Carter to the Neosho police chief and Newton County sheriff. This is just one of many, many similar events that are part of National Police Week.

Its very important that we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to the citizens of our community, to the citizens of our country. Law enforcement officers go out every day  putting their lives on the line for our citizens. And its important that we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, said Newton Co. Sheriff Matt Stewart.

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Sheriff Matt Stewart added that its also important to recognize the challenges every officer faces every day on the job.

So you know, law enforcement officers, in my opinion, are the best in the world. They go out every day, not knowing what is going to bring them and what may end at the end of their shift, said Stewart.

Police officers and deputies took part in the event, along with others involved in keeping the peace and those who are simply there to show their support.

Its important for the fallen officers families and then their relatives to see the support that their loved ones had. Like I said, its also equally as important for the officers who are alive and doing the job to see the backing they still have, said NPD Chief Jason Baird.

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The service recognized officers who have lost their lives in southwest Missouri, as well as those in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.
(COLORADO SPRINGS)  The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) reported that on Saturday, May 17, officers responded to an in-progress burglary in Old Colorado City. Later reports indicated that a naked man was trying to break into homes in the area.

According to CSPD, around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, officers responded to a home in the 1400 block of West Pikes Peak Avenue, near 14th Street in Old Colorado City, where an unknown suspect was reported to have illegally entered the home and was causing damage.

CSPD reported that when officers arrived and were clearing the home, multiple calls came in reporting a naked man trying to break into homes a couple of blocks over on the 1300 block of West Colorado Avenue. Officers responded to the second location and found the suspect, who had broken into a closed business. The suspect was identified as Chad Orr.

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Orr was taken into custody and chared with burglary, criminal mischief and resisting 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 FOX21 News Colorado.
After years of trying, Connecticut appears poised to join its neighbors in instituting a ban on a cruel practice that has contributed to decreasing numbers of sharks throughout the world.

Shark finning is the practice of fishing sharks, cutting off their fins and tail and dumping them still alive back into the ocean where they inevitably die of drowning or blood loss. The fins are among the most profitable of all seafood, selling for hundreds of dollars per pound or over a $1,000 per fin, according to published reports.

The fins are particularly valued in parts of Asia, where they are served almost exclusively in shark fin soup. The dish, first served by emperors, was thought to have medicinal benefits and was considered a symbol of prosperity and hospitality.

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Shark fin soup continues to be served in restaurants and at weddings, banquets and celebrations despite widening bans, thus demand continues. While shark fins, though themselves virtually tasteless, are prized, the rest of the shark is not and so fishermen trying to conserve space on their boats cast the mutilated animals overboard after slicing off their fins.

Today shark finning has been banned in most countries and the Chinese government has worked to discourage the practice but shark finning continues, with dried, processed and fresh fins sold throughout the world. A watchdog site listed a now-closed New Haven restaurant as offering the dish as well as numerous others in the U.S.

According to Oceana in 2023, Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global shark fin market every year.

Connecticut is home to five species of sharks: the spiny dogfish, the smooth dogfish, the dusky shark, the brown shark, also known as the sandbar shark, and the sand tiger shark. Some of the species are protected from fishing.

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Those species have been increasing as water quality has improved and the ecosystem recovers enough to support their need for abundant food, experts from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have said.

While shark finning has had a devastating impact on shark populations, bans and conservation efforts have helped species to rebound. In 2000, the U.S. passed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, which was updated in 2010 to require all sharks except one species to be landed with their fins attached. While those laws sought to end shark finning in U.S. waters, the sale and trade of shark fins in the country was still legal until 2023, when the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act took effect.

Several states have passed their own regulations, including New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Efforts in Connecticut were stalled over exceptions, now included in the 2025 House Bill 5012, which passed the House unanimously on Tuesday.

This years bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, an environment committee member and former chair and now deputy speaker.

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Its important for Connecticut to continue to be a leader as far as protection of our wildlife, he said by phone Friday. We have been witnessing at least in our lifetime the repopulation of some species that had long been gone from our state, that includes in the waters of Long Island Sound. So we want to keep that momentum going.

Codifying a ban in Connecticut statutes will close any loopholes and discourage those looking to skirt the law  so maybe theyll reconsider this practice which is really the worst of the worst as far as treatment of animals, Gresko said.

The bill says no person shall possess, sell, offer for sale, trade or distribute a shark fin. It makes exceptions for any person who holds a license or permit to take or land sharks when separating a fin or tail from a lawfully landed shark during the ordinary course of preparing the body of the shark for consumption, sale, trade or distribution, provided such fin or tail that is separated

from the shark shall be immediately destroyed unless it is used by such person for the purpose of personal consumption or taxidermy. It also makes exceptions for scientific research or educational purposes.

Violating the proposed new law would be classified an infraction with an accompanying fine.

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The exceptions that entangled previous years versions of the bill are included in HB 5012: It does not protect any species in the order Batoidea or any smooth hound. That means rays and smooth dogfish sharks are exempt from the ban.

The exemptions mirror federal regulations, Gresko said. Rays and smooth dogfish have more abundant populations. Dogfish, a smaller fish, are fished commercially for their meat and are less likely to be discarded after finning. They also reproduce more quickly than the larger shark species, he said.

In written testimony, while supporting the bill, advocates including Rep. Mary Mushinsky, Annie Hornish, Connecticut state senior director of The Humane Society, Susan Eastwood, chapter chair of the Sierra Club and Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, all called for the exemptions for rays and smooth dogfish to be removed.

The bill has moved to the Senate calendar and is awaiting a vote.
A Mansfield man has been arrested on racketeering, fraud and other related charges after an investigation allegedly revealed that he was the head of a crime ring that defrauded multiple Connecticut banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through a check kiting scheme, state police said.

Eric J. Christian, 41, was charged Wednesday with corrupt organizations and racketeering act, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, fraudulent use of an ATM, illegal possession of a personal identification information device, issuing a bad check between $500-$1,000, conspiracy to commit third-degree identity theft and third-degree forgery, according to Connecticut State Police. He was charged at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institute in Suffield where he was being held on other charges.

State police said Christian is alleged to have recruited a number of individuals to participate in the scheme, which spanned between from at least 2020 until August 2024. Investigators said they were able to document more than $350,000 in losses to the banks that were defrauded, but the actual amount is believed to be even more.

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Six co-conspirators have already been arrested, and state police said they expect to make additional arrests. The others who have been charged were not immediately identified.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, in March 2023, the Connecticut State Police Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force and the New Haven Police Department began investigating complaints from multiple banks alleging that Christian was involved in a fraudulent scheme with a number of accomplices.

The scheme would allegedly be initiated by a check being drawn on an account with nonsufficient funds and deposited into another account either at an ATM or through a teller, investigators wrote in the warrant affidavit. Once the check was deposited, a portion of the funds would then become available. According to authorities, the available funds would then be withdrawn from the depositing account.

Eventually, the checks are returned due to (nonsufficient funds), causing the depositing institution to incur a loss, state police wrote.

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During the lengthy investigation, authorities reviewed video surveillance, cell phone data, bank records and took a number of statements from alleged accomplices. Investigators alleged that Christian was involved in the scheme since at least 2020, and is alleged to have accessed hundreds of bank accounts in the names of dozens of other individuals up until he was arrested by the Stamford Police Department last August, the warrant affidavit said.

According to the warrant affidavit, one bank reported that at least 259 checks were written that led to more than $189,000 being withdrawn from accounts belonging to at least five individuals. The bank was able to provide video surveillance allegedly showing Christian accessing the accounts despite his name not being connected to any of them, the warrant affidavit said.

In May 2023, authorities began conducting surveillance on Christian and allegedly spotted him making withdrawals at banks in Shelton and Milford, the warrant affidavit said. Investigators obtained search warrants for the account and discovered that he was not the account holder, according to the warrant affidavit. They also found that the account had a history of transactions consistent with the check fraud scheme.

Over the course of about a month between April and May 2023, multiple checks allegedly were deposited into the account, followed by withdrawals, before the checks were returned for nonsufficient funds, according to the warrant affidavit. The transactions over the course of the month on that one account led to a loss of $2,274 to the bank, state police wrote.

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Investigators also obtained search warrants in May 2023 for Christians residence and vehicle. Authorities allegedly found hundreds of documents with personal information of other people and 59 debit cards in someone elses name, the warrant affidavit said. Authorities said they also allegedly found evidence indicating Christian had access to at least 198 accounts from 15 different banks belonging to at least 53 individuals, according to the warrant affidavit. Because of the pure volume involved in the suspected fraud, state police said they then obtained search warrants for records linked to six of the 15 banks, choosing the banks that appeared to be most frequently targeted, the warrant affidavit said.

Authorities said their surveillance on Christian allegedly revealed he would frequently pick up individuals in New Haven and bring them to banks in the surrounding area, directing them to open up an account, according to the warrant affidavit. During one surveillance operation in February 2024, authorities conducted a stop on a Nissan Maxima Christian was in while it was parked outside a bank. Investigators allegedly saw a number of debit cards in the vehicle and identified an individual inside and one who came out of the bank shortly thereafter. Authorities searched the car and allegedly seized nine debit cards with different names on them, state police wrote in the warrant affidavit.

On Aug. 23, 2024, Christian was arrested by Stamford police with the assistance of state troopers as he arrived at Bradley International Airport after flying in from Denver, the warrant affidavit said. Authorities found that he used a boarding pass in the name of someone who allegedly participated in the check fraud scheme.

Investigators later learned through a confidential informant that Christian allegedly had someone pick up his checked bag, the warrant affidavit said. The person left the bag in Christians Maxima, which was then seized and searched by state police after they obtained a search warrant. Inside, authorities allegedly found more debit cards with numerous names on them, copies of multiple drivers licenses, bank documents and more than a dozen cell phones, state police wrote. The evidence led to investigators identifying at least 24 more people allegedly involved in the scheme, the warrant affidavit said.

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State police investigators spoke to a number of individuals who confessed to opening bank accounts at the alleged direction of Christian, the warrant affidavit said. One man alleged that he would drive him around to open accounts at various banks and direct him to deposit checks and make withdrawals. In one instance, the man alleged that he was able to withdraw $3,000, which he said he gave to Christian, according to the warrant affidavit. The man said he later learned that one of his accounts had been over drafted by about $20,000, state police wrote.

Another woman alleged that Christian offered her $50 for each bank account she would open, the warrant affidavit said. She claimed that she would then give him the account information as well as the debit card and the pin number. The woman alleged that he would then accumulate charges on the cards, in one instance allegedly racking up $10,000 in charges, the warrant affidavit said.

The woman alleged that he would also ask if she knew anyone else who would be interested in getting involved, and that he often sought people with financial troubles, including those behind on rent or on disability, according to the warrant affidavit.

Three people who admitted to working with Christian in the alleged scheme were arrested in February 2024 at a bank in Orange where Christian called 911 and reported that multiple people were pulling on the door handles of his car, including one who had a gun, the warrant affidavit said. All three suspects allegedly admitted to working with him for about a month until one of them pulled a gun on Christian upon noticing that his account was over drafted, according to the warrant affidavit. The man allegedly demanded money and went into the bank with Christian, where the two allegedly argued before Christian headed to the restroom where he called 911, state police wrote.

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During the investigation, authorities also obtained a search warrant for Christians cell phone, which allegedly turned up conversations with individuals discussing the fraud, the warrant affidavit said. They also found an angry voicemail from a woman who was notified about suspicious activity on her account. During the voicemail, she allegedly told him she was not going down by myself, the warrant affidavit said.

State police said they also found that Christian was allegedly involved in a similar scheme involving online gambling platforms. An investigation launched in 2022, which was closed in early 2023 because of insufficient evidence, involved a group of individuals who allegedly carried out a chargeback scheme that led to one company losing more than $217,000, according to the warrant affidavit. In that case, investigators alleged that Christian was in control of at least 26 accounts in other peoples names, state police wrote.

The lengthy investigation led to investigators obtaining a warrant for Christians arrest which was signed by a judge on Wednesday.

According to court records, Christian has three other cases pending including the charges filed against him when he was arrested at the airport. In that case, Stamford police charged him with seven counts of third-degree identity theft and six counts of illegally taking payment from a credit or debit card.

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Christian was also charged in February by state police for the incident at the airport last summer. He faces one count of giving a false statement to airport personnel. Christian also has a case pending on one count of violating a restraining order, court records show.

Christian is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior Court next Thursday. According to the Department of Correction, he is being held on bonds totaling $700,000.
A Connecticut man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for distributing fentanyl and cocaine, federal officials said.

Brandon Spence, 37, of East Hartford, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Kari Dooley in Bridgeport to nearly five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing the drugs, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Feb. 5, 2019, Spence had been sentenced in federal court in Hartford to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon. He was released from federal prison in February 2020.

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Then, in December, 2020, Hartford police surveillance cameras captured Spence and another individual engaged in a dispute. Spence pulled out a firearm, shot the individual in the leg, and then stole the victims vehicle, federal authorities said. In May, 2021, Spence was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for violating the conditions of his federal supervised release, officials said.

Then, in March and April 2024, the FBIs Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made controlled purchases of fentanyl and crack cocaine from Spence, officials said. Spence was arrested and, on the day of his arrest, a court-authorized search of his residence and vehicles revealed distribution quantities of fentanyl, crack cocaine, and marijuana, according to federal authorities.

On Jan. 28, Spence pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine and fentanyl. He has been held in custody since his arrest.

Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo vowed to roll back a controversial pension policy he himself put in place as governor at a Saturday mayoral forum.

The former governor dealt a blow to public employee unions in 2012 when he enacted Tier 6, an unpopular policy that raised the retirement age to 63 and cut benefits for new hires. But at a forum hosted by powerful union United Federation of Teachers, he said hed push to revert the retirement age back to 55, saying that times have changed.

Thats ancient history, Cuomo said of his policy.

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Cuomo faced immediate pushback from his competitors, who accused him of running from his own record as governor, and even audience members.

No its not, a union member in the crowd yelled in response to his history comment.

Former Comptroller Scott Stringer bashed the frontrunners comments, calling him Pro-tier 6 Andrew Cuomo.

Keep in mind one guy did this to us, Stringer said. And for him to come here today and say this was ancient history is one of the dumbest things he said of our campaign.

Zohran Mamdani, a current state assemblymember and himself a Tier 6 member, stepped onto the stage as Cuomo walked off.

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It was exciting to see the man who created it in person, Mamdani quipped.

Cuomo enacted the changes after pension costs skyrocketed in the 2010s. Pension decisions go through Albany.

The state has the funding, the pension fund threat is over, the former governor told union President Michael Mulgrew, who has called the 2012 pension change a sneak attack on teachers.

Roll back Tier 6 so you can compete and get the best teachers and keep them.

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi on Saturday said the governors pension decision was made to help local governments rebound from the recession and in turn slammed other candidates track records.

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The politicians in this race attack Gov. Cuomos record because they have no real records of their own  even though theyve been legislators, citywide elected officials or in some cases in office since before Friends hit the air, Azzopardi said.

All participants at the forum, including Brad Lander, Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, vowed to chip away at the current pension policy. The candidates appeared on the stage at a Midtown Hilton one by one.

The UFT has yet to endorse any candidates ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary.

Cuomos history with public sector unions has cost him the endorsement of DC37, the citys largest municipal employee union, which opted to throw its weight behind Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in part because of Cuomos pension decision, President Henry Garrido said last month.
NEW YORK  New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo vowed to roll back a controversial pension policy he himself put in place as governor at a Saturday mayoral forum.

The former governor dealt a blow to public employee unions in 2012 when he enacted Tier 6, an unpopular policy that raised the retirement age to 63 and cut benefits for new hires. But at a forum hosted by powerful union United Federation of Teachers, he said hed push to revert the retirement age back to 55, saying that times have changed.

Thats ancient history, Cuomo said of his policy.

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Cuomo faced immediate pushback from his competitors, who accused him of running from his own record as governor, and even audience members.

No its not, a union member in the crowd yelled in response to his history comment.

Former Comptroller Scott Stringer bashed the front-runners comments, calling him Pro-tier 6 Andrew Cuomo.

Keep in mind one guy did this to us, Stringer said. And for him to come here today and say this was ancient history is one of the dumbest things he said of our campaign.

Zohran Mamdani, a current state assemblymember and himself a Tier 6 member, stepped onto the stage as Cuomo walked off.

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It was exciting to see the man who created it in person, Mamdani quipped.

Cuomo enacted the changes after pension costs skyrocketed in the 2010s. Pension decisions go through Albany.

The state has the funding, the pension fund threat is over, the former governor told union President Michael Mulgrew, who has called the 2012 pension change a sneak attack on teachers.

Roll back Tier 6 so you can compete and get the best teachers and keep them.

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi on Saturday said the governors pension decision was made to help local governments rebound from the recession and in turn slammed other candidates track records.

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The politicians in this race attack Gov. Cuomos record because they have no real records of their own  even though theyve been legislators, citywide elected officials or in some cases in office since before Friends hit the air, Azzopardi said.

All participants at the forum, including Brad Lander, Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, vowed to chip away at the current pension policy. The candidates appeared on the stage at a Midtown Hilton one by one.

The UFT has yet to endorse any candidates ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary.

Cuomos history with public sector unions has cost him the endorsement of DC37, the citys largest municipal employee union, which opted to throw its weight behind Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in part because of Cuomos pension decision, President Henry Garrido said last month.
By Amanda Stephenson and Arathy Somasekhar

CALGARY/HOUSTON (Reuters) -China has emerged as the top customer for Canadian oil shipped on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, ship tracking data showed, as a U.S. trade war has shifted crude flows in the year since the pipeline started operating.

China's new interest in Canadian oil comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has strained relations between longtime allies Washington and Ottawa. It also reflects the impact of U.S. sanctions on crude from countries like Russia and Venezuela.

Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, but its main oil-producing province of Alberta is landlocked with limited access to tidewater ports. That means the bulk of Canadian oil - about 4 million barrels per day or 90% - is exported to the U.S. via pipelines that run north-south.

The C$34 billion ($24.40 billion) Trans Mountain is Canada's only east-west oil pipeline, carrying oil to the Pacific Coast where it can be loaded onto tankers for export. The expansion, which began operations on May 1, 2024, tripled the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day and opened opportunities for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asian markets.

While oil is currently exempt from U.S. tariffs, Canada has sought to diversify its exports due to brief U.S. duties on its crude and Trump's threats to annex the country.

Canada shipped about 207,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average to China since the Trans Mountain expansion ramped up to full operations in June last year, ship tracking data on Kpler showed. That was a huge increase from an average of about 7,000 bpd in the decade to 2023.

The U.S. took about 173,000 bpd from the pipeline in the same period.

China's top spot as the TMX buyer defies some early expectations that the U.S. would be the biggest buyer of crude shipped via the pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government.

Many expected its barrels to land on the West Coast versus Asia, which has access to cheaper Russian oil.

However, Trump's protectionist policies have in recent months made Canada more attractive to Chinese buyers, said Philippe Rheault, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta.

China has also been reluctant to be over-reliant on Russian energy supplies, Rheault said.

"A lot of China's refineries are also mindful of U.S. sanctions, and so have been trying to diversify away from oil from Venezuela and other places," he added.

SHIFTING FLOWS

In the year since the pipeline's expansion, Canadian exports of crude to countries other than the U.S. rose nearly 60% to an annual record of about 183,000 bpd in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has stated that Moscow's approach to negotiations with Ukraine should face increased sanctions pressure.

Source: Radio Prague International, citing Fiala in a statement following a summit of the European Political Community, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Fiala made the statement in response to direct negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations that failed to achieve a ceasefire.

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Fiala told Czech reporters that if Russia continues its current approach, European pressure must intensify.

He noted that further sanctions should constitute a package clearly demonstrating that European countries will not tolerate Russia's actions or its approach  or lack thereof  to peace negotiations.

Background:

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POTTSVILLE  Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike OPake and challenger John Henry Urbanski made a pitch for Republican Party support in Tuesdays primary during a debate Friday night at American Hose fire station in Mount Carbon.

Standing, pacing as if addressing a jury, the candidates answered questions on their qualifications, approach to drug enforcement, commitment to the 2nd Amendment and opinion on regionalization of police departments.

Though strident at times, the candidates generally held similar positions on the issues. The debate was generally orderly under the firm hand of Republican Party chairman Gary Flowers, the moderator.

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The gloves came off, however, over the issue of which of the two was the true, red-white-and-blue Republican.

Urbanski, 33, a Pottsville lawyer and former police officer, repeatedly attacked OPake over his decision to leave the Democratic party and register as a Republican in January.

A life-long Republican, Urbanski accused OPake of pushing a Democratic agenda and switching parties so he would be elected to a third term.

OPake, 62, acknowledged hes been a moderate Democrat for most of his life, but said he left the Democratic Party because its values had changed, particularly over issues like defunding police and open borders.

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Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat, and so was President Trump, and you gave them a chance, OPake said. Im asking you to give me the same chance.

The debate was organized by Urbanski, who paid for the hall, according to Republican party officials. Howard Merrick, vice chairman, said the Republican leadership is not endorsing either candidate.

Big Stakes

In Tuesdays primary, theres a lot more at stake than whose name will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.

With more than a 2-to-1 edge in voter registration, its likely that whichever candidate Republicans choose will be elected District Attorney in November.

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No Democrats are seeking their partys nomination in the primary, though its possible a candidate could be selected on a write-in vote.

The same situation applies to the race for Schuylkill County Sheriff, where Shawn Butler and Frank J. DiMarco are competing for the Republican nomination.

Again, no one is listed on the Democratic partys ballot for sheriff, though there could be a write-in sheriff candidate.

Butler, chief deputy under Sheriff Joseph G. Groody, addressed the GOP leadership before the District Attorney debate.

Butler, 45, a Frackville resident, stressed his 10 years experience in the sheriffs office. Sheriffs do not have investigative powers in Pennsylvania, he said. Their main duties are providing security for the courts and transporting prisoners.

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DiMarco, who has 28 years experience as a police officer, also runs an auto repair shop near New Philadelphia. He did not attend the debate.

Marty Sowers, 47, a Porter Twp. resident, attended the debate but did not speak. Hes seeking the Republican party nomination for Magisterial District Judge in Tremont. Magistrate David J. Rossi is not seeking re-election.

In his first bid for office, Sowers is among five candidates on the Republican ballot. He also cross-filed on the Democratic ballot, where he faces opposition from former State Rep. Tim Seip, a Democrat, who also cross-filed.

Schuylkills 107 polling places open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Results are tabulated at the Schuylkill Transport System building in Saint Clair.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  D.C. police have released the name of the teenage boy who was fatally shot in the Trinidad neighborhood Friday night.

Just minutes after 6:30 p.m., officers responded to the 1200 block of Meigs Place, NE, after gunshots were reportedly heard in the area.

At the scene, officers found Naquan Johnson, 17, of Northeast, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, according to police.

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PHOTOS: Severe storms ravage the DMV

Officers noted that Johnson was unconscious and not breathing, and that despite life-saving efforts from first responders, he was pronounced dead.

Upon investigating further, detectives learned that Johnson was shot up the block, in the back of the 1200 block of Holbrook Terrace, NE.

As of Saturday morning, no arrests have been made in the deadly shooting. Police urge anyone with information to call (202)-727-9099 or text a tip to 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 Essex County District Attorneys office is investigating the death of a 14-year-old in Peabody.

Peabody police and the Essex County DA said in a statement that the tragic death happened early Saturday morning.

Peabody Police responded to a 911 call and upon arrival, EMA immediately began lifesaving measures, however, the teen was pronounced dead on scene.

The death is currently under investigation by Peabody Police, Massachusetts State Police, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

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No additional information will be released on Saturday.

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
Our higher education system has been in crisis for ages  excessive student debt, universities in financial Queer Street, excessive dependence on foreign students, rampant wokeism, degrees in silly subjects, trivial research projects  its a familiar story.

Somehow, it all trundles along, aided by vested interests and politicians who kick as many problems as possible into the long grass. But now technology is bringing a new threat to academic business-as-usual  in the form of AI.

Modern universities are not about imbuing the values of disinterested learning and scholarship. They are educational sausage machines, processing young people for the labour market. A degree is an essential ticket to most regular well-paid jobs. Higher education institutions must be able to certify that the sausages they process meet a certain minimum standard, but also to differentiate the best from the also-rans. They need an assessment system.

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For most of the twentieth century, assessment depended largely on unseen timed examinations. Invigilated by beady-eyed disciplinarians, these were a rite of passage which we all used to endure.

But things have changed. Progressive educationalists told us that traditional exams relied too heavily on memory, and tested only a limited range of skills. There should be much more emphasis on continuous assessment. Despite the hifalutin notions of those claiming to teach teachers how to teach, for many academics this merely meant setting What were the causes of the First World War? as a piece of coursework, rather than as an exam question. This to be done in the students own time and with access to myriad resources, including dodgy essay mills.

Over time the movement to coursework accelerated as new reasons were found to demonise exams. They were too stressful, with more and more students being found to have mental health problems which meant they had to be excused, or given extra time, or given an amanuensis. Then it was found that students from some ethnic backgrounds fared badly in exams. Rules were changed to allow multiple resits, or to disregard some modules in counting final results.

Then of course Covid made in-person exams impossible, and institutions switched to 100 per cent online assessment. Many institutions have never returned to the exam hall as student unions kicked up too much of a fuss.

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The result of downplaying traditional exams has been that degree awards convey less and less information to employers. Virtually everyone passes, and third class honours and even lower seconds are largely a thing of the past. Thirty years ago only 7 per cent of candidates got a first; today its around a third  in a much larger student population. These improved results, implausibly justified by academic apologists as the result of better teaching, may keep fee-paying students happy in the short run. But they are leading employers to distrust degree results and increasingly look for other information about candidates, including setting their own tests.

The advent of ChatGPT two years ago has made coursework essays and online exams completely pointless. In seconds AI can generate a pretty good answer to any question you care to ask or any written task you set. A little tarting-up by students, such as adding a few words here and there or even introducing deliberate typos or errors, will fool tutors or even AI-detecting software.

Of course progressive academics are in denial. We must accept AI and encourage students to use it, to build on it and focus on other more interesting tasks than researching and building coherent arguments. One suggestion is to get students to use AI to produce an essay outline and then to critique it. While that may well be an interesting one-off activity, it hardly seems the basis for the dozens of assessments we would expect students to undertake in a three- or four-year programme.

But the only way to maintain any standards at all would seem to be a return to last-centurys unseen examinations  or even better, perhaps, alongside oral exams which were the norm before the mid-19th century and which still play a more significant part in the assessment systems in some other countries.

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But this will have knock-on effects which our HE system will find it difficult to accommodate. There will need to be more emphasis on producing tangible skills rather than rewarding waffle-merchants of the Boris Johnson ilk. More students will fail or drop out, which will make recruitment more difficult and further threaten university finances. Many degree programmes will no longer be viable. Research will need to be more practical and more original. New types of shorter courses will make greater sense than many doctoral programmes in the humanities and the social sciences. There will be a premium on apprentice-style programmes with employers, focusing on real employer needs.

We will probably end up with a much-reduced university sector, with fewer young people wasting time on courses they dont necessarily enjoy and which dont greatly improve their earnings potential. Taxpayers money can be redeployed elsewhere. AI will have done us all a favour.

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May 16Ticks in Maine may carry an illness that leaves humans allergic to red meat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A study released last month found that a Maine woman became allergic to red meat nine days after being bitten by a deer tick, among the most common variety found in the state. Previously, alpha-gal syndrome, the condition responsible for the allergy, was most commonly associated with bites from lone star ticks, which are more common in the South.

The 45-year-old woman found a tick attached to her left bicep in May 2022 after walking a wooded path in York County. A CDC evaluation confirmed it to be a deer tick.

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The woman had not found an attached tick on her body in more than 10 years, according to the study.

In May 2022, she had a meal of roasted rabbit and one alcoholic beverage before experiencing a period of "abdominal pain and malaise" about two and a half hours later, according to the study. She continued to experience those symptoms after meals for about two weeks.

"All meals were shared with others who did not experience symptoms, and only mammalian meat products were associated with symptoms," the study's authors wrote. "Ten months after first symptoms, the patient tolerated a steak dinner and roast beef sandwich and resumed eating red meat."

Alpha-gal syndrome leaves the body hypersensitive to a specific carbohydrate found in the tissues of mammals and a handful of other creatures. It is not found in fish, birds, reptiles or other non-mammals, according to the American Chemical Society.

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There is no treatment for alpha-gal "other than avoiding red meat and other products made from mammals," according to the Mayo Clinic.

The authors of the April study suggest that further research into the disease outside the usual range of lone star ticks is necessary, as is increased awareness among Maine's health care providers and public health systems.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  More than a week after three former Memphis Police officers were found not guilty on state charges in the death of Tyre Nichols, the attorney of one of those officers is sitting down with WREG to discuss the jurys final decision.

Attorney John Keith Perry represented Tadarrius Bean during the nine-day trial. Bean, Justin Smith, and Demetrius Haley were acquitted of all charges stemming from the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

Jury finds three ex-officers not guilty in Tyre Nichols death trial

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Perry says there is a reason he waited to speak out.

It was a verdict that obviously was emotionally charged, Perry said. We thought it only fair to give time to the family to, you know, get their statements out or vent.

But after a week, he agreed to speak with WREG, saying the verdicts were no surprise because of what happened in the federal trial last fall.

We prevailed on three counts that are much easier for the federal government to have proved, he said. In that case, my client was found guilty of obstruction based on how you filled out his paperwork.

Bean was found guilty of only one lesser federal charge, so Perry felt good going into the state trial. He also felt good because of the focus groups they had done and slowing down that infamous beating video.

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Showing the different movements of the various officers, as well as the efforts of the officers involved. And we isolated the efforts of Mr. Bean each time he was found not guilty on all of the counts, Perry said.

Community to gather at civil rights museum in response to Tyre Nichols state trial verdict

He says they also put on a defense that prosecutors couldnt counter: police training experts.

These are experts. These are the experts, experts in this particular case. And also keep in mind this, while we had three true experts, the federal government was only able to tender a person who really was a defensive driving expert previously, Perry said.

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He said it made all the difference with the jury from Hamilton County. Perry says they chose that area because of fewer preconceived opinions on the case. They found rumors rampant here.

There was a rumor, I guess, in the barbershops and beauty shops that this involved, some female. And the fact that Mr. Nichols was expected to have dated somebody or what have you, and that was debunked early on, Perry said.

As for the jury being all white, Perry says Black people were in the jury pool, but they were struck for different reasons.

We had another lady who said that she could be fair and impartial, except it was an economic burden that she had to a single mother and just couldnt, couldnt do it. So there were efforts to, you know, nobody was like, were going to funnel the African-American jurors away from this, he said. We had a jury that had black people who said they couldnt be fair and impartial. If you say you cant be fair and impartial, I dont care what race, ethnicity, or national origin you might you might say that youre part of.

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Dead or unalive, Posters of former officers hung after not guilty verdict

WREG asked Perry about Tadarrius Beans reaction to the verdict.

Obviously, he was happy with the verdict, He said. So he feels like this, that he is married to that situation. But for the fact that he was doing his job the best that he could do, he would not have been in it.

Bean, Smith, and Haley will be sentenced in the federal trial next month. Perry hopes these not guilty verdicts will carry some weight.

Perry says the three officers are also named in the civil trial, so attorneys are preparing for that.

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DENVER (KDVR)  Police are on the scene of a serious crash, according to a post on X from the Denver Police Department.

The crash occurred between two vehicles.

Aaron Gordon questionable for winner-takes-all Game 7 against Thunder

Police are investigating the incident near 61st Avenue and Tower Road.

One party was sent to the hospital with serious injuries.

Delays are expected in the area.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
DENVER (KDVR)  Warmer temperatures roll back into the forecast for Denvers weather, but there is also some rain and thunderstorms on the way.

Winds on Saturday will gust up to 25 miles per hour from the south and southeast. Theyll turn to the northwest Sunday with gusts again upwards of 25 miles per hour.

Free days at Denver museums, zoo, parks and more in 2025

Weather today: Partly to mostly cloudy skies, isolated storm chances

Sky conditions on Saturday will be partly sunny. Temperatures will top out in the lower 70s. Theres a chance to see a few isolated showers in eastern Colorado in the afternoon, perhaps even a pop-up thunderstorm. Spotty rain showers are expected again in the mountains.

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Weather tonight: Partly cloudy skies

Saturday night features a 20% chance of showers and storms, mostly before 10 PM. Otherwise, expect some clouds with low temperatures in the mid-40s. Winds will be out of the southeast anywhere from 5-15 mph.

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Looking ahead: Storms possible Sunday; drier and warmer next week

Sunday will bring a chance for more spotty showers and thunderstorms in the metro area, but far northeast Colorado will see strong to potentially severe storms. The main storm threats will be gusty winds, heavy rain, and hail.

Spotty shower activity will continue into Monday, but severe weather is currently not expected. Temperatures will cool into the 60s Monday and Tuesday with breezy winds sticking around as well. The weather pattern turns sunnier, drier, and warmer beginning Wednesday. It will return to the mid-70s with 80s looking likely into next weekend.

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ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO)  Winnebago County Sheriffs Deputies arrested two protesters on Friday afternoon.

Around 1:15 p.m., officers were called to the 500 block of Coleman Center Drive for reports of trespassing on private property.

Deputies asked several people who were on the property to leave for over an hour.

Authorities ended up taking two protesters into custody when they refused to leave the property.

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Both protesters were charged with criminal trespassing on private property. None of the protesters present at the incident were named by the Winnebago County Sheriffs Department.

They were both granted pretrial release.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.
Vanguard is just one or two years away from taking BlackRocks title as the king of exchange-traded funds, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

In a note published Thursday, Balchunas said that while Vanguard holds the second-highest spot in ETFs with $3.2 trillion in assets, it only trails the worlds largest asset manager by $146 billion.

Vanguard Set to Take the Lead in ETFs

Vanguard is currently leading with $131 billion in new flows for the year compared to BlackRocks $61 billion, setting it on pace to overcome BlackRock in about a year, Balchunas wrote.

Thats a significantly faster takeover than what industry experts predicted even just a few weeks ago. In April, Allan Roth, an etf.com contributor and founder of financial planning and investment advisory firm Wealth Logic, estimated that it would take Vanguard at least a decade to overtake BlackRock.

At Vanguard, its not the size of our haystack but what our 50 million investors are getting from the haystack, Rodney Comegys, global head of Vanguard's Equity Index Group, shared with etf.com in an emailed statement. We appreciate this sentiment, but our priority is helping our clients achieve their investment goals rather than on which firm manages the most ETF assets.

BlackRock pointed etf.com to its emailed statement from a BlackRock spokesperson in the aforementioned story: The quality, breadth and innovation of our ETF platformfrom core allocation tools to active ETFs to digital assets ETFsputs us in a unique position to best meet changing client demand through various market cycles.

Room to Run in Active

While Vanguard may lead the way in nearly every fund category and be well on its way to closing the gap between itself and BlackRock in the ETF space, it still has a ways to go when it comes to active funds. The fund provider is currently No. 3 with just 8% of assets, putting it far behind Capital Group and Fidelity, Balchunas wrote. He added that the firm will likely have to launch active equity ETFs in addition to its recent actively managed bond strategies, and back these launches with marketing efforts, to catch up to its competitors.

That it's behind in active assets is not surprising, given the vision Vanguard was founded on. Founder John Bogle was a proponent of low-cost passive investing and expressed criticism of active investing.

Still, Bogles dreams for the industry havent exactly come to fruition.

Founder John Bogle told employees in 1991 that Vanguard's mission wouldn't be complete until its share began to erode, since that would indicate that the rest of the industry had gotten cheap enough to re-establish the trust needed to attract investors, Balchunas wrote. That won't happen soon.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Update: Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriffs Office confirmed that Brian Baker has been located and is safe.

Original article: Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriffs Office are seeking the publics help in locating a missing Sweden man who was last seen Saturday at around 1 a.m.

Deputies say Brian Baker, 31, is 58 and weighs about 140 pounds. He has hazel eyes and a goatee.

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Deputies do not believe Baker is in any danger. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

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The Legislature on Friday formally sent about 60 bills to Gov. Ron DeSantis, including a measure that would back away from a requirement about starting high-school classes later in the morning.

The measure (SB 296) would largely undo a 2023 law that said high schools could not start earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help teens get more sleep.

The law was slated to take effect in 2026, but many school districts said they were struggling to comply with the deadline because of issues such as a need to buy more buses and hire hard-to-find bus drivers.

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Under the law, middle schools could not start earlier than 8 a.m., but the issue primarily centered on high-school students.

This years bill, which passed the Legislature unanimously, would allow districts to avoid the requirements if they submit reports to the Florida Department of Education that include information about issues such as school start times and strategies considered to have later start times for middle and high schools.

Among the other bills going to DeSantis on Friday was a measure (HB 593) that would impose rules related to dogs considered dangerous. Under the bill, owners would be required to have liability insurance and put microchips in the animals.

The bill also would set a definition of dangerous dogs, based on issues such as whether they have attacked people, and would make it a third-degree felony to remove the microchips.

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The bill stems from the 2022 death of Pamela Rock, a 61-year-old mail carrier who was mauled by five dogs that got out of a fenced-in yard after her truck broke down on a dirt road in Putnam County.

Lawmakers unanimously passed the bill last month.

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CHEROKEE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)  An officer at the Cherokee County Detention Center has been fired an arrested for her role in a plot to bring drugs and vapes into the jail, according to Sheriff Steve Mueller.

Mueller and the Cherokee County Sheriffs Office announced on Saturday the arrest of now-former detention officer Toni Marie Hutchins on charges of trafficking methamphetamine and furnishing contraband in a prison.

The sheriffs office also charged three inmates  Christopher Blake Sellars, Bradley Dean Whitesides Jr., and Leonard Hebert Finch on charges related to trafficking in drugs or possession of contraband.

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According to the sheriffs office, on Friday, investigators determined Finch and Sellars had convinced Hutchins to help them smuggle contraband into the jail. The group had an unknown person outside of the jail meet Hutchins in a parking lot to give her drugs and vapes hidden in colored highlighters, which she would pass on to the inmates.

The sheriffs office said a shakedown of inmates revealed a vape device hidden in Finchs jumpsuit, and Sellars and Whiteside reportedly tried to hide meth from investigators.

It is certain we will not tolerate anyone who breaks the law including our own, said Mueller in a press release. Our staff is reminded on a regular basis that we will follow the laws and our actions as corrections officers must be above the law.

This incident should remind and show the public that we have no problem in arresting anyone who thinks they are above the law. We will always do what is right to protect our officers integrity, for those who make the right choices every day and our agencies integrity. We will work with the prosecutors to make sure this disgraced corrections officer is never eligible to work in corrections against once convicted of her crimes.

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Hutchins was hired by the sheriffs office in January 2025. She came to the jail after more than a year of working in corrections in North Carolina, according to the sheriffs office. She was on duty at the time of her arrest and immediately booked into the detention center.

The sheriffs office is still attempting to locate the unknown person who was providing the contraband items to Hutchins.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
A developer hoping to build a luxury high-rise in Miami Beach is offering city officials a controversial selling point: The closure of Bikini Hostel, a youth hostel that has recently become one of the only places on the island housing the homeless.

As reported by WPLG Local 10 News, at a recent Miami Beach city commission meeting, attorney for the development Melissa Tapanes said the proposed development will result in the permanent elimination of the Bikini Hostel, calling the site a plague on this community for a number of years.

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But advocates for the homeless say the hostel has filled a critical gap, especially after a drop in available beds at a nearby shelter. They argue that, rather than a nuisance, the hostel has become a source of stability and dignity for dozens of Miami-Dade County residents with nowhere else to go.

A place for healing and community

The Bikini Hostel originally billed itself as a youth hostel with a colorful atmosphere, complimentary breakfast and a bed for every budget. But since late October 2023, it has transformed into an emergency housing site for about 90 to 100 individuals experiencing homelessness. Most residents are referred by the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, the lead agency responsible for the operations and oversight of the county's Continuum of Care program.

That shift happened, reports Local 10 News, as the Homeless Trust scrambled to find space after Camillus House in Miami reduced its bed capacity and the states new law banning unauthorized camping and public sleeping took effect on October 1, 2024.

Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book defended the arrangement and pushed back against criticism of the hostel.

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The city of Miami Beach doesnt think it has a homeless problem and doesnt have any responsibility to be part of the effort to house or shelter people on the island itself, Book told Local 10 News.

They think that burden falls on the other 34 municipalities in Miami-Dade County.

He added, Some people dont have a good image of unhoused individuals. I cant help that.

The hostels owners initially resisted acquisition offers from the developer, reported Local 10 News. But with zoning changes allowing increased density, the developer can now afford to meet their price. A deal is now in the works, but the controversy is ongoing.

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Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now

How would closing the hostel impact the community?

The developer argues that replacing the hostel with a high-rise luxury building will improve quality of life and remove what some neighbors have long seen as a neighborhood blight.

At the recent city commission meeting, Jessica Davis, vice-president of the Bay View Terrace Condominium Association, called the hostel a scourge and a blight on the neighborhood for 15 years now, long before its current iteration as a makeshift homeless shelter.

There are potential economic benefits. High-end housing typically boosts property values and tax revenue, and developers are often required to provide public benefits in exchange for zoning changes, such as park space, infrastructure improvements or relocation plans like the one proposed for Bikini Hostel residents.

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But, critics worry that closing the hostel without a viable replacement would displace already vulnerable residents and reduce emergency housing options at a time when few exist.

This place has offered me something, Bikini Hostel resident Angela Lovingood told the Miami Herald.

After years of trying to find a shelter bed following the loss of her daughter in a fire, she finally found space at the hostel.

Dont kick us while were down, she said. Help us get up, help us be a contribution to our society again.

Another resident, Michael Black, told the Herald that staying at the hostel makes you feel like a human being. You feel like youre a part of the community.

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Courtney Caprio, an attorney for Bikini Hostel, said in a statement to Local 10 News that the owners are committed to ensuring no one is forcibly displaced. They plan to use part of the proceeds from the sale to purchase a new facility that will continue to provide housing.

Residents will have the opportunity to weigh in as the proposal returns to the Miami Beach city commission in late May. For those on either side of the issue, the debate raises larger questions: What role should the community play in addressing homelessness? And how do you balance economic development with social responsibility?

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
President Donald Trumps administration agreed on Friday to permit the sale of a device that allows for semi-automatic rifles to be fired quicker, a decision that gun control activists say paves the way for more mass shootings.

The Department of Justice announced the agreement as part of a settlement between the federal government and gun manufacturer Rare Breed Triggers, in litigation brought by the Biden administration.

This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the statement. And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.

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Forced-reset triggers (FRT) allow a semi-automatic rifle to be fired at an increased rate by automatically resetting the trigger after each shot. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) classified them as illegal machine guns in 2022 under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. Machine guns have been heavily regulated by Congress since the NFA was passed, and the manufacture for civilian use was banned completely under the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, a bill endorsed by the National Rifle Association.

The Justice Department brought a lawsuit in New York in 2023 against Rare Breed Triggers, which made and distributed such devices, leading to a court ruling blocking it from selling them. While the case was pending, the National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) filed a separate lawsuit in Texas challenging the ban and a judge there ruled the ban was unlawful.

The latest settlement resolves those disputes and falls in line with Trumps February executive order on protecting the Second Amendments right to bear arms, the Justice Department said in its statement.

This decision marks a new era of holding the DOJ and ATF accountable when they trample the rights of law-abiding gun owners, NAGR President Dudley Brown said in a release. We made them give back what they took, and thats a precedent theyll never forget.

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The DOJ also said the settlement includes agreed-upon conditions concerning public safety with respect to FRTs, including that Rare Breed will not develop or design FRTs for use in any pistol and will enforce its patents. Rare Breed also agreed to promote the safe and responsible use of its products, the DOJ said.

CNN has reached out to Rare Breed Triggers for comment on the settlement.

This undated photo provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, shows the FRT-15 made by Rare Breed Triggers. - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives via AP

Democratic lawmakers and gun control groups have widely condemned the decision.

Vanessa Gonzalez, a Vice President with GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, said in a statement the Trump administration effectively legalized machine guns.

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This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage, Gonzalez said. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them, everyone else will suffer the consequences.

The national gun control advocacy group, Brady United, said the settlement means highly dangerous weapons of war can now be purchased anonymously and without a background check.

The Trumps Administrations secret settlement with the gun lobby to permit the sale of Forced Reset Triggers will turn already deadly firearms into weapons of mass destruction, President of Brady, Kris Brown, said in the statement. (It) is not only an astonishing abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible government gun safety policy and puts whole communities at immediate serious risk.

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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) logo appears on the screen of a smartphone, with the flag of the United States in the background, in Reno, Nevada, on Dec. 3, 2024. Credit - Jaque SilvaGetty Images

A producer behind reality shows like The Millionaire Matchmaker, Duck Dynasty, and Alpha Dogs has pitched a new reality show idea to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)one in which immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship.

I'm putting a face to immigration. This is a great celebration of America, Rob Worsoff told CNN in an interview that aired on Friday, May 16, noting that he himself is an immigrant from Canada.

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Worsoff said that he also pitched this reality show during both previous Democratic Administrations.

In an emailed statement to TIME on Saturday, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary who oversees the DHS' public outreach, said: DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operations to white collar investigations by HSI, adding that each of these proposals goes through a vetting process.

We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and were happy to review out-of-the-box pitches. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff, she said.

McLaughlin also denied, as she had previously via social media, that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was backing the show in any way, and said that Noem is not even aware of the pitch.

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Meanwhile, Worsoff claimed during his interview that the DHS appears to be seriously considering the showwhich he said would include a series of elimination challenges across America. Examples he gave of such challenges included a pizza-making challenge in New York, a rocket-launching challenge in Florida, and a gold rush challenge in California. Per his vision, each episode would culminate in a town hall-esque style vote, one he said is akin to a presidential election.

The people of Tennessee, lets say, will get to vote on which one of our future Americans they would most like to represent the state of Tennessee, Worsoff offered as an example. Then, a winner would be granted citizenship. The show currently has the working title "The American."

Executive Producers Rob Worsoff and Jack Osbourne speak onstage during the Alpha Dogs panel discussion at the Langham Hotel on Jan. 4, 2013, in Pasadena, Calif. Frederick M. BrownGetty Images

The pitch comes at a time when President Donald Trump and his Administration have launched a crackdown on U.S. immigrationembroiling themselves in legal battles to end birthright citizenship, upping mass deportation goals, and overhauling asylum access.

On Friday, the Supreme Court barred the Trump Administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to a prison in El Salvador. The Trump Administration had previously been utilizing the act to expedite deportations of Venezuelan nationals alleged to be in the Tren de Aragua gang, though the court argued that Trump only gave these migrants 24 hours to receive legal advice, and that they were devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal. The ruling extends the courts April emergency order barring Trump from using the wartime law to deport migrants held in a detention facility in Texas.

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There have also been reports that the DHS has requested 20,000 National Guard members to assist with its deportation efforts. The New York Times reported on Friday that the request came after Trump asked the DHS to raise their deportation force by that same amount, by pulling in officers from state or federal agencies.

Read More: What Is Habeas Corpus and How Is It Under Threat By the Trump Administration?

The stakes are high when it comes to the topic of immigration, Worsoff recognized in his interview, but he argued that his reality show idea is not The Hunger Games.

It's not some mean spirited thing that's trying to deport people; it's exactly the opposite of that, he said. I'm very fortunate and lucky and honored to be an American. And I want everybody to understand the process.



But the concept has already been widely criticised. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, called it a sick idea on MSNBC on Saturday.

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During this Trump Administration, it seems like every day we lose more and more of our humanity, Castro said. The idea that you would do a reality show and have people compete for citizenship, its just sick, a sick idea.

Others on social media have echoed Castros sentiment. New York Rep. Jerry Nadler of the Democratic Party said: Human lives are not game show props.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  After nearly two and a half years a dilapidated carwash in North Terre Haute is coming down.

According to Vigo County Commissioner, Chris Switzer, the work began Friday morning.

Switzer said, commissioners spent time in superior courts, had public hearings and sent letters to various individuals. He added that former commercial properties have become increasingly difficult to demolish.

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Vigo Co. addresses vacant buildings

The car wash is located at 5083 North Lafayette Avenue. Switzer said this demolition is the first of more than 70 structures to come down.

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The cause of a fire Friday in Dixon, Ill., remains undetermined, according to the Dixon, Ill., Fire Department.

(file/MGN photo)

At 6:15 p.m. Friday, Dixon City Fire Department, Dixon Rural FPD and Advance EMS were dispatched to the 1600 block of West 9th Street for a reported garage fire.

Crews found a fully involved detached garage and the side of the house on fire, which crews extinguished. The resident was not home at the time of the fire.

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No responders were injured. All units cleared the scene by 9 p.m. The fire cause was ruled undetermined by an Office of the State Fire Marshal investigator.

Assisting were Dixon Police Department, Rock Falls Fire Department, Oregon Fire Department, Polo Fire Department and EMS, Sterling Fire Department and CGH EMS.

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Infighting at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is threatening to consume Democratic leadership just as the midterms are starting to kick into gear.

The tensions come after a DNC panel moved forward this week with the potential ouster of two elected officials, including gun control activist David Hogg.

Now officials find themselves in a war of words over the issues at play, with Hogg alleging the move is a sign of party insiders seeking to force him out over his calls for supporting primary challengers to certain incumbents.

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Though others at the DNC deny the vote was related to Hoggs efforts, the feud is stirring up drama that Democrats want to avoid as they focus on regaining control of the House and possibly flipping the Senate next year.

I hate to be the party of chaos when the GOP is doing such a good job of it, Democratic consultant Marj Halperin said. This isnt the priority voters want the DNC to be focused on.

Pressure had been bubbling up for weeks, even before the DNCs Credentials Committee voted Monday in favor of holding a new election for the two positions that Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta currently hold.

Hogg, who was elected to one of the DNCs vice chair positions in February, first sparked controversy last month when he indicated that his group, Leaders We Deserve, would launch a $20 million effort to back primary challenges to incumbent House Democrats in safe seats. He emphasized that the group wouldnt target Democrats running in competitive districts or those who have been effective at standing up to President Trump.

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The reality is you should not be worried about this if you are a member of Congress if you are effective like [Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)], for example, or [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.], he told The Hill at the time. What we are looking at is places where the elected official has not done a great job being effective against Trump.

But that met opposition from DNC Chair Ken Martin, who said shortly after that all DNC officials should remain neutral in primaries, saying Hogg is free to challenge incumbents but not as a DNC officer. He also said he has great respect for Hogg as an amazing young leader.

Hogg argued in response that he wasnt violating any DNC rules.

But these tensions look poised to come to a head following the Credentials Committees vote, which was in favor of a complaint from a losing candidate for a vice chair position who argued the election procedure violated DNC rules. The entire DNC membership must vote to determine whether to redo the election in the coming months.

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The complaint was filed shortly after the election  well before the controversy surrounding Hogg  but he has argued the development needs to be viewed in the context of the latest developments, saying his work to reform the party loomed large over this vote.

But that has sparked pushback from some  including Kenyatta, the other vice chair  who maintain that the decision is not about Hogg and that hes trying to make the story about himself.

Democrats said regardless of who is right, the bickering isnt a good look for the party as it needs to present a unified message opposing the Republicans agenda.

Democratic strategist Max Burns said he expects the public will likely view it as the DNC pushing out Hogg, but the broader issue is with the confusion over the DNCs rules.

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The reality is that the DNCs rules have clearly become so confusing that not even senior officials have any idea how to understand them, he said.

He warned the infighting could become an issue for those on both sides of the argument, as young people and Democrats who were considering getting more involved in the party could be turned off, creating a negative image all around.

The result is that it just becomes such an unattractive proposition for people to get involved with, Burns said. It hurts the party on an infrastructural level when your operation looks this scattershot.

Even as the direct issue has just focused on internal party positions, the debate has broader implications and has stirred strong emotions.

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Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said the takeaway that people will have is the party is targeting a young vibrant force in the party who is trying to make it bolder.

Thats the tragedy of Ken Martin picking a fight with David Hogg, he said.

Most peoples impression of the Democratic Party is that its defending a broken status quo and failing to shake up a broken political and economic system, Green said.

Kenyatta has denounced Hoggs framing of the issue, arguing he has a casual relationship with the truth. He said Hoggs statements about the DNCs move pushed him over the edge despite wanting to avoid adding to party infighting.

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But Davids first statement out of the gate was, Heres the Democratic Party doing some maniacal thing to push me out because of what hes doing with his PAC, Kenyatta said. David knows that that is not true.

Hogg in an interview with The Washington Post said he doesnt take the criticism of him personally and whats happening is just about differing tactics.

This is purely about a strategic disagreement, and should be treated as such, because were all on the same side here. Its about, how do we create the strongest Democratic Party possible?

Meanwhile, Martin has expressed optimism about the partys recent wins in competitive races, making a subtle reference to the drama while pointing to Democrat John Ewing Jr.s ousting of a three-term incumbent Republican mayor in Omaha.

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A lotta people in DC want to win the argument. I want to win elections, he said Wednesday in a post on social platform X. Last nights huge victory in Omaha speaks to the power of organizing everywhere  our new mission at the DNC.

Democratic and Democratic-aligned candidates have outperformed in 22 out of 24 special and regular elections in 2025 compared to former Vice President Harriss performance in 2024, including the Wisconsin state Supreme Court and superintendent races last month.

Democratic strategist Matt Grodsky said he isnt as worried about the turmoil leading to a wider issue for Democrats broadly, saying most people living their daily lives arent concerned with such fighting.

At the end of the day, when it comes to the midterms, and if things stay the way they are, theyre going to have two options. Do we want to continue with what Republicans are offering, or we want to go with what Democrats are offering? Grodsky said. And I dont think that the intraparty fighting is going to be a big factor in that.

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But he added that the longer the focus is on little fights and spats, the harder it will be for the party to be able to focus on fundraising and candidate recruitment.

The strategists all expressed some amount of sympathy with Hoggs broader effort to support younger challengers to longtime incumbents but said the DNC needs to be focused.

Halperin said the party should focus on broader strategies to try to move forward, looking at the long-term incumbents and if they genuinely have support from their districts. She said the answer will vary from district to district, but the listening needs to come from outside the inner circle.

It sort of looks like were going to talk internally and get our house in order the way we think it should be, then well be ready to go and talk to voters, she said. I think thats backwards.

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Updated at 6:34 p.m. ET.

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Walmart (WMT) joins rocker Bruce Springsteen and pop music icon Taylor Swift as getting a verbal lashing from president Trump on social media this week.

The president ripped Walmart execs on Saturday for signaling tariff-driven price hikes that are poised to begin later this month.

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. Ill be watching, and so will your customers!!!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won't stop. We'll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins," a Walmart spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was among the CEOs who met with the president in late April to discuss tariff implications. A person familiar with the discussions told Yahoo Finance Walmart made a case to remove tariffs on China altogether as even lower tariffs would have major implications on prices for general merchandise items such as furniture and toys.

The Trump administration and China agreed to dial back tariffs for 90 days last week. The US tariff rate on China now sits at 30%, down from 145% at the height of the trade tussle between the economic superpowers.

"Low prices is what we stand for, and we're going to keep prices as low as we can as long as we can," Walmart CFO John David Rainey said on Yahoo Finance's Catalysts (video above) this week following the company's first quarter earnings. "But when you look at the magnitude of some of the cost increases on certain categories of items that are imported, it's more than what retailers can bear. It's more than what suppliers can bear."

"And so we'll work hard to try to keep prices low. But it's unavoidable that you're going to see some prices go up on certain items."

Rainey said increases will be noticeable later this month.

Rainey added, "Well, if you've got a 30% tariff on something, you're likely going to see double digits [in price increases]."

The most impacted areas for Walmart will include baby strollers, furniture, and toys. Price hikes in these departments could major impacts on suppliers such as Newell Brands (NWL), reports Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma.

Walmart's earnings day was mixed as shoppers spent somewhat cautiously given the greater economic uncertainty.






KJ Muldoon was diagnosed with severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency after his birth in August 2024

Doctors were able to create a custom therapy to treat the rare condition within just six months as a result of research they began a year prior, according to a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia news release

"We hope he is the first of many to benefit from a methodology that can be scaled to fit an individual patients needs, said Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas







Doctors have successfully used gene-editing therapy to treat an infant born with a rare genetic disorder in what experts are calling a historic medical breakthrough.

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Following his birth in August 2024, KJ Muldoon was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disease known as severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency, according to a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia news release. He had to spend the first several months of his life sick in the hospital.

The condition affects one in 1.3 million babies and half of all babies diagnosed die within their first week of life. Those who survive have severe mental and developmental delays and typically require a liver transplant, per Science Direct.

Luckily, KJ's parents, Nicole and Kyle Muldoon, connected with Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, director of the Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Frontier Program (GTIMD) at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and Dr. Kiran Musunuru, the Barry J. Gertz Professor for Translational Research in Penns Perelman School of Medicine.

The doctors had started collaborating in 2023, working on ways to correct genetic mutations in young children with ultra-rare diseases. With their research, they were able to create a custom therapy for KJ in six months.

Getty A newborn baby in an incubator (stock image). A newborn baby in an incubator (stock image).

We would do anything for our kids, so with KJ, we wanted to figure out how we were going to support him and how we were going to get him to the point where he can do all the things a normal kid should be able to do, said mom Nicole, per the news release.

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She added, We thought it was our responsibility to help our child, so when the doctors came to us with their idea, we put our trust in them in the hopes that it could help not just KJ but other families in our position.

Her son's case is detailed in a new study, published on May 15 by The New England Journal of Medicine.

In February, KJ received his first dose of the experimental therapy  an infusion containing billions of microscopic gene-editors that homed in on a mutation in his liver to correct his defect.

Years and years of progress in gene editing and collaboration between researchers and clinicians made this moment possible, and while KJ is just one patient, we hope he is the first of many to benefit from a methodology that can be scaled to fit an individual patients needs, said Ahrens-Nicklas in the release.

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Getty A nurse holding a newborn baby (stock image). A nurse holding a newborn baby (stock image).

As of April 2025, KJ has received three doses with no serious side effects. Doctors said they will need to monitor him carefully for the rest of his life to see if hes cured, but his condition has improved and hes developing well. They noted that their results so far are quite promising.

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We want each and every patient to have the potential to experience the same results we saw in this first patient, and we hope that other academic investigators will replicate this method for many rare diseases and give many patients a fair shot at living a healthy life, said Musunuru, per the news release. The promise of gene therapy that weve heard about for decades is coming to fruition, and its going to utterly transform the way we approach medicine.

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With their success, KJs parents are now thrilled to have their son home from the hospital with his three siblings.

Weve been in the thick of this since KJ was born, and our whole worlds been revolving around this little guy and his stay in the hospital, said Kyle, per the news release. Were so excited to be able to finally be together at home so that KJ can be with his siblings, and we can finally take a deep breath.

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In a matter of weeks, more than $10 million in grants for Washington states cultural communities has vanished.

In early April, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was gutted by DOGE, grants to museums and libraries were canceled, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) project grants were rescinded.

Organizations affected include Humanities Washington, a nonprofit that presents and funds cultural programs in Benton and Franklin counties and across the state at museums, libraries, schools, senior centers, historical societies, and more.

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Here in the Tri-Cities, these cuts would mean the end of Prime Time Family Reading  a program that helps children with reading by involving their families  at the Pasco and Kennewick libraries.

It also means the end of invaluable speakers bureau events at the Richland Public Library, East Benton County Historical Society, Columbia Basin College and more places.

These free talks bring neighbors together, in-person, to listen to a talk and discuss current issues  an antidote to our polarized online world.

Most troubling of all?

These cuts are unconstitutional. Congress appropriated funds for the NEH with bipartisan support, making this not only an attack on the cultural sector but an attack on democracy, checks and balances, and Congresss power of the purse.

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The impacts for the Tri-Cities are very real, and the time is now to speak up and take action. No matter your political views or other beliefs, the humanities are the bedrock of a healthy democracy.

The humanities preserve and explore our history and help us better understand each other, acting as a bulwark against the rampant polarization affecting American society.

The founders of the United States built our country on the humanities, gleaning lessons from history, philosophy, and literature to create our Constitution.

Cutting this cultural funding ignores the foundational role they have played in shaping Americas values since its creation, and puts our freedom to learn and express ourselves at serious risk.

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Further, the percentage of funding taken by the cultural sector is minuscule. The average American pays roughly 60 cents a year for NEH services that enhance the quality of life in communities here and across the U.S., and generate a large economic return and local jobs.

This is less than the cost of a postage stamp. And the idea that this makes any kind of a dent in the federal budget is absurd. In fact, the NEH budget is so small, usaspending.gov lists the NEH as 0.0 percent of the federal budget.

As a board member of Humanities Washington, I know firsthand that defunding the NEH and Humanities Washington wont improve our nations economic standing. On the contrary, it will devastate a critical economic and educational sector and will have a major impact on the quality of life in our region.

Unfortunately, the struggle continues. President Trumps current budget request to Congress zeroes out funding for cultural programs. This has happened before, but Congress creates the national budget and it is imperative they know how valuable these programs are to all of us in the Tri-City area.

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All of these cuts rip the fabric of our cultural life, and public outcry is vital to ensuring this funding is restored for the benefit of people in local communities.

We urge people to reach out to Congressman Newhouse, Senator Murray, and Senator Cantwell, requesting that federal funding to the NEH be reinstated and continued.

Congress should reclaim its power of the purse and restore the funding it appropriated, keeping our states cultural sector thriving.

Brianna Hoffman is a member of the Humanities Washington board of trustees and a Kennewick resident.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA)  A man is facing charges after Fort Myers police said he shot his neighbors 2-year-old pit bull, injuring the dog to the point where it had to be euthanized.

Merci-Dieu Ferd Frenot, 33, was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty causing excessive pain or death following the May 15 incident, according to the Fort Myers Police Department.

Pasco woman shoots, kills husband while singing Click, click, boom: affidavit

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NBC affiliate WBBH spoke with the dogs owner, Kenneth Baker, who insisted that his pet was not a threat.

Dogs are good. If you treat them good, theyre pretty good, Baker said, adding that his dog named Victor would let anyone pet him or walk up on him.

Victor was in the yard when Frenots mother walked by Thursday. The dog began barking, and thats when things went south.

Frenot told police he thought he heard his mother scream, and fearing for her safety, he grabbed a gun and ran into his neighbors yard.

He got his gun, and you come running right here and, You bothered my mama! Bam bam bam bam bam, Baker said, recalling the moment.

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Officers said Frenot shot Victor at least four times. They found the injured dog about two blocks away near Marsh Avenue with severe wounds. He was taken to Colonial Veterinary Officer but had to be euthanized.

Frenots mother confirmed to police that the dog had not attacked her. Baker remembered hearing her pleading with her son, telling him, Dont you do that. Dont do that.

Frenots bond was set at $50,000, and he posted bond later Friday afternoon. He was also ordered to surrender all firearms and stay away from the victims and their home.

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Despite Pope Leo XIVs childhood home being recently listed for auction, Dolton Mayor Jason House said Friday he has not ruled out taking public ownership of the property via eminent domain.

Im interested in a peaceful transfer, House, who was sworn in as mayor May 5, told the Daily Southtown.

He said he is excited for the propertys potential as an attraction and historical landmark, and is prioritizing ensuring it is honored in the proper way.

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House said its too early to say how much the village would be willing to pay for the 1,050-square-foot home on 141st Place or whether it should be converted into a museum or historical landmark. He said he plans to speak with the homeowner early next week to discuss the property.

Homer Glen-based home rehabber Pawel Radzik paid $66,000 for the modest, three-bedroom, ranch-style brick house without knowing just a year later its former occupant would be named the leader of the Catholic church. Real estate broker Steve Budzik said Friday Radzik listed the home in January for $219,000 but pulled it after the popes election generated a high volume of interest.

Budzik said he heard rumors circulating about interest in public ownership before he and Radzik decided to list the home for auction.

I dont know if thats  I dont know the word I would use  a justifiable means of getting the property, Budzik said. So thats again why we did an auction.

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While the auction is set to close June 18, Budzik emphasized the seller can choose to accept an offer, which are entered privately through Paramount auction house, at any time.

The auction gives everybody a fair chance at putting in a bid, Budzik said. And even with eminent domain, I think the question is, whats the value?

Budzik believes for a home with such an important historical connection, the just compensation required in exchange for the property is totally subjective.

Excitement surrounding the unassuming Dolton home was hard to avoid Friday afternoon. Neighbors and visitors parked on side streets to stand on the sidewalk facing the house, taking videos and photos with their phones as an energetic Budzik led reporters inside the renovated space.

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Donna Sagna and her mother, Peggy, said they are Catholics who lived next door to the house for eight years before learning of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. As they projected church music on a speaker in their backyard, the younger Sagna said she had begun holding prayer vigils to honor their local connection to the religious leader.

Sagna and Amarcia Garcia, a former Dolton resident who visited the home with her own mother, both said individually they hoped 212 E. 141st Place would be preserved as a museum, bringing tourism and attention to the community.

Itd be good for Dolton, to bring more positivity, more people and more revenue, Garcia said.

Budzik said he understands the interest in creating a museum, and theres still possibly some interest in that on the part of the seller, who through Budzik declined to speak with the Daily Southtown.

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But, at the end of the day, he really wants to see where the auction goes, Budzik said.

The next person, who is obviously going to love it, can do whatever they want with it, Budzik said.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)  North Carolina health officials warned people against swimming in three areas at the coast this week due to high bacteria levels. Meanwhile, three other Tar Heel coastal communities warned about visible beach dangers  painful stings from Portuguese man o war.

The bacteria warnings came after heavy rains this week, which can typically cause higher bacteria counts because of runoff from storms.

The high-profile beach dangers, Portuguese man o war, washed ashore and were in the surf on Friday at Oak Island and Sunset Beach  two islands in Brunswick County, officials said.. Cape Lookout National Seashore officials at the southern Outer Banks said man-of-war were at their beaches on Saturday.

Jockeys Ridge Sound-side Access near Nags Head. Photo courtesy: NC Parks and Recreation

These arent jellyfish, but colonies of organisms with a powerful sting. Even when dead, their tentacles can still sting, so DO NOT TOUCH them, said fire officials in Sunset Beach, an island about a mile from the South Carolina line.

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Fire crews said man-of-war are blue or purple with balloon-like floats on the waters surface or washed up on the sand. The organisms have long, thread-like tentacles that are painful.

At the Outer Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore warned Saturday of man-of-war on their beaches.

Just a friendly reminder to exercise caution regarding the presence of Portuguese Man-o-Wars. Their tentacles can pose a risk to bare feet even after the organism has died, Cape Lookout officials said along with a photo of the organisms.

Cape Lookout National Seashore photo

The most serious bacteria problem this week was at a sound-side beach across from Whiskey Creek along the Intracoastal Waterway near marker #135 in Wilmington, according to the N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program.

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Test results of water samples taken in Whiskey Creek on Wednesday and Thursday indicate bacteria levels that exceed the state and federal action levels of 104 enterococci per 100 milliliters. The swimming advisory is 200 feet from the sign along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Enterococci, the bacteria group used for testing, is found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and is an indicator of fecal contamination in water.

Further north, a swimming advisory was issued Thursday for part of the Outer Banks at a spot in Dare County, according to the N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program.

Jockeys Ridge Sound-side Access near Nags Head. Photo courtesy: NC Parks and Recreation

Testing at Jockeys Ridge Sound-side Access in Nags Head found water samples that show a running monthly average of 37 enterococci per 100 milliliters of water, according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

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The levels in the Roanoke Sound exceed the state and federal standards of a running monthly average of 35 enterococci per 100 milliliters, based on five samples taken within a 30-day period, officials said.

This advisory is not a beach closing, nor does the advisory affect the entire Nags Head area. Swimming advisories are for waters within 200 feet of the sign.

Another swimming advisory was issued Friday for a sound-side site in Beaufort County, officials said. The same levels of bacteria from Nags Head were found at a sound-side site in Beaufort County, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said. The advisory is also for 200 feet from the sign.

Sunset Beach Fire Dept. photo

North Carolina water quality officials sample 221 sites throughout the coastal region, most of them on a weekly basis, from April to October. Click here to view the other sites and see when the advisories end for the areas from this week.

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Like their counterparts in Britain, Americas progressives usually clamour for their country to take in as many refugees as possible. It seems, however, as if theyre finally willing to make an exception.

Because this week, Donald Trump granted refugee status to a grand total of 59 Afrikaners: that is, white South Africans. And his opponents are up in arms.

Trump claims that, in South Africa, white farmers are being brutally killed, and their land confiscated. His critics have furiously dismissed this as baseless nonsense. According to Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat senator, Afrikaners do not need refugee status, and Trump is pursuing a sick global apartheid policy. Meanwhile, Sean W Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said that in light of the churchs commitment to racial justice, it had refused the Trump administrations directive to help resettle the white South Africans.

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In my view, though, the most eye-opening response came from Ashley Allison, who was a senior adviser in the Obama administration. During a panel discussion on CNN this week, she indignantly rejected Trumps claims about the white South Africans alleged suffering  and said: If the Afrikaners dont actually like the land, they can leave that country. They can actually leave and go to where their native land is, which is probably Germany.

Sorry, did I hear that correctly? Is she saying that, if members of a non-indigenous ethnic minority are unhappy, they can go back to where they came from?

If so, I must admit to being somewhat taken aback. Because its not often you hear that particular line of argument from someone on the Left. And its particularly unusual to hear it from someone who happens to be African-American.

At any rate, even if Trump is exaggerating their plight, I can see why the Afrikaners might at least be feeling a touch nervous. In 2018, Julius Malema  the leader of the EFF, a South African communist party  said, We have not called for the killing of white people. At least for now. I cannot guarantee the future

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Of course, since one of Trumps first moves on retaking office was to suspend the US asylum system, his critics are perfectly entitled to highlight his inconsistency. But then, perhaps hes trying to highlight their inconsistency, too. Making them rail against white refugees, so he can paint them as hypocrites.

Well, if it is indeed some kind of cunning trap, theyre helpfully walking right into it.

The trouble with Linekers logic

Gary Lineker, the BBCs chief political commentator, has warned the nation that if youre silent on Gaza, youre almost complicit. I hope I can reassure him that I for one have been far from silent. On the contrary, I have repeatedly said that every single death in Gaza is the fault of Hamas, because none of this would be happening but for a) Hamass mass murder, rape and kidnap of innocent Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, and b) Hamass continued refusal to release all the hostages it took.

Im sure Mr Lineker will thank me for speaking out.

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All the same, Im not completely certain that I follow his logic. This is because, to the best of my knowledge, Mr Lineker has never shared his in-depth analysis of the ongoing slaughter in Sudan, the Second Congo War, Chinas persecution of the Uyghurs or Isils genocide of the Yazidis  to cite just a few humanitarian atrocities that have been perpetrated in recent times. Does his silence on these atrocities make him almost complicit in them?

Of course it doesnt. That would be an absurd suggestion. Still, I dont want to give the man ideas. If he suddenly fears that his silence on the atrocities in Sudan, the Congo etc makes him look complicit, he might start speaking out on them. And, without wishing to sound ungrateful, I think Ive heard quite enough of his geopolitical analysis as it is.

The Lorde moves in mysterious ways

Whoever compiles the Pseuds Corner column in Private Eye is going to have a busy week. Because he or she is about to be deluged by entries  all of them culled from the front-cover interview with Lorde, the magnificently earnest millennial pop star, in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Some entrants will choose the passage in which she says, I had this very acute sense that I needed to be alone to really meet myself. Others will plump for the part in which she confides, I have a huge problem with being able to feel that I am powerful. Or the bit where she reveals, Youre an artist all day, whatever country youre in.

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Personally, though, I would go for the following paragraph.

From there, she experienced what she calls the ooze: the act of letting herself take up more space in everything she does, whether physically or creatively. Doing so opened the floodgates to her own identity. My gender got way more expansive when I gave my body more room, she explains.

I for one intend to follow Lordes inspiring example. The next time a woman on the Tube complains that Im manspreading, I shall tell her: Im letting myself take up more space in everything I do. And anyway, I have to sit like this, because my genders expanding.

Way of the World is a twice-weekly satirical look at the headlines while aiming to mock the absurdities of the modern world. It is published at 6am every Tuesday and Saturday

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President Donald Trump has publicly mused about running for a third term, but Republican voters have a clear favorite if Trump, 78, is out of the picture.

Nearly half of Republicans support Vice President JD Vance as Trumps successor, according to a JL Partners poll reported by the Telegraph.

Vance was chosen by 46% of the polls Republican respondents to become the partys 2028 nominee.

Runners up were not even close.

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Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who lost to Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, received 8% support. Vivek Ramaswamy, another Republican contender, got 7%. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who ran in 2016, received 6% support. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got 6% support as well.

In an NBC News interview, Trump said he had confidence his political movement, which many call the MAGA movement, standing for Make America Great Again, would continue after he left office.

You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, whos fantastic. You look at  I could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here, he said.

At the same time, in a February interview on Fox News, Trump declined to call Vance his successor.

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In an interview with Fox Newss Bret Baier, Trump was asked whether he views Vance as his successor and as the Republican nominee for the 2028 general election.

No. But hes very capable, Trump told Baier.

On the Democratic side, the top candidate was former Vice President and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Harris got 30% support while former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg got 8% support as the next runner up.

Two governors, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gavin Newsom of California, got 7% support each, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who many call AOC, got 6% support.

Read the original article on MassLive.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  Local nonprofit Knox Pride posted on social media Wednesday that their Community and Resource Centers food pantry was practically empty. With no access to funding and Second Harvests funding being cut, the organization was at a loss for what to do.

We have always been very transparent here with the community and we were out of just about everything. We needed help real bad, said James Owens, a manager of Knox Prides Community Closet.

New memorial park open in Knoxville overlooking East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery

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Until one influencer from Mississippi decided to lend a hand and give the organization a lifeline. A TikTok star by the name of Matthew Bounds, known as Your Barefoot Neighbor, is a longtime follower of Knox Pride and knew he had to step in. He reposted the organizations call for help in a video where he challenged his followers to provide for the organization and they did that, and then some.

Usually if I do stuff like this, I reach out to the organization first. Theres a lot of planning that goes into it. But something told me, just hurry up and get that video made and lets get it out there for everyone. In America in 2025, there shouldnt be a kid thats going to bed hungry, Bounds told 6 News.

The response was overwhelming. So many packages poured in that Knox Pride is having to utilize extra storage space and rent a larger vehicle to keep up with donations.

Something like this is great because we dont have to limit them. We dont have to say, heres one bag for your family of six. Thats all we have for you right now. This is going to help a lot of people for sure,  Owens said.

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Ribbon cut on new 264-home neighborhood in North Knoxville

Bounds video didnt solely inspire food donations, Knox Pride raised enough money to cover two months of rent for the pride center. From just one video, they are now better equipped to continue serving Knoxville.

I knew that they did a lot of community work. I did not realize until I posted that video just what a big part of the community they are, Bounds said. Ive had so many people sending me messages and telling me that they fed them when they needed it.

I just want to say thank you to him. He is literally an angel. I dont know how he would have gotten through the next few months without him, Owens added.

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Knox Pride shares they have received around 5,000 packages on Friday alone. Bounds told 6 News that he hopes that people realize you dont have to have a platform to make a difference and help where it really matters.

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Knox Pride is always looking for volunteers if anyone is interested in helping especially recently with the abundance of food, the organization needs hands getting this food out of packages and on those shelves. The pantry is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS)  A chance encounter with a handicapped DoorDash driver leads to an outpouring of support from the community.

We ordered DoorDash and I got a notification that our order had been delivered, so I opened the door and theres no order and I was like, OK. says Ashley Cooper, Well then I see a little white car in the driveway in the parking area and I see a little man trying to get out with a cane.

That man was Dale Culbreath. He is a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, and despite the fact that he is handicapped and needs a cane or a walker to get around, he works as a DoorDash driver.

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Once I got inside, I just was trying to figure out is he DoorDashing because he wants to, or is he Doordashing because he has to says Ashley.

It had in fact not been a part of dales plan to start DoorDashing. Before going back to work he had actually been in college.

I was one subject away from graduating when I decided to quit. I really felt that that I needed to do it right away because I knew my health was failing on me. says Dale.

Ashley did not know Dales story but her encounter with him left an impression. She took to social media asking if anyone else had seen DoorDash Dale. Eventually word got back around to dale that she had been looking for him. So he left her a letter, thanking her for the tip she had given him and telling her a little about himself.

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That I was a veteran, and that I was a Christian, and then I was handicapped, and that I wasnt a wealthy person, says Dale, and the reason that I was still DoorDashing was to pay for a funeral.

Texarkana wants to be a friendly place for the film industry

Once I read it and processed it I was like, okay, Im gonna help him pay for his funeral, says Ashley.

Ashley created a GoFundMe page and spread the word about Dales story on social media. In response, the community donated over $17,000 in just a few short weeks.

Whenever I did it, I did it for him and I thought, well just get these services paid for, but now Ive got a friend for life. He texts me every morning if I havent heard from him he texts me in the evening and so its been really nice to gain a friend through this because Im really just a stranger from the Internet.. says Ashley.

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She says that she has been working with GoFundMe, a lawyer, and a banker to ensure that the money donated is put into a trust for Dale. You can find a link to the GoFundMe page here.

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Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slashed its exposure to big-bank shares in the first quarter, liquidating its position in Citigroup Inc. and trimming positions in Bank of America Corp. and Capital One Financial Corp., according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Berkshire sold 14,639,502 Citigroup C shares, according to the 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing said Berkshire sold 48,660,056 shares of Bank of America BAC, cutting its stake by over 7%; it continued to hold more than 631.5 million shares as of March 31. Berkshire cut its stake in Capital One by 300,000 shares, or around 4%.

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Berkshires biggest buy of the quarter was Constellation Brands Inc. STZ, acquiring 6,384,676 shares, increasing its holdings by more than 113% to a total of 12,009,000 shares.

Apple Inc. AAPL remained Berkshires single largest holding at 300 million shares, making up around 25% of the companys total equity portfolio. Berkshire had previously significantly cut its Apple stake but made no moves in the first quarter, according to the filing.

Large investors are required to file 13-F forms 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter detailing long positions. They tend to be closely followed for clues to moves by major investors, though the information they provide is dated and not necessarily complete. Filers arent required to reveal short positions and the positions that are reported may or may not be parts of larger trades.

Buffett earlier this month shocked Berkshire shareholders BRK.A BRK.B, announcing he would step down as chief executive at the end of the year to hand the reins to his designated successor Greg Abel. Buffett will remain chairman of the conglomerate.

Read: Warren Buffett says hell be useful at Berkshire if theres a panic in the market

More: Third Point sells off Tesla and makes these other Magnificent Seven moves

Michael Burrys Scion bets against Nvidia, turns bearish on Chinese stocks

Soross fund places new bets on Nvidia and a SpaceX rival, sells off Super Micro stake

Stanley Druckenmillers Duquesne dumps Alphabet, buys more Taiwan Semi and Coupang
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  With the NATO Parliamentary Assembly just days away, Dayton is preparing to lock down the downtown area as delegates are set to meet next weekend.

Part of downtown will see road closures and extra security measures to ensure the safety of parliamentarians and the public, in what will be called the NATO Village.

WATCH: City leaders, police share NATO road closures, security info

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Businesses that are located in that area say the security zone will force them to close their doors and miss out on money. Many business owners fear the strict security measures will prevent customers from being able to get to them during the event.

With less than a week before delegates arrive in downtown, the Dayton Police Department has unveiled what exactly the security measures will look like during the summit. And businesses say they will not be able to conduct businesses during the event.

Security protocol will require anyone entering the NATO Village to be pre-approved and screened in order to gain access to the security zone.

One building located on Main Street in the center of that zone holds businesses like Gem City Jewelry. The owner says they are already missing out on customers ahead of the event due to the citys preparations.

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Main Street is a mess due to construction. I already have a loss of business already, said Rob Bair, Gem City Jewelry owner.

Bair says parking will already be a challenge, with several streets blocked off, and limited pedestrian access into the NATO Village. Bair fears this will make it difficult for his current clients to get to him, and act as a deterrent for new ones.

What will happen to businesses within the security zone during NATO Assembly?

Bair says this is a major financial strain on his business, especially during a month that often sees lots of graduations, engagements and other milestone events. Because he sells high-value merchandise, Bair says losing out on just one customer is a significant loss of money.

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I have no idea whos going to come to my store over the period of time that this NATO summit is going on. I cant put people on the list, which means theyre not going to be allowed to come into the building, which means I have no business, said Bair.

Next door, Jesses Barber Shop says they will be closing their doors next week because it simply does not make sense for them to open.

Owner Howard Rihm says they are planning for a financial loss next week, estimating they could lose more than $1,000 by closing for that amount of time.

Its significant, when you have to rely on business to pay the bills and they just cut you out a week and youre just not able to come in. Its tough, said Rihm.

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Rihm says he wishes the city would have communicated more to help businesses like his prepare for this event, and what it would mean for owners who are located inside of the security zone.

Businesses say are still working to see if there will be any financial compensation for the money they will lose next week due to their closures.

For more information on NATO and how it will impact Dayton, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
More than 50 people have been killed since Israel launched its new offensive in the Gaza Strip overnight, Palestinian sources said on Saturday.

Around 80 others have been injured, according to medical sources in the coastal area.

Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said that 153 people had been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours.

The figures, which do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, could not initially be independently verified.

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The Israeli military said an offensive had been launched, code named Gideon's Chariots, to pursue Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated aim of eliminating the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and securing the release of the remaining hostages.

"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has begun conducting extensive strikes and mobilizing troops to achieve operational control in the areas of Gaza, over the past day," the Israeli military posted late Friday on social media platform X.

"This is part of preparations to expand operations and fulfil the objectives of the war  including the release of hostages and the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organization."

Heavy explosions were reported overnight in the north of the Gaza Strip. Citing sources in Gaza, the Israeli news website ynet also published reports of artillery fire by the Israeli army to the east of Gaza city.

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Residential buildings were being bombed, the website further reported.

The Israeli government had recently announced plans to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media had reported that this would happen after the end of US President Donald Trump's trip to the region, if no new Gaza agreement had been reached by then. Trump has since ended his multi-day trip to the Gulf region. A new deal is still not in sight.

Israeli minister says Hamas willing to return to ceasefire talks

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Hamas is prepared to return to talks over a ceasefire.

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"With the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots in the Gaza Strip, which the army is carrying out with great force, the Hamas delegation in Doha announced a return to negotiations on a hostage agreement," Katz said in a statement.

Hamas did not immediately confirm his statement.

Earlier this week, a team of Israeli negotiators landed in Doha. Qatar has previously brokered indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, along with the United States and Egypt, though talks stalled several months ago.

Many differences remain between the two sides and it was unclear whether the Doha talks would break down again and the delegations depart.

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The war was triggered by an assault on Israeli communities near Gaza by Hamas and other extremists on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

According to the health authority, almost 53,200 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war with Israel more than a year and a half ago.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A person was taken by Careflight after crashing into a tree early Saturday morning in Clark County.

According to the Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash happened in the 5000 block of West Jackson Road at approximately 4:20 a.m.

Officials said the driver was airlifted to a nearby hospital for their injuries.

2 NEWS will update this article when more information is available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  We are in the height of graduation season in East Tennessee and one high school in Blount County held its first ever graduation ceremony on Friday.

Its been four years in the making to get to this night, said Eagleton College and Career Academy Principal Mark Dowlen.

There were 104 seniors who walked across the stage each leaving with a diploma in hand.

Donations pour in to Knoxville food pantry after TikTok stars call to action

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This is such a special night preparing for our first graduation. Its a ton of work and a ton of people behind the scenes making things happen, Dowlen said. To reach such a culminating experience for what the last four years have meant as weve built the school one grade at a time to add the high school and to get to celebrate with the kids their families and this community here tonight.

One of those students, Natalie Murrell, has been at the school since the sixth grade. Her and many of the other students endured schedule changes, COVID and returned to school and trying to regain a sense of normalcy.

We kind of just had to band together, talk to each other and lift each other up, Murrell said. With all these changes, everyone was kind of getting confused, people were moving schools. We just found ourselves in each other and just helped us up.

More homes on the market could drive down prices in East Tennessee

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Graduate Lilyann Laureano said going through all those times and being the firsts for so many things was worth it.

It was difficult at times because we were the first to do everything. We were the guinea pigs, Laureano said. We endured a lot of changes. They tried different schedules on us. They tried different classes. We lost stuff, we gained stuff and we had to go through construction. It was crazy but knowing that we would be the first and knowing that we would get to lead the way, kind of set the precedent for future students, I mean it really made it worth it.

 See more top stories on WATE.com

Murrell told 6 News she will attend Pellissippi State and major in Supply Chain Management before transferring to the University of Tennessee. Laureano said she will be pursuing a degree in agricultural education at Tennessee.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Big news for EBR parents. Your kids could have new school start times sometime in the future.

Superintendent Lamont Cole said people are expressing interest in having later start times for students.

He said he wants to be transparent if he and the outside firm he hired to help with the process decide to go through with the new plan.

No, we have not identified any schools. This is just to explore in what areas we could implement this and then go down the road of beginning to have community conversations as early as June, and then think about if that is a possibility, said Cole. Weve had requests from schools about looking at start times. Families have made requests to look at start times, so the plan is to go to the school, families, and have a conversation. Were not going to force start times down any schools apparatus to begin, but we do recognize there is a desire in this community for that.

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Cole said since the bussing issues the school system had in 2023, which included driver shortages, out of service buses, payment issues and a resulted disruption in class time, efforts have been made to change things for the better.

He also said the school system has hired an in-demand outside contractor called Prismatic Services  with a highly skilled team  to assist them.

We have not identified any schools, but we want to begin those conversations as quickly as possible, and shes agreed to assist us in that work, said Cole. In order to look at start times, theres going to be a cost. In order to look at transportation, re-routing, and removing some of our transfer sites, theres going to be a cost. In our conversations with Dr. Perito [with Prismatic Services], we talked to her about being able to evaluate all those services in one.

Cole is assuring board members hell continue to be transparent and public with where he and Prismatic are in this process since studies are showing that later start times are conducive to better student performance.

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Board members said steps need to be taken if new start times are implemented, as families need time to accommodate a new schedule.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
Back in February, the Pennsylvania Department of State released data showing that 77.1% of Pennsylvanias registered voters and 68.5% of the voting-age population cast ballots in the 2024 general election, which was headlined by the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

That was the highest turnout rate among registered voters since the 1992 election  and voter registration rates are much higher now than they were then. The 1960 election in which John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon was the last to have a higher percentage of the voting-age population as a whole participate, CNHI state reporter Eric Scicchitano wrote.

Thirty-five of Pennsylvanias 67 counties, more than half, had turnout exceeding 80% last fall. Among them were most counties in this region, including Bedford, at 83.6%; Cambria, at 81.1%; and Somerset, at 82.5%.

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In comparison to that high-stakes, high-turnout presidential election, the primary election coming up Tuesday may seem low-key  but local residents who are eligible to vote in the primaries ought to review the candidates positions, consider what issues matter most to them and to their communities in general, and then cast their ballots if they have not done so already.

Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Top races on the primary ballots include statewide Superior Court and Commonwealth Court contests and a Cambria County judge election in which county District Attorney Greg Neugebauer is running unopposed.

In the City of Johnstown, there is a contested Democratic mayoral primary, and members of both major parties will cast votes for Johnstown City Council nominees. Around the region, there are races for school boards and municipal offices.

These local elections will help shape the future of the areas municipalities and communities, and we encourage everyone to have their say. If you are a registered voter who can cast a ballot in the primaries, please get out and vote.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  El Paso businessman Richard A. Castro was awarded an honorary doctorate degree earlier this month.

Castro, a McDonalds franchise owner since 1983, was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters by Texas State University during a ceremony on May 8.

The prestigious recognition honors Mr. Castros decades-long commitment to education, community service, and leadership, a news release said, announcing the degree.

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Castro is the largest Hispanic owner/operator within the McDonalds company, overseeing 27 McDonalds locations in Texas with more than 2,000 employees.

His leadership has been instrumental in advancing the representation of Hispanic entrepreneurs within the fast-food industry. As the founder of McDonalds Triunfadores and a former president of the McDonalds Hispanic Owner/Operators Association, Mr. Castro has left an indelible mark on the industry, the news release said.

Castro has also established scholarships that benefit student-athletes and students from the College of Liberal Arts at Texas State University. According to the news release, his efforts have contributed nearly $2.3 million to Texas State University, including a $1 million matching fund for student-athletes in 2017.

Castro also co-founded Community en Accion (CEA), a network of Hispanic leaders dedicated to supporting El Pasos Latino community. CEA honored him in 2018 by establishing the Richard Castro Community Service Scholarship, recognizing his unwavering dedication to the region, the news release said.

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Additionally, Castro is known for his creation of the Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (HACER) Scholarship Program in 1985, which has awarded more than $33 million in scholarships to Hispanic students nationwide, the news release said.

His partnerships with El Paso Community College, the University of Texas at El Paso, and McDonalds El Paso have further expanded educational opportunities for local students, the release added.

Castro also serves on various boards and organizations, including serving on the Board of Trustees of Our Lady of the Lake University and numerous local and national nonprofit organizations.

He was named the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Hispanic Businessman of the Year in 2005 and El Pasoan of the Year in 2015.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Students at Lamar Elementary School celebrated in 2022 when their school was recognized as a national Blue Ribbon School for the second time in six years. El Paso Independent School District is planning to close the school. Photo courtesy of El Paso Independent School District photo

EL PASO, Texas (EL PASO MATTERS)  Just a week after newly elected El Paso Independent School District trustees were sworn in, they may reverse the previous boards decision to close one of eight elementary schools set to shutter its doors in the next two years.

The EPISD school board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday to vote whether to keep Lamar Elementary School open.

Leah Hanany

The reconsideration of closing Lamar Elementary reflects the responsibility this new board has to make decisions that align with academic outcomes, equity and community trust, board President Leah Hanany told El Paso Matters on Friday. Lamar is an A-rated, two-time National Blue Ribbon School serving a majority socioeconomically disadvantaged population, and scored in the top 1% nationally on a survey measuring student belonging.

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The scheduled vote comes after a major shift in the boards power dynamics when four aligned school board candidates won their respective elections May 3 and ousted former trustees Israel Irrobali and Isabel Hernandez, who voted in favor of the closures.

Hanany has been critical of the metrics used to decide what schools were recommended for closure to address declining enrollment by closing schools and improving the ones that remain open  an initiative known as Destination District Redesign.

The plan was put forward by Superintendent Diana Sayavedra and her administration, and approved in November 2024 on a 4-3 vote. Only two trustees who supported the plan remain on the board  Daniel Call and Valerie Ganelon Beals.

Valerie Beals

Beals expressed criticism at the idea of reversing the planned closure of just one school in Hananys feeder pattern.

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Our staff, central office, put in so much work into DDR, that just for it to be reversed for one school, Beals told El Paso Matters Friday. I feel like it would be a big slap in the face to do that. I feel like some of the trustees on the school board are using their position to please their constituents, not caring about how to leave the district once their term is up, because its just a political stepping stone for them.

Call could not be reached for comment.

Hanany said close to 180 elementary school-age students live within a half-mile of Lamar Elementary, while other campuses that were set to remain open had less than a few dozen.

Voters gave this board a mandate to shift away from top-down decision-making and focus on students, Hanany said. I would say, especially in times of fiscal constraint, we have to be even more strategic. And by placing Lamar back on the agenda, I think its signaling that this board is willing to revisit harmful decisions and refocus our priorities where they belong.

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If the board votes to reverse the closure, it will need to consider the costs of operating the school and potential increases in public school funding as it prepares its budget for the coming school year.

Without any changes to the school closure plan or school funding, EPISD expects to have a $17 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.

Hanany said she is not aware of any plans to close another school in place of Lamar Elementary and that the board will be revisiting every available resource to ensure that we remain committed to being fiscally responsible.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Americans age 60 and older lost more than US$3 billion to scammers in 2023, according to the FBI.

To put that whopping figure in context, Taylor Swifts Eras Tour recently made news as the first concert tour ever to earn $1 billion.

As a geriatrician  a doctor who cares for people over 65 years of age  I believe elder fraud has reached an epidemic scale. My patients often tell me about being scammed.

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The consequences can be worse than just losing money. The experience is traumatic for many, with some victims feeling deep shame and self-doubt in the aftermath. This can interfere with their relationships, erode their trust in others and harm their mental and physical health.

Teaching older Americans how to identify and avoid fraud  and how to report such crimes  could go some way to mitigating the impact of this modern epidemic.

Elder fraud is on the rise

A recent FBI report shows just how prevalent elder fraud is. In 2023, Americans over 60 submitted 14% more complaints to the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, than they did the previous year. Estimated financial losses rose about 11% over the same period.

These numbers, grim as they are, only represent the tip of the iceberg. For one thing, only about half of the reports of internet crimes to the FBI included information about the victims age  which means reported incidents of elder fraud are an undercount.

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Whats more, these figures dont include the many scams that take place over the phone, by mail or in person. And many fraud victims never report their experiences  often because theyre embarrassed, afraid or unsure what to do.

While people of all ages are victimized by fraudsters, older adults can be uniquely vulnerable.

The FBI has suggested that older adults are often targeted because they tend to be more trusting and polite. They often have financial savings, own homes and have good credit  all of which make them more attractive to scammers.

Older adults may also be less comfortable with new technologies, which puts them at risk. Consider that someone who is 85 years old may have retired in the year 2004  three years before Apple introduced the iPhone. While many forms of technology have permeated our personal lives, its often in the workplace that many people receive mandatory training  like how to avoid online scams.

The wide world of frauds

In 2023, tech-support scams were the most commonly reported type of elder fraud. Other common schemes include romance scams, online shopping swindles and investment frauds. While tech scams are the most common, investment scams are the costliest, accounting for nearly half of all reported losses from those over 60 last year.

Fraudulent call centers are also well known for targeting older adults. Such scams made up 40% of reported elder fraud cases in 2023, according to the FBI, accounting for at least $770 million in losses. Many make use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence to deceive people more effectively with voice-cloning scams or deepfake videos.

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Call-center scammers tell all sorts of tall tales. In 2022, more than 600 people reported being victimized in a single timeshare-related fraud. They collectively lost nearly $40 million. And in the latter half of 2023, scammers posing as government officials and tech-support agents pushed victims to liquidate their assets or buy precious metals  with reported losses reaching more than $55 million.

Combating an epidemic of scams

As with any epidemic, infection control tools can help us limit the spread. Much like vaccines create immunity against viruses, prevention efforts can help people build up their defenses to avoid fraud. The main tool for preventing fraud is learning how to identify likely scams ahead of time. Here are a few FBI-approved tips to help you do that:

 If you believe there is an imminent danger to yourself or a loved one, call the police immediately.

 Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, mailings and door-to-door service offers.

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 Dont click on any unsolicited links you receive via email or text  even if they seem to be from people you know. And never open an email attachment from someone you dont know.

 If youre in doubt about a person or business, search online for their name, email, phone number and addresses, as well as details about their proposed offers. These days, most legitimate businesses have some degree of web presence. And if its a scam, you might find others have already shared information about it.

 Never give or send anything to unverified people or businesses. This includes any personally identifiable information, money, jewelry, gift cards, checks or wire information.

 Make sure your computer antivirus and security software and malware protections are up to date.

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 Bad actors can use pop-ups to spread malicious software. If you see a pop-up message, disconnect from the internet and shut down your device. You can enable pop-up blockers to avoid accidentally clicking on one.

 Dont give anyone you dont know remote access to fix your computer or other electronic devices. This could let them see personal information, including details about your financial accounts.

 If youre told to lie to your bank about why you need to wire money or make a withdrawal, its probably a scam. A legitimate business wont insist you keep secrets from family or friends, either.

 Resist pressure to act quickly. This is a big one: Scammers often create a false sense of urgency. A legitimate business will let you think through your financial decisions.

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 Perhaps most importantly, trust your instincts.

What to do if you think youve fallen for a scam

Despite your best efforts, you might still be taken in by a fraudster. If that happens, know that youre not alone  and that its possible to recover. Here is some advice for dealing with the aftermath:

 If a criminal gains access to your device or account, take action to protect your identity. If a bank is involved, immediately contact your financial institutions to place protections on your accounts, and monitor your accounts and personal information for suspicious activity.

 Contact your local FBI field office, or, if the crime was committed over the internet, submit a tip online.

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 When reporting a scam, include as many details as possible. This can include names, dates of contact, methods of communication, phone numbers, email and mailing addresses, and websites used by the perpetrator.

 Also note methods of payment, where you sent any funds  including wire transfers and prepaid cards  and account numbers. Offer descriptions of your interactions with the scammer and any instructions you were given.

 Whenever possible, you should keep original documents, emails, faxes and logs of communications.

 Falling for a scam can be frightening and stressful. Talk with people who you know and trust to support you through this challenging time. Some support groups include the AARP Fraud Watch Network and the Cybercrime Support Networks Peer Support Program.

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 If your emotional response is overwhelming, consider talking with a counselor, therapist or your medical team.

If you or someone you love falls into a fraud scam, you arent alone. Not even law enforcement experts are immune. At the age of 90, former FBI director William Webster was targeted  an experience he bravely shared with the world.

I encourage my patients not to feel too embarrassed to report what happened. Talking about these experiences is an important step toward fighting this epidemic.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Laurie Archbald-Pannone, University of Virginia

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Laurie Archbald-Pannone receives funding from Virginia Department of Health, West Health Institute, and Prime, Inc.
CORE, W.Va. (WBOY)  Schools from across north central West Virginia visited Mason-Dixon Historical Park on Friday to release some trout as part of Trout in the Classroom.

Back in September, elementary school classes throughout Monongalia and Marion counties were given 100 eggs to raise throughout the school year. Friday was the big day as the fish were released into Dunkard Creek. Along with the release, the students did a number of activities with organizations like the Avian Conservation Group and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

Pennsboro Speedway cancels season opener due to unexpected damage

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Director of Trout Classroom Jennifer Ripley Stuekle told 12 News that the classes receive a 55-gallon aquarium along with the fish eggs, and that they become responsible for taking care of the fish, feeding them and maintaining the equipment. Trout in the Classroom officials told 12 News that they released 250 trout Friday.

Stuekle added that Trout in the Classroom is interdisciplinary as theres outdoor activity with spending time in Mason-Dixon Historical Park, chemistry with learning about water quality, biology and even art with a screen printing project for the day.

Its all encompassing and its just really an amazing project for the students to understand a really important resource in West Virginia, Stuekle 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 WBOY.com.
Werner and Aurora expand driverless pilot with new lanes

(Photo: Aurora Innovation)

Autonomous truck technology maker Aurora has expanded its pilot program with Werner, according to a recent Q1 shareholder letter. The new Fort Worth-to-Phoenix lane will augment Auroras existing Fort Worth-to-El Paso lane, which is expected to begin in the second half of the year. The new pilot lane is over 1,000 miles, with Auroras self-driving trucks having the potential to cut single driver transit time in half. The Fort Worth-to-Phoenix lane, according to Auroras Q1 business review report, requires more than 15 hours of continuous driving, something a human driver cannot do without exceeding the 11 hours of available drive time.

Chad Dittberner, senior vice president, van and expedited division at Werner, said in the letter, At Werner, autonomous trucking is an integral part of our vision for the future, complementing planned growth in our fleet. Working with Aurora, we now have another capability to safely and reliably transport freight along some of the most vital lanes in our network.

At the moment, the self-driving trucks are operating in daytime with clear weather conditions, but according to Auroras product road map, beginning in Q3, they will also incorporate nighttime as well as rain and heavy wind into driverless conditions testing. For Werner the push toward autonomous routes is viewed as a force multiplier and not driver replacement due to the limits of time. Daragh P. Mahon, executive vice president and chief information officer, said in an Aurora article, Drivers are a community that has supported this industry for a long, long time, and will continue to support it well into the future. We dont think of autonomy as replacing drivers. Rather, it augments the driver community and the fleet.

For large, asset-based truckload carriers like Werner, a continued challenge is how to increase revenue miles generated when a human driver can drive each day a maximum of 11 hours in a 24-hour day. Some have used two drivers for team-expedited, increasing possible utilization to 22 hours, but for autonomous trucks, which lack hours-of-service limits, theres an opportunity to dramatically increase asset utilization and thus revenue miles driven.

Market update: Cass April report shows freight spending stabilize

On Thursday, freight audit and payment provider Cass Information Systems released its April Cass Freight Index, which saw for the first time in over 28 months a positive year-over-year uptick in its Freight Expenditures Index. The expenditures component, measuring the total amount spent on freight, rose 3.3% m/m in August, with a positive y/y increase of 1.3% compared to Marchs y/y decline of 2%.
(NEXSTAR)  As President Trumps EPA prepares to roll back some of the safeguards against so-called forever chemicals, some Americans may be wondering what they can do to protect their drinking water.

On Wednesday, the EPA said it will weaken some of the limits that were put in place under former President Biden last year to minimize PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight.

Limits on three types of PFAS, including what are known as GenX substances found in North Carolina, will be scrapped and reconsidered by the agency, as will a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS.

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The Biden administrations rule also set standards for the two common types of PFAS, referred to as PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion, effectively the lowest level at which they can be reliably detected. The EPA will keep those standards, but give utilities two extra years  until 2031  to comply.

We are on a path to uphold the agencys nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance, said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

It appears few utilities will be impacted by the withdrawal of limits for certain, newer types of PFAS. So far, sampling has found nearly 12% of U.S. water utilities are above the Biden administrations limits. But most utilities face problems with PFOA or PFOS.

Health advocates praised Bidens administration for the limits. But water utilities complained, saying treatment systems are expensive and that customers will end up paying more. The utilities sued the EPA.

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The EPAs actions align with some arguments in the utilities lawsuit. They argued the EPA lacked authority to regulate a mixture of PFAS and said the agency didnt properly support limits on several newer types of PFAS that the EPA now plans to rescind. They also sought the two-year extension.

Precautions experts suggest taking

The news of weakening the PFAS regulations was truly a betrayal to all communities, Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), told Nexstar. Nobody wants PFAS in their drinking water and its important for everyone to voice their concern to their elected officials that rolling back drinking water protections is harmful.

Stoiber added that, while regulatory mandates may shift, its always good to know what is in your drinking water. People who get their water from a private well may want to get their water tested, Stoiber said, especially if the home is near an area with PFAS contamination.

If you see this line on your fingernail, see your doctor immediately: experts

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Residents who get their drinking water from a municipal supply can also have it tested, either by a county health department or a state-certified laboratory, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Homeowners can call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or by visiting www.epa.gov/safewater/labs for additional testing resources.

Stoiber and others at EWG have been maintaining a ZIP code-searchable database with the environmental groups findings from samples collected between 2021 and 2023.

Once you know what contaminants are in your water, it will help you to select an effective water filter, Stoiber said. One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your exposure to environmental contamination is to filter your drinking water. Reverse osmosis and activated carbon filters are most effective for removing PFAS.

Evidence of harm builds and so does the cost

Manufactured by companies like Chemours and 3M, PFAS were incredibly useful in many applications - among them, helping clothes to withstand rain and ensuring that firefighting foam snuffed out flames. But the chemicals also accumulate in the body. As science advanced in recent years, evidence of harm at far lower levels became clearer.

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The Biden-era EPA estimated the rule will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year. Water utility associations say the costs, combined with recent mandates to replace lead pipes, will raise residents bills and fall hardest on small communities with few resources.

The Biden administration did work to address cost concerns. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $9 billion for chemicals like PFAS, utilities have won multibillion-dollar settlements against PFAS polluters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan said he believed the United States' 'CAATSA' sanctions on the Turkish defence sector would soon be "overcome" thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's "more open, more constructive" approach.

Asked by journalists on a return flight from Albania about the recent U.S. approval of the potential sale of missiles to Turkey, Erdogan said he could "easily say there is an easing on CAATSA", referring to the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act'.

Erdogan said he had discussed the matter with Trump and Washington's new ambassador to Ankara.

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"With my friend Trump taking office, we reached a more open, more constructive, more sincere communication," he added, according to a transcript of the comments he made on the flight.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Tuvan GumrukcuEditing by Gareth Jones)
(WJET/WFXP) The Erie Humane Societys Animal Cruelty Division is asking the public for their help in solving three cases where animals were abandoned around Erie County.

Two kittens, a beagle mix and four pit bull puppies were all found abandoned at three different spots around Erie County between April 25 and May 13 and are now being held at the Erie Humane Society.

Erie DMV hosting REAL ID event with deadline now passed

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The kittens were found inside a small box outside the Country Fair in the 2600 block of West 26th Street in Millcreek Township on April 25, around 7:30 a.m.

Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division.

The beagle mix was found around 8 p.m. on May 8 along Macedonia Road between Young Road and Route 474 in the Wattsburg area. The Humane Society said a grey Chevrolet pickup truck was seen driving away from the dog into a field as the dog chased after them.

Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division. Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division.

Erie Womens Care Center hosts annual Baby Bottle Campaign

Finally, the four pitbull puppies were found in Pebble Lake Park along Washington Ave. in the City of Erie around 3 p.m. with a man and woman reportedly seen near them before leaving.

Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division. Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division. Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division. Photo courtesy of Erie Humane Society Animal Cruelty Division.

Anyone with information on any of these animals is asked to call Humane Officer Lisa Stiles at (814) 881-0220.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG)  An Escambia County firefighter has been arrested for crimes he allegedly committed against children, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Northwest Florida man arrested, charged with multiple counts of child porn possession

An FDLE news release said 48-year-old Garey Anthony Buscaino was arrested on seven counts of video voyeurism of a child under 16 years of age, 30 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

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According to officials, the investigation into Buscaino began in April after they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The tip given to agents was that a cellphone user had been uploading child sexual exploitation files to a cloud account, according to the release.

Investigators were able to determine that Buscaino was the owner of the account and that he had hidden video cameras that were secretly recording a child in stages of undress.

A search warrant was executed on May 15 at two homes where officials said they seized multiple devices.

A preliminary forensic review located several voyeurism videos and hundreds of files depicting the sexual abuse of children, some as young as 4 years old, read the release.

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FWC cracks down on boating safety in Pensacola Bay ahead of Memorial Day Weekend

Buscaino was arrested and taken to the Escambia County Jail.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced stepped-up surveillance after suspicious activity involving Russia's shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea.

Source: German newspaper Zeit, citing Wadephul in an interview with the German media, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Wadephul noted that "the security situation has continued to escalate in recent months".

"We are very concerned about severed cables, disrupted signals and suspicious ships," the German foreign minister stressed.

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He therefore announced increased patrols and new sanctions targeting the shadow fleet Moscow uses to bypass existing restrictions.

"As neighbours, as NATO and as the EU, we are doing everything we can to counter hybrid threats, including through additional patrols," he emphasised. "Russia poses a threat to all of us in the Baltic Sea region."

Wadephul described Russias shadow fleet as a serious security threat and said the EU will "directly impose new sanctions" on the vessels Moscow uses to circumvent restrictions.

"This also helps Ukraine, because the shadow fleet transports oil every day, which Russia sells bypassing sanctions," the German foreign minister added.

Background:

A few days ago, the Estonian Navy attempted to stop the Jaguar tanker as it passed through international waters in the Gulf of Finland, heading towards the port of Primorsk. The vessel is believed to be part of Russias shadow fleet.

The tanker's crew reportedly refused to comply with instructions from Estonian border guards, but the vessel eventually left Estonian economic waters. Notably, the tanker is on the UK sanctions list.

In response to Estonia's actions, Russia dispatched a fighter jet that, according to the Estonian military, violated the country's airspace.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that the incident shows that Russia is ready to defend its shadow fleet.

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German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced stronger surveillance and additional sanctions targeting Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" following suspected sabotage of underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, Die Zeit reported on May 17.

"The threat has intensified over recent months," Wadephul said. "Severed cables, disrupted signals, and suspicious vessels are of serious concern to us."

Recently, a series of incidents involved severed cables and disrupted signals in the Baltic Sea region. While U.S. and European intelligence officials have suggested some of the damage may have been accidental, some senior officials, argue that repeated disruptions cannot be explained by "poor seamanship" alone.

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Wadephul said Germany and its allies are responding to hybrid threats in the Baltic region with increased patrols and renewed pressure on Russia's covert shipping operations.

"Russia threatens all of us in the Baltic region," he said. "We as residents, NATO and the EU are facing hybrid threats with all our might, including further patrol."

The so-called shadow fleet consists of oil tankers and other cargo ships used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions, particularly in transporting oil. In recent months, suspected acts of sabotage linked to this fleet have drawn attention to vulnerabilities in undersea cables and pipelines, prompting intensified monitoring of maritime infrastructure.

Calling the fleet a "direct security threat," Wadephul said the European Union will impose fresh sanctions on vessels enabling Russia to bypass restrictions. "This also helps Ukraine, because the shadow fleet moves oil every day that Russia sells around the sanctions," he added.

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On May 14, EU ambassadors agreed on the bloc's 17th package of sanctions against Russia, primarily targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the move, insisting it would "keep the pressure high on the Kremlin."

But outside the EU bubble, critics see it as another incremental move that fails to match the urgency of the moment, and behind closed doors, even EU officials acknowledge the package was watered down during negotiations.

The 17th EU package with Russia sanctions will be formally adopted on May 20 at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.

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Read also: From spy rings to arson  Russias sabotage across Europe continues unpunished

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WNCN/The Hill)  Fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee on Friday sunk a key vote to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that encompasses President Trumps legislative agenda, marking a stunning setback for the legislation.

The 16-21 vote throws up a hurdle for leaders hoping to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day  but are still haggling over last minute changes to appease not only the fiscal hawks but moderates seeking bigger blue-state tax breaks.

NC Rep: The bill doesnt go far enough

Three North Carolina Republican congressmen sit on the House Budget committee, including Representative Chuck Edwards (R) from western North Carolina.

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Rep. Edwards spoke in favor of moving forward with the budget proposal.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) listens during a mark up meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

This is not the Big Beautiful Bill that I had hoped for  but it does reign in mandatory spending, it restores program integrity, and finally begins, but only begins, to right size the federal bureaucracy, said Edwards. Mr. Chairman, the flaw of this bill is that it doesnt go far enough, fast enough, to get our fiscal house in order. But it does take some great strides. Lets take these strides today, pass this bill and go to work next week in taking greater and bolder steps.

Rep. Addison McDowell and Rep. Tim Moore are the other GOP members on the committee from North Carolina. All three voted yes to move the bill on to the next step.

Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) speaks with Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) during a mark up meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Responses from the GOP holdouts

Five Republicans voted no: Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.).

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Republicans could only afford to lose two of their members and still advance the legislation. Smucker changed his vote from yes to no in a procedural move.

To be clearI fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committees opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB, Smucker wrote on X.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another one of the holdouts, said he was very disappointed with the state of the measure, adding in the committee: Sadly, Im a hard no until we get this ironed out.

Negotiations took place during the committee markup in a neighboring room with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), but leaders apparently did not make enough progress to sway the holdouts.

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This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits, Rep Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of those holdouts, said during the markup.

President Trumps reaction

Trump put the pressure on holdouts during the markup in a post on his social media site Truth Social, calling on Republicans to unite.

We dont need GRANDSTANDERS in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! Trump said.

President Donald Trump looks on as he leaves the Royal Palace after a signing ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

That lobbying campaign, however, did not appear to immediately move sentiments. Norman told reporters he saw Trumps post.

I dont need to grandstand. This is: how do you disagree with the agenda he laid out? Hes a smart guy, and hes got so many good things [in the bill]. All were asking is [for] a little compromise somewhere, he said. Lets not give the farm. Its not right. Its not right.

Whats next?

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) called the committee into recess after the vote was held. He told members after the markup that he did not expect the committee to come back on Friday, to go home, and that he would let members know if they would resume first thing Monday.

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Later Friday afternoon, three sources told The Hill the committee would reconvene on Sunday at 10 p.m.

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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  The former owner of three San Diego-based surrogacy consulting businesses was sentenced in federal court to two years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her clients, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

Lillian Arielle Markowitz (aka Lillian Frost), 40, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced in San Diego federal court to 24 months in prison, according to the United States Attorneys Office Southern District of California.

Its unsafe: SD Unified warns students against Chromebook Challenge

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U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson also ordered Markowitz to pay $389,142 in restitution to her former clients.

According to court documents, Markowitz owned three businesses  My Donor Cycle, Surrogacy Beyond Borders, and Expecting Surrogacy  and marketed herself as a surrogacy consultant.

Beginning around 2018, the court documents state Markowitz and her businesses began to experience financial distress. She is accused of submitting four fraudulent requests to withdraw client funds from the escrow company where the funds were maintained, along with forging a clients signature.

In her plea agreement, Markowitz admitted that from 2019 through 2021, she defrauded nine additional clients by falsely promising that their funds would be deposited into an escrow account and that their funds would be accessed only to pay for expenses related to their surrogacy journey.

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CEO of San Diego-based financial firm sentenced to prison for fraud

Instead, the court documents state Markowitz deposited the funds into her business checking account, and used them to cover general business expenses, expenses related to other clients surrogacy journeys, expenses related to her unrelated yoga and float business, and to pay for personal things.

Lillian Markowitz turned her surrogacy businesses into a Ponzi scheme, said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. She did not simply steal funds. She stole the dream of parenthood from her victims. She exploited hope and heartbreak for profit. Those who prey on the desperate will be held accountable.

Todays sentencing of Lilian Markowitz marks the conclusion of a cruel and deceitful scheme that deeply exploited the victims hopeful dreams of becoming parents, Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi. After years of deception, Ms. Markowitz will now be held accountable for her egregious breach of trust and unethical conduct.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the investigation in this case.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
By Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -At least five companies from mainland China or Hong Kong are planning IPOs, dual listings, or share placements in Singapore in the next 12 to 18 months, four sources said, as Chinese firms look to expand in Southeast Asia amid global trade tensions.

The companies include a Chinese energy company, a Chinese healthcare group, and a Shanghai-based biotech group, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, but declined to be named or to name the firms as the plans are not finalised.

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The listings would give a boost to Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX), which, despite being a popular venue for yield plays such as real estate investment trusts, has been struggling to attract mega listings and bolster trading volumes.

SGX hosted just four initial public offerings in 2024, according to its website. That compares with 71 new company listings recorded by its rival regional bourse Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

Chinese companies are looking to tap the Singaporean bourse as they look to enter, or expand business in, Southeast Asia amid a trade war with the United States, Jason Saw, investment banking group head at CGS International Securities, said.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 145% on imports of Chinese goods, and China in turn raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%, before the two sides agreed a 90-day pause last weekend. But uncertainty remains, given the time limit and the Trump administration's unpredictability.

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Enquiries about listings on SGX "shot through the roof" after Trump ramped up his trade actions against China, Saw said.

"For the next years and decades, gateways from China to the world are going to be more important," said Pol de Win, senior managing director and head of global sales and origination at SGX.

"Singapore is an important gateway, whether it's trade (or) business activity from China to the outside world, and a listing in Singapore is an important component of that." De Win did not mention the listing plans of the Chinese and Hong Kong firms.

'GROWING INTEREST'

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CGS International, a unit of state-owned brokerage China Galaxy Securities, is working with at least two China-based companies to list on the SGX as early as this year, according to Saw. He declined to name the companies.

Some of the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies could raise around $100 million via primary listings in Singapore, said one of the sources.

SGX is usually not the first choice for Chinese companies eyeing an offshore market debut. Most of them prefer Hong Kong due to Beijing's support and a large pool of institutional and retail investors more familiar with Chinese brands.

Beijing's efforts to boost ties with Southeast Asia, amid escalating tension with Washington, have, however, encouraged some Chinese companies to increase their presence in the region, capital market advisers said.

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The listing plans in Singapore come after the city-state in February announced measures to strengthen its equities market, which included a 20% tax rebate for primary listings, and vowed to unveil a next set of measures in the second half of 2025.

The initiatives are set to boost interest in the local IPO market, said Ringo Choi, EY's Asia Pacific IPO Leader, adding that Singapore's "political stability and neutral stance" on geopolitical matters should appeal to companies.

Not many, however, see Singapore closing its gap with Hong Kong in equity listings in the near future, due to factors including Singapore's relatively conservative investors and stricter listing requirements.

"You need to make it easier for companies, especially technology companies, to list," said the managing director of a Singapore-based multinational software company, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"Most of the startups in the region are headquartered in Singapore, so this should be the place they list."

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Mark Potter)
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board sold off its entire $321.5 million stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to a Thursday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, with the sale coming before international trade tensions escalated.

The filing shows Wisconsin's reversal came months after initially embracing Bitcoin exposure. According to the 13F filing, SWIB liquidated over 6.1 million IBIT shares from its portfolio during 2025's first quarter, concluding the divestment by the end of March.

The pension fund's withdrawal from cryptocurrency investment occurred just days before sweeping trade policy changes created market volatility, highlighting how large institutional investors may reconsider digital asset holdings when economic conditions appear uncertain.

As one of the first state pension funds to invest in Bitcoin ETFs when they launched, SWIB's withdrawal raises questions about the long-term commitment of institutional investors to digital assets, especially when facing economic headwinds.

Trade Policy Impact on Crypto

After Wisconsin departed from the Bitcoin market, cryptocurrency valuations experienced pressure as international trade relations deteriorated. In early April, the new administration implemented broad tariffs affecting global relationships with close U.S. allies.

The pension fund's exit proved well-timed as Bitcoin prices later declined amid growing trade disagreements. By March, U.S. tariffs on Chinese products reached 145%, while China countered with 125% fees on American imports.

By mid-May, both nations began easing trade restrictions, with U.S. rates on Chinese goods dropping to 30% while Chinese duties on American products decreased to 10%.

During this period of economic friction, Bitcoin prices dropped below $75,000, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Following the quarter's end, Bitcoin prices had mostly recovered, reaching a high of $105,747 over the past month as market stability returned and trade tensions diminished.

Despite leaving direct Bitcoin investment, the pension fund maintained some cryptocurrency exposure. The filing reveals SWIB holds 127,528 shares of Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, valued at around $36.8 million, representing a smaller crypto allocation than their previous ETF position.





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By Charlotte Greenfield

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Britain is working with the U.S. to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that "confidence-building measures" and dialogue take place, foreign minister David Lammy said on Saturday.

Pakistan has said Britain and other countries, in addition to the United States, played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, which erupted last week. A rapid diplomatic effort to broker the ceasefire succeeded on May 10, but diplomats and analysts say it remains fragile.

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"We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides," Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit.

Pakistan and India fired missiles onto each other's territory during weeks of tensions after a deadly attack on tourists in the contested region of Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.

U.S. President Donald Trump said after the ceasefire was struck that talks should take place in a third-country venue but no dates or location for the talks have been announced.

"These are two neighbours with a long history but they are two neighbours that have barely been able to speak to one other over this past period, and we want to ensure that we do not see further escalation and that the ceasefire endures," Lammy said.

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Asked about India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, potentially squeezing Pakistan's water supply, Lammy said: "We would urge all sides to meet their treaty obligations."

Delhi said last month it had "put in abeyance" its participation in the 1960 pact, which governs use of the Indus river system, a move Pakistan says it would consider an act of war if it disrupted access to water in the agriculturally dependent nation.

Lammy said Britain would also continue to work with Pakistan on countering "terrorism", saying that it is "a terrible blight on this country and its people, and of course on the region."

'OBFUSCATION' BY RUSSIA ON UKRAINE

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Lammy accused Moscow of obfuscating after talks between Ukraine and Russia on a possible ceasefire ended in less than two hours and Trump said "nothing could happen" until he had met directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Yet again we are seeing obfuscation on the Russian side and unwillingness to get serious about the enduring peace that is now required in Ukraine," Lammy said. "Once again Russia is not serious."

"At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?" he said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Editing by William Mallard)
With hurricane season just around the corner, meteorologists fear that National Weather Service staffing shortages could put people across the nation at risk when severe weather hits.

What's happening?

The NWS does much more than provide forecasts and let you know if you should grab an umbrella before leaving the house. Among its many responsibilities is providing warnings before threatening weather events hit, such as tornadoes and hurricanes.

But a combination of layoffs, retirements, and existing vacancies has left many offices without a leader in place, CNN reported in early May. Roughly a quarter of the 122 NWS offices are currently without a meteorologist-in-charge, the most senior position at each location.

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Among the NWS offices without a meteorologist-in-charge are those that cover New York City, as well as hurricane-prone population centers such as Houston and Tampa. The Houston-Galveston office doesn't have any managers currently on staff, a staffer told CNN.

"They're usually the glue that holds it together," the staffer said about the senior leaders.

Chief meteorologists are also the NWS members who often brief the media, which is invaluable when trying to communicate necessary information to the public before, during, and after an extreme weather event.

One Kansas office is no longer operating 24 hours a day, per CNN, with several more likely to shift away from around-the-clock operations unless changes occur.

Why is this important?

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June through November. This year, changing ocean temperatures have left forecasters befuddled as to how many hurricanes could form, and how intense they are likely to be.

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If the last decade is any indication, there could be a high number of storms. From 1991 to 2020, there has been an average of 14 storms during hurricane season, according to the Weather Channel. That number has been met or exceeded each year after 2015, and three of the last five hurricane seasons saw more than 20 storms.

Although hurricanes and other severe weather events have always existed, the intensity of such events has grown in recent years. Scientists have explained that rising global temperatures caused by human-generated pollution supercharge the conditions that power these dangerous weather occurrences.

What can I do about hurricanes?

If you live in a hurricane-prone area, it's best to have an emergency kit ready and to know what to do in case a storm hits near you.

For those who want to storm-proof their homes, combining a battery system with solar panels could help power your home in case of an outage, and will reduce your dependency on the grid, which can be prone to failure during extreme weather. Getting quotes through EnergySage's free service is one option to save you thousands of dollars while comparing verified, vetted solar installers.

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.
Debris covers the ground after an explosion at American Reproductive Centers in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. ABC7 Los Angeles via AP

A large explosion damaged a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday and killed one person in what police are calling an intentional act of violence.

Firefighters responded to the scene at American Reproductive Centers at around 11 a.m. The explosion could be heard by people in at least a 2-mile radius, The Desert Sun reported.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement that the explosion appears to be an intentional act of violence.

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There has been one fatality, the persons identity is not known, Mills added.

Palm Springs Mayor Ron DeHarte told the Los Angeles Times that he could confirm it was a bomb in or near a vehicle parked at the building.

Law enforcement investigate a charred vehicle after the explosion. ABC7 Los Angeles via AP

Photos and video of the scene posted to social media show rubble and debris scattered around and the wall of the building blown out.

The clinic, which opened in 2006, is a full-service fertility center and in vitro fertilization lab, according to its website. Reviews of the clinic on Google are overwhelmingly positive, with several people praising the clinic for helping them start families.

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The clinic was closed Saturday.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, told the Associated Press that all of his staff were safe.

Debris covers the ground near the fertility clinic. ABC7 Los Angeles via AP

I really have no clue what happened, Abdallah said. Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said on X that the FBI was on the scene.

We are aware of the explosion that occurred this morning in Palm Springs, Essayli said. FBI is on scene and will be investigating whether this was an intentional act. We will release as much information as possible once we are able to confirm details.
A car explosion outside a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs left one person dead late Saturday morning, and the citys mayor is now saying the incident was intentional.

Preliminary information from local media outlets indicated that the explosion occurred at American Reproductive Centers, which is located at 1199 North Indian Canyon Drive, around 11 a.m.

NBC Palm Springs initially reported that the incident was a car explosion, and although the exact nature was not immediately known, it was later verified by American Reproductive Centers that it was a vehicle that exploded in a parking lot near their building.

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Palm Springs city officials put out a community advisory shortly after the explosion that confirmed it had occurred just before 11 a.m. near North Indian Canyon Drive and East Tachevah Drive.

Footage posted to social media shows that the facility sustained heavy damage, and firefighters were seen dousing active flames. It was not immediately known how many people were inside the building at the time, but the Desert Sun reported that, per Palm Springs Police Department Lt. William Hutchinson, there appeared to be at least one fatality.

A car explosion outside a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs left one person dead late Saturday, May 17, 2025. (FB/American Reproductive Centers-Palm Springs)

Everything is in question, whether this is an act of terrorism, Lt. Hutchinson told the outlet.

Shortly before 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte confirmed to KTLA that the incident was a blast in or near a vehicle parked at the building.

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Itwas an intentional act of violence, Mayor deHarte said.

Palm Springs Police Department Chief Andy Mills released a statement reiterating the mayors findings and confirming the fatality, elaborating that the blast scene extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely.

If residents find potential evidence, please leave it in place and call the non-emergency phone number: 760-387-1441, Mills statement advises. The incident appears to be isolated.

A park that was damaged in the Eaton Fire is now a super park

American Reproductive Centers (ARC) put a statement out on social media that called the incident unexpected and tragic while confirming that no members of their team were harmed; additionally, the facilitys lab containing all eggs, embryos and reproductive materials remains fully secure and undamaged.

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We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast, the statement reads. This moment has shaken us, but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love and the hope that brings new life into this world.

The clinic also confirmed that at least one person died in the explosion.

We are heartbroken to learn that this event claimed a life and caused injuries, and our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected, ARC officials said, adding that the facility should be open and fully operational by Monday.

No information surrounding the decedents identity or where they were when the explosion occurred was available.

Firefighters responded to a report of an explosion at a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Luis Roman via Storyful) Firefighters responded to a report of an explosion at a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Luis Roman via Storyful) Firefighters responded to a report of an explosion at a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Luis Roman via Storyful)

The boom was heard and felt by people as far as two miles away, according to reports. Video obtained by KTLA shows that a nearby stores windows were shattered and products scattered across the floor due to the explosion.

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Coyote encounters in Santa Monica on the rise in wake of Palisades Fire

California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday that he had been briefed on the incident and was coordinating through the states Office of Emergency Services to support the response.

The FBI also announced it would be deploying assistance, including investigators, bomb technicians and an evidence response team, to the scene to help local authorities. ATF investigators are also being deployed, officials said.

Area residents were advised to stay away from the area so that emergency crews could operate as quickly and safely as possible.

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This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA 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 KTLA.
The creator of the F the LAPD shirt that drew the ire of the Los Angeles Police Department Foundation last year has found himself in conflict with another law enforcement agency, this time on the federal level.

The Cola Corporation, which sells shirts, hats and other streetwear items that frequently criticize capitalism, colonialism and police, said a shipment of three T-shirt designs was held at Chicago OHare International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

One of the designs features a bee on the front and what appears to be a Chicago police officer cowering in fear of a swarm of bees on the back.

A shipment of shirts bearing this design, as shown in an undated Cola Corporation image, and others were seized at OHare International Airport.

Cola, which is headed by someone only identified as Joe, was reportedly first told the seizure was due to copyright issues, then that there was no country of origin listed on the shipment.

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As a result, CBP said theyll either send the shirts back to China or destroy them.

F the LAPD shirt sells out after police org fails to get it taken down

I cannot prove to you that CBP saw the officer being attacked by the swarm of bees and got their feelings hurt, but what I can tell you is that for a week all I heard was copyright, copyright, copyright, and the second I prove its my copyright, their story changes, Joe told 404 Media. And now its were destroying it.

In response, Joe said Cola is reissuing the shirts, which are available for preorder as part of the Confiscated Collection.

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The federal governments confiscation of the original shipment at OHare airport only delayed the inevitable, Cola wrote on its website. The people want Cola and the people are indomitable.

Cola and the CBP did not respond to a request for more information before publication. This story will be updated as further information becomes available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Claim:

George Floyd's autopsy revealed that he died from a drug overdose, not of asphyxiation or heart failure while being pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police.

Rating:

Rating: False

In 2021, the Hennepin County District Court found Derek Chauvin, an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department, guilty of murdering George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, on May 25, 2020, in an excessive use of force. According to the opinions of some Americans who defended Chauvin's actions, however, the police officer played no role in Floyd's death. They claim instead that Floyd died of a drug overdose.

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Over the years, people like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative news host Tucker Carlson have shared the claim. For instance, on May 14, 2025, Greene posted to X calling for Chauvin to be pardoned and released from prison because Floyd's true cause of death was an overdose.

Floyd's toxicology report was not clean  he did have levels of fentanyl, methamphetamine and THC in his blood at the time of his death. However, two separate autopsies found that Floyd did not die of a drug overdose.

On June 6, 2020, Scientific American published an opinion article by 12 doctors, titled, "George Floyd's Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America." The authors argued that Black people killed by police will have their entire life, character and body, examined and scrutinized to justify the exoneration of the police officers involved in their deaths. We referenced the article in our 2020 coverage of Floyd's criminal history. In our coverage, we also examined the details of Floyd's autopsies. We will do so again here.

Floyd underwent two different autopsies after his death. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office released its autopsy on June 3, 2020. It found that Floyd died of "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." In more standard English, he died of heart and lung failure caused by the way police restrained and subdued him.

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According to CNN, Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Floyd, said in testimony during Chauvin's trial that Floyd's heart disease and drug use were contributing factors  but not the main cause of his death.

"For example, you know, Mr. Floyd's use of fentanyl did not cause the subdual or neck restraint. His heart disease did not cause the subdual or the neck restraint," he testified.

Floyd's family asked experts to conduct an independent autopsy around the same time. While the full report is not available publicly, the summary is. It said he died from "asphyxiation from sustained pressure."

The words might be different, but the causes of death are similar  the functioning of the heart and lungs is quite interlinked. If one of the two organs stops, it's not long until the other does.

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Two, independent autopsies confirm Floyd did not die of a drug overdose. Several experts who spoke to The Associated Press about the claim agreed, noting that Floyd did not show the typical signs of an overdose, and the toxicology reports were not consistent with an overdose.

We therefore rate this claim as false.

Sources:

Baker, Andrew M. CARDIOPULMONARY ARREST COMPLICATING LAW ENFORCEMENT SUBDUAL, RESTRAINT, AND NECK COMPRESSION . 203700, Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/residents/public-safety/medical-examiner/floyd-autopsy-6-3-20.pdf.

"Chauvin Murder Conviction Upheld in George Floyd Killing." AP News, 17 Apr. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/chauvin-murder-appeals-court-6941a6074dcc310c85e4f3eab2be97eb.

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"George Floyd's Autopsy Report Is Not New, Does Not Say He Died of an Overdose." AP News, 26 May 2023, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-george-floyd-autopsy-new-892530421961.

"Https://Twitter.Com/Mtgreenee/Status/1740494731581268442." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1740494731581268442. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.

"Https://Twitter.Com/TuckerCarlson/Status/1740492824468976126." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1740492824468976126. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.

Lee, Jessica. "Background Check: Investigating George Floyd's Criminal Record." Snopes, 12 June 2020, https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/06/12/george-floyd-criminal-record/.

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Neuman, Scott. "Medical Examiner's Autopsy Reveals George Floyd Had Positive Test For Coronavirus." NPR, 4 June 2020. NPR, https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/04/869278494/medical-examiners-autopsy-reveals-george-floyd-had-positive-test-for-coronavirus.

Robles, Frances, and Audra D. S. Burch. "How Did George Floyd Die? Here's What We Know." The New York Times, 2 June 2020. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd-autopsy-michael-baden.html.

Shen, Ann Crawford-Roberts, Sonya Shadravan,Jennifer Tsai,Nicolas E. Barcelo,Allie Gips,Michael Mensah,Nichole Roxas,Alina Kung,Anna Darby,Naya Misa,Isabella Morton,Alice. "George Floyd's Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America." Scientific American Blog Network, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/george-floyds-autopsy-and-the-structural-gaslighting-of-america/. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.

Vera, Amir. "Independent Autopsy and Minnesota Officials Say George Floyd's Death Was Homicide." CNN, 1 June 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/us/george-floyd-independent-autopsy/index.html.

Updates:

May 19, 2025: This story was updated to further clarify that the Hennepin County medical examiner took George Floyd's preexisting medical condition and drug use into account when determining the cause of death.
Claim:

Pope Leo XIV said, "You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings. A leader who mocks the weak, exalts himself, and preys on the innocent is not sent by God. He is sent to test you. And many are failing."

Rating:

Rating: Incorrect Attribution

In the days preceding Pope Leo XIV's inauguration, several quotes attributed to the new pontiff circulated online. One such quote  which some people interpreted to apply to U.S. President Donald Trump, "the current American administration" and "MAGA," according to social media comments  read:

You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings. A leader who mocks the weak, exalts himself, and preys on the innocent is not sent by God. He is sent to test you. And many are failing.

The alleged quote spread on multiple sites, most widely on Facebook (archived) and Threads (archived). Collectively, these posts garnered tens of thousands of reactions, and dozens of Snopes readers also searched for verification of the quote.

The Threads post linked above appeared on the internet on May 14, 2025. It is unclear whether this was the original post, but we have not found an earlier one.

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(Threads user @feliciamlopes)

We reached out to both the Instagram account @feliciamlopes and the official Holy See Press Office for verification or comment, and will update this story if we receive a response from either party.

There is no evidence Pope Leo XIV publicly said the quote in question. A Google search of the words "Pope Leo 'you cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings'" revealed only social media posts featuring the graphic above or attributing the quote to Pope Leo XIV without any evidence.

(Google.com)

The official Vatican news site also did not yield any results, and no reputable news outlet reported the alleged quote.

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In sum, there is no evidence social media users correctly attributed the quote to Pope Leo XIV; the exact origins of the quote are unknown. Because of this, the claim is incorrectly attributed.

Sources:

Search - Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/search.html. Accessed 16 May 2025.

Threads. https://www.threads.com/@feliciamlopes/post/DJqhIHzPfwy/i-gotta-tell-you-im-really-loving-this-new-pope. Accessed 16 May 2025.
Five people believed to be part of a transnational burglary crew were arrested this week following a month-long investigation into a residential break-in reported on Easter Sunday, the Irvine Police Department said.

The suspects, four men and one woman, were taken into custody in Fontana and Colton on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, and narcotics possession.

They were identified as Jhon Osorio Arias, 24; Jesus Hernandez Chavez, 42; John Fredy Sanabria, 42; Duber Salarte, 48; all of Fontana; and Isneidy Ortiz Valencia, 29, of Colton.

Jhon Osorio Arias, 24; Jesus Hernandez Chavez, 42; John Fredy Sanabria, 42; Duber Salarte, 48; all of Fontana; and Isneidy Ortiz Valencia, 29, of Colton.

The investigation began April 20 around 1:45 p.m., when a resident on Cultivate, a residential street in Irvine, contacted police after receiving surveillance alerts showing several unknown men inside his home. The footage appeared to show the men dressed as Amazon and food delivery drivers.

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Officers responded to the burglary in progress but found the suspects had already fled. The home had been ransacked, with designer purses, shoes and jewelry reported stolen.

The homeowner provided still images of the suspects, and a patrol officer later spotted a suspicious vehicle leaving the area.

Security footage from a home in Irvine shows multiple men fleeing the scene of a residential burglary while dressed as Amazon delivery men on April 20, 2025. (Irvine Police Department) Security footage from a home in Irvine shows multiple men fleeing the scene of a residential burglary while dressed as Amazon delivery men on April 20, 2025. (Irvine Police Department)

The driver, Osorio Arias, initially claimed to be making a food delivery but couldnt provide a delivery address. Officers found suspicious items in the vehicle, arrested Osorio Arias for driving without a license, and transported him for questioning.

Police detectives later determined Osorio Arias was part of an organized burglary ring with ties to Colombia, and identified several alleged associates. Over the following month, authorities surveilled members of the group and were able to link them to additional burglaries throughout Southern California.

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Video released by police Friday showed one of the robberies believed to be related to this group in which a woman rang the doorbell at a home on March 29, followed by an early morning break-in days later.

On Thursday, with help from the Police Departments drone team, investigators coordinated an operation that led to the arrests.

Search warrants executed in Fontana and Colton uncovered evidence tying the group to the Irvine burglary, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and more charges could be added as detectives sort through the evidence, the department said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Irvine PD Detective Jeff Hause at 949-724-7085.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA)  Around 800 people came out early Saturday morning to support officers killed in the line of duty.

The Lakeland Police Foundation hosted its 9th annual Fallen Heroes Memorial 5K at the Three Parks Trail.

Everyone who crossed the finish line raised support for local law enforcement, honored the officers killed in the line of duty, and raised funds for the Lakeland Police Foundation.

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Remembering the officers who have given their lives and paid the ultimate sacrifice is what this is all about, said Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor.

The Lakeland Police Foundation hosts this event to remember their own killed and to raise funds to help support officers and their families during times of hardship.

The Lakeland Police Foundation started this race 9 years ago as a way to honor the 7 men who died in the line of duty for our agency, the Lakeland Police Department, but since that time, it has become so much more, said Assistant Chief Steven Pacheco. Its become a community event that we could honor other law enforcement officers who also died, and also, our military members who died serving this country.

Some runners wrote down the names of Lakeland police officers who have been killed.

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Officer Crispin, who lost his life taking care of each and every one of us out here, so this is the least that we can do to pay back him and his family, said Linda Martinez.

Other runners ran for officers killed in the line of duty in other states.

His name is Nick ORear. I didnt quite know him personally, but I know his kids really well and I know how much they loved him and were devastated when he was lost, said Adam Smith, who ran for an officer killed in Alabama.

Many who showed up to the event were proud to see the support for the men and women in blue.

I do a desk job, right, and what they do is they risk their lives every single day for me and to keep us safe, so thats what brought me out here today, said Donna Hughes, a runner.

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Ive been doing this for 35 years, and this kind of feeds your soul when you come out and understand that the majority of people do like the police and they do support what we do, Chief Taylor said.

Runners of all ages took steps to honor, remember, and let the memories of those killed live on.

Organizers said theyre going to continue doing this event and that this is the largest community event that they have.

To learn more about the Lakeland Police Foundation and the memorial race, 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 WFLA.
By Wen-Yee Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron said on Friday that its new U.S. manufacturing facilities for its customer Nvidia would be ready next year and the firm was in talks with potential other customers.

Part of the facilities will be used by Nvidia to support its plan to build artificial intelligence servers worth up to $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.

The U.S. firm said in April it planned to build supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas, partnering with Foxconn in Houston and Wistron in Dallas. Both sites are expected to increase production within 12 to 15 months.

"I believe its exactly in line with what the customer announced. All our progress will follow the customers lead, Wistron CEO Jeff Lin said in his first public comments since Nvidia's announcement.

He said the company was in discussion with other customers to use the U.S. facilities, which will produce high-performance computing and AI-related products, declining to disclose their names.

Wistrons board approved a total investment of $500 million in its new U.S. subsidiary to support business development and strategic growth in the U.S.

Commenting on U.S. restrictions on exports of advanced chips to China, Lin said demand outside of China remained very strong.

"We expect to grow alongside our customers ... As for developments in the Middle East, most of them are essentially our indirect customers."

The United Arab Emirates and the U.S. signed an agreement this week for the Gulf country to build the largest AI campus outside the U.S., in a deal that according to sources could involve purchase of 500,000 of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips per year starting in 2025.

As the U.S. threatens sweeping tariffs on many of its trading partners, Wistron said it would also consider producing notebooks in Mexico, noting that such products would not face tariffs under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Tomasz Janowski)
For the crew working Falls Fire Department Engine 3 on Sept. 27, it was just a normal Saturday shift.

Until the alarm rang.

Fire Captain Bart DeRosa and Firefighters Tim Kennedy, John Scott and Matt Anderson were dispatched to a call of unresponsive man. The victim had no pulse and wasnt breathing.

When DeRosa and his crew arrived at the Falls home, just four minutes after their alarm had sounded, they found the victim sitting in a chair. No pulse, not breathing, but his body was warm.

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The firefighters laid the victim on the living room floor of the home and began to give him CPR. At the same time, the crew also attached defibrillator pads to the victims chest.

After performing CPR for several minutes, the firefighters automated external defibrillator (AED) alerted them, SHOCK ADVISED. They followed the prompt and delivered an electrical shock to the victim.

For the next 14 minutes, the Falls firefighters delivered an alternating series of CPR and six more AED shocks. For more than 20 minutes, the fighters fought to save the victims life.

Finally, DeRosa, Kennedy, Scott and Anderson registered a strong pulse from the victim. While the crew continued to administer rescue breathing, they loaded the victim onto a stretcher and he was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

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After treatment in the medical centers cardiac intensive care unit, he recovered from his brush with death.

That wasnt the end of the shift for the crew of Engine 3.

Just an hour later, the alarm rang again and the four firefighters were dispatched to another call for an unresponsive patient. This time, the victim was a woman, possibly an overdose victim.

The firefighters found the woman not breathing and with a faint pulse.

Once again, the firefighters began performing CPR and attached pads from an AED. After receiving a SHOCK ADVISED prompt, the firefighters delivered three jolts of electricity along with alternating CPR for more than 8 minutes.

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After roughly 20 minutes of treatment, the woman regained a strong enough pulse to be taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. But that pulse was lost at the medical center, and the victim was pronounced deceased in the emergency room.

Saturday night, the crew of Falls Fire Department Platoon 1, Engine 3, Captain Bart DeRosa, and Firefighters Tim Kennedy, John Scott and Matt Anderson were each honored with the departments 2024 Battalion Chiefs Award.

Their citations read: Thanks to the hard work, quick decisiveness and training of the Engine 3 crew, they were able to save the life of one patient, and give another patient a real fighting chance at survival, all within less than two hours.

Others honored at the annual NFFD Mutual Aid Association Firefighters Ball and Awards Dinner were Chief Mechanic Robert Meidenbauer, the Fire Chiefs Award for a demonstrated commitment to keeping the fundamental values, traditions and principles of the fire service alive.

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Firefighter NeddaeVion Parmer received the Young Firefighters Award. Scott and Hawa Furman were honored for their work on the Falls Firefighters Christmas Toy Fund.

The Firefighters Local 714 Presidential Award was given to Firefighter Joseph Paul II. Officers Local 3359 gave its Presidential Award to Fire Captains Jason Cafarella and John Asklar.

The Mutual Aid Association Presidential Award went to Charles DelGobbo.
Almost half of Turkey's provinces were hit by an agricultural freeze in mid-April. The freeze, uncommon for this time of year, has caused significant damage to a wide variety of crops such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

The freeze raises multiple major concerns. The first is how this may impact food supply chains. The second is the higher food costs and lower incomes for farmers. Finally, officials must grapple with how a severe weather event like this stems from a rapidly changing climate.

What's happening?

The freeze from April 10-12 damaged many of Turkey's crops across 36 of its 81 provinces. Although farmers did what they could to protect the crops with fire and fog machines, much was lost.

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The resulting loss of tea, fruits, vegetables, and nuts will drive food prices up and hurt the farmers financially.

According to CABI Digital Library, around 80% of vineyards in the Manisa province experienced the frost, and 80% of apricots in Malatya, which produces 80% of global dried apricot exports, were also impacted by the freeze.

"The unpredictability caused by climate change is raising costs and lowering incomes for farmers," Omer Fethi Gurer, a member of Turkey's parliament's Agriculture Committee, told Bianet.

Turkey is not alone in experiencing agricultural setbacks fueled by a changing climate. A recent study in Nature found that lowland altitudes may experience the greatest agricultural setbacks with rising global temperatures.

Why are agricultural freezes important?

Cold snaps and freezes can still occur while the average temperature climbs. However, scientists agree that severe weather events have been worse because of warming temperatures and that they will continue to get worse.

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In agriculture, issues arise when the temperature increases and crop seasons may not follow what farmers are typically prepared for.

Warmer temperatures can mean earlier and longer growing seasons, but it can also mean different amounts of rainfall or cold snaps that could damage crops.

Loss of crops negatively impacts the food supply chain. This means lower crop yields and more expensive food for consumers.

Rising food prices and scarce access to food can exacerbate hunger in vulnerable populations around the world.

What's being done about the food supply?

Government agencies in Turkey are working with farmers, many of whom are not insured, regarding their lost crops.

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In general, the World Bank funds programs to enhance food security, eco-friendly agriculture, and climate resilience.

On our own, we can all do our best to reduce our food waste, shop smarter to save money at the grocery store, and protect local pollinators to bolster our local food supplies.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS)  Outdoor recreation in Fayette County is expanding with a recently announced update to a local park.



The latest addition to Fayetteville Town Park, a bike skills area aims to serve parkgoers both young and old. Construction on the addition got underway just a week ago, but folks are already excited for the expansion.

The area will feature three distinct trails at different skill levels to allow guests to work on their biking skills, offering beginners and advanced bikers alike the opportunity to ride.

Summit Bechtel Reserve hosts Total Archery Challenge

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Fayette Trail Coalition Vice President, Abbie Newell told 59News that the bike skills area is being brought in to compliment popular park features such as the skate park and pump track as part of a larger effort to make Fayetteville an outdoor recreation hub for Southern West Virginia.



The idea of the skills park is just a progressive skills building area, she said. People of all ages will get to play and enhance their skill set. Its close proximity to a lot of other recreational assets.

The Fayetteville bike skills area was made possible in part by congressionally directed spending funds earmarked through Senators Manchin and Capito, along with the collaborative efforts of multiple local organizations.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
The US Food and Drug Administration has given marketing clearance to a blood test to help diagnose Alzheimers disease, making the test the first to get signoff to aid in the early detection of the disease in the United States.

The test, called the Lumipulse G pTau217/-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio, is for adults 55 and older who are showing signs and symptoms of Alzheimers disease, the FDA announced Friday.

It works by measuring two proteins in blood plasma: pTau217 and beta-amyloid 1-42. A ratio of those proteins tends to correlate with the occurrence or absence of amyloid plaques in the brain, which are among the hallmarks of Alzheimers disease. The test does not measure amyloid directly but can signal its presence.

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However, there remains no current single test to diagnose Alzheimers disease. Doctors primarily rely on a variety of tools to diagnose the condition, which may include medical history, neurological exams, cognitive and functional evaluations, brain imaging, spinal fluid analysis and, more recently, blood tests.

The FDA said the results of the newly cleared blood test must be assessed in conjunction with other clinical information from a patient.

Alzheimers disease impacts too many people, more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary said in Fridays announcement. Knowing that 10% of people aged 65 and older have Alzheimers, and that by 2050 that number is expected to double, I am hopeful that new medical products such as this one will help patients.

According to the FDA, the new blood test  developed by the Pennsylvania-based biotechnology company Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc.  can help increase access to Alzheimers disease detection and reduce reliance on positron emission tomography or PET scans, a type of imaging that can reveal amyloid plaques in the brain but can be expensive, costing thousands of dollars without insurance.

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The FDA said it reviewed clinical trial data on the new blood test, involving plasma samples collected from 499 adults who were cognitively impaired. The samples were evaluated using the blood test, and the results were compared with the results from patients PET scans or separate testing using cerebrospinal fluid samples, such as from spinal taps.

The data showed that 91.7% of adults with positive results using the blood test had the presence of amyloid plaques confirmed by their PET scan or cerebrospinal fluid test, and 97.3% of people with negative results had a negative amyloid PET scan or cerebrospinal fluid test result, according to the FDA.

The agency added that the risks associated with the blood test are mainly the risk of a false positive or false negative test result.

A new era of Alzheimers research

Preventive neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, who established one of the first Alzheimers prevention clinics in the United States, said he has been using this blood test for years for research and applauded the FDA clearance.

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It can provide better clarity into whether a person experiencing memory loss may have Alzheimers disease. They can take this test as a screening test, said Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida. Compared with costly PET scans or spinal taps, this is a much more simple screening test, with reasonable accuracy, to tell the physician that a person with cognitive decline has symptoms that are actually due to Alzheimers disease.

But Isaacson warned that while the FDA clearance is an important step forward for the field, more research is needed to help inform how blood test results should be interpreted and used to make clinical decisions.

I think the next step as a field is, we need to advance education about what these tests mean and what they dont and who they should be used for, he said. Because they mean different things in different people depending on their risk factors and whether or not they have symptoms. So were still early.

Fujirebio Diagnostics designed the blood test to help detect Alzheimers disease early, when interventions are more effective, president and CEO Monte Wiltse said in a news release last year, when the company filed its test with the FDA.

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An early and accurate diagnosis will also facilitate the development of new drug therapies, which are urgently needed as the prevalence of AD increases with a rapidly aging population globally, Wiltse said.

Its estimated that more than 2 in 5 people over the age of 55 in the United States  about 42%  will develop dementia in their later years.

But in some cases, deposits of amyloid can start to accumulate in the brain decades before Alzheimers symptoms begin. Early detection of these amyloid plaques could open the door for a person to take steps to slow the progression of disease, such as starting preventive treatment with medications.

For too long Americans have struggled to get a simple and accurate diagnosis, with todays action by the FDA we are hopeful it will be easier for more individuals to receive an accurate diagnosis earlier, Dr. Maria Carrillo, chief science officer and medical affairs lead at the Alzheimers Association, said in a statement Friday.

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There are a variety of laboratory-developed tests on the market that can be used to detect blood-based biomarkers associated with Alzheimers, according to the Alzheimers Association, as well as experimental tests. But the Fujirebio Diagnostics test is the first one cleared by the FDA.

Blood-based biomarkers are reshaping how we identify and understand Alzheimers disease, Carrillo said. At the same time, there are important questions for health care professionals to consider; in particular, who should be tested and when.

For now, the FDAs clearance marks a major milestone, said Dr. Howard Fillit, co-founder and chief science officer at the Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation.

The ability to diagnose Alzheimers earlier with a simple blood test, like we do for cholesterol, is a game changer, allowing more patients to receive treatment options that have the potential to significantly slow or even prevent the disease, Fillit said in an email Friday. This is a clear example of the new era of Alzheimers research where innovation, science and technology come together to develop more accessible, affordable and scalable tools that will pave the way for additional regulatory approvals of diagnostic tools.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Inside the death chamber at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. (Photo provided by the Indiana Department of Correction)

A federal judge denied a bid by five news outlets to guarantee media access to Indianas next execution, set for just after midnight Tuesday.

During a Friday morning hearing in Evansville, in Indianas southern district, lawyers representing five news entities  including the Indiana Capital Chronicle  argued that a state law barring press from witnessing state executions violates the First Amendment.

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The plaintiffs asked Judge Matthew Brookman to issue a preliminary injunction that would block the state law, for now, and ensure that journalists have access to the scheduled execution of death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, as well as future executions during the pendency of the case.

Up for debate, as well, is a Department of Correction (DOC) policy that says press shall not be permitted to witness the execution.

In a 14-page ruling issued late Friday, Brookman rejected the preliminary injunction request, writing in his order that executions fall outside the criminal adjudication process, meaning First Amendment protections do not apply.

Brookman also rejected the argument that Indianas law discriminates against journalists by allowing spiritual advisors and family members to attend while barring the press. At bottom, Indiana law treats members of the press the same as members of the public at large, he wrote.

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The judge additionally said that the mere fact that some narrowly defined members of the public (who may also be journalists) can attend the execution does not mean that the press are singled out for differential treatment.

The ruling means that Tuesdays execution will proceed without independent media witnesses unless Ritchie names a reporter as one of his five personal guests.

News reporters are granted access to a designated area outside of the Indiana State Prison but are not permitted to directly witness the states actions  unless invited by the condemned to fill one of the five spots.

The Indiana Attorney Generals Office pushed back in the hearing, arguing that journalists have no constitutional right, or privilege, to witness executions.

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Jeff Garn, representing the state, emphasized that any last-minute changes to add media to the upcoming executions witness lists would disrupt a highly-coordinated process thats been rehearsed for months by DOC staff.

He questioned, too, whether the state prisons two designated execution chamber witness rooms can be modified  in a matter of days  to accommodate additional capacity.

Room for reporters

Attorneys with the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press are representing the news entities, which include the Capital Chronicle, The Associated Press, Gannett, Circle City Broadcasting and TEGNA.

Lin Weeks, on behalf of the plaintiffs, maintained Friday that public access to executions is crucial for ensuring transparency and accountability as the state carries out the most severe punishment it can impose. Journalists, he said, serve as surrogates of the public.

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Public access ensures executions are competently and humanely administered, Weeks told the court, adding that details, including any missteps, about such procedures should be known to members of the public.

The public, he continued, needs to see justice carried out.

Lin Weeks, a senior staff attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (Photo courtesy RCFP)

Weeks said media-reported information is also of importance to other condemned inmates awaiting to be put to death. Ritchie and six other men are currently on death row at Indiana State Prison.

The news organizations underlying complaint centers on an Indiana law that limits attendance at executions to: the warden, a wardens designated assistant, the prison physician, another physician, a spiritual advisor, a prison chaplain, five friends or relatives of the inmate and eight members of the victims family.

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Weeks said the plaintiffs are seeking four witness spots specifically for reporters. Current law and DOC policy only allow 13 witnesses total.

Those four witnesses could be included in the 13 allowed currently, or additional spots could be added to one or both rooms that provide visibility into the execution chamber, Weeks told the judge.

He said the Capital Chronicle and other news outlets have requested spots on Ritchies witness list but have so far been denied.

Reporters from all five news entities have covered portions of the case and The Associated Press regularly covers executions nationwide.

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Indiana is one of 27 states with the death penalty, but one of only two states  along with Wyoming  that doesnt include media witnesses at executions.

Senior Reporter Casey Smith witnessed Decembers state execution of Joseph Corcoran  via the inmates guest list.

Weeks also held that Indianas law treats the press more harshly than other members of the public. While victims families and a condemned persons friends or clergy may attend, the media is explicitly barred unless a journalist is handpicked by the inmate.

He additionally pointed out that up to 10 journalists are allowed to observe federal executions conducted at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute. Closed-circuit television has also been available in the past for federal prison executions to be viewed outside the designated witness areas.

State says request comes too late

Garn, however, argued that executions are not public events and that media have no inherent right to witness them.

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They do not have a right to observe the execution, Garn said, maintaining that executions differ from criminal trials, for example. This is not a (public) proceeding. This is an operation, carrying out a sentence of an incarcerated person.

He said its unclear how DOC staff would accommodate media if a short-notice injunction is granted.

This case was brought too late for the execution scheduled on Tuesday, Garn reiterated.

Jeff Garn, section chief of the Indiana Attorney Generals Administration & Regulatory Litigation division (Photo from the OAGs published staff biographies)

He emphasized that chairs in the execution chambers two witness rooms are literally bolted to the floor, leaving limited flexibility for additional observers.

He said the plaintiffs filed their primary injunction request too late, noting that the state requested an execution date for Ritchie in September, and a challenge to state law should have been filed earlier. The Indiana Supreme Court set the execution date April 15.

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Indiana State Prison Warden Ron Neal, one of the defendants  and the only person to provide witness testimony before the court at the Friday hearing  also raised concerns about the confidentiality of execution team members.

If the identities of those involved are not protected, I wouldnt have a team, the warden said.

Neal presided over Corcorans execution in December. Before that, he was involved in the 2009 state execution of Eric Wrinkles  the last death sentence to be carried out before Indianas 15-year execution hiatus.

He said the execution room for the condemned holding five witnesses is tight and very limited. His court declaration said it was 10-by-10 feet.

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Online descriptions of a 10-by-10 foot-storage unit say it is equivalent to a small bedroom or half of a one-car-garage.

The Capital Chronicles experience at the December execution found there were four chairs in the condemned witness room bolted to the two-levels of the riser. In addition, there were three empty chairs elsewhere in the room. Two guards also were in the room.

After an execution date is set, Neal said DOC staff practice the process at least once each week ahead of the execution date.

Communication between the prison and offices of the governor and the attorney general are tested. An intravenous line is inserted into a live (volunteer) every time a training is held.

Staff are also taught the precise steps taken to escort witnesses to and from the execution chamber. Neal conceded, though, that theres always a possibility that folks dont show up, and we plan accordingly.

We take it very seriously  we dont want to make any mistakes.

 Indiana State Prison Warden Ron Neal

All DOC employees involved in the process then participate in a full, step-by-step dress rehearsal the day before a scheduled execution, Neal said.

We go to great lengths  just as we would on the day of an execution, he told the court. We take it very seriously  we dont want to make any mistakes.

Garn suggested the case could be more appropriately litigated after the current execution, and even mentioned a possible future settlement conference.

Weeks, referencing Neals testimony, argued that DOC staff are trained to handle flexibility in the number of people who attend as witnesses.

The media attorney argued that DOC staff have accommodated changes to witness lists before  even in the days preceding an execution  and could still do so before Tuesday.

Gov. Mike Braun rejected a clemency plea from Ritchie on Wednesday, one day after the Indiana Parole Board recommended that the death row inmates upcoming execution proceed as scheduled.

Ritchie, who fatally shot Beech Grove law enforcement officer William Toney during a police pursuit on Sept. 29, 2000, had petitioned the board to commute his death sentence to life without parole.

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A federal agent testified Friday about how disgraced hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs had baby oil, lubricant, drugs and cash stashed all over the New York City hotel room where he stayed to negotiate his surrender last year.

The agents raided room 2115 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan on Sept. 16, 2024 after Combs arrest that day, finding bags of Astroglide lubricant and baby oil inside the entryway closet of the room, said Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Yasin Binda.

The feds also found more lube in the bathtub and in the nightstand of the room, according to testimony from Binda and photos shown to the jury.

Diddy watched on as a federal agent revealed the contents of the hotel room. REUTERS

A pill bottle of Klonopin written for Frank Black, an apparently fake name, was also found inside a Louis Vuitton bag on the nightstand along with apparent mood lighting, Binda testified in Manhattan Federal Court.

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Inside the nightstand drawer, were pink-colored drugs, which were ketamine and MDMA, Binda said.

Diddy was taken into custody at the Park Hyatt in September, 2024 raid. William C Lopez/New York Post

Similar pink mystery powders linked to dangerous Venezuelans and reportedly loved by Diddy have recently blown through New York Citys illicit drug scene, law enforcement sources have said.

A synthetic drug, known in some circles as tusi, has popped up in a growing number of recent narcotics busts, the sources said last year.

During the testimony Friday, jurors were given the bag of pink drugs to look at and pass around.

The feds also found $9,000 cash in a black fanny pack inside the room, said Binda, who was part of a law-enforcement team that entered the room with a search warrant.

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During Bindas testimony, Combs put his hand on his forehead and patted his head while he spoke to his lawyers.

Combs, 55, had been in New York City to negotiate his surrender during a federal sex-trafficking investigation in September 2024 when agents raided his hotel room.

The fallen hip hop star had traveled to the Big Apple in anticipation of his arrest on federal charges stemming from a grand jury indictment, prosecutors and sources said at the time.

On Thursday, lawyers grilled Combs ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, about a claim that the Bad Boys Records founder doused one victim with lubricant that was mixed with Rohypnol  or GHB  before a vicious assault.

She told the jury Wednesday that Combs once filled an inflatable pool with bottles of baby oil and other lubricants for a hotel-room freak-off.
Larry Johnson thought he was doing everything right. The Atlanta father had a clean driving record, a rising credit score and a practical tool to monitor his family: the Life360 app.

When he started shopping for car insurance recently, the quotes were unexpectedly high, and something wasnt adding up.

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The quotes I was getting just didnt make sense to me, Johnson told Channel 2. Eventually, an agent told him he had a low insurance score.

He later realized that the Life360 app also tracked their driving and fed that data to insurance companies.

Its shocking. And it feels like a violation almost, Johnson said. I dont mind signing up for something when I know what Im getting myself into.

From safety to surveillance?

Life360 is a popular location-tracking app marketed to families for safety and peace of mind. However, according to Channel 2, Life360 and similar apps may be doing much more than users realize.

A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that a data broker called Arity  a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance  embedded tracking software into apps like Life360 and GasBuddy.

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The software allegedly monitors users' real-time location and movement without clearly disclosing that companies can use it to adjust insurance prices.

Paxton alleges that the personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law.

Allstate has stated that Arity is a separate legal entity, but reporters who contacted Arity received a response from an Allstate email address.

Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now

How does this affect your insurance?

Apps that track motion and location may collect data sold to third parties. These data brokers aggregate your behaviour to create a driving profile that insurers can use to determine your risk level and adjust your premium accordingly.

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Youre getting similar quotes from similar insurance companies because theyre pulling from the [same] database, Johnson told Channel 2.

Tina Marie Johnson also reported that her insurers safe driving app penalized her for her cars automatic braking, a safety feature she cant control. She was also flagged for erratic driving while using a mobility scooter in a grocery store.

Most apps like Life360 or GasBuddy are free to download but often monetize user data.

While you may think youre only sharing your location to find cheaper gas or keep your kids safe, that data can be repackaged and sold.

What can consumers do?

After learning how Life360 handled his data, Johnson deleted the app and changed how he evaluates new tools.

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I look for location, I look for tracking data, and I look to see what they do with that data and if I can opt out or not. And if I cant, then I dont use the app, he told Channel 2.

Privacy advocates argue that stronger legislation is needed. Recently, Georgian Senator Jon Ossoff and a Louisiana Republican introduced the bipartisan DELETE Act, requiring data brokers to delete consumer information upon request and create a do not track list.

Data brokers are buying, collecting and reselling vast amounts of personal information about all of us without our consent, said Ossoff. This bipartisan bill is about returning control of our personal data to us, the American people.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
FEMAs acting chief plans to shift responsibility for disaster recovery to the states.

This is as were just two weeks from the start of the hurricane season.

If FEMA makes some of its suggested changes, it will place a large financial burden on the state and local municipalities.

Emergency Management sources across the state tell Eyewitness News that cities and counties could have to raise millions to pay what FEMA typically would.

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Someone will have to pay for it, said Christopher Emrich, emergency management professor at the University of Central Florida.

FEMAs new acting administrator David Richardson told staff in a meeting Thursday, hes following President Trumps vision on how disasters like hurricanes should be managed, by pushing the states to do the majority of recovery and response.

The Stafford Act states that FEMA typically covers a minimum of 75 percent of the cost for most projects, such as repairing public infrastructure. States or local jurisdictions cover the remaining 25 percent or so.

But now, FEMA is looking to shift more of the financial burden on states and local municipalities.

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There are some states that can probably handle that additional burden better than others. I think Floridas situated well to do that as a state. I dont know about some of our counties and cities that might have a lower capacity, Emrich said.

Emrich says this may slow down disaster recovery.

The other concern is how the state and local municipalities can cover the costs-- where they can find that extra revenue stream.

Do we charge the tourists that come here more? Do we charge the homeowners more in property taxes? Do we have a sales tax increase?, Emrich said, about if these changes come to fruition. You know, I dont know how they answer that.

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Uncertainty over covering disaster relief comes as theres still questions about grant cuts.

In Volusia County, two EMA positions are being funded in anticipation of a $100,000 cut.

Emrich says EMA directors are discussing the swirling uncertainty as the state approaches hurricane season.

Channel 9 reached out to FEMA for comment about the potential changes. We also asked if current disaster recovery projects would be grandfathered in without states, cities, and counties paying extra. We have not heard back.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
In the news

Oklahoma lawmakers are concerned that behavioral health clinics could soon start shutting down across the state, as leaders of Oklahoma's beleaguered mental health agency say the department is about to run out of money.

Related commentary

A MOBILE RESPONSE: Columnist writes about what she describes as Oklahoma City's "bold response" to addressing people experiencing a mental health crisis.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Deputy Opinion Editor Bill Wertz highlights some issues the Oklahoma Legislature is punting into the future.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma mental health agency amid financial fiasco | Cartoon
May 17LIMA  The story of the Lima Human Relations Commission has been a story of stops and starts.

A renewed push from Lima City Council to restart the commission has been met with calls from both community leaders and officials to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

"I think it just wilted away from benign neglect," Fourth Ward Councilor Jeanine Jordan said prior to a committee meeting Wednesday night. "The immediate need for it may have passed, and when you have a commission that has many things in its duty to do, it's overwhelming. If you look at the original ordinance, nobody's going to be able to do all of that."

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Why the commission is returning

In recent committee meetings, current Lima councilmembers have sounded conscious of this history.

In a March meeting (bit.ly/42ZHvT5), the Dayton Human Relations Council advised Lima City Council to take things step-by-step and start with mediation. It listed its functions as civil rights enforcement, business and technical assistance and community relations. In an April meeting (bit.ly/4djX3ET), the committees discussed the overall vision for the commission, but advisors warned they were getting bogged down by details before reactivating it. In June 2024 (bit.ly/4dfWknU), although the murder of George Floyd and the city's Haitian immigrant population were at the forefront of the discourse, council members and Council President Jamie Dixon were adamant that the commission would be necessary and useful for such a purpose as mediation, even without those inciting topics.

Multiple times, different members have expressed caution about activating a commission that does not have teeth, does not represent the people and does not have a clear purpose and motivation. Tim Callahan, president of the Lima African-American Chamber of Commerce, was one of the residents echoing former Mayor David Berger's calls for the commission to restart in 2020 and said he feels optimistic about the new push.

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"I think it's a great idea, as long as this is not in name and window dressing, to give some people in the community a title," he said. "I think if they are going to do it, they ought to facilitate people in the community who are in touch with it and have its interest at heart."

Callahan raised concerns about who might be appointed to the organization and how those living in the city of Lima would be represented.

"It does no good to have a human relations commission and put five people on it, two of them living in Bath Township and two in Shawnee," he said. "That's not actually in the community, and they don't know what it means exactly."

How the commission would work

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Wednesday night's joint Neighborhood Concerns Committee and Economic and Community Development Committee meeting (bit.ly/3ZfpOww) spoke directly to those concerns. A document drafted by Lima Law Director Tony Geiger laid out the format to hire members of the commission and staff based on the existing ordinance, which he said could serve as the basis for legislation re-establishing the commission.

The document calls for the commission to consist of 18 unpaid members who are residents of a council member's ward or work at a business located within a ward, two residents appointed by the council president and two additional members nominated by a Lima Senior High School principal and a Lima Central Catholic principal.

The document would allow council to designate the commission as "its limited agent to make investigations on Council's behalf regarding issues of alleged discrimination" and would give it the power of subpoena, something that past councils never approved and one of many points of contention from previous commission members.

It lists the duty of the commission as doing "everything practical to eliminate prejudice and the practice of discrimination against individuals because of such person's race, color, religion. sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, military status, national origin, disability, age or ancestry.

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"It's up to council to decide what the scope of the commission would be, and I think that's what they're trying to work through now with their process," Geiger said. "Mediation, it seems to me, would fit within the concept of what they're looking to do to provide an avenue for issues to be resolved. And mediation is often a good way to do that sort of thing, but it's overall starting with a blank slate because the commission has never really been functional."

What happened in the past

The first commission started in 1960, lasting until its dissolution in 1976. In that time, it exposed issues arising out of the civil rights era, such as the use of blackface by local teenagers months after the Birmingham church bombing to discrimination with housing, schooling and development. The commission faced tougher tests as it aged, however, with tensions heightening to the point of riots in schools, police shootings, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and finally, a city council that former commission chair Ric Bratton called out for essentially sabotaging the commission's work.

A call from Berger to restart the commission in 2020 following the protests of that summer fell similarly neglected. That changed last June, when council members responded to growing tensions surrounding the city's new Haitian immigrant population.

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"We ended up being reactionary, as opposed to proactive," Third Ward Councilor Carla Thompson said Wednesday. "This is something that with this iteration of council, we realized we don't want to keep just being reactionary. We don't see where this is a problem that's shrinking. It's a problem that's growing, where community members don't see each other as community.

"There are more than one of us now who wants to bring this to fruition, and when we're working as a team, we can do that."

"It's going to take some time to get the right people in position and have them get their feet under them to figure out what it is they're doing and how to do it best," Jordan added after Wednesday's meeting. "It's a learning process."

Lima City Council will vote on this ordinance at its Monday meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Lima Municipal Building on Town Square.

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As if earning double majors in college wasnt enough, Kelsey Payne and Austin Moore one-upped that accomplishment with an even bigger achievement.

The Fredericksburg-area students are among seven University of Mary Washington graduates who completed their degrees with the highest grade point average in the undergraduate program. They all earned perfect GPAs of 4.0 and graduated summa cum laude, the highest academic distinction.

Payne and Moore, along with Bonnie Butler, Kathleen Conner, Thomas Held, Jessica Oberlies and Maria Werner, received the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award for Academic Achievement during the May 10 commencement ceremony. They were among more than 900 graduates to earn degrees.

The number of students with 4.0s, which historically is unusual, represents the strength of our students and the number of students for whom we are a first choice, particularly those involved in our Honors Program or seeking top-notch undergraduate research, said UMW Provost Tim ODonnell.

For the two local students, the accomplishment is the latest on an ever-growing list.

Payne is the youngest of four siblings from a musical family in King George County, and shes been a member of the UMW Philharmonic since the ninth grade. She was the youngest person to join the group and has been its concertmaster her four years at UMW.

Music is what Im most passionate about, and I hope to make a career out of it, Payne wrote in an email. At the same time, Ive actually enjoyed my computer science classes a lot more than I thought I would.

She majored in both music and computer science, and received awards from both programs, just as shes earned prizes during the three years the Philharmonic has offered a concerto competition. Twice she won on violin, and once on the piano.

Payne will attend the renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and work on a masters in violin performance.

Moore not only majored in the mind-numbing combination of mathematics and applied physics, but he did so in three years. The 2022 graduate of Stafford High School joked that just raw talent accounted for the accomplishment.

But seriously, I really liked math from a young age, and I was encouraged to seek out other opportunities to develop new problem-solving skills, he said. Luckily, math and physics are deeply entwined, so much so that it feels like one big major.

Both students said their support group  of fellow students and professors, friends and family  helped them keep their focus.

Moore said the small size of UMW enabled him to connect with faculty in both departments which absolutely helped me along the way. He also enjoyed what he called the sense of community between faculty and students in the physics department.

Sharing ideas and working through problems together fostered a connection that allowed us to learn from one another and build on each others strengths, Moore said.

As I moved into my upperclassman years, I felt a responsibility to help sustain that culture, he added. Im thankful to have been a part of that.

During research in fluid dynamics, Moore ran and interpreted simulations related to green energy provided from wind farms. He presented his work at a UMW symposium and will do the same at the Virginia Academy of Science later in May.

Moore plans to join the workforce for a few years before he explores graduate school.

Payne said her three older siblings, who also attended UMW, were playing instruments and singing in childrens choirs by the time she arrived on earth. They were a great influence, as were church lessons that stressed we should all try to do our best with the different abilities and talents God has given each of us, she said.

As for juggling different activities, Payne is a virtuoso in that as well. She and her musical siblings, who were all home-schooled, were featured in a 2016 Free LanceStar story. It noted that schedules were so jam-packed, Kelsey, then 14, regularly works on her laptop on her way to another activity.

College has been no different. She sees the hectic pace among friends who are studentathletes, have serious jobs, or even their own families.

I just tried to use my best time management skills to balance everything, Payne said. Truthfully, Ive met so many other students here on campus whove inspired me by overcoming and achieving so much. It makes me proud to be a part of this graduating class.

More information about the seven students recognized this year for their perfect GPAs is available at https://www.umw.edu/news/2025/05/10/seven-umw-graduates-earn-perfect-4-0-gpas.
Flights resumed at Jacksonville International Airport in Florida late Friday after a major fire in the facilitys hourly garage forced a full shutdown for several hours. The blaze ignited just after noon and reportedly started in a single vehicle before spreading rapidly to roughly 50 others The Florida Times Union reported.

The fire led to partial collapses on the second and third floors of the garage and forced firefighters to pull back due to safety concerns. Drones were deployed to assess the damage. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Powers said the structure, which was last inspected in October, will require a thorough investigation before reopening.

Officials confirmed the fire remained under control by late afternoon, though it continued to smolder. No injuries were reported.

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The fires location, on the garage level nearest the terminal, brought travel to a standstill. Some outbound flights managed to depart, but inbound traffic was halted until the airport officially reopened at 5 p.m. During the airport's closure, flights were diverted to Orlando Airport.

Related: Staffing Shortages Threaten Weather Service Readiness for Hurricanes

City leaders urged travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport, noting that parking availability remains severely limited. The 1,200-space Hourly Garage is closed indefinitely, and the Daily Garage was also taken offline Friday evening.

City officials said they would continue monitoring the situation. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, who joined emergency and airport officials at a press briefing, praised first responders and reiterated the importance of traveler safety. Well continue to monitor the structure, but it will be a long process, she said.

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The incident comes just ahead of the Memorial Day travel rush and raises fresh concerns about infrastructure readiness at major transit hubs. For now, officials are encouraging the use of rideshare services and off-site parking lots while recovery efforts continue.

Related: Newark Nightmare: Radar Screens Go Dark Again, Controllers Sound the Alarm
A massive fire erupted Friday in the hourly parking garage at Jacksonville International Airport, destroying dozens of vehicles and leaving many travelers uncertain about the fate of their cars.

Black smoke from the fire could be seen for miles, drawing immediate concern from those flying into the airport and those with vehicles parked there.

We saw a big fire in the distance and we said, thats probably not good, said traveler David Chandler.

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According to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, the fire is believed to have started with one vehicle and quickly spread to others. About 50 cars were impacted by the fire, she said.

The scene left behind was one of significant destruction. The roof of the garage partially collapsed, with several burned-out vehicles still visible. In the wreckage, one vehicles emergency lights continued to flash, a reminder of the chaos earlier in the day.

Zach Willis, a traveler returning from Atlanta, had parked his truck on the third level of the garage earlier in the week. He found out about the fire while still out of town.

Its just the fact that my truck was only two years from being paid off, Willis said. Even with insurance, its still not gonna cover everything. It will probably pay it off, but at the same time, I have to buy another vehicle.

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He also expressed uncertainty about how he would get home. I got the news when I was in Atlanta, Willis added.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Powers addressed concerns about potential casualties. We dont think so, but we cant say for sure until we get inside each and every one of those cars and checked, but I dont think so, Powers said when asked if anyone could be trapped inside the garage.

Mayor Deegan said the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) will be providing support and information to those affected. I do know that they said they are going to use message boards, they will have information to the airlines, and they will be providing people with information as they get the updateso when they come off the plane, they know what to do.

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JAA also announced plans to launch a dedicated webpage where people who had parked in the hourly garage can submit their information.

Currently, nearly 2,000 parking spaces are out of service due to the fire. The garage was last inspected in October of last year.

Crews from Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department battled a fire that destroyed vehicles in a parking garage Friday, May 16, 2025 at Jacksonville International Airport.

Crews from Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department battled a fire that destroyed vehicles in a parking garage Friday, May 16, 2025 at Jacksonville International Airport.

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LAUREL COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE)  A Laurel County, Kentucky firefighter who was injured while responding to storm damage overnight is among the 17 people who died, according to officials.

The Laurel County Fire Department released Saturday afternoon that Major Roger Leslie Leatherman was fatally injured while responding to the reported tornado in Laurel County overnight.

Nine fatalities confirmed in Laurel County, Kentucky from reported tornado

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Major Leatherman was a dedicated public servant for 39 years, answering the call to protect and help others in their most critical time of need. His courage, commitment, and sacrifice will never be forgotten, The fire department wrote. Please keep Major Leathermans family, friends, and fellow responders in your thoughts and prayers.

The fire department said it is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers first responders face every day and the bravery they show in the face of disaster. They also asked everyone stay clear of the area as crews continue search and recovery efforts.

Knoxville restaurant collecting supplies for Laurel County, Kentucky storm victims

Saturday morning, the Laurel County Sheriffs Office reported that nine people in Laurel County died as a result of the severe storms overnight. As search efforts continued, that number grew. Just after 3 p.m., Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said 18 people had died in Kentucky because of the storm. Those numbers account for 17 fatalities in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County.

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A lifelong London resident, a retired teacher and a Laurel County Fire Department official and many more are among the 18 confirmed deaths from severe storms that swept Kentucky late Friday into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Laurel County Coroner Doug Bowling confirmed the following 17 victims from that county Saturday evening. They are:

Richard and Wanda McFall

June Fisher

Darlene Miller

Nancy Clem

Pam Mason

Sherri Smith

Tiffany Heim

Ray Cowen

Linda Sweet

Gary Sweet

Kenneth Elliott

Marshall Miracle

Bobby and Bernice Tillman

Lisa Fortney

Roger Leslie Leatherman

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In a press conference late Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear said officials expect the death toll to continue to rise, and at least 10 people are hospitalized in critical condition.

The lone victim in Pulaski County was identified as Melody Godby, 68, who lived in the Poplarville community on the the eastern side of the county, said Coroner Clyde Strunk.

Strunk said Godbys house exploded during the storm. Her body was found in debris in her yard, he said. Godby died as a result of blunt force trauma.

Katie Fortney told the Herald-Leader in a message Saturday morning that her mother, Lisa Fortney, 51, was among those who died in the suspected tornado in Laurel County.

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She was among those in an apartment building that was tragically destroyed in the storm, Katie Fortney said. She was with her boyfriend (Kenneth Elliott), who also lost his life in the storm.

Just before 3 p.m., the Laurel County Fire Department confirmed Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman was fatally injured while reportedly responding to an potential tornado in the area. He is the second publicly identified victim of Fridays overnight storms.

Major Leatherman was a dedicated public servant for 39 years, answering the call to protect and help others in their critical time of need. His courage, commitment, and sacrifice will never be forgotten, the department said in a Facebook post.

Another victim, Sherri Smith, was also identified Saturday by a state legislator.

Roger Leslie Leatherman, 57

Laurel County Fire Chief Shane Lynch told the Herald-Leader that Leatherman had agreed Friday evening to respond to calls for help amid the storms.

Laurel County Fire Department Maj. Roger Lesie Leatherman, 57, seen in this undated photo, has been identified as one of the victims of severe storms and possible tornado in Southeastern Kentucky.

Lynch believes Leatherman was trying to respond to a neighbors home in Sunshine Hills, which was hit hard by an unconfirmed tornado, when he died. He was found outside his storm-damaged home.

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Leatherman was 57.

Now at the rank of major, he joined the fire department in 1986.

It was just part of his life, Lynch said Saturday afternoon. His service to the community was second to none.

Leathermans wife, who has not been identified, was also injured and is reportedly hospitalized.

Lisa Fortney, 51

Katie Fortney said her mother Lisa held various jobs throughout her life, but most recently worked at the manufacturer Highlands Diversified Services for seven years.

Lisa Fortney, seen in this undated photo, was among the victims of deadly overnight storms and a possible tornado in Laurel County, Ky., May 16 and 17. She was 51.

Above all, she was known for her unwavering work ethic and dedicationa true hard worker in every sense, her daughter said.

Lisa Fortney was a lifelong resident of London, growing up in the heart of downtown, where she built memories and lasting connections.

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I would want people to remember her for her kind heart and her ability to do the best she could, no matter the circumstances. She loved her family deeply; the Salyers family meant everything to her. Her compassion extended to all living creaturesshe loved any animal that breathed, Katie Fortney said.

In a separate message, Lisa Fortneys cousin, Michelle Salyers-Baker, said she was someone you couldnt help but love.

She really was such a great sweet person and I loved her with all my heart. We dont understand how this happened, Salyers-Baker told the Herald-Leader.

Sherri Smith

Kentucky State Senate President Robert Stivers identified one of the Laurel County victims Saturday as Sherri Smith, a retired Clay County teacher.

No additional information about Smith was immediately available.

This is a developing report.
(Reuters) - Five people were killed on Saturday when two helicopters collided and crashed in a wooded area near Eura Airport in southwestern Finland, police said.

Police said the mid-air collision occurred shortly after noon near the town of Kauttua, with the wreckage falling some 700 metres (yards) from the Ohikulkutie road.

"Five people have died in a helicopter accident near Eura Airport on Saturday," Detective Chief Inspector Johannes Siirila of the National Bureau of Investigation said.

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According to flight plans, there were two people aboard one helicopter and three in the other, police said, adding that both helicopters were registered outside Finland.

One helicopter was registered in Estonia, the other in Austria, according to an Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) report, citing Finland's Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. Both belonged to Estonian companies. One was owned by NOBE and the other by Eleon, the report added.

The helicopters were reportedly en route to a hobby aviation event, according to the Pori Aviation Club, Yle News reported.

The National Bureau of Investigation is leading a joint probe with local police, and Finnish and Estonian authorities are cooperating.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
A Travis County district judge has temporarily blocked rules that give Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton meticulous access to the office records of urban district attorneys, some of whom sued Paxton in May.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn the new rule created by Paxtons office giving his staff discretion to request almost all documents from cases county officials work on, regardless of whether they are being pursued. The seven district attorneys suing Paxton said the rule is an unconstitutional overreach that would needlessly burden offices that would have to present terabytes of data to the attorney general.

Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy granted a temporary injunction against the rules on Monday and submitted the injunction to the court on Friday, weeks before the first required report would have been due. In the injunction filing, Mauzy wrote the district attorneys are likely to prevail at trial, and that their offices would need to "expend a significant amount of resources, personnel time, and taxpayer funds" to create the first reports due June 30.

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The rule, which took effect in April, only applies to counties with 400,000 residents or more  a threshold only 13 counties in the state meets. Paxtons office has marked the provision as a way to rein in rogue district attorneys refusing to uphold the law. Initially, three lawsuits were filed in May: district attorneys from Travis and El Paso counties filed one; district attorneys from Harris, Dallas and Bexar counties filed another; and district attorneys with Fort Bend and Williamson counties filed a third. All three seek to block Paxton from being able to enforce the rule, alleging it violates the state Constitution and federal law.

The background: The rule, known as Chapter 56, was originally proposed in the administrative code in September 2024. It requires district attorneys to provide all documents or communications produced or received by district attorneys offices, including confidential information.

Included in the rules definition of case file materials eligible for review are all documents, correspondence and handwritten notes relevant to a case. It also requires counties to submit quarterly reports to the attorney general on twelve different subjects, including specific information on indictments of police officers or for violations of election code.

The new Chapter 56 cites a 1985 statute prompting district and county attorneys to report information to the attorney general in the form that the attorney general directs. To enforce the collection of documents and communication, the rule would create an oversight advisory committee composed of employees from the attorney generals office. The committee would be able to request entire case files from district attorneys at their discretion. Failing to provide the requested documentation to the advisory committee would result in official misconduct under the rule, allowing a district judge to remove a district attorney from office.

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Why the district attorneys sued: The three lawsuits claim the law cited by the new Chapter 56 does not provide Paxtons office with the sweeping jurisdiction the rule creates  and that providing the information requested would be both expensive and illegal. One lawsuit from Dallas, Harris and Bexar county attorneys claims the rule seeks to achieve a political objective by burdening officials and creating strict consequences for noncompliance.

These reporting requirements do not make communities safer, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said. They do not identify trends, improve transparency, or enhance public trust. Instead, they create barriers that divert limited resources away from what matters most, which is prosecuting violent offenders and protecting our community.

The trios lawsuit also maintains the rule violates the Texas Constitutions protections on separation of powers because the attorney general has no authority to expand the definition of official misconduct.

A second lawsuit filed by the district attorneys from El Paso and Travis counties marks similar issues with the new rule, and also claims it would require illegally forfeiting the private information of victims working with their offices. In a press release from March, Paxtons office states the new rule will help assist citizens in judging prosecutors performance, which attorneys in the second suit worry indicates private information could be shared with the public.

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The Challenged Rules purport to require an unprecedented level of disclosure of privileged and confidential information from only some of the States prosecutors for the sole purpose of unconstitutional oversight, the lawsuit reads.

What Paxton says: The attorney general has lauded the new rule as a way to help the public better understand how their local prosecutors are operating, and create consequences for those who do not act. In a statement to the Texas Tribune about the lawsuit, Paxton called the rule a straightforward, common-sense measure that aims to shed light on attorneys who may be refusing to prosecute dangerous crimes.

"It is no surprise that rogue DAs who would rather turn violent criminals loose on the streets than do their jobs are afraid of transparency and accountability, Paxton said in a statement about the lawsuit from Dallas, Harris and Bexar county officials. This lawsuit is meritless and merely a sad, desperate attempt to conceal information from the public they were sworn to protect."

Paxtons office also waived concerns about potentially burdensome time or financial costs, stating in the Texas Register that their assessment finds minimal, if any, fiscal impact. Paxton's office did not respond to a request for comment on the injunction against the rule.

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Other factors: The new rule is not the only way elected officials in Texas have sought to rein in rogue district attorneys in recent years through a similar enforcement mechanism. The state Legislature passed House Bill 17 in 2023, which allows courts to remove district attorneys who refuse to prosecute certain crimes, also through official misconduct designation.

Republican lawmakers at the time rallied behind the bill after criticizing Democratic district attorneys for not pursuing alleged voter fraud or prosecuting abortion-related cases. Jose Garza, the Democratic district attorney for Travis County who joined El Paso and Bexar counties in suing Paxton, was unsuccessfully sued through the laws provision in 2024.

A trial for the suit has been set for Dec. 8, according to the injunction.

First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 1315 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA)  A five-vehicle accident just west of Fisher during the low visibility in Fridays dust storm led to four people being sent to the hospital.

At approximately 4:50 p.m. on May 16, Illinois State Police Troop 7 responded to US-136 westbound of County Road 300 E in Champaign County for the report of a five-vehicle crash during a dust storm.

State Police dealing with multiple crashes on I-74

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In the incident, a Ford F350 struck the rear of a Toyota RAV4, pushing them forward into the rear of a Kia Sol, who then pushed forward into the back of an international tow truck. The door of a Lincoln Navigator was then struck by one of the vehicles during the chain reaction.

The driver of the Toyota RAV4 and three passengers in the vehicle were transported to an area hospital with injuries. There is no further information 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.
CUMBERLAND  Emergency services teams Thursday continued to assess damage from severe flash flooding that occurred Tuesday along Georges Creek, as Gov. Wes Moore got a firsthand look at the devastation, and the local United Way signaled more help was on the way.

About 40 volunteers for the United Way Day of Caring & Sharing will break away from the annual event Friday morning in Cumberland to assistant with cleanup efforts on Georges Creek.

The volunteers will assist families impacted by the floods in areas of greatest need, said Westernport City Administrator Lauren Feeman Legge.

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Teams began formal damage assessments Thursday, which are critical for gathering information needed to determine whether the county qualifies for a federal emergency declaration, the Allegany Department of Emergency Services said.

Such a declaration may enable federal recovery and cleanup assistance.

Moore was briefed on damage and response efforts in Lonaconing and surveyed storm damage in Westernport Thursday evening. He also declared a state of emergency to strengthen the states response.

After surveying the damage and receiving updates on the work still ahead in Western Maryland, Ive declared a state of emergency to accelerate our response, Moore said.

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Today, our thoughts are with the Marylanders who have been directly impacted by this storm, and our gratitude is with all of the first responders, crisis managers, and public servants who raised their hands to support our people in a moment of need.

Volunteer boost

The Day of Caring & Sharing will go on as planned in Cumberland, but a number of work groups will assist with flood cleanup. Volunteers from First Peoples Community Federal Credit Union, Historic Highlands Association of Realtors and CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield will head to hard-hit Church Street in Westernport. After M&T Bank workers are finished at their projects in Cumberland, they will travel to Westernport to assist.

Any other people who would like to help with the Day of Caring cleanup efforts in Westernport should report to 170 Church St. and ask for Misty.

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Libraries

Due to damages from Tuesdays flooding, Georges Creek and Westernport libraries remained closed Thursday.

But Allegany County Library System officials are optimistic the Georges Creek branch will reopen to the public Monday.

Georges Creek Library sustained minimal damage, officials said via press release Thursday.

ACLS is pleased to report that no materials or historical items were harmed, including the cherished Lefty Grove trophy and memorabilia, which remain safe and intact.

The Westernport Library, however, experienced significant damage.

Library leadership is working closely with local officials, insurance adjusters and restoration companies to assess the full scope of the damage and begin planning recovery efforts, the release stated.

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An inventory and evaluation process is underway, with early estimates placing the value of the buildings collections alone at over $270,000.

Trains

The Georges Creek Division Railroad, which had recently cleared the right-of-way between Barton and Westernport, suffered significant track damage in that stretch by Tuesday evening, the organization posted via social media of flood damage.

Bridges, crossings, right-of-way and several miles of track were impacted by the quick-moving water.

The railroads primary line between Cumberland and Frostburg didnt receive the same level of damage, and no excursion disruption was expected.

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According to trains.com, CSX was able to repair flood damage to former Baltimore & Ohio main lines in Cumberland, which allowed freight and Amtrak services to resume.

The CSX routes sustained damage during heavy rainstorms on Tuesday, the website stated and reported. CSX Thursday said it was pleased to share that we have returned to normal operations in the Northeast following this weeks severe weather event.

CSX was closely monitoring conditions as new storms are expected to develop and continue through early next week, the website stated.

Donations

Various donation efforts are underway.

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 Working with United Way team volunteers, partner agencies and organizations, County United Way will direct contributions to county-specific funds for human services needs as community coordinators identify and prioritize them.

This will help ensure that 100% of funds donated will go directly to your neighbors needs as they evolve, CUW officials said Thursday.

A donation portal system is available at cuw.org.

 According to the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services, questions about supply donations should be directed to 443-597-5119 or samantha.twigg@maryland.gov. Monetary donations can be made at Chessie Federal Credit Union to support all recovery efforts.

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 Financial donations via personal check, which may identify in the memo section the specific county and area where the donation should go, should be mailed to the American Red Cross of Allegheny Highlands, 1299 Pineview Drive, Suite 300, Morgantown, West Virginia, 26505.

Dumpsters

Dumpsters for household items are expected to soon be located in Westernport beside the city building on Main Street, Barton at the fire hall parking lot, Lonaconings town hall garage on Jackson Street, and the Midland and Ellerslie lots behind the respective fire stations.

Accepted items will include furniture, drywall and carpet.

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Dirt, mud, rocks or natural debris will not be accepted in dumpsters, but should be placed at your property edge for cleanup crews to collect in coming days.

Boosters

The Allegany County Health Department will offer free tetanus booster clinics for folks who have any wounds and have been working in flood waters or mud.

The clinics will be held Friday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Lonaconing Armory, 2 Advocate Court, and 1 to 4 p.m. at the Lutheran Church on the corner of Fusner and Front streets in Westernport.

No other vaccines will be offered at the clinics, and priority will be given to people with cuts sustained during the recent flood evacuation and cleanup.

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Caution

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is urging caution when using gas-powered generators and pumps after a Barton man was taken to a hospital Wednesday when he became ill with the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

These devices pose a serious threat if not used properly, the fire marshals office said. When used in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces  including basements, garages or near open windows  CO can quickly build to deadly levels.

Tax relief

The Maryland Office of the Comptroller is providing tax relief to businesses affected by flash flooding.

The agency said Thursday it would work with affected businesses individually to waive penalties and interest on all business tax payments with due dates between May 10, 2025, and June 30, 2025.

For the waiver to be applied, all business returns must be filed and payments received by July 20, 2025.

Our hope is that our actions will give business owners one fewer thing to worry about as they tend to their personal and their business needs and figure out the next steps for recovery, Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman said.

Businesses

Several area businesses were damaged during Tuesdays flood, according to various online posts.

So, it was bad, Downtown DAtri Pasta & Subs wrote and displayed a video that showed buckets and pans placed on the floor to collect water that dripped from the ceiling.

The restaurant thanked the Cumberland Fire Deptartment, city fire marshal and Servicemaster of Allegany County, and our dedicated work family, Shannon, Carla, Jon, Jason, Heather, and Skye, for jumping in immediately to help.

The restaurant project has not been easy from the start, and now well be working our way back stronger and better, the post stated.

Another post showed photos of the LaVale Plaza shopping center entrance, which got trashed by the flood waters, it stated of a large concrete section that was washed out.

The Office of the Comptroller offers several options for businesses to reach our office for assistance. Business owners can:

 Visit the Cumberland Branch Office at 3 Pershing St., Suite 101, Cumberland, MD 21502.

 Call the Taxpayer Services Division at 1-800-638-2937. Press 1 to be connected with an agent for assistance.

 Schedule a Virtual Appointment with our Taxpayer Services team.

 Register with the MyCOMConnect Portal and submit a request for assistance. A member of our Taxpayer Services team will follow up with businesses using their preferred method of communication.

PostponedThe Allegany County Commission postponed a public business meeting and work session scheduled for Thursday.

Our team is currently focused on providing a swift response to the flooding in the Georges Creek area and coordinating urgent recovery efforts to support affected residents and infrastructure, the officials said in a statement.

A new meeting date has not been determined.

Charging

UScellular has set up a mobile charging station at its LaVale store to aid residents and relief workers impacted by flash flooding.

Members of the community can visit store to charge devices. The company also has emergency supplies of smartphone chargers and batteries for those displaced by the storms, while supplies last.
Sherri and Edmond Bergeron have tried to chart the same course since they met and married in the Navy, so it made sense that they earned doctorates in education at the same time.

Getting their degrees from Liberty University last week may have made up for the fact they couldnt finish their military service together. She was medically discharged in 2006, three years before his duty ended.

We were supposed to retire together, but we walked the stage together, he said. Are we the first husband-and-wife team to graduate simultaneously from the same doctoral program?

That may be impossible to verify, but theres no doubt the Bergerons of Spotsylvania County have worked together during almost 34 years of marriage.

She was born and raised in Detroit, and he grew up poor, in the bayous of Louisiana. They met in 1989 on the other side of the world when both were stationed at the former U.S. Naval Facility Brawdy in southern Wales. They married two years later.

He came into the Navy as an oceans system technician analyst, and she was a Seabee, a journeyman electrician who did construction. The two quickly realized his job called him to sea while hers kept her on land, and the couple had to adjust their duties so they could be at the same stations.

That became particularly crucial when their family grew to four children.

We just had to make sacrifices, she said.

After she retired from military service, Sherri Bergeron went to work for the Department of Navy as a financial manager in the Pentagon. Her husband, who retired from the military in 2009, became a project coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, ready to deploy for any emergency, including hurricanes that hit his native state.

The couple rode in a vanpool to Washington until after COVID-19, when they started driving to work together. They liked to get to work early and leave for home early, because by that time, they were taking online classes from Liberty in the doctorate program.

Both had earned bachelors and masters degrees in their area of interests, and he was certain, by 2013, that his days of coursework were over. They attend Strong Tower Church in Fredericksburg and also are part of an international ministry, and he kept hearing others talk about the benefit of advanced degrees and to never stop learning.

He made an announcement to his wife.

Ive got this yearning within me to go back to school to get my doctorate, he recalled, and she said, youre not doing it without me.

Even though they worked on their degrees the same time, he joked that the only thing we saw was the back of each others heads. It was more like the side of each others faces, she said, as the coursework required them to do a lot of writing.

Hed be in front of one computer while she was at another.

It wasnt an easy schedule, given they were full-time government workers and students.

We spent long nights, until 11 p.m., working on coursework, she said. Then, wed be up at 4 a.m., work all day, then come home and work some more.

Shes 55 and hes 56. Both found encouragement in each other, and their faith, as they dealt with annual budgets or his deployments to the many natural disasters of the past four years.

They also wanted to finish within four years because their youngest child will graduate from Virginia Tech next spring, and the Bergerons didnt want their commencement ceremony to conflict with his. Two other children have masters degrees and the third has two bachelors degrees.

There were weary days, and we had to strike a balance, he said. But we made it, thank the Lord we did it.
A medical emergency and one ill-timed bathroom break combined to create what could have been a disaster for 200 passengers traveling from Spain to Germany.

Though the incident occurred last year, details about what could have easily become a disastrous scenario are only just now coming to light following Spanish investigators publishing a full report on the February 2024 event.

Related: Another Major Airport Experiences Scary Safety Outage

As Business Insider reports, a Lufthansa flight traveling from Frankfurt, Germany to Seville, Spain was left pilot-less for approximately 10 minutes due to unsettling circumstances. As the flight prepared to cross the border into Spain, with about 30 minutes of travel time left, the captain used the opportunity to take a quick bathroom break.

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When he attempted to re-enter the cockpit eight minutes later, he was unable to do so despite attempting to input the doors security code five separate times. A flight attendant attempted to assist by using the intercom to contact the first officer, but with no response.

While nothing had seemed amiss with the captains 38-year-old co-pilot, he reportedly lost consciousness at some point during his superiors trip to the john. Eventually, the first officer regained consciousness and was able to open the door for the captainleaving the flight unmanned for an estimated 10 minutes.

Related: Woman Allegedly Faked Airport Bomb Threat to Get Back at Ex-Boyfriend

The first officer was described as being pale, sweating, and moving strangely, so was quickly attended to by the flight crew and a doctor who was onboard. Meanwhile, the captain diverted the flight to Madrid, which was the closest airport, so that the pilot could seek immediate medical attention.

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According to the investigators report, his sudden and severe incapacitation was due to a neurological disorder that was known to bring on seizures.

Business Insider wrote that, Investigators recommended that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency tell all airlines about this incident, so they could reassess the risks of one pilot being left alone on the flight deck.

Lufthansa did not respond to Business Insiders request for comment.
Two wealthy political figures think theyve identified the formula to end a three-decade streak of Republican victories in elections for governor, and give Florida something different.

The ex-Democrats  Jason Pizzo, a South Florida state senator, and John Morgan, the prominent Central Florida personal injury lawyer  are advocating a new approach: a candidate who isnt tied to Democratic dogma or Republican orthodoxy who can harness the growing number of independent voters and win the governors office in 2026 by running as a no-party independent or as the leader of a new third party.

Each believes he is the best person to lead that effort and win the election.

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Many Democrats are concerned that a Morgan or Pizzo candidacy would imperil whatever small chance their party might otherwise have in next years governors race. Republicans privately welcome the prospect of extra candidates who could siphon votes away from the eventual Democratic nominee.

Several independent analysts say Democratic worries and Republican glee is justified.

Pizzo, who represents eastern Broward and northeast Miami-Dade County, says hell run as a no-party affiliation candidate for governor.

He declared his intentions in an interview that aired May 11 on WFOR-Ch. 4, less than three weeks after he dramatically declared in a speech on the floor of the Florida Senate that the Democratic Party was dead, resigned as the Senate Democratic leader, and changed his voter registration to no party affiliation.

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Morgan, speaking Wednesday to the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee, touted the idea of a third-party candidacy. Morgan, who left the Democratic Party in 2017, has been floating himself as a possible third-party candidate for months.

He said hed soon launch a contest to name the party, and promised the winner would receive a cash prize.

Premise

Florida always has third party or no party candidates on the ballot for governor, most of whom are ignored, get around 0.3% of the vote, and are promptly forgotten.

The theory for an independent or third-party candidacy in 2026 is that with Republicans making up 40.0% of the states registered voters and Democrats making up 31.1%, theres an enormous group  three in every 10 registered voters  who arent aligned with either party.

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Its those voters  supposedly in the middle and looking for solutions to problems and not enamored of the ideology of either side  who, the thinking goes, have the power to determine the outcome of elections. NPAs decide who wins elections in this state, Pizzo said on the WFOR-Ch. 4 Facing South Florida program. NPA is the acronym for no party affiliation voters, widely known as independents. Pizzo didnt respond to interview requests.

Morgan offered a similar, though slightly different assessment on Wednesday in his speech and later to reporters. Running as an independent isnt good enough, he said, arguing that people want to rally around a team for all of us stuck in the middle.

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Prospects

As appealing as the premise may sound to some, a range of political analysts and strategists said its exceedingly unlikely that a no party candidate or someone running under the banner of a new, as-yet-unnamed party could win.

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Not impossible, but its highly unlikely, said Sean Phillippi, a Democratic strategist who has worked for many political campaigns, in South Florida and statewide. I would say less than 1% chance.

The main reason, Phillippi and others said, is that while there is a large share of people who arent registered in a political party, that doesnt mean they are truly independent in the way most people think of the term.

And it doesnt mean that theyre moderate/centrist/middle-of-the-road voters who are looking for a moderate/centrist candidate.

Most voters registered to vote with no party affiliation are really people who align with, and overwhelmingly vote for, one party or another. They dont really switch back and forth and arent really up for grabs. Thats the assessment shared by Phillippi; Steve Schale, the Democratic strategist who ran the Florida campaigns for his partys two most recent big wins, by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012; Kevin Wagner, a political science professor at Florida Atlantic University; and others.

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Wagner said that many NPA voters are actually partisan voters, they just dont identify or register as a member of a party. Phillippi termed them closet partisans. Schale estimated 75% or more are strongly partisan, aligned with either the Democrats or Republicans.

Many people dont want to have a party label attached to their names in public records. Others are conservative, and think the Republican Party isnt conservative enough, or are liberal and think the Democratic Party isnt liberal enough. And some dont care enough about politics to pick a party, said Susan MacManus, a professor emerita of political science at the University of South Florida.

And although their numbers look large on paper, their theoretical impact as a voting bloc is diluted because NPA voters turn out at a lower rate than people who are registered in one of the two big parties, Phillippi said.

NPA, third party?

Several terms can apply to non-Democrats or non-Republicans.

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In Florida, someone doesnt want to register to vote in a political party can sign up as no party affiliation, or NPA. Many people use no party affiliation or NPA synonymously with independent.

Florida also has an actual Independent Party. Elections supervisors have said that some voters, confused by the name and considering themselves independent, inadvertently register in that party when their actual intention would be to register as NPA.

As of April 30, 25.8% of Floridas registered voters are NPA.

Florida also has many minor parties  often referred to as third parties even though there are currently 15 of them.

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About 2% of the states voters are registered with the Independent Party. Another 1.1% are divided among the Conservative, Constitution, Ecology, Green, Libertarian and Reform and eight other parties.

Spoiler

A widely shared assessment is that Morgan or Pizzo would act as a spoiler, dividing the votes of people who want something different from what theyve had since 1998 when Republicans began their unbroken streak of governors race wins.

It can work, but in most cases it just ends up splitting the opposition vote, Wagner said. In most cases third-party candidates are more likely to be a spoiler than to be successful.

Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller and Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs, both Democrats and former members of the Florida House and Senate, said they hope Pizzo and Morgan ultimately dont run.

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If one of them is on the ballot, then it will split our party and a Republican will walk in, Sachs said. An independent candidate with money would certainly hurt the Democrats  I do not think that an independent party or no political affiliation (candidate) can win any seat in this state.

David Jolly is a former Tampa Bay Republican congressman who became an NPA voter in 2018. He registered as a Democrat in April as he readies for an all-but-certain candidacy for his new partys nomination for governor. He is direct about the impact of an independent candidate.

Theres not a winning, viable path for an NPA, Jolly said in a recent interview. An NPA in 2026 in the governors race hands Tallahassee to Byron Donalds or Casey DeSantis. Thats it. Theres no other outcome.

Donalds, a Republican congressman, is already running. DeSantis, the wife of Gov. Ron DeSantis, hasnt yet said if shell seek the Republican nomination. Term limits prohibit Ron DeSantis from running again.

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Pizzo bristled at the idea that hed be a spoiler.

If they think that Im a spoiler, then theyre concerned about the merit of their own message and the strength of their own message or policy or whatever it is. But really the reality is that there are a lot of really, really excited people and groups about my position.  I hear it every single day in droves, Pizzo told WFOR-Ch. 4.

A math problem

Schale, who said he is proud to be a Democrat, said hes intrigued by Morgans efforts and is sympathetic to the desire by some people to have an alternative, centrist party.

But he doesnt think the numbers work. I think its a math problem. Thats why third-party candidacies over 200 years have largely failed, Schale said.

Republicans start out with a big advantage in Florida, thanks to their big lead among registered voters  1.25 million ahead of the Democrats as of April 30  and their tendency to vote for their partys nominee.

Only if enough Republicans and enough Democrats break from their parties, could independent voters put a candidate over the top. Im skeptical, Schale said. He likened it to getting Jacksonville Jaguars fans to support the Tennessee Titans, or University of Florida fans to support the University of Miami.

It would still be exceedingly difficult because, he said, even a candidate promoting themselves as a moderate centrist would likely take positions that would alienate some voters. If, for example, a candidate supports abortion rights, that would turn off some anti-abortion NPA voters, Schale said.

Schale said a win would likely require one of the two major parties to implode politically. You would probably need one of the two party nominees to almost not exist.

History suggests it wont happen. Florida has elected only Democrats and Republicans as governor or to the U.S. Senate for more than 100 years.

Phillippi said the notion of an independent candidate capturing enough votes for a victory was more plausible as recently as 15 or 20 years ago. Even then, in the three-way contest for U.S. Senate in 2010 between Republican Marco Rubio, NPA Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek, it didnt happen.

Crist was the sitting Republican governor, but broke away when it became obvious he wouldnt win the partys primary for U.S. Senate. Rubio won with Crist finishing second.

Today, Phillippi and Wagner said, political polarization is so extensive that people are much more likely to stick with their party.

MacManus agreed that the consensus among most people involved in politics is that an independent or minor party candidate would lose and doom the Democrats chances, but shes not completely convinced.

Independents are an increasingly important bloc of voters, she said. More people, especially young voters, are turning their backs on political parties, creating a potential path.

Schale too said its not completely impossible, though unlikely We live in these unprecedented times, he said. The worlds kind of a mess right now and voters are frustrated.

Morgan, Pizzo

A major challenge for Pizzo is that, even though his name is known in political circles, hes not a familiar name to many people beyond that realm. Representing one of 40 state Senate districts is far different from getting known in a large state with 10 media markets.

Morgan said in Tallahassee he didnt think Pizzo had the name recognition to win.

Morgan is far better known than Pizzo. His face is ubiquitous on TV ads and billboards promoting his law firm and its For the People slogan. Best known as a personal injury lawyer, he also has political experience. He was the driving force behind referendums that increased the minimum wage in Florida and legalized medical marijuana.

Morgan and Pizzo are both wealthy, and have the resources to put millions of dollars of their own money into campaigns. It would take lots of money and time to develop a campaign infrastructure that can turn out voters, or at least attempt to do so.

Republicans

Republicans are using the Morgan and Pizzo moves to highlight state Democrats political difficulties.

And, with Morgan planning the contest to come up with a name for his new party, the Republicans offered up some of their own suggestions  such as United Ambulance Chasers party to reflect Morgans occupation  and launched its own online form for people to submit ideas.

Power said later via text that Morgans and Pizzos quests are doomed and show the Democratic Party is incapable of winning elections.

Their idea of third-party runs are just further proof that the Florida Democratic Party is dead. Both Pizzo and Morgan are radical liberals, just slapping a new label on themselves wont fix their flawed views, Power said. A third-party candidate has zero chance of winning, just ask Charlie Crist.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
After a mass shooting last month at Florida State University that killed two people, officials will look at building security on campuses across the state and hold a safety summit in October, university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said Thursday.

Rodrigues told the systems Board of Governors that campus leaders will assess the security of buildings and the ability to carry out what he called a lockdown drill. He said the goal is to be done by the end of the summer, which would provide time to make budget requests for the 2026 legislative session.

Specifically, we want to know if the doors can be locked from the inside, and if there are windows in the doors, can those be covered or protected? Rodrigues said.

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He said the October event will allow universities to share information about best practices and discuss the results of the assessments of campus safety.

The goal there would be to identify what we can do to improve across each of our university campuses, as well as identify common concerns so that we will know if we want to make any policy requests of the Legislature for the 2026 session, Rodrigues said.

Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student, faces first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in the April 17 mid-day shooting that killed FSU dining coordinator Robert Morales and Aramark Collegiate Hospitality employee Tiru Chabba and wounded five students. IIkner also was shot by police and was released Monday from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He is being held in the Wakulla County Jail.

Rodrigues on Thursday praised FSU police officers, who rushed to the scene of the shooting. He said the five wounded students have been released from the hospital.

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I feel confident in saying the response of the FSU campus police in this situation was nothing short of amazing, and this could have been a much, much worse tragedy than it was, Rodrigues said. Obviously, tragic to have students shot and to have any loss of life. But the quick response of the FSU campus police prevented this from being much, much, much worse.

While it is too early to know what the campus-security assessments will find, the state has taken numerous steps to try to bolster security at elementary, middle and high schools since the 2017 mass shooting at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people and injured 17 others.

Lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott quickly passed a package of school-safety measuresafter the shooting, and lawmakers have repeatedly revisited the issue in the following years. Also, the state created the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to study school safety and make recommendations.

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Congress is treating the Medicaid budget like a line item on a balance sheet instead of what it really is  cuts to senior citizen healthcare.

Earlier this week, after over 24 hours of debate, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a reconciliation bill. Based on the draft proposal released by the Congressional Budget Office, initial estimates show that federal spending on Medicaid would be slashed by $625 billion over 10 years.

Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who sits on the committee, released a statement outlining the bleak reality if the bill passes. In no uncertain terms, millions of Americans will lose their healthcare coverage, hospitals will close, seniors will not be able to access the care they need, and premiums will rise for millions of people if this bill passes.

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Under the proposed budget cuts, Florida is likely to see a $4 billion reduction in Medicaid. In Miami-Dade County, 58% of seniors are on Medicaid. In fact, Miami-Dade has the highest percentage of seniors covered by Medicaid in the entire state of Florida.

Holly Bullard, chief strategy and development officer for Florida Policy Institute, told the Miami Herald Editorial Board, Miami-Dade is the tip of the spear for Medicaid in Florida, especially when it comes to seniors.

For Florida seniors, medicaid pays for in-home care, nursing homes and other services. Without it, seniors would lose access to these services and more, leaving them stranded and without assistance.

In Florida, nursing-home care is primarily paid for by Medicaid, and for two-thirds of nursing home residents, its the only way they can afford help with daily tasks many of us take for granted such as, bathing and dressing.

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Cutting Medicaid is not only harmful, its borderline inhumane.

Seniors who suffer from dementia, those who rely on weekly visits from a home health aide or need life saving medication would be among those suffering the most, along with other vulnerable groups. Elderly patients could lose access to doctors, lose out on necessary medication and help with tasks such as personal hygiene.

Under the current proposal, if Medicaid is cut, the question becomes who will help Florida seniors? Where will the money come from?

Not every lawmaker is on board with the proposed cuts. In fact, some Republicans are pushing back. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, is among them: I continue to maintain my position we should not be cutting Medicaid benefits.

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While Congress considers slashing Medicaid, the impact would be felt beyond Florida seniors. Nursing homes and other healthcare facilities could be forced to lay off staff or shut down.

And the cuts would also likely harm the job market. A recent analysis by the Commonwealth Fund estimates that Florida could lose about 17,000 jobs in the healthcare sector.

Florida would experience an economic loss of $3 billion to its gross domestic product as well as a loss of $177 million in state and local tax revenue, the Commonwealth Fund estimated.

The cuts would force Florida lawmakers to make some tough decisions, especially since Florida remains one of 10 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion, a provision of the Affordable Care Act.

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Hospitals and nursing homes could be heavily impacted since they rely heavily on funding from Medicaid. The bill is bad for funding because it limits the use of provider taxes, which sounds great to most people, Bullard explained, but thats how we fund our hospitals and nursing homes in Florida, because we havent expanded Medicaid.

Medicaid is more than a government program. Its a lifeline for many Americans, especially Florida seniors citizens. While balancing the budget is important, Congress shouldnt do it at the expense of senior citizens.













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Roughly 60,000 metric tons of foodenough to feed 3.5 million people for a monthis sitting unused in foreign countries because of the Trump administrations sudden cut in funding to USAID earlier this year.

According to sources speaking to Reuters, the rations are spread across four warehouses in Houston, Djibouti, Durban, and Dubai and comprise cereals, pulses, and cooking oil. The food, valued at $98 million, was intended for emergency distribution in hunger-stricken regions including Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most of it will now end up in incinerators or as animal feed.

Nearly 500 tons of high-energy biscuits in Dubai are set to expire in July, one former USAID official told Reuters. They could have fed 27,000 acutely malnourished children for a month.

The Trump administration has cut more than 80 percent of USAID programs, and food awaiting distribution is now rotting in warehouses. / Kent Nishimura / Kent Nishimura/REUTERS

The failure stems from USAIDs rapid dismantling by the Trump administration and a pause on the contracts and funds needed to ship supplies to where they are needed.

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USAID is continuously consulting with partners on where to best distribute commodities at USAID prepositioning warehouses for use in emergency programs ahead of their expiration dates, a State Department spokesperson said. Internal proposals to release the food remain on hold, awaiting sign-off from the Office of Foreign Assistance, now headed by 28-year-old Elon Musk appointee, Jeremy Lewin.

Navyn Salem, founder of Edesia, a company manufacturing the energy paste PlumpyNut, said that her organization is now sitting on $13 million worth of food. She is hopeful that a solution will be found soon to get her product to those who desperately need it.

Displaced orphans in Sudan. Children in similarly strife-torn areas could starve as a result of USAID cuts. / Thomas Mukoya / Thomas Mukoya/REUTERS

The U.S. is the worlds largest aid donor, accounting for nearly 40 percent of United Nations contributions. Millions are reliant on the provisions it brings. The charity Action Against Hunger has reported that the cuts are already costing lives, with six children starving to death in the DRC alone after it was forced to suspend its operations.

If a childs in an inpatient stabilization center and theyre no longer able to access treatment, said Jeanette Bailey from the International Rescue Committee, more than 60 percent of those children are at risk of dying very quickly.
Without wanting to go all two-world-wars-and-one-world-cup, are we really content for our armed forces to be outstripped by the Germans?

For one thing, ever since the Second World War, the Bundeswehr, as well as the Austrian Bundesheer, have observed a rule whereby their troops cannot be used for combat operations. As a result, they have zero battlefield experience and once had to take part in Nato exercises wielding broomsticks.

They have little leadership and planning experience, too, for much the same reason. Nato has always had an American supreme commander and a British deputy, a hangover from 1945. The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Natos headquarters for deploying forces at short notice, has been based in Gloucestershire since 2010 and has always been under British command. The Germans, who wont deploy troops in anger and have no nuclear capabilities, have always sat way down the pecking order.

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All that may be poised to change. In his first major speech to the German parliament this week, the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, committed to spending 5 per cent of his annual GDP on defence and said that Germany must have a stronger army than Britain.

If that didnt send a shiver of irritation up the spine of the Prime Minister, it certainly sent one up those of many in British uniform. This is not a case of keeping up with the Germans. We need to be leading them.

Never trust the Boche, people used to say. Thankfully, those days are far behind us. The fact remains, however, that our world-leading armed services are simply much better than theirs. Frankly, if that wasnt the case after our major deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Bosnia and the Falklands, something would be seriously wrong.

Andrew Fox, a former Parachute Regiment Officer and researcher at the Henry Jackson Society, can attest to that. Austrian airborne was good when we fought in Bosnia but their tactics were mental, as they had never been used in real life, he told me.

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Our experience on the battlefield outstrips anyone in Europe. Man-to-man, our soldiers can beat anyone. Whenever we had competitions with American companies, we would crush them. It was embarrassing.

Then came the kicker. In Bosnia, the Romanians and Austrians thought we were rock stars. The problem is, there arent enough of us.

The depletion of Britains armed forces is hardly something new. It has caused us serious operational damage already. In Iraq, the Multinational Division (South-East), which contained Basra, Maysan, Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar, was under British command. The episode was a debacle. The reasons were plentiful, but the fundamental one was a lack of adequate troop numbers.

Similarly, in Afghanistan we deployed well under 10,000 troops to Helmand, an area of about 23,000 square miles. To place that in context, the Gaza Strip spans less than 1 per cent of that territory. Since 2023, the Israelis have had more than 300,000 troops in Gaza.

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We simply cant have even ten German bombers in the air without British expertise behind them. Our fates have long been linked: Waterloo would not have been won without the Prussians. This week, satellite images showed a buildup of Russian forces at forward operating bases just miles from the Finnish border. Weve got to get serious quick.

Obviously, that means emergency surgery  right now  on public spending. For too long, successive governments have tried to buy votes by flattering a pampered population with a bloated welfare state, a disgracefully wasteful NHS and corrosive and costly immigration, while neglecting everything that made us strong.

Goodbye, luxury Britain. Once again, Europe needs us.

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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  A former health aide worker was sentenced Friday for stealing thousands of dollars from the elderly wife of a hospice patient, according to the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia.

Beverly Ochoa, 30, of Derwood, Maryland, was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty in February to first-degree theft.

Gaithersburg man to spend 5 years in prison for aiming gun at police officer in social media video

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According to court documents, on Oct. 1, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded to an elderly couples home after $2,600 was reported missing.

An investigation determined the couple had hired two hospice workers from two separate companies to care for the husband.

Court documents add that the wife attempted to find one of the workers to pay them for the day. Ochoa stated that the other worker had already left, so the woman placed $2,600 in $100 bills inside a drawer to pay her later.

The USAO states that the wife then left for a doctors appointment, and the money was missing when she returned.

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Security footage from the home showed Ochoa taking something from the kitchen and putting it inside her bag. When police arrived, the money was found in her purse.

Ochoa was then taken into custody.

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May 16MITCHELL  One was a high school class president, homecoming king and star athlete. The other was an abandoned infant, a survivor of childhood trauma and a veteran of the prison system.

Despite starting life on opposite ends of the spectrum, Kern Parce and John Peterson found themselves walking the same road  one paved with addiction, pain, and ultimately, redemption.

On Thursday, May 15, the two men stood side by side as the latest graduates of the James Valley Drug and DUI Court program. Though their lives began in different places, their stories have come together in a shared account of struggle, change and the ongoing work of recovery.

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"From the outside, it looked like it should have been a promising future," Parce said, reflecting on his youth in front of an audience gathered to celebrate their accomplishments. "But I never saw that promise."

Parce's descent into addiction began quietly at age 12 with alcohol, escalating to methamphetamine use even as he maintained an image of success. He was the golden boy  student leader, athlete, Boys State participant  while secretly battling demons no one else could see.

"I've always struggled with two sides of myself  the side that everybody sees and the side I didn't let anybody see," he admitted.

Peterson's story began with abandonment and illness. Born with cystic fibrosis and left by his mother at birth, he was raised by a father struggling with addiction. When Peterson was just a child, a gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed their home. What followed was a life marked by homelessness, abuse and incarceration.

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"I was hurt, and I turned out to be a very violent kid," Peterson said. "So they locked me up. I've literally been locked up since I was 12. I have 21 years in prison."

Despite such different paths, both men arrived at a common realization: something had to change  not just their behavior, but their entire way of thinking.

"This program saved me," Peterson said. "It helped me get over my trauma. And I am not the person that, on paper, looks like I would qualify for this program."

For Peterson, the key to recovery was honesty.

"In all my years living with trauma, I couldn't ever change nothing because I was using," he said. "Honesty was going to be number one for me in order to start changing the way that I think."

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Established in 2013, the James Valley Drug and DUI Court is designed to offer an alternative to incarceration for individuals struggling with substance use. According to program director Sharon Kraft, the court emphasizes transformation of the "mind, body, spirit and community." Participants commit to weekly court appearances, therapy, support groups like AA or NA, regular drug testing and a five-phase treatment process that typically lasts at least 17 months.

While not everyone qualifies, the program accepts those willing to put in the work  often people with lengthy criminal records or complex histories. Peterson, who spent more than two decades incarcerated, is an example to how inclusive, when applied with care, the program can be.

Still, success is not guaranteed. Just last year, a celebrated graduate relapsed and returned to court within months. As Kraft explains, recovery is a journey  not a straight line.

"Recovery is about more than just not using," she said. "It's about changing your people, your places, your things  your entire way of life. And that doesn't happen in a week or a month."

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Research supports her view: those who are motivated, actively engage in treatment and have consistent support systems are significantly more likely to achieve long-term recovery. Yet relapse remains a real and recurring part of the landscape.

Peterson doesn't shy away from that truth.

"Relapse is not part of sobriety  it's part of addiction," he said. "If you're still relapsing, you haven't figured it out yet."

For him, the turning point was honesty  with himself, with others and with his past.

Between them, Parce and Peterson have completed over 400 hours of treatment, 375 documented support meetings and more than 20 hours of community service. They now share 3,108 days of sobriety  and counting.

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Parce said the motto of the program is simple: "Show up, be honest, and try." That last word  "try"  was central to a promise he made to his mother before she died.

"The promise wasn't to stay sober," he said. "The promise was to try. And that was a promise I felt like I could keep."

Today, both men are using their stories to help others. Since graduating, Parce and Peterson have spoken at multiple treatment centers, sharing their experiences with those still in the grips of addiction.

"There's a lot of collateral damage in addiction," Parce said. "But doing these speaking engagements has helped me see what's important  helping other people come back from a place of darkness, a place where they feel unlovable, and become someone they can love again."

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Peterson, never one to avoid a joke, smiled and added, "I'm the better-looking one anyway."

But beneath the humor is a man who has earned his voice  not just by surviving, but by choosing to live differently.

"It's not about how many sober days you have," he said. "It's about how you handle your situations. That's what shows whether you've really changed."
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A former middle and high school music director will spend two and a half years in prison.

The Montgomery County Prosecutors Office announced the sentencing of 38-year-old Matthew Koehler after he was convicted of child pornography charges.

Koehler was previously the lead choir director and musical director for Kettering City Schools at Kettering Fairmont High School, Kettering Middle School and Van Buren Middle School for over a decade.

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Ex-Kettering choir director admits to child porn charges

On Nov. 19, 2023, a 19-year-old former student told police Koehler had acted inappropriately and exchanged texts of a sexual nature while he was in middle school.

Kettering police investigated and found Koehler to be in possession of child pornography at his home and on electronic devices. Koehler was indicted in June 2024 and entered a plea of guilty as charged in April 2025.

Koehler was sentenced to 30 months in prison and has been designated a Tier I and Tier II sex offender.

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May 16A former Kettering music teacher was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.

Matthew Ryan Koehler, 38, of Centerville, was sentenced by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly A. Melnick to two and a half years in prison on five counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor and one count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance.

He was also found a Tier I and a Tier II sex offender, so will have to register every 180 days for 25 years, the prosecutor's office said.

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Koehler mainly worked at Fairmont High School after he was hired by Kettering City Schools in 2012. He led or helped lead extracurricular music and choir groups, according to district records. The prosecutor's office said he also was the choir and play director at Kettering Middle School and Van Buren Middle School.

The investigation began Nov. 19, 2023, when a 19-year-old male told Kettering police that while he was in middle school, Koehler had acted inappropriately and exchanged sexual text messages, according to the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor's office said that a search warrant of Koehler's home and electronic devices revealed two videos showing minor boys in states of nudity, one of which showed a child being sexually assaulted.

Koehler was placed on administrative leave by the school district the next day, Superintendent Mindy McCarty-Stewart said previously.

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Koehler was indicted June 12, 2024, and resigned from the schools June 27, the same day that he pleaded not guilty.

He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to four of the six felony charges as part of a plea agreement but withdrew those pleas in October that year before he was scheduled to be sentenced.

He ultimately pleaded guilty as charged April 18, 2025.

Defense attorney Dennis Lieberman previously said that the charges had nothing to do with Koehler's position at the school.

"The photographs in question or the videos in question were on his own personal phone and on his computer at his house. It did not involve anybody at the school," he said.
The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in front of snow-covered Mount Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Rep. David Eastman lost his bid for reelection last November, but the Wasilla Republicans legacy is still affecting the Alaska Legislature.

On Friday, the Legislature passed four bills that are attempts to redo legislation that passed the Capitol last year. The redo was encouraged by a lawsuit filed by Eastman against the Legislature in November.

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At the end of last years legislative session, lawmakers combined multiple bills  dealing with child care, state boards and hunting guide changes  in an effort to get them passed before the sessions constitutional deadline.

Legislative attorneys and even some legislators said at the time that the combination would be a violation of Article II, Section 13, of the Alaska Constitution, which says that every bill shall be confined to one subject unless it is an appropriation bill or one codifying, revising, or rearranging existing laws.

Eastman cites that section of the constitution in his lawsuit. With the suit moving forward, thus raising questions about the legality of the policies within the contested bill, legislators reintroduced each of the contested bills separately when the Legislature reconvened in January.

One of the bills creates a concession program for hunting guides, allowing the state to more tightly regulate the big-game hunting industry in Alaska. Two others are intended to help Alaskas child care shortage, one by offering additional tax credits to companies that offer child care for their employees.

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Each of the bills started in the Senate, and each passed the House on Friday, all by wide margins.

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, called the redo part of doing business in the Capitol.

Last years state House was led by a predominantly Republican coalition majority. This years House is led by a predominantly Democratic coalition. Lawmakers traditionally feel pressure to finish their work before the end of the second year of the session and adjournment sine die, or without a fixed date to return.

Being able to roll bills together on the sine die session can be a valuable tool, but I know at times its misused, which on occasion it is, (and) it can be a real sort of nuisance, Edgmon said. So I think more legislators support having that tool available if its used sparingly and sort of judiciously. But there are some who think that its not a necessary tool. So its been interesting to see that sort of juxtaposition.

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House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, said he feels good that all of the needed bills passed unscathed.

By phone, Eastman said that he doesnt disagree with the policies in last years bill, but he does worry about the process and is concerned that lawmakers could be doing things in a way that the constitutions framers didnt intend.

Even though replacement bills have passed, the lawsuit should continue, he said, in order to prevent future legislatures from trying to repeat what happened last year.

Its not about whether I liked (the policies in the bill) or didnt like them politically. Its about whether or not were going to create a new normal where you can put any kind of things into a bill you want from whatever source, topic or subject matter, and you can just call it good, he said.

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Eastman said the Legislatures actions last year raised a question that still isnt resolved: Are we going to build on that in the future and start a new direction, or are we going to go back to more the way that weve done things in the past? I hope that we go back to the way weve done things in the past.

Attorney Joe Geldhof is representing Eastman in court.

Im glad it appears the Legislature enacted things according to the Constitution. This doesnt end the case. David Eastman wants, David Eastman deserves, and Ill try to get a declaration that what the Alaska Legislature did last year was unconstitutional, Geldhof said by phone.

While the multi-subject legislation was aimed at wrapping up work before the end of the last day of the 2024 session, the House still passed five bills after midnight on that day. Gov. Mike Dunleavy later vetoed them, saying that they missed the deadline.

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All five have been either re-introduced or introduced as part of a broader bill, and each of the five has either passed the Legislature or is on track to do so.

Eastmans lawsuit and the resulting legislative process are likely to change the Capitol, Kopp said. I think that there is going to be more of a concerted effort, not only with the single-subject rule, but also with the timing of passage of bills, not letting things get stacked up against midnight.

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Kirk Pearson takes the oath of office as the new state director for USDA Rural Development in Washington state, administered by Phil Eggman in Olympia on May 5, 2025. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Kirk Pearson, a former longtime Washington state lawmaker, was appointed this month as a top Washington official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pearson, a Republican, resigned from the Legislature in 2017 to take the same role as Washingtons rural development director in the first Trump administration.

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He couldnt be reached for an interview. A spokesperson for the USDA said via email that the Office of Communications is not approving individual media interviews while they coordinate messaging during this transition period.

I look forward to working closely with local leaders, Native American Tribes, farmers, small businesses, and families to expand opportunity and deliver the resources they need to thrive, Pearson said in a press release. Our mission is clear: to support rural America with solutions that are locally driven and nationally backed.

Pearson, of Monroe, represented the 39th Legislative District in Snohomish, Skagit and King counties. He was in the House for a dozen years before serving from 2013 to 2017 in the state Senate. At the time, his departure briefly left a 24-24 balance of power in the chamber.

Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, later replaced Pearson in the Legislature.

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Before his resignation, Pearson chaired the Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee and also served on the Agriculture, Water, Trade and Economic Development Committee.

Between his stints at USDA, he was the vice president of external affairs for the Volunteers of America Western Washington.

Pearson was one of many new state rural development directors that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins appointed this month.

When Americas farming communities prosper, the entire nation thrives, Rollins said in the release. This new group of USDA appointees will ensure President Trumps America First agenda is a reality in rural areas across the country. I am grateful for the leadership of these new state directors and look forward to their work reorienting the agency to put Farmers First again.

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Rollins also reappointed Jon Wyss as the Washington state executive director of the Farm Service Agency. President Donald Trump first tapped Wyss for the role in 2019. Then-President Joe Biden also picked him in 2022.

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, said Washington farmers are lucky to have him charting the course at FSA.

Wyss ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2016 in central Washingtons 12th Legislative District, losing to a fellow Republican. Over a decade earlier, he served in the Senate for a few days while the sitting senator had to briefly leave his duties.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation office in downtown Anchorage is seen on Friday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has chosen a new commissioner for the department. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has chosen a state government veteran to be the new commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Dunleavy announced Thursday that he has selected Randy Bates, a former head of the departments Division of Water.

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Randy is uniquely suited to assume the role of commissioner-designee for DEC and continue to push my Administrations agenda to develop our plentiful resources responsibly and to minimize the impacts for all our actions on the environment, Dunleavy said in a statement.

Bates, in the statement released by Dunleavy, said he is honored to be appointed. He also reinforced the governors emphasis on resource development.

My primary goal as commissioner will be to continue the departments mission of balancing the need for responsible development and preserving Alaskas pristine lands and waters and wildlife, Bates said in the statement.

Prior to serving as director of DECs Division of Water, Bates was director of the Division of Habitat at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He also fishes commercially in Southeast Alaska.

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Bates replaces Acting Commissioner Christina Carpenter, who has been in that role since January, when former DEC Commissioner Emma Pokon was appointed as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Pacific Northwest regional administrator.

Carpenter is moving to a new job outside of state government but will remain at the department as deputy commissioner through the end of the month to help with the transition, Dunleavy said.

Bates appointment is subject to confirmation by the Legislature. Since the Legislature held its annual confirmation joint session on Wednesday, it will be nearly a year before it votes on Bates.

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Plans to build Hollywood-style production studio in far north Fort Worth could get a boost from the Fort Worth City Council.

The councils nomination is part of a multistep process to get approval from the Texas Film Commission to waive state and local sales taxes related to the construction of the 224,000 square foot building. The city has been working to attract more film and television productions like Landman and 1883.

Mayor Mattie Parker has lobbied the state Legislature to increase Texas film incentive program. The state Senate approved a bill that would increase the incentive pool from $200 million to $500 million, but the bill awaits action by the House.

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The studio, at 2601 Spirit Drive, is expected to house two large sound stages, cost roughly $6.5 million, and create 82 jobs, according to an economic impact analysis provided by property owner Hillwood.

Once completed, the studio could be used to shoot movies, televisions shows, score music or serve as office space for production companies

Construction is expected to start this month and wrap up in November, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

The construction and operation of the sound stages are expected to generate $14.2 million in economic impact for Dallas-Fort Worth, and generate $4.6 million in wages, according to Hillwoods analysis.

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Fort Worth could be forgoing as much as $60,999 sales taxes over the two year period. The city expects the project to generate roughly $182,000 after the tax pause is lifted.

The council is scheduled to vote on the nomination at its 10 a.m. meeting on May 20 at City Hall, 100 Fort Worth Trail.
I wanted to come to the United States for a new experience. I decided to stay because of its opportunities. I became a citizen because of its values.

I waited for my place in line for different visas types, a green card and naturalization. Ive paid taxes, worked, volunteered and contributed to this country.

But now that immigrants (legal and illegal), international students, asylum seekers and humanitarian parole program holders are increasingly treated as a blight on our communities, would I have been granted these opportunities today? How many Venezuelan, Haitian, Afghan versions of myself are at risk of deportation because the Trump administration has revoked their Temporary Protected Status or shut down the countrys refugee resettlement program for most people?

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Im proud of my journey, but Im not special.

Im not a scientist working on cancer research or a millionaire like the foreigners to whom President Donald Trump wants to grant gold visas for $5 million. Im a working person trying to climb my way up in life, like so many other immigrants who have built this nation. I have a very Miami story.

I love America, even though, as an opinion writer for the Miami Herald and, previously, other papers, Ive often criticized the policies of American politicians and institutions. Im not a threat to this nation, so Im rattled when I hear the story of the international student in South Dakota who said she had her student visa revoked over a 4-year-old traffic infraction resulting from failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

I, too, was once a student on a visa. As I write about my experience, theres a part of me that tells me not to run the risk of becoming a target of the government. How easy it is to go from a good immigrant to a bad one under Trump.

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That student, Priya Saxena from India, received a doctorate degree in chemical and biological engineering and a masters in chemical engineering  all while the Trump administration tried to deport her. Meanwhile, the U.S. needs people with STEM degrees. On Thursday, Saxena was granted a preliminary injunction that keeps the government from attempting to deport her, NBC News reported.

Yes, I also support border security. Im for deporting people here without documentation who have committed crimes or people on visas who have been proven  not just because the president says so  to be engaged in nefarious activities.

The problem is the wholesale approach that the Trump administration has used to address our broken immigration system with mass deportations, bypassing due process, and revoking legal status that the U.S. government granted to people from certain countries. In the frenzy to shut the door to as many migrants as possible, the country risks losing sight of the importance of immigration. The psychological terror imposed on those wondering if they will be forced to go back to a dictatorship in Venezuela or gang violence in Haiti is also bad for the U.S.

As for the people here without documents, I know from experience that many, if not most, of them are also contributing to the U.S. with their labor. A system must be in place to allow at least some of them a pathway to legalization. Deportations, of course, will happen, but why remove people like the Tampa mom separated from her U.S. citizen husband and 1-year-old child when she was recently sent back to Cuba?

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Data that shows we need more immigrants, not less.

The nations unemployment rate remains low  Miami-Dades was 2.8% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce  not a liberal organization  in 2022 advocated for allowing twice as many legal workers into the country. In an April 2025 report titled Understanding Americas Labor Shortage, the Chamber wrote that, although there are more Americans working today than before the pandemic, the overall share of the population participating in the labor force has dropped. Among the reasons: Net international migration to the U.S. is at its lowest level in decades.

Unfortunately, there are no serious talks on Capitol Hill about immigration reform. There are a few exceptions, such as Miamis U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican who has proposed her own reform called the Dignity Act.

Without sensible solutions, were left with cruelty, retribution and anti-foreigner sentiment. These should not be Americas immigration policy.

Isadora Rangel is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. She was born in Brazil.
SOMERSET, Pa.  The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies will manage donations for a Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund that is being launched in response to devastating flooding in the southern part of Somerset County.

As the cleanup and recovery process gets into its next phase, this fund will provide needed financial support to local organizations assisting our friends and neighbors impacted by the flooding with unmet needs and provide a place to donate for all who have asked us how they can help, Somerset County President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said.

The county and eight communities issued disaster declarations after southern Somerset County was flooded, and Fochtman said earlier this week they were exploring ways to help.

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The nonprofit CFA has worked for years collecting donations and managing funds for community efforts and local entities.

The fund is now accepting donations, which will be disbursed immediately to nonprofits assisting Somerset County residents with flooding response and recovery, the foundation said in a media release.

The Johnstown-based nonprofit simultaneously announced it was committing a $10,000 grant as the first donation to get the fund started.

To oversee the distribution of these grant funds, the Somerset County commissioners are working with the Somerset County Emergency Management Agency to organize an advisory committee, which will include social service, faith-based, and emergency response communities, the release added.

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The Community Foundation is uniquely equipped to promptly address immediate or urgent needs that unexpectedly arise across our region, said CFA Executive Director Angie Berzonski. The Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund will provide essential resources for nonprofits, facilitating both the early response and the ongoing recovery efforts within the county.

A link will be available to allow people to donate online through cfalleghenies.org/fund/somerset-county-recovery.

To donate by check, make checks payable to the Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund, and mail them to 216 Franklin St., Suite 400, Johnstown, Pa. 15901.

Somerset County Solicitor Benjamin Carroll said the commissioners will have a fund management agreement with the foundation on Tuesdays meeting agenda.

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Following the current flooding recovery, the fund can remain open in support of future natural disasters and other crisis situations in Somerset County, Berzonski said.

Rotarians lend support

The Somerset Rotary Club donated $1,000 Friday to the Salvation Army for flood relief.

The donation began by passing the clubs magic box, which at first raised $185. Members voted for the club to match individual contributions. By the end of the meeting, members gave $500, which the club matched.

This is what I like about the Somerset Rotary Club, said Harold Shaulis, president. When theres a need, theyre quick to address it.

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G. Henry Cook told the club that the Somerset Fire Department had loaned a fire truck to Meyersdale, whose vehicles suffered flood damage.

Others told of heroic assistance by fire companies and other responders. Some Rotarians and relatives had suffered flood damage.

Gale Purbaugh, Salvation Army service unit director, told of relief activities by the unit and commended the Rotary Club for its generosity.
ST. LOUIS  At least five fatalities have been confirmed and at least 5,000 home were damaged in Fridays St. Louis storms, according to St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer.

Intense hail, heavy winds and rained rolled through the St. Louis region on Friday. Radars also indicated the possibility of one tornado that rolled through St. Louis and Clayton city limits.

Spencer and other St. Louis officials announced the five fatalities, plus the possibility of additional injuries, during an 8:30 p.m. news conference Friday.

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Details on the nature of the fatalities, including the locations, are limited at this time.

A curfew is in effect through 6 a.m. Saturday for parts of St. Louis for public safety reasons. The mayor is also encouraging people to stay off roadways, if possible, and to limit cell phone usage in St. Louis Districts 5 and 6.

Spencer says St. Louis Emergency Management Agency teams are actively responding and evaluating damage. Cleanup efforts will extend well into the weekend.

Mike Weaver, Chief of Staff for St. Louis City Rep. 5th District Steven Roberts, says the following state responses have occurred or are in effect after the storms.

1) The Governor has communicated with Mayor Spencer via phone.

2) SEMA actively engaged and sending additional resources.

3) SEMA in direct comms with Sarah Russell and Michelle Ryan (City and County EMDs)

4) SEMA is sending regional coordinators from other parts of the state to help assist in assessments

5) Urban Search and Rescue Teams are in route and will be staging in Brentwood. Two USAR strike teams deployed to St. Louis County. Two USAR Strike Teams assigned to St. Louis City.

6) SEMA has asked Missouri Taskforce 1 to roster a team. I will keep you in the loop on anything additional.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  In the last year and a half, multiple children in Franklin County have died allegedly because of parental neglect or abuse.

In some of those cases, a parents partner was also accused of being involved. In the past year and a half, at least five children in central Ohio have died because of alleged parental abuse:

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Many of them also had previous cases with Franklin County Children Services.

Mother accused in fatal beating of 6-yaer-old girl denied bail

As an agency, I think one of the things that we think about is What can we do to get more of a complete picture about what might be happening in a home? Scott Varner, spokesperson for Franklin County Children Services, said.

Varner said caseworkers are highly trained but dont always know the whole story, which is why prevention is key. He said the agency is making changes to help with prevention. In the near future, Children Services will get police run information from law enforcement every night, and they will see if any runs correlate with a home in the agencys system.

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Any time there is something that comes up, an alert will go to our caseworkers to let them know that there was a police run to that home that you have a case connected to, Varner said.

Franklin County Children Services is also planning to invest $500,000 into Choices, a domestic violence shelter run by Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio. Each night, more than 50% of Choices residents are kids who came with a parent.

If a child is in a home where there is intimate partner violence, they are more at risk of child abuse. So the connection between childrens services and our domestic violence shelter makes a lot of sense, Rachel Lustig, president and CEO for Lutheran Social Services, said.

Central Ohio housing prices soar, especially near Intel plant

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As the numbers reveal that more people in our community are dying as part of domestic violence, we have a real fear that domestic violence will impact children, Varner said.

Emily Green, the family services director for Children Services, said caseworkers are doing everything they can, but community members and loved ones need to speak up if they notice something is off.

Has the childs behavior changed? Has a parents behavior changed? Are they isolating themselves and not coming around as often or not allowing you to visit as often? Is the performance in school changing? Green suggested asking.

Varner said there is a connection between domestic violence and child abuse, so as an agency, people will notice them talking more about healthy relationships in the future.

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For more information about Choices and how someone can get help, check out https://lssnetworkofhope.org/choices/ or call the 24 hour crisis hotline at 614-224-HOME (4663).

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  Local veterans will receive more than just thanks this May  theyll also get a fresh haircut for free.

The 5th Annual Free Haircut Event is happening Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Boss Man College, located at 2724 West 70th Street in Shreveport.

The African American Parade Committee, in partnership with Joseph Elite Image and Boss Man Barber College, hosts the event, which is open to all veterans.

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Founder Barbara Norton, a longtime advocate for veterans and community service, says its a way to give back to those whove served our country and show appreciation meaningfully.

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French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu has stated that it is important for Europe to strengthen Ukrainian forces in the medium and long term, especially against the backdrop of Russia's statements regarding the need to "demilitarise" Ukraine.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, citing Lecornu following a meeting with his counterparts from Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom held in Rome, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Lecornu said that Europe is beginning to "spend a lot of time planning further actions in Ukraine".

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"Obviously, there is great uncertainty about the way in which Russia will agree to a ceasefire. [...] At the same time, we also understand very well the need to assume and maintain a position of strength," he said.

Lecornu noted that a clear plan for aid and the regeneration of Ukraine's defence forces in the short, medium and long term amid "Russia's demands" should be developed.

"As you know, one of Russia's demands essentially involves the demilitarisation of Ukraine, which is obviously part of the discussions being conducted by Moscow. Therefore, it is important for us not only to continue helping Ukraine in the short term but also to do so in the medium and long term," he emphasised.

Lecornu explained that such assistance requires the mobilisation of all possible financial instruments, including combining efforts not only at individual country level but also involving the EUs capabilities.

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Background:

On 16 May, talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul. According to reports, the Russian side put forward tough territorial demands, including that Ukraine must "adopt a neutral status, without the presence of foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction on its territory" and "recognise the annexation of Crimea and four other oblasts".

On 16 May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, together with the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland, held a joint phone conversation with US President Donald Trump.

Following that conversation, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that "very difficult days" might lie ahead.

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The Fresno political operative behind the sordid campaign mailer smearing a city council candidate and his wife of 30 years could be in hot water with the state agency that enforces election laws.

But regardless of the California Fair Political Practices Commission probe into Fresno Future Forward and Alex Tavlian, city officials should take steps to limit political action committee dark money from anonymously muddying future elections.

In this case, the mailer accusing Brandon Vang of statutory rape in the 1990s sent to southeast Fresno voters weeks before the March 18 special election did not have its intended effect. The shady tactic may have in fact backfired due to voter sympathy. Vang handily won a four-way contest for the District 5 seat with 50.2% of the ballots.

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Responding to a complaint filed by Vang, City Attorney Andrew Janz announced March 10 that Fresno Future Forward had not filed required paperwork with the city clerk. Janz fined Riley Moore, the PACs listed officer, $1,000 for violating the California Political Reform Act and section 2-1105 of the Fresno Municipal Code. (The organization submitted disclosure forms the day following Janzs press conference.)

Opinion

One month later, Tavlians name replaced Moores as principal officer. The $1,000 fine due in mid June has not been paid as of Thursday, Janz said.

Tavlian is a well-known City Hall insider and political consultant who also publishes the San Joaquin Valley Sun online news site. He has worked on multiple campaigns, ballot initiatives, redistricting efforts and for local electeds including Council President Mike Karbassi and Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez, whose wife Elizabeth Jonasson-Rosas finished second to Vang in the special election to fill her husbands council seat.

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On Vangs first day after getting sworn in, he canceled a $100,000 services contract awarded by Chavez in December to Tavlians public affairs firm, Local Government Strategic Consulting, to provide outreach services for the district.

One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money, Vang replied when asked about the cancellation. Most people who live in my district dont make that much in a year. Thats what two people make.

Now state election regulators have taken note of the possible irregularities.

As initially reported by Fresnoland, the FPPC notified Fresno Future Forward in an April 17 letter that it was under investigation for potential violations of the campaign disclosure provisions of the Political Reform Act.

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A FPPC spokesperson refused further comment, citing the open investigation.

On its website, the agency posts regular updates of resolutions to enforcement cases. Based on similar past cases, the most likely outcome (if warranted) is an additional fine.

Whether Tavlian committed any violations or simply pushed to the edge of the rulebook isnt for me to say. The chapters of the Political Reform Act that cover campaign disclosures and mass mailings are complex and require interpretation by someone with a law degree.

City code needs strengthening

By contrast, section 2-1105 of the Fresno Municipal Code is remarkably simple. The adjectives loose and vague also fit.

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The relevant paragraph states that an elected officer, candidate, committee or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents described by Chapter 4 of the Political Reform Act  shall file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with the City.

Notice the statute only says shall file. It does not prescribe a timeline. For example, requiring that campaign disclosure forms be filed before engaging in election activities such as spending $4,439.51 (the amount reported by Fresno Future Forward) on an attack mailer.

The municipal code as currently written provides a wide loophole for bad actors to interfere with elections without having to reveal themselves until after the votes are counted.

If Fresno officials truly cared about the undo influence of dark money, they would give the statute more teeth. Also, the $1,000 fine is not enough deterrent. Make it $50,000 for egregious violations, and these types of shenanigans would cease.

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Of course, stiffening city statutes requires political will from those currently in charge  which Im not sure exists. Why not? Because most of the current office-holders have some association with PACs and would be reluctant to limit the hands that fund them.

There are ways to prevent political operatives from using unsavory tactics to exert influence over Fresno voters from behind a curtain of anonymity. Its more a question of whether the powers-that-be are bothered enough to do anything.
Two summers ago, Boise police officers approached Mario Garza and Payton Wasson as part of an investigation involving possible drug crimes and gang activity, and Wasson took off running while holding a gun. Police fatally shot him, sparking protests and questions about lethal force policies.

Garza was arrested for alleged possession of fentanyl pills, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

On Friday, just blocks away from the site of the shooting, Garza was sentenced to four years fixed and six years indeterminate for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, meaning he could be eligible for parole after 48 months.

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The prosecution sought to paint Garza as a gang member with a troubling history, while the defense said Garza has shown remorse and been working in the kitchen as a jail inmate.

Ive never been able to see my part in things Ive done in life, Garza said, sitting with his lawyers and wearing a white Ada County Jail sweatshirt. Ive made excuses to justify my actions.

Garza, 28, of Kuna, was initially charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver and an enhancement charge, according to court records. He was acquitted of the second possession charge and the enhancement was dropped.

The defense asked for a seven-year sentence with just two years fixed, and for Garza to be placed in a rider program. The prosecution asked for at least 10 years fixed, with 20 years indeterminate.

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Judge James Cawthon said Garza expressed similar sentiments about his behavior at past sentencings.

Youre young and can do a lot of good in life, Cawthon said. Getting to a point where youre ready to talk about what your issues are and reach out to other people about your issues and get help for your issues  thats real strength.

Cawthon also ordered Garza to pay over $200 in restitution and court costs.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  Dry today; areas of frost tonight; rain returns for some Sunday

As high pressure comes in from the north, clouds will thin as we go through the morning. The afternoon will be sunny with a slow decrease in wind. Highs will be below average with numbers in the 50s and 60s.

As winds continue to decrease this evening and tonight, temperatures will fall to the upper 20 to the low to middle 30s by daybreak.

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Numerous FREEZE WARNINGS and FROST ADVISORIES are in effect.

Tomorrow will be the opposite of today. Clouds and southerly winds will increase ahead of a low-pressure system that will run through the central and northern plains. As highs reach the 60s and 70s, expect developing showers and storms in western South Dakota.

The low-pressure system that brings the rain to western South Dakota tomorrow may end up being slow to move. For this reason, expect rain for much of the area Monday through Wednesday with below average temperatures.

Rain amounts for the first half of next week will range from one to two inches or more for many in KELOLAND.

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY)  Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) announced Friday that the district will offer a full online learning program through the Virginia Beach Virtual Learning Center.

The program will be available to students in grades 6-12 during the 2025-2026 school year. VBCPS mentioned that those in synchronous classes follow a different schedule and they are in partnership with Virtual Virginia.

For those interested in enrolling their children in the program, the school system suggest talking with your students school counselor before June 1.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
When Libia Pollens started sewing dresses, her models were a lot smaller than they are today. In fact, they were so small, you could play with them. They were her Barbies.

Those same Barbies that Pollens dressed and played with during her youth, and her more recent work, are currently on display in the Harvey and Catherine Hornig Gallery at Gallery 92 West in Fremont. Themed, A Different Kind of Love, Pollens pieces are joined by art by Dr. Camille Hancock Friesen in the Barbara Tellatin Gallery.

Both exhibits will be on display through May 29.

Originally from Colombia, Pollens learned to sew from her mother. Her mother had a sewing business out of her home and when Pollens was in high school, she started helping her mother by doing small tasks to support the business.

Eventually, Pollens, whose designs have been featured during Omaha Fashion Week, started making her own patterns and her talents started to flourish. After graduating high school, she went into fashion design in Columbia and started creating designs on her own.

Pollens husband is from Dayton, Ohio, and when she moved to the United States with him, she worked at Davids Bridal, working on wedding gowns and other formal ware. She fell in love with the wedding attire and started creating her own designs and ways that dresses could be customized.

Around 17 years ago, her husbands work brought them to Omaha. Pollens has a shop there, Livis Designs, Bridal and Tailoring Boutique. Her business has grown tremendously and she is currently looking at moving to a new location and to hire more seamstresses.

Pollens designs include items for the bride, but she also creates attire for other members of a wedding party, including the flower girl, bridesmaids and even the groom.

Her creations are also used for other formal events.

When it comes to creating her designs, Pollens starts with a mood board. A mood board is a tool to help visualize a design through an arrangement of images, colors, materials, small details, etc. She will bring all these different items together to create a dress.

She also enjoys drawing out her designs, but it doesnt happen in one sitting. Going and doing other things can create a breakthrough in the creation.

Its not only the moment that when you are doing a piece, it also is everything what you do in your daily life that gets into the entire collection, Pollens said.

Creating gives Pollens the freedom to express herself.

In a way, sometimes you know you can not express with words or you can not express, you know in other ways, no, its something that it comes from your inside and its there, everybody can see it, Pollens said.

In the past, Pollens has shown her designs at Omaha Fashion Week and has been invited to fashion weeks in New York and California. Unfortunately, she was not able to make the latter two locations work, but she has showed in Omaha numerous times and enjoys being part of the events.

Her current exhibit is the second time she has had an exhibit in the Fremont gallery. The previous exhibit included traditional bridal attire, but this years exhibit is different. On display are a variety of nine nontraditional dresses that feature lots of textures, beading and lace work, and, of course, her Barbies and their dresses.

The inspiration for this show came from Pollens customers who were looking for wedding gowns that were not white. Some young brides are looking for something different thats not traditional or something others have worn, she said.

I started saying, you know, my inspiration for this time is going to be to add more colors to the wedding gowns ... and its why all the dresses almost there has color you know and they are no white, Pollens said.

Because of her busy day-to-day work and need for more support staff, Pollens hasnt been able to showcase her designs at other fashion events, but as she grows, she would like to participate in more shows. Balancing the two halves of the business can be hard, she said.

Pollens said she enjoyed putting the Fremont exhibit together. Having an exhibit like this gives the audience a different perspective on the pieces that they would not be able to see on the runway such as beading, textures of the fabric and more.

They can enjoy more the piece thats there and see more the details, she said. You can see more (of the handwork). ... Its very easy and all people think sometimes, like, its only a machine, (but) many times there are places where its so narrow its difficult to do it and you really need to do it by hand, Pollens said.

Visitors can look at the pieces from different angle and its fun to have two exhibits up in the gallery that are 3D, which is not something expected at the gallery, said Fremont Area Art Association Executive Director Lindi Janulewicz.

When it comes to choosing art for Gallery 92 West, Janulewicz is looking for a variety mediums.

I love to bring all different types of artists who work with all different types of mediums in all different types of subject matters to the gallery because that just gives our community members more exposure to more art, Janulewicz said. And I am a firm believer that fashion is art. It is fiber art. It is fabric art. It is creative art in the design of the different pieces.

Janulewicz connected with Pollens in Omaha and she has been wonderful to work with, she said.

She has a few of her original Barbies with their original gowns, which I think is super cool because it just speaks back to where it all began, Janulewicz said. So we love that as part of the exhibit this year. Its a very cool nod to the beginnings.

Alongside Pollens at the Gallery is Friesens art. Friesen is a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and welder. Her pieces are sculptures made from discarded surgical equipment used to operate on the body part that we associate with love, Janulewicz said.

The theme, A Different Kind of Love, highlights committing your life to the love of your life (marriage) and the love of patient care and taking care of a childs heart, and the love of your art overall, Janulewicz said.

Janulewicz encourages everyone to come check out these exhibits as they are so unique and different from anything else displayed in the community or typically seen at the gallery.

I think anyone, even if fashion maybe isnt your total focus or your favorite thing, anyone can appreciate the talent that goes into the design of these pieces and the work and the intricacy that goes into the sewing and the hand work, the lacing, the beading, Janulewicz said. Its an incredible, incredible talent and an incredible work of patience to create these works of art and I think anyone can appreciate that just for their uniqueness in that way. Theyre stunning.

Gallery 92 West is located at 92 W. Sixth St. in downtown Fremont. The gallery is closed Mondays, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit 92west.org or call 402-721-7779.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Funeral services for former Mayor-President Melvin L.. Kip Holden will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 22, at Greater King David Baptist Church.

His family confirmed he passed away early Wednesday morning at Carpenter House after a lengthy illness. He was 72.

The service will be presided over by Reverend Dr. John E. Montgomery II, according to the Holden family.

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Visitation will take place from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the church before the funeral.

The family said as part of the public farewell, Holden will lie in state at Baton Rouge City Hall from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.

At 4 p.m., a short ceremony will take place in the City Hall lobby. Mayor-President Sid Edwards and other dignitaries will be present to receive Holdens body and honor his legacy. Members of the public are invited to attend and pay their respects, the family said.

Additional details are expected to be released on Monday. The church is located at 222 Blount Road in Baton Rouge.

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May 16MORGANTOWN  In what some may interpret as a sign of the apocalypse, a collection of local officials offered a round of applause Thursday as West Virginia Division of Highways District 4 Manager Earl Gaskins concluded the latest stop on his mending fences tour.

Speaking before the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board, Gaskins struck a similar tone to the one taken in December, when he sat with leadership from the city of Morgantown.

He explained that his career has been focused in the six-county district. He took over the leadership role in August.

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"I didn't shoot to be the district manager, but the one thing I saw with the county being in the weeds was, you know, we kept changing leadership, and every time we changed leadership, it affected everything. I've seen a lot of things happen that I really didn't ..., " Gaskins said, trailing off before finishing the thought. "I'm passionate about the department of highways, and I didn't like the way things were going, so I did throw my name in the hat and, right or wrong, they selected me. Here I am."

In Monongalia County, Gaskins has stepped in to navigate a relationship that, by and large, has hovered somewhere between complicated and toxic.

For years, local leaders have routinely questioned why a center of growth and development  which also happens to be the home of the state's flagship university  would consistently have the worst roads in West Virginia.

That's not opinion, according to TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit group.

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In April, West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Todd Rumbaugh helped roll out the most recent findings from TRIP confirming that 29 % of Morgantown's major roads are in "poor " condition  by far the highest percentage in any of the state's urban areas.

The percentage of "poor " roads in Beckley, Huntington, Parkersburg and Wheeling ranges from 4 %-10 %. Charleston sits at 11 %.

Morgantown also has the highest percentage of "mediocre " roads, at 22 %; the lowest percentage of "fair " roads at 13 %; and far and away the lowest percentage of "good " roads, at 36 %.

"My goal is that I want to correct some of the errors made in the past. I want to open up a line of communication. I want to be there, and I want to be a partner, " Gaskins said. "I'm not one of those guys that's going to stand there and point fingers and say, 'It's not mine, it's yours.'"

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According to Gaskins, a big part of fixing what's been broken is open and honest communication about what's required, what's desired and what's reasonable.

For example, the metropolitan area desires clean, freshly mowed shoulders and medians. The DOH is required to mow every road in the county twice a year, but it's reasonable for the two sides to work together to get both accomplished.

Gaskins pointed to recent examples of collaborative efforts to address litter along major routes as well as potholes on state routes through downtown Morgantown.

"I can't speak highly enough about that and the appreciation from the county guys. I mean, it was something that was unheard of and it worked really well. Thank you for that, " he said, later adding, "I want to continue with the progress we've got going on, and with your guys' help and your guys' support and pushing, we're going to get better. I know you don't see a lot of District Four presence. I want to try and change that. I want to be here at these meetings ... but I also want you guys to know that any one of you at any time can call my office. If you have a question and I don't know the answer, I'll find the answer. You may not like the answer, but I'll always be honest and fair with you guys, and I'll be available."
George Clooney has called for the Elgin Marbles to be handed over to Greece.

The Oscar winner has said he will personally keep pushing until there is an agreement to send the 2,500-year-old sculptures back to Athens.

Clooney has stated confidently that the Marbles will be sent to Greece amid ongoing talks between the Greek government and George Osborne, the chairman of the British Museum.

Clooney told Ta Nea, the Greek newspaper: Theyre going to come back. I know they are.

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He added: My wife and I both have worked to get the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece. Well keep pushing until it happens. Theres no question about it.

The remarks were made last week in New York City, where Clooney is currently starring in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, the 2005 film he also directed and co-wrote.

The actors comments mark a continuation of his outspoken support for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles  a position he first brought to international attention more than a decade ago.

Clooney first made his views on the Marbles public in 2014 during a promotional tour for the film The Monument Men. He said that returning the artefacts would be the right thing to do.

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That same year, his wife Amal Clooney, along with a team of legal experts, visited Athens at the invitation of the Greek government to devise a legal option to pursue the return of the Marbles.

Their recommendation, detailed in a comprehensive 600-page report, was ultimately not adopted by the Greek government.

But it was later published as a book under the title Who Owns History?, which Mrs Clooney called a powerful cry for justice. She praised the work for laying out the case for reuniting the Parthenon Marbles in Athens once and for all.

Amal Clooney, alongside some leading experts, made a visit to Athens in 2014 - Yorgos Karahalis/Getty Images

Clooneys calls for the return of the Marbles provoked a firm response from Boris Johnson, the London mayor at the time, who said that someone urgently needs to restore George Clooneys marbles.

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Mr Johnson accused Clooney of advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for Londons cultural treasures, referencing Nazi plans to plunder the British Museum during World War II.

Clooney later dismissed Johnsons comments as too much hyperbole washed down with a few whiskies.

In 2021, Clooney reiterated his position about the artefacts, telling Dame Janet Suzman  the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles  that the Parthenon Sculptures must be returned to their original owner.

Amal Clooney was dropped from the Elgin Marbles case by the Greek government in 2015 - John Lamparski/AFP

Demands for the return of the Marbles to Athens, where they once adorned the Parthenon, have been long-standing.

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Despite ongoing talks between Greek ministers and Mr Osborne, no solution to the ongoing dispute appears to be in sight.

The British Museum is prevented by law from disposing of the artefact held in its collection, meaning it could at best offer Greece a loan.

Greece will not agree to this, as any loan would require a legal recognition of the British Museums ownership, and the Greek government believes the Marbles were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The only solution would be for the UK government to change the law binding the British Museum, but Labour has no intention of doing so.

This painting shows an idealised view of the Parthenon Marbles in the temporary Elgin Room at the museum in 1819 - David Parker /Sciene Photo Library

In the first public intervention on the issue last month, Sir Chris Bryant, the arts minister, said the best Britain could offer Greece was a temporary agreement.

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He said: Under existing law, it would be impossible for there to be a permanent or indefinite loan.

The British Museum Act 1963 makes clear that trustees have to retain treasures for the public, and ensure all loans are temporary.

There have been efforts to rally support for repatriation within Parliament.

John Lefas, the Greek millionaire, has attempted to organise this under the umbrella of the Parthenon Project.

The project is set to host a debate on June 11, which will feature figures including Stephen Fry, Ben Bradshaw, the former culture secretary, Baroness Debbonaire, the former Labour shadow culture secretary, Lord Frost and Lord Vaizey.

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.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced increased surveillance following alleged acts of sabotage by Russia's so-called shadow fleet on cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea, in comments released on Saturday.

"We, as neighbour, NATO and the EU, are countering hybrid threats with all our might, including further patrols," Wadephul told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"In the Baltic Sea region, Russia threatens us all," he warned.

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The shadow fleet refers to tankers and other cargo ships that Russia uses to avoid sanctions, particularly for oil transport. In recent months, there have been numerous alleged acts of sabotage by the shadow fleet on cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

Since then, the underwater infrastructure has been more closely monitored.

EU ratchets up sanctions

Wadephul went on to say that the threat had become increasingly serious in recent months.

"Severed cables, disrupted signals and suspicious ships are causing us great concern," he said, describing the shadow fleet as an absolute security risk.

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The EU will impose further sanctions directly on these ships, he added. "This also helps Ukraine, as the shadow fleet transports oil every day that Russia sells by bypassing sanctions."

On Tuesday, EU foreign ministers are due to formally adopt a 17th package of sanctions against Russia. It includes a further tightening of measures against the Russian shadow fleet for the transport of oil and oil products.

According to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze, approximately 84% of Russia's crude oil exports pass through the Baltic Sea with the shadow fleet. This corresponds to more than a third of Russia's budget revenues, she noted.

On Friday, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, which represents the democratic countries bordering the Baltic Sea, called for new shipping rules to allow for stronger joint action against Russia's shadow fleet.
The German Foreign Office said on Saturday that Israel's new large-scale offensive against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip is a cause "for deep concern" - both for Israel's strategic objectives and for the humanitarian situation.

The office, in a statement, noted that Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself.

"But the current actions could endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, including the Germans, who, after almost 600 days, are still fearing for their survival in Hamas dungeons," the statement said.

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For this reason, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had another phone call with his Israeli counterpart on Saturday, it added. Wadephul also remains in close contact with other regional partners, his office said.

Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for more than a year and a half  the conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023. For weeks, a new major offensive had been anticipated, and during the night, the Israeli military announced that it had launched the operation under the name "Gideon's Chariots."
The German Foreign Office said on Saturday that Israel's new large-scale offensive against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip is a cause "for deep concern" - both for Israel's strategic objectives and for the humanitarian situation.

The office, in a statement, noted that Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself.

But, it said, a large-scale military offensive carries the risk of worsening the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population and the condition of the remaining hostages, while pushing the prospect of a long-term ceasefire further out of reach.

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"The current actions could endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, including the Germans, who, after almost 600 days, are still fearing for their survival in Hamas dungeons," the statement added.

For this reason, it said Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had held another phone call with his Israeli counterpart on Saturday. Wadephul also remains in close contact with other regional partners, his office said.

German parties slam Israel's military action

Earlier on Saturday, the German Green Party had strongly criticized Israel's offensive and called on the government to make its position clear.

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The ongoing blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and the renewed expansion of hostilities are "unacceptable," Green Party leader Franziska Brantner said.

One in five people in Gaza is at risk of starvation, she added, referring to the latest IPC assessment on food security, which is supported by several UN organizations and aid groups.

Brantner said the German government must "make clear its position on compliance with international humanitarian law."

Populist politician Sahra Wagenknecht meanwhile demanded an immediate halt to Germany's arms deliveries to Israel, describing its actions in the Gaza Strip as "a campaign of destruction and a gigantic war crime."

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Wagenknecht, who leads the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, said the German government must immediately end its "policy of solidarity" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel launched a new offensive overnight under the name "Gideon's Chariots."

Observers fear the new campaign will lead to many more deaths in the coastal strip, where people have been living in catastrophic conditions for many months.

The Israeli military has not allowed aid deliveries into Gaza for more than two months, accusing Hamas of reselling aid supplies to the increasingly destitute population.

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Israel recently announced that it would allow aid deliveries to resume, but not through the existing channels.

Brantner demanded "unhindered access to humanitarian aid" as a matter of urgency. She accused Wadephul of supporting the reorganization of aid "instead of letting the established humanitarian actors do their work."

During a recent trip to Israel, Wadephul expressed understanding for the Israeli argument that aid deliveries should not serve Hamas and pledged German support.

Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for more than a year and a half  the conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023.
Germany's Green Party on Saturday strongly criticized Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, after the country launched a major new offensive in the sealed-off territory overnight.

The ongoing blockade of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and the renewed expansion of hostilities are "unacceptable," Green Party leader Franziska Brantner said.

One in five people in Gaza is at risk of starvation, she added, referring to the latest IPC assessment on food security, which is supported by several UN organizations and aid groups.

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Brantner said the German government must "make clear its position on compliance with international humanitarian law."

Populist politician Sahra Wagenknecht meanwhile demanded an immediate halt to Germany's arms deliveries to Israel, describing its actions in the Gaza Strip as "a campaign of destruction and a gigantic war crime."

Wagenknecht, who leads the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, said the German government must immediately end its "policy of solidarity" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Observers fear Israel's new offensive will lead to many more deaths in the coastal strip, where people have been living in catastrophic conditions for many months.

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The Israeli military has not allowed aid deliveries into Gaza for more than two months, accusing the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas of reselling aid supplies to the increasingly destitute population.

Israel recently announced that it would allow aid deliveries to resume, but not through the existing channels.

Brantner demanded "unhindered access to humanitarian aid" as a matter of urgency. She accused German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of supporting the reorganization of aid "instead of letting the established humanitarian actors do their work."

During a recent trip to Israel, Wadephul expressed understanding for the Israeli argument that aid deliveries should not serve Hamas and pledged German support.
German Education Minister Karin Prien has called for a ban on private mobile phone use in primary schools, amid European debate on children's access to smartphones and social media.

"The body of research is becoming increasingly clear: excessive screen time leads to poorer academic performance, reduced social skills and mental health problems," the conservative politician told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group, in remarks seen by dpa.

"We need to address this very quickly and very intensively," Prien added.

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In Germany, the country's federal states are responsible for issues relating to education, including the handling of mobile phones in schools. Prien, who was previously the education minister of the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein has clear views, however.

"Private mobile phone use should be banned in primary schools. In secondary schools, age-appropriate rules should be established wherever possible," she said.

The issue is currently being examined in Germany at state level. Berlin will support the process by providing the scientific basis, Prien added.

"From my experience, it is about largely, but age-appropriately, banning private mobile phone use in schools," she said. Experience showed that schools and most parents are grateful for clear, uniform guidelines.

Earlier in the week, EU youth and education ministers considered a range of measures to curb the risks to young people from excessive smartphone use.
Jessica Lia Brosche is a Berlin tattoo artist who was escaping the frigid German winter in the sunshine of northern Mexico. She planned to add a short trip across the border to visit a friend in Los Angeles. But she never made it.

Brosche was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement when she tried to enter the United States near San Diego on Jan. 26  six days after President Trumps inauguration. The 29-year-old German national was held at the Otay Mesa detention center for six weeks before she was allowed to fly home.

They treat you at the border like youre a criminal, Brosche told The Times after returning to Berlin. I only wanted to visit a friend in L.A. for a few days."

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The German consulate did not comment on the case. In an email to the Associated Press, ICE did not discuss Brosches case in detail but said that if statutes or visa terms are violated, travelers may be subject to detention and removal."

Brosches detention made headlines across Europe.

"Berlin woman endures 'horror story' in U.S. detention center while facing deportation," wrote one German newspaper. "Is the USA cracking down on German tourists entering the country?" wrote another.

Brosches experience  and media reports of other Germans or Europeans being detained by immigration authorities  may have contributed to a chill in travel to the United States, which is normally one of the most popular overseas destinations for Germans, with more than 2 million visitors each year.

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Read more: 'I don't trust America.' Trump's tariffs, detentions take a toll on local tourism

There was an appreciable drop in visitors to the United States from Europe in March, after the Trump administration introduced an aggressive crackdown on immigration. The number of German visitors fell most precipitously  28% fewer in March compared to the previous March, according to data from the International Trade Administration, a German government agency.

There were also far fewer Germans arriving in California in March, down 26% to 20,847 from March 2024, the agency said.

Visit California, a nonprofit organization for tourism, recently lowered its forecast for 2025 spending by all visitors in the state by $6 billion to $160 billion after seeing the first quarter decline.

'I dont want to take a chance of ending up stopped at the airport and then taken to a prison in El Salvador, with my hair shaved off and forced to kneel in line with prisoners.'

Karolina Pieper, German citizen

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Reflecting diminished demand to visit California, airfares from Germany have fallen too. Seats on mid-summer round-trip flights from Berlin to Los Angeles can now be found for as little as $500, or about half as expensive as a year ago.

The trend has raised alarm because visitors from abroad have an important impact on the U.S. economy  especially in California, one of the leading destinations for German tourists.

A banner featuring President Trump hangs near the entrance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington. There was an appreciable drop in visitors to the United States from Europe in March, after the Trump administration introduced an aggressive crackdown on immigration. (Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images)

Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, told The Times that his independent organization had lowered its forecast for tourism to the U.S. from a gain of 9% in 2025 to a drop of 9% because of the turbulence caused since Trump took office.

"Simply put, international leisure travelers have complete discretion on when and where they travel, and negative perceptions are reducing interest in visiting the U.S., Sacks wrote in an email.

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Germans, who receive six weeks of paid vacation each year, are among the worlds most hearty travelers and their absence this summer would likely be felt at California hot spots such as Universal Studios, Disneyland, beaches and Death Valley. Germans spent $112 billion on foreign travel in 2023, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, trailing only Chinese visitors ($197 billion) and Americans ($150 billion).

The absence of German tourists this summer would likely be felt at California hot spots such as Universal Studios. Germans spent $112 billion on foreign travel in 2023, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. (Amanda Villegas / For The Times)

Residents of other countries have sworn off U.S. travel to protest Trump's policies on immigration, foreign affairs or tariffs. Many Canadians have been staying away, most notably from Palm Springs, which usually hosts a large contingent of Canadians.

Read more: Canadian snowbirds love Palm Springs. But Trump is making them say: Sorry! We're leaving

The decline in German tourists, however, reflects not politics, but fear.

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Brosche was widely quoted in the German press as saying that she was held in a small cell for nine days. "Being in solitary confinement was hard," she told The Times. "I had headaches and started getting panic attacks. I was on the verge of losing it. The company that owns the detention center, CoreCivic, has denied she was held in such confinement.

I love traveling to the States but I dont think Im going to risk it this year, said Karolina Pieper, a 39-year-old civil servant from Mainz who usually vacations in the United States three times each year. I dont want to take a chance of ending up stopped at the airport and then taken to a prison in El Salvador, with my hair shaved off and forced to kneel in line with prisoners.

Germans with business dealings in the U.S. also report growing anxiety. Martin Moszkowicz, an executive at Constantin Film, said that some German actors and writers, who in the past had posted criticism of Trump on social media, were leery about traveling to the United States for fear of being detained.

This is all creating a lot of uncertainty, and that is never good for business, Moszkowicz said.

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Read more: Contributor: Easy entry into the U.S. from foreign shores? Don't count on it now

A traveler waits inside the Delta Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. The number of German visitors to the United States was down 28% in March from the year before, according to data from the International Trade Administration, a German government agency. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

News reports of Germans undergoing special scrutiny when trying to enter the U.S. continue to circulate.

A German electrical engineer named Fabian Schmidt, 34, has had a green card since 2008. But he was detained at Bostons Logan Airport when returning from a visit to Germany on March 7 and held for two months.

His mother, Astrid Senior, was quoted in German media reports saying he had been deprived of sleep, food and water when he was held for three weeks in detention in Rhode Island. She said the authorities would not let him have his anxiety medication and that his condition deteriorated to the point that he had to be taken to a hospital.

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I would have a real problem with all the stress going to the United States now, said Udo Grelzik, 64, a solar power entrepreneur from a Berlin suburb. All these stories of Germans getting arrested at the border just for trying to visit on vacation. I couldnt handle the interrogation. My English isnt very good and Id be scared of saying something wrong. And then end up in jail just because I misunderstood something. No thanks.

Grelzik said he will instead spend a few weeks this year in Canada.

Brosche said she was at first told by authorities that they suspected she was attempting to work illegally in the U.S. because she was traveling with her tattoo equipment, then told her that she had stayed longer than the 90 days allowed on her visa during a trip to Chicago two years ago. She said immigration authorities later told her that she had been caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally.

Brosche said all those statements were untrue. She did have her tattooing equipment, she said, but was planning to ink a fellow tattoo artist, not to work professionally.

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Others have reported being strip-searched, handcuffed and locked up, often without explanation.

It was really humiliating, Maria Lepere, a 19-year-old German from Rostock who was detained along with her friend Charlotte Pohl, also 19, at the Honolulu airport for 24 hours in March.

Lepere insisted she and Pohl had valid visas, but a Customs and Border Protection official quoted in the New York Post said the pair had attempted to enter the United States "under false pretenses," with the goal of working, not visiting as tourists.

Read more: Newsom claims Trump's tariffs will reduce California revenues by $16 billion

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Lepere said she was told authorities were suspicious about their planned three-week stay in Hawaii because they had booked a hotel only for the first part of their visit. The pair, who had been traveling the world, had their mug shots taken, were denied entry and flew back to Tokyo.

They found the mug shot episode so absurd, Lepere said, that they they were pictured smiling and almost laughing when they were photographed.

It was just insane, Lepere said. We couldnt comprehend it. They put us through metal detectors and our whole bodies were scanned. We had to stand naked in front of the police women and let them check us out.

The German government on March 18 issued a travel advisory about the United States, warning on its website that U.S. border control agents have the final decision on entry even if travelers are holding valid visas, and added that even the slightest irregularity or infraction could result in detention.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the treatment of German tourists at border controls unacceptable and said he would lodge protests with U.S. authorities.

As for Brosche, she said that as loath as she is to visit the United States again, she would not completely rule out the possibility of one day coming to Los Angeles.

I cant forget about what happened but I can forgive  and if I could get to L.A. without any hassles at the border, Id love to see L.A., she said.

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
ROME/BERLIN (Reuters) -Europe is a long way from talking about deploying troops in Ukraine as all its efforts are currently focused on securing an unconditional ceasefire from Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday.

"The next step must be that the format for peace talks is made clear, as well as which security guarantees could possibly, one day, be necessary for Ukraine," Merz said, describing these matters as currently unforeseeable.

"There is no reason to talk about (troops) at the moment, we are far from that. We want the weapons to stop, the killing to end ... these are the questions we are dedicated to now, and no others," he added.

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The leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met on the sidelines of a summit in Albania on Friday to discuss the situation. They also called U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on Saturday he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Meloni did not take part in the meeting - an absence that Italian media has described as a deliberate snub, suggesting that French President Emmanuel Macron had not wanted her involved.

Meloni told reporters on Saturday that Italy was open to joining any international format aimed at ending the war, but warned against divisions within the West.

"Western unity has been our greatest strength since the beginning of Russia's invasion," she said. "At a delicate time like this, it is important to set aside any personal (differences) that could undermine that unity."

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'BELOW EXPECTATIONS'

The European Union is working on a new package of sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow over the war, after the first face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years on Thursday failed to yield a ceasefire, though Russia agreed to continue contacts.

"Yesterday's talks in Istanbul ended below our expectations despite the extremely constructive positioning of Ukraine's negotiators," Merz said.

Merz's position on peacekeeping troops echoes that of his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who also prioritised peace deal talks over discussion of boots on the ground.

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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously expressed willingness to send peacekeeping troops, but only backed by a U.S. security commitment for European countries.

Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of soldiers from countries in the NATO military alliance being stationed in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin, Crispian Balmer in Rome. Editing by Mark Potter)
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) said its vehicles will soon have markings that are essentially invisible during the day.

The ghost graphics, according to the MSHP, are low-visibility markings that blend during the day but reflect at night.

St. Louis mayor says authorities have confirmed at least 4 deaths after severe storm damaged city

These stealth vehicles help troopers monitor aggressive and dangerous driving more effectively, the MSHP said on Facebook.

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The agency shared these photos on its Facebook page:

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EDITORS NOTE: Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Animal Pharm on Sunday, May 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.

There were more than 48,000 organ transplants in the United States last year. Theyre commonplace now, but the practice was considered experimental only a half-century ago.

Until just the past few years, transplants almost always involved human organs. Now, early experiments in xenotransplantation  transplanting animal organs into humans  are creating potential pathways to save lives.

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Heres a look back at how we got to this point.

Are animals the answer?

Pigs that have been genetically edited to make their organs more compatible with the human body are the latest frontier in organ transplantation. - CNN

Xenotransplantation, the practice of transplanting organs between species, is a concept that has been around for hundreds of years.

Early in the 20th century, Dr. Mathieu Jaboulay turned the idea into action with one of the first well-documented attempts to make an animal organ work for a human. In 1906 in Lyon, France, Jaboulay attached a pig kidney to a 48-year-old womans elbow, choosing that spot because it was easy to access. Blood circulated through the kidney, and the kidney produced urine, something even some human donations in this period failed to do, studies show.

The pig kidney quickly failed, and the patient died soon after due to an infection.

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The lack of having ready access to human organs has always sort of been the holy grail, that you would have something in reserve that didnt require a human to die in order for another human to live, said Dr. Jeffrey Stern, a senior member of the NYU Langone Transplant Institutes xenotransplantation team. Obviously, animals as that source is sort of an ideal version of that.

The first successful human transplant

Ronald Herrick wheels identical twin Richard out of the hospital after their kidney transplant. - Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Richard Herrick lived eight years after receiving his twin's kidney. - Brigham and Womens Hospital

In 1954, the worlds first successful human organ transplant was performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at whats now called Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.

Murray took a kidney from 22-year-old Ronald Herrick and transplanted it into Richard Herrick, his twin brother. Because they were identical, Richards immune system thought the new organ was its own, which prevented it from rejecting the foreign organ. Richard Herrick lived another eight years, and his organ donor brother had no harmful side effects.

I think that really moved the field, said Dr. Stefan Tullius, chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery at Brigham and Womens Hospital.

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What that did show is that if you have the right combination and relationship between donor and recipient, then you indeed can transplant an organ and that is going to work, Tullius added.

Since immunosuppressive drugs were not yet available, transplant experiments seemed to work only with twins whose immune systems thought the foreign organ were their own.

You still ran into all those issues for the next 30 years with the immune system, said Stern, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Not everyone has an identical twin.

More donors

Dr. Joseph Murray carried out the first successful kidney transplant in 1954 and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his success. - Bill Polo/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

In the 1960s, Murray demonstrated in several experiments with dogs that an organ transplant would be more successful if the recipient received drugs to suppress the immune system after the procedure, to lower the chances of rejection.

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In April 1962, in a world first that built on what he learned from those experiments, Murphy transplanted a kidney from a deceased donor into an unrelated human who was treated with an immunosuppressant called azathioprine. The patient survived more than a year, and s survival time lengthened even further when doctors discovered that an immunosuppressant worked better if given along with the steroid prednisone.

In June 1963, one of Murrays research fellows, Belgian surgeon Dr. Guy Alexandre, performed the first transplant operation from a brain-dead donor, a controversial procedure at the time. Alexandre had been searching for a kidney for a patient with renal failure when a woman who had been in a car accident was brought in to his Hopital Saint-Pierre in Brussels. Her heart was beating, but she showed no brain activity. Knowing that organs lost viability as soon as a patients heart stopped, Alexandre got permission from his department chair to transplant the womans kidney into his patient with renal failure. The recipient lived another 87 days.

Over the next couple of years, Alexandre secretly performed other kidney transplants using brain-dead donors to see if such an approach would lengthen survival time compared with transplants from donors whose hearts had stopped. He disclosed the experiments at a medical conference a couple years later, to mixed reactions.

It wasnt until 1968 that a Harvard Medical School committee published its recommendation that irreversible loss of brain function  once called irreversible coma  would be a new criterion for death. Afterward, transplants involving brain-dead donors became more common, vastly expanding the pool of available organs.

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To come up with the definition of brain death as an alternative to cardiac death  so the discontinuation of circulation  was huge, because it allowed the procurement of organs, Tullius said.

Trial and error

Louis Washkansky received the world's first heart transplant in 1967 but died 18 days later of a lung infection. - UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Isabelle Dinoire, who lost part of her face in a dog attack, was the recipient of the world's first partial face transplant in 2005. - Bernard Wis/Paris Match/Getty Images

Transplant doctors started experimenting with kidneys because humans have two and can survive with only one. Patients also had the option of dialysis if the transplant failed. But the more the doctors learned, the more confident they became that they could transplant other organs.

By the late 1960s, they started to experiment with livers and pancreases, and in 1967, South African surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard of Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town performed the first heart transplant. He transplanted a 25-year-olds heart into a 53-year-old grocer who was dying from chronic heart disease. The grocer died 18 days later from a lung infection, but the heart continued to beat until his death.

Barnards second heart transplant patient lived almost 19 months. His fifth and sixth patients lived for almost 13 and 24 years, respectively.

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By the 1990s, immunosuppressants like cyclosporine and tacrolimus opened new possibilities for transplants of multiple tissues. In 1998, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard did the first surgical hand transplant in Lyon, France. In 2005, he and Dr. Bernard Devauchelle performed the first partial face transplant for Isabelle Dinoire, a woman who lost part of her face in a dog attack. In 2010, a Spanish team led by Dr. Juan Barret performed the first full-face transplant.

Theres the first 30 years of transplantation that everything was sort of experimental, right? Stern said. It wasnt a commonplace endeavor that we do what we currently do, and it was a lot of trial and error and survival, and sort of the entire field of transplantation, I think, was very tenuous in that. It was adaptation and invention of new technologies that allowed transplantation to become commonplace.

Baby Fae

Dr. Leonard Bailey got special permission to transplant a baboon heart into Baby Fae in 1984. - Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

In 1984, Dr. Leonard Bailey tried to save the life of Stephanie Fae Beauclair at Loma Linda University in California. The child, who became known as Baby Fae, was born with a deadly heart condition, and Bailey, who had been experimenting with cross-species transplants in animals, got permission to transplant a baboon heart. Stephanie lived just 21 more days, but the case generated more awareness about the need for infant organ donations and the possibility of cross-species transplantation.

Eventually, scientists decided that primates, although evolutionarily the closest cousin to humans, werent the best organ donors.

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Primates turned out to be too small, too expensive and too controversial, said medical ethicist Dr. Art Caplan, who works with transplant cases at NYU. There was also a concern about infection. Non-human primates may carry a variety of pathogens that are not harmful to them but that can cause disease in humans, including Marburg virus and HIV.

Eventually, scientists realized that pigs would be a better option: Theyre anatomically similar to humans, they breed quickly, and there was a reduced risk of zoonotic disease.

Nobel-winning technology

Research in xenotransplantation stalled until the development of the gene editing tool CRISPR in the early 2000s. This Nobel-winning technology gave scientists the ability to edit the pig genome to make it more compatible with humans, including knocking out key sequences in pig DNA that would result in almost automatic organ rejection in people. Combining that with cloning techniques gave scientists a chance to maintain consistent genetics and produce universal pig donors.

Cloning and to apply CRISPR, to have the opportunity of gene editing, is really allowing not only transplantation but is also relevant for other areas of medicine, Tullius said. I would put those in the revolutionary category.

One step closer

Dr. Robert Montgomery performs the first xenotransplantation of a genetically engineered nonhuman kidney into a human at NYU Langone Health. - Joe Carrotta/NYU Langone Health

Pig organs had been transplanted into non-human primates, but the real test came in September 2021, when a genetically engineered pig kidney was transplanted to a brain-dead patient at NYU Langone.

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The kidney was attached to the blood vessels in the recipients upper leg, outside the abdomen, for 54 hours while doctors studied how well it functioned. The organ seemed to function as well as a human kidney transplant, and the doctors did not see any signs of rejection.

We learned more from that than anything else that weve done, Dr. Robert Montgomery, one of the surgeons who performed the procedure, told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It was really the basis of how we were able to figure out how to treat rejection in our living patients.

The family graciously approved donation of their loved ones body for this procedure. That extraordinary generosity paved the way for this major step forward in creating a sustainable supply of life-saving organs and hopefully ending the current paradigm that someone has to die for someone to live, Montgomery said in a news release at the time.

Making history

On January 7, 2022, surgeons at the University of Maryland School of Medicine performed the first xenotransplant into a living person.

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David Bennett, 57, could not walk and relied on an artificial lung and heart bypass machine to stay alive. He was too sick to qualify for a human heart but was able to undergo the experimental procedure under the US Food and Drug Administrations compassionate use pathway, which allows patients with no other alternatives to try experimental treatments.

He lived two additional months, having the chance to spend more time with his family and watch the Super Bowl.

As with any first-in-the-world transplant surgery, this one led to valuable insights that will hopefully inform transplant surgeons to improve outcomes and potentially provide lifesaving benefits to future patients, said his surgeon, Dr. Bartley Griffith.

Bennett was the first of a handful of compassionate use xenotransplant patients. But as researchers approach clinical trials, they hope they will have a better understanding of how successful the organs can be under more typical circumstances.

The promise of xenotransplantation is the promise of hope for our patients. A hope for the future that for too long has been uncertain. It is hope turned to possibility turned to reality. Our patients can dream again about graduations, weddings  about life. Hope should not have to be rationed, said Dr. Jayme Locke, a professor of surgery at NYU Langone.

Custom organs

Multiple shots on goal is how geneticist Dr. David Ayares describes United Therapeutics approach to the future of organ transplantation.

This summer, the company will embark on the first FDA clinical trial of xenotransplantation.

So instead of one-off compassionate use transplants that were very valuable in learning how to optimize and extend the survival of these patients, now we can go into a multicenter trial, Ayares, president and chief scientific officer of Revivicor, a United Therapeutics subsidiary, told Gupta.

But that still wont be enough to solve the organ shortage completely, so United Therapeutics and others in the transplant community are continuing to think farther into the future. I think the next thing were going to do is  create personalized organs where we dont have to use any immunosuppression, Montgomery said of what he expects down the road.

This could mean using a pigs organ as scaffolding where scientists could seed human stem cells, or even 3D-printing organs.

Then you have a designer organ for that person when they need it, Montgomery said.

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A multi-million dollar maternity start-up backed by Chelsea Clinton which promised to revolutionize the way women give birth, has been hit with a lawsuit  the second in as many years alleging medical malpractice, The Post has learned.

Oula  which provides midwife care from four boutique clinics in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Norwalk, Conn.  is being sued by Vantisha Knowles for negligently acting outside the applicable standard of care, according to court papers filed in New York State Supreme Court in March.

Knowles, 39, who is a realtor, said she went to Oula when having her second child, a daughter.

Oula founders Adrianne Nickerson (left) and Elaine Purcell (middle) hold their babies at one of their New York City clinics. Courtesy of Oula

She had been looking for a clinic that worked with midwives and they were great for pre-natal but when she went to give birth it turned into a traumatic experience.

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They basically rushed me through labor and did a C-section, she told The Post, adding the experience was so bad it has contributed to her decision not to have any more children.

In her complaint is says Knowles sustained grave and permanent injuries during the C-section, without going into specifics.

Speaking to The Post, Knowles says after getting home, after she called Oula to describe her injuries they just told me to go to emergency. They had not solutions for me. Why couldnt I just go through them?

Knowles said she needed to be hospitalized and to have blood transfusions. They just dont care, she claimed.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton has thrown her support behind Oula, which wants to revolutionize childbirth and give pregnant women comprehensive care. Oula Health/ Instagram

Knowles suit also names Mount Sinai Hospital and Ila Dayananda, an obstetrician/gynecologist and former chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, who works for Oula.

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The defendants, their agents, and/or employees failed to provide reasonable medical care and deviated from accepted medical practice in the care, treatment, evaluation, management, and services provided to the plaintiff, her legal papers claim.

Ila Dayananda, an obstetrician/gynecologist who works with Oula, is a former chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. She is named as one of the defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Oula

The charges she levels at the clinic are negligently failing to properly evaluate plaintiff to determine the necessity of performing a C-section delivery of her baby, by failing to properly wait for plaintiffs labor and delivery to progress; by failing to take into account plaintiffs prior medical history, the lawsuit reads.

In 2023, Oula  which is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City  was hit with a lawsuit by a Brooklyn couple who claimed its negligence led to their baby being born badly brain-damaged. That lawsuit is ongoing, court records show.

Theyre growing fast, but they dont seem to understand their own business, said a source, who claimed the start-up has lost a handful of midwives at the clinics in the last several months.

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Oula is a rudderless ship. A lot of the midwives are burned out, and scared they will be hit with malpractice suits.

In a response to The Posts request for comment, Oula said: We do not comment on medical claims due to healthcare privacy laws.

Oulas star-studded promotional events have featured CBS News anchor Gayle King, ballerina Misty Copeland and Seagrams heiress Hannah Bronfman, while its woke social media includes motivational quotes for birthing people.

The clinics also feature spa-like interiors that resemble high-end boutique hotels.

Oula is one of a number of start-ups aiming to cash in on a potentially lucrative change in the Affordable Care Act, which ordered insurers to pay for midwife-led care for pregnant women.

Oulas four clinics feature spa-like interiors. @oulahealth/Instagram

The change was prompted by concern that mothers in the US have exceptionally high rates of birth by C-section and that maternal mortality rates are too high.

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More than 32 percent of live births in the US were caesarian deliveries in 2022, according to the March of Dimes.

This is more than double what the World Health Organization deems ideal for caesarian births, at 10 percent to 15 percent.

Since it opened its first clinic in 2021, Oula midwives have delivered more than 2000 babies.

Oula, which opened its first clinic in 2021, was started by Harvard grad Adrianne Nickerson, who has degrees in biology and global health, as well as Elaine Purcell, who has a masters in health care administration from New York University, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

Oulas secured $28 million from a fund run by investors, including Clinton, who also has a masters in public health from Columbia University. That funding allowed Oula to open its first clinics in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Norwalk. The firm also has offices on the Upper West Side.

Very proud to be an investor in Oula as they continue to build a midwife-centered care model that has better outcomes for mothers & babies alike, Clinton posted on X in December 2023.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A Raleigh father is home recovering after he was shot by car thieves earlier this week.

Now, Memphis Police need your help finding the suspects.

[A] bullet could have went in and hit one of my kids, the victim said.

The victim in Thursday mornings shooting on Clearwood Road in Raleigh asked us not to reveal his identity to protect his family.

They were faced with danger that morning when thieves walked onto his property.

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Im really [explictive] off about that, the victim said. But you know, what goes around comes around.

Just before 6 a.m., surveillance video shows someone inside a black Tahoe.

A person wearing a gray hoodie can be seen by the drivers side door appears to be helping the driver start the vehicle.

ORIGINAL STORY: Man shot while confronting car thieves at Raleigh home

While thats happening, another masked person hops out of a Jeep with what looks like a flashlight.

The victim said this is when he noticed his vehicle, a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe, was about to be stolen.

I aint speak not a word. So, when I seen them, I put my shoes and stuff on. I made sure my family was  my kids were going to school, he said. So, [I] walked to the door and thats when everything went left, when they were getting ready to pull out.

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When he opened his door, one of the suspects opened fire.

The victim said he was shot in the foot.

Several bullets also struck his home, with his wife and children inside.

I couldve lost my toes. I could have lost my whole leg, the victim said. You know that was a high chance of possibility, but you know God on my side.

The suspects got away with the vehicle being trailed by a silver four-door Nissan Maxima.

Video released of suspects shooting at man during car theft

The victim said he was rushed to the hospital, where he spent several hours in surgery.

[I] got out of surgery [and] told them I was ready to go, he said. This is where Im supposed to be. This is my home. Im not going to let nobody run me off. I got to protect my family.

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No one else was injured in the shooting.

Memphis Police released the surveillance video, hoping someone would come forward with information.

As for the victim, he just has one question for the suspects.

I dont know them. They dont know me. And if they do know me, why would you do that knowing I got a family and kids, he said. Pray for them.

Memphis Police said no arrests have been made.

If you know anything, contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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Lawmakers on the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) have proposed a resolution that aims to block former FBI Director James Comey from ever taking a role in the federal government again because of a now-deleted social media post that read 8647.

Republicans, including President Trump, have interpreted Comeys post of seashells on a beach on Thursday as a call to assassinate the 47th president.

The proposed House GOP resolution urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that [Comey] is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the federal government and requests the Justice Department conduct a full and comprehensive investigation  and release the findings of that investigation to the relevant House Committees and the public.

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Comey, 64, has denied that the Instagram post was a call for Trumps death and clarified in a follow-up statement that he didnt realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.

It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post, he wrote.

The numeral 86 is typically understood as slang for rejecting or throwing out something or someone.

But RSC Chair Rep. August Pfluger (Texas), one of the authors of the House resolution, called Comeys social media post a shocking betrayal of the trust once placed in him by the American people and accused Comey of the unthinkable: calling for violence against our Commander-in-Chief.

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That someone who once held one of our nations most sacred positions of law enforcement would incite such dangerous rhetoric is not just alarming  its disqualifying and un-American, Pfluger said in a statement. This resolution demands the accountability and transparency the American people deserve, ensuring Comey never again holds a position of public trust.

The resolution states that Congress must take all available action to hold Director Comey accountable, preserve the rule of law, and protect our legal institutions from those that seek to sow discord and promote violence against their political opponents.

A Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement that the agency will vigorously investigate anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees.

We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters, the spokesperson said.

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post Friday evening on social platform X that Comey agreed to a voluntary interview at the Secret Services Washington Field Office.

Comey and Trump have been longtime foes since Comey, as FBI director, launched an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. Trump fired him from the job as the investigation was ongoing.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe will be visiting St. Louis in the aftermath of Fridays storm, which left multiple dead.

Claudia and I are deeply saddened to learn of the deaths and injuries caused by the tornadoes and severe storms that have affected much of the state today. Our prayers are with all those impacted, Kehoe said.

Kehoe continued in his statement to thank first responders who responded to those in crisis.

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On his trip to the city, Kehoe will be meeting with St. Louis mayor Cara Spencer.

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Both leaders are urging residents to avoid damaged areas. Today, many neighborhoods were left with debris from the storm, as well as cars damaged by trees.

Our city is grieving tonight, Spencer said in a press conference. The loss of life and destruction is truly horrendous.

The death toll, as of this evening, is five.

Crew members are currently removing debris in neighborhoods, but a curfew in two St. Louis districts is in effect. Districts 5 & 6 will be under curfew until tomorrow morning, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department announced.

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WESTERNPORT  When 9 feet of water rushed into the basement of their Church Street home, Mark Slider and his partner Steve Matthews lost items including a new $14,000 boiler, washer, dryer and refrigerator that floated up to the ceiling and knocked out plumbing.

Despite devastation caused by Tuesdays flood, Slider talked of his gratitude for the close-knit community that welcomed the same-sex couple 20 years ago and has treated them like family ever since.

When we moved here I didnt know what to expect, he said. But we couldnt have picked a more accepting place.

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That gentle spirit and love of community felt almost palpable across the tiny town, which was covered with mud, muck and mold as residents welcomed Gov. Wes Moore Thursday.

Im appreciative of (Moores visit) because Western Maryland usually seems to get left out, Slider said. We need help.

His plea was apparently answered.

Moore, after seeing the towns destruction, declared a state of emergency to strengthen Marylands response to the flood-damaged region.

Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton led the governor, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney and others on a tour of spots hit hard by the flood, including Tri-Towns EMS, Boal Funeral Home and the local library.

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During the walk, Moore talked to area residents on mud-covered sidewalks and porches.

Gov. Wes Moore in Westernport

Gov. Wes Moore is in Westernport on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Some yards contained broken fences, crushed lawns and battered, scattered sandbags.

Folks filled dumpsters with debris as the Maryland State Police Trooper 5 helicopter circled above to further assess the damage.

Water poured from a drain pipe through the side of a wall at Westernport Elementary School, where cars were drowned and abandoned in the nearby parking lot.

Despite the wreckage, as sunset approached bells rang at St. Peters Catholic Church and raised a reminder that life goes on in the small, rural town.

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After the tour, the governor talked of what stood out most.

Its the people, he said.

Ive been so inspired, Moore said. Were seeing the best of Maryland.

Within minutes

Allegany County Emergency Services Interim Director Roger Bennett said Moore made state help available within minutes of the flood.

Roger Bennett, April McClain Delaney, Wes Moore

Allegany County Emergency Services Interim Director Roger Bennett, center, talks to Congresswoman April McClain Delaney and Gov. Wes Moore in Westernport on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Everyone at the state got us resources, he said of aid, including water rescue teams.

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Maryland departments, including natural resources, police and environment responded, Bennett said.

Helping hands

Kristi Williams recently moved to Delaware, but is a lifetime member of Tri-Towns EMS.

Kristi Williams

Kristi Williams

This is my hometown, she said of Westernport, where she was a police and fire commissioner.

Despite wearing medical boots on both feet due to injuries sustained in snow, Williams returned to the EMS station to help clean up after the flood.

Folks rallied to help clean and set up fans and dehumidifiers, she said.

It was a lot of hands so it made the work light, Williams said. We were all working together so well. It became a feeling ... an emotion.

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Mike Wilhelm and his granddaughters boyfriend, Aden Cebotar, tossed items into a dumpster parked near Main Street.

Mike Wilhelm and Aden Cebotar

Mike Wilhelm, right, and Aden Cebotar toss items into a dumpster parked near Main Street in Westernport Thursday.

I lost everything out of my basement, Wilhelm said, adding that water rose to just 18 inches below the cellars ceiling.

His items destroyed by the flood included a large freezer, tools, a washer, a dryer and a hot water tank.

While the loss amounted to several thousand dollars, It isnt much compared to other people, Wilhelm said of many of his neighbors.

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Mold started

Allegany County Library System Executive Director John Taube said water rushed through side doors at the Westernport branch.

He believes that caused furniture to float into a panic bar and open another door of the building.

More than 30 chairs then floated downtown, Taube said.

He described some of the buildings damage.

You can see the water marks on the wall, Taube said. The mold has already started to grow.

He said a $21,000 flood insurance policy will cover roughly $500,000 for the building and $181,000 for contents.

Luckily, our shelving is steel, Taube said of being able to power wash the units.

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Due to flooding, the Westernport and Georges Creek library branches are closed.

The ACLS Board of Trustees, which for months has discussed solutions for a budget deficit, will meet at the LaVale branch from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Very grateful

Tri-Towns EMS Chief Justin White was 10 years old when the town flooded in 1996.

Gov. Wes Moore, Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton and Tri-Towns EMS Chief Justin White

Gov. Wes Moore, Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton and Tri-Towns EMS Chief Justin White

This is worse now, he said. Just the mud and wreckage and debris ... its a lot.

White thanked area residents and nearby EMS stations from Keyser and southern Garrett County for helping Tri-Towns with the flood damage.

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Were very grateful, he said. The community has stepped up.

His wife, Brittany, said the couples two teenage sons and their family home remained safe during the flood, but the experience was surreal.

It was almost like living in a movie, she said.

Brycen Garner, 20, said his mom is an EMT at Tri-Towns, where he also volunteers.

Brycen Garner

Brycen Garner

Its been a shock, he said of witnessing the flood and seeing it damage a friends house. I was up on the hill and could just hear it.

Laundry, prisoners

State Sen. Mike McKay said hes working on creative approaches to help folks in Westernport.

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State Sen. Mike McKay

State Sen. Mike McKay

As president of the Mid- Atlantic Association of Cleaners, he reached out to the leader of Procter & Gambles Tide division to bring a tractor-trailer filled with running washing machines and dryers to Westernport for residents who, due to the flood, lost their ability to clean laundry.

A local church agreed to facilitate the mobile laundry unit, McKay said.

Im working on getting that to happen, he said. My goal is to have it here within three weeks.

McKay said he is also working with the state Department of Corrections to provide inmate labor to clean the town.

The workers would be from low-crime backgrounds, vetted and properly supervised, he said.

McKay said he wants to make sure areas damaged by the flood receive long-term help.

He compared the needed aid for the recent weather event to immediate attention that surrounds a newborn but later fades when most needed.

The flood to me ... is kind of like a young mother who just gave birth, McKay said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Friday that pushes local governments to comply with certain state housing laws as a condition of receiving state grant funding, at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Friday that pushes local governments to comply with certain state housing laws as a condition of receiving state grant funding.

The order directs several state agencies to identify funding opportunities that can be prioritized for local governments and projects that align with state housing priorities. It highlights seven state laws passed in the last two years that aim to increase housing options across the state.

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Polis said the goal of the executive order is to ensure those who receive discretionary grant funding from the state are prioritizing state efforts to increase housing stock, affordability and sustainability. He estimated over $100 million dollars in state funding will be subject to the order.

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Today were taking action to make sure that the limited state funding opportunities are prioritized for local governments that are following state housing laws and land use laws and doing their part so hardworking Coloradans to afford to live, work and thrive across our state of Colorado, Polis said at a press conference in his office at the Colorado Capitol, where he signed the executive order Friday.

While many local governments have supported housing policies approved by the Colorado Legislature in recent years, others opposed the policies and indicated concerns about compliance. Polis said he wants local governments to be able to go through DOLA to help them achieve compliance with new state housing laws.

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We want to make sure everybody is working in good faith and has a plan to implement these laws, Polis said. Some counties have just thought about it and worked on it more than others, and we want to make sure that everybody thinks about it and works on it and gets it done because housing is a statewide issue.

Laws covered by the executive order include 2024 measures to prohibit residential occupancy limits, require higher-density housing near transit stops, prohibit local minimum parking requirements, legalize the construction of accessory dwelling units, and encourage more sustainable affordable housing, as well as 2025 polices that set regional building codes for factory-built homes and allow some multifamily buildings to have just one staircase.

Housing availability and affordability has been a growing crisis in Colorado that state legislators worked to improve since 2023. A 2023 housing executive order Polis signed said the state is short tens of thousands of housing units, and his new order says the same concerns continue to escalate.

Some of the laws included in the order are not yet implemented, so the provisions of the executive order will apply after the measures take effect.

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The executive order requires state agencies including the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Energy Office, the Department of Local Affairs, and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade to submit a list within 30 days of potential competitive grants and other discretionary funding sources that could be subject to the requirements of the order.

The order will be updated once the governors office compiles a list of grants and funding to be included, and it will apply to funding awarded after Oct. 6.

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(DENVER)  Colorado Governor Jared Polis is putting his foot down to try and improve the housing crisis across the state.

Polis signed an executive order on Friday, May 16 to prioritize state funding for counties and cities that comply with seven laws related to housing, which have been signed into law within the last two legislative sessions.

The legislature voted, we signed them, Polis said. Others are a little slower, so we, through the Department of Local Affairs, we really want to have a toolbox and help local governments achieve compliance.

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Some of the bills Polis is focusing on include HB24-1007, which eliminated residential occupancy limits. Others Polis mentioned include HB24-1152, which gives homeowners the ability to add a second small dwelling next to their property or attached to a single-family house. Five of the bills went into effect last year while two were signed by Polis this year.

Its about getting it [the housing crisis] solved, whether its the federal government helping with housing, whether its the state, whether its your city, Polis said.

FOX21 News reached out to local leaders in southern Colorado for comment on the issue and received several statements.

The spokesperson for the Pueblo Mayors Office told FOX21 News in a brief statement that the city will be compliant with the laws mentioned.

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However, Pueblo County Commissioners Paula McPheeters and Zach Swearingen took a much different tone and seemed to disagree with the move.

In her statement to FOX21 News, McPheeters said: Withholding grants derived from taxpayer dollars is one way to compel compliance. Pueblo County is not Denver or Boulder County.

Swearingen continued the trend in his statement, saying, To restrict funding to communities that may need the most help is not the way to help this situation.

FOX21 News also reached out to Mayor Yemi Mobolades office, along with the spokesperson for both the Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Commissioners, who were not able to provide comments by our deadline.

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Poliss executive order states Oct. 6 is the date that these laws will become a requirement in order to apply for state grant assistance. Current projects being funded will not see any impacts until then.





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Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana made a decision that could cause a significant setback in the journey toward sustainable food packaging in the state.

What's happening?

As detailed by the Daily Montanan in early May, a video posted on social media showed Gianforte, a Republican, explaining why he vetoed a bill that would have gradually phased out the use of Styrofoam in local food establishments.

"This bill would create a new government program costing $300,000," Gianforte said in the video released on May 5, the same day he vetoed the bill. "The state banning Styrofoam is costly government overreach, and, like many Montanans, I enjoy hot coffee in a Styrofoam cup, because it keeps it hot. And this bill is a hot mess."

The sponsor of House Bill 477, Representative Marilyn Marler, a Democrat, seemed to indicate to the Daily Montanan that she feels the governor missed the point of the bill to protect the environment and overall human health.

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"What he said was wrong. He was trying to be bombastic," Marler said. "He put more effort into his silly video than in trying to understand the bill."

Why is this important?

House Bill 477 would have phased out Styrofoam containers from restaurants and other establishments, banning items such as coffee cups, plates, and trays. In Montana, around 7,500 establishments would have been affected, but the ban would not have been applied to other industries  for example, in medical supply transportation, where a suitable alternative may not be readily available.

Despite its popularity, Styrofoam, which is made from polystyrene, may pose health and environmental threats. The material is not recyclable, causing it to end up in landfills before breaking down into microplastics that can pollute the environment and accumulate in our bodies. Styrofoam also contains chemicals that may leach into food and be ingested by wildlife and humans.

Leading up to the veto, the bill had bipartisan support. According to the Daily Montanan, it passed 56-44 in the House and 26-24 in the Senate, with all Democrats and a total of 26 Republicans voting for the bill.

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"I don't think people realize the fact that it leaches into food," Senator Daniel Zolnikov, a Republican, told the local outlet. "Change is hard, but children have these chemicals leaching into their food, and we just know more about that than we used to. It seemed like a logical thing since we've realized how unhealthy it is."

What can be done about this?

Unfortunately, it may be back to the drawing board for those in Montana who were looking forward to this large-scale transition to more sustainable food packaging.

Other states like Oregon, Washington, California, and New York have already taken steps to reduce or ban the use of Styrofoam in the food industry, per the Daily Montanan. These initiatives promote reusable, eco-friendly alternatives likely to be far less harmful to the environment and to human health.

But even in places where Styrofoam bans don't currently exist, consumers can try to avoid single-use items that contribute to pollution and potentially harm human health. Many coffee shops will fill to-go mugs from home, for example, and you can consider bringing glass or stainless steel containers to tote leftovers from restaurants.

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It can also make a difference to support candidates who champion climate-friendly policies and policies focused on a healthier future for all.

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.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Seniors from Peoria Public Schools took a trip down memory lane, visiting their elementary schools.

Seniors from across the district had the chance to visit Kellar Primary, Charter Oak Primary, Trewyn Primary and Annie Jo Gordon community learning center if they went to those schools.

The students of Annie Jo Gordon lined the halls of their school to give the seniors a round of applause and high-fives.

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One senior from Manual High School said it was her teachers who had the biggest impact on her.

The teachers. They really were my support system. They always helped me. They never let me go. Even when things were bad, you could go to them about things throughout the school. You could go to them and talk to them anytime they are there for you. So yeah, it was a very good experience with the teachers, said senior Frankeyia Daniel.

The districts three high schools will hold their graduation ceremonies on Saturday at the Peoria Civic Center.

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May 16GRAND FORKS  A proposed change to Grand Forks city code would remove caps on towing fees, more than a decade after the city instituted fees to combat predatory towing practices.

The proposal is being considered by the Grand Forks City Council and the council will make a decision on May 20. If approved, the change will mean towing companies will still have to be licensed by the city and follow

impounding rules stemming from the original code change in 2011,

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but the companies would no longer have caps on what they can charge car owners.

Adam Berry, manager of Interstate Towing, said that something needed to change from the fee structure, which hasn't been changed since 2011.

"Here it is in 2025, post-COVID, and the price of everything is double, basically what it was back then," Berry said. "(Towing and impounding) actually have become almost more of a burden than profitable because of the risk and everything."

If the code change moves forward, it would likely mean the caps would be removed starting in the early summer. Towing companies, like Interstate, would still need to register with the city and the rules about how property owners can tow off private property would remain the same.

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"We did have a couple of towing operating companies that were not operating very properly," City Clerk Sherie Lundmark told members of City Council on May 12. "That's what led to the establishment of the code back in 2011."

Numerous complaints arose back in the late 2000s about towing companies across Grand Forks, according to Herald reports. Ultimately, following legal proceedings about the existing code's jurisdiction, the city moved to overhaul the code to address the issue. Then-council member Terry Bjerke said that, while he prefers less regulation, this was different.

"In no other business I know ... you can take $50,000 of somebody's property and say,

'Pay me what I want,

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or it's too bad, so sad,'" Bjerke said in July 2011.

Often, companies would "troll" around town looking for business, Lundmark said. Provisions setting rules for how impoundment and towing work would remain in place with this update. What will no longer remain are caps that the city sets on those services.

"I don't think that we should put caps on private companies like that," council member Rebecca Osowski said May 12. "I would like to see the free market take over; it's been 15 years now since we had the bad actors in town."

During the May 12 meeting, City Council President Dana Sande was hesitant about removing the cap, but later said he is amenable to the code change, provided it retain key elements of the 2011 ordinance.

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"I think having the safety net with the maximums makes sense for the community," Sande said at the meeting.

"This current plan made sense at the time and I still think it makes sense."

Among major cities in North Dakota, Lundmark said, Grand Forks is alone in setting the maximum fees towing companies can charge. In the staff report, city staff also acknowledged what the fees should be set at, as many companies wouldn't share their towing fee schedules due to business contracts.

Currently, the city caps general towing charges at $135. Companies can also charge an additional $50 for a flat bed tow, and $75 additional for vehicles weighing more than 26,001 pounds. Companies are also capped in what they can charge in additional impoundment fees, at $25 a day after the first 24 hours or $50 a day for vehicles over 26,001 pounds.

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While it could open the door for additional companies operating towing services in Grand Forks, Berry said he isn't too concerned.

"We here in Grand Forks serve the community, and we make a living helping people," Berry said. "It's up to me to provide the best service possible."
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  Greensboro parents are asking if their children are safe at the park after a four-year-old was shot twice at Douglas Park Thursday night.

Another man was shot, and the alleged shooter is now in custody.

Greensboro police are still working on a possible motive in the case. The people at the park and the neighborhood immediately spoke up about what they saw, which led to a quick arrest.

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Greensboro police are certain that it sends the message that this type of senseless violence is not welcome.

You have a 4-year-old that was shot in this very park that we are in. This is a park that has been a staple of this community, Assistant Chief Ric Alston said. I am from Greensboro. I even played in this park when I was younger.

A personal connection to the park is now forever tainted with tragedy.

A four-year-old was in the park like kids are supposed to be with their family, and where we are supposed to have community events, Alston said.

On Thursday, around 5:30 p.m., a fun evening at the park turned into chaos after a car drove past, and someone fired off multiple gunshots.

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I dont know what could have entered anybodys head to think that shooting toward a park was a smart idea. It absolutely was not. I dont care what you are mad about, Councilwoman Sharon Hightower said.

One man and a four-year-old boy were shot. The two victims are not related. Neither of them has any connection to the alleged shooter, Bryan Solomon Jr.

I dont care what your problem is. That is not a solution  When gunfire reaches the point where it is impacting children that are in a park just to play, I am absolutely angry, Hightower said.

Emotions were high in the aftermath.

My little grand just learned how to slide down the slide, so she needs to come in these parks and have that kind of fun, Hightower said.

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I am going to encourage my family not to let this deter what they do. We cannot let one person change plans for the summertime, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said.

This child has to deal with that the rest of their lives  Tell me something that a 4-year-old has done to anyone besides play, Alston said.

The 4-year-old is out of surgery but still has a long road to recovery ahead. There is no update on how the adult victim is doing.

A drive-by on the other side of the park, and then you heard somebody scream, The baby got shot, a neighbor said.

Dwayne Crutchfield had just returned home when the shooting began.

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The mother just kept saying, They shot my baby. They shot my baby, Crutchfield said.

Crutchfield said the emotion of seeing it all unfold hit him hard.

He described seeing an officer pick up the injured toddler. He called it impressive and courageous.

Michael Hernandez, who lives in the neighborhood and jogs by the park daily, said he usually passes through around the same time the shooting occurred.

I was very shocked just because its like so close to home, Hernandez said. Because I hear things about shootings and stuff on apps  Its usually far away  Something so close to home is very shocking.

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Hernandez has lived in the neighborhood for about eight months and said its always felt like a safe and quiet place.

Residents described the community as tight-knit and said many families bring their children to play in Douglas Park but some tend to avoid the side facing Bragg Street where the shooting happened.

Its quiet over here, a resident said. You dont see a police presence, like we saw yesterday.

Residents said the park had recently been the site of a community Easter egg hunt involving local police and firefighters.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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This article was published May 17. Here's the May 18 news on the Greer Fire.

The Greer Fire had burned roughly 15,985 acres by the start of its fifth day in eastern Arizona.

According to InciWeb, containment lines near Greer held steady as firefighters concentrated on extinguishing hot spots and strengthening the fire's western perimeter. On Friday, May 16, crews continued reinforcing containment lines.

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On Thursday, May 15, a small, strategic firing operation near Fish Canyon helped stop further spread where the fire had crossed the Little Colorado River.

On the northeast side, crews conducted firing operations along Udall Road and Highway 261 to slow potential northern movement. Some of the fire crossed east of Highway 261, but was met with aggressive aerial and ground suppression. Aerial operations were critical throughout the day on May 15.

More than 100 homes south of Eagar were evaluated for fire risk, and structure protection plans were being developed. Crews were also prepared to conduct potential firing operations along the northern edge if needed to reinforce containment lines.

Two additional Type 1 helicopters were expected to arrive on May 16 to enhance aerial support. Firefighters continued to deploy multiple aircraft across all divisions of the fire.

Weather conditions near the Greer Fire

Dry air and gusts around 25 mph were expected on May 16.

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Tiffany Davila, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said May 17 on social media that "hard work over the past several days will be tested by higher winds."

According to InciWeb, fire managers were preparing for near-critical fire weather over the weekend, as stronger winds and lower humidity were forecasted.

Greer Fire map: See where the wildfire is burning in eastern Arizona

Strong southwest winds between 15 and 30 mph with powerful gusts were predicted by the National Weather Service for Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18. Gusty winds were expected to remain across eastern Arizona on Monday, May 19.

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Chances for precipitation were expected to return late May 17 through May 18, primarily along and north of Interstate 40. Additional showers were possible on Monday, May 19, mostly along and north of the Mogollon Rim. There was a potential for light snow accumulation in areas above 8,000 feet.

Warm and dry weather was predicted to return starting Tuesday, May 20, and continue through the end of the week.

Red flag warning in effect

The National Weather Service in Flagstaff and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following advisories and warnings:

Wind advisory on May 17 for portions of Coconino and Yavapai counties.

Red flag warning for Saturday, May 17, afternoon for the Little Colorado River Valley, White Mountains and the Northeast Plateaus.

Fire weather watch for Sunday, May 18, afternoon for the eastern Little Colorado River Valley.

Wind Advisory and Red Flag Warning - Saturday, May 17

Evacuations

On May 16, the Apache County Sheriff's Office issued mandatory "go" evacuation orders for residents in Greer, South Fork, all areas west of State Route 261, and for all Eagar residents located south of State Route 260 and west of River Road. The fire had crossed east over SR 261.

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Watch: Official says there is 'a lot of work left to do' on the Greer Fire

Residents located north and east of the fire had been placed under "set" status, as winds continued to push the fire in a north/northeast direction. Authorities advised those in the affected areas to be prepared to evacuate. Areas currently under "set" status include:

All Eagar residents located south of SR 260 and between River Road and the SR 260/U.S. 180 junction  directly east of the fire  were included in the evacuation area.

All residents south of SR 260, north of Forest Service Road, and between Water Canyon Road and the U.S. 191/180 junction  located east of the fire  were included in the evacuation area.

Additionally, all residents north of SR 260 and west of Burk Road, including those in Springerville west of U.S. Route 191, were also affected.

A shelter opened at the Apache County Fairgrounds in St. Johns. The fairgrounds have the capacity to house small and large animals.

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Another shelter opened at a Community Center in Alpine. Cots, blankets and food were available for those who had been evacuated, according to the Apache County Office of Emergency Management website.

Road closures

Three state roads were closed to travelers because of the Greer Fire:

State Route 260 was closed in both directions between milepost 380 and milepost 394 near Greer, according to ADOT.

State Route 261 southbound was closed from State Route 260 to the Three Point Mountain Trailhead.

State Route 373 southbound was closed between mileposts 385 and 390 heading into Greer.

There was no estimated time for when these highways would reopen. For real-time traffic updates, visit AZ 511, download the AZ 511 mobile app, or call 511.

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According to the Forest Service, roads, trails, and lands near the Greer Fire have been closed. Impacted recreation sites include Winn Campground, Rolfe C. Hoyer Campground, Benny Creek Campground, and Winn Group Campground.

Gov. Katie Hobbs to visit Springerville

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs was to travel to Springerville with Director Gabe Lavine from the Arizona Division of Emergency Management and State Forester Tom Torres on Saturday, May 17.

Arizona's largest fire sites: Greer Fire is burning near sites of Wallow and Rodeo-Chediski fires

They were to receive a detailed operational briefing on the Greer Fire from federal, state and local officials led by Matt Rau, Incident Commander for the fire. Gov. Hobbs would also assess current operations and determine ongoing needs as suppression efforts continue.

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According to a news release, the briefing was to take place at the American Legion Hall near the fire zone, followed by a situational field tour, contingent on weather and operational conditions.

"We are working tirelessly to put this fire out and won't stop until we do," Gov. Hobbs said.

FEMA approved funding for suppression efforts

On May 15, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal funds had been authorized to assist in fighting the Greer Fire.

The governor's office said securing Fire Management Assistance Grant Funding from FEMA unlocked "critical federal dollars to help ensure  first responders have the support they need to respond to community needs."

Arizona Republic reporters Ray Stern and Rey Covarrubias Jr. contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Day 5 of the Greer Fire in eastern Arizona: What to know
May 17MARSHALL COUNTY, Minn.  A groundbreaking event to mark the first phase of a channel restoration project in Marshall County is set for May 21, but additional funding will be needed to carry the project through to completion, a watershed administrator says.

According to Morteza Maher, administrator of the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District (MSTRWD) in Warren, Minnesota, the roots of the Swift Coulee Restoration Project date back to the early 2000s.

The project includes restoring a meandering channel across nine sections of three different townships in Marshall County. As explained in a project fact sheet, the design incorporates setback levees and spillways to reduce flood damage, along with inlet culverts and perennial native vegetation to improve water quality and wildlife habitat.

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By slowing water during peak flows and stabilizing the banks, the restored channel will reduce sedimentation, improve habitat and lower downstream flood risks.

"The significance of Swift Coulee lies in both its drainage value and its ecological importance," Maher said in a statement. "This is a channel that has long served agriculture in our district, but like many modified natural systems, it's been pushed to its limits. Straightened, overworked, it's now prone to instability, erosion and water quality problems.

"This restoration is about fixing that."

Work on Phase 1 of the two-phase project is now underway, and the groundbreaking event planned for May 21 aims to showcase the work being done and the importance of securing additional funding for Phase 2, Maher says.

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Designed by Houston Engineering Inc., Phase 1 incorporates hydrologic, agricultural and ecological benefits, he says. Gladen Construction of LaPorte, Minnesota, received the bid for Phase 1 construction, which involved securing about 250 acres of permanent easements  which will be turned into natural upland habitat  from 12 landowners on 18 parcels.

Phase 2 will be even more extensive, extending the restoration upstream and securing easements on 24 parcels from 17 landowners on about 400 acres.

Securing those land easements and aligning landowner concerns with project goals has been a key challenge with the project, Maher says.

"We understand that people want clarity when it comes to land rights and long-term use," Maher said. "We've worked one-on-one with landowners to ensure that easements are tailored, voluntary and respectful of landowners' desire. Transparency and trust have been central to getting us this far."

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The total cost of the Swift Coulee Channel Restoration Project is estimated at approximately $13 million, Maher says, including easement payments, engineering, permitting and construction. Phase 1 alone represents over $5 million in design, permitting and construction, with cost-share contributions from both state sources and regional funds.

Multiple state and local partners have contributed funding for Phase 1, Maher says, including the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC), Flood Damage Reduction Work Group (FDRWG), Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB) and MSTRWD.

Additional funding for Phase 2 is being sought through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) and LSOHC. Such partnerships reflect a growing recognition that multi-benefit watershed projects  those that address flood resilience, water quality and habitat  are sound public investments, Maher says.

Planning for Phase 2 is already underway, with early design work, feasibility assessments and landowner outreach taking place this year and into next. MSTRWD, in partnership with the Marshall County Soil and Water Conservation District, is actively seeking landowner participation, Maher said.

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Early involvement will help shape the project in ways that reflect local values and needs.

"We're not asking people to trade farmland for habitat," Maher said. "We're looking for shared solutions that keep fields productive while improving water flow and channel stability."

As part of the groundbreaking event set for 2:30 p.m. May 21, representatives from all partner agencies will be invited to mark the progress and look ahead to what remains. The event will take place near the construction corridor at 360th Avenue Northwest in Marshall County northwest of Warren, and include remarks, refreshments and opportunities for landowners to ask questions and engage in discussions about Phase 2.

Maher says he hopes the momentum for the project to date will inspire neighboring landowners to join the effort going forward.

"This project demonstrates that good drainage and healthy habitat aren't mutually exclusive," Maher said. "We're proving that with science, community trust and strong partnerships, we can make the system better for everyone."
A group of people is accused of forcing a teen to perform sexual acts in Glassport.

Allegheny County Police received a Childline Tip about a 15-year-old girl who reported she had been sexually assaulted to UPMC Childrens Hospital staff.

According to court documents, the victim met Karen Allen and James Clark in Market Square. The couple took her back to their house on Hemlock Alley in Glassport on a bus.

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Police said they gave her alcohol and told her she would need to do things in order to stay at their house.

Multiple incidents were reported where the couple sexually assaulted the victim.

The victim told police a man named Anthony D. Brown, identified as Clarks brother, messaged her about receiving a sexual video Clark had recorded of her. He then came to the house and raped her.

The couple also threatened to call the police if she tried to run away after this, court documents say.

Allen later told police in an interview that Brown said he knew the victim was 15 years old and that he didnt care.

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Police also charged Robert Clark, James Clarks other brother, for a reported incident when he also participated in a sexual assault with his brother and Allen.

CYF said James Clark and admitted to letting the victim stay at his house in August but denied any sexual contact.

When James Clark and Allen were interviewed on a later date, they both admitted to knowing the victim was 15 years old.

Officers were able to find video footage that corroborated with what the victim told them.

Charges were filed against all four suspects on Friday.

James Clark, Brown and Karen Allen are being held at the Allegheny County Jail.

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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?
GENAZZANO, Italy (AP)  Pope Leo XIV closed his first public blessing as pontiff with a Hail Mary, after invoking the feast day of Our Lady of Pompei. On his first papal trip, he went to the Sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel in the medieval village of Genazzano and on the drive back stopped to pray by Pope Francis tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

Thats just three of a myriad Virgin Marys around the world, whose veneration is central to Catholics from the pope to the ordinary faithful. Even many of the less-than-devout know what it means to throw a Hail Mary.

The month of May is dedicated to Marian celebrations, so heres a look at the history and traditions about Mary and why praying to her means so much to so many.

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One Mary, a myriad titles

According to the Gospel, Mary is the mother of Jesus  and the mystery of the incarnation of the son of God through her is central to Christian dogma.

The oldest title for Mary is precisely mother of God, or Theotokos in the original Greek. It was chosen after heated theological debate in the first centuries of Christianity.

St. Mary Major is the oldest still-standing sanctuary dedicated to that, said Giuseppe Falanga, professor of liturgy at Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce in Rome. It was built on one of Romes hills in the 5th century  according to tradition, because of the popes dream and an August snowfall there on what is now also celebrated as the day of Our Lady of the Snows.

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There are three major categories of titles for Mary  first, those related to dogma and major events in her life.

The Assumption on Aug. 15, for instance, celebrates Mary being taken body and soul into heaven. It's marked by Masses and religious festivals but also the peak of summer holidays for faithful and atheists alike in countries such as Italy and Greece, where all but the most essential work grinds to a halt on that feast day.

Then there are titles related to apparitions. In December, millions gather in Mexico, and across the Americas, to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe who, according to church tradition, appeared to an Indigenous man in 1531. Millions more visit the sanctuaries in Fatima, Portugal, and in Lourdes, France, other sites of apparitions in the past few centuries.

And then there are titles based on what pilgrims and faithful want  from Good Counsel to protection (the many Guard Marys ) to Star of the Sea, invoked by seafarers.

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Its almost like theres a Mary for everything, said Kayla Harris, professor and director of Marian Library at University of Dayton in Ohio.

Its also why the rosary is one of the most widely used prayers  including publicly for the pope  and why popular devotions to the Virgin Mary, including processions and festivals, are so central to Christianity, Falanga said.

Different icons, common prayers

How Mary is represented, however, varies greatly across time and places, Harris added.

There are Black Virgin Marys  dark-skinned paintings and statues like Brazils much beloved Virgin of Aparecida. In rare icons, shes represented pregnant or as an older woman.

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Shes either portrayed alone or, most often, holding the baby Jesus, as in the Genazzano 15th century painting, a close-up of the two faces with Jesus' fingers holding his mothers neck. Mary looking at Jesus makes a theological point, too  inviting worshippers to fix their gaze on Christ, not her.

In fact, according to the Catechism, Catholics are to give Mary special veneration, but not worship her  something reserved for God alone, Falanga said.

Motherhood, prayers and the month of May

Its that relatability as a mother figure that makes Mary so universally appealing as an intercessor before God, Harris said.

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Since the 19th century, May has been devoted to the Virgin Mary  though already in Greek and Roman times, goddesses of fertility were celebrated in this month of springtime blooming, she added.

Mothers Day is also celebrated in May in many countries, including Italy and the United States  and it coincided with Leos first public Sunday blessing at noon, a time for another traditional daily invocation to the Virgin Mary.

Two mothers who went to morning Mass on a recent weekday at the Genazzano chapel  where the Mary icon stands  said they pray their children, ranging in age from 18 to 24, will keep the faith.

The Madonna has been holding my hand since I was a child, said Anastasia Galizia, who grew up in the village and witnessed Leos visit. I ask her how to love her son and I pray for conversion, for me, for my family and for the whole world."

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At the Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome, which is served by Augustinians  Leos religious order  there are two popular prayer spots for mothers. One is a sculpture known as the Labor Madonna where expecting mothers go; the other is a chapel with the relics of St. Monica, St. Augustines mother, who prayed incessantly for his conversion.

We welcome a lot of moms, who come to pray to St. Monica for their children, who have walked away from the faith, and they ask the Lord for the gift to touch their hearts, said the Rev. Pasquale Cormio, the basilicas rector.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
CAIRO (Reuters) -A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar's Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.

He said the two sides were discussing all issues without "pre-conditions".

Nono said Hamas was "keen to exert all the effort needed" to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was "no certain offer on the table".

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The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek "operational control" in some areas of the war-torn enclave.

The return to negotiations also comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.

(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi. Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din. Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)
Israel and Hamas have confirmed a new round of Gaza truce talks is under way in Qatar as the Israeli military expanded its ground offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory, despite growing international calls for a ceasefire.

Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the Hamas delegation in Doha returned to negotiations on a hostage deal.

Israel had entered the talks without any conditions, according to Katz.

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Taher al-Nono, the media adviser for the Hamas leadership, confirmed to the Reuters news agency that a new round of indirect talks had begun without any conditions.

The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the Strip, he added.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, as Israel launched a new offensive in Gaza.

Israels army said on social media that it was intensifying attacks and exerting tremendous pressure on Hamas across Gaza, and wouldnt stop until the captives are returned and the armed group is dismantled. Katz said that Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with great force.

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The new offensive comes after Israel escalated its air attacks on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians in the past three days. Many of the victims were killed in northern Gaza, including in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, which have received forced displacement orders by the Israeli army in recent days.

Israeli tanks and armoured military vehicles gather near the Israel-Gaza separation fence, in Israel, as they prepare to launch a massive attack to further devastate the enclave, May 16, 2025 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

As leaders of the Arab League held a Gaza-focused summit in Iraqs Baghdad and called for international funding to rebuild Gaza on Saturday, Hamas urged the international community to impose sanctions on Israel.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the armed group described the situation in Gaza as a full-blown genocide committed before the eyes of a world that stands helpless, while more than two and a half million people are being slaughtered in the besieged Strip.

The group also reported continued fighting with invading Israeli forces, claiming on Saturday that its fighters killed and wounded two Israeli soldiers using machineguns in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.

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United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was alarmed by Israels expanded offensive in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said a joint plan by the United States and Israel to replace international aid mechanisms in Gaza was a waste of time as more than 160,000 pallets of aid are ready to move at the border, but blocked by Israel.

Germany voiced alarm over Israels expanded assault in Gaza, saying it was a cause for deep concern.

A large-scale military offensive also entails the risk that the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza and the situation of the remaining hostages will continue to deteriorate and that the prospect of an urgently needed long-term ceasefire fades, the foreign ministry said in a statement.




HONOLULU (KHON2)  The state Department of Law Enforcement is getting serious about cracking down on illegal fireworks thanks to new legislation.

Illegal fireworks have exploded across Hawaii with little consequence for years, but resulted in tragedy in the first seconds of 2025 in Aliamanu. Newly passed legislation funds the DLE to the tune of $7.6 million to go after offenders.

Medical Examiner identifies 3-year-old boy killed in Aliamanu fireworks incident

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Where things will be different is these are new sets of tools that law enforcement can use and investigators can and also prosecution, said Sen. Brandon Elefante.

Among those tools are the fact that the state illegal fireworks task force was extended  eight full time positions focused on enforcement were also funded.

To be able to go after, basically repeat offenders and people violating our illegal fireworks laws that, really its about health and safety of our communities, Sen. Elefante said.

Sixth person dies from Oahu fireworks tragedy: Murder is murder

I think the beauty of this new law is that it gives our foot in the door to bigger investigations, because we may see the drone, the drone may fly over, we may see what is only going to be a civil violation. But when we go there to cite, we go out and see the illegal fireworks in open view, which may lead to a larger investigations, said DLE Director Mike Lambert.

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Lambert added that while the vast majority of illegal fireworks come through ports, some do come through the mail but he will focus on shipping container seizures during his tenure.

He said the publics long standing frustration has fueled the push for results.

The biggest thing that hurts public trust is, How can it be this bad, Right? How is it possible? Who is involved? And those are all of the things that in my new position, were going to find out, Lambert said. And if those people along the way are government workers then, well, you know, expect to be prosecuted.

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Four fireworks-related bills made it through the Legislature in 2025 and director Lambert said he expects Gov. Josh Green to sign them into law before the Fourth of July.

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AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP)  Community Action Pioneer Valleys Head Start & Early Learning Programs (HS&ELP) marked 60 years of service with preschool graduation ceremonies this week and received special recognition from state legislators.

On Thursday, May 15, the Amherst Community Child Care Center celebrated 14 preschool students who will transition to kindergarten this fall.

ACCC student Olalla Mylie St.Vil, beams at her parents, Woodeline Joseph, and Exume St.Vil during the graduation ceremony on Thursday. (Courtesy of Community Action Pioneer Valley) Banner with the childrens handprints celebrating 60 years of Head Start. (Courtesy of Community Action Pioneer Valley) Lily Stowe-Alekman, Staff Director for Representative Mindy Domb presents a citation honoring the 60th anniversary of Head Start to Mandy Dumeng, Site Director at Amherst Community Child Care (Courtesy of Community Action Pioneer Valley) ACCC student Journee Pollock doffs his graduation cap while his mother, Empress Loralee, looks on proudly. (Courtesy of Community Action Pioneer Valley)

The event featuring cheering for the graduates, recognition of Head Start parents, lunch, and games. The celebration also included a notable presentation from Lily Stowe-Alekman, staff director for Rep. Mindy Domb, who delivered a citation commemorating the 60th anniversary of Head Start.

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A similar event at the programs Westfield site included a surprise visit from a representative of Rep. Kelly Peases office, who also presented a legislative citation recognizing the milestone.

The national Head Start program, launched in May 1965, has provided early education and comprehensive services to over 40 million children and families over the past six decades. Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV) has been a regional leader in this effort, operating eight centers across Franklin, Hampshire, and parts of Hampden counties.

Head Start is a two-generational program that has helped thousands of families in our region over the past 60 years to forge a foundation for early learning and development and long-term success, said Clare Higgins, Executive Director of CAPV.

The programs two-generational model supports not only the child but also the family. Each enrolled family is paired with a Family Advocate who helps identify goals and provides continuous support throughout their HS&ELP journey. Many parents have used the programs services to return to work or further their education, aided by the affordable, high-quality childcare HS&ELP provides.

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The centers offer part-day and full-day care at no or low cost, including meals, snacks, diapers, and formula. While these services meet essential needs, HS&ELP places strong emphasis on relationships.

I love the strong bonds and relationships built together, one Head Start parent wrote in a recent survey. Ive had several children go through the program at our site. I have been able to meet so many parents and share our experiences, hopes, and goals for our families. I believe Head Start is a fantastic opportunity for building a better foundation for our kids futures.

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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.

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Lisa Schein's daughter, Maddy, tragically died in an ATV accident in 2022

Schein donated Maddy's heart to Mireya Moody, who was living with a rare heart condition, saving the 8-year-old's life

The two families later connected and have since formed an unbreakable bond







One summer afternoon, in a quiet Ohio park, two families, forever connected by loss and hope, came together for the first time.

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Lisa Schein, 43, placed a stethoscope on Mireya Moodys chest and listened carefully to the heartbeat that once belonged to her own daughter, Maddy.

Without pause, Mireya instinctively reached out to hug the grieving mother, forming a bond that words could never fully capture. I wanted to soothe her, so I did what I do best, the 8-year-old tells PEOPLE exclusively.

It was a gesture of love, healing, and shared strength  a moment neither of them would ever forget.

On April 1, 2022, Schein made the difficult decision to donate her daughters organs following Maddys sudden death in an ATV accident.

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She was just a bubbly, fun, energetic 8-year-old, Lisa tells PEOPLE exclusively. She was very witty She loved to dance, loved to sing. She was always up for anything I suggested. If I went to the store for milk, she was by my side.

Despite the devastation of losing a child, Schein knew she wanted something good to come from it. It was almost an instant reaction, she reveals. I knew that I didnt want her death to be in vain.

Lisa Schein Maddy Schein portrait. Maddy Schein portrait.

Maddy became an organ donor, saving four lives. One of those lives was Mireyas. At just 4, Mireya was diagnosed with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC), a rare condition that severely weakened her heart.

Her heart just could not sustain itself much longer, Mireyas mother, Bianca Robinson, 40, tells PEOPLE exclusively. It was starting to affect her other organs her lung had collapsed, and unfortunately, she had to be put on what's called a Berlin Heart. The device gave Mireya a temporary lifeline as her condition grew more critical.

Bianca Robinson Mireya Moody celebrating her 5th birthday right before receiving her new heart. Mireya Moody celebrating her 5th birthday right before receiving her new heart.

When the call came that a donor heart was available, Robinson was hit with a wave of emotion.

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Of course I'm relieved  my child is going to have a second chance at life, she reflects. But I also knew what that meant for this other family I didnt know them at the time. I didnt know how old the child was I just knew the likelihood that it was a child, and this other family is going to be living out the nightmare we didnt want to ever have to face.

Mireyas transplant was successful, and she slowly regained her strength through therapy sessions. While there were some minor setbacks and brief hospital stays, she began living the life of a normal child again.

Bianca Robinson Mireya Moody holding a cat. Mireya Moody holding a cat.

Shes doing great, Robinson shares. You know, in a situation like this, its easy to prepare for the worst But shes only had a few minor health issues. Nothing too serious.

About two years after the transplant, Robinson and Schein finally connected. Their first meeting, in August 2024, was deeply moving for both mothers.

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It was way more emotional than we thought it would be  and on both parts, Schein says. It was just such a great feeling knowing that [Maddy] was living on. The fact that Mireya wouldnt have made it without that, I think, helped heal my heart a little bit.

Bianca Robinson Mireya Moody hugging Maddy's older sister. Mireya Moody hugging Maddy's older sister.

After spending the day together, the families discovered surprising similarities between Maddy and Mireya, such as their love for stuffed animals. Schein's family even gave Mireya an avocado plush toy, which she now sleeps with every night, and lovingly named after Maddy.

What began as grief grew into a shared journey of healing. It was almost like I had already known her, Robinson says of meeting Schein. Its a maternal thing. I felt so comfortable around her both sides of our families were laughing and sharing stories as if we had known each other forever.

Lisa Schein From left: Bianca Robinson, Lisa Schein, and Mireya Moody on the day they met. From left: Bianca Robinson, Lisa Schein, and Mireya Moody on the day they met.

Committed to carrying on Maddys legacy, Robinson and Mireya have participated in the annual 5K event held in her honor, which takes place in Logan, Ohio, every Thanksgiving. It was there that Mireya even got to meet some of Maddys school friends.

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This coming year will be our third year doing it, Schein says. Its just in her memory, and we try to do some fun things that remind everyone of her. All the proceeds go to benefit a scholarship held in Maddys name through our local school district.

Lisa Schein Mireya Moody and her mother, Bianca Robinson, at the 5k event in Maddy's honor. Mireya Moody and her mother, Bianca Robinson, at the 5k event in Maddy's honor.

For both families, organ donation has become more than just a noble idea, but tangible way to make a difference in people's lives.

I had never thought twice about organ donation, Robinson says. It just simply was something that I would check yes on when renewing my license but once it became a part of my childs life, I knew how important it really is.

Schein echoed that sentiment with a heartfelt plea, saying she "really hopes people understand" how impactful organ donation can be.

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"Its not just a box you check on a form," she says. "You have to think about how you would feel if you were the one waiting for that organ or the one saying goodbye to your loved one. You just have to think of it from both sides.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  More than 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate rural areas north of Argentina's capital after several days of heavy rainfall flooded highways, farmlands and entire neighborhoods.

A bus with 44 passengers was stranded overnight for more than 10 hours on one of the roadways connecting Buenos Aires to the interior.

Between 8 and 15 inches (300 and 400 mm) of rain has fallen in the past 72 hours when the average monthly precipitation is about 1.7 inches, officials said. More wet weather followed by heavy wind is expected and authorities are urging residents, especially the 275,000 near the city of Zarate along the Parana River, to remain indoors.

Authorities likened the storm to one in March that killed at least 16 people.






A high-ranking diplomat has died after being arrested by the Swedish intelligence service on suspicion of spying

The man was taken in for questioning on Sunday, May 11, and released on Wednesday, May 14, though he was still under suspicion

The mans cause of death has not been released, but police said the circumstances surrounding his death are not suspicious







A high-ranking Swedish diplomat was found dead after being questioned by Swedish authorities on suspicion of spying.

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The diplomat, whose identity has not been released, was arrested by Swedens intelligence service on Sunday, May 11, and released on Wednesday, May 14, according to the BBC. The official denied any wrongdoing, though he was still under suspicion, per the outlet.

The man reportedly sought medical treatment after his release from custody, and also submitted a report claiming that excessive force was used during his arrest.

Getty Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm

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In a statement to the BBC, the mans lawyer, Anton Strand, said: "I have ensured his formal report about abuse during the arrest has arrived to the special investigations unit. An investigation has started regarding this."

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PEOPLE reached out to Strand for comment on Saturday, May 17, but did not receive an immediate response.

ADAM IHSE/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Swedish police vehicle and officer in August 2023 Swedish police vehicle and officer in August 2023

Images of the man's home released on Swedish TV appeared to show that the front door had been forced open during his arrest, though the Swedish intelligence service maintains that the arrest was peaceful, according to the BBC.

Police said the circumstances surrounding the diplomats death are not currently being treated as suspicious, per the outlet. His cause of death has not been released.

Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden's Foreign Minister, said it was a heavy day after hearing the sad message that a colleague has passed away in a statement to TT, the countrys national news service, per the Sweden Herald.

My thoughts are with the colleague's family and colleagues, Stenergard added.



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A Michigan State Police Metro South trooper was released from the hospital less than 24 hours after an exchange of gunshots between him and a suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene on South M-10's Wyoming Street exit in Detroit on Friday, May 16, according to a statement on X by MSP Second District.

Michigan State Police vehicle.

Around 7:50 p.m., 41-year-old man from Highland Park fired an unknown number of rounds at the trooper during a traffic stop before the officer fired back, according to the MSP Second District on X.

Two shots hit the officers bulletproof vest, and one hit his shoulder, according to the X statement.

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More: Amid surveillance concerns, Dearborn approves $720K for police access to real-time videos

This is the second incident in a short period of time that a troopers vest saved his life, MSP Public Information Officer Lt. Mike Shaw said in the X statement. We are very fortunate that the trooper, who had less than a year in the department, was able to use his training to survive this encounter with a suspect who was trying to take his life.

Shaw told the Free Press May 17 that they are not releasing additional information about the traffic stop or the identities of those involved.

MSP's Homicide Task Force is investigating the incident, according to the X statement.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Highland Park man dies during traffic stop after firing at trooper
HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Students from the Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences marked their school years end with a high-flying science experiment.

The robotics class launched their annual high-altitude weather balloon from the campus in drums.

This years marks a first, with students aiming for a nighttime launch to capture the earths curvature at sunset.

New technology helping stroke victims rehab

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Juniors and seniors spent months preparing the helium balloon, camera equipment, and payload to reach and capture the view more than 100-thousand feet in the air.

It was definitely really nerve-wracking, like all throughout school I was like stressing, but it was so relieving and a really good memory to be able to say that that happened today in my senior year, expressed Paige Greco, senior, Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.

A lot of people dont think that much work goes into this stuff, but its great seeing all the work he put into it and then its a simple thing. We launched a balloon to the sky, but to think about how much work went into it and the aftermath and everything, its awesome, added Evan Thomas, senior, Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.

Their instructor says they hope their cameras capture not just a stunning sunset, but possibly lightning from storms and city lights from far above.

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The balloon should land somewhere near northwest New Jersey, with recovery planned for Saturday morning if it doesnt get stuck in a tree like last years balloon.

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The day before Tiffany Slatons 28th birthday, she was looking forward to eating a pack of Dunkaroos  cookies with frosting dip  that shed saved as a makeshift birthday cake. It was the only real food she had left after surviving 24 days lost in the Sierra Nevada mountains, subsisting on wild leeks and boiled snow.

What had originally started as a three-day solo camping vacation around Shaver and Huntington lakes in Fresno County, California, turned into a weekslong journey of survival. It ended at a cabin more than 40 miles away, at Vermillion Valley Resort, where Slaton was found by the resorts owner on Wednesday.

By the time she was rescued, Slaton had endured 13 snowstorms and climbed to altitudes of 11,000 feet, officials said Friday. In addition to dropping 10 pounds from the ordeal, she also lost her tent and sleeping bags, and was forced to abandon her bike at a trailhead sign.

Tiffany Slaton, 28, of Jeffersonville, Ga., was found safe near Lake Edison in Fresno County, Calif. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office)

At a press conference Friday alongside her parents and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, Slaton spoke publicly about her journey for the first time. Zanoni called her story one they would make movies about.

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It is truly an incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival, the sheriff added.

Slaton, an experienced outdoors person from Jeffersonville, Georgia, was reported missing by her parents on April 29 after they had not heard from her in nine days, authorities said. A full-scale operation to locate Slaton was conducted from May 6 to May 10, spanning 600 square miles and deploying a helicopter.

Local authorities and volunteers covered 4,300 miles by foot and vehicle in search of Slaton, officials said Friday.

Slaton began her trek on April 20, equipped with basic camping supplies, including an electric bike, two sleeping bags and a tent, anticipating she would be gone for only a few days.

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Early in her journey, Slaton fell off a cliff, she said, and was unable to return to the main road due to a recent avalanche. She was unconscious for about two hours, and upon regaining consciousness she had to splint one of her legs and pop the other knee back into place.

She attempted five calls to 911  without success  and couldnt get her phones navigation system to work, she said Friday. Frustrated, she asked her phone for the location of the nearest Starbucks  it gave her a location 18 miles away, which was closer than retracing her path back to the parks entrance.

Slaton pressed on, relying on her resourcefulness and what she could find in the wilderness. Her skills as a high-level archer, her medical knowledge as a traveling dialysis technician and her horticultural training proved crucial to her survival. She journaled every day in an effort to keep sane.

The worst thing you can do in an emergency situation is panic, Slaton said.

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After five days, Slaton ran out of most of her food and relied on her foraging skills to gather leeks she knew to be native in the Sierra Nevada range. She said she made tea each day with manzanita and pine needles.

Slaton navigated the Kaiser Pass, a 9,000-foot peak buried under 10 to 12 feet of snow before it was plowed earlier this week. She eventually made her way to the Vermilion Valley and Lake Edison, where she was finally rescued.

When Slaton first saw the Vermilion Valley Resort cabin, she thought she was hallucinating and had somehow managed to make it to the North Pole. She opened the door, which was unlocked, and inside she found what she described as the best sleeping bag I had ever seen.

Slaton was found on Wednesday  the day before her 28th birthday  by resort owner Christopher Gutierrez. Snowplows had cleared the roads, allowing him access to his property to prepare it for the summer. Gutierrez told authorities he left the cabin unlocked in case a stranded hiker would need shelter.

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That was the 13th heavy snowstorm I had been in, and it was going to be the last one, Slaton said. If he hadnt come that day, they wouldve found my body there.

Zanoni called it a miracle that the road happened to be plowed on Tuesday, enabling Gutierrez to arrive the next day. When Slaton was found, the resort owner said he recognized her from her missing person report.

She pops out, didnt say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug. And it was, it was a pretty surreal moment, Gutierrez said at a press conference Wednesday. And thats when I knew. Thats when I realized who this was.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Floridas Attorney General and Education Commissioner are demanding Hillsborough County Schools immediately remove certain books they claim are patently pornographic and harmful to minors.

In a letter sent this week, Attorney General James Uthmeier warned the district that keeping the books on school shelves could violate state law.

This letter didnt say, Hey Hillsborough, review these books, it said remove them, or well take further action. Thats a direct threat from the state, said Stephana Ferrell with Florida Freedom to Read.

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The AGs letter called the districts inaction a failure to protect students and said it shirks a school boards responsibility to keep kids safe.

But advocates with Florida Freedom to Read argue parents already have tools to restrict access without banning books entirely.

These are voluntary books. Every parent can set restrictions on their own child without impacting everybody else, Ferrell added.

The group said Hillsborough County had a review process in place before new state laws like House Bill 1467 were passed and they believe this latest move is a warning to other districts.

Hillsborough is meant to be a cautionary tale  a sacrificial lamb. Were going to come for you next if you dont take the same actions,' Ferrell said.

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In response, Hillsborough Superintendent Van Ayres confirmed the district removed the titles named in the states letter, including Call Me By Your Name and Jack of Hearts and Other Parts, and is reviewing others.

Ayres says the district will update its policies ahead of the 20252026 school year, require annual collection plans from media specialists, and provide new training.

Since 2022, Hillsborough Schools say they have removed 389,037 books across the district. In a separate letter, the school board attorney said additional policy revisions are coming in the months ahead.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
A hit-and-run driver killed a 55-year-old man crossing a Brooklyn street early Saturday, police said.

It was one of two fatal crashes to take place Saturday morning in the five boroughs, police said.

The victim was crossing Washington Ave. at Fulton St. in Clinton Hill about 12:20 a.m. when a burgundy-colored Ford Explorer heading west on Fulton St. rammed into him, cops said.

The Ford Explorers driver sped off without stopping, stunned witnesses told police.

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EMS rushed the victim to New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, but he couldnt be saved. The mans name was not immediately released as cops first worked to track down family members.

In video reviewed by the Daily News, the man can be seen limping slowly across the street. He almost reaches the other side when what appears to be a burgundy SUV traveling at a high speed relative to other cars plows into him without stopping, sweeping the man forward so suddenly, it looks like he disappears from the frame.

A deli clerk who didnt want to be identified said the victim went by the nickname Bus because he was always sitting at a nearby bus stop bench. He was harmless, the clerk said.

Another clerk at a different nearby deli said he saw the man yesterday speaking with a friend.

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Its kind of sad. I mean, whatever, if the light was red or green, he doesnt look like he wants to stop, he said of the driver. Ive seen him before. I seen him yesterday, he said of the hit-and-run victim. He was hanging out with his friend. They were talking.

Its very sad, he said.

No arrests have been made.

In an unrelated incident, about an hour after the Clinton Hill crash, a 22-year-old driver died when his Infiniti G37 veered into oncoming traffic and slammed into a parked city sanitation truck in Queens, cops said.

The motorist was heading north on Douglaston Parkway outside Alley Pond Park in Bayside around 1:45 a.m. when he veered into the southbound lane  straight into the front end of an unoccupied city sanitation truck outside the city Department of Sanitations Queens garage.

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He died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.

No other cars were involved in the crash, cops said.

Saturdays crash in Brooklyn was the second fatal hit-and-run in the borough in a week, cops said.

On May 10, Larry Maxwell was crossing the street outside his longtime home in Brownsvilles Langston Hughes Houses to attend a family event at the nearby Dr. Green Playground, when he was struck by a driver fleeing a fender-bender. The driver has not been caught, cops said.

The city has seen a 19% decrease in fatal crashes this year, although the number of pedestrians killed by motor vehicles has increased slightly, cops said.

As of Thursday, cops have investigated 40 pedestrian-killing collisions  two more than this time last year, according to police.
Gov. Kathy Hochul will visit Seneca Nation Territory on Tuesday to apologize on behalf of New York State for its role in the Thomas Indian School atrocities.

Hochul and Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca announced the plans on Friday. Her visit is believed to be the first time a sitting governor has officially visited Seneca Nation Territory.

On Tuesday, Hochul will issue a long-awaited official apology to the Seneca people, as well as all former students and their descendants from various Indigenous Nations, for the State of New Yorks role in the operation of the Thomas Indian School.

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No words or actions will ever be able to undo the pain and suffering of the Seneca people and other Indigenous peoples across the state, but by visiting the Seneca Nation and the site of the Thomas Indian School we will mark a new day in our relations, Hochul said. As we prepare to officially recognize the horrifying shortcomings of our past, I thank President Seneca for his advocacy on behalf of the Seneca people and his invitation to the Cattaraugus Territory, and I look forward to further strengthening the relationship between the Seneca people and the State of New York.

Originally established by Presbyterian missionaries on the Cattaraugus Territory in 1855, Thomas Indian School was owned and operated by the State of New York from 1875 until it closed in 1957. Thomas Indian School, and other residential boarding schools across the U.S. and Canada, operated under the governments policy of forced assimilation of Native children. Thousands of children from various Indigenous Nations were separated from their families and forced to attend the school. They were stripped of the traditional language and culture, and suffered abuse, violence, hatred, and sometimes death, at the hands of school officials. Thousands of children are known to have died at the residential boarding schools. It is believed that the deaths of hundreds  if not thousands  more were never documented.

The devastating impacts the boarding schools had on Native American families and communities, including the decimation of family structures and traditional language, are still keenly felt today.

Seneca said, The severity of the wounds inflicted on our children warrants the historical significance of our Nation welcoming Governor Hochul to the Cattaraugus Territory. The atrocities that our children suffered at the Thomas Indian School have remained hidden in the shadows for far too long. At long last, our people will hear, directly from the governor, the words we have waited lifetimes for the State of New York to say  Were sorry.

Added former Seneca Nation President J.C. Seneca  whose father attended Thomas Indian School, and whose grandmother was removed from her family at age 11 and forced to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, I know the pain and the trauma because I have seen it and felt it in my own family, just as countless families have borne that pain and carried it every day for generations. The governors visit will be an important moment on our road to healing. In coming to our territory and apologizing to our people, the governor can give voice to the children whose youth and innocence were stolen from them.






The DHS is shutting down rumors of a reality show in which immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship

The show was initially reportedly backed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

The show was in talks to be produced by a Duck Dynasty producer







The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the President Trump's administration is shutting down reports of a DHS Secretary Kristi Noem-backed reality show in which immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship.

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On Friday, May 16, the DHS issued a statement regarding the proposed reality show. The statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, titled FAKE NEWS FRIDAY: DHS Torches Latest Media Hoax, read,This is completely false. Daily Mails reporting is an affront to journalism. Secretary Noem has not backed nor is even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show."

The statement from McLaughlin continued, "DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operations to white collar investigations by HSI. Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.

Reports about the potential reality show were first picked up by Daily Mail, which reported that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was "backing" the series.

Producer Rob Worsoff, most famously of Duck Dynasty, previously told WSJ that he had discussions with members of the DHS about the show idea. The outlet reported that he received "positive" feedback from Trump officials about the pitch.

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Worsoff himself immigrated to the U.S. from Canada to embark on his career in television. He told WSJ, This isnt The Hunger Games for immigrants. This is not, Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.'"

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Worsoff revealed that the show was pitched to the DHS under the Obama administration and under the Biden administration, but both passed.

Susan Walsh/AP Photo President Donald Trump speaks during a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kristi Noem in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. President Donald Trump speaks during a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kristi Noem in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday, Sept. 7, 2018.

The Trump administration continues to attract criticism for its mass Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on immigrant communities, and the deportation of several U.S. citizens to prisons in South America.

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Among them are Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legal immigrant, who was deported and sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador without due process. Garcia remains in foreign custody at this time.

On Friday, May 16, ICE raids on Nashville led to shut downs along the city's popular broadway strip.



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SPRINGFIELD, Ga. (WSAV) A long-awaited moment for a special group of veterans as they head to our nations capital to take a look at the memorials representing the wars they fought in.

A program that was designed in 2008 to take World War II veterans from Georgia to Washington, D.C. However, overtime the program extended to include Korean and Vietnam war veterans, free of charge.

We are taking veterans to see memorials they have never seen before, Susan Deloach, a photographer for Honor Flight said. Hopefully by people seeing their reactions, they will have a sense of appreciation for what they sacrificed

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In downtown Springfield, people lined the streets with American flags as a motorcade led the charter bus full of the veterans.

It was a full-circle moment for Joan Shelby, a Navy veteran who took the trip last year with her daughter. She stood by waving her flag as the overwhelming emotions set in.

I went on this honor flight last year and it was an awesome experience. My daughter and I both got to go last year, Shelby said. Now I get teary eyed when I think about it. It means a lot that they respect our veterans.

The veterans will be in Washington, D.C. for the next couple of days and come back to Springfield May 18.

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Hope Florida helped more than 21,000 families referred to it by child protective investigators, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

During a recent legislative hearing, the programs executive director credited it with helping to reduce the number of Florida children in foster care by 7,000.

But others who are familiar with what the program does  and doesnt do  suggest such claims are exaggerated or false.

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St. Petersburg resident Julie Broward said she reached out to Hope Florida after her home was flooded during Hurricane Milton. Broward cares for three grandchildren who had been in foster care and has Stage 4 ovarian cancer. Her brush with Hope Florida was all too brief.

I never got help, she said.

Current and former leaders of foster care agencies interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times said they doubt the claims made by Hope Florida. They say that the program founded by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis duplicates what their agencies were already doing and that it has taken resources from existing programs.

There is already a system to accomplish everything Hope Florida was supposed to accomplish, said Gerry Glynn, former CEO of Embrace Families, the nonprofit that ran foster care operations in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties for two decades. They were holding the hands and being a moral support. Is that worth the millions of dollars they spent on it?

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Three current chief executives confirmed what Glynn had to say but spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing their agencies reliance on state funding. Glynn and the other chief executives disputed Hope Floridas claim of helping turn around families at risk of having their children removed. Many times, they said, Hope Florida referred needy families to state agencies and services, a role foster care agencies already perform.

After Glynns former nonprofit announced that it was stepping down as a lead agency, Embrace Families was criticized by the Florida Department of Children and Families for financial mismanagement and placing children in unlicensed settings, reports show.

Glynn said Hope Floridas hotline would be of little help to parents dealing with issues such as substance addiction, mental health disorders and domestic violence that often lead to the removal of their children.

There was also concern that families battling those problems need more than someone showing up with a meal. That was referencing Casey DeSantis comment at a recent news conference that churches showing up with a tray of lasagna for a struggling single mother can ease poverty.

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The doubts about Hope Floridas merits come as lawmakers have also asked questions about its effectiveness and how much it costs. The scrutiny came after the organizations charity arm received $10 million from a $67 million Medicaid settlement that was previously undisclosed to the state Legislature.

When asked for comment, a Department of Children and Families spokesperson declined over email when a Times reporter would not share direct quotes ahead of publication of this story nor name the four officials who were interviewed.

Hope Florida does not provide services, it connects people with others who provide services  like CarePortal, said the spokesperson, referencing a platform launched 10 years ago.

Florida had a free crisis helpline long before Hope Florida. The Florida 211 Network, comprised of 11 211 organizations, was officially adopted by the state in the early 2000s, said executive director Tori Greer. It provides callers with access to more than 32,000 programs and services.

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The 211 network fielded more than a million requests for help last year. About 348,000 were requests for housing resources, 87,000 for food assistance, and more than 211,000 for mental health and substance abuse support, Greer said.

Hope Florida was created as a pilot program in 2019 before operating statewide in 2021. It operates within the Florida Department of Children and Families, whose secretary reports to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Hope Florida doesnt have an official budget but the department reassigned 150 state employees to become navigators who answer calls made to the programs help line.

That adds up to about $6 million in salaries even before benefits are calculated, said state Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, during an April 15 Florida House hearing on healthcare.

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She asked why the department had created those positions while state lawmakers are considering a Florida budget that will cut jobs in other state departments.

Im frankly astonished we have this whole system which weve now got at least one agency with $6 million in hirings that have happened, she said.

The secretary of the Department of Children and Families, Taylor Hatch, responded that the positions were funded within her agencys existing budget and amounted to less than 2% of its workforce.

The reassignment of workers to Hope Florida coincided with the department struggling to deal with an influx of calls for help as it recertified the eligibility of about 5 million Medicaid recipients.

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Residents calling the departments Medicaid call center during 2023 had average wait times of 32 minutes. Nearly four out of 10 callers gave up waiting. Slow response times were cited in a lawsuit brought by health advocacy groups on behalf of residents who lost health coverage. Florida also received a warning from the federal government that the Medicaid call center wasnt providing timely assistance to those renewing or applying for the benefit.

Concerns about whether the Medicaid call center is adequately staffed persist. A recent report by Unidos, a Latino advocacy nonprofit, found that Spanish speakers waited an average of 54 minutes, with some waiting more than two hours.

Hope Florida navigators take calls from families in need and log details into an online system called CarePortal, which allows church groups and nonprofits to see requests for help.

But foster care agencies already were using that system. If a family needs help buying a bed for a child, foster care workers typically reach out to local faith groups or nonprofits and use CarePortal to find the closest help by ZIP code. If help isnt forthcoming, the agency will spend from its own budget to fill the need.

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The performance of foster care agencies and child protective investigators is documented and posted online, but the state has not released any details about Hope Floridas performance and how much the program costs.

The group has published magazine-style reports on its website and social media pages listing success stories but those provide only the first name of the person helped. The accompanying photographs are stock images obtained online.

Not included in the promotional materials is Acacia Davidson, 50. She offered a less flattering take of her experience.

Davidson said she repeatedly called Hope Florida after her apartment flooded during Hurricane Milton. The help to pay for accommodations she received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency expired and she, her husband and daughter have been living in a motel room since.

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Davidson, who has osteoarthritis, said the navigators she spoke with were unable to help her find a subsidized apartment.

Theyre very ill-informed on resources theyre talking about, she said. Ive been the one emailing and calling until I could get some kind of result.

The claim that Hope Florida deserved credit for a drop in the number of children in foster care was made by former executive director Erik Dellenback during the April Florida House hearing.

More than 23,000 Florida children were wards of the state when Dellenback was named as Governors Liaison for Faith in August 2019. He was appointed as executive director of Hope Florida in January but resigned effective May 1 amid the fallout over the use of the Medicaid settlement.

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As of March, the number of children in foster care had fallen to just over 15,200.

I would encourage you to look at where foster care is today, Dellenback told lawmakers during the hearing, adding that the reduced numbers are because Hope Florida had made it possible for faith and community partners to care for families, strengthen families and help that child stay in that biological home.

Foster agency officials said its unlikely that Hope Floridas help line contributed to the drop and cite other factors.

Local agencies have spent years developing and implementing evidence-based interventions to go into homes and have eyes on families at risk of having their children removed. Case managers work for weeks or months to get parents to follow plans that include substance abuse counseling, therapy and anger management classes.

The 2018 Families First Prevention and Services Act made more federal funding available for services that help families before children are removed. The drop in the number of children in care in Florida is mirrored nationally, with federal data showing a 13% decline between 2019 and 2022.

I would be skeptical that Hope Florida could take that credit when nationally the numbers have come down, Glynn said. Hope Florida clearly does not have a national footprint.

Other changes specific to Floridas child welfare system likely also helped.

In 2023, Florida ended a more than two-decade experiment that saw child protective investigators employed and supervised by sheriffs offices in seven counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco.

Some of those counties had among the highest removal rates of children, a 2021 Times report found.

Foster care agencies contracted by the state receive funding from the Department of Children and Families but also fundraise to boost their revenue and the services they can offer. The arrival of Hope Florida has created another competitor for those limited donor dollars, Glynn said.

I didnt understand why we were creating this redundant agency that will vie for the same resources, he said.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  Applications are open for new arts programs available to Springfield middle and high school students this summer.

The non-profit Hope for Youth & Families is partnering with Springfield Public Schools to host the programs inside the newly renovated performing arts facility in downtown Springfield, formerly known as CityStage.

The program will take place from July 7th through August 1st. Theyll offer a wide range of creative opportunities in each space of the facility. Some include practice rooms and work stations for music, dance, acting, photography, and painting. The morning will be catered to 250 middle schoolers, while the afternoon will be for 250 high schoolers. Theyre hoping to have 500 Springfield students; so far, 270 have signed up.

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The Springfield Rotary Club recognizes Bob Bolduc with a Paul Harris Award

Not every young person wants to play sports, and a lot of them need and want to express themselves through the arts, and our goal is to give them that opportunity here, said Bob Bolduc.

The non-profit will also provide free breakfast and lunch to children in the community.

You do not have to be a part of the program to receive it. If youd like to apply, complete this form online or call 413-285-8886.

You can also donate instruments for the program at Pride Stores.

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.

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Other bills

Senate Bill 3 started as a ban on weapons with detachable magazines but lawmakers significantly watered it down to allow people to still purchase them if they completed a hunter training program.

House Bill 1041 continues the General Assembly's push to carve out exceptions to the state's transparency laws, allows public colleges and universities to sign contracts for use of name, image and likeness of their college athletes but keeps those contracts confidential.

Senate Bill 77, which led to a rare veto override in the state Senate, would have created classes among those who file open records requests. The governor vetoed the bill.

Senate Bill 38 makes confidential the names of ranchers who file compensation claims tied to wolf depredations. The governor signed it on March 20.

HB 1242 would have repealed last year's law that carved out exceptions to the state's open meetings law for the General Assembly. It died in its only committee hearing.

Competing bills on a government pharmaceutical program known as 340B went to the wire, with the measure backed by hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry the only one to make it out of the General Assembly.

An effort to double the fees paid by health care insurers to pay for the state's reinsurance program failed to make it out of the House.
May 16MITCHELL  As the Class of 2025 at Mitchell Technical College crossed the stage on May 9, receiving handshakes, cheers and diplomas, one seat remained empty. That seat belonged to Brady Larson, a 20-year-old agriculture business student from Letcher.

Instead of celebrating with his classmates, Larson was 300 miles away at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, undergoing intensive treatment for severe aplastic anemia  rare, life-threatening condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells.

Despite being far from campus, Larson didn't miss out on his milestone. The staff at Mayo Clinic surprised him with his own graduation ceremony, hospital-style.

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"It wasn't a traditional way to celebrate, but it did make me feel special," Larson said. "I missed being able to graduate with my friends, but it was really meaningful to me that they did this."

The surprise ceremony was organized by one of the licensed practical nurses on Larson's care team, who had learned about his upcoming graduation and took it upon herself to make it happen. Doctors, nurses and other staff lined the hallway, playing "Pomp and Circumstance," and cheering as Larson walked in a makeshift robe  a white coat draped over his shoulders  and carried a decorated graduation cap that was too big for him. Larson's dad, aunt and mom were also there.

Green cupcakes, matching Mitchell Tech's school colors, rounded out the celebration.

"He hadn't eaten a lot in the days before, so I was thrilled to see him eat two cupcakes," said Roxann, Brady Larson's mom.

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Larson's health journey began in December with a routine wellness check. Friends noticed his pale complexion, and Larson experienced shortness of breath while working cattle.

"I remember the doctor called me at work and said, 'Mrs. Larson, I wish I had better news for you today,'" Roxann recalled.

Larson's blood counts were dangerously low  white cells, red cells and platelets were all significantly depleted. After an emergency transfusion and further testing, he was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, an immunodeficiency disorder that causes the body to attack its own bone marrow.

The family soon found themselves at Mayo Clinic, searching for a bone marrow donor. The best possible match? Larson's 15-year-old sister, Brooklyn.

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Siblings have a 25 percent chance of being a perfect match, but Brooklyn was a 10/10  exactly what Larson needed. Although there were concerns about her smaller size and ability to donate, the medical team determined that the match was too good to pass up.

Rather than undergo the more invasive bone marrow procedure, Brooklyn donated stem cells through a process involving growth injections and blood collection.

"They take your blood out and return it back to you several times. It's about a five-hour donation each day," Roxann said. "She ended up donating over 6 million cells in just two days. It's really a magnificent process."

Despite the diagnosis and ongoing treatments, Larson remained committed to finishing his degree. With the support of Mitchell Tech's faculty and staff, he was able to complete his classes and even finish his internship at Artesian Seed.

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"His teachers were phenomenal at making it happen the way it needed to be," Roxann said. "He'd go to class when he could, rest when needed, and try to avoid sickness."

In April, a health setback briefly delayed the transplant process. That pause gave Larson a window to return home and complete his internship  one last chapter in his college journey.

"I finished college and started chemo all in the same day," Larson said.

As his health deteriorated leading up to the transplant, Larson required more frequent blood transfusions and his white blood cell counts began to drop. Chemo treatment began in early May, with his stem cell transplant scheduled for Friday, May 16.

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Following the transplant, Larson and Roxann will spend 100 days in Rochester under close watch for any signs of complications like graft-versus-host disease.

"The care team wants to keep him close to make sure any issues can be addressed quickly," Roxann explained. "Being five hours away just wouldn't work."

Post-transplant, Larson will need about six months before he's strong enough to return to work. But he already has a job lined up at Artesian Seed  the same place he interned during school.

Throughout the family's medical journey, their community has rallied around them. A Letcher fundraiser alone raised over $125,000, with additional support coming from a separate benefit held in Wessington Springs.

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This weekend the family faces another emotional moment. The day after Larson's transplant, Roxann will miss two important events back home  her son Bryce's high school graduation and her daughter Brooklyn's eighth-grade ceremony.

"My husband is holding down the fort back home, and thank goodness for technology  we'll be able to participate in those graduations from here," Roxann said.

As the Larsons balance events at home and recovery in Rochester, they hope their story will inspire others to consider becoming bone marrow donors. Aplastic anemia is rare, affecting between 300 and 900 people in the U.S. each year.

"Hopefully if somebody hasn't heard of being a donor maybe it'll encourage one person to look at what it takes to become a donor," Roxann said.
At the end of 2024, fifteen US states had laws banning some version of facial recognition.

Usually, these laws were written on the basis that the technology is a nightmare-level privacy invasion that's also too shoddy to be relied upon. Now, a new company aims to solve that problem  though maybe not in the way you'd imagine (or like).

Per a report in MIT Technology Review, a new AI tool called Track is being used not to improve facial recognition technology, nor as a way to make it less invasive of your personal civil liberties, but as a workaround to the current laws against facial recognition (which are few and far between, at least when compared to the places it's allowed to operate). It's a classic tale of technology as "disruption," simply by identifying a legal loophole to be exploited.

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That new tool, called Track, is a "nonbiometric" system that emerged out of a SkyNet-esque company that specializes in video analytics, Veritone.

According to MIT Technology Review's story, it already has 400 customers using Track in places where facial recognition is banned, or in instances where someone's face is covered. Even more: Last summer, Veritone issued a press release announcing the US Attorney's office had expanded the remit of their Authorization to Operate, the mandate that gives a company like Veritone the ability to carry out surveillance operations.

Why? Because Track can (supposedly) triangulate people's identities off of footage using a series of identifying factors, which include monitored subjects' shoes, clothing, body shape, gender, hair, and various accessories  basically, everything but your face. The footage Track is capable of scanning includes everything from closed-circuit security tapes, body-cams, drone footage, Ring cameras, and crowd/public footage (sourced from various social media networks where it's been uploaded).

In a view MIT Technology Review obtained of Track in operation, users can select from a dropdown menu listing a series of attributes by which they want to identify subjects: Accessory, Body, Face, Footwear, Gender, Hair, Lower, Upper. Each of those menus has a sub-menu. On "Accessory," the sub-menu lists: Any Bag, Backpack, Box, Briefcase, Glasses, Handbag, Hat, Scarf, Shoulder Bag, and so on. The "Upper" attribute breaks down into Color, Sleeve, Type (of upper-body clothing), and those types break down into more sub-categories.

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Once the user selects the attributes they're looking for, Track gives the user a series of images taken from the footage being reviewed, containing a series of matches. And from there, it will continue to help users narrow down footage until they've assembled a triangulation of their surveillance target's path.

If this sounds like current facial recognition software  in other words, like it's a relatively fallible Orwellian enterprise, bound to waste quite a bit of money, netting all the wrong people along the way  well, the folks at Veritone see it another way.

Their CEO called Track their "Jason Bourne tool," while also praising its ability to exonerate those identified by it. It's an incredibly dark, canny way to get around limitations on their ability to use facial recognition tracking systems, simply by providing something very much like it, that isn't precisely biometric data. By going around that loophole, Signal equips police departments and federal law enforcement agencies with the unencumbered opportunity to conduct surveillance that's been legislated against in all but the precise letter of the law. And surveillance, it's worth noting, that might be even more harmful or detrimental than facial recognition itself.

It's entirely possible that people who wear certain kinds of clothing or look a certain way can be caught up by Track. And this is in a world where we already know people have been falsely accused of theft, falsely arrested, or falsely jailed, all thanks to facial recognition technology.

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Or as American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Nathan Wessler told MIT Tech Review: "It creates a categorically new scale and nature of privacy invasion and potential for abuse that was literally not possible any time before in human history.

Looks like they're gonna have to find another name for the big map.

More on Facial Recognition: Years After Promising to Stop Facial Recognition Work, Meta Has a Devious New Plan
(NewsNation)  House Oversight Chairman James Comer announced late Friday night that he will form a panel within his subcommittee to investigate the cover up of President Bidens mental decline.

He already issued three subpoenas to Biden administration staffers, who Comer accused of interfering between Congress and the former president.

Comer has also requested the full audio interview between special counsel Robert Her and Biden. Axios obtained portions of the audio from October 2023.

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Trump prepares to step into messy fight over GOP tax bill

The chairman requested an interview with the former White House physician, Kevin OConner, who has not been subpoenaed.

This is one of the greatest scandals of our generation and Americans are demanding answers. Last Congress, we launched an investigation into the cover-up of President Bidens cognitive decline, but we were met with obstruction by the Biden White House and mockery from Democrats in Congress, Comer said. Now that Bidens top enablers can no longer hide behind the power of the presidency, were continuing our investigation to expose the truth.

Bidens cognitive state became a focal point of his 2024 presidential campaign before dropping out, leading to the nomination of former Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.

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There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions. The American people are done being lied to, Comer said. Were going to bring the truth into the light, and starting next week, those involved in the cover-up will begin to be put on notice.

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Authorities are investigating a house explosion that damaged homes late Friday in the town of Leland near Wilmington.

Two people were hurt but werent taken to a hospital, according to a social media post by Leland Fire/Rescue. One was rescued, fire officials said.

The home exploded just after 7:30 p.m. Friday in the 1300 block of Suncrest Way in the Magnolia Greens subdivision, according to the fire department.

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At least four homes were heavily damaged, with others impacted, fire officials said in their post. There is no ongoing threat.

The cause remains under investigation, town officials said in a 2:30 p.m. update Saturday. The Town will work with insurance providers and other partners to determine the cause once it is safe to do so, according to the statement.

The investigation is active and may take time to complete, officials said. The Town thanks the community for its patience and cooperation throughout the response.

Authorities are investigating a house explosion that damaged homes late Friday in a coastal North Carolina town.

The American Red Cross is helping people who were displaced.

I heard this really loud bang, ... and everything just kinda came in on you, Nathan White, who was playing his guitar in the home, told WECT.

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The blast left a huge hole in the roof of the home and blew garage doors in across the street, the Wilmington StarNews reported.

The explosion was in a townhouse, officials said.

Town building inspectors, police, emergency management workers and Leland Fire/Rescue crews remained in the neighborhood Saturday, with the top priorities being property safety and structural evaluations, according to the town statement.

Inspectors assessed about 70 units in the Three Oaks section of Magnolia Greens and deemed four homes unsafe to live in due to structural damage.

Most damage outside the immediate impact area is minor and primarily limited to drywall and other non-structural elements, making them safe for residents to enter, according to the statement

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Fencing will be installed to secure the area during the investigation, officials said.

Residents are encouraged to stay out of the area, according to the statement. The Town is coordinating with Duke Energy to restore power to two units found safe for occupancy.

The town will schedule a community meeting to update residents on the investigation and answer questions.

This is a developing story.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold hearings on a suspected cover up surrounding former President Bidens cognitive functions and autopen usage in office, after audio surfaced this week of his 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Clearly, from that interview, which was many, many months prior to the heavy use of the autopen, Joe Biden wasnt capable of making decisions. He wasnt coherent, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs the committee, said Friday in an interview on Fox Newss Hannity.

A transcript of Hurs two-day interview was made public last year, but the Biden White House blocked the Justice Department from releasing the audio recording. Hur closed his investigation into the former presidents handling of classified documents, concluding that he was a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.

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The newly leaked audio, published by Axios, more fully illustrated Bidens long pauses and lapses in memory.

Comer announced Friday that his committees efforts to review Bidens cognitive function near the end of his presidency would resume because of lingering questions about the ex-presidents use of autopen to sign a flurry of presidential orders, including preemptive pardons for some of Trumps political foes, during his final stretch in office.

There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions, the Kentucky Republican told guest host Jason Chaffetz, a former GOP lawmaker representing Utah. The American people are done being lied to.

Were going to bring the truth into the light, and starting next week, those involved in the cover-up will begin to be put on notice, he added.

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Comer previously sought the Hur interview audio, as well as meetings with former top White House aides, through subpoenas last year, but he said the Biden administration obstructed the probe and defied the legal requests.

This is one of the greatest scandals of our generation and Americans are demanding answers, he said Friday. Now that Bidens top enablers can no longer hide behind the power of the presidency, were continuing our investigation to expose the truth.

The Oversight panel wants to hear from top Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal and Ashley Williams, and has requested a transcribed interview from the former presidents doctor Kevin OConnor.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Human remains founds in Clermont County recently were identified as those of a man whose body went missing after he died of an overdose three years ago.

The Clermont County Coroner's Office said in a May 16 news release that the remains, found April 19 and 20 in the 1500 block of Barger Road in Washington Township, belonged to Roger Shane Bruce, 51, of Felicity, Ohio. Bruce was reported missing in early 2022 by another man, 31-year-old Zachary Scott.

The identification process involved a comprehensive physical examination conducted by a forensic anthropologist and DNA analysis performed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations DNA Laboratory, according to the release.

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This identification brings a measure of closure to a tragic and prolonged period of uncertainty," Brian Treon, Clermont County coroner, said in the release. "Our thoughts are with Mr. Bruces family as they navigate this difficult time.

Scott pleads guilty in disposing of Bruce's body

In 2023, Scott pleaded guilty to gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after authorities accused him of disposing of Bruce's body after he died of an overdose.

More than a year earlier, in January 2022, Scott, Bruce and two other people had driven to Cincinnati to buy heroin , Clermont County prosecutors said. After they came back to Clermont County, and the two other passengers were dropped off, Bruce overdosed and died while with Scott.

Scott then left Bruce's body in a location that was unknown at the time and misdirected the investigation into Bruce's disappearance by providing several false locations to authorities, the prosecutor's office said.

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On Jan. 21, 2022, Scott called 911 and said Bruce overdosed at the 2400 block of Laurel Point Isabel Road in Washington Township, then reported that Bruce "took off" after he administered a dose of Narcan, according to the Clermont County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies searched the area but didn't find Bruce, officials said, and his parents reported him missing the next day.

Two days after the reported overdose, Scott admitted to investigators that he lied in his 911 call, saying instead that Bruce actually ran off near the 1600 block of Beckelhymer Road in Moscow, Ohio, a criminal complaint stated. Scott told a detective that he searched in the cold for Bruce for several hours but never found the man.

The sheriff's office said in court filings that Scott's later statements to detectives were misleading as well and that Scott also denied going to Cincinnati to buy drugs, though Bruce's phone records and witness statements proved otherwise.

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In the months after Bruce went missing, detectives searched throughout Washington Township using drones, bloodhounds and cadaver dogs, but each time they came up empty-handed.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Bruce's death is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Clermont County's investigation unit at 513-732-7545.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Human remains found in Clermont County ID'd as Roger Shane Bruce
GOMA, Congo (AP)  Hundreds of Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda were repatriated on Saturday, the U.N. refugee agency said, after Rwandan-backed rebels seized key parts of the region.

Most of the refugees were women and children, and 360 of them crossed the border in buses provided by Rwandan authorities and were escorted by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and aid group Save the Children, local authorities said. The goal is to repatriate 2,000 people, UNHCR said.

We are happy to welcome our compatriots. They are a valuable workforce for the countrys development, said Prosper Mulindwa, the Rwandan mayor of Rubavu, during a brief ceremony at the border.

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The returnees were transported to a transit center where they will receive emergency assistance and support for reintegration.

They were among the hundreds of thousands of Hutus who fled Rwanda after the state-sponsored 1994 genocide that left up to a million minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. Most had returned when Tutsi-led Rwandan troops first invaded Congo in 1996. But Rwandan authorities said thousands of Hutu militiamen and ex-soldiers had stayed and joined Congo's army to destabilize Rwanda.

For decades, mineral-rich eastern Congo has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict and worsened an already acute humanitarian crisis.

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts.

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Among the Rwandan returnees, personal testimonies highlighted journeys marked by exile and a deep connection to a homeland some have never known.

Nyirakajumba Twizere was born in 1996 in Congo and had never seen Rwanda.

I never thought this day would come," he said. Im finally going back to the land of my ancestors.

The repatriation is based on a tripartite agreement between Rwanda, Congo and UNHCR that has been in place for more than a decade. According to Rwandan authorities, more than 101,000 refugees have already been repatriated, including 1,500 since the beginning of 2025.
May 16A national hunting advocacy group wants four Washington Fish and Wildlife commissioners gone, citing a trove of internal documents that the group says shows the commissioners acted improperly.

The Sportsman's Alliance Foundation petitioned Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson asking him to remove commissioners Barbara Baker, Lorna Smith, Melanie Rowland and John Lehmkuhl from the nine-member panel that oversees the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In its 25-page petition, the group argues that thousands of pages of internal correspondence it obtained through a public records request show the four commissioners "violating numerous norms, expectations and requirements of the law" while discussing upcoming votes and other issues via email.

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Evan Heusinkveld, president and CEO of the Sportsmen's Alliance, said in a statement that the commissioners' behavior amounts to "bad government on steroids."

"Secret meetings, exclusion of tribes and others from public meetings, an obvious and open contempt for the public, and a total disregard of the law  it's all there, and it's obvious that this is simply the way these four commissioners do business," Heusinkveld said.

Commissioners are appointed by the governor. The governor also has the power to remove them.

The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment before deadline Friday.

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The four commissioners targeted in the petition were appointed by former Gov. Jay Inslee. Baker, who is from Thurston County and serves as commission chair, has been on the panel since 2017. Smith, of Jefferson County, has been on the panel since 2021. Lehmkuhl, of Chelan County, and Rowland, of Okanogan County, were first appointed in 2022.

The Sportsmen's Alliance requested public records including correspondence from the four commissioners in September 2023 following the vote earlier that year to end spring bear hunting in Washington.

WDFW's public records analyst found more than 470,000 records that were responsive to their request. After filing a lawsuit in January over a delayed response to its request, the alliance has now received 17,000 records as of this month, according to the petition.

A WDFW spokesperson confirmed the timeline of the alliance's records request but declined to comment further.

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The alliance has specific grievances with each commissioner, and it airs some of them in the petition, but it maintains the documents show a consistent pattern among the group of flouting open meeting requirements, disregarding the interests of Native American tribes and showing disdain for public involvement in wildlife management.

The petition says there's ample grounds for removing the commissioners, and that the alliance has "hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of additional examples to support their removal, and we are ready, willing to be able to share these with the Governor, if needed, to ensure a swift and just response to this petition."

The petition is the latest in a string of controversies to come for the commission, which has the final say on wildlife management and things like hunting and fishing regulations.

Hunters have been critical of the panel over the past several years, arguing that decisions like ending spring bear hunting and changing cougar regulations are an attack on hunters. Meanwhile, environmentalists have argued that the commission is too friendly to hunters and anglers at the expense of wildlife.

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People on both sides of that debate, however, have been frustrated with how the commission operates. A December report from the William D. Ruckelshaus Center found that many observers see the commission as "dysfunctional."

The past five months have been marked by conflicts over who should sit on the commission. Inslee named commissioners for two of three open commission seats just before leaving office, only to have those appointments rescinded by Ferguson. Ferguson named three commissioners to fill those seats in April.

Then, Washington Wildlife First, an environmental group, sued over Ferguson's reappointment of commissioner Molly Linville, arguing she couldn't be appointed to the panel because she simultaneously held a seat on a local school board. Linville has since resigned from the school board.

The suit echoed one filed by the Sportsman's Alliance Foundation two years earlier over Smith's commission seat  Smith had been serving on a local planning board. That case ended up before the state Supreme Court, which sided with the alliance.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security was caught lying about an altercation between federal security personnel and a group of Democratic Party officials.

Trisha McLaughlin, an aide to DHS Secretary Kristi ICE Barbie Noem, had accused Democratic lawmakers inspecting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in New Jersey of body-slamming agents, pledging to release video of the altercation.

But when CNN played the clip on Saturday, it did not feature anyone performing the wrestling move.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has earned the moniker

Dictionaries say its a wrestling move where someone is lifted off the ground and slammed onto the ground, host Victor Blackwell said. I dont see that in this video.

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McLaughlin deflected: Body-slammed, body-rammed, punched, shoved, pushedwhatever you want to call it."

Noem's department have threatened to arrest and charge other Democratic officials who were present during last week's incident. / Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Sappey/USCG

McLaughlin had claimed Democratic representatives body-slammed immigration officials after last weeks scuffle outside a New Jersey immigration detention center, where Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing.

McLaughlin then went on the offensive as the clip continued.

Look at that, right there! she said of the video, which showed light pushing but no wrestling moves. Viewers should watch for themselves, if thats fitting for a sitting member of Congress to be assaulting ICE officers.

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McLaughlin got herself into another tangle during the interview, defending the Trump administrations decision to award refugee status to a group of white migrants from South Africa who President Donald Trump has claimed are victims of genocide. The first 59 of these migrants arrived in the United States earlier this week.

Blackwell asked whether McLaughlin would admit that the ethnic cleansing of white South Africans is, in fact, a myth.

Absolutely not, McLaughlin shot back. Can we take a pause and recognise the fact you are defending race-based discrimination? You are defending racism!

Blackwell, for his part, was having none of it. There is no genocide in South Africa, and frankly, it does a disservice to people in countries around the world who are facing genocide, he said. So we should probably just start with the truth.
The 74-year-old co-founder of Ben & Jerrys, Ben Cohen, was arrested on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., after he interrupted a Senate committee hearing to protest Congresss funding for Israels military as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza.



The protest interrupted testimony by Health Secretary Robert Kennedy and was conducted by several people. While Cohen was only arrested on charges of obstruction, others involved in the protest were arrested for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, Capitol Police said.



Cohen posted a video of the heated exchange on X, writing: "I told Congress they're killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they're paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US. This was the authorities' response."

I told Congress they're killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they're paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US. This was the authorities' response. pic.twitter.com/uOf7xrzzWM  Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) May 14, 2025

I said that Congress is paying to bomb poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the U.S., Mr. Cohen can be heard saying in the video he posted. They need to let food to starving kids."



Cohen was charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, the Capitol Police said in a statement, a misdemeanor that can be punishable by up to 90 days in prison and a $500 fine if convicted.



Cohen and his partner Jerry Greenfield sold their brand to Unilever in 2000, but remained outspoken about social causes, a viewpoint shared by the new company, which announced in 2021 it would no longer provide ice cream to the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was inconsistent with their companys values.
During the 2025 Colorado legislative session, Democrats and Republicans formed unexpected pairs as their interests aligned, including lawmakers who had served together for years without sponsoring a bill.

Heres a look at some of the work the unlikely pairs did:

Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, and Speaker Pro Tem Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins

The bill: House Bill 1272 seeks changes to the state's "construction defects" laws and creates more opportunity to middle-market housing, primarily condos and townhomes. While they're both Democrats, Bird has been one of the House's more moderate members and last year ran the 2024 construction defects version that failed to win approval; Boesenecker is more aligned on affordable housing issues with the progressive side of the Democratic caucus.

After the 2024 session, they found a way to work together on the construction defects issue, which homebuilders have blamed for raising the costs of condos by as much as $40,000 per unit. Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law on May 12.

Boesenecker has served in the House since the 2021 session. Bird's first House session was in 2019.

Reps. Rebekah Stewart, D-Lakewood, and Max Brooks, R-Castle Rock

The bills: House Bill 1003 and Senate Bill 87.

HB 1003 deals with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing on Medicaid and waivers for children with complex health issues. Stewart was asked to run the bill because of her background in music. Wanting bills to be receive bipartisan support, Stewart signed onto the measure as a co-sponsor.

As Stewart and Brooks started talking, they found they had in common prior experience on city councils. But Brooks' background also included advocacy for the disability community.

The bill would boost Medicaid services for 2,500 kids with lifelong illnesses and disabilities and didn't have a fiscal note, so its chances of passage in a tight budget year increased. It passed unanimously in both the House and Senate, and Gov. Jared Polis signed it on March 31, making it Brooks' first bill signed into law.

Their first collaboration went so well that Stewart thought Brooks would be a good partner on the second bill, Senate Bill 87. That measure would ensure kids with Individualized Educational Programs and 504s, both of which deal with special services for kids with disabilities, can use that documentation in college to start the accommodation process. It won a 23-12 party-line vote in the Senate and a 58-5 vote in the House. Gov. Polis signed it on April 18.

Rep. Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, and Assistant House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver.

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The bill: House Bill 1023 attempts to resolve a decades-long fight in the San Luis Valley between the residents of Costilla County and a Texas billionaire who has fenced off thousands of acres of his property near Culebra Peak, an area locals refer to as La Sierra and to which they maintained to have historical rights.

Martinez said he approached Bacon, an attorney, because of her extensive legal background. He explained to her the background of the case, the land grant issues, and historical rights. But Martinez said Bacon did some digging on her own and found it a unique problem and one "that makes Colorado Colorado." When the bill came up for second reading in the House, Martinez spoke on the history and Bacon discussed the legal side.

Martinez said he got questions from the House Democratic staff about including Bacon as a partner, given that it's an agriculture bill. Even they thought the pairing was interesting. Like the other odd couples, the duo had never carried a bill together. Martinez is in his third session, and Bacon is in her fifth.

Polis has not signed the bill, but Martinez said he believes the governor will approve it and he is hoping for a ceremony in the San Luis Valley.

Reps. Alex Valdez, D-Denver, and Sen. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs.

The bill: House Bill 1040, which adds nuclear energy to the state's list of clean energy resources.

Valdez has been active in the solar energy space for years, including as founder in 2010 of EcoMark, one of Colorado's largest solar companies, which recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing COVID and supply chain issues.

What's surprising about this pairing is that Valdez has been anti-nuclear and has admitted it for years. On the other hand, Liston has advocated for nuclear energy for several years, sponsoring similar bills in both the 2023 and 2024 sessions.

Valdez said his epiphany occurred last February after he joined a nuclear group through the National Conference of State Legislatures. Through another group, he also learned about France's nuclear energy. The country is notably almost entirely powered by nuclear energy, and it sells energy to Germany, he said.

Valdez noted that his legislative agenda has focused mainly on approaching energy from a "climate change" perspective. With the Trump administration moving to dismantle Biden's focus on climate and funding for such programs potentially drying up, the Democrat said, "What are we going to do to stay clean?" France, he said, got to where Colorado wants to be  with complete "clean" energy  in 1985.

Like the other pairings, the two have never carried a bill together. Valdez has served in the House since 2019. Liston could set a 21st-century record for the number of years (20) of legislative service, should he complete his second Senate term in 2028. He has served a dozen years in the House, from 2005 to 2012 and 2017 to 2020, and in the Senate since 2021.

The governor signed the bill on March 31.
(NewsNation)  A federal request for 20,000 National Guard troops to help with immigration enforcement would probably need some kind of sign-off from state governments, a Trump administration advisor said Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, asked the Pentagon for the National Guards assistance for roundups nationwide, and defense officials are reviewing the request, The Associated Press reported.

Governors typically control National Guard units in their respective states, with exceptions, and its not clear how the DHS request would be executed or whether all governors would be on board.

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Encounters at southern border continue to drop: Border Patrol

I think states are going to have to be involved in assigning National Guard, Ron Vitiello, a senior adviser for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said during an appearance on The Hill on Friday.

Vitiello said he hasnt seen details of the request but noted thousands of active-duty troops are already assisting U.S. Border Patrol along the southern border. He said National Guard members likely would be more boots on the ground assisting ICE agents in the interior.

This is the ICE mission: Theyre going after the worst of the worst, in every city and town in America, Vitiello said. Having that additional support is going to make a big difference for them.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  An Iowa woman is now in prison following the death of her three-year-old son.

Billie Mosier, 25, of Ida Grove, received a 50-year prison sentence for the death of her three-year-old son. Mosier was handed the sentence for one count of child endangerment resulting in death. Court documents indicate she will pay $150,000 in restitution.

Story continues below

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A judge found her guilty back in April. Mosiers attorney filed a motion for a new trial, but the prosecution resisted.

Back in May of 2023, her son, Jordan, was found unresponsive in her car after driving from Ida Grove to Battle Creek.

The boy was taken to a local hospital. After being there, he was taken to a hospital in Omaha, where he was pronounced dead the next day. His death was ruled a strangulation.

Mosier first told authorities that Jordan strangled himself with a seat belt after falling asleep, but later changed her story, saying she found him hanging from the car window.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho police on Friday released the names of six people from China, Italy and California killed when a pickup truck collided with their tour van in a fiery crash near Yellowstone National Park earlier this month.

Idaho State Police said Jianping Li, 71, of Guangxi, China, and Xiaoming Jiang, 66, of Guilin, China, died from the May 1 crash along with Ivana Wen, 28, of Milan.

Two of the deceased travelers were California residents: Li Nie, 64, and Aifeng Wan, 53, both of Arcadia. The vans 30-year-old driver Yu Zhang, of Eastvale, California, was also killed.

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Idaho police earlier Friday listed Jian Shi, 56, of Shanghai, as among the dead but later corrected their statement to say Shi sustained injuries but survived the crash. Police said the first statement should have included Li as among the dead.

There were 14 people in the van. Of the 13 passengers, 12 had Chinese nationality and one was Italian, police said. Survivors were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries.

The trucks driver also died. Authorities earlier identified him as Isaih Moreno of Humble, Texas.

Investigators determined the Dodge Ram driven by Moreno crossed the center line and collided with the Mercedes van driven by Zhang. Police said they were continuing to investigate why the truck crossed the center line.

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The highway where the crash happened south of West Yellowstone, Montana, offers a way to get between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the spring before a north-south route is plowed and the park fully opens for summer.

Yellowstone is one of the largest national parks in the U.S. and draws millions of visitors each year. It is home to the iconic geyser Old Faithful and has wolves, bison and more than 50 other mammal species. Its primarily located in Wyoming but it also extends in parts of Montana and Idaho.

Seventeen percent of Yellowstones visitors came from other countries in 2016, according to a park visitor use study with the most recent comprehensive data available. Of international visitors, 34% came from China and 11% from Italy.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.  A court case is at a standstill in St. Louis County while the state orders Immigration & Customs Enforcement to transfer a woman from Kentucky to St. Louis for her trial.

Endrina Bracho was set to appear in court on Friday but is still being held at an ICE detention center.

Bracho is facing multiple felony charges after a car crash in Hazelwood back in 2023 that claimed the life of 12-year-old Travis Wolfe.

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Jason Glaser is an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County. He spoke with FOX 2 back in March when Bracho did not appear after the first writ order.

We are concerned that there is a chance if she is deported that we will not be able to prosecute her and bring justice for both the wolf family and her children who were injured in this crash, he said.

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Court records showed Bracho was driving 35 miles per hour over the speed limit on Dunn Road during a head-on crash.

She is facing charges for involuntary manslaughter, assault, and endangering her own children.

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Brachos trial was originally scheduled for August of 2024 but it was pushed back. She then received a bond reduction in December.

Police said she is in the country illegally and has been in ICE custody since December.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley said hes been in touch with ICE about the case.

My view and my request to ICE is that she be returned. Now ICE is not bound by Missouri courts. They are a federal entity and federal law is supreme over state law. So ICE ultimately does what they wish here but I have strongly urged them to allow her to stand trial. I think it is important for justice, Hawley said.

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Her defense attorney and the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorneys Office said Bracho will be in court on May 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 FOX 2.
For millions across India, a rigid caste system thousands of years old still dictates much of daily life  from social circles to dating pools to job opportunities and schooling.

The Indian government has long insisted that the social hierarchy has no place in the worlds most populous nation, which banned caste discrimination in 1950.

So, it came as a surprise when Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration announced that caste would be counted in the upcoming national census for the first time since 1931  when India was still a British colony.

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Counting caste will ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, the government said in its April press release. This will ensure that society becomes stronger economically and socially, and the countrys progress continues without hindrance.

The release didnt include any detail on how the caste data would be collected, or even when the census will take place (it has been repeatedly delayed from its original 2021 date). But the announcement has revived a longstanding debate about whether counting caste will uplift disadvantaged groups  or further entrench divisions.

The proposal is so controversial because a caste census forces the state to confront structural inequalities that are often politically and socially inconvenient, said Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India.

The lack of caste data over the past century means we are effectively flying blind, designing policies in the dark while claiming to pursue social justice, she added. So, the next census is going to be a historical census.

Members of the Dalit caste block traffic as they protest a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action for marginalized castes in Ahmedabad, India, in August 2024. - Ajit Solanki/AP/File

What is caste?

Indias caste system has roots in Hindu scriptures, and historically sorted the population into a hierarchy that defined peoples occupations, where they can live and who they can marry based on the family theyre born into. Today, many non-Hindus in India, including Muslims, Christians, Jains and Buddhists, also identify with certain castes.

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There are several main castes, and thousands of sub-castes  from the Brahmins at the top, who were traditionally priests or scholars, to the Dalits, formerly known as the untouchables, who were made to work as cleaners and waste pickers.

For centuries, castes on the bottom rung  Dalits and marginalized indigenous Indians  were considered impure. In some cases they were even barred from entering the homes or temples of the upper castes, and forced to eat and drink from separate utensils in shared spaces.

India tried to wipe the slate clean after it won independence from Britain in 1947, introducing a flurry of changes in its new constitution. It set up specific categories of castes, used to establish affirmative action quotas and other benefits  eventually setting aside 50% of jobs in government and places at educational institutions for marginalized castes. It also abolished the concept of untouchability and banned caste discrimination.

The decision to stop counting caste in the census was another part of this mission.

A resident in Chandgrah, India, is interviewed by an enumerator at her front door in 2011. - Kate Geraghty/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media/Getty Images/File

An example of the receipt given to participants in the caste survey in India, seen in 2011. - Kate Geraghty/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media/Getty Images/File

After independence, the Indian state consciously moved away from enumerating caste  in the census, said Muttreja. They thought they should not highlight caste, and that in a democracy, it will automatically even out.

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But that hasnt happened. Although the hard lines of caste division have softened over time, especially in urban areas, there are still major gaps in wealth, health and educational attainment between different castes, according to various studies. The most disadvantaged castes today have higher rates of illiteracy and malnutrition, and receive fewer social services such as maternal care and reproductive health, Muttreja added.

Social segregation is also widespread; only 5% of marriages in India are inter-caste, according to the India Human Development Survey. Similar divides linger in friend groups, workplaces, and other social spaces.

These persistent gaps have fueled rising demand for a caste census, with many arguing that data could be used to secure greater federal government aid and reallocate resources to the needy.

In some states  such as Bihar, one of Indias poorest states  local authorities have conducted their own surveys, prompting calls for Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to follow suit.

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Now, it appears, they will.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, following the country's general election in June 2024. - Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images/File

Why now?

Modi has long pushed back on attempts to define the population along traditional caste lines, previously declaring that the four biggest castes were the poor, youth, women and farmers  and that uplifting them would aid the entire countrys development.

But rising discontent among underprivileged castes boosted opposition parties during the 2024 national election, which delivered a shock result: although Modi won a third term, the BJP failed to win a majority in parliament, diminishing their power.

Modis U-turn on the caste census, his rivals claim, is a political maneuver to shore up support in upcoming state elections, particularly in Bihar  a battleground state where the issue has been particularly sensitive.

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The timing is no coincidence, wrote M. K. Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state and a longtime Modi critic, in a post on X. This sudden move reeks of political expediency.

Bihars own caste survey in 2023 found there were far more people in marginalized castes than previously thought, sparking an ongoing legal battle to raise the affirmative action quotas.

Enumerators receive information from residents during Bihar's state-wide caste survey in the Rajendra Nagar neighborhood of Patna, in April 2023. - Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times/Getty Images/File

Several other states took their own surveys, which the federal government said in its statement were varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society.

The main opposition Congress party celebrated the governments announcement, claiming Modi had bowed to their pressure. BJP leaders, meanwhile, say the opposition neglected to conduct any caste census during their years in power, and had now politicized the issue for their own gain.

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The previous Congress-led government did conduct a national caste survey in 2011, but the full results were never made public, and critics alleged the partial findings showed data anomalies and methodology issues. It was also separate from the national census conducted that same year, meaning the two sets of data cant be analyzed against each other.

Though authorities havent said when the new census will take place, they have enough time to refine the methodology and make sure key information is collected, said Sonalde Desai, demographer and Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Maryland College Park.

After the census is complete, the next battle will begin: how to use that data to shape policy.

A crowd in front of the India Gate in New Delhi in April 2023. - Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

A controversial proposal

Not all are in favor of the caste census.

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Opponents argue that the nation should be trying to move away from these labels instead of formalizing them. Some believe that instead of focusing on caste, government policies like affirmative action should be based on other criteria like socioeconomic class, said Desai, also a professor of applied economic research at the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi.

She supports the caste census, but said opponents might view such a survey as regressive, instead of helping to create a society in which (Indians) transcend that destiny defined by caste.

Theres another factor, too: if the census reveals that marginalized castes are bigger than previously thought, as was the case in Bihar, the government could increase how much affirmative action they receive, angering some traditionally privileged castes who already dislike the quota system.

Over the years, anti-affirmative action protests have broken out, some turning deadly  with these groups accusing the government of reverse discrimination, echoing similar controversies in the United States about race-conscious college admissions and job hiring. These same groups are likely to decry the caste census, Muttreja said.

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Already, some opposition leaders are calling to remove the 50% cap on affirmative action quotas, and to implement affirmative action in other institutions like private companies and the judiciary  controversial proposals that have prompted online firestorms.

But supporters of the caste census say its long overdue. Both Muttreja and Desai told CNN they didnt believe such a survey would deepen divisions, saying caste discrimination is already such an evident, inescapable fact of life that simply asking the question wont cause harm.

A member of the Jat caste attends a protest demanding the expansion of their rights in New Delhi in 2017. - Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images/File

It might also show how the balance of power and privilege has shifted over the past century, said Desai. Since the 1931 census, some previously disadvantaged castes may have been buoyed by affirmative action and other measures  while other castes that once sat higher on the ladder may no longer be considered as privileged.

This is why, she argues, Indias government should use the data to perform a re-ranking  reorganizing which castes belong in which of the specific categories used to allocate resources and benefits.

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The census could clearly illustrate who needs what kind of help and how to best deliver it, instead of relying on outdated data, said Muttreja. It can reveal intersectional gaps; for instance, a woman in rural India may struggle far more than a man of the same caste, or a peer in an urban area. And it could show whether any castes have ballooned in size, demanding more funding than currently allocated.

It can shape school funding, for instance, health outreach, employment schemes and more, she said. It helps ensure that quotas reflect real disadvantage, not just historical precedent.

Once that data is out there, Muttreja believes, the government will be forced to act  it cant afford not to. And for those who still deny that caste discrimination remains rampant, or who argue that affirmative action is no longer necessary: This data will stare at peoples faces.

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The birth of a family's newborn child came a little sooner than expected Saturday morning, when the mother started to go into labor while traveling along I-65 in Tippecanoe County.

The family was still several miles away from a hospital when the mother went into labor.

The baby's father pulled over onto the I-65 southbound shoulder near the 163-mile marker in Tippecanoe County and called emergency services for help.

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Just before 8:00 a.m., two Indiana State Police troopers responded to the call and, upon arrival, quickly determined that the baby was not going to wait for paramedics to help with his delivery.

That's when Troopers Fike and McCormick put their training to the test and helped deliver the family's baby boy on the side of the highway.

It's unclear how long the mother had been in labor before delivering her healthy baby boy, but shortly after giving birth, Tippecanoe County emergency medical services personnel arrived and transported the mother and newborn to a hospital.

"The Indiana State Police commend Troopers Fike and McCormick for their quick response, steady professionalism, and composure during a truly unforgettable moment," reads the news release from the Indiana State Police.

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The name of the mother was not released at the time of reporting.

Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ISP troopers help deliver a baby on the shoulder of I-65






Valeria Marquez was shot and killed at Blossom Beauty Lounge in Jalisco, Mexico, on May 13 while she was livestreaming on TikTok

The man who killed her and the man he arrived at the salon with may have been hit men, according to a spokesperson for the Jalisco State Prosecutors Office

Two men on a motorcycle killed someone else in the same area hours before Marquezs death, and authorities are now investigating whether the two murders are connected









Prosecutors now believe that hired assassins may be responsible for the death of 23-year-old influencer Valeria Marquez, who was shot dead while livestreaming from her beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico, earlier this week.

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On Tuesday, May 13, Marquez was at her salon, Blossom Beauty Lounge, when, according to initial investigations, a man entered and fired a gun at her, per the Jalisco State Prosecutors Office (JSPO). The moment was caught on a TikTok livestream, as Marquez was actively recording for her followers at the time of her death.

Denis Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the JSPO, told the Associated Press that hours before Marquez arrived at the salon, a man posed as a delivery driver pretending to have a very expensive gift for the influencer.

Valeria Marquez/Instagram Valeria Marquez Valeria Marquez

The man, who was wearing a mask and accompanied by another man on a motorcycle, told a woman in the salon that they had to deliver the gift in person, the AP reported.

After Marquez arrived at Blossom and learned that the men had asked after her, she became fearful, stating that she was worried on the TikTok livestream shortly before she was killed, according to the outlet.

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Maybe they were going to kill me. Were they going to come and take me away, or what? she said in the livestream, per the AP.

The masked man and motorcyclist returned to the Jalisco salon minutes after Marquez expressed her fears, and what they did next led prosecutors to believe that they were hit men.

Valeria Marquez/Instagram Valeria Marquez Valeria Marquez

One of the men asked if Marquez was in the salon, Rodriguez told the AP, so it appears he didnt know her.

With that, you can deduce  without jumping to conclusions  that this was a person who was paid, Rodriguez continued, adding that the aggressor was obviously someone who came with a purpose.

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.

Contract killers on motorcycles have become quite common, Rodriguez told the outlet. He also revealed that two men on a motorcycle carried out the murder of a former congressman in the area just hours before Marquezs death.

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Authorities are investigating whether the two deaths are connected.

Valeria Marquez/Instagram Valeria Marquez Valeria Marquez

Rodriguez did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on Saturday, May 17.

Marquezs final posts included selfies and professional modeling photos, and she had just posted a now-expired mirror selfie on Instagram Stories when news broke of her tragic death.

At the time of her death, the beauty guru had 149,000 Instagram followers and more than 114,000 TikTok followers, many of whom flocked to both accounts to mourn her.



Read the original article on People
The most anticipated veto of this years legislative session took place on Friday, when Gov. Jared Polis rejected the proposal to eliminate a key requirement before labor organizations can negotiate imposing union dues on nonunion members, arguing it failed to meet important thresholds that would maintain stability.

The measure provoked a major battle between business and labor, which sought to repeal an election tied to union dues from the states 82-year-old law dealing with collective bargaining.

Polis urged business and labor to find a compromise and his office pushed a deal, but negotiations collapsed in the final week of the legislative session. He repeatedly said he wont sign any major changes to the law without an agreement from both sides.

After the negotiations failed, sponsors pushed through the bill virtually unchanged from its introduction on the first day of the 2025 session.

Federal law governs union formation. In that election, a labor group must receive a simple majority to unionize  a related but separate issue from what was before Colorado lawmakers.

At issue at the Colorado Capitol was the state law requiring a second election to allow a unionized workplace to negotiate over fees on non-union members. That election requires a higher threshold of a 75% yes vote to pass, and the unions want to eliminate it.

Polis: Core issue deals with union dues, not union formation

In his veto letter, Polis said the core issue in Senate Bill 5 is union dues  not union formation, which, he noted, is governed by federal law.

At its core this is about who has a say in whether union dues are deducted from employee paychecks, he said. To my mind, mandatory dues deduction should require a high bar of both participation and support, particularly at a time when hardworking Coloradans are concerned about the cost of groceries, the economy, and their job security.

The current law  called Labor Peace Act  has maintained peace and stability between employers and unions, and it was the stability that he sought in pushing for a deal, the governor said.

I am disappointed we did not find common ground, said Polis, who sought to defend his pro-union, pro-worker record and cited new policies under his tenure as governor, such as collective bargaining rights for county employees and family and medical leave insurance.

The governor said he believes there must be a high threshold for worker participation and approval for bargaining over mandatory wage deduction. The bill before him, he said, failed to meet that threshold.

The governor offered an olive branch to labor  he is open to changing the law, saying it can and should be amended to more fairly allow workers to choose union security.

Current law sets a threshold so high that second election that it creates an incentive to almost exclusively seek to unionize at small companies, he said. That makes winning union security  meaning the imposition of union dues on all workers  at large employers nearly impossible, where, he said, organizing might be even more important.

The greater of 50% + 1 or 75% standard counts people who didnt vote as de facto no votes, he said.

He thanked both sides for negotiating but said they missed an opportunity to modernize this outdated law while providing lasting certainty to Colorado workers and businesses.

He said both sides should continue the conversation.

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There were various permutations of the offers in the negotiations. Broadly speaking, they included eliminating that second election  so long as higher thresholds in the voting participation are met in the federally-supervised election to unionize. There were also competing proposals around unfair labor practices.

Labor and business clashed over framing a proposal to eliminate a key requirement before unions can negotiate to impose dues on non-union members. The labor coalition pushing the legislation and its allies at the state Capitol insisted its about workers ability to unionize, arguing that unionization yields much better economic results for a state.

Business representatives have countered that the proposal has nothing to do with workers ability to form a union. They maintained that the legislation deals solely with imposing dues on all workers.

I dont think the reaction is unexpected, said Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, one of the co-sponsors of SB 5.

We did all that we could, advocating and negotiating up the last day, she told The Denver Gazette. Citing the governors statement that he supports labor, Bacon said, We believed this was the crown jewel of that support. The governor will have to demonstrate what his support for labor is.

Unions call veto a setback; business governor protected individual choice

Unions criticized the veto.

Governor Polis has chosen to protect an 80-year-old, anti-union law over the rights of working Coloradans, said Stephanie Felix-Sowy, leader of Colorado Worker Rights United and president of SEIU Local 105. He is now the only Democratic governor in the country defending a right to work policy that undermines worker freedom and shields corporate power. Nurses, janitors, caregivers, and service workers across Colorado wont forget, and were just getting started. Governor Polis may have caved to corporate pressure today, but workers are building a movement that he cant veto.

Dennis Dougherty, executive director of Colorado AFL-CIO said the veto is a setback  but not the end of the road.

Its the beginning of the next phase, he said. Working people are taking this fight directly to the ballot in 2026, where Coloradans can choose to stand with workers and finally end unjust firings and union-busting tactics. This ballot measure will be a defining moment in our fight for fairness and dignity on the job and help create a more just and sustainable Colorado for everyone.

Loren Furman, president of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, applauded the governor for his veto.

Todays veto is a recognition of the good faith effort and concessions we were willing to make to strike a compromise, she said in a statement Friday. We applaud the governor for standing with employees across Colorado who deserve a say in how they spend their hard-earned paychecks. Jobs and livelihoods should not be put at risk because a worker chooses not to support union officials who they do not feel represent them or may use their dues to support political causes they disagree with.

The Colorado Restaurant Association also lauded the decision.

By rejecting SB25-005, Polis has reaffirmed the importance of giving workers a real voice  not just about whether to form a union, but also whether mandatory union membership and dues should be imposed on every employee in a workplace, the group said.

Sonia Riggs, president and CEO of the association, added that by preserving the second vote, the governor protected individual choice, supported the unique nature of the restaurant industry, and helped ensure that Colorado remains a welcoming environment for employers and job seekers alike.

Polis vetoed three union bills after the conclusion of the 2024 session, earning him the animus from labor unions and a willingness by progressive Democrats to push through this years measure.

Denver Gazette reporter Marissa Ventrelli contributed to this report.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  The inmate who was found dead at North Kern State Prison in January died of asphyxiation and his death was ruled as homicide, the Kern County Coroners Office said.

Enrique Gomeztagle, 31, was found unresponsive in his cell on Jan. 29. Emergency medical personnel conducted life-saving measures but ultimately pronounced Gomeztagle dead, 17 News previously reported.

RELATED: Inmate found dead at North Kern State Prison, officials investigating as homicide

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A postmortem examination determined the cause of death to be asphyxia due to strangulation with obstruction of the airway with an object.

The manner of Gomeztagles death is homicide, according to the Kern County Coroners Office.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)  Interfaith Community Services, Inc. (InterServ) will hold its 2025 Annual Meeting on Monday, May 19.

The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Ashland United Methodist Church, located at 2711 Ashland Ave.

The meeting agenda includes honoring recipients of the David G. Berger Award. The DGB Award honors and recognizes individuals and organizations for their commitment to community service. InterServ will also introduce new board member appointments, executive committee appointments and officers for 2025.

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Board-approved incoming members are: Clayton Rich, Rev. Susan Hartley, Stacy Dasta, Keil Heim, Kim Brown, Bill Luce and Megan McAndrews. Rev. Susan Alley will be retiring from the board.

The Executive Committee will be: Ron Auxier- President, Clayton Ruch- Vice President, Connie Newton- Secretary and Ryan Hook- Treasurer.

During the Annual Meeting, InterServ honors those who have made the community better through their service to children, youth, families and seniors with the DGB Award. Two candidates stood out in 2024 and will receive recognition at the meeting. Tom and Susie Alderson, as well as Ken McDaniel.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU)  An Iowa official is teasing a run for the governors seat in 2026.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird posted a video on social media on Friday, which shows clips of President Donald Trump praising her and thanking her for her support.

Bird is currently in her first term as the states attorney general after defeating the states longest-serving AG Tom Miller in 2022.

Bird has already launched a campaign website that showcases her career in politics. To see that website, click here. In a statement to the Des Moines Register, Bird hinted she has more to share about her plans for 2026 and said running for governor is not a light decision.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
SAC COUNTY, Iowa (KCAU)  A teen from Jefferson, Iowa, has been accused of trying to kill someone.

The Sac County Sheriffs Office reported Keegan Kennedy, 16, of Jefferson, Iowa, was in a vehicle with the victim on May 4. Court documents claimed Kennedy was sitting in the back of the vehicle while arguing with the victim, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

Story continues below

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Kennedy is accused of shooting the male, who is a Sioux City resident, in the head. The victim did not die, and on May 7, Kennedy was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

A temporary no contact order was issued, meaning Kennedy cannot have any contact with the victim. The court also issued a firearm prohibition, so Kennedy cannot legally obtain or possess any firearms.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi contradicted US President Donald Trump's claim that Tehran has received a proposal to resolve the nuclear dispute.

"Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly," Araghchi wrote in a post on X on Friday.

"In the meantime, the messaging we - and the world - continue to receive is confusing and contradictory. Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal."

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Trump said on Friday that Washington had submitted a formal proposal to Iran in the ongoing nuclear talks. Aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One, he said Iran had the US plan and needed to act quickly or there would be negative consequences.

Washington and Tehran are negotiating as the Gulf state of Oman mediates the talks over Iran's nuclear programme.

The US aims to reach an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear programme in order to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. In return, Tehran hopes for a relaxation of sanctions and economic recovery.

Iran is willing to continue dialogue with the US and reach an agreement but will not allow Washington to dictate terms, Araghchi said.

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He, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the country's Atomic Energy Organization have said repeatedly that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.

In 2015, Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear programme under the Vienna nuclear agreement. In 2018 however, during his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the pact and imposed new, harsh sanctions. In response, Tehran also stopped adhering to the agreement's restrictions.
Tehran, Iran  Irans political and military leaders are pointing the finger back at Donald Trump after the United States president sharpened his rhetoric during his first major tour of the Middle East.

In a speech to a group of teachers gathered for a state ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said some of Trumps comments were not even worth responding to.

The level of those remarks is so low that they are a disgrace for the one who uttered them and a disgrace to the American nation, he said, to chants of Death to America and others from the crowd.

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Khamenei added that Trump lied when he said he wants to use power towards peace, as Washington has backed massacring Palestinians and others across the region. He called Israel a dangerous cancerous tumour that must be uprooted.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also told a gathering of navy officers on Saturday that Trump is extending a message of peace while threatening destruction at the same time as backing Israels genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Which one of this presidents words should we believe? His message of peace, or his message of massacre of human beings? the Iranian president said, pointing out that Trump sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a move that was internationally criticised.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting with members of the Iranian Navy in Tehran, Iran, on May 17, 2025 [Irans Presidential website/WANA/Handout via Reuters]

The statements came after Trump used his Middle East tour  during which he signed huge deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates  to heap praise on Arab leaders neighbouring Iran and blasting the leadership in Tehran.

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The US president told Arab leaders they were developing their infrastructure while Irans landmarks are collapsing into rubble after its theocratic establishment replaced a monarchy in a 1979 revolution.

He said Irans leaders have managed to turn green farmland into dry deserts as a result of corruption and mismanagement, and pointed out that Iranians are experiencing power outages several hours a day.

The blackouts, a result of a years-long energy crisis that is hurting Irans already strained economy, are expected to linger for the rest of this year as well, according to Iranian authorities.

The largest associations of the mining, steel and cement industries in Iran on Saturday wrote a joint letter to Pezeshkian, urgently requesting him to review a 90 percent electricity use restriction imposed on the critical sectors.





Trump, who hailed Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and lifted sanctions on Damascus, also took aim at Irans regional policy.

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He described Tehrans support for the fallen establishment of President Bashar al-Assad as a cause of misery and death and regional destabilisation.

Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the US presidents remarks as deceptive, telling state media on Friday it was the US that hampered Iran through sanctions and military threats while backing Israel and attacking Syria.

Parliament chief Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was addressing an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Indonesia, said Trumps remarks showed he was living in a delusion.

Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), addressed Trump directly on Friday and said even though Iran has beautiful landmarks, we take pride in the elevation of character, identity, culture, and Islam.

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The sharp rhetoric in response to Trumps latest controversial comments come days after he teased that he may start calling the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf soon.

This angered Iranians across the board, prompting criticism of any attempt to rename the key waterway from average citizens online, authorities, local media, and even some pro-Trump Iranians outside the country who have been advocating for US sanctions and regime change.

A banner in downtown Tehrans Palestine Square shows numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now! and in Hebrew All targets are within reach, we will choose, on May 5, 2025 [Vahid Salemi/AP]

Scepticism over Iran-US deal

Both Iran and the US say they would prefer an agreement that would serve to quickly de-escalate tensions surrounding Irans nuclear programme, despite the latest war of words.

But after four rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman, any prospective deal  which would lift sanctions in exchange for making sure Iran would not have a nuclear bomb  still appears to face significant hurdles.

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Trump said Tehran has been handed a proposal to rapidly advance towards a deal, but Irans Araghchi on Friday said no written proposal was produced yet amid confusing and contradictory rhetoric from Washington.

Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other NPT signatories, too, he wrote in a post on X, in reference to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior nuclear negotiator, on Friday rejected reports by Western media outlets that Iran may agree to fully halt its enrichment of uranium for the remainder of the Trump presidency to build trust.

The right to enrich is our absolute red line! No halt to enrichment is acceptable.

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Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear accord signed between Iran and world powers three years earlier, imposing the harshest sanctions yet by the US that have only intensified during the latest negotiations.

The nuclear deal set a 3.67 percent enrichment rate with first-generation centrifuges for civilian use in Iran, in exchange for lifting United Nations sanctions. Iran is now enriching up to 60 percent and has enough fissile material for multiple bombs, but has made no effort to build one yet.




A top Iranian official pushed back on President Trump Friday, calling his recent remarks about a nuclear deal confusing and contradictory.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from the Middle East earlier Friday that the U.S. gave Iran a formal proposal for a new nuclear agreement, urging Tehran to move quickly.

Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on the social media platform X. In the meantime, the messaging weand the worldcontinue to receive is confusing and contradictory.

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Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal, he continued.

Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that the two countries were in very serious negotiations. And in recent days, the president has also signaled an openness to the Middle Eastern country developing a civilian nuclear program but has indicated that Tehran cannot have its own nuclear weapon.

Araghchi, in his Friday post, stressed Irans commitment to nuclear enrichment.

Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other [Non-Proliferation Treaty] signatories, too, he wrote, referring to the international nuclear treaty.

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Officials from Iran and the U.S. have met in recent weeks to hash out the terms of an agreement. Trump, during his first term, withdrew from a deal made by former President Obama, which offered sanction relief in exchange for nuclear limits.

In an interview that aired on Fox News Friday evening, Trump reiterated his hope for quick negotiations.

Iran wants to trade with us, okay, if you can believe that. And Im OK with it, the president told host Bret Baier. Im using trade to settle scores and to make peace. But Ive told Iran we make a deal.

Theres not plenty of time, he added.

The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.

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(Reuters) -Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the U.S. president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.

On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give "10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza's children".

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a U.S. proposal for its nuclear programme or "something bad's going to happen".

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His remarks, said Khamenei, "aren't even worth responding to." They are an "embarrassment to the speaker and the American people," Khamenei added.

"Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime  a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumour that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted," he said at an event at a religious centre in Tehran, according to state media.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.

"Which should we believe?" Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. "On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing."

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Tehran would continue Iran-U.S. nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. "We are not seeking war," Pezeshkian said.

While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a U.S. proposal about its nuclear programme, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. "There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes..." he said.

Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington's constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process," the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.

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Pezeshkian said Iran would not "back down from our legitimate rights".

"Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region," he said.

A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.

(dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Representatives of Arab countries started an annual summit in Iraq on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East trip and amid the months-long Gaza war.

Gaza is expected to top the agenda of the one-day meeting in Baghdad.

In his opening address, Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid said his country is opposed to what he called attempts to displace the Palestinians from the homeland "under any circumstances or pretext."

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Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Israel of practising ethnic cleansing.

"It is disgraceful for a state to pursue ethnic cleansing in this era and the world keeps silent," the top Arab diplomat said at the summit.

"Israel's reckless policy in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon will thrust the whole region into endless cycles of confrontation," he added.

Several Arab leaders, including those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are not attending the Baghdad meeting.

The participants are set to call on "all countries to offer political, financial and legal support" for a plan adopted at a summit held in Cairo in March for rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip without displacing its inhabitants, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported, citing a draft final statement.

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The talks are also anticipated to welcome the relief of US sanctions on Syria.

Earlier this week, Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, a country shattered by more than a decade of war.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, marking the first encounter between leaders of the two countries in 25 years.

The sanctions were imposed in response to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011, and the violence his regime carried out against civilians during the ensuing civil war.

Al-Assad was overthrown in December by an Islamist-led rebel alliance commanded by al-Sharaa, who was later appointed interim president.
Colorado Springs police say they arrested a man early Saturday who is suspected of burglary on the city's west side.

According to CSPD, officers responded to a call around 3:45 a.m. for an in progress burglary in the 1400 block of West Pikes Peak Avenue. While on scene, police received calls about a naked man trying to break into residences in the 1300 block of West Colorado Avenue.

At the new location, officers found Chad Orr, who they say had broken into a closed business. Orr was arrested on suspicion of multiple burglaries, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.
Representatives of Arab countries started an annual summit in Iraq on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East trip and amid the months-long Gaza war.

Gaza is expected to top the agenda of the one-day meeting in Baghdad.

In his opening address, Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid said his country is opposed to what he called attempts to displace the Palestinians from the homeland "under any circumstances or pretext."

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Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Israel of practising ethnic cleansing.

"It is disgraceful for a state to pursue ethnic cleansing in this era and the world keeps silent," the top Arab diplomat said at the summit.

"Israel's reckless policy in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon will thrust the whole region into endless cycles of confrontation," he added.

Several Arab leaders, including those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are not attending the Baghdad meeting.

The participants are set to call on "all countries to offer political, financial and legal support" for a plan adopted at a summit held in Cairo in March for rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip without displacing its inhabitants, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported, citing a draft final statement.

The talks are also anticipated to welcome the relief of US sanctions on Syria.

Earlier this week, Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, a country shattered by more than a decade of war.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel will ease its blockade and let limited amounts of food into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday, after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" in the northern and southern parts of the enclave.

Facing mounting pressure over an aid blockade it imposed in March and the risk of famine, Israel has stepped up its campaign in Gaza, where Palestinian health officials said hundreds have been killed in attacks in the past week, including 130 overnight.

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"At the recommendation of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), and out of the operational need to enable the expansion of intense fighting to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu's office said.

Eri Kaneko, a spokesperson for U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher confirmed the agency had been approached by Israeli authorities to "resume limited aid delivery," adding that discussions are ongoing about the logistics "given the conditions on the ground."

Israel made its announcement after sources on both sides said there had been no progress in a new round of indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar.

Netanyahu said the talks included discussions on a truce and hostage deal as well as a proposal to end the war in return for the exile of Hamas militants and the demilitarisation of the enclave - terms Hamas has previously rejected.

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The Israeli military suggested in a later statement that it could still scale down operations to help reach a deal in Doha. Military chief Eyal Zamir told troops in Gaza that the army would provide the country's leaders with the flexibility they need to reach a hostage deal, according to the statement.

Israel's military said it had conducted a preliminary wave of strikes on more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past week to support "Gideon's Chariots", its new ground operation aimed at achieving "operational control" in parts of the enclave. It said it killed dozens of Hamas fighters.

Gaza's Health Ministry said in the week to Sunday alone, at least 464 Palestinians were killed.

"Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by (overnight) Israeli bombardment," Khalil Al-Deqran, Gaza health ministry spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.

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The Israeli campaign has devastated Gaza, pushing nearly all of its two million residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, many of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March to try to pressure Hamas into freeing its hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

International experts have warned of looming famine.

QATAR TALKS

Asked about the Qatar talks, a Hamas official told Reuters: "Israel's position remains unchanged, they want to release the prisoners (hostages) without a commitment to end the war."

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Hamas was still proposing to release all of its Israeli hostages in return for an end to the war, the pull-out of Israeli troops, an end to a blockade on aid for Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, the Hamas official said.

A senior Israeli official said there had been no progress in the talks so far.

Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 251 hostages.

In Israel, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said Netanyahu was refusing to end the war in exchange for the hostages for political reasons.

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"The Israeli government still insists on only partial deals. They are deliberately tormenting us. Bring our children back already! All 58 of them," Zangauker said in a social media post.

TENTS ABLAZE

One of Israel's overnight strikes hit a tent encampment housing displaced families in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing women and children, wounding dozens and setting tents ablaze, medics said.

Later on Sunday, Gaza's health ministry said the Indonesian Hospital, one of the largest partially functioning medical facilities in northern Gaza, had ceased work because of Israeli fire.

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Israel's military said its troops were targeting "terrorist infrastructure sites" in northern Gaza, including in the area adjacent to the Indonesian hospital.

Hamas neither confirmed nor denied reports on Sunday in Arab and Israeli media that its leader, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed in last week's airstrikes on a tunnel below another hospital further south in Gaza.

Gaza's healthcare system is barely operational and the blockade on aid has compounded its difficulties. Israel blames Hamas for stealing aid, which Hamas denies.

"Hospitals are overwhelmed with a growing number of casualties, many are children," said Al-Deqran, the health ministry spokesperson.

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The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said 75% of its ambulances could not run because of fuel shortages. It warned that within 72 hours, all vehicles may stop.

(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, May Angel and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Aidan Lewis, Philippa Fletcher, Paul Simao and Lincoln Feast.)
The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched extensive strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day as part of the initial stages of a fresh offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory.

The strikes were part of the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the wars objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas, Israels army said in a statement in Arabic on Telegram.

Gazas civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Gaza had killed 115 people since dawn on Friday.

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A grandfather and two of his grandchildren were among people killed as they tried to evacuate Khan Younis, Al Jazeera reported.

Several more people were injured when Israeli forces struck tents housing displaced Palestinians in strikes on Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis on Saturday morning, according to Al Jazeera reporters.

The offensive, known as Operation Gideons Chariots, comes as Israel faces pressure to lift a sweeping aid blockade in return for a US-Israeli hostage released by Hamas.

An Israeli tank seen in Gaza on Friday - Ammar Awad

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian group in October 2023.

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The assault by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,985 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the wars overall toll to 53,119.

Palestinians are also dying of starvation, with Israel again resuming blockades of aid in early March when the ceasefire with Hamas broke down, arguing that the terror group was stealing the supplies.

A Palestinian man transports his familys belongings on a horse-pulled cart as people flee Gaza City - AFP

Israeli media reported on Friday that the military had stepped up its offensive in line with a plan approved by the government earlier this month, though there had not been any formal announcement of an expanded campaign.

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The military said its forces had struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip in 24 hours.

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JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel said Saturday it launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a negotiating team to remain in Qatar for indirect talks with the militant group.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with great force. Netanyahu had vowed to escalate pressure with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

The military operation in the Palestinian territory came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his Middle East trip without a visit to Israel. There had been hope that his visit could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months.

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An Israel official said that Netanyahu was in constant contact throughout the day with the negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and instructed the team to remain there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasnt authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations with the media.

Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture before Trumps trip, insists on a deal that ends the war and leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces  something Israel said that it won't agree to.

Israels army said on social media it wouldn't stop until the hostages are returned and the militant group is dismantled. Israel believes as many as 23 hostages in Gaza are still alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of them.

More than 150 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It said more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.

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On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house. A later strike in Jabaliya killed four, the hospital said.

"This is unacceptable. Until when? Until we all die? asked a sweating Naji Awaisa as he and others fled Jabaliya with their belongings down streets lined with shattered buildings. Smoke from airstrikes rose in the distance.

Airstrikes around Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed 14 people, with the bodies arriving at al-Aqsa hospital. One strike on a house killed eight people, including parents and four children.

A strike hit outside a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, killing four, the Gaza Health Ministrys emergency service said.

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There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strikes. A separate statement said that the military had killed dozens of fighters while dismantling an underground route in northern Gaza.

Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday night in Tel Aviv, some holding photos of Palestinian children killed in Gaza, with others demanding a deal to end the war and bring all hostages home.

Let me be crystal clear. All of Israeli society, left, right, secular, religious, stands united in calling for a hostage deal. To miss this moment for a deal would be a betrayal of history, a stain that will never fade, Dalia Kushnir-Horn, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn, told the crowd.

Month 3 of Israel's blockade

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Gaza is in the third month of an Israeli blockade with no food, water, fuel or other goods entering the territory of more than 2 million people. Food security experts say Gaza will be in famine if the blockade isn't lifted.

Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S. backing to take over aid delivery said that it expects to begin operations by the end of the month, after what it described as key agreements with Israeli officials. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation identified several U.S. military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors to lead the effort.

Many in the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said that they wont participate, because the system doesn't align with humanitarian principles and wont be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, said Friday that there's already an aid delivery plan with 160,000 pallets of supplies ready to move: It is ready to be activated  today  if we are simply allowed to do our jobs.

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The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Tia Goldenberg contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.

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Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Israel has launched a major new offensive in Gaza it says is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing hostages, sparking condemnation from the United Nations and aid organizations who warn civilians are bearing the brunt of the expanded assault.

At least 262 people have been killed and 675 others injured after Israel ramped up intense strikes since Thursday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious & beyond inhumane, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X Saturday.

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A policy of siege & starvation makes a mockery of international law. The blockade against humanitarian aid must end immediately. This is a moment for moral clarity & action, Guterres added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement late on Friday that it had launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas resumed talks for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in Qatars capital, Doha, on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in close contact with the negotiation team in Doha, and has instructed the team to remain in Doha to fully exhaust all efforts to secure the release of our hostages, an Israeli official said Saturday.

The development comes as US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to the Middle East without securing a ceasefire deal and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the population of Gaza would be displaced to the south following his security cabinets approval of an expanded military operation that one minister described as a plan to conquer the territory.

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The IDFs announcement also comes shortly after the Palestinian Ministry of Health marked a grim milestone in the war. On Thursday, the ministry said that the number of people killed by Israels offensive in Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023 now exceeds 53,000  the majority of whom are women and children.

Dr. Munir Al-Sultan, Director of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, said Friday that there were extremely intense explosions around the hospital, which severed the connections to ventilators that some of their patients require to stay alive.

Raed Radwan, a displaced resident in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, told CNN Saturday that he could feel the ground shaking since dawn because of explosions in the enclave.

Many people who were unable to flee yesterday due to the intensity of the shelling are now on the move, he said.

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Following the announcement of the new military operation, food prices skyrocketed. Whatever goods remain in the markets or are being sold on the streets have become extremely expensive, Radwan said adding that there is a significant movement of people from northern Gaza into the south with transportation costs surging dramatically.

The situation in Gaza is heartbreaking, beyond imagination. Its hard to describe, said Nael Rahmi, from the Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza.

People are fleeing with only the clothes on their backs, unable to carry any personal belongings.

Differences with US

The new Israeli offensive comes amid what appear to be growing differences between the US and Israeli governments. Trump said last week that he wanted an end to the brutal war in Gaza and he did not visit Israel during his tour of the Middle East this week.

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He also bypassed Israel twice this month in reaching bilateral deals with regional militant groups. Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage last week, and the Houthis agreed to stop firing at American ships in the Red Sea while pledging to continue fighting Israel.

On Wednesday, Trump denied that Israel had been sidelined. This is good for Israel, he said. But on Thursday, he said he wanted the US to take Gaza and turn it into a freedom zone.

I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone, Trump said in Qatar.

While in the Gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would have the situation in Gaza taken care of.

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Were looking at Gaza. And were going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving, he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, Arab leaders gathered for a summit to address several pressing regional issues, including the war in Gaza. The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attended the summit headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

In a joint statement, the leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave and urged the international community to assume their moral and legal responsibilities to pressure for an end to the bloodshed and ensure the unhindered entry of urgent humanitarian aid to all areas in need in Gaza.

They reiterated their position on forced migration, saying that any form of displacement or expulsion was a grave violation of the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, a crime against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.

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The UNs Guterres and Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also attended the Baghdad summit.

The offensive has raised concerns globally. President of the European Council Antonio Costa called for the violence to stop on X while a German Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement that a large-scale military offensive also entails the risk that the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza and the situation of the remaining hostages will continue to deteriorate and that the prospect of an urgently needed long-term ceasefire fades.

Dire conditions in Gaza

As the situation for Palestinian civilians grows increasingly dire, UN agencies are calling for urgent action.

Around 436,000 people have been estimated to have been forcibly displaced since March, according to a report from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, when Israel launched a fresh ground campaign as part of its renewed assault on the enclave.

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For nearly 11 weeks, Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, denying entry of food, medical supplies and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory.

Israel says the blockade, along with the militarys expansion of its bombardment of Gaza, is intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages held in the enclave  but international organizations say it violates international law, with many accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

A UN study this week warned one in five people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation and that the entire population of Gaza is at high risk of famine, the most severe type of hunger crisis.

The US and Israel are backing the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a tightly controlled mechanism for Gaza aid deliveries that seeks to supplant the traditional role of UN agencies in delivering aid to the enclave.

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The foundations executive director, Jake Wood, told CNN Friday that Israel has agreed to allow some food into Gaza before a newly approved mechanism for aid deliveries is up and running later this month, but he did not yet know when or how many aid trucks Israel would allow in.

The Israeli government has not been swayed by a growing tide of international criticism over the blockade on aid reaching Gaza, now in its third month.

Netanyahu said earlier this week: We are destroying more and more homes, they have nowhere to return to. The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip, a goal that Trump had supported soon after coming into office.

Israel launched the war after Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. This attack marked the deadliest terror attack in Israels history.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Mostafa Salem and Kara Fox contributed reporting.

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The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is prepared to return to talks over a ceasefire, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday, after Israel launched a renewed offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip.

"With the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots in the Gaza Strip, which the army is carrying out with great force, the Hamas delegation in Doha announced a return to negotiations on a hostage agreement," Katz said in a statement.

Hamas did not immediately confirm his statement.

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Israel's new offensive aims to increase the pressure on Hamas to release the last hostages held in the strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said he seeks to completely eliminate Hamas.

Earlier this week, a team of Israeli negotiators landed in Doha. Qatar has previously brokered indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, along with the United States and Egypt, though talks stalled several months ago.

Many differences remain between the two sides and it was unclear whether the Doha talks would break down again and the delegations depart.
AMES, Iowa  Word broke Friday morning of Wendy Wintersteens retirement as the President of Iowa State University.

On campus, families and graduates were scurrying on a graduation weekend schedule. Many had to have time for the picture with the ISU Campanile, with cap and gown. Most did not know of this change at Iowa State.

Its been a fascinating journey, I am truly proud of Iowa States extraordinary faculty and staff for their remarkable performance these past years, said Wintersteen in a news release. Perhaps most of all, I will miss the amazing energy, talent and potential of our Iowa State students.

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Students and alums learning of her decision were surprised. One student getting his PhD was thankful she supported efforts to launch new businesses.

And as a result of the pitches that Ive done and the experience of my classmates and I, weve had Wendys full throat support for this, said Bradley Swan, PhD Graduate from Minnesota. I know shes actually reached out, and theyve had conversations about how they can support that program.

Wakonda Club prepares for Principal Charity Classic

But it was a really big deal to have like the first female president of Iowa State, said Meredith Lehman, an ISU alum from Gilbert. It kinda definitely brought change to issues that might not have been considered.

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I think she did a really great job being the first woman president of Iowa State, said Sadee Lynch, an ISU graduate from Boone. Such an example of, that women can do powerful things and lead the university and yeah, shes going to be missed.

Meghan Gillette, is President of the ISU Faculty Senate.

From the faculty perspective, ultimately I just hope that the next president loves Iowa State, and Ames, and the state of Iowa as much as Wendy does, said Gillette. I hope that the next president will continue working in the spirit of shared governance, and will continue to be student centric.

Gillette said as a teaching faculty member, her focus is on the students, and she said Wintersteen also shared that focus.

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I think, you know, as faculty first and foremost we are very invested in the students, we care deeply about the students, said Gillette. President Wintersteen set a great example of what its like to be student-centric

Wintersteen will retire in January of 2026.

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NEW YORK (PIX11) New Jersey senator, Andy Kim, joins PIX on Politics to discuss NJ Transit and Newark Airport.

Kim says the air traffic controller at Newark requires specific training, and moving people from other airports is not really an option.

Senator Kim asked the FAA how long it would take to reduce the blackouts to zero, and they said, Maybe the summer. Andy Kim says, Thats not good enough.

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Watch the video player for the full interview.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
Denver has joined Chicago and Pima County in Arizona in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its termination of federal funding awarded to local jurisdictions to help defray the cost of aiding the tens of thousands of immigrants who arrived in Americas interior cities after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Denver is seeking to secure $25 million that the city was awarded in reimbursements.

Denver, Chicago and Pima County, which borders Mexico, asserted that the federal governments actions are unconstitutional, arguing they are an attempt to override Congress constitutional authority to appropriate funds, according to a news release.

Additionally, the jurisdictions said the federal government violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide a reasoned basis for their actions.

While Donald Trump has time and again tried to divide the country instead of finding bipartisan solutions on immigration, the people of Denver stood up and stood together to help people in need, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in the release. The Shelter and Services Program was intended for the sole purpose of reimbursing cities who did exactly that while following all federal, state, and local laws.

Johnston added: Now, the Trump administration is illegally trying to punish cities who did the work the federal government couldnt. I am incredibly proud of how our city responded to this crisis and will continue to fight for the funding we were awarded but have not received.

Johnston and Denvers policies have been at odds with Trump and his administrations immigration priorities since the president assumed office in January.

In terminating the funding, the White House said spending for illegal immigration is at odds with the administrations priorities, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is focused on advancing the essential mission of enforcing immigration laws and securing the border.

In March, Congress called Johnston and cadre of Democratic mayors of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions to testify in a hearing about their cities response to the influx of immigrants. Johnston also made headlines for saying he would be willing to go to jail defending the citys immigration policies, a statement that brought praise and criticism.

Since the first Trump administration, Congress has appropriated funds to reimburse communities and states for costs incurred in helping immigrants who were processed and released by Homeland Security into the U.S.

In 2022, Congress continued this program through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and intended for the purpose of reimbursing cities for expenses they incurred as a result of the federal governments immigration policies.

In the same year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began a busing program that targeted sanctuary cities in six Democratic strongholds, including Denver, sending about 120,000 immigrants out of the Lone Star State to various states. Abbott bused nearly 20,000 immigrants  often dropping them off without notice  to Denver alone.

Generally speaking, a sanctuary city is a jurisdiction that establishes policies to discourage or prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration officers. Both the state of Colorado and the city of Denver have adopted such policies.

As an interior city more than 600 miles north of Mexico, Denver had not felt the impact of the illegal immigration crisis at the border until it spilled over into The Mile High City more than two years ago, when 90 immigrants were left to wander downtown in the cold. Traditionally, immigrants in previous waves have favored gateway cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

In the months since, more than 43,000 immigrants arrived in Denver. While city officials have not tracked how many have stayed, bus, plane and train tickets suggested about half have. That roughly equates to adding a city the size of Golden to the Denver metro area in less than 18 months.

Many of these new arrivals have come from south and Central America, particularly Venezuela.

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Early in the crisis, officials decided the city would assume the costs of aiding the immigrants, a move that threatened the citys finances and prompted Johnston to implement department cuts and cost-saving measures.

To date, the citys response has cost about $90 million, according to Jon Ewing, Johnstons spokesperson.

Of the $37 million awarded Denver in various federal grants, the city has received about $12 million, Ewing said. That means its still short about $25 million.

Denver taxpayers have assumed the bulk of the costs to house, feed and transport immigrants to other cities. Denver also created a program to help immigrants  many of whom fled the political instability and economic collapse in Venezuela  obtain work authorization.

Many came with not much more than the clothes on their backs, little-to-no money in their pockets and no familial support.

In their lawsuit, Denver, Chicago and Pima County cited these conditions. The immigrants were penniless, and, without work authorization, they were at risk of immediately becoming homeless. The plaintiffs said they responded to the crisis and expended substantial resources, as a result.

A key argument by the plaintiffs is that the Trump administration merely disagrees with Congress purpose in enacting the shelter program  but that rationale is insufficient to withhold funding from them. Additionally, the plaintiffs said the administration already decided to terminate the funds, even though its recent communications suggested that the reimbursements might still come at some future date, and that FEMA zeroed out balances without informing grantees.

They said FEMA has for months sat on drawdown requests from Chicago and Pima County.

FEMA has decided that the Shelter and Services Program is gone, and grantees are simply left with the paperwork, they argued in the lawsuit.

The funding decision by the Trump administration is but the latest in a series of actions to crack down, broadly speaking, on illegal immigration, and, in particular, on sanctuary cities.

The individuals receiving these services often have no legal status and are in the United States unlawfully, such as those awaiting removal proceedings. This, in turn, provides support for illegal aliens and is not consistent with DHSs current priorities, Homeland Security said last month said.

Officials in El Paso, Texas have said that the offer of temporary housing and free travel in Denver may have inadvertently created a pull factor to Colorados most populous city.

While border states have traditionally borne the brunt of the immigrant surges  by the nature of their proximity to Mexico  most do not stay and instead head for the perceived safety of interior cities, like Denver, that are outside the 100-mile border enforcement zone. This movement from border cities to the interior illustrates two pressing, but very different, needs for communities responding to the crisis: border communities have been left scrambling to decompress the immigrant surge, while interior cities are working to resettle them.

FEMAs Shelter and Services Program was designed to help offset the costs associated with serving the immigrants. The bulk of the funding has been awarded to border states.

FEMA awarded grants to reimburse those costs incurred for providing services, as required by the congressional appropriation.
Travelers parked in the Hourly Garage can now go to the airports website and sign up to receive periodic updates as they become available regarding the status of the parking facility, Jacksonville International Airport announced Saturday.

Travelers will be asked to provide contact information as well as the license plate number of their vehicle, a JIA news release states.

RELATED: Fire at Jacksonville International Airport destroys several vehicles, leaves travelers in limbo

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RELATED: Jacksonville International Airport reopens after fire at Hourly Garage

JIA also released the following update Saturday about Fridays fire:

 The Hourly Garage is closed indefinitely to vehicles and pedestrians due to structural damage. To ensure everyones safety, vehicles cannot enter or exit the facility until further notice. There is not a specified date to reopen the Hourly Garage.

 The Hourly Garage, Daily Garage and Daily Surface Lot are closed to incoming vehicles. HOWEVER, passengers with vehicles already in the Daily Garage and Daily Surface Lot can exit these two facilities.

 On-airport parking will be extremely limited with the prolonged closure of the Hourly Garage. Travelers with flights over the next few days, weeks and months are encouraged to seek alternative accommodation instead of on-airport parking. These include parking facilities along Airport Road, alternate means of transportation to the airport (Uber/Lyft/Taxi), and getting picked up or dropped off at the terminal.

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At the end of a cul-de-sac in the 7700 block of West 154th Terrace in Overland Park is a white sign with green lettering that reads in all caps: No dumping. Park property. About 25 feet from this sign is Negro Creek, a roughly 8-mile stream that flows from southern Overland Park through Leawood to the Blue River in Missouri where it ends.

The waterway is part of the Blue River Watershed.

When I first encountered the sign on a recent visit to nearby Brittany Park, I thought nothing of it and casually strolled by it. Its safe to assume I wasnt the first person to pay little attention to this unassuming marker put there by city officials to keep litterbugs from dumping trash and debris in the area.

A sign at Negro Creek

Wouldnt it be a great public service to all Johnson Countians if there were signs along Negro Creek identifying this small body of water? Exhibits that explained the history of how the tributary got its derogatory name and the painstaking process the county undertook to keep it would be ideal.

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Like Stacey B. Knoell, executive director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, said to me: When we dont know our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

The issue and controversy surrounding the renaming of the creek in Johnson County bring to the surface a part of history that some would rather we forget entirely, Knoell wrote in an email. It is important, especially now, to learn our entire history, even the undesirable parts.

Despite a decision two years ago to place signs in Overland Park and Leawood, theres nothing to indicate the creeks name at that site or anywhere else.

When I asked a Johnson County spokesperson about this, I was told there were plans to erect a display with educational language at Kingston Lake Park at 153rd Street and Lowell Avenue in Overland Park. Negro Creek runs through this small lake just west of Antioch Road in Overland Park.

There are no historical signs along Negro Creek.

Will be placing a sign

We will be placing a sign in the Kingston Lake area along the creek in Overland Park, Jody Hanson, Johnson County director of public affairs and communication, wrote in an email. It will explain the history of the creek as we know from our research, highlight the committee and include the name change considerations. It will include maps and photos.

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According to Meg Ralph, Overland Parks strategic communications director, no timetable has been set for a dedication ceremony. In a text message, Ralph added that Overland Park and Johnson County will coordinate with the Negro Creek Renaming Committee regarding any future dedication events.

We will keep you posted on those if they are scheduled, Ralph wrote.

In Leawood, officials there said they are collaborating with Johnson County and Overland Park to do the same.

In an email, Leawood Strategic Communications Director Beth Breitenstein wrote: We are coordinating with Johnson County and Overland Park on the appropriate historical language, and we are prepared to install educational signage along the creek that runs through Leawood.

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After two years of inactivity, I am encouraged by these developments. When there is a coordinated effort to wipe out  or whitewash, as I wrote in a previous column  American history, Johnson County, Overland Park and Leawood owe their residents more truth, not less.

And the truth about Negro Creek  known by a more offensive racial slur until the N-word was ordered removed from all federal maps in the 1960s  isnt pretty. As The Star reported in 2023, historians believe the creek got its name after an enslaved man ran away from his oppressors in neighboring Missouri and was captured in Kansas.

The man was tracked along the Blue River as he fled toward Kansas and made it to a tributary across the state line, The Star said.

The story goes that he chose to die by suicide there rather than be recaptured and return to a life of slavery.

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According to reports, legend has it that the man slit his throat from ear to ear to keep from being returned to bondage.

Toriano Porter tried out a swing he found on his walk.

A swing at Negro Creek

I took a trip to Overland Park to put eyes for the first time on a creek that has a name rooted in racial terror. A movement that began in 2020 to change the name of Negro Creek ended with the citizen-led renaming committees recommendation to keep the term on the books  or in this case, U.S. Geological Survey maps.

My trip began at 151st and Antioch  near where the creek begins, according to Johnson Countys website  but I could not find the waterhead. My next stop took me to Brittany Park near 154th Terrace and Metcalf Avenue. I walked through the small park in both directions and could see small ripples from Negro Creek along the way.

I was about to leave for my next stop at 151st and Kenneth Road near the state line when I decided to venture behind the no dumping sign. Within a few steps I saw something that at first startled me: a rope dangling from a tree mere steps from the creek. Knowing the creeks history, I couldnt shake this imagery from my head until I looked closer.

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Upon further examination  and much to my relief  the rope was actually a swing erected from a tree branch. Close by were two vintage wooden chairs. A half-empty water bottle sat on one of them. A family spent time here, I thought. I wonder if they know the name of this creek and its history.

I approached the creek and snapped a couple of photos. I thought of jumping across Negro Creek to get to the other side, but noticed a small metal bridge nearby. I walked across that and headed for the swing. I hopped on and pushed myself forward, see-sawing back and forth as if I was a young child.

Theres nothing like being one with nature, I thought. But I needed to find out who built this swing and set out a mission to do so.

QR codes at Negro Creek?

Brian Vincik, 47, of Overland Park, and his family live on 154th Terrace in the Country Oaks subdivision. Vincik said he used an old rope to build the swing on a tree near Negro Creek, which flows directly behind the familys home.

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Vincik said his three kids and other young children in the area use the swing regularly to enjoy nature. He said he placed the metal bridge there as well so his family could easily access Brittany Park.

And Johnson County officials placed the no dumping sign there at Vinciks request, too, he said. Vincik said he maintains the area behind the home by mowing and clearing debris to keep the ticks away, he said.

Vincik and I talked for about a half-hour about Negro Creek. He said he found out the name of the creek by visiting the Johnson County stormwater management website after a storm a few ago to report damage to the familys residence. He was not aware of how Negro Creek came to be or the renaming process Johnson County started in 2020.

When I told Vincik that a diverse citizen-led coalition recommended keeping the name in 2023 and placing signs along the creek, he said he thought that outcome was fair. It was Vincik who suggested to me that Johnson County put up a Negro Creek placard next to the no dumping signage near Brittany Park.

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Maybe add a QR code so people could find out more about its history, Vincik said.

In this digital age, that is something I never thought of but an idea Overland Park officials and the Negro Creek Renaming Committee should strongly consider.
An ordinance change that would allow bow hunting of deer on private property inside the Joplin city limits will be considered on first reading Monday by the Joplin City Council.

According to the ordinance summary, the city does not currently have effective measures to control the urban deer population. There have been a number of deer struck by vehicles on city streets, the city document states. That has brought about the ordinance that would allow archery hunting by permit and with specific conditions.

While residents must abide by local and state requirements for weapons, in order to participate in urban deer hunting they must have state and city permits, abide by state hunting regulations and seasons, and carry written permission of the property owner where they will hunt. If a law enforcement officer asks to see the permit, the hunter must cooperate. Hunters must be at least 21 years old.

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The ordinance states that bow and arrows are not to be discharged within 60 feet of a house, building or structure or place where people assemble, a street, highway, park or property line.

Bow hunters must shoot from an elevation of at least 10 feet from the ground. Arrows are not to be shot in the direction of a person, road, structure or domestic animal within reasonable range.

Only a recurve archery bow or compound bow that requires completely manual operation without any means to cock the weapon and leave it in a stable state until it is released or fired using a trigger mechanism are authorized for use in the city limits. Hunters using a recurve archery bow or compound bow are required to take a Missouri Department of Conservation-approved hunter education course and are required to mark their arrows with their nine-digit Missouri Conservation Identification Number.

The ordinance prohibits crossbow hunting.

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A number of special managed deer hunts are held in some urban areas on state, county and city properties where there are high deer populations, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Finding a hunting spot on private land can be somewhat difficult, the conservation department states in its online regulations. It requires legwork to locate an appropriate property and to convince property owners to allow hunting on their property.

The conservation department recommends that interested hunters talk to neighbors, friends or relatives to try to find potential hunting locations, and to ask around at local community meetings or civic clubs. Additionally, check with places that may experience deer damage, such as orchards, farms and tree nurseries, the departments information states.

Some Missouri cities such as Ladue restrict urban deer hunting to the archery season. Cities including Jefferson City and Kansas City have managed deer hunts to control population.

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Deer hunters also should be aware of the precautions regarding chronic wasting disease, which has affected some of the states deer populations.

Two CWD cases were detected in the Jasper County deer population in the 2024-25 seasons, bringing the total in the county to three so far. The first case was detected from deer sampling during the 2023-24 hunting seasons.

No positives have yet been confirmed for Newton County, but that first case in Jasper County was close enough to the state line that Newton County was included as part of a CWD management zone for the first time during the 2024-25 seasons, which means different regulations applied.

The state has implemented a number of management strategies to reduce the spread of CWD, including special regulations for hunting.

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Other business

In other business, there will be a presentation on the status of the citys effort to upgrade its website.

Joplin Health Department personnel also will provide information on the standards for providing adequate outdoor shelter for animals and the requirements of other cities for a discussion on whether city ordinances should be changed.

The council also will hold a public hearing on the site plan for Vita Nova Village, which is to be a small home development for those in need of housing. The village is to be constructed on property at 1201 S. Byers Ave.

The council also will be asked to act on some city surplus properties that were advertised for sale and are recommended for acceptance of bids.

The council meets at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 602 S. Main St.
May 16An Ada County judge has ordered a probe into leaked information to media about the ongoing murder case of four University of Idaho students.

The information leaked to NBC's "Dateline" about suspect Bryan Kohberger is a direct violation of a nondissemination order, the judge wrote. It was issued in January 2023 to bar investigators and people with knowledge of the case from disclosing information that might influence potential jurors and upend efforts to ensure Kohberger receives a fair trial.

Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four were found stabbed to death in an off-campus Moscow home in 2022. His trial is set for August  but because of the leak, it will likely increase the time and costs it will take to seat an impartial jury, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler wrote in his Thursday order.

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The source of the leak should be identified and "held to account," Hippler wrote. Rather than six alternate jurors, he told the court in a Thursday hearing he would be adding two . He also said he would be open to appointing a special prosecutor so they could question people about the leak under oath.

The "Dateline" episode, which aired May 9, shared specific details about what investigators found on Kohberger's phone . According to Dateline, Kohberger scoured the internet for information about infamous serial killer Ted Bundy and made a number of searches for pornography with the keywords "drugged," "sleeping" and "passed out." His phone also connected 23 times in four months to a cellphone tower near the home where the four students were killed, according to the "Dateline" report.

Anyone formerly or currently involved with the quadruple homicide case is prohibited from deleting any communications, files or documents related to Kohberger, according to the order. The defense and prosecution must also submit a list of people that would have had access to Kohberger's cellphone records, social media, internet search history and other electronic devices that were a point of discussion in the show.

If it is found anyone disobeyed Hippler's ruling, they could be held in contempt of court, the order states.

Kohberger's trial is set to commence in Boise on Aug. 11.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A Pinellas County Judge has rejected the Stand your ground motion from a former Federal Prosecutor in a stabbing case from an incident in 2023.

Patrick Scruggs once worked as a Assistant U.S. Attorney. On September 26-th, 2023, he was driving on the Howard Frankland Bridge and saw a car stopped in the middle of the bridge in a traffic lane.

Former Bucs player among 255 arrested in Fool Around and Find Out undercover investigation

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Another driver saw the same stopped vehicle and got out of his car to investigate.

That driver, Ahmad Gahaf said he went to the stopped car and saw a man passed out in the vehicle. Gahaf said he tried knocking on the window, but the driver did not wake up.

Patrick Scruggs came up to the scene, and the driver who was passed out, came to and attempted to leave, hitting Scruggs car.

The former prosecutor got out of his car and used the end of a knife to knock out the drivers window. When he did, the startled driver attempted to leave again, but his car was wedged between Scruggs car and Gahafs car. Scruggs then used the knife to repeatedly stab the driver.

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During a hearing, Scruggs attorneys argued this is a stand your ground case, under Florida law. Scruggs attorneys claimed he was justified in his use of force and had no duty to retreat.

Several witnesses testified Scruggs appeared enraged as he stabbed the driver and could have just walked away.

Friday, Judge Keith Meyer issued a ruling, rejecting the stand your ground claim.

In his order, Meyer wrote:

The Court finds that the State has established through clear and convincing evidence that,

based on the circumstances as they appeared to the Defendant, a reasonable and prudent person would not have used the same force as the Defendant used. Although the Defendant testified, from his prospective, that his actions were necessary to prevent the obviously intoxicated victim from harming himself, the Defendant, and others by careening down the bridge, the balance of the evidence demonstrated that the Defendant was not acting reasonably.



Meyer set a trial date in September. Scruggs is facing felony counts of aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

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Judges in multiple jurisdictions are pressing the Trump administration for answers regarding the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. ordered government lawyers to provide more information about their attempts to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S, The Washington Post reported.

Abrego Garcias March deportation to El Salvador was an administrative error, a Justice Department lawyer admitted in court months ago. Yet the Maryland dad is still in the Central American country, even after a Supreme Court ruling against the government.

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The Trump administration has one week to hand over all documents memorializing, documenting, or describing the arrangements between the United States and El Salvador, Boasberg said in his order.

Demonstrators gather to protest against the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador / Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

It was Boasbergs order that the administration flouted earlier this year when it sent planes carrying Salvadorans and Venezuelans to El Salvador.

Also on Friday, a federal judge in Maryland handling a lawsuit from Abrego Garcias family doubted whether the Trump administration was really trying to get him back.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said that the government has only provided a bunch of I dont knows" in response to her orders requiring daily updates and other things.

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I dont want to tell you how long it took my wonderful law clerks to count up the I dont knows, Xinis said, telling government lawyers that she may issue a written warning.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen meets Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration. / Senator Chris Van Hollen via X / via REUTERS

The government contends that any pertinent information they have constitutes state secrets and would endanger national security.

That claim doesnt appear to be holding up, especially since government officials have said so much about the case publicly.

Xinis agreed with the plaintiffs lawyers, who said in a recent filing that the Governments assertion of state secrets is consistent with an effort to avoid judicial scrutiny of its actions.

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They had also described how, Over and over, the Government has stonewalled Plaintiffs by asserting unsupported privilegesprimarily state secrets and deliberative processto withhold written discovery and to instruct witnesses not to answer even basic questions."

Xinis seemed shocked by what one government lawyer had to say on Friday.

Just so I understand the governments positionthat the warrantless, baseless seizure of a person off the streets of our state, country is not government misconduct? she said. Okay. All right.
(NewsNation)  The founder of TMZ, which produced a new documentary about the downward spiral of Justin Bieber, says its by no means game over for the pop superstar.

The 31-year-old musician is currently recording new music in Iceland, where hes renting an entire hotel for $60,000 a night, says TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin.

Hes there with other artists, Levin told Banfield on Friday. It probably will be a No. 1 record, at least in the beginning. And maybe itll be just as big as everything else. But even if it isnt, Justin Bieber has got a lock on a career for the rest of his life.

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Justin Bieber went broke, new TMZ expose says

In the new documentary TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber? the celebrity news site looks at several crises the star has endured in recent years. Purported challenges have included marital pressures, the outsize influence of Biebers church on his life and a near financial collapse in 2022.

The latter setback arose after Bieber ended a concert tour early and sponsors demanded partial repayment, Levin has said. To raise cash, Bieber reportedly sold his music catalogue for $200 million.

If the musician can get over his distaste for touring, Levin said, he stands to reap a fortune from his built-in fan base.

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If Justin Bieber just did a residency whenever he wanted, he could make millions and millions and millions of dollars. He is every bit the level of Adele and maybe bigger. Even if you thought of this 31-year-old as a legacy act, its an act that will live for decades and decades.

What Happened to Justin Bieber? is streaming on Hulu.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
For decades, the Council for Children has acted as the Public Defenders Office for juveniles.

However, late last month, the state cut its funding, and experts say there will be no one available to pick up that slack.

And while experts say this change could really bottleneck the juvenile justice system.

It could also leave some teens without lawyers, which could lead to some judges refusing to take their cases.

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Saturday evening, the Harris Teeter on Davis Lake Parkway was set on fire. Paul Khamvongsa, who owned the Thai restaurant next door, said he was furious to learn that a juvenile had been arrested for the crime.

ALSO READ: Arson at Harris Teeter under investigation

I dont understand how kids think nowadays. Why would you want to set places on fire that could injure somebody or kill somebody? said Khamvongsa.

In the past, juvenile defendants would be represented by the Council for Childrens Rights, but a shift in state funding has put the agency out of the juvenile defense business.

Mecklenburg County Public Defender Kevin Tully told Channel 9 that the loss could mean some juveniles wont have attorneys.

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It cant be overstated how well they have done that work, said Tully. I imagine without a lawyer to represent a child, the childs case cannot proceed.

Tully said this could potentially result in some juveniles who need to be detained remaining on the street, as well as some who need to be released staying in custody.

He said with their current caseloads, the Public Defenders Office cant afford to pick up the slack.

The public defenders office would love to be able to do it, now that there is a need, but we dont have the resources, said Tully.

While Khamvongsa expressed his frustrations with some juvenile offenders, he did say he felt like some of them should receive a second chance. Tully said that process begins in the courtroom.

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So not having an attorney representing a child in that situation is unthinkable, Tully explained.

Some former attorneys with the council said they are trying to help. However, without salaries and with all the expenses of operating their own office, Tully said that it will be a tall order.

VIDEO: Arson under investigation at north Charlotte Harris Teeter
bluefield  U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., is vowing to fight against proposed cuts to Medicaid and the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which the Virginia lawmaker says will hurt low-income families across the Commonwealth and elsewhere.

Kaine, who spoke with Virginia reporters during his weekly media call, said millions of Americans could lose their health insurance under the budget reconciliation package being drafted by House Republicans. Furthermore, Kaine argued that food assistance for low-income families through the SNAP program would be cut over a 10-year-period in the budget reconciliation bill that is also known as the big, beautiful bill.

The notable details that are apparent even on a review of it overnight are this bill would dramatically cut Medicaid, Kaine said. The congressional budget office suggests it could reduce the number of Americans with health insurance by up to 14 million.

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Kaine said he will fight very, very hard against such cuts in the U.S. Senate.

But also the House intends to reduce subsidies that low-income families can receive to bring down the cost of insurance in the Medicaid expansion part of the Affordable Care Act, Kaine said. And that reduction of subsidies would likely lead to another 5 to 6 million people losing health insurance total.

Kaine said he also is worried about cuts to the federal SNAP program for low-income families. The SNAP program was formerly known as the federal food stamp program, which helps low-income families with food purchases.

Second, the cursory examination of the House proposal suggests a nearly $300 billion cut to the SNAP program, food assistance for low-income families and kids over the course of 10 years, Kaine said. To cut Medicaid, health insurance for low to moderate income people and to cut food aid for low and moderate income people  why would you do it? The House reconciliation bill shows they are doing it so they can give tax breaks to the very wealthiest, which is a horrible misplaced priority. And I would look forward to battling against it with every fiber of energy that I have should that be the version that gets to us in the Senate.

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Kaine said the so-called big, beautiful bill is expected to make it to the U.S. Senate sometime between Memorial Day and the end of July.

And Im going to do everything I can to fight against cuts to everyday people to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest, Kaine said.

Kaine also spoke against efforts by the Trump administration to revive Schedule F, now called Schedule Policy/Career, which would reclassify federal workers.

Instead of civil servants whose obligation is to the constitutional oath they take they want to convert vastly more of the political workforce to political loyalists whose loyalty would be to the president, Kaine said. But I dont think that should be the case regardless of who the president is. Regardless of the party of the president.

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Under Trumps plan, Kaine said the hiring and firing of federal employees would be based upon their loyalty to the president. Many of the federal employees who would be impacted by that move are located in Northern Virginia, which Kaine represents in the U.S. Senate.

Kaine also joined other Democrats in slamming Trumps plan to accept a free Air Force One replacement from Qatar, which Kaine argued is unconstitutional.

I think it is an illegal action Kaine said. It is a violation of the Constitution. Presidents cant accept gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress.

Kaine argues that Trump is accepting the aircraft as a personal gift from a foreign country, which he said makes the move illegal.

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Remember this is the same president getting this massive gift who recently was telling kids that yes tariffs might mean you might get fewer presents for Christmas this year, Kaine said. But suck it up kids  you are going to get fewer dolls. You are going to get fewer G.I. Joes or whatever it is.

Trump has said he wants to accept the $400 million plane, and that it would later be donated to a presidential library. In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Trump said the plane is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years.

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cowens@bdtonline.com
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested a suspect in a Lakewood homicide in Colorado Springs Wednesday night.

Philix Baca, 20, was wanted on a murder warrant in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old in Lakewood last year.

According to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Office, other suspects in the crime have been apprehended and charged.

According to a statement, marshals with the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force tracked Baca to Colorado Springs Wednesday. Marshals along with task force members from the Lakewood and Fountain police departments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up surveillance in the 500 block of Whimsical Drive in Colorado Springs.

There, the statement said officers saw someone matching Baca's description and obtained a warrant for the residence. Colorado Springs Police Departments Tactical Enforcement Unit assisted in taking Baca into custody safely, according to the marshals.

The statement said the arrest was "the culmination of extensive cooperative investigative efforts."

El Paso County Jail records show Baca detained as of Saturday on no bond and a hold out of Jefferson County.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The United States Department of Justice says that a man from Kansas City, Missouri has been convicted for his role in a murder-for-hire plot in 2021 and 2022.

The DOJ says that Thomas Clegg, 42, was found guilty by a jury in a conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. That conspiracy, from August 19, 2021 to June 13, 2022, was to murder a victim identified as J.C. and his family for cash and marijuana.

Records show that Clegg shot the victim on August 19 in the leg and back in the parking lot of Ugly Joes bar in KCMO. Additionally, on May 25, 2022 Clegg shot the victim in the back in a parking lot of a strip mall on Sterling Avenue in KCMO.

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Kansas City man sentenced for stabbing man to death with screwdriver

In the May shooting, another victim has just picked up her kids from a daycare at the strip mall when her vehicle was hit by gunfire. Neither she nor her kids were injured, however.

Records show that Cleggs phone was taken when he was arrested and investigators obtained a search warrant for the device. Texts between Clegg and his co-conspirators shows that Clegg was hired to kill J.C.

Clegg pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which was used in the May 2022 shooting, on Tuesday, May 6. He has two prior felony convictions of possession of a controlled substance, as well as convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, drug trafficking, voluntary manslaughter, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, assault, armed criminal action and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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Now, Clegg is facing up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be set after completion of the investigation.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A 34-year-old Kansas City man was sentenced on Friday for stabbing another man to death with a screwdriver in 2023.

Phillip Lacy was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

Driver never found after multi-county chase ends in crash in KCK

Lacy was sentenced to 15 years for voluntary manslaughter and three years for armed criminal action.

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The deadly stabbing happened Nov. 10, 2023, at a vacant building near 24th Street and Elmwood Avenue.

Court records say someone called 911, saying someone had been stabbed about 15-20 times. When police arrived, first responders took the victim, later identified as 52-year-old Bryan Hoover, to the hospital, where he later died.

A witness told detectives she, Hoover and Lacy were inside the vacant building when Hoover and Lacy allegedly got into a fight. The witness said Lacy then stabbed Hoover with a screwdriver.

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Police took Lacy into custody in March 2024 on an unrelated call for service. In an interview with detectives, Lacy denied any knowledge of Hoovers death or being in the building that night.

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KAPLAN, La. (KLFY)  Justine Bertand, Kaplan city employee, was tragically killed in a vehicle accident, according to Mike Kloesel, Mayor of Kaplan, Facebook page.

Kloesel shared how Bertand was a part-time city employee as well as a full time staff member at Rene Rost Middle School, where she was beloved by students and faculty.

Justine was an immediate friend to anyone and everyone from the first moment she met them. She always had a smile on her face, she loved her family and friends with all her heart. Kloesel said in the Facebook post.

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Kloesel continued to wish safety for everyone this upcoming holiday and summer season. He also stated that Bertands family and friends will remain in the communitys thoughts and prayers.

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*Editors Note: The original copy said the vaccination event was through the Kansas City Zoo. This has since been corrected to reflect that the zoo is not affiliated with the event.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Several road closures are scheduled this weekend in Kansas City as Pawsitive Protection returns with its pet vaccination event on Saturday, May 17.

Overnight pavement work on I-70 to begin Sunday in Wyandotte County

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The drive-thru event will be at Swope Park  3999 Swope Pkwy and 3999 E Meyer Blvd  from 9 a.m. to noon. Heres everything thats being offered:

Vaccinations & Microchipping: Licensed veterinary professionals will provide free vaccinations and microchipping for cats and dogs to residents.

Free City Pet Licenses: Pet owners can receive a free official license for their pets, ensuring legal compliance and identification.

Vendor & Partner Booths: Community partners and vendors will be onsite to share information and services related to pet care.

Education & Engagement: Informational sessions and one-on-one conversations will offer insights on nutrition, grooming, and responsible pet ownership.

Proof of residence is required at event check-in.

Visitors who want to go to the Kansas City Zoo will not be able to enter the park via Elmwood Avenue, from E. Gregory Boulevard to Mall Drive  or from Mall Drive to the west towards Swope Parkway  between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Instead, guests will need to enter via 63rd Street or Starlight Road. Zoo Drive will not be impacted by this event.

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Here is a detour map provided by the zoo:

Photo: Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium Facebook

KC Triathlon to shut down Raytown Road

The Kansas City Triathlon begins at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 18. Bike and run routes will be completely closed to traffic, organizers said on the event website.

The Grandview Police Department said on Facebook that Raytown Road will be closed at Highgrove through Interstate 470 from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Weekend road closures scheduled on I-670 in Kansas City

The road is expected to reopen at 11 a.m., but the closure could last longer depending on when the triathlon ends.

You can find all of the course maps here.

Additional road closures this weekend

Interstate 670 East will be closed just past 18th Street in Kansas to Troost Avenue in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

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The road closure will begin Friday at 7 p.m. and last until 6 a.m. Monday.

For more information on this closure, click here.

Overnight pavement work on I-70 to begin Sunday in Wyandotte County

In Wyandotte County, a pavement improvement project on Interstate 70 is set to begin this weekend.

Overnight pavement work on Interstate 70 will begin Sunday, May 20. Overnight closures will take place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday  and Fridays, as needed.

For more information on this, click here.

Also in Wyandotte County, two K-5 projects are set to begin on Tuesday. You can find more information about those road closures here.

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SPENCER, Iowa (KCAU)  A woman that has helped her community recover from devastating floods was amazed by the other nominees for Nexstar Medias 2025 Remarkable Woman.

Terri Batschelet is KCAU 9s Remarkable Woman, and you can find more of her story here. In April, she flew to Los Angeles and met with more than 100 women from across the country to celebrate their contributions to their communities and learn who will be named the 2025 Remarkable Woman.

Batchelet enjoyed the trip and made great connections with the other nominees.

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They treated us like stars, Batschelet said. We were treated very well, wonderful food, wonderful time of gathering with other women that I can learn so much from.

Story continues below

Batschelet said she talked with many nominees and heard their stories but was not able to connect with the more than 100 women. She got to learn about the top 5 nominees for the 2025 Remarkable Woman on the night of the awards.

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It was actually very emotional for me because I was amazed to see the amount of talent and passion of women in that room, that were doing things for their community that were pretty remarkable.

Batschelet said shes staying in touch with several of the women she met while in L.A.

The one-hour Remarkable Woman Special airs Saturday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m. on KCAU 9 News.

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A series of severe storms moved through the Midwest Friday night killing over two dozen people, including a firefighter from Laurel County Kentucky.

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The Laurel County Fire Department posted on their social media, saying Major Leslie Roger Leatherman was killed while responding to the tornado.

Leatherman worked as a public servant for 39 years, the fire department says.

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Answering the call to protect and help others in their most critical time of need. His courage, commitment, and sacrifice will never be forgotten, the fire department said.

The fire department asks that the general public stay clear of areas devastated by the tornados as they continue their search and recovery efforts.

This is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers our first responders face every day and the incredible bravery they show in the face of disaster, the fire department said. Rest in peace, Major Leatherman. Your service and sacrifice will always be remembered.

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STRUTHERS, Ohio (WKBN)  With the end of school just weeks away, Struthers Elementary students are getting a little extra gear to keep them safe this summer  brand new bicycle helmets.

We are really stressing bike safety. Were adding a lot of bike lanes to the city, so this is something that we were able to apply for, said Mayor Catherine Miller.

The city received more than 200 helmets to pass out to kids whose parents had requested them, as well as small flashing lights to attach to the spokes on their bikes. They all came through a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics Put a Lid on It campaign to reduce traumatic brain injuries in children.

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Miller first applied to the Academy of Pediatrics several years ago, saying it was completely free to both the city and the school district. When the program came up again, she immediately applied.

Each kid also received a card with information on why its important for anyone to be wearing a helmet when theyre riding. Its a message that resonates with parents.

When the kids are out there riding, you dont know whats going to happen. You dont know if theyre going to go over a bump on the sidewalk, the road, whatever. Also, as cars cant always see kids going across the street, said Jennifer Jones, of Struthers.

For those children who didnt get signed up for a helmet, there are spares.

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We have extra at the office that are going to be dispersed to our police and fire so that when they are out and see a child riding a bike without a helmet, we can give that to them, Miller said.

All to teach the young ones some good safety habits.

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The University of Colorado Colorado Springs graduated more than 1,600 students Friday, with more than 1,100 stepping on the stage at The Broadmoor World Arena to receive their diplomas for the spring 2025 commencement ceremonies.

For Megan Crnokrak and many other students, the occasion was the culmination of 18 years of schooling and sacrifice.

From a family of immigrants, Crnokrak will be the first to walk the stage and one of the few to get a college degree. From hardships to happy times, sharing this moment with them means just as much as earning her undergraduate degree in psychology.

"Hype this moment up as much as you can. It's one of the biggest ones. It's OK to be burnt out, but I've put in a lot of hard work to get here," she said.

While unsure of her next steps, she aspires to use her degree to work with children in some capacity.

Graduates on Friday earned 24 doctoral degrees, 366 master's degrees, 13 associate degrees and 1,245 undergraduate degrees at their morning and afternoon ceremonies.

There ceremony also recognized 11 Golden Graduates, members of the Class of 1975, who celebrated 50 years since their own UCCS graduation.

UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet told The Gazette that education transforms students' lives, and she's always excited when graduation season comes around.

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"This is the day that we work for all year long. To watch our extremely extraordinary students become graduates is one of the most energizing, invigorating days of the entire year."

Commencement Marshals Ashley Lawless and Monica Furey, Sobanet and University of Colorado Regent Ken Montera addressed graduates during the day's ceremonies. Student leaders also spoke, including student government senator Aiyanna Quinones, who was the Student Achievement Award recipient.

In her address, Quinones emphasized the importance of "chalance," a slang term she uses to describe being deeply invested, caring and passionate.

"Embrace your 'chalance.' The world needs fewer cool observers and more passionate participants. Don't be afraid to care too much, to feel too deeply (and) to commit wholeheartedly. That vulnerability, that willingness to take that chance to be sun-kissed even at the risk of being sunburnt is what makes life worth living and change possible," she said.

To close out the ceremonies, Montera delivered the Norlin Charge to graduates, a tradition dating back to CU Boulder President George Norlin's delivery of the June 1935 commencement ceremony.

Commencement does not mean, as many wrongly think, the breaking of ties and the beginning of life apart, reads the charge. Rather, it marks your initiation in the fullest sense into the fellowship of the university, as bearers of her torch, as centers of her influence, as promoters of her spirit.

The university consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. Wherever you go, the university goes with you. Wherever you are at work, there is the university at work.
As thePrince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate continue to solidify their roles as the next generation of the British monarchy, one traditional royal authority remains notably absent: the power to grant coveted royal warrants. This delay, set against their rising profiles, has become a point of quiet observation and has led to questions regarding King Charles's timeline for bestowing this long-held privilege.

For brands across the globe, receiving a royal warrant is a public stamp of approval by the royal household. It's a tradition steeped in history, allowing businesses to showcase their closeness to the Crown, complete with the right to display the royal arms of their grantor.

With around 800 current holders, ranging from artisan cheesemakers to global tech giants, the prestige is undeniable. The power to bestow these warrants rests solely with the head of The Firm, and King Charles has, thus far, kept this authority for William and Kate on hold.

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And so it has become a burning question for royal watchers: why is King Charles taking so long to bestow this powerful endorsement tool upon his son and daughter-in-law?

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While it was excpected that Waleses would be entrusted as "grantors" soon after Charles became king, the wait continues, sparking curiosity and a touch of bewilderment. Reports suggest that some companies already supplying goods to William and Kate have begun to make tentative inquiries about the process, only to be met with the reality that applications cannot even be considered until the King gives the okay.

The delay is particularly intriguing given the immense "soft power" the couple wields. HELLO!s royal editor, Emily Nash, highlights the untapped potential: "For the brands and companies, having the endorsement of a royal warrant from William and Kate would bring huge kudos as well as a huge boost. Weve seen the impact of the Kate effect on fashion over the years, so this official royal seal of approval would be huge for the designers, services and companies the couple favor.

TOBERMORY, SCOTLAND - APRIL 29: Prince William, Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay and Catherine, Princess of Wales, known as the Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, speak to one of the islands makers and creators during a tour of an artisan market on April 29, 2025 in Tobermory, Scotland. The Prince and Princess of Wales are on a two-day visit to the Isles of Mull and Iona on the 29th and 30th of April to engage with rural island communities. During their time on the islands, they will connect with local residents, highlighting the value of social bonds and underscoring the importance of safeguarding and advocating for the natural environment. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

But as the months tick by since those significant state occasions, and with the couple's public profiles growing, the backlog explanation has raised a few eyebrows. Is there a reason for King Charles's delay? The monarchy, after all, is an institution that thrives on tradition. Or could it be, as Prince Harry wrote in his memoir Spare, an envious King Charles is managing the rollout of his heirs' influence, or are there other, more bureaucratic factors at play?

Hello! claims the Lord Chamberlains office, which manages the warrant system, has been occupied with the task of updating existing warrants following the late Queen Elizabeth II's reign and those previously issued by Charles as Prince of Wales.

As the Prince and Princess of Wales step further into the royal spotlight, royal watchers and hopeful brands are in a state of eager, and perhaps slightly puzzled, anticipation for the King's ultimate decision.
May 16WILKES-BARRE  A Kingston woman paused, then accepted a plea offer in the fire related death of her husband in Kingston more than two years ago.

Lisa Starruick-Smalls, 61, pled guilty to third-degree murder but mentally ill related to the fire that claimed the life of Wilbert K. Smalls, 74, at their Holiday Drive apartment in the Green Acres Complex on Jan. 4, 2023.

Starruick-Smalls was accused of setting fires to a pot of cream of wheat and oil on a kitchen stove and toilet paper and a fur coat inside a living room before she went outside to have a cigarette, failing to wake up her husband, according to court records.

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Wilbert Smalls was found on a bed by Kingston-Forty Fort firefighter Erik Derr who dragged him outside before being transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

An autopsy revealed Wilbert Smalls died from smoke inhalation. His death was ruled a homicide by the county coroner's office.

As Vough reviewed the plea agreement presented by Assistant District Attorney Allyson L. Kacmarski, Starruick-Smalls interrupted saying she never intended to commit murder.

"I put my hand on the Bible and swore I am not guilty of murder, it was not my intent to kill my husband," Starruick-Smalls said.

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Vough gave Starruick-Smalls' attorneys, Thomas S. Cometa and Joseph J. Grochel, time to speak with her privately before resuming the proceeding.

Starruick-Smalls said she understood and accepted the plea agreement, which involved an immediate sentence of 20 to 40 years in state prison.

The case was delayed for about a year as Starruick-Smalls underwent mental health treatment.

Before Vough sentenced Starruick-Smalls, she said she thought about going against the advice of her attorneys and did not want to hide behind her mental health illness.

Under the plea agreement, Kacmarski withdrew the first-degree murder charge including charges of arson and reckless burning.

Vough ordered Starruick-Smalls to pay nearly $293,000 in restitution, mostly for damage to the apartment caused by the fire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that preparations are being made for a telephone conversation between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Source: Peskov in a comment to Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS

Quote: "Peskov has confirmed to TASS that a telephone conversation between Putin and Trump is being prepared."

Background:

Trump announced that a phone call with Putin will take place on Monday 19 May, followed by a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies.

The US president said the conversation with Putin is scheduled for 10:00 Washington time (17:00 Kyiv time). The two leaders will talk about ending the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has not ruled out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, following the first direct talks in three years on ways to end the war.

He stated on Saturday that progress in the negotiations was a prerequisite but remained vague on the details, in comments made a day after talks were held in Turkey.

"Such a meeting as a result of work by the delegations of both sides is possible, upon these delegations reaching certain agreements," Peskov said according to Russian state news agency TASS.

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For now, though, he said no personnel changes are planned to the Russian delegation, which Zelensky criticized as being too junior to make decisions.

During the talks between the warring parties in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation demanded a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinski said. "We have taken note of this request," he was later quoted by Russian media.

Friday's talks did not lead to a breakthrough in the conflict. Peskov stressed that Moscow is working on a list of ceasefire conditions to present and discuss with the Ukrainian side.
The Kremlin stated that a meeting between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is possible, but only if delegations reach certain agreements.

Source: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, cited by Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS

Details: Peskov also stated that Russia will prepare and provide Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire.

Peskov noted that the agreements reached in Istanbul on 16 May must be fulfilled, including the exchange of prisoners 1,000 for 1,000, and that it is important for Russia to know who from Kyiv will sign any documents if agreements are reached between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

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Details: The Kremlin also stated that any change in the composition of the Russian delegation at the talks with Ukraine is not under consideration.

Background:

On 16 May, talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations were held in Istanbul. Media reports indicated that Moscow had demanded the absence of US representatives from the negotiations with Ukraine and had presented a number of unacceptable conditions to Kyiv.

Following the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov noted that the discussions had covered a ceasefire, humanitarian issues and the possibility of a leader-level meeting.

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CANNES, France (AP)  Kristen Stewart has been talking about directing as long as shes been acting. Not many people encouraged it.

I spoke to other actors when I was really little because I was always like: I want to direct movies! Stewart recalls. I was fully set down by several people who were like, Why? and No. Its such a fallacy that you need to have an unbelievable tool kit or some kind of credential. It really is if you have something to say, then a movie can fall out of you very elegantly.

You wouldnt necessarily say that Stewarts feature directing debut, The Chronology of Water, elegantly fell out of her at the Cannes Film Festival. She arrived in Cannes after a frantic rush to complete the film, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitchs 2011 memoir, starring Imogen Poots. Sitting on a balcony overlooking the Croisette, Stewart says she finished the film 30 seconds before I got on an airplane.

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It was eight years in the making and then a really accelerated push. Its an obvious comparison but it was childbirth, says Stewart. I was pregnant for a really long time and then I was screaming bloody murder.

Yet however dramatic was the arrival of The Chronology of Water, it was emphatic. The film, an acutely impressionistic portrait of a brutal coming of age, is the evident work of an impassioned filmmaker. Stewart, the director, turns out to be a lot like Stewart, the actor: intensely sensitive, ferociously felt.

For Stewart, the accomplishment of The Chronology of Water, which is playing in the sidebar Un Certain Regard and is up for sale in Cannes, was also a revelation about the mythology of directing.

Its a such a male f------ thing, she says. Its really not fair for people to think its hard to make a movie insofar as you need to know things before going into it. There are technical directors, but, Jesus Christ, you hire a crew. You just have a perspective and trust it.

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My inexperience made this movie.

Stewarts first steps as a director came eight years ago with the short Come Swim, which she also premiered in Cannes, in 2017. The festival, she says, generates the kind of questions she likes around movies. It was around then that Stewart began adapting Yuknavitch's memoir.

In it, Yuknavitch recounts her life, starting with sexual abuse from her father (an architect played by Michael Epp in the film). Competitive swimming is one of her only escapes, and it helps get her away from home and into college. Blissful freedom, self-lacerating addiction and trauma color her years from there, as does an inspirational writing experience with Ken Kesey (Jim Belushi in the film). Stewart calls the book a lifesaver  like, actually, a flotation device.

The book was this call to arms invitation to listen to your own voice, which, if youre walking around in a girl body, is really hard to do, says Stewart. It fragments in a way that feels truer to my internal experience than anything Ive ever read.

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I really wanted to make something that wasnt about what happened to this person, its about what she did with what happens to her, and what writing can do for you, adds Stewart. Its like the most meta, crazy experience to have also cracked myself open at the same time.

That goes for Poots, too, the 35-year-old British actor who, in The Chronology of Water, gives one of her finest, most wide-ranging performances.

Its Lydias life story and the cards that were dealt her, but in terms of the reactive nature, thats the female experience, says Poots. How youre surveilled, how youre supposed to respond, conform, how thats repulsive, and how you sabotage something good  all of these things are just very, very female.

Together, Stewart and Poots have been clearly bonded by the experience. Stewart calls Poots a sibling now. In Stewarts best experiences with directors, she says, it becomes such a back-and-forth exchange that the separate jobs disintegrate, and, she says, Youre kind of sharing a body.

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But Im positive I said nothing useful to her ever, and I talked way too much, says Stewart. Poots immediately disagrees: Thats not true, Kristen!

Kristen is incredibly present but at the same has this ability, like a plant or something, to pick up on a slight shift in the atmosphere where its like: Wait a minute, Poots says, causing Stewart to laugh. There is this insane brain at play and its a skill set that comes in the form of an intense curiosity.

That curiosity, now, includes directing more movies. The Chronology of Water may signal not just a new chapter for one of American movies most intrepid actors, but an ongoing artistic evolution.

Our production was a shipwreck, so basically we had to put the boat back together, Stewart says of the editing process. That reassembling, Stewart believes helped make The Chronology of Water something less predetermined, where the emotional, neurological tissue that occurred between images was real.

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There was no way to make this movie under more normal circumstances, says Stewart, because then it would have been more normal.

___

Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. Hes seeing approximately 40 films at this years festival and reporting on what stands out.

___

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.
By Hanna Rantala and Miranda Murray

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Kristen Stewart said on Saturday that making her directorial debut with "The Chronology of Water" at the Cannes Film Festival felt like sending a child off to school for the first time.

"I'm so proud of it. It's like watching your kid go to school," Stewart told Reuters the day after her film's premiere.

"It feels like all of a sudden the things that I've wanted to do for just so long happened all at the same time," said the actor who rose to fame with the "Twilight" series and received an Oscar nomination for her performance as Britain's Princess Diana in the film "Spencer."

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"My head is spinning, but in the best way," she added.

Her film is adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir of the same name that chronicles the author's attempt to escape an abusive household through competitive swimming in the 1980s and eventual path to becoming a respected author.

British actor Imogen Poots, known for "Green Room" and "28 Weeks Later," stars as Yuknavitch in what The Rolling Stone lauded as an "all-or-nothing type of performance."

"There's a line in the book that made me want to make it a movie, which is like, 'Can you hold life and death in the same sentence?' And that's what cinema can do," said Stewart.

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"With this movie, we can just speak to the fact that the things that happen don't matter as much as how you process those things and define them within your own body," she added.

Stewart's film is competing in the second-tier Un Certain Regard section, where actors Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson are also marking their first time as directors.

"The Chronology of Water" was met with positive reviews, with Deadline calling it a "raw and intricately constructed take on a biopic" and The Guardian giving it three out of five stars.

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Writing by Miranda Murray and Diane Craft)
Kennesaw State University announced theyd gotten approval to add a new engineering track to their offerings.

On Thursday, KSU said the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia gave them approval to add a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The degree program is set to start in fall 2025 and will be housed within the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

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According to the university, it will be only the second of its kind in the state and is meant to help address workforce needs of a rapidly growing industry.

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Fueled by expanding national and local aerospace demands, KSU is perfectly poised to launch a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering degree program, SPCEET Dean Lawrence Whitman said in a statement. Given that 68% of our graduates remain in Georgia five years post-graduation, this new program promises a significant and positive impact on the states workforce and economy.

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Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, KSU said the national job market for aerospace engineers is expected to grow 6%, but even more in Georgia by 2033.

Currently, KSU offers an aerospace engineering minor with more than 250 students enrolled.

The university said the bachelors program will give students opportunities to work on cutting-edge research and develop the skills they need for success in the aerospace sector.

Kennesaw State is powering Georgias aerospace future, Marwan Al-haik, chair of KSUs Department of Mechanical Engineering said. With demand for aerospace engineers outpacing supply, this new program provides critical access to high-paying jobs that are projected to spur even more export growth.

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Zachary Rollins, 22, faces three felony counts of torture of a cat or dog, a charge that carries a prison sentence of one to five years in Kentucky

His girlfriend called police on Saturday to report that Rollins was intoxicated and had allegedly bitten her cat's ear off; he allegedly hid under blankets from police when they arrived

Rollins' girlfriend allegedly produced a Facebook message that he had sent to his mother in which he told her that the animal "bit him first"











A Kentucky man is facing felony charges after allegedly biting off a cat's ear during a domestic dispute.



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Zachary L. Rollins, 22, was charged with one felony count of torture of a cat or dog following the incident on Saturday, per an arrest citation reviewed by LEX 18, WHAS 11 and the Lexington Herald Leader.



Pulaski County deputies responded to a home on Skyview Drive in Russell Springs, Ky., around 3 p.m. after a woman reported that her intoxicated boyfriend had bitten her cat's ear off. When officers arrived, Rollins was reportedly found hiding under blankets in bed.

He allegedly refused to speak with deputies outside and was subsequently handcuffed inside the residence.

The woman provided officers with photos of the injured cat and a screenshot of a Facebook message in which Rollins allegedly admitted to the act. In the message to his mother, Rollins claimed he bit the cat's ear off because it had bitten him first, per the citation.

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When questioned by police, Rollins allegedly admitted to sending the message but denied biting the cat, saying instead that he had "tossed it" after being bitten.



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Following his arrest, authorities issued a separate warrant related to the deaths of two other cats in April, according to a press release from the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office.



Rollins now faces three felony charges and is being held at Pulaski County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 21, per online court records.

Read the original article on People
When Los Angeles City Council members took up a plan to hike the wages of tourism workers this week, they received some carefully worded advice from city lawyers: Don't vote on this yet.

Senior Assistant City Atty. Michael J. Dundas advised them on Wednesday  deep into their meeting  that his office had not yet conducted a final legal review of the flurry of last-minute changes they requested earlier in the day.

Dundas recommended that the council delay its vote for two days to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open meeting law.

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"We advise that the posted agenda for todays meeting provides insufficient notice under the Brown Act for first consideration and adoption of an ordinance to increase the wages and health benefits for hotel and airport workers," Dundas wrote.

The council pressed ahead anyway, voting 12-3 to increase the minimum wage of those workers to $30 per hour by 2028, despite objections from business groups, hotel owners and airport businesses.

Read more: L.A. council backs $30 minimum wage for hotels, despite warnings from tourism industry

Then, on Friday, the council conducted a do-over vote, taking up the rewritten wage measure at a special noon meeting  one called only the day before. The result was the same, with the measure passing again, 12-3.

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Some in the hotel industry questioned why Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who runs the meetings, insisted on moving forward Wednesday, even after the lawyers' warning.

Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the decision to proceed Wednesday gave a political boost to Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. The union had already scheduled an election for Thursday for its members to vote on whether to increase their dues.

By approving the $30 per hour minimum wage on Wednesday, the council gave the union a potent selling point for the proposed dues increase, Filla said.

"It looks like it was in Unite Here's financial interest to have that timing," she said.

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Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the wage increases, was more blunt.

"It was clear that Marqueece intended to be as helpful as possible" to Unite Here Local 11, "even if it meant violating the Brown Act," she said.

Harris-Dawson spokesperson Rhonda Mitchell declined to say why her boss pushed for a wage vote on Wednesday after receiving the legal advice about the Brown Act. That law requires local governments to take additional public comment if a legislative proposal has changed substantially during a meeting.

Mitchell, in a text message, said Harris-Dawson scheduled the new wage vote for Friday because of a mistake by city lawyers.

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"The item was re-agendized because of a clerical error on the City Attorney's part  and this is the correction," she said.

Mitchell did not provide details on the error. However, the wording on the two meeting agendas is indeed different.

Read more: Faced with a $30 minimum wage, hotel investors start looking outside L.A.

Wednesday's agenda called for the council to ask city lawyers to "prepare and present" amendments to the wage laws. Friday's agenda called for the council to "present and adopt" the proposed changes.

Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11, said in an email that her union does not control the City Council's schedule. The union's vote on higher dues involved not just its L.A. members but also thousands of workers in Orange County and Arizona, Hernandez said.

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"The timing of LA City Council votes is not up to us (sadly!)  in fact we were expecting a vote more than a year ago  nor would the precise timing be salient to our members," she said.

Hernandez said Unite Here Local 11 members voted "overwhelmingly" on Thursday to increase their dues, allowing the union to double the size of its strike fund and pay for "an army of organizers" for the next round of labor talks. She did not disclose the size of the dues increase.

Dundas' memo, written on behalf of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, was submitted late in Wednesday's deliberations, after council members requested a number of changes to the minimum wage ordinance. At one point, they took a recess so their lawyers could work on the changes.

By the time the lawyers emerged with the new language, Dundas' memo was pinned to the public bulletin board in the council chamber, where spectators quickly snapped screenshots.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Los Angeles man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for using social media to meet and entice children into producing sexually explicit content.

From 2019 to August 2021, Mark David Wallin, 44, of Del Rey, used the internet and apps like Snapchat to meet pre-teen children in the U.S. and abroad, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

He would develop romantic relationships with them and eventually persuade them to engage in sexually explicit conduct through video chat, which he screen-captured and saved, prosecutors said.

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After his victims sent the explicit content, Wallin would sometimes demand additional explicit images and videos from them.

If the children did not cooperate, he would threaten to publish or expose the pictures and videos they had previously sent him.

In one instance, Wallin convinced a child who was around 9-10 years old to send sexually explicit images and videos of himself through Snapchat, prosecutors said.

In his plea agreement, Wallin admitted to coercing at least four additional victims  ranging in age from 12 to 16 years old  to produce child pornography. He also admitted to possessing around 200 files containing child sexual abuse material.

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Wallin has been in federal custody since July 2022. In September 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

On May 16, he was sentenced to 480 months (40 years) in federal prison. The judge who presided over the hearing said Wallin committed cruel and relentless crimes against children and that his conduct was highly sexualized sadomasochistic conduct that no child should know of, let alone be exposed to.

A restitution hearing is scheduled for August 13. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
DENVER (KDVR)  An agent with the Lakewood Police Department shot a suspect after a reported theft on Friday afternoon, a department spokesperson said.

The spokesperson told FOX31s Hanna Powers that agents initially responded to a report of a theft at a Home Depot around 2:35 p.m.

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The spokesperson said a suspect had shoplifted an item from the Home Depot and was threatening people with that item. He left the store with the merchandise and ran on foot and was confronted by police.

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The suspect then threatened police with the weapon, and the spokesperson confirmed thats when a Lakewood agent shot the suspect near the corner of Wadsworth Boulevard and Colfax Avenue, across the street from the Home Depot.

A heavy police presence in Lakewood after an officer-involved shooting on May 16, 2025. A heavy police presence in Lakewood after an officer-involved shooting on May 16, 2025. A heavy police presence in Lakewood after an officer-involved shooting on May 16, 2025.

The spokesperson said the suspect was taken to a hospital and no officers were injured.

As of 5 p.m., multiple law enforcement agencies were still on the scene and eastbound Colfax Avenue was closed to traffic between Zephyr Street and Wadsworth Boulevard.

Police said the closure was expected to last for several hours.

FOX31s Hanna Powers is on the scene working to learn more. This article will be updated.

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE)  At least 400 migrants were charged with violating national security regulations by entering a newly-designated militarized zone at the southern border of New Mexico. On Friday, federal judges in Las Cruces dismissed the charges in at least 120 cases, saying there wasnt enough evidence to prove that the zone was properly identified to travelers in the area.

Man found with fentanyl, meth after traffic stop near Sandia Resort and Casino

The charges of illegally entering the United States were not dismissed. The sentence for that charge is up to six-months behind bars. With the militarized zone charges, people are facing an additional 18 months.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Seniors with Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) will take part in the Senior Walk tradition, beginning on Monday, May 19.

According to a news release by Las Cruces Public Schools, Senior Walks are a tradition in which graduating students walk through elementary schools to reconnect with former teachers, staff and friends who helped shape their early education journey.

All seniors from any high school are welcome to participate in one or more Senior Walks, according to LCPS.

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The district asks all participants to arrive 10-15 minutes before to line up with your cap and gown.

For more information or questions about Senior Walk, you can contact Merrilee Saige at masige@lcps.net.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  Devastating tornadoes reportedly took the life of a Laurel County fire major who worked overnight trying to help protect the community.

The Laurel County Fire Department (LCFD) announced on Saturday, May 17, that Major Roger Leslie Leatherman died from injuries sustained while he was responding to the tornado in Laurel County.

UPDATE | Kentucky fire major died trying to save wifes life when Laurel County tornado struck

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Leatherman had reportedly served his community for 39 years, fire officials wrote.

As we continue search and recovery efforts in the affected areas, we ask that everyone stays clear to allow our teams to do their work safely and effectively, LCFD leaders said. This is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers our first responders face every day and the incredible bravery they show in the face of disaster.

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Officials with the Laurel County Sheriffs Office announced around 3 a.m. on Saturday that a warming, first aid, and food station has been set up at First Baptist Church at 804 West 5th Street in London. Shelter organizers need tarps and volunteers to help those who were displaced by the storms.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call allegedly at the initiative of the American side to discuss the future of bilateral contacts between Moscow and Washington and recent Istanbul peace talks, Russian state-controlled media reported on May 17.

Lavrov reportedly welcomed what he described as a "constructive" role by Washington in encouraging Kyiv to accept President Vladimir Putin's proposal to resume peace talks in Istanbul.

The foreign ministry said Rubio reportedly, in turn, praised the agreement on a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner-of-war exchange and noted both sides' efforts to outline conditions for a potential ceasefire.

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The call came a day after Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on May 16, speaking for less than two hours without reaching a breakthrough.

Ukraine had proposed an immediate ceasefire, an all-for-all POW exchange, and a face-to-face meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, Moscow's delegation demanded Kyiv withdraw from four partially occupied Ukrainian oblasts Russia illegally claims as its own  Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

Before the Istanbul peace talks, Rubio said he didn't expect negotiations to yield meaningful progress, calling the low-level Russian delegation "not indicative of one thats going to lead to a major breakthrough."

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"I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they've agreed to a ceasefire, they've agreed to enter serious negotiations," Rubio told reporters during a briefing in Ankara.

Read also: 5 lies Europe tells itself about Russias criminal war

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May 17Logan Mortensen, investigator for the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, found a place in the crowd among other officers and runners at the starting point of the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run in Decatur on Friday that benefits the Special Olympics.

"It's for a good cause, and it's also good exercise," said Mortensen, 27, from Somerville. "It's for all the people out there with special needs; it's honoring them. ... We love when everybody participates for this cause."

Started in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas, the Law Enforcement Torch Run sees more than 97,000 law enforcement members across all 50 states carry the torch, called the "Flame of Hope," into the opening ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions. With the support of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Torch Run has become the largest public awareness and fundraising group for the Special Olympics.

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Former Decatur police Chief Ed Taylor, who died last year, is credited with bringing the Torch Run to Morgan County and it is done in his honor. His wife, Carol Taylor, was at the event with their son Lane Barnes, who has participated in the Special Olympics, selling T-shirts.

Taylor said her husband loved the Special Olympics program.

"He has done things like a fundraiser where they'd go up on the roof of Walmart and stay up there until they raised a certain amount of money," she said. "He was up there one night, and I was at home in bed asleep, of course. There was a horrible storm. I mean it was thunder and lightning  a take-cover kind of storm. I thought I should really call him and tell him to come down.

"And then I thought, that's useless because he's not moving."

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Taylor said all the local law enforcement are family.

"It's an honor to just be here. It's just a wonderful, wonderful thing. ... It was a good group. I'm happy to see them all participating. It's good to see the Special Olympics program grow," Taylor said. "My son Lane has benefited so much from that program. I couldn't begin to tell you what the Special Olympics has done for him."

There were T-shirts for sale for runners and anyone else interested. About 50 T-shirts were sold at $20 each, raising about $1,000 for the Special Olympics. There were about 25 runners with the torch on Friday. A Morgan County Sheriff's Office patrol car activated its sirens and lights ahead of the group, while two more plus a Decatur Police Department patrol car followed behind.

"We love supporting our special Olympiads, and the Special Olympics is close to law enforcement," said Morgan County Sheriff Ron Puckett. "We want to partner with them, and we've done that for many, many years. So, having the opportunity to do that again this year is a great reward for us."

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Interim Decatur Police Chief Nadis Carlisle said fundraising is just one of the good things that comes from the Torch Run.

"It means that we get to celebrate those who may be challenged somewhat," he said. "We give them things to do; we give them sports."

erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.
Lawmakers in Bangladesh recently approved a plan to prohibit new industrial ventures within 10 kilometers of the Sundarbans, a critical habitat for several important endangered species. The region is designated as an ecologically critical area and recognized internationally as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The measure enhances existing environmental protections agreed upon in 2021. According to reporting by The Business Standard, existing industries within the ECA will be overseen by a "neutral team of experts" to assess their environmental impact. The move will provide a welcome boost to conservation efforts in the area.

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest area in the world, at more than 10,000 square kilometers (6,213 miles), but it has been shrinking by roughly 16 square kilometers (10 miles) every year since 1991, per Earth.org.

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It's difficult to overstate how important mangrove forests are.

They are essentially forest wetlands found in tropical and subtropical climates. Among other features, mangrove forests protect coastlines, filter water, sequester vast amounts of carbon, and provide a habitat for many species.

The Sundarbans is home to 260 species of birds and the critically endangered Bengal tiger, Indian python, and estuarine crocodile.

About 95% of the Bengal tiger's historic habitat has been lost, and the Sundarbans is one of the few remaining sites where the tigers can roam freely. As the World Wildlife Fund notes, one of the world's largest and most uniquely adapted tiger populations is found in the area.

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Like other nations in the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh heavily relies on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs.

Solar energy accounts for just 1.3% of its energy production, far below the global average of 15%, per Ember. Accordingly, Bangladesh had the second-worst air quality in the world in the 2024 AQI rankings.

While there is clearly much to be done, the government's move to enhance environmental protections in such an important area is a step in the right direction.

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HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  A funding shortfall in the states Medicaid program appears to be nearing a resolution after a week of back-and-forth negotiations that exposed rifts between Gov. Ned Lamonts administration and the Democrats who control the state legislature.

State policymakers refer to the shortfall as a Medicaid deficiency. The deficiency forms when the amount of money allotted by the state for the healthcare program isnt enough to fulfill the actual costs of delivering that coverage.

Confirms our worst fears, Nothing too outlandish: Connecticut lawmakers on federal Medicaid reductions

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The shortfall now confronting state leaders could top $300 million. They must find a way to fill the gap by next Wednesday in order to make on-time payments to healthcare providers who rely on Medicaid  which is funded jointly by the state and federal governments  to deliver care for low-income residents.

Medicaid checks wont go out if we dont solve this, State Rep. Matt Ritter, the Democratic speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, said on Thursday. I want people to understand that.

For the Republicans in the state legislature, the states scramble to meet Medicaid obligations presents an opportunity for an I told you so moment. Theyve been consistent critics of the Democrats for not adjusting the state budget last year in order to dig out of the deficiency.

We were saying all along that we cant ignore this, State Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader in the state House, said. We have to pay for it and its been ignored up until one month left in the budget cycle.

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Ritter and the Democratic leaders of the legislature have been engaged in closed-door negotiations with the governor and his budget team trying to find a resolution to the situation.

The two sides have differing beliefs about how to address the shortfall, with legislative Democrats pushing for about $300 million to be drawn from the states surplus revenues. The governor has long maintained that he wants to adhere to the states system of legal spending controls, referred to as fiscal guardrails, and has generally eschewed efforts to dip into the surplus to fund spending that might technically fall outside the bounds of those controls

But on Wednesday, differences over how to fill in the nine-figure shortfall boiled over into what several sources described to News 8 as a heated debate that ultimately led Ritter, who has a reputation for being a cool-headed legislative leader, to walk out of the room. The meeting was held in the governors office with the Lamont, Ritter, State Senate President Martin Looney and Lamonts budget chief, Jeffrey Beckham, among the participants.

On Thursday, Ritter addressed the meeting publicly and described the rifts that had formed between the governor and the legislature.

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I hope that the executive branch knows that weve really worked hard to try to meet them, but its time for less mansplaining and time for people to be in the room who can actually negotiate, Ritter said. Im getting to the point where theres too many mansplainers in there and I only want to meet with people who want to negotiate.

The Lamont administration declined to comment on Ritters mansplaining comments, but there was little doubt among Capitol insiders that Ritters comments were directed at the administration, specifically Beckham.

The temperature is rising, I think, among Democrats, Candelora said.

Agreement between Connecticut and the Trump administration aims to speed up infrastructure projects

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Shortly after Wednesdays episode in the governors office, talks resumed between the governors team and the legislative leaders. By Thursday afternoon and into the evening, it appeared that both sides were close to an agreement on the outlines of a solution to the Medicaid deficiency.

On Friday, the governors budget officials and Ritter both signaled that an agreement is imminent.

The administration continues to make positive progress with legislative leaders on an agreement regarding the deficiency bill, a Lamont spokesman said. We are optimistic that an agreement can be reached soon.

Speaking by phone with News 8, Ritter concurred.

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The state House will convene on Monday and they are expected to take up legislation to address the deficiency.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.
Republican Rep. Andy Hopper, a freshman from Decatur, was taken to task Thursday night over his first bill, which would create a regional water district in fast-growing Wise County.

The bill was voted down by a wide margin, 41-78, but a Senate bill from Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, still has a chance.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, questioned Hopper on several points in the bill, such as the lack of an elected board members, whether the water district is a government entity, and concerns over no cap on bonds that would be sold.

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So, I think in many ways, this violates the principles that many of us have, Capriglione said.

Capriglione and Hopper did not return calls seeking comments on Friday.

Ive never really filed a MUD bill, Capriglione said, referring to a municipal utility district. So, this is my first time to really take a look at one.

Hopper explained that his bill was modeled after the Upper Trinity Ground Water District in Denton County.

Leaders in Alvord, Aurora, Boyd, Bridgeport, Decatur, Newark, New Fairview, Paradise and Rhome have worked together with county leaders for a over a year to develop a regional approach to address the water demand, as studies indicate there isnt enough ground water to sustain the growth.

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Supporters believe the district would allow municipalities and water providers to better coordinate the water supply and help the cities handle the rapid development.

But Hoppers explanations did not sway lawmakers who killed the legislation after some light-hearted banter from Rep. Richard Pena Raymond, D-Laredo, who congratulated Hopper on his first bill, which includes no elections and eminent domain.

Hopper explained eminent domain would be needed for water lines and treatment plants.

Raymond pretended to talk on a cell phone.

Mr. Hopper, Ive been authorized by the chairman of the Democratic Party to to offer three Democrats in exchange for you and a guaranteed contract with payment to be negotiated later behind closed doors, he joked.

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Hopper was chastised for killing the local calendars so his bill was moved to the general calendar in the House. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, implied that was one of the reasons the bill failed to pass.

You know what? I believe in fighting for what I believe in. Thats what Im here for, Hopper told Moody.

Boyd Mayor Rodney Homes said he is still optimistic since the bill still has legs in the Senate. Nine Wise County cities worked to get the water district legislation to move forward.

The water district isnt dead yet, he said.

Holmes added that earlier this week, there was a snag when developers complained that they did not have adequate representation on the board. However, more seats were added to allow developers to have more input, he said.

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Homes said he thinks Hopper got crossways with the legislators because he stands up for what he believes in, and some dont like that.

That was a dog and pony show last night, just to get back at Andy, he said.
Washington (DC News Now)  Western Maryland is under a state of emergency as recovery efforts continue after historic flooding in Allegany and Garrett Counties.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) toured the town of Westernport this week. He was joined by Maryland Congresswoman April McClain Delaney (D) who represents that district.

Rep. Delaney talks on what she saw and how she can help with federal resources.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Warren City Councilman  whos been working to keep the citys streetlights on  has filed a lawsuit in small claims court requesting payment from Ohio Edison for the days the lights werent on.

In October of last year, 331, or 6% of the citys streetlights, were out. That number has since been reduced. Since January, its been between 20 to 35 a month.

Councilman Greg Greathouse calculated that Ohio Edison owes Warren $857.50. If Greathouse wins, the money will go to the citys general fund. But what he really wants is all the street lights working. A hearing has been set for June 4 at 9 a.m.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Montanans stand in line to register to vote at the Lewis and Clark County Elections Office on Nov. 5, 2024. Three bills passed in 2025 changing voter laws have been challenged in court. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

Two lawsuits challenging three different voter-related laws passed during the 2025 Legislative Session were filed this month in Montana district courts, pushing back against a suite of bills Republican legislators have said are essential to preserve the integrity of the states elections.

The Montana Federation of Public Employees on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging a bill repealing election-day registration, and a bill strengthening voter ID requirements, are unconstitutional, while the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) filed suit earlier this month against a bill that prevents college students from voting in a community unless they intend to stay there permanently.

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Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, signed all three bills, which largely passed along partisan lines, into law.

House Bill 413, introduced by Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, changed the definition of residency in Montana code, stating that individuals cannot become residents, and therefore vote, in a county if they are there for temporary work, training, or an educational program. The bill includes a requirement that voters intend to make a county their permanent home following their temporary purpose in order to vote.

MontPIRG, which represents nearly 28,000 students across the state, said the law effectively disenfranchises any college students who move to attend school.

HB 413 singles out these students and requires them to attestunder penalty of perjurythat they intend to make the county where they are studying their permanent home at the conclusion of their educational program, thus deterring and depriving many students of the ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote, the complaint, filed in Missoula District Court, states.

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As an example, court documents say that a student from Sidney who moves to Missoula for college must predict where she will live after she graduates, and if she doesnt commit to living in Missoula County, she cannot register to vote there  the community where she lives works, volunteers, likely pays taxes, and studies.

But, if that student drops out of school and gets a job in town, she can register to vote as long as shes been in Montana for 30 days, irrespective of her future plans.

While speaking on the bill during the Legislature, Gillette said the bill was not aimed at students, but at temporary workers such as traveling nurses. She also said the bill was about intent  and someone living in a community for several years could still have the intention to leave and that should be taken into consideration before they can vote in that community.

By imposing special requirements that bar student voters from registering to vote in their communities, HB 413 violates the rights of suffrage and equal protection guaranteed by the Montana and U.S. Constitutions, according to the complaint.

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The two bills challenged by MFPE in Lewis and Clark District Court were carried by Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka.

Senate Bill 490 tightened the deadline for voters to register to vote to noon on the day of the election under the new law, and eliminates registration on the Monday before an election, but opens it up on the prior Saturday.

Previously, anyone in line at the ballot box by 8 p.m. on Election Day could register to vote, which has occasionally led to long lines at voting locations.

Last Election Day, some voters waited in line at the Gallatin County Courthouse until the early hours of the morning in order to register and cast their ballot.

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Cuffe, in an opinion piece published by Lee Newspapers, cited that example  when votes were cast as late as 4 a.m.  as a reason for passing his bill.

The intent is to smooth out the process and avoid votes being cast many hours beyond the intended closing of the polls at 8 a.m., Cuffe wrote.

Both of the bills challenged, along with others Cuffe carried in the Legislature, were intended to bolster Montanans confidence in the purity of our elections. Thats why I focused so much of my time on the issue, Cuffe said.

Senate Bill 276 enacts photo identification voting in Montana, and expands the variety of ID options allowed to include tribal photo ID cards, military IDs, U.S. Passports, drivers licenses and student ID cards.

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Voter identification is a nonpartisan, commonsense best practice, and Im pleased that the Montana Legislature agrees, said Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen in a press release when the bill was sent to Gianforte. Enacting these voter ID laws will streamline processes for election officials and provide a better election experience for Montana voters.

The legal complaint from MFPE cites a Montana Supreme Court decision from 2024 that struck down a law passed in 2021 eliminating Election Day voter registration, and another that sought to narrow the list of acceptable photo IDs allowed, as evidence for why the new bills should fail.

These bills are plainly unconstitutional and clearly contravene the Supreme Courts (decision), according to court filings. This Court must enjoin the Legislatures attempted end-run around binding precedent and the voting rights of Montana citizens.

Attorney Raph Graybill, a former Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, is representing the plaintiffs in both cases. The Elias Law Group is also representing the plaintiffs.

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

Complaint against House Bill 413
SAO PAULO (AP)  Brazilian and Bolivian police arrested one of the leaders of Brazil's biggest criminal organization s in eastern Bolivia after nearly five years on the run, authorities said Saturday.

Marcos Roberto de Almeida had been an international fugitive since 2020 after being sentenced to 12 years in prison in Brazil for crimes including criminal organization, money laundering and drug trafficking.

Brazil's Federal Police said in a statement that Almeida was arrested Friday in Santa Cruz de La Sierra in Bolivia in a joint operation with Bolivian police and Interpol.

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It wasn't immediately clear if Almeida had legal representation.

According to Brazilian authorities, Almeida presented a false identity document at a police station in Bolivia while addressing immigration issues. Bolivian authorities detected forgery and contacted Interpol and Brazilian police in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Once his true identity was confirmed, he was detained by Bolivias Special Force to Combat Organized Crime, Brazil's Federal Police said in a statement.

Almeida is one of the leaders of First Capital Command, widely known by its Portuguese initials PCC, which is Brazil's biggest and most powerful organized crime group. It was founded in 1993 by hardened criminals inside Sao Paulos Taubate Penitentiary to pressure authorities to improve prison conditions. It quickly started using its power to direct drug dealing and extortion operations on the outside.

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The Federal Police said in a press release that Almeida was one of the main coordinators of an international money laundering scheme linked to the criminal organization and was on Interpols Red Notice list.

Brazilian authorities said that a hearing with Almeida in Bolivia on Sunday will determine whether he'll be transferred to Brazil or face charges for using a false document in the country. If expelled, he could return to Brazil within hours or days, depending on arrangements between both countries. If a formal extradition process is required, it may take longer, depending on Bolivian judicial procedures.
Audio of President Joe Bidens 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur concerning the improper possession of classified documents has been released more than a year after his administration released transcripts.

The recordings, published by Axios, reveal the extent to which the 46th president, then 80, struggled to remember key details and dates, was prompted by his lawyers, and spoke in a halting, whispering voice, punctuated by long silences.

They shed light on why the White House refused to release the audio while Biden was still in office amid questions regarding his mental acuity, and also perhaps why Hurs conclusion was that jurors in any trial that might arise over his possession of the documents would have viewed him as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.

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At the time, the White House hit back at Hurs assessment of the president, insisting he was sharp and that any attacks on Biden were politically motivated  yet the special counsel comes across as respectful, and the tone of the interview is friendly and mostly appears relaxed.

The release of the audio comes as the Trump administration was reportedly weighing up releasing the recordings. It also comes ahead of the publication of a new book about a White House and presidential campaign hiding the decline of the president as he ran for another term in office. Original Sin, by Axioss Alex Thompson and CNNs Jake Tapper, will be released on Tuesday.

During the two three-hour sessions with Hur and his co-counsel Marc Kricknaum, Bidens attorneys had to remind him of the year his son Beau died and the year that Donald Trump was elected president for the first time  2015 and 2016, respectively.

Biden spokesperson Kelly Scully told Axios: The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public.

President Joe Biden (AFP/Getty)

Where the recordings do add a new dimension to what is already known from the transcripts is the length of pauses and the slowly unfolding nature of some answers.

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Further emphasizing these silent moments from the president is the sound of a ticking clock in the background.

Nevertheless, Biden remains engaged despite memory lapses. At times, Axios notes, he cracks jokes and makes humorous asides, and throughout, he sounded more like a nostalgic, grandfatherly storyteller than a potential defendant who could be accused of hoarding secret papers.

Perhaps the upshot of the basis of the interview was that he had little recollection as to how or why he came to have classified documents in his possession after his two terms as vice-president to President Barack Obama.

At one point, his attorney, Bob Bauer, warns about getting into speculation as to how the documents may have ended up where they did, emphasizing that the president does not recall specific details.

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The timing of the interviews is also noteworthy. The first session took place on 8 October 2023, the day after Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza. In the aftermath of an international crisis that would go on to spark the conflict that continues to this day, Biden is slow, forgetful, and often veers off topic.

However, during the second session, the following day, 9 October, the president sounds more engaged and vigorous, Axios notes.

Former special counsel Robert K Hur prepares to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about his interview with the then president (Getty)

Hurs report did not recommend moving ahead with a prosecution and attempting to persuade a jury of Bidens guilt in purposefully taking classified materials.

It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him  by then a former president, well into his eighties  of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness, he had concluded.

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The Biden camp blasted comments about the presidents age as gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate, while Donald Trumps super PAC said that if Biden wasnt fit enough for trial, he wasnt fit enough to be president.

Thompson and Tappers upcoming book is a collection of their reporting on the cover-up around Bidens mental and physical decline. The books excerpts are already causing a ruckus, as they detail startling instances of Bidens gaps in mental acuity that were reportedly hidden from the public through 2024.

Biden, whom aides reportedly considered putting in a wheelchair at points, reportedly did not recognize Hollywood megastar George Clooney at an event the president had flown in to Los Angeles specifically for Clooney to host on his behalf. Other excerpts claimed he forgot the names of longtime aides, including that of his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Democrats are now struggling to respond to criticism of why it took so long for Biden to step aside in favor of Kamala Harris, and questions about how long any cover-up of the presidents decline had been going on.

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The release of these audio recordings and the upcoming publication of Original Sin will likely completely swamp any continued denials from Biden defenders regarding the presidents mental fitness more than a year before the 2024 election.

It could be the break the Democratic Party needs to move forward and start winning back trust from the American people.

With additional reporting from John Bowden in Washington, D.C.
More than 20 people have died and others were injured in storms that struck Kentucky overnight.

Heavy damage from unconfirmed tornadoes was reported in Laurel and Pulaski counties, with London Mayor Randall Weddle saying at least 23 people died in the former.

Gov. Andy Beshear has confirmed at least 18 deaths: 17 in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County.

"Kentucky, we are waking up to the news of multiple fatalities from last nights storms," Beshear posted on social media. "Please pray for those impacted. We will update as soon as we have more information."

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Here is the latest information from around Louisville and Kentucky.

1:20 p.m.: Death toll rises to at least 23 in Laurel County

London Mayor Randall Weddle told a Courier Journal reporter at least 23 people died in Laurel County, citing information from the Laurel County Communications Center.

Beshear is expected to give a public update about the storm at 5 p.m.

1 p.m.: Laurel County residents, injured in storm, return to destruction

The white hospital band slid down Tammie Warrens left arm as she rested her hand on her thigh while crouching on the debris that used to be her home.

Willie, she called out. Come on baby, lets go for a ride.

The wind blew through Laurel County, rustling siding and spraying water into the air from broken water pipes in the house next door.

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Willie, do you want a treat, she called again, searching for her nearly 2-year-old gray miniature schnauzer, named after the country music legend, Willie Nelson.

Tammie Warren is looking for her dog, Willie, after a tornado tore through the neighborhood off Saddle Road in London, Kentucky. May 17, 2025

When her phone alerted her to a tornado the night before, she was sitting near her fireplace, next to Willies bed. She bent down to pet him, but he must have already ran for the bedroom.

She ran to her front windows to see neighbors hopping in their trucks to leave. As she ran to a utility door, she couldnt get it open, then a rush of air blew the door open, threw her to the ground and dropped her hot water heater on her left leg.

It must have been adrenaline, but I pulled my leg out, she said. I was under that granite slab right there. I crawled out and sat on that slab for probably 45 minutes until the fire department was able to come rescue me.

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Warren was one of the many who were injured in an apparent tornado that struck the south end of Laurel County and the Westland neighborhood where she lived, leveling more than a dozen houses to their foundations and leaving the streets full of brick, wood and lifes belongings. As many as 23 people are believed to have perished in the storm.

A tornado tore up the neighborhood off Saddle Road in London Kentucky. May 17, 2025

Keith Clark was one of the few whose home still stood in the area. The house he lived in for 2 1/2 years was still visible from Warrens one-time kitchen.

Clark and his family huddled in a bedroom closet next to the garage as glass from windows and debris flew in.

Ive never felt the ground vibrate so hard, he said. It was really bad. Then hearing neighbors scream and you cant get to them, its pretty scary.

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Just up the road, Tommy Pennington used a chainsaw to cut up a tree as Laurel County Magistrate Bobby Overbay grabbed at the chunks of wood and threw them off the road.

Stephanie Mink stood at an intersection of two unidentifiable roads that no longer had street signs.

How do we find out what happened to the people in this home? she asked. She was looking for family. As she relayed her phone number, her voice began to tremble.

Constant commotion filled the streets as contractors and crisis responders continued to comb through the neighborhood.

Buster, a brown lab, stood next to Warren.

"Buster, youre in the kitchen, she said. Youve never been in the kitchen.

A tornado tore through the neighborhood off Saddle Road in London, Kentucky. May 17, 2025

Buster was the family dog from next door, her stepsons house. Her stepson and several of his children, she said, were injured and were taken to the hospital. The 11-year-old had been holding Buster when the tornado hit.

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Hes a ray of sunshine in all this, Warren said.

Her husband was found in the kitchen, a cut to his neck. He was taken to a hospital in Lexington. And her son, blood still leaking from wounds to his legs and wearing a hospital band, walked dazed through the property shouting for Willie.

Jesus, let me find him, Warren said, as she tried to step through the debris and saw nails sticking up near her foot. She stopped and began to cry. Please Jesus, let me find him.

12:15 p.m.: Number of power outages starts to decrease

Beshear said in a social media post that power outages are down to around 83,000.

Earlier, he shared that more than 100,000 Kentucky residents were without power as of Saturday morning.

10:55 a.m.: No life-threatening injuries in Louisville

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Louisville is still recovering from power outages and storm damage.He also said, there were no life threatening injuries resulting from the storm that we are aware of at this time.

10:45 a.m.: State senators address storm damage

Several Republican state senators issued a joint statement on the deadly storms and damages in Laurel and Pulaski counties.Sen. Brandon Storm, who represents Laurel County, Sen. Rick Girdler, who represents Pulaski County, and Senate President Robert Stivers said in the statement, this is one of the hardest days our communities and region have faced.  Sadly, we expect the loss to grow as search and rescue efforts continue.The destruction in Laurel and Pulaski counties is overwhelming, but so is the strength of the people who call this place home, the statement continued. Neighbors are already showing up to help one another, and first responders continue working around the clock.

Tammie Warren, right, is looking for her dog Willie after a tornado tore through the neighborhood off Saddle Road in London, Kentucky. May 17, 2025

9:45 a.m.: Somerset in Pulaski County reports tornado damage

Somerset Mayor Alan Keck issued a state of emergency for the city after last nights severe storms.

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According to a post on Facebook, a tornado and storm hit the area of Parkers Mill Road and possibly other areas in the city between Friday night and Saturday morning.

The damage is extensive and the loss of life occurred, the post stated, but the extent of the damage was not fully known.

According to another post from South Kentucky RECC, a rural elective cooperative in southern Kentucky, the agency's Somerset facilities took a major hit, and it asked people to avoid the area as they assess damage.

A car flipped over due to severe storm damage on the night of May 16, 2025, on Bourbon Road in Somerset, Kentucky.

9:35 a.m.: More than 100,000 without power statewide

Beshear shared in a social media post on Facebook that he will be traveling to London, Kentucky to assess damage from last nights severe weather.

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Beshear, who declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms, also said more than 100,000 are without power, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, meanwhile, is reporting minimal roadway impacts, he said.

He also thanked Kentucky Emergency Management, first responders and others for the response to the storms and keeping Kentuckians informed and safe.

Damage in the Sunshine Hill subdivision after a tornado tore through Laurel County and London, Kentucky. Saturday, May 17, 2025

9:30 a.m.: How do I report a power outage?

To report a power outage to LG&E and KU, text OUTAGE to 4LGEKU (454358). The company will use the number you text from to find the location where power is out, according to its website. You will need to verify your address when reporting the outage.

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For outage updates, text STATUS to the same number above.

9 a.m.: Where were tornadoes reported in Kentucky?

The National Weather Service reported possible tornadoes in Pulaski and Laurel counties in southeastern Kentucky.

According to a storm report from May 16, a trained spotter reported a tornado in Somerset, while "likely tornado damage" was shown at the London-Corbin Airport.

Meteorologist Jim Caldwell shared video on social media of what appears to be a tornado near Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park and the airport in London.

8:15 a.m.: Kentucky death toll rises to at least 14

Beshear shared in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that at least 14 people died from the overnight storms.

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This number is expected to grow as we receive more information, Beshear said. Please pray for all of our affected families."

8 a.m.: LG&E and KU report thousands without power across Kentucky

Over 45,000 Kentucky residents across LG&E and KUs service area are without power following severe storms and weather from Friday night and early Saturday morning.

In Laurel County, where the local sheriff's office reported a tornado tore across the area just before midnight, around 1,900 customers are without power.

Meanwhile, more than 28,000 costumers are without power in Jefferson County.

A full list of outages can be found on the LG&E and KUs outage map.

7:45 a.m.: 4 injured after tree collapses in Louisville

A tree collapsed "across the center" of a home in the 1500 block of Wurtele Avenue in Louisville late Friday night, injuring two adults and two young children, according to a press release from the Louisville Fire Department.

The occupants had been trapped in the house but were successfully rescued and transported to a local hospital with "what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries," the release stated.

7:30 a.m.: 9 reported dead in reported tornado in Laurel County

A tornado tore across Laurel County just before midnight, according to the county's Sheriff John Root.

At least nine individuals are confirmed dead and "numerous others" sustained severe injuries, according to a statement posted on the Laurel County Sheriff's Office social media from Root.

A search is ongoing for survivors, per an update at 5:43 a.m.

A relief station has already been set up at South Laurel High School gym, according to Laurel County Clerk Tony Brown. The station has supplies for victims of the tornado, as well as food for victims and first responders.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky weather updates: 23 killed, others injured in storms






Several people are dead and many others injured after a tornado ripped through three states on Friday, May 16

The tornado struck Pulaski County before moving onto Laurel County on Friday evening and into the next morning

[Ive] never seen anything like this, London, KY, Mayor Randall Weddle told local outlet WYMT, following the devastation caused







Several people are dead and many others are injured following a series of severe storms in the Midwest.

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On Saturday, May 17, Randall Weddle, Mayor of London, KY, confirmed there had been multiple deaths following a tornado on Friday evening, WYMT reported. While not sharing the number of fatalities in Laurel County, he said, We are still in search and rescue mode.

[Ive] never seen anything like this, Mayor Weddle said, according to WYMT. He shared with the outlet that the areas hardest hit by the tornado were routes 363 and 1006, the airport and Levi Jackson State Park.

The tornado traveled from Pulaski County to Laurel County at a speed of 45 miles per hour at around 11:30 p.m. local time on Friday night and into the early hours of the morning on Saturday, May 17, Fox 56 News reported.

Laurel County, Ky. Fiscal Court/FaceBook A tornado causes severe damage in Kentucky's Laurel County on May 16 A tornado causes severe damage in Kentucky's Laurel County on May 16

Laurel County, Ky. Fiscal Court posted footage of a residential area reduced to rubble on Facebook as they confirmed multiple injuries had been reported amid the storm.

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Several areas of Laurel County, including the Sunshine Hills area shown in this video, were struck by a tornado late Friday night, the Facebook post read. Ky. 363 is closed while the injured are evacuated and homes are searched. Others areas hit include the London-Corbin Airport, Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park and the Oaks of London subdivision.

Earlier on Friday, Mayor Waddle had written a Facebook post stating that heavy winds had caused severe damage in the affected areas, with the roof blown off buildings, power lines down and debris having damaged vehicles. He reported no injuries at the time.

Waddle later posted an emergency alert by the National Weather Service, of a tornado warning in this area until 12:00 a.m. EDT, as people were instructed to take shelter from the storm.

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Laurel County, Ky. Fiscal Court/FaceBook Emergency responce teams tend to the tornado scene in Laurel County on May 16 Emergency responce teams tend to the tornado scene in Laurel County on May 16

The Corbin Police Department and Somerset Fire Department also issued tornado warnings to Pulaski and Laurel County on Facebook in the early hours of Saturday morning, as they shared updates on their responses to the storm.

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Stop and pray for Laurel County residents and victims of the tornado that touched down there, Corbin Police wrote in a post. Remember the emergency service personnel are sorting through the debris and are still inside the storm. We responded for mutual aid for the debris field on the interstate and it was an emotional sight to see.

The fire department stated in a post that they are responding to weather damage in the Stoplight 22 and Parkers Mill Road as they urged locals to avoid the areas.

At least 16 people died in the deadly storms that were a part of a destructive weather event across the Midwest, according to The Independent. In Missouri, over 5,000 homes were impacted by the storms on Friday and five people were killed.

PEOPLE has contacted Mayor Waddle for comment.



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LOS ANGELES  One person is dead after a car exploded outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, Saturday in what officials said was an "intentional act of terrorism."

Four people were injured, Akil Davis, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles field office, said at a news conference Saturday evening. The nature and seriousness of the injuries were not disclosed.

The identity of the deceased person and their involvement in the explosion is not yet known. Davis said the person was near the vehicle that exploded.

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Officials have identified a person of interest but are not actively seeking out a suspect, Davis said.

Late Saturday, multiple law enforcement tactical officers were seen outside a residence in Twentynine Palms, about an hour away from the Palm Springs fertility clinic.

Multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigations told NBC News the scene in Twentynine Palms is related to the investigation into the explosion in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said earlier that authorities believe the incident was isolated and there is no longer a danger to the community.

"I am confident that the community is not at risk any longer," he said.

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Several buildings were damaged, some severely, Mills said on Facebook, noting that the "blast field" stretches blocks. Davis said the debris field stretches at least 250 yards and covers several blocks in all directions of the blast.

"This was a powerful explosion," a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said.

Davis called the blast "significant" and said it was likely one of the largest bombing investigations the FBI has been involved in in Southern California. He compared it to the Aliso Viejo bombing in 2018.

"Make no mistake: This is an intentional act of terrorism," Davis said. He later noted that the investigation will determine whether this is an act of domestic or international terrorism.

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The blast occurred at 1199 North Indian Canyon Dr., Mills said, at around 11 a.m., according to the city. The street is home to a number of medical facilities, including Desert Regional Medical Center.

Authorities investigate a car explosion near the American Reproductive Centers clinic on North Indian Canyon Drive at East Tachevah Drive in Palm Springs on Saturday. (Andy Abeyta / The Desert Sun via USA Today )

There is no information yet on a possible motive, including whether a nearby fertility clinic was targeted.

What appears to be the fertility clinic, American Reproductive Centers (ARC), said on Facebook that a car exploded in the parking lot near its building. No one who works at the center was harmed.

The lab at ARC, which houses all eggs, embryos and reproductive materials, was not damaged, the clinic said on social media.

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"We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast," ARC said. The clinic said it will be "fully operational" Monday morning.

At a Saturday news conference, Mayor Pro Tem Naomi Soto called the clinic a place of hope where people go to "start or expand their families.

"This is a building where hope lives, and we are confident it will continue afterward, as their meaningful work must continue," Soto said.

The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert said its McDonald Wright building sustained minor damage from the explosion and that it would be closed until further notice out of an abundance of caution.

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The FBI's Los Angeles bureau said on X that investigators, bomb technicians and an evidence response team were at the scene. Mills said the Palm Springs Police Department is working closely with the FBI.

The FBI is working to determine the origins of the explosion and the identity of the deceased, Davis said.

The Los Angeles office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting in the investigation, the bureau said on X.

"This is going to take a great deal of time for us to process this scene," Mills said. He urged the public to have patience with investigation teams and to leave evidence they may find near their homes where it is and to report it to officials.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his office said.

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has also been briefed on the incident, she said on X.

"We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America," Bondi said. "Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on X that he was "horrified" by the news of the explosion. He said the California Department of Justice is in touch with law enforcement and has offered assistance in the investigation.

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Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Ca., said on X her heart goes out to those impacted by the explosion.

"Bombing a clinic won't stop people from needing or wanting reproductive care  whether it's IVF or an abortion  and I will keep working to ensure everyone can get the care they need without fear," Jacobs said.

Videos posted to social media and verified by NBC News captured the force of the blast. Multiple businesses had their windows blown out and suffered other structural damage. Firefighters were seen in the videos dragging hoses into buildings.

Images on social media also showed clouds of smoke rising from the area, appearing to center around the health facility where the explosion occurred.

Palm Springs is a desert city about 110 miles east of Los Angeles.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Syrian security forces have killed three ISIL (ISIS) fighters and arrested four others in Aleppo, authorities said, the first time the interim government has announced such an operation against the group in Syrias second city.

The raids, launched by the General Security Department in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, targeted multiple ISIL sleeper cells operating across Aleppo, Syrias Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Saturday.

One security officer was killed in the operation, it said.

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Forces stormed the site and seized explosive devices, an explosive vest and a number of General Security force uniforms, the statement added.





The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the operation took place in Aleppos Haidariya district and that clashes also broke out in another neighbourhood.

Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed power in Damascus in December, has long opposed ISIL. His forces battled the groups self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war.

US President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa this week in Saudi Arabia and described him as an attractive guy with a very strong past.

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Following the meeting, the US announced that it would lift sanctions on Syria  a major policy shift and boost for al-Sharaas transitional government.

Al-Sharaa seized power after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham armed group led a lightning opposition offensive that toppled longtime President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Sharaa cut ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

The recent operation comes just months after Syrian authorities said they had foiled an ISIL bombing plot near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, a key pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims south of Damascus.
TUPELO  A young man swimming with friends lost his life Thursday afternoon.

Lee County deputy sheriffs were called to County Road 1213 in the Pratts community around 12:20 p.m. for a missing swimmer. Witnesses told deputies that they were swimming near a waterfall area of Twentymile Creek, just south of where Okeelala Creek joins it. They had been looking for the missing 16-year-old male but couldnt find him.

With the help of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; the Tupelo Fire Department dive rescue team; and the Pratts Volunteer Fire Department; the drowning victim was located in the water around 1:45 p.m. and recovered.

The victim, later identified as Malaki Grayson Moss, was pronounced dead at the scene by the office of Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green.
May 16WILKES-BARRE  The Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner (OSFC) this week reminded municipal fire departments and emergency training centers in Pennsylvania that applications are now open for two annual funding opportunities aimed at strengthening emergency response capabilities across the Commonwealth:

Municipal Fire Department Capital Grant

Emergency Training Center Capital Grant

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Both grants are competitive, offering up to $100,000 in funding for eligible organizations.

The application window runs through May 29, allowing qualified organizations to submit proposals for modernizing facilities, acquiring or renovating structures, and purchasing or repairing essential emergency equipment.

While volunteer fire departments are not eligible for the Municipal Fire Department Capital Grant, they may be eligible for the Emergency Service Training Center Capital Grant.

"This funding helps ensure that our municipal fire departments and emergency training facilities have the tools, infrastructure, and support they need to serve communities safely and effectively," said State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook. "We encourage all eligible organizations to apply today."

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What's available now:

Municipal Fire Department Capital Grant

Who's eligible: Municipal fire departments recognized by local ordinance and budgeted by the local government where the department geographically resides. No volunteer fire departments qualify for this grant.

Use of funds: Facility upgrades, building acquisitions, major repairs, or equipment purchases.

Funding available per grant: $25,000  $100,000

Emergency Training Center Capital Grant

Eligibility: Emergency services training centers, community colleges, county-owned facilities, municipal or fire department-owned facilities, and nonprofit, countywide associations.

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Use of funds: Modernization or establishment of training infrastructure.

Funding available per grant: $25,000  $100,000

Firefighters are being stretched thin right now, responding to more and more calls each year as the number of firefighters across the Commonwealth shrinks. A three-part plan in the 2025-26 budget proposal supports firefighters.

The proposal:

Creates a new, competitive funding stream of $30 million in grants for our fire companies.

Creates a pilot program to help provide fire companies with the resources they need to work together.

Covers cancer screenings for firefighters. Last year, the state reformed the Workers' Compensation Act to ensure firefighters, first responders, and law enforcement with a post-traumatic stress injury get the coverage they deserve. Firefighters are exposed to toxic chemicals while on the job  all to keep the public safe.

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U.S. Senators McCormick and Kelly lead legislation targeting Mexican drug cartels

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, this introduced the Mexico Security Assistance Accountability Act, which would require the State Department to develop a strategy to dismantle the Mexican drug cartels that ensures U.S. security assistance is delivering the best return on investment for taxpayers.

"For far too long, the Mexican drug cartels have poisoned communities in Pennsylvania and across the country with deadly fentanyl, killing more than 4,000 Pennsylvanians each year," Sen. McCormick said. "We need a clear strategy to dismantle the cartels that has real accountability and metrics for success, so we know security cooperation is actually achieving results. I look forward to working with the Administration on this common-sense approach to saving American lives."

"Every day, Arizonans see up close the consequences of illegal drug trafficking into the United States," said Sen. Kelly. "Our relationship with Mexico and a shared security mission are critical to combat the cartels that produce these dangerous drugs. Our bipartisan bill will establish mission goals to effectively dismantle cartels and increase the capabilities of Mexico's law enforcement, strengthening U.S. national security and protecting our communities."

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The Mexican drug cartels are the leading driver of the fentanyl overdose crisis that has killed more than 300,000 Americans. In the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assessed, "Together, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have caused the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. They dictate the flow of nearly all illicit drugs into the United States...(including) the relentless stream of illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine crossing the border."

This bill would require the State Department to develop a strategy for U.S. security assistance in Mexico to dismantle the cartels, increase the capacity of Mexico's military and public security institutions to degrade the cartels, and combat public corruption and impunity.

State Police initiates Rapid DNA program to solve cases faster

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) this week announced the initiation of its Rapid DNA program with the deployment of 15 fully automated genetic analyzers to troops across the Commonwealth  a major step forward in the Department's ability to bring justice to victims and hold offenders accountable.

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"This program represents significant advancements in our forensic capabilities," said Colonel Christopher Paris, Commissioner of the PSP. "Rapid DNA analysis can expedite the development of investigative leads, assist in suspect identification, and help exclude individuals with greater speed. Aside from investigative efficiency, this technology provides accuracy, fairness, and better outcomes for the communities we serve."

Rapid DNA technology allows for the swift analysis of DNA samples outside of traditional lab environments, delivering results in as little as 90 minutes. The quick analysis provides investigators with timely, actionable information that can greatly benefit case resolution and public safety.

The technology demonstrated its value in its first week of deployment when troopers obtained a blood sample from an ATM tampering case. The sample was compared to a DNA database, and in less than two hours, investigators received a notification identifying an investigative lead.

PSP follows all state and federal guidelines for DNA collection and privacy protections. Only Forensic Service Unit (FSU) members who have successfully completed the Department's required training are authorized to operate the analyzers, and laboratory personnel conduct the necessary analysis to verify matches.

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PSP's expanded use of DNA testing and Rapid DNA has been supported by Governor Shapiro. The Shapiro Administration is working to build safer communities and ensure law enforcement is well-equipped, well-funded, and well-trained.

The 2025-26 budget proposal calls for the complete elimination of the statutory cap on the State Police complement, which limits the number of troopers on the streets. Removing the statutory cap will allow for increased patrol visibility, faster response times, and the ability to maintain a proactive posture in Pennsylvania's communities.

Furthermore, the 2025-26 budget proposal continues to sustainably fund PSP and includes $16 million to provide for four new cadet classes  to train nearly 400 more state troopers. In the last two budgets, the state secured funding to support the hiring of over 800 new PSP troopers and recruit and train nearly 700 municipal officers.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
In 1857, an 18-year-old female slave, Lear Green, who had been repeatedly raped and forced into prostitution by her white owner, one James Noble, was surreptitiously placed in a wooden seamans chest wearing a dress, bonnet and cape and delivered as simple freight on a steamship bound to Philadelphia from the port of Baltimore.

To avoid suffocation and starvation, her benefactors covered her with a quilt and put a little pillow in the box for a semblance of comfort, along with a few articles of clothing, a small amount of food, and a bottle of water, before sealing the crate, bound with heavy rope.

Eighteen hours later, the steamer arrived in the City of Brotherly Love, and the box was delivered to a family friends house, where the young stowaway recovered from her arduous journey.

During the Civil War, in 1864, enslaved people of all ages left their homes in small watercraft to reach a Union naval vessel in the distance. Harperas Weekly, April 9, 1864, public domain

Lear Green was one of some 100,000 runaway slaves with unimaginable courage, willing to face horrifying cruelty and vicious flogging, who escaped bondage from the antebellum South on ships at sea.

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The setting for their flights was what became known as the Blue Highway, which ran up and down the Eastern Seaboard and enabled enslaved people to escape as stowaways in below-deck hideaways.

They journeyed under wind-filled sails from the Carolinas to the Chesapeake Bay and Bostons harbors three decades before the Civil War.

The ocean carried Africans into slavery, and the ocean was also a pathway that transported them to freedom with the assistance of Black sailors and waterfront workers, and sympathetic working-class whites.

Thousands of people escaped slavery by sea  yet the history books have had little to say about them. Why have these dramatic tales of dockside conspiracies, below-deck hideaways, billowing sails, and ultimately liberation been so rarely told? asks preeminent maritime scholar Marcus Rediker in his new book, Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea (Viking).

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The legendary Underground Railway had carried those fleeing bondage in the Deep South through swamps, thickets, forests, and rivers.

An image of historian William Still, who chronicled the lives of slaves who escaped by sea. Courtesy of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library

But the Blue Highway, though far less well-known, was equally important in providing liberty to slaves.

The maritime system of escape was organized by people who are largely unknown to us  poor people with calloused hands, often nameless in the historical record and therefore unremembered, the wretched of the earth, writes Rediker.

They acted out courageous, death-defying stories. They escaped slavery in ingenious ways. Their labor on the docks and ships, with the dynamic political economy of port cities, drove the freedom story.

A placard from Boston in 1851 shamed a wealthy trader who forced a fugitive slave to return to his ownership. Digital Commonwealth, courtesy of the Boston Public Library

Enraged owners advertised in port city newspapers when a slave absconded, but shipmasters were expected to police their own ships, and fugitives were able to find their way on board.

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Escaping slavery by sea was an art, observes the author.

It required planning, reading people and situations quickly. Some runaways dressed as gentlemen, while some females disguised themselves as male sailors.

A scene from the waterfront at Charleston, SC, in 1853 shows dockworkers  key players on the Blue Highway. public domain

A would-be runner had to understand the climate, ecology, and geography of the escape route  and that could mean the difference between life and death.

Rediker, the award-winning University of Pittsburgh professor of Atlantic history, anchors his book in a series of extraordinary Blue Highway narratives. Along with Green, theres Moses Roper, who made his first escape in 1834 at age 13 from his enslaver, the brutal cotton planter John Gooch.

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Repeatedly captured and sent back to his owners, Roper made no less than a dozen more escape attempts over six years  a never-ending cycle of flight, recapture, grisly punishment, and resale.

A scene from 1885, when 21 slaves escaped via sea from Norfolk, Va. on a vessel led by Captain James Fountain. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1872, public domain

The slave-owning terrorists ploughed his back with hundreds, perhaps thousands of lashes; crushed his fingernails in a vise; smashed his toenails on an anvil with a hammer; and poured tar on his head and set it on fire, writes the author. They forced him to carry burdensome log chains, wear iron collars, and walk around with heavy bars on his feet.

On his final escape, Roper traveled 350 miles by land and river, from Florida to Savannah, Ga., where he boarded a vessel disguised as a steward. Finally ashore in New York, he escaped the slave catchers crawling the waterfront and made it up the Hudson River to Albany and then overland to Boston with a bounty hunter on his heels.

He boarded a ship to Liverpool, where he published an account of his travails that brought him fame as an abolitionist.

Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea, is written by Marcus Rediker.

Escaping slavery by sea was an art, observes the author Marcus Rediker. Jose Luis Silvan Sen

African American abolitionist William Still interviewed 930 hungry, sick, and penniless runaways, provided them with aid and shelter between 1852 and 1860, and documented their lives.

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Some had scars from being whipped, bullets fired at them, or suffered horrifying sexual abuse, and cruelty too revolting to be published, Rediker writes.

Still, they had the strength to face death and escape being tortured. And they rallied together to help each other. That was Slave Power.

These fugitives educated Still and the entire American abolitionist movement about the grim realities of the Slave Power, Rediker writes. Though mostly hidden from history, these brave men and women demonstrated equal doses of resilience and resistance, and ultimately inspired both movement and nation.
Whats in the water in the state of Maryland? Whatever it is, its certainly more invigorating than the sewage that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his grandchildren have been swimming in. A few weeks ago, one of the Old Line States senators, Chris Van Hollen, dropped his gloves to take on President Donald Trumps unlawful banishment and imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This week, his House colleague Kweisi Mfume was responding to an administration flirting with suspending the habeas rights of its citizens in stark, but welcome terms. Its a damn shame to continue to see what is happening to our nation under the guise of this Trump administration and his Department of Government Evil, he said. He and Elon Musk, really in my opinion, deserve to be arrested and charged with assault on the Constitution.

One of the more unfortunate realities of the Trump era is that to speak the plain truth about it requires you to get over the feeling that youre being shrill or alarmist. I know that might sound crazy and ludicrous, Mfume said, commenting on his call to arrest the president and his pet oligarch. As someone whos spent the past few years issuing Cassandra-like warnings only to watch so many of my ostensible industry peers take a dive, I can relate. But the thing about Cassandra is that shes correct, and so is Mfume. Trump isnt a president. Hes the head of a criminal syndicate, and he should be treated accordinglynow and, even more importantly, when he and his accomplices are finally out of power.

Trump 2.0 has been a remarkable speedrun into lawlessness, a testament to the fact that there might have actually been some adults in the room during his first term. (During which time he still fomented an insurrection and got impeached twice!) Now, freed from those guardrails that were once upstanding, hes rocketed into a new level of infamy. I once held that George W. Bushs reign was much more costly than Trumps. No longer; his return has truly been a thing apart. As TNRs Alex Shephard documented this week, Trumps trip to the Gulf States has been a vertically integrated grift, in which the president has racked up more corrupt enterprises than most politicians manage in their whole careers.

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This weeks skullduggery is, of course, just one brief crime spree among many. Over at The Nation, Jeb Lund lays down the lengthy rap sheet that Trump has written for himself in his first 100 days. The Trump administration has heisted the private data of millions of Americans, unlawfully terminated thousands of federal employees, extorted law firms and businesses and broadcasters; theyre gaming the markets, raking in corrupt money with crypto-tokens, kidnapping people and exiling them to foreign prisons without due process, and much much more. As Lund notes: The question is not whether Trump and his people committed a crime while you read that last sentence but how many.

It shouldnt come as any surprise that the Trump administration is canceling the FBIs investigations into white-collar criminals. But if these sorts of crimes arent dramatic enough for you, we could also simply stick with good old-fashioned manslaughter. As TNRs Matt Ford reported this week, one of the hallmarks of Trumps public health policies is that they will kill a lot of childrenprobably not a surprise given that the aforementioned Kennedy is well known for directing officials in Samoa to run an open-air eugenics experiment that killed 83 kids. The net effect of these policy changes, Ford writes, is to make this country a more dangerous place for Americans to give birth and grow up.

Abroad, Trump administration policies have the same eugenicist bent. As TNR contributor James North chronicled, the gutting of PEPFARthe Bush-era HIV/AIDS intervention that has saved countless lives in Africa and one of the most highly regarded U.S. policies the world overhas already sentenced tens of thousands of people in Africa to death, and with each week that passes with the program stuck in limbo, many thousands of needless deaths will follow.

The administrations approach to PEPFAR is of a piece with a range of policy decisions that will, in the best-case scenario, cede soft-power space to China and others to secure the developing worlds regard for stepping into a vacuum and providing humanitarian assistance. The worst-case scenario is, naturally, millions of needless deaths. Back in March, The New York Times Nicholas Kristof attempted to quantify the harms done by the Trump administrations decimation of foreign aid agencies in terms of lives lost. Here are his calculations: 1.65 million deaths from AIDS, 500,000 from lack of vaccines, 550,000 from lack of food aid, and approximately 300,000 each from lack of malaria and tuberculosis prevention, respectively.

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This all raises an interesting question: How many people have to die before the word holocaust is in play? Im not gunning for shock value here, at least not solely. I want to suggest that there is a certain necessary logic to what has to follow corrupt misrule of this kind: tribunals, trials, punishment, prison, and the running to ground and defunding of the entire Trump syndicate.

Its an undertaking that will require no small amount of courage, and it will break with a long-standing status quo that has favored the absolution of numerous mortal sins, from the Bush administrations unlawful torture network to Wall Streets ruination of the economy to the many costly foreign misadventures that have feathered the nests of the military industrial complex over the years. The look forward, not backward ways etched into the civic firmament have served us poorly; in retrospect, what we had to look forward to was this exact moment with this perfidious administration.

Real accountability is not something I expect will be popular with the rotted mass media and its grotesque aversion to good governance or the wholly out-of-touch pundit class, whose opinions on Trumpian corruption tend to lag years behind most functional adults. This is where the avatars of Let the bad guys off the hook and move on obtained their intellectual cover over the years. Suffice it to say, theyll like a better world wrought from taking these criminals down and locking them up just fine. But those who want to pursue justice for all those wronged by this administration should expect to be branded as heretical.

We hear so much about the rule of law these days. So many people are concerned about it! They just dont know whats going to happen to it. Even among the gravely worried, there is this sense that the rule of law is like a machine someone turned on at some point in the past, which runs in the background of American life like some sort of ambient presence. What the rule of law really is, it turns out, is the sum total of our deedsand our inaction. The rule of law lives or dies on our willingness to actoccasionally with grim resolve. Its time for people who value justice to screw their courage to the sticking place.

This article first appeared in Power Mad, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Jason Linkins. Sign up here.
Eliminate antisemitism, embrace diversity

Trumps dual rampage against antisemitism and DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) is both phony and dangerous. Eliminating antisemitism is only possible if we embrace DEI.

DEI represents our countrys decades-long effort to create a just and equal society, fulfilling our founding principles, codified in our anti-discrimination civil rights laws. Put simply, DEI is about promoting the fair treatment and full participation of all people in a world increasingly plagued with power imbalances.

Diversity  welcoming differences in qualities such as race, age, sex and gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and physical ability.

Equity  providing equal opportunity to all ( not guaranteeing equal outcome).

Inclusion  embracing a culture in which everyone, regardless of social status or identity, can express their ideas and perspectives.

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Despite efforts to misrepresent DEI, it does not mean lowering standards.

DEI confers tangible economic and social benefits. For example, research shows that decision-making and business profits are improved when leadership teams are diverse.

Protecting the rights of one group means protecting the rights of all groups. Its not possible to battle antisemitism without also battling racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination.

Diversity is our countrys strength. The administration dishonors America when it scrubs government websites of the accomplishments of women and Black Americans, saluting only white men, and censors books that celebrate diversity (while retaining Hitlers Mein Kampf).

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If Trump wants to eliminate antisemitism, as claimed, he must be honest about DEI and restore DEI initiatives. Anything else is a sham.

Sheri Berenbaum, State College

Trumps attacks impact Penn State

The president and his party have now included the university in their attacks.

Remember what the university centrally is.

It says on the face of Pattee Library, the true university is a collection of books.

The book materially participates in time, but its witness transcends its date and when we enter the book we attain that independence as well. Then our perceptions are ordered to see things for themselves rather than just for us like the animals. The mind so attuned can reflect the whole universe, which is a central aspect of the vocation of man.

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It is State Colleges great privilege to have Penn State at its core.

John Harris, State College

Black will improve SCASD for our kids

I am writing to support Jennifer Blacks candidacy for the State College Area School District board of directors.

Few of us probably have given back to the SCASD as much as Jennifer Black has.

Year after year Jennifer Black finds time and energy to volunteer for school when help is needed.

With her three kids in elementary, middle and high schools Jennifer Black knows our district better than most of us. Having also background of a teacher and a tutor for over 20 years, she deeply understands parents expectations, students and teachers needs, and the responsibilities of the school administration on uniting interests of kids, families and teachers for better learning.

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Jennifer Black wants to reform the mental health support framework of the SCASD. While many of us think in terms of standard policies and protocols, Jennifer Black has unique, out of the box ideas, that I believe can help kids overcome their social fears in school and among friends.

I want to give Jennifer Black a chance to apply her ideas  grassroots and derived from students perspective  to improve our SCASD for our kids.

I will vote for Jennifer Black. You should too.

Shushanik Makaryan, Port Matilda

The soul of America

Is this really the country we want?

Lots of ink and anger (and no small amount of jingoistic silliness) have been spilled over the policies and politics of the Trump era. What is often lost in all this give and take is what all this means for what it is we want this country to be  and who we are as a people.

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Arguably, a key reason most of us have loved this country despite its many flaws and injustices is that we could generally take solace in having been good neighbors  to one another and the world. We helped each other out, we cared for those in need, we contributed mightily to the worlds collective well-being in ways large and small, and we forged alliances and partnerships, imperfectly, though largely in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration. This is the true soul of America.

Compare this history and spirit to what we are now being asked to accept  that might makes right, that alliances are a waste of time and resources, that empathy is weakness, that only things with economic and political (and often short-term) transactional value are what matter, and that fear, coercion, and power trump cooperation, mutual support and collective well-being.

Does anyone really think this what so many have given their lives trying to protect? Does anyone really think this isnt undermining what truly has made us great? Does anyone really believe this is legacy of America we want to leave our kids?

Walt Whitmer, Spring Mills
North Africas most resource-rich nation, Libyahome to vast hydrocarbon and mineral reservesis once again at a crossroads. Despite its potential, the country continues to struggle with instability and lacks the international attention needed for sustainable progress. Backed by Western and Turkish support, Libyas internationally recognized government is attempting to revitalize its upstream oil and gas sector, which is already attracting notable global interest.

At the African Energy Forum in Paris, Abdolkabir Alfakhry, a representative of Libyas Ministry of Oil and Gas, announced that nearly 40 international companies have expressed interest in the upcoming licensing round, which is expected to be formally launched in November. Alfakhry emphasized that future development efforts will prioritize offshore resources, an area that remains largely underexplored.

According to the Ministry, the bid roundinitially announced in March 2025will offer 22 onshore and offshore blocks covering a total area of 235,267 square kilometers. These include 128,714 km offshore and 106,553 km onshore, primarily within the Sirte, Ghadames, and Murzuq Basins, with potential future activity in the Kufra Basin. Contracts will be offered under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model, with deals expected to be signed between November 22 and 30.

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Estimates suggest the blocks may contain approximately 1.63 billion barrels of oil equivalent in discovered reserves. Libya has actively promoted these opportunities through events in Houston, London, and Istanbul. European energy giants such as Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Eni, and Equinor are expected to participate, alongside U.S. firms like ConocoPhillips, which has maintained a longstanding presence via the Waha Concession. ConocoPhillips President for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Steiner Vage, confirmed continued American interest in expanding operations in Libya.

Global demand for hydrocarbons and the urgency to diversify Libyas economy further reinforce the strategic importance of this bid round. For Europe, new oil and gas volumes from Libya could significantly bolster energy security amid geopolitical uncertainty.

However, persistent instability threatens to derail progress. Recent clashes in Tripoli, sparked by the killing of prominent militia commander Abdel Ghani al-Kikli (known as Ghaniwa), once again exposed Libyas fragile security landscape. Ghaniwa, a key figure in the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA), was killed in a facility controlled by the 444 Brigade, loyal to Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah. The violence forced hundreds to flee and risked spreading to other regions.

While the Government of National Unity (GNU) has since declared the situation under control, no official response has yet come from the east, where the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar, remains dominant.

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The timing of the unrest is especially notable: it coincided with General Haftars visit to Moscow, where he and his son, Saddam Haftar, met with President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. Reports suggest discussions covered enhanced military cooperation, arms deals, and potential Russian military infrastructure in eastern Libyaa strategic foothold that would significantly expand Moscows influence in the Mediterranean.

Since its loss of strategic positions in Syria, Russia has been actively seeking new naval and military assets in North Africa. Libya, with its Mediterranean coastline and proximity to Europe, offers a prime location. Russian involvement in Libya complements its expanding presence in Algeria, Tunisia, and across the Sahel, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad.

European leaders are growing increasingly alarmed. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto recently warned that Russian military capabilities could be positioned just two steps away from Italys maritime territory, threatening NATOs southern flank and Europes energy and commodity supply lines.

The intensifying geopolitical competition in Libya is likely to impact the success of the November bid round. European nations, particularly Italy and France, must take more decisive action. Ensuring Libyas stability is not only key to regional developmentit is vital to safeguarding Europes maritime security and energy future.

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By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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By Ahmed Elumami

TRIPOLI (Reuters) -Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias is an "ongoing project," as a ceasefire after deadly clashes this week remained in place.

"We will not spare anyone who continues to engage in corruption or extortion. Our goal is to create a Libya free of militias and corruption," Dbeibah said in a televised speech.

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Dbeibah is the country's internationally recognized leader in the west, based in Tripoli.

After Dbeibah on Tuesday ordered the armed groups to be dismantled, Tripoli was rocked by its fiercest clashes in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations.

The government announced a ceasefire on Wednesday.

It followed Monday's killing of major militia chief Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, and the sudden defeat of his Stabilisation Support Apparatus group by factions aligned with Dbeibah.

SSA is under the Presidential Council that came to power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity of Dbeibah through a United Nations-backed process.

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SSA was based in the densely populated Abu Salim neighbourhood.

GNU's Interior Ministry said in a statement that nine decomposed corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim-based Al-Khadra hospital. It said SSA never reported them to authorities.

The PM's media office posted a video of Dbeibah greeting the security force protecting the Prime Ministry Building. It said he later received delegations from elders to discuss Tripoli's situation and what he called "successful security operation in Abu Salim."

"The Prime Minister stressed that this operation falls within the state's fixed vision to eliminate armed formations outside the police and army institutions," the media office said.

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On Friday, at least three ministers resigned in sympathy with hundreds of protesters who took to the streets calling for Dbeibah's ouster.

Dbeibah did not comment on their resignations.

"The protests are annoying, but I've put up with them. I know some of them are real, but a lot of them are paid," he said.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed concern on Friday about the escalation of violence in Tripoli, calling on parties to protect civilians and public property.

Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.

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While eastern Libya has been dominated for a decade by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army, control in Tripoli and western Libya has been splintered among numerous armed factions.

A major energy exporter, Libya is also an important way station for migrants heading to Europe, while its conflict has drawn in foreign powers including Turkey, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

State-oil firm NOC said on Friday that its operations at oil facilities are proceeding as normal, with oil and gas exports operating regularly.

(Reporting by Ahmed ElumamiEditing by Rod Nickel)
Mark Braves lies began to be uncovered after he was questioned about purchasing two premium JetBlue tickets for a trip to Fort Lauderdale in 2022.

The second-term Strafford County high sheriff was confronted about the trip eight months later after a third-party audit found discrepancies in his spending.

Brave told County Administrator Raymond Bower he needed the airlines EvenMore package because of his 6-foot-2 frame. He also said he went with a deputy who is also a well- built, muscular man, Bower said. The total cost came to about $1,615.

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The documentation he submitted was only for him, Bower said. The red flag prompted the accounting department to call JetBlue. Turns out, the other passenger was a woman who worked for the department.

I turned it over to the county attorney, who then turned it over to the attorney general, Bower said. First of all, he lied to me. Second of all, from what he said he did in Florida that was not the appropriate person to bring with him.

These lies and dozens of others are outlined in an affidavit used in a warrant for Braves arrest in 2023. He pleaded guilty to charges of theft by deception, falsifying physical evidence and two counts of perjury in February.

For the theft and falsifying charges, Brave must repay $18,969 to Strafford County, with no time in prison. However, the prosecution is asking for 7 to 14 years in prison for perjury.

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Brave, 39, is asking for suspended sentences with no prison time.

Judge Daniel St. Hilaire, who previously served as an executive councilor and Merrimack County Attorney, is scheduled to consider those arguments Monday morning.

A complete accounting of Braves lies to the grand jury would be monumental, according to the Attorney Generals Office.

Over the past few years, news surrounding the disgraced Strafford County sheriff has had so many twists and turns. One might wonder: How did we get here?

The lies pile up

The false reimbursement requests took place between May 27, 2022, and May 22, 2023, according to court documents. It appears Braves deceptive spending continued even after Bowers intervention.

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The county reported its findings to the Attorney Generals Office on April 19, 2023, while Braves spending patterns continued at least another month, according to the affidavit.

Beyond the airline tickets, Bower questioned Brave about the Fort Lauderdale hotel bill that only included a single, king-sized bed.

There was a slight pause, and he said, Oh, aw, the other person slept on the couch, Bower recalled.

Bower, who previously worked as a police officer, knew something was up.

You look for tells, Bower said. Signs in peoples faces and stuff. It did not appear it was an accurate representation, which is why I asked our finance department to call JetBlue to find out who held the other ticket.

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Others in the sheriffs office became suspicious when two county-issued credit cards were maxed out by Brave with bookings.

Just before Brave appeared before the grand jury, the female employee told the grand jury she stayed with Brave in the same hotel room, but denied any sexual or romantic interactions with Brave. She testified that no work for the department was done on the trip and that she went shopping and spent time by the pool.

Brave stuck to his previous story and testified he was alone in the room, according to the affidavit.

His last trip, to West Palm Beach, Florida, took place between May 19 and May 22, 2023, for $1,263, according to the affidavit. He justified the trip by saying he visited with a West Palm Beach police lieutenant. He admitted to the grand jury he had no appointments scheduled before landing in Florida.

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Rather, he testified that he went there without any appointments, walked up to a police officer on a pier, and had a conversation, an affidavit said.

Other expenditures on the countys tab include a one-night stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Massachusetts for $1,482 with one woman and her children and multiple trips to Maryland to spend time with another.

On one trip to Maryland, he put in for fuel reimbursement for his cruiser.

In grand jury testimony, Brave had no explanation for why he would need gas for an assigned cruiser when he took a plane to BWI for this trip and not a department cruiser, the affidavit reads.

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The woman Brave saw in Maryland later had to file a police report after she gave Brave $2,300 to help buy a car, which never materialized.

Multiple times Brave justified his spending for meals in the Boston area for meetings with the New England Sheriffs Association, which law enforcement agencies confirmed does not exist.

Mark Brave

Former Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave, right, speaks to a court officer in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood in September.

The blame game

Throughout the legal process, Brave, who is Black, claimed political and racial biases against him.

According to a request for leniency in sentencing, Brave took a lot of pride in his meteoric rise to the high sheriffs position in Strafford County.

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At the time of Mr. Braves election, he was both the youngest sheriff in New Hampshire history as well as the only African American to have ever held a high sheriff position across any county in New Hampshire, his lawyer, Leif Becker, wrote in his sentencing memorandum.

Before agreeing to take a leave of absence during the investigation, Brave claimed the probe was prompted by racist views. After pleading guilty, Brave released a statement his time as sheriff was rife with inequities.

One target was Commission Chairman George Maglaras, who Brave said was out to get him. Maglaras denied it.

He just did that to deflect what he was up to, Maglaras said in a phone interview. It was all matter of deflection.

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Maglaras supported Brave as a Democratic candidate for sheriff. His support shifted as the evidence poured in.

He was always deflecting, Maglaras said. He is charming and likable, but he was just a con man. Thats it.

He added, We just couldnt keep track of all the lies.

AG charges Strafford County sheriff with 8 felonies

Attorney General John Formella, center, announces Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave faces eight charges. Brave is accused of stealing $19,000 in county taxpayer money to spend on personal expenses including a rendezvous with a female lover. From left with Formella were Todd Flanagan, the offices deputy chief investigator, Senior Assistant AG Dan Jimenez, chief of the public integrity unit and Assistant AG Joe Fincham II who also works on public integrity cases.

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The sentencing

Prosecutors are prepared to use transcripts of grand jury testimony during Mondays sentencing hearing, according to court documents.

The sentence in this case must aid to repair the damage done by the defendants crime to the public perception of the integrity of the criminal justice system and government institutions generally, the prosecutions memo reads.

As part of the plea deal, another case against Brave in Rockingham County will be dismissed. In that case, he allegedly lied to a judge about remaining in Strafford County, while an investigation revealed he rented a place in Tewksbury, Mass.

Judge Dan St. Hilaire speaks

Judge Daniel St. Hilaire, seen here at Mark Braves plea hearing in February, will preside at Braves sentencing hearing on Monday.

I think the attorney general has done an amazingly thorough investigation and uncovered other things that we were aware of, but just showed a continuation of lies, Bower said.

Bower is prepared to read a victim impact statement at the sentencing on behalf of Strafford County. He acknowledged the work of others who took over the reins from Brave amid the controversy.

They were working day and night because they were not only managing the operations of the sheriffs department, but they were also working to restore peoples confidence in the sheriffs office, he said.

Braves confidence seemed to dwindle with each court hearing.

I think he was in denial, Maglaras said. I considered him my friend. I just didnt know all these things he was up to.

Strafford County has a new sheriff in town  Kathryn Mone  and is striving to move on from Brave. It will take time to reverse the damage to the countys reputation, Maglaras said.

It is time for the county to move on from Mark Brave, he said.

jphelps@unionleader.com
HARFORD, Md. (DC News Now)  Two dogs have died after a Harford home burst into flames after being struck by lightning Friday, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal.

The Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company, Harford County Department of Emergency Services, and surrounding fire departments responded at 6:10 p.m. to reports of a house fire in the 2300 block of Shuster Road.

Person dead after tree falls on persons car in Fort Hunt

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Heavy flames and thick smoke were billowing from the home as the fire rapidly spread throughout the house.

Two dogs were killed in a Friday house fire in Harford (Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company) Two dogs were killed in a Friday house fire in Harford (Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company) Two dogs were killed in a Friday house fire in Harford (Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company) Two dogs were killed in a Friday house fire in Harford (Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company)

Fire crews used numerous tankers, heavy machinery, and assistance from the homes fire sprinklers.

Firefighters say the flames most likely started in the attic, caused by a lightning strike. Surrounding neighbors claimed they saw, heard, and felt a lightning strike.

According to firefighters, no one was home at the time of the fire, but two dogs were killed.

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TYLER, Texas (KETK)  KETK has compiled a list of schools that changed their graduation times due to weather. Updates will be made as time changes are announced.

Canton ISD

Canton High Schools graduation will be moved indoors to the Larry Davis Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Gilmer ISD

Gilmer High Schools graduation will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the senior procession also starting at 7:30 p.m. Gates to the Jeff Traylor stadium will open at 6:45 p.m.

Longview ISD

Longview High Schools graduation ceremony will start 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 7:15 p.m. It is still set to commence at Lobo Stadium.

Tyler ISD

Tyler High Schools graduation ceremony has been delayed until 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. Graduates will have to report at 9 p.m. and gates will open at that time.

Westwood ISD

Westwood High School changed their graduation ceremony time for May 16 to 8:45 p.m.

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A neonate long-finned pilot whale surfaces in echelon position next to a killer whale (adult female IS069) on June 20, 2023. | Credit: Interactions between Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Neonate Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) off South Iceland, by Cherine D. Baumgartner et al., in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 16, No. 4, Article No. e71193; April 2025 (CC BY 4.0)

One day in June 2022 Cherine Baumgartner, a researcher at the Icelandic Orca Project, was watching from a dinghy as a pod of killer whales fed on herring  when she noticed something very odd about what seemed to be a young member of the pod. "At first, we were like, 'Oh my god, this killer whale calf has a problem,'" she says. It was far tinier than normal and lacked an infant orca's characteristic black-and-pale-orange coloration. Baumgartner, now a Ph.D. student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, suddenly realized she was seeing an entirely different species: a baby pilot whale. She and her team observed the pod for nearly three hours before weather conditions forced them back to land. They found the pod the next day, but the pilot whale calf was nowhere to be seen.

Scientists noticed orcas interacting with baby pilot whales off Iceland every year from 2021 to 2023. Each instance was short-lived and featured different individual pilot whales (dark-gray members of the dolphin family with a bulbous forehead) and different pods of orcas . Now, in a new study in Ecology and Evolution, Baumgartner and her colleagues describe the 2022 and 2023 incidents and posit three potential explanations: predation, play or parenting.

In all the sightings, a weeks-old pilot whale swam by a female killer whale in what scientists call an echelon position, with the young whale located beside and slightly behind the adult orca. In the 2022 and 2023 instances, the killer whales occasionally nudged the calf along. In 2023 a calf was seen swimming ahead of the group, possibly as if to run away  and at one point it was lifted, belly-up, out of the water on the back of an orca.

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With the first possible explanation, the killer whales could have been keeping the young pilot whales around like a living lunch box; some orcas in Iceland are known to eat harbor seals and porpoises. But Baumgartner notes that these Icelandic killer whales are predominantly fish eaters and that they didn't display overtly aggressive behavior toward the pilot whale calves. So predation is less likely, though not impossible, she and her colleagues say.

Related: 'Incredible and rare' sight as endangered whale attacked by 60 orcas in brutal hunt

Alternatively, the killer whales could have been playing with the young whales or using them to practice hunting. Iceland's orcas often herd herring, and they could have been incorporating the pilot whale calves in their hunting games.

Finally, the killer whales could have been extending their parental instincts to the young calves. Whales and dolphins in the wild often care for the young of other members of their pod, and although it's rare, dolphins have adopted calves from different species. In the pilot whales' case, Baumgartner says, she wouldn't categorize the relationship as adoption because the interactions seemed to be short-lived. The young pilot whales would likely have died without milk, and none of the female orcas were lactating at the time.

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These three possibilities also aren't mutually exclusive, she says. "It could be [that the orcas] encountered the pilot whale opportunistically, and some individuals played with the whale, and others tried to nurture it," Baumgartner adds.

The other conspicuously missing pieces of the puzzle are how, in each instance, the orcas came across a pilot whale calf in the first place and what happened to that calf afterward. "Was it lost or abandoned?" asks study co-author Filipa Samarra, principal investigator at the Icelandic Orca Project and director of the University of Iceland's research center on the Westman Islands. "Or did the killer whales actively approach to take the calf away?" The researchers also wonder if the calves escaped or died or were killed or eaten by the orcas.

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Orcas off Antarctica filmed teaching calves to hunt in incredible new footage

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Grieving orca mom carries dead calf around on her head for a 2nd time

Orca gang develops brutal hunting strategy to take on the world's largest shark  'This is a fascinating behaviour'

Sarah Teman, a graduate student in ecology at the University of Washington, who was not involved with the new study, says her jaw dropped when she saw pictures of the pilot whales with the orca pods. Teman previously studied southern resident killer whales interacting with porpoises in the Salish Sea off British Columbia and Washington State. In that research, she observed interactions that may have been motivated by nurturing, hunting practice or "play"  and often ended up killing the porpoises. "It was fascinating to see such similar behaviors" in the Icelandic orcas, she says, adding that the animals' interactions with the pilot whales seemed to be largely driven by nurturing or play behavior, just as had been seen in the southern resident killer whales' interactions with porpoises.

Samarra also speculates that the unusual interactions off Iceland could be a result of climate change because pilot whales increasingly follow schools of mackerel moving into warmer waters that overlap with the killer whales' range. She hopes that, next summer, her group will finally observe how the young pilot whales get entangled with the orcas and what happens to them next.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Thousands of runners and walkers supporting breast cancer patients and research will gather in downtown Columbus Saturday for the 2025 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

The Columbus race is one of the largest in the country. It supports breast cancer research, patients, and others impacted by the disease.

Breast cancer is often thought of as a disease that only strikes women, but Joseph Wilson is proof thats not always the case. Hes been living with stage four metastatic breast cancer for the last five years. He already beat his initial prognosis, and his current treatment plan is working, but hell never be in remission.

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I had found a lump in 2018 and went to my primary care physician, Wilson said. At the time, I was a 33-year-old male, he didnt really think anything of it.

Attorney general drops out of Ohios 2026 race for governor

According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, only about 1% of breast cancer cases occur in men.

While it has been five years since Wilson received the news no one wants to hear, hes no stranger to the disease. His fathers sister passed away from breast cancer, and his mother beat it twice.

But her youngest sister was diagnosed about fifteen years ago with breast cancer, and she passed away two years ago, Wilson said. So, the Komen Race for the Cure has been in our family for many years.

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Wilson said if you feel something or notice a change in your body, get a second opinion.

You really know your body the best, Wilson said. You have to self-advocate for yourself. I tell my students that all the time. I teach math and science, and say if you dont understand whats going on, you better raise your hand. Speak up.

Wilsons family has been walking in the race for over ten years, and this year is no exception. Theyll join thousands across central Ohio as they make their way to the starting line for the 33rd Komen Columbus Race for the Cure.

Everybody knows someone thats been impacted by breast cancer, whether its their own journey or someone in their life that had the disease, Lindsay Grubaugh, executive director of Columbus at Susan G. Komen, said. So, the need is there. Over 3,800 people are calling Komen every single week here in the state of Ohio that are needing our services.

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Ronda Faulk is a breast cancer survivor. Shes been a volunteer since 2012. Faulk lives in Florida now, but flew back to Columbus specifically for the race.

I had a lady today who was a survivor for two years, and I told her Im fourteen years out, and she just like high-fived me because she doesnt know if shell make it to that point, Faulk said. So you always have people who are going to youre going to look up to them and youre going to be motivated by that success that they have.

According to leaders, the race, which is now a global movement, is all about uniting the community to prioritize health and raising money for breast cancer research and treatment.

It takes a village to end breast cancer, so anybody that wants to come and join us, wed love to have them, Lindsay Grubaugh, executive director of Columbus at Susan G. Komen, said.

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The race kicks off at 8:45 a.m. Saturday. If you still havent registered for the race, you can register online here. Anyone interested in donating to the Susan G. Komen Foundation can visit this link.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
CARTHAGE, Mo.  A local ministry kicks off its campaign to raise a million dollars.

Carthage Crosslines Ministries held its million-dollar open house Friday (5/16).

The event marks the official start to the ministrys fundraising campaign.

The funds will help pay for the expansion of the current facility and a new 5,000 square foot thrift store.

So far, Carthage Crosslines has raised close to $300,000.

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The ministry operates a non-profit food pantry and clothing closet, providing free food and basic necessities to those in need.

You know, we even provide children with haircuts. I remember being very low income when I was a child, and I never got good shoes, and I never got a proper haircut. When parents begin to weep in front of me because their child got a haircut and a good pair of shoes and new clothes, and Ive accomplished my mission, said Carthage Crosslines Ministries Executive Director, Toni Smith.

Organizers say the mission of Carthage Crosslines Ministries is to provide hope and well-being through nutritious food and essential household items.

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The League of Women Voters of Cass County is hosting a Town Hall next month to address property and rental inspections, along with code enforcement in Logansport and Cass County.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4 at the Logansport  Cass County Public Library, 616 East Broadway, Logansport. The public, current members, prospective members, and friends of members are invited to attend.

Local officials will also be on hand to explain the roles and responsibilities of their departments and discuss how residents can collaborate to maintain properties and ensure a safe community.

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The League of Women Voters of Cass County is a nonpartisan civic organization encouraging informed and active government participation. It works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influence public policy through education and advocacy.

Individuals interested in learning more about the League can visit www.lwvcass.org or its Facebook page.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  The Louisiana State Police Department investigated two deadly crashes on Louisiana Highway 67 on Friday.

In East Baton Rouge, troopers were called to La. Hwy 67 at Lemon Road around 2 a.m. During the investigation, troopers learned Alexus Lee, 25, was headed north on LA 67. For unknown reasons, Lee exited the roadway, struck a culvert, and the vehicle was left overturned. Lee was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In East Feliciana Parish, troopers were called to another crash on La. Hwy 67, near Idlewild Road, around 3:45 a.m. The investigation shows John Collins, 35, was traveling south on LA 67 at high speeds. Collins missed a right-hand curve, exited the road to the left, and struck a tree. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Collins was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Toxicology samples were taken for both crashes.

Both crashes are ongoing investigations.

Latest News

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
A Lufthansa flight was flown by autopilot when the copilot, alone in the cockpit as the pilot had stepped away to use the bathroom, fainted, Spanish investigators said in a report about an incident last year that was released on Saturday.

The Airbus A321 flew without a pilot in charge for 10 minutes, the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC said of the flight on February 17, 2024 from Frankfurt to Seville.

Lufthansa confirmed it was aware of the report and said its flight safety department had conducted an extensive internal investigation into the incident. But the company did not disclose the results of its investigation, stating, "We ask for your understanding that we will not comment beyond the investigation report."

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Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently unintentionally operated the controls, the aircraft continued to fly stably thanks to the active autopilot.

The voice recorder captured strange noises in the cockpit during this time which were consistent with an acute medical emergency, the report said.

Some 10 minutes later, the captain managed to open the cockpit security door using an emergency code. He had completed training for such an eventuality a month beforehand.

The captain entered the normal door opening code five times in vain, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit for the co-pilot to release the door, the report said.

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A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone. It is not possible to open these security doors by force as they are designed to prevent hijackings.

Eventually, the captain entered an emergency code, which allows the door to be opened without assistance from the cockpit. Just before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot managed to open it from the inside, despite his illness.

The pilot then decided to land the plane in Madrid as the co-pilot was very pale, sweating profusely and making strange movements.

The aircraft, which had 199 passengers and six crew members on board, landed safely and the co-pilot was brought to hospital. He had already received medical attention while on board from a doctor who was travelling on the plane.

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The report found the co-pilot showed no signs of a pre-existing condition from past medical examinations and current tests.

Second person needed in cockpit at all times?

The incident prompts a reassessment of the recurring question as to whether airlines should reintroduce continuous double occupancy in the cockpit for safety reasons.

The report urged the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to encourage flight operators to reassess relevant safety guidelines.

It is advisable that a second authorized person should always be present in the cockpit when one of the two pilots has to leave for a toilet break or other tasks, the report said.
After hitting the brakes in 2022, a luxury-home builder is moving forward on a proposal to build hundreds of homes in fast-growing northwest Meridian despite neighbors trepidation.

Toll Southwest LLC, a subsidiary of Toll Brothers, has applied to build a 517-home subdivision, called Dayspring, on 143 acres at the southeast corner of Ustick and McDermott roads. The proposal also includes 14 lots for retail and offices, application materials filed with the city show.

The developer plans to turn six parcels of rural residential and agricultural land, now owned by a Utah mink farming company, into the residential and commercial development. Together, the parcels were valued at over $1.7 million last year, according to the Ada County Assessors Office. Four homes and accessory structures now on the site would be removed, the applications narrative letter said.

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And Toll Brothers plans an additional 172 homes just northeast, at the corner of Ustick and Black Cat roads, in a subdivision that would be called Springday. The two proposals total 689 homes.

500+ homes, two plazas off Ustick

In 2022, Toll Brothers was days away from submitting an application for Dayspring with the city when the developer walked away from an option to buy the land, according to Becky McKay, owner of Engineering Solutions, who helped design the development.

McKay told the Idaho Statesman by phone that at the time, Toll Brothers, a national builder, wasnt sure about the timing, perhaps related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the company picked up the plans again, she said.

Plans for Dayspring filed with the city in April include 446 single-family homes, 71 town homes and 7.4 acres of commercial space. The town homes would be arranged in buildings with four, five and six units. The single-family homes would offer diversity in terms of lots sizes and styles: A few homes adjoining alleys would have roughly 3,800-square-foot lots, while the traditional homes lots would vary from about 3,800 to 17,000 square feet.

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There would be transitional lot sizing  larger lots would sit on the southeast side of the development, adjacent to neighboring subdivisions, said McKay. She said the mixture of styles, sizes aligns with the citys goals for the area, and the larger homes on the southern tip of the development would be luxury homes like those typically associated with Toll Brothers.

Amenities envisioned for Daysprings residents include two club houses and two swimming pools, McKay said. Weve got pocket parks and pathways ... So itll be a real nice, walkable neighborhood.

Application materials said a northern common area would also include two pickleball courts.

The outline shows where the proposed Dayspring subdivision would be located, roughly a quarter mile east of McDermott Road and south of Ustick Road, using Google Maps and application materials filed with the city of Meridian. Inside the outline shows what the arrangement of the subdivision could look like, based on a vicinity map submitted to the city by Toll Brothers and ESE Consultants, its Meridian planning and design subsidiary.

Daysprings commercial component would sit on the north side of the development adjacent to Ustick, with access from a local east-west road the developer plans to build south of Ustick. Plans include two plazas with 60,000 square feet of commercial space, plus open space, which would create a gathering place for residents and others with an inviting feel.

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Retail and offices in the area would have to be residential-compatible and would be geared toward supporting existing and future development and providing convenient services for residents, workers and visitors, plans said. These buildings are expected to have excellent visibility from Ustick and the McDermott bypass  the section of McDermott that snakes east before intersecting with Ustick and continuing north. They would not, however, be accessible from either of those major roads, McKay said.

A park-and-ride lot for Valley Regional Transit is also proposed, which McKay said was a nod to transit goals in the citys comprehensive plan.

Nearby residents raise concerns over density, traffic

When Toll Brothers initially proposed its subdivision in 2022, neighbors submitted public comments to the city detailing concerns over the developments density, traffic impacts and water use.

In an email to the city clerks office in September 2022, Don LaFever, who lives just east of the proposed subdivision near Seasons Park, said Dayspring would greatly impact the lives of residents in the adjacent Autumn Faire and Turnberry subdivisions. LaFever said the potential for significant traffic congestion ... could make access to and from our homes much more difficult and could endanger children at Seasons Park with an increased chance of traffic incidents.

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LaFever told the Statesman by phone on Thursday that now that plans had resumed, he was particularly concerned about congestion on a two-lane road Toll Brothers would build running north-south and connecting to Ustick.

Theyre still going to be cramming 700 or some homes into that subdivision, and ... they have one access route up to Ustick, and they wont make it a two-lane each way, LaFever said. Theyre going to be pouring a lot of homes there, and its going to be very difficult to get up there.

LaFever anticipates that when traffic backs up on that road, called Dayspring Way, drivers would try to cut through the neighboring subdivisions.

I did a lot of proposed subdivisions, said LaFever, who previously worked as an appraiser. None of them I saw were this bad.

Design drawings of what some single-family homes in the proposed Dayspring subdivision could look like.

Developer banks on Ustick widening to ease traffic

McKay told the Statesman that though a formal application was never submitted in 2022, the developer met with neighbors at that time and that those meetings informed the plans now awaiting city consideration.

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We made revisions based on their input back in 2022, said McKay, who believed the changes were well-received at a neighborhood meeting presenting the new proposal last year.

For example, McKay said roads within the subdivision are arranged in a circuitous connection  designed to direct travel onto Dayspring Way and out to Ustick and discourage drivers from cutting through the subdivisions to the east. That design minimizes cut-through traffic, because Dayspring Way becomes the most convenient route as opposed to having to zig and zag through smaller roads, she said.

Toll Brothers hired Boise engineering consultants Kittelson and Associates to conduct a traffic study, which found that the subdivision would generate nearly 8,300 vehicle trips a day, including 525 during the weekday morning peak hour and 621 during the afternoon. An intersection at Ustick and the proposed Dayspring Way would operate at an Ada County Highway District level of service F for northbound drivers turning left, the study found. That is ACHDs lowest acceptable level of service.

But McKay noted that ACHD plans to widen Ustick from McDermott to Black Cat Road in 2027, a 0.8-mile stretch that includes the Ustick-Dayspring Way intersection. Before that, ACHD seeks to widen Ustick further east, from Black Cat to Ten Mile Road, expected to be complete by 2026. Some improvements to Ustick, including work at Ustick and McDermott, have been bumped up because of the Idaho 16 extension.

Four homes and accessory structures on the 143 acres that Toll Brothers wants to develop would be removed, including these buildings.

More development coming to NW Meridian

As denser areas of Meridian, like the Ten Mile interchange area, have become more built-out in years past, growth is anticipated to pick up in the citys northwest outskirts.

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The Idaho 16 extension is also expected to open up north-south travel through the Treasure Valley and encourage growth in the northern stretches of Ada County. In Meridian, developers have in recent months filed preliminary applications to build on hundreds of acres in the Fields subarea, a 4-square-mile area bounded by Ustick, McDermott, Chinden Boulevard and Can Ada Road. Dayspring sits just beyond this master-planned area.

Dayspring, and its 172-home counterpart to the north are scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission in a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 5, at Meridian City Hall.

This agricultural land on the southeast corner of Ustick and McDermott roads is slated to be developed into over 500 homes, if Toll Brothers proposal is approved.

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Tricia Hall teared up as she remembered the more than one hour she had to go through without knowing where her son was. The bus was gone, and no one called me about anything thats happening, said Hall, who spoke exclusively with Channel 9. Im disappointed and angry because, on my part, I do everything thats necessary for him to make sure hes safe. And the people who are paid to do that dont seem to do it.

7-year-old Ace has autism and is mostly nonverbal. His mother says he left South Daytona Elementary around 1:45 pm. Instead of going home, Tricia says he got off on his own, near Clyde Morris Boulevard - more than five miles away from where the family lives. Im looking at the track; maybe it is going to turn around, but then it just kept going, Hall said. It wasnt until after 3 p.m. that she finally got a phone call from a stranger. She asked if I knew a kid named Ace, and I said yes. Then she said hes ok, hes with me. Then she said where she was at.

The whole time, Hall said she was worried about all the possible things that could have happened to Ace. I know my son. I know he runs away at times, and he likes the water. If youre calm with him, he might just go away with you, things like that, the mother detailed. Its not necessarily that he would have died, but what if he would just be in this world alone? Or if he was thirsty or hungry?

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Drowning is a constant concern for parents  according to the National Autism Association, autistic kids are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the general pediatric population. Just last year, 34 autistic children drowned in Florida. So far, in 2025, there have already been eight similar cases. How did you not notice? This child walks on your bus and walks off your bus, and you guys were supposed to have every single child badge there, she said. So that means. People are just not doing their jobs.

Volusia County Schools released the following statement to Channel 9:

Volusia County Schools is aware of a transportation-related incident that occurred on Wednesday involving a student at South Daytona Elementary.

The situation is currently under review by the districts Professional Standards department. While we cannot discuss individual student matters, we take all concerns regarding student safety seriously and are committed to thoroughly reviewing the circumstances.

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Channel 9 also spoke with the person who found little Ace; the woman said she preferred to remain anonymous but said she was glad she was able to help keep the boy safe. Meanwhile, although still shaken by the incident and thinking of all the what-ifs, Tricia Hall said she is thankful to the stranger who brought her son back to her. I hope one day I can give her something great. Just to really thank her, the mother said.

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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI)  A New Bedford father detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents more than a month ago returned home to his family Friday afternoon.

Juan Francisco Mendez was taken into custody in early April by ICE agents who pulled him over and shattered his car window. His arrest sparked an outcry from advocates who argued that the ICE agents violated his rights by wrongfully detaining him.

BACKGROUND: ICE agents shatter car window during New Bedford arrest

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He is not a danger to the community. He is not a flight risk, his attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin said. He is here now with his family, reunited and I think thats the most important thing.

Mendez was greeted by his child running toward him, shouting Papito! as his wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, stood nearby with tears welling in her eyes and balloons in hand to celebrate his homecoming.

(Courtesy: Adrian Ventura)

(Courtesy: Adrian Ventura)

Reflecting on his time in ICE custody, Mendez described the experience as heartbreaking.

A lot of things happened in the detention center, Mendez said. There were many, many brothers there. To me, theyre my brothers, family, as we say there. Were a family now.

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Mendez told 12 News that, while it was easy to get discouraged, he and his brothers leaned on one another for support, often praying and telling each other to Keep going, everything will be OK.

There were many people who cried day and night, with tears in their eyes, saying, I want to get out, Could I get out tomorrow or today?' Mendez recalled. Seeing that, it kind of hurts your heart. It breaks your soul to see innocent, hardworking people in a place they shouldnt be. We dont deserve to be in that place.

Mendez said they prayed together, asking God to protect not only themselves, but also other detainees and their families. He expressed empathy for those with relatives in the hospital who, even if they wanted to assist, couldnt.

The only thing I ask of our migrant brothers this time is: Lets fight. Lets pray more than anything. Lets ask God for strength, because whats happening is very sad, Mendez said.

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A week prior, a judge agreed to close his case as a failure to prosecute after determining that the federal government had not submitted charging documents.

However, Sniffin claimed that ICE decided to file charges at the last minute, essentially proving that they could not find anything beyond the fact that Mendez entered the country without proper documentation.

Which is accurate  but thats a civil violation, not a criminal violation, Sniffin said. It certainly isnt sufficient grounds to detain him and certainly doesnt justify the egregious violation of his constitutional rights when they carried out that detention.

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MORE: ICE files charges against New Bedford man days after judge orders his release

Mendez is reportedly in the process of attaining his asylee status under protections he receives through his wife, who fled persecution in her home country.

I did violate civil law. But theres a reason for that, Mendez said.

Mendez said he was born into a poor family in Guatemala  a country he described as rife with corruption. His mother took on both parental roles after his father abandoned them.

He didnt take care of us as he should have, which is also the reason why one seeks other horizons to give something back to the family, Mendez explained.

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Mendez recalled how his mother struggled to feed him and his siblings growing up, sometimes going without food herself so her children could eat.

Those early hardships, he said, are part of what drove him to seek a better life  so he could provide for his own family in a way his mother couldnt.

Mendez stressed that he respects the laws and is thankful that justice still exists United States, which is what he feels is lacking in his home country.

Juan Francisco Mendez  May 16, 2025 (WPRI-TV)

Still, he asserted that he was unjustly imprisoned because has no criminal background. He described the current climate for immigrant families in the United States as painful and hopes the suffering will end soon.

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Im not a delinquent, Im not a criminal, Mendez stressed. All Im looking for is to put food on the table for my family.

Sniffin emphasized that federal agents acted without legal justification on the day of Mendezs arrest.

Regardless of a persons immigration status, there are certain rights that people have, she said. They have a right to have their attorney present. They have a right to remain silent and my clients were exercising their rights.

Sniffin also raised concerns about ICE placing a GPS ankle monitor on Mendez, even though a judge did not order it.

That is still a constraint, Sniffin said. Yes, he is physically out of their custody, but virtually  he is still in their custody.

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Sniffin said she has filed a new motion requesting that the court explicitly bar ICE from imposing any further restrictions on Mendez.

As my lawyer says, unfortunately they still have me in custody with this shackle, Mendez said. So no, I dont feel free. I dont feel free yet.

For now, Mendez remains in removal proceedings and is expected to present legal grounds for staying in the country, including proof he is pursuing asylum. The outcome of that hearing could determine whether his case continues or is dismissed, allowing him to proceed through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

To me, it seems like ICE has become so emboldened that they are acting outside the law and that is very scary, Sniffin said, adding that she has never seen a response as aggressive as this. Our rights are being trampled on. If they trample on Juan and Marilus, they are trampling on ours as well.

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RELATED: Congressman questions violent destruction during New Bedford ICE arrest

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President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to slam former President Joe Biden after leaked audio revealed the 46th commander-in-chief struggling to answer questions during an interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Whoever had control of the 'AUTOPEN' is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment, said Trump.

Bidens alleged use of an autopen has become an obsession on the right, with Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer appearing on Fox News on Friday night, saying Clearly, from that interview, which was many, many months prior to the heavy use of the autopen, Joe Biden wasnt capable of making decisions. He wasnt coherent.

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Conservatives took to social media to question who was controlling the autopen during Bidens stint in the White House and if someone else was acting as the president in Bidens place, without supporting their suggestions with evidence.

Influencer Link Lauren, a former aide to Robert F Kennedy Jr, wrote on X: Who was controlling the autopen? Who was pulling the strings? Who were the unelected bureaucrats making decisions that negatively impacted our country? I want names. The Democrat Party & the MSM may never recover.

Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden over the alleged use of an autopen to sign presidential orders, including preemptive pardons of Trumps political adversaries (REUTERS)

One X user questioned who was really acting as the president, adding, It obviously was not Joe Biden.

Another user responded, pointing to former Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, and longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Neera Tanden, who succeeded Rice at the Domestic Policy Council, was also mentioned.

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On Friday night, Comer piled on during his appearance on Fox News. The Oversight Committee wants to speak with former top Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams.

This is one of the greatest scandals of our generation, and Americans are demanding answers, he said. Now that Bidens top enablers can no longer hide behind the power of the presidency, were continuing our investigation to expose the truth.

Hur interviewed Biden as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents. While a transcript was made public last year, the Biden White House stopped the Department of Justice from releasing the recording, which was published by Axios on Friday, revealing Bidens memory lapses on long pauses.

Comer said the House Oversight and Accountability Committee would investigate Bidens cognitive abilities towards the end of his presidency because of questions surrounding the use of an autopen to sign a number of presidential orders, including preemptive pardons for some of Trumps adversaries, including several members of the Biden family.

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There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions, said Comer.

Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that Bidens use of an autopen is a major part of the real crime, THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!

Millions and millions of people knew that, but the Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence like none that had ever been waged before, he added.

He went on to slam Biden for pardoning the members of the January 6 House Select Committee that investigated the 2021 insurrection.

Trump said that THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS  WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN.

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The president went on to accuse the committee of destroying evidence.

Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey, Obama, a hapless and cognitively impaired Sleepy Joe Biden, and my now very famous ACCUSATION that, THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN! said Trump.

Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump in 2017, was recently interviewed by the Secret Service over a social media post that was interpreted as a threat against the president.

Whoever had control of the Autopen is just the beginning. The biggest crime of all is that THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED! Trump added.
May 17Sen. Angus King joined Democratic senators in demanding information about President Donald Trump's intent to accept a $400 million airplane as a gift from the Qatari royal family, saying the gift is unconstitutional and threatens national security.

Maine's Republican senator, Susan Collins, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, did not sign the letter but also criticized the idea of accepting the gift for security and ethical reasons.

Earlier this week, Trump said he would be "stupid" not to accept the free gift of a luxury plane.

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But King and the Democratic senators said in a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink that the Boeing 747-8 aircraft offered to Trump as a gift could require $1 billion worth of investments to identify and address any security vulnerabilities before it could be used as Air Force One.

"(We) write today with alarm over the dangers to operational and national security presented by President Trump's desire to execute an unconstitutional and unseemly acceptance of a $400 million gift from the Qatari royal family in the form of a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft," they wrote in the May 14 letter. "We are especially concerned about the operational security and counterintelligence risks of potentially using this aircraft for sensitive Presidential travel  and the massive cost to American taxpayers to identify and close critical vulnerabilities."

Trump, who was traveling in the Middle East this week with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is looking to put the jet into service before his term ends in 2029. If accepted, it would be one of the largest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S.

Trump also has raised ethical questions by saying the plane would eventually be donated to his presidential library, while maintaining he has no plans to use it for personal reasons after leaving office.

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Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a written statement that the gift is "rife with legal, ethical, and practical impediments, including the potential for espionage."

"I'm not sure how we would be able to adequately inspect and outfit it to prevent that from happening," Collins said. "Also, by the time the plane is done, the President's term may well be nearly finished. Ultimately, I'm not sure why this is necessary at all."

Trump has touted the deal as saving U.S. taxpayers money, but King and the 11 Democratic senators who signed the letter, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said that's not the case.

In addition to the significant investment needed to address security concerns, taxpayers are already paying $3.9 billion for two new aircraft being built by Boeing, they said.

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Those planes are slated to be finished by 2027, three years behind schedule.

"This administration has been vocal about its commitment to efficiency and cost-savings in the federal government," they said. "But spending taxpayer money on efforts to upgrade this Qatari jet  when the President currently travels securely  is unnecessary and wasteful."

Earlier this week, King told Scripps News that the gift was likely aimed at gaining influence, calling it "crazy on every level" and that "it doesn't pass the straight-face test."

"Is it really a good idea to accept a gift this extravagant from another country? What are they getting in return? What are they buying? Are they doing it just because they're really nice people? No," King told Scripps.

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The letter included a list of 10 questions and set a deadline of June 1 for answers.

"Air Force One is host to some of the most sensitive conversations in our government. This jet poses the risk of foreign surveillance and influence at the highest level of our government, to say nothing of the propriety of accepting it," U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, said in a statement. "I've sponsored legislation in Congress to prevent exactly this kind of undue foreign influence on our democratic system. The United States should reject this 'gift.'"

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, agreed that the plane would present a "massive national security threat." She said in a written statement that the luxury jet donated by a country known for human rights abuses and terrorist ties "is just the latest example of the grift and corruption that have come to define the Trump Administration."

"The President's claim that the jet was 'free' and therefore no big deal is as laughable as it is delusional," Pingree said. "That the jet comes from Qatara country infamous for its human rights abuses, and with known ties to several terrorist groupsmakes this proposition even more outrageous. At a time when the Administration is alienating allies around the world, this is who they choose to cozy up with?"

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Tom Maniscalco, of Garfield, N.J, is about to become the oldest graduate in Rutgers University history

Maniscalco, 85  who already has three degrees from other institutions  will be receiving a masters in engineering

This is a full-circle moment for Maniscalco, who initially attended Rutgers over 65 years ago but dropped out at the time













An 85-year-old man is about to become the oldest graduate in Rutgers University history.

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Tom Maniscalco, 85, of Garfield, N.J., initially dropped out of Rutgers over 60 years ago, leaving school with one semester short of graduation, according to a profile in NJ.com.

After spending several years in the workforce, Maniscalco returned to school and received his bachelors degree from New York University. He then went on to attain a masters of science in mechanical engineering and a working engineers doctorate.

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However, Maniscalco said that he always thought about his missed opportunity at Rutgers, especially because his father, Joseph, had always wanted him to earn a degree from the school.

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After retiring at the age of 79, Maniscalco recalled that he suddenly had an abundance of time on his hands.

I didn't know what to do with myself, he told Rutgers in a piece for their website. So I applied to Rutgers, and they accepted me as a special student.

Shutterstock / FotosForTheFuture Rutgers University Rutgers University

Maniscalco told the university that he began taking a course a semester, mostly remotely, until he had earned enough credits to qualify for a masters degree in engineering.

I kept taking more courses, he recalled.

Maniscalco also describes his latest degree as a true full-circle moment in life.

"When I get this degree, its some closure because my father sent me to Rutgers to get a degree in mechanical engineering, which I was never able to achieve. Im back where I started, he told Rutgers.

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Stephen Tse, a Rutgers professor, as well as Maniscalcos academic advisor, calls the retiree's commitment and dedication inspiring.

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Each time I interact with Tom, it puts my life in perspective and how lucky I am to meet people like him, Tse said in a statement to the university, adding, He is an active and capable student who strives to understand the fundamentals. He genuinely enjoys doing engineering.

While Maniscalco may be finished with school for now, he says he plans to keep himself busy.

My hobbies are aerodynamics, and World War II aircraft and also Indianapolis 500 racing cars, he told NJ.com, adding that he also plans to focus on his work as vice chair of the local section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  A Baton Rouge man accused of shooting and hurting his ex-girlfriends friend was arrested.

According to an arrest affidavit, East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office deputies responded to a shooting on May 14 in the 12400 block of Jefferson Highway. When they arrived, they found a victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The person was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators learned from witnesses that the suspected shooter, identified as Jaworski Matthews, 19, is the ex-boyfriend of one of the people involved. According to the victim, Matthews had previously made threats and said he would crash out over the end of their relationship.

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On the day of the incident, the victim and a group of friends were at the pool at their apartment complex. She had left her apartment door unlocked. When they returned, the group found Matthews hiding in the bathroom with a gun.

The victim screamed upon seeing Matthews, prompting her friends to come to her aid. A friend pulled her from the bathroom right when Matthews reportedly fired a shot, hitting someone else in the group. The victim and others ran from the apartment. Matthews chased them but later fled the area.

The victim later identified Matthews as the shooter. He was arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of aggravated burglary and attempted first-degree murder. His bond was set at $145,000, according to jail records.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A man has been indicted on an attempted murder charge after he allegedly sliced another mans neck in Hernando, Mississippi, DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton said.

Jiver Alejandro Melo Dominguez, 19, allegedly attempted to slice a mans neck with a box knife during a construction project in Hernando on March 5.

Dominguez is from Mexico and is in the country illegally, Barton said.

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He was indicted for attempted murder by the Grand Jury on Thursday.

The D.A. says that Dominguez had recently traveled from Chicago to Memphis before the incident. He was arrested by the Hernando Police Department.

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  A man whose fiancee accused him of assault, alleging he strangled her and bit her cheek, was found not guilty Friday of two felony strike charges.

The jury that heard the case against Emerson Perez Urbina returned verdicts of not guilty on charges of criminal threats and domestic violence with a great bodily injury enhancement, according to a release from the Kern County Public Defenders Office, instead convicting him of domestic violence without great bodily injury.

Sentencing is set for June 20, but Urbinas public defender, Jennifer Melgar, plans to file a motion for a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence.

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We never stop fighting for out clients, Melgar said in the release. We beat the strike charges. Now were moving for a new trial to clear his name completely.

On Oct. 5, 2024, deputies were called to a report of a domestic disturbance on Oregon Street in Bakersfield. The fiancee said an argument with Urbina escalated into a physical assault during which he threated to kill her.

At trial, Melgar cast doubt on the fiancees credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her statement, according to the release. She also noted the lack of physical evidence to support the strangulation allegation.

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Content warning: the article contains descriptions of animal abuse.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A man was arrested after attempting to stab his dog after carrying it across lanes of traffic while fleeing from police in Vancouver on Wednesday, authorities said.

The man who was arrested was identified as Matthew Mahlon Niles, Vancouver police confirmed to KOIN 6 News.

Half of Oregonians cant afford cost of living

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It all began when officers located the man, who had multiple warrants for his arrest, in the Meadow Homes neighborhood, the Vancouver Police Department said. When officers approached the man, he fled, carrying his dog across multiple lanes of traffic.

VPD shared a video of the incident in a post on X. In the video, the officer can be heard shouting youre under arrest to the man  later identified as Niles  who is walking on the sidewalk with his dog. The man then begins running, then picks up his dog and runs across a busy road with cars whizzing by.

The video shows multiple officers chasing the man, as traveling cars come to a sudden stop to avoid hitting them amid the frenzy, before Niles collapses on the sidewalk on the other side of the road. The officers then surround the man and his dog.

His dog was extremely aggressive, and as officers attempted to take him into custody, the dog lunged and snarled at the officers. The suspect refused to comply, pulled out a knife, and attempted to stab his dog, Vancouver police said.

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Police said officers then used a taser on the man, causing him to drop the knife and stopping him from stabbing the dog.

Celebrated Portland chef elevates Filipino culture

Eventually, he was allowed to place his dog into a patrol car, police said, in reference to a moment that was also captured in the video. He was then taken into custody and booked into jail for his outstanding warrant, resisting arrest, obstructing a law enforcement officer and animal cruelty.

The dog was taken into custody by Animal Control, officials said.

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A man and the 1-year-old child he was carrying are both dead after they were struck by a car Friday night crossing Baymeadows Road. They were crossing in the 4100 block at about 8:30 p.m., a Jacksonville police news release states.

The man, who police say was in his 30s, was carrying the 1-year-old attempting to cross when they were hit by a newer model Honda, the news release states.

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Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department pronounced them both dead at the scene, the news release states.

The driver of the Honda was transported to a local hospital and is cooperating with Detectives, the news release states.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Police are investigating after a man was found dead on a sidewalk in Kansas City following an overnight shooting.

According to the Kansas City Police Department, just after 2 a.m., officers were called to the area of East 42nd Street and College Avenue on reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they reported finding an unresponsive man, later identified as 50-year-old Dante Franklin, suffering from a gunshot wound on the sidewalk.

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KCPD officers attempted to perform life-saving measures and called emergency responders, but Franklin was later declared dead at the scene.

Missing 4-year-old boy found dead in Belton pond

Initial investigations show that Franklin had been in an interaction with one or more suspects in front of a home when the situation escalated and turned into deadly gunfire.

At this time, homicide detectives are investigating and canvassing the area for witnesses or additional information.

KCPD is also talking to several people who were at the scene when officers arrived.

If you or anyone you know has information regarding the deadly shooting, police ask that you call detectives directly at (816) 234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at (816) 474-8477.

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SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA)  An adult male was found dead in a wooded area in Sangamon County Friday afternoon.

Man arrested after damaging Springfield ATM with excavator: Police

According to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon, the man was found in a wooded area near the 3500 block of Illinois State Route 104 during the afternoon of May 16. The identity of this man will be released once he has been scientifically identified and after the next of kin has been notified.

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Additionally, an autopsy has been scheduled, and this incident is currently under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroners Office and the Sangamon County Sheriffs Office.

There is no further information at this time.

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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A man was found guilty of criminal sexual contact of a minor under the age of 13, the Dona Ana County District Attorneys Office said in a news release on Friday, May 16.

A jury found Adam Litz guilty of assaulting an 8-year-old girl during a sleepover, the DAs Office said.

Litz was remanded into custody pending sentencing. The DAs Office did not say when the sentencing hearing will be.

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Litz was found guilty in an incident in which an 8-year-old girl was assaulted during a sleepover at a friends house. During the sleepover, the friends father, Litz, entered the room and sexually assaulted the victim, the DAs Office said.

The jurys verdict has brought justice and closure to the victim in this case, said Senior Trial Attorney Arthur Van Haselen, who prosecuted the case.

This is a victory for the whole community. I am so happy we were able to get justice for that little girl and closure for the family, Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Willson said.

The DAs Office said the young victim and her family showed courage throughout the process.

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Their bravery, along with the hard work of law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim advocates, led to a just outcome, the DAs Office said.

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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)  A 61-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years, following his conviction on multiple charges related to child sex crimes, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

Christopher A. Davis was sentenced by Judge Kevin Smith in Sedgwick County District Court after a jury found him guilty in December on all eight felony counts against him. The charges stemmed from a complex criminal case involving the sexual exploitation of a child, narcotics distribution, and efforts to traffic minors for sex.

Texas murder suspect arrested in Barton County

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Among the convictions were:

Aggravated indecent liberties with a child and criminal sodomy involving a victim between 14 and 16 years old.



Distribution and attempted distribution of narcotics, including heroin and stimulants.



Aggravated human trafficking for recruiting or transporting a child over the age of 14.



Promoting the sale of sexual relations by inducing another to engage in prostitution.



Aggravated endangering of a child and contributing to child misconduct.

Judge Smith imposed the life sentence without parole in accordance with the recommendations from the Sedgwick County District Attorneys Office, plus an additional 366 months.

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ST. MARTINVILLE, La. (KLFY)- A St. Martinville family is spoke out after 22-year-old Zackyric Gardner was indicted for second-degree murder in their loved one, 24-year-old Deiondre Benjamin, death, according to the 16th Judicial District Attorneys Office.

Deiondre Benjamins father, Wendell Benjamin, said while the family is still grieving over their loss, there is some relief knowing progress has been made in his sons case.

We got a long process that weve got to take, were going to walk that walk, but at least we had an indictment done, that was the first step we wanted, Benjamin said.

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This comes after Gardner was previously arrested in connection to the death of 24-year-old Deiondre Benjamin, at last years St. Martinville Senior High Homecoming Game in October of 2024.

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Second arrest made in connection with St. Martinville homecoming murder

Police said Gardner fled to Texas after the shooting, before being apprehended by law enforcement. He was brought back to Louisiana where he is now in the St. Martin Parish Jail.

Benjamin left behind one daughter, who Wendell said, was stripped of her future with her father.

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I want it for my granddaughter, that was his world, and he took that away for her, I really dont feel like he should walk the streets again, Benjamin said.

Benjamin said the family will always remember Deiondre for being a family man who would had compassion for everyone he came across. While the indictment brings some closure for them, they say Gardner should face harsher charges for the homecoming shooting.

It was thousands of people on that premises when this happened, other people could have gotten hurt just by running after they heard the gunshots because people was like running towards me before i found out it was my son, so I feel it should be more, said Benjamin.

If convicted, Gardner could face up to life in prison.

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THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11)  A Bronx man is heading to prison for breaking a 75-year-old MTA workers nose and jaw during an attack in a subway station two years ago, authorities said.

Anthony Williams, 31, was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for assaulting Baboo Singh, 75, on his way to work in September 2023, according to prosecutors. Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree assault two months ago.

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The defendant punched Singh, who was dressed in his uniform, in the right eye while he was standing on the southbound platform in the Nereid Avenue subway station at around 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2023, according to court records.

Williams then repeatedly punched the MTA worker in the head and body after the punch knocked him to the ground, authorities said. Singh suffered a fractured jaw and nose.

Without provocation, the defendant punched and kicked a

75-year-old MTA employee who was in uniform on his way to work. We will not stand for assaults on transit workers, the backbone of our subway system, Bronx DA Darcel D. Clark said.

In January 2023, Williams punched a correction officer while he was incarcerated at Rikers Island, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to attempted assault in that case and was sentenced to one and a half to three years in prison.

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Williams attorney could not be reached Friday.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.

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A King County judge ruled that Patrick Cooney will spend 420 months, or about 35 years, behind bars for the murder of Seattle activist Elijah Lewis and injuring his young nephew.

Just before the judge read the sentence, Cooney said, Take me out of here.

Elijahs oldest sister spoke during todays sentencing about how his death has impacted her family.

There are no words strong enough to fully capture the devastation youve caused. You didnt just take a life, you robbed the world of a man whom meant everything to those who knew him, she said. You stole a potential father, a potential husband, and a guiding light to a young boy who looked up to him with admiration. You didnt aim just to kill a man. You almost took my boys life, too. The trauma left behind in his heart is something no child should ever carry.

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While a slideshow of pictures of Lewis played, she was overcome with emotion and began swearing at Cooney. Officers escorted her into the hallway. The court took a brief recess to regroup.

Gods hand brought Elijah into this world and tragically, another hand took Elijah out, said Lewiss mother, Jenine Lewis.

Jenine reflected on her sons life in front of the courtroom on Friday.

When you meet someone whos so genuine, who gives of themselves so selflessly, its like a light you cant dim. Elijah was more than just another person, his purpose was greater than most will ever know, she said.

Cooneys mother also spoke during todays sentencing. He got emotional, wiping tears away from his eyes as she spoke.

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It makes me sad to know he will spend so much time in prison. I hope he will be released during my lifetime. Patrick is struggling with mental health right now, as are other members of our family. We know life will never be the same for the family of Elijah Lewis. Our family is so sorry for your loss.

The shooting

On April 1, 2023, family says Elijah Lewis picked up his 9-year-old nephew to see a monster truck rally for his birthday.

According to court documents, Lewis was trying to turn onto Broadway in Capitol Hill when there was some kind of an incident.

Eyewitnesses say Lewis passed Cooney on his scooter, who then fired five shots at the car and sped off.

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Cooneys lawyers argued that he shot at Lewis car in self-defense because he got close to hitting him, but a jury found him guilty in February of this year.

Lewis and his nephew were rushed to Harborview Medical Center.

The boy had been shot in the leg, was treated and released according to hospital officials.

Lewis did not survive. He was 23 years old.
DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)  A Walmart in Dauphin County was robbed earlier this week by a man, who police say carried out a similar robbery at another store in Pennsylvania.

Swatara Township Police announced Wednesday a warrant for the arrest of Jeremy Heintz, 49, of Bucks County, for allegedly robbing the Walmart along Grayson Road just before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

A cashier who was working at the Customer Service Desk told police Heintz passed her a note demanding she put money from the register on the counter, according to a criminal complaint. She then emptied the register, and Heintz took the money, then got into his car and left.

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Unlicensed Lancaster County chiropractor accused of sexually assaulting patients for years; PSP

Police said they dont know the exact amount he took from the Dauphin County Walmart, but believe it is more than $5,000.

The employee said Heintz was holding his waistband, so they felt he had a weapon, wearing latex gloves and had his face covered.

Video surveillance from the store recorded the robbery and Heintz leaving in a vehicle. Police said they were able to get the registration, and because of the direction the car was going, they had Lebanon County check license plate readers after nothing came back for Dauphin County license plate readers.

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The car was traced back to Heintz after learning that he was also involved in a different Walmart robbery in Berks County where he used the vehicle, police said. Heintz also allegedly walked up to the Customer Service Desk and demanded money in that robbery.

Eventually, Heintz was arrested for that robbery. Police said during his arrest, he had more than $5,000 on him, and allegedly admitted to stealing the money from Walmart.

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Heintz faces a felony charge of robbery.

If anyone knows of his whereabouts, police are asking for you to give them a call at 717-564-2550.

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A manhunt is underway in Louisiana after 10 inmates pulled off a complicated escape from a local detention center.

One inmate has been recaptured as of Friday afternoon, Fox 8 Live reported.

This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left top: Keith A Lewis, Dkenan Dennis, Gary C Price, bottom from left, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Corey E Boyd. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP) / Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP

The inmates slipped out of the Orleans Justice Center just after midnight on Friday morning, yet guards reportedly didnt discover that they were gone until 8:30 a.m., according to Fox 8 Live.

We have indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside of our department, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said at a news conference, CNN reported.

Inmates broke through a wall to escape from the Orleans Justice Center. / Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

To escape, the inmates reportedly removed a toilet and made their way out of a compromised wall behind the commode before sneaking down a hallway and exiting the facility through a maintenance supply door. The inmates then scaled a wall to get outside the grounds and were spotted in their orange jumpsuits crossing an interstate.

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As a parting gift, the inmates appeared to leave behind several scribbles taunting the detention centers authorities that read, To (Sic) Easy LOL, Catch us when you can, and Most Hated 9, among other scribbles.

This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left, Lenton Vanburen Jr, Jermaine Donald, Antonine T Massey, Derrick D. Groves, and Leo Tate Sr. / Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP

Someone clearly dropped the ball and theres no excuse for this, said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who called for a full investigation into the escape.

Several New Orleans City Council members also called for an investigation amid their outrage.

Inmates broke through a wall to escape from the Orleans Justice Center. / Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

Almost like malfeasance in office, said Council President Helena Moreno. Councilman Oliver Thomas added, This rivals some of the worst things that have happened at the jail since 1937.

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Sheriff Hutson said the facility was only about 60 percent staffed during the escape. However, some victims of the inmates have spoken out in fear that their safety could be in jeopardy.

Inmates broke through a wall to escape from the Orleans Justice Center. / Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

Every deputy thats in there, I hold them responsible. Where were they? Where were they? What were they doing in order for them to escape like that? said a mother who left New Orleans out of safety concerns when she heard about the prison break. Its like were in jail now because we dont know where to go, or what to do, she said.
Manlius, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)  Students at Manlius Pebble Hill School are getting a head start in a subject most high schoolers dont even touch: artificial intelligence. For senior Andy Wladis, the opportunity to dive into AI was too good to pass up.

I emailed my guidance counselor. I emailed the head of the school and said, I have a huge passion for this. I would love to take these classes, Wladis said. It was one of the best decisions Ive made at MPH.

Dr. Gus Lott teaches the AI elective. He says the class is about exploration as much as instruction. He encourages students to experiment with AI tools in a hands-on environment unique from other schools in Upstate New York.

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Other teachers, reasonably, say, Dont use AI in this classwe want you to do the work, Lott explained. But in my class, its like, Use AI. Whats it like to use a speech writer to do the writing for you?

Its not about cutting corners, its about understanding the tool and using it responsibly. Students are expected to be transparent when using AI, and many teachers at MPH support that approach.

If you want to use it to outline, thats completely fine, Wladis said. You just have to tell them that youre using it so its very clear. Our teachers are open to innovation.

Dr. Lott compares AI to a modern research assistant or Google Scholar, saying it provides students with a lot of information; he said, Its kind of a new version of a Google Scholar search, or a librarian, or a research assistant.

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For students like Wladis, the course isnt just an electiveits a launchpad. Hes heading to Arizona State University in the fall to study computer science, and says MPH played a key role in preparing him.

I think MPH has really helped me develop my skill set, both academically and socially, he said. Im really thankful for MPH, and Im really thankful for the future.

With AI continuing to shape the world, these students arent just learning how to use ittheyre getting ready to lead the way.

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Jorge Soto came to a Texas ICE office in January as part of a routine review  complying when requested to also bring his wife and two children, ages 4 and 5, from school. After learning that his wife Beatriz Pino and two children had been in Texas just under the two year threshold that would have provided further legal protection, immigration attorney Jonathan E. Shaw told Deseret News how agents put this woman and her two children on an airplane to leave the country without the father, Jorge, even being aware.

The day before the presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump described at a Pennsylvania rally his intent to launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history. Soon after the election, the President-elect also emphasized his specific aim to get the criminals out in expanded deportation proceedings.

As these plans have been put in action, its remained unclear how many criminals are being targeted as part of these deportation efforts  compared with law-abiding individuals who are noncitizens.

Marilu Domingo Ortiz, whose husband was taken into custody by ICE agents after they smashed a window of their family car, looks at broken glass and damage to their vehicle at their home, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in New Bedford, Mass. | Charles Krupa

Even El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to receive U.S. deportees in his prisons, reportedly requested more reassurance from the United States that each of those locked up in the prison were, in fact, gang members.

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Earlier this spring, New York Times journalists reached out to all 88 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices asking for more details on who was getting deported.

At this early date, government offices refused to release details of deportees as a whole. In recent months, theyve released many stories on social media of certain individuals who committed heinous crimes.

The Biden Administration let a wanted terrorist into our country. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and then RELEASED into the interior of our country. This is just one such case.



Thank you President Trump for ending catch and release and for unleashing ICE to find and https://t.co/qXaEpjWc3a  Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) April 23, 2025

Not hard to follow: Cross illegally. Join a gang. Get deported. End of story. pic.twitter.com/2WmrJfSlfI  The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 23, 2025

Its clear that most Americans welcome news about convicted criminals being deported  with 97% of respondents in a March 2025 Pew survey saying they support the removal from the United States of those who have committed violent crimes, with a slight majority (52%) supporting deportations for nonviolent crimes.

That number drops to 15% and 14% when asked about deporting noncitizens with jobs or those with children born in the U.S.

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Border czar Tom Homan has long acknowledged collateral arrests as part of the expected result when ICE-raids target known criminals. So, how often is that happening? How many other migrants without a criminal background are being arrested and deported?

As time has passed, more statistics have emerged on this question. NBC News reported in February about government data they obtained showing that the number of detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges increased by more than 1,800 in the first two weeks of February, representing 41% of the 4,422 total new detainees in that period (with 59% having some criminal association).

Fatima Mercedes, whose son was recently detained, cries while being interviewed by journalists during a protest against ICE and migrant detentions in Elizabeth, N.J., Monday, March 3, 2025. | Seth Wenig

One month later in March, the Department of Homeland Security shared higher percentages, claiming that in Trumps first 50 days, out of the 32,809 arrests made of undocumented people in the country, just over 73% were accused or convicted criminals.

More recently, the State Department reported revoking an estimated 4,000 student visas in the first 100 days of President Trumps office. According to a senior State Department official who spoke with the New York Post, 90% of them have serious criminal records.

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The latest numbers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  including stats through April - show that of the 49,184 individuals detained in 2025, 31% are convicted of a crime and another 24% have pending criminal charges (totaling 55% with some kind of criminal association).

That figure of just over half of those arrested having criminal records seems to be the most reliable figure based on the most comprehensive data so far. Historically, the comparable figures of arrested noncitizens who had confirmed or pending criminal charges was 72% in 2024 and 43% in 2023, according to a 2024 report by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As reflected here, although the percentage of non-criminally charged individuals being deported has risen in recent months compared with the previous year, the current figure of 45% is less than the estimated 57% of those arrested in 2023 during the Biden administration by U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations without criminal backgrounds.

In this image taken from video released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, officers stop a patron from a nightclub where a raid occurred Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colo. | U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP

Removing as fast as possible

One reason the government needed to gather further evidence to send to President Bukele, is that the planned process moved faster than such careful evidence gathering would require, thanks to invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. As Stephen Miller explained to Charlie Kirk in a September 2023 interview, that act would allow the government to instantaneously remove any noncitizen foreigner 14 years or older from somewhere determined to be an invading country.

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That allows you to suspend the due process that normally applies to a removal proceeding, Miller explained.

In recent weeks, multiple judges (most recently the Supreme Court on Friday) have ruled against this invocation of the 18th century law, arguing the White House hasnt shown the United States is under invasion by a hostile foreign power.

Subsequently, Stephen Miller confirmed last week the administration was actively looking at suspending habeas corpus, a legal principle that protects individuals from unlawful detention by requiring that person to be brought before a court to confirm that detention is lawful. (Presumably, the administration would again be arguing for an invasion threat, since the Constitution stipulates, 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.)

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. | Alex Brandon

Why is he being treated like a criminal?

If the people who are getting arrested are really the cold-blooded criminals the executive branch insists they are, writes columnist David Graham in the Atlantic, saying so in a court of law should be relatively easy.

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But in recent weeks, more stories have been published of individuals detained by ICE without any redress, accompanied by protests from families who insist they are law-abiding and contributing positively to their community. For instance, in early February ICE agents seized Neri Jose Alvarado a few days before his asylum appointment was scheduled. The 25-year-old man had fled Venezuela and had just got a promotion at a bakery in the Dallas area, reportedly sending money home to cover his brothers treatments for autism.

Alvarado is now in El Salvadors prison. Bakery owner Enrique Hernandez told reporters: They didnt investigate himThey took him and they didnt even know who he was.

In March, a 20-year old man Cristian, likewise from Venezuela in the U.S. with a pending asylum application, was also sent to prison in El Salvador. The judge, a Trump appointee, who later reviewed the decision, wrote critically: Defendants have provided no evidence, or even any specific allegations, as to how Cristian, or any other Class Member, poses a threat to public safety.

A third man, 25-year-old Guatemalan with no prior police or criminal record, according to his family, was detained in Massachusetts this month.

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Its not fair that hes going through this and being treated like a criminal, said the young mans father Arquimedes Orellana, who says he brought his family to the U.S. fleeing violence in his home country.

Daniel Orellana has since been in contact with his girlfriend, Zulema Alfaro, telling her it was a misunderstanding but that the officials told him, OK, but were going to take you anyway.

The father insisted he wasnt against the government bringing more scrutiny to immigration status. I know the government is working to improve the country but its not fair that they take innocent people, people who are productive for the country.

When asked in an April interview about whether he was worried about mistakenly deporting innocent people, President Trump responded, You know, Im not involved in that. I have many people, many layers of people that do that. He then emphasized, I would say they are all extremely tough, dangerous people. I would say that.

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President Trump then added, And, dont forget, they came in the country illegally.

How serious a crime is triggering scrutiny?

When it comes to visas being revoked, government sources deny that mild charges like littering are triggering federal action, with one official claiming that 500 of the 3600 students whose visas were revoked had assaulted someone.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio does famously have a zero tolerance policy for students who, in his words, create a ruckus for us on campus  e.g., if they vandalize a library or take over a campus.

Sometimes minor violations are being cited as pretext for removal proceedings. For instance, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, 19, was arrested in Georgia after failing to obey a no turn on red sign. Shes lived in the U.S. for 15 years, graduating high school and starting college.

Arias-Cristobal poses with her father Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar after graduating from Dalton High School in May 2024.

Her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, owns a small business  but was also pulled over for a speeding ticket. Now the whole family is facing deportation within a month  with immigration attorney Terry Olsen saying authorities shortly plan to arrest Arias-Cristobals mother and her daughters to keep the family together.

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In some instances, vastly disparate allegations exist about deported families. For example, in one highly publicized case where a 2-year-old was separated from her parents, the U.S. government has accused father Maiker Espinoza of being a lieutenant of the gang Tren de Aragua who oversees criminal operations, and his wife, 20-year-old Yorely Bernal of directing the recruitment of young women for drug smuggling and prostitution.

Maiker Espinoza, left, and Ms. Bernal with their daughter, Antonella.

But Mr. Espinozas sister, Maria Alejandra Fernandez, 31, rejects these allegations, saying: My brother is not a criminal. He left Venezuela like many young people, looking for an opportunity to get ahead.

Referring to these kinds of cases, immigration researcher David Dyssegaard Kallick tells Deseret News: This administration is trampling due process and picking people up off the streets and deciding that anyone they say has committed a crime is a criminal. And theyre doing that whether or not theres evidence and whether or not the family even knows whats happening.

Kallick is the director of the Immigration Research Initiative, established to inject some level of calm and data-based understanding in a national debate dominated by what he calls overheated rhetoric and unfounded claims about immigrants in everyday life.

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Kallick points out that due process was so fundamental to our history in this country. This principle was absolutely front of mind for the framers of the Constitution, who had their own experiences with a monarch who didnt respect due process and just decided that somebody who they suspected was a criminal was a criminal, he says.

Not only criminals - anyone in the country illegally

Although publicly committing to prioritize the worst first, the White House has also acknowledged wanting to go beyond those with a criminal background.

The fact is that immigrants here illegally who have criminal records that go beyond immigration violations number only in the hundreds of thousands  far short of the millions this White House has committed to deport.

As I reported earlier this year, out of the total estimated population of migrants in the U.S., an estimated 5% (655,000) have some kind of a criminal charge or conviction, many of which are minor offenses like traffic violations. And of this group that has been charged with any violation of the law, only 15,000 are in custody, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

To reach higher deportation numbers, quotas are being used. When senior ICE officials were instructed to make 75 arrests per day at each of the agencys field offices, the Washington Post reported current and former ICE officials acknowledging that the orders significantly increase the chance that officers will engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations as they strain to meet quotas.

Those with criminal records are also often the toughest people to track down and arrest  compared with law-abiding immigrants who seek to follow all the rules and keep records updated.

This is a cruel irony noted by several immigration attorneys Deseret News contacted. Namely, those who have tried to do the right thing submitting papers, appearing in court, staying in touch with the immigration office  may be more vulnerable to deportation, because the government knows where they are (compared with those largely off the radar).

Writing in Forbes earlier in the year, Stuart Anderson had similarly predicted that federal pressure to generate large numbers of deportations would create conditions where targeting criminals or convicting a business owner in a workplace raid will be secondary to the bureaucratic goal of driving up deportation numbers.

Homan has acknowledged the possibility of reinstating the practice of detaining immigrant families. We need family residential centers, he said.

My mom isnt a criminal, Ingrid Martinez said about her mother, who was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Nashville area this month. My mom  she serves a church. She takes care of her grandkids. So, I dont know how she can be seen as a criminal.

Despite legal status, we have contributed greatly to this citys development, said Martinez and Patricia Rocha, who have lived in Tennessee for more than 30 years and recently saw their sister apprehended. Some people think immigrants are criminals, that we steal jobs. On the contrary, many of us are business owners who create jobs.

Immigration attorney Jonathan E. Shaw tells Deseret News, Now, its open season on anyone whos been here less than 2 years.
Meta reportedly allowed thousands of bogus ads to run on its platforms while refusing to crack down on alleged cases of fraud to avoid losing ad revenue, according to a bombshell report.

The Facebook and Instagram parent accounted for nearly half of all scam complaints tied to Zelle transactions reported by JPMorgan Chase between mid-2023 and mid-2024, according to the expose Friday by the Wall Street Journal.

Other lenders that use the peer-to-peer payment app also have received high amounts of fraud claims linked to Meta, people familiar with the matter told the Journal, which spoke to former and current staffers, regulators and banks, and reviewed internal Meta documents.

Facebook and Instagram users have reportedly fallen victim to fraud perpetrated by scammers based abroad. Prostock-studio  stock.adobe.com

Metas platforms  used by more than three billion people daily  have long faced issues with fraud. But the problem has reportedly grown in scale in recent years, fueled by the rise of cryptocurrency schemes, AI-generated content and sprawling criminal operations based in Southeast Asia.

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One reported scam involved a barrage of deceptive ads falsely tied to Edgar Guzman, who runs a legitimate wholesale business outside Atlanta.

Over the course of a year, more than 4,400 different Facebook and Instagram ads used Guzmans warehouse address to promote steep discounts on bulk merchandise  including pallets of power tools for $29 and boxes of returned Amazon products starting at just $1.

Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has claimed that it holds no legal responsibility for fraudulent content on its platforms. AP

What sucks is we have to break it to people that theyve been scammed  we dont even do online sales, Guzman told the Journal, adding that the fraudulent ads have damaged his companys reputation through negative reviews.

Another nefarious scheme capitalized on the trusted image of global food giant McCormick & Co, the Journal reported.

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Facebook and Instagram users were targeted with bogus ads promising a free spice rack and assortment of products from the brand, requiring only a $9.99 shipping fee. The scam lured victims to a site designed to mimic McCormicks official website, complete with a fake survey and prize game.

After submitting their credit card information, victims were charged for multiple fraudulent purchases totaling hundreds of dollars.

Users of Metas social networks Facebook and Instagram say they have fallen victim to scam artists. Askar  stock.adobe.com

If their revenue is coming from fraud, what is their incentive to protect people? Marah Johnson, a 58-year-old artist from Orange County, Calif., who fell for the scam, told the Journal.

It feels like Meta is helping the scammers out.

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A third scheme thriving on Metas platforms involves the sale of nonexistent puppies.

Although Meta bans peer-to-peer live animal sales outside narrow exceptions, a simple search for puppies revealed thousands of questionable ads.

According to the report, Metas platforms were the origin point for nearly half of all scam complaints tied to Zelle transactions reported by JPMorgan Chase between mid-2023 and mid-2024. Christopher Sadowski

Many of them used stolen images and claimed to be from breeders near me, but were traced to sellers operating out of Cameroon.

These listings often lacked any affiliation with verified breeders or rescue organizations, in violation of Metas own policies, according to the Journal.

Victims were typically asked to send deposits to secure a pet that never arrived.

The various scams can bilk users out of losses ranging into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Journal.

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In recent years, the epidemic of scams has grown in scale and complexity, driven by ruthless cross-border criminal networks that operate on a global scale, a Meta spokesperson told The Post on Friday.

As this scam activity has become more persistent and sophisticated, so have our efforts.

But current and former staffers told the the Journal that Meta has been hesitant to impose stricter controls on advertisers and has declined to beef up its anti-fraud enforcement mechanisms.

The company reported a 22% increase in ad revenue last year  bringing it to more than $160 billion.

Facebook and Instagram staffers are instructed to tolerate between eight and 32 fraud strikes before banning accounts while scam enforcement overall is deprioritized to avoid losing ad revenue, sources told the Journal.

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When Meta employees personally escalated the problem to their superiors, the limit dropped to between four and 16 strikes, according to the Journal.

Meta denied that it has put profits ahead of safety,

Eighty five percent of ad accounts removed or banned for violating our policies never spent a dollar and nearly 70% of ad accounts removed for violating our policies are removed or banned within a week of account creation, many on the very day theyre created, the spokesperson said.

Meta has reportedly been lax in cracking down on overseas-based scam artists who rip off Facebook and Instagram users. AP

However, the companys failure to clamp down on bogus ads has allegedly helped fuel human trafficking-linked scam operations in Southeast Asia, where kidnapped victims are forced to work under threat of extreme forms of torture and abuse, the Journal reported.

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The Meta spokesperson insisted the company is taking aggressive action against these organized fraud operations  often referred to as pig butchering.

Were going after the criminal organizations behind pig butchering and other schemes, which target people globally through messaging, dating, social media and crypto and other apps to convince them to invest under false pretenses, the rep said.

This year alone, weve taken down over two million accounts linked to scam centers in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines.

The company is experimenting with facial-recognition tools, issuing scam warnings to users and collaborating with financial institutions and other tech companies because this crime affects many industries and cuts across different parts of society, the rep added.

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Those who have been scammed are unlikely to get a refund from Meta .

In legal filings, the tech titan has contended that it holds no legal responsibility for fraudulent content on its sites  citing the controversial Section 230 of the federal telecommunications law that shields platforms.

In a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit that accused the company of failing to remove cryptocurrency-related impersonation scams, Meta wrote that the alleged underenforcement of Metas monitoring policies cannot give rise to liability, and argued it does not owe a duty to users when it comes to policing fraud.
GREENBELT, Md. (DC News Now)  Questions over privileged documents and possible state secrets were the main focus of an hours-long hearing Friday afternoon in the case of a Maryland man mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador back in March, and Trump officials admitted he was deported due to an administrative error. The White House maintains he wont be coming back, despite rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to facilitate his return.

In the latest hearing, Abrego Garcias team, government attorneys and Judge Paula Xinis spent several hours discussing the governments claims that certain statements and documents pertinent to the case could expose state secrets.

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US claim of state secrets privilege in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is inadequate, judge says

Xinis said she does not have enough information to determine whether thats the case, however, maintaining that the documents and depositions before her are lacking and not substantial or detailed enough for her to grant state secrets privilege.

For that privilege to be granted, there must be a clear and reasonable danger posed to U.S. foreign relations.

She said she cannot get past step one, saying that whats been presented to her hasnt indicated any reasonable danger to diplomatic relations or how the release of the information could affect the workings of the executive branch.

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Abrego Garcias team says the government has provided fewer than three dozen documents in the discovery phase, while earmarking several hundred documents and depositions as privileged under state secrets or deliberative process statutes.

Xinis also said there are questions surrounding the governments intent in providing so few documents.

Abrego Garcias lawyers said that what the government has provided has not been substantive in answering questions about his custodial status or whether the government has taken any steps to facilitate his return  or made plans to do so.

Maryland, Virginia Senators to host roundtable discussion on El Salvadors human rights record

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The government argued, however, that it has turned over those documents in good faith and that its team is complying with court orders to facilitate Abrego Garcias return.

The government also maintained in court Friday its position that Abrego Garcia was lawfully detained and deported, even though Judge Xinis has already ruled otherwise.

Xinis said there is a dueling narrative unfolding as top government officials continue to make statements asserting the exact opposite.

She referred to public statements and posts online from President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem  who is named as a defendant in the case  saying Abrego Garcia will not be returned to the U.S.

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The judge called those statements problematic, calling them an admission that they are not complying with her courts order and the SCOTUS order, which have said that the government must facilitate his return.

Abrego Garcias team also claims the government is asserting state secrets privileges to delay for delays sake and that each minute Abrego Garcia stays in El Salvador causes him irreparable harm.

At a rally before Fridays hearing, Prince Georges County Congressman Glen Ivey called on the government to stop what he calls a smear campaign against Abrego Garcia.

Abrego Garcias wife was present at the rally and the hearing. She did not speak to reporters, however.

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After three hours of arguments Friday afternoon, Xinis sealed the courtroom due to the nature of arguments surrounding privileged information and hearings continued in private into the evening. She is expected to issue a decision in the case early next week.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)  Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced Friday he will veto a measure to create a commission to study potential slavery reparations in the state, saying that while it was a difficult decision, the issue already has been studied and now is the time to focus on the work itself.

Moore, a Democrat who is the state's first Black governor and the only Black governor currently serving, wrote in his veto letter that he applauded the legislature's work on the bill.

But in light of the many important studies that have taken place on this issue over nearly three decades, now is the time to focus on the work itself: Narrowing the racial wealth gap, expanding homeownership, uplifting entrepreneurs of color, and closing the foundational disparities that lead to inequality  from food insecurity to education, Moore wrote.

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The governor also noted in his veto letter that Black politicians have risen to the highest levels of government in the state in recent years. For example, U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks is the state's first Black U.S. senator. Maryland also has a Black attorney general, a Black state House speaker and a Black treasurer.

We have moved in partnership with leaders across the state to uplift Black families and address racial disparities in our communities, Moore wrote. That is the context in which Ive made this difficult decision. Because while I appreciate the work that went into this legislation, I strongly believe now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.

Reparations were a legislative priority

The bill was introduced in this year's legislative session as a top priority of the Legislative Black Caucus, which, with 66 members, is the largest Black caucus in the nation's state legislatures.

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The caucus released a statement Friday night expressing deep disappointment in the governor's veto.

At a time when the White House and Congress are actively targeting Black communities, dismantling diversity initiatives, and using harmful coded language, Governor Moore had a chance to show the country and the world that here in Maryland we boldly and courageously recognize our painful history and the urgent need to address it," the caucus said in the statement. Instead, the States first Black governor chose to block this historic legislation that would have moved the state toward directly repairing the harm of enslavement.

The measure passed with strong support in the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats. The House voted 101-36 for the bill, and the Senate approved it 32-13. Both chambers approved the measure with margins large enough to override a veto, if all members who voted for the bill decided to vote to override the governor's veto.

The legislature ended its regular 90-day session last month, and it would not take up veto overrides until lawmakers gather again, whether next year's regularly scheduled 90-day session in January, or a special session this year, if one were to be called.

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The governor's veto was one among 23 announced by the governor late Friday afternoon.

The Senate will closely evaluate each veto from the Governor's Office and have more details on possible action in the near future," said David Schuhlein, a spokesman for Senate President Bill Ferguson.

House Speaker Adrienne Jones issued a statement specifically on the governor's veto of creating the commission, saying I am proud of all our work during the 2025 session and grateful to lead a state that has always put these issues at the forefront of our policy discussions.

The work is not done, and I remain committed to working alongside all our partners to continue righting historical inequities, the speaker, a Democrat, added.

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Reparations remain an ongoing issue

Potential reparations outlined in the bill included official statements of apology, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, social service assistance, as well as licensing and permit fee waivers and reimbursement. Reparations also could include assistance with making a down payment on a home, business incentives, childcare, debt forgiveness and tuition payment waivers for higher education.

The governor wrote in his veto letter that over the last 25 years, Maryland has launched several commissions and study groups to examine the legacy of slavery in the state, from the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission to the State Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration, and Impact of the History and Legacy of Slavery in Maryland.

The scholarship on this topic is both vast in scope and robust in scale, Moore wrote. And we are grateful for the Marylanders who have contributed their expertise to the vital project of understanding how the legacy of slavery continues to impact Black communities in our state today.

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Last year, California lawmakers passed some of the nations most ambitious legislation aimed at atoning for a legacy of racist policies that drove racial disparities for Black people. None of the bills provided widespread direct payments to Black Americans. Instead, California lawmakers approved the return of land or compensation to families whose property was unjustly seized by the government, and issuing a formal apology.

New York City lawmakers approved legislation last year to study the citys significant role in slavery and consider reparations to descendants of enslaved people.
BOSTON (WWLP)  A Brockton man operating as the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization was sentenced to prison for multiple federal drug charges.

Charging documents stated that from at least January 2021 through November 2021, 27-year-old Giovanni Pina of Brockton was one of the leaders of a drug trafficking conspiracy operating around the South Shore area of Massachusetts. The organization was identified as a distributor of fentanyl, fentanyl analogue, and cocaine.

Police investigating possible armed home invasion in Greenfield, suspect in custody

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Law enforcement investigating the organization identified a stash house in Weymouth, and in January 2021, officers executed a search warrant at the location. They found extensive drug paraphernalia, two kilo presses, over 10 kilograms of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and cocaine, three firearms, ammunition, two high-capacity magazines, and a speed loader.

The charging documents further stated that Pina was found to operate multiple other stash locations after the Weymouth house was dismantled.

In January and February 2023, Pina also participated in multiple recorded drug deals with a cooperating witness. Two of the drug deals took place in the presence of a minor. On January 12, 2023, in Brockton, Pina sold the witness a box of pills containing over 2,000 grams of a mixture of methamphetamine. On January 25, 2023, Pina sold another large box of pills to the witness in a vehicle in Taunton, consisting of over 2,500 grams of a mixture of methamphetamine.

Giovanni Pina was charged with:

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Possessing with Intent to Distribute and Distributing 500 grams and more of Methamphetamine

Distributing and Possessing with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on Premises where a Minor was Present and/or Resided

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 400 grams or more of Fentanyl, 100 grams or more of a Fentanyl Analogue, and 500 grams or more of Cocaine

On Friday, Pina was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 138 months (11 years and six months) in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $250,000.

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.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DORCHESTER, Mass. (WWLP)  Two Massachusetts residents were the first to win $1 million prizes in instant ticket games that recently went on sale.

On Wednesday, these winners visited the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Dorchester to receive their prize.

Hampden County Sheriff alerts public to new dangerous phone scheme

Southbridge resident Clarissa Peltier was the first $1 million grand prize winner in the Triple 777 instant ticket game. She received a one-time payment of $650,000 before taxes, and said she plans to make home repairs with her winnings.

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Peltier purchased the grand prize ticket at 7 Star Liquors, located at 543 Main Street. The store will receive a bonus of $10,000 for its sale. Triple 777 first went on sale on April 15.

Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.

Myles Blanchard of Fall River was also lucky enough to win the first $1 million prize in a new instant ticket game, the $4,000,000 Cash King Doubler. This ticket also went on sale April 15.

Blanchard, who plans to buy a house with his winnings, received a one-time payment of $650,000 before taxes. He bought his prize ticket at Players Cafe, located at 950 Hyde Park Avenue in Hyde Park. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.

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.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Hoping to settle the score a group of mostly Massachusetts teenagers fatally attacked another teenager, stabbing him more than 20 times. After years in prison, one of the teens killers is walking free.

On May 22, 2007, a group including 17-year-old Terrance Pabon decided there would be a one-on-one fight between two groups associated with Havelock and Wilcock streets in Dorchester.

Arrangements were made to get 16-year-old Terrance Jacobs to Wilcock Street in order to settle the score after Jacobs slashed a 14-year-old boy face with a razor, prosecutors said according to the Boston Herald.

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Jacobs arrived on Wilcock Street along with many others. An argument quickly escalated and Jacobs was pushed, the parole board stated. One of Jacobs friends took out a gun and fired multiple shots. The gun shots didnt hit anyone, but the group began running.

Pabon and his group chased Jacobs and then stabbed him over 20 times before fleeing. Jacobs was taken to the hospital where he died.

At least six people were arrested in connection with the stabbing, although only five were indicted after a 16-year-old was found to have been an eyewitness but not a participant in the crime.

On May 25, 2010, a jury trial in Suffolk Superior Court convicted Pabon of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

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Pabon first went in front of the parole board in 2023.

Pabon said he was exposed to violence and crime from a very young age and was affiliated with a gang as an adolescent.

He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 10 and left school in ninth grade, the board noted.

In 2023, the parole board was troubled that he was returned to higher custody after nine months in minimum. They noted his lack of maturity, recklessness and impulsivity. He was denied parole and asked to remain disciplinary report-free and continue to engage in vocational and rehabilitative programming.

On Jan. 28, he returned to go in front of the parole board.

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They noted he was part of the NEADS program and Restorative Justice. Three people spoke in support of parole, while Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Charles Marshall spoke in opposition to parole.

The parole board unanimously decided that Pabon has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.

He will have electronic monitoring for six months and be supervised for drugs and is required to have mental health counseling.

Markeese Mitchell, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was also released on parole in 2023. Jacobs mother spoke against Mitchell getting parole.

More on the Massachusetts Parole Board

Read the original article on MassLive.
JACKSON  The Mississippi Development Authoritys Community Incentives-Disaster Recovery Division is hosting a series of public hearings regarding the draft action plan in place to assist areas most impacted and affected by disasters in 2023-2024.

The hearing in Amory is Tuesday, May 21, at 6 p.m. at the Old National Guard Armory.

The plan will be published for public viewing on the Disaster Recovery Division website at msdisasterrecovery.com/action-plans/2023-2024-disasters/. It will be submitted to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development on or before June 21.

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"Reaching out to the community directly is one of the best tools we have to make sure these funds are being used to effectively serve those most in need, said Gov. Tate Reeves. They will improve housing, infrastructure and economic development throughout the counties devasted by these disasters, and we are dedicated to ensuring that those affected have the resources they need to rebuild their homes and communities."

HUD allocated the state of Mississippi nearly $135 million of $12 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to address ongoing disaster-related needs in Hinds County, Belzoni and Silver City in Humphreys County, Moss Point in Jackson County, Amory in Monroe County, Scott County and Sharkey County.

The public is invited to the upcoming hearings for information about the action plan or to offer citizen input concerning the proposed activities to be undertaken through the CDBG-DR program. Comments will be considered through the close of business on June 16. MDA will accept comments via mail, fax or e-mail at the following:

Mississippi Development Authority

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Community Incentives Division  Disaster Recovery

P.O. Box 849

Jackson, MS 39205

Fax: 601-359-3108

Email: disasterrecoverycomments@mississippi.org

For more information, contact the MDA Disaster Recovery team at disasterrecovery@mississippi.org.
Spencer Hospital is one of the smallest hospitals in Iowa still offering inpatient mental health care. (Tony Leys/KFF Health News)

SPENCER, Iowa  This towns hospital is a holdout on behalf of people going through mental health crises. The facilitys leaders have pledged not to shutter their inpatient psychiatric unit, as dozens of other U.S. hospitals have.

Keeping that promise could soon get tougher if Congress slashes Medicaid funding. The joint federal-state health program covers an unusually large share of mental health patients, and hospital industry leaders say spending cuts could accelerate a decades-long wave of psychiatric unit closures.

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At least eight other Iowa hospitals have stopped offering inpatient mental health care since 2007, forcing people in crisis to seek help in distant facilities. Spencer Hospital is one of the smallest in Iowa still offering the service.

CEO Brenda Tiefenthaler said 40% of her hospitals psychiatric inpatients are covered by Medicaid, compared with about 12% of all inpatients. An additional 10% of the hospitals psychiatric inpatients are uninsured. National experts say such disparities are common.

Tiefenthaler vows to keep her nonprofit hospitals 14-bed psychiatric unit open, even though it loses $2 million per year. Thats a significant loss for an organization with an overall annual budget of about $120 million. But the people who use the psychiatric unit need medical care, just like people who have chest pains, Tiefenthaler said.

Medicaid covers health care for about 72 million Americans with low incomes or disabilities. Tiefenthaler predicts that if some of them are kicked off the program and left without insurance coverage, more people would delay treatment for mental health problems until their lives spin out of control.

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Then theyre going to enter through the emergency room when theyre in a crisis, she said. Thats not really a solution to what we have going on in our country.

Republican congressional leaders have vowed to protect Medicaid for people who need it, but they also have called for billions of dollars in cuts to areas of the federal budget that include the program.

The U.S. already faces a deep shortage of inpatient mental health services, many of which were reduced or eliminated by private hospitals and public institutions, said Jennifer Snow, director of government relations and policy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. At the same time, the number of people experiencing mental problems has climbed.

I dont even want to think about how much worse it could get, she said.

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The American Hospital Association estimates nearly 100 U.S. hospitals have shuttered their inpatient mental health services in the past decade.

Such closures are often attributed to mental health services being more likely to lose money than many other types of health care.

Im not blaming the hospitals, Snow said. They need to keep their doors open.

Medicaid generally pays hospitals lower rates for services than they receive from private insurance or from Medicare, the federal program that mostly covers people 65 or older. And Medicaid recipients are particularly likely to need mental health care. More than a third of nonelderly Medicaid enrollees have some sort of mental illness, according to a report from KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization that includes KFF Health News. Iowa has the highest rate of mental illness among nonelderly Medicaid recipients, at 51%.

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As of February, just 20 of Iowas 116 community hospitals had inpatient psychiatric units, according to a state registry. Iowa also has four freestanding mental hospitals, including two run by the state.

Iowa, with 3.2 million residents, has a total of about 760 inpatient mental health beds that are staffed to care for patients, the state reports. The Treatment Advocacy Center, a national group seeking improved mental health care, says the absolute minimum of such beds would translate to about 960 for Iowas population, and the optimal number would be about 1,920.

Most of Iowas psychiatric beds are in metro areas, and it can take several days for a slot to come open. In the meantime, patients routinely wait in emergency departments.

Sheriffs deputies often are assigned to transport patients to available facilities when treatment is court-ordered.

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Its not uncommon for us to drive five or six hours, said Clay County Sheriff Chris Raveling, whose northwestern Iowa county includes Spencer, a city of 11,000 people.

He said Spencer Hospitals mental health unit often is too full to accept new patients and, like many such facilities, it declines to take patients who are violent or charged with crimes.

The result is that people are held in jail on minor charges stemming from their mental illnesses or addictions, the sheriff said.

They really shouldnt be in jail, he said. Did they commit a crime? Yes. But I dont think they did it on purpose.

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Raveling said authorities in many cases decide to hold people in jail so they dont hurt themselves or others while awaiting treatment. He has seen the problems worsen in his 25 years in law enforcement.

Most people with mental health issues can be treated as outpatients, but many of those services also depend heavily on Medicaid and could be vulnerable to budget cuts.

Jon Ulven, a psychologist who practices in Moorhead, Minnesota, and neighboring Fargo, North Dakota, said hes particularly worried about patients who develop psychosis, which often begins in the teenage years or early adulthood. If theyre started right away on medication and therapy, we can have a dramatic influence on that person for the rest of their life, he said. But if treatment is delayed, their symptoms often become harder to reverse.

Ulven, who helps oversee mental health services in his region for the multistate Sanford Health system, said hes also concerned about people with other mental health challenges, including depression. He noted a study published in 2022 that showed suicide rates rose faster in states that declined to expand their Medicaid programs than in states that agreed to expand their programs to cover more low-income adults. If Medicaid rolls are reduced again, he said, more people would be uninsured and fewer services would be available. That could lead to more suicides.

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Nationally, Medicaid covered nearly 41% of psychiatric inpatients cared for in 2024 by a sample of 680 hospitals, according to an analysis done for KFF Health News by the financial consulting company Strata. In contrast, just 13% of inpatients in those hospitals cancer programs and 9% of inpatients in their cardiac programs were covered by Medicaid.

If Medicaid participants have mental crises after losing their coverage, hospitals or clinics would have to treat many of them for little or no payment.

These are not wealthy people. They dont have a lot of assets, said Steve Wasson, Stratas chief data and intelligence officer. Even though Medicaid pays hospitals relatively low rates, he said, its better than nothing.

Birthing units, which also have been plagued by closures, face similar challenges. In the Strata sample, 37% of those units patients were on Medicaid in 2024.

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Spencer Hospital, which has a total of 63 inpatient beds, has maintained both its birthing unit and its psychiatric unit, and its leaders plan to keep them open. Amid a critical shortage of mental health professionals, it employs two psychiatric nurse practitioners and two psychiatrists, including one providing care via video from North Carolina.

Local resident David Jacobsen appreciates the hospitals efforts to preserve services. His son Alex was assisted by the facilitys mental health professionals during years of struggles before he died by suicide in 2020.

David Jacobsen knows how reliant such services are on Medicaid, and he worries that more hospitals will curtail mental health offerings if national leaders cut the program.

Theyre hurting the people who need help the most, he said.

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People on Medicaid arent the only ones affected when hospitals reduce services or close treatment units. Everyone in the community loses access to care.

Alex Jacobsens family saw how common the need is. If we can learn anything from my Alex, one of his sisters wrote in his obituary, its that mental illness is real, it doesnt discriminate, and it takes some of the best people down in its ugly swirling drain.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
The Boone County community observed Peace Officer Memorial Day with a quiet ceremony Thursday.

Officers from the Boone County Sheriffs Office, Lebanon, area towns, the Indiana State Police, Department of Natural Resources, and others, came to meet the public and participate in a solemn ceremony.

K-9 officers, detectives, cyber sleuths and patrolmen came in everyday and dress uniforms to pay their respects.

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Politicians and families came too, including wives, parents and children, to celebrate their work and dedication, and to remember the dangers they face daily and those who have fallen in the line of duty.

They gathered along Meridian Street outside of the Boone County Courthouse in Lebanon. Scouts led the Pledge of Allegiance after a multi-agency color guard lined up under a giant American flag the Lebanon Fire Department hung from the courthouses limestone columns. Speakers remembered the five officers who have fallen in the line of duty in Boone County.

Peace Officer Memorial Day, May 15, is a national day on which to remember police who have died or been injured in the line of duty. Five officers have given their lives in service of Boone County.

Boone County officers who have died in the line of duty include:

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Jacob Matthew Picket

Boone County Sheriffs Deputy Jake Pickett, 34 at the time of his death, succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained March 2, 2018, while aiding the Lebanon Police Department in a manhunt.

Three men fled police when LPD went to a Lebanon home to serve a warrant. Pickett and his K-9 partner pursued one suspect who shot Pickett as he rounded a corner of an apartment building on foot.

Pickett was taken to Witham Health Services and then flow to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis where he was kept on life support until March 5 so his organs could be donated.

His assailant pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Michael Earl Greene

Indiana State Police Master Trooper Michael Earl Greene, 43 at the time of his death, was fatally shot Feb. 5, 1993, by one of two men he saw urinating along Interstate 65 just south of Boone County.

Both were wanted on outstanding warrants, and one suspect shot Greene as he handcuffed the other suspect. The shooter was sentenced to death but died in prison in 2007. The other was convicted of reckless homicide and has since been released from prison.

Richard Gerald Brown

Indiana State Police Trooper Richard G. Brown, 40 at the time of his death, was investigating an accident Sept. 27, 1967, when another vehicle struck and killed him on Interstate 74 between Jamestown and Lizton.

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The second accident also killed two others and critically injured one person.

John Miller

Indiana State Police Sgt. John Miller, 35 at the time of his death, was killed Sept. 5, 1955, in a plane crash just south of Lebanon when the plane he was in, that was used to spot traffic violations from the sky, took a sharp turn and crashed in a field.

John Peper

Boone County Sheriff John Peper, 38 at the time of his death, had held office only five weeks when he suffered fatal injuries from a crash on a sleet-covered road Feb. 7, 1935.

He and a deputy were responding to another accident on U.S. 52 just north of Lebanon when the car they were in lost control and flipped.

Pepers wife was appointed as sheriff to serve the remainder of his term. She was Boone Countys first female sheriff and only the third woman to serve as a sheriff in Indiana.
Why battle airport chaos or long drives out of state when some of Arizonas most charming getaways are just a few hours away? This Memorial Day weekend, skip the stress and opt for an in-state staycation.

Whether you're craving cool mountain air, red rock views, ghost town chills or artistic escapes, Arizona has you covered. From the historic allure of Prescott and Jerome to the starry skies of Flagstaff, the red rock magic of Sedona and the quirky charm of Bisbee, each destination offers something unique.

With plenty of local flavor, these towns are perfect for a quick reset, full of fresh air, fun and a taste of Arizonas rich personality.

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Here are the best Arizona road trips to take on Memorial Day weekend.

And if you're staying in town for the weekend, here are the best things to do on Memorial Day weekend around metro Phoenix as well as where to pay your respects to fallen veterans.

Best things to do in Jerome on Memorial Day weekend

Once dubbed the Wickedest Town in the West, Jerome was a booming copper mining town built into the side of Cleopatra Hill in the late 1800s.

Today, its a quirky artist enclave with haunted hotels, wine-tasting rooms and shops tucked into historic buildings that seem to defy gravity.

Just about two hours north of Phoenix, the drive to Jerome winds through the scenic desert and twisting mountain curves. Whether you're chasing ghosts or admiring the views, Jerome is the kind of weird, wonderful place that proves Arizonas past is never too far behind. Here are the top things to do:

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Eat at Haunted Hamburger: Get a delicious burger with a priceless view at this favorite restaurant. Order a red wine Wagyu bacon burger and grab a seat on the patio, where you can savor your meal as well as a panoramic view of the Verde Valley and the red rocks of Sedona in the distance.

Check out Nellie Bly Kaleidoscopes: Considered one of the largest kaleidoscope galleries and showcasing handcrafted pieces from over 90 artists worldwide, this whimsical shop captivates visitors with its mesmerizing collection of optical art, ranging from playful toys to intricate, museum-quality designs.

Stay at the Jerome Grand Hotel: If you're brave enough to check in and maybe never sleep again, the Jerome Grand Hotel is your kind of haunt. Perched high above the Verde Valley, this former hospital-turned-hotel is infamous for its paranormal activity. Guests have reported ghostly apparitions of doctors, nurses and patients, and mysterious sounds like footsteps. Whether you're a thrill-seeker or just curious, the Jerome Grand Hotel offers a spine-tingling stay in one of Arizona's most haunted locations.

Best things to do in Sedona on Memorial Day weekend

Sedona is a stunning desert town known for its vibrant red rock formations and spiritual energy. Originally home to Native American peoples and then settlers who arrived in the early 1900s, Sedona became a hotspot for artists, hikers and healers drawn to its natural beauty and mysterious vortexes. Here are the top things to do:

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Eat at Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill: The Food Network recently named Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill in Sedona the most charming small-town restaurant in Arizona. Known for its breathtaking views and elegant architecture, the restaurant reflects Sedonas natural beauty and artistic spirit. Chef Lisa Dahl, who also owns five other restaurants and has competed on the Food Network's "Beat Bobby Flay," crafts a menu that combines Latin flair with upscale comfort. Guests rave about the churrasco grilled meats and the empanadas.

Grab a treat at Sedonuts: Husband-and-wife duo Paul and Lynette Gilkey opened Sedonuts & Coffee with a commitment to quality and freshness that quickly made the shop a local favorite. Their menu features classic donuts and the signature Vortex cinnamon roll topped with rich cream cheese frosting. Many of their donuts are playfully named after famous Sedona landmarks, like the Red Rocks, adding a creative, hometown touch to every bite. Their dedication has earned Sedonuts a spot on Yelps list of the Top 100 Donut Shops in the U.S. and Canada.

Take a dip in a swimming hole: Sedona and the Verde Valley have numerous natural swimming holes, scenic gems carved by time and water. Slide Rock State Park may be the superstar, but savvy locals often head for Grasshopper Point, where you can leap from ledges into deep pools or lounge under sycamore shade. Another stunner is Crescent Moon Picnic Site, with mellow water and that iconic Cathedral Rock view that practically begs to be Instagrammed. If youre looking for a more rugged adventure, The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek rewards hardy hikers with sun-drenched red rocks and plunge-worthy pools. Just dont forget a trash bag because these places should be treated with care.

Best things to do in Bisbee on Memorial Day weekend

Bisbee was once a booming copper-mining town in the early 1900s, earning the nickname "Queen of the Copper Camps." Today, its known less for its minerals and more for its quirky, artsy charm, with historic buildings nestled into the Mule Mountains and colorful staircases zigzagging through the hills. Its a fun destination for those who love a mix of Old West history, ghost stories, art galleries, and offbeat local shops. Here are the top things to do:

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Experience the Queen Mine tour: Journey into Arizona's rich mining heritage where youll don hard hats, safety vests and miners' headlamps before boarding an original mine train that ventures 1,500 feet into the historic Copper Queen Mine. The tour provides insights into mining techniques, the daily lives of miners and the challenges they face underground. Along the way, guests can disembark to walk through tunnels and explore the mine's depths, experiencing firsthand the environment where miners once toiled.

Visit the Art Wall: The Art Wall is an ever-evolving outdoor gallery nestled between 24 and 26 Brewery Ave. in the Brewery Gulch area of Old Bisbee. This vibrant alleyway showcases a diverse array of artworks, from colorful murals to eclectic installations, reflecting the town's rich artistic spirit and community engagement. Open 24/7, it's a must-see for art enthusiasts.

Get desserts at Patisserie Jacqui: Why get your typical bagel when you can get a little sweet treat? Owned and operated by chef Jackie Oatman, this charming spot has garnered national acclaim, earning a semifinalist nod for the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bakery. Specializing in both sweet and savory pastries, the bakery is renowned for its flaky croissants, decadent tarts, and unique offerings like the Hatch chile croissant.

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Best things to do in Flagstaff on Memorial Day weekend

Flagstaff, nestled at 7,000 feet in northern Arizona, began as a railroad and lumber town in the late 1800s. Today, it blends its Wild West roots with a mountain-town vibe. This high-elevation haven is a launchpad for outdoor adventures. The historic downtown is brimming with indie coffee shops, breweries and murals, while nearby attractions like Lowell Observatory and Walnut Canyon bring science and history to life. Here are the top things to do:

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See the stars at Lowell Observatory: The observatory's new Astronomy Discover Center has a 40,000 square feet center of interactive exhibits, a rooftop observatory with heated seats and the Lowell Universe Theater with a massive LED screen for immersive sky shows. Kids can explore the Orbits Curiosity Zone, while adults enjoy the Planet X Cafe and the Starry Skies gift shop. Located just a few hundred yards from the original Lowell Observatory visitor center, it builds on the legacy of discoveries like Pluto, while offering a modern, hands-on experience connected to real scientific research.

For more planetariums around Arizona check out our guide.

Grab a bite at Joejoebobs: Joejoebob's has become Flagstaffs main lunch spot since it opened its doors. Opened by Atmosphere Kitchen executive chef Joe Rodger, he is turning heads with its chef-inspired sandwiches and small plates. Using local ingredients and made entirely in-house, the menu features creative daily specials like Cola braised pork belly with blue cheese kale slaw or Frippers bologna with Cheddar, romaine, and Dijonnaise. The rotating offerings keep things fresh, and you can check out whats new each day on

Ride the Arizona Snowbowl Scenic Gondola: You dont need to go hiking to experience breathtaking views. Instead, the Arizona Snowbowl Scenic Gondola takes you on a ride to the summit of the San Francisco Peaks, elevating visitors to over 11,500 feet. From this vantage point, you can enjoy panoramic views of Coconino National Forest, the red rocks of Sedona and, on clear days, even the Grand Canyon. Each gondola cabin comfortably seats up to six passengers, making it an ideal activity for families and small groups. The ride lasts about 15 minutes each way.

Best things to do in Prescott on Memorial Day weekend

Prescott was founded in 1864 and served as the original territorial capital before Phoenix took the title. Steeped in Old West heritage, it's known for its well-preserved Victorian homes, Whiskey Row saloons and storied courthouse plaza. With its charming downtown, cool pine forests and seasonal events like the Worlds Oldest Rodeo, Prescott offers a perfect blend of nature, history and small-town vibes. Here are the top things to do:

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Browse the Western Art Show and Sale: Prescotts Memorial Day tradition returns May 24-26 with the 51st annual Phippen Museum Western Art Show & Sale at Courthouse Plaza. This free, open-air event showcases Western art, quick draw challenges, live auctions and kid-friendly art tents. Enjoy live demos from over 100 artists, with pieces in oil, watercolor, sculpture and more.

Watson Lake moonlight kayaking: Have you ever kayaked under the stars? Moonlight kayaking at Watson Lake offers a serene experience, allowing paddlers to glide across calm waters under the glow of the moon. Born To Be Wild Adventures provides guided moonlight kayaking tours this summer on Watson Lake. These tours offer a unique opportunity to enjoy the lake's beauty in a tranquil nighttime setting.

Eat at the Palace Saloon: Step through the swinging saloon doors of The Palace Restaurant and Saloon and you're instantly transported to the Wild West. Established in 1877, it's the oldest bar and business in the state, once frequented by legends like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. The meticulously restored interior boasts a 24-foot hand-carved Brunswick bar, heroically saved from the Great Fire of 1900 by patrons who carried it to safety mid-blaze. With staff donning period costumes, walls adorned with historic photos, and tales of ghostly apparitions.

Got a story you want to share? Reach out at Tiffany.Acosta@gannett.com. Follow @tiffsario on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Memorial Day weekend 2025: Coolest Arizona getaways
A judges ruling to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez last week gave the siblings something theyve not had in more than three decades: a chance that they could leave the Southern California prison where theyre incarcerated.

The brothers, who had been serving life sentences without the possibility of parole after a pair of sensational trials ended with convictions for their parents 1989 murder, can seek their release from Californias parole board after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic found they do not pose an unreasonable risk if released from prison.

Jesic resentenced the siblings to 50 years to life, endorsing the recommendation of former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon and denying the position of his successor, Nathan Hochman, who opposed their resentencing.

Heres what could happen next in the case, which highlighted a debate over a key issue in the criminal justice system  rehabilitation  and gained renewed attention after a Netflix miniseries and documentary about their lives.

June 13 hearing

Jesics ruling allows Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, to make their case for freedom at a hearing aimed at determining whether theyre suitable for parole. Those proceedings are scheduled for June 13  a date previously set aside for hearings in a separate effort seeking clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which oversees the parole system.

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Since the ruling makes them immediately eligible for parole consideration as youth offenders, it is the Boards intent to convert the June 13, 2025, clemency hearings to initial parole suitability hearings, Scott Wyckoff, executive officer of Board of Parole Hearings, stated in a letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

In an email, the corrections department spokesperson said the board is allowing people to raise objections to the change.

Although the hearings are no longer for clemency, the brothers application with the governor remains active.

If the parole hearing takes place, parole commissioners will be tasked with determining whether the brothers pose an unreasonable risk of danger. Prosecutors, victims relatives and others can weigh in on the question.

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Hochman told reporters Wednesday that someone from the district attorneys office will attend. That representatives level of participation will likely be dictated by the parole board, he said.

Even if the commissioners find the brothers suitable for parole, that proposed decision is subject to Newsoms approval.

Asked Wednesday what he would do if the board recommends parole, Newsom declined to answer but said he often refers recommendations to the full parole board for review. He can also reverse a recommendation, he told reporters.

Obviously, I have great respect for their judgment and the very relatively small percentage of parole applications they actually approve, he said.

Appeal for clemency

Newsom said the process of determining whether someone is eligible for clemency or parole is similar. As part of the siblings clemency application, the governor asked the board to determine whether the brothers pose an unreasonable risk of danger if released.

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Part of that evaluation has already been made public. During resentencing proceedings, Hochman said forensic psychologists found that the brothers posed a moderate risk of committing violence outside prison. Those findings were based in part on psychological evaluations and recent prison violations, Hochman said.

A lawyer for the brothers, Mark Geragos, has downplayed the violations  which include using smuggled cellphones after the resentencing proceedings were initiated  and said they do not constitute a superstrike, or the kind of serious crime that could suggest they pose an unreasonable risk.

Hochman opposed the brothers release in part because of the evaluation. He also said they had not taken full responsibility for their crimes and cited 16 unacknowledged lies that he said the brothers told about the murders for decades. He reiterated that position during a news conference Wednesday.

If they can deal with the issues that cause their risk level to be increased and then finally come clean with all their lies, fraud and deceit, then they should be appropriate candidates for parole, he said.

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Speaking after their resentencing, the brothers said they had taken full responsibility and offered no justification for killing their mother, Kitty, or their father, Jose, on Aug. 20, 1989.

At trial and in media interviews afterward, including in a 2017 interview with Dateline, the brothers said they killed their parents in self-defense after Lyle confronted his father about sexually abusing his younger brother and Jose appeared to threaten him.

Prosecutors have long disputed this account. They described the killings as calculated and horrific  Lyle Menendez reloaded his shotgun before shooting his mother in the face  and motivated by financial gain.

Speaking Tuesday, Lyle Menendez told the court that he was deeply ashamed of who he was 35 years ago.

Claim of new evidence

The brothers have also sought their freedom through a third path  a petition that seeks to overturn their convictions based on what the brothers defense attorneys have described as new evidence in the case.

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The petition, which includes a photocopied letter that Erik said he wrote to a cousin and which Geragos has said confirms Joses abuse of the younger sibling months before, was filed after the release of Peacocks Menudo + Menendez: Boys Betrayed, which included a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band accusing Jose Menendez of raping him. (Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)

At the time, Jose Menendez was an executive with RCA Records, which had a multialbum contract with the band.

Hochman has said the evidence does not meet the standard required for a judge to order a new trial and that he opposes the petition.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday that he is in favour of Italy's closer involvement in European efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Merz said: "We agreed that Italy must play a role here."

He added that he would hold talks with other European partners on the matter in the coming days.

"We must not allow ourselves to be divided in the European Union. There are no first or second-class members," the new chancellor said.

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Meloni's recent absence from a visit to Kiev by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany had caused irritation in Italy.

According to media reports, Meloni did not attend at the insistence of French President Emmanuel Macron.

After the meeting with Merz, Meloni said - without naming names - that now might be the time to "set aside personal sensitivities that threaten to undermine the vital and fundamental unity of the West."

Merz described Italy, which has been ruled by a right-wing coalition since 2022, as an "indispensable strategic partner."

Ahead of Merz's visit to Rome, a report by the German conservative daily Die Welt caused a stir, stating that Italy, unlike France and Poland, was deliberately not explicitly mentioned as a strategically important partner country in the German government's coalition agreement.

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This was reportedly at the insistence of Merz's coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Leading Italian politicians, including Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, expressed outrage at the report.

"The reports about this are all false," Merz emphasized after the meeting, adding that there was "no contentious discussion at any time about Italy's role in the European Union" among the coalition partners' chief negotiators.

The visit marked Merz's first trip to Italy since taking office. He is in Rome to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed support on Saturday for the European Commission's proposal to prevent the resumption of operations of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea as part of new sanctions against Russia.

He made the statement following a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

The German leader noted that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on Friday in Istanbul had fallen short of his expectations, "despite the Ukrainian negotiating teams maximally constructive approach."

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On May 10, during a visit to Kiev, Merz, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, issued an ultimatum to Russia, demanding a 30-day ceasefire. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

The leaders warned of sanctions in the event of non-compliance.

The Europeans are now preparing a new sanctions package, which will primarily target the financial and energy sectors. On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed initial details.

A spokeswoman for von der Leyen explained that the possible sanctions on the pipelines would be to "to dissuade any interest, and notably interest from investors, in pursuing any activity on Nord Stream also in the future."

The gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 delivered Russian gas to Europe until summer 2022 before it was damaged by explosions. Nord Stream 2 never entered into service.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended his government's new migration policy on Saturday, saying it remains in line with Germany's responsibilities to its European neighbours.

"Please don't let anyone tell you that this is now, so to speak, against our European neighbours," Merz said at a state party conference of his Christian Democrats (CDU) in the south-western city of Stuttgart.

"I have spoken to everyone, and they all know what we mean: We want to solve this problem together, but we cannot accept that a large part of the unresolved problem ends up in the Federal Republic of Germany," the new chancellor said.

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The CDU's coalition agreement with its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) contained the line: "In consultation with our European neighbours, we will also reject asylum seekers at our common borders."

Shortly after taking office, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative CSU announced that Germany was tightening controls at its borders, allowing border officials to turn asylum seekers away.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sharply criticized the policy during Merz's inaugural visit to Poland. Criticism also came from Switzerland.

Merz stressed that the number of asylum seekers entering Germany had already gone down after a week.

He said the government would ensure that irregular migration is resolved in such a way that cities and municipalities have room to breathe again, and that Germany can once again be an open, tolerant, foreigner-friendly country.
Danville has halted plans to demolish a building on Goodyear Boulevard that a man wants to convert into a restaurant.

Bobby James and his nephew Justin Williams brought a civil rights activist with them and took their request before the citys Building Code Board of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon.

The two men, who own a 4,700-square-foot commercial structure at 1521 Goodyear Blvd., asked the board to reverse a building inspectors decision declaring the building unsafe and hazardous and the citys plans to tear it down.

Were trying to get them [the city] to honor the fact that when someone purchases some land, its theirs, said John C. Barnett, national civil rights activist with True Healing Under God, a civil rights group he founded.

They said they needed more time to work on the building, which used to be a restaurant and lounge.

My uncle and I have taken very strong and diligent measures to secure the building, Williams told the board during its meeting in the Municipal Building downtown.

It was the first time the board had met in several years. Before members could proceed with the agenda, they had to elect officers.

James, a 73-year-old Vietnam War veteran and Goodyear retiree, bought the property in early 2018. He also owns Seafood & More restaurant on South Main Street.

Williams, 38, lives in Newport News and became part owner later that year.

It was in December when the city issued a notice of intent to demolish the building due to alleged code violations. Williams responded by submitting a plan of action to bring the property into compliance, which the city approved early this year.

The owners made progress on the required repairs, including installing a new roof, unexpected circumstances caused delays  including a contractor emergency  that prevented completion by the citys March deadline, they said.

Despite their continued efforts and visible improvements to the property, we we were informed by city inspectors that demolition would proceed, according to a news release from the group.

Weather also played a role in the delay, they said.

Weather was the biggest factor, James told the board.

During the meeting, James told the board that graffiti had been written on the building, brush thrown onto the property and a load of tires was dumped there, as well.

Williams and James said about $25,000 to $26,000 had been spent to bring the property into compliance, including $17,000 for a roof.

In April, the city notified the owners that the plan of action was not completed and the property would be put back on the demolition list.

James said he then called city officials and he was accused of threatening a building inspector. Three police officers came to his home, he said. Two sheriffs deputies were at Wednesdays meeting because James was banned from entering the Municipal Building as a result.

James told the board he had only told the inspector that he was well-trained in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Im sorry you took it the wrong way, James said during the meeting.

Williams told the board they felt like their building was being targeted. Mentioning gentrification, he said the city was taking action against certain properties since the Caesars Virginia casino opened in the city.

But, demolition orders are nothing new in the city of Danville, said board Vice Chairman Lawrence Meder.

Property maintenance supervisor Seth Hawker said he inspected the property April 4.

It was in poor condition, he said.

Williams pointed out that the building had a new roof and there were no broken windows.

Its not unsafe anymore, he said.

Also, photographs of the property provided in the boards meeting packet contained photos that did not reflect more recent improvements to the building, it was pointed out during the meeting.

Meder said he had driven by the property recently and it looked like a lot of work had been done.

Chairman Bennis Butler said there was a lot of debris and trash on the property.

Meder told Williams and James that it appeared they were in compliance and were making the building secure.

If that building is not put to use and nothing is done there, it will degrade, Meder added. He asked Williams when the property would be cleaned up.

It could be a month and a half, given the weather, Williams responded.

He then asked who would pay if the building were demolished.

The cost of demolition would be attached to the lien on the property, equivalent to a property tax, said Assistant City Attorney Ryan Dodson.

Meder and Butler said the items in the plan of action appeared to have been completed  except for the graphic pictures, or graffiti, Butler added.

Williams said the graffiti had been removed.

During the citys arguments regarding the appeal, Dodson said, We do not believe the board can decide on this.

Its not my role as chair to participate in the arguments, Butler said following the citys statements.

Meder said hed like to see the building flourish and be an integral part of the community. James told the Register & Bee he wants to open a restaurant at the location.

The board voted 6-0 to grant a 60-day extension to the owners.

Following the decision, Dodson said the city made the right decision to plan demolition when it did in December, but since improvements have been made, the matter could be resolved to the benefit of all parties.

We believe that, at that time, that was the correct decision, Dodson said. It sounds like lots of improvements have been made since that time. We still stand by our decision that, at the time it was made, we made the correct decision. But ... if its better, thats great. So, hopefully, the inspectors can verify that and we can get to a positive resolution, so we still think this is a win for the city.

Williams told the Register & Bee after the meeting he took full responsibility for not keeping the city informed and asking for an extension.

I am in favor of the panel members decision that granted us the 60-day extension, he said, adding that there are two or three small issues that still need to be addressed at the property.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested on Saturday that asylum procedures could be conducted in non-EU countries as a way to curb irregular migration to Europe.

Merz made his comments on his inaugural visit to Italy as chancellor. He referred to Italy's attempt to do this by sending asylum seekers to Albania - a move that has been temporarily suspended by Italian courts.

"But this can, of course, still be an option," he said after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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The coalition in Rome, made up of three right-wing and conservative parties, initiated the move to process asylum applications for migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean in Albania. After that idea was repeatedly blocked by the Italian judiciary, the idea is now being reviewed by the European Court of Justice to see whether it complies with European law.

So far, the model has never been implemented successfully and the specially constructed camps in the non-EU country of Albania have remained largely empty for months.

Merz: "We will no longer stand on the brakes"

Merz stated that Germany would consider outsourcing asylum procedures despite Italy's experiences. He acknowledged that this was "certainly not the solution to the problem" but said it could "help make the problem smaller."

The chancellor also emphasized the need to swiftly implement European asylum reform and expand cooperation within the European Union to combat irregular migration.

"We will no longer be hitting the brakes when it comes to solving the problems in the European Union," he said.
A Mexican citizen will be sentenced Monday for his role in a drug trafficking organization that marketed pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in Pennsylvania, California and Hawaii.

Pedro Orlando Murillo-Ramos, 41, aka Maclovio,  entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on Feb. 3 to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin.

In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors will drop two drug distribution charges against Murillo-Ramos at sentencing.

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He faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a fine of up to $10 million. After he gets out, Murillo-Ramos will be on probation for at least five years.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Monday at 1 :30 p.m. before the Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan is prosecuting the case.

Murillo-Ramos is represented by defense attorney Michael Green and is navigating court with the help of a Spanish interpreter.

He is in custody at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu ahead of sentencing.

According to a June 29, 2023, indictment, Murillo-Ramos conspired with George Nick Zamudio, 39, aka Joker,  to possess and sell methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and heroin from November 2021 to until May 9, 2022.

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On Feb. 27, Seabright sentenced Zamudio, who was on probation when he was arrested, to 11 years in federal prison followed by five years of probation.

Zamudio must disassociate from the South Side, Calle UVA, Watts, TWS, and 107 gangs, and must not voluntarily and intentionally associate with any individual whom you know is associated with the South Side, Calle UVA, Watts, TWS, and 107 gangs or any other gangs that are involved in criminal activities,  according to federal court documents.

During March and April 2022, federal law enforcement used an informant who was a customer of Murillo-Ramos and Zamudio to conduct a series of controlled purchases from the defendant and Zamudio,  according to the plea agreement.

Working from the East Coast, the informant communicated with Murillo-Ramos and Zamudio by phone and written messages to set up the shipping of wholesale quantities of controlled substances to addresses in Hawaii and Pennsylvania.

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Murillo-Ramos and Zamudio shipped methamphetamine to Hawaii and cocaine, fentanyl and heroin to Pennsylvania.

Federal law enforcement seized the methamphetamine, about 8, 779 grams, a little more than 19 pounds.

In May 2022, Zamudio flew from California to Pennsylvania to collect more than $100, 000 owed by the informant  and was arrested by federal law enforcement.

In a February letter to Seabright, Zamudio described the abuse, violence and trauma that defined his childhood. He apologized to the court and community for dealing drugs.

I will use the time behind bars to better myself as a man and to become a great father I never had and always envisioned myself being to my children and also to my nephew. I also still keep in contact with my step-daughters and give them good advice every time they reach out to me. My immediate goal in life is to be productive and to stay out of trouble while Im in prison,  wrote Zamudio. While in prison, I have been clean and sober and I like how that makes me feel about myself. It made me love myself. I will continue to live this clean and sober life as now I realize this is a great lifestyle. I want to leave prison and stay out of prison. I can do this by staying away from alcohol and drugs and staying away from bad people and negative influences. I need to focus on getting employed and whats importantmy family. I know I have a lot to make up for.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican security forces detained nine alleged members of a criminal group and killed 12 others in an operation in a rural part of southwestern Mexico on Saturday, Mexico's Security Ministry said.

In a post on social media, Security Minister Omar Harfuch confirmed three members of the Navy were injured in the Navy-led operation in Huitzontla, Michoacan.

The detained individuals are linked to crimes such as homicide, extortion, and kidnapping, Harfuch said.

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Criminal groups in the area are tied to maritime drug trafficking and naval personnel found weapons and tactical equipment at the site, the Security Ministry said in a statement.

Security forces came up against "strong aggression" which "necessitated the use of force in compliance with current regulations," the ministry said.

Mexican newspapers El Universal and La Jornada reported that the group was part of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel gang, one of Mexico's two major drug cartels. The U.S. government designated the cartel a terrorist organization in February.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Boyle and Jose Gonzalez; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Cassandra Garrison and Emily Green

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - No sooner had 23-year-old beauty influencer Valeria Marquez been murdered on a TikTok livestream than the Mexican rumor mill started. Comments poured in on social media blaming her for her own death: She was involved in shady business, her ex-boyfriend was a narco, she had it coming, they said.

By Friday, the media and politicians were already moving on. Marquez seems destined to become one in a long line of Mexican women whose murder briefly shocks the conscience only to recede into the background until the next gruesome crime happens.

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"It sort of reflects a level of saturation, a level of societal acceptance of these sorts of killings," said Gema Kloppe-Santamaria, a sociologist at University College Cork in Ireland who studies gender-based violence in Mexico.

"There's a lot of re-victimization that I think allows people to say, 'Let's move on. This is something that won't happen to us. It doesn't happen to good girls. It doesn't happen to decent Mexican women.'"

Marquez, who had nearly 200,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, was known for her videos about beauty and makeup. On Tuesday, she clutched a stuffed toy and livestreamed from the beauty salon where she worked in the state of Jalisco, when a male voice in the background asked "Hey, Vale?"

"Yes," Marquez replied, just before muting the sound on the livestream.

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Moments later, she was shot dead. A person appeared to pick up her phone, with their face briefly showing on the livestream before the video ended.

Almost immediately, local media honed in on a man they identified as Marquezs ex-boyfriend, who they said was a regional leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most notorious drug cartels. Local media shared alleged text messages between the couple that appeared to show the ex-boyfriend threatening Marquez because she ignored him.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the identity of the ex-boyfriend or contact him for comment. Marquez's family declined to speak with Reuters.

The Jalisco state prosecutor said Marquezs murder is being investigated as a possible femicide - the killing of women or girls for reasons of gender - but declined to say whether Marquezs ex-boyfriend was a suspect.

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"Anyone associated with this girl, whether friends, relatives, acquaintances, or boyfriends, is being investigated or interviewed," Salvador Gonzalez de los Santos said in a press conference on Friday.

OUTRAGE PASSES

Marquez is one of countless murdered girls and women whose deaths in recent years have triggered a groundswell of outrage and protests only for the status quo to prevail.

Among them: Ingrid Escamilla, 25, who was stabbed, skinned and mutilated in 2020. Fatima Cecilia Aldrighett, 7, who in the same year was abducted from school and her body later found wrapped in a plastic bag. Debanhi Escobar, 18, who disappeared from the side of a highway in 2022 and whose body was found in a cistern 13 days later.

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Escamilla's boyfriend was convicted and sentenced in her killing. Two people were recently sentenced in Aldrighett's case. Escobar's case remains unsolved after an investigation riddled by mistakes and the firing of two prosecutors for "omissions and errors," according to a statement by the prosecutor's office. A government autopsy initially alleged that Escobar had fallen into the cistern, a version contradicted by two subsequent autopsies.

"Each case goes through its media cycle and then theres another one," said Anayeli Perez, legal adviser to the National Citizens Observatory on Femicide. "It speaks of a society whose social fabric is falling apart."

In 2023, Mexico recorded 852 femicides, according to the most recent report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. It has the fourth highest rate of femicides in the region on a per capita basis, with Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil even higher. Many advocates say the number is likely underestimated.

Jalisco is among Mexico's more dangerous states, with 910 homicides recorded since the beginning of President Claudia Sheinbaum's term in October 2024, according to data consultancy TResearch.

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Sheinbaum, who made history as Mexicos first female leader, said on Thursday that the powerful national security cabinet was working with the state prosecutor to investigate Marquezs murder. She implored people not to share the livestream of Marquezs murder on social media out of respect for Marquez and her family.

But Sheinbaums rhetoric - and gender - has added only a veneer of competence to what remains a fundamentally broken system for addressing violence against women, Perez said.

"The prosecutors are still negligent, the experts dont have training, the police dont have a gender perspective," she said.

Under police presence, Marquez was buried on Thursday, her casket topped by a bouquet of white roses.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Emily Green, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  A man found in Arizona with a formerly reported missing 13-year-old from Albertville was been extradited to Alabama and has a court date set, according to documents.

Jail records show that on May 14, Raul Alexis Arellano-Romero, 32, was booked into the Marshall County Jail. His charge is listed as interfering with custody and has a bond set at $100,000.

The 13-year-old girl was first reported missing on April 19 after she was last seen in Albertville with her dog. In this missing persons report, the Marshall County Sheriffs Office identified Arellano-Romero as a person of interest on April 29, stating that the teen was possibly in danger.

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On April 30, MCSO said that around 9 a.m., investigators obtained a warrant for Arellano-Romero for interference with custody and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified and agreed to help with the case.

Then, around 9:30 a.m., the sheriffs office received information from the Navajo County Sheriffs Office in Arizona that Arellano-Romero was detained and that the teen was found unharmed.

NCSO said a Major Crimes Apprehension Team Detective stopped a vehicle traveling eastbound on I-40 near North Sun Valley Road for a civil traffic violation.

During the stop, the detective made contact with the driver, identified as Arellano-Romero, from New Mexico. NCSO said that while the detective was talking with Arellano-Romero, he saw someone trying to hide under a blanket in the vehicles front passenger seat.

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When asked about this, Arellano-Romero said the passenger was a 19-year-old friend he recently met in Las Vegas and was taking her back to New Mexico.

The detective said he noticed inconsistencies in Arellano-Romeros statements, that he looked nervous, and that he had signs of deceptive behavior.

NCSO said the reported 19-year-old gave a false identity and age. The sheriffs office also said it looked like she had fake tattoos on her body, possibly to alter or conceal her real identity.

Upon further questioning, NCSO said the female disclosed her true name and age, revealing she was a 13-year-old child reported missing from Alabama. Detectives then contacted law enforcement authorities in Alabama, who confirmed that she had been missing since April 19.

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The sheriffs office said further investigation revealed that Arellano-Romero had previously been arrested in Massachusetts in 2024 for unlawfully removing the same child from her guardians custody. According to the Hampden County District Attorneys Office in Massachusetts, he was released on a $20,000 bond.

News 19s sister station, WWLP in Massachusetts, said that the investigation revealed that Arellano-Romero left his home in Alabama and drove to Springfield after talking with the girl online. Springfield police say that it is believed that they had previously met in Alabama, where the girls primary residence was.

Authorities believe that Arellano-Romero traveled from New Mexico to Alabama and again took the 13-year-old without lawful custody or consent.

Arellano-Romero was arrested and booked into the Navajo County Sheriffs Office Jail on a warrant with a $100,000 bond before his extradition.

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Court records show that Arellano-Romero has a preliminary hearing set for June 18.

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U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan continued to sound the alarm this week on the Trump administrations decision to block hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds for programs that focus on health, education and other services in Native American communities.

A day after questioning the impacts of potential cuts to early childhood, maternal health and other programs for Indigenous people during a meeting of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, the New Mexico Democrat on Thursday blasted the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration is illegally withholding hundreds of billions of dollars owed to communities across the country  including nearly

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$316 billion owed to Native communities  just to hand out more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and corporate interests, Lujan, a member of the committee, said in a statement.

Lujan called the matter a profound betrayal and shameful failure of the federal governments responsibility to tribes and said, This reckless decision puts the well-being and safety of New Mexicans and tribal nations at risk.

Aaron Lopez, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, also expressed concern over new federal policies that will disrupt services and programs for Native Americans in New Mexicos 23 tribes, impacting education, health care, infrastructure and economic development.

The New Mexico Indian Affairs Department and the State are keeping a close eye on federal actions that could adversely affect Indian Country, Lopez said in a statement.

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The department will continue to work closely with New Mexicos congressional delegation to advocate for Indigenous people in the state, he added.

Lujans pointed statement, based on a tracker of federal funds compiled by the Democratic staffs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, comes as Democrats continue to assail Trump and his administration amid a vast array of federal funding cuts, planned or otherwise, in Trumps first 100 days in office.

Lujan and other members of New Mexicos all-Democratic congressional delegation have been raising concerns about the cuts and how they affect regular New Mexicans since Trump took office.

In February, Lujan and 110 other members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, New Mexicos senior senator, signed a letter to Trump and other high-ranking members of his administration asking the president to immediately halt and reverse the harmful impacts of executive actions impacting programs for Indigenous people.

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During Wednesdays Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which held a hearing to examine federal programs under the purview of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that serve Native Americans, Lujan questioned the Trump administrations commitment to Indigenous communities.

I want to point out what a disappointment I believe this administration has been to the Indian Health Service, he said, adding Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. missed an opportunity during his recent visit to Gallup in northwestern New Mexico to stop at one of the oldest Indian Health Service centers and see firsthand the staffing cuts, water issues and other problems impacting Native patients and providers.

The way that I was raised is you make time for whats important, Lujan said, and he didnt make time.

The Health and Human Services Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Lujan also questioned witnesses about cuts to early childhood and maternal health programs.

We all care greatly for Native American mothers and babies, which is why Im outraged by the fact that 92% of Native American women that die from pregnancy-related deaths are considered preventable, he said. Just let that sit for a second and that the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has seen a 20% reduction in staffing, leaving more vulnerabilities out there.
The Michigan Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Heres a look at May 16, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Daily 3 numbers from May 16 drawing

Midday: 2-8-4

Evening: 6-2-2

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from May 16 drawing

Midday: 3-1-6-9

Evening: 6-2-2-4

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 16 drawing

14-24-25-29-35, Lucky Ball: 04

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Poker Lotto numbers from May 16 drawing

QC-5C-2D-7D-9D

Check Poker Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from May 16 drawing

14-25-27-34-36

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12-13-24-29-31

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily Keno numbers from May 16 drawing

16-24-32-35-36-47-49-50-53-57-60-61-65-69-70-71-72-73-74-76-77-80

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:

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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:

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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 May 16, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP)  Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that it sold advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages. But the company also said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza.

The unsigned blog post on Microsofts corporate website appears to be the companys first public acknowledgement of its deep involvement in the war, which started after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza.

It comes nearly three months after an investigation by The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giants close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israels in-house AI-enabled targeting systems and vice versa.

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The partnership reflects a growing drive by tech companies to sell their artificial intelligence products to militaries for a wide range of uses, including in Israel, Ukraine and the United States. However, human rights groups have raised concerns that AI systems, which can be flawed and prone to errors, are being used to help make decisions about who or what to target, resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

Microsoft said Thursday that employee concerns and media reports had prompted the company to launch an internal review and hire an external firm to undertake additional fact-finding. The statement did not identify the outside firm or provide a copy of its report.

The statement also did not directly address several questions about precisely how the Israeli military is using its technologies, and the company declined Friday to comment further. Microsoft declined to answer written questions from The AP about how its AI models helped translate, sort and analyze intelligence used by the military to select targets for airstrikes.

The company's statement said it had provided the Israeli military with software, professional services, Azure cloud storage and Azure AI services, including language translation, and had worked with the Israeli government to protect its national cyberspace against external threats. Microsoft said it had also provided special access to our technologies beyond the terms of our commercial agreements and limited emergency support to Israel as part of the effort to help rescue the more than 250 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.

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We provided this help with significant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others, Microsoft said. We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honoring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza.

The company did not answer whether it or the outside firm it hired communicated or consulted with the Israeli military as part of its internal probe. It also did not respond to requests for additional details about the special assistance it provided to the Israeli military to recover hostages or the specific steps to safeguard the rights and privacy of Palestinians.

In its statement, the company also conceded that it does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices. The company added that it could not know how its products might be used through other commercial cloud providers.

In addition to Microsoft, the Israeli military has extensive contracts for cloud or AI services with Google, Amazon, Palantir and several other major American tech firms.

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Microsoft said the Israeli military, like any other customer, was bound to follow the companys Acceptable Use Policy and AI Code of Conduct, which prohibit the use of products to inflict harm in any way prohibited by law. In its statement, the company said it had found no evidence the Israeli military had violated those terms.

Emelia Probasco, a senior fellow for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, said the statement is noteworthy because few commercial technology companies have so clearly laid out standards for working globally with international governments.

We are in a remarkable moment where a company, not a government, is dictating terms of use to a government that is actively engaged in a conflict, she said. Its like a tank manufacturer telling a country you can only use our tanks for these specific reasons. That is a new world.

Israel has used its vast trove of intelligence to both target Islamic militants and conduct raids into Gaza seeking to rescue hostages, with civilians often caught in the crossfire. For example, a February 2024 operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 60 Palestinians. A June 2024 raid in the Nuseirat refugee camp freed four Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity but resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians.

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Overall, Israels invasions and extensive bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, many of them women and children.

No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees, called on Friday for the company to publicly release a full copy of the investigative report.

Its very clear that their intention with this statement is not to actually address their worker concerns, but rather to make a PR stunt to whitewash their image that has been tarnished by their relationship with the Israeli military, said Hossam Nasr, a former Microsoft worker fired in October after he helped organize an unauthorized vigil at the companys headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, applauded Microsoft Friday for taking a step toward transparency. But she said the statement raised many unanswered questions, including details about how Microsofts services and AI models were being used by the Israeli military on its own government servers.

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Im glad theres a little bit of transparency here, said Cohn, who has long called on U.S. tech giants to be more open about their military contracts. But it is hard to square that with whats actually happening on the ground.

___

Burke reported from San Francisco and Mednick from Jerusalem.

___

Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/

___

The Associated Press receives financial assistance from the Omidyar Network to support coverage of artificial intelligence and its impact on society. 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.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  The Mid-America Air Museum in Sioux City welcomed a new addition Friday.

A 1966 Aero Commander 200. The plane was donated by Steve Bauman of Kingman, Arizona. Bauman made the 10-hour flight in the plane from Arizona to Sioux City on Thursday. Bauman had owned the plane since 1989. Bauman told us he decided it was time to get rid of the plane as he is getting older.

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Baumann contacted the museum about a month ago about donating the plane, and the museum was happy to accept.

I think its important that our museum tells stories involving our exhibits and artifacts and this is going to be an amazing artifact to put in the middle of the museum and tell Steves story with it and as Steve said its a unique aircraft. Its going to be important for us to tell the story,: said Kevin Blosch, executive director of the Mid America Air Museum.

The museum had an appraisal done on the plane before it was flown up. Brand new, the plane cost $29,000 in 1966. Its now appraised at $200,000.

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According to museum officials, the plane will be on display later this summer.

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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH)  A Middletown man waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Friday to offenses related to a Medicaid fraud scheme that defrauded the Connecticut out of more than $1.8 million.

According to evidence and testimony, Ramon Apellaniz, also known as Kristopher Rockefeller or Kris, previously operated The Gemini Project, LLC (Gemini), a Newington-based business that offered counseling to patients with mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. According to the State of Connecticuts public license database, Apellaniz is not a licensed provider.

In 2020, Apellaniz was charged by the state with larceny, health care fraud, and identity theft offenses related to his providing services to numerous Medicaid beneficiaries as a non-licensed provider, and Gemini billing Medicaid for those services, or for services that were not rendered at all. Medicaid paid Gemini and Apellaniz $909,268 for the false claims.

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Apellaniz pleaded nolo contendere and, on April 17, 2024, was sentenced in Hartford Superior Court to eight years in prison, execution suspended after 15 months, and five years of parole. He was released from Department of Correction custody on November 19, 2024.

Suhail Aponte was the sole principal and registered agent of Minds Cornerstone LLC, dba Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services (Minds Cornerstone), an Autism Specialist Group, which was registered with the State of Connecticut in June 2021. Aponte is also not a licensed provider.

Although Apellaniz does not appear on any of Minds Cornerstones Medicaid enrollment forms, had no ownership interest in the company, and had no signatory authority to any of its bank accounts, he conspired with Aponte and ran the company under a pseudonym, including while he was incarcerated.

Beginning in approximately November 2021, Apellaniz and Aponte used Minds Cornerstone to defraud the Connecticut Medicaid Program by submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

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The scheme involved billing for Medicaid for services purportedly rendered to patients when company payroll records indicate employees were not compensated for the associated services. Parents of patients and former employees of Minds Cornerstone confirmed many of those services did not occur.

From Nov. 2021-Jan. 2025, Apellaniz and Aponte submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid fraudulent claims that resulted in a loss of approximately $1,876,617 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

The investigation revealed that Apellaniz used some of the funds Minds Cornerstone received to pay a portion of the restitution he owes as a result of his state prosecution.

From approximately May 2022-Nov. 2024, Aponte was also employed by the State of Connecticut in the Office of Policy and Management.

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Apellaniz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for August 15. Apellaniz has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 16, 2025.

Aponte pleaded guilty to the same charge on April 30 and awaits sentencing.

Apellaniz and Aponte have agreed to the forfeiture of approximately $469,000 in funds seized during the investigation, as well their interest in additional bank accounts and two parcels of land in Hartford.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence has urged President Donald Trump to reject the Qatar offer of a $400 million jumbo jet to replace Air Force One amid fears it could jeopardize the commander-in-chiefs safety.

In an interview with Meet the Press host Kristen Welker, Pence said he was concerned that Qatar supports Hamas, and that the Arab kingdom has supported Al Qaeda.

The White House has rebuffed opposition to the offer, indicating that Trump will accept the new plane.

But Pence said on Friday that the president should change his mind and turn down the Qataris on security and constitutional grounds.

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First, weve got to remember who Qatar is, said Pence. Weve got a military base there. I have members of our immediate family that have deployed to the region.

But Qatar has a long history of playing both sides, he continued. They support Hamas. They supported al Qaeda. Qatar has actually financed pro-Hamas protests on American campuses across the United States.

Qatar has strongly denied claims that it has links to groups connected to al Qaeda or the Islamic State. According to The New York Times, Qatar has spent millions of dollars propping up the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.

Pence, who served as Trumps vice president during his first term, said he hopes the president reconsiders the deal, saying it is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs.

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the The Jerusalem Post New York conference on June 03, 2024 in New York City. / Noam Galai/Getty Images

Others have observed, there are profound issues, Pence continued, citing the potential for intelligence gathering, the need to ensure the President of the United States is safe and secure as he travels around the world.

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I think its just a bad idea, and my hope is the president will think better of it, Pence said, adding that there are also very real constitutional issues involved in accepting gifts from foreign governments.

Speaking from his home in Indiana, Pence claimed that if the Qataris wanted to make a gift to the Pentagon, they could put the $400 million toward infrastructure on their military base.

The aircraft offer has provoked opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, but Trump claimed it would be stupid of him to refuse.

Trump and Pence have not seen eye to eye since the then-vice president certified Trumps 2020 election loss on Jan. 6, 2021, the day insurgents invaded the Capitol building.
A Milesburg man settled his lawsuit against the small borough, closing one chapter in a period defined by infighting, resignations and alleged violations of the states open meetings law.

J. Bryce Taylor will be paid $25,000 in exchange for dropping the suit he initiated a year ago against the borough, Mayor Clair Martin and council members Fred Kellerman, Ethel Kellerman and Plummer Davidson. The money will be paid out by the boroughs insurance.

Notice of the settlement was filed Wednesday.

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Taylor had sought to undo the appointments of four council members, claiming the borough unlawfully filled the elected positions after a rash of resignations. He also considered a separate civil rights lawsuit after he was led away from an April 2024 meeting by Pennsylvania State Police troopers.

Taylor, who represented himself throughout the lawsuit, told the Centre Daily Times he spent about $3,000 pursuing the litigation.

Milesburg did not admit liability or wrongdoing in the settlement. The agreement calls for the current council members and mayor to serve their terms for the rest of the year. Voters will have an opportunity to select their council members during the 2026 election.

In a letter signed by council members Barry Campbell, Kirsty Lloyd, Shirley Martin and Lauren Davidson-Haupt, the borough said the appointments were done in good faith.

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The borough and Taylor also said they wanted to resolve the litigation to allow the small community to function without further issues or expense for taxpayers. Borough attorney James B. Halligan III declined comment Friday.

Taylor alleged Milesburgs seven-member governing board broke state law when it carried out an April 2024 meeting with only three members present. Four are typically required at minimum for actions to take effect.

During one heated exchange, Fred Kellerman told Taylor thats our business, not yours. Martin, meanwhile, told Taylor he had to leave. Taylor then walked out of the meeting, saying it was improper and against the law.

In court filings, the boroughs attorneys argued Taylor had no standing to sue. Borough solicitor Tracey Benson previously defended the meeting because all three active members were present.

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Melissa Melewsky  media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which the CDT is a member  told the CDT previously she agreed.

Given that there was only three of the potential seven members there, on the surface this does look like a violation, Melewsky said. However, given that the other board members had already turned in their official resignations, the meeting still couldve happened with all of the active members being present there.

Borough Councils next meeting is scheduled for June 9.
Ed Miliband is considering scaling back plans to erect thousands of pylons across the countryside to reach net zero.

The Energy Secretary has ordered electricity grid planners to examine whether fewer overhead wires would be required throughout the countryside if the power market were broken up, The Telegraph understands.

Sir Keir Starmer previously argued that building new pylons in rural areas was a necessary step to bring down the cost of electricity as part of the drive to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

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However, the Government has already diluted other green policies, including a ban on new non-electric cars by 2030, amid a growing backlash from voters, unions and Labour MPs.

The decision to commission a government study comes as Labour faces pressure in rural areas from Nigel Farages Reform UK party, which has accused the Government of spoiling swathes of countryside with a spiders web of pylons and cables.

In Lincolnshire, where Reform has seized control of the local mayoralty and the county council in Mays local elections, Mr Farage and his deputy, Richard Tice, have vowed to wage legal warfare against planned green energy projects.

Mr Tice warned ministers last week: We will attack, we will hinder, we will delay, we will obstruct, we will put every hurdle in your way. Its going to cost you a fortune, and youre not going to win.

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The National Energy System Operator (Neso) has estimated that 60bn worth of upgrades are needed across the electricity network under Labours plan for a clean power system, including 2,800 miles of new undersea cables and another approximately 600 miles of overland power lines.

This is expected to add up to 30 a year to consumer bills.

Neso has now been told to examine whether the scope of this work can be dramatically cut by switching to a regional, or so-called zonal, electricity pricing system.

This would see households pay different prices for electricity based on supply and demand in their area, in an effort to encourage investment in green power near to where it is needed most.

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Zonal pricing supporters say this would cut down the distance between power stations and homes and businesses, lessening the need for cables spanning the country, while also lowering the cost of net zero as fewer cables would be needed.

Mr Miliband is understood to have already been shown an analysis by private sector consultants that claimed zonal pricing would result in savings of tens of billions of pounds and almost 2,000 fewer miles of wires.

A Neso spokesman did not deny it was looking at the issue, adding that the quango continues to provide advice to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on a range of topics including on the review of electricity market arrangements.

Ministers have previously vowed to back the builders, not the blockers, with Sir Keir Starmer telling the public to expect more pylons as a trade-off for cheaper power.

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However, the prospect of slashing the number of pylons needed to reach Labours goal would allow Mr Miliband to claim he was reducing both the impact on rural areas and the cost to bill payers.

Whether or not Britain should break-up its electricity market and shift to zonal pricing has become the subject of a fierce battle within the energy industry.

Opponents including wind farm owners Scottish Power and SSE have warned Mr Miliband that the reforms risk plunging their investment plans into uncertainty and endangering his target to have a clean power system by 2030.

But advocates including Octopus Energy, the countrys biggest gas and electricity supplier, claim it would cut prices for all households overall.

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Under the current national electricity pricing system, power is sold for the same price everywhere on the wholesale market.

However, experts say the price is inflated by bottlenecks in the grid, which lead to wind farms being paid to switch off in one part of the country and a gas plant fired up in another  at great expense.

This has cost households and businesses 437m so far this year already, or about 3.2m per day, according to data compiled by the Wasted Wind website.

Advocates of zonal pricing say it would send wholesale prices plummeting in areas such as Scotland, where wind power is abundant, although it would also risk higher prices in London and the South East.

The Telegraph previously revealed that officials have advised Mr Miliband to back the reform, although sources close to the Energy Secretary have insisted he has yet to make up his own mind on the matter.

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He is expected to make a decision within weeks, although the study by Neso raises the prospect of delays.

A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect consumers from future energy price shocks is by moving towards homegrown power.

We are considering reforms to Britains electricity market arrangements, ensuring that these focus on protecting bill payers and encouraging investment.

We will provide an update in due course.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article reported Labours planned clean power system required 4,000 miles of new undersea cables and 1,000 miles of overland power lines according to NESO. The figures should have been 2,800 miles and approximately 600 miles respectively. We are happy to correct the record.

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) -At least 23 farmers and fishermen were killed and others abducted by suspected Islamist militants in northeastern Nigeria's Borno state this week, security sources and local residents told Reuters.

Nigeria has been grappling with a long-running insurgency in its northeast, primarily driven by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province.

The latest attack happened in the village of Malam Karanti on Thursday morning, the security sources and residents said.

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A spokesman for Nigeria's army did not respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment.

Local resident Sani Auwal said by phone that militants had gathered farmers and fishermen near the village and killed 23 people, many of them bean farmers. They spared an elderly man who later alerted the community, he said.

Another local resident Usman Ali said the community had tried to recover the bodies of those killed but had been chased back by the militants.

Last month Borno's governor acknowledged that Boko Haram had renewed attacks and kidnappings in the state, reversing previous gains by security forces.

(Reporting by Ahmed KingimiEditing by Alexander Winning and Peter Graff)
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A rookie Millersville officer exercised some good instincts backing up a veteran Goodlettsville officer Tuesday evening, allowing the duo to pursue and apprehend a convicted felon.

A man with a dangerous criminal history reportedly ran from the Goodlettsville Police Department near Interstate 65 and the Millersville exit on Tuesday, May 13.

Officer Dakota Chamberlin with the Millersville Police Department was on his way to work when he saw the man run across the road, but he didnt initially find that odd. However, when he saw Goodlettsville Lt. Joe Waldron with blue lights on, he flipped around and backed up the veteran officer.

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Body camera footage shows the moment that both officers went into the creek along Louisville Highway.

Murfreesboro LPR technology helps catch suspect in Henry County homicide case

Officials identified the subject of the pursuit as Joshua Cloyd, 33, who had multiple warrants for his arrest. This long-time felon has a criminal history that includes thefts and aggravated robbery.

Cloyd was also the focus of a Metro Nashville Police Department investigation in March 2024 for allegedly preying on intoxicated patrons along Lower Broadway, stealing their wallets and cellphones.

So right then, youve only been a cop two months, but what are you thinking right then? News 2s Andy Cordan asked.

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Im thinking that a partner needs help. I didnt see anyone else that was there to back up, and the way that his car kind of jumped the curb, I kind of figured that it was pretty serious, Chamberlin explained. He was looking left and right, trying to locate where the suspect had ran, and I just said, Hey, what are we doing? He said, Were chasing this guy; hes got warrants. I said, Well Im with you.'

Young driver taken into custody following police chase in La Vergne

Thats when the grizzled Goodlettsville veteran and the rookie Millersville officer spotted the felon and gave chase for about 50 yards. After a brief pursuit, Cloyd surrendered, laying face down on the muddy bank.

Waldron handcuffed the suspect and then Chamberlin walked him out of the creek to the other Goodlettsville officers who had arrived at the scene.

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Chamberlin told News 2 he was glad he could come to a fellow officers aid: In the moment, Im just happy that theres a partner that has backup. I would just hope that if I was out there on my own and there was a cop that was out there, regardless of the jurisdiction, he would notice that a brother needed help.

Meanwhile, Cloyd is back in jail, charged with probation violation, theft of property, and aggravated robbery. This time, hes being held without bond.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Hes set to appear in court on Tuesday, May 20 for Goodlettsvilles charges and then due back on Friday, May 23 for the probation violation.

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News 2 checked with the clerks office and obtained paperwork that indicates Cloyd pleaded guilty to all the charges from 2024. He was sentenced to five years.

Based on court records, he served from May 21, 2024, until Nov. 7, 2024. The rest of the sentence was suspended by Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton.

News 2 has asked the judge for a statement, but we have yet to hear back.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A Minneapolis substitute teacher has been charged with 14 child sex offenses following a sting operation by a Houston-based "predator hunter" group.

Preston Casey Palmer, 34, is facing charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and solicitation of a child under the age of 14.

It follows a months-long operation by Predator Poachers, an online vigilante group led by Alex Rosen that lures suspected pedophiles and then confronts them on camera, which culminated with Palmer's arrested at Brackett Field Park in south Minneapolis on Wednesday.

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Police arrived at the park to be met by several members of Predator Poachers, who told officers that Palmer had been communicating online with a 17-year-old who was pretending to be a 13-year-old boy since March, with these conversations allegedly "overtly sexual in nature and involved the dissemination of sexual images depicting adults and children."

Hennepin County Jail

Among the messages was a claim by Palmer that he had 87 gigabytes of child sexual abuse material and more than 1,000 videos, saying he keeps them on his "pedophone," according to the criminal complaint.

The park where he was arrested is close to Palmer's current place of work, Sullivan STEAM Middle School. He has worked at several schools in Minneapolis since being hired as a substitute teacher in November, per the Star Tribune.

The predator hunters said that Palmer allegedly agreed to meet in the park with the "13-year-old boy" and the boy's "father," who was actually another member of the group.

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While Palmer was being arrested, the complaint says a young child in the park shouted "That's my teacher!"

Palmer allegedly had a flash drive and a cellphone in his possession at the time of his arrest, with the phone containing more than 18,000 files. While these are being forensically examiner, a "preliminary review of 40 random files were found to contain images of juveniles performing sexual acts."

As he was being taken into custody, Palmer allegedly made "several spontaneous statements that he was sorry, he was an addict, and he will have a felony and be on the registry."
A Minnesota state trooper already facing state charges for child sexual assault has now been indicted on four federal child porn charges.

Jeremy Plonski, 29, of Shakopee, was indicted this week on four additional counts of production and distribution of child pornography. He is also facing a state-level charge of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14.

Hired by the Minnesota State Patrol in 2022, Plonski has since been placed on leave following his May 1 arrest. He remains in custody at the Sherburne County Jail.

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According to the previously reported charges, Plonski recorded himself on video sexually assaulting an infant girl and sent "four or five" videos of him committing the crimes to a user he had befriended on Kik, a social media messenger service.

Jeremy PlonskiSherburne County Jail

"The conduct alleged in this case is horrifying and a gross betrayal of public trust, said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis.

"Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect the most vulnerable among us  not exploit them. When someone in a position of authority commits such an egregious and despicable crime, the damage extends beyond the victim  it shakes the very foundation of our communities trust. The FBI and our partners will not hesitate to investigate and bring to justice anyone who preys on children, no matter their badge or title."

Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick has previously described the charges against Plonski as "one of the most vile and predatory offenses imaginable."

"This is abhorrent  to Minnesota as a whole and to our law enforcement community in particular. I am proud of the swift and decisive action of law enforcement, who responded immediately and worked cooperatively to take Plonski into custody," she added.
Jennifer Adams was watching the news with her two sons late Friday night, when they got the word to shelter in place.

They ran to the bathroom and closed their eyes as a freight train of roaring wind barreled over their house. When she looked up, she saw sky.

And then she was blown into the yard.

When she looked again, her entire house was gone, torn completely off its foundation.

This is a miracle from the Lord, said Adams, sporting just a few cuts and bruises as she looked for keepsakes Saturday morning.

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All the material things can be replaced, but my sons and I ...

The concrete front porch was cracked in half, and the only thing left was the outline of the houses foundation. Christmas ornaments and childrens books had already been bulldozed to the side of the driveway.

This is where my house was and now its just gone, she said in disbelief. But we are here.

Across the street in the Sunshine Hills subdivision, a community in Laurel County, just outside the city limits of London, her neighbor, June Fisher was not so lucky.

Fishers son-in-law Wes Clark said he and his wife, Jennifer, were driving up from Frankfort early Saturday morning when they got the call that Jennifers mother had been killed. They, too, searched for papers and mementoes in a tight mound of wreckage at the back of the subdivision.

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The 74-year-old June Fisher had lived in her home in Sunshine Hills for the past 50 years.

I feel like Im in shock, Jennifer Clark, as she searched for her mothers purse.

Wes Clark had just wrapped up helping out in Frankfort with the massive flooding that hit that town last month. I think we are all in shock.

Shock and disbelief were on the faces of the weary residents who returned home Saturday morning to salvage what they could, despite officials attempts to keep people out of dangerous ruins. One woman, still draped in a purple blanket, walked up the main road and rested her head on the hood of a police car.

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Angela Boggs walked to the Family Dollar Store next to the subdivision. Her home was barely touched, but she was still without electricity. She clutched her Yorkshire Terrier, Archie, under one arm.

We had gone to town to be with my daughter when the sirens started going off, she said. It took us four hours to get back here this morning.

She is still taking in the scale of the devastation around her.

Three people I talked to yesterday are gone, she said. How can that be?

While the force of the storm had not yet been categorized on Saturday, its strength was massive  one huge tree was uprooted and came to rest on a camper, its leaves decorated with insulation from a nearby attic, where half the roof was ripped away.

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A metal carport now encased a pickup truck as though it had been made of aluminum foil. Utility poles snapped like twigs and sturdy wooden fences were turned into firewood.

Sunshine Hills is comprised of a mixture of brick and wooden houses and mobile homes, but they seemed equally affected.

One brick house was left with only the front wall, its windows reflecting the blue sky behind. Another split open, leaving one wall of kitchen cabinets on the ground, while the stove and refrigerator stood open like a childs playhouse.

And yet, as we see again and again, far too often now across Kentucky, people will keep moving to help their neighbors and themselves. Rescue workers from as far away as Virginia and all across the commonwealth gathered at the nearby Wyan-Pine Elementary school before starting cleanup efforts.

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And like Jennifer Clark, sometimes we are reminded of how fate can work in terrible and wonderful ways..

Sharon Philpot was also watching television when the order to shelter came. She went to a downstairs closet and prayed. Right now, the closet is the only thing left standing in her house.

Its a miracle, she said. Thats what it is.
SUNDAY UPDATE:

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  According to the Dayton Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol has located both missing children safely in Florida.

The 41-year-old woman will be facing child endangerment charges in Florida.

Initial article:

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  The Dayton Police Department asked for help in locating 2 missing children.

According to a DPD social media post, a 41-year-old woman left with a 1-year-old child and a 3-year-old child around 11:35 p.m. on May 16. She was driving a 2019 gray Honda HRV.

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Officials said she was likely on her way to Florida.

2 NEWS will follow this story as it develops.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Practices for including someone strictly based on color and gender at public schools and public universities in Mississippi are no longer allowed.

Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) signed House Bill 1193, which bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. Public schools and universities now have to give people opportunities based on merit and individual qualifications.

Everyone ought to be hired based upon merit. Everybody ought to be hired based upon whether or not they can do the job. And I think thats something that should be general agreement across all individuals, said Reeves.

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MDOT faces shutdown risk amid budget delays

To be compliant with the new law, the bill requires the Mississippi State Board of Education to adopt a model complaint process.

Local districts have to meet in their complaint process that they put forward minimum requirements. And that complaint process just says like who has standing to file a complaint, the timeline with which they have to file the complaint, the allegations, the alleged harm that that person is saying somehow this somehow the school district has violate made a violation of this act, one official said.

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) sent out their complaint process for public comment on May 15. The agency anticipates adopting the final policy on June 17.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has registered to attend the official inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, along with more than 150 delegations from around the world, the Holy See said on Saturday.

In addition to Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are also among those due to attend the Mass in St Peter's Square on Sunday.

The US delegation is to be led by Vice President JD Vance, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio also planning to attend.

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Representatives from Italy, Peru and the United States will have front-row seats in the VIP gallery, as Leo holds Peruvian and US citizenship.

The occasion is likely to involve various meetings between state guests. According to Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, attempts are being made to organize a bilateral meeting between the pope and Vance.

Vance last visited Rome in April, when he was the last politician to meet with the late pope Francis before his death on April 21.

Leo became the first pope from the US on May 8, assuming the role as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
Eighteen people who were members of several different gangs operating across the tri-county South Florida region have been sentenced to federal prison for drug- and gun-related charges, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

The investigations, which involved the Broward Sheriffs Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Miami office and other federal and local agencies, resulted in the recovery of 23 guns, three kilograms of fentanyl and seven kilograms of cocaine, in addition to methamphetamine, crack cocaine and marijuana, federal prosecutors said in a news release Friday.

Each of the 18 were members of Zoe Mafia Family (ZMF), a South Florida Haitian gang; a group known as the 3rd World gang; and multiple different sects of the national Bloods gang, prosecutors said in a news release. They are residents of Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties:

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Andre Allen, 37, sentenced to 10 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

David Brown, 41, sentenced to 12.5 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

Tirell Caldwell, 26, sentenced to just under five years for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon

Johnnie Gibson, 51, sentenced to 14.5 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine

Brionne Griffin, 35, sentenced to 5 years for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, and methamphetamine

Joseph Johnson, Jr., 46, sentenced to 10 years for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl

Timothy Neil Lewis, Jr., 26, sentenced to 5 years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Makinson Moise, 35, sentenced to 20 years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine base

Arnicious Odom, 48, sentenced to 2.5 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine

Wendy Previl, 33, sentenced to 10 years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl

Joshua Robinson, 38, sentenced to just over 4 years for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Robert Roseme, 28, sentenced to 3.5 years for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl

Nolan Setoute, 43, sentenced to 1 year for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon

Terrance Stanley, 40, sentenced to 5 years for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Dorshawn Tate, 20, sentenced to 8 months for possession with intent to distribute alprazolam

British Wilkerson, 42, sentenced to 5 years for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Byron Felecio Williams, Jr., 40, sentenced to 5 years for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Kevin Williams, 31, sentenced to 1.5 years for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Many of the cases involved undercover officers communicating with the men charged, sometimes with multiple defendants at once, to arrange to buy narcotics from them. Authorities executed search warrants at numerous homes during the investigation, including in Fort Lauderdale and Lauderhill.

Among the men sentenced, Previl, was arrested in 2023 on a charge of aggravated manslaughter after his 1-year-old son, Zaire Cenatus, died from ingesting a deadly combination of drugs that included fentanyl, the South Florida Sun Sentinel previously reported.

Previl was arrested again several months later in 2023, which led to the federal prosecution. A criminal complaint filed in federal court said law enforcement conducted several investigations between 2021 and March 2023 of Previls possession, sale and distribution of drugs.
The identity of Ukraine's signatory is a "fundamental" issue for Russia in any potential agreement to end the war, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 17 during a briefing, Russian state-controlled media reported.

"For Russia, the most important and principal matter when signing documents between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations is the identity of the person authorized to sign on behalf of Ukraine," Peskov told reporters.

His comments come as Russia and Ukraine held a new round of negotiations in Istanbul on May 16. Although no ceasefire agreement was reached, both sides agreed to a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner-of-war exchange.

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Ukrainian officials said Russia had demanded a full military withdrawal from four regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Moscow claims to have annexed, despite not controlling them entirely. Kyiv rejected the demand and expressed doubts about the Russian delegation's authority to make decisions.

Peskov said work on a settlement will continue and added that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky could be possible if the two delegations reach sufficient agreement.

The Kremlin also said it would inform the public if Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump decide to hold a phone call.

Peskov's comments also confirm that negotiations remain open.

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"The Russian Federation will prepare and hand over to Ukraine a list of conditions for a ceasefire," Peskov said.

Following the Istanbul talks, Zelensky, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, held a call with Trump to discuss next steps.

Western officials remain skeptical of Russia's intentions, especially after the Kremlin sent a low-level delegation to Istanbul, omitting senior figures such as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Zelensky described the Russian team as a "sham delegation."

Ukraine has proposed an immediate ceasefire, a full POW exchange, and a face-to-face meeting between the two presidents. Russia continues to insist on addressing what it calls the "root causes" of the war  a phrase often used to justify its 2022 invasion.

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Read also: Who is Vladimir Medinsky? The Putin aide leading Russias delegation at Ukraine peace talks

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MCLEAN, Ill. (WMBD)  Jennifer Rhodes from Pekin decided to give back to the community by offering to pay the adoption fees for two dogs currently sheltered at Rubys Rescue and Retreat in rural McLean County.

She recently lost her 21-year-old son, Chase Rhodes, in a deadly shooting last month in South Pekin that also claimed the life of his friend Dawson Reese, also aged 21.

From those tragic circumstances, Jennifer chose to make a positive impact. The female dog is called Maggie in honor of Chases dog that recently died, and the male dog is called Dawson to honor his friend.

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Jean Ann Hert is a co-owner of Rubys Rescue and said she picked up the two dogs on Wednesday from McLean County Animal Control. Jennifer reached out to her later that night.

She has known the Rhodes family since 2015 when they adopted a dog from her business and described Chase as a kind young man.

He liked to care for dogs. He liked to donate to shelters and help dogs in need. So, for her to do this, its just a way to honor him and to help as well, she said.

Beyond Jennifer offering to pay for the two dogs adoption fees, she also posted on Rubys Rescues Facebook page on Wednesday. It was an effort to raise money for the shelter, and Hert said the donations total $1,240 as of Friday afternoon.

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Hert thanked the Rhodes family for their generosity during such a difficult time.

Theyre just great people. We cant thank Jennifer enough for all the struggles that shes going right through right now, to be thinking of helping others in need. I think its just amazing of her, she said.

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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)  A 64-year-old man from Wichita died Saturday afternoon after crashing his motorcycle on I-235.

The crash happened around 3 p.m. in the southbound lanes just north of the Kellogg interchange, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Child killed when car strikes trailer in Garden City

Investigators said the man, identified as Jeffrey Ratcliffe, was headed north on I-235 when he failed to navigate a curve. His 2015 Harley-Davidson crossed the center median and entered the southbound shoulder. He overcorrected, and the motorcycle lost control, ejecting Ratcliffe.

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Ratcliffe was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.

The highway patrol said no other vehicles were involved, and the crash remains under investigation.

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  Panama City Police are investigating a traffic crash involving a motorcycle around 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Police said the motorcyclist was heading south on Airport Road, approaching the stoplight at Highway 231, when he apparently lost control of the bike and was tossed to the pavement.

Police said he was not wearing a motorcycle helmet. Paramedics took him to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay with head injuries.

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The motorcyclists condition is unknown at this time. News 13 will have more details on this incident as soon as police release them.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Late-season snow returns to Oregon as the Cascade peaks prepare for a healthy dose of May snow.

Summer heat has already found its way into parts of the Pacific Northwest this spring, but now the snow is on its way again. High-elevation snow isnt unusual for the month of May. Nearly a foot of snow is possible for the peak of Mt. Hood this weekend.

Snowy conditions will be found as low as 4,000 by Sunday morning. Snow below 6,000 will likely melt on roads and other paved surfaces rapidly. Mountain pass travelers may find a few snowy roads and low visibility at times during periods of heavy snow.

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The lower snow elevations are possible around the Timberline Lodge area through the start of next week. The Pacific Northwests latest round of cooler and wetter weather patterns will slowly fade by the end of next week.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Four teenage boys were arrested this week in connection with multiple carjackings in Raleigh, Memphis Police confirmed.

On May 15, 2025, at 07:20 p.m., officers responded to a carjacking at the Citgo Gas Station at 2915 Old Austin Peay Highway.

Officers were told that the victim and her mother were getting gas when two males approached them and asked for a ride.

A suspect pulled a gun on a victim and demanded that she get out of the vehicle and hand over her cell phone. A second male allegedly pulled a gun on the other victim and demanded the keys to the car.

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Police were told that the gunmen fled in their white 2007 Honda Pilot.

4 men assault victim in Fox Meadows, steal phone and wallet: MPD

The next day, around 12:20 p.m., officers responded to a carjacking in the area of Old Raleigh Lagrange at Old Austin Peay Highway.

Officers were told that the victim picked up two males at the Ridgecrest Apartments while driving for Uber and was taking them to the Creekwood Apartments.

While on the way, the males allegedly pulled guns and demanded his two phones, wallet, and told him to get out of the vehicle. The gunmen then fled in the victims Toyota Corolla.

Later that day, officers observed five males getting inside the carjacked Toyota Corolla at the Creekside Meadows Apartments.

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Officers attempted a traffic stop with blue lights and sirens at Raleigh Lagrange Road and Old Austin Peay Highway.

Police said the driver of the Toyota refused to stop, traveling at a high rate of speed and driving recklessly.

The driver struck a mailbox in front of a residence in the 2800 block of Allen Road, and all five males fled from the vehicle.

Man accused of slicing victims neck with box knife

After a brief foot pursuit, an officer apprehended two suspects in the rear of a home in the 2800 block of Allen Road.

Officers located a white pill bottle on one suspect in his front right pants pocket. Inside the bottle was a white baggy that contained multi-color pills.

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Two suspects were found hiding inside a shed in the 3200 block of Jewel Street. A black gun was located in the shed.

Four teens are facing the following charges:

A 17-year-old male was charged with theft of property $10,000-$60,000, evading to wit vehicle pursuit and possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver to wit Ecstasy

A 17-year-old male charged with three counts of carjacking, three counts of employment of a firearm during a commission of a dangerous felony, two counts of aggravated robbery and evading to wit foot pursuit

A 15-year-old male was charged with theft of property $10,000-$60,000, evading to wit foot pursuit

A 15-year-old male was charged with theft of property $10,000-$60,000, evading to wit foot pursuit

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ROCHESTER, N.Y.(WROC)- This year, a Rochester mom of two and business owner has added beauty queen to her list of accomplishments.

As Mrs. Rochester, Shaina Zazzaro will compete next month in the Mrs. New York Pageant with the goal of moving on and winning the Mrs. America pageant in Las Vegas.

In 2021, News 8 featured Shaina and her husband, Michael Zazzaro in a story about food truck owners finding love.

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Today, the Effortlessly Healthy business includes catering and meal deliveries for hospitals, seniors, and anyone looking to lose weight or choose healthier food options. Shaina told News 8 that this past year, she was a top minority and women-owned business leader in Rochester.

We have a lot of moving parts but we want to give the Rochester community healthy chef prepared delicious food, Shaina Zazzaro explained from the food tent at the Lilac Festival.

She and her husband Michael are still side by side at outdoor events giving folks a choice, saying, If you want to eat healthy you come and get a healthy trash plate. If you want to splurge, you go next door to my husband and have one of his regular garbage plates.

6-year-old Rochester fashionistas strut to be featured on hit CBS show

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I hope with the crown I create a Built by Resilience Tour where I travel either the state or the country depending on which title I hold and I motivate and inspire young children and women on entrepreneurship, wellness and resilience to really teach people to believe in themselves, she said.

Twelve years ago, when Shaina quit her job as a hospital administrator to start a healthy food catering business, she says she didnt think shed be stepping on stage as a beauty queen. But she said, lifes challenges including a miscarriage, being homeless and bouncing back from the brink of bankruptcy have prepared her for this moment. I have grit, I have resilience and I can do anything. If i can, you can too, she added.

The Mrs. New York America pageant will be held Sunday, June 15 at the RIT Inn and Conference Center at 2:00 p.m.

As part of the pageant, Shaina is participating in the Fabulous Face Online Charity Contest and is raising funds for the Junior Achievement Academy of Central Upstate New York.

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For those interested in supporting Zazzaro, votes can be cast on the Mrs. New York website.

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The Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners approved a 137-home development along Central Pike during Mondays meeting.

They voted unanimously on Tillman Place, a mixed-use development, west of Pleasant Grove Road, on first reading.

Civil Site Design Group, plans to build the development on approximately 36 acres.

Last March, the Mt. Juliet Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation to the city commission for this project.

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Tillman Place will have a mix of 24 single-family homes and 113 townhomes. Development representatives said the residential sales would be for sale, not for rent.

Patterson Company LLC, a Brentwood-based home building company, will design the homes for this project. They estimated that 348 residents would move into Tillman Place.

At Mondays meeting, Greg Gamble, owner and president of Gamble Design Collaborative, a Franklin-based landscape architectural and development planning firm, provided a visual presentation of the development to the city commission.

Gamble, who is also a representative of Tillman Place, said the developers have cooperated with Shiloh Baptist Church on constructing a public street from Pleasant Grove to the western boundaries of the development.

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Both parties also agreed on having a sewer connection for the churchs future facility, according to city officials.

Gamble said the architecture of the homes represents the best of traditional Middle Tennessee architecture.

These homes are built in a classic style, and it results in a neighborhood that is not dated, said Gamble.

Gamble said Tillman Places mixed-use properties would face significant challenges due to its topography.

We would address these concerns by building parking lots with a maximum slope of 5% while ensuring that 88 routes would either be less than 5% or feature a ramp with a maximum slope of 8%, said Gamble.

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Amenities would include an 8,635-square-foot park pavilion, walking trails, a playground and an exercise area.

We see this pavilion as an excellent opportunity for families to have their own picnics and for kids to wait for school buses to pick them up for school, said Gamble. We believe this neighborhood can bring our residents together.

The city commission will go over Tillman Place on second and final reading in their next meeting.

In other business, the commission unanimously approved rezoning for Virtue Moderns satellite office on Curd Road.

Virtue Modern LLC, a luxury residential design company, has been considered to be one of the proven leaders in modern design, according to the companys website.

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Lysle Oliveros, founder and CEO of Virtue Modern, said the companys vision is to become Mt. Juliets community architect. He presented 3D renderings of Virtues new office space to the city commission.

My dream is to create a really big space for our employees to come to work and have fun with it, said Oliveros.
DEL CITY, Okla. (KFOR)  News 4 has received several complaints from Oklahomans regarding their apartments being overrun with mold.

They say management with the Heights on Forty4 has made temporary fixes, which have only been making it matters worse.

That is why they turned to News 4 for help.

When we went up there, they had freshly painted everywhere around, and they said it was a no mold and no flooding going on, said Wenoka Williams, a tenant.

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Williams had believed them when she was told that. However, Williams says that she should have listened to the warnings she received when first moving in.

Former federal agents turned beekeepers protecting bees with friendly competition

When we first moved in there, our neighbors across the way told us they just moved out like a month ago because of the flooding and mold, Williams said.

It was like about two years we had been complaining about it, said Shawn Williamson, another tenant. Then they moved us over here, to this apartment, and then two months after that, they moved my neighbors in over there, and they had the same issue.

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Williams and her family were moved out of the apartment last week because of how bad the flooding and mold got.

News 4 tried checking out the apartment, but were asked to leave.

Williams was glad to be in a different apartment, until they saw it too, had mold.

Im tired of this, Williams said. I said, yall steady talk about what youre going to do and nothing is happening.

She says every time maintenance has come out, they dont apply a permanent fix.

They patched the ceiling yesterday, but still, when they flush the toilet up over there, it still falls down, Williams said.

News 4 went to speak with management, but were told no manager was there.

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We then called the company that apparently owns the apartment complex, Ghan and Cooper Commercial Properties, but they didnt answer, and we havent heard back.

Williams hopes for better days ahead.

You want more money, but youre not fixing anything, Williams said. Something needs to be done.

Williams told News 4 she might have to find a new place to live if something isnt done soon.

Shes worried for her and her familys health, but doesnt want someone else to live their experience.

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN)  Murfreesboro authorities said license plate recognition technology helped lead to an arrest in a homicide case that stretched more than 100 miles.

According to the Henry County Sheriffs Office, hunters discovered a dead woman on the edge of a parking lot along Copper Springs Road in Springville on Saturday, May 10. Officials identified her as 31-year-old Kristiana Shook-Livingston, who was last known to be unhoused in Murfreesboro.

Following an investigation by the sheriffs office, the Murfreesboro Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the 24th Judicial District Attorneys office, law enforcement said Mark Odom, 54, of Mansfield was identified as the person responsible for Shook-Livingstons death.

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Womans body found in Henry County parking lot, authorities investigating as homicide

Thats when MPD used LPR technology to track Odoms car to a shelter called The Journey Home.

Crime data analysts were able to use LPR technology to place that suspects vehicle at The Journey Home in Murfreesboro, and then its return to West Tennessee, MPD spokesperson Larry Flowers explained.

Flowers said LPRs have made a massive difference in keeping Murfreesboro safe.

Man charged with homicide after womans body found in Henry County parking lot

In 2024, our LPR technology assisted with solving about 200-plus cases. That includes everything from minor traffic accidents to homicides, Flowers told News 2.

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According to officials, Odom was taken into custody on Tuesday, May 13 and charged with criminal homicide. He was booked into the Henry County Jail on a $2.5 million bond.

Authorities have yet to release any additional details about this investigation, including whether Odom and Shook-Livingston knew each other.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
New York State officials are working to clamp down on illegal guns by outlawing the sharing of digital blueprints that allow individuals to 3D-print components that turn semiautomatic firearms into machine guns.

The parts, called auto sears, can be fitted into semiautomatic weapons, including Glock pistols and AR-15 rifles, allowing shooters to empty their magazines with one pull of the trigger.

And thanks to advances in 3D printing that allow people to manufacture gun parts from the comfort of their homes, fully automatic firearms are becoming more common in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

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We talk about the Iron Pipeline, now we have the Kitchen Pipeline, said Bragg about the flow of illegal firearms smuggled into the city from states with more lenient gun laws. Were seeing this in our cases. Were seeing this in recoveries. Were seeing this in gun buybacks. As technology evolves, we have to keep pace in law enforcement.

Bragg joined state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal at his Manhattan office Friday to announce a new bill that would criminalize the sale and distribution of the digital files necessary to manufacture the deadly 3D-printed components.

The proposed bill is the latest effort on the part of state legislators to address the proliferation of ghost guns, which can be printed at home and lack serial numbers that help investigators track illegal firearms and keep them away from criminals.

Hoylman-Sigal and Rosenthal, both Manhattan Democrats, introduced bills in 2023 that would make it a felony to manufacture 3D-printed gun parts and a misdemeanor to distribute files containing the blueprints necessary to print them. The bills, S7364 and A7489, remain in committee.

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It is currently illegal to own or manufacture auto sears in New York State. The new bill would make anyone  including out-of-state vendors  caught sharing digital files necessary to print the components to a New Yorker punishable by up to a year in prison. The files can be easily found on CAD file sharing services.

New technology has created the possibility for anyone, not just registered gun manufacturers, to self-manufacture guns, magazines and rapid modification devices with 3D printers, creating a dangerous loophole in our state gun laws, Hoylman-Sigal said.

Last year, 24-year-old Hayden Espinosa was indicted for selling 3D-printed guns and firearm components, including auto sears, to an undercover NYPD officer while serving time at a federal prison in Louisiana in 2023.

Espinosa used cell phones he smuggled into prison to arrange the sales, including on Aug. 7, 2023, when he sold one auto sear for a Glock pistol and another, 3D-printed auto sear for an AR-style rifle to the undercover officer.

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In 2023, Christopher Fox was indicted after police discovered he had manufactured all the components necessary to assembly an assault rifle in his Upper East Side apartment after investing nearly $7,600 in 3D-printing equipment.

The most recent U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stats, from 2023, show that 53 machine gun conversion devices were recovered in New York in 2023, as compared with 5,816 nationally.
Colleges and universities across New York are clamping down on signs of protest as graduation season gets underway, while the sector faces immense pressure from the Trump administration to quash pro-Palestinian advocacy.

On Wednesday, New York University withheld the diploma of a student who used his graduation speech to condemn Israels war in Gaza. Other schools are trying to avoid the same scrutiny in the coming days and weeks by reminding students of protest rules or scaling back opportunities for graduates to speak.

Their efforts come as the federal government has revoked funds from colleges facing criticism from pro-Israel Jews and conservatives for not doing enough to intervene in the campus demonstrations, which last year included a walkout at NYU and protests at other school graduations.

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NYU accused student speaker Logan Rozos of exploiting his role at NYUs smaller, liberal arts school ceremony to express views they described as one-sided and politically charged. In his address, Rozos, 24, called the war a genocide backed by the United States that has been live-streamed on social media for the last year and a half.

The speech was met with cheers and vocal approval from the crowd at The Beacon Theater, according to a recording. In the meantime, clips of his remarks, which went viral online, drew condemnation from pro-Israel advocates, who accused NYU of allowing antisemitic speech at the school event.

He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules, said NYU spokesman John Beckman. NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.

The NYU Gallatin School ceremony was one of more than 20 NYU graduations and a university-wide commencement Thursday at Yankee Stadium that otherwise did not make waves, except for another small walkout during the college presidents speech, according to student newspaper Washington Square News.

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Before NYU moved to withhold Rozos diploma, its Graduate School of Arts & Science banned decorated caps and scarves, sparking backlash from students and faculty who said it infringed on free speech rights, the student paper reported.

NYU is just trying to put a Band-Aid on something that they know is going to happen instead of addressing why students feel the need to protest, one graduate student told the outlet.

The City University of New Yorks law school, which canceled student speakers at graduation last year after remarks turned political, once again did not include a representative for the graduating class on the agenda for Thursday at the Apollo Theater. CUNY Law previously faced a lawsuit over the matter that was voluntarily dismissed in November, according to court documents.

The law students selected speakers for a smaller awards ceremony the night before the main commencement, said Elise Hanks Billing, a spokeswoman for the school.

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At City College, the CUNY campus in Harlem where students pitched an antiwar tent demonstration last year, graduation will be significantly scaled back. Earlier this semester, President Vincent Boudreau announced the school would scrap department graduations but continue to host school-wide commencement on May 30  citing financial constraints and limited human resources.

CUNY officials testified at a City Council hearing last year that protest-related damages and campus safety measures at City College cost about $3 million, including for additional security at graduation ceremonies. A school spokesman would not say whether the potential for protests influenced their decision-making, referring the Daily News to the presidents announcement.

I know that many of you will be upset that we are not able to hold divisional ceremonies, which have been a source and a site of considerable pride over these past years, Boudreau wrote in a March 18 memo. We simply do not have the resources to continue this aspect of our tradition.

Columbia University is trying to get ahead of such demonstrations by making a plea to students: Remember the protest rules. Commencement is scheduled to take place Wednesday on the main campus, after the university-wide ceremony was canceled last year after activists occupied Hamilton Hall.

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These ceremonies represent the culmination of students academic achievements, and considerable effort has gone into ensuring they are celebratory, safe, and inclusive for all members of the University community, including families, guests, and other attendees, read a recent message from a Columbia official, known as the Rules Administrator.

Disruptions to these events including, but not limited to, impeding access to event spaces, interrupting proceedings, or interfering with the rights of others to attend or participate may constitute violations under  the Rules. The memo warned university delegates and public safety officers  dozens of whom newly have arrest powers  would intervene if protest activity conflicts with school rules.

A Columbia spokesman said the university has been preparing for commencement and taking precautions to ensure safe and successful events, but did not provide further details. Seventy-one Columbia students have been suspended for the Butler Library protest and banned from campus, where commencement will be held.

Also unable to attend Columbia graduation is Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who was supposed to receive his masters degree but remains in a Louisiana immigration detention facility. His classmate Mohsen Mahdawi, who was also detained by ICE but released by a Vermont federal judge while his case proceeds, was expected to be there.

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I plan to attend the graduation because it is a message, Mahdawi said. This is a message that education is hope, education is light, and there is no power in the world that should take that away from us.

With News Wire Services
A historic cross-country pilgrimage is coming to eastern Iowa this spring, offering a rare and moving opportunity to reflect on faith, community, and the presence of Christ, according to a news release.

FILE  This Dec. 1, 2012 file photo shows a silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

The 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will pass through the Diocese of Davenport from May 21 to 23, with events planned in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Washington, Riverside, Iowa City, and Davenport. The pilgrimage, part of a national initiative from the U.S. Catholic Church, is making its way from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Along the way, participants are walking and praying through cities and towns, stopping for public events that invite people from all walks of life to encounter the heart of the Catholic faith.

Its a wonderful honor for us to welcome this pilgrimage into our diocese, said Bishop Dennis Walsh, bishop of the Diocese of Davenport. Whether youre Catholic or not, we hope people across eastern Iowa will come out to experience this momentone that brings people together in hope, prayer, and joy. We encourage everyone to be part of it and share it with their neighbors.

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Events will take place across several communities each day. On Wednesday, May 21, the pilgrimage will stop in Burlington, West Burlington, and Mount Pleasant. On Thursday, May 22, gatherings will be held in Washington, Riverside, Iowa City, and Davenport. On Friday, May 23, the final day of the local visit, events will be centered at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Davenport.

The pilgrimage is an opportunity to reconnect with something deeper, especially in a world that often feels noisy and divided. Organizers say it is a reminder that we all hunger for meaning, for connection, and for love that lasts. For Catholics, the Eucharist is where we encounter Gods love most directly. For someone who hasnt been to church in a long time, or ever, this can be a moment to pause, reflect, and feel a sense of community.

Everyone is welcome. If you have ever felt curious about what keeps people going in hard times, or what brings peace to someones heart, come join us. Walk a little. Listen. You just might be surprised by what you feel, organizers say.

Walsh emphasized the potential to bring people together in a time when unity is often hard to find. This pilgrimage reminds us that faith isnt just something private  its something were called to live out in the world, he said. Walking together, praying together, being present to one another, thats how we show the world what hope looks like.

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All events are open to the public. For more information and to register for specific events, visit here.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  The National Weather Service has issued the first Red Flag Warning of 2025 in Utah for Saturday, May 17.

The warning is in effect tomorrow from noon to 8 p.m. for San Juan and Grand Counties. According to Utah Fire Info, low relative humidity and high winds are creating critical fire conditions.

Please use caution with anything that can spark a fire, Utah Fire Info posted on social media.

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The affected areas in Utah are known as Fire Weather Zone 490 Colorado River Basin and Fire Weather Zone 491 Southeast Utah. Winds are expected to be heading southwest at 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph.

Relative humidity is estimated at 9-14%, according to the NWS.

Fires will catch and spread quickly, the Red Flag Warning states. Exercise extreme caution with any outdoor burning.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. These warnings also alert fire managers on federal lands to conditions that are highly unfavorable for prescribed burns and that may lead to especially dangerous wildfire growth.

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Red Flag Warnings are usually only issued during the spring and fall fire weather seasons, Feb.15  Apr. 30 and Oct. 1  Dec. 15. When warnings are issued, officials know to halt planned burns and to be on the lookout for wildfires, according to the NWS.

The NWS has outlined the following requirements for a Red Flag Warning to be issued:

Ten-hour fuels of 8% or less. This parameter describes how much water is held by small vegetation such as grass, leaves, and mulch that take only about ten hours to respond to changes in dry/wet conditions.

Relative humidity (RH) less than 25% for several hours. RH depicts how much water is in the air, relative to the temperature of the air.

Winds 20 feet off the ground of at least 15 mph for several hours.

Latest headlines:

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After nearly eight decades, a Pennsylvania airman who was once listed as Missing in Action has finally returned home.

Airman Glenn Hodak, from Cambridge Springs, PA, was shot down over Japan in 1945 during World War II. For years, his fate remained a mystery  until now.

The Hodak family recently learned that Glenn was captured and taken as a prisoner of war, held at the Tokyo Military Prison. Tragically, the prison later burned down, killing all of the U.S. POWs inside. Glenn Hodak is the first of them to be positively identified. After an 8-month process, his flag-draped casket finally made its way home.

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On Friday afternoon, the tarmac at Pittsburgh International Airport was lined with honor: service members, Pennsylvania State Police troopers, firefighters, and members of the Patriot Guard Riders stood in solemn tribute. A few remaining members of the Hodak family were also there. All nine of Glenns siblings have since passed.

He was long gone before we were even born, said Dennis Hodak, his nephew.

Mostly only ever heard about him through stories, added Russ Hodak, Glenns great-nephew. Thats what piqued my interest.

That interest became a mission. While a student at Penn State in 2008, Russ began researching his grandfathers history and stumbled upon records related to his great-uncle. His research led to Glenns identification in the fall of 2023, 78 years after his disappearance.

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The procession that followed was fitting for a hero. It included military escorts and members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group known for honoring fallen service members with motorcycle escorts and flags.

Its been a long time, and his family finally has some closure, said Jeremy Barnard, a Ride Captain with the Patriot Guard.

Barnard and his fellow riders travel the country for these solemn missions.

Its a very sobering and somber experience, he said. Theres usually not a dry eye anywhere. Seeing a service members coffin, draped in the American flag, coming off a plane  its something powerful.

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Russ Hodak says he hopes Glenns long-overdue homecoming inspires other families of World War II service members to keep searching  and to never give up hope.

Dont give up hope, he said. Keep researching. Keep looking. It can happen.

For those with loved ones still missing in action, this Family Member Resource Guide from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is a great place to start.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s anti-vaccine activism is not what youd call subtle. For decades, he has questioned the safety and effectiveness of various childhood vaccines, insisting that some of them cause autism, lying about their ingredients, and dismissing troves of evidence that counter his views. However much he might deny it, Kennedy is an old-school anti-vaxxer, Dorit Reiss, an expert in vaccine law at UC Law San Francisco, told me.

When he became the United States health secretary, Kennedy brought few of his staunchest and oldest allies in the anti-vaccine movement with him. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services is filling with political appointees whose views of vaccines run less obviously counter to evidence than Kennedys. But these officials, too, question the safety and usefulness of at least some vaccines, and seek to slow or stop their use.

Among those officials are Marty Makary, the new FDA commissioner, and Tracy Beth Heg, his new special assistant; Vinay Prasad, the new director of the FDA center that oversees the regulation of vaccines; and Jay Bhattacharya, the new director of the National Institutes of Health. Unlike Kennedy, they hold advanced degrees in science, medicine, or public health, and have published scientific papersoften in direct collaboration with one another. And they have each endorsed at least some vaccines for children, or even pushed back on some of Kennedys most flagrant vaccine misinformationcriticizing, for instance, his false claims that MMR shots cause autism. When reached for comment by email, Emily Hilliard, HHSs deputy press secretary, described the cohort to me as credentialed physicians and researchers with long-standing commitments to evidence-based medicine who were brought into HHS to restore scientific rigor, transparency, and public trustnot to blindly affirm the status quo. (Emails to the FDA and the NIH requesting interviews with each of these four officials either went unanswered or redirected me to HHS.)

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These new appointees can also be described, more succinctly, as COVID contrarians who have questioned the worth of vaccines. Their approach to immunization policy is less extreme, more engaged with evidence, and more academic than Kennedys. And precisely because these officials perspectives carry a sheen of legitimacy that most of the secretarys usual allies lack, they could be more effective than Kennedy at undermining Americas protections against disease.

In sharp contrast to Kennedy, this new cohortyou could call them the neo-anti-vaxxersare generally established in their respective scientific fields. Makary, for instance, has been hailed for pioneering several surgical procedures; in the 2010s, Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist, gained recognition for his rigorousalbeit acerbictakes on precision medicine and cancer drugs. And each has acknowledged, in at least some capacity, the lifesaving powers of immunization. When theyve argued about vaccines, theyve often done so in respected scientific venues, and performed their own analyses of the evidence.

No medical intervention is without risk, and on the broadest level, what these officials are asking for appears to fit the essential tenets of public health: thorough testing of vaccines before theyre debuted, and careful scrutiny of each immunizations relative pros and cons. But these officials past actions show that they havent always weighed those scales fairly or objectively.

All four of these officials began to publicly coalesce in their view of vaccination in the early months of COVID. None of them had trained as infectious-disease specialists or vaccinologists. But in their public comments, and in several publications, they contended that the virus was far less dangerous than most public-health officials thought, and that the measures that the U.S. was taking against it were far too extreme. They argued against mandates and boosters, especially for children and for young and healthy adults; they exaggerated the side effects of the shots, extolled the benefits of acquiring immunity through infection, and dismissed the notion that people whod already had COVID should still get shots later on. In October 2020, Bhattacharya and a group of colleagues advocated for reopening society before vaccines had debuted; Makary, although initially supportive of COVID vaccines, went on to praise the Omicron variant of the viruswhich at one point killed an average of 2,200 Americans each dayas natures vaccine. Prasad, meanwhile, has said that COVID-vaccine makers should be sued for the rare side effects caught and disclosed with standard monitoring. And Heg, whod previously worked with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, influenced his decision to recommend against the COVID vaccine for healthy children.

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Plenty of Americans were reasonably nervous about taking a vaccine developed at record speed, with new technology, under conditions of crisis. But Bhattacharya, Makary, Prasad, and Heg went further than simply recommending caution; they questioned the legitimacy of the data supporting repeat immunization and at times actively advised against it.

Their criticism of vaccination has transcended COVID. Prasad allows that some vaccines are important but has also questioned the value of RSV vaccines during pregnancy; hes argued that the evidence for annual flu shots is extremely poor, and disparaged doctors who consider all vaccines lifesaving. He has suggested that Kennedy randomize different parts of the U.S. to different childhood vaccine schedules, to determine an optimal dosing strategyan experiment that could keep kids from accessing safe and effective shots in a timely fashion. Heg, too, has called for an overhaul of how vaccines are tested, approved, and regulated in this country. And she has sharply criticized the American pediatric immunization schedule for including more vaccines than the one in Denmark, where she holds citizenship. Makary, while more tempered in his public comments, has still declined at times to urge parents to vaccinate their children against measles, and downplayed the viruss risks.

As a group, these officials have generally been more sanguine about Kennedys false claims about vaccines and autism than other researchers have. Bhattacharya, for example, said at his confirmation hearing that he is convinced that vaccines dont cause autism, but added that he wouldnt reject more studies on the issue.

Hilliard, at HHS, wrote that, by interrogating vaccines, these officials are doing only what science requires: Questioning the quality of data, highlighting the limits of past decisions, or advocating for better trials is not anti-scienceit is the gold standard of science. But truly rigorous science also rests on the foundations of previous dataand a willingness to accept those data, even if they conflict with ones priors. Many of the questions these officials are asking have already been repeatedly asked and answeredand the four of them have been criticized by public-health experts for their tendency to, like Kennedy, ignore reams of evidence that do not support their views. Some of their suggestions for revamping vaccines would also put Americans at unnecessary risk: Asking certain American jurisdictions to delay childhood vaccinations, or perhaps even skip certain shots, could leave entire communities more vulnerable to disease.

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Fundamentally, they, like Kennedy, believe that vaccines should generally be more optional for more Americansa perspective that elides the population-level benefits of widespread immunity against disease. And fundamentally, they, like Kennedy, have argued that vaccines that have passed rigorous tests of safety and efficacy, been successfully administered to hundreds of millions of people, and saved lives around the world are not safe or necessary. If those stances are further codified into policy, they could waste the countrys resources on unnecessary testing, produce misleading data, and erode confidence in public health as a whole.

Already, these officials have turned their new powers on COVID vaccines, some of which are still authorized only for emergency use. The FDA has delayed full approval of the Novavax COVID vaccine and is reportedly asking for a newand very costly and laboriousrandomized controlled trial on the shots effectiveness, even though the shot has already been through those sorts of studies and been safely administered to people for years. The agency could also require all COVID-vaccine makers to submit new effectiveness data for shots updated to include new variants of the virusessentially treating them as brand-new vaccines and potentially making it nearly impossible, logistically, to produce new formulations of the COVID vaccine each fall. (Experts worry that the agency will apply the same logic to flu vaccines, with the same result.) The FDA could also go as far as revoking emergency-use authorizations, such as the one for pediatric COVID vaccines, which Prasad has said should be stricken from the childhood immunization schedule.

These officials powers have limits: The CDC (which still doesnt have a permanent director), not the FDA, recommends the childhood immunization schedule. At a meeting last month of the CDCs advisory council on immunization practices, though, Heg came as the FDAs liaisonan unconventional choice, Jason Schwartz, a vaccine-policy expert at Yale, told me, for a role historically filled by a career scientist from the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the FDA center Prasad runs. (After deferring to HHS, the FDA responded to a request for comment by pointing out that Heg holds the title of senior clinical science adviser at CBERa title she was apparently given after the meeting.) Grace Lee, who previously chaired the committee, told me that the FDA liaison is not usually an active participant. And yet, Heg pointedly questioned the safety and effectiveness of multiple vaccines, including COVID shotsthe sort of contribution that could influence the discussion, the ultimate vote, and, potentially, the eventual CDC directors decision to accept the panels advice, Lee and Schwartz said.

Bhattacharyas sway, too, is likely to expand far past his own agency. Under this administration, the NIH has already canceled grants for hundreds of infectious-disease-focused studies, including dozens that look at vaccine uptake and hesitancy. Now, with Bhattacharya in charge, the agency is leading a $50 million study into the causes of autism, as directed by Kennedywho already seems set on the answers to that question. When asked in a recent interview with Politico whether mRNA-focused science might be defunded, Bhattacharya said that many, many people now think that mRNA is a bad platform. If the U.S. ignores vaccine hesitancyor if researchers have fewer resources to develop new vaccinesimmunization in this country will stall, regardless of who runs the FDA or the CDC.

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Modern American politics does still consider some positions to be too anti-vaccine: Trumps original pick for CDC director, Dave Weldon, who has repeatedly promoted the debunked idea of a connection between vaccines and autism, had his nomination withdrawn by the White House in March. Kennedys own confirmation hearing was contentious, and heavily focused on vaccines; in official press statements and in interviews since then, he has softened some of his stancesacknowledging the protective powers of the MMR shot, for instanceto the point where he has angered his extremist base. Bhattacharya and Makary faced less resistance during their own hearings, during which they both praised the importance of vaccines. The vaccine distortions theyve pushed are less blatant than Kennedys, but also more difficult to combat.

When Kennedy began his new position, some feared he would immediately take a sledgehammer to American vaccines. The moves he and his new team are making have stopped short of obliterating access to shots; theyre more about creating new roadblocks, Luciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the FDA, told me. But even seemingly minor hurdles can mark a substantial philosophical shift: Where HHS once treated the U.S.s vaccines as well-vetted, lifesaving technologies, its now casting them as dubious tools with a murky track record, pushed onto the public by companies rife with corruption. By sowing doubt that vaccines can safely protect people, HHSs lesser skeptics will help legitimize Kennedyuntil all of their views, fringe as they may have begun, start to feel entirely reasonable.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
ABU DHABI  As President Donald Trump hopscotched around the Middle East this week, he was the star of elaborate ceremonies, announced new U.S. policies and unveiled billions of dollars in new economic partnerships.

He even visited a mosque, remarking on the pride he felt for my friends as he took in its beauty. This is an incredible culture, Trump said.

But one omission on the trip became more glaring with each stop: Israel.

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Tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were already bubbling up before the president spent the week visiting three of Americas key Arab allies: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

By the end of the trip on Friday, Trump seemed to put further strain on the relationship. He had spent the past few days meeting with Syrias new leader  a former Al Qaeda leader the U.S. had put a $10 million bounty on  and announced he was lifting sanctions on the country in a move Israel opposed but which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia had urged the president to take.

Follow live politics coverage here

Trump told reporters he had discussed the sanctions decision with Netanyahu, framing it as widely supported by others.

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I think its been very popular, certainly in the Middle East, Trump said. He also cited conversations with Salman and Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he claimed saw the move as critical to Syrias chance of survival as a country.

A day after promising to lift the sanctions, Trump praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as a young, attractive guy  tough guy, and urged the former rebel fighter to join the Abraham Accords  the presidents signature foreign policy achievement from his first term normalizing ties between Israel and several Arab states.

President Donald Trump attends a business forum Friday at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the final stop of his Gulf visit. (Amr Alfiky / Reuters)

During the trip, Trump also leaned into the notion that a deal with Iran was within striking distance, without putting forward any details to assuage some of Israels concerns. And on the eve of the presidents trip, his administration announced it had cut a unilateral deal with Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to secure the release of the last living American hostage in Gaza.

Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict, Trump said of the release of Edan Alexander. He added on Friday that were going to find out pretty soon if Israel is able to free the nearly two dozen hostages believed to be alive in Gaza.

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Netanyahu, meanwhile, bombed Gaza during Trumps trip to the region, killing more than 100 people in the last 24 hours, according to local health authorities.

Asked about Israels plans for expanding the war in Gaza as he pushes for a ceasefire, Trump struck a measured tone.

I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and were going to see. We have to help also out the Palestinians, Trump said. You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides.

Even so, Israel is increasingly anxious about Trump striking a quick nuclear deal with Iran and Arab leaders shaping the presidents thinking, one person familiar with the dynamic between Trump and Netanyahu said.

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The trip hasnt so much put distance between Trump and Netanyahu as it has exposed it, this person said.

Trump, speaking to reporters, dismissed the notion that his trip marginalized Americas closest ally in the region. He said on Wednesday that the U.S. having a strong relationship with Arab leaders is very good for Israel.

Across four breakneck days of dealmaking, Arab leaders showed their ability to provide Trump with tangible economic wins he can showcase overseas as benefiting Americans back home, as well as the kind of warm welcome that resonates with the president.

The job theyve done in a fairly short period of time is just outstanding. Theyre great people. Great leaders. Three great leaders, Trump told reporters Friday as he headed back to Washington, D.C. And the respect shown to our country was incredible. Because nobody is treated like that.

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Trumps relationship with Netanyahu, by contrast, is largely focused on national security concerns, from Iran to the war in Gaza to the shifting dynamics in Syria.

So far, Israel has largely kept those concerns behind the scenes  which was the case with previous presidents, specifically Barack Obama and Joe Biden, even as they vowed to protect Americas unbreakable bond with Israel. And the U.S. continues to strongly support Israel, with Trump sending military equipment the Biden administration had paused.

In a statement, National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt described Trump as Israels staunchest ally in its history.

Israel has had no better friend in its history than President Trump, Hewitt said. We continue to work closely with our ally Israel to ensure remaining hostages in Gaza are freed, Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, and to strengthen regional security in the Middle East.

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As he has repeatedly stated in his first and second terms, Hewitt added, the President is committed to ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

As for where the dynamic between Trump and Netanyahu goes next, one ally of the president made the case that deepening ties with Arab leaders will ultimately protect Israel because of its close relationship with the U.S. At the same time, the ally noted Trumps characteristic unpredictability, saying, Trump does what Trump does.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A newly released audio clip appears to show former President Joe Biden struggling to recall the dates of key events in his life, including the death of his son Beau.

The audio clip, first provided to Axios, is from former special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency and took place in the days after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

In the clips released by Axios, Biden pauses multiple times and appears to struggle as he recounts various details, including the years that he spent as vice president, when President Donald Trump formally took office and when his late son passed away.

PHOTO: US-POLITICS-BIDEN-CARTER (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden sat for more than five hours with Hur, who provided his 345-page report to the Department of Justice, which released it soon after in February 2024. The Biden administration provided the full transcript of Biden's interview to Congress a month later, which released it.

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Axios only published a small snippet of this from the audio they obtained.

MORE: Small nodule found in Joe Biden's prostate during recent physical

"The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago. The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public," Biden's spokesperson, Kelly Scully, said in a statement to ABC News.

The Biden administration resisted releasing the audio recording itself, by Biden invoking executive privilege. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland was held in contempt of Congress by House Republicans for his refusal to release the audio.

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As ABC News previously reported, the Trump administration was poised to release the full audio, rejecting arguments posed by Biden administration officials that disclosing such evidence from a closed criminal investigation could prevent future high-profile subjects from providing similar cooperation to investigators.

The release comes on the heels of books that have disclosed reporting on how Biden and his inner circle allegedly sought to shield aspects of his diminishing mental capacities during his presidency.

MORE: Democrats grapple with Biden's reemergence

ABC News has not independently obtained the audio. A White House spokesperson solely referred ABC to the Axios clips. It is not immediately clear how Axios obtained the audio from a closed criminal investigation.

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The Trump administration has separately resisted efforts by oversight groups and media organizations to release former special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump's handling of classified materials after leaving the White House in 2021, which resulted in Trump being charged with 40 criminal counts relating to his allegede mishandling of national defense information and obstruction.

Newly released audio reveals Joe Biden's memory lapses during 2023 investigation originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Nonprofit groups that support victims of domestic violence in Stanislaus County said funding in the proposed state budget is not enough to continue the current level of services.

Advocates said Gov. Gavin Newsoms May budget revision fails to shore up a sizable gap in federal funding for crime victims. The dwindling federal support for these programs through the Victims of Crime Act has been a concern in recent years.

May Rico, executive director of Modesto-based Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments, said Thursday that the organization will have to scale back services later this year if more state funding isnt allocated.

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VOCA has been a key source of funding for HAVEN programs including assistance for sexual assault victims at hospitals, counseling, support groups for domestic violence and sexual assault victims and assistance with restraining orders. HAVEN also supports children who have been sexually abused or have lived in violent homes.

HAVEN would start to feel the impact of funding reductions in October, Rico said in an email. She said HAVENs crisis line received almost 1,300 calls for assistance last year and the organization protected clients with almost 4,000 hours of shelter service in the past year.

We need this funding to ensure that when (domestic violence) survivors call in a crisis, there will be an advocate on the other end to help them create a plan to escape safely, Rico said.

About 250 organizations in California are asking the Legislature and Newsom for $260 million in one-time funding in the 2025-26 budget.

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In 2024, local programs were facing severe cuts in federal VOCA funding, including a 45% reduction for victim services provided through the Stanislaus County District Attorneys office.

In addition to one-time state funds to backfill VOCA shortfalls, Newsom signed a bill in September creating the California Crime Victims Fund as a long-term funding source for victim services. But it will take time before the victims fund is generating enough support.

California has received a declining amount of annual dollars from the federal crime victims fund, which accumulates financial penalties from people or companies convicted of white-collar crimes.

The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence said thousands of victims statewide will be left without resources or emergency shelter if programs have to be cut this year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is again calling on California cities to crack down on homeless encampments and released a model ordinance for local governments to follow.

Bakersfield officials said they're already doing much of what the governor recommends.

"Bakersfield has implemented some of the strongest ordinances allowed by state and federal law, including meeting or exceeding the guidance released today from the governors office," the city said Monday in a news release.

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"Since the state declared a homelessness crisis in 2018, the City of Bakersfields 300-bed Brundage Lane Navigation Center has found permanent housing solutions for more than 475 people," the statement said.

The governor's calls to action were matched by the distribution of $3.3 billion in funding raised by Proposition 1, which was just barely approved by voters last year.

Roughly $77.4 million of that money is going to entities in Kern County. On Monday, the city of Bakersfield announced it received a $22.8 million grant from the state to turn a hotel on Wible Road into a 65-bed substance abuse treatment facility.

Another $12.9 million is going to the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project for behavioral and mental health urgent care and the North Kern South Tulare Hospital District got $41.6 million for its Skilled Nursing Facility with Special Treatment Program.

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It's not the first time Newsom has urged California cities to do more to crack down on homelessness. And it's not the first time he has threatened to withhold state funding if they don't.

"Theres nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets," Newsom said Monday in a news release. "The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses."

The city spends roughly $20 million annually on homelessness. Bakersfield Police Department's Lt. Nicole Anderberg with the community vitality unit said a wide range of outreach specialists with various city departments and partner organizations make considerable effort to offer services to the local homeless population.

"We give them notice that there's going to be some focused enforcement, and we basically try to coordinate with them to ensure that there are the right amount of beds if people do choose services, to accept services," Anderberg said.

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"I believe that pretty much what the governor put in his model ordinance, we're already doing," she said.

The similarity between the governor's model ordinance and the city's current policies shows the city's on the right track, said Vice Mayor and Ward 7 City Councilwoman Manpreet Kaur.

"It's good to see that our city was already practicing a lot of the things that were recommended, and for a while," Kaur said. "I think one of the strongest approaches has been the city's partnership with the experts, both in homelessness, but also in providing substance use mitigation care."

The treatment center to be established by the grant announced Monday would go a long way to filling a gap in services faced by many who are trying to get out of homelessness, Kaur said.

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Local homelessness experts report that shelters are routinely at capacity, and there's high demand for treatment centers. The city and other jurisdictions have prioritized affordable housing and Bakersfield alone has several hundred units under construction or in the planning phases.

But the number of people entering homelessness also remains high, and there's a certain portion of the homeless population that declines services.

"The population that is willing to work with us is decreasing," said Ward 1 Councilman Eric Arias. "So now we are really focusing on those individuals who are unwilling or at least less willing to work with us."

Proposition 36, approved by voters in November, elevated certain crimes to felony offenses and gave law enforcement additional tools to prosecute low-level crimes. But the lack of jails beds is frustrating local officials as many low-level offenders are released shortly after their arrest for want of space.

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"The next step is being able to actually hold them in a jail space and in a jail bed for a period of enough time to actually show that there's real accountability," Arias said.

Bakersfield doesn't have its own holding center or jails and relies on its partnership with the Kern County Sheriff's Office for jail services. City officials have expressed frustration they haven't been able to reach an agreement with the county to expand the number of available beds.

Sheriff Donny Youngblood has said low staffing has forced the closure of local holding facilities, and training detention deputies takes time. Youngblood declined to comment specifically for this story, saying the situation with jail beds remains unchanged.

"The problem with jail beds is I think a big part of the solution," said Ward 4 Councilman Bob Smith.

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The city has long taken a proactive approach to homeless encampments, Smith said, but he expressed frustration that after years of discussion with the county, the jail-beds issue remains unresolved.

"There's always roadblocks and, you know, somebody's got to break through the roadblocks," Smith said. "The city's trying and I don't feel the county and the sheriff are trying to find solutions."

Ward 5 Councilman Larry Koman said in an email he was mostly pleased with the city's approach to homelessness, but wanted to see more done in terms of enforcement.

"Thats why we have invested so much in shelters and other programs, so that we can get people off the streets and help the ones we can," Koman said. "If they refuse service then they need to move on. Enforcing our camping and loitering laws is essential and a good start. Our compassion can only go so far. At some point we cant continue to be tolerant and we must enforce our laws."

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But council members also acknowledged the need for more housing, including transitional housing, and trying to stem the flow of people coming into homelessness.

Koman said he wanted to see more transitional housing but with cutbacks in state and federal funding, that may be difficult.

Ward 2 Councilman Andrae Gonzales noted that the annual homeless survey known as the Point-in-Time count for 2019 found 772 unsheltered people, and since 2018 the city and its partners have added more than 500 shelter beds.

"We have to ask ourselves, 'OK, now why is there an inflow issue?' Why are people finding themselves unhoused and who are they?'" Gonzales said. "The majority of those people are dealing with substance use disorders, dealing with mental health, which is why this investment of $22.8 million from the state for the city to partner with Kern County Behavioral Health (and Recovery Services) on the substance abuse treatment center is so critical right now."

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Gonzales said the city needs to find ways to make building housing easier, and pointed to the planned renovation of the Ramkabir Motel on Union Avenue as a potential model for fast housing.

"Things like motel conversions, those are things that I really like because the cost per unit is far cheaper than building out a new affordable housing unit or apartment complex," Gonzales said. "I like projects like that because it's also a win-win. It's a win in that we build more affordable housing units, and it's also a win because we then upgrade some of these properties on Union that really are substandard at some level."
An investigation is underway after a man was allegedly shot by an officer in Pelham, NH, overnight.

According to the New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office, on Friday night, the Pelham Police Department was called to a residence on Nashua Road for an armed adult male resident in mental distress.

No law enforcement officers were physically injured in the incident.

The man who was shot is receiving medical treatment for his injury and was alert and communicative when he was transported to the hospital.

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There is no known threat to the public at this time.

The names of the officers involved are being withheld until the end of the investigations.

The exact circumstances of the shooting are being investigated, and additional information will be released when 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.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment on Friday to eliminate dual citizenship in a move that would impact thousands of people, including government opponents.

The reform of articles 23 and 25 of the constitution must be approved again in 2026 to take effect, as constitutional amendments require approval by two legislatures.

The reform passed with all 91 of the votes in the legislature, which is dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front.

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Under the reform, Nicaraguans acquiring another nationality would lose their Nicaraguan citizenship. Foreigners seeking Nicaraguan citizenship would need to renounce their original nationality, except for Central Americans who can retain it, the legislature's President Gustavo Porras said.

Many Nicaraguans hold dual citizenship, often with the United States. The Ortega government has stripped Nicaraguan citizenship from over 400 individuals, according to opposition group Monitoreo Azul y Blanco, including 222 political and social leaders who Ortega deported to the U.S. in February 2023.

(Reporting by Gabriela Ruth Selser; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)
A New Jersey woman suffered catastrophic and permanent injuries in a car crash caused by an allegedly drunk NYPD officer who opened fire during a road rage incident, she said in a lawsuit.

Stephanie Hummel was left with a collapsed lung, numerous fractures and permanent cardiac disfunction after off-duty Officer Hieu Tran shot another driver in southern New Jersey, sending the mans vehicle careening into hers, according to Manhattan federal court papers.

Tran, 28, was heading home to Yonkers from a wedding in May 2024 when he pulled up to a red light around 11 p.m. and shot at the vehicle next to him, allegedly without warning, then drove off, according to prosecutors and court papers.

Tran is facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting Kishan Patel at an intersection in New Jersey last year. William Farrington

The driver, Kishan Patel, who was heading home from his familys liquor store, was wounded. His vehicle then rolled forward, slamming into Hummels car.

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The incident rendered Patel, 30, who sued Tran in October, a paraplegic.

Hes in horrific condition, probably has 10 to 50% brain function, said Patels attorney Joseph Marrone, who noted that his client managed his familys businesses and they are millions of dollars in debt.

The city and NYPD failed to act when they knew Tran, who had been transferred from Harlem to the departments public information office, struggled with alcoholism and was on a downward spiral, according to the court papers.

The City of New York and the NYPD are responsible for this tragic incident, the victims said in court papers.

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Tran was suspended without pay by the NYPD, the department said.

The incident left Patel a paraplegic, his family said in court papers. Marrone Law Firm, LLC

Patel was managing his familys business before he was shot. Marrone Law Firm, LLC

The city said it would review the lawsuit when it is served.

Tran is being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder; weapon possession; aggravated assault and endangering an injured victim.

A criminal lawyer for the officer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DAMASCUS, Va. (WJHL)  Trail Days this year looks a little different after Hurricane Helene left devastating flood damage.

Trail Days is a testament to all those who have worked tirelessly for the last seven months.

I think its remarkable, Dakota Jackson with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy said. I think if you didnt know that Helene had hit Damascus downtown, you would have no idea that it had hit here, which is pretty amazing to think about.

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Organizers stated that the event attracts approximately 25,000 people to the town each year, but they were uncertain if the hikers would participate this year.

Its down to the work of the volunteers, Jackson said. Clubs have put in over like tens of thousands of hours of trail maintenance time to get the trail cleared so that we can have the festival and a trail today.

I spoke with one hiker who told me theyve been on the trail since April 4 and that the damage to the sections in this area is unlike anything shes ever seen.

Its just like destruction everywhere, they said. And like, the cleanup people have done, like a really incredible job, like the volunteers and the Forest Service and all of them have done an incredible job, like maintaining the trail and making it so that us hikers can easily continue on. But when youre looking around, I mean, its like the destruction becomes normal. Like, theres so much of it. Thousands. Like its an uncountable number of trees.

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Hiking guide and outfitter Ryan Crawley said the town relies on the influx of people that Trail Days brings.

So Damascus is an extremely small town here in Virginia, less than a thousand people, Crawley said. So every year this event is their biggest event. And so it really means a lot for this to bring an economic boost, Ill say, to the town. So the fact that were able to hold trail days this year is a huge benefit to these people.

Everyone interviewed by News Channel 11 expressed gratitude to those who worked to make the trail accessible and ensure the town was ready for the festival, which holds great significance for the community.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Two civilian helicopters have crashed into each other in Finland with no survivors reported.

The helicopters had taken off from Estonia and were carrying businessmen on board, with three people in one and two in the other.

Emergency services were called to the crash site west of Helsinki shortly after 12.30pm local time on Saturday.

The accident has resulted in several fatalities. The exact number of victims and the identities of the passengers are still being determined, the police said in a statement.

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However, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign affairs confirmed to public broadcaster ERR that all those on board the helicopters had died.

A witness said he saw the two helicopters flying close to one another before one dropped like a stone.

Suddenly, one of the helicopters made a quick movement and, just like that, collided with the other. Shortly afterwards, there was a terrible crash, Antti Marjanen told Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio Oy.

One of the helicopters dropped like a stone, while the other spiralled down. After that, I didnt see or hear anything. There was no smoke.

Rescue workers reportedly located the wreckage of the helicopters in a forested area, located around 100 yards from each other.

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Officials gave no indication of what caused the mid-air collision, but a witness told Finnish media there was a terrible crash after one of the aircraft performed a sudden manoeuvre.

Local media named Estonian businessmen Oleg Sonajalg and Priit Jaagant, and his wife Lilit Jaagant, as being among the victims.

Jaagants construction company released a statement confirming that he and his wife had died.

Flightradar24 tracking data showed two four-seater Robinson R44 Raven light helicopters that departed from Tallinn, the Estonian capital, were flying near Eura, in south west Finland, when the accident took place.

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The passengers were on their way to an air show at Piikajarvi Airfield when they collided, according to the chairman of a nearby aviation club.

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DENVER (KDVR)  Officials confirmed that there were no survivors after a small plane crashed in a field near Broomfield on Saturday morning.

Mark Daugherty, deputy chief of operations for North Metro Fire Rescue, told FOX31s Kasia Kerridge that the crash was a tragic incident and there were no survivors.

The National Transportation Safety Board provided an update and said two people were on board the plane at the time of the crash.

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The plane took off from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and immediately tried to return.

Daugherty said that emergency services were notified of an aircraft emergency around 10 a.m., and as crews were responding, they were alerted that the plane had crashed.

When NMFR arrived on the scene, the plane was on fire and Daugherty said they were able to extinguish the fire rapidly.

The airport said in a post on X that the plane was a Beechcraft twin-engine airplane. The airport said that the pilot called the Air Traffic Control tower, reporting an issue with the door being opened.

Crews are on the scene of a deadly plane crash near Broomfield on May 17, 2025. Crews are on the scene of a deadly plane crash near Broomfield on May 17, 2025. Crews are on the scene of a deadly plane crash near Broomfield on May 17, 2025. Crews are on the scene of a deadly plane crash near Broomfield on May 17, 2025.

The small plane crashed in a field east of Brainard Road in Broomfield. The road is closed in the area.

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The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield Police Department and Boulder County Sheriffs Office 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 FOX31 Denver.
Sweeping cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could imperil Floridas multibillion-dollar fishing industry and coastal economy, industry leaders and scientists warn  a dire prospect for a region built on tourism, seafood and the health of its waters.

Beyond running the national weather monitoring and alert systems  its most visible role  NOAA also works to prevent overfishing, monitor the coastal environment and support local ocean research.

For Floridas Gulf Coast, that means researching red tide, addressing habitat loss and restoring overfished species. Since 2020 alone, NOAA has supported these efforts with more than $35 million in grants and contracts for Suncoast governments and nonprofits, including Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota.

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But after U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, more than 2,000 employees have left NOAA as Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency makes its way through the agency, sources with knowledge of the matter told Suncoast Searchlight.

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Steep funding cuts soon could follow. The White House this month recommended slashing NOAAs budget by more than $1.5 billion, with a special focus on climate-dominated research, data and grant programs.

And a leaked memo outlines a host of goals to further reduce the agencys work: It seeks to halve the budget for NOAAs National Ocean Service line office, which oversees coastal conservation; close its Oceanic and Atmospheric Research line office, which conducts research on climate, oceans, the Great Lakes and weather systems; and strip 30% of the budget for its National Marine Fisheries Service.

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The memo also recommends Congress terminate funding for grants focused on species recovery, habitat conservation and restoration  potentially causing ripple effects for local governments and the nonprofit sector in the Suncoast.

In an email, a spokesperson for NOAAs National Marine Fisheries Service wrote that the agency remains dedicated to its mission and declined to comment on personnel and management-related concerns.

What makes Florida special? said Scott Hickman, a Galveston, Texas-based charter captain and the founder of the Charter Fishermans Association.

Do you think people want to go to Florida and spend millions of dollars on condos and houses and boats and because they want dirty water, and ugly beaches, and no fish in the water, and no live corals, and no sea grass beds? Hickman told Suncoast Searchight. Thats why people go to Florida, right? For the wild beauty.

Fishers fear NOAA cuts will upend sustainable catch limits

Established under the U.S. Department of Commerce by President Richard Nixon in 1970, NOAA was tasked from its inception with managing the countrys fisheries to ensure a sustained seafood supply.

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Over time, Congress expanded its mission  charging the agency with protecting endangered marine species, extending its reach 200 miles offshore and setting up regional councils to work with NOAA to cap catches based on scientific research.

Building on that foundation, the agency has worked to replenish depleted fish populations, rebuilding at least 50 overfished stocks and rolling out recovery plans for species like red snapper.

Last year, NOAA reported the number of overfished stocks had dropped to historic lows. At the same time, the popular game fish cubera snapper was officially removed from the overfished list in the Gulf of Mexico, recognized federally as Gulf of America by Trumps executive order.

In Florida, where commercial and recreational fishing supported $24.6 billion in economic activity in 2022 alone  a figure that includes fishermens sales as well as related retail, restaurant and supply chain impacts  the stakes are high.

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By collecting data and making sound management decisions, we have made huge headway toward ending overfishing, said Janet Coit, who served as director of the National Marine Fisheries Service from 2021 until January 2025, in an interview with Suncoast Searchlight. The biggest tragedy here would be if we hollow out or undercut the system upon which these sustainably managed fisheries rest.

Leaders in the Gulf Coast fishing industry told Suncoast Searchlight their businesses depend on NOAAs research.

Fishermen are very reliant on NOAA for a lot of things, said Eric Brazer, the deputy director of Gulf of America Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance, a commercial fishing trade group. They provide some necessary structure and some necessary regulations that strike that balance between having a profitable fishing business and leaving enough fish in the ocean for the future.

Without complete data, the management councils established by the federal government to regulate fisheries may set more conservative quotas, cutting into fishers bottom line.

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Bad data, or no data, or gaps in the data, Brazer said, means disruption for commercial fishermen down the road.

Like any regulated industry, fishing is rife with tension between profit-driven operators and the agencies that oversee them. In recent years, that friction has also centered on data. While commercial fishers must report their hauls down to the pound, NOAA surveys fishers to estimate recreational catches  a method that drew criticism after a 2023 internal review suggested the agency may have overcounted. NOAA has since pledged improvements, but mistrust persists.

People worry about them not being able to get the proper data and stuff like that, said Dustin Lambert, a Sarasota charter captain. Nobody knows where the f these numbers are coming from.

Dramatic reductions in staff at the science centers that produce NOAAs research could further the divide between fishers and federal regulators, said Jim Green, a third-generation fisherman and president of the Destin Charter Boat Association who last year was appointed to NOAAs Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee as an advocate for for-hire fishers.

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Green was interested in improving data collection for charter fishing operators.

But the committees work was abruptly terminated when, on Feb. 28  just a month after Trumps inauguration  the new administration disbanded it.

To put us in a further place of peril while were trying to figure that out, Green said, I think that it could have been thought out a little better.

From red tide to dead zones, NOAA research protects Floridas coastlines

NOAAs role in protecting marine life extends beyond tracking fish populations. The agency also monitors environmental threats like rising ocean temperatures and algal blooms  phenomena that directly impact the fishing and tourism industries.

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When a particularly severe outbreak of red tide hit the coastal waters of Southwest Florida in 2018, more than 2,400 tons of dead marine life washed ashore, according to a 2020 report produced by the Science & Environment Council.

The algal bloom killed one in 12 manatees on the states west coast. Asthma cases jumped in Sarasota and Pinellas counties by as much as 16%. And the regions tourism industry lost an estimated $1.27 billion dollars.

The toll on the fishing industry was profound: Commercial fish catches reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission dropped by 11% across the Sarasota and Tampa Bay areas from 2017, with Manatee County fishers reporting a 25% drop.

NOAA researchers have sought to understand and mitigate those impacts.

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In 2022, scientists with the agencys Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the University of Miami linked the proliferation of red tide with suppressed oxygen levels in the ocean which produce dead zones that trigger the migration and mass death of marine species.

To track algal blooms, including red tide, NOAA maintains a monitoring system using satellite imagery.

Ana Vaz, a fish biologist terminated amid mass civil service firing in March, was involved in early planning at NOAAs Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami on a project to predict red tide risks using probabilistic modeling and machine learning  a tool she believes could be feasible.

This has a lot of implications for our Florida coastal community, Vaz said. Its something we were starting to work towards, because (red tide) is very difficult to predict.

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The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, which houses the agencys red tide satellite monitoring program, could be on the chopping block, too: In the leaked memo, the White House proposed eliminating that office entirely.

That worries business owners like Karen Bell of AP Bell and Star Fish Company in Cortez.

I know theres a lot of waste in government, Ive seen it, but to go in there just machete-like, or what was the one guy waving around, a chainsaw? Thats not how you do it, Bell said. Who does things like that without a process, without a review, and consideration of who are you impacting and how are you impacting them? Because its peoples lives. And I just dont mean the government side, the employees; I mean the fishermen too.

Local shoreline, coral and aquaculture projects rely on NOAA funding

That ripple effect Bell described  where federal decisions are felt beyond D.C.  is especially true along Floridas coast, where NOAA dollars fuel local efforts to protect coastal communities and the environment.

The agency has directed more than $35 million in grants and contracts to governments, nonprofits, and private companies in Sarasota and Manatee counties since 2020. The funds have supported a wide range of projects, from shoreline restoration and coral reef rehabilitation to aquaculture research and red tide tracking.

In 2023, Sarasota County received $15 million to restore shoreline and floodplain habitat  work aimed at reducing flood risks and mitigating the effects of sea level rise. A year later, Manatee County secured $5 million for similar efforts. Both projects fall under NOAAs broader goal of helping coastal communities adapt to a changing climate.

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, headquartered in Sarasota, has been the regions largest recent recipient of NOAA support, receiving nearly $13 million in the past six years to fund a variety of initiatives, including breeding climate-resilient coral, tracking harmful algal blooms and developing new tools to detect marine mammal strandings.

On its website, the organization notes that Floridas Coral Reef is struggling to survive amid growing environmental pressures, with just 2% of the states coral cover alive today. By breeding native reef species that have demonstrated resilience to adverse conditions, Mote scientists are working to restore them.

Mote did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. But the labs NOAA-funded work has positioned it as a central player in Floridas marine science landscape, particularly as red tide blooms and coral loss intensify in the Gulf.

Other local entities also have benefited. The Gulf Shellfish Institute, based in Manatee County, received $2.5 million for research into sustainable shellfish aquaculture. Nearby, Two Docks Shellfish LLC was awarded more than $260,000 to support efforts to improve shellfish restoration and water quality in local bays.

Even in inland DeSoto County, NOAA procured a contract in 2018 worth more than $30,000 for equipment repairs by a local company that produces life rafts. While small by comparison, the investment reflects the wide-ranging economic impacts of NOAAs work.

Drafted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the White House plan to cut funding for NOAA reflects sections of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation policy wishlist developed by OMB director Russell Vought. The nearly 900-page missive refers to NOAA as a colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and calls for the agency to be broken up and downsized.

During a May trip to D.C., Brazer and a national coalition of fishers sought to impart a very different message about NOAA to congressional aides and agency staff, stressing the importance of the agencys researchers in maintaining healthy fisheries.

In a press release issued just weeks earlier, Brazers organization had praised Trumps executive order calling for improved data collection on the fishing industry and combatting illegal and unreported fishing in federal waters. Those goals seemed at odds with the administrations plan to defund NOAA.

We were there talking about maintaining the council system and the permitting process, data collection programs, monitoring programs, weather and forecasting [which are] absolutely critical to running a business on the ocean, said Brazer. In order to implement the Presidents vision, we need to maintain core services for NOAA.

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)Community caregivers in northwest Louisiana celebrated the grand opening of The Bradford Center, its new satellite location.

The Center is located on Thomas Drive and is named in honor of longtime board member and former Shreveport city councilman Willie Bradford. They say it will house the organizations small business and non-profit incubator.

Bossier student overcomes spinal injuries to graduate

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City officials and community leaders attended the celebration, recognizing Bradford and the centers potential role for economic growth.

This day is one of the most honorable days of my life. I never expected it to turn out like this.

And then they expressed my work, you know, I have over 40 years of community work in all areas of this community. And like I said, whats on the building, the name on the building, its not as important as what achievement we accomplished in the building, said Willie Bradford.

So far, two new tenants have already moved in.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com.
A House measure that would make it easier to yank the tax-exempt status of nonprofits the Trump administration deems as supporting terrorism marks the latest effort by the president and his Republican allies to hobble organizations that oppose his agenda, some nonprofit leaders argue.

The provision comes as President Donald Trump has used the powers of his office in extraordinary ways to target top law firms, elite universities and other perceived political enemies. Last month, for instance, Trump directed his Justice Department to launch a probe of ActBlue, the main fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and liberal causes.

The language  added this week by the Houses tax-writing committee to the massive One Big Beautiful Bill Act thats a top priority for Trump  would allow the Treasury secretary to suspend the tax-exempt status of organizations the administration says are terrorist supporting.

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More than 200 groups  ranging from the American Library Association to the Sierra Club  recently signed onto a public statement urging the House to remove the provision. They say its a tool for the president to take aim at his opponents.

We have seen this administration use every lever of power they have been able to grab to target the people they see as their enemies, said Cole Leiter, executive director of Americans Against Government Censorship, one of the groups objecting to the House language. This is a broad-based weaponization of government, and this is only the latest manifestation of that.

Nonprofit groups fear more is on the way  with a White House deadline looming for government agencies to identify large publicly traded corporations, foundations and nonprofits, universities and state and local bar and medical associations for potential civil investigations.

In a statement, a White House official contended that Trump is operating within his rights and the law.

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President Trump will always stand for law and order, ending the weaponization of the legal system, and rooting out fraud in the federal government, said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields in an email to CNN, echoing the presidents familiar refrain that the Biden administration used the judicial system against him when Trump was out of office.

Every action he has taken in his second term reflects these priorities and is authorized by the Constitution, Fields said. Outside groups that ignored the previous administrations egregious legal abuses against President Trump have no credibility today.

Due-process concerns

The tax provision, recently added to a nearly 400-page legislative proposal by the GOP-controlled House Ways and Means Committee, hews closely to language in a bill written by New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney that the House approved in the last Congressional session but did not pass the Senate.

It would allow the Treasury secretary to suspend the tax-exempt status of charities the secretary determines have provided material support or resources to an organization the government has designated as a terrorist organization.

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Aides to Tenney and Ways and Means Chair Missouri Rep. Jason Smith did not respond to CNNs inquiries about the measure. During floor debate on the Tenney bill last November, Smith said lawmakers have a duty to make sure that taxpayers are not subsidizing terrorism.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) speaks during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Capitol Hill on June 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held the hearing to discuss abortion bans and travel to access them after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court ruling. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Groups opposing the measure said it lacks adequate safeguards to protect organizations due-process rights.

Kia Hamadanchy, a senior policy counsel with the ACLU, noted that it already is illegal to provide material support to a terrorist organization. The new provision, Hamadanchy said, is problematic because gives the Treasury secretary exclusive discretion to designate a group as terrorist-supporting and would allow the agency to suspend a nonprofits tax-exempt status before youve had a chance to go before a neutral decision maker like a judge.

Lisa Gilbert  the co-president of the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen  said she fears organizations with international networks could unwittingly become ensnared should the provision become law.

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Think about foreign humanitarian aid, for example, or groups that receive funds from foundations that are not solely based in the United States, he said. There is a lot of activity that could be swept up.

The White House referred questions about the bills language to the Treasury Department. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.

The overall bill currently faces a rocky path in the House, although the chambers Republican leaders have said they want to bring it to the floor for a vote next week. A group of GOP hardliners on Friday blocked its passage in a key committee as they demanded steeper cuts and changes to its Medicaid provisions.

If the bill passes the House, organizations opposed to the language regarding nonprofits tax status say they will fight to kill it in the Senate.

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The legislation deals with a range of the presidents priorities, from tax cuts to immigration enforcement. But to pass it through Congress, where Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers, GOP leaders are relying on a tool called budget reconciliation  allowing a simple majority to approve it without any Democratic votes.

Under strict Senate rules, however, the chambers parliamentarian must determine whether its provisions have an actual impact on the budget, not merely an incidental one. An early analysis by a congressional joint taxation panel found the provision has a negligible effect in revenue, buoying opponents hopes that it could be stripped from the larger bill in the Senate.

Calls for investigations

Federal law bars the president from ordering tax investigations of specific people or organizations, but Trump has publicly threatened to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard University for refusing to accede to his policy demands.

In remarks last month about Harvards tax status, Trump indicated other organizations could be targeted, and singled out Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a nonprofit watchdog group that tackles public corruption and has sued the Trump administration over several of its actions.

People walk through campus at Harvard University on April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Trump administration announced that it would block Harvard University from receiving $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in contracts after the school refused demands to adopt new policies relating to student and faculty conduct, admissions, anti-semitism on campus and DEI. - Sophie Park/Getty Images

Some nonprofit leaders now are warily watching for other potential administration moves, arising from executive order that Trump signed January 21, aimed at encouraging the private sector to end what the administration deems as illegal discrimination.

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Among other things, the order directed agencies to identify up to nine potential targets among foundations, corporations, colleges and other entities, for civil compliance probes as part of the administrations effort to root out diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies. Groups that could be subjected to scrutiny include what the order calls large nonprofits and associations, foundations with assets of at least $500 million and colleges and universities with endowments that top $1 billion.

Attorney General Pam Bondi already has directed the departments Civil Rights Division to review whether universities are trying to skirt a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that said schools could no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission. A Justice Department task force aimed at combatting antisemitism on campuses is also investigating nearly a dozen universities and the entire University of California system.

Trumps Jan. 21 order also calls on the attorney general to issue a report to the White House recommending actions within 120 days  a deadline that will arrive next week. But its not clear whether lists of potential targets have been assembled or will be released publicly.

A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about the report.

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Even so, leaders of nonprofit groups are having conversations with their lawyers and looking for ways to avoid risks and prepare for potential audits, several people familiar with internal discussions tell CNN.

People are trying to brace for it, said Gilbert of Public Citizen. Its very unclear what it will mean to be on a list in Trumps America.

CNNs Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  North Carolina Labor Department officials are launching a new website to make people aware of human trafficking laws.

The website specifically outlines human trafficking prevention laws as they relate to the lodging and vacation rental industries. It explains laws that property managers are required to follow, which are intended to prevent human trafficking.

It also has links to additional resources, like reported suspected trafficking, links to required training and the full legislative text.

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You can find the website here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
(WFRV)  A 43-year-old North Dakota man was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach after pleading guilty to child enticement and committing a felony sex offense against a minor.

Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that 43-year-old Kelly Rosemore, who was living in North Dakota around the time of the offenses, was sentenced on May 15.

Wisconsin man arrested at his workplace for possession of child pornography

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Rosemore, a previously registered sex offender after a prior felony offense in 2010, was living in North Dakota in late 2023. Before December 2023, he met a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl online and groomed her with sexually explicit photos.

Rosemore knew she was underage and traveled to the Green Bay area in March and April 2024, renting hotel rooms, where he sexually assaulted her.

According to the release, he restricted her breathing, restrained her wrists and had her blindfolded as he took explicit photos of her. The girl reported the sexual assaults to the Brown County Sheriffs Office.

Rosemore, who had returned to North Dakota, sent her an explicit photo taken without her knowledge in an extortion threat. Investigations were coordinated through the Brown County Sheriffs Office and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

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Probably a first for Wautoma: Man arrested for soliciting Dollar General employees for sex

The investigation yielded an arrest and evidence against Rosemore, who was extradited to Wisconsin and has been in custody since. Judge Griesbach noted his prior conviction on similar conduct, citing the need for a long prison sentence.

No additional details were provided.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
Although generations have passed since the American Civil War, slaverys past still taunts Black Americans in the form of Confederate flags and southern plantations. In fact, there remains hundreds of plantations in the American south many of which are still privately owned by descendants of slave masters.

Thats why Black folks celebrated when news of Nottoway Plantation burning broke headlines on Thursday (May 15). But the truth is this was one of the hundreds of plantations still connecting America to the skeletons in her closet. So heres a history lesson on 15 southern plantations where the most brutal chattel slavery occurred.

Nottoway Plantation in Louisiana

Photo: Michael Johnson (AP)

Nottoway Plantation was built by enslaved Africans in 1859. The propertys main house located in White Castle, La. was the largest antebellum mansion in the U.S. South until it burned to the ground on Thursday, according to the Advocate. By 1860, a sugar planter John Hampden Randolph owned Nottoway and 155 enslaved Black people. Although the Civil War ended freeing American slaves in 1865 life at Nottoway remained the same for years to come. According to the website, where you could weddings and other festive events, the 53,000-square-foot property is home to a 162-year-old Oak tree named Ella Eugenia.

Monticello in Virginia

Photo: Fox (Getty Images)

Built in 1771, Monticello was owned by the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson. On the property named after the Italian word for little mountain, Jefferson built his mansion and kept around 400 slaves, according to the Monticello website. The plantation is located in Albemarle County, Va., and there, Jefferson impregnated an enslaved woman named Sally Hemings. Life on Monticello was similar to that of other southern plantations. More than 20 known enslaved people escaped from Monticello from 1769 to 1819.

Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana

Screenshot: Oak Alley Plantation

Before Oak Alley Plantation in St. James Parish, La. was established, the area was home to more than 20,000 Native Americans, known as the Chitimacha people. After European diseases, violence and forced migration, the Native tribe was left at a staggering 180 people by the late 18th century, according to the Oak Alleys website. Eventually, Oak Alley Plantation was established, and although it was smaller than other estates, the Louisiana plantation is rich in community and culture. The plantation was taken by the Union early into the Civil War, according to the website.

Stagville Plantation in North Carolina

Screenshot: Stagville Plantation

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Stagville Plantation in Durham, N.C. is one of the largest plantations in North Carolina. For almost 100 years, the property was run by the Bennehan and Cameron families who used slave labor for profit, according to the website. By the 1860s, the Cameron family owned over 1,000 African-Americans and controlled more than 30,000 acres of land. In 1976, the plantation became state property and is now a museum where the public can learn about the brutal history and impact of slavery.

The Whitney Plantation Louisiana

Screenshot: The Whitney Plantation

The first ever slavery-focused museum in the country was that of the Whitney Plantation. The property located near Wallace, La. opened in 1752 and operated for over 200 years, according to its website. Enslaved Africans produced sugar, indigo and rice. Over the years, the property has become one of the most notable destinations to explore the complex history of slavery. This is also where Django Unchained and 12 Years a Slave were filmed. In recent times, the plantation made headlines after President Donald Trump cut two grants for Black history and culture in furtherance of presidents agenda, the Guardian reported.

Shirley Plantation in Virginia

Screenshot: Shirley Plantation

It shouldnt surprise you that the oldest standing American family business is a former slave plantation. Shirley Plantation in Charles City, Va. is owned by the Hill-Carter family, who have lived on the plantation for twelve generations, according to the website. Before Edward Hill I began farming on Shirley Plantation, the land was inhabited by the Weyanoke people, an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe, according to VCU. Slave labor soon became the main source of work at Shirley, as the earliest African worker was documented in 1622. Today, the Hill-Carter family works as farmers on the property.

Saragossa Plantation in Mississippi

Screenshot: The Forgotten South

In 1819, Stephen Duncan married Catharine A. Bingaman, and that same year, the property that would soon become Saragossa Plantation was secured. As decades passed, Duncan acquired more land and more slaves, at one point owning 1,000 across his properties, according to theforgottensouth.com. Today, none of the original slave house are still in tact.

Faunsdale Plantation in Alabama

Photo: Pinterest

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The Faunsdale Plantation has not only had the same owners since 1844 but it still operates as a plantation today, according to Historic Structures. The cotton plantation is located near the town of Faunsdale, Ala. Thomas Harrison first bought parts of land which would eventually form into the Faunsdale Plantation for $17,000. Based on the average cost of land in Alabama and the current acreage of the Faunsdale property, The Root estimates the property is worth at least $3.5 million. The now just 250-acre property is still operated by the Harrison family today.

Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana

Screenshot: Evergreen Plantation

Evergreen Plantation is the most intact plantation complex in the South, according to the website. The first house on the property was built in 1777 by Christophe Heidel, the original owner. Although the plantation is not operational today, in its history, over 400 people were enslaved at Evergreen Plantation. Many of them worked as engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters. The property is privately owned, and if you want a tour, tickets are going for $1,700 on Trip Advisor.

Jarrell Plantation in Georgia

Screenshot: Jarrell Plantation

Located in Jones County, Ga., Jarrell Plantation stands today as a historic landmark after the descents of John Fitz Jarrells donation, according to Georgia State Parks. Jarrell built a house in 1847, and after 16 years, the property grew to 600 acres. Jarrell Plantation even survived General Shermans March to the Sea. While many plantation owners suffered after African Americans were freed from enslavement, business was booming for Jarrell. Former enslaved Americans flocked for work on the 1,000-acre plantation. After Jarrells death, his son took over, running it as a family owned and operated farm. Decades later, the plantation was donated to the state.

Belmont Plantation in Mississippi

Screenshot: The Belmont

Belmont Plantation is known as the last antebellum mansion along the river in the Mississippi Delta, according to its website. Established in 1857, the property has been bought and sold plenty of times. Belmont was owned by the Worthington brothers until the late 1920s when a flood devastated the property. Eventually, the insurance company foreclosed on the plantation, and the Weathers family purchased it in the middle of the Great Depression. It was sold again in 1946 to be turned into a hunting lodge. Then again in 1992, another buyer claimed the deed. In 2015, Bradley Hauser bought the property. But now, the website says Belmont plantation is under newer ownership.

Prairie Park in Missouri

Screenshot: The Clio

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Prairie Park, also known as William Sappington House, was commissioned in 1844. Around 30 slaves worked on the plantation by the time the Civil War started in 1861, according to Clio a non profit organization dedicated to preserving history. Men worked in the fields while women worked in the house. According to historicmissouri.org, its likely some enslaved people at Prairie Park helped build the nearby town of Arrow Rock. Today, Prairie Park has been reduced to a single mansion. The home is privately owned but available for public tours.

Boone Hall Plantation in South Carolina

Screenshot: Boone Hall Plantation

Boone Hall Plantations website describes it as Americas most photographed plantation. Its even been advertised as the no. 1 Plantation in the Charleston Area by USA TODAY 10BEST. The establishment was founded in 1681 by a Englishman Major, and over time, the property grew to include enslaved Africans. Today, Boone Hall stands as a museum, with one notable exhibit honoring the Gullah Geechee people. The Gullah live show tells the story of the enslaved Africans who created their own sub-culture native to the lower Atlantic coast.

Marlsgate Plantation in Arkansas

Screenshot: Little Rock Directory

The plantation was originally a wedding gift for Nettie Steele and William Pinkney Dortch, given in 1850. The property went back on the market over 100 years later in 1983, according to the website. The mansion has over 30 rooms and is a known spot to host weddings and other special events.

Oak Grove Plantation in North Carolina

Photo: Distinctly Fayetteville NC

The history of Oak Grove Plantation is unlike the others on this list. Originally build as a plantation where enslaved Africans worked, Oak Grove was captured by the Union during the Civil War, according to thehistorylist.com. It was one of three plantations taken in the Averasboro Battlefield of 1865. After Union victory, the property was used as a hospital. The plantation has since undergone a series of owners. Oak Grove Plantation was, however, recently restored by its newest owners, the Lewis family.

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Even by the standards of Greenpeace and Unite it was a very odd protest. A coalition of 60-plus environmental and union groups staged a demonstration outside Parliament this week demanding a huge programme of government spending to help North Sea oil workers laid off by the closure of the fields.

But hold on. Werent we told there were going to be lots of well-paid green jobs? Surely the workers made redundant on the rigs can just get one of those?

There is just one problem. It is becoming painfully clear that the green jobs revolution promised by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is a self-serving fantasy  and tens of thousands of genuinely well-paid jobs are being pointlessly sacrificed.

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In a week when the legislation to create Great British Energy, the Labour Governments state-owned renewables champion, was finally passed through Parliament, we should all be welcoming the wave of green jobs that are about to be created, along with the lower energy bills that should be coming our way very soon.

As part of our Plan for Change, this will make us a clean energy superpower and help bring down energy bills for good, argued Miliband as the legislation was passed. Well, perhaps. It seems, however, that no one got around to telling all the workers in the North Sea who will soon be losing their careers.

As the bill was passing through Parliament, a group of protesters gathered outside to demand that as well as the 8bn being spent on GB Energy, another 1.9bn of taxpayers money should be used to create new jobs for all the people about to be laid off from the oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.

Offshore workers have risked life and limb and suffered long stints away from their families to keep this country moving and its time the Government repaid their sacrifices with an industrial strategy that puts worker justice at its heart, according to Greenpeace.

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Seriously? Green campaigners are worried about workers on oil rigs?

For years now we have been lectured on how the transition to greener energy would create lots of jobs. Now we are being told that everyone laid off in the traditional energy industry will be unemployed if the Government doesnt step in to help them.

In reality, the contradiction only makes sense when you realise one very simple point: these supposed well-paid green jobs dont actually exist.

Sure, there are jobs that can be labelled as green if you dont mind twisting the definitions a little. The Office for National Statistics had a stab at calculating how many last year, and came up with what it admitted was an experimental figure of 639,000 across the whole of the British economy, a surprisingly small number given there are 34m jobs in total.

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There are extra jobs being created putting up the wind turbines off the Yorkshire coast  at least when they are not cancelled, as the huge Hornsea 4 wind farm was earlier this month  plus installing solar panels in supermarket car parks and putting up all the extra pylons that will be needed to secure the grid against blackouts.

But any reasonable calculation of the total has to factor in the job losses in the North Sea, as all the people who used to supply the country with conventional fuels. Even more importantly, it has to factor in all the job losses in manufacturing as whole industries get wiped out by sky-high energy prices.

Even the climate change groups protesting this week agree that 227,000 jobs have been lost in the last decade in fossil fuels. Likewise, it is estimated that 600,000 jobs have been lost in manufacturing in the UK over the last decade, and if we attribute at least half of that total to energy costs (which, if we are being honest is probably an underestimate), that means another 300,000 have been sacrificed to net zero.

Add the two figures together and more than 500,000 jobs have been lost, meaning that only a little over 100,000 net green jobs have been created.

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Even worse, many of those are simply installation work for technologies such as heat pumps. All they do is simply replace existing work in traditional engineering. If a plumber switches from installing gas boilers to heat pumps he might be classified as moving into a green job. But that doesnt mean any extra employment has been created.

The blunt reality is this. Ed Miliband, along with the climate commissars around him, have been peddling a lie. If there were genuinely lots of well-paid green jobs, we would have seen evidence of them by now.

Instead, we are now in the absurd position where climate groups such as Greenpeace clamour for one round of subsidies for green energy and then another round to help all the people who lose their jobs as a result. It is a never-ending cycle of more and more government spending.

We are lectured endlessly about how transitioning to net zero will create lots of employment. But there is no sign of it actually happening.

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Sure, we can all argue about whether climate change is an emergency, or whether it is a problem that can be solved fairly easily with better technology. We can also debate whether the UK really needs to be a world leader in reducing carbon emissions, given that we account for less than 1pc of the global total.

But there is no point in kidding ourselves that the transition is going to make us richer. Right now it is becoming painfully clear that it is throwing lots of people out of work  and there are very few genuinely new jobs being created to compensate for that.

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Outsiders and locals alike can agree Oklahoma has an abundance of town names that are hard to pronounce.

Besides the pronunciation, many of these towns leave one wondering how the name came about to begin with.

Here are nine Oklahoma towns and how they got their unique names.

Nowata, Oklahoma

In far northeast Oklahoma, there's a city of about 3,500 people called Nowata.

Not to be confused with Lotawatah Road near Lake Eufaula, the city of Nowata was given its name by the Chief of the Delaware Tribe, according to the city's website. The story goes that Delaware Chief Charles Journeycake named the area "no-we-ata," Delaware for "welcome."

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According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, another version of the towns origin says that a traveler, finding a dried up spring, posted a sign saying "No Wata" as a warning for others.

Slapout, Oklahoma

While Slapout is unincorporated, we couldn't leave it off of this list. The service station and restaurant still bears the name "Slapout" along State Highway 3 leading into the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Legend has it a man named Tom Lemmons moved a chicken coop to where the newly constructed highway passed his land during the Great Depression. He started a store inside the coop, and decided to start a town called Nye, but locals started calling the town Slapout because Lemmons sister would always tell them the store was "slap out" of whatever they wanted.

Bushyhead, Oklahoma

Dennis W. Bushyhead, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma History Center

A northeast Oklahoma census-designated place of about 1,300, Bushyhead was named for the Dennis W. Bushyhead, who was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1879 to 1887.

Frogville, Oklahoma

Another now-unincorporated community, Frogville is found in southeast Oklahoma just north of the Oklahoma/Texas border.

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The town was said to have got its name thanks to the "great plethora of frogs so large they reputedly ate young ducks." However, according to a 2001 visit by Gary Horcher, the duck-eating frogs no longer make their home in Frogville.

Nuyaka, Oklahoma

Located just west of Okmulgee, Nuyaka is a populated place in Okmulgee County, reportedly named after the Creek pronunciation for New York.

The story goes that a delegation of Creek chiefs and President George Washington met in New York, and the Creeks in present-day Alabama renamed the village Tukpafka to Nuyaka to honor the 1790 treaty they signed in the then-United-States-capital, according to the book "Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America."

The town was destroyed in the Creek War in 1813 and was never rebuilt. When the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was removed to Indian Territory, the name was given to the new settlement near Okmulgee.

Bowlegs, Oklahoma

Just south of Seminole on U.S. Highway 377 is Bowlegs, a bedroom community of less than 400.

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According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, there are three theories about how the town got its name. It was either named to honor Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs, Lizzie Bowlegs on whose land oil was discovered, or David Bowlegs who was murdered in the mid-1910s.

Okay, Oklahoma

Northeast of Muskogee off of Oklahoma State Highway 16 is a town that's not "great," not "terrible," it's just "okay."

No, literally  it's Okay, Oklahoma. The town got its name in 1919 when the postal office became known as Okay, "honoring the O.K. 3-Ton Truck and Trailer manufactured there by the Oklahoma Auto Manufacturing Company," according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Bugtussle, Oklahoma

Situated on the shores of Lake Eufaula, north of McAlester on Highway 69, is the unincorporated community of Bugtussle, Oklahoma.

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The town was reportedly named Bugtussle by Mr. Ran Woods who started the settlement in 1903 with a two-room schoolhouse. It is said he called it Bugtussle because there were so many bugs, it was a never ending "tussle" for him to deal with.

Former Speaker of the House Carl Albert lived with his family on a farm near Bugtussle and attended the school. Some tried to rename the town Flowery Mound, but the original name persisted.

Dead Woman's Crossing, Oklahoma

An unincorporated community just northeast of Weatherford, Oklahoma, also known as Dead Women Crossing, the area is named for the unsolved murder of a woman more than a century ago.

In July 1905, Katie DeWitt James was murdered and her body found near Big Deer Creek in August, her head severed from her body, Oklahoma Today reported. All that remained was her skeleton, some jewelry and a gun identified as belonging to a woman named Fannie Norton.

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James had reportedly been riding in a buggy with her 13-month-old daughter, Lulu Belle, and Norton, whom she had met the day before on the train from Clinton, Oklahoma.

According to Oklahoma Today, witnesses saw the buggy disappear into a field near Big Deer Creek, and then returning with Norton and James' daughter at "breakneck speed." One wheel was stained with blood when Norton returned the buggy, as was Lulu's dress when Norton handed her off at the home of a nearby farmer.

Norton was found and arrested in Shawnee, and while she denied killing James, she died of ingesting poison that same day, according to "Dead Woman's Crossing: The Legacy of a Territorial Murder." With Norton's death, the murder was never solved, and it is said James' ghost still haunts the area. Some even say you can hear the sound of wagon wheels going over the bridge.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Dead Woman's Crossing to Okay, Oklahoma; How 9 places got their names
New York University may have ignored its own protocols for commencement speakers, allowing a student speaker to complete a divisive anti-Israel speech at its Gallatin School graduation  as some faculty members applauded, a school insider told The Post.

As I search my my heart . . . the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine, student Logan Rozos said Wednesday in the opening of his three-minute speech laced with a one-sided narrative about the Israel-Gaza war.

I want to say that I condemn this genocide and condemn the complicity in this genocide, he said claiming the US was militarily and politically complicit, as faculty on the dais were seen applauding and nodding emphatically.

NYU student Logan Rozos delivered a pro-Palestine speech at the universitys Gallatin School graduation. Obtained by NY Post

An NYU insider whos been at the school decades told The Post Rozos should have never been allowed to finish his speech.

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Students have to submit a copy of the speech and agree to read that speech and none other, the insider said.

Theres definitely a breakdown in protocol. When someone goes off script, the mic is supposed to be cut. These events are produced to the syllable because they need to be.

Its supposed to be zero surprises  100 percent by design.

The insider added that the real question is if there were faculty on the inside who put him up to this.

My mind, seeing all the faculty on the stage clapping, caused me to question whether they were in some way involved or not, said the source, noting their robust record of anti-Israel sentiment according to the Canary Mission, which tracks antisemitism.

An NYU insider said students have to submit a copy of the speech and agree to read that speech and none other. DW labs Incorporated  stock.adobe.com

Fellow grads were aghast NYU allowed Rozos to finish the inflammatory and incredibly narcissistic diatribe at the Beacon Theatre ceremony.

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They absolutely should have cut it off and not applauded him, fumed Sabrina Maslavi, a Gallatin grad who settled a federal antimsemitism lawsuit with NYU last year.

Maslavi told the Post that the inappropriate speech definitely ruined my graduation for me and my family, estimating about half of faculty on the dais openly supported the screed. They applauded him and let him finish. And after he sat down, the faculty still applauded him.

She claimed she was shunned when she didnt follow fellow grads in giving him a standing ovation.

I got the death stare.

Another grad groused about the horrible and embarrassing spectacle for the institution.

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It took any prestige they had and squashed it, the grad said, adding that Rozos should have been pulled off the stage.

NYU is withholding Rozoss diploma. FilmMagic,

Gallatin dean Victoria Rosner took the stage directly after Rozos, ignoring the divisive rant.

Hours after the speech, an NYU spokesperson announced it would be withholding Rozoss diploma while it pursues disciplinary actions.

The school said Rozos abused his privilege, denounc[ing] Rozoss speech and accusing him of misus[ing] his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views.

The rep did not address any breach in protocol but said the student lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules.

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The 24-year-old Rozos, who wrote in a student online platform that he was raised in Washington Heights and the Bronx, was honored in 2020 for his groundbreaking role in the series David Makes Men on the Oprah Winfrey Network. At the time, Rozos was one of very few trans men on television, read the 2024 Glaad writeup.

The Post reached out to Rozos multiple times for comment.

Students think that the punishment will only boost Rozoss notoriety, transforming him into a hero.

Theres nothing that NYU could do to make him regret what he said, said a Jewish male grad who was appalled at the ceremony. I wouldnt be surprised if Logan turns into a victim from this a victim of Israel and the Jewish people. People are going to feel bad for him.

Fellow grads were aghast NYU allowed Rozos to finish the inflammatory and incredibly narcissistic speech. Obtained by NY Post

Jeff Rabhan, father of a Gallatin grad, ripped NYU, where he was chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music for 11 years.

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You cant tell me they didnt discuss the possibility of this happening, he said. There was plenty of opportunity to right the wrong, seethed the dad about not cutting off the student. Its offensive for families who spend $250,000 for the NYU degree.

Watchdog groups condemned the message sent by NYUs slap in the wrist.

We fail to see how New York University has made any positive changes to deter  or impose consequences on  Jew-hatred when this is the speech given at commencement to rounding applause but no condemnation, said Michelle Ahdoot of End Jewish Hatred, which first published the graduation video.
New York University is withholding a diploma from a student commencement speaker who called the conflict in Gaza a genocide, in remarks one Democrat lawmaker blasted as stupid, selfish lies  even going so far as to tell him, good luck getting a job.

NYU Gallatin Schools student commencement speaker Logan Rozos used the sentimental platform to rail against the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in a violation of preestablished guidelines, the university said in a statement.

The only thing that is appropriate to say in this time, and to a group this large, is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine, Rozos said to an applauding crowd at the Beacon Theatre, video shared online showed.

Logan Rozos addresses the crowd during the NYU Gallatin Schools commencement ceremony on May 14, 2025. CNN

I want to say that the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars, he continued as students continued to clap.

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I just want to say I condemn this genocide and complicity in this genocide, Rozos declared as his graduation cap fell off his head.

NYU officials swiftly condemned the speech in a statement calling out Rozos for using the platform to share personal and one-sided political views and for lying to the university.

NYU strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin Schools graduation today at Gallatin Schools graduation today, John Beckman, senior vice president for public affairs and strategic communications.

He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules. The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions, he stated.

Graduating NYU students react during Rozos address. CNN

An NYU flag flies on the NYC campus. CNN

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D.-Fla.) took Rozos to task for lying and said NYU has every right to withhold the diploma from Gallatin, which is a liberal arts school.

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He lied to the university. Second of all, he lied to everyone listening. Theres no genocide going on in Israel. There is a war, its unfortunate, Moskowitz said Thursday on CNNs News Night with Abby Phillip, The Hill reported.

But at the end of the day, thats up to the university whether they give him his diploma or not, he added.

You know, in fact, they can give him his diploma, its not going to matter. Good luck getting a job. That was a stupid, selfish thing  ruined the ceremony for a lot of families, Moskowitz charged.

US Rep. Jared Moskowitz speaks after being sworn in during a ceremony in the Broward County Commission chambers in Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 27, 2025. TNS

Whether Rozos will receive his diploma is still in the air  but the university indicated that further penalties could be levied against the former student.

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NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him, Beckman said.

NYU did not reply to The Posts request for comment Friday.
When President Donald Trump announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria during his trip to the Middle East this week, it marked a major policy shift that could reshape the region and triggered a scramble across the US government to implement the decision, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Trump administration officials had for months been carrying out quiet engagements to pave the way for sanctions relief and a potential high-level engagement with the former jihadist turned interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, but the announcement sanctions would swiftly be removed altogether took some officials by surprise, according to the sources.

This was not an off-the-cuff decision by the president. The possibility had been discussed for months, but Trump barreled far beyond what was happening at the working level, said a source familiar with the discussions.

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The meeting would have been unimaginable until very recently. Syria had been engulfed by a brutal civil war that lasted more than a decade until al-Sharaa led forces that ousted Bashar al-Assads brutal government in December.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered some clarity on how the policy shift would work about 24 hours after Trumps remarks: the US would issue waivers to Syria sanctions, which are currently required by law.

If we make enough progress, wed like to see the law repealed, because youre going to struggle to find people to invest in a country when any in six months, sanctions could come back. Were not there yet. Thats premature, Rubio said.

The administration is now engaged in a complicated technical review of the sanctions, which is expected to take weeks, officials said. There are no limits on the administrations authority to issue sanctions waivers, but the process will be time-consuming.

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A Trump administration official explained Thursday that Treasury will likely issue general licenses covering a broad range of the economy that is critical to rebuilding in the coming weeks.

Trump ignored Israels concerns

Trump looked out into the crowd in Riyadh when he made his announcement on Tuesday and pointed to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

What I do for the crown prince, Trump said as he made eye contact with bin Salman. The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important, really, an important function nevertheless at the time, but now its their time to shine. Its their time to shine.

US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One as he arrives at King Khalid International Airport on May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. - Win McNamee/Getty Images

The moment crystallized the major role that Saudi officials have played behind the scenes on the topic for months, making the case that removing sanctions would boost the Syrian economy and help to stabilize the entire region.

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The Turkish government also had contacts with the US about Syria and knew about the work being done to see if the lifting of sanctions was possible, a source familiar with the matter said. The Turkish government expressed support for those efforts.

Trump said he made the decision to lift sanctions after speaking with the Saudi crown prince and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

When Trumps major policy announcement came, both Turkey and Saudi Arabia were in the room. Bin Salman was there for the meeting with al-Sharaa and Erdogan joined virtually.

But not all US allies in the region were in favor of where Trump was headed: Israel had opposed the move and Trump ignored their objections.

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An Israeli official told CNN that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump in Washington in April, he asked the president not to remove sanctions on Syria, saying he feared it would lead to a repeat of the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel.

On Friday, Trump acknowledged I didnt ask Israel about the Syria sanctions relief.

I thought it was the right thing to do, he said as he wrapped up his tour of the Middle East.

Months of engagements

Trumps meeting with al-Sharaa came after administration officials had been meeting with Syrians in his government for months as they worked on building a relationship with the incoming team and explored sanctions relief.

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Syrias Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani visited Washington for International Monetary Fund meetings in April where he had engagements with US officials with Syrias finance minister, which followed a meeting between US and Syria officials in New York, said three sources familiar with engagements.

Both of those meetings drew on an initial engagement in March between US officials and al-Shaibani in Paris where the US laid out actions that would need to be taken to drive sanctions lifting, sources said. That framework included measures like cooperation on counterterrorism and work to destroy remaining chemical weapons.

Representatives for Syria also met with individuals outside of the US government as part of their charm offensive to push for the lifting of sanctions, said Jonathan Schanzer, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. Schanzer, who met with some of those representatives, said they sought to push the message that the new government is not the same as the Assad regime.

But State Department officials also cautioned members of Congress against visiting Syria earlier this year, said a Syrian American source familiar with the conversations.

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The State Department wanted to walk, not run, towards this outcome of working with al-Sharaa, the source said.

As the steps were taken towards loosening sanctions and potentially working with al-Sharaa, two main figures have appeared to stand in opposition: the White Houses head of counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka, and Joel Rayburn, who served as Trumps Syria envoy during his first administration and has been nominated to head the Middle East portfolio for the State Department.

I think there was a desire to create some space for the new government, but I think Gorka and team were reluctant to normalize Sharaa, said a former Trump administration official.

Once a jihadi, always a jihadi, was the feeling from Gorka, the former official said.

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That sentiment was on display Thursday when Gorka said in an interview with Politico: The fact remains: jihadis very rarely moderate after they win.

He called the presidents meeting and message with al-Sharaa absolute genius, but emphasized the need for inclusion of minority groups in government and the combatting ISIS that the US expects of al-Sharaa.

Now we will see whether the current acting head of state can deliver, Gorka said skeptically, calling al-Sharaa by the nom-de-guerre he used as a jihadist fighter, Jolani, and calling his administration a regime.

Late last year, Rayburn also doubted that the world would support al-Sharaa as Syrias new leader given his jihadist past, but during his confirmation hearing in the Senate on Thursday, he repeatedly promised to enact Trump and Rubios policies on Syria.

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In a pointed question for Rayburn, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, asked about rumors of discussions about the possible assassination of al-Sharaa.

The concerns over the impact of al-Sharaa being killed was significant enough for Jordans King Abdullah to raise the issue when he met with senators on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Shaheen said.

One of the things that was pointed out to us by King Abdullah was that a change in leadership of that kind would create an all-out civil war in Syria, Shaheen said.

Im not familiar with efforts like that, Rayburn responded, but I think thats clearly not in line with the presidents intention that he stated or his description of Mr. Sharaa in the past couple days.

Complicated path ahead

As the Trump administration now barrels towards implementing the new policy, experts and groups supporting Syrian civil society say that the complexities are endless.

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Some are making the case that lifting US export controls on Syria in order to allow US shipments into the country will be critical in addition to the sanctions relief for Syria to begin building its economy.

It is unclear if the interim Syrian government has agreed to all of the US demands, which came before Trumps announcement.

Syrians wave Saudi and Syrian flags in celebration after President Donald Trump announced plans during his visit to Saudi Arabia to ease sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with its new government, in Homs, Syria, on May 13. - Omar Albam/AP

Rubio said this week, however, that the al-Sharaa government had suggested they are committed to the principles outlined by the international community  inclusive government, peace with their neighbors including Israel, and driving out terrorists. He also said that Syria would make efforts to rid the country of chemical weapons with assistance from the US.

But Rubio also cautioned that driving towards a normalized relationship with the al-Sharaa government would not happen overnight.

This is a new relationship. Weve now known each other and known them for 24 hours, Rubio told reporters. Obviously, we want to see progress made, and well take every step that they take, and itll be a long road, because its been a long time, so we recognize that, but this is a historic opportunity, and if it succeeds, we have a dramatic transformative effect on the region, he said.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  Albuquerque officials, organizations, and community members came together Friday morning to celebrate Duke City Ambassadors for their dedication to the city. The ambassador program has been around since 2006, working to maintain the citys downtown and Nob Hill areas.

UNM announces reopening date of Duck Pond

The initiative also employs residents at the citys Gateway Shelter network as part of the Better Way Forward program that provides stable job opportunities for unhoused people in the city. It doesnt just give jobs, it gives them an opportunity. It gives them an opportunity to move forward, have some self-dignity and some self-worth, and actually create goals to be able to move forward getting housing, even getting a cell phone, a simple cell phone, said Deiandara Cole, Program Manager, Duke City Ambassadors.

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The ambassadors also connect with the community to offer help and resources to those in need.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
A fire cadet in Ohio has died after suffering from a medical emergency during training on Friday, according to our CBS affiliate in Cleveland, WOIO-19.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The cadet experienced a medical emergency while completing physical fitness training with the Cleveland Division of Fire Academy.

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Several city officials, including Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Fire Chief Anthony Luke, went to the hospital to support the fallen cadets family and friends.

I am absolutely devastated to learn about the tragic death of one of our cadets, who is also a friend Ive known for many years. Its difficult to put into words how saddened I am for his family, friends, fellow cadets, and everyone else who knew how caring, selfless, and compassionate he was, Bibb said in a statement obtained by WOIO-19.He was excited to further his commitment to helping others by joining the Fire Academy, and that has tragically been cut short. I will do everything I can as Mayor to ensure that his legacy is not forgotten.

Our entire Cleveland Fire Family is saddened by this loss. We offer our condolences to his family and will stand with them through the difficult days ahead, Luke said in a statement obtained by WOIO-19.

The cadets identity has not been released at this time.

Additional information was not immediately available.

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More than two dozen Ohio lawmakers are supporting a bill that would designate the weeks between Mothers Day and Fathers Day Natural Family Month.

Though the bill, introduced by Republican state Reps. Josh Williams and Beth Lear, doesnt define natural family in its text, critics say it is intended to exclude LGBTQ families and promote marriage and childrearing between heterosexual, monogamous couples only.

When asked whether Natural Family Month will also recognize gay couples and parents with adopted children, Williams said in an emailed statement to NBC News that the purpose of the month is to promote natural familiesmeaning a man, a woman, and their childrenas a way to encourage higher birth rates.

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He added, This is not about discriminating against other family structures, but about supporting the one most directly tied to the creation and raising of children.

Lear did not return a request for comment.

After introducing the bill earlier this week, Williams and Lear said in joint statements that the initiative is intended to promote child rearing.

At a time when marriage is trending downward and young couples are often choosing to remain childless, its important for the State of Ohio to make a statement that marriage and families are the cornerstone of civil society, and absolutely imperative if we want to maintain a healthy and stable Republic, Lear said.

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As of Friday, the bill had 26 additional Republican co-sponsors.

Dwayne Steward, the director of statewide LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Ohio, told a local queer news site that the bill is both bad policy and a calculated act of strategic erasure.

It not only invalidates the existence of single parents and countless other caregivers, but it takes direct aim at LGBTQ+ families across our state, Steward told the Buckeye Flame. The so-called Natural Family Foundation, the group pushing this legislation, has made their ideology clear: if youre not a heterosexual, monogamous couple with children, you dont count as a family at all.

Steward, who did not immediately return NBC News request for comment, added, As an adoptive parent, myself, I feel this erasure personally. This bill is not just offensive; its dangerous.

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Several local news websites, including the Buckeye Flame, reported that the Natural Family Foundation, a conservative advocacy group that is against same-sex marriage and promotes families with a clear male leader, was involved in lobbying for the bill. The foundation did not immediately return a request for comment.

Last year, Ohio considered eight bills targeting LGBTQ people, according to a tally by the American Civil Liberties Union. Two of those  a provision that requires school personnel to notify parents of any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the students birth sex, and a measure that prohibits certain transition-related medical care for minors  became law.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A newly signed Oklahoma law prevents the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from screening out potential foster or adoptive parents based on their religious beliefs regarding the LGBTQ+ community  an issue that its author admits doesn't currently exists in the state.

Senate Bill 658, authored by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, also prohibits DHS from requiring current or prospective foster parents to affirm a child's gender identity or sexual orientation if they feel it goes against their religion.

The bill was signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier in May after passing along party lines in the Senate in February. Four Republicans joined Democrats in the House in voting against the bill on May 6 before it advanced to the governor's desk. It goes into effect Nov. 1.

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During the bill's Senate hearing, Daniels said the goal of the legislation is to prevent families from being ineligible to foster or adopt children based on their religious beliefs. She added that she wasn't aware of that being a current problem in Oklahoma.

More: 'Like living in a war zone': Oklahoma's ban on gender-affirming care for minors mirrors Trump's promises

She called it a precautionary measure that could increase the pool of foster parents in Oklahoma, but opponents of the bill say it will allow foster families to reject children based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Adults should be able to love every child no matter what and be able to provide them a safe, happy and supportive environment," House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said in a statement. "Instead, this legislation allows adults to deny children of support and love."

Thousands of Oklahoma children are in foster care system

More than 5,800 children are in the state's foster care system. The Department of Human Services wants to add 400 new foster homes in 2025. Nationwide, more than 368,000 children were in the foster care system in 2022. About 30% of them identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2022 study.

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Safe and affirming spaces are critical for young people who are in the foster system, said Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.

"The possibility that young people could go into a household where folks believe in subjecting youth to things like so-called conversion therapy is certainly scary and becomes just this really difficult thing to manage once it's allowed," she added.

Specific language in the bill prohibits DHS from rejecting foster or adoptive families based on their religious or moral beliefs regarding the LGBTQ+ community or their intent to guide, instruct or raise a child consistent with those beliefs.

More: Rural Pride in a red state: How Oklahoma small towns support LGBTQ+ despite misconceptions

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In arguing for her bill, Daniels cited litigation in other states where foster families were allegedly targeted based on their anti-LGBTQ+ views.

In an ongoing legal battle in Vermont, conservative Christian law firm the Alliance Defending Freedom is representing two couples, who allege that the state's policy requiring foster families to affirm support for LGBTQ+ youth is unconstitutional. In Oregon, the same law firm is representing a woman who claims that state's foster care system denied her application to become a foster parent because of her religious beliefs.

SB 658 ensures cases like these don't happen in Oklahoma, Daniels said.

Sen. Carrie Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, called the bill "a solution looking for a problem."

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"We don't have clear data about why, or how many, or how this will impact those very vulnerable children," Hicks said during the bill's February Senate hearing.

Rachel Bradley, executive director of Sisu Youth Services in Oklahoma City, said that as a provider of shelter and housing for homeless youth, including many with foster care histories, she knows Oklahoma's foster youth need more support, not less.

"Research from The Trevor Project shows that at least 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth who do not have an affirming and supportive adult in their life will attempt suicide," she said. "When they have that affirming adult, that number decreases by 40%. Supporting young people's identities saves lives."

Policies such as SB 658 further disenfranchise LGBTQ+ youth in Oklahoma, who already have little to no say in decisions that affect them, McAfee said.

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Queer youth in Oklahoma are barred from receiving gender-affirming care in the state due to a 2023 bill. A 2022 law withholds federal funds from health systems that offer gender reassignment medical treatment to children.

"I want them to know that they deserve the safety to live in dignity wherever they are across Oklahoma," McAfee said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Law bars Oklahoma from rejecting foster families over anti-LGBTQ+ views
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  An Oklahoma law now makes it legally clear you can point or intimidate an individual with a weapon if you are defending your home, private property, or business.

Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2818 on Thursday, which went into effect immediately. Oklahoma already has stand your ground laws when it comes to protecting your life, but language in the bill now expands to your property as well.

HB2818-ENRDownload

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What this bill does is provide some clarity for where the Castle Doctrine is applied, and in this statute, thankfully signed by the governor two days ago, expands that boundary of our castle doctrine up to the edge of your property, said Rep. Jay Steagall (R-Yukon), who authored the bill in an interview over the phone with News 4 Friday.

Lawmakers agree on Oklahoma budget, could see income tax cut

Steagall said its an effort thats been in the works for years, and was tentatively dubbed the Private Property Protection Act. During debate on the Oklahoma House floor in March, Steagall used Oklahomas constitutional right to bear arms in reference to the laws justification. He said the bill was drafted with help from the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association, but at the time said he hadnt spoken with any law enforcement agencies or District Attorneys offices about potential implications of the bill.

I think what the statute does is provide clarity for the court systems to help them determine what the actual boundary line is when it comes to our Castle Doctrine, said Steagall.

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Steagall faced hard questioning from Democrats in March, who questioned responsibilities for gun owners, how Oklahoma minors could interpret the law, and instances across the country where innocent people have been shot for knocking on doors or stepping into yards.

News 4 spoke with Rep. Michelle McCane (D-Tulsa) Friday, who voted against the bill.

I dont think that a threat to your person and a threat to your property are the same type of thing, said McCane.

McCane said Steagall never provided testimonial from Oklahomans who would benefit from the law, and that she was also troubled by Steagall saying he hadnt met with agencies who would potentially have to deal with the aftermath.

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It was just a punishment bill, said McCane. Id like to try to avoid just adding on punishments without having the conversations about all of the people and ways that it might have a negative impact.

Steagall argued Oklahomans will still be in trouble for pointing a weapon as a joke or even out of anger, like in cases of road rage. He sees the opposition as blatantly targeting constitutional rights.

Those that do not support our self-defense rights are going to push back against the bill like this in many ways, but our charge as elected officials is simple and thats to support and obey and defend the constitution, which is actually what this bill does, said Steagall.

McCane said she doesnt see the issue as one side versus the other, arguing Democrats in Oklahoma have weapons as well.

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I think that this idea that people that are Democrats or are more on the left dont like guns is bizarre, said McCane.

Steagall says even with the law given the go-ahead, hes always going to encourage Oklahomans who think they or their property is in danger to call police first. He argues there are rare instances though where that just cant happen fast enough.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
May 16WATERTOWN  State Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky has reserved his decision to ban Councilman Cliff G. Olney III from the ballot for reelection in November.

In a hearing on Friday morning, McClusky said he'd make a decision within a week after hearing oral arguments whether Olney should be put back on the ballot for his reelection.

On April 24, two Jefferson County election commissioners ruled that he was five signatures short of the 165 he needed to remain on the ballot.

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Olney is challenging that decision.

During oral arguments, Olney said he doesn't believe that voters should be "disenfranchised" on "a technicality."

"People took the time to sign my petitions in the cold," he said.

Election commissioners Michelle R. LaFave and Tiffany Todd agreed that 19 signatures on a petition sheet that had become wet in the rain were not valid.

They ruled that Olney should have initialed the bottom of the sheet after he had crossed off a signature that was not legible, so he had the resident resign it.

In his court papers, Olney called it "minor errors" and "harmless technical defects."

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But Jefferson County Attorney John Sabik argued that two election commissioners must follow the law. Olney should have initialed the single ballot after crossing out the name, Sabik said.

During the court proceeding on Friday, Sabik acknowledged that he made a mistake in his court papers that the board of elections held its hearing on April 23 and not on April 24.

The date, Olney said, is significant because "the time started ticking" on the three required days to file his objections with the board, he said outside the courtroom.

The commissioners received the court papers on Tuesday or within the time limit under the April 24 date, Olney said. Sabik apologized to the judge, saying it was an error.

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Olney also complained that the county made it difficult for him to receive the county's response to his court challenge.

Olney said he received the 74-page response from the county on Thursday, a day before Friday's hearing with the judge.

During the hearing, McClusky told Olney that the judge must follow election law.

"I have to make sure all the rules our followed, even if I want you on the ballot," the judge said.

This would be the first time Olney, who was elected in 2021, would be running for reelection.

During their hearing, the two election commissioners agreed that six signatures were valid because they had determined the six people were registered voters. However, six other signatures were not valid, citing that the six people were not registered to vote, they said.

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Between 19 signatures on the single petition sheet and the six other invalid signatures, Olney submitted 160 valid signatures, five shy of the number needed, the two commissioners said.

If the court rules against him, Olney said he will run as a write-in candidate.

Olney, a first-term councilman, obtained a total of 249 signatures, 84 more than the 165 needed to get on the November ballot. Fifty were put back on his petitions.

He is one of eight candidates running for four-year seats in the nonpartisan race. They are vying in a June 24 primary, with four candidates moving on to the November election.

The two commissioners will wait to print out the ballots for the race until McClusky makes his decision.
MATHARE, Kenya (AP)  Joseph Kariaga and his friends once lived the gangster life in Nairobis Mathare slum, snatching phones, mugging people and battling police. But when Kariaga's brother was shot dead by police, the young men took stock.

We said, 'We cannot live like this. We are going to lose our lives. Many of our friends had died, said Kariaga, now 27. I reflected on my life. I had to change.

Now the men are farmers with a social mission. Nearly a dozen of them founded Vision Bearerz in 2017 to steer youth away from crime and address food insecurity in one of Kenyas poorest communities.

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Despite challenges, Vision Bearerz makes a modest but meaningful community impact, including feeding over 150 children at lunches each week. Some residents praise the group and call the men role models.

Amid cuts to foreign funding by the United States and others, experts say local organizations like this may be the future of aid.

Vision Bearerz works on an urban farm tucked away in the muddy streets and corrugated-metal homes that make up Mathare, one of Africa's most populous slums. Estimates say about a half-million people live in this neighborhood of less than two square kilometers.

Some 2 million people, or 60% of Nairobis population, live in informal settlements, according to CFK Africa, a non-governmental organization that runs health and poverty reduction programs in such neighborhoods and is familiar with Vision Bearerz' work.

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Lack of infrastructure is a key challenge in these communities, which are growing amid sub-Saharan Africas rapid urbanization and booming youth population, said Jeffrey Okoro, the groups executive director.

Poverty pushes youth into crime, Okoro added.

Most folks in slums such as Mathare are not able to earn enough to buy a decent meal, and kids who are under 5 are twice as likely to be malnourished, he said. One of the other major challenges affecting young people is gangs, and the promise of making a quick buck.

The farmers of Vision Bearerz know this well.

When you are born from this land, there is not much you have inherited, so you have to make it yourself, said Ben Njoki, 28, whose face tattoos are reminders of a gang-affiliated past. You have to use violence.

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In 2017, not long after Kariagas brother was killed, Njoki and other young men made a plan to change. More than a dozen people they grew up with had been killed, and they realized they would follow if they did not find an alternative to crime, said Moses Nyoike, 32, the chair of Vision Bearerz.

To keep busy, the group began collecting garbage and would split profits from trading vegetables, buying produce in another county and reselling it locally. They noticed a gap in the supply of vegetables to Mathare, and with permission from authorities they cleaned up a garbage dump and began planting.

Polluted soil, and water rationing, made it a tough start. Then, inspired by a TikTok account that showcased farming in a Colombian slum, Vision Bearerz tried their hand at hydroponics. With the help of an NGO that supports community enterprises, Growth4Change, they were able to get materials and training in urban farming methods.

Today, Vision Bearerz grows vegetables, raises pigs and farms tilapia in a small pond. They sell a portion of what they produce, with revenue also coming from running a car wash and public toilet.

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With the earnings, the group buys maize flour to make ugali, a dough-like staple food, and beans, which supplement produce from their farm in weekly lunches for children.

Vision Bearerz also runs outreach programs to warn against drug use and crime, and has sessions where women teach girls about feminine health.

The life I was living was a lie. It didnt add up to anything. We just lost people. Now, we are winning people in the community, Njoki said.

Davis Gichere, 28, another founding member, called the work therapeutic.

Challenges remain. Joining Vision Bearerz requires a pledge to leave crime behind, and there have been instances of recidivism, with at least one member arrested. Lingering criminal reputations have led to police harassment in the past, and finding money to buy food for Saturday feedings is a weekly struggle.

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Funding cuts across the development space, including the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, make the prospect of new financing dim.

At least one other group in Nairobis Kibera slum, Human Needs Project, does similar work of urging youth away from crime and addressing food insecurity through urban farming.

It's a model that can be scaled up or copied elsewhere, said Okoro of CFK Africa.

The future of development is locally led organizations," he said, noting they are best suited to understanding the needs of their communities.

Kariaga still feels the pain of his brothers death, but is proud of his new job.

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Farming can change the world, he said, a silver-capped tooth glinting in the sun.

___

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The 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.
When it comes to reducing juvenile crime in the state of Utah, and even more, preventing younger generations from entering into a lifestyle of criminal activity, a new informal working group focused on violence prevention came to a traditional, yet possibly forgotten in modern society conclusion:

It takes a village to raise a child.

Headed by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, around 30 public safety leaders, medical professionals, policymakers and community advocates brought a whole-of-community perspective on Friday to the concern of violence in the state, specifically with the states younger population.

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Though an initial conversation, Clancy hopes the collaboration will create a unified front in the state calling for zero tolerance on violence by confronting the individuals, calling them in and saying, the violence is unacceptable. You have a choice, and if you continue to commit violence formal action will be taken. But the hope is that these partnerships will create a community full of support via families, peers and mentors, so that formal action will not even need to be taken.

When it comes to many of these kids who find themselves acting out, or committing crimes, or possibly joining a gang, what it boils down to is their need for community, Michael Osborn, an ER physician and director of the emergency department at Utah Valley Hospital, said during the discussion.

He also noted that hes seen an increase in the number of young patients coming in with mental health struggles in the last 10 years.

Most of these kids, he said, dont have a pathway and lack belonging, and dont have someone who loves them, someone who believes in them.

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They often end up feeling depressed and sad and suicidal. Those are the things that often lead to violence, he added. I would say, from what we see, the majority of crimes that are violent are typically involved with drugs and alcohol, even with kids, theyre going hand in hand. Some of those are usually coping mechanisms and usually because they dont have purpose, they dont have drive, they dont have direction.

Michael Osborn, an emergency room physician and director of the emergency department at Utah Valley Hospital, along with other members of the informal working group focused on violence prevention, headed by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, held their first meeting at Provo City Hall on Friday, May 16, 2025.

During a two-hour discussion, many of the agreed-upon multipartisan solutions included investing in families, schools and mentor outreach.

When it comes to the social determinants of crime, Teresa Brechlin, program manager at Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said that though it is not definitive, oftentimes when kids are raised with adverse childhood experiences, there is a higher likelihood they will become involved in criminal behavior.

But, Its not a matter of sorting to see whos going to be violent. Its a matter of looking at the community as a whole and doing our best to ensure that they have the healthiest circumstances they have to grow up.

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When it comes to what works for kids, Pamela Vickrey, executive director of Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys, said it takes one person.

No matter where you go, you can talk to people, and they will say, Whats the program that worked? And if you talk to the kids, what the kids will say is, it wasnt the program. It was a person. It was one person.

While programs are put in place to help struggling youth, Vickrey said the ratio of youth to mentor is so outnumbered that its not a given that each juvenile will get proper guidance.

Rep. Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake City, has a background in behavioral health and experience in residential treatments. She reiterated to the Deseret News that children need that personal and unique attention.

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When I work with youth who are in the criminal justice system, its always one person. Like you can have a really great program, but if you dont have someone who you think, or a group of people who you think actually care, its hard for a child to care for themselves, or to feel seen or just to feel like theyre prioritized, Mauga said. Because once that connection happens, you start to see success. You start to see a shift in changes within them.

Mauga added that its vital to discuss juvenile violence with those engaged in grassroots efforts. That means teachers, counselors, and even people who have been rehabilitated after being in prison, and who are working with youth.

She called the group on Friday inspiring.

Everyone brings an important perspective, she said. Until we can actually collaborate thoughtfully, we dont solve the issue, and we just end up at this table again every few years. So Im really excited for the possibilities of doing work in the early stages of adolescence, and just trying to ensure that there are resources and supports for kids before it gets too late.
UPDATE: FRIDAY 5/16/2025 4:10 p.m.

(COLORADO SPRINGS)  One person died after an apparent shooting in Colorado Springs, east of Memorial Park, on Friday afternoon, May 16.

According to Ira Cronin, the Public Relations Manager for the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), the first 911 call was made at around 2:40 p.m., reporting a disturbance between two people and a shooting that had just occurred in the 2800 block of East Pikes Peak Avenue.

Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Christopher Hernandez

When officers arrived, they found one person suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. While medical aid was provided, according to CSPD, the person succumbed to their injuries on the scene.

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CSPD said police are speaking to a person of interest and believe that everyone involved with this incident is accounted for, Cronin said.

The CSPD Homicide Unit responded and has taken over the investigation. The shopping center will be closed for several hours due to the investigation.

ORIGINAL STORY: Large police presence east of Memorial Park

FRIDAY 5/16/2025 3:28 p.m.

A large police presence was seen by FOX21 News crew at an area east of Memorial Park on Friday afternoon, May 16.

Our crew arrived at the scene in the 2800 block of East Pikes Peak Avenue, which is near the intersection with South Circle Drive, just after 3:15 p.m.

FOX21 News is working to confirm more information with the Colorado Springs Police Department and will update this article once we know more.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  The man hospitalized on Saturday morning after a shooting on Pointview Avenue is expected to survive.

According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, crews were sent to a reported shooting at approximately 2:30 a.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Pointview Avenue.

Officials on scene told our 2 NEWS weekend photographer the man who was shot was transported to a nearby hospital in life-threatening condition.

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Homicide detectives, who generally work on cases like this, are actively investigating the shooting.

According to the Dayton Police Department, the man shot is 20 years old. DPD said he is expected to survive.

Police said they have responded to this address multiple times for both weapons complaints and large party complaints.

Officials are searching for the suspect and information on the shooting.

If anybody was here, or witnessed or heard anything, Id encourage them to call the Dayton Police or Crime Stoppers, said Sergeant Hofacker.

To submit a tip to Miami Valley Crime Stoppers, call 937-222-STOP (7867) or click here. Anonymous tips are accepted.

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2 NEWS will follow this story as it develops.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
UPDATE 5/17/25

According to OHP, the driver of the vehicle was traveling in the center lane eastbound on I-240 near Western Avenue when they struck 22-year-old Julissa Duncan, who was standing in the center lane. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other injuries were reported.

ORIGINAL STORY

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to a fatal auto-pedestrian accident at W I-240 and S Western Ave Saturday morning.

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OHP confirmed one female was struck and killed by a vehicle near S Walker Ave exit 2B.

Vehicle information is currently unknown.

A medical examiner arrived at the scene shortly after.

Oklahoma City Police Department was also on the scene to assist with traffic control.

The scene of the accident is under further investigation.

KFOR will update as more information arrives.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
FLOYD COUNTY, Iowa  One person is dead following a two-vehicle crash in Floyd County on Friday evening.

According to the Iowa State Patrol report, the crash happened at Highway 14 and County Road B60 just after 8:10 p.m. on Friday.

Regional Water issues mandatory water rationing, water sources below capacity

A box truck was driving westbound on County Road B60 when it failed to stop at Highway 14 and struck a Jeep traveling southbound. Both vehicles entered the southeast ditch.

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The box truck driver, 38-year-old Britney Huffman, was thrown from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Jeep, 35-year-old Autumn Taylor, was assessed at the scene and received minor injuries.

Floyd County Sheriffs Office, Marble Rock Fire and Rescue, AMR, and Iowa State Patrol assisted at the scene.

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An explosion that heavily damaged a fertility clinic in the tony California city of Palm Springs appears to have been intentional, local authorities said. One person was found dead, and the FBI said it was sending investigators, including bomb technicians, to the scene.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement Saturday that the blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and that several buildings damaged, some severely.

There has been one fatality, the persons identity is not known, Mills statement said.

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The act was being investigated as a possible car explosion, said two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss preliminary information from an ongoing investigation. Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

FBI Los Angeles said in a social media post on X that assets being deployed include investigators, bomb technicians & an evidence response team. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also assisting.

The city of Palm Springs said Saturday that the explosion happened at 11 a.m. local time and that residents were being asked to avoid the area around North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, confirmed that his clinic was damaged. He told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for. The explosion damaged the practices office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed.

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I really have no clue what happened, Abdallah said. Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.

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Aerial footage showed a burned-out car in a parking lot behind the building that housed the fertility clinics office space. The blast caved in the buildings roof and blew a wide debris field across a sidewalk and four lanes of the street on the other side of the structure.

Rhino Williams, 47, was chatting with customers at a restaurant he helps manage inside the Skylark Hotel just over a block away from the scene when he heard a huge boom. Everything rattled, he said, and Williams  who has a background in aviation  immediately sprinted to the scene to see if anyone was in need of help, thinking a helicopter might have crashed.

Williams saw a large dark gray plume of smoke and covered his nose with his shirt as he smelled burning plastic and rubber. He said he saw a building had blown out into the street, with bricks and debris scattered everywhere, and spotted a cars front axle on fire in the buildings parking lot.

TRENDING STORIES:

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He said it was the only car in the lot that he saw. He ran into the building, calling out and peering behind the counter to see if anyone was inside. He did not hear a response and did not see anyone behind the counter.

Williams said he ran around to check on other nearby buildings. Multiple windows of the neighboring liquor store were also blown out, he said. Once he saw authorities arrive, he headed back to the hotel.

Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

The building just shook, and we go outside and theres massive cloud smoke, Tabrizi said. Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. ... We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.

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Palm Springs is a tony community in the desert about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles. Its known for upscale resorts and a history of celebrity residents.

___

Tucker reported from Washington. Gene Johnson reported from Seattle.

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One person has been killed after an explosion at a fertility clinic in California that the FBI says was an intentional act of terrorism.

Authorities are investigating after a blast ripped through the American Reproductive Services building in Palm Springs shortly before 11am local time on Saturday.

Images of the scene show shattered glass and debris strewn across the street outside of the clinic. Black smoke can be seen rising from the building while firefighters battle to put out the flames.

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The explosion left one person dead, the mayor said, without confirming the name of the victim.

FBI officers said they believe the clinic was targeted by a bomb and they have a person of interest.

Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBIs Los Angeles field office, said: Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism.

The blast is thought to have come from a car parked outside the fertility clinic and IVF lab on North Indian Canyon Drive.

The make and model of the vehicle is unknown, and all that was left of it at the scene was an axel, according to reports.

Weve got a vehicle that appears to have exploded, Lt William Hutchinson of the Palm Springs Police Department said. It appears that we have a deceased person

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The FBI released a statement saying it was responding to the incident by deploying investigators and bomb technicians.

The FBI said they believe the clinic was targeted - GETTY IMAGES

Ron DeHarte, the Palm Springs mayor, said he believed one person had been killed in the explosion.

Were still trying to determine a cause, the mayor told The New York Post.

The police and fire [services] are down there right now. First, we heard it might be a helicopter crash or a gas leak but thats been ruled out. We should know pretty quickly what it was. There was quite a bit of damage to surrounding buildings as well.

A witness said the explosion felt like a bomb went off.

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It definitely felt like an explosion. It was so loud it felt like it shook my entire core, Claudio Chavez, who owns an upholstery shop nearby, told the newspaper.

I was inside my business waiting for a client. I was sitting in my chair and it was like suddenly like a bomb went off. Inside I just saw pieces of debris fall from the ceiling. Walked outside and saw my front window had totally shattered.

I went to Palm Canyon Drive and went behind and off Indian Canyon you could see more people and a large amount of smoke. Half of one building seemed to have been blown off.

Glass and debris were strewn across the street outside of the clinic due to the blast - AP/Nima Tabrizi

The clinics website listed fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization and egg freezing, among its services.

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Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, told The Associated Press that the clinics office was damaged, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were not.

I really have no clue what happened, Dr. Abdallah said. Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  One person was taken to the hospital following an apartment fire Friday night in Kansas City, Mo.

Crews with the Kansas City Fire Department responded to a two-story apartment fire just after 7 p.m. in the area of E. 33rd Street and Gillham Road.

PHOTOS: Winds, hail around St. Louis after fatal storms

When crews arrived on scene, one person was being removed by bystanders. KCFD took over and pulled that person from the structure. That person was then taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and evaluation.

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Additional searches of the structure came back all clear, according to KCFD.

No firefighter injuries have been reported at this time.

KCFD said Red Cross has been called for three adults.

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The fire is reported to be under control and crews are working to put out hotspots. KCFD said significant damage to the attic and roof have been sustained.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by KCFD.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A UK warship shot down a supersonic missile in what the Royal Navy called a "historic first."

The HMS Dragon warship "obliterated" the missile in a test off the coast of Scotland.

The Type 45 air defense destroyer is one of the UK's most advanced warships.

One of the British Royal Navy's most advanced warships, the HMS Dragon, completed a "historic first" when it shot down a supersonic missile in a test off the coast of Scotland on Friday, the force said.

The Type 45 air defense destroyer fired a modified Sea Viper missile and "obliterated" an "incoming high-speed target" that was designed to imitate some of the latest and most advanced threats facing the force around the world, the navy said in a press release.

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It added that it marked "the first time the Royal Navy has faced down this kind of target," which it said was "significantly more challenging as it flies faster and carries out corkscrew and weave manoeuvres."

Footage shared by the Royal Navy on X shows the strike, which occurred as part of Exercise Formidable Shield 25, a large-scale NATO live-firing exercise taking place in Norway and the UK this year.

Commander Iain Giffin, the commanding officer of the HMS Dragon, said the strike was "a huge moment" for the destroyer.

"Not only does it prove that Dragon's world leading air defence capability functions as it should following an extensive maintenance period, but it also proves our ability to integrate and operate alongside NATO allies and partners," he said. "Training alongside ships, aircraft and land forces from 11 nations in this complex, multi-domain exercise ensures that we maintain our fighting edge against evolving Hi and Low-tech threats."

The HMS Dragon Type 45 air defense destroyer. Royal Navy

The HMS Dragon is a Type 45 destroyer and one of the UK's most advanced warships.

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It forms part of the Royal Navy's six "Daring Class" destroyers, which were custom-built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile combat.

With more than 200 crew, the vessel plays a key role in Britain's air defenses, using its Sea Viper missile system to seek out and neutralise threats. Dragon can also be deployed to provide assistance in disaster relief scenarios and counter-narcotics boarding operations.

The UK has been testing out a range of new strike capabilities on its warships in recent years.

In 2024, the UK's Ministry of Defence first showed off its new DragonFire laser weapon, with video footage showing it in action off the coast of Scotland.

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The laser directed energy weapon is a high-power, low-cost weapon system designed to target aerial threats with "pinpoint accuracy," according to the UK government.

A UK Ministry of Defence official told Business Insider in March that it was planning to deploy the weapon on four Royal Navy destroyers by 2027.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Only a quarter of knife offenders are being sent to prison, the lowest rate on record, official figures show.

The proportion of offenders sent to prison after being convicted of knife crime stood at 27.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2024, down from a peak of 42.9 per cent in 2020, despite knife crime hitting near-record levels, according to Ministry of Justice data.

In addition, the figures revealed the proportion of repeat offenders being sent to prison also fell to its lowest on record, at just 54.8 per cent, despite a 2015 law that all should be immediately imprisoned.

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The data for the last three months of 2024 have been published just a month after figures showed knife crime increased by 2 per cent to 54,587 offences in a year, 600 short of the all-time high. Nine forces, including the Metropolitan Police, the biggest in England and Wales, reported record levels.

Oliver Laurence, the director of the Public Safety Foundation, said: These figures show a justice system that is simply not doing enough to tackle knife crime.

The law passed in 2015 was meant to ensure repeat knife offenders would go to prison, yet today only around half do. Fewer than a third of all knife offenders are jailed, even as knife crime continues to wreak havoc and take lives.

Carrying or using a knife must have real consequences. To make the streets safer, we need a justice system that enforces the law as Parliament intended and delivers those real consequences with swiftness and certainty.

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The Government has announced a crackdown on knife sales and possession, with bans on ninja swords, zombie style blades and machetes. The maximum sentence for possession of the banned weapons is being increased from six months to two years.

Online vendors bosses will also face up to two years in jail if they allow knives to be sold to children under the new measures.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, is also introducing a new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence which will carry a maximum prison sentence of up to four years. This means that no matter if the weapon is legal or not, if there is intent to cause violence, possessing it will be a crime.

According to the MoJ data, the yearly number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with through the criminal justice system has increased by 2.1 per cent since 2023  from 19,996 to 20,422.

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Possession of a bladed article continued to constitute the highest proportion of all sentencing offences (69 per cent). Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the length of sentences, which now stands at 8.1 months for all knife and offensive weapon offences.

The Met recorded 16,789 knife crimes across London, up from 14,482  a 15 per cent increase and the largest rise in the country after the British Transport Police (BTP) and City of London Constabulary.

Nine forces logged record highs for knife crime  Avon and Somerset, BTP, Cleveland, Devon and Cornwall, Gwent, Lancashire, the Met, Staffordshire and Surrey.

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OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY)  The fate of the renewal for the one cent sales tax that has been in place for over 50 years is a big topic of discussion that could be decided by a city election later this year.

Its very important for you to pay attention to not get caught up in the he said-she said. This is bigger than any one of us. You got to think about our city continuing to run. Marvin Richard, the Opelousas Alderman at Large, said.

The one cent sales tax renewal was brought up again following this weeks City Council meeting at Opelousas City Hall. However, this time it was not to discuss the roadwork and infrastructure repairs that would be funded by that sales tax. Instead, it was discussed how losing that sales tax renewal can impact the lives of city workers like the fire department and the police department.

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Richard said this one cent sales tax has gained a lot of negative attention on social media, but it is essential for city operations as it provides the city with $6 million dollars in funding each year.

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Over the past year there has been progress in the form of pay raises for first responders including police and firefighters, but Richard said not renewing this sales tax can result in many of these employees losing their jobs.

If you vote no, then you say lay off the officers. lay off your firefighters. Lay off the ones that we just gave a raise to that work for the city every day. Thats what youre saying. Thats what youre saying to the families that are living off of this income. Prepare yourself to be laid off.' Richard said.

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Richards comments were supported by Councilman John Guilbeaux who said, regardless of political views, everyone needs to know how crucial this tax is for the city.

This is detrimental to the city and the citizens of Opelousas. You take away $6 million from citys operating functions. You think things are bad? Its going to be a lot worse. Guilbeaux said.

A special public meeting is already scheduled to take place at Opelousas City Hall next week to approve the proposed sales tax renewal and set a date for the public election.

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We recently celebrated Nurses Week, when we see nurses receiving thanks for their hard work and dedication. This recognition is essential, and our community needs to hear it. And then, for the most part, nurses will fade from coverage again until the next year.

Indeed, for more than two decades, nurses have appeared in only about 2 percent of health news reporting. During that time, two facts have remained unchanged: Nurses make up the largest sector of the healthcare workforce, with a caring presence in every practice setting, and we have been consistently named the most trusted profession, according to Gallup.

One thing that has changed? The simultaneous and rapid decline of trust in mass media  and the rapid rise of misinformation, disinformation and political propaganda in turn. Journalism is, in fact, one of the least trusted professions today.

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It follows that, as American journalism scrambles to rescue its newsrooms, the industry would benefit from not just including nurses in their coverage but from adopting a nursing model and lens.

Nurses are trusted to enter peoples homes, deliver their babies, clean their wounds and prepare their dead for burial. That trust is not accidental; we cultivate it. Nurses must forge genuine connections with every person they meet in order to be clinically effective. Genuine connection requires unconditional respect  even if a person has done or said (or represents) what you believe to be abhorrent.

Our colleagues in journalism cannot always say the same.

And so, we find that nurses are not being shut out of national discourse because of something we lack; we are being shut out because something is lacking in journalism today. Those who claim to be curious are often only selectively curious. Those who claim to speak truth to power might, in fact, be blind to the ways in which they rest in their own power  and uphold harmful power structures.

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Across the political spectrum, journalists project the confidence of people who hold the truth. In panel discussions, anchor monologues and reporting, they often start with what they know and confirm their knowing.

One thing nurses know, on the other hand, is how to recognize what we dont know. We could not possibly know the complex worlds from which our patients emerge, carrying their baggage, hope and trauma to the doors of our clinics and emergency rooms. So we ask.

The first step in the nursing process is assess. To assess a situation means asking questions and receiving answers without judgement. It often means sitting with someone in narrative messiness, contradictions and non-answers. It can mean allowing someone to (at least for now) hold onto a false belief as they grapple with a painful or confusing new reality.

Nurses prioritize peoples stated need, even if its not our clinical priority. We validate peoples concerns, even if we do not share those concerns.

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Asking and listening without judgement is the first step in building trust. Yes, it is common for journalists to ask questions, but for many, judgement is inherent to their professional paradigm. The journalist-judge already knows what their audience needs. So, they scrutinize the relevance of honest human responses, discarding the messy bits, carefully curating a gallery of their own design.

Nurses, on the other hand, practice informed consent. We lay out all the options, discuss the pros and cons, and let people decide their own course of action.

When it comes to giving advice, we use proven, science-based communication tactics to motivate behavior change  teachable tactics that journalistic interviewers could use, too. We collaborate and encourage; we dont tell or force. We know that telling a person stuck in an unhealthy thought or behavior pattern what to do will only lead to resentment or rejection.

We do not mock, interrupt or condescend. In fact, we aim to speak in accessible ways  to speak at a slow pace, define new terms, and confirm that people have heard and understood (using techniques like say back). We aim to bring everyone along, not just those with university educations who can speak English or (in the case of broadcast news) process rapid speech between commercial breaks.

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Finally, nurses stay, even when everyone else has left  even when there are no resources. Studies show we are often the last clinician to remain when hospitals and clinics fail, and when rural towns are left with no other healthcare infrastructure. We know it is cruel to see people suffering, offer hope and resources, and then take those resources away.

Nurses stay after journalists leave, too. Wildfires that rage across television screens, houses that float away, death tolls that are unprecedented rarely receive a follow-up by our colleagues who cover them. And how often does the coverage include an actionable take-away, such as a QR code for donations, phone numbers for help lines, or any mechanism for collective action?

The fact that journalists can hold captive to millions of viewers and readers and, quite often, not share anything actionable is unacceptable. You bring the horrors of this world into our lives and leave us with little more than political pseudo-solutions and bipartisan blame. Has this worked yet?

The fact is, newsrooms across the country are failing. Those that survive will be the ones who recognize its time for a radical departure from business as usual. Good stories, gathered and told through a nursing lens, have the potential to heal our country. They might save our newsrooms, too.

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Rose Hayes, RN, BSN, MA, is a nurse and a writer who helps scientists and clinicians to share their work with the public. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of any institutional affiliations.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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This month, the crowd at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture was electrified as a speaker called on the lawyers in the audience to fight this fight and declared, We cant lose the battles we are facing.

What was particularly thrilling was that the declaration of act of solidarity was not coming from a Democratic member of Congress or an MSNBC host, but from Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

There was a day when such a speech would have been scandalous for a sitting justice of the Supreme Court. For much of the courts history, justices avoided public speaking beyond the perfunctory commencement speech or circuit judicial conference. The tradition was that justices would limit comments on major issues to their written opinions, so as to avoid any question of partisanship or bias against litigants. It was considered a cost of being one of nine.

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That tradition, however, was shattered in the 20th century by what I once called the rise of the celebrity justice. Despite my respect for them, I was critical of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who seemed to relish appearances before ideologically supportive groups, discussing not only issues that might come before the court, but also making comments in books and speeches on political issues.

The troubling trend has created the impression of justices maintaining constituencies on the left and the right. The adoration and attention can have a corrosive effect on a jurist caught up in the moment. Previously, Sotomayor was criticized when she directly called for political action from young law students to defend abortion rights.

Sotomayor acknowledged, I am pointing out to that when I shouldnt because they tell me I shouldnt. However, she criticized a recent decision of the court from which she had dissented and chastised her conservative colleagues who have opted to bury their heads in the sand. She added, You know, I cant change Texas law but you can and everyone else who may or may not like it can go out there and be lobbying forces in changing laws that you dont like.

Sotomayors latest comments came shortly before the hearing in the birthright citizenship case, where the court has been asked to rein in district courts imposing national or universal injunctions against the Trump administration. Sotomayors sharp questioning of the solicitor general drew a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked if the other justices could be allowed to hear the counsels answers.

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The hearing also highlighted the public comments of another justice on the very matter before the Court. In 2022, when President Biden faced a fraction of the injunctions imposed against Trump, Justice Elena Kagan publicly condemned the use of universal injunctions in an interview at Northwestern University School of Law. She lashed out at the obvious forum shopping to get before favorable courts and said It just cannot be right that one district judge can stop a nationwide policy in its tracks and leave it stopped for the years it takes to go through the normal [appellate] process. She added, You look at something like that and you think, that cant be right.

Now, in the Trump administration, Kagan has a case that can right that wrong by requiring parties to certify a national class action if they want a national injunction. However, Kagan raised some eyebrows by quickly stating that this case is very different and then suggesting that there was a need for national injunctions against Trump.

As Solicitor General John Sauer tried to distinguish between the procedural question before the Court from the merits (which have not been fully briefed), Kagan and Sotomayor insisted that the unconstitutionality was clear. Kagan snapped Every court is ruling against you.

Kagans rationale was as disturbing as her apparent reversal. The merits of the birthright citizenship order are still being briefed in lower courts. Moreover, district courts have reasonably concluded that they are bound by prior Supreme Court decisions. The administration believes that those cases are wrong or wrongly interpreted. Most of us expected the Administration to lose in the lower courts before the issue can be raised with the Supreme Court.

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And frankly, it will likely lose on the merits there as well. However, that was not the issue before the justices this week. The issue was whether, as a constitutional matter, district courts can bind an entire nation in resolving a case or must confine relief to the parties before it.

The Trump administration is not arguing that courts can never issue universal injunctions. Rather, it is arguing that one must establish a national class action in order to demand a national injunction from a district court. The process under Rule 23 of the federal rules includes tests for determining whether parties in a given case truly represent the interests of other similarly situated individuals.

Kagan and her liberal colleagues insisted that, even though they were not looking at the merits of the birthright citizenship case, they could take a peek at what Trump was trying to do. Kagan suggested that Trumps birthright citizenship order was clearly unconstitutional and thus may warrant a national injunction even if other controversies might not.

Some of us believe that a courts authority to issue injunctions should not change based on justices taking a peek ahead at the ultimate merits in a case. Kagans comments raised questions of whether an injunction cant be right if a greater percentage of courts disagreed on the merits.

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Putting aside how the Supreme Court will rule in the case (which is unclear), the controversy leading into the argument over Kagans earlier comments shows the perils of such public speeches. Kagan raised interesting concerns over ending such injunctions, but those points became enmeshed with her prior public positions. Her effort to distinguish the case led to claims that she was spinning a case to conform with her public commentary.

Sotomayor and Kagan have made many speeches that have uplifting messages for law students and lawyers alike, including some of the comments in these events. They are both worthy role models for all lawyers. However, these public comments are not a model for jurists, in my view. The controversies this week are only the latest examples of the costs to the court itself in justices holding forth on political subjects or issues that may come before them.

During the week of these controversies, another figure, retired Justice David Souter, passed away. One of the things I most respected in Souter was not only his modesty and civility but his reticence in making public comments. He spoke through his opinions and left the rest for others to debate.

Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School where he teaches a course on the Supreme Court and the Constitution.

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Sam Altman is best known as the founder of OpenAI. Although ChatGPT made him a household name, another of his ventures, Worldcoin, may prove even more consequential  and far more dangerous.

Unlike AI, whose long-term risks remain mostly theoretical, Worldcoin is already physical, operational and quietly embedding itself into the infrastructure of daily life. In the name of financial inclusion, it lays the foundation for a biometric economy  one where the right to transact, travel, communicate or even date is conditioned on proving who you are.

And proving it not with a name, not with a password, but with your biology.

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Worldcoin has launched in six major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Austin. It is piloting a partnership with Tinder in Japan, merging biometric identity verification with digital intimacy.

This is not some fringe crypto experiment. Rather, it is a full-scale identity protocol masquerading as a convenience tool. And its targeting soft-entry points: dating apps, ride-sharing services, job platforms and payment systems.

Worldcoins vision is simple: a global digital ID, powered by biometric data and sweetened with crypto incentives. Users scan their irises using the companys Orb device. In return, they receive WLD tokens and access to a growing ecosystem of services. Theres even a Worldcoin Visa card, linked directly to the World App. It allows users to spend crypto anywhere Visa is accepted. Its frictionless. Fast. Rewarding.

And thats precisely the problem.

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This isnt just about making payments. This is a biometric filter dressed up as financial empowerment, a sorting system sold as inclusion. Behind the smooth interface lies a blueprint for a hierarchy of access. Verified humans are visible. Verified humans are safe. Verified humans get priority.

And those who arent verified? Theyre not just offline  theyre flagged. Delayed. Questioned. Denied.

We are staring down the barrel of a digital caste system in which economic freedom is algorithmically assigned and biometric proof becomes the price of admission. Those who comply are fast-tracked. Those who dont are slowed, sidelined or shut out. Access becomes a privilege, not a right, granted by a system that ranks and sorts human beings by their willingness to submit to constant verification.

The goal isnt to disrupt. It is to integrate  painlessly, invisibly and permanently. Its about making compliance seamless. There is always a good reason to scan at first: Its easier, faster, and safer. But each use deepens the trap, embedding a new expectation: prove who you are or forfeit access. And when this architecture spreads far enough, non-participation will no longer feel like a choice. It will feel like disobedience.

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If Altmans project gains more traction, widespread integration is practically inevitable. Finance, education, transportation, social services, rental applications and welfare systems  wherever identity is required, Worldcoin sees opportunity. The endgame is integration with national identity systems: passports, drivers licenses and social credit mechanisms.

The more it integrates into essential functions, the less room there is to opt out. This is how coercion begins  not with force but with convenience, not with orders but with offers.

And governments are paying close attention. Worldcoin has already held talks with regulators and floated collaborations with public institutions. The appeal for state actors is obvious: a privately built surveillance-grade infrastructure, already normalized, ready for handoff. Theres no need to build a digital ID regime from scratch, because Worldcoin has done all the heavy lifting.

But its not being welcomed everywhere. Indonesia, a nation of 270 million, recently suspended Worldcoin over registration issues and possible violations of digital system laws. If Jakarta sees enough red flags to hit pause, why is Washington ignoring them?

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The company insists it wont enable facial recognition or centralized tracking, at least for now. But tech promises matter very little. What matters are not the words but the actions. Whats being built is a biometric regime with no democratic oversight, no meaningful transparency, no known exit ramp.

Worldcoin is not just a crypto project. It is not just a payment app. It is an identity regime  one that redefines citizenship itself as something that must be proven constantly, biometrically and on someone elses terms. Tinder is just the trial balloon; Sam Altmans AI may one day reshape how we think. But his biometric empire is already reshaping how we live, and its happening faster than anyone is prepared to admit.

John Mac Ghlionn is a writer and researcher who explores culture, society and the impact of technology on daily life.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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As a Republican state delegate for the past 13 years, I am an active supporter of Utahs unique caucus convention system. Every two years, Utah Republicans and Democrats gather in neighborhood caucuses to elect county and state delegates. Those delegates then vet candidates and elect party nominees for county, state and federal office. During odd-numbered years, county and state conventions are held to elect leadership and consider party business. The annual Republican State Convention will be held this Saturday, and delegates will consider a proposal to amend the Utah Republican Constitution that would revoke membership in the Republican Party for any candidate who gathers signatures to get on the Republican Primary election ballot. This ill-conceived amendment should be opposed by delegates.

Current Utah law requires political candidates to declare a specific path to obtain ballot access when they file to run for office. Candidates choose to get on the ballot through the convention process, by gathering signatures, or a combination of the two.

I ran for Congress in 2024 and opted for both the convention and signature paths. Because I was a relatively unknown candidate with a limited budget, the convention process was especially important to my campaign. I spent hundreds of hours holding town halls, calling and visiting the just over 1,000 state delegates who represent hundreds of thousands of Republican voters in the third Congressional district. Many delegates took their job seriously and asked specific, issue related questions of candidates. Many other delegates chose not to engage in the process. I learned that delegate turnover is low and some delegates serve for decades. State delegates are also overwhelmingly male.

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The Utah Foundation recently published a survey showing that while there are more women voters in our state than men, women make up only 37% of Republican delegates. Because one must attend their biannual caucus meeting in person on a Tuesday in March to become a delegate, voters with young children, disabilities or who work during evening hours are vastly underrepresented in the pool of delegates.

In 2024, our state Republican party decided to forgo the traditional June presidential primary in favor of a presidential preference poll held in conjunction with caucus night on Tuesday, March 5. Even with the added draw of participating in the Super Tuesday presidential poll, less than 10% of Utah Republicans turned out to the in-person caucus night.

This lack of representation has created a system where candidates emerging from the state convention often do not have the widespread Republican support to win primary elections. In 2024, none of the Republican convention winners of contested races for statewide office won the Republican primary. This includes the U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general and state auditor races. For Utahs three contested House races, only one convention winner won the Republican primary.

Some state delegates blame the disconnect on the large amount of money poured into primary elections by candidates who collect signatures. This is a fair criticism. With current requirements at 28,000 signatures for statewide office, candidates pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to signature-gathering companies to obtain ballot access. In some 2022 and 2024 races, candidates paid even more money to buy exclusivity from signature-gathering firms (the practice of ensuring firms will not gather for ones opponents). This adds to the power of big money in Utah politics. A smaller signature threshold, with a requirement that candidates personally collect the signatures, would quickly remove the pay to play state of elections in Utah.

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However, a proposal to expel Republican candidates who choose the signature path does not address the weaknesses of the caucus system. It is an effort to protect the power of current delegates rather than improve representation.

Delegates and party leaders should work to expand participation among Utah Republicans. We must explore ways to better advertise caucus night to non-delegates and work to include those who cannot attend in-person caucus meetings on a Tuesday night.

A more successful caucus convention system will not come from greater exclusivity. A constitutional republic derives its power from the people. The people elect representatives who exercise that power. If delegates work to exclude the majority of Utah Republican voters, they will continue to erode our caucus system. The proposed constitutional amendment is a bad idea, and Republican state delegates who believe in the caucus convention process should oppose it.
UPDATE (May 17, 2025; 12:00 p.m. ET): On Saturday, Trump said he was planning to speak separately with both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin on Monday in an effort to finally secure a ceasefire.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently lamented that people who were alive in Ukraine are dead today because this war continues.

Not exactly. Theyre dead because Russia killed them in an ongoing attempt to subjugate their country. The war isnt a natural disaster out of anyones control, like, say, a hurricane. Russian leader Vladimir Putin chose to aggressively attack Ukraine, and decided every day since then to keep attacking while making extensive demands.

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Thats the central truth of the war, but Russia has always denied it, and under President Donald Trump, the United States denies it as well. That denial renders peace negotiations a farce.

If war-ending talks such as this weeks summit in Turkey cant even acknowledge the main reason the war continues, theyre guaranteed to fail.

Russian leaders have long said theyre open to peace talks, but consistently show that they mean, Well accept your surrender at any point. Last year, Putin responded to peace efforts by demanding that Ukraine first withdraw forces from all parts of Ukraine that Russian forces occupy and formally commit to never joining NATO. This year, Putin demanded that the United States officially recognize all Ukrainian territory Russia has taken since 2014 as Russias, and commit to keeping U.S. peacekeepers out of Ukraine. In exchange, Putin offers nothing besides his word that Russia will stop attacking.

Hes also announced brief ceasefires, such as an Easter truce this year, during which Russia kept bombing. And Putin got concessions from Ukraine in exchange for an end to hostilities in 2014, but subsequently broke that deal multiple times, as well as a 1994 treaty called the Budapest Memorandum.

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Despite Putins record, Americas current leaders place the onus for peace on Ukraine, blaming the victim for the war.

In addition to Trump, theres Vice President JD Vance, who opposed aid for Ukraine when he was a senator, and at a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this March berated Zelenskyy for showing insufficient gratitude. (Zelenskyy has thanked the U.S. many times.) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth haphazardly canceled some U.S. military support for Ukraine and gave a speech in Europe telling NATO countries that the U.S. would be less committed to European security and wouldnt provide security guarantees to backstop a peace agreement in Ukraine.

At an April 25 meeting in Paris, the U.S. presented European countries with a document of terms that represent the final offer from the United States to both sides. It is predominantly concessions to Putin, including Ukraine forfeiting land and the right to decide its own foreign relations, plus the removal of international sanctions on Russia. The only thing it calls for Russia to do is stop shooting.

With months of this farcical effort going nowhere, Trump and Vance have started expressing some irritation with Russia. This month, Vance said that Russia is asking for too much. After a brief meeting with Zelenskyy at the Vatican in late April, Trump acknowledged that maybe [Putin] doesnt want to stop the war. But it never comes with demands that Russia make concessions, nor a renewed commitment to Ukraines defense that could force Russia into a real deal. And it quickly snapped back to Trump excusing Putin.

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Russias leader didnt bother going to this months summit in Turkey advertised as the first direct talks between the warring parties nor did Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Zelenskyy went, as did Rubio and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff. Trying to excuse Putins nonattendance and the apparent lack of progress, Trump said this: Nothings going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK? And obviously he wasnt going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go.

Its worth unpacking how much absurdity is in that one statement. Trump frames the war entirely as the U.S. and Russia settling spheres of influence, as if Ukraine and Europe dont have any say. Russian propaganda uses the same frame, in part as a look what you made me do excuse for Putins aggression.

Trump claims peace can be achieved only when he and Putin get together, except he claimed the same thing would end the war months ago, and hes been in contact with Putin a lot. Witkoff traveled to Russia and met with Putin in February, March and April. Witkoff was so solicitous that he didnt follow diplomatic protocol and bring a Russian translator, instead relying on the Kremlins. Additionally, Trump has conducted at least two phone calls with Putin: one in February, which Trump promoted as the start of peace negotiations, and another in March.

On top of all that, Trump says Putin would have attended the peace summit in Turkey if Trump had attended. If we take the presidents comments at face value, he claims he could have ended the 21st centurys biggest interstate war simply by flying to Turkey, but didnt feel like it.

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Except were not supposed to take the president seriously, like the leader of a powerful country conducting high-stakes diplomacy. Not this president, at least. Many media outlets made Trumps until Putin and I get together their headline, with the fact that he and Putin have communicated many times on the war buried deep in the story, or not mentioned at all.

At the summit in Turkey, the Russian delegation announced we have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire. Why they couldnt do that before the summit, or why months of Trump administration efforts havent gotten things even to the preliminary present-your-vision stage, Russia did not say.

When Russia presented its vision, it demanded Ukraine fully withdraw from the parts of Ukraine that Russia wants to keep as a precondition for a ceasefire. In other words, give in first, then well talk. Ukraine called that unrealistic  its vision starts with a ceasefire  and the talks collapsed, with both parties agreeing to some prisoner swaps and to communicate again in the future.

So heres where things stand as the Turkey summit fails for the same predictable reasons:

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Russia pretends its interested in peace to perpetuate the absurd narrative that Russias war isnt Russias fault.

The U.S. pretends Russia is interested in peace to perpetuate the absurd narrative that Trump is pursuing peace and advancing American interests, rather than hoping to see Russias aggression succeed as his actions indicate.

And Ukraine pretends the Trump administration is pursuing a just peace to counter the absurd narrative that Ukraine is somehow the obstacle to peace, hoping that the umpteenth failure of peace talks will convince America and enough of the world that the obstacle now is what it has been the whole time: Putin and Russia.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
The combination of the Trump administration granting expedited refugee status to white South Africans and the Episcopal Church ending a 40-year partnership with the federal government rather than help resettle fake refugees leaves me with contradictory feelings.

As an Episcopal priest and a dual citizen of the United States and South Africa, I am proud of the Episcopal Church for standing up and speaking out about the U.S. governments lies of a white genocide in South Africa. In equal measure, I am devastated that the work our church has done for decades, giving hope and care to people forced to leave their homelands, is ending because of white supremacy and Christian nationalism.

Our parish, All Saints Atlanta, has a vibrant refugee ministry, and this year, in response to the end of government funding for refugee resettlement, the parish committed to continue to support the refugee families the government had abandoned and to actually increase the number of families its supporting. The mission of showing hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels (Hebrews 13:2) or treating the stranger who sojourns with you as a native among you  for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:33-34), is central to our faith community.

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The denominations decision to end a decadeslong partnership with the U.S. government that offered support to people fleeing oppression and war was not taken lightly. But I applaud the Episcopal Church answering the call and standing up to powers and principalities that oppress and call it freedom and lie as they call it truth.

If the Episcopal Church had agreed to resettle South African Boers, then it would have elevated a lie that will affect refugee resettlement for years to come. If white South Africans are experiencing genocide, then it is truly an enviable genocide. White South Africans, who are about 7% of the countrys population, own about 75% of South Africas farmland and control a great majority of senior corporate positions. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters experiencing a true genocide would likely be happy if they had control over 30% of their ancestral land.

The U.S. governments sudden concern with the possibility of land confiscation without compensation leads me to ask: Where was this outrage in the 1970s, 80s and 90s when Black communities were forcibly evicted from their ancestral home and their land given to whites? There are Black communities who had their land taken by the apartheid government on the eve of our first democratic election in 1994 and are now expected to pay market rates for the land that was stolen from them. And yet the U.S. is granting refugee status to those who benefited from apartheid? Where is the logic?

The Episcopal Church has taken a moral stand. The Boers who arrived on U.S. soil this week are not refugees. They are white people using their privilege to leap over legitimate refugees who have been waiting to escape political repression and life-threatening situations. In welcoming them and expediting access to the U.S., the Trump administration has proved its racist bona fides. It has stopped the asylum of Afghans and Iraqis who fought alongside American troops only to resettle a group that views the loss of absolute domination of South Africas Black majority as oppression.

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Earlier this year, I said to some friends that the deafening silence of Americans after masked men abducted a young woman off the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was proof to me that people in this country do not recognize a police state when they see it. The insufficient outrage to the resettlement of 49 Afrikaners, who landed with huge amounts of luggage, tells me that we as a country are not willing to face up to the reality that white supremacy is now the order of the day. The Episcopal Church has spoken. When will the rest of the country step up and say enough is enough?

As I write this article, I realize how angry I am:

angry that people who abused and oppressed my people for generations and are still benefiting from that abuse and oppression are claiming victim status

angry that the country that offered me an education (at Berea College in Kentucky) when my native land had closed those doors to me is now selling the myth of oppressed whites in South Africa

angry that there is not a more forceful reaction to the U.S. attempting to change and degrade the definition of what it means to flee your home in fear.

As a Black woman, Im glaringly aware of how my anger will be perceived. I considered tempering it. But this is a holy anger.

And if I silence it, I harm not only myself but all those who are harmed by this grotesque falsification of what it means to be a refugee. I would be untrue to thousands of Black, Coloured, Asian and white South Africans forced into exile by the evil that was apartheid. It would be untrue to the millions of Palestinians who have been refugees for generations, especially poignant as May 15 is 77 years since the Nakba. Untrue to those all over the world forced to flee their homes and communities because of violence and oppression.

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So I speak today, as the Reverend Nontombi Naomi Angry Black Woman Tutu. Praying that other people of faith will be angry too and that they channel that anger into actions for the common good. Far too often, we as the human family look back at injustices and evil and say, We did not know. Future generations will not allow us to make that claim about our inaction in 2025.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Every day as mayor, I witness stories in our community  of struggle, of strength and of second chances.

I think of the young mother I met who, after years of substance use and homelessness, was able to get her life back on track after completing a residential treatment program. Shes working again. Her children are back with her. Their family has been given a second chance at life together.

I think of the man with mental health challenges who used to cycle in and out of jail, emergency rooms and shelters. He is now in recovery thanks to our Assertive Community Treatment team funded through Medicaid, and has a case manager, a place to live and stability for the first time in years.

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These stories arent rare anymore. They are becoming our new reality. Because weve decided, as a community, to invest in care. Weve decided that people matter. And that no one should fall through the cracks simply because theyre struggling with addiction, mental illness or poverty.

Medicaid is a lifeline. Yes, its health insurance. But in Salt Lake County, its also what allows us to keep families together, reduce homelessness, lower crime, and bring dignity back to lives that had lost it. Its what helps us build a stronger, safer, more compassionate Utah.

Thats why talk of cutting Medicaid  or shifting more of the cost to states  keeps me up at night.

In Salt Lake County, Medicaid expansion currently helps fund nearly 500 residential treatment beds for people experiencing substance use disorders. Its allowed us to grow our Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams to serve 300 more people and to support the opening of the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Center and other crisis services  programs that provide wraparound support to Utahns with serious mental illness who are frequent users of emergency services, hospitals, homeless shelters and jails.

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The price of cuts to that expansion wouldnt just be felt in budgets. It would be felt on our streets, in our jails, in our families. We would likely lose those 500 treatment beds for people in recovery. The Mental Health Crisis Center could be forced to turn people away. Housing supports would dry up. Our ability to help people reenter society after incarceration would be gutted. And the people left behind would be more likely to end up back in jail, back on the streets or worse.

This isnt just about numbers. Its about who we are.

In Utah, we believe in personal responsibility, but also in giving people the tools they need to rise. We believe in family. We believe in public safety. We believe that our community is only as strong as the support we offer in our hardest moments.

Medicaid protects that. It protects our shared values. It protects the investments weve made in healing, in hope and in people. Its the bridge that connects a troubled past with a possible future. We need that bridge to stay strong.

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We are at a turning point. Weve built momentum in our fight against homelessness, in how we support mental health, in how we treat addiction not as a crime, but as a condition. Were finally doing things right.

But if we pull Medicaid out from under all of that, we dont just lose progress  we lose people. We lose families. We lose safety. We potentially lose our community as we know it.

As Salt Lake County Mayor, I am calling on our leaders  both in Washington and here in Utah  to protect Medicaid. To protect the values that make Utah the place were proud to call home.

Lets not tear down what weve built together. Lets stand up for care, for compassion and for the preservation of our community.
Whether or not President Donald Trump ultimately accepts a $400 million Boeing 747-8 from Qatar, the reasons for the countrys offer are best appreciated from an airplane-level view. Descending into the small, but highly influential country reveals a great deal about why Qatar is so interested in securing the support of the United States  and why its survival as an independent state demands it.

Though it can sometimes feel like an island, or al-jazeera in Arabic, Qatar is a peninsula of rolling sand dunes and salt fields, dotted by ports and major gas and oil industry along the shore.

Look out of the window of the plane and youll see the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf over the North Field, a massive source of natural gas that it shares with Iran. Look out the other side and youll see a region of salt flats that corresponds with Qatars border with Saudi Arabia, its only land border. This ground was perfect for Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military base in the Middle East under Central Command, especially after Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups threatened U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.

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While Qatar has a small military and has spent millions updating its food security systems and its defense, it would be relatively powerless in the event of an invasion from its much larger neighbors. The support of the United States, which has an interest in the security of its main air base, is crucial to the strategic security of Qatar and the free flow of commerce and oil through the Gulf.

But that security was called into question shortly after a visit Trump made to the region during his first term, when Saudi Arabia, feeling confident it had secured the president's backing, deemed Qatars financial support of the Muslim Brotherhood to be support of extremism and led a blockade of the country.

Food supplies were threatened. Families were split. Even camel herds were caught between the newly closed border of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. No longer able to fly over Saudi Arabia, Qatar Airways flights were diverted to Iranian airspace. Iran stepped in and sent planes and ships full of groceries. But far from causing Qatar to back down, the blockade seemed to strengthen the country and cement the links between Sheikh Tamim al Thani and Qatars residents. Eventually, in 2021, as President Trump was leaving office, the blockade was lifted, and Qatars ruler arrived in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, and signed a joint statement to coordinate their national media, fight terrorism and stand firm against any confrontation that would undermine national or regional security.

Qatar was able to change its policies and affirm its ultimate alliances with the U.S. and its Gulf neighbors, without appearing to fully back down. Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based network that the Saudis had demanded be shuttered, remains the major Arabic news service for the region, and Qatar did not sever its ties with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The main lesson Qatar learned was the importance of securing allies on both sides of the U.S. political divide.

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Long before Trumps election, Qatar had coordinated a campaign to build good will in the United States, beginning with a major donation to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, earning the small country a great deal gratitude in the deep-red state of Louisiana. Some of that money went to Xavier University of Louisiana and to Tulane University, but Qatar also supports other U.S. institutions of higher education; it has paid generous sums to Georgetown, Virginia Commonwealth University and others that set up campuses in Dohas Education City.

Organizations such as Brookings Doha Center are funded as think tanks, communicating to the so-called Washington establishment. Qatar may have assumed, like many observers, that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would defeat Trump in 2016. Its courtship of the Republican Party began shortly after the blockade started. That courtship continues to this day, as evidenced by the countrys offer of the plane to President Trump.

But Qatar has offered the U.S. and its allies something even more valuable than money. Instead of breaking all ties with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other actors in the region, Qatar has stepped up very publicly as a mediator, communicating with those same groups and offering to try to pressure them financially into deals. Far from being a problem, Qatar emerged as a major non-NATO ally, as declared by former President Joe Biden, an ideal partner in peacemaking. Qatar remains indispensable to Trump and his Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiator Steve Witkoff; and Qatar was crucial to the success of some of the short-term deals that led to the release of Israeli and American hostages.

Qatar is now free to court high net worth individuals from around the world and a secure Islamic banking infrastructure. Qatars Investment Authority, which invests more than half a trillion dollars in projects around the globe, continues to secure deals. Not wanting to be outdone by Saudi Arabia or UAE, which have also inked major economic deals with Trump, the White House announced more than $200 billion of economic deals with Qatar, including the sale of 210 Boeing aircraft.

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On April 30, 1840, the Sultana, a vessel sent by the sultan of Oman, arrived in New York. It was laden with gifts meant for the personal use of President Martin Van Buren. There were two Arabian stud horses, gold mounted swords, Persian carpets and other luxury items. The ships arrival caused a political crisis for Van Buren who, in the middle of a re-election campaign, was caught between not wanting to offend the sultan and not wanting to take emoluments from a foreign power. Congress eventually agreed to accept the gifts on behalf of the government of the United States. The horses were sold (including one to a former member of Andrew Jacksons Cabinet) and other items became a part of the future collections of the Smithsonian. To avoid a constitutional crisis, perhaps Trump could cite the Van Buren precedent and offer to sell the plane and add the proceeds to the U.S. Treasury.

As for Qatar, offering Trump a plane may not turn out to be as deft of an investment and Qatars original intent could have been misunderstood. A few days after the story broke, the prime minister of Qatar explained that the gift was actually meant to be a government-to-government transaction. Qatars government seems aware that too obvious of an attempt to influence President Trump could open Qatar up to the risk of again being out of favor when Republicans are no longer in control.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
On May 7, India launched a calibrated military campaign against Pakistan in response to a brutal terrorist attack that had killed 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamist gunmen had deliberately targeted Hindu tourists, exemplifying the persistent cross-border terrorism that India has long endured.

Yet few anticipated that the decisive external actor to intervene, President Trump, would seek not to de-escalate tensions impartially, but to tilt the scales in favor of the state sponsor of terror.

Pakistans military has enabled terrorist groups to operate from its soil for decades. Its terrorist proxies have carried out attacks in India with the support  tacit or overt  of Pakistans army, which has ruled the country directly or indirectly since its founding in 1947.

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But this time, when India hit back with precision and restraint, it wasnt Pakistan that reversed the tide of battle. It was Washington.

The Trump administration stepped in at a pivotal moment, using coercive leverage to compel India to cease its operation prematurely. In doing so, Trump not only spared Pakistan the consequences of its actions but also damaged the foundation of U.S.-India strategic trust.

Trump has publicly boasted about his role. From Riyadh to Doha during his Middle East tour, he declared he had brokered a historic ceasefire between India and Pakistan. But behind that triumphant spin lies a less savory truth: The U.S. intervention was not about peace  it was about shielding a longtime major non-NATO ally from the fallout of its proxy warfare.

The Indian campaign lasted just three days, one of the shortest modern military operations, yet it achieved notable success. Indian forces degraded Pakistans air defenses and struck key air bases. In a display of technological prowess, both nations relied heavily on drones and precision missiles. But while Pakistan launched more projectiles, it failed to inflict meaningful damage on any Indian military installation.

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Indias turning point came on the morning of May 10, when its military hit major Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan  located near the army headquarters, the prime ministers office and Pakistans nuclear command. At this point, India had seized the battlefield initiative.

Yet, just hours later, a ceasefire was accepted  under direct U.S. pressure, with Trump announcing it even before India or Pakistan. The ceasefire took effect at 17:00 Indian Standard Time that same day.

Trump later revealed that he had threatened trade sanctions to halt Indias advance. If you dont stop, we are not going to do any trade, he said during a White House press conference. He reiterated in Saudi Arabia, I used trade to a large extent to do it.

If true, the U.S. leveraged economic blackmail  not diplomacy  to protect a state that exports terrorism. That raises a chilling question: If Washington can use trade threats to dictate Indias conduct in a military crisis, whats to stop it from weaponizing defense supply chains during the next one?

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India has steadily increased purchases of U.S. military hardware. But this episode confirmed Indias greatest fear: in a real conflict, these systems could become liabilities if Washington turns off the tap. No countrys national security should hinge on platforms dependent on another powers political whims.

Two days into Indias military campaign, the International Monetary Fund  under strong American influence  approved a $2.4 billion bailout for Pakistan, offering a financial lifeline to a country teetering on the brink of default. The timing of the bailout was telling, rewarding the most persistent terror sponsor in South Asia even as its proxies triggered a military crisis.

The bailout signaled to the world that you can export jihadist terror and still enjoy Western protection  if youre geopolitically useful enough.

In fact, Trump has shown an unsettling willingness to engage with actors whom most nations deem beyond the pale. On May 14, he met with Syrias self-declared president Ahmad al-Sharaa  better known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, a U.S.- and U.N.-designated terrorist and a former leader of Syrias al Qaeda affiliate.

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Meanwhile, Trump has turned his sights toward Kashmir as a geopolitical bargaining chip. While remaining conspicuously silent on Pakistans role in exporting terrorism, he has proposed to mediate the Kashmir dispute, saying that both India and Pakistan are great nations that need help resolving it.

Such false equivalence  between the target of terror and its perpetrator  has justifiably infuriated both the Indian government and public. New Delhi has firmly rejected Trumps mediation offers, underscoring that there can be no talks under the shadow of terror.

Kashmir is one of the worlds most complex territorial disputes. India controls 45 percent of the former princely state, Pakistan 35 percent and China the remaining 20 percent. Yet Trump, despite failing to resolve conflicts in Ukraine or Gaza, believes he can now work to see if a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.

In reality, Trump is playing into the hands of Pakistan, which has long weaponized the Kashmir issue to justify its war of a thousand cuts through terrorist proxies against India.

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Even after bailing out Pakistan, Trump doubled down. On May 15, he rebuked Apple CEO Tim Cook for manufacturing iPhones in India, telling him, I dont want you building in India. According to Trump, a chastened Cook promised to increase production in the U.S.

This pattern of behavior highlights the jarring truth that Trumps America is not a reliable strategic partner for India. Paradoxically, India should be thankful for this wake-up call.

The U.S. likes to portray itself as Indias natural partner in the Indo-Pacific, a region that will determine the next world order. But trust in any partnership is forged during a crisis.

Trump may have forced India to pause its military campaign  but, in doing so, he accelerated the unraveling of trust between the worlds two largest democracies. That rupture, unless healed quickly, will not be easy to mend.

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Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and the author of nine books, including the award-winning Water: Asias New Battleground.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  The Oregon Senate has unanimously passed a bill that will make it illegal to share AI-generated pornography deepfakes online.

Deepfaking is a form of digital forgery that has been used to create realistic pornography of a person without their consent. Oregon currently has a loophole in its revenge porn law that does not address AI images or videos.

Man who killed himself after police standoff in Oregon City was former Canby police sergeant

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Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Gladstone) said House Bill 2299 aims to close that gap.

As a mom of two girls, the idea that someone could use AI to create fake, explicit images of a childor anyoneand face no consequences is horrifying, Rep. Hartman said. This bill fixes that. It ensures our laws reflect the reality of what victims are facing today and gives them a real path to justice.

According to a survey conducted by Thorn, one in eight 13 to 20-year-olds knows someone who has been the target of AI-generated deepfakes.

1 animal euthanized, others relocated after warrants served at Oregon Coast safari park

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The bill came from a Forest Grove parent who reached out to the office of Rep. Susan McLain (D-Forest Grove) to express their concern over the trend.

I was moved to find a solution after hearing from my constituent about the toxic and bullying environment these images are creating in our schools, Rep. McLain said. This parent took the initiative to ask for help on a very real problem, and in doing so, they inspired action to stop this issue from growing unchecked.

The bill now heads to Gov. Tina Koteks desk and will await her signature.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
DIXON, Ill. (WTVO)  Students from Oregon schools went to Dixon on Friday to build a mini food center in the public library as part of a campaign to fight food insecurity.

Seven Oregon students were part of the program, which is in collaboration with the Ogle County Health Department, after it received a grant in 2023.

Last year, students built food centers in Ogle, Carroll, Lee, and Whiteside counties.

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The food center was constructed in a classroom and then disassembled and reconstructed on site.

Theyre on an actual job site today. Everything that theyve done in the classroom, in the shop at the school, theyre doing it in a real situation today. A lot of these kids will end up working in the trades eventually, thats what they want to do, explained Oregon High School agriculture teacher Seth McMillan.

After it is installed, the Sauk Valley Food Bank will provide fresh produce to the food center, making sure it remains stocked.

Oregon students will be building another food center next week in Creston, at its fire station.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
(NewsNation)  Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson refused to apologize to New Orleans residents Friday after 10 dangerous inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center, instead suggesting the jailbreak was politically motivated as the sheriffs election approaches.

When directly asked if she wanted to offer contrition or an apology to the people of New Orleans, Hutson deflected, saying: Well, first we have to find out exactly what happened and how they got out. We think this was intentional.

The sheriff pivoted to suggesting a political conspiracy behind the escape. Why did it happen just right now, right in the middle, as were getting ready to start this sheriffs race? This is very suspicious, Hutson told reporters during a news conference.

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Ten inmates escape New Orleans jail through hole in wall

When I have enough information, Ill be glad to talk to the community about my issues or what I may need to apologize for, she said, but what Im telling the community, this is a public safety issue first and foremost.

The sheriff insisted there was a deeper conspiracy at play: Theres much more than meets the eye. We are digging, and we are not going to stop digging tonight.

Hutson said the inmates received assistance from within the facility: We know that they had help. Were showing you they had help. This was coordinated.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
May 16OTTAWA  Coffee and Connections will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 21, at Well Grounded Cafe, 114 N. Elm St., Ottawa.

Attendees are encourged to join fellow Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce members for networking and conversations over free coffee.

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May 17ST. PAUL  The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is inviting people to share their thoughts on a draft update of the state's long-range muskie plan.

"Public input, stakeholder discussions and conversations with our Tribal partners have been critical in shaping the draft plan," Leslie George, Northeast Region fisheries manager, said in a statement. "Before finalizing the plan for muskie management moving forward, we want to ensure that we consider the perspectives and opportunities desired by our constituents."

The draft plan will be used to guide muskie management in Minnesota for the next 15 years. It includes management goals, objectives and strategies centered on improving existing muskie populations, shifting approaches in the production of muskies to be stocked, continuing hybrid (tiger) muskellunge management in the metro area, and broadening research and education efforts. Although there was interest in adding new waters to the statewide muskie stocking program, public input has focused on first improving existing lakes, especially the key muskie fisheries of Mille Lacs Lake, Lake Vermilion and Lake Minnetonka.

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A digital copy of the draft plan is available on the DNR's

muskie page

at

mndnr.gov/muskie

. DNR staff will host an evening online webinar to provide an overview of the plan and its purpose, answer questions and collect public input from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 28. A link to the webinar is available on the Minnesota DNR's

muskie page

at

mndnr.gov/muskie

. Registration is not required.

Comments may also be submitted by:

* Emailing mnmuskieplan2025@state.mn.us.

* Using the online survey available on the Minnesota DNR's

muskie page

at

mndnr.gov/muskie

.

* Writing to Kelly Wilder, Minnesota DNR  FAW, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155.

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The DNR is accepting comments on the draft plan update through Thursday, June 12.

ST. PAUL  Firearms turkey hunters in Minnesota who have an unused tag from an earlier hunt period can participate in the final hunt period from Wednesday, May 21, through Saturday, May 31, the DNR said. Hunters can also buy a license for this period. Archery-only and youth ages 17 and younger are allowed to hunt during any period, including the final one. Hunters cannot purchase both a firearms and archery-only license.

In a news release, the DNR said the turkey harvest so far is on pace with 2024. Through the C season, hunters had harvested 13,444 birds, compared with 13,369 at the same point in 2024, the DNR said. The total for the B season alone was 3,949  the highest B season harvest ever.

The weather again looks favorable for the D season. Some toms have been observed staying close to hens, the DNR said, while others are roaming looking for hens. The majority of the hens that toms had with them have transitioned to incubating nests.

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Turkey licenses can be

purchased online

at

mndnr.gov/buyalicense

, by phone at (888) 665-4236 or in person from a license agent. More information about turkey hunting in Minnesota can be found on the

DNR website

at

mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey

.

ST. PAUL  The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Twins once again are partnering to offer Minnesota DNR Days at select games in 2025. Anyone with a 2025 Minnesota fishing or hunting license can access a ticket package that includes a special edition Twins fishing cap with a ticket purchase.

The 2025 Minnesota DNR Days partnership includes seven games:

* Saturday, May 24: Kansas City Royals.

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* Friday, June 20: Milwaukee Brewers.

* Friday, July 11: Pittsburgh Pirates.

* Tuesday, July 29: Boston Red Sox.

* Saturday, Aug. 16: Detroit Tigers.

* Sunday, Aug. 31: San Diego Padres.

* Tuesday, Sept. 16: New York Yankees.

Find game times and ticket info on the

Minnesota DNR Days webpage

at

mndnr.gov/twins

.

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn.  Nonprofit conservation group Wildlife Forever has again teamed with Yamaha Rightwaters and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to create Project 435, its newest tool in the battle to control the spread of aquatic invasive species  or aquatic nuisance species, as they're called in North Dakota.

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Project 435  available at

cleandraindry.org/project-435  identifies aquatic invasive species within each of the nation's 435 congressional districts. The tool features 25 prominent aquatic invasive species and includes specific occurrence and location data.

"Project 435 is a new research and public awareness tool bringing specialized scientific data to the citizen scientist," Zach Burnside, Wildlife Forever's Invasive Species Program manager, said in a statement. "The map shows where aquatic invasive species are distributed across America. It also identifies the congressional districts that have greater occurrences of these invasive species and provides contact forms to reach each respective district representative to help make them aware of the problem."

The program accesses USGS data, Burnside said, and the tool can be manipulated to show the AIS threats and risks unique to a specific congressional district area.

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"The economic damage caused by invasive species can be quite extensive," said Josh Grier of Yamaha Rightwaters. "Whether it's zebra mussels clogging pipes or other critical water infrastructure, or Asian carp species taking over a river or lake and degrading the habitat for native fish. The result can threaten public health for cities, towns and businesses."

Yamaha Rightwaters is a national sustainability initiative launched by Yamaha Marine focused on conservation and water quality efforts.

"Using integrated data from USGS, Project 435 provides the foundation for a very powerful mapping tool to share information and inform policy makers about threats to their community," added Wes Daniel, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database coordinator for USGS.
Ukraines defence forces have destroyed 1,159 Russian tanks and 2,510 armoured combat vehicles since the beginning of 2025.

Source: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Facebook

Quote: "The defence forces have destroyed over 1,000 of the invaders tanks (1,159) and more than 2,500 armoured combat vehicles (2,510) since the beginning of this year alone."

Details: Syrskyi stressed that Ukrainian soldiers continue to destroy Russian equipment and posted a video showing Russian armoured vehicles being wiped out.

Background: On 13 May, it was reported that Ukraine's Special Operation Forces had destroyed a state-of-the-art Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system worth US$45 million and an Uragan-1 multiple-launch rocket system.

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(FOX40.COM)  The Sacramento County Sheriffs Regional Enforcement of all crimes team conducted a traffic stop on the southern side of Sacramento County, which led to 54 pounds of powdered fentanyl being seized.

 Video above: How deadly is fentanyl?

According to SCSO, the traffic stop was caused by multiple vehicle code violations. Sheriffs K9 Ronan was deployed and alerted to the order of the narcotics within the vehicle.

After a search was conducted, crews found two duffel bags that contained 23 bricks of powdered fentanyl with a total of 54.4 pounds, stated SCSO. The driver has been identified as Hector Nunez, 31, of Perris.

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SCSO said Nunez was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he is being held for $1,000,000 bail.

Daniel Serafini murder trial begins Monday in Auburn

Detectives from SAINT and CalMMET assigned to the Major Narcotics Bureau also responded to the scene, and the investigation is ongoing, said SCSO.

Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid, approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, said SCSO. Just 2 milligrams of pure fentanyl  an amount small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil  can be fatal.

Image: Sacramento County Sheriffs Office

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News.
Heavy explosions were reported overnight in the north of the Gaza Strip, after the Israeli military announced a new major offensive in the sealed-off coastal strip.

Citing sources in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli news website ynet also published reports of artillery fire by the Israeli army to the East of Gaza city. Residential buildings were being bombed, the website further reported.

"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has begun conducting extensive strikes and mobilizing troops to achieve operational control in the areas of Gaza, over the past day," the Israeli military posted late Friday on social media platform X.

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"This is part of preparations to expand operations and fulfil the objectives of the war  including the release of hostages and the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organization."

The Israeli government had recently announced plans to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media had reported that this would happen after the end of US President Donald Trump's trip to the region, if no new Gaza agreement had been reached by then. Trump has since ended his multi-day trip to the Gulf region. A new deal is still not in sight.

Earlier on Friday, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, condemned Israel's latest strikes in the Gaza Strip, warning of the possibility of "ethnic cleansing."

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Turk's comments came after the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that at least 100 people had been killed in the northern Gaza Strip following multiple Israeli airstrikes since Thursday evening.

The Hamas-controlled health authority said 93 people had been killed and more than 200 injured. The figures do not distinguish between civilian and military casualties and cannot be independently verified.

The Israeli government has cut off all aid to the territory for more than two months, with international aid organizations warning of catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

According to the health authority, almost 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war with Israel more than a year and a half ago.

The war was triggered by an assault on Israeli communities near Gaza by Hamas and other extremists on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  Friday morning, the Owens Cross Roads Police Department said officers helped in serving a federal arrest warrant at a house in Hebron.

OCRPD said officers helped the U.S. ATF agents and the Marshall County SWAT Team with serving a federal arrest warrant in the Hebron area of Marshall County.

The department said the charge stemmed from an incident in Owens Cross Roads in February involving 47-year-old James Clemons where he was charged with Shooting Into an Occupied Dwelling and Domestic Violence 3rd Degree Criminal Mischief.

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While serving the warrant, OCRPD said information was obtained that led the Marshall County Drug Task Force to receive a search warrant for Clemons home.

During the search, OCRPD K9 Officer Raven alerted to two places at the residence. One appeared to be an area configured to be a hidden compartment in the home and the other was the location where approximately 1/2 lb of what is believed to be methamphetamine was located along with cash totaling $3,100 and several firearms, OCRPD said.

(Photo: Owens Cross Roads Police Department)

(Photo: Owens Cross Roads Police Department)

The department also said that the Marshall County Drug Task Force was the lead on this case and will be seeking additional charges.

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CARLISLE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) May is National Community Action Month. This is a time that communities celebrate the power of people by coming together to uplift their neighborhoods.

This year, Pace Community Action Agency is celebrating 60 years of empowering families across southwestern Indiana. Pace is part of a nationwide network of agencies committed to creating economic opportunity and helping families achieve lasting self-sufficiency.

We are able to pivot, were able to change, we are able to try things in the community and we have done that for the past 60 years, said Tai Blythe, CEO of Pace Community Action Agency. We dont want to duplicate services, but we are able to try new things and really see what does our community need to be successful.

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Last year, the organization helped more than 6,400 individuals with vital services ranging from early childhood education to healthcare and energy assistance.

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PALESTINE, Texas (KETK)  A Palestine family, who lost their infant daughter last year, donated their infant preservation device to a local hospital so other families could spend more time with their recently deceased babies.

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Last year, the Pierce family went through the unthinkable when they lost their infant daughter to a rare neural tube defect.

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Skipper Kate was diagnosed with a rare and fatal neural tube defect, called anencephaly, Sayler Pierce said.

While nothing could sooth their pain, all they wanted was another moment with Skipper Kate. The moment may not have been the way they imagined it, but the family was able to use a Cuddle Cot to make it happen.

This device gave us the gift of time, Pierce said. It keeps them cold. And by keeping them cold, it allows families to get time they otherwise would not have gotten without the aid of this cooling device.

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Now Sayler and Noah Pierce are giving the same gift to other families by donating the device to Palestine Regional Medical Center.

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We knew one way that we wanted to honor her life was with a Cuddle Cot donation to each hospital, Sayler said. Its an honor of both our daughter, Skipper Kate, as well as her Aunt Savannah, who passed away on December 28, 1996.

The hospital said they could not afford the device, but the Pierce familys donation allows the hospital to offer this service to other families.

This is just an unbelievable blessing because its something we probably would not have been able to do with our own facility, maternal child health director, Melissa Jones said.

Families dealing with a tragedy will now have the gift of extended time.

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This just kind of helps that process, Jones said. It gives them time to just be able to bond and be with the family and experience the loss together.

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This device may not be the last donation the family intends to give.

Our goal is to spread Cuddle Cots around to give at least 1 to 2 devices to each hospital so that those families walking through that season will have the gift of time, Pierce said.

Through their donations, the family hopes Skipper Kates memory will live on.

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The Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority responded to reports of a wildland fire near Lakeshore Drive and Fain Road in Prescott Valley, which later escalated to include a paragliding incident that resulted in one fatality.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Fire and Medical Authority reported that when crews arrived at the scene about 7:45 a.m. May 16, the fire had already been contained to a small area, was no longer spreading, and was extinguished.

The authority said one person was found dead at the scene, the area was then secured and turned over to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office for investigation.

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"CAFM extends its sincere appreciation to Copperstate Ambulance, Native Air, Prescott Regional Communications Center, Prescott Valley Police Department, and YCSO for their professionalism and support," the authority posted.

No further information was available about the fatality.

Getting ready: Training academy prepares wildland firefighters for Arizona's long summer of wildfires

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Paragliding incident in Prescott Valley kills 1
When Basilio Aja was 7 years old, he went out to ride on the Mogollon Rim with his family's foreman to check the sheep camps. Near Willow Creek Canyon, a stench stopped them.

"Es el gusano," the foreman told him  it's the worm.

They found a stumbling deer, blinded because its eyeballs were eaten out, stinking and lost in the forest. The foreman put him down. It was Aja's first lasting memory of the New World screwworm, he said.

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The maggot of the New World screwworm, a fly that lays eggs on open wounds, burrows and feeds on the flesh of living animals, and creates gaping wounds that facilitate secondary infections, which, if untreated, can lead to death in a matter of weeks.

Through the 1960s, Aja's family treated thousands of infection cases on their sheep and cattle herds. The parasite was finally eradicated from the U.S. and Mexico about 60 years ago, and contained at Panama's Darien Gap thanks to international joint efforts.

In June 2023, it was detected again in the Central American country and made its way back some 2,000 miles north to the Mexican border with Guatemala, where the first infection in cattle was reported in November of last year. Cases in Mexico represent the first outbreak in nearly three decades.

There is no certainty that the parasitic fly will make it to the U.S., but the risk is high, and eradication efforts are urgent. Across Central America and in southern Mexico, infection cases by the parasitic fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax, are rising.

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The latest infection case in the Mexican state of Oaxaca prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Customs and Border Protection to suspend all live cattle, bison, and horse imports coming from Mexico for at least two weeks. The Arizona livestock industry is bracing for losses: When feeder cattle numbers go down, prices will go up.

"The feeder (cattle) market price is record high," said Aja, now 69 and an influential lobbyist and the executive director of the Arizona Cattle Feeders Association, about the immediate impact of the second livestock import suspension, which came from Washington, D.C.

The biggest impact, however, will be on Mexican ranchers, whose major market for feeder cattle is the U.S., said Barbara Jackson, owner of Animal Health Express and a longtime cattle feeder.

Thousands of head of cattle are imported across the Arizona-Sonora border every week, about 300,000 every year. Over half are brokered and sold to Eastern feedlots, but the rest stay in the state. In good rain years, ranchers keep that cattle to take advantage of excess forage, said Aja, but due to drought, most are now sent directly to the feed yards. This year so far, 45% of all feeder cattle coming into the U.S. came through Arizona.

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Many producers are frustrated about the halt of imports, but the key thing is that all efforts go to eradicate the parasite again, he added; "It doesn't matter if we have the border open or closed. If we're not using every tool in our box to eradicate them, then we're not doing our job."

Modern cases are not exclusive to Central America. In late 2016, there were two confirmed outbreaks of New World screwworm in Florida, which were contained.

Jackson says it's a broad health issue. "Unless you are over 60, a lot of people don't even realize what it is. It affects all mammals, wildlife, dogs, cats, and people," she said. "We've got to be aggressive about not letting it get up here."

On the range: Drought conditions, prices push Arizona cattle growers to sell portions of their herd

Cattle trafficking fuels new cases, conservationists and ranchers say

Mexico has strengthened checkpoints to inspect livestock, treated and quarantined cattle and is conducting a multi-state sweep from the Gulf of Mexico, renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America, to the Pacific, visiting every ranch for inspection, said Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Julio Berdegue, at a news conference on May 14.

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The main tool for eradication is the aerial dumping of sterile flies of the parasite species to create sterile offspring. In coordination with Mexico, the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released over 800 million sterile flies by airplane in southern Mexico since the outbreak crossed the Guatemalan border, and is ramping up production to increase the number of flights per week.

Binational collaboration has intensified, but both countries are pointing fingers. Berdegue said the U.S. had the responsibility to stop the spread in Panama, back when it was detected in June 2023, and that the Mexican authorities have asked for technical support to open a plant for sterile flies, with no response from the USDA.

In turn, U.S. authorities have said barriers and bureaucratic delays in Mexico, like restrictions on aircraft, permitting and onerous customs duties, have hampered eradication efforts.

The USDA did not immediately respond to The Republic's request for comment or to answer questions.

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Ranching associations from both sides of the border and sanitary organizations from Mexico and the U.S. established two defense lines or buffer zones in Mexico to contain the northward movement of the parasite in the Mexican Isthmus, the narrowest area of the country. One case was detected beyond that line.

"This issue should be a national emergency," said Alvaro Bustillo, president of the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union, to a Mexican news outlet. The parasite would devastate the livestock industry, but it is a threat to all animals  and to humans.

The Mexican National Confederation of Livestock Organizations demanded this week that the Mexican government "seal" the border with Guatemala to stop cattle trafficking, which they point to as a major driver for the advance of the parasite.

Environmental organizations like the Wildlife Conservation Society have also pointed out that cattle-smuggling routes mirror the hotspots for New World screwworm outbreaks, documented by InSight Crime investigations.

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At Guatemala's Mayan Biosphere Reserve, organized crime groups have deforested hundreds of thousands of acres to illegally ranch cattle and then smuggle them to Mexico.

Demand and prices in Guatemala are low, so there is an incentive to move cattle across the border, Aja said. In his view, cattle trafficking might have given the parasite a "taxi" ride once in a while, but the main cause of the Central American outbreak is that U.S. eradication efforts were lessened.

"We just kind of got a little lazy on it," he said.

There is no direct evidence that the outbreak in southern Mexico was caused by illegal cattle trafficking, but it's the most plausible explanation, said Manuel Weber, an animal ecologist with the College of the Southern Border in Mexico, who specializes in disease ecology and wildlife health.

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"It got (to Mexico) too fast for it to have been by lawful pathways," he told The Arizona Republic. There had been infection cases in the southern border of Guatemala-Honduras, which were being contained and monitored, and in a heartbeat, there were cases in Mexico.

Cattle that are being transported illegally are usually stressed, some injured, which makes screwworm infections easier, said Jeremy Radachowsky, the Wildlife Conservation Society's director for Mesoamerica and the Caribbean.

It's estimated that some 1 million head of cattle are crossed illegally from Central America to Mexico every year  the same amount that is legally exported to the U.S.

"We haven't seen the urgency (from government authorities) that I think was necessary," Radachowsky said.

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"The efforts so far have focused completely on releasing millions of sterile flies from airplanes. The problem is that as long as you have illegal cattle being moved northward, essentially it's like fumigating the house but then leaving the doors open."

In the wilds: Wasting disease outbreak would imperil Arizona wildlife, lucrative hunting industry

A devastating threat to wildlife

Because the screwworm can infest any living mammal, the potential for its spread is huge; the fly has many hosts, including hard-to-track wildlife.

"In Central America, we have seen transmission from cattle to species like tapir, deer, probably to puma," said Weber, the Mexican wildlife and disease ecologist. It can also be transmitted to cats and dogs, and cases like that are prevalent in some countries.

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Footage from camera traps in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve captured a mountain lion with a "large gaping wound on its side," said Radachowsky, with the Wildlife Conservation Society. While it's hard to tell if it's from the screwworm, if it is, that would mean a 95% chance of death for the animal in the next couple of weeks, he added.

A student of Weber's also interviewed a hunter in southern Mexico who harvested a deer that appeared to be infected with the fly's larvae.

"It's really devastating for wildlife. You will smell it before you'll see it," said Aja, recalling his childhood experience seeing the infected deer.

Wildlife could also play a role in maintaining the parasite within the ecosystem. However, studies of the parasite behavior and spread are complicated in the tropics, Weber said. There are low chances of identifying and tracking infected wildlife, and once the animal is dead, the carcass can last less than 48 hours after being eaten by other animals or decomposing.

Wildlife has also been noted as a vector by U.S. authorities. In its May 11 news release announcing the suspension of livestock imports, the USDA stated that the northward spread" of the parasite could take place through "natural wildlife movements, including wildlife that transits the border region without impediment.

In theory, it is possible  though there isn't scientific evidence  that the screwworm can be carried by wildlife. Long-distance migrations of that scale, common in the U.S., are rare in Mexico, Weber said.

"I think it's pretty unlikely that wildlife movement per se brings the disease all the way up from where it is now in Oaxaca and Veracruz  a few species like pumas and jaguars can make movements of hundreds of miles, but these are pretty rare events," offered Jesse Alton, a faculty member at the University of Arizona who studies wildlife movement.

"If screwworm were to pop up in Sonora or Chihuahua, wildlife could definitely play a role in transporting screwworm across the border."

Arizona conservation advocate Myles Traphagen, with Wildlands Network, hopes the USDA message does not imply there is a need for more border wall to control the outbreak.

"The reality is that the vector is a fly, and it is far more likely that a fall hurricane in the western Caribbean Sea could blow flies north towards South Texas than be transmitted by native wildlife," he commented.

"A border wall isnt going to stop a fly."

Clara Migoya covers agriculture and water issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Reach her at clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New World screwworm outbreak halts livestock imports from Mexico
Park Hill School District welcomed the community to view the districts newest addition, Angeline Washington Elementary, opening this fall.

The new school is named after a woman from the Parkville area who was enslaved by George Park, for whom Park University is named. Located at 6600 Brush Creek Pkwy, the school was supported by a bond issue that Parkville residents approved in 2022. It is the first school in the district to be named after a woman.

The evening kicked off with remarks from Mike Kimbrel, the superintendent of Park Hill School District, who acknowledged Washingtons complex history in Parkville.

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One of our strategic objectives in Park Hill is to ensure a sense of belonging, Kimbrel said. The question in my mind was, How in the world could Angeline Washington have felt like she belonged? But she stayed. She stayed to create a sense of belonging.

As the district was getting ready for the groundbreaking, Kimbrel said he and his wife took a walking trip. One of the first stops was Old Parkville Cemetery, where members of the Washington family are buried.

Washington was born in 1837 and died in 1904. Her grave remains unmarked, although some of her childrens and grandchildrens graves are marked. She was known for staying in Parkville and continuing to teach other Black people after she was freed. Although it was illegal for Black people to be married, she was still able to marry her husband, William.

Kimbrel said he and his wife walked to the grave sites, wondering which was where Washington was laid to rest.

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The naming committee wanted to express the story of Angeline through this perspective, he said. The perspective of her life as an enslaved woman to a freed woman who married, owned land, had children, pioneered educational and religious opportunity, and bonded a community.

Daryl Terwilleger, the school board president for Park Hill District, urged people to reflect on the past and the present being blended through the naming of the school and restoration projects throughout the city, such as the Banneker School, where African Americans were educated in the early 1900s.

The future where 121 years after her death, a new chapter begins, Terwilleger said. For decades to come, this school  bearing her name  will stand as a beacon of hope, learning and remembrance.

The principal of Angeline Washington Elementary, Vanna Easley, also spoke on behalf of the school.
The suspect in an alleged arson fire set at a Kansas City Tesla dealership pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday.

Parkville native Owen McIntire, 19, is accused of allegedly making an incendiary device known as a Molotov cocktail and using it to start a fire at the Tesla dealership on State Line Road on March 17. Two Cybertrucks were damaged in the fire, valued at $105,485 and $107,485, according to court documents.

The fire also damaged two charging stations worth about $550 each.

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McIntire faces charges of malicious damage to property and possession of an unregistered destructive device and could be imprisoned for up to 20 years.

McIntire was arrested in Massachusetts, where he attends college. He first appeared in federal court on April 18. McIntire was released to his parents home and has been under electronic monitoring, among other restrictive release conditions, according to court records.

On the night of the incident, a Kansas City police officer noticed smoke rising from the Tesla lot while passing by around 11:16 p.m., according to court documents.

The officer saw a grey Cybertruck on fire, with an unbroken Molotov cocktail in an apple cider vinegar bottle lying nearby. A burnt rag was found on the pavement next to the homemade explosive, court documents read.

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The officer tried to extinguish the burning car, but the fire spread to a second Cybertruck, prompting a visit from the Kansas City Fire Department, according to court documents. Surveillance footage and DNA evidence contributed to McIntires arrest, as well as phone and digital records and the discovery of his hat in a Leawood backyard, court documents read.

The Stars Ilana Arougheti and Kendrick Calfee contributed reporting.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA)  If youve ever used a short-term rental company like Airbnb or VRBO  you might want to continue reading, because a bill in the South Carolina State House may change the way the companies operate.

The bill, which passed in the state house, could change how taxes on short-term rentals are collected.

The legislation is concerning to some property management companies.

Currently, when booking through a short-term rental platform, the service collects accommodations and sales taxes to then send to the state.

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If ratified, renters would be paying taxes directly to a property manager.

David Bergmann works for with Bluefield Realty Group, a Greenville-based short-term rental compony; he said the change would be bad for business.

This would leave our business in a spot where we may not be here a year from now, he said.

The bills sponsor, Representative Lee Hewitt (R  Georgetown), admitted the bill has been controversial, because it deals with tax money that goes to counties and cities.

The cities and the county said, because these are rentals and commercial residential type properties, it demands more services from us, so we need to collect more taxes from them, so if it is a house, which is what it is now being used as  it should be taxed like a house, Hewitt said.

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Airbnb called the bill unnecessary because the marketplace platforms currently collect and send accommodation taxes on behalf of property management companies.

[It] create[s] substantial complications by creating three separate regimes for collecting local taxes, something no other state requires, a company statement reads.

For Bergmann, he said its all about power and control. He added that lawmakers want to see the industry revert back to what it was 20 years ago.

But the way that the industry has moved is towards third party intermediary, who protects the consumers, he continued. The legacy property managers and those that represent them would like to introduce bills that would take us back to the old way of doing things.

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Airbnb added that the bill would create privacy concerns for guests, because it would require accommodation intermediaries to provide confidential consumer information, including credit card numbers, to hosts.

If the bill is passed by the Senate in 2026 and signed by Governor Henry McMaster, it will become law.

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NILES, Ohio (WKBN)  There was a big crowd Friday night in Niles to celebrate a milestone anniversary for one of Youngstowns leading pastors.

The Eastwood Event Center hosted a celebration for Pastor Michael Harrison and his 30th anniversary as pastor of Union Baptist Church on Youngstowns North Side. Over 200 people attended the event.

Pastor Harrison said he never thought he would have lasted 30 years, but he never regretted staying.

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It hasnt been that much of a challenge, but its been different because those that are joining now are a little bit different than those older members that we had. Theyre thinking of the world and thinking of church as a little different. So it takes a little more work to get them to understand what it means to be a good Christian, said

Pastor Harrison is 68 and said he has no clue when he might retire. Hes happy where he is and plans to stay as long as he can remember his name, address, and phone number.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Deputies with the Wayne County Sheriffs Office are investigating a motor vehicle accident that resulted in a pedestrian being struck. The accident happened on Friday in the town of Lyons on Geneva Street around 10 p.m.

Wayne County EMS treated McKinney and then transported him to Newark Wayne Community Hospital before Mercy Flight took the pedestrian to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Deputies were assisted on the scene by the New York State Police, Wayne County EMS, Lyons Town Fire Department, and the Wayne County Sheriffs Office Crash Team.

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Pedro Pascal is speaking out against President Donald Trumps administration.

The Eddington star fielded apt political questions Saturday at the Cannes International Film Festival in France, as the Ari Aster film heavily mocks the MAGA movement.

When a reporter asked Pascal if he was worried about reentering the United States, the actor didnt mince words.

Fear is the way that they win, for one, replied Pascal in footage shared by Variety. So keep telling the stories and keep expressing yourself and keep fighting to be who you are. And, I dont know, fuck the people that try to make you scared, you know? And fight back.

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The perfect way to fight back is telling stories, he continued. And dont let them win.

Eddington premiered Friday at Cannes to a standing ovation and tears of gratitude from Pascals co-star Joaquin Phoenix. Set during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, the satire explores Americas political divisions, zealotries and conspiracy theories.

Phoenix plays a small-town sheriff in the titular, fictional Eddington, New Mexico. The sheriffs political differences with the mayor (Pascal) lead to a standoff that sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor, an official synopsis for the A24 film states.

Asked earlier in the press conference about Trumps immigration policy, specifically, Pascal said its far too intimidating and scary of a question for an actor participating in a movie like this to answer, adding that hes not informed enough, Variety reported.

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That didnt stop the beloved actor from voicing his beliefs and giving fellow immigrants grace. Pascal was born in Chile, and was forced to navigate serious immigration issues at an early age alongside his immigrant family.

Pascal half-jokingly said Saturday that he was "too afraid" of answering a political question. Sebastien Nogier/Pool/Getty Images)

I want people to be safe and to be protected, and I want very much to live on the right side of history, he said Saturday. Im an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the U.S. after asylum in Denmark.

If it werent for that, I dont know what would have happened to us, he continued, before lightening the mood with a half-joking expression of fear about retribution. I stand by those protections. Im too afraid of your question, I hardly remember what it was.

Trump launched mass deportations shortly after assuming office in January, and has since floated the idea of deporting U.S. citizens. Earlier this month, senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller said the administration is actively looking at suspending habeas corpus, a constitutional right that shields people from unlawful detention by guaranteeing their right to appear in front of a judge.

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Former Vice President Pence said during a recent interview that President Trump accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari government is inconsistent with the United States security and that he should turn down the gift.

Well, I think first we got to remember who Qatar is. Weve got a military base there. I have members of our immediate family that have deployed to the region, but Qatar has a long history of playing both sides. They support Hamas. They supported al-Qaeda. Qatar has actually financed pro-Hamas protests on American campuses across the United States. And so the very idea that we would accept an Air Force One from Qatar, I think is inconsistent with our security, with our intelligence needs, Pence said during his appearance on NBCs Meet the Press.

And my hope is the president reconsiders it, Pence told anchor Kristen Welker, adding that if Qatar wants to give a gift to the U.S., they ought to take that $400 million and plow it into infrastructure on their military base.

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Trump has strongly defended his decision to accept the Boeing 747-8, which is estimated to be worth $400 million, and has shot down the criticism and concerns raised by congressional lawmakers in both parties.

I just want to say, it was a radical left story, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Bret Baier. The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars.

The jet is being delivered to the Department of Defense to eventually replace Air Force One, which has been in service for over three decades. The plane would later be transferred to Trump presidential library.

This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, itll be like Ronald Reagan. Itll be decommissioned, because they wont want it, Trump told Baier.

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We need a plane for a couple of years before we get the other ones, because Boeing is very late, the president added. They should be able to knock them off in no time.

Pence said that Trump should turn down the gift, pointing to the potential for intelligence gathering, along with very real constitutional issues.

The Constitution prohibits public officials from accepting a present, in the words of the Constitution, a present from a foreign state, Pence told Welker. Now, they may have some basis through chain of title, through avoiding that. But, I think its just a bad idea. And my hope is the president will think better of it.

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(WHTM)  The Pennsylvania State Police will soon have 74 new troopers on patrol.

The new officers recently celebrated their graduation in Manheim, Lancaster County, as part of the 172nd Cadet Class.

The cadets walked the stage, received their badges, and learned where they will serve.

Those of us on this stage faced many hurdles in the academy, we endured early mornings and late nights, bitter winter cold, we have pushed our bodies, minds, and spirits to the brink each and every day in pursuit of excellence, Cadet Jack Pugliese said in the ceremony.

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Today is a great day for the State Police and Pennsylvania as we celebrate the 172nd Cadet Class, whose hard work and determination over the last 27 weeks have earned them the rank of Trooper, said Colonel Christopher Paris. I now look forward to watching these dedicated women and men join their PSP brothers and sisters in serving and protecting communities across the Commonwealth.

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Eight cadets are going to Troop H Harrisburg, 14 to Troop J Lancaster, and three to Troop L Reading which covers Lebanon County.

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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  On Friday, 23 firefighter recruits graduated from the Vernon A. Gudat Training Academy in Peoria, marking the culmination of a 12-week training program designed to prepare them for the challenges of serving on the front lines of public safety.

The ceremony was held at the Gateway Building in Peoria, hosted by the Peoria Fire Department.

Over the course of the training, the recruits gained valuable skills and certifications in areas including basic firefighting operations, hazardous materials handling, and emergency medical services.

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Each graduate is now set to begin their journey as probationary firefighters, with assignments throughout the Peoria area.

For Breyden Schmitz, a probationary firefighter with the Peoria Fire Department, the day marked the realization of a lifelong dream.

Its been a grind, made a lot of connections with people from all over the state, Schmitz said, reflecting on the rigorous training process. Its been fun and a lot of hard work, and were just happy to be on the streets now, he said.

Schmitz, who has wanted to become a firefighter for as long as he can remember, credits his fatherwho is also a member of the Peoria Fire Departmentas his inspiration.

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Ive always looked up to him. Hes always been my hero. The public sees a firefighter as a hero, but hes always been my dad. Hes been my hero my whole life, Schmitz shared. Its great to follow in his footsteps. Ive got some big shoes to fill, said the graduate.

The passing of the firefighter torch was a particularly special moment for Breyden, who had his father, Brandon Schmitz, pin his badge during the ceremony.

It was a proud moment just in the fact that he chose a career and a calling to help other people, said Brandon Schmitz, an engineer and paramedic with the Peoria Fire Department. His mom and I raised him to help others, and its really awesome to know that he wanted to do that with his life.

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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Peoria Police officials are spreading the word to families about upcoming summer activities.

The 2025 Safe Zone Lock-Ins will be held for students entering fifth through eighth grade, according to police spokeswoman Semone Roth. The events will include arts and crafts, pizza making, obstacle courses and games.

Keith McDaniel, community engagement coordinator for the Peoria Police Department, shared why they host the Safe Zones, with this being the third year.

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We want to keep the kids in a controlled environment, McDaniel said. If theyre with us, theyre not out on the streets doing wrong.

McDaniel also explained what developmental purpose the events have as well.

The goal is to help build self-esteem, he said. Help build upon certain key skills that they may have and may use throughout their lives. 

Mary Peterson, community relations and crime prevention manager with PPD, explained how beneficial the lock-ins are.

This is part of that community policing, said Peterson. We need to be partnering with our community, versus youve got the police department and then you have the community. Were all working together.

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The four scheduled events will be held from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., and doors are expected to be open at 5:30 p.m.

The event dates will include:

June 5 at the Proctor Recreation Center

June 12 at the Dream Center Peoria

July 10 at the Greater Peoria Family YMCA

July 17 at the Wildlife Prairie Park

The department is looking for volunteers who would be interested in helping, as well as community partners. Those interested can sign up on May 17 and May 24 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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May 16ST. PAUL  Four newly hatched peregrine falcon chicks are now visible on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' popular

FalconCam

, available online at

mndnr.gov/falconcam

. The DNR Nongame Wildlife Program's camera is in a nesting box in downtown St. Paul and will once again provide an intimate look at peregrine falcons raising their young.

The female of the nesting pair laid four eggs between March 31 and April 9, and all four hatched over Mother's Day weekend, the DNR said in a news release. In these initial weeks, the female will be the primary parent, brooding and feeding the chicks, with the male providing support.

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Online viewers should watch the camera for feedings, which will provide the best looks at the chicks. Birds are the primary prey for peregrines, and they will feed the chicks their catches, which could be as large as ducks. As the chicks grow, they will become more active.

"DNR webcams provide a connection to the wildlife all around us," Jessica Ruthenberg, Nongame Wildlife engagement supervisor, said in a statement. "This window into the world of nesting birds is just one way to engage people of all ages in our mission to conserve at-risk wildlife."

In related news, Grand Forks once again is contributing to the ongoing peregrine falcon recovery, as well. In an email to subscribers of the Grand Cities Bird Club's email list, Tim Driscoll of the Urban Raptor Research Project said an unbanded male returned March 13 to the nest box on the UND water tower and an unbanded female returned March 20.

"There were a couple of other peregrine falcon visitors, but these two held the nest site and are currently incubating eggs," Driscoll said in his email. He estimates the eggs will hatch on or around May 20.

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The recovery of peregrine falcons is a Minnesota success story, the DNR said in its FalconCam news release. While still a species of special concern in Minnesota, they were once on the brink of extinction. Minnesota populations were restored with the help of falconers, the Midwest Peregrine Society and the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program.

Donations  mndnr.gov/donate  to the Nongame Wildlife Fund supported the restoration project and continue to benefit Minnesota's rare and vulnerable wildlife.

More information about

peregrine falcons in Minnesota

and the effort to restore them is available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/eco/nongame/projects/peregrine.html.
Whenever a new pope is elected, the mainstream secular media is abuzz with speculation about his politics and ideology. Is the pope conservative or liberal? What does he believe about particular political figures, parties, or movements? Did he favor the election of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris as the U.S. president?

More insidiously, many journalists and commentators seek to manipulate the new pontiffs first public words in light of the prevalent ideological trends in our culture: Does the popes message that the church welcomes all people, sinners included, mean that the Catholic Church will revise its teachings on marriage? Sexuality? Abortion? Euthanasia? Will it get in line with the dogmas, whatever they are, prevailing among the days cultural elites?

The implicit message is clear: faith  whether that of the people in the pews or of the leaders of the Christian community  can be cleanly divided into ideological categories. Progressive Christians and a progressive pope, for example, believe in inclusion, diversity, non-judgmentalism, and ensuring that all those pesky dogmas and doctrines dont make anyone feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, those conservative and traditionalist Christians are reactionaries who unduly prioritize doctrine and seek to exclude those who in various ways fall short of doctrines requirements.

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To this way of thinking, what makes a faithful Christian is not the universal confession of faith and the lifelong struggle to adhere to faiths demands. Christianity can, rather, be taught and practiced in divergent ways according to ones political or ideological preferences.

I suppose we ought not to be surprised by the fact that many religious folks are swept along by cultural trends, even trends that are manifestly antithetical to biblical principles and the firm and constant teaching of scripture and tradition. Twas ever thus. (Indeed, twas thus for the ancient Hebrews, too, as scripture makes more than abundantly clear.)

And Christians who fall in line with a trend find ways to say that the trend, whatever it is, is compatible with Christian faith  even dictated by it. Its hard for human beings to actually be countercultural, and Christians are human beings just like everybody else.

We make a million excuses for going along with whats wrong  and pretty soon we find ourselves going along with calling it right.

So when Marxism is in vogue, there will be self-proclaimed Christian Marxists (perhaps doing business as liberation theologians). When fascism is fashionable, there will be self-identified Christian fascists, as there were under Mussolini in Italy, for example. When racial subordination and segregation is the cultural norm, there will be some who seek to baptize it (these voices may even come from within the church: consider the three prominent Louisiana Catholics who were excommunicated in 1962 by Joseph Rummel, then archbishop of New Orleans, for distorting Catholic doctrine to try to justify their opposition to racial desegregation).

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When eugenics is popular among the cognoscenti, there will be Christians claiming that eugenic practices and policies constitute authentic Christian love in practice. If polyamory becomes the next cause embraced by the cultural elite  as seems to be gradually occurring  we will start hearing about the Christian case for group marriage: God is love! And God teaches us to love one another, instead of keeping our love confined to just one other person. And on and on.

Why does this constantly happen? Well, being the frail, fallen, fallible human beings that we are, we crave social acceptance and we like to fit in. Moreover, we human beings are naturally influenced by the ways of thinking favored by those who are regarded by the predominant culture as sophisticated, up-to-date and important. When push comes to shove, its quite difficult to be true to the Christian faith  the social and personal costs are too high.

We who are Christians praise the martyrs and honor their memories, but we are loath to place in jeopardy so much as an opportunity for career advancement, or the good opinion of a friend  much less our lives. So we tend to fall in line or at least fall silent. We deceive ourselves with rationalizations for what, in truth, amounts to either conformism or cowardice.

We place the emphasis on whatever happens in the cultural circumstances to be the acceptable parts of Christian teaching and soft-pedal or even abandon the parts that the enforcers of the days cultural norms deem to be unacceptable. We make a million excuses for going along with whats wrong  and pretty soon we find ourselves going along with calling it right.

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But the Gospels demands call us to something higher. Jesus says, If you want to be my disciple, you must take up your cross and follow me. To be sure, the Lord offers mercy to those who, though they yielded to the intense pressures and temptations to deny him or his precepts, later return, like the prodigal son.

This is Christianitys true and unadulterated teaching. Gods mercy is abundant, yes, and with mercy comes the opportunity for repentance  but to authentically repent for the times we have denied the Lord to please the world, we must rescue ourselves from the palatable half-truths and watered-down faith that the secular culture incessantly urges us to adopt.

Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.
By Lucinda Elliott

ARTIGAS, Uruguay (Reuters) - Sandra Palleiro is on the hunt for her lost cows. The 60-year-old accountant is standing in a muddy field at the end of a farm track in Uruguay's remote border region with Brazil.

She has traveled 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the capital, Montevideo, to find 61 cattle she owns, at least on paper. The missing bovines were part of a "cow bond" scheme that has collapsed, causing one of Uruguay's biggest ever financial scandals.

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The co-owner of one Uruguayan firm that took money from savers to invest in cows has died by suicide. Three companies have gone bust and are under investigation for fraud.

"Hello moo-moo! Could one of you be mine?" Palleiro called out hopefully into a paddock in the border region of Artigas, her jeans caked in mud as she approached a wire fence to get a closer look at the cows.

Palleiro - like hundreds of other investors - is unable to find the animals she owns or prove they even exist, making them part of a herd of "phantom cows" that could number over 700,000 head of cattle.

So far, the losses have mounted to some $350 million, roiling the stable farming nation, home to just 3.4 million people - but 12 million cows. It has also sent shockwaves through bigger ranching neighbors Argentina and Brazil, which looked to Uruguay's cattle-tracking system as a model and where similar livestock investment schemes operate.

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In March 2024, Palleiro put her life savings of over $50,000 into the livestock investment scheme offered by a local firm named Conexion Ganadera, lured by promises of fixed 7-10% dollar returns and investment materials with bucolic pictures of brown-and-white Hereford cattle.

Savers could own cows directly that would be reared and sold for profit by livestock firms, or take an investment stake in the overall scheme. Palleiro, an urban professional, liked the idea of owning a tangible asset. It seemed a safe bet.

She could track the cows via a state-backed online portal - for years an example globally for cattle tracking - which set out breed, age and location. Each cow was supposed to be branded with a symbol assigned by the government and documents listing her assets carried the crest of the agriculture ministry, which oversees the cattle registry.

Uruguay's national cattle registry declined to comment on the cases.

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When she went in search of her cows, Palleiro carried print copies from the cattle registry to see if she could match the 53 tracking numbers linked to this ranch with the tags of the cows staring at her on the opposite side of the fence.

Using her smartphone camera, she zoomed in on the tracking numbers pinned to their ears. It soon became clear few of the numbers matched. Then the cows started backing away. She couldn't get close enough. The exercise felt hopeless.

"It feels like falling into a nightmare," said Palleiro.

TESLA CRASH

Three of the biggest firms under investigation for fraud are Conexion Ganadera, Republica Ganadera and Grupo Larrarte, which between them persuaded nearly 6,000 people or investor pools to buy into the program, investing millions of dollars.

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Similar investment schemes exist throughout South America, in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. Many are legitimate.

Martin Fablet, a local radio presenter in Montevideo, said he invested several times in Conexion Ganadera and other livestock schemes in Uruguay over the past 12 years: "This system of receiving fixed dollar returns worked fantastically well for at least 11 years. They paid me on time."

The first hint of the scandal at Conexion Ganadera came on November 28 last year, when a Tesla Model 3 car crashed at 211 kilometers per hour in the small central Uruguayan city of Florida. Behind the wheel was Gustavo Basso, one of the co-owners of Conexion Ganadera, which had boomed since opening in 1999.

Weeks after he drove his car into a parked construction vehicle, investors started reporting their payments from the cattle scheme were late, and by January the company confirmed it was short of nearly $250 million. A coroner concluded in April that Basso had died by suicide.

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Conexion Ganadera was one of the three funds that started to warn late last year that they were unable to fulfill obligations to investors. They were short of cash, which they blamed on adverse weather (there had been a drought in 2022-23) and tough market conditions.

By late January, investors were scrambling to withdraw savings amid reports of fraud. Some filed suits for fraud, leading to bankruptcy proceedings and an official investigation by Uruguay's Prosecutor's Office for Money Laundering Crimes, which remains ongoing. The prosecutor declined to comment to Reuters.

Pablo Carrasco of Conexion Ganadera denies fraud allegations. Lawyers representing Conexion Ganadera said they were unable to comment on legal proceedings until testimony was given in court. Grupo Larrarte's lawyer said the firm was fully cooperating with the authorities. Republica Ganadera did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

'MAYBE THE COWS WERE FAKES'

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Politicians, radio hosts, pensioners and even priests are among the thousands now attempting to recover their savings - and their missing 'phantom' cattle, the number of which is proving hard to pin down.

An inventory of the biggest firm, Conexion Ganadera, carried out by a bankruptcy trustee estimated that as few as 70,000-80,000 of the 804,604 cattle the company claimed to manage actually existed.

In another court case into fraud allegations, Uruguay's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MGAP) said in March that one of Conexion Ganadera's main cattle holding firms, Pasfer, had only 49 of the 3,740 cows that it put up as collateral to secure a loan.

"We don't know if the cows were ever bought, whether they're alive or dead," Palleiro said during a drive along country lanes to the Artigas ranch. "Maybe the cows were fakes, or sold, moved somewhere or their tags were changed."

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Victims want to know how authorities failed to spot the problems despite the cattle registry.

Three lawyers for victims said it was possible that the government-issued tags were never attached to the animals because the animals were never purchased, and the investments were used for other purposes. Two other lawyers representing investors in bankruptcy and fraud cases alleged that cows owned by investors were sold off illegally, without their consent.

Each company was responsible for applying the tags and in-putting data to the national registry. "The registry reflects what the company provided. The problem is that there was no control over what the company provided," said one of the lawyers, Nicolas Hornes, who represents 98 victims.

Hornes said he went to several farms and found that the number of cattle did not match the registry. Two other investors Reuters spoke to told similar stories of trying to find their cows.

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Uruguay's livestock ministry did not respond to Reuters questions about whether the registry system failed.

COMPANIES UNDER INVESTIGATION

An executive from Grupo Larrarte, the first firm to receive formal complaints from investors, is already in prison as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, which is separate from bankruptcy proceedings. Jairo Larrarte was placed in preventive detention by a judge in April for alleged crimes of misappropriation, fraud and issuing bad checks.

In a response to Reuters, his lawyer Enrique Moller said that his client had fully cooperated with the authorities and that cattle had already been returned to some investors.

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Republica Ganadera filed for voluntary bankruptcy in November, which the courts rejected in March because authorities opened an investigation into the company's accounts. Negotiations with creditors continue and the firm said in a March 25 statement that it was "prioritizing the best possible solution" for those affected. The company did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

There are several open investigations into Conexion Ganadera, the biggest of the three. The company's co-owner, Pablo Carrasco, his wife Ana Iewdiukow and Basso's widow, Daniela Cabral, are being investigated for fraud and embezzlement. In February all three were temporarily barred from leaving Uruguay without court authorization and their passports confiscated. Carrasco's lawyer Jorge Barrera said there would be no comment to the media.

SNAKE CHARMER

Basso, whose high-speed crash presaged the company's downfall, lived in grand style in the city of Florida, which has a small-town feel, home to 30,000 people surrounded by farmland.

Fablet, the local radio presenter, said he met Basso some 50 times over the course of a decade, socially and while covering agriculture events for radio.

"(Basso) was a snake charmer," said Fablet, a longtime investor in Conexion Ganadera. "He could never simply lose $250 million... he could've made a loss, but that money must be somewhere."

Back at the Artigas farm, Reuters drone footage showed around 80 animals compared to what should have been several hundred belonging to Palleiro and other investors.

Farmhands at the ranch explained that more animals were out in other fields. Several mentioned delays to salary payments since the scandal broke and they said there was no easy way of checking which, if any, belonged to Palleiro.

Palleiro herself was angered at the way the case was hurting so many hard-working Uruguayans. She had at times taken on three jobs to put together a nest egg for her retirement.

"We put in all our savings that cost us a lot of effort," she said with emotion. "Now we want justice."

(Reporting by Lucinda Elliott. Additional reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo and Manuela Andreoni in Para, Brazil; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Claudia Parsons.)
Prescription drugs sit ready to be distributed to patients at 986 Pharmacy in Alhambra, California. (Jackie Fortier/KFF Health News)

In the dim basement of a Salt Lake City pharmacy, hundreds of amber-colored plastic pill bottles sit stacked in rows, one mans defensive wall in a tariff war.

Independent pharmacist Benjamin Jolley and his colleagues worry that the tariffs, aimed at bringing drug production to the United States, could instead drive companies out of business while raising prices and creating more of the drug shortages that have plagued American patients for several years.

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Jolley bought six months worth of the most expensive large bottles, hoping to shield his business from the 10% across-the-board tariffs on imported goods that President Donald Trump announced April 2. Now with threats of additional tariffs targeting pharmaceuticals, Jolley worries that costs will soar for the medications that will fill those bottles.

In principle, Jolley said, using tariffs to push manufacturing from China and India to the U.S. makes sense. In the event of war, China could quickly stop all exports to the United States.

I understand the rationale for tariffs. Im not sure that were gonna do it the right way, Jolley said. And I am definitely sure that its going to raise the price that I pay my suppliers.

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Squeezed by insurers and middlemen, independent pharmacists such as Jolley find themselves on the front lines of a tariff storm. Nearly everyone down the line  drugmakers, pharmacies, wholesalers, and middlemen  opposes most tariffs.

Slashing drug imports could trigger widespread shortages, experts said, because of Americas dependence on Chinese- and Indian-made chemical ingredients, which form the critical building blocks of many medicines. Industry officials caution that steep tariffs on raw materials and finished pharmaceuticals could make drugs more expensive.

Big ships dont change course overnight, said Robin Feldman, a UC Law San Francisco professor who writes about prescription drug issues. Even if companies pledge to bring manufacturing home, it will take time to get them up and running. The key will be to avoid damage to industry and pain to consumers in the process.

Trump on April 8 said he would soon announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals, which have been largely tariff-free in the U.S. for 30 years.

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When they hear that, they will leave China, he said. The U.S. imported $213 billion worth of medicines in 2024  from China but also India, Europe, and other areas.

Trumps statement sent drugmakers scrambling to figure out whether he was serious, and whether some tariffs would be levied more narrowly, since many parts of the U.S. drug supply chain are fragile, drug shortages are common, and upheaval at the FDA leaves questions about whether its staffing is adequate to inspect factories, where quality problems can lead to supply chain crises.

On May 12, Trump signed an executive order asking drugmakers to bring down the prices Americans pay for prescriptions, to put them in line with prices in other countries.

Meanwhile, pharmacists predict even the 10% tariffs Trump has demanded will hurt: Jolley said a potential increase of up to 30 cents a vial is not a kings ransom, but it adds up when youre a small pharmacy that fills 50,000 prescriptions a year.

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The one word that I would say right now to describe tariffs is uncertainty, said Scott Pace, a pharmacist and owner of Kavanaugh Pharmacy in Little Rock, Arkansas.

To weather price fluctuations, Pace stocked up on the drugs his pharmacy dispenses most.

Ive identified the top 200 generics in my store, and I have basically put 90 days worth of those on the shelf just as a starting point, he said. Those are the diabetes drugs, the blood pressure medicines, the antibiotics  those things that I know folks will be sicker without.

Pace said tariffs could be the death knell for the many independent pharmacies that exist on razor-thin margins  unless reimbursements rise to keep up with higher costs.

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Unlike other retailers, pharmacies cant pass along such costs to patients. Their payments are set by health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers largely owned by insurance conglomerates, who act as middlemen between drug manufacturers and purchasers.

Neal Smoller, who employs 15 people at his Village Apothecary in Woodstock, New York, is not optimistic.

Its not like theyre gonna go back and say, well, heres your 10% bump because of the 10% tariff, he said. Costs are gonna go up and then the sluggish responses from the PBMs  theyre going to lead us to lose more money at a faster rate than we already are.

Smoller, who said he has built a niche selling vitamins and supplements, fears that FDA firings will mean fewer federal inspections and safety checks.

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I worry that our pharmaceutical industry becomes like our supplement industry, where its the wild West, he said.

Narrowly focused tariffs might work in some cases, said Marta Wosinska, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institutions Center on Health Policy. For example, while drug manufacturing plants can cost $1 billion and take three to five years to set up, it would be relatively cheap to build a syringe factory  a business American manufacturers abandoned during the covid-19 pandemic because China was dumping its products here, Wosinska said.

Its not surprising that giants such as Novartis and Eli Lilly have promised Trump theyll invest billions in U.S. plants, she said, since much of their final drug product is made here or in Europe, where governments negotiate drug prices. The industry is using Trumps tariff saber-rattling as leverage; in an April 11 letter, 32 drug companies demanded European governments pay them more or face an exodus to the United States.

Brandon Daniels, CEO of supply chain company Exiger, is bullish on tariffs. He thinks they could help bring some chemical manufacturing back to the U.S., which, when coupled with increased use of automation, would reduce the labor advantages of China and India.

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Youve got real estate in North Texas thats cheaper than real estate in Shenzhen, he said at an economic conference April 25 in Washington, referring to a major Chinese chemical manufacturing center.

But Wosinska said no amount of tariffs will compel makers of generic drugs, responsible for 90% of U.S. prescriptions, to build new factories in the U.S. Payment structures and competition would make it economic suicide, she said.

Several U.S. generics firms have declared bankruptcy or closed U.S. factories over the past decade, said John Murphy, CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, the generics trade group. Reversing that trend wont be easy and tariffs wont do it, he said.

Theres not a magic level of tariffs that magically incentivizes them to come into the U.S., he said. There is no room to make a billion-dollar investment in a domestic facility if youre going to lose money on every dose you sell in the U.S. market.

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His group has tried to explain these complexities to Trump officials, and hopes word is getting through. Were not PhRMA, Murphy said, referring to the powerful trade group primarily representing makers of brand-name drugs. I dont have the resources to go to Mar-a-Lago to talk to the president myself.

Many of the active ingredients in American drugs are imported. Fresenius Kabi, a German company with facilities in eight U.S. states to produce or distribute sterile injectables  vital hospital drugs for cancer and other conditions  complained in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that tariffs on these raw materials could paradoxically lead some companies to move finished product manufacturing overseas.

Fresenius Kabi also makes biosimilars, the generic forms of expensive biologic drugs such as Humira and Stelara. The United States is typically the last developed country where biosimilars appear on the market because of patent laws.

Tariffs on biosimilars coming from overseas  where Fresenius makes such drugs  would further incentivize U.S. use of more expensive brand-name biologics, the March 11 letter said. Biosimilars, which can cost a tenth of the original drugs price, launch on average 3-4 years later in the U.S. than in Canada or Europe.

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In addition to getting cheaper knockoff drugs faster, European countries also pay far less than the United States for brand-name products. Paradoxically, Murphy said, those same countries pay more for generics.

European governments tend to establish more stable contracts with makers of generics, while in the United States, rabid competition drives down prices to the point at which a manufacturer maybe scrimps on product quality, said John Barkett, a White House Domestic Policy Council member in the Biden administration.

As a result, Wosinska said, without exemptions or other measures put in place, I really worry about tariffs causing drug shortages.

Smoller, the New York pharmacist, doesnt see any upside to tariffs.

How do I solve the problem of caring for my community, he said, but not being subject to the emotional roller coaster that is dispensing hundreds of prescriptions a day and watching every single one of them be a loss or 12 cents profit?

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This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF and subscribe to KFF Health News free Morning Briefing.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signs off on the 2024 general election results on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  Its not every day that Nebraskas three branches of government are all involved in a single topic. But one issue is front and center within the next week: medical cannabis.

Days before legislative debate and a Lincoln court hearing, Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday announced intentions for executive branch staff to offer available administrative support and resources for voter-approved medical cannabis regulators to begin their work.

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With support from the Policy Research Office, the Department of Administrative Services and other agencies, as necessary, the Medical Cannabis Commission is fully enabled to meet and carry out its responsibilities under the Patient Protection Act and the Regulation Act to meet its milestone dates of July 1 [for regulations] and October 1 [for licensing], a news release said.

Any regulations proposed by the commission would need to go through the attorney general and the governor. The Policy Research Office is the governors personal lobbying and policy arm.

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair kneels to talk with State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue. Hansen is the lead sponsor on a 2025 bill to help give structure to the states new medical cannabis laws. Holdcroft is the chair of the General Affairs Committee considering the bill. March 25, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, whose Legislative Bill 677 seeks to clarify and place additional guardrails, confirmed he will still push forward with the legislation and was a little surprised by an executive about-face that now seeks to unilaterally enact regulations.

He said he sees LB 677 as the Legislatures responsibility to act and set parameters for regulators that cant be changed at a whim.

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State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, chair of the Legislatures General Affairs Committee that is mulling medical cannabis legislation, said the executive action diminishes Hansens previous argument that the laws could be the wild west if the Legislature doesnt provide more guidance.

I think theres actually been some thought into establishing the cannabis control commission. Its not a bad thing, Holdcroft told the Nebraska Examiner on Friday.

But Hansen, in response, said: Im not worried about the wild west anymore. Im worried about nothing happening, and then we have recreational cannabis in two years.

He cites voters who have said that if the regulations are too restrictive, they will push a 2026 ballot measure for recreational marijuana, including some voters who prefer only medical use.

Appointees will follow letter of the law

Hansen adds that part of the reason LB 677 is still needed is Pillens two at-large potential appointees to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission. Together, they would join the three commissioners pulling double duty on the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to create the new entity, which voters approved in November.

Pillen has appointed Dr. Monica Oldenburg of Lincoln, an anesthesiologist, and Lorelle Mueting of Gretna, the prevention director at Heartland Family Service, which focuses on drug prevention. Both have consistently opposed efforts pushed by the Nebraskans who prevailed at the ballot box last fall after more than a decade of advocacy.

Nebraska advocates for medical cannabis have worked for more than 12 years, and continue to wait, for a safe, regulated system in Nebraska, after winning voter approval in November. Pictured are many longtime advocates for the effort. (Photos courtesy of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana)

Still, Pillen said that Oldenburg and Mueting are experienced, well-qualified individuals who will ensure strong regulations to the letter of the law the people of Nebraska enacted.

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I urge the Legislature to promptly confirm them so they can take up the urgent work of writing strong and effective rules of the road for the medical cannabis industry, Pillen said Friday.

Both Oldenburg and Mueting opposed the closest legislative attempt to legalize medical cannabis in 2021, LB 474, led by former State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, who later helped the ballot measures. The 2021 bill fell two votes short, 31-18.

Other motives may be at play

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said Friday that while supporters appreciated Pillens actions, it is disingenuous to characterize the new appointments as experienced or well-qualified.

Appointing regulators who are fundamentally opposed to the very issue they are charged with overseeing suggests that other motives may be at play  motives that appear misaligned with the public intent, and not to mention the will of 71% of the state, Eggers said in a statement.

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The legalization position passed with 71% of the vote, while the regulatory measure trailed just slightly, with about 67% support. Eggers and other long-time advocates support LB 677 as an initial step for regulations.

At a March hearing on four medical cannabis bills, Mueting opposed LB 677 and two very similar bills and was neutral on the narrowest bill: LB 483, from State Sen. Jared Storm of David City, seeking to limit medical cannabis to tinctures or pills alone. LB 483 sought to legalize up to 300 milligrams, 0.21% of the 5 ounces that voters approved.

Both appointees will go before the General Affairs Committee next Thursday for confirmation hearings before the full Legislature weighs in.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, center, leads a news conference against Legislative Bill 677 that seeks to help implement medical cannabis regulations in the state. About a dozen law enforcement officials joined him in standing against the legislation as it awaits full legislative debate. May 7, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Laura Strimple, a spokesperson for Pillen, said the office interviewed three people and selected two. A staff member who oversees application materials for appointees was out of the office Friday, so the materials for Oldenburg and Mueting were not immediately made available.

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State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, vice chair of the General Affairs Committee, said he looks forward to the confirmation hearings but is skeptical of Pillens sincerity in helping voters.

I will keep an open mind, but any attempt to restrict what the voters passed through bureaucratic red tape should be opposed vigorously, Cavanaugh said in a text. In the meantime, the Legislature should pass LB 677 to make sure that medical cannabis is legal, safe and accessible in Nebraska.

Executive branch funding

Part of Pillens Friday announcement mentions operational funding already appropriated to the Medical Cannabis Commission, but when the next two-year state budget passed Thursday, new funding was limited.

The Appropriations Committee offered an annual $30,000 each of the next two fiscal years for employees in the Liquor Control Commission, who take on additional duties under the new laws. In comparison, the Liquor Control Commission has a $2 million annual budget, including for enforcement of regulations for compliance.

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There is no additional funding for the remaining two months of the current fiscal year.

The Department of Administrative Services can provide limited financial support to agencies crafting regulations. Strimple, citing Lee Will, the DAS director who previously oversaw the states budget, said the Liquor Control Commission has a cash fund spending authority of $100,000 that is rarely used.

The new spending would come from an administratively created cash fund, Strimple and Will confirmed Monday. The fund would capture new revenue, such as from registration fees. However, there would still be no immediate funding, and Will said commissioners would need to make up for any regulatory spending later.

The Attorney Generals Office has pledged to sue the new commission if it issues any medical cannabis licenses.

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This funding authority will allow for [the Cannabis Commission] to operate, combined with registration fees for revenue, she said in an email.

The one cash fund that the Liquor Control Commission currently has is derived from the commission selling copies of its rules, the law governing its actions and other publications. It also gets funds from a number of fees for registration, server training and more, according to a Legislative Fiscal Office directory of state funds and programs.

State law allows the funds to be used for any administrative costs associated with specific liquor statutes. Medical cannabis statutes were placed in a different section of the law, and the budget bills did not expressly authorize additional spending

Legislative and legal fights await

Hansens LB 677 is expected to be filibustered at each stage of debate, at a maximum of eight hours on Tuesday. If so, it would require 33 votes to advance and become law at the end.

Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, center, leads a news conference urging legislative support for bills to help implement a safe, fully regulated medical cannabis system. March 3, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Hansen said that considering Oldenburg and Mueting are both openly staunch anti-medical cannabis people, you can only assume the direction on maybe where theyre going to go with the implementation of this.

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If we dont do anything, we have no idea what to expect, Hansen said.

Holdcroft said he would support Hansen and LB 677 by arguing in favor of a compromise amendment to the bill, which gives an extra three months for regulations, prohibits smoking and outlines qualifying conditions.

Pillen previously told the Examiner that cannabis wouldnt be approved in a form that could become recreational.

My advocacy for it is that if you have a medical condition [and] you need it, youll get it, but its going to taste like crap, Pillen said last month. Its going to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Effectively do business

Also on Tuesday, Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong will consider oral arguments on whether to dismiss a lawsuit that argues the voter-approved medical cannabis laws are unconstitutional because of federal laws outlawing marijuana.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, whose office is defending Pillen and other state officials, fundamentally opposes medical cannabis. He is asking that the case be dismissed, as are the regulatory commissioners and the ballot measure sponsors.

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The reason is specific: Hilgers staff argues that the Attorney Generals Office and not a private citizen should be the one to challenge the laws.

Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong listens to opening statements from attorneys on the first day of the civil trial to determine the validity of the medical marijuana ballot measures at the Lancaster County Courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Lincoln. (Kenneth Ferriera-Pool/Lincoln Journal Star)

LB 677 also presents a different threat to a pending appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court, including from Hilgers office, alleging signature fraud in the medical cannabis ballot measures. Strong rejected those arguments in November and upheld the ballot measures. The AGs Office and a former state senator who brought both cases before Strong appealed.

Because LB 677 would provide additional legislative weight to the 2024 ballot measures, Hilgers and other advocates have acknowledged it could nullify or weaken the pending appeal. Hilgers has said he should get a fair fight in front of the high court.

With Pillens announcement, he joined the likes of Hilgers and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., who have argued that lawmakers should wait and pass no cannabis-related bills this year.

Said Strimple: Governor Pillen does not believe it is necessary for LB 677 to pass because with existing statutory authority and resources, the Medical Cannabis Commission will have everything it needs to effectively do business.

Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify which cash fund could be used for medical cannabis regulations.

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The pilot of a small plane was killed when his aircraft went down in New Jersey and then caught on fire, according to officials.

The plane fell from the sky as it was flying over Hunterdon County late Friday afternoon, the Quakertown Fire Department said in a statement.

A range of first responders, including firefighters, paramedics and troopers from the New Jersey State Police, descended on the densely wooded area to search for the downed aircraft.

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They eventually found it engulfed in flames, near Airport Road and Mechlin Corner Road in Alexandria Township, a short distance from the Alexandria Field Airport. The surrounding area was also ablaze when crews arrived.

Firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire, but the pilot of the plane was subsequently found dead inside the aircraft.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy, the fire department said, referring all future questions regarding the incident to state police.

An Alexandria Field Airport official told WFMZ the pilot, who has not yet been identified, was the only one in the plane.

Few other details have been provided about the crash, including what may have caused it. Its destination was also unclear.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating.
Pinellas woman ends up with holes in house after leak repair

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Terri Stevens has used her Dunedin homes warranty many times over the years to fix things like a washer, dryer and garbage disposal.

I thought it was the greatest thing that you could possibly have, especially if you dont have funds to fix things, she said. You just have to pay a copay, and they come out and repair it.

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So when she heard a strange sound in the wall and thought her hot water heater was leaking, she called First American Home Warranty, and they sent out a plumber but he couldnt find the leak.

So they sent another company that drilled through the outside of her home but they too were unable to locate the leak. Their next recommendation was extreme.

St. Pete City Council votes for twin apartment towers to be built instead of Moffitt Cancer Center

Basically, theyre going to have to jackhammer through the house and the best thing to do is just re-pipe, $8,000, what you paid the home warranty company has paid us already, well just deduct it, Steven said. And Im like, whoa, thats a lot of information, you got to hold off. Im not doing anything right now.'

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Stevens said she hired another plumber on her own, who located and fixed the leak in one day. But shes stuck with the holes in her house.

She said was told it would be fixed and then told shell have to find her own contractor and would receive only $125 toward the repair.

So Stevens called Better Call Behnekn and Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken took pictures of the mess and sent them to to the warranty company.

Hours later, Behnken was promised theyd look into this, and Stevens said the company called her to assure her they will make this right.

A spokesman sent this statement:

First American Home Warranty provides our valued customers with budget protection from unexpected repair or replacement costs due to a breakdown of covered home systems and appliances. We have provided the customer with coverage that meets the terms of our contract. Since 2020, First American Home Warranty has helped its customers in Florida with over $44 million in repair and replacement costs on covered items.

Stevens said a representative told her workers will repair the holes and pack with concrete and then patch. Better Call Behnken will continue to follow this issue until it is fully resolved.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Dozens of boats carrying around 200 people traveled along Panama's central Indio River on Friday to protest a planned reservoir in the Panama Canal intended to solve water shortages in the waterway that have threatened international trade flow. Protesters say the construction would force 2,000 people to be relocated from their homes because their communities would be flooded. (AP Video: Matias Delacroix)
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Thursday, a scary sight at the Terre Haute Regional Airport left a plane upside down on the runway.

Officials said the aircraft crashed at approximately 1:50 p.m. afternoon while attempting to land at the airport.

WATCH: First responders on scene at Terre Haute plane crash

The plane belonged to the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Ohio, and was on its way to participate in an airshow in Peru, Illinois.

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President of the Museum, David OMaley, said both the passenger and pilot are in good condition and went on to say, Airplanes and sheet metal can be replaced. The most important thing is that they are both here to talk to us about it.

Craig Mashino, Executive Director of the Terre Haute Regional Airport, also provided WTWO/WAWV with an update and said, Todays goal is recovering the aircraft from the site so that we can re-open the runway today. The other runway is open.

Mashino said the investigation has now been turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In a statement, the airport said the FAA is reviewing the aircraft conditions, the airfield and all personnel involved. They said an investigation of this nature may take several months.

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Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski holds out little hope for a breakthrough in the Russo-Ukrainian war after talks between the delegations of the two nations took place in Turkiye on 16 May, though he believes that it was a test of Russia's intentions.

Source: Sikorski in an interview with German newspaper Tagesspiegel, as reported by European Pravda

Details: When asked to comment on the talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkiye, Sikorski noted that he was not very hopeful that they would "lead to a breakthrough".

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"But you never know," he said. "This is a test of Russia's intentions. If Russia doesn't agree to a ceasefire or makes outrageous demands, it will only confirm our view that Putin is not ready for peace."

Sikorski also believes that Turkiye, which hosted the first Russo-Ukrainian talks since 2022, is playing a "very clever game". While supplying Kyiv with military aid, it simultaneously hosts "millions of Russian tourists".

Background:

On 16 May, talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations were held in Istanbul. Media reports indicated that Moscow had demanded the absence of US representatives from the negotiations with Ukraine and had presented a number of unacceptable conditions to Kyiv.

Following the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov noted that the discussions had covered a ceasefire, humanitarian issues and the possibility of a leader-level meeting.

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Polands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the deadly Russian drone strike on a bus in Sumy Oblast.

Source: Polish Foreign Ministry on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Polish Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to the Ukrainian families of those killed in the Russian attack on a bus near Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast.

"Their deaths  immediately after peace talks  reveal the true intentions of the Kremlin," the ministry said.

Background:

On 17 May, Russia struck a bus carrying passengers near Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast, with a Lancet drone, killing nine people and injuring seven others.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for sanctions against Russia from the European Union and the United States in response to the attack.

On 16 May, talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations were held in Istanbul. Media reports indicated that Moscow had demanded the absence of US representatives from the negotiations with Ukraine and had presented a number of unacceptable conditions to Kyiv.

Following the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov noted that the discussions had covered a ceasefire, humanitarian issues and the possibility of a leader-level meeting.

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CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI)  An investigation is underway into whether several students intentionally short-circuited a Chromebook at Achievement First Iluminar Middle School in Cranston Friday afternoon.

Cranston Police Maj. Todd Patalano told 12 News officers were called to the charter school after a Chromebook malfunctioned in a classroom just before noon.

Patalano said the short-circuiting laptop filled the entire classroom with smoke, which set the fire alarms off.

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The building was evacuated as a result, according to Patalano, though no one was injured.

Patalano told 12 News four 12-year-old students are being questioned by detectives about the potential cause of the laptops failure.

Investigators are also looking into whether the students were partaking in a TikTok trend called the Chromebook Challenge.

The social media trend involves students attempting to short-circuit their laptops by sticking conducive objects  like pencils, paper clips and push pins  into the charging or USB ports. By doing so, the devices can overheat, start smoking and, in some cases, catch fire.

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Patalano said one or more of the students may be charged with fourth-degree arson if detectives determine that the Chromebook was intentionally damaged.

Its not a prank, its a crime, Patalano said.

This comes nearly a week after three Cumberland High School students were caught trying to short-circuit a laptop.

Patalano believes this may be the first time the challenge has been successfully attempted in Rhode Island.

He also hopes it will be the last.

We want to make sure we make an example out of this so it doesnt happen again, Patalano said.

In a statement to 12 News, Achievement Firsts Jacqui Alessi confirmed the students tampered with school-issued Chromebooks, causing the devices to overheat and emit smoke.

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The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority, Alessi said.

Alessi told 12 News that administrators will be reminding the students on Monday of the schools expectations for the proper use of electronic devices in the classroom. Its unclear if the students will be disciplined.

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CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)  A Philadelphia man is facing charges after he allegedly fled from officers and was caught with multiple drugs.

Kasir Patterson, 22, was allegedly caught with cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine after police went to serve a warrant, according to a criminal complaint. On May 15, officers with the Johnstown Police Department were called to a location in Johnstown to help serve a warrant on Patterson for possession with the intent to deliver.

While attempting to make contact, Patterson drove away from police and struck a JPD cruiser in the process. Police noted in the complaint that he also almost struck an officer with his car.

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Centre County man convicted in State College drug trafficking network

A police chase then started down Broad Street and onto Laurel Avenue. Patterson continued to flee from officers as he drove down Strayer Street and onto Piney Alley. According to the affidavit, Patterson then stopped the vehicle and started to run from police on foot. He allegedly jumped over two fences to avoid police but was eventually found hiding in a bush on an abandoned property.

Police noted that a baggie of marijuana was found in Pattersons front pocket. A K9 officer also signaled to his handler that the vehicle Patterson was driving had drugs inside. That vehicle was towed and placed into evidence. According to the complaint, the inspection stickers and the registration were fake.

A search warrant was granted for the vehicle and the following items were allegedly found inside:

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An estimated 2 ounces of cocaine

12 grams of marijuana

An estimated 2 grams of crystal meth

A scale

Other drug paraphernalia

He was taken to Cambria County Prison, according to the complaint. Patterson is facing charges of aggravated assault, flight to avoid apprehension, fraud, drug charges and summary driving charges.

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A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 22.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com.
DENVER (KDVR)  Police are searching for the suspect in a deadly hit-and-run that happened on Interstate 25 early Saturday.

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department told FOX31 that the call reporting the crash came in at 3:08 a.m. The crash happened on southbound I-25 near Colorado Boulevard.

Police said the crash involved two motorists. The suspect vehicle is described as a dark or black pick-up truck.

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A victim in a red sedan was pronounced dead on the scene. Police said it was unknown if that victim was the only person in the car.

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Southbound I-25 was closed near the University Boulevard exit for several hours and was reopened around 6:30 a.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

FOX31 is working to gather more information and this article will be updated.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The Overland Park Police Department (OPPD) has issued a Silver Alert for a missing 81-year-old woman who disappeared three days ago while she was driving home.

According to OPPD, officers are searching for Jerry McConnell, an at-risk woman who reportedly disappeared while driving to her Overland Park home from Harrisonville, Missouri, on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 14.

19 arrested, 36 vehicles towed in street racing, sideshow operation by KCPD

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McConnell was driving a grey 2009 Honda Accord with Texas license plate RFP836, police said.

The Honda Accord of 81-year-old Jerry McConnell, an Overland Park woman who disappeared on May 14, 2025.

She is believed to have been spotted on Thursday, May 15, near Severy, Kansas  a small town located about 155 miles (or 2.5 hours) southwest of Overland Park.

Police ask that if you or anyone you know sees McConnell, please contact OPPD at (913) 895-6300.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned at FOX4 News for the latest updates and information.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Leveraging Newgens Small Business Administration Loan Solution, the US-based financial institution successfully digitised term loans, construction loans, lines of credit, and overdraft facilities on a single interface. Built on a low-code, AI-enabled platform, the solution streamlined the complete loan lifecycle, from new loan origination and renewals to refinancing and existing loan modifications. Furthermore, the bank seamlessly integrated the solution with its core banking system, ensuring real-time data updates across all lending processes. Automated generation of critical documents and timely email alerts helped the bank stay on track and maintain transparency at each stage. With Newgens built-in master data management capabilities and business activity monitoring features, the bank effectively carried out system configurations and furnished rich MIS reports, resulting in more informed decision-making.

Chief Retail Credit Officer at United Community, Pete Peterson, said, Newgen has delivered a well-thought-out solution for our complex workflow scenarios, remarkably improving our user experience. We're now prepared to handle increasing loan volumes and process new deals every month. Newgens team has been highly responsive to our requests for modifications and enhancements throughout the project.

On this collaboration, Sandeep Hinduja, Head of Banking (US) at Newgen Software Inc., said, We are delighted to support United Community in its digital transformation journey. By leveraging our lending platform, United can serve its customers effectively and efficiently, sustaining its commitment to small business success. We remain dedicated to advancing digital innovation in lending, so our partners like United continue to deliver exceptional experiences to the communities/customers they serve.

About United Community Bank

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) is the financial holding company for United Community, a top 100 U.S. financial institution that is committed to improving the financial health and well-being of its customers and the communities it serves. United Community provides a full range of banking, wealth management and mortgage services. As of December 31, 2024, United Community Banks, Inc. had $27.7 billion in assets, 199 offices across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as a national SBA lending franchise and a national equipment lending subsidiary. In 2025, United Community became an 11-time winner of J.D. Power's award for the best customer satisfaction among consumer banks in the Southeast region and was recognised as the most trusted bank in the Southeast. Additionally, United was named by American Banker as one of the "Best Banks to Work For" for the eighth consecutive year. In 2025, United was also recognised in the Greenwich Best Bank awards for the ninth consecutive year, receiving five awards that included national honours for overall satisfaction for middle market banking in the U.S. Forbes has also consistently listed United Community as one of the World's Best Banks and one of America's Best Banks. Additional information about United can be found at ucbi.com.

About Newgen Software Inc.

Newgen is the leading provider of an AI-first unified digital transformation platform with native process automation, content services, customer engagement, and AI/ML capabilities. Globally, successful enterprises rely on Newgens industry-recognised low-code application platform to develop and deploy complex, content-driven, and customer-engaging business applications on the cloud. From onboarding to service requests, lending to underwriting, and for many more use cases across industries, Newgen unlocks simplicity with speed and agility.

For more details, visit www.newgensoft.com
The head of professional standards at Dorset Police is being investigated over sexual misconduct allegations, The Telegraph can reveal.

Det Supt Ricky Dhanda took on the role after his predecessor, Paul Kessell, was forced to resign after pleading guilty to a drink driving charge.

Mr Dhanda is understood to have been brought into the force at the same time as former Chief Constable Scott Chilton, who retired last month after moving to Hampshire Police following being accused of having relationships with two colleagues.

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A spokesman for Dorset Police confirmed that Mr Dhanda was currently on restricted duties and had been served with a notice of gross misconduct.

If found guilty of gross misconduct proceedings, he faces dismissal from the force.

A spokesman for the force said: Dorset Police received a report in April 2025 about an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship between a serving, senior officer and a colleague.

The allegations relate to a non-recent matter when the officer and complainant were working at another police force.

A proactive referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) at the earliest opportunity and it has been referred back to the force for local investigation.

Restricted duties

The officer has been placed on restricted duties to ensure the effectiveness of any investigation.

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The spokesman noted that just because a gross misconduct notice had been issued it did not mean disciplinary proceedings would necessarily follow.

They added that no criminal offences have currently been identified during the investigation.

They said: Dorset Police takes reports about the conduct of our officers, staff or volunteers very seriously, and we encourage people to report any concerns so that we can investigate them and take any and all appropriate action.

Speaking to The Telegraph, a police source who served in the force for a number of years said: Dorset Police have bent over backwards to show they are beyond reproach when it comes to high standards, morality and values.

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They have placed misconduct matters involving junior officers in the public domain at the earliest possible opportunity.

He said officers had been publicly humiliated, lost their careers and faced financial hardship as a result of being held to the very highest of standards with no margin for error.

He added: It turns out that senior leaders trust in Supt Dhanda, may have been misplaced if there is any truth to the allegations he faces.

Not a good look

The source continued: This is not a good look for Dorset Police. This is the second head of their professional standards department in as many years to be suspended from duty faced with allegations of gross misconduct.

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Prior to joining Dorset Police, Mr Dhanda was employed by Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.

While working in Hampshire he was charged with making the force the employer of choice for the BME (black, ethnic and minority) community, according to his LinkedIn page.

Mr Dhanda, who has been in the police for 14 years, said he was Hampshires first Fast Track Officer.

Sources told The Telegraph that Mr Dhanda had been brought into Dorset Police by Mr Chilton.

Mr Chilton moved to Hampshire Police in 2023 but he retired last month after he too was told he was under investigation by the IOPC for two alleged workplace relationships.

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The IOPC said it would continue its investigation regardless of Mr Chiltons retirement.

The allegations against Mr Chilton were first made by the former Det Chief Insp Roger Wood, who himself was found to have committed gross misconduct after striking up sexual relationships with junior police staff.

Banned from serving

Asked at his own hearing if having an affair was misconduct, it is understood that Wood, who quit while under investigation, said: Well the chief constable had an affair.

That led to a mandatory referral to the police watchdog on Feb 27, a week after Woods hearing concluded with him being banned from serving again.

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Mr Dhandas predecessor resigned as a detective superintendent at Dorset Police after pleading guilty to driving while three times the legal limit at Southampton Magistrates Court last September.

Kessell, 45, of Stoborough, Dorset, was subsequently found guilty of gross misconduct by the force, which said he would have been dismissed if he had not already resigned.

He admitted drink driving along the A352 at Wool, near Wareham, on Aug 4 and has now been banned from driving for 25 months.

Kessell was stopped on the night of the incident and gave a breath test, with a reading of 115 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

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Prosecuting, David Finney, said Kessell was arrested after members of the public alerted police about his driving.

David Hurley, defending, said his client had been suffering mental health difficulties.

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UPDATE 9:14 p.m.  New information has been provided by the Terre Haute Police Department regarding the standoff earlier today.

According to a Facebook post from THPD, shortly after 5 p.m., officers attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle that had committed several traffic violations. The driver did not stop, and a pursuit began that led officers through downtown south on 13th Street before ending up in a parking lot by the intersection of Canal Street and Margaret Avenue.

The suspect voluntarily came to a stop, and officers attempted a second time to conduct a traffic stop. The suspect not only refused to leave the vehicle but also threatened to shoot and kill officers if they approached the vehicle.

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Out of caution, THPD contacted the SWAT team, who responded with armored vehicles to contain the situation, officials said in a news release. THPD officers attempted to engage in negotiations with the suspect before hostage negotiators took over. After hours of negotiation, the man committed suicide.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and WTWO will update the story if more information becomes available. The police ask the public to avoid the area at this time.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Police are asking the public to avoid the area of Canal Street and Margaret Avenue while police are in a standoff.

This is according to Sgt. Matt Ames with the Indiana State Police. WTWO has a reporter on scene who can confirm a massive police presence, including armored vehicles in the area.

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According to a post on Facebook from the Terre Haute Police Department, The SWAT team has been deployed by the Terre Haute Police Department to assist the uniformed officers on scene. The suspect is confirmed to be armed and is refusing to exit their vehicle.

The suspects vehicle is currently being held in the area by Armored units and hostage negotiators who are communicating with the suspect.

The situation is still active and WTWO will update this story as more information becomes available.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Russian hackers targeted websites of parties in his ruling coalition just two days before the country's presidential election, AP reported on May 16.

Tusk said the cyberattacks hit the website of his Civic Platform party, as well as those of its coalition partners, the Left and the Polish People's Party (PSL).

"Two days before the elections, a group of Russian hackers operating on Telegram attacked the websites of the Civic Platform," Tusk wrote on the social platform X. "Our services are conducting intensive operations. The attack is still on."

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The frontrunner in Sundays vote is Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a senior member of Civic Platform.

Polish authorities are also investigating paid political ads on Facebook that a state research institute flagged as possible election interference. The National Research and Academic Computer Network, known by its Polish acronym NASK, said it reported the misleading ads to Meta, which owns Facebook, and that the ads were removed.

"Ad accounts involved in the campaign have spent more on political content than any election committee in the past seven days," NASK said in a statement on May 14, claiming that actions were "intended to ostensibly support one of the candidates and discredit others."

Poland has faced a surge in cyberattacks in recent years. In late 2024, officials reported up to 1,000 daily cyber incidents believed to be carried out by Russian and Belarusian actors. Authorities have linked the attacks to Poland's support for Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion.

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In September 2024, the Polish government accused Russia and Belarus of extorting information, blackmailing individuals and institutions, and waging "de facto cyberwar."

Russian hybrid operations in Europe are becoming more frequent and aggressive, especially since the start of Russias full-scale invasion, the EBU Investigative Journalism Network reported in January, citing 20 government, military, and intelligence officials from 10 countries.

Ukraine and Europe in March signed a memorandum of understanding to support joint research, innovation, and EU-funded projects in cross-border cybersecurity projects.

Read also: France accuses Russia of escalating cyberattacks since 2021, charges GRUs Fancy Bear unit

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Nearly half of registered Republicans surveyed by a pollster in May said they would support Vice President JD Vance in a primary to succeed Donald Trump in 2028.

A J.L. Partners poll given to the New York Post found that 46 percent of respondents would back Vance, making him the only potential candidate with double-digit support.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in a distant second at 8 percent, followed by the Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at 7 percent. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz each received 6 percent, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley 5 percent.

Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris, photographed together in 2022, are the early favorites in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. / OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP via Getty Images

For Democrats, the poll found the most likely 2028 nominee is former Vice President Kamala Harris, who had 30 percent support, followed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who had 8 percent backing. Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gavin Newsom of California came in at 7 percent each,

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The poll did not consider Trump, 78, as a potential Republican candidate. He will be termed out of office in January 2029, but he and his close allies have signaled he might try to bypass the Constitution and run for office a third time.

Vice President JD Vance is typically seated to President Donald Trumps left when world leaders meet him in the Oval Office. From this seat, Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this year for not being grateful enough for U.S. financial support. / Kevin Mohatt / REUTERS

Vance, 40, has fully embraced his place in MAGA despite once detesting Trump, calling the then-candidate Americas Hitler in 2016. He has been a staunch Trump defender recently and had his loyalty rewarded by being added to the presidential ticket last summer, just two years after he was first elected to public office.

DeSantis, 46, fell out of favor with Trump in 2023 when he campaigned against him in a Republican primary. He may be the most popular candidate for conservatives who do not want to see the MAGA movement continue another four years.

Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis, both from Florida, may face off in the 2028 Republican presidential primary. / CARLO ALLEGRI / REUTERS

Rubio, 53, ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries and was insultingly nicknamed Little Marco by the current president. Rubio and Trump have since become close allies, with the ex-senator from Florida reportedly landing on Trumps VP shortlist last summer. He is firmly embedded in MAGA as a top official in the Trump administration, but he is not as bombastic as Trump, Vance, or even DeSantis.

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Trump said in March that the future of MAGA looked so strong, with Rubio and Vance appearing to be the early favorites to get the presidents backing come primary season.

You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, whos fantastic, he told NBC News in an interview on Meet the Press. You look atI could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here. No, I think we have a tremendous party.
Last week came news that lit up my family group text: The new Pope, Leo XIV, the cleric formerly known as Robert Francis Prevost, is, like me, descended from a long line of Catholic Creoles. It is a distinctly American  and yet also distinctly Caribbean  ethnicity, rooted in the complexities of slavery, pre-Louisiana Purchase colonialism, language, music, food and religion.

Were a minority within a minority; African American, yes, but somehow other.

Creoles, a Louisiana amalgam of African, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Native peoples, have long occupied a singular and little-noticed place (that is, little-noticed outside Louisiana) in the American racial hierarchy. Yes, there are mixed-race populations scattered throughout the United States, and most Black Americans have multiracial ancestry , thanks to the sordid realities of slavery and rape.

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But race-mixing in Louisiana hit different. While slavery was an abomination there like everywhere else, French and Spanish colonists were a lot more laissez-faire about miscegenating than their compatriots in the original 13 colonies. Which is to say, they were quite open about it. There were the infamous Quadroon Balls in New Orleans , where well-heeled white men reportedly went hunting for comely mixed-race women. And there were placage arrangements, where rich white men entered contractual arrangements with women of color, women who were usually free, sometimes not, setting them up with property (which occasionally included enslaved people) and often sending the male offspring of their unions to be educated in France.

There was this whole system of different categories for races in the Latinate world, says Andrew Prevot, a professor in Catholic Studies at Georgetown University, who also hails from Creole stock. Because of that, he says, race-mixing in Louisiana wasnt as stigmatized or shameful.

It was a Creole genealogist from New Orleans, Jari Honora, who unearthed the Popes Black Creole roots , documenting his maternal lineage through U.S. Census records, birth certificates and marriage licenses. (The Popes official Vatican biography says Pope Leos mother is of Spanish descent. ) The news  confirmed by his brother  of the Popes Louisiana Creole ancestry sent the internet into a tizzy. Was the Pope Black? The answer is complicated. Identity is complicated. But one thing appears to be certain: The Pope has African roots. As do a number of white Americans , particularly if they hail from the South.

The ancestry of our first American Pope matters because it reflects this countrys convoluted  and multiracial  past, present and future. Race is the great measuring stick in this country. It is used to define and divide virtually every aspect of American life. As a nation, we're obsessed with categorizing ourselves, categorizations that have deep, lasting impact on every facet of our lives, from our health to our finances to where we are able to live. Still, while we paint ourselves in stark shades of Black and white, underneath the simple, two-toned veneer, is a complex, multicolored palette.

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We often think of race in the U.S. as a Black-white binary, which I think is a mistake, says Prevot, So I think the Pope and all of his complex background maybe can help us see some of the complexity of [race in America] in a better way.



Pre-Civil War Louisiana was a big, free-flowing mix of races and cultures, well beyond the Indigenous people originally on the land, the French and Spanish colonists, and the enslaved and free people of African descent. Also thrown into the mix were Cubans and post-revolution Haitians who flowed in and out of Louisiana, as well as Filipino sailors , Mexicans and Puerto Ricans , earning New Orleans the sobriquet of the  northernmost Caribbean city.

Out of all of this amalgamating emerged an elite class of French-speaking Creoles of color, or gens de couleur, who operated in a different strata than their enslaved brethren and sistren. They were highly educated, deeply Catholic property owners, newspaper publishers, lawyers and entrepreneurs who were a recognized part of antebellum Louisiana society. Many of them were active in politics, pushing for civil rights and abolition. (It should be noted that other Creoles were not so fortunate, and remained enslaved during this time  New Orleans was also home to the largest slave market in antebellum America .)

That all changed with the end of the Reconstruction Era, when Americain-style segregation was codified into law. Creoles of color were officially classified as Black and were stripped of their rights, including voting. Segregation became the norm. Some of the more passe blanc Creoles opted to live as white; others could not  or chose not to.

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Unable to bear their sudden change in status, some well-to-do Creole men killed themselves .

But because New Orleans had such a deep bench of successful people of color  who refused to cede the power and relative equality to which theyd grown accustomed  the city became a center of resistance to segregation. As my colleague Peter Canellos writes in his book, The Great Dissenter , a cadre of prominent Creoles formed the Comite des Citoyens (Citizens Committee) to advocate for civil rights. They decided to push the limits of Jim Crow segregation  hoping to take it all the way to the Supreme Court  and enlisted Homer Plessy, a fair-skinned Creole cobbler and activist .

With the full expectation that he would be arrested, Plessy purchased a first-class train ticket and sat in the whites only section. Plessy, the son of two mixed-race Creoles, was light enough to pass for white, which is why the committee chose him for this act of civil disobedience. (The idea was to demonstrate the absurdity of strict Black-white segregation in such a heavily mixed-race society.) The committee had an unlikely co-conspirator: Railroad companies chafed at the financial burden of building separate railcars. So the committee was able to recruit a conductor to help with their cause. As the very white-looking Plessy sat in the whites-only section, the conductor stopped to ask him if he was colored.

When Plessy answered in the affirmative, he was promptly hauled off to jail.

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The resulting lawsuit, Plessy v. Ferguson, made it all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1896, the justices ruled that separate but equal policies didnt violate the Constitution  codifying segregation in schools, transportation, hotels, beaches and churches. Homer Plessys case failed at the Supreme Court, but his principled stand laid the groundwork for the 20th-century civil rights movement.

More than a century later, we Creoles are getting our place on the international stage with Pope Leo, whose maternal lineage can be traced to the famously Creole 7th Ward in New Orleans, a hub for civil rights activism  and where Homer Plessy also once lived.



New Orleans is the kind of place where you can pull up to a bar in the French Quarter and the bartender will look you up and down and say, You dont sound like youre from here, but you sure do look like youre from here. Or how a local will ask you your last name  last names are a great signifier  and be able to tell you exactly from which parish your family originally hailed.

Louisianians have always celebrated the mixing of genes, the blending of races and cultures into a potent ancestral gumbo. And sometimes, that meant glorifying ones proximity to whiteness and power: The lighter you were, the straighter your hair, the more attractive you were deemed, the more worthy. In some circles, Creole became associated with colorism and intraracial bigotry, maintaining the (light) color line by any means necessary, even though Creoles run the gamut in phenotype and skin tone, literally from ivory to ebony. (And many, such as Christophe Landry, a Creole genealogist/historian/linguist, define Creole in the traditional sense: people who were native to Louisiana, who were Roman Catholic and spoke French/French Creole, no matter their race .)

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Families could be categorized differently from census to census, depending on who was doing the eyeballing or how racially mixed people were being categorized that particular decade. Like the Popes family, my family was listed as Black and mulatto on different censuses  and in one census my paternal great-grandfather, Galbert Wiltz, who spoke no English, was listed as both mulatto and white.

While color was fluid for Creoles, Catholicism was not. The Church played a role in almost every aspect of Creole life in Louisiana, overseeing baptisms, marriages, funerals, building schools and hospitals. Theres a reason why New Orleans is home to the first  and only  Black Catholic HBCU, Xavier University, where most of my New Orleans family, my grandmother, my dad, my aunts, uncles, cousins, attended.

Louisianians are particularly tied to place, ever cognizant of their rich heritage, culture and language. For older generations of Creoles, like my paternal grandfather, French and French Creole were their first languages. English was something learned much later, in school. That deep connection to place still holds to this day.

But for many Creoles at the turn of the 20th century, much like the Popes family, that sense of place was no longer enough to sustain them. As Jim Crow hardened in Louisiana, living there felt untenable for many. Creoles scattered around the country, as part of the Great Migration, my family included, creating a diaspora. Some moved to Houston. Others hightailed it to New York and Washington, D.C. Many more moved to California  and like the Popes maternal grandparents and some of my family, to Chicago.

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But life up north wasnt easy, either. As one of the twins says in Ryan Cooglers blockbuster film, Sinners, Chicago was just another Mississippi with tall buildings instead of plantations.

The South was a very, very segregated world, says Landry, a research team manager with Ancestry.com . So was Chicago.

If you wanted to move up and have opportunities, Landry says, you would let people see you the way they saw you.

And if, like the Popes family, people saw them as white, then so be it.

Take the case of Anatole Broyard, a New York Times literary critic who was born in 1920 in New Orleans to two Black Creole parents and migrated with his family to New York when he was a child. Some of his family members were a little more pigmented than he was, but Broyard was light enough to pass, and so he did . He did it so successfully that his own children never knew he was Black until he was on his deathbed in 1990  and even then, it was their mother who revealed Broyards secret .

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Neither Broyards story nor the Popes are unique. Years ago, I met a man, olive-skinned with a thick thatch of curls, who told me that he was Creole. But growing up as a kid in Denver, he said, his parents never bothered to tell him that meant that he was of partial African descent  which is to say, Black. It wasnt until he was a fully grown man that he learned what Creole meant. And it blew his mind.

I hear these stories and cant help but think about whats been lost  families, culture, language, a richly complicated heritage.

I dont know what the Popes mother told him about his Creoleness, about his Blackness. In an interview with the New York Times, the Popes brother acknowledged the familys Creole roots . But, he said, his family didnt really talk about it  nor did they consider themselves Black. Which is fair: So much of your racial experience in the world depends on how said world sees you. Still, under Louisiana law until 1983, the one-drop rule was on the law books , defining anyone with 1/32 African ancestry as legally Negro, no matter how they identified , or how others might perceive them. So in another place and time, the Pope would be  Black.

What does that matter? Or, why does that matter?

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Yes, race is a construct . But its a construct with real-life impacts on very real lives.

Black Catholics, particularly Catholic Creoles of color, are claiming him . As my New Orleans cousin, Bernadette, texted me when news of his identity broke, I thought he was Creole as soon as he stepped on that balcony.

Black Catholics tend to celebrate historic figures in our community, even when they pass as white, because we claim them. We're happy about them, says Prevot. But it also can be more meaningful if someone in his situation actually publicly claims [that] as part of his identity.

As Prevot sees it, the stakes are larger than the Popes own personal identity: It's also a question of, how is he going to elevate the needs and concerns of not just Black Catholics, but Black people and racially minoritized communities? What can he do there? I mean, the Catholic Church has a checkered track record there.
(NewsNation)  The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum released its Pope Leo XIV bobbleheads on May 9, selling 2,000 in its first week to customers across 47 states, according to a press release.

The bobbleheads have been popular in Chicago where the pontiff was born and raised and in Philadelphia where he went to college, the museum said.

The 8-inch bobblehead is on presale with an anticipated November shipping date. Each costs $30 plus shipping and taxes. One depicts the pope waving one arm, commemorating his first greeting in his new role to a crowd of over 150,000 in St. Peters Square on May 11. Another is of him in the papal white robe called a cassock with his hands held by his chest.

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This is nuts: How Louis Prevost learned his brother became pope

Pope Leo XIV was elected earlier this month after his predecessor Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. The museum also sells Francis bobbleheads for the same price.

Some of the museums best sellers include Dr. Fauci, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sister Jean, a religious figure.

Leo merch has quickly become a favorite among Catholics, Chicagoans and many more. The Chicago Sun-Times released Da Pope! commemorate merchandise, including a special edition newspaper, T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, tote bags and magnets.

The popular Chicago hot dog restaurant Portillos released The Leo Italian beef sandwich as well.

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The White Sox announced plans to unveil a graphic installation at Rate Field to mark the location where Leo cheered for Chicago in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
VATICAN CITY  After Chicago native Pope Leo XIV made history as the first American elected pontiff, the Rev. Homero Sanchez sent him a quick text saying, Congratulations Holy Pope.

The priest from St. Rita of Cascia Parish on the citys Southwest Side went to bed that night not expecting an immediate reply from the newly selected leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide  even if he had been his friend, mentor and Augustinian brother for the past 15 years.

Yet when Sanchez awoke around 1 a.m. Friday and reflexively checked his phone, there was a response.

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Hours after Robert Francis Prevost was named the successor of St. Peter, the 267th pope texted Sanchez three emojis of hands pressed together in prayer, followed by a few words in Spanish that translated to blessings, a hug.

Honestly, the first thing I thought was that cant be real, Sanchez said. Just the fact that he replied made me think that he is still our brother. Can you imagine? The pope is taking the time to acknowledge me.

Now Sanchez is elated to attend Pope Leo XIVs inaugural Mass in St. Peters Square on Sunday, marking the official start of his papacy. He flew into Rome on Thursday and is staying with several other Chicago-area friends of the new pope who also made the journey.

I want to be there for him, the priest said. He needs our prayers.

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Like Sanchez, many Chicago-area Catholics are making the nearly 4,000-mile pilgrimage to the Vatican to witness the inauguration Mass and other papal events this month, eager to celebrate one of their own rising to become Catholicisms spiritual leader.

Some travelers scrambled to book last-minute airfare and rapidly evaporating accommodations to attend the liturgical service, which is expected to draw a litany of global faith leaders and world dignitaries, including Vice President JD Vance, who is leading an American delegation there.

Some were fortunate to already be in Rome on trips scheduled long before white smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on May 8, signaling the papal conclave had chosen a new pope.

Others, unable to travel so far on such short notice, plan to watch livestreams of the Mass and pray for the new Holy Father from home.

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A few days before the ceremony, St. Peters Square was bustling with throngs of international tourists, dotted by an occasional priest or nun passing by. Several large screens for the expected overflow crowds lined Via della Conciliazione, the avenue linking the square to the Tiber River.

During his whirlwind trip, Sanchez has been sightseeing at historic churches, shopping for souvenirs for his parishioners and spending time with his fellow Augustinians at the General Curia of the Order of Saint Augustine, where Prevost had lived for more than a decade when he served as prior general, the leader of Augustinians worldwide.

The priest said it was important for him to be present in the crowd on Sunday, to support the pope.

I want to be there because I am grateful for the compassion that he showed to me, he said.

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When Sanchez transferred from Mexico to Chicago years ago, Prevost offered him guidance as he acclimated to a new culture and language.

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The priest described Prevost  a 69-year-old longtime Augustinian missionary  as a hard worker who brings humility to the top.

Years ago, Prevosts father helped to fund a new seminary in Trujillo, Peru, where his son served as a missionary; theres a plaque in the chapel of the seminary commemorating the donation, Sanchez recalled.

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At the time, Prevost was working as a professor by day and would help construct the seminary in the evenings.

He was physically building, the priest said. He was not the person who would kind of watch how they would build. No, he was grabbing the shovel and doing what he has to do.  It was hard work.

Pope Leo XIV will be an approachable leader who will listen to different perspectives and relate to all kinds of people, Sanchez predicted. He will prioritize the poor and marginalized.

This is not a fancy pope that we have, the priest said. We have a person who has made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. And has lived them out in his own life.

Discernment, deepening faith

Loyola University Chicago student Caleb Ham strolled past the iconic 84-foot-high Vatican Obelisk in the center of St. Peters Square on Thursday, surrounded by the sites iconic elliptical colonnades, which represent the Catholic Church embracing humanity. A hundred and forty statues of Catholic saints decorate the top, gazing down at the piazza below.

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The 19-year-old has been studying abroad in Rome since August. While his freshman year ended earlier this month, Ham extended his stay so he could attend the popes inaugural Mass.

The installation really just makes it fully official, Ham said. Im so excited to see that.

While in high school, Ham contemplated becoming a priest and would spend a weekend each month at a nearby seminary to discern his faith.

For now, hes decided attending university is the best path, but opted to spend his first year of school in Rome to deepen his spirituality.

Ham sometimes visits St. Peters Square at night, when the piazza is quieter and the majestic colonnades are illuminated in the darkness. He often marvels that hes able to be in such close proximity to the pope.

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When Pope Francis was hospitalized with pneumonia earlier this year, Ham would stop outside Romes Gemelli Hospital to recite the rosary for the pontiff, who died the day after Easter.

As white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney earlier this month, Ham and his fellow Loyola students sprinted to St. Peters Square to watch as Pope Leo XIV first stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peters Basilica.

The news that the pontiff was American seemed wild, he recalled.

But when the Loyola students learned more about the Holy Fathers roots, they started jumping up and down, shouting, Hes from Chicago!

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Ham said he feels closer to the pope because hes attending school in the place of his birth. Ham looks forward to seeing the pontiffs childhood home, the site of his former church and walking in the steps of the pope in the Chicago area when he returns to campus.

As Ham prepares to leave Rome, he still hasnt settled the question of whether hell one day attend seminary.

Its always something to keep in my mind as a possibility, he added.

Blessed from birth

Louis Prevost believes his mother and father would be overjoyed if they had lived to see their youngest child become pope.

Growing up in south suburban Dolton, the close-knit Catholic family recited the rosary together every night, he recalled. His mother attended Mass daily at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish on the Far South Side. On days off from school, Robert Prevost  the youngest of three sons  would voluntarily go with her.

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His desire to enter the priesthood came at a very young age.

In second grade, one of the nuns at St. Marys declared, Robert Francis, I think youre going to be pope one day, recalled Louis Prevost, 73, in a telephone interview with the Tribune from his Florida home. When I heard that, as his older brother, the teasing did not stop. He had that something about him. Way back then.

When the cardinal came to the balcony of St. Peters Basilica to announce the name of the new pope earlier this month, the wait felt like an eternity, for the older brother, who watched a livestream from home.

When he started getting to the Roberto part, Im 99.99% sure its going to be my brother, Louis Prevost said. When he said Francisco, that sealed the deal.

The older brother began jumping on the bed in exhilaration, doing a silly little kid dance at the news.

It was just incredible, he said. I cant put into words what it feels like to see and hear that my little brother has just become pope of the church. Its mind-blowing.

In Pope Leo XIVs first public address, he invoked peace, bridge-building and unity. Louis Prevost recalled that his brother had a knack for diplomacy, even as a child.

While in grade school, the older brother once convinced him to ride bikes in a section of the forest preserve where they werent supposed to go. They were approached by five or six unscrupulous characters who were armed with knives and demanded that they give up their bicycles, Louis Prevost recalled.

The older brother began preparing to fight in self-defense.

But the younger brother gets off his bike and says wait, and goes over there and talks to those guys. And in five minutes all the knives were put away. And theyre laughing and telling us they want to be our friends, Louis Prevost said.

Later, Louis Prevost asked his younger brother what words he used to de-escalate the situation.

I just talked to them, he recalled his brother responding. That was my first real life encounter with this magic touch he has, the older brother said, laughing.

As of Tuesday, Louis Prevost said he wasnt sure if hed be able to attend his brothers inaugural Mass; he said he received a call from Vances office that morning asking if hed like to travel to the Vatican as a guest of the White House, but Louis Prevost wasnt sure if hed be able to find last-minute lodging in Rome.

The familys middle son, 71-year-old John Prevost of New Lenox, already has visited their youngest brother since he became pontiff, and recently returned to the Chicago area from Vatican City.

Louis Prevost said if he cant be there in person for the inaugural Mass, hell be supporting his brother in spirit from across the globe.

He never wavered, from very young to this very day, Louis Prevost added. Its like he was blessed from birth.

Least among us

At the upcoming inaugural Mass, Cardinal Blase Cupich predicts the new pope will share more about his choice in selecting the name Leo.

Scholars have noted that his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was known for his defense of the rights of working people.

The new pope has spoken about that around the edges, but I think that were going to hear more about that this coming Sunday, said the Archbishop of Chicago during a recent phone interview.

Cupich, as part of the conclave, had watched Pope Leo XIVs first moments as pontiff from an adjacent balcony at St. Peters Basilica earlier this month, as some 250,000 people cheered below.

He called that scene exhilarating.

To see those wonderful arms of the colonnade of St Peters actually embrace the crowd that was there gave me a sense of how unified humanity can be, particularly at a time when theres enormous polarization and division in the world today, he said.

The cardinal is scheduled to return to Vatican City for the inaugural Mass; he anticipates a similar spirit will permeate the faithful gathered there on Sunday.

There is so much that unites us that we should pay attention to, he said. I hope the experience on Sunday will be another opportunity for us to appreciate that.

The Rev. Martin Connell had already planned to be in Rome this week. The dean of Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago brought 10 students on an annual trip to tour Catholic pilgrimage sites; they quickly changed their plans for Sunday so theyll be able attend the inaugural Mass.

Connell intends to show them a statue in St. Peters Square that moved him the last time he was in the Vatican. The 20-foot bronze sculpture titled Angels Unawares depicts a boat of diverse immigrants and refugees. It was unveiled by Pope Francis in 2019.

In the middle of this wonderful spot, the magnificence of this square and of the Basilica itself, it is a reminder: Be careful. Dont let your eyes miss something really important. And it is this. The least among us, Connell said.

The priest and academic believes Pope Leo XIV will in many ways follow the trajectory of Pope Francis, showing a similar commitment to care for immigrants, refugees and others who are often overlooked or disparaged.

But Pope Leo is not stepping into a shadow. Hes stepping into his own light, Connell added. Hes been shaped by a different charism, different experiences and a different moment in the church world than it was when Pope Francis began leading in 2013. Im certain that these gospel values, which are perennial, are going to be part of his pontificate. What that looks like, whos to say?
VATICAN CITY  After Chicago native Pope Leo XIV made history as the first American elected pontiff, the Rev. Homero Sanchez sent him a quick text saying, Congratulations Holy Pope.

The priest from St. Rita of Cascia Parish on the citys Southwest Side went to bed that night not expecting an immediate reply from the newly selected leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide  even if he had been his friend, mentor and Augustinian brother for the past 15 years.

Yet when Sanchez awoke around 1 a.m. Friday and reflexively checked his phone, there was a response.

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Hours after Robert Francis Prevost was named the successor of St. Peter, the 267th pope texted Sanchez three emojis of hands pressed together in prayer, followed by a few words in Spanish that translated to blessings, a hug.

Honestly, the first thing I thought was that cant be real, Sanchez said. Just the fact that he replied made me think that he is still our brother. Can you imagine? The pope is taking the time to acknowledge me.

Now Sanchez is elated to attend Pope Leo XIVs inaugural Mass in St. Peters Square on Sunday, marking the official start of his papacy. He flew into Rome on Thursday and is staying with several other Chicago-area friends of the new pope who also made the journey.

I want to be there for him, the priest said. He needs our prayers.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Like Sanchez, many Chicago-area Catholics are making the nearly 4,000-mile pilgrimage to the Vatican to witness the inauguration Mass and other papal events this month, eager to celebrate one of their own rising to become Catholicisms spiritual leader.

Some travelers scrambled to book last-minute airfare and rapidly evaporating accommodations to attend the liturgical service, which is expected to draw a litany of global faith leaders and world dignitaries, including Vice President JD Vance, who is leading an American delegation there.

Some were fortunate to already be in Rome on trips scheduled long before white smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on May 8, signaling the papal conclave had chosen a new pope.

Others, unable to travel so far on such short notice, plan to watch livestreams of the Mass and pray for the new Holy Father from home.

Advertisement Advertisement

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A few days before the ceremony, St. Peters Square was bustling with throngs of international tourists, dotted by an occasional priest or nun passing by. Several large screens for the expected overflow crowds lined Via della Conciliazione, the avenue linking the square to the Tiber River.

During his whirlwind trip, Sanchez has been sightseeing at historic churches, shopping for souvenirs for his parishioners and spending time with his fellow Augustinians at the General Curia of the Order of Saint Augustine, where Prevost had lived for more than a decade when he served as prior general, the leader of Augustinians worldwide.

The priest said it was important for him to be present in the crowd on Sunday, to support the pope.

I want to be there because I am grateful for the compassion that he showed to me, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

When Sanchez transferred from Mexico to Chicago years ago, Prevost offered him guidance as he acclimated to a new culture and language.

The priest described Prevost  a 69-year-old longtime Augustinian missionary  as a hard worker who brings humility to the top.

Years ago, Prevosts father helped to fund a new seminary in Trujillo, Peru, where his son served as a missionary; theres a plaque in the chapel of the seminary commemorating the donation, Sanchez recalled.

At the time, Prevost was working as a professor by day and would help construct the seminary in the evenings.

He was physically building, the priest said. He was not the person who would kind of watch how they would build. No, he was grabbing the shovel and doing what he has to do.  It was hard work.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Pope Leo XIV will be an approachable leader who will listen to different perspectives and relate to all kinds of people, Sanchez predicted. He will prioritize the poor and marginalized.

This is not a fancy pope that we have, the priest said. We have a person who has made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. And has lived them out in his own life.

Discernment, deepening faith

Loyola University Chicago student Caleb Ham strolled past the iconic 84-foot-high Vatican Obelisk in the center of St. Peters Square on Thursday, surrounded by the sites iconic elliptical colonnades, which represent the Catholic Church embracing humanity. A hundred and forty statues of Catholic saints decorate the top, gazing down at the piazza below.

The 19-year-old has been studying abroad in Rome since August. While his freshman year ended earlier this month, Ham extended his stay so he could attend the popes inaugural Mass.

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The installation really just makes it fully official, Ham said. Im so excited to see that.

While in high school, Ham contemplated becoming a priest and would spend a weekend each month at a nearby seminary to discern his faith.

For now, hes decided attending university is the best path, but opted to spend his first year of school in Rome to deepen his spirituality.

Ham sometimes visits St. Peters Square at night, when the piazza is quieter and the majestic colonnades are illuminated in the darkness. He often marvels that hes able to be in such close proximity to the pope.

When Pope Francis was hospitalized with pneumonia earlier this year, Ham would stop outside Romes Gemelli Hospital to recite the rosary for the pontiff, who died the day after Easter.

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As white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney earlier this month, Ham and his fellow Loyola students sprinted to St. Peters Square to watch as Pope Leo XIV first stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peters Basilica.

The news that the pontiff was American seemed wild, he recalled.

But when the Loyola students learned more about the Holy Fathers roots, they started jumping up and down, shouting, Hes from Chicago!

Ham said he feels closer to the pope because hes attending school in the place of his birth. Ham looks forward to seeing the pontiffs childhood home, the site of his former church and walking in the steps of the pope in the Chicago area when he returns to campus.

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As Ham prepares to leave Rome, he still hasnt settled the question of whether hell one day attend seminary.

Its always something to keep in my mind as a possibility, he added.

Blessed from birth

Louis Prevost believes his mother and father would be overjoyed if they had lived to see their youngest child become pope.

Growing up in south suburban Dolton, the close-knit Catholic family recited the rosary together every night, he recalled. His mother attended Mass daily at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish on the Far South Side. On days off from school, Robert Prevost  the youngest of three sons  would voluntarily go with her.

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His desire to enter the priesthood came at a very young age.

In second grade, one of the nuns at St. Marys declared, Robert Francis, I think youre going to be pope one day, recalled Louis Prevost, 73, in a telephone interview with the Tribune from his Florida home. When I heard that, as his older brother, the teasing did not stop. He had that something about him. Way back then.

When the cardinal came to the balcony of St. Peters Basilica to announce the name of the new pope earlier this month, the wait felt like an eternity, for the older brother, who watched a livestream from home.

When he started getting to the Roberto part, Im 99.99% sure its going to be my brother, Louis Prevost said. When he said Francisco, that sealed the deal.

The older brother began jumping on the bed in exhilaration, doing a silly little kid dance at the news.

It was just incredible, he said. I cant put into words what it feels like to see and hear that my little brother has just become pope of the church. Its mind-blowing.

In Pope Leo XIVs first public address, he invoked peace, bridge-building and unity. Louis Prevost recalled that his brother had a knack for diplomacy, even as a child.

While in grade school, the older brother once convinced him to ride bikes in a section of the forest preserve where they werent supposed to go. They were approached by five or six unscrupulous characters who were armed with knives and demanded that they give up their bicycles, Louis Prevost recalled.

The older brother began preparing to fight in self-defense.

But the younger brother gets off his bike and says wait, and goes over there and talks to those guys. And in five minutes all the knives were put away. And theyre laughing and telling us they want to be our friends, Louis Prevost said.

Later, Louis Prevost asked his younger brother what words he used to de-escalate the situation.

I just talked to them, he recalled his brother responding. That was my first real life encounter with this magic touch he has, the older brother said, laughing.

As of Tuesday, Louis Prevost said he wasnt sure if hed be able to attend his brothers inaugural Mass; he said he received a call from Vances office that morning asking if hed like to travel to the Vatican as a guest of the White House, but Louis Prevost wasnt sure if hed be able to find last-minute lodging in Rome.

The familys middle son, 71-year-old John Prevost of New Lenox, already has visited their youngest brother since he became pontiff, and recently returned to the Chicago area from Vatican City.

Louis Prevost said if he cant be there in person for the inaugural Mass, hell be supporting his brother in spirit from across the globe.

He never wavered, from very young to this very day, Louis Prevost added. Its like he was blessed from birth.

Least among us

At the upcoming inaugural Mass, Cardinal Blase Cupich predicts the new pope will share more about his choice in selecting the name Leo.

Scholars have noted that his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was known for his defense of the rights of working people.

The new pope has spoken about that around the edges, but I think that were going to hear more about that this coming Sunday, said the Archbishop of Chicago during a recent phone interview.

Cupich, as part of the conclave, had watched Pope Leo XIVs first moments as pontiff from an adjacent balcony at St. Peters Basilica earlier this month, as some 250,000 people cheered below.

He called that scene exhilarating.

To see those wonderful arms of the colonnade of St Peters actually embrace the crowd that was there gave me a sense of how unified humanity can be, particularly at a time when theres enormous polarization and division in the world today, he said.

The cardinal is scheduled to return to Vatican City for the inaugural Mass; he anticipates a similar spirit will permeate the faithful gathered there on Sunday.

There is so much that unites us that we should pay attention to, he said. I hope the experience on Sunday will be another opportunity for us to appreciate that.

The Rev. Martin Connell had already planned to be in Rome this week. The dean of Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago brought 10 students on an annual trip to tour Catholic pilgrimage sites; they quickly changed their plans for Sunday so theyll be able attend the inaugural Mass.

Connell intends to show them a statue in St. Peters Square that moved him the last time he was in the Vatican. The 20-foot bronze sculpture titled Angels Unawares depicts a boat of diverse immigrants and refugees. It was unveiled by Pope Francis in 2019.

In the middle of this wonderful spot, the magnificence of this square and of the Basilica itself, it is a reminder: Be careful. Dont let your eyes miss something really important. And it is this. The least among us, Connell said.

The priest and academic believes Pope Leo XIV will in many ways follow the trajectory of Pope Francis, showing a similar commitment to care for immigrants, refugees and others who are often overlooked or disparaged.

But Pope Leo is not stepping into a shadow. Hes stepping into his own light, Connell added. Hes been shaped by a different charism, different experiences and a different moment in the church world than it was when Pope Francis began leading in 2013. Im certain that these gospel values, which are perennial, are going to be part of his pontificate. What that looks like, whos to say?
VATICAN CITY  Global dignitaries and faith leaders from around the world will gather in Vatican City on Sunday as Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV presides over his inauguration Mass, which will officially mark the beginning of his ministry as the 267th pontiff.

Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old Augustinian missionary raised in south suburban Dolton, made history May 8 when he was elected as the first American-born pope in the Catholic Churchs 2,000-year history.

The spiritual leader of some 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Pope Leo XIV began his term with a message of unity and bridge-building, urging prayer for the whole Church, for peace in the world.

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Heres what to know about the popes upcoming inaugural Mass:

When will it take place?

The liturgical service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Rome, 3 a.m. Central Time.

Where will it occur?

The Mass will be celebrated at St. Peters Square in front of St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. Designed by famed Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century, the landmark square is known for its iconic elliptical colonnades, which symbolize embracing the faithful.

Where can the service be viewed remotely?

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network plans to livestream the Mass.

Who is expected to attend?

American dignitaries include Vice President J.D. Vance, who will lead a U.S. delegation to the inauguration Mass. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic, and Second Lady Usha Vance. International leaders scheduled to attend include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

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How many people are expected to attend?

The event is free to the public and tickets arent required. While its hard to predict how many people will arrive, the crowd at the inaugural Mass of predecessor Pope Francis in 2013 was estimated at 150,000 to 200,000.

What rituals are part of the service?

The new pope is expected to be presented with the official symbols of his papacy. The pallium, a liturgical vestment made of wool from lambs raised by Trappist monks, symbolizes the popes role as the shepherd of the faithful; the popes pallium is worn on the shoulders, fastened with three pins resembling the nails of the cross, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

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The Fishermans Ring, also known as the Piscatory Ring, represents the popes connection to St. Peter; the ring is smashed or broken after a pontiffs death.

How long will the service last?

Theres no set end time. The inaugural Mass for Pope Francis lasted roughly two hours.
VATICAN CITY  Global dignitaries and faith leaders from around the world will gather in Vatican City on Sunday as Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV presides over his inauguration Mass, which will officially mark the beginning of his ministry as the 267th pontiff.

Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old Augustinian missionary raised in south suburban Dolton, made history May 8 when he was elected as the first American-born pope in the Catholic Churchs 2,000-year history.

The spiritual leader of some 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Pope Leo XIV began his term with a message of unity and bridge-building, urging prayer for the whole Church, for peace in the world.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Heres what to know about the popes upcoming inaugural Mass:

When will it take place?

The liturgical service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Rome, 4 a.m. ET.

Where will it occur?

The Mass will be celebrated at St. Peters Square in front of St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. Designed by famed Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century, the landmark square is known for its iconic elliptical colonnades, which symbolize embracing the faithful.

Where can the service be viewed remotely?

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network plans to livestream the Mass.

Who is expected to attend?

American dignitaries include Vice President JD Vance, who will lead a U.S. delegation to the inauguration Mass. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic, and second lady Usha Vance. International leaders scheduled to attend include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

How many people are expected to attend?

The event is free to the public and tickets arent required. While its hard to predict how many people will arrive, the crowd at the inaugural Mass of predecessor Pope Francis in 2013 was estimated at 150,000 to 200,000.

What rituals are part of the service?

The new pope is expected to be presented with the official symbols of his papacy. The pallium, a liturgical vestment made of wool from lambs raised by Trappist monks, symbolizes the popes role as the shepherd of the faithful; the popes pallium is worn on the shoulders, fastened with three pins resembling the nails of the cross, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Advertisement Advertisement

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The Fishermans Ring, also known as the Piscatory Ring, represents the popes connection to St. Peter; the ring is smashed or broken after a pontiffs death.

How long will the service last?

Theres no set end time. The inaugural Mass for Pope Francis lasted roughly two hours.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, will offer to host leaders from Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican to broker a peace deal in their ongoing war, a top Catholic official said Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin dodged discussions in Turkey earlier this week.

The new pope would if necessary, make the Vatican, the Holy See, available for a direct meeting between the two parties, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy Sees secretary of state, told reporters in Rome. It is an availability of place.

Leo, known as Cardinal Robert Prevost before he was elected to succeed the late Pope Francis as head of the Catholic Church last week, urged peace in Ukraine during his first Sunday blessing over the weekend, directing part of his message to world leaders and stressing that he was repeating the ever-present call never again war.' He also spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone Sunday.

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Parolin called the failure of the two sides to reach a truce Thursday in Istanbul tragic.

We hoped that a slow but positive process towards a peaceful solution to the conflict could start, he said. We are back at the beginning; now we will see what to do, but it is a very difficult situation.

President Trump told reporters in Qatar this week he wasnt surprised Putin didnt show up for what was to be direct negotiations between the two countries leaders.

I actually said, Why would he go if Im not going?' Trump said during a stop on his diplomatic trip to the Middle East. I would go, but I wasnt planning to go, and I said, I dont think hes going to go if I dont go.'

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Columbus, Ohio  At St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, being on the altar feels momentous for Joseph Rolwing.

He's 27 years old and a Catholic deacon, who is set to be ordained as a Catholic priest on Saturday.

Rolwing studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. It is the only seminary outside of Italy that is governed by the Vatican.

"I was a normal high schooler, played sports, did it all," Rolwing said. "I never thought that I would be doing this. But the Lord had other plans."

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In high school he began questioning his faith. Then in college, he felt the call.

"'Did you hear a voice? Did you see a sign in the sky?' No, but I waspraying, this rosary overwhelmed with this wave of peace," Rolwing said.

Rolwing's calling comes as the Catholic Church in the U.S. faces a serious priest shortage. Between 1970 and 2024, the number of priests fell by more than 40%, from 59,192 to 33,589, according to numbers from Georgetown's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA.

The impact has also been felt in Columbus, where 15 churches are slated to close.

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"We've kind of made up for some gaps in the priest shortage by bringing in missionary priests from other countries, but also priests from different religious orders," said Bishop Earl Fernandes, who leads the Columbus Diocese.

About one in four Catholic priests in the U.S. is foreign-born, according to CARA. Many could soon be forced to leave unless special visas for religious workers are extended. New bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate last month, known as the Religious Workforce Protection Act, designed to protect foreign-born religious workers to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency.

To recruit more priests in Columbus, there are retreats and monthly dinners for those considering the priesthood.

The number of new seminarians at Pontifical College has grown from 17, two-and-a-half years ago, to 40 this year.

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Local Catholic leaders hope the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first ever American pope, will serve as an inspiration.

"I have never been happier than I am right now, on the cusp of becoming a priest, having made all of these promises: never get married, and never to do these things, it doesn't make any sense in the eyes of the world," Rolwing said. "But I've answered this call, and by far, it's the best decision I've ever made."

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly characterized delays in the visa process for religious workers.

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By Catarina Demony, Sergio Goncalves, Andrei Khalip

LISBON (Reuters) -Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won an early parliamentary election on Sunday, but again fell short of the full majority needed to end a long period of political turmoil, while the centre-left Socialists and far-right Chega were nearly tied for second place.

The election, the third in as many years, was called one year into an AD minority government's term after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro failed to win a vote of confidence in March when the opposition questioned his integrity over dealings of his family's consultancy firm.

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Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing.

Voters have largely dismissed the opposition's criticism and apparently punished the main opposition Socialists at the polls for being instrumental in bringing down his minority government.

With all of the domestic ballots counted, electoral data showed the AD winning 89 seats in the 230-seat parliament, nine more than in the previous election.

"The Portuguese don't want any more snap elections, they want a four-year legislature," Montenegro said as his supporters chanted "Let Luis work," his campaign slogan. He said the election result was a vote of confidence by the Portuguese that the opposition will have to respect.

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Far-right Chega outperformed most opinion polls and took 58 seats, eight more than last year.

The Socialists obtained just about 50,000 votes more than Chega and fell to 58 seats from 78, a huge blow to one of Portugal's two main parties. Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said he would step down.

'WE'VE MADE HISTORY'

Votes from abroad, which will be counted in the coming days, could still put Chega in second place, which would be the first time in almost 40 years that the Socialists don't finish in the top two spots.

Montenegro has refused to make any deals with Chega, meaning his government would have to negotiate piecemeal parliamentary support unless it finds another solution. He said he expected to form another minority government.

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Political scientist Adelino Maltez told Reuters that Chega's results were proof "bipartisanship ... is over," and said that "if democracy is in danger," Montenegro's party and the Socialists should come to an agreement to govern in a grand coalition.

The centre-left and centre-right parties formed their only official coalition in 1983-1985.

This election, which was also dominated by issues such as housing and immigration, follows a decade of fragile governments; the only one of which to have a parliamentary majority still collapsed halfway through its term last year.

Chega, an anti-immigration and anti-establishment party founded in 2019 by former football commentator Andre Ventura, who is known for his derogatory remarks against ethnic minorities, became the third-largest parliamentary force in 2022 and quadrupled its seats in 2024.

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"We didn't win this election, but we've made history," Ventura told a room packed with jubilant supporters, adding he believed his party would still finish second after votes from abroad are counted.

Chega has managed to win in some areas of the country where left-wing parties have traditionally received the most votes, including the Beja district in the southern Alentejo region.

Outside the polling station where Montenegro voted in the northern city of Espinho, Irene Medeiros, 77, said she feared more uncertainty ahead.

Portugal has outperformed most European Union countries on economic growth, run budget surpluses and reduced its debts under both centre-left and centre-right governments.

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But further political instability could delay major projects such as lithium mining in the northern part of the country and potentially compromise the long-delayed privatisation of the TAP airline.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Sergio Goncalves, Miguel Pereira, Elena Rodriguez and Leonardo Benassatto; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Rod Nickel and Paul Simao)
This story has been updated with new information.

3 p.m.: Storm-related fatality in Greene County

A 33-year-old woman was killed and several children injured when a tree fell on a car in Greene County during Friday nights violent storm.

Allison L. McCammon of Dugger died at the scene of the 7 p.m. incident near County Road 1500 West near Linton. Three children were taken to the hospital, one in critical condition, according to a Greene County Sheriffs Office news release.

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Dispatchers received a 911 call about a tree on top of a car. Deputies arrived and determined the driver of the 2006 Pontiac had died from injuries from the tree falling on the vehicle.

2:30 p.m. Monroe County update

No one died or was seriously hurt during the severe weather that spawned tornadoes and left swaths of damage in western and southern Monroe County Friday evening, May 16.

We also are aware of five storm-related non-severe injuries and one 96-year-old male sustained a head injury and was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital via ambulance. His injury was reported as non-life threatening, a news release from the Monroe County Sheriffs Office said.

But there was widespread property damage and destruction.

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The Ranchero Motel at 4805 S. Old Ind. 37 and the Clear Creek Post Office at 4888 S. Rogers St. sustained significant damage.

The front section of the Ranchero Motel on South Old Ind. 37 was destroyed in the May 16, 2025, tornado.

The post office is mostly gone. Owner Tamby Wikle-Cassady, who holds the post office lease, said USPS officials had been there Saturday morning and that she is hopeful the rural postal facility will be rebuilt.

Residents were told mail to Clear Creek postal customers would be taken to the Smithville post office. Customers with postal boxes at Clear Creek can get mail at Smithville in the short term.

The Clear Creek Post Office was open-air Saturday morning. Debris from the tornado that destroyed most of the structure was piled across the road. Post office box customers can retrieve their mail at the post office in Smithville for now.

There also was significant damage to barns at Bloomington's People & Animal Learning Services (PALS) headquarters on That Road in Clear Creek. None of their therapeutic riding horses were reported injured.

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Nearly 100 homes had tornado damage, the news release said, many of them on the west side near Ind. 45 and the area around Stanford, Ison, Elwren and Harmony roads.

Tamby Cassady, who owned the Clear Creek Post Office building, rakes up debris the morning after a My 16 tornado that tore through the area and destroyed the post office. She said USPS officials had been to the scene and said they hope to re-establish the small-town site.

Trees, utility poles and power lines were down all around the storm-struck area. Duke Energy crews were working Saturday to restore electrical power to about 1,000 affected homes and businesses. REMC reported 800 residents without power after the storm.

The sheriffs office called in off-duty deputies to assist with the weather emergency as well as to provide a presence to those areas heavily affected by the severe storm, the news release said.

A family views tornado damage at a house in Clear Creek Township the morning of May 17, 2025.

Monroe County Highway Department crews worked throughout Friday night and into Saturday responding to assist with roadway hazards. West Ison Road between South Harmony and South Dunlap roads will likely remain impassable through the weekend.

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Anyone who needs housing resources or additional support should contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS.

The remains of the Clear Creek Post Office on South Rogers Street on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

10:30 a.m. Saturday update from Brown County

Brown County officials believe a tornado damaged some houses on the south side, likely from a tornado that began in Monroe County.

Brown County Emergency Management Director Chad Jenkins said the National Weather Service had yet to officially confirm a tornado, but that appeared to be all but a formality given photo, video and eyewitness evidence.

Jenkins said some people in the Horsemen's Campground suffered injuries that were not life threatening. Indiana University Health took the injured to the Bloomington hospital.

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"Everybody is safe at this point," he said.

Carl Lindell, central region manager for Indiana State Parks, said one horse at the campground was killed and another injured, and the camp will be closed at least through Thursday.

Lindell said the winds flipped several trailers and uprooted and snapped trees. The horse trails are closed "indefinitely," he said.

"The rest of the park received little to no damage," he said.

Lindell said the park on Saturday welcomed lots of people who were enjoying the beautiful weather.

Friday evening update

Tornadoes touched down in Bloomington, Greene County, Brown County and elsewhere across Indiana on Friday, May 16, as a line of storms caused destruction across parts of the Midwest.

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Some of the first reports were from Linton, where the police department sent out a news release stating that at 6:50 p.m., "a confirmed tornado was located over Linton, or 31 miles southeast of Terre Haute, moving east at 45 mph." The release said weather spotters had confirmed the tornado.

A transformer and power lines lay in the road along South Rogers Street while damage can be seen in the trees and houses in the background. Just down the street, the Clear Creek Post Office was destroyed by the tornado that hit the area on Friday, May 16, 2025.

Social media reports from Greene County showed photos of softball-sized hail.

At 7:30 p.m. Ashley Byarlay was driving home when she watched a tornado form over the housing subdivision off Gordon Pike just south of Batchelor Middle School. She took videos on Facebook as she drove and explained what she was seeing.

Michael and Ashley Byarlay survey the damage left behind by a tornado that touched down Friday, May 16, 2025, in the Clear Creek area of Monroe County. People in vehicles, behind them, were driving to the area to see the damage for themselves.

"My dream job was to be a storm chaser," she said, "so I got to live my dream job today."

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She said she watched the tornado touch down near South Rogers and That Road and then lift up and travel farther east before dropping down again. The Clear Creek Post Office was hit as were several other buildings. Transformers and power lines were lying in the street as people came out from their homes and drove by in cars to see the damage.

Her husband, Michael Byarlay, was waiting at home. Both were surveying the damage later, instead of going on the date they had planned. While the sun set and sheriff deputies began to walk down the road, looking at the damage, the scanner on Michael's cell phone was alerting emergency personnel in Brown County that Ind. 135 was closed due to debris in the road, hindering ambulances from helping people in the line of the storms there.

At 9 p.m. Friday, the Monroe County Emergency Management Facebook page posted an alert that the county had issued a travel advisory due to hazardous road conditions. Ind. 45 near Abel Nursery just west of Bloomington was closed to traffic.

A transformer and power lines lay in the street along South Rogers Street near the intersection with That Road, where a tornado caused damage on Friday, May 16, 2025.

Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: 1 dead near Linton, Clear Creek Post Office homes damaged by tornadoes Friday night
Back in December I wrote a column on symbolism and substance in politics. At the time, I was especially struck by the problem of what it means to take political rhetoric  the constant, often bizarre social media statements flooding from the White House being a great example  seriously but not literally. As we continue, both in Kansas and across the country, to be caught up in a political environment filled with protests and proclamations that may or may not be meant to be taken seriously, a return to the topic is in order.

Here in Wichita, the largest stand-alone city in Kansas, the biggest controversy of the past two months has been a declaration which our City Council issued in support of Transgender Day of Visibility, a national occasion promoted by LGBTQ organizations. Mayor Lily Wu did not endorse that proclamation, though neither did she prevent the majority of council members who did support it from publicly presenting it. Since the relevant city ordinance seems to stipulate that the mayor must formally read any proclamation issued by the council, her action (or lack thereof) has generated heated debate, including multiple accusations both by and against the mayor.

I brought up this controversy while speaking to a civic group recently, and one participant asked a question that seemed to capture what the majority of that group seemed to be feeling: why are we fighting about entirely symbolic proclamations anyway? Its a fair question.

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Like I wrote in my previous column, its very easy to get frustrated over what might be broadly called performative politics. Often that term is used critically: you, or the church or business or interests you represent, dont have the votes or resources to affect real change, so instead you just perform your demands, grabbing attention, disrupting others with your silly, symbolic claims.

But making statements, carrying signs or organizing on behalf of recognition isnt silly at all. Rather, these kinds of performative actions occupy a range of places within our political life.

At one end, there are those who possess actual administrative or executive authority: a CEO, a mayor, a governor, or the president of the United States. The statements such people make, even if theyre legally groundless or substantively empty, still matter, because the authority they possess will invariably influence others to take action, even if there is no basis for doing so.

On the other end, though, are ordinary citizens, possessing no more authority than anyone else. But citizens can nonetheless take up signs to express frustration (as sizable crowds have done almost every week over the past few months in Wichita, Kansas City, Hays, Topeka, Lawrence and elsewhere), and by so doing capture the attention of others. Also, any citizen can petition elected leaders to plead for recognition for the work one does, or the identity one represents. If enough agree, then suddenly a degree of legitimacy  and, crucially, the awareness of othersis granted that didnt exist before, empowering those who made the request.

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Over the past decade, as social media has transformed political life, multiple scholars have begun to rethink democratic politics, and the place of performance and spectatorship within it. Today we live in an environment where attention is often the most valuable commodity anyone can possess. Those who can do the work and organize with others and put themselves forward to make sure their cause is seen (and sometimes their opponents triggered or scandalized), may not be a distraction; instead, maybe theyre doing politics the way it is fated to be played today.

Russell Arben Fox is a professor of political science at Friends University in Wichita.
A sign outside the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant Metrorail station, one of four stops Prince George's County and local officials hope will bring redevelopment. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

They share a Metro line, they share a ZIP code and they share a dream of revitalized older communities. And, come Saturday, the Prince Georges County towns of Capitol Heights and Fairmount Heights and the city of Seat Pleasant will have something else in common.

They will all be members of the new 20743 Coalition.

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The mayors of those three inside-the-Beltway municipalities will meet Saturday to launch the coalition, named for the ZIP code they have in common. Their goal is to ensure that their often-overlooked communities share in the Blue Line corridor redevelopment projects that are scheduled in coming years as part of an effort to redevelop central Prince Georges County.

Saturdays signing ceremony is meant as a show of unity for the communities clustered along Metros Blue Line and the countys Central Avenue. All three mayors already signed a memorandum of understanding in March for each municipality to share resources that promote economic development, enhance public services, and improve residents quality of life.

The Maryland Stadium Authority is slated to invest $400 million toward five projects planned for areas near Largo Town Center, Morgan Boulevard, Addison/Seat Pleasant and Capitol Heights Metro stations. The first will be a civic plaza by the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, scheduled for completion in December.

One official who plans to be in attendance at the Fairmount Heights Municipal Building for Saturdays event will be At-Large County Councilmember Jolene Ivey (D).

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I think its really important that were all on one accord when it comes to using this as an opportunity for economic development and to really push getting good things happening in that part of the county, she said in an interview Wednesday. We all have to kind of agree on what that looks like.

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Officials and residents from the three municipalities located inside the Beltway have said for years there has been a lack of economic development, especially when it comes to healthy food choices.

A food desert was created in July 2016, when a Safeway closed at Addison Plaza in Seat Pleasant on Central Avenue, less than a mile from the Washington, D.C., border.

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Since that time, theres been no major food retailer on that road for the almost four miles between the D.C. border and the Capital Beltway in Capitol Heights.

A small full-service grocer called Good Food Markets and Cafe opened in Addison Plaza in September 202. Because of financial challenges, however, only the cafe remained open. a year later. The business has since closed.

To help fill some of the void, The Capital Market has hosted farmers markets and various workshops in all three municipalities. Because of the nonprofit organizations relationship with officials and residents, it will serve as a facilitator to the coalition.

According to the agreement, Capital Market will also provide quarterly financial reports to all Parties (municipalities) detailing the use of funds and progress on initiative to each municipality.

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These are three majority African American municipalities  [with] a lot of shared history and culture, said Kyle Reeder, interim administrative director with Capital Market and a sixth-generation Prince Georgian, who lives in Capitol Heights. Im excited to see what the municipalities are able to do together.

So is Belinda Queen, a community activist who also lives in Capitol Heights.

But at a community meeting Wednesday night, Queen urged state lawmakers from legislative District 25, which includes the neighborhood of Walker Mill in an unincorporated part of Capitol Heights, to make sure economic development does happen.

The Blue Line corridor is supposed to be for all of us going through Capitol Heights, she said. So I need you guys to stay on this.
Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), has expressed confidence that a prisoner exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 with Russia will occur next week.

Source: Budanov, cited by TSN

Details: Budanov stated that he hopes the exchange will take place the following week, noting that, based on the lists, Ukraine will retrieve available prisoners and Russia will do the same.

Background: Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said that during talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a large-scale exchange of prisoners in the thousand-for-thousand format.

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A public funeral and visitation was held for Ryan Hinton at Living God Church. Hinton was fatally shot by a Cincinnati Police officer on May 1 after police responded to a report of a stolen car.
Health officials are warning residents to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in the ocean water at two Los Angeles County beaches because the bacterial levels there exceed state health standards.

The affected areas include:

Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica  100 yards up and down the coast from the pier

Inner Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro  The entire swim area

Shame on you: California hotel under fire for attempting to privatize beach

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However, its not all bad news. Warnings have been lifted for Avalon Beach at Catalina Island, where water quality has improved.

Residents can get more information on beach conditions by calling the county beach hotline at 1-800-525-5662 or visiting the L.A. County Public Health website.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Hundreds of friends and family members clad in red and black filled Living God Church Church in Avondale on May 17 for the funeral of 18-year-old Ryan Hinton.

The public visitation began at 11 a.m., followed by a funeral service at noon.

Members of Ryan Hinton's family attended and spoke at his service, according to Hinton's lawyers. Members of the media were not allowed inside the church and weren't given access to speak to any of Hinton's family.

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Who are the Hintons? What we know about man charged with killing a Hamilton County deputy

Cars lined both sides of the streets, activists held signs of solidarity and volunteers from various organizations gave out water bottles and snacks while offering hugs and words of encouragement.

See Hinton's obituary here.

Who was Ryan Hinton?

Hinton was fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer on May 1. The police were responding to a report of a stolen car when Hinton and the other occupants fled on foot.

Hinton was running with a gun in his hand, according to police. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said it's not clear from body camera footage, but the officer who fired the shots said in interviews that Hinton pointed the gun at him.

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The next day, Hinton's father, Rodney Hinton Jr., struck and killed a Hamilton County sheriffs deputy with a vehicle on Martin Luther King Drive near the entrance to Burnet Woods, according to testimony by a Cincinnati police detective. The deputy, Larry Henderson, was working traffic control for a University of Cincinnati graduation ceremony.

Multiple investigations are underway.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Public visitation and funeral services held for Ryan Hinton
Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson, who was invited to participate in a Pulitzer Prize nominating jury on national reporting, was rebuked by the board for calling out a winner in the commentary category who mocked Israeli hostages  and responded by calling their lecture on confidentiality preposterous.

The conservative journalist questioned whether Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha  whose essays in the New Yorker won the commentary Pulitzer for deep reporting with the intimacy of memoir to convey the Palestinian experience  had been properly vetted. Weeks before jury deliberations began, Toha wrote on Facebook that a woman kidnapped from her home on Oct. 7 was not a hostage and criticized the media for humanizing kidnapped Israelis.

Imagine for a moment a Pulitzer going to an extremist Israeli settler poet who had minimized and mocked the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Johnson wrote on Friday in the Beacon. You cant, because it would never happen.

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Johnson says she internally pressed the Pulitzer board on whether Toha was vetted  and whether fellow jurors who openly criticized Israel immediately after Hamass Oct. 7 attack had recused themselves from deliberations over the commentary prize.

Johnson wrote that in response, Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller accused Johnson of violating a confidentiality agreement, while allowing that while jurors are chosen for character, expertise and integrity  we occasionally misjudge.

They sure do! Johnson wrote. Here we have an institution, ostensibly committed to supporting fearless journalism, trying to strangle reporting about what was known to the jury and when  and which board members cast votes on this award.

I was pretty sure when I received an email in November asking me to serve on a Pulitzer Prizer jury that it was a joke. Turns out, that wasnt the joke  pic.twitter.com/f8iEgx5KBY  Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) May 16, 2025

Johnson says when she agreed to serve on the nominating jury for the national reporting category in November, she signed an agreement to keep my membership on the jury and our selection of finalists confidential pending the formal announcement of the winners.'

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The Pulitzer boards position that any reporter who participates on one of its many juries is prohibited from doing any reporting about the organization itself even when one of its awards has become an international news story  is preposterous, Johnson wrote.

Johnson says it took half a second for Abu Tohas public remarks to emerge after his win.

How on earth is this girl called a hostage? (And this is the case of most hostages), Toha wrote on Facebook weeks before deliberations got underway. This is Emily Damari, a 28-year-old UK-Israeli soldier  So this girl is called a hostage? This soldier who was close to the border with a city that she and her country have been occupying is called a hostage.'

Damari was abducted from her home, spending nearly 16 months as a Hamas captive. She has since denounced the Pulitzers prize for Toha, saying it honors a voice that denies truth, erases victims, and desecrates the memory of the murdered.

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Johnson said her questions included whether members of the Pulitzer board were aware of Tohas statements, and whether members who have openly called Israel an occupying power recused themselves from the process. When Miller gave a non-response response, Johnson said, she began emailing Pulitzer board members directly.

The vast majority did not reply, Johnson wrote. One cited a commitment to keeping the boards deliberations confidential. I did not push back.

Thats when Miller sent the email to Johnson, with the subject line Confidentiality, alleging that my emails violated the confidentiality agreement I signed when I became a Pulitzer juror.

Miller and her colleagues have misjudged, starting with the minor issue of what the confidentiality agreement actually says, Johnson said. As part of providing my services to the Pulitzers, I agreed not to discuss deliberations over the National Reporting category, nor to reveal the finalists before the winner was announced. I did not agree to refrain from reporting on a separate category in which I had no role.  But hey, the Pulitzer board, they occasionally misjudge. Dont you dare report on it.

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A message seeking comment from the Pulitzer committee was not immediately returned Saturday.

The post Pulitzer Board Rebukes Juror Eliana Johnson for Calling Out Winner Who Mocked Israeli Hostages appeared first on TheWrap.
On April 15, 2025, it was announced that Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk  a series of filmed video conversations between Iranian documentarian Sepideh Farsi and 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist, Fatma Hassona  would play in the ACID strand of the Cannes Film Festival. On April 16, as they slept in their home in Gaza City, Fatma, Walaa, Alaa, Yazan, Mohammed, and Muhannad Hassona were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Fatmas parents were wounded and father Raed died later from his injuries.

Final responsibility for the murder of a bright and gifted young woman who dreamed of visiting the world lies with the Israeli Defence Force. However, given widespread awareness of how Palestinians are targeted for raising the profile of the daily suffering induced by the occupation (see also the abduction of No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballal after its Oscar win) a question hangs over this documentary about how deeply Farsi weighed her duty of care to her collaborator. Did Fatma decide that speaking in this format was worth the deadly cost that it ultimately exacted?

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If she did, this matter is not touched in the course of the conversations that make up the soul and the substance of this documentary. Instead, the brutal news of seven deaths (and we have met three of Fatmas family members by this point) is starkly presented in a closing title card that follows a video call on April 15 subtitled, The Final Conversation.

Here Sepideh breaks the news to Fatma about Cannes. Fatma is a radiant presence who has been fighting back depression over the documentarys timespan of April 2024-April 2025. Its been a year in which food is becoming harder and harder to source and the sound of bombs and Apache helicopters are a daily soundtrack. A light goes on inside Fatma as Sepideh suggests that she comes to Cannes and the dramatic irony feels tasteless and cruel. We know that she will only come to Cannes as a still image behind the dates 1999-2025.

In this grave context, its hard not to weigh Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk against the value of seven lives, an equation that can only be answered to the films detriment. Complicating this assessment, however, is the fact that Fatma had already achieved global recognition for her photography. Her images locate splashes of vivid color and human faces that pop against the ruined buildings behind them.

Farsi folds these into the documentary for its most striking and artistic sequences as we see new perspectives through Fatmas eyes. More slapdash are the newsreel clips designed to situate what Fatma is going through in Al Tuffah within a broader global narrative about Israels genocidal war on Gaza. A variety of sources from across the political spectrum are included whose reports unfold from clashing sets of values. This is not highlighted or analysed by the film, it simply muffles an intention to create a clear frame of reference.

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To backtrack: Sepideh Farsi was compelled by the images coming out of Gaza to travel there. After being denied entrance through the Rafah Crossing through Cairo, she began filming refugees coming the other way. A man named Ahmed from the same neighborhood as Fatma introduced them and their personal connection proved stronger than the sketchy wifi that causes their video conversations to cut in and out.

The rapport between the women is undeniable, even if Sepidehs attempt to force parallels between her own personal history in Iran and the unfolding situation in Palestine does not fully cohere. Having left Iran at the age of 18, she will not return for fear of arrest, however over the course of their conversations she calls in from France, Morocco, and Italy as a misty-eyed Fatma confesses that she has never left Gaza and that to do so is her dream. She is especially energized when Sepideh calls from Rome as The Vatican is on her bucket list.

To her credit, Sepideh is aware enough to own the surreal gulf between what to her is a normal life and what has become Fatmas normal life. Were used to it but were not used to it, said Fatma, Because we cant get used to killing or bombing or this suffering. At the outset of their conversations, Fatma beams with a wide, white smile even as she narrates the death and destruction she has witnessed. She is proud to be a Palestinian in Gaza. The strongest thing is that we have nothing to lose.

Conversations touch on the molecular details of living in a destroyed place under daily bombardment. Sometimes Fatma goes to the balcony to show her pen pal the view, and her closeness to this devastation rebirths its horror anew. She has a log on WhatsApp of family deaths, each accompanied by a photo and a description of the circumstances. There are many photos of children. They found her uncles wifes head in the street. As she said, Fatma is both used to and not used to her loved ones being picked off. When her artist friend is martyred, she still has tears to cry.

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This is a slight, ambling documentary that now has a permanent shadow over it. Its leading lady deserved a stronger film and a longer life.

Under the circumstances IndieWire is not awarding a grade. Instead, here is a taste of Fatma Hassonas photography.

Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk premiered in the ACID section parallel to the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

Want to stay up to date on IndieWires film reviews and critical thoughts? Subscribe here to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings  all only available to subscribers.

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(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited all leaders and the secretary general of the Arab League for the first Russia-Arab summit on October 15, Russia's news agencies reported on Saturday, citing a statement from the Kremlin.

"I am confident that this meeting will contribute to the further strengthening of mutually beneficial, multifaceted cooperation between our countries and will help in finding ways to ensure peace, security, and stability in the Middle East and North Africa," Interfax agency cited Putin as saying in the statement.

The Arab League, a regional organisation of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, has 22 member states who have pledged, among others, to cooperate on political, economic and military affairs in the region.

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The reports came following a four-day trip by U.S. President Donald Trump through the Gulf region this week, during which Washington said it had secured several deals, including a $600 billion commitment by Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., $142 billion in arms sales to the kingdom, and an AI partnership with the United Arab Emirates.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Sonali Paul)
Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin refused to discuss a peace plan proposed by the United States, Ukraine and European partners.

Source: Financial Times (FT), citing three sources familiar with the matter

Details: The FT reported that Russian officials informed US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, of Putins decision on Thursday 8 May.

The peace plan consists of 22 points, the sources said.

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The plan was discussed in detail during a 9 May phone call between representatives of Ukraine and the United States. The conversation involved Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine.

Quote from the FT: "Russia's response resulted in Witkoff, who has met Putin for talks four times since February, postponing provisional plans to meet the Russian leader this week, the people said. A person close to Witkoff said no trip had been planned."

Background:

On 10 May, NBC News reported that US, European and Ukrainian negotiators had prepared a "term sheet" containing 22 proposals, including a 30-day ceasefire.

On the same day, the leaders of four European countries issued a joint statement urging Russia to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. They warned that if Russia refused, they were ready to impose new sanctions which they said would be coordinated between Europe and the United States. Prior to this announcement, they had held a joint telephone conversation with Trump.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of Georgias Russian-occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to obtain Russian citizenship, Russian state-controlled media reported on May 17.

According to the decree, all adult "citizens" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia who held that status as of Aug. 26, 2008, the day Russia recognized the territories as "independent," are now eligible to apply for Russian citizenship through an expedited process. Applicants are required only to submit a formal request for citizenship.

Moscow gained full control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia following its 2008 invasion of Georgia and has since maintained a military presence in both regions.

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Russia has employed similar tactics in Ukraine.

In August 2024, Russias Interior Ministry claimed it had issued 2.2 million Russian passports to residents of the occupied Ukrainian territories  Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk  since October 2022. The figure was published by ministry official Irina Volk on her Telegram channel. The claim could not be independently verified.

The U.S.-based Ukraine Conflict Observatory reported in 2023 that Russia systematically coerces residents of occupied Ukrainian regions into accepting Russian citizenship, often under threat of detention, deportation, or the loss of access to basic services.

Refusal to accept Russian documentation has reportedly resulted in the denial of medical care, employment, humanitarian aid, and other critical support.

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During the massive flooding of the Kherson Oblast following the breach of the Kakhovka Dam, Russia allowed evacuations only to Russian passport holders, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.

Putin first introduced a simplified citizenship process for Ukrainians in occupied territories in July 2022. In April 2023, he signed another decree setting a deadline in the summer of 2024 for residents in those areas to obtain Russian passports or face legal and civil consequences.

Read also: Russia grants citizenship to over 3,300 foreigners under Putins military decree

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  A high school student faces multiple charges after bringing what is believed to be a THC vape to school and sharing the vape with his classmates, who then had apparent signs of an overdose, according to the Putnam County Sheriffs Office.

The PCSO said in a Friday press release that the Upperman High School student obtained what is believed to be a THC vape device and took it to school before sharing it with the same two students that suffered from the apparent overdose issues that sent them to the hospital.

CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee

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Both minors were being treated at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, but one of the affected students was transported via helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center due to the severity of their illness, officials said.

The safety and health of our children is our top priority. I urge parents and guardians to talk to your children about the consequences and dangers of vaping these unknown products, Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris said in a press release.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Detectives were reportedly able to recover the vape device; it will be sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for testing.

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The teen who brought the device to the school was taken into custody and charged with reckless endangerment and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to authorities. As of publication, he is in custody at the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
ILLINOIS

Rock Island National Cemetery seeks volunteers

The Rock Island National Cemetery seeks volunteers to place American Flags at the headstones

of fallen service members in honor of Memorial Day. Work to place the flags will begin at

4 p.m. Thursday, May 22, rain or shine.

Volunteers should plan to arrive early because of so much support from the greater Quad Cities

area, which will result in high traffic into the cemetery. In the event of severe weather,

flag placement will be 4 p.m. Friday, May 23.

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All volunteers need to show up inside the cemetery to receive flags and instructions. For

more information, call 309-784-0000. Hot dogs will be served to participants and volunteers at the conclusion of flag placement. Work to remove the flags begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 28, weather permitting.

Rock Island National Cemetery ceremony

The Rock Island National Cemetery will hold a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 10:45 a.m. Main parking will be at the Memorial Park parking lot off East Street across from Building 110.

The keynote speaker will be Col. William Joe Parker III, U.S. Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal commander. The Veterans Service Organization honor guard will be conducted by Davenport American Legion Post 26.

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The QC Chordbusters and Davenport Central High School Band will perform musical selections throughout the ceremony. The National Anthem will be performed by Carma Chavez, with an invocation by the Rev. Scott Culley, Faith Walk World Outreach Center. Additional speeches, a moment of silence, the sounding of Taps, and a rifle volley will also take place.

There will be no parking at the cemetery for this ceremony except for individuals who are in wheelchairs. Parking for all others will be behind Memorial Park in the large lot. Buses will transport people from the parking lot to the cemetery and will run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors should arrive early to ensure enough time to park their vehicles and be transported to the cemetery. Memorial Park is located off of the main Island road, Rodman Avenue at the corner of East Street. For more information, call 309-784-0000.

About Memorial Day

Memorial Day represents a day of national awareness and reverence, honoring the military men and women who gave their lives in defense of the nation and its values. Memorial Day honors fallen service members while Veterans Day is an opportunity for Americans to publicly recognize living military veterans.

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Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War Soldiers and a day to honor the nations Civil War dead by decorating their graves. Major Gen. John A. Logan, commander-in-chief, Grand Army of the Republic, proclaimed May 30 as Decoration Day by General Order No. 11. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May. The law took effect in 1971 at the federal level. In 2000, Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration operates 156 national cemeteries and 35 soldiers lots and monument sites in 42 states and Puerto Rico. More than 5 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA cemeteries. Fulfilling President Lincolns call to care for him who shall have borne the battle, VA also provides headstones, markers or medallions for Veterans buried in state, territorial and tribal Veterans cemeteries or interred in private cemeteries.

IOWA

Bettendorf

Bettendorf is honoring those who have served the U.S. with a ceremony starting at 2 p.m. at Bettendorfs Veterans Memorial, inside Veterans Memorial Park, 1645 23rd Street. This years guest speaker is Iowa U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Russ Septer, commander of American Legion Post 154 and Bettendorf mayor Robert Gallagher Jr. will speak. The public is invited to attend. Click here for more information on Bettendorfs Veterans Memorial and how to add a name. The public is encouraged and invited to attend. For more information on Bettendorfs Veterans Memorial and how to add a name to one of its pillars, click here.

LeClaire

The American Legion Buffalo Bill Post 347, along with The American Legion Womens Auxiliary Unit 347 and the Pleasant Valley School District, invites the public to Memorial Day services.

US flags adorn the Memorial Day exhibit near the Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery in Hurlock, Maryland, on May 27, 2023, ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Events commence at LeClaires Glendale Cemetery on Monday, May 26, from 10:15 to 10:30 a.m . Placing of a wreath at the cemeterys Flag Memorial will be directly followed by Memorial Day events at the Bridgeview Elementary School Gymnasium at 11 a.m.

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LeClaires Mayor Dennis Gerard will deliver the welcoming speech. The guest speaker will be Chris Cournoyer, Iowa lieutenant governor. Music is being provided by the PVHS award winning band.

Buffalo Bill Post 347 has flags for sale. Contact Karl Kreiling, Post 347 adjutant, at 563-528-2964 for more information or to place an order.

Muscatine

Summer kicks off in style on the Muscatine riverfront as Almost Friday Fest returns for its first event of the season on Thursday, May 22, at Riverside Park.

Running from 5 to 8 p.m., this free, family-friendly event offers live entertainment, local food vendors, and a beer/wine tent  all with the scenic backdrop of the Mississippi River. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and settle in for an evening of community fun.

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To accommodate the event setup, the small parking lot near the playground at the downriver end of Riverside Park will be closed beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday.

For more information, visit here.

Scott County

The public is invited to one of the oldest continuous observances of Memorial Day west of the Mississippi River at the 106th annual Memorial Day service at Historic Summit Church on Utica Ridge Road, 21980 210th Ave., Davenport.



The service will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, May 26. It is a tradition that started at Summit Church in 1919, with Sunday School Superintendent Sally Walker, who wanted to honor World War I veterans from the church.



Now, a collation of the Scott County Historical Society, the Carl Jacobsen Post 639 of the American Legion & Auxiliary, Eldridge, honor all Scott County veterans who have

served from the Civil War to the present.



The service will consist of an honor guard presenting the U. S. Flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance led by a veteran, the singing of patriotic songs, listening to patriotic speeches, and reading of a roll call of Scott County veterans.



After the tribute, everyone is invited to remain and enjoy fellowship and refreshments at the historic country church.



For more information, contact Tom at 563-676-6762 by May 22.





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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
President Donald Trump wrapped up a four-day Middle East trip on Friday, traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

His first major foreign trip of his second term saw the U.S. secure more than $2 trillion in investment agreements in the Gulf region, according to the White House, as well as Trump announcing that he will move to lift U.S. sanctions in Syria.

Trump also said during the trip that he believed that the U.S. and Tehran are "getting close to maybe doing a deal" on Iran's nuclear program and called on Qatar to use its influence to persuade Iran's leadership to reach an agreement with the U.S. to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

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MORE: From al-Qaeda to Syria's presidency, the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa

The trip "creates some pretty interesting openings and opportunities," Michael Hanna, the U.S. program director for the International Crisis Group, told ABC News.

"It looks like maybe the region, led by the Gulf, can have some really substantive, important input in shaping U.S. policy in a better direction," he said, such as moving away from military conflict with Iran and the Houthis and engaging with Syria to stabilize the transition after the Assad family was removed from power.

But, he said, "one of the things that has been a huge problem for Trump, traditionally, is implementation and follow-through."

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

During Trump's trip, the U.S. secured over $200 billion in commercial deals with the United Arab Emirates, more than $243.5 billion in economic deals and a $1.2 trillion economic exchange agreement with Qatar, and a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., the White House said. Some of the deals focused on AI infrastructure, energy and defense.

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"Increasingly, he's convinced, as a former real estate developer and businessman, that pushing for expansion of America's business interest should be the primary business of American government, so to speak. And he went there with that mission," Manochehr Dorraj, a political science professor at Texas Christian University, told ABC News. "So far as that was a guiding principle, he took major strides toward achieving that goal."

But, he noted, "the devil is always in the details."

"We'll see how that would pan out in practice," Dorraj said.

MORE: Trump embarks on Middle East trip to strengthen ties with Gulf states

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Among his major announcements, Trump said during a keynote speech in Riyadh on Tuesday that he will order the cessation of U.S. sanctions against Syria, which has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. government since 1979, "in order to give them a chance at greatness."

Following that announcement, there are "a lot of big question marks" in terms of implementation and follow-through, Hanna said.

"Some of these things he can do with the stroke of a pen," Hanna said, while noting it's unclear how his administration or Congress will react.

"He was pretty clear that this is happening, so I'm going to be keenly watching how first, [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio deals with this, because he can lift some of these sanctions with the stroke of a pen," Hanna said. "There are other big issues with sectoral sanctions and the Caesar Act."

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"There's a lot to unravel," he said.

PHOTO: Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)

Asked about the timeline on lifting the sanctions during remarks in Turkey on Thursday, Rubio said, "I was with the president when he made the decision to do this and included it in his speech. So we've been doing preparatory work in that regard."

He said Trump intends to use waiver authorities under the Caesar Act, which have to be renewed every 180 days.

"Ultimately, if we make enough progress, we'd like to see the law repealed because you're going to struggle to find people to invest in a country when in six months, sanctions could come back," Rubio said. "We're not there yet. That's premature. I think we want to start with the initial waiver, which will allow foreign partners who wanted to flow in aid to begin to do so without running the risk of sanctions. I think as we make progress, hopefully we'll be in a position soon, or one day, to go to Congress and ask them to permanently remove the sanctions."

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As negotiations are ongoing over Iran's nuclear program, Hanna noted the technical and diplomatic effort that went into the negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal the Obama administration agreed to but which Trump pulled the U.S. out of three years later.

"Those negotiations were highly technical, highly detailed, very lengthy. And that's not the way that Trump likes to operate, or [U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve] Witkoff, right? They're not details guys. They're the big picture, deal-making piece of it," he said.

He added, "But for something like a nuclear agreement with Iran, there's a lot that is required to make an agreement real, and that requires a lot of technical and diplomatic capacity. And if we got to that stage, it really would be a pretty big challenge -- even if everybody got on the same page -- to turn an agreement in principle into an agreement on paper."

Dorraj said Trump's transactional foreign policy can be an asset in the short term but "the drawback is there's no long-term strategy."

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"These are quick initiatives," he said. "The pragmatic part of it -- 'let's see what works. Let's see what will get us to the deal that we want. We will learn as we go along, and we will adopt and adjust as needed.' Okay, so that can be an asset. But also you are zigzagging, flipflopping. You are changing course on a daily basis. Your parties you're negotiating with, they're on slippery ground. They don't know what to count on, and that does not give us an image of continuity."

Questions remain on deals, Syria sanctions following Trump's Middle East trip originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
From left, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, Gov. Larry Rhoden, Attorney General Marty Jackley, Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden and state House Speaker Jon Hansen. (South Dakota Searchlight photos)

It may seem a little early to start wondering about whos likely to be elected governor of South Dakota in November of 2026. However, November is not the date thats important. Just more than a year from now, in June 2026, the Republican Party will have its primary election to decide on a gubernatorial candidate. Since Democrats are close to a nonentity in this state, its the GOP primary that will likely decide the next governor of South Dakota.

It was with that timing in mind that South Dakota News Watch, in cooperation with the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, conducted a poll of 500 registered Republican voters and asked them who they supported for governor.

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A News Watch story accompanying the poll listed some important factors for the success of the candidates: the money they can raise, their name recognition and their standing in the states geographic regions. What it didnt mention was perhaps the most important factor of all: whos the most likely to get the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

Hold on, you might say. Why does Donald Trump care who fills the governors office in South Dakota? Maybe he doesnt, but history tells us he loves to make endorsements. Already for 2026 he has offered endorsements in races elsewhere for the U.S. Senate and House, state legislative races and governorships.

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Sept. 8, 2023, at The Monument in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

The News Watch poll found Trump with a 68% favorability rating among Republicans in South Dakota, a far better rating than any of the candidates likely to run in the GOP primary. Consequently, his endorsement would carry some weight. Just as it may not be too soon to poll Republicans on their choice for the next governor, its not too soon to handicap which candidate might have the best shot at getting a thumbs-up from Trump.

The highest finisher in the poll was U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson with 28% followed by Gov. Larry Rhoden with 27%, Attorney General Marty Jackley with 18%, Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden with 4% and state Speaker of the House Jon Hansen with 2%. Hansen is the only one so far to announce that hes running for the nomination, though there is plenty of speculation about the intentions of the others.

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Johnson, the marginal leader in the poll, also finds himself in the closest proximity to the White House. During Trumps second term he has embraced the presidents policies, going so far as to introduce legislation that would allow Trump to purchase the Panama Canal. Hes even praised the government-cutting efforts of Elon Musks DOGE, while admitting that the whole thing could be handled better.

Rhoden, like Johnson, has been full of praise for the presidents policies. Rhodens connection to Kristi Noem, his predecessor and Trumps secretary of Homeland Security, may be valuable if the president chooses to endorse. However, you never know when the mercurial Trump may wake up angry. He went through three Homeland Security secretaries in his first term. While he has been supportive of the president, Rhoden has a long history in South Dakota politics that may be tainted by the current GOP philosophy that scorns bipartisanship.

Jackley has to wonder what a life in public service has been worth politically, garnering just 18% support in the poll. Serving as attorney general twice and running for governor once before has to be worth more than that. Jackley, too, has ingratiated himself to Trump, going so far as to visit Mar-a-Lago to consult with the president-elect on the politicization of the Justice Department. Known for his law and order stance in South Dakota, it must be galling for Jackley to consider the blanket pardons Trump handed out to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

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At the bottom of the poll is the only official candidate, state Rep. Jon Hansen of Dell Rapids. His low finish in the poll is an indication that hard work in the Legislature doesnt necessarily result in name recognition within the party. Fortunately for Hansen, he has another legislative session as speaker of the House in which to make his mark. A leader in the states anti-abortion and property rights efforts, hell need to drum up a Trumpian issue to keep his name in the news and enhance his chances of getting an endorsement.

Finishing ahead of Hansen in the poll was Doeden. Hes never held elective office but his influence can be felt in the Legislature. His Dakota First Action PAC helped elect a number of populist Republican candidates who had to notch primary wins against incumbents to get to Pierre. Doeden is known for his prolific videos that often point out whats wrong with the members of his own party. He has something brewing, announcing an event for May 28.

Of all these candidates, Doeden is the most Trump-like with his wealth and his disdain for the status quo. He now has a cadre of lawmakers beholden to his generosity who can carry his message to far-right members of the party. That wing of the party is known for getting out the vote during primaries. As Republicans have shown in recent elections, they have a penchant for voting for angry rich guys.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  A man is behind bars in Sioux Falls, accused of raping a middle school girl after first making contact with her on Instagram.

Some Sioux Falls parents noticed their daughter was coming home later than usual from middle school. When they started asking questions, court documents say they found out an adult man had been picking up their 14-year-old daughter after school.

DHS wants $50M jet for Noem, Coast Guard

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The girl told investigators shed met the man on Instagram but they did most of their communicating using Snapchat.

21-year-old Andres Cano De Leon is accused in the case. Hes being held in the Minnehaha County Jailfacing five counts of rape.

Its possible he could also face additional charges.

According to the affidavit, officials say he is not a US citizen and a Sioux Falls detective was unable to confirm his identity.

Bond is set at $50,000 cash.

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A rare whale has been spotted close to the shoreline of Boston, directly by the entrance to the harbor.

The North Atlantic right whale  an endangered species with just about 370 whales left in the population  was first spotted closer to the shore of Massachusetts on May 7 by researchers from the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries. It was seen again by NOAA scientists on Thursday.

By Friday, the NOAA researchers tracked the whale in waters less than 2,000 miles from Castle Island in South Boston. It was right by the entrance to the Boston Harbor, according to WhaleMap.org.

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The massive animal is so close that the public may be able to see it from land  but any boaters on the water should keep a very wide berth, said Nora Ives, a marine scientist studying North Atlantic right whales at Oceana.

Because theyre critically endangered, every whale counts, Ives said.

Its very exciting to have them close to shore, but also a little scary.... If youre on the water, go slow for those below Ives said.

Theres also the possibility this right whale is not traveling alone, she added.

As the two main threats to North Atlantic right whales are vessel strikes and rope entanglements, Ives reminded the public and boaters of laws mandating to stay at least 500 yards away from the whales.

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The issue with them being so close to Boston Harbor is that theres lots of people, lots of boats and lots of traffic, Ives said.

These are slow whales, they dont have a dorsal fin and they like to hang out at the surface of the ocean, so theyre really hard to see. They cant get out of your way. Ives said.

But at a 500-yard distance, Ives encouraged the public to take pictures and share them with Whale Alert, an app designed to share public whale sightings.

While its not rare to see right whales near the Massachusetts shorelines, Ives said its been a really unusual season all around for where right whale populations have been traveling.

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Two female whales traveled all the way to calving grounds by Florida, but then went around the Florida panhandle and ended up in the Gulf of Mexico near Alabama, Ives said  something thats only happened five times this century.

Another mother and calf pair last seen in the Cape Cod Bay were able to evade researchers on their way back to New England after theyd went to the calving grounds.

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I am a certified teacher and also a tutor for the Steve Carter Literacy Program. I work tirelessly to teach in the classroom and then tutor after school.

Supplementing my teacher pay is helpful but my main reason for tutoring is to help struggling students to success. This starts with being able to read.

I am troubled by the governors intention to cut the tutoring program for literacy and numeracy tutoring in favor of providing private school vouchers.

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Whilst there may be some benefits to providing some students with vouchers to attend private schools, teaching a child to read and therefore to be able to engage with the curriculum  should remain a top priority.

Louisiana went from being ranked 49th to 32nd in five years. I believe the tutoring program is a contributing factor to this success.

Sharon Philipson, Independence
(NewsNation)  A reality show producer says hes pitched a show to the Department of Homeland Security based on immigrants competing for expedited legal status.

Producer Rob Worsoff told NewsNations Elizabeth Vargas that the show will be a celebration of America in the most positive possible way.

He emphasized that it is not meant to be Hunger Games for migrants.

Worsoff said contestants will already be in the immigration system but would only compete for earlier processing.

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ICE use of National Guard would need states OK: Border official

All Im offering is to jump to the front of the line, he said.

Worsoff said he pitched the idea to the Obama, Biden and Trump administrations and that all three were receptive to the idea, but it didnt come to fruition.

Contestants will start at New Yorks Ellis Island and then take a train to a different location on every episode and complete various challenges that are all quintessentially American, such as working on a car assembly line in Detroit.

Worsoff said the show would be made respectfully and safely.

Were going to put a face to all these people who are on this journey and want nothing more than to be a part of this country, and were going to humanize them, and were going to celebrate them.

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(KRON)  Recology San Francisco has confirmed the death of an employee on Friday at a company-owned facility in Brisbane.

Drone left charging causes Mountain View vehicle blaze

KRON4 has reached out to Brisbane Police Department for more details on the incident that occurred at 505 Tunnel Ave., which borders San Francisco and Brisbane. The circumstances surrounding the death are not yet clear.

Recology SF released the following statement to KRON4 on Friday evening:

Tragically, a fatality occurred at one of our San Francisco facilities today. The individual is one of our Recology employees. The incident is still being investigated. Safety is our top priority at Recology, and we are working with the proper authorities to determine what happened. Losing a member of our Recology family is devastating to every one of our employee-owners, and our hearts go out to his family, friends, co-workers and loved ones. Recology SF spokesperson

Well have more on this story as it develops.

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Dozens of private schools under Reform councils could be saved from extinction after its deputy leader pledged to help them battle Labours VAT raid.

Richard Tice told The Telegraph its newly elected council leaders will do whatever we can to help private institutions cope with the policy.

This could include providing emergency funding to schools or facilitating mergers with the state sector to prevent unnecessary closures.

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The 10 county councils Reform won control of at the local elections are home to more than 140 private schools, which together educate tens of thousands of pupils.

It may present a challenge to the political newcomers as the schools grapple with the cost of having to pay 20pc VAT and business rates for the first time in history.

Mr Tice said: The schools VAT policy is a catastrophe. Schools are closing, childrens education is being damaged and jobs are being destroyed.

Reform will do whatever we can to mitigate the impacts of this policy before we win the next general election so we can scrap this absurd VAT on fees.

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When asked about what Reform-run councils could do to support schools at risk of closure, the Boston and Skegness MP said: We will look at all possible options within the constraints allowed. But fundamentally, the best course is to reverse this catastrophic policy.

Private school leaders have repeatedly warned that school closures could lead to added pressure on state schools, whose funding is administered by local authorities and sourced from the Department for Education.

Since the tax raid came into force in January, an increasing number of private schools have closed and some have blamed the added costs for their decision to shut.

Telegraph analysis shows there are 144 private schools in Reform-controlled councils, accounting for 44,290 pupils in total.

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It represents just over 9pc of all private schools in the country. One third of private schools in Reform councils are located in Kent, a hotspot for independent schools nationally.

Local authorities have a significant role to play in cases where independent schools are merged with existing state schools or converted to academies, though this is normally to fulfil their legal obligation to provide sufficient school places.

Town halls can also provide businesses with funding, in the form of loans and grants. However, this may prove difficult as many council budgets come under increasing pressure.

Reform did not give details on how exactly it planned to use these limited powers to assist private schools at risk of closure.

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The partys leadership has vociferously opposed Labours VAT policy. Nigel Farage said before the election last year that it was not morally right, and argued it would deprive children of the chance to have the best possible education.

Since private schools have been liable for VAT and business rates, a number of them have closed and fees have soared.

The Independent Schools Council, which represents about half of private schools across the UK, said fees were 22.6pc higher on average in January compared with a year ago.

Wakefield Independent School, which announced it would shut earlier this month, partly blamed a reduction in current pupil numbers caused by the VAT impact. It also said it had faced difficulty recruiting new pupils.

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By March, a dozen private schools had blamed the Labours VAT raid for forcing them to close since the policy was first touted.

The Government has previously defended the policy as necessary to generate 1.8bn a year by 2029-2030 to help fund public services.

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Threats to medium-altitude drones like the MQ-9 Reaper are growing.

These types of drones are suffering mounting losses in wars from Ukraine to Yemen.

These persistent and armed eyes in the sky face a cost-benefit dilemma.

In the Global War on Terror, America's MQ-9 Reaper was the most terrifying weapon. Armed with missiles and able to stay in the air for 24 hours, the Reaper  and its older cousin, the MQ-1 Predator  became the symbols of Drone Age remote-control warfare.

But the skies are not so Reaper-friendly anymore.

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The Reaper built by General Atomics has a 66-foot wingspan is almost double that of small, crewed planes like the Cessna 172. Many of these big and expensive drones  the Reaper costs $30 million  have been shot down over Yemen, Lebanon, and Ukraine.

This has some experts questioning whether militaries like that of the UK should stop buying expensive Medium-Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones such as the Reaper. Better to purchase smaller, cheaper drones they can afford to lose, their thinking goes.

"MALE drones can provide persistent surveillance, including through clouds with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), but only if they can survive," wrote military researcher Robert Tollast in an essay for the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank. "And as that survivability is now highly questionable, it seems that the UK must look for alternative approaches."

At least 15 Reapers have been shot down by Houthi rebels over Yemen since October 2023, with seven destroyed in March and April 2025, estimated losses at or above $500 million. The threat to the Reapers would likely be much greater against a more advanced military, which fields larger and more accurate air defenses. Houthi air defenses are far from cutting edge: old Soviet-made SA-2 and SA-6 missiles date back to the 1960s, or are Iranian weapons based on those designs.

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In the Ukraine war, Ukraine's Turkish-made TB2 Bayraktar drones  armed with laser-guided anti-tank missiles  initially devastated Russian armored columns that invaded in February 2022. But dozens of TB2s were destroyed once Russian air defenses were deployed, and the Bayraktar has disappeared from Ukrainian skies. Meanwhile, Israel's Hermes drones have fallen victim to Hezbollah anti-aircraft missiles.

This has left Britain in a quandary. The British Army's MALE drone, the Watchkeeper, has proven a failure. Based on Israel's Hermes 450, the Watchkeeper produced by Thales Group and Elbit Systems first flew in 2010, but wasn't deployed until 2018. Delays, technical issues and several crashes spurred the retirement of the Watchkeeper fleet in March, less than seven years after it was fielded.

The UK's military says the medium-altitude WatchKeeper drone is already obsolete. Cpl Matthews/UK MOD

"We are getting rid of Watchkeeper because that system has been in service since 2010 and, according to all the military chiefs, is out of date," Lord Vernon Croaker, a senior official in the Ministry of Defense, told the House of Commons in November 2024.

With a range of almost 100 miles, the Watchkeeper could peer deep into enemy areas and locate supply depots, airbases and other targets for long-range artillery, missiles and aircraft. Thus the British Army is now embarked on Project Corvus, which calls for a long-endurance surveillance drone that can stay airborne for 24 hours and fly deep penetration missions.

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But this may only result in another MALE drone too expensive to buy in quantity, and too vulnerable to be expendable. These same issues threaten the Reaper ($30 million) and the Bayraktar TB-2 ($5 million). "Assessments in Ukraine would suggest that the point at which a UAV becomes attritable is a unit price below $200,000 for ISR [surveillance missions]," Tollast wrote.

This creates a cost-benefit dilemma. Hordes of cheap, expendable first-person view (FPV) drones have become the dominant weapon in the Ukraine war, paralyzing bold battlefield maneuvers and practically driving armored vehicles off the battlefield. These are mass-produced commercial drones that can be rigged for military missions at a total cost of hundreds of dollars. Most of these have limited payload capacity, altitude and a range of only around 10 miles.

On the other end of the spectrum is the airliner-sized RQ-4 Global Hawk, a high-altitude $200 million drone that is being retired from the US military. A Global Hawk was destroyed by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile in 2019.

In the middle are the drones like the Reaper, which can carry a 2-ton payload of missiles and sensors, has a range of 1,200 miles, and can fly at 50,000 feet. The Reapers were essential aircraft in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as they could stay in the air hunting for targets far longer than a crewed aircraft, and be placed in more dangerous airspace because there was no risk to a human flier. For example, from September 2007 to July 2008, MQ-9 flew 480 sorties totaling more than 3,800 hours in Afghanistan.

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In many ways, these UAVs resemble the earliest drones, which were just modified versions of manned aircraft. For example, World War II F6F Hellcat fighters converted into remote-controlled machines for target practice. The AQM-34L Firebee that flew reconnaissance missions over Vietnam was 29 feet long, not much shorter than an MQ-9.

They face a glaring problem: more adversaries are armed with air defense missiles capable of knocking out aircraft-sized drones. Drones like the MQ-9 were not designed to fly in areas covered by an enemy's surface-to-air missiles. A Bayraktar's cruise speed is only 80 miles per hour, while even a relatively speedy Reaper has a cruise speed of around 200 miles per hour. Thus even a militant group like the Houthis can down an MQ-9 with an old Soviet SA-6 surface-to-air missile.

This puts drones at a fork in the road  go low-cost and large volume or even higher-cost with fewer aircraft but more capability. America's Reaper replacement may do the latter: a more sophisticated  and expensive  drone that includes stealth capabilities to evade radar; radar remains the primary means for air defenses to detect targets. For Britain, with its far smaller defense budget of roughly $70 billion, an improved MALE drone isn't viable. Tollast sees several non-drone options, including Low Earth Orbit satellites, high-altitude balloons, and tethered aerostats (such as blimps), which avoid the vulnerability of medium-altitude drones.

Yet satellites and balloons may not be in position when you need them, and aerostats can't be dispatched quickly into remote areas. Unless a technological breakthrough enables small UAVs to enjoy the capabilities of their larger brethren, the inability of large drones to function reduces the huge advantage of sensing the battlefield that the US and Western militaries have enjoyed.

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Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read the original article on Business Insider
CAPITAN, N.M. (KRQE)  A New Mexico native who was held as a prisoner of war and killed during World War II was accounted for in February, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Friday.

U.S. Army Pvt. Ben F. Leslie, 31, of Capitan, New Mexico, was assigned to Battery H, 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in April 1942. The Empire of Japan in the Philippines held him captive from 1942 to 1944 when the Japanese military moved POWs to Manila for transport to Japan aboard the transport ship Oryoku Maru.

Family of 105-year-old Bataan Death March survivor shares his story

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Unaware that allied POWs were on board, U.S. carrier-borne aircraft attacked the Oryoku Maru, which eventually sank in Subic Bay. The Japanese government reported that Leslie died aboard the Enoura Maru on Jan. 9, 1945. He was declared non-recoverable on March 22, 1949.

In May 1946, Leslies remains, which were unidentified at the time, were exhumed from a mass grave on a beach at Takao, Formosa. The 311 bodies were then buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), Honolulu.

Between October 2022 and July 2023, scientists exhumed the unknown remains from and were able to identify Leslies remains using dental and anthropological analysis, along with mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analysis.

Leslies name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at North Africa American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Tunis, Tunisia, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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Leslie will be buried in White Oaks, New Mexico, in July 2025.

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The remains of Pattie Wu-Murad of Connecticut have been identified, more than two years after she first went missing in 2023 during a 700-mile hike in Japan

Pattie's family shared that search and rescue expert retraced the area near where her backpack was found last year and discovered her remains on April 27

"Although we had tried to prepare ourselves for this outcome, the finality of this news is heartbreaking. It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie's death," her family wrote in an update on Facebook







More than two years after a Connecticut woman went missing while hiking in Japan, investigators have found her remains and confirmed her death.

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According to an update shared by her family on Saturday, May 17, the remains of Pattie Wu-Murad  who went missing on April 10, 2023, while hiking in the Nara Prefecture in central Japan  were found near a hiking trail where some of her belongings, including her backpack, were found last year.

"On Friday, May 9, 2025, our family received confirmation that our beloved Wife, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, and Friend, Pattie Wu-Murad, is deceased," the family said in the update, which was posted on a Facebook group dedicated to finding the missing mom.

They revealed that a member of a U.S. search and rescue team who was in Japan retraced the area near where the backpack had been found and found her remains on April 27.

"During his hike, he discovered several of Pattie's personal items and what appeared to be a femur. He delivered the remains to the local Japanese police, who confirmed they were human," the family said.

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Authorities tested the DNA and compared it to Pattie's daughter's DNA. They confirmed they were a match on May 9, her family said.

"Although we had tried to prepare ourselves for this outcome, the finality of this news is heartbreaking," they wrote in the update. "It offers a measure of closure, but many questions remain unanswered, including the exact circumstances and cause of Pattie's death."



GoFundMe Patty Wu-Murad.

Pattie was last seen checking out of a guest house at around 7 a.m. local time on the day of her disappearance in 2023. The mom of three was in the middle of a 700-mile solo journey hiking the Kumano Kodo trail when she failed to show up at the guesthouse and was reported missing to local authorities that same day.

At the time, her family said the local police searched for 72 hours, but were unable to locate her, leading them to create a GoFundMe to raise money for private search and rescue teams.

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The family raised more than $200,000 in an effort to bring Pattie home, but decided to stop accepting donations on June 10, 2023.

Pattie's relatives shared on Saturday that the years-long search process involved 24 American search and rescue (SAR) professionals, local Japanese SAR experts, law enforcement, U.S. Embassy officials in both Japan and Washington, D.C., the FBI and resources from U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.

In an October 2024 update, the woman's family shared that her backpack and a single shoe were found. Her daughter Murphy Murad said in another social media post that "a person who was fishing in Totsukawa village found a backpack in a stream" on Sept. 15.

"He found Pattie's email (which is more or less her name) and her family's home address written on a ziplock bag inside the backpack, and he reported it to the Gojo Police Station, Murphy wrote, noting that the next day, police retrieved the backpack.

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Authorities then searched the area and located the shoe downstream from the backpacks location. Both were found in a stream northeast of the Mandokoro guesthouse.

GoFundMe Pattie Wu-Murad Pattie Wu-Murad

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The family is now working with authorities to transport Pattie, who was 61 at the time of her disappearance, back to the U.S.

"Pattie was an incredible woman whose love and friendship touched many lives," read the family's Facebook post, signed by Pattie's husband Kirk Murad and three children, Rachel, Murphy and Bryce. "While we are devastated, we are also humbled by the global community that rallied to help find her. We will continue to honor her memory with love and gratitude in our hearts."



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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Protect Our Healthcare RI, a coalition of consumer and nonprofit organizations, unveiled a new factbook report Friday that stresses the importance of federal and state Medicaid spending.

The Medicaid Matters for Rhode Island factbook also highlights the significant impact that President Donald Trumps proposed spending cuts would have on the states health care system.

RELATED: GOP lawmakers block Trumps big tax breaks bill in a stunning setback

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The factbook notes that one in three Rhode Islanders  or approximately 366,082  rely on Medicaid for primary, specialist and long-term health care services.

Its a third of our population. Its half our kids. Its two-thirds of the seniors in nursing homes, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said. A blow like that would take down our whole health care system.

Trump argues that the spending cuts were made in an effort to address waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system.

ALSO READ: RI lawmakers urged to pass health care reforms

But Sen. Jack Reed doesnt agree.

Its bologna, Reed said. It would have incredible consequences  10.6 million Americans would lose Medicaid.

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Though House Republicans blocked Trumps proposed spending cuts Friday afternoon, their decision to do so was to demand further spending cuts to Medicaid.

Originally, Republican lawmakers proposed requiring Medicaid recipients between the ages of 19 and 64 to prove twice a year that they are working or volunteering. Exceptions to that rule would be for those with disabilities and eligible parents or guardians.

But Medicaid recipients like Lev Poplow, who was recently diagnosed with lymphoma for the second time, are worried they wont be able to meet that requirement.

Im self-employed, Poplow said. Should I write a letter to myself that Im employed? Or am I supposed to send a letter to my clients that says, Please vouch that Im actually working for you, because if you dont, I wont get my cancer treatment. How is that even supposed to work?

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Whitehouse and Reed doubled down on their commitment to fighting against these potential spending cuts and preserving health care for all.

Read the full Medicaid Matters in Rhode Island factbook below.

MEDICAID MATTERS IN RHODE ISLAND FACTBOOKDownload

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV)  An incident report from Savannah Police Department (SPD) revealed new details related to the Thursday kidnapping of a toddler.

Three-year-old Leilani Elliot was reported found and safe by SPD Friday morning. She was reported missing and in extreme danger Thursday morning.

Police told News 3, her mother, Jessy Elliot, took her without permission following a supervised visit at Bright House on Wheaton Street. The 32-year-old was arrested Friday morning in Camden County.

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The toddler is in the foster care system. According to the report, the visit Thursday morning at the family support center was supervised. An employee was in a separate room of the home and was watching the mother and daughter through surveillance cameras, the report reads.

The employee told police they saw Jessy pick up her daughter in the living room, peak around the corner at the front door and walk out onto the porch. Jessy was then seen running with her daughter towards East Broad Street, according to SPD Sgt. Aaron Washington.

[Jessy Elliot] had been speaking on what she was going to do, from neighbors and individuals that she had associated with, Sgt. Washington said. You could tell she wanted to seize that opportunity and she did.

The child was believed to be in extreme danger. Sgt. Washington says the Amber Alert was delayed due to the department not having the tag number of Elliots Nissan Altima. That alert was sent out late Thursday afternoon.

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Jail records show that Elliot has a criminal history with charges ranging from cruelty to children and drug possession. Police were able to return the child to her foster parents. Washington is grateful for this outcome.

Its a big relief, Sgt. Washington said.

News 3 was told Friday that the spokesperson for Brightside Child and Family Advocacy is out of town. Our staff reached out to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). We were sent the following statement, DHS/DFCS is bound by both state and federal law to protect the privacy of the people we serve. As such, we are unable to comment on the specifics of any child welfare cases.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV.
The Project Prison Reset group meets on April 3, 2025, at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota will need a third more prison space than it has now by 2036, and lawmakers choice to pass a so-called truth in sentencing bill in 2023 is a major reason why.

Thats among the takeaways from a new report on the states prison infrastructure that says the state would need to spend between $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion on new prisons to deal with an inmate population thats projected to swell in spite of the states decreasing crime rate.

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The state needs a 1,700-bed mens prison immediately, the report from Arrington Watkins says. Even then, it says, another 1,500 beds for men will be necessary in a little more than 10 years, when it projects a prison population of more than 5,000 people.

The state signed a $729,000 contract with the Phoenix-based firm as part of Project Prison Reset, a work group formed by gubernatorial fiat in the face of state lawmakers refusal to back an $850 million, 1,500-bed mens prison in Lincoln County in February.

Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, chairman of the work group, said the report supports the groups first official vote last month, which was to conclude that the state does need at least one new prison.

Venhuizen was quick to point out that the $2 billion price tag would only apply if the state followed the consultants guidance to the letter and built two large prisons, but said the population projections lay bare the stakes of South Dakotas current approach to criminal justice.

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The work groups job is not to address the drivers of prison population growth, he said. But he also said hes glad the report took note of those driving forces.

The truth in sentencing bill, SB 146, requires people convicted of violent offenses to serve between 85% and 100% of their sentences, depending on the category of their crime.

As a legislator in 2023, Venhuizen voted against SB 146, and its potential to impact prison populations was part of the reason why.

Those decisions are not free. You have to strike a balance there, Venhuizen said. If youre sending people to prison for longer, there is a cost to that.

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The bills author and prime sponsor, Republican former Sen. Brent Hoffman, has a different take on the legislations impact on South Dakotas correctional needs.

The real issue isnt SB 146, which protects the public by requiring violent criminals to serve their sentences, said Hoffman, a supporter of term limits who served one term and opted against running for a second in 2024. The underlying, systemic problems are recidivism rates, wasteful spending, misguided priorities and incompetence, and those problems wont be solved by any consultants report or politicians rhetoric.

Prison population growth

Every correctional facility in South Dakota is beyond its capacity now. The South Dakota State Penitentiary was built in 1881 to house one inmate per cell, but holds twice as many.

The proposed 1,500-bed facility in Lincoln County, mired in controversy over cost and necessity and still tied up in litigation over its location, was meant to replace the penitentiary.

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There are two other housing units on the penitentiary campus in Sioux Falls, however, and each of those faces its own issues with overcrowding.

The maximum-security Jameson Annex, for example, is overbooked because it houses not only maximum security inmates, but those in disciplinary segregation and those with serious mental health needs. Its also the sorting zone for every new male inmate in the state system, where inmates stay as theyre assessed for longer-term placement.

The Sioux Falls Minimum Center, meanwhile, holds 245 men in a building designed for 96.

Even with a large but temporary drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, new admissions to Department of Corrections custody grew an average of 3.2% a year between 2015 and 2024, the report says.

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Thats in spite of a crime rate in South Dakota thats lower than the national average and on the decline. The states total population has gone the other direction, increasing by 0.9% a year since 2010.

Much of the long-term factors built into the new report were present for its predecessor, a report from Omahas DLR group that pointed to a 1,500-bed mens facility as one of several necessary projects for the DOC.

Senate Bill 146 is a wrinkle that didnt exist for the DLR group, some portions of which were used by Arrington Watkins in its expedited, two-month repeat assessment.

SB 146 ropes in fewer than 10% of the states inmates, the report notes  drug offenses are the most common charge for which South Dakotans are imprisoned  but the inability of those convicted of violent offenses to be released before serving at least 85% of their sentence will have a long-term impact on prison population growth.

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Roughly half of the 1,246 more inmates the report anticipates South Dakota will have by 2036 is attributable to SB 146.

Parole violations are another driver of population growth, the report notes. About 45% of new admissions to the DOC came by way of parole violations in 2024, the report says, and 84% of those violations were technical in nature rather than new criminal charges.

Minnehaha County States Attorney Daniel Haggar cautioned that technical parole violations often involve serious misbehavior, however. Technical violations include drug use, he said, as well as absconding  losing touch with a parole officer altogether.

When those offenders are violent offenders or sex offenders this is a threat to public safety, he said in an email to South Dakota Searchlight on Friday.

Responses colored with skepticism of price tag, conclusions

The state has already spent more than $50 million on the Lincoln County site, although a share of that money could be clawed back by selling land or reusing aspects of the now-stalled prisons design.

The new reports top recommendation is a 1,700-bed, Level V facility, built within 30 miles of the existing penitentiary to relieve crowding across the entirety of the mens prison system. It also recommends demolishing the 1881 penitentiary.

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Level V is correctional nomenclature for maximum security.

Former penitentiary warden Doug Weber wrote seven letters to lawmakers during the 2025 session urging them to say no to the 1,500-bed facility in Lincoln County, essentially a smaller version of what the new report says is necessary.

The focus on the factors driving the states prison population growth raises important questions, Weber told South Dakota Searchlight on Friday, but he disagrees strongly with its conclusions on how to remedy the situation.

Theres nobody in South Dakota, in my opinion, except a handful of people, maybe in Pierre, that would be comfortable spending $2.1 billion on buildings for the Department of Corrections, said Weber. There are much better ways to spend money.

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Weber called a Level V facility unnecessary and too expensive in a state where the number of maximum security inmates hovers around 200.

He also bristles at the idea of knocking down the pen. Millions have been spent to maintain it in recent years, including for air conditioning less than five years ago, and Weber said it could easily serve as a minimum security facility by removing the cell doors and putting a single person in each cell.

Republican Speaker of the House Jon Hansen, a work group member and candidate for governor in 2026, said theres absolutely no way that I will support spending that much money on prisons.

If we needed to be building new facilities, we should be looking at the current location in Sioux Falls for a lot less money, Hansen said.

Madeline Voegeli, one of the neighbors to the Lincoln County site who sued the state over the issue, said in an email to Searchlight that the group has serious doubts about the veracity of the reports population projections.

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The DLR report, completed in 2022, suggested a 1,300-bed mens prison at a cost of around $608 million.

Now, she wrote, were being told to swallow a nearly quadrupled cost of up to $2.1 billion, largely driven by SB 146 and questionable population projections.

Voegeli accused the state of engaging in a pattern of inflating proposals to make a billion-dollar plan  the original Lincoln County proposal  appear reasonable.

Venhuizen said arguments suggesting that the Lincoln County plans supporters tried to tip the scale in the consultants report are misplaced.

Its not a strong position to assume that everyone who disagrees with you is being dishonest, Venhuizen said. If youre doing that, you should probably examine the strength of your own arguments.

Criminal justice reform questions

Rep. Karla Lems, a Canton Republican whos both a work group member and an avowed opponent of the Lincoln County proposal, said Friday that shes skeptical of the conclusions, as well.

The work group is meant to deliver its recommendations to a special legislative session in July. The state, she said, needs to spend more time thinking about reducing repeat offenses before it decides what to build.

Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, is also a work group member. He said the state needs to think innovatively on how to reduce prison populations, and that the report is a clear sign of how necessary that is. Mulder was one of the prime sponsors of a bill to change the penalty for first- and second-offense drug ingestion from a felony to a misdemeanor during the 2025 session.

Too few prisoners are getting drug treatment, Mulder said, and he feels the state ought to consider partnering with nonprofits to extend treatments reach both inside the prison and outside, for parolees.

He also has questions about parole supervision practices.

I would ask whats going on now with things like remote monitoring, Mulder said. Its a lot more effective for the state for someone so they can continue to be held accountable, but be held at home.

A graph of South Dakotas projected prison population, taken from a consultant report from the group Arrington Watkins. (Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Corrections)

Mulder supported truth in sentencing and continues to, though. He said parole reforms make more sense.

Reforms to truth in sentencing laws ought to be up for consideration, though, according to Zoe Towns, executive director of a bipartisan think tank called Fwd.Us.

Her group pushes for changes to criminal justice and immigration policy. The knock-on effects of incarceration for families and communities are heavy, Towns said, and the returns for public safety diminish significantly when inmates dont have a chance to earn credit for good behavior  even when the people earning them committed violent offenses.

What we should be asking is how long is incapacitation actually helpful? Towns said. What are the policies that are most likely to help people, when they come home, to contribute to their communities and local economies?

Addressing behavioral health needs and addiction early on are more effective ways to deal with crime than incarceration, she said, but other strategies are even further removed from criminal justice.

Towns pointed to research from places like the Brookings Institute that suggest investments in youth education and public health offer long-term returns for public safety.

Its literally after school and public school programs, Towns said. That has a stronger homicide reduction rate than policing does. Im not saying theres not a role for policing. Im saying that actually, factually, in evidence, has a stronger return than sleeping in prison.

The next Project Prison Reset meeting is June 3 in Pierre.

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Pay attention to an important shift in tone in Washington as Republicans evolve with President Donald Trumps brand of populism. Some of the presidents goals dovetail with things Democrats have been talking about for a long time.

 Give babies seed money. In Republicans tax legislation, theres a proposal for what theyre calling MAGA savings accounts  $1,000 given by the government to each American newborn in a tax-deferred account. The idea of giving American babies money to be grown during their childhoods and then used for college or a home purchase has been percolating for years, with bipartisan support. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker proposed baby bonds when he was running for president as a way to address inequality. GOP Sen. Todd Young of Indiana has also pushed the idea, and some states are experimenting with it.

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 Tax the rich. Trump said hed be open to raising taxes on the wealthy as lawmakers on Capitol Hill search for ways to offset his tax cuts.

He later backtracked, but the idea of a tax-hiking GOP president gave whiplash to old-school Republicans familiar with the not-too-distant era of the no-new-tax pledge.

 Drive down drug costs. Trump promised to cap prescription drug prices in an executive order. The plan will face obstacles in court, but it is the cousin of Democrats success under President Joe Biden passing a law to drive down drug prices by allowing Medicare, for the first time, to negotiate the price it pays for some medications.

 Give parents more money. Republicans in the House envision bumping the child tax credit by $500 to $2,500. Its less generous than moves by Democrats when they were in charge that temporarily gave child tax credits even to parents who dont pay income taxes. When those ended, the child poverty rate rose. But the GOP proposal does acknowledge the expense of raising children. However, the GOP plan would shrink the number of children eligible by requiring parents have a Social Security number. Immigrants, even those who pay taxes and have children who are citizens, would be excluded.

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The Trump administration has also toyed with the idea of baby bonuses  $5,000 checks to entice parents to procreate. Thats less than the universal child care supports envisioned by some Democrats, but its not a trivial sum.

 Invest in manufacturing. Trumps tariffs  which hes said will either lead to better trade deals or raise revenue for the government  are also taxes, but they are meant to force a new era of American manufacturing.

Building a manufacturing base was also a goal of the Biden administration, but the White House and Congress back then agreed to spend money to seed semiconductor and renewable energy industries rather than hike taxes on imports.

 Change how the Pentagon buys things. In April, Trump signed an executive order seeking to reform Pentagon acquisition  or how it buys things. The Pentagon spends a lot of money, and the system is notoriously bloated. Trumps order is not exactly meant to cut defense spending  his budget envisions $1 trillion going to the Pentagon in one year  but it is an acknowledgment that American defense spending needs reform, something many progressives would agree with.

Bipartisanship is hard in a time of kitchen sink bills

None of these points of agreement should lead anyone to think we are on the cusp of a new era of bipartisanship. Plainly, we arent.

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Republicans today, like Democrats during the Biden administration, are pursuing Trumps goals in a bill designed to sidestep the filibuster in the Senate.

Current proposals would slash food security benefits along with Medicaid spending and largely end efforts to address climate change, all while adding trillions to the national debt in the name of tax cuts.

The only option for lawmakers is likely to be an up-or-down vote on such a large measure, which means Republicans are having trouble finding enough support in their own party, let alone any help from Democrats.

Will Trump make a bipartisan law again?

But clearly there are bridges to be built across the American political divide.

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During his first term, Trump followed up his tax cuts bill with a bipartisan achievement, the First Step Act, which cut extremely long prison sentences, among other things. Its hard to imagine Trump revisiting that issue given his rhetoric about imposing the death penalty on drug dealers, his endorsement of prisons like CECOT in El Salvador and the fact that he has considered suspending habeas corpus in the US.

What Trump ultimately wants is to get wins, however, and passing laws creates more lasting change than his executive orders.

Room for agreement

I asked the Bipartisan Policy Center, a group that tries to bring Democrats and Republicans together, about which issues might have room for accord.

It rarely gets much attention, but bipartisan cooperation is happening on Capitol Hill because it is the only way to actually get anything done that lasts longer than the next change in majority, said Margaret Spellings, BPCs CEO, who was education secretary in the George W. Bush administration.

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BPC pointed to bipartisan legislation on permitting reform, which is Washington speak for making it easier to start building energy and infrastructure products  not the sexiest issue, but one that could make the government work more efficiently. There are also ongoing efforts for legislation to get more Americans involved in retirement savings programs and to reauthorize expiring substance abuse treatment programs.

Something sounds different

Meanwhile, a shift in tone can offer a brief rest from the normal sniping in Washington.

Pushing Trumps proposal to match US drug prices with Europes, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that issue was the fulcrum of Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

The next day at a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sanders asked Kennedy whether hed work on legislation  which has more power than an executive order  to further drive down drug costs.

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Absolutely, Kennedy said, although Republicans are currently trying to craft a big, beautiful tax cut bill for Trump that does not include any effort to expand drug cost measures.

Medications are stored on shelves at a pharmacy on May 12 in Los Angeles. - Eric Thayer/Getty Images

Appearing on CNNs Inside Politics Monday, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri panned the House version of the tax bill because it would cut Medicaid benefits. Medicaid is the federal program that helps low-income Americans obtain health insurance.

I continue to stand by my line in the sand, which is no Medicaid benefit cuts, he said.

Were the party of the working class, Hawley said, referencing how the parties have realigned in recent years. We need to act like it.

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He also said hes fine with raising taxes on those making more than $1 million per year.

Support vs. SUPPORT

Being okay with something is different than fully supporting it, however.

After suggesting he could support a tax on the wealthy, Trump said he wouldnt because he didnt want Democrats to use the issue against him.

The problem with even a TINY tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, Read my lips, the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election! Trump wrote on social media.

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Trump could stop worrying so much about what Democrats say since he wont face any more elections. The Constitution forbids him from seeking a third term.

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Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation over the last week that could give the federal government a tighter grasp on some tech platforms, while easing up government scrutiny on artificial intelligence.

The Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committees budget reconciliation bill was introduced Tuesday and would give the federal government the ability to update IT systems as well as use AI systems at the Commerce Department. The bill would also put a pause on states ability to enforce AI regulations for the next decade to allow the American AI market to grow and be studied.

While some politicians have been skeptical and critical of AI, the Trump administration has been vocal about seeking to encourage the growth of the AI industry in the U.S. with few guardrails.

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On Friday, to cap off President Donald Trumps Middle East trip, the administration announced a deal with the United Arab Emirates to build a massive data center in the country that will serve American tech companies.

While Republicans have worked to protect AI, lawmakers have also introduced bills that would tighten regulations on some tech companies.

Two of the bills could make rules for tech platforms and their users more restrictive with the intent of making children safer online.

On May 8, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), which would update the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age, Lee said in a statement.

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IODA was first introduced in 2022, and again in 2024, but failed to become law.

IODA would change the definition of obscenity, which applies a three-pronged test to content, to anything that appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion, and depicts, describes or represents actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse, titillate, or gratify the sexual desires of a person.

Its currently illegal to transmit obscene content via telecommunications if its intended as harassment or abuse. The bill would remove the requirement for that intent, meaning it could criminalize any content deemed obscene that is transmitted via telecommunications systems.

Despite the bill lacking bipartisan support or additional recorded co-sponsors, it has gained attention online and in the media for language that could make pornography something that can be prosecuted under laws pertaining to obscenity. However, proponents of the law hope it will prevent children from viewing lewd and obscene content.

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Currently, social media platforms are granted a good faith immunity under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which means they cant be held legally liable for most content posted on their sites, aside from a few exceptions. Although a news release from Lee about IODA didnt specify who would be held legally responsible for newly obscene content, it said the bill is meant to create a uniform definition of obscenity, so it would be easier to identify and prosecute obscene content.

Obscenity isnt protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children, Lee said in the statement. Our bill updates the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age so this content can be taken down and its peddlers prosecuted.

On Wednesday, the bi-partisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would hold websites accountable if they host content that is harmful to children, was reintroduced in the Senate.

KOSA was first introduced in 2022 by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., but failed to make it out of the chamber. During the 2023-2024 congressional term, KOSA was introduced again with amendments to address concerns over the vague wording in the bill. In July, KOSA passed in the Senate, but by the end of 2024, it had failed to advance in the House.

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The latest version of KOSA states that the bill would require social media platforms to remove addictive product features, give parents more control and oversight of their kids social media, create a duty for platforms to mitigate content focused on topics like suicide and disordered eating, and require transparency from social media platforms to share the steps theyre taking to protect children.

Those who are in favor of the bill say it would hold platforms legally accountable if they host harmful content that minors should not view. Opponents said it could inadvertently affect sites that host LGBTQ content. Theyre also concerned it could lead to more censorship online.

Sponsors are claimingagainthat the latest version wont censor online content. It isnt true. This bill still sets up a censorship regime disguised as a duty of care, and it will do what previous versions threatened: suppress lawful, important speech online, especially for young people, Joe Mullin, senior policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a statement.

However, updates made to the bill help to make its reach less broad and remove attorneys general ability to prosecute platforms. It also makes more precise the harm it expects social media and other websites to protect against. This has led to some opponents of the bill changing their stance.

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The bill was reintroduced with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signing on. Last year, the bill passed in the Senate, 91-3, but died in the House. The current bill has been backed by Apple and Republican figures including Trump and Elon Musk.

In a statement, Apples senior director of government affairs for the Americas, Timothy Powderly, said the company was happy to offer its support for the bill, adding that everyone has a role to play in keeping children safe online. He also acknowledged the concerns around KOSA and praised the senators for working to improve the bill.

As longtime advocates of privacy as a fundamental right, we believe these improvements are important, and hopefully the first steps towards comprehensive privacy legislation that ensures everyones right to privacy online, Powderly said.

Critics have pushed back on both bills as some say they could result in overly policed speech online.

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Matt Navarra, a social media consultant and analyst who has worked with companies like Google and the U.S. and U.K. governments, said the bills  particularly KOSA  could have significant ramifications for social media platforms and the way people use them. Navarra said KOSA would force platforms to rethink recommendation engines, notifications, data tracking works for minors.

For engagement-driven platforms like TikTok or Instagram, thats a radical shift  its not just about whats allowed, its about how addictive and immersive experiences get redesigned or dismantled, he said. So KOSA is less about content policing and more about an algorithmic detox especially for teens.

Adults would likely also see a major change in what is accessible online if IODA becomes law.

In terms of the things that people are concerned about with the bill, particularly around censorship, KOSA does sort of introduce a duty of care that sounds good in theory but in practice could push platforms into over-moderating or flat-out removing content just to avoid the risk, Navarra said. And the obscenity bill wraps this up even more.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Across North Carolina, a number of cities have adopted their own climate goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In Winston-Salem, the city has committed to cutting emissions from municipal buildings and city-owned vehicles by 40% by 2025, using 50% clean and renewable energy by 2030, and fully transitioning city operations to 100% clean energy by 2050. Greensboro plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from city operations by 40% and reduce energy use per square foot in city-owned buildings by 40%, both compared to 2005 levels, by 2025.

These efforts come as environmental experts and clean energy advocates express concern about the direction of statewide climate policy following the confirmation of a new member to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which regulates the rates and services of private electricity, gas, water, and sewer providers in the state.

Donald van der Vaart, the new appointee, was described by a Wake Forest University environmental expert as having publicly shown skepticism toward green energy.

Who is the new Utilities commissioner?

On Wednesday, the North Carolina Senate Select Committee on Nominations confirmed van der Vaart to the Utilities Commission, approving his appointment by State Treasurer Brad Briner under a new law that gives the treasurer authority to appoint one member to the body  a power previously held by the governor.

A former candidate for EPA administrator under the Trump administration, van der Vaart led the states Department of Environmental Quality under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and spent more than 20 years in the Division of Air Quality.

Stan Meiburg of Wake Forest Universitys Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability, who served as chair of North Carolinas Environmental Management Commission while van der Vaart was a commissioner, described van der Vaart as smart and well-prepared, but noted that his ambition sometimes influenced his analysis.

Some of his positions and the way he framed them seemed calculated more to impress some of his political allies than to advance the issue before you, said Meiburg.

That manifested skepticism toward renewable energy, Meiburg noted, is an example of how van der Vaart would understate the risks of climate change or the consequences of fossil fuel use, while challenges around renewable energy tend to be overstated.

In 2015, under van der Vaart, the DEQ submitted a state compliance plan that focused on improving the efficiency of existing coal-fired power plants, while arguing that transitioning to renewable energy sources could lead to higher electricity costs, disproportionately affecting lower-income communities.

He has just been so vehement that he opposes renewable energy, said Mary Maclean Asbill, director of the North Carolina Offices of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

He discouraged DEQ employees from speaking out about what was going on with Duke Energys coal ash contamination and elevated pollution levels in the water, and he has never seemed to have any tolerance for views that differ from his own.

In 2015, DEQ downgraded the risk classifications of several Duke Energy coal ash sites from high to low-intermediate, a move that environmental groups criticized as potentially delaying necessary cleanups. Van der Vaart defended this decision by stating that the draft classifications reflected the latest science and criticized environmental groups for releasing early drafts of the report, suggesting that such actions could corrupt the process.

Meiburg also pointed to van der Vaarts recent ruling as chief administrative law judge, in which he sided with the cities of Asheboro, Greensboro and Reidsville in a lawsuit challenging the states efforts to limit discharges of potential carcinogens like 1,4-dioxane into waterways that flow downstream to other North Carolina communities.

Hes actively opposed environmental regulations, and appointing him to oversee the states energy future is dangerously irresponsible, said Dan Crawford at N.C. League of Conservation Voters. This move signals that the North Carolina Treasurer values fossil fuel interest over public health interest, and that he values polluters over consumer protection and climate resilience.

Van der Vaarts law clerk did not respond to the Journals request for comment on his stance on renewable energy and prior environmental policy views.

Looser timeline on emissions cuts?

During Wednesdays confirmation hearing, van der Vaart said the states 70% carbon reduction target by 2030 includes off-ramps to allow for flexibility, noting that past electricity demand forecasts have proven to be somewhat inaccurate.

The way I read 951 is that there are provisions to allow for those (inaccurate loads). Now, the 2050 goal appears to be a mandate, said van der Vaart.

The House Bill 951, enacted in 2021 under a bipartisan agreement between the Republican-led legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, set a goal to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector by 70% by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

However, this approach has faced challenges, including pushback from Duke Energy and legislative efforts to alter the states carbon reduction goals, with the utility receiving approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to delay the 2030 carbon reduction target to 2035, while the state Senate passing a bill to eliminate the 2030 goal altogether but keep the 2050 net-zero target.

Some energy experts, like Joseph DeCarolis, a professor in N.C. State Universitys Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, have questioned the bill that Republican senators say could save up to $13 billion  calling that figure exaggerated due to a lack of transparency around how the modeling accounts for future policy and economic changes.

If you delay the target, if you delay action, then that presents a risk for meeting the ultimate goal, DeCarolis said.

Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, have been the main force behind climate change observed since the mid-20th century, says U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to North Carolinas Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan, the state is projected to experience major climate-related impacts, including rising temperatures, more frequent and severe heat waves, shifting wildlife habitats, intensified droughts, and an increase in both the frequency and strength of storms and wildfires, by mid-century.

With his confirmation, van der Vaart will serve from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2031 on the Utilities Commission.
About 53% of Republicans now say they have at least some trust in the information they get from national news organizations, according to The Pew Research Center.

In September, only 40% of Republicans said the same. Republican trust has also risen in local news outlets (75% from 66%) and in social media (45% from 37%).

Republicans are still less likely to trust the media than Democrats. Among Democrats surveyed, 81% say they have at least some trust in national outlets  a number that has remained relatively consistent over the last decade. Trust in local news is even higher among Democrats, at 87%, while trust in social media is lower, at 38%.

Does Donald Trump have anything to do with the change?

A study by the Pew Knight Initiative found that news influencers on social media are more likely to identify with right-leaning political views, and these influencers have become significant news sources, particularly among younger demographics.

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Unlike traditional media, influencers frequently present content with a clear political perspective. And as a recent study finds, exposure to partisan media  whether liberal or conservative  correlates with reduced trust in the mainstream press, regardless of which party a person identifies with.

In a YouGov/American Enterprise Institute poll among people who said they voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, shows 92% agreed that the mainstream media today is just a part of the Democratic Party.

Pew Research found that Republican trust in national media didnt increase in 2016, when Donald Trump became president for the first time.

Trump administration says it wants to hold mainstream media accountable

Trump and his allies have said they are striving to hold news organizations accountable through investigations and legal channels.

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Trump has filed lawsuits with CBS News and the Des Moines Register for deceptive advertising and accused outlets like The New York Times of acting on behalf of the Democratic Party. The FCC has also launched investigations into outlets perceived as unfair, including NBC, ABC and CBS.

Critics of the Trump administration take issue with the investigations and the accompanying threats to withdraw access and funding.

Your right to say something depends on what the administration thinks of it, which is no free speech at all, said Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
SAINT GABRIEL, La. (Louisiana First)  A rescue group helped save more than 30 dogs kept in a St. Gabriel veterinary office that was supposed to be closed.

Courtney Turner is the director of Licking for Love, a nonprofit group that fosters dogs. She said another rescue team became aware of the situation, and both coordinated to rescue the animals.

You could feel the urine, it would burn your eyes. It was very potent, but with that many animals I was amazed that it was not as bad as it could have been, said Turner.

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In a Facebook Live video posted by the nonprofit, some animals looked hungry, waste was visible throughout the building and rescuers walked around to identify the animals.

Turner said there was no nefarious intent to keep the animals in a poor situation. She said the person responsible has a medical condition that makes him unaware of what is happening, and he is a well-respected member of the community.

East Baton Rouge Schools eyes new start time, transportation improvements

Turner said people who want to help can donate to help with the medical and housing costs. In about a week, some animals will be ready to be adopted. Fosters are also welcome.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
Disregarding the advice of medical professionals, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republicans are leading a charge against what has been heralded as one of the greatest public health achievements: fluoride in public water. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned fluoride from public water on Thursday, following Utahs move to do the same in March. At least five other states are eyeing similar bans.

Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, thats fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people, DeSantis said. They dont have a choice, youre taking that away from them.

Kennedy said last month that he will tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoridation  the process of adding fluoride to drinking water  which has been shown to prevent tooth decay. He also said he is making a task force to study fluoride in drinking water. The same day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets the level of fluoride allowed in water, said it is reviewing new scientific information on the risks of fluoride.

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The HHS head said Utah is the leader in making America healthy again, after the state banned fluoride from public drinking water.

Im very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will, he said.

Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and South Carolina are looking at fluoride bans as well. Portland, Oregon voted to ban fluoride in 1956, and more recently, in the past six years, at least 734 water systems have stopped fluoridating their water, according to the Associated Press.

The Food and Drug Administration, which is part of HHS, announced this week that its beginning to remove ingestible fluoride supplements for children from shelves. Ending the use of ingestible fluoride is long overdue, Kennedy said in a press release.

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Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that has had dramatic success in improving Americans dental health. In 1999, the CDC called fluoridation of drinking water one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first city in the U.S. to fluoridate its drinking water in 1945. The findings from this experiment were a major breakthrough. For the first time, tooth decay was a preventable disease for the majority of people. Federal officials endorsed fluoridation in 1950.

Cuts by Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency eliminated the CDCs Division of Oral Health, which issued guidelines on fluoridation.

Local governments are looking at fluoride bans as well. In Florida, Miami-Dade County eyed such a resolution, which Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed.

Water fluoridation is a safe, effective, and efficient way to maintain dental health in our county  and halting it could have long-lasting health consequences, especially for our most vulnerable families, Levine Cava said in a statement. Commissioners voted to override her veto.

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Kennedy said in a November post on X that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water, something that has not happened yet. On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water, he wrote. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.

Fluoride can be a byproduct of industrial waste, but that is not its main definition. It is naturally found in almost all soil and water and many rocks, according to the CDC. Excessive amounts of fluoride are linked to skeletal fluorosis, a bone disease. Levels of fluoride much higher than what are in water supplies has been linked to hypothyroidism.

Last year, a federal judge ordered the EPA to release more regulations on fluoride in drinking water, based on the risk that higher levels of fluoride could pose to children.

An HHS report found earlier last year with moderate confidence that levels of fluoride that are twice the recommended limit are linked to lower IQ in children.

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Kennedys plan to unilaterally tell the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation is unorthodox, experts say.

If youre really serious about this, you dont just come in and change it, Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, told the Associated Press. You ask somebody like the National Academy of Sciences to do a study  and then you follow their recommendations.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  The Ocean State has officially established a designated office to oversee all licensing, compliance and enforcement related to medical and adult-use cannabis.

Rhode Island became the 19th state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2022, allowing adults 21 and older to possess, use and grow cannabis.

According to the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), the creation of the Rhode Island Cannabis Office marks a structural shift designed to streamline oversight and improve services across the industry.

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Now, regulatory responsibilities previously handled by the Office of Cannabis Regulation at the Department of Business Regulation are consolidated and operate under the CCC.

This is a critical step forward in delivering on our mission to ensure a safe, transparent, and equitable cannabis market in Rhode Island, CCC Chair Kim Ahern said. The Cannabis Office is designed to provide clear lines of communication, licensee support, and an accountable regulatory framework.

READ ALSO: RI lawmakers weigh hemp beverage bills amid industry dispute

The new offices key functions include monitoring cannabis laws, supporting social equity applicants and disproportionately impacted communities, providing technical assistance and stakeholder education, and coordinating with municipalities to promote transparency.

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It is also guided by nine core priorities, including operational efficiency, public health and education, social equity, and data-driven decision making. Cannabis Office Administrator Michelle Reddish said their goal is to be proactive, accessible and responsive.

The establishment of this office is about more than just organizational charts, its about delivering real improvements in how we support license holders, patients, consumers, and the public, Reddish said.

More information can be found online through the RI Cannabis Office website.

NEXT: Could new pot shops open in RI this year?

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(WPRI)  Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island and the Bristol Community College all held commencements on Saturday.

George Nee, the former Rhode Island AFL-CIO President, delivered the commencement address at RIC.

Bette Gallogly, Shelter Manager of Community Care Alliance and Meghan Grady, Executive Director, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island both received honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees.

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For URI, this is the second of a three day graduation weekend. Students from College of Health Sciences, the Feinstein College of Education, the College of the Environment and Life Sciences and the Graduate School of Oceanography all received their degrees today.

Bristol Community College awarded 881 degrees to graduates from all Bristol Community College locations, including Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton and Online Learning.

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Richland School District 1 announced finalists for its next superintendent.

BWP & Associates, the firm hired by the school board to conduct the search, received 42 applications for the position from candidates in 12 states, according to a news release. Seven were selected for interviews, which took place Thursday and Friday. After deliberation, the board chose three finalists.

The Board was fortunate that so many highly qualified applicants want to take on the role of superintendent in Richland One. We could not be more excited about the three finalists, and we look forward to welcoming them to our district next week, board chair Robert Lominack said in a news release.

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The candidates are:

 Kelly S. Guempel, deputy superintendent, Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Fredericksburg, Virginia

 Dr. Kendra V. Johnson, associate superintendent, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Annapolis, Maryland

 Dr. Todd Anthony Walker, chief curriculum and instruction officer, Columbus City Schools, Columbus, Ohio

Guempel has 19 years of administrative experience across Virginia public schools, as an interim superintendent, principal and assistant principal, according to his resume. He had previously been a physical education teacher.

Johnson has 11 years of experience in Maryland and New Jersey public schools, as a superintendent, associate superintendent and chief academic officer, according to her resume. She has also done education consulting work.

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Walker has 25 years of leadership experience in Ohio schools serving pre-K through high school as a campus director and principal. He also previously taught on the high school and college level.

The finalists will visit the district Monday. Students, staff, parents and community members have an opportunity to meet the superintendent finalists on Monday, May 19, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Heyward Career and Technology Center, located at 3560 Lynhaven Drive in Columbia.

Richland 1 decided to part ways with current Superintendent Craig Witherspoon last fall.

The district school board voted unanimously on a mutual separation agreement in November following school board elections. His last day is June 30. As part of the agreement, he will receive a full years pay  his last contract extension raised his salary to $258,121  plus accrued compensation for annual leave and six months of health insurance coverage.

Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon speaks during a meeting of the Richland 1 School Board on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.

The new leader will enter a district that has faced scrutiny from community members and state officials for some time, particularly in the last 18 months.

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Richland 1 was placed on fiscal watch by the state Department of Education after a state-ordered audit revealed faults with the districts procurement card policy in late 2022. Thats the least severe financial rating issued by the state Education Department.

In October 2023, Witherspoon and the district administration came under fire after 11 teachers were abruptly reassigned nine weeks into the school year. Richland 1 officials were adamant that such transfers were not uncommon, and were made to maintain ideal student-teacher ratios in each district school. The reassignments were condemned by several Richland County legislators.

The districts efforts to build an early learning center in Lower Richland have been heavily criticized as well. Critics claim the district didnt get the proper permits before beginning construction on the $31 million project.

The state Department of Education refused to issue a permit for the center in December 2023 because the building was intended to serve children as young as infants. The age range meant the building could not be considered a school, the Education Department said. The district kept building anyway.

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Richland County officials also said the district did not obtain the proper permits before beginning construction.

On Jan. 19, 2024, the district announced that it would stop construction. The controversy led to an investigation by the state Inspector General, which condemned the districts work on the center and its procurement practices. Richland 1 had broken state law and wasted taxpayer money, the Inspector General said. Weeks after the July report, state education Superintendent Ellen Weaver placed Richland 1 on fiscal caution, the second most severe level of concern by her department.

The district was required to submit a recovery plan. But the state Education Department rejected the plan and ordered another audit. More than six months later, the audits current status is unclear.

In March, the new school board decided to terminate the early learning center project. On Tuesday, it voted to demolish the partially-built structure on Caughman Road.
Robert B. Heffelfinger, chairman of the Richland Township board of supervisors, was elected to a second one-year term as secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, a press release from PSATS said.

The secretary-treasurer is a member of the associations executive board with full voting rights. The board, which is made up of PSATS five officers, seven executive committee members and the past president, is responsible for managing the affairs of the association, PSATS said.

Heffelfinger is a member of PSATS Grassroots Advocacy Network, which addresses legislative issues that affect every Pennsylvanian who lives in a township of the second class. He previously served on the associations Townships Over 10,000 Population Committee and is a workshop moderator during PSATS Annual Educational Conference and a former member of the Annual Conference Planning Committee, the release said.

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Heffelfinger is deputy chief of the Richland Township Fire Department, president of the Cambria County Association of Township Officials and Cambria County 911 Advisory Board, member of the Cambria County Metropolitan Planning Organization and president of the Highland Community Library.

He also serves on the PAC Committee for the Hiram G. Andrews Center, is involved with Crime Stoppers, and is a speaker at various educational and business organizations in the community.

He previously served as fire chief, president and various other administrative and officer positions with the Richland Township Fire Department.

Heffelfinger, executive vice president of Advanced Office Systems Inc., resides in Johnstown.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Road rage suspect Nathaniel Radimak is back at the Halawa Correctional Facility after being hospitalized for injuries he received from being assaulted while behind bars.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority has issued a no-bail warrant against Radimak for allegedly violating parole conditions tied to a previous conviction he received back in California.

Hawaii elected officials wont be above illegal fireworks crackdown

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Due to an interstate agreement, Radimak was required to follow both Californias and Hawaiis parole rules. The new no-bail warrant will ensure that he remains behind bars without bail.

Radimak is currently facing charges for unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and assault for an attack on a mother and daughter last week in Kakaako.

If convicted in Hawaii, Radimak will first serve time in the islands before being sent back to California to complete his original sentence, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Lord Buffalos long-awaited European tour hit a screeching halt before it even began, all because their drummer was hauled off a plane in handcuffs.

Saad Saidbaca, the longtime percussionist for the rising Texas-based rock band, was "forcibly removed" from a flight earlier this week just moments before the group was set to take off for a run of international shows.

Now, newly released bodycam footage sheds light on the moment that shocked passengers and left his Lord Buffalo bandmates scrambling.

Lord Buffalo Drummer Taken Off Plane By Police Officers

In the footage, shared by Daily Mail, Saidbaca appears calm as airport police explain hes under arrest. Dressed for travel and visibly confused, he tells the officers he thought a custody case involving his daughter had wrapped up months ago.

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I just want to get home and talk to my lawyer, he told them, as he was escorted down the concourse and into a waiting patrol car.

Rocker Faces 2 Years In Prison After Alleged Restraining Order Violations

According to law enforcement officials, the arrest was tied to a felony warrant issued in October. Saidbaca, who holds a green card and is a Mexican citizen, had allegedly violated a restraining order twice over the past year, triggering his arrest just days before Lord Buffalos European leg was set to begin in the Netherlands.

Saidbaca denies the allegations, saying the reported violations involved sending packages and letters, which may have been misinterpreted. The judge didn't say I did anything wrong It wasn't an issue, he said in the video, per Daily Mail. I didn't even know there was a warrant at all for that.

Officers informed him the warrant had been confirmed with Llano County, leaving no room for negotiation, and landed him behind bars at Tarrant County Jail, where hes currently being held on $40,000 bond.

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If convicted, he could face at least two years in prison.

Federal Warning Follows Drummer's Arrest As Lord Buffalo Tour Falls Apart

The Department of Homeland Security even jumped into the conversation, posting on X, though it seems the post has since been deleted.

[Saad] is a Mexican national and lawful U.S. permanent resident, they wrote, per Daily Mail. [He] had a warrant for his arrest after violating a restraining order at least TWICE. If you come to our country and break our laws, you will be arrested.

The sudden arrest has thrown Lord Buffalos tour plans into chaos. The band, known for its haunting, cinematic sound, had been gearing up for a high-profile run through Europe, ending in Iceland next week.

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But after Mondays incident, everything is on pause.

Lord Buffalo Heartbroken As Tour Canceled After Drummers Arrest

In an emotional statement posted to Instagram, the group said, We appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support. We still know very little about the situation, but we have been asked by our drummer's family and his legal team to respect their privacy while this situation evolves. We intend to do so, and we send all our love their way. We'll share updates from the family when we can. Thanks again for everyone's support.

The band has since confirmed that the entire tour is canceled, noting they were heartbroken to pull the plug.

The comments on their post have been disabled after fans allegedly told the band to "Get a drummer without warrants for their arrest so you can leave the country."

Drummers Emotional Backstory Emerges As Fans Await Answers

Saidbacas backstory adds another emotional layer.

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His family moved from Mexico City to Austin in the late 1980s after surviving a catastrophic earthquake. Since then, hes helped build Lord Buffalo into a cult favorite on the indie scene, one that was just starting to break through internationally. Some of their hits include "Dog Head" and "Indian Summer."

For now, both fans and bandmates are left stunned and waiting for answers.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO)  The Winnebago County States Attorney hosted a conference to remind prosecutors of the importance of ethics on Friday.

The conference was called Ethics 101 for Prosecutors. The event was held at the Hoffman House Banquet Center.

The training was open to any state or federal prosecutor in Illinois. The conference was primarily focused on criminal law.

While all attorneys in the state must receive a minimum number of hours of ethics training, States Attorney J. Hanley feels ethics alone are not the only reason to attend the session.

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There are certain ethical requirements that we have as prosecutors that other attorneys dont, Hanley explained. So one of the primary focuses of this seminar is to educate prosecutors on what those additional duties are and kinda what some recent developments might be, and just a reminder that we have a tremendous amount of responsibility in the in which we prosecute cases.

Hanley continued by saying it is needed for prosecutors to get a refresher.

Because of that grave responsibility that we have, constant reminders and very specific training are really important, Hanley said. Its one thing to acknowledge that we have that increased responsibility; its another to educate ourselves and train each other on what exactly that responsibility is and how it applies to our everyday jobs.

This was the 16th year Rockford hosted the ethics conference.

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By Luiza Ilie, Elizaveta Gladun

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, won the country's presidential election on Sunday in a shock upset over a hard-right, nationalist rival who had pledged to put Romania on a path inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump's politics.

Official results from nearly all voting stations showed Dan garnering about 54% of ballots cast by voters in the EU and NATO member country of about 19 million people, while Trump supporter George Simion was at 46%.

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Dan, 55, a soft-spoken mathematician, made a last-minute dash to the top in recent days after weeks of trailing Simion, a eurosceptic wanting to end military aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The election drew the highest percentage of voter turnout in a Romanian election in 25 years.

Simion, who was the top vote-getter in the first round of the election two weeks ago with 41% of ballots cast, conceded after earlier saying he won the election.

Dan had campaigned on a pledge to fight rampant corruption, to maintain support for Ukraine - where Romania has played an important logistic role - and to keep the country firmly within the European mainstream.

On Sunday evening in the capital Bucharest, Dan supporters chanted "Russia, don't forget, Romania isn't yours." Staunchly pro-EU and NATO, Dan said in the run-up to the election that Romania's support for Ukraine was crucial for its own security against a growing Russian threat.

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated Dan on his "historic victory," writing on social media: "For Ukraine - as a neighbour and friend - it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner.'

The voting in Romania took place on the same day as the first round of a Polish election in which a liberal frontrunner, Rafal Trzaskowski edged ahead of Karol Nawrocki, the candidate backed by the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Both elections are being closely watched across Europe amid concern that popular anger with mainstream elites over migration and cost of living pressures could bolster support for Trump and erode unity on the continent over how to deal with Russia.

In Romania, however, the election showed backlash against politicians taking inspiration from right-wing populist Trump's Make American Great Again (MAGA) movement, according to Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at consultancy Eurasia Group.

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"This is a really strong result for the pro-European candidate," Rahman said.

"It's another example of the positive Trump effect on European election cycles where concerns about the political and policy direction moving in a MAGA-like way have mobilised voters."

'A DIFFICULT PERIOD AHEAD'

Dan acknowledged that he faces a tough challenge in finding a prime minister to negotiate a majority in parliament to reduce Romania's budget deficit - the largest in the EU - as well as to reassure investors and try to avoid a credit rating downgrade.

"There will be a difficult period ahead, necessary for economic rebalancing to lay the foundations of a healthy society. Please have hope and patience," Dan told supporters after exit polls were published showing him ahead.

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Dan later said talks could take a few weeks.

The election took place nearly six months after the initial ballot was cancelled because of alleged Russian interference - denied by Moscow - in favour of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, who was banned from standing again.

Romania looked poised to swing towards Russia had Georgescu won, and Simion built a campaign to benefit from his support, signalling he would nominate him as prime minister if he emerged victorious.

Speaking shortly after voting ended, Simion said his election was "clear."

"I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!" Simion said on Facebook. But Simion conceded the election later in the evening.

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A crowd of Dan's supporters celebrated his victory outside his campaign headquarters in downtown Bucharest.

"These elections are really important for the European future," said Ilinca Sipoteanu, 19. "This is very good for democracy and for the younger generations ... and also for our parents and grandparents that fought the system in 1989."

Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown in 1989.

The president of Romania has considerable powers, including being in charge of the defence council that decides on military aid. The president will also have oversight of foreign policy, with the power to veto EU votes that require unanimity.

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Political analysts had said victory for Simion would have risked isolating Romania abroad, eroding private investment and destabilising NATO's eastern flank.

It also would have meant that Hungary's fiercely anti-immigrant leader Viktor Orban, a long-time Trump ally, and Slovakia's Robert Fico - who both oppose military aid for Ukraine - would gain a new ally in the European Council in decisions on aid for Ukraine, energy, sanctions against Russia or the EU's budget.

In the first round of Poland's presidential election, admirers of Trump's politics won about 45% of votes cast, according to exit polls, including Nawrocki's result combined with that of far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Elizaveta Gladun; writing by Justyna Pawlak; editing by Alan Charlish and Will Dunham)
As a mommy goose and daddy goose escorted five adorable goslings across a neighborhood pond and onto the grass in Farmington Hills the other day, I had to wonder:

At what point do they teach the kiddies to be malevolent bastards?

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, in tribute to the foul temper, prodigious pooping and other grating characteristics of Canada geese, had announced in March that it was planning to collect and whack thousands of them, rather than just relocate them and let them get back to the business of creating further objectionable versions of themselves.

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The public squawked, and as our Jalen Williams reported March 13, the DNR has decided to instead just speak to them sternly and return to the controls that don't seem to do much, but don't involve goose murder.

Each of nature's creatures has a purpose, after all, even tarantulas, though it would be nice if tarantulas' purpose was to chase off geese.

As for geese, they remain grumpy, territorial, intrusive, violent and messy. Oh, and they can be asymptomatic carriers of avian flu.

So this seems like a good time to pass along a few state-approved goose-repelling tips, which involve Kool-Aid and laser pointers. And for those who don't have to deal with geese and are wondering what all the fuss is about, they poop every 12 minutes, for a total that might reach 2 pounds a day.

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The goslings are adorable, but Ryan Gosling is cute, too, and if he pooped on your lawn every 12 minutes, youd buy a German shepherd.

A pecking order of solutions

The late newscaster Rich Fisher was a member at Oakland Hills Country Club, and he once excitedly told me that the course had solved the goose problem in its ponds by using decoys that resembled dead waterfowl.

Two weeks later came a woeful update. The geese had figured out the scam, he said, had returned in even greater numbers, and were using the decoys as pool toys.

Where geese are concerned, the DNR has basically been swimming upstream for decades.

The best time to corral them is June, when theyre molting and cant get airborne. The goal is to capture them in places theyre not welcome, drive them to more welcoming state land, and hope they dont remember they can fly.

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Hunting season helps, but the goal is to keep the population at 175,000 to 225,000, and the past few years it has topped 300,000. Destroying nests and eggs is allowed in certain cases with permits, but mostly people just try to chase them off and make their problem someone elses.

The DNRs list of suggestions includes shell crackers, screamers, bird alarms, motion detector accessories, electronic noise systems, bird bangers, rockets, and distress cries, with the understanding that remedies need to be switched frequently so the geese dont wise up.

One form of goose Kryptonite, oddly, is the smell of grapes, which might mean a chemical compound or could be as simple as mixing five packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid into a gallon of water and spraying it where the geese like to congregate.

Brant Kessel, the closest homeowner to the Farmington Hills pond where the five goslings were serving their apprenticeship, said he has had good luck with a laser pointer  but only in green.

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Point it at the ground around them. They run from it, he said.

The pond population has dropped by at least 50% over the years since he and the geese saw the light, he said  but once they lay eggs, theyre not budging.

Geese gonna goose

As a volunteer and now assistant director of the Association to Rescue Kritters, or ARK, Jared Wright has been on many wild goose chases.

They are very hard to catch, said Wright, who is based about 12 miles southeast of Roscommon in St. Helen.

If a goose has an injured leg, it can still fly. If the problem is a wing, it can still swim. Once you catch a goose, it has a unique way to express its displeasure.

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If you look at the structure of their wing, he said, they have a knobby bone specifically for beating you with.

The experience is so commonplace it has a name, flogging.

For now, ARK is saying flog you to geese, but its not by choice. Because geese can be carriers of avian flu without showing any ill effects, he said, its too great a risk to bring them into the shelter.

More: Rubin: One fan's idea for a memorial to a shifty visitor  Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna

A positive test might force the euthanizing of every other bird in the facility, including a beloved 25-year-old barn owl and 22-year-old vulture.

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The shelter has state permits to treat everything but bears, bats, skunks and wolves. Otters, yes. Bobcats, eagles, all the reptiles, sure. But for geese, theres no room at the ARK  with one exception.

We did just take a baby, Wright said, a foundling who had been separated from her family.

Most likely, he said, she couldnt keep up. Also possibly, she was chased off by her siblings. If geese had opposable thumbs, theyd have thrown her under the bus.

Instead, Wrights team drove her around until they found a family with similar-size goslings and turned her loose to join the clan. Or expire, if things dont work out, but thats natural selection and not the state of Michigan hiring contractors to euthanize geese with carbon dioxide.

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More: Brian Barczyk's LegaSea opens and dazzles in Utica  and swims, slithers and slimes

Geese are not known for being friendly, Wright conceded, but thats just how they roll. Or waddle.

Simply because geese are doing geese things, he contended, is not a reason to exterminate them.

Bunnies, he pointed out, poop 350-ish pellets a day. And were not rounding up rabbits.

It could be geese just need a better publicist. Failing that, though, they might try better attitudes.

Neal Rubin once saw a goose steal a chicken wrap from a golf cart, which leads to all sorts of unsettling thoughts. Reach him at NARubin@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rubin: Michigan won't exterminate geese  so what's the next step?
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 17 that the Vatican could serve as a venue for future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Speaking to reporters in Rome ahead of his meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vaticans point man on Ukraine, Rubio said he would discuss "the status of the talks, the updates after yesterday (Friday), and the path forward," according to Associated Press.

Asked whether the Vatican could act as a peace broker, Rubio responded: "I wouldnt call it broker, but its certainly  I think its a place that both sides would be comfortable going."

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"So well talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role."

Rubio also met with top Vatican diplomats, including the secretary of state and foreign minister. During the meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio thanked Zuppi for the Holy Sees humanitarian efforts, including facilitating prisoner exchanges and supporting the return of Ukrainian children. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio "emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV."

Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, has pledged to personally "make every effort so that this peace may prevail." In his first Sunday address as pope, he echoed his predecessors call for peace, urging all sides to pursue "an authentic, just and lasting peace." The pope has also met with eastern rite Catholics, including leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and appealed for direct negotiations between the warring sides.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans secretary of state, said the Holy See remains ready to host direct talks. "We have always said, repeated to the two sides that we are available to you, with all the discretion needed," he said, according to Associated Press. Parolin called the failure of the May 16 Istanbul talks to achieve a ceasefire "tragic" and added, "One would aim to arrive at this, that at least they talk. Well see what happens. Its an offer of a place."

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The peace talks in Istanbul between Ukrainian and Russian delegation lasted less than two hours without reaching a breakthrough. Ukraine had proposed an immediate ceasefire, an all-for-all POW exchange, and a face-to-face meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia, however, once again issued sweeping demands, including Ukraines adoption of neutral status, dropping claims for war reparations from Moscow and the recognition of its loss of Crimea and four occupied regions none of which Russia fully controls.

Read also: Trump to talk to Putin on May 19 in push to end bloodbath

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Saturday that while the U.S. appreciates Pope Leo XIVs offer to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the Vatican is not likely to help broker a peace deal in Eastern Europe.

When asked if he intended to discuss the over three-year-long war during his meeting with Italian officials, Rubio said Yes.

Yes, and we thank the Holy See for its willingness to be involved in this process, the secretary added. Obviously there are a number of countries that have offered that as well, but we think it would be  well talk about that, the status of the talks, the updates after yesterday, and the path forward.

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A top Catholic official earlier this week told negotiators they were free to use the Vatican to continue brokering a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, saying it is an availability of place. The offer came after Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped discussions in Turkey earlier this week.

Rubio was asked whether the Vatican would serve as a broker in the deal  especially after the pontiff openly called for a truce in the conflict.

Well, I wouldnt call it a broker. But it certainly is a place that I would think that both sides would be comfortable coming, he said, while honoring the Catholic Church for its efforts thus far to promote peace.

So, we are grateful for their longstanding efforts not simply on trying to broker peace but on the exchanges of prisoners; there are children that have currently been taken from their homes that the Ukrainians would like to see returned, he continued. And they, the Holy See, has been very involved in that regard.

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The secretary added, So well talk about that and all of it, and obviously always grateful for the willingness of the Vatican to play this constructive and positive role.

The Vatican served as the location for a recent meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who were both in Rome for Pope Franciss funeral.

Vice President Vance is also expected to travel to Vatican City on Sunday with a U.S. delegation to attend the inauguration mass for Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff.

Rubios remarks came after negotiators met in Istanbul earlier this week. President Trump and Putin were notably absent, though Zelensky made the trek.

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Trump has in recent days appeared to be losing patience with both sides of the war as ceasefire talks stretch on. Rubio and the president have both signaled that an agreement  such as a pending 30-day ceasefire proposal  would likely require the U.S. and Russian leaders to meet face-to-face.

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The return of gray wolves to rural California may be viewed by some as an ecological milestone, but for families in these regions, it has ushered in a troubling new reality: the erosion of a basic sense of safety.

Parents who once let their children roam freely on family ranches are now keeping them close, concerned about the growing presence of wolves. Everyday routines, like walking to the school bus stop or playing outside, are being reevaluated as safety concerns take priority.

Opinion

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These concerns are grounded in fact: California is now home to seven confirmed gray wolf packs spread across Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, Tehama, Siskiyou and Tulare counties, with additional groups in Modoc and Sierra counties and individual wolves dispersing from these packs or nearby states. As the population grows, reports of livestock attacks have increased, with some wolves killing cattle without consuming them  signs of territorial behavior rather than hunger.

According to the most recent data available, in less than six months  from last October to March 16  32 confirmed livestock kills have been reported. While the economic toll is significant, the emotional strain on ranching families is deeper, driven by a growing sense of helplessness as wolves have been recorded approaching homes and attacking livestock in daylight. Though no human attacks have occurred, residents worry its only a matter of time.

California law offers little protection to our communities. Under the California Endangered Species Act, wolves cannot be lethally removed unless there is an immediate threat to human life, leaving local officials unable to respond to escalating risk.

We cant protect our community or their livestock, said Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy. Our hands are tied by state law.

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Rural sheriffs currently lack the authority to act, even when wolves exhibit bold or habituated behavior. Unlike mountain lions, which may be removed if deemed an imminent threat, no such authority exists for managing wolves in California, despite their growing impact on rural life.

With Modoc, Plumas and Sierra counties declaring local emergencies due to gray wolves, the need for a responsive framework is urgent. Local authorities must be empowered to act with clear legal tools to address dangerous or habituated behavior before a preventable tragedy occurs.

Simultaneously, the state should fund non-lethal mitigation strategies like specialized fencing, range riders and advanced livestock protection systems to ease the financial burden on ranchers while reducing conflict. Education and training programs will help communities co-habitate with wolves, protecting families and property without resorting to lethal force.

Other Western states have taken more pragmatic paths. In Idaho and Montana, gray wolf populations have continued to grow alongside comprehensive strategies that blend conservation and community protection. These states have embraced tools that help ranchers prevent conflict without defaulting to lethal force, while also allowing local authorities to act swiftly when wolves display aggressive or habituated behavior. California must follow suit, adopting a more grounded, responsive approach that reflects the lived realities of rural residents who are being asked to coexist without adequate support or protection.

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The return of the gray wolf should not redefine rural life through fear or loss. California must adopt a balanced, practical approach to wolf management that protects ecosystems and rural communities. This includes empowering local authorities to address dangerous behavior, investing in non-lethal deterrents like fencing and range riders, supporting education and training for safe coexistence, and implementing a statewide conflict mitigation plan for consistent, science-based responses.

With these tools, California can restore the gray wolf while safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of those who call rural California home.

Modoc County Supervisor Geri Byrne represents District 5 and chairs the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC). Sierra County Supervisor Lee Adams represents District 1 and is an RCRC delegate.
By Tom Balmforth

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would speak to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on Monday following talks between the two sides at which a Ukrainian official said Moscow's negotiators voiced new demands before a ceasefire could be agreed.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies preparations were underway for a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

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The talks in Turkey on Friday were the first time the sides had held face-to-face talks since March 2022, weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.

A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire.

Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he would speak with Putin to discuss stopping the war at 10 a.m. Eastern (1400 GMT) on Monday.

"THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," he wrote.

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He said he would speak afterward with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and various members of NATO.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end."

Trump had offered to travel to Turkey for the talks while in the Gulf last week if Putin would also attend, but Putin sent a team of negotiators instead.

The president has been pressuring Putin and Zelenskiy to agree to a ceasefire in the more than three-year-old war.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the terms that Russia had put forward at Friday's meeting. The talks lasted only one hour and 40 minutes and yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side. The two countries have not specified when that would happen.

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Zelenskiy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. "This was a deliberate killing of civilians," he said.

"Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy."

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said it struck a military target in Sumy. Its defence ministry said Russian troops had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said he welcomed the "positive role" of the United States in helping to secure a resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine. A Russian foreign ministry statement quoted Lavrov as saying contacts would continue.

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Rubio was quoted as telling the CBS news program "Face the Nation" that Lavrov said the Russians were "working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a ceasefire and further negotiations."

"I think your question is, 'Are they tapping us along?'" he said in the interview to be broadcast on Sunday. "Well, that's what we're trying to find out."

Rubio, who told reporters earlier in Rome that the Vatican could be a venue to facilitate further Russia-Ukraine dialogue, told CBS it was a "very generous offer that may be taken up on."

PRESSING FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

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Ukraine and Western governments, including the U.S., have demanded Russia agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.

But the Ukrainian source said Moscow's negotiators had demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, with a ceasefire to take place only after that.

The source said that and other demands went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow.

Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian account, saying talks should be conducted "absolutely behind closed doors".

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He said the next steps would be to carry out the prisoner exchange and conduct further work between the two sides. Peskov said it was possible that Putin could meet Zelenskiy, but only if "certain agreements" were reached, which he did not specify.

Zelenskiy had challenged Putin earlier in the week to meet him in person, an offer the Russian leader ignored.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country, after hosting the talks, was resolved to continue its mediation role.

UKRAINE RALLIES SUPPORT

After Friday's meeting, Ukraine began rallying support from its allies to take tougher action against Moscow.

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"Once again Russia is not serious," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Reuters during a visit to Pakistan. "At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?"

French President Emmanuel Macron also said the talks in Istanbul had been fruitless.

"Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin's cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, which France said this week should aim to "suffocate" the Russian economy.

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But after intensifying sanctions for more than three years already, it is unclear how much more they can achieve.

In their efforts to forge a united front and make Putin accept a ceasefire, Ukraine and its European leaders have been repeatedly thrown off balance by interventions from Trump.

Having told Zelenskiy to accept Russia's offer of direct talks in Turkey, Trump said on the eve of the meeting that there could be no movement on peace until he had met with Putin.

The Kremlin says Putin is ready to meet Trump, but such a summit must be carefully prepared. It said there had been no contact between Russia and the U.S. since Friday's talks.

(Additional reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad, Pavel Polityuk and Christian Lowe in Kyiv, Dmitry Antonov in Moscow, Jonathan Spicer and Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul; Humeyra Pamuk in Rome and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Ron Popeski, Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)
By Tom Balmforth

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.

That demand, along with others the Ukrainian official said were made at Friday's talks, went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow.

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The talks in Istanbul, the first direct contacts between the two sides in three years, ended with agreement for a prisoner exchange but failed to agree to a ceasefire. A Ukrainian source had said on Friday the Russians had made conditions he described as "non-starters", without giving details.

At a briefing with reporters on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the terms that, according to the Ukrainian official, Moscow put forward, but he declined to comment, saying the discussions need to take place behind closed doors.

The Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of the talks, said Russian proposed the following terms for a peace deal:

* The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, only after which there can be a ceasefire. The regions are largely or partially controlled by Russian forces, but Ukrainian troops are still fighting to hold on to the remaining parts of the regions. There was no such demand in the draft deal prepared by the United States.

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* International recognition that five parts of Ukraine -- the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions -- are Russian. The U.S. draft had proposed only U.S. de jure recognition for Crimea, and U.S. de facto recognition for Russian-controlled parts of the other regions.

* Ukraine becomes a neutral state, has no weapons of mass destruction, and Kyiv's allies will not station any of their troops on Ukrainian soil. This demand was absent from the U.S. proposal.

* All sides in the conflict renounce their claims to receive compensation for war damages. The U.S. proposal had stipulated that Ukraine receives compensation.

According to the Ukrainian official, Russian negotiators transmitted those demands verbally, and did not share any document containing their terms.

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Ukraine has already said the Russian negotiating position in Istanbul showed it was not serious about peace. Kyiv's European allies are now pressing U.S. President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia.

The head of the Russian delegation at the talks expressed satisfaction with the meeting, and said Moscow was willing to keep talking to Kyiv.

The U.S. draft peace proposal from April was prepared after Trump envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Moscow for rounds of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv and European allies drafted an alternative proposal, which stated there should be a ceasefire first so negotiations could start, and deferred any discussion of territory until later.

(Additional reporting by Filipp Lebedev; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 62 strike drones on the night of 16-17 May. A total of 36 drones have been shot down and another six have disappeared from radar.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Details: The Air Force confirmed that drones were shot down in the east, north, south, west and centre of the country.

As a result of the Russian attack, Sumy, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts were affected.

Background:

On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Following the meeting, Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said the discussions had covered the ceasefire, humanitarian issues and a potential leader-level meeting.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that during the negotiations in Istanbul on Friday, the Russian side made statements that were unacceptable to Ukraine. He declined, however, to specify what exactly they were.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have held a phone call to discuss the outcomes of the Russo-Ukrainian negotiations held in Istanbul on 16 May, Russias Foreign Ministry has said.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry

Details: The Russian Foreign Ministry said Rubio had emphasised Washington's readiness to continue supporting efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine.

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It also noted that Rubio welcomed the agreements reached on a prisoner-of-war exchange and on both parties outlining their visions of the conditions necessary for a truce.

No information has been released by the US regarding this call.

Background:

On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Russia sent a low-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.

The Russian delegation is reported to have demanded that US representatives not attend the negotiations with Ukraine and to have put forward a number of conditions that are unacceptable to Kyiv.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said that during the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange.

Bloomberg reported that the Russian representatives had presented several demands to the Ukrainian delegation setting out the conditions on which Moscow is ready to cease fire. These demands include Ukraine withdrawing from territories and renouncing claims for reparations.

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Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony for participating in combat on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by a court in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Source: CNN, citing Russian state prosecutors

Details: Jenkins, 33, was found guilty of supposedly being a mercenary and fighting against Russia from March to December last year. He was detained in December 2024, and since then, Australia has repeatedly demanded his release.

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the verdict a "sham trial" and said she was shocked by the decision of the Russian court. She stressed the need for Russia to respect international humanitarian law in relation to the prisoner.

Quote from Wong: "We continue to hold serious concerns for Mr Jenkins. We are working with Ukraine and other partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to advocate for his welfare and release."

Details: Russian prosecutors claim Jenkins was paid between US$7,400 and US$10,000 per month as a mercenary. The Kremlin maintains that mercenaries are not entitled to prisoner of war status.

Photos show Jenkins in a glass cage with his hands bound. Media reports say he had joined an international battalion within Ukrainian forces. Video footage of his detention was circulated in Russian Telegram channels in December.

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In the footage, Jenkins is seen speaking a mix of English, Ukrainian and Russian, identifying himself as a "soldier" and stating that he works as a teacher in China and studies in Australia. One of the men in the video struck him on the head.

Following reports of the possible death of Jenkins earlier this year, the Australian government summoned the Russian ambassador. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the "strongest action" for any harm caused to Jenkins.

Background:

On 15 January, CNN reported, citing a statement by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, that the Russians may have killed Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins, who fought on the side of Ukraine and was captured. The Australian government promised to "take the strongest action possible" if this information is confirmed.

On 29 January, Albanese said that the government had received a message from Russia that Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins, who fought for Ukraine and whose death after being captured by Russia was reported earlier, might be alive.

CNN reported that at least five American volunteers had been killed in action in Ukraine since August 2024. The bodies of two of them were brought back to Ukraine in January 2025. In total, more than 20 US volunteers are considered missing.

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European leaders are expressing growing frustration with U.S. President Donald Trumps inconsistent approach to the RussiaUkraine war, after high-level talks in Istanbul on May 16 ended without progress on a ceasefire.

Russian negotiators reiterated sweeping territorial demands, including that Ukraine adopt neutral status without foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction, drop claims for war reparations from Moscow, and accept the loss of Crimea and four other regions, neither of which Russia fully controls, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the meeting.

Meanwhile Trumpwho has positioned himself as a key brokersaid any real breakthrough would require a direct meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. president told reporters aboard Air Force One that he may call Putin, adding, "And if we dont solve it, itll be very interesting."

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The talks in Turkey marked the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years. European leadersgathered in Albaniawere left disappointed as the Kremlin sent only low-level officials and repeated conditions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

Russia and Ukraine, however, have reached an agreement in Istanbul for the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) on a 1,000-for-1,000 basis, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who was leading Ukraine's delegation, told reporters after the talks.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement

"A full, unconditional ceasefire must be agreed and if Russia is unwilling to come to the negotiating table, Putin must pay the price," said U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the summit.

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Despite earlier optimism that Trump would support a joint U.S.EU ultimatum backed by major sanctions, the presidents shift in tone has unsettled allies. European officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they remain unsure of Trump's next move and fear that his unpredictable stance could undercut momentum toward a unified Western response.

While European governments continue to threaten sanctions, including a new EU package targeting Russias shadow oil fleet and possibly the Nord Stream pipelines, some hope Trump will eventually support harsher measures. Senator Richard Blumenthal said: "President Trump has indicated he views sanctions favorably I think the moment is now."

Others remain skeptical that Trump will endorse sweeping proposals like Senator Lindsey Grahams "bone-crushing" sanctions package, which includes punitive tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy.

Read also: Putin is laughing at Trump  Ukraine in disbelief as Russia makes a mockery of US-led ceasefire attempts

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All things considered, the reward that Russia allegedly offered Daniil Bardadim to betray his country was pretty meagre: $11,000 (8,000) in cash and a second-hand BMW.

The Ukrainian, 17, was presented with the promise of quick cash and a luxury car by his Russian handlers, who wanted him to burn down a branch of Ikea in Lithuania.

Bardadim, who was living in Poland as a refugee, apparently felt the offer was too good to pass up. Lithuanian prosecutors allege that he crossed into their country and set the store ablaze, in May 2024.

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The Kremlin is no stranger to recruiting criminals and opportunists to carry out its dirty work, offering rewards of cash or luxury goods via encrypted messenger apps.

But the case of Bardadim  and the arrests this week of three Ukrainians in Germany and Switzerland on charges of plotting to firebomb Europes postal network  underline how Moscow revels in trying to recruit people from its sworn foe as secret agents.

Bardadim was arrested after the blaze in Vilnius by Lithuanian authorities. They have since charged him with terrorism offences, while Poland has arrested an alleged accomplice of his, also Ukrainian.

Daniil Bardadim has been charged with terrorism offences after he allegedly tried to burn down an Ikea in Lithuania

As with many other cases of Russian sabotage across Europe, those who commit such attacks face long jail sentences  but the masterminds are hundreds of miles away in Moscow.

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European security sources say the use of these so-called disposable agents is on the rise, as Russia wages a hybrid-war campaign on Europe targeting military sites, defence industry factories and undersea cables.

In Germany, the process has been dubbed the gig economy of sabotage, due to the Russian handlers use of messenger apps on mobile phones.

But it is the use of Ukrainians, Russias foes, which is particularly shocking, with military experts saying that is very much part of the Kremlins strategy.

These are absolutely classic Russian espionage tactics, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a security analyst and former British Army tank commander, said.

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An agent like this can go under the radar [due to their nationality], but the impact of what they do is also doubled: it creates a huge reaction from the Western public and the press, who will be shocked that it was a Ukrainian. And it allows the Russian press to claim that Ukrainians dont really support the West and are trying to attack them.

The Kremlin does not just offer cash rewards, he added, and sometimes resorts to blackmail, such as threatening family members.

Theres really nothing off limits for the Russians if they want to achieve something  whether its cash, a flashy car, sex or drugs, he said.

In Ukraine itself, pro-Russian saboteurs have been a major concern since Russias initial invasion of 2014 and annexation of Crimea. Teenagers are said to be a particularly easy target for Russian spymasters to groom over social media.

SBU warns parents of Russian tactics

Ukraines SBU intelligence service has sent out warning letters to parents, underlining the risk that Russian agents could be trying to reach out to their children via mobile phones.

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Dear parents, lets imagine a very real situation. Your child is sitting on his phone  as usual. And suddenly a stranger writes to him: Hello, do you want to earn five thousand [Ukrainian] hryvnias? states one such letter seen by The Telegraph.

It goes on to explain how Russian-hired teenagers in Ukraine will at first be asked to carry out a minor task, such as taking a photograph of a building or drawing graffiti. Then, the tasks slowly and inexorably become more serious, culminating in a plot to sabotage railway lines or switchboards.

By that point, the letter warns, unfortunately, not all [children] have time to understand that they have become victims.

Ukrainian security forces have warned parents that Russian agents could be trying to reach out to their children via mobile phones

Ukrainian authorities say they have thwarted a string of attacks of this nature, such as a plot in April which relied on teenagers to plant explosives at Ukrainian military sites.

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In December, Russian agents tried to hire a teenager to carry out an unwitting suicide bombing against a Ukrainian military facility in Kyiv Oblast. The bomb was built by two women from Vinnytsia Oblast, and the teenager who was asked to transport it had no idea it would self-detonate. According to Defence Blog, Ukrainian security forces thwarted the operation before the bomb was detonated.

In another case, in March this year, two teenagers aged 15 and 17 were hired by Russian spies to build an improvised explosive device. As they were delivering the device, their Russian handler remotely detonated it. The blast killed the 17-year-old instantly and hospitalised the 15-year-old with severe injuries.

In March two Ukrainian teenagers were hired by Moscow to build a bomb which a Russian handler remotely detonated

While the promise of fast cash might be attractive to some youngsters, there is a sting in the tale of Bardadim, the teenager accused of being behind the Ikea fire in Lithuania.

According to the New York Times, which first reported the full details of the plot, Russia did follow through with payment of the BMW, handed over prior to the attack.

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But the other half of Bardadims payment  the $11,000 US dollars  never materialised.

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By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in northeastern Ukraine just hours after the two countries held their first peace talks in three years of war.

The meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first direct dialogue between the two sides since the early months of the war that Russia launched in February 2022.

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Commenting on the drone strike in the Sumy region, Zelenskiy said on X: "All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians."

Ukrainian police posted photos of a dark blue passenger van nearly destroyed, with the roof torn off and the windows blown out.

"Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy," Zelenskiy said.

He said Russia had sent to Istanbul "a weak and unprepared" delegation without a meaningful mandate while real steps were needed to end the war.

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The only result of the talks in Istanbul was an agreement on the largest prisoner exchange of 1,000 people from each side, which, according to the head of Ukraine's military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, could take place as early as next week.

"We are expecting strong sanctions against Russia from the United States, from Europe, and from all our partners. Diplomacy must start working," Zelenskiy stated.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing Moscow and Kyiv to hold peace talks, said before the two countries' negotiators met in Istanbul that "nothing could happen" until he had met directly with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

RUSSIAN 'OBFUSCATION'

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Speaking to Reuters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday, British foreign minister David Lammy accused Moscow of obfuscating after the Istanbul talks, which ended in less than two hours.

"Yet again we are seeing obfuscation on the Russian side and unwillingness to get serious about the enduring peace that is now required in Ukraine," Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. "Once again Russia is not serious."

"At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?"

French President Emmanuel Macron also said the talks in Istanbul had been fruitless.

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"Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin's cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react," he said during a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Zelenskiy had challenged Putin earlier in the week to meet him in person, an offer the Russian leader ignored, but according to the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul this possibility was discussed during Friday's talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Russia considered such a meeting was possible, but only as a result of work between the two sides to "achieve certain results in the form of agreements".

"At the same time, when signing documents that the delegations are to agree upon, the main and fundamental thing for us remains who exactly will sign these documents from the Ukrainian side," Peskov added.

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Peskov did not elaborate on that remark. Putin has previously challenged Zelenskiy's legitimacy as president because his elected term of office expired last year.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Gus Trompiz in Paris, Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad, Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; Editing by William Mallard, Sam Holmes, Gareth Jones and Susan Fenton)
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia launched a drone strike in Sumy Oblast in the early morning of May 17, killing nine people and injuring seven more.

The drone targeted a shuttle bus that was transporting civilians near the city of Bilopillia at 6:17 a.m. local time, the Sumy Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram.

Sumy Oblast is a northeastern region that borders Russia's Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk oblasts.

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Yurii Zarko, head of Bilopillia, called the day "a black Saturday" in the city's history and declared three days of mourning from May 17 to 19.

"This bus was carrying people out of the city for evacuation," Zarko told Suspilne. "The wounded were treated at the scene and then transferred to a hospital in Sumy. We are currently retrieving the bodies. Some victims have not yet been identified. Most of them are elderly women, along with two or three men."

Emergency services and police are currently working at the scene.

In a statement later on May 17, President Zelensky confirmed that all nine of the victims were civilians and said a family was among those killed.



"According to preliminary information, the Russians killed a family: a father, mother, and daughter died in the strike," Zelensky said. "The Russians could not have failed to know what kind of vehicle they were targeting."

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He said seven people remained hospitalized with burns, fractures, and concussions, but were receiving appropriate care.

Zelensky also urged for stronger international pressure on Russia following the collapse of peace talks in Istanbul earlier this week.

"Yesterday, like on any day of this war, there was a chance to stop the fire. Ukraine has long proposed a full and unconditional ceasefire to save lives," he said. "Russia preserves only one thing  its ability to keep killing."

Kyiv and its allies have proposed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire beginning on May 12 as a first step toward peace  a proposal that Russia has so far ignored.

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Local residents in Sumy Oblast often experience multiple attacks per day, with border areas suffering from artillery and glide bomb strikes, and the regional center of Sumy coming under missile and drone strikes.

Most recently, Russia has been deploying small assault groups to infiltrate the region in a bid to expand the front line.

The latest attack on Sumy follows recent peace talks in Istanbul, where Russia rejected a ceasefire and reiterated its maximalist demands in the war against Ukraine.

Read also: Explosions heard in Kyiv amid Russian drone attack as Ukraine-Russia peace talks loom

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the bloodbath in Ukraine.

Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth Social.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Mondays call.

Trump's remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire. Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations  although not at the presidential level  as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S.

Also on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. During a visit to Rome, Rubio suggested that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

In Ukraine, a northeastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul, after agreeing to what would be the biggest prisoner swap to date between the warring parties.

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Zelenskyy faces a gamble as talks stall

The talks in Istanbul on Friday broke up after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations. Ukraines intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchange could happen as early as next week.

But the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement, and the parties remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

Since U.S.-brokered talks began in March, Ukraines strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Putin is unreliable, and that Kyiv is serious about peace. Trump has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to abandon his efforts if results arent achieved.

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He has also said that no peace would be reached until he held a face to face meeting with Putin. On Friday, Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi that he may call Putin soon.

He and I will meet, and I think well solve it, or maybe not, Trump said. At least well know."

The political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground in Ukraine. In a war of attrition against Russias full-scale invasion, Ukraines position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on, unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U.S. continues arms deliveries.

Zelenskyy said that he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland. In an X post from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, Zelenskyy urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.

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Peskov on Saturday held open the possibility of Putin holding talks with Zelenskyy, providing the agreed prisoner swap goes ahead, and if the Russian and Ukrainian delegations reached unspecified further agreements.

Peskov also told reporters that Moscow will present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire, but gave no timeframe, or say what needed to happen before Zelenskyy and Putin can meet.

A town in mourning

In Ukraine, nine civilians were killed and seven others were wounded when a Russian drone struck a bus evacuating people from Bilopillia, a town around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Russia's border, according to local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraines national police. The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

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Zelenskyy described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians, adding in a post on the Telegram messaging app that "Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.

The local media outlet Suspilne said that the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them older women.

Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day Black Saturday, and mourning was declared in the town through Monday.

Zelenskyy lamented the missed opportunity from Friday's peace talks, saying that Ukraine has long proposed this  a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.

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Ukraine's European allies strongly condemned the attack. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that he was appalled by it. If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done, he wrote on X.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, condemned Russia for "continuing their attacks today with undiminished ferocity. He vowed to continue to increase the pressure on Moscow with added sanctions.

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Joanna Kozlowska reported from London. Hanna Arhirova in Istanbul, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

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Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A Russian drone struck a passenger bus in eastern Ukraine killing nine people and injuring four others, officials said.

The attack came just hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first peace talks in more than three years, which failed to result in a ceasefire.

Ukraines national police released photographs showing the aftermath of the strike in Sumys Bilopillia city, around 6 miles from the front line and the border with Russia.

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In a post on X, Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack as a deliberate killing of civilians, saying initial reports suggested a daughter and her parents had died in the strike.

He said: According to preliminary reports, the Russians killed a family: father, mother, and daughter died in the attack. My condolences to all the families and loved ones.

All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians.

Civilian bus not a threat

The Sumy regional administration said in a post on Telegram: This is another war crime by Russia  a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat.

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Emmanuel Macron, the French president, was those to condemn the attack. He said it showed the Russian presidents cynicism in the wake of the peace talks and called on Donald Trump, his US counterpart, to respond.

Faced with the cynicism of president Putin I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States of America, will react, Mr Macron said during a visit to Albania.

A president was elected by the American people. He arrived with a laudable ambition: to make peace. And he said he would engage everyone in making peace, he added.

The Ukrainian president said the Russians must have known what they were targeting - EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended after less than two hours without a breakthrough.

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It was the first face-to-face dialogue between the two sides since the early weeks of Putins invasion.

While Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a large prisoner swap, they remained divided on specific conditions considered critical to ending the fighting.

The Kremlin said on Saturday that further talks between the two sides would take place behind closed doors and would be put on hold until after the prisoner exchange had taken place.

For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told journalists, referring to the negotiations in Istanbul.

This, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 [prisoner-of-war] swap, he added.

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In what could be seen as a swipe at the legitimacy of Ukrainian sovereignty, Mr Peskov added that the matter of who would sign documents on behalf of Kyiv remained an issue.

The sentiment aligns with previous comments made by Putin, who has long questioned Ukraines right to exist and in 2022 claimed modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia after the 1917 communist revolution.

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In the past 24 hours, Russian attacks have killed at least 13 people and injured 32 across Ukraine, according to local athorities.

Russian forces launched a massive drone assault across Ukraine overnight, using 62 drones including Shahed-type attack UAVs and decoy drones from Russia and occupied Crimea, according to Ukraines Air Force.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 drones over multiple regions. Six decoy UAVs were lost through electronic warfare and did not reach their targets.

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In Odesa Oblast, Russian drones hit civilian infrastructure in two districts, Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office said. Three people were injured by shrapnel, explosive blasts and burns while sheltering in their homes. Private houses, farm buildings and vehicles were damaged. Prosecutors opened investigations into the strikes as possible war crimes.

In Kherson Oblast, an FPV drone struck a garbage truck around 9 a.m. in Kherson city, injuring three municipal workers. The men were hospitalized with blast injuries and concussions, local officials said.

In Sumy Oblast, a drone strike hit a passenger bus near the town of Bilopillia, killing nine people and injuring seven others. Throughout the day, Russian forces launched 85 attacks on 31 settlements in 13 communities, local authorities reported. Guided bombs, rockets and drone-dropped grenades damaged homes and infrastructure in two communities. Authorities evacuated 69 people from front-line areas.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, drones struck several villages throughout the day. No casualties were reported, though local authorities issued air raid alerts in parts of the region.

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In Kharkiv Oblast, strikes on 10 communities killed one person in Kupiansk and injured at least nine people, governor said. Russian forces used a mix of rockets, guided bombs, Shahed drones, Lancet and Molniya drones, and FPV drones. Damage was reported to homes, businesses and critical infrastructure across multiple districts.

In Donetsk Oblast, shelling hit 18 towns and villages, killing three civilians and injuring at least 10 others. Local authorities evacuated 181 people, including 38 children, from front-line communities, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.

Read also: As Russia sticks to hardline demands during peace talks, Europe frustrated with Trumps swerves, Bloomberg reports

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by telephone to discuss the results of the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The conversation took place at the initiative of the United States, a statement from the ministry said.

It said Rubio had welcomed the news of a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, and the agreement by both sides to present their views on the necessary conditions for a ceasefire.

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Lavrov emphasized the constructive role played by the US in bringing about the talks in Istanbul. "He reiterated Moscow's willingness to continue working with US colleagues in this context," the statement said.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday for the first time in over three years to discuss an end to the war ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The talks, which lasted around 90 minutes, resulted in an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. Further meetings are to concentrate on a ceasefire and a final peace agreement, though a date for these has not yet been set.
Editors note: Due to the security protocols of the unit featured in this story, the Ukrainian soldiers are identified by first name only.

Russias air strikes on Ukraine have become far more deadly in recent months.

Part of the uptick is due to limited air defense to bring down ballistic missiles. But Russias preferred deep-strike weapon  the Shahed drone  has gotten some major upgrades since the start of the year, including jet engines and Starlink satellite attachments, putting pressure on Ukraines already strained air defense.

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The Iranian-designed Shaheds that Russia now manufactures itself have been an ever-present force in Russian air assaults on Ukraine since the fall of 2022. Long-range, high-flying, and cheap  flocks of Shaheds have become a default deep-strike weapon for Moscow.

Inbound Shahed swarms have become increasingly unpredictable and deadly in recent months, Oleksiy, the commander of a mobile air defense unit that for the past two years has guarded the northwest of Kyiv from these drones, told the Kyiv Independent.

Russia has been sending them in larger swarms  the biggest single drone attack since the start of the full-scale invasion, 273 drones, occurred overnight on May 18.

It's also outfitting them with jet engines, complicating the task facing air defense across the country.

Russian drones, launched and intercepted, June 2024-May 2025. (The Kyiv Independent/ Nizar al-Rifai)

Numbers scraped from the Ukrainian Air Forces reports on Shaheds incoming, lost, and shot down also show a major uptick in their effectiveness, even as the total number of Shaheds Russia sends is on the decline. One hundred and eleven made it through in February, compared to 404 in March and 424 in April. Meanwhile, the number of Shaheds that the Air Force reported as launched dropped by about a third between March and April.

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The increasing effectiveness of Shaheds is largely thanks to the new jet engines, which allow the drones to fly faster, carry bigger bombs, and maintain higher altitudes.

Oleksiy says most of those jet engine drones travel between 380 and 400 kilometers an hour. The team clocked their record of a Shahed traveling at 477 kilometers per hour in the latter half of March, which they show off on a screenshot from the radar-based mobile application that all Ukrainian air defense units share. A year before, the max speed was in the neighborhood of 200 kilometers per hour.

Similarly, the maximum payload that these Shaheds carry has tripled from about 30 kilograms to 90 kilograms. That remains a far cry from the 450 kilograms a cruise missile like the Kh-101 can carry, but Russia fields far more Shaheds.

The new engines also bring these Shaheds higher in the sky, as needed, reaching a ceiling of around 2 kilometers. The vertical range of a Browning machine gun like the one that Oleksiy shoots is, he says, more like 1,800 meters. Shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles like the Soviet Igla and American Stingers work at higher ranges, but are in shorter supply.

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Russia does, however, face some limits in adding jet engines to Shaheds. They are more expensive than the two-stroke piston engines  replicas of the U.S.-made MD550  that Shaheds started out the war with. Russia often has to import jet engine technology, sometimes with Western components delivered through third parties to get around sanctions.

About half of the Shaheds that radar picks up coming into Ukraine are dummy drones  no warheads, and so generally cheaper while distracting enemy fire. Many of those show up in the data as Lost/Fell.

The actual material of a typical Shahed is remarkably flimsy relative to what one would imagine of a weapon of war. Water condenses with the cold further up in the atmosphere, which has typically weakened the Shaheds structure. The team says the Shaheds are getting a new coating that makes them more resistant to the moisture they run into higher up.

At lower altitudes, we have something like five or six seconds to work, when we need to find, target, and destroy them.

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Russia also frequently flies Shaheds low, which is dangerous because, while are easier to hit, they are harder to detect. Land-based radar signals, the core of Ukrainian identification, dont return good location data on Shaheds flying below the horizon.

Indeed, the team's radars picked up the 477-kilometer-per-hour Shahed at 300 meters above ground. Some glide as low as 100 meters above ground, giving satellites and mobile teams a tiny window of time in which to spot and shoot them down.

Soldiers of the 115th Brigade fire on drones in the Lyman area, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on April 24, 2025. (Jose Colon / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Remains of a Shahed 136 at an exhibition of Russian missiles and drones in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 12, 2023. (Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

At lower altitudes, we have something like five or six seconds to work, when we need to find, target, and destroy them, said Oleksiy. More over-the-horizon radar would, he said, go a long way for groups like theirs.

The Shaheds have historically also run fairly robotically along pre-planned flight paths. Now, some are avoiding spotlights like the one that one team member of the unit, Svita, uses to spot them in the sky. Light avoidance could be new programming added to Shahed visual guidance, Oleksiy explained.

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Their dependence on visual guidance, however, meant that Shaheds clung to familiar routes for most of the time theyve been flying over Ukraine. They used to lay out a route for the Shahed, and it would go right along the route. It was simple to destroy them. At the moment, they react to light; that is, if you turn on the flashlights, they start making maneuvers, said Oleksiy.

Those on the way to Kyiv often stuck to the Dnipro River or the sleek new Odesan Highway that is the main thoroughfare southward to the Black Sea and the titular town, Ukraines second-largest. That also seems to have changed recently.

A few of them are actively guided, that is, they are being steered online. They film our positions, see us, and record us, so later they try to fly around us, said Oleksiy.

The coordinator for a number of these regional mobile defense units specified to the Kyiv Independent that some of these Shaheds are also flying with Starlink Terminals that keep them connected to pilots in Russia in flight.

Updated Ukrainian Comms

Ukraines mobile defense teams have also gotten far better at shooting down drones over the past two years. Oleksiy told the Kyiv Independent that his team managed to shoot down six Shaheds flying through their little quadrant of the Ukrainian sky during March.

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The teams central tool is a truck-mounted Browning machine gun. A major upgrade over the past two years has been the distribution of thermal vision across the front line, which can work in times when Svitas spotlight cannot.

The actual hardware many use is not that complicated, certainly not compared to what air defense groups aiming for cruise or ballistic missiles use. But these air defense teams have to work in close coordination across the entire country because Russia combines its attacks of drones and missiles and feint take-offs and launches of various MiG airplanes from airfields within range of Ukraine.

But Ukraines air defense communications are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were in 2022. Applications like Visage  developed just before the full-scale invasion  have radically improved their ability to track incoming air attacks. They are also integrated with the Ukrainian Armed Forces ubiquitous Delta mapping and communications application.

Even thermal vision targeting and shooting are linked via a tablet application. These days, mobile air groups around the country effectively share screens on the application live.

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Oleksiy shows off a grayscale but high-resolution hit from another team in Chernihiv Oblast, firing on a Shahed that erupts into red flames.

Looks good, right? Oleksiy chuckled. Like something out of the movies.

KI Insights analyst Mykolaj Suchy contributed data analysis to this article.

Read also: Ukraines mental health workers tackle war trauma and Soviet stigma in front-line regions

Hi, this is Kollen, the author of this story  thank you for reading. The Kyiv Independent doesnt have a wealthy owner or a paywall. Instead, we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism funded. Were now aiming to grow our community to 20,000 members  if you liked this article, consider joining our community today.

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Kathy Kasic, a scientist filmmaker and professor at Sacramento State, will host a free screening and panel discussion for her new documentary, The Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice, at 6 p.m. Monday at the Crest Theater, 1013 K St., in downtown Sacramento.

The film examines the history of environmental research tied to Cold War military projects and how early studies predicted the decline of the Greenland Ice Sheet due to carbon dioxide emissions.

The 60-minute documentary shows how the ice sheet has melted over decades and considers what steps are needed to slow or reverse the trend.

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Belgian glaciologist Jean-Louis Tison, featured in the film, explains three astronomical influences on Earths natural climate cycles: its orbit, axial tilt and wobble. But Tison said human activity is changing the climate faster than any natural cycle.

We are in an astronomical phase where the climate should cool down, but because of human activity, we are going fast into a warming of the climate system, he says in the 60-minute film.

Kasic served as the films producer, director and cinematographer. She said her interest in polar environments and climate science began decades ago.

An image from The Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice a film by Sacramento State professor and filmmaker Kathy Kasic.

I am originally a biologist, from my time when I was studying nocturnal frogs in the Amazon, Kasic said. I have been a science documentary filmmaker for 20 years, though I have been interested in climate-related science for more than 30 years.

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The film has screened more than 20 times in the past three months, including at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in February. It won the John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival and was named Best Feature Documentary at the Raw Science Film Festival in New York. It was also shown at a Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Task Force briefing at the U.S. Capitol.

In terms of the science, I am fascinated by how these potentialities are tied to human decisions thousands of miles away, Kasic said. I believe in the strength of the human spirit and our human ingenuity, if we are all working together toward the same goal. And so my goal is that this film helps align us in understanding climate science, so we can all come together.

Kasic said the fossil fuel industry has driven carbon dioxide levels to a historic high, accelerating the melting of ice sheets.

We are driving toward a cliff and accelerating, she said. When you look at the carbon dioxide levels of that time when the ice was gone, they were half of what they are today. So we have double the carbon dioxide now, and weve put it in the atmosphere at a rapid rate. That is extremely concerning.

An image of the Greenland Ice Sheet from The Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice a film by Sacramento State professor and filmmaker Kathy Kasic.

She hopes the film inspires governments, planners and the public to act now to reduce future melting.

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Our children and grandchildren will suffer. It is that simple, Kasic said. The more we do now, the easier it will be for those to whom we are handing over our planet, but it is even clearly affecting us now. And so we need to make it easier for people and businesses today to make changes, to become carbon neutral and carbon zero.

Mondays free event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. The film screening starts at 7 p.m., followed by a panel discussion at 8 p.m. with Kasic; Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica; National Stewardship Action Council Founder and Executive Director Heidi Sanborn; and UC Davis geologist Dawn Sumner.

Free registration is available through Eventbrite and the Crests website.

The film will be released later this year by Arte Distribution and Gravitas Ventures.
I have spoken to many people in Sacramento who lead youth service programs, and they all say the same thing: When elected leaders in the city of Sacramento face tough budget cycles, as they are now, the first cuts are often to programs for kids who badly need job training, after-school programs and other resources.

It took the city three tries in six years for the city to create a funding stream for kids. In 2020, Measure G failed because too many influencers, including former Mayor Darrell Steinberg, didnt want to lock up 2.5 percent of the citys general fund for kids.

In 2022, Measure L passed by a wide margin, in part, because instead of a specific general fund carve-out for youth funding, it requires the city to spend the equivalent of 40 percent of the citys cannabis tax money on kids.

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This was a pivotal moment in the citys history. Creating a fund to help our communities should never go understated.

Measure L based on its own wording was not to replace baseline funding for ongoing city services. Yet funding for parks and youth services in the citys regular general fund budget is undeniably on the increase, that baseline steadily eroding.

As one example, Sacramento voters approved a full cent sales tax in 2018, Measure U, on a sales pitch that this new money would expand economic development and youth services going forward. In last years budget for Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment, the city dedicated more than $46.1 million in Measure U sales tax dollars for various purposes. This years staff proposal is to plummet Measure U support for these needs by $20 million. Funds for the Community Enrichment Division would decrease by a third, from $1.8 million to $1.2 million. The examples go on.

But with a $44 million budget deficit facing the city right now, advocates remain fearful that youth services will be cut to balance city books. Leaders in youth services are worried that the budget cuts will take away funding from programs catered to young adults across all city departments.

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On Tuesday, the council and mayor had their first debate over the proposed budget and the cuts to follow. Everything from skate parks to police was discussed as an avenue for cuts.

As the council looks for ways to create a new budget. youth services leaders find themselves in a position where they again advocating for these vital programs.

Envisioning a budget with high values

Councilmember Mai Vang emphasized the stakes involved by invoking a simple phrase:

Its all about our priorities. We dont have a budget deficit, we have a values deficit, Vang said. Shes right. The citys leaders are going to demonstrate their values in the budget process. Do they value kids or not?

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By way of the Sacramento Childrens Fund, the city will give out $46 million in grants over the next five years for youth services. The city uses general fund money to cover Measure L services and the total must come out to 40% of the annual estimated cannabis business tax revenue.

Vang champions supporting the citys youth, particularly with programs. Its a fairly simple idea for her.

If we really care about moving upstream and taking care of our families, we have to invest. It also means looking at our budget and imagining what that could look like and the majority of that funding goes to police right now.

Vangs point to cut police funding could be a way to ensure that Measure L funds are not changed. Its not like the police are hurting for funds.

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Over four years, the Sacramento Police budget has increased by more than $50 million, coming to a total of $247 million and its proposed to increase by $8 million in the next budget. The police department is a good start to look at where cuts could be made so measure L and other vital city resources can stay.

The city wholeheartedly supported Measure L to be funded, not reduced.

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Youth programs are a direct investment in the future. Lowering funding or taking away positions that ensure these programs exist prevent our young adults from achieving their highest potential.

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Budget cuts are never easy, but the city council has a moment to change the way these tough decisions are made. Back in 2022, voters made a huge statement by passing Measure L, which said our youth matter and should be prioritized. During this budget-cut season, the council has the opportunity to do the same.

The baseline for the measure L is 23.2 million, which could easily be reached by staff salary. There is more money in the budget that can go towards helping our young people. Our city depends on their success.

Our youth is 1/3 of our city but they are 100 percent of our future, Vang said.

Lets hope the rest of the council feels that way come June 10 when the budget is voted on.
(FOX40.COM)  The Sacramento County District Attorneys Office has filed charges against one Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputy and a former Sheriffs Deputy.

According to SCDA, an officer from the attorneys office has filed one felony count of unlawful assault by a public officer against a former Sheriffs Deputy, Matthew Gurich, after a video surfaced from 2024 showing deputies shoving a woman out of the Sacramento County Main Jail.

Video shows Sacramento County deputy shove woman out of building

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Separately, the DAs office has filed one count of resisting arrest for Deputy Kevin Lloyd after the Citrus Heights Police Department arrested him in February for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs and alcohol, loitering, and resisting arrest.

These are pending cases; we cannot comment any further, said SCDA in a press release.

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WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  Folks with the Salvation Army of Wichita Falls wrapped up National Salvation Army Week with a huge fan giveaway, which is also the perfect time for these rising temps!

The giveaway kicked off this morning, but not before Salvation Army officials were gifted a $100,000 check from TXU Energy.

That money will go toward the Salvation Armys utilities assistance program, which helps clients pay their energy bills.

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After the check presentation, the line started moving quickly for those who showed up to get their free box or oscillating fan.

Kim Campbell, Senior Manager for TXU Energy, said she couldnt think of a better organization to help this year.

They are the heart of our local communities, right? And being able to help people when theyre struggling and to see the smiles on their faces this morning as people are receiving the box fans, and just so grateful for us being a part of the local community, I love it. Its part of my favorite part of my job, Campbell said.

Click here for more information on the Salvation Armys utilities assistance program or other services.

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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  Organizations hit by cuts in San Diegos final proposed budget for 2026 are warning of consequences for the communities they serve.

The mayor says tough choices need to be made to close the citys roughly quarter-of-a-billion-dollar deficit, but some want him to reconsider his final budget plan.

Thats not really fair because it cuts off a lot of activities for kids and free time that parents need from the kids, said library-goer Daniel Gomez.

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Library-goers like Daniel Gomez are criticizing Mayor Todd Glorias plans to reduce hours and programming at San Diego libraries.

A more than $8 million funding cut in the citys final budget proposal for next fiscal year is to blame.

As early as July, San Diegans could see all 37 locations closed Sundays and Mondays losing access to a range of resources.

It leaves me to find places to get WiFi for free or a silent place or somewhere to get books so I really do not have an alternative, Gomez said.

Others say having free public services makes a real financial difference for community members.

One of my friends was being told shes going to have to pay a couple thousand dollars to fix her car and there was all these problems and between online and going to the library she figured out how to do it herself and it cost her like $70 in parts and she did it herself, said library-goer Robert Lawson-Owens.

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The CEO of the Library Foundation SD released a statement that reads in part, I am disappointed the City of San Diego is unable to find alternatives to across-the-board cutsI continue to urge city leaders to commit to building sustainable revenue streams that will safeguard the San Diego public library.

The city is restoring some of the San Diego Humane Societys funding after initially planning a $3.5 million cut for animal control.

We want to make sure our animals and people are safe, Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of SDHS.

Weitzman says they understand the citys situation and want to help.

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Were foregoing an increase that we by law have to do every year and thats to provide a living wage to our employees who are San Diego residents, Weitzman said.

But Weitzman says if the final budget for next fiscal year passes as is, the nonprofit faces a roughly million-dollar funding gap.

To do the work that we have to do, we have to have the city agree to leave our budget right now where it is with the agreement that we will give back $1 million of the cut that they have asked us for, we cannot go higher than that, he said.

The budget process moves forward as the city council prepares to debate change before a final vote June 10.

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This article was originally published in CalMatters.

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By 2:45 p.m. the regular school day at August Boeger Middle School had already ended, but one class is about to start. More than 20 eighth graders drop their backpacks and settle into desks  not for extra credit but for college credit.

These 13- and 14-year-old students in East San Jose are taking their first college course, an entry-level class on career planning. This middle school is one of the first in the state to offer a college-level course. In the coming years, the San Jose Evergreen Community College District wants all middle school students in this school district to be able to complete three college courses before they start high school, and soon, the district plans to offer other courses, such as sociology and ethnic studies, said Beatriz Chaidez, the chancellor for the community college district.

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Middle schoolers have long been eligible to enroll in college classes in California, though only a few, high-achieving students actually do it. By offering a college class at a middle school  especially one in a high-poverty area  the community college district is looking to make that enrollment easier. The class is taught by a middle school staff member, and its reserved exclusively for middle school students.

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But with so few programs, there is little research about whether students are benefitting, and the local faculty union is worried middle school students might not be ready.

Chaidez disagrees. Navigating (college) as early as middle school is unheard of in their community, she said. So when they experience success, it really motivates them to continue.

California is increasingly pushing high schools to offer community college classes directly to students during the regular school day, a set-up known as dual enrollment. Unlike AP classes, which include expensive exams and are limited to certain subjects and high-performing students, these community college classes cover a range of topics and are open to all students. By 2030, California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Chiristian wants all high school students to graduate with at least four college courses completed.

Chaidez wants to go further. She wants every local high school student to be able to complete about 20 college courses by the time they graduate  enough to earn an associates degree.

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CalMatters reached out to the college districts faculty union, which was surprised to learn the district is offering classes at a middle school.

This opens up some problems, said Jessica Breheny, an English professor and the unions vice president. Im sure there are 12-year-olds that are college-ready, but there are just less of them and its less likely. Developmentally, they have other things going on.

Research shows that high schoolers who take college classes are more likely to attend college and graduate, but theres little research on how middle school students fare, said John Fink, a senior researcher at Columbia Universitys Community College Research Center. Nationally, and in most states, this is very, very rare, and in many states this is not allowed. Instead, he said the focus is typically on enrolling more 10th, 11th and 12th graders in college courses.

A college-level course, with a few middle school games

About 10% of Californias high school students took a community college class in the 2021-22 school year, according to an analysis by professors at UC Davis using the most recent data. Californias community college system doesnt track how many middle school students take college courses.

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So far, the Mount Pleasant Elementary School District, which includes August Boeger Middle School, offers only one college course, called Career Planning, and its almost indistinguishable from any other class on its campus. The college course is taught in a regular middle school classroom, and the professor, Oscar Lamas, already works at the middle school, where hes a counselor. Perhaps the only noticeable difference is the timing: The middle school day ends at 2:30 p.m. and Lamas course starts at 2:45. Hes paid separately by the community college to teach the course.

Career Planning helps students learn about career paths, practice resume-writing and learn psychological theories related to professional success. A governing board of college district professors, known as the Academic Senate, sets the objectives for each college course, but Lamas has broad discretion in teaching it. The Academic Senate responsible for setting the parameters of Lamas course did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The dean of the community colleges counseling department, Victor Garza, refused an interview request from CalMatters but issued a written statement. Garza said the middle school class is akin to other dual enrollment courses, which maintain the colleges academic rigor.

Some adjustments might be needed to cater to the unique needs and experiences of students, he added.

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On a Thursday before spring break, Lamas tries to make his class more fun by breaking the students into five teams to play a Jeopardy-style quiz game on the topic of the day, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.

Natalie Mendoza, 14, becomes the default spokesperson of her team, named the Tacos R Us Club, but she answers the first question wrong, putting her team back 300 points and prompting her classmates to burst into chatter and analyze their mistakes.

As part of the class, she has to study a career, write a short essay about it and present it at a career fair. She picked intellectual property law. A lot of people say Im assertive, she said. I think thats a really good trait for a lawyer, and I think itd be fun to fight for people who have created stuff.

Natalie said shed be the first in her family to attend college but shes already planning to go and has a few schools in mind, including UC Berkeley and San Jose State. If she does attend one of those schools, her grade in this counseling class would be part of her official college transcript.

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Breheny, with the union, said shes concerned about the quality of the classes, especially once the college district begins teaching other subjects, such as ethnic studies.

Faculty designed their courses for adult learners, Breheny said. An ethnic studies class may cover topics such as sexual violence and genocide, she added  topics that may be difficult to convey to a middle schooler. Some of the material assumes a certain knowledge about the world, about politics, which you may not have at 11, 12, 13 years old.

High schools offer few dual enrollment classes

August Boeger Middle School sits at the base of the Diablo Range mountains, tucked between the ranch-style homes and strip malls that color East San Jose. Teachers and staff greet each other with mucho gusto instead of hello. All around the open-air campus, murals tell the story of the regions multi-cultural heritage, especially its Mexican and Chicano roots.

That celebration of culture is a direct response to a history of adversity, Lamas said. East San Jose has always been a marginalized, disadvantaged environment. As a result, schools in the community contend with education disparities, he said, such as a high dropout rate and a high teen pregnancy rate.

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Offering a college class to these middle school students allows them to see a possibility for their future that doesnt exist within these walls here and can inspire them to reach for a higher goal, said Marisa Pena, a school advisor.

Male students, Black and Latino students and students from rural areas are underrepresented in the community college courses offered at Californias school districts. California lawmakers have signed numerous bills in the hopes of expanding access but certain regions in the state, such as Los Angeles, enroll a higher percentage of students.

Natalie said she hopes to continue taking college courses when she starts at Mount Pleasant High School this fall, which is just around the corner from her middle school. But her options are limited.

Mount Pleasant High School offers just three community college courses, which serve about 10% of the schools roughly 1,000 students, said Kyle Kleckner, the school districts director of instructional services. All of the classes are in multimedia studies, he said, which teaches students how to create their own podcasts or YouTube channels, along with other digital marketing skills.

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Although Mount Pleasant High Schools dual enrollment is about on par with the state average, it trails other districts in the region. Less than 20 miles away, at high schools in the Milpitas Unified School District, roughly 25% of students enrolled in a community college class in 2021-22, according to the UC Davis analysis.

Finding professors to teach middle school

Part of the dual enrollment challenge is finding qualified college professors who are willing and able to work at a high school or middle school. Existing middle and high school teachers are allowed to teach college courses but they have to meet the qualifications, which usually include a masters degree in the area of instruction. Most of Californias high school and middle school instructors lack a masters degree, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California.

We have graduation requirements that students have to accomplish, Kleckner said. The trick is finding that community college course that also fulfills those requirements and also finding a teacher who can teach it. He said Mount Pleasant High School is committed to expanding the number of college courses but noted that its smaller and therefore has fewer teachers who meet the requirements to teach a college course.

In turn, many college professors lack experience teaching children, said Breheny, who teaches at San Jose City College. We have had some problems already with dual enrollment where faculty have gone to different (high schools) to teach and have dealt with classroom management issues that they wouldnt have in a college course. In one case, she said a college faculty member saw bullying in a high school classroom but didnt feel equipped to respond.

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Lamas has a masters degree, which is required for most school counselors. Hes gentle with the middle school students in his class, occasionally awarding points in the Jeopardy game even when the answer isnt perfect. Lamas had two quiz games planned that day, each one covering a different topic, but the first game took up almost all of the class time.

He ends class by taking questions about the upcoming final project. Although spring break is minutes away, the students sit still through the final minutes, except for the occasional joke and bursts of laughter. Not a single phone was in sight.

Once class ends, however, chatter ensues, the students pull out their phones, and staff escort them to the parking lot. While they may be taking a college course, they still must wait for their parents to pick them up.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
The wait is over.

After months of speculation about his political future, Mayor Alan Webber announced Friday he will not seek another term in office.

After much thought and many heartfelt discussions with family and friends, Ive made the decision not to run for a third term as Mayor, Webber said in a statement. Its a hard decision for me because I love this city, and I love my job as Mayor, he added.

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He described serving as Santa Fes mayor as the highest honor of my life.

The statement did not include a specific reason why Webber, who had a minor heart attack in February, is choosing not to run again, and he did not respond to a request for comment Friday. However, his decision will leave a void in the already crowded mayoral race, as many of the six candidates who have so far announced their bid in the November municipal election have been positioning themselves in opposition to him.

Joe Monahan, writer of the popular blog New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan, said Webbers announcement likely brought a collective sigh of relief to the candidates, along with questions about who will surface as the top contender.

It looks like a jump ball, he said of the current state of the race.

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A rocky tenure

Elected to a first term in 2018 as the citys first full-time strong mayor, Webber, 76, handily won reelection in 2021 but has been dogged by criticism throughout much of his tenure, particularly following the summer of 2020, when he called for the removal of the Soldiers Monument on the Plaza.

The obelisk was toppled later that year by activists, sparking a community engagement process on how to handle public art and monuments, as well as an expensive lawsuit against Webber and the city.

Critics have levied blame on Webber for what they say is a lack of transparency inside City Hall and a subpar handling of basic city services, such as park maintenance. Residents and business owners in the downtown area and around the Interfaith Community Shelter on Cerrillos Road have also criticized the administration for its handling of homelessness and crime.

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In recent years, public dissatisfaction against Webber has been so pronounced he has been loudly booed at the Burning of Zozobra and other events, including a 2023 mariachi concert at the Santa Fe Opera.

Much of Webbers first term was marked by the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, which dealt a significant blow to the citys tourism-focused economy.

Under his leadership, the city also caught up on long-overdue audits, opened a new teen center and completed a master plan for development at the midtown campus.

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Mayor Alan Webber celebrates the Santa Fe Teen Center space as city officials and regional state lawmakers gather in December for an annual pre-legislative session breakfast.

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Successors challenges

Webbers departure means a new leader will take the reins as the city embarks on a number of ambitious projects, including updates to its Land Use Code and General Plan and the development of the midtown campus on St. Michaels Drive.

The new mayor also will be saddled with a number of ongoing challenges, including how to address an aging wastewater treatment plant, how to handle the local impacts of federal funding cuts  some of which specifically target immigrant-friendly cities like Santa Fe  and how to ease the citys housing shortage and rising homelessness.

The latter two issues are shaping up to be key issues in the November election, along with public safety.

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Monahan said he hopes Webbers departure will allow mayoral candidates to have a more substantive conversation on the issues, saying he feels the city is at an inflection point in its response to crime and drugs.

City Councilor Michael Garcia, former City Councilors JoAnne Vigil Coppler and Ron Trujillo, former city Finance Director Oscar Rodriguez, former county clerk candidate Letitia Montoya and Tarin Nix, the deputy commissioner of public affairs for the State Land Office, are all running for mayor.

Vigil Coppler ran unsuccessfully against Webber in 2021, when he was reelected in a race against her and environmental engineer Alexis Martinez Johnson.

As the only current elected official in the race, Garcia is in a good position to try and snag front-runner status, if he can run a competent campaign, Monahan said.

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Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber puts some spin on the ball while playing pingpong with Mathias Ruschkowski during an open house earlier this month to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Santa Fe Teen Center.

Lasting progress

In his Friday statement, Webber described the city as stronger, healthier, more resilient and more just than when he walked into the Mayors Office in 2018.

Justice was also the theme of his State of the City address last week, when he openly criticized the Trump administration, something he did in his statement Friday as well.

When Webber announced his candidacy nearly 10 years ago, he characterized the city as struggling with litany of issues: It was permitting fewer than 200 housing units a year, had yet to open the long-awaited teen center and had been issued a scathing report in 2017 that found the Finance Department had few internal controls and was at extremely high risk of fraud.

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In every one of those areas  and countless others  we made real, significant, and lasting progress, Webber said in his statement.

Among his top accomplishments, he listed putting $3 million a year into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, adding the city to the national Built for Zero initiative to address homelessness, hiring more first responders, launching a guaranteed income pilot program at Santa Fe Community College and pushing sustainable energy and clean water initiatives.

Carol Romero-Wirth thanked Webber in a Friday statement for his service as the first full-time mayor.

His leadership allowed us to tackle the Citys considerable structural problems and decades of unaddressed deferred maintenance, which she said was inherited from the previous and outdated governance system.

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He leaves a strong foundation from which additional improvements can be built, she said.

Romero-Wirth and Councilor Signe Lindell, Webbers closest allies on the dais, are also both not seeking reelection. Webbers departure means there will be at least three new faces on the City Council next year, paving the way for what could potentially be a very different balance of power.

Dead-end job?

Webber had a long career in business and journalism before entering the realm of politics later in life, serving as editorial director of the Harvard Business Review and in 1995 co-founding technology business magazine Fast Company.

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Born in St. Louis, Webber spent time in Portland, Ore., and Boston before he and his wife moved to New Mexico in 2003. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014, finishing second in the Democratic primary election. He fared better in the 2018 Santa Fe mayors race, beating four other candidates in the citys first ranked-choice election.

Webber raised over $500,000 in election contributions in 2021, more than three times as much as his closest competitor and a record for a Santa Fe city election.

Not having to compete with Webbers massive war chest may spur more candidates to enter the race or opt for public financing. The application window to qualify for public money began May 5 and closes July 21.

Monahan said the fact that the Mayors Office is a dead-end political job may limit the number of contestants more than anything else, as mayors nationwide increasingly attract criticism for persistent social problems.

Whats stopping people may be just the difficulty of the job, he said.

Mixed reaction

Santa Feans had a variety of reactions to Webbers Friday announcement.

Bridget Dixson, CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, thanked him for his work.

Weve always had a very strong, collaborative relationship with the mayor and we appreciate his years of service to the city, she said, a relationship she hopes continues with whoever is next elected.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declined to comment, with spokesperson Michael Coleman only saying the governor is not weighing in on the mayors race at this time.

Lujan Grisham and Webber publicly clashed early last year after Webber mentioned a conversation he had with the governor during a deposition in a lawsuit filed against the city by Union Protectiva de Santa Fe regarding the toppling of the Soldiers Monument. Lujan Grisham accused him of misrepresenting their discussion and slammed him for what she described as passing the buck.

There is an obvious leadership problem at the city of Santa Fe, she said at the time.

One of Webbers harshest public critics over the years has been Virgil Vigil, Union Protectivas president.

Vigil said he spoke to Webber briefly at the State of the City about the mayors recent heart attack and suggested it might be a reason not to run for office again.

Youre going to get another heart attack, and its going to kill you this time, he said he warned Webber.

Vigil was happy about Fridays news, however: Its the best thing to happen to the city of Santa Fe.
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE)  Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber announced that he will not seek a third term.

Webber was first elected in 2018 and was reelected in 2021.

After much thought and many heartfelt discussions with family and friends, Ive made the decision not to run for a third term as Mayor. Its a hard decision for me because I love this city, and I love my job as Mayor. I love the team I get to work with and I love the issues weve worked on together, an e-mail from Webber read in part.

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Officials celebrate Duke City Ambassadors contributions to Albuquerque

In the e-mail announcement, Webber went on to highlight some of his accomplishments, including getting Santa Fe Police a fair wage, hiring more officers, and opening a teen center on the southside.

He also talked about two of his biggest challenges: COVID and the protesters toppling the Soldiers Monument in the middle of the Santa Fe plaza.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
Higher humidity, cooler temperatures and spotty rain showers could be helpful in the ongoing efforts to contain the large wildfires in northeastern Minnesota.

On Friday, strong winds prompted no-fly zones in the area, so all of the firefighting was done on the ground. Despite the efforts being limited to a ground attack on Friday, the fires didn't grow very much and containment is expected to rise in the coming days.

Because of all those fire crews in there and the boots on the ground, we expect to show some containment on the fire tomorrow, Micah Bell of the incident command team told Northern News Now. So that zero percent that everybody is really worrying about, that numbers going to go up in the next 24 hours.

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Residents in the evacuation zones of the Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires will be allowed to check their property between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

A wildfire burns in northern Minnesota on May 15, 2025.Minnesota Incident Command System

Here's the latest on the Jenkins Creek, Camp House, and Munger Shaw fires.

Jenkins Creek Fire

The largest of the fires, it has grown slightly to 16,281 acres and it remains zero percent contained. Here's the latest from the Minnesota Incident Command.

Recent rains brought a reprieve from much of the active fire. Hot Shot crews are targeting smoldering areas. Protection of the Skibo and Hoyt Lakes communities remains a priority operational objective. Firefighters and dozer operators are extending fire containment lines along the northwest edge and southern anchor point of the fire, and prepping protection measures for values-at-risk in anticipation of warmer, drier air and windy conditions arriving mid-week. There was no reported fire spread yesterday; the acreage listed above reflects more accurate mapping of the fire perimeter.

A total of 90 firefighters are working on the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation.

Camp House Fire

A total of 14,805 acres have burned. Here's the latest from officials.

Dozer crews advanced containment lines on the south end and west side of the fire and will implement direct attacks on those areas as conditions permit. A concerted effort has been made to protect the communications tower east of Bassett Lake. Dead and distressed balsam and aspen and downed power lines pose significant hazards for firefighters. Hot Shot crews are targeting areas that are still smoldering. This fire has not grown in the past three days. The smaller reported acreage is the result of improved mapping. Additional aircraft will be supporting operations today if weather conditions remain favorable for flight.

A total of 278 personnel are working on the fire. The cause is under investigation.

Munger Shaw Fire

This fire has burned 1,600 acres, according to a Saturday update. It is 50 percent contained and the "Go" evacuation order has been lifted.

The latest from officials:

The Munger Shaw Fire is now 50% contained. Today, crews will continue to patrol the fires edge and mop up linger hotspots, like smoldering stumps, to help secure containment. This involves firefighters searching for smoke and cooling heat pockets of unburned fuel with water and stirring the embers. Specialized teams of sawyers who work with chainsaws are falling trees that pose safety hazards for firefighters.

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The weather should cooperate with firefighting efforts this weekend. In fact, frost and sub-32-degree temperatures are possible.
A Rock Hill legislator will be standing next to President Donald Trump as he signs a law banning the sharing of revenge porn.

ALSO READ: Nigerian man indicted for sextortion scheme that led to SC teens suicide

According to the Herald, Representative Brandon Guffey will join the signing next week, not as a politician but as a father.

Guffey lost his son Gavin in 2022. Gavin took his life after being targeted in a sextortion scam.

Guffey then spearheaded South Carolinas Gavins Law, making online sexual extortion a state crime.

VIDEO: Nigerian man indicted for sextortion scheme that led to SC teens suicide
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The scaly-foot snail is so tough it has scales made of iron. . | Credit: HKUST

QUICK FACTS

Name: Scaly-foot snail (Chrysomallon squamiferum)

Where it lives: Hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of the Indian Ocean

What it eats: As an adult, it doesn't! All of the snail's nutrition is generated internally, by endosymbiotic bacteria  microbes that live in the snail's gut.

The scaly-foot snail, or volcano snail, possesses something unique among gastropods: a coat of protective armor covering its foot, made from hundreds of overlapping iron-infused scales . It fortifies these scales with minerals absorbed from the hot liquid spewed by hydrothermal vents and black smoker chimneys at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, where water can reach temperatures of 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius).

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Related: Elusive colossal squid finally caught on camera 100 years after discovery in world 1st footage

Within the snail's scales, sulfur reacts with iron ions to form iron sulfide nanoparticles. Further toughening the snail's defenses is an outer layer of iron sulfide in its shell, making it the only known multicellular animal to strengthen its skeleton with iron . When the National Museum of Wales acquired a pair of specimens in 2015, curators were told to avoid using any water in the preservative solution, because otherwise the snails would start to rust.

Underneath all that armor, the scaly-foot snail has a big heart  the largest in the Animal Kingdom relative to the animal's size  making up about 4% of the volume of its entire body. In waters where oxygen levels are low, that enormous heart also supplies oxygen to the symbiotic bacteria that live in the snail's esophageal gland and act as a built-in food factory. The snails, whose shells measure about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in length on average, are sometimes called "sea pangolins" for their resemblance to the armor-plated land mammal.

Individuals have both male and female sex organs . They creep along the ocean bottom at depths of approximately 1.7 miles (2,780 meters), and are known from just three hydrothermal vent fields to the east of Mauritius, an island off the southeastern coast of Africa.

Scaly-foot snails also have the largest hearts, relative to body size, of any known animal on Earth. | Credit: Chong Chen CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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While the snails' potential habitat adds up to around 0.1 square miles (0.3 square kilometers), the range where they are currently found covers just 0.008 square miles (0.02 sq km). But even this tiny sliver of the deep ocean is becoming unsafe for the snails, due to human activity.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV)  The 18-page lawsuit filed by SCCPSS Sgt. Carl Quarterman states alleged corruption in the SCCPSS police department and retaliatory actions taken against him from Chatham County and the Savannah Chatham County public school system after Quarterman reported alleged sexual abuse going on between a minor and a school resource officer.



In the lawsuit  Quarterman says he reported the allegations against a lieutenant school resource officer involving two high school girls.

Sgt.Quarterman says the alleged victim was the sister of another sccpss officer  who says she was molested by the sccpss lieutenant when she was a student and minor.

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But after quarterman reported these claims to his chief, terry enoch continued to allow the accused liutenant to work alongside high school girls and delayed starting an investigation.

Once the investigation did start, quarterman claims that chief enoch used in house biased investigators, intimidated witnessess and delayed suspending the accused lieutenant.

When quarterman made sccpss superintendent denise watts aware of the allegations. Watts allegedly scolded quarterman for escalating the report to her and breaking the chain of command.

Enoch demoted quarterman  cut his pay  and moved him to night shift.

The lawsuit claims its sccpss standard practice to place the accused employees on administrative leave with pay or in a temporary role where interaction with students is minimized pending the investigation. While this had gone on with other officers  this did not happen with the accused lieutenant.

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The suit states that multiple ethics and other employee complaints against chief enoch have been redirected by the superintendent and human resources back to enoch, giving him discretion to dispose of any complaints against him, however he chooses.

We reached out to SCCPSS and heres the statement they have regarding the investigation



We are aware of the matters at hand. Every SCCPSS employee is expected to operate with integrity and professionalism and to follow established policies that uphold our commitment to accountability. We fully support any staff member who seeks to report improper behavior, and we strive to create working conditions that provide the proper channels for reporting. As there is pending litigation associated with this matter, there is no further comment beyond the school districts formal pleadings in the case.

Quarterman claims the accused lieutenant was allowed to resign the day after Sgt. Quarterman sent his letter to the superintendent, and the investigation was dropped with no consequences to him.

We will keep you updated as this makes its way through court.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV.
CNN conservative commentatotr Scott Jennings launched a defense of Donald Trump after Bill Maher mocked the president for saying he doesnt know if he has a responsibility to uphold the U.S. Constitution because in the same breath the president added, On this case we have the best lawyers and were going to abide by what the Supreme Court said.

The conversation came up during a panel featuring Jennings and Peter Hamby. Maher pointed out that the founding fathers knew the difference between the word person and the word citizen. It says no person when drafting the 14th and 15th Amendments.

The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, does not allow states to make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, and denies states the ability to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

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The 15th Amendment grants the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Maher told Jennings and Hamby he doesnt believe Republicans want to live in a country where a guy just goes You know, youre a bad dude. You go to the torture chamber.'

Well, thats not the country they live in. They live in a country where this guy had been to immigration court repeatedly. But the Venezuelans He had a deportation  but the Venezuela   Jennings answered before Hamby interjected, But the Venezuelans theyre talking about in this case, the Supreme Court spoke on today. Trump wants to send them to El Salvador. Theyre not from El Salvador.

After Trump was asked by Meet the Press host Kristen Welker if he believes he has a duty to upload the Constitution, Maher chimed in, his answer was, I dont know, Im not a lawyer.

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Wait, wait, wait. He in the same, but in the, but the same breath he said On this case we have the best lawyers and were going to abide by what the Supreme Court said,' Jennings insisted. That was what his full statement was. These people, these gang members, are not coming here to be productive. Americans they are coming here to rape pillage murder steal and wreak havoc on communities the president was elected to fix it.

Watch the exchange between Maher, Jennings, and Hamby in the video above.

The post Scott Jennings Defends Trumps Confusion Over Responsibility to Uphold the Constitution | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
(CONEJOS COUNTY, Colo.)  The Conejos County Sheriffs Office (CCSO) said deputies continue to search for a 64-year-old man who was last seen on April 16.

According to CCSO, on April 16 at around 7:45 p.m., Colorado State Patrol got a call from Patrice Guilinger reporting that her husband, 64-year-old Rodney Guilinger, was possibly missing. Patrice Guilinger told law enforcement that Rodney Guilinger dropped her off at work in Fort Garland at around 7:30 a.m. and told her he was going to scout hunting areas between La Jara and the New Mexico border and would return between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man missing in Conejos County since Wednesday, car found Thursday

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Guilingers wife said he has high blood pressure, takes medicine, has onset dementia, and has his medication and luggage with him. She also noted Guilinger has experienced blackouts due to his blood pressure in the past.

Deputies tried to contact Guilingers phone, but it went directly to voicemail. A Be on the Lookout (BOLO) was issued, and deputies began searching from the New Mexico border northward.

Guilingers silver 2021 Dodge Ram was found on April 17 stuck off Forest Service Road 380. Ground searches in the area yielded no signs of Guilinger. Support from other law enforcement agencies was brought in to help in the search, and a nationwide missing persons bulletin was issued.

According to CCSO, between April 19 and May 12, law enforcement from various agencies continued to search for Guilinger despite weather hampering several efforts. A K9 tracked his scent to a pond near a cabin, and multiple searches involving drones, K9s, and aerial searches were made in the area, but nothing was found.

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We are dedicating every available resource and working tirelessly with our partners to locate Rodney Guilinger, said Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther. We understand the urgency of this situation, and are making every reasonable effort to find him.

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A second man has been arrested in connection with a series of arson attacks allegedly targeting the Prime Minister.

The 26-year-old was arrested around 1.45pm on Saturday at Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

The arrest was made by counter-terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit. The man has been taken into police custody in London.

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It came after two properties and a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer were torched in suspected firebomb attacks between May 8 and 12.

The first incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning last week when a Toyota Rav 4, which used to belong to Sir Keir but had been sold to a neighbour following the general election, was damaged in a fire.

Two days later, a flat in Islington that he used to own in the 1990s was allegedly targeted.

Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, the Prime Ministers family home in Tufnell Park, which is rented out to his sister-in-law, was set alight.

While nobody was hurt at the property, the front door and entrance area were damaged.

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Counter-terror police began investigating a number of potential motives, including whether a hostile state was behind the attacks.

Separate arrest

Separately, Roman Lavrynovych, 21, of Sydenham, south London, was charged and appeared in court earlier this week in connection with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

Mr Lavrynovych was remanded in custody after a Westminster Magistrates Court hearing.

The court was told he lived with his grandmother and was asleep at their property when police raided it in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir told MPs that attacks against politicians were an attack on democracy.

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Mr Lavrynovychs father said that, while his son was a proud Ukrainian, he had always admired the UK.

Roman Lavrynovych

Mykola Lavrynovych, 48, added: Roman came to London for the first time when he was 10 years old. He spent a year, as his mother was working there.

He went to a British school and studied there for one year. When the invasion started, he left Ukraine for Germany, but after a year he moved to London, which he really liked and wanted to stay there.

His father went on: He has an uncle who is fighting on the front line against the Russians and he is 100 per cent pro-Ukrainian. He has never spoken Russian and doesnt allow his sister and brother or anybody else even to listen to Russian music.

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Roman Lavrynovych was initially living with his mother and younger siblings but when his sister was unable to get a school place in London, she returned to Ukraine and he remained, living with his grandmother.

He set up a building company but had also signed with a modelling agency and is a regular at a local gym in Sydenham, south London.

Photographs of him on social media show him doing press-ups in his bedroom.

His father said Roman had been happy and settled in the UK and had a girlfriend who was also Ukrainian.

He added that he had spoken to him on the telephone just hours before his arrest.

Roman Lavrynovych was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

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Appearing before Westminster magistrates on Friday morning, he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth via a Ukrainian interpreter, with his lawyer saying his English was very limited.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) will host its third annual Hawaii-Made Conference on Tuesday, May 20.

This years theme is I Ka Makeke! Going to Market! The event will bring together entrepreneurs, retailers, lawmakers and industry leaders from across the state for a full day of learning and connection.

Hard times made tougher as small businesses deal with theft, vandalism

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Held at the Hawaii Convention Center, the conference highlights the rising strength of local manufacturing.

Heres what you need to know.

Understand where Hawaii products shine

Not all products fit every market. The first two sessions break down how local goods perform in different spaces. Youll hear directly from event leaders like Lauren Zirbel from the Made in Hawaii Festival and panelists with insights on local consumer shows and visitor-focused markets.

Selling locally through pop-ups or events like the Made in Maui County Festival offers direct access to community feedback.

Meanwhile, marketing to tourists, whether from the continental U.S. or Japan, requires cultural awareness and clear branding.

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Knowing the audience helps small producers make informed decisions before launching a product.

Connect with real buyers and business mentors

The conference is much more than panels and presentations. Its a space to meet buyers, mentors and policymakers face-to-face. From the coffee networking breaks to the keynote luncheon, attendees will get to build relationships that can open doors.

Meli James of Mana Up, who will give the keynote, will share what buyers actually look for when scouting local brands. If youre building a business, these are the kinds of conversations that make a difference.

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Learn how to grow with support from the state

Session Five outlines the many ways Hawaiis government is backing food and beverage producers. Youll hear from Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, Representative Kirstin Kahaloa and Denise Yamaguchi of the Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance.

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Theyll share programs, grants and collaborations that help local makers expand without going it alone. This is your chance to understand where policy meets production and how to plug into it.

Make the most of Hawaiis commercial kitchens

If your business is ready to grow but not ready for a full facility, commercial kitchens are key. Experts from the Hilo Food Hub and Maui Food Innovation Center will explain how shared spaces help reduce costs and turn good ideas into sellable products.

Chris Bailey of the Wahiawa Value-Added Product Development Center will guide the discussion on how these kitchens can spark innovation and collaboration between businesses.

Third annual Hawaii-made Conference addresses issues small businesses face

Tap into international visitor spending power

Japanese visitors shop differently than American tourists. They often look for presentation, quality and brand story. Session 3 focuses on what makes products stand out in this specific market.

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Panelists include leaders from Hawaiian King Candies, Studio Rim Hawaii and Dean & Deluca Hawaii. Theyll break down how to adjust packaging, ingredients or messaging to match what Japanese visitors value most.

Explore how Hawaii Made can help your business

DBEDTs Hawaii Made directory is a free platform for companies that manufacture most of their products in the islands. This online hub makes it easier for shoppers to find local businesses and helps companies reach new audiences.

Businesses can apply to be listed, and resources like INNOVATE Hawaii offer tools to improve operations, add e-commerce functions and grow sustainably.

Click here for more information on the event as well as the full listing of panels, events, dates and times.

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Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHONs morning podcast, every morning at 8

For those who want to be part of Hawaiis future economy, the conference offers a clear path forward thats grounded in local values and open to the world.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Local nonprofit organizations can apply for support through a new funding program announced by Senator Jeremy Cooney on Friday.

The funding comes amid a wave of federal cuts that impact the work of certain nonprofits. While the demand for services has increased, the ability to provide them is at risk due to a decrease in resources and opportunities.

The Reinvesting in Organizations that Care (ROC) Grants program will distribute $1 million to local organizations that participate in the work and provide services for vulnerable populations throughout Rochester and the Finger Lakes region.

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The effort is meant to strengthen and display the states commitment to supporting community-based projects.

12 emergency homeless shelters finished in Monroe County

Were at a point where there is a lot of fear, there is a lot of terror that folks are feeling about whats happening at the federal government and the implications it has for our local communities. Theres a lot of talking going on, but where I come from, they say you gotta put your money where your mouth is, and I want to certainly tip my cap to Senator Cooney for bringing home the resources that we need in order to sustain ourselves through this very challenging time, said president and CEO of Rochesters Area Community Foundation, Simeon Banister.

Organizations are asked to apply online before the July 4 deadline. Awardees will be announced later in the summer.

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A group of seven European nations has called for an end to Israels military assault and blockade of Gaza, as the United Nations aid chief says time should not be wasted on an alternative United States-backed proposal to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.

In a joint statement late on Friday, the leaders of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain and Norway said they will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza as Israels blockade has prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid for two and a half months.

We call upon the government of Israel to immediately reverse its current policy, refrain from further military operations and fully lift the blockade, ensuring safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid to be distributed throughout the Gaza strip by international humanitarian actors, the statement read.

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More than 50,000 men, women, and children have lost their lives. Many more could starve to death in the coming days and weeks unless immediate action is taken, it said.





Meanwhile, the Council of Europe, a body that works to safeguard human rights and democracy, also noted that Gaza was suffering from a deliberate starvation and warned that Israel was sowing the seeds for the next Hamas in the territory, referring to the Palestinian armed group.

The time for a moral reckoning over the treatment of Palestinians has come  and it is long overdue, said Dora Bakoyannis, rapporteur for the Middle East at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

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The European calls came hours after UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said 160,000 pallets of relief and 9,000 trucks were ready to enter Gaza.

To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, lets not waste time. We already have a plan, he said in a statement.

We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself  160,000 pallets of it  ready to move. Now, he said.

We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need. Let us work.

Israel has halted the entry of food, medication and all other essentials into Gaza since March 2. UN agencies and other humanitarian groups have warned of shrinking food, fuel and medicine supplies to the territory of 2.4 million Palestinians facing acute starvation.





Earlier, the US and Israel said they were preparing a plan that would allow the resumption of aid by an NGO, while keeping supplies out of Hamass hands.

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Under the heavily criticised alternative aid plan, the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May.

It intends to work with private US security and logistics firms to transport aid into Gaza to so-called secure hubs where it will then be distributed by aid groups, a source familiar with the plan told the Reuters news agency. It is unclear how the foundation will be funded.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has also asked Israel to allow humanitarian deliveries by the UN and aid groups to resume now until its infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure.

The UN, however, said it would not work with the foundation because the distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent. Israel says the blockade, alongside military pressure, is intended to force Hamas to free the remaining captives.

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On Thursday, senior Hamas official Basem Naim reiterated the groups position that the entry of aid into Gaza is a prerequisite for any truce talks with Israel.

Access to food, water and medicine is a fundamental human right  not a subject for negotiation, he said.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  Authorities are investigating after multiple people reportedly entered at least one Tecumseh Local School District property.

The Clark County Sheriffs Office responded Friday to the 9700 block of West National Road in New Carlisle. Deputies responded on a report of unauthorized access to facilities within the district.

The buildings were quickly secured by district officials and the school resource officer.

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According to the sheriffs office, several individuals at the location were reportedly taken into custody.

We are working closely with Tecumseh Local Schools to ensure the safety and security of all campuses, said the sheriffs office.

If you have information regarding the incident, call the sheriffs office at 937-328-2560.

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At least 27 people have been killed by storm systems that swept across part of the U.S. Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition.

A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the states southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather.

Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said the death toll could still rise.

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We need the whole world right now to be really good neighbors to this region, the governor said.

State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged,

Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in a tub in their basement in London, the county seat, as the tornado raged around them.

You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train, she recalled Saturday. It was terrible.

The family eventually emerged to the sounds of sirens and panicked neighbors. While the familys own home was spared, others right behind it were demolished, Patterson said as the sound of power tools buzzed in the background. The neighborhood was dotted with piles of lumber, metal sheeting, insulation and stray belongings  a suitcase, a sofa, some six-packs of paper towels.

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Rescuers were searching for survivors all night and into the morning, the sheriffs office said. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.

The National Weather Service hadnt yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. It ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.

Resident Chris Cromer said he got the first of two tornado alerts on his phone around 11:30 p.m. or so, about a half-hour before the tornado struck. He and his wife grabbed their dog, jumped in their car and scrambled to the crawlspace at a relatives nearby home because the couples own crawlspace is small.

We could hear and feel the vibration of the tornado coming through, said Cromer, 46. A piece of his roof was ripped off, and windows were broken, but homes around his were destroyed.

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Its one of those things that you see on the news in other areas, and you feel bad for people  then, when it happens, its just surreal, he said. It makes you be thankful to be alive, really.

The storm was the latest severe weather to cause deaths and widespread damage in Kentucky. Two months ago, at least 24 people died in a round of storms that swelled creeks and submerged roads. Hundreds of people were rescued, and most of the deaths were caused by vehicles getting stuck in high water.

A storm in late 2021 spawned tornadoes that killed 81 people and leveled portions of towns in western Kentucky. The following summer, historic floodwaters inundated parts of eastern Kentucky, leaving dozens more dead.

Missouri pounded by storms, with deaths confirmed in St. Louis

About 1,200 tornadoes strike the U.S. annually, and they have been reported in all 50 states over the years. Researchers found in 2018 that deadly tornadoes were happening less frequently in the traditional Tornado Alley of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and more frequently in parts of the more densely populated and tree-filled mid-South area.

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The latest Kentucky storms were part of a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought a punishing heat wave to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois  including Chicago  in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day.

Well that was.....something, the weather services Chicago office wrote on X after issuing its first-ever dust storm warning for the city. Thunderstorms in central Illinois had pushed strong winds over dry, dusty farmland and northward into the Chicago area, the weather agency said.

In Missouri, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured and more than 5,000 homes were affected in her city.

The devastation is truly heartbreaking, she said at a news conference Saturday. An overnight curfew was to continue in the most damaged neighborhoods.

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Weather service radar indicated a likely tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

Three people needed aid after part of the Centennial Christian Church crumbled, St. Louis Fire Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press.

Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law, Patricia Penelton, died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir.

John Randle said he and his girlfriend were at the St. Louis Art Museum during the storm and were hustled into the basement with about 150 other people.

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You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running, said Randle, 19.

At the Saint Louis Zoo, falling trees severely damaged the roof of a butterfly facility. Staffers quickly corralled most of the butterflies, the zoo said on social media, and a conservatory in suburban Chesterfield is caring for the displaced creatures.

A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.

Forecasters say severe weather could batter parts of the Plains

The weather service said that supercells are likely to develop across parts of Texas and Oklahoma Saturday afternoon before becoming a line of storms in southwest Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas on Saturday night.

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The biggest risks include large to very large hail that could be up to 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) in size, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes.

These conditions were expected to continue on Sunday across parts of the central and southern Plains as well as parts of the central High Plains.

Be prepared to take action if watches and warnings are issued for your area, the weather service said.

National Weather Service offices lost staff

The storms hit after the Trump administration massively cut staffing of National Weather Service offices, with outside experts worrying about how it would affect warnings in disasters such as tornadoes.

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The Jackson, Kentucky, weather office, which was responsible for the area around London, Kentucky, had a March 2025 vacancy rate of 25%, the Louisville, Kentucky, weather service staff was down 29%, and the St. Louis office was down 16%, according to calculations by weather service employees obtained by The Associated Press. The Louisville office was also without a permanent boss, the meteorologist in charge, as of March, according to the staffing data.

Experts said any vacancy rate above 20% is a critical problem.

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(Reuters) -An unstable spring weather system spawned tornadoes overnight in the U.S. Midwest and Ohio River Valley, killing at least 25 people in Kentucky and Missouri and causing widespread damage to homes and property, state and local officials said on Saturday.

In Kentucky, at least 17 people were killed in Laurel County, about 80 miles (129 km) south of Lexington, when a twister touched down around midnight, Governor Andy Beshear said on Saturday afternoon on social media. Another person was killed in Pulaski County, Kentucky.

This is another tough morning for Kentucky after a night of deadly weather, Beshear said.

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Earlier, Beshear declared a state of emergency, as did Governor Mike Kehoe in Missouri, where seven people died as a result of the severe weather, including five in St. Louis.

Aerial images posted on social media showed scenes of destruction in Laurel County, with entire blocks of houses reduced to splinters, and cars and pickup trucks left battered or crushed in the tornado's wake.

Laurel County Sheriff John Root described the devastation as "a mass casualty event," saying on social media that there were numerous severe injuries and emergency crews were searching for survivors.

Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, said 22 families who were displaced by the tornado were being housed in emergency facilities.

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"Their homes were completely destroyed right down to the ground," Acciardo said. He said the tornado was identified as an "EF5," the most powerful category.

The destruction recalls the damage caused when a monstrous tornado descended on the western Kentucky town of Mayfield in December 2021, killing at least 22 people in Graves County, including eight in a candle factory that was leveled.

TORNADO HITS ST. LOUIS

Earlier, a tornado ripped through St. Louis, where in addition to killing at least five, it injured 38 and damaged 5,000 properties, Mayor Cara Spencer said. It tore off the roofs of houses, knocked down power lines and swept through a major thoroughfare during rush-hour traffic on Friday.

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Two others were killed in Scott County, in southeastern Missouri, according to officials.

"Our city is grieving tonight," Spencer, who was sworn in as mayor a month ago, told reporters on Friday night. "The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous."

St. Louis resident Joan Miller recounted her narrow escape when a tornado struck her brick house.

"The wind started, the tree out front was shaking so violently," she said. "And suddenly all the doors shut, the windows flew out from the bedroom ... the entire back of my house ... you can see straight into the alley now."

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The National Weather Service said thunderstorms were widespread across portions of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio Valleys on Friday. At least half a dozen tornadoes touched down in Missouri and neighboring Illinois and other severe weather stretched all the way to the Atlantic Coast, including another tornado reported in New Jersey.

Two people were killed on Friday in separate incidents in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington, when trees fell on their cars, according to media reports.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she had talked with the governors of Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois to offer federal resources to help their states cope with the aftermath.

"We discussed how while emergency management is best led by local authorities, we reinforced that DHS stands ready to take immediate action to offer resources and support," she wrote on social media.

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Noem has championed a change in the federal strategy for managing disasters under the Trump administration by shifting responsibilities to states. President Donald Trump's proposed budget includes deep cuts for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which falls under her purview.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Frank McGurty; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Susan Fenton, Diane Craft and Rod Nickel)
According to Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, Public Information Officer for Kentucky State Police Post 11, two locations are serving the public this morning.

Red Cross is operating a shelter out of First Baptist Church of London, 804 W. Fifth Street, for those who have been displaced by last night's tornado.

Kentucky State Police and Laurel County Sheriff's Office are set up at the Faith Assembly Church of God, 390 Faith Assembly Church Road in London, to talk to anyone who is missing a loved one. Trp. Pennington said the missing person detail starts at 9 a.m.
NEW ORLEANS, La. (WSAV)  Ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail Friday in an audacious overnight escape by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall, setting off an urgent manhunt to arrest the fugitives.

This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left top: Keith A Lewis, Dkenan Dennis, Gary C Price, bottom from left, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Corey E Boyd. (Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office via AP) This photo combo shows inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail, from left, Lenton Vanburen Jr, Jermaine Donald, Antonine T Massey, Derrick D. Groves, and Leo Tate Sr. (Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office via AP)

Nine of the escapees, which include suspects charged with murder, remain on the lam following the breakout that the local sheriff says may have been aided by members within the department.

This photo shows an opening inside a cell at the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans. (AP Photo)

A photograph obtained by The Associated Press from law enforcement shows the opening behind a toilet in a cell that the men escaped through. Above the hole are scrawled messages that include To Easy LoL with an arrow pointing at the gap.

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The absence of the 10 men, who also utilized facility deficiencies that officials have long complained about in their escape, went unnoticed for hours. It was not until a routine morning headcount, more than seven hours after the men fled the facility, that law enforcement learned of the escape.

Soon after, one of the fugitives, Kendall Myles, 20, was apprehended after a brief foot chase through the French Quarter.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of defective locks. Hutson said she has continuously raised concerns about the locks to officials and, as recently as this week, advocated for money to fix the ailing infrastructure.

Hutson said there are indications that people inside her department helped the fugitives escape.

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We do acknowledge there is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security, Hutson said of the jail, where she says 1,400 people are being held. Its almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.

Hutson said the 10 men breached a wall behind a toilet around 1 a.m. and that surveillance footage shows the men exiting through a loading dock door, scaling a wall and running across an interstate.

Authorities did not notice the men were missing until 8:30 a.m. Authorities initially said 11 had escaped, but at a Friday afternoon news conference said one man thought to have escaped was in a different cell.Who are the fugitives?

The escapees range from 19 years old to 42. Most of the men are in their 20s.

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One of the fugitives, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder last year for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men. He also faces a charge of battery against a correctional facility employee, court records show. In a press release, law enforcement warned that the fugitive may attempt to locate witnesses in the murder trial.

Another escapee, Corey Boyd, had pled not guilty to a pending second-degree murder charge.

Hutson said the police department is actively working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to search for the fugitives.

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A new Niagara County Sheriffs Office initiative allowing residents to voluntarily pre-identify if they have communication difficulties is one the sheriff has enrolled in himself.

The public can request Disability Response Decals for vehicles and homes and register themselves or someone they care for who may have dementia, developmental disorders, or disabilities that affect communication.

I have a daughter with disabilities and I have one on the side of the vehicle that she is in, said Sheriff Michael Filicetti. I also have one on the house. The whole idea is to give a first responder a heads up that someone is potentially non-verbal and it alleviates some of the unknowns on why the person is acting the way that theyre acting.

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When you sign up to get a decal, you could also make a request to have an alert added for the residence, Filicetti said. So when 911 comes in, theres not only a sticker, but they get a call from dispatch that a person whos there has autism or Down syndrome. It can also alert to contact a caregiver with contact information provided.

Its really preloading information so we know who were dealing with, he said. Theres been tragedies across the country where first responders dealt with an individual with disabilities, not knowing they have disabilities.

Filicetti said emergency responders assess situations by asking questions and observing an individuals response. While deputies get training on people with disabilities in the sheriffs academy, he said there is still a potential for cues to be misinterpreted.

Describing a possible response situation, he said, Youre asking questions of somebody who is not capable of giving a response. It may lead you to believe that something is going on in this house because theyre being evasive and not answering. In fact, its not that at all. They have a disability.

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I think its a great idea, said Maureen Wendt, president and CEO of the Dale Association senior center. Any time we can make it easier for first responders in a situation, all the better. Its something that I would want for our participants in Memory Minders, so we could get it in the hands of caregivers as well.

Theres a certain amount of chaos or increased activity going on anytime theres an emergency situation, Wendt said. Sometimes you would have three different entities respond and they all take down documentation separately. Especially if there was somebody with dementia, and their caregiver wasnt home at the time, getting the right information as quickly as possible would help the situation.

Doug Usiak, executive director of Western New York Independent Living, a disability advocacy organization, expressed concern that anyone could register someone they know in the system.

These registries are open to the public, Usiak said. Ive heard of cases where neighbors enter the next door neighbor. You can fill that registry out about me, based on whatever it is you know about me. It infringes on your right to live independently and freely in your community and gives people the authority to label you.

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We have not run into this scenario, Filicetti said.

The sheriff said the registry information is confidential, and family and guardians would likely register someone with a communication disability.

We did this for my daughter, he said. She wouldnt have done it herself.

The sheriff said that during registration, caregivers provide their contact information for use by dispatchers. This step would also help verify their relationship.

At the end of the day, the person would have to put the stickers on the car or house, Filicetti said. If somebody called and said their neighbor had dementia, please put a sticker on their house, we wouldnt do that. We wouldnt take requests from an uninvolved party.

Community members can call the sheriff departments non-emergency phone number at 716-438-3393 to register. The information required to add an alert for a person with disabilities includes the persons full name, date of birth, height, weight, emergency contact information, and some details about their disabilities.
An early morning argument at a downtown Kissimmee bar and restaurant last week spilled into the street and then ended with gunfire.

The shooting left two people injured and quickly reignited discussions among Kissimmee leaders about whether alcohol sales should end earlier than 2 a.m., the current cutoff. Commissioners had one testy exchange hours after the May 6 shooting and likely will discuss the issue again next month.

About 20 miles north, Orlando continues to grapple with similar concerns about alcohol, public safety and gun violence in its downtown, and Monday city leaders will again wrestle with possible solutions. In both cities, some officials say ending alcohol sales at midnight should be considered. Orlando currently requires its downtown bars to have a permit to pour liquor after midnight, with last call at 2 a.m.

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Kissimmee restaurant and bar owners are fearful their city wants to mirror some of Orlandos existing nightlife policies. They say those expensive rules  which require bars to help cover the costs of extra police protection  could shutter businesses even as Kissimmee undergoes a multi-million dollar revitalization effort in its downtown.

But Kissimmees mayor, who owns a downtown restaurant and bar, says its time for change.

Mayor Jackie Espinosa said the city, business owners and residents must find a happy medium as Kissimmee begins a more than $16.3 million road improvement project in its downtown corridor and continues to push for a long-sought hotel for the area.

The road project aims to help make downtown more walkable. Kissimmees dream of a downtown hotel seems closer to reality as developers are set to come back to the city in June with their proposals.

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Something has to happen before all this development starts though, Espinosa said. Obviously we dont want to scare people away from moving to the downtown hotels.

Ray Parsons, who owns two popular restaurants and bars in downtown, 1881 and Breeze, isnt convinced. Last weeks incident began in Breeze with an argument between two patrons who were asked to leave just before midnight on May 5. Breeze was also the site of a 2023 shooting. In that incident, the shooter fired a single shot into the crowd, injuring one person.

It could have happened at any time  these incidents just happen randomly, Parsons said of last weeks argument. These are tragic events but right now I just dont see how punishing the businesses downtown will fix this.

Parsons said ending alcohol sales earlier could absolutely lead to the closure of some downtown bars as happened in Orlando. He makes roughly 25% of his sales after midnight, so cutting that off would be a big detriment, he said.

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Back when I was young and going to bars in Orlando  there just wasnt this kind of violence, Parsons said. To tie it to alcohol sales I just dont think its fair.

The two people wounded by gunshots  one shot in the head, the other in the leg  around 1:15 a.m. on May 6 are in stable condition and the investigation is ongoing, Kissimmee Police Chief Charles Broadway said at the Kissimmee commission meeting.

The meeting got heated when commissioners discussed ending alcohol sales earlier  an ongoing conversation for nearly two years  and raising fees for businesses who dont comply with the citys noise ordinance.

You want action, Commissioner Noel Ortiz said. Lets take some action, he added, suggesting alcohol sales end at midnight Thursdays through Sundays.

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But no other commissioner immediately supported that idea, and they made no decision.

City staff, however, is working on a proposal to revise the ordinance that regulates the hours of alcohol sales and the fees for noise ordinance violations, city spokeswoman Alibeth Suarez said in an email this week.

Espinosa said that before the city considers changes, she wants the citys new police chief to have time to assess how the current rules work. Broadway was sworn in on April 1.

Im not opposed to closing earlier, Espinosa said. Safety should be our priority but in all fairness I do feel that we need to also allow the chief to make these decisions with us.

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After Orlando police shot and killed a man on Orange Avenue last month who flashed a gun during an argument and fired a shot into the air, city officials are again expected to debate at a workshop Monday ways to create a safer downtown.

Orlando has required a permit to sell alcohol after midnight for the past two years  meaning bars and nightclubs are required to pay about $90 an hour for off-duty officers to patrol the bar district.

The permit has various security requirements, including a fee to help cover the cost of up to 30 police officers to patrol the area.

Those rules came after several shootings on the streets near the nightlife district, spanning the Orange Avenue area from Washington to Church streets, usually when bars and nightclubs were closing down for the night.

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Orlando again revisited its downtown rules after a mass shooting on Halloween last year left two dead and eight injured. In response, the city moved to keep Orange Avenue  which would close to vehicles on the weekends  open to traffic, in hopes of ridding the area of the street party officials have long blamed as a contributor to the violence.

While state law bans guns in bars and nightclubs, under Floridas permitless carry law, legal gun owners can carry a firearm in public places. State law also bans cities and counties from regulating firearms, so Orlando, for example, cannot ban guns on downtown streets nor screen for them as the Kia Center does at Orlando Magic games.

Some bar owners have bristled at the permit costs, saying it threatens their ability to turn a profit and noting the shootings arent happening inside their doors.

But the shooting last month means nightlife in downtown again faces scrutiny.

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Weve been talking about this for three-plus years, and tragedies continue to happen, said Commissioner Jim Gray last month, days after the shooting.

Gray, who has criticized downtown for years for having too many bars and too few other amenities, said the city needs new ideas.

We just continue to have violence downtown and our strategies, as much as were trying, do not seem to be effective, he said.

At the workshop on Monday, city staff is expected to update commissioners on the current state of downtown, discussing crime statistics, costs associated with its current permitting and potentially setting the stage for new ways to combat problems.

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Interim Commissioner Shan Rose, whose district includes the bar district, said at last months meeting that she wanted bar operators to be a part of whatever conversation was ahead.

It seems like every time theres a policy that comes out of a city hall, it continues to negatively impact the bars and nightclubs downtown, she said. We need to stop doing knee-jerk reactions to things happening downtown and look at a holistic plan.

Mayor Buddy Dyer, who agreed to call the workshop, said he saw few other policy steps the city could take beyond shutting down alcohol sales earlier.

Right now theres only one other solution than anything were already doing and thats closing at midnight, he said.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KSNW)  Authorities have issued a statewide Silver Alert in Kansas for 81-year-old Jerry McConnell, who was last seen Wednesday afternoon in Harrisonville, Missouri.

The Overland Park Police Department requested assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as efforts to locate McConnell continue. She was believed to be traveling from Harrisonville to her home in Overland Park, but never arrived.

McConnell may have been spotted Thursday afternoon near Severy, Kansas, raising concerns that she may be disoriented or lost.

She is described as a white woman, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. She is likely driving a gray 2009 Honda Accord with Texas license plate RFP836.

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Anyone who sees McConnell or has information about her whereabouts is urged to call 911 immediately. Tips can also be directed to the Overland Park Police Department at (913) 895-6300.

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. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  The Sioux City Explorers home opener against the Kansas City Monarchs has been postponed due to inclement weather.

Sioux City will host Kansas City for a Saturday doubleheader, beginning at 5:05 pm.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  Some medical students walk into school knowing exactly what specialty theyre chasing. Others take time to explore, figuring it out somewhere between lectures, lab hours, and mentorship.

Thats exactly why LSU Health Shreveport Department of Neurosurgery says it hosted its latest Neurosurgery Surgical Skills Workshop, an experience designed to give medical students an up-close look at what a career in neurosurgery actually looks like.

LSUHS-Neurosurgery-Programs-Skull-Drilling

The day began with an overview of neurosurgery as a specialty, followed by brief presentations from current neurosurgery residents, who are doctors in training specializing in this field, and faculty members. Fifth-year neurosurgery resident Dr. Alex Oderhowho broke down the structure of a seven-year neurosurgery residency and gave students an honest look at the training it takes.

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From there, LSU Health Shreveport faculty members gave focused rundowns of their own specialties and patient care areas, including:

Dr. Jamie Toms (Functional & Epilepsy Neurosurgery): Deep brain stimulation, epilepsy surgery, laser therapy

Dr. Sungho Lee (Neurosurgical Oncology): Brain tumors and new surgical treatments

Dr. Anthony Sin (Complex Spine Surgery): Degenerative spine conditions and scoliosis

Dr. Bharat Guthikonda (Chairman & Skull Base Neurosurgery): Endoscopic and skull base approaches, including endonasal brain surgery

Dr. Amey Savardekar (Vascular Neurosurgery): Aneurysm clipping, stroke intervention, endovascular neurosurgery

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Dr. Christina Notarianni (Residency Director & Pediatric Neurosurgery): Matching into neurosurgery, plus pediatric trauma, tumors, and congenital brain/spine care

After the lectures, students stepped into the SPARTA Lab for a hands-on surgical skills rotation. Residents and faculty walked students through four core stations:

Craniotomy flap simulation

Spinal instrumentation placement

Intracranial pressure monitors and drain insertion

Suturing and knot-tying basics

LSUHS-Neurosurgery-Program-with-Spines-

Students were guided by current neurosurgery residents Dr. Bryce Bonin, Dr. Charles Ronkon, Dr. Javier Brunet, Dr. Joseph Camarano, Dr. Danielle Terrell, Dr. Garrett Whipple, and others, with generous support from sponsors including Medtronic, Zimmer Spine, Codman  Johnson & Johnson, and Globus.

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The result? A one-day workshop packed with mentorship, technique, and a rare early look at the real-world demands of neurosurgery, something that they hope could shape not just skillsets but career paths.



If you would like to learn more about the LSU Health Shreveport Neurosurgery Department, you can visit them online at www.lsuhs.edu/departments/school-of-medicine/neurosurgery

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A nationwide rollout of smart meters threatens to clutter the countryside with 40-foot poles.

Water companies are preparing to install dedicated wireless networks to transmit the readings of a planned 10m devices that will collect live data on household and business water usage.

Under the proposals, the so-called telemetry poles will appear in already-crowded streets to handle the data, with companies exploiting planning rules brought in by the last government that effectively allow poles to be put up with little or no consultation or warnings for residents.

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Regions already hit by the new devices include the historic town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in Northumberland, where 20 planning applications, each for multiple poles, have been lodged to support Northumbrian Waters smart meter programme.

The plans have generated a wave of objections, with locals complaining of an unsightly clutter of overbearing poles that it is claimed will be obstructing natural light and creating an oppressive outlook.

Similar schemes are also generating fury further south. Essex and Suffolk Water intends to put up an initial 157 poles in Great Yarmouth alone, with plans for hundreds more around the region.

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Councils cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, told a council meeting: Im seriously concerned because this isnt just Great Yarmouth going to get hit, but all the major towns, all the villages are going to get these telegraph poles put up.

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Anglian Water, which provides water for the rest of Norfolk, has also been installing pillars to monitor smart meter usage. The plan has infuriated Norfolk County Council, which argued that existing networks should have been used rather than putting up scores of new poles.

Essex and Suffolk Water intends to put up 157 poles in Great Yarmouth alone - Tony Buckingham

Ptolemy Dean, official Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, and author of Streetscapes, on the evolution of street architecture, said the water metering poles would be an aesthetic disaster for Britains towns and villages.

He said: This is a nasty, cheap short-term fix that will damage public spaces and devalue the homes of people living nearby.

The main contractor putting up the poles is Hull-based Connexin, which is already working for multiple water companies.

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A spokesman said thousands more poles were needed around the UK. Water companies need data and this is the best way to collect it, he said.

Connexin is exploiting permitted development planning rules brought in by the last government that effectively allow the company to erect poles wherever it wants with little or no consultation or warnings for residents.

Under UK planning law telecoms poles which are less than 15 metres high are included under permitted development so there is no need for planning permission.

Connexins spokesman said: We would like to install the wireless routers on existing infrastructure but there is often nothing suitable. It is frustrating for the owners of nearby properties but we are erecting them under permitted development rules which allow us to do that.

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Ofwat, the water regulator, which is strongly in favour of smart meters, distanced itself from the row.

A spokesman said: Water companies are responsible for installing their own equipment and technology and following their local authorities rules and regulations.

It is not for Ofwat the economic water regulator to determine how and where poles are installed locally.

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Authorities are searching for burglars who hit a high-end sneaker shop hours before its doors opened, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Officers sent to the 400 block of North Fairfax Avenue around 5 a.m. Friday found that a blue Toyota Camry had rammed into Solestage, a shop known for streetwear, accessories and sneakers.

LAPD Officer Drake Madison said the vehicle had been reported stolen. It is unclear what items were taken from the store.

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Read more: Smash-and-grab robbers coordinated crimes on social media. Eight culprits now face prison

Solestage did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Authorities say the suspects ran away, but had no other information about them as of Friday afternoon.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD's Wilshire Division at (213) 473-0476. During non-business hours, or on weekends, calls should be directed to (877) 527-3247. Tips can also be made anonymously via lacrimestoppers.org or (800) 222-8477.

Read more: Retail theft surge in Inland Empire store prompts new policy: Leave shopping bags with the cashier

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Solestage sells brands such as Supreme and Louis Vuitton  with a wallet collaboration costing about $3,500  and claims to house the rarest collection of clothing and foot apparel.

The store was among those targeted by thieves in June 2020 after weeks of civil unrest across L.A . While such smash-and-grab crimes drew widespread attention online, a Times analysis found they made up only a fraction of the citys burglaries in 2020.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ratcheted up operations in the nearly four months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House  and Massachusetts has certainly not been left out.

Im coming to Boston and Im bringing hell with me," Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, promised during the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

While the Trump administration has maintained that its enforcement efforts are confined to targeting illegal immigrant killers, rapists and drug dealers several of the arrests have been for much more minor crimes  right down to an argument over a cell phone.

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Public criticism has reached a fever pitch over some of these arrests, and the tactics ICE employs in undertaking them  which have included approaching a target while wearing masks, an interruption of court proceedings and smashing a car window with an ax while people were inside.

Court battles following the arrests have been high stakes, as the administration has at times deported individuals before the conclusion of their guaranteed Constitutional right to due process.

These are some of the most high-profile ICE arrests that have happened in Massachusetts since Inauguration Day 2025.

Jan. 27: Siblings fight over a phone in Lynn

Zeneyda Barrera, 18, originally from Nicaragua, was arrested by ICE agents on Jan. 27 after she got into an argument with her brother over a cellphone in Lynn.

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It was around 4:30 a.m. that Monday morning when a neighbor called the police to complain of loud noise coming from Barreras home.

Barrera, her mother and her 12-year-old brother told Lynn police that Barrera pushed her brother down while they were arguing over a phone.

The 12-year-old was not injured, but Barrera was taken into custody on a misdemeanor assault and battery charge.

However, before her arraignment at Lynn District Court that morning, ICE agents whisked Barrera away to a detention center in Maine.

She remained there for five days until she was released from ICE custody and returned to her family in Lynn, after the Essex County District Attorneys office dropped the misdemeanor charge against her.

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If ICEs intent is to target violent offenders who put our community at risk, people like Zeneyda should not be detained, Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said at the time.

March 25: A Tufts student newspaper article sparks arrest

Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish woman enrolled in a Tufts University doctoral program, was taken from the streets of Somerville by ICE agents on March 25. Federal officials later said the arrest was linked with a pro-Palestinian op-ed she co-wrote for the Tufts University student newspaper.

Ozturk had been on her way to break a Ramadan fast when she was handcuffed and driven off by six ICE agents, some of whom wore masks. Video from the scene showed Ozturk yelling as bystanders asked the agents what was happening.

Ozturk was driven overnight to New Hampshire, then to Vermont, before she was ultimately brought to a detention facility in Louisiana.

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Ozturk was never charged with any crimes. The Department of Homeland Security said that she engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, without providing evidence of that claim.

After she spent 45 days in custody, during which she experienced long and repeated asthma attacks, a federal judge in Vermont ordered Ozturks release from Louisiana on May 9. This followed a tumultuous legal battle between courts in Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts vying for control over Ozturks detainment.

When she returned to Boston, Ozturk thanked her community at a press conference in the Boston Logan Airport.

I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies, she said during a press conference at Logan International Airport in Boston. But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.

March 27: Interrupting a Boston trial

On March 27, Martell Lebron-Wilson had stepped outside of the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston when he was detained by ICE agents in what bystanders thought was a kidnapping.

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Lebron-Wilson, a 49-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the country without authorization, was on lunch break during his trial for falsifying RMV records when agents took him swiftly into an SUV.

Was that a kidnapping? Youre not going to tell us where hes going? a man asked the federal agents, who walked away with no answer.

Lebron-Wilsons criminal defense lawyer, Murat Erkan, argued for his clients constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial before Boston Judge Mark Summerville, in a contentious hearing at Boston Municipal Court on March 31.

During that hearing, Summerville found Brian Sullivan, one of the ICE agents involved in the operation, in contempt of court. He said Sullivan committed intentional and egregious violations of the defendants rights by detaining him before his criminal trial had concluded.

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But U.S. Attorney of Massachusetts, Leah Foley, sought to dismiss the contempt charge by the Boston judge. In April, Federal Judge William G. Young dismissed Summervilles contempt ruling against Sullivan.

On April 24, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden admonished the cases dismissal and asked federal authorities to investigate what they described as ICEs violation of its own procedures.

Hayden had said after the initial ruling that ICE has acted as a reckless threat to public safety, and caused witnesses and victims to stop cooperating with law enforcement.

May 8: Chaotic arrest of mother in Worcester

Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of three, was arrested in one of the most public and chaotic settings to date.

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In a wild scene on Eureka Street in Worcester, in the middle of the day on May 8, ICE agents detained Ferreira-De Oliveira as a crowd of more than 30 people shouted at the agents and demanded to see a warrant. She was eventually taken to be held in Rhode Island.

Local Worcester police arrested the womans daughter, who is a minor, at the scene after she stood in front of the car holding a baby, then later ran after the car and kicked it.

Augusta Clara Moura, another of Ferreira-De Oliveiras daughters, has spoken out about what led up to her mothers detainment.

Her partner, Samarone Alves Ferreira-De Souza, had honked at a car that cut him off while he was driving to work, according to Clara Moura. The car turned out to be an undercover ICE vehicle and agents arrested him.

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The day after, agents came to Clara Mouras home and asked her to return Ferreira-De Souzas car and sign immigration paperwork, she said. When she left her house with her 17-year-old sister and her baby to do so, ICE stopped her car, and told me I was under arrest, she said.

Clara Moura called her mother to take her son and when she arrived, ICE arrested her instead, according to Clara Moura.

April, May: ICE smashes car windows in 3 communities

At least three incidents where ICE smashed car windows in order to arrest people have been reported over the past four months by NBC Boston. These incidents happened in New Bedford, Chelsea and Waltham.

In New Bedford, Juan Francisco Mendez was arrested on April 14 after ICE agents smashed through his car window with an ax and pulled him from the vehicle. His wife recorded the incident, and Mendez can be heard saying, My lawyer is on the way.

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Less than a month later, on Mothers Day, ICE agents broke through the window of an SUV in Chelsea as a family left together from church. A man was ripped from the vehicle, thrown to the ground and handcuffed during the daytime arrest, as bystanders heard him ask why he was being detained, NBC reported.

And the next day, ICE agents broke through a car window in Waltham to arrest two men in a downtown area of the city. The incident was recorded by a 15-year-old girl who was waiting for the school bus that Monday morning.

Fear and disorder

These and other arrests have left Massachusetts communities on edge  to the point where ICE itself has begun addressing rumors about their activities.

On Monday, rumors that ICE agents were scooping up nannies on playgrounds in Boston circulated heavily online, just days after those same fears developed in Washington, D.C.

ICE released a statement Tuesday denying the allegations.

Any rumors that ICE officers are targeting nannies at playgrounds or parks are entirely false and absolutely ridiculous, the statement from Acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston.

Hyde said the rumors amount to nothing more than scare tactics and unnecessarily place the safety of our brave officers in jeopardy.

Other people originally from the state  and who are U.S. citizens  reported theyve been asked to leave the country by DHS in past weeks. This includes three immigration lawyers originally from Massachusetts, who received letters on April 11 that began with the line, It is time for you to leave the United States.

One of the recipients  Pamela Rioles Saeed, a 28-year-old immigration lawyer in Arizona who was born in Boston and moved in 2018  said she was frustrated the government was so careless.

The letters only  ... serve to instill fear and disorder for those who received it, Saeed said at the time, and show either gross incompetence or willful indifference from DHS.

More stories on immigration

Read the original article on MassLive.
A month after instituting a controversial anti-fraud policy that sparked widespread concern among senior citizens, the Social Security Administration has quietly dropped a key piece of the measure.

The agency will no longer hold retirement benefit applications for three days to check for fraud, according to an email sent to workers and reviewed by CNN. The decision comes as the backlog in retirement benefit claims has swelled to nearly 575,000 applications, and employees, whose ranks have thinned from downsizing efforts, are being encouraged to work harder to process those claims.

Pushed by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, the anti-fraud policy was revised several times before being implemented amid an outcry from advocates for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Originally, the agency wanted to bar applicants from filing for benefits over the telephone, arguing that it could not do sufficient identity verification. Instead, people would have had to confirm their identities through their online my Social Security account or visit a field office to complete the claim in person. Advocates feared that the policy would make it harder for many folks to file for claims, particularly if they are not computer-savvy or live far from the agencys offices.

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The policy change, along with a related one ending beneficiaries ability to update their direct deposit information over the phone, prompted senior citizens and people with disabilities to flood the agencys phone lines and field offices with concerns. Many thought they had to prove their identities to continue receiving payments or had questions about the new procedures.

Less than two weeks later, Social Security announced that the anti-fraud policy would only apply to those filing for retirement, survivors or family benefits over the phone, and its rollout would be delayed by two weeks to April 14. The phone claims would be subject to a fraud review, and if irregularities were detected, applicants would have to go to a field office to prove their identity.

Asked about the latest change in policy, a Social Security spokesperson said the agency continues to refine the anti-fraud algorithm to flag only the claims with the highest probability of fraud. Continuous improvements will ensure timely processing of claims while protecting beneficiaries from fraud.

However, the review process only found two cases  out of more than 110,000 claims  that had a high probability of being fraudulent, according to an internal document obtained by Nextgov/FCW, which covers technology in federal agencies. Fewer than 1% of claims were flagged as potentially fraudulent.

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Whats more, the anti-fraud checks delayed the processing of retirement claims by 25% and led to worse customer service, according to the May document.

It created a problem in customer service where one didnt exist, and it didnt do anything to prevent fraud, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who worked at the agency during the Biden administration.

Growing backlog of retirement claims

As of mid-May, Social Security had nearly 575,000 pending retirement claims, with about 140,000 of them languishing for at least 60 days, according to an email from Stephen Evangelista, Social Securitys deputy commissioner for operations, that was sent to employees and viewed by CNN. He noted that the agency is receiving a record number of claims this year for several reasons, including the peak wave of Baby Boomers hitting retirement age and a law passed by Congress that beefed up Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million federal, state and local workers.

The backlog began increasing swiftly last fall, shooting up from fewer than 350,000 pending claims in September to nearly 600,000 pending claims in April, according to Social Security data posted online.

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Evangelista urged workers in the field offices and another unit to do their very best to increase the number of retirement claims they clear every day by at least 10% for the rest of May.

I am calling for a sprint  a focused, concerted effort in all offices beginning today and lasting through the end of May  to address this growing backlog of pending retirement and survivor claims, he wrote.

The missive did not go over well with many employees, said Joel Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3184, which represents workers in nearly 100 agency offices across the South and Southwest.

Social Security is in the midst of culling about 7,000 workers, or roughly 12%, from its staff  offering two rounds of deferred resignation offers, as well as other buyout and early retirement incentives. Multiple field offices have lost sizeable shares of their staff. And while the agency is reassigning about 1,000 employees from headquarters and regional offices to work in field offices and other mission-critical units, it will take time to train them.

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Employees find it to be another sign of disrespect from an out-of-touch agency leadership, Smith said of the directive. Workers werent looking for another demotivational email from an agency leadership that cut their telework, encouraged them to quit and created an unnecessary backlog.

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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A Socorro High School counselor has been named one of the six finalists in Texas for the annual School Counselor of the Year award, according to the Socorro Independent School District on Thursday, May 15.

Cristina Alvarez, a counselor from Socorro High School, is one of the six finalists for the 2025-2026 Lone Star State School Counselor Association Texas School Counselor of the Year award.

Cristina Alvarez. Photo courtesy of Socorro Independent School District.

Im really humbled, and I love that I get to represent the hard work that my colleagues and I do at Socorro High School, Alvarez said. Its not just me. There are eight of us (counselors at Socorro High School) and being a finalist lets me represent the work that we all do daily, serving our students with social and emotional support and academically.

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According to Socorro ISD, Alvarez has been a counselor for 11 years, including seven years with the school district.

Alvarez has been the counselor for the early college program at Socorro High School for three years, and prior to that, she was a counselor for Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School for four years, SISD said.

I decided to move to the high school because of my students in middle school. I wanted to be the person that helped them, and they saw every day, Alvarez said. It has been a privilege to see them grow in high school, earn their associate degree and then graduate from high school.

Alvarez will participate in the interview process for the state award on May 21, SISD said.

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Socorro ISD said the 2025-2026 Texas School Counselor of the Year will be announced at the end of May.

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SOMERSET, Pa.  As disaster assessment teams spent a second day visiting flood-damaged areas of Somerset County, emergency management officials were also looking ahead at a potential threat Thursday.

Another round of storms is possible Friday and Saturday, and steps need to be taken to prepare, officials said.

Somerset County Emergency Management Director Joel Landis said his office has communicated with boroughs and townships about removing debris from local bridges, culverts and other areas that could impede water flow or lead to more pile-ups.

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PennDOT, which has a network of roads and bridges throughout the county, also was working to remove obstructions along its thoroughfares after Tuesdays flooding.

And removing debris is something all county residents should be considering in their own neighborhoods, Landis said. Whether its their homes gutters or the storm drain next door, if they are clogged by leaves and branches, that could lead to bigger problems when rain starts falling, he said.

Checking your storm drains and your gutters is usually something we do outside our homes in the fall, Landis said, but after this storm, its just like the bridges, where debris can pile up.

If water backs up in those areas, it can redirect water into yards, homes and roadways that dont normally experience flooding, he added. Clean drains, on the other hand, enable stormwater to drain and quickly exit the area.

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Right now, the skies are blue, Landis said Thursday, and its a perfect opportunity for everyone to be focusing on cleaning up debris  using this time to our advantage.

Saturdays forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms and winds up to 40 mph, which pose an extra problem because the regions soil is oversaturated, Landis said. That creates an elevated risk for trees to fall, he cautioned.

National Weather Service forecasts early Thursday predicted a 50% chance of storms in much of Cambria and Somerset counties  and while it was too soon to predict their severity or where they will strike, local fire officials told The Tribune-Democrat they were planning ahead on the side of caution.

Jerome Fire Department Deputy Chief Ginger Miller said extra crews will be on standby this weekend for weather-related emergencies such as downed trees that could need to be moved.

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We want to be ready, just in case, she said.

Assessments ongoing

Emergency officials recorded more than 50 individual damage reports Wednesday, including 26 priority reports detailing significant damage to property and residences, Landis said.

Those efforts were still underway Thursday, with assessment teams returning to flood-hit areas where reports were received to follow up with residents on their reports and speak to neighbors who might be dealing with similar issues.

Right now, were focusing on immediate needs, but were also gathering information to deal with the long-range recovery, Landis said, adding that he continues to encourage residents, businesses and municipalities to report any flood damage.

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The American Red Cross was assisting those agencies and distributing buckets packed with cleaning supplies Thursday, a spokeswoman said. That included stacks of supplies, including bottled water, unloaded by forklift that were delivered to Meyersdales and Garretts fire stations, fire officials said.

Fundraiser possible

Somerset County officials, who have toured storm-damaged areas in recent days, are considering options to start a fundraiser for those hit hard by Tuesdays flooding.

County Treasurer Anthony DeLuca initially posted an online fundraiser to help residents whose properties have been damaged in a handful of communities that have declared disaster situations.

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But for the county commissioners to play a role, there are specific procedures to follow  including likely board votes at public meetings  that will need to occur first, President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said.

We want to do what we can to help, he said, adding that there are no guarantees that county emergency management officials will be able to secure state disaster funding until damage reports are all filed and totaled.

Low-interest 2% loans, for example, become available if at least 25 intake reports are filed indicating first-floor damage to homes, officials have said.

On the advice of our solicitors, Fochtman said of the county potentially conducting its own fundraiser, we need to make sure its (set up properly), and well be looking at avenues on how to do that.

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That includes sorting out who would manage the funds and how they would be distributed, county officials said.

DeLuca said its clear there are community members suffering and help is needed. In a telephone interview Wednesday, he suggested the county could use the damage assessment intake reports that county residents file to create a list of those eligible for shares of any county dollars raised.

Bridge damage, debris

PennDOT said it is coordinating with Maryland highway officials to add digital detour signs on Interstate 68 to redirect commercial traffic away from a section of U.S. Route 219 north of Salisbury, where a bridge is closed due to storm damage.

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Additional detour signs will be posted by PennDOT over the coming weeks, a spokesman said.

The detour is needed due to flood damage to a bridge over Piney Creek in Boynton. The bridges deck dropped approximately 18 inches at one side, and it is closed indefinitely pending further study.

Commercial traffic is being redirected onto U.S. Route 40, state Route 523 and state Route 281 because local roads or bridges arent able to accommodate larger, heavier vehicles.

Efforts were underway to remove debris up against Buffalo Creek Bridge in the Garrett area. Borough officials said they were awaiting updates from PennDOT on that work, but the bridge has since reopened.

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Garrett Borough Council had its own office, among other issues, to worry about. Staff said the Municipal Road building took on three feet of water.

Some rain gauges in the Meyersdale area measured up to seven inches of rain Tuesday, but indications from municipal officials were that storm totals varied greatly across Somerset County.

Conemaugh Township Supervisor Steven Buncich said his property received just over three inches of rain, while Jenner Township colleagues recorded five inches.

National Weather Service totals showed Windber recorded 5.2 inches over part of a two-day period, including nearly four inches of rain Tuesday.

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But Windber Borough Manager Ron Allison said the borough fared well from the storm, which spared even certain low-lying areas that have been hit hard by stormwater in the past.

He said borough crews and an outside contractor cleaned catch basins and culverts prior to the storm, and that recent dredging to remove sedimentation along the boroughs flood channel likely was a factor.

But Ive also got to tip my hat to our borough crews. They keep after the 10 to 12 areas that give us trouble ... before and after storms, he said.

Que Dam levels

Two feet of water poured down the Quemahoning Dams spillway as designed Wednesday after the peak of Tuesdays storms. Its an occurrence that typically only happens once every few years.

Levels approached a similar point in April 2024, and Cambria Somerset Authority records indicated water levels were even higher in 2018.

When flows reach two feet above the Ques spillway, the CSA is required to alert emergency officials, who signal a Stage 1 flood alert. That alert often creates community confusion. Despite the eye-catching title, it doesnt signal any danger is imminent, CSA Chairman Jim Greco said.

Rather, the alert sets up a series of protocols to ensure that emergency management crews and the CSA are both coordinating and monitoring the situation in case levels began to rise further or faster, he said.

The authority uses an electronic system that continuously provides measurements as a backup to give us visual confirmation those readings are accurate, he said.

If the dams levels were to rise another foot, up to three feet, a CSA employee would be required to monitor levels in person and report those levels hourly as an additional safeguard, Greco said.

Greco said Thursday that the dams level had already dropped by at least a foot, down to 1,628 feet above sea level.
The Souths biggest surviving antebellum mansion was reduced to rubble by a massive fire which was still under investigation Friday.

The Nottaway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana, started burning around 2am on Thursday morning and was completely destroyed within hours despite the efforts of 40 firefighters. At 53,000 square feet it had been almost as big as the historic core of the White House and was used as an events venue.

But the destruction of a mansion built in 1859 by a man who enslaved hundreds and made himself one of the richest men in the pre-Civil War south also sparked a heated debate online.

The house was completed in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph, a Virginia-born man who had moved to Louisiana to profit from sugar grown by enslaved people.

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The business proved to be lucrative, and in 1855 he purchased over 1,000 acres of land on the Mississippi River to build Nottoway, named for the Virginia county where he was born.

The manor was built by 150 enslaved people, who baked each brick by hand and slept in slave quarters on the property and completed in 1859. They build a ballroom with 15-foot mirrorsand lived in squalor themselves.

When the Civil War began, Hampden chose to financially back the Confederacy. All three of his sons fought for the Confederate Army, with his oldest son dying at Vicksburg in 1863. As Confederate defeat loomed, Hampden forced his slaves to move to Texas to avoid emancipation and keep making him money. When he returned after the Confederate surrender, 53 of them remained as low-paid laborers.

Nottoway Plantation burned down early Thursday morning. / Dukas / Dukas/Universal Images Group

After passing through a series of owners, the house and a surrounding 1,000 acres of the original larger plantation had become a resort and events venue and in 1980 it was put on the National Register of Historic Places.

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But the fire divided opinioninevitably given its tarnished past.

The president of Iberville Parish, where the home was located, posted a statement on the Facebook page saying the home was a a symbol of both the grandeur and the deep complexities of our regions past.

While its early history is undeniably tied to a time of great injustice, over the last several decades it evolved into a place of reflection, education, and dialogue, said Chris Daigle.

Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, a Republican, called the fire a gut punch.

Today my beloved Nottoway burned, said Nicholas Schabert, who got engaged on the property and posted a tribute to the home on Facebook. To say Im upset is an understatement.

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Others argued that Nottoway left a dark stain on the history of Louisiana.

Lets be realNottoway wasnt just some pretty old building, said Kenny Pahina. It was a plantation built off the backs of over 150 enslaved Black people who were owned, whipped, starved, raped, and worked to death so one family could live in luxury.

Pahina, who originally posted that he had no sympathy for the property, said he refused to mourn a moment to human suffering.

This wasnt a fairy tale. The sugar industry was one of the most violent and deadlypeople lost limbs, collapsed in the fields from exhaustion, or died slowly from infections while being treated like livestock," he added.

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Misery sank into those walls and floors, agreed Erik Harry. This is the way it gets cleansed.

There are 375 other plantation sites, both publicly and privately owned, that are open to the public in 19 states. Some say that tourists that visit the sites for weddings, leisure, or parties turn it into Disneyland for adults and sugarcoat the locations brutal past.

One critic said: The rest of them need to burn down.
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Saturday that he is leaving the conservative People Power Party (PPP), according to his Facebook post.

The announcement comes as PPP's presidential candidate is badly trailing liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung in the polls before the June 3 snap election.

According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, some 29% supported PPP presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, compared to 51% for frontrunner Lee.

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Yoon, whose December surprise martial law and subsequent ouster by impeachment brought about the snap presidential election, had been called by party members to leave the party in an effort to muster more support from moderate voters who negatively view his actions.

"I am leaving the People Power Party to fulfill my responsibility to protect the free Republic of Korea ... Please lend your support to Kim Moon-soo," Yoon said in his post, referring to South Korea's official name.

Candidates Lee and Kim are set to face off in their first televised debate on Sunday.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)  One year after it opened, a dialysis program in southern Kansas is shutting its doors.

The program started after a massive community push and a fundraising effort spearheaded by Harper County Health Foundation.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup costs later, the program is closing in August. Its the only resource of its kind for miles around.

How tariffs could drive up your auto insurance costs

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The closest dialysis program to this community, where Patterson Health Center is located, will soon be Wichita, an hour away.

Other counties farther west will have to drive even longer.

Heidi Greve remembers the last years of her stepfathers life. He did dialysis several times a week.

Towards the end of his life, he talked a lot about how his choices affected him and how dialysis was draining for him, Greve said. I mean, he was exhausted by the end.

He pushed for a dialysis program at Patterson Health Center.

It didnt start until after hed passed.

We raised over $200,000 from private donations. Then the Harper County Health Foundation did matching funds of another $200,000.

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The fundraising started two years ago. The program saw its first patient one year ago.

The need is great, we had a waiting list of over 12 people, which is more than we could see, but every day that list gets larger and larger, said Jason Wolff, Harper County Health Foundation President.

He says dialysis is becoming more of a need in rural areas. Patients were coming from 50 miles away.

Medicare patients were costing the hospital money because of low reimbursement rates from their programs.

We knew that we would get less than what it cost for care, we were hoping that the commercial insurers would pay on time in full, and that would help subsidize some of the losses from medicare insurers, said Sarah Teaff, Patterson Health Center CEO.

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But private insurers denied claims and refused to pay for treatments. In the end, $200,000 in the hole. The health center had to call off the whole venture.

Im crushed because a lot of people put a lot of money and effort into this, said Wolff.

Greve says her father-in-law wouldve been proud anyway.

I just think he wouldve been so proud of his community and his hometown, Greve said.

There arent any immediate plans to bring back the dialysis center. The community health foundation says the health center did everything it could to keep the clinic open.

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MADRID (AP)  Every morning at 6 a.m., Teresa sets out in search of work, a shower and a bit of exercise before she returns home. For the past six months, that has been Terminal 4 of Madrids international airport.

Teresa, 54, who didnt want her full name to be used because of safety concerns, is one of the estimated hundreds of homeless people sleeping in the Spanish capitals airport amid a growing housing crisis in Spain, where rental costs have risen especially fast in cities like Madrid, the country's capital, and Barcelona.

She and others sleeping at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport  the third-busiest airport in Europe in 2023, according to Eurostat  described a situation where for months, authorities have neither helped them find other living arrangements nor have they kicked them out from the corners of the airport that they have occupied with sleeping bags unfurled on the floor as well as blankets, luggage carts and bags.

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Soon, things could change.

Limits on entry

Spains airport operator AENA this week said that it would start limiting who can enter Madrids airport during low-travel hours by asking visitors to show their boarding passes. AENA said that the policy would take effect in the next few days, but didn't specify exactly when. It said that exceptions would be made for airport workers and anyone accompanying a traveler.

Teresa, a Spanish-Ecuadorian who said she has lived in Spain for a quarter-century, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she hadn't heard of the new policy. She and her husband would be forced to sleep outside on park benches and other public spaces if they arent allowed back in.

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We cant make demands. Were squatters, Teresa said, using a controversial term common in Spain. Squatters in what is private property. We are aware of that. We want help from authorities, but not a single one has come here.

Political blame game

For months, a political blame game between officials at different levels of government has meant that the homeless encampments in the airport have largely gone unaddressed. In recent weeks, videos on social media and news reports of the airport's homeless population put a spotlight on the issue.

Madrids city council on Thursday said that it had asked Spains national government to take charge and come up with a plan to rehabilitate every homeless individual sleeping in the airport. Spanish airports are overseen by AENA, a state-owned publicly listed company. A city council spokesperson said that Madrid's city government had recently called for a meeting with officials from AENA, the regional government of Madrid and several national ministries that declined.

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Without them, there is no possible solution, said Lucia Martin, a spokesperson for Madrids city council division of social policies, family and equality. She said that the national ministries of transport, interior, inclusion, social rights and health declined to participate in a working group.

A day earlier, AENA accused Madrids city authorities of providing inadequate help and said that the city government's statements about the unfolding situation confirmed its dereliction of duty and abandonment of the airports homeless individuals.

It's like a dog chasing its tail, said Marta Cecilia Cardenas of the long list of authorities she was told could help her. Cardenas, a 58-year-old homeless woman originally from Colombia, said that she had spent several months sleeping in Madrid's airport.

Exact numbers are unknown

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Its not known how many people are sleeping in Madrids airport, through which 66 million travelers transited last year. Spains El Pais newspaper reported that a recent count taken by a charity group identified roughly 400 homeless people in the airport, many of whom, like Teresa, had previously lived in Madrid and were employed in some capacity.

AP wasn't able to confirm that number. Madrid city council officials, meanwhile, said that the Spanish capital's social service teams had helped 94 individuals in April with ties to the city, 12 of whom were rehabilitated into municipal shelters, addiction treatment centers or independent living.

Word of mouth

Teresa said she had heard about sleeping in the airport by word of mouth. Before she lost her job, she said she lived in an apartment in Madrids Leganes neighborhood, earning a living taking care of older people.

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She currently earns 400 euros ($450) per month, working under the table caring for an older woman. With the earnings, Teresa said she maintains a storage unit in the neighborhood that she used to live in. Though the work is sporadic, she said it was still enough to also cover fees for the gym in which she showers daily, pay for transportation, and purchase food.

Over the last decade, the average rent in Spain has almost doubled, according to real estate website Idealista, with steeper increases in Madrid and Barcelona. Spain also has a smaller public housing stock than many other European Union countries.

Hope for the future

Teresa said that she hopes to find a job soon and leave the airport, whatever authorities may force her to do in the coming days and weeks. She and her husband keep to themselves, avoiding others sleeping in the brightly-lit hallway dotted with sleeping bags who were battling mental health problems, addiction and other issues, she said.

You end up adjusting to it a bit, accepting it even, but never getting used to it, Teresa said over the constant din of airline announcements. I hope to God that it gets better, because this is not life.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA)  A Spartanburg man was sentenced to over 50 years in prison, on Friday, for a double murder from 2020.

On October 25, 2020, Spartanburg County deputies responded to Walden Circle and found two gunshot wound victims. The victims were identified as 51-year-old Kelli Eileen Curran and 37-year-old Timothy Keith Thompson II.

The7th Circuit Solicitors Office said that during the 911 call, Curran had whispered to the responder, asking for help.

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Curran had informed the first responders that two men had knocked on the door and that their car was broken down.

Curran and Thompson invited the men inside and when Thompson went to look for his phone to help the men, one of them pulled out a pistol and shot the couple multiple times, according to the solicitors office.

The shooting was related to a robbery at the home, involving three suspects, deputies said. Their deaths were ruled as a homicide.

28-year-old Tyleek Rayquanun Johnson was tried and found guilty on two counts of murder, armed robbery, first degree burglary, possession of a weapon by a person convicted of a violent crime, and two counts of possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime.

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The solicitors office said that Currans 911 call captured one of the men referring to another by the nickname Dubb. The nickname was for Kenyatta Lebby, who said that an individual told him that Thompson had guns and marijuana in his home.

Johnson, Lebby and Deandre Fuller were then identified as the three individuals who participated in the robbery.

Johnson was sentenced to 50 years in prison for each county of murder as well as 50 years for burglary. He was also sentenced to 30 years for armed robbery and five years in prison for each count of weapon possession, according to the solicitors office.

All of the sentences shall be served at the same time.

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Johnson has a previous criminal history of unlawful carrying of a weapon, failure to stop for blue light, possession of a stolen pistol, and common law robbery.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  Wesley Dayton received a $50,000 donation through the Spectrum Community Center Assist (SCCA) on Saturday, May 17.

The donation was celebrated with a revitalization event. Over twenty Spectrum employees volunteered to repair the building at 3730 Delphos Ave.

The Wesley Center was established in 1966 durning the civil rights movement to address the needs of Daytons West Side. Today, the center provides critical support to the West Side through multiple programs, including senior services, an after-school program, workforce development, a food pantry and an infant/mother program.

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Dayton documentary to premiere in California Saturday

The Group Vice President, Community Impact for Charter Communications, Rahman Khan, spoke about the event. (Charter Communications operates the Spectrum brand of connectivity services.)

The long-term partnership we are creating with Wesley Dayton will make a real difference in the lives of local residents by giving them the skills, tools and updated facilities they need to improve their economic situation, said Khan. Thousands of people around the country have participated in SCCA in the neighborhoods we serve, and we look forward to working with Wesley Dayton to provide essential job training in a safe and revitalized space.

Carillon Park Fleurs de Fete food and wine festival coming soon

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Alongside its monetary donation, Spectrum also gave 10 laptops, a smartboard and dedicated a new Training and Technology Room. Spectrum will be providing Wesley Dayton with its 1 gigabit-per-second internet service for the life of the program.

We are honored to receive this investment from Spectrum, which will allow us to expand and enhance our workforce programs, said Shawn Kerley, Executive Director, Wesley Dayton. This critical support will help us grow initiatives such as career services, soft skills training, conflict resolution, identifying and removing barriers, and this grant helps us build pathways for our community to learn valuable skills and contribute to the local economy.

To learn more about Spectrum Community Center Assist, click here.

For more information on Wesley Dayton and its critical services, click here.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  Officials have shared the identities of two people who died after multiple shootings rocked Springfield this past Wednesday.

The Springfield Police Division reports the two shootings that occurred on May 14 were not related, and there is currently no danger to the community. But both families are awaiting answers to find out what really happened this week.

Springfield PD investigating early morning shooting as a homicide

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Wednesday morning in Springfield started off with tragedy when police were called to Buckeye Street, where they found 31-year-old Randy Graham Jr. dead from a gunshot wound.

Police say Graham was attending a party when an argument occurred, resulting in a shooting.

Just hours later, near the intersection of Limestone Street and Euclid Avenue, police found a car crashed into a home. Inside the vehicle was 16-year-old DaMeko Taborn, also dead from a gunshot wound.

Another person was found shot a few blocks away, and was taken to a hospital and treated.

Police assured the public during a news conference Friday that both were isolated incidents, and are being investigated thoroughly.

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The biggest message that I could suggest is these are independent acts, said Sgt. James Byron, Springfield PD. Its unfortunate that they occurred at all, but definitely on the same day. Both are being investigated to the fullest.

Now, police are asking the public to come forward with any information that may offer the victims families some closure.

At the end of the day, we have to come together as people, as a community, and this has to stop. You know, enough is enough, said Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott. When youre watching families grieve at a crime scene, watching families in agony and pain and understanding the impact that has, we have to see that, and we have to understand that.

Springfield investigation underway after car crash, shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 injured

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A family member of Grahams says she was heartbroken by the news of his passing.

They came and told me, I was up here at a gas station at seven this morning and I just broke. I couldnt believe it. I mean, this is just a tragedy here today, said Angela Brickman, Grahams aunt. Hes the best friend anybody could ever had, and I just miss him so much, I do.

Brickman shared photos of Graham with 2 NEWS, saying her nephew will always be remembered by how he helped out everyone around him.

He loved everybody and he kept us together, gets a lot of us together. And I was just very fortunate to be able to get a relationship with him, said Brickman. he helped everybody, good kids, even dogs, everybody. I miss that boy. He was like a son to me.

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Springfield police say that both incidents now add up to six homicides so far this year, which already matches the total they had by the end of 2024. Police are urging the community to help and cooperate to keep everyone safe.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW)  In a ceremony at the Missouri State Capitol, Missouri National Guard Adjutant General Charles D. Hausman was promoted to the rank of Major General.

The ceremony took place on Friday, May 16, where Governor Mike Kehoe expressed his congratulations to, now, Major General Hausman.

This promotion is a testament to Major General Hausman's remarkable leadership, dedication and unwavering commitment to our state and nation," said Gov. Kehoe. "In the months since General Hausman assumed command, he has led Missouri's soldiers and airmen at home and abroad through both day-to-day trainings and missions to their vital assistance with multiple rounds of winter storms and flooding across the state. On behalf of all Missourians, congratulations to General Hausman and the Hausman family on this well-deserved promotion."

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Gov. Kehoe selected Major General Hausman as the next Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard on Jan. 8, 2025, where he took command on Feb. 1, 2025.

With over 36 years of service in the Missouri National Guard, the General has an extensive military career with a high level of expertise in operational leadership, military strategy and interagency coordination.

"It is an honor and privilege to be entrusted with this responsibility," General Hausman said. "Leading the exceptional soldiers and airmen of the Missouri National Guard, as we carry out our mission of serving the people of Missouri and this great nation is the honor of a lifetime.

Hausman is a St. Joseph native and currently resides in Jefferson City with his wife and two adult children.
ST. LOUIS  Regional leaders held a press conference Saturday morning to address the devastating storm damage in the St. Louis area. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, U.S. Senator Eric Schmidt, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, Police Chief Robert Tracy, and Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson shared an update on the ongoing recovery efforts.

Strong winds swept through the St. Louis area Friday afternoon, leaving five people dead, over 30 injured, and more than 5,000 buildings damaged. There is widespread destruction and ongoing recovery efforts following the likely tornado, which struck Friday between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.

The devastation is truly tremendous, said St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer. As a city, we are grieving.

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Police said four people were killed Friday in the heavily damaged areas of Clayton, Richmond Heights, University City, and parts of St. Louis. A fifth person died in their car near Carondelet Park.

The city remains under a state of emergency, with crews working to clear debris, restore traffic signals, and address downed electrical lines. A citywide curfew is in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the hardest-hit areas. Police spokesman Mitch McCoy said that the curfew remains in effect for public safety.

Our officers will be helping to enforce that curfew to protect property as well as to make sure that people are not preying on those who have been devastated, said McCoy.

The St. Louis Fire Department has searched more than 4,000 homes for survivors and to check on injuries.

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We have a lot of work left to do. We will make sure we do a clean sweep of all of these buildings, said St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson. We will not leave any stone unturned.

Emergency response activity surged in the hours after the storm. Between 2:40 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Friday, St. Louis police received more than 334 calls for service.

If you see something, say something. If you havent heard from someone, call 911. Let us know so we can take the proper action, said Police Chief Robert Tracy.

Mayor Spencer said the city is organizing donation efforts and will release information soon about what supplies are needed and where to send them.

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Governor Mike Kehoe said FEMA is prepared to assist and that his staff is in communication with the White House. He noted that the region is still under a previous emergency declaration from March and that he is working to file a new one for this event.

The message here is that were united at the federal, state, and local level to make sure that the people who have been injured get the help that they need, said U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt.

I want to thank the first responders who are still out there doing some dangerous work with some buildings that have been damaged, he added.

Anyone needing help is urged to call 211 or visit DisasterAssistance.gov.

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City officials plan to give another update at a press conference scheduled for 5 p.m.

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A 56-year-old St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend at her downtown apartment in 2023 and will be given nearly 25 years in prison at his July sentencing.

Kelvin Maurice Perry pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder on Wednesday after reaching an agreement with the Ramsey County Attorneys Office in the killing of 39-year-old Shaqita Thomas at the Press House apartment building on Nov. 15, 2023. An autopsy determined shed been asphyxiated.

Two minutes after Perry told a childhood friend, My girlfriend is gone  she is dead, he walked in front of a light-rail train and was struck in St. Paul, the criminal complaint says. He was charged with Thomas murder while hospitalized with serious injuries.

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Perry entered a Norgaard plea, which means a defendant says they cannot remember what happened because of intoxication or amnesia but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.

The plea agreement calls for a little over 24 years in prison. He remains jailed ahead of his July 23 sentencing.

Paramedics found Thomas dead in her bedroom after a friend asked the apartment buildings property manager to do a wellness check. She was lying face down beneath a blow-up mattress in the bedroom, and had head trauma and small cuts on her body.

A friend of Thomas told investigators she had been on a FaceTime video call with her about 11:20 a.m. Nov. 15 and she was crying while a man yelled at her in the background. Thomas told her friend the man was mad at her for spending the night at the emergency room with her estranged husband because of her sons asthma, the complaint says.

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Thomas husband, from whom she was separated, said he dropped her off in front of the apartment building on Cedar Street between Fourth and Fifth streets between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Thomas wanted him to leave so there wouldnt be an altercation between him and her boyfriend.

An investigator also spoke with a woman Perry had dated. She reported he is a very violent, jealous person, the complaint states. She said shed talked to a relative of Perrys, who said Perry called people he knew and told them he choked Thomas out.

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Surveillance video showed Perry left Thomas apartment about 12:50 p.m. and that her key fob wasnt used to unlock the door again until it was opened for paramedics two days later.

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A woman whos known Perry since they were kids said he called her at 11:13 a.m. Nov. 17 and that he was crying and panicking and told her, Something is going on, the complaint says. He asked her to tell his sister he loved her and the call ended.

At 11:15 a.m., Perry walked in front of a Green Line train at University and Western avenues in St. Paul.

Perry has a significant arrest history out of Chicago where he is from and has family, according to the complaint.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (WFLA)  The City of St. Pete approved a plan to build two apartment towers on 800 Second Avenue S.

The land was originally planned to be a new Moffitt Cancer Center, but city council approved the plan to build the towers instead after the mayor said Moffitts plan did not include enough affordable housing.

In a unanimous vote, St. Pete City Council approved the new project for two apartment towers, both of them 31-stories high to be built.

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There will be 824 dwelling units, 35,800 square feet of commercial space, and around 1,550 parking spaces.

The project is estimated to cost $225 million.

The original plan with Moffitt included on 35 affordable housing units. This is why St. Petes mayor vetoed the plan. He said any project slated for the property needed to include over 100 housing units.

While the now-approved towers far exceeds that number, none of the units will be designated as affordable housing.

Despite approving the project, some city leaders still believe Moffitt having a location in St. Pete would have been a major benefit.

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Staff has reviewed it, I feel comfortable with it, but goodness, its just very different from where we started here and it does feel like a little bit of a missed opportunity, thats nothing to say anything about this development, said Richie Floyd, city council member.

The planned apartment towers exceed the Airport Height Limit, so before the project can move forward, developers will need to get additional approval from the F.A.A.

The three-story building that currently sits on the property will be demolished to make way for the towers.

There is no word on when construction could begin.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma high school students studying U.S. history learn about the Industrial Revolution, womens suffrage and America's expanding role in international affairs.

Beginning next school year, they will add conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.

Oklahomas new social studies standards for K-12 public school students, already infused with references to the Bible and national pride, were revised at the direction of state School Superintendent Ryan Walters. The Republican official has spent much of his first term in office lauding President Donald Trump, feuding with teachers unions and local school superintendents, and trying to end what he describes as wokeness in public schools.

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The left has been pushing left-wing indoctrination in the classroom, Walters said. Were moving it back to actually understanding history ... and Im unapologetic about that.

The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said, Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome." The new version is more expansive: Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of bellwether county trends.

The new standard raised red flags even among Walters' fellow Republicans, including the governor and legislative leaders. They were concerned that several last-minute changes, including the language about the 2020 election and a provision stating the source of the COVID-19 virus was a Chinese lab, were added just hours before the state school board voted on them.

A group of parents and educators have filed a lawsuit asking a judge to reject the standards, arguing they were not reviewed properly and that they represent a distorted view of social studies that intentionally favors an outdated and blatantly biased perspective.

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GOP lawmakers can't muster enough support to reject the new standards

While many Oklahoma teachers have expressed outrage at the change in the standards, others say they leave plenty of room for an effective teacher to instruct students about the results of the 2020 election without misinforming them.

Aaron Baker, who has taught U.S. government in high schools in Oklahoma City for more than a decade, said hes most concerned about teachers in rural, conservative parts of the state who might feel encouraged to impose their own beliefs on students.

If someone is welcoming the influence of these far-right organizations in our standards and is interested in inserting more of Christianity into our practices as teachers, then theyve become emboldened, Baker said. For me, that is the major concern.

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Leaders in the Republican-led Oklahoma Legislature introduced a resolution to reject the standards, but there wasnt enough GOP support to pass it.

Part of that hesitation likely stemmed from a flurry of last-minute opposition organized by pro-Trump conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty, which has a large presence in Oklahoma and threatened lawmakers who reject the standards with a primary opponent.

In the last few election cycles, grassroots conservative organizations have flipped seats across Oklahoma by holding weak Republicans accountable, the group wrote in a letter signed by several other conservative groups and GOP activists. If you choose to side with the liberal media and make backroom deals with Democrats to block conservative reform, you will be next.

Superintendent says his new standards 'encourage critical thinking'

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After a group of parents, educators and other Oklahoma school officials worked to develop the new social studies standards, Walters assembled an executive committee consisting mostly of out-of-state pundits from conservative think-tanks to revise them. He said he wanted to focus more on American exceptionalism and incorporate the Bible as an instructional resource.

Among those Walters appointed to the review committee are Kevin Roberts, the president of The Heritage Foundation and a key figure in its Project 2025 blueprint for a conservative administration, and Dennis Prager, a radio talk show host who founded Prager U, a conservative nonprofit that offers pro-American educational materials for children that some critics say are not accurate or objective.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Walters defended teaching students about unprecedented and historically significant elements of the 2020 presidential election.

"The standards do not instruct students on what to believe; rather, they encourage critical thinking by inviting students to examine real events, review publicly available information, and come to their own conclusions, he said.

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Recounts, reviews and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his loss all confirmed Democrat Joe Biden's victory, and Trump lost dozens of court cases challenging the results.

Critics say Walters' new standard is filled with misleading phrasing that seeks to steer the discussion in particular direction.

Democrats characterized it as another political ploy by Walters, widely viewed as a potential candidate for governor in 2026, at the expense of school children.

It's harmful posturing and political theater that our kids do not need to be subjected to, said Sen. Mark Mann, a Democrat from Oklahoma City who previously served on the school board for one of the state's largest districts.

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Concerns about politicizing school standards

National experts on education standards also expressed alarm, noting that Oklahoma has historically ranked highly among the states for its standards.

Brendan Gillis, the director of teaching and learning at the American Historical Association who oversaw a research project that analyzed standards in all 50 states, said Oklahomas social studies standards had been quite good until the latest version.

In addition to concerns about election misinformation, Gillis added: There was also a lot of biblical content that was sort of shoehorned in throughout the existing standards.

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He said a lot of the references to Christianity and the Bible misinterpreted the history of the country's founding and lacked historical nuance.

David Griffith, a research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative-leaning education think-tank, said he was not aware of any other states that have tried to promote election misinformation in their curriculum standards.

He called the new standards an unfortunate departure from Oklahoma's traditionally strong social studies standards.

It is just inappropriate to promote conspiracy theories about the election in standards, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has gone to a federal appeals court after a U.S. district judge last month ruled that the state has violated the Endangered Species Act as manatees face threats in the Indian River Lagoon.

A notice of appeal, sent to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week, does not detail arguments that department attorneys will make at the Atlanta-based court.

But the agency is challenging a ruling by U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, who sided with the environmental group Bear Warriors United in the case about regulation of wastewater discharges into the Indian River Lagoon. The group argued that discharges led to the demise of seagrass, a key food source for manatees, and resulted in deaths and other harm to the animals.

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In his April 11 ruling, the judge wrote that under the Department of Environmental Protections regulations, it would take at least a decade for conditions in the northern part of the Indian River Lagoon to start to recover. That area is primarily in Brevard County.

This is due to the previously and currently permitted discharge of legacy pollutants via wastewater into the north IRL (Indian River Lagoon), Mendoza wrote. These legacy pollutants caused the death of seagrasses  the manatees natural forage  and the proliferation of harmful macroalgae. Legacy pollutants, as their name suggests, persist in the environment and cause harmful effects long after they have entered the system.

In a follow-up to Mendozas ruling, Bear Warriors United asked him to enter an injunction that would include requiring the state to seek what is known as an incidental take permit from federal wildlife officials. That process would include the state developing a conservation plan, attorneys for the group wrote.

Also, the group asked Mendoza to place a moratorium on new residential and commercial construction that would use septic tanks. Such a moratorium would apply in the northern Indian River Lagoon watershed pending the issuance of an incidental take permit, under the groups proposal. Septic tanks discharge nitrogen, which can cause harmful algae blooms.

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New residential and commercial construction that use (septic tanks) will only exacerbate nitrogen loading into the North IRL, the groups attorneys wrote in seeking an injunction. The court has already held that continuing high levels of nitrogen loading into the North IRL has caused the collapse of seagrasses, resulting in ongoing take of manatees that occupy the North IRL.

But in a May 6 response, Department of Environmental Protection attorneys pushed back against the groups requests, saying, for example, that such a construction moratorium would improperly bind parties that are not in the case.

The departments attorneys wrote that Bear Warriors United is seeking an injunction that, on its face, prohibits anyone from undertaking residential or commercial construction using onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. Needless to say, the independent landowners and builders whose property rights would be curtailed by such an order are not parties to this action.

Also, the states attorneys argued that the department has no power under Florida law to prohibit residential or commercial development; that authority is left to local zoning boards. In fact, Florida law specifically authorizes construction using nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems or similar nitrogen-reducing wastewater treatment systems. Certainly, a federal court can enjoin a state official to cease conduct that violates federal law. But it cannot require a state official to affirmatively take actions they have no power to take under state law.

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Mendoza had not ruled on the injunction request as of Friday morning. The notice of appeal involves the underlying judgment he issued last month.

Bear Warriors United filed the lawsuit in 2022, after Florida had a record 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021, with the largest number, 358, in Brevard County. Many deaths were linked to starvation.

The state had 800 manatee deaths in 2022, before the number dropped to 555 in 2023 and 565 in 2024, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data. As of May 9, 363 manatees deaths had been reported this year, including 75 in Brevard County.

Manatees are classified by the federal government as a threatened species.

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GREENE COUNTY, Mo.  The Missouri Attorney Generals Office has filed multiple felony charges against a Greene County business owner.

According to online court dockets, Jeremy Jack Watson, of Strafford, is charged with six counts of deceptive business practice, two counts of stealing $25,000 or more, and three counts of financial exploitation of an elderly or disabled person, all felonies.

The probable cause statement says Watson owned Outdoor Creations and Designs (OCD), which he operated in and around Greene County.

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According to the statement, Watson accepted thousands of dollars in payments from consumers, but either failed to provide any service and refunds, or provided shoddy work that was not in accordance with Greene County construction codes, causing excessive damages that resulted in thousands worth of repairs.

Watson failed to obtain any of the necessary permits in Greene County, the statement says.

The statement says in May of 2023, a pair of Greene County homeowners entered into an agreement with Watson for OCD to demolish and reconstruct their homes decks. They paid Watson $40,515.20 for labor and materials  but he failed to provide the labor, materials or a refund.

The statement lists 13 other similar victim accounts in which Watson would receive payment for labor and supplies, but then fail to provide service to customers without issuing a refund. Some victims did receive service from Watson, but the work was shoddy and Watson did not provide refunds for the shoddy work.

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Many of the victims were 60 years old or older.

Overall, the victims sustained a total loss of $157,684.80 for services and materials not provided, or for shoddy work, provided by OCD. This total does not include the cost estimates to repair the OCDs shoddy work for three victims.

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May 16A New Mexico corrections officer was arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting four women at a Grants prison.

Elijah Williams, 21, is charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct and battery. He turned himself in on Thursday and is being held at the Cibola County Detention Center. It is unclear who Williams' attorney is.

"We acted immediately, terminating the individual and notifying State Police," New Mexico Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for any misconduct, and any officer or staff member who engages in misconduct will be fully removed and referred for criminal prosecution to the fullest extent."

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On April 16, New Mexico State Police received a call of an assault at the Western New Mexico Correctional Women's Facility.

A female inmate told police she was sexually assaulted by a correctional officer, later identified as Williams, according to an arrest warrant filed in Cibola County Magistrate Court. The woman told police that on March 23, she was working in a pod when Williams asked her to go outside to see an owl.

Once outside, Williams asked if she had tattoos on her chest and she showed him the tattoos, the arrest warrant states. The woman told police Williams took out gloves and said, "Turn around, you know how to pop it?"

She said "yes" and did an "exotic" dance before he grabbed her butt and chest, pulled down his pants and forced her to touch his genitals, according to the arrest warrant. Another woman told police she was afraid of losing her job because Williams is "a little pervert and has been (expletive) with her" and another woman.

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Prison surveillance showed Williams going outside and calling out one of the women, the arrest warrant states. When police asked Williams why it took a while to come back, Williams told them it was because they were talking about who was coming in on the next shift.

When police asked Williams how far he took it, his face drooped then he told them he touched both inmates, but added they "lured me in," the arrest warrant states. Asked why he put on latex gloves, he told police it was "probably to hide DNA." He later told police he had showed the women his "junk," according to the arrest warrant.

On April 24 and May 7, two other women told police Williams used the same owl ruse to lure them outside before touching them inappropriately, police said. He put one of them in a chokehold, forcing them to touch his genitals before she freed herself, the arrest warrant states.

Police said the woman in the chokehold told Williams: "Dude, don't ever touch me like that again. I'm about to get out of prison, and you're a (expletive) idiot."
A local preservation group has state funds available to assist in the repair and renovation of vacant apartments in the City of Niagara Falls.

Preservation Buffalo Niagara is welcoming applications for the Vacant Rental Improvement Program, which offers grant assistance to the owners of residential and mixed-use properties in the Falls with five or fewer units.

Through the program, the preservation group is hoping to help address one of the citys longest-standing and most noticeable problems  vacant and uninhabitable structures.

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Funds for the program were acquired through the New York State Office of Community Renewal by Preservation Buffalo Niagara, which serves as administrator for the grants.

We have a deep commitment to try to help work in historic preservation in both Niagara Falls and Buffalo, said Preservation Buffalo Niagara Executive Director Bernice Radle. We wanted to apply for state funding if we could to bring some help to Niagara Falls to help with the vacancy issues that are so rampant there.

The Vacant Rental Program gives priority to rental properties in the 14301 and 14305 zip codes in the city, however, all apartment property owners in the Falls are encouraged to apply. Under the program, grant funding of up to $50,000 is available for completed units serving tenants under 80% of the areas median income. Up to $75,000 is available for units to be rented to tenants under 60% median income.

Units must currently be uninhabitable, meaning no displacement of current tenants is permitted. Grant funding will be made available on a reimbursable basis and property owners must produce a unit that can be occupied. There is no income eligibility requirement, however, applicants must own buildings involved in the program and be current on all taxes.

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There is no requirement that the owner live in the building, but there is priority for local owners, especially those who live in the Falls.

To secure funding, applicants must also agree to rent their units at the affordable rent rate  60% to 80% of the average median income  for 10 years.

A lien will be filed with the county clerk and Preservation Buffalo Niagara will monitor compliance. A maximum of five units may be funded and the building must also be five units or less. Preservation Buffalo Niagara will provide the maximum rents that can be charged at the time of closing with the property owner.

The deadline for submitting the initial intake application to be considered for participation in the program is 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

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Radle said Preservation Buffalo Niagara plans to support the rehabilitation of 10 vacant apartments during the current round of funding. She said her organization expects another round of funding will be available in mid-August.

If they dont have something now, they can apply later, but I am anticipating a lot of people applying, so its important to get an application in if they havent done so already, Radle said. Were excited to do this and really help the city.

Application intake forms can be obtained by visiting:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGkzROu1jWfK390Uw3sgrHfIWI1L2K3jGJsRyUCbwmHcr5wQ/viewform.

For more information about the program, email VRP@PBNsaves.org or call 716-852-3300.
Several local gun stores have been targeted by thieves and a group of state lawmakers is trying to crack down on these types of burglaries.

To keep these guns off the street is ultimately our goal, Senator Frank Farry told Channel 11.

Senator Farry and two other lawmakers are working on legislation that aims to cut down on crimes at gun stores all over the state.

Over the last year, Channel 11 has reported on several gun shops in the Pittsburgh area targeted by thieves, from Bethel Park to Marshall Township, to New Kensington.

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Senator Farry hopes that by requiring harsher penalties for someone who breaks into a shop and steals guns could be a deterrent.

Plus, he wants every juvenile who commits this crime to be automatically charged as an adult.

If the juveniles will be charged as adults, they lose the incentive of dont worry man, youre not going to be charged as a juvenile, and youll get a slap on the wrist and be back out on the street, he added.

And, if one of the stolen guns is used in another crime, there will be even tougher penalties.

It is usually several very bad apples leading the other disciples under them into the life of crime. If you cut the head off the snake of those folks, you greatly reduce the violent crimes in communities, Farry said.

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Update at 8:10 p.m.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA)  Illinois State Police Troop 7 has announced Interstate 74 west has re-opened at the exit near Farmer City at mile marker 159.

Update at 7:30 p.m.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA)  Portions of Interstates 55 and 74 have been shut down due to the low visibility from dust storms.

UPDATE: Armed subject in custody following Champaign standoff

In a Facebook post at 6:18 p.m., Illinois State Police Troop 5 announced they have shut down I-55 from South Bloomington to McLean, I-74 from South Bloomington to Farmer City and U.S. Route 136 from McLean City to Heyworth due to low visibility caused by the dust storms. Drivers are urged to drive with caution and avoid unnecessary travel in this area.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA)  Illinois State Police is on the scene of a number of accidents on Interstate 74 in the Troop 5 and Troop 7 areas.

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At approximately 5:38 p.m., I-74 westbound was closed at the Mansfield exit. As of 6:10 p.m., State Police was on the scene at five accidents on I-74 in the Troop 7 area and three crashes in the Troop 5 area. At this time, none of these incidents have resulted in fatalities.

Severe weather blog  May 16, 2025

The Troop 7 area includes the following counties:

Champaign

Coles

Douglas

Edgar

Macon

Moultrie

Piatt

Shelby

Vermilion

The Troop 5 area includes the following counties:

DeWitt

Ford

Iroquois

Kankakee

Livingston

McLean

Driver hospitalized after wind blows over semi-truck on I-74 in Champaign Co.

At 6:31 p.m., State Police announced that Troop 7 units are assisting Troop 5 units with a traffic diversion of I-74 W at Farmer City due to high winds and dust in DeWitt and McLean Counties. Traffic is currently being diverted into Farmer City at exit 159 westbound until the conditions subside and its safe to travel on the interstate.

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Additionally, a portion of I-55 is expected to be closed due to the weather conditions. State Police Troop 7 will continue to post updates on their Facebook page.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
The State of Indiana is encouraging county and city governments to impose a new wheel tax.

Any county, city, or town with a population of 5,000 or more can enact a wheel tax and excise surtax, but only about 54 of the states 92 counties and about a dozen cities have, Boone County Highway Director Nick Parr told the county council this week.

Changes in the tax laws this year created a significant reduction in the $1.5 million in grant money that is usually available to the county for road and bridge maintenance and replacements. And the state has set aside millions of dollars for direct distributions to municipalities and counties, but only if they have the excise and wheel taxes, which must be adopted together.

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Boone County payers dont pay either tax at present.

The county would have to enact the taxes by Sept. 1 for it to take effect in January.

According to Purdue University, the tax would apply to passenger vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, motor drive cycles (mopeds), trailers, collector vehicles, mini trucks, buses, semi-tractors, semi-trailers, and RVs.

Allowable rates per conveyance range from a minimum of $5 to a maximum of $80 and would be paid annually through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

The change in tax law and road funding is expected to prompt the majority of Hoosier counties to adopt the taxes, and the pool of funds will be spread thinner. But the county could lose $876,000 in state funds annually without the tax, according to a conservative estimate, Parr said.

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Parr did not ask the council to adopt the taxes, he just updated them on the situation.

Council President Jennifer Hostetter thanked him for tracking changes in the tax laws this year and how they may affect the county.

Planning money

Also on Tuesday, the council approved of Hostetter signing a joint letter with Boone County Commissioners President Scott Pell asking the state to pay for a new county comprehensive plan at a cost of up to $400,000.

A comprehensive plan is a written document that guides officials and citizens on the use of land, among other issues, according to the county website. Boone Countys plan will establish rules for future growth for unincorporated land. Officials will seek public input in developing it.

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Counties usually update comprehensive plans every six or so years, county attorney Beth Copeland told the council. Boone Countys plan is 16 years old, and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. recently began developing thousands of acres for LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District on Lebanons north and west sides. The development necessitated a plan update, regardless of whether the county was financially ready.

The IEDC is exempt from paying property taxes on land it has bought for development, although the land returns to the tax rolls when a business buys it for development, such as Eli Lilly and Co.s 800 acres at two sites. Meta has also bought more than 1,000 acres to develop.

The former agricultural and residential land is taxed at far greater rates, $100,000 per acre and more so far, when it is bought and rezoned for industrial use.

Copeland said the state is careful in not referring to the money it may supply as a replacement for lost taxes, but rather as an economic development payment.

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Whatever they call it, taxpayer Brian Daggy asked Copeland to remind the IEDC that $400,000 is far less than it would pay for taxes on the now-exempt land.

In other business, the council:

* Narrowly voted to add a running time period on meeting agendas for council members to comment on matters of interest that were not on the agenda. But their comments will be limited to five minutes. The time limit proved controversial, with Aaron Williams warning that it puts the council on a slippery slope to censorship. Williams, John Riner, and Dustin Plunkett voted no, while Hostetter, Shari Richey, Kevin Van Horn and Dan Lamar voted yes. Council members are not limited when speaking about regular agenda items, and the council can suspend rules to allow for more than five minutes as needed.

* Approved the Boone County Commissioners request to move money from their legal services budget line to the indirect consulting line to pay to activate a sewage district at Interstate 65 and Ind. 47 in anticipation of commercial development.

* Hostetter announced the winner of the county employees spring competition to get them walking. Maria Truitt, a court reporter, was in first place until Hostetter and Boone County Sheriff Tony Harris got into a fierce but friendly match at the end. Harris had to walk 22 miles the final day of the competition to beat Hostetter after they both walked 20 miles the previous day. Hostetter said with a laugh that Harris told her he wasnt walking the last day, so she laid off out of fatigue and let her guard down, while he sailed to first place. Hostetter was second, with Truitt coming in third.
ST. LOUIS- Areas in St. Louis will be under a curfew following the aftermath of Fridays storm that has left five dead. Details on the fatalities, including the locations, are limited at this time.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) announced the curfew just after 8 p.m. on Facebook.

The curfew will be in effect in parts of the city of St. Louis for neighborhoods in Districts 5 & 6. This curfew will begin at 9 p.m.

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First responders and St. Louis mayor Cara Spencer are encouraging people to stay off roadways as crew members are currently evaluating the damage.

FOX 2 has learned that this curfew will be up until May 17 at 6 a.m.

For more details on the areas under the curfew, click here.

Mike Weaver, Chief of Staff for St. Louis City Rep. 5th District Steven Roberts, says the following state responses have occurred or are in effect after the storms:

1) The Governor has communicated with Mayor Spencer via phone.

2) SEMA is actively engaged and sending additional resources.

3) SEMA in direct comms with Sarah Russell and Michelle Ryan (City and County EMDs)

4) SEMA is sending regional coordinators from other parts of the state to help assist in assessments

5) Urban Search and Rescue Teams are in route and will be staging in Brentwood. Two USAR strike teams deployed to St. Louis County. Two USAR Strike Teams assigned to St. Louis City.

6) SEMA has asked Missouri Task Force 1 to roster a team. I will keep you in the loop on anything additional.

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(FOX40.COM)  Gov. Gavin Newsoms efforts to clear homeless camps from public spaces across California are drawing both support and concern, especially in cities like Stockton, where members of the unhoused community fear the move could lead to more sweeps without offering long-term solutions.

Unhoused residents in Stockton said they want county and city leaders to focus less on clearing spaces and more on opening doors to opportunities that will get them back into the workforce and off the streets.

Were no different than anybody else, said Victor Balberde, who is currently homeless in Stockton. We just dont have an address.

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Balberde said sweeps dont simply result in having to move locations but also in losing essential belongings.

Daniel Serafini murder trial begins Monday in Auburn

I lost a lot of stuff. I lost my generator, my solar panels, stuff that I bought with my money, and its not easy for us to come up with money, Balberde said.

Anxiety is growing for people like Latonya Thompson, who also experienced homelessness.

Where are they going to go? Thompson asked. Theyre going to come right back to where they were at.

While no new encampment policies have been formally adopted in Stockton, residents worry the governors push could trigger more sweeps and more stress.

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They come with those bulldozers and they just trash everybodys stuff, Thompson said. They know people aint got nowhere to go.

In response, San Joaquin County board officials say they are working on solutions, including a new behavioral health center aimed in part to address homelessness, and even the purchase of a gold course on Wilson Way that would serve as a camp with resources and more beds.

Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi stated the city has been proactive in tackling homelessness by expanding shelter capacity, investing in affordable housing, and enhancing mental health and substance abuse services.

St. Marys dining room continues the expansion of the shelter on Church Street with new rooms for those in need. But some are concerned that progress isnt coming fast enough.

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Sacramento DAs office files charges against two deputies

My cousins on the waiting list. Shes right there in that tent down there, Thompson said.

While officials said sweeps are not currently on the table, many unhoused residents believe the real solution is having agencies conduct more outreach geared to get more people into the workforce.

If they would give people the opportunity to work, Im pretty sure people would work, Balberde said. If they would build programs where people would learn a career, job placement, they would get a lot of the homeless people off the road.

Mayor Fugazi responded in a statement to FOX 40:

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We must avoid criminalizing homelessness and instead focus on providing pathways to stability and housing. I look forward to collaborating with state and local partners to develop strategies that are effective, humane, and tailored to the unique needs of our community.

The countys board of supervisors says people can expect to see more progress on shelters and ongoing developments within the next 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 FOX40 News.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Police arrested one person Friday afternoon after a short police chase involving a stolen Amazon truck ended on train tracks in southwest Oklahoma City.

According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers responded to the area near Newcastle Road and South Portland Avenue on Friday after reports of a stolen vehicle.

Short police chase of a stolen Amazon truck ends near Newcastle Road and S Portland Ave. (KFOR)

Short police chase of a stolen Amazon truck ends near Newcastle Road and S Portland Ave. (KFOR)

Short police chase of a stolen Amazon truck ends near Newcastle Road and S Portland Ave. (KFOR)

The driver of the Amazon delivery truck told police that she was outside of the vehicle, making a delivery, before returning to find the suspect, 43-year-old Melvin Bishop, in the drivers seat. The driver told Bishop to get out of the vehicle, but he refused and took off, according to OKCPD.

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Multiple in custody after burglary investigation in Okarche

Melvin Bishop. Image courtesy, Oklahoma City Police Department

Officers located the truck through cameras, and when they arrived, Bishop attempted to drive the delivery truck onto the train tracks, but got stuck.

OKCPD officials said officers told Bishop to exit the vehicle, but he refused and attempted to drive off again, before police flattened the back tires.

Bishop continued to refuse officers commands, leading up to police breaking the passenger side window and throwing tear gas inside. He eventually gave up, and officers took him into custody.

Bishop was taken to a nearby hospital before being transported and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center for charges of larceny of a motor vehicle.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  Nearly 400 students from Elms College graduated Saturday morning at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

UMass Amherst hosts 155th commencement with 20,000 attendees

This marks the colleges 94th commencement ceremony. Graduates received their associates, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. One of the students told 22News that because of her time at Elms, she is more equipped to work as a nurse.

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My teachers did a really good job at kind of setting up what its going to be like working in the real world and giving me the certain resources to use, to help better prepare myself for that, said Maya Grywalski, who received her Bachelor of Science and Nursing at Elms College.

Honorary degrees were also awarded to the retired president and CEO of Appleton Corporation and an alumnus of the college, who is also a community development leader in Alaska. The keynote speaker was a globally recognized MIT materials scientist.

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.

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A new study indicates the debilitating brain fog suffered by millions of long COVID patients is linked to changes in the brain, including inflammation and an impaired ability to rewire itself following COVID-19 infection.

United Press International reported this week that the small-scale study, conducted by researchers at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Michigan State University, shows that altered levels of a pair of key brain chemicals could be the culprit.

The study marks the first time doctors have been able to provide scientific proof that validates the experiences of the approximately 12 million COVID long-haulers in the U.S. who have reported neurological symptoms.

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Researchers looked at biomarkers in study participants and found that those complaining of brain fog had higher levels of an anti-inflammatory protein that is crucial to regulating a persons immune system, UPI reported. They also showed lower serum levels of nerve growth factor, a protein vital to the brains plasticity.

The study examined 17 COVID-19 patients, including 10 who still experienced symptoms six months after contracting the virus. The most debilitating symptom is brain fog, described by Yale Medicine as sluggish thinking, forgetfulness, difficulty processing information and an inability to focus or concentrate on tasks they used to complete with ease.

The National Library of Medicine describes plasticity as the ability of the brain to change its activity in response to illness or injury. That healing process includes reorganizing the brains structure, functions or connections.

One of the biggest issues involving long COVID has been doctors inability to find physical proof of the symptoms described by patients. The study has changed that, according to co-author Dr. Bengt Arnetz.

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We found biological changes, which I think [is a] very big strength for this study, Arnetz said, according to UPI. In parallel with the effects on executive function, we also saw that [NGF], which reflects the brains ability to adapt to grow new neurons and connection, was suppressed in long COVID. This is aligned with the findings in the neuro-cognitive test.

For the neuro-cognitive test, researchers put study participants through a battery of psychological exams. The results were unremarkable for all the exams except one  the letter fluency test.

Arnetzs co-author, clinical neuropsychologist Michael Lawrence, explained that a fluency test measures a persons executive functioning under time constraints. It requires a patient to generate words beginning with a specified letter of the alphabet or to name items from a specific category, like animals or fruit.

Errors or difficulty performing the task are indicative of executive functioning impairments as well as impairments in memory and language. According to the Library of Medicine, similar impairments are found in conditions like Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia.

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Lawrence said he believes the study is helpful because now we have some objective findings that really confirm what patients are describing and feeling.

Identifying long COVID sufferers through the identified biomarkers could help the medical community develop multidisciplinary treatment for their symptoms, he said.

I think patients and our medical community, at least years ago, tended to separate the mental health from the physical. But what we know is theyre all very interconnected, Lawrence said. The more we can improve mental health-related symptoms, what we see is decreased reports of pain and fatigue. We really need to treat the whole person, but we need to treat it early.

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(NewsNation)  A new study indicates the debilitating brain fog suffered by millions of long COVID patients is linked to changes in the brain, including inflammation and an impaired ability to rewire itself following COVID-19 infection.

United Press International reported this week that the small-scale study, conducted by researchers at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Michigan State University, shows that altered levels of a pair of key brain chemicals could be the culprit.

The study marks the first time doctors have been able to provide scientific proof that validates the experiences of the approximately 12 million COVID long-haulers in the U.S. who have reported neurological symptoms.

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Researchers looked at biomarkers in study participants and found that those complaining of brain fog had higher levels of an anti-inflammatory protein that is crucial to regulating a persons immune system, UPI reported. They also showed lower serum levels of nerve growth factor, a protein vital to the brains plasticity.

Long COVID cause: Doctor explains three prevailing theories

The study examined 17 COVID-19 patients, including 10 who still experienced symptoms six months after contracting the virus. The most debilitating symptom is brain fog, described by Yale Medicine as sluggish thinking, forgetfulness, difficulty processing information and an inability to focus or concentrate on tasks they used to complete with ease.

The National Library of Medicine describes plasticity as the ability of the brain to change its activity in response to illness or injury. That healing process includes reorganizing the brains structure, functions or connections.

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One of the biggest issues involving long COVID has been doctors inability to find physical proof of the symptoms described by patients. The study has changed that, according to co-author Dr. Bengt Arnetz.

5 things we know and still dont know about COVID, 5 years after it appeared

We found biological changes, which I think [is a] very big strength for this study, Arnetz said, according to UPI. In parallel with the effects on executive function, we also saw that [NGF], which reflects the brains ability to adapt to grow new neurons and connection, was suppressed in long COVID. This is aligned with the findings in the neuro-cognitive test.

For the neuro-cognitive test, researchers put study participants through a battery of psychological exams. The results were unremarkable for all the exams except one  the letter fluency test.

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Arnetzs co-author, clinical neuropsychologist Michael Lawrence, explained that a fluency test measures a persons executive functioning under time constraints. It requires a patient to generate words beginning with a specified letter of the alphabet or to name items from a specific category, like animals or fruit.

Errors or difficulty performing the task are indicative of executive functioning impairments as well as impairments in memory and language. According to the Library of Medicine, similar impairments are found in conditions like Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia.

Brain fog and other long COVID symptoms affect millions. New treatment studies bring hope

Lawrence said he believes the study is helpful because now we have some objective findings that really confirm what patients are describing and feeling.

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Identifying long COVID sufferers through the identified biomarkers could help the medical community develop multidisciplinary treatment for their symptoms, he said.

I think patients and our medical community, at least years ago, tended to separate the mental health from the physical. But what we know is theyre all very interconnected, Lawrence said. The more we can improve mental health-related symptoms, what we see is decreased reports of pain and fatigue. We really need to treat the whole person, but we need to treat it early.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Credit: Andy Mackenzie for The Telegraph

The arrest of a retired special constable over a tweet warning about rising anti-Semitism is a national embarrassment, Suella Braverman has said.

Last weekend, The Telegraph revealed that Julian Foulkes, 72, from Gillingham, Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six Kent Police officers in November 2023 after replying to a pro-Palestinian activist on X.

Mr Foulkes, who volunteered with the force for a decade, had his home searched, and was detained for eight hours, interviewed and cautioned.

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He had replied to a tweet from a pro-Palestinian activist who had threatened to sue Mrs Braverman for calling anti-Israel protests hate marches.

It was only on May 6, 18 months later, that Kent Police admitted the caution was a mistake, removed it from his record, and apologised.

With support from the Free Speech Union, he is now crowdfunding to take legal action against the force.

On Friday, the former home secretary invited Mr Foulkes to Westminster to commend him for speaking out.

Suella Braverman invited Julian Foulkes to Parliament where she condemned his ordeal at the hands of police - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

Sitting across from him in her Parliamentary office, Mrs Braverman told Mr Foulkes that she wished she had been able to prevent his ordeal.

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The police seriously erred in this instance, and I think its caused a national embarrassment because their overreach, their overzealous approach, is a symptom of a deeper problem within policing, which is political correctness, she said.

The shorthand is woke policing, and this is a real attack on free speech, she told the former special constable, and unfortunately, youre not the only case.

During her time as home secretary Mrs Braverman attempted to crack down on these practices, her concern was  and still is  that police were being distracted from fighting crime. In September 2023 she ordered an investigation into officers who were pandering to politically correct causes such as taking the knee at Black Lives Matter protests.

This intervention came just two months before Mr Foulkes was arrested, an event she said showed that her attempted reforms had failed.

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I do think that the police have still got a major problem when it comes to being overly politicised, and chief constables are directing their rank and file officers to pursue cases which are totally unmerited and shouldnt warrant police action, she explained. So it has been because I wasnt able to go further, I do think, yes, the problem still exists.

Mr Foulkes during his time as a special constable

The MP for Fareham and Waterlooville said she had entered the Home Office with a plan to fix woke policing but that Rishi Sunak, the then prime minister, and police chiefs had been obstructive.

I tried many ways to try and fix it. Its a very deep, deeply entrenched problem right up to the top of policing, she said. I dont actually think its rank and file. Its the police chiefs who have signed up to a Left-wing agenda, frankly, and that informs a lot of the police instructions and actions that they take on the ground.

Other measures Mrs Braverman imposed included guidance to limit the investigation of non-crime hate incidents, which have been criticised for restricting free speech.

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But speaking to The Telegraph, Mrs Braverman admitted that none of that worked.

Its very hard for ministers and indeed police and crime commissioners to get a real and substantial change in policing, as my experience bears out, she said.

I was very vocal about my intentions. The police still did what they wanted to do because they didnt get the message from the Home Secretary of all people.

Virtue-signalling

She accused the National Police Chiefs Council, the College of Policing and a large majority of chief constables of adopting a virtue-signalling agenda.

Mrs Braverman said she would have very much liked to go further in her reforms but was blocked by No 10, leaving her feeling powerless.

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Ive got to take responsibility, but no minister can act unilaterally. And you can have the best plans. You can have the best argument for your plans. You can be the most charismatic, intelligent minister. If the Prime Minister doesnt want it to happen, its not going to happen, she said.

I wanted to scrap the College of Policing. I wanted to scrap non crime hate incidents. I wasnt allowed. I wasnt given permission to do that.

She continued: I remember feeling quite powerless actually as Home Secretary, I used to tell my officials this very often, Im Home Secretary, Im getting the questions, and Im getting the challenge for poor performance, but I have no levers whatsoever, really, to try and change direction. So theres a fundamental weakness in the system.

While very much supporting the operational independence of police, she said that the current arrangement needed a rethink because forces use it as protection from challenge or scrutiny or accountability.

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Mrs Braverman was ultimately sacked in 2023 following a public row with Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, over his refusal to ban a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day.

Eager to make arrest

She told Mr Foulkes that it was ironic the police were very, very eager to arrest him over his social media post warning about anti-Semitism, but when thousands of people were marching through the streets on Armistice Day, chanting anti-Semitic slogans, celebrating terrorism, they suddenly became very meek and mild and didnt have enough resources or powers.

Mrs Braverman said her struggle to reform the system from within had convinced her that real change may now only come from people like Mr Foulkes speaking out.

It is high-profile cases like yours, which will have an effect, because its so shockingly unacceptable the way you were treated that dispassionate, objective observers will, Im sure, come to the conclusion that theres been a real mistake here by the police. And if you pull that thread, you can see the broader problem.

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Mr Foulkes told Mrs Braverman that he was one of many disillusioned Tory voters who had switched to Reform UK. He said he always sensed her initiatives were being thwarted from within as home secretary, and it was the fact that in 14 years nothing seems to have got done that led him to defect.

You probably know we want you on board in Reform, he told Mrs Braverman, noting the fact her husband Rael had already made the switch must make for interesting conversations around the dinner table.

But Mrs Braverman politely dismissed any suggestion she might switch allegiance , saying: Ive been voting with the Conservatives this week and Ill continue to do so.

Lord Herbert of South Downs, chairman of the College of Policing disputed Mrs Bravermans portrayal of the organisation, saying: This is a grievously distorted view of the college which has been shared by no other Home Secretary.

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The college was set up by a Conservative government, has the support of police chiefs, and is now strongly focused on leadership, standards, and performance in policing. A professional body for the service to deliver on these critical issues is needed now more than ever.

A Kent Police spokesman said: A review, led by the forces Professional Standards department, is under way. The force has apologised to Mr Foulkes for the distress caused and for the way it was investigated.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the NPCC, said: These comments are concerning and do not reflect the views of police chiefs or the ambitious work ongoing at a national level in policing to reform the service.

I strongly refute any suggestion that policing is swayed by political agendas to gain approval.

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Police chiefs will continue to work closely with our partners, including the College of Policing, and with the Home Office to support police officers and ensure they are equipped to respond to crime, catch criminals, and support the public to be safe and feel safe.

Mr Sunak was approached for comment.

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SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  Over 1,000 Suffolk residents are still left without power following massive storms in southern Virginia Friday.

Various cities/counties in North Carolina and Virginia were placed under a severe thunderstorm warning until 8:30 p.m. Friday and Dominion Energy reported that 1,462 of their 43,469 Suffolk customers have no power.

Suffolk Fire & Rescue says that since Friday night they have received 44 calls for transformer fires/wires down and one call for a tree limb that fell into a residential structure.

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Before then, we had zero calls, explained Battalion Chief Steven Johnson. In a matter of 30 minutes, we probably had over 40 calls that we had to answer.

Due to the high volume of fire calls, Suffolk Fire was on a modified response for parts of Friday night.

But no significant injuries so that was a good thing, Johnson added.

Some WAVY viewers have sent in pictures of fallen trees and residential damage following the storms.

Dominion Energy released a chart of those who have reported no power Saturday, with most outages between Isle of Wight and Suffolk.

Southeastern Virginia 2,966 763,682 Chesapeake 640 108,651 Hampton 1 66,339 Isle Of Wight 699 15,606 James City 2 40,578 Newport News 0 84,759 Norfolk 1 103,966 Poquoson City 0 6,044 Portsmouth 158 45,538 Suffolk 1,462 43,469 Surry 0 1,901 Virginia Beach 3 205,935 Williamsburg 0 7,492 York 0 33,404

It is unclear when the power for residents will be restored at this time.

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The next time a storm rolls through, first responders said there are ways you can help them help others. Johnson said its all about preparation and not being on the roads when it hits.

Stay inside, get to a safe place. If you have time, remove those items that could get blown over, he said. Stay off the roadway. If possible, delay whatever trip you have in the future and just wait for the storm to pass.

Dominion Energy says most Hampton Roads residents should have their power restored by 11 p.m. Friday.

Stay with WAVY.com for more breaking news, weather and traffic.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL)As National Police Week comes to an end, the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office (SCSO) held a memorial event to honor the men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Every day, the men and women in blue go out to serve the community, aware of the dangers they may face.

You want to come home and do everything you can to come home, SCSO Deputy Clayton Potter said. But you just dont know.

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Joshua Hitchcock testifies he killed father in self-defense

Each year, SCSO honors those it has lost in the line of duty. This year, the memorials included the Kingsport Police Department and the Bristol Police Department.

We thought we would combine the entire county and just represent and recognize those officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice, Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said.

Deputy Potter said the bond between officers goes beyond the department.

Whether youre a police officer, a deputy or law enforcement, he said.Youre doing the same duty no matter where youre at.

Also in attendance were the families of the fallen officers. Sheriff Cassidy said he wanted to make sure the families knew their loved ones wont be lost to time.

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Theyve lost a brother, a mother, a sister, father, he said. And we just want to show them that these names will never be forgotten.

Officers of all ages attended the memorial, including some who had never experienced the loss of their fellow officers. Cassidy said the event shows them exactly why they chose this job.

I think its very important that they see that this job is stressful, he said. And at the end of the day, we will lay our lives down protecting those in our community.

Members of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Department, and the District Attorneys Office were also present.

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SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP)  As the summer months approach, severe weather will too.

If a weather alert is issued, local meteorologists suggest being weather aware too. That means pay attention to weather updates on television, mobile apps, and outside.

At the beginning of May, meteorologists start to see thunderstorms that can become severe across Western Massachusetts.

Were talking about wind gusts over 60 miles per hour, were talking about hail with some of these storms, of course, lightning, and of course, very heavy rain could cause flash flooding, said Adam Strzempko, Meteorologist, 22News Storm Team.

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Information on each potential storm is gathered by our 22News Storm Team from the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma. As a storm gets closer, its monitored, then broadcast.

22News Storm Team meteorologist, Adam Strzempko said its important to know the difference between a warning and a watch issued by the National Weather Service.

Theyll issue a severe thunderstorm watch or perhaps a tornado watch, and that means the area were watching for the potential of severe weather, and then if severe weather develops, a severe thunderstorm warning will be issued, which means severe weather is occurring, said Adam Strzempko, 22News Storm Team Meteorologist.

Sheltering indoors and having essentials is always recommended.

Experts told 22News, dont wait until severe weather hits to get the supplies you need, because items are typically gone before the storm even starts.

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You want to make sure you have plenty of flashlights available, there are full batteries in there to make sure to can see if the power goes out. Make sure all your devices are charged, cell phones, radios, anything you need, said Brian Bowler, Marketing Director at Rockys Ace Hardware.

If there is heavy rain, there may be a lot of cleanup inside the home.

You might need a utility pump, or sump pump to make sure you can get that water out, box fans, mops, said Bowler.

If you have to clean up outside of your home, its highly recommended to keep safety top of mind.

Having a good working chainsaw, make sure its working, its well-oiled, maintained, and cleaned, said Bowler.

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While severe weather can cause a lot of damage, utility companies and hardware shops can help if repairs are 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.

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House Republicans will reconvene on Sunday evening to find a path to pass President Trumps big, beautiful bill after encountering a hurdle during a key vote on Friday.

Five fiscal hawks, arguing that the legislation insufficiently addressed work requirements for Medicaid and the federal deficit, blocked the measure from making it out of the House Budget Committee. The final vote tally was 16-21.

The GOP lawmakers who voted against pushing forward the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) include: Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Josh Brecheen (Okla.) and Andrew Clyde (Ga.). Rep. Lloyd Smucker (Pa.) initially voted for the bill, but flipped to a no in a procedural move.

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To be clear  I fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), Smucker said Friday after the vote. My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committees opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB.

House Republican leadership is racing to pass the bill with a self-imposed Memorial Day deadline.

This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits, Roy, one of the dissenters, said on Friday.

Additionally, House Republicans in blue states signaled that they might not back the final version of the legislation if the state and local tax (SALT) deduction does not increasingly significantly, something that fiscal hawks are not supportive of.

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Even after squeezing the legislation through the lower chamber, Republicans could have difficulties getting the measure passed on the Senate side.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hammered the bill, saying it is a slap in the face that will add trillions of dollars to the national debt.

The problem is its asking conservatives, like myself, to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion. Thats historic. No ones ever raised the debt ceiling that much, Paul told Fox Newss Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday. The Kentucky senator is set to appear on ABCs This Week where he will likely discuss the pending legislation in the House chamber.

Democrats are facing different headaches as questions around former President Bidens mental acuity are back in the spotlight. Excerpts from the new book Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, by CNNs Jake Tapper and Axioss Alex Thompson, published in various outlets this week, detail Bidens inner circle ignoring the former president vulnerabilities and taking steps to bar even some of his staff from seeing his shortcomings.

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One excerpt, which was obtained by The Guardian, revealed that one ex-senior Biden aide told the books authors that we attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didnt realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.

Another excerpt, which was revealed by Tapper on CNN, said that Bidens top aides iced out Cabinet members during the second half of his Oval Office term.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who was a 2024 Biden campaign surrogate, said this week that it is obvious now Biden was not in a condition to run for reelection and that the party has to admit it made a mistake.

Khanna is scheduled to be on ABCs This Week where he will likely discuss what the Democratic Party needs to do to rebound from losses in the 2024 election.

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Meanwhile, this week, President Trump, during his trip to the Middle East, defended his decision to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet from the Qatari royal family.

I just want to say, it was a radical left story. The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Bret Baier.

The plane is intended to be delivered to the Department of Defense and would eventually replace the aging Air Force One, which has been in service for over three decades.

This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, itll be like Ronald Reagan. Itll be decommissioned, because they wont want it, Trump said.

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The gift, which Trump characterized as a good deal, has raised security and ethical questions from Democrats and Republicans alike, which are likely to be discussed on Sundays programs.

Former Vice President Pence questioned the move in a clip from his Sunday interview with NBCs Meet The Press.

NewsNations The Hill Sunday: Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont); Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.)

ABCs This Week: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)

NBCs Meet the Press: Former Vice President Pence; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

CNNs State of the Union: Bessent; Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)

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CBS Face the Nation: Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Fox News Fox News Sunday: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.); House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); U.S. special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler.

Fox News Sunday Morning Futures: Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes; FBI director Kash Patel; FBI deputy director Dan Bongino

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New Yorks sprawling state university system will begin offering free community college access to adult students beginning this fall.

State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. said Friday that SUNY campuses are ready to launch Gov. Kathy Hochuls free community college program. The program was approved as part of the recently approved state spending plan for fiscal year 2025-26.

Through SUNY Reconnect, starting this fall, community colleges across the state will provide free tuition, fees, books and supplies for adults ages 25 to 55 who dont already have a college degree or who want to pursue an associate degree in a high-demand field.

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I applaud Gov. Hochul for fighting tirelessly to advance higher education and affordability, and I thank the State Legislature for supporting this proven model to help unleash New Yorkers full potential, King said. The SUNY Reconnect program, launching for the Fall 2025 term, will help break barriers to a college degree and provide financial support and flexibility for adult students to enroll, and more importantly, to succeed through to graduation at one of our excellent community colleges.

Dozens of programs will be available among the 33 community college campuses in New York, including Clinton County and North Country community colleges. Eligible programs include associate degree programs in high-demand areas of advanced manufacturing; nursing and allied health; engineering; technology, cybersecurity, and AI; green jobs; and teaching pathways in shortage areas, according to SUNY officials.

Community colleges will hold information sessions this summer to assist all who are interested in eligible degree programs. Information can also be found at this link: suny.edu/freeCC.

SUNYs community colleges have long been a source of opportunity for New Yorkers. Our campuses provide an excellent education with robust support and an academic curriculum that prepares students for success in the workforce and continued education, SUNY Board Trustee Robert J. Duffy, Chair of the Community Colleges Committee, said. The Governors free community college program will mean so much for adult learners and our campuses are ready to serve them today.

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New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, A skilled and knowledgeable workforce is essential to New York States economic future. Offering free community college to adult learners will provide a gateway to new career opportunities in high-demand fields, and feed critical workforce pipelines, New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said.

The news comes just days after SUNY officials announced more than $3 million in new funding is coming to the three North Country SUNY campuses in the latest state budget.

The SUNY Reconnect program will be instrumental in training people to work in high demand fields such as nursing and manufacturing, which is much needed in the North Country considering our bustling manufacturing industry and struggle to hire nurses State Assemblymember Billy Jones said. This funding will also support our local community colleges and provide more educational opportunities for North Country residents, which will also help our regional economy.
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (AP)  Hundreds of supporters of ex-President Evo Morales marched toward Bolivia's top electoral court on Friday to push for their leftist leader's candidacy in presidential elections later this year, a rally that descended into street clashes as police tried to clear out a group of demonstrators.

The confrontations come in response to a ruling by Bolivias Constitutional Court that blocks Morales, the nation's first Indigenous president who governed from 2006 until his ouster in 2019, from running again in Aug. 17 elections.

The turmoil escalates political tensions as Bolivia undergoes its worst economic crisis in four decades.

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As the march arrived in Bolivias capital of La Paz, protesters seeking to register Morales candidacy surged toward the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, chanting, Comrades, what do we want? For Evo to come back!

Security forces barricading a road to the court held them back. Police reported that the clashes between rock-throwing protesters and tear gas-lobbing police forces injured two officers, a journalist and a local merchant.

"They're using firecrackers and rocks that are hurting our forces," said police Commander Juan Russo. This is not a peaceful march.

The authorities did not report on any injuries among the protesters, who were seen being pushed onto the ground, shoved into police cars and blasted with tear gas. Morales had promised to attend the march Friday but did not show up.

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The court's unanimous decision Wednesday upheld an earlier ruling that bans presidents from serving more than two terms. Morales has already served three, and, in 2019, resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile as protests erupted over his bid for an unprecedented fourth term.

Morales returned to Bolivia a year later as the 2020 elections vaulted to power his preferred candidate, President Luis Arce, from his long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party.

Arce, who announced earlier this week that he would not seek re-election, insisted that the Constitutional Court had disqualified Morales, his mentor-turned-rival, from running in 2025.

But many experts doubt the legitimacy of that decision in a country where political conflicts undermine the courts and presidents have maneuvered to get their allies on the bench.

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The Constitutional Court issues unconstitutional arbitrary rulings at the whim of those in power, said Morales, who himself reaped the benefits of favorable judges while seeking to run for a fourth consecutive term in 2017.

After Morales lost a referendum seeking to do away with term limits while still in power, the Constitutional Court ruled it would be against Morales human rights to stop him from running for another term.

That 2017 ruling allows Morales to register his candidacy, said Oscar Hassentoufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Then the tribunal will decide whether he's eligible or not.

In defiance of the latest court ruling, Morales called a mass march that marshaled his loyal supporters in the rural tropics. They long have championed the Indigenous coca-grower for transforming the country during his tenure  redistributing Bolivias natural gas wealth and seeking greater inclusion for its Indigenous majority.

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Although he had earlier promised to participate, it appeared that Morales remained holed up in his stronghold for fear of arrest on human trafficking charges that he claims are politically motivated.

The government confirmed that fear Friday. We ask Mr. Morales to surrender voluntarily, said Eduardo del Castillo, a key minister in Arce's government whom the MAS party endorsed for president later Friday in place of Arce. "If we find him walking the streets, we will arrest him.

Instead, scores of his supporters walked the capital's streets on Friday wearing masks of Morales' face.

Evo Morales is each and every one of us. If they want to detain Evo Morales they would need to take every one of us, too, said David Ochoa, a representative of the marchers.
The Supreme Court maintained its position today that the Trump administration may not use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants without due process. This as another federal judge grows frustrated with the administration for dragging its feet on facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Lisa Rubin joins Michele Norris to discuss on The 11th Hour.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Superintendent Ryan Walters called the media late Thursday for a Friday morning press conference after lawmakers rejected several of his budget requests.

The agreed-upon budget from lawmakers this week had the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) realize they wouldnt get $3 million for Bibles in every classroom and $500,000 for concealed carry training, among other requests.

Walters media gathering had him calling out the proposed income tax cut, but when asked how he would cut it, he didnt have much of an answer. He also called for cutting property taxes, but when asked how he would cut them, he didnt have a direct answer.

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Walters also didnt answer News 4s questions regarding the status of Oklahoma Education rankings compared to the rest of the nation.

Why would people listen to you when, over the years, weve continued to be one of the lowest in the nation when it comes to education? You blame other people, but arent you to blame?

So lets take a look at that question, KFOR gets it fundamentally wrong. You are consistent at being wrong. So we are not at the bottom of education. We continue to see dramatic increases in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. I know yall dont care to report facts, said Supt. Walters.

The latest numbers from the Nations Report Card, which takes schools results from around the nation and shows the statistics, show Walters is incorrect. While it isnt an exact metric on how Oklahoma schools are doing, it gives a relative basis to start from for educators.

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| READ MORE HERE > Oklahoma ranks near bottom of Nations Report Card >

Tulsa World was the first to report the latest state-by-state comparison when it comes to per-pupil spending. Oklahoma was found to be dead last as of their recent data, and that comes as teacher compensation slips.

Supt. Walters, while voicing his concerns regarding lawmakers not coming out with a full state income tax cut, mentioned that he wanted a decrease in funding for education.

I told the legislature, dont give all the money you gave me last time. And they said were going to give it to you anyway, said Supt. Walters.

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One of the items they agreed to give him was $250,000 for school inhalers. You might recall, last year, OSDE was given the money to purchase inhalers for all school districts, and that they were meant to work with the foundation to get them in schools.

Supt. Walters, according to lawmakers, is still sitting on that money, so they agreed to take it out of next years OSDE appropriations.

We wanted OSDE to administer them. For whatever reason, it was not accepted, or it wasnt a successful administration of it. So the money is still there. We are taking it from OSDE and putting it in a hospital trust, said Senate Appropriations Chair Chuck Hall (R-Perry) on Thursday.

According to the most recent budget portal numbers, it showed that the money would end up going to the University Hospitals Authority (UHA). Senator Hall said they would know what to do with it.

Why did you sit on $250,000 for school inhalers? The lawmakers are now taking it from you.

KFOR, KFOR, thank you though, was all Supt. Walters answered.

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At several points during Supt. Walters media gathering he boasted about his Teacher Signing Bonus initiative.

Essentially, OSDE offered thousands of dollars to get teachers to work in Oklahoma schools. However, as Oklahoma Watch first reported, OSDE had to claw back $290,000 because OSDE mistakenly sent it out to teachers who werent meant to receive the money.

Why did it go out to begin with?

KFOR, take your fake news somewhere else today. Thank you for your time. Any real questions from the media? is what Supt. Walters said when asked why.

There were several other changes made to OSDEs original ask from lawmakers for next years budget.

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OSDE asked to remove millions from Imagine Math and Imagine Reading, but lawmakers rejected that. He also, according to the budget transparency portal, asked to reduce $750,000 in funding to the OK School Safety Initiative. That was rejected, too.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  A new survey from the backers of Utahs signature path, Count My Vote (CMV), is shedding light on how the delegates of the Utah GOP might cast their votes for a proposal to strip party membership from Republican candidates who gather signatures to get on the ballot.

The group sent a text the morning of May, 16 to 3,676 current and alternate GOP delegates who say theyre likely to attend Saturdays GOP convention, of which 19.7% responded. The text asked them, Do you support the party amendment to disqualify signature gathering candidates as Republicans?

(KTVX/Lindsay Aerts)

The results show that 53.76% (382) said no, while 47.24% (342) said yes.

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Put another way, slightly more delegates said they do not want to strip party membership from those who use the signature path than those who did.

Like a previous CMV survey gauging the race for party chair, this survey was an opt-in, non-scientific text poll, meaning it was not weighted to reflect demographics and did not seek alternative ways to contact delegates. Its also not known how many of these delegates will, indeed, be attending Saturdays convention. Further, results could be impacted because delegates, generally speaking, dislike CMV for creating the system they see as bypassing convention.

Still, the sheer number of delegates who responded provides the most up-to-date and relevant information available on the mindset of those who are eligible for Saturdays vote.

Utahs dual path to the ballot has been a consistently rehashed source of contention between delegates and more mainstream Republicans for the last decade, since the compromise ushered in by CMV in 2014, known by its bill name, S.B. 54.

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The debate is once again slated to be revisited Saturday as delegates vote on the amendment to their constitution that reads, Any person who seeks public office ballot access as a Republican by any mechanism other than specifically provided within this Constitution shall be deemed to have failed to comply with the Republican Party Constitution, and that persons membership shall immediately be revoked for one year.

The consequences, if the amendment is passed, could be serious. Stripping party membership from Republicans who gather signatures could be seen as blocking their ability to run via the signature path.

Delegate survey gives peek into Utah GOP Chair race

Further, it stands to reason that stripping a signature candidate of their party membership would also block Republican candidates from running via convention because the party does not allow non-members to participate in their nominating process.

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Blocking either path to the ballot could then strip the party of whats known as its Qualified Political Party (QPP) status  which is a designation under state law that the party has chosen as the means to put their candidates on the ballot. That status requires that they recognize both paths.

When asked directly about the proposal and whether it violates QPP status last week, current chair, up for reelection, Rob Axson declined to comment to ABC4, arguing he needed to remain neutral since he was slated to chair the meeting during that portion.

He has, however, mentioned that he wants the party to focus less on purity tests and more on building an apparatus that supports all Republicans.

His opponent, chair candidate Phil Lyman, said as recently as Thursday that, Anyone who advocates to get rid of the caucus system, or who takes steps to weaken the caucus system, should be removed from the Republican Party in Utah. Candidates should have to earn the R next to their name.

Latest headlines:

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  The Eighth Annual Cattywampus Parade and Block Party will return to Knoxville this weekend, bringing community members together for a celebration of creativity and expression through the arts.

The event will take place at Suttree Landing Park at 1001 Waterfront Drive. The parade, known for its giant puppets and costumed participants, will begin lining up at the parks pavilion at 2 p.m. before kicking off an hour later.

Donations pour in to Knoxville food pantry after TikTok stars call to action

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Paradegoers will make their way along the River Walk Greenway and Waterfront Drive before concluding on the Suttree Landing Festival Lawn. Organizers even encourage people to follow along in the Tennessee River with kayaks, canoes and other watercraft. The parade is open to entire community but participants must register here.

Festivities will continue through 6 p.m. with local music performers, dancing, food vendors, play activities for children, and other events. Visit cattywampuspuppets.org/parade-street-party for more information.

 See more top stories on WATE.com

The event is organized by the Cattywampus Puppet Council, an nonprofit group that promotes inclusivity and community collaboration through programs like art residencies and workshops.

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BOYNTON, Pa.  Tuesday's flooding destroyed the Boynton Bridge on U.S. Route 219 in southern Somerset County, but a PennDOT plan will have traffic crossing Piney Creek again in June, state transportation officials said Friday.

A fast-tracked emergency action plan by PennDOT  and World War II-era battlefield technology  will place a temporary bridge on the busy corridor in the coming weeks.

Citing the corridor's importance to Somerset County and to north-south travel, state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said a temporary Bailey-style bridge will be built over the existing span's alignment for traffic to resume through Boynton in early June.

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"It's PennDOT's priority to have this road reopened as quickly as possible," Carroll said at a press conference near the site.

Tuesday's storm turned Piney Creek into a force of nature, sending water over the current bridge and debris slamming into it, PennDOT officials said.

The sheer power of the torrent, and the 1923 bridge's deteriorating condition, sealed its fate. Water overtopped the span and destroyed its upstream center pier. That caused the deck to drop, "and it's basically folding in on itself," Carroll said.

Through authorization by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a $7 million plan is already in place to replace the bridge  actually twice.

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Nearby, contractors were already removing the current bridge's deck.

Once the bridge is removed, a temporary truss bridge will be installed on new abutments, PennDOT Assistant District 9 Executive Brad Brumbaugh said. The Boynton Bridge's current abutments will be used as retaining walls to help support the structure, he said.

Help from history

The temporary two-lane bridge will be delivered in prefabricated pieces by flatbed trucks next week, Brumbaugh said.

The concept originated during the early days of World War II. Bailey bridge components were hauled by British military forces to enable their tanks and troops to quickly cross over rivers and enemy lines.

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A Northumberland County contractor prefabricated these components, Carroll said. They'll be assembled on site over a matter of days, like an industrial-grade "Erector Set," he added.

But this bridge will be no toy. It will allow tri-axle trucks and other commercial vehicles to resume travel from U.S. Route 219 to Interstate 68 and back, he added.

The goal is "to quickly get people and local commerce moving through here again," Carroll said. He likened the effort to PennDOT's 2023 reaction to the Interstate 95 bridge collapse in Philadelphia  and said the action plan for southern Somerset County is receiving the same priority.

Work will quickly get underway to design a new permanent bridge over Piney Creek. By fall, crews will shift the temporary truss to a roadway crossing that will be built to allow vehicles to continue moving through Boynton while a multi-million-dollar bridge is under construction. That permanent bridge will debut in the fall of 2026, if all goes as planned.

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State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar, R-Somerset, credited Shapiro's administration, and especially PennDOT, for recognizing the issue the closure posed and sorting out an immediate solution.

"We lost a bridge here ... and this is going to give us a replacement in two weeks, rather than two years," he said, adding that the standard planning, engineering and construction process is complex and time-consuming.

Without a rapid solution, Metzgar and state Sen. Patrick Stefano, R-Fayette, said, an ongoing detour for commercial traffic  which is currently redirecting trucks west on I-68 and through Listonburg  would otherwise have created a costly 49-mile detour for local commerce that would have been painful for the area's economy.

And it would have hurt local residents, too, they said.

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The Rev. Bob Hallan, pastor at Cornerstone Assembly of God, agreed. Like many fellow Salisbury-area residents, he estimated he travelled across the Boynton Bridge more than 40 times a week to get almost anywhere. Locally, it connects Boynton to Salisbury, friends to neighbors, and residents to local needs, including the nearest grocery store, Hallan said.

Detours aren't just time-consuming, but also aren't well-suited for larger vehicles, he said. And when sudden emergencies occur  as many in Somerset County witnessed with Tuesday's flooding  "seconds count," Salisbury resident Brenda Short said.

"When there's a fire, it's critical," Short added.

They credited PennDOT for their quick action in finding a solution for the community.

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Metzgar, who also cited emergency response concerns as a reason for a Boynton Bridge solution, was in communication with state colleagues, including Shapiro's office, as soon as he discovered the bridge had likely been destroyed.

He said PennDOT's quick action began before Friday.

Even before state transportation officials started formulating a plan to get the issue resolved, Somerset County-based PennDOT crews discovered the bridge was no longer safe while rain was still falling. They acted quickly, blocking off the bridge while rushing waters were still at peak force, Metgzar said.

"That could have saved lives (that night)," he said, "and they definitely deserve credit for that."

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Other bridges cleared

Carroll and PennDOT District 9 Executive Vince Greenland also credited their crews and Somerset County emergency responders for their work during and after Tuesday's storm.

Greenland said all of Somerset County's state bridges in the corridor were inspected to ensure they were safe again for vehicle traffic. Aside from the Boynton Bridge, each passed reviews by state engineers, he said.
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To look at the Sycamore Gap tree was not just to take in a beautiful view but to be connected to other people and other times, in 'a tapestry of shared experience'. | Credit: Oli Scarff / Getty Images

In the end, the jury at Newcastle Crown Court reached a unanimous verdict, said Jan Moir in The Mail on Sunday. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were found guilty of criminal damage  for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian's Wall.

The evidence was certainly damning. Graham's car and phone had been geolocated close to the Sycamore Gap on 27 September 2023, the stormy night when the tree was cut down; on both their phones was a video, dating from that very night, of a large tree being chainsawed. The pair, the jury heard, had discussed the story triumphantly by text the following day. But they later fell out, and Graham reported Carruthers to the police, suggesting that his friend had taken his car and phone to do the deed; Carruthers denied everything.

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All in all, it was clear justice had been done. But questions remained. The "two hobbity men from deepest Cumbria" were led out of court without revealing one crucial issue: "why the hell they did it in the first place".

The prosecution had its theories, said the Daily Mirror. It seems Carruthers was obsessed with the tree, and wanted a "trophy" to mark the birth of his daughter. "As their risible fabrications in court made clear, neither are the brightest of men," said The Times. But it seems they thought cutting it down would be "a bit of a laugh": so they destroyed something in three minutes that had taken more than a century to grow.

Well, I think the furore is absurd, said Melanie Reid in The Observer. You'd think it was "murder", from the way everyone has carried on. But the sycamore was, as Carruthers plaintively told the jury, "just a tree". No one was hurt. Now these two men  poor, uneducated, from one of the most deprived areas of the UK  face sentences of up to ten years in prison.

Sure, it was "only" a tree, said Matthew Syed in The Sunday Times. But it "had stood for 150 years or more. It was gazed at by people in the reign of Queen Victoria." Hadrian's Wall, which framed it, has been there for 1,900 years. To look at it was not just to take in a beautiful view but to be connected to other people and other times, in "a tapestry of shared experience". I'm not surprised at the "outpouring of grief".
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syrian security forces raided Islamic State hideouts in Aleppo on Saturday and three militants were killed, authorities said, the first time the Islamist-led government has announced such an operation against the jihadist group in Syria's second city.

A member of the security forces was also killed, and four Islamic State militants were detained during the raids, Interior Ministry statements said. The security forces seized weapons, bombs and uniforms with the security forces' insignia.

A security source said the raids had targeted sleeper cells in four locations, and 10 people had been arrested. The source said that one of the Islamic State militants had blown himself up during the operation.

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Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once led a branch of al Qaeda, has long been an adversary of Islamic State, and battled the group's self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war.

U.S. President Donald Trump met Sharaa earlier this week, and praised him as an "attractive guy with a very strong past" after the encounter in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Trump also declared the United States would lift sanctions, a major U.S. policy shift that should help revive the shattered economy and marked a major boost for Sharaa.

Sharaa seized power in Damascus in December after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016.

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Islamic State controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the height of its power, before being beaten out of the territory by enemies including a U.S.-led military alliance.

In January, the Syrian authorities announced they had foiled an attack by Islamic State on the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a Damascus suburb, a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi'ites, and had arrested members of the cell.

Islamic State militants killed five members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria last month, in one of their deadliest attacks in a while.

(Reporting by Tom Perry and Hatem Maher; Editing by Susan Fenton, Mark Potter and Gareth Jones)
CLEVELAND (WJW)  The FOX 8 I-Team has found the city of Cleveland is not close to deciding what to do with the stadium on the lakefront, even as the Cleveland Browns keep taking more steps to move to a dome in Brook Park.

So, we investigated whats happening now.

Sauder Elementary third-grader caught with loaded gun in backpack: police

The I-Team looked into whats next for the stadium downtown and the Browns plan to move to a dome.

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This week, the Browns sent an email to the Cuyahoga County executive, saying the team is moving forward to build a dome with or without support from the county.

That has sparked new questions from local leaders, businesspeople and fans including the leader of the Muni Lot Browns Backers.

I dont think its that far away. I think its easier to get to. It doesnt have the same panache as being downtown on the lakefront, but its probably more practical, said Scott Nunnari.

More than ever before, the Browns have made it clear they will not renovate the current stadium.

So now, a new spotlight has focused on what happens to the current stadium if the team moves to a dome.

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Almost two months ago, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb told the I-Team the city would ask for proposals, asking developers what should be built in place of the stadium. But no request has gone out yet for proposals, and theres been no word yet on when that will happen.

The council has not been briefed at all. I find that extremely troubling, Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek told the I-Team.

Polensek plans to raise questions about this at a council hearing.

He pointed out that the cost of just demolishing the stadium could be back-breaking for the city financially.

Some people better step back and start making some sound decisions and start thinking long-term where were going because, if not, there will be a financial ripple  a financial domino on this city that we might not be able to recover from, Polensek said.

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Multiple agencies contribute to keeping public safe during lengthy police chase

Even more attention is now on the Browns asking for $600 million from the state in bond money to be paid back with profits from the dome project.

Expect that to come up again soon at another hearing in the Ohio Senate. A final decision on state funding for the Browns is expected in late June.

We also checked back on whats happening with the citys court fight to block the Browns from moving.

The docket shows the only hearing set for that is still weeks away.

Additionally, the I-Team continues to watch for the city of Brook Park to apply for state funding to pay for road projects around the site for the Browns dome.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
CHICAGO  Four people, including a teen boy, were injured after gunfire erupted from a vehicle on the citys West Side on Friday night.

According to police, the shooting unfolded just after 9 p.m. in the 600 block of South Homan Avenue, in Garfield Park.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

Officers said the victims, three adult men and a teen boy, were standing outside in the area when a dark colored SUV approached the group. A gunman inside the car then opened fire in their direction.

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Officers said a 16-year-old boy, a 26-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were hospitalized with critical injuries following the shooting. A fourth victim, a 23-year-old man, was hospitalized in good condition.

15-year-old boy killed in West Roseland shooting

Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and an investigation is now underway.

The shooting was the first of two drive-bys that unfolded on the West Side on Friday night. Just hours after, two men were hurt in a drive-by in the 3500 block of West 5th Avenue.

Currently, there is nothing that suggests the two incidents were connected.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

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Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact the CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251 or dial 911.

Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Bullying or cyberbullying could cost Tennessee teens their car keys for one year, thanks to a new state law recently signed by Gov. Bill Lee.

The legislation, which passed this year, will require a judge to suspend a minors driving privileges or their ability to get their drivers license for one year if theyre adjudicated for bullying or cyberbullying.

The bills sponsors hope it prevents students from bullying in the first place.

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I think this is a deterrent, State Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore) said. A lot of kids nowadays want to get their license when they [turn] 16, and its an incentive not to bully other people.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

Under the new legislation, a judge can grant a restricted license to allow the minor to drive to school, work, and church if its the students first offense.

Rodger Dinwiddie, CEO of Students Taking A Right Stand (STARS) Nashville and a consultant in bullying prevention and intervention, told News 2 hes not sure if the new law will have much of an impact.

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Just removing the drivers license doesnt seem to me to really address some of the issues, because the majority of bullying that occurs, by the way, not necessarily at the high school level, particularly when kids are able to drive.

According to Dinwiddie, the highest rates of bullying occur in fourth, fifth, and eighth grades, when students arent old enough to drive.

In addition, the law will require a judge to temporarily revoke a students license, even if its their first offense, which Dinwiddie argues is a harsh punishment.

Organization partners with mental health professional to address bullying complaints

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However, he hopes the law will potentially act as a deterrent to prevent bullying.

The bottom line is if it is truly bullying, it is extremely harmful, whether it is in person or online, and to me, the legislators get credit for at least being concerned about that issue for sure, Dinwiddie said.

Last year, lawmakers passed legislation formally defining bullying as an act that substantially interferes with another students educational benefits, opportunities, or performance. It also expanded the offense of harassment to include bullying and cyberbullying, and started requiring law enforcement to notify the victims parents and/or guardians of the bullying situation at school if the victim is a minor.

The new law will go into effect July 1.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  A teenage boy has died after a Friday shooting in Northeast D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Police responded to reports of a shooting at 6:34 p.m. in the 1200 block of Meigs Place NE., where a teen boy was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Tree falls on top of car, kills woman in Woodlawn

DC Fire and EMS attempted lifesaving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call (202) 727-9099 or text 50411.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
A Tennessee boys courage and the willingness to speak up over the weekend diverted a potential mass casualty incident in Cottonwood at Evergreen Middle School.

This young man needs to be celebrated, said Tehama County Sheriff Dave Kain. His actions saved an untold number of lives.

The Tehama County Sheriffs Office received a call from the Tennessee resident in the evening hours of May 9, explaining he was engaged in online gaming with a Tehama County teenager.

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It appears the Tennessee boy became concerned when the Tehama County juvenile began talking about school violence and having a manifesto and plan to target Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood.

The Tehama County boy sent photographs of himself and an accomplice in the same attire and pose as the Columbine school shooters to the boy in Tennessee, Kain said. The boys were going to carry out the attack on Friday, May 9, but one of them backed out.

In the meantime the Tennessee resident had reported the potential crime first to his mother and then to the sheriffs office.

My deputies took the information very seriously and immediately began an investigation, Kain added. They too are heroes in stopping this potential catastrophe.

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Working with school administration over the weekend, investigators were able to identify both the teenage boys, one 14-years-old and the other 15.

With this information in hand, deputies turned the investigation over to the Tehama County Major Crimes Unit, which on Sunday, May 11, served a series of search warrants on the suspects residences in the Bowman and Lake California areas.

During the search detectives reportedly located evidence to substantiate the information shared by the boy in Tennessee.

The two juvenile suspects were arrested and booked into the Tehama County Juvenile Justice Center for suspicion of felony criminal threats, manufacturing destructive devices, possession of a destructive device and conspiracy to commit any felony.

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This incident is isolated to the two boys arrested and booked into the Juvenile Justice Center, Kain said. I believe this enough to be true that I was one of the first parents to drop my children off at Evergreen School on Monday morning.

Kain expressed his personal appreciation and the appreciation of the Tehama County Sheriffs Office for the assistance and involvement of the administration from Evergreen Schools in the investigation.

And the tireless hard work of the deputies and investigators to expeditiously mitigate this threat, and as a community we want to send out a heartfelt thank you to the reporting party who heard something and said something, which may have saved a number of lives, he added.

Kain said he plans on asking the Tehama County District Attorneys Office to charge the juvenile suspects as adults to the level of severity and depravity of the suspected crimes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Tennessee hasnt executed an inmate on death row since early 2020, but now the new drug meant to restart the death penalty is raising new red flags among critics.

Gov. Bill Lee paused all executions in April 2022 after discovering issues with the states death penalty protocol and the drugs it used in executions. He ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to create a new death penalty protocol, which was completed in December 2024.

However, critics like Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have argued the new protocol is even worse than before.

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RELATED | Death row inmates sue state over new lethal injection protocol

Tennessee struggled with the drugs that were previously being used and has now switched to one that is also problematic, Rector said.

Tennessee chose pentobarbital, a single drug commonly used to treat insomnia in humans, as its new lethal injection drug. In higher doses, it can be fatal. Several states, and formerly the federal government, have used it to execute inmates since around 2010.

However, the drug is controversial. This past January, the U.S. Department of Justice ditched the drug after a years-long investigation rose concerns pentobarbital could cause unnecessary pain and suffering.

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According to Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, some people put to death with pentobarbital experienced pulmonary edema, which causes the sensation of drowning and pain.

SEE ALSO | Tennessees new death penalty protocol: Whats different

The pentobarbital did not adequately anesthetize these individuals, so they were experiencing this sensation of being water boarded, and that, according to the DOJ, is a violation of the 8th Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, Rector said.

Several Tennessee death row inmates are now suing the state over its new death penalty protocol. In the lawsuit, they argued pentobarbital has been shown to pose a high risk of a torturous death.

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Its riskier now, and this risk is not simply theoretical, folks, Kelley J. Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender, said. They make it seem as if a lethal injection is a medical procedure. Its not. Its poison.

In addition, some expressed concerns if something were to go wrong during an execution under the new protocol, the public likely wouldnt find out because the new protocol is more secretive than the last.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

I think all citizens, regardless of your opinions of the death penalty, should have deep concern about the government shielding itself from accountability from the public this way, Rector said.

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Death row inmate Oscar Smith will be the first prisoner executed under the states new protocol on Thursday, May 22. Smith brutally murdered his estranged wife, Judy Robird Smith, and her sons Chad Burnett and Jason Burnett in Nashville on Oct. 1, 1989.

Inmates whose crimes were committed before Jan. 1, 1999, can choose between the lethal injection and the electric chair under Tennessee law.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
May 16LIMA  As jury trials go, the case of Leroy Page had more than it's share of peculiarities.

From allegations of juror tampering to Page serving as his own attorney to a reported bribe offered by the defendant to the alleged victims in the case, the trial inched toward its apparent conclusion on Friday.

Jurors received the case late Friday afternoon but had not reached a verdict when The Lima News' deadline for print publication arrived.

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Page, 34, was charged in Allen County Common Pleas Court with having weapons under disability, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, aggravated burglary, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of felonious assault in connection with incidents that occurred on Oct. 30, 2022.

Prosecutors say Page kidnapped and assaulted two Allen County homeowners that night after crashing his vehicle in their front yard while eluding police.

Testimony from law enforcement officers revealed Page crashed a vehicle he was driving  after leading Lima police officers on a pursuit that prosecutors say exceeded 120 miles per hour  in a field near the intersection of West Elm Street and Fraunfelter Road. Benjamin and Dianna Shelton, who live near the crash scene, testified that Page broke into their home and terrorized them for several hours before demanding they drive him to a Shawnee Township location.

The Sheltons, during their respective times on the witness stand, each identified Page as their attacker. Dianna Shelton told jurors on Wednesday she suffered multiple facial fractures, a broken nose, a concussion, severely lacerated lip and other bruises at the hands of Page. Jurors viewed photos taken at a Lima hospital that showed the bruising and swelling the woman sustained in the attack. The assaults were alleged to have taken place in the couple's bedroom.

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Shelton said Page struck her and her husband repeatedly over a span of several hours before forcing them to drive him to the intersection of Breese and Yoakam roads in Shawnee Township, near what police reportedly knew to be Page's residence.

His own lawyer

Page, who served as his own attorney throughout the trial, took the stand Friday as the trial's final witness. His version of the events of Oct. 30, 2022, mirrored earlier statements from police officers who had described events leading up to the time of the crash. But at that point Page's story diverged greatly from what jurors have previously heard. The defendant told jurors he entered the Shelton's garage and did not force entry into the home or enter the living quarters at the residence, as had been alleged. Page testified that while inside the Shelton's garage he negotiated with the couple and agreed to make a cash payment to them of $15,000 for their silence to law enforcement. He denied striking the couple.

The defendant said the Sheltons agreed to drive him to the area of Red Bud Lane in Shawnee Township and waited while he ran to a home to get money. Page testified an associate returned to the Shelton's Dodge Ram pickup a short time later with $6,200  all the money Page said was in the house  and that the Sheltons then drove away.

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Page's DNA was found in the rear seat of the pickup truck, evidence revealed. A search warrant was executed at a home on Red Bud Lane later that morning, but Page was not located. He fled the area and was arrested nearly two years later in Las Vegas.

'David vs. Goliath'

In his closing remarks to jurors, Page referred to his case as "David vs. Goliath." He intimated that prosecutors had withheld evidence in the case that would have benefited him and accused the Sheltons of lying from the witness stand. He also hinted at racism, suggesting that some jurors could be wondering to themselves why a white couple would lie against a Black defendant.

"If you're thinking that way you've already decided your verdict," Page said. "There was a lot of evidence that wasn't presented. I just ask that you pay attention to small details. They matter.," Page asked of jurors. "In America you're innocent until proven guilty, but sometimes you have to prove your innocence."

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Prosecuting Attorney Destiny Caldwell told jurors the state had presented evidence sufficient for conviction on all counts. She said that any "negotiations" between Benjamin Shelton and Page were nothing more than a diversionary tactic "to keep the defendant calm." Caldwell said there was "no question" the Sheltons suffered serious physical harm "and there's no doubt it was this defendant who caused that harm."

Juror saga updated

On Thursday it was learned that two jurors in the case believed they had been followed home the previous evening. The jurors said they were concerned but could still be fair and impartial. They remained on the jury.

A follow-up was offered Friday. Kohlrieser said representatives of the Lima Police Department investigated the allegations and learned that the driver of one of the two suspicious vehicles lived within a few blocks of the juror in question. Police were able gain information about the second vehicle, including its owner, but said that person had no apparent relationships with anyone connected with the trial.

Page told the judge he believed the jury had been "tainted" by the drama and asked for a mistrial. Kohlrieser overruled that motion.

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DRYDEN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)  Its a message that no parent wants to receive in their inbox: a local school district warns families and staff about a vape pen found with fentanyl in it that a student in the area got hold of.

Although the student was not enrolled in Dryden Central School District, the student was close enough in mileage that the district thought the risk was too close not to send a statement.

These TCH pens found with fentanyl have become a growing concern among experts and educators nationwide, becoming more dangerous and common. One of those educators who was a former addict, Michael DeLeon, says he has over 100 cases across the country where law enforcement has detected fentanyl in vapes.

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For years, Michael has been on a mission to end this crisis. He has traveled to schools across the nation to spread awareness and inform students that this is real and extremely dangerous.

An unsuspected kid puts a vape in their mouth to hit their vape, and it has fentanyl in it, theyre going to die if someones not nearby with Narcan, says Michael DeLeon

When educating, the Steered Straight founders remind families, students, and educators that this is scary and happening daily. He reminds parents that they dont need to scare their kids because scaring them wont work.

DeLeon says the best way is to educate them, empower them, and steer them.

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This is going to get more common, more common than ever, said DeLeon, reminding that Were going to see more unlicensed selling vapes and were going to see more counterfeit and rogue vapes sent into this country.

So, his advice to parents is to start talking to their children and make it known that one hit could kill.

The three most dangerous words a parent could ever utter are not my kid because its never your kid till its your kid. Prevention through education is the key, said DeLeon.

For more information to better educate on this crisis, you can head over to his website, Steered Straight.

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The route to Kilmer Elementary School is about a mile and a half each way for Hamid Azizi, who heads out every afternoon to walk his daughters home. What would seem like a mundane activity for most is a joyous occasion for the father of seven, who arrived in Chicago a little more than a month ago.

The 30-minute walk has been Azizis easiest journey in many years.

At the start of the summer of 2021, his family fled its village in Afghanistan, moving quickly and often to evade the Taliban, which swiftly took control after United States armed forces began withdrawing from the region following a 20-year war.

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We were very, very worried about our situation, Azizi, who speaks Dari, told the Tribune through a translator on a recent Tuesday afternoon at his apartment in the North Side neighborhood of West Ridge. Once the Americans left, we could not live in our own city where we grew up or in the other cities that I went to (with U.S. troops) because if anybody knew me and saw me, just to get some credit, they would tell the Taliban, This man worked with Americans. I had to keep moving.

Azizi, 41, is one of thousands of Afghans who were waiting to resettle in the U.S. after being promised safety and relocation for serving alongside American troops as a member of the National Mine Removal Group, or NMRG. He assisted U.S. special forces in various zones in Afghanistan from 2017 until 2021, and received a Special Immigrant Visa, or SIV, intended to facilitate the resettlement of individuals who have risked their lives by collaborating with the U.S. government.

Despite the stamp cemented in his passport for years, Azizi and his family had to find help on their own, and be rescued by organizations such as No One Left Behind after President Donald Trumps inauguration added a sense of urgency.

Days after taking office, Trump signed an executive order that suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, pausing foreign aid and ending operations of U.N. organizations such as the International Organization for Migration that were vital for processing refugees. The administration also suspended government programs that buy flights for refugees who have SIVs.

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We found ourselves in this interesting situation where you had Special Immigrant Visa holders who were still being processed, but there were no flights for them to travel on because they basically had to buy their own flights, said Andrew Sullivan, executive director of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit focused on evacuating Afghan and Iraqi SIV applicants to safety. For many of these folks, they left their lives behind in Afghanistan. Many of them have been sitting on a State Department processing platform in either Albania or Qatar. Its not like they can work there. They really just dont have the finances to buy flights.

Sullivan said the executive order thwarted thousands of families prospects for resettlement, a process that often takes years. And many of those families, like Azizis, have been on the run.

Within a month of U.S. troops leaving, Azizi had to flee from Parwan, his home province where the U.S. military had a significant presence.

His wife and six daughters his son, the youngest of seven children, wasnt yet born  kept a few essential items and hid in homes of various relatives in nearby provinces and villages, staying mere weeks or days at a time.

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(The relative whose home we were staying in) would say dont leave, because (the Taliban) are all over the village. Dont go out, because theyre going to get you. Youre safe in the house until they find you, Azizi recalled. But after that, (the relative) said we couldnt stay anymore because it was dangerous for them, and then in two, three days, we went to another relatives house, which was by the river.

With the Taliban rapidly taking over rural areas, Azizi said his family went to the bordering city of Kabul, the countrys capital, because it had not fallen yet. Azizis wife, Fahima, knew a family in Kabul who took them in for a couple months.

But on Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban seized control of Kabul, signaling a full recapture of Afghanistan. Civilians soon swarmed Kabuls main international airport hoping to evacuate.

Azizi said his family attempted to get on a plane out of Kabul.

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We were one of the people that went to the airport. They were flying everywhere and there were barriers and everything. But my younger daughter, Zhra, stayed behind. I couldnt take it that my daughter wont have a family, wont have a father, a mother. I cant just go and leave her behind, Azizi said. We all went back from the airport. We got her, and from there we stayed but at that time we knew the Taliban said, We have forgiven everybody, blanket forgiveness  but not for people who worked for the Americans.

Will Reno, a professor at Northwestern University, said the images out of Kabuls airport were a stark representation of Americas frantic departure from a country it occupied for 20 years.

That first day or two was chaos when there were people on the airfield grabbing onto the landing gear of the aircraft  that got that very bad, politically, pictures like that, said Reno, who was a contractor for the Department of Defense while the U.S. was involved in Afghanistan.

Reno said in the days following the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban takeover, there was a rush to get high-priority groups such as military intelligence and Afghan special forces that trained American soldiers onto evacuation aircrafts. He explained that President Joe Bidens administration was late in getting a system in place that would effectively vet and process all SIV holders and their families, leaving many, like Azizi, to flee, as the situation with the Taliban became increasingly dangerous for them.

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Despite the desperate circumstances, Azizi shared fond memories of working with U.S. troops.

Those times were our best memories; they were like our brothers, Azizi said. We will eat together, either on the floor, or if we find a table, well all sit together. If, God forbid, one of us got injured or something like that, we all would get together, be around him like a family. So the relationship was very nice, very beautiful and brotherly.

As a member of the National Mine Removal Group, Azizis team was the first line of defense for American soldiers, clearing hazardous devices off a battlefield and seeking out snipers trying to target U.S. troops. Azizi said there were several teams of NMRG personnel stationed across the war zone. One of his friends was a guard with the NMRG and immigrated to the U.S. on an SIV years before the war ended, when the U.S. still had an embassy in Afghanistan.

In Kabul, Azizis family continued moving around, hiding in homes of friends and acquaintances. This went on for several months, Azizi said.

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The family finally found a reason for optimism after connecting with the 1208 Foundation, a nonprofit providing immigration assistance to the surviving members of the NMRG. The organization helped the Azizi family cross into the last leg of its tireless run and eventually paved the way for No One Left Behind to link up with Azizis family.

Eventually, Azizis family left Kabul for Islamabad, Pakistan, where they lived for 11 months. Through a website launched by No One Left Behind, Azizi was able to fill out an online form to share his visa status and resettlement plans.

They didnt have much in terms of money or food, but plenty of hope, Azizi said.

Life on the run was especially hard on Fahima, who gave birth to her son, Mohamad, at home without medical care, all while caring for her six other children.

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In January, No One Left Behind helped Azizi and his family fly to Doha, Qatar, where the organization had sent many Afghans and Iraqis who have already immigrated to the U.S., many through the SIV program, to help facilitate the process.

The endgame was America, but Azizi said he knew the situation with Trump was not ideal for refugees seeking asylum.

Anticipating even more upcoming limitations for Afghans, and the looming threat of the Trump administration introducing a travel ban that could restrict their entry, No One Left Behind urgently started tapping into existing infrastructure and raised money to buy flights for families and individuals in places such as Albania and Qatar.

Between Feb. 1 and March 17, the group said it successfully booked flights for 659 Afghans.

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And since they began this all-out sprint, Sullivan said, No One Left Behind has spent $1.5 million on 1,300 flights for stranded Afghans with a U.S. visa.

Life is not easy for people who just come from one place to another place, especially for kids, Azizi said, looking around his new home. We were very, very happy when they told us, especially when were leaving the (hotel) room and there was a bus to take us to the airport. It was a different feeling  we are really going right now.

After 50 days in Doha, Azizis family got on a flight to Chicago. No One Left Behind covered the cost of their one-way flights from Doha International Airport to OHare International Airport.

When they told us we are going to take you all, buy tickets for all of you, and you dont have to pay it back  wow, (we asked) how is that going to be possible? Azizi said. We couldnt believe it.

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In West Ridge, a volunteer from No One Left Behind comes by weekly to help the family with chores or tasks that require an English speaker. She carries around an English/Dari phrasebook and flips through it regularly, but uses the Google Translate app for faster communication.

She helped set up Azizis three-bedroom apartment off Devon Avenue, furnished with just enough: two comfortable couches, a dining table with six chairs, a bookshelf fashioned into a shoe rack stacked with tiny sandals and sneakers. There isnt a TV, so Azizis cellphone is typically where his youngest children, Mohamad and Hfsah, watch cartoons on YouTube.

Azizi laughed that his phone is not his anymore.

Although No One Left Behind offers resettlement assistance to several of the refugees it helps, Sullivan said the group prefers sending its families and individuals to cities in America where they know someone  even just a friend. If there isnt any contact person, the group will send Afghans to areas with a higher volume of Afghan refugees, such as Sacramento, San Francisco or the greater Washington, D.C., area, so theres a sense of community and shared language.

In Azizis case, he got in touch with his friend from the NMRG who resettled in Chicago while the U.S. was still in Afghanistan. The friend invited the family to stay at his home for a couple weeks, then borrowed $3,000 to give to Azizi to secure a months rent for their apartment.

The No One Left Behind volunteer set up a GoFundMe for Azizis family to help raise money that could go toward rent and basic necessities.

The situation for Afghans has become more fragile in some of the places where many have temporarily sheltered, like Azizis family did in Pakistan. Having hosted millions of refugees, Pakistan has recently increased deportations. And an agreement that made Albania a way station for Afghans expired in March, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said for individuals like Azizi who have SIV status, going back to Afghanistan was not an option.

If they got deported, they would, by definition, go back to a Taliban-controlled immigration checkpoint and fly back into Kabul, where they would be greeted by Taliban immigration authorities who would see their passport and see a U.S. visa in it, he said. We very much worry that it would very much open them up to questioning at the very least, and at the worst, detention, torture and possibly murder from the Taliban.

During the final months of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, an American documentary film crew followed the intimate relationship between American Green Berets and the Afghan officers they trained. Since its release in 2022, the film Retrograde faced criticism for failing to protect the identities of its subjects, leading to the killing of one of the Afghan men by the Taliban.

Earlier this month, the Hollywood Reporter wrote that the mans family is suing the producers and distributors of the documentary, including Disney and National Geographic, faulting them for the mans death.

Azizi said he was also featured in the film and knew of the man who was killed by the Taliban.

Had he not found his way out, Azizi said, he might have faced a similar fate, or would have had to endure the harsh restrictions of Taliban rule. Fahima would not be allowed to work or move freely, and their six daughters wouldnt be allowed post-secondary education.

When he drops his daughters off at school and picks them up  both times on foot  he said he often thinks about all the what-ifs.

His 14-year-old daughter Surya has dreams of becoming a doctor. His youngest daughter, Hfsah, 4, wants to be a hairstylist. Roya, 13, would love to be a teacher.

When the girls enrolled at Kilmer, the culture shock and language barrier made going to school dreadful. But now, Azizi said, he watches them run up to their teachers in the morning and looks on as theyre immediately enveloped in a hug.

Im super proud and full of happiness, he said.

While fleeing from place to place, Azizi said, the family often took pictures to capture the memories of being in each location. Even though circumstances were far from ideal, he said they were together, safe, healthy. It was worth capturing. They have pictures in Pakistan, in Doha, and now in Chicago, as they traverse the new neighborhood curiously.

A few weeks ago, Azizi said, as he was taking a selfie with his children, his daughter Sarah, 7, turned to him and asked, Baba, where are we going next?

Azizi wiped his tears as he recounted that moment.

Because we were leaving every city, going to different places, my little girl was thinking maybe America is not home as well, Azizi said. I said, Sarah jaan, we are not going anywhere. I think its here.
From the impending foreclosure to his deteriorating health, Troy Walker predicted all that would come with incredible accuracy one year ago.

In many ways, Walkers story rings of the Cassandra fable from Greek mythology. Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy with the condition that nobody would believe her. When she warned the Trojans they would lose the city of Troy, it fell on deaf ears.

Troy, the La Crosse man, has pleaded with county health services and nonprofits for the past year to help him keep a roof over his head. His main struggle centered on Social Security Disability Insurance. He applied for stipends almost three years ago and was not approved until a congressman stepped in last summer.

When the Tribune published Walkers original story in May 2024, it got the attention of congressman Derrick Van Orden who expedited Walkers application in July.

After payments and backpay started flowing in, Walker hoped to keep his money steady enough to sell his home, break even and move into a more affordable setting.

One year later, that isnt happening.

As he forecast, Walkers house payments increased too rapidly during the period he received no Social Security stipends and was not able to work. What had been $600 payments skyrocketed to over $1,200 a month, including utilities. Walker only receives about $1,300 every month.

Walker has appealed to several agencies in La Crosse County for some kind of relief before he loses his home in the coming months.

Loan promises fall short

Walkers payment issue was well known and planned for. He wanted to sell his home at a break-even cost and move to a trailer or income-adjusted home. All he had to do was get help to fix up the home so it would sell.

Before Walker received Social Security payments, he was in communication with La Crosses planning department for a rehabilitation loan program to help pay for repairs.

Just about everything needed a fix. Before the loan was accepted, Walkers friend Ben Johnson started work on the septic tank  a repair that could not be ignored as long as Walker lived there.

Johnson began the work before the loan was approved based on earlier correspondence with a city planning staffer who said Walkers loan was likely to be approved. Johnson spent $10,000 on the repairs.

When the final loan estimate came, the city offered Walker a $58,000 loan to pay for the septic and all other necessary repairs for Walker to get his home in livable shape. Due to the citys Housing Rehab program requirements, Walker would have to take on the full loan or none of it.

The city of La Crosse Housing Rehab program is a 1% interest deferred loan. Any homes that receive City Rehab funds must be brought into compliance with city code and meet Housing Quality Standards. The program does not reimburse for a single expense on a project without addressing all necessary home repairs. In this case, the homeowner declined to move forward with the options provided by the city of La Crosse, a statement from the Planning Department explained.

Walker did not want to take on $58,000 of debt  he was seeking a smaller amount to reimburse work already done.

Since Walker declined the full loan, none of the fixes could be funded, including the $10,000 already spent on the septic system.

I used to work sales, I did good sales work. I talked a lot and talked my way into good sales work, Walker said. I cant talk myself out of this one.

If Walker sold his home as-is today, he thinks he could net maximum $5,000. In his eyes, that still puts him $5,000 short to pay Johnson back.

The city sent his case to Couleecap and Habitat for Humanity to see whether they have loans Walker can use to make up the money he spent with Johnson. Walker is losing confidence there is relief in sight.

Final efforts to change course

In debt to his bank and now his friends, Walker has few people to turn to. He cant get back to work, he cant take on more debt, and he cant fix his failing body.

Walker was diagnosed with a litany of organ issues about four years ago. The most severe conditions affect his heart. Walker was in the hospital last month for a minor heart attack  and not for the first time.

His heart conditions also affect blood flow, and Walker frequently has small scrapes that turn into large wounds that take months of recovery. His joints also have taken a beating, and he struggles to leave his bed without extreme pain. Some days, he wakes up in bed and doesnt leave it before going back to sleep for the night. Walker said he cant sit at a desk for extended periods, cant drive himself around and certainly cant perform manual labor.

I always was a contributor to society. Now Im feeling like an anchor, Walker said.

The question of usefulness has taken a toll on Walkers mental health. Friends reported he has slipped to alcoholic tendencies and suicidal ideation. Walker self-reported not seeing the point in continuing his fight, as he feels most agencies out there are waiting for him to hurry up and die.

Walker and his friends have shopped several low-income housing options for him with no luck. Walker said low-income housing managers told him he does not make enough money from Social Security payments for most low-income options in La Crosse.

Thats probably the most depressing thing, when youre told, OK, youre poverty level, but you know what? You dont make enough, so we gotta make you even go farther as a homeless guy and live under the bridge,  Walker said.

In the meantime, Walker is paying what he can to survive in his current home while balancing a heavy regimen of medicines and the associated costs. At this point, he relies almost entirely on SNAP benefits and food pantries for food.

Hes worried about leaning on free pantries as heavily as he is while those programs face cuts. WAFER, the food pantry Walker uses, had its fresh food commodities sliced in half last month when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Walker believes he has about four to five weeks before his bank moves to foreclose on his house. Other loan agencies have not entertained his applications for small loans that would finance a trailer or other efficiency-type housing.
Russian attacks killed two people in Donetsk Oblast and one in Kharkiv Oblast on 16 May.

Source: Donetsk Oblast Military Administration; Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration

Details: Two people were killed in the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast.

A further nine people have been injured in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours: five in Pokrovsk, three in Kostiantynivka and one in Lyman.

A Russian bombardment of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast killed a 55-year-old woman and injured men aged 58, 49, 40, 53, 54 and 59.

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In addition, men aged 39 and 59 and a 62-year-old woman were injured in the village of Kutkivka in the Dvorichna hromada. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.]

Reports also indicate damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure in the region.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW)  Three members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, for their involvement in a series of armed assaults against members of rival motorcycle clubs.

Christopher W. McGowen, also known as Mac", 41, of Platte City, Mo. pleaded guilty on May 13, 2025 to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in air of racketeering, one count of attempting to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Brandon S. Hodge, also known as "Youngblood", 26, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty on May, 14, 2025 to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

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Arthur L. Reynolds III, also known as "Straight Edge, 48, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025 to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and one count of felon in possession of firearms.

On May 30, 2022, McGowen and other members of the Pagan's and their support club, assaulted a lone rival gang member at a business in Grain Valley, Mo. In addition to fists, one Pagan used an axe, causing physical injury to the victim.

On Sept. 3, 2022, McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and other members of the Pagan's and their support club, chased and forced a lone rival gang member from the road in Blue Springs, Mo. Various members of the Pagan's and their support club were armed with firearms and at least one axe handle.

McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and the others confronted the victim on the side of the roadway and ultimately, the victim was shot seven times, with wounds to his knee, thigh, forearms, biceps, buttocks and back of his leg.

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Following these events, McGowen, Hodge, Reynolds and other present were awarded patches for their participation.

On May 11, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant for Reynolds' residence in Independence, Mo. Inside, officers located seven firearms, various calibers of ammunition, body armor and Pagan's Motorcycle gang-related items.

On Jan. 24, 2005, Reynolds pleaded guilty to felony aggravated robbery in the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas, for which he was later sentenced to 61 months in custody.

Under federal status, McGowen and Reynolds are subject to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. Hodge is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

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A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney's Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the FBI, the Independence, Mo. Police Department, the Blue Springs, Mo. Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA)  New details have been revealed in the timeline of events before and after last months deadly shooting at Florida State University.

20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, the alleged shooter, faces two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder.

According to officials, the updated timeline of events began with Ikner arriving at an FSU parking garage at 11:00 a.m., moving in and out of his vehicle for about an hour.

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11:56 a.m.  Ikner fires his first shot.

11:57 a.m.  Ikner is then seen running with a firearm towards the student union.

11:58 a.m.  Multiple 911 calls begin, where Ikner continues his shooting spree, striking multiple victims, including chasing Tiru Chabba, who was fleeing and was shot again while lying on the ground.

11:59 a.m.  Ikner shoots Robert Morales in the food court. Morales and Chabba both died as a result.

12:00 p.m.  Responding officers make contact with Ikner, where he is shot in the jaw and detained near the student union.

Police say the incident was resolved in under 5 minutes. Despite the quick response, the suspect was able to injure eight people and impact the lives of hundreds.



Our family and many of us have been kind of left in the dark in terms of whats happening, said Bakari Sellers, Civil Rights Attorney.

Lawyers representing the family of Tiru Chabba, still have questions for law enforcement and the university.



We need to understand who the shooter was. We need to understand his background. We need to understand what the University knew about who the shooter was and their background, said Sellers.

As investigators work to piece together that background, theyve uncovered key evidence from the scene.

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A .45 caliber Glock handgun was recovered near Ikner. An orange hummer, registered to Phoenixs father was also located next to the student union, with a shotgun found inside.

The investigation remains open and active. Tallahassee police department and the FBI continue to interview witnesses and victims, while Ikner remains in the Wakulla County Detention Facility.

Court records show Ikners next appearance in front of a Judge may be on June 11th, 2025.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is looking to keep Artificial Intelligence regulations up to the states.

On Friday, Skrmetti joined a coalition of 36 other state attorneys general in leading a letter to oppose a federal ban on state regulation of AI products.

The letter warns that an amendment added in the Budget Reconciliation Bill by the U.S. House and Energy and Commerce Committee would impose a 10-year ban on states from enforcing any state law or regulation addressing AI and automated decision-making systems.

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FBI issues warning about AI voice impersonations of US officials

According to the attorneys general, the bill will affect hundreds of existing and pending state laws that were passed and considered by both Republican and Democrat state legislatures.

Skrmettis office said states have been at the forefront of keeping consumers protected from the dangers of AI.

The combined efforts of the states and the federal government have been, at best, barely enough to protect consumers from Big Tech, said Skrmetti. AI has incredible potential but amplifies every risk weve seen from Big Tech and creates new risks we dont fully understand. Eliminating state oversight through this reconciliation amendment guarantees Americans will suffer repeated violations of their privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust laws.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

The bipartisan letter urges Congress to reject the amendment, stating that it would leave Americans entirely unprotected from the potential harms of AI and would wipe away any state-level frameworks that are already in place.

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BOSTON (SHNS)  Four and a half months into the lawmaking term, House and Senate Democrats still do not agree on their most significant proposed transparency and process reforms  a fact that took center stage Thursday when a question-and-answer session with press morphed into a miniature debate between legislative negotiators.

The conference committee tasked with ironing out differences between the House and Senate joint rules proposals (S 18 / H 2026) met Thursday for the first time in nearly two months. Members voiced optimism about their progress but said many of the biggest ideas in play, like how to alter the traditional bill-reporting deadline, remain unresolved.

They kept the nearly 30-minute meeting open to the press and public for the second straight time, a departure from the all-private deliberations most conference committees have employed in recent years.

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And when the half-dozen reporters in attendance approached lead negotiators Sen. Cynthia Creem and Rep. Michael Moran afterward, the complexity of the dispute became clearer.

Over a 15-minute press availability, the duo  each of whom is majority leader of their chamber  regularly disagreed with what the other said, attributed unusual lawmaking actions to verbal agreements between legislators, or suggested in real time they would soften their position.

The exchange revealed ongoing House-Senate tension over lawmaker attendance at committee hearings, and indicated that negotiators remain far apart on some process reforms. Just before diving into his concerns with a senator testifying on a bill remotely, Moran said, We may as well rip the Band-Aid off here.

To me, what I think is important are the matters of transparency, and we cant agree on them, Creem told reporters while standing next to Moran. How much notice do we give out on a conference committee [report]? How much time do we [allow] for ending the session? When do these things happen? These were important things that I think my constituents wanted.

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Beacon Hill has seen a flurry of joint committee hearings recently as panels begin to hear, and in some cases advance legislation with the term more than one-sixth complete already.

The panels are supposed to be operating under 2019 guidelines until House and Senate negotiators reach an agreement on a new joint rules reform package. But two committee chairs this week muddied the waters as they operated under rules embraced by their respective branches, yet not finalized by the full Legislature.

Rep. Tackey Chan, who chaired a Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure hearing Monday, barred committee member Sen. Jake Oliveira from testifying virtually on his bill.

The Quincy Democrat cited a new House rule stating members of a particular committee cannot participate remotely and must be physically present in the hearing room where that committee is meeting. Oliveira, a Ludlow Democrat, said he had spent the morning meeting with early educators in his western Massachusetts district while also attempting to join the hearing remotely.

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Well, the theatrics of that hearing were pretty interesting, Moran said. And I think it does touch on one of the areas that were having a little challenge with. And I dont think its any secret that the House has a couple of things that theyd like to see, one of them being no remote participation.

Creem, echoing a talking point from Senate President Karen Spilka, said the temporary rules that are in effect make no mention of preventing lawmakers from testifying remotely.

Moran, pressed whether Chan had acted improperly at the hearing, said, He had the gavel.

He was the one presiding, and he was executing the rules that were given to him by the House, Moran said. Creem chimed in, House rules.

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Because he had the chairmanship, he was going by the House rules, Moran continued. I do have a little bit of an issue with the idea that he wasnt allowed to testify.

The Boston Democrat insisted Oliveira was permitted to testify, albeit through written comments.

Moran acknowledged the differing responsibilities and schedules between senators and representatives. Senators, for example, have larger districts, he said. Moran hinted the House will soften its position on remote participation, and he later clarified the House is willing to allow remote testimony from committee members.

But Creem questioned the level and duration of attendance that the House wants to see from lawmakers.

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Obviously, I dont even know what attendance means, Creem said. Does it mean five minutes? Ten minutes? Do you come in the beginning? Do you come in the end?

Beyond Mondays spat, Moran said the larger issue revolves around participation on joint committees. He cited the Joint Revenue Committee hearing Tuesday, in which he said no Senate members showed up in person, including co-chair Sen. Jamie Eldridge.

I dont know how you can have a deliberative process where people are having dialogue and have no one show up to a hearing to hear anybody speak. Thats a problem for us, Moran said. Were trying to be respectful, were trying to work through that problem, we feel we need some dialogue from that side. Maybe some of the reasons that bills are not going through conference quickly enough is because those discussions are not happening at the hearing level.

Creem dismissed attendance as a major sticking point, though she suggested a better scheduling system to avoid overlapping committee hearings.

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The Newton Democrat recalled one day when she had four committee hearings on her schedule. She asked whether she satisfied attendance expectations by popping in for five minutes to the hearings.

If the House wants attendance, then lets get all the dates scheduled when we have the bills for two years. And then, you know, youre on your own, Creem said. Theres no reason to this. I dont know whether its a grudge or what it is. Im unaware of why that is important.

Another unusual development this week came when senators on the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity voted to advance a quintet of data privacy bills without any participation from the representatives who outnumber them on the panel.

Those bills went to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, the final stop before they can emerge for a vote in the full Senate.

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Both branches supported reforms that would bifurcate committee votes, empowering only senators to vote on Senate bills and only representatives to vote on House bills, but the conference committee still has not finished its work on the joint rules package that would put that change in effect.

Creem said Thursday that the Cybersecurity Committees Senate chair, Michael Moore of Millbury, had an agreement with co-chair Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield that senators would act on the bills they wanted to advance.

Senator Moore would not have polled that bill out unless his co-chair agreed to it, Creem said. So I want to differentiate between that and what happened [with Oliveira]. There was a meeting of the minds between the two committee chairs, and they were in agreement to do that.

A reporter asked if Moran and Creem think, absent a final joint rules package, individual committee chairs using their own interpretations or reaching verbal agreements to lay out an untraditional process is a good way for lawmaking to unfold.

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I think you know the answer to that, Moran replied.

I think it would be better to have predictability, Creem added.

Moran said conference committee members have come to agreement on two dozen provisions that were still unresolved at their first meeting, leaving close to 30 other areas with remaining disagreement. He added there are a lot of areas where I think we are very close.

Its not clear when the conference committee will hold its third meeting. Moran said it will likely be open to the public.

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.

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Topeka residents frustrated by water meter charge, city responds

TOPEKA (KSNT)  For years, only Topeka residents with active water meters have paid into the citys utility system.

Those users were also covering the cost for thousands of inactive meters, properties not using water but connected to the citys infrastructure. Now thats changing. The city introduced a readiness to serve charge last year, a monthly fee for every water meter, whether its active or not. Residents like Cheri Smith were caught off guard when she received a new utility bill. A monthly charge for her inactive water meter that hasnt been used in over a decade.

Topeka customers may notice utility bill change, impacting vacant property owners

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I just think its ridiculous. I dont think theres anything fair about it, Smith said. Nobody should have to pay for a service they are not getting. You know, its, its just, its not right.

Officials say the charge is not about usage, its about access. Previously, the cost to maintain all water meters fell on those currently using water. That meant property owners were unknowingly covering the costs of meters not in use and not even theirs.

We have always kept track of all of our meters and all of our infrastructure, and theres a cost to doing that prior to the readiness to serve going into effect, City of Topeka Utilities Deputy Director, Nicole Malott said. That cost is being borne by everyone else except for the property owner who is experiencing the benefit.

The new fee amount is based off of the size of your meter. It is now applied to all meters, even those that are turned off. The city says its not a penalty, rather a way to fund the citys infrastructure fairly.

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Some property owners say the change was poorly communicated and seems more like a cash grab than a cost distribution fix.

So, I just think its extortion, Smith said. I think its getting people over a barrel. Its you know, they know that a lot of people are just too tired and too busy to fight. I waited two months to start fighting it.

The city says the readiness to serve charge will help hold property owners responsible for their inactive meters, especially as the infrastructure ages.

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.

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KENTUCKY (FOX 56)  The FOX 56 Weather Authority has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Pulaski County and moved into Laurel County on Friday night into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, FOX 56 chief meteorologist Justin Logan said a tornado moved toward Laurel County from Pulaski County at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.

Around 12:40 a.m. on Saturday, FOX 56 meteorologist Justin Esterly noted that a tornado had been confirmed heading toward Hyden at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Weather team members said the tornado is heading east from the Hyden area toward Perry County.

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Just after 1 a.m. on Saturday, the Laurel County Fiscal Court posted on Facebook that a tornado had pummeled the area, sharing video of buildings, cars, trees, and other infrastructure damaged by the storm.

Beshear confirms at least 19 dead after Kentucky storms

The Somerset Fire Department posted on Facebook around 11 p.m. on Friday that crews were dispatched to Stoplight 22 as well as the Parkers Mill Road area in response to weather damage caused by tornado activity.

On Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said an initial survey showed that an EF2 or possible low-end EF3 tornado touched down Friday night on the Russell-Pulaski County border and traveled into into the Somerset area.

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NWS officials said two survey teams would be in Laurel County on Sunday to do additional surveying on the strength of the tornadoes into Monday.

Laurel County tornado victims look toward future as law enforcement cracks down on looters

Around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, NWS officials sent an alert that said surveys found at least EF3 damage in Laurel County neighborhoods near and west of the London-Corbin Airport. Their analysis is still ongoing.

Fire officials in Somerset asked community members to stay indoors and not to travel to areas impacted by tornado damage so that crews could safely respond to emergency calls for rescue.

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Kentucky State Police (KSP) Post 11 told FOX 56 News that troopers are working as hard as possible to respond to calls and asked that those in need of nonemergency help call their local law enforcement dispatch center, allowing those in need of emergency help to use 911.

All tornado warnings had expired in the FOX 56 Kentucky viewing area by 1:45 a.m. on Saturday.

On Monday, NWS officials released details of a preliminary report for Russell County. The report said the storms intensity peaked at EF3 at 140 miles per hour near Eli. The information is only for the portion of the storm in Russell County, which tracked into Pulaski and Laurel counties.

After conducting damage assessments in Pulaski and Laurel Counties, the NWS determined wind speeds reached 170 miles per hour and were determined to be an EF4.

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At its widest, the tornado was almost a mile wide, and the track in total spanned 55.6 miles between Russell, Pulaski, and Laurel Counties.

Officials emphasized that this proved to be the deadliest tornado in the areas history. The last tornado that impacted Laurel County was in 2012, which was also fatal.

In Pulaski, the last confirmed tornado was only three years ago. But no one had lost their lives due to tornado activity since April 1974.

Madylin Goins contributed to this story.

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Troy Walker is preparing for the end. His race against time started a year and a half ago, and he is running on fumes as he seeks assistance from the La Crosse County and the Social Security Administration.

Walker suffers from a list of serious health conditions. Liver failure, hypertensive heart, a bad leg, embolus pulmonary, blood from injuries not coagulating and extreme mental health disorders are just some of the conditions on his inventory.

He speculated that many of his issues stem from a gastric bypass operation he had four years ago and his familys health history.

The doctor said, Weve got to get this weight off you, and then when they did, to be honest with you, it seemed like things started progressively getting worse, Walker said. Everythings catching up to me.

Walker believes his time is short. His heart and liver conditions can lead to sudden organ failure, so he has adopted a mindset that he could go any day. He even has consulted with a local funeral home.

My daughter, shes young. ... Shes having a hard time, too, but she doesnt quite understand all this, Walker said. I planned my life. I went to Schumacher down the road. I found out whats going to cost me and stuff like that.

He passed his final wishes to a close friend and has started deciding what possessions he will save for his daughter.

Walker has been out of work for the past year and a half because of his health, and the lack of income has created issues with essential payments. His final straw will be to sell his home in La Crosse and all of his possessions to keep him afloat.

I dont have anything. I mean, what you see is what I have in the house. Thats it. I dont have a car. I can drive, I just dont. The last two years now Ive burned through my 401K because I had no money coming in, Walker said.

Before totally waving the flag, Walker is seeking Social Security Disability Insurance. He said his first application was denied, and he is working on an appeal. He also said it is becoming too little too late.

With his health conditions, Walker has concluded that he will not last long out on the street if he has to sell his home. He struggles to walk, has trouble breathing and does not heal from injuries.

The race for Walkers future is now between a decision from the Social Security Administration and the assets he has left.

Medical professionals at the Disability Determination Bureau and the Social Security Administration use piles of information requested to find one thing: Is the applicant able to work in a meaningful way?

Determining disability

By the Social Security Administrations definition, substantial work requires a persons full ability to perform mentally and physically meaningful work. Essentially, substantial work requires substantial ability to be performed.

The administration also looks at how gainful work is for the applicant. Gainful work is performed for pay or profit, is usually performed for pay or is intended to generate profit, whether or not it is profitable.

If an applicant is currently performing work that is substantial and gainful, they will likely not qualify for benefits. If the applicant is not found to have substantial gainful work, they have passed the first of five steps in determining disability.

The next four steps look at the severity of the applicants impairment and the ability of the applicant to work in any capacity. The rules bend depending on the applicants experience and education, according to La Crosse County Aging & Disability Resource Center suervisor Jenna Helminski Juve.

Helminski Juve said she could not speak about details of any specific request for benefits, but talked generally about the process.

Say youre a truck driver. If youve been a truck driver for 30-40 years and thats all youve ever done. Now youre 50 years old, are you going to go back and retrain yourself? Helminski Juve said. Now say you have a degree and you were doing X. You might have a physical limitation from doing X, but that doesnt mean you cant sit and do a job over the phone or something that involves brain work.

Walker has a work history in sales and college credits. He said his medical conditions prevent him from taking a job at his home desk, plus his internet and phone services routinely get cut off due to missed payments.

To prove he cannot work, Walker must present his medical history and current state as evidence he cannot provide substantial gainful work for an employer or himself.

The only way to immediately see benefits is to have a condition on the compassionate allowances list. There are 278 conditions on the list, all of which have accelerated timelines toward death or a more severe disability.

Despite Walkers list of ongoing issues, he does not make the compassionate allowance list. His main fear is that he wont get benefits in time before he is made homeless or his conditions worsen.

I have no idea whats going to happen tomorrow. I dont know if Penny Mac is going to want to do a foreclosure. I dont know, Walker said. Ive lost hope because I cant count on this anymore. I hate to say it. I cant count on people anymore.

Wrapping his head around the process has been burdensome. The decision process for disability insurance can last many months. Cases filed in 2023 had expected wait times of a year or more.

Other people get it. I dont. I dont know why I dont, Walker said.

Walker has provided medical records and evidence for considering his disability. Now, he said, it is mostly a waiting game beneath a blanket of uncertainty.

Seeking benefits

Applying for Social Security payments carries a sort of urban legend with them.

They always say you get denied the first time, Walker said. It feels like they want to test how much you want it.

In the Social Security Administrations most recent report, only 19% of applicants were awarded disability benefits with their first application in 2021. The highest acceptance rate in recent history was in 2010, when just under 23% of applicants received initial awards.

On average, 67% of applicants are denied Social Security Disability Insurance. There are two types of denials for applicants: medical or technical.

A medical denial happens when an applicant is determined able to work or heal within a year, given the skills and education they have. Applicants can also be denied if their impairments stem from addiction or alcoholism.

A technical denial can occur if the applicant has not paid into Social Security enough in their life, missed a follow-up deadline, has too much income or there are discrepancies in their application. The only detail guaranteed to deny an applicant is their income level being too high.

The application process for Social Security is intense, and simple mistakes along the way can disqualify an applicant quickly. Deadlines are tight, background checks are thorough and waiting on a decision is drawn out.

It is daunting, Helminski Juve said. It is bureaucracy at its finest in all honesty, truly.

According to the Social Security Administration, almost 8,000 Wisconsin residents 19-64 years old were awarded disability insurance payments in 2022. The total number of Wisconsin residents receiving benefits in 2022 reached 147,000.

In Minnesota, the number of disabled benefit recipients is a bit lower. In 2022, 114,000 Minnesotans received disability benefits. Most benefit recipients in both states were working-age adults.

You cant give up

In the basement of the La Crosse Main Library on Monday night, Patty Netwall and Mary Wruck stood in front of 20 empty chairs and two Zoom guests on a laptop.

The duo hosted a workshop for county residents with questions about Social Security benefits. With packets of information to comb through in any application, the two aim to simplify the instructions and encourage more eligible people to apply.

Netwall and Wruck are benefits specialists working for the Aging and Disability Resources Center in La Crosse. The two are responsible for working individual Social Security cases and guiding applicants through the process.

You have to follow through on each step. You cant give up, Wruck said. If they send you anything with a deadline, you have to see it through. Even if its feeling like a lot, it is much more worth it to just finish the application and follow-ups.

If an applicant drops out, the time spent on it cannot be considered in a future application. The Social Security Administration will only use events that happened after the first application window. But, if someone completes the application and is denied, they can still use that first application window on a later application.

This presents a challenge for people who are homeless. Locating and contacting people without a specific address is notoriously difficult for any agency. Missing an important deadline can constitute a technical denial, closing months of potential health history from future applications.

Were working with Salvation Army making the ADRC services and, in particular, benefit counseling more accessible to people who have the greatest need. Bringing our services to them versus asking them to come to the office is important to us right now, Helminski Juve said.

For Walker, losing progress on his application is becoming a real concern. Without an address, a working phone and internet services, Walker fears he will be left in the cold at an important crossroads.

Case workers from New York recently were contracted to help Walker with his appeal. He said he hopes the extra attention will move things along, even if it means more phone calls and organizing.

I just want a decision, some clarity, no matter what they decide. Even if they deny me, I just need to know so I can figure out what Im doing from here, Walker said. The uncertainty is one thing, but I know the inevitable is coming. And Im not talking about death. Well, thats bad, too. But Im talking about how I dont know where Im going to be living.
May 17A Miami Twp. official accused of misusing his authority will now face a state investigation.

Township officials allege that Fiscal Officer Bob Matthews improperly withdrew township funds and attempted to send money to coin dealers. When the transaction was flagged as unauthorized, Matthews allegedly tried to fire the finance director who blocked it.

Last month, trustees reported Matthews for violating state laws and township policies, referring the case to the Ohio Auditor's Office. Initially, the Auditor of State's Office declined to investigate, stating that Miami Twp.'s financial system had detected and stopped the attempted transaction.

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However, Auditor of State spokesman Marc Kovac told this news outlet that at the request of the township's legal counsel, the office provided details on Ohio's Fiscal Integrity Act, which outlines procedures for removing officials from office.

On Friday, Kovac told the Dayton Daily News that the Auditor of State's Special Investigations Unit had opened an investigation into Miami Twp. "but that is our normal operating procedure when we receive Fiscal Integrity Act complaints, which we did in this instance from the township," he said.

"Because it's an open investigation, we have no further comment at this time," Kovac said.

When reached for comment Friday, both township Trustee President Terry Posey Jr. and Matthews declined to comment on the pending investigation.

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In a lawsuit filed last month in Montgomery County seeking an injunction, the township alleged that Matthews acted without approval when making financial agreements  including two deals totaling $9.7 million to buy 3,000 gold coins at above-market prices.

He also allegedly arranged for the coins to be stored in Texas for an annual fee. Matthews filed a response to the injunction request by its May 13 deadline, saying the lawsuit was without merit.

Asked for comment regarding that filing, he said, "I want the decision made in the court of law, not the court of public opinion."
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Nearly two years after Tropical Storm Hilary wreaked havoc on the trails and roads of Mount Charleston, two areas have finally reopened.

Deer Creek Picnic Area and Cathedral Rock Trail have both reopened. Hiker Cody Devolder spent his day checking out the new path.

The last time I was on this trail was 2019. Im so relieved things are getting back up and running. We had a nice walk, Devolder told 8 News Now.

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8 News Now got an exclusive look at the reopened areas with U.S. Forest Service Officer Taylor Tims who described the destruction that was left behind after the storm.

We got about 10 inches of rain in an hour so you can imagine the amount of water damage that caused to our trails, she said. To reopen a trail, you first need to access it and see what the damage is. In Cathedral Rock specifically there were ruts probably three to four feet deep. That entails a lot of hard labor so what we had to do is fill those holes with boulders.

Mt. Charleston (KLAS) Mt. Charleston (KLAS)

The Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act provided grant money to get the trail up and running again, but Tims said theres still a lot of work to be done.

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Mary Jane and Trail Canyon are popular trails that remain closed. The timeline for those will be around 2027, Tims added.

The Forest Service, Southern Nevada Climate Coalition and Spring Mountain Youth Camp have also played a vital role in the rebuilding process.

The lower part of Bristlecone Trail is open to hikers; however, the upper portion will remain closed until 2029.

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Jourdan Bennett-Begaye

ICT



Jeanne Givens exemplified everything it is to be a matriarch.



She was a strong woman. Compassionate, humble, generous, said her niece, Nikki Santos, whose mom, Teresa Williams, and Givens were sisters. She possessed values that we talk about as Native people that we all strive to embody, and she lived them, and she carried herself with so much grace.



Givens, also known as K'waysalqe he smi'yem, which means Cedar Woman, lost her battle to cancer and died on May 13, 2025, in Spokane, Washington, at age 73. Born on June 17, 1951 in Spokane, she was a citizen of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.



From Jeannes extensive resume, one could see that she was born to be a leader and a trailblazer for Native women.



She became the first Native American woman elected to the Idaho House of Representatives for the 4th district, serving for two terms. In this role she worked tirelessly to build trust and strengthen the relationships between the tribes and state, stated in the familys obituary.



Givens was raised around politics. She told ICT in a 2020 interview that she would regularly attend gatherings with her uncle Joe Garry, who served in the Idaho House of Representatives and state Senate.



I was raised in the environment of pushing ideas to people, she recalled and helped her uncle pass out pamphlets.

(Photo courtesy of Jeanne Givens' family)

Longtime journalist Mark Trahant recalled Jeannes impact in Idahos state legislature on Facebook.



Like her Uncle, Joe Garry, she gave Idaho a chance to be better than its scenery, wrote Trahant, the former ICT editor who now serves as board chairman for ICTs parent organization, IndiJ Public Media. My favorite story is when she served in the Idaho legislature the state was considering adding creation stories to school curriculum.



He continued: The idea was to use the Bible as a counterweight to science. I will vote for this bill on one condition. I want the creation story of the Coeur dAlene Tribe. I want the creation story of the Kootenai, the Nez Perce, the Shoshone-Paiute and the Shoshone-Bannock. She told the story from her people about the Great Flood and the little beavers and otter that dug down and got the sand to create this island. They were shocked, she said. I helped defeat the bill.



After serving in the state legislature, Givens continued to make history as the first Native American woman to run for U.S. Congress in 1988  a moment to be marked in political and U.S. histories as it inspired more Native women to run for Congress, including Ada Deer, Paulette Jordan, Deb Haaland, and Sharice Davids.



I felt like I wanted to take the next step out of the legislature. I wanted to do the next thing and I felt I had something to contribute, she said.



The possibility that she could be the first Native woman in Congress didnt weigh on her, she told ICT in an on-camera interview in 2020. She realized later it would be an awesome responsibility if she won. She lost the 1988 race by one percentage point, which encouraged her to run again in 1990. She did not win but inspired others.

WATCH at 6:20

When Haaland and Davids achieved their historic 2018 congressional wins, Jeannes daughter, Maria Givens, wrote on Facebook, I also want to acknowledge my mom, Jeanne Givens for paving the way for Congresswoman Haaland and Davids ... Its a good day to be a Native Woman.



Its a sentiment that Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Nation, echoed on social media Thursday, May 16.



Today is a day to remember that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, Flanagan said. She paved a path for many, including myself, to follow her footsteps into public service  I was sad to hear Jeanne has walked on, but its an honor to be able to speak her name and remember her legacy. Miigwech, Jeanne.



Over her 73 years, Givens spent a lot of time focused on civic rights issues and advocating for Native rights. She served on the Kootenai County Human Rights Task Force, which fought against racism in north Idaho and the Aryan Nations. The Aryan Nations was a powerful organizing force for white supremacists that cultivated a wide spectrum of racist and anti-Semitic ideas, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.



The Aryan Nations had set down their flag in north Idaho and they were present, Givens said of the group in the 1980s and early 1990s. They were taunting the public. And the public had just become complacent and quiet, and people decided that we need to organize and we need to decide what were going to stand up for.



The task force developed conversations with the community about different races, cultures and religions, she said. I think what we did as supporters of human rights, we advanced the thinking in northern Idaho, she said. Id do it again.



Givens would remind her kids and nieces that they are direct descendants of Chief Spokane, Chief Ignace Garry who was the last traditional chief of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Yakima Chief Kamiakin, and Nisqually Chief Leschi during the rise of the Aryan Nations and racism in north Idaho. And by being direct descendants, they run in our blood, said her niece, Santos.



She would always talk about it being our birthright to be here and that we belong. This is our traditional homeland, and that we are important people. I remember a lot of times her telling me, as a little girl, You are an important person. I'd never heard that before, Santos recalled.



Her aunt Jeanne had a way of making people feel seen and worthy.



One of the tricks to building that relationship with family or collaboration was her humor.



I think a lot is settled with a sense of humor, Givens told ICT in 2020. And if you could get into a good conversation with someone and have a funny story to share or exchange, it builds the relationship.

L to R: Jeanne Givens, Joe Givens (son), Yvonne Santos (niece), Nikki Santos (niece), and Maria Givens (daughter). (Photo courtesy of Nikki Santos)

Over and over her niece, Santos, remembered her aunt for being funny.



Santos remembered spending time at her aunties house every summer with her cousins, Maria and Joe Givens. Santos said they called it Camp Jeanne.



We would all sleep out on the sofa, in the living room, all of us kids together. And she tried to wake us up one morning with some classical music, but didn't realize that Britney Spears was in the CD player instead, Santos said. And so she woke us up to that, Oh, baby, baby, one morning. Santos laughed.



Auntie Jeanne always found joy and humor in the little things. She always found a way to make the kids laugh, Santos remembered. I can say that memories of my childhood that are the happiest, they're with her.



When Jeanne wasnt writing for the Boise Statesman or spending time on the Spokesman Review editorial board, she was outdoors with her family. Theyd hike at the lake or go huckleberry picking.



In 2000, Jeanne wrote a column for the Spokesman Review with the headline, It's not about the berries but the experience. She was a prolific writer, her family said.



She also directed an award-winning documentary, Russell Jim, A Quiet Warrior, which focused on Yakama tribal elder and environmental activist, Kiaux, or Russell Jim.



The filmmaker and writers media expertise contributed to IndiJ Public Medias growth and big vision. IndiJ is the owner of ICT. She served on the nonprofits board until April 2025.



Trahant, now board chair, said, Jeanne knew I loved huckleberry, and from time to time brought me one of her delicious jams.



Jeanne Givens contributed so much to ICT and the IndiJ Public Media where she served on the board of directors, he said. She brought with her the experience of serving on other nonprofit and college boards, helping shape our business plans and fundraising strategy. As a former broadcaster and columnist, she knew first-hand the challenges of a media organization and she was always willing to champion our cause. She will be missed.

Jeanne Givens with ICT and IndiJ Public Media employees and other board members in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. (Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, ICT)

She was appointed to several boards by Idaho Gov. John Evans, such as the Statewide Health Planning Council and the Idaho Association for the Humanities. Former President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Institute of American Indian Arts board of trustees in 1997 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.



Givens studied sociology at Whitworth University and received her masters degree in education from Gonzaga University.



She kept on writing after she retired, building on stories of her mother Celina, working on a yet-to-be published memoir, according to the family obituary.



She also kept busy quilting and sewing, and raised her two kids, Maria and Joe, with her husband of nearly 47 years, Ray Givens. Ray and Jeanne were married in 1978.



Givens is survived by daughter Maria Givens, and faithful grand-dog Rusty; siblings: Jackie Koelbel, Judy Greene, Sue Garry, Teresa Williams, David Zarate; nieces and nephews: Mary Lease, Nancy Koelbel, Joanna Wolfe, Julia Koelbel, Sandy Martinez, Eric Greene, James Finley, Yvonne Santos, Nikki Santos, and Gabe Zarate.



Givens was preceded in death by her father Jack Iyall, mother Celina Gary Goolsby, son Joe Givens, and husband Ray Givens.



Santos said they now have a responsibility and want to continue her legacy. That legacy being Jeannes leadership, always putting community first, putting our people first, fighting for our culture and our ways.



The family states in the obituary: In honor of Jeanne's lifelong dedication to advocacy and public service, donations may be made to ICT: https://indijpublicmedia.org.

SERVICES FOR JEANNE GIVENS



Monday, May 19, 2025

Dinner to be served at 6 p.m. local time

Rosary to follow at 7 p.m.

With commemoration to Raymond Givens



Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Mass at 10 a.m.

Burial, feed and giveaway to follow



All services will be held at Evangeline Abraham Longhouse DeSmet, Idaho

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Commander Emily Shilling served nearly 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a combat aviator with over 60 missions. Fighter pilots are very hard for the military to find, nonetheless. Shilling will be removed from service by Donald Trumps Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. So will many others, like former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck, who served 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, including with SEAL Team Six. She earned the Bronze Star with Combat V, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Purple Heart.

Shilling and Beck are heroes the military will never get back, and the absence of service members like them will make America less ready, endanger troops, and hurt recruiting efforts.

Yet, these folks arent good enough to serve for Trump, who just banned transgender service members for the second time. His first effort was reversed by Joe Biden; this time, the Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect as the matter winds its way through the courts. A Trump ally, Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) has introduced legislation to codify Trumps executive order and ensure no Democratic president can undo the damage he has caused.

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Hegseths service could never compare to that of Shilling or Beck, even though Hegseth likes to pretend to be a Navy SEAL as he sycophantically follows them around the country during special events. Trump never served a day in his life. That is why it is odd to me and to many others that they are so adamant about preventing transgender troops  and likely, before his term ends, gay Americans  from serving in the armed forces.

Trumps disdain and disrespect for veterans will go down in history as reprehensible, as will Moores, who voted against the bipartisan PACT Act, which expanded health care and benefits to millions of veterans, and numerous other bipartisan veterans legislation.

Transgender Americans have served with honor  from the decks of aircraft carriers to combat zones around the globe. They fly missions, lead teams, and complete the same rigorous training as everyone else in the military.

Now, Trump and Hegseth are reportedly planning to direct military commanders to identify troops who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, so they can undergo medical checks and then be purged.

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This policy is an ethical failure and will be a logistical one, too. Removing thousands of trained service members during a recruiting crisis makes us weaker, not stronger. Forcing out skilled troops, pilots, linguists, mechanics, medics, because they sought medically necessary care or live authentically doesnt protect national security. It undermines it.

That is not about readiness. That is about hate. If Trump cared about military readiness, he would invest in veterans programs and bolster rewards for service  not dismantle the Department of Veterans Affairs, as Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency have done.

Many trans service members will now have to closet themselves in fear. They will be forced to self identify promptly. If they havent figured that out yet, then the rest of their service will be a minefield. Any military leader will tell you that fear is no way to lead, and it reduces readiness and hurts the fighting force. If only Trump, Musk, or Hegseth actually had the military knowledge, or cared about command leadership.

If youre wondering what the long-term strategy is, its simple: drive transgender Americans out of public life, one agency at a time  and purge military leaders so they cant stop it. It starts at the military, it always does with authoritarians. Then health care, education, civil service. The goal is to make trans people invisible. But it will not stop there. Anyone who is different will be erased from the military, just as Hegseth and Trump are erasing the contributions of women, minorities, people of color, and gay Americans from official military history  an area where the Supreme Court and federal law cannot easily intervene.

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Trumps policies are dangerous, and anyone who supports his whitewashing of our military is complicit. These changes will shrink the number of qualified service members and turn the U.S. military into a place built by and for white men alone, weakening our forces, undermining readiness, and leaving us at a disadvantage. That is exactly the kind of military despots, dictators, and religious extremists would love to see.

We cannot wait for the next election to fix this. We need voices inside and outside the military to speak up now and say: enough. We will not purge our military. We will not gender-wash, trans-wash, gay-wash, or whitewash our ranks. We will fight back  with truth, with honor, and with the conviction that our strength comes from our diversity, not in spite of it.

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The U.S. State Department has a message for anyone considering travel to Peru: exercise increased caution.

Peru is home to the famed archeological wonder of Machu Picchu as well as other popular destinations such as the Inca Trail and the Sacred Valley.

But crime, civil unrest and even kidnapping are all dangers in the country of Peru, particularly in certain portions, according to an updated travel advisory from Friday.

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Crime is common in Peru, the warning reads. Petty theft, carjackings, muggings, assaults, and other violent crime often happen even in daylight hours and with many witnesses around.

The notice said that kidnapping is rare, but that it does occur, and that the risk of crime increases at night.

Criminal groups sometimes set up roadblocks to rob people in areas outside of Lima, the travel advisory continues.

The travel advisory told travelers not to travel to the Colombia-Peru border area in the Loreto Region, the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro rivers and some areas within the regions of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica and Junin. Crime and terrorism are possible in those areas, the advisory continued.

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Drug trafficking and poor infrastructure in the above regions make it difficult for Peruvian law enforcement to operate.

The advisory stressed that while portions of the region of Cusco are especially dangerous, the city of Cusco and popular tourist sites nearby including Sacred Valley, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu are not located in the affected area.

The advisory stressed to travelers to avoid using the drugs ayahuasca and kambo, due to people having suffered serious illness and in some cases death.

The notice also warned that public demonstrations can take place for political and economic reasons and can shut down local roads, trains and even major highways.

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The advisory stated travelers should keep the following in mind if they decide to travel to Peru:

Stay aware of your surroundings.

Visit the State Department website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.

Check local media for breaking news. Be prepared to adjust your plans.

Avoid demonstrations and large crowds.

Develop a communication plan with family or your employer or host organization (if you are traveling on business), so that they can monitor your safety and location as you travel through high-risk areas. Specify how youll confirm youre safe (text, calls, etc.), how often, and who youll contact first to share the information.

Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive messages and Alerts from the U.S. Embassy and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.

Review the Country Security Report for Peru.

Prepare a plan for emergency situations. Review the Travelers Checklist.

Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel and return to the United States.

Buy insurance before you travel. Check with your travel insurance provider about evacuation assistance, medical insurance, and trip cancellation coverage.

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PIKE COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN)  A deadly crash over the weekend in Pike County has killed a Troy man and sent another to a Wiregrass hospital.

Officials say James Thompson, 58, of Troy, was fatally injured when the SUV he was driving collided head-on with a truck driven by Robert Wise, 57, of Luverne. Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene, while Wise was rushed to a Dothan hospital for treatment.

Officials say Thompson was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

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The crash occurred on U.S. 29 near the 158-mile marker, approximately eight miles north of Luverne, in Pike County.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division will continue to investigate but does not plan to release any new information 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 WDHN - wdhn.com.
The worlds media descended on New York this week to churn out wall-to-wall coverage from the trial of the century where Sean Diddy Combs is in the dock for sex trafficking.

But legacy media journalists must jostle with true crime sleuths and podcasters for a coveted place inside the courthouse.

Resplendent in navy blue braces and a fedora, Sean Gunby prepares to go live to his 160,000 followers in his 1950s-esque garb.

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Yo, we live, we down here, Lower Manhattan, Puffy trial, we dont never stop, he begins, the federal courthouse towering behind him.

Usually the 56-year-old podcaster from New Jersey shares tips on keeping fit over 50 with his followers, but this week he is among scores of influencers who have flocked to cover the criminal trial.

Lauren Conlin is among the group of podcasters who have decided to cover the trial - Adam Gray

The first week of the trial has centred on explosive testimony from Cassie Ventura, the rappers ex-girlfriend, who has claimed she was physically and emotionally abused and coerced into taking part in days-long drug-fuelled freak-off sex parties that became like a full-time job.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

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It is chaotic outside the courthouse, with fans of Combs arriving throughout the day. Some play his music and honk their horns as they drive past.

Im a fan of Puff so I just wanted to come down and get to the bottom of it and hear it for myself, Mr Gunby tells The Telegraph as he stands in front of the tripod he has carefully set up in front of the courthouse.

Sean Gunby records himself outside the court on Friday - Adam Gray

Mr Gunby has been arriving at 7.30am each day and streaming from outside before court begins. He watches proceedings from the overflow room, where the trial is live streamed, and updates his fans during lunch and afterwards. His followers are rapt.

People are interested because my followers trust me because they know that Im authentic, I have integrity, Im gonna call a spade a spade, he says.

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Mr Gunby, who is wearing a freshly pressed Hickey Freeman pinstripe suit, believes appearances are important.

If you look good you feel good, he says.

YouTuber Tisa Tells, has flown in from Montana to cover the trial for her more than 500,000 followers. She has been in the courtroom each day, paying a professional queuer $600 to join the line from 5pm each day to secure her a space in the courtroom the following morning.

Its a pretty penny, but thank goodness theres lots of fan funding so it works out, she says.

She started her channel five-years-ago, describing herself as Karmas chief correspondent. Her past reporting included the Johnny Depp trial.

Tisa Tells updates her YouTube subscribers on the trial as she records outside court - Adam Gray

I just wanted to get into the space, because I thought I had an opinion that could really add something to the conversation, she says after going live to her followers from the courthouse steps during the lunch break. The video has 33,000 views within one hour.

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The interest is voracious every time I cover the Diddy trial... its like gaining like, hundreds of followers a day, she says.

Lauren Conlin, a freelance journalist, is among the true crime podcasters sitting through court hearings for her 70,000 followers across YouTube and TikTok.

Combss trial is by far the biggest trial Ms Conlin, 40, who runs the PopCrime TV channel, has reported on. She has been running her podcast The Outlier for five years.

Im finding it to be uncomfortable, really hard to sit through a lot of the testimony, she says.

On Thursday she paid a line sitter hundreds of dollars to queue for her, but they left the line one minute before she arrived, losing her a spot in the courtroom.

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It was heartbreaking, I almost cried, she says.

Lauren Conlin, centre, says she is finding the case uncomfortable to sit through - Adam Gray

Ms Conlin is recording video updates for her followers in the afternoon break and after court adjourns in which she goes through the days testimony.

I could not believe it yesterday, the appetite for who wants to know whats going on, she says, before showing me a video that got 4.9 million views on X. Her following on the platform jumped from 6,000 to more than 16,000.

For Marvin, who runs the account Big Apple Vibes on TikTok, interest in the Combs trial saw his following swell from 8,000 on Monday to more than 40,000 by Friday afternoon.

Marvin, who did not want to give his last name, streams live from outside the court from 8am until 5.30pm, pausing for lunch and to recharge his batteries.

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He began his channel in December 2024, making AI videos and streaming walking tours of New York, because he was bored and his friends told him to stop being such a hermit crab.

He says there has been crazy interest in the Combs case.

Marvins following on TikTok has grown to 40,000 - Adam Gray

People really want to because its a trial of the century. Its a big, big deal, he adds.

I dont go inside [the court] because you have to really relinquish all your phones and devices, he says.

Marvin is now getting decent revenue from TikTok. I do need money. Who doesnt?, he says.

Curious members of the public also find themselves queuing for up to 14 hours to secure a spot in the courthouse.

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Personal trainer Justin B, waited from 5pm on Monday night to claim a seat in the courtroom on Tuesday, making sure not to eat or drink so he did not need to leave the line to use the bathroom.

I just came to show support and see what was happening, he says, adding that he is there for both parties.

Its a reality check, it shows you how regular people are, because on TV hes [Combs] larger than life but here hes a regular man fighting for his life and a man that did things that he might need to pay for I guess, he says.

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 is urging the Supreme Court to allow its plans to fire thousands of federal workers to proceed.

In an emergency appeal on Friday, the administration pushed the highest court in the country to lift an order by a lower court temporarily stopping the firings.

Its the latest attempt by the administration to cut back the federal workforce, and it came after the Supreme Court lifted a lower court order last month that blocked mass layoffs of probationary workers at six departments, Politico reported.

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The new attempt is an even broader effort to fire federal workers, which several agencies are looking to terminate according to an executive order from February that states that Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.

Last week, Clinton appointee U.S. District Judge Susan Illston blocked the administration from enacting the firings.

In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Solicitor General John Sauer claimed that the judge incorrectly encroached on President Donald Trumps unquestioned legal authority to plan and carry out firings and to reorganize the federal workers.

Solicitor General John Sauer argued for the Supreme Court to allow the Trump administration to fire thousands of federal workers (Getty Images)

More concretely, the order has brought to a halt numerous in-progress [reductions in force] at more than a dozen federal agencies, compelling the government to retain  at taxpayer expense  thousands of employees whose continuance in federal service is determined by agencies not to be in the government and public interest, Sauer wrote, claiming that the order from Illston has stopped 40 current reductions in force at 17 agencies.

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Trumps order was challenged by the largest federal workers unions in the U.S. as well as a number of nonprofit organizations and local governments. Additionally, more than 20 Democratic-leaning states have filed briefs in support of the workers.

Illston held that the Trump administration isnt adhering to the legal and procedural requirements that apply when governments want to enact mass firings, such as the amount of time that a worker has been at an agency.

She noted that a president has to have the cooperation of the legislative branch when putting in place massive reorganizations that the president is pushing for. Illston noted that Trump called on Congress to pass a bill to support similar efforts during his first stint in the White House.

The order issued by Illston shielded 21 agencies, including the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the departments of Commerce, Energy, Interior, Health and Human Services, State, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, the National Labor Relations Board, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, Americorps, and Social Security Administration.
When a Guatemalan man sued the Trump administration in March for deporting him to Mexico despite a fear of persecution , immigration officials had a response: The man told them himself he was not afraid to be sent there.

But in a late Friday court filing, the administration acknowledged that this claim  a key plank of the governments response to a high-stakes class action lawsuit  was based on erroneous information.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials now say they have no record of anyone being told by the man, identified only by the initials O.C.G. in court papers, that he was unafraid of going to Mexico. The error, they say, was attributable to a software tool known as ICEs ENFORCE alien removal module that tracks individual deportation cases and allows staff to insert comments.

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Upon further investigation  ICE was unable to identify an officer or officers who asked O.C.G. if he feared a return to Mexico, said Brian Ortega, assistant field office director for ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations, in a sworn statement to the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit.

The mistake may have been costly: The judge overseeing the lawsuit said last month he did not order the administration to facilitate O.C.G.s immediate return from Mexico in part because of the dispute. Instead, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee based in Massachusetts, ordered expedited fact-finding, which helped unearth the mistake.

ICEs acknowledgment is the latest in a string of errors that have led judges to fault the administration for attempting to carry out President Donald Trumps mass deportation campaign at a breakneck pace  often at the expense of due process .

It occurred in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man  accused of gang ties by the administration  who was hurriedly deported to his home country in violation of a court order that found he could be a target for violence by a local gang. It also occurred in the case of Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador in March despite a court-approved settlement requiring the administration to adjudicate his asylum claim first.

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Many of those targeted by Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act  a wartime power the administration has wielded to speed deportations of those the government deems terrorists or gang members  have claimed they were erroneously identified as members of a violent Venezuelan gang. The Supreme Court on Friday blocked Trump from another round of Alien Enemies Act deportations , warning that the administration had failed to provide a meaningful chance for those targeted to contest their designation as gang members.

O.C.G.s case is part of a separate lawsuit against the administrations decision to rely on so-called third countries for deportation. Under the administrations policy, if an immigrants home country wont accept them, or they have a legitimate fear of returning, authorities may send them to an alternate country instead.

However, Murphy has blocked such deportations without notice, saying those deported under the third country policy must have a similar opportunity to raise challenges and legitimate fears of torture or persecution.

O.C.G.s case was one of the original factors in Murphys decision. The man said he fled Guatemala in April 2024 to escape persecution. He claims that while crossing through Mexico, he was targeted for being gay, raped and held captive until his sister paid a ransom. He then arrived in the United States.

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In February 2025, a judge granted him withholding of removal to Guatemala, finding his fear of persecution to be legitimate. But the administration quickly deported him to Mexico without notice, his attorneys sa

In his ruling blocking third-country deportations without notice, Murphy referenced the administrations claim that O.C.G. had told ICE he was unafraid to return to Mexico, but he said he didnt buy it because it was based on hearsay from Ortega. However, because of the dispute, Murphy declined to immediately order the government to facilitate O.C.G.s return from Mexico. Its unclear whether the admission from the Trump administration will alter his thinking.

The administration has appealed Murphys order to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with Murphy on Friday and rejected the governments effort to quickly lift the block on third-country deportations.
(Reuters) -The White House and congressional officials have been scrutinizing Apple's plan to strike a deal with Alibaba to make the Chinese company's AI available on iPhones in China, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

U.S. authorities were concerned that the deal would help a Chinese company to improve its artificial intelligence capacities, broaden the reach of Chinese chatbots with censorship limits and deepen Apple's exposure to Beijing laws over censorship and data sharing, the paper said, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Apple and Alibaba did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In February, Alibaba confirmed its partnership with Apple to support iPhones' AI services offering in China.

For Alibaba, the partnership is a major win in China's competitive AI market that is home to DeepSeek, which made headlines this year with models developed at a fraction of the cost of Western rivals.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the NYT report.

(Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in BengaluruEditing by Gareth Jones and Susan Fenton)
May 16WASHINGTON  Inland Northwest leaders from both parties are expressing outrage at the federal decision announced Wednesday to withdraw $48 million in funding that was awarded in January to create an aerospace technology hub in Airway Heights.

In a statement announcing the decision, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he believes the program "can ensure that critical industries, companies, and jobs start, grow, and remain in the United States," but he had determined that the process to award the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area and five other regions with grants was "rushed, opaque, and unfair."

"Administration officials did not make prospective applicants aware of the competition and chose awardees using outdated applications submitted nearly a year earlier," Lutnick said. "A rushed process using outdated information is no way to invest taxpayer funds."

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Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and a chief architect of the legislation that created the tech hub program, ripped the decision by Lutnick to revoke funding, calling it an unnecessary delay for future aerospace jobs critical to the country's economic success.

"Are they actually trying to lose the race? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at his confirmation hearing that he would not withhold previous awards from the Biden Administration," Cantwell said in a statement. "This is causing us chaos and uncertainty in a race against world competitors to build high rate manufactured composites likely to determine which country wins the aerospace future."

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican who represents Spokane, responded with a statement that called the decision "disappointing" and said it "puts the entire effort at unnecessary and potentially irreversible risk."

"The Department is walking away from a selection process it has already completed, undermining the work of more than 50 committed local, academic, federal, and industry partners who stepped up in good faith," Baumgartner said. "That said, if the Department insists on re-competing these funds, Spokane will be ready."

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Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, in a statement, called the grant revocation "an unnecessary setback" to the economic viability of the region.

"This stunning reversal undermines the hard work of public and private partners who have spent years preparing for this investment and the economic opportunities it would bring," Brown said in the statement. "This decision is a mistake for our regional and national economy. The $48 million in tech hub funding was a down payment to secure American competitiveness in aerospace manufacturing."

Saying the Spokane region deserves better, Brown said she would be "calling on our congressional delegation to join me in demanding the Trump Administration reverse this decision."

Baumgartner said the Airway Heights facility, which was slated to produce next-generation composite materials in the former Triumph Composite Systems factory that used to produce components for Boeing aircraft, "offers unmatched capabilities in aerospace materials, backed by the strength of institutions like Fairchild Air Force Base, Gonzaga, Eastern, and Whitworth."

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"I will fight to ensure this process is fair and transparent," the congressman said.

The news is particularly harsh for Gonzaga, which was informed earlier this month by the Environmental Protection Agency that it will revoke a $20 million grant finalized to the the university last July to respond to climate change in Spokane.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the decision "unprecedented and nothing short of an outrage," accusing Lutnick and President Donald Trump of "wrongfully ripping away federal dollars owed to Spokane."

"This would have never happened under nearly any other administration  yet now we are all faced with a pointless and costly setback for Spokane's economy and future," Murray said in a statement.

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"Our constituents are losing $48 million for no other reason than Donald Trump's absurd political games. Every single one of us should speak out  and the Trump administration should immediately reverse course," she said, pledging to "do everything within my power to fight for Spokane and I do not plan to give this administration any cover for this outrageous decision."

In a letter to Lutnick on Wednesday, obtained by The Spokesman-Review, Cantwell and Murray were joined by Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, both Republicans, calling on the secretary to support the tech hub that promised to boost the economy of both states.

"We urge you to support this vital aerospace manufacturing initiative, which is already catalyzing a manufacturing renaissance in the Pacific Northwest," the four senators wrote. "This is about America's ability to reclaim critical manufacturing capabilities and our determination to lead the world in the technologies that will define this century."

In his statement announcing the reversal, Lutnick said he intends to release a new call for applications in summer and announce a new round of awards in early 2026. In a separate fact sheet, the Commerce Department said it will review the program for compliance with Trump's executive orders and applicants must remove from their applications any references to the policy priorities of the Biden administration, including "references prioritizing unions" and anything that conflicts with Trump's energy policies or his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

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The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to questions about specific objections to the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene tech hub, which of Trump's executive orders may affect its award decisions and whether being previously awarded funds will have any bearing on the new round of awards.

Reporter Thomas Clouse contributed to this report.

Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
President Trumps legislative agenda is hanging by a thread as House Republican leaders scramble to make last-minute changes to their big, beautiful bill and cut deals to appease warring factions of the party.

The latest setback came Friday, when four spending hawks tanked a key vote in the House Budget Committee to advance the legislation as they dug in on demands for further cuts. The failed vote came despite Trump urging GOP lawmakers to STOP GRANDSTANDING and unify, and it forced the committee into an extended recess.

The hard-line conservatives on the Budget panel, however, are just the start of leaderships problem. Top Republicans must also contend with demands from blue-state moderate Republicans to increase the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, all while trying to meet their self-imposed deadline of getting a package through the chamber by Memorial Day  a goal that is becoming more and more sky-high amid the snafus.

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For now, however, leaders are sticking by the plan.

What we would do is just call the vote again, and I suspect in very near term we will have a resolution, and Ill get all the votes we need to pass it out of committee, House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told reporters after the failed vote.

The next test for the panel will be late Sunday night, when the House Budget Committee is scheduled to reconvene at 10 p.m. EDT to revote on advancing the megabill. After that, it heads to the House Rules Committee  which will make last-minute changes  before hitting the floor and facing the razor-thin GOP majority.

Leadership has its work cut out for it.

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In the short-term, top lawmakers have to reach an agreement with the quartet of spending hawks  Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.)  to get the bill through the Budget Committee, which will require negotiation on a number of fronts.

The groups main gripe with the bill revolves around the delayed implementation of the beefed-up Medicaid work requirements, which would require childless adults aged 19-64 to prove they work, go to school or volunteer for 80 hours a month. Under the current proposal, however, the change doesnt take effect until 2029  four years too late for the hard-liners, who want it applied immediately.

Work-related requirements, four years, able-bodied men? No, its not four years, Norman told reporters during the Budget hearing. Its not that complicated, and thats what we said.

Hard-liners also want to speed-up the rollback of many green energy tax credits that Democrats enacted in 2022, when they had full control of Washington.

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All the growth on the electric grid, the United States electric grid, in the last two years, the super-majority of it is wind and solar displacing natural gas, and were delaying the implementation [of] cutting that stuff off until 2028? Brecheen asked. There are things that have to be worked out.

Top House Republicans expressed optimism and touted progress Friday, despite the failed vote. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said leaders were discussing the implementation timeline with the Trump administration.

Weve got a pretty clear idea of what the final pieces are, and were working through those right now, Scalise told reporters. Weve still got a few more steps to go, we all know what those steps are, we all know the remaining work we have to get done, and were in the process of doing that work right now.

Separately, GOP leaders are also haggling with the centrist Republicans clamoring for a hike in the SALT cap. The current cap of $10,000 was created by the GOPs 2017 tax law, adopted in Trumps first term, but lawmakers from high-income states say the policy hurts middle-class households, not just the wealthy taxpayers it was designed to impact.

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In response, leadership increased the figure to $30,000, but that hasnt appeased the GOP critics, particularly those in New York, New Jersey and California, who want it hiked even higher. Like the conservative holdouts, they say theyre ready to oppose the entire package unless theyre satisfied with the SALT provision.

Well get something done as soon as a number is offered that meets our criteria, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said Thursday. That can happen in one minute, one day, one month.

Or maybe it never happens.

Yet SALT is also a major sticking point for the conservatives. They say theyre fine with an increase in the cap, but theyre insisting that the resulting loss of federal revenue be backfilled by changes elsewhere in the budget. Norman is putting the onus on the supporters of the SALT hike to locate the savings themselves.

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We made clear, [if you] raise the SALT cap  from 10 to 30 to whatever  pay for it. And you come up with the pay-for, he said.

This business of writing checks and having no income to pay for it is smoke and mirrors again, he added. And Im through with that.

Heading into Fridays failed Budget vote, the conservative holdouts had warned in no uncertain terms that they were ready to reject the package if a series of specific demands were not met. Norman had articulated those demands shortly beforehand, saying he would oppose the legislation unless leadership accelerated the implementation of three separate provisions: work requirements under Medicaid; an end to federal benefits for those in the country illegally; and a phase-out of green-energy tax subsidies established under former President Biden.

Norman also made clear that conservatives arent ready to swallow an increase in the $10,000 SALT cap unless the cost is offset by changes elsewhere in the budget.

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Still, Arrington defended his decision to stage the vote even in the face of the opposition. He said the official tally provides better clarity about not only where the opposition stands, but why.

Politicians are good at talking, but even we politicians, when we take a vote, it carries a tremendous amount of weight because youre voting on behalf of your constituents, Arrington told reporters after the failed vote. Its a catalyst to moving things forward, and it provides clarity  real clarity  with respect to where the rub is, where the pain points are, so that you can get to work to resolve it and move it forward.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this week that while hes been in talks with Trump about developments surrounding the debate, he hasnt called on the president to help lobby the holdouts to get behind the bill. But Trump jumped into the fray Friday morning, posting a social media message urging the rebels to drop their opposition for the sake of a party victory.

We dont need GRANDSTANDERS in the Republican Party, Trump wrote on Truth Social. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us.

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The message was not overlooked by the bills critics, but it also didnt compel them to change their tune  an indication that Trumps powers of persuasion do have limits, even in a GOP conference that has supported virtually every piece of his second-term agenda.

Norman, for one, pushed back on the accusation that the bills opponents are grandstanding.

I dont need to grandstand, Norman said. This is: How do you disagree with the agenda he laid out? Hes a smart guy, and hes got so many good things [in the bill].

All were asking is [for] a little compromise somewhere. Lets not give the farm, he added. Its not right. Its not right.

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The Trump administration made yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court Friday, this time asking it to lift a district judges order halting layoffs for thousands of federal workers.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, blocked any mass reductions in force for two weeks at federal agencies, siding with federal worker unions, nonprofits, and local governments who contended the abrupt firings were illegal.

The White House said it wants to fire workers ASAP.

Demonstrations broke out across the country after the Trump administration announced its plans to lay off tens of thousands of federal workers. / KENT NISHIMURA / REUTERS

That far-reaching order bars almost the entire executive branch from formulating and implementing plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce, Trumps lawyers wrote in their filing to the Supreme Court.

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They added that Illstons order does all of that based on the extraordinary view that the President lacks authority to direct executive agencies how to exercise their statutory powers to conduct large-scale personnel actions within the Executive Branch.

Illston ruled on May 9 that Trump had exceeded his presidential authority by firing so many Americans, claiming that such decisions needed to be made by, or in conjunction with, Congress.

As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress, Illston wrote in the order.

The Trump administration has made 15 emergency appeals to the high court during his second term, which averages out to one appeal per week. / Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Department of Justice countered in its filing that the office of the presidency gives Trump the power to restructure departments and fire federal workers as he pleases.

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There was no immediate word from the court on whether it would act on the administrations latest request. Fridays ask marks the 15th time the Trump administration has made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court since he returned to office.

Supreme Court justices have been busy this week. On Friday, the court ruled 7-2 that Trump did not have the authority to deport more migrants without due process under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. That came after two days of oral arguments on other cases, including whether Trump has the power to end birthright citizenship.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer has led the Trump administrations appeal efforts to the U.S. Supreme Court. He represented the president in his obstruction case after the 2020 election. / Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

The high court has a conservative majority, but its entire conservative bloc is not in lockstep with MAGA. As such, Trump has taken to Truth Social to air his frustrations with the judicial branch holding his power in check.

He posted Thursday: The Radical Left SleazeBags, which has no cards remaining in its illegal bag of tricks, is, in a very coordinated manner, PLAYING THE REF with regard to the United States Supreme Court.

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His posting devolved further on Friday.

THE SUPREME COURT IS BEING PLAYED BY THE RADICAL LEFT LOSERS, WHO HAVE NO SUPPORT, THE PUBLIC HATES THEM, AND THEIR ONLY HOPE IS THE INTIMIDATION OF THE COURT, ITSELF, the president wrote. WE CANT LET THAT HAPPEN TO OUR COUNTRY!
GREENBELT, Md.  In a contentious court hearing on Friday, Trump administration attorneys argued before a federal judge in Maryland that they should be allowed to withhold information regarding efforts to facilitate the return of a Salvadoran man to the United States.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in the Salvadoran prison system despite orders from a federal judge and the Supreme Court calling for the government to facilitate his return to the United States.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said the governments refusal to provide certain information in the case has been an exercise in utter frustration. In a back-and-forth that has continued for weeks, Xinis has ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcias release and provide documentation on what steps it has taken, if any, to comply with that order.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (via Facebook)

Government lawyers said the administration has not been able to answer questions about Abrego Garcias case because that information would be considered protected under state secrets or deliberative process privileges that should not be shared with the public.

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On Friday, Xinis said the administration has not made a good-faith effort to comply with the court order. She repeatedly called on the administration to show how turning over evidence of actions it has taken or will take to return Abrego Garcia would pose a reasonable danger to foreign affairs.

There is simply no detail. This is basically, Take my word for it, the judge said.

Attorney Jonathan Guynn said the government believes it has complied with the judges order and provided its argument for why certain details should not appear in court documents and testimony. The government has argued that revealing additional information could compromise state secrets or foreign relations.

The attorney also provided an update on Abrego Garcia, saying that he was in good health and in a prison in Santa Ana, El Salvador, where he was moved after spending a few weeks in the supermax megaprison to which he was first deported.

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Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland with his wife and three children when he was arrested by immigration agents and deported to El Salvador in March. The Trump administration has accused him of being a member of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang and used that in its justification for deporting him to his home country  despite a judges order from 2019 barring him from being sent there.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia have argued that the Trump administration has been stonewalling the court.

Were not even allowed to pose those basic questions at depositions without running into the roadblock of state secrets, attorney Andrew Rossman told the court on Friday.

Abrego Garcias team said the discovery theyve received from the government thus far has been inadequate, and Xinis appeared to agree. The plaintiffs said they received 164 documents, and 132 of them were photocopies of court filings and their own discovery requests. Rossman said that of the remaining 32 new documents, half were related to Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollens recent trip to El Salvador to see Abrego Garcia.

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Rossman said the government logged 1,140 documents as privileged, in every manner of privilege that Ive ever heard of.

My head is spinning, your honor, he said.

Rossman also said it was deeply disturbing that while the administration has claimed in court that its complying with the order to facilitate Abrego Garcias release, high-ranking officials including Trump himself have contradicted that in public.

The administrations claims, Xinis says, have been hampering efforts to get to the bottom of whether the government has disobeyed the court order by not facilitating the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States.

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Over the past several days, there have been almost a dozen sealed filings on the case docket, with Abrego Garcias legal team seeking specific documents and information, and the government arguing it cannot reveal certain information, even to the judge in some cases.

Nearly all the additional materials Plaintiffs demand are protected by the state secrets and deliberative process privileges and so cannot be produced, U.S. attorneys wrote in a brief on Monday.

Among the sealed materials are copies of the deposition transcripts of three government witnesses. Abrego Garcias lawyers told the court that the three officials were instructed by the Department of Justice to decline to answer certain questions on the basis of the state secret or deliberative process privileges, or both.

Xinis has asked the government for the legal and factual reasons for invoking those privileges. She also took issue with the number of documents being sealed in this case.

The court hearing continued behind closed doors on Friday. Xinis indicated she would soon issue an order on the matter.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
US President Donald Trump said he will speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, and NATO officials on Monday in an effort to stop the war, as Russia's pounding of Ukraine continued on Saturday.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social network, said he will speak with Putin by phone at 10 am (1400 GMT) on Monday and will speak with Zelensky and some NATO members after that.

Just hours before the post, Russia deliberately attacked civilians in a drone attack on a bus in the border town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region, leaving nine people dead, Zelensky charged.

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"All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians," he said in a post on X that was accompanied by a photo showing a van that had been destroyed.

Seven people were injured. Zelensky said they suffered burns and broken bones.

The attack came a day after Russian-Ukrainian talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, launched by Russia more than three years ago.

Zelensky said he saw the attack as further proof that Russia has no interest in a ceasefire and demanded stronger pressure in the form of sanctions on Moscow in order to stop the killing.

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British Foreign Minister David Lammy also condemned the attack.

"Appalled by Russia's attack in Sumy, mere hours after talks in Turkiye," Lammy posted on X, using an alternative spelling of Turkey.

"If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done," he said.

Trump sees himself as key dealmaker

Trump, who has long seen himself as a dealmaker, had said that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war even before he took office, which was nearly four months ago.

At his talks last week in the Middle East, Trump told reporters that a deal was not going to get done unless he got involved. But he skipped talks in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia after Putin announced he would not be there.

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After 90 minutes of those talks, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, but nothing else known.

Trump, in his Saturday Truth Social post, said, as he did during talks in Abu Dhabi that largely focused on business deals, that 5,000 people are being killed weekly in the conflict.

He wrote: "THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE."

Trump expressed hope that the talks would amount to a "PRODUCTIVE DAY" and that a ceasefire will be agreed to so this "VERY VIOLENT WAR" can end.

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He added that the war "SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED."

The war started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. Ukraine has been defending itself with Western support, but has recently been forced into a defensive position on several fronts, particularly after the US government under Trump significantly reduced its military aid to Kiev.

Trump and Putin have already spoken twice since Trump took office in January: once in mid-February and again in mid-March.

During the March conversation, Putin agreed to a US proposal to halt all attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, provided Kiev did the same. But he did not agree to a general ceasefire.

Russia's earlier response

Earlier on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by telephone to discuss the results of the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

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The conversation took place at the initiative of the United States, a statement from the ministry said.

It said Rubio had welcomed the news of the prisoner exchange, and the agreement by both sides to present their views on the necessary conditions for a ceasefire.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also celebrated the agreed prisoner exchange, saying "that is 1,000 happy families. Even for that alone, it was all worth it."

"If we set aside all the Russian nonsense, pseudo-historical statements, provocations and so on, what we are left with is this: 1,000 of our people  we managed to agree on their return," he wrote on Facebook on Friday evening.

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Lavrov praised the US role in bringing about the talks in Istanbul. "He reiterated Moscow's willingness to continue working with US colleagues in this context," the statement said.

Also on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has not ruled out a meeting between Putin and Zelensky but said progress in the negotiations is a prerequisite, though he remained vague on the details.

Zelensky and other European leaders have criticized Russia for insisting on what they see as a maximum position - not allowing Ukraine to join NATO and retaining captured territory.
President Trump said Friday that he thinks that China would have suffered more harm than the U.S. in a prolonged trade war because America has spirit again after electing him to a second term.

If I didnt do that deal with China, I think China would have broken apart. We are not going to break, Trump said during an appearance on Fox Newss Special Report.

Our country has a lot of spirit, and you know why? Because of November 5, our country has spirit again, he told host Bret Baier.

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Trump was referring to Election Day, when he defeated former Vice President Harris to reclaim the presidency after losing to President Biden four years earlier.

His comments come days after the U.S. and China announced a temporary truce in their battle of escalating tariffs since Trump upped the tax on Chinese imports with his Liberation Day tariff plan last month.

Under the agreement the Trump administration hashed out with China, the U.S. lowered its tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. Beijing then lowered its tax rate on U.S. goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.

Beijing also agreed to lift nontariff retaliatory measures taken against the U.S. since early last month.

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Media outlets have also reported that Trump backed off his initial sweeping tariff agenda because the impact hit hardest on his supporters.

The key argument was that this was beginning to hurt Trumps supporters  Trumps people, a person briefed on the talks told The Washington Post.

The president had already halted most reciprocal tariffs on other global trading partners for 90-days amid market turmoil, leaving room open for negotiations. The first major trade agreement was announced last week between the U.S. and U.K.

Trump signaled on Friday that once the pause lapses, the administration would announce new tariff rates.

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Washington state water utility officials spoke Friday of the threats posed by the elimination of federal funding eliminated for a regional dam project, including potential housing moratoriums and risks to flood-prone areas.

The virtual press briefing was hosted by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. Officials on the call included Heather Pennington, water superintendent for Tacoma Public Utilities, and Thomas Keown, general manager of the Covington Water District in south King County.

Murray said that funds to improve Howard A. Hanson Dam for a fish-passage project were among cuts to Army Corps of Engineers projects, according to the Corps work plans released Thursday.

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The dam facility was set to receive $500 million this year in funding Murray secured in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill she wrote as chair and passed through committee in August 2024, as well as in House Republicans fiscal year 2025 bill.

President Trumps Army Corps construction plan utterly tramples all the careful, painstaking negotiations we did in Congress to reach a bipartisan understanding about what projects need funding, and replaces it with his own partisan vision, she said Friday.

Murray explained how the funding process unraveled, saying initial passage by both House and Senate for the project ultimately had to go to a continuing resolution for funding for the rest of the year because the bill was not finished in time.

That point was underscored in March by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, (R-South Dakota), who said at that time, To be clear, Republicans arent thrilled about another (continuing resolution), but it is our best option to make sure that last years failure by Democrats doesnt interfere with this years appropriations process.

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Murray on Friday noted that wasnt the usual form of a continuing resolution and that it took away budgetary discretion from Congress.

Previous to this, the continuing resolutions listed those projects that were bipartisan, sent by the Corps of Engineers, she continued. The past month or so ago, all of that language was taken out, and the CR passed in March gave discretion to the Trump administration to prioritize projects in determining funding allocations.

That is a first, and the impact is serious, Murray added.

The continuing resolution cut Corps of Engineers civil works construction nationwide by $1.4 billion (44 percent), according to congressional figures.

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Democrats in both the U.S. House and Senate on Friday in separate news releases contended more money was shifted to Republican-dominated states. Murrays office in a release said the budget split worked out to be overall, 64-33 percent red to blue split.

Contract awarded last fall

The Howard A. Hanson Dam Additional Water Storage Fish Passage Facility Project contract was awarded to Flatiron-Aecon Joint Venture in October.

The earthen dam is on the Green River, 35 miles southeast of Seattle, and the work is to aid Chinook salmon to access substantially more spawning and rearing area  221 square miles of undeveloped watershed, according to the contract announcement last fall.

The Green River municipal watershed is Tacoma Waters primary water supply.

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According to the contract announcement, Tacoma Public Utilities has already completed an upstream fish passage facility that is ready for operation. Once USACEs downstream facility is operational, the two facilities will restore the biological connection of the upper watershed (45% of total area) to the lower watershed via salmon migration.

The fate of that contract is now unclear.

We are in conversations right now with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with respect to the project and the contract that is underway, said Pennington of TPU. I cant answer the question about what specifically is going to happen with respect to the contract. I do know that there is hope to continue work in the near term.

But what isnt currently funded and now wont be funded with this is unclear she added, but were very concerned about what is going to be able to be completed and and what the pause and impact will be if we dont secure additional funding.

Water supply issues

She noted that the project was multi-faceted, not just dealing with fish passage, but also flood-risk management and water-supply storage.

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Pennington said that while the immediate Tacoma service area didnt face the same housing moratorium concerns as areas such as Covington, we have been advocating for the additional water-storage projects since the dam was constructed, in the early 1960s.

This project received widespread regional support and would have been one of the most significant investments into ensuring water reliability for 1 million people in western Washington, she added.

Keown of the Covington Water District said that without the improvements, his area would eventually face water-shortage issues.

The district serves the city of Covington as well as portions of Maple Valley, Black Diamond and unincorporated King County, and has approximately 20,000 customer accounts, according to Keown.

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He explained that his area faced a water-supply deficit 25 years ago, which led to a moratorium on new housing.

The district researched all of our options and ultimately decided to make an additional investment of $64 million into the regional water-supply system, which Tacoma Water is the lead, he said.

The effort at the time, he noted, included the completion of the additional water-storage project.

Without the key part of this project, the district may not have enough summertime supply to meet our current and future customer needs, starting as early as the mid-2030s.

For the district, we actually felt like weve bought a four-bedroom house, and then the builder is telling us we can only occupy two bedrooms, he added.

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With its location in south King County, he noted, Our bottom line floor of growth will be 10% over the next 10 years. We already use 100% of our portion, our share of the water in the summertime.

We could experience up to 20% growth over the next 10 years, he added, which could potentially force another new housing moratorium.

Whats next

Murray said for now the loss is a critical blow, noting Trump is using unilateral authority, which was unfortunately given to him by the Republican CR that just passed, to take that money away.

She said that she would work in the next bipartisan budget process to get the money back in.

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Were also going to have to remind all of our colleagues here that when we give a president this much authority and take it away from Congress, this is what happens, she added.

But for now, as things stand with the defunding, it is dust.
President Trump, in an interview Friday, again defended his decision to accept a luxury jet worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the Qatari government to replace Air Force One, while also dismissing bipartisan criticism as a radical left story.

I just want to say, it was a radical left story, Trump told Fox Newss Bret Baier in Abu Dhabi during a stop on his diplomatic trip to the Middle East this week. The people here, to show you how crazy it is, they would like me to pay a billion dollars.

I made a good deal, he added.

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The Boeing 747-8 previously used by the Qatari royal family and estimated to be worth at least $400 million was gifted to the Pentagon to serve as a stand-in for the aging Air Force One fleet while the president is in office. It eventually will be decommissioned to Trumps future presidential library.

The arrangement has raised ethical and security questions from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Trump accused Baier of piling on.

The president countered in the interview that hes not the beneficiary of the gift  but that it is a present to the federal government and the plane will be old by the time it goes to his personal repository. He cited former President Reagans Air Force One on display at his library in Pasadena, Calif.

This goes to the United States Air Force for whoever is president, and at some point, itll be like Ronald Reagan. Itll be decommissioned, because they wont want it, he told the host.

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Reagans plane was decommissioned to the Reagan Foundation in 2001, three years before the former president died at the age of 93 and 12 years after he left office. The construction of the two Boeing 747s currently used as Air Force One began during Reagans tenure.

The Defense Department already has a contract with Boeing to build two new replacement planes for the official presidential fleet.

We need a plane for a couple of years before we get the other ones, because Boeing is very late, Trump said. They should be able to knock them off in no time.

He stressed that the other two Air Force One jets will be ready by that time when the Qatar-gifted jet is decommissioned to his librarys possession.

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And they will be brand-new planes, et cetera, the president added.

Trump previously said it would be stupid to turn away the pricey gift from a foreign government and he is uncomfortable with the image of the U.S. having a plane that isnt as impressive as the ones other world leaders use.

When you look at a new 747, and you look at a plane thats 42 years old, not even the same plane, the other ones are bigger and sleeker and sharper. And it doesnt look right, he told Baier on Special Report.

He also acknowledged in the interview that he had asked Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani about the gift and the backlash in the U.S. during a news conference earlier in the week.

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I think he was insulted, actually, Trump replied. He made a gift to help somebody that has helped them.

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President Donald Trump wasted no time enacting his immigration crackdown after being inaugurated for a second term. On the campaign trail, he promised mass deportations and more arrests  and to do it, hes resurrecting old policies.

Immigration policy being at the forefront of politics is nothing new. From the nations founding to modern day, the policies enacted over time reveal shifting priorities  from establishing the first basis of what it takes to immigrate to the US, to regulating the flow of arrivals, to addressing national security concerns in the wake of wars and 9/11.

Members of the Trump administration are very, very familiar with our immigration laws throughout the countrys history and (are) looking back to see what provision they might use to achieve their current policies on immigration, said Julia Gelatt, the associate director of the US Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute.

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But, according to a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS, about 52% of Americans say Trump has gone too far in deporting undocumented immigrants and 57% say they do not believe the federal government is being careful in following the law while carrying out deportations.

In fact, while weighing the issue before the election, some young voters told CNN current laws dont keep up with the times and they wanted to see bipartisan reform. The problem: accomplishing a comprehensive overhaul of the system is no easy task in an increasingly divided political climate.

Heres a look at how we got here:

The first Congress passed the first naturalization act. It ratified the recently written Constitution, granting the power to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization for free white person who lived in the United States for at least two years.

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The Alien Enemies Act gave the government the authority to detain and deport people who were not US citizens and deemed a threat during wartime, plus allowed the government to bypass some of the protocols in the immigration statutes. It was part of four laws, collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, that were passed when the US was on the verge on conflict with France. It could be invoked by a president if the US was at war with another country, or if a foreign nation or government invaded, or threatened to invade, the US. The Sedition act also permitted deportations of anyone who was deemed a threat or who published false writing against the US.

Ratified by the states in 1868, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, including Black Americans and former slaves, according to the Constitution.

Chinese railroad worker with a shoulder pole at a Central Pacific Railroad portal tunnel in California. - Alfred A. Hart/Library of Congress

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants began arriving during the California Gold Rush. The mass migration of speculators swelled Californias population to more than quadruple in size in about a decades time, growing to more than 370,000 people by 1860. So, when economic panic ensued in the US in the 1870s, White citizens scapegoated Chinese immigrants for taking away jobs.

Signed into law by President Chester Arthur, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first and only federal law to prevent a specific nationality of people from becoming US citizens. It blocked Chinese workers from coming legally to the country, and blocked Chinese immigrants who were already living here from becoming US citizens. The Library of Congress called it the first significant restriction on free immigration in U.S. history.

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The Immigration Act of 1891 gave the federal government authority over the immigration process, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Prior to this law, immigrants were required to be processed by individual states.

Immigrants waiting in line to pass through customs at Ellis Island, New York City, in 1905. - Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Ellis Island opened to accommodate the federal governments new authority, according to the National Park Service. Between its opening on January 1, 1892, and when it closed in 1954, Ellis Island received more than 12 million people, NPS said.

The United States passed its strictest immigration law of its time, the Immigration Act of 1917  two months before the US entered World War I.

The law restricted the immigration of many people from the Middle East and Asia  including modern-day India, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Southeast Asia and the Asian-Pacific islands. To keep these people out, the law raised the tax imposed on most adult entrants. It also imposed a literacy test, requiring newcomers older than 16 years old to show basic reading comprehension in any language. Many of these provisions paved the way for another immigration policy in the future, the State Departments Office of the Historian said.

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Some context: With World War I in full swing, US lawmakers who drafted and passed the Immigration Act of 1917 characterized it as necessary for the countrys security. The Office of the Historian said that the uncertainty generated over national security during the war made it possible for the act to be signed into law. But it didnt pass unopposed. President Woodrow Wilson vetoed it, arguing the law prevented good people from joining American society. Congress overrode the veto.

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 was the first time the US set a cap on the number of immigrants allowed into the country, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The quota applied only to people coming from outside the Western Hemisphere, MPI said. Most people from Asia were still barred, per the Immigration Act of 1917. It came during a time of growing isolationism, immigration fears and increased global displacement during and after WWI, the NPS said.

The Immigration Act of 1924 reflected desires to tamp down on overall immigration, but also try to shift the origins of immigration back to the western and northern European origin, Gelatt said.

The act lowered the quotas, according to the Office of the Historian, and included people of British descent whose families lived in the US for a long time in the calculations. This meant more visas were available for people from the British Isles and Western Europe, the office said. Immigrants from Asia were still excluded, it said.

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Republican Sen. David Reed of Pennsylvania, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, wrote in The New York Times that year that the US would become a more homogeneous nation. He wrote that excluding people from certain countries implies no reflection upon the merit of the excluded peoples. It is merely a recognition of their fundamental dissimilarity from ourselves.

This was a period where eugenics was sort of cutting-edge science, Gelatt said. There was a concern that these were lower quality people, basically, who were coming from eastern and southern Europe.

During the Great Depression, federal and local authorities rounded up large numbers of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans, forcing them to leave their homes on the Arizona, California and Texas borders and relocate to Mexico. Many Americans at the time blamed Mexican communities for taking away jobs and public assistance resources. The USCIS notes many people also returned to Mexico voluntarily, but state and local officials often used coercive methods or threats.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) during the Great Depression, unifying the federal governments immigration and naturalization responsibilities into one agency, according to the USCIS.

Soldiers, a small marching band and civilians lined up near a flagpole outside barracks at Manzanar Japanese-American internment camp in 1943 near Independence, California, during World War II. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States, is visible in the background. - Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In the wake of the US entering World War II, Roosevelt signed an executive order targeting Japanese-Americans to be put into relocation centers or internment camps. As a result, approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs to live in the camps that were surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, conditions that are now drawing comparisons to modern-day detention facilities.

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The Chinese Exclusion Act and other related measures were repealed with the Magnuson Act of 1943, the Library of Congress said, establishing quotas for immigrants from China and making them eligible to receive citizenship. A State Department history notes the move was in the interests of aiding the morale of a wartime ally during World War II.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 amended the 1924 measure and laid the foundation of modern immigration law, according to the USCIS.

It continued the national origins quota system but ended the exclusion of immigrants from Asia and got rid of laws that prevented Asian immigrants from receiving citizenship, the Office of the Historian said.

But caveats still made the law discriminatory in practice. For example, the law used race instead of nationality in its quotas of Asian countries, which only received 100 visas each year, the office said. Further, if an immigrant had at least one Asian parent, they counted toward the quota from the country of their ethnicity or against a general  also restrictive  quota for the so-called Asia-Pacific Triangle. This applied regardless of where the immigrant was coming from and even if they were a citizen of another country, according to a policy brief from the Immigration Policy Center and the Office of the Historian.

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It also laid out legal framework to deport people in the US illegally, according to USCIS, and prioritized skilled workers and family reunification, which is still used today, the office said.

In the early years of the Cold War, the debate around immigration was intertwined with the debate about foreign policy and national security. During deliberations about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, some lawmakers wanted more liberal immigration laws, fearing that a restrictive quota system would lead to tension with other countries, the Office of the Historian outlined. However, other lawmakers were concerned about communism infiltrating the US, the office said.

Operation Wetback was an aggressive and unprecedented sweep by US Border Patrol agents in the mid-1950s that plucked Mexican laborers from fields and ranches in targeted raids, bused them to detention centers along the border and ultimately sent many of them deep into the interior of Mexico, some by airlift, others on cargo boats that typically hauled bananas. During his first campaign in 2015, Trump cited the operation as a model for how he would carry out mass deportations.

A Cuban refugee worker hands out forms to waiting Cubans at the Cuban Refugee Emergency Center in 1965. The forms are asking for information concerning those relatives still on the Island of Cuba. Refugees here are hopeful of getting their relatives out of Cuba since Castro's offer to let them go. - Bettmann/Getty Images

More than 200,000 people fled Cuba in the span of three years after Fidel Castros Cuban revolution. As a result, the Cuban Refugee Program  established in 1961  helped relocate hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived in Miami across the US during the next two decades, the Library of Congress said.

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The Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 helped provide funding and resources for refugees who came to the United States, including resettling them in the US and providing aid through international organizations. It also allowed nearly 20,000 refugees into the country between 1960 and 1965, extending the terms of the Fair Share Refugee Act which Congress passed in 1960, according to USCIS.

Parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 have made their way into modern immigration policy. The bill was spearheaded by President John F. Kennedy who wanted immigration reform, specifically to get rid of bans based on national origin, according to his letters to lawmakers. The law was ultimately signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, after Kennedys assassination. It made several changes to immigration policy  but also several miscalculations that have had lasting consequences in which politics has since made it difficult to correct, experts said.

The law abolished quotas, established a preference system prioritizing immigrants skills and family reunification and opened the door to more non-European immigration. However, it still favored immigrants from western and northern Europe over eastern and southern Europe and had very low levels of permissible immigration from other countries  especially from Asian and African countries, Gelatt said.

Notably, the law placed a cap on the number of available visas, but did not include the immediate relatives of someone who is already in the country as part of the count. During debates around the 1965 act, some members of Congress were worried that eliminating national origins quotas would shift the origins of immigrants away from Europe, Gelatt said. Their concerns were stated in rather racist terms, she said.

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In fact, when Johnson signed the bill into law under the Statue of Liberty, he said it wasnt a revolutionary bill and told Americans it wouldnt reshape the structure of our daily lives but that it corrects a cruel and enduring wrong in the conduct of the American Nation. By promoting immigration through family ties, the idea was that immigration would replicate the racial and national origins of current residents of the United States, Gelatt said. Thats not what happened in practice.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 as Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Lady Bird Johnson, Muriel Humphrey, Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and others look on. October 3, 1965. - Yoichi Okam/The White House

There were enough other pathways into the country  including student or temporary visas, for example  for immigrants from other parts of the world to also sponsor their own family members, leading to a very large increase in immigration from Latin America and from various Asian countries, Gelatt said.

There was also an effect on illegal immigration. The new cap on the immigrants from the Western Hemisphere was lower than the number of people who wanted to come to the US, Gelatt said. That served over time to shift some immigration flows from happening within the law, to causing those to happen outside of the law, especially from Mexico, she said.

According to data compiled by the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants from the Americas became the largest portion of the total immigrant population from 1980 onward, a shift from a majority European-born population.

President Jimmy Carter signed the Refugee Act of 1980 as an amendment to the 1965 law to standardize the process of letting refugees into the US. The law provided the first statutory basis for asylum, according to the USCIS, and increased the number of refugees allowed in each year. Moving forward, the president and Congress also had the power to set how many refugees would be admitted annually, the law said.

Six years later, President Ronald Reagan tried to address undocumented immigration with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which set up restrictions on employers. It made it illegal for people to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and established an employment verification system, according to the bill. It also gave more money to the Border Patrol and other federal agencies.

The Immigration Act of 1990 was the first significant revision of immigration policy since the Immigration and Nationality Act and tried to address some of the 1965 laws pitfalls by creating more avenues for skilled and educated workers. It defined three categories of immigration, based on family, employment and diversity, the MPI said. It set a cap of 700,000 total immigrant visas for fiscal years 1992-1994, but still did not include the immediate family members of US citizens in that count.

Notably, the 1990 law also set up five categories of employment visas, targeting skilled workers, according to the MPI, and used a lottery system to determine which H-1B petitions would proceed further.

If that sounds familiar, its because it is. Most of the rules that were operating under, in terms of legal immigration, were set in 1990, Gelatt said.

Additionally, the 1990 law created Temporary Protected Status, which has been a big topic in immigration policy today, she said. TPS applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters, therefore the protections are limited to people already in the United States. Republican and Democratic administrations have designated the protections.

The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act put in place measures that intensified the law enforcement focus of US immigration laws, Gelatt said. It expanded the number of immigrants with criminal convictions eligible to be deported, introduced expedited removal procedures and put restrictions on many unauthorized immigrants from legalizing though family relationships, she said.

Firefighters make their way through the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. - Doug Kanter/AFP/Getty Images

Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, putting new emphasis on national security, border security and immigration. After the attacks, immigration was reframed as a critical part of our national security infrastructure and so the emphasis on vetting and screening of immigrants just really increased, Gelatt said, adding that there has also been a focus on integrating government databases since then.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 overhauled the federal governments role in immigration in response to the 9/11 attacks and disbanded the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Among other national security functions, it created the Department of Homeland Security, noting a shift toward border security and counterterrorism. In 2003, the functions of the INS were put into three new agencies within DHS  US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as outlined in the bill.

The Secure Fence Act under President George W. Bush authorized construction of about 700 miles of barriers and surveillance along the US-Mexico border. In an effort to make our borders more secure, Bush, at the time, called it an important step toward immigration reform, according to a White House fact sheet.

US President Barack Obama speaks about immigration reform during a meeting with young immigrants, known as DREAMers, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 4, 2015. - Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was introduced by President Barack Obama. It allowed certain immigrants who were brought to the US as children to receive renewable protection from deportation and be eligible for work permits, obtain drivers licenses and enroll in college. However, the program didnt give them a path to become US citizens or legal permanent residents  something immigrant rights advocates have criticized, saying it left people in limbo.

When President Donald Trump took office for this first term, he took a series of controversial actions aimed at reducing illegal immigration and enhancing border security.

Here are some of them:

Aerial view of US workers building the new 13-mile border wall construction project at the desert between Sunlad Park, New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico on January 15, 2021. - Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images

Biden reversed many of Trumps immigration policies, including the travel ban and limits on asylum seekers. He also stopped border wall construction and established a task force for family reunification. Toward the end of his term, Biden spent a lot of time trying to defend his administrations immigration actions against Republican attacks. Biden often pointed to a comprehensive, bipartisan border deal that failed in the Senate twice, at the direction of then-candidate Trump.

Now more than 100 days into his second term, Trump has pushed legal boundaries in trying to enact his immigration promises  one of which was to complete the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.

To do it, Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador. It has only been invoked three times in US history  all during war. The Supreme Court has paused these deportations. Trump also signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US southern border to bolster military presence and send migrants to Guantanamo Bay, and has kicked off the process to end birthright citizenship, which was met with legal challenges.

Salvadoran prison guards stand next to alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the MS-13 gang recently deported by the US government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 31, 2025. - Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout/via Reuters

The administration has also terminated hundreds of students visas under a rarely used provision that allows for revocation if a persons presence in the US would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. The administration has said the students are sympathizing with Hamas. Some of the students challenged the move in court, but the government later backed down in the legal fight.

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May 17 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump intends to call Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

"The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week," Trump said in a Truth Social post made on Saturday.

Trade will be part of Trump's discussion with the Russian president.

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"I will then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then ... with various members of NATO," Trump said.

Zelensky will participate in the calls with the respective leaders of NATO member nations.

"Hopefully, it will be a productive day," Trump said. "A cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that never should have happened, will end."

Trump has tried to end the war in Ukraine since he took office in January and has come close to getting the two sides to agree to a cease-fire, but nothing lasting has emerged.

Russian and Ukrainian representatives met on Friday in Istanbul and agreed to a prisoner exchange but are not close to agreeing to a cease-fire, NBC News reported.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday and welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement made on Friday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday in a statement.

Rubio also "delivered President Trump's strong message: The United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war," Bruce said.

"The comprehensive peace plan by the United States outlines the best way forward," Bruce added. "The secretary emphasized President Trump's call for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the violence."

Zelensky was in Rome on Saturday, where he met with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and thanked him for Switzerland's support of Ukraine and its ongoing peace efforts.

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"We are also grateful for the humanitarian support provided by your government, especially for what matters most to us: shelters for our schools, for our children," Zelensky told Keller-Sutter.

Zelensky updated the Swiss president on peace negotiations in Istanbul and emphasized the importance of coordinating efforts with the United States, maintaining unity and pressuring Russia to agree to a "full and unconditional cease-fire."
Donald Trump weighed in on the N-word on Friday, and no, not the racial slur.

Trump, in an interview with Fox News Bret Baier, was discussing recent developments in the India-Pakistan conflict before bizarrely referring to the word nuclear with a suggestive nod to the racial slur  a stunt he once pulled at a 2022 rally and in pastinterviews on the network.

It was getting deeper and more, I mean, more missiles. Everyone was stronger, stronger, str  to a point where the next ones going to be you know what, the N-word. You know what the N-word is, right? Trump asked Baier.

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Nuclear, said Baier while looking at the floor.

Yeah, said Trump before cracking a smile and laughing.

Thank you, thank you for the clarification, replied Baier before smiling as well.

I figured you would want to clean that up, Trump remarked.

Trump continued to refer to nuclear as the N-word, adding that its a very nasty word in a lot of ways.

The N-word used in a nuclear sense, he said before turning back to talk of the conflict.

Thats the worst thing that can happen. And I think they were very close. The hatred was great.

Trump on India-Pakistan: "Everyone was stronger, stronger-- to a point where the next one was gonna be you know what. The n word. You know what the n word is, right? It's the n word. That's very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The n word used in a nuclear sense." pic.twitter.com/ed920GKmKV  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 16, 2025

Trumps recent comments arrive about a year after he faced renewed questions over his alleged use of the racial slur on the set of The Apprentice.

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Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former contestant on the reality show and an ex-White House aide in Trumps first term, claimed on a 2018 book tour that she heard a recording of the president using the N-word on the show.

Trump told reporters at the time that Newman was a lowlife. Then, in a post to X, formerly Twitter, he stressed that there were no such tapes of him using such a terrible and disgusting word.

I dont have that word in my vocabulary, and never have, he wrote.

Last May, former Apprentice producer Bill Pruitt claimed the future president used the racial slur while discussing Kwame Jackson, a Black contestant on the show.

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Steven Cheung, then-Trump campaign spokesperson and now-White House communications director, said at the time that the accusations were part of a completely fabricated and bullshit story.

Related...
US President Donald Trump has stated in a new interview that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been seeking a deal and named not him but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's lack of "cards" as the main obstacle to peace.

Source: Trump in an interview with the Special Report programme on Fox News

Details: In response to a direct question from the host about whether he considers Putin the main obstacle to achieving peace, Trump avoided blaming him, instead shifting the focus onto Zelenskyy.

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Quote: "Look, I had a real rough session with Zelenskyy because I didn't like what he said, and he was not making it easy. And I always said he doesn't have the cards, and he doesn't have the cards."

Details: Although the host reminded Trump of his post on Truth Social with an appeal to Putin  "Vladimir, STOP"  he did not go on to blame Putin for continuing the war. On the contrary, Trump stressed that, in his view, Putin wants talks and is tired of the war.

Quote: "He is not looking good. And he wants to look good. Don't forget, this was supposed to end in one week. And if he didn't get stuck in the mud with his army tanks all over the place, he would've been in Kyiv in about five hours."

Details: Trump also once again pointed out that only he personally can end the war.

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"And I always felt there can't be a meeting without me because I don't think a deal is going to get through. There is a lot of hatred on both sides. I have a very good relationship with Putin; I think we'll make a deal," he emphasised.

Trump also noted that if the diplomatic efforts fail, he is ready to resort to economic pressure on Russia. In particular, he can impose sanctions on oil and those who buy it, as proposed by a group of senators led by Lindsey Graham. However, he said this as a last resort.

Background:

On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

The media also reported that the Russian delegation in Istanbul demanded that US representatives not be present at the talks with the Ukrainian side and put forward demands that are unrealistic and go far beyond what was previously discussed.

Russian representatives voiced several demands to the Ukrainian delegation during a closed meeting in Istanbul on 16 May, setting out the conditions under which Moscow is ready to cease fire. Among them are Ukraine's renunciation of territories and claims for reparations.

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation in Istanbul, said during the talks that Russia was ready for an endless war against Ukraine and threatened to seize Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. "We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?" he asked the Ukrainian side.

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When President Donald Trump welcomed dozens of white South Africans into the United States this week after granting them refugee status, reporters reasonably asked him to square this with his suspension of refugee resettlement from, well, every other country in the world. Trump denied any racial motive. Farmers are being killed, he said. They happen to be white. Whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me.

Thats obvious nonsense, which some news accounts noted, albeit obliquely. As The New York Times politely put it, the decision to resettle white Afrikaners has raised questions about who the right immigrants are, in Mr. Trumps view.

Indeed it does. But theres an even more glaring absurdity here that emerges if you compare the plight of these Afrikaners with that of another distinct population of refugees. Im talking about the refugees from all over the world, likely in the thousands, who had already received approval to come here under President Joe Biden but have seen their resettlement interrupted as it was happening, in an act of extraordinary cruelty from Trump and fascist sidekick Stephen Miller. They are now waiting abroad, in limbo, uncertain whether they will ever attain refuge in the U.S.

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This particular contrast makes the whole saga even more vile. Heres why: In February, in a lawsuit brought on behalf of refugees granted protections under Biden, a court temporarily ruled against Trump and directed the government to continue resettling some of them. Trump officials have delayed acting on this for months. One of their excuses has been that the resettlement infrastructure has badly decayed on their watch (which is their own doing).

Now contrast this with what happened to the Afrikaners. Trump issued an executive order on February 7 directing the government to resettle those suffering humanitarian hardships back at home. Now dozens of them have undergone the entire processfrom originally applying to getting settled in the U.S.in barely more than three months.

How is this possible, if the resettlement bureaucracy is in shambles? Given that quick action, why cant the administration also resettle those other refugees already granted protections by the U.S. government?

There is no begrudging the resettlement of any Afrikaners who genuinely face persecution, and some have attested to real suffering. Nonetheless, this whole process stinks from top to bottom. It likely has been infected by deep corruption, not just naked racism, and should be understood as such.

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First, its not clear how these Afrikaners were designated a refugee class. Trump has said that white farmers are being brutally killed in a genocide, while claiming their land is being confiscated. But as the Times reports, crime data debunks the narrative of systematic racial killing in South Africa, and Trump is badly distorting the situation surrounding land ownership there, which remains dominated by whites.

But even if you accept that some of these folks are suffering persecution, the whole process still looks deeply dubious.

Several sources at nongovernmental organizations tell me theyve heard directly from administration officials that the governments refugee resettlement agencies were prodded by top administration people to fast-track the resettlement of Afrikaners in particular. They have been under intense political pressure to pull out all the stops to get Afrikaners here as rapidly as possible, one of the sources says.

That dovetails with reporting by The Lever showing that the administration has aggressively recruited outside refugee organizations to assist in resettling Afrikaners, an odd posture for officials otherwise suspending refugee programs entirely. All this suggests that Trump and Miller were eager to mount the spectacle of resettling Afrikanersand rushed to find willing subjectswhile denying it to all other refugees.

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You can see this sordid game in their public theatrics. Whats happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created, Miller said. This is race-based persecution. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, lamented the suffering of Afrikaner refugees, describing them as a long-persecuted minority group.

Its true that the refugee program is for people who face race-based persecution, as well as persecution based on religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. But why do white South Africans merit resettlement on this basis while other persecuted groups do not?

Consider the plight of those who have already gained refugee status but are now in limbo. A bunch of them represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project are suing the administration. Read the court papers, and youll see theyre enduring a plight very much like the one Miller and Leavitt treat as so heart-rending when endured by white South Africans.

One of them is Alyas, a Yazidi religious minority who testified to seeing horrific violence and murder carried out against his people in Iraq. He finally gained refugee status just recently. He was set to travel to the U.S. in February after waiting for years, until this was abruptly suspended under Trump, leaving him, his wife, and their young son waiting, adrift. Many of the others describe similarly awful hardship, then their elation at winning the opportunity to come to the U.S.and now their shock and sadness at having it snatched away at the last minute.

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The court has directed the administration to resume resettlement of at least 160 people who have won refugee status. Why wont officials do so? If the administration can process Afrikaners in three months, says Yael Schacher, a director at Refugees International, its inconceivable they cant process people who have already been vetted, having applied years ago.

Its unclear when Trump decided that white Afrikaners are suffering genocide. But the Times reports that Trump has been privately saying since the 1990s that South Africa is a cautionary tale for the U.S., which should avoid letting nonwhites become the majority. In 2018, after Tucker Carlson did a segment on South Africa, Trump tweeted that white farmers face rampant discrimination, land seizures, and large scale killing.

Here Trump is trafficking in a kind of internationalized version of great replacement theory. Its an obsession, one that has long festered on the white nationalist far right, with the fate of supposedly embattled white populations around the world that must rally to each others aid to avoid eventual extinction. South Africas white farmers have become a kind of totem for this cause, a symbol of this broader demographic plight.

Its hard to know how deeply bought into this Trump, Miller, and Leavitt truly are. But when they use smarmy, cooked-up emotional language describing white South Africans as a persecuted minority class enduring terrible suffering, while rubbing our faces in their gleeful abandonment of genuinely persecuted minorities, theyre sending a clear message: The only victims of mass persecution who count are white ones. They are inventing a special new categorywhite world-historical victimhoodwhile taunting us with their power to erase actual historical crimes and replace them with massive historical lies, simply by declaring it so.

Lets get real: Trump and his fellow travelers are actively putting on the show of admitting white Afrikaners while simultaneously slamming the gates on all other refugees from elsewhere in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. The repugnant inconsistency of this is itself the intended message. Which is exactly why they are flaunting it for all of us to seedeliberately, aggressively, and proudly.
President Donald Trump endorsed the idea that the United States Supreme Court had placed an illegal injunction on him by temporarily blocking his administrations ability to deport Venezuelans, accused of being gang members, without due process, while litigation on the matter plays out in lower courts.

On Truth Social on Saturday, Trump reposted two posts made by attorney Mike Davis, a close Trump ally and the founder of the Article III project, calling the courts recent decision illegal and claiming it was heading down a perilous path by not allowing Trump to continue a constitutionally questionable action.

The Supreme Court still has an illegal injunction on the President of the United States, preventing him from commanding military operations to expel these foreign terrorists, Davis wrote.

President Donald Trump endorsed the idea that the Supreme Court had violated law by refusing to allow his administration to deport people under the Alien Enemies Act (AP)

He continued, The President should house these terrorists near the Chevy Chase Country Club, with daytime release.

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Chevy Chase Country Club is located in Maryland, near the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and has the final say on legal disputes involving constitutional or federal law challenges.

The court told the Trump administration on Friday it would not allow it to resume deporting Venezuelans accused of belonging to a gang under the Alien Enemies Act while litigation continues in lower courts. In their decision, the justices flagged concerns about the administration bypassing due process rights.

Trump raged at the justices for not allowing his Department of Homeland Security to proceed with deportations under the act, calling it bad and dangerous.

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His recent comments are a distinct reversal from comments he made last year, praising the court when they ruled in his favor.

Saturdays endorsement of the idea that the Supreme Court, the ultimate decider of law, was carrying out an illegal act on him by not allowing him to do something that lower courts have also consistently ruled against, is part of a recent trend.

Trump has lashed out at federal judges for ruling against him in dozens of cases  an act that Chief Justice John Roberts warned against (AFP via Getty Images)

Trump and his administration have been accused of defying federal judges rulings  most notably not facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia despite the Supreme Court directing the administration to do so.

The president has personally lashed out at judges who have ruled against him, asserting they are rogue or activists. Roberts and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have both warned that attacking judges is harmful to the independence of the judiciary.

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His behavior has led to some concerns from critics that the president will ignore court orders and continue doing whatever he wants with the help of his allies in the government, thus overextending his presidential power.

Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan raised some questions over Trump refusing to follow court orders during oral arguments in the challenge to birthright citizenship this past week.

In a separate Truth Social post, also re-posted by Trump, Davis insinuated the court was being unfair to Trump by not allowing him to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Supreme Court must come to the RESCUE OF AMERICA, Trump wrote in response.
US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday 19 May and to have a separate conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Source: Trump on Truth Social

Details: Trump said he would speak with Putin on Monday at 10:00 (17:00 Kyiv time) to discuss efforts to end the war and trade issues.

He said he would then hold a conversation with Zelenskyy, and later, together with Zelenskyy, with "various members of NATO".

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Trump expressed his hope that "it will be a productive day", a ceasefire will take place, and the war will end.

Background:

On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Russia sent a low-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.

The Russian delegation is reported to have demanded that US representatives not attend the negotiations with Ukraine and to have put forward a number of conditions that are unacceptable to Kyiv.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said that during the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange.

Bloomberg reported that the Russian representatives had presented several demands to the Ukrainian delegation setting out the conditions on which Moscow is ready to cease fire. These demands include Ukraine withdrawing from territories and renouncing claims for reparations.

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Russia and Ukraine engaged in peace talks on Friday, marking the first time that has happened since the war began in February 2022.

Both sides only engaged for two hours and largely only agreed to a prisoner swap, where Kyiv and Moscow would exchange 1,000 war prisoners. It was described as a confidence-building measure by the mediating parties.

But delegates from Ukraine, Russia, U.S. and Turkey, where the talks were held, didnt make much progress  as President Donald Trump predicted on Thursday. Heres what happened.

Trump on Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations

The U.S. president said he thought it was essential for he and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet face-to-face to come anywhere close to striking a peace deal.

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Trump said he was willing to fly to Turkey, extending his trip to the Middle East by a day, but he changed his mind after news came out that Putin planned to skip the talks.

Look, nothings going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK? Trump said aboard the Air Force One, traveling from Qatar to the United Arab Emirates.

He wasnt going if I wasnt there and I dont believe anythings going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together, he added. But were going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.

On Friday morning, he said he wanted to set up a meeting with Putin as soon as possible.

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Were going to do it, Trump said. I actually think its time for us to do it.

The president also suggested the world could be a much, much safer place in a few weeks.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 127th Territorial Defence Brigade fire KS-19 100mm gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 16, 2025. | Yevhen Titov

What happened during the talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also wasnt in attendance but sent high level Cabinet members to the meeting, unlike Moscow, which opted for lower-level officials.

In addition to the prisoner exchange, Moscow and Kyiv also agreed to share detailed ceasefire proposals and meet again, according to Hakan Fidan, who opened the talks, in a post on X said.

Bugun, dunya bars icin onemli bir gundu.



Yogun diplomatik cabalar sonucunda, Rusya ve Ukrayna heyetleri Istanbulda, Turkiyenin kolaylastrclgnda bir gorusme gerceklestirdiler.



Toplantnn neticesinde, guven artrc bir onlem olarak her iki ulkeden biner kisinin pic.twitter.com/7QFnMxjJqE  Hakan Fidan (@HakanFidan) May 16, 2025

The details of the prisoner exchange havent been announced.

As Kyiv Independent reported, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, told reporters, We know the date, but were not going to say it yet, he said.

Moscow, Kyiv react to peace talks

Moscow seemed satisfied with the talks as a first step toward more conversations and noted Ukraines request for a meeting between the state heads.

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In general, we are satisfied with the result and are ready to continue contacts, said Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russias delegation, as per Reuters.

After the peace talks, Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Albania during a one-day summit. Together, they called Trump.

Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war, Zelenskyy said in a post.

Starmer told reporters he sees closer alignment and coordination between Trump and European leaders.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Turkey

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Fidan, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and an aide to Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday.

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Rubio during his meetings shored up support for increased defense spending from NATO allies amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In an appearance on Fox News, Rubio said NATO countries should agree to spend 5% of their GDP on defense by the next NATO summit in the Netherlands in June.

I can tell you that we are heading for a summit in six weeks in which virtually every member of NATO will be at or above 2%, but more importantly, many of them will be over 4% and all will have agreed on a goal of reaching 5% over the next decade, he told host Sean Hannity.
Donald Trump is reportedly working on a plan to move one million Palestinians permanently from Gaza to Libya.

US officials have begun discussions with the Libyan government about resettling half of the strips population, NBC news reported, quoting five people with knowledge of the plans.

No details have been released about the potential deal, which came to light as Israel and Hamas resumed indirect talks in Qatar over the fate of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

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It is understood that the divided desert nation would be generously compensated.

Last week, the US reportedly held talks with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, which controls the west of the north African state, about unlocking billions of dollars in frozen Libyan state assets.

Displaced Palestinians returning to the ruins of Rafah after the January ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began - Mohammad Abu Samra/AP

Libyas sovereign wealth fund holds some $60 billion (45 billion) in US treasury bonds that have been blocked by Washington ever since Muammar Gaddafi, the countrys dictator, was toppled by Nato-backed rebels in 2011.

No deal has been finalised and US officials have so far denied the claims that they are working on one.

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Libya has been in a state of near-permanent civil war since Gaddafis overthrow. It has two governments, the internationally recognised one in Tripoli with which the Americans have allegedly been talking, and a much larger fiefdom controlled by Khalifa Haftar, the Benghazi-based warlord.

Libyan soldier standing guard after clashes between militias in Tripoli, the capital, on Thursday - Yousef Murad/AP

Moving a million Palestinians, half of Gazas population, from one war zone to another would therefore pose considerable challenges. Given that Libya has just seven million people, such a large influx would also have a significant societal impact.

Mr Trump has been discussing the prospect of moving large numbers of Palestinians out of Gaza, where Israel launched a major military offensive on Saturday, since he unveiled plans in February for the US to take over the territory and turn it into the riviera of the Middle East.

Despite mounting US pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels prime minister, to end his campaign in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) launched Operation Gideons Chariots, which will expand military operations through most of the territory.

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An intensification in Israeli bombardment has killed around 250 people in Gaza in the past 48 hours, according to officials in the Hamas-run health ministry.

As part of the new operation, Israel plans to compel Palestinians to move into encampments around hubs where the IDF will distribute rations. The United Nations has warned of a looming famine in Gaza after Israel blocked aid deliveries to the strip in early March.

On Friday, the Israeli military ordered Gazans to move south after launching repeated strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp and the northern town of Beit Lahia.

The escalation in violence came as both Israel and Hamas confirmed that indirect talks had formally resumed.

Smoke over Gaza after Israeli bombardment on Saturday - Jack Guez/AFP via Getty

Israel acceded to the US request that it send a delegation to Doha, the Qatari capital, but Mr Netanyahu insisted that a full end to the war would not be on the table.

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Instead, negotiations will be restricted to a framework proposed by Steve Witkoff, Mr Trumps Middle East envoy, under which Israel would offer a 40-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of half the 20 or so hostages still alive in Gaza.

The Israeli delegation will not engage in any negotiations for a permanent end to the war, officials said.

Despite the widespread destruction and fears that worse may be to come, it is far from clear that many Palestinians would leave Gaza voluntarily, a step that would presumably remove their right ever to return. The Trump administration is reportedly considering offering them free housing and a stipend as an inducement to leave.

Mr Trump himself has spoken of finding a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death like whats happening in Gaza.

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While Libya might not fit that description, it is in desperate need of funds. The government in Tripoli would also hope that such a deal might secure additional US support in its war against Mr Khaftars forces.

The Trump administration has been examining the possibility of deporting illegal immigrants to Libya, but plans to send one group there were halted this month by a federal judge.

Hezbollah commander killed

Meanwhile, Israels military said it had killed a Hezbollah commander on Saturday in Lebanon, where the authorities reported one dead in the fourth Israeli strike within days, despite a November ceasefire.

Lebanons health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the Tyre district, in the south of the country

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A correspondent for the AFP news agency reported seeing the charred wreckage of a vehicle in Abu al-Aswad, an area around 20 miles from the Israeli border.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces struck and eliminated... a commander involved in the re-establishment of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in south Lebanon.

With little sign of Israel yielding to growing international pressure, Italy urged Mr Netanyahu to end its offensive.

Antonio Tajani, foreign minister, saying: We have to tell the Israeli government: Thats enough. We no longer want to see the Palestinian population suffer.

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Stop the attacks, lets secure a ceasefire, free the hostages, but leave in peace a people who are victims of Hamas.

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The reconciliation bill President Donald Trump and Republicans are working to pass through Congress is chock-full of troubling provisions, but the tax plan ultimately boils down to a massive financial break for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of social programs that benefit the less fortunate  most notably Medicaid.

Trump implored Republicans to pass the BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL! on Friday, writing about how it cuts taxes for ALL Americans (not true) and would kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need (also not true).

Republicans on the House Budget Committee failed to pass the bill hours after Trumps message  not because of the Medicaid cuts, but because they wanted them to be more extreme. Americans do not want more extreme cuts. The public holds an overwhelmingly positive view of Medicaid, with a whopping 76 percent opposing significant cuts to the program.

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The tax bill that Republicans ultimately pass  public opinion be damned  is going to make life more difficult for millions of low-income Americans. Heres everything you need to know:

What is Medicaid?

Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance to low-income Americans, as well as those with certain disabilities and otherwise limited resources. Medicaid programs are funded by both state and federal money, with each state operating its own program in accordance with federal rules and regulations.

There are over 70 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid, over one fifth of the nations population.

Medicaid is not to be confused with Medicare, although Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently mixed up the programs when he said that Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government. Medicare, not Medicaid, is fully funded by the federal government, and provides health insurance for Americans over 65. (Kennedy also claimed that Americans enrolled in Medicaid are upset about high premiums and deductibles, despite the fact that most Americans on Medicaid dont have to make any such payments.)

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RFK Jr.s confusion doesnt necessarily mean the program is inherently confusing  but it certainly can be given how much it can differ from state to state.

How are Republicans cutting Medicaid?

Republicans are planning to cut $880 billion from the budget of the Energy and Commerce Committees budget, which oversees Medicaid.

One way Republicans want to cut costs is by limiting provider taxes, which states use to help pay their share of Medicaid costs  with payments going to local health care providers like hospitals and doctors. Rolling Stone reported on the industry-wide concern that freezing these payments could force some rural hospitals to close. Republicans also want to cut federal Medicaid funding to states that provide care for undocumented Americans, and require Americans at or above the federal poverty level to pay out-of-pocket costs for services they didnt have to pay previously.

The primary way Republicans are going to cut funding for Medicaid, however, is by wrapping it in as much red tape as possible in order to reduce the number of Americans who are enrolled.

Whats going on with work requirements?

Its already difficult enough to secure and maintain Medicaid coverage, especially for sick and disabled Americans. Trump and Republicans want to make it more difficult.

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The crux of the cuts lies in what Republicans are calling community engagement requirements, which is a nice way of saying they want to put up a series of barriers to coverage that will inevitably result in Americans getting kicked off the program. The bill calls for Americans to prove they work at least 80 hours per month in order to qualify. It also requires them to verify they are qualified twice annually.

Medicaid is subject to strict income caps, which vary by state, but suffice to say recipients are not allowed to make enough money to live. By adding work requirements, Republicans are ordering Medicaid recipients to work  but not for too much money. States already check recipients income levels once annually, and this process frequently results in eligible beneficiaries losing their Medicaid coverage for administrative reasons  such as if they fail to respond to a phone call or piece of mail.

Studies have shown that work requirements dont actually result in more employment, anyway, in part because Americans on Medicaid are already working. Health policy group KFF published a study earlier this year finding that in 2023, 92 percent of adults under 65 on Medicaid were working or not working because of school attendance, caregiving, or a disability, while the other eight percent were retired, unable to find work, or not working for other reasons. Republicans are pushing the idea that millions of Americans are sitting on their couches, snacking on junk food and laughing as they collect free health care, but this is simply not the case.

The fallacy of the GOPs rhetoric about work requirements is exemplified in Luke Seaborn, a 54-year-old Georgia man whose maddening journey with state health care was highlighted by ProPublica. Georgia currently has a work requirement for Medicaid coverage, and the state used Seaborn, a mechanic, as one of the faces of the program. Seaborn advocated for the program on camera when it was introduced, but hes since been booted from it twice due to bureaucratic obstacles.

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My head exploded, he told ProPublica after he lost his coverage for the second time after failing to make a deadline to file an income statement he didnt know existed. I didnt get a text or an email. I did what I was supposed to, but that wasnt good enough.

(ProPublica reported earlier in the year on the general failure of Georgias Medicaid work-requirement program.)

How many Americans would lose their health insurance as a result of the Medicaid cuts?

The Congressional Budget Office projects that 10.3 million Americans will ultimately lose their health care as a result of the cuts.

What are Republicans saying about the cuts?

The New York Times recently published an op-ed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rolliins, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, in which the top Trump officials argued that the government is being too generous, and that too many Americans are mooching off welfare programs like Medicaid.

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Republicans in Congress have been making similar arguments.

Weve got some able bodies who really should not be on there or should be able to go to another insurance product that would help them to have health insurance, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said this week. Carter did not explain where exactly these people should get health care otherwise, although he did say he wants to make sure everybody has access to it, which is a touching sentiment.

The person were taking it away from is the able-bodied adult with no children who refuses to work, Rep. Dan Crewnshaw (R-Texas) added in a gross misrepresentation of the effect of the cuts. If they would just get a job, they would keep their Medicaid.

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) has argued that the government needs to raise the bar on what constitutes a disability. Murphy, a doctor, complained specifically about two of his own patients, including a 48-year-old woman he said is hard of hearing but could hear his questions thanks to her hearing aids. These are difficult challenges to overcome, but they are no reason someone should be on Medicaid, disabled and not working, he said, adding: I dont personally think they are disabled.

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There are some Republicans who seem to understand the reality of the Medicaid cuts, which is that millions of Americans, including working Americans, will lose their health insurance. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote an op-ed for the Times in which bashed the corporatist Republicans who prioritize corporate giveaways and deep cuts to social insurance.

Republicans need to open their eyes, Hawley wrote. Our voters support social insurance programs. More than that, our voters depend on those programs. And theres a reason for this that Republicans would do well to ponder. Our economy is increasingly unfriendly to working people and their families.

What are Democrats saying about the cuts?

Democrats, at least some of them, are livid over the cuts. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, railed in a statement that in no uncertain terms, millions of Americans will lose their health care coverage, hospitals will close, seniors will not be able to access the care they need, and premiums will rise for millions of people if this bill passes.

This is not trimming fat around the edges, its cutting to the bone, he wrote. The overwhelming majority of the savings in this bill will come from taking health care away from millions of Americans. Nowhere in this bill are they cutting waste, fraud, and abuse  theyre cutting peoples health care and using that money to give tax breaks to billionaires.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sparred with HHS Secretary Kennedy over the bill during a hearing earlier this week. You cannot deny that the top two-tenths of one percent will get $235 billion in tax breaks while we cut Medicaid, Sanders said in response to Kennedy trying to argue that the bill will benefit low-income Americans.

Pete Buttigieg hasnt minced words, either. Right now, front and center, we need to be talking about  Medicaid, he said this week. As we speak, congressional Republicans and Donald Trump are preparing to take Medicaid away from millions and millions of Americans. The impact on health, on poverty, on the economy, on their lives is enormous.

There isnt a ton Democrats in Congress or elsewhere can do to prevent the bills passage, though, which is why Republicans need to ram it through now, while they still have their majority.

What is Trump saying?

Trump has insisted that his administration would not cut Medicaid. He told reporters in January that were going to love and cherish the program, that people wont be affected, and that it will only be better and more effective. He insisted to Sean Hannity the following month that it wouldnt be touched and that it will only be strengthened, and reiterated to reporters at a Cabinet meeting a few weeks later that we arent going to touch it.

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In every instance, Trump added the caveat that the administration is looking to eliminate waste and fraud  which he is now irrationally using as a pretext for taking a hatchet to the program he claims to cherish so dearly. Yes, millions of less fortunate Americans will have their lives thrown into flux, but the wealthy ones who put Trump back into office need their tax cuts.

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President Donald Trump said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak on Monday over the phone to discuss a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. NBC News' Raf Sanchez reports on how the first in-person talks between Russia and Ukraine led to a prisoner exchange.
President Trump said it was a bad and dangerous day for America Friday after the Supreme Court temporarily halted his administrations expedited deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.

The Supreme Court has just ruled that the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our Country illegally, are not allowed to be forced out without going through a long, protracted, and expensive Legal Process, one that will take, possibly, many years for each person, and one that will allow these people to commit many crimes before they even see the inside of a Courthouse, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

The result of this decision will let more CRIMINALS pour into our Country, doing great harm to our cherished American public, he added. It will also encourage other criminals to illegally enter our Country, wreaking havoc and bedlam wherever they go.

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The court ruled 7-2 in an emergency decision to block authorities from removing migrants under the Alien Enemies Act as a legal challenge proceeds. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were the only dissenting votes. Trump thanked both of them by name for attempting to protect our Country, in his Friday post.

Trump invoked the 18th century wartime law as grounds for removing immigrants linked to gangs that he has declared are terrorist organizations carrying out a large-scale invasion of the country.

In the unsigned majority opinion Friday, the justices took aim at the Trump administration for giving short notice before sending immigrants to a prison in El Salvador, but the high court didnt examine the broader issue of whether the law can be used when the country isnt at war and instead directed lower courts to act expeditiously on challenges to the merits of its use.

Since returning to the White House, the Supreme Court has drawn the ire of Trump and his allies over its orders. Still, federal district judges have been met with harsher critiques, including calls for impeachment and partisanship accusations from the president.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Trump on Saturday blasted his predecessor after leaked audio showed former President Biden struggling during a 2023 interview with then-special counsel Robert Hur about classified documents found at his private residence.

Trump also leaned into his criticism of Bidens use of an autopen in his latest rebuke.

Whoever had control of the AUTOPEN is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, while leaning into his unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was stolen. It is a major part of the real crime THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!

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Millions and millions of people knew that, but the Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence like none that had ever been waged before, he added.

The presidents early morning rant came as Axios released full audio from the first day of Hurs questioning. The outlet had released a clip the night before, which showed Biden seemingly unable to recall dates related to his time as vice president, his son Beaus death and when Trump was first elected to serve in the White House.

The special counsel ultimately found that while Biden willfully retained the classified documents, the jury would likely see him as an elderly man with a poor memory. No charges were brought against the president, and the Justice Department later issued a transcript of the conversation but pushed back against requests for the audio.

Trump on Friday said any official release of audio would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

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The president also took a swing at lawmakers who sat on the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in his weekend social media post.

THIS IS WHY THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS, WHO WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN, DELETED AND DESTROYED ALL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION FROM THEIR CORRUPT AND VICIOUS WITCH HUNT AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE, WHOSE LIVES WERE COMPLETELY SHATTERED AND DESTROYED BY THIS HISTORICALLY CRIMINAL EVENT, he wrote Saturday.

Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey, [former President] Obama, a hapless and cognitively impaired Sleepy Joe Biden, and my now very famous ACCUSATION that, THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN! Trump continued. Whoever had control of the Autopen is just the beginning.

The president concluded in the post, THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN!!!

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Biden, just hours before he left office, issued a slew of pardons to members of the House Jan. 6 select committee, former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci and ex-Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley  all vocal critics of Trump.

In March, Trump claimed the clemencies were void because they were signed with an autopen. He argued that Biden didnt even know about them.

The former president has pushed back on the argument, telling ABCs The View earlier this month that the claims were vacant.

Questions around Bidens mental fitness proved to be a major road bump in his bid for reelection.

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Following a disastrous debate last June against Trump, he was pressured by many Democrats to step aside. He later withdrew from the race and endorsed former Vice President Harris to run instead.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he'll speak separately to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday as he ramps up efforts to help the two nations reach a ceasefire.

"I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m.," Trump wrote Saturday in an all-caps post on Truth Social, adding, "I will then be speaking to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine."

Trump said he would speak to Putin about "stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade."

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Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, he added.

Trump has urged Zelenskyy and Putin for months to reach a ceasefire deal to end the three-year war. Ending the war was a key campaign promise during the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul on Friday to hold their first direct talks since the war began. The two sides reached an agreement for a prisoner swap but did not appear to be significantly closer to setting terms for a permanent ceasefire.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday about peace talks, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

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Putin did not attend the Istanbul talks. Trump told reporters on Friday that he and the Russian president "have to meet."

"He and I will meet. I think well solve it, or maybe not," Trump added.

The president has for weeks escalated rhetoric against Putin, blasting him for striking Ukraine as U.S. officials tried to initiate talks between both sides.

Vladimir, STOP! Trump wrote in a post last month after Russia bombarded Ukraine in attacks that killed at least 12 people.

Trump met with Zelenskyy for a private conversation on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral in Rome in April. After that meeting, the U.S. president questioned Putin's commitment to ending the war in Ukraine, writing in another Truth Social post that recent Russian strikes "[make] me think that maybe he doesnt want to stop the war, hes just tapping me along."

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Earlier in his administration, Trump and top U.S. officials, like Vice President JD Vance, targeted their ire about the ongoing war at Zelenskyy, with a late-February White House meeting among the three men devolving into a shouting match.

Last month, Ukraine and the U.S. reached a deal on an "economic partnership" involving Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

The Russian and Ukrainian embassies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  Trump says he will speak with Putin on the phone Monday about the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump will speak on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine war, the US president announced.

THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE BLOODBATH THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

The announcement comes after representatives from Ukraine and Russia held face-to-face talks in Turkey on Friday. It was the first time the two countries held direct talks at any level in three years.

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Trump has previously said he doesnt think there will be a significant breakthrough on peace talks until he and Putin speak directly.

I dont believe anything is going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together, Trump told reporters earlier this week.

Trump said he plans to speak with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and various members of NATO after he talks with Putin.

HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END, Trump wrote Saturday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Saturday that preparations are underway for a phone conversation between Putin and Trump.

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The conversation is being prepared, Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS without providing further details.

Ukraine, its allies in Europe and the US had pressured Moscow to accept a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Putin denied that request and instead called for direct talks in Turkey between the nations, which Trump firmly urged Zelensky to accept. Zelensky, however, said he would go only if Putin showed up. The Russians sent a delegation that Zelensky deemed low level, and Putin did not show up for talks.

Ukraine ultimately sent a delegation too, which led to the nations first talks since 2022, resulting in an agreement on swapping 1,000 prisoners.

Trump told reporters while traveling in the Middle East earlier this week he didnt expect Putin to show up to the talks in Turkey if he wasnt there.

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Look, nothings going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK? And obviously he wasnt going to go. He was gonna go, but he thought I was gonna go. He wasnt going if I wasnt there, Trump said aboard Air Force One.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Saturday to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressing the US commitment to ending the conflict, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Secretary Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during the May 16 Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul and delivered President Trumps strong message: the United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Bruce said in a statement. The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward. The Secretary emphasized President Trumps call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence.

After the call with Lavrov, Rubio posted on X, The U.S. has presented a strong peace plan and we welcome the Prisoner of War exchange agreement reached in Istanbul. Lets not miss this huge opportunity. The time for ending this war is now.

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In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said he is tired of other people negotiating the war and stressed how he and Putin need to meet.

He is at the table, and he wanted this meeting. And I always felt there cant be a meeting without me, because I dont think a deal is going to get through, Trump said. We have to get together, and I think well probably schedule it, because Im tired of having other people go and meet and everything else.

Trump was reluctant to cast the Russian president as the obstacle to peace with Ukraine, but he also told Fox News he thinks Putin is tired of this whole thing.

Hes not looking good, and he wants to look good, Trump said. Dont forget, this was supposed to end in one week.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNNs Mariya Knight contributed to this report.

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By Steve Holland and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss stopping the war in Ukraine, days after the first face-to-face talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul.

Trump had offered to travel to Turkey for the talks while in the Gulf last week if Putin would also attend, but Putin declined to take him up on the offer.

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The president has been pressuring Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to agree to a ceasefire in the three-year-old war.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that his call with Putin will be on Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern (1400 GMT).

"THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," he said.

Trump said he would speak with Zelenskiy and various members of NATO afterwards.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end," he wrote.

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Russia has shown little inclination to make concessions in the Ukraine conflict.

Russian negotiators at the Istanbul peace talks on Friday demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Steve Holland; Editing by Frank McGurty and Rod Nickel)
President Trump on Saturday announced that he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday as the administration has signaled frustration with Moscow over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. he wrote on Truth Social. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE BLOODBATH THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE.

Trump added that he will also speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO members about the over three-year long war, as the U.S. seeks to broker a peace deal in Eastern Europe.

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HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END, the president continued.

The planned call comes after Trump told reporters on Friday that he would meet with Putin as soon as we can set it up.

The Trump administration has pushed for the two Eastern European countries to negotiate a 30-day ceasefire proposal for months.

Senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have indicated in recent days that an agreement with Moscow would likely require Trump and Putin to meet face-to-face.

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The only way to have a breakthrough between President Trump and Putin is for them to meet, Rubio said, adding nothing productive will occur until those leaders engage.

The scheduled call also follows the latest round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul  their first direct meeting in three years.

Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday, welcoming a prisoner exchange agreement that was reached in Turkey, and reiterating that the Trump administration is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The remarks come after a Russian drone strike killed at least nine people in northeastern Ukraine earlier Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

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The Trump administration appears to be losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even as President Trump offers a face-to-face meeting in an effort to end the Ukraine war.

Trump this week flirted with traveling to Turkey to meet with Putin on the sidelines of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, but the Kremlin, just before negotiations were expected to kick off, said the Russian president would not be attending and instead sent lower-level officials.

That led Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Turkey for meetings about European support for Ukraine, to skip the talks. Rubio later suggested that a Trump-Putin meeting was the only way to end the war, a statement that seemed to raise the stakes and signal U.S. displeasure with Putins foot-dragging.

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The Russian leader says he ultimately wants the promise of a better U.S. relationship but has shown little willingness to offer any concessions when it comes to Ukraine.

Trump, on the other hand, is critical of U.S. military support for Ukraine and wants to get into business with Russia. And the president views the war as needlessly destructive to both people and property.

Vladimir, STOP! Trump wrote on Truth Social after a Russian strike in Kyiv last month killed a dozen civilians and wounded scores more.

On Saturday, Trump announced that he will call with the Russian leader on Monday to discuss the war. Still, Putin has continuously rebuffed Trumps calls for a ceasefire.

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We have to meet, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, following Putins latest rejections. He and I will meet, I think well solve it, or maybe not. But at least well know. And if we dont solve it, it will be very interesting.

The presidents last-ditch effort to secure a meeting is risky, with foreign policy experts pointing to Trumps history of taking Putins side, which stems back to his first administration.

In 2018, Trump endorsed Putins denials that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections, brushing aside findings from the U.S. intelligence community after meeting with him.

President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, Trump said at a joint press conference at the time. Later, in a social media post, he wrote that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past  as the worlds two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!

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Today, Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has headed U.S. talks with Moscow, has even returned from meetings with Putin repeating Kremlin talking points, CNN reported earlier this year.

It is clear to most observers that Putin is not interested in serious negotiations or a ceasefire, said Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

If anything, such a meeting would only embolden Putin, as it would signal an end to his diplomatic isolation without requiring him to make any concessions, she continued.

And Ukrainians are worried about being sidelined from talks

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We highly appreciate all efforts from our partners in the peace process. But it is very important for us to be a member of any negotiations and all conditions must be justified and in the framework of our Constitution, Lesia Zaburranna, a Ukrainian member of parliament in President Volodymyr Zelenskys party, wrote in a text to The Hill.

Im sure that Putin doesnt want peace. He is a very cunning and mean person. And only the strong position of Trump, his power could change the situation, she added.

Ukrainian and Russian officials held direct talks in Istanbul on Friday for the first time in years. The two sides agreed to an exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war, said they would write down each sides conditions for a ceasefire and committed to future talks, Turkeys foreign minister said in a post on the social media platform X.

But Ukrainians still fear what might result from a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin.

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One of Ukraines primary concerns is whether Trump will recognize Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. According to a draft U.S. proposal on ending the war, reported by Reuters last month, the U.S. would offer de jure recognition of five areas that Moscow fully and partially occupies.

This includes Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014, the eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the southern provinces of Zhaporzhzhia and Kherson, which Russia partially controls.

Other possible concessions listed in the U.S. draft proposal for peace include barring Ukraine from joining NATO  one of Putins red lines and a fraught issue for Kyiv, which views support from the alliance as a critical security guarantee.

The draft also proposes the removal of the sanctions first imposed on Russia in 2014, and it offers cooperation with Russia on energy and other industrial sectors.

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European leaders and Ukraine have rejected the terms, provided a counter proposal and even carried out a charm offensive to try to keep Trump on their side.

Zelensky, sitting with the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the U.K. held a phone call with Trump on Friday, urging unity to force Putin to end the war.

Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance, Zelensky said in a statement on the social media platform X, alongside a photo of him huddled with all four leaders.

Our position  if the Russians reject a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow, he wrote. Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war.

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Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president, suggested on Thursday that a meeting between Trump and Putin is imminent.

Deals are all about timing, when the time is right, that is when the president is in the room with Putin. My expectation is imminently, he said, speaking at the Politico National Security Summit in Washington.

Snegovaya said the promise of sanctions relief is not likely to push Putin toward concessions because the Russian economy has adapted to the punishment. She said an upcoming report by CSIS will show how the prospect of removing the penalties may upset businesses.

Many businesses are now wary of losing their adapted business models if sanctions were lifted. This reinforces the case that tightening sanctions, not easing them, is the only viable path to influencing the Kremlins strategic calculations, she said.

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Ukraines Republican supporters on Capitol Hill are anxiously waiting for Trumps directive, with the presidents staunchest allies tabling a bipartisan sanctions package against Moscow to provide space to negotiate.

I think in the middle of a negotiation right now that would be premature, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Thursday about sanctions, speaking at Politicos summit.

I think its on the table, absolutely, if they dont reach some agreement, he added. I think all of that should be on the table.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune told The Hill earlier this week that there were no scheduling announcements, when asked about the possibility of a sanctions bill to be brought to the floor.

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The bill is sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) with 70 supporters.

Ukraines GOP allies in Congress are stoking Trumps impatience with Putin, pointing to the Russian leader as the obstacle to peace.

Putin has disrespected the U.S. and the goodwill of our President, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) posted on X.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he backs the House version of the Graham-Blumenthal bill and called for Trump to  on top of sanctions  increase weapons shipments to Ukraine using funds already appropriated from the April 2024 supplemental package.

Theres a presidential drawdown authority from the wartime bill that I passed, thats still available to send more weapons in, he said speaking at the Politico summit.

About $20 billion in undisbursed funds remains, according to government data.

So I think itd be a combination of sanctions and more weapons to get him to a place where hell negotiate in good faith, McCaul said.

Snegovaya agreed.

At this point, the U.S. has offered Putin plenty of carrots, she said. It is long overdue for the sticks: tougher sanctions and clear promises of future lethal aid to Ukraine.

Updated at 11:36 a.m. EDT

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
On May 9, President Donald Trump signed his 150th executive order of 2025, directing Veterans Affairs (VA) to create a center for homeless veterans in Los Angeles on the VAs West L.A. campus.

This site has been subject to legal troubles recently. Last fall, a federal judge ruled the VA failed veterans in its fiduciary duty to provide them with housing. The judge ordered additional housing and invalidated leases of portions of the land given to civilian entities, including UCLA and a private school. The decision has been appealed.

The executive order instructs VA chief Doug Collins to prepare a plan within 120 days to house 6,000 homeless veterans on the campus by 2028, and take action to restore accountability at the department.

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Trump also ordered that funds that may have been spent on housing or other services for illegal aliens are redirected to construct, establish and maintain the new facility, which will be called the National Center for Warrior Independence.

It has not been made clear which programs for housing and undocumented immigrants will be required to give up their funding, or how these funds will be reallocated to the project.

Veteran services in LA

The White House acknowledged that L.A. is the city with the largest share of unhoused veterans in the country.

Los Angeles has approximately 3,000 homeless veterans  more than any other city in the country and accounting for about 10% of all homeless veterans in America," The White House said in a statement released May 9.

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The existing Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH) seems to be ineffective in helping veterans secure stable housing. In 2024, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System reported that while there were 8,453 HUD-VASH housing vouchers available for housing veterans in the greater Los Angeles area, only 62% were in use. A report in the Los Angeles Times attributed this middling figure to delays in processing and resistance from landlords to accept them.

Reaction from veterans

A number of veterans viewed Trumps executive order as a positive sign.

The Veterans Collective, which has a contract with the VA to construct approximately 1,200 housing units on the campus, issued a statement saying it enthusiastically applauds President Trumps plan for a national center for homeless veterans, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Read more: You're probably already overpaying for this 1 'must-have' expense  and thanks to Trump's tariffs, your monthly bill could soar even higher. Here's how 2 minutes can protect your wallet right now

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Others, however, took a cautiously optimistic approach.

The President's Executive Order is a right thing but not yet the right thing, Anthony Allman of Vets Advocacy told the news publication. "We look forward to working with the administration to make the right things  housing, community, workforce development  available to veterans.

Trump's cuts to the VA

The executive order comes in the midst of substantial cuts to staffing for Veterans Affairs. The White House statement on the executive order notes that the president signed legislation to remove thousands of VA workers who failed to give our vets the care they so richly deserve.

The Trump administration aims to cut the VAs workforce by 15% under DOGE, according to NPR. Approximately 470,000 people are employed by the VA, the vast majority of them medical professionals. The broadcaster reported on May 10 that 11,273 VA employees across the country had applied for a deferred resignation. About 1,300 of these applications were from nurses, 800 from medical support assistants and 300 from social workers.

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The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization conducted a poll in which more than 80% of veterans said they are concerned about the recent federal cuts and their impact on veteran benefits and health care.

"A lot of veterans are calling us, and they're worried because they're afraid that this is going to affect their health care, this is going to affect the benefits," Dan Clare of Disabled American Veterans told NPR.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. Credit - Brendan SmialowskiGetty Images

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for two hours on Monday in what the U.S. President described as an "excellent" conversation, announcing that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin negotiations toward a ceasefire.

The call followed Trump's recent public appeal to Putin to "stop the bloodbath" and end what he described as a violent and devastating conflict.

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Shortly after speaking with the Russian President, Trump said he had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as several European leaders and Pope Leo, of the planned talks. He also noted that the Vatican had expressed interest in hosting future negotiations.

The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent, Mr Trump wrote on social media. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war.

Following the call, Russian state media reported that the Russian President expressed openness to a ceasefire.

"Russia is ready to work with Kyiv on a memorandum on future peace talks. A ceasefire with Ukraine is possible once agreements are reached," TASS quoted Putin as saying.

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Putin also described the conversation with Trump as very informative and quite a frank discussion. He added, The U.S. president voiced his position on a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia, too, favors a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. We must determine the most effective ways of moving towards peace.

Putting the end to the war in Ukraine has been a core aspect of Trumps presidency so far. The President signed a deal on May 1 in which Ukraine would hand over half of its future oil, gas, and minerals wealth to the U.S. in return for American investment and economic assistance.

Ahead of the calls this morning, Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters: "I think the president is going to say to President Putin, look, 'Are you serious? Are you real about this?'"

Vance added that the U.S. is more than open to walking away from ongoing peace talks. We want to see outcomes, he added.

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Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump has grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict, and will be pushing for an end to the ongoing war.

When asked if Trump would be meeting with Putin in the near future, Leavitt responded: The president would certainly be open to that."

Overnight on Saturday, leading into Sunday morning, Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had launched its most intense drone attack against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelenskyy, second left, walks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, third left, Vice President J.D. Vance, and his wife Usha Vance, prior to the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter's Square on May 18, 2025, in Vatican City. Jacquelyn Martin Getty Images

What happened at the Russia and Ukraine peace talks in Turkey?

Trumps announcement of the planned call came after officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday to hold direct talks about the pursuit of peace. Notably, neither Zelensky or Putin were present at the summit.

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After much speculation as to whether the two leaders would engage in a face-to-face meetingsomething Zelensky advocated for, on the condition that a cease-fire would be agreed to priorthe two did not meet. Putin rejected Zelenskys offer for an in-person sit-down, and did not accompany the Russian delegation to Turkey. Meanwhile, Zelensky travelled to the Turkish capital of Ankara, where he met with the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In a sign of progress, the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegates did result in an agreement to carry out the largest prisoner swap of the war, with each country committing to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.

After the meeting, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the countrys delegation, told reporters that the two countries had also discussed the possibility of a cease-fire and a meeting between their respective Presidents.

Europe and the U.S. have previously proposed a 30-day cease-fire, which Ukraine has accepted. But Putin has refused to accept the proposal unless a list of his demands are met.

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Read More: How Putin Missed His Shot at Peace

A call between Trump and Putin has been on the cards. The U.S. President told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday: Nothing is going to happen until Putin and I get together.

On Friday, the Kremlin echoed these comments, saying that communication between Trump and Putin is extremely important for settling the conflict.

Contacts between President Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement," Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov is quoted as telling Russian press. Of course, we agree with this thesis. This significance is difficult to overestimate.

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Though Trump had promised a new era of Russia-Ukraine relations under his second term in the White House, his first 100 days saw things get off to a rocky start, with tensions peaking between Trump and Zelensky. The two shared a heated exchange in the Oval Office in February.

The two appear to have since mended their relationship, and shared a brief, but significant, in-person sit-downtheir first since the Oval Office clashahead of Pope Francis funeral at St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican on April 26.

Of the sit-down, Zelensky said it was a very symbolic meeting that has [the] potential to become historic.

"We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional cease-fire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out," he said.

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After the meeting, Trump called out Putin via social media, expressing doubt that the Russian leader wants to end the war in Ukraine, and hinting at sanctions against Russia.

Read More: Trump Publicly Calls Out Putin After Meeting With Zelensky at Pope Francis Funeral

Still, Trump has maintained that he can broker a peace deal between the two countries.

Rubio visited Istanbul earlier this week so that U.S. officials could host their own separate talks with Ukrainian and Turkish delegates. He had a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday, per the State Department.

The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward, the State Department said. The Secretary emphasized President Trumps call for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the violence.

Write to Olivia-Anne Cleary at olivia-anne.cleary@time.com.
President Donald Trump announced hell be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin  and then with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after  as he looks to broker a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Negotiations on the war that Trump promised to end on Day One of his term have dragged on over the last four months, with the administrations patience growing thinner as Russias ground operation in Ukraine continues despite global calls for a ceasefire.

Now, Trump said hell be talking with both parties, and other key leaders from NATO, on Monday morning to stop the bloodbath.

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HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

Trump added that hell also be discussing trade with Putin on the call. Several Republicans including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have pushed for the president to institute new punitive economic sanctions on Russia for refusing to come to the negotiating table.

Trump has threatened Russia before  saying he could levy additional sanctions if he believes Putin is stringing him along and wont make a deal.

I will use that if I have to, I would rather not use that, Trump told Bret Baier on Fox News on Friday.

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Trump vowed earlier this week he will stay committed to negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia, backing an unconditional 30-day ceasefire that European leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Zelenskyy were pressuring Russia to accept.

Zelenskyy, along with key NATO leaders and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, traveled on Friday to Turkey for peace talks that Putin was said to attend before sending a representative from the Kremlin. Hours later, a Russian drone strike in northern Ukraine killed nearly a dozen people.

Rubio forecasted no major breakthrough at the peace talks  which were the first direct conversations between officials from the warring countries since 2022.

The only way were going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin, Rubio told reporters in Turkey.

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In his quest to get a ceasefire deal signed, Trump has lambasted Zelenskyy and criticized Ukraine for not doing more to end the war that Russia started. He and Vice President JD Vance dressed down Zelenskyy during his Oval Office visit in February after calling him a dictator without elections. Trump has also stoked fears in Europe regarding his friendship with Putin, leading to concerns that a deal between the two countries could include Russian annexation of key territories in Ukraine.

Trump remained optimistic this week about the chances of a deal, saying on Fox News that Putin is at the table prepared to talk.

I'm tired of having other people go and meet and everything else, Trump said Friday. I think I'm the only one that's going to be able to do that one. And I think we will do it fast, too.
Tensions ran high this week as pressure mounted on Vladimir Putin to attend direct talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul. On 10th May, four European leaders travelled to Kyiv in a clear show of solidarity, urging the Kremlin to follow through on its own initiative for face-to-face talks with Ukraines President. Donald Trump raised the stakes further  suggesting he might come to Turkey himself, should the meeting materialise.

The European Union reinforced its position with a 17th round of sanctions targeting Russias shadow fleet  oil tankers operating under foreign flags to ship sanctioned crude, sustaining Moscows war chest.

For the first time since Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Putin appeared cornered. Journalists flocked to Istanbul, hopeful they might witness an historic day. But the disappointment followed swiftly.

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In classic fashion, Putin sent a low-level delegation instead of showing up. This was no coincidence. It was a calculated move to downgrade Zelenskyy while elevating the Russian President as Trumps equal in direct talks. The Americans took the bait. Both administrations are now reportedly arranging a Trump-Putin meeting to stop the killings on the frontline.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators did meet in Istanbul. Ukraine reiterated its demand for a 30-day ceasefire  something it had already accepted weeks ago under US pressure. Russia in turn has unleashed fire on Ukraine turning April into the deadliest month in terms of civilian casualties since September last year. Ukraine also insisted on return of Ukrainian children and a full exchange of prisoners of war.

Russia predictably stuck to maximalist positions: demanding control of five Ukrainian territories, including areas it doesnt even hold, and the full disarmament of Ukraine. The only agreement was on the exchange of prisoners.

Crucially, Ukraine continues to insists on direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. And rightly so. These talks are not merely about military or political outcomes  they are about Ukraines sovereignty.

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Russias war has never been about the protection of Russian speakers or the supposed encroachment of Nato. The real threat to Putin has always been Ukraines independence: a free, democratic Slavic nation on Russias doorstep choosing its own path. That, to the Kremlin, is a virus capable of spreading across its borders.

That is precisely why Putin refuses to acknowledge Ukraines agency, preferring instead to negotiate with Trump directly. He believes he can extract more concessions from Washington than from Kyiv.

If this bilateral Trump-Putin meeting goes ahead, it will shape not just the outcome of current talks, but Ukraines future. President Trump must demand that Putin meets Zelenskyy face to face. Ending this war at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield, is a noble goal. But any agreement must begin with a basic truth: Ukraine is a sovereign, independent European state with full Western backing. It will never return to Moscows sphere of influence.

If that message isnt delivered  and accepted by the Kremlin  any ceasefire will be temporary, and the war will inevitably continue. Only a settlement that secures Ukraines sovereignty can bring lasting peace.

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Trump holds real leverage. Congress is currently considering the Sanctioning Russia Act, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham with broad bipartisan support. The bill mandates severe penalties if Russia refuses to negotiate in good faith, including secondary sanctions and tariffs of up to 500 per cent on countries that continue buying Russian oil and gas. This would strike at the heart of Russias economic partnerships.

Donald Trump has all the cards: over Russia, and over the nations that could pressure it into a real peace. He must play them wisely. The future of Ukraine  and global security  depends on it.

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Donald Trump is still seething at the Supreme Court after it issued a ruling Friday continuing to block his efforts to deport immigrants without due process by citing an archaic wartime law.

On Saturday, Trump shared a post on Truth Social from lawyer Mike Davis, one of his most extreme MAGA allies, claiming that the Supreme Court put an illegal injunction on the president of the United States, preventing him from commanding military operations to expel these foreign terrorists.

Davis added in the post that Trump should house these terrorists near the Chevy Chase Country Club, with daytime release. (Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh both live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.)

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Trump shared another post from Davis complaining that the justices had blocked Trump from deporting undocumented immigrants without years of court process. The president wrote, The Supreme Court must come to the RESCUE OF AMERICA.

To be clear, the Supreme Court did not block Trump from deporting undocumented immigrants or foreign-born terrorists, but rather his effort to deport immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law infamously used to justify the internment of Japanese Americans.

Trump has deported hundreds of Venezuelans using the Alien Enemies Act, shipping the immigrants to prisons in El Salvador known for civil rights abuses. The basis for these deportations is that Trumps administration determined the immigrants to be members of a gang that the president has deemed a terrorist organization.

The administrations claims about the immigrants gang ties appear to be extremely specious  and several courts have ruled that Trumps use of the Alien Enemies Act is unlawful, because the law is meant to be used during an invasion or predatory incursion by a foreign nation, neither of which is happening.

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The Supreme Court has not weighed in on whether Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act lawfully. Rather, the justices have taken issue with his failure to respect the immigrants right to due process, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The high court previously ruled that Trump must give immigrants the ability to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act. Last month, Trumps administration attempted a new round of deportations using the law. This time, immigrants were given written notice of their pending removal under the Alien Enemies Act, but only in English. They were given hours to contest their removals, and were not informed of their right to do so.

The Supreme Court stepped in, temporarily halting those removals. On Friday afternoon, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision prohibiting more deportations under the Alien Enemies Act for now and sending the matter back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further review.

Justices wrote that the governments notice to the immigrants facing deportation was insufficient: notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster.

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The justices quoted from their previous ruling directing the Trump administration to respect immigrants due process rights: [T]he Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in the context of removal proceedings, they wrote.

Trump has now posted several complaints about the ruling, as has Stephen Miller, the presidents deputy chief of staff.

The courts are sabotaging democracy, Miller wrote Saturday on X, as he shared a post with a screenshot of a finding in a CBS News/YouGov poll. The poll found that, as of late April, 56 percent of Americans approve of the Trump administrations program to find and deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

That same poll found, however, that two thirds of Americans believe that a noncitizen should get a court hearing or other U.S. legal process before Trump can deport them (as is the law.)

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And the poll found 85 percent of Americans believe that if the Supreme Court rules against the Trump administration on a policy or executive action, the Trump administration should follow the courts ruling.

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STOCKHOLM (AP)  A Swedish journalist arrested in Turkey in March when he traveled there to cover nationwide protests was released and returned home to Sweden on Saturday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that hard work in relative silence has paid off and that Joakim Medin's release was due to intensive lobbying by the Swedish foreign ministry and European colleagues.

Welcome home Joakim! Kristersson wrote on X.

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Last month, a Turkish court had convicted Medin of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Medin was given an 11-month suspended prison term, but initial reports said he would remain in custody awaiting the outcome of a separate trial on terrorism-related charges.

Medin, a journalist with the daily Dagens ETC, was detained March 27 as he arrived at Istanbul airport to cover last months nationwide protests following the arrest of Istanbuls popular mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. The journalist was jailed days later on charges of insulting Erdogan and membership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

Swedish media reported that Medin landed early Saturday at Stockholm airport, where he was welcomed by his wife and the Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.

All is well after all. Im really tired in body and mind. But I feel good, he said, according to Dagens ETC. The pressure on my chest disappeared as soon as we lifted off the ground and we started heading home.

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Medin also said later on Saturday that Ive been thinking from day one about what to say at this moment. Long live freedom: freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of movement," Sveriges Television reported.

Medin said that he spent his prison time in solitary confinement in a ward for political prisoners. He said that he had not been subjected to violence, but that the isolation took its toll.

Kristersson said on X that it is well known that Sweden and Turkey have different views on quite a few and big things. But we have also developed a climate of cooperation that allows us to discuss quite difficult issues.

Local media reported that while Medin's separate trial on terrorism charges would still take place, he would not be required to attend it.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he still believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to strike a deal to end the war in Ukraine, but warned that if negotiations fail, his administration will move forward with sanctions against Moscow.

"Honestly, I will (impose sanctions), if we're not gonna make a deal," Trump told Fox News Bret Baier in an interview published on May 16. "This is turkey time, were talking turkey, and well see what happens. This would be crushing for Russia because they're having a hard time now with the economy, oil prices are low."

Trumps comments come as peace talks in Istanbul on May 16 ended with no breakthrough, and Russia once again issued sweeping demands, including Ukraines adoption of neutral status, dropping claims for war reparations from Moscow and the recognition of its loss of Crimea and four occupied regions none of which Russia fully controls.

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European leaders, who have been working in coordination with Washington to pressure the Kremlin, voiced frustration with Russias posture and confusion over Trumps shifting signals in recent weeks. While the U.S. and Europe had appeared united in pushing for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, Trump has since emphasized the need for direct engagement with Putin and has been non-committal on new sanctions.

"I always felt there can't be a meeting without me because I don't think a deal's going to get through... There's a lot of hatred on both sides," Trump said, reiterating that he intends to meet Putin soon. "I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal. We have to get together, and I think we'll probably schedule it."

He also claimed that Putin is ready to negotiate. "Putin is at the table," Trump said, although he was not physically present during the talks. "He wanted this meeting... I think Putin is tired of this whole thing. And he's not looking good, and he wants to look good."

Asked whether Putin was the main obstacle to peace, Trump instead pointed to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Look, I had a really rough session with Zelensky. He didn't make it easy and I always said that he doesn't have the cards (to win)... you are dealing with the massive army, he said.

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Ukraine continues to insist on a ceasefire, supported by the U.S. and Europe, saying that a halt to active warfare must come before any real peace talks are possible. Russia has so far rejected a truce four times  on March 11, March 25, May 11 and the most recent one on May 16 in Istanbul.

Read also: Its all a farce  Ukrainian soldiers on Russias smokescreen peace talks in Istanbul

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Two students at H.G. Hill Middle School are facing charges after an administrator became aware of a text thread that allegedly featured threats against specific students, including a kill list.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, there was a meme of what one victim would look like when a gun was pointed at him, along with other threatening images.

MNPD: 12-year-old charged with making threat of mass violence against Nashville elementary school

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Authorities said the two 12-year-old girls are charged in Juvenile Court with making threats of mass violence and false reporting.

Law enforcement reported that Mobile Crisis would be contacted and offered to everyone involved, including the suspects.

Threats against schools, special events and businesses are taken very seriously by the MNPD, officials said in a statement on Friday, May 16. Those responsible, once identified, will be prosecuted.

Student arrested after loaded gun found in backpack at Whites Creek High School

This news comes just one day after police announced another 12-year-old was charged with making a threat of mass violence against Henry Maxwell Elementary School. He was reportedly in a group chat with 14 other students when he said he was going to come back for revenge and sent a photo of a handgun to the group.

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Authorities have not given any indication that these two incidents are related or shared any additional details about the cases.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Two men were slashed and a third was stabbed during a bloody brawl on Manhattans East Side early Saturday, cops said.

Cops arrested the 20-year-old stabber following the 3:35 a.m. fight on Lexington Ave. near E. 28th St., in Kips Bay, police said.

Witnesses said Arlo Willner and three other men were arguing near the corner when Willner allegedly pulled out a knife and began hacking at the victims, cops said.

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He slashed a man in his 30s in the stomach, cut a 46-year-old mans neck, and jammed the knife into a 48-year-old mans shoulder as cops arrived at the scene.

EMS rushed the three victims to Bellevue Hospital, where they are all expected to survive.

Cops recovered a knife at the scene as they took Willner into custody for questioning. A motive behind the attack was not immediately disclosed.

Detectives charged Willner with assault and weapons possession. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending.

Assaults in the 13th Precinct, which protects Kips Bay, have jumped by 15% this year, from 76 this time last year to 88, NYPD statistics show.
OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)  Two deputies suffered bite wounds from two, separate dog attacks while on duty, on Friday.

On Friday morning, a deputy with the Oconee County Sheriffs Office was serving a civil paper in Mountain Rest.

The deputy was then bitten on his lower leg by a Rottweiler, from behind. The sheriffs office said that the deputy did not require medical attention.

Another Oconee County deputy was attempting to serve an arrest warrant, early Friday afternoon, in the Townville area.

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While attempting to serve the warrant, a Pitbull charged the deputy and bit him on his upper, right arm, the sheriffs office said. The deputy was transported by EMS to the hospital.

Our deputies face risks every day, said Sheriff Crenshaw. I am thankful that both are

expected to make a full recovery.

The sheriffs office said Animal Control responded and a further investigation is ongoing.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
Two women were injured in a Russian attack on the town of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Saturday 17 May.

Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "Two women have been injured in an enemy attack on Orikhiv.

The Russians hit the city in the afternoon. Two women aged 52 and 72 were injured. They suffered concussion and shrapnel wounds.

The casualties are being taken to hospital. They are being provided with all necessary medical care."

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The Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington had two young beavers needing care brought to them within two days of each other, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

One young beaver, known as a kit, was brought to the center earlier in May by a Tulalip police officer, WDFW posted on Facebook.

The next day, another kit was brought to Sarvey and both beavers were treated and released back into the wild in a wetland in north King County with the assistance of WDFW.

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The two were released with a wild foster group of adult beavers, which are required for kits to be around in order to rehabilitate fully, according to WDFW.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says they will be monitoring the two to ensure a smooth transition back into the wild.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

BEAVER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  A U.S. Army Sergeant has been charged with dozens of felonies after investigators discovered his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old from Utah.

Tomas Richard Shipman, 27, has been charged with 30 felonies. He is facing 20 charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, 10 charges of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, and one charge of enticing a minor.

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Sex offender arrested for attempting to meet child in Lehi, documents say

According to the arresting statement prepared by the Beaver County Sheriffs Office, Shipman is employed as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army and stationed in Washington state. Officers believe he is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and is living there at this time.

Officers with the Beaver County Sheriffs Office began investigating Shipman after a 15-year-old girl confessed to her parents that she was involved in an online relationship with a 27-year-old man. Her parents turned over the teens electronic devices to the sheriffs office to perform an investigation.

One of the devices, an iPod, was given to the 15-year-old by a friend. Officers spoke with the friend, and he stated that he gave her the device to help her contact her boyfriend. The friend only knew that boyfriend by the name Quade, and believed that he lived in Beaver County.

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The friend was able to provide the sheriffs office with Shipmans cellphone number. The 15-year-olds parents found a different number in her phone records that they believed belonged to Shipman.

Suspect in Riverdale homicide charged with murder, had criminal history

After obtaining search warrants, investigators discovered an app called TextMe on a Kindle Fire device that belonged to the 15-year-old. They discovered conversations between her and a phone number that matched the one her friend said belonged to Quade.

The 15-year-old told an officer that she and Shipman had been in communication since July 7, 2024. According to documents, she said that he was aware she was 15, and that they had exchanged inappropriate photos.

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Throughout the conversations on TextMe and Snapchat, police discovered expressions of love and endearment between the two. Shipman sent messages that were extremely graphic and sexual in nature to the 15-year-old girl.

Sheriffs officials said that some of the most alarming discoveries were messages where Shipman was finding routes from his home in Washington to where the 15-year-old lived in Utah. Officers said he had begun exhibiting stalking-like behavior in these conversations.

A proposed arrest warrant has been filed for Shipman, who is believed to be near Tacoma, Washington, at this time.

Latest headlines:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas reported that they filed 295 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 9-15.



In the El Paso area, Mexican nationals Juan Jose Medrano-Escobedo and Rosendo

Dominguez-Morales were arrested after allegedly entering the U.S. illegally through the Texas

National Defense Area (Tx-NDA)  a buffer zone affiliated with Fort Bliss  less than half a mile west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Medrano-Escobedo has been previously removed from the U.S. to Mexico twice, most

recently on July 30, 2024, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

He has been convicted of three felonies, including evading arrest in 2017 and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in November 2023, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

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Dominguez-Morales was last removed on Aug. 20, 2024, following an Aug. 18, 2024 felony conviction for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Medrano-Escobedo and Dominguez-Morales are each charged with two counts related to violating defense property security regulations and one count of illegal re-entry.

Also in El Paso, two U.S. citizens are charged with conspiracy to transport migrants who are in the country illegally after being arrested by Border Patrol agents in Fabens.



Jared Isai Ramirez and Jesus Alberto Soriano, driving separate vehicles, allegedly attempted to flee from Border Patrol.



A criminal complaint alleges Ramirez lost control of his vehicle and collided into a rock wall. He and four passengers allegedly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.



The four passengers were determined to be migrants in the country illegally and were transported with Ramirez to the Clint Border Patrol Station for further investigation.



Soriano eventually stopped the vehicle he was driving and was also transported to the Clint Border Patrol Station.

The criminal complaint alleges that Ramirez admitted that he would be paid $300 for each of the four illegal aliens he was transporting. Soriano allegedly stated that he had agreed to scout the area for law enforcement during the smuggling scheme, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

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The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas San Antonio, Austin and El Paso  and shares 660 miles of border with Mexico.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Southwest Airlines was facing a lawsuit from the United States Department of Transportation that was filed in the final days of the Joe Biden presidential administration. However, it sounds like that lawsuit has since been dropped.

The lawsuit, filed by the United States Department of Transportation back in January, accused the airline of illegally operating chronically delayed flights, saying Southwest operated unrealistic schedules. The lawsuit sought maximum civil penalties against the airline.

The lawsuit claimed that for five months in 2022, Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights. One of those flights flew between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California, and the other flew between Baltimore and Cleveland.

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The Department of Transportation defines a "chronically delayed flight" as a flight that has flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late at least 50 percent of the time.

On Friday, however, the United States Department of Justice, now under the Donald Trump administration, decided to drop the lawsuit.

In a statement on Friday, Southwest Airlines praised the decision to drop the lawsuit.

"The two flights at issue occurred years ago when the industry faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and were delayed due to issues outside of Southwests control in numerous cases," Southwest said in a statement via Reuters.

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Southwest said previously that since 2009, the airline has operated more than 20 million flights with no other violations.

This news comes as Southwest Airlines undergoes a massive change to its policies, including ditching its longstanding policies of free checked bags and open seating on its aircraft.
I read former Gov. Tommy Thompsons May 6 opinion piece regarding the vile ads that were run during the most recent race for Wisconsin Supreme Court justice.

I agree whole-heartedly that the ads were nasty and excessive, that the subject matter had little to nothing to do with their job as a justice on the Supreme Court, and that those millions of dollars would have been much better spent elsewhere. However, rather than blaming the campaigns of Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, Thompson should set his sights on the United States Supreme Court.

It is because of their terrible Citizens United ruling and other decisions that have allowed nearly unlimited dark money to flow into any and all campaigns via PACs and other third parties. These parties generate and run these ridiculous negative ads ad nauseam, with or without the candidate's approval.

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The death of campaign finance reform has led directly to this. It is bad for elections, bad for the voters and bad for our democracy. We have the Roberts court to thank for this. It sits squarely on his shoulders.

Roberta Wallace, Wauwatosa

Opinion: Campaigns have always been rough. I'm sick of politics of personal destruction.

Letters: Former Gov. Tommy Thompson omits real reason for rough Supreme Court race

Letters: I've seen firsthand how wake-enhanced boating makes small Wisconsin lakes unsafe

Tips for getting your letter to the editor published

Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:

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Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.

Generally, we limit letters to 200 words.

Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter.

Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing.

Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person.

We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions.

We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters.

Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.

All letters are subject to editing.

Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chief Justice John Roberts to blame for campaign spending | Letters






Taras Zvir, who had recently began driving for Uber, picked up passenger Justin Anderson in Philadelphia on Feb. 25

Near the end of the ride to Bucks County, Pa., Anderson suffered what was later identified as a brain hemorrhage

Zvir, a former ambulance driver, administered CPR on Anderson until EMS arrived and took him to the hospital









A Philadelphia man who had only recently started working as an Uber driver helped save the life of his passenger experiencing a brain hemorrhage.

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I feel like anybody would've done it, Taras Zvir, 38, of Northern Liberties, humbly tells PEOPLE about his heroic deed. I don't know. I guess I was raised to help. You just do it. You don't think about it, you just do it.

On the morning of Feb. 25, Zvir, who drives for Uber as a side gig while he is starting up his own company, picked up a passenger named Justin Anderson, 41, in Philadelphia. Andersons destination was Bucks County, where his job is located.

"We just started talking about music and stuff, Zvir recalls about the 45-minute ride. And he mentioned that he [drove for] Uber as well. So we were just talking about that for a little bit.

As they were listening to music and nearing the end of the trip, Zvir noticed that Andersons head tilted and he appeared as if he was suffocating.

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His head was kind of bobbing up and down but he was still communicating, Zvir recalls. I was [like], 'Justin, you okay? Do you need anything?' I immediately rolled the windows down, blasted my A/C to try to see if it would make him feel a little better. But he was just getting worse and worse, and eventually he became unresponsive.



Gofundme Justin Anderson Justin Anderson

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Zvir immediately called 911 and described Andersons symptoms to the dispatcher, who told him he needed to perform CPR on Anderson right away. Fortunately, Zvir knew CPR from his time as a former ambulance driver.

I ran around the car, he says. I opened the door, placed him flat, made sure that his head wasn't hitting the concrete because he didn't have any support or anything. So once I placed him flat, I just started doing CPR and was doing it for maybe six to eight minutes.



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To his relief, Zvir heard the sounds of sirens in the distance as he continued to perform the life-saving measure on Anderson. He then stopped when the EMS arrived.

They started working on him immediately, Zvir recalls. They did Narcan. They weren't sure if it was a drug overdose or medical emergency, so I guess they had to cover everything.

Andersons mother, Deborah, later wrote in a GoFundMe that her son suffered a spontaneous brain hemorrhage. A CT scan conducted after he was admitted to the hospital showed a large bleed on the right part of his brain. She added that her son underwent a craniotomy procedure to relieve the pressure on his brain.



Justin was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma (brain bleed), which was determined to be due to an AV fistula (an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein) that he most likely was born with but never knew he had, Deborah wrote.

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As a result of the amount of blood from the subdural hematoma, pressure was put on his brain, which caused a midline shift and some brain tissue damage, she continued.

At the time, Anderson remained unconscious but made some progress. In an update on March 29, Deborah wrote that her son was able to blink his eyes twice when she asked him two questions.

This has never happened, she wrote. It definitely gives me more hope.

Deborah said Anderson is a father of a 17-year-old girl and had just started a new job at the time of his medical emergency. She said it was fortunate that her son was not by himself when he suffered the hemorrhage.

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Had he been home alone, he would not be here today," she wrote. "Had he not been in the back of that Uber, he would not be here today. He was only in the Uber because he was supposed to come back home from work with his assigned work van. Otherwise, he would have been driving his own car. I am also thankful for the Uber driver's quick response to call 911.

Zvir says he has been in touch with Deborah and hopes to see her son when he gets better

I definitely want to meet him," he says of Anderson. " And I also, I just want to make sure that he recovers. I actually texted his mother yesterday just to get an update on him. So I'm keeping in touch with his family and hopefully he pulls through.

The GoFundMe created by Andersons mom is hoping to raise money to pay for her sons medical bills and other expenses. PEOPLE reached out to Deborah Anderson for comment.

Looking back now, Zvir says he didn't think what he did was anything special. "I saw somebody needed help and I just helped. That's it," he says.



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Republicans are increasingly concerned that a bitter Senate primary in Texas next year could make it harder to defend their majority in the upper chamber.

Earlier this week, the Senate Leadership Fund rolled out a poll showing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) trailing Attorney General Ken Paxton by 16 points. But in a hypothetical general election poll, Paxton loses by 1 point to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who is considering a run.

Cornyn and his allies argue that if Paxton wins the GOP nomination, Republicans will be forced to allocate more resources as the party seeks to defend and expand its majority in the Senate.

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The main concern is that nobody wants to spend a bunch of money in Texas where we should be able to win a race, Cornyn told The Hill, noting the recent poll showing Paxton down against Allred.

That would be the first time since 1994 that a Democrat could win, so were not going to let that happen, the senator added.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has set a goal of netting Republicans 55 seats in the midterms next year, targeting Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire and defending Republican seats in Maine, North Carolina and Ohio.

Many Republicans argue that the possibility of a Paxton nomination throws a wrench into that plan.

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I just hate seeing internecine warfare in my state thats going to cost a lot of money and will take away from other Senate races where we have a chance of winning, and I think thats the general sentiment, said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who served as Cornyns deputy attorney general in Texas when Cornyn was attorney general there.

Cornyns allies argue the dynamics of the race will change, noting the campaign has time to close the gap in polling.

They need to reintroduce the senator to voters because he hasnt been on the ballot in six years, said one national Republican operative. Voters dont know Ken Paxton for what he is.

And Cornyns team has begun to throw attacks toward Paxton, rolling out a digital video and accusing the attorney general of approving $7.1 million in grants that have gone to liberal groups.

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Paxton, a figure in the states rising far-right conservative wing, is seen by many in Washington as a controversial figure with a lengthy history of legal troubles, including now-dropped securities fraud charges, corruption allegations and an impeachment by the Texas state House.

It would not be the first time in recent history where Republicans lost a Senate seat in a deep-red state following a contentious primary. It was only eight years ago when former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) narrowly defeated Republican Roy Moore in Alabama in a special election in 2017 following a GOP primary runoff. Moore had faced a number of sexual misconduct allegations during the off-year election.

Some Republicans point to losses by other ultra-conservative candidates, like Kari Lake, who lost to now-Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in the more purple state of Arizona.

But Paxtons allies argue Republicans should pump the breaks on the narrative that the attorney general is a lost cause in a general election and would funnel resources away from other races.

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A Senate race in Texas is a $100 million race. It doesnt matter whos on the ballot, said a senior adviser to Paxtons campaign, citing Sen. Ted Cruzs (R-Texas) 2012 primary against then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R).

No one makes that same claim about Ted Cruz, the adviser said.

Cruz defeated Dewhurst in the primary, despite Dewhurst outspending Cruz and having the backing of the states GOP establishment.

Cornyn has already seen some warning signs from the Republican grassroots over the past few years.

In 2022, the senator helped lead the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which address gun control and school safety, through Congress after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Cornyn was later booed at the Texas GOP convention that year, and the Collin County GOP voted to censure him.

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While Cornyn and the Texas GOP appeared to have since moved on, with the state partys Chair Abraham George praising Cornyn this month as an ally to the party, many Republicans say it could be too late.

[The grassroots] booed him off the stage in 2022 for giving away their Second Amendment rights to the Biden administration, and those feelings havent changed, and it comes out clear in that polling, Paxtons adviser said.

Allred, who worked with Cornyn on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act when he was in the House, criticized his states senior senator in an interview with journalist Tara Palmeri this week.

I know John Cornyn, and I know what he actually believes, and I know that he has in many ways, I think, abandoned a lot of that because after all of these years in the Senate and after all of this time if office, hes decided that the most important thing isnt sticking to what he actually believes and representing Texas to the best of his ability and to his own values, but its just to get reelected again.

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Allred also hit Paxton, calling the attorney general uniquely harmful to our state, to our reputation and who would be ineffective as a senator.

An unnamed GOP strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and does not believe Cornyn can win the primary, described the situation in Texas as a catch-22 for Republicans, noting what they said was Paxtons weakness among the states general electorate.

Ken Paxton is probably the only Republican in the state you could put on the ballot that would for sure put this seat at great risk, the strategist said.

9-out-of-10 panic is where you should be, the strategist said, when asked how worried Republicans are about losing the seat. This is a five alarm fire.

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But that panic does not appear to have hit the states conservative grassroots yet.

Many donors have those concerns, many operatives have those concerns, but for the grassroots activists and the voters they are looking at the race saying the Republican nominee is going to win, and so were going to back the candidate that is most aligned with our values and for a lot of people its going to be John Cornyn and for a lot of people its going to Ken Paxton, said Texas GOP strategist Brendan Steinhauser, who served as Cornyns 2014 campaign manager but is unaffiliated in this race.

Meanwhile, there is still another Republican who could impact the race if he were to jump in. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is mulling a run and has talked to the White House about the possibility of launching a bid, according to a source familiar. The same Senate Leadership Fund poll showed Hunt pulling in 19 percent in a three-way race with Cornyn and Paxton. In a head-to-head match-up with Allred, Hunt leads by 4 points.

I think its pretty cool, right? Hunt told The Hill when asked about the poll. The congressman said he is keeping all options open.

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Full disclosure, I love my district, he added. Im in an excellent place. When youre sitting on pocket aces, it makes it pretty easy to make a decision, but lets see how the whole thing pans out.

One of the biggest unknown factors in the race is whether President Trump endorses. Paxton is seen as fitting the MAGA brand and is personally liked by Trump, while Cornyn, despite criticizing Trump in the past, has championed his agenda in the Senate. Earlier this month, Cornyns office rolled out a memo showing the senator voting with Trump over 99 percent of the time.

A report from The Wall Street Journal this week demonstrated that the White House is not afraid to get involved in Senate primaries. The publication reported that members of the presidents team pointed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to polling conducted by veteran GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio showing the congresswoman losing by nearly 20 points to incumbent Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D).

The White House is in an unfortunate position there but the fact that the White House hasnt endorsed Cornyn already speaks volumes, the unnamed GOP strategist said.

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Cornyn cant win a primary and Paxton puts the seat at risk. Thats a horrific outcome for the White House and for the president and quite frankly for the vice president because on their watch, they dont need Texas falling into Democrat hands, the strategist said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The UK Ministry of Defence has reported minor tactical successes by Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast over the past month, particularly near the city of Kostiantynivka.

Sources: UK Defence Intelligence update dated 17 May on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: UK Defence Intelligence notes that over the past month, Russian forces have made increased tactical gains in Donetsk Oblast, particularly near Kostiantynivka, which is adjacent to the large urban areas of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

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Quote: "Russia is carrying out attacks in three areas: Chasiv Yar (12 km to the north-east), Toretsk (15 km to the south-east) and to the east of Pokrovsk along the H-32 highway [now marked T0504 on the map  ed]."

Details: The update includes a reminder that the fighting for Chasiv Yar and Toretsk has been going on for a year.

Quote: "Russia occupies the majority of both but has been unable to fully consolidate control or to exploit slow advances. Most of Chasiv Yar has been destroyed due to heavy Russian aerial and artillery bombardment. Ukrainian forces remain in several fortified buildings in defence."

Details: UK Defence Intelligence noted that Russian forces have expanded a salient southwest of Kostiantynivka, pushing forward by up to 5 km in some areas.

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Quote: "Russian forces have highly likely severed the H-32 highway which connects Kostiantynikva with Pokrovsk and will likely seek to advance further on this axis in coming weeks."

Background:

In an earlier update, UK intelligence analysed a large-scale explosion of ammunition at a Russian depot in Vladimir Oblast.

Earlier, UK Defence Intelligence suggested that Russia could suffer record losses in the war against Ukraine in 2025.

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UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has condemned a Russian attack on a civilian bus which killed nine people. The attack took place near the town of Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast.

Source: Lammy on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Lammy tweeted that he was appalled by the Russian strike on Sumy Oblast, noting that it came immediately after the talks in Istanbul  the first between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in three years.

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"If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done," he added.

Background:

Russian forces used a Lancet loitering munition to strike the bus as it was conducting an evacuation mission near Bilopillia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later reported that an entire family  parents and daughter  had been killed in the bus at the same time. He emphasised that the Russians could not possibly not have known what sort of vehicle they were targeting.

The Polish Foreign Ministry stressed that the attack on the civilian bus reveals the Kremlin's true intentions.

Following the latest talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, US President Donald Trump said he is confident that Putin is "tired of war" and claimed that a peace agreement could only be reached with his involvement.

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Donald Trump shakes hands with Peter Mandelson, the UK's ambassador to the US, in the Oval Office . | Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

Washington and London hailed a "historic" agreement last week after the UK became the first country to seal a deal with President Trump since he launched his global trade war.

The deal cut US tariffs on British car exports from 27.5% to 10%, and removed all levies on British steel, aluminium and Rolls-Royce engines. In exchange, the UK offered greater market access to US agricultural exports, including beef and corn ethanol, although it retained its ban on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.

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Trump announced the deal in a televised event in the Oval Office, flanked by Britain's US ambassador, Peter Mandelson; Keir Starmer joined by speakerphone. No. 10 later described it as a "win for both nations" and promised to build on it. Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, said Britain had been "shafted", noting that the deal provides less-favourable trading terms than we had before Trump's "liberation day".

Starmer should be congratulated for this deal, which has saved thousands of British jobs, said The Independent. His calm, non-confrontational approach to Trump has paid off. The PM did well to get the UK to the front of the queue, agreed The Times. The fact remains, though, that this is more of a "damage limitation exercise" than "an unbridled triumph". Most UK goods still face a blanket 10% tariff. And the lower levy on British cars only applies to a quota of 100,000, which matches our current level of exports to the US, effectively placing "a ceiling on future sales".

Much remains to be hammered out, said the Daily Mail. There's still no clarity over pharmaceuticals, for instance, or Trump's threatened film tariffs. The worry is that Starmer will scupper further progress in his "desperation to reset relations with the EU", whose leaders he is meeting next week. Reducing friction with the EU, our largest trading partner, is the key to boosting our economic growth, said the FT. Compared with this, the deal with the US, like the earlier one with India, is "little more than a sideshow".
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, have agreed on the need to increase pressure on Moscow following talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkiye.

Source: Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sybiha and Kallas discussed the outcomes of recent diplomatic efforts in Turkiye and a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul.

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Quote from Sybiha: "We agreed that pressure on Moscow must be strengthened to achieve a full and durable ceasefire, stop the killing, and advance peace efforts."

Background:

On 16 May, talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations were held in Istanbul. Media reports indicated that Moscow had demanded the absence of US representatives from the negotiations with Ukraine and had presented a number of unacceptable conditions to Kyiv.

Following the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov noted that the discussions had covered a ceasefire, humanitarian issues and the possibility of a leader-level meeting.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Since U.S.-brokered talks began in March, Ukraines strategy has been to convince the Trump administration that Vladimir Putin is unreliable, and that Kyiv is serious about peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has few options, analysts and officials say, but to draw U.S. President Donald Trumps ire against Putin while depending on the united and stalwart support of European allies.

In the latest round, Zelenskyy not only accepted Putin's offer to hold direct talks in Turkey, after the United States endorsed the idea, but raised the stakes and challenged the Russian leader to a face-to-face. The gesture failed to move Putin and the Istanbul talks were demoted to a technical meeting on Friday that failed to yield substantial results on ending the war.

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The U.S. has expressed frustration with the stalled talks and threatened to withdraw if results arent achieved. On Friday, Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, that he may call Putin soon.

He and I will meet, and I think well solve it, or maybe not, Trump said. At least well know. And if we dont solve it, itll be very interesting.

All along, Zelenskyy's message, directed at the Trump administration, has been: The Russian leader cannot be trusted.

It's a rhetorical game of pingpong in which both Kyiv and Moscow try to outmaneuver the other vis-a-vis the U.S. But the political theatrics are underscored by stark realities on the ground. In this war of attrition against Russia's invasion, Ukraines position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on, unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U.S. continues arms deliveries.

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He is in a difficult situation because behind him is a whole nation of people who are suffering, said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker in Zelenskyys party. We are playing (along), we are trying to do everything we can because we dont want to lose the support of the U.S. We dont want to be accused that it was our fault.

Putins no-show did not result in a strong reaction from Trump, which frustrated Ukrainian officials.

It looks surreal, weird when Ukraine is complying to everything required from us, and Putin ignores, rejects, said Merezhko. It looks very imbalanced, it looks unfair for Ukraine.

Ukraine hopes for sanctions, while Russia stalls

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Since March, Zelenskyy has made a point of showing Ukraine's willingness to acquiesce to U.S. demands to avoid alienating Trump, his most powerful ally.

Kyiv hoped Russias unwillingness to do the same would, in time, provoke the U.S. to unleash powerful sanctions and cripple Moscows war machine  the most likely scenario in which Ukraine can hope to weaken Russia and negotiate an advantageous peace deal, analysts said.

Russias position has remained mostly consistent. The Kremlin kept repeating that it was ready for peace talks with Ukraine  while making demands that were politically untenable for Zelenskyy, and would require Ukraine to make territorial concessions, neutralize its army and vow never to join NATO.

Throughout the war, Moscow has also accused Kyiv and its Western allies of seeking to prolong the fighting and derailing peace efforts.

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Most recently, the Kremlin pushed back against a proposed 30-day ceasefire, countering with two brief unilateral ones, and then accused Ukraine of failing to stop the fighting, painting it as unwilling to silence the guns. At the same time, Russian officials underscore the effort to resolve the conflict is complex.

We understand that Washington wants to achieve quick success in this process, but at the same time we hope that there is an understanding that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is too complicated, there are many questions and details that need to be addressed before the settlement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters last month.

Ukraine is asking for an unconditional temporary ceasefire, during which time future diplomatic talks can take shape. Zelenskyy also asked for a trust-building gesture, such as the release of prisoners of war, something the two sides agreed to Friday. The exchange of 1,000 prisoners would be their largest swap yet.

But Ukraine has also maintained flexibility in its negotiating position by accepting Trump's proposals to avoid alienating the U.S. president.

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They're desperate to keep the Americans on their side, said Balazs Jarabik, an analyst specializing in Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

In March, Kyiv agreed to the U.S. proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, which Putin effectively rejected by imposing conditions impossible for Ukraine. In April, Kyiv signed a landmark minerals deal sought by Trump after months of fraught negotiations and a brief pause in military aid.

That is why agreeing to send a delegation to Istanbul, after Trump supported the idea, was a risky move for Zelenskyy. It played into Putins aim of drawing Kyiv into talks that had been stalled since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion.

We showed that we are for peace negotiations and support Trumps plan," said Mykola Davydiuk, a Ukrainian political scientist. Now the ball is with Trump.

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Despite verbal threats from Europe and the U.S., sanctions of the kind that could devastate Russias energy sector have not been forthcoming.

Zelenskyy has expressed support for a sanctions package pushed in the U.S. Congress by Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham that could impose 500% tariffs on Russian energy imports. Graham has said he has enough support in the House to bring the sanctions bill to the floor.

Russia likely gearing up for summer fighting campaign

For now, Zelenskyy has few options but to continue to highlight Putins disinclination to engage in meaningful talks and keep the U.S. engaged.

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If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and cant deliver any results today, the world must respond, the Ukrainian leader said at a European summit in Albania on Friday. There needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions against Russias energy sector and banks. Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made.

For Ukrainian soldiers fighting along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, the theatricality of the weeks political developments stood in harsh contrast with the grinding war.

Better to call it a circus, said a Ukrainian drone operator with the 68th brigade who, like other soldiers, gave only his call sign Goose in line with military protocol.

Analysts say Russia is at a crucial crossroads in the war, where it can negotiate a truce and consolidate gains, or launch a summer military campaign to maximize wins before the onset of winter.

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Ukraine has always been at a disadvantage and faces manpower and ammunition shortages. Analysts have offered estimates of six months to two years for how much longer it can hang on.

Much will depend on what kind of support Ukraine receives from partners and how quickly the country can scale up domestic weapons production.

Russian forces recently intensified offensive operations in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to Ukraines Southern Defense Forces spokesperson. Soldiers said Russia has a clear aim of reaching the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region, to be able to claim the capture of two out of four partially occupied territories.

The feeling is that we will either hold out and allow the political leadership of the country to freeze the conflict along the contact line, or the enemy will break through, said a Ukrainian soldier with the call sign Corsair Denis in the Sumy region.

___

Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has launched preparatory steps for a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia involving 1,000 detainees from each side, the agency announced on May 17.

The Joint Coordination Center for the Search and Release of Prisoners, operating under the SBU, is compiling a list of Russian military personnel currently held in Ukrainian custody who may be handed over to Russia as part of the swap.

Simultaneously, the SBU, together with the Health Ministry and other relevant state agencies, is preparing to receive Ukrainian soldiers now held by Russian forces. Efforts include setting up necessary infrastructure, designated locations, and medical staff to facilitate the transfer, escort, and rehabilitation of returning servicemen.

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The planned exchange follows an agreement reached between Ukrainian and Russian delegations during talks in Istanbul on May 16, 2025.

Earlier on May 17, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraines Military Intelligence, said he hopes the exchange will take place next week, expressing optimism about the absence of major obstacles.

While Ukraine has pushed for a comprehensive "all-for-all" exchange, Russia has resisted such proposals. Kyiv has not disclosed the full number of Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia.

Prisoner swaps remain one of the few ongoing points of cooperation between the two countries amid continuing war.

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Ukraine's delegation traveled to Istanbul this week for Russian-initiated peace talks, though President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Moscow for sending what he called a "sham delegation." Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to attend, instead appointing his aide Vladimir Medinsky to lead Moscow's team.

Read also: As Russia sticks to hardline demands during peace talks, Europe frustrated with Trumps swerves, Bloomberg reports

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The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has begun preparations to implement a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange agreement with Russia.

Source: the SSU in a statement

Details: The SSU's Joint Centre for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners is compiling a list of the Russian military personnel that Ukraine may transfer as part of the swap.

Meanwhile, the SSU, together with the Ministry of Health and other state agencies, is getting all the necessary infrastructure ready to receive Ukrainian military personnel after they are released from captivity  from logistics to medical staff, support and rehabilitation.

Background:

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), has said he is confident that the thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange with Russia will take place next week.

On 16 May, Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of DIU, reported that Ukraine has begun reviewing the lists of POWs who are to be brought back to Ukraine as part of the prisoner swap with Russia.

An agreement on the simultaneous release and exchange of 1,000 prisoners on each side was reached between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul on 16 May 2025.

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Ukrainian security service drones struck an ammunition depot used by Russia's 126th Coastal Defense Brigade near the village of Perevalne in occupied Crimea, causing a large explosion and fire, a security source told the Kyiv Independent on May 17.

The depot, located near a key highway between Simferopol and Alushta, reportedly housed military equipment, ammunition, and fuel storage facilities. Local residents reportedly described thick smoke over the military compound.

"The Security Service of Ukraine continues to effectively strike legitimate military targets in Russian-occupied Crimea. Efforts to degrade (Russia's) military capabilities will continue," the source said.

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The strike reportedly caused significant damage and prompted Russian forces to block traffic along the SimferopolAlushta highway, which passes close to the affected area. There are also reports of Russian military personnel killed in the blast, the source said.

Russia has not officially commented on the incident. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these claims.

Ukraine has ramped up long-range drone strikes and sabotage operations in occupied Crimea in recent months, targeting Russian military infrastructure and logistics hubs.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 7 that Ukraine is increasing production across "the full range of drones: from Mavics to long-range drones," as well as ground-based robotic systems.

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Ukraine and Russia have increasingly relied on drone warfare throughout the war, deploying aerial, naval, and ground-based drones for reconnaissance and strike operations. Zelensky also noted progress in Ukraine's capacity for "deep strikes"  long-range drone attacks targeting Russian military infrastructure far behind the front lines.

Read also: 10 Ukrainian drone makers to watch

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has welcomed the agreed prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, following peace talks in Istanbul.

"If we set aside all the Russian nonsense, pseudo-historical statements, provocations and so on, what we are left with is this: 1,000 of our people  we managed to agree on their return," he wrote on Facebook on Friday evening.

"That is 1,000 happy families. Even for that alone, it was all worth it," he added.

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Sybiha reiterated that the Russian negotiators did not have sufficient authority to participate in the talks, saying it was unfortunate the Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent people of such a low rank.

However, Ukraine would continue to push for an unconditional, permanent and complete ceasefire, he said.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations negotiated for the first time in more than three years on Friday. The only known outcome was an agreement that both sides would return 1,000 prisoners of war, the largest prisoner exchange since the start of the war.

No date for the swap was given, but Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said it should take place "in the near future."
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)  The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is celebrating its Spring 2025 graduates during Commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday.

According to the university, a total of 1,569 degrees will be conferred and eight academic colleges commencement ceremonies are being held at the Cajundome and Convention Center.



The University will confer 1,233 bachelors degrees. It will also award 285 masters degrees, 34 doctoral degrees, and 17 undergraduate and graduate certificates. Graduates are from 47 Louisiana parishes; 35 states and U.S. territories; and 32 countries.



Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, addressed graduates during the College of the Arts ceremony on Friday at the Cajundome Convention Center. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for choosing the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as the place where you pursued  and realized  your dreams, he said.



Savoie added that the ceremony offered an opportunity to celebrate graduates personal achievements at a time when the college is celebrating a significant milestone. This year is the 30th anniversary of the College of the Arts. For three decades, this college has been the soul of our University and a vibrant thread in the cultural fabric of Acadiana and beyond, he explained.



The College of the Arts reminds us that the work of artists, designers, musicians, performers and architects is not one of lifes luxuries  it is essential. Art binds. Culture connects. The beauty you create and the spaces you design bring people together. Your work tells stories that need to be told and reflects truths that might otherwise go unseen, Savoie told graduates



He also awarded an honorary doctorate of the arts to alum Richard Dickie Landry, an internationally renowned saxophonist, composer, photographer, producer and painter. Landry earned a bachelors degree in music education from the University in 1962.



Taylar Johnson is UL Lafayettes Outstanding Masters Graduate. She earned a masters degree in psychology from the College of Liberal Arts. Caemon Scott is the Universitys Outstanding Graduate. He earned a bachelors degree in strategic communication from the College of Liberal Arts.



Twenty-two undergraduates earned summa cum laude honors for achieving perfect 4.0 GPAs. Members of the exemplary group, listed by college, are:



College of the Arts



Anna Catherine Immel, interior design

Sara Elizabeth Louviere, architectural studies

Emma Gail Rachal, visual arts



B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration

Elizabeth Claire Randall, accounting

Evan Weber, insurance and risk management



College of Engineering



Michael Clovis Hawkins, electrical engineering



College of Liberal Arts

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Ella Rose Gallet, human development and family science

Sydney Katherine Guidry, psychology

Rafael Eugenio Hernandez, political science

Emily Michelle Lindner, history

Liliana Therese Pagan, English

Emily Elizabeth Nichols, speech pathology and audiology

Cade Gregory Roy, political science

Annaclaire Catherine Zerangue, psychology



Ray P. Authement College of Sciences



Paul Alexander Curry, biology

Thanh Quoc Du, computer science

Seth Jacob Duet, chemistry

Moiz Mohammad Fazal-ur-Rehman, biology

Kinley Paige Glass, informatics

Jacob Glenn Marcinkus, biology

Caleigh Anne-marie Meche, computer science

Jennifer Camargo Medina, computer science



View a list of Spring 2025 graduates. Learn more about Spring 2025 Commencement

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Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of Louisiana at Lafayette

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  After two years of construction, UMC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to unveil updates that began in April 2023.

Some of the improvements to their 26-acre campus include new exteriors, landscaping, and improved access for pedestrians.

From our humble beginnings back in 1931 when we started out with one doctor, one nurse, to becoming the highest level of care in the state of Nevada, UMCs Chief Executive Officer, Mason Van Houweling, said. Its just an exciting day for UMC.

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This part of the valley is very important, with the medical district investment by the city, and the school of medicine UNLV and UMCs partnership, to be able to grow and bring care to Las Vegas that no one else has, He continued.

Neonatologist Dr. Francis Banfro attended the grand reveal. He told 8 News Now he was amazed by the updates.

We saw the beginnings. Weve been dreaming what this revitalization was going to look like, Dr. Banfro, who said the move will benefit both doctors and patients, said.

People say looks dont matter, but looks matter to patients, he explained. If the place looks dingy and way behind, they wont have confidence coming to the place.

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The project, which began two years ago, had a price tag of $55 million.

The exteriors really reflect the great care thats happening inside the walls of UMC, CEO Van Houweling 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.
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday that time should not be wasted on an alternative U.S.-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the U.N. has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.

"To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let's not waste time. We already have a plan," he said in a statement as Israel blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the 75th day in a row.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Friday that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza." A global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation - about a quarter of the population in the enclave.

Israel has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Under the alternative heavily-criticized aid plan, a U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May.

The foundation intends to work with private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid into Gaza to so-called secure hubs where it will be then distributed by aid groups, a source familiar with the plan has told Reuters. It is unclear how the foundation will be funded.

The U.N. has said it won't work with the foundation because the distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent. Fletcher on Friday issued a briefing note on the U.N. plan to resume aid deliveries to Gaza, adding that nearly 9,000 trucks are ready to enter the enclave.

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"We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself  160,000 pallets of it  ready to move. Now," he said. "We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need. Let us work."

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has asked Israel to allow humanitarian deliveries by the U.N. and aid groups to resume now until its own infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure."

Israel has committed to the foundation to let aid deliveries resume imminently, said a source familiar with the plan. Israel's U.N. mission in New York declined to comment on Friday.

The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Diane Craft)
Now the dreary winters over, fled with him are grief and pain, When the trees their bloom recover, then the soul is born again. Moses Ibn Ezra (Emma Lazarus)

In Happy Valley the coming of spring means a blossoming of possibilities, a time of planting and hoping. Our harden hearts and earth that filled with grief and pain now recover with expectation. We cautiously sow tender tomato seedlings. We plant the squash seeds. We happily watch our own sheltered seeds blossom as they come into their own as thousands graduate from colleges and high schools.

Though it is time for the young, it is also time for us old heads to look back and recall from whence we have come. The earth is made more fertile by memories.

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The Obama family honored Marian Robinson, Michelles mother, on the anniversary of her joining the ancestors in May 2024. She was the babysitter-in chief during the time they were in the White House.

Around town

Congrats to the Penn State mens lacrosse team. They opened the NCAA tournament with a 13-11 victory against Colgate in front of a packed Panzer Stadium. Four Penn Staters were selected All Americans: Hunter Aquino, who led the team in assists with 20; senior Matt Traynor, who led the team with 36 goals; and Alex Ross and Kevin Parnham. Traynor and Parnham were drafted to the PLL last week. The team will face Notre Dame in the next round on Saturday in Annapolis, MD.

The Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications held a special celebration to say goodbye to its dean, Marie Hardin, who is off to become the president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. The joyous but nostalgic ceremony was attended by Dean Steve Carpenter of Arts and Architecture, Sue Paterno, former Penn State President Graham Spanier, former faculty senate president John Nichols and others.

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Another spring ritual we observe is the 63rd annual AAUW Used Book Sale, which will be held from May 17-20 at the PSU Agricultural Arena. Over a quarter of million books will be available at really reasonable prices. The proceeds are the economic engine that enables AAUW to fund their activities and operations.

The State Theatre presented an outstanding and informative documentary, One on One, about John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono during the late 60s and early 70s when the two celebrities were very active in the peace movement. It was particularly poignant recalling when they lived downtown in the Village before moving up to The Dakota. The film was produced by their son Sean.

In big developments, Penn State administration announced the seven commonwealth campuses that are under consideration for closure: DuBois, Fayette, Mount Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York. And 400 people attended a meeting after the announcement of the proposed route of the State College Area Connector Project. The route will displace 16 residences and affect 19 farms, two businesses and one park.

And the resistance continues. The Lighting Candles For Peace vigil is held each Monday between 5-5:30 at the Allen Street gates. The ACLU sponsored the third presentation of its series: Protecting Constitutional Rights. Dr. Kristy Ganoe of Penn State led a discussion on Project 2025, Conservative Mandate or Manifesto. The next and last workshop will be led by Ray Bilger, senior national security officer, on May 19 from 7-8 p.m. at the University Baptist and Brethren Church on Burrows Street in State College. He will discuss Contemporary Threats to National Security and the Constitution.

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There is an old saying, if you want to go fast, run alone, but if you need to go far, walk together. Brothers and sisters, we have a long way to go if we are going to save democracy. We are not alone. We are the people and we are loved.

Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Partys nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
The United States has revealed the first federal charges against a foreign national for providing material support to one of the criminal groups that President Donald Trump has designated a foreign terrorist organisation.

On Friday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement identifying the suspect as 39-year-old Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez of Mexico.

An unsealed indictment accused Navarro-Sanchez of furnishing the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a Mexican drug cartel, with grenades and helping it smuggle migrants, firearms, money and drugs.

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Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost in the United States, Mexico and elsewhere, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the statement.

This announcement demonstrates the Justice Departments unwavering commitment to securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, and FBI Director Kash Patel, left, speak during a news conference at the Department of Justice, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington [Alex Brandon/AP]

The charges stem from a decision early in Trumps second term in office to apply terrorism designations to foreign criminal organisations, including gangs and drug cartels.

On his first day back in office, on January 20, Trump signed an executive order declaring that international cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime. He directed his officials to begin preparations for implementing the terrorism designations.

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By February 19, the Federal Register in the US listed eight Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organisations, among them the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

Mexicos Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion was also among that initial group of designated organisations.

Since then, the Trump administration has broadened its scope, adding more Latin American groups to the list. On May 2, for instance, two Haitian gangs  Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif  joined the USs list of foreign terrorist organisations.

These designations are a departure from the usual use of the foreign terrorist label, often reserved for organisations that seek specific political aims through their violence.

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Critics, however, warn that this application could have unintended consequences, particularly for civilians in vulnerable situations. The foreign terrorist designation makes it a crime for anyone to offer material support to a given group, but criminal gangs often extort civilians for money and services as part of their fundraising activities.

You could accuse anyone  from a migrant who pays a smuggler to a Mexican business that is forced to pay a protection fee  of offering material or financial support to a terrorist organisation, Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera journalist Brian Osgood earlier this year.

In the case unsealed on Friday, it was revealed that Navarro-Sanchez was arrested on May 4. She had two co-defendants, also Mexican citizens, who likewise faced charges of firearms trafficking and other crimes.

The Mexican government had previously confirmed Navarro-Sanchezs arrest. A statement ICE released to the media showed multiple firearms and packages of meth and fentanyl allegedly linked to the case.

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It also included a photo of a golden AR-15 gun known as El Dorado that was reportedly recovered from Navarro-Sanchezs possession during her arrest in Mexico.

Supplying grenades to a designated terrorist organisation  while trafficking firearms, narcotics, and human beings  is not just criminal, said ICEs acting Director Todd Lyons. Its a direct assault on the security of the United States.
(This May 16 story was refiled without any changes to text.)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit late on Friday against Southwest Airlines, filed by the Biden administration in its final days, that accused the carrier of illegally operating chronically delayed flights.

The Department of Transportation filed suit in January, saying Southwest operated unrealistic schedules and seeking maximum civil penalties.

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USDOT said in January that for five months in 2022, Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights: one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore and Cleveland.

Southwest on Friday praised the USDOT decision to abandon its lawsuit.

"The two flights at issue occurred years ago when the industry faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and were delayed due to issues outside of Southwests control in numerous cases," Southwest said.

USDOT did not immediately comment Friday.

The department in January under Biden fined Frontier Airlines $650,000 for operating multiple chronically delayed flights. Frontier was required to pay $325,000 and will pay the remainder if it operates any chronically delayed flights in the next three years.

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Southwest said earlier that since 2009, the carrier has operated more than 20 million flights with no other violations.

Under USDOT rules, a flight is chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late at least 50% of the time.

Southwest in December 2023 agreed to provide $90 million in travel vouchers of $75 or more to passengers delayed at least three hours getting to final destinations because of an airline-caused issue or cancellation, part of a USDOT settlement over the carrier's December 2022 holiday meltdown.

The Biden USDOT in January also imposed a $2 million penalty against JetBlue Airways for operating four chronically delayed flights on domestic routes. It was the first such fine on an airline for the prohibited scheduling practice.

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JetBlue agreed to pay a $1 million fine and provide vouchers worth a minimum of $75 for passengers for future flight cancellations or delays of three hours.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by William Mallard and Sonali Paul)
The Prime Minister has expressed anxiety about the future of Britain as it comes under pressure from unprecedented levels of migration. We were in imminent danger, he said, in what became a highly controversial remark, of turning into an island of strangers. What he meant by this was clear enough: a once-cohesive country with shared values and a common history was now faced with a huge influx of outsiders whose social attitudes were profoundly different and seemingly irreconcilable.

The fact of this phenomenon  the huge increase in numbers  in itself, is indisputable. What provoked the wave of outrage was the implicit accusation that these incomers were not, and might never be, prepared to adapt to the new land in which they had settled. They would refuse, in effect, to become British. So they would be permanent strangers, maintaining an alien culture which failed to integrate, forming isolated communities which would be cut off from the wider society and destructive of national identity.

This is, as things stand, a plausible outcome but it is not unavoidable. I come from a country whose population consists entirely of people who were once strangers. The United States began as a nation of displaced people. Its founding mission was to take in the persecuted and those in despair  the tired and poor  who willingly left behind their hopelessness to adopt a new life. Their descendants, even those who now believe themselves to have a strong sense of a national bond, have never known the Old World experience of local ties which may go back a dozen generations or more.

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My family, like many others fleeing the Russian pogroms, arrived at Ellis Island at the turn of the last century with very little English, and just the name of a relative who would vouch for them and an address where they could be housed for the moment. They relied on their own extended family and the wider Jewish community to see them through, to help them into employment and offer some sort of security in the new country. The Italians, the Irish, the Poles and the Chinese did much the same.

The major cities of the East Coast all had what were effectively isolated communities of a single ethnicity. My father, growing up in his Jewish neighbourhood in Boston, did not speak English until he went to school. On New Yorks Lower East Side, the shop signs were in Yiddish and that was the language spoken in the streets. Slightly higher up in Manhattan, Little Italy, immortalised in the Godfather films, perpetuated the customs and, unfortunately, the mafia connections of the Sicilians who had settled there. The Irish had the advantage of knowing the language of the New World but still remained tightly cohesive through their Catholic observance.

Even though the children who were the first generation born outside the Old Countries became American with remarkable alacrity, there was still considerable pressure on them to remain true to their families origins. You were Italian-American or Irish-American (as Joe Biden always described himself) and there was always an understanding that your roots lay somewhere else. And yet somehow America managed to create a sense of common purpose and identity which unleashed the potential of these disparate peoples to astonishing effect, producing a dynamism and power that was without precedent in the modern world. How this was achieved  and whether it could be accomplished in the same way in this country  is worth considering.

The fact that this was the intentional project of the nation from its inception  that the country saw its moral mission as offering a new home to the unfortunate and dispossessed  made it unique. It is very important to remember this: Americas experience of taking in migrants is quite unlike that of the old countries of Europe with their established populations and inherited historical traditions. (Note: the indigenous native Americans did not resent the arrival of the settlers in the original colonies. It was only with the aggressive settlement of the West that the conflict began.)

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To come to America meant that you had deliberately signed up for this project of building a new nation whose ethos was a conscious commitment to democratic principles and self-determination. American schoolchildren were inculcated in the principles of the Constitution: We the people and accepted the social contract in which the law was obeyed in return for the governments protection of your rights. I remember being taught precisely those words like a catechism, along with the Pledge of Allegiance which was recited in every classroom. (This is why, incidentally, it is so shocking that Donald Trump seems to know so little about his responsibility to protect the Constitution.)

You had to be taught, in a literal and deliberate way, how to be American because it was a national entity that had never existed before, and your decision to do this was a conscious, informed choice. It is significant that the group who had most difficulty in being incorporated into this venture were those who were descended from the one ethnicity which had not come to America by choice: the African slaves.

What you got through your formal schooling was reinforced by popular culture. From comic books with their quintessentially American superheroes (Supermans motto was, Truth, justice and the American way) to Honey-Im-home sitcoms with their idealised picture of family life, there was a whole apparatus of instruction in how to live the dream of a model citizen. That was what it took to meld millions of disparate people into a new nationality.

What faces Britain now is very different. This country is not a blank slate and it is not an 18th century invention. Its people rarely enunciate what constitutes their national character. They would find such an exercise rather absurd because they are not given to conscious self-examination. Among their notable characteristics are a proclivity for irony, self-deprecation and an enormous respect for personal freedom. All of which would make any programme of indoctrinated patriotism seem ridiculous and un-British. But those are hugely admirable human traits which, given half a chance, should win out against social isolation and repression within a generation.

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A nuclear deal between the US and Iran could help fund terrorism, Republican lawmakers have warned.

Donald Trump on Thursday said that America was very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and that Tehran had sort of agreed to the terms.

Any deal would likely involve the US offering sanction relief in exchange for guarantees from Tehran to scale back its uranium enrichment programme.

However, the president faces stiff opposition from members of his own party who have warned that removing economic restrictions on Iran could enable the gulf state to funnel money into terrorist groups, threatening national security.

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Any lift in sanctions economically could give them access to reserves and capital that gives them the ability to fund terrorism and also build a conventional military, a Republican congressman told The Telegraph.

Iran would be able to fund terrorist proxies like the Houthis and other rebel groups, further destabilising the region.

Mr Trump on Thursday announced that a deal was close and urged Iran to act quickly at the end of his four-day visit to the Gulf States.

Were in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace, the president said.

Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, he added: They have a proposal. They know they have to move quickly or something bad is gonna happen.

Trump speaks on Air Force One at Abu Dhabi International Airport before departing - AP

Oil prices fell by about $2 in anticipation that a US-Iran nuclear deal could result in sanctions easing.

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Steve Witkoff, Mr Trumps envoy, presented Iranian officials with a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations in Oman on Sunday, according to Axios.

The proposal allegedly laid out the parameters for an Iranian civilian nuclear programme and requirements for monitoring and verification.

However, reports of a deal were thrown into confusion on Friday after Irans foreign minister denied receiving any written proposals, whether directly or indirectly.

Although Tehran and Washington have both said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, there are several red lines negotiators will need to resolve to reach a new deal and avert future military action.

Trump on the fourth and final day of his visit to the Gulf, in Abu Dhabi - Getty Images

A senior Iranian adviser told NBC on Wednesday that Tehran is prepared to sign a deal to give up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium but continue to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian use, in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions.

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This has proved a sticking point for Republicans in the House and Senate, who have written to the president to urge him to ensure that all of Irans ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated.

In nearly identical letters signed by over 300 House and Senate Republicans, GOP members warned that a deal would enable Iran to play for time and that the scale of Irans nuclear build-out is so significant that it would be impossible to verify future uranium enrichment is carried out for civilian purposes only.

The Iranian regime should know that the administration has Congressional backing to ensure its ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated, GOP lawmakers wrote.

A Republican Congressional aide added: There is certainly concern that any deal short of complete dismantlement would give Iran relief while empowering its human rights abuses, fuelling their proxies, and failing to curtail their nuclear ambitions.

An Iranian newspaper in Tehran shows Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on the front page - Reuters

Mr Trump pulled out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and five other world powers in 2018 amid concern the arrangement enabled Tehran to continue to enrich uranium to high levels.

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As part of Mr Trumps maximum pressure campaign, Iran has, after Russia, faced the most extensive set of US sanctions in history.

Mr Trump previously warned of possible military action against Irans nuclear facilities if fresh talks - the first in 10 years - which began in April, did not succeed.

Iran is between a year and 18 months away from producing enough weapons-grade nuclear material to build a bomb, according to American officials.

An Iranian opposition group earlier this month revealed details of a previously undisclosed site dedicated to the construction of nuclear weapon components.

The existence of the nearly 2,500 acre facility, known as the Rangin Kaman Rainbow site, indicates the regime is continuing its nuclear weapons programme even amid [US] negotiations, according to Shahin Gobardi, a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

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The pursuit of nuclear weapons is a crucial part of the regimes strategy for survival, he said.

Past experiences have shown that it cannot be trusted, and it will do everything it can to maintain its nuclear programmes through deception, concealment and misleading information.

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US senators have urged Congress to pass sanctions against Russia after the 16 May ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkiye, failed to make significant progress.

Source: Reuters, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Lindsey Graham stated that the US Senate should adopt sanctions against Russia.

Blumenthal noted that "Putin will continue stonewalling and slow-walking ceasefire efforts till his economy is hit hard  isolating it on a financial island," urging a vote on the sanctions bill.

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Graham, who attended a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Turkiye during the week of 16 May, called for the bills adoption and criticised Putins decision not to participate in negotiations with Ukraine, stating that Russias tactics must no longer be tolerated.

Details: On 1 April, half of the US Senate, led by Blumenthal and Graham, introduced a bipartisan bill to impose sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin disrupts the US presidents peace efforts in Ukraine.

Among the penalties proposed in the bill are tariffs of up to 500 per cent on imported goods from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.

Background:

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The US State Department has reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed a "strong message" from US President Donald Trump to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a phone call on Saturday 17 May concerning the USs commitment to achieving a lasting end to Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Source: US State Department in a statement, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Secretary Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during the 16 May Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul and delivered President Trump's strong message: the United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

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The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward."

Details: Rubio also echoed Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire.

Background:

Earlier on Saturday 17 May, Moscow reported that Rubio had discussed the outcome of the 16 May Russo-Ukrainian talks held in Istanbul in a telephone conversation with Lavrov.

Later, Trump announced that he will hold a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday 19 May, followed by a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies.

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The U.S. Department of Justice revealed the identities of suspects arrested in north Georgia as part of Operation Restore Justice, an FBI-led child sex abuse operation.

The FBI-led nationwide crackdown led to the arrests of more than 200 accused child sex abuse offenders across the United States.

In Georgia, the USDOJ said six of the suspects were from areas around the metro Atlanta area.

Those arrested include Austin Bedingfield of Douglasville, Ian Dudar of Roswell, Kenneth Frazier of Powder Springs, Eduardo Gardea of Norcross, Connie Lynn Thompson of Grantville and Christopher Welcher, also of Grantville.

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Federal officials said the sting was meant to identify, track and arrest child predators across the country and 115 children were rescued during the operation.

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Sex crimes against minors are especially heinous, U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. We commend our federal and local law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to hold accountable those who prey on children and achieve a measure of justice for the victims and their families.

In addition to the six suspects from north Georgia, two others were arrested in south Georgia, Michael Alexander James, 44, of Waynesboro, and Martin Lindner, 52, of Augusta.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Here are the charges the six men in north Georgia face:

Austin Hunter Bedingfield was charged with distribution of child sexual abuse material and possession of child sexual abuse material. Bedingfield allegedly distributed graphic videos depicting the abuse of minors to an undercover officer via Kik. FBI agents conducted a search of Bedingfields electronic devices and recovered additional images of sexual abuse of minor children. He was arrested on April 30, 2025.

Ian Dudar was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material. Dudar allegedly purchased child sexual abuse material using Bitcoin from a commercial child exploitation ring on at least four occasions in 2022. Later, in January 2024, when FBI agents executed search warrants on his person and home, they found child sexual abuse material on two of his electronic devices. He was arrested on April 29, 2025.

Kenneth Frazier was charged with enticement of a minor, receipt of child sexual abuse material, and possession of child sexual abuse material. On November 7, 2024, acting on tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Cobb County, Georgia, Police Department executed a search warrant at Fraziers residence in Powder Springs. Officers seized Fraziers cell phones, which contained hundreds of images and videos of children as young as infants and toddlers forced to engage in sex acts. One of Fraziers phones also contained chat transcripts in which Frazier allegedly described himself as a pedophile, enticed a minor to engage in sexual activity, and received a visual depiction of that minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He was arrested on May 2, 2025.

Eduardo Gardea was charged with distribution of child sexual abuse material and possession of child sexual abuse material. Gardea allegedly distributed child sexual abuse material on two internet platforms and possessed thousands of images depicting the sexual abuse of children. He was arrested on April 24, 2025.

Connie Lynn Thompson was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying electronic devices to conceal the alleged child exploitation crimes of Christopher Welcher, who was also arrested during the operation, as is more fully described below. Approximately a week after Welchers arrest, he allegedly called Thompson from jail and discussed a plan to destroy electronic devices that contained evidence against him. Although Thompson allegedly executed the concealment plan, the FBI recovered the damaged devices from Thompsons household trash. She was arrested on May 16, 2025.

Christopher Welcher was charged with enticement of a minor, interstate travel to engage in an illicit sex act with a minor, possession of child sexual abuse material, and commission of a felony by a registered sex offender. On March 4, 2025, Welcher, a registered sex offender who previously served more than six years in federal prison for distributing child sex abuse materials, allegedly exchanged sexually explicit text messages with an undercover investigator he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Welcher then drove from Alabama to the vicinity of a northwest Georgia high school to allegedly meet and molest the girl. Police arrested Welcher upon his arrival at the meeting location and seized his phone, which contained hundreds of images of child sex abuse. He was arrested on May 16, 2025.

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TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4)  Sculptor Stanley Watts believes it was divine intervention that saved President Donald Trump from being assassinated during a shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024.

His faith in that belief inspired him to being working on a statue to commemorate the famously circulated raised fist moment as the President was taken off stage. Watts explained, I knew that he was saved by God because nobody does that. Nobody does that and misses a bullet that they dont know is coming.

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The sculpture captures a moment in time where everyone could come together and denounce political violence. We all did say were not going to allow this, said Watts.

Watts is hoping to get this piece, currently made of clay, bronzed and for it to find a home in Butler, Pa. So far, hes had no luck connecting to officials there and hope the mayor returns his calls. He expressed, I think that this will find its home. Itll actually end up where it needs to go.

SURVEY RESULTS: Utah GOP delegates asked about stripping party membership from signature-gathering candidates

Its no secret that President Trump is a polarizing figure and there will be people who will not agree with Watts and his work. Watts tells ABC4 that the sculpture is not for President Trump, but for what he believes God did that day.

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Watts, however, is also not shy about his devout support for the President. He said, I dont want to get emotional, but I love the guy.  I would take a bullet for this man because hes that important.

The cost for building the sculpture has been mostly out of pocket for Watts but hes raising money for the next steps.

Latest headlines:

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ROME (AP)  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks, taking up the Holy Sees longstanding offer after Pope Leo XIV vowed to personally make every effort to help end the war.

Speaking to reporters in Rome before meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican point man on Ukraine, Rubio said that he would be discussing potential ways the Vatican could help, the status of the talks, the updates after yesterday (Friday) and the path forward.

Asked if the Vatican could be a peace broker, Rubio replied: I wouldnt call it broker, but its certainly  I think its a place that both sides would be comfortable going.

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So well talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role, said Rubio, who also met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister.

The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and had long offered its services, and venues, to try to help facilitate talks, but found itself sidelined during the all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Pope Francis, who occasionally angered both Kyiv and Moscow with his off-the-cuff comments, had entrusted Zuppi with a mandate to try to find paths of peace. But the mandate seemed to narrow to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia, and the Holy See also was able to mediate some prisoner exchanges.

During their meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio thanked Zuppi for the Vatican's humanitarian role, citing in particular prisoner swaps and the return of Ukrainian children. Rubio emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

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Leo, who was elected historys first American pope on May 8, took up Francis call for peace in Ukraine in his first Sunday noon blessing as pope. He appealed for all sides to do whatever possible to reach an authentic, just and lasting peace.

Leo, who as a bishop in Peru had called Russia's war an imperialist invasion," vowed this week personally to make every effort so that this peace may prevail.

In a speech to eastern rite Catholics, including the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, Leo begged warring sides to meet and negotiate.

The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace, he said.

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The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, repeated the Vaticans offer to serve as a venue for direct talks, saying the failure of negotiations in Istanbul to reach a ceasefire this week was tragic.

We had hoped it could start a process, slow but positive, toward a peaceful solution to the conflict, Parolin said on the sidelines of a conference. But instead were back to the beginning.

Asked concretely what such an offer would entail, Parolin said that the Vatican could serve as a venue for a direct meeting between the two sides.

One would aim to arrive at this, that at least they talk. Well see what happens. Its an offer of a place, he said.

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We have always said, repeated to the two sides that we are available to you, with all the discretion needed, Parolin said.

The Vatican scored what was perhaps its greatest diplomatic achievement of the Francis pontificate when it facilitated the talks between the United States and Cuba in 2014 that resulted in the resumption of diplomatic relations.

The Holy See has also often hosted far less secret diplomatic initiatives, such as when it brought together the rival leaders of South Sudan in 2019. The encounter was made famous by the image of Francis bending down to kiss their feet to beg them to make peace.

Perhaps the Holy See's most critical diplomatic initiative came during the peak of the Cuban missile crisis when, in the fall of 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered a secret deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba that were soon detected by U.S. spy planes.

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As the Kennedy administration considered its response, with the threat of nuclear war looming, Pope John XXIII pleaded for peace in a public radio address, in a speech to Vatican ambassadors and also wrote privately to Kennedy and Khruschev, appealing to their love of their people to stand down.

Many historians have credited John XXIIIs appeals with helping both sides step back from the brink of nuclear war.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
May 16JAMESTOWN  More than 20 years ago, the senior pastor at Victory Lutheran Church had a vision for a school attached to the church. Victory Christian School, which is independent of the church, started in 2008 as just a small prekindergarten program and has now expanded its offerings to have its first ninth grade class this fall.

"We praise the Lord that God was so good to us because we always had a vision that ... we don't want this just to be a Victory Church school," the Rev. Shawn Bowman said. "We want this to be a community Christian school."

Students, faculty, staff and administrators of Victory Christian School as well as parents and Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors marked the completion of the school's new addition on Friday, May 16, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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"It's going to benefit the church and benefit the community of Jamestown to have this space," said Mike Woodley, executive director of Victory Christian School.

Bowman said to sit in the new gymnasium at Victory Christian School is a "miracle."

"The support has been here. The people have showed up," he said. "We've got kids coming, signing up. We've got teachers that are calling from even out of the community saying, 'I'd like to come teach at your school.' God is doing something special in this school and you can't really see it until you become part of it."

Victory Christian School, located at 510 9th Ave. SW, is an interdenominational evangelical school that provides "high quality Christian education that ministers to the whole child  body, mind and spirit," according to its website.

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Beginning this fall, Victory Christian School will offer classes for students prekindergarten through ninth grade. The school offered classes for students prekindergarten through eighth grade this past school year.

The school has 89 students, The Jamestown Sun reported in December. The school had 53 students in 2021-22 and 93 students in 2023-24.

Woodley said seven students are enrolled for the school's new ninth-grade class.

"We have room for 18," he said.

A new grade will be added each year with the addition of 12th grade in 2028.

Victory Christian School launched its $5 million "Growing Together" capital campaign in April 2024 for the construction of the new addition with a goal of starting a high school. Woodley said $4.2 million has been raised of the $5 million goal.

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"There are a lot of donors in this room, and some people that have given huge sacrifices and big money to make this happen," he said. "Without you guys, this would not be possible. Thank you for seeing the vision, for catching the vision because of the difference that it makes."

The addition is on the north side of Victory Christian School where its playground was formerly located. The addition connects to the existing school building. The playground was relocated west of the current facility.

Victory Christian School's goal is to build a school campus for prekindergarten through 12th grade and to have enough space for two classrooms per grade, according to the school's pamphlet of the project.

The project includes three phases. The first phase was the construction of the 10,000-square-foot addition that includes a new gym, commons area, kitchen, storage area, multipurpose classroom and another classroom.

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Also part of the first phase is to remodel the old gym into three classrooms and office space.

"That's our next step, which we're planning to launch that this summer and get that space done," Woodley said. "Once we have that space, that should buy us about three to five years. In three to five years, if we continue on the same road that we're doing now, then we're gonna have to build out."

The second phase of the project includes the construction of the first half of the new school campus building that will serve as the main academic pod with classrooms, bathrooms and lockers.

The third phase includes constructing the final half of the new school campus building. It would include adding two academic pods with classrooms, bathrooms and lockers. It also includes adding administrative offices.

The new campus building would be built west of the current school. Woodley said Victory Lutheran Church owns land west of the facility that it would lease to Victory Christian School for $1 per year.
HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam and the United States held their first direct ministerial-level negotiations on Friday against the backdrop of an impending U.S. tariff of 46% on imports from the Southeast Asian nation, which could significantly impact its growth.

The Vietnamese trade ministry said in a statement released on Saturday that the meeting, which occurred in Jeju, South Korea, following the 31st APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade, symbolised both nations' commitment to fostering a stable economic, trade, and investment relationship.

The talks follow a phone call last month between Vietnamese trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that officially started negotiations.

"USTR Greer agreed with Vietnam's current approach and proposal," the trade ministry's statement said. "The United States hopes that with the mutual efforts, the technical-level negotiations in the coming days will yield positive results."

The U.S. has postponed the implementation of the 46% tariff on Vietnam until July. If enforced, the levy could disrupt growth in Vietnam, which is heavily dependent on sales to the United States, its largest export market, and substantial foreign investments in manufacturing goods for export.

Vietnam has the fourth-largest trade surplus among all U.S. trading partners, worth $123.5 billion last year.

In an attempt to diminish that trade surplus, Hanoi has recently implemented several measures, including reducing tariffs on a multitude of goods destined for the U.S. and intensifying its efforts to curb the shipment of Chinese goods to the U.S. via its territory.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Sonali Paul)
An abandoned 54-foot cabin cruiser beached since last summer on Beer Can Island in the St. Croix River in Hudson, Wis., has been towed away after the owner racked up more than $40,000 in fines from the city.

Calling it an eyesore, Dave Jarvis, of St. Croix River Cruises in Hudson, worked with three other men to get the boat, the Sweet Destiny, towed off the island on Friday.

Hudson Mayor Rich OConnor said the city was grateful the boat was removed.

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We really appreciate it, it is very helpful and we hope we dont experience anything like this in the future, he said Friday night.

We were all kind of sick of looking at it, Jarvis said. If we didnt do it, who wouldve done it?

So Jarvis called the city and asked if towing the boat on Friday would interfere with any plans the city had.

They didnt hire us, Jarvis said of the city. We just did it.

In December, the owner of the boat had racked up more than $44,000 in fines, according to Police Chief Geoff Willems. It is unclear how much the owner, Grayson McNew, owes now.

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He did not return emails for comment on Friday night.

A crew of four spent all day Friday removing the beached boat.

Dave Jarvis and his father, Gordy, worked with Wayne Prokosch and Josh Stokes from River City Welding in Red Wing, Minn., beginning at 8 a.m. and finishing up with the boat settled in for the night at Jarvis dock at 5 p.m.

Getting the boat off the island was the right thing to do, Jarvis said. Let me put it this way, its been a sour topic in our community for quite some time and honestly, an eyesore. Everybody has been wanting that boat off of there. There are safety issues and environmental hazards. It was time. It was time for somebody to do something and we have the knowledge, ability and experience.

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Jarvis said the boat will be towed to Red Wing on Monday where it is possible someone might buy it for next to nothing.

It might be scrapped or refurbished. It is really a wreck. Everything would have to be replaced, Jarvis said, noting the boat would need a lot of work, including a new engine and electrical system.

McNew apparently bought the 1981 Bluewater Intercoastal in 2024. The boat, which was beached on the sand, apparently had a hole in its hull and sank halfway, Willems said. It also had its rudder ripped off, he said.

He thought he got a good deal and that he could fix it up and do something with it, Willems said. Then life happened, and he didnt have the money or time to fix it up.

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In August 2024, Hudson officials contacted McNew, of Afton, and told him he had until Oct. 1 to remove the boat or he would be charged for the removal and towing of the boat. McNew stated he understood, according to police reports.

But the boat remained marooned on the island until Friday.

McNew, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the Minnesota House, first came to the attention of Hudson officials in July when he docked the cruiser at the citys new boat launch in Lakefront Park, Willems said.

It was parked there for, like, a week, and we started getting complaints about it, Willems said. So we called him and said, Hey, the boats got to move. He moved it out to (Beer Can) Island and then just left it there.

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OConnor also said the city hoped that all the publicity the boat had received along with legislation working its way through legislatures in Wisconsin and Minnesota prohibiting the abandonment of watercraft will act as a deterrent to anyone else tempted to abandon a boat.

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In a brooding speech made Thursday to fundraisers, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson blasted the Trump administration for its alleged assault on the U.S. Constitution.

Im pretty careful about the words I use, okay, Ferguson told a room full of 200 Tri-City Democrats at a Richland hotel on Thursday night.

So I dont throw around terms, like constitutional crisis, casually. But  but  we are, in our country right now, in the midst of a constitutional crisis. That is a fact, that is a reality, he said.

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He was in the Tri-Cities all day on business  his first visit to the region since being elected governor. He spoke to the Richland Rotary Club, signed 11 bills into law and met with officials with the plumbers and pipefitters union Local 598 before breaking bread with Democrats.

Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti and Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove were also there.

In his speech, Ferguson touched on the states budget woes, election gains he made in the Tri-Cities over Jay Inslees 2012 campaign, the impact of rising tariffs, and how he strives to create a government that cuts back on red tape and works for people.

At the same time, he also was critical of legislative Democrats fiscal spending and called on more responsible budgeting.

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The Legislature recently finished its 2025 session, which included patching a $16 billion budget shortfall with new taxes.

Then, Ferguson tried to rally Tri-Citians to contribute to campaigns, organize protests, defend democracy and to fight for the rights of others as Democrats push to retake Congress next year.

I want you to know that there is no governor in the country more prepared to defend your freedoms against this president than I am, he told the room.

He called Trumps actions anti-democratic, alleging the MAGA president ignores court orders. Ferguson wasnt specific, but he claimed Trumps antagonistic attitudes toward the judiciary are the very definition of a constitutional crisis.

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Ferguson made parallels to a book his son was reading about how democracies die, which he said claims they perish not by some big revolution, typically  but by a gradual erosion of liberties.

GOP leader reacts to comments

In a phone interview with the Tri-City Herald, a leading Washington Republican responded to Fergusons comments by calling them hysterical and not reality based.

Were not in a constitutional crisis, said Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh. Its irresponsible stuff. And why? Because Democrats dont have a good challenger to Trump  and Trumps not going to run again.

Gov. Ferguson needs to not mind the splinter in Trumps eye and tend to the plank in his own eye, Walsh continued. He was referring to a case involving a state trooper who died in a crash allegedly caused last year by an undocumented immigrant in Snohomish County.

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Political and constitutional experts have been hesitant to claim that the U.S. is experiencing a constitutional crisis.

Some Harvard Law professors in a February panel said while Trumps actions were deeply troubling, they didnt meet the definition of a constitutional crisis.

But a YouGov poll sponsored by Elon University found that 67% of U.S. adult respondents in April were very or somewhat concerned about a crisis arising from disagreements between the executive and judicial branches.

Its clear rhetoric between the two major U.S. political parties continues to flare.

Walsh pointed to a since-deleted social media post by former FBI Director James Comey. Hes being investigated by the Secret Service after sharing photo of seashells that spelled out 86 47  86, a slang term meaning to remove, and Trump is the 47th president.

Liberals say the phrase is meant to support ousting the sitting president, but conservatives have interpreted it as an incitement of political violence.

Thats not a joking matter, Walsh said.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray on Friday blasted the Trump administration over its plan to rip hundreds of millions of dollars away from construction-project funding in blue states.

Among the major projects that President Donald Trump is defunding: the Howard Hanson Dam here in Washington, the Democratic senator said in a virtual press conference alongside representatives from Tacoma Public Utilities and the Covington Water District.

The news event followed the release of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to strip roughly $437 million from blue states construction funding while moving about $258 million more toward that purpose in red states, Murrays office noted in a news release.

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Yesterday, the Trump administration released a plan to blatantly rob blue states and completely politicize federal funding for crucial projects, said Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

We are talking historically blatant thuggery from the White House here.

The White House did not immediately return McClatchys request for comment.

In Washington, the plans also mean the Howard Hanson Dam facility will lose out this year on $500 million in funding that Murray secured for construction of a fish-passage facility, according to the release.

The project would help address issues of water supply, flood risks and safeguarding salmon, Murray said. Such funding had generated bipartisan support, she said, and her chambers committee had cleared a bill for this unanimously. The project also had been fully funded in the Republican-drafted House appropriations bill.

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Now that money has evaporated, she said, adding that there was no explanation given: But the motivation here is obvious, and it is alarming.

Murrays counterpart, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, also decried the Trumps administrations choice to withhold the $500 million in planned federal funding for the dams fish-passage construction. In a Friday news release she called the construction key to reopening at least 60 miles of prime salmon and steelhead habitat, nearly doubling Green River spawning grounds for endangered salmon and steelhead.

Withholding funding for this project is a stab in the back to tribal, commercial, and recreational fishing families, Cantwell continued. It also amounts to an abandonment of our commitment to tribal treaty rights, and ignores federal law intended to protect salmon.

Aside from Washington, funding was zeroed out for water infrastructure in Hawaii and California, according to E&E News by Politico. Because of the continuing resolution that the U.S. Congress approved in March, Trump enjoys more authority over spending decisions than typically would be allowed.

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Trumps partisan vision is replacing Congress bipartisan understanding of which projects require funding, Murray said, and its setting a worrying precedent.

The balance of states Trump wants to give more funding  and the states he wants to cut off  is completely lopsided: about two-thirds for red states, one-third for blue states, Murray said. Now for comparison, the budget request, our bipartisan Senate bill, and yes, even House Republicans bill, split the funding between red and blue states about 50-50.

Since Trumps return to the presidency in January, Washington state leaders have been bracing for more federal cuts. Gov. Bob Ferguson urged lawmakers during the recently wrapped 2025 session to prepare for significant threats to our federal funding.

Trump has said he wants to stop federal dollars from going to states with sanctuary cities, which would include Washington.

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Tensions have escalated between Washington state and the Trump administration in recent weeks. The feds have launched investigations into the states Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and its new law requiring clergy members to be mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect, similar to teachers.

Murray issued a word of warning: It may not be your state today, but what happens when your governor disagrees with the president?

We have to push back now  today  which is exactly what Im doing, she said. I will fight tooth and nail to prevent this completely partisan vision from becoming a reality.
Credit: Green Britain Foundation

The UKs largest supplier of organic salmon has been suspended from an RSPCA animal welfare scheme after staff were filmed beating fish to death, The Telegraph can reveal.

Some farmers working at a Mowi fish farm on Loch Harport have been accused of 18 incidents of animal cruelty after the Green Britain Foundation (GBF) filmed the site for a month.

The group, founded by Dale Vince, the renewable energy entrepreneur, has claimed its footage shows Atlantic salmon left to suffocate for more than a minute, a fishs head being crushed by a workers heel, and some creatures taking up to 50 seconds to die from repeated beatings.

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The RSPCA has launched an investigation into the extremely upsetting video and suspended the Scottish farm from its assured animal welfare certification scheme.

Sainsburys has suspended supply from Mowi while the investigation is ongoing. The Norwegian seafood company also supplies to other major retailers like Tesco and Waitrose.

The Soil Association has also launched its own investigation, adding that it was shocked and saddened to see an unacceptable level of animal welfare that we shouldnt be seeing in an organic certified system.

The video shows staff working on a large pen which holds 40,000 salmon. The GBF says the footage shows live fish being kept out of water beyond a 15-second limit set by RSPCA welfare standards.

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The clip, filmed from a public location on the Isle of Skye, also appears to show staff using a priest  a small baton  to repeatedly strike salmon despite welfare standards requiring them to be given a non-recoverable percussive blow to the head to render it immediately insensible.

The footage will prove embarrassing for Mowi, which boasts that the health and welfare of our salmon is our top priority.

Mowi supplies to some of the countrys major retailers like Sainsburys and Tesco

Mr Vince, who also founded Ecotricity, described the footage as absolutely horrifying, claiming they were examples of systematic cruelty showing a complete disregard for animal welfare.

One worker was recorded crushing a fishs head under their heel. This isnt just a breach of standards, its a culture of cruelty that has no place in any industry, let alone one claiming to meet RSPCA welfare standards.

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We have documented over 18 incidents across multiple days. If one suffocated fish warrants removing certification from an entire company in Australia, then surely this pattern of systematic abuse demands the same response here.

The RSPCA must act decisively and drop Mowi entirely  not just this one farm. Anything less would be a betrayal of their own standards and the animals they claim to protect.

An RSPCA Assured spokesman said the suspension meant Mowi was not currently able to market or sell any products under the RSPCA Assured label.

Whilst we establish the facts, we are unable to comment further. However, we want to offer our firm reassurance that salmon welfare is our absolute priority, and we will not hesitate to take action where necessary.

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We have also advised that the footage is reported to APHA  the Animal and Plant Health Agency. They are a government body equipped to take legal action if necessary.

A Waitrose spokesman said it was investigating this footage as a matter of urgency with our supplier and will take whatever steps we need to.

Green Britain Foundation and The Soil Foundation have both launched an investigation into the footage - K Neville/iStockphoto

Mowi said it had reviewed the footage, adding that the group was known for its opposition to farming animals, as well as funding vegan activists to film and oppose salmon farming operations.

It added that husbandry staff were removing around 12 poor performing salmon from a large pen which held 40,000 healthy salmon.

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We do understand why the footage showing these fish being dispatched may be concerning to some people but percussive stun to dispatch fish is the most effective and humane method in these circumstances, it added.

The staff are working on floating pens in what appears to be a very windy day, so [they] would be trying to ensure that the fish are stunned as quickly as possible and so some fish received multiple blows, but that is to ensure they are quickly euthanised.

According to Mowi, its bosses had spoken to the farm staff to support them and ensure that they feel valued as farmers and not persecuted by activists, explaining how they would be providing refresher courses to staff to ensure the requirements of the RSPCA welfare standard are held to the highest standard in our business at all times.

Mowi Scotland employs 1,500 staff in the Scottish Highlands and Fife.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  A kindergarten class at DeWitt Road School is banding together in support of one their classmates  with a lemonade stand.

Tacianna Indovina said back in March, what started as an ordinary school day turned heartbreaking for 6-year-old Briella.

When Briella broke her leg, she and her family were at the hospital when the doctor gave them shocking news.

[They] were shocked to learn that she likely had osteosarcoma bone cancer, two hours into their emergency room visit, Indovina told News 8.

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Since that day, Briella has had multiple rounds of chemotherapy, facing each one with bravery and strength.

Briellas story resonated with the DeWitt Road Elementary School, and so they could show their support  Briellas kindergarten class is organizing a lemonade stand fundraiser on June 1 to benefit Briella and her family.

You can show your support by donating directly to Briellas family  @Critt5833 on Venmo, Indovina said.

This is about coming together for a little girl whos going through so much, said one of the parents organizing the event. We want Briella and her family to feel the strength and support of the whole community.

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The vehicles lights are switched off and the battlefield plunges into darkness. The machine gun vanishes and the soldiers disappear. Only the starlight sketches out the silhouettes of Ukrainian troops in position on a bridge.

The day has ended, but their mission is about to begin: its time to hunt Russias drones.

As Kyiv pushes for more Patriot missiles and advanced defence batteries, this handful of soldiers are doing what billion-pound systems cannot: reacting in real time to Moscows main threat before they reach Ukraines cities.

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In the past month, they have downed seven Shahed 136s. Is it a lot? Or not enough? The crackle of the radio interrupts the debate.

Stay sharp, weve got work to do, shouts Ivan, commander of the mobile anti-air battery. Theres one heading this way. Well try to bring it down.

The Shahed is one of Kyivs greatest foes  not for its destructive power, but for its ability to overwhelm air defences.

Volodia, who commands an anti-air battery, believes that the war will be won by whoever invests smarter - Fermin Torrano

Cheap, explosive and increasingly hard to intercept, Russia sends several thousand each month. Launched in waves alongside ballistic missiles, they overwhelm even the most advanced systems, and put high-value assets such as the F-16 jet at serious risk.

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The weapons importance to Russia was underscored when a number of Shaheds were paraded on May 9  the first time drones have been included in Moscows annual Victory Day celebrations.

In recent days, as Kyiv and its allies have pushed for a full 30-day ceasefire, the sound of the drones four-cylinder engines overhead has not stopped, and they have continued to target civilian centres.

Hi-tech Western arms are capable of intercepting individual Shaheds and Russian ballistic missiles, but each Patriot missile costs millions of pounds. In contrast, each Shahed costs Russia about 26,000 to produce.

Whats more, the flow of Western defence weaponry has slowed in the months since Donald Trump returned to the White House, leaving Ukraines EU allies scrambling to supply Kyiv with more missiles.

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Troops on the ground, like those from the 115 Brigade, are working to plug the gaps and bring the drones down themselves.

Back on the bridge, the soldiers burst into motion, and a gunner jumps into the back of a modified pick-up. Its sides and rear gate have been stripped away, replaced by a swivel seat with foot pedals to fire the mounted 14.5mm machine gun.

A thermal imaging screen helps to track targets overhead.

A few metres away, another soldier locks a blue laser onto the incoming drone, marking its trajectory. Tracer rounds follow the beam. A yellow streak rips through the night, and empty casings clatter onto the tarmac. The burst lasts for 24 seconds.

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Move, Ihor shouts. Lets go, lets go, we must change position.

Some soldiers scramble back into the van, others sprint to a nearby 4x4. It seems they have missed their target, but there is no time to dwell on it.

On the battlefields of Ukraine, every shot is a gift to the enemy. Hit or miss, once they open fire, they become targets for a Russian counterstrike, and the priority now is to get to cover fast.

Drones were paraded for the first time as part of Russias Victory Day celebrations on May 9 - Maxim Shipenkov/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

What really makes it difficult is their change of speed, says Volodia, commander of a second anti-air battery. If it were constant, we could set the interception point and fire slightly ahead of the target. But it is not that simple.

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These drones can alter course and speed mid-flight, making them harder to shoot down.

Russias domestically produced model travels at about 200 kilometres an hour (124 miles an hour). But a new version  the Shahed 238  could triple that top speed, further complicating the defenders job.

Everyone is adapting in their own way, says Volodia. Russians modified the fuel tanks design, the motors, or paint the Shaheds black. And we adjust as well. For several weeks now, we have had thermal screens mounted on our machine guns.

Ivan nods beside him: Before that, it was almost impossible to bring them down.

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The thermal technology not only extends detection range to up to three kilometres (almost two miles) but also nullifies camouflage efforts and improves accuracy, helping the gunners hit critical components, such as the engine.

But the battlefield is evolving fast. As Ukraines defences sharpen, Russia adapts, sending more decoy drones, using Ukrainian SIM cards to reroute the flights after crossing the front line, and equipping the unmanned systems with electronic warfare to mislead interceptors.

For many Ukrainians, the promise of Western arms remains distant.

Cities such as Sumy, Kryvyi Rih or Kharkiv are suffering bloody strikes, with civilian casualties mounting, all while Vladimir Putin talks about peace.

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This is why Kyiv is pressing to acquire 10 Patriot systems for 11.3 billion to add to the eight it is reported to already possess. The air defence system is widely recognised for its ability to track and intercept aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles with high-precision.

Patriot missile defence system

Recently, Kyiv secured one US launcher previously deployed in Israel, along with 100 missiles for it from Germany. Washingtons approval of the delivery marks one small gesture towards Ukraine since the signing of the mineral agreement.

But the limited Patriot batteries are focused on countering the most serious threats. Solutions, such as the 13 Raven air defence systems sent by Britain, remain scarce.

Until more weapons are delivered, mobile anti-aircraft units like the one from the 115 Brigade will remain vital to intercepting Russias drones.

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Go to the shelter, go to the shelter. I repeat, go to the shelter, the radio pops again.

A Russian KAB (guided bomb) is incoming, Volodia says calmly. This time, the soldiers are unmoved. Its not aimed at us. The system would alert.

He lifts his head just as a sharp ripple tears through the air. Seconds later, a flash ignites the horizon. One-two-three-four-five-six ... someone counts into the darkness. A deafening blast shakes the ground. Fifteen, a soldier, call sign Mer, shouts. Fifteen seconds.

What does that mean?

That it hit about five or six kilometres away, Mer explains, having roughly calculated the distance by multiplying the time between the flash and the sound of the blast.

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Sooner or later, these battles will be fought entirely in the air, ponders Volodia, who worked in a hospital in central Ukraine before the invasion began. He once delivered babies. Now, he fights to save lives.

We already have effective anti-aircraft drones, but they are expensive, he says. The war will be won by whoever invests smarter.

Victory is always on Ukrainian lips, even as talk at far-off negotiating tables turns to Ukraine being forced to concede swathes of territory to Russia.

But Volodia is confident Ukraine can win: We know how to fight with less.

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In the summer of 1980, the man now known as Pope Leo XIV saw the new movie The Blues Brothers with a Lutheran friend at Roseville 4, a now-demolished theater on Larpenteur Avenue.

They also ate at the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis and spent time at Luther Seminary, where friend John Snider lived. The Rev. Snider is now the senior pastor at St. Stephens Lutheran Church in West St. Paul, and during that summer of 1980, he, Bob Prevost, as the pope was then known, and three others served together in a clinical pastoral education group at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

Id say, Bob, lets get together, but it was kind of bouncing around a bit, Snider said. He finally said, If were going to be friends, we have to make a commitment. It was like, oh, yeah. So we did. We did a lot of things all summer, and I just think of that as one of those characteristics thats true to him  people count, and he makes a commitment to be there with you.

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Then, as now, many seminary students are required to complete clinical pastoral education at medical centers or hospitals, almost like an internship where they gain skills on the relational, conversational, emotional side of the job, Snider said.

The men were in their early 20s; this was before they were ordained by their respective religious bodies: Snider at Luther Seminary in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Prevost within the Augustinian order of the Roman Catholic Church. While Snider lived at the seminary in St. Paul, Prevost lived on the hospital campus in Minneapolis.

Ill tell you the other thing: To have known someone  we were 22 and 23 or maybe 24  and to see this guy now being under a microscope, and lots of people either fawning on him or dogging him for this and that is like, What?! Snider said. But truthfully, I dont worry about him. Hes not in it to be pope; hes in it to serve.

About a week before the papal conclave was set to begin earlier this month to select a new pope, Snider reached out to his old friend  not knowing he would soon become pope, of course, but wishing him well as a voting member of the College of Cardinals.

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He responded, Love to you and Polly and thanks for your friendship through the years. Its all in Gods hands. Blessings, Bob, Snider said.

Snider is set to retire from St. Stephens on Sunday, May 18  the same day as Leo XIVs inaugural mass in St. Peters Square in the Vatican City.

The Roseville 4 theater, which had been on the corner of Larpenteur and Fernwood Street since the 1970s, closed in 2008 and was torn down to make room for a Rainbow Foods grocery store expansion.

As far as Snider knows, Prevost has not been back to Minnesota since that summer, but Snider visited his friend in Rome in 2010 when the now-pope was serving as the global head of the Order of St. Augustine.

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No sitting popes have visited Minnesota; Prevosts 1980 summer work makes him one of only a few popes in history known to have visited Minnesota before his papacy. Before becoming Pope Pius XII, then-Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli briefly stopped in St. Paul on a national tour in 1936. And in 1984, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, visited what was at the time known as the College of St. Thomas, where he received an honorary degree, participated in Mass and dedicated the new Saint John Vianney Seminary building.

All my friends are like, So whens your next trip to Rome? Snider said, laughing. But Im not sure what a popes vacation schedule is like! How many days off do you think the pope gets to request?

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Looking toward Saturdays forecast in Massachusetts, the National Weather Service described it as messy.

Unstable weather, as seen on Friday with thick clouds and high humidity, is expected to continue on Saturday, forecasters said. Starting in the morning, some showers and potentially some lightning are possible, including brief heavy downpours. However, forecasters do not have a consensus on which areas could see the worst of it before the messier storm in the afternoon.

Whats also unclear is when there could be a window for clouds to break before they likely gather again, forecasters said. The consensus based on modeling is that more unstable weather should happen between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m., when two rounds of thunderstorms are expected to drench the state.

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Its during this second round, later in the afternoon and early evening, that Western Massachusetts and Connecticut are at the greatest risk of seeing severe weather during this timeframe. Along with heavy rain, the primary threats that the region could see are damaging winds and hail, with the secondary risk of tornadoes, forecasters said.

It is that time of year where there are plenty of outdoor events, so stay updated on the forecast and stay aware of incoming weather, forecasters wrote.

Central and Eastern Massachusetts, in contrast, have a marginal risk of seeing severe weather during Saturdays storm, forecasters said. The only marginal risk thats possible is for tornadoes to develop in northwestern Massachusetts.

Chances for precipitation increase as Saturday goes on, though most cities hold low chances of seeing rain until 3 or 6 p.m., according to a weather service post on X. Pittsfield stands to see a high chance of rain for much of the day; while other cities have around a 60% chance or lower, Pittsfield has an 85% chance that could last from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m.

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By 6 p.m., Worcester has a 65% chance of seeing rain, while Springfield has a 60% chance, and Boston has a 55% chance.

Another factor is temperature. Much of the region should see temperatures in the 50s to start before possibly breaching past 70 degrees between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Pittsfield could see highs of 75 degrees through the early afternoon.

Some rumbles of thunder are possible, though the chances are largely low except for New Haven, forecasters said. Even there, New Haven has a 40% chance for at least six hours.

As the skies calm Saturday night and into Sunday, dry but warm temperatures should continue to persist, forecasters said. Sunday afternoon could see a chance for some scattered showers, with temperatures in the low 60s and high 70s. This should continue until Monday before cooler temperatures prevail on Tuesday, and then another system that could possibly start Wednesday night.

More weather

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DENVER (KDVR)  A man was arrested at a gas station in Wheat Ridge on Friday after police said he was found in his car with what appeared to be a long gun on his lap.

The gun turned out to be a realistic looking BB gun, according to the Wheat Ridge Police Department, who said in a post on X that responding officers also found drugs, a long knife and another BB gun in the mans car, which was parked at a gas station on the 7400 block of W 38th Ave.

Series injuries reported after bus, car crash in Denver Friday morning

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The man was taken into custody without incident. According to WRPD, officers were originally dispatched to the gas station just after 8:30 a.m. to check on a man who had fallen asleep in his running car for several hours.

WRPD said responding officers first called for backup after noticing the authentic-looking gun on the mans lap. The department is actively investigating the incident.

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AUSTIN (Nexstar)  As the House bill deadline passed, thousands of bills died without ever making it to the floor for consideration. However, none of Gov. Greg Abbotts seven emergency items died.

While one  education savings accounts  has already passed, heres where the other six stand.

Bail Reform

One of Abbotts biggest goals this session is to make it harder for accused criminals to get out on bail. Abbott publicly spoke on the issue multiple times this month, looking to put pressure on Democratic Texas House members to help him get the legislation across the finish line.

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READ MORE: Texas lawmakers debate bills to curb illegal immigration

On Monday, the Texas House is set to vote on Senate Joint Resolution 1, Senate Joint Resolution 5, Senate Bill 9, Senate Bill 40 and Senate Bill 664. These five bills are the Texas Senates bail reform package which  among other things  prevents undocumented defendants who are accused of a felony from receiving bail, allows judges to deny bail for certain violent accusations and allows the prosecution to challenge a bail decision for certain criminal accusations.

Teacher Pay Raises

The Texas Senate is currently working on House Bill 2, the public education funding bill, in committee. The bill covers all aspects of public school funding, including provisions to make sure new funding goes towards teachers.

Originally, the Texas Senate passed the standalone Senate Bill 26 for teacher pay raises. However, the bill has not made it out of committee.

Water Infrastructure Investments

In early April, the Texas Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 7 to holistically address water infrastructure.

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State lawmakers aim to fund water projects for years to come

On May 7, SB 7 made it out of the House Natural Resources committee unanimously, and is expected to be debated on the House floor next week.

Increasing Career and Technical Education

The Texas House passed House Bill 120 in March, with only State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, voting against the bill. The bill takes a large swing at expanding career and technical education (CTE) in Texass public schools through grants and expansion of the rural pathway excellence partnership program. HB 120 also includes more funding for schools who implement a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program.

HB 120 was heard in the Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16 last week and remains pending.

Property Tax Relief

Last week, State Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, announced the House and Senate had struck a deal on tax relief.

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Meyers House Bill 9 initially proposed to increase the Business Personal Property (BBP) exemption to $250,000 from $2,500. An updated version was sent to the Senate floor with a 9-0 vote last Monday. The BPP exemption allows homeowners to write off parts of their property if used for their business.

The Senate unanimously voted to pass HB 9, however their amendments need to be agreed upon by the House  or hashed out in a conferencing committee  before being sent to Abbotts desk.

In exchange, Meyers committee voted out Senate Bill 4 and Senate Joint Resolution 2 to increase the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. They also passed out Senate Bill 23 to increase the homestead exemption for seniors from $10,000 to $60,000. Both bills are scheduled to be heard on the House floor on Tuesday.

Cyber Command

In March, the Texas House Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) committee sent House Bill 150 to the Texas House floor, where it was later approved. The bill establishes a cyber command within the University of Texas school system.

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The bill has a hearing scheduled for the Texas Senate Committee on Business & Commerce on Tuesday.

Next Big Deadline

For the three bills still needing consideration in the House, the clock is ticking. All Senate bills have to be heard in the House by May 27. The 89th Legislative Session ends on June 2.

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A state park on Californias Central Coast is the top spot in the state to pitch a tent and sleep under the stars, according to the California State Parks Foundation.

The Bay Area-based nonprofit organization recently released the results of its first-ever poll ranking the best state parks in California.

The No. 1 place to camp in the Golden State was Morro Bay State Park in San Luis Obispo, according to the Best of Californias State Parks 2025 survey.

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Coastal fog, kayaking adventures and views of iconic Morro Rock make this a camping destination unlike any other, the foundation said.

The California State Park Foundation called on people to vote for their favorite state parks across 10 categories this spring, choosing the best among 280 park units, 15,000 campsites and more than 5,00 miles of hiking trails in the Golden State.

More than 1,300 survey participants took part in the poll, the news release said.

Morro Bay State Park was the only SLO County destination to land on the list.

Lois Ferrero, left, of Illinois plays a game of Scrabble with her sister and brother-in-law, Kathleen and Rich Hill of Santa Rosa, at the campground at Morro Bay State Park.

Why is Morro Bay State Park the No. 1 place to camp?

Morro Bay State Park was hailed as the perfect place for camping due to its views of the Pacific Ocean and Morro Bay Estuary, as well as its access to nature and outdoor activities.

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Campers especially love waking up to foggy mornings, scenic trails and the iconic view of Morro Rock, the foundation said.

Rachel Norton, the executive director of the California State Parks Foundation, called the SLO County park one of the most stunning spots on the California coast.

Camping on the coast is a particularly unique and wonderful experience, she said. Thats my thought on why people chose it.

People who responded to the survey said the Morro Bay campsite was serene and dog-friendly, while also being close to town and nature walks.

Its a place surrounded by beauty, wildlife, great hiking and the feeling of peace, wrote Doug Brand, who voted for Morro Bay State Park.

From the bluff trail south of Spooners Cove, hikers at Montana de Oro State Park watch the high surf in February 2020 with the mothballed Morro Bay Power Plant in the background.

What are the best state parks in California?

Here are the winners of the 2025 Best of Californias State Parks poll:

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How did CA State Parks Foundation create its list?

The California State Parks Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving Californias state park system, decided to make its first-ever top 10 list after receiving hundreds of queries over the years about the best parks to visit, Norton told The Tribune.

The nonprofit group conducted a survey in March to find out what members and supporters thought were the best state parks to visit across 10 categories.

It gathered responses through email lists and social media, Norton said.

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From camping and hiking to picnicking, birdwatching, and family fun, we received over 1,300 submissions  each reflecting the deep love people have for these parks, the foundation said in a news release.

Norton hopes the new best of list will inspire Californians to see state parks they might not have known about otherwise.

The idea is really to say, Hey, if you havent explored these places, heres some great ideas that you may not have thought of, for places to go, places to visit, places to enjoy,  Norton said.
This story was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Sandwiched between mountains and Pacific Ocean waves, Vancouver is most often lauded for its phenomenal natural setting, with its skyscrapers brushing up against the old-growth trees of Stanley Park. But the largest city in British Columbia is increasingly becoming known for dining, too, with the Michelin Guide finally awarding the city a constellation of stars in 2022. Each of Vancouvers neighbourhoods offers something different  the product of immigration, with over 40% of the citys residents born outside Canada. Heres how to navigate its food and drink scene  from the secret speakeasies of Chinatown to the Italian flavours of Commercial Drive.

Granville Island Public Market

Best for: grazing

Just across False Creek from the southern edge of Downtown, this is Granville Islands popular indoor public market, once home to industrial warehouses and now a culinary hotspot. Vancouverites come to discover the 50-plus food counters, rubbing shoulders with the chefs in their starched white aprons who are here to source the likes of sweet Hungarian paprika or zingy kaffir limes for their restaurants.

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Dont miss dish: The maple-smoked salmon candy from Longliner Seafoods. Its the smoky, sweet Canadian alternative to beef jerky.

One to watch: Benton Brothers  their cheeses grace the menus of Vancouvers top restaurants.

Book ahead: The two-hour tour of Granville Island Public Market with Vancouver Foodie Tours. It samples many standout dishes, including the sake-soaked garlic sausage at food stall Oyama Charcuterie Platter.

Chinatown

Best for: secret speakeasies

Waves of Chinese immigrants began settling in Vancouver in the 1850s, seeking opportunities tied to the Gold Rush. It led to the creation of what became Canadas largest Chinatown, spanning six blocks just east of Downtown. A century ago, during the Prohibition era, illegal drinking dens masqueraded as noodle parlours here, and recently theres been a revival of hidden speakeasies.

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Dont miss dish: The roast pork on a bed of steamed rice at Chinatown BBQ, eaten against a backdrop of framed vintage portraits.

One to watch: Blnd Tger  order the number seven dumplings to gain access to Laowai cocktail bar, where drinks are infused with bamboo and Sichuan peppercorns.

Book ahead: The art of tea experience at Treasure Green Tea Company, which teaches the delicate craft of loose-leaf tea brewing.

Order the number seven dumplings at Blnd Tger in Chinatown to gain access to the speakeasy, Laowai. Photograph by Sophia Hsin

Kitsilano

Best for: indie eateries

The hippies may have moved out after the Summer of Love, but their spirit lives on in tree-lined Kitsilano, on the citys west side. Fringed with 100-year-old Craftsman cottages, its a sandy spot where locals come for a dip in the ocean at Kitsilano Beach in the summer months. Its known for its inventive, nutritious cuisine that caters to the neighbourhoods vegan diners.

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Dont miss dish: The modern take on Cantonese-style dim sum at Little Bird. The exterior may seem underwhelming, but locals squeeze in to eat here.

One to watch: Kits Beach Coffee, a vibey coffee spot that recently upgraded from a cart on the beach to a bricks-and-mortar cafe known for its salted chocolate chip cookies.

Book ahead: The small-plate menu at Folke, a plant-based spot where the chefs venture out of the open kitchen to chat with guests. The menu features Jerusalem artichokes in a fiery bravas sauce.

Mount Pleasant

Best for: visiting the Michelin Mile

This leafy residential neighbourhood south east of Downtown is a magnet for families and young professionals, and was officially placed on the gastronomic map when Michelin awarded two of its restaurants with stars: Published on Main and Burdock & Co. At the former, chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson combs Vancouvers forests for ingredients, and his dining room is like a gallery for dishes akin to works of art.

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Dont miss dish: Wild berries married with buffalo yoghurt, sorrel and pineapple weed meringue. This dish helped to secure a Michelin recommendation for The Acorn, a zero-waste, veggie-forward restaurant. theacornrestaurant.ca

One to watch: Sushi Hill, a freshly unveiled Japanese cafeteria featuring seafood such as black throat perch.

Book ahead: Song, a restaurant with a Thai-inspired menu spotlighting favourites like snapper swimming in sweet-and-sour sauce.

Lees Donuts is a Granville Island institution. Photograph by Sophia Hsin

Coal Harbour

Best for: fine dining

Surrounded by gleaming glass towers in Downtown Vancouver, Coal Harbour is the place to throw on your glad-rags for a special occasion. Its located just steps from the marina, where yachts and cruise ships jostle, with the dramatic North Shore Mountains piercing the distant horizon. Miku is Coal Harbours must-visit dining experience, a minimal and sophisticated temple to sushi with floor-to-ceiling windows soaking up the waterside views. The chefs in the open-plan kitchen are perfectionists of the highest order, using a technique called aburi to flame-sear their sushi. They take three painstaking days to craft their layered Green Tea Opera Cake  a triumph of sweet pastry, green tea and lashings of gooey chocolate.

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Dont miss dish: The succulent blue shell mussels bathed in a rich coconut curry sauce at Corderos Restaurant & Marine Pub  where nightly live music sets hit the right notes.

One to watch: Per Se Social Corner, a popular brunch spot dishing up plates of Dungeness crab and organic Alberta beef burgers, is the latest addition to Coal Harbour.

Book ahead: The chefs table at Nightingale, a buzzy restaurant serving wood stone pizza, offers ringside seats to watch chefs in action.

Commercial Drive

Best for: Italian flavours

Green-white-and-red flags flutter outside businesses lining this eight-block stretch in east Vancouver, home to a culturally rich quarter known as Little Italy. Commercial Drive is the neighbourhoods official name. Most of its residents arrived after the Second World War, bringing traditions that still flavour cafes, bakeries and family-run trattorias today. This is the place to come for delicatessens serving paninis stuffed with homemade meatballs, and shots of expresso sipped casually at sidewalk cafes. Make a beeline for Bar Corso, a heavenly slice of old-world Italy, offering dishes such as gnocchi, pasta and carpaccio. The crostini topped with smoked bone marrow and onion ash pairs particularly well with a chilled negroni.

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Dont miss dish: The irresistibly sticky, home-baked cinnamon buns at Grounds for Coffee have earned a devoted following, thanks to their seasonal flavours like warm apple pie and spiced pumpkin.

One to watch: Round the night off at The Flamingo Room, a new bar with Miami-inspired interiors featuring pastel walls, hanging lanterns and a jungle of plants, plus live music.

Book ahead: Magari by Oca is a contemporary Italian pastificio, awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand due to its devotion to the time-honoured craft of pasta-making.

This story was created with the support of Destination British Columbia.

Published in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).



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Hundreds of Education Minnesota members gather in the Capitol Rotunda on May 17, 2025, to rally in support of improved pensions, pay and health care. Photo by Andrew VonBank/House Public Information Services.

With just over 48 hours prior to the Legislatures mandatory adjournment midnight Monday, lawmakers are still struggling to resolve a few key issues as they aim for a two-year budget to fund everything from roads to schools, parks, health and social services.

Several large budget bills have yet to be negotiated between the 67-67 divided House and the Democratic-controlled Senate  health and human services, education, a potential infrastructure package and a tax bill  i.e., the most complex and contentious.

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The lack of movement on these bills makes a special session all the more likely. Legislative leaders say they anticipate a one-day special session prior to Memorial Day, though it could be longer.

Lawmakers have to pass a budget by June 30 or the government will shut down.

Among the major sticking points: cutting MinnesotaCare for undocumented immigrant adults. Some rank-and-file, progressive Democrats broke with their leaders and Gov. Tim Walz and protested the budget agreement over the proposal and harshly criticized Democratic leadership for acquiescing to one of the Republicans top priorities.

House DFL Caucus leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, appearing Friday on TPT Almanac, said Democrats will need to compromise given the divided government.

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People need to bend. They need to understand they wont get everything they want, Hortman said.

Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, who is also co-chair of the progressive People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, told reporters Saturday that the POCI Caucus doesnt plan to shut down the government over cutting MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults.

We care about all the Minnesotans, and were not willing to shut the government down, but were willing to make sure we work very hard to ensure the Minnesotans get what they need, Frazier said.

Other contentious debates include potential changes to the states new paid leave and earned sick and safe time programs and cuts to taxpayer aid for private schools.

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Walz has proposed cutting $109 million in aid that helps private schools with transportation, counseling and textbooks. The state has allocated this funding to private schools for decades, but Walz and Democrats are proposing the cuts amid a projected multi-billion dollar budget deficit beginning in 2027.

On Thursday, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, gave reporters the impression that private school aid would not be touched and presented this as a win for Republicans.

We also know that we have made great strides in protecting the funding for non-public education. We are protecting our schools, Demuth said. We are protecting our students so they can learn in the best way forward.

But cuts to private school aid are still in play, as far as a key DFL senator is concerned.

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Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, said that funding for private school aid wasnt part of the global budget agreement, and protecting public education is a priority for Senate Democrats.

I understand the uniqueness and the value of non-public schools, but as the chair of the Education Finance Committee in the state of Minnesota, my priority is to fund public schools at the best rate and in the best way possible, Kunesh said in an interview with the Reformer.

A source with the House Republican caucus told the Reformer that theres no scenario where we will agree to any cuts.

Kunesh, who also serves as an assistant majority leader, said that the cuts to private schools are part of her education budget, and she anticipates this issue to be a sticking point in budget negotiations between members of the House and Senate  also known as a conference committee.

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We just have to remind those members also that we have that obligation to public schools first, Kunesh said.

In between the Senate and House floor sessions, Rep. Dave Baker, R-Wilmar, and Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, held a small press gaggle near the Capitol rotunda to tell reporters that significant changes to the states paid leave and earned sick and safe time programs are still on the table, despite their absence from the legislative leaders budget agreement.

Legislative leaders agreed to reduce the paid leave payroll tax cap that the Department of Employment and Economic Development could implement each year from 1.2% to 1.1%. But since paid leave will launch in January with a 0.88% payroll tax split between employers and workers, the reduction does nothing to change the program as currently constituted.

Baker said Demuth has given him her blessing to keep trying to implement paid leave changes in conference committee, though he didnt say what he would specifically look to change. Throughout the session, Baker has attempted to exempt small employers from the paid leave requirement.

Were just trying to get (paid leave) right-sized a little bit, Baker told reporters.
A whistleblower named in a fire chiefs alleged suicide note is to be given police protection at the inquest, The Telegraph can reveal.

Wayne Brown, Britains first black fire chief, was found dead at his Birmingham apartment less than a year after being appointed to the top job at West Midlands Fire Service.

Ahead of the inquest on Monday, detectives have been called in to investigate safety expert Ben Walkers claims he had been threatened. Mr Walker reported Mr Brown for allegedly fabricating qualifications on his CV.

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Mr Walker, who is now bringing a 7.2million claim for damages against the fire service and West Midlands Police, was issued with a threat to life warning by officers immediately after the death of Mr Brown and recently received messages telling him to stop hiding and to hand over his home address.

Officers assigned to the inquest have been made aware of the concerns and it is thought protection could include a chaperone.

Fighting the Grenfell Tower blaze in West London in June 2017 - Natalie Oxford/AFP/Getty Images

Mr Brown, a highly respected and inspirational firefighter who had worked his way up the ranks, became chief fire officer of West Midlands Fire Service in April 2023.

He had spent three decades in the fire brigade and had responded to the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 that claimed 72 lives and terror attacks.

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But he died in January 2024, a day after the service announced he was under investigation over claims about his qualifications for the role.

At the time the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority said his death was not being treated as suspicious by police.

The claims centred on a business administration qualification, which is a requirement for the 170,000-a-year role.

The claims were made by Mr Walker, a fire safety expert, who had written to Mr Browns superiors.

He was later charged with harassing Mr Brown in the months before his death, but denied the charges.

They were officially dropped for lack of evidence earlier this year and he now claims he has received threatening messages on his LinkedIn account by someone angered by the treatment of the former fire chief.

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West Midlands Police has provided reassurances to Mr Walker ahead of the inquest at Birmingham Coroners Court, which is set to cast further scrutiny on Englands second biggest fire and rescue service.

The police are not taking any chances, a source told The Telegraph. Someone has been spoken to about the incident. The profile which sent the messages was linked to him but the communication data indicates it was sent from outside the UK so it cant be proved it was within UK jurisdiction.

Emails show officers confirmed a social media account was connected to the person accused of making the threat but they could not prove the messages were sent from the UK.

The officer overseeing the inquest has spoken to the individual accused of making the threats asking them to cease contact.

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I have also raised the threat information at the court with a senior officer, a detective added in an email to Mr Walker.

In January 2024, Mr Walker received a threat to life warning from West Midlands Police that stated they had information which suggests his personal safety was now in danger.

The letter said it could not disclose the source of the information but added: I have no reason to disbelieve the account as provided Although West Midlands Police will take what steps it can to minimise the risk, the police cannot protect you from this threat on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour-basis.

It is understood that two notes were found at Mr Browns apartment after officers were sent round to check on his welfare.

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One was understood to have addressed his partner while the other was written to West Midlands Police. He claimed he had been harassed and humiliated by Mr Walker, whom he had never met.

Mr Walker was arrested in April 2023 after Mr Brown claimed he had been sent abusive and harassing emails from an outlook address he believed was linked to Mr Walker.

In July 2023 Mr Walker, the owner of a fire safety consultancy business, was charged but the case was thrown out in April after the CPS offered no evidence, having decided to drop the case in February.

Police forensics admitted in December 2023 they could find no link between Mr Walker and the offending account but the case against him was not dropped for another 15 months.

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Mr Walker has described it as a witch hunt and claimed he was the fall guy.

He said: All I did was to ask whether the fire authority had done their due diligence about the man they were appointing to lead the West Midlands Fire Service.

It ended up with me losing my business, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds trying to clear my name.

He added that he was given a warning that the police were aware of a credible threat to my life.

The West Midlands Fire Service and the authority which oversees it has seen a number of senior office holders coming unstuck over exaggerations to their CVs.

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Last year it was revealed that Joanne Bowcock, who served as Mr Browns deputy, claimed to have a law degree when she applied for a senior fire job. However the University of Liverpool said she had left after the first year.

Four months later, Labour councillor Greg Brackenridge, the chairman of the West Midlands Fire Authority, was forced to resign over claims he made about serving in the Marines 45 Commando. In fact, he had not completed the training.

Brackenridge, whose wife Sureena is Wolverhampton North East MP, was later reinstated to the Labour Party.

Mr Browns replacement was Colonel Oliver Lee OBE, a real former marine, but after just six months he resigned stating that he had been threatened repeatedly, mainly to stay quiet on vital subjects in the public interest.

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He claimed the services governance lacked courage, transparency, care and honesty and wrote: West Midlands will now sadly continue as was when I inherited it: scared, cowed and not able to be itself.

Mr Brown spent 27 years in the London Fire Brigade rising to the role of assistant commissioner, before joining the West Midlands Fire Service in November 2019 as deputy chief fire officer.

During his career, Mr Brown attended some of the countrys most high-profile disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire and the 2005 London terrorist attacks.

West Midlands Police said it did not comment on police protection and it was aware of the allegations made by Mr Walker.

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A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said Mr Brown was a longstanding member of the fire service and it continued to extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

They added: We are making ourselves fully available to the coroner and the process, and while that process is ongoing, we are unable to comment further.

The focus of West Midlands Fire Service remains on our crucial purpose of serving our community, protecting and supporting our staff and delivering a culture of excellence that is to be expected of our fire service.

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May 16Why are hundreds of New Mexico National Guardsmen heading to Djibouti?

This week saw farewell ceremonies in Las Cruces and Rio Rancho for 400 National Guard troops being deployed to Djibouti. Wait, you may ask, where is Djibouti and what are U.S. interests there?

Djibouti is on the Horn of Africa's eastern shore. The country itself is fairly poor, with an estimated GDP of just over $7 billion in 2023  even the poorest U.S. state by GDP, Vermont, had a GDP of $44 billion in 2023  and not resource rich. But the U.S. has held an expanding presence in Djibouti, now home to the largest U.S. military base in Africa. From Camp Lemonnier and smaller bases across Djibouti, U.S. forces have engaged with Somali pirates  helping clear international shipping routes  flown sorties to Yemen and the Middle East and most importantly been home to the largest U.S. drone operations across the region.

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The U.S. began diplomatic relations with the former French colony in 1977, posting our first ambassador there in 1980. Djibouti supported the U.S. in the Gulf War and again in the conflicts post 9/11. This led to Djibouti agreeing to host American forces at a former French Foreign Legion base outside its capitol  Camp Lemonnier shares a commercial runway with Djibouti's main airport. That occupancy was drastically expanded to encompass more than 500 acres around the area in 2014 under a 20-year deal orchestrated by President Barack Obama, leading to the nearly 2,000 U.S. personnel based there today.

But the U.S. is not alone in its interest in the Muslim country, which sits at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In 2017, China established a military outpost not far from Camp Lemonnier. And China's sway has been growing as it invests more development money in the tiny country. This, some experts believe, has led to Djibouti being reluctant to allow American operations fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen of late, though they have previously done so. Defeating these rebels is a long-held goal for American ally Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim nation. China, on the other hand, has maintained closer ties with the Shia Muslim majority Iran  Saudi's historic enemy  and Shia-heavy southern Iraq, where China has invested heavily in oil fields. Some have gone so far as to speculate that China is secretly funding and equipping the Houthi rebels to further distract and harass Saudi, and the U.S.

Given the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had provided nearly $10 million in food aid to Djibouti in 2023 and 2024  90% of Djibouti's food comes from foreign aid programs  the soft power levers with which to curry favor with the Djibouti government have been more limited. Though the deployment could simply be to fight the constant threat of piracy in these waters, there could be another motivation at play. In theory, expanding the U.S. presence in the region to help keep the peace, and the shipping lines open, and helps win more favor and cooperation from the Djiboutians.
Public schools are not Sunday schools

The recent legal challenge to Oklahomas newly adopted social studies standards concerns more than educational content  it concerns process, trust, and the fundamental role of public education in a democracy.

Former Attorney General Mike Hunter  along with a coalition of parents, educators and grandparents  is right to demand accountability from state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education. The lawsuit raises serious concerns that the approval of the standards violated procedural norms and potentially breached state law. These are not minor clerical oversights  they go to the heart of transparent governance.

It is deeply troubling that, according to the plaintiffs and even members of the board itself, last-minute changes were inserted without public notice or proper board review. Among these additions are overt references to disproven claims about the 2020 election and an unusual  and arguably unconstitutional  emphasis on biblical text in what should be secular educational standards.

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The standards language about discrepancies in the 2020 election parrots conspiracy theories that have been repeatedly debunked by courts, bipartisan election officials and national security agencies. Including such content in classroom curricula does not prepare students for informed citizenship  it indoctrinates them with distrust and misinformation under the guise of critical thinking.

Equally concerning is the insertion of religious content that appears to cross the line between teaching history and promoting a particular religious viewpoint. Public schools are not Sunday schools. There is room to teach about religions impact on history, but it must be done objectively and inclusively, not as a platform for theological advocacy.

Ultimately, this is not a partisan issue  its a civic one. If the process for adopting standards were manipulated or circumvented, as alleged, it would set a dangerous precedent. Education should not be weaponized for political messaging or culture wars. It should reflect integrity, evidence-based reasoning, and the collective will of the community it serves.

The Oklahoma County District Court must now assess whether the public was misled, whether board members were sidelined, and whether Superintendent Walters overstepped his bounds. Regardless of the courts outcome, one thing is clear: trust in the process matters just as much as the content in our classrooms.

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Our children deserve better than political agendas disguised as education. They deserve truth, transparency, and a future built on facts, not fiction.

 David L. Myers, Oklahoma City

Why keep U.S. Customs and Border Patrol?

I dont know about you, but I am really confused about how our border works.

I thought U.S. Customs and Border Patrol had responsibility for controlling the flow of goods coming into and out of our country. When I went to Mexico the authorities on their side of the border waved me through with no problem. I was able to walk around in their country, purchase anything I wanted and was generally welcomed. When I left Mexico to return home, I stood in a long line for about an hour as the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents carefully and thoroughly inspected the belongs of everyone returning. They made sure we didnt bring anything illegal back with us.

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I had a similar experience when I went to Canada. I was sure a portion of the taxes we pay funded the activities necessary to accomplish this. Since President Donald J. Trump took office in January, my whole understanding of how this works has been upended. According to President Trump, Mexico and Canada have now assumed a portion of this responsibility and we need to pay a tariff to punish them for not controlling the flow of fentanyl into our country. Does this make sense to anybody? If Mexico and Canada are now going to do this job and we are paying an additional tax, why do we need to keep U.S. Customs and Border Patrol?

 Norman Stewart, Oklahoma City

More: What readers are saying about the president's first 100 days | Opinion

We, the people, are responsible for federal budget cuts

Day after day I see negative articles in this paper lamenting various cuts in federal spending or employment.

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They always say DOGE did this or DOGE did that, driven by the billionaire (always that description) Elon Musk.

Not once have I seen any mention or examination of the brutal fact that we, the citizens of this country, acting collectively through our consumption of government resources and votes for candidates for national offices have brought us into a growing and literally unsustainable debt of over $36 trillion.

 Lou Vovk, Edmond

More: SNAP and Medicaid are on the chopping block. It's chaos, and people will suffer. | Opinion

Why it's essential to protect Medicaid

Massive cuts to Medicaid would be devastating to our families and communities and take away the ability for millions of people to access comprehensive, affordable health care.

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Medicaid keeps our hospitals open, creates jobs in our communities, and strengthens our economy. Medicaid covers over 40% of births in the U.S. and it's a lifeline for families before, during, and after pregnancy.

Medicaid covers 15 million Americans with disabilities nationwide, providing essential health coverage and life-changing support services that enable them to live independently and thrive in their communities.

School-based Medicaid programs provide many kids with their only access to the vital health services and care students need to ensure that they have the foundation to succeed in school and beyond. Children with Medicaid are also more likely than those who are uninsured to receive preventive care that keeps them healthy including routine checkups.

A Congressional Budget Office study showed that children with just one more year of Medicaid coverage grow up to earn more and demonstrate increased productivity as adults, strengthening the broader economy.

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 Judy Carlyle, Oklahoma City

More: We're not following the death penalty process we all voted for | Opinion

There's no justice in the death penalty

I am writing to share how worried I am about the death penalty still being used in our country. After reading a recent story about someone proven innocent after spending years on death row, I couldnt stop thinking about how close they were to being executed for something they didnt do. Over 200 people in the U.S. have been exonerated after being sentenced to death. Thats not just a mistake. Thats terrifying.

People often say the death penalty brings justice, but I dont think it does. In Oklahoma, it costs more to sentence someone to death than to keep them in prison for life. Trials take longer, appeals pile up, and taxpayers pay the price. Most people on death row couldnt even afford good lawyers. That doesnt sound like real justice. It sounds like punishment for being poor.

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Instead of executions, we could sentence people to life without parole and have them do labor that helps the community  like cleaning parks, fixing roads or working on environmental projects. Its safer, more useful, and it saves money. These programs already exist in small ways, and with good security, they can grow. Inmates would be carefully picked, watched, and trained. Theyd still be held accountable, but theyd also be doing something to give back. Even for people whove done terrible things, facing life in prison gives them time to think about what they did and truly feel the weight of it. Some people change, and its more meaningful to live with your choices than to escape them through execution.

We dont need to kill people to protect society. We need smarter, safer solutions that help everyone. I hope more people start to see that the death penalty is outdated and risky, and its time to let it go.

 Kirit Sah, Lawton

More: In highly divided Congress, Rep. Tom Cole's bipartisanship put to the test

Rep. Tom Cole owes Oklahoma an explanation

All seven of our congressional delegation members are a disappointment, but Tom Cole tops the list. He is chairman of the most powerful committee in the House and has prepared himself for the work for decades.

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And yet, through his acquiescence to Elon Musk, he has become increasingly irrelevant at Oklahomas expense.

Worst of all he wont come home in person to hold an open town hall to explain himself.

Our state is a net gainer of federal dollars. We get back about $1.30 for every buck we send to Washington, D.C., and Musks decisions about OUR money is so wrong and damaging. For example, the National Weather Center in Norman was opened in 2006 after extensive cooperation and funding from Washington and Oklahoma City.

I know. I authored the legislation in the Oklahoma Senate, and it is the worlds crown jewel relating to all matters weather. Cole knows this and Musk probably doesnt.

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Sadly, neither seems to care, and voters will prove they dont either if they send Chairman Cole back for another do-nothing term in 2026.

Might as well vote for an empty chair because thats all we have now Cal Hobson, Lexington (Former Oklahoma Senate president pro tempore)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Budget cuts, Border Patrol and Bible teaching bother readers | Letters
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Law enforcement across the state were chilling on top of coffee shops Friday morning for a good cause.

The 22nd annual Cop on a Rooftop event took place at more than 375 Dunkin Donuts locations across Illinois from 5 a.m. to noon.

Lieutenant Bill Calbow shared why there were officers standing on the roof of different Dunkin Donuts.

[Its to] get them fired up that were raising money out here, Calbow said, just drawing attention. Weve had a lot of people honking their horns and waving at us in support.

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Air Force Viper team launching from Peoria for air show this week

People could donate any amount of money for a free donut coupon, and if you donated $10 or more, you would get a coupon for a free medium hot or iced coffee.

This is to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Illinois, which according to the events website is the largest public awareness and fundraising movement benefitting Special Olympics.

Calbow explained why Dunkin specifically is the sponsor of this event.

Theyve been really great with working with the Special Olympics and theyre a proud supporter of the Special Olympics, he said. Cops love donuts, too, and so what better than Dunkin?

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Since the program started, more than $9.8 million dollars for Special Olympics Illinois. Dunkin administration is also donating $15,000 dollars themself to the Special Olympics.

The Torch Run itself, which kicks off the Special Olympics, kicks off on June 14.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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(NewsNation)  A massive manhunt continued for seven of 10 Louisiana escaped inmates more than a day after their breakout, but the longer it takes investigators to track them down, the harder it may be to capture them.

Timing is everything for manhunts, Kenneth Gray, a former FBI special agent and distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven, told NewsNation.

As time goes on, escapees have more of a chance to get farther away or get assistance, so early search is essential to be able to try to round up as many of these guys as possible, he said.

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The Orleans Justice Center was placed on lockdown Friday after 10 inmates escaped from the jail.

According to NewsNation local affiliate WGNO, the inmates were discovered missing during a headcount around 8:30 a.m. and are believed to have escaped around midnight.

New Orleans manhunt: Faulty locks blamed for escape

The media were not told of the escape until around 10:50 a.m. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X that there will be an investigation into what happened and called the delay unacceptable.

Its all hands on deck. The first priority in any escape must be the immediate capture of the inmates and coordination with state and local law enforcement  but that effort cannot come at the expense of timely notification to the public, she said.

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Three of the ten have been recaptured as of early Saturday morning.

Kendell Myles, 20, Robert Moody, 21, and Dkenan Dennis, 24 were all found Friday.

Gray said whenever there is a manhunt, investigators have to get logistics together quickly but that there are several steps that may need to be taken, which adds to the clock.

Investigators might require assistance from other agencies or need to gather resources such as canines or drones, he said.

It does take some time to gather up those assets, set up a command post and start gritting out the area to be able to direct search teams to specific locations, Gray said.

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It has to be planned pretty quickly, and its fluid, he noted.

There is an immediacy of the search in the area, he said, but there is also an investigative stage that utilizes information that is already held by law enforcement, such as home and family addresses and other familiar areas, which are checked.

New Orleans manhunt: What is known about those who escaped

Authorities warned that anyone assisting the escapees will face charges.

Victims or witnesses from the trials of any of the inmates are also being asked to call the police so they can get protection if needed.

NewsNations Jordan Perkins and Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained a Greensboro man after he returned from his honeymoon in his home country of the Dominican Republic.

31-year-old Angel and his wife, 27-year-old Milady, were heading to their connecting flight home when they were stopped, and agents handcuffed Angel.

Now he is being held at a detention center in Miami.

We leave DR, get on our flight, come to Miami, everythings perfect, were in checkout in Miami and they take us back to customs. Basically, they just detain him there, Milady said.

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Milady said they were taken into a separate area. She thought it was just an extra security check and nothing more.

After three hours of waiting, it was time to say goodbye.

Im screaming, Im pregnant. I have my marriage certificate in my hand  Just write him a citation or whatever. Hes going to show up in court. What is this? Milady said.

Angel was detained by ICE officers.

They brought him in handcuffs  That was on May 4, and I havent seen him since, Milady said.

Milady and Angel got married in April and are expecting a baby. Despite what their marriage certificate and Angels documents state, he was taken away in handcuffs and sent to Krome Detention Center in Miami.

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They basically mentioned that with these new laws and under the Trump administration, marriage is just a good credit. Its like something that goes on an undocumented persons resume, Milady said.

FOX8 asked Milady if we could see Angels documents showing he is here on a green card. She says ICE took everything when he was detained.

Hes a hardworking citizen. He pays taxes. He has a 401(k). Hes been working since I met him. Hes been working prior to that, Milady said.

Milady is hopeful a legal team can help her bring him home before her worst fear becomes a reality.

I dont want him to miss the birth of our child, Milady said.

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Milady is working to raise money to afford an attorney and make Angels bail.

A GoFundMe has been set up.

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A wild storm system expected to impact much of the U.S. will gift the Pacific Northwest with a weirdly warm Memorial Day weekend. The price of admission is just another week of rain.

Much of Western Washington awoke to a damp Saturday morning, and though the clouds revealed peaks of blue sky mid-day, the rain will likely return. We might even hear some thunder Saturday night.

If youre going to T-Mobile Park for the Seattle Mariners game with the San Diego Padres, with first pitch at 5:40 p.m., watch for thunder and lightning, NWS cautioned. Thats true if youre outside anywhere, the agency added early Saturday morning.

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The National Weather Service in Seattle forecasts at least six days ahead with similarly drizzly mornings. Still, the sun should make an appearance most days while temperatures hover in the 50s during the day and drop into the 40s at night.

Across the country, NWS has warned of more severe weather caused by two upper level features colliding around the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains.

Residents in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont could see heavy winds, large hail and flash flooding. The storms will rile the rest of the Northeast as they tumble down through Texas. The West, meanwhile, will catch widespread showers and gusty winds and temperatures dropping enough to build fresh snow at high elevations in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, NWS wrote in its weekend report. The plains could also experience flash flooding.

All that tumult will have nearly the opposite effect in the southwest, as heavy winds could lead to critical fire weather in New Mexico and western Texas. Its also hot as heck along the Gulf Coast, as nearly 100-degree temperatures could break May records from Texas to Florida.

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Back in Puget Sound, typical rainy, fairly cool spring weather will finally yield to a string of warm  for us!  days.

Temperatures will break 60 mid-week. Heading into Memorial Day weekend, the sun should shine by Friday, said NWS, when we can bask in 70-degree days and maybe even almost-80 by the national holiday.

Just dont get too excited: Although the work week is expected to be drier, wrote NWS Seattle, it wont be shower-free.
Currently on his third day of an official visit to Portugal, Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On, leading a Macau delegation, met with several authorities in the country, starting with the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China in Lisbon, Cai Run.

During this meeting, Chui and Cai exchanged views on how to boost Portuguese-Chinese relations and strengthen Macaus role as a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The CE praised the work carried out by Portugal on the entrepreneurship of its young people, noting that the Macau delegation intends to observe and learn about these initiatives, as well as to strengthen exchange in this area, an official statement from the Government Information Bureau noted.

At the meeting, Chui thanked the Chinese authorities for their support in strengthening bilateral ties with Portugal, especially on a year full of celebrations between the three parties.

In early May, during his visit to Macau, the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, expressed his focus on the development of Portuguese culture and Portuguese language learning in Macau. He also voiced his intention to support the participation of the Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Portugal, in supporting Macaus construction of the Belt and Road initiative and the implementation of the General Planning Guidelines for the Development of Greater Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay (GBA). These topics are once more in discussion across the CEs visit to Portugal.

Ambassador Cai Run recalled the recent visits from both the President Xi Jinping and the President of the Portuguese Republic to each others countries as a display of this high-level bilateral relationship, noting that Portugal pays great importance to several areas of construction within the GBA which not only offers new opportunities of cooperation between Macau and Portugal but also contributes to the development of local economic diversification.

Cai identified several projects in recent years where Macau companies and the Macau government created partnerships with Portuguese entities, creating delegations and branches. In the ambassadors opinion, this demonstrates Macaus role in linking China and the lusophone world.
SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City is hosting its annual Best of the Zest: Best Tasting Lemonade Contest on Sunday, May 18. The contest allows young entrepreneurs to demonstrate their business skills and lemonade-making abilities ahead of Lemonade Day on May 31.

Competitors will battle for cash prizes up to $150. Awards for Best Tasting Lemonade in Shreveport-Bossier City and Most Creative Lemonade will be presented.

This contest gives our young entrepreneurs a chance to test their recipes, practice their sales pitch, and gain valuable feedback before the big day, says Jessica Schiele, City Director for Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City. Its incredible to see the creativity and business savvy these kids bring to their lemonade stands. More importantly, theyre developing skills beyond even business ownership that will benefit them for a lifetime.

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Free crawfish, autographs from NFL All-Pro Adrian Peterson

Lemonade Day is a free, experience-based learning program that educates youth on how to start, own, and operate their own business with lemonade stands. Created in 2007, the program has served over 1 million children and has operated in Shreveport-Bossier City since before 2016.

Source: Lemonade Day Shreveport-Bossier City

On Lemonade Day (May 31), young entrepreneurs across Shreveport-Bossier City will set up their stands throughout the community, a press release stated. They pay for their supplies, keep the profits they earn, and are encouraged to spend some, save some, and share some with a cause that matters to them.

Wonder Oasis Waterpark kicks off 40th season with upgrades, member perks

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Contestants earned an average profit of over $100 per stand in 2023, with several donating a portion of their earnings to local charities.

Judges will be looking not only at the taste of the lemonade, but also at each childs understanding of their business concept, Schiele said. We encourage all young entrepreneurs, whether theyre new to Lemonade Day or returning participants, to join us for this fun and educational event.

More information about Best of the Zest can be found on its Facebook page. To register for free, visit lemonadeday.org/shreveport-bossier-city.

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)  Two major Central New York festivals were called off Saturday after winds forced people to run for shelter and brought trees and tents down.

Organizers of both the Food Truck Battle at the New York State Fairgrounds and Battle of the Wings at Syracuses Inner Harbor cancelled their events Saturday.

The winds brought down large tree limbs within Chevy Court and destroyed multiple vendors tents. Some vendors braved the storm to hold down their booths.

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Just before the winds hit, people were ordered to find shelter inside buildings.

Dust and debris flew across the grounds as trees came down.

A severe thunderstorm warning, issued by the National Weather Service, was in effect adjacent to the Town of Geddes when the storm passed over the Fairgrounds. The NewsChannel 9 Storm Team had forecasted gusty winds.

At 221 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Jordan, or 9 miles west of Baldwinsville, moving northeast at 45 mph, the National Weather Service warned, citing doppler radar analysis.

The warning included wind gust projections of 60mph.

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Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees, stated the warning.

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Winds will pick up through the weekend across New Mexico. The strongest winds will be Sunday and Monday when areas of blowing dust and a high fire danger will develop.

Its a calmer day across New Mexico Friday afternoon, but winds are still gusting over 30 mph in a few parts of the state. Temperatures are warmer across the entire state as well today with highs back up to around average again for the middle of May. Breezier winds will return to the state again Saturday afternoon with gusts as high as 45 mph. This will bring a high fire danger across the state again during the afternoon hours. High temperatures will also be even warmer Saturday afternoon. Evaporating rain showers will be possible in parts of the state Saturday afternoon as well, which could produce locally windy conditions.

A storm system scrapes across New Mexico Sunday and Monday. This will bring high winds back in the afternoon, especially for areas along and south of I-40. This is where wind gusts up to 55 mph will be possible both afternoons. Areas of blowing dust are likely in southern New Mexico, which could close highways and interstates again. A high fire danger will also develop with these high winds and dry conditions. Meanwhile, isolated showers and storms will move through northwestern and northern New Mexico. Some snow will be possible across mountain peaks as well. An isolated shower may make it as far south as Santa Fe and Albuquerque Monday afternoon.

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Winds will quickly die down Monday night with calmer conditions by the middle of next week. An area of high pressure will develop over New Mexico, bringing in calmer, but more dry weather. Temperatures will also be climbing. Some of the warmest weather so far this year will arrive next Friday, with Albuquerques first 90 day of the year possible.

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RACINE, Wis. (WFRV)  An 11-year-old from southeast Wisconsin was pronounced dead at the hospital after they were reportedly accidentally shot by their sibling, who was later taken into police custody.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16, officers with the Racine Police Department say they were made aware of a juvenile who had been shot and was being taken to a local hospital by their family.

17-year-old hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after accidental shooting in Wisconsin

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Officers say the 11-year-old victim was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to the officers preliminary investigation, the incident took place within a residence in the 2600 block of Prospect Street when the victim was accidentally shot by a sibling. The sibling was subsequently taken into custody.

53-year-old Green Bay man battling life-threatening injuries after early morning motorized bike crash

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Racine Police Department Investigation Unit at (262) 635-7756. Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at (262) 636-9330 or through the P3 Tips app.

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No additional information was provided.

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ROTHSCHILD  Wisconsin Republican delegates at their state convention approved a party resolution calling for the state to enforce an 1849 abortion law  a stance that touches on an issue that has caused trouble for the party in recent elections.

The May 17 vote carries no authority, but it reflected a willingness from grassroots Republicans in the state to embrace a position on abortion at odds with some of the states top party leaders.

Democrats have leaned heavily on abortion as a motivator in races both in Wisconsin and across the country. The issue played an outsized role in the 2023 state Supreme Court race that flipped the court into liberal control. Some Republicans in the state and elsewhere have sought to distance themselves from positions that would outlaw almost all abortions.

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More: The word you seldom hear during Republican National Convention speeches: abortion

The 1849 law went into effect in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case. It was interpreted at the time as banning doctors from performing abortions in every case except when the mother would die without the procedure.

But a Dane County judge in December 2023 ruled that the old law does not prohibit abortions. That ruling returned Wisconsin to its abortion laws from before the countrys high court overturned Roe v. Wade; abortions in the state are now banned 20 weeks after probable fertilization. That case is now before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The resolution was adopted alongside a slew of others at the Republican Party of Wisconsins annual convention in Rothschild.

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Other resolutions adopted included those calling for banning central counts to tabulate absentee votes during elections and seeking to require areas using central counts to finish calculating all their votes no later than two hours after polls close.

They also passed a resolution endorsing a ban on same-day voter registration.

When it comes to abortion, though, some of Wisconsins top elected Republicans have said the issue should be up to individual states and have largely declined to take a firm stance.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, the highest-ranking Republican in the state, has said the issue should be decided through a referendum, though that would require amending the state constitution  something Republicans who control the state Legislature have rejected.

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More: At Wisconsin GOP convention, Ron Johnson urges party faithful to unify on abortion

The resolution called to reaffirm the sanctity of all human life and reestablish legal protection of innocent human life from fertilization to natural death through legislation and a human life amendment to both the state and federal constitutions.

It demanded that our state legislators support and pass legislation allowing individuals and/or institutions in the health care field to exempt themselves from any and all abortion procedures.

Delegates moved to consider the resolution separately from others, though there was ultimately little debate on it.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Republican convention backs strict 1849 abortion law
May 16Wildlife officials are mulling over their options after a series of wolf attacks on cattle in northeast Washington.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release Friday that wolves had killed at least one calf and injured three others in the Kettle Mountains of Ferry County.

While waiting for WDFW to investigate, the affected livestock producer shot and killed one adult male wolf that was seen chasing other cows .

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Now the agency says it's "considering a period of evaluation instead of lethal removal" in response.

This marks the first time this year that WDFW has considered killing wolves that have preyed on cattle, according to the agency's monthly wolf reports.

The agency can order lethal removal of a wolf after more than three attacks on livestock in a span of 30 days. In this case, since one wolf has been killed already, the agency is considering ordering an evaluation period instead.

The release said staff will make a recommendation to the WDFW director soon.

The producer reported the wolf attacks on Thursday. WDFW said the incident hasn't been attributed to a single pack yet, and the agency is still working to determine whether the wolves involved are part of a local pack or are dispersing from somewhere else.

WDFW's annual wolf count found there were at least 230 wolves across 43 packs in the state at the end of 2024.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN)  A Williamson County woman accused of meeting with a hitman to kill her ex-husband made bond Friday.

Angelia Solomon allegedly met with a special undercover agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who was posing as a hitman and allegedly offered him money in exchange for her ex-husband, Aaron Solomon, to disappear and be put under the ground, according to court recordings. Angelia has pleaded not guilty to the charge of solicitation to commit first-degree murder.

PREVIOUS: Woman accused of meeting with hitman to kill her ex-husband pleads not guilty to murder-for hire-charge

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On Friday, Angelia reportedly made her $250,000 bond and was released on several conditions, including GPS monitoring and no access to the internet or any other telecommunication devices.

News 2 previously reported that in court recordings, Angelia accused Aaron of killing their son, Grant Solomon, in 2020 and of sexually abusing their daughter, Gracie Solomon. Aaron has not been charged with a crime in either accusation. She also referenced The Good Ole Boy Network, and made baseless claims about top state officials being involved in sex trafficking within the court recordings.

ORIGINAL STORY: Franklin woman charged with solicitation to murder ex-husband

Her case is set for arraignment on July 30.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
The SAR government is calling for booth operators for the upcoming Macau-Hengqin Craft Market that will be held at Ocean Square outside Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom from December 9 to 11. The call for booth operators will run until November 3. To promote artistic and cultural exchanges between the two regions, the Livelihood Affairs Bureau of the Cooperation Zone and Cultural Affairs Bureau are extending the Craft Market to Hengqin. There will be 112 booths for handicraft aficionados from Macau. The products registered must be original designs, and the minimum number of product types for sale is 10. Cultural and artistic experiences can also be included in the services provided.

Court refuses civil compensation in Levo Chans case

The Court of First Instance has refused to accept the civil compensation claims presented in the case of junket mogul Levo Chan. Gaming concessionaires, including MGM, Wynn and Venetian Macao, have sought to claim compensation for losses caused by junket. The decision was communicated earlier this week to the lawyers for the operators and the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), TDM has reported. The decision was justified on the grounds of ensuring that the criminal process was upheld without being prejudiced by the civil processes that accompany it. Chans trial is scheduled for December 5.
A woman is asking for help after a homeless man stole her car from the hospital valet at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center where she was visiting her husband in the ICU.

On May 12, Brittney Mickles-McQuirter, a local teacher at a Montessori school, was visiting her husband, Joe McQuirter, who was receiving treatment for an aggressive form of liver cancer.

Brittney left her car with valet workers at the hospital around 11:45 p.m. She was later notified by valet workers that a homeless man on a bicycle had allegedly stolen her car keys from behind the valet desk around 2 a.m.

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The suspect used the key fob to locate her 2025 Honda CR-V in the parking lot and drive the vehicle away. Brittney reported the theft to UCLA Medical Center police, but claimed they have not allowed her to view any surveillance video of the theft.

She was provided with a five-day car rental, for which she will have to pay insurance.

Her loved ones have been tracking the Apple AirTag she left on her car keys. Theyve followed the tracker to several locations, but were unable to find her car at each stop.

Brittney Mickles-McQuirter and her husband, Joe McQuirter were married in October 2024. (Mickles-McQuirter Family) Joe McQuirter has been hospitalized since April 18. He is battling an aggressive form of liver cancer at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. (GoFundMe) The couples 2025 dark blue Honda CR-V hybrid SUV was stolen by a homeless man from the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Centers valet parking lot on May 12, 2025. (Mickles-McQuirter Family) UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. (KTLA) Brittney Mickles-McQuirter and her husband, Joe McQuirter are seen in a family photo. UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. (KTLA)

Brittney and Joe got married in October 2024. Since Joe was admitted to the hospital on April 18, he has remained hospitalized and has experienced setbacks and complications.

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She feels beyond stressed and heartbroken that the only vehicle the couple owns is now gone, along with important documents she left inside.

This is just more time that Im away from the bedside of my husband, Brittney said. Right now, I want to spend as much time as I can with him, so its frustrating. I gave them my key, expecting my car to be there when I got back.

Brittney is now left without transportation to get to work or visit Joe in the hospital.

The couples 2025 dark blue Honda CR-V hybrid SUV was stolen by a homeless man from the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Centers valet parking lot on May 12, 2025. (Mickles-McQuirter Family)

UCLA Health officials provided KTLA with a statement saying, We apologize for this unfortunate incident. A police report was filed and our insurance carrier is investigating.

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A GoFundMe page to help Brittney and Joe with medical expenses and replacing their stolen car can be found here.

KTLA requested surveillance video of the incident, but hospital officials did not release the footage.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
One person was killed and eight injured in Russian attacks on Donetsk Oblast on Saturday 17 May.

Source: Vadym Filashkin, Head of Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "One person was killed and eight injured in today's strikes on Donetsk Oblast.

This morning the Russians attacked Yablunivka in the Illinivka hromada with a first-person view drone, killing a 27-year-old woman and damaging a shop. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town along with their adjacent territories  ed.]

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The enemy also hit a civilian car in the Andriivka hromada with a drone, injuring five people, including one minor.

Another two people were injured in Pokrovsk today and one in Myrnohrad."

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Update

MARIONVILLE, Mo.,  Officials say a woman killed in a head on collision in Lawrence County Thursday afternoon (5/15) was pregnant with twins.

The crash happened late Thursday afternoon (5/15) at the intersection of Highway 60 and Highway 265 in Marionville.

The driver of a Dodge SUV struck a Toyota SUV head on, killing the driver of the Dodge  a female who was pregnant with twins.

According to officials with the Aurora and Marionville Police Department, the crash also claimed the lives of the womans twin babies.

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The occupants of the Toyota  a mother and her young son  suffered critical injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital.

Aurora-Marionville Police, Marionville Fire, Aurora Fire, Mercy EMS, and the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office all responded to the fatal crash.

Original

MARIONVILLE, Mo.  A head on collision in Lawrence County claims one life and critically injures two others.

It happened late Thursday afternoon (5/15) at the intersection of Highway 60 and Highway 265 in Marionville.

The driver of a Dodge SUV struck a Toyota SUV head on, killing the driver of the Dodge.

The occupants of the Toyota  a mother and her young son  suffered critical injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital.

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Aurora-Marionville Police, Marionville Fire, Aurora Fire, Mercy EMS, and the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office all responded to the fatal crash.

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CHICAGO (WGN)  A search is underway this weekend for a woman who officers say has been missing for over two weeks.

Chicago police say 61-year-old Carolyn Hollins has been missing since Wednesday, April 30.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

Officers said she was last seen around 1 p.m. on that day in the vicinity of the intersection of West Douglas Boulevard and South Homan Avenue, in North Lawndale on the West Side.

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Police say the missing woman, who has brown eyes and grey hair, stands 5-foot-7 and weighs around 210 pounds.

She was last spotted wearing a black coat, white t-shirt, black pants, and black gym shoes while carrying a black book bag that contained her identification.

Chicago police say 61-year-old Carolyn Hollins has been missing since Wednesday, April 30., 2025.

Authorities provided details about the missing womans disappearance in a news release sent out on Friday afternoon.

A photo provided by Chicago police shows Hollins wearing a pair of black plastic-framed glasses, though it is unclear if she was wearing them at the time of her disappearance.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

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Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 61-year-old Carolyn Hollins is asked to contact the CPD Area Four SVU at 312-746-8251 or dial 911.

Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously.

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KALIHI, Hawaii (KHON)  A woman is safe after a fast-moving fire tore through a two-story home in Kalihi on the morning of May 16.

The Honolulu Fire Department says it received a 911 call at 10:27 a.m. reporting a building fire on Kalihi Street.

Ten units, including 39 firefighters, were dispatched to the scene. The first crew arrived just six minutes later to find the home fully engulfed in flames.

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One resident was spotted on the roof trying to escape the fire and was quickly assisted to safety by fire personnel.

She was transferred to American Medical Response at 10:47 a.m. for medical evaluation.

The fire was brought under control by 10:58 a.m. and fully extinguished by 11:50 a.m.

No other occupants were found inside, and no injuries were reported among fire personnel.

Mark Perai happened to be driving by when he noticed smoke rising from the valley.

I saw a lot of smoke from the valley, so I pulled over. The house was fully engulfed in flames, Perai said. It was reported there were some animals inside. I said a short prayer, just hoping the firefighters could get the woman out (of the burning house) as soon as possible. Thank God she was rescued.

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An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

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A new report has named the worst states in the U.S. for road rage just as 75 percent of American respondents said theyre gearing up for a road trip this summer.

Researchers at Consumer Affairs examined data on fatal crashes involving careless or reckless driving, violations for dangerous driving, and traffic incidents involving gun violence to rank each of the 50 states.

The worst three states for aggressive and dangerous drivers are apparently to be found in the South, Southwest, and West.

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According to the data, Louisiana is the state with the highest incidents of road rage, and to cap that off, its the second year in a row the state has come out on top.

Nearly 60 percent of the states fatal crashes and traffic deaths were linked to aggressive or careless driving, the highest rates in the nation, the report states.

Louisiana also has the highest overall rates of fatal crashes and deaths involving aggressive or careless driving per 100,000 people. Additionally, it has the second-highest rate of traffic violations for aggressive or careless driving or speeding.

About 58 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state involved aggressive or careless driving in 2023, four times the national average, according to the study.

A new report says drivers in some states seem to be more prone to road rage than in others (Getty Images)

While reckless driving may appear common in Louisiana, it also comes with serious consequences: first-time offenders can spend up to 90 days in jail, while second-time offenders can be locked up for up to six months.

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Coming in at number two for road rage is New Mexico, also for the second year running.

The Land of Enchantment retains the second place ranking, not least because of its comparatively high rate of traffic incidents involving gun violence, which is almost four times the national rate.

Unfortunately, this trend also aligns with the states general gun violence rates: Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention group, notes that New Mexicos gun violence rate is almost double the national average.

New Mexico also ranked as the least safe state in the U.S. overall in another recent study by Consumer Affairs.

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And at number three, ranking not too far behind New Mexico, is Colorado, climbing one spot this year.

While Colorado may not have the most traffic fatalities or fatal crashes, it has the highest number of violations for aggressive or careless driving or speeding per 100,000 people, at over eight times the national average, the report notes.

There is an effort underway to curtail the problem: Officials seem to be cracking down on the issue. Recent city and statewide laws have expanded automatic speeding enforcement through cameras and consequences for cellphone use while driving.

Rounding out the top ten are Arkansas, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Hawaii, Nevada, and Florida.

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Consumer Affairs notes that half of the 10 states with the worst road rage are in the West, while none are located in the Midwest.

As for the safest states for a road trip  those with the least road rage  if you want a hassle-free time on the highway, head to Maine.

And ranking behind the Pine Tree State are Iowa, California, Mississippi, and Utah.
York County deputy accused of leaving her dog outside for days without proper food or water: Sheriff

YORK COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A York County Sheriffs deputy has been arrested for felony ill-treatment of animals, officials say.

On May 16, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) arrested and charged Amarianna Mitchell.

SLED received information regarding possible animal mistreatment at Mitchells home. Sheriffs say a preliminary investigation revealed that Mitchell had left her pet dog outside for several days without adequate food, water or shelter.

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Following her arrest, she was placed on administrative leave without pay, pending an internal review of the incident.

Mitchell was booked into the York County Detention Center.

She had served as a deputy for two years.

Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area  >> Latest stories here

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Youngstown City Schools again next year will not bus high school students, but starting in 2026  when the district goes to one high school and one middle school  the plan is to bring back busing for high schoolers.

To make it work, Youngstown Schools Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor would like the law changed so the district must no longer bus students to private and charter schools.

It would help, yes, if we could get that. But I know, Ill be honest with you, thats not going to happen, Batchelor said.

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Batchelor provided numbers showing that Youngstown City Schools currently transports 4,200 students, with 50% going to city schools and 50% going to private and charter schools. Youngstown is responsible for servicing 36 schools, with 22  or 66%  being outside the city school district.

But if theyre going to choose to go elsewhere, and the way that were going with voucher systems and things of that nature, then it should be the responsibility of those schools to make sure that they get where they need to be, Batchelor said.

State Rep. Lauren McNally says Ohio is the only state that requires its public schools to bus private and charter school students. McNally says some solutions being discussed in Columbus are to stop penalizing school districts for busing mistakes, create programs to attract drivers, use public transportation or spend more money.

We really have a mess, genuinely, on our hands when it comes to busing schools, McNally said. I dont think that its right for the state to just throw up its hands and say, this is what you have to do, but its your problem to solve for it, and were not going to help you along the way.'

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Batchelor says the Ohio House of Representatives included the creation of a committee to study busing students in its budget.

Im really not saying that money is the issue. Its really what we have to do with that money, Batchelor said.

Batchelor said one change to make it easier would be if districts needing busing from Youngstown City Schools, they could work with Youngstown on start times and end times of the school days and school year.

It creates a pretty big burden on urban school districts, and particularly, Youngstown is my concern right now, Batchelor said.

Batchelor said public schools have been transporting private school students for 40 years, but its been exacerbated because of the bus driver shortage and the incrase in the number of private and charter schools.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Saturday of deliberately killing civilians in a drone attack on a bus that left nine people dead in Sumy region.

"All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians," he said in a post on X that was accompanied by a photo showing a van that had been destroyed.

Ukrainian sources said earlier that nine people had been killed in the attack, in the border town of Bilopillia in Ukraine's Sumy region.

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Seven people were injured. Zelensky said they suffered burns and broken bones.

The attack came the day after Russian-Ukrainian talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, launched by Russia more than three years ago.

Zelensky said he saw the attack as further proof that Russia has no interest in a ceasefire and demanded stronger pressure in the form of sanctions on Moscow in order to stop the killing.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy also condemned the attack.

"Appalled by Russias attack in Sumy, mere hours after talks in Turkiye," Lammy later posted on X, using an alternative spelling of Turkey.

"If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done," he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the Mass for the inauguration of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Sunday 18 May.

Source: European Pravda; Reuters, citing representatives of the Holy See

Details: Reuters has reported that Zelenskyy is among the world leaders invited to the ceremony. The Vatican has confirmed his attendance.

This will be Zelenskyy's first appearance at an international religious event since the latest wave of diplomatic interactions related to peace initiatives.

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Zelenskyy has also said he will likely have his first meeting with Pope Leo on the same day.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also arrived at the Vatican.

Background:

On 12 May, Zelenskyy and Pope Leo had their first phone conversation.

In his first Sunday blessing as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

Earlier, the Ukrainian President's Office had reported that Zelenskyy's attendance at the ceremony would depend on the progress of negotiations with Russia.

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An entire family  a father, mother and daughter  was killed in a Russian attack on an evacuation bus in Sumy Oblast on the morning of 17 May.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

Quote: "There are currently seven wounded people in hospitals following a Russian drone strike on an ordinary passenger bus. The victims have suffered burns, fractures and blast injuries...

... Early reports indicate that the Russians killed a family: father, mother and daughter were killed in the attack. My condolences to all the families and loved ones. All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting. This was a deliberate killing of civilians."

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Details: Zelenskyy urged the international community to exert pressure on Russia.

Background:

Russian forces struck a bus near Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast with a Lancet loitering munition, killing nine people and injuring four others.

It was later reported that the bus was evacuating civilians.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  An annual blood drive held to honor the memory of fallen Dayton Police Officer Kevin Brame was Saturday, May 17.

The drive was hosted by the Zion Baptist Church, in West Dayton, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is located at 1684 Earlham Dr.

NATO summit has blood center seeking more donors, just in case

Officer Brame was shot and killed in 1999 outside of his home on Cherry Drive on Monday, Nov. 1. His case is still unsolved, 25 years later.

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Brames mother and the DPD are offering a $130,000 reward for information to help solve his murder. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Cincinnati is also offering a $15,000 reward.

To learn more about blood donation in the Miami Valley and Versiti Community Blood Center, 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.
NEW YORK  Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani said Friday that his public statements should outweigh his actions on non-binding resolutions, following POLITICO reporting the mayoral candidate did not sign onto measures commemorating the Holocaust and honoring Israel.

I have condemned the Holocaust every year. This is something that is very clear to me and every New Yorker, and is something that I've made clear mostly in public statements, which is where most New Yorkers are actually engaging with their politics, Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference.

Andrew Epstein, a spokesperson for Mamdanis campaign, shared the lawmaker's social media posts commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2024 , 2023 , 2022 and 2021 and said Mamdani has supported more funding for Holocaust survivors, including by signing onto Assemblymember Nily Rozics budget letter advocating to allocate more to a state program for survivors .

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He did not present some of this information when initially asked for comment ahead of POLITICO's first story.

Mamdani did not sponsor the annual resolution for Holocaust Remembrance Day any of the last four years. He was only listed as a sponsor in 2021 , his first year in office.

Most assemblymembers' names appear on the resolutions each year. Epstein said Mamdani was not on it this year because he did not have enough time to review resolutions while running for mayor. When asked why he didnt back the Holocaust measure in previous years, Mamdani downplayed the importance of Albany's typically ceremonial resolutions.

The longer Ive spent in Albany, the fewer resolutions Ive cosponsored. But Ive made it a point to vote for the resolution every single time it has come to the floor, he said in a statement  referring to the voice votes, which allow members to verbally say aye without having their votes recorded.

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The Queens Democrat was eager to defend his record. He released a video Friday evening, accusing POLITICO of making baseless accusations and falsely claiming that I refused to condemn the Holocaust.

In January, I told my Assembly staff not to co-sponsor any resolutions that were emailed to our office, he said. It had nothing to do with the content of the resolution. But I understand this has caused pain and confusion for many.  I have voted every year for the Holocaust Remembrance Day Resolution, including this year, to honor the more than six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.

It is not clear whether Mamdani was present for the floor vote every year. For at least part of the 2023 and 2024 floor speeches on the Holocaust resolution, archived video from the Assembly shows that Mamdani was not in his seat. The videos dont capture the full debates, so it isnt entirely clear whether he came into the chamber in the middle of a speech. Transcripts from those days proceedings do not include any remarks by Mamdani.

When asked about the discrepancy, Epstein responded by saying he would no longer communicate via text message.

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Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the mayoral race, has attacked Mamdani and other opponents for not being sufficiently supportive of Israel; critics on Friday accused Mamdani of being antisemitic.

NOT supporting a pro-Israel resolution does NOT make you an antisemite. However, NOT recognizing the Holocaust certainly does, David Greenfield, a former City Council member and Orthodox Jew who leads an anti-poverty nonprofit, posted on X in response to POLITICO's story. Zohran is unfit to be mayor of NYC.

Reports of hate crimes in New York have risen as the war between Israel and Hamas continues, and that conflict and its impact in the city have become an issue in the race . Mamdani has criticized the Israeli government before and has framed his clear statements claiming there is a genocide in Gaza as an asset.

Cuomos campaign declined to comment. Other Mamdani rivals said they would have acted differently.

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I am proud to have signed onto resolutions recognizing the State of Israel, and condemning the Holocaust. With antisemitism on the rise, we must do everything we can to combat hatred in all forms, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie said in a statement.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander likewise supports the Holocaust Remembrance resolution and would have signed onto it, campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement. He's proud to have the most comprehensive, serious plan to actually combat antisemitism, including bolstering the existing Mayor's Office to Prevent Hate Crimes, strengthening the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, partnering with the Citizens Crime Commission to identify and prevent extremism online, and pioneering new anti-hate education programs for our young people.

Mamdani said Friday he would fight antisemitism as mayor and has committed to an 800 percent increase in funding for hate violence prevention through his proposed Department of Community Safety.

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a left-leaning group that has co-endorsed Mamdani and Lander, defended him.

Anyone attempting to misrepresent his record is blatantly using the horrors of the Holocaust as a political cudgel, JFREJ Communications Director Sophie Ellman-Golan said in a statement. Zohran knows that the job is about materially improving peoples lives. He has a record to back that up, and a policy platform that demonstrates his ongoing commitment to serving all New Yorkers, including Jews.
"The Killing Fields of East New York: The First Subprime Mortgage Scandal, a White-Collar Crime Spree, and the Collapse of an American Neighborhood" by Stacy Horn.
Questen Inghram is a Murrow News Fellow at the Yakima Herald-Republic whose beat focuses on government in Central Washington communities. Email qinghram@yakimaherald.com or call 509-577-7674.

This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, email news@yakimaherald.com.
Looking for a break? Test your knowledge of this week's news from the Yakima Valley.
Mark Z. Barabak is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on politics in California and the West.
About a month after liberals cemented their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, two lawsuits were filed seeking to redraw the states congressional map before the battleground states 2026 midterms.

Both lawsuits take specific aim at the previous courts 2021 order that the states congressional maps must adhere to a least-change requirement, meaning that new boundaries must be drawn with as few changes as possible from the prior set of maps passed by legislative Republicans and signed by then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2011.

So what is least-change and how did it become the main point of contention surrounding Wisconsins congressional boundaries?

Maps locked in advantage

With the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers unable to reach an agreement on new legislative and congressional boundaries, the state Supreme Court, which held a 4-3 conservative majority at the time, took charge of the states redistricting process and in 2021 sided with Republicans in ordering that new maps follow a least-change approach.

The decision required that the next maps deviate as little as possible from GOP-drawn maps adopted in 2011 and any changes should be related to population shifts as a result of the Census. The 2011 maps were drawn in secret and excluded Democrats at a time when Republicans controlled the Legislature and governors office.

Advocates for nonpartisan district lines said the courts decision to follow a least-change approach made it nearly impossible to undo gerrymandered districts drawn a decade earlier, the first time in decades the maps were drawn by a single party without a courts intervention. Conservatives argued their majorities merely reflected the GOPs ability to field stronger candidates.

The high court in 2022 chose Evers legislative and congressional maps, the latter of which also followed the least-change approach and increased the number of competitive districts from one to two. Six of the states eight congressional districts under those maps are held by Republicans, with Democrats holding the two districts that largely comprise of Madison and Milwaukee.

New court, new interpretation

With a newfound 4-3 liberal majority in 2023, the court rejected the least-change approach used in the prior redistricting case, saying the standard could run afoul of other legal requirements that must be met in the redistricting process.

Facing pressure from the court, the Legislature in early 2024 approved legislative maps drawn by Evers, which the governor signed in February that year.

Under Wisconsins new, more Democratic-friendly legislative maps, Democrats last fall picked up 10 seats in the state Assembly, reducing the Republicans advantage in that house to nine seats, while flipping four seats in the Senate to create an 18-15 GOP majority.

After that decision, liberals asked the court to reject the states congressional maps since they were also selected under the least-change approach. The court rejected the request in March 2024.

Election brings pair of lawsuits

A month after Susan Crawford was elected to the high court, extending liberals majority, Democratic law firm Elias Law Group brought a lawsuit challenging the congressional maps. The suit, filed May 7 on behalf of a handful of Democratic voters, argues the current maps unconstitutionally pack a substantial share of the states Democratic voters into two of the states eight U.S. House districts.

The next day, the Campaign Legal Center, one of the parties that successfully sued to redraw the states legislative maps a few years ago, also sued, arguing the maps violates the state Constitution because it does not equally apportion population among Wisconsins eight congressional districts.

Both petitions are filed against the Wisconsin Elections Commission and ask the state Supreme Court to bypass the lower courts and take up the matter directly.

Hurting Democrats because they are Democrats

Elias Law Groups lawsuit argues the states existing congressional map violate Democratic voters constitutional right to free speech and association because it impermissibly disadvantages voters based on their political views and partisan affiliation, systematically disfavoring Democrats because they are Democrats.

Thats evident in the fact that, despite having a nearly even split between Republican and Democratic voters in statewide contests, GOP candidates have been able to hold six of the states eight congressional seats, according to the lawsuit.

This Court has since determined that the novel least change approach that directly led to this result lacked any basis in this Courts precedents, the Wisconsin Constitution, or past Wisconsin redistricting practice, the lawsuit states. Yet the congressional map adopted under the least change approach is now in effect and will remain in effect for the remainder of the decade absent this Courts action.

New maps split more counties

The lawsuit filed by the Campaign Legal Center argues the least-change method led to a congressional map that divides nearly twice as many counties as is necessary to equally populate eight districts.

Unlike least change, minimizing split counties is a traditional redistricting principle that should have guided the configuration of districts once population equality was achieved, the lawsuit states.

The group argues the U.S. Constitution requires states to make a good-faith effort to achieve mathematical equality when drawing district boundaries and the adopted maps are unequally populated.

The lawsuit also argues the least-change method improperly superseded Wisconsins traditional redistricting criteria of minimizing county splits, resulting in the needless splitting apart of counties (and therefore communities of interest).

Whats next

The states highest court on May 15 ordered the state elections commission to file a response to the two petitions by May 29. All other interested parties are ordered to file briefs by May 30.

Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley dissented in the order, asserting that the lawsuits are politically motivated and seek to relitigate claims already decided by the court in 2022 when it adopted Evers congressional map.

Entertaining these claims makes a mockery of our justice system, degrades this court as an institution, and perpetuates the publics perception that justice is for sale in Wisconsin, wrote Bradley, whose 10-year term on the court expires next year.

Recusal requests likely

With redistricting arguments potentially coming back before the court, Republicans will likely push to have at least two of the courts four liberal justices recuse themselves from the matter.

Bradley has pointed to liberal incoming-Justice Susan Crawfords participation in an online donor meeting that was billed as a chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026 while campaigning for a seat on the court.

Crawford has called the assertions a lie, noting there was no discussion of congressional districts while she was on the Zoom call and said she has not taken a position on the matter. Crawford will join the bench in August.

Bradley also took aim at liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, citing previous comments she made in which she called GOP-drawn maps rigged and unfair.

Leading up to the courts decision to overturn the states legislative maps, Protasiewicz refused Republicans call to recuse herself from the matter and joined her liberal colleagues to rule the maps unconstitutional and order them redrawn.
New Delhi: From theatres to OTT and back to theatres again, Rajkummar Raos upcoming film Bhool Chuk Maaf is already making headlines ahead of its release.

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the romantic drama has undergone multiple changes to its release date and platform.

Earlier, Maddock Films had planned to premiere the much-anticipated film on Prime Video on May 16, 2025. However, PVR INOX , the multiplex chain associated with the film filed a Rs 60 crore legal case against the makers, citing a breach of contract.

The Bombay High Court subsequently stalled the films OTT release until June 16.

Bhool Chuk Maaf Final Release Date:

According to a joint statement by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films and Kamal Gianchandani, Bhool Chuk Maaf will now hit theatres on May 23, 2025.

In the statement, Dinesh Vijan said, "As our surroundings begin to heal, we're especially grateful to offer a theatrical experience for a film that speaks from the heart. In these times, when family means everything, we urge audiences to head to theatres with their loved ones, share a laugh, reflect on life, and enjoy a story that, we hope, brings joy. We're also incredibly thankful to our exhibitors as partners for their continued support, flexibility, and commitment to theatrical storytelling. The release environment has changed for the better, and we're proud to collaborate once again with them for our film's release."

Directed by Karan Sharma, this family entertainer stars Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Seema Pahwa in key roles.
SSC GD Constable Result 2025: Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is all set to release the SSC GD Constable 2025 examination results soon. All thE candidates who have appeared for the examination will be able to check their results from the official website, i.e. ssc.gov.in. Candidates will find the links of merit list and category-wise cut-off marks in the result PDF, no details are required to check the SSC GD Constable result.

The SSC GD Constable exam is a national-level recruitment exam which is a Computer Based Exam (CBE) and is conducted in various centres across India. This year, the Staff Selection Commission has increased the vacancies to 53,690 posts. The examination took place from 4th February, 2025 to 25th February, 2025 and then the provisional answer key was released on 4th March, 2025.

SSC GD Constable Result 2025: Steps to Download the Result PDF

Step 1: Go to the official SSC website- ssc.gov.in.

Step 2: You will see the tab of Result on the homepage, open it.

Step 3: Find the section of Constable-GD in the exam exam category.

Step 4: Now click on the SSC GD Constable Exam Result 2025 link.

Step 5: The SSC GD Constable result PDF will appear on your screen.

Step 6: PDF will contain the roll numbers of the candidates who have qualified the exam, find your name.

Step 7: Save and download the PDF for future use.

SSC GD Constable exam is conducted in the three stages for the selection, first stage is the written exam, second stage is Physical efficiency Test (PET)/ physical standard test (PST), and the last stage is a medical examination. Only the candidates who will clear this written test will be qualified for the next rounds. All the candidates are advised to keep checking the official website for all the important updates.
New Delhi: Bullets. Blood. Broadcasts. Borders bracing for battle. What began as a brutal terrorist attack in the idyllic meadows of Pahalgams Baisaran, Kashmir, snowballed into one of the most dangerous escalations in India-Pakistan relations since the Kargil conflict. Twenty-six tourists were killed and dozens injured in the April 22 massacre. India, in response, launched Operation Sindoor  a bold and coordinated assault across nine terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

But this time, something feels different. Not just a retaliatory strike, a warning shot with echoes of a region simmering on the brink.

A Message In Red

Named after the traditional vermillion symbol of womanhood and sacrifice, Operation Sindoor was not just about military precision. It was about political messaging. It was about cultural symbolism. And it was about vengeance  public, televised and loud.

This tri-service operation brought together the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force in a manner unseen since the 2019 Balakot strikes. Drones, fighter jets and artillery pounded known terror training camps reportedly linked to groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Hizbul Mujahideen. And while official casualty counts remain under wraps, experts are calling it Indias most expansive counter-terror response in years.

Fifth War In The Making?

India and Pakistan have already fought four wars  in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. Each began with an act of provocation. Each ended with uneasy ceasefires. But the pattern remains  terror attack, Indian retaliation, diplomatic tension and international intervention.

What is alarming is that the script is once again unfolding with chilling familiarity. Since Pulwama in 2019, there has been no full-scale war  but the attacks have not stopped. The 2024 Reasi bus bombing. The constant infiltration attempts. The political temperature rising with each body laid to rest.

Now, the Operation Sindoor raises a critical question  is South Asia tiptoeing toward its fifth war?

A Region On Edge

Unlike in past decades, todays geopolitical climate is less forgiving. Pakistans internal turmoil, Afghanistans instability and shifting alliances with China and Russia make the subcontinent more unpredictable than ever.

India, on its part, is signaling a posture of zero tolerance  not just diplomatically but through visible and calibrated military responses.

No longer content with back-channel warnings, India has made its strikes not just forceful but public. As much a psychological move as a strategic one, the name Sindoor marks a new era of warfare  where perception, narrative and optics weigh as heavily as troop movements.

Echoes Of The Past, Fears Of The Future

Each war between India and Pakistan began with miscalculations  an underestimation of resolve and a misreading of red lines. From the tribal militias of 1947 to the Kargil incursions of 1999 and now the bloodbath in Pahalgam, the patterns of provocation are familiar.

But 2025 brings new uncertainties. Technology has advanced, arsenals have expanded and nuclear overhangs loom larger than ever. If diplomacy fails this time, the fifth Indo-Pak war might not just be fought in the mountains of Kashmir  but across cities, cyberspace and global opinion.

Operation Sindoor may have ended in minutes. But its political, emotional and military aftershocks are only beginning. For India, it is a statement of resolve. For the world, a dangerous standoff between two nuclear-armed nations teetering on the edge  again.
New Delhi: In a decision that follows pointed remarks by Bangladeshs interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, India has tightened access for Bangladeshi goods through its northeastern land ports.

Speaking during a visit to China, Yunus referred to Indias northeast as a landlocked region with no access to the ocean  a phrase that Indian officials did not take lightly.

The fallout?

Bangladeshs thriving ready-made garment (RMG) exports  along with plastics, furniture, melamine, juices, processed food and more  now face rerouted journeys via Kolkata or the Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra. That shift means longer trips, higher costs and tighter margins for Bangladeshi exporters.

BIG BREAKING:



India limits Bangladesh garment imports to Kolkata, Mumbai seaports; Land ports closed in a reciprocal gesture to Bangladesh



India's Northeastern land ports barred for select Bangladeshi goods. pic.twitter.com/aGdCvK1I4C  Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 17, 2025

Until now, 93% of Bangladeshi exports to India flowed through northeastern gateways in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and through Fulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal. The re-routing is poised to hit Bangladeshs RMG sector the hardest, which annually exports over USD 740 million worth of garments to India.

India has framed the move as one of trade fairness, citing long-standing asymmetries. Bangladesh cannot assume market access without reciprocity. For years, India extended concessions without equal returns. This decision restores balance, an official told ANI.

There is more to it than political optics. Indian exporters have repeatedly flagged Bangladeshs restrictions on Indian goods, particularly through the Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) bordering the northeastern states.

In addition, Bangladeshs transit charges  1.8 taka per tonne per kilometre for Indian goods compared to 0.8 taka domestically  have been viewed in New Delhi as discriminatory.

Officials argue that these charges have stifled industrial growth in the northeast, effectively blocking economic integration with the Indian heartland. Industrial growth in the Northeastern states suffers a triple jeopardy, a source noted, pointing to both logistical and policy hurdles imposed by Dhaka.

For Bangladesh, the immediate impact is economic. Rising transport costs and limited access to key Indian markets threaten to disrupt its export-led growth model. But for Indian manufacturers, the trade pivot may offer fresh opportunities to fill the supply vacuum.

A diplomatic standoff, a redirected truck route and a reminder  in geopolitics, words carry weight, especially when they redraw trade maps.

(With ANI inputs)
Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said he was honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of representing India as part of the all-party delegation and would fulfil it with full commitment. Responding to questions about his partys stance on his inclusion, Tharoor said it was for the leadership to explain their opinion and added that he had no comment to make on it.

"My party leadership is entitled to its opinion of my abilities or lack thereof, and I think that is really for them to explain. I have absolutely no comment to make on that. I am honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility, and I will fulfil that responsibility just as I have fulfilled every responsibility entrusted to me in my rather long working life, whether at the United Nations or in the Congress Party...We have a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on Monday and Tuesday on various issues, including this particular issue," Tharoor said, ANI reported.

He further added that this has nothing to do with party politics and is a strong reflection of national unity at a time when unity is crucial.

"To my mind, this has nothing to do with party politics. It's all to do with what our country has been through in recent times and the need for us to present a united front...It is a good reflection of national unity at a time when unity is important," he added.

Earlier, Tharoor shared a post on X that he is honoured by the invitation to lead an All-Party Delegation to five key capitals.

"I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events," the post read.

Shashi Tharoor has been included in the list of members for the upcoming all-party delegation visit, even though the Congress party did not initially recommend his name. The grand old party had earlier written to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, submitting a shortlist of four names on behalf of the party for the proposed delegations to various countries.
After a brief spell of rainfall in several parts of Delhi-NCR , there was a marginal improvement in air quality and temperature on Saturday morning. However, the overall air quality in many areas still remains in the "poor" to "very poor" category.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at various locations early Saturday was still above the 200 mark.

Anand Vihar reported an AQI of 222, while the area near Delhi Technological University (DTU) recorded 206. In Dwarka Sector 8, the AQI stood at 210, whereas ITO recorded a comparatively better level of 146. Around the India Gate, the AQI measured 177, an improvement from Fridays reading of 250.

Despite the temporary relief provided by the showers, Delhi has been grappling with deteriorating air quality over the past several days.

In response to rising pollution levels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has implemented Stage 1 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR. These curbs come into effect when AQI levels fall in the 201300 range, classified as "poor".

On Friday morning, Delhis average AQI had plunged into the very poor category at 305. Alarming spikes were noted in areas like Wazirpur and Mundka, where AQI readings soared to 422 and 419 respectively, levels that are classified as severe.

Experts attribute the sudden decline in air quality to a combination of dust-laden winds and worsening pre-monsoon atmospheric conditions.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a significant cloud mass over the region triggered strong winds, reaching speeds of 3040 km/h, particularly in the Palam area. These gusts lifted fine dust particles into the air, resulting in decreased visibility and deteriorated air quality across the capital.

While light rain has helped marginally settle airborne particles, environmental experts stress that the current improvement is temporary. With pre-monsoon weather patterns continuing, authorities are urging citizens to take precautions and stay updated on real-time air quality data.
New Delhi: A political slugfest has erupted over a startling allegation that India may have compromised its own military operation by warning Pakistan in advance. The charge, levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has put the spotlight on the governments handling of 'Operation Sindoor', a retaliatory strike launched by India against terror camps in Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs later clarified the minister had stated that "we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoors commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement".

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) too swiftly issued a clarification, saying the ministers comments were misinterpreted and misquoted.

Gandhis accusation is based on remarks made by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who can be seen in a video stating that India had sent a message to Pakistan at the outset of the operation. According to the minister, the government told Pakistan it was targeting terror infrastructure, not military assets, giving Islamabad the option to stay out of the conflict.

This was a crime. Who authorised this? How many of our aircraft were lost as a result? Rahul Gandhi said in a scathing post on X (formerly Twitter).

Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.



EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.



1. Who authorised it?

2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025

Operation Sindoor was projected as a carefully calibrated strike against terror hubs in Pakistans Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It was positioned as Indias strong response to the bloodshed in Pahalgam  an assertion of zero tolerance against cross-border terrorism.
New Delhi: The names behind Indias military actions tell stories beyond strategy. They shape narratives, evoke emotions and define moments in the countrys fraught history with Pakistan. The recent Operation Sindoor stands out, not just for its military objective, but for the symbolism packed into a single word.

Unveiled with a striking image on social media, Operation Sindoor showed the word Sindoor in bold letters, with the second O spilling vermilion  a vivid emblem of marriage, womanhood, sacrifice and blood. This was not a random choice. According to sources, the name was personally selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It highlighted a shift in how India frames its military responses  emotive but at the same time with poetic resonance.

Historically, Indias operations have carried names rooted in myth, geography or abstract notions, sometimes deliberately bland to preserve secrecy. Each operations title carried a message  strength, retribution and victory. Names of previous military operations such as Trident, Vijay or Safed Sagar have echoed across decades, each encoding Indias stance and the narrative it wants to project.

In the shadow of these campaigns lies Kashmir, a region suspended between conflicting histories and ongoing tension. The stories behind these operations reveal how India and Pakistan view the same events through vastly different lenses.

Consider Operation Gulmarg of 1947. Records describe it as Pakistans tribal militias invading Kashmir and forcing the Maharaja to seek Indias help, sparking the first Indo-Pak war.

Fast forward to 1965. After skirmishes in the Rann of Kutch, India launched Operation Ablaze to mobilise forces. Pakistan responded with Operation Gibraltar to incite rebellion in Kashmir and Operation Grand Slam to support it. Indias Operation Riddle pushed into Lahore and Kasur. Each side framed the conflict as defensive; the war ended in stalemate, with civilians paying the highest price.

The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War saw bold codenames like Operation Cactus Lily, an air assault aiding Indian troops crossing the Meghna River, and Operations Trident and Operation Python, naval missile strikes on Karachi. India portrayed these as tactical and humanitarian victories, while Pakistan saw them as violations and unexpected blows.

1984s Operation Meghdoot took on a poetic form, named after Kalidasas Cloud Messenger, symbolising Indias capture of the icy Siachen Glacier  harsh terrain mirroring the challenging political landscape.

The 1999 Kargil conflict was marked by Operation Vijay (victory) and Operation Safed Sagar (white sea), emphasising Indias resolve to reclaim lost ground. Pakistans initial denial of involvement added layers to the complex conflict narrative.

In 2016, after the Uri terror attack, Indias surgical strikes crossed the Line of Control to hit terrorist camps without a formal operation name, signaling a new boldness in its military posture  amplified by media coverage.

Operation Bandar in 2019 followed the Pulwama bombing with air strikes in Balakot. India framed it as deterrence; Pakistan called it symbolic. The episode underscored how military actions and their names become tools in a broader war of perception, carrying weight far beyond the battlefield.

In every operation name lies a story  a battle not just for territory, but for hearts, minds and the legacy of a conflict that remains unresolved. Through these words, India communicates not only its military might but its cultural and political narrative, shaping how history will remember each chapter in the ongoing Indo-Pak saga.
New Delhi: In a swift and high-stakes military confrontation with Pakistan that unfolded between May 6 and May 10, India showcased more than just firepower. It demonstrated how a fusion of artificial intelligence, advanced computing and indigenous defence technology is reshaping modern warfare.

According to reports, India not only intercepted and neutralised a series of attacks but also carried out deep strikes on key Pakistani military installations. The backbone of this performance was not just boots on the ground or jets in the sky, it was intelligence in the wires and data in the clouds.

AI-Driven Warfare Takes Center Stage

In what may be one of the clearest demonstrations yet of how digital warfare meets traditional combat, India deployed AI-powered cloud-based Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS). These systems provided real-time situational awareness across multiple theatres: air, land and sea.

From recognising hostile radar signatures to orchestrating precision strikes and launching defensive responses across domains, AI served as the central nervous system of Indias operations.

By leveraging AI, India was able to preemptively identify enemy aircraft and missile trajectories, position its own forces strategically and execute hard kill (physical interception) and soft kill (electronic jamming or deception) responses seamlessly. These capabilities turned the tide against incoming aerial threats and allowed Indian forces to dominate the skies and strike at will.

A Decade of Strategic Tech Investment Bears Fruit

This high-tech dominance was not built overnight. Back in 2018, the Ministry of Defence constituted a multi-stakeholder task force to assess how AI could be integrated into national security. As a result, the Defence AI Council (DAIC) and the Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) were established. These institutions were tasked with driving AI integration across Indias defence apparatus.

By 2022, the government had greenlit 70 AI-specific defence projects through a dedicated roadmap for public sector units. Of those, 40 had already been completed by then. The total count of greenlit AI-based defence initiatives now stands at 129, with 77 finalised. Each branch of the armed forces was allotted Rs 100 crore exclusively for AI adoption.

The results are showing.

Indigenous Tech Stepping Up

Indias public sector defence giants have taken the lead in building AI-powered systems designed to match evolving battlefield needs.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), for example, developed a next-generation AI-based solution to detect, classify and track enemy aircraft. This is now a key component of the IACCS, which integrates data from multiple defence assets to give a 360-degree view of the aerial theatre. The system enables quicker, smarter and more coordinated responses to aerial threats.

The Indian Army, meanwhile, has rolled out an AI-based Intercept Management System (IMS) specifically tailored for operations in the Western Theatre. It uses advanced visualisation and machine learning techniques to automate intercept analysis, offering military intelligence teams a sharper and data-driven view of adversarial activity.

The Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR)  a DRDO lab  has also delivered an Air Defence Control and Reporting System. This system enables early detection and engagement of aerial threats, integrating a variety of air defence weapons to push interception lines far away from civilian targets.

Strategic Depth Beyond The Frontline

Indias tech-driven defence infrastructure is more than just futuristic gadgetry. It is a reflection of a broader shift in military strategy: from reactive posturing to anticipatory dominance.

By harnessing AI and indigenous systems, India has gained not only agility and precision in its responses but also strategic depth in offensive capabilities. The ability to strike deep into hostile territory while maintaining a resilient defence grid signals a maturing military doctrine that is prepared for hybrid warfare  where information, timing and autonomy matter just as much as ammunition.

As the dust settles from the four-day confrontation, it is clear that Indias growing technological sophistication  much of it homegrown  has begun to tip the scales in its favour on the battlefield. What was once considered a supporting role for AI in defence has now moved to the frontlines.
New Delhi: Pakistans recent attempt to leverage Turkish drones in recent skirmish with India did not go as planned. Once hailed for their battlefield success in Ukraine, these UAVs were quickly neutralised by Indias layered and homegrown air defense systems. It exposed the limitations of Turkeys drone technology outside the European theater.

Turkish drones gained fame early in the Ukraine conflict for their ability to evade Russian defenses and strike strategic targets. Their claimed 27-hour flight endurance and precision loitering capability earned global attention. However, when Pakistan deployed similar drones against India, the scenario changed drastically. Fortified by years of technological development and strategic planning, Indias air defenses swiftly detected and intercepted these drones before they could cause damage.

Reports reveal that many Turkish drones shot down over Indian airspace were less sophisticated models than those supplied to Ukraine. Even more striking is that India employed its own domestic drones, which are cost-effective and locally made, to counter this threat. It marked a significant technological and strategic victory for New Delhi. This outcome also undercuts Turkeys ambitions of asserting itself as a drone superpower in the Muslim world, a goal aggressively promoted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkeys muted diplomatic presence at Indias Ministry of Defence briefing on the conflict highlights Ankaras disappointment with the drones performance. It signals a clear message  technology that succeeds in one conflict zone does not automatically translate to dominance elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Indias deployment of Israeli Harop loitering munitions demonstrated a highly effective offensive capability. These drones autonomously identify targets and deliver explosive payloads by crashing into them, reportedly dismantling key elements of Pakistans air defenses and critical military infrastructure during the brief but intense clashes.

The failure of Turkish drones on Indian soil highlights a lesson in modern warfare  technological prowess must be matched by context-specific strategy and robust indigenous capabilities. As drone warfare evolves, Indias defense systems have set a new benchmark in protecting sovereignty against emerging aerial threats.
India-Pakistan Conflict: A resident of a village in Haryanas Kaithal was arrested for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and ISI during the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. The accused was identified as Devendra, a resident of Mastgarh Cheeka village in Kaithal. Speaking on the police action, DSP Kaithal Veerbhan said that the district police of Kaithal had received intelligence information that led to the arrest.

"Intelligence information was received by the district police of Kaithal, on that basis our special detective staff arrested Devendra, son of Narwal Singh, resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka," Veerbhan said, as quoted by news agency ANI. Police questioned Devendra after taking him into custody. As per the police, Devendra, during his interrogation, told police that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI.

"After taking him into custody, he was questioned. During that interrogation, he said that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI. He used to provide information about the dispute going on between India and Pakistan to that agency, and also information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani army and the ISI from time to time. Our staff at the cyber police station is doing a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever the truth may be, the law will be followed accordingly," DSP Kaithal Veerbhan added.

#WATCH | Kaithal, Haryana | A resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka, Devendra has been arrested by the district police of Kaithal for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and ISI during the recent Indo-Pak conflict.



DSP Kaithal Veerbhan says, "Intelligence pic.twitter.com/qQ1WwqMn3y  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2025

In a separate operation on May 4, Punjab Police arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in leaking sensitive information and photographs of Army Cantonment areas and Air Bases in Amritsar to Pakistani intelligence operatives.

The accused have been identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih. Speaking to ANI, Rural Amritsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Maninder Singh said, "Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav have issued instructions that we immediately arrest and imprison any anti-national element we get information about. One such piece of information was received about Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, who were in touch with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives, leaking them information about sensitive installations. We have arrested them both and recovered a lot of data from them."

"They had one more partner, Harpreet, who brought them in touch with the ISI, and we will bring him from Amritsar Jail on a production warrant. One NDPS case was already registered against him," SSP Singh further stated.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists.

Following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched swarms of missiles and drones into Indian territory, escalating tensions between the two countries and prompting a war-like situation.

(With ANI Inputs)
Congress Leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has been named to lead an All-Party Delegation globally, even after the grand old party skipped his name while submitting a shortlist for the Centre's proposed delegations to different countries.

In the context of 'Operation Sindoor' and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism, seven All-Party Delegations are set to visit key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). This visit is scheduled for later this month.

In a post on the social media platform X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju and submitted four names on behalf of the grand old party. The list did not include the name of Tharoor.

Ramesh wrote in the post, "Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan."

"By noon yesterday May 16th, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs...," he added.

As per Jairam Ramesh, the following names were submitted by Congress:

1- Anand Sharma, former Union Cabinet Minister

2- Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader, INC LS

3- Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, MP, RS

4- Raja Brar, MP, LS

Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from  Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 17, 2025

Which MPs Will Lead Seven Delegations?

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs' statement read, "The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism."

MPs from different parties will be part of each delegation. The following MPs will lead the seven delegations:

1- Shashi Tharoor, Congress

2- Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP

3- Sanjay Kumar Jha, JDU

4- Baijayant Panda, BJP

5- Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, DMK

6- Supriya Sule, NCP

7- Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena

'...I Will Not Be Found Wanting': Tharoor

In a post on X, Tharoor posted that he is honoured by the invitation to lead an All-Party Delegation to five key capitals

"I am honoured by the invitation of the government of India to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals, to present our nations point of view on recent events," he said.

He added that when national interest is involved, and his services are required, he will "not be found wanting".

Operation Sindoor

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Operation hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK); altogether, nine sites were targeted.

The Ministry of Defence had clarified that India's actions were 'focused, measured and non-escalatory.'
In one of the most significant crackdowns on Naxals in the countrys history, security forces carried out a massive coordinated operation along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border between April 21 and May 11, 2025, which led to the neutralisation of 31 Maoists, including 16 women, without any casualties among the security personnel.

The mission, centred in the Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) regionlong regarded as a stronghold of Naxalite activitywas conducted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), and state police forces.

The security forces also achieved another major breakthrough in Chhattisgarhs insurgency-hit districts. CoBRA commandos and Chhattisgarh Police arrested 22 notorious Naxals during an operation in Bijapur. Meanwhile, in the Sukma district, 33 Naxalites surrendered.

Regarding the complete elimination of naxals, the govt release said, "the government of India is committed to completely eliminate Naxalism by 31st March 2026, since Naxalism is seen as the biggest obstacle in the development of remote areas and tribal villages, as it prevents education, healthcare, connectivity, banking, and postal services from reaching these villages."

History

Originating from the 1967 Naxalbari movement in West Bengal, the Maoist insurgency spread across the "Red Corridor," impacting states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, and more. While claiming to champion tribal and marginalised rights, the insurgents rely on armed violence, extortion, destruction of public infrastructure, and the forced recruitment of civilians, including children, undermining their stated cause.

Naxal violence, which reached its peak with 1,936 incidents in 2010, dropped to 374 in 2024, 81 per cent reduction. The total number of deaths, including civilians and security forces, also declined by 85 per cent during this period, from 1,005 in 2010 to 150 in 2024.
India-Pakistan Tension: As India plans a large-scale diplomatic initiative with a bid to expose Pakistan's continued support for terrorism on the global stage, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is set to lead a delegation of MPs from all political parties to world capitals, news agency ANI reported, citing sources. Hailing the decision, the Kerala Congress has exuded confidence in the Thiruvananthapuram MP that he will present India's case globally.

"At a time when Prime Minister Modi and his External Affairs Minister have lost credibility internationally, the nation needs a voice that commands respect. We appreciate the government for recognising the talent vacuum within the BJP and choosing a Congress leader to represent the country," the Kerala Congress said in a post on X.

"We are confident that Shashi Tharoor will present India's case at the global level & correct the mistakes made by the Modi Government", the post added.

According to ANI sources, around 40 parliamentarians will form seven groups and travel to various regions of the world as part of India's diplomatic initiative to inform the international community about Pakistan's ongoing support for terrorism and highlight India's recently launched Operation Sindoor.

The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is leading the coordination efforts for this international tour, marking a significant step in India's diplomatic outreach. Several opposition MPs, including Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sasmit Patra, have reportedly been approached to participate in the campaign.

Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, former Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi will also likely participate. This will be the first time that the Centre will depute MPs from multiple parties to present India's stance on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan.

While the government has not officially announced the initiative, it is understood that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and other agencies are currently preparing documents containing facts and instances to substantiate the allegations against Pakistan. An official from the MEA is expected to accompany the delegations.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy praised both India and Pakistan during his visit to Pakistan on Friday for taking steps to "secure an agreement to cease hostilities."

During talks with senior leaders in Pakistan, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Lammy acknowledged how difficult the recent tensions have been, especially for people in both countries and the British Indian and British Pakistani communities.

He also reaffirmed the UK's strong ties with India and noted that he has been in regular contact with Indian officials, with plans to visit New Delhi soon to strengthen UK-India relations further.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said in a statement on Friday, "The UK Government welcomed the sustained ceasefire between Pakistan and India, both important partners to the UK, with the Foreign Secretary asserting the importance of continued stability for the region during a visit to Pakistan today (May 16)."

The statement added, "The Foreign Secretary praised the steps taken by both Pakistan and India to secure an agreement to cease hostilities. In meetings with senior counterparts, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the immeasurable contribution people of Pakistani descent have made to British life, and he acknowledged how distressing the past few weeks have been for people in both countries, and for those with Pakistani and Indian heritage in the UK. The Foreign Secretary reflected that the British Pakistani and British Indian diasporas would particularly welcome news of the ceasefire and increased stability for Pakistan and India."

The statement further said that the Foreign Secretary has been in frequent contact with the Government of India and will look to travel to New Delhi soon.

"While in Islamabad, the Foreign Secretary also met with consular staff working at the UK's High Commission who helped British nationals in Pakistan during the tensions, to ensure they had access to accurate, up-to-date information and advice," the statement added.

Lammy, during his visit, had said that the recent images of conflict were deeply distressing, especially for the millions of British citizens with Indian and Pakistani heritage, as well as for British nationals living in the region. He stressed that the UK has been actively working to reduce tensions and condemn terrorism following the deadly attack in Pahalgam.

"The images of conflict between India and Pakistan were distressing for all of us in Britain: but in particular the millions of Brits with Indian and Pakistani heritage, and the many British nationals living in both of these countries. Ever since the horrendous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the UK has done all it can to play a supportive role to reduce tensions, get to a ceasefire and condemn terrorism. It's positive that India and Pakistan - both great friends to the UK - have agreed to a pause in hostilities and that the ceasefire is holding," Lammy said.

He added, "Because of the deep and historic links between our populations and our governments, we are determined to play our part to counter terrorism and ensure this fragile ceasefire becomes a durable peace."

Tensions between India and Pakistan heightened after a deadly attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. India accused Pakistan of supporting the attack, leading to a series of diplomatic and military actions, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and Operation Sindoor.

After the intense cross-border hostilities between India and Pakistan, a cessation of hostilities was brokered on May 10.
BJP IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya has strongly criticised the Congress partys selection of MPs to represent India on diplomatic missions overseas, on issues concerning terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

He singled out two names from the list released by the Congress  Rajya Sabha MP Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi  questioning their suitability for such assignments.

The Congress partys choices to represent India at diplomatic meetings are not just intriguing  they are deeply questionable, Malviya said in a post on X.

Take, for instance, the inclusion of Syed Naseer Hussain in a delegation representing India. It is truly shocking. Lets not forget  it was his supporter who raised Pakistan Zindabad slogans inside the Vidhana Soudha while celebrating his Rajya Sabha victory.

He referred to an incident in Bengaluru where three people were arrested in connection with the slogans, citing circumstantial evidence, witness testimonies, and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report.

Turning his attention to Gaurav Gogoi, Malviya said, The less said about him, the better.

He cited allegations made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who claimed Gogoi had spent 15 days in Pakistan, with his travel allegedly recorded at the Attari border.

Sarma had also alleged that Gogois wife, Elizabeth Colebourn, accompanied him for the first week and later returned to India, while Gogoi stayed on in Islamabad.

Apparently, upon his return, Gogoi took around 90 youths to the Pakistan Embassy  many of whom were reportedly unaware of their destination, Malviya said.

He further cited Sarmas claim that Colebourn had links with the Pakistan Army and continued to draw a salary from a Pakistan-based NGO, raising what he called serious concerns over national security and conflict of interest.

How can MPs facing such grave allegations be trusted to represent India -- particularly on matters involving Pakistan? What message is the Congress trying to send, and whose interests are really being served? Malviya asked.

His remarks came in response to a list shared by Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh on X.

The list named four MPs nominated by the party for overseas diplomatic engagements  Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, and Raja Brar, a Lok Sabha MP.
New Delhi: In a world that often confuses noise with strength, restraint is underrated. But according to renowned war historian Tom Cooper, it was precisely Indias strategic restraint, if not bravado, that tilted the scales during the post-Pahalgam military face-off with Pakistan.

The April 22 terror attack in Kashmirs Baisaran meadow that killed 26 civilians triggered an immediate Indian military response in the form of Operation Sindoor  a swift, precise and punishing strike on nine terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. However, what followed was more telling than the operation itself.

India could have gone further. It could have crippled Pakistans nuclear infrastructure. It had the means. But it did not, said Cooper in a recent interview.

Restraint, Not Retaliation

According to Cooper, Indias military had access to strike Pakistans nuclear storage facilities  a move that could have drastically changed the regions strategic landscape.

Indian generals are cautious. They understand the gravity of crossing that line. And that is what makes this different. The real story is not what India hit. It is what it chose not to, he said.

This, he argues, was the quiet victory  decisive yet controlled.

Pakistans Response: All Bark, No Bite?

While Pakistani leadership threatened retaliation, their actual military response, according to Cooper, was ineffective. They launched UAVs and missiles in large numbers. But what did they accomplish? Nothing significant, he said. Indian air defenses, in his words, remained vivid, active and lethal.

Meanwhile, India continued its operations with surgical precision, neutralising key elements of Pakistans air defense network. Cooper points out that even Pakistans follow-up airstrike yielded no serious consequences. India was not only prepared, it was unshaken, he added.

A Victory Beyond Borders

Coopers analysis reframes the narrative. Unlike past skirmishes, this was not about chest-thumping or international mediation. It was about control  of arsenal, emotion and narrative.

Pakistan tried to escalate and failed. India could have escalated but did not. That is not just military superiority, it is psychological dominance, Cooper said.

When Restraint Becomes Power

This is not the story of a battlefield soaked in conquest. It is the story of a country that knew where to hit and where to stop.

In a region where history often rhymes with violence, Operation Sindoor may be remembered not only for its military impact but for the message it carried  that modern warfare is not only about firepower. Sometimes, the loudest message is delivered in silence.

And that silence, according to Cooper, may have just saved South Asia from the brink.
New Delhi: Six individuals, including a Haryana-based YouTuber, have been arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence operatives. The alleged espionage network extended across Haryana and Punjab, involving individuals who reportedly acted as agents, financial conduits and informants.

Jyoti Malhotra, who ran the YouTube travel channel Travel with Jo, is among the accused. She travelled to Pakistan in 2023 after allegedly obtaining a visa through commission agents. During her visit, she reportedly developed close ties with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Expelled from India and declared persona non grata on May 13, 2025, Danish allegedly introduced Jyoti to several Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs). She allegedly remained in contact with them through encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Snapchat. One operative, Shakir alias Rana Shahbaz, was saved in her phone as Jatt Randhawa.

Agencies allege that Jyoti shared sensitive information about Indian locations and was used to promote a positive image of Pakistan on social media. Investigators also claimed to have discovered she had entered into an intimate relationship with a PIO and even travelled with him to Bali, Indonesia.

She has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. A written confession has been obtained, and the case has been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing in Hisar.

Another key accused, Guzala, a 32-year-old widow from Malerkotla, Punjab, visited the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on February 27, 2025, to apply for a visa. There, she allegedly met Danish and began regular communication with him. Danish eventually persuaded her to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram, claiming it was more secure.

He gained her trust through romantic gestures, promising marriage and initiating a relationship through video calls and messages. Over time, he sent her money  Rs 10,000 on March 7 via PhonePe and Rs 20,000 on March 23 via Google Pay.

He later instructed her to distribute Rs 10,000 to multiple recipients in specific amounts  Rs 1,800, Rs 899, Rs 699 and Rs 3,000.

On April 23, Guzala allegedly returned to the Pakistan High Commission, this time accompanied by her friend Banu Nasreena, also a widow from Malerkotla. Danish once again facilitated their visa process, which was approved the next day.

Among the others arrested is Yameen Mohammad from Malerkotla, who allegedly collaborated with Danish in financial dealings and visa facilitation. Devinder Singh Dhillon from Kaithal, Haryana, a Sikh student, was reportedly recruited during a pilgrimage to Pakistan and is accused of sending videos of the Patiala cantonment to Pakistani operatives.

Arman from Nuh, Haryana, is said to have supplied Indian SIM cards, transferred funds and attended the Defence Expo 2025 at the direction of Pakistani intelligence handlers.

Investigators said the case appears to be part of a wider espionage operation, in which vulnerable individuals from specific religious or social backgrounds were exploited using emotional manipulation, financial incentives and false promises of marriage. All the accused have reportedly confessed to their involvement, and further investigations are underway.
New Delhi: Global music sensation Guru Randhawa is back in the spotlight with the release of his latest single, Vibe, and fans across the world are giving it a resounding thumbs-up. Just hours after its release on YouTube, the track has ignited social media, with netizens praising the hitmaker for delivering yet another chart-worthy anthem.

Collaborating with international artist French Montana, Vibe is already being hailed as Gurus next big hit following the massive success of Qatal. The upbeat, high-energy number has struck a chord with audiences, with fans calling it loaded, international, and a banger.

Online reactions poured in within minutes of the release. Comments like Guru Randhawa gonna rule the world again, and The GOAT has arrived, flooded the videos comment section. Another user wrote, After Qatals success, Guru Randhawas new banger Vibe is fully loaded! Others noted the song's global appeal, with one fan calling Gurus voice international and another praising his ability to consistently deliver party anthems.

The track marks another milestone in Guru Randhawas growing discography and global influence. It follows the release of his debut independent album Without Prejudice, which features nine tracks that have each generated significant buzz, with Qatal topping international charts.

Vibe sees Guru doubling down on his signature sound while exploring new musical territories with French Montana. Fans and music critics alike see the song as further proof of his versatility and staying power as a global pop icon.

With its infectious beat and catchy lyrics, Vibe is poised to dominate playlists and party scenes in the weeks to come. The music video is available for streaming here.
New Delhi: Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise is making headlines with the release of the much-anticipated film Mission: Impossible  The Final Reckoning. The movie hit Indian theatres a week before its U.S. premiere and has been receiving an outpouring of love from fans across the country.

In a recent interview, the actor expressed deep admiration for India and a strong desire to work in the Indian film industry.

As part of the films global promotions, Cruise shared his memorable experiences and deep affection for Indian culture, cinema, and its people.

I feel so much love for India. India is an amazing country  the people, the culture. I have to say, the whole experience has been etched in my memory. Every single moment. From the moment I landed, going to the Taj Mahal, and spending time in Mumbai  I remember each moment quite vividly."

He added, I would love to go back to India and make a film there. I love Bollywood films  the skill it takes to do what you all do is so natural. I love it when, in a scene, someone suddenly breaks into a song. I love it. Its something Ive grown up watchingmusicals from different countries. I love Bollywood movies. You can just break out into a song  its so beautiful. I love the dancing, the singing, the actors. That is such a unique experience and a true demonstration of craftsmanship  to be able to sing, dance, and act.

The global icon also expressed interest in starring in a Bollywood-style film.

I cannot wait to go back to India. I have so many friends there. Ive met such amazing people. I would love to make a Bollywood-style movie. It would be so much fun and amazing to do that. I love the dancing and the singing  it would be so much fun.

Cruises enthusiasm is a meaningful nod to Indian cinema from one of Hollywoods most celebrated actors  an endorsement sure to thrill Indian fans.

Mission: Impossible  The Final Reckoning, featuring Cruises iconic portrayal of Ethan Hunt, releases today in India  six days ahead of its U.S. debut  in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, across formats including 4D
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Registration: Good news for those who dream of owning a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The deadline for PMAY registration has now been extended till December 2025 for both Urban and Gramin beneficiaries. This flagship housing scheme by the Indian government offers financial assistance to economically weaker sections for building their own homes.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme benefits Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and families below the poverty line by providing subsidised housing in both rural and urban areas. According to official data from the PMAY website, more than 92.61 lakh houses have been completed under this scheme, transforming the lives of many who previously did not have a pucca home.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban: Eligibility

Households with an annual income of up to Rs 3 lakh, and those earning between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, are eligible for the scheme if they do not own a pucca house anywhere in India. Families with annual incomes between 6 lakh and 9 lakh without a pucca house are also covered. Adding further, those currently living in slums or informal urban settlements qualify for benefits under the scheme, making it inclusive for various economically weaker and low-income groups.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin: Eligibility

Families listed in the SECC data who either dont own a house or live in kutcha houses are eligible for the scheme. However, certain categories are not eligible. These include individuals who own a pucca house, possess a motorcycle, car, tractor, or agricultural equipment, or have a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) with a limit of Rs 50,000 or more. Adding further, income tax or professional taxpayers, government employees, and those owning a refrigerator, landline phone, or large landholdings are also excluded from the scheme.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Rural: Documents Required

To apply for the scheme, the following documents are required: Aadhaar cards of self and all family members, Aadhaar-linked bank account details, valid income proof, and land ownership documents. These documents help verify eligibility and ensure that the benefits reach the rightful beneficiaries under the housing scheme.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin: Documents Required

Applicants need to provide several documents to avail benefits under the scheme. These include an Aadhaar card, MGNREGA job card, bank account details, and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) number. Additionally, an affidavit confirming that the applicant does not own a pucca house is also required. These documents are essential for verifying eligibility and ensuring that the support reaches genuinely deserving families.

How To Apply For Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U) Online

Step 1: Visit the official PMAY-U 2.0 website and click on the Apply for PMAY-U 2.0 button on the homepage.

Step 2: Review the guidelines and click Click to Proceed. Make sure all necessary documents are ready, then click Proceed.

Step 3: Fill out the eligibility form and click on Eligibility Check.

Step 4: Enter your Aadhaar number and verify it using the OTP sent to your registered mobile number.

Step 5: Complete the application form, upload the required documents, enter the captcha code, and click Save. You can also print the form for future reference.

How To Apply For Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) Online

Step 1: Fill out your personal information, upload the consent form, and click Search.

Step 2: Select your name from the search results and click Select to Register.

Step 3: Beneficiary details will auto-fill; manually enter your bank account details and scheme convergence information.

Step 4: The final section of the application will be completed by the designated office staff to finalize your registration.
Balochistan Declares Independence: Balochistan has a troubled history of alleged backstabbing and annexation. From fighting to escape Pakistan's hold to declaring support for India, Balochistan has fiddled with more than one insurgency in the past. And now, according to several reports, Baloch representative Mir Yar Baloch on Wednesday declared independence from Pakistan.

Balochistan's Brief History

Balochistan has been demanding freedom for more than a few decades now. After the British left the Indian subcontinent -- divided -- Kalat, now a part of Balochistan, was annexed by Pakistan in 1948. Since the annexation, Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province (area-wise), has seen multiple insurgencies.

Balochistan is thinly populated and largely underdeveloped. However, it is rich in several natural resources. The natives of the province do not appreciate the presence of the Pakistani military in the region.

Fast forward to the present, a Baloch rights group, Paank, in a post on X, strongly condemned the alleged pattern of "enforced disappearances" perpetrated by the Pakistani Security Forces in Balochistan.

Why is it in news?

Although Mir Yar Baloch's declaration of independence from Pakistan is symbolic, it succeeded in drawing eyeballs to the matter that Balochistan faces. In a post on X, he posted, "One renowned journalist asked me. Question: Is the date of independence of Balochistan be declared when Pakistani army leaves Baloch soil?"

"We have already declared our independence on 11 August 1947 when Britishers were leaving Balochistan, and the subcontinent," he added.

In another post, he urged the Indian media and others not to refer to Balochs as Pakistan's own people.

He said, "Dear Indians patriot media, the YouTube comrades, the intellectuals fighting to defend Bharat are suggested not to refer to Balochs as "Pakistan's Own People" We are not Pakistani, we are Balochistani."

Finally, he added in another post that Balochistan fully supports India's decision to ask Pakistan to vacate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Indo-Pak Conflict: The Recent Event

After the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, the Indian Armed Forces launched 'Operation Sindoor', hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

New Delhi also announced a series of diplomatic and punitive measures against Islamabad after the Pahalgam attack. At a time when the Islamic state is facing a volatile situation with India, it seems like reports of insurgency or claims of independence from Balochs could undermine its hand at an international level.

Can Baloch's Independence Declaration Hurt Pakistan Internationally?

The declaration of freedom could invite international attention from human rights councils and lead to an investigation into the matters that the Balochs have raised. In addition, such an event has the potential to raise questions about Pakistan's legitimacy at the international level.

While India continues to fact-check various claims made by Pakistan after the recent conflict and debunk them, this instance of Balochistan's declaration of independence could cause damage to Pakistan's image.
The man who attacked author Salman Rushdie, blinding him in one eye, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison, the local prosecutor said.

Judge David Foley gave an unrepentant Hadi Matar at court in Mayville in New York State, near where the attack took place, for attempted murder.

He was convicted under state laws in February, and he faces separate terrorism charges under federal laws.

Matar, 27, also received a sentence of seven years that would run concurrently with the main sentence.

The district prosecutor for Chautauqua County, Jason Schmidt, said after the sentencing, "I'm pleased with the sentence that was imposed by the judge."

Matar's lawyer Nathaniel Barone said that he planned to file an appeal.

Matar rushed to the stage and attacked Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022 when the author, who was under a fatwa from Iran's Ayatollah, was about to speak.

Rushdie was stabbed several times, including in his right eye, which he lost and now wears an eye patch.

Henry Reese, who runs a programme to give persecuted writers asylum, was also injured during the attack.

Rushdie detailed the attack and its aftermath in a memoir published in 2024, "Knife".

The origins of the attack go back to 1989, when Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued the fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, saying that his novel published the previous year, "The Satanic Verses," was blasphemous.

This forced Rushdie to hide under the protection of British authorities for several years, before he moved to New York and began to appear in public.

Before the sentencing, Matar told the judge Rushdie "wants to be a bully, he wants to bully other people. I don't agree with that".

Rushdie was disrespectful to other people, Matar said in a rambling statement in which he spoke incongruously about freedom of speech and religion.

"There's an irony to all of this," Schmidt said.

"His value system is that he can impose his own sense of justice and sentencing upon somebody who violates, you know, his value system."

Barone said Matar was trying to let the court know that "he felt very strongly about his Muslim religion".

He noted that while some may have agreed with Matar, other Shia Muslims said, "What happened is wrong."

When federal charges were filed against Matar in July, Merrick Garland, who was then the Attorney General, said he "committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organisation aligned with the Iranian regime".

Barone said that a hearing in the case was expected in July, and he expected the trial to start early next year.

In the US legal system, there are separate -- and sometimes overlapping -- federal and state laws with separate state, local and federal court systems, and people can be tried on different charges in those courts.
Days after Pakistan launched a swarm of drone and missile attacks on Indian territory following India's 'Operation Sindoor' to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made the first formal acceptance of India's strikes on Rawalpindi's Nur Khan Airbase and other sites on May 10.

According to the news agency ANI, while addressing a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument on Friday, Sharif stated that he received a call from Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on May 10 at around 2:30 am with information about hits by India's ballistic missiles on Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. He also admitted to the use of local technology and Chinese jets by Pakistan's Air Force.

ANI reported, citing local media, that Sharif said, "At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on secure line and informed me that India's ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. Our Air Force used homegrown technology to save our country, and they even used modern gadgets and technology on Chinese jets."

This acceptance is a rare sight to witness as it goes against Pakistan's usual stance of denial concerning Indian military actions.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif himself admits that General Asim Munir called him at 2:30am to inform him that India had bombed Nur Khan Air Base and several other locations. Let that sink in  the Prime Minister was woken up in the middle of the night with news of strikes deep inside pic.twitter.com/b4QbsF7xJh  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 16, 2025

Pahalgam Attack, India's Measures

On April 22, terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam and killed 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali citizen. A day after the attack, India announced a series of measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, addressing a press conference after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), on April 23 said, "Recognising the seriousness of this terrorist attack, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decided upon the following measures - The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism."

Apart from this, New Delhi also took several punitive measures against Islamabad, like announcing that ships bearing the Pakistan flag shall not be allowed to visit any Indian port.

Operation Sindoor

The Indian Armed Forces, on May 7, launched Operation Sindoor, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK); altogether nine sites were targeted.

The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, had clarified that India's actions were focused, measured, and non-escalatory and added that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted.

(with ANI inputs)
New Delhi: In his first overseas visit since returning to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump recently toured three Gulf nations  Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This high-profile trip sent ripples through the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East.

Dubbed the Gulf Reset, the three-day visit was characterized by lavish state receptions, landmark arms deals and diplomatically sensitive engagements. There now appears to be an unmistakable shift in Americas posture toward the region. From unveiling a $140 billion weapons deal to endorsing a civil nuclear program for Saudi Arabia and accepting a luxury aircraft from Qatar, Trumps brand of transactional diplomacy was on full display.

However, the most striking development came from his unprecedented meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa  a former rebel commander. Notably absent from Trumps whirlwind Gulf tour was Americas most steadfast ally in the region  Israel.

In Riyadh, Trump announced the largest arms agreement in U.S. history  a $140 billion weapons package that includes fighter jets, missile defense systems, unmanned drones and cyber security technologies. Saudi officials hailed it as a partnership of protection, though the sheer magnitude of the deal has raised eyebrows in international circles.

Also generating considerable attention in Washington was the green lighting of a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Although framed as a peaceful energy initiative, the agreement carries clear geopolitical undertones. While Saudi Arabia has long sought nuclear energy, it has also made no secret of its ambition to match Irans nuclear trajectory.

Trumps endorsement of the deal may be aimed at providing the Kingdom with enough leverage to stay within diplomatic bounds while simultaneously reminding Iran of Americas firm backing of Riyadh. He also encouraged Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel  though at a time and pace of their own choosing.

Trump appears to have recognised that the Saudis would be reluctant to publicly align with Israel while Tel Aviv faces global condemnation for alleged mass atrocities in Gaza.

A $250 Million Luxury Gift

In Doha, Trump accepted  amid considerable controversy  a $250 million luxury Boeing 747 jet from the Qatari government. He presented it as a gift to the American people, announcing that it would be used as a donation to his future presidential library, slated to open after he leaves office in 2029.

The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT ME! It is a gift from a nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done? This big saving will be spent, instead, to Make America Great Again! Only a fool would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Trump wrote on X.

Nevertheless, critics are raising concerns about the ethics of accepting such an offering, suggesting it may violate longstanding norms or legal protocols.

Trump Meets Syrian President

Perhaps the most astonishing development of Trumps Middle East tour occurred in Riyadh, where he met Syrian President al-Sharaa. It was the first meeting between U.S. and Syrian heads of state in 25 years. A former commander of an Al-Qaeda offshoot, al-Sharaa rose to power after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime late last year.

His transformation from militant leader to head of state is nothing short of extraordinary. Throughout the 2010s, he led forces that actively targeted American and allied troops in Syria and Iraq. Yet, Trump posed for a photograph with him, describing him as a man who knows how to fight terror because he has lived through terror.

American officials are already floating the idea of strategic pragmatism, arguing that although al Sharaa was once an adversary, he now represents a critical bulwark against Iranian expansionism and continues to combat the remaining elements of ISIS.

All this unfolds as Washington remains engaged in direct and indirect talks with Tehran aimed at curbing its nuclear ambitions. Four rounds of negotiations, brokered by Oman in Muscat, have taken place, though the outcomes remain murky.

According to reports from U.S. government sources, the United States is offering gradual sanction relief in exchange for verifiable limits on uranium enrichment.

Notably, Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)  a six-nation deal with Iran  during his first term. Now, he appears to be pursuing a revamped version of that very agreement, but on his own terms.

This strategy places Saudi Arabia, a long-time opponent of Iran, in a somewhat delicate position. However, a China-mediated detente over the past few years has eased tensions between Riyadh and Tehran. Aiming to undercut Chinas growing influence in the Middle East, Trump is now engaging both of these once-bitter Gulf rivals in parallel diplomatic tracks.

A Glaring Omission

Conspicuously absent from Trumps Gulf itinerary was Israel. This omission is especially notable given the historically close U.S.-Israel alliance and the escalating regional tensions driven by Israels war in Gaza. Relations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have noticeably cooled in recent months, particularly over the Gaza conflict.

With the civilian death toll in Gaza surpassing 50,000, global condemnation is mounting. While Trump has publicly reaffirmed Israels right to self-defense, there appears to be a limit to how far he is willing to overlook the mass atrocities unfolding in the territory.

Speculation is growing that the White House sees Netanyahu as an impediment to a broader regional realignment. By excluding Netanyahu from his Gulf tour, Trump may be signaling a shift in Washingtons Middle East focal point  from Tel Aviv to Riyadh.

Officials within the Israeli government have voiced concerns that the United States may be gravitating toward a more balanced  or, in their view, neutral  stance in the Sunni-Shia regional rivalry, a shift that could diminish Israels strategic standing.

These developments point to a broader recalibration of Americas Middle East strategy. For decades, U.S. foreign policy operated along clearly drawn lines: Israel versus the Arab world, Saudi Arabia versus Iran and Syria as a pariah state. Trump now appears to be blurring those lines, favoring a pragmatic and transactional approach that values flexibility over ideology.

Whether this approach can endure  and at what cost  remains to be seen.
Ukrainian officials have said that a Russian drone strike has hit a passenger bus in the Sumy region, killing at least nine people and injuring many others, Euro News reported. The strike comes just hours after officials of Russia and Ukraine held direct peace talks.

In a statement shared on the Telegram messaging app, the Sumy regional administration said, "This is another war crime by Russia -- a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat."

The strikes come just a few hours after Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Turkey. Ukraine's National Police shared pictures on Telegram showing the aftermath of the strike in Sumy's Bilopillia city, which is around 10 kilometres from the front line and border with Russia.

Authorities have been working to identify victims, the majority of whom are elderly women, Euro News reported. Four injured people, three of whom were reportedly in a serious condition, have been shifted to a hospital in Sumy city.

A period of mourning has been declared in Bilopillia until Monday, Euro News reported. Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day of the attack "Black Saturday."

The direct talks between Russia and Ukraine began in Turkiye on Friday. At the end of the meeting, a large prisoner swap (one of many in this war) and two discussion topics for future talks - a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the contours of a ceasefire were the only deliverables, CNN reported.

Russia, by proposing the talks last weekend, managed to sidestep an ultimatum from Ukraine and its allies to sign up to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face significant new sanctions.

Speaking to reporters late Friday afternoon, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman, Heorhii Tykhyi, said Ukraine was "ready to have a ceasefire agreed today," suggesting this was not achievable as Russia's low-level delegation "probably has (a) limited mandate," CNN reported.

Speaking to CNN, a Turkish official said that Russia's delegation made clear that an unconditional ceasefire was not on the table, and if Ukraine wanted the ceasefire, it would have to withdraw from territory Russia does not yet occupy in the four regions - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Yuchengco-led PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC) on Friday said expansion and acquisition cut its first quarter earnings to P280.8 million from P321.7 million in the same period last year.

PERC disclosed to the stock exchange that net income attributable to equity holders of the company in the first quarter of 2025 also declined to P143.46 million from P185.425 million.

- Advertisement -

Consolidated revenues went up slightly to P1billion from P945 million last year on the back of a healthy 12.66 percent increase in electricity sales to P885 million during the period from P766 million in the same period in 2024.

The higher revenues, however, was impacted by renewable energy (RE) expansion-related expenses and lower profit from Gabon oil production in Africa.

PERC said oil production from the Etame concession in offshore Gabon dropped to 435,000 barrels from January to March 2025 compared to 464,000 barrels in same period in 2024.

It said the lower average crude oil prices of $75.74 per barrel during this period compared to $82.81/bbl last year contributed to the dip in oil revenues.

PERCs RE expansion resulted in the commissioning of three new generating units to its portfolio, namely the first phase of the 13.2 MW Nabas-2 wind in Aklan, the 27 MW Dagohoy solar project in Bohol, and the 19.6 MW San Jose solar project in Nueva Ejica.

Total assets grew 8 percent year-on-year to P23.82 billion from P22.02 billion while liabilities and equity increased to P9.92 billion from p9.03 billion and to P13.90 billion from P12.99 billion, respectively.

PERC is an energy company with a diversified set of assets which includes RE development, power generation and upstream exploration.
The son of the President of Uganda and head of the army, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, threatened that any citizen who would vote against his father in the coming elections, scheduled to be held in January next year, would be deported. The Ugandan authorities have hardened crackdown on the opposition and human rights defenders in recent months.

Longtime President Yoweri Musevenis son and heir apparent, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is notorious for his colorful tweets that cover everything from his social life to military issues. On Thursday, he posted on X that individuals who do not support Mzee, honorific name of his father, wholeheartedly better be very careful!

We will deport all the traitors in public view! he added. Earlier this month Kainerugaba claimed to have captured and tortured opposition leader Bobi Wines bodyguard Eddie Mutwe, who later appeared in court showing signs of torture, according to Justice Minister Norbert Mao. In another post, Kainerugaba wrote that he took full responsibility for the actions of his soldiers, including the long overdue beating of Eddie Mutwe.

Rounding out his string of posts, the commander of the army also said that all serving women would from now on wearing skirts in parades. Trousers are not for women; they are for men. Anyone who makes our sisters wear pants on parade once more is going to have a terrible day, he clarified. Women only make up a small portion of the Ugandan Peoples Defense Force (UPDF), and they wear the same uniform every day as men.
Violent clash in southwest Chad have left 35 people killed and 6 injured, the Government said on Thursday, May 15, without specifying who was involved. According to a local source, the conflict is thought to be centered on a disagreement between local Ngambaye farmers and ethnic Fulani nomadic herders, regarding the boundaries of farming and grazing areas in the village of Mandakao.

According to government spokesperson and minister of Communication Gassim Cherif Mahamat, the clash in the Logone-Occidental region on Wednesday, May 14, also injured six people. This tragic clash resulted in 35 fatalities and six injuries, he stated, adding that security and defense forces swiftly stepped in and brought the situation under control.

On the same topic this Friday, May 16, former Chadian Prime Minister Succes Masra was arrested early, in connection with a probe into allegations of inciting the public to hatred and hostility, according to the countrys Attorney general, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye.

In southern Chad, where Christian and animist communities complain of being ignored by the predominantly Muslim central government, clashes are common. Mostly Christian or animist indigenous sedentary farmers and nomadic Muslim herders are frequently involved in the violence. The International Crisis Group estimates that between 2021 and 2024, conflicts between pastoralists and sedentary farmers resulted in over 1,000 fatalities and 2,000 injuries.
After two days of bloody clashes between rival factions that claimed at least six lives, Libyas Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli, announced Thursday, May 15, that the security situation in the capital has stabilized.

According to a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the Interior Ministry assures all residents that the security situation in Tripoli is stable and under control. However, he added, to maintain public order, security services are carrying out their responsibilities with great efficiency.

Police stations throughout the city were open twenty-four hours a day to receive complaints and reports, the ministry said, urging citizens and civil servants to return to their regular routines. Earlier this week, fighting broke out after Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, popularly known as Ghaniwa, a commander in the Stability, was killed.

According to security sources, until a ceasefire was declared on Wednesday, the killing sparked intense retaliatory clashes between the SSA and the 444 Brigade that extended into the central and residential districts. Since longtime-leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in an uprising supported by NATO in 2011, Libya has remained divided.

The nation is divided between two opposing governments: the eastern-based government led by Khalifa Haftar and supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), and the UN-recognized GNU in Tripoli. Despite repeated calls for disarmament and the unification of security institutions, armed factions continue to vie for influence, frequently through violence, within Tripoli and other areas under GNU control.
Belgrade exhibition marks 70 years of China-Serbia friendship

Xinhua) 10:39, May 17, 2025

Visitors view the opening of the exhibition - titled "A Bridge of Cultural Heritage" at the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, May 15, 2025. (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

The exhibition - titled "A Bridge of Cultural Heritage" - features more than 100 traditional handicrafts from China and Serbia, including embroidery, weaving, and pottery.

BELGRADE, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade opened a cross-cultural handicraft exhibition on Thursday to mark 70 years of China-Serbia friendship and the first anniversary of the center's official launch.

Co-hosted with Serbia's handicrafts association Ethno Network, the exhibition - titled "A Bridge of Cultural Heritage" - features more than 100 traditional handicrafts from both countries, including embroidery, weaving, and pottery. Hundreds of visitors attended the opening, drawn by the opportunity to engage firsthand with the rich traditions of Chinese and Serbian intangible cultural heritage.

"This exhibition is not only a dialogue of craftsmanship but a handshake between civilizations across mountains and seas," said Tang Dasheng, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Serbia. "These artworks reflect our peoples' shared pursuit of beauty and passion for life."

Tatjana Matic, director of Serbia's Development Fund, said the display honors a long-standing friendship. "Culture is not only our memory but also our future," she said, expressing hope the exhibition becomes a lasting symbol of mutual trust and cooperation.

Tatjana Matic (L), director of Serbia's Development Fund, and Violeta Jovanovic (C), executive director of Serbian National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) and president of Ethno Network, pose for a selfie while attending the opening of the exhibition - titled "A Bridge of Cultural Heritage" at the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, May 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Ying)

Violeta Jovanovic, executive director of Serbian National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) and president of Ethno Network, highlighted several Serbian artifacts now in the national heritage registry, including handwoven carpets, wool socks and towels.

"We are honored to co-host this exhibition, which builds a bridge between our countries," Jovanovic told Xinhua. She added that Ethno Network looks forward to collaborating with Chinese artisans to preserve traditional crafts and share Serbia's heritage with Chinese communities and tourists.

Ethno Network brings together craft associations across Serbia to safeguard and promote traditional arts, playing an active role both domestically and internationally.

Zhang Aimin, director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, reaffirmed the Center's mission to support cultural preservation. "Each piece - whether a Chinese embroidered robe or a Serbian wool rug - bears the mark of history, identity, and craftsmanship," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
King Mohammed VI has deplored the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, called for the immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the negotiating table, and announced the reopening of Moroccos embassy in Damascus.

In an address to the 34th Arab League Summit that opened proceeding in Baghdad this Saturday, the King pointed out that the Palestinians are the victims of gross violations of international law, international humanitarian law, and all human rights principles and that following the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the situation in the region is alarming, requiring the revival of the truce agreement as a prelude to declaring a final ceasefire.

The King who called for an immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the negotiating table, stressed the urgent need for an intervention to put an end to the Israeli military aggressions in the West Bank, especially the demolition of houses and the forced displacement of unarmed Palestinians from the areas under Israeli control. He also called for ensuring the continued provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, particularly medical and food supplies, and making sure that the supply of aid is not hindered for any reason.

In this vein, the Monarch underlined the need to maintain the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and to support the Agency so that it may carry out the tasks assigned to it by the international community for the benefit of the civilian population.

The king insisted on the need to draw a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the reconstruction plan approved by the recent extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, without the displacement of residents. The reconstruction plan needs to be managed by the Palestinian Authority under Arab and international supervision, he said.

The Monarch who recalled the immutable principles underpinning Moroccos foreign policy and historical responsibility towards the Palestinian cause, underlined the need to open up prospects for a political solution in order to bring about a genuine and just peace to the region, which guarantees the Palestinian people the achievement of their legitimate rights and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the Gaza Strip as an integral part of this state.

In his address, the Monarch also urged to grant adequate support to the Palestinian Authority, and stressed the need for Palestinian national reconciliation, which remains the fundamental gateway to strengthening the Palestinian position in any future peace process.

In keeping with the responsibility entrusted to him as Chairman of the al-Quds Committee, the King vowed to continue defending the holy sites, especially al-Quds al-Sharif, by building on the combined effect of political and diplomatic action, on the one hand, and the field work carried out by Bayt Mal al-Quds Agency, on the other.

We shall continue to implement tangible programs and projects aimed at preserving the cultural and spiritual identity of the Holy City, improve the social and living conditions of the inhabitants of al-Quds, and support their steadfastness and continued presence in al-Quds, King Mohammed VI pointed out.

In the address that was read out on his behalf by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, King Mohammed VI also announced the reopening of Moroccos embassy in Damascus, more than a decade after it was closed in 2012 following the flare up of the Syrian civil war.

The Monarch described the move as a reaffirmation of Moroccos support for the promising course of action in the country and steadfast backing for Syrias territorial integrity and national sovereignty, as well as a gesture of solidarity with the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom, security, and stability.

This initiative reflects Moroccos commitment to supporting the Syrian political process and to opening new horizons for strengthening historic bilateral ties between Rabat and Damascus, the King stated. He emphasized that the renewed diplomatic engagement would serve the mutual interests of both nations and reinforce Arab solidarity at a time of regional upheaval.

Moroccos decision comes amid broader calls across the Arab world for reintegrating Syria into regional diplomacy and rebuilding fractured relations after years of conflict and isolation.

In his message, the Monarch touched on what he called the painful and unfortunate circumstances some Arab sister nations are experiencing, pointing out that Morocco has not spared  nor will it spare  any effort to heal rifts and contribute to finding solutions to the crises plaguing our Arab region, making dialogue and peaceful initiatives prevail over the logic of force and military solutions.

In this regard, he referred, in particular, to the crisis affecting Libya, recalling that since the beginning of the crisis, the Kingdom has been resolutely and effectively engaged in regional and international efforts aimed at reconciling political rivals and facilitating their efforts to find a solution to the crisis.

Morocco is also following with deep concern the dangerous developments unfolding in some Arab countries, such as Yemen, the Sudan, and Lebanon, said the King, who reaffirmed Moroccos commitment and support for all initiatives and efforts aimed at promoting a political process that is conducive to stability and peace in these Arab countries, and that can help overcome differences and conflicts through peaceful and diplomatic means, while safeguarding the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab sisterly nations.

King Mohammed VI reiterated Moroccos readiness to engage in any dynamic that promotes joint Arab action and contributes to fulfilling Arab peoples aspirations for greater security, stability, progress, and prosperity.
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

Ancestry and lifestyle choices of parents may affect the rate and type of new genetic changes that arise in their children, new research has found.

Published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators analyzed whole-genome sequence data from 10,000 parent-child 'trios'. They studied the influence of ancestry, common genetic variants and environmental factors on the rates and types of de novo mutations (DNMs)genetic changes that arise in the egg or sperm and are passed down to offspring.

The study sheds light on factors that influence the rate and patterns of new genetic variation in humans. The results will also inform future studies in population and medical genetics in which models of mutation rate are important parameters.

Germ cellseggs and spermmaintain integrity of genetic information which is passed down to children. While most new changes occurring in the DNA tend to be either harmless or mildly detrimental, a small fraction can lead to severe genetic conditions. As a result, the mutation rate in germ cells is kept exceptionally low to reduce the risk of passing on harmful changes.

While scientists know that increasing parental ageparticularly paternal ageis linked with more genetic changes in germ cells, this factor only explains a certain amount of variation in mutation rate. Aside from effects of chemotherapy and rare variants in genes involved in DNA repair, little is known about other factors influencing the rate of DNMs.

In a new study, researchers sought to explore the influence of ancestry, common genetic variants and smoking on rates and patterns of DNMs that arise in children. They conducted the largest study of DNMs to date, analyzing around 10,000 whole genomes of parent-child 'trios'two parents and their childfrom the 100,000 Genomes Project.

By comparing each child's DNA with that of their parents, the scientists could identify new genetic variants that arose in the egg or sperm and were passed on to the child, but which were not present in the parents' genomes. This approach allowed the team to build a catalog of nearly 690,000 DNMs.

The study revealed that different ancestry groups have small differences in the number of new genetic mutations passed to childrenfor example, there was an average of about 64 new DNMs per generation in European, American, and South Asian groups, compared to about 67 in African groups. However, parental age, especially the father's age, has a much bigger impact. Each year of a father's age adds around 1.5 mutations, whereas each year of a mother's age adds about 0.4. So, the difference between parents with African versus other genetic ancestries is about the same as having a father who is two years older.

The researchers suggest that the differences could stem from environmental influences and/or genetic factors that differ between populations. Interestingly, they did not find any evidence that common genetic variation influences rates of DNMs within people of European ancestry, although this does not rule out that average genetic differences between ancestry groups contribute to differences in DNM rate.

The research also uncovered a link between parental smoking and higher DNM rates in children. The scientists found that children of parents who had documented smoking history in their health records showed a small but statistically significant increase in the number of DNMs, compared to children of non-smokers. The analysis suggests an average of roughly 2% rise in mutation count. The effect is very smallthe equivalent of less than one additional DNM per smoking parent over their reproductive lifespan, similar to the effect of having the father be a year older at the time of conception.

The researchers note that it is too early to say whether parental smoking directly causes these new mutations, as it may just be associated with other mutagens. However, this study is a significant step forward in looking at how the genetic ancestry and lifestyle of parents correlate with rates of new genetic changes.

These findings may have an influence on future genetic studies on population history and dynamics, as well as studies seeking to identify genes implicated in rare disorders using DNMs. These studies currently assume the same rate and pattern of DNA changes for all ancestry groups. It is possible that adjustments to current models to take into account these new findings may make them more powerful or help refine conclusions.

Dr. Aylwyn Scally, co-senior author at the University of Cambridge, said, "The sheer scale of the 100,000 Genomes Project presented a great opportunity to look into the effects and exposures that explain rates and patterns of DNA changes. The takeaway is that rates of de novo mutation are mostly driven by parental age, but ancestry and environmental factors such as smoking may make a small imprint."

Dr. Raheleh Rahbari, co-senior author and Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said, "While evolution has done its best to develop mechanisms to protect the DNA we pass on to our offspring, our study has shown that it's not fully protected from certain exposures. Future studies on larger datasets and with richer data on environmental exposures may reveal additional important factors that influence variation in de novo mutation rate."

Dr. Hilary Martin, co-senior author and Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said, "New genetic changes that arise in egg or sperm cells give rise to genetic diversity within a population, making each one of us unique, but they can also cause rare genetic disorders. In our study, we've been able to see for the first time that a person's ancestry and even lifestyle choices of their family, such as smoking, are associated with the number of new DNA changes that arise in their genome. These effects are small, but nonetheless these findings increase our understanding of factors associated with this fundamental biological process."

More information: O. Isaac Garcia-Salinas et al, The impact of ancestral, genetic, and environmental influences on germline de novo mutation rates and spectra, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59750-x Journal information: Nature Communications
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Urban area, stream, and river flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues, with the potential for isolated rock falls and landslides in some areas. * WHERE...Portions of central, southern, and western West Virginia, including the following counties, in central West Virginia, Clay and Nicholas. In southern West Virginia, Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh and Wyoming. In western West Virginia, Wayne. * WHEN...Until 700 PM EST. * IMPACTS...Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring. Streams and rivers continue to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall. Isolated rock falls and landslides remain possible. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 441 PM EST, Doppler radar indicated rain moving across portions of the warned area, with additional rainfall amounts up to 0.5 inches possible. Flooding is already occurring in the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have fallen thus far. As a result of the saturated ground, rock falls and landslides have been reported in some locations. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... Beckley, Williamson, Madison, Fayetteville, Welch, Logan, Pineville, Babcock State Park, Oak Hill, Montgomery, Mullens, Chesapeake, Marmet, Mount Hope, Mabscott, Ansted, Oceana, Sophia, Belle and Chapmanville. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. The saturated ground has produced conditions ripe for rock slides and landslides on steep slopes around the area. Residents with homes on or at the base of hillsides should be aware of the potential for landslides and watch for trees leaning in unusual orientations, water and mud seepage where not expected, and other signs of potential ground movement. Report flooding to the National Weather Service by calling toll free, 800 401 9535, when you can do so safely. &&
Thank you for using this service, which is owned by CNHI LLC or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries (collectively CNHI, we, us, or our).

Effective Date

September 1, 2017

Your Acceptance of These Terms of Use

Your Acceptance of Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Sale

Your Consent to Other Agreements

Ownership of this Site and its Content

Trademarks

Responsibility for User-Generated Content Posted on or Through this Site

Removal of Content

Your Feedback

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Disclaimers

Limitation of Liability

Links to Third-Party Websites

Modification and Discontinuation

Waiver

Severability

Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Venue

Indemnity

These Terms of Use May Change

Entire Agreement

Definitions

Questions

Generally Applicable Terms

SUBSCRIPTION SALES

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Pricing

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Unpaid Charges

Promotions

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MERCHANDISE SALES AND OTHER ORDERS

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Your Acceptance of These Terms of Use

These Terms of Use apply to all users of this Site. By using this Site you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you may not access or use this Site.

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Ownership of this Site and its Content

This Site, including all its Content are protected under applicable intellectual property and other laws, including without limitation the laws of the United States and other countries. All Content and intellectual property rights therein are the property of CNHI or the material is included with the permission of the rights owner and is protected pursuant to applicable copyright and trademark laws.

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Responsibility for User-Generated Content Posted on or Through this Site

You are responsible for User-Generated Content that you post. Under no circumstances will we be liable in any way for any UGC.

This means that you, not CNHI, are entirely responsible for all UGC that you post and that you can be held personally liable for comments that are defamatory, obscene, or libelous, or that violate these Terms of Use, an obligation of confidentiality, or the rights of others. If any part of the UGCyou post is not your original work, it is your responsibility to obtain any necessary permission to post it.

Because we do not control the UGC posted on or through this Site, we cannot and do not warrant or guarantee the truthfulness, integrity, suitability, or quality of that UGC. You also agree and understand that by accessing this Site, you may encounter UGC that you may consider to be objectionable. We have no responsibility for any UGC, including without limitation any errors or omissions therein. We are not liable for any loss or damage of any kind you may claim was incurred as a result of the use of any UGC posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available on or through this Site. The UGCposted on or through this Site expresses the personal opinions of the individuals who posted it and does not necessarily reflect the views of CNHI or any person or entity associated with CNHI.

You own User-Generated Content, but we may use it. You own the copyright in any original UGC you post. We do not claim any copyrights in UGC. However, by using this Site you are granting us and our subsidiaries, affiliates, successors and assigns, a nonexclusive, fully paid, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable license (with the right to sublicense through unlimited levels of sublicensees) to use, copy, modify, distribute, publicly display and perform, publish, transmit, remove, retain repurpose, and commercialize UGC you post in any and all media or form of communication whether now existing or hereafter developed, without obtaining additional consent, without restriction, notification, or attribution, and without compensating you in any way, and to authorize others to do the same. For this reason, we ask that you not post any UGC that you do not wish to license to us, including any photographs, videos, confidential information, or product ideas.

We may disclose and/or remove User-Generated Content. CNHI has certain rights. We have the right (but do not assume the obligation) to:

monitor all UGC;

require that you avoid certain subjects;

remove or block any UGC at any time without notice at our sole and absolute discretion;

disclose any UGC and the identity of the user who posted it in response to a subpoena or whenever we believe that disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law or a court order, to prevent or investigate a possible crime or other violation of law, to protect the rights of CNHI or others, or to enforce these Terms of Use; and

terminate your access to and use of this Site, or to modify, edit or block your transmissions thereto in our sole discretion.

You agree that our exercise of such discretion shall not render us the owners of UGC you post, and that you will retain ownership thereof as described above.

Restrictions on User-Generated Content. It is a condition of these Terms of Use that you do not:

upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available

any UGC that is unlawful, harmful, hateful, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, racially disparaging, indecent, or invasive of anothers privacy;



any UGC that constitutes or encourages activity illegal under criminal or civil law;



any UGC that is false, misleading, or fraudulent;



any UGC that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);



any UGC that violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including UGC which violates the patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, trade secret rights, confidentiality rights, contract rights, or any other rights of any individual, living or deceased, or any legal entity;



any UGC that contains the image, name or likeness of anyone other than yourself, unless (i) that person is at least eighteen years old and you have first obtained his/her express permission or (ii) that person is under eighteen years old but you are his/her parent or legal guardian;



any request for or solicitation of any personal or private information from any individual;



any request for or solicitation of money, goods, or services for private gain;



any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or



any UGC that contains advertising, promotions or marketing, or which otherwise has a commercial purpose;

impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; or

violate any local, state, national or international law, rule or regulation.

By posting User-Generated Content, you represent and warrant that (i) you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the UGC and have the right to grant the license set forth in these Terms of Use; (ii) the UGC is accurate, and (iii) you have read and understood-and your UGC fully complies with-these Terms of Use and applicable laws and will not cause injury to any person or entity.

Removal of Content

In general. You can seek removal of objectionable UGC by contacting us using the information found on the home page of this site. We will review all such requests and will remove UGC that we determine should be removed, in our sole discretion and in accordance with these Terms of Use and applicable law. Please be aware, however, that if the UGC has already been distributed to other websites or published in other media, we will not be able to recapture and delete it. Also, a back-up or residual copy of the UGC we remove from this Site may remain on back-up servers.

Violation of copyrights. CNHI does not knowingly violate or permit others to violate the copyrights of others. We will promptly remove or disable access to material that we know is infringing or if we become aware of circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.

If you are requesting removal of content because of a violation of your copyrights, please note that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the DMCA) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe that your own work, or the work of a third party for whom you are authorized to act, is featured on this Site or has been otherwise copied and made available on this Site in a manner that constitute copyright infringement, please notify us immediately. Your notice must be in writing and must include:

an electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;

a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;

a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on this Site (including the URL, title and/or item number if applicable, or other identifying characteristics);

your name, address, telephone number, and email address, and, if you are not the owner of the copyright, the name of the owner; and

a written statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owners behalf.

Your statement must be addressed as follows:

General Counsel, CNHI, 445 Dexter Avenue, Suite 7000, Montgomery, AL 36104

Any notification by a copyright owner or a person authorized to act on its behalf that fails to comply with requirements of the DMCA shall not be considered sufficient notice and shall not be deemed to confer upon us actual knowledge of facts or circumstances from which infringing material or acts are evident.

Your Feedback

Although we do not claim ownership of User-Generated Content you post using this Site, the Feedback you provide to us through this Site will be and remain our exclusive property. Your submission of Feedback will constitute an assignment to us of all worldwide rights, title and interests in your Feedback, including all copyrights and other intellectual property rights in your Feedback. We will be entitled to reduce to practice, exploit, make, use, copy, disclose, display or perform publicly, distribute, improve and modify any Feedback you submit for any purpose whatsoever, without restriction and without compensating you in any way. For this reason, we ask that you not send us any Feedback that you do not wish to assign to us.

Your Obligations

In consideration of your use of this Site, you agree that to the extent you provide personal information to CNHI it will be true, accurate, current, and complete and that you will update all personal information as necessary.

To the extent you create an account through this Site, you understand and agree that any account you create, including your username and password, are personal to you and may not be used by anyone else. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password by you or by anyone else using your username and password, whether or not authorized by you. You agree to change your password immediately if you believe your password may have been compromised or used without authorization. You also agree to immediately inform us of any apparent breaches of security such as loss, theft or unauthorized disclosure or use of your username or password by contacting us using the information found on the home page of this site. Until we are so notified you will remain liable for any unauthorized use of your account.

You agree to use this Site in a manner consistent with any and all applicable rules and regulations. You agree not to upload or transmit through this Site any computer viruses, trojan horses, worms or anything else designed to interfere with, interrupt or disrupt the normal operating procedures of a computer. Any unauthorized modification, tampering or change of any information, or any interference with the operation, hosting, or availability of or access to this Site is strictly prohibited, including any attempt to bypass any content management services or Site security. We reserve all rights and remedies available to us.

DISCLAIMERS

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE OR ITS CONTENT, OR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE AVAILABLE ON OR PROMOTED THROUGH THIS SITE. THIS SITE AND ALL OF ITS CONTENT (INCLUDING USER-GENERATED CONTENT) ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS IS, AS AVAILABLE BASIS, WITHOUT REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CNHI, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR SERVICE PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, ARISING BY STATUTE, CUSTOM, COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR IN ANY OTHER WAY, WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AVAILABLE OR PROMOTED THROUGH THIS SITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, CNHI, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR SERVICE PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES (A) OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; (B) RELATING TO THE SECURITY OF THIS SITE; (C) THAT THE CONTENT OF THIS SITE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT; OR (D) THAT THIS SITE WILL OPERATE SECURELY OR WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR ERROR.

WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THIS SITE, ITS SERVERS, OR ANY TRANSMISSIONS SENT FROM US OR THROUGH THIS SITE WILL BE FREE OF ANY HARMFUL COMPONENTS (INCLUDING VIRUSES).

CNHI does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice and opinions made by anyone other than authorized CNHI spokespersons. WE DO NOT ENDORSE AND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY statements, advice or opinions CONTAINED IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT AND SUCH statements, advice AND opinions DO NOT IN ANY WAY REFLECT THE STATEMENTS, ADVICE AND OPINIONS OF CNHI. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES AGAINST THE POSSIBILITY OF DELETION, MISDELIVERY OR FAILURE TO STORE COMMUNICATIONS, PERSONALIZED SETTINGS, OR OTHER DATA. YOU ACCEPT THAT OUR SHAREHOLDERS, OWNERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES SHALL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THIS CLAUSE.

APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO ALL OR PART OF THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS WE, ON BEHALF OF OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS, EXCLUDE AND DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSSES AND EXPENSES OF WHATEVER NATURE AND HOWSOEVER ARISING INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, GENERAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; LOSS OF USE; LOSS OF DATA; LOSS CAUSED BY A VIRUS; LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT; LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY; CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES; OR OTHER LOSSES OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS SITE. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTABLISHING SUCH PROCEDURES FOR DATA BACK UP AND VIRUS CHECKING AS YOU CONSIDER NECESSARY. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER BASIS.

IF ANY PART OF THIS LIMITATION ON LIABILITY IS FOUND TO BE INVALID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THEN THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR LIABILITIES THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED SHALL NOT EXCEED TEN DOLLARS ($10.00).

This Site gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from country to country. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain kinds of limitations or exclusions of liability, so the limitations and exclusions set out in these Terms of Use may not apply to you. Other jurisdictions allow limitations and exclusions subject to certain conditions. In such a case the limitations and exclusions set out in these Terms of Use shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of such applicable jurisdictions. Your statutory rights as a consumer, if any, are not affected by these provisions, and we do not seek to exclude or limit liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.

Links to Third-Party Websites

This Site may provide links to other websites operated by third parties. Because we have no control over third-party websites, we are not responsible for the availability of those websites and do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, services, products, or other materials on or available from such websites. CNHI shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, advertising, services, products, or other materials on or available from such websites. These Terms of Use do not apply to your use of third-party websites; your use of such websites is subject to the terms and policies of the owner of such websites.

Modification and Discontinuation

We reserve the right at any time and from time-to-time to modify, edit, delete, suspend or discontinue, temporarily or permanently this Site (or any portion thereof) and/or the information, materials, products and/or services available through this Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such modification, editing, deletion, suspension or discontinuance of this Site.

Waiver

Our failure at any time to require performance of any provision of these Terms of Use or to exercise any right provided for herein will not be deemed a waiver of such provision or such right. All waivers must be in writing. Unless the written waiver contains an express statement to the contrary, no waiver by CNHI of any breach of any provision of these Terms of Use or of any right provided for herein will be construed as a waiver of any continuing or succeeding breach of such provision, a waiver of the provision itself, or a waiver of any right under these Terms of Use.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to law, such provision will be changed and interpreted so as to best accomplish the objectives of the original provision to the fullest extent allowed by law and the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect.

Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Venue

These Terms of Use will be governed under the laws of the State of Alabama without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. All actions or proceedings arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use will be venued exclusively in state or federal court in Alabama. You hereby irrevocably consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of said courts for all such purposes. However, we retain the right to bring legal proceedings in any jurisdiction where we believe that infringement of these Terms of Use is taking place or originating.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold CNHI, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of this Site in violation of these Terms of Use and/or arising from a breach of these Terms of Use and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above and/or if any material that you post using this Site causes us to be liable to another. We reserve the right to defend any such claim, and you agree to provide us with such reasonable cooperation and information as we may request.

These Terms of Use May Change

These Terms of Use are current as of the effective date set forth above. CNHI reserves the right to change these Terms of Use from time to time consistent with applicable laws and principles. These changes will be effective as of the date we post the revised version on this Site. Your continued use of this Site after we have posted the revised Terms of Use constitutes your agreement to be bound by the revised Terms of Use. If at any time you choose not to accept these Terms of Use, you should not use this Site.

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Use (together with our Terms of Sale and Privacy Policy and any Privacy Notices or and any click-through agreements applicable to you) contain the entire understanding and agreement between you and CNHI with respect to this Site and supersede all previous communications, negotiations, and agreements, whether oral, written, or electronic, between you and CNHI with respect to this Site and your use of this Site.

Definitions

The terms CNHI, we, us, and our refer to CNHI LLC and its subsidiaries and affiliates.

The term Content refers to all of the software and code comprising or used to operate this Site, and all of the text, photographs, images, illustrations, graphics, sound recordings, video and audio-video clips, and other materials available on this Site, including User-Generated Content and Feedback.

The term Feedback refers to the Content you post on or through this Site that is specifically about how we can improve this Site and the products and services we make available through this Site.

The term including means including, but not limited to.

The term Site refers to any website or mobile application owned by CNHI on which these Terms of Use are posted.

The term User-Generated Content or UGC means all of the text, photographs, images, illustrations, graphics, sounds, video and audio-video clips, and other content you post using the social networking tools we make available to you and that does not constitute Feedback.

Questions

If you have any questions about this Site or these Terms of Use, please contact us using the information at the bottom of the home page of this Site

Terms of Sale

Thank you for your interest in making a purchase through this Site. These Terms of Sale (Terms of Sale) govern your purchases on this Site.

GENERALLY APPLICABLE TERMS

You acknowledge that any use of this Site is subject to our Terms of Use and all applicable laws. These Terms of Sale are expressly incorporated into the Terms of Use for our Site. In addition, any personal information you provide to us will be subject to our Privacy Policy. Before using this Site, please read through these documents carefully.

We do not sell products or services through this Site to persons under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, you should ask an adult to make the purchase for you.

All prices are in US Dollars. When you purchase a product or service through this Site, the price will be made clear during the order process. You agree to pay the price that is stated at the time of your order, as well as any applicable taxes. Applicable taxes may vary. We are not able to notify you in advance of changes in applicable taxes.

We accept major credit cards and certain digital wallet services.

We will take payment when you place your order. If we are unable to supply the product or service that you have ordered, we will contact you by e-mail or phone, and your payment method will not be charged.

If a stated price is determined by us in our sole discretion to be in error, we are not under any obligation to offer you the product or service at that price. We will notify you of the error and give you the opportunity to cancel your order and obtain a refund if payment has already been made.

These Terms of Sale are personal to you and you may not assign or otherwise transfer any right or obligation under these Terms of Sale except as permitted herein. We reserve the right to transfer, assign, license or subcontract all or any of our rights or obligations under these Terms of Sale or any related contract to any third party.

We will not have any liability to you or be deemed to be in breach of these Terms of Sale from any circumstances which are beyond our reasonable control (including a delay in delivery caused by force majeure).Force majeure includes, without limitation, circumstances directly or indirectly resulting from acts of God; acts of the public enemy; strikes; lockouts; epidemic and riots; power failure; fire; earthquake; water shortage or adverse weather conditions; or other causes beyond the control of the parties.

We reserve the right to make changes to these Terms of Sale at any time. You will be subject to the Terms of Sale in force at the time you place your order with us, unless any change to these Terms of Sale is required to be made by law (in which case it will apply to any orders previously placed by you).

SUBSCRIPTION SALES

You may be able to purchase through this Site a subscription to one of our print publications and/or to one of our digital products.

For details about your subscription, including payment methods and billing cycles, or to make changes to your subscription, visit the subscriptions page or contact us using the information available on the bottom of the home page of this site.

Processing of your payment

We will process your purchase as promptly as possible. There may be a delay in the activation of your subscription while payment details are verified.

If your initial payment authorization is later revoked, your subscription will be terminated. Contact us using the information available on the bottom of the home page of this site.

Pricing

You agree to the billing frequency stated at the time of your order.

Discount eligibility is determined at the time of the order. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively.

We reserve the right to change prices and fees at any time. We will notify you in advance if the regular rate of a product changes from what was stated at the time of your order. You will have the opportunity to accept the new price or cancel your subscription from that point forward.

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Middle East delegation members hail fruitful trip

Sunny Tan said Hong Kong can link up Gulf sovereignty funds with mainland technology firms. File photo: RTHK

Members of a delegation led by the SAR chief executive that visited the Middle East this week said on Saturday the trip has allowed Hong Kong to link up local and mainland firms with Gulf sovereignty funds.



John Lee's delegation  comprising leaders of Hong Kong and mainland businesses  signed 59 memoranda of understanding for collaboration with Qatar and Kuwait, ranging from trade and finance to aviation and legal services.



Hong Kong Productivity Council chairman and lawmaker Sunny Tan, who was part of the delegation, said Gulf representatives were very much interested in investing in innovation and technology.



He noted that sovereignty funds in Gulf states are very sizeable and want to invest in firms that have gone global.



While many mainland technological firms have much to offer, Tan said on Commercial Radio, they're "often not used to operating in other places" and Hong Kong can help with their internationalisation.



On the same programme, Law Society president Roden Tong said Hong Kong's lawyers can also fill the gap when contracts are signed or when disputes arise between parties from disparate legal systems.



"There are different legal systems among countries in the Middle East  there are common law and civil law jurisdictions," he said.



"They also adopt Islamic laws."



"Therefore we need to learn more about how their legal systems operate, and this is exactly the role Hong Kong lawyers can play."



Tong noted that some of the SAR's lawyers who can practice in Greater Bay Area cities across the border can act as the "super-connector and value adder" for overseas firms wanting to enter the mainland market.



Lawmaker Johnny Ng, for his part, said he thinks Kuwait very much valued Hong Kong, as the country arranged the delegation to stay in a palace.
The Indian chemical industry is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing challenges faced by Europe's chemical sector, according to a report by B&K Securities. The report noted that the high operating costs in the European Union (EU27) have made production less competitive, creating a window of opportunity for Indian chemical companies to expand their presence in the region. However, the report also added that this opportunity comes with its own set of challenges, particularly from China and weakening demand in Europe. It said "EU's struggles present Indian chemical companies with an opportunity to gain market share; however, it faces hurdles such as Chinese Predatory Pricing - which undermines Indian competitiveness". China remains a strong competitor in the global chemical market, and its influence on pricing often affects the competitiveness of Indian exports. Chinese predatory pricing continues to be a major hurdle for Indian chemical manufacturers trying to increase their market share in the EU. Adding to the difficulty is the sluggish demand environment in Europe. The latest update from the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) shows a weak start to 2025. EU27 chemical output is expected to grow by less than 0.5 per cent this year, compared to 2.5 per cent growth in 2024. One of the main reasons behind this slowdown is the high gas prices in Europe, which are more than 3.3 times higher than in the United States. This has weakened the region's manufacturing competitiveness and impacted chemical production. Despite these challenges, India remains an important trading partner for the EU27. It ranks fifth in terms of chemical exports to the region, with a 2.0 per cent share worth around Euro 11.9 billion. In comparison, EU27 exports to India stand at Euro 6.0 billion. While Europe's struggles offer Indian companies a chance to step in and fill the gap, the path ahead will depend on two key factors, stabilising demand in the EU and dealing with pricing pressures from China. The report mentioned that a sustained recovery in European demand is essential for Indian chemical exports to grow in the long run. Until then, Indian companies may find it difficult to fully capitalise on the situation despite having a favourable position in the global market. (ANI)
The High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur has granted interim relief to SBN Gaming Network Pvt. Ltd., the operator of SportsBaazi, in response to its legal challenge. The Court issued an interim directive restraining the petitioner from operating its website within Chhattisgarh. The court ordered the platform to be blocked in the state through "Gio block." However, SportsBaazi remains permitted to function in other parts of India until the next hearing, said the court. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, presiding over the case, observed that the petitioner's app, which offers "Rummy," qualifies as a skill-based gaming platform and is not prohibited under the IT Act or IT Rules. The Court also noted that the app was blocked nationwide without prior notice or an opportunity for the petitioner to be heard, raising concerns over procedural fairness. Additionally, the ruling highlighted that while betting and gambling fall under List-2 (State List), skill-based gaming is governed by the IT Act, which falls under List-1 (Union List). This distinction suggests that state authorities may not have jurisdiction to impose restrictions on such platforms. The Court acknowledged that the app's gameplay involves elements of strategy, mutation, and combination, reinforcing its classification as a "Game of Skill" rather than a "Game of Chance." The company's petition contests a directive dated May 5, 2025, issued by the Inspector General of Police (Technical Service), Chhattisgarh. This directive had instructed telecom and internet providers to restrict access to specific platforms, including SportsBaazi, citing provisions under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and regional gambling laws. Represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, the petitioner argued that SportsBaazi operates a legally compliant, skill-based fantasy gaming platform, and that the action taken "was arbitrary, lacked due process", and extended beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state. (ANI)
PNN New Delhi [India], May 17: In a world that is increasingly globalized with international travel being a necessity for business, education, and tourism, visa processing can frequently be the most intimidating aspect of the process. For the last 15 years, BTW Visa Services India Pvt. Ltd. has been simplifying this process for thousands of travelers by providing transparent, effective, and customer-centric visa services. With headquarters in Pune and branches in Mumbai and Thane, BTW Visa Services has positioned itself as a trusted name in visa consultancy, offering assistance for tourist, business, and other categories of visas across the globe. What sets BTW apart is, not just the sheer volume of clients served--over 2 lakh visa applications successfully assisted--but also the unwavering commitment to simplifying the visa process for individuals and corporates Our Journey: 15 Years of Growth and Excellence Conceived with an aim to eliminate the troubles encountered in visa documentation, BTW Visa Services started its journey with a basic yet strong philosophy--to provide an easy experience for travelers. The concept was born out of the frequent hurdles that travelers encountered owing to documentation mishaps and lack of proper information. Over the years, the company has evolved into a one-stop travel solutions provider, now offering travel insurance, hotel booking, air ticket booking, and customized travel packages, all under one roof. This integrated approach not only streamlines travel planning but also builds trust with clients who prefer dealing with a single reliable provider. Customer-Centric Approach with a Corporate Edge At the core of BTW's operations is a customer-first philosophy, led by a team of highly experienced in-house visa consultants. Special attention is given to corporate clients, ensuring that business, meeting, and conference visas are handled with utmost professionalism and priority. The brand's dedication to real-time communication and updates has become its hallmark. COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most severe challenges the travel industry had faced. BTW Visa Services maintained consistent communication with clients regarding travel restrictions and policy updates. Instead of slowing down, the company used the crisis to strengthen internal systems, upgrade technology, and invest in team-building, which now serves as a robust foundation for future growth. Milestones and Achievements With over 2 lakh successful visa applications, BTW Visa Services has solidified its position as a premier visa consultancy in India, renowned for its expertise and trusted service. Trusted by numerous corporate houses, the company ensures timely and compliant processing of business-related travel documents. Their reputation has made them the go-to travel partner for enterprises across multiple sectors. Leadership and Inspiration The man behind BTW's success is Mr. Deep Bhong, the visionary entrepreneur whose zeal and dedication to ease global travel experiences led to the establishment of the organization. Through his leadership, he has established a culture of integrity, creativity, and customer service that transcends the entire team. Opening Doors to Global Opportunities BTW Visa Services isn't just about helping people visit new countries--it's about opening doors to global opportunities, experiences, and dreams. Whether it's a student aiming to study abroad, a professional attending a global conference, or a family planning their dream vacation, BTW ensures that the journey begins with a stress-free visa process. Connect With Us Website: https://btwvisas.com/ LinkedIn: BTW Visa Services Instagram: @btw.visa.services Email: inquiry@btwvisas.com Contact Number: 020 49027000 Branches: Pune | Mumbai | Thane Final Thoughts BTW Visa Services India Pvt. Ltd. stands tall as a reliable partner for global travelers, delivering not just services but peace of mind and trust. As the world opens up again, BTW is ready--more equipped than ever--to make your global journey easier, safer, and more enjoyable. If you're looking for a visa assistance company that treats your journey like their own, BTW Visa Services is your gateway to the world. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 17: Prominent Kolkata-based culturist, social activist, and trustee of the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Sundeep Bhutoria, will attend the highly anticipated screening of Satyajit Ray's restored masterpiece Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest) at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 19th May 2025. This marks the first-ever Cannes screening of the 1970 classic, which will be showcased in a newly restored version. The event will reunite, after 55 years, the film's legendary cast members, Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal, whose presence will add to the historic significance of the occasion. Expressing his enthusiasm, Bhutoria said, "I am deeply honoured to attend the premiere of the restored Aranyer Din Ratri at The Cannes. This is my first visit to the festival, and it is all the more special because of my long association with the Dutta family, the original producers of the film. Unfortunately, Esha Dutta, who collaborates closely with the Prabha Khaitan Foundation and its associate organisations, is unable to join due to a family emergency." Mr Bhutoria also acknowledged the efforts behind the restoration, stating, "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to film maker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and the Film Heritage Foundation for their pivotal role in this extraordinary restoration project. I have known Sri Dungarpur personally for over a decade since he started the project with a missionary zeal in 2014. He has contributed immensely to safeguard endangered celluloid films, promote film literacy, and train archivists. Their dedication ensures that Ray's genius continues to inspire future generations." Aranyer Din Ratri, based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel of the same name, explores themes of urban escapism, class and gender dynamics and human relationships with unparalleled depth. The film follows four urban friends - Asim (Soumitra Chatterjee), Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee), Hari (Samit Bhanja), and Shekhar (Rabi Ghosh) - who escape their mundane city lives for a weekend trip to the forests of Palamau (Bihar). Their journey becomes a metaphor for self-discovery as their interactions with rural life and two local women - Aparna (Sharmila Tagore) and Jaya (Simi Garewal) - expose their urban pretensions, insecurities, and existential dilemmas. The film is celebrated as one of Ray's finest works, blending psychological depth, social commentary, and lyrical storytelling. The film's screening at Cannes - a somewhat belated recognition compared to Ray's other films - underscores the festival's enduring reverence for the Oscar-winning auteur, whose films remain a cornerstone of world cinema. (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], May 17: In the West, image management is foundational. Political candidates in the US often work with high-profile consultants who carve everything from the words in their speeches and debates to how they dress. Similarly, Fortune 500 brands invest millions each year in narrative control, reputation strategy, and public perception. Now, this playbook is gaining strong ground in India. From campaign trails to corporate boardrooms, Indian leaders, both political and business are recognizing that success is about perception and not just action alone. With the 24/7 news cycle and the unforgiving pace of social media, how you are seen often matters more than what you do. For an everlasting impression, curation is important and that is where image management consultants step in. According to a 2023 report by the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), the Indian image consulting and strategic communications industry grew by 14% year-on-year, with political and brand advisory among the fastest-growing segments. This signals a shift from reactive public relations to proactive, long-term reputation building. In politics, the transformation is unavoidably visible. Consider the 2014 Indian general elections: Prime Minister campaign was a masterclass in modern political branding, complete with well-tailored messaging, strategic optics, and digital engagement. It marked the rise of campaign strategists who brought Silicon Valley-style marketing into the Indian political sphere. Today, nearly every major party relies on similar consultants, handling everything from influencer partnerships to regional sentiment mapping. But the phenomenon isn't limited to politicians. For companies, reputation is increasingly their most valuable asset. This shift can be witnessed with the founders being brand ambassadors, product launches being multimedia events and consumer trust being often won or lost online. Image consultants help brands shape clear narratives, avoid reputational landmines and stay culturally relevant in a fragmented media landscape. A compelling example is how new-age Indian startups, especially in fintech and D2C sectors, partner with consultancy firms for PR, positioning, thought leadership, and personal branding of their CXOs. This signals a broader awareness that reputation is a strategic asset, not just a reactive fix. The lines between leader and brand are blurring. Whether it's a politician trying to win trust in a new constituency or a brand entering a competitive market, they face the same question: how do people perceive me and how do I control that narrative? India is catching up fast. And as influence becomes more about clarity than clout, the ones who invest in professional image management will shape not just their future but public imagination itself. (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], May 17: On the evening of 16th May, Wavesys hosted its exclusive 20-20 Partner Summit, an extraordinary gathering that marked a bold step forward in the future of surveillance and networking technologies. Held at The Suryaa Hotel in New Delhi, this invite-only summit brought together 20 carefully selected partners for an immersive evening of innovation, dialogue, and live technology demonstrations. The event was more than a showcase. It was a curated experience designed to foster meaningful conversations, unveil breakthrough technologies, and highlight Wavesys' vision for a smarter, faster, and more connected surveillance future. A Future-Focused Gathering In today's high-stakes environment where security systems must do more than observe, Wavesys is at the forefront of redefining surveillance through artificial intelligence, edge analytics, and robust networking. The 20-20 Partner Summit served as a platform to introduce next-gen innovations that are not only addressing today's challenges but are also shaping tomorrow's security ecosystems. Technologies unveiled included: Facial Recognition System (FRS) Wavesys' advanced FRS platform wowed the audience with its ability to deliver real-time face detection and matching across high-traffic environments. Key features demonstrated: * Mask and helmet detection * Face match from archived footage * Instant alerts for blacklisted individuals * Seamless integration with existing infrastructure AI-Powered Surveillance Analytics The summit highlighted how AI is transforming passive cameras into intelligent sentinels that can interpret behavior and predict threats before they escalate. Key capabilities included: * Behavior and anomaly detection * Edge-based real-time processing * Customizable rule engines * Dashboard-based actionable insights Forensic Search Capability In a world where every second matters, Wavesys introduced its forensic video analysis tools that drastically reduce investigation time. Standout features: * Timeline-based incident filtering * Object and motion tracking * Color and direction-based search * Multi-camera archival retrieval 10G Industrial-Grade Switches Reliable networking is the backbone of any surveillance system. Wavesys demonstrated its plug-and-play 10G switches, engineered to handle high-throughput demands. Visitors experienced: * Industrial-grade build for harsh environments * Power redundancy and automatic failover * Ultra-low latency for high-resolution video streaming The Saadhco Texpert LLP Presence Among the distinguished attendees was Saadhco Texpert LLP, led by Vikas Mehta, a name synonymous with innovation and sustainability in the textile and garment industry. Saadhco's presence at the summit reflected the growing interest from non-traditional sectors in leveraging smart surveillance to enhance safety, operational efficiency, and data-driven insights. Their commitment to quality and future-forward thinking mirrors the values Wavesys brings to the surveillance and networking domain. Leadership Insights and Vision The evening was led by Abhishek Kumar, Regional Director - APAC, and Anurag Gupta, Regional Sales Manager - North, who outlined the evolving role of AI, automation, and networking in the security ecosystem. They shared a compelling roadmap that emphasized partner collaboration, solution scalability, and cross-industry deployment potential. Partners received not only product previews but also insights into Wavesys' broader mission: enabling intelligent, adaptable surveillance infrastructures that can scale across smart cities, transportation hubs, retail environments, and critical national infrastructure. What Set the Summit Apart Rather than large crowds or generic presentations, the 20-20 Partner Summit offered exclusivity and depth. With only 20 invited partners, each attendee enjoyed dedicated time with Wavesys leadership, product developers, and solution architects. Attendees walked away with: * Access to unreleased technologies and tools * Influence in shaping product development * Co-marketing and go-to-market strategy opportunities * Deeper alignment with one of India's most trusted surveillance brands Setting the Tone for What's Next From AI-driven anomaly alerts and forensic video search to rugged industrial networking, the summit gave a preview of what will define the next era of surveillance. Partners are now better equipped to propose smarter, more integrated solutions to their clients, with confidence, credibility, and cutting-edge capability. Whether it's a smart city deployment or secure retail intelligence, the takeaways from this summit will echo well beyond the event itself. In Closing The Wavesys 20 20 Partner Summit wasn't just about what's new but about what's next. With real-world tech, trusted relationships, and future-focused vision, the evening created a blueprint for intelligent surveillance in India and beyond. As Wavesys continues to build powerful partnerships with visionaries like Saadhco Texpert LLP, one thing is clear, this is just the beginning of a smarter, safer tomorrow. Website-http://www.wavesysglobal.com/ * Date: 16th May 2025 * Venue: The Suryaa Hotel, New Friends Colony, New Delhi (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN New Delhi [India], May 17: Taking forward the Prime Minister's "Accessible India Campaign" (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), a major step was taken to make Delhi an inclusive capital for persons with disabilities. On the occasion of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2025, a high-level stakeholder consultation was held at the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) in Dwarka, New Delhi, where the Sugamya Delhi Abhiyan was officially launched. Over 100 stakeholders--including experts, social organizations, private sector CSR representatives, government officials, and public leaders--joined the initiative and pledged their support. This campaign builds on the success of the Sugamya Dwarka Abhiyan, launched on May 1, 2025. In just 15 days, more than 70 public and private buildings, malls, schools, colleges, bus stops, parks, and footpaths in Dwarka have been audited for accessibility. Over 500 experts and volunteers have actively participated, making it a strong community-driven movement for accessibility. The initiative is being led by IDEA (Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneur Association), a national organization founded by President Awardee Mallikarjuna Iytha, which is working toward employment, entrepreneurship, and accessibility for persons with disabilities. IDEA has empowered over 1,500 Divyangjan as entrepreneurs and helped over 5,000 people find employment. The campaign is being implemented in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Speaking about the campaign, Mallikarjuna Iytha said, "If India is to become a Vishwaguru (global leader), persons with disabilities must be at the forefront of that journey. But for that, our cities, infrastructure, and environment must be accessible. Accessibility must now become a people's movement, not just a government initiative." From Dwarka to Delhi: A City-Wide Expansion of Accessibility Since its launch on May 1, the Sugamya Dwarka Abhiyan has assessed over 70 buildings and public spaces, including offices like NISD, MCD, NHAI, schools, colleges, banks, bus stops, parks, and footpaths. More than 500 volunteers and experts have contributed. This initiative has brought together government, society, and the private sector in a grassroots movement to make Dwarka accessible. The campaign has been implemented by IDEA in collaboration with CCPD, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Disabilities, Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), and several partner organizations. Many institutional representatives attended the event and committed to making Dwarka India's first fully accessible sub-city. Smt. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Member of Parliament from South West Delhi, attended the event and was named Purple Ambassador of the campaign. She said, "Now it is the responsibility of every citizen to identify barriers around them and demand change. This is not just a government duty--it's everyone's shared responsibility. I fully support making Dwarka accessible." Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), praised IDEA's efforts and emphasized that "awareness and public sensitivity are key to this mission's success. IDEA's grassroots work is aligned with the national vision." Dr. S. Govindraj, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, also assured full support and expressed commitment to expanding the movement beyond Delhi to all of India. Purple Building Certification and Event Guidelines Launched Two major initiatives were unveiled at the event: The Purple Building Certification Scheme, jointly developed by AMTZ, ICMR, and IDEA, aims to ensure universal design and accessibility in buildings across India. Accessibility Guidelines for Events, created by IDEA, were also launched to guide organizers in making inclusive and accessible events. A Big Step Toward an Inclusive Capital The Sugamya Delhi Abhiyan has now begun as a people-led movement supported by government, businesses, social organizations, and citizens. IDEA has appealed to everyone to join this mission and help make Delhi a truly accessible and inclusive capital for all. (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)
India PR Distribution New Delhi [India], May 17: Designing thematic, luxurious homes with opulent styles is the new age trend, and celebrity interior designers ensure no compromise on perfection and quality when designing such homes. Whether one designs to redesign a luxury home of celebrities or industrials to refined office buildings, or contemporary commercial interiors, one name keeps emerging over and again: Royale Touche. As one of India's leading laminate manufacturers in India, Royale Touche has become the best laminate brand India, which is synonymous with quality, innovation, and timeless sophistication. A Legacy of Luxury Since 1978 Established in 1978, Royale Touche revolutionized Decorative Laminates in India. Over a period of time, Royale Touche has earned a name as not just a laminates brand but one that speaks volumes of status, elegance and class. Renowned for its consistency in delivering superior quality products to continuous innovation, it is no surprise that Interior industry leaders choose Royale Touche as the preferred partner for interior laminate solutions. An Unparalleled Array of Designer Laminates What really distinguishes Royale Touche from other brands is its stunning range of laminates, textures and finishes. With over 900+ laminate patterns and 200+ textures, the collection has it all from luxurious woodgrains and elegant natural stone looks to contemporary abstracts making it ideal for any interior laminate design use. Available in 1.00 mm and 1.25 mm thicknesses, these laminate sheets not only provide desired looks but utility strength as well. The celebrity designers generally approach Royale Touche to add a touch of sophistication to living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. Fashion-forward finishes for kitchen laminates and luxurious finishes for wardrobe laminates are what Royale Touche provides. Sensational design for the kitchen laminate design and comprehensive kitchen laminate colors provide for easy execution by the brand in enabling designers to design dramatic interiors. Superior Quality That Speaks for Itself Royale Touche's operation is flanked by its outstanding craftsmanship. Laminates are produced using advanced European technology and carefully hand-picked raw materials. Royale Touche also has stringent quality check processes in place to check the performance, finish, and durability to ensure the inherent characteristics are brought forth without any compromise. This constant quest for perfection makes Royale Touche the first choice among industry experts seeking waterproof laminate sheets, or premium materials for application in challenging environments. Nationwide Presence, Premium Experience Royale Touche is more than just laminate manufacturers in India, it's a brand that offers an experience in luxury. The company has over 215 select showrooms across India and offers end-to-end customer experience. Whether it is life-size 8x4 ft laminate sheet installations or Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, the customers and the designers get to view and touch how different interior and exterior laminates would look like in real spaces prior to deciding anything. Empowering Architects and Designers Royale Touche does not simply provide products, it empowers experts. With its BIM file formats readily downloadable from the web, architects and designers can incorporate Royale Touche laminates seamlessly into 3D models so that it is simpler to seal and put a design into effect. Through this technology-enabling strategy, it is the ideal partner of design professionals who require both aesthetics and productivity. A Commitment to Safety, Sustainability & Performance Today's interior designers take not just aesthetics but also responsibility towards the environment seriously. Royale Touche is a pioneer in green manufacturing with its anti-bacterial, fire-resistant, and green decorative laminates that adhere to international safety and sustainability norms. For kitchen laminates in your home or even a business high-rise, these sheets of laminate provide peace of mind without taking away from luxury. Complete Interior Solutions Along with designer laminates, Royale Touche also offers other products that are connected, such as plywood, wood flooring, edge bands, adhesives, and accessories. This helps designers to experiment with the complete range of products under one roof for perfect harmony in interior design. From fashionable kitchen laminate colors to robust wardrobe laminates, the company makes sure all products complement one another. Unmatched Service & Support Backed by a customer service department and over 20,000 channel partners, Royale Touche offers homeowners and designers with niche guidance at every stage. From choosing to installing, the company offers a luxury hassle-free experience. Royale Touche continues to be the standard for the best laminate in India. The Designer's Choice for a Reason For celebrity interior designers, details are everything and that's why they look to Royale Touche. It's not about trends; it's about creating them. With an exquisite portfolio of interior laminates, decorative laminates, and wardrobe laminates, Royale Touche provides more than finishes, it provides a sophisticated design experience. Supported by decades of innovation, design leadership, and unrelenting quality, Royale Touche continues to shape the future of interiors as the best laminate in India, accepted by the industry's most renowned interior designers. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
VMPL Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 17: NAVA Limited, a diversified Indian multinational conglomerate operating across multiple sectors including Metals, Mining, Energy, Commercial Agriculture and Healthcare, announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2025. Financial Highlights for FY25 (Consolidated) * Total revenue at INR 4,135.2 cr - Highest ever : with YoY growth of 4.6% * Consolidated PAT at INR 1,434.0 cr - Highest ever , with YoY growth of 14.2% * Recommended Final dividend of INR 6 per share; this is in addition to interim dividend of INR 4 per share (paid before share split). Financial Highlights for Q4 FY25 (Consolidated) * Total revenue at INR 1,055.8 cr, with QoQ growth of 20.2% and YoY growth of 10.9% * PAT at INR 302.8 cr, with QoQ de-growth of 14.3% and YoY growth of 18.8% Other Highlights * Maamba Energy Limited (MEL) Board has declared dividend of US$ 50.0 Mn, subject to shareholders approval. * MEL has repaid shareholder loans and outstanding interest fully to the sponsors in Apr 25. Since Apr 24, MEL paid US$ 196.0 Mn to both the sponsors * Nava received approvals for converting the 60 MW unit CPP into IPP which shall pave way for higher operational Plant Load Factors (PLFs) from Q3 FY26 * Maamba Solar Energy Limited (MSEL) signed 20 year PPA with ZESCO Limited for 100 MW solar project at tariff of US$ 7.80 cents/kWh. Initiated works on EPC contractor Finalisation, debt funding, investment incentives etc * During the quarter received dividend of Rs. 30.4 cr from subsidiary Nava Bharat Projects Limited thereby, the cumulative dividend income from subsidiaries for the year 2024-25 is Rs. 114.3 cr. Segment wise highlights: 1. Energy * India: 114 MW power plant has significantly improved operational performance and made profit of Rs. 38.3 cr Vs Rs. 3.0 cr for FY24. * Odisha power units continue to operate at healthy PLFs and good margins owing to coal cost advantages. * NBEIL's 150 MW power plant operated at increased PLF of 69.9% Vs 63.8% for FY24 and made PBT of Rs. 126.4 cr Vs Rs. 115.8 cr for FY24. * Zambia: MEL's 300 MW power plant sustained the high PLF of 90% for FY25. ECL provision reversal for the year was US$ 17.1 Mn Vs US$ 23.5 Mn for FY24. During the quarters both units underwent planned shutdown reducing the plant availability to 80.9% Vs 95.1% for Dec 24. 2. Metals * Metals division profitability turned around from loss of Rs. 70.7 cr for FY24 to profit of Rs. 27.6 cr for FY25. During the quarter sold 42,327 MT Vs 20,068 MT for Dec 24 significantly adding to the revenue and profitability. Ferro Silicon Alloys sustained good margins in export market. 3. Mining * Mining division continues stable operations, external sales and profitability. 4. Commercial agriculture * Avocado Plantation: Approximately 168,000 avocado trees planted till date. Trees are healthy and establishing well with good growth. * Integrated Sugar Project: Seed cane nursey is ready for multiplication and more plantlets are being planted for multiplication. Land preparation works have started and irrigation system is being developed in phases. Progress is being made on debt funding, EPC contract etc Commenting on the results, Ashwin Devineni, Chief Executive Officer, said, "For FY25, NAVA Group delivered multiple milestones. Our consolidated revenue was INR 4,135 cr at a YoY growth of 4.6%, and a PAT of Rs 1,434 crore. Our revenue and profit for the year are the highest ever. All our major segments - Metals, Mining and Energy, have shown robust growth as compared to last year. Our ferro alloys business has significantly turned around and contributed to the improvement in profit in FY25. We have also seen significant improvement in MEL's receivables position. Post the close of the financial year, MEL received US$ 55.0 Mn which has helped it repay its shareholder loans in full to the sponsors. With an objective to improve shareholder value, we completed two corporate actions during the last financial year - a stock split in Q3 and a share buyback for Rs. 360.0 cr in Q4. In addition to these, we continue to maintain our dividend distribution at a healthy rate. Our new projects under Maamba Solar, Nava Avocado and Kawambwa Sugar are showing encouraging progress. We are progressing on a robust cash and capital allocation plan which sufficiently meets our expansion objectives. Finally, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Mr. K V S Vithal, who has joined us as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NAVA Group with effective from February 8, 2025." Quantitative Table of Operational Data (Sales Qty): About NAVA NAVA (Estd: 1972, NSE: NAVA BSE : 513023 / NAVA) is a publicly listed multinational conglomerate with global footprint of mulit-faceted businesses and is a front-runner in ferro alloy manufacturing, energy and mining for over 50 years. Nava is now spreading its wings to other high-potential sectors like Healthcare and Commercial Agriculture. For more information, please visit www.navalimited.com Nava Limited will host a conference call to discuss the quarterly financial results on May 16, 2025 at 1600 hrs (IST). Investors and stakeholders are invited to visit the company's website for more details. Disclaimer: Certain statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties like government actions, local, political or economic developments, technological risks, and many other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. Nava Limited (formerly Nava Bharat Ventures Limited) will not be in any way be responsible for any action taken based on such statements and undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. (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)
During a speech in China, Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Yunus had described India's northeastern states as a "landlocked region with no access to the ocean." This comment has sparked diplomatic friction, with Indian officials viewing it as undermining the region's connectivity and status.

The new restrictions will force Bangladesh to reroute exports -- including Ready-Made garments (RMG), plastics, melamine, furniture, juices, carbonated drinks, bakery items, confectionery, and processed foods -- through Kolkata port in West Bengal or Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra, sharply increasing logistics costs.

With 93 per cent of Bangladesh's exports to India previously moving through these land routes, the impact on its RMG sector -- which exports nearly USD 740 million worth of garments to India annually -- could be severe.

Indian officials defended the move as a step toward ensuring "fair trade," highlighting that Bangladesh enjoys unrestricted access to India's northeastern markets while imposing barriers on Indian exports. They also noted that Bangladesh charges Indian goods 1.8 taka per tonne per kilometre, more than double its domestic rate of 0.8 taka.

"Bangladesh cannot assume market access without reciprocity. For years, India extended concessions without equal returns. This decision restores balance," an Indian official told ANI.

According to sources, Bangladesh continues to impose port restrictions on Indian exports particularly at ICP's bordering North Eastern states. Industrial growth in the Northeastern States suffer a triple jeopardy due to imposition of unreasonably high and economically unviable transit charges by Bangladesh denying in practice access for the Northeast to the Indian hinterland.

The move is expected to disrupt Bangladesh's garment industry, raising costs and limiting market access, while creating new opportunities for Indian manufacturers. (ANI)
Over a decade after 'The Avengers' brought together Marvel's mightiest heroes on the big screen, actress Scarlett Johansson is opening up about the uncertainty and chaos she experienced during the making of the blockbuster film. According to Deadline, in a recent interview, Johansson, who first entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Natasha Romanoff in 2010's Iron Man 2, recalled the initial confusion surrounding the ambitious ensemble project that would become a defining moment in superhero cinema. "When we made the first Avengers, none of us knew what the potential would be," Johansson shared, reflecting on the early days of the MCU. While Iron Man had already proven a massive success and its sequel had performed well, the integration of characters like Thor and Captain America introduced vastly different tones and storytelling approaches. "There was Thor, but that character felt like it was from a completely different universe," she said, adding, "It was such a different tone from the Iron Man movies. The Captain America movie had its own identity as well. When you added the characters all together, plus Hulk and Hawkeye, it just felt like a big mess to be honest. Even on the set it felt crazy. We all looked insane," as quoted by Deadline. Johansson acknowledged the creative risk involved in merging these distinct characters into a single narrative. At the time, she said, the only people who seemed confident in the project were Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and director Joss Whedon. "The cast had blind faith in them," she added. However, the turning point came during the filming of a now-iconic moment: the dramatic 360-degree camera shot that circles the assembled Avengers preparing for battle. "That was the moment where we all thought this maybe could work," Johansson recalled, adding, "It felt powerful. When we watched the playback, it looked really cool, but so much of it didn't feel cool when we were shooting it." Despite the initial disarray, Johansson looks back on the experience with fondness. "We were young. We were having such a great time. We became such great friends. It was a blast," she said, as quoted by Deadline. 'The Avengers' went on to become a global phenomenon, cementing the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a cultural and commercial juggernaut. Johansson would go on to portray Black Widow in numerous MCU entries, culminating in her standalone film in 2021. (ANI)
The film, directed by Scott Cooper, focuses on the making of Springsteen's 1982 album 'Nebraska', one of the most acclaimed albums of all time.

According to Deadline, the film boasts an ensemble cast, including Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager and record producer.

Other notable cast members include Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Paul Walter Hauser, and Gaby Hoffmann.

The film is adapted from Warren Zanes' 2023 book of the same name, and Springsteen and Landau are involved with the project.

Jeremy Allen White, who plays Springsteen, called making the movie a "dream come true" and added, "I feel really lucky. We all had Bruce's blessing on this film."

The film's music is being handled by prolific record producer Dave Cobb, who has worked with Springsteen, Jason Isbell, and Brandi Carlile, among others.

The film's release date of October 24 positions it well for awards season, and fans of Springsteen are eagerly anticipating the film's release.

Music biopics have been successful in recent years, with films like 'Bob Marley: One Love' and 'A Complete Unknown' starring Timothee Chalamet receiving critical acclaim. (ANI)
Lyricist Javed Akhtar attended the launch of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut's book Narkatla Swarg (Heaven in the Swamp) in Mumbai on Saturday. The event was attended by several political leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and (NCP-SCP) chief Sharad Pawar. While addressing the audience, Akhtar shared how, over the years, he has faced backlash from people due to his outspoken nature. "People from both sides abuse me. It's not one-sided. I would be very ungrateful if I don't admit that there are people who also appreciate me. Many support me, praise me, and encourage me," Akhtar said. "But this is also true: the extremists from this side also abuse me, and the extremists from that side also abuse. This is the reality. If even one of them stops abusing, I will get worried about what mistake I am making," he added. "One says I am a 'kaafir' and will go to hell. The other says I am a jihadi and should go to Pakistan." "Toh agar mere paas sirf choice Pakistan aur jahannum yani nark ki hain toh main nark hi jaana pasand karunga..." he added. Meanwhile, Narkatla Swarg, the book launched at the event, is written by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and revolves around his political experiences. The event was attended by top leaders, including Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale. (ANI)
Actor Amit Sadh, best known for his roles in films like Kai Po Che! and Sultan, recently shared his thoughts on acting and praised veteran actor Anupam Kher for his dedication to the craft, calling him an "acting institute." While speaking to ANI, Amit expressed how much he admires Kher as he spoke about Kher's acting institute, 'Actor Prepares. "There is a lot of debate on whether acting can be taught or not, but I believe that anything can be learned with discipline, exercises, and understanding. I think Anupam sir's institute is making a strong contribution to actors. In fact, if you ask me, Anupam sir himself is an institution," Sadh said. "If you can't reach Anupam sir's acting school, or can't afford it, or live in a small town, just watch his films. That is also an acting institute," he added. Based in Mumbai, Actor Prepares is an acting institute that was established by actor Anupam Kher in 2005. Actress Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and Varun Dhawan are some of the many notable alumni of this school. Reflecting on his own journey in the film industry, Amit said he feels lucky for the support he has received over the years. "I consider myself very lucky that people have been so patient with me -- the industry, fans, and media. I've been given so many chances to do good work." The actor will next be seen in 'Pune Highway.' The film, directed by Bugs Bhargava Krishna and Rahul daCunha, is a mystery drama based on a well-known play of the same name. It was shown at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last year and received a great response from the audience. The film also features Anuvab Pal, Manjari Fadnnis, Ketki Narayan, Sudeep Modak, Abhishek Krishnan, Swapnil Ajgaonkar, and Shishir Sharma. (ANI)
The operation, carried out on May 7, was in response to the April 22 terror attack in the Pahalgam region.

Speaking with ANI, Bakshi lauded the way the operation was handled and also praised the BJP-led NDA government for the action.

"This is absolutely right... at this time, the government of our country, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, after doing proper homework, took action within 15 to 17 days. Believe me, the action taken on the 7th at 9 locations gave great peace. This had to be done, and it brought a lot of relief," Bakshi said.

"I still regret only one thing--it should have continued for two or three more days," he added.

Following Operation Sindoor, Indian Armed Forces also effectively responded to subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases.

Operation Sindoor killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, has launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, calling it "insolvent" and predicting its removal from power. Adhikari criticised the West Bengal government for failing to implement the 7th Pay Commission, pointing out that while the rest of the country has moved forward, West Bengal has not even formed a committee for it. "This is an insolvent government that will soon be removed from power... Mamata Banerjee should keep both her eyes open; they are building a cultural centre worth Rs 250 crores. They are providing a salary of Rs 9,000 crore per year, but the state employees are subject to stepmotherly treatment. The 7th Pay Commission has been implemented in the entire country, but here in the state, even the 7th Pay Commission committee has not yet been formed. PM Modi and the central government are so advanced that they have even formed the 8th pay commission committee...," Adhikari said on Friday. Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government to pay 25% dearness allowance (DA) to state government employees. Praising the decision, BJP leader Amit Malviya termed it a 'major victory' for the employees and the state unit of his party. "This is a major victory for West Bengal government employees and the BJP in Bengal," Malviya said in a post on X. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta issued an interim order directing the West Bengal government to make the payment within three months and posted the matter to be heard next in August. Malviya alleged that the West Bengal government made multiple attempts to delay proceedings. "After a long legal battle and multiple attempts by the state government--nearly 17 adjournments--to delay proceedings, the Supreme Court has finally delivered a landmark order. The court has directed the West Bengal government to pay at least 25% of the pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to its employees," he said. "Initially, the Supreme Court suggested that the state pay 50% of the dues. However, senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Trinamool Congress-led state government, argued that the state lacked the financial capacity to make such a large payment at once. He claimed that such a move would "break the back" of the state government financially. If only Mamata Banerjee and her close aides had not looted the exchequer with brazen impunity, there would have been money to pay the state government employees," Malviya said. (ANI)
The South District Cyber Police have arrested a 22-year-old Suraj Sharma for allegedly duping a money transfer agent through a calculated online scam. According to the officials, Suraj, a resident of Shastri Park, Usmanpur, reportedly deceived a shop owner in Chhatarpur into transferring Rs 70,000 under false pretences. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South district, Ankit Chauhan, stated that the accused contacted the money transfer agent and claimed that his "younger brother" would visit the shop to collect an online money transfer. According to the DCP, Sharma hired a Rapido bike rider to support this claim and sent him to the shop, instructing him to act as his brother. The rider, unaware of the scam, delivered a QR code sent by Sharma via WhatsApp. The QR code was obtained earlier from a mobile shop in the guise of purchasing an iPhone. Believing the story, the complainant transferred Rs 70,000 in two instalments, Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000," DCP Chauhan said. Once the amount was transferred, Sharma booked a Porter delivery to collect the iPhone from the mobile shop and had it sent to an outlet in Bindapur, where he exchanged it for Rs 61,000 in cash. When the shop owner asked the Rapido rider for the money in return, the rider revealed he was only hired for delivery and had no connection with the accused. Realising he had been defrauded, the victim immediately reported the incident to the police, the police said. Afterwards, an FIR was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The team thoroughly analysed the financial transactions and digital evidence, which led them to the mobile store in Burari. Based on the information and evidence gathered, the police raided and arrested Suraj Sharma. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and admitted that he used the cheated money to fund his online gaming habit. Two mobile phones were recovered from his possession: one was used in the commission of the crime, and the iPhone was purchased with the stolen money, DCP Ankit Chauhan said. According to the police, Sharma has been involved in other similar cases too, with a case registered against him under Section 406 IPC, at KN Katju Marg police station. Police officials have stated that both the Rapido rider and the Porter delivery agent were innocent and had been unknowingly used in the scam. (ANI)
Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra cabinet minister for cultural affairs, visited the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had spent his punishment term during British colonial rule. "I went to the dark cell in the Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar where the tyrannical British regime had imprisoned freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to serve his sentence of imprisonment, and bowed down before the statue of Savarkar," Shelar said in a post on X on Friday. Shelar further remembered the torture Savarkar might have faced at the cellular jail, adding, "Touching the walls on which Savarkar wrote his immortal poems, I was filled with excitement. That jail, the rope worn by Savarkar, and looking at those objects, one can imagine the deadly torture suffered by this great son of Mother India.. But at the same time, the meaning of these lines "Anadi Mi Anant Mi" Avadhya Mi Bhala... also begins to unfold." Shelar later met with Chief Secretary of the union territory, Chandra Bhushan Kumar, requesting his cooperation to build a memorial of Veer Savarkar in Andaman Nicobar Islands. He also informed the chief secretary that he had written to the Union Home Minister requesting the same. Shelar requested the support and cooperation of the local administration to build the memorial. The cellular jail, also known as Kalapani was where multiple Indian freedom fighters spent their jail term, including Nani Gopal Mukherjee, Nand Kumar, Pulin Behari Das, Bhai Parmanand, Prithvi Singh Azad, Trailokyanath Chakravarty alias Maharaj, Ananta Singh, Pandit Ram Rakha and many others. The political prisoners of Alipore Bomb Case after the Bomb incident of 30 April 1908, were the first group of people sent to Kalapani. People convicted in various conspiracy and bombing cases were also sent to the cellular jail on the island. Savarkar himself was convicted in the Second Nasik Conspiracy Case and sentenced to 50 years of imprisonment. He was brought to the Andamans in 1911 by the vessel SS Maharaja. Savarkar's book Majhi Janep (in Marathi) along with its English translation The Story of My Transportation for Life (1950) by VN Naik and its Hindi translation Ajanm Karavas (1966) narrate his life of prisoners along with the agonizing routine along with various methods of torture. (ANI)
Amid reports that India is preparing to send an all-party delegation to various countries to expose Pakistan's support for terrorism, Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi welcomed the Centre's move. Speaking to ANI, Tyagi asserted that the Indian representatives will share the chain of events with the world that happened after the Pahalgam attack on April 22. "The MPs from across political parties will go to different countries and will share the entire chain of events with the world that happened after the Pahalgam terror attack. It is a welcoming step," Tyagi told ANI on Friday. The JD(U) leader also lauded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement that Operation Sindoor is not over yet. "Rajnath Singh's statement that Operation Sindoor hasn't been finished is a welcome step. By the time terrorist acts are going on, this operation will continue. Congress party is confused, it was not a war but a strike on those who propagate and protect terrorism," he said. Meanwhile, India is planning a large-scale diplomatic initiative aimed at exposing Pakistan's continued support for terrorism on the global stage. According to reliable sources, around 40 multi-party parliamentarians will form seven groups and travel to various regions of the world. The goal of this initiative is to inform the international community about Pakistan's ongoing support to terrorism and highlight India's recently launched Operation Sindoor. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. This will be the first time that the Centre will depute MPs from multiple parties to present India's stance on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan. While the government has not officially announced the initiative, it is understood that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and other agencies are preparing documents containing facts and instances to substantiate the allegations against Pakistan. An official from the MEA is expected to accompany the delegations. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is leading the coordination efforts for this international tour, marking a significant step in India's diplomatic outreach. Several opposition MPs, including Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sasmit Patra, have reportedly been approached to participate in the campaign. JDU MP Sanjay Jha, former Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi is also likely to participate. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Uttarakhand is "Veerbhoomi", from where thousands of soldiers serving in the country's army are always at the forefront in protecting the country. A meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on Friday under the chairmanship of CM Dhami, in which a unanimous congratulatory resolution was passed to the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Defence on the unprecedented success of Operation Sindoor. "The success of Operation Sindoor has made the whole country proud. Operation Sindoor shows the superiority of the Indian Army. It is also a reflection of the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the foresight of the Ministry of Defence," CM Dhami said. The resolution of the Council of Ministers said that "Operation Sindoor reflects the success of the indomitable courage, immense valour and excellent strategic skills of the Indian Army. This campaign has emerged as a living example of India's sovereignty, security and self-confidence." The Council of Ministers also expressed confidence that this historic military operation will become a source of inspiration for generations to come and will always be marked as a golden chapter in Indian military history. This proposal will be sent to the Government of India and the Ministry of Defence to convey the sentiments of the people of Uttarakhand to them. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Following the operation, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. Subsequently, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
After violent protests erupted outside Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jawed Shamim provided a detailed account of the incident, calling the situation "extremely volatile" and likening it to a "hostage-like" scenario for government employees trapped inside the building. The agitation was led by teachers who had reportedly lost their jobs following a Supreme Court verdict. According to ADGP Shamim, a large group of affected teachers gathered in front of Bikash Bhavan on Thursday morning and turned aggressive. "... After the SC judgement, many teachers lost their jobs. The teachers have been agitating... Yesterday morning, a huge crowd of teachers gathered before the Bikash Bhavan. They became agitated and broke the barricades, trying to enter the premises of Bikash Bhavan. Police tried to reason with them, but they would not listen... They broke the gates open and caused a lot of damage... They flooded the whole premises," Shamim said. Shamim noted that Bikash Bhavan is not solely occupied by the education department--it houses 58 departments and employs over 500 staff members. "We thought that we had to show extreme restraint and caution in dealing with them to arrive at an amicable solution... The office hours end at 5:30 pm... The people wanted to leave. The protesters were adamant that nobody would be allowed to leave... They locked the gates... We negotiated with them from 5:30 pm onwards, which went on till 8:30 pm," the ADGP said. Eventually, the police were forced to act, creating a safe passage for employees to exit. During the standoff, the agitators allegedly hurled stones and plastic bottles at the police. "The police were pleading with them to carry on with the agitation but let the Government employees leave... The employees were a kind of hostage situation... So ultimately finding no other option, police tried to make a way... We tried to cordon off, made a made a carriageway through which we tried to ensure that people are able to make a safe exit possible," he said. "There was a standoff... The minimum required force was applied... The whole purpose to send the employees home... One is a bit serious, others have small injuries, and there are around 19 injured that we have come to know as of now," Shamim clarified. Meanwhile, teachers continued their protest on Friday as well against the CM Mamata Banerjee-led state government after 26,000 teachers lost their jobs in connection with the SSC recruitment case. (ANI)
In a scathing attack on the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that top bureaucrats who deliberately blocked public welfare schemes under the AAP government are now being transferred out of Delhi to shield them from jail time. The senior AAP leader said Finance Secretary A.C. Verma and Health Secretary Deepak Kumar stalled vital projects--ranging from pensions and salaries to health schemes--causing immense hardship to the people of Delhi. He pointed out that now that the BJP is in power, the same officers face a legal bind: clear the funds they once blocked or risk jail, forcing the government to quietly move them out. During a press conference, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "For the past two years, the elected government of Delhi was repeatedly saying that certain IAS officers are working in a manner that deliberately blocks public welfare schemes meant for Delhiites. The elected government has time and again demanded action against these officers, calling for their suspension and removal from Delhi. These officers were conspiring to paralyse Delhi's functioning in order to help the BJP. This was a deliberate conspiracy." Citing specific examples, he said, "Two such officers were Ashish Chandra Verma, who was the Finance Secretary, and S.B. Deepak Kumar, who was the Health Secretary. On multiple occasions, the elected government, the Chief Minister, and ministers pointed out that A.C. Verma was deliberately blocking many of Delhi's schemes." "He first halted the budget of thousands of crores for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). He withheld funds for all DJB projects, due to which sewerage machinery couldn't be procured, ongoing projects were stalled, and payments for work like installing tube wells and water pipelines were stopped," he added. On how this impacted service delivery, the AAP Delhi State President said, "Payments of contractors who had already completed work were frozen. As a result, these contractors refused to take up new contracts. Similarly, old-age pensions were blocked by the Finance Department." "Salaries at Mohalla Clinics were held up for months. Even electricity bills and rent for Mohalla Clinics were stopped just before the MCD elections. Yoga trainers' salaries were withheld, and bus marshals' salaries were stopped--and later, they were removed altogether," he emphasised. Saurabh Bharadwaj further added, "Financial assistance meant for students in SC/ST categories was halted. DTC pensioners and employees had their pensions and salaries stopped. Under the Farishtey Scheme, accident victims were treated free of cost--but even that scheme's funds were blocked." He stated that payments to private hospitals for free tests and surgeries were withheld, creating hardship for Delhi's people. All of this was done by the Finance Department when Ashish Chandra Verma was the Secretary. He wrote arbitrary and baseless objections on the files to block these public welfare schemes. On the current political context, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "Now that BJP has a government in Delhi, Ashish Chandra Verma faces a dilemma--how will he now approve on file the same works he earlier blocked? If he now releases the funds that he previously stalled, he will land in jail. Why? Because when you hold back public funds citing false objections for a whole year, and then suddenly reverse that decision just because the ruling party has changed--that contradiction is now on the record. It's all there in the files. On one hand, he wrote one thing, and on the other, he's doing the opposite. That's why he will go to jail." The senior AAP leader alleged, "To protect Ashish Chandra Verma from imprisonment, someone else is now being made to write on the file that what Ashish Chandra Verma had previously stated was wrong, and that the money should in fact be released. This is why Ashish Chandra Verma is now being transferred." (ANI)
A resident of a village in Kaithal, Haryana, was arrested for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and ISI during the recent India-Pakistan conflict. The accused is identified as Devendra, a resident of Mastgarh Cheeka village in Kaithal. DSP Kaithal Veerbhan said, "Intelligence information was received by the district police of Kaithal, on that basis our special detective staff arrested Devendra, son of Narwal Singh, resident of village Mastgarh Cheeka." Police questioned Devendra after taking him into custody. As per the Police, Devendra, during his interrogation, told police that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI. "After taking him into custody, he was questioned. During that interrogation, he said that he was in contact with the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI. He used to provide information about the dispute going on between India and Pakistan to that agency, and also information about Operation Sindoor to the Pakistani army and the ISI from time to time. Our staff at the cyber police station is doing a thorough investigation into the devices found with him. Whatever the truth may come out, the law will be followed accordingly," DSP Kaithal Veerbhan added. On May 4 in another operation, Punjab Police arrested two individuals for their alleged involvement in leaking sensitive information and photographs of Army Cantonment areas and Air Bases in Amritsar to Pakistan intelligence operatives. The accused have been identified as Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih.Speaking to ANI, Rural Amritsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Maninder Singh said, "Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav have issued instructions that we immediately arrest and imprison any anti-national element we get information about. One such information was received about Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, who were in touch with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives, leaking them information about sensitive installations. We have arrested them both and recovered a lot of data from them." SSP Singh added, "They had one more partner, Harpreet, who brought them in touch with the ISI, and we will bring him from Amritsar Jail on a production warrant. One NDPS case was already registered against him." (ANI)
The 17th Digital Transformation Conclave, jointly organised by the Department of ICT, Government of Mizoram, GovConnect, Google Cloud, and Ilouge Media, was inaugurated by Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma at the Dawrpui Multipurpose Hall, Aizawl, on Friday. The event was graced by Vanlalthlana, Minister for ICT, as the guest of honour. In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister highlighted the importance of affordable and accessible digital services for the public. He noted that digital governance is not only convenient but also cost-effective for both citizens and the government. Mizoram's commitment to this cause has been demonstrated through the launch and implementation of various digital platforms. Some key initiatives mentioned include the Mizoram State Public Grievances Redressal & Monitoring System, Kai Apps, RAMP - MSME Facilitation Cell and Portals, SDG Dashboard for tracking all villages Sustainable Development Goals, MPLAN - Mizoram State Project Monitoring Dashboard, e-RAM for online tax and revenue services, online ILP (Inner Line Permit) system, and Aizawl Civil Hospital's online OPD registration. He also hinted at several other upcoming initiatives, like government e-offices and others. He affirmed that the collaboration between Mizoram and the rest of India in the field of digital services will bring continued progress and benefits. He expressed gratitude to all individuals, companies, and senior government officials who took the time to participate in the event. Referring to the recent hacking of a Mizoram Government website, the Chief Minister assured the public that the site has been swiftly and securely restored. He called for vigilance among all users, especially those managing government sites, and stressed the importance of cybersecurity awareness. In his speech, Dr. Vanlalthlana, ICT Minister, also thanked the organisers and acknowledged the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in today's world. He emphasised that it is becoming a necessity not only for businesses but also for families concerned about their children's safety. He called for robust and inclusive internet services and secure data storage through cloud technology to ensure access for all. The Minister reiterated that digital development is a key component of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and is crucial for India's progress, including that of Mizoram. The conclave served as a platform for dialogue and presentations on digital advancements and featured remarks from Khilli Ram Meena, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram; Anil Shukla, Director General of Police, Mizoram; and Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary, New, Emerging and Strategic Tech. (NEST), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; Puneet Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Government of India; Lokesh Lohiya, Head - State Governments and PSU, Google Cloud. The inaugural session was chaired by Amit Sharma, Secretary, ICT, Government of Mizoram, who also extended his appreciation to all participants. Fahim Hag, Co-Founder & Director of Alliance, Ilouge Media, elaborated on the rationale behind organising the conclave. In the afternoon session, both government and private sector experts continued with discussions and presentations on how digital services can drive development across the state. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday led the 'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' rally in Nainital's Haldwani on Friday in honour of the Indian Armed Forces and the success of Operation Sindoor. Uttarakhand CM, along with BJP workers, is taking out 'Tiranga Yatra' from Mini Stadium to Shaheed Park, Haldwani. Earlier on Friday, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in which a unanimous congratulatory resolution was passed to the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Defence on the unprecedented success of Operation Sindoor. The resolution of the Council of Ministers said that "Operation Sindoor reflects the success of the indomitable courage, immense valour and excellent strategic skills of the Indian Army. This campaign has emerged as a living example of India's sovereignty, security and self-confidence." The Council of Ministers also expressed confidence that this historic military operation will become a source of inspiration for generations to come and will always be marked as a golden chapter in Indian military history. The BJP's 'Tiranga Yatra', which began on May 13, will continue till May 23. The BJP organised the 'Tiranga Yatra' in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Dibrugarh, Srinagar and Odisha. The event was organised to thank India's Armed Forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, the Indian forces have intensified their operation against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. In retaliation for the terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan. Among the targets were Bhawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish, and Muridke, a key training base of Lashkar. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
A suspected cow smuggler was injured in a police encounter near the Purvanchal Expressway toll under Gosainganj police station limits in Lucknow, said DCP South Nipun Agarwal on Saturday. "On May 5, near the Purvanchal Expressway toll in Gosainganj police station area, information was received about a 12-tyre truck. Police recovered around 20 cattle from it. CCTV footage showed that the cow smugglers had escaped in a car," said Agarwal. He added that police later received information that the accused were passing through the area. "When the police tried to stop a white-coloured car in which the accused was travelling, one of them opened fire at the police. In retaliation, police fired back, and the accused sustained a bullet injury to his leg." The injured accused has been identified as Shoaib. "More than 8 FIRs are registered against him," Agarwal said, adding that the two other individuals accompanying Shoaib in the car managed to escape. Further investigation is underway, and more details are awaited. In another incident on May 6 from Agra, a murder accused was killed in retaliatory firing by the Agra Police during an operation to arrest him and two others in connection with a murder case. Police personnel also suffered injuries in the encounter. According to Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the accused, who died in the hospital after getting injured in an encounter with the police, has been identified as Aman, who, along with his brother Sumit and Farooq, was involved in murdering Yogesh Chaudhary, owner of Balaji Jewellers. "Two people were involved in the loot at the deceased's shop. One of them, named Aman, who had fired shots during the crime, was injured during an encounter with police this morning. He died in the hospital. His brother Sumit was also involved in the incident. Another person named Farooq was seen driving a motorbike with Aman and Sumit pillion riding," Kumar told reporters. The Commissioner stated that the motorbike belonged to Hemant, who informed on the three accused. Farooq, who has a reward worth Rs 50,000 in his name, remains absconding, he said, adding that the police have recovered stolen goods, including gold, from the accused, who are all residents of a village that falls under the Jagdishpura Thana. (ANI)
Gaya town in Bihar will now be known as 'Gaya Ji'. The decision was taken into a state cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Briefing the reporters after the meeting the State's additional chief secretary S Siddharth said that the decision was taken in view of local sentiments and the townS historical and religious significance. Taking to X, Janata Dal United (JDU) National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha thanked CM Nitish Kumar for renaming the town "I am thankful to the honourable Chief Minister from the bottom of my heart for this important decision of changing the name and hearty congratulations and best wishes to all the residents of 'Gayaji'," he said. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad also welcomed the decision and said that this decision highlights the religious significance of Gaya "The decision of the state cabinet to rename Gaya as 'Gayaji' is a matter of welcome and pride. This decision not only further highlights the religious significance of Gaya but also reflects the NDA government's dedication towards Sanatan culture and commitment to the preservation of religious places," Prasad wrote on X. Gaya town is known for its religious significance. Lakhs of tourists from across the globe visit Gaya every year during 'Pitrapaksh' to offer 'Pind Daan' to the souls of ancestors. Gaya was the part of the ancient Magadh Empire. The city is located on the bank of Falgu River. hree hills Mangala-Gauri, Shringa-Sthan, Ram-Shila and Brahmayoni surround it from three sides. The most attractive destination in Gaya is Vishnupad Temple. The temple is located on the bank of river Falgu River and has footprint of Vishnu incised into a block of basalt. People believe that Lord Vishnu killed Gayasur by placing his foot on Gayasur's chest. Bodhgaya is also situated in Gaya which is one of the most important and sacred Buddhist pilgrimage centre in the world. It was here under a banyan tree, the Bodhi Tree, Gautama attained supreme knowledge to become Buddha. (ANI)
A fire broke out in several shops located in the Shirpur Jain bus stand area of Maharashtra's Washim on Saturday morning. Fire tenders were promptly dispatched to the site, and the fire-dousing operations are currently underway. Visuals from the scene show a thick plume of smoke billowing into the air from the fire-ravaged buildings. It is immediately not known what caused the fire to break out. More information is awaited. Meanwhile, in a separate incident on May 12, a fire broke out at a garments showroom on Peddar Road in the South Mumbai area of Maharashtra, leading to extensive damage to property. The firefighters rescued a total of 19 people who were stuck in the terrace building due to smoke. Additionally, 2 dogs and 1 cat were also rescued. No injuries were reported as the fire started when the showroom was closed.Divisional Fire Officer, E B Matle, told reporters that the fire broke out at around 6:30 AM on Monday at the Riyaz Ganji showroom. "The garment showroom is there; it caught fire at 6:30 in the morning. The showroom was closed. Multiple things, the wiring, camera, garments, stock of looms, wooden partitions, hangars, everything was involved in the fire," the Divisional Fire Officer said. "We broke the door, which is away from the entrance, and with four lines, two first aid lines, with the help of that, the fire was extinguished...The people who could not come down from the building due to the smoke were taken to the terrace, and even the animals were rescued," Matle added. Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who had come to the site of the incident, highlighted the problems faced by the people due to the fire as a new work week starts. Prabhat told ANI, "The fire started in the Sukhshanti building at around 6:30 am. And. Many people are suffering. Today is a working day. There were senior citizens, everyone had to walk down the building, and it was still full of water, and people had to go up in the dark. So I asked the BST and fire brigade people to start a phase by draining the water and finding the reasons for the fire, and take appropriate action about it." (ANI)
Stressing that terrorism is a challenge for the world, Union Minister Virendra Kumar on Saturday said that MPs from the ruling NDA, along with members of other national parties, will unite to present India's stance in front of the international community amid recent tensions with Pakistan. India is planning a large-scale diplomatic initiative aimed at exposing Pakistan's continued support for terrorism on the global stage. According to reliable sources, around 40 multi-party parliamentarians will form seven groups and travel to various regions of the world. The goal of this initiative is to inform the international community about Pakistan's ongoing support for terrorism and highlight India's recently launched Operation Sindoor. Speaking to ANI, Union Minister Virendra Kumar stated that the government's priority is to ensure the safety of both India and the world from the threat of terrorism. "...To prepare the people against terrorism, the NDA MPs and the MPs of other national parties will together present India's side in front of the world... Terrorism is a challenge for the world, and it only wants destruction. The world wants development and not destruction... We want our country to be safe from terrorism and the world to be safe..." said Virenda Kumar. The tour is expected to span 10 days, commencing on May 23. The groups of parliamentarians are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. This will be the first time that the Centre will depute MPs from multiple parties to present India's stance on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan. While the government has not officially announced the initiative, it is understood that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and other agencies are currently preparing documents containing facts and instances to substantiate the allegations against Pakistan. An official from the MEA is expected to accompany the delegations. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is leading the coordination efforts for this international tour, marking a significant step in India's diplomatic outreach. Several opposition MPs, including Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sasmit Patra, have reportedly been approached to participate in the campaign. JDU MP Sanjay Jha, former Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi are also likely to participate. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
The Indian Army carried out a door-to-door outreach in villages near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, which were severely affected by recent Pakistani shelling. As part of the relief efforts, Army jawans distributed essential supplies including medicines and ration to the residents, while also interacting with them to understand their needs. A local resident said, "Our areas were affected by the shelling. The Indian Army has played a very important role on the borders and they are providing us with relief material. We thank the Indian Army. We stand in support of the Indian Army." "They are providing us with rations. I pray to God for the long life of these Army personnel. We are with them. Just as they are bravely guarding the borders, we too stand in solidarity with them here in Poonch," stated another resident. Intense shelling by Pakistan during the recent conflict with India has left a trail of destruction in the border villages and districts across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, with locals suffering damages to their houses and livelihood. Reportedly, the locals have suffered damages to their livestock, properties, and essentially their livelihood in border areas such as Nowshera. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary visited border villages near the LoC in Rajouri district and interacted with residents affected by recent hostilities. The visit followed the ruthless Pakistani shelling in the civilian areas of Jammu and Kashmir post Operation Sindoor, which was conducted on May 7. The operation was conducted in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, including a Nepali national. Meanwhile, the locals residing in the border villages demanded that the government compensate them for the damaged houses. They also urged the Indian government "not to spare Pakistan" for its misadventures. In the early hours of May 7, the Indian Armed Forces conducted strikes at nine terror hideouts in the deep areas of Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under the 'Operation Sindoor' in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. (ANI)
Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, local fruit traders in Ajmer, Rajasthan, announced a boycott of Turkish apples and other imports on Saturday following Turkey's vocal support for Pakistan. Speaking to ANI, apple trader Arjun said, "After India-Pakistan tensions, apples and kiwis coming from there are completely banned here. Any other fruit coming from Turkey will also be banned. In place of Turkish apples, people are buying Kashmiri apples. Turkey has supported Pakistan during this, marble and fruit traders have stopped their business with Turkey..." Meanwhile, local traders in Gwalior have condemned Turkey's stand during the India-Pak tension, calling it a betrayal of the nation. They claimed that they would not trade with a country that supported Pakistan, and Turkish apples were boycotted in Gwalior. No fruit sellers are sourcing Turkish apples in the city; instead, they are placing orders for apples from Kashmir, South Africa, the USA, etc. On Friday, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) announced a complete boycott of trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan. "A collective decision has been made at today's conference of trade leaders to end all trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The reason is clear -- Turkey and Azerbaijan have openly supported Pakistan against India," said BJP MP and CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal. Khandelwal said the boycott would begin immediately, stopping all trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan. He added that the Indian film industry and companies have been urged not to shoot films or ads in these countries, warning that any company doing so would also face a boycott. The move aligns with the recent wave of economic nationalism and strategic trade decisions to reinforce India's geopolitical stance through collective industry action. Members of the Chamber of Trade and Industry also swore to stop trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan and pledged not to travel to the two countries. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of lives due to lightning strikes in Balrampur and Kushinagar districts. According to a release, he directed officials to provide immediate financial assistance to the bereaved families and ensure proper treatment for the injured. The Chief Minister has consoled the bereaved families while wishing peace to the departed souls. The statement said the Chief Minister has instructed the government to immediately distribute the permissible relief amount to the families of the deceased and to treat the people injured in this disaster properly. Earlier in April, the Uttar Pradesh government had declared financial assistance for families of those who lost their lives in thunderstorms and lightning incidents across the state. The instructions were given to immediately distribute the permissible relief amount of Rs 4 lakh to the families of the deceased persons. A total of 22 people died, 45 animals were killed, and 15 houses were damaged on Thursday, according to the Relief Commissioner Headquarters. The lightning caused three deaths each in Fatehpur and Azamgarh districts, two each in Firozabad, Kanpur Dehat and Sitapur and one death each in Ghazipur, Gonda, Amethi, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharth Nagar. The storm has caused one loss of life each in Ballia, Kannauj, Barabanki, Jaunpur and Unnao. Due to storms and lightning, 17 houses were damaged in the Ghazipur district, six in Chandauli, five in Ballia, three each in Ambedkarnagar, Balrampur, and Gonda, two in Sultanpur, and one each in Amethi, Kannauj, and Gorakhpur. (ANI)
NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted eight committees of MPs to visit foreign countries and present India's perspective on Operation Sindoor. Sule said, "Yesterday, I got a call from Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who asked me to be a part of one of these committees. It is very clear that when it is a question of our nation, we are all together, and we go to other countries to put forth our country's view." She added that each committee will have five members who will tour for around 10 days, covering five to eight countries. "The committees are likely to leave on 23-24 May," she said. India is planning a large-scale diplomatic initiative aimed at exposing Pakistan's continued support for terrorism on the global stage. According to reliable sources, around 40 multi-party parliamentarians will form seven groups and travel to various regions of the world. The goal of this initiative is to inform the international community about Pakistan's ongoing support to terrorism and highlight India's recently launched Operation Sindoor. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. This will be the first time that the Centre will depute MPs from multiple parties to present India's stance on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan. While the government has not officially announced the initiative, it is understood that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and other agencies are preparing documents containing facts and instances to substantiate the allegations against Pakistan. An official from the MEA is expected to accompany the delegations. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is leading the coordination efforts for this international tour, marking a significant step in India's diplomatic outreach. Several opposition MPs, including Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sasmit Patra, have reportedly been approached to participate in the campaign. JDU MP Sanjay Jha, former Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi is also likely to participate. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
After the intense shelling by Pakistan during the recent conflict with India, the Rural Development Department is constructing bunkers for civilians' safety in emergency in Rajouri's Nowshera. The shelling, which affected districts in Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control, resulted in significant damage to homes and infrastructure as well as the loss of civilian lives. Speaking to ANI on Saturday, a local said that the work of 6 to 7 trenches is underway and is about to be completed. "This is the border area, and the situation which was there between India and Pakistan was tense. I would like to thank the government as there were bunkers which were built through which people got the benefit of that and were safe. The work for 6-7 trenches is underway. 1300 new sites have been identified, and they will be sent to the government. Jammu and Kashmir government minister also visited the area and requested this," a local told ANI. Another local urged the government to build the bunkers in the border areas. "A few days ago, there was a tense situation between India and Pakistan. Because of the firing from both sides, but people here were at their houses and were firmly standing with the Indian Armed Forces. There were fewer bunkers over here, so I urge the government through your medium to build them. I just want to say that in any situation we are standing here and will always be with the government. In a few Panchayats, the temporary bunkers are being made in this situation, these bunkers are a gift for us," he said. A local Ashish Choudhary said, "This is the community bunker where you are standing, and individual bunkers are also here and for this I would like to thank the Jammu and Kashmir government and the central government. 30 per cent of bunkers are being made, but still 70 per cent bunkers are left that are to be made." Meanwhile, the Indian Army went door-to-door in areas of Poonch located near the LoC, which were heavily impacted by the Pakistani shelling. The Army jawans provided them with medicines, ration, and also interacted with the local residents. "Our areas were affected by the shelling. The Indian Army has played a very important role on the borders and they are providing us with relief material. We thank the Indian Army... We stand in support of the Indian Army," a local said. Earlier on Friday, displaced border residents returned to the last village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch's Salotri after a recent understanding between India and Pakistan ended days of heightened tension between the two countries. Operation Sindoor was India's decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Launched on May 7, Operation Sindoor led to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres, and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
The victim, identified as Rehan alias Seelampuria, was rushed to JPC Hospital, where he was declared dead upon arrival. Rehan is a resident of Ghonda Chowk in Maujpur, Delhi.

According to officials, a police constable discovered the body between a park bench and a pathway during a routine patrol around 11:30 pm on May 16.

Following the discovery, senior officers and a police team rushed to the scene, and the injured teenager was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

The Seelampur Police Station has registered a case, and forensic experts, along with the crime team, have inspected the site to gather evidence.

Investigation teams have been formed to identify and apprehend the suspects. The motive behind the murder remains unknown.

Further investigation into the matter is currently underway. (ANI)
The amended Bar Council of India (BCI) Rules regarding the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms into India have elicited mixed reactions both domestically and internationally. Rohit Kochhar, Chairman & Managing Partner of Kochhar & Co., highlights that while the amendments have been introduced with great enthusiasm, it remains uncertain whether changes to the Advocates Act, 1961, are required before their implementation. A key concern is the lack of a level playing field. Rule 36 of the BCI Rules strictly prohibits Indian lawyers from advertising or soliciting work, including participating in interviews or media commentary. In contrast, foreign firms actively engage in business development through dedicated marketing teams. Recently, the BCI issued warnings to Indian firms against publishing newsletters, classifying them as violations. These outdated restrictions put Indian law firms at a disadvantage. Rohit Kochhar emphasises that if foreign lawyers are allowed to operate in India, appropriate safeguards must be in place to ensure fair competition without undermining Indian legal practitioners. Fidelegal Advocates & Solicitors, an Indian law firm, welcomes the BCI's initiative to allow foreign law firms into India, which is expected to drive growth in the Indian legal market and benefit domestic lawyers. However, the firm points out that, according to the Supreme Court's ruling in the AK Balaji case, foreign lawyers cannot practice in India. Under existing laws, only Indian citizens are permitted to practice law. Therefore, similar amendments to the Advocates Act are needed to ensure transparency; otherwise, the current legal framework may lead to confusion and ambiguity regarding the entry of foreign law firms. Advocate Sumit Gehlot, Managing Partner of Fidelegal Advocates & Solicitors, further stresses the need for complete reciprocity in the true spirit. He asserts that foreign lawyers should be limited to non-litigious matters concerning foreign and international law. Additionally, he hopes that the BCI will, in the same spirit, address the longstanding concerns of Indian lawyers by enabling them to establish legal practices in foreign countries. Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), underscores that the amended BCI Rules cannot be effectively implemented without modifications to the Advocates Act, 1961, which currently restricts legal practice in India to Indian citizens. The Supreme Court upheld this position in the Balaji case, and changing this policy without legal amendments could lead to confusion and potential embarrassment. To position India as a global hub for arbitration and mediation, a robust legal framework, including the Mediation Law, is essential. Dr. Bhasin emphasises that the Advocates Act must be revised accordingly. While India welcomes foreign legal professionals and seeks opportunities for Indian firms to expand internationally, such changes must be introduced systematically and in alignment with existing legal provisions. An amendment remains necessary to address the Supreme Court's ruling in the Balaji case. JSA Advocates & Solicitors also shared its perspective on the matter. The firm acknowledges that the BCI has formally notified the rules governing the entry of foreign law firms into India--an initiative that has been in development for a long time. This notification helps dispel uncertainties surrounding the future of the Indian legal market. While the impact of these new regulations will become clearer in the coming months, JSA welcomes any governmental initiative that strengthens and deepens the ability of India's legal market to offer sophisticated legal counsel to both domestic and international clients operating in India and abroad, says Vivek K. Chandy, Joint Managing Partner of JSA Advocates & Solicitors. JSA further expresses optimism that this development is a stepping stone toward broader reforms in the legal services sector. Amar Gupta, Joint Managing Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, hopes that the BCI will, in the same spirit, address the longstanding concerns of Indian law firms, allowing them to expand their global presence. (ANI)
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday inaugurated a new water pipeline in Singalpur village, located in the Shalimar Bagh area of the national capital. Addressing the public at the event, CM Gupta said, "Till now, we have been paying the liabilities of previous governments. The intention of our government is the welfare of the people. Work should be done in the interest of the people; no work should stop." She further emphasised her administration's focus on transparency and integrity, stating, "It is the responsibility of the government to do every work with complete transparency and honesty, and we will fulfil it." Meanwhile, on Friday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has also criticised the former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for neglecting the capital's infrastructure, particularly its firefighting systems, which she described as being left in a "dilapidated state." "The firefighting systems under the previous government were in a dilapidated state in Delhi. Because of this, we were not able to provide the necessary solutions to people in the case of numerous tragedies," she said. The Chief Minister, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramvir Bidhuri and Delhi Minister Ashish Sood, inspected the modern firefighting vehicles of the Delhi Fire Service at the Secretariat. CM Gupta further expressed that Delhi should have the ability to deal with any fire incident as quickly as possible. "Delhi should use the latest techniques to deal with any fire incident as quickly as possible. The Delhi government should have the ability to deal with any fire tragedy or incident," the Delhi CM said. Delhi Minister Ashish Sood also slammed AAP for ignoring Delhi's infrastructure. "Under the leadership of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, we are continuously making efforts to make Delhi's infrastructure the best in the country. In the last 10 years, no serious efforts have been made to improve Delhi's infrastructure, particularly the modernisation of fire services," Sood said while talking with reporters at the Secretariat. On the same day, the Delhi CM also accused the previous AAP government of doing nothing for the development of mandis in the national capital, instead making them hubs of corruption. The Chief Minister said that her government will make a plan to modernise the mandis. "The condition of all the mandis in Delhi is so bad that no work has been done in these mandis in the last 10-15 years," she told reporters after inspecting Azadpur Mandi in North Delhi. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday praised the Indian armed forces for successfully carrying out Operation Sindoor and said that they displayed their bravery and valor and destroyed the terror sites in Pakistan. "Under the leadership of PM Modi, the way Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force displayed their bravery and valor, they destroyed the terror sites and killed more than 100 terrorists....successfully carried out Operation Sindoor...In Uttarakhand, every person from a family is a soldier...all are hitting the streets to thank our Armed Forces," CM Dhami told ANI. He further said that Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra is not a mere rally; it is an opportunity to salute the Indian Armed Forces. "Because of the strong policies and leadership of PM Modi, today against terrorism, we could carry out an important war...'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' is not a mere yatra, it is an opportunity to salute and honour the courage and bravery of the Indian Armed Forces," he added. Earlier today, CM Dhami led the 'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' in Nainital's Haldwani in honour of the Indian Armed Forces and the success of Operation Sindoor. Yesterday, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in which a unanimous congratulatory resolution was passed to the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Ministry of Defence on the unprecedented success of Operation Sindoor. The resolution of the Council of Ministers said, "Operation Sindoor reflects the success of the indomitable courage, immense valour and excellent strategic skills of the Indian Army. This campaign has emerged as a living example of India's sovereignty, security and self-confidence." The Council of Ministers also expressed confidence that this historic military operation will become a source of inspiration for generations to come and will always be marked as a golden chapter in Indian military history. The BJP's 'Tiranga Yatra', which began on May 13, will continue till May 23. The BJP organised the 'Tiranga Yatra' in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Dibrugarh, Srinagar and Odisha. The event has been organised to thank India's Armed Forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, the Indian forces have intensified their operation against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. In retaliation for the terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan. Among the targets were Bhawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish, and Muridke, a key training base of Lashkar. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
Teachers on Saturday continued their protest for the 11th day outside Kolkata's Bikash Bhawan against the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over 26,000 teachers losing their jobs in connection with the SSC recruitment case. The protest follows a Supreme Court judgment which held that the whole appointment process was tainted. Earlier, West Bengal LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, "We are supporting them (SSC teachers) in their protest. Their demands are legitimate. Mamata Banerjee is the main culprit for creating this problem in the state. Mamata Banerjee is incompetent; she should go. From the RG Kar movement to this teacher movement, the BJP's stand is clear, we are supporting them... The monsoon session of the assembly will begin from June 9, These issues should be resolved there and if it does not happen then the assembly should be closed." On Wednesday night, several teachers were left injured after a clash erupted between the SSC protesting teachers and police after the police resorted to a lathi charge in order to disperse the crowd. This follows a judgment by the Supreme Court, which held that the whole appointment process of the SSC was tainted. On April 17, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee reacted to the Supreme Court's verdict on the SSC recruitment and stated that the matter would be resolved in a year. "The Supreme Court has allowed the teachers to continue till December 2025. We were worried how the salaries will be paid to them. Last time, it was said that salaries cannot be paid. We had assured them that they would not face any trouble. We have got time till December. Within this year, the matter will be resolved." Supreme Court had allowed teachers whose appointments have been cancelled due to irregularities in the recruitment process to continue until the fresh selection process is completed.A bench led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the aforesaid relief is only for teachers whose appointments were "untainted." The top court also refused to grant relief to continue service to the teaching staff in Groups C and D, stating that there are more "tainted" candidates in those categories. The top court also directed the West Bengal government and the WB Staff Selection Commission to issue advertisements for fresh recruitment of assistant teachers by May 31 and to complete the entire process by December 31. The top court took its decision citing that the students undergoing studies should not suffer on account of the order passed by the court following the irregularities in the entire recruitment process in 2016. (ANI)
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that the Indian National Congress (INC) has submitted names of four MPs for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries to explain India's stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1923599235011969242 In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh said, "Yesterday morning, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke with the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The INC was asked to submit names of 4 MPs for the delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on terrorism from Pakistan." He added, "By noon yesterday, May 16th, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs giving the following names on behalf of the INC: Shri Anand Sharma, former Union Cabinet Minister; Shri Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader, INC in Lok Sabha; Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, MP, Rajya Sabha; and Shri Raja Brar, MP, Lok Sabha. Curiously, the name of Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is missing from the list that Jairam Ramesh says the Congress submitted to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. The Minister, Kire Rijiju however named Tharoor in the list of 7 MPs who would represent India at world forums where they would brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor. https://x.com/KirenRijiju/status/1923588921365069973 The other members who will lead delegations are: BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. Rijiju said that India stands united, and seven all-party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences." https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1923607237697864196 Tharoor has also accepted the government's proposal saying, "When national interest is involved, and my services are required, I will not be found wanting." The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
One person was killed and eight others were injured in a multi-vehicle collision on the Singupuram highway in Srikakulam district early Saturday morning. The accident occurred when a private bus operated by Kambheswari Travels, travelling from Koraput in Odisha to Berhampur, collided with a lorry moving ahead of it. According to Srikakulam Rural Station Inspector Jayaram, "The bus collided with a lorry moving ahead of it. Due to the impact, eight people, including the bus driver, sustained injuries. Fortunately, all injuries were minor. Three of the eight injured passengers are currently receiving treatment in Srikakulam." Following the initial crash, a granite-laden lorry approaching from behind applied sudden brakes upon witnessing the accident. This caused the granite stones to shift forward, severely damaging the lorry. Tragically, the lorry driver lost his life in the crash, officials said in a statement. Inspector Jayaram further added, "The bus driver is believed to have fallen asleep during the early morning hours, causing the accident. Highway staff responded quickly and transported the injured to the hospital for treatment." Meanwhile, in a separate road accident on May 13, four people, including three women labourers and a driver, were killed in Andhra Pradesh's Palnadu district. The incident occurred on the Guntur-Kurnool National Highway, near Shivapuram village in Vinukonda Mandal in Palnadu. A vehicle carrying four women labourers from Erragondapalem Mandal in Prakasam district collided with a lorry loaded with coconuts. The deceased women labourers were identified as residents of Gaddamadiplli village in Erragondapalem mandal. The state's Transport Minister, Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, expressed deep shock and sorrow over the tragic accident and extended condolences to the families of the deceased. The minister directed that the best possible medical treatment be provided to the injured and instructed officials to ensure that the treatment is given completely free of cost. He further emphasised that hospital staff must deliver efficient and timely medical services. The minister also assured that the government would provide full support and necessary assistance to the affected families (ANI)
During a personal search, officials discovered foreign-origin gold bars cleverly concealed within the heels of his slippers. The total weight of the seized gold was 4015 grams, valued at approximately Rs 3.86 crore.

In his voluntary statement, the passenger admitted to hiding the gold to evade Customs detection. The DRI seized the smuggled gold and arrested the individual under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, said officials. Further investigations are underway.

In April this year, a male Indian passenger carrying two kilograms of gold bars worth approximately Rs 1.91 crore was intercepted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi.

An official statement had said that the passenger arriving from Dubai to Delhi by flight number SG-6 on April 25 was intercepted based on profiling at the exit of the green channel.

Upon X-ray screening of the passenger's baggage, suspicious images were observed. A check on the DFMD (Door Frame Metal Detector) revealed no beep sound from the passenger. However, a detailed examination of the baggage resulted in the recovery of 2 kilograms of gold bars, it added.

The intercepted passenger (40), a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan, was found carrying gold valued at approximately Rs 1.91 crores, the official said.

On April 8, an Iraqi national arriving from Baghdad was intercepted by Customs officers at Delhi's IGI Airport and seized 1203 grams of assorted yellow metal, silver-coated jewellery, suspected to be gold, from his possession. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson CR Keshavan on Saturday criticised Karnataka Congress MLA Kothur Manjunath for his reported remarks questioning the authenticity of Operation Sindoor, calling an attempt to "defame, discredit and deplorably attack" the Indian armed forces. "Many statements of Congress leaders reflect their anti-armed forces mindset... Through his obnoxious and foul-mouthed statement, Congress MLA Manjunath tried to defame, discredit and deplorably attack the armed forces. He has the audacity to question the authenticity and the legitimacy of Operation Sindoor," CR Keshavan said. Keshavan called Manjunath's remark "unpatriotic" and "anti-national." "His deplorable comments are not just unpatriotic, they are anti-national... But what better do you expect from Congress?" he added. Further targeting Congress, Kesavan said that they have a "history of mocking the armed forces." "Do you expect the Congress party to condemn Manjunath? No, because they have a history of mocking the armed forces... How the Congress Party has failed to stand by the nation and our armed forces will never be forgotten nor forgiven," he said. Meanwhile, the controversy stems from recent comments by Congress MLA Kothur Manjunath, who raised doubts over military action under Operation Sindoor suggesting that it did not deliever. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan. Among the targets were Bhawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish, and Muridke, a key training base of Lashkar. After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. Following the operation, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday participated in the Tiranga Yatra rally held in Ladwa, organised in honour of the Indian armed forces and their recent action under Operation Sindoor. Speaking at the event, CM Saini said, "This was not a war, it was a revenge of the new India. Our forces did not just launch missiles but gave a message that has echoed in America and China as well." Highlighting the government's stance on cross-border terrorism, he added, "This is the strong India of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this is the message our army has given. Whenever Pakistan has tried to give birth to terrorism, our forces have gone inside Pakistan and responded to it." "Prime Minister Modi has given the slogan that 'Now the time has come to destroy the remaining ground of terrorism,'" the Chief Minister Saini stated. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also praised the Indian armed forces for successfully carrying out Operation Sindoor and said that they displayed their bravery and valour and destroyed the terror sites in Pakistan. "Under the leadership of PM Modi, the way Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force displayed their bravery and valour, they destroyed the terror sites and killed more than 100 terrorists....successfully carried out Operation Sindoor...In Uttarakhand, every person from a family is a soldier...all are hitting the streets to thank our Armed Forces," CM Dhami told ANI. He further said that Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra is not a mere rally; it is an opportunity to salute the Indian Armed Forces. "Because of the strong policies and leadership of PM Modi, today against terrorism, we could carry out an important war...'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' is not a mere yatra, it is an opportunity to salute and honour the courage and bravery of the Indian Armed Forces," he added. Earlier today, CM Dhami led the 'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' in Nainital's Haldwani in honour of the Indian Armed Forces and the success of Operation Sindoor. Yesterday, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in which a unanimous congratulatory resolution was passed to the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Ministry of Defence on the unprecedented success of Operation Sindoor. The resolution of the Council of Ministers said, "Operation Sindoor reflects the success of the indomitable courage, immense valour and excellent strategic skills of the Indian Army. This campaign has emerged as a living example of India's sovereignty, security and self-confidence." The Council of Ministers also expressed confidence that this historic military operation will become a source of inspiration for generations to come and will always be marked as a golden chapter in Indian military history. The BJP's 'Tiranga Yatra', which began on May 13, will continue till May 23. The BJP organised the 'Tiranga Yatra' in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Dibrugarh, Srinagar and Odisha. The event has been organised to thank India's Armed Forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of Operation Sindoor. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed, the Indian forces have intensified their operation against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. In retaliation for the terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which precision strikes destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) and eliminated nearly 100 terror operatives at key bases in Pakistan. Among the targets were Bhawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish, and Muridke, a key training base of Lashkar. Following the strikes, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
Reacting to the all-party delegation's visit to different countries, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday expressed his happiness that Prime Minister Narendra Modi heard the opposition demand and said that if he considers the opposition's advice, the solution to many problems can be reached together. "After 26/11 attacks, the then PM Manmohan Singh decided to send delegations to different countries to show the world that Pakistan is a terrorist state and that terrorists are born there...An environment was created in the world that Pakistan is a factory which produces terrorism...During PM Manmohan Singh's tenure, terrorist attacks in J&K kept reducing. The terrorist attacks in 2014 in J&K were less than the later years after 2014," Sibal said, addressing a press conference in the national capital. "After the ceasefire, I demanded that an all-party delegation visit different countries...I am very happy that PM Modi heard the demand of the opposition. I always say that if he considers our advice, the solution to many problems can be reached together," he added. A seven-member all-party delegation is set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month in the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism. The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. In a post on X, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that India stands united, and seven all-party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences," Rijiju posted on X. The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
Asserting that the Congress is "not going to change" the names of four MPs for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries to explain India's stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that this is "dishonest on the government's part." This comes after the government named Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in the list of 7 MPs who would represent India at world forums, where they would brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor. "We were asked for names. We expected that the names we had given would be included. We hoped that the names given by the party would be included. But when we saw the press release of PIB, we were surprised. I cannot say what will happen now. Asking four names, giving four names, and announcing another name is dishonest on the government's part. It is possible that' Mr Rijiju had talked to Rahul ji and Kharge even after the government had made up their mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But what happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names," Jairam Ramesh said. "Yesterday (Tuesday) at 12.30 pm, Rahul ji wrote a letter to Kiren Rijiju and wrote 'Dear Shri Kiren Rijiju, I am writing in follow-up of a conversation with me and Kharge ji regarding the delegation for the Foreign Countries after discussing with Kharge ji I am sending you four names Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Raja Barar and Naseer Hussain'," Ramesh said, giving the details of the letter written to Kiren Rijiju by LoP Rahul Gandhi. Jairam Ramesh asserted that all the people who are in Congress belong to Congress; and that there is a "huge difference between being in Congress and being of Congress." He further said that the Congress party extended their support in everything, but today, when the names were announced, the party was "surprised." "From April 22nd till now we were demanding that an all party meeting be called, 2 meetings were held but it was a formality, PM did not come, Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wrote a letter for a special session should be called, there should be a detailed discussion, the purpose was that we should put our collective resolve in front of the country and the world, PM did not give any answer to this, suddenly we heard that an all party delegation will go, this shows that the narrative of the government has changed, we also welcomed this step, we said that whatever help we have to give in this diplomatic propaganda, we will do it, but the way the minister behaved, names were asked and today he announced it himself, this is not honesty, a game is being played," Jairam Ramesh alleged. He further reminded that in 1971, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent the delegation and said that "in the month of May, the delegation was sent. She called Jai Prakash Narayan and said, 'you should go'. Indira ji herself went to Russia from 27 to 29 September." "Indira ji went to Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, America between 27 October to 12 November in 1971. Indira ji told then US President Richard Nixon that 'I will do whatever is in India's interest'," the Congress leader added. The leader demanded an all-party meeting and a session of Parliament and asked the government stand on Pakistan. "Even today, we demand that an all-party meeting be called, a session of Parliament be called, and the resolution passed on 22 February 1994 be repeated. A discussion should be held on the government's stance on Pakistan and what is relationship with America. Why is the PM running away from the all-party meeting? Why is he running away from the Parliament?" Jairam Ramesh questioned. Earlier today, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the Indian National Congress (INC) has submitted names of four MPs for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries to explain India's stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Curiously, the name of Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was missing from the list that Jairam Ramesh says the Congress submitted to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, named Tharoor in the list of 7 MPs who would represent India at world forums where they would brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor. Tharoor has also accepted the government's proposal. (ANI)
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, while addressing the Arunachal Pradesh Legislators Prashikshan Shivir Camp held in Guwahati, emphasized that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Arunachal Pradesh and the entire North East are rapidly progressing on the path of development. Scindia lauded the young, energetic, and determined legislators present at the event, calling them strong pillars of nation-building. The camp was attended by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, State BJP President Kaling Moyong, BJP leader V. Muraleedharan,Assam Cabinet Minsiter Ashok Singhal and other senior leaders and public representatives according to a press release. "This is not just a training camp--it is an ideological awakening," Scindia expressed his privilege at participating in the training camp of the world's largest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and described it as a platform not just for learning but for ideological reflection rooted in innovation, service, and national interest, the release stated. The Minister said that he considers it a great honour to be entrusted by PM Modi with the responsibility of serving all eight North Eastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh. He praised the innovative and nation-first mindset of the party's leadership - Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh. Scindia shared that the global exposure he has received over the past 5-6 years has been unique and invaluable. He termed the three-day training camp as a source of renewed confidence, direction, and energy, the release added. Referring to 'Operation Sindoor', the Minister remarked that it was not just a routine military action, but a firm resolve of 1.4 billion Indians against terrorism. "Those who tried to wipe away the sindoor of our sisters were wiped off the face of the earth," he said. Quoting PM Modi, he added, "Today, we have a strong and decisive government, and the message to our enemies is clear: a bullet will now be answered with a shell, and a stone with a boulder." "In the past week alone, India has surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy. This is truly Bharat's era," Scindia declared. He added that India is not only rising economically but also spiritually--spreading the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' as its identity and strength. Scindia highlighted the historical significance of the North East, saying it has long been a hub for trade with regions like Indonesia, Mesopotamia, and Europe. "Thousands of years ago, India contributed nearly 25% of the world's GDP. Today, ware reclaiming that glory," he said. The Union Minister noted that under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Pema Khandu, Arunachal Pradesh is scripting a new story of progress. "Today, the state has over 4,285 km of highways, railway connectivity has reached Itanagar, and during my tenure as Civil Aviation Minister, 4 airports have become operational in the state, the release added. He also emphasized that the eight North Eastern states are currently growing at a GDP rate of 12-13%, significantly higher than the national average. At the training camp, Scindia also spoke about various government schemes aimed at empowering women, enhancing public access, and strengthening digital services. He reflected on the organization's grassroots strength and the learnings from the COVID era. He announced that the Rising North East Investment Summit will be held on 23-24 May at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. "This summit is expected to attract investments worth Rs2.5-3 lakh crore for the North East, with Arunachal Pradesh alone projected to receive Rs80,000 crore to Rs1 lakh crore," he said. In conclusion, Scindia said India is leading globally not just in economics but also in innovation, yoga, and spirituality. "Arunachal Pradesh is steadily progressing toward a developed India, with the BJP serving as the driving force behind this transformation." (ANI)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) MP John Brittas on Saturday asserted that his party is "happy" to represent India abroad in the all-party delegation, which is set to visit key partner countries to project India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor. Speaking to ANI, Brittas said that his party is happy to work for the larger cause of the nation. "We are happy to represent India abroad. We are happy to work for the larger cause of the nation...we have our own differences with the government because many of the points which we had put across, like all-party meeting with PM, special Parliament session, were unheard by the government," the CPI-M MP said. Meanwhile, a seven-member all-party delegation is set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month in the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism. The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. Furthermore, on Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor being named to lead an all-party delegation after his name not being proposed by Congress, Brittas said, "Congress's grouse is that they were not consulted before their nominees were decided by the government...In a Parliamentary democracy based on a multi-party system, it would have been desirable if the government had consulted the respective political parties before deciding on their nominees" The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
YSR Congress Party MP Maddila Gurumoorthy on Saturday denounced what he described as "false and politically driven" liquor scam allegations. In a sharply worded statement, the MP accused the TDP Government in Andhra of orchestrating a campaign of vendetta to target former YSRCP officials and damage the image of opposition leaders through what it called "fabricated cases, coerced confessions, and media manipulation." Gurumoorthy said that the present government was misusing mechanisms like the "Red Book Constitution" to launch investigations against past functionaries while ignoring an alleged liquor scam that took place during Naidu's previous tenure as Chief Minister between 2014 and 2019. Citing CID and ACB documents from that period, the YSRCP MP said an FIR had named Naidu as Accused No. 3, with his then Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra and the Excise Commissioner listed as primary accused. "Despite a court-authorised probe, no action has been taken since Chandrababu returned to power. The case has simply been buried," he said. Gurumoorthy alleged that major amendments to the 2012 Excise Policy during the previous TDP regime benefited distilleries linked to party leaders--including SPY Agro, Visakha Distillery, and PMK Distillery--allowing them to evade taxes. He said these changes led to an estimated loss of Rs. 1,300 crore annually to the state exchequer. He also cited documents that showed recommendations for increasing privilege fees were reversed, with official correspondence indicating approval from Naidu's office. The YSRCP further accused the current government of "coercing" statements from former officials like Vasudeva Reddy, ex-Managing Director of the Beverages Corporation, despite his anticipatory bail in four cases. "Employees at lower levels were also detained and pressured into false testimonies," Gurumoorthy alleged. Defending procurement practices under the YSRCP regime, the party maintained that all transactions were routed through bank channels and involved suppliers empanelled during Chandrababu's earlier term. "No Excise Department liquor files ever reached the Chief Minister's Office during YSRCP's rule," the MP said. As per the statement, he also hit out at what he called the "hypocrisy" of the current government, pointing to unfulfilled promises to provide cheaper liquor before the 2024 elections. "Instead of reducing prices, they were increased. Tender processes were manipulated and commissions were extracted, while belt shops mushroomed across the state," he said. The MP claimed that over 80 percent of liquor sales today involve low-cost brands aggressively promoted by the current regime. He also questioned the focus on manual ordering systems, noting that even digital records from the previous regime showed concentration of orders among a few distilleries--allegedly favoring TDP-linked firms. "Rather than addressing the documented Rs. 1,300 crore revenue loss due to the abolition of privilege fees during Naidu's tenure, the current government is fabricating new cases to malign opponents," Gurumoorthy concluded, calling the current probe a diversionary tactic to settle political scores. (ANI)
Reacting to the all-party delegation's visit to different countries, Odisha Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Saturday said that the Union government is doing this to save mankind from the "cancerous disease of terrorism." "The Union government is doing this to strengthen our country's position and create a consciousness regarding terrorism. This will help the globe to save mankind from the cancerous disease of terrorism," the Odisha Minister said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Sandeep Dixit asserted that the Congress has done this before, adding that he has also been a part of such multi-party delegations earlier. "We have done this before as well. On important issues, a group of leaders from all parties always goes abroad to talks... I have also been a part of such multi-party delegations, and wherever we go, we always speak only the brief information given to us by the Indian government," Sandeep Dixit told ANI. A seven-member all-party delegation is set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month in the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism. The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. In a post on X, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that India stands united, and seven all-party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences," Rijiju posted on X. The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Awadhesh Prasad on Saturday expressed his displeasure over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not removing Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah from his post following his controversial remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who was one of the two women officers who briefed the media initially about Operation Sindoor along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. He strongly criticised Shah's statement, stating nothing could have been more insulting than calling Colonel Qureshi the "sister of terrorists." "Nothing could have been more insulting than calling Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who made history, a sister of terrorists. We hoped that such a Minister (MP Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah) would be removed from his post by the MP's Chief Minister," Prasad told ANI. "We hoped that he would be removed from the party for six years. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, their other Minister, the Dy CM of MP, gave a questionable statement about the Army...The High Court should take serious action (against Vijay Shah) and set a judicial example before the country," he added. On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party protested against Shah's remarks by placing a banner outside their office in Lucknow. The banner read, "Sofiya ka apmaan, desh ka apmaan hai. BJP desh se maafi manage" (Insulting Sofiya is an insult to the country. BJP, please manage to apologise to the country). Kunwar Vijay Shah sparked controversy when his speech went viral on social media. In his clarification, Shah said his comments were taken out of context and were meant to praise Colonel Qureshi's bravery. However, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had slammed Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav over his recent remark on Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Air Marshal AK Bharti. Hitting out at Ram Gopal Yadav, CM Yogi shared a post on his official 'X' handle and mentioned that the Army's uniform should not be seen through a "casteist" lens. He said that every soldier of the Indian Army performs national duty and is not a representative of any "caste" or "religion." "The uniform of the army is not seen through a casteist lens. Every soldier of the Indian army performs national duty and is not a representative of any caste or religion", CM Yogi wrote in his 'X' post. Furthermore, CM Yogi highlighted that Ram Gopal Yadav's remarks not only highlight the "narrow-mindedness" of the Samajwadi Party but it is also a "grave insult" to the valour of the army and the country's identity. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra in Haldwani on Saturday. The yatra is dedicated to the success of Operation Sindoor conducted by the Indian Armed Forces and their effectively repelling subsequent aggression by Pakistan. The Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra was organised from the Mini Stadium, Haldwani, to the Shaheed Park. Thousands of citizens including youth, women, ex-servicemen, participated in the padyatra with the Tricolour. The Chief Minister also paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by offering a floral wreath at the Martyrs' place. India conducted Operation Sindoor to strike terror infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Chief Minister saluted the brave soldiers who participated in Operation Sindoor and said that India has once again proved that it is fully capable of taking decisive action against terrorism, an official release said. Dhami said a clear message was given against terrorism and its backers through Operation Sindoor that the New India will now respond to every terrorist attack in its own terms. The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand is the land of the brave and has strong connection with the defence forces. Praising the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said that today India is capable of giving a befitting reply to any terrorist challenge, and the country's borders are being protected with state-of-the-art indigenous technology. He said Indian Army gives a strong reply to cross-border shelling. Dhami said that due to the clear policy and strong leadership of the Prime Minister, India made decisive strike against terrorism. The Chief Minister said that India now takes direct action. The bullets of Indian soldiers now work to destroy terror, terrorism and their masters. "Our forces are always ready to deal with any situation". He said India is always ready to answer challenge of terrorism with unity. He said that after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, the anger in the country regarding the terrorists was felt by the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister took the decision to directly attack the root of terrorism and the defence forces were given a free hand. Without entering Pakistan's border, the Indian forces taught such a lesson to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism that even Pakistan was stunned. Along with destroying the terrorist bases in Pakistan, the Indian Army also directly targeted the military bases after Pakistan aggression. The Chief Minister said that the country is in strong hands under the leadership of PM Modi and defence forces have been strengthened further since 2014. The world is seeing the result of the emphasis that the Prime Minister has laid on making Made in India weapons for strengthening the defence forces, he said. The world has understood India's military strength due to the havoc that Made in India weapons have wreaked on the terrorists. The release said that during the Tiranga Samman Yatra, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami looked very emotional. The Chief Minister said that he also belongs to a military family. He said that he feels proud to be a soldier's son. Remembering the soldiers of Devbhoomi, he said that they contribute to strengthening the defence of the country every fifth soldier among the soldiers protecting the country on the borders belongs to Uttarakhand. (ANI)
In a major crackdown on illegal immigration, the Foreigners Cell of North West District Police apprehended three Bangladeshi women residing illegally in the Mahendra Park area of Delhi. The operation was the result of sustained surveillance and precise technical analysis. Acting on a credible input, officials tracked a Facebook reel posted by one of the suspects, which featured a local ice cream cart and inadvertently revealed nearby buildings. Using this clue, the police painstakingly searched nearly 50 lanes to locate the exact spot seen in the video. A trap was laid in the early hours of May 15, leading to the arrest of the prime suspect, who was posing as a transgender person and known locally as Deepa. According to DCP North West Bhisham Singh, "She confessed to developing a romantic relationship via Facebook with an Indian man, who later facilitated her illegal entry into India through the West Bengal border. The duo then moved to Delhi and started living together in a rented accommodation." Based on further intelligence, two more Bangladeshi nationals were detained. Both women initially claimed to be Indian citizens living with their respective husbands. However, discrepancies in their statements and a thorough check of their belongings--including mobile phones--revealed the truth. Officials recovered two smartphones containing the banned IMO application, allegedly used to stay in touch with their families in Bangladesh, and one keypad mobile phone. During sustained interrogation, all three women admitted to having illegally crossed the border through the Hili and Benapur areas. They had travelled to Delhi by train and were living under false identities while in live-in relationships with Indian partners. The suspects have been sent to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), RK Puram, for deportation proceedings. Further investigation is underway to trace individuals who may have harboured or assisted them in India. (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has congratulated all the students who have successfully cleared the 12th class examination conducted by Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharamshala. Appreciating the meritorious students for their brilliant achievement, the Chief Minister said that it was a testament to their hard work and devotion towards their studies. He said that it reflects the importance of commitment and zeal towards academic pursuits and success in life. He also lauded the efforts of parents, teachers and well-wishers in guiding and supporting the students throughout their academic journey. CM Sukhu encouraged the students to pursue their dreams with passion and determination to achieve new ambitions in their lives. He wished them a bright future in their chosen fields. In a post on X, CM Sukhu said, "Hearty congratulations and best wishes to all the students who have passed the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board 12th examination. This is the pleasant result of hard work done with discipline and honesty throughout the year. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the parents and teachers who supported the success." "Students who could not clear the exam due to some reasons should not be disappointed. From today itself, move towards your goal with full faith and honesty. I am sure that success will surely kiss your feet," he added. CM Sukhu on Thursday, congratulated all students who have successfully passed the class 10th HPBOSE (Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education) exams, the results of which were declared earlier on Saturday. Applauding the meritorious students for their outstanding performance, the Chief Minister said that their achievement was the result of their consistent hard work and dedication towards their studies. He said that the students shall never forget the contribution made by their parents, teachers and their well-wishers in guiding and supporting them throughout their academic journey to achieve success. Additionally, CM Sukhu took to X and wrote, "Hearty congratulations and best wishes to all the students who have passed the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board 10th examination. This achievement is a pleasant and beautiful result of your tireless efforts, determination and discipline." "My heartfelt thanks also go to all the parents and teachers who provided constant guidance and support in this journey," he added, encouraging others, "Students who could not succeed for some reason should not lose heart. Work hard and with dedication to achieve your goal, success will surely kiss your feet." The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education announced the Class 10th exam results on Thursday. This year, 79.8 per cent of students have passed the examination. A total of 117 students made it to the top ten positions, out of which 88 are girls. (ANI)
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the state's IT Minister, D Shridhar Babu, and Women & Child Welfare Minister, Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, launched a Women Acceleration Program (WAP) on Saturday. The program was launched under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP), and Grassroot Youth Innovation Program (GYIP) implemented by WE Hub. The event took place JRC Convention Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana. The event also saw the exchange of 17 MoUs with premier institutions such as National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad, and academia partners such as RGKUT Basara, Gitam University, Govt. Degree College, Godavarikhani and Peddapalli, Tara Degree College, Sangareddy, Mother Theresa Engineering College, and corporates such as HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd, HYSEA, Iconiya, TRD Studios, 1M1MB; and ecosystem partners such as Ag Hub, Nirmaan Foundation. The Women Acceleration Program, supported by the Ministry of MSME, Government of India, and the World Bank, is a flagship initiative under the national RAMP scheme. It aims to accelerate the business growth of around 140 existing women-led MSMEs across Telangana over the next two years. The newly introduced Grassroot Youth Innovation Program (GYIP) is designed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among rural youth in Telangana. The program focuses on equipping young individuals with job readiness skills, mentorship, and hands-on experience, enabling them to become changemakers in their communities. The program will outreach over 6,000 students, 4,000 students to be sensitized, 1,500 to be onboarded onto iLEAP, and 500 to be onboarded to Campuspreneur program. Setting the context of the program at the event, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, ITE&C, said "WAP has been designed with a core objective: to address the key bottlenecks that existing or growth-stage women entrepreneurs typically face while trying to scale their businesses. These challenges include limited access to markets, inadequate exposure to product innovation, and minimal investment readiness. The program seeks to bridge these gaps through comprehensive, hands-on support which will include - Capacity building & business management trainings; Product development & diversification; Machinery upgradation; Financial linkages and private investments; Market access and national & international outreach opportunities, etc. Appreciating WE Hub for its efforts to enable women entrepreneurs, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, in his remarks, said, "WE Hub has been at the forefront of empowering women entrepreneurs in Telangana. The launch of the Women Acceleration Program aligns seamlessly with our government's commitment to inclusive and women-centred development, as envisioned in the Indira Mahila Shakti Mission-2025. This Women Acceleration Program initiative is more than just a program; it is a movement to propel our women entrepreneurs to new heights of success." In the event, Chief Minister Reddy also announced that WE Hub is setting up dedicated District "Women Centres of Excellences" (CoEs) and "Skill Development & Mini Manufacturing Hubs" in multiple districts and soon these Centres/hubs will be launched in Peddapalli, Nalgonda, Vikarabad, and Parakal soon and more Centres or Hubs are going to be set up shortly across districts in the state to decentralize access to entrepreneurship and skill development opportunities for women and youth. "With these new initiatives--from the 'Skill Development and Mini Manufacturing Hubs' in Parkal to the Centres of Excellence in Peddapalli, Nalgonda, to Grassroot Youth Innovation Programs in Godavarikhani and Mulugu, and soon in Vikarabad--we are bringing opportunity right to our women's doorsteps," he said. "These are not just centres; they are engines of transformation. Whether it is starting a business, learning a new skill, or securing a livelihood, our women will no longer have to come to Hyderabad for support. We are building a future where every woman, no matter where she lives, has access to the resources, training, and confidence she needs to rise and lead." IT Minister Babu added: "Our women from rural Telangana have immense untapped potential. Through this program, we are not only unlocking access to capital, markets, and networks for women entrepreneurs, but also building a robust ecosystem where technology, training, and trust converge. With the right support, women can become powerful changemakers in their communities and beyond-and the WAP is a catalyst for that transformation." WE Hub CEO, Sita Pallacholla, extended heartfelt thanks to Chief Minister and IT Minister for launching the Women Acceleration Program and for their unwavering support and motivation. "This initiative stands as a testament to Telangana's progressive and consistent approach to making the state's entrepreneurship ecosystem more enabling and inclusive. By directly addressing the barriers women-led enterprises face, this program is not just fostering growth-it is setting a benchmark. We are confident that this model will inspire and be replicated across other states in India, driving systemic change in how women entrepreneurs are supported and scaled," she remarked. The grand launch event witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 1,000 women entrepreneurs from various districts across Telangana, alongside officials from government departments and key stakeholders from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. A highlight of the event was the exhibition where WE Hub-supported women entrepreneurs set up stalls to showcase their diverse range of products, reflecting the innovation and enterprise fostered through the program. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two absconding members of a sleeper module of banned terror organisation ISIS in a 2023 case related to fabrication and testing of IEDs in Maharashtra's Pune, according to a statement on Saturday. The two men, identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh alias Diaperwala and Talha Khan, were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at the Mumbai International Airport T2 when they tried to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been hiding. The NIA team then took them into custody and arrested them. The next hearing in the case is on May 27, 2025. According to the statement, both accused had been on the run for over two years and were declared proclaimed offenders. The NIA Special Court in Mumbai issued non-bailable warrants against them, and cash rewards of Rs 3 lakh each were also announced for information leading to their arrest. The case relates to a criminal conspiracy by these men, along with eight other ISIS Pune sleeper module members already arrested and in judicial custody. They had conspired to commit terrorist acts to disturb India's peace and communal harmony by waging a war against the Government of India in furtherance of the ISIS agenda to establish Islamic rule in the country through violence and terror. These two men, already chargesheeted along with the other arrested accused, had been engaged in assembling IEDs from a house rented by Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh in Kondhwa, Pune. During the 2022-2023 period, they had also organised and participated in a bomb making and training workshop, besides carrying out a controlled explosion to test an IED fabricated by them, at these premises. NIA, which has been actively investigating the activities of ISIS in India in a bid to foil its violent and nefarious anti-India terrorist plans, had previously chargesheeted all the 10 accused in the case under various sections of UA(P)A, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and IPC. In addition to Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh and Talha Khan, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam were arrested in the case. In court, accused's Advocate Tahira Qureshi argued that the investigation had already been completed, and further custody was "too much." "Fifteen days is too much. Investigation is almost complete," Advocate Qureshi told the court, raising serious concerns over the prolonged detention of the accused. Advocate Qureshi said that Talha's family had been in contact with the NIA and raised objections about procedural lapses. She stated, "Abdullah was never given prior notice," adding that the NIA's claims around the arrest lacked clarity. She further questioned the inconsistencies in the NIA's version. "NIA first said they went to Indonesia to arrest them, but later they showed they were arrested at the airport," she said. Further investigation in the case is underway. (ANI)
Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday alleged that the governments which came to power after the BJP's rule in 1998 did not carry out any developmental work in the rural areas of the national capital. Speaking with the reporters, Verma said, "Earlier, between 1993 and 1998, when there was a BJP government in Delhi, work was done for Delhi's rural areas, but the subsequent governments did not pay attention to it." He added that now the current government has started working on building and improving rural chaupals, community centres, and streets. "Now, the development of rural chaupals, community centres, streets has started. Our priority is that just like the development takes place in New Delhi, the same should happen in Delhi's rural areas as well...," Verma said. Earlier today, the minister visited Delhi's Daulatpur village; ended the farmers' hunger strike in the area and assured them that their demands will be met. Verma took to X and wrote, "In Daulatpur village, I ended the hunger strike of the farmer brothers who were on hunger strike regarding some demands of the village and assured them that I will try every possible solution to their demands. Our government is going to implement Master Plan 2041 soon, and 40 villages of Delhi will now become urban areas, the first registry of Lal Dora will also be completely free." Additionally, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta on Saturday inaugurated a new water pipeline in Singalpur village, located in the Shalimar Bagh area of the national capital. Addressing the public at the event, CM Gupta said, "Till now, we have been paying the liabilities of previous governments. The intention of our government is the welfare of the people. Work should be done in the interest of the people; no work should stop. "She further emphasised her administration's focus on transparency and integrity, stating, "It is the responsibility of the government to do every work with complete transparency and honesty, and we will fulfil it." (ANI)
Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Saturday questioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's claim that 99 per cent of Punjab's villages were drug-free, calling the assertion unrealistic and misleading. In a post on X, Jakhar wrote, "99% - Really Maan Sahib?" directly challenging Mann's statement. Jakhar reacted after CM Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national Convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched the 'Nasha Mukti Yatra' from Jalandhar on Friday and made sweeping claims about the state's success in curbing drug abuse. Meanwhile, while flagging off the campaign, Bhagwant Mann said, "Today in Jalandhar, along with national Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, I started the 'Nasha Mukti Yatra' as part of the 'War against Drugs' campaign. I made people take an oath to not let drugs be sold in their area." He further said that under the campaign, a Gram Sabha would be held in every village and ward of the state, and everyone, including Zila Suraksha Samitis, villagers, health, panchayat and cooperative departments would be involved. "Public participation is extremely important. We appeal to every citizen of the state to participate enthusiastically in this mission so that this holy land of Gurus, Pirs and Martyrs, Punjab, can be made drug-free again," he added. CM Mann praised the people of Jalalpur village for their role in the fight against drugs, stating, "The contribution made by the people of village Jalalpur in the 'war against drug addiction' campaign is highly appreciated." He also announced incentives for such efforts: "We have no dearth of money for those who participate in the Nasha Mukti Abhiyan of Punjab and declare their village drug-free. Special grants will also be given for the development of drug-free villages." Taking a dig at past regimes, Mann said, "The rulers of the previous governments made agreements with drug traffickers and pushed Punjab into the swamp of drugs and made the hearths of the houses cold." He claimed that the AAP government had prepared a roadmap in three years and forced the drug traffickers to flee Punjab in just two months. He added that the government was now working to "root out the remaining seed" of the drug menace. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai along with BJP workers led the 'Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra' in honour of the valour of the Indian armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Speaking at the event, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian soldiers, saying, "Many thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the brave soldiers of our country for the great success of Operation Sindoor." He emphasized the importance of the Operation Sindoor in countering terrorism, particularly in Pahalgam, where Pakistani terrorists brutally targeted civilians based on their religion. He continued, "In Pahalgam, Pakistani terrorists asked people about their religion and then brutally killed them. No condemnation is enough. Our soldiers destroyed the centre of terrorism by conducting Operation Sindoor. We salute the courage and bravery of the country's soldiers." After the Operation Sindoor, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir as well as drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated counter-attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. BJP launched a nationwide Tiranga Yatra on Tuesday. The yatra aims to honour the valour of Indian soldiers and inform citizens about Operation Sindoor's recent success. It will continue until May 23. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also participated in the Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra in Haldwani on Saturday. The yatra is dedicated to the success of Operation Sindoor conducted by the Indian Armed Forces and their effectively repelling subsequent aggression by Pakistan. The Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra was organised from the Mini Stadium, Haldwani, to the Shaheed Park. Thousands of people including youth, women, ex-servicemen, participated in the padyatra with the Tricolour. (ANI)
Renowned author and founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation, Acharya Prashant, recently discussed the significance of Operation 2030 during the launch of the book 'Decoding Success'. The event, which aimed to awaken awareness about the future of humanity, explored how our past, present, and future are deeply interconnected. Responding to a question about Operation 2030, Acharya Prashant said, "All the countries of the Earth have set a target." Since coming into force in 1994, the UNFCCC has served as the foundation for global climate negotiations, leading to significant agreements like the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015 At present, 198 Parties participate in annual meetings to assess progress and forge responses to the climate crisis. "By 2030, we aim to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, we must reduce global carbon emissions by 43 per cent compared to 2019 levels," he said. He elaborated that this target is critical, given the observed trends in climate change and carbon emissions, adding that 2019 levels are used as a benchmark due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these efforts, Prashant cautioned, "Even if we reduce emissions by 43 per cent, the best possible scenario is still a 1.5C rise, which was considered the absolute limit. However, that barrier has already been breached." He revealed that the global temperature rise has already exceeded 1.5C, with some evidence suggesting it has reached 1.7C as of 2025. He began by reflecting on humanity's journey, starting from 1750, "a period when mankind faced immense challenges: poverty, diseases, and a lack of technological progress. Despite existing for millions of years, humans were still struggling to survive with minimal knowledge of the environment and natural resources." Prashant emphasised that during this time, man took on a quest on what he called the 'conquest of nature' to overcome these limitations. The Industrial Revolution, which began around 1750, marked a turning point in this conquest as it unlocked energy sources like coal, and later oil and gas, which fueled industrial progress and material prosperity. However, Prashant noted that while the Industrial Revolution brought prosperity, it also ignited the rapid increase of carbon emissions. From 1750 to the year 2000, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere started to rise exponentially, contributing to global warming and climate change. The scientific evidence linking increased carbon dioxide levels to rising global temperatures has led to the urgent need for climate action. "Man has been feeling more and more successful and more and more emboldened to extract energy from the planet and use it to do any kind of stuff that he pleases, that he chooses to do. But what has been the other side of the story? And wonderfully enough, this story is very parallel, very analogous to what you have here, decoding success," he added. He warned, "This century opens and there are already voices, sane voices, warning against an impending catastrophe. A catastrophe that the younger generations, guys like you are going to face. The problem is those who hoard money, those who accumulate capital, and those who are at the hem of power are usually the older folks." (ANI)
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday called on Turkey to reassess its support for Pakistan, highlighting India's historical ties with Ankara and the fact that "over 200 million honourable Muslims," a far larger number than in Pakistan, live in India. Speaking to ANI, Owaisi also emphasised India's stance against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and its resolve to present the issue on global platforms as part of a multi-party delegation visiting key partner nations. "Turkey must reconsider their stance of supporting Pakistan. We must remind Turkey that there is a bank in Turkey called Isbank, whose earlier depositors were people of India. Turkey has many historical connections with India...We must constantly remind Turkey that more than 200 million honourable Muslims live in India...There are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. The way Pakistan has behaved so far, they have nothing to do with Islam at all...," Owaisi said. Owaisi also criticised the US announcement of cessation of hostilities, arguing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have announced it. "I have said it before, I will say it again, our Prime Minister should have announced the ceasefire, not the US President. Do you know that Pakistan's trade with the US is worth only 10 billion, whereas for India it is over 150 billion. Is it a joke?" Slamming the US, Owaisi asked, "can America guarantee that Pakistan will not carry out terror attacks on us anymore?..." "Pakistan's military will always mess with India. How long will we tolerate this?... How can you trade with Pakistan? They are beggars... We are only expecting this much from the US, that they should designate the TRF (The Resistance Front) as a terrorist organisation...TRF is nothing but a Pakistan-sponsored group of LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba)..." Owaisi, named as part of a delegation to project India's fight against cross-border terrorism and highlight Operation Sindoor, stressed the importance of the mission. "This is not about any party affiliation... We will have a more detailed meeting before leaving... This is an important task. I will try my best to fulfil this responsibility well. As of now, I know that the group I belong to will be headed by my good friend Baijayant Jay Panda. I think this group will include Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma, Satnam Singh Sandhu, and Ghulam Nabi Azad. The countries I think we'll be going to are the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Denmark," he said. He further added, "We are representing the government of India and our country... We are going to those countries to tell how our daughters are getting widowed, our children are being orphaned, and how Pakistan wants to destabilise our country. We are the fifth-largest economy. If there is destabilisation in India, it will affect the whole world... Never forget that 21 civilians have also been killed (in cross-border shelling). Four children were killed in Pooch. Five of our jawans were killed. We will present all this to the countries... We will present the Indian government's vision to the best of our capability." The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
The last respects were paid to CRPF officer Maharabam Prabo Singh on Saturday, who lost his life after being struck by lightning during an anti-Maoist operation on May 15 in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. As per officials, Second Commandant of CRPF's 26th Battalion M Probo Singh was killed while three others were injured after lightning struck the jawans involved in anti-Naxal operations under Chotanagra Police Station area of the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Among the three injured jawans, one is an assistant commandant of the CRPF identified as Subir Kumar Mandal, while two others include Suresh Bhagat and Chandlal Hansda, are jawans of the Chaibasa Police. Meanwhile, the CRPF conducted the last rites of a two-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Rolo, part of the force's elite canine squad who lost her life after she was attacked by a swarm of bees during a major anti-Naxal operation in the Karreguttalu hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. She was declared dead on April 27, 2025, with the cause of death being anaphylactic shock following 200 bee stings. K9 Rolo, born on 05/04/2023, was trained in infantry patrolling, explosive detection and assault at DBTS in batch sl. No. 80, subsequent to which it was deployed for Anti-Naxal duties in 228 Bn, CRPF in the month of April 2024. During the special operation at KGH, while K9 along with other troops were carrying out an intensive search operation, a sudden attack by a huge swarm of honey bees led them in surprise. Handlers of K9 Rolo covered her with a polythene sheet to avoid being stung by the bees but it went in vain as the huge swarm of bees slipped inside the cover and stung K9 Rolo who then, due to intense pain and irritation, got out of the cover, becoming vulnerable to more stings. Resultantly, K9 Rolo suffered around 200 bee stings, which made her unconscious. An immediate medical evacuation was performed. Emergency treatment was given by the handlers. However, K9 Rolo succumbed to the pain and suffering and was declared brought dead by the veterinarian, as per the CRPF. To achieve the goal of eliminating Naxalism by March 26, 2026, the security forces have been conducting the biggest ever operation, 'Operation Black Forest' to break the backbone Naxals near Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. The 21-day long operation carried out by the joint forces of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police between April 21 to May 11 neutralised 31 Naxals carrying a bounty of Rs 1.72 crore. (ANI)
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday launched the 'e-Rupi' system based on modern technology at the Secretariat. On this occasion, while launching four ambitious agricultural policies (Kiwi Policy, Dragon Fruit, Apple Post-Harvest Harvesting Scheme and Millet Mission) to give a new direction to the agricultural system of the state, he said that the government will soon prepare a Flower and Honey Policy in the state. Addressing the program, the Chief Minister said that the e-Rupi system is a new initiative for the food producers of the state. The e-Rupi system will become a new medium of transparent, fast and middleman-free digital payment for farmers. Under this system, the subsidy amount received by the farmers in the pilot projects will be sent directly to their mobile through e-voucher (SMS or QR code), which they will be able to use to buy fertilisers, seeds, medicines, etc. from authorised centres or vendors. For the successful implementation of the e-Rupi system, the Chief Minister directed the officials to organize training programs in every village and make the farmers aware, so that they can take proper advantage of this technology. The objective of all these initiatives is to strengthen agriculture and employment in the hilly and plain areas of the state, so that problems like migration can also be effectively controlled. These schemes will prove to be a milestone in making Uttarakhand a self-reliant, strong and leading agricultural state. "All these schemes will promote agricultural diversity of the state and will become the basis for increasing the income of farmers," CM Dhami said on the launch of four agricultural schemes. Earlier today, CM Dhami participated in the Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra in Haldwani, in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The yatra was dedicated to the success of Operation Sindoor conducted by the Indian Armed Forces and their effectively repelling subsequent aggression by Pakistan. The Tiranga Shaurya Samman Yatra was organised from the Mini Stadium, Haldwani, to the Shaheed Park. Thousands of citizens including youth, women, ex-servicemen, participated in the padyatra with the Tricolour. The Chief Minister also paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by offering a floral wreath at the Martyrs' place. India conducted Operation Sindoor to strike terror infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Chief Minister saluted the brave soldiers who participated in Operation Sindoor and said that India has once again proved that it is fully capable of taking decisive action against terrorism, an official release said. (ANI)
Jyoti Rani, daughter of Hisar resident Haris Kumar, was interrogated for allegedly passing information to the Pakistani side. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information.

Hisar DSP Kamaljeet said the police has taken the woman on five-day remand. She has been booked under Official Secret Act and relevant sections of BNS.

The DSP said police received "some suspicious things" from her mobile and laptop.

"Yesterday, based on inputs that we had, we arrested Jyoti, daughter of Haris Kumar, under the Official Secret Act and BNS 152. We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. We have taken her on a 5-day remand, and further investigation is on. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen," Kamaljeet said.

During the preliminary investigation, the woman told the police that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. She later travelled to Pakistan. (ANI)
BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya expressed his pride to be part of the delegation visiting key partner countries to project India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor. He said that the objective of the all-party delegation is to isolate Pakistan and showcase it as a terror state. Samik Bhattacharya said, "It is important to spread global awareness about Pakistan's cross-border terrorism and under which conditions we had to conduct Operation Sindoor. Many countries apart from India suffer due to terrorism and it is important to look at Pakistan as a terror state. Our aim is to isolate Pakistan. We don't have any problem with the Pakistani citizens... We want to treat them as our own citizens... Our attack was targeted and not for Pakistani civilians... Terror should be killed before it kills." He further said that the Indian government selected him for this role was a matter of pride for him. "What we will interact with the people is the matter of the External Affairs Ministry, and whatever our role will be, we will try to fulfil it," he further added. The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. Samik Bhattacharya will be part of the delegation that will visit Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. The All-Party Delegation will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism. Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Lal on Saturday said that Indian lawmakers will visit partner countries to highlight how Pakistan has long sponsored terrorist attacks against India and to present facts about Operation Sindoor. "I have been told that in my group, along with other leaders, Supriya Sule and Anurag Thakur will be going. We will be going to Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa. MEA will inform us further. We will put forth our views to show how our neighbouring country continues to sponsor terrorist attacks against us for so long..." Brij Lal added. Brij Lal also said the response through Operation Sindoor was targeted and restrained, unlike Pakistan's approach. Brij Lal, who is part of one of the seven all-party delegations, said, "...while Pakistan persists in spreading false narratives, inciting fear, and sponsoring terrorist activities, our response through Operation Sindoor was marked by precision and restraint. The operation was strictly limited to necessary targets, with utmost care taken to avoid civilian casualties. In stark contrast, Pakistan deliberately targeted our civilian population, going as far as orchestrating the killing of an IAS officer in Kashmir." He also said that acommittee has now been formed with members from all political parties. I am part of that committee, which will be visiting Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also said the central government has taken the initiative to send an all-party delegation to key partner countries to highlight India's ongoing fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor. "The central government has taken this initiative to put an end to the narrative being created by Pakistan by making baseless allegations against India," Chaturvedi said. She further said that, "The delegation aims to project India's position on terrorism and counter false narratives internationally." CPI-M MP John Brittas said, " We are happy to represent India abroad. We are happy to work for the larger cause of the nation...we have our own differences with the govt because many of the points which we had put across, like all-party meeting with PM, special Parliament session, were unheard by the govt...Congress's grouse is that they were not consulted before their nominees were decided by the govt...In a Parliamentary democracy based on a multi-party system, it would have been desirable if the govt had consulted the respective political parties before deciding on their nominees." A seven-member all-party delegation is set to visit key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month in the context of Operation Sindoor and India's continued fight against cross-border terrorism. The following Members of Parliament will lead the seven delegations: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, JDU leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP leader Baijayant Panda, DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde. In a post on X, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that India stands united, and seven all-party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations. "In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united. Seven All-Party Delegations will soon visit key partner nations, carrying our shared message of zero tolerance to terrorism. A powerful reflection of national unity above politics, beyond differences," Rijiju posted on X. The All-Party Delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's strong message of zero tolerance against terrorism.Members of Parliament from different parties, prominent political personalities, and distinguished diplomats will be part of each delegation. The tour is expected to last 10 days, commencing on May 23. The parliamentarians' groups are likely to visit several key world capitals, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Japan. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India's precision strikes in Pakistan and PoJK on May 7 killed over 100 terrorists. (ANI)
The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam police busted a racket of Fake SIM cards and arrested seven people on Saturday. The entire operation, Operation Ghost SIM, launched by the Assam Police STF, was led by STF Chief Dr Partha Sarathi Mahanta. Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh on Saturday said that, information was received from Gajraj Military Intelligence about a racket involving fake SIM cards, operating with bases in Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana. "This information was further developed into actionable input by the Special Branch and Special Task Force of Assam Police. Therefore, after strategic deliberation, an operation was planned to be carried out simultaneously in two districts of Assam and Rajasthan and one district in Telangana. The operation has been named Operation GHOST SIM. On May 14, a case was registered at STF, Assam, under Sections 61(2)/147 /148/62 of BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA (BNS), read with Section 18 of the UA(P) Act and Section 66 of the IT Act, and an investigation was launched," Harmeet Singh said. The Assam DGP further said that, accordingly, a team was dispatched to each of the states-Rajasthan and Telangana-while dedicated action teams were formed for the districts of Dhubri and Morigaon in Assam. "The operation was launched from the afternoon on May 16 and the seven persons picked up from various locations and arrested in connection with the above mentioned case," the Assam DGP said. As per DGP Singh, the SIM cards were "not only used for cyber but also for anti-national activities". He further added that the "numbers have been shared across and are being used by anti-national elements and inimical elements across to use WhatsApp accounts that look as if they are India-based". The arrested persons have been identified as Saddik (47 years old) of Bela in Bharatpur, Rajasthan; Arif Khan (aged 20) and Sajid (aged 21) from Sahori in Alwar, Rajasthan; Akeek (aged 25) from Rojki, Bharatpur, in Rajasthan; Arsad Khan (aged 34) of Pendka in Bharatpur, Rajasthan; Mofijul Islam (aged 19), a resident of Kathaldi, in Dhubri, Assam; and Jakariya Ahmad (aged 24) from Sagunmari in Dhubri, Assam. The Assam DGP further said that, besides the arrested persons 14 more persons have been picked up from different places of Dhubri and necessary lawful action will be taken after proper interrogation. So far the STF of Assam police recovered 948 numbers of SIM card and other technical devices. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
According to CPRO, Central Railway, the train is currently undergoing a thorough inspection at Platform No. 5, Khandwa, by the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), Civil Police, and Dog Squad.

The police reported that message received from GRP Bhopal Control, the area has been cordoned off, and all necessary precautions are being implemented to avert any untoward incident.

A progress report is expected to follow as the situation develops.

Central Railway authorities are ensuring utmost vigilance to ensure passenger safety. (ANI)
As part of an ongoing crackdown on undocumented immigrants, Delhi Police have deported 21 illegal Bangladeshi nationals and arrested five others, including three transgender individuals who were recently apprehended in the Mahendra Park area for residing illegally and engaging in begging and other unlawful activities, officials said on Saturday. DCP North West Delhi Bhisham Singh said, "Our team has been working on illegal immigrants for a long time. Under this campaign, we have deported 21 illegal Bangladeshis. 2 cases have been registered, and we have also arrested 5 Bangladeshis. Now, we have caught 3 transgender Bangladeshis. Their main job is to beg at traffic signals and they do many illegal activities." "They do not have any criminal background in India. They crossed the border and came to Bangladesh by train. One of the illegal Bangladeshis was in touch with an Indian through Facebook. They had a live-in relationship after she came to India. The other two also stayed in the same area. The Foreigners Cell of North West District Police apprehended three Bangladeshi women residing illegally in the Mahendra Park area of Delhi. The operation was the result of sustained surveillance and precise technical analysis. Acting on a credible input, officials tracked a Facebook reel posted by one of the suspects, which featured a local ice cream cart and inadvertently revealed nearby buildings. Using this clue, the police painstakingly searched nearly 50 lanes to locate the exact spot seen in the video. A trap was laid in the early hours of May 15, leading to the arrest of the prime suspect, who was posing as a transgender person and known locally as Deepa. According to DCP North West Bhisham Singh, "She confessed to developing a romantic relationship via Facebook with an Indian man, who later facilitated her illegal entry into India through the West Bengal border. The duo then moved to Delhi and started living together in a rented accommodation." Based on further intelligence, two more Bangladeshi nationals were detained. Both women initially claimed to be Indian citizens living with their respective husbands. However, discrepancies in their statements and a thorough check of their belongings--including mobile phones--revealed the truth. Officials recovered two smartphones containing the banned IMO application, allegedly used to stay in touch with their families in Bangladesh, and one keypad mobile phone. During sustained interrogation, all three women admitted to having illegally crossed the border through the Hili and Benapur areas. They had travelled to Delhi by train and were living under false identities while in live-in relationships with Indian partners. The suspects have been sent to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), RK Puram, for deportation proceedings. Further investigation is underway to trace individuals who may have harboured or assisted them in India. (ANI)
Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapoor has addressed the recent arrests of suspected spies in the districts of Panipat, Kaithal, and Hisar, stating that these arrests were the result of increased vigilance and heightened surveillance in the wake of recent national security concerns. In a statement to the media, Kapoor underlined that the suspected spies had been active for some time, but their activities were exposed due to the intensified monitoring and improved intelligence-sharing mechanisms. "After the Operation Sindoor and the major incident in Pahalgam, the situation that developed led to the exposure of such individuals. It's not that they weren't active before; they were working earlier as well, but now these people have been caught. This is also a result of the increased vigilance, and the heightened surveillance has led to better information reaching our intelligence agencies," Kapoor said. He further added that the atmosphere, resembling that of a war, has led to an uptick in such activities. However, the state police and intelligence agencies have been quick to respond. "In this war-like atmosphere, their activities have increased, and as a result, they have been caught. Strict action will be taken against all of them, and if any such information comes to us from central agencies or our state agencies, immediate action will be taken, and legal proceedings will be initiated against them," Kapoor warned. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also addressed the issue, confirming that strict action is being taken against the arrested suspects. "They are being subjected to strict action," Saini stated. Meanwhile, CM Saini earlier participated in the Tiranga Yatra in Buhavi village, Kurukshetra. According to a release, while speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said that the higher leadership had issued orders to hold Tiranga Yatra in every village, city, and locality of the country. Following that directive, similar yatras are being conducted in Haryana as well. The entire country stands with the army and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He strongly condemned some leaders who made adverse comments about army officers and their daughters, saying such statements were unbecoming. Regarding the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, he said that our army crushed the perpetrators within hours. On the issue of water, the Chief Minister took a strong dig at Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. He said, "It is our tradition to offer water to any guest that comes to our home. Punjab is the land of great Gurus and Sages, and they have always preached the message of humanity. But the direction Bhagwant Mann has chosen, the people of Punjab will certainly give him an answer in the near future." (ANI)
Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday once again summoned the wrestler who had accused former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment when she was a minor. The complainant has been called to record/verify her statement in the POCSO case. Additional Sessions Judge Gomti Manocha has scheduled the next hearing for May 26. The Delhi Police had previously filed a cancellation report after the minor victim withdrew her statement. During court proceedings on August 1, 2023, the complainant and her father expressed satisfaction with the police investigation and did not oppose the closure report in the case against the former WFI president. The case was originally lodged based on a complaint by a then-minor woman wrestler. Following the retraction of the victim's statement, Predecessor Special POCSO Judge Chhavi Kapoor deferred the final order several times. Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava earlier informed the media that both the complainant and her father had appeared before the court, confirming their satisfaction with the police investigation and not challenging the cancellation report filed by the Delhi Police. The Delhi Police had filed the cancellation report on June 15, 2023, in the POCSO case against Singh. On July 4, 2023, the Patiala House Court issued a notice to the complainant and her father. The report, spanning over 500 pages, was filed under the POCSO Act. In another related case, a charge sheet was filed in Rouse Avenue Court regarding allegations of sexual harassment against Singh and Vinod Tomar. The court has ordered charges to be framed against both individuals, directing the trial to commence and statements from prosecution witnesses to be recorded. The proceedings were initiated against Singh and Tomar under sections 354, 354A, and 354D of the IPC for sexual harassment, and against Tomar under sections 109, 354, 354A, and 506 IPC. Delhi Police confirmed that after completing the investigation, the police had filed a charge sheet in Rouse Avenue Court in the sexual harassment case against Singh and Tomar. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a former BJP MP, has consistently rejected the allegations made against him by the wrestlers. (ANI)
The Joint Committee on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, conducted extensive consultations with key stakeholders in Maharashtra regarding the feasibility and implications of One Nation One election (ONOE), according to an official statement. The Committee held in-depth discussions with officials from the Maharashtra State Government, senior state bureaucrats, and representatives of national and regional political parties. The deliberations focused on the potential administrative and economic impact of holding simultaneous elections. Senior state officials assured the Committee that a thorough study would be undertaken to assess the broader outcomes, particularly in sectors such as education, the statement said. During the visit, the Committee also met with representatives of political parties in Maharashtra, including Prithviraj Chavan, former Chief Minister of the state. Party representatives shared their views on constitutional, logistical, and related challenges associated with simultaneous elections. The statement added that in a separate session, the Committee interacted with officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to understand the implications of unsynchronised elections on monetary policy. RBI officials informed the Committee that a comprehensive study would be conducted to evaluate the effects of simultaneous elections on policy formulation and economic uncertainty caused by frequent electoral cycles. The Committee also engaged with representatives from major financial institutions, including the State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC), and NABARD. The discussions centred on the potential impact of simultaneous elections on the country's banking sector and credit culture. These institutions assured the Committee that, under the aegis of the Indian Banks' Association, a holistic study would be initiated and its findings submitted to the Committee. The Joint Committee aims to incorporate these insights into its report, guiding the way forward on the complex issue of electoral reforms and the feasibility of simultaneous elections in India, the statement added. (ANI)
As cybercrime emerges as a global challenge, under the leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, India is taking resolute action using advanced technology to curb cybercrime and apprehend cybercriminals. In Gujarat, under the leadership of CM Bhupendra Patel and guidance of MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi, Gujarat Police made remarkable progress using awareness campaigns, modern tools, and expert teams. The state budget also includes special provisions for establishing a state-of-the-art Cyber Excellence Center. According to release, in the past 15 days, cybercrime teams of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara, along with the State Cyber Crime Cell, have solved 12 major cases and arrested individuals involved in Chinese cyber gangs and digital arrest frauds. On May 16, 2025, Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch arrested six members of a Chinese-run cybercrime gang operating from Cambodia and Nepal. They had hacked the ICICI Bank account of one Pranay Bhavsar, conducting transactions worth Rs48.85 lakh, and kept him captive in a Nepal hotel for six days, committing crimes like digital arrest, investment fraud, and Telegram task fraud. Over 200 complaints are registered against the accused on the NCCRP portal. In another case dated May 14, 2025, Janak Bhalala and Bhavesh Borad were arrested in Surat for defrauding a woman of Rs14.94 lakh through digital arrest by impersonating Mumbai Cyber Crime officials. Dilip Jagani, involved in seven cyber fraud cases including fake documents and scams, was also arrested. He collaborated with Cambodian-Chinese nationals from Nepal to launder money through bank accounts. On May 2, 2025, Anilbhai Kheni (age 35) was arrested for cyber fraud using POS machines to withdraw Dirhams from Dubai. Devices including 4 mobiles, 5 debit cards, and 12 SIM cards were seized. On May 7, 2025, Rahul Chaudhary (age 28) was arrested for a Rs9.3 lakh forex trading fraud using a fake investment app on Instagram. On May 15, 2025, Amitkumar and Sumeetkumar Thakur from Delhi were arrested for a Rs98.85 lakh insurance fraud by impersonating insurance companies. On May 16, 2025, Parth Gopani (age 22, Nepal) was arrested at Lucknow Airport for defrauding a 90-year-old senior citizen of Rs1.15 crore by impersonating a CBI/ED officer. On the same day, Krunalsingh Sisodiya (age 21, Ahmedabad) was arrested for digitally arresting a senior citizen and defrauding him of Rs22 lakh via a fake video call posing as a CBI officer. On May 3, 2025, Raghuveersinh Chauhan was arrested at the Gujarat-Maharashtra border for financial fraud via fake profiles. On May 2, 2025, action was taken against 9 social media influencers for promoting illegal online gambling websites. As of May 2025, Rs1.01 crore was refunded from a total of Rs2.71 crore in fraud cases. In one case, a digital arrest fraudster was caught in Pune after transferring Rs50 lakh across 15+ bank accounts. Based on a complaint in Vadodara by Hasman Gupta, investigations were launched into illegal streaming services (BOSIPTV and IPTV) causing revenue loss to Indian TV channels. These successful operations by Gujarat Police are the result of advanced technology and dedicated efforts. With a zero-tolerance policy towards cybercrime, the Government of Gujarat continues to set new benchmarks in the fight against digital fraud. (ANI)
In a major operation underscoring the Border Security Force's (BSF) unwavering commitment to national security, BSF troops under the Meghalaya Frontier, acting on specific intelligence, successfully intercepted and apprehended one Bangladeshi national while he was attempting to illegally cross the international border, officials said on Saturday. During the operation, alert troops of the 4th Battalion detected suspicious movement along the border and promptly acted, leading to the apprehension of a Bangladeshi national, a resident of Pirojpur District, Bangladesh, PRO, BSF Meghalaya said in a release. He was handed over to the Pynursla Police Station in East Khasi Hills for further legal action. The BSF remains vigilant and continues to maintain a high level of operational readiness along the Indo-Bangladesh border to ensure the safety and security of the nation, the release added. Earlier, in two separate operations along the India-Bangladesh border, the BSF Meghalaya Frontier intercepted and apprehended five Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross into India illegally on May 4. According to a release, BSF troops, acting on specific intelligence, successfully intercepted and apprehended five individuals attempting to illegally cross the international border. In a special operation conducted by the troops of the 193rd Battalion, two Bangladeshi nationals, residents of Sunamganj District, were apprehended along the international border in the East Khasi Hills district. They revealed that they had crossed the border in search of job opportunities in India. Both individuals were handed over to PS Dangar for further legal action. In another operation, vigilant troops of the 50th Battalion detected suspicious movement along the border and promptly acted, leading to the apprehension of three Bangladeshi nationals resident of Pabna, Sherpur and Kishoreganj District. Further inquiry revealed that the trio had been working as tailors in a garment factory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They were handed over to the Mahendraganj Police Station in West Garo Hills for further legal proceedings. These successful operations underscore BSF Meghalaya's unwavering commitment to national security and its relentless efforts to prevent illegal activities such as smuggling and infiltration. Earlier, the Border Security Force (BSF) Meghalaya successfully intercepted and apprehended four Bangladeshi nationals, including one tout, attempting to infiltrate into Indian territory near the International Border in South Garo Hills, as per a statement. Acting on specific intelligence regarding illegal crossings in the region, troops from the 200th Battalion BSF swiftly alerted Baghmara MCP and launched an operation. During the operation, BSF personnel intercepted a Tata Winger vehicle suspected of facilitating the illegal crossing. Upon thorough inspection, four Bangladeshi nationals, including a tout, were apprehended, and the vehicle was seized. (ANI)
Haris Malhotra, father of the woman arrested by Haryana Police on charges of spying, has said that his daughter visited Pakistan to shoot videos for YouTube and demanded return of phones taken by police. He said police has taken their bank documents, phone, laptop, and passport. He said his daughter used to visit Delhi and had been in Hisar for the last four-five days. "She used to visit Pakistan and other places to shoot videos for YouTube," Haris Malhotra told ANI. He said she went to Pakistan after getting necessary permissions. "If she has some friends there, can't she call them? I have no demands, but give us our phones. A case has been registered against us," he said. Haryana Police arrested Jyoti Rani from Hisar for allegedly spying for Pakistani agencies. Jyoti Rani was interrogated for allegedly passing information to the Pakistani side. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information. She was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. Hisar DSP Kamaljeet said the police has taken the woman on five-day remand. She has been booked under Official Secret Act and relevant sections of BNS. The DSP said police received "some suspicious things" from her mobile and laptop. "Yesterday, based on inputs that we had, we arrested Jyoti, daughter of Haris Kumar, under the Official Secret Act and BNS 152. We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. We have taken her on a 5-day remand, and further investigation is on. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen," Kamaljeet said. During the preliminary investigation, the woman told the police that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. She also told the police that after exchanging numbers, she started talking to Ahsan-ur-Rahim and travelled twice to Pakistan. Officials said the woman also told during investigation that she met an individual, known to Ahsan-ur-Rahim, who arranged for her stay and travel and arranged meetings with Pakistani security and intelligence agencies. (ANI)
Conference on Chinese tea culture held in Benin

Xinhua) 13:55, May 17, 2025

A student from the Confucius Institute demonstrates Chinese tea art at the Chinese Cultural Center in Cotonou, Benin, May 15, 2025.(Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

COTONOU, May 16 (Xinhua) -- A conference dedicated to Chinese tea culture was held on Thursday at the Chinese Cultural Center in Cotonou, Benin's economic capital, ahead of the International Tea Day.

The event brought together nearly 150 participants, including Beninese officials, students from the Confucius Institute in Abomey-Calavi University, and enthusiasts of Chinese culture.

The conference aimed to highlight the richness of the art of tea, which is deeply rooted in Chinese history and philosophy, organizers said.

In his opening remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Benin Zhang Wei noted that "traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" were inscribed in 2022 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"For thousands of years, tea has transcended the category of beverage to become a unique way of life and a cultural symbol," said Zhang, expressing his hope that the conference, along with a tea ceremony demonstration and tasting session, would help Beninese participants gain a deeper understanding of this oriental tradition.

Julien Segbo, co-director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Abomey-Calavi and keynote speaker at the event, gave an overview of the history of tea, its various types, and the cultural values reflected in the tea ceremony. He also emphasized the beverage's influence on Chinese literature and art.

"For Chinese scholars and artists, tea preparation and tasting have long been a source of inspiration," said Segbo, who has conducted extensive research on Chinese culture.

The event continued with a tea ceremony demonstration by students from the Confucius Institute, followed by a tea-tasting session where attendees shared their personal experiences.

"I appreciate Chinese tea not only for its delicate aroma but also for its slightly bitter taste," said Modeste Tossa, an enthusiast of the Chinese language and culture.

Beyond its artistic significance, tea also plays an important role in promoting health and well-being, she added.

A student from the Confucius Institute (R) and a staff member demonstrate Chinese tea art at the Chinese Cultural Center in Cotonou, Benin, May 15, 2025.(Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

A student from the Confucius Institute demonstrates Chinese tea art at the Chinese Cultural Center in Cotonou, Benin, May 15, 2025.(Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Congress MP Manickam Tagore alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sidelined the Opposition, and prior to 2014, Prime Ministers upheld Parliamentary dignity by consulting the Leader of Opposition for national delegations. This comes after an all-party delegation is set to visit key partner countries to highlight India's ongoing fight against cross-border terrorism and Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, Manickam Tagore shared, "Since Independence, PMs upheld Parliamentary dignity by consulting LoPs for national delegations. But post-2014, Modi has sidelined the Opposition, destroying established norms. Why this arrogance? Why break democratic traditions that united India globally?" Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the government for not accepting all the names given by Congress party, and said that this is "dishonest on the government's part." The government named Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in the list of seven MPs who would represent India at world forums, where they would brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor. Jairam Ramesh asserted that the Congress is "not going to change" the names of four MPs for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries to explain India's stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. "We were asked for names. We expected that the names we had given would be included. We hoped that the names given by the party would be included. But when we saw the press release of PIB, we were surprised. I cannot say what will happen now. Asking four names, giving four names, and announcing another name is dishonest on the government's part. It is possible that' Mr Rijiju had talked to Rahul ji and Kharge even after the government had made up their mind, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But what happened is dishonest. We are not going to change these four names," Jairam Ramesh said. "Yesterday (Tuesday) at 12.30 pm, Rahul ji wrote a letter to Kiren Rijiju and wrote 'Dear Shri Kiren Rijiju, I am writing in follow-up of a conversation with me and Kharge ji regarding the delegation for the Foreign Countries after discussing with Kharge ji I am sending you four names Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Raja Barar and Naseer Hussain'," Ramesh said, giving the details of the letter written to Kiren Rijiju by LoP Rahul Gandhi. Jairam Ramesh asserted that all the people who are in Congress belong to Congress; and that there is a "huge difference between being in Congress and being of Congress." He further said that the Congress party extended their support in everything, but today, when the names were announced, the party was "surprised." "From April 22nd till now we were demanding that an all party meeting be called two meetings were held but it was a formality, PM did not come, Leaders of Opposition Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wrote a letter for a special session should be called, there should be a detailed discussion, the purpose was that we should put our collective resolve in front of the country and the world, PM did not give any answer to this, suddenly we heard that an all party delegation will go, this shows that the narrative of the government has changed, we also welcomed this step, we said that whatever help we have to give in this diplomatic propaganda, we will do it, but the way the minister behaved, names were asked and today he announced it himself, this is not honesty, a game is being played," Jairam Ramesh alleged. Earlier today, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the Indian National Congress (INC) has submitted names of four MPs for the government's proposed delegations to foreign countries to explain India's stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Curiously, the name of Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was missing from the list that Jairam Ramesh says the Congress submitted to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, named Tharoor in the list of seven MPs who would represent India at world forums where they would brief world leaders on Operation Sindoor. Tharoor has also accepted the government's proposal. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has officially released NEP Ennum Madhayaanai ("The National Education Policy 2020: A Rogue Elephant"), a book that critiques the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The book, authored by Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, critically examines the implications of the NEP on India's education system. In his speech, Stalin also expressed his concerns about the National Education Policy, accusing the Central government of attempting to "saffronise" education. He criticised the NEP for its potential to dismantle the reservation system and undermine India's pluralistic culture. He said, "The battle between the Dravidian and saffron models has been ongoing for two thousand years. Knowledge is our weapon. The NEP will destroy reservations. Only as long as reservation exists can the oppressed and the backward communities access higher education. The NEP will also dismantle our pluralistic culture. The Union Home Minister himself has said that Sanskrit will grow because of the NEP. The true intent behind the National Education Policy is to destroy regional languages like Tamil. The only way to resist this is to bring education into the State List. The Union government is engaging in coercive actions against state governments. For the sake of empty politics, the Union Government has withheld funds that rightfully belong to the Tamil Nadu Government." CM Stalin shared his personal connection with the author, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. "Anbil Mahesh is the son of my dear friend. Both Udhayanidhi Stalin and Mahesh have grown before my eyes, and seeing their exceptional performance fills me with pride," he remarked. Stalin reflected on the long-standing friendship between their families, recalling the late Anbil Dharmalingam and Poyyamozhi's enduring legacy in Tamil Nadu's political history. "Even today, thinking of Poyyamozhi brings tears to my eyes. When I heard of his passing, I rushed from Theni, overwhelmed with emotion. His death felt like losing one of my own children," Stalin recalled. Praising Anbil Mahesh for his work in the School Education Department, Stalin highlighted the various initiatives introduced by the Minister, including "Education at Your Doorstep," "Model Schools," "Hi-Tech Schools," and international programmes for students and teachers. "Anbil Mahesh's leadership has truly marked a golden era for education in Tamil Nadu," Stalin stated. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also spoke at the event, describing the book as a timely and crucial contribution. "This book reveals the reality of the NEP and its many drawbacks," Udhayanidhi said. "Just like a rogue elephant causing destruction without realising it, the NEP is damaging our nation. Our Chief Minister has been leading the charge to protect education for all." At the release event, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, received the first copy of the book. The event also saw participation from former Supreme Court Judge Justice V. Gopala Gowda, former ISRO Director Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, along with key DMK leaders. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, seeks to upgrade India's education system, with the aim of implementing a slew of reforms. (ANI)
Parts of Odisha continued to reel under intense heat as Sambalpur and Sundargarh recorded the highest temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). As per the MeT Department, "Temperatures were expected to remain normal in many regions for the next three to four days, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds were likely to hit several places over four to five days." The IMD notified the public to remain cautious, "Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty wind activities would also occur in some places during four to five days. " While Kandhamal district recorded the highest amount of rainfall, many other regions of Odisha stayed dry and hot. The IMD also confirmed that local weather conditions would continue to vary, with brief spells of rain and storm activity expected to bring temporary relief in certain pockets. The IMD asked residents, especially those in open areas or rural zones, to take necessary precautions during thunderstorms and follow local authorities' updates. Meanwhile, the Southwest Monsoon has further advanced over some more parts of south Arabian Sea, Maldives and Comorin area, South Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of Andaman Islands and some parts of eastcentral Bay of Bengal. According to India Meteorological Department, conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon over some more parts of south Arabian Sea, Maldives & Comorin area, South Bay of Bengal, central Bay of Bengal, and some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal during next three-four days. IMD Scientist Dr Naresh Kumar told ANI that the temperature has risen to 45 degrees at some places in Northwest India. "We assume that for the next four-five days, some areas of Rajasthan will see heatwave, Uttar Pradesh will also see heatwave for the next three-four days...in Delhi, we have issued yellow alert today...After May 20 and by May 22, Delhi may witness light rainfall..." he added. Earlier in the day, rainfall lashed parts of the national capital bringing much-needed relief from the soaring temperatures and turning the weather pleasant. However, strong winds accompanying the rain caused some damage across the region. At the Rapid Rail Metro's Ashok Nagar station, a shed was damaged due to gusty winds. In nearby Noida, several trees were uprooted and fell on vehicles, disrupting traffic. A traffic light pole at DM Chowk in Noida also collapsed due to the strong winds and heavy rainfall, further affecting vehicular movement. (ANI)
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said the courage, loyalty and discipline with which the brave soldiers have carried out Operation Sindoor has become a symbol of national dignity. The Chief Minister said this while addressing the people at the Tiranga Yatra in Buhavi village of Ladwa Assembly constituency on Saturday. A large number of youth, women and elderly people participated in the Tiranga Yatra led by the Chief Minister and contributed enthusiastically in this campaign being run in honour of the brave soldiers of the country and those who lost their lives in Operation Sindoor. On this occasion, the Chief Minister announced to give Rs 21 lakh to the Gram Panchayat of Buhavi village for development works. He said today is not just an event, but an opportunity to pay true tribute to the spirit of patriotism and sacrifice. "We have gathered here to salute those great sons who protected the country under Operation Sindoor and brought Pakistan to its knees in just four days," he said. He said he salutes those brave soldiers who participated in Operation Sindoor. He also salutes those mothers who gave birth to such brave soldiers. He said all the people should take a pledge through this Tiranga Yatra that they will always stand united against terrorism. The Chief Minister said lakhs of soldiers from the brave land of Haryana are ready to serve Mother India. "The soldiers of every village have become an example of bravery. Through this Tiranga Yatra, you have given the message to the entire Haryana and country that the spirit of patriotism is deeply rooted in this village," the CM said. He said the whole world heard the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will go to any extent to protect its citizens. This is the confidence of the New India. He said, "Our forces destroyed the terrorist bases in Operation Sindoor and gave a clear message to Pakistan that the consequences of attacking India's sovereignty will be adverse. In Operation Sindoor, the Army destroyed 9 terrorist hideouts of Pakistan and 11 airbases of Pakistan." The Chief Minister said India not only carried out Operation Sindoor but also carried out non-military action by suspending the Indus Water Treaty and stopping visas and trade. "Pakistani citizens living in India were sent back, the Attari border was sealed, and Pakistan was isolated from the whole world," he said. He said this was not a war, this was the revenge of the New India. Nayab Singh Saini said that under Operation Sindoor, nine places were attacked on the day of Sita Navami. "The sindoor of our sisters and daughters was destroyed in Pahalgam. That is why this operation was named Sindoor," CM Saini said. He said that after leaving the women alive in Pahalgam, the terrorists had said to go and tell Modi. Now, PM Narendra Modi has told them what happens to those who raise their eyes on the identity of India. The Chief Minister said that when the ceasefire was discussed on international forums, India again set an example of restraint and peace. It is not just a military decision, but an important step taken towards humanity. This is proof of the maturity, prudence and self-confidence of our country. This bravery and restraint make India a great nation. It is the result of the leadership of the Prime Minister that decisive action is being taken against terrorism, the Army has been empowered, and India's prestige has increased in the world. On this occasion, a large number of people, including former minister Subhash Sudha and BJP District President Tejinder Singh Goldy, were present. (ANI)
A delegation from the Kandaghat area of Solan district met Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday and submitted a list of local demands related to healthcare, education, and development. Addressing the delegation, the Chief Minister said that the State Government had given top priority to the development of the Solan assembly constituency so that the region could witness rapid progress, an official release said. He assured that the Kandaghat Civil Hospital would be strengthened with adequate funds to provide specialized medical services to the people. To promote access to quality education, the Chief Minister said, "A Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School was also being constructed at Kandaghat with modern facilities, playground, laboratories etc." He added that the State Government would also explore the possibility of opening a similar school in Chail to benefit students in that area as well. The Chief Minister assured the visiting delegation that "the State Government would consider their demands sympathetically." The meeting reflected the government's focus on infrastructure improvement in healthcare and education, especially in semi-rural and hilly regions of the state. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil and Chairman of Jogindra Central Cooperative Bank, Mukesh Sharma, were also present during the interaction. Earlier on Friday, a deputation of the State Computer Teachers Association, led by its President Suman Thakur, called on Chief Minister Sukhu. The deputation apprised him of various demands of the Association and requested to redress their demands. The Chief Minister gave a patient hearing and assured to consider all their genuine demands sympathetically. Meanwhile, a delegation of Himachal Pradesh Gram Rojgar Sevak Sangh (GRSS) also called on Chief Minister Sukhu and apprised him of their various demands. The delegation apprised that they were not receiving their salaries regularly as the Central government has reduced the budget allocation to half for Himachal Pradesh. They urged the state government to take up this matter with the government of India. Chief Minister Sukhu assured the delegation that the state government would consider their demands sympathetically and would also explore the possibilities of establishing a revolving fund to resolve their problem. He said that the state government was considerate to issues of government employees and is taking appropriate steps to address these matters. (ANI)
A travel vlogger and youtuber who was arrested by the Haryana Police on suspicion of spying for Pakistan, was sent to five days of police remand by a local court, officials said. According to police, "suspicious things" were found after the police recovered her laptop and mobile. Additionally, The Deputy Superintendent of Hisar, Kamaljeet said that the vlogger was in "continuous contact" with a Pakistani citizen. "Yesterday, based on inputs that we had, we arrested Jyoti, daughter of Haris Kumar, under the Official Secret Act and BNS 152. We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. We have taken her on a five-day remand, and further investigation is on. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen," DSP Kamaljeet said in a self-made video on Saturday. Apart from Official Secrets Act, Jyoti is being held under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 152, which is regarding acts endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India. Earlier, Jyoti was interrogated for allegedly sharing sensitive information to Pakistan. According to police, she also allegedly met with a Pakistani officer Ahsan-ur-Rahim in Delhi, and travelled to Pakistan twice. During the preliminary investigation, the police said that the woman told that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. She had allegedly told the police that Rahim had arranged for her stay and travel, while also arranging meetings with Pakistani security and intelligence agencies. However, the father of Jyoti has said that she had travelled to Pakistan multiple times after acquiring the necessary permission. "She made YouTube videos. She used to visit Pakistan and other places," the father told ANI. When asked about how many times she had visited Pakistan, Malhotra said he did not know. He said police first came to their house on Thursday and took their bank documents, phone, laptop, and passport. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Haryana''s Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapoor addressed the arrest of multiple suspected spies in districts of Panipat, Kaithal, and Hisar. He credited the police''s "increased vigilance" for such arrests. In a statement to the media, Kapoor underlined that the suspected spies had been active for some time, but their activities were exposed due to the intensified monitoring and improved intelligence-sharing mechanisms. "After the Operation Sindoor and the major incident in Pahalgam, the situation that developed led to the exposure of such individuals. It''s not that they weren''t active before; they were working earlier as well, but now these people have been caught. This is also a result of the increased vigilance, and the heightened surveillance has led to better information reaching our intelligence agencies," Kapoor said. He further added that the atmosphere, resembling that of a war, has led to an uptick in such activities. However, the state police and intelligence agencies have been quick to respond. (ANI)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) intensified their military operations in Gaza, launching strikes and mobilising additional troops. The IDF said that the latest strikes are part of preparations to expand the operations, with key goals including the dismantling of Hamas and the safe return of hostages. Sharing a post on X, the IDF wrote, "The IDF has begun conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops to achieve operational control in the areas of Gaza, over the past day. This is part of preparations to expand operations and fulfill the objectives of the war -- including the release of hostages and the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organisation." The post added, "IDF troops will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war." https://x.com/IDF/status/1923490625002840522 Earlier, the IDF carried out targeted airstrikes on Houthi-controlled infrastructure in Yemen's Hudaydah and Salif ports, claiming the facilities were being used to transfer weapons. "The IDF struck and dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the Hudaydah and Salif Ports in Yemen. These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi's systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities," the IDF said in a post on X. It added, "The strikes were conducted after numerous advanced warnings issued by the IDF to the population in the area in order to mitigate the risk of harm to civilian population in the areas of these sites. Any hostile activity in these ports will continue to be prevented." https://x.com/IDF/status/1923403452211732818 Meanwhile, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, US President Donald Trump stressed the importance of addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where many are facing severe food shortages and said that a lot of people are starving in the region. While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, "A lot of good things are going to happen over the next month. We have to help out the Palestinians. A lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides. But we are going to do a good job." The World Food Programme (WFP) in a release on Monday had said that the populations across the Gaza Strip are at risk of famine as fighting surged again, border crossings are still closed, and food is dangerously scarce.It further said that hunger and malnutrition intensified sharply since all aid was blocked from entering on March 2. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) snapshot released on May 12, 4,70,000 people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), and the entire population is experiencing acute food insecurity. The report warned of a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, projecting that 71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers will urgently require treatment. At the beginning of 2025, agencies estimated 60,000 children would need treatment. UN World Food Programme's Executive Director Cindy McCain had said, "Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border. We can't get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March. It's imperative that the international community acts urgently to get aid flowing into Gaza again. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people." The vast majority of children in Gaza are facing extreme food deprivation, as confirmed by 17 UN agencies and NGOs in the IPC report. Coupled with the severely limited access to health services and critical shortages of clean water and sanitation, rapid increases in acute malnutrition are expected in North Gaza, Gaza and Rafah governorates. (ANI)
Walter Ladwig, a senior lecturer in International Relations at King's College London and a leading London-based security expert, on Friday said that Operation Sindoor represents a significant shift in India's counter-terrorism strategy and emphasised that the operation sets a new baseline for how India is likely to respond to future terror attacks, particularly those with credible links to Pakistan. He further noted that India is no longer relying on diplomacy. "I think it's shown that it is willing to be and can be successfully assertive in its immediate neighbourhood," said Ladwig, referring to India's approach following Operation Sindoor. "I think we should assume that Operation Sindoor is the new baseline in terms of how India will respond in the future to terrorist attacks that are reasonably credibly linked to Pakistan or perhaps any of its neighbours," he said. "This is not a country that is going to turn the other cheek or simply rely on diplomatic measures," he added. Ladwig further said that the most striking aspect of the current India-Pakistan crisis is the clear shift in India's policy on terrorism. He said that, unlike in the past, when India focused on collecting evidence, is now taking military action. "I think what stood out for me the most was, first, the shift in Indian government policy in terms of responding to terrorist attacks within India that it believes are linked to groups that operate in Pakistan. And whereas in the past we saw governments feel the need to sort of seek to assemble a dossier or provide evidence of linkages... Now, there's a move to a policy stance of saying that a failure to prevent groups from having a safe haven in your territory is enough to bring about a military response when it comes to terrorist activities," Ladwig said. He further said that the Indian Air Force's ability to carry out strikes in line with standard military procedures and doctrines was impressive. "And then once the Indian Air Force operated according to standard military procedures and doctrines, the evidence that their ability to really precisely strike a range of targets more or less precisely, I think it was quite impressive," Walter Ladwig said. When asked about the difference in the kind of evidence shared by both sides, India presenting high-resolution evidence to support its claims, while Pakistan's evidence appears more limited, Ladwig said, "I think India was successful in striking a much wider range of targets and executing more successful missions than the Pakistan side was, which sort of explains why there's so much more information, images and so forth in the open domain that would appear to corroborate the majority of the Indians claims versus Pakistanis." India launched precise strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan early on May 7 through Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India also effectively repelled the subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airports. The two countries have agreed to stop military action and firing following a call made by Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart. (ANI)
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif admitted that India's ballistic missiles hit Nur Khan Airbase and other sites on May 10, a rare acknowledgement that contradicts Pakistan's usual stance of denial when it comes to Indian military action. Sharif said Army Chief General Asim Munir called him around 2:30 am to report the strikes. Sharif mentioned the use of local technology and Chinese jets by Pakistan's Air Force, but confirmed that India's missiles hit their targets. While addressing a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument on Friday, Sharif said, "At around 2:30 am on May 10, General Syed Asim Munir called me on secure line and informed me that India's ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas. Our Air Force used homegrown technology to save our country, and they even used modern gadgets and technology on Chinese jets," Geo News reported. Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya also pointed to Sharif's admission that he was woken up at 2:30 am by Army Chief General Asim Munir, with the news that Indian missiles had hit Nur Khan Airbase and other key locations. Malviya noted that such a call reveals the precision and boldness of Operation Sindoor. Sharing a post on X, Malviya said, "Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif himself admits that General Asim Munir called him at 2:30am to inform him that India had bombed Nur Khan Air Base and several other locations. Let that sink in -- the Prime Minister was woken up in the middle of the night with news of strikes deep inside Pakistan. This speaks volumes about the scale, precision, and boldness of #OperationSindoor." https://x.com/amitmalviya/status/1923435453291606028 India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)
Ahmadi doctor, Dr Sheikh Muhammad Mahmood, was shot dead in Sargodha's Fatima Hospital on Friday in what seems to be a targeted attack, The Express Tribune reported. Mahmood (58), a general physician and gastroenterology specialist from the minority Ahmadiyya community, is survived by his mother, wife, two daughters, and two sons. He worked in several private and charitable healthcare institutions, most recently serving at Fatima Hospital under a welfare initiative. According to police reports, the gunman came to the hospital dressed in the uniform of "Clean Punjab Program" staff, bought a check-up slip and waited in the hospital. As soon as Dr Mahmood came out of his office, the attacker opened fire with a handgun, shooting him in the back and abdomen, critically damaging his internal organs. He was taken to the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The attacker fled from the spot after the shooting. CCTV footage shows the doctor lying injured on the hospital floor while staff panicked and ran to call for an ambulance, The Express Tribune reported. Sargodha DPO Muhammad Sohaib Ashraf, SP Investigation and SP Headquarters, reached the spot as police started investigating the incident. Authorities have vowed to arrest the perpetrator soon. Dr Mahmood was widely considered one of Sargodha's most experienced physicians. With over three decades of experience, he had previously worked at the Sadiq Hospital and was known for providing free treatment to underprivileged patients, The Express Tribune reported. According to sources, Dr Mahmood had received threats in the past due to his religious affiliation. These threats reportedly compelled him to resign from the institution where he worked previously, though his commitment to serving humanity eventually brought him back to practice. (ANI)
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has said that it detected 12 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and one official ship operating around Taiwan until 6 am (local time) on Saturday. According to Taiwan's MND, 10 of 12 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In response to Chinese action, Taiwan's armed forces deployed aircraft, naval ships, and coastal missile systems to monitor the situation. In a post on X, Taiwan's MND stated, "12 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 10 out of 12 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1923543994476163139 This incident follows a recent pattern of escalated manoeuvres by China around Taiwan, sparking concerns over regional stability as Beijing continues to assert its claims over the island. Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary. Meanwhile, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director General Hsieh Ching-chin said on Thursday that Taiwan is holding talks with "certain countries" to conduct a joint humanitarian exercise in the Taiwan Strait as a response to China's increasing use of "gray zone" tactics and legal warfare. During a legislative session, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu questioned how the CGA is addressing the growing force disparity in the Taiwan Strait, particularly with Beijing deploying Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships disguised as China Coast Guard vessels. Wang also raised concerns about Chinese ships stopping and inspecting Taiwanese vessels and asked what measures are available to counter such actions, Taipei Times reported. Hsieh responded that any attempt to enforce a maritime lockdown would be considered an act of war. He added that the coast guard is working closely with Taiwan's navy and intelligence agencies to ensure safe passage for Taiwanese ships. Hsieh also mentioned that the CGA is considering developing air support capabilities, particularly long-range reconnaissance, allowing faster response to Chinese incursions. Wang proposed that Taiwan work with allies such as the US, Japan, the Philippines, and Australia to host a joint humanitarian rescue exercise as a strategic way to counter China's tactics. In response, Hsieh confirmed that discussions were already underway. "The coast guard and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are already in related talks with 'certain nations'," he said. (ANI)
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of China, Xiao Jie, referred to Mount Everest by its Sino name, "Chomolungma," while addressing the inaugural session of Nepal's flagship event, the Sagarmatha Sambaad. While addressing the event, the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Republic of China, Xiao Jie, only used the Chinese name for the Everest, while the rest of the attendees used the English and Nepali names for the event. Nepal had entitled the event with the highest peak in the world, Sagarmatha or Mount Everest, as "Sagarmatha Sambaad", where Sambaad means "conversation" in Nepali. Xiao Jie was invited as the keynote speaker for the inaugural session of the three-day event. He delivered his remarks in Chinese, which were translated by a translator. While Jie stood at the stage for about 20 minutes during the inauguration session, he pronounced "Chomolungma" ten times instead of Sagarmatha which has been used as the title of the event. "We also noticed about it but we are in no power to say anything about it," an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ANI, seeking anonymity. While the Chinese dignitary used the Sino name for the world's tallest peak and denying identity of the event's title, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel were present in the hall. The event was also attended by over 200 participants, including dignitaries from various countries. Notably, Prime Minister Oli recently, in a public event, announced that the world's tallest peak should be branded as "Sagarmatha," the Nepali name, rather than using alternative names. However, Oli stayed mum over the use of the word during the event on Friday. ANI tried to reach out to the Foreign Ministry for comments but didn't get any response. The three-day event being held in Kathmandu is being attended by representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, India, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, Egypt, Oman, and Pakistan were present in the national delegations. International and regional organisations include the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, SAARC, BIMSTEC, and ICIMOD. (ANI)
In yet another incident of crackdown on people, leading Baloch human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) shared that excessive police force was deployed in Lasbela region to disrupt a peaceful corner meeting on Friday. The details were shared in a post on X. As per the BYC, during its meeting in Rasheedabad, an excessive police force was deployed, allegedly harassed the public and also unlawfully arrested three ordinary citizens and transferred them to the police station without justification. After family members of the detained people protested against this injustice only then were they released, BYC observed. BYC said that it would continue to expose the ongoing "Baloch genocide and state repression" through various means such as mobilisation, education and collective action. It wrote on X, "Hub | Peaxeful Corner Meeting by BYC Lasbela Disrupted by Police Intimidation Today, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) Lasbela region organized a peaceful corner meeting in Rasheedabad, Hub. In a clear attempt to silence dissent, an excessive police force was deployed, which not only harassed the public but also unlawfully arrested three ordinary citizens and transferred them to the police station without justification. When the families of the detained individuals protested this injustice by blocking the road, the police were forced to release the arrested men. BYC declares that no amount of intimidation will deter its struggle. BYC will continue to expose and resist the ongoing Baloch genocide and state repression through grassroots mobilization, political education, and collective action." https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1923441977645035768 Balochistan region remains plagued by a disturbing trend of enforced disappearances, with some victims eventually released, while others endure long-term detention or fall prey to targeted killings. These violations of fundamental rights have fuelled growing insecurity and mistrust among locals. The persistent fear of arbitrary arrests and the absence of accountability continue to destabilise Balochistan, undermining efforts to restore peace, justice, and public confidence in state institutions. (ANI)
The Trump administration on Friday requested the Supreme Court permit it to proceed immediately with its plan to lay off tens of thousands of workers across federal agencies, Politico reported. In an emergency appeal, the administration requested the judges to lift a lower court order temporarily preventing the layoffs quickly. Trump's administration's request for Supreme Court intervention is the latest step in its mission to reduce the federal workforce. The high court has assisted the administration in its mission previously. Earlier in April, the judges lifted a lower-court order that had halted the mass firings of probationary workers at six Cabinet departments. The Trump administration's new appeal concerns a broader group of federal employees that several agencies want to terminate under an executive order issued in February calling for "large-scale reductions in force." Last week, US District Judge Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee, stopped the administration from carrying out the layoffs, Politico reported. In his Supreme Court appeal, Solicitor General John Sauer said that Illston improperly encroached on the president's "unquestioned legal authority to plan and carry out" layoffs and reorganise the federal workforce. Sauer wrote, "The order has brought to a halt numerous in-progress RIFs at more than a dozen federal agencies, compelling the government to retain, at taxpayer expense, thousands of employees whose continuance in federal service is determined by agencies not to be in the government and public interest." Sauer said Illston's order has blocked about 40 ongoing reductions-in-force at 17 agencies. The largest federal workers' unions in the country, along with several nonprofits and local governments, have challenged Trump's order. Over 20 Democratic-leaning states have filed briefs in support of the workers. Illston said that the administration is not following strict legal and procedural requirements that apply when the government wants to carry out mass layoffs, including how long an employee has been with an agency. She further said that a president needs "the cooperation of the legislative branch" when making the kind of large-scale reorganisations that Trump has announced. She recalled that Trump urged Congress to pass a bill to back similar efforts during his first presidency, Politico reported. Illston's order covered 21 agencies, including, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); the departments of Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Interior, Labor, State, Treasury, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the National Labor Relations Board, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration and AmeriCorps. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday extended warm wishes to his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide and the people of Norway on the occasion of their Constitution Day, reaffirming India's commitment to advancing the "multifaceted partnership" between the two nations. In a post on X, Jaishankar stated, "Warm felicitations to FM @EspenBarthEide, the Government and people of Norway on their Constitution Day. Committed to advancing our multifaceted partnership." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1923590860081352784 Norway's Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, also extended wishes to people on Norway's Constitution Day. "Hipp Hipp Hurra Gratulerer med dagen til Norge! It's our #ConstitutionDay today! Greetings to all those celebrating around the world," Stener posted on X. https://x.com/NorwayAmbIndia/status/1923597236006527282 Earlier on May 9, EAM S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide and discussed India's response to counter terrorism. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Spoke with FM Espen Barth Eide of Norway. Discussed India's targeted and measured response to counter terrorism." As many as 26 people were killed and several others were injured in a terrorist attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. In response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). Earlier in April, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, held a bilateral meeting with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide. During the meeting, they discussed the implementation of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement. "We discussed the implementation of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), strengthening bilateral ties, and boosting trade and investment between our nations," Piyush Goyal wrote on X after the meeting. The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) was signed on March 10, 2024. EFTA comprises Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation set up in 1960 for the promotion of free trade and economic integration for the benefit of its four Member States. Notably, India's economic and commercial ties with Norway are on the upswing. There has been a spurt in trade, investments, technology transfer, and other contacts, according to the Indian Embassy in Norway. The current growth in Indo-Norwegian eco-commercial ties has been fuelled by common interest in sectors like deep offshore, shipping, hydroelectricity, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and light consumer goods. Norwegian IT companies are also considering offshoring their business to India or investing in Indian start-ups. According to the Indian Embassy in Norway, knowledge and technology sharing is another important facet of the Indo-Norwegian relationship. (ANI)
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have launched 'Gideon Chariots' campaign for the release of its remaining hostages, Times of Israel reported. Citing military, Times of Israel said, "IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realize the goals of the war". According to Israeli officials referred to by the Times of Israel, the Gideon's Chariots offensive would see the IDF "conquering" Gaza and retaining the territory; moving the Palestinian civilian population toward the south of the Strip; attacking Hamas; and preventing the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies. The details of the operation were also shared by the IDF in a post on X in the early hours of Saturday that it had begun conducting strikes and is mobilising troops to achieve "operational control" in the areas of Gaza. Sharing the details through a post on X, the IDF stated that the actions were undertaken in order to fulfil the objectives of the war, which includes the release of hostages and a dismantling of Hamas. "The IDF has begun conducting extensive strikes and mobilizing troops to achieve operational control in the areas of Gaza, over the past day. This is part of preparations to expand operations and fulfill the objectives of the war -- including the release of hostages and the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organization. IDF troops will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war." https://x.com/IDF/status/1923490625002840522 This comes after the IDF had shared earlier that it would continue with its operations until Hamas is no longer a threat and all the hostages are released. "We won't stop operating until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home" https://x.com/IDF/status/1923379776359715121 According to a report by Al Jazeera,thousands of Palestinians have been ordered by Israeli forces to flee parts of northern Gaza. Al Jazeera reported that the air strikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 115 people since Friday. (ANI)
Ukraine's Air Force lost an F-16 fighter jet on Friday morning when an incident occurred on board. However, the pilot ejected the fighter jet, Reuters reported, citing a Ukrainian air force statement. In a statement shared on Telegram, Ukraine's air force said, "According to preliminary data... an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected." The air force further said that the pilot was feeling fine, Reuters reported. It hinted that the crash did not seem to be the result of Russian fire, and a commission had been appointed to carry out a probe into all the circumstances of the incident. Ukranian news website The Kyiv Independent reported, citing the Air Force that the Ukrainian Air Force "lost contact" with an F-16 aircraft during a mission to repel a Russian aerial attack overnight on May 16, following an emergency situation on board, . The pilot diverted the plane away from populated areas and ejected, after which the search and rescue team found him, according to the statement. The Kyiv Independent further reported that according to preliminary data, the F-16 pilot destroyed three Russian aerial targets and was targeting a fourth one with an aircraft cannon. After an unspecified emergency, the contact was lost at around 3:30 am (local time), forcing the pilot to eject from the aircraft. The Air Force did not share further details regarding the plane's ultimate fate or its likely crash site. Earlier in August last year, the Ukrainian Air Force lost its first F-16 fighter jet in a crash, leading to the death of its pilot, Oleksii Mes. A second F-16 pilot, Pavlo Ivanov, was killed during a combat mission in April. Ukraine received its first US-made F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark in 2024 and started using them to counter Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. (ANI)
Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha Harivansh will lead the Indian Delegation to Pope Leo XIV's inauguration ceremony in Vatican City in Rome on May 18. As per Parliament sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has nominated Harivansh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Yanthungo Patton, Deputy Chief Minister, Nagaland to represent India at the ceremony of the inauguration of the Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City in Rome on May 18. The delegation departed from Delhi for Rome on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended wishes to Pope Leo XIV and expressed India's commitment to continued dialogue and engagement with the Holy See to further shared values. He noted that Pope Leo XIV's leadership of the Catholic Church comes at a moment of profound significance in advancing the ideals of peace, harmony, solidarity and service. In a post on X, PM Modi stated, "I convey sincere felicitations and best wishes from the people of India to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. His leadership of the Catholic Church comes at a moment of profound significance in advancing the ideals of peace, harmony, solidarity and service. India remains committed to continued dialogue and engagement with the Holy See to further our shared values." Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, was elected on May 8, becoming the first US-born Pope. This news surprised and delighted many Catholics across the Americas, CNN reported. In his first formal meeting with Cardinals, which began with a standing ovation, the new Pontiff said he chose his papal name to continue down the path of Pope Leo XIII, who addressed "the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution." Pope Leo XIII ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1878 until he died in 1903 and is remembered as a pope of Catholic social teaching. He wrote a famous open letter to all Catholics in 1891, called "Rerum Novarum" ("Of Revolutionary Change"), which reflected on the destruction wrought by the Industrial Revolution on the lives of workers. (ANI)
A team of the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) found unavailability of clean drinking water, absence of cleanliness and sanitation, power outages with no backup systems, poor infrastructure, and shortage of staff in government hospitals in Shikarpur and Kashmore-Kandhkot districts of Pakistan's Sindh on Thursday and Friday, The Express Tribune reported. SHRC Chairman Iqbal Ahmed Detho, who led the visits to the hospitals, mentioned about the absence of adequate toilets, improper seating arrangements, a shortfall of beds for patients, and missing supplies of free medicines. He noted that many female patients in the sweltering heat were sitting on the floor due to the lack of proper seating arrangements and waiting rooms outside an overcrowded outpatient department, The Express Tribune reported. At the Taluka Headquarters Hospital (THQ) in Kandhkot, Chairman Detho instructed the authorities to ensure the earliest shifting of the hospital to its new building. He directed the District Health Officer, Dr Aijaz Ali Shah, and Medical Superintendent Shahnawaz Dahani, to improve the state of services and facilities in the existing building. About the Taluka Hospital Lakhi in Shikarpur, Iqbal Ahmed Detho said, "in extremely hot conditions, the patients were found lying helplessly on beds during power outages." Further, through the cross-section of the civil societies, with whom interactive sessions were separately organised in the two districts, the commission identified health service related issues to the HRCP. Iqbal Ahmed Detho visited the judicial lockup in Kashmore-Kandhkot district, which is infested with bandits, tribal conflicts, robberies, and drug peddling issues, The Express Tribune reported. Kashmore-Kandhkot does not have a district jail, and prisoners from the district are mostly held in Shikarpur prison. Detho stressed the need for establishing district jail, as the absence of district jail "results in the denial of visitation rights, and delays in appearance before the trial courts." (ANI)
The US Embassy in India on Saturday warned that people who stay in the US beyond their authorised period of stay will face deportation or a permanent ban on travelling to the US in the future. In a post shared on X, the US Embassy in India stated, "If you remain in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future." https://x.com/usandindia/status/1923620905449627764 On Friday, a federal appeals court refused to allow the Trump administration to restart deporting migrants to nations other than their own without prior notice or the opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture, CNN reported. The US First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's request to block a lower court decision halting the policy. The court's decision comes amid rising concerns over reported plans to send migrants to Libya, a country criticised for the mistreatment of detainees and ongoing civil unrest. The appellate panel voiced several "concerns" about letting the government resume the policy, among them "the irreparable harm that will result from wrongful removals in this context." Earlier in March, the US District Judge Brian Murphy stopped the Trump administration from deporting migrants to nations other than their own without prior written notice and a chance to contest the removal from the US, CNN reported. Earlier in April, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reminded all foreign nationals present in the country for over 30 days that the deadline to register under the Alien Registration Act is April 11. The law requires all foreign nationals in the United States for more than 30 days to register with the federal government. Failure to register is considered a crime, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both. Kristi Noem said, "President Trump and I have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream." "The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws--we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans," she added. On January 20, US President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, directing the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restore order and accountability to the immigration system. This includes implementing the Alien Registration Act. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump has once again taken credit for the understanding reached between India and Pakistan on the cessation of hositilities. Speaking to Fox News's Bret Baier the US President claimed that he had used trade as a tool to make peace between India and Pakistan as the nuclear powered neighbours were on the brink of the conflict that was poised to become much more dangerous. Baier questioned Trump asked about his "foreign policy successes" saying, "You had a couple of foreign policy successes even right before this trip. You picked up the phone and called two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, and you got them to step back from the brink. That was a success as you got on the plane heading over here." To this Trump called the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan to be, "A bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for." He elaborated, "Those are major nuclear powers... and they were angry. The next phase was probably tit for tat. It was getting deeper and more missiles. Everyone was stronger, to a point where the next one was going to be the N-word (Nuclear)". Speaking about a potential nuclear conflict between the neighbours, Trump said, "It's the N-word. That's a very nasty word in a lot of ways. The N-word used in a nuclear sense, that's the worst thing that can happen, and I think they were very close. The hatred was great. I said, we're going to talk about trade. We're going to do a lot of trade... I'm using trade to settle scores and to make peace.", he told Baier. The cessation of hostilities Trump referred to followed heightened tensions after Operation Sindoor, launched by India in the early hours of May 7. The operation targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), in retaliation for the May 5 terror attack in Pahalgam. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on the cessation of hostilities on May 10. Trump had already welcomed the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, saying that millions of people could have died if the peace had not been worked out. The US President was making a reference to a potential nuclear fallout between the two nations. (ANI)
The fire started late on Friday and spread rapidly through the yard, where several hundred cars and stacks of tyres were burning.

By Saturday morning, the flames were largely under control, although about two-thirds of the site remained ablaze, a fire department spokesman said.

The intense heat from burning vehicles caused additional waste to ignite, complicating firefighting efforts. The heat set a workshop building alight, amid exploding gas cylinders and metal alloy reactions.

Firefighting operations were expected to continue into the afternoon, although it could take days to extinguish the final embers, the spokesman said. (ANI/ WAM)
Ukrainian officials have said that a Russian drone strike has hit a passenger bus in the Sumy region, killing at least nine people and injuring many others, Euro News reported. The strike comes just hours after officials of Russia and Ukraine held direct peace talks. In a statement shared on the Telegram messaging app, the Sumy regional administration said, "This is another war crime by Russia -- a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat." The strikes come just a few hours after Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Turkey. Ukraine's National Police shared pictures on Telegram showing the aftermath of the strike in Sumy's Bilopillia city, which is around 10 kilometres from the front line and border with Russia. Authorities have been working to identify victims, the majority of whom are elderly women, Euro News reported. Four injured people, three of whom were reportedly in a serious condition, have been shifted to a hospital in Sumy city. A period of mourning has been declared in Bilopillia until Monday, Euro News reported. Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day of the attack "Black Saturday." The direct talks between Russia and Ukraine began in Turkiye on Friday. At the end of the meeting, a large prisoner swap (one of many in this war) and two discussion topics for future talks - a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the contours of a ceasefire were the only deliverables, CNN reported. Russia, by proposing the talks last weekend, managed to sidestep an ultimatum from Ukraine and its allies to sign up to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face significant new sanctions. Speaking to reporters late Friday afternoon, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman, Heorhii Tykhyi, said Ukraine was "ready to have a ceasefire agreed today," suggesting this was not achievable as Russia's low-level delegation "probably has (a) limited mandate," CNN reported. Speaking to CNN, a Turkish official said that Russia's delegation made clear that an unconditional ceasefire was not on the table, and if Ukraine wanted the ceasefire, it would have to withdraw from territory Russia does not yet occupy in the four regions - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. (ANI)
Foreign Affairs expert Robinder Sachdev has weighed in on three major developments following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's acknowledgement of an Indian missile strike on Nur Khan Airbase, India's evolving retaliatory doctrine, and the government's decision to send an all-party delegation abroad to counter Pakistan's global narrative. In a series of remarks during an interview with ANI, Sachdev outlined the strategic significance of the strike, emphasised India's firm security posture, and welcomed the move to engage international stakeholders through unified political outreach. In a development that has sharpened regional fault lines, Sachdev has said that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's public admission of an Indian missile strike on the Nur Khan Airbase marks a significant escalation and represents a direct hit to Pakistan's military nerve centre. "For Shahbaz Sharif to acknowledge the fact that India's missile hit Nur Khan Airbase is a big thing. Chaklala Nur Khan Airbase is a terrorist hub - it is right next to Islamabad International Airport. All VVIP flights of the Air Force, military, chiefs, Prime Ministers, fly out from here. The Pakistan Air Force has a Coordination Hub located there, as well as the Intelligence Gathering Unit - this area is the 'nerve centre' of the Pakistan Air Force. The fact that Shabaz Sharif is confirming an attack on this area, indicates that India has jabbed Pakistan straight in its heart. 2 cars have come under attack, as well as an oil tanker, as well as other things. To acknowledge this is a great deal, and this indicates that India has immense precision and reach, and that this is a clear message to the country - it is a big statement," Sachdev said. He emphasised that the area is not just symbolically important but houses critical infrastructure of the Pakistani military. The admission by Sharif, he said, not only affirms India's precision capabilities but also demonstrates a firm shift in New Delhi's security posture, one that does not shy away from hitting high-value military targets when provoked. Turning to India's overall messaging to Pakistan, Sachdev asserted that the time for ambiguity is over, and a firm retaliatory doctrine is now in play. "The end game is that Pakistan must learn that they need to live and let live. As long as we are living, we will let them live. If they do something like this, we will not ignore it," he said during the interview with ANI. He continued, "How and when this is achieved depends on Pakistan's ruling elite and their behaviour and understanding towards where they cannot go, when and where that path will show, if we need to sit down for these discussions or not will be seen by our governments. These talks will happen on a bilateral basis. However, Pakistan will have to realise that they need to live and let live. Enough is enough, it has been long that they have been making others' lives difficult. Until Pakistan reaches this understanding, unfortunately, it is a long road. We will follow our doctrine of 'tit-for-tat, plus'. If you hit us once, we will hit back equally, but harder." Sachdev made it clear that New Delhi's response to provocations would be measured but uncompromising -- if India is attacked, it will respond harder. The "tit-for-tat, plus" policy reflects an evolved security doctrine with more assertive posturing than in previous years. Addressing India's move to dispatch an all-party delegation abroad to counter Pakistan's narrative, Sachdev welcomed the step and said it should have been undertaken earlier. "Whatever messages Pakistan has spread about Kashmir around the world as well as India are mere misunderstandings. World leaders know the truth behind these claims - governments know about these claims. The American government, the British government, the UAE - they know, however, the mass populations of these countries don't know much about it. They feel that something negative is always going on, that there are a lot of conflicts in India. Things are reported in the same way in the Western media as well," Sachdev said to ANI. "This kind of an all-party delegation is extremely important because they will meet with multiple alternate opinion leaders over there, as well as lawmakers and think tanks and media, and will present India's situation in front of them, and this is a very important step. This move should have been taken by India's government before, but the recent atrocity calls strongly for it. See, our embassies are already working on this, but other than the embassies, when the United Front is a bigger message. It is not just the current ruling party in the government that is calling for this, no - the entire country, including the Opposition, is saying that what Pakistan is doing with India is something that we cannot tolerate, and that Pakistan will have to change its ways. The world's governments are putting pressure on Pakistan from different angles. I think this a crucial move." Sachdev concluded that the all-party nature of the delegation sends a powerful signal to international observers -- that India is unified across political lines in its response to cross-border terrorism and its stance against Pakistan's continued provocations. (ANI)
Three young men, who were allegedly killed earlier this month during a confrontation with Pakistani forces, were reportedly buried in secrecy at night by security personnel without their families' knowledge or involvement, The Balochistan Post (TBP) reported. The deceased individuals were quietly laid to rest in Turbat's Taleemi Chowk cemetery under the cover of night, lacking proper Islamic funeral rites or shrouds (kafan). Authorities purportedly prevented family members from attending the burial or conducting traditional last rites, as reported by TBP. Family members voiced their profound sorrow, claiming they were left in uncertainty for three days by police and relevant officials, who provided no meaningful assistance. They further alleged that the burial was carried out in a way that ignored religious and cultural customs, resulting in significant emotional distress for the families, TBP indicated. In response to the authorities' refusal to return the bodies, a considerable group of women, children, and other citizens organised a sit-in on the main highway. The protesters demanded that the bodies be returned for appropriate burials. Despite the widespread public outcry, the bodies were not given, forcing the families to ultimately conduct absentee funeral prayers, as highlighted by TBP. "Police authorities are not permitting exhumation or final religious rites. For the last three days, the families have been left waiting without any support. The bodies were interred without shrouds or proper rites," families stated, as quoted by TBP. The Balochistan region continues to experience a troubling trend of enforced disappearances, where some victims are eventually released, while others face prolonged detention or fall victim to targeted killings. These fundamental rights violations have contributed to rising insecurity and distrust among locals. The ongoing anxiety regarding arbitrary arrests and the lack of accountability persists in destabilising Balochistan, hindering efforts to achieve peace, justice, and public trust in state institutions. (ANI)
Swiss Parliamentarians from the Swiss Parliamentary Group for Tibet have called on the Swiss Government (Federal Council) to urge China to immediately release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family, marking the 30th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, according to a post shared by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on X. https://x.com/CTA_TibetdotNet/status/1923667538929504601 The Parliamentarians condemned the Chinese government for abducting the then six-year-old boy and his family on 17 May 1995, the CTA post reported. Nicolas Walder, Co-President of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet, stated: "The goals of the PRC are obvious: through these massive propaganda shows with the 'official' Panchen Lama, the communist authorities of the PRC want to demonstrate pseudo-religious freedom in Tibet." The Parliamentarians further emphasised that "the real goal of the PRC is to pave the way for the future appointment of the successor to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama according to the rules of the PRC by strictly controlling the reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist personalities," as quoted by the CTA post. "The Chinese state's interference in this religious process is an unacceptable suppression of religious freedom," concluded Co-President of the Group Fabian Molina. The joint statement on behalf of the group was issued by Co-President Councillor of States Tiana Moser, Co-President National Councillor Nik Gugger, Co-President National Councillor Fabian Molina, Co-President National Councillor Nicolas Walder, and Vice-President Councillor of States Maya Graf, as cited by CTA's post. Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Tibet Bureau Geneva, Ms. Thinlay Chukki, welcomed the strongly worded statement issued by the Swiss Parliamentarians and noted that, "three decades of enforced disappearance of any individual is a gross violation of human rights and dignity. In this case of the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, it is not just a person's violation, but also the right of the Tibetan people to choose their religious leader and worship," the CTA post highlighted. (ANI)
The Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM) organised a non-violent sit-in demonstration on the Jamshoro Kotri Main Highway, obstructing the roadway and resulting in considerable traffic disruption to protest against the enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions of Sindhi nationalist activists. The protest aimed to highlight the ongoing violations of human rights in Sindh and Balochistan and to demand the immediate release of imprisoned and missing activists. The JSFM criticised what they referred to as "state repression" designed to silence peaceful political dissenters. Demonstrators shouted slogans against the oppression faced by Sindhi nationalist leaders and underscored the poor conditions in prisons. They also condemned the issue of enforced disappearances, a persistent problem in the area. In a collective statement, JSFM Chairman Sohail Abro, along with leaders Zubair Sindhi and Amar Azadi, proclaimed that the Sindhi nation will not yield to oppression. "This peaceful sit-in serves as a protest against the unlawful arrests of our nationalist activists, the abuses occurring in jails, and the enforced disappearances. Our effort is peaceful and democratic, and we will persist until our people are free," the statement indicated. Among their primary demands, the JSFM requested the immediate release of Zahid Channa, Sajad Channa, Adnan Baloch, Badshah Baloch, Rafiqat Manghanhar, and Shahid Soomro. They also called on authorities to dismiss all fraudulent charges against nationalist activists currently incarcerated and to free all individuals forcibly disappeared from Sindh and Balochistan. The protesters cautioned the Hyderabad Jail administration to cease mistreating detained activists, threatening to intensify their demonstration by obstructing the main entrance to the prison if violent actions were to persist. Further, the JSFM urged international organisations, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the British Parliament, to urgently recognise Pakistan's human rights abuses. They called for worldwide condemnation of these violations, legal action against Pakistan under international law, and pressure for the unconditional release of all political prisoners and missing persons. The group also appealed for international initiatives to mitigate environmental damage caused by water projects and corporate farming in Sindh, which they characterised as a direct attack on local farmers' rights and economic well-being. Chairman Sohail Abro reiterated the JSFM's commitment to a peaceful and democratic struggle for the freedom and self-determination of the Sindhi people, pledging to continue despite ongoing state repression. (ANI)
China is behind South Africa's latest move to downgrade the status of Taiwan's representative office in Pretoria, Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said. Making the statement on Friday, he pointed to the growing pressure from Beijing as a key influence in the decision, Taipei Times reported. Lin accused South Africa of resorting to "little tricks" under Chinese pressure since last year, alleging that Pretoria has been systematically trying to alter the standing of Taiwan's office. The latest unilateral changes are part of a broader pattern, Lin said, aimed at diminishing Taiwan's international presence without direct diplomatic dialogue. "Taiwan would not acknowledge the latest move by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)," he added, though he did not elaborate on the practical implications of non-recognition, reported Taipei Times. Lin's remarks came after DIRCO quietly modified the designation and contact details of Taiwan's representative office on its official website. The listed address was changed from "Pretoria" to "Johannesburg," and the office was reclassified from "foreign representation in South Africa" to an "international organisation." Additionally, the office's email domain was changed without consultation from the official Taiwanese government domain (@mofa.gov.tw) to a private South African telecom provider's domain (@telkomsa.net), further indicating a distancing move. This is not the first such adjustment. DIRCO had already renamed the office in early March, changing its title from the "Taipei Liaison Office" to the "Taipei Commercial Office." South Africa's government has, since last year, tried to relocate the office from the administrative capital Pretoria to the commercial hub Johannesburg and redefine it as a "trade office." It had initially imposed an October deadline for the move, later extending it to March, Taipei Times reported. Despite these changes, Lin confirmed that "the Taipei Liaison Office continues to operate normally in Pretoria." He added that Taiwan still seeks to engage with South Africa and hopes for future bilateral consultations to address the issue. (ANI)
Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi rushed to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) hospital early Saturday morning after complaining of chest pain, ARY News reported. Qureshi's lawyer confirmed that Qureshi experienced discomfort after Fajr prayer, prompting jail authorities to transfer him to the hospital for further examination and treatment. Qureshi has been in custody at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore since his arrest in connection with cases related to the May 9, 2023, incidents. He was detained following countrywide unrest sparked by the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan, during which several incidents of vandalism and violence were reported, as per ARY News. The jail administration has informed Qureshi's family about his hospitalisation. While the exact nature and severity of his condition are yet to be disclosed. According to ARY News, PTI repeatedly claimed that their leaders are being subjected to political victimisation, while authorities allege their involvement in organising and inciting unlawful protests. According to Zain Qureshi, Shah Mahmood Qureshi's son, doctors at the jail examined his father after he complained of health issues. Due to his condition, he was later shifted to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for further treatment. "He was subsequently transferred to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. The doctors have decided to keep him under observation for a few more days. I request the nation to pray for his complete recovery." In a post on X, Qureshi's daughter Meher Bano wrote: "My brave baba is under observation in PIC. I would like to thank everyone for their concern. Please pray for him and all those who are under unjust incarceration." In July 2024, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore charged Qureshi in connection with an alleged attack on the Shadman police station. The case, filed by the Shadman police, accuses Qureshi of involvement in the incident. Around the same time, Qureshi was transferred from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. Authorities cited logistical challenges in transporting Qureshi between the two cities for court hearings as the reason for the transfer. These developments followed an earlier indictment in November of the previous year, where Qureshi and other senior PTI leaders were charged by a Lahore ATC in connection with multiple cases stemming from the May 9 riots. Qureshi has pleaded not guilty to all charges. (ANI)
A Russian court has sentenced Australian national Oscar Jenkins to 13 years in a maximum-security prison for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, state prosecutors in the Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine said on Friday. Jenkins,33, was found guilty of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine against Russia between March and December last year, CNN reported. Jenkins, originally from Melbourne, was captured by Russian forces in December last year, and his arrest was revealed through a video on Russian Telegram accounts showing him being taken as a prisoner of war. In the footage, Jenkins appears disoriented, struggling to understand questions posed in Russian. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed her government's outrage over the sentencing, calling it a "sham trial." Wong urged Russia to treat Jenkins in accordance with international humanitarian law. Australia has consistently called for Jenkins' release since his capture. "We continue to hold serious concerns for Jenkins. We are working with Ukraine and other partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to advocate for his welfare and release," Wong said in a statement. According to CNN, Russian prosecutors claim Jenkins, an Australian national, received USD 7,400 to USD 10,000 per month to fight in Ukraine as a mercenary. The Kremlin maintains that mercenaries are subject to criminal prosecution and not entitled to prisoner-of-war protections under international law. In a photo shared by the Russian-controlled court in Luhansk, Jenkins was seen standing in a glass cage with his hands behind his back. According to the prosecutor's office statement, the court ordered Jenkins to serve his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. Speaking in a mix of English, Ukrainian and Russian, he identified himself as "a soldier" and said he is a teacher in China and a student in Australia, as per CNN. Earlier this year, media reports suggesting he might have been killed prompted Canberra to summon the Russian ambassador, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowing the "strongest action" over any harm caused to the man. Albanese has since continued to advocate for Jenkins' well-being, condemning Russia's actions and labelling President Vladimir Putin's regime as "reprehensible." Notably, Australia has been a vocal critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, providing approximately USD 1 billion in assistance to Kyiv since 2022. The country has also offered military training to Ukraine's armed forces. (ANI)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed US President Donald Trump's comments, saying some of Trump's comments during his recent Middle East tour were not even worth responding to, Al Jazeera reported. Trump praised Arab leaders neighbouring Iran while blasting Tehran's leadership, sparking a sharp rebuke from Iran. In a speech to a group of teachers gathered for a state ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Trump's remarks as "low-level" and a "disgrace" for both Trump and the American nation. "The level of those remarks is so low that they are a disgrace for the one who uttered them and a disgrace to the American nation," he said, to chants of "Death to America" and others from the crowd. Khamenei added that Trump "lied" when he said he wants to use power towards peace, as Washington has backed "massacring" Palestinians and others across the region. He called Israel a "dangerous cancerous tumour" that must be "uprooted." Meanwhile, speaking at a gathering of Navy officers on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian questioned Trump's credibility, highlighting the contradiction between Trump's messages of peace and his actions, including backing Israel's "genocide" in the Gaza Strip, as per Al Jazeera. "Which one of these president's words should we believe?" Pezeshkian asked, pointing out the inconsistency between Trump's words and actions. "Which one of this president's words should we believe? His message of peace, or his message of massacre of human beings?" the Iranian president said, pointing out that Trump sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a move that was internationally criticised. According to Al Jazeera, the statements came after Trump used his Middle East tour, during which he signed huge deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to heap praise on Arab leaders neighbouring Iran and blasting the leadership in Tehran. Trump sharply criticised Iran's infrastructure, saying that they were developing their infrastructure while Iran's "landmarks are collapsing into rubble" after theocratic establishment replaced a monarchy in a 1979 revolution. Further, he said that Iran's leaders have "managed to turn green farmland into dry deserts" as a result of corruption and mismanagement, and also highlighted frequent power outages in Iran, which are expected to continue for the rest of the year. The largest associations of the mining, steel and cement industries in Iran on Saturday wrote a joint letter to Pezeshkian, urgently requesting him to review a 90 per cent electricity use restriction imposed on the critical sectors. Trump, who hailed Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and lifted sanctions on Damascus, also aimed Iran's regional policy. He described Tehran's support for the fallen establishment of President Bashar al-Assad as a cause of "misery and death" and regional destabilisation. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the US president's remarks as "deceptive", telling state media on Friday it was the US that hampered Iran through sanctions and military threats while backing Israel and attacking Syria. (ANI)
According to local sources, Shahnawaz was summoned to a military camp along with his father and several others. While the others were later released, Shahnawaz was taken into custody.

Since then, there has been no information about his whereabouts, as per The Balochistan Post.

Cases of enforced disappearances have been a persistent and deeply contentious issue in Balochistan for over two decades. Human rights groups, local activists, and international observers have repeatedly raised concerns over the alleged abduction of Baloch youth, political activists, and students by state forces.

The Pakistani government has consistently denied involvement in enforced disappearances, attributing disappearances to insurgent violence or criminal activities. However, families of the disappeared often accuse the military and intelligence agencies of extrajudicial detentions.

The government's Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has received thousands of cases, many of which remain unresolved. This has raised concerns about the commission's effectiveness in addressing the issue.

The region of Awaran, including areas like Mashkay, has seen significant military activity in recent years due to its history of unrest and alleged presence of pro-independence groups.

According to The Balochistan Post, locals report large-scale military operations, arbitrary detentions, and limited media access, making it difficult to verify the situation independently.

No official statement has been released by the authorities regarding Shahnawaz's detention or current status. His family and local community members are appealing for his immediate release and demanding clarity on his condition.

Human rights organisations have long called for transparency, adherence to legal processes, and the end of enforced disappearances, urging the Pakistani government to respect civil liberties and constitutional protections. (ANI)
Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he will hold separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (local time), with the aim of stopping the ongoing war in Ukraine, which he described as a "bloodbath." Sharing a post on his social media, 'Truth Social,' he wrote that the calls will focus on stopping the "bloodbath" in Ukraine, which has resulted in significant losses for both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, and trade. "I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 am The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump wrote on Truth Social "I will then be speaking to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and then, with President Zelenskyy, various members of NATO. Hopefully, it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!" he added. Earlier, Trump said he plans to meet with Putin "as soon as we can set it up," suggesting that his personal involvement is essential to resolving the Russia-Ukraine war, CNN reported. Speaking at the end of his West Asia tour, Trump underscored that current diplomatic efforts will likely stall unless he and Putin engage directly. His remarks came just ahead of a scheduled meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey--the first in-person talks since the early stages of the conflict. Despite the significance of the event, the United States has downplayed the possibility of any real breakthrough, and Trump expressed similar doubts. "Nothing" is going to happen on Ukraine until he and Putin meet, he said, positioning their meeting as a turning point in the stalled peace process, reported CNN. "I think it's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, If I don't go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go. I understand that - but we're going to get it - we're going to get it done. We're going to get it done. 5,000 young people are being killed every single week on average, and we're going to get it done," Trump said, citing the human cost of the war. When asked when the meeting could take place, Trump replied, "As soon as we can set it up. I was going to - I would actually leave here and go. I do want to see my beautiful grandson, and we'll be doing that." His daughter Tiffany Trump gave birth on Thursday, marking his 11th grandchild, CNN reported. Trump also weighed in on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's absence from Thursday's talks. "He didn't show up because he heard Putin wasn't going," he said. Trump added, "He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together." (ANI)
Sharjah [UAE], May 17 (ANI/WAM): Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council (Irthi) and The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), witnessed the launch of the exclusive luxury jewellery collection 'Precious Heart', which is a collaborative effort between Irthi, TBHF, and the British luxury jewellery house Asprey. All proceeds from the collection will go entirely towards supporting TBHF's humanitarian projects and initiatives for refugees, displaced individuals, and vulnerable communities worldwide. Inspired by the Emirati craft of Talli, the collection features 20 pieces of jewellery made from high-purity imperial jadeite, with an estimated total value of GBP 9.7 million. Imperial jadeite, the central element of the collection, is a rare and highly valuable type of jade known for its rich emerald-green hue. The collection also includes diamonds, amethysts, and natural pearls, and consists of rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, anklets, and beaded jadeite necklaces, all set in 18-karat gold and adorned with precious stones. During her opening speech, Jawaher highlighted that Sharjah, under the directives of Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, has always aimed to build organisations that extend beyond administrative bodies providing living projects rooted in values and reflecting the emirate's culture of giving, cooperation, as well as the safeguarding human dignity. The Sultan said: "Since the very first event organised by our first organisation, we made it a condition that every beauty-focused initiative must be paired with a charitable cause that serves a community in need -- and this belief has never changed. Through this, we established a culture that distinguishes our organisations and created a humanitarian dimension to our gatherings and events, one that engages with global issues and challenges, and contributes to shaping a more just and compassionate future." "This collaboration between Irthi, The Big Heart Foundation, and Asprey demonstrates the value of unified efforts and shared resources in continuing to support noble humanitarian causes. When one party carries the legacy of heritage, another champions humanitarian responsibility, and a third the excellence of design, their partnership becomes a creative humanitarian initiative which is now embodied in the 'Precious Heart' collection. This reflects the role of art as a means of empowerment and a goodwill tool," she concluded. She also attended the opening of a silent charity auction for the collection, held at The Chedi Al Bait Hotel in Sharjah. Running until May 19, it offers a unique opportunity to acquire limited-edition pieces that merge the refined craftsmanship of an iconic global brand with the cultural identity of the UAE and a noble humanitarian mission. For participation and further information in the exclusive auction, please contact the Irthi team at +971 54 345 0036. The agreement underpinning the collaboration between Irthi, TBHF, and Asprey was signed in London in 2024, establishing a unique global model for partnerships between craft organisations, humanitarian organisations, and luxury brands; all in aid of supporting noble causes. Asprey donated 1,000 grams of high-purity imperial jadeite, initially expected to produce 12 pieces valued at GBP 4 million. However, due to the exceptional clarity of the jadeite; containing only 7 per cent impurities compared to the typical 40 per cent; the material yielded 20 pieces, raising the collection's total estimated value. John Rigas, CEO of Asprey, commented: "Our shared values of sustainability, craftsmanship, and humanitarian service are fully aligned. We are proud to collaborate with Irthi and The Big Heart Foundation on this unique collection, which honours Emirati heritage while making a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need. Reem BinKaram, Director General of Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, stressed that Sheikha Jawaher's leadership ensured the council's initiatives had global reach and meaningful humanitarian impact. "Heritage reflects a nation's shared values and cultural foundations. H.H.'s support has enabled Irthi to build strategic partnerships with some of the world's most respected brands, driven by our shared belief that art is a noble message and a universal language that can empower communities and cultivate compassion. Inspired by the traditional Emirati Talli craft, the 'Precious Heart' collection showcases our efforts to preserve and reinterpret our cultural heritage through contemporary design," BinKaram noted. Alya Obaid Al Musaiebi, Director of TBHF, emphasised that the most important lesson from Jawaher's approach is that the sustainability of humanitarian work is not measured solely by the longevity of programmes but by the depth of their impact on people's lives and the inspiration they offer to institutions across sectors. "The partnership between TBHF, Asprey, and Irthi is an example of sustainable collaboration and a creative model for mobilising resources and investing in art and craftsmanship to serve humanity. This is the true purpose of art and the role of heritage to serve as tools for change and aspirations toward a world where human dignity and rights are protected." The 'Precious Heart' collection represents the vision of Sharjah and the UAE, blending authenticity and modernity, beauty and creativity, and a commitment to meaningful humanitarian change. It also invites institutions and companies worldwide to contribute to efforts that create a lasting impact for individuals and communities alike. (ANI/WAM)
Milan [Italy], May 17 (ANI/WAM): As part of the main events marking the opening of the "Arabic Language and Culture Festival" in Milan, Italy, organised by the Institute of Arab Culture at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and sponsored by the Sharjah Book Authority, the Sharjah Arabic Language Academy (SALA) showcased the emirate's global efforts to support the Arabic language and promote its presence in Western academic circles. The session highlighted Sharjah's scientific and cultural initiatives to enrich Arabic studies and research at international universities. During a panel titled "Efforts of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah to Support Arabic in the West," Mohamed Safi Al Mosteghanemi, Secretary-General of Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, emphasised that Arabic, as a bridge for intercultural dialogue, continues to be cherished by its native speakers and passionately studied by Orientalists and scholars in both Asia and Europe. These efforts, he noted, have translated into meaningful contributions that have helped establish Arabic's global standing. Al Mosteghanemi discussed the "Language Immersion" initiative launched by the Academy under the guidance of Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The initiative brings academic delegations from global universities in Austria, Poland, Italy, and others to live among the people of Sharjah and engage with its cultural environment, thereby enhancing their linguistic skills beyond traditional classroom learning. He also referred to the "Comprehensive Arabic Encyclopaedia" project, overseen by the Academy, stating that such initiatives embody Sharjah's vision of promoting Arabic as a source of knowledge and human connection capable of transmitting ideas and cultures across nations. He also outlined five key foundations for developing linguistic mastery. First is continuous and mindful reading, which broadens knowledge and strengthens expression. Second is deep engagement with "instrumental sciences" such as grammar, morphology, rhetoric, and prosody, which provide learners with analytical tools. The third key, he noted, is the role of a skilled teacher who can instil a love for Arabic among both native and non-native speakers. Al Mosteghanemi also stressed the importance of memorisation in Arabic learning, citing Quranic verses, prophetic sayings, classical poetry, and wise proverbs, as a fourth essential element. The fifth and final key is systematic training, both oral and written, through regular sessions that allow learners to use the language in varied real-life situations. The festival spotlighted the presence of Arabic language and culture in Western contexts, addressing topics such as teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, updating grammar and rhetoric curricula, exploring Arab literature in the diaspora, issues of translation, and how Arabic texts are received in other languages, all tied to broader questions of identity and cultural integration. (ANI/WAM)
Callling it "utter misrepresentation of facts," the Ministry of External Affairs strongly rebutted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accusations against EAM S Jaishankar that the government "informed Pakistan" ahead of Operation Sindoor. Refuting the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha's charge, the MEA said that EAM had stated that the government warned Pakistan at "the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement" and not before it. "EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out," the external publicity (XP) division of the MEA said in a statement. https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/1923691824142569642 The MEA's response came after Rahul Gandhi posted a video on X (formerly Twitter), in which Jaishankar is seen speaking to the media on Thursday following the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi. In his X post, Gandhi alleged wrongdoing by the government, stating: "Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result?" India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 civilians dead. As part of the operation, Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Following the strikes, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling and attempted drone attacks. In response, India launched coordinated airstrikes that damaged key military infrastructure across 11 Pakistani airbases. On May 10, both sides announced an understanding on the cessation of hostilities, restoring temporary calm along the border. (ANI)
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced his departure from the People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday and urged voters to support the party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, according to a report from the Yonhap news agency. In a Facebook post, Yoon wrote, "I am leaving the People Power Party today," adding, "Although I am leaving the party, I will continue to stand at the forefront to defend freedom and national sovereignty." "Please give your support to Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party. Make sure to cast your vote. Every single vote is a path toward safeguarding this country's freedom, sovereignty and prosperity," he said. Yoon's decision follows growing calls within the conservative PPP for him to sever ties with the party. Many members believed his departure was necessary to boost Kim's stagnant poll numbers against Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, the Yonhap news agency reported. Yoon was removed from office in April over his botched martial law attempt in December and is facing a criminal trial. "I believe the (former) president will make a rational decision," Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim party leader, said during a press conference on Thursday. "As the interim leader, I would respectfully recommend that the president leave the party." PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo has expressed respect for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's decision to leave the party. Prior to Yoon's announcement, Kim had maintained a neutral stance on the matter, leaving it up to Yoon to decide whether to stay or leave, Yonhap in its report added. However, more centrist members of the party had called for the leadership to voluntarily expunge Yoon's party affiliation. After Yoon's departure, Kim stated, "We will humbly accept his decision and work to make the party more united and innovative, so that the party, the campaign and the presidency can align with the will of the people." He said to reporters after a campaign meeting at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Centre in Gwangju, some 270 kilometres south of Seoul. When asked whether there had been any prior coordination with Yoon on his withdrawal, candidate Kim replied, "None at all." Rival parties slammed Yoon's PPP departure, claiming that his statement lacks a sense of apology to the public for his martial law fiasco. (ANI)
Geneva [Switzerland], May 17 (ANI/WAM): The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commemorated 160 years dedicated to connecting the world on Saturday, 17 May, during the annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. "For 160 years, ITU has brought the world together to ensure technology benefits all of humanity," said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. "In this milestone year, let's reaffirm our commitment to building a shared digital future where no one is left behind, and where everyone can thrive." Since its founding on 17 May 1865, ITU has been at the forefront of technology innovation, fostering multilateralism, social and economic growth, security and safety. From telegraphy and the first radio signals, to satellites, mobile phones and the latest developments in AI and quantum computing, ITU inspires innovation through cooperation as it works for a world where everyone, everywhere is connected. Notable ITU achievements include: Since 1963, ITU has ensured fair and reliable access to satellite orbits for ITU Member States. Space is now home to satellites from 91 countries that provide services to billions of people. In 1976, ITU published a technical standard allowing computer networks to work together, laying the foundation for the modern Internet. ITU publishes over 300 open standards every year, making emerging technologies safer, more reliable, and more impactful. In the decade since ITU's 150th anniversary, global connectivity has doubled. Today, two-thirds of the world's population is online, benefiting from the opportunities connectivity brings. Since 1906 - and now with 80 per cent of global goods currently transported by sea - ITU has provided rules and frequency resources that help ships communicate and navigate reliably and securely. With 99 per cent of all Internet traffic travelling through undersea cables, ITU promotes and facilitates efforts to enhance the resilience of this critical infrastructure. As part of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, ITU is highlighting the need to ensure that women and girls worldwide can benefit from and contribute to the globe's digital transformation. Of the 2.6 billion people around the world that are still unconnected, the majority are women and girls. It is estimated that 189 million fewer women were using the Internet than men in 2024, with gaps in access, affordability and digital skills hindering participation. (ANI/WAM)
Tel Aviv [Israel], May 17 (ANI/TPS): The IDF announced tonight that it has launched the first stages of its major offensive in the Gaza Strip, dubbed "Gideon's Chariots." According to a statement released by the IDF, the Army, "has launched extensive attacks and mobilised forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon's Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas." "IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realise the goals of the war," the military adds. (ANI/TPS)
The United States Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday (local time) confirmed that the Secret Service had interviewed former FBI Director James Comey over his now-deleted social media post featuring the number "8647", made with seashells, which some interpreted as a threat toward US President Donald Trump, as reported by The Hill. Noem, posting on X, stated that the investigation is ongoing and emphasised her commitment to ensuring Trump's safety. "I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of (Trump)... This is an ongoing investigation," Noem wrote on X. When approached by The Hill, the Department of Homeland Security didn't provide any further information on the matter; however, it reiterated a prior statement by the US Secret Service that it thoroughly investigates any potential threats to its protectees and is treating Comey's post seriously. "The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees... We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI director, and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters," the Secret Service said as quoted by The Hill. As per Noem, the Secret Service and Homeland Security launched a probe on Thursday (local time) and are treating the case as a "threat", The Hill reported. As per CNN, Comey met voluntarily with agents at the Secret Service's Washington Field Office earlier Friday (local time). The post in question showed seashells arranged to spell "8647", which Trump and his allies saw as a coded reference to assassinating the 47th president. Comey denied any harmful intent, saying he was unaware that the numbers could be interpreted as inciting violence. The number "86" is often used as slang for eliminating someone, fueling Republican concerns. US President Trump, who has previously survived assassination attempts, dismissed Comey's explanation, saying, "He knew exactly what that meant," during a Fox News interview on Friday (local time). (ANI)
According to Taipei Times, the CGA confirmed that the two, a father and son, were apprehended, their 3.3-meter rubber boat confiscated, and then sent to prosecutors for investigation.

The Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office identified the father as a 41-year-old man surnamed Song and has requested his detention on charges of illegal entry to Taiwan.

His 17-year-old son, however, was not detained due to his age and on the premise that he was just following his father's lead. He was later transferred to the National Immigration Agency's Special Operations Brigade, as reported by the Taipei Times.

As per Taipei Times, citing sources, Song reportedly claimed he fled China seeking "freedom" due to political persecution, though authorities have yet to confirm his motives.

The CGA noted that the vessel's small size made it hard to detect by radar, raising concerns of a possible "gray zone intrusion", especially as China has recently tested Taiwan's responses through covert activities during military exercises.

Since January, authorities have handled five smuggling cases involving 38 individuals, Taipei Times reported.

To strengthen its defence resilience and guarantee national security, the CGA stated that it is looking for funding to install coastal monitoring systems like thermal imaging cameras, increase patrol ship capacity, and buy additional equipment that improves stereoscopic monitoring capabilities.

Earlier on Thuraday, Taipei Times reported, citing Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director General Hsieh Ching-chin that the country held talks with "certain countries" to conduct a joint humanitarian exercise in the Taiwan Strait as a response to China's increasing use of "gray zone" tactics and legal warfare. (ANI)
The Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Grigory Karasin, on Saturday (local time), described the recent negotiations on ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul as a significant milestone in resolving the ongoing crisis. The talks, held on May 16, marked the first face-to-face meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in three years, opening the door to potential resolutions on sensitive issues despite the ongoing conflict. In a statement, Karasin noted, "It is obvious that Istanbul has become an important milestone! Despite the camouflage gloss of some Kiev negotiators and the traditionally cunning faces of European ideologists who constantly surround Zelensky, the negotiations in Turkey should be perceived as a serious milestone on the path to resolving the crisis in Ukraine." He highlighted the significance of the dialogue, stating, "The first face-to-face meeting of the two teams after three years of tough military confrontation, despite all the propaganda tricks of the West, still opened the door to contacts and decisions on specific sensitive issues." Karasin praised the Russian delegation's approach, saying, "Let's pay tribute to the calm and confident manner of conducting the dialogue on the part of the Russian delegation." The talks resulted in an exchange of prisoners and an agreement to continue negotiations, which he described as "a significant result of difficult work". He emphasised that Russia's goals, as outlined by President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, when the Russian President demanded that Ukraine give up land occupied by Russia and drop its aspiration to join NATO, remain unchanged but are now likely to be perceived more concretely by both Kyiv and its Western allies. "The goals remain the same and were formulated by the President of Russia back in June 2024. It seems that now they will be perceived more specifically by both Kiev and its controllers," Karasin added. Reflecting on the broader significance, Karasin concluded, "What is important, as they once said, is that the process has begun!" According to CNN, the Istanbul negotiations in Turkiye were the first time in three years that Russia and Ukraine held direct talks to discuss the ceasefire agreement between the two countries' leaders. However, there were no indications of a significant breakthrough, CNN reported, citing a Ukrainian source and that the Russian delegation asked Kyiv to cede territory that it controlled. (ANI)
AMHERST  A judge denied a motion to suppress a firearm as evidence Friday in the case of a New Hampshire prison inmate accused of murder in connection with a June 2019 shooting that killed an elderly Amherst County woman and severely injured her daughter.

Justin Jay Sales, 24, is accused of aggravated murder, first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, shooting into an occupied dwelling, attempted robbery and two counts of using a firearm in commission of a felony in the killing of Doris Puleio, 92, and wounding of her daughter, Trudy Ann Goetz. A jury trial is scheduled for June 18 in Amherst Circuit Court and is slated to last a week.

Sales was 18 when he was arrested more than a week after the June 25, 2019, shooting at a residence on Bobwhite Road in Amherst. He was in custody for about 2 years when he was released in December 2021 when prosecutors dropped the charges because of evidentiary-related issues at the time.

Sales, who is serving a prison sentence in New Hampshire after being convicted in a sexual assault case, returned to Amherst County in early February through an interstate detainer agreement and is being held at the Amherst County Adult Detention Center.

Scott De Bruin, his attorney, filed numerous motions seeking to have a firearm in the case and related forensic evidence be ruled inadmissible. De Bruin said the Glock firearm was found at the Amherst County residence of Takota Cash and was taken to the Amherst County Sheriffs Office.

In a pre-trial motion hearing Friday before Judge Michael Doucette in Amherst Circuit Court, De Bruin said there is no clear evidence of that firearm being logged at the sheriffs office. The chain-of-custody issue surrounding the firearm was among factors in the case initially being dropped in December 2021.

How in the world is that possible? Doucette asked, referring to the firearm not being logged. Its a rhetorical question.

Doucette at a few points during Fridays hearing directed remarks toward law enforcement officers in the room and the profession in general.

For law enforcement back there, it cant be done, Doucette said of not logging firearms properly as evidence. But it was.

Amherst County Commonwealths Attorney Lyle Carver explained to Doucette the firearm was put into temporary evidence lockers after hours and from that locker the chain of custody was well documented.

We agree theres a gap, Carver said to Doucette. Theres a conflict in the commonwealths evidence  It leaves a gap.

The judge said Carvers explanation answered his rhetorical question. Carver said an analysis of the firearm was done by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) along with cartridge casings from two locations.

De Bruin said the defense isnt questioning the admissibility of the firearm itself but rather the forensic report. The defense contends not being able to establish the proper chain of custody means there is no evidence to show the firearm wasnt tampered with or altered.

He said it isnt known how the firearm got from Thackers house to the sheriffs department and the prosecution has to rule out evidence it wasnt tampered with. The defense asks that any forensic report for the firearm and cartridges be ruled inadmissible without the proper chain of custody.

Carver said casings found at the scene and in Sales home in Amherst at the time match the firearm and evidence shows the serial number of the Glock. He said the prosecution believes it as a jury question as far as the gap and the weight it would give in the chain-of-custody issue from a legal standpoint.

An ATF analyst will testify at trial about the firearm and how it could not be tampered with, Carver said. The same gun found at the residence is the same one the ATF agent tested and is set to give testimony about at trial, he said. The commonwealth knows the casings match the gun, he added.

We certainly feel the evidence points in one direction, Carver said.

De Bruin argued the legal question is not about the weight a jury gives but the admissibility because, the defense believes, it cannot be properly established how the gun got from Cashs residence to the sheriffs office.

And the burden is actually on the commonwealth, De Bruin said, adding it is not on the defense to show that.

In denying the motion to suppress the firearm evidence and allowing the ATF agent testimony on it, Doucette said guns with serial numbers are unique and differ from the typical chain-of-custody issue involving drugs. Doucette told De Bruin he can cross-examine the weight of that evidence at trial.

Puleio was shot in the torso and left arm, while Goetz, who is in her late 70s, suffered two piercing gunshot wounds to the torso and one that grazed her chest, prosecutors have said at previous court hearings. Shell casings at the scene led investigators back to a handgun Sales girlfriend had bought for Cash, his friend, in March 2019, according to evidence at previous court hearings.

Cash testified at an October 2019 preliminary hearing to loaning Sales the Glock .40 caliber firearm one week prior to the shooting for what Cash assumed would be a robbery. Cash testified he got the gun back on July 1, 2019, with four rounds out of 15 Sales had loaded, and said in court Sales told him hed fired the gun in his yard.

De Bruin withdrew a motion to suppress seizure of Sales cellphone as evidence. He told Doucette the defense and prosecution came to an agreement on body camera footage from an officer he sought to be ruled inadmissible that only just more than 12 minutes is admissible, and the rest is not. The footage is nearly 28 minutes long, according to court filings in the case.

De Bruin sought to have a change of venue due to heightened publicity the case has drawn, particularly during the 2023 election and comments from then-candidate and current sheriff Jimmy Ayers on social media criticizing aspects of the investigation under the administration of former Sheriff E.W. Viar. Doucette denied the motion and said the jury selection process will go forward in Amherst Circuit Court with the potential to change location only if necessary.

De Bruin also filed a motion Friday to compel the Amherst County Sheriffs Office to disclose all evidence in the case to Carvers office. The motion states the prosecution has provided discovery through a hard drive indicating this was all the evidence the sheriffs department had, and the defense has been informed the department provided new information.

The motion moves to disclose all information to the prosecutors office and if it fails to comply the omitted evidence be excluded at trial. In court Friday, De Bruin told the judge the prosecution on Thursday received a 12-page draft report on Thursday from a sheriffs investigator prosecutors have not seen before.

Carver said his office was under the assumption it had all the evidence; the draft report goes back two years, and his office is working to turn all the evidence over and takes that duty seriously.

Doucette said evidence from law enforcement must be turned over to the prosecution within 21 days of trial. I dont care if its draft or not, he said.

Carver told The News & Advance in an interview after Sales was indicted a second time in late 2023 the case was rebuilt, and his office and the Amherst County Sheriffs Office are determined to bring Sales to justice. He said then the difficult but necessary decision was made to pause the case in late 2021 to protect it for an eventual trial.

Sales is serving 32.5 years to 65 years for sexual assault, witness tampering and other charges in New Hampshire, and is eligible for parole on those charges in March 2041. If convicted on the Amherst charges, he faces a maximum of life in prison.
BEDFORD  The Bedford County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved two special use permit applications for recreational vehicles and boat storage operations in the Moneta and Stewartsville areas.

One of the permits is for nine acres adjacent to 1217 Stoney Fork Road in Moneta near Staunton River High School. The concept plan for the application from James and Tricia Gates outlines the placement of the proposed recreational vehicle and boat storage areas, a new commercial entrance and a fencing layout.

The property is zoned agricultural/rural preserve, AP, and agricultural residential, AR, with a corridor overlay district for Virginia 24. The boards approval includes a condition that prohibits the service and sale of recreational vehicles and boats, which the applicants said they are OK with as the planned use is for storage of vehicles only.

More than 100 feet of wooded forest is between the lot and adjacent residences, and a convenience store is directly across the street, according to the staff report to the board. No change to traffic patterns is expected and no additional public services, such as fire and rescue, are needed to support the facility, the report states.

The second permit application from Dennis Crawley establishes recreational vehicle and boat sales/service/storage use on a parcel located at 13315 Stewartsville Road. A concept plan part of the application illustrates the location of the existing building designated for servicing recreational vehicles, along with a storage yard and parking spaces.

The lot is zoned AP with a corridor overlay district for Virginia 24. The concept plan shows an existing building designated for servicing recreational vehicles, along with the storage yard and parking spaces.

The Bedford County Planning Commission previously recommended approval of both special use permit requests. No one spoke for or against both projects at two separate public hearings on Monday.

Horizon health statistics presented





Horizon Behavioral Healths chief official gave the board an annual report on the Lynchburg-based health providers recent outcome and initiatives. Horizon CEO Melissa Lucy said in-person appointments in the 2023 fiscal year were 61,802 and those grew to 70,279 the following year.

Horizon provides case management, emergency, housing, outpatient, prevention, primary care, psychiatric and school-based services across the city of Lynchburg and counties of Bedford, Amherst, Appomattox and Campbell.

Lucy said Horizon recently connected just more than 25 people in the region with several mental illnesses with finding permanent supportive housing and basic household items.

Many times, they were severely mentally ill, they also had other needs, Lucy said, adding Horizon pays for their rent.

She said 692 children and 1,979 adults from Bedford County were served in fiscal year 2024 and with the countys contribution of $189,910, the average uninsured client receives a combination of one or more services for as low as $90.43 per month  the figure is arrived by dividing the locality contribution by the number of uninsured clients served, which is divided by 12.

Keep in mind we provide a lot more services than paid for because one month of case management would cost $367 by itself and each individual also receives our doctor services and in many cases they also receive therapy and much more, Lucy said.

One program provides intensive outreach case management, home visitations and support services to pregnant women and parenting women at-risk or diagnosed with a substance use disorder, Lucy said. Horizon in fiscal year 24 received 246 referrals for substance abuse exposed infants.

We follow up on every single case and any referral we receive, Lucy said.

Six babies born in that span were substance free, she said.

This is remarkable, and this means both the mother and babys lives were profoundly impacted by these services and our teams are succeeding at connecting with women prior to birth to prevent negative health outcomes for mother and baby, Lucy said.

The Bedford Family Treatment Court is among programs Horizon is involved with that seek to reunite children with parents who have lost or are in danger of losing custody as a result of opioid and substance abuse. The program has 18 graduates, 45 children reunified or given permanency with their parents, 26 parents linked to medication and assisted treatment, and 29 participant family members linked to services over the past several years, according to Lucys presentation.

Lucy said the program is one of five treatment court programs in the state. A comment from Stephanie Mutter-Ayers, Bedford Countys juvenile and domestic relations court judge, included in the presentation states continued efforts through the program have assisted many county children by reuniting them with family in safe, stable homes.

Horizons new crisis receiving center also is undergoing renovations in Lynchburg and will provide tier treatment options for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis including those placed under an emergency custody order (ECO) or a temporary detention order. The facilitys primary services include walk-in medical heath evaluation, 23-hour observation, evaluations for ECOs and a 16-bed residential crisis stabilization and detox unit that Lucy said is ahead of schedule and expected for completion in October.

Lucy said the new crisis receiving center on Fenwick Drive in Lynchburg is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2026, or possibly sooner.
KAGAWA, May 17 (News On Japan) - A sightseeing boat carrying 25 people caught fire off the coast of Ogijima Island in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture on the evening of May 16th. All passengers and crew were safely rescued by a nearby fishing boat, and no injuries were reported.

One of the passengers described the situation: "Flames broke out, and I rushed over with a fire extinguisher, but at that point there was really nothing we could do."

According to the Takamatsu Coast Guard Office, a distress call was received from the vessel's captain at around 5:40 p.m., reporting a fire on board. The vessel, named Dai-27 Mukuji Maru, is owned by Rokukuchi Maru Kaiun based in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. It was carrying 21 passengers and 4 crew members, all of whom were rescued by a nearby fishing vessel.

The tour boat had been visiting sites such as Inujima Island in Okayama before heading back toward Takamatsu Port when the fire broke out.

Source: TBS
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Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade. Even if I was the guy with the broom, Id have 10 elephants. Youve got to love a parade, and if you or your kids or your grandkids havent already done so, this is the year to be part of the walking party cal
Former Gabon president Ali Bongo, who was ousted in a 2023 coup, has left the country for Angola accompanied by his wife and son, Angolas presidency announced in a Facebook statement.

The departure follows last weeks transfer of Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Noureddin Bongo, 33, from prison to house arrest. Both had been in custody since the August 2023 coup and face accusations including embezzlement and money laundering.

According to two sources familiar with the situation, the family departed Gabon before midnight on Thursday. Ali Bongo, 66, had initially been placed under house arrest following the coup, though officials later claimed he was free to move as he wisheda statement his supporters disputed.

Prior to their transfer to house arrest on May 9, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo were reportedly held in basement cells within Librevilles presidential palace. Their supporters have alleged torture during detention, claims that coup leader and current President Brice Oligui Nguema denied.

The African Unions Peace and Security Council had called for the immediate release of Bongos family during an April 30 meeting, where Gabons membershipsuspended after the coupwas reinstated. The council specifically demanded guarantees that the familys rights and health would be protected.

Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the coup that ended the Bongo familys decades-long rule, was sworn in this month for a seven-year presidential term after securing nearly 95% of the vote in the presidential election. The Bongo dynasty had governed Gabon since 1967, with Ali assuming office in 2009 following his fathers death after more than 40 years in power.
King Mohammed VI announced on Saturday the reopening of Moroccos embassy in Damascus, more than a decade after it was closed in 2012 following the flare up of the Syrian civil war.

This significant diplomatic announcement was made in the Kings speech to the 34th Arab League Summit that opened proceeding in Baghdad this Saturday.

The Monarch described the move as a reaffirmation of Moroccos support for the promising course of action in the country and steadfast backing for Syrias territorial integrity and national sovereignty, as well as a gesture of solidarity with the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom, security, and stability.

The Kingdom of Morocco reaffirms its unwavering, historical position set out in the letter I sent to my brother, HE President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, namely that we stand by and support the proud Syrian people as they seek to fulfil their aspirations for freedom, security, and stability and to preserve Syrias territorial integrity and national sovereignty, the King said in his message that was read out by Foreign Minister nasser Bourita.

This initiative reflects Moroccos commitment to supporting the Syrian political process and to opening new horizons for strengthening historic bilateral ties between Rabat and Damascus, the King stated. He emphasized that the renewed diplomatic engagement would serve the mutual interests of both nations and reinforce Arab solidarity at a time of regional upheaval.

Moroccos decision comes amid broader calls across the Arab world for reintegrating Syria into regional diplomacy and rebuilding fractured relations after years of conflict and isolation.

In his message, the Monarch touched on what he called the painful and unfortunate circumstances some Arab sister nations are experiencing, pointing out that Morocco has not spared  nor will it spare  any effort to heal rifts and contribute to finding solutions to the crises plaguing our Arab region, making dialogue and peaceful initiatives prevail over the logic of force and military solutions.

In this regard, he referred, in particular, to the crisis affecting Libya, recalling that since the beginning of the crisis, the Kingdom has been resolutely and effectively engaged in regional and international efforts aimed at reconciling political rivals and facilitating their efforts to find a solution to the crisis.

Morocco is also following with deep concern the dangerous developments unfolding in some Arab countries, such as Yemen, the Sudan, and Lebanon, said the King, who reaffirmed Moroccos commitment and support for all initiatives and efforts aimed at promoting a political process that is conducive to stability and peace in these Arab countries, and that can help overcome differences and conflicts through peaceful and diplomatic means, while safeguarding the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab sisterly nations.

King Mohammed VI reiterated Moroccos readiness to engage in any dynamic that promotes joint Arab action and contributes to fulfilling Arab peoples aspirations for greater security, stability, progress, and prosperity.
King Mohammed VI has deplored the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, where dozens of defenseless Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are killed on a daily basis, in a challenge to the international community and to global public opinion, and called for the immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the negotiating table.

In an address to the 34th Arab League Summit that opened proceeding in Baghdad this Saturday, the King pointed out that the Palestinians are the victims of gross violations of international law, international humanitarian law, and all human rights principles and that following the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the situation in the region is alarming, requiring the revival of the truce agreement as a prelude to declaring a final ceasefire.

The King who called for an immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the negotiating table, stressed the urgent need for an intervention to put an end to the Israeli military aggressions in the West Bank, especially the demolition of houses and the forced displacement of unarmed Palestinians from the areas under Israeli control; to ensure the continued provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, particularly medical and food supplies; and make sure the provision of aid is not hindered for any reason.

In the same vein, the Monarch underlined the need to maintain the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and to support the Agency so that it may carry out the tasks assigned to it by the international community for the benefit of the civilian population; and the drawing of a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the reconstruction plan approved by the recent extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, without the displacement of residents. The reconstruction plan needs to be managed by the Palestinian Authority under Arab and international supervision, the Monarch insisted.

The Monarch who recalled the immutable principles underpinning Moroccos foreign policy and historical responsibility towards the Palestinian cause, underlined the need to open up prospects for a political solution in order to bring about a genuine and just peace to the region, which guarantees the Palestinian people the achievement of their legitimate rights and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the Gaza Strip as an integral part of this state.

In his address, the Monarch also urged to grant adequate support to the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, and to consolidate its institutions to meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people for security, peace, progress, and prosperity;

The King likewise stressed the need for Palestinian national reconciliation, which remains the fundamental gateway to strengthening the Palestinian position in any future peace process.

In keeping with the responsibility entrusted to him as Chairman of the al-Quds Committee, the King vowed to continue defending the holy sites, especially al-Quds al-Sharif, by building on the combined effect of political and diplomatic action, on the one hand, and the field work carried out by Bayt Mal al-Quds Agency, on the other.

We shall continue to implement tangible programs and projects aimed at preserving the cultural and spiritual identity of the Holy City, improve the social and living conditions of the inhabitants of al-Quds, and support their steadfastness and continued presence in al-Quds, King Mohammed VI pointed out in the address that was read out on his behalf by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita.
King Mohammed VI has called for the respect of the national sovereignty & territorial integrity of states and for refraining from sponsoring separatist movements, sending a strong message to the neighboring Algerian military regime.

In a message addressed to the 34th Summit of the League of Arab, convening in Bagdad, the King said the exceptionally difficult circumstances in which this important Summit is being held require sincere political will rooted in a firm belief in joint action and strict adherence to the principles of neighborliness and non-interference in states internal affairs, stressing the need to strengthen joint Arab action to counter shared challenges.

In his message read out by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, the King affirmed that Morocco supports all initiatives aimed at advancing joint Arab cooperation in order to tackle the crisis of rising food and energy prices as well as water scarcity, and to respond to the urgent need to address the adverse effects of climate change.

The goals sought from consolidating the principles of political solidarity and supporting Arab causes will be achieved only when we establish strong inter-Arab economic and trade partnerships that can broaden prospects for the achievement of growth and prosperity for all Arab peoples, underlined the King.

Investing in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and modern technology offer, perhaps, a real opportunity for development, and for transitioning to more sustainable green economic models, in addition to engaging in the global changes occurring in the world, said the Moroccan Monarch, noting that North Africa remains the least economically integrated region in the Arab world and the least dynamic in terms of inter-Arab trade, despite its abundant natural resources and economic potential.

Given this situation, I cannot but regret, once again, that the Arab Maghreb Union has not been able to play its natural role in promoting the joint development of the Maghreb countries by guaranteeing, in particular, the free movement of people, capital, goods, and services between its five Member States, said the King.

The King devoted a large part of his address to the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, where dozens of defenseless Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are killed on a daily basis.

To put an end to this alarming situation, the Monarch called for immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the negotiating table with a view to reviving the truce agreement as a prelude to declaring a final ceasefire.

The King reiterated further Moroccos supportive stand to the legitimate Palestinian cause and stressed the need to open up prospects for a political solution in order to bring about genuine, just peace to the region, which guarantees the Palestinian people the achievement of their legitimate rights and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the Gaza Strip as an integral part of this state.
The Spanish Civil Guard announced Friday the arrest of an individual in Guadalajara, central Spain, for belonging to the terrorist Daesh group, during a joint operation conducted with Moroccos Directorate General for Territorial Surveillance (DGST).

The close cooperation between the two security services made it possible to confirm the individuals presence in Spain, which in turn allowed the judicial proceedings launched against him in Morocco for terrorism-related offenses to be resumed, according to a press release from the Civil Guard.

Following his arrest, the suspect was brought before a judge of the Spanish National Court, the authority responsible for handling international arrest warrants.

The Civil Guard emphasized that the fight against terrorist threats remains a priority for national and international counterterrorism services.

This operation is part of the ongoing cooperation between Spain and Morocco in the fight against terrorism and extremism, and reflects the efforts of both countries to promote regional and international security.
A former Uber driver has been found guilty of sexually abusing an intoxicated Auburn woman he picked up from downtown Auburn in April 2022.

Theodore Leroy Halls Jr., 49, of Opelika has been convicted of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse and lesser-included first-degree sex abuse. In a second case that involved a second Uber rider, he was found not guilty of first-degree rape and first-degree sex abuse.

Halls will remain in the Lee County Detention Center without bond. A sentencing date has been set for June 17.

Prosecutors said Halls took advantage of intoxicated women

The prosecutors argued that both of the victims were incapacitated, which is when someone is unable to give consent due to not being able to function normally. They argued that the victim from the April 10, 2022, incident was not able to give consent to sexual interaction. There were moments in the video where she was asleep and unresponsive in the back of the Halls vehicle.

According to Alabama state law, a person cannot consent if they are unable to understand what is happening, disoriented, helpless, asleep, or unconscious, for any reason, including by alcohol or other drugs. Therefore, in situations when the respondent knew or should have known that the complainant is physically or mentally incapacitated, any consent obtained is invalid.

Prosecutors reminded the jury that the defendant told the court on Thursday that he touched the victim while she was asleep and knew she was intoxicated. They argued that the victim couldnt appraise, meaning she couldnt make or express a critical judgment or evaluation. Prosecutors said the defendant was aware and took advantage of the situation.

He saw it, and he took the opportunity, prosecutors said to the jury.

Prosecutors argued that the victim had no idea what was happening and who she was with at the time. Both victims were considered incapacitated under Alabamas state law, prosecutors testified.

When talking to the jury about the video evidence of the second victim in the back of the defendants car trying to put on her clothes, prosecutors mentioned that she was unaware of what was happening. Prosecutors said she tried to put her skirt on as a shirt.

Prosecutors said the video of the second woman includes audio of the defendant telling her, Dont pass out on me. They argued that it proved that he was aware of her condition.

Defense says video evidence doesnt prove Halls guilt

The defense attorney argued that all of the video evidence is no proof of Halls being guilty.

With the case concerning consent, he also argued that the victim initiated the actions.

He talked about the April 10, 2022, video, arguing that the victim had no problem getting into Halls vehicle because she wasnt stumbling or needed any extra help.

When responding to the victim being asleep in the backseat of the defendants car, he argued that its common for people to want to lie back and relax as a passenger, especially during night drives.

He mentioned to the jurors that the victim refused to get out of the defendants car and initiated the sexual contact.

The defense also argued that the victim used the accusation to get out of being charged for being under the influence.

He said that the bruises on her body could have come from the handcuffs when she was arrested that same night and mentioned that video evidence showed the victim crawling to the front of the car.

He argued that the victim was able to carry on conversations with the Auburn police officer while she was in the back of the police car. He said that the video showed her answering the officer about where she was from and speaking French to him.

With the second victims case, the defense mentioned to the jurors that she told the police that she doesnt remember any sexual interaction with Halls as a way to get out of trouble.

He said that the second victim did not want to admit to anyone that she had sex with her driver, and she could possibly gain financial benefit from it.

The defense concluded by saying that people dont want to feel bad, so they convince themselves that they didnt want to do it, so they wouldnt feel responsible.

Prosecutors call defense pathetic and shameful

Prosecutors told the jurors that the defense blaming two intoxicated women was pathetic and shameful.

They argued that the 2022 victim was arrested because she was a danger to herself. They also argued that the bruises werent the issue because the case isnt about whether the defendant forced either victim to do anything. Instead, it was about whether either victim was capable of consenting, prosecutors argued.

Prosecutors told the jurors that the police body cam footage was irrelevant to the case because it doesnt show that the victim was conscious; it just shows that she was intoxicated and going through many emotions.

In response to the defense argument about the second victim possibly wanting financial benefit, prosecutors argued that it took two years before she even knew about what happened to her. She wouldve just taken action for financial gain when it first happened, according to the prosecution.

Prosecutors said that in the hour-long video of the dash cam in April 2022, the victim was asleep the majority of the time, including when Halls was telling her to take her clothes off.

In a video from 2022 shown to the jury on Thursday, Halls called his friend after the interaction with the victim and gave them a false story of what happened. Halls testified that he didnt want his friend to tell his wife.

Prosecutors argued that the defendant created a story to protect himself, and he was not worried about his wife.

Uber has not publicly commented on either Uber ride. The April 10, 2022, incident unfolded two years after AP News reported in April 2018 that the riding service would start doing annual criminal background checks on U.S. drivers and hire a company that constantly monitors criminal arrests as it tries to do a better job of keeping riders safe.
Backed by U.S. and global investment, SMR projects from Terrapower to Rolls-Royce signal rising momentum in a market set to hit $7.14B by 2030.

The Ontario government has green-lit Ontario Power Generation to build the first of four Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site.

OPG says it will be the first commercial grid-scale SMR in North America, with an in-service target date of 2030, and the first new nuclear build in Ontario in more than three decades.

Ontario government support for the CAD$20.9 billion project came after OPG received a Licence to Construct in April from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The first SMR would cost $7.7 billion. All four SMRS are to be located next to the Darlington nuclear power plant east of Toronto and are expected to be running by 2035.

The BWRX 300 modular plant was designed by G.E. Hitachi Nuclear Energy. It will have capacity for 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 300,000 homes. By comparison, Darlingtons four conventional nuclear reactors each provide 935 MW.

The Doug Ford government says the plants will help meet Ontarios future energy demands, which are expected to rise by 75 percent by 2050.

Related: Fresh EU Sanctions on Russia Could Include Lower Oil Price Cap

Artist rendering of the first Small Modular Reactor being built in Ontario. Source: Ontario Power Generation

What are SMRs?

Facing stiff emissions reduction requirements, several countries are starting to re-assess nuclear power and are looking at building plants that are not as expensive, risky, or politically unpalatable as conventional nuclear.

Generally ,less than 300 MWe, SMRs are cheaper and can be built more quickly than large nuclear reactors, which are typically 1,000 MW and have a large footprint. Interest in small reactors is driven by a desire to reduce capital costs and to provide power away from large grid systems.

SMRs are constructed with prefabricated modules and can be transported by truck or by rail  making them ideal for remote locations where a conventional reactor would not be feasible. Another important advantage is they are less likely to overheat, because their small cores produce less heat than those of large reactors. They also have fewer moving parts, including coolant pumps, which reduces the likelihood of failures that could cause an accident. The fuel, steam and generator are all in one vessel.

Their small size and lower cost compared to large nuclear reactors makes Small Modular Reactors more versatile, meaning significantly more utilities will be able to use them.

In Canada, SMRs are considered ideal for deployment to off-grid, remote locations such as mine sites or the oil sands, as well as communities in northern Canada reliant on diesel-fueled generators for electricity.

Small nuclear reactors are also being eyed by industrial producers as carbon-free sources of heat.

Other SMRs in the works

In addition to OPG, other utilities including Saskatchewans SaskPower and the Tennessee Valley Authority have expressed interest in building BWRX 300s, as have companies in Poland and Estonia, The Globe and Mail reports.

Meanwhile Westinghouse, which built the worlds first commercial pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, PA, in 2023 announced the launch of a smaller version of its flagship AP1000 nuclear reactor. The unit is, like the BWRX 300, able to generate 300 MW of electricity, versus 1,200 MW for the AP1000. It is expected to be available in 2027, at a cost of USD$1 billion per unit  significantly less than the $6.8B estimated to bring an AP1000 online.

Some of the most advanced research on SMR technology is being conducted in New Brunswick.

NB Power is currently working with two private-sector partners, ARC Clean Technology and Moltex Energy, to advance Generation IV Plus Grid-sized SMR technology for use in the Maritime province.

In 2023, the New Brunswick government signed an agreement with the government of Saskatchewan to further enhance collaboration on the development and deployment of SMRs.

The Western Canadian province is considering the same BWRX 300 Small Nuclear Reactor as Ontario.

While no SMRs have yet been built in the United States, the Department of Energy has announced up to $5.5B in funding.

According to my colleague Felicity Bradstock, an increasing number of tech companies are investing in SMR technology with the hopes of powering their high-energy-demand data centers with clean energy. The sector hopes SMR technology will be available to power several data centers by the 2030s, as their power demand grows in line with the rollout of artificial intelligence and other complex technologies. This has led Google to order seven SMRs, and Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta to follow suit.

Bill Gatess Terrapower is one of the US companies currently building SMRs. Terrapower broke ground on its first project in Wyoming last August and is awaiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expected by the end of 2026.

Further afield, France announced USD$1.1 billion to develop an SMR design. In the UK, Rolls-Royce is around 18 months ahead of the competition in developing SMR technology.

In the Netherlands, the nuclear startup Thorizon announced a new consortium to develop a molten salt-type SMR.

The firm is currently building a 100-MW Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), Thorizon One, which it hopes to get running in a pilot plant by the mid-2030s. It expects the first prototype to be fueled by a mix of long-lived radioactive waste from existing nuclear facilities and thorium. This will transform much of the long-lived waste into short-lived waste.

MSRs are powered by a radioactive solution that blends fissionable isotopes with a liquid salt. While they can be powered using uranium, they run optimally on thorium, a cleaner, safer, and more abundant nuclear fuel.

The SMR market is expected to grow from $6 billion in 2024 to $7.14 billion in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3 percent. The Asia Pacific and Americas markets will likely be the main drivers of this growth.

By Andrew Topf for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
With plans for a green transition, millions of workers in the oil, gas, and coal sectors have become concerned for their jobs, with news of massive cuts as the energy reliance in several countries shifts away from fossil fuels. However, there could be significant potential for these workers to be retrained for positions in the renewable energy sector, based on their existing skills and experience. Further, taxing the oil industry could help provide the money needed to fund this move.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when global oil production fell to a record low due to a decrease in demand coupled with widespread government orders to stay at home, oil and gas jobs began to decline. Several oil and gas companies went bankrupt during the pandemic, leading to a sharp decline in jobs. Meanwhile, oil companies began to invest heavily in advanced technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, to allow operations to continue running with fewer workers.

Despite the increase in oil and gas output since the pandemic, jobs are still being cut across the sector. In the United States, while crude output soared, employment figures fell during five of the first six months of 2024 due to improved operational efficiencies. This trend is expected to continue as companies invest further in advanced technologies and efficiency improvements across the industry. In addition, the eventual global shift away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives will contribute to a reduction in oil, gas, and coal jobs as roles in the renewable energy and nuclear power industries increase.

A May publication from Oil Change International (OCI) suggests that making the U.K. windfall tax on oil and gas companies permanent could provide enough financing to help North Sea workers transition to jobs in the renewable energy sector. By cutting subsidies to oil and gas producers, enough money could be raised to spend on the transition to a low-carbon economy, the report states. Approximately $2.5 billion a year is required to support the retraining of oil and gas workers, as well as to establish new infrastructure and green jobs in a just transition.

The report suggests that $1.46 billion would contribute to developing the wind industry and creating new green jobs, while $585 million would be invested in adapting ports to make them capable of building and maintaining offshore wind turbines, and $432 million would go towards training oil and gas workers.

The U.K.s windfall tax is a levy on oil and gas producers that was introduced in 2022 when oil profits were soaring. The Labour government has said that the tax, also known as the energy profits levy, will be extended to March 2030, instead of expiring at the end of 2025 as originally planned. The government increased the tax to 38 percent in November, much to the dismay of many oil and gas companies.

The recent report suggests that making the windfall tax permanent could raise as much as $2.66 billion a year. Rosemary Harris, a senior campaigner at OCI, stated, Transitioning to a renewable energy economy is one of the greatest opportunities the U.K. has to create secure, well-paid jobs for energy workers and build a fairer future. Harris added, But right now, the government is failing to meet the challenges facing workers and communities. As jobs disappear and the cost of living soars, communities are being left behind. This plays right into the hands of those who wish to weaponise the governments inaction for their own profits, under the guise of caring about workers.

OCI also wants the government to close tax loopholes, such as the carried interest provision in capital gains tax, which allows private equity fund managers to pay a much lower investment tax rate than they would if they had to pay income tax on it. This could raise around $651.7 million a year, according to the analysis.

In May, the U.K. Energy Ministry Ed Miliband secured a Green Industrial Partnership with his Norwegian counterparts, Ministers Terje Aasland and Cecilie Myrseth. Miliband met with several energy companies to deepen bilateral relations and boost clean energy investment in the U.K. The Plan for Change, a partnership between the two European powers, outlines plans to develop new clean energy manufacturing jobs. It also supports the development of the U.K.s renewable energy capacity, including offshore wind and grid development. Research suggests that closer cooperation on the clean energy transition in the North Seas could lower bills, create up to 51,000 jobs, and add up to $47.9 billion to the U.K. economy.

With fossil fuel jobs in decline, governments worldwide must prepare for a just transition, supporting the retraining of oil, gas, and coal workers to prepare them for roles in the clean energy sector. However, achieving this shift will require high levels of funding for retraining programmes and related infrastructure. Recent research suggests that, in the case of the U.K., financing could be raised by making the windfall tax on oil and gas companies permanent.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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United States President Donald Trump has spent just over 100 days in office, and, in that time, he has attracted a wide range of lawsuits in response to his energy and climate policies. Several states and organisations have recently launched legal action against the Trump administration for energy deregulation, restricting renewable energy development, cutting environmental funding, and other policy moves.

In April, the Trump administration halted the development of the $2.5 billion Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm in New York. The wind farm was being developed by Norwegian energy major Equinor. The firm is now considering its legal options in response to the halt. Equinor has already spent around $2 billion on the project, which is nearly a third complete, according to reports. Empire was expected to power around 500,000 U.S. homes upon its launch in 2027. The project was approved under the Biden administration in 2023 in support of a green transition.

Equinor has been investing in the U.S. energy market for around 35 years, with estimated funding of over $60 billion in U.S. oil, gas, and renewables projects. Anders Opedal, Equinors CEO, said, We have invested in Empire Wind after obtaining all necessary approvals, and the order to halt work now is unprecedented and in our view unlawful. We seek to engage directly with the U.S. administration to clarify the matter and are considering our legal options.

On Trumps first day in office, in January, he signed an executive order for the review of offshore wind permitting and leasing, effectively halting new project development across the country. It directed agencies to stop all permits for wind farms pending federal review. However, the halting of operations at Empire, which had already received all the necessary approvals, came as a shock to the industry.

In May, 17 states and Washington D.C. filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the halting of permits for wind-energy projects. The lawsuit said that the governments decision presents a threat to the burgeoning industry. This administration is devastating one of our nations fastest-growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy, said Attorney General Letitia James of New York, which is one of the plaintiffs. James said the move threatened the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions in investments and was delaying our transition away from the fossil fuels that harm our health and our planet.

The lawsuit states that, by complying, federal agencies have put major investments that have already been made at risk. The executive order also directed the U.S. attorney general and the interior secretary to explore terminating or amending existing leases to wind farms, which has left the wind industry with a sense of great uncertainty. Wind energy contributes around 10 percent of U.S. electricity generation and is set to expand substantially over the coming decade. Several states have ambitious state-level renewable energy targets for the next decade, which most may be unable to achieve without a growth in the countrys renewable energy capacity.

In April, several environmental groups said they were hiring lawyers to take legal action against the Trump administration for its rapid and sweeping efforts to sidestep federal regulations on oil, gas, and coal development. Trump was able to rely on emergency authorities and executive orders to quickly change the shape of the countrys energy sector, however, the lawsuit could pose a threat to upholding these early decisions. Many organisations say that Trumps moves are at odds with existing laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, which requires agencies to publish notices of proposed and final regulations, as well as allow for public input.

Since his inauguration, Trump has issued an executive order requiring agencies to phase out every existing energy regulation by next year. In a separate memorandum, Trump said those agencies may repeal specific regulations without consulting the public. Federal officials have notified companies that they can seek exemptions to clean air regulations via email, exempted dozens of companies from mercury and air toxics limits, fast-tracked a controversial Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel, and scrapped a court-ordered environmental review of thousands of oil and gas leases on federal lands.

Meanwhile, a group of universities and research institutions, which are facing a Department of Energy funding cut, filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts in April. The lawsuit states that The pace of scientific discoveries in the national interest will be slowed... 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.

Trump has barely been in office for three months, and yet he has been able to completely upend U.S. energy and environment policy in that time. States and various organisations have rapidly responded with legal action, calling on the Trump administration to reconsider some of these decisions and continue to support private investment in renewables, environmental protection, and climate funding.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

OPB reports, As a small clutch of Oregon lawmakers meet behind closed doors to negotiate a still-secret bill to fund road and bridge upkeep, some of those left on the outside arent pleased.House Republicans have bristled in recent weeks after learning that two of their members went rogue. State Reps. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, and Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, quietly agreed to work with Democrats on a deal that could prove crucial to the chances of the transportation bill.Under that arrangement, Mannix and Helfrich arent discussing any aspects of a possible deal with their party  and initially didnt even acknowledge to colleagues the meetings were occurring.

The Democrat leadership in Salem has proposed a $1.8 Billion road tax package that includes a dozen tax increases.

Republican lawmakers have responded with their own road package that prioritizes cutting government waste and abuse  and offers no tax increase.

This rumor from OPB has been heard elsewhere in the Capitol and bears comment.

The Democrat-led road tax package is an epic disaster of a plan as it contains every bad tax idea imaginable that poses extreme danger to taxpayers and our economy. Furthermore, these Democratic leaders have refused to hold proper hearings on their ideas and have decided to wait until the last minute to ramrod the plan through. Everything about this road tax bill is wrong.

Republican leaders have worked hard for months on their better plan. If two members defect, it not only empowers one of the worst bills of the entire Legislature, but it also destroys the voice, unity and power of the minority party. This means all of their bills, ideas and Legislation becomes compromised. The destruction from defectors on such a consequential bill will be severe for all the members of minority party. It goes beyond a single vote.

This would be a terrible thing to do.

 If you appreciate this alert then support our efforts: Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty).
By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

Front page news that the head of the OLCC abruptly retires. Hes walking away a from a near quarter million salary. This agency is in trouble.

This comes while Senators aim to give OLCC more power.

Several Oregon Senators rolled out their plan to massively expand OLCC power buy allowing them to handle much of the vaping businesses by forcing certain vaping products to be only sold in liquor stores. They are pushing Senate Bill 702.

There is a Public Hearing on Senate Bill 702 this Wednesday May 21st. Please click here to testify in person or submit a free/easy online testimony online. (just click submit testimony tab on top)



Here is the inside details.

Liquor stores do not want anything to do with this project.

Vaping stores do not wish to go bankrupt by being forced to surrender to their product sales to liquor stores.

The only people who want this big power-grab are state politicians.

Just look at the OLCC scandals recently:

 Abuse of government power: Forces private businesses to shut down and move their product to other private businesses to make a profit.

 Liquor benefit raises serious ethical questions. Are they lobbying to use government power to carve out this product exclusivity?

 Handing more power to a non-stop scandal agency: OLCC has been involved in several scandals involving (1) their rare liquor inventory cheated customers (2) failure to control illegal marijuana sales (3) financial mismanagement of their new building by tens of millions of dollars and (4) transparency scandal and (5) improper executive conduct at a recent liquor control conference.

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Credit: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546

The light of someone's life might not be just another person, but light in the literal sense. According to a recent study by researchers from University of Calgary, every living system emits light without requiring external excitation due to a biological phenomenon known as ultraweak photon emission (UPE).

In mice, UPE was linked to vitality as live mice emitted significantly higher UPE intensity compared to recently dead mice. In plants, however, UPE varied depending on exposure to stress factors like temperature changes, injury and chemical treatments, as reported in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

Living organisms are compact biochemical labs where complex chemical reactions keep the system up and running. Cellular metabolism, a series of chemical reactions that fuel life-sustaining processes, produces a group of highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules produced as a natural byproduct called reactive oxygen species or ROS.

Studies suggest that ROS plays a central role in UPE. When organisms encounter stress, they activate biochemical pathways that generate ROS, which act as signaling molecules in the cellular stress response. However, excessive ROS production can lead to oxidative stress, overwhelming the cell's antioxidant defenses. This oxidative stress can induce electron excitation and transfer processes, ultimately resulting in UPE.

High-sensitivity EMCCD and CCD cameras for imaging UPE in dark, controlled environments. Credit: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546

Unlike bioluminescence, which produces high-intensity light visible to the naked eye, UPE, also known as biophoton emission, is a spontaneous release of extremely low-intensity light that is invisible to the human eye and falls within the spectral range of 2001,000 nm. This faint light has been detected in a wide range of life formsfrom single-celled organisms and bacteria to plants, animals, and even humans.

Despite being so widely observed, not much is known about the impact of mortality and stress factors on UPE. Furthermore, the ability to monitor UPE in response to stress factors and injuries could be a powerful, non-invasive tool for diagnostics and medical research.

The researchers used advanced imaging techniques to explore the biological significance of UPE by directly comparing emissions in living versus dead animals, while also systematically visualizing the effects of temperature, injury, and chemical treatments on UPE in plants.

Effect of the temperature on the intensity of UPE in plants. Credit: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546

To carry out the experiments, the researchers designed ultradark enclosures to eliminate environmental light interference. They then used an Electron-Multiplying Charge-Coupled Device (EMCCD) camera for imaging plants and a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera with IVIS system to image UPE changes in mice.

The results revealed that despite both groups having the same body temperature of 37C, the live mice showed robust emissions, whereas the UPE from the euthanized mice was nearly extinguished. In plants, an increase in temperature and injuries led to an increase in UPE intensity. Injured sites were consistently brighter than uninjured partsa change in the former was observed once the site received any chemical treatment.

This study establishes that UPE can act as a sensitive indicator of vitality in animals and of stress responses in plants. The researchers suggest that these findings could catalyze the application of UPE imaging as a non-invasive technique for both basic biological research and clinical diagnostics.

More information: V. Salari et al, Imaging Ultraweak Photon Emission from Living and Dead Mice and from Plants under Stress, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546 Journal information: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

 2025 Science X Network
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Local residents search through tornado damage in Laurel County near London, Kentucky.

Severe storms swept through the US states of Missouri and Kentucky, leaving at least 21 people dead, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000 people, authorities said Saturday.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said on X that at least 14 people had died in the storms Friday night, while local officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there.

Jamie Burns, 38, who lives with her husband and son in a trailer home in the town of London, Kentucky, had to seek shelter in the basement of her sister's brick house while the storm destroyed some 100 to 200 houses in the area.

"Things that have been here longer than I have, things that have been here for 30-plus years are just flat," Burns told AFP in a phone interview, her voice quavering.

"It's wild, because you'll look at one area and it's just smashed... totally flattened, like, not there anymore."

Drone footage published by local media showed scenes of devastation in London, with houses leveled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, completely shorn of branches.

Beshear added that more than 100,000 people have been left without power in the state, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.

Eastern Kentucky, an area historically known for its coal mines, is one of the poorest regions in the country. "A lot of us live in manufactured homes that aren't safe for tornado weather," said Burns.

Tornadoes are spinning columns of air that touch the ground from massive cumulonimbus thunderstorm clouds.

In this image obtained from the Laurel County Fiscal Court in Kentucky, residents search through tornado damage near the city of London on May 17, 2025.

'One of the worst storms'

In Missouri, five people were killed in the large city of St. Louis, in what authorities said was one of the worst storms in its history, and two in Scott County, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement to AFP.

More than 80,000 people were left without power and three shelters were opened in the area, the statement added. More severe weather was forecast for Sunday night and Monday.

Asked Saturday by a reporter whether it was the worst storm ever to hit St. Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer replied: "I would describe this as one of the worst stormsabsolutely. The devastation is truly heartbreaking."

She said 38 people in the city were injured and some 5,000 buildings damaged.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe said during the same press briefing that his office was keeping the White House informed of the situation.

In one St. Louis neighborhood, a church was heavily damaged, according to CBS footage, and rescue workers continued to treat victims near the building Saturday morning.

Tornado damage in St. Louis.

"It's horrific for a tornado to come through here and cause this much damage to the residents and also to the church," Derrick Perkins, a pastor at the Centennial Christian Church, told CBS. "Our hearts are broken."

Bruce Madison, who also works at the church, said the community was coming together in the face of the tragedy.

"Right now, we're just praying for... everybody that they're trying to find right now."

While there were warnings ahead of the severe weatherBeshear had protectively declared a state of emergency Fridaythe latest outburst may raise questions about whether sharp cuts by the Trump administration have left National Weather Service forecasting teams dangerously understaffed, forcing some offices to curtail operations.

An estimated 500 of the 4,200 NWS employees have been fired or taken early retirements this year, according to the Washington Post.

The United States saw the second-highest number of tornadoes on record last year with nearly 1,800, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), trailing only 2004.

 2025 AFP
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This two-faced mosaic from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the near side (left) and the far side (right) of the moon. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The moon's nearside (that is, the side facing Earth) is dark-colored and dominated by ancient lava flows, whereas the farside is more ruggedand NASA researchers now suggest it's due to a wonky lunar interior. Using data from twin spacecraft named Ebb and Flow, they found a 23% difference in the moon mantle's ability to deform on each side. They say this data could be explained by the nearest hemisphere's insides being up to 170C hotter than the farside.

The detection of differences between the moon's interior in the near and far hemispheres is reported in Nature this week.

The findings, based on gravitational field data from the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, indicate that temperature variations probably exist deep within the moon. Such internal asymmetry could explain the contrast in the appearance of the moon's surface and the variation in volcanic activity between the near and far sides.

The moon's nearside (that is, the side facing Earth) and farside have noticeable differences in geology, volcanism and crustal thickness. The nearside is dark and dominated by lava (indicating a higher concentration of volcanism), whereas the farside is more rugged. Some researchers have hypothesized that these differences may be explained by variation in the moon's internal structure, but observational evidence has been lacking.

Ryan Park and colleagues analyzed data from the NASA GRAIL mission to map the moon's gravitational response to its orbit around Earth, which can offer insights into the satellite's internal structure. They found a 2%3% difference in the lunar mantle's ability to deform between the nearside and farside.

Park and colleagues then modeled the moon's structure and determined that these figures can be explained by a difference in mantle temperature of 100200 Kelvin between the two hemispheres, in which the nearside mantle is warmer than the farside. They hypothesize that this thermal difference could be sustained by radioactive decay of thorium and titanium within the moon's nearside, which could be a remnant of the volcanic activity that formed the nearside surface 34 billion years ago.

The authors note that the methods used to probe the moon's interior could be used to measure differences in the structure of other planetary bodies such as Mars, Enceladus and Ganymede, specifically because they do not rely on a spacecraft landing on the surface.

More information: R. S. Park et al, Thermal asymmetry in the Moon's mantle inferred from monthly tidal response, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08949-5 Journal information: Nature
The public safety team at the Quad Cities International Airport is celebrating a milestone with 50 years of service.

Chief Jeff Swan said the police and fire departments at the airport started on June 3, 1975, after guidance came from the Federal Aviation Administration, then known as the Civil Aviation Authority.

"We always had fire service at the airport, but they wanted more 24/7 protection," he said.

From 1960-1975, the Coal Valley Fire Department was the main fire brigade for the airport, but was staffed on a volunteer basis. With federal orders demanding more service, a new solution had to be found.

"The city of Moline and Coal Valley put in bids to take over the action full time," he said.

The airport ended up rejecting those bids and instead created the Safety Service Department in 1975.

Every member of the department is both a trained police officer and firefighter, Swan said. All members have gone through the respective academies and are trained in both jobs. Most of the job on the police side is security-motivated, but officers do have the right to exercise arresting powers.

In 1977, two years after the department formed, Paul Dick joined the team after leaving the Air Force following his service in the Vietnam War.

Dick stayed with the airport for 30 years and is somewhat of a historian when it comes to the history of the public safety department.

"It was very, very revolutionary at the time," he said. "It won't work very well for large municipalities, but for an airport it's a lot more civil because police and fire can work together easily enough."

Including himself, Swan said, there are 13 sworn officers on the job, four full-time dispatchers and four part-time dispatchers. Everyone works a fire schedule  24 hours on and 48 hours off.

"In that schedule they work assignments where they might be on fire duty, or they might be on police duty," he said.

But, it wasn't so easy when the department was first established, Dick said.

"It was very, very difficult because we had no predecessors. Nobody to teach us how to combine police and fire, let alone in an airport environment," he said. "Over the years there were a lot more blunders that we learned from experience than there were successes."

Swan started in 2000, so now has been with the department for half its life. The biggest changes he has seen during his time, he said, are the advancements of technology.

"When I first started here, the trucks were from 1975 still," he said. "You wouldn't think a 25-year-old truck would be that out of date, but technology from the '70s to the early 2000s went crazy."

Adding to that, Swan said the technology in the airport's trucks from 2001 and 2003 are far behind the newest addition in 2021.

"We are way different from a structured fire department. We can sit in the firetruck and not get out, because everything is by our hands with joysticks," he said. "We have turrets on top, so we just point and go."

Swan said having a separate department helps keep the airport running smoothly, and is a benefit to both passengers and the community. Whether there's an issue on the tarmac or in the parking lot, the public safety team is ready to respond, for the next 50 years and counting.

"We are here 24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year. If an aircraft has an issue, we are here when they have an incident," he said. "Really, it's just customer service."
A University of Montana professor studying patterns in vaccine uptake in rural areas lost nearly $300,000 in federal funding for her research after the National Institutes of Health started rescinding vaccine grant funding earlier this year.

Professor Sophia Newcomers grant was one of about 40 focused on vaccine hesitancy and uptake to be slashed by the NIH in March, she told the Missoulian in an interview on Friday. Her research found lower rates of vaccination in rural areas has less to do with parental attitudes, and more to do with a lack of access to primary health care.

Her work is now indefinitely paused and her team dissolved, as first reported by the Montana Free Press. The staff researcher on her team was redirected to another project with funding. The Ph.D. student working with the team graduated and Newcomer told the Missoulian she wont be able to replace them.

Newcomer said shes never had grant funding canceled like this before.

Grants only got terminated if there was wrongdoing, she said. Now what we're seeing is grants are getting terminated, and the stated reason is that the work no longer aligns with the agency's priorities."

Her grant is one of nearly 700 total cuts across two-dozen NIH centers between Feb. 28 and April 8, according to reporting from NBC News, that were studying aging, cancer, child health, diabetes, mental health and neurological disorders.

There have been numerous federal funding and staffing cuts as part of the President Donald Trump administrations effort to eliminate what is seen as waste in government spending.

According to research she published as part of the grant, to get more people vaccinated, there needs to be a focus on creating strategies to encourage completing a multidose series.

One in six U.S. children got some but not all of the doses in a multi-dose vaccine series, she found, suggesting children experienced structural barriers to vaccination, the research concluded.

It could mean the family doesnt live close to a doctor, have health insurance to see a doctor regularly or just might not know their child is due for additional vaccine doses, she said.

Missing that last dose typically has nothing to do with vaccine hesitancy, she said. It has to do with access to well care.

Other research funded by the grant found 15% of U.S. kids received a vaccine dose at the wrong time  either too young or too soon prior to a previous dose of the same vaccine, therefore making it invalid.

University of Montana spokesperson Dave Kuntz said in a statement the university is proud of the work Newcomer and her student researchers have done to advance the issue of health disparities between urban and rural communities, especially given the ongoing threat of preventable diseases like measles.

The fact is, the elimination of this grant will have a disproportional impact on rural Montana, making it harder for Montanans to access unbiased information when making important health care decisions, Kuntz said.

There have been eight reported measles cases in Montana all stemming from two households in Gallatin County, according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Several U.S. medical associations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians released a joint statement in March denouncing the move to cancel these grants by the NIH.

This action is a dangerous intrusion into critical work that seeks to protect our patients from vaccine-preventable illnesses, the statement read. The abrupt termination of these grants undermines efforts to combat misinformation and build public trust  work that is especially paramount right now as our country faces an active measles outbreak.

Newcomer has studied vaccines for 18 years and has been teaching at the University of Montana for seven years.

She spent a good chunk of her childhood in rural Tennessee and wanted to live in a more rural setting to conduct the work of understanding the gap between vaccine uptake in rural and urban areas, she said.

Vaccines are our main strategy for protecting ourselves and our loved ones against infectious diseases that can harm and kill us, she said. It's important to understand where the gaps are in terms of making sure that everyone who wants to get vaccinated can, and so when studies like mine get cut, we make less progress in that area.
In a contest that pits prosecutorial vs. legislative experience, former Del. Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor are vying for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

Both Democrats say they bring compelling resumes and hometown credibility, yet they draw clear contrasts between courtroom gravitas and the hustle of a political trailblazer.

The winner in the June 17 primary will face Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican who is seeking reelection in November.

Primary voters are weighing whether they prefer Taylors record of high-stakes prosecutions or Jones vision of a reinvigorated, rights-focused Attorney Generals office.

Jones, 36, first won election to the House of Delegates in 2017, representing Norfolk. He resigned in 2021 after winning reelection. That year, he launched a statewide bid for attorney general and lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring, 56% to 43%. Herring then lost a close race to Miyares by about 27,000 votes.

The son and grandson of civil rights attorneys, Jones grew up steeped in the legal battles for desegregation and equal opportunity. He says his two young sons played a part in inspiring his bid for the attorney generals office.

I want to give my children the best life possible. Being a father and seeing whats happening in this world makes me nervous and makes me scared, and thats why I know that Ive got to step up and do something, Jones said.

This was the moment where all of the things that Ive done over the course of my career lent themselves to being the next attorney general of Virginia, Jones said, to use this office as it should be, to fight for people, and not for a particular person in Washington or a particular special interest.

As an attorney at Hogan Lovells, one of the largest law firms in the world, Jones says he has focused on policy and regulatory matters, including social, environmental and corporate governance issues. He also previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.

Taylor, 57, has spent 14 years as Henrico Countys top prosecutor, earning a reputation as a no-nonsense trial lawyer. She has overseen thousands of prosecutions, tried hundreds of jury cases, and led teams of investigators and assistant attorneys in high-profile actions against Klansmen and white supremacists, most notably her 2020 prosecution of local Klan operatives and her special-prosecutor role after the 2017 Unite the Right rallies in Charlottesville.

A Charlottesville native, Taylor served in the Richmond Commonwealths Attorneys Office before serving twice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, handling federal prosecutions alongside veteran trial teams. From 2004 to 2008, she was special counsel to the Richmond Multi-Jurisdictional Grand Jury, coordinating complex investigations across city and county lines.

Taylor says the difference between herself and Jones is actual experience vs. not.

I have the actual cases to cite ... when I say that Ive been a leader in the courtroom, leading a group of investigators and attorneys  like when I prosecuted the Klansmen in my jurisdiction in 2020, like when I was asked to serve as a special prosecutor for one of the white supremacists who marched on the Lawn of the University of Virginia back in that terrible weekend of August of 2017, Taylor said.

You know that Ive actually been in the courtroom. I have actually created the argument and bought those fights. My profile is a learned attorney. I am a trial lawyer. My profile is not a professional politician.

People know that when I say that Im going to fight for them, I actually have the bona fides to back it up. And I really think that is why its resonating with the voters.

Trump and Musk

Both campaigns have prioritized messaging about their intentions to fight back against President Donald Trump and his senior adviser, Elon Musk. Both criticize Miyares for not taking legal action against Trumps actions such as the mass layoffs of federal workers.

Jones and Taylor both noted that many other state attorneys general have joined lawsuits against the Trump administration, challenging the administrations actions on funding cuts, tariffs and immigration enforcement, among other issues.

We need an attorney general who will do what (Miyares) refuses to do, which is stand up to Trumps attacks on our economy, our rights and our democracy. Weve got to go to court, Jones said.

Democratic attorneys general have sued to stop this chaos and stop this madness, and when we dont participate in those lawsuits, we dont get the benefit of the protections that theyve earned.

Taylor criticized the administrations new Department of Government Efficiency, the agency tasked with making cuts to the federal budget.

Im a prosecutor. I know fraud, and this is not how you go about doing it, Taylor said. The idea that we want to get back to efficiency by gutting certain revenue programs like Social Security, (Medicare or Medicaid), the fact that we would attack those revenue streams in the name of government efficiency is wrong, and I want to be there to fight back, say that its wrong, and protect Virginia.

Gun violence prevention

When Jones served as an assistant attorney general in D.C., his office sued Polymer80, a manufacturer of kits of firearm parts that included unfinished receivers used for making privately made firearms, also known as ghost guns. The company ceased business last year citing overwhelming legal costs.

(The Virginia attorney general) has a tremendous role to play in gun violence prevention, and weve got an issue with that in Virginia, and it is affecting so many communities, not just a particular one or two, Jones said.

Ive done this as an assistant attorney general, when we sued the largest ghost gun manufacturer in the country and brought them to their knees, put them out of business, Jones said.

Jones said as Virginias attorney general, he would take on gun manufacturers, corporations and those who are protecting them.

We have a massive platform, in conjunction with the legislature and hopefully a Democratic governor, to continue to build on the reforms that we made in 2020 and 2021, Jones said.

Taylor previously served as a special assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the Richmond office of the U.S Attorneys Office for Project Exile, an aggressive gun violence prevention program that lowered the homicide rate during an especially violent time in Richmond.

I know what these programs are doing in terms of understanding that there are certain localities that dont have the resources to be able to address gun violence in their areas, Taylor said.

I would support the project that we engage in, where we allow assistant attorneys general to help the 120 prosecutors across this commonwealth who may not have the bandwidth or infrastructure to be able to go and handle violent crime cases.

Taylor criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkins administration for using money that was earmarked for youth programs for a public awareness campaign. The game over campaign warned about the consequences of carrying illegal guns.

Taking money appropriated for fatalities and prevention programs and serving its own interests I will not allow that to happen under my watch, Taylor said.
Four listed as serious in single vehicle accident north of Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  Four people were rushed to hospital Friday evening from a single vehicle highway accident. Municipal police, firemen and ambulances were at the scene of the 7:00 p.m. accident that left 15 injured.

According to official information, the accident happened a few kilometers north of Playa del Carmen Friday evening. Municipal officials were at the scene of the accident where a pickup had rolled outside Mayakaba.

According to Civil Protection, 15 people were treated for injures, four of which were serious. Of those, two were transferred to the IMSS Hospital, one to the General Hospital and one to the private Amerimed clinic due to the severity of their injuries, PDC Civil Protection reported.

The driver of the pickup was heading into Playa del Carmen when he collided with the central median, causing his vehicle to overturn. The truck was transporting construction workers from a nearby site at the time of the accident.

In a statement, Civil Protection said in a rapid and coordinated response, members of the Civil Protection, Risk Prevention and Fire Department, together with the Municipal Citizen Security Department and with the support of the National Guard, responded to a serious vehicle accident on Federal Highway 307, on the CancunPlaya del Carmen stretch, before entering the municipal capital.

The incident left 15 people injured, of whom four were transported for urgent medical care:

Two to the IMSS Hospital

One to the General Hospital

One to the private Amerimed clinic due to the severity of their injuries.

The rescue and transfer operation was carried out by Civil Protection and Citizen Security, with the participation of various medical and relief institutions, including the Mexican Red Cross, ERUM, Playa del Carmen, Costamed, Mexpol, and EMT, under an inter-institutional coordination scheme that allowed for immediate care and saved lives.

These actions reaffirm the commitment of the government led by Mayor Estefania Mercado to protecting life, providing timely emergency response, and strengthening the response capabilities of security and emergency services.
State leaders hold talks on priority business and security issues

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  Business leaders in the State of Quintana Roo have met to discuss progress on priority issues. Members of the Caribbean Business Coordinating Council met Friday. During the meeting, Governor Mara Lezama reaffirmed her conviction that coordination with the business sector is key to building a fairer, more competitive and safer Quintana Roo.

The group of local business personnel discussed economic growth, security, tourism, real estate, infrastructure and legislative reforms. Governor Lezama commented that the meeting reaffirms the commitment that they have and the strong support of her government.

We are a government that listens carefully, that builds solutions hand in hand with all sectors, that promotes growth with justice, she said.

After hearing from leaders of chambers, associations and business organizations, she replied I know we still face challenges. I know there are issues that are painful to us as a society, and that we are addressing with a long-term vision. But I also know that in you we have brave, committed and willing allies.

Lezama said that there is still much to be done, but we also know that Quintana Roo has an advantage that few others have: a business community willing to collaborate, innovate and transform.

Lezama said that thanks to this alliance, the infrastructure that drives Quintana Roo forward has been strengthened with more than 20 strategic projects throughout the state, from the Nichupte Bridge to Jaguar Park in Tulum and from road rehabilitation to the creation of new spaces for tourism, mobility, and urban real estate development. It was the fifth meeting held this year.
Chinese carmaker Changan opens Thailand plant

Xinhua) 14:11, May 17, 2025

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), addresses the inauguration of the Thailand plant of China's carmaker Changan Automobile in Rayong, Thailand, May 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

RAYONG, Thailand, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's carmaker Changan opened its Thailand plant on Friday, as its 28.59 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line in the factory, marking a milestone in the company's global expansion.

As the first overseas vehicle factory of Changan Automobile, the factory is located in Thailand's eastern Rayong Province, with a total investment of approximately 10 billion Thai baht (about 300 million U.S. dollars).

The advanced manufacturing plant features comprehensive production capabilities across five main workshops: welding, painting, assembly, engine assembly, and battery assembly units, with an initial annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles.

As a Chinese leading car manufacturer, Changan decided to choose Thailand to set up its first overseas factory, which not only reflects its confidence in the Thai market, but also strengthens the enduring friendship between the two countries, said Thailand's Minister of Industry Akanat Promphan.

Thailand has long been a major automobile production base in Southeast Asia, and aims to increase the shares of electric vehicles (EVs) to 30 percent of all vehicles in the country by 2030.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), said that the new plant marks not only a significant step forward for the company, but also a major contribution to the development of Thailand's EV industry, boosting the country's ambition to become a major global hub for EV production.

Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, said the inauguration of the new plant marks a transformative step for the company, evolving from exporting vehicles to establishing a local ecosystem. As production commences at Rayong facility, Changan reaffirms its long-term commitment to Thailand and philosophy of developing local operations that benefit local communities.

He added that Changan has designed this factory to exemplify sustainability and innovation, featuring environmentally friendly systems, and cutting-edge technology, thus reflecting the commitment to a greener future.

Over the next three years, Changan plans to launch 12 new models in Southeast Asia, all of which will be new energy vehicles, further expanding its product portfolio. The company will also establish a spare parts warehouse for right-hand drive markets, housing 98 percent of all parts and aiming to achieve 24-hour order delivery.

This photo taken on May 16, 2025 shows the inauguration of the Thailand plant of China's carmaker Changan Automobile in Rayong, Thailand. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

Zhu Huarong, chairman of China's carmaker Changan Automobile, addresses the inauguration of the Thailand plant of Changan in Rayong, Thailand, May 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

Thailand's Minister of Industry Akanat Promphan addresses the inauguration of the Thailand plant of China's carmaker Changan Automobile in Rayong, Thailand, May 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

This photo taken on May 16, 2025 shows the roll-off ceremony of the 28.59 millionth vehicle of China's carmaker Changan Automobile in Rayong, Thailand. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Fact brief - Did Viking settlers enjoy a warm beach climate in Greenland?

Posted on 17 May 2025 by Sue Bin Park

Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs  bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline.

Did Viking settlers enjoy a warm beach climate in Greenland?

While Greenlands southern coast supported some vegetation in the Medieval warm period (950-1250 CE), it was not warm enough for a beach climate.

The period was primarily a regional event, affecting Europe and parts of the North Atlantic. Studies of glacial sediment in Greenland indicate glaciers were near their maximum extent during these years. This suggests Greenland did not experience the same degree of warming as continental Europe. Exile Erik the Red chose the name "Greenland" to attract settlers rather than accurately describe the landscape.

Vikings settled certain areas of Greenland during these years, but abandoned their settlements after the Medieval warm period ended and the Little Ice Age began. Their experience shows how a changing climate can cause forced migration.

The Medieval warm period was caused by high solar activity and low volcanic activity. In contrast, todays climate change is caused by human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Go to full rebuttal on Skeptical Science or to the fact brief on Gigafact

This fact brief is responsive to quotes such as this one.

Sources

The Washington Post Heres the real reason the Vikings left Greenland

University of Maryland Greenland was Green/Ice Free in the Viking Times: Brief Responses to Climate Change Denialism Statements

The Conversation Climate explained: what was the Medieval warm period?

Science Global Signatures and Dynamical Origins of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly

Columbia Climate School Study Undercuts Idea That Medieval Warm Period Was Global

About fact briefs published on Gigafact



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In late January, Tyler Jensen felt a brief rush of excitement. After months of job searching, the 40-year-old New York videographer received a text message from someone at a company hed applied to online. The person introduced themself as Robyn, said they were a virtual recruiter (a statement Jensen took to mean that they were a remote employee tasked with sorting through online applications), and asked to set up a time for a phone call to discuss his candidacy. They also urged him to save their number in his phone as Robyn Recruiter so that hed know when they were calling. When the time finally came for the interview, Jensen dressed up slightly, unsure if this might be a FaceTime call. But when he connected with Robyn, his heart sank as soon as he heard what he describes as a fake, Moviefone-type voice. It was completely A.I., like that false optimistic, bubbly voice, Jensen recalled. Youre like, Wait a minute. Whats going on?

Jensen is among an increasing number of job seekers who have found themselves being interviewed by A.I. programs as part of the recruiting process. Pitched by tech companies as a cost-efficient means of automating a laborious screening process typically done by an HR representative or recruiter, this A.I. software has the capability to interview hundreds of candidates, whom it can then recommend for further interviews with actual human beings. But for those on the other side of these chats, the experience of auditioning for a computer can feel somewhat surrealand leave a rather unpleasant impression of a potential employer.

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It was the most uncomfortable, fake positivity performance that Ive had to give because I wasnt getting any feedback in real time, Jensen said. If I dont necessarily know what youre looking for, I dont know how to give you what you want. Who is this for? What is this weeding out?

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Although A.I. job interviews have been happening since at least 2023, the trend has received a surge of attention in recent weeks thanks to several viral TikTok videos in which users share videos of their A.I. bots glitching. Although some of the videos were fakes posted by a creator whose bio warns that his content is all satire, some are authenticlike that of Kendiana Colin, a 20-year-old student at Ohio State University who had to interact with an A.I. bot after she applied for a summer job at a stretching studio outside Columbus. In a clip she posted online earlier this month, Colin can be seen conducting a video interview with a smiling white brunette named Alex, who cant seem to stop saying the phrase vertical-bar Pilates in an endless loop.

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@its_ken04 It was genuinely so creepy and weird. Please stop trying to be lazy and have AI try to do YOUR JOB!!! It gave me the creeps so bad #fyp  original sound - Its Ken  This content requires consent that you have not granted on Slate. To view this content please visit www.tiktok.com or update your cookie preferences . Learn more about this at our privacy page.

I started to get creeped out because of how she was saying it, Colin recalled of the moment the A.I. bot broke down. If she was saying it like just a regular robot, I probably wouldnt be as freaked out, but there are instances where she was laughing, taking deep breaths, and it was almost like she was on, like, a tongue twister.

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Colin, who was first interviewed by 404 Media, said she had been told ahead of time that shed be speaking with a computer but was still advised to prepare and dress professionally. They had me going the extra mile just to talk to a robot, Colin said. Although she tried to imagine that she was talking to Siri, she still felt that the experience was dehumanizingespecially after she didnt hear back from the company. It was very disrespectful and a waste of time, Colin said.

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Another authentic glitch video was posted three days later by Leo Humphries, a 25-year-old in Houston, who donned a suit and tie in anticipation for an interview for what he described as a dream job as a news reporter. But Humphries can soon be seen furrowing his brow as he realizes that his interviewer sounds robotic and is not the actual hiring manager he had thought he would be speaking with.

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Im so excited to talk to you and get to know more about you, the bot says, before immediately falling into a loop of gibberish. For our first question, lets circle back. Tell me about a time whenwhenwhenwhenlets. Letslets circle back. Tell me about a time whenwhenwhenwhenlets.

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Although Humphries tried in vain to alert the bot that it was broken, the interview ended only when the A.I. program thanked him for answering the questions and offering great informationdespite his not being able to provide a single response. In a subsequent video, Humphries said that within an hour he had received an email, addressed to someone else, that thanked him for sharing his wonderful energy and personality but let him know that the company would be moving forward with other candidates.

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Humphries referred me to an interview he conducted this week with Newsweek in which he noted that the whole experience had caught him by surprise. At first, I wasnt sure how to feel, Humphries said. I think in the moment I just felt a sense of disappointment.

Comments on both Humphries and Colins videos were almost entirely negative, with most people calling the AI interviews disrespectful, dystopian, or dehumanizing (this was also a sentiment captured by one October survey that found 43 percent of Americans would not be comfortable being interviewed for a job by AI). If they dont have the decency to interview you face to face, they arent worth your time, wrote one person in the TikTok comments. Taking the HUMANS out of Human Resources is the worst corporate move ever, wrote another.

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Representatives at Apriora, the startup company founded in 2023 whose software Colin was forced to engage with, did not respond to a request for comment. But founder Aaron Wang told Forbes last year that the software allowed companies to screen more talent for less money. By interviewing more candidates with Aprioras AI, employers can widen their talent aperture and identify qualified applicants from non-traditional backgrounds that may have otherwise been screened out of the hiring process, he said. (Aprioras website claims that the technology can help companies hire 87 percent faster and interview 93 percent cheaper, but its not clear where those stats come from or what they actually mean.)

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Mike Peditto, a consultant from the Chicago area who has advised companies on hiring practices for almost 15 years, says he can see the benefits of this technology in screening more candidates. Although Peditto has made two videos parodying A.I. interviewsin one, he converses with ChatGPT before immediately telling it to ignore all previous instructions; in another, he uses a mock A.I. interview website and begins offering terrible responseshe said he expects more companies to eventually use the technology. Its becoming a huge thing. I do think were heading to where this will be pretty commonplace, Peditto said. And I think obviously theres a slow willingness to adopt by job seekers, which I totally understand.

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Although he thinks real phone interviews provide much better insight into candidates, Peditto believes that using A.I. is acceptable as long as companies are clear with potential hires that this is just another layer of digital screening. I think most people want an interview and want a shot at a job, he said. So I do think theres value behind the idea of, where a company used to be able to interview 10 people for a job, they can at least screen 1,000 now.

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The shift to A.I. among human resources sectors is real. Earlier this month, the CEO of IBM confirmed that the company had laid off a couple hundred HR workers and replaced them with A.I. agents. A recent survey of 500 HR professionals also found that almost three-quarters of them believe theyre adopting the technology more quickly than other departments. Despite this, HR remains among the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S., with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting an 8 percent growth by 2033. According to the HR Digest magazine, although A.I. can be used in this field to automate an unnecessary amount of manual work, like payroll management and vacation requests, it cant yet oversee the human section or company culture. Still, amid concerns that the technology may develop algorithmic biases in hiring, Peditto believes that recruiters should be worried. Good recruiters are more than just box-checkers and 15-minute screeners, he said. But for the people who this is sort of all they do, that can be scary, especially those early in their careers.

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The recruiters that are using A.I. are, in one sense, leveling the playing field. After all, some applicants, like Mayfield Phillips, whove been interviewed by A.I. bots have themselves used A.I. to boost their chances of landing a job by receiving help in polishing their resumes or tailoring cover letters. (You can even use the tech to practice your answers in mock interviewsa feature highlighted by Google in a recent Super Bowl ador have it listen to your job interview in real time and secretly suggest responses.) But Phillips, a 55-year-old IT project manager in New York, said he still found his experience this week of being interviewed by an A.I. chatbot, one also made by Apriora, to be profoundly surreal. Although he knew in advance hed be conversing with an A.I. program that would listen to his verbal answers and ask him questions via text, he still had to schedule a time to chat with Alex (whose avatar appeared as a white woman with brown hair), and a preplanned interview had to be postponed due to technical difficulties the A.I. was experiencing. Phillips said he was also particularly frustrated and unimpressed after the A.I. was unable to answer a question he posed about what success might look like in the position.

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Its really impersonal, said Phillips. I would think that the first impression an organization wants to make with you after youve taken the time to apply for a job, because these application tracking systems can be quite onerous, is to have a human contact, and not a quick email that says, Hey, go schedule a time to interact with an AI system.

Why the hell isnt this on demand? he added, confused that he had to find a specific time to chat with the bot. Its the illusion of scheduling like you would do for a human.

Something this technology cant do is recognize candidates who make up for any lacking qualifications with their zeal or characterthe so-called personality hires who fit well within a companys culture. Jensen, the videographer, says he is typically someone who performs well in job interviews in which he can use his personality and charm to establish an authentic connection with a recruitersomething made difficult when chatting with a computer. I am a very personable person. I need to be seen and heard, Jensen said. Instead, the only feedback he received from his A.I. bot were consistently polite words of affirmation after each of his answers. She was like, Oh, that sounds fantastic. You are just the person were looking for! I will be more than happy to recommend you for this position!

Two weeks later, Jensen said, I got the formal rejection letter.
Hangover headlined the stakes action on Friday, May 16 at The Meadows, which featured a pair of $71,000+ divisions of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) for three-year-old trotting fillies.

The PASS leg, known as the Meadow Bright, opened with the popular Ake Svanstedt trainee Hangover ($7) winning her seasonal debut in a career-best 1:54.3 -- fastest of the two divisions -- in rein to Dave Palone.

Princess Jackie and Jim Marohn Jr. forced the position issue early, prompting Palone to move Hangover back to the lead past the quarter. From there, she faced a backside challenge from Ms Prada and Ronnie Wrenn Jr. Although the two fillies raced head-to-head through the turn, Hangover opened back up in the stretch for a 1-3/4-length victory. Ms Prada settled for second and Goodgirl Bi IT rounded out the top three for Mattias Melander.

"With Akes conditioning and training regiment, his horses can be driven confidently anytime, explained Palone afterwards.

The Southwind Frank-Mezcal Morning filly, who ended her freshman season with a victory in the Simpson Stakes, is now two-for-seven in her career and just shy of the six-figure earnings mark for owners Ake Svanstedt Inc., Joe Sbrocco And Jaf Racing, Little E and Rivers Stable.

The local combination of trainer Steve Schoeffel and driver Brady Brown teamed up to take the second division with Payback Moni ($7.20) keeping her perfect sophomore record in tact with a 1:55.1 score.

Blueberry and Wrenn Jr. were quick to the lead in the opening quarter while Payback Moni and Brown left alertly from the outside post seven to secure the pocket spot. A moderate second quarter set up a big finish as Blueberry and Payback Moni duelled through the stretch with the latter prevailing by a neck. Seal The Deal As and Matt Kakaley finished three lengths back in third.

With Payback Moni now three-for-three to start her sophomore season, Brown stated, She's been absolutely phenomenal training back from day one. She's filled out nicely.

The International Moni-Blurred filly earned her fourth career win and pushed her earnings to $131,553 through a dozen starts. She is owned by Kathy Shoeffel, Daniel Goehle and James Reuther.

Friday's Pennsylvania Stallion Series action started the way the PASS finished, with Brown and Schoeffel scoring with a last-step winner, Per Capita ($22), in a career-best 1:57. Three $27,778 divisions were contested with the track downgraded to "sloppy."

Early movement set up Per Capita, at odds of 10-1, to get up in the final stride for the signature win of her young career.

"She got rough twice in the last turn and I had to tell myself to stop chasing her in the turn, confessed Brown following the race.

The Father Patrick-Pay For Soup filly is owned by Kathy Schoeffel, King Fam Stables and Mary Owlett.

A nice surprise, is how Todd Schadel summed up the victory by homebred filly Tally The Tab ($20.80) in the second division of the Stallion Series.

Trainer, driver and co-owner and breeder with Christine Schadel, Todd Schadel sat the pocket with the International Moni-Cantab Cabela filly and wore down favourite Bay Breeze Hanover for the half-length victory in a lifetime best of 1:55.3 at near 10-1 odds.

In the third and final Stallion Series division, Willow Oak Racings homebred Santa Christina ($2.60) lived up to her heavy favourite status with a 3-1/4-length victory in 1:55.3. After Boom Chica Boom hustled to the lead from post six, Dave Palone moved the Julie Miller-trained winner back to the lead and the Bar Hopping-Cardinale filly trotted off.

Live harness racing resumes on Saturday at The Meadows at 11:30 a.m., with 14 races on the card. There will be a Pick-5 carryover of $388.34 and a Penta carryover of $978.42.

(With files from Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)
A blistering first impression sets the stage for a tougher test as One Eight Hundred headlines the Preferred Pace on Saturday, May 17 at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

The 13-dash program gets underway at 6 p.m. (ADT) with the Preferred class drawing in as Race 12, carrying a $5,000 purse and attracting a quality field of six top-class pacers.

One Eight Hundred turned heads in his local debut two weeks ago with a commanding 1:53.4 victory against this very group, pacing away from his rivals at the finish. The seven-year-old Somebeachsomewhere stallion was making his first Island start of 2025 for trainer Ellen Stevenson and owner Dr. Mitchell Downey, as he now looks to repeat that performance. Mike Downey will pick up the lines again from post six.

Saturdays challenge will be stiffer, with several rivals stepping up their game to test the mainland invader.

Wind Blown lands in post five with fresh Ontario experience. Trained by Phil Sizer, the Mach Three gelding won his latest in 1:51.1 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and has shown he can be effective both on the front and from off the pace. Paul Langille picks up the catch-driving duties.

Twin B Tuffenuff comes into this contest off a narrow win in his season opener. The Rock N Roll Heaven stallion fought off a late charge in a 1:55.4 score last week, and trainer Ron Matheson will look to keep the momentum rolling with Gilles Barrieau back aboard from post four.

Blood Money, also trained by Matheson, has post three and will be out for revenge after finishing second to One Eight Hundred in their last meeting. The son of Sweet Lou will have owner Dr. Mitchell Downey in the race bike for Saturdays tilt.

Tradition gets post two with Adam Merner driving the Gordie Hennessey trainee after picking up cheques at this level in each of his first two starts of the new 2025 meet.

Rounding out the group is the rail-sitter Tony Too Tall, with driver Myles Heffernan Jr. looking for the first win of his career. The rookie will drive the Trevor Hicken trainee for his second start of the new meet.

The Post Time Picks is sticking with Gold Cup and Saucer runner-up Twin B Tuffenuff.

Twin B Tuffenuff was a winner in his 2025 debut, but the field was closing in on him at the finish. This group is full of talent, so he'll have to be a lot better this week. I'm betting he answers the bell.

To view Saturday's entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Red Shores Charlottetown.

(Red Shores)
A deep and well-travelled field will line up in the feature on the Victoria Day opener at Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway on Monday, May 19, with Brookdale Johnny making his Island return against a strong cast.

First post time for the 13-dash card is 1 p.m. (ADT), with Race 11 carrying a $4,250 purse for the top class of the day.

Brookdale Johnny ships in from Woodbine Mohawk Park and has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favourite from post five with Paul Langille picking up the catch-driving call for trainer Phil Sizer and the Doug Polley Sr. and Jr. ownership group. A winner of more than $130,000 lifetime, the son of Rockin In Heaven was a sharp third in 1:52 his last start in Ontario.

Bacononabiscuit (Adam Merner) has post four and could spoil the Summerside debut for the Ontario invader. The pacer has been competing in tougher company and looms a big threat in this group.

Middleton Terror makes his 2025 debut with David Dowling in the bike from post three for trainer Jennifer Doyle. The Stonebridge Terror gelding was a top contender on the Island racing circuit last year and had a sharp qualifier in 1:57.3.

Rose Run X Con (Norris Rogers) makes his first start for the Nick Oakes stable and lands post two in his first East Coast appearance after a long campaign at Yonkers Raceway. He shows a mark of 1:52.1 taken at Northfield Park and more than $220,000 in earnings.

Braxtons Boy leaves from post one with Ken Murphy driving for trainer Richard Armstrong. The five-year-old was second in his last start over a sloppy track in Charlottetown.

The Backstretch Beat gives the nod to the class dropper from Ontario.

Brookdale Johnny has been successfully racing the toughest circuit in Canada for the first part of 2025. Comes into this one off a mile in 1:52 so he demands to be placed on top. The Langille/Sizer combination saw the winners circle all kinds last season and we say it happens again.

Monday's lidlifter is the first of 33 cards of harness racing for Summerside this season. To view the entries for the opening day card, click on one of the following links: Red Shores Summerside -- Monday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

(with files from Red Shores)
Reserve Bank of India issued a notification on May 16, 2025, regarding a Government of India-supported Line of Credit (LoC) extended by the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) to the Government of Mongolia. The LoC, amounting to USD 700 million, is designated for financing the construction of a crude oil refinery plant in Mongolia. The agreement was signed on January 16, 2025, and became effective on May 6, 2025. The LoC facilitates the export of eligible Indian goods and services in alignment with the Foreign Trade Policy of India, subject to approval by Exim Bank. The disbursement period is up to 48 months following the scheduled completion date of the related contract. Exporters must declare shipments under the LoC in accordance with existing RBI procedures and are not entitled to agency commission payments from the LoC funds. However, commissions can be paid using the exporters own funds or foreign currency accounts, provided compliance with the relevant regulations. Authorised Dealer Category-I banks have been instructed to inform their exporter clients of the LoCs availability and to direct them to Exim Bank for further details. These directives are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, and are applicable alongside any other legal requirements.

Reserve Bank of India

Indias Central Bank

Notifications

Exim Banks GOI-supported Line of Credit (LOC) for USD 700 million to the Govt. of Mongolia (GO-MNG), for financing construction of Crude Oil Refinery Plant in Mongolia

RBI/2025-2026/37

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 05/2025-26

May 16, 2025

All Category  I Authorised Dealer Banks

Madam/Sir

Exim Banks GOI-supported Line of Credit (LOC) for USD 700 million

to the Govt. of Mongolia (GO-MNG), for financing construction of

Crude Oil Refinery Plant in Mongolia

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has entered into an agreement dated January 16, 2025, with the Government of Mongolia (GO-MNG), for making available to the latter, Government of India supported Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 700 Mn(USD Seven Hundred Million only) for financing construction of Crude Oil Refinery Plant in Mongolia.

2. The export of eligible goods and services from India, as defined under the agreement, would be allowed, subject to their eligibility under the Foreign Trade Policy of the Government of India and whose purchase may be agreed to be financed by the Exim Bank under this agreement.

3. The Agreement under the LoC is effective from May 06, 2025. Under the LoC, the last date for disbursement will be 48 months after scheduled completion date of the contract.

4. Shipments under the LoC shall be declared in Export Declaration Form/Shipping Bill as per instructions issued by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

5. No agency commission is payable for export under the above LoC. However, if required, the exporter may use his own resources or utilize balances in his Exchange Earners Foreign Currency Account for payment of commission in any foreign currency. Authorised Dealer (AD) Category-I banks may allow such remittance after realization of full eligible value of export, subject to compliance with the extant instructions for payment of agency commission.

6. AD Category  I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their exporter constituents and advise them to obtain complete details of the LoC from the

Exim Banks office at Centre One, Floor 21, World Trade Centre Complex, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400 005 or from their website www.eximbankindia.in.

7. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under section 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/ approvals, if any, required under any other law.

Yours faithfully

(N Senthil Kumar)

Chief General Manager
Gia xang dau trong nuoc hom nay (3/7) uoc du bao co the giam tu 6,8 - 7,5% so voi ky ieu hanh truoc o. Cu the, gia ban le xang E5 RON 92 co the giam 1.412 ong (6,9%) ve muc 19.118 ong/lit; xang RON 95-III co the giam 1.440 ong (6,8%) ve muc 19.670 ong/lit. Trong khi o, dau hoa co the giam 7,5% ve muc 17.631 ong/lit; dau mazut co the giam 7,2% ve muc 15.730 ong/kg; dau diesel co the giam 7,1% ve muc 17.977 ong/lit.
Many Belarusians have met violence and torture at the hands of the police. Those who seek legal redress typically hit a brick wall of official denial.

In Belarus, complaints about police practice are considered by the General Prosecutors office, the Investigative Committee, and the Internal Security Directorate of the Interior Ministry. Yet according to the UN Human Rights Committee, only 10 out of 614 reports of acts constituting torture and ill-treatment, received between 2012 and 2015, were subject to criminal investigation. Sometimes administrative and criminal cases are even initiated against the complainants, putting additional pressure on them.



Meanwhile, not all victims are aware of the psychological effects of violence and often fail to see the need for psychological assistance. They may experience extreme agitation, be depressed or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In Belarus, there are no organizations providing psychological assistance to victims of torture.



Belarus is the only country on the European continent that is not a member of the Council of Europe and so is not bound by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. At the international level, Belarusians can only complain about their government to the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). However, to date, Belarus has not abided by a single decision of the UNHRC.

Svetlana Sokolovskaya. Actress, 30, Minsk

On 31 December 2017, Svetlana went out with her boyfriend and three friends to celebrate the New Year in the main square of Minsk. Riot police officers refused to let them into the secured area. A dispute arose, resulting in the arrest of Svetlanas friends.



With Svetlanas friends in the van, the riot police officer abruptly slammed the van door, shutting Svetlanas finger in the door. Then, according to the complaint she filed with police, he hit her on the head with a baton, and she lost consciousness. Doctors later diagnosed concussion.



None of the four surveillance cameras around the square recorded these events. The police deny the use of force. The Investigative Committee did not open a criminal case against the riot police officers. Svetlana has challenged this decision in the prosecutors office.

Christmas tree display, where Svetlana was beaten by riot police. Minsk, January 2019.

Handcuffs fastened to a jeep parked in Minsk city center. March 2018.

The forest where police threatened to kill Sergey Sazonov. Stolin, November 2018.

Screenshot of video from surveillance camera in police station. This still is taken just after the 22-second gap. Boris lies in the middle of the room. April 2019.

Main entrance to the police station where Tatiana was held. Minsk, April 2019.

Barbed wire on a fence enclosing a police station where Tatiana was kept. Minsk, April 2019.

I was just scared I might end up alone on the street at 4 a.m. on New Years. That was my first thought  Im scared.



I shout at the police van driver, Let me in, let me in!



With my hat and hood on, I cant see everything, so when I get hit on the head, I dont realize who or what hit me. The world goes dark before my eyes, someone picks me up by the arms and shakes me. Hey, wake up! Are you OK?



For me, it seems like one second, and I hear Sashas voice nearby: Sveta, get up, get up! The ambulance is on its way. Another second, and I find myself in the ambulance. I keep regaining consciousness and then passing out again.



Afterwards, the investigator was very kind: smiling, cracking jokes. He said that if I had really been hit by a riot policeman, that would be an egregious case, but that never happened. He promised to investigate as soon as possible, because he, too, had a wife and children, and he was very concerned about such situations. But he eventually concluded that I had fallen down and hit my head.



I feel absolutely no anger, just disappointment. I realized at some point that this [the police and their investigators]was a web of relationships, one common structure. I want to make sure that our guardians  the riot forces and the police  think about the possibility of losing their jobs and depriving their families of food if they hit someone on the head next time. If one person gets away with it, it creates an even greater wave of violence.

Stanislav (surname withheld on request)

On 30 December 2017, two district police officers tortured Stanislav in the building of the District Directorate of Internal Affairs No. 8 in Mogilev, where he had come on a private matter.



He lost consciousness several times while the policemen beat him as he lay on the floor handcuffed, and then they raped him with a police baton. After that, Stanislav became hysterical, he struck a table, the table collapsed, and they charged him with hooliganism. The trial took almost a year. At the end of 2018, the case was dismissed.



Stas had a criminal record and had spent six years in prison. He was released in 2014 and met his future wife. They had a child; Stas got a steady job.



In their testimony, the police said Stas hit his head against the corners of the walls, the doorway, and floor tiles, all by himself.



After local media wrote about his case in the winter of 2018, one of the district police officers resigned from the police force. The Investigative Committee refused to initiate criminal proceedings against the police. At the time of writing, Stas planned to appeal this decision.

Im coming around, I raise my head.



What, you again? You woke up?  and they start all over, knocking my lights out. I pass out again.

I come to my senses; Im being dragged by my arms and legs. They bring me into an office, the handcuffs are getting tighter. They start lifting me up, and the cuffs cut into my wrists and blood runs down.



He pulled down my pants. He raised his baton for me to see there was a condom on it. Then he started all that  action. I sprawled on the floor, with tears and blood and everything spilling all over it. Then he took it out, wiped it off on my face and said, Thats it, now youre down.



Such things must not be let slide or they will keep happening. If not to me, then to others. Usually, I am a calm, friendly person, but I feel only hatred for these people. If it were up to me, I would have no mercy.



The Investigative Committee very aggressively pushed back against my complaint.

I dont know how many of them there were in the office, or how long it lasted; I cant say even roughly, because I blacked out twice; I couldnt make sense of anything. For a few hours, they ignored my pleas to call an ambulance, I asked, like, five times.



I was lying on the floor until one of the two district police officers came over and said, Now were going to punish you, gloves off.

I asked the investigator, If they did this to your son, what would you do?

He said, This cannot happen to me.



A cop told me, You see this badge? I do what I want and get away with it.

If he has stars [indicating rank], does it mean he can do what he wants? How are they different from me, from you? How? They are ordinary citizens, too. Not that Im a goody-goody, no. But I want the law to be respected.

Sergey Sazonov. Musician, 22, Stolin

On the morning of 23 February 2018, two police officers came to Sergeys fathers workplace and tried to extract some information about Sergey. They took his father with them to see Sergey, and invited him to get in the car with them. They let his father go. Sergey had previously had several offenses, and he thought that was the reason for the polices interest in him.



The policemen grilled Sergey for hours about his friends and acquaintances from the punk/hardcore scene, threatened to shoot him in the leg, looked through the pictures on his phone. Then they took him into the woods and put a gun against his back.

The Investigative Committee refused to initiate criminal proceedings.

In the morning, I got a call from the Brest criminal investigation department. They asked for my address and arrived soon after. I went out in all innocence. They didnt ask me anything else, just took me away. One of them was calm, the other  the young one  was brash. They were interested in my friends from the punk scene. When I stopped answering, they started threatening to shoot me in the leg, saying I wouldnt be able to prove anything.



Then they took me to the woods. They told me to get out of the car, frisked me and said, Go on, turn around and take a couple of steps forward. As I walked away, they stuck something against my back. I immediately realized it was a gun, as I heard the bolt click, they flicked off the safety. I lit a cigarette. He said, I dont want to kill you, you know? I dont want to do that, because you havent done anything. Its about these comrades of yours, and now you have to suffer for them. Youre a good guy, we just need you to tell us about them.



They started putting pressure on, saying they could get my relatives fired from their jobs, and it would be my fault. The conversation went on for an hour. At first, you think, What bullshit! But then you start believing that they can really do it. The emotions build up and up. At that moment, I was extremely vulnerable. It is scary when you cant do anything, while they can do anything. By this time Id already realized that these officers had gone rogue. I knew that I wouldnt get killed, I was 90 percent positive. Its just shocking. Imagine, someone takes you into the woods, they tell you to put your hands on the glovebox, and keep asking, Do you want to change your mind? Thoughts come to your mind: whats going to happen? The fear of anticipation. I wanted to escape from this hell, I was prepared to run right into the woods, to walk five kilometers back to the city.



All that time they kept assuring me that they had the authority to shoot me in the leg, they could just kill me in the forest, and no one would find out, no one would come looking for me. But I knew it was impossible for a person to disappear just like that.



At first, I was scared to even go to the media about it. I thought if I talked about it, they would come back and it would be worse. I didnt know what they could do. I wanted them to just leave me alone.



I dont hate these people, I hate what pushed them to do something like this. What is it? Fear of their bosses, fear of being ordinary people themselves, losing their jobs  Thats why they are capable of such inhumane acts. They had a choice, they could have just disobeyed that order.

Boris Zmitrovich. Heavy truck driver, 29, Smorgon

Boris was detained by a night patrol when he was returning from his fathers birthday party on 14 January 2018. During the celebration, he drank about 250-300 ml of vodka. He quarreled with his wife, and she called the police. Boris refused to go to the police station. During the arrest, the police used tear gas, knocked him down, and kicked him. At the police station, he says they broke his nose, but the surveillance camera video, which the police turned over to Boris, has a 22-second gap.



A forensic examination afterwards documented chemical burns to his face and eyes, numerous bodily injuries, and nasal bleeding. Boriss family has filed seven appeals against the refusal of the Investigative Committee to initiate criminal proceedings against the police.

They knocked me down straight away, got me face down, handcuffed me, and started kicking me from both sides. The third one leaned over and said, Take that, you animal! and began spraying me with the canister. It happened near their car and lasted for a few minutes.



At the police station, I was brought to the detention room. My eyes were burning, it was searing. My eyes and face were burning so hard I felt Id rather die. When you are getting sprayed point blank, it burns like your face has been put in the oven, like the skin on your face has been burned  a horrible sensation. No one provided medical assistance.

I writhed in pain, I couldnt control myself. I said, I cant keep still, let me at least go to the window to breathe. But they forced me into a chair. When I stood up at the window anyway, an officer punched me in the nose. Right there in the detention room. I think I passed out, I only remember the moment of falling down. Then we went to the hospital for me to be examined. They brought me in, all battered. The doctor asked me, What happened? Who hit you? How did you get these injuries? A policeman answered that it happened during the arrest. I complained to the doctor of the pain in my eyes, I was cut, I was having trouble breathing, and my nose was broken.



But the doctor just wiped the blood off my face and said, Lets make you handsome! The station chief said right to my face, Are your legs and arms intact? Ribs intact? Be grateful nothing is broken.



Afterwards, wherever I turned  the prosecutors office, the Investigative Committee, the Internal Security Directorate of the Interior Ministry  I never heard a word of truth.

Im an ordinary person. They asked, Why didnt you just go with them? I say, They didnt even ask or explain! They tell me, This is power!



They made it clear to me: you are a nobody. If you are told to go somewhere, told to sit  you have to.



Now, whenever I meet someone in a uniform, hatred boils in me. He may be a good employee. But I just remember the berets they were wearing that day.

Tatiana Samnikova-Mastykina. Volunteer in a human rights organization, 31, Minsk

Tatiana was detained in downtown Minsk for verification of her identity, along with other observers from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, during a protest action on 25 March 2018. In the inner courtyard of the police station, Tatiana and the other volunteers spent about three hours standing face to the wall. Inside the police station, she was forcibly fingerprinted and photographed.



The Investigative Committee refused to initiate a case of police malpractice.

I tried to insist on an ordinary persons right to bodily integrity. I didnt want to voluntarily give my fingerprints just because Id been intimidated and subdued. I understand that I have this right, and that they have no legal rights to carry out something like this on me. I clenched my fists and wouldnt let them open my fists. I had long nails, so he got hold of a fingernail inside my fist and loosened each finger by breaking the nail.

It was vital for me to defend the imprint of every finger. The fight was painful and difficult. It was important to show them that they were wrong and were abusing their authority. However, I had enough of a sense of self-preservation not to push it to the point of broken arms or other injuries.



It was important for me to have control over at least something in that situation, even psychologically. Not to be a victim, to remain true to myself, to defend my right to bodily integrity. This was a value I had to fight for.



I remember this moment very distinctly, when I was being held by several people. One was holding my right arm, twisting it behind me. Another held my left hand. Their commander was fingerprinting me, while another officer held my hand steady for the procedure. When I was able to turn around and see who was holding me from behind, he didnt look me in the eye. It was clear he didnt like what he was doing. Maybe he even disagreed with what was happening. Meanwhile, the other officer, who was holding me by the left hand, calmly looked me in the eye and smiled without turning a hair.



All the time this was happening, they were mocking me, insulting me. It was frustrating: you are forced, humiliated, and everyone around is helping it happen. As if its supposed to be like that, as if its all right. No one supported me, no one said it was against procedure, no one called a superior officer.

Then four or five people grabbed me. Someone held my arms, someone held my legs, and someone else grabbed the hair at the back of my head so I faced straight at the camera. All I could do at that point was to make faces and squint to ruin the picture.



If I had voluntarily given fingerprints, if I had willingly let them take a picture of me  I would have broken down. Its like consenting to what was happening. In my head, that was not even an option at that moment. It was vital for me not to give up, to defend what I believed in. It was very clear no one would come to help. If I hadnt texted my friends from the police department about what happened to me, and if it hadnt spread in the media  they could have done anything to me. When I got home, the fear started, the adrenaline wore off, and then came the realization of what had happened. Then I started to shake  my voice was trembling with emotion  it felt so scary, painful, and I really needed to express that pain. Any violence is difficult to process, to acknowledge yourself in this situation and let go: to draw the right conclusions, to understand that its not your fault, and keep living with this experience.



They understand perfectly well what they are doing. If we behave obediently in such situations, these officers think theyre doing the right thing, that this is the norm. For me, this is more proof that we shouldnt keep quiet. I dont understand what sort of situation a person has to be in, for him to do such things  even for money!  if you obviously dont like it. But if you enjoy it, then you should totally see a doctor.

Alexei Shchedrov. Priest and founder of a homeless shelter, 31, Aleksandrovka Village

On 31 January 2019, Alexei Shchedrov went to the Shchuchinsky district hospital to have a tooth extracted. When he got home, the police arrived; he had been accused of stealing a wallet from hospital staff. He spent the night in police custody, where he was beaten and interrogated until he confessed to the theft, which he did not commit.

After studying the video surveillance, the police dropped the charges against him. Having no faith in the possibility of a fair outcome, Alexei never filed a complaint.

They didnt let me sleep that night. I was sitting on a stool in the police station. They kept clicking a stapler in my ears and yelling at me. They pushed me onto the floor and began stepping on me, crushing my foot. And I just stayed calm and said I was innocent.

When I started praying, the senior lieutenant told me, Do you think your faith is strong? Ill knock it out of you. Theres no one here but us. Then they started hitting me around the head and shoulders. I told them that I took the wallet, to get them to stop.

They feel complete freedom, complete confidence, complete power. If their superiors punished them for treating people like this, this wouldnt have happened. I thought about how they treated other people. I could not find anything human in them. Only arrogance and cruelty.

Maxim Sarychau is a documentary photographer and visual artist from Belarus. He began this photojournalism project in 2018 and he continues to document and share personal experiences of violence at the hands of the Belarusian authorities. The project received initial funding through a crowdfunding campaign on Press Start. All images via his personal website sarychau.com.
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City officials in Casper are requesting an assessment of Fort Caspar by Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails that could lay the groundwork for the transfer of the park from the city to the state.

The reconstructed 1865 military post has served as a museum since 1936 and is under the citys jurisdiction.

The Casper City Council prior to a regularly scheduled meeting last week allowed a letter from Casper Mayor Ray Pacheco to be sent asking state parks about the process to determine whether Fort Caspar could be included into the state park system.

The request follows up on a Casper Area Parks and Recreation Plan from September 2024 that indicated improvements to the park could include evaluating the citys long-term capacity to own and operate the park and museum. The museum may be better served under ownership of the state or a nonprofit organization.

(This) is just one step of what I would consider probably a fairly long, involved process. But Id love to take that first step, Casper City Manager Carter Napier said during a city meeting.

The letter asks the state to begin to assess whether Fort Caspar could be better suited as a state park, but the process is not binding.

The governor and the legislature would need to approve the transfer of the facility.

Having state parks acquire the facility would allow the city to reduce costs but Zulima Lopez, the citys Parks, Recreation, & Public Facilities director, said reducing costs was not the primary reason for seeking the assessment.

While it is true that the city is always looking to reduce costs, that financial consideration is not the primary driver of my departments recommendation to consider this assessment, she said. Fort Caspar is an invaluable historic and cultural asset for Casper, Wyoming, and the western US.  In addition to telling our national story, Fort Caspar captures the rich history of Casper and Central Wyoming and our contributions to our state and nation.

Lopez said the fort, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a natural fit for state parks.

With the resources that the state currently invests in marketing its State Parks and Historic Sites, we believe visits could increase significantly under the states promotion and operation, she said.

Fort Caspars success benefits not only the local economy, but also Wyomings tourism economy, by creating an attractive stop in central Wyoming that could attract more out of state visitors and/or keep them in Wyoming longer.

The 2024 Casper Area Parks and Recreation Plan included details that the park is in need of significant, ongoing investment to restore it to status as a community landmark.

Fort Casper has three full-time staff and the price to maintain the park has fluctuated between $400,000 and more than $500,000 for the last three fiscal years.

The cost to manage the park for the 2026 fiscal year is just more than $472,000, but the park averages approximately $95,000 in revenue each year from admissions, meeting room and park rentals, and gift shop sales, Lopez said.

The city lacks adequate resources and capacity to sustainably own, operate, maintain, and promote Fort Caspar so that it can remain a valuable historic and cultural asset to the community, state, and country for future generations, Lopez said. We believe the state is well positioned financially and has ample staff expertise, considering the other historic sites and museums that the state owns and operates, to maximize the operation and maintenance of the facility and drive higher visitation.

Their marketing capacity alone far exceeds what the city has resources to do; marketing is critical to the success of sites such as Fort Caspar, Lopez continued.

Budget cuts due to legislature-mandated property tax reductions are expected to affect park operations this year.

A transfer to the state appears to be the best current option to really feature and sustain this important historical gem, Lopez said.

The assessment typically takes three to 12 months and Fort Caspars evaluation is expected to be on the longer side, Lopez noted.

The states assessment area has yet to be determined but city staff believes it would make sense for Centennial Park to be included in the assessment.

State parks staff will score and decide whether taking over the site is appropriate, once the assessment is complete.

The state nor the city have an obligation to do what is recommended, Napier said at a city meeting last week.

Lopez added that the transfer, if the state deems it appropriate, would require legislative approval  which would likely be in two or more years.
Bilateral trade between Trinidad and Tobago and India reached a record TT$1.2 billion (US$368.96 million) in the last fiscal year, according to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

She disclosed this as she announced that her Government aims to expand exports to tap into Indias market of 1.4 billion consumers, and will pursue a Partial Scope Trade Agreementthe first from a Caricom countrywhile laying the foundation for a new Bilateral Investment Treaty.
ON Thursday night, when hosted at the Diplomatic Centre, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an experience that has been preserved by the nations diaspora for 180 years.

In images that have since gone viral, Modi was seen eating on the leaves of the sohari (Calathea lutea).

In a social media post to Angelo Bissessarsinghs Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago Facebook page, Patricia Bissessar said the serving of food on the leaves of the sohari is a practice rooted in Indo-Trinidadian cultural heritage, particularly among the Hindu community.
This years Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) results have revealed a concerning learning gap among primary school students, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath has said.

Speaking at a recognition ceremony for the top five performers in the 2025 SEA yesterday at the ministrys head office in Port of Spain, Dowlath said the data will be analysed for better performance moving forward.
Last Tuesday, Gwynne Dyer headlined his Express column Stupid old men. You could substitute all sorts of adjectives before the words, old men, to describe the characteristics of the cohort that has had the most influence on the world we inhabit. Greedy, self-righteous, racist, arrogant, selfish, a multitude of negative words readily suit the clique.

At first, angrily thinking about the subject of todays column, I was focusing on Caribbean men in leadership positions who have been sleazy lechers, foisting themselves on hapless females and males with impunity.
When the University of Arizona put out the call in July 2023 for local breweries to create a UA-branded beer, Pueblo Vida Brewing Company jumped in.

The brewery, started in 2009 by UA Eller School grads Kyle Jefferson and Lynette Antillon, specializes in the hoppier IPAs, but for their Wildcat Cerveza, they went the amber route.

We wanted to make a beer that was a little bit more inclusive so we went with this lighter amber lager, Jefferson said.

The folks at UAs Trademarks & Licensing loved it and signed a two-year licensing deal.

That deal got Laura Little, the departments associate director, and her people to thinking: Why not create a program for local makers and companies with ties to the UA to collaborate with the university?

When we started working with (Pueblo Vida), it was kind of this realization that a lot of companies kind of see the university as maybe intimidating or not knowing how to work with the university, Little said. They started thinking, How do we grow this and where are we missing in our standard licensing of our local companies?

In July, the UA launched Old Main Mercado, an initiative to collaborate with Tucson businesses to create branded products like Los Gatos Wildcat Sauce from Si Charro (parent of El Charro, The Monica, Charro Steak & del Rey, Charrovida and Charro Chico) and a line of scented candles from Cicada Candles, which is in its final design stage.

When you walk on campus (the candles) take you back to walking on the mall or the orange blossoms in the spring, Little said.

Cicada Candles owner Stacey McClure said they expect to begin production in January.

Early this month, Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin uncorked the UA-branded version of its Arizona La Osa 2019, an intense and tasty red wine made with 100% estate Grenache that won a silver medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicles 2023 Wine Competition.

Vineyards founder and winemaker Kent Callaghan said a friend of his wife Lisa suggested they pitch La Osa to the UA given the familys ties to the university: four generations of graduates from Lisas family (her parents, herself and her daughter), two from Callaghans (his mother and his daughter).

The family also had deeper tangential ties through the groundbreaking research of UA soil scientist Gordon Dutt, who studied the regions soil and viticulture to see how adaptable it was to growing wine grapes.

Dutt went on in 1973 to plant Sonoita Vineyards, the first commercial vineyard in the Elgin-Sonoita region and the official birthplace of Arizona wine. That opened the door for Callaghan and his parents, Harold and Karen, to plant their first vineyards in 1990. When his parents left the business in 1996, Callaghan took over.

The UA, with input from Callaghan Vineyards, designed the Arizona La Osa label, which tells the universitys and the familys story through a historical timeline that starts with Lisa Callaghans great-grandfather J.C. Kinney. The early 20th century prominent businessman, politician and local rancher  he owned La Osa Cattle Company, which inspired the wines name  was instrumental in launching the Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo. Hes also the namesake of Kinney Road, where you will find the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Old Tucson.

The label also features a drawing of a cowboy on horseback and another swinging a rope, and the original Wilbur with cowboy boots and hat.

Kent Callaghan said they have 200 cases of the wine, which is available at several restaurants and bars, including Feast, Parish and Tap & Bottle, and for retail sale at Plaza Liquors, Time Market, Westbound, Arizona Wine Collective and Plaza Liquors. Phoenix-based GenuWine Arizona also carries it.

It should retail for $35 a bottle, Callaghan said.

Companies licensed by the UA sign a two-year contract; in the first year, they pay a flat fee of $500, followed by 20% of wholesale sales in the second, Little said.

Obviously there always is a goal to create revenue for the university, but on this it was more having the community involved and supporting buy local and supporting the Tucson economy, Little said.

Definitely, having the U of A brand tied to companies helps elevate them, Little added. The general sense of when someone sees the U of A logo on the product, they automatically think this is high quality  and there is a certain level of confidence with that brand.

Thats what Jason Robinson and his TimberTote partner Chelsea Adler are hoping for when they launch their UA-branded wooden handbags in the next few weeks.

This gives us incredible exposure and credibility and lets our community be proud, said Robinson, who, along with his wife, graduated from the UA; their son, Avery, is now a student. This is born-and-bred in Tucson.

Robinson and Adler, both Tucson natives, launched TimberTote in January after becoming friends when both opened businesses in Proper Shops, 300 E. Congress St. Robinson owns the woodworking brand Sport Class Customs, while Adler creates her own line of womens clothing at her shop Desert Mariposa Boutique.

Adler has since moved her boutique to a brick-and-mortar at 6538 E. Tanque Verde Road.

The pairs handbags are made with a woodworking technique using a high-powered laser to make a series of staggered cuts that create a living hinge, making the wood pliable enough to bend without breaking. The purse is lined with cloth.

TimberTote will launch its UA collab with three designs, which will be set on the inside lining: a Wildcat face, an overview of the inside of McKale Center, and the ubiquitous block A. The outside of each will feature an engraved block A.

Robinson said they are taking orders now on their website, timbertotepurse.com.

Little said companies interested in being licensed through Old Main Mercado have to be based in Tucson or Southern Arizona and align with the UAs mission and values. For information, visit licensing.arizona.edu/old-main-mercado.
The Diocese of Tucson will celebrate a Mass for Pope Leo XIV on Sunday morning, May 18.

The Mass will begin at 10 a.m. at Saint Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave.

Reverend Gerald Kicanas, the apostolic administrator of the diocese, is set to officiate.

The Mass will include remarks about Pope Leo XIV, including him sending two Spanish-speaking priests to serve in Yuma as well as his visit to Tucson in 1999.

A second collection will benefit the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where Pope Leo XIV served from 2015-23.

Robert Prevost became the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church when he was elected on May 8.
Pima County has joined two other American cities in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for money they say is owed for sheltering migrants.

The lawsuit that includes Chicago and Denver was filed Friday against DHS and its disaster relief agency for withholding federal grants awarded to the municipalities to operate migrant shelters through the agencys Shelter and Services Program.

Pima County says it is owed about $12 million, Shawndrea Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Attorneys Office, said Friday.

The federal government needs to make good on what they owe our community, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement.

While the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA may not think 12 million dollars is a big deal, it would be a tremendous loss for our community. We believe this cost should be borne by the federal government as approved by Congress, not from Pima County taxpayers, Conover said.

The county began accepting the federal funds in 2019, during Trumps first term, to ensure public health and safety, said Rex Scott, chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

The federal government is suddenly changing the rules and sending ambiguous and conflicting demands, Scott said. Acting as an earnest partner in this endeavor, we then provided sheltering services in good faith. We relied on these Congressionally appropriated funds and adhered to every regulation and law ... Immigration is a federal responsibility, and weve said all along that we would only provide sheltering services if the federal government paid for them, Scott said.

It appears DHS/FEMA are now refusing to disburse Congressionally approved funds. In order to advocate for our taxpayers and protect the county budget, we had no choice but to seek relief in federal court.

The pause in funding that hit Pima County was part of a larger review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) into organizations that provide aid to migrants.

A letter the county received in March from Cameron Hamilton, then the interim head of FEMA, said DHS had significant concerns that the federal funding was going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities, citing a federal law used to prosecute smugglers accused of bringing migrants into the United States.

The Pima County migrant-aid program started in 2019 and grew in 2023, when the number of asylum-seekers increased.

The county has sheltered approximately 518,868 asylum-seekers since 2019 and received more than $117 million from the federal government for temporary sheltering, as previously reported in January, when the county closed its two migrant aid shelters.

The countys program has been entirely federally funded.

Denver is seeking about $25 million, the Denver Gazette reported.

Kristen Cabanban, a spokesperson for the city of Chicagos Department of Law, said the city filed two lawsuits Friday. It says the Trump Administration violated the U.S. Constitution and other laws in freezing over $50 million in funds intended for critical city services.
Evidence of the Trump administrations militarization at Arizonas southern border has been mounting in recent weeks, even as migrant arrivals there have dwindled to historic lows.

Humanitarian volunteers have spotted eight-wheeled Stryker armored vehicles rolling along the steep border wall road east of Sasabe, and in the town of Why, about 27 miles north of Lukeville. Soldiers have at times used the rugged California Gulch area, south of Arivaca, as a gathering place, threatening a rare desert fish species there, a Southern Arizona conservationist said.

Humvee vehicles have been seen amid the grasslands of the San Rafael Valley, where a new stretch of border wall is planned, and Santa Cruz County residents have reported seeing a Stryker vehicle in Kino Springs and more military personnel at the Nogales border crossing.

More than 1,800 soldiers have been deployed in Arizona, as well as armored vehicles and military aircraft, although public lands along the border in Arizona havent yet been transferred to the Department of Defense, as has happened in New Mexico and Texas.

But even as the Trump administration surges military resources to the U.S.-Mexico border  where there are now more than 10,000 soldiers and 100 Strykers border-wide  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to ask some Border Patrol agents to transfer away from the border to support the mass deportation campaign in the U.S. interior, CNN reported.

An ICE spokeswoman told the Arizona Daily Star the agency would respond to the Stars inquiry about the plan in the coming days. Local Customs and Border Protection officials were unaware of the plans, as of Friday.

The move seems to be an acknowledgement of the excess capacity at the border lately, despite the Trump administrations insistence that a national emergency and an invasion exist there, immigration experts say.

Migrant encounters between ports of entry are still at historic lows, despite a small increase for the month of April, according to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Theres a big mismatch between the rhetoric (about an invasion) and the reality, said Colleen Putzel Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst for the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

Imperative we stay vigilant

Border Patrols Tucson Sector Chief Sean McGoffin told the Star in a May 14 interview that despite the quiet border, the military support has been a huge help, including providing enhanced surveillance along the border.

They are doing a lot of different jobs that help us to be able to have more eyes on the border, to be able to do our jobs and even have greater awareness of whats transpiring, because of them being on the border with us. So theyre definitely helping us, he said.

McGoffin emphasized that border security isnt only about immigration.

We still have to be vigilant about people trying to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. We have to be careful and not let our guard down. Even though immigration has taken up so much of our time, its not the only thing we have to worry about along the border. Its imperative we stay vigilant, he said.

On the low migrant arrests figures, McGoffin said thats a product of stricter policies at the border, starting last year under President Joe Biden, and word spreading widely about the consequences of illegal entry.

Its a continuous effort to applying consequences, and reminding people that coming across that border illegally is going to result in prosecution and you will be returned, he said.

Human-rights advocates maintain that those stricter policies, largely banning access to asylum, violate U.S. law and international treaties that guarantee the right to seek asylum once on U.S. soil, regardless of how one entered the country.

On May 9, a federal court ruling backed up many of advocates critiques, raising questions about what the future of asylum access will look like at the border: A U.S. District Court in D.C. ruled most of Bidens asylum restrictions imposed in June 2024 violated the Immigration and Nationality Act and would harm people seeking asylum.

Todays federal court ruling reaffirms what weve said time and again  that the bipartisan war on asylum has obstructed equitable access to fundamental human and legal rights in ways both arbitrary and capricious, said Javier Hidalgo, legal director at Texas-based nonprofit RAICES, in a statement.

Bidens earlier Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule  which only allowed migrants access to U.S. ports of entry, where they could request asylum, if they first secured an appointment using the CBP One phone app  expired earlier this month. The rule had also imposed a higher threshold for a successful asylum petition for those who didnt enter the U.S. through a port of entry.

The ACLU has also challenged President Donald Trumps invasion declaration, used to justify the near-complete ban on asylum access.

A lot depends on appeals, but if court finds the invasion declaration unlawful, the U.S.-Mexico border would be back to normal rules, said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institutes U.S. immigration policy program.

I think its remarkable that we might be at a point of having all of this military build-up at the border, but none of the rules that were put in place to try to slow arrivals in effect.

A few months into Trumps first term, migrant arrivals began rising again, following a transitional wait-and-see period, Putzel Kavanagh said, but it remains to be seen if that will happen again in the coming months.

Military zone





Last month, the Trump administration began transferring land along the border to the Department of Defense, making those lands a temporary military installation off-limits to civilians.

Federal officials say that allows soldiers to temporarily detain migrants, who can be transferred to CBP custody and charged with trespassing on a military base, without running afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act. Thats the law that normally prohibits the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement, but it contains a loophole for actions that further a military purpose.

Critics say its an alarming overreach of executive power and an abuse of that loophole, which could make it easier to justify use of the military in the U.S. interior one day.

The official land transfer hasnt yet happened in Arizona, and Border Patrols McGoffin said he doesnt yet have an indication of when it will happen.

Hundreds of migrants have already been charged with trespassing in the military zone established in New Mexico and part of Texas. The arrests so far have been made by border agents, not soldiers, said CBP spokesman John Mennell. Military personnel have provided information leading to those arrests, an Army spokesman said.

But prosecuting those trespassing charges just got tougher for the Department of Justice: Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico have dismissed the trespassing charges against more than 100 of those charged, ruling the government failed to show migrants knew theyd entered a restricted area, the Associated Press reported Friday. The migrants still face charges of illegal entry and potential deportation.

In New Mexico, that militarized zone stretches 3.5 miles into the state in some areas, far deeper than initially anticipated, the Star reported in April. The Roosevelt Reservation, the strip of federal land that tracks the southern border in California, Arizona and New Mexico, extends just 60 feet into the U.S. from the border.

If the militarized zone in Arizona also stretches miles from the border, that will mean significant disruption to fragile habitats in Southern Arizona, including a stream through California Gulch thats home to the rare Sonora chub, a protected desert fish, said Chris Bugbee, southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

In late April, Bugbee said he came upon five unmarked vehicles, and more than a dozen soldiers in fatigues, in California Gulch. He said he asked one soldier, What are you guys doing out here?

His answer: Were just driving around, Bugbee said. That is word-for-word. I think theyre twiddling their thumbs out there.

Bugbee said hes concerned about civilians unknowingly entering the military zone once its established in Southern Arizona, where the expansive, rugged terrain would make it hard to delineate where a military zone begins, unless the Army installs a new fence system.

Im waiting to see whats gonna happen to American citizens who enter these spaces. Are we gonna get trespassing charges as well? he said. Somebody like me who regularly goes down there not only to recreate, but for work as well  I like to get down there in the monsoon season and look for endangered fish  what would happen to me?

Theres also the question of how cattle grazing would be managed once the Army takes over public lands from agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, he said.

This is happening too fast. Its really kind of a scramble, Bugbee said. A lot of it hasnt been thought through, in my opinion.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway, who spotted a column of Humvee vehicles in the San Rafael Valley on a recent visit, said he worries about the economic and social implications of the militarization effort, which could deter shoppers from Mexico who support the Nogales economy, and vice versa.

Any enhanced visible military presence, the feeling is that will discourage people from coming to the border, where people will think its unsafe and out of control and a war zone, like East Germany during the Soviet era ... which couldnt be further from the truth, Hathaway said.

Hes also concerned about the consequences for people who are accustomed to enjoying recreational activities, like hiking, hunting and bird-watching, in the borderlands.

Id be worried about clashes between military personnel and regular Americans out there for a Sunday hike, not thinking theyre going onto a military base, he said.

Meanwhile, ICEs plan to transfer border agents to the U.S. interior  despite the surge of military to the border  also reflects the challenges facing ICE agents to meet the Trump administrations aggressive mass-deportation goals.

The Justice Department is also shifting 2,000 law enforcement officers from other federal agencies  including the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  to assist with immigration enforcement for the rest of the year, the New York Times reported.

Thats in line with DOJ priorities outlined in a January memo, directing federal law enforcement and prosecutors to prioritize immigration-related offenses, including misdemeanor illegal-entry cases.

The Star reported in February about concerns that laser focus on immigration will divert limited resources from critical enforcement areas, such as drug trafficking, violent crime, child exploitation and white-collar crime.

Recent border numbers

Migrant arrests have been dropping since early 2024, when Mexican immigration enforcement strengthened efforts to slow the progress of migrants trying to reach the U.S. border amid a global increase in forced displacement. Apprehensions between ports of entry then dropped dramatically after Bidens June 2024 restrictions on asylum access, under his Securing the Border rule.

Since Trump took office, the numbers have dropped further, though CBPs April statistics show a modest increase from 6,800 migrant arrests in March, to about 8,000 in April. Thats compared to more than 128,000 migrant arrests in April 2024.

In the Tucson sector, border agents arrested 1,327 migrants outside ports of entry in April, compared to 1,068 in March.

The demographics have changed, too: Most migrant arrivals now are single adults from Mexico, as opposed to the families from across the world who were many of the border-crossers throughout Bidens term, and at the end of Trumps first term, Putzel Kavanaugh said.

Thats a return to the demographic norms of the 1990s and early 2000s, she said.

On a recent visit to the Arizona border east of Sasabe, a Star reporter saw only a couple trucks driven by soldiers along the border wall road, and there were no migrants in sight.

Father Ray Riding, a Catholic priest and volunteer with the Tucson Samaritans, said hes visited the area once or twice a week for months, and he hasnt seen a single migrant on his recent visits. Its a departure from last fall, when aid workers routinely encountered dozens of migrants each day, he said.

Whats happening now is the people crossing now are risking their lives walking (through the desert). Theyre not asking for asylum, he said.

Advocates have long warned that the more restrictive border policies are, the more likely it is that migrants will be pushed further into dangerously remote areas of the borderlands, risking their lives.

In late 2023, hundreds of migrants arrived in the remote area east of Sasabe daily and waited hours or days in harsh conditions to turn themselves in, leaving aid workers at times pleading for a greater Border Patrol presence there.

Now that migrant encounters have dwindled, the surge in resources makes no sense, Riding said.

Humanitarian workers worry about when theyll no longer have access to this remote area of the border, raising concerns about the lack of outside oversight of military operations there.

They just do not want accountability, Riding said. That has been one of the bulwarks of our nation, like having a free press, free speech. ... They are doing everything to take our eyes off that.

Joanna Williams, executive director for the binational migrant-aid nonprofit Kino Border Initiative, in Nogales, said border militarization has been ongoing for years, even since 2001, but especially since 2018 when Trump deployed the military to assist with border-wall construction.

Thats normalized an atmosphere of surveillance and military oversight that shouldnt be considered normal, she said.

He (Trump) moved what is normal, and we havent been able to go back to a world in which the military is not here, she said. The presence of the military now is just consolidating that reality and changing the reality of our beautiful border, which is actually a place of interconnection, of back and forth, and community. Its nothing close to a war zone.

The militarization effort can negatively affect the well-being of soldiers diverted from the work for which theyre trained, Williams said.

Theres very little thought given to, is this a good use of resources? Is this reasonable for the people doing this work? she said. This is not what they signed up for. Theyre isolated, far from family and community networks. They signed up for that in a way  but they signed up to do that in a place where theyre actually needed.
PHOENIX  Margy Bons doesnt wait to help struggling military families  she just does it.

As founder of Military Assistance Mission, the Marine mom has spent more than a decade stepping in where government programs fall short, offering everything from diapers and car repairs to Christmas dinners and rent checks.

While national debates rage over defense budgets and veteran support, Bons is focused on the basics: food, shelter and dignity for Arizonas lowest-paid service members.

More than 286,000 active duty service members were food insecure in 2022, according to a RAND report commissioned by the Department of Defense. Its a crisis that nonprofit efforts like Bons aim to confront head-on.

Military Assistance Mission doesnt just promise help; it delivers it quickly.

Through a simple online form, the nonprofit pays bills directly. Bons says that in some cases, the money goes out the same day.

That speed is what sets her group apart from larger organizations that often take longer to respond, Bons said.

We dont have to wait for meetings and people to get together to make a decision about, you know, should we help this person? Bons said. Because by the time you get everybody together and go through a meeting, that person could be evicted.

The urgency is driven by experience. She knows how rare it is for service members to ask for help in the first place.

Im a Marine mom, she said. My son was killed in Iraq. And one of the things I will tell you is they will chew an arm and a leg off before theyll ask for assistance.

The help comes fast, but its not unlimited. MAM is a one-time assistance program meant to catch people in a crisis, not carry them long term.

Well help you, she said. But this is a one-time thing.

Bons also prioritizes the privacy of the service members who reach out for help.

Everything we do is secure, Bons said. If a command knows that a service member is getting assistance, sometimes they can run into problems. We dont tell anybody anything.

That commitment to confidentiality is critical in a community where asking for help can feel like an admission of failure, particularly among service members who are taught to be tough enough to withstand any hardship alone.

Bons understands that better than most, and her promise of confidentiality gives military families the space to get back on their feet without fear of repercussions.

The no-questions-asked philosophy is what drew veterans advocate Joanna Sweatt to MAM.

A Marine Corps veteran, Sweatt recalled how Bons stepped in a decade ago for her.

She personally helped me . . . about 10 years ago, Sweatt said. I was facing homelessness. She helped me coordinate with other people and checks up on me regularly.

What stands out to Sweatt is that MAM isnt just another business endeavor or resume booster. Its deeply personal.

This is not a career move for her. This is her providing the service to families out of the loss that she has suffered as a Gold Star mom, Sweatt said.

In 2005, Bons son, Marine Sgt. Michael Adam Marzano, was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 28 years old.

Just months later, Bons launched Military Assistance Mission, which is named for her son, whose initials spell out MAM.

Today, the nonprofit is still focused on those most likely to be overlooked: the lowest-paid ranks, many of whom have young families and little financial support.

Military Assistance Mission doesnt just cover emergency bills. The organization throws baby showers for military families, provides Christmas gifts to children with deployed parents, and offers back-to-school support each year with haircuts, backpacks and supplies.

MAM also hosts an annual fundraising motorcycle ride and community events that bring service members together not just to receive help, but to feel seen.

Its a long list of programs, but Bons said it all comes back to one goal: taking care of the people who signed up to serve.
PHOENIX  Your ability to sleep in during the week  at least til sunrise  may soon be disturbed.

No. Not because of roosters. Theyre pretty much banned in most cities.

Instead, its in the name of worker safety and more efficient construction of houses, apartments and commercial buildings.

A new law that took effect this past week now requires cities and counties to allow construction activities to begin by 5 a.m. on weekdays between May 1 and Oct. 15.

And possibly even earlier: The legislation signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs actually says that companies can begin pouring concrete, whether for new developments or a neighbor installing a new driveway, an hour before construction starts.

But you will be able to sleep til 7 a.m. on Saturdays.

And local governments still retain the power to set Sunday construction schedules.

Whats behind the measure is the dual goal of expediting construction and ensuring that workers gain some protection from the often-unrelenting summer heat.

Sen. Analise Ortiz said about half of Arizona cities already allow for early start times in the summer, though it varies from community to community. What the new law will do, said the Phoenix Democrat, is provide some consistency across the state.

But theres more than that involved.

Its needed because we should allow for more workers in the construction industry to have an earlier start time while its cooler in the summer months, she said. Its good for workers.

Ortiz, however, also is among the most vociferous supporters of knocking down local regulations she believes put the cost of homes out of reach.

She was a champion of legislation to allow homeowners to construct casitas  more formally known as accessory dwelling units  to provide more places for people to rent.

And Ortiz has been a major supporter of stripping cities of their rights to impose certain zoning and design restrictions in an effort to create more starter homes.

Thats why she said the new law also is good for development.

There was support from the business interests who would get additional work hours.

its a simple question of worker safety, Spencer Kamps, a lobbyist for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, told lawmakers.

Construction workers are obviously at risk during the summer, Kamps said.

Some of that is preventable with things like water, rest and shade.

But, quite honestly, the best mitigation measure to prevent heat stroke or heat injury is the schedule, Kamps said. What the new law does is set a uniform standard throughout the state for getting started in the summer.

And by uniform, Kamps said that means all kinds of construction, regardless of where it is occurring. He rejected the idea of one set of noise standards for business zones and another for residential areas, saying that single start time is pretty much standard practice.

But not everywhere.

In Pima County, for example, the current ordinance has a start time of 6 a.m. in the summer. But its 7 a.m. in residential areas.

Other communities have their own regulations.

That 5 a.m. start time in the new law appears to match up with the noise ordinances in Lake Havasu City. But places like Prescott and Scottsdale havent allowed such work before 6 a.m.

And in Tucson, the start time is linked to sunrise, which is after 5 a.m., even on the longest day of the year.

Melonie Leslie, business director of the Arizona Masonry Council, also spoke in support of the legislation. She said it would provide relief to workers who are lifting sacks weighing 35 pounds all day.

And then there was some personal testimony from Rep. Jeff Weninger.

I used to roof for my dad in Tucson, years and years ago, in the summer, said the Chandler Republican. Definitely, you had to be off the roof by 11 a.m.

But later start times, he said, allow roofers to work only three or four hours before they would have to quit for the day.

This will work for more expediency in road construction, more expediency in housing construction, and keep those workers safe at the same time, Weninger said.

That, however, still leaves the question of whether the efforts to expedite construction justify disturbing neighbors. Ortiz said there is no doubt in her mind about the balance.

Without this bill, people cold die of extreme heat working long hours in the middle of the day, she said. This is a necessary life-saving measure for construction workers.

As to the governor, she had a different focus in deciding to sign the bill: more housing. Press aide Christian Slater pointed out that his boss approved several bills last year designed to cut red tape in getting construction plans approved and allow in some cases for denser residential zoning.

Gov. Hobbs is proud to build on her record by signing legislation that will further break down regulatory barriers to building more housing, he said.

And what of being awakened at 5 a.m.? Slater said thats no problem  at least for Hobbs, using the question as an opportunity to do a bit of promotion for her ahead of what is expected to be a difficult reelection campaign next year.

The governor is regularly awake at 5 a.m., if not earlier, working tirelessly to expand opportunity, security and freedom for the people of Arizona, he said.






Be still my heart

My heart is gladdened by Mr. McConnells recent LTE (May 15), in which he states (along with a lot of other nonsense), Trump has secured the southern border in less than 100 days 

Clearly, with the border now secured, there is no need to build a wall. Thats going to save us taxpayers a ton of otherwise wasted money.

Jim Rapp

Southeast side

The Republican tax bill

The Republican Party has chosen a unique method of committing genocide. Take away health care, take away access to food and stop the fight against climate change. Goodbye, Medicaid. So long, food stamps. Go, coal, go.

Judith Holley

Green Valley

Shame indeed

George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo, Tenth of December, and Liberation Day, wrote a guest essay in the New York Times criticizing President Trumps firing of Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress. Saunders praised Hayden, calling her dynamic and dedicated after meeting her while accepting the Library of Congresss Prize for American Fiction. He noted while the White House has the power to fire Hayden, her termination lacked evidence of doing quite concerning things, using D.E.I as a sort of omni-pejorative and deliberately avoiding clarity. According to Saunders, Trumps administration views curiosity as dangerous indoctrination. Saunders also countered the claim that Hayden put inappropriate books in the library, ignoring parental decision for appropriate books. He continued by coining the phrase Random False Rationale Generator for terms like D.E.I. and finished with shaming Trump and Congressional members like John Thune, Mike Johson, and Marco Rubio. Like Saunders, I echo his essay title. Shame on the White House... and Congress too.

Roger Shanley

East side

Making coal great again?

Regarding the May 12 editorial about coal: Coal is not the cheapest source of generating electricity. Coal costs about 9 cents/kWh. The less polluting natural gas (NG), wind, and solar cost 5-7 cents/kWh (22-45% less).

The hidden costs of pollution are excluded. Burning coal emits about 2.2 pounds of CO2/kWh, which is 2.4 times the pollution of NG and 11-100 times more than wind or solar. Burning coal has made the Earth hotter, resulting in more extreme storms. Twenty-seven extreme storms in 2024 had a cost of over $180 billion that are ignored in the cost of burning fossil fuels. The health care costs are unpaid by the polluters ($400 billion annually). Annually, about 50,000 Americans die prematurely related to pollution. The California wildfires reduced the US GDP by $4.6 billion (0.46%).

Burning coal is not cheaper and has costs (including death) that are unaccounted. Sounds great? Not to me.

William Jones

East side

Pima Countys compounding 3-cent tax hike

The Board of Supervisors currently are reviewing a plan to implement a tax increase for affordable housing. Currently the plan as stated will increase your property tax three cents every year for 10 years. Yes, that means every year another three cents will be added to your tax rate. Currently, District 3 Supervisor Matt Heinz has left that little piece out of the broader discussion. As your property values go up so will the cost of that three cents, each year will be more each year, a compounding tax. The estimate they gave is on todays value, not the future value. To create a funding source with no specific plan that increases taxes automatically for the next 10 years is not fair or right for the taxpayers of the Pima County. Tell the supervisors to vote down this compounding tax.

Sergio Mendez

North side

Draconian cuts to National Parks budget

As an extremely proud, 4-decade veteran of the National Park Service (NPS)  laborer, ranger, superintendent  the nearly $1 Billion cuts propsed by our illustrious leader and junior partner, DJT, could be a death knell to what, along with Democracy, is Americas Best Idea. It will be the greatest reduction in the 110-year history of our favorite agency: reckless, draconian, catastrophic. In 2024, a record 332 million people (2% above 2023), visited the 433 NPS units; over 14 million in Arizonas 21 areas, alone.

In 2023, per the National Parks and Conservation Association, begun in 1919 and with 1.6 million members, $26.4 billion (that is 9 zeros) was spent in our nations communities, contributing almost $56 billion to the national economy: travel, food, rest, recreation, and knick-knacks. This spending also supported 415,000 (non-government) jobs in local economies, both inside and outside the parks. Becoming now par, Trump and company, think Shooting yourself in the foot wont hurt. Wrong.

Butch Farabee

Oro Valley

Two approaches

Biden allocated $53B in federal subsidies to boost U.S. semiconductor production and research, emphasizing public-private partnerships to incentivize companies like TSMC and INTEL.

Trumps strategy relies on coercion via tariffs to drive private investment from those same economically and strategically critical corporations with little emphasis on direct government funding.

These are two polarized ideologies but America has only one economy and in either case, Arizona is a double winner. Trump cant stop Bidens taxpayer spending by executive order because its legislatively approved and Trumps $100B-plus successful chokehold on TSMC and others is just double icing on the cake.

We Tucsonans congratulate Phoenix, Chandler, and Peoria on their economic prowess and hope that some of your success will trickle down to Tucson, where we are focused on whether or not bus rides are free.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Removal of protective status for Afghans

I am outraged that President Trump has removed protective status for refugees from Afghanistan and intends to deport them.

Groups of U.S. veterans like No One Left Behind and Evacuate Our Allies have worked for years raising funds to bring Afghans who worked with US forces to safety. Their lives and the lives of their families are in mortal danger from the Taliban because they helped the US. Trump says things are improved in Afghanistan. Has he offered empirical evidence or is this just another vague pronouncement from on high?

If these brave men and women are betrayed by the US, do you think local civilians are going to help us in future foreign wars? As the wife, daughter and granddaughter of veterans, you better believe this is important to me. As a moral issue of right and wrong, it ought to matter to us all.

Contact your elected Representative and Senators Kelly and Gallego. Demand they at least express their opposition to this deportation effort.

Nancy Hummel

Northeast side

Tipping

As someone who has been to eight European countries in the last couple years, why do we have to tip? These other countries pay a decent wage to servers. Tips arent expected, and service is excellent. Were asked to subsidize businesses that dont pay workers a living wage. 20% of our bill is covering the business shortcomings. Its gotten out of control. Almost every place, even Subway and other fast-food restaurants, ask you to tip. Pay your workers appropriately.

Craig Miller

Northwest side

Re: water pumping article

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is rightly suing Fondomonte, a Saudi Arabian firm growing alfalfa in Arizona for its dairy cattle in Arabia, on the grounds that doing so represents a public nuisance to Arizonans by using up our water. Fondomonte is prohibited from growing its alfalfa in Arabia because such farming in its own desert is banned.

Counterintuitively, a coalition of big Arizona farmers seeks to join the Saudis in fighting Mayes lawsuit for fear that their own water usage will be impeded. Rather than objecting to the Saudis straws sucking their wells dry, they seek to have the court declare the legality of anybodys sucking everybody elses wells dry. They are hitching a ride on Fondomontes coattails because the Saudis will fund a strong defense to Mayes lawsuit.

When will they realize that the jokes on them? If Fondomonte wins, the water that Arizona farmers seek will be gone.

Regula Case

Midtown

What to do next

I watch with amusement as our Democratic politicians attempt to sing and dance in protest, drop F-bombs with no regard to audience, filibuster, travel to Costa Rica, and enter secure detention facilities illegally. These elected representatives are acting like petulant children. This demented manner is an admission that all rational policies accepted by the majority of the voting public been claimed and acted upon by the Trump Administration. They continue to promote illegal immigration, defending criminal illegals, criticize efforts to reduce government spending, and allow men in womens sports, which are all poison pills to the majority of the voting public. What to do? Sadly, they cannot accept that they are no longer in charge. Their ego, because of an overwhelming visceral hatred, does not allow them to consider the obvious positive benefits of the Administrations actions and to support those policies that make good sense. They are unable to admit that these new policies are good for the country, so they act like fools.

Loyal M. Johnson Jr

Oro Valley

Hey Juan?

Do you think its right that your master accepts a $440 million gift of an aircraft that appeals to him more than the Air Force 1 he is provided (and which he upgraded in his first term)?

Do you think its right that your master profits enormously from his issuance of crypto $TRUMP tied to his presidency?

Do you think its right that your master fires the head of the Library of Congress because she is not necessarily willing to subvert American history and whitewash the truth?

Do you think that the authoritarian government your master has established is better than democracy?

What do you think, Juan?

Scott Lukomski
Hindu Nationalism in India: A Mirror Image of Nationalism in Pakistan?

While it is important to remain vigilant about the rise of extremism in Pakistan and other neighboring countries, it is equally crucial to undertake sincere and critical introspection regarding the growing influence of Hindu nationalism within India

Saturday May 17, 2025 6:06 PM , Neha Dabhade

[Supporters of the Hindu nationalist organization Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) attend "Dharma Sabha", a religious congregation organised by the VHP in New Delhi, India on December 9, 2018. (Image: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)]

India at this point in history is at an uneasy crossroad. As the worlds largest democracy with both potential and ambition to emerge as a global superpower and a leader on the international stage, the country simultaneously faces pressing internal and external challenges  chief among them being terrorism and religious extremism.

The recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam shook the collective consciousness, deeply impacting the national psyche and bringing the subcontinent perilously close to the brink of a full-scale conflict between two nuclear-armed states.

In a recent article published in The Indian Express, Balbir Punj offers a sobering and nuanced analysis of these developments. He emphasizes that the path to lasting peace lies in the promotion of education and moderation. Punj draws attention to a revealing statement by Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations in Pakistan, who underscored how Islam is not merely a matter of personal belief in Pakistan, but is institutionally embedded within the ideological framework of the military. General Sharif explicitly states:

It is part of our faith that iman, taqwa, jihad fi sabilillah (faith, piety, struggle in the name of God) drive us.

This articulation reflects the deep entanglement of religious ideology with state apparatus in Pakistan.

Punj rightly warns of the dangers inherent in the conflation of religion and state, particularly in contexts marked by geopolitical volatility and social fragmentation. Such a fusion, he argues, is antithetical to the pursuit of peace and democratic stability. This observation serves as a crucial point of reflection for India as well. The emergence of religious nationalism and its growing influence on public discourse and policy in India warrants urgent and sustained introspection.

To fully comprehend the present dynamics of the Indian polity, it is essential to revisit the foundational ethos that shaped the emergence of the Indian nation-state. India was conceived in the historical context of a protracted anti-colonial struggle against British imperial rule, wherein a vision of composite nationalism took root  one that sought to unite people across religious, linguistic, caste, ethnic, and regional divides. The resolution of diverse communities to collectively constitute the Indian republic was grounded in the aspirational values enshrined in the Constitution: equality, liberty, and fraternity.

Unlike many nations that emerged along religious lines, India was deliberately not founded on the basis of a singular religious identity. Instead, it was envisioned as a pluralistic and inclusive polity, committed to upholding democratic norms amidst vast diversity. This vision was particularly significant in the wake of the traumatic Partition, which unleashed widespread communal violence and left enduring scars on both India and Pakistan.

In response to this historical rupture, India firmly embraced the principle of secularism. The Indian state was constitutionally mandated to maintain equidistance from all religionsneither endorsing nor privileging any particular faith, while simultaneously guaranteeing the right of all individuals and communities to practice and profess their religion freely. This secular framework was intended to ensure that the state would function as a neutral arbiter in a religiously plural society, thereby preserving the democratic and inclusive character of the Indian republic.

While Pakistan was born out of two nation theory that was promoted by the Muslim League, one cant help but recount that two nation theory was also promoted by the Hindu right wing. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in fact propagated the two nation theory three years before the Muslim League passed a resolution in 1940.

The underlying current of Hindu nationalism has been running parallel for over 100 years to Indias independence movement and to Constitutional democracy that came into being in 1950. This ideology of Hindu nationalism is steeped on the centrality of Hindu religion, even to the exclusion of other religions. The RSS and the ideology of Hindu nationalism has been influential in India with or without state power.

In recent years, however, the influence of Hindu nationalist ideology has markedly intensified. This has manifested in a discernible blurring of the lines between state and religion, with increasing instances where the apparatus of the state appears to align itself with majoritarian religious symbols, narratives, and practices.

The steady infusion of Hindu supremacist discourse into public institutions and civic life suggests a departure from the secular constitutional framework envisioned by the founders of the republic. Such developments raise critical concerns about the erosion of secular democratic principles and the potential reconfiguration of Indian nationalism along exclusionary religious lines.

It is significant to recall here that prominent ideologues of Hindu nationalism have constructed the idea of India on the basis of Hindu religion as is clear through their writings. VD Savarkar, the tallest ideologue of Hindu nationalism has in his work Essentials of Hindutva, has traced the contours of the idea of Hindu state which underscores the supremacy of Hindus.

He goes on to describe in great details as to who is a Hindu. For him three attributes are important to a Hindu- common land (fatherland and Holyland), common race or Jati as he calls it and common culture or Sanskriti. On the position of the non-Hindus in India, he explains:

But as long as in addition to our country, he has not adopted our culture and our history, inherited our blood and has come to look upon our land not only as the land of his love but even of his worship, he cannot get himself incorporated into the Hindu fold. For although the first requisite of Hindutva is that he be a citizen of Hindusthan either by himself or through his forefathers, yet it is not the only requisite qualification of it, as the term Hindu has come to mean much more than its geographical significance.

He explains the significance of Jati and common culture as follows:

They are not only a Nation but also a race-jati. The word jati derived from the root Jan to produce, means a brotherhood, a race determined by a common origin,-possessing a common blood. All Hindus claim to have in their veins the blood of the mighty race incorporated with and descended from the Vedic fathers, the Sindhus... "We feel that the same ancient blood that coursed through the veins of Ram and Krishna, Buddha and Mahavir, Nanak and Chaitanya, Basava and Madhava, of Rohidas and Tiruvelluvar courses throughout Hindudom from vein to vein, pulsates from heart to heart. We feel we are a JATI, a race bound together by the dearest ties of blood and therefore it must be so.

He then goes on to explain why Muslims or Christians are not part of Hindu fold:

Many a Mohammedan community in Kashmir and other parts of India as well as the Christians in South India observe our caste rules to such an extent as to marry generally within the pale of their castes alone; yet, it is clear that though their original Hindu blood is thus almost unaffected by an alien adulteration, yet they cannot be called Hindus in the sense in which that term is actually understood, because, we Hindus are bound together not only by the tie of the love we bear to a common fatherland and by the common blood that courses through our veins and keeps our hearts throbbing and our affections warm, but also by the tie of the common homage we pay to our great civilizationour Hindu culture

Taking off from Savarkar, Golwalkar in We, or Our Nationhood Defined, further clarifies on the question of the position of non-Hindus who are considered foreigners since their holyland is not India as:

The foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment -not even citizen's rights. (Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939)

According to the biography of Hedgewar, Dr Hedgewar, The Epoch Maker, by BV Deshpande and SR Ramaswamy, Deshpande and Ramaswamy recounted that Hedgewar referred to Muslims as yavana snakesusing the Hindi term for Greeks, often applied to foreigners generallyand argued that they were anti-national.

The ideologues of Hindu nationalism have historically ascribed a central role to the Hindu religion in the conceptualization of Indian nationhood. Within this framework, religious minoritiesparticularly Muslimshave often been cast as the "Other" or even as adversaries to the imagined cultural and civilizational core of the nation. Foundational texts and speeches by proponents of this ideology have explicitly articulated the view that non-Hindus could reside in India only if they accepted the primacy of Hindu religion and culture, or were willing to relinquish their distinct religious identities altogether.

Contemporary debates surrounding issues such as the wearing of the hijab in educational institutions, the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, and the Waqf Amendment Act reflect the broader ideological impulse to homogenize cultural and religious practices under the rubric of a dominant Hindu identity. These legal and policy discourses, though framed within the language of uniformity and national integration, are frequently perceived as attempts to diminish the public visibility and institutional autonomy of minority communities.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has on occasions upheld the primacy and iconography of Hindu religion in public discourse. This includes him presiding over the Pran Prathisthan ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, or donning saffron robes and meditating in the Kedarnath caves. In the public discourse, fear is a defining character. The non-Hindus are portrayed as a threat to those following the Hindu religion. On 14th May 2024, PM Modi in Koderma, Jharkhand said:

It has become difficult to follow our faith in Jharkhand today. The idols of our gods are being destroyed. Infiltrators with a jihadi mindset are ganging up and attacking, but the Jharkhand government is looking away and is supporting them from afar. These infiltrators have threatened the security of our sisters and daughters.

The PM in the past too has through his words demonstrated the secondary position that Muslims have in India. After the 2002 Gujarat riots, Modi was reported to have referred to relief camps for Muslim riot victims as baby-producing centres or baby factories, perpetuating the stereotype of Muslims as hyper-fertile and a demographic threat.

What should we do? Run relief camps? Should we open child-producing centres? he went as far as comparing Muslims to dog puppies.

Also Read: Similarities between Taliban and Hindu Nationalism that Tavleen Singh fails to see

He had said, "Even If I am in the back seat of a car and a puppy (kutte ka bachcha) comes under the wheels, isn't it painful? It is. Whether I am a chief minister or not, I am a human being - I will be sad if something bad happens anywhere."

Post the Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of innocent citizens, there were incidents of communal tensions and reports of discrimination and violence against Muslims from different parts of the country. The Pahalgam tragedy which should have brought unity and sense of humanity and social cohesion, brought out the simmering resentment towards the Muslim community and Islamophobia.

Amongst the disturbing reports was one where a gynaecologist in Kolkata refused to treat a seven months pregnant woman because the pregnant woman was a Muslim. But this is not entirely surprising if fears about Muslims whipped up routinely in public discourse. In May 2024, in Banswara in Rajasthan, PM Modi had cautioned against the Congress and Muslims whom he referred to as infiltrators:

When they were in power, they said Muslims have first right over resources. They will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children. Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to infiltrators? Would you accept this?

Statements made by the highest political leadership in a country play a significant role in legitimizing the narratives and ideological objectives they endorse. In the context of India, the rise of Hindu nationalismwith its explicit aim of establishing a Hindu Rashtraraises concerns about the increasing influence of religious ideology on state policy, a development that parallels the dynamics observed in Pakistan, as argued by Punj. For sustainable internal stability and regional peace, it is imperative to foster and strengthen liberal democratic values in both nations.

Also Read: Hindutva A Threat to Democratic Politics in India and Nepal

Violence begets violence. Similarly democracy begets more democracy. India and Pakistan share a rich cultural and historical heritage, deeply rooted in the traditions of pluralism and shaped by the inclusive teachings of Sufi saints, which have permeated the collective consciousness and everyday life of their peoples. This shared legacy of diversity and coexistence holds the potential to counteract the forces of hatred and sectarian violence.

While it is important to remain vigilant about the rise of extremism in neighboring countries, it is equally crucial to undertake sincere and critical introspection regarding the growing influence of Hindu nationalism within India. This phenomenon poses a significant threat to the foundational principles of secular democracy.

Failing to apply consistent standards of critical reflection to our own polityparticularly the shift toward an exclusionary nationalist ideologyrisks setting the nation on a trajectory marked by intolerance and communal polarization. Such a path mirrors the very forms of religious majoritarianism that India has historically critiqued in other contexts.

[The writer, Neha Dabhade, is activist and author, based in Mumbai.]

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HA NOI  Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, who is head of the government negotiation delegation, held a ministerial-level negotiation session with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in Jeju, the Republic of Korea, on May 16, immediately after the conclusion of the 31st APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting (MRT 31).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, this was the first in-person negotiation at the ministerial level between the two countries following the online meeting on April 12, to implement the negotiation of the Viet Nam-US Reciprocal Trade Agreement as directed by the high-ranking leaders of both countries.

The negotiation session was conducted in a frank, constructive, open, and flexible manner, reflecting both sides efforts to build a stable economic, trade, and investment relationship that balances interests and aligns with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and the US, based on respect for sovereignty, autonomy, and political institutions, and harmonising and balancing interests, in accordance with international law and practices, and the level of development of each country.

Jamieson Greer appreciated Viet Nams goodwill and proactiveness in preparing for the negotiations between the two sides, and generally agreed with Viet Nams approach and proposals.

He expressed his hope that with the efforts of both sides, the upcoming technical negotiations will yield positive results, bringing practical benefits to their people and business communities, contributing to stability and sustainable development in bilateral trade relations and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Based on this, the two officials reached a high consensus on principles, approaches, content orientations, and negotiation plans, thereby establishing a foundation for subsequent negotiation sessions to achieve positive outcomes.  VNS
HA NOI  A photo exhibition entitled Rang Ro Ten Nguoi (The Glorious Name of President Ho Chi Minh), showcasing both iconic and rarely seen images and artworks of President Ho Chi Minh, is currently on display in Ha Noi.

The event is part of a series of activities commemorating the 135th birth anniversary of the revered leader of the Vietnamese revolution, who not only led the nation to independence but also laid the foundation for Viet Nams revolutionary press.

Speaking at the opening, Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh highlighted the Presidents extraordinary journey of more than 30 years in search of a path to national salvation. During that time, President Ho Chi Minh absorbed and creatively applied Marxism-Leninism to the realities of the Vietnamese revolution  a historic path that led to the liberation of the country and its people, ushering in the Ho Chi Minh Era.

His ideology  with national independence and the peoples freedom and happiness at its core  served not only as a guiding light through the countrys resistance wars but also continues to act as a compass for Viet Nams sustainable and comprehensive development in the new era.

The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections. The first, Ho Chi Minh  Chan Dung Mot Con Nguoi (Ho Chi Minh  The Portrait of a Man), retraces his life journey and honours his stature as a national liberation hero and a world-renowned cultural icon.

The second section, Long Dan Yeu Kinh Nguoi (The Peoples Love for President Ho), features photographs capturing the Presidents close interactions with people from all walks of life across the country. It reflects the deep affection the public held for him, complemented by various artistic depictions of his image.

The third section, Bac Ho voi Bao Nhan Dan (President Ho and Nhan Dan Newspaper), highlights the special bond between the President and the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. On display are many of his writings published in the paper over the years  concise yet profound pieces that continue to offer valuable insights applicable to the countrys present-day development.

Some articles were penned during times of serious illness, yet still reflected his enduring concern for the nation, especially the beloved South, and his vision for a strong and unified Viet Nam.

Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh is not only a political responsibility but also a professional way of life for journalists, said Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh. In an era of information explosion, revolutionary journalism must uphold political integrity while embracing innovation and spreading humanistic and progressive values.

Notably, the exhibition integrates modern technology to enhance the visitor experience. QR codes allow guests to access a virtual museum on President Ho Chi Minh and Youth and enjoy a musical podcast featuring timeless songs that honour his life, character, and selfless contributions to the nation.

As part of the event, Nhan Dan Newspaper also launched its special Weekend issue No. 1890  a symbolically significant number marking the year of President Ho Chi Minhs birth.

The special Weekend edition features in-depth articles by esteemed scholars and researchers, affirming the enduring relevance of President Ho Chi Minhs thought. It also includes a two-page supplement with rare photographs of the President reading Nhan Dan Newspaper, alongside some of his most iconic and timeless quotes.

Embedded within the supplement are QR codes that link to vibrant multimedia content hosted on the dedicated website Ho Chi Minh and the Thought Taking the People as the Root, accessible at hochiminh.nhandan.vn.

The exhibition is a meaningful cultural and political event, helping bring President Hos ideology closer to the public, said Colonel inh Trong Hai, Head of the Photo Department at Peoples Army Newspaper. The precious images, which left me deeply moved, offer a comprehensive and vivid portrayal of our great leader.

He also praised the integration of technology and the combination of a virtual museum and podcast, calling it a modern, engaging approach that inspires younger generations to learn about the Presidents life and thought. He noted the exhibition also serves as a valuable information resource for academic research and historical studies.

The exhibition, along with free copies of the special Nhan Dan editions, is open to the public at Nhan Dan Newspapers headquarters, No. 71 Hang Trong Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi, until May 19.  VNS
Links among the State, banks, scientists, businesses and farmers are essential for green and sustainable agriculture in the context of a deeper international integration process. Viet Nam News reporter To Nhu talks with Nguyen Tri Ngoc, general secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Association, about the issue and solutions for strengthening the linkage.

Could you explain the advantages of five-party linkage for sustainable agriculture in Viet Nam?

In the context of deeper economic international integration, linkage in agriculture production is irreversible.

Towards sustainable agricultural production, the role of such links must be defined more clearly and deeply to boost the value of the agricultural sector in the process of economic integration.

Therefore, these linkages must be more intensive to meet the increasing economic scale of Viet Nam's agriculture sector. And the process itself helps to solve the conflicts arising from the international integration process.

Additionally, capital sources, market scale and product quality should be considered. The links open deeper dialogues and cooperation among the State, banks, scientists, businesses and farmers towards a key objective of green and sustainable agriculture.

Many businesses and individuals are paying attention to investing in organic agriculture production. How should this be developed to create added value for parties participating in the production chain?

We are talking about developing a sustainable agriculture that must be green in an organic way. This is truly a demand of the markets, globally as well as domestically.

Organic products must have clear and transparent origin and for that, all of its standards must also be clear and transparent.

This is a process that needs participation of the five parties, of which the role of State management is crucial because the State orients the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

Making five-party linkage in green production is very difficult but not an impossible mission, and is a necessity in the current context. In recent years, the model has been gradually re-shaped, with several typical examples affirming clear effectiveness.

From a fragmented, small-scale production lacking stable output, capital and technology, Viet Nams agriculture is transforming strongly thanks to the strategic cooperation among the five parties.

The nature of the linkage is that State issues policies and regulations, banks provide green credits, scientists transfer technologies, businesses invest in material areas and purchasing products, and farmers changing to advanced agriculture.

The banking system has been enhancing green credits for agricultural development as a core objective in their action plans through regularly reviewing and completing legal framework on banking operation and credit provision so as to support all economic sectors taking part in agriculture and rural development.

The banking system has also promptly issued instructions and directed the implementation of credit programmes and policies in the sector, as well as introduce solutions to review and simplify loaning procedures to create favourable conditions for customers to access credit.

Green agriculture is attached to reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. How do you evaluate the cohesion, and how should fertiliser use be instructed to contribute to reducing such emissions?

The cohesion between green agriculture and reducing GHGs is a reciprocal one. It means green agriculture without reduced emission will not be effective.

The implementation of one million hectares of high-quality and low GHG-emitting rice is an example. Obviously, if we want to develop rice cultivation in a green, clean and safe direction but not associated with reducing emissions, all solutions from techniques, varieties and seasons to purchasing and processing will be ineffective, and the production will not bring incomes to farmers and businesses.

Fertilisers contribute a substantial amount of added value to the cultivation industry. Those that account for 40-60 per cent of input of the industry have a great impact on green and sustainable agriculture in general and cultivation in particular. So, effective use of fertilisers is a vital issue.

Fertilisers are currently used in a very wasteful manner, both in terms of input value and environmental impact including soil, water and agricultural production environment.

Agriculture businesses and farmers have faced many difficulties in approaching green credits. What are the solutions provided to help businesses and farmers get easier access to them?

Capital is an important and decisive factor for developing green and sustainable agriculture.

Agriculture is a vulnerable production sector and most agricultural businesses are of medium or small scale with modest capital. So, they cannot work without financial sources, let alone sustainably develop.

There are many solutions for businesses and farmers accessing green credits, but one of the most important solutions is to improve banks responsibilities for green agriculture. Meanwhile, businesses and farmers have responsibilities to effectively use the capital.

The development of an advanced, sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural ecosystem is not only the responsibility of farmers, but also of businesses, particularly financial institutions.

For instance, Nam A Bank has set out major strategic directions which include utilising inclusive finance and green credit, supporting digital transformation for farmers via an open banking ecosystem and fostering value chain links between farmers, businesses, banks and markets.

Reducing GHG emissions in agriculture, and in the fertiliser industry in particular, is a critical task in responding to climate change. Emission reduction solutions in this area involve both production and usage. Many urea manufacturers worldwide and in Viet Nam now recover CO from emissions during production to make urea.

When all five stakeholders cooperate, take joint responsibility, and share the same commitment, there is hope that Viet Nam's agriculture can truly move towards a green and sustainable future. VNS
HA NOI  The National Assembly on Saturday reviewed proposed amendments to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality aimed at easing the process for overseas Vietnamese and foreign professionals to acquire or regain citizenship.

The draft revisions, discussed during the ninth session of the 15th National Assembly, propose loosening requirements for individuals of Vietnamese descent, as well as for foreign investors, scientists, and experts. The changes are also intended to simplify procedures for those who previously lost Vietnamese citizenship and wish to have it reinstated.

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh stated that the proposed amendments are in line with Viet Nams long-standing policies on overseas Vietnamese, as outlined in various Party directives and resolutions.

The draft law comprises three articles, focusing on two main areas: relaxing naturalisation criteria and streamlining the process for reclaiming Vietnamese nationality.

One key provision would allow individuals with a biological parent or grandparent holding Vietnamese citizenship to more easily obtain nationality. In addition, foreign nationals with professional expertise or who have made investment contributions would become eligible for naturalisation under the revised criteria.

For minors applying for Vietnamese citizenship through a Vietnamese parent, the new law would waive the requirement for full civil act capacity. Additional adjustments would also benefit children whose parents or grandparents are Vietnamese citizens.

A notable revision is the removal of the restrictive list of conditions currently applied to those seeking to regain Vietnamese citizenship. Under the proposed amendments, any individual who has previously lost Vietnamese nationality would be permitted to apply for reinstatement.

Another important change would allow applicants who reacquire Vietnamese citizenship to retain their foreign nationality, provided they meet specific dual citizenship requirements and receive approval from the President.

Presenting a review report to the National Assembly, Hoang Thanh Tung, Chair of the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs, expressed support for the amendments, stating they reflect the Partys broader policy direction.

Tung emphasised the need for a special mechanism to facilitate naturalisation for highly skilled professionals and leading scientists of Vietnamese origin living abroad.

However, some lawmakers recommended clarifying the provision that applicants must be able to ensure a stable life in Viet Nam, particularly in cases involving family ties to Vietnamese citizens. Others also called for clearer language on whether the proposed five-year residency requirement must be continuous.

The National Assembly will continue reviewing feedback before finalising the amended law.  VNS
Viet Nam is facing mounting pressure to close serious gaps in its science and technology (S&T) workforce, as officials and experts warn that weaknesses in the quality and supply of skilled professionals could derail the countrys ambitions for innovation-led growth.

Despite recent progress, Viet Nam still falls short in producing enough capable researchers and engineers to meet rising demand, especially in key industries such as IT.

The Vietnam IT Market Report forecasts that by the end of this year, the country will need 700,000 new IT developers and engineers. However, universities and institutions are expected to provide around 500,000.

"The shortage of IT personnel is always the most difficult problem for the market. Although the salary and bonuses have been increasing remarkably for this industry, Viet Nam has had a shortage of 150,000 to 200,000 developers or engineers annually since 2023," the report said.

That shortfall is made worse by concerns over graduate readiness. Although about 50,000 students graduate with IT degrees each year, only about 30 per cent are considered job-ready. Most require additional training to meet real-world demands.

Experts say this reflects a broader mismatch between university curricula and the practical needs of the economy.

According to Mai Van Hung, a senior lecturer in natural sciences, although the country has around 30,000 PhDs, only a small proportion are actively conducting research.

While the quality of research has improved in recent years, it remains uneven across fields. Key sectors such as biotechnology, IT and human sciences still suffer from a shortage of experts, and the scarcity of well-established and professional research institutions.

Tran Tuan Anh, vice president of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, echoed these concerns.

Citing data from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Anh said that Viet Nam currently had about 75,665 full-time equivalent researchers, or about 7.68 per 10,000 people. That figure was well below its regional peers, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Most S&T talent was concentrated in Ha Noi and HCM City, while many other provinces lacked both numbers and quality in their research communities, he said.

At a national S&T conference in February, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh described S&T human resource development as 'top of the agenda'.

He underlined it as the key to restructuring Viet Nams economy, boosting productivity and increasing its global competitiveness. However, he also admitted that S&T workforce progress still fell short of expectations and the market needs.

According to Nguyen Van Thich, deputy dean of Business Administration at HCM City's University of Banking, a major part of the problem lies in inflexible training methods.

Education remains heavily theoretical, with limited emphasis on practical skills, creative thinking or independent research. As a result, graduates often fail to meet global standards.

Incentives for talent retention are also lacking. With modest salaries, limited promotion opportunities and underdeveloped research environments, many capable scientists choose to work in the private sector or leave the country altogether.

Thich also pointed to the weak links between universities, research institutes and businesses. This disconnection left many research efforts poorly aligned with the real needs of the market, while commercialising scientific discoveries remained a persistent challenge.

Public investment in research and development also remains low by international standards, according to Thich. Funding is tight, labs are under-equipped, and long-term projects often go unsupported. At the same time, complex bureaucratic procedures and slow funding disbursements dampen motivation among scientists and researchers.

In a bid to reverse these trends, Viet Nam has set a goal of having 40 to 50 of its S&T organisations ranked regionally or globally by 2030.

Experts say that if achieved, such recognition could generate substantial momentum for growth, not just in research, but across the broader economy.

Thich said globally ranked institutions would enhance Viet Nams standing in the international scientific community, while also helping attract foreign funding, scholarships, and collaboration with top universities and tech firms.

These organisations could also serve as centres for training elite researchers, building a new generation of scientists capable of driving national development.

"Increased international credibility also makes it easier to commercialise research and apply findings in real-world contexts," he said. "That, in turn, helps build a stronger knowledge economy."

Lecturer Hung said structural changes were needed to raise research standards at home. Strong, well-funded research groups should be created and empowered to take risks, accepting even failure in pursuit of long-term breakthroughs.

He stressed the importance of recruiting top scientific talent in each field, warning against amateur or trend-driven approaches to research. Domestic scientific publishing also needed to be strengthened, so that local scientists could share their work without relying solely on foreign journals.

Hung also cited his own work developing a research group focused on AI in education, which aims to train specialists who can help integrate digital tools into Viet Nams classrooms.

Vice President Anh agreed that new approaches were necessary. Viet Nam, he said, must invest in research infrastructure, promote interdisciplinary work, and integrate digital tools such as AI and big data. Curricula should be internationalised, with more focus on emerging fields like biotechnology, robotics, and advanced materials.

Crucially, he added, better links must be forged between academia, research, and industry, so that scientific discoveries could move more quickly from lab to market.

Viet Nam is encouraging the private sector to play a larger role. In December 2024, the ruling Communist Party issued a resolution, calling for advancements in S&T, innovation, and digital transformation.

The resolution set key targets: by 2030, the country should have 12 researchers per 10,000 people and dozens of globally recognised research organisations.

Nguyen The Hung, general director of Vinades, said that private businesses and committed entrepreneurs were an underused resource in this national effort.

He proposed strengthening career guidance at earlier stages, potentially starting in primary or secondary school, and designing training programmes in cooperation with the private sector.

If graduates enter the workforce ready to meet industry needs, companies would save on retraining costs, while universities demonstrate greater relevance and impact.

"Universities should work with businesses to identify specific talent needs and build short-term training modules accordingly," Hung said. "This area is still being overlooked."

He encouraged schools to promote innovation and research more actively, saying such initiatives motivate students and build stronger links between education and enterprise.

But even as the country upgrades its research capacity, STEM enrolment remains worryingly low.

Le Truong Tung, chairman of the FPT University Board, urged policymakers to find ways to shift students preferences towards science and engineering.

He pointed to Viet Nams development of training programmes for the semiconductor industry, which are based on strict entry criteria. While high standards are important, he warned that overly tight restrictions could discourage the numbers needed to support large-scale industrial development.

"We should focus on quality at the output stage, not limit access at the input," he said. "Training for mass industry needs is not the same as training a small elite group."

He highlighted the need for a more supportive financial system for students - one that includes scholarships, credit policies, and affordable tuition.

Without adequate funding for higher education, he argued, the goal of building a high-quality workforce would remain out of reach. VNS
Nguyen Khanh Chi

Farmer Nguyen inh Thien planted the first 100 cacao trees in 2007, determined to build a stable livelihood for his family. Over the years, his farm expanded to nearly 500 trees, but unpredictable market shifts often threatened his hard-earned success.

Like many other farmers, he found that sustainable growth wasnt just about perseverance  it required guidance from agricultural experts and partnerships with businesses that could help navigate market uncertainties.

Before establishing the cooperative and joining the supply chain, the market was unstable. There were no commitments from purchasers, no standardised production and prices fluctuated unpredictably, said Thien, who is also head of ong Tien Cooperative in Eakar District, in the Central Highlands province of ak Lak.

Things changed when Thien and a group of farmers decided to establish their own cooperative in 2012.

"The reason for the most stable output is that farmers and cooperatives can connect with businesses for guaranteed purchase and consumption. This forms a three-party collaboration, starting from the production source, which means there is origin traceability," he said.

He noted that in 2025, the price of fresh cocoa beans had surpassed VN80,000 (US$3) per kilogram, with expectations of further increases due to existing contracts that the cooperatives buyers secured with major European consumption markets.

With 120ha under cocoa cultivation, yielding approximately 300 tonnes of cocoa beans, the ong Tien Cooperative primarily supplies cocoa  whether in whole buds, fresh beans, or fermented form  to Puratos Grand-Place Indochina (PGPI) and Maison Marou Vietnam.

PGPI, a joint venture between Puratos Group and Grand-Place Holding, traces its origins to Belgium and made its first investment in Viet Nam more than 20 years ago. Meanwhile, Maison Marou, a gourmet Vietnamese chocolate company headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, was founded in 2011 by Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou.

Expert guidance

Along with stable purchasing commitments, the Cooperatives 80 member households have also received technical training from the ak Lak-based Community Development Centre, Helvetas Vietnam and even big purchasers like Puratos to support their transition towards green and sustainable practices.

The shift towards a circular approach is driven by the requirement for products exported to Europe to meet green standards, as this circularity is essential for reducing CO2 emissions, Thien said.

As head of the cooperative, I require training to ensure our products meet export standards, Vietnamese standards, and any other criteria that best serve the cooperative.

When exporting to Europe, if a product from a single member or producer within a shipment fails to meet the standards, the entire shipment of exports could be rejected.

"The challenges posed by European standards are that each farmer must have a unique cultivation area code, they must meticulously follow the prescribed cultivation processes without any omissions, and each farm plot/orchard must be clearly identified," Thien said.

"Currently, when products reach the end consumer, they carry a code, enabling people to know the origin of that shipment."

Vo Anh Tuan, Vietnam Cocoa purchasing manager at Puratos Grand-Place Indochina, said the company provided technical support for cacao cultivation and care.

"When implementing the support project, we then sign an offtake agreement to purchase products and guarantee a minimum output price. Concurrently, there is a seedling support programme for farmers, implemented in collaboration with a third party."

Puratos provides technical support through a dedicated team, with staff assigned to each locality and province. Farmers can reach out to them by phone, or through Zalo and Facebook farmers community groups for assistance with yield, pest, or disease management.

Alongside technical support, Puratos implements an annual 'Chocolate Bonus' programme for farmers based on the quantity of their output sold to the company.

Additionally, according to Tuan, the Cacao Trace scheme is a sustainable cocoa sourcing initiative created by Puratos General Director Gricha Safarian.

The initiative was born out of a major, persistent problem: the highly skewed profit-sharing in the chocolate and cocoa supply chain, where farmers receive a disproportionately small percentage. Of the total profit from chocolate products sold, only 5-6 per cent is shared with the farmers.

Consequently, they felt unmotivated to develop cocoa cultivation areas, often cutting down cocoa trees to plant other crops to sustain their livelihoods.

Safarian considered what could be done to develop cocoa-growing regions more sustainably. He initiated Cacao Trace with the aim of creating chocolate products with superior flavour and greater value, which could then be sold on the market at a higher price than other chocolate brands.

This price difference, instead of going into the company's pockets or funds, is used for value sharing, and paying a bonus to the farmers. This bonus is in addition to the payment they receive through the commitment to purchase their cocoa at a higher price or at a guaranteed minimum market price," Tuan explained.

When Puratos buys cocoa beans, produces chocolate, and sells it to European and Asian markets, the company dedicates a portion of the profit to share back with the farmers.

"This is 10 cents per kilogram, which is like a token of appreciation from the customers. The company sends this money to the farmers on behalf of the customers, he said.

This bonus is typically awarded annually in June. This means that when farmers sell to Puratos, the quantity is recorded, and after one year, the bonus is distributed. In 2024, the company paid out approximately $3.58 million in bonuses globally, with Viet Nam's share being around $110,000.

For farmers like Thien, who sold one tonne of roasted cocoa beans to Puratos, he received a bonus of VN3.6 million (nearly $140) in 2024 alone.

In addition to training on cultivation techniques and traceability, Thien is also expanding his knowledge by researching and learning more about techniques for processing cacao byproducts given a considerable amount of this waste.

Go sustainable, go organic

On a Sunday afternoon, ong ao Dung, lecturer from the Hanoi School of Business Management at the Vietnam National University Hanoi, couldnt hide his joy when sealed bags of organic vegetables grown by farmers in Hoa Binh Province were directly delivered to households in Cau Giay District of Ha Noi.

As usual, like other sources, vegetables from the ong Suong Organic Vegetable Cooperative are sold to individual customers through groceries.

He spoke of the 12-year journey accompanying farmers to shift their mindset towards chemical-free production, driven by efforts and even struggles from the farmers themselves.

Previously, farmers had never practised organic farming and believed that without spraying pesticides, it would be ineffective. It took us a whole year of training and analysis to show them which farming practices were scientifically and technically incorrect. Raising awareness about health issues gradually helped farmers recognise the limitations and shift towards organic farming, Dung said.

Organic farming initially results in lower yields because pesticides are not used, leading to increased pest infestations. Even when quality is ensured, the process demands excessive labour, as farmers must manually remove pests one by one.

ong Suong is one of three cooperatives that have successfully implemented the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in growing organic farms.

PGS certification is granted to farmers who produce goods in compliance with the proper procedures and regulations for organic production under PGS standards. PGS is developed based on the organic agricultural production standards issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, ensuring the participation of small-scale farmers in the production process.

Vietnamese and international scientists have collaborated to address this issue, as it is a global concern. We have partnered with scientists and experts from Spain, Japan and Switzerland to provide training and technical support, helping farmers change to new production models, said Dung.

The experts have supported farmers not only in production but also in gaining market access. Notably, they have leveraged technology to develop traceability systems, integrating QR codes on each bag of vegetables to align with consumer preferences.

As for market solutions, aside from contracting enterprises, we also help farmers explore alternative distribution channels such as major supermarket chains like Big C and Aeon, as well as direct community networks, said Dung.

An integral element of sustainable agriculture is the greening of the fertiliser industry.

According to Phung Ha, PhD, chairman of the Fertiliser Association of Vietnam, agriculture is not only affected by climate change but is also the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, particularly from fertiliser production and use, pesticide application, and rice cultivation.

Therefore, businesses must take the lead in reducing such emissions by developing next-generation fertilisers, applying biotechnology and organic solutions, aiming to protect the environment while simultaneously enhancing productivity, he told a recent conference on businesses accompanying farmers in sustainability.

Mai Quang Vinh, PhD, director of the Institute of Green Technology and director of the Centre for Development and Integration, emphasised the role of science, technology, and institutional frameworks in the green and digital transformation of the agroforestry sector.

He proposed that the General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development Vietnam should enhance awareness and practical application of green transformation among cooperatives.

Simultaneously, he called on ministries and relevant agencies to establish mechanisms (or regulatory frameworks) to promote technological application, achieve net zero standards, certify carbon credits, and implement Vietnamese eco-labelling.

The application of digital technology in production management, traceability, and market connectivity is a crucial factor, particularly in light of Viet Nam's net zero commitments and its international integration efforts from 2028 onwards," he was quoted as saying by the Government News.

These going organic approaches align with the Government's increasing encouragement of organic farming and sustainable development that does not harm the environment while reducing emissions.

During a working session with the General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasised the role and importance of collaboration among stakeholders in building a sustainable, modern, and environmentally friendly agricultural sector that is adaptable to climate change.

He highlighted the need to establish value chain linkages between farmers, businesses, and markets to withstand uncertainties and risks related to weather and market fluctuations.

The Deputy Prime Minister also called for the transfer and application of scientific and technological advancements through stronger connections between enterprises and farmers.

The National Organic Agriculture Development Project towards 2030 is rooted in practical realities and methods, and aims to enhance value-added agriculture and promote sustainable development.

The initiative seeks to implement national target programmes while leveraging the organic agriculture potential of various regions and localities.

It also contributes to positioning and elevating the brand of Vietnamese agricultural products on the global agricultural map. VNS
THANH HOA  Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa have arrested two Chinese nationals accused of desecrating the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong, a 16th-century monarch of the Le Dynasty, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

The suspects, identified as Shen Jiangyang, 43, and Deng Zhiji, 41, both from Chinas Guangxi Province, were detained earlier this month and have been formally charged with "violating corpses, graves, and remains" under Vietnamese law.

According to investigators, the two men were part of a group of three Chinese nationals involved in the unauthorised excavation of the royal tomb, located in Kien Tho Commune, Ngoc Lac District. The site is part of the Lam Kinh Special National Historical Relic, which holds significant cultural and historical importance in Viet Nam.

The third suspect reportedly fled the country before the crime was discovered. Vietnamese authorities are working with their Chinese counterparts to pursue legal proceedings against the remaining suspect, pending the availability of sufficient evidence.

Initial inspections revealed a freshly dug hole at the tomb site measuring 90cm by 52cm and approximately 1.6m deep. A nearby stone stele had also been damaged.

Police recovered 14 fragments of stone engraved with Chinese characters and Le Dynasty-era decorative motifs, including depictions of dragons. Some of the fragments bore the inscription ai Viet Tuc Tong Nhuong..., referencing the temple name of King Le Tuc Tong, carved in large script. Officers also collected 15 pieces of dark grey brick believed to be part of the original tomb structure.

All recovered artifacts have been sealed in iron containers and are being stored at the Lam Kinh Historical Site for safekeeping and further investigation.

The desecration was discovered on May 3, when staff from the Lam Kinh Site Management Board noticed unusual traces near the tomb and promptly notified authorities.

Shen and Deng were apprehended the following day as they attempted to flee the country in a taxi headed toward Mong Cai, a city in northeastern Viet Nam that borders China.

A broader inspection of the Lam Kinh relic complex confirmed that no other historical structures, tombs, or artifacts  including national treasures such as stone steles  had been disturbed. The site remains under close protection and regular maintenance.  VNS
Along with the pain of nine men killed, some 20 wounded and hundreds of lives turned upside down by the Sunday afternoon shootout at Twin Peaks in Waco a decade ago, legal questions also still linger.

The violence that unfolded May 17, 2015, at a busy shopping center, apparently a boiling over of simmering conflicts over territory between the Bandidos and Cossacks biker groups, was followed by the arrests of 177 people that day and several more arrests in the months that followed. A grand jury indicted 155. Despite the massive initial law enforcement action, none of the active legal questions are in criminal courts. Then-McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna got only one case in front of a jury, and the three-week trial of Jacob Carrizal in the fall of 2017 ended with a deadlocked jury and no verdict.

After losing his reelection bid in 2018, Reyna dismissed most of the criminal cases, and his predecessor, Barry Johnson, dismissed the rest.

But a slate of federal civil rights lawsuits filed between 2016 and 2018 by 110 bikers arrested in the shootout, or their families, remain undecided.

All of the bikers arrested initially were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. Their arrest affidavits were identical except for the defendants names, and they were all initially held on $1 million bail.

In addition to Reyna, former Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman; former Assistant Police Chief Robert Lanning; the city of Waco; McLennan County; Waco Detective Manuel Chavez, who signed the initial arrest affidavits; and a few other police officials are named as defendants. Others have been dismissed as defendants, and Reyna and Chavez have requests pending to be dismissed based on qualified immunity claims.

The crux of all the pending lawsuits is whether law enforcement must present unique probable cause in individual arrest and indictment documents, said Dallas attorney Don Tittle, who represents almost all the plaintiffs. Most interpretations of the Fourth Amendment would require individualized probable cause, Tittle said.

Tittle, who said none of his clients engaged in violence that day, said he finds it ironic that the same kind of guilt-by-association logic used in the arrests was also at play in the decision to dismiss some law enforcement officials as defendants in the lawsuits. His plaintiffs were arrested on engaging in organized criminal activity charges, with no underlying charges listed in their affidavits, because they were at Twin Peaks at the time of the shooting and were wearing motorcycle group colors or other identifying apparel, Tittle said.

Absent individualized probable cause saying what a specific person did in violation of a specific statute, Tittle and his plaintiffs argue the arrests and subsequent incarceration violate the Fourth Amendment.

All the lawsuits request unspecified damages, asking the court to consider defamed reputations, lost earnings and mental anguish.

My clients were held for days, some longer than a week, on staggering bond of $1 million, and some of them lost jobs, Tittle said. All of them had their lives turned upside down.

Reyna declined comment on the cases, referring questions to his attorney, who did not respond to inquiries. The law firm representing the city of Waco and police officials also declined comment.

More than two dozen lawsuits remain in Wacos federal district court, and one is at the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A panel of Fifth Circuit judges in July 2021 dismissed claims against law enforcement officials, but in April 2022 another Fifth Circuit panel reinstated the claims. In November 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Reynas appeal of the reinstatements.

The latest action in the suit filed by Bryan Harper, who died in a vehicle crash in 2020, is an appeal of the cases dismissal by a district judge. The appeal filed by Harpers widow, Jade Barnhart, remains pending with the Fifth Circuit.

The cases that remain at the district-court level will not move forward until a lead case, filed as Terwilliger v. Stroman, moves forward. The most recent actions in Terwilliger v. Stroman are filings by Reyna and Chavez seeking summary judgement, effectively asking a judge to rule in their favor based on immunity claims.

Chavezs motion says he provided no content to the warrant affidavit. Rather, the district attorneys office prepared the warrant affidavit and selected the charge of engaging in organized criminal activity, Chavezs pleadings assert.

Reyna argues his actions as a prosecutor are protected by qualified immunity and that there is no proof he took illegal actions that would remove his immunity.

Reyna is entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity because Plaintiffs cannot meet their burden to rebut Reynas entitlement to qualified immunity by establishing a genuine fact issue as to whether Reynas allegedly wrongful conduct violated clearly established law, Reynas filing says. ... Although the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, conclusory allegations, speculation, unsubstantiated assertions, and improbable inferences will not satisfy the non-movants summary judgment burden.

Reynas pleading also says he acted as a legal advocate of the state, not as an investigator, and that a prosecutor is entitled to absolute immunity for functions performed as an advocate.

The filing says the plaintiffs have falsely claimed Reyna inserted himself in the police investigation but that he did not question witnesses or suspects, did not take any photographs, or take other investigative actions.

Reynas pleading also indicates that even if he did literally say to arrest all bikers wearing colors, Assistant Chief Lanning understood him to be referring only to Bandidos, Cossacks and their affiliates, not actually all of them.
Just that running away and that is a good thing

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-start-european-troop-withdrawal-discussions-later-this-year-us-nato-2025-05-16/ TALLINN, May 16 (Reuters)  The United States will begin discussions with European allies to reduce U.S. troops in Europe later this year, U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Friday.

Asked to comment on a report that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing troops from Europe, Whitaker said nothing has been determined.

Please keep running for the sake of our future and long life

WtR
Calls for annual health checks to protect Wales firefighters from cancer risk

Senedd members called for annual health checks for firefighters in Wales, with a study showing instances of cancer are up to 323% higher than the general population.

Luke Fletcher, who has been campaigning on the issue over the past two years, led a debate in the Senedd on a cross-party motion calling for urgent action.

The dangers our firefighters face do not end once the flames are out, said Mr Fletcher.

Fire creates a cocktail of toxic chemicals that are known to increase the risk of cancers and other life-threatening illnesses.

The Plaid Cymru politician pointed to research commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union, showing firefighters aged 35 to 39 faced an age-specific cancer rate up to 323% higher.

Little support

Mr Fletcher added: Firefighters serving 15 years or more were almost twice as likely to develop cancer than those who served less time.

Calling for urgent reform to safeguard firefighters health, he said: Across the world, countries like the US, Canada and Australia have recognised the link between exposure to toxic effluents and the increased incidence of cancer among firefighters.

Legislation in these countries ensures firefighters not only receive workplace compensation when illness strikes but also have access to routine medical monitoring, designed to catch illnesses early. Yet here in Wales, as across the UK, little such support exists.

Mr Fletcher criticised Welsh ministers for not committing to a specific health monitoring programme: Every delay now carries consequences and we just need to get on with it.

Further delays simply translate into more deaths due to cancer. The evidence is there, the stories are there  and the risk is very real.

Kicked down the road

He concluded: Quite simply, it is the right thing to do, to do right by our fire service people and the families who have lost loved ones because of this occupational risk.

Altaf Hussain, a surgeon-turned-Senedd member, said: Firefighters regularly put their health on the line to deal with threats to ours and we regularly let them down.

The Conservative added: We, at the very least, owe this service a commitment to do everything to minimise and mitigate the risk of the job.

That includes ensuring they are protected from toxins as well as monitored for exposure. This is not an issue that should be left to individual fire and rescue authorities.

Rhys ab Owen, who sits as an independent, said: The issues raised in this report cannot be kicked down the road for the next government to resolve. The risk, the danger and the responsibility sit firmly at the governments door  and action must be taken.

Social partnership

Responding to the May 14 debate for the Welsh Government, Jayne Bryant said ministers support the Fire Brigades Union campaign to reduce the risk of cancers firefighters face.

The housing and local government secretary told the Senedd all three fire and rescue services in Wales provide regular fitness and medical checks.

But Ms Bryant, whose responsibilities include fire services, stated the UK National Screening Committee does not recommend targeted screening programmes based on occupation.

She said Isabel Oliver, who was appointed the chief medical officer for Wales In January, will work with experts and relevant UK bodies to consider the evidence

Id like to reassure the Senedd that we remain fully committed to addressing these risks as effectively as possible, she said. We will continue to work in social partnership with employers and unions to do so.

Senedd members voted 30-0 in favour of the motion, with 14 Labour members and the Conservatives Tom Giffard abstaining.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter
Girls being left at risk online as tech firms fail to act, says NSPCC

Social media platforms a failing to protect girls under the age of 18 from online abuse, harassment and exploitation.

That is according to the NSPCC, which this week released a new report identifying the wide range of risks that girls face online.

The childrens charity commissioned PA Consulting to conduct a new report, Targeting of Girls Online, which identified a wide range of risks girls face across ten popular online platforms including grooming, harassment and abuse.

As part of the research, fake profiles of a teenage girl were created on these sites.

The report found that the detailed nature of the profiles made it too easy for adult strangers to pick out girls and send unsolicited messages to their accounts.

Findings also highlighted how many of the features and functionalities employed by tech companies subliminally encourage young girls to increase their online networks, online consumption, and online activity  often at the expense of their own safety.

In response the NSPCC is urging Ofcom to address the significant gaps in its Illegal Harms Codes which fail to take into account specific risks which would be mitigated by solutions found in the report.

Online safety concerns

It comes as new YouGov polling for the childrens charity of 3,593 adults from across Great Britain including 193 adults from Wales, found that most respondents in both Great Britain (86%) and in Wales (86%) believe tech companies are doing too little to protect girls under the age of 18 on their platforms.

The survey also polled 431 parents with daughters, who listed their top concerns as:

Contact from strangers (41%)

Online grooming (40%)

Bullying from other children (37%)

Sexual abuse or harassment (36%)

More than half of parents said they were concerned about their daughters online experiences.

The Online Safety Act 2023, passed in October, gives Ofcom new powers to regulate digital platforms and require them to protect usersespecially childrenfrom illegal and harmful content.

Under the law, platforms must prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material, online grooming, and content promoting self-harm or harassment.

Companies that fail to comply can face fines or criminal sanctions.

However, the NSPCC has argued that the current framework lacks gender-specific safeguards, leaving girls particularly vulnerable online.

Next steps

The charity is calling on Ofcom to develop best practice guidance for regulated services, which outlines how safety settings and other protections can be tailored by age.

It has also urged the regulator to work with service providers, especially those most used by children.

Other proposed solutions for social media companies include:

All services conducting abusability studies to identify risky features and functionalities, as well as testing any new feature before rolling it out. These tests must include a gendered analysis of likely risk

Integrating screenshot tools into a reporting function, along with automatically detecting identifiable information in bios.

Cooling-off periods after new connections are made, limiting interaction initiall.

Stronger measures to prevent non trusted adults from being able to video call young users.

The NSPCC has long heard from young girls about their negative experiences online through Childline which encouraged them to undertake this research.

One 15-year-old who contacted Childline said: Ive been sent lots of inappropriate images online recently, like pictures of naked people that I dont want to see.

At first, I thought they were coming from just one person, so I blocked them.

But then I realised the stuff was coming from loads of random people I dont know.

Im going to try disable ways people can add me, so hopefully Ill stop getting this stuff.

Response to the report

Rani Govender, Policy Manager for Child Safety Online, said it is crystal clear that tech companies are not doing nearly enough to create age-appropriate experiences for girls.

We know both on and offline girls face disproportionate risks of harassment, sexual abuse, and exploitation, said Rani Govender.

Thats why its so worrying that these platforms are fundamentally unsafe by design  employing features and dark patterns that are putting girls in potentially dangerous situations.

There needs to be a complete overhaul of how these platforms are built.

This requires tech companies and Ofcom to step up and address how poor design can lead to unsafe spaces for girls.

In Wales, the Government must also take action to help prevent child sexual offences online and respond to this evidence of heightened risk to girls.

This requires coordination across Welsh Governmentstrategies. Unwavering commitment to tackle Child Sexual Abuse in all its forms is vital.

The Welsh Government must publish a national Strategy thatdelivers this coherent approach and funds targeted measures to address the enhanced vulnerability faced by girls online.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: No girl should have to face abuse or sexual harassment simply for being online. Yet this is the reality for too many girls growing up in the UK  and its time for tech companies to act.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms are legally required to protect all users from criminal activity. This includes violent threats, harassment, stalking, and coercive or controlling behaviour targeting girls.

Children must also be protected against harmful content promoting violence, abuse and hate. Companies that fail to meet these new requirements can expect to face enforcement action.

But we also know that many online harms disproportionately affect women and girls.

So there is a moral imperative for tech firms to take action, and weve proposed practical guidance on what more they can do to ensure women and girls can live safer lives online.

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday. Adults who are concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000, or email: help@NSPCC.org.ukhelp@NSPCC.org.uk
MS praises work of Wrexham based Stepping Stones North Wales

Wrexhams Member of the Senedd has praised the work of local charity, Stepping Stones North Wales.

The organisation provides free counselling and support services to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse across the regions six counties.

During a meeting at the charitys offices on King Street in Wrexham, members of the Stepping Stones North Wales team outlined the charitys work and the positive impact of its services for so many survivors.

The team also highlighted that, although demand is continuing to increase across the whole region, securing the funds to meet increasing demand is becoming ever more challenging.

Lesley Griffiths MS heard first hand from service users about the impact that the charity has had on the lives of both themselves and their families of the charitys recent success in securing a prestigious GSK Impact Award and full accreditation of its services from The Survivors Trust.

Following the meeting, Ms Griffiths said: 2024 was the charitys 40th year and, over the last four decades, Stepping Stones North Wales has made an invaluable contribution to Wrexham and throughout North Wales.

I was moved by the accounts of the survivors I spoke with, and inspired to learn more about the hugely positive impact of the charitys dedicated counsellors and inspirational volunteers.

The charity sector throughout Wales, and indeed throughout the UK, is facing immense pressures. I have raised this issue directly with the First Minister and will continue to do all that I can to secure the long-term support from Welsh Government that the sector needs to deliver invaluable services throughout Wales.

Stepping Stones North Wales CEO, Phil Eastment, said: The whole Stepping Stones North Wales team is hugely grateful to Lesley Griffiths for meeting with us to discuss the challenges we face in meeting increasing demand for our services and to hear first-hand about the teams recent successes in securing a GSK Impact Award and accreditation from The Survivors Trust.

It was a huge honour, as always, to highlight the inspirational commitment and dedication of our counsellors, our support team, and our volunteers who provide such crucial support across North Wales.
North Wales MS raises major concerns over Welsh Governments ALN reforms

A North Wales Member of the Senedd has warned the Welsh Government that the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) system in Wales is failing families.

Mark Isherwood, Welsh Conservative MS for the region, said he had been approached by the ALN Reform Wales campaign which raised concerns about the programme.

The reforms, which were introduced in 2022, aim to support children and young people aged up to 25 in Wales with ALN.

According to the Welsh Government, the policy aims to provide an integrated, collaborative process of assessment, planning and monitoring of the support provided to ALN learners which facilitates early, timely and effective interventions.

But calling on the Cabinet Secretary for Education to provide an update on the Welsh Governments Additional Learning Needs reforms, Mr Isherwood said that children and their parents are being failed by the new system.

Speaking in the Senedd on Wednesday (14 May), Mr Isherwood said: Last year, the ALN Reform Wales campaign told me that the new system is just not working, that they had received countless stories of children missed or left behind by the new system, that children and parents were being blamed and punished, and that trauma was coming from school because teachers and schools were not being trained and supported.

A year ago, National Education Union Cymru stated that although they broadly welcomed the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 and their members want to be focusing on children and their learning, the system is forcing teachers away from the classroom.

This year, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers Cymru told me that, despite supporting the principles behind the legislation, effective interventions are only possible if education professionals are not spending precious time completing paperwork, that Decembers Estyn report had highlighted major concerns with the Acts implementation, and that people needed to know how they could contribute to the Welsh Governments Legislative Review, which I believe is now closed.

Given that major reforms to Special Educational Needs provision are expected in England, with the UK Government looking at what happened with the ALN reforms in Wales, what will you be telling them about this?

In her response, Cabinet Secretary Lynne Neagle said that the reforms are benefiting many learners and families, and that Estyns recent review reported improvements in ALN provision and some really good practice across Wales.

Local authorities, schools and colleges are working really hard to meet the needs of learners, and this is against a backdrop of very significant rising numbers of children presenting with ALN and with rising levels of complexity, said the cabinet secretary.

Ive been very open with the Senedd about the challenges that weve seen in implementation, and I dont want to see a single child left behind by this system.

Thats why I announced the legislative review of ALN, because we heard from stakeholders, but also from the president of the tribunal, that aspects of the legislation were complex and unclear.

Weve been working all this time closely with local authorities to drive consistency in the system, as we are doing that.

Weve been sharing good practice through inclusive practice events, weve had feedback from staff, which has been really valuable, and weve also had a parental survey open to get parents feedback on the system.

The cabinet secretary added that she is am due to make a statement on ALN reform in July.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said: To put the Cabinet Secretarys comments in context, I was told that Decembers ESTYN report acknowledges that the Act is being implemented with a lack of parity across Wales; that Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinators (ALNCos) need staff support, but staff have no time to support individual interventions, especially in secondary schools; and that the Statutory ALN Code for Wales does not detail that multi-agency partnership is needed and how it should work.
This cant happen to anyone else ever again plea amid calls to ban strip searching of children

A human rights expert called for a ban on strip searching of children in Wales, with black children disproportionately subject to the traumatising and degrading practice.

Rhian Croke, of the Childrens Legal Centre Wales, warned strip search is a violation of childrens rights as she called for less invasive alternatives such as body scanners.

Dr Croke said: Instead of traumatising and degrading children including those who may be involved in offending children should be treated as children first with dignity and respect.

In Wales, strip search is contrary to the nations commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Wales-only legislation that promotes childrens rights.

Wales should take the lead on ending the practice of strip search and instead invest in alternative technologies, so children have their rights protected.

Layers of trauma

She stressed: Children in contact with the police may have already experienced layers upon layers of trauma, to then inflict a strip search on a child is completely inappropriate.

Dr Croke, who holds a PhD in law, pointed out that in most cases nothing illegal was found during searches conducted in custody, yet the degrading practice continues.

In a briefing for Senedd members, jointly prepared with fellow campaigner Saqib Deshmukh, she expressed concerns about totally inadequate monitoring of incidents of strip searches.

Warning of a failure in transparency and accountability, Dr Croke said freedom of information (FoI) requests revealed discrepancies and contradictions in the data reported by police.

A total of 5,428 strip searches of children were undertaken in Wales in two years to 2023, mostly for drugs and weapons, with six cases involving under 13s, according to one review. 85 involved a more thorough or intimate search beyond removing a coat, jacket or gloves.

Obsfuscation

South Wales Police was among the forces with the highest rate in Wales and England, with research suggesting black children are four times more likely to be strip searched.

In a letter revealed under FoI, Jason Davies, the deputy chief constable, acknowledged disproportionality in the number of ethnic minority children being strip searched.

But South Wales, Dyfed Powys, and Gwent Police refused to provide any data on child strip search cross-referenced by ethnicity in response to FoI requests, according to the briefing.

The researchers wrote: We question whether the struggle to access data across various agencies and governments is a question of competence.

It is unclear if it is a failure to achieve basic professional standards of transparency or if it is an act of obfuscation  a failure to share clear and intelligible data to avoid legal challenge.

Never again

Dr Croke raised concerns about the review showing North Wales Police were only able to confirm the presence of an appropriate adult in about half to two-thirds of searches.

This report has taken over a year to come into the public domain, she wrote. It is a report of significant public interest that reveals a lack of compliance with existing legislation, a failure to uphold childrens rights and raises critical questions.

Concerns first came to light in 2020 when a schoolgirl in London was wrongly accused of having drugs and strip searched while on her period without an appropriate adult present.

During a legal case, the girl said: I cant go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I dont know if Im going to feel normal again. But I do know this cant happen to anyone else, ever again.

In another case involving the Met police, an autistic girl, 15, was handcuffed, pinned down and searched, with her underwear cut off in front of male officers, after 20 hours in custody. She was so traumatised she tried to kill herself within weeks, her mother said.

Jagged edge

Senedd members discussed the issue during a social justice committee meeting on May 12.

Plaid Cymrus Sioned Williams said: The very thorough inquiry raises major questions about whats happening in Wales in terms of the fact that we say that we respect childrens rights. I do think we should write as a committee stating that we want to see this come to an end.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds, a social worker for 27 years, questioned whether the Welsh Government would have the powers to ban strip searching of children.

She said: It is about rights and it is about a complete injustice in that, sadly, we know that most children who are strip searched are those from black and minority ethnic groups.

With most of the justice system non-devolved, Labours Jenny Rathbone, who chairs the committee, said: I fear we dont have the powers, Im sure it sits on the jagged edge.

In 2024, an independent commission recommended devolving more powers to Wales, beginning with youth justice, probation and policing.

Lord Timpson  the UK minister responsible for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending  is scheduled to give evidence at the committees next meeting on May 19.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter
The man facing 31 charges in connection with a failed fiber optic project in Lovelock is now on house arrest.

Court records show that the owner of Uprise Fiber, Stephen Kromer was released from jail on Friday, May 16th on $7 million bondable bail. He also must also surrender his passport.

MAY 16, 2025:

The owner of Uprise Fiber, Stephen Kromer, is facing 31 felony charges of theft related to a failed fiber optics project that was supposed to bring high speed internet to Lovelock.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford held a press conference Friday to discuss the charges and parts of the investigation.

"These crimes include a total loss of over seven million," he said.

Since then, Kromer has been booked into the Washoe County Jail. His bail is set at $8 million.

In 2022, we reported on Uprise Fiber looking to bring a much-needed upgrade to Lovelock's internet service.

Two years ago, the Nevada Department of Transportation entered into an agreement with Uprise to build its intelligent transportation systems.

NDOT put up $9.125 million up front to the Reno-based company, money that seemingly went missing.

"Our investigation has uncovered that Stephen Allen Kromer, the owner of the company leading the project, unlawfully diverted millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to his personal bank accounts," AG Ford said.

In regards to if anyone else may be charged in the case, Ford says he wouldn't comment.

This is not the first time someone's accused Uprise of stealing money. In the last two years there's been a couple of civil lawsuits filed.

There was one by an independent contractor who claimed she was not paid, as shown in the document below:

There was another from CommNV, shown in this document:

With the civil suits filed, Ford says the civil and criminal sides of his office work in two different worlds.

"I can say that in December of last year we were having inquiries and conversations among ourselves," the Attorney General said. "We got the official request for a criminal investigation to open from NDOT on January 28, 2025 - and less than five months later, we're filing charges."

It's not just the state investigating this situation, but the federal government as well.

"Given the overwhelming public interest into these allegations, the United States Attorney's office is announcing that we will conduct a thorough investigation," said Sigal Chattah, Interim United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Initially, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted $27 million for the project through its ReConnect Loan and Grant Program.

A spokesperson with the USDA told us that funding has been pulled.

"USDA is terminating funding commitments to Uprise Fiber after an investigation into the project," they said in a statement sent to 2 News Nevada. "This determination does not have any relation to national initiatives on cost efficiency... USDA sent field accountants out for a field audit from March 3-14, 2025. During the review, the agency identified significant contract violations including failure to meet the matching funds requirement, a real property purchase duplicated, and construction equipment purchased that was significantly lower than the cost submitted to RUS for matching consideration."

This now leaves Lovelock and Pershing County without high speed internet.

The USDA says they are looking into other avenues to make this happen.

AG Ford says the trial will go through the Reno Justice Court.
There are just some things you can find in most Southern kitchens. A copy of Calling All Cooks. Some Conecuh Sausage. Maybe a jug of Milos or Red Diamond tea.

We here at AL.com decided to discuss the one (or two) Alabama products that are always in our kitchen. So pull up a chair and sit a spell and lets talk about some of our favorites.

Golden Eagle Syrup has been made in a small factory in downtown Fayette, Ala., since 1944. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)

Golden Eagle Syrup

There are a lot of Alabama food brands I love and can often be found in my fridge and pantry, but my favorite among them all, for sentimental reasons, has to be Golden Eagle Syrup. Made in the small town of Fayette, or Syrup City as I learned its called, Golden Eagle Syrup played a big role in one of my favorite family traditions growing up. For years, my grandmother would come over every Christmas morning and make us all biscuits from scratch. Then, while they were still warm, shed fill them with a mixture of butter, peanut butter and a hefty pour of Golden Eagle Syrup. It was the sweetest morning treat reserved only for that occasion, and I looked forward to it almost as much as my gifts every year. So now, as an adult, I keep a jar of Golden Eagle Syrup around anytime my sweet tooth (and nostalgia) kicks in.Amber Sutton

READ MORE: The story of Alabamas beloved Golden Eagle syrup

Wickles Pickles can be found at grocery stores in all 50 states. Amber Sutton

Wickles Pickles

If you peek inside our fridge right now, alongside the Johns Famous Slaw Dressing and the Dreamland Bar-B-Que sauce, youll find three or four jars of another Alabama staple, Wickles Pickles. We keep more jars in the kitchen pantry in case of emergency. The Original Pickle is an ol reliable that not only complements cheeseburgers and leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches, but that we also serve with my homemade pimento cheese and Bill-Es Small Batch Bacon on a Kings Hawaiian roll for the perfect gameday appetizer. And dont dare throw away that liquid gold left in the jar when all the pickles are gone. It comes in handy for brining a chicken, boiling a batch of peanuts, mixing a mint julep -- even relieving muscle cramps. (Ive tried it! It works!) My wife also uses another wickedly delicious Wickles product, the Wicked Okra, in an easy-to-make, guaranteed-to-please bacon-wrapped pickled okra appetizer that is a hit every time she takes it to a party.  Bob Carlton

Canadian Bakins Q-Becco bagel sandwich. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)

Bagels from Canadian Bakin in Huntsville

If your bagel experience has been the packaged/grocery store variety, this isnt the same sport. Completely different freshness, texture and X factor. Whatever Canadian Bakin owner/baker Matt Johnson does in his process must involve witchcraft.  Matt Wake

A cookbook was published in 1988 by The Birmingham News, in honor of its 100th year. It's called Centennial Collection: Favorite Recipes From the Newspaper Employees. (Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

Centennial Collection and other community cookbooks

No Alabama kitchen is complete without a vintage cookbook, and my favorite ones come from community organizations, church groups, social clubs and the like. These collections are delightful time capsules, stuffed with blueprints for dishes that home cooks were proud to make and serve to their families. Im especially fond of retro recipes that seem a little outrageous today  or even downright unhealthy  using flavored gelatin, canned fruit, hot dogs, lunch meats, canned soups, olives, pickles and other, um, interesting ingredients. Just reading about these dishes is a kitschy nostalgia trip. Of course, such cookbooks also contain recipes for tasty dishes that stand the test of time. For kitsch and classics, I turn to my copy of Centennial Collection: Favorite Recipes From the Newspaper Employees. This cookbook was published in 1988 by The Birmingham News in honor of its 100th year. It includes an easy recipe for strawberry pretzel salad  even a klutzy cook like me can make it  plus refrigerator rolls, cheese straws, chilis, slaws and lots of hearty casseroles. The book is out of print and hard to find, but well worth the effort. (Pro tip: Try a search on Ebay.)  Mary Colurso

Dale's Seasoning is great for marinating steaks, but loyal fans also use it in recipes for everything from baked beans to Brussels sprouts. (Photo courtesy of Dale's Seasoning; used with permission)

Dales Seasoning

Not many Alabama food brands have been around longer and are more iconic than Birminghams Dales Seasoning, the savory, soy sauce-based steak marinade that goes back to 1946, when the old Dales Cellar Restaurant opened in downtown Birmingham. That restaurant and the other Dales Steakhouse restaurants that followed are all gone  the last one closing in 2014  but Dales Seasoning is not only still around, its still owned and operated by the same family that started Dales nearly 80 years ago. After Dales grew to become a nationwide brand, their marketing folks put together a memorable ad campaign with the catchy jingle: How Do You Do Your Dales? Loyal Dales customers came up with enough recipes to fill a cookbook  from grilled chicken kabobs to stir-fried vegetables, baked beans to roasted Brussels sprouts, sloppy joes to Bloody Marys. As Alan Seigel, the vice president of Dales Seasoning, once told me, There is no wrong way to use it. You can put it on anything.  Bob Carlton

Mobile-based Play House Spices offers a variety of high-quality seasoning blends. Looks like it's time to order some more of that Mobile Bay blend. Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Play House Spices

The world of rubs, seasonings and marinades is rich with home-grown products, and as a north Alabama native Ill probably always have a Sams Club half-gallon jug of Dales steak seasoning on hand. But heres something newer thats become a household essential in recent years: Play House Spices, a line of hand-blended seasonings created in Mobile. The names are evocative of the Alabama landscape, such as the Ono Island rub, the Old Dauphin Way blackening spices and the Causeway Blend sweet heat rub. Our go-to is the Dauphin Island Blend, which combines the zest of the Caribbean with the flavors cherished by Gulf residents and is particularly recommended for fish, shrimp and chicken tacos. (Ingredients include lime zest, orange zest, cumin and chives, so its no run-of-the-mill flavoring.) Play House products are made without MSG and added sugar, and there are several low-sodium or salt-free blends. For full information including the products, recipes, and information on ordering and retail outlets, visit the companys website.  Lawrence Specker

Coffee beans at Kaffeeklatsch. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)

Coffee from Kaffeeklatsch in Huntsville

Kaffeeklatsch roasts its coffee beans with a machine thats almost a hundred years old. Roasting produces a complex aroma that wafts in the air downtown. That aroma has Pied Piper-ed many a first-time customer into Kaffeeklatsch since it opened in 1977. The Klatsch gets its beans from places like Indonesia, Columbia and Kenya.  Matt Wake
Just over 20,000 lawyers are licensed to practice in Alabama and ads for their services dominate TV screens, highway billboards, and social media.

But the ways they market their services to potential clients are about to change with new rules the states Supreme Court released this week to curb deceptive advertising and address the changing technology landscape.

Under the updated regulations, any lawyer not licensed to practice in the state must disclose that fact in all forms of client-seeking communications that may be viewed by people in the state, including online content.

In a news release on the development, the high court noted that the public is concerned that there is too much deceptive lawyer advertising, which it says an Alabama State Bar survey confirmed.

The survey found that Alabamians overwhelmingly believe attorneys who appear in advertisements should be licensed to practice in the state, the release said. The survey also found Alabamians want to know if an advertising attorney has a law office in their community, whether advertising attorneys will personally handle their case, and whether an advertised verdict amount was actually received.

The new rules require disclosure if a lawyer or law firm does not have a bona fide office in Alabama. Qualifying offices, including personal residences, must be physical locations, maintained by the lawyer or law firm where the lawyer or law firm reasonably expects to furnish legal services in a substantial way on a regular and continuing basis.

The regulations specifically ban speed-reading and tiny-font disclaimers, manipulating internet search keywords to divert clients from competitors. Also among the prohibitions is advertising no fee unless we win without disclosing that clients would still pay costs, including court filing fees in cases without recovery, which is different from professional services fees.

It is not required that a communication to prospective clients concerning fees and expenses contain the details that would be in a fee contract with a client, but the communication must not suggest or indicate a free arrangement that is not accurate, the rule states.

These regulations do not apply to a lawyers scholarly article, blog, or other communication that is strictly educational or that merely provides information about legal matters to the public and does not solicit legal employment. But lawyer and law firm websites, social media pages, professional networking websites and traditional media like billboards are subject to them.

Short-form digital communications like banner ads, X (Twitter) posts, social-media posts, must have disclosures, disclaimers, and other statements on a link, which must be accessible by a prospective client with one click or keystroke.

Violators may face disciplinary action even if they are not licensed to practice in the state.

When discussing the courts intentions, Chief Justice Sarah Stewart characterized the regulations as balancing the constraints of the constitutions and public protection. We are always mindful that the public trust and confidence in the justice system must dictate what we do every day, she said.

Jerrika Jones, a lawyer based in Huntsville, described portions of the new rules as overreach and expressed concerns about potential First Amendment issues when regulating attorney speech. Itll have a chilling effect to where were not advertising, she told AL.com, questioning what alternatives would remain.

Jones said lawyers can better manage client expectations and noted that some social media platforms may not allow for links in posts, and specifically mentioned Instagram.

You cant click on links and posts in Instagram, she said. I mean, you can be linked to other accounts, but you cant be linked to websites and Instagram. If you put a hyperlink in the post, its dead in the water.

The new rules, she said, raise concerns about the court trying to control how lawyers run their businesses.

I just feel like were getting into the weeds and were getting nitpicky, she said.

Not all of us are making a lot of money, and so maybe some of us cant afford a full staff, maybe some of us cant even afford an assistant, and so youre telling us that now we also have to dole out money for office space? the attorney added.

Jones challenged the bona fide office requirement, arguing that it does not recognize modern practice arrangements like virtual offices and shared conference facilities.

When they need to meet with a client, they can come to the conference room, she added, explaining that some attorneys with their names on the window in her office complex in downtown Huntsville use shared spaces and do not have dedicated physical offices. She said that virtual receptionists can handle scheduling and calls.

As an accommodation, the new rules provide that, without a bona fide office, lawyers can say things like available for consultation or available by appointment, or that the lawyer has a satellite office, if those statements are true.

Samuel Christopher, growth strategy officer at Beach Law, said the Huntsville-based firm welcomes the new rules.

At Beach Law Practice we believe that these updated rules will enhance public trust, promote accountability, and ensure that legal advertising remains a tool for informed choice, not confusion, Christopher said in a statement to AL.com.

The new rules go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, brought several products to an Alabama House committee meeting to build his case for more regulation of consumable products containing THC and CBD derived from hemp. Mike Cason/AL.com

An Alabama company that sells hemp-derived products is defending itself after the passage of controversial legislation to restrict the states THC industry.

Easy Hemp Co. told customers in a social media post that it did not write the bill and did not lobby to restrict higher-dosage products, nor limit where they could be sold. Instead, the company said, their efforts were to prevent the complete elimination of hemp-derived products in Alabama.

The bill that passed wasnt what we hoped for, the company said on Facebook Thursday, but it preserved a legal path forward for compliant adult-use products, responsible retailers, and the customers who rely on them.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill to regulate THC products which contain the marijuana chemical derived from hemp, including drinks, gummies and other consumables, despite a strong effort to convince her to veto the bill.

Easy Hemp Co. said in its statement that it quieted down when the situation became fragile.

Some have wrongly blamed Easy Hemp Co. for those restrictions. Others questioned our silence amid personal attacks and boycott calls, the company said about what it called the strictness of the new law.

Store owners had lobbied the governor to veto the bill, HB445, out of concern it is too restrictive and will hurt business and limit customers ability to purchase THC products for pain relief. On the other side of the issue, the conservative Alabama Policy Institute argued the bill would effectively legalize marijuana.

Under the new law, business owners selling THC products must get a license from the ABC Board. Grocery stores must create designated areas for selling THC beverages and other stores must limit entrance to people over the age of 21. Smokable hemp products will be banned.

This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. May 17, 2025 to clarify the companys stance on the bill.
Alabamas new law expanding legal immunity for police officers will make it harder to hold cops accountable for wrongdoing, an attorney who specializes in civil rights cases against police said.

Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, said it is already difficult for people harmed by police to get relief through the court system, especially federal courts.

State courts are sometime a better avenue for people who are harmed by law enforcement to get relief, Bonds said. This is making it even harder to find alternative relief in state courts.

I think it will make state court and federal court equally difficult places to vindicate your civil rights.

HB202, sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, a former police chief in Huntsville, rewrites Alabamas law on civil and criminal immunity for police.

The legislation was a priority for Gov. Kay Ivey and Republican leaders in the Legislature, who called it the back the blue bill.

Reynolds said the legal protections are needed at a time when cities cannot hire and keep enough officers to protect the public.

Alabamas immunity law had not been updated since 1979 and needed to be aligned with U.S. Supreme Court rulings, Reynolds said.

Alabamas Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill and said it would make it harder for families to get justice when a loved one is killed or harmed by police.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, even called it a license to kill Black people because he said Black people are more likely to be shot or hurt by a police officer who makes a bad decision out of fear or racism.

We dont get the benefit of the doubt, Smitherman said. I dont care what it is. Black folks dont get the benefit of the doubt.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said it was already rare for police to be charged with crimes when they injure or kill someone through the use of force on their jobs.

This is not about backing the blue because we all recognize the importance of law enforcement, England said.

But as a legislator, as government officials, we also have to represent the average citizen in that same situation.

So we back the blue. But we also protect the individual rights of people to be from unconstitutional use of force.

Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, the Senate sponsor of the bill, is a lawyer who served as a sheriffs deputy in St. Clair County during most of the 1990s.

Walk a mile in law enforcement officers shoes, Bell said.

Every decision he makes out there is critiqued for years down the road. And they dont have the ability to sit back and analyze and think and say, Well should I do it or should I not?

Their training is what gets them ready for that split-second decision. And that decision could mean life or death for not only them, but other people in the public.

Republicans hold three-fourths of the seats in the Alabama Legislature and passed the bill in the last half-hour of the annual session late Wednesday night.

Ivey, who urged lawmakers to pass the bill starting with her State of the State address in February, signed it the next day.

New standards and definitions

Bonds, the director of the National Police Accountability Project, said Alabamas new law will make it harder for people harmed by police to get justice.

In civil cases, the law grants immunity for conduct performed within a law enforcement officers discretionary authority, with exceptions.

Bonds said the definition of discretionary authority is broad.

Theres so many different situations in which an officer would need to use their discretion, Bonds said.

Whether to make an arrest. Whether to shoot somebody. Whether to execute a raid. Whether to obtain a warrant.

Most law enforcement conduct is discretionary. So this is sweeping a little bit broader than immunities that were previously in the statute.

The new law says immunity does not apply if the officer acted recklessly without law enforcement justification and violated a clearly established state law or constitutional right.

Physical use of force

The bill repeals Alabamas previous law that defined when police are justified in the use of physical force.

The new law says any use of physical force against a person is justified if the law enforcement officer is acting within their discretionary authority, unless that action violates the persons constitutional rights.

Bonds said police misconduct could be a crime even if it does not violate constitutional prohibitions on excessive use of force, which she said are based on the 4th Amendment.

Examples could be cases when people are harmed because police recklessly engaged in a high-speed pursuit or improperly applied a physical restraint on a suspect, Bonds said.

Those are situations where even if there isnt a constitutional violation, there still could potentially be a criminal violation under a standard of criminal negligence as opposed to a standard of criminal intent, Bonds said.

Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, raised the same point when debating with Reynolds, the sponsor, on the House floor Wednesday night shortly before the bill got final approval.

Thats great, covering constitutional violations, said Chestnut, who is a lawyer.

But you know as the former police chief that there is police misconduct that is not necessarily unconstitutional yet is still misconduct nonetheless.

Chestnut said an example could be a police officer who failed to intervene when another officer was beating a suspect unnecessarily.

Reynolds repeated a statement he has made several times about what he considers the core of the bill.

This is the basis of the bill, Reynolds said.

Law enforcement officers who use force constitutionally while carrying out their duties are immune from prosecution. And secondly, law enforcement officers are not immune from any unconstitutional use of force during the execution of their duties.

Pre-trial hearing

Under the new law, police officers charged with a crime involving the use of force can file a motion with the court to assert that their actions were justified and that they are immune from prosecution.

The court must hold a pre-trial hearing within 45 days after the defendant files that motion to determine whether immunity applies.

The court must rule on the immunity request within 45 days after the hearing.

If the court rules the officer is not immune, the officer has a right to have the Alabama Supreme Court review that decision.

Reynolds said police should have a chance to assert immunity before a trial proceeds.

Oftentimes they make this decision on their discretionary authority within seconds when an incident happens. And the least we can do is pause that, Reynolds said.

Alabama already had a similar pre-trial hearing process under the states stand your ground law, which allows any citizen, including police officers who are accused of a crime, to argue that they acted in self-defense or in defense of others.

Former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, charged with murder in the 2023 shooting death of Steve Perkins, filed a self-defense claim of immunity under the stand your ground law but the judge ruled against him. Marquette is appealing that decision.

The new police immunity law says courts will try, to the extent practicable, to hold the immunity hearings and stand your ground hearings the same day.

Chestnut said the new immunity hearings, coupled with the stand your ground hearings, means that police officers two bites at the apple to have charges dropped.

Double standard?

England said the new law adds protections for cops accused of crimes that do not apply to other defendants.

Because youre a police officer, I have to do things for you in terms of prosecuting you criminally that I dont have to do for anyone else, England said.

England said criminal cases involve presenting facts and applying them to the law, but not proving constitutional rights violations, as the new law requires when police are the defendants.

And every element you add to this makes it even less likely that that person who committed that offense will be held accountable, England said.

England said theres no evidence that police have not been sufficiently protected under the immunity laws Alabama has had in place for decades.

He said its unusual for police to face charges for causing an injury or death in the line of duty other than a few high-profile cases in recent years.

Those include Marquettes case in Decatur, Montgomery police officer Aaron Cody Smith, convicted of manslaughter in 2019 for the 2016 shooting death of Gregory Gunn, and Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby, who was initially convicted of murder and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of Jeff Parker.

In 2024, as Gunn appealed his conviction, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall took over Gunns case from the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office with no explanation. Marshall then announced his office reached a plea deal with Gunn and released him on time served.

Darby in 2023 was sentenced to 20 years, but the sentence was split and reversed for him to serve three years of probation.

If it rarely happens, then is the standard no one - as long as youre in law enforcement, as long as youre wearing a uniform - should it be next to impossible to hold you accountable civilly and especially criminally for something that happens? England said.

There are more effective ways to support law enforcement than rewriting the immunity law, such as reinstating the requirement for a permit to carry a handgun concealed or in a vehicle and making sure police have all the resources they need, England said.

This isnt for the good police officers, which are a lions share of the police officers, England said of the expanded immunity.

This is going to make it more difficult to hold the bad ones accountable.

Studying the impact

The new law requires every state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency to collect and report information on each use of force complaint received by the agency, including a description of the type of use of force alleged and the race of the officer involved and the person alleged to have been subjected to excessive force.

The Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission will compile the information and send an annual report to the Legislature.

The bill creates a six-member commission of lawmakers to study the impact of the law, including its interpretation by the courts and its effect on hiring and retention of police officers.

Bell, the House sponsor, said if there are gaps in the new law, it can be revised as those become apparent.

Im sure theres things that will play out over time and we may have to come back and tweak this, Bell said.

Always when we pass something, theres always little things that come back later we dont realize. We have to tweak things to fit some scenario that we never even dreamed of.
A man has died after a head-on car crash Saturday morning.

James Thompson, 58, of Troy, was killed when his 2017 Hyundai Tuscon hit another vehicle, a 2009 Ford F-250, driven by Robert J. Wise, 57, of Luverne, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Thompson was not using a seat belt at the time of the crash and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Wise was also injured and transported to Southeast Health in Dothan for medical treatment, the agency said in a statement Saturday.

The crash happened about 7:45 a.m., approximately eight miles north of Luverne, at the 158 mile marker of U.S. 29 in Pike County.

An investigation of the crash by state troopers is underway.
Brilliant! President Donald Trump is absolutely brilliant!

President Trumps first international trip was not to a NATO ally, but to the Middle East, because that is where the money is. His trip began in Saudi Arabia, where the Saudis rolled out the lavender carpet for Trump because lavender is the symbol for generosity and Trump was wearing a matching lavender tie. The lavender represents the lavender wild flower blossoming in their desserts. Jesse Watters said in Saudi Arabia, its like rapper Lil Kim stated, Its about money, power and respect. Jesse says, Thats Trumps language.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, broke protocol and met President Trump on the tarmac. President Trump gave a speech where he stated,

A new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts, forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos, where it exports technology, not terrorism, and where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence. [snip] I will never hesitate to wield American power if its necessary to defend the United States or to help defend our allies [pointing at the Saudi prince]. And there will be no mercy for any foe who tries to do us or them harm.

Trump continued, saying,

We have the biggest business leaders in the world here today. They are going to walk away with a lot of checks, a lot of this you are going to provide [looking at the crown prince]. And in the United States, its probably about two million jobs we are talking about.

Watters reported that executives from Coca-Cola, Citigroup, IBM, Delta, United, BlackRock, Google and Amazon, all in the desert with Trump Trump came on a mission to spread money and peace. The goal of this trip is to secure $1 trillion in investment in the U.S. with $600 billion already secured. After the meetings, the crown prince stated that a phase two will raise the agreements to $1 trillion.

Brilliant! President Donald Trump is absolutely brilliant!

Next, Trump was off to visit the nation of Qatar, situated on the border of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar is a semi-constitutional monarchy, where Emir Tamin bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, reigning since 2013, stated, Together the U.S. and Qatar are feeding and fueling the world. This energy partnership alone is also valued at $1.5 trillion dollars. So, we have been drill baby drilling for the last four years. Looking at President Trump, the Emir continued and said, And we are glad to have you back on board.

Of the meeting Watters quipped: Qatars pumping oil and sending us the money. $1.2 trillion? Not a bad thing for a day in Doha. Also, Jesse stated as a result of President Trumps visit, Qatar put in the biggest order for Boeing aircraft ever: 210. Thats $100 billion dollars.

But this trip was far more than just a trip about making trillions and billions of dollars for America. Jesse stated, Trump did something that no U.S. president has done in 25 years. He met with Syrias president, who used to be a bad guy, but now hes our bad guy. Trump shocked the world and lifted sanctions on Syria stating that he was giving them a chance at greatness. Jesse stated, We are trying to peel Syria away from Russia and have them play nice with Israel, and peel Syria away from Iran. The less friends Iran has in the neighborhood, the better chance they sign the nuke deal.

Brilliant! President Donald Trump is absolutely brilliant!

At the Qatar dinner President Trump shook hands with about 400 people and in a speech stated,

I hope you can help me with the Iran situation, because it is a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing. We want to do something thats going to save, maybe millions of lives Were really helping the region. We are helping the world. Were helping your country, and we are trying to get it done, if we can. We are trying to get it done. We have to move quickly, and I just hope Iran realizes what a great friend they have right here [Qatar].

Then Jesse stated,

If we can sign a nuke deal with Iran, we can lower sanctions and bring their oil back on line. And when we get the Saudis to pump more oil, it will drive the price down, starve Russias war machine and force Putin to the negotiating table, and end the war in Ukraine. We are also selling these Arabs chips and weapons. And if Netanyahu settles the war in Gaza, the Gulf States will re-up the Abraham Accords and we can all do business with Israel. Everyone will be doing business together: Jews, Muslims, and the United States. Moscow will be pushed out of the region. China will be pushed out. And you will have a nice U.S.-sponsored trade alliance with an American security blanket, soft and cozy. Then we can pivot out of that desert back to the Western hemisphere and to the Far East, where the action is. His [Trumps] main pitch this week is make money not war. Trade goods, not missiles. Its a Hail Mary, but it might work.

Brilliant! President Donald Trump is absolutely brilliant!

If all of this were not great enough, Trump then left for the United Arab Emirates, one of the richest countries of all, where he received a heros welcome in the palace at Abu Dhabi, UAE. Trump secured a $1.4 trillion business deal and they lit up their city in red, white, and blue to celebrate, but the best was yet to come. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan awarded President Trump with his nations highest honor, the Order of Zayed:

This is the United Arab Emirates highest civil decoration named after the first president of the UAE, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The Order is a necklace made of pure gold, featuring an elaborate design that reflects luxury and appreciation. The main necklace bears the name Zayed, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, surrounded by decorative details that express the cultural and heritage character of the Emirates.

What an honor for an American president.

The world is watching in awe while this great free-world leader  leads  with unity, strong love and common-sense peace. How refreshing.

In fact, its brilliant! President Donald Trump is absolutely brilliant!

Image: TheLastRefuge, with permission.
This year, the Cannes festival presented its lifetime achievement award to Robert De Niro. During his acceptance speech, De Niro abused his privilege to attack President Donald Trump baselessly.

In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted That affects all of us here, because art is the crucible that brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity. Thats why art is a threat. Thats why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists. Americas philistine president had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions [Kennedy Center]. He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities, and education.

The President and Interim Executive Director of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, set the record straight that the Center welcomed everyone and that Trump hasn't cut funding for the Center.

Recently, Trump mentioned his plan to help Hollywood by imposing a 100% tariff on films made outside the U.S. This plan would incentivize filmmaking in the U.S. It would particularly help movie set workers, who are struggling due to COVID-19-related slowdowns and various strikes.

De Niro wasn't concerned about individuals less fortunate than himself or for the preservation of the place where he made his name.

You cant put a price on creativity, claimed De Niro, but you can put a tariff on it. Of course, this is unacceptable. All of these attacks are unacceptable. And this isnt just an American problem, its a global one. Like a film, we cant just all sit back and watch. We have to act, and we have to act now.

De Niro concluded his sanctimonious rant by urging people to 'act', he added, without violence, but with great passion and determination.

This request to refrain from violence was perfunctory, meant to dodge legal consequences. But De Niro's body language, tone, and words demonstrate that his goal was to incite violence. In 2016, De Niro threatened Trump with violence.

There are some open questions here. Firstly, how did De Niro become worthy of the award? He has appeared in fine films such as Taxi Driver, The Godfather II, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, etc.

But De Niro also delivered an appalling performance in Dirty Grandpa (2016), which a film critic called not just the worst movie De Niro has ever been in, but the worst movie anyone has ever been in. This was a vile assault on humanity, which should disqualify De Niro from any awards, and should be a case to withdraw past awards.

Now, about the speech.

De Niro has had a career that spans five decades. To be a working actor is an achievement, and to be a name is a monumental achievement.

Most in De Niro's place would have dedicated their speech to fans and colleagues. When one wins a lifetime achievement award, most people are overcome by joy. Seldom is the focus on people one despises.

There are exceptions to this norm.

President Trump would have been justified in mentioning those who tried to destroy him via lawfare during his re-election victory speech or swearing-in speech, because his victory meant he had vanquished the villains. But instead, he slammed the practice of politicization of agencies and judicial overreach, and pledged to end it without naming any perpetrators. Trump rose above pettiness and chose not to sully his moment of glory.

But De Niro's hate trumped any joy he could derive from the award, which is probably the result of a deeply unhappy, troubled, and disturbed mind.

This also happened to Meryl Streep when she won her lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes in 2017.

This isn't the first time De Niro has behaved disgracefully. Last year, when Trump was baselessly convicted in a hush-money case in a highly politicized trial in NYC, that even Trump haters such as Fareed Zakaria called deeply unfair, De Niro emerged flanked by bodyguards to troll Trump and his supporters.

De Niro declared that whether hes acquitted, whether its hung jury, whatever it is, he is guilty, and we all know it. He also opined that Trump should be in jail.

De Niro probably expected to be cheered in what he assumed was a liberal echo chamber, but instead he was jeered by New Yorkers. Like most vacuous individuals, De Niro responded with profanity.

In 2018, at the Tony Awards, De Niro engaged in profanity while targeting President Trump.

He probably thought his display in NYC would contribute to Trump's disqualification or defeat in the 2024 elections and hoped that Trump would end up in jail. But instead, Trump won the popular vote, all swing states, and 2,552 out of 3144 counties. Trump's 2020 performance outdid his 2016 performance, and his 2020 performance was surpassed in 2024.

While De Niro was attacking Trump at Cannes, he received a grand welcome in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Abu Dhabi.

Trump may occasionally mock De Niro for being a diminutive dunderhead on social media, but apart from that, Trump remains unaffected.

This is the root of all the insanity that emanates from Democrats such as De Niro -- the realization of the impotence of his words, and his irrelevance.

This happened to the Democrats as well during Trump's first term; they mounted many attacks and hoaxes against Trump, hoping he would be reduced to a nervous wreck. But instead, he was cheerful and relished deriding them.

Trump may be living in their heads, but the opposite isn't true. The more they baselessly attack him, the stronger he becomes, like some mythological figure. This is what makes them almost combust with rage.

But not all approve of De Niro's hateful conduct. The National Association of Broadcasters' Service, which by no means is part of MAGA, stripped De Niro of an award for his baseless attacks on Trump. De Niro's hateful anti-Trump speech was censored at the Gotham Awards, which again is no part of the MAGA universe.

Some have branded this behavior TDS, i.e., Trump Derangement Syndrome. But that isn't fair because Trump has nothing to do with this insanity. These people were insane before Trump entered politics. Trump is merely an excuse for these deeply disturbed people to engage in bad behavior. They know it will earn them appreciation and employment in their echo chamber.

In the absence of Trump, the likes of De Niro would be attacking those around them, and the attacks might not always be verbal.

De Niro is so unhinged that he even lambasted a Trump impersonator. This would have been hilarious if it weren't so pathetic.

Recently, the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival passed new rules to prevent nudity on the red carpet and beyond at the festival. Perhaps it's time for them to pass rules to prevent vile displays such as that of De Niro.

The incitement of hate and propagation of lies is the real obscenity, not some beautiful starlet in a revealing dress that the Cannes organizers seem offended by.

But not all are as bitter or pathetic as De Niro. Here's Harrison Ford accepting his lifetime achievement award at Cannes in 2023 with gratitude, humility, and humor.

Image: Joella Marano
Iran is obsessed with destroying the USA (AKA the great Satan) and Israel (AKA the little Satan). This well-known fact places President Donald Trump on the knife-edge of triumph versus disaster, for Trump wants a deal, an agreement, but Iran wants fire and brimstone raining down on the USA and Israel. It does not regard any agreement as restricting Irans options.

As Marjan Keypour Greenblatt observes,

The concepts of taqiyyah and khodeh (strategic deceit) are deeply embedded in the regimes political playbook. These tools allow the regime to maintain flexibility in negotiations and justify sudden policy shifts with religious cover.

Iran has no intention of candidly disclosing all its nuclear sites. In 2002, Iran was discovered to have secret nuclear facilities that violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Image created using AI.

And on May 11, Breitbart reported that, on May 8, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) revealed in a press conference the existence of a clandestine Iranian nuclear weapons facilityknown internally as the Rainbow Sitethat allegedly aimed at manufacturing enhanced nuclear warheads and hydrogen bombs.

In that paragraph, the single most important word is clandestine. This is the Iran that Trump is trying to make a deal with: The Iran that will not willingly forgo development of nuclear weapons and that intends to use them when it gets them (whether developed or bought), but that will happily accept cash or trade benefits in exchange for a mere promise to forgo development, a promise that it has no intention to honor.

What to do? Is there a solution? Yes, there are two solutions, one wholesale and one retail.

In this environment of animosity and intended deceit, military occupation is the only sure way to proceed. That, though, will require war.

However, there is another method just short of war but almost as certain of success: military surveillance as a condition of a treaty. This means hands-on, 24/7, on-site surveillance by the US military of every suspect cubic inch of Iran. Such military surveillance would be Trumps implementation of Reagans Trust but verify and could probably be done well enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them.
Americans have, for some time, been watching with dismay the dissolution of England. British citizens are being arrested for expressing opinions, and even Americans who didnt know it before are beginning to realize only America has a shaky First and Second Amendment under constant threat from the American left, as Lauren Noble, former Yale student and the founder and executive director of Yales Buckley Institute, recently discovered.

The Institutes home pageits named for Yale Grad William F. Buckley--notes:

The Buckley Institute is the only organization dedicated to promoting intellectual diversity and free speech at Yale. Every year, we expose students to perspectives they wont hear in the classroom, offer exclusive access to political and intellectual leaders, and provide a forum where students can speak freely about issues that matter.

That this is the sole organization promoting free speech at Yale is unsurprising. That Yale and local authorities might resent and try to destroy anyone attempting such anti-revolutionary blasphemy at Yale is equally unsurprising.

The case stemmed from three alleged incidents in July, 2023 where Noble was accused of making racial slursapparently the N wordregarding a parking lot attendant in New Haven, CT where Yale is coincidentally located. Though the attendants name was publicized, his racehes presumably blackwas largely avoided in media accounts.

Noble was originally charged with disorderly conduct, though that charge was later swapped for three breach of peace counts.

Felsen, Noble's attorney, told the judge her client had expended an "insane amount of her resources." "This has been emotionally tumultuous for her to say the least. She is innocent, she has done everything she possibly could within the confines of  of what is able to be done through the criminal justice process to prove her innocence; it's very hard to prove a negative," Felsen said during the court appearance in March.

Noble and her attorney have maintained the police and prosecutor never did a competent job of investigating the allegations, nor did they review the available surveillance video. It wasnt until March of 2025, the prosecutor admitted Noble was innocent:

During a court appearance March 27, the state's prosecutor, Jacqueline Fitzgerald, said the prosecution was entering a nolle to drop the charges because it could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. "The reasons we cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt are there is insufficient evidence to support  support the complaining witness claim; there are inconsistencies in the complaining witness' statements; there are credibility issues; there are  there exists video evidence clearly contradicting the complaining witness' statements," Fitzgerald told the court. She also cited the possibility that Noble "may not be the correct offender."

In other words, the complaining witness lied, wasnt remotely credible, the police and prosector didnt do due diligence, and when it came time to put on a case, they werent quite willing to suborn perjury, so they had to dismiss the entire mess. They apparently didnt mention why they thought Noble may not be the correct offender, nor when they knew that, or why they kept persecuting Noble when they did.

After the case was dismissed, Noble wrote:

The interest in my case seemed to have more to do with what the Buckley Institute represents than anything I ever did, or was accused of doing. Headlines in local newspapers made much of both Buckley and conservatism generally, as left-leaning media outlets welcomed the opportunity to advance the dishonest narrative that everyone on the right is racist. They made the malicious assumption that those who defend free speech do so to say offensive things. The case was a farce from the start: There were no threats, no violence  just a made-up accusation, rubber-stamped by a system that didnt bother to check basic facts before putting someones life through a meat grinder.



When the state finally obtained the video footage I had asked the police to view before arresting me  footage that had been accessible all along  it showed me, on multiple dates, calmly parking, getting out of my car and walking away. No confrontation, not even any interaction, with the accuser. No slurs. No drama.

Noble is correct. Her prosecution was an attempt by a corrupt university, police department and prosecutor to end the threat she, Buckley and free speech represent to an anti-American University. During my police career, I would never have arrested someone in a case like this without first interviewing everyone involved, and certainly not without viewing all possible video footage. Thats minimum, professional police practice. That such minimal steps were not taken speaks to incompetence, malice or both.

Connecticut does have a malicious prosecution law: 939-53-39. One would hope that law would be applied to the police and prosecutor. And perhaps the Bondi DOJ might take a federal denial of civil rights interest?

On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
It was one of my favorite stories when I was reading Aesops Fables. Let me give you a summary in case you forgot that lesson. Here it goes:

There was a Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was lonely for him, so he devised a plan to get a little company. He rushed down towards the village calling out Wolf, Wolf, and the villagers came out to meet him. This pleased the boy so much that a few days after he tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his help. Shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out from the forest. The boy cried out Wolf, Wolf, still louder than before. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again lying, and nobody came to his aid. So the Wolf made a good meal off the boys flock.

The boy, or boys and girls who cry wolf today, are the ones yelling racism and fascism, or whatever other ism they are peddling. The latest example involves some professors moving to Canada as they scream loud and clear that "Trump is a fascist."

Let's hear what Jonathan Turley has to say about this:

The New York Times continues to work tirelessly to maintain the narrative that the United States is now a fascist regime. Earlier, the Times demonstrated its view of balanced analysis by running a collection of legal opinions titled A Road Map to Trumps Lawless Presidency. Now, it is featuring three Yale professors fleeing fascism for the safety of Canada, making direct references to the rise of the Nazis. The video is titled These Yale Professors Study Fascism. All three professors are going permanently to Canada to teach at the University of Toronto. It appears that the systemic rollback of free speech for conservatives in Canada is not a deterrent for Yale professors longing to be free. The seven-minute opinion video features the three scholars: Yale philosophy Professor Jason Stanley and history professors Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder (who are married). Shore insisted that the United States is now a fascist country replicating the Nazi takeover. Indeed, she mocks those of us who believe that our constitutional system has proven itself for centuries as a guarantor of civil liberties, including our system of checks and balances. Shore dismisses such assurances while suggesting that the American people are a virtual ship of fools in not recognizing the fascists all around them: The lesson of 1933 is that you get out sooner rather than later.

Aren't you scared and ready to move to Canada or wherever? The professors want you to believe that the election that saw Trump win 80% of the nation's counties in 2024 is similar to the one that put Hitler in power in Germany in 1933. I guess one election is the same as another, especially when you detest the one that kicked your political butts.

I know something about dictatorships. I was a young kid in Cuba, and my parents lived through it. It was not pretty, as any honest student of history will tell you. I don't remember Castro (or probably any fascist) tolerating dissent or going to a higher court to stop district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Real fascists and dictators don't do that. They knock on your door, arrest you, and tell your screaming wife not to expect you home anytime soon. I know that story because that's what happened to my father's cousin in Cuba.

So these professors are fools, and more foolish are the people who listen to them. Enjoy Canada and don't cross the border when your surgery will take months.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: Picryl
The Hill reports that Democrat lawmakers have reintroduced a resolution to offer reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent to the tune of $14 trillion.

However, Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states, No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. And Article I, Section 10 says, No State shall ... pass any Bill of Attainder, [or] ex post facto Law. Apparently, the founders thought it important to ban such legislation at both the federal and state levels.

The problem is that social justice is unlawful. It sentences an entire group to be punished  in this case, by payment of punitive taxation  without any due-process rights, and it renders punishment for misbehavior that was not illegal when it occurred. (Remember, slavery was not illegal before the Civil War.) Also, Congress possesses no judicial power to find people guilty of crimes, which is the constitutional role of the judiciary.

Cori Bush has said, For over 400 years, this country has profited off the stolen labor, the stolen land and stolen lives of black people. But what she has failed to point out is that there is much in the way of nuance on this issue.

We might begin with the fact that chattel slavery in America was instituted due to a lawsuit by a black freeman named Anthony Johnson. Johnson was one of the first twenty blacks to settle in the British colony of Virginia, arriving as an indentured servant who served out his contract and went on to run his own tobacco farm and hold his own indentured servants, among them [John] Casor. So a black man, freed from his contract of indenture by 1623, embraced his right as a freeman to issue contracts of indenture. In 1654, Johnson sued his neighbor in a case that would change Americas history forever. In court, Johnson said John Casor, who claimed he had worked off his seven years of bondage, was his servant in perpetuity, and the courts ruled in his favor.

So, ironically, permanent enslavement was brought to North America in 1654, when Anthony Johnson, a black man, convinced a lawcourt he was entitled to the lifetime services of John Casor, also a black man. This was the first judicial approval of life servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

According to R. Halliburton, Jr., free blacks owned slaves in Boston by 1724 and in Connecticut by 1783; by 1790, 48 black people in Maryland owned 143 slaves. One particularly notorious black Maryland farmer named Nat Butler regularly purchased and sold Negroes for the Southern trade. Indeed, blacks held slaves in all thirteen colonies.

Black ownership of slaves continued through the Civil War. Likely because black slaveholders were in the minority among masters, they were often the most vocal in their support of slavery. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. writes: Perhaps the most insidious or desperate attempt to defend the right of black people to own slaves was the statement made on the eve of the Civil War by a group of free people of color in New Orleans, offering their services to the Confederacy, in part because they were fearful for their own enslavement: The free colored population of Louisiana ... own slaves ... and they are ready to shed their blood for her defense.

And, although some of Americas founding fathers did own slaves, they were not as committed to the peculiar institution as many have been led to believe. George Washington, upon drafting his will, included a provision that would free the 123 enslaved people he owned outright. This bold decision marked the culmination of two decades of introspection and inner conflict for Washington, as his views on slavery changed gradually but dramatically.

Washingtons change of heart was, in large part, due to his personal slave and bodyguard, William Lee, who served with Washington throughout the Revolutionary War. Lee was responsible for organizing the generals personal affairs, including his voluminous papers, and holding his spyglass. As the attendant to a prominent figure, Lee became a minor celebrity. Postwar visitors to Mount Vernon occasionally sought out the famed body-servant of the commander-in-chief. It has been said that the Army during the Revolutionary War was the most integrated that the Army would be until the Korean War. Washington had much to consider, when it came to the issue of black soldiers helping to fight for Americas freedom.

Another founder who opposed slavery was Thomas Jefferson, who, during his presidency, halted the importation of slaves by enacting the 1808 Clause of the Constitution. Jefferson believed that slavery ran contrary to Natural Law. Early on, Jefferson wrote a clause prohibiting slavery in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, where he referred to slavery as a moral depravity and a hideous blot. As governor of Virginia, Jefferson succeeded in banning the importation of slaves in 1778. Jefferson was also legally able to free five slaves in his will, due to their not having to be held as collateral for the debts owed by the estate.

So, oddly enough, not all slaveholders were white. And not all whites owned slaves. Of those who did own slaves, many did what they legally could to free them. In any case, an important postbellum American virtue is that America did, in the end, ban slavery, whereas many nations, such as Communist China, enslave people to this day. So the issue is more complex than Democrats like to admit. And ultimately, there is simply no justification, legal or otherwise, to punish people who never owned slaves, in order to reward people who never were slaves.

Paul Dowlings book on the Constitution is Keeping a Free Republic  downloadable for $1.99. Additionally, Paul has contributed to Independent Sentinel and Free Thought Matters.

Image via Max Pixel.
The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that President Trumps responsibility to American citizens and national security, must be directly frustrated.

Acting under the Alien Enemies Act, President Trump accurately characterized Venezuelan gang members as not only aliens and enemies, but as criminals posing danger to the country. The Court apparently believes otherwise, and a majority ruled to pause deportation subject to a purported right of due process that they invented out of constitutional thin air.

As usual, two justices alone understand the law, and dissented: Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

But what is fascinating is that they appear the only functional legal experts on the nine-person court.

The rest seem to prioritize politics.

Perhaps that is unfair, but if you look at the track record of key legal decisions over fundamental constitutional interpretation, Alito and Thomas stand out as the only reliable, mature thinkers who can reason with the Constitution in front of them.

In the past, other administrations sought to pack the court with more appointees who could be counted on to toe the line as a unified bloc for partisan objectives.

It was a way of converting the Supreme Court into an effective legislature, which it never can be, of course, but also as a way to illegally frustrate a functional government by blocking or slowing down actual democratic processes of representation and consent.

But why add more judges to the Court if you can simply hive off and count on, a simple majority that consistently acts the way you want?

President Trump is doing his job as president, rightly interpreting the law, and upholding the Constitution.

The Chief Justice, and a cooperating wing, are apparently willing to frustrate executive responsibility, and prioritize illegal alien criminals over U.S. citizens, freely taking numerous legal shortcuts.

The Venezuelans and other invaders are not U.S. citizens, they are not Persons in the Constitution, and they are not granted any due process, except immediate deportation which is far more generous treatment than they would get in most other countries: in some, which the progressive left admires, their acts could rise to capital punishment.

This brings up a crucial point in comparative constitutional law: the concept of comity.

You dont hear it discussed much, but its central to the underlying nature of the entire illegal immigrant invasion program that clearly involved organized human extraction and the herding of millions of unknown parties illegally into our country. The concept of comity asks how other countries could allow this to happen: how did potentially dozens of other sovereign countries, each with their own constitutions, happen to treat our Constitution with complete disregard, deliberately undermining it, and international law?

The doctrine of international comity refers to standards of public international law, and reciprocity.

Deporting illegal gang members not only honors that doctrine, but asks their countries of origin to do the same by facilitating their return.

The recent majority Supreme Court decision not only got our own Constitution wrong, but got everyone elses wrong as well. It doesnt reflect a full consideration of comparative and international law, which is relevant for the case before them. Given the limited way we train our lawyers and judges, that is not unexpected. But its a liability: our courts can work in ways that are against both domestic rules of law, and international order, by destabilizing both, through legal incompetence.

But this is where it gets interesting, because it reinforces the legal authority of President Trumps position on illegal aliens:

The Comity Clause references Privileges and Immunities in Article Four of the Constitution: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. Note it says Citizens. Article Four also includes the interstate Extradition Clause.

Since illegals have neither U.S. citizenship nor U.S. constitutional personhood, they do not qualify for U.S. interstate rendition or due process. The only relevant legal action is international extradition to the one state that controls for their status: the foreign country of origin from where they are fugitives.

In the alternative, illegals could be jailed, and under the Thirteenth Amendment, thereby converted to slavery status as punishment.

That would be the only path to theoretically invoking the Fourteenth Amendment, for release from obligation. But since illegals do not qualify for U.S. criminal due process, the U.S. Patriot Act provides government authority to detain a non-citizen indefinitely without criminal charge. If the Supreme Court followed the law, it would stand down and recognize that it has no relevant jurisdiction. The Executive Office does.

Illegals have a choice: be subject to our Constitution if they insist, be jailed under expedited special proceeding, and by the Thirteenth Amendment, put in servitude as punishment; or be put under indefinite detention by the Patriot Act under national security; or, be extradited as fugitives from foreign states; or, be graciously deported for illegal entry, under an international comity standard.

In economics, these are called tradeoffs.

In the Constitution, its called the law of the land. For judges who cant follow it, they may face impeachment. As the current packed wing of the SCOTUS seems determined to protect and harbor foreign criminals, they could then be subject to the Patriot Act which charges the Justice Department with preventing terror acts, including those potentially facilitating it.

Illegal criminal aliens can be characterized under domestic terror standards, and must be deported. Supreme Court justices that protect them may face impeachment, loose immunity, and risk liability.

Matthew G. Andersson is the author of the upcoming book Legally Blind concerning ideology in law. He has testified before the U.S. Senate, and is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and the University of Texas at Austin where he worked with economist and White House national security advisor W.W. Rostow.

Image: Pexels // Pexels License
Thinking about upgrading to Samsungs top-tier phone? Then we have good news. While the new Galaxy S25 Ultra certainly isnt a budget device, some sweet launch offers are making its price tag more appealing. For instance, currently, Samsungs free double storage deal for the recently announced Galaxy S25 Edge (pre-order here) is also available for the Ultra variant.

Get double the storage for free on your new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

As its name suggests, the double your storage promotion lets you get double the capacity youd normally pay for from Samsungs website. Right now, you can grab the 512GB Galaxy S25 Ultra here for the price of the 256GB version ($1,299.99). Or, if you need even more space, you can snag the massive 1TB model for the cost of the 512GB variant ($1,419.99). Thats a serious amount of storage for less.

Additionally, buying the Galaxy S25 Ultra directly from Samsungs website unlocks access to their exclusive online colors. You can pick from Titanium Jadegreen, Titanium Jetblack, or Titanium Pinkgold options that you wont find anywhere else.

Discounts on Samsungs accessories

Looking to save even more? Samsung is offering trade-in credits of up to $630 for your old phone. And if youre eyeing some new accessories, you can get up to 44% off select Samsung gadgets when you add them to your cart during purchase. The list includes the Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

Samsungs website says that this free double storage offer for the Galaxy S25 Ultra is for a limited time. So, if youve been considering this powerful phone, now might be the perfect moment to snag it with extra storage at no extra cost.
Sir Keir Starmer

My favourite moment in the 2016 referendum campaign came in a cavernous lecture hall at Exeter University. I had spent an hour doing my best to convince the students to vote Leave. As we chatted afterwards, an undergraduate asked how my side would react if, despite everything, Britain decided to stay in.

Our local Vote Leave organiser, a stately Tory matron, answered for me. If, after all this, we vote to remain, she declared in a Lady Bracknell tone, the EU will treat us  here she paused, savouring the word  as their biatch. She was right, of course. A Remain vote would have delivered Britain to the Brussels federalists, defeated and subdued. Yet here we are, nine years on, perilously close to putting ourselves in that position anyway.

If Sir Keir Starmer gets his way, Britain will be not so much the EUs biatch as its gimp. He will hand us over, wrapped in shiny black leather, with a ball gag in our mouth, prepared to do as we are told. Give us your fish! Pay for our students! Deploy your soldiers where we need them! Follow our rules in perpetuity!

Two-tier Keir is offering a two-tier EU. One tier, which contains the 27 full members, will carry on as now, becoming ever more stifling, conformist and uncompetitive. The second, which consists only of Britain, will be the same, only without voting rights.

You might think my gimp image is over the top, but the truth is that Starmers submissiveness vis-a-vis Brussels is psychological, not economic. He experienced the referendum result as a profound emotional shock, and tried for years to overturn it. Like many irreconcilable Remainers, he convinced himself that Brexit had wrecked our economy.

How, you might ask, could anyone think that after years of Britain outperforming the eurozone? The answer is that there were plenty of clever Remainers telling one another what they wanted to hear.

Listen, for example, to Callum Williams, the senior economics writer at The Economist:

When the UK voted for Brexit, when I look deep into my psyche, there was a phenomenon where I was like, I want the UK economy to go down the toilet as a punishment for voting for Brexit. And I think a lot of people did. We were looking for evidence that the UK economy was about to collapse. And in practice, that didnt happen at all.

Europhiles therefore took to quoting alarmist forecasts, many of them made during the campaign, as if they were established facts. They started measuring the UK economy, not against the EU, but against some made-up figures supposedly representing what would have happened had we stayed.

Labour came to power convinced that if it only undid the barriers raised (so it assured itself) because of Tory xenophobia, then GDP would increase automatically.

Once in office, it found that things were not so simple. Yes, there were obstacles to trade  notably in financial services  but these were the result of EU protectionism, not British standoffishness.

Meanwhile, Brexit had brought opportunities. From gene editing to artificial intelligence, Labour ministers were soon boasting about their new regulatory freedoms.

Most obviously, Britain was doing trade deals more nimbly and ambitiously than the lumbering Euro-mastodon. Our formal membership of the Pacific market, the CPTPP, came into effect shortly after Labour took power, and deals with India and the US followed earlier this month. The India accord is significant. Never before has that teeming nation agreed such an ambitious commercial relationship with another country. The US deal is a stop-gap, a temporary arrangement pending a proper treaty to be ratified later this year.

Both have left the EU standing. Neither would have been possible without Brexit. Yet the PM has taken credit for them, and I dont begrudge him his moment. Our trade with the EU had been falling in proportionate terms for years before the referendum, and it has continued to decline since. We need to recover our global vocation, to look to the opulent markets of the Commonwealth and other fast-growing nations.

Yet Starmer now proposes an arrangement with the EU that would not only imperil future trade accords (including the pending agreement with the US), but might be incompatible with our membership of the CPTPP.

The EU has always wanted to take back control of our trade policy. It especially resents the idea of our buying foods that it has banned on protectionist grounds  Australian, Canadian and American beef, for example. It is important to stress that such imports would not squeeze British farmers, who produce less than the country consumes; but they would displace French, Irish and other EU imports.

To keep Britain as their captive market, their treasure island, Eurocrats want to set our standards in perpetuity. We need to understand the depth of their ambition. There may be reasons for aligning with EU standards on a case-by-case basis when economies of scale demand it. But that is not what is being proposed. What Brussels wants is to dictate our standards permanently and unilaterally.

The phrase for this in Euro-speak is dynamic alignment, though few things are less dynamic than the EU. Alignment would mean giving up forever our freedom to innovate on, say, gene editing. It would represent a total capitulation.

The alternative to dynamic alignment is mutual recognition, whereby we effectively agree to trust each others regulators. The EU has such a deal with New Zealand, whose standards, while high, differ more widely from its own than ours do. No, this has nothing to do with consumer safety or the Irish border or chlorinated chicken or any such nonsense. It is an act of naked imperialism, aimed at keeping Britain as a perpetual vassal state.

It is extraordinary that EU diplomats are asking for such a thing, let alone that our British negotiators are countenancing it. But if you feel a deep psychological need to atone for Brexit, you may have trouble focusing on the national interest.

The EU wants Britain involved with its defence. Britains policy, even as a member, was to oppose any defence integration outside Nato. Yet, incredibly, things have somehow been twisted around so that the initiative is presented as a concession, not a demand. Britain, we are given to understand, is being allowed in, not asked to help.

And not just allowed in, but made to pay. For the privilege of being allowed to defend Europe from foes who do not directly threaten our island, we are told that we must open our fishing waters to EU vessels.

If there is one thing that Eurocrats care about even more than our trade and our fishing grounds, it is being able to educate their children at UK universities, subsidised by the British taxpayer. Hence, we read, the idea of a youth mobility scheme  which was an EU rather than a British demand in the first place  is contingent on letting European students pay British rather than foreign rates.

Again and again, the EU is demanding payment in exchange for accepting payment. It plainly has the measure of the people on our side of the table.

A wiser approach would be to sit tight and ask for nothing. We are doing perfectly well where we are. We have the most comprehensive trade deal that the EU has ever signed with any country that is not in the process of joining. We really dont need any of the initiatives that are on the table.

But, just as with the Chagos negotiations, the other side senses that Labour takes pride in rising above what it sees as a nationalist and small-minded interpretation of the British interest.

Then again, Labour strategists seem to have had the nous to shelve the Chagos deal, belatedly waking up to the fact that handing money to foreigners while hiking taxes at home is not a winning combination.

If they were to take a similar attitude to the EU reset, they might reverse their slide in the polls. But, deep down, we know that they wont. In their souls, they had already surrendered before the talks began.
Doctor Who villain the Rani has returned to the show for the first time since 1993, played by Archie Panjabi.

Saturdays episode saw the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest take place, when Mrs Flood, played by Anita Dobson, bi-generated and revealed her true identity to be the renegade timelord originally played by Kate OMara.

Emmy Award-winning Panjabis character, who first appeared in the BBC sci-fi series in 1985 in the Mark Of The Rani episode, has been hiding as Mrs Flood, meticulously waiting for her time to face the Doctor, according to producers.

Panjabi as the Rani (left) with Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood (BBC/PA)

Speaking about taking on the role, Panjabi, 52, said: It seems theres been quite a bit of speculation about the Ranis return, and who can blame you?

Kate OMaras portrayal was brilliant, ruthless and unforgettable. Now, under Russell T Davies, shes back- and Ill ask, what in the Whoniverse will we bring to her? Lets just say, you might not be ready.

Both Panjabi and Dobson will appear in the two-part series finale Wish World and The Reality War, which will see the Doctor and the Rani go head to head in a battle, which it is said will send shockwaves through the Whoniverse.

Showrunner Davies said: Ncuti (Gatwa) always said he wanted to face the Rani, so after 32 years, shes back.

Its an honour to work with Archie  Ive been a fan for years, and what a joy, to see her twinned with Anita Dobson. Its the greatest threat the Doctor has ever faced, and there are even more villains to come.

The Rani last appeared on screens in a 1993 BBC Children In Need special of the show called Dimensions In Time, which saw the Doctors Tardis land in Albert Square for a crossover between Doctor Who and EastEnders.

Wish World will launch on Saturday, May 24, on BBC iPlayer at 8am, while The Reality War will premiere simultaneously on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday, May 31, as well as in more than 450 cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

Panjabi is known for her roles as Zahra Gahfoor in Hijack, Kendra Malley in Departure, and Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife, for which she won a Primetime Emmy award.
Jenny Chapman acknowledge the dismay over the scale of Labours cuts to the aid budget. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

The UKs drastically diminished aid budget is the new normal, the development minister, Jenny Chapman, has said, as she claimed Labours approach would help repair voters faith in overseas aid.

Lady Chapman took up her post in February, after Anneliese Dodds resigned in protest at Keir Starmers decision to slash overseas aid spending to 0.3% of gross national income from 0.5%, to pay for increased defence spending.

Chapman said as she and her team go through the aid budget line by line, seeking deep cuts, they were not treating the belt-tightening as temporary.

Im not making my choices, thinking, Oh, weve got to get through the next 18 months, two years and then well be back to where we were. Im making decisions thinking that this is the new normal and we have to make this work, she said, repeatedly referring to what she called a 0.3 world.

Chapman was the MP for Darlington from 2010 until 2019, when she lost her seat in Boris Johnsons landslide general election victory. She was ennobled by Starmer in 2021.

Speaking in her spacious room in the Foreign Office, she acknowledged the dismay among many longtime supporters of development over the scale of Labours cuts, but claimed the sector needed to work differently to win back wavering public support.

I think the aid sector does amazing work and there are incredible people whove spent their lives working to make the world a better place, she said.

At the same time, the truth is that the confidence that the public once had in this agenda has faded, and we need to be honest with ourselves about that. And I will work with them to improve that situation.

Im not going to shy away from tough messages when I think they need to be made.

Before the 20-year anniversary of the Gleneagles G8 summit, at which the UK secured significant progress on aid and debt relief, Chapman claimed Labour can still lead on these issues.

Im very proud that the last Labour government led thinking around development. We have to do the same now and we have to shape what development looks like for the next 20 years. That is the job.

Chapman attracted criticism earlier in the week for suggesting in an appearance at the cross-party international development committee that the UK had for too long been viewed as a global charity.

But speaking after her grilling by the committee, she insisted that even without the necessity of making cuts, the way the government works with developing countries needed significant reform.

African governments are saying they want partnership, not paternalism. So they want more control over what happens in their country, she said.

Chapman suggested the UKs new approach, within straitened resources, would involve sharing UK expertise and encouraging private sector investment. This morning I was in the City with our new investment taskforce, she said, citing lots of enthusiasm, lots of possibilities.

She also underlined the urgency of cutting the cost of supporting asylum seekers in the UK, which accounted for 20% of the overseas aid budget in 2024.

Chapman is part of a joint working group with the Home Office aiming to reduce the budget in this area. They need to move further and faster because thats not good use of that money. They would agree with that, she said.

Asked where the cuts will fall, Chapman refused to make any specific budget commitments, but said the UK would prioritise humanitarian aid. She also hinted at other areas the government might focus on, including the World Banks International Development Association (IDA) arm, which gives grants and loans to low-income countries, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi).

Money thats spent by the World Bank, you get 10 invested for every 1 that we put in. Thats a good use of money. The IDA fund performs very well, its got proven evidence based of having an impact, she said.

We are one of the biggest, if not the biggest donors to Gavi; it works, its saved hundreds of thousands, millions of lives.

Related: Cuts to welfare. Cuts to international aid. Has Labour lurched too far to the right?

The UK committed 1.98bn over three years to IDA at the end of 2024, before the budget cuts were announced, but it has since been suggested that promise is under review. Gavi has a pledging conference at which the UK will be expected to set out its contribution.

Chapman also praised the BBC World Service, amid reports that the government is demanding budget cuts.

We dont know what the exact allocations are going to be yet. Were working through those numbers, but what I would say is that the World Service do tremendous work that nobody else can do, she said, calling it an absolute gold standard resource.
The writers niece, Annabelle, in Paris and with her uncle in Venice. All photographs: Ben Aitken Composite: PR

A year ago, I discovered a bit of a travel hack  that if accompanied by an adult (obviously) children under the age of 12 can explore Europe by train for absolutely zilch. Profoundly susceptible to any sort of bargain, even those that promise a net deficit in the long run, I determined to take advantage of Interrails generous offer, despite lacking dependents of the specified vintage.

Sourcing someone under 12 was far easier than Id imagined. When I lodged an enquiry about my 10-year-old niece, asking if Annabelle might be available for an Interrailing stint at Easter, my brother couldnt sign her up fast enough. (Though he did insist on some caveats: in bed by 10pm, out of bed by 9am, and no watching sweary Gordon Ramsay shows).

But where would we go? Well, after several discussions with my prospective companion over FaceTime (during which she utilised upwards of 100 filters, including one that made her look like Donald Trump), six locations were settled on: Paris, Zurich, Venice, Innsbruck, Berlin and Amsterdam. Annabelle cited Emily in Paris and The Diary of Anne Frank as inspirations, while confessing to a long-term interest in Toblerone. If the itinerary had been up to me, it would have looked a lot different. Id just finished writing a book, you see, in which I travel to some of the least fashionable cities in Europe, but when I mentioned to Annabelle the likes of Essen and Minsk, she raised one of her eyebrows and held it there for 10 seconds (which is something she does when deeply unimpressed).

So, first up, Paris. After checking in at The Hoxton hotel on Rue du Sentier, we quickly got stuck into some snails. (I wont quote Annabelles verdict verbatim, but she likened them to a larger version of something you might find up your nose). A picnic near the Eiffel Tower  during which Annabelle stewed over my explanation as to why there was no point in us joining the massive queue to be elevated skywards (Are you sure British people arent allowed, Uncle Ben?)  was followed by a rapid ascent up 500 steps to the base of Sacre-Coeur basilica, Annabelles alacrity owing to a white lie on my part (Id said there was a doughnut shop at the top).

Our journey to Zurich involved changing at Strasbourg. A seat reservation was required for the first leg at a cost of 10 each. (Its worth mentioning that Interrail pass-holders have to cough up for seat reservations on certain European train services, and all sleeper berths.) An honest breakdown of what we did during the four-hour run down the eastern flank of France to Switzerland reads as follows: 10 minutes considering the passing landscape, 80 minutes of screen time and roughly 19 games of hangman, in which I was able to smuggle a new pair of words into Annabelles evolving vocabulary, namely exasperation and glee.

We spent an hour exploring Zurichs efforts to become the most eco-friendly city possible (including a hydroelectric power station that got the one-eyebrow treatment from Annabelle), and another sitting by the lake near the fetching old town watching the swans and coots squabble over pretzel scraps. Then I gave Annabelles palate the night off chocolate and took her to a plantbased restaurant called Dar, run by the renowned Spanish-Moroccan chef Zineb Zizi Hattab. We loved everything about the place, but the highlights were the Kentucky-fried mushrooms and the vegan ceviche.

In Venice, I changed my approach to travelling with a miniature human. I stopped trying to have conversations every 10 paces about bridges and sea levels and the role of Garibaldi in the reunification of Italy, and instead handed Annabelle the reins, telling her to lead the way and get us lost. She succeeded with aplomb, getting us lost in just about every gift shop we saw (her appetite for tat is astonishing).

Annabelle suffers from a condition known as selective fatigue, which tends to flare up on the way to museums

We stayed at the Avani Rio Novo, a stylish establishment near the train station. This meant it scored points with Annabelle, whose legs suffer from a disabling condition known as selective fatigue, which tends to flare up on the way to museums and so on. After a dinner of sardines and gelato (dont ask), she spent the evening trying to teach me ballet moves, whereas I spent the evening thinking the sooner she starts drinking alcohol the better.

The next morning, before we departed for pastures new, I asked Annabelle for an alternative verb to move on or proceed and she suggested wobble, and so it was that we bade Venice farewell and wobbled north to Innsbruck, a charming city of about 130,000-odd citizens surrounded by mountains.

Having dumped our bags at Adlers Hotel and wolfed down a schnitzel at a restaurant called Stiftskeller, we took a 20-minute cable car ride up to the peak of Hafelekarspitze, a mountain topping 2,334 metres (7,657ft). We paid our dues to the vista  a pistachio river, a motley crop of rooftops, a ring of Austrian Alps  before commencing a protracted snowball fight that Annabelle would later put forward as the highlight of her trip, a comment that had me wondering if I should have just taken her to the Snozone in Milton Keynes.

We travelled the next day to Berlin, reaching the German capital in time to catch the sunset from the 368-metre tall TV Tower in Alexanderplatz. As I attempted to explain the significance of the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie, Annabelle appeared to be taking on board the gravitas of these historical monuments, an impression that was punctured somewhat when she asked, at the end of my summary, Can you do this with your tongue?

We proceeded by tram to the KPM Hotel, in a former porcelain factory in the west of the city, which Annabelle gave 10 out of 10, mainly because there was a beanbag in her room. The next morning, a guided bike tour along the Berlin Wall provided an energising lesson on ideological warfare, Helmut Schmidt, David Hasselhoff and the various ways an East German might get over an obstacle. The tour was elevated by the incorporation of curry wurst and cherry trees, and by the good nature of our guide, Phillip. When he asked if Annabelle liked the sound of life in the German Democratic Republic, she quickly and firmly said sure, which I later discovered is her go-to response when she hasnt been listening.

Annabelle was rather rude about Rembrandt. Sizing up his self-portrait, she suggested in no uncertain terms that he really shouldnt have bothered

The next day, we reached Amsterdam Centraal without fuss, the journey taking less than six hours and requiring neither reservation nor connection. From the station, we enjoyed a pleasant walk to our hotel, the NH Collection Amsterdam Flower Market, whose staff couldnt do enough for Annabelle, even hastily organising an Easter egg hunt when it became apparent that Id completely forgotten what the resurrection of Christ means to people of a certain age.

Over the next day and a bit, we wandered along the canals, tried some Dutch pancakes (poffertjes), and had a butchers at the Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum. No prizes for guessing which of these experiences Annabelle enjoyed the most. In truth, Annabelle was actually rather rude about Rembrandt. Sizing up the great painters self-portrait of 1628, she suggested in no uncertain terms that he really shouldnt have bothered.

Annabelles verdict on our visit to the Anne Frank House was somewhat more measured. After spending a sobering hour listening to Annes story as we navigated the building in which the Franks hid from the Nazis, she contributed the following to the visitors book: I wish this museum didnt exist to be honest, but Im really glad we came.

As we tunnelled from Brussels to London, I could tell something had occurred to my niece because she was doing a little dance with her eyebrows.

This time next year, Ill be 11, she said.

You will.

Which is still under 12.

It is.

Which means I still wont cost anything.

Not quite true, but I take your point.

So maybe we could do it again?

Maybe  

Only this time we could go to Minsk and Essen and the other places you wanted to go to.

Ill have a word with your dad.

She shrugged, returned to a YouTube video involving Oreos, then said, very quietly and more to herself than to me: If you must.

Interrail passes were provided by Eurail, and start at 180 for four days travel in a month (free for kids under 12). Accommodation was provided by The Hoxton Paris (doubles from 250, free extra bed for under 12s); Avani Rio Novo Venice (doubles from 127); NH Collection Amsterdam Flower Market (doubles from 200). Support provided by Innsbruck Tourism, Visit Berlin and I Amsterdam

Ben Aitkens new book is Sh*tty Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities (Icon Books, 18.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
Israel has announced a major new offensive in Gaza after launching a wave of airstrikes on the territory that killed more than 100 people, in what it said was a fresh effort to force Hamas to release hostages.

In a statement late on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza.

The announcement came as Donald Trump finished a visit to the region that included stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but not Israel.

Related: What Donald Trump did this week should terrify Benjamin Netanyahu. This is why | Jonathan Freedland

Earlier on Friday, Donald Trump acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and claimed the US would have the situation in the territory taken care of.

The US president told reporters in Abu Dhabi: Were looking at Gaza. And were going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.

But discussions on the longer term future of Gaza have faltered. On Thursday, Trump described his desire to turn Gaza into a freedom zone, a possible reiteration of a plan he put forward in February for the US to take control of the Palestinian territory to allow for its reconstruction as a luxury leisure and business hub.

There had been widespread hope that Trumps visit to the region could lead to a fresh pause in hostilities or a renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Instead, the raids and bombardment over the past 72 hours have raised the levels of violence higher than for several weeks, with the death toll coming close to that seen in the first days of Israels renewed offensive in Gaza after a fragile ceasefire collapsed in March.

Gazas civil defence agency said strikes on Friday killed 108 people, mostly women and children, and some officials in the Palestinian territory put the number killed by Israeli attacks in recent days as high as 250 or 300.

At least 48 bodies were taken to the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, and 16 to Nasser hospital after strikes on the outskirts of the central town of Deir al-Balah and the southern city of Khan Younis, health officials said.

In Jabaliya, a neighbourhood in the north of Gaza that has seen heavy bombardment for weeks, women sat weeping beside 10 bodies draped in white sheets that were lined up on the ground amid rubble.

Umm Mohammed al-Tatari, 57, said she had been awoken by a pre-dawn attack on northern Gaza.

We were asleep when suddenly everything exploded around us  everyone started running  there was blood everywhere, body parts and corpses, she said.

Israels military said its air force had struck more than 150 terror targets across Gaza.

Hamas still holds 57 of about 250 hostages seized in its October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Israel says the blockade and intensified bombardments since mid-March are intended to put pressure on the militant organisation to secure the release of the hostages. Fewer than half are believed to be still alive.

Israels retaliatory military offensive has killed about 53,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry there.

A ceasefire that came into effect in January broke down in mid-March after Israel refused to move to a scheduled second phase that could have led to a definitive end to the war.

Some of the heaviest Israeli strikes earlier this week were aimed at the current commander of Hamas in Gaza, who, Israeli officials said, was sheltering in tunnel systems under a big hospital complex in Khan Younis. Hamas has denied repeated Israeli accusations that it uses civilians as human shields.

Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists for the new offensive, in which troops will hold on to seized territory and which will lead to a significant displacement of the population, Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Israeli ministers have spoken of conquering Gaza.

Hamas on Monday freed Edan Alexander, the last living US citizen it held, after direct engagement with the Trump administration that left Israel sidelined.

As part of the understanding with Washington regarding Alexanders release, Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said the group was awaiting and expecting the US administration to exert further pressure on Israel to open the crossings and allow the immediate entry of humanitarian aid.

Israeli officials have consistently denied the tight blockade imposed on the devastated territory more than 10 weeks ago has caused hunger and Trumps comments will be seen as further evidence of tensions between Netanyahu and Israels closest ally.

Israel, which claims Hamas systematically loots aid to fund its military and other operations, has put forward a plan to distribute humanitarian assistance from a series of hubs in Gaza run by private contractors and protected by Israeli troops.

The US has backed the plan, which has been described as unworkable, dangerous and potentially unlawful by aid agencies because it could lead to the mass forced transfer of populations.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, on Thursday acknowledged the criticism and said Washington was open to an alternative if someone has a better one.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been set up to manage the scheme, announced on Wednesday that it would begin operating by the end of the month and that it had asked Israel to lift its blockade to allow aid to reach the territory immediately.

Aid agencies have warned that any delay will cost lives, and that cases of acute malnutrition, particularly among young children, are soaring.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday that time should not be wasted on the US proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the UN has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.

We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself, he said. We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need. Let us work.

Polls in Israel show widespread support for a new ceasefire to secure the hostages release, but local media reports quoted statements from anonymous Israeli and regional officials downplaying any likelihood of a breakthrough.

Israels main group representing the families of hostages still being held in Gaza said on Friday that Netanyahu was missing a historic opportunity for them to be released.

Recent days have seen violence intensify in the occupied West Bank and new launches of missiles at Israel by the Yemen-based Houthi militia.

Israel struck Yemens Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif on Friday, continuing its campaign to degrade Houthi military capabilities.
Jasmine Paolini became the first home winner of the Italian Open for 40 years with a dominant victory over Coco Gauff.

The 29-year-old, who reached the final of the French Open and Wimbledon last year in a breakthrough season, delighted the fans at the Foro Italico with a 6-4 6-2 success.

No Italian had won one of the two singles titles in Rome since Raffaella Reggi back in 1985 but Paolini thoroughly merited her triumph, while Jannik Sinner could make it a home double when he faces Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Paolini came out firing and edged a tight first set before running away with the second amid a slew of Gauff errors.

By winning the title, Paolini guaranteed she will overtake Iga Swiatek to become world number four on Monday and therefore obtain a top-four seeding for the French Open, which begins next weekend.

Its pure joy, the Italian told a press conference. Its a dream to win in Rome, of course, for maybe every kid thats playing in Italy. Its amazing.

Gauff has returned to form on the European clay after a difficult few months but has finished runner-up in both the major events, with this loss following one against Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid a fortnight ago.

I think its both confidence and motivation to do better, said the American. Hopefully I can get to the final in Roland Garros and maybe the third time is a charm thing is a real thing. Thats looking so far ahead.

Overall I lost to two quality opponents, Aryna in Madrid and Jasmine here. So I think I have a lot to improve, a lot that I can work on.

Katie Boulter, meanwhile, reached the first clay-court final of her career at the Trophee Clarins in Paris.

Dropping down to WTA 125 level, the tier just below the main tour, has paid off for the British number one, who defeated Frances Varvara Gracheva 6-0 3-6 6-3 to set up a final clash with another home player, Chloe Paquet.
China executes 3 convicted of sex crimes against minors

Xinhua) 15:32, May 17, 2025

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Three sex offenders convicted of sexually assaulting minors were executed in China on Friday, according to an official statement from the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the country's highest court.

The SPC, which approved the death sentences, emphasized that the sentencing and subsequent executions reflect China's unwavering commitment to eliminating sexual abuse of minors and serve as a deterrent for potential perpetrators.

Among the executed was a man surnamed Zhao, who had worked as an instructor at an illegal educational institution. There, he and his cohorts abused and unlawfully confined dozens of underage students. Zhao was found to have repeatedly raped eight underage girls, three of whom were below the age of 14.

Another executed individual, surnamed Wang, exploited an online platform to deceive and coerce underage victims into taking and sharing inappropriate images and videos. Using these as a bargaining chip, he progressed to rape and sexually harass nine underage females, seven of whom were under 14 and one adolescent girl with intellectual disability. Wang's crimes also included sexually abusing 10 other young girls and a young boy.

The third executed man, surnamed Chen and a convicted rapist, committed rape by luring and coercing victims through the internet. He raped three girls below 14 years old multiple times. Chen also conspired with accomplices to gang-rape one of these girls. Additionally, he molested two other under-14 girls and was involved in extortion.

The SPC said that as sexual abuse crimes against minors become more concealed and varied, the urgency for early prevention has escalated.

The court advocated for a more robust and multi-faceted minor protection system, encompassing families, schools, society, online platforms, government, and judicial authorities.

It also urged heightened supervision of youth educational institutions, a cleaner online environment, and increased efforts from parents and schools to educate minors on sex and personal safety, proper internet usage, and legal awareness.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Vindicta is an historical novel based on little known true events of the Napoleonic war in1808 involving a Scottish-monk-come-intelligence-agent and Jacques Marquet, a spy catcher for Napoleon.

Vindicta

The Book

It is 1808. Napoleon is nearing the zenith of his power. Desperate to dent his supremacy, the British government sends James Robertson, a middle-aged, overweight monk on a secret mission to persuade a Spanish general to betray Napoleon. Meanwhile, Jacques Marquet, a passionate supporter of the Revolution, is appointed chief spy-catcher for northern Germany, despite his career being blighted by his aristocratic birth.

Landed on the north German coast, Robertson narrowly avoids capture. In Hamburg he is spotted by Marquet but on this occasion managed to evade him. The monk discovers that the Spanish general and his troops have moved into Denmark and travels north.

A desperate game of cat and mouse then unfolds as Robertson tries to persuade the general to defect, while all the time avoiding capture by Marquet. The journey will take him through Denmark, Germany and into Bavaria as the Scottish monk continues his fight against Napoleon.

Learn About The Author

Roger Hunt has had a lifelong interest in history. After a business career, most recently in executive search, he has researched the remarkable story of the Scottish Benedictine monk, James Robertson. Vindicta is a novel closely based on events in 1808. Roger lives in West Berkshire.

How The Book Came About

Roger explains: I discovered James Robertson reading Elizabeth Longfords biography of the Duke of Wellington. From the research in primary and secondary sources in Britain, Denmark, Spain and Germany, the idea came to write a novel about two unusual, flawed characters  Robertson and his nemesis, Jacques Marquet. Robertson is still remembered by members of the Robertson clan in Scotland. Marquets portrait by Ingres hangs in the National Gallery in London.

Vindicta is due to be published on the 28th May 2025.

by Natalie key for www.femalefirst.co.uk


17 May 2025 at 3:42 am

The injured men were transporting a detainee from the Villawood facility when he allegedly attacked. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

New South Wales police have charged a 28-year-old man for allegedly stabbing one man and assaulting another while he was being transported from the Villawood immigration detention centre.

Tongan national Paea Teu was being taken from the detention centre to Sydney airport on Thursday when police allege he attacked two men who were transporting him. He then went on the run for two days.

A 24-year-old woman has also been arrested and charged with knowingly harbouring an escaped inmate.

Officers were called to James Ruse Drive in Sydneys west about 3.40am on Thursday, following reports a 54-year-old man had been stabbed in the neck and face and a 36-year-old man assaulted.

The two injured men were treated at Westmead Hospital.

NSW police commenced an extensive search after Teu allegedly fled the scene.

Police said officers were called to Eschol Park Drive in Eschol Park at about 9.40pm on Friday after reports the 28-year-old had been seen.

He was arrested a short time later and taken to Campbelltown police station.

He has been charged with causing wounding and grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear at Parramatta local court on Saturday.

A 24-year-old woman was also arrested and has been charged with knowingly harbouring, maintaining or employing an escaped inmate. She was granted conditional bail to appear at Campbelltown local court on 22 May.
Police at the scene, in Thamesmead, south-east London - UKNIP

Five men stabbed at a music event early on Saturday have been arrested for violent disorder.

The men, aged 22, 24, 24, 31, and 32, were all taken to hospital after police were called to the event at 4.20am.

A violent incident broke out at the event, held in a business park in Thamesmead, south London, the Metropolitan Police said.

Around 300 people had been attending a music event at the venue.

Three of the men injured were taken to hospital by the emergency services, while two further victims were transported to hospital by another person, police confirmed.

A police spokesman said: Officers were supported by the London Ambulance Service and five people were taken to hospital with stab wounds.

Three of the arrested men had injuries which were not life-threatening, while the other two were still being assessed on Saturday afternoon.

Continued police presence at scene

Det Insp Steven Andrews, who is leading the investigation, said: Officers responded quickly to provide medical assistance to the five injured people alongside the London Ambulance Service, and ensure the safety of around 300 people who were at this music event.

The five men who have been injured have been arrested for violent disorder and we continue to work to establish any wider involvement.

There will be a continued police presence on Nathan Way throughout today while we continue this investigation.

We encourage anyone with any information to contact police to assist with enquiries.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: We were called at 4.17am on Saturday May 16 to reports of a stabbing in Nathan Way, SE28.

We sent resources including ambulance crews, paramedics in response cars, an incident response officer, advanced paramedics and Londons air ambulance.

We treated three patients at the scene before taking them to hospital.
George Clooney said he wont stop until there is an agreement to send the Elgin Marbles back to Athens - Daniel Leal/AFP

George Clooney has called for the Elgin Marbles to be handed over to Greece.

The Oscar winner has said he will personally keep pushing until there is an agreement to send the 2,500-year-old sculptures back to Athens.

Clooney has stated confidently that the Marbles will be sent to Greece amid ongoing talks between the Greek government and George Osborne, the chairman of the British Museum.

Clooney told Ta Nea, the Greek newspaper: Theyre going to come back. I know they are.

He added: My wife and I both have worked to get the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece. Well keep pushing until it happens. Theres no question about it.

The remarks were made last week in New York City, where Clooney is currently starring in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, the 2005 film he also directed and co-wrote.

The actors comments mark a continuation of his outspoken support for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles  a position he first brought to international attention more than a decade ago.

Clooney first made his views on the Marbles public in 2014 during a promotional tour for the film The Monument Men. He said that returning the artefacts would be the right thing to do.

That same year, his wife Amal Clooney, along with a team of legal experts, visited Athens at the invitation of the Greek government to devise a legal option to pursue the return of the Marbles.

Their recommendation, detailed in a comprehensive 600-page report, was ultimately not adopted by the Greek government.

But it was later published as a book under the title Who Owns History?, which Mrs Clooney called a powerful cry for justice. She praised the work for laying out the case for reuniting the Parthenon Marbles in Athens once and for all.

Amal Clooney, alongside some leading experts, made a visit to Athens in 2014 - Yorgos Karahalis/Getty Images

Clooneys calls for the return of the Marbles provoked a firm response from Boris Johnson, the London mayor at the time, who said that someone urgently needs to restore George Clooneys marbles.

Mr Johnson accused Clooney of advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for Londons cultural treasures, referencing Nazi plans to plunder the British Museum during World War II.

Clooney later dismissed Johnsons comments as too much hyperbole washed down with a few whiskies.

In 2021, Clooney reiterated his position about the artefacts, telling Dame Janet Suzman  the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles  that the Parthenon Sculptures must be returned to their original owner.

Amal Clooney was dropped from the Elgin Marbles case by the Greek government in 2015 - John Lamparski/AFP

Demands for the return of the Marbles to Athens, where they once adorned the Parthenon, have been long-standing.

Despite ongoing talks between Greek ministers and Mr Osborne, no solution to the ongoing dispute appears to be in sight.

The British Museum is prevented by law from disposing of the artefact held in its collection, meaning it could at best offer Greece a loan.

Greece will not agree to this, as any loan would require a legal recognition of the British Museums ownership, and the Greek government believes the Marbles were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The only solution would be for the UK government to change the law binding the British Museum, but Labour has no intention of doing so.

This painting shows an idealised view of the Parthenon Marbles in the temporary Elgin Room at the museum in 1819 - David Parker /Sciene Photo Library

In the first public intervention on the issue last month, Sir Chris Bryant, the arts minister, said the best Britain could offer Greece was a temporary agreement.

He said: Under existing law, it would be impossible for there to be a permanent or indefinite loan.

The British Museum Act 1963 makes clear that trustees have to retain treasures for the public, and ensure all loans are temporary.

There have been efforts to rally support for repatriation within Parliament.

John Lefas, the Greek millionaire, has attempted to organise this under the umbrella of the Parthenon Project.

The project is set to host a debate on June 11, which will feature figures including Stephen Fry, Ben Bradshaw, the former culture secretary, Baroness Debbonaire, the former Labour shadow culture secretary, Lord Frost and Lord Vaizey.
The King had Prince Edward, his brother, on hand to explain the sport of carriage driving - PA/Aaron Chown

The King looked on in horror as a carriage driver crashed during a cross-country race.

The monarch was watching the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Saturday morning when the incident took place.

He and Prince Edward, his brother, were left shocked when the competitors carriage collided with a gatepost while attempting to speed through.

The horses and their drivers survived unscathed.

As one of the competitors came round on the obstacle course, the back of the carriage crashed into a 6ft-high gatepost that they were trying to drive through, one onlooker said.

They took it too tight and the back literally clattered into it. The King pointed to it and Edward put his hand to his face, before explaining why it had happened.

No one was hurt, the four horses at the front were fine and they carried on.

Carriage driving sees competitors guide their horses around a course with obstacles in the way - Vagner Vidal

The Royal Windsor Horse Show, a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth, is held annually in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The King sported tan chinos and a brown tweed jacket with a tattersall-patterned shirt and navy and green striped tie. He also wore sunglasses and carried a wooden hooked cane as he smiled and waved to onlookers.

The King doesnt normally watch the carriage driving, the onlooker added. It was Prince Philip who loved it.

This is the first time the King has come down to watch the carriage driving and Edward was escorting him around, showing him how it works and what happens.

The King and Prince Edward were watching it from a stand built specifically for them. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was also there, as was the Crown Prince of Bahrain.

It was during a high-speed race such as this that the incident took place - Vagner Vidal

Carriage driving was the favourite sport of the late Prince Philip. He first took it up in the 1960s and helped popularise the sport.

He played a particularly prominent role in making it an international-standardised sport and wrote the rule book with Sir Mike Ansell.

Prince Philip would later teach Lady Louise Windsor, his great-granddaughter, carriage driving and bequeathed to her his two fell ponies, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm, to go with the polished green carriage he designed and rode.

Explaining in 2021 how she inherited his love of carriage driving, Lady Louise said: After a competition, he would always ask how it went. His eyes would light up because he just gets so excited when he talks about it.
Farage seen with Trump Jnr and his girlfriend, Bettina Anderson - Jeff Gilbert

Nigel Farage, the Reform Party leader, has been reunited with Donald Trump Jnr as they celebrated the 250th anniversary of Britains oldest gunmaker.

The event, marking John Rigby & Cos milestone, was held at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on Friday night.

Mr Farage and Mr Trump Jnr, who attended with his girlfriend Bettina Anderson, were among the top guests in attendance.

Farage wore a velvet blazer with a bow tie - Jeff Gilbert

Trump Jnr with Bettina Anderson - Jeff Gilbert

Marc Newton, the managing director of Rigby, said: As we celebrate Rigbys 250th anniversary, were not just honouring our past but fuelling the spirit of adventure for generations to come.

Our guns are crafted for those who dare to explore, to push boundaries and to write their own chapters in the history books. For two and a half centuries, Rigby has been synonymous with craftsmanship. As we look to the future, were committed to upholding our legacy as a Best London gunmaker while inspiring new tales of daring and discovery.

Heres to the next 250 years of Rigby  may they be filled with as many thrilling adventures and remarkable stories as the last.

Exclusive special edition rifles were launched to mark the occasion and celebrations were also held aboard HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.
Chris Hinchliff said some Labour colleagues had come on board with his campaign, and there could be a sizeable group of rebels. Photograph: House of Commons

Keir Starmers planning bill will push the public towards Reform, a Labour MP has said as he urges his colleagues to back amendments to the legislation.

Chris Hinchliff, MP for North East Hertfordshire, has submitted a package of amendments to the bill, which as it stands, lets developers pay cash to trash nature, he said. These will be debated in parliament during the report stage in early June.

One of his amendments, to protect chalk streams, was rejected by the government this week. A growing number of backbenchers are becoming concerned and angry about the bill, with Clive Lewis and Terry Jermy among those supporting amendments to strengthen protections for nature.

Labours plan to build 1.5m homes by 2029 will, it believes, be expedited by passing the planning and infrastructure bill, which is at its committee stage in parliament. The government argues that the proposed legislation will speed up housing developments and large infrastructure projects by allowing developers to avoid meeting environmental obligations to protect habitats and species such as barn owls, otters, bats and newts, at the site of their project. Instead they will pay into a central nature restoration fund (NRF) that will be used to create environmental improvement elsewhere.

But there is growing concern about the impacts of these plans, with government officials admitting this nature improvement could be carried out in a different county to where a building project is taking place. Pretty much every nature and environment group in England has objected to the bill as it stands. The National Trust, RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts have said the proposed legislation puts rare habitats at risk and does not give any kind of baseline on which to measure environmental improvement.

Related: Labours planning bill threatens protected habitats, says environment watchdog

Hinchliff told the Guardian that these changes meant Labour would be fighting communities, kicking and screaming, adding: All that will do is push, push the public towards Reform and that politicians arent interested in what they think and what matters for their local community.

His amendments include changing environmental delivery plans, so environmental improvement is guaranteed before development begins rather than after it finishes; having targets for socially rented home delivery; and giving people the right to appeal decisions on developments they think are harmful to the local area.

Hinchliffs proposals have made him unpopular among some commentators. He has been accused of being part of hedgehog Hezbollah and is constantly called a nimby for suggesting amendments to the bill.

But he rebuffed such labels, saying: No, I dont think Im a nimby. There are housing developments in my town just around the corner from me that I think are quite sensible. Weve got a town in my constituency that is due to double in size, and Im not opposing that.

Related: Irreplaceable habitat: planning bill raises fears for Englands chalk streams

Taking on the government like this might make him unpopular, but Hincliff shrugged. If it makes me less popular with the government, it makes me less popular with the government, he said.

The bill allows for developers to potentially damage irreplaceable habitats such as chalk streams and pay for them to be offset with nature elsewhere. But nature experts argue that chalk streams cannot be replaced as they are unique and rare ecosystems that only arise under certain conditions.

Theres a lot of chalk streams in my constituency. Theyre one of the things that residents really care about and love about the constituency that we live in, Hinchliff said.

One the reasons why I tabled that amendment is because some habitats are irreplaceable, and its important that we protect those from damage, because you cant just give developers the right pay cash to trash nature like that.

That amendment was rejected on Wednesday by the Labour MPs on the parliamentary committee examining the draft law.

On the same day, the government admitted in its risk assessment of the bill that there was very little evidence that nature protections blocked developments.

Removing these protections on this basis was dangerous, Hinchliff said. Many habitats are on the brink. Species are on the brink. And if we allow harm and pollution to go ahead on the proviso that in the future, will have a pot of money and will make things better those ecosystems will be functionally dead in many instances, if were not careful.

He added: When I read our manifesto, I took away from that very clear message that we were going to deliver the housing that the country needed in tandem with protecting the environment.

Hinchliff has been alarmed by criticism of the bill by the Office for Environmental Protection and Sir Partha Dasgupta, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Cambridge.

Hinchliff said some Labour colleagues had come on board with his campaign, and there could be a sizeable group of rebels: Its a hugely political issue that matters to an awful lot of people, and I think my colleagues will feel the heat on this. Ive been really pleased with the level of support Ive received. Ive had a good number of colleagues get back to say that theyre willing to support my amendments, he said.

Despite potentially being out of step with the party leadership at present, which has said it backs the builders rather than the blockers and prioritises homes over bats and newts, Hinchliff said he was standing up for traditional Labour values.

What Im standing up for is a long and proud tradition of Labour values and that people from across the Labour movement have fought for for generations, he said. Lets not forget, it was the Labour government which created the greenbelt, Labour politicians who created our national parks. These are all Labour traditions, and Im hoping that I can persuade my party to look closely and seriously at the proposals Ive put forward.
The three burglaries Luminita Zamfir carried out took place between November last year and February

A pregnant burglar stole jewellery worth more than 500,000 from a 105 million London property by posing as a cleaner.

Luminita Zamfir, 24, stole rings, necklaces and earrings from what is Londons second-largest home after Buckingham Palace in February.

The then-pregnant Romanian told domestic staff at the property that she had been sent by a cleaning agency for a trial shift.

Zamfir carried out two further burglaries at London homes, taking 50,000 worth of watches, cufflinks and cash before being caught.

None of the jewellery has been recovered.

Zamfir, who cradled her newborn while appearing from HMP Bronzefield via video link, pleaded guilty to all three counts of burglary at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday.

The court heard the first burglary took place on November 28 last year, when she took 50,000 of watches and cufflinks from the 11 million home of Sean Gorvy, an investment banker.

The second was in February at Londons second-largest private residence, which was not named in court.

Timothy Sleigh-Johnson, prosecuting, said Zamfir knocked at the house next door which was home to domestic staff.

This defendant was not known to the staff, and she said she was a trial cleaner. She was therefore allowed into the property [next door] and left later that day, he said.

Mr Sleigh-Johnson added: When the occupants returned valuable property  jewellery and other items  were found to be stolen which has been valued at 548,565.

CCTV footage from inside the address was provided to the police and Zamfir was identified by the police.

The third burglary took place five days later at a 1.6 million home, where she took a ring, a Gucci watch and 200 in cash.

Pippa, the homeowner, said the ring was an antique gold Intaglio ring that was her late fathers engagement ring. On Feb 10, her husband Christopher, 62, was at home awaiting a delivery when Zamfir knocked on the door and said she was a cleaner.

One of the items Zamfir stole was a gold Intaglio ring

She flicked her shoes off and began to pet the dogs, Pippa told the Daily Mail outside work. Then she went upstairs and into one of the bedrooms, which is when we think she must have taken the ring, watch and cash.

Christopher was upstairs in his study and began to think something did not seem right and came downstairs and saw her plumping the cushions.

Pippa added: She quickly said she needed to go out and buy some cleaning products and would be back in 10 minutes.

Zamfir never returned and the couple then passed doorbell footage to the police, who had identified her as a suspect in the other burglaries from a DNA sample on a tissue left at Mr Gorvys home.

Zamfir has four previous convictions for burglary and shoplifting dating back to 2016 and will be sentenced on June 11.
Credit: Andy Mackenzie for The Telegraph

The arrest of a retired special constable over a tweet warning about rising anti-Semitism is a national embarrassment, Suella Braverman has said.

Last weekend, The Telegraph revealed that Julian Foulkes, 72, from Gillingham, Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six Kent Police officers in November 2023 after replying to a pro-Palestinian activist on X.

Mr Foulkes, who volunteered with the force for a decade, had his home searched, and was detained for eight hours, interviewed and cautioned.

He had replied to a tweet from a pro-Palestinian activist who had threatened to sue Mrs Braverman for calling anti-Israel protests hate marches.

It was only on May 6, 18 months later, that Kent Police admitted the caution was a mistake, removed it from his record, and apologised.

With support from the Free Speech Union, he is now crowdfunding to take legal action against the force.

On Friday, the former home secretary invited Mr Foulkes to Westminster to commend him for speaking out.

Suella Braverman invited Julian Foulkes to Parliament where she condemned his ordeal at the hands of police - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

Sitting across from him in her Parliamentary office, Mrs Braverman told Mr Foulkes that she wished she had been able to prevent his ordeal.

The police seriously erred in this instance, and I think its caused a national embarrassment because their overreach, their overzealous approach, is a symptom of a deeper problem within policing, which is political correctness, she said.

The shorthand is woke policing, and this is a real attack on free speech, she told the former special constable, and unfortunately, youre not the only case.

During her time as home secretary Mrs Braverman attempted to crack down on these practices, her concern was  and still is  that police were being distracted from fighting crime. In September 2023 she ordered an investigation into officers who were pandering to politically correct causes such as taking the knee at Black Lives Matter protests.

This intervention came just two months before Mr Foulkes was arrested, an event she said showed that her attempted reforms had failed.

I do think that the police have still got a major problem when it comes to being overly politicised, and chief constables are directing their rank and file officers to pursue cases which are totally unmerited and shouldnt warrant police action, she explained. So it has been because I wasnt able to go further, I do think, yes, the problem still exists.

Mr Foulkes during his time as a special constable

The MP for Fareham and Waterlooville said she had entered the Home Office with a plan to fix woke policing but that Rishi Sunak, the then prime minister, and police chiefs had been obstructive.

I tried many ways to try and fix it. Its a very deep, deeply entrenched problem right up to the top of policing, she said. I dont actually think its rank and file. Its the police chiefs who have signed up to a Left-wing agenda, frankly, and that informs a lot of the police instructions and actions that they take on the ground.

Other measures Mrs Braverman imposed included guidance to limit the investigation of non-crime hate incidents, which have been criticised for restricting free speech.

But speaking to The Telegraph, Mrs Braverman admitted that none of that worked.

Its very hard for ministers and indeed police and crime commissioners to get a real and substantial change in policing, as my experience bears out, she said.

I was very vocal about my intentions. The police still did what they wanted to do because they didnt get the message from the Home Secretary of all people.

Virtue-signalling

She accused the National Police Chiefs Council, the College of Policing and a large majority of chief constables of adopting a virtue-signalling agenda.

Mrs Braverman said she would have very much liked to go further in her reforms but was blocked by No 10, leaving her feeling powerless.

Ive got to take responsibility, but no minister can act unilaterally. And you can have the best plans. You can have the best argument for your plans. You can be the most charismatic, intelligent minister. If the Prime Minister doesnt want it to happen, its not going to happen, she said.

I wanted to scrap the College of Policing. I wanted to scrap non crime hate incidents. I wasnt allowed. I wasnt given permission to do that.

She continued: I remember feeling quite powerless actually as Home Secretary, I used to tell my officials this very often, Im Home Secretary, Im getting the questions, and Im getting the challenge for poor performance, but I have no levers whatsoever, really, to try and change direction. So theres a fundamental weakness in the system.

While very much supporting the operational independence of police, she said that the current arrangement needed a rethink because forces use it as protection from challenge or scrutiny or accountability.

Mrs Braverman was ultimately sacked in 2023 following a public row with Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, over his refusal to ban a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day.

Eager to make arrest

She told Mr Foulkes that it was ironic the police were very, very eager to arrest him over his social media post warning about anti-Semitism, but when thousands of people were marching through the streets on Armistice Day, chanting anti-Semitic slogans, celebrating terrorism, they suddenly became very meek and mild and didnt have enough resources or powers.

Mrs Braverman said her struggle to reform the system from within had convinced her that real change may now only come from people like Mr Foulkes speaking out.

It is high-profile cases like yours, which will have an effect, because its so shockingly unacceptable the way you were treated that dispassionate, objective observers will, Im sure, come to the conclusion that theres been a real mistake here by the police. And if you pull that thread, you can see the broader problem.

Mr Foulkes told Mrs Braverman that he was one of many disillusioned Tory voters who had switched to Reform UK. He said he always sensed her initiatives were being thwarted from within as home secretary, and it was the fact that in 14 years nothing seems to have got done that led him to defect.

You probably know we want you on board in Reform, he told Mrs Braverman, noting the fact her husband Rael had already made the switch must make for interesting conversations around the dinner table.

But Mrs Braverman politely dismissed any suggestion she might switch allegiance , saying: Ive been voting with the Conservatives this week and Ill continue to do so.

Lord Herbert of South Downs, chairman of the College of Policing disputed Mrs Bravermans portrayal of the organisation, saying: This is a grievously distorted view of the college which has been shared by no other Home Secretary.

The college was set up by a Conservative government, has the support of police chiefs, and is now strongly focused on leadership, standards, and performance in policing. A professional body for the service to deliver on these critical issues is needed now more than ever.

A Kent Police spokesman said: A review, led by the forces Professional Standards department, is under way. The force has apologised to Mr Foulkes for the distress caused and for the way it was investigated.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the NPCC, said: These comments are concerning and do not reflect the views of police chiefs or the ambitious work ongoing at a national level in policing to reform the service.

I strongly refute any suggestion that policing is swayed by political agendas to gain approval.

Police chiefs will continue to work closely with our partners, including the College of Policing, and with the Home Office to support police officers and ensure they are equipped to respond to crime, catch criminals, and support the public to be safe and feel safe.

Mr Sunak was approached for comment.
Farhad Javadi Manesh, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, and Mostafa Sepahvand, pictured in a court sketch - Julia Quenzler / SWNS

Three Iranian former asylum seekers have appeared in court accused of spying for Tehran.

The three men, who had been granted leave to remain after arriving in Britain in lorries and small boats, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service following an investigation by counter-terror police.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, all living in London, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Saturday flanked by eight prison officers after being arrested earlier this month.

The trio were held on suspicion of committing offences contrary to the National Security Act 2023 between Aug 14 last year and Feb 16 this year.

Mr Sepahvand, from St Johns Wood, was charged with surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research with the intention of committing serious violence against a person in the UK.

Mr Manesh, from Kensal Rise, and Noori, from Ealing, were both charged with the same offence but with the intention that violence would be committed by others.

Both Mr Sepahvand and Mr Noori spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

On Saturday, Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said that the Government would strengthen national security powers in the wake of the charges, saying that the case raised very serious wider issues.

Strengthened powers

Ms Cooper said: The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.

As part of that process, we will publish next week the results of Jonathan Hall KCs review into the application of our counter-terrorism framework to modern-day state threats.

She thanked the police and security services for their dedication to protecting our national security.

She added: The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

District Judge Annabel Pilling was told that police attended the home addresses of the three on May 3.

The CPS prosecutor, who did not give his name on security grounds, told the court that Mr Sepahvand first arrived in the UK in 2016 concealed in a lorry. He sought asylum on the grounds that he feared for his safety if he returned to Iran.

Mr Manesh arrived in the UK by boat in December 2019 and applied for refugee status on religious grounds.

Mr Noori had his first recorded contact with the authorities in the UK in September 2022, at which point he applied for asylum.

All three were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey next month.

Both Mr Sepahvand and Mr Nooris defence counsels indicated their client would be denying the charges.

Judge Pilling told the defendants: There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty. The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on June 6.

Dominic Murphy, the Metropolitan Polices counter-terrorism commander, described the charges against the three as extremely serious.

He added: Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service to reach this point.

Now that these men have been charged I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.

On May 9, a fourth man, aged 31, was also arrested as part of the investigation but he was released without charge on Thursday.

Separate investigation

Scotland Yard said on Saturday that four other Iranians arrested in a separate counter-terrorism policing investigation had been released from custody.

The men had been arrested on May 3 at addresses in London, Swindon and Greater Manchester on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act. A fifth man, also an Iranian national, was previously released on bail to a later date in May.

Officers continue to carry out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London, Swindon and High Wycombe areas.

Mr Murphy said: We made these arrests due to concerns about a suspected plot to target a specific premises. Since those arrests, detectives have been working to assess all the evidence weve gathered and to question the men.

They are now being released from custody but our investigation remains active and is ongoing.

We are working very closely with the premises we identified as the suspected target of the alleged plot, and we continue to provide them with support. This has been, and continues to be, a highly complex investigation, and we will not hesitate to take further action if we believe there is any imminent threat to the public.

Mr Murphy added: I would like to thank the public for their support and understanding  particularly in the areas and communities across the UK who have felt the direct impact of our activity. Id like to ask people to remain vigilant and contact us if anything doesnt look or feel right. Information from the public is crucial to our work.
Rachel Reevess local Labour party will demand that the Chancellor abandons her plans to cut disability benefits.

The Leeds West and Pudsey Constituency Labour Party (CLP), which campaigned to return Ms Reeves to Parliament in the general election as its local MP, has agreed to write to her as soon as possible to make clear it does not support the cuts.

The local party branch passed a motion opposing the cuts, seen by the PA news agency, when it met this week.

The Governments plans, set out in a Green Paper earlier this year, would tighten the eligibility criteria for the main disability benefit in England, the personal independence payment (Pip).

Restricting Pip would cut benefits for around 800,000 people, while the sickness-related element of universal credit also set to be cut.

The package of measures are aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high since.

The Government hopes the proposals can save 5 billion a year by the end of the decade.

In its motion opposing the plans, the Leeds West and Pudsey CLP said disabled people are not responsible for the state of the national finances and should not be made to pay the price for Tory economic mismanagement.

The CLP also acknowledged welfare reform is important, but urged the Government to focus on reducing the taper  the rate at which benefits fall off once someone has found work.

The local Labour group resolved to write to both Chancellor Ms Reeves and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to articulate our proposed cuts to disability benefits  whether by reducing rates, implementing higher thresholds, poor quality assessments or increased conditionality  as soon as possible.

Opposition on Ms Reevess patch comes as the Government appears at risk of a major rebellion from its backbenchers over the plans.

Some 100 Labour MPs  more than a quarter of the partys parliamentary numbers  are reported to have signed a letter urging ministers to scale back welfare cuts under consideration, according to media reports.

The private letter to Labours chief whip is separate from a similar one last week, in which 42 MPs said the cuts were impossible to support.

Speaking during a recent Westminster Hall debate, Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he was willing to swim through vomit to vote against the cuts.

Helen Whately described the proposals as cruel, careless and clumsy (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Others including Richard Burgon (Leeds East), Rachael Maskell (York Central), and Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) also confirmed they would vote against the plans when they spoke during the debate.

Ellen Clifford, from Disabled People Against Cuts, said the campaign group supports the Leeds West and Pudsey CLPs move.

She added: We hope that the Chancellor takes note of the contents. The scale of the proposed cuts is horrific and will destroy communities, break public services through additional pressures and could well negatively impact the economy.

They are cruel, badly thought through and entirely performative. Voters will not forget or forgive politicians who back these cuts.

The Chancellors team, approached for comment, pointed to her previous messages to Labour MPs on the welfare cut proposals.

When asked last week what her message to concerned Labour backbenchers was, Ms Reeves said: I dont think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, think that the current welfare system created by the Conservative Party is working today.

They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if were going to grow our economy.

Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: Labours plans dodge the difficult decisions on welfare, leave more people out of work than they put in and will hit some of the nations poorest people.

The sickness benefits bill is spiralling out of control and these rushed reforms will make things worse, not better.

These plans are cruel, careless and clumsy. And it seems that even some of the people closest to Reeves agree with us, not her.
David Geffen has filed for divorce.

David Geffen files for divorce

The 82-year-old film producer has called time on his two-year marriage to 32-year-old former go-go dancer David Armstrong, also known as Donovan Michaels.

TMZ reports the pair did not have a pre-nuptial agreement when they tied the knot in 2023 and Geffen has cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

He has appointed divorce attorney Laura Wasser to handle the dissolution of the marriage.

Geffen made his fortune as co-founder of DreamWorks and as a record executive.

However, as he has been retired for 15 years, his income consists solely of stocks and other equities, which are considered separate property under California law.

As a result, Armstrong may not be entitled to a cash payout, apart from spousal support for half the length of the marriage.

The mogul stated in the divorce documents that he will cover both spousal support and attorney's fees.

Billionaire Geffen  who came out as gay in 1992  and Armstrong tied the knot at a Beverly Hills courthouse in 2023.

A source told knewz.com at the time: David has loved Donovan for a while, and they had been talking about taking the next step together.

David waited a long time to find the right partner, and Donovan is definitely the one.

David and Donovan opted for a simple but special ceremony to mark their union, and they were surrounded by close family and friends.
Reform UK has vowed to reverse low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in all of the councils it controls.

Nigel Farages party has announced that it will block most new schemes and reverse existing ones in the 10 councils it now controls after its sweeping local election victory.

LTNs were introduced during the pandemic in 2020 as part of a suite of green policies aimed at encouraging walking and cycling.

Cited as a way to reduce pollution, they involve shutting off the majority of side roads in an area to cars.

There are now more than 100 permanent Labour-backed LTN schemes in the UK, with the Government also pushing for more 20mph zones in what has been branded a war on motorists.

Party chairman Zia Yusuf - Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

But Zia Yusuf, the Reform party chairman, told The Telegraph: LTNs have proliferated too quickly and there are far too many of them.

We view these schemes with the same suspicion as mass immigration and Net Zero. They are policies which are supported by and made to benefit more affluent people, who are then insulated from the negative consequences.

You can expect, if you live in a Reform council, for there to be a much higher bar for any proposals for LTNs and for the large-scale reversal of these existing LTNs.

Mr Yusuf said that the 10 councils  including in Durham, Kent and Nottinghamshire  would soon become islands of freedom for motorists, where people who want to use their cars are able to do so.

Reform council candidates across the country campaigned against LTNs during the local elections.

Reform leader Nigel Farage with Donald Trump Jnr and his girlfriend at an anniversary event in Portsmouth - Jeff Gilbert

The party has said the schemes hollow out local high streets, make life difficult for drivers and push congestion into poorer areas.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled Londons Lambeth council had acted unlawfully by creating an LTN and ignoring residents concerns it would cause more traffic congestion.

Members of the West Dulwich Action Group which took on Lambeth council in the High Court and won - Julian Simmonds for The Telegraph

Campaigners in Bath, meanwhile, conducted a recent survey that found an LTN next to a university campus has led to a 700 per cent jump in traffic past a primary school and nursery.

While LTNs are intended to reduce pollution and make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, they have been used as cash cows for councils which make millions in fines.

Londons Hammersmith and Fulham council is raking in more than 1million from motoring fines from a single LTN, while the capitals Croydon council is among local authorities that have also raised millions.

The schemes are usually policed by blocking streets with planters or bollards or by using cameras, with drivers facing fines for driving down them.

Seventy-two LTNs opened during the pandemic as part of a 2bn active travel scheme overseen by Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps, the then prime minister and transport secretary.

Low traffic neighbourhood in Ealing, west London - Heathcliff O'Malley for The Telegraph

The Tories subsequently withdrew this funding in 2023 as Rishi Sunak vowed to end measures that he saw as amounting to an anti-car agenda.

Local councils were told to independently fund the scheme without Westminsters help.

Just over half (54.3 per cent) of the length of all streets in council areas now controlled by Reform are the equivalent to LTNs, according to crowd-sourced data from CycleStreets.

The party wants to use its new councils to show British voters how it would run the country.

Last week Reform promised a flurry of legal challenges to close down existing asylum hotels in areas it controls and stop new ones from opening.

Mr Farage has also vowed to scrap all equality, diversity and inclusion roles as well as climate change-related work.

In a message to Durham council employees with roles similar to these, he said: These include those working on climate change, diversity initiatives or even just from home. You all better be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly.

Reform won 677 council seats at the local elections earlier this month and took control of ten councils. Polling suggests it is on course to win the next general election and that Mr Farage will become the next prime minister.

The party hopes to follow its extraordinary result with further gains at the Welsh Senedd elections next year.

In Wales, the devolved Labour administration has established a 20mph speed limit on many roads.

Reform hopes to win votes in the Senedd elections by pledging to reverse the move. It has the potential to pick up dozens of seats and is polling second in Wales behind Plaid Cymru.

Mr Yusuf told The Telegraph: In Wales these sweeping 20mph speed limits which Labour have brought in are hugely unpopular. You can expect us to campaign to reverse this and we will be taking the fight to Labour on this at the Senedd elections next year.

Reform has claimed it will tackle the Blob in local government after its victories earlier this month.

The term refers to a permanent class of civil servants who push Left-wing agendas and are resistant to change.

Mr Yusuf said: We are seeing the Blob alive and well on local councils. We have found neighbourhood teams that should be responsible for bin collections but now have a mandate for climate change. Its the Blob writ large.

In one council they said we needed to fill 27 cabinet and portfolio positions within 72 hours. It turns out only two of those positions are statutory. Many of the leading member positions are essentially made-up jobs relating to climate change, equality and community cohesion.

Mr Yusuf is understood to have been referring to Lancashire Council.
All things considered, the reward that Russia allegedly offered Daniil Bardadim to betray his country was pretty meagre: $11,000 (8,000) in cash and a second-hand BMW.

The Ukrainian, 17, was presented with the promise of quick cash and a luxury car by his Russian handlers, who wanted him to burn down a branch of Ikea in Lithuania.

Bardadim, who was living in Poland as a refugee, apparently felt the offer was too good to pass up. Lithuanian prosecutors allege that he crossed into their country and set the store ablaze, in May 2024.

The Kremlin is no stranger to recruiting criminals and opportunists to carry out its dirty work, offering rewards of cash or luxury goods via encrypted messenger apps.

But the case of Bardadim  and the arrests this week of three Ukrainians in Germany and Switzerland on charges of plotting to firebomb Europes postal network  underline how Moscow revels in trying to recruit people from its sworn foe as secret agents.

Bardadim was arrested after the blaze in Vilnius by Lithuanian authorities. They have since charged him with terrorism offences, while Poland has arrested an alleged accomplice of his, also Ukrainian.

Daniil Bardadim has been charged with terrorism offences after he allegedly tried to burn down an Ikea in Lithuania

As with many other cases of Russian sabotage across Europe, those who commit such attacks face long jail sentences  but the masterminds are hundreds of miles away in Moscow.

European security sources say the use of these so-called disposable agents is on the rise, as Russia wages a hybrid-war campaign on Europe targeting military sites, defence industry factories and undersea cables.

In Germany, the process has been dubbed the gig economy of sabotage, due to the Russian handlers use of messenger apps on mobile phones.

But it is the use of Ukrainians, Russias foes, which is particularly shocking, with military experts saying that is very much part of the Kremlins strategy.

These are absolutely classic Russian espionage tactics, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a security analyst and former British Army tank commander, said.

An agent like this can go under the radar [due to their nationality], but the impact of what they do is also doubled: it creates a huge reaction from the Western public and the press, who will be shocked that it was a Ukrainian. And it allows the Russian press to claim that Ukrainians dont really support the West and are trying to attack them.

The Kremlin does not just offer cash rewards, he added, and sometimes resorts to blackmail, such as threatening family members.

Theres really nothing off limits for the Russians if they want to achieve something  whether its cash, a flashy car, sex or drugs, he said.

In Ukraine itself, pro-Russian saboteurs have been a major concern since Russias initial invasion of 2014 and annexation of Crimea. Teenagers are said to be a particularly easy target for Russian spymasters to groom over social media.

SBU warns parents of Russian tactics

Ukraines SBU intelligence service has sent out warning letters to parents, underlining the risk that Russian agents could be trying to reach out to their children via mobile phones.

Dear parents, lets imagine a very real situation. Your child is sitting on his phone  as usual. And suddenly a stranger writes to him: Hello, do you want to earn five thousand [Ukrainian] hryvnias? states one such letter seen by The Telegraph.

It goes on to explain how Russian-hired teenagers in Ukraine will at first be asked to carry out a minor task, such as taking a photograph of a building or drawing graffiti. Then, the tasks slowly and inexorably become more serious, culminating in a plot to sabotage railway lines or switchboards.

By that point, the letter warns, unfortunately, not all [children] have time to understand that they have become victims.

Ukrainian security forces have warned parents that Russian agents could be trying to reach out to their children via mobile phones

Ukrainian authorities say they have thwarted a string of attacks of this nature, such as a plot in April which relied on teenagers to plant explosives at Ukrainian military sites.

In December, Russian agents tried to hire a teenager to carry out an unwitting suicide bombing against a Ukrainian military facility in Kyiv Oblast. The bomb was built by two women from Vinnytsia Oblast, and the teenager who was asked to transport it had no idea it would self-detonate. According to Defence Blog, Ukrainian security forces thwarted the operation before the bomb was detonated.

In another case, in March this year, two teenagers aged 15 and 17 were hired by Russian spies to build an improvised explosive device. As they were delivering the device, their Russian handler remotely detonated it. The blast killed the 17-year-old instantly and hospitalised the 15-year-old with severe injuries.

In March two Ukrainian teenagers were hired by Moscow to build a bomb which a Russian handler remotely detonated

While the promise of fast cash might be attractive to some youngsters, there is a sting in the tale of Bardadim, the teenager accused of being behind the Ikea fire in Lithuania.

According to the New York Times, which first reported the full details of the plot, Russia did follow through with payment of the BMW, handed over prior to the attack.

But the other half of Bardadims payment  the $11,000 US dollars  never materialised.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer

It was an extraordinary coincidence. On the same day that the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Norway applied to join the then European Economic Community, the existing members struck a last minute agreement: fisheries, and the very rich grounds that coincidentally lay off the coasts of the new applicants, were now to be the subject of a common policy.

From this point on, the pillaging of stocks by European boats has been a constant sore on the body of British politics. The vote for Brexit was in part a vote to right this symbolic wrong, as well as to address the mounting issues of the present day.

In his attempt to negotiate a new deal with the European Union, Sir Keir Starmer risks missing this point entirely. Brussels is asking for a multi-year deal to access Britains waters, replacing the deal struck in 2020 which is due to expire next year. Should Brussels get its way, then it will keep its 75 per cent of its pre-Brexit catch share for a further four years.

This concession would be a calamitous misstep. Downing Street may well have its eye on data showing that fishing and aquaculture combined make up just 0.04 per cent of British GDP, but this would neglect the symbolic importance of the issue. Many voters do not want to see Britain offer further concessions to a bloc which has seemingly sought to disadvantage this country at every opportunity presented to it.

We should remember that just four years ago the French state was threatening to cut supplies of electricity to Jersey and the British mainland in a row over a triflingly small number of fishing permits. French politicians understood what their British counterparts did not: that this was a matter vital to the welfare of coastal fishing communities, that the sympathies of voters lay with their countrymen who were already exposed to tough work and economic hardships, and that the dispute had become one of national pride in addition to mere economic value added.

This last concept is one that appears alien to Sir Keir as he travels the world offering to surrender Britains assets in each negotiation, most notably attempting to hand over the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius while paying billions for the privilege. It is not, however, foreign to the Red wall voters who helped to install him in office. With the threat of Reform to his Right, the Prime Minister should consider that memories are likely to be long on these matters.

The same could well be said of the notion that Sir Keir may sign up to a youth mobility deal with the bloc. We have just seen the Conservative Party shattered by a vengeful electorate after a stunning betrayal of repeated promises to restore control of Britains borders, and Reform trounce incumbent parties in the local elections. Even if in some way capped or limited, such a scheme is likely to be seen by many as the thin end of the wedge for a return to full-fat free movement.

Few have forgotten the last time such a policy was introduced, or the massive wave of migration triggered by EU expansion. By 2019, there were 3.6 million people who had been born in EU member states living in the United Kingdom.

Many had come in the wake of the EUs eastward expansion, with workers in relatively low income countries welcoming the higher wages and opportunities found in Britain. Many more arrived after the Euro crisis saw the UK become the de facto employer of last resort for a moribund continent unwilling to free its labour market from stifling overregulation, or to reconsider the folly of its monetary union. The perceived pressure this immense movement of people had put on housing, culture and wages had been a major contributor to the Brexit vote.

Today, after the influx of the last few years, in the midst of attempting to recast himself as a staunch defender of Britains borders, Sir Keir must surely be aware how any form of migration liberalisation will go down with voters.

Indeed, the words of his Labour colleagues are unlikely to lessen suspicions that Downing Street may be engaged in a bait and switch, attempting to replace a steady stream of non-EU migration with an EU equivalent. Sadiq Khan has already suggested that youth mobility would help to fill vacancies in hospitality and health and social care  in other words, it could prove to be more of the low skill, low wage migration the Government is supposedly attempting to wean the country off.

That any youth mobility scheme would be reciprocal  with Brits able to head to the EU  should not greatly increase its attraction. Polling last December showed that young people in the relevant age range considered Australia, the United States and Canada to be the best options open to them. Access to Britain is worth a great deal to the EUs youth; in practice, however, access to Europe is worth less to their British counterparts.

Sir Keir should hold these thoughts in mind ahead of Mondays summit. This is not a replay of 2016s lopsided negotiation, where time and legal pressures were working in Brussels favour. This time around, Britain holds all the cards, and no deal is better than a bad deal. No ground should be given on migration or fishing rights.
Sir Keir Starmer has signalled that a youth mobility scheme would not cross Labours red line on freedom of movement with the EU.

The Prime Minister said youth mobility is not freedom of movement ahead of a UK-EU summit in London on Monday which is part of efforts to reset relations after Brexit.

Reports suggest a deal on British access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table but arguments over fishing rights and a youth mobility scheme may provide stumbling blocks to an agreement.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen ahead of their bilateral meeting as he attends the European Political Community Summit in Tirana, Albania (Leon Neal/PA)

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the EU summit will not be a one-off and suggested it would pave the way for future talks.

Sir Keir has repeatedly declined to give a running commentary on the talks but said on Friday he was positive going into Monday.

He spoke after meeting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Albania at the European Political Community Summit.

Kaja Kallas, the EUs high representative for foreign affairs, had earlier said work was progressing on a defence deal, but that were not there yet.

Sir Keir said a stronger trading relationship with the EU would be measured in the pockets of working people.

People will be better off because of this deal, the Prime Minister told The Times.

Amid reports that discussions for an agreement with the EU to allow young people to live in the UK for a limited period are under way, Sir Keir rejected claims that would be a backdoor to freedom of movement.

He said: We have a red line in our manifesto about freedom of movement.

Weve been really clear about that but youth mobility is not freedom of movement.

A youth mobility scheme was proposed by the EU but initially rejected by Labour.

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said the Government is giving mixed messages and that he wanted to hear it speaking in one voice and say they would like a youth mobility scheme.

Such a scheme would give young British people the chance to work in the EU but also put rocket boosters up businesses in London where there are gaps in hospitality, creative industries, health and social care, and other sectors, he told the BBCs Newsnight programme.

Sir Sadiq Khan wants the Government to back a youth mobility scheme (Lucy North/PA)

Ms Reeves meanwhile suggested any deals unveiled on Monday would only mark the beginning of closer ties with the bloc.

I am ambitious for our future. This isnt a one-off. There will be things that we achieve, some concrete outcomes on Monday, but there will also be a step towards where we want to go next between our countries, the Chancellor told The Guardian.

And I see that as a journey, not that what happens on Monday is the end; there will be future areas where we can do more.
Three Iranian nationals living in London have been charged under the National Security Act with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, after an investigation led by counter-terrorism officers, the Metropolitan Police said.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St Johns Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, of Kensal Rise, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, of Ealing, have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday.

They were arrested and detained on May 3 under Section 27 of the National Security Act and all three were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.

Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.

Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Mets Counter Terrorism Command, said: These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex and fast-moving investigation.

Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the CPS to reach this point. We have been in contact with the individuals directly affected and we continue to provide them with support.

Now that these men have been charged I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.

On May 9, a fourth man, aged 31, was also arrested as part of the investigation and detained under Section 27 of the National Security Act 2023. He was released without charge on Thursday.

The three men were appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday (Nick Ansell/PA)

Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service special crime and counter terrorism division, said: Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Services Counter Terrorism Command, we have authorised criminal charges against three Iranian nationals.

The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are now active and that they have the right to a fair trial.

It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

The three men were arrested on May 3 and warrants of further detention were granted on May 9.

Under section 27 of the National Security Act, officers can arrest without a warrant anyone they suspect is involved in foreign power threat activity.

Security minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons on May 6: I can confirm to the House that these are the first Iranian nationals arrested under the National Security Act.

Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the top level of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs) earlier this year, aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.

It means anyone who is directed by the regime to carry out activities in the UK must declare it or face five years in prison once the scheme comes into force in July.

Five Iranian nationals were also arrested on May 3 in connection with an entirely separate investigation, with four of them remaining in custody after warrants of further detention were secured.

The four  a 29-year-old man in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man in west London; a 29-year-old man in the Stockport area; and a 40-year-old man in the Rochdale area  were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.

A fifth, a 24-year-old man in the Manchester area, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act before being bailed with conditions to an unspecified date in May.

The Government will strengthen national security powers after the three men were charged, the Home Secretary has said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Iran must be held to account for its actions (Ian Vogler/PA Wire)

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.

The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.

The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.

As part of that process we will publish next week the results of Jonathan Hall KCs review into the application of our counter-terrorism framework to modern-day state threats.
Donald Trump speaks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Friday. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Donald Trump accused the former FBI director James Comey on Friday of calling for his assassination in a coded social media post written in seashells.

Comeys Instagram post  a photograph of seashells on a beach arranged to spell the numbers 8647, which he captioned Cool shell formation on my beach walk  was used by rightwing supporters of Trump to claim that it was a call to assassinate the US president. The Secret Service said it has launched an investigation.

Comey has said it never occurred to me that the numbers represented a coded threat. The number 86 is common slang for stopping or getting rid of something, typically old equipment, or being ejected from an establishment such as a bar, and is often a synonym for nix. The number 47 could be understood to indicate Trump, the 47th president.

Related: James Comey investigated over seashell photo branded threat against Trump

The Secret Service, which is in charge of presidential security and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, interviewed Comey later on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation, DHS secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on social media.

He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If youre the FBI director and you dont know what that meant? That meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear, Trump said in an interview with Fox News from Abu Dhabi, where he is wrapping up a four-day Middle East trip.

Trump claimed Comey was hit so hard because people like me and they like whats happening with our country, adding: And hes calling for the assassination of the president.

Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017 during an investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election, removed the post hours after it began to draw attention from Trump administration officials and supporters.

After taking down the post, Comey said he thought it was a political message but said it did not occur to him that it could have been associated with a call to violence.

The exchanges are the latest in an ongoing war over inflamed political rhetoric. Two assassination attempts were made against the president last year, both from people without any clear partisan ideology.

The number 86 has also been used by Republicans calling for the impeachment of Joe Biden: for example, T-shirts sold on Amazon read 8646, indicating a call to impeach Biden (the 46th president).

Overheated political rhetoric has long been a subject of controversy. Biden said last July it had been a mistake for him to say time to put Trump in a bullseye, days before Saturdays assassination attempt on his election rival, while Trump has repeatedly used similar language, including suggesting that the former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney might not be such a warhawk if she had rifles shooting at her to see how she felt.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service confirmed the agency was aware of the incident and said it would vigorously investigate any potential threat, but did not offer further details.

In a statement, Comey said: I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message.

I didnt realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.

The post ignited a firestorm on the right.

Disgraced former FBI director James Comey just called for the assassination of POTUS Trump, the homeland security director, Kristi Noem, wrote on X. DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.

The director of the FBI, Kash Patel, said his agency would provide all necessary support as part of an investigation headed by the Secret Service.

Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the presidential security agency, said on social media that the agency investigates anything that could be taken as a threat. We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director & we take rhetoric like this very seriously, he added.

Related: Latin American leaders spend millions to influence Trumps White House

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, said she didnt buy Comeys explanation that the message carried no greater meaning. Gabbard said Comey had just issued a call to action to murder the president of the United States.

As a former FBI director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the law, Gabbard posted on X.

Gabbard later told Fox News that Comey was issuing a hit on the president and that the dangerousness of this cannot be underestimated.

The post comes as the former FBI director is about to publish FDR Drive, the third installment of a crime series about a fictional New York lawyer, Nora Carleton. Publishers Weekly outlined the plot as centering on a US attorney who tries to bring to justice a far-right media personality with a popular podcast vilifying those he thinks are destroying America: intellectuals, immigrants, and people of color.
Shipping containers at the Guangzhou port in the Nansha district in southern China's Guangdong province on 17 April. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP

Over the last few months, Donald Trump has introduced a confusing and evolving slate of tariffs against specific countries and industries that the president has deemed as threats to US industry.

Many of his harshest tariffs have been paused, and some exemptions have been made, but a handful of tariffs are still in place. Trump has continued to threaten more of them, though the future of the presidents trade war remains unclear.

Heres what we know so far about the status of US tariffs on imported goods.

***

Active

Most of the tariffs currently in place are pared-down versions of what they were when Trump first proposed them. For example, Trump had threatened to place 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico. He eventually made an exception for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) he signed in 2018, which covers the majority of imports from both countries.

10% universal tariff

Went into effect on 5 April

25% on cars and auto parts (with some exceptions)

Went into effect on 3 May

30% tariff on Chinese imports (with some exceptions)

Went into effect on 13 May

25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, not covered in the USMCA

Went into effect on 4 March

***

Paused

Trump has paused his highest tariffs, including 145% tariffs on Chinese imports and a slate of so-called reciprocal tariffs that the president was planning to implement against more than 50 countries. US stock markets jumped after Trump paused these tariffs.

Reciprocal tariffs , until 8 July

Paused on 9 April

Higher tariffs on Chinese goods, until 12 August

Paused on 13 May

***

Exemptions

The White House has made key exemptions for tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China that cover goods that are heavily imported from those countries.

Goods from Canada and Mexico that are covered in the USMCA, including auto parts

Exempted on 2 April

Tariffs on smartphones, computers and other electronics imported from China

Exempted on 12 April

***

Floated

Trump continues to threaten more tariffs on specific industries, though it is unclear if and when the president will implement tariffs on these industries.
The UK has condemned a Russian drone attack that killed nine people in Ukraine early on Saturday.

The attack, which struck a passenger bus in Ukraines north-eastern Sumy region, came just hours after the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was appalled by the incident, adding in a post on X: If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done.

Regional authorities described the attack as another war crime by Russia and declared a period of mourning until Monday.

Appalled by Russias attack in Sumy, mere hours after talks in Turkiye. If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done.  David Lammy (@DavidLammy) May 17, 2025

On Friday, talks between Ukraine and Russia lasted less than two hours and saw both sides agree to the largest prisoner exchange since the start of the war in 2022.

But the unconditional ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and its Western allies appears to still be a distant prospect, with Moscow continuing to resist calls for a truce and Russian President Vladimir Putin declining to travel to Turkey to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Following a meeting with Mr Zelensky and other European leaders in Albania on Friday, during which they also spoke to US President Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer said Russias position was clearly unacceptable.

Speaking to reporters in Tirana, Sir Keir said Ukraines allies need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire as leaders discussed ramping up sanctions on Russia.

Responding to Saturdays attack, Mr Zelensky confirmed nine people had been killed, including a family of three, while seven others had been wounded and remained in hospital.

He said: Russia retains nothing but the ability to continue killing.

Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said he would speak to Mr Putin on Monday at 10am Washington time (3pm UK time) about stopping the bloodbath that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.

He said he would then speak to Mr Zelensky and various members of Nato, adding: Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end.
Ten inmates considered "armed and dangerous" escaped a New Orleans jail Friday morning, and it's believed they had inside help, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said. Three inmates have been captured, and seven remain at large.

Earlier, the sheriff's office had said 11 inmates had escaped the jail but updated the count later on Friday. Keith Lewis was incorrectly identified as an escapee, Sheriff Susan Hutson said during a news conference.

"There's no way for anyone to get out of this facility without help from the outside," Hutson said.

The inmates were discovered missing during a routine head count conducted at 8:30 a.m. local time at the Orleans Parish Jail, according to the sheriff's office. They are believed to have escaped sometime just after midnight.

The sheriff said that around 12:23 a.m., the inmates yanked the sliding jail cell door off the track and at 1:01 a.m., they exited the jail after breaching a wall behind a toilet.

The toilet and bolts were removed using toiletry items, the sheriff said, but didn't specify what the items were. The inmates then scaled down a wall and ran across the interstate.

The Orleans County Sheriff's Office on Friday night released security video of the extraordinary escape, which shows the inmates sprinting out of the prison and then traversing the freeway.

The escaped inmates also scrawled obscene messages for the guards. One, which was misspelled, read "to easy, LOL."

On Saturday, Louisiana State Police posted on X, saying the three captured were taken to a "secure state facility," and that "the search remains active with multiple agencies working nonstop."

Authorities also increased monetary rewards for information that leads to the arrest of the escapees.

"To encourage valuable tips, the ATF, in collaboration with Crimestoppers GNO, is now offering a $5,000 reward, in addition to the $2,000 reward from Crimestoppers and the $5,000 reward from the FBI," state police said.

Troopers & partner agencies worked overnight to find the 7 remaining escapees from Orleans Parish Jail. 3 are in custody, and LSP Air Support & SWAT transferred them to a secure state facility. The search remains active with multiple agencies working nonstop. pic.twitter.com/4wo7NJAmOi  LA State Police (@LAStatePolice) May 17, 2025

On the delay in discovering the breakout, Hutson said: "You gotta go inside the facility to be able to see, they could have been anywhere. Then we had to first prioritize talking to victims to make sure they were safe."

Hutson said it's believed the escapees received help from jail staff or deputies.

"We do acknowledge, there is no way, people can get out of this facility without there being some time of lapse in security," Hutson said.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said one inmate has since been apprehended in downtown New Orleans through facial recognition, caught by a surveillance camera. Louisiana State Police identified the escapee as Kendell Myles and said Myles tried to flee on foot before being apprehended "without further incident."

The sheriff's office said deputies found Myles hiding beneath a car at the Hotel Monteleone parking garage. He was returned to the Orleans Parish Jail and is being rebooked with a new charge of simple escape, the sheriff said.

A second inmate, Robert Moody, was captured later Friday and taken back into custody, OPSO press officer Casey McGee said. The OPSO also said Dkenan Dennis was captured and taken in on Friday night.

The rest of the escapees are believed to be in New Orleans, police said. The Orleans Parish Jail was on lockdown.

A jail cell at the Orleans Parish Jail. The sheriff's office said 10 inmates escaped from the facility. One inmate was captured shortly afterward, multiple law enforcement agents launched a manhunt to locate the others. / Credit: photos courtesy Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

"A search for the individuals is currently underway, OPSO is working with local and state law enforcement agencies on the search to return them to custody," the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Kirkpatrick said during a news conference that New Orleans police, including their violent offender warrant squad; the FBI and the U.S. Marshals joined the hunt to find the escaped inmates  all violent offenders being held on the same jail tier. The Louisiana State Police were also searching.

Police were still waiting midday Friday for a complete set of photos of the escaped inmates, Kirkpatrick said. She said they notified some victims of the escapees, several of whom are facing murder charges or other violent charges. Police removed a family from their homes and took them to safety in the wake of the jailbreak, Kirkpatrick said.

One of those escaped inmates is Derrick Groves, who was convicted of murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras shooting.

A jail cell in Orleans Parish from which 10

She asked the public to notify police if they were victims or witnesses at the escapees' trials so they could get help.

She said the escapees probably had help, and it was unlikely they were still in their jumpsuits.

Kirpatrick warned the public that if they harbor or help these escapees, "they will be charged."

The sheriff's office is laying some of the blame on the city for not funding prison security upgrades, claiming it has been asking for help for five years. Hutson told reporters that replacing the locks alone at the parish's prison facilities is estimated to cost $5.2 million.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the escaped inmates is being asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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Louisiana officials are appealing for the publics help recapturing seven inmates still on the run after escaping a New Orleans jail early Friday, warning any accomplices will face consequences.

Ten inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail after breaching a wall behind a toilet and possibly having help, the local sheriff said Friday. So far only three of the men have been found.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has condemned the jailbreak as evidence of the failure of a progressive criminal justice system.

The seven inmates still at large have been identified as Corey Boyd, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Antoine Massey, Gary Price, Leo Tate and Lenton Vanburen. Both the FBI and Landry on Sunday announced increased rewards for information leading to their recapture. Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Kendell Myles have been returned to custody, according to police.

Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Robert Hodges said the escapees were constantly changing locations.

Unfortunately, they have friends and family members who are helping them and concealing them and helping them move, which makes law enforcements job more challenging. We end up getting there just a little too late, he said at a news conference Sunday night.

Hodges said the remaining inmates were believed to still be in Louisiana.

FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp urged the public to pass on any information they might have. Seven dangerous inmates have been on the streets for more than two days, and we strongly believe that there are folks out there helping these inmates evade capture, he said.

The FBI and law enforcement partners would ensure anyone helping inmates evade capture would be held accountable, Tapp said.

Landry said the massive jailbreak should never have happened and demonstrated a systemic failure. The State Attorney Generals Office would be leading an investigation into how it occurred, he said at Sundays news conference.

Ive also ordered the Department of Corrections to audit the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility for compliance with basic jail guidelines and to remove all D.O.C. inmates that were currently in the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, Landry said.

Online records show the inmates  who range in age from 19 to 42 years old  face a wide array of charges. Several have been charged with murder. Other charges include aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon, armed robbery with a firearm and domestic abuse battery.

The governor said nine of the detainees had been in pre-trial stages in the Orleans Parish Criminal Court system for years. Five had been charged with additional offenses while in jail.

The remaining escaped inmates have been identified, from top left, as Lenton Vanburen, Gary Price, Antoine Massey and Corey Boyd. Bottom row, from left: Jermaine Donald, Leo Tate and Derrick Groves. - Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office

Had they gone to trial, had they been convicted, had they been sentenced, they would most likely not be in Orleans Parish jail, but in our custody of one of the state penitentiaries, he said. Landry announced an executive order instructing the state inspector general to get an inventory from the sheriff of all pre-trial detainees and those awaiting sentences.

Another executive order would mandate Louisianas judiciary commission to establish triggers for investigations  such as an automatic review of any judge that has a disproportionate number of acquittals, as we have seen here in Orleans Parish.

I hope that everyone understands that the video of those prisoners escaping epitomizes a progressive criminal justice system, Landry said.

To Easy

After breaching the wall behind a toilet at the Orleans Justice Center, the inmates left through a door used to bring in supplies around 1 a.m., scaled a wall and ran across the interstate, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said Friday.

The words To Easy LoL can be seen written on the wall above the hole, with an arrow pointing toward it, according to a photo shared by the sheriffs office.

The escape wasnt discovered until hours later, at 8:30 a.m., when staff noticed them missing during a routine head count, the sheriff said.

While inmates are normally in lockdown at the facility at 10:30 p.m., the inmates were able to escape because of defective locks on the cells, officials said. There are deficiencies in these facilities that cause public safety concerns, Hutson said Friday.

We have indication that these detainees received assistance in their escape from individuals inside of our department, she said.

Following the escape, three jail employees were suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation, the sheriffs office said Friday evening. Its unclear why they were subject to disciplinary action.

Officials initially reported 11 people had escaped the facility, but later said it was a miscount and 10 had escaped. The inmate had been moved to a different cell, but it had not been updated in the system, Hutson said.

3 inmates recaptured

Three escapees were later found in various parts of New Orleans, authorities said.

One of the escapees, Myles, was captured after deputies found him hiding under a car at a hotel parking garage, the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office said. He ran away when troopers tried to make contact with him but was quickly apprehended, Louisiana State Police said.

Myles was previously charged with attempted second-degree murder, according to Orleans Parish records. He has been rebooked for a new charge of simple escape, the sheriffs office said on Facebook.

Another escapee, Moody, was also captured after a Crime Stoppers tip, the sheriffs office said Friday night. He had previously been charged with aggravated second-degree battery, among other charges.

A third person, Dennis, was taken into custody, the sheriffs office said. He was previously charged with armed robbery with a firearm, according to Orleans Parish records.

Hutson said the sheriffs office is working toward getting the seven remaining inmates back into custody and investigating exactly how they escaped the facility. Investigators are combing through phone calls and messages to identify who the inmates communicated with and interviewing jail employees and inmates. More than 200 law enforcement personnel are searching locations where the escapees could potentially be.

The FBIs New Orleans field office is offering an increased reward up to $10,000 per escapee for tips leading to their arrest. Crime Stoppers is offering another $5,000 reward for each apprehension. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also offering an additional $5,000 reward.

We do acknowledge there is no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security, Hutson said. Its almost impossiblefor anybody to get out of this facility without help from the outside.

While the sheriff blamed the escape on poor infrastructure and understaffing, officials say there was a dangerous delay in communication to the public and other law enforcement agencies.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called for an investigation and for anyone involved with the escape to be arrested and prosecuted. Because the escapees may have crossed state lines, she also contacted attorneys general in Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee so they can alert their law enforcement agencies.

Louisiana State Police released this photo of Kendell Myles after he was captured Friday. Authorities say Myles is one of 11 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center. - From Louisiana State Police/X

The first priority in any escape must be the immediate capture of the inmates and coordination with state and local law enforcement  but that effort cannot come at the expense of timely notification to the public, which is also critical to keeping communities safe, she said. Someone clearly dropped the ball and theres no excuse for this.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, who prosecuted Groves, one of the escapees, called the escape a complete failure of the most basic responsibilities entrusted to a sheriff or a jail administrator.

I have never heard of a prison break or a jailbreak involving this many people in my 52 years, Williams told CNN Friday.

The sheriffs office urged the public to be on high alert for the missing inmates, who are considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who thinks they might see an escaped inmate or know his whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers or 911 immediately.

The remaining individuals are still being actively pursued, and our deputies, in collaboration with local and state law enforcement, are working tirelessly to locate and return them to custody, the sheriffs office said.

How the escape unfolded

The inmates started yanking on a cells sliding door to pull it off track, and around 12:20 a.m., they were able to break open the door, the sheriff said. By 12:43 a.m., the inmates entered the cell. As a corrections monitoring technician stepped away to grab food, they breached the wall behind a toilet.

Some toiletries in a handicap cell were used to remove some bolts and fixtures, Chief of Corrections Jay Mallett said Friday. And at least one steel bar protecting plumbing fixtures appeared to have been intentionally cut using a tool, the sheriffs office said.

We know that this could not be removed from the inside, so we are investigating that to see exactly who entered these areas, what kind of work was done, if there was work being done, and if this is an inside job, Mallett said.

Around 1 a.m., the inmates were seen on surveillance video exiting a loading door used for supplies and leaping toward a road behind the building, Hutson said. As they scaled a fence along Interstate 10 around 1:20 a.m., the inmates used blankets to avoid being cut by barbed wire. They then ran across the interstate and shed their clothing in a nearby neighborhood.

More than seven hours later, they were discovered to be missing during a routine headcount Friday morning. As jail staff searched the facility, investigators combed through video footage.

The deputy who was on duty notified jail leadership, and the United States Marshals Service fugitive task force was notified before 9:30 a.m.  about an hour after the inmates were discovered missing, the sheriff said. The New Orleans Police Department was also notified around the same time. Meanwhile, authorities worked to get a handle on 1,400 people in the facility, the sheriff said.

When this went down, our first concern is to find out who these folks are, confirm, and then weve got to lock down the whole jail and  make sure nobody else is missing, Hutson said. We are investigating our own to find out exactly what happened and where those lapses were.

Authorities blame poor infrastructure, staffing

The security breach happened on the first floor of the facility, where cells have sliding doors that are able to be manipulated by forced off the track that theyre on, which allows individuals to enter and exit at will, Mallett said.

The primary security breach and concern is the facilities infrastructure, Mallett said. Weve identified that we have a large number of high-security individuals in a minimum custody facility.

Theres a critical need for repairs and upgrades at the jail to ensure doors and locks are fully functional, Hutson said. Bianka Brown, the chief financial officer at the sheriffs office, said the budget would need to be increased from $68 million to $150 million. The locks would cost $5.2 million.

Additionally, the jail is only at about 60% staffing, and 150 more deputies are needed, the sheriff said.

On Friday morning, there were four supervisors and 36 staff on-site, which Mallett called a low ratio. They wouldnt know that that was going on behind the scene, he said. There was no deputy on the jail pod when the escape happened.

If any staff members are responsible, they will be held accountable both administratively and criminally, the sheriff said.

Public should have been notified sooner, officials say

It took several hours after jail officials discovered the inmates were missing for the public to be notified about the escape through the City of New Orleans emergency preparedness system.

NOPD is assisting OPSO after subjects escaped custody. There is no known threat but stay aware and report suspicious activity to 9-1-1, said the NOLA Ready alert that was texted to residents Friday afternoon.

Williams, the district attorney, said members of his staff were concerned for their safety and were leaving town with their families. Groves, the escapee he prosecuted, was convicted of the 2018 murders of two men on Mardi Gras.

I, along with my team, came to work this morning a rocks throw from this jail having no knowledge that we should be on guard. And thats inexcusable, Williams said.

The district attorney said he will send his own investigators and will work with whoever we have to pull in on the probe. We have to dig into every single thing that occurred here, he said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Jeremy Grisham, Devon Sayers and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.

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Celebrities are sharing their support for Josh Freese after he was axed from Foo Fighters.

Stars share support for Josh Freese after Foo Fighters exit

The 52-year-old rocker  who joined the group in 2023 after the death of Taylor Hawkins  took to Instagram to reveal he was shocked and disappointed after being told the band was going in a different direction with their drummer.

Primus drummer John Hoffman took to the comments section to write: Bro ...well, their different direction = the wrong direction. You're the king.

And, Flavor Flav said: YOOOO my GEE keep ya head and ya sticks up.

Patrick Dempseys wife, Jillian Dempsey wrote: Want me to backstage SNL his a**?! and Limp Bizkits Wes Borland said: Wow. Wtf? Gross. Im shook.

Actress Wendi McLendon-Covey shared her shock, writing: wtf?????? But hey, youll always be fine. And you might actually be dodging a bullet. Love to you and your family!

Former Police drummer Stewart Armstrong Copeland said: This is lucky for the five other bands that you play with, while comedian Tim Heidecker said: Upside is you wont have to hear any of those horrible songs ever again! and Wolfgang Van Halen shared a confused meme.

Freese insisted no reason was given for his firing, writing on Instagram: The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know theyve decided to go in a different direction with their drummer. No reason was given. :( Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.

In my 40 years of drumming professionally, Ive never been let go from a band, so while Im not angry  just a bit shocked and disappointed.

But as most of you know Ive always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, Im fine. Stay tuned for my Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters list.

Freese joined the group  comprised of Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee - in May 2023, just over one year after Hawkins passed away on March 25, 2022 in Bogota, Colombia.
Lyvans Boolaky/Getty Ari Aster, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascal react to a bee at 2025 Cannes Film Festival

Unbeelievable! Austin Butler and Pedro Pascal attempted to come to Emma Stone's rescue when a bee wouldn't leave her alone on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

The trio, who star in Ari Aster's new horror western Eddington, which debuted at the iconic French fest on Friday, were posing together on the red carpet when the buzzing menace first attempted its 15 minutes of fame.

Videos from the fest, below, show Pascal trying to shoo it away first. Stone notices, and can be seen mouthing to him what looks like, "Is that a bee?"

Pascal seems to answer in the affirmative, and Stone then points it out to Butler, who then blows at the bee. Unfortunately, he does this back in the direction of Stone, who dramatically dips down on the carpet with a look of horror on her face as the insect comes near her again. All of this amuses Pascal, who sticks his hand in front of Stone's face.

At this point, Butler also puts his hand up to keep the bee away, and it appears to finally buzz off.

Naturally, the internet did what the internet does best, and turned the bee attack into all kinds of edits, from slow-motion, to hero shots, to all sorts of meme-able fun. One Twitter user put it best, writing, "The memes thatll come from Emma Stone dodging a bee at Cannes? Already iconicand they havent even been made yet."

Per an official synopsis, Eddington is set in peak COVID-19 times  May of 2020  when "a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico." The film reunites Aster and Phoenix, who previously worked together on the director's Beau Is Afraid.

Also on hand at the film's premiere were Angelina Jolie, Jeremy Strong, Julia Garner, Luke Grimes and Clifton Collins Jr, though it appears all of those folks missed out on the bee fiasco.

Andreas Rentz/Getty Austin Butler, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascal are bee-free at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

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The 2025 Cannes Film Festival runs May 1324. Following its debut at the fest, Eddington will be released in theaters on July 18 by A24.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
May 17, 2025 at 2:09 AM

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Tensions flared in Bolivia's administrative capital La Paz on Friday as supporters of former President Evo Morales gathered outside the electoral court, demanding his reinstatement as a candidate in this year's presidential race.

Bolivia's constitutional court this week upheld a lower court ruling banning presidents from serving more than two terms, in effect blocking Morales from running for what would be his fourth term.

Clashes erupted between protesters and police, who deployed tear gas and paintballs to disperse the crowd.

"Look at what they are doing to us," said protester Jorge Aduviri. "There are kids here, elderly people, pregnant women."

Among the demonstrators, Indigenous women kneeled in defiance, while others chanted slogans against the current government.

Morales, an Indigenous former coca farmer who led Bolivia for nearly 14 years, departed under a cloud in November 2019 after he ran for an unprecedented fourth term in an election marred by allegations of fraud.

"We don't have money," said demonstrator Flora Quispe. "We want Evo to be president again!"

(Reporting by Santiago Limachi and Sergio Limachi; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Five Danish filmmakers are picking up the baton from the founders of Dogma 95 and launching Dogma 25 along with a new manifesto and ten vows of chastity to protect the artistic integrity of feature film and create space for uncompromising cinematic storytelling.

May el-Thouky (Queen of Hearts, The Crown), Milad Alami (The Charmer, When the Dust Settles), Isabella Eklof (Holiday, Kalak), Annika Berg (Hurricane) and rising talent Jesper Just will lead the new revolution.

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Previously, Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Sren Kragh-Jacobsen and Kristian Levring kicked off the movement that resulted in 212 Danish and international feature films, including The Celebration, The Idiots, Italian for Beginners and more.

We celebrate Dogma 95, the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after. We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. Dogma 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising, stated new leaders.

In a world where formulaic films based on algorithms and artificial visual expression are gaining traction, it is our mission to stand up for the flawed, distinct, and human imprint. We champion the uncompromising and unpredictable, and we fight against the forces working to reduce cinematic art to an ultra-processed consumer product.

With the manifesto and the vow of chastity, the five directors commit to working within a structure that requires immersion, restraint and artistic necessity. Three core themes are Back to the physical reality, Aesthetic restraint, as at least half of the film must be without dialogue, and economic and geographic accountability, meaning the film must be shot where the narrative takes place. Funding may only be accepted if it doesnt impact the content.

The groundbreaking announcement was made today at Zentropas villa, attended by the collective and Dogma 25s key partners: Nordisk Film, DR and Nordisk Film Distribution.

In a statement, von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg said: In 95, we made films in the certainty of peace and created a revolt against conformity. In 25, new dogmas were created, now in a world of war and uncertainty. We wish you the best of luck on your march toward reconquering Danish film.

Dogma 25 is an initiative of May el-Toukhy, who brought together the five directors. In late 2024, she reached out to Zentropa to establish the initiative as a space for development, reflection and innovation.

We are in a unique situation where franchises are ruling and original stories are tough to finance. I felt it was all the more important to join this collective, when the world is in fucking ruin, with wars and everything else challenging us. Hopefully this impetus to go back to the Dogma roots of authorship will not only spark inspiration from other filmmakers but also create movies that will surprise the audience, said Alami, whose latest feature The Opponent bowed at the Berlin Panorama 2023.



Louise Vesth and Sisse Graum Jrgensen, two of Zentropas managing directors, are in charge of the base financing of the Dogma 25 projects together with Scandi grouop Nordisk Film, pubcaster DR, with TrustNordisk handling sales and the Danish Film Institute providing support for development.

Investors have to be brave as they can in no way read the script or influence the creative process and content as the filmmakers need to have total freedom. But so far weve managed to secure about DKK 10 million ($1.5 million) in ground financing for each of the five Dogma 25 films, then well see if we can raise more cash along the way, said Vesth who hopes that within the next three years all the features will be in production.

Even though we have a film environment in the Nordics that works, and were always careful to support and foster new talent, any industry needs to be challenged. And to receive this rather radical methodology from those five filmmakers to create new human space at a time when technology is taking over, is just what we need, added Tine Fischer, CEO at the Danish Film Institute.

Isabella Eklof is already developing a new project according to the rules.

I was in a sadomasochistic relationship and Ive never seen a film about that from a naturalistic point of view. Theres Babygirl, but theyre fantasies. Id really like to make a romantic, down-to-earth film about that.

Shes looking forward to a real artistic exploration instead of this crazy machine, she admitted, but the same name is no accident.

Its a cheap money grab!, she joked.

Weve made our own rules, but a lot of it is in the same vein [as Dogma 95]. One of the hard [new rules] is to create a project without the internet, to get away from distractions. Then, hopefully, it comes from a more personal place. Its more fun if you take these rules seriously.

For visual artist Jesper Just, Dogma 25 might be a way in.

A lot of my work has been in opposition to cinema. Now, its time to maybe go inside and see if, instead of pointing fingers, it can be done in a different way.

Eklof added: The problem [today] is that TV has stepped up as a player, and it has influenced film as well. Its the whole assume-the-viewer-knows-nothing kind of idea. But less trust for the audience makes for less interesting films.



Dogma 25

Heres the manifesto in its entirety

Dogma 25 is a collective of filmmakers founded in Copenhagen in the spring of 2025. Our stated purpose is to preserve the originality of cinema and the opportunity to create film on its own terms.

The role of the director has increasingly been reduced to that of project manager, the film to a commodity, and the audience to consumers. Experimental practice is stifled by fear of risk-taking, which suffocates artistic exploration and silences unique voices. When films are merely executed and not allowed to evolve organically, it puts the art form in danger of becoming functional, obedient and thereby irrelevant.

In a world where formulaic films based on algorithms and artificial visual expression are gaining traction, its our mission to stand up for the flawed, distinct, and human imprint. We champion the uncompromising and unpredictable and we fight the forces working to reduce cinematic art to an ultra-processed consumer good.

By scaling down production, we ensure that everyone on the team has an intimate relationship with the film and its message. This will enhance mutual trust and a sense of collective responsibility for the film and for each other. It also allows us to safeguard the flexibility that is vital in making a creative process dynamic and intuitive, rather than purely executive.

We celebrate Dogma 95, all the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after. We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. DOGMA 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising.

To protect and preserve what we hold dear, we hereby submit to the unflinching and unbreakable set of rules called: THE VOW OF CHASTITY.

THE VOW OF CHASTITY

I vow to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by Dogma 25:

1. The script must be original and handwritten by the director.

We compel ourselves to write the script by hand in order to nurture the kind of intuition that flows most freely from the dream, channeled through the hand onto the paper.

2. At least half the film must be without dialogue.

We insist on a cinematic approach to filmmaking because we believe in visual storytelling and have faith in the audience.

3. The internet is off limits in all creative processes.

We commit to produce the films relying on real people within our physical reality  rather than in a digital one infused with algorithms.

4. Well only accept funding with no content-altering conditions attached.

We assume responsibility for keeping budgets down so the team retains final say in all artistic decisions.

5. No more than 10 people behind the camera.

We commit to working in close collaboration to build trust and strengthen our shared vision.

6. The film must be shot where the narrative takes place.

Film as an art form becomes artificial and generic when we portray a location in a false light.

7. Were not allowed to use make-up or manipulate faces and bodies unless its part of the narrative.

Just as we strive to maintain the authenticity of the location, we also want to portray the human body without a filter. We celebrate it  warts and all.

8. Everything relating to the films production must be rented, borrowed, found or used.

We commit to making films using objects that already exist and renounce the ahistorical and self-destructive culture of consumerism.

9. The film must be made in no more than one year.

We abstain from any lengthy processes that stand in the way of creative flow.

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President Trump visited the Middle East this week to much fanfare, pomp and, of course, circumstance as he aims to lower prices at the pump with more oil production from OPEC.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other OPEC countries are in agreementthey also want to churn out more oil and gain global market shareaftre years of voluntary cutbacks. But they decidedly do not want to lower oil and fuel prices because of their need to balance big national budgets.

So, whats the solution? Using increased OPEC volumes to fill the depleted U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), says Mukesh Sahdev, global head of oil commodity markets for consulting form Rystad Energy.

The idea is that using Middle Eastern crude oil to fill the Texas and Louisiana salt caverns that comprise the SPR would help the Saudis and the rest of OPEC without dragging already weak oil prices much lower. That's because the barrels would be kept out of commercial marketplaces and have a limited impact on worldwide supply and demand.

I know this has not been talked much about in his visit, but I can clearly see a strategic play," Sahdev told Fortune. "OPEC will increase production, and that increased production could be bought by the U.S. to fill the SPR and be ready for the summer.

The increased OPEC output combined with Trumps fixation on lower gasoline prices also fit in with all the massive and lofty promises the Saudis and UAE made this week. Those countries need the funds to make good on their pledges for business partnerships with America, including Saudi Arabia's pledge to invest $600 billion in the U.S. and Abu Dhabi's commitment to build a huge data center complex.

If Trump wants the money out of the Middle East and into the U.S., they have to earn it as well, Sahdev said. If oil prices fall much further, then they will not earn that money.

I think the signal is very clear that extra OPEC barrels will flow into the U.S. market," he added.

Refining the plans

The European benchmark for oil thats closely watched by OPEC is currently hovering near a relatively low $65 per barrel. The Saudis need $80 per barrel to safely balance the kingdoms budget. And, if prices dip further, then the U.S. oil sector suffers and really starts to scale back more dramatically.

Trumps visit to the Middle East coincides with a renewed U.S. demand for the regions oil thanks to a confluence of other economic factors.

The U.S. refining system is mostly configured to run heavier or medium barrels of sour crude oil, as opposed to the light, sweet oil that comes out of West Texas shale. The U.S. exports lots of its shale oil, but also imports heavier barrels from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Middle East to run through its refineries. Tariffs, sanctions, and financial struggles have led to fewer of those heavier barrels coming from the Americas.

That means the U.S. needs more Middle Eastern crude for its refineries, Sahdev said. Already, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have ramped up exports to the U.S. ahead of the busy summer driving season.

With the summer peak demand coming, they need the right kind of crude oil, he said. And, for any strategic, geopolitical, or military ventures, the SPR in the U.S. needs to be filled.

Sahdev believes it is no coincidence the pendingbut currently stalledU.S. House budget seeks $1.5 billion to replenish and maintain the SPR. The salt cavern facilities have the capacity to store about 727 million barrels, and the SPR currently holds just 400 million barrels. The SPR sat at nearly 700 million barrels when Trump first took office in 2017 and then dipped down to 638 million barrels when Biden took office. The Biden administration then began selling it off more rapidly to help lower fuel prices coming out of the pandemic.

Relying on more barrels from select OPEC nations also gives Trump more leeway with oil sanctions on key producers Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. The could potentially prevent those nations from exporting more barrels, and further help steady oil prices.

Eyes on OPEC

OPEC and its key allies, a group called OPEC+, already shocked oil markets in Aprilthe same time Trump announced his new tariff policywith pledges to raise production volumes by more than 2 million barrels per day by late 2025.

But context is important, said Michael Cohen, BP chief US economist and head of oil and refining, speaking at a Houston energy conference this week.

Its very clear theres been a significant sacrifice in the market share from OPEC, especially Saudi Arabia, since 2017, Cohen said. Thats only a fraction of the total amount OPEC has taken off the market.

Collectively, OPEC+ has taken 5.86 million barrels per day of oil offline since 2022 until this yearmore than 5% of global demandto help strengthen oil markets, partly in response to rising U.S. production and because of slowing global demand growth.

Meanwhile, the U.S. was blowing all of that out of proportion and growing from 8.8 million barrels of oil a day at the beginning of 2017 to nearly 13.3 million barrels daily in 2024, essentially a whopping 50% increase to new record highs.

The Saudis can easily produce more than 10.5 million barrels per day, but the kingdom has held production to 9 million barrels per day or less since mid-2023 until now. The Saudis are now ramping up to about 9.5 million barrels daily by late fall.

Thats not that big of an increase, Cohen said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
The biggest sticking points roiling the Republicans confidence to pass President Donald Trumps ambitious spending bill centers around deductions for state and local taxes, the so-called SALT cap, and Medicaid funding. Republican House members are expected to continue deliberations into the weekend after Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), among others, have vociferously shared their respective concerns about the bill throughout the week.

Republican budget hawks want to keep the SALT cap as-is and make more meaningful change to Medicaid spending. At the same time, their moderate counterparts desire greater tax relief for those states with higher state and local tax systems and more generous assurances for Medicaid coverage. Meanwhile, Democrats have been left on the sidelines, hoping the GOP implodes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Many Republicans like to repeat the oft-used line that the federal government must raise more tax dollars or slash spending to cover budget deficits driven by Democrats' reliance on entitlements. They are not wrong in saying the fiscal debt load is untenable.

Still Republicans need to recognize that they have possibly become more dependent on entitlement programs and federal dollars than blue states. And Democrats must leverage the opportunity granted as the Trump bill threatens to retain a SALT cap and tighten requirements for Medicaid coverage that harm voters on both sides. After all, blue states are subsidizing red states fiscal shortcomings, and a SALT cap will ensure that remains the case.

The total net differential between federal tax receipts from states and federal dollar contributions to states from 2018 to 2022 amounted to a more than $1 trillion transfer payment from blue to red states. In 2017, Republicans used the SALT cap to place even more of the federal receipts tax burden on blue states. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the SALT cap raised federal revenue by $78 billion for the 2019 tax year, most of which fell on blue states.

Over a similar five-year period, that annual $78 billion amounts to nearly $400 billion, or close to 40% of the total transfer payment. Four blue states are responsible for 50% of the estimated increase in federal tax revenues from the SALT cap: California (25.1%), New York (16.8%), New Jersey (6.4%), and Illinois (4.2%). Forty of the top 50 districts most affected by the SALT cap are in New York, California, New Jersey, and Illinois.

But in fiscal year 2023, the per capita federal share of spending on Medicaid in red states that have chosen to expand the public health insurance program  the majority have at this point  nearly equaled ($1,960) that of blue states ($2,100). Even on a total dollar basis across all states, not just those adopting Medicaid expansion, blue states received a lower proportion of Medicaid funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services than the federal government collected from them in federal tax receipts.

Many studies consider the incremental dollars spent on Medicaid by blue states to be a wise investment. Health outcomes were improved with fewer cases of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions, among other diseases, as well as higher life expectancy. State economies were more likely to thrive with enhanced labor productivity, better educational outcomes, lower debt burdens, and higher credit scores. Both benefits lead to improved state fiscal conditions.

Demonstrators during a markup of President Trump's tax package in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. House Republicans want to impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients up to 64 years old and impose more costs on some beneficiaries to help pay for President Donald Trump's planned sweeping tax package. Kent NishimuraBloomberg/Getty Images

The Trump administration and MAGA Republicans should perhaps at least be given credit for consistency. Their reported desire is to end FEMAs role in disaster recovery assistance, shifting the agencys organizing and funding responsibilities to states. Once again, the consequences will be severe for red states, as natural disasters, outside of California wildfires, are less common in blue states. Florida (25%), Louisiana (20%), and Texas (5%) alone have received half of the nearly $40 billion in FEMA disaster relief, and almost three-quarters has gone to red states since 2018. Dating back to 1980, weather and climate disasters have been particularly costly for red states, with Florida and Texas topping US records at $450 billion and $436 billion in costs, respectively.

It should be noted that red states have been taking advantage of blue states since at least the 1980s in some respects. The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission was established in 1988 to assess the efficiency of military installations in the US. The Commission was soon activated to close bases largely in regions with a heavy blue state representation. Since 1988, red-state-dominant regions (i.e., Southeast, Southwest) have seen their share of installations increase by 6 percentage points compared to blue-state-dominant regions (i.e., Northeast, Mid-Atlantic) realizing a decrease of 7 percentage points.

As Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) leads the Republican Party into what will likely be a long weekend of negotiations, the GOP must respect that its slim majority in the House and Senate could be threatened by making the wrong move on the SALT cap and Medicaid cuts. Republican voters in blue and red states have become reliant not only on entitlements and federal funding but also on the blue state tax dollars that allow the US to provide those benefits. For those Democrats still looking for a clear opportunity, here it is.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
April showers may bring May flowers, but the springtime also brings a bounty of baby animals to dens, nests, and pastures worldwide. Ranchers like Mikayla look forward to meeting their newest additions in the spring, but some special babies like Poppy the Highland calf capture the hearts of everyone in the herd.

Highland cow Lily gave birth to Poppy in the early morning hours on May 12, and only 3 days later, the ranch's youngest resident was ready to play. She even began to make friends in the pasture, but her 'helicopter mom' was never more than a few steps behind. This first-time mom is taking her new role seriously!

How sweet are these new besties? It's hard to believe that, even though they're the same size, one calf is weeks older than the other. Even Mikayla, who sees it all on her Montana ranch, is astonished at Poppy's size.

"3 days?" asked commenter Dani. "I watched it twice just to be sure. This is so freaking cute." In a way, Poppy's large size helped her befriend the adorable Highland calf even sooner, so she has it to thank for the beginnings of their beautiful friendship.

Related: Highland Cow Proudly Introducing Her New Calf Is Giving People the Feels

No matter how big or how old these babies are, it's impossible to deny how adorable they are when they're hopping and frolicking in the pasture together. Leave it to baby cows to find a way to get even cuter!

Speaking of cuter, check out this heartwarming sneak peek from the day Poppy was born. Her mom, Lily, was a rockstar, and her first impression was just as, well, huge as one would expect!

This baby cow couldn't be any sweeter! She seemed to relax into Mikayla's touch as soon as she began petting her, and it makes me so happy to know that this kind of love is all she'll ever experience.

Welcome to the world, Poppy!

Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos.

Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.
A 26-foot over-the-horizon boat crew from Coast Guard Cutter surveys about 1,650 pounds of red snapper on board a Mexican lancha about 4 miles offshore the southern Texas coast, Dec. 9, 2023. The Coast Guard crew interdicted the lancha, detained four Mexican fishermen aboard, and transferred the detainees to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for further processing. U.S. Coast Guard photo, courtesy Cutter Jacob Poroo

(The Center Square)  The modern cartels in Mexico supply the illicit drug market in America, but they've also shifted to new criminal schemes, diversifying into kidnapping, extortion, illegal mining, petroleum theft and illegal fishing.

President Donald Trump moved to classify the six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations early in his term. Experts often call them transnational criminal organizations because their reach has expanded into other illegal markets. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Treasury Department also are targeting cartels for moving black-market oil and gas across the Texas-Mexico border, The Center Square reported.

Cartels use other violent criminal activities to protect their drug operations and grow revenue, according to the DEA report. They also engage in money laundering, extortion, petroleum theft, theft of other natural resources, weapons trafficking, human smuggling, prostitution, and illegal wildlife trade.

The illicit profits from these peripheral activities make the cartels more resilient and increase their ability to expand, according to the DEA report.

In November, the U.S. Treasury Department hit five members of the Gulf Cartel with sanctions over the group's illegal fishing in the Gulf of America, which includes illicit trade in red snapper and shark species. For this, they use small, fast-boat operations called "lanchas." The Gulf Cartel's illegal fishing operations are based out of Playa Bagdad, also known as Playa Costa Azul, a beach several miles south of the U.S. border. Cartels use the same fast boats to smuggle drugs and people, as well.

"Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government approach to combatting transnational criminal organizations, remains committed to disrupting these networks and restricting these groups' ability to profit from these activities," Treasury officials said at the time.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing often involves forced labor and human rights abuses. Unregulated fishing practices further pose issues for ocean health and are one cause of global overfishing. They also contribute to the collapse or decline of fisheries that are critical to the economic growth, food systems, and ecosystems of countries worldwide, Treasury noted.

Cartels began muscling in on illegal fishing years ago and have only grown bolder, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings.

The takeover started with criminal groups targeting fishers poaching protected species. Then they started extorting and regulating fishers harvesting low-value seafood. Cartels often only allowed fishers to sell solely to them.

"Large companies fishing high-value species, particularly for export, were the last to be targeted, but are increasingly under pressure too," Felbab-Brown noted in a Brookings report.

Cartels sometimes demand that communities sell them their fish harvests under threat of death. Other times, they tell the locals what species they want and set quotas for delivery. Cartels "violently punish non-compliance with those demands," Felbab-Brown noted. That's not the only difference. Cartels sometimes only pay in illegal drugs, such as methamphetamine.

It's not just fishing; the cartels' reach extends to processing and sales.

"Next, they establish halcones (spy) presence in communities and processing plants and demand that the processing plants process seafood brought in by the cartels and fake documents for it," Felbab-Brown noted.

DEA officials are targeting a Mexican transnational criminal organization, recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization, involved in smuggling methamphetamine, heroin, and black-market oil and gas across the Texas-Mexico border. The investigation has identified multiple cartel leaders who have ties to multiple cartels in Mexico. Officials said the ongoing investigation found the criminal groups were stealing and smuggling crude oil from PEMEX, Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, into the United States. The groups then sell the stolen oil to U.S. oil and gas companies as part of a sophisticated trade-based money laundering scheme.

This could be pushing up prices at the pump for U.S. drivers.

"It is estimated that Mexico is losing tens of billions in tax revenue annually, while simultaneously costing the U.S. oil and gas companies billions of dollars annually due to a decline in petroleum imports and exports during this same period," the DEA report noted. "The focus will now shift to U.S. companies and members involved in facilitating this illicit Mexican petroleum smuggling operation."
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip flee with their possessions following intensified Israeli military attacks on May 16, 2025. - Khames Alrefi/Anadolu/Getty Images

Israel has launched a major new offensive in Gaza it says is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing hostages, sparking condemnation from the United Nations and aid organizations who warn civilians are bearing the brunt of the expanded assault.

At least 262 people have been killed and 675 others injured after Israel ramped up intense strikes since Thursday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious & beyond inhumane, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X Saturday.

A policy of siege & starvation makes a mockery of international law. The blockade against humanitarian aid must end immediately. This is a moment for moral clarity & action, Guterres added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement late on Friday that it had launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideons Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas resumed talks for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in Qatars capital, Doha, on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in close contact with the negotiation team in Doha, and has instructed the team to remain in Doha to fully exhaust all efforts to secure the release of our hostages, an Israeli official said Saturday.

The development comes as US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to the Middle East without securing a ceasefire deal and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the population of Gaza would be displaced to the south following his security cabinets approval of an expanded military operation that one minister described as a plan to conquer the territory.

The IDFs announcement also comes shortly after the Palestinian Ministry of Health marked a grim milestone in the war. On Thursday, the ministry said that the number of people killed by Israels offensive in Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023 now exceeds 53,000  the majority of whom are women and children.

Dr. Munir Al-Sultan, Director of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, said Friday that there were extremely intense explosions around the hospital, which severed the connections to ventilators that some of their patients require to stay alive.

Raed Radwan, a displaced resident in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, told CNN Saturday that he could feel the ground shaking since dawn because of explosions in the enclave.

Many people who were unable to flee yesterday due to the intensity of the shelling are now on the move, he said.

Following the announcement of the new military operation, food prices skyrocketed. Whatever goods remain in the markets or are being sold on the streets have become extremely expensive, Radwan said adding that there is a significant movement of people from northern Gaza into the south with transportation costs surging dramatically.

The situation in Gaza is heartbreaking, beyond imagination. Its hard to describe, said Nael Rahmi, from the Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza.

People are fleeing with only the clothes on their backs, unable to carry any personal belongings.

Differences with US

The new Israeli offensive comes amid what appear to be growing differences between the US and Israeli governments. Trump said last week that he wanted an end to the brutal war in Gaza and he did not visit Israel during his tour of the Middle East this week.

He also bypassed Israel twice this month in reaching bilateral deals with regional militant groups. Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage last week, and the Houthis agreed to stop firing at American ships in the Red Sea while pledging to continue fighting Israel.

On Wednesday, Trump denied that Israel had been sidelined. This is good for Israel, he said. But on Thursday, he said he wanted the US to take Gaza and turn it into a freedom zone.

I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone, Trump said in Qatar.

While in the Gulf, Trump also acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and said the US would have the situation in Gaza taken care of.

Were looking at Gaza. And were going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving, he told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, Arab leaders gathered for a summit to address several pressing regional issues, including the war in Gaza. The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attended the summit headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

In a joint statement, the leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave and urged the international community to assume their moral and legal responsibilities to pressure for an end to the bloodshed and ensure the unhindered entry of urgent humanitarian aid to all areas in need in Gaza.

They reiterated their position on forced migration, saying that any form of displacement or expulsion was a grave violation of the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, a crime against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.

The UNs Guterres and Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also attended the Baghdad summit.

The offensive has raised concerns globally. President of the European Council Antonio Costa called for the violence to stop on X while a German Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement that a large-scale military offensive also entails the risk that the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza and the situation of the remaining hostages will continue to deteriorate and that the prospect of an urgently needed long-term ceasefire fades.

Dire conditions in Gaza

As the situation for Palestinian civilians grows increasingly dire, UN agencies are calling for urgent action.

Around 436,000 people have been estimated to have been forcibly displaced since March, according to a report from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, when Israel launched a fresh ground campaign as part of its renewed assault on the enclave.

For nearly 11 weeks, Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, denying entry of food, medical supplies and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory.

Israel says the blockade, along with the militarys expansion of its bombardment of Gaza, is intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages held in the enclave  but international organizations say it violates international law, with many accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

A UN study this week warned one in five people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation and that the entire population of Gaza is at high risk of famine, the most severe type of hunger crisis.

The US and Israel are backing the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a tightly controlled mechanism for Gaza aid deliveries that seeks to supplant the traditional role of UN agencies in delivering aid to the enclave.

The foundations executive director, Jake Wood, told CNN Friday that Israel has agreed to allow some food into Gaza before a newly approved mechanism for aid deliveries is up and running later this month, but he did not yet know when or how many aid trucks Israel would allow in.

The Israeli government has not been swayed by a growing tide of international criticism over the blockade on aid reaching Gaza, now in its third month.

Netanyahu said earlier this week: We are destroying more and more homes, they have nowhere to return to. The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip, a goal that Trump had supported soon after coming into office.

Israel launched the war after Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. This attack marked the deadliest terror attack in Israels history.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Mostafa Salem and Kara Fox contributed reporting.

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Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence on May 16, 2025.







Jennifer Lawrence attended a Dior dinner at Cannes honoring the cast of "Die, My Love."

It marked the actress's first public outing since the birth of her second child.

Lawrence announced she was expecting again last fall.







Jennifer Lawrence made her first public appearance since the birth of her second child on Friday, attending a dinner hosted by Dior at the Cannes Film Festival. She's long been associated with the French fashion house, who famously dressed the actress for her first Oscar win in 2013.

The No Hard Feelings star favored the boho trend in a sheer floral kimono, pairing it with a large glass pendant and rimless sunglasses.

Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence on May 16, 2025.

Dior's Cannes dinner honored the cast of Die, My Love, which premieres at the festival on Saturday. Lawrence co-stars with Robert Pattinson in the new thriller.

In April, Lawrence and husband Cooke Maroney welcomed their second child, though they have yet to reveal the baby's name or birthdate. The couple also shares a son named Cy, who was born in 2022.

Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson on May 16, 2025.

Lawrence spoke about the joys of motherhood with Vogue following his arrival.

The morning after I gave birth, I felt like my whole life had started over. Like, now is day one of my life. I was just so in love...My heart has stretched to a capacity that I didnt know about. I include my husband in that, she said. I mean the euphoria of Cy is justJesus, its impossible. I always tell him, 'I love you so much its impossible.'"

The Hunger Games actress first shared that she was expecting again in October 2024. The news broke a day after she was spotted in Los Angeles with her baby bump "just visible."



Gilbert Flores/Getty Images Jennifer Lawrence in November 2024.

Read the original article on InStyle
Stitches just hit a milestone  a heartbreaking one. The dog has been at NAWS Humane Society Mokena in Mokena, Illinois for over 1,000 days. Thats over two years! Its impossible to believe that any dog would be waiting for their forever home for that long. Especially when they have Stitches' sweet personality. Sadly, thats the case, which is why we all need to work together to get the dog a permanent home.

No dog should consider the shelter to be their forever home. But alas that might be the situation for this sweet dog. Hes been at NAWS for such a long time.

One thousand days is a long time for any dog to be in the shelter system. It usually takes a toll on them, but thankfully Stitches hasnt lost his happy spirit. However it does mean that the dog is still waiting for the right person to come along.

Even the best shelter can impact a dog. Poor Stitches has shelter anxiety, but once hes outside hes a completely different dog. Hes friendly and open. Hes extremely loving. The problem is that Stitches needs to be the only pet in the house, which has limited his options.

Related: Adorable 'Tri-Pawed' Shelter Dog Melts Hearts at Minnesota Animal Shelter

But have no fear  We know his people are out there, the rescue wrote.

Commenters were just so heartbroken for the dog.

No dog deserves to spend a 1000 days in a prison, bumping so we can get this sweet boy adopted. Please tiktok and the algorithm do your thing to find this sweet boy adopted home, wrote one person.

Poor baby. I hope he finds his family soon, chimed in another commenter.

Please give our amazing Stitches a chance. He is super lovable and beyond sweet, added someone else.

Sweet Stitches. I hope the perfect family finds you soon, wrote another commenter.

If you have a loving home and are ready to bring home a dog, you can save Stitches! The dog is currently available at NAWS Humane Society Mokena. All you need is to head to the NAWS website and apply for adoption. This can be the day that we end Stitches' time at the shelter. Lets not let another day go by!



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.
Chad's former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra was arrested early Friday accused of inciting hatred in connection with deadly clashes in the southwest, the public prosecutor said.

Masra, who served as premier from January to May last year, faced off against President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in presidential elections a year ago.

One of Deby's fiercest opponents, he won 18.5 percent of the vote against Deby's 61.3 percent, but claimed victory.

Earlier Friday, his party said Masra had been abducted from his home in the early morning.

A post by The Transformers party featured an unverified video showing him leaving his residence surrounded by around a dozen armed men in military uniform.

Prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye later said Masra had been detained after inquiries into a clash in the southwestern region of Logone-Occidental on Wednesday.

"The investigations carried out by the judicial police revealed the involvement" of Masra, Mahamat Kedelaye told reporters.

"Messages were disseminated particularly on social media calling on the population to arm themselves against other citizens," the prosecutor said.

He gave no details on the content or if Masra had been behind the messages.

The clashes killed 42 people mostly women and children, the prosecutor said, raising a previously reported toll of 35.

A local source said Thursday that the cause of the violence was thought to be a dispute between ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and local Ngambaye farmers over the demarcation of grazing and farming areas.

Conflicts between pastoralists and sedentary farmers are estimated by the International Crisis Group to have caused more than 1,000 deaths and 2,000 injuries between 2021 and 2024.

Masra, who comes from the south, is ethnic Ngambaye and enjoys wide support in the region, whose people are mostly Christian and animist and complain of being marginalised by the mostly Muslim central government.

Masra, 41, an economist who trained in France and Cameroon, was a fierce opponent of the ruling authorities before they named him prime minister five months before the presidential election.

He contested the results and his party then boycotted parliamentary elections in December.

The elections cemented Deby's rule and ended a three-year transition period.

He had promised an 18-month transition to democracy but extended it by another two years.

Deby had been proclaimed transitional president by fellow army generals in 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled Chad for 30 years, was killed in a gun battle with rebels.

Opposition figures have fled, been silenced or joined with Deby.

Since 2018, Masra has been the only opposition figure able to mobilise crowds of supporters in the capital at rallies that were systematically and violently repressed.

Like other opposition figures, Masra fled into exile after the army and police opened fire on demonstrators protesting the transition extension in October 2022, known as Black Thursday.

Up to 300 young people died according to international NGOs -- 50, according to the regime.

Masra returned from exile and signed a reconciliation deal with Deby but faced critics who denounced his decision to ally with the then junta.
Getty Stock image of nail clubbing

A lung cancer patient had no respiratory symptoms before his diagnosis  just an odd swelling in his fingertips.

Brian Gemmell, a fitness instructor from Scotland, went to see his doctor after noticing his fingertips had swollen  a phenomenon called finger clubbing. That trip allowed medical professionals to get to the root of the issue: lung cancer. Now, Gemmell is urging others to err on the side of caution when it comes to their health.

"Go and see your doctor if you've got anything that you're concerned about  that's what a [doctor] is for," he told The Mirror UK. "Go as soon as you can."

Finger clubbing, or nail clubbing, itself isn't a problem, per Cleveland Clinic. It's not painful and on occasion, it can occur without an underlying cause. However, clubbing is most often associated with lung cancer and infections, so it is worthwhile to be examined by a doctor, the clinic's post reads.

To determine if you have nail clubbing, you can conduct what's called the Schamroth window test, per Medscape. Press two fingernails on opposite hands together and hold them up in front of you. If you can't see a sliver (usually a diamond shape) of empty space between your two fingers, there may be cause for concern.



Getty Stock image of nail

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Gemmell shared his lung cancer journey in a testimonial for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, an organization for which he's a staunch advocate. He noted that he had no "common" signs of lung cancer, like breathlessness or restricted breathing.

"I googled it  as you do  and a respiratory problem flagged up," he wrote. "I went to my [doctor] and he sent me for a chest x-ray that same day."

The x-ray technician then sought help from a radiographer, who sent Gemmell for a CT scan  which showed an "advanced tumour in my right lung," he wrote. The medical professionals surrounding Gemmell had differing opinions, but a surgeon insisted on removing his right lung completely.

Gemmell praised his doctor for his quick recognition of the symptom's cause, writing that his expertise coupled with his decisiveness "ultimately saved my life." However, awareness is just as crucial, Gemmell wrote, as doctors can only diagnose a problem if it's brought before them.

"People think lung cancer is a death sentence. Thats not surprising with the current survival statistics," Gemmell wrote. "But it doesnt have to be. Im proof that it doesnt have to be. But its not going to just happen. The right people have to make it happen. They have to make it a priority."

Read the original article on People
The mugshot photo from the Texas Gang Database shows a shirtless, bearded man, a star tattoo emblazoned just under each shoulder, next to the name, GARCIA-CASIQUE, FRANCISCO. Along with the photo is a date of birth, TxGANG ID number and a few lines accusing Garcia Casique of being a member of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan street gang.

Only, the person in the photo is not Garcia Casique.

His family and advocates insist Garcia Casique is a clean-shaven 24-year-old Venezuelan barber who was living in Longview, Texas  with no gang affiliations  when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept him up earlier this year and removed him to a prison in El Salvador, along with more than 200 other, mostly-Venezuelan migrants.

Law enforcement officials admit that the photo was of another suspect and the entry was removed last month from the Texas database, known as TxGANG, when authorities realized the mix-up.

More: DOJ memo offers blueprint to Tren de Aragua deportation plan

Still, Garcia Casique remains in the Terrorism Confinement Center, the maximum-security prison in El Salvador known by its Spanish acronym CECOT, cut off from the rest of the world. Federal officials maintain that he is connected to Tren de Aragua.

Dios mio santo! Mirelys Casique, Garcia Casiques mom, exclaimed to USA TODAY from her home in Maracay, Venezuela after seeing the entry. Thats not Francisco and those are not his tattoos.

The entry in the Texas Gang Database displays information belonging to Francisco Garcia Casique -- but with the wrong photo. The actual Casique, 24, a Venezuelan national living in Texas, was removed to a Salvadoran prison in March 2025, after federal agents alleged he had gang ties.

The database entry was part of a slide presentation by Texas law enforcement officials obtained through records requests by American Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group, and shared exclusively with USA TODAY. Besides Garcia Casique, two other migrants deported to CECOT appear in the Texas database.

Federal authorities said the faulty gang database played no role in removing Garcia Casique. And they insist that they got the right man.

"Francisco Javier Garcia Casique removal was not erroneous," Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. "The mistaken photo uploaded to the state database [TxGANG], which the federal government does not maintain, has no bearing on Francisco Garcia Casiques immigration proceedings."

Neither the United States nor the Salvadoran government has offered evidence that the migrants flown to the prison are connected to Tren de Aragua, a gang that began in Venezuelas prisons but now operates throughout Latin America. President Donald Trump has designated the group a terrorist organization and invoked the Alien Enemies Act, which he claims gives him the right to quickly deport its members without judicial review.

More: What is Tren de Aragua? What to know about Venezuelan gang targeted by Donald Trump

The issue has ascended to the U.S. Supreme Court, as opponents of the policy attempt to derail the president's use of the law, calling it unconstitutional. On Friday, the court continued blocking the administration's use of the 1798 wartime law and directed a lower court to determine what process the government should use to allow migrants time and information to protect their rights.

In her statement, McLaughlin reaffirmed Garcia Casiques ties to Tren de Aragua and defended the agencys decision to send him to CECOT, saying he entered the country illegally in 2023 and was ordered deported by a judge last year.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested [Garcia Casique] on Feb. 6, in Longview, Texas. He was removed to El Salvador March 15.

But the confusion over the wrong photo raises more questions about the speed with which the Trump administration deported individuals to the prison in El Salvador and the lack of judicial review of their cases.

The lack of information and lack of due process is really evident here, said Michelle Brane, executive director of Together and Free, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy group helping Garcia Casiques family obtain legal help, who worked in the Biden administration overseeing family reunification efforts after Trumps first term.

She added: These people were sent to a black hole where we dont know whether theyll ever come out.

Confusion over gang suspects

Garcia Casique, the oldest of four siblings, left Venezuela in 2019 when he was 18 to escape the countrys spiraling economy and violence. He worked as a barber in Peru for a few years then set off for the United States, where several of his barber friends had relocated.

He arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in late 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas, turning himself over to border agents. He was processed and released until his immigration court date. Initially, he was bused from the border to Denver but eventually made his way back to Longview.

Francisco Garcia Casique, 24, a Venezuelan national, worked as a barber in Texas before federal agents accused him of having gang ties and expelled him to a Salvadoran prison. His name appeared on a Texas gang database -- but with the wrong photo.

According to DHS, federal agents at the ICE Dallas office detained him on Feb. 29, 2024, after being deemed a public safety threat as a confirmed member of the Tren de Aragua gang. His family, however, said Garcia Casique missed an interview with ICE and visited the agency to try to reenter the system when he was detained.

As the real Garcia Casique was locked up at an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, another man, also in federal custody, was interviewed by Dallas Police detectives.

It's unclear what the man told detectives, but a gang profile was uploaded into the database with Garcia-Casique's name and the bearded man's photo tying him to Tren de Aragua since he "admitted to strong knowledge" of the gang.

But that person, according to Dallas Police, was not Garcia Casique.

The identity of the man in the photo remained a mystery to the outside world until USA TODAY sought clarification from federal officials. After repeated requests, McLaughlin, at DHS, identified the bearded man as Juan Jose Calvillo-Castaneda, a Mexican national questioned for potential ties to a Mexican gang. He was removed last year to Mexico, she said.

On Apr. 16, 2024, an immigration judge ordered Garcia Casique deported, according to DHS. But he was released under his own supervision with an ankle monitor, since the U.S. at the time didnt have a removal agreement with Venezuela. In his Order of Supervision checklist, agents checked the box for NCIC Check, meaning a national criminal background check on Garcia Casique had not found anything concerning to keep him detained.

Meanwhile, Garcia Casique's identifying info with the faulty photo flowed from ICE into the TxGANG database. It would take federal agents thirteen months to realize that the biographical details did not match the true identity of the bearded man.

How exactly Garcia Casique's info got juxtaposed with Calvillo-Castaneda's photo remains muddled  and hinges on two divergent storylines. Dallas Police said they interviewed Calvillo-Castaneda while he was in ICE custody and were provided incorrect information. But McLaughlin claimed that a Dallas Police detective inadvertently attached the wrong photo to the entry.

Either way, someone like Garcia Casique, with no criminal record and who was checking in with ICE, should have never been targeted in the recent raids, said Jason Houser, former ICE chief of staff in the Biden administration, who has been critical of Trump's border policies.

The fact that federal authorities last year released him with an ankle monitor shows that Garcia Casique wasn't a public safety or national security threat, Houser said.

Garcia Casique was one of dozens of Venezuelans who were easy to locate and swept up by federal agents more focused on a public show of force rather than getting actual criminals off the street, he said.

"He literally lost the immigration Russian roulette," Houser said of Garcia Casique.

An ICE spokesman declined to say if or how the agency utilizes the Texas gang database but said: ICE is leveraging all available law enforcement resources to aggressively pursue these aliens to restore law and order in our communities and integrity to our nations immigration laws.

When Garcia Casique was detained by ICE last year, he was questioned about his tattoos, which may have played a role in his detention, Mirelys Casique said.

The tattoos, which include several roses, the names of both his grandmothers next to clocks, and a small crown with his mothers name, roused the suspicion of federal agents, she said. Agents may also have questioned Garcia Casique about his home region of Aragua  where Tren de Aragua originated.

But neither his tattoos nor home region connected Garcia Casique in any way to Tren de Aragua, his mother said, adding that her son has no criminal record in either the U.S. or Venezuela.

What really determines if someones a criminal? Mirelys Casique said.

Texas database struggles to validate gang entries

The TxGANG database is a repository for thousands of alleged gang members and suspected criminals. But its also been criticized for not consistently validating the allegations.

A state audit conducted on the database in November found that of the 65,832 names in the system, 7,199  or nearly 11 percent  had not been validated within five years as required by federal law. Of those, more than 1,200 had not been validated within the last 10 years.

The Texas Department of Public Safety runs the database but local law enforcement agencies are responsible for entering the names. A person can be entered into the database without committing a crime and individual agencies are responsible for validating entries.

Since an earlier audit in 2022, DPS had improved its system of validating entries, according to the audit. However, as of November 2024, TxGANG still contained records that were not validated within the federally required timeframes, auditors wrote.

Jerry Robinette, former head of the San Antonio office of Homeland Security Investigations under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said HSI agents commonly used the TxGANG database for intel on suspected criminal migrants.

They also used the database to try to determine which migrants belonged to which gang in order to keep them in separate holding facilities, for their safety, he said. The database was one of several tools used by federal investigators to try to determine gang affiliation, Robinette said.

Even if a name appeared in the database, he said, investigators would have to corroborate the information with several other sources.

You want to make sure the information is accurate, Robinette said. Youre talking about deporting someone. There are consequences behind that.

He had nothing to fear because he wasnt a criminal

After being released by ICE last year, Garcia Casique went back to work cutting hair in Longview. He saved money, moved out of a cramped home he shared with other migrants and into a roomier apartment. Each time he moved, he notified authorities of his new address, his mother said.

He had a normal life, he was working, she said. He kept saying he had nothing to fear because he wasnt a criminal.

Unbeknownst to Garcia Casique, his name and details, next to a strangers face, were bouncing around the TxGANG database  and drawing the attention of state law enforcement officials.

Francisco Garcia Casique, 24, from Venezuela, was ordered removed from the U.S. after entering the country illegally. He thought he was being returned to his native Venezuela. Instead, he was sent to a Salvadoran prison for allegedly having ties to a Venezuelan gang.

In an email dated Sept. 9, 2024, Freeman Martin, who would later become head of DPS, forwarded a slide presentation titled Tren de Aragua (TdA) Presentation, to a number of state officials. The 38-page presentation contained photos of at-large Tren de Aragua kingpins and some of the clock, train and star tattoos authorities believed reveal TdA allegiance. Page 18 displayed the entry with Garcia Casiques info along with the bearded suspects photo.

Expelled to Salvadoran prison

On Feb. 6, ICE agents stormed Garcia Casiques apartment and whisked him away. He was transferred to a federal detention center near Laredo, Texas, not far from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Initially, his mother said she wasnt alarmed  she just assumed the agents planned to fulfill his deportation order and return him to his native Venezuela. Garcia Casique even signed an order consenting to be deported to his home country, she said.

On the morning of Mar. 15, Garcia Casique called his mom from inside the detention facility to tell her he was told hed be boarding a flight later that day and would soon rejoin her in Venezuela. He never showed up. The family later discovered an online image of him, head shaven, being paraded into CECOT.

Mirelys Casique hasnt spoken to her son since.

A few weeks after Garcia Casiques final phone call to his mom, agents with Homeland Security Investigations called the Dallas Police Department to notify officials there that the picture in the TxGANG entry on Garcia Casique did not match ICE photographs taken of him when he was initially detained nor anything in ICEs record on him.

The entry was promptly purged from the database.

Follow Jervis and Penzenstadler on X: @MrRJervis, @npenzenstadler.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did mistaken identity land a Venezuelan man in Salvadoran prison
By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) -A Republican proposal to block states from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years drew opposition on Friday from a bipartisan group of attorneys general in California, New York, Ohio and other states that have regulated high-risk uses of the technology.

The measure included in President Donald Trump's tax cut bill would preempt AI laws and regulations passed recently in dozens of states.

A group of 40 state attorneys general, including Republicans from Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas, Utah and Virginia and other states, urged Congress to ditch the measure on Friday, as the U.S. House of Representatives' budget committee geared up for a Sunday night hearing.

"Imposing a broad moratorium on all state action, while Congress fails to act in this area is irresponsible and deprives consumers of reasonable protections," said the group.

The attorney general from California -- which is home to prominent AI companies, including OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Anthropic -- was among the Democrats who signed the letter.

"I strongly oppose any effort to block states from developing and enforcing common-sense regulation; states must be able to protect their residents by responding to emerging and evolving AI technology," Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

California implemented a raft of bills this year limiting specific uses of AI, illustrating the kind of laws that would be blocked under the moratorium.

Like several other states, California has criminalized the use of AI to generate sexually explicit images of individuals without their consent. The state also prohibits unauthorized deepfakes in political advertising, and requires healthcare providers to notify patients when they are interacting with an AI and not a human.

Healthcare provider networks, also known as HMOs, are barred in California from using AI systems instead of doctors to decide medical necessity.

House Republicans said in a hearing Tuesday that the measure was necessary to help the federal government in implementing AI, for which the package allocates $500 million.

"It's nonsensical to do that if we're going to allow 1,000 different pending bills in state legislatures across the country to become law," said Jay Obernolte, a Republican from California who represents part of Silicon Valley, including Mountain View where Google is based.

"It would be impossible for any agency that operates in all the states to be able to comply with those regulations," he said.

Google has called the proposed moratorium "an important first step to both protect national security and ensure continued American AI leadership."

That position will be tested if the measure makes it to the Senate. It will need to clear the budget reconciliation process, which is supposed to be used only for budget-related legislation.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
By Simon Lewis and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An official appointed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to investigate foreign political interference met with Trump administration officials this week in what U.S. officials saw as a bid to enlist their help against Orban's perceived enemies in advance of elections expected next year.

A Hungarian delegation met at the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington with Trump appointees on Thursday and requested information on the agency's partners and employees in Hungary, said a source familiar with the matter.

The meeting raised concerns among some U.S. officials that information the Hungarians were seeking on U.S. funding for groups in Hungary would be used to bolster Orban's crackdown on independent media and civil society groups and they declined to provide it, the source said.

The Hungarian delegation was led by Andras Laszlo, a member of the European Parliament for Orban's ruling Fidesz party who was appointed in February as a commissioner to investigate alleged foreign interference. He told Reuters on Friday that some organizations in Hungary funded by USAID were "very much of a political nature and have a high impact on Hungarian political life."

USAID under past administrations supported civil society and media in countries around the world in the name of building resilient democracies, but critics including Orban say the goal was to overthrow governments not aligned with the United States.

The U.S. Department of State confirmed the meeting between Laszlo and officials including Kenneth Jackson, USAID Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources, saying that it was arranged at the request of the Hungarian official.

Orban has pledged to crack down on foreign funding of media and civil society groups in what his critics say is a move to strengthen his position ahead of 2026 elections, when he will face an unprecedented challenge from a new opposition party.

He has touted his personal friendship with U.S. President Donald Trump, with the two sharing a similar approach to issues including immigration, transgender rights and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Fidesz submitted a bill on Tuesday that would allow a government office to draw up a list of organizations that get foreign funding and would restrict or even shut them down if the government decides they threaten Hungary and its culture.

Critics have compared the proposed law, which would impose huge fines on organizations that accept foreign funds, to Russian legislation that allows authorities to label foreign-funded groups and others engaged in political activities as foreign agents.

Laszlo said he was tasked with sharing information with Washington on what he called foreign interference around Hungary's last general election in 2022. That involved asking Trump administration officials to share information with Hungary on the "extent... and the intent" of U.S. funding to organizations working in Hungary, he said, declining to detail the discussions further.

Laszlo said his investigation and his party's proposed law were not aimed at their opponents but at ridding Hungarian politics of foreign influence.

At Thursday's meeting, the U.S. officials politely refused to provide the information requested and closed the meeting by suggesting that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto contact U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to arrange formal talks, according to the source familiar with the matter.

Laszlo said the discussions were private, but acknowledged what he called "uncertainty and hesitancy" among U.S. officials.

Key figures in Trump's MAGA movement - including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson - draw inspiration from Orban and his self-declared "illiberal democracy." Orban's opponents have called him an authoritarian.

Tamas Matura, a non-resident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said Laszlo's trip appeared to be part of a crackdown by Fidesz and Orban on perceived opponents, including independent media, that is expected to intensify in the run-up to the 2026 elections.

I think they need every kind of tool and method to start a smear campaign against any kind of opposition, he said.

TARGETING USAID

Laszlo said in the interview at the Hungarian embassy in Washington that the information he was seeking would not be used to prosecute organizations for receiving funding in the past.

"This wouldn't be about punishment. This would be about understanding and developing prevention based on better and better understanding of what happened previously," he said.

Laszlo said he wanted to know if money distributed through USAID's Central Europe Program was "misused for political purposes and political activism."

That program began in 2022 and provided $35 million to "promote democratic institutions and resilience of independent, non-governmental entities" in countries including Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Laszlo in March met with Pete Marocco, who oversaw the administration's early efforts to shut down USAID's operations.

Trump's administration has moved to fire nearly all USAID staff, as billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has slashed funding and dismissed contractors across the federal bureaucracy in what it calls an attack on wasteful spending.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and Rosalba O'Brien)
The day before Tiffany Slatons 28th birthday, she was looking forward to eating a pack of Dunkaroos  cookies with frosting dip  that shed saved as a makeshift birthday cake. It was the only real food she had left after surviving 24 days lost in the Sierra Nevada mountains, subsisting on wild leeks and boiled snow.

What had originally started as a three-day solo camping vacation around Shaver and Huntington lakes in Fresno County, California, turned into a weekslong journey of survival. It ended at a cabin more than 40 miles away, at Vermillion Valley Resort, where Slaton was found by the resorts owner on Wednesday.

By the time she was rescued, Slaton had endured 13 snowstorms and climbed to altitudes of 11,000 feet, officials said Friday. In addition to dropping 10 pounds from the ordeal, she also lost her tent and sleeping bags, and was forced to abandon her bike at a trailhead sign.

Tiffany Slaton, 28, of Jeffersonville, Ga., was found safe near Lake Edison in Fresno County, Calif. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office)

At a press conference Friday alongside her parents and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, Slaton spoke publicly about her journey for the first time. Zanoni called her story one they would make movies about.

It is truly an incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival, the sheriff added.

Slaton, an experienced outdoors person from Jeffersonville, Georgia, was reported missing by her parents on April 29 after they had not heard from her in nine days, authorities said. A full-scale operation to locate Slaton was conducted from May 6 to May 10, spanning 600 square miles and deploying a helicopter.

Local authorities and volunteers covered 4,300 miles by foot and vehicle in search of Slaton, officials said Friday.

Slaton began her trek on April 20, equipped with basic camping supplies, including an electric bike, two sleeping bags and a tent, anticipating she would be gone for only a few days.

Early in her journey, Slaton fell off a cliff, she said, and was unable to return to the main road due to a recent avalanche. She was unconscious for about two hours, and upon regaining consciousness she had to splint one of her legs and pop the other knee back into place.

She attempted five calls to 911  without success  and couldnt get her phones navigation system to work, she said Friday. Frustrated, she asked her phone for the location of the nearest Starbucks  it gave her a location 18 miles away, which was closer than retracing her path back to the parks entrance.

Slaton pressed on, relying on her resourcefulness and what she could find in the wilderness. Her skills as a high-level archer, her medical knowledge as a traveling dialysis technician and her horticultural training proved crucial to her survival. She journaled every day in an effort to keep sane.

The worst thing you can do in an emergency situation is panic, Slaton said.

After five days, Slaton ran out of most of her food and relied on her foraging skills to gather leeks she knew to be native in the Sierra Nevada range. She said she made tea each day with manzanita and pine needles.

Slaton navigated the Kaiser Pass, a 9,000-foot peak buried under 10 to 12 feet of snow before it was plowed earlier this week. She eventually made her way to the Vermilion Valley and Lake Edison, where she was finally rescued.

When Slaton first saw the Vermilion Valley Resort cabin, she thought she was hallucinating and had somehow managed to make it to the North Pole. She opened the door, which was unlocked, and inside she found what she described as the best sleeping bag I had ever seen.

Slaton was found on Wednesday  the day before her 28th birthday  by resort owner Christopher Gutierrez. Snowplows had cleared the roads, allowing him access to his property to prepare it for the summer. Gutierrez told authorities he left the cabin unlocked in case a stranded hiker would need shelter.

That was the 13th heavy snowstorm I had been in, and it was going to be the last one, Slaton said. If he hadnt come that day, they wouldve found my body there.

Zanoni called it a miracle that the road happened to be plowed on Tuesday, enabling Gutierrez to arrive the next day. When Slaton was found, the resort owner said he recognized her from her missing person report.

She pops out, didnt say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug. And it was, it was a pretty surreal moment, Gutierrez said at a press conference Wednesday. And thats when I knew. Thats when I realized who this was.
Pope Leo XIVs modest childhood Chicago home, marketed as a piece of Papal history, is now available to the highest bidder.

In the days before Leo made history as the first American-born pope last week, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the suburb of Dolton had been listed for less than $250,000.

The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in the Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois, is being offered up via luxury private auction. The listing describes the house as a piece of Papal history (Getty Images)

Now the house is being offered up via a luxury private auction after the seller briefly took it off the market last week in a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity.

This beautifully updated home isn't just a charming 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom residence...It's the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope in history, the listing says.

Pope Leo XIV's journey from this humble neighborhood to the Vatican is a testament to faith, perseverance, and purpose. Now, you have the rare chance to own a tangible piece of his inspiring legacy, the listing adds.

The house has had a makeover since Leo and his family lived there, with a newly renovated interior offering a modern touch while maintaining its original character, the listing says.

Realtor Steve Budzik previously told The Independent that he thought the news about Leo and the house was a joke.

When the first reporter called me with the newsI was, at first, taken aback, Budzik said last week. I didn't see it on any news channel, so I was almost like, is this a joke?

I immediately called my client, who said the same thing: Are you joking? Come on, stop messing around, Budzik recounted. I'm like, No, this is real.

Budzik said that the seller was musing over whether the house could be a museum or a historical landmark.

The seller took the house off the market after learning that it was where Leo grew up, according to realtor Steve Budzik (AP)

The home last sold in May 2024 for $66,000. Its unclear exactly when Pope Leo lived in the home, but his family owned it from the year he was born until 1996, when he was 41 and working as a missionary in Peru.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, Prevost grew up in Chicagos south suburbs in the home where he lived with his parents and two brothers.

Leos brother John Prevost lives in New Lenox, Illinois, just 30 minutes away from the childhood home.

Budzik said previously that the seller wanted to speak to Prevost to consult with the family first.

He just wants to really look at all of his different options, including trying to get in contact with Pope Leo's brother, who is local to where both of us live in New Lenox, and seeing if there's anything that you know the family would like to see done with the property, Budzik previously said of his client.
By Barbara Erling and Alan Charlish

SZCZECIN, Poland (Reuters) - Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, the Oxford-educated son of a jazz musician and frontrunner in Sunday's Polish presidential election, made friends across the European Parliament when he worked there, including with Portugal's now-foreign minister.

"He was very well known, not only because he was very talented," Paulo Rangel said during a break from campaigning for his own country's election, referring to their time together as EU lawmakers from 2009.

"He really became very popular... because he was a very easy-going person but at the same time he could speak five languages," he added.

Trzaskowski can communicate in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Italian. His supporters hope his friendships with high-ranking European policymakers like Rangel can further Poland's growing influence in Europe since Prime Minister Donald Tusk succeeded a eurosceptic nationalist in 2023.

But it is also part of the reason some Poles going to vote in the first round of a presidential election on May 18 view him as part of a liberal metropolitan elite whose concerns are far removed from their own.

Trzaskowski paints the vote as a choice between Western liberal values and the rising nationalism across central and eastern Europe, where eurosceptic parties have already won power or are poised to do so.

"These elections are about whether we will be part of the West or part of the East," he told a rally in the northern port city of Szczecin.

"Look where Slovakia is today, where Hungary is, what's happening in the Balkans. Look - this very same battle is happening in Romania... These parties are either pro-Russian or repeat Russian propaganda. They simply don't feel at home in Europe. Why? Because Europe is too positive for them."

His rivals are fighting back.

"He is so European he has forgotten he is Polish," said Marek Suski, a lawmaker from the nationalist opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.

PiS backs conservative historian and amateur boxer Karol Nawrocki to become president, a role with limited executive powers but the right to veto legislation, in the election, which is likely to go to a second round.

Outgoing PiS President Andrzej Duda has used his power of veto to block many of Tusk's pro-European reforms.

POLITICAL CAREER

After studying in Oxford and Paris, Trzaskowski wrote a PhD thesis in Warsaw called "The dynamics of reforming the decision-making system of the European Union". He worked as an adviser and an elected member of the European Parliament before becoming Poland's Minister of Administration and Digitalisation and then Deputy Foreign Minister.

As mayor of Warsaw since 2018, he has gained a reputation as a supporter of liberal causes such as LGBT rights.

His critics say he is a deeply polarising figure in a country where many Poles, especially outside the big cities, hold socially conservative views, and they are scathing about his perceived rightward shift during the presidential campaign.

His rivals also say his pro-European stance means he will put the interests of other countries above those of Poland.

His supporters say he is trying to reach out to all sides of the political spectrum.

"His goal is to reduce the polarisation we see in Poland," said Agnieszka Pomaska, a lawmaker from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) and a member of Trzaskowski's campaign team.

"He's definitely not someone who rejects ideas just because they come from another political camp."

Rangel said Trzaskowski could cement Poland's place as a major player at the heart of European policymaking over the twin challenges of Russia's invasion of Poland's eastern neighbour Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Trzaskowski's international track record "will open a lot of doors," Rangel said.

(Reporting by Barbara Erling and Alan Charlish; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Two images, including a newspaper photo of Roman Cherubini, and an aerial view of a river in Myanmar.

Nearly eight decades after he gave his life for his nation, the partial remains of a New Jersey soldier who had been declared killed in action in 1944 have finally been identified.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has now accounted for U.S. Army Pvt. Roman Cherubini, a 22-year-old twin and World War II soldier from Bridgeton.

Cherubini was serving with the 475th Infantry Regiment in the China-India-Burma Theater when he was killed.

Roman Cherubini (left) and his twin brother, Raymond, both fought in WWII. POW/MIA

His remains were said to have been buried in at least eight different locations, including the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 2022, the DPAA had his remains exhumed and tested.

Late last year, an identification was made using dental, anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis.

The DPAA said Cherubini fought in a series of running battles against numerically superior Japanese forces in the jungles of Burma in 1944. The light infantry formation, known as Merrills Marauders, was equivalent to a regular regiment in size and was specialized for jungle fighting behind enemy lines.

Merrills Marauders entered Burma in February 1944 and began assaulting the supply lines of the Japanese 18th Division in the Hukawng and Mogaung valleys.

On May 17, the Marauders seized a strategic airfield near the village of Myitkyina with the help of two Chinese infantry regiments.

Cherubinis death was covered in local papers. POW/MIA

Cherubinis remains were interred in at least eight different locations. POW/MIA

Cherubini died fighting in the jungles of Myanmar. The Washington Post via Getty Images

Japanese forces in Myitkyina were finally routed on Aug. 3 after more than two months of grueling jungle combat.

He died June 16, 1944, in the midst of the battle for Myitkyina, but the exact circumstances around his death are unknown.

The remains of servicemen killed in that battle were buried in temporary cemeteries as well as isolated burial locations.

Their mission complete, Merrills Marauders were disbanded. They had marched 750 miles through the jungle and fought in five major engagements. Over two hundred of the Marauders were killed by disease and enemy action, and many were lost in the back-and-forth battles in harsh jungle terrain, according to the agency.
By Luiza Ilie

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan gained a slight lead over hard-right eurosceptic George Simion, an opinion poll on Friday showed, ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off vote seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.

Simion, who opposes military aid to neighbouring Ukraine and is critical of the EU leadership, decisively swept the first round of the presidential election rerun on May 4, triggering the collapse of a pro-Western coalition government which led to significant capital outflows.

A Simion win in Sunday's run-off could isolate Romania, erode private investment and destabilise the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, diplomats and analysts have said.

Dan, who pledged to clamp down on corruption, is staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania's support for Ukraine is vital for its own security against a growing Russian threat.

The poll by AtlasIntel, commissioned by local news website HotNews.ro, showed Dan would get 48.7% of votes to Simion's 47.8%. Some 1.8% of those surveyed said they would nullify their vote while another 1.7% were undecided.

The survey of 5,628 people from May 13-15 had a margin of error of 1%, suggesting a very tight race. More importantly, the poll included the sizable diaspora vote, which strongly supported Simion in the first round.

Voting in the diaspora has already begun and nearly 180,000 Romanians have cast their ballot, almost double the turnout by this time in the first round. An AtlasIntel poll earlier this week showed Dan and Simion neck-and-neck.

SWING TOWARDS RUSSIA

Romania had looked poised to swing towards Moscow after far-right newcomer Calin Georgescu topped the first round of voting in the presidential election in November. But the country's top court cancelled the election because of suspicions of Russian meddling, which Moscow has denied.

Simion, who came fourth in the cancelled ballot, rallied behind Georgescu  who has been banned from standing again - and became his replacement. He has said he would appoint Georgescu as prime minister.

On Friday evening, Georgescu told private television station Realitatea that he wanted the job while suggesting an openness towards Russia.

"We have a very detailed plan to take back everything the EU owes us," he said appearing next to Simion. "We will double, triple (EU) fund absorption."

"You must get along well with the great powers. America is first, the main partner in all. But beyond that ... we have China, Russia, Brazil. It is ... unimaginable to have adversarial relations; one must have relationships based on minimal respect."

Georgescu, who has said he favours nationalizations and preferential treatment for Romanian-owned companies, is under criminal investigation on charges of belonging to a fascist group and campaign funding irregularities.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Richard Chang)
There are five things I wish I knew before traveling to Central America. Russia Boles

Last summer, my partner and I backpacked through Central America for 12 days.

Although I loved the trip, I wish we'd visited Lake Atitlan during our stay in Guatemala.

Next time, I'd also choose to stay in hostels more frequently to save money.

Last August, my partner and I spent 12 days traveling through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

The trip was filled with amazing new experiences  like watching Acatenango, a twin-peaked volcano, erupt during a thunderstorm  but it had some drawbacks, too.

Although I loved my time in Central America, there are five things I'd do differently next time.

I'd extend our time in Guatemala to visit Lake Atitlan.

I wish I'd visited Lake Atitlan. tolobalaguer.com/Shutterstock

During our first stop to Antigua, Guatemala, we met several people who were headed to Lake Atitlan, which is one of the most frequently visited spots in the country.

The lake, which is about three hours away from Antigua, was formed over 80,000 years ago by a volcanic eruption.

Those who had traveled there before raved about its beauty, and I quickly started to experience major FOMO from not planning a stop. I think it would've been a great opportunity to further experience the country's natural beauty.

Looking back, it would've been nice to have relaxing activities planned after intense excursions.

I wish we'd chosen a more relaxing activity after hiking on Acatenango. Russia Boles

After our overnight hike on Acatenango, we returned to Antigua for our last night in the city.

We relaxed and enjoyed dirty chai lattes at a cafe before leaving again for a scheduled ghost tour. Looking back, though, we should've thought about how tired we'd be, even after a full day of rest.

We decided to cut the tour short to go somewhere more low-key: Ulew Cocktail Bar. Here, bartenders used our drink preferences to create tailored cocktails just for us.

If I could replan this day, I would've skipped the ghost tour and opted for a more relaxing activity like watching the sunset at Cerro de la Cruz before stopping by the bar.

Next time, I'd spend an extra day at the Mizata by Antiresort in El Salvador.

I wish I'd been able to experience the Temazcal Utero ceremony in El Salvador. Russia Boles

I fell in love with saunas a couple of years back, and I wish I'd rearranged our trip to experience the Temazcal Utero ceremony while we stayed at the Mizata by Antiresort in El Salvador.

In a temazcal, participants are guided by a shaman in meditation and chanting while heated volcanic stones soaked with herb-infused water create steam.

The ceremonies are only held on Saturdays, so I recommend planning ahead if you want to participate.

Instead of hotels, I'd save money by staying in hostels.

I stayed a hostel for the first time in Nicaragua and would definitely do it again. Russia Boles

I stayed at my first hostel, the Selina Granada in Nicaragua, during this trip and loved it. In fact, I wish we'd stayed in hostels more frequently to help keep the trip more affordable.

I think we could've easily saved $150 by booking a hostel during our time in San Salvador, El Salvador, where we only spent about five hours in our hotel room before moving on to our next destination.

We didn't need to stay in Leon, Nicaragua, for three days.

I thought three days was too much time to spend in Leon. Russia Boles

I think Leon is a beautiful city, and we enjoyed volcano boarding, where we slid down Cerro Negro on special boards. During our time there, we also withstood the scorching summer heat on the roof of Leon Cathedral.

However, we finished our desired sightseeing faster than we'd anticipated, so three days ended up being too much time in the city.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Trump administration is reportedly working on a plan to permanently send 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.

NBC News reported on Friday that the plan is being seriously considered and that Trump officials have discussed the possibility with Libyan counterparts. In exchange, the northern African country would see the release of billions of dollars frozen by the U.S. over a decade ago.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet added that there is no final agreement and that Israel is aware of the discussion.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group is not aware of any discussion. "Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children, he told the outlet.

"[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do," he added.

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of relocating Gazans, citing the destruction of most of its territory after more than a year and a half of war. He also recently suggested again that the U.S. should take over the war-torn enclave, which could be turned into a "freedom zone."

"I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone," Trump said in Qatar on Thursday. "I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone," he added.

The comments come as Israel gears up to intensify its operations in Gaza. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it will begin an operation to control the totality of the enclave if no comprehensive agreement is made by the time Trump's Middle East trip ends.

A senior Israeli official said in early May that the army's plan to take over the Gaza Strip also contemplates facilitating voluntary emigration from the enclave.

Libya has also been floated as a destination for U.S. deportees, with NBC News reporting last week about it. However, the Libyan provisional government denied any agreement.

The State Department has a Level 4 travel advisory for Libya, warning Americans not to travel there due to "crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict." The country is also transited by many migrants who try to reach Europe. Advocates and U.S. officials have received accounts of mistreatment and even torture in detention centers in the country.

A former U.S. official said there have been discussions about offering Palestinians incentives such as free housing and even a stipend. It is unclear where in Libya they would go to and how they would get there, but all alternatives would likely be extremely expensive.

Originally published on Latin Times
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it plans to announce proposed temporary cuts to flights at Newark after meetings with major U.S. airlines to address congestion impacts.

The FAA held three days of one-on-one meetings with the airlines "to find a balance between reducing their operations at the airport and meeting the needs of each individual airline." The FAA plans to make a final determination on arrival rates on or after May 28.

The agency is proposing a maximum arrival rate at Newark of 28 aircraft per hour until the runway construction is complete by June 15 except for Saturdays until the end of the year.

The FAA held numerous rounds of individual meetings with air carriers to win concessions to cut flights at specific times as the airport deals with a chaotic series of equipment outages, runway construction and staffing issues.

"The airport clearly is unable to handle the current level of scheduled operations," the FAA said this week, adding it believes the proposal "would reduce overscheduling, flight delays, and cancellations to an acceptable level."

Newark has also been hit by a series of serious telecom outages with controllers on April 28 briefly losing radar and telecommunications contact with airplanes.

Outside of the construction period, the maximum arrival rate would be 34 aircraft an hour until October 25.

The meetings included United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air.

United has sharply cut flights at its Newark hub and wants the FAA to impose new limitations on flights there to address ongoing delays.

"Reducing the number of flights scheduled at Newark will help ensure that we can safely and reliably operate the flights that remain on the schedule," United said Friday.

The FAA last year relocated control of Newark's airspace to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City-area traffic.

Nationwide, the FAA has about 3,500 air traffic controllers, below targeted staffing levels, and some controllers overseeing Newark took stress leave following the April 28 outage.

The area overseeing Newark has a targeted staffing level of 38 certified controllers, but currently has just 24 in place.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Anna Driver)
gracethang/Getty Images Some of the dining options inside the Jewel in Changi Airport, Singapore.







Experts at SEO for Restaurants have identified the airport with the best food options in the world.

Their study identified several airports throughout Asia as having top-notch culinary offerings.

Premium food and beverage options are part of a larger trend of airports becoming "lifestyle hubs."







Airport food doesn't exactly have the best reputation. It's usually a "whatever you can find" situation, especially if it's an overnight layover in the middle of nowhere. But every once in a while, you happen to be landing or taking off from an airport filled with food you actually want to sit down and savor.

In February, the research team at SEO for Restaurants released its report that analyzed the average rating and food prices for airports across the globe to rank the best airports for foodies. To figure out which ones are the tastiest, the team started with a seed list created in-house. Then, it ranked that list using a number of criteria, including the number of food establishments per one million passengers, the average rating of those food establishments, and the average food price. All the information was gathered via each airport's official website, and pricing and rating data was sourced from Google Maps.

After digging into all that information, the team named Singapore's Changi Airport (SIN) the best in the world with a score of 87.79 out of 100, noting it offers the highest number of unique food establishments per million passengers.

"Singapore Changi Airport's top ranking is a testament to its commitment to providing diverse dining options for travelers. With over 300 dining establishments available across its terminals, premium amenities, unique attractions, and efficient services, Changi Airport deserves to be ranked first in many airport lists," Andrea Abbondanza, CEO and founder of SEO For Restaurants, shared in a statement provided to Travel + Leisure.

Abbondanza also noted that airports in Asia had a strong showing on the list, reflecting the "region's rich culinary heritage and the growing interest in food tourism. These airports have integrated local food culture into the travel experience, creating dining pit stops within their terminals."



Zurich Airport (ZRH) in Switzerland came in second, followed by Tokyo International Airport (HND) and Narita International Airport (NRT) in Japan in third and fourth, respectively. They were followed by Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar, Munich International Airport (MUC) in Germany, Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea, Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the United Arab Emirates, Istanbul International Airport (IST) in Turkey, and Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in France, rounding out the top 10.

"As airports evolve into lifestyle hubs, we expect to see even more emphasis on culinary offerings," Abbondanza said. "This trend not only enhances the travel experience but also provides significant opportunities for local restaurants and food businesses to showcase their cuisine to a global audience."



Related | 7 Foods You Should Never Buy at the Airport | Learn More

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
Simply Recipes / Getty Images







Key Takeaways

 Store unopened mustard n a cool, dark place away from heat and light.

 Once opened, mustard should be refrigerated to maintain its flavor and freshness.

 If you prefer room-temperature mustard, portion some out before a meal to warm up.











I keep mustard in the fridge at home. At restaurants, the bottle is always sitting on the counter. Which is the best way to store this popular condiment? To find the right answer, I spoke to went to Hadar Cohen Aviram, Executive Chef, US Consumer for McCormick & Company, the company behind French's mustard.

Where you store mustard depends on whether its unopened or opened. Keep unopened mustard at room temperature away from light, Cohen Aviram says. Make sure not to store it in high temperatures or under direct lightthese might cause it to lose flavor faster.

Once you open a bottle of mustard, then you should keep it in the refrigerator. The cold, dark environment will keep freshness at its best, Cohen Aviram says. Try not to leave it out for long stretches of timeremember those high temps and light exposure? It'll make the mustard lose its flavor faster!"



Can You Leave Mustard Out of the Fridge?

Restaurants often leave mustard sitting on the counter. However, the best practice is to keep mustard in the fridge. It does have a high acid content, points out the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), so there is some leeway to refrigeration. Its less likely to spoil as fast as condiments like mayonnaise or creamy salad dressings.

For best quality and safety, keep mustard in the refrigerator. Once open, it should safely last there for about a year, according to the USDA. Each mustard bottle has a best-by date stamped on the container. This is the date its recommended you use the mustard for the best flavor, freshness, and quality.

If you dont like your condiments cold, Cohen Aviram offers a pro tip: Start your meal prep by portioning out the desired mustard amount into a small bowl, she suggests. By the time youll need the mustard, itll already get to room temperature.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

When To Replace Your Mustard

When you taste your mustard and it isnt quite as pungent and has mellowed, thats when you should probably get a new bottle. When its not so fresh, the quality can suffer, says Cohen Aviram.

She also suggests making sure the cap stays intact and doesnt break off. Frenchs yellow mustard cap allows you to pull it all the way back until it clicks, she says. This helps keep the consistency of Frenchs mustard that fans know and love while avoiding those crusty bits. The end result is the perfect squeeze with the utmost convenience.

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Gareth Cattermole/Getty; Samir Hussein/WireImage Pedro Pascal sticks out his tongue and blows a kiss at Cannes Film Festival on May 17







Pedro Pascal sent fans into a frenzy over his appearance at the 'Eddington' photo call at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 17

The actor wore a black muscle tank top that showed off his arms and abdomen, and the bicep-revealing look quickly became the subject of many social media posts

Pascal was also very playful at the event, blowing kisses, sticking out his tongue and snapping selfies with his 'Eddington' costars







Its Pedro Pascals world  were just living in it!

As he often does, the Last of Us actor made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival, arriving in style and being his typical playful self, quickly sending fans into a frenzy online.

On Saturday, May 17, Pascal, 50, stepped out to the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, for the festival with the cast of his upcoming film Eddington in a simple black outfit that, as the internet quickly noticed, made his arms the primary focus.

For the Eddington photo call, Pascal wore black trousers, studded dress shoes and  the star of the show  a black muscle tank top that revealed not only his arms, but also a side view of his torso.

Samir Hussein/WireImage Pedro Pascal at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2025

Like costars Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler, the actor also leveled up his look  and thwarted the French sun  with a stylish pair of sunglasses for part of the photo call. But all eyes were on his arm-revealing outfit, which earned some serious praise online after the event.

Alongside snaps of the actor hugging someone and resting his hand on costar Stones back, a user on X wrote, My new religion is pedro pascals arms.

"Pedro Pascal has been massively serving at #CannesFilmFestival so far, a different X user wrote, adding that the other men dont stand a CHANCE!

Samir Hussein/WireImage Pedro Pascal snaps a selfie with his 'Eddington' costars

Yeah, another user simply captioned a collection of pictures from the photo call, which amassed thousands of likes on X.

In replies to a photo of the actor smiling slyly at the festival, his arms on full display, users wrote things like, He knows what he is doing, and I feel like a Victorian man catching a glimpse of an ankle.

Several people also remarked that their social media feeds were consumed by photos of Pascal and his arms. But it wasnt just the bicep-revealing ensemble that made waves  it was also the stars silly and affectionate behavior.

Mike Marsland/WireImage Joaquin Phoenix (left) and Pedro Pascal at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2025

Fans shared several videos of Pascals antics at the famed festival, where the actor could be seen laughing and playfighting with Phoenix, 50, smiling with Stone, 36, and  as per usual  being the life of the party.

At various points, the Mandalorian actor blew kisses, playfully stuck out his tongue and snapped selfies with his costars. He also struck one of the stars signature poses, throwing up a peace sign at the star-studded photo call.

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Andreas Rentz/Getty From left: Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler at Cannes on May 17, 2025

Pascals cheeky appearance at the Eddington evet comes one day after he, Stone and Butler, 33, made headlines for their run-in with a bee on the Cannes carpet.

On Friday, May 16, the Eddington stars were on the red carpet for the premiere of the Ari Aster-directed film when a bee crashed their photo-op. In a clip shared by Variety, Stone noticed and pointed to a bee flying just overhead, and subsequently stopped posing to recoil with a laugh.

Luckily, her castmates came to the rescue, with Butler blowing in the bees direction and Pascal swatting at it, and the group appeared to escape the insect unscathed.

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WASHINGTON  House Republicans are proposing sweeping changes to the federal Medicaid program that would kick millions of beneficiaries off the health insurance program, which covers more than 71 million low-income Americans. The bill would introduce a raft of new rules and regulatory requirements for those seeking coverage.

Families of four making as little as $35,365 would see new costs for going to the doctor, some unemployed people would become ineligible for Medicaid, some seniors would lose access to long-term care coverage, and states would lose a portion of federal dollars that help them cover those just above the poverty line. The bill would also bar Medicaid from funding services at clinics that also perform abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.

The proposal is part of a massive policy package that aims to implement President Donald Trump's campaign promises, including an array of tax cuts that will cost an estimated $4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Under pressure from ultraconservatives in the Republican conference, congressional leaders are trying to find ways to offset that revenue loss with commensurate cuts to federal spending.

Health insurance benefit programs are one of the largest federal spending categories. Trump has said Medicare cuts are off the table, so changes to Medicaid became a central focus of potential cost savings for Republicans.

One in five Americans are on Medicaid nationwide, including around 40% of all children.

While the lawmakers did not include some of the more draconian cuts to Medicaid they had considered, the proposed changes are significant.

They would save the federal government at least $625 billion and cause 7.6 million Americans to lose their health insurance over the next 10 years, according to initial estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. However, the impacts are likely greater, as the agency was unable to analyze the effects of at least 10 provisions in the bill by the time the estimates were released.

The CBO also estimates 1.3 million people who are both on Medicaid and Medicare, which provides health care for seniors, would lose Medicaid coverage. That means some benefits that Medicaid covers but Medicare does not, such as long-term care, would be lost.

"Medicaid is absolutely critical for children, for families, for people with disabilities and seniors," said Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. "There's a great deal at stake here."

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) (L) and Ranking member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) (R) speaks during a markup meeting with the committee on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. The committee met to discuss legislative recommendations for budget reconciliation. The committee room was surrounded by protesters fearing cuts or increased costs to medicaid. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Both Republicans and Democrats alleged the other side was lying about its impacts during a tense House committee hearing May 13 to debate the proposal. Republicans argued the changes are intended to eliminate "waste, fraud and abuse" from the program and said it would not hurt the people who most need Medicaid, while Democrats argued the proposal would dramatically reduce access to essential healthcare.

"Medicaid was created to provide health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves, but Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission," said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that has spearheaded the Medicaid portion of the legislation.

"We are cutting money and health care from people and families who are suffering to pay for tax cuts for the rich," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York.

So what's really in the legislation? Here's what you need to know.

Changes to Medicaid expansion

Medicaid was originally designed to provide health coverage for low-income Americans. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, expanded Medicaid to cover low-income adults who are not seniors in every state and made people eligible if they were making up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

That law also said the federal government would pay for 90% of the cost of the expansion, with the other 10% made up by states.

But states needed to adopt the expansion in order for it to be offered to their residents. Another law passed under former President Joe Biden created a financial incentive for states to do so.

This bill would eliminate that incentive. Right now, 41 states and Washington, DC, have adopted the Medicaid expansion.

The bill would also allow states to charge up to $35 per service for these adults covered under Medicaid expansion who make between 110% and 138% of the federal poverty level, which is currently $35,365 to $44,367 annually for a family of four.

House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) speaks during a markup meeting with the committee on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Work requirements

The biggest change under the proposed bill would be the implementation of work requirements for adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion.

"Large shares  almost half of the (bill's) estimated savings  are coming from provisions to require states to impose work requirements," said Robin Rudowitz, vice president at the nonpartisan health policy organization KFF. "We know from other analyses and earlier estimates of these provisions that they do result in significant coverage loss."

Even people who have jobs or are disabled can lose coverage if they don't clear the bureaucratic hurdles. For example, a Medicaid work requirement program in Arkansas resulted in around 25% of those subject to the requirement losing coverage, primarily because they failed to regularly report work status or prove their eligibility for an exemption. Guthrie said during the committee debate that Republicans are not trying to model Arkansas, listing a the bill's multiple exemptions.

Under the proposed legislation, people ages 19 to 64 would be required to show that they are working, doing community service or participating in an educational program for at least 80 hours a month. Some adults  such as pregnant women, people with disabilities, and people who are caregivers of dependent children  would be exempt.

It would also explicitly prevent the policy from being waived for certain states.

These changes would only go into effect in January 2029, after Trump's term is over, though GOP hardliners are pushing leadership for those to go into effect sooner.

Protesters hold up signs inside of a markup meeting with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce committee on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Increased eligibility checks

Right now, states are required to check whether Medicaid enrollees are still qualified for benefits once every year. The Republican proposal would increase the frequency of those checks to every six months.

States would also be required to proactively obtain updated contact information for Medicaid participants, including checking enrollee addresses to prevent enrollment in multiple states and regular review of the Master Death File to see if enrolled people have died.

States are also required to provide Medicaid coverage for qualified medical expenses up to 90 days before someone applies for coverage. The bill would limit that retroactive coverage to just one month before a person applies.

Medicaid providers would also be checked every month to determine whether they are still eligible to provide services under the program and would also be checked against the Master Death File.

The bill also includes provisions aimed at reducing the price of prescription drugs by adding new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers to prevent them from overpricing medication.

Discouraging coverage for undocumented children

It is already illegal for undocumented immigrants to get federal Medicaid benefits. However, states are required to provide Medicaid coverage to otherwise qualified applicants for 90 days while their immigration status is being verified.

The proposed legislation would end the requirement for states to provide coverage during that 90-day period. States would still be allowed to do so if they choose, but the bill bars states from receiving matching funds during that period.

Fourteen states use their own funds to provide health coverage to undocumented children, and seven states do so for adults.

The bill would punish states for using their own money to provide those services by reducing the expansion match rate from 90% to 80%.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) speaks as Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) (4th R) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) (2nd R) listen during a news conference on the budget reconciliation bill at the U.S. Capitol on May 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Planned Parenthood in the crosshairs

Medicaid recipients are currently allowed to get services from any qualified provider, including clinics like Planned Parenthood, though federal funds cannot be used to directly pay for abortions.

The bill would bar Medicaid from paying for services of any kind at nonprofits that are primarily engaged in family planning or reproductive health and provide abortions.

That could be a sizable blow to Planned Parenthood and the women it serves: Around one in 10 female Medicaid beneficiaries between the ages of 15 and 49 receive family planning services at Planned Parenthood, according to KFF.

In addition to abortions, Planned Parenthood clinics offer birth control, pregnancy testing, STD testing, and basic gynecological services.

Another provision in the bill would bar federal matching funds for "gender transition procedures" for Medicaid or CHIP enrollees under age 18, including puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery.

Financing restrictions

Right now, states are allowed to raise money to pay for their portion of Medicaid spending through local government, state government, and health care-related taxes known as "provider taxes."

The proposed legislation would bar states from creating new provider taxes or increasing the rates of any existing taxes.

People who support limiting provider taxes argue they are used to artificially inflate the amount of money the federal government pays into the program. Experts say restricting provider taxes would likely force states to make difficult choices to make up additional costs.

"There are very big cuts to Medicaid here, and states will not have any good choices to make up these lost federal funds," said Alker of Georgetown. "States have to either raise taxes, cut people off, or restrict access and benefits."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about the proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid
Brice W. Herndon and Sons Funeral Home Cristina Pangalangan

After spending nearly six hours unattended in the back seat of her mothers car on a hot South Carolina day, 13-year-old Cristina Pangalangan died with blistered skin and a soiled diaper.

The girl, who had cerebral palsy, used a wheelchair and was non-verbal, died of hyperthermia as temperatures inside the vehicle reached up to 135 degrees in the summer of 2019, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitors Office in Colleton County, S.C.

Meanwhile, her mother, Rita Pangalangan, and her boyfriend, Larry King Jr., were just a few feet away, inside Kings home. Prosecutors said the couple, who were in the midst of a multi-day methamphetamine binge, tortured Cristina by leaving her alone in the sweltering car for five hours and 42 minutes on Aug. 15, 2019.

Footage captured on Kings home surveillance camera showed King and Rita arguing, rocking on a porch swing and embracing lustily inside the homes front doorway throughout the afternoon, the release states. At one point, they went inside for nearly an hour and had sex, King later admitted.

About four hours after Cristina was put in the vehicle, King and Rita learned they were locked out of the car. The pair then traveled to Rita's house  in Kings pickup truck  to get a spare key fob, per the release.

By the time Cristina was removed from the car, she was dead. Her body temperature was recorded at 109.9  the highest reading the coroners offices thermometer can read, prosecutors said. Vomit was also found in Cristinas lungs, suggesting she breathed in stomach fluids as her body shut down, according to a forensic pathologist who testified at the couples trial.

In September 2023, a jury found Rita, 53, and King, 45, guilty of murder and inflicting great bodily injury on a child in connection with Cristinas hyperthermia death, per the release. Rita was sentenced to 37 years in prison and King to 32 years. Both are also serving concurrent 20-year sentences for the abuse charge.

Colleton County Sheriffs Office Rita Pangalangan and Larry King Jr.

Cristina couldnt scream, and she couldnt open the car door for herself, Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said of the girl, who also had developmental and seizure disorders.

"Perhaps the most appalling thing demonstrated by the surveillance video is that this helpless girl died while these two self-absorbed, drug-addled defendants were often no more than a few feet away, Stone added, per the release. It would have taken only minimal care and attention to save her life.

At the time of her arrest, Rita was a teacher with the Colleton County School District and resigned from her position on Aug. 13, 2019, a notice from the state Board of Education shows. Following her conviction, Rita's teaching license was permanently revoked. She had over 25 years of teaching experience, the board said.

My mom, she loved Cristina so much, and shes a good mom," Rita's other daughter, Elizabeth Clyde, said in court after her mother's conviction, per KCRG-TV. "She would often say that God created her to be Cristinas mom because she was tough and she could handle it."

She also said her mother "made sure Cristina had whatever she needed" and that Cristina was "her whole world."

But an 18-year-old witness testified during the trial that just three days before Cristina's death, Rita asked her to babysit Cristina for a few hours, per the release. She claimed she was left with no groceries and Rita did not return until two nights later.

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Rita's former roommate also testified that she often tried to force her into caring for Cristina on short notice. On one occasion, she refused because she had to go to work, but Rita was persistent.

She told me to leave Cristina in my car with the windows down because she does it all the time, the roommate testified, according to prosecutors.

In August 2022, a wrongful death and survival action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Cristina's estate and named Rita and King as defendants, records reviewed by PEOPLE show.

A year earlier, a separate lawsuit was filed against the state Department of Social Services, alleging that the department "had been notified numerous times regarding the inappropriate care provided to Cristina by her mother," and did not keep her safe, FITS News reported, citing the complaint.

By October 2024, a settlement tied to both lawsuits had been reached totaling around $314,000, per the settlement reviewed by PEOPLE. Of that amount, the Department of Social Services paid $195,000 to Cristina's estate.

In her obituary, Cristina was remembered as a "purely loving and wonderful soul" who loved watching cartoons.



If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.



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Leveled homes, snapped trees and flipped cars are seen on Saturday, May 17 after a possible tornado swept through London, Kentucky, on Friday. - Clement/Petramala/WxChasing

A violent, tornado-spawning storm system tore across the central US, leaving at least 25 people dead in Missouri and southeastern Kentucky as it cut a path of destruction through several states.

The storm made its way towards Kansas and Oklahoma late Sunday, where significant damage was reported in Grinnell, a town some 250 miles west of Wichita. Photos show severely damaged homes, blocked roads and overturned vehicles. One image shows a local church with its roof blown off.

Parts of the I-70 and Kansas Highway northwest of the state have been closed due to downed power lines near Grinnell, according to roadway tracker KanDrive.

In the small town of Plevna, roughly 60 miles from Wichita, Reno County Sheriff Darrian Campbell said a passing tornado Sunday night caused significant damage to homes.

We did have a tornado touch down and travel approximately 12 miles and went through a small town of Plevna, Campbell said in an email to CNN.

There are no reports of injuries in Kansas, where a life-threatening tornado alert was issued for the cities of Sylvia, Plevna, and Abbyville until roughly midnight CST. CNN has reached out to state authorities for more details.

Over the weekend, 18 deaths were reported in Kentucky, just hours after authorities announced seven fatalities in the St. Louis, Missouri area.

Two additional deaths were reported in northern Virginia. Both fatalities were caused by trees falling onto vehicles, one in Fairfax County and another on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County police and the United States Park Police said.

The storms damaged homes and downed power lines across the Midwest and Great Lakes, brought by the same system that produced destructive storms and tornadoes Thursday.

Over 100,000 homes and businesses across five states were without power as of Sunday night, with Missouri, Michigan and Arkansas among the hardest hit, according to Poweroutage.us.

The same storm system hit Colorado Sunday afternoon, producing at least two tornadoes. Homes and buildings in Arapahoe, Adams and Elbert County were damaged or lost, according the counties sheriffs offices. No injuries were reported.

Its part of a multiday spate of widespread severe weather stretching into early next week. As the system that generated deadly tornadoes in Missouri and Kentucky loses strength, another round of severe storms is expected near the border with Mexico, thrusting more than 20 million Americans across the Southwest in the risk zone.

Grier Allen carries Lynn White's pet turtle in a plastic bin from what is left of White's home in London, Kentucky, on Saturday. - Carolyn Kaster/AP

Southeastern Kentucky hit hard

The National Weather Service reported a radar-confirmed, large, extremely dangerous tornado sweeping east across lower Kentucky shortly after midnight.

Video and photos from southeastern Kentucky show a trail of destruction that began in Pulaski County before moving east into neighboring Laurel County, leaving at least 18 dead and 10 in critical condition across the state. Videos showed widespread damage to buildings, cars, trees and infrastructure in the wake of the possible tornado.

Ive now been governor for at least 14 federally declared disasters, 13 of them weather. And this is one of the worst, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Saturday evening. Its one of the worst in terms of the loss of human life. Its one of the worst in terms of damage.

Beshear has declared a state of emergency in the state and requested a federal disaster declaration.

Mahala Watts told CNN affiliate WLKY her family was watching the news after 11 p.m. Friday when their phones started blaring with tornado warnings. She grabbed the dog, and her family took cover in the bathroom in the center of their home in Laurel County.

The storm suddenly roared over her house  as the family was breathing in all the debris. They got on their hands and knees, Watts told the station. A bathroom mirror fell on Watts before the roar went silent.

We were just kind of praying, you know, scared it was going to come back, she said. We had no idea the roof was gone. The fridge was blocking the bathroom door.

Watts told WLKY her family climbed over the refrigerator and stood outside in the dark, fearing another hit. Cars were overturned and debris was strewn about. They used a relatives car to get to a hospital where they sought refuge before making it to a hotel after the storm passed.

Damage from a Friday night storm is seen at the London-Corbin Airport in London, Kentucky, on Saturday. - WLKY

Drone video over London, Kentucky, at daylight Saturday showed a vast wasteland of damaged and overturned vehicles and flattened homes as first responders searched heaps of rubble for possible survivors. London is about 75 miles south of Lexington.

At the London-Corbin Airport, several planes were damaged and a medical helicopter was destroyed, CNN affiliate WLKY reported, adding officials said at least one airplane was pulled into a funnel cloud. Hangars and other buildings were leveled.

In another video from Laurel County, first responders are seen descending on the Sunshine Hills area, a barren landscape of twisted cars, downed trees and piles of debris.

Seventeen deaths were reported in Laurel County, including in London, Mayor Randall Weddle told CNN affiliate WKYT. Among those who died was Maj. Leslie Roger Leatherman of the Laurel County Fire Department, who had been responding to the storm, the governor said Saturday.

I have never personally witnessed what Ive witnessed here tonight. Theres a lot of devastation, Weddle told WKYT.

Police in Corbin, south of London, were responding to mutual aid calls for tornado victims and described the devastation as overwhelming.

Stop and pray for Laurel County residents and victims of the tornado that touched down there, the department wrote.

Pulaski County Judge Executive Marshall Todd declared a state of emergency, and crews are working on cleanup efforts, county spokesperson John Alexander told CNN. One person was reported dead in the county.

Heavy damage can be seen in Somerset, a city in Pulaski County to the west of London, where emergency officials urged residents to stay indoors.

The southern side of the city has been hit by a possible tornado! the Somerset Fire Department posted on social media around 11 p.m. Friday. Please avoid the area, poles and power lines are down!

A large tree blocks a road after a severe storm moved through St. Louis on Friday. - Jeff Roberson/AP

St. Louis has massive damage

A storm that produced a devastating tornado in the St. Louis area Friday afternoon has left five people dead and many others injured, according to local authorities. The EF3 tornado traveled at least 8 miles, according to an initial survey conducted by the National Weather Service.

Were just a city thats really grieving, the citys new mayor, Cara Spencer, told reporters Saturday. About 5,000 buildings have been impacted by the severe weather but she noted, This community is coming together in a truly, truly amazing way.

Spencer called the event one of the worst storms in the citys history. A curfew will remain in place overnight and thousands of homes and businesses still have no power. Nearly 40 people were injured, the mayor said. A state of emergency was declared in the city, and officials are seeking a federal major disaster declaration.

More than 130 miles to the south of St. Louis, in Scott County, two others were killed during Fridays storms, Sheriff Derick Wheetley announced on social media. Several others were taken to medical facilities, with injuries ranging from minor to severe, the sheriff added.

The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable, the sheriff said.

The devastation occurred after a tornado warning was issued at 2:34 p.m. Friday and a likely tornado touched down seven to eight minutes later, said Ben Herzog, a science and operations officer with the National Weather Service.

One St. Louis resident, Cindy Spellman, told CNN her niece was in her apartment when the storm hit.

Damage from the Friday storm is seen in St. Louis. - Cindy Spellman

When the sirens sounded, she went to the basement of her building, Spellman said.

When her niece returned to her apartment, she had to push her way inside because the tornado had thrown all of her furniture to the far walls.

They helped clean up after the storm passed and had to park over a mile away due to road closures, Spellman said. Dirt, glass and debris from trees and nearby homes coated everything inside the apartment and building. It took more than four hours to secure her nieces apartment, clean it and remove her necessary belongings before dark.

A man helps remove the debris Saturday after a tornado struck in St. Louis. - Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

Another resident, Joan Miller Hitt, was in her home Friday when it was torn apart like a dollhouse.

When a large tree outside started swaying violently and all the doors shut like in the movie Carrie, Miller Hitt and her husband took shelter in a bathroom. Seconds later, the whole back of the house was gone.

Miller Hitt said she never saw it coming.

I never had any fear of anything happening to that house with a storm because of where I live and the sound structure of the house, she told CNNs Fredricka Whitfield on Saturday afternoon. I go between being overwhelmed, shocked, teary.

Gov. Mike Kehoe said he has a lready been in contact with federal officials about disaster relief. The American Red Cross opened three shelters in St. Louis for storm and tornado victims, the nonprofit announced Saturday.

First responders looking for victims or people in distress searched about 4,000 residences. More technical searches with boom microphones and cameras were being conducted Saturday.

One victim was identified as Patricia Pendleton, who had been serving lunches before the storm caused a roof to collapse at Centennial Christian Church, her family told CNN affiliate KMOV.

Residents inspect their home after a tornado tore off the back wall of a two-story house in St. Louis. - Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

Sarah Russell, commissioner of the City Emergency Management Agency in St. Louis, said some of the tornado sirens did not go off Friday, which will be investigated.

Were looking into that, she told reporters Saturday. The focus now is on life-saving measures in the community, she added.

The citywide system of tornado sirens was being replaced and had undergone testing on Thursday. Residents were encouraged to rely on multiple warning systems, including mobile apps and weather radio, she said.

The National Weather Service is surveying the damage and has no information on the intensity but estimated winds reached 100 mph.

Herzogs message for residents: I think the biggest thing would be staying away if you dont need to be around.

A house lies collapsed under a mountain of bricks, after a tornado struck in St. Louis, on Friday. - Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

Damaging storm risks persist

As the system that hit Missouri and Kentucky weakens and pushes across the Southeast, another round of severe storms threatens the Great Plains and Texas.

The level 3 of 5 threat of severe storms will affect the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex Saturday evening, with large hail, damaging winds and the potential for tornadoes.

The possibility of more severe weather stretches through Tuesday in the Great Plains and the lower Mississippi River Valley.

The Plains will remain the main focus of severe weather on Sunday and Monday as well as the storms passing through Oklahoma and Kansas. The severe thunderstorm threat will then shift back into parts of the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday.

CNNs Kelly Murray, Scott Withers, Phil Gast and Isaac Yee contributed to this report.

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At least 32 people were killed in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia after storms and tornadoes tore through the region as part of an extreme weather outbreak on May 16, "leaving behind a trail of destruction," authorities said.

The toll includes at least 23 dead in Kentucky and seven in Missouri, authorities there said. The number of fatalities was expected to continue increasing, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

The Kentucky deaths were concentrated in Laurel County in the southeastern part of the state, where a tornado tore through the city of London. A Laurel County firefighter died while responding. Randall Weddle, mayor of the city of London, told the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that at least 23 people there died. Beshear confirmed at least 18 deaths: 17 in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County. The youngest victim is a 25-year-old Laurel County man.

Beshear said during a 5 p.m. press conference on May 17 that he expected the Kentucky death toll to "potentially rise."

This was a devastatingly strong tornado that tore through a subdivision in the middle of the night and that is the worst type of natural disaster," he said.

The tornadoes came amid a severe weather outbreak with preliminary reports of tornadoes in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and even New Jersey.

The tornado that struck the south end of Laurel County leveled more than a dozen houses to their foundations in the Westland neighborhood and left the streets full of brick, wood and personal belongings, the Courier Journal reported.

"Ive never felt the ground vibrate so hard, said Keith Clark, whose family huddled in a closet during the storm. It was really bad. Then hearing neighbors scream and you cant get to them, its pretty scary.

St. Louis tornado: Up to a mile wide, maximum winds 150 mph

The National Weather Service St. Louis released preliminary information on the May 16 twister that killed five people in the city and injured at least 38.

The tornado was an EF3 with winds of 150 mph, according to a NWS social media post. Its path was at least eight miles long and up to a mile wide. It began in the city of Clayton at 2:41 p.m. Central.

Roads closed, homes damaged

Destruction to buildings and roadways has been widespread, officials said.

Eric Gibson, who heads Kentucky's Emergency Management department, said hundreds of homes have been damaged in the state.

Parts of 24 state highways were closed May 17 because of the disaster, Beshear said.

The Laurel County Sheriffs Office, London Police Department and Kentucky State Police answered more than 4,000 calls for service related to the disaster, the governor said.

Nearly 70,000 without power in Kentucky

Beshear said 69,218 people remain without power statewide.

Thats down from a high of 172,711 power outages in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

A man inspects damage from a tornado in London, Kentucky, on May 17, 2025.

Beshear, a Democrat, said he spoke with federal emergency officials about disaster recovery and is working with President Donald Trumps administration.

"Politics has no place in responding to national disasters like this one, and for the two events that we've already had this year, we've seen a White House and a FEMA organization that has performed well and has done what we've asked, he said.

Kentucky victims range in age from 76 to 25

Beshear listed the sex and age of those who died in the Kentucky storms. The oldest is a 76-year-old man, the youngest a 25-year-old man, both from Laurel County, a community of 63,000 people south of Lexington in the Appalachian region.

The tornado also killed a 48-year-old and a 51-year-old woman from Laurel County. Beshear didn't know the ages of three other individuals who died. The other confirmed fatalities are individuals in their 60s and 70s.

At least 10 people are in critical condition and others are receiving medical care, Beshear said.

"All our efforts are still focused on searching and rescuing anyone who might still be in danger," the governor said. "And tending to those who are still fighting for their lives."

Kentucky tornado had powerful winds, possibly up to 165 mph

Beshear said he was awaiting more information on the strength of the Kentucky tornado.

The information he received from the National Weather Service, which he said was relayed to him "secondhand," is that the tornado was an EF3 when it went through the Somerset community.

An EF3 tornado has winds of 136 to 165 mph.

Damage from a tornado is seen in London, Kentucky, on May 17, 2025.

'A roar like I've never heard before'

Sharon Deaton ran up the stairs of her home in Laurel County to grab a candle.

When I get to the top of the stairs, the roar was unreal, Deaton said, recalling a reported tornado that struck the area Friday. Then, there it was.

She and her family huddled against a wall in a small portion of the family room thats underground.

We covered our heads up and prayed really hard, she said. Everyone says it sounds like a freight train, but to me it was a roar like Ive never heard before.

One of many aircraft at London-Corbin Airport damaged or destroyed after a tornado ripped through parts of Laurel County and London, Kentucky. May 17, 2025

The family began to hear glass and window panes breaking.

When it passed, Deaton looked around, saw her family was safe, and I said, There is nothing in this house that I cant leave behind.'

When the family tried to leave, though, they found they were trapped because they couldnt get through the garage door or the back door.

As she was rushed by other family members to vehicles and taken to safety, she couldnt see the neighborhood shed lived in since the 80s.

Then she returned to it during the daylight of Saturday morning.

It broke my heart, Deaton said as she stifled a sob.

She loved this neighborhood by the London-Corbin airport, loved the quiet street where she walked her dog.

Now, her clothes were being stacked in the back of an SUV and several cars sat in her front lawn.

We dont even know whose those are, she said.

Deaton placed her hands over her mouth as she looked across the hills of trees reaching toward the sky with no leaves and houses exposed to their beams.

Im just believing that, yes its changed, but I know a God that restores, so thats where were at, she said.

-Louisville Courier Journal

Firefighter dies responding to tornado

Major Roger Leslie Leatherman died after being fatally injured while responding to a reported tornado in Kentucky, the Laurel County Fire Department shared in a social media post.

The department said Leatherman "was a dedicated public servant for 39 years, answering the call to protect and help others in their most critical time of need.

Please keep Major Leathermans family, friends, and fellow responders in your thoughts and prayers, the post said.

-Louisville Courier Journal

Laurel County residents, injured in storm, return to destruction

Tammie Warren crouched on the debris that used to be her home, calling out for her nearly 2-year-old gray miniature schnauzer, named after country music legend Willie Nelson. The wind blew through Laurel County, rustling siding and spraying water from broken water pipes in a house next door.

Willie, she called out. Come on, baby, lets go for a ride.

Willie, do you want a treat? she called again.

Damage in the Sunshine Hills subdivision seen on May 17, 2025, after a tornado tore through Laurel County and London, Kentucky.

When her phone alerted her to a tornado the night before, she ran to her front windows to see neighbors hopping in their trucks to leave. As she ran to a utility door, she couldnt get it open. Then, a rush of air blew the door open, threw her to the ground and dropped her hot water heater on her left leg.

It must have been adrenaline, but I pulled my leg out, she said. I was under that granite slab right there. I crawled out and sat on that slab for probably 45 minutes until the fire department was able to come rescue me.

Tammie Warren is looking for her dog, Willie, after a tornado tore through the neighborhood off Saddle Road in London, Kentucky. May 17, 2025

Warren's husband was found in the kitchen, a cut to his neck. He was taken to a hospital in Lexington. And her son, blood still leaking from wounds to his legs and wearing a hospital band, walked dazed through the property shouting for Willie.

Jesus, let me find him, Warren said, as she tried to step through the debris and saw nails sticking up near her foot. She stopped and began to cry. Please, Jesus, let me find him.

Stephanie Mink stood at an intersection of two unidentifiable roads that no longer had street signs.

How do we find out what happened to the people in this home? she asked. She was looking for family. As she relayed her phone number, her voice began to tremble.

-Louisville Courier Journal

2 dead in Virginia storms

Severe weather in Virginia led to at least two deaths, authorities said on May 16.

In Fairfax County, a woman was killed in her car after a tree fell on it, police said.

Another driver was killed at about 6 p.m. when a tree fell on a vehicle along the George Washington Memorial Parkway near Morningside Lane, in Fort Hunt, Virginia, the U.S. Park Police said in an email to USA TODAY.

Tornado one of worst storms in St. Louis history, mayor says

The catastrophic tornado is believed to be one of the worst storms in the history of St. Louis, Mayor Spencer said in a May 17 news conference. Spencer said in addition to the five killed in the city, at least 38 people were injured. About 5,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed in the storm, she said. Sirens could be heard in the distance as Spencer and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe gave updates.

The tornado downed trees and ripped entire walls off of homes, as photos of the destruction showed.

"The devastation is truly tremendous," Spencer said.

St. Louis resident Joan Miller said she narrowly escaped when the tornado struck her brick house.

One of the neighborhoods devastated when a tornado tore through parts of Laurel County and London, Kentucky. Saturday, May 17, 2025

"The wind started, the tree out front was shaking so violently," Miller said. "And suddenly all the doors shut, the windows flew out from the bedroom ... the entire back of my house ... you can see straight into the alley now."

About 130 miles away in Scott County, Missouri, the sheriff's office said two more were killed in a tornado that tore through rural areas there.

"The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable," Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a statement.

One of the people killed during the storm was in a car at the time, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy said. Authorities didn't give additional details about the circumstances of the deaths or injuries.

The death toll in St. Louis did not increase as search and rescue crews combed through the debris overnight, which is good news, Spencer said. The teams worked through about 2:30 a.m. to go door-to-door, said Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson. They searched about 4,000 homes and plan to continue searching and repeating searches.

"We've got a lot of work left to do," Jenkerson said. "We wont leave any stone unturned."

Tornadoes kill at least 23, injure more in Kentucky

Authorities in Kentucky expect the death toll to increase as they continue to search the ravaged areas. In Laurel County, the toll rose from nine earlier on May 17 to 23. The tornado there hit just before midnight on May 16, the sheriff's office said. Many more were injured.

Four were injured in Louisville when a tree collapsed "across the center" of a home. The injured included two adults and two children who were trapped in the house before being rescued, the fire department said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The National Weather Service reported possible tornadoes in Pulaski and Laurel counties in southeastern Kentucky. According to a May 16 storm report, a trained spotter reported a tornado in Somerset, while "likely tornado damage" was shown at the London-Corbin Airport.

A relief station was set up at South Laurel High School gym, according to Laurel County Clerk Tony Brown. The station has supplies for victims of the tornado, as well as food for victims and first responders.

London Mayor Randall Weddle said people came out overnight with chainsaws and other tools to help.

"It's just been amazing to watch all the moving parts here in our city and our county," Weddle said. "Right now, they're still searching for people through all this debris."

-Bailey Loosemore, Stephanie Kuzydym and Hannah Pinski, the Louisville Courier Journal

Post office destroyed after storms hit in Indiana

Tornadoes touched down in Bloomington, Greene County, Brown County and elsewhere across Indiana on May 16, according to the Herald-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. A video on social media showed softball-sized hail in Greene County.

Ashley Byarlay was driving home at 7:30 p.m. when she watched a tornado form over a housing subdivision in Bloomington, Indiana.

The remains of the Post Office on South Rogers Road in Clear Creek, Indiana, on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

"My dream job was to be a storm chaser," she said, "so I got to live my dream job today."

She said she watched the tornado touch down near South Rogers and That Road and then lift up and travel farther east before dropping down again.

The Clear Creek Post Office was destroyed along with several other buildings. Transformers and power lines were lying in the street as people came out from their homes and drove by in cars to see the damage.

-Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times

More: Trump cuts leave National Weather Service scrambling to cover vital shifts

50 million people affected by severe storms from Texas to New York over the weekend, forecasters say

Severe storms over the weekend are expected to stretch from Texas and Georgia up to New York, according to AccuWeather. Approximately 50 million people are at risk of tornadoes and thunderstorms over vast swaths of the country on May 17 and 18, the forecasting company reported.

Beginning the afternoon of May 17, AccuWeather reported a high risk of isolated tornadoes, large hail and flooding in the southern U.S., particularly in and around Dallas. On May 18, tornadoes, large hail and downpours are projected to hit parts of Kansas and Oklahoma.

In the Northeast, residents can expect flooding downpours and wind gusts upwards of 50 mph starting the evening of May 17.

Forecasters project severe weather continuing early next week in the central United States across the Plains and Mississippi Valley.

- Eduardo Cuevas

Power outages across several states after storms

Crews worked to slowly restore power to the tens of thousands in the dark on May 17 after storms hit across the central part of the United States the day before, according to USA TODAY's power outage tracker.

There were about 73,000 Kentucky homes and businesses without power, down from the more than 100,000 reported earlier in the morning by Beshear. Five counties had also reported states of emergencies.

In Missouri, about 78,000 customers were in the dark. Of those, nearly 40,000 were in St. Louis where a deadly tornado caused destruction.

Another large cluster of power outages was impacting customers in Michigan after severe storms on the nights of May 15 and 16. About 135,000 homes and businesses were without power. There were early reports of five tornadoes, hail and high winds across Michigan on May 15, according to the Lansing State Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Tornado hits Atlantic County New Jersey

The National Weather Service said an EF0 tornado hit Collings Lakes in Atlantic County New Jersey on May 16, according to the local ABC station.

An EFO has maximum winds of 65 to 75 mph. The tornado was on the ground for a minute, felling tree branches and ripping metal roofing from a building.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornadoes, storms turn deadly in Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia: Updates
Former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords stands among vases of flowers that make up the Gun Violence Memorial installation on the National Mall in Washington on June 7, 2022. (Patrick Semansky / AP file)

The Trump administration has decided to permit the sale of devices that enable standard firearms to fire like machine guns, a move that one person familiar with the matter said was by far the most dangerous thing this administration has done on gun policy.

The Justice Department on Friday announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the National Association for Gun Rights. The lawsuit challenged an ATF rule banning forced reset triggers  devices that allow semiautomatic weapons to fire rapid bursts of bullets.

This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.

Vanessa Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Giffords, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, condemned the move.

The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions, said Gonzalez. This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them, everyone else will suffer the consequences.

Ongoing court battles

The move comes after a majority of judges on the conservative 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals appeared to side with the gun rights group during oral arguments in the case in December. The judges cited a Supreme Court decision last year finding that another rapid-fire device, called a bump stock, did not convert firearms into illegal machine guns.

Since the forced reset trigger devices will not be considered firearms, they can be purchased anonymously, without a background or age check. Machine guns have been illegal in the United States since 1986, a notion that even gun rights groups have come to accept.

There have been several lawsuits over the forced reset trigger ban, and lower court judges had issued rulings that came down on both sides of the question. Assuming the 5th Circuit ruled against the ban, the issue likely would have ended up in front of the Supreme Court.

But now the Trump administration is abandoning the effort to restrict the devices. A former senior ATF official criticized the move and predicted that the courts would have upheld a ban on reset trigger devices.

We were going to win this, said the former senior ATF official. These things are not like bump stocks.

Trumps White House counsel, David Warrington, is a co-founder of the National Association for Gun Rights and was counsel of record in the lawsuit until he left to join the Trump administration. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his role, if any, in the settlement discussions.

Brady United, the countrys oldest gun violence prevention group, condemned Warringtons role.

This dangerous backroom deal spearheaded by Trumps general counsel  the co-founder of one of the biggest gun rights groups in the country  is not only an incredible abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible gun safety policy and puts communities at immediate risk, Kris Brown, the groups president, said in a statement to NBC News.

A DOJ official said Warrington was not involved in the settlement negotiations.

A settlement 'in perpetuity'

Under the settlement, the Justice Department will bind itself, in perpetuity, not to enforce the machine gun ban against any device that functions like forced reset triggers, one person familiar with the settlement told NBC News. ATF must also return thousands of seized forced reset triggers to their previous owners. In other words, machine guns will soon become legal to possess and purchase, and the federal government will flood the market with these devices.

Some of the most popular versions of forced reset triggers are made by a company called Rare Breed Triggers, which was sued by the ATF in a separate case. That case will have to be dropped as part of the settlement, one of the people familiar with it said.

The Justice Department news release said the settlement includes agreed-upon conditions that significantly advance public safety with respect to FRTs, including that Rare Breed will not develop or design FRTs for use in any pistol and will enforce its patents to prevent infringement that could threaten public safety. Rare Breed also agrees to promote the safe and responsible use of its products.

Proponents of the devices dispute that forced reset triggers turn standard guns into machine guns. But the ATF determined that the devices allow a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle to fire as fast as a military M-16 in automatic mode, according to court records.

The effort to ban forced reset triggers originated in the first Trump administration, at the same time that the ATF also banned bump stocks, another device that enables rapid trigger pulls that mimic the firing rate of a machine gun. The gunman in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting killed 58 people while firing from his hotel room window using bump stocks.

Brady United is named for Ronald Reagans press secretary James Brady, who was injured in the 1981 assassination attempt on the president, and Bradys wife. (Walt Zebowski / AP file)

The Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 margin last year that the bump stock ban was unlawful. The majority concluded the devices did not meet the definition of a machine gun because they didnt allow for automatic fire with the single pull of a trigger.
Abu Dhabi  President Trump said Friday that the United States would have the situation in Gaza "taken care of," telling reporters that people were starving in the besieged Palestinian territory, echoing a warning that aid agencies have repeated for months.



"We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," the president told reporters.



The brief comments came as Mr. Trump concluded the final leg of a multi-day tour of Arab nations in the Middle East, including Qatar, which has been a key partner with the U.S. and Egypt in trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.



Israel has imposed a blockade for over two months on Gaza, leading United Nations agencies and other humanitarian groups to warn of rapidly dwindling fuel, food and medicine supplies in the Palestinian territory that, before the war, was home to about 2.4 million people.

Injured Palestinian children receive medical treatment at Nasser Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza, May 16, 2025. / Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty

Israel has repeatedly denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and it blames the suffering of the enclave's civilian population entirely on Hamas, which sparked the war with its unprecedented Oct. 7 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.



Mr. Trump's remarks came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced openness to any new ideas to bring aid into Gaza, after a U.S.- and Israeli-backed plan was widely criticized, while also expressing concern over the humanitarian situation in the territory.

Thousands of children in Gaza severely malnourished, United Nations says

The United Nation's World Food Programme says there are at least 14 000 children in Gaza who are severely malnourished.

Six-year-old Najwa Hajaj is one of them. A hospital in Gaza had to discharge her because they ran of food and medicine. Her mother says she weighs just 13 pounds. That's the average weight of a 3-month-old infant.

Her sister died of hunger last year. Her parents are terrified they could lose another child.

"She is dying in my hands, and I can't do anything," her father, Hussain Hajaj, told CBS News. "I can barely feed her, I don't know what to do."

All he has at the moment is baby formula.



Medical student Adnan Hanza was volunteering at the European hospital in southern Gaza, where cases of malnutrition had been on the increase. But the medical facility was evacuated earlier this week after Israeli strikes nearby.

"I know this is malnutrition for all the people here," Hanza said. "Like the skeleton, people walking in the streets."

Hanza resides with his parents and siblings in a bombed-out home they returned to after being displaced 12 times. His mother showed CBS News their kitchen. The cupboards were bare. The little food they have won't last them a week.

Relentless Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza

Gaza's civil defense rescue agency said Friday that 50 people had been killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory since midnight.



"The number of martyrs killed in Israeli shelling targeting civilian homes in the northern Gaza Strip between midnight and early this morning has risen to 50... Our teams are still working in those areas," civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP.

The bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on northern Gaza are brought to the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza City, May 16, 2025. / Credit: Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu/Getty

"The Israeli occupation bombed the house next to mine, hitting it directly while its residents were inside," Yousef Al-Sultan, 40, from the al-Salatin area, west of Beit Lahia, told AFP, reporting "air strikes, artillery shelling and gunfire from quadcopter drones."



"There is a massive wave of displacement among civilians. Fear and panic grip us in the middle of the night," he said.

Head of the U.N. Children's Fund, Catherine Russell, said Friday in a message posted on social media that Israel's operations in Gaza had reportedly killed 45 children in just two days, which she called "unconscionable."

"This should shock the world but is largely met with indifference," Russell wrote. "Nowhere is safe for children in Gaza. This horror must stop."

She warned that more than 1 million children in Gaza were at risk of starvation, "deprived of food, water and medicine."

Children clammer for food as charities distribute hot meals to Palestinians in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2025, amid a months-long blockade of the territory by Israel. / Credit: Mahmoud ssa/Anadolu/Getty

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes in northern Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces, but Israeli media said it was part of a stepped-up operation that would include new ground incursions into the area. The IDF has said since the beginning of the war that it only targets Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, which it accuses of hiding weapons and fighters in civilian infrastructure.

Qatar and hostage families call on Netanyahu to make a deal

Hamas and allied groups seized 251 people, many of them civilians, during the Oct. 7 attack and killed about 1,200, according to Israeli officials. The hostages were brought back into Gaza, and most have been released during two separate ceasefires. Israeli officials believe 58 remain in captivity inside Gaza, about 20 of whom are still thought to be alive.

The hostages' families have led protests for months demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to secure the remaining captives' release, and they voiced new concern on Friday over the escalating military operations in Gaza, which they say puts their loved ones at increasing risk.

With President Trump now set to conclude a three-nation Middle East trip  which notably did not include a stop in Israel  the families have ramped up pressure on Netanyahu to back the American leader's calls for a negotiated resolution with Hamas.

"The hostages' families woke up this morning with heavy hearts and great concern in light of reports about increased attacks in Gaza and the imminent conclusion of President Trump's visit to the region," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum organization said in a statement on Friday. "We are in dramatic hours that will determine the future of our loved ones, the future of Israeli society, and the future of the Middle East. Missing this historic opportunity would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever. We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to join hands with President Trump's efforts, which will lead first and foremost to the release of 58 hostages and to extensive regional agreements. Time is running out, the world is watching, and history will remember."

Netanyahu's government has vowed to continue the war in Gaza until all of its goals are met. It says those goals include the release of all remaining hostages, the "military and governmental defeat of Hamas," and ensuring that Gaza "will no longer pose a threat to Israel."

There was fleeting hope for a potential breakthrough in long-running negotiations earlier this week when Hamas, in a deal negotiated directly with the Trump administration, released the last living U.S. national who had been among the hostages, Edan Alexander.

On Wednesday, as President Trump visited the country, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani lamented Israel's mounting assault in Gaza on the heels of Alexander's release, saying in an interview with CNN that it raised doubts about the prospects of ongoing diplomatic efforts.

"Unfortunately, Israeli reaction to this was a mass bombing the next day," said al-Thani, adding that, along with "statements coming out of the Israeli government" about not ending the war "is basically sending the signal that we [Israel] are not interested in negotiations."

The top Qatari diplomat stressed that the country's negotiating team remained engaged with all parties in the conflict, and "we hope to see some progress," but he cautioned: "I'm not sure if this progress will be something seen very soon with this continuing behavior."

"If there is no willingness to engage in meaningful negotiations, then how can we reach the solution?" he asked.

Thus far the Trump administration has shown no willingness to increase pressure on Netanyahu by constraining its vital military aid for Israel.

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said Thursday that the death toll in the Palestinian enclave since the war began had reached 53,010, including 2,876 people killed and nearly 8,000 injured since Israel resumed ground operations on March 18, when it ended the last ceasefire.

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By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Walmart should "eat the tariffs" instead of blaming duties imposed by his administration on imported goods for the retailer's increased prices.

His comments were in response to the world's largest retailer saying this week it would have to start raising prices later this month due to high tariffs.

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected," Trump said in a social media post.

"Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING."

Walmart said it has always worked to keep its prices as low as possible, adding that this practice will not stop.

"Well keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins," the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on Thursday the retailer could not absorb all the tariff costs because of narrow retail margins. Even so, he said, the company was committed to ensuring that tariff-related costs on general merchandise, which primarily comes from China, would not drive food prices higher.

Many U.S. companies have either slashed or pulled their full-year expectations amid friction between the U.S. and its trading partners, particularly China, as consumers curtail spending.

As a bellwether of U.S. consumer health, Walmart's explicit statement about the impact of tariffs is a signpost for how the trade war is affecting the retail sector. Walmart is noted for its ability to manage costs more aggressively than other companies to keep prices low.

Every week, 255 million people shop in its stores or place orders online around the world, and 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles (16 km) of a Walmart.

Walmart's disclosure comes about three weeks after a published report that Amazon planned to disclose how much Trump-imposed tariffs were adding to the costs of its products. The White House blasted Amazon over the report, which the company promptly denied.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Rod Nickel)
NBC News; GoFundMe; Getty Images

For more than five years, Abdul Rahman Waziri put his life on the line to protect U.S. Green Berets. He was a member of an elite unit of Afghans trained to detect hidden explosives  considered the tip of the tip of the spear in Americas bloody fight against the Taliban.

Waziri was also one of the lucky ones. Unlike many other Afghans who worked for the U.S. military, he made it out of the country during Americas chaotic withdrawal in 2021. He settled in Houston with his wife, where they were raising their two young girls.

But on April 27, Waziri, 31, was fatally shot outside his apartment complex in a dispute about parking. The shock and heartbreak felt by his family has been compounded by what they consider to be a baffling decision by law enforcement to release the gunman with no charges.

Its ridiculous, said Waziris brother, Abdullah Khan. In Afghanistan, we have no law at all. But if someone gets murdered, the person will not be free.

Houston police said in a statement that following the shooting, officers at the scene were approached by a man who identified himself as the shooter and said he and Waziri were arguing over parking. Officers interviewed the man and took possession of his gun but then let him go.

After consulting with the Harris County District Attorneys Office, the male was released and [Houston Police Department] investigators will continue their investigation, the police added. They have not released his name.

Three weeks later, no action has been taken. The authorities have not made any other public statements despite mounting pressure from the areas growing Afghan community as well as Green Berets who worked with Waziri.

He was a lion of a man but also one of the most gentle warriors I have ever seen, said Ben Hoffman, a former Green Beret who went on missions with Waziri in 2019.

This guy risked his life for us, Hoffman added. And for him to survive all of that and make it out of Afghanistan and then just die in cold blood outside an apartment complex in Houston  what is going on here?

Damali Keith, a spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorneys Office, said: We are still awaiting additional information from investigators before making a charging decision.

The Houston Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Abdul Rahman Waziri with a specialized metal detector to search for improvised explosive devices. (Courtesy Vince Leyva)

What surveillance video shows

The shooting took place just before 9:10 p.m. at the Gables at Richmond Apartments, where Waziri had been living since last year.

A surveillance camera captured Waziri driving into the parking area in a white Toyota Camry. He pulled the car to a stop and put on his blinkers. According to his brother, he was coming home from the gym. Waziri was likely going to grab his mail and then park in a spot closer to his apartment, his brother said.

But about 30 seconds after Waziris car pulled in, a black Kia sedan turned into the parking lot. It came to a stop directly behind Waziris vehicle, according to the surveillance footage, which was provided by the family's attorney.

What happened next is not entirely clear. The area where the cars were stopped cant be seen on the video because of a structure looming over the parking lot.

But Waziri can be seen walking away from his car, with the other man trailing behind him. They stop and exchange words while pointing in the direction of their vehicles. Then Waziri continues walking away and the other man returns to where their cars were parked.

Seconds later, Waziri looks back in that direction and then walks back toward his car. Its unclear what happens over the next 55 seconds. But near the end, the other mans shoes can be seen moving in the direction of his car and then back toward Waziris.

Shortly afterward, the other man was captured on the video walking away from the scene.

It shocks me that this man was not arrested, said the Waziri family attorney, Omar Khawaja.

Khawaja said he spoke to a witness and escorted that person to police headquarters five days after the shooting. The witness provided the following account to investigators, according to Khawaja.

After the initial confrontation captured on video, the other man began to kick Waziris car. Thats what prompted Waziri to walk back to the vehicles. A physical struggle ensued, with Waziri getting the upper hand, and then the other man returned to his car and retrieved a gun.

Waziri put his hands up and said something along the lines of, Dont shoot, but the gunman opened fire anyway.

NBC News efforts to reach the witness were not successful.

Police said Waziri was shot more than one time, and officers discovered his body lying next to his white Toyota. Khawaja, the familys attorney, said Waziri was unarmed at the time; he owned a gun but it was at home.

Khawaja said he is aware of at least one other witness who is too afraid to come forward.

You can imagine the kind of paralysis and fear the community feels, Khawaja said. The guy who just killed this man is still living in the community and with no consequences whatsoever. Thats a chilling effect on witnesses.

What the law says

Under Texas law, a person has a right to use deadly force if it is believed to be immediately necessary to protect against anothers use or attempted use of unlawful force.

David Crump, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said another factor looms large in a prosecutors decision on whether to bring charges: Did the person initiate the altercation?

If someone initiates a quarrel and ends up shooting a guy who was unarmed, it seems strange to me that the shooter was not arrested, Crump said. But I have to add that we dont know all the facts.

The killing has sparked protests in Houston, where thousands of Afghans have settled after fleeing their homeland. It also prompted some of Waziris Green Beret friends to write letters to Houston Mayor John Whitmire demanding justice.

One of those retired Green Berets, Vince Leyva, said in an interview that he used to call Waziri a gentle giant.

Im 6-foot-1 and he towered over me, said Leyva. But he was so calm, so well-spoken. He was not a guy who would argue, which is why this really baffles me.

Waziri and the other Afghan members of the National Mine Reduction Group, or NMRG, would be out in front of U.S. Special Forces members during missions. Their job was to identify and disable improvised explosive devices, but they sometimes found themselves in firefights during Taliban ambushes.

Beyond the risk of getting killed on the job, they were frequently hunted down by insurgents.

Everyone knew who the NMRG were, especially the Taliban, said Leyva, who helped train the Afghans. They always had targets on their backs, but they were proud to do their job.

Waziri was so good at it that he was selected to be an instructor, Leyva said, a role he had until U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.

As a member of the National Mine Reduction Group, or NMRG, Abdul Rahman Waziri would be out in front of U.S. Special Forces members during missions. (Courtesy Vince Leyva)

Waziri was looking out for others even in his last few days in his homeland as the Taliban swiftly seized major cities, according to Shireen Connor, who was part of a grassroots team of veterans and others who helped to coordinate the evacuations of Afghans.

The streets of Kabul were engulfed in panic, Connor said in a letter to the Houston mayor.

In the midst of this, Mr. Waziri, a high-profile Taliban target, was setting up safe houses not for himself but for our evacuees. Always helping other people in the face of significant personal peril. How do you define a human being like this?

After the shooting, Waziris wife and two young daughters  4-year-old Bahar and her 9-month-old baby sister, Zoya  flew to Florida to stay with his brother.

His wife is in very bad condition now, said Khan, the brother. Shes still panicking.

Khan and Waziris wife have yet to tell Bahar that her father is dead. And so, nearly every day, the little girl asks her mother and uncle a string of heartbreaking questions.

Where is my father? When is he coming home? Please, can you just call him?

CORRECTION (May 18, 2025, 9:35 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the name of Houston's mayor. It is John Whitmire, not John Whitmore.
Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana



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Welcome to the Week in Fashion, Bazaars at-a-glance guide to what the industry is talking about.

Theo James and Vittoria Ceretti Turn Up the Heat for Dolce & Gabbana

Remember a few months back when Theo James and Vittoria Ceretti were spotted filming some sort of steamy ad in the middle of the ocean and they essentially broke the internet? Well, now the official assets have been released.

Turns out, the superstar pair were modeling for a new Dolce & Gabbana Beauty campaign, in support of the brands Light Blue fragrance, and its 25th anniversary.

The campaign, which was shot in Capri, Italy, pays tribute to a similar shoot from 2007 that starred David Gandy and promoted the same fragrance. So, it seems fitting that James and Ceretti returned to the same location and sported similarly bright white swimwear, in the spirit of tradition, after all.

You can pick up a bottle of the Light Blue Eau de Parfum or Eau de Toilette at the link here. In the meantime, enjoy the clip above.

Its Raining Cherries in Zendayas Final Shoot for Louis Vuitton x Murakami

Inez & Vinoodh

As the official ambassador the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami 20th anniversary collection, weve seen Zendaya get supersized, be plopped in amusement parks and seaside villas, and sport a number of eye-popping designs. Now, in the Chapter 3 Collection campaign, shot by Inez and Vinoodh, the whimsy continues.

For the third and final campaign to celebrate the re-edition collection, the team went bigger and better than ever, capturing Zendaya in the Mediterranean riviera as she modeled pieces from the collab. All around her, pop art-like cherries fall from the skya signature motif of Murakamis designs.

These cherries decorate over 70 new pieces from the re-edition, including bags, luggage, footwear, charms, and more. They will go on sale beginning May 22. You can shop the full Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collection here.

Anok Yai and Binx Walton Have Us Dreaming of an Endless Summer With Alaia

Summer hasnt even arrived yet, but it always seems to go by too fast. However, in the new Archetypes campaign from Alaia, celebrating the houses Summer 2025 collection, the concept asks us to consider a dreamscape of endless summerone where were decked out in fabulous Alaia, of course.

Shot by Tyrone Lebon in the south of France, the luxury maison recruited models Anok Yai and Binx Walton to capture the collections essence, which was all about telling the story of an endless summer. Like the Maison itself, this season represents the beauty of purity. The most liberated beauty. Always in motion, a press release stated.

Head to the link here to shop the latest arrivals.

15 American Designers Join Forces for The Collective

Ashlyn Johnson

From May 18 to May 20 only, a special pop-up is being held at the Hindman Gallery on Manhattans Upper East Side, where a total of 15 American fashion brands are coming together for an initiative called The Collective.

We didnt want to wait for a solutionwe wanted to create one, says designer Jonathan Cohen and his business partner Sarah Leff, who spearheaded the initiative. The Collective is about taking control of our work, strengthening community, and turning an industry challenge into an opportunity to grow together.

15 brands will come together for this rare retail experience, and those that are taking part include: Alejandra Alonso Rojas, anOnlyChild, Batsheva, Christopher John Rogers, EMOTE, Gigi Burris, Hunting Season, Jonathan Cohen, Larroude, Presley Oldham, Ronny Kobo, Rosie Assoulin, Selima Optique, Studio 189, and Theophilio.

The pop-up will act as an exercise in collaboration and celebrating the union of different minds in fashion. Be sure to stop by at 32 East 67th Street.

Cooper Koch Strips It All Down for Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein/Mert Alas

Jeremy Allen White. Bad Bunny. Justin Bieber. Many have stripped to their skivvies for Calvin Klein, and now, Monsters star Cooper Koch is the latest to join the crew.

In heart-racing photos captured by Mert Alas, the Golden Globe-nominated actor is seen modeling piece of denim from the American fashion house, as well as many pairs of the brands white Cotton Stretch underwear. And what better way to celebrate the onset of summer than with some images that will make you sweat?

On doing the campaign, Koch told Esquire, It was really, really fun. And it was really exhausting. I had a trainer who was there, who had me lifting weights and doing push-ups and working out the entire day to stay pumped-up and stuff. Id never really had that experience before, so I was tired by the end of the day, but ultimately it was so, so fun. The sets were amazing. Mert Alas, the photographer, was so collaborative and had such great ideas, and we had so many laughs, and I just felt so grateful to be there the whole time.



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Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The main difference between where I keep my tea wares and where I keep my coffee equipment is one of scale. My coffee cabinet is constantly overflowing with productsceramic pour-over cones, a plunger brewer designed by a Frisbee magnate, various grinders, a Danish immersion pot with a neoprene jacket, and so forth. My tea drawer, on the other hand, has only three brewersa glass pot with a filter, a handled clay pot with a fine-mesh screen, and a lidded ceramic bowl, called a gaiwanall of which rely on the same basic method: steeping.

Why is tea prepared in such a consistent style, while the market overflows with different coffee-brewing products? The easy answer is that tea production is a millennia-old practice in China, Taiwan, and Japan, with long-standing qualitative ideals that apply to farming, processing, and preparation.* In short, tea is well figured out. Coffee, by contrast, has spent most of its commercial life being grown in Central and South America, East Africa, and Indonesia, primarily to be shipped off to North American and European markets; it's an export crop whose consumers have long prioritized low-cost and high-caffeine. Only in the last few decades has the specialty-coffee industry been able to focus on quality at every stage of the process, from farm to cup, which means that the same industry is still tweaking new ways of brewing coffee every year. (For more on that theme, I recommend The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffmann.)

*Tea grown in India, Tanzania, Kenya, and Sri Lanka is less relevant to these qualitative ideals, as it follows a colonial plantation modelhistorically grown, harvested, and processed expressly for export to Europe.

Serious Eats / Ray Mwareya

The Science of Coffee Brewing

But there are also scientific reasons behind these varied approaches to brewing coffee and tea. Much of it boils down to the composition of the plant matter in questionthe roasted and ground seeds of the coffee fruit on the one hand, and the processed and dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, or the tea plant, on the otherand the flavors, textures, and aromas we try to coax out of each.

Roasted coffee contains nearly a thousand flavor compounds. About half are aromatics, mostly generated during the roasting process. The other half are soluble solids (solubles for short) that dissolve into the beverage when you add hot water. Within the broad category of solubles, we can focus on a few main types: fruit acids; fruit sugars; caramelized sugars; and a group of 40 to 50 dry, bitter plant compounds. The concentration of each is determined by the type of plant the coffee came from, how and where it was grown, and how the coffee was processed and roasted. Brewing coffee is essentially a controlled extraction of those solubles, each of which dissolves at a different rate.

Serious Eats / Nick Cho

Imagine you're six years old and want to make a big pitcher of lemonade to sell to your neighbors. Not having much experience in the usual order of lemonade-making operations, you start with a jug of water. As soon as you squeeze in the lemon juice, it dissolves and dissipates almost instantly, along with all of its fruit acids and sugars. You then pour in granulated sugar, and it sinks to the bottom, where it takes a little while to fully dissolve. That's similar to what happens to the caramelized sugars in your coffee. They are larger molecules that are harder to break down, but they do eventually dissolve. If you've added slices of lemon to the pitcher for decoration, you might discover that over time, some unwanted pithy, bitter flavorsthe kind that exists in most plantswill start to leach into the mix, but those flavors will likewise take some time to fully dissolve and integrate with the rest of the beverage.

Similar processes occur when we brew coffee, and, with the behavior of the coffee's components in mind, we can control how our finished cup tastes by influencing the speed at which those solubles dissolve. We do that by playing with five major variables: ratio of coffee to water, size of the coffee grounds, brewing time, water temperature, and degree of agitation during brewing. There are plenty of great "how to brew coffee" guides out there, whether you're attempting pour over coffee, or using a French press or siphon brewer. But only by discussing what actually takes place when we add hot water to ground coffee can we understand why tea-brewing is different.

It's important to note that coffee, by weight, is only about 30% soluble; the other 70% is just cellulose and plant fibers. When we grind coffee, we're creating tiny, jagged geometric shapes built out of cellulose and fibers with that soluble material woven through them. In drip brewing, water enters through those jagged surfaces, saturates the particles, dissolves what it can of that soluble material, then gets rinsed out by the water coming in after it. Immersion brewing works similarly but relies mostly on osmosis to get the dissolved coffee particles to travel from the inside of each coffee ground to the rest of the brewed coffee solution.

Serious Eats / Nick Cho

Coffee ground particles are porous; their structure looks a bit like that of a sponge with little tunnels running through it. The soluble material that's extracted is embedded throughout the walls of those little tunnels. In some ways, the extraction process sort of looks like the mine cart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the water starts chasing them through the tunnels. The bigger the coffee particle, the longer the mine cart tunnel system inside that coffee particle, and the more time it will take the water to travel through it, extracting solubles as it goes. If it helps to imagine tiny versions of Indy, Willie, and Short Round being chased by the brewing water inside the coffee particle, feel free.

Controlling all five brewing variables means that you can extract the fruit acids, fruit sugars, and caramelized sugars from the coffee bed (i.e., the mass of coffee grounds that settles together in a filter), but wind down the brewing process before extracting the dry, bitter plant material. You can try any type of brewing methoddrip, immersion, a combination of the twoand as long as your brewing variables are balanced, the desirable flavor materials will be extracted into your cup.

Serious Eats / Max Falkowitz

The Science of Tea Brewing

Tea is a different story. The product of the Camellia sinensis plant is a bit more of a chameleon, in that every style of tea all starts from the same leaf. That said, as with coffee, what we taste in tea can be broken down into a few main categories: polyphenols, amino acids, and essential oils.

Polyphenols comprise a grouping of different plant compounds, like flavanols (and specifically catechins), that contribute body and structure as well as the general blueprint for a tea's flavor profile. They're also responsible for a tea's bitterness. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, contribute texture and savory qualities, and essential oils produce aromas and more delicate, complex flavors. Polyphenols dissolve and are extracted fairly quickly, while amino acids take more time, but essential oils are the ringer here: They don't actually dissolve into a tea, because oils aren't soluble in liquid. We need enough time during the steeping process for the water to break down the cellular structure of the leaf. This is what allows the essential oils to be released into the brewed tea, where they'll exist as an integral part of the tasting experienceeven though they're mostly just floating on the surface.

This doesn't mean that all teas are the same: As tea is processed, these building blocks of what we taste undergo massive changes. Raw polyphenols in the leaf will contribute more raw, "green" flavors to a tea, while oxidized polyphenols develop into heavier, deeper flavor categories. Green tea producers try to preserve more of those raw polyphenols by halting oxidation soon after picking; oolong tea processing usually involves bruising and shaping the leaves for uneven oxidation to build complexity; and in black tea production, leaf-crushing generally exposes leaves to longer oxidation periods, creating richer colors and robust flavors. Many tea producers will also adjust their farming practices to change the way chemical compounds build inside of the leaves. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers trigger more amino acid production in the leaves. Higher-elevation farmland and longer periods between harvests allow leaves to develop high essential oil content.

But virtually all tea varieties, from a Japanese kabuse sencha to a high-mountain oolong from Taiwan, require an immersion steeping method. Tea needs steeping because of the way that tea leaves give up the ghost.

In the final stages of processing high-quality tea, the leaves are finishedshaped, fired, dried. This can be done in several different ways, but, with just a few exceptions, high-quality tea is generally prepared with the leaves fully intact and rolled into a tight globe or a thin stripe. In order to let the water fully penetrate the structure of the tea leaf, you need time and saturation. The leaves need to be able to unfurl, and you need the surfaces of the tea leaves to be exposed to the steeping water.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The easiest way to achieve this is always going to be through immersion, meaning that steeping is the core of the process, though different preparation methods are used depending on the tea style. Gaiwanssmall lidded bowlsare designed for high-temperature, high-dose, short steeping times for tightly rolled, globe-shaped oolong teas. Standard teapots with larger capacities work well for thin, stripe-shaped black teas and China green teas with longer 2- to 3-minute steep times, giving the leaves plenty of room and time to lazily unfurl. And handled Japanese clay kyusu pots allow the preparer to use low-temperature water and quick steeping times, while the handle allows for gentle, rocking pours to drain the teapot quickly in between infusions.

Meanwhile, rigging up a drip tea-brewing process can work to extract polyphenols and amino acids, but tea leaves need constant contact with water for essential oils to release completely. Drip brewing uses a constant rinsing action, and likely won't fully draw out the flavors we want from a tea. Aside from that, using a paper filter immediately eliminates about a third of what we would normally taste from a tea's flavor profile since essential oils and tiny particles get trapped in the filter's fibers.

Looking across the spectrum of tea preparation styles, it's impressive how similar they all are and how little the design of each one has changed over the last hundred years. The tea-steeping process doesn't often respond to what crazy thing has been found to be possible; it starts at the farm, focusing on what a tea can offer and working to achieve that specific flavor profile every step of the way. And sometimes, when I look at my weird Danish coffee brewer in its little half-zipped ski jacket, or the Aeropress in that kitchen cabinet by my fridge, I wonder if the coffee industry could stand to take a few more cues from the world and traditions of tea.

Read the original article on Serious Eats
by Stefano Caprio

As the parodies of peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and America continuemost recently marked by the failed attempt to bring Putin and Zelenskyy together in IstanbulPope Leo XIV has directed an appeal to the Christians of the East: Who more than you can sing words of hope in the abyss of violence?

The inscrutable ways of Divine Providence led to Pope Leo XIVs first audience in the Paul VI Hall being granted to representatives of the Eastern Catholic Churches, who had gathered in Rome for a Jubilee planned for this very week. Throughout the city, solemn liturgies have been celebrated in the various rites: Byzantine (Greek, Slavonic, Albanian, Romanian, and Arabic-Melkite), African Coptic, Syriac, Lebanese Maronite, Iraqi Chaldean, Indian Malabar, and many others. These were presided over by bishops and patriarchs of the 26 Eastern Churches sui iuris, which fall under the remit of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

This occasion, just one week after the conclave that surprised the world with the election of a North-and-South American popeperhaps the most Western of all cardinalswas a powerful display of the Churchs universality and the deep spirituality of the Christian world as a whole, qualities so well embodied by Pope Prevost. He opened the gathering with the traditional Easter greeting of the East: Christ is Risen  He is Risen Indeed!, fitting for such an intense Jubilee year in which Easter fell on the same date for both Catholics and Orthodox alike, deepening the shared sense that Christ died for all humanity, without distinction of latitude, history or culture.

The great audience hall was filled with pastors and faithful from across the Eastern Christian world, adorned in diverse garments and colours, bearing symbols and banners. The yellow and blue of Ukraine stood out most prominentlyhome to the most significant Eastern-rite Catholic Church, descended from the community of Russian Orthodox in Poland who entered into union with Rome in 1596, following the decision made more than a century earlier at the Council of Florence in 1439, the most historically significant event in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Ukrainians have long had a presence in Rome, not only due to the recent tragedies, but also through long-established communities of clergy and faithful dating back to the last century, when war and Soviet totalitarianism forced a vast Ukrainian diaspora across the world. In Rome, after many years in Soviet camps, the Metropolitan and Major Archbishop of the Uniates of Lviv, Josyf Slipyj, was exiled and helped rebuild the entire pastoral and administrative structure of the persecuted Church on the outskirts of the city. His remains now rest in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia on the Via Boccea, a replica of the original cathedral of Kievan Rus' Christianity.

Pope Leo recalled the three reasons why you are precious, addressing the Eastern Catholics: I think of the diversity of your origins, your glorious history, and the harsh suffering that many communities have endured and still endure. The suffering is indeed endlessthese Churches have borne the brunt of East-West tensions since the days of the early Councils and the division of the Roman Empire at the time of the barbarian invasions, through the Latin-Byzantine struggles for control of the European heartlands and the Slavic peoples, to the Great Schism of 1054. In the second millennium, as the Roman papacy grew dominant in Europe, the Orthodox found themselves long oppressed by the Tatar-Mongols and the Ottomans, often sacrificing themselves for the salvation of other Christian peoples. Attempts at reunion with Rome were marred by conflict, martyrdom and bitterness, starting with the Latin sack of Constantinople in the 13th century, which led the Greeks to declare they preferred the Muslim turban to the papal tiara.

It is a deep and painful history between Eastern and Western Christians, but also one of glory, filled with unique spiritual and intellectual traditions that have much to teach us about Christian life, synodality and liturgy, from the ancient Fathers to the Councils and monasticismpriceless treasures for the Church, as the American pope reminded us. Indeed, Eastern Christianity shaped the entire first millennium of Church history, when the Roman pope had only a marginal role compared to the patriarchs of the Byzantine Empire. Eastern monasticism also inspired the WestSt Basils rule served as a model for St Benedict, helping re-evangelise a continent in disarray after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Great Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was the cornerstone of early liturgical tradition: even in Milan, St Ambrose attempted to emulate the formulas of the Cappadocian Fathers, developing the important Ambrosian rite according to Eastern canons, centuries before the establishment of the papal Roman rite.

In the early Middle Ages, it was the Eastern Churchesespecially through monasticismthat led universal Christianity, teaching the mystery of faith through mystagogy, as Pope Leo recalled. Christianity was lived as an experience of wonder, of self-emptying to enter into divine communion, as taught in the hesychastic tradition of Mount Athos and later developed further in Russian monasticism. This tradition has never faded and has long inspired Latin religious orders, including the Augustinians of Pope Prevost himselfa congregation rooted in the patristic period of the great St Augustine. Quoting a prayer by St Ephrem the Syrian, the Pope expressed his desire to see the cross as a bridge over death, an extraordinary definition of the role of the pontiff, so often invoked in these early days of his Petrine ministry.

After years of the synodal journey proposed by Pope Francis, it is now especially important to rediscover the conciliar, ecclesial nature of the Eastern Churches. Even when recognising the pope as supreme authority, they are governed in a communal and synodal way, choosing their hierarchs autonomouslyas in the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. Eastern Catholics, too, are self-governing, under the Roman Dicastery, seeking papal confirmation of their decisions. Sometimes they even turn to the drawing of lots to select their patriarch, just as the apostles did to complete their number by choosing Matthias to replace Judas. Laypeople, both men and women depending on the tradition, play an active role in Eastern synodality. The only council in Church history where laypeople outnumbered clergy was the Moscow Council of 1917, which restored the Orthodox Patriarchate and sought sweeping reformssadly crushed by the new Bolshevik regime. It is no coincidence that the Russians developed the philosophical-religious concept of Sobornost, the conciliar communion as a foundational element of Church and human society.

The meeting with the Eastern Churches also highlighted another reason for Cardinal Robert Francis Prevosts choice of papal name, Leo XIVbeyond the echo of his predecessor at the end of the 19th century, who sought to confront the industrial revolution and the modern world with the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, a document which today inspires reflection on the new technological, digital, and artificial revolution. Just three years later, Pope Leo XIII also penned the apostolic letter Orientalium Dignitas, quoted during Wednesdays audience, in which he wrote: The preservation of Eastern rites is more important than is commonly thought, going so far as to decree that any Latin missionary, whether secular or regular clergy, who attempts by advice or assistance to induce an Eastern Christian to adopt the Latin rite, shall be removed and excluded from office. It was a decisive moment when the Catholic Church, under a pope born in the Roman countryside, moved beyond the centuries-old stance of so-called unionismwhich sought to replicate the Florence Council agreementsand began to explore the new path of ecumenism that would define the 20th century.

As the parodies of diplomacy between Russia, Ukraine and America persist, and with the collapse of the potential Istanbul meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal to the Eastern Christians: Who then, more than you, can sing words of hope in the abyss of violence? Who more than you, who know the horrors of war so well, that Pope Francis called your Churches martyrial? The pope calls us not to see others as enemies, but as human beingsnot evil ones to be hated, but persons with whom to converse Let us reject the Manichaean visions typical of violent narratives that divide the world into good and evil, and perhaps also into East and West. As Pope Leo concluded: The splendour of the Christian East demands, now more than ever, freedom from all worldly dependencies and any tendency contrary to communion, so as to remain faithful in evangelical obedience and witness.

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17 May 2025 14:20 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijans participation in the 6th Summit of the European Political Community marks another step in the countrys deepening engagement with the European Union and European nations. While there was a time when Azerbaijans relationship with the EU appeared to be stagnating, largely due to unfair treatment by previous EU administrations, Azerbaijans firm diplomatic stance has played a crucial role in restoring and strengthening these ties.

Today, Azerbaijan is widely recognized as a reliable partner across multiple sectors, including political, geopolitical, energy, and transportation, and is also regarded as a valuable contributor to global problem-solving efforts. The EU now acknowledges that Azerbaijan plays a pivotal role in shaping policies in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, making it an indispensable strategic partner.

The recent engagements between Azerbaijan and European leaders reinforce this reality. Kaja Kallas visit to Azerbaijan, Antonio Costas phone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev, and Ursula von der Leyens joint meeting with Costa and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are clear indicators of the EUs recognition of Azerbaijans significance. These interactions signal Azerbaijans growing influence within European diplomatic circles, demonstrating the countrys commitment to fostering regional stability and economic cooperation.

Overcoming barriers to political cooperation

Azerbaijans political relations with the EU have fully recovered, reflecting a new phase of constructive dialogue. Armenia had previously attempted to monopolize regional engagement with the EU, pushing for divisive policies that could fragment diplomatic ties and create artificial separation lines in the South Caucasus. Certain factions within the EU supported these initiatives, but President Ilham Aliyevs decisive leadership effectively neutralized such attempts, ensuring that regional stability and cooperation took precedence.

Azerbaijans strategic diplomacy continues to reinforce balanced regional relations, preventing unilateral influences and promoting cooperation over confrontation. Through direct engagement with European leaders, President Aliyev has reaffirmed Azerbaijans commitment to collaborative policymaking, illustrating the high level of interest and respect that European nations hold toward Azerbaijan.

Beyond its advancing relations with Europe, Azerbaijan has strategically expanded its ties with China, Central Asia, and the Middle East, further reinforcing its status as a regional power. This multilateral approach ensures a balance in economic and political partnerships, allowing Azerbaijan to engage with diverse global actors while maintaining a strong presence in European diplomacy.

By forging comprehensive strategic alliances with China, strengthening cooperation with Central Asia and the Middle East, and maintaining constructive engagement with the EU, Azerbaijan demonstrates its ability to navigate complex geopolitical landscapes. This ability to bridge Eastern and Western interests enhances Azerbaijans global relevance, positioning it as an indispensable intermediary in international affairs.

Azerbaijans future role as a middle power

Azerbaijans consistent diplomatic and economic engagement with Europe and Asia reinforces its acceptance as a middle power in global affairs. The countrys geopolitical importance, strategic alliances, and commitment to stability make it a reliable force in international policymaking.

European leaders recognize Azerbaijans value as an energy partner, a key transportation hub, and a strategic actor in regional diplomacy. As economic cooperation deepens, Azerbaijans role in Europes energy security and connectivity infrastructure will continue to grow.

As the global landscape evolves, Azerbaijans ability to strengthen diplomatic alliances, facilitate economic growth, and contribute to political stability will further solidify its standing in international affairs. Whether through diplomatic engagements, strategic partnerships, or economic initiatives, Azerbaijans place in global affairs is becoming increasingly indispensable.

With its firm political stance, proactive diplomatic approach, and growing network of international alliances, Azerbaijan is poised to remain a key force in shaping global economic and political developments in the years ahead.
17 May 2025 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

Azerbaijani products are showcased at the "Russia Halal Expo 2025" exhibition in Kazan, as part of the "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2025."

Azernews reports, the exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Economy and organized by the Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) at the "Made in Azerbaijan" country stand.

AZPROMO reported that visitors were able to explore Azerbaijani-made confectionery, oils, dried fruits, fruit juices, jams, and mineral waters, with tasting sessions available.

Additionally, the stand offers information about the favorable investment climate in Azerbaijan, business development prospects, and transit trade opportunities, including incentives for investors. Video clips on these topics are displayed, along with various printed materials.

It is worth noting that the Azerbaijani stand was visited by Tatarstan's Head, Rustam Minnikhanov, and other officials.
17 May 2025 11:35 (UTC+04:00)

In preparation for the summer season and to enhance the overall sanitary condition and care of green spaces in the capital, the Baku City Executive Authority carried out another large-scale cleanup operation on Saturday, May 17, Azernews reports, citing the Baku City Executive Authoritys press service.

The press service noted that the city's communal services deployed equipment to wash the main streets and avenues using eco-friendly, plant-safe detergents. Residential courtyards and internal roads were also cleaned during the campaign.

Staff cleaned sidewalks, curbs, lighting poles, roadside railings, and benches in public parks and recreation areas. They also carried out cleaning operations within residential areas. Additionally, shopfronts and storefronts of public catering and commercial establishments were cleaned, and the surrounding areas were tidied.

Employees of the Baku Greenery Department washed roadside trees along major roads and avenues, loosened the soil around them, and provided agro-technical care, including the use of natural fertilizers. Colorful flowers were planted across various areas, and floral compositions were arranged to add aesthetic value for both residents and visitors.

Authorities affirmed that efforts to maintain sanitation and preserve greenery throughout Baku will continue year-round.
17 May 2025 12:40 (UTC+04:00)

A new tourism initiative titled Victory Road is being developed to promote travel across Azerbaijans liberated regions, Azernews reports, citing the State Tourism Agency.

According to the agency, the planned route will include single-day and multi-day tours to the districts of Zangilan, Jabrayil, and Gubadli, organized through a public-private partnership.

In addition to the new route, tourism infrastructure development is actively underway near Shahbulag Fortress and the Sarsang Reservoir. Infrastructure projects are also ongoing in Tugh village and Hadrut settlement.

The agency added that these areas are being gradually prepared to welcome tourists, with phased development ensuring proper facilities and access.
17 May 2025 13:15 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree establishing an official registry of civil servants in Azerbaijan, outlining the regulations and procedures for its maintenance, Azernews reports.

Alongside the decree, the "Charter on the Information Resource of the Civil Servants Registry" has also been approved, outlining the framework for managing and operating the registry.

Under the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers is tasked with addressing issues arising from the implementation of the registry.

Government bodies and relevant public legal entities, as defined by Article 6.4 of the Law on Public Legal Entities, must submit data on civil servants, trainees, and probationary employees within six months and report to the President accordingly.

The State Examination Center has been assigned to oversee the formation, management, and development of the registry, implementing all necessary measures to ensure its effective operation.
17 May 2025 17:48 (UTC+04:00)

As part of the visit to Azerbaijan, senior staff, teachers, and listeners of the "Staff Management Course" of the Air Force Academy and Naval Academy of National Defense University (NDU) of Turkiye arrived in Nakhchivan, the Ministry of Defense told Azernews.

The guests first visited the monument of National Leader Heydar Aliyev erected in the main square of Nakhchivan city and paid tribute to his memory. Afterwards, guests visited the Heydar Aliyev Museum, where they were given detailed information about the Great Leaders multifaceted political activity, including the significant period of his life spent in Nakhchivan.

The delegation visited the monument of the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, erected in the city of Nakhchivan, and honoured his memory.

As part of the visit, the guests visited the Combined Arms Army (CAA) Headquarters. They were provided with detailed information about the CAA's establishment history, its development, activities, the reforms implemented, and its future objectives. In accordance with protocol, the Book of Honor was signed.

The CAA Commander, Major General Kanan Seyidov, met with the Rector of the National Defense University of Turkiye, Professor Erhan Afyoncu.

During the meeting, the importance of further expanding cooperation in the field of military education was emphasized. The parties also discussed future initiatives in this direction and a number of other issues of mutual interest.

The Turkish delegation visited the Nakhchivan Military College and the Military Lyceum named after Heydar Aliyev. They were provided with detailed information about the reforms carried out in the special educational institutions, the current military education system, and academic and scientific activities. The guests visited the headquarters, academic buildings, dormitories, and other administrative facilities, and familiarized themselves with the social and living conditions created for cadets.

Then guests visited the Turkey-Azerbaijan Friendship Park and historical-cultural monuments.

During their visit to Azerbaijan within the framework of the "Observation Tour Abroad," the delegation from the brotherly country also visited the territories liberated from occupation and got acquainted with the ongoing reconstruction and restoration works.
17 May 2025 20:45 (UTC+04:00)

ZQ-2E, an enhanced version of the ZQ-2  worlds first liquid methane launch vehicle to reach orbit  lifted off from Dongfeng Commercial Space Launch Site in Northwest China for its first flight this year on Saturday around 12:12 pm. The mission successfully delivered a batch of six Tianyi commercial satellites into their preset orbits, marking a complete success, Azernews reports, citing Global Times.



According to its developer, the Beijing-based space startup LandSpace, the ZQ-2E model is Chinas first dual-cryogenic liquid-fueled launch vehicle to utilize fully subcooled propellant loading.



ZQ-2E also incorporates key innovations such as a high-thrust liquid oxygen-methane propulsion system, large-area ratio niobium-tungsten alloy nozzle manufacturing technology, and an integrated structure combining single-layer common bulkhead tanks with single-layer tunnel-type feed lines, the firm stated in a press release provided to the Global Times on Saturday.



Methane, derived from natural gas, is abundant, low-cost, and easier to store than liquid hydrogen, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that the fuel also simplifies ground systems and reduces launch costs, while its clean combustion enables long-term engine reuse and easier cost control. Notably, SpaceX's Starship uses the same type of propeller fuel, its official website shows.



ZQ-2E can deliver a payload of around 4 tons to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), targeting missions in low Earth orbit (LEO) and SSO, and is steadily developing into a core product for serving China's commercial space market, LandSpace said.



Saturdays launch mission marked the second commercial mission of the ZQ-2E, following its crucial maiden flight in late November 2024. To meet the Saturday mission requirements, ZQ-2E rocket was equipped for the first time with a 4.2-meter-diameter, 8.7-meter-long composite fairing, significantly enhancing compatibility with various types of large-scale payloads and further improving the rocket's mission adaptability.



The rocket features a two-stage configuration. The first stage is equipped with four Tianque-12A (TQ-12A) liquid oxygen-methane engines in parallel, each delivering a sea-level thrust of 720 kilonewtons, providing strong thrust and attitude control capabilities. The second stage uses a Tianque-15A (TQ-15A) engine with a vacuum thrust of 836 kilonewtons, featuring 60 percent throttling capability and the ability to restart up to three times. Together with the Yunque (YQ-10) auxiliary propulsion system, it supports precise operations such as thrust adjustment, orbit maneuvering, terminal velocity correction, and attitude control, meeting the demands of highly complex missions.



The mission marked the fifth flight of the ZQ-2 rocket series, according to LandSpace. Wang emphasized the significance of this launch to Chinas commercial space industry, which showcased the development potential of Chinas commercial space firms, some of which have achieved market-oriented operation.



Moving forward, Chinese commercial space enterprises should focus on increasing payload capacity, gradually developing toward crewed spaceflight capability, achieving rocket reusability, and further reducing launch costs, said Wang.



At present, the launch capacity of state-owned aerospace entities far exceeds private companies as the former are tasked with more critical scientific missions related to the operation of Tiangong space station and deep space exploration to the moon and Mars, Wang noted. Therefore, commercial missions such as building the low-Earth orbit satellite internet represents a major opportunity for private firms.
17 May 2025 21:20 (UTC+04:00)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Saturday that the UK is working alongside the United States to help preserve the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan and to promote dialogue and confidence-building measures between the two nuclear-armed nations, Azernews reports, citing Tribune.

Speaking at the close of a two-day visit to Pakistan, Lammy told Reuters that maintaining peace between the long-time rivals remains a priority following the recent escalation, the worst in decades, which saw both countries exchange missile fire. The ceasefire, brokered through swift international diplomacy on May 10, remains tenuous.

"Were committed to ensuring that this ceasefire holds, that dialogue resumes, and that both sides move toward meaningful confidence-building," Lammy said in Islamabad.

Pakistan has credited the UK, the US, and other global actors with playing key roles in easing tensions that flared after an attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). India blamed Pakistan for the incident, an allegation Islamabad denies.

US President Donald Trump suggested post-ceasefire dialogue should take place in a neutral venue, though no date or location has yet been finalised.

Lammy underscored the UKs support for the continued enforcement of the Indus Waters Treaty after India suspended its participation last month. Islamabad has warned that disrupting the water flow could be seen as an act of war.

We would urge all parties to honour their treaty obligations, Lammy stated.

He also reaffirmed Britains commitment to supporting Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, calling it a serious threat to both the country and regional stability.

On Friday, David Lammy paid an unscheduled visit to Islamabad in what seems to be part of international diplomatic efforts at seeking direct talks between the nuclear-armed nations following their four-day military fight.

Lammy held formal talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The UK was one of the countries that played a role in brokering the ceasefire between Pakistan and India on May 10.

Sources said the UK foreign secretary would also travel to New Delhi as part of international diplomatic efforts to consolidate the truce.

A statement issued by the British High Commission confirmed that the main purpose of his trip was to discuss the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India.

Tensions between Pakistan and India recently flared up after an attack in Pahalgam, India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan without providing evidence, triggering a series of retaliatory moves including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, cancelling visas, and scaling back diplomatic ties.

Pakistan rejected the allegations and responded with reciprocal steps such as halting trade and closing its airspace to Indian aircraft. The conflict escalated on May 7 with Indian missile strikes on multiple cities in Punjab and AJK, killing dozens of civilians.

Pakistan responded by downing several Indian jets and neutralising drone attacks. On May 10, Indian missile strikes targeted Pakistani airbases, prompting a retaliatory campaignOperation Bunyan Marsooswhich hit Indian military sites.

A ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump on May 11, following overnight diplomatic efforts, and was later confirmed by officials from both sides.

But despite the military ceasefire the war of narratives has waged on.

While Pakistan publicly credited US President Donald Trump  along with China and Gulf states  for playing a vital role in defusing tensions, India downplayed foreign involvement.

Indian officials insisted the truce was the result of direct bilateral talks, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarifying that trade was never part of discussions with US officials.

Trump, has however, reiterated his stance twice following the initial announcement.
The US Supreme Court set a clear precedent in 1948 on the Alien Enemies Act, on a deportation by the Truman administration during peacetime. The SCOTUS ruled that the executive branch had absolute authority under that act on deportations and the court system had no jurisdiction to hold hearings on any deportations the president ordered under the act.

Now, our pathetic excuse for a Supreme Court is pandering to illegal alien criminal terrorists and to Democrat politicians to severely weaken that precedent if not end it entirely. What they allowed President Truman to do, they will not allow President Trump to do. To make matters worse, Truman was deporting a legal immigrant with a green card who had come legally and Trump is not allowed to use the act the same way on illegal aliens who should not even be in the country in the first place.

While the ruling is still somewhat murky, it is a foot in the door for the hard left that wants to flood our country with illegal aliens. It says that the illegal aliens must be given time to hire lawyers. That implies but does not say that the lawyers can demand hearings. Our disgusting Supreme Court has sided with violent illegal alien criminal gangs / terrorists against the American people.

Only the two Reagan appointees, Thomas and Alito, stood firm to enforce the court's precedent. The other seven, including all three of Trump's appointees, voted to water it down. There is still a question of how much it will ultimately be watered down.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/05/16/scotus-punts-on-alien-enemies-act-says-gangsters-deserve-time-to-hire-lawyers/
By Rev. Mark Creech

In ministry, wounds can run deeper than the physical. Recently, I endured a painful injury, a broken shoulder, that not only required replacement surgery but also left me rather contemplative. As I reflected on that experience and its relation to a couple of other significant trials within a short span of eight months, I began to sense something more than a medical event was unfolding. It felt as though God was speaking through my pain, imprinting a message into the very marrow of my broken bones. Much like the limp Jacob carried after wrestling with God at Peniel, this brokenness seemed to carry symbolic weight  a reminder, not just for me, but perhaps for others who have had to shoulder too much responsibility.

The Old Testament tells us that Jacob wrestled with a mysterious man one night, and Jacob refused to release him without a blessing. Many scholars affirm this figure was no ordinary person but a theophany, which is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob had, quite literally, wrestled with God. Jacob had struggled through much of his life, relying on his own cunning and resourcefulness. In this divine encounter, however, one sacred touch dislocated his hip, and from that point forward, Jacob walked with a limp. The limp was no curse. It was a sign that marked a turning point in his life. Etched into Jacobs own body was a lasting reminder of that moment when he was transformed from a man who strove in his strength alone to a man who learned to walk in the grace and power of God.

For years, my shoulders bore a heavy burden. As the executive director of a state-wide Christian public policy organization, I was solemnly tasked with defending and advancing biblical values amid tempestuous cultural headwinds. I was responsible for leading, managing, administering, fundraising, and serving as the public voice of the organization, most often without adequate support and insufficient financial resources.

And to be clear, unlike Jacob, I dont believe I was operating in my own strength. From my earliest days of ministry, I sought to follow the Lords direction. I earnestly prayed. I relied on the Lords guidance by the Word and the Spirit. When things didnt go as they should, I trusted the Lord implicitly. Still, even with a heart full of faith, I carried more than one man ever should.

How could I, someone who endeavored to stay close to God, allow this to happen? I think I know. Its that too many times, I felt that there was no one else who would do what was needed. In the churches I served, leadership and members were frequently derelict in carrying their share of the load. The mindset seemed to be: Let the pastor handle it. Thats what we pay him for.

In the public square, the onus was no less demanding. There were so few pastors or church leaders willing to step up. The silence was deafening. So, by default, I picked up the slack. Again and again, over the years, I felt: If I dont do this, who will? Over time, imperceptibly, I shouldered the unrealistic and heavy expectation that it was all up to me.

Moreover, I didnt always ask for help as I should have either. Whether out of a desire to shield others, fear of burdening someone else, or a subconscious case of Superman syndrome, I became complicit in taking on more than was reasonably necessary. This dynamic, too, was a part of the equation.

In hindsight, I realize this wasnt only unsustainable but also dangerous. Ministry leaders frequently feel if something good is to be done, it must be done by them. When others neglect their part, whether in the church pew or the public square, the responsibility shifts significantly onto those few who remain steadfast. Yet, even the noblest yoke borne in sincerity can become oppressive.

This reminds me of the story of Moses in Exodus 18. He was doing everything, judging disputes, leading the people, guiding the nation, until his father-in-law, Jethro, intervened. What you are doing is not good, Jethro admonished Moses. These people who come to you will only wear you out. The work is too grueling; you cant handle this by yourself. Jethros counsel was godly wisdom: delegate, share the load, and trust that God equips others as well. Moses listened, and the nation was better for it.

My body would eventually become a living symbol, a testimony to the very warnings the Jethros in my life had spoken. But I was too distracted by the tyranny of the urgent to heed their counsel. I took on more than my frame was forged to manage.

When the Church or ministry becomes primarily dependent on one person or a select group, something becomes distorted both within the divine order and in the leaders soul. Scripture reminds us the Church is a Body, and no part is to bear the whole weight (1 Corinthians 12). When we step into that vacuum and dont draw clear lines, we unwittingly reinforce the dysfunction and exhaust ourselves in the process.

This is the message the Lord was intent on driving home to me, and perhaps one that many pastors and church leaders need to recognize as well. The crisis confronting the Church today is not only one of cultural decline but also one of shared responsibility. Repeatedly, the work of the Kingdom has bowed the backs of the few while the many remained disengaged. The result is painfully predictable and heartbreaking: exhaustion, disillusionment, and, in some cases, complete collapse  crushed beneath a weight they were never meant to bear in isolation.

Much of what we observe among pastors today reflects this problem: pastoral burnout, attrition, mental health issues, and even faith deconstruction.

My broken shoulder has become a symbol to me, much like Jacobs limp, which marked his divine encounter. The titanium in my arm and the lingering pain reminds me regularly that I am a part of the Body of Christ, but I am not the whole Body. What my mind and heart once refused to hear, my body now declares too loudly to ignore.

So, to every pastor, ministry leader, or weary saint worn too thin, I offer this word of grace: You may be doing more than your Master intended. Let that sink in.

Furthermore, to every church member, elder, deacon, and believer in the pew, let me say: Your presence matters. Your participation matters. Your prayers, service, and support are not fringe benefits of church life; they are essential to the health and mission of the Body. When you withhold them, others suffer. When you offer them, others stand.

My shoulder is no longer just a medical injury. It is a holy reminder engraved in bone and metal that none of us are meant to hold up the whole building  lest we be flattened beneath it.

But how about when a church leader recognizes the need to share the labor and finds no one with whom to share it? No willing hands. No strong shoulders. No Jethro to offer wise counsel. This, sadly, is the reality for so many. What then?

Then, like the apostle Paul, let these words rise within you: But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me (2 Timothy. 4:17). Like the psalmist, cry out: When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2). Like our Lord in Gethsemane, fall to your knees, pour out your sorrow, and entrust yourself to Him who judges justly.

Still, be on guard: dont be misled into thinking the absence of help is somehow the perfect will of God, and therefore, the full mantle is yours to bear indefinitely. It isnt, and it mustnt be. Even when a support system isnt present, Gods grace remains sufficient for the need at hand. Nonetheless, pray persistently and trust that in His perfect timing, God will raise the needed help, perhaps from unexpected places.

In the meantime, steward both your calling and your limitations. Find comfort in knowing that your Savior, too, walked the path to Calvary with none to help Him. If, after a season of earnest prayer and patient waiting, the needed help and resources do not come, it may be proper to conclude that God will lead you to another place of service  a place where other hands will assist in upholding the ministry  just as its supposed to be.

May we learn what it means to share each others burdens  to shoulder the load together  lest we break.

In doing so, we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).



Rev. Mark Creech is a longtime pastor and former executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. He now writes and speaks on issues of faith and culture and heads public relations for Return America.

https://revmarkcreech.org/theology-of-a-broken-shoulder-admonishment-and-advice-for-church-leaders/
Tributes have been paid after the death of a towering figure of business in Northern Ireland.

John Walker, who founded the investment and development company Magell, passed away on Friday.

A death notice said Mr Walker, from Broughshane, died peacefully at Causeway hospital. He was 86.

A well-known personality in the north Antrim area, he also established The Country Garage BMW in Ballymena.

North Antrim MP Jim Allister led tributes.

He said: I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of John Walker, a towering figure in Ballymenas business community and a man whose entrepreneurial legacy will long outlive him.

John was a man of drive and determination. From humble beginnings, he built remarkable business success.

I offer my sincere condolences to the entire Walker family at this time of loss.

John Walker. Photo: Country Garage BMW/Facebook

News Catch Up - Friday 16 May

Former MP Ian Paisley said Mr Walkers business influence was legendary.

John Walker was one of lifes true characters, and when he was made, the mould was shattered, he said.

"An irreplaceable man of action. He was a significant entrepreneur and one of the true big business beasts of Ballymena.

In an online post, the Country Garage said Mr Walker would be sorely missed.

With hearts that are heavy, we share the news that our founder, John Walker, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 86, it said.

As you will know from our anniversary celebrations last year, The Country Garage was started by John over 50 years ago with a handful of cars and a vision - a vision that no doubt surpassed his expectations.

While not actively involved in the running of the business in recent years, John always made a point of visiting for a cup of tea and a scone, and always had time for conversation with staff and customers alike.

His presence in the showroom will be sorely missed.

Mr Walker was also known for founding Magell, which is now run by his grandson, Ryan.

It plays a prominent role in acquiring, developing and managing commercial real estate throughout the UK.

Mr Walkers funeral will be held in Ballymena Gospel Hall on Monday at 2pm followed by interment in 2nd Broughshane New Cemetery.
Review: This is the best Oasis have been since 96  some might say better... a rock reunion to end them all
If the box office was dropping, hed do something outrageous so that people would go and buy tickets: Actor Jared Harris on his father Richards legacy
Drinking destroyed my mental health and relationships  but caring for street dogs in Thailand has given me purpose

In an extract from his new book, Tyrone man Niall Harbison shares details of his troubled adolescence, the depths of his alcoholism and how caring for street dogs pulled him out of a downward spiral

Niall Harbison. Photo: Ryan Dunbar

Niall Harbison Sat 17 May 2025 at 15:00

I was an alcoholic when I first arrived in Thailand. I was in a real mess, but alcoholism doesnt appear overnight  and theres rarely any one cause, something Ive learned from reading many, many books about other addicts over the years.
Along the road between Rostrevor and Warrenpoint stands a particularly impressive monument, an obelisk that reaches 30m into the sky, which was erected in memory of a local man, Major General Robert Ross. He was first noted as a commander of a British force that, with their allies, the Russians, helped to defeat the Dutch Batavians in 1799. He also fought against Napoleon at Alexandria in 1804, at Heida in 1806, at Corunna in 1809 and in the Pyrenees in 1813. He then went west to America to take part in the 18121815 war between the British and the United States. There, in 1814, he was involved in the defeat of the US army at the Battle of Bladensburg, which has been de- scribed as the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms. The panicked disorganised retreat of American forces, including President Madison and the rest of the federal government, became known as the Bladensburg Races. The American defeat resulted in the taking of the city of Washington and the setting fire to the White House by Rosss men. The Library of Congress was also destroyed by the British. Later, during the Battle of Baltimore, Ross was killed. His body was preserved in a barrel of 129 gallons of Jamaican rum and shipped to Nova Scotia, where he was buried. This obelisk was erected in 1826 in his honour, on the site where he and his wife had planned to build their home.
Fire crews responded to the incident in Newry.

Four vehicles have been destroyed after an arson attack in Newry.

The fire was reported at a business yard in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Sergeant Cushley said: It was reported at around 3am that five vehicles parked in the Chancellors Road area of Newry had been set on fire.

Our colleagues from the NIFRS attended and extinguished the fires.

Fire crews responded to the incident in Newry.

News Catch Up - Friday 16 May

Four vehicles have been completely destroyed as a result with a fifth vehicle partially damaged, which has been determined as deliberate.

Our enquires are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who might have been in the area around 2.50 am this morning.

"We'd be particularly keen to hear from anyone who has dashcam or other footage.
Andy Tyrie, who was aged in his 80s, was one of the most prominent figures from the early years of the UDA.

Andy Tyrie, who was aged in his 80s, was one of the most prominent figures from the early years of the UDA.

He led the terror group from 1973 until 1988, when an attempt on his life led to him quitting.

Tyrie stepped away from politics and the public spotlight some time ago.

His tinted glasses and thick moustache made him a recognisable figure during the 1970s and 1980s.

It is understood Tyrie had been ill for some time.

Andy Tyrie, who was aged in his 80s, was one of the most prominent figures from the early years of the UDA.

Peter Osborne, who chaired the Community Relations Council, posted on X: In the years that I knew him Andy Tyrie was an advocate for tolerance, reconciliation, and on those issues that particularly affect working class communities. Sorry to see this. Condolences to his family.

His name had featured on a loyalist museum in east Belfast.

The Loyalist Conflict Museum opened its doors in 2012, and was originally called The Andy Tyrie Interpretive Centre.

Tyries first involvement in loyalist paramilitary activity came with the UVF in the late 1960s, before he switched to the UDA.

Soon Tyrie became a UDA officer in the Shankill Road area, and was appointed leader in 1973 after the murder of Tommy Herron.

Although not convicted of any paramilitary activity, under his leadership the UDA was widely involved in terrorism.

According to the Sutton database of deaths at Ulster Universitys Cain project, the UDA/UFF was responsible for 260 killings during the Troubles. Most (208) of its victims were civilians, predominantly Catholics.

However, Tyrie encouraged the organisation to embrace politics through the establishment of the New Ulster Political Research Group (NUPRG).

He was involved in organising the Ulster Workers Council strike, which brought down the old power-sharing government.

Andy Tyrie.

News Catch Up - Friday 16 May

In an interview with The Observer in 1999, Tyrie said: We opposed the Sunningdale agreement because it was imposed upon us.

"The British government just said This is your lot and you have to accept it.

"What people fail to understand was that the organisation I was involved with, the UDA, was not opposed to power-sharing.

"Our main gripe was the Council of Ireland, which was seen as being a mechanism to roll us into a United Ireland.

The UDA was comprised of different factions and by the late 1980s this was proving increasingly problematic.

In March 1988, Tyrie narrowly avoided death from a car bomb. No-one admitted responsibility for the failed attack, but Tyrie believed it was carried out by potential successors within the UDA.

He quit as leader days later and went on to sever all links with the organisation.

Tyrie backed the Ulster Democratic Partys campaign in favour of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Asked in 1999 about the presence of senior Sinn Fein figures in the Executive  Martin McGuinness was Education Minister at the time  he was relaxed.

Look, 130,000 people voted for McGuinness and his party and there is nothing I can do about it. I'm happy he is in there working the political system. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, Tyrie said.

Tyrie told the late Henry McDonald that lessons in politics and citizenship should be introduced in our schools to help expel the fear and ignorance that is so prevalent in our community.

He said he was anxious for old adversaries like Adams to survive for the future.

In the 1999 interview, he added: I saw a picture of Adams in the paper last week and I didn't like it. The photographer managed to get a shot of him in front of a book on Michael Collins. The implication was that Adams could go the same way Collins did.

"I thought someone should have complained to the Press Complaints Commission about it - we need Adams to stay where he is for this process to work.

More to follow
A community-centred arts organisation in Londonderry is in shock after learning that The Executive Office has cut every penny of its good relations funding.

It comes on the back of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland removing every penny of Echo Echo Dance Studios 112k funding which sparked protests in the city and a backlash from politicians.
All four were released from custody on Saturday, police said (Alamy/PA)

Four Iranian men who were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terror attack have been released from custody.

The Metropolitan Police said they were working very closely with the premises identified as the suspected target of the alleged plot.

Five men, who are all Iranian nationals, were arrested as part of a pre-planned operation on May 3 on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act, police said.

Four of the men  a 29-year-old arrested in Swindon, Wiltshire, a 46-year-old arrested in west London, a 29-year-old arrested in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and a 40-year-old arrested in Rochdale  were detained under the Terrorism Act.

After obtaining various warrants of further detention, all four were released from custody on Saturday, police said.

The fifth man, a 24-year-old arrested in Manchester, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and previously released on bail, with conditions, to a date in May.

As part of the investigation, officers continue to carry out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London, Swindon and High Wycombe areas, police said.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Mets Counter Terrorism Command, said: We made these arrests due to concerns about a suspected plot to target a specific premises.

Since those arrests, detectives have been working to assess all the evidence weve gathered and to question the men.

They are now being released from custody but our investigation remains active and is ongoing.

We are working very closely with the premises we identified as the suspected target of the alleged plot, and we continue to provide them with support.

This has been, and continues to be, a highly complex investigation, and we will not hesitate to take further action if we believe there is any imminent threat to the public.

I would like to thank the public for their support and understanding  particularly in the areas and communities across the UK who have felt the direct impact of our activity.

Id like to ask people to remain vigilant and contact us if anything doesnt look or feel right. Information from the public is crucial to our work.

Mr Murphy said police could be contacted in confidence on 0800 789 321, or via www.gov.uk/ACT.
Activist Peter Tatchell has said stewards at a pro-Palestine march used the police to silence his criticism of Hamas.

The Metropolitan Police said the human rights campaigner was arrested in error at a march in London on Saturday after concerns were raised with officers by stewards from the Palestine Coalition protest.

Mr Tatchell, 73, was taking part in a protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to commemorate Nakba Day and was carrying a placard which read Stop Israel genocide! Stop Hamas executions!.

He said he had attended the protest to condemn Israels genocide in Gaza, but also to expose Hamass execution of Palestinian critics.

Mr Tatchell told the PA news agency: I find it shocking that the campaign, which I have supported for 54 years, would seek to use the police to silence my criticism of Hamas.

My placard clearly condemned Israels genocide and supported freedom for Palestine.

Discussing the protest, the activist said: Before the march started, I was abused, menaced and threatened by a minority of protesters.

Some said f*** off, others said get out of here and accused me of being Zionist scum.

Despite me being threatened, the police stood by and did nothing. I was frightened for my safety, but the police did not intervene.

Mr Tatchell said Palestine Solidarity Campaign stewards then wrongly told police that he had been shouting Hamas are terrorists, adding that officers told him shouting such a slogan was a potential criminal offence.

The activist said he was then approached by a police officer who wrongly believed him to be part of a counter protest and was subsequently arrested for a racially and religiously aggravated breach of the peace under the Public Order Act.

Mr Tatchell said: The police singled me out from all the hundreds of people marching in that section, they told me that I had to stop and when I asked why, they said theyd been requested to remove me by stewards from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has questions to answer. Did they collude with the police to have me arrested and why do they refuse to tolerate criticism of Hamas by supporters of Palestine?

Its outrageous that criticising Hamass human rights abuses can get you arrested in Britain in 2025.

A spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said: PSC did not make any complaint to the police about Peter Tatchell and we are not aware of any of the stewards making a complaint to any police officer.

The Metropolitan Police said Mr Tatchell would face no further action and that it would review its handling of the incident to fully understand what took place.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: Mr Tatchell was initially detained after concerns were raised with officers by stewards from the Palestine Coalition protest.

Officers spoke with him and, believing him to be a counter protester, directed him to join the counter protest in its designated area.

When he attempted to rejoin the Palestine Coalition protest he was arrested on suspicion of breaching the conditions in place and to prevent a breach of the peace.

While officers were acting in good faith based on the information they had received at the time, we now understand that Mr Tatchell was legitimately participating in the Palestine Coalition protest and was not in breach of any conditions.

He was released from custody at the earliest opportunity once officers realised that an error had been made.
The former first minister was campaigning in the Hamilton by-election (Robert Perry/PA)

The Prime Ministers immigration speech this week was the dumbest of dumb politics, former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Sir Keir Starmer had come in for criticism after he said the UK risked becoming an island of strangers if new immigration curbs were not implemented, with some drawing comparisons to Enoch Powells infamous rivers of blood speech, assertions rejected by Number 10.

Speaking during a campaign visit in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, ahead of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election next month, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon hit out at the Prime Minister, accusing him of a very deliberate dog whistle.

Ms Sturgeon talked up the benefits of immigration to Scotland, describing diversity as one of our strengths and urging progressive politicians to push back against anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Asked if the Prime Minister was aware his comments could draw comparisons to Enoch Powell, the former first minister said: Theres one of two answers to that.

Either he was aware, in which case its disgraceful, or he wasnt aware, in which case: what is he doing in the senior position hes in?

For goodness sake, he is Prime Minister, hes not some political newbie with no experience.

Of course he knew that was a very deliberate dog whistle, and you know what? Shame on him.

Mondays comments, Ms Sturgeon added, have not boosted support for Labour.

The limited polling and real voting evidence that weve seen since he made those comments show that its not doing him any good, she said.

Thats the real irony of this  the more he legitimises the politics of Reform, the more he will boost Reform at his expense.

So its not even smart politics.

The Prime Minister announced changes to the immigration system on Monday (Ian Vogler/PA)

She added: Even if, and this is not my view, you decide that principles dont matter  its really dumb politics.

Its the dumbest of dumb politics.

This week, she said, had been one of the most disreputable in the history of the Labour Party, adding: At a time when we need progressive politicians to stand up and take on and beat the arguments of Nigel Farage, weve seen Keir Starmer lie down and surrender to Nigel Farage with his policies on immigration.

Which are wrong in principle, but would be devastating, catastrophic for the Scottish economy and for big sections of our public sector in Scotland.

We need to see politicians stand up and take the argument to Reform, and instead we see Labour rolling over and surrendering.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: Nicola Sturgeon left her party and the country in a disastrous state, and it seems she still has not found the gift of introspection.

Promoting her own personal brand for financial gain might be Nicolas main aim now but she leaves behind her an atrocious record of soaring levels of homeless children and a crashed NHS  all a personal indictment of her disastrous time as first minister.

It was Nicola Sturgeon who was the health secretary and first minister that fought tooth and nail against fair pay and rights for care workers, and left behind a wake of wasted money and services in deadly crisis.

If Nicola Sturgeon wants to see a politician that has created division, ruined public services and set back workers rights, she need only look in the mirror.
Three Iranian nationals have appeared in court charged with spying offences on behalf of Irans foreign intelligence service.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with offences under the National Security Act.

The three men all arrived in the UK by irregular means, including by small boats and a lorry, between 2016 and 2022.

Sepahvand, of St Johns Wood, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, and Noori, of Ealing, spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

No pleas were entered by the trio who were all wearing grey sweatshirts, with Sepahvand attending in a wheelchair and Noori hobbling into the dock.

They are all charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025.

Sepahvand is also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked police for their work on the investigation (Peter Byrne/PA)

Manesh and Noori are further charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.

The trio were remanded into custody and will next appear for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on June 6.

District Judge Annabel Pilling told the defendants: Im sending your case to the Central Criminal Court.

There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty.

The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on June 6.

The three men were arrested on May 3, and five Iranian nationals were also arrested on that day in connection with an entirely separate investigation, with four of them remaining in custody after warrants of further detention were secured.

The four  a 29-year-old man in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man in west London; a 29-year-old man in the Stockport area; and a 40-year-old man in the Rochdale area  were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.

A fifth, a 24-year-old man in the Manchester area, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act before being bailed with conditions to an unspecified date in May.

The Government will strengthen national security powers after the three men were charged, the Home Secretary said.

Yvette Cooper said: I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.

The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.

The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.

As part of that process we will publish next week the results of Jonathan Hall KCs review into the application of our counter-terrorism framework to modern-day state threats.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon will campaign in the seat on Saturday (Robert Perry/PA)

Nicola Sturgeon will hit the campaign trail in the Hamilton by-election on Saturday, touting the SNPs record on young people.

The former first minister will make her first public appearance in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood constituency ahead of the June 5 poll sparked by the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie.

She will campaign alongside SNP candidate Katy Loudon, meeting with young people and families.

Ahead of the visit, the former first minister said she will highlight some of the actions the SNP is delivering to transform lives and create opportunities for Scotlands next generation, including the Scottish child payment, the expansion of childcare and the baby box.

The former first minister will campaign alongside candidate Katy Loudon (Jane Barlow/PA)

The approach the SNP is taking in Scotland stands in stark contrast to that of the Labour Government at Westminster, she said.

Whilst Keir Starmer is refusing to scrap the cruel two-child cap, the SNP is stepping up and ending the two-child limit in Scotland  lifting over 15,000 children out of poverty in the process.

The SNP will always take the action we can to ensure every child, regardless of their circumstances, gets the best start in life.

With Labour kowtowing to (Reform leader Nigel) Farages corrosive brand of politics, its only the SNP who is providing real help and real hope for the next generation.

Ms Loudon  a serving SNP councillor in South Lanarkshire  said it is great to have the former first minister campaigning in the seat.

She added: Whats clear is that this community feels incredibly let down by the Labour Party, and its more important than ever that the SNP is delivering on their priorities and offering hope when times are tough.

But Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: It is a bold choice for Nicola Sturgeon to begin what is surely a national apology tour at this by-election.

From leaving the NHS on its knees, wasting hundreds of millions in public money and kickstarting the housing emergency  she is the architect of the failure people here live with every day.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: Nicola Sturgeon appears to be shamelessly hijacking this by-election to try and desperately talk up her own record.

Voters in this constituency and up and down Scotland wont be fooled. They are still suffering from her failures and her focus on the politics of division.

It is thanks to her that voters feel more disconnected than ever from Holyrood and are disillusioned with politicians.

By welcoming her along on the campaign trail, it is also clear John Swinney remains happy to stand by her toxic legacy, which he backed every step of the way.
Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein welcomes Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani upon his arrival at Baghdad International Airport (Pool via AP)

Regional leaders are meeting in Baghdad at the annual summit of the Arab League, with the war in Gaza expected to once again loom large in discussions.

In March, at an emergency summit in Cairo, Arab leaders endorsed a proposed plan for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing its roughly two million residents.

Saturdays summit comes two months after after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January.

The Iraqi foreign minister welcomed Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport (Pool via AP)

In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation of force to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week.

Mr Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against US forces in Iraq  and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Mr al-Sharaa was not attending the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shia militias and political factions are wary of Mr al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

Gaza is expected to loom large in the discussions (AP)

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, Mr al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making Mr al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

Iraq, which has strong  and sometimes conflicting  ties with both the United States and Iran, has sought to strike a difficult balance between them and to position itself as a regional mediator.

An Iraqi political official said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit, and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations for a nuclear deal and a demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.
The bronze statue representing Melania Trump was taken away in the village of Rozno, Slovenia (AP)

Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of US first lady Melania Trump that was sawn off and carried away from her home town.

The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during US President Donald Trumps first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970.

It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

The statue was cut off at the ankles (AP)

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said officers were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawn off at the ankles and removed.

Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trumps name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue will not be missed.

The statue bears no obvious resemblance to the US first lady (AP)

He said: I think no-one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA.

So I think its OK that its removed.

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020.

The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Mr Trumps presidential inauguration in 2017.

The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.
Storm systems sweeping across parts of the US Midwest and South have left at least 27 people dead, many of them in Kentucky where what appeared to be a devastating tornado pulverised homes.

In Kentucky, at least 18 people were killed by severe weather, and another 10 were in a critical condition in hospital, Governor Andy Beshear said on Saturday. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County and one was in Pulaski County.

Among the dead was a firefighter with the Laurel County Fire Department who was fatally injured while responding to the havoc caused by the weather.

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The fire department did not immediately say how Major Roger Leatherman was injured or when he died.

Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in their basement in London as the tornado raged around them.

You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train, she recalled on Saturday. It was terrible.

Rescuers were on the ground all night looking for possible survivors and the search is continuing, according to Sheriffs Office spokesperson Deputy Gilbert Acciardo. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.

The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. The extreme weather ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.

St Louis was heavily affected (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Lives have been changed forever here tonight. This is a time we come together, and we pray for this community, London Mayor Randall Weddle told WKYT-TV. I have never personally witnessed what Ive witnessed here tonight. Theres a lot of devastation.

The storms were part of a weather system on Friday that killed seven people in Missouri and also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left several hundred thousand customers without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.

St Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected.

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This is truly, truly devastating, Ms Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency and an overnight curfew Friday had been put into place in the areas with the most damage.

The number of people injured was not immediately known. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, according to hospital spokesperson Laura High.

St Louis Childrens Hospital received 15 patients with two of them expected to remain in the hospital into the weekend, she said.

National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between 2.30pm and 2.50pm in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

Storms downed trees in Missouri (AP)

At Centennial Christian Church, City of St Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press that three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled. One of those people later died.

Christy Childs, a Saint Louis Zoo spokesperson, said in a text that the zoo would remain closed Saturday because of downed trees and other damage. Childs said all animals were safe and that there were no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals.

We cant definitively say whether or not it was a tornado  it likely was, National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said.

A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles south of St Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.

Forecasters say more severe weather could be on the way.

Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains, the National Weather Services Storm Prediction Centre said on its website Saturday. The risk was especially high for north Texas.
US President Donald Trump has said he plans to speak by phone on Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and various Nato allies, about ending the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump said that the call with Mr Putin will be about stopping what he called the bloodbath in Ukraine.

Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, Mr Trump wrote in a post on his social networking site, Truth Social.

His remarks came less than a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire.

Mr Putin had spurned Mr Zelenskys offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed negotiations in Istanbul  although not at the presidential level  as an alternative to the full and unconditional ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the US.

Russia has carried out more attacks (Iryna Rybakova/AP)

Earlier on Saturday, top diplomats from Russia and the US held the latest in a series of phone calls, shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

In Ukraine, a north-eastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said.

The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul after agreeing to a large exchange of prisoners of war (PoWs).

Seven people were also injured in the attack in Bilopillia, a town around six miles from Russias border, three of them seriously, according to local governor Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraines national police.

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Mr Zelensky described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians, adding in a post on the Telegram messaging app that Russians could scarcely not realise what kind of vehicle they were hitting.

The local media outlet Suspilne said the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them elderly women.

Mr Zelensky lamented the missed opportunity from Fridays peace talks, saying that Ukraine has long proposed this  a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.

Russia only retains the ability to continue killing, Mr Zelensky added.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was appalled by the attack. If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done, he wrote on X.

Russias Defence Ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region on Saturday morning, some 50 31 miles south east of Bilopillia, without mentioning any other attacks there.

According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank, Ukrainian forces have been inching forward into Russian territory in the Kursk region, just north of Bilopillia.

Russia said last month that its forces had fully reclaimed the Kursk region, nearly nine months after Kyivs lightning incursion captured more than 100 settlements there and promised to hand Ukraine a bargaining chip in possible negotiations. Ukrainian officials claimed fighting in Kursk was still ongoing.

Russian shelling, drones and airs trikes killed at least five other civilians on Friday and overnight across Ukraines Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, according to local officials there.

Russian forces overnight also launched 62 drones, Ukraines air force reported. It said 36 of the drones were shot down and six more veered off course.

The talks in Istanbul on Friday ended after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchange of 1,000 PoWs each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky met European leaders on Friday (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

Ukraines intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian TV on Saturday the exchange could happen as early as next week.

But the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

Mr Zelensky said he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Mr Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland. In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, he urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.
Project for Paleolithic archaeological site in SW China under construction

Xinhua) 15:42, May 17, 2025

This undated architectural design rendering shows a multifunctional complex, which is now under construction, to host archaeological exhibitions, research activities, and tourist visits at the Piluo site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)

CHENGDU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A multifunctional complex designed to host archaeological exhibitions, research activities, and tourist visits will be constructed at the Piluo site, a large-scale Paleolithic archaeological site in Sichuan Province, southwest China.

With a total investment of approximately 240 million yuan (about 33.4 million U.S. dollars), the project officially commenced construction on Sunday in Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, at an altitude of 3,750 meters.

Covering approximately one million square meters, the Piluo site is a rare large-scale Paleolithic wilderness ruin. Preliminary dating results showed that the age of the upper strata of the Piluo site was no later than 130,000 years ago.

More than 15,000 stone artifacts from multiple Paleolithic cultural layers have been unearthed at the site, displaying the development process of Paleolithic culture in general, and how early humans adapted to extremely high-altitude environments, according to an introduction of the site posted on the official website of the Sichuan provincial cultural relics and archaeology research institute.

Spanning a total area of 13,581 square meters, the new complex will include exhibition spaces, research facilities, and visitor service areas. In addition to displaying artifacts and supporting academic research, the space will also host tourist activities and offer essential amenities. The construction of the complex is expected to be completed by December 2027.

Upon completion, the project will assist archaeological excavations at the Piluo site, facilitate research and help open up the site to the public with exhibitions of unearthed artifacts, noted He Zhenhua, deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The Piluo site has been listed as one of China's top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2021. A joint archaeological team from the Sichuan provincial cultural relics and archaeology research institute and Peking University (PKU) participated in the excavation work.

Paleolithic tools unearthed at the site, including hand axes and thin-blade axes, are now recognized as the world's highest-altitude findings of Acheulean technology. Acheulean technology refers to a prehistoric stone tool technology known for sophisticated hand axes.

According to a news bulletin posted on the official news website of Peking University (PKU), the discovery of Acheulean relics at the Piluo site "provides crucial new evidence in the exploration of the origin, distribution, and dissemination of Acheulean technology and the cultural exchange of related ancient humans in East Asia."

Daocheng County, where the Piluo site is located, is a renowned tourist destination in Sichuan known for its breathtaking scenery of snow mountains, glacial lakes and alpine meadows.

Local authorities plan to promote the "coordinated development of the Piluo site and surrounding tourism resources to build Daocheng into a world-class tourist attraction," according to Lang Jie, head of Daocheng's tourism authorities.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
Wikicommons / Public Domain

Demon.

The very name causes many of us an instant jolt of panic. Personified evil is an incomprehensible thing, and what we cannot understand, we fear.

These spiritual entities are, according to Christian tradition, angels that were cast out of heaven after following their leader, Satan, in rebellion against God. Because of their transgressions, they now roam the earth as they await the final judgment.

But what if you really have nothing to be afraid of? What if you could easily protect yourself from demonic attack?

The truth is this: you can. And Father Jose Antonio Fortea, a world-renowned Roman Catholic exorcist and author of "Summa Daemoniaca," is here to show you how you can protect yourself from these invisible entities.

For some, the advice Fr. Fortea gives will feel familiar. There is no magic bullet here, no mystical incantation that will safeguard you for all time. Protecting yourself against demonic attack takes work, perseverance, and a life devoted to Christ.

Are you ready for that?

If you are, protection is at your fingertips. Weve spoken with Fr. Fortea about the most effective things you can do to protect yourself from demonic attack, and have distilled his advice and writings down into 7 key ways to fend off the devil.

Let's take a look at what Fr. Fortea has to say.

Live a Moral Life

Unsurprisingly, the foundation of fending off the Devil begins with making moral choices.

What do we mean by moral? We mean scriptural morality that lies in loving God, loving one another, and working hard to cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit, which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is what creates a moral life.

According to Fr. Fortea, your denomination doesnt matter. You dont have to be Roman Catholic. What truly matters is that you make a good-faith attempt to act in ways which are objectively, scripturally good.

This creates what Fr. Fortea calls a good spiritual life. He goes on, saying that The more were centered on God, and the more we have a spiritual life, putting into words and deeds the words of the Gospel, the stronger well be.

If you are willingly open to evil through evil choices, you are more easily attacked and influenced by demonic spirits, which want nothing more than to separate as much of human kind as they can from the light and love of God. Protect yourself from demonic attack by consistently making moral choices.

As Fr. Fortea says, "We should always remember that in the exercise of our free will we are the authors of our own destiny. The demons can only influence us to the extent that we let them."

Attend Church

Living a moral life is the first step to protecting yourself from demonic attack, but dont stop there. If you want to safe, consider getting involved in your local church.

Fr. Fortea doesnt recommend this step so that the Church can get your money or out of a sense of tradition. Nohe recommends regularly attending church because it helps you to spiritually grow over time, and gives you the support you need to maintain those good choices we spoke of in the previous step.

The Christian Church, as a collective whole, teaches, instructs, inspires, and corrects. Without it, you risk straying from a spiritual life based upon the Word of God to a spiritual life instructed by the self.

Therein lies vulnerability to demonic attack.

If you want a stronger spiritual life, get involved in the church of your choice. What youll find there will keep you all the safer.

Pray

Fr. Fortea says that When tempted, prayer is our greatest weapon, a weapon as powerful as the greatest army or wealth. The demons know the power of prayer and fear it.

Prayer, as a direct connection between you and God, is one of the most effective and easily accessed defenses against the Devils power. Fr. Fortea tells us that it doesnt matter whether prayer is spoken aloud or merely mentalits still just as powerful.

Its a good idea to cultivate a habit of daily prayer, but you can employ this spiritual tool whenever you feel an unusual temptation to make an immoral choice. Ask God to protect you, and to use His power or send His angels to banish any evil that may have attached itself to you.

If a spiritual life is your shield, prayer is most decidedly your sword. Dont be afraid to wield it.

If you need a great example of how to pray, simply look to the Lords Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13it breaks down the art of prayer into easily-remembered parts. While you shouldnt repeat the Lords Prayer verbatim, use it as a guide in your own prayers against the demonic

In this, youll find protection.

Use Holy Objects

Fr. Fortea says that A crucifix, even if it has not been blessed, is particularly powerful. It torments the demons because it reminds them of their defeat by Jesus death on the Cross. He says the same of religious images and relics.

The thing about these holy and sacred objects is that you must not make an idol of them. A cross holds power because it reminds a demon of the true power behind itGod. By itself, its just two pieces of wood attached to one another.

You can place these upon the walls of your home to not only discourage the presence of demonic spirits, but to also remind yourself to keep growing in your spirituality and relationship with God. It can be easy to attend church on Sundays and forget about God for the rest of the week, but if you place a few items around your home that remind you of the sacred, youll be inspired to spiritual greatness every day.

Holy objects can help you fend of demonic attack, but only if you remember the real power behind them.

Embrace Humility

If there is anything that is the polar opposite of the Devil, it is humility. Even exorcists, in their bid to rid people of demonic spirits, must watch for signs of pride within themselvesa lack of humility can open you up to demonic attack like nothing else.

Satans chief sin, it seems, was pride. He thought himself greater than God, more worthy to rule. And so it is something he is intimately familiar with, and is uniquely capable of working through.

According to Fr. Fortea, pride can corrupt any gifts we receive from God, turning them toward evil or causing them to be lost altogether.

So what does humility look like? Humility, as C.S. Lewis once said, is not thinking less of yourself; its thinking of yourself less. You dont have to denigrate yourself to be humble. You just have to think outwardly, paying attention to others rather than letting concerns of the self govern your actions.

Humility forms the links of your chainmail, keeping you safe. Dont neglect this elusive quality if you want to be safe from demonic activity.

Invoke the Authority of Christ

Jesus Christ was the first exorcist, and He later gave all Christians the power and authority to repel demons. Because of that, His power flows down through the generations, and can be invoked at any time by you.

Fr. Fortea says that Jesus Christ has won the victory over sin, evil, and death through His passion, death, and resurrection, and so by His name, we can reject the Devil and His angels.

Whats more, Fr. Fortea says that Christ desires your freedom. He doesnt want you to be oppressed, possessed, or in any way influenced by demonic spirits.

If you feel that a demonic spirit is causing you temptation or harm, and prayer doesnt seem to quite do the trick, command the spirit to leave in the name of Christ.

You may need to do this a few times, but no spiritual creature can resist this name in the end. In the end, even demons know whos boss.

Seek an Exorcist

Finally, if none of these forms of protection avail you, you may have an especially powerful demon on your hands. For this, youll need an expertsomeone who has spent a lifetime familiarizing themselves with the world of the demonic, as well as the Word of God.

You need an exorcist.

Keep in mind, though, that exorcists dont do exorcisms on request. A qualified priest will first ask that you undergo a health and psychological exam to rule out any naturalistic causes. The last thing they want is to keep you from seeing effective treatment if you have a mental or physical health issue.

If the exorcist does determine that you are in need of an exorcism, the process can sometimes take several sessionsexorcism is not an I win button against the demon. It is a battle.

During the ritual, a priest will order the demon to leave you, begging God to intervene. The demon is not asked to do anything, according to Fr. Fortea, nor is the exorcist the source of the demons exit. It is all God.

Once an exorcism is complete and youre free of demonic possession or oppressionthe two ways a demon interacts with peopleyoure healed. But know this: to prevent a recurrence, any experienced exorcist will ask that you live by the rest of the recommendations on this list, that you make them engrained habits in your everyday life.

That is the way to freedom from the Devil.

Dont be a Hostage to the Devil

Fr. Fortea, in his book, Interview With an Exorcist, writes that For a Christian, fear of the Devil is completely unjustified, for faith in God casts out all fear.

It is fortunate, then, that faith is not something that is out of your reach. Cultivate it by living a moral life, engaging with a church, praying, seeking holy objects, being humble, and invoking the authority of Christ, and youll be safe from any demonic attack.

You may stumble along the way, but above all, God knows that you are human. Hell protect you. And if worse comes to worst, there will always be exorcists like Fr. Fortea waiting in the wings to save you.

Wesley Baines is a graduate student at Regent University's School of Divinity, and a freelance writer working in the fields of spirituality, self-help, and religion. You can catch more of his work at www.wesleybaines.com.
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Pope Francis leaves behind a transformative legacy as the first Latin American pope and a tireless advocate for the marginalized. The news of his death shook the 1.36 billion Catholics worldwide18 percent of the global populationwho looked to him as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City-State.

The death of a pope triggers a meticulous and historically rich process that combines centuries-old tradition with theological significance, ensuring a seamless transition in the Church's leadership. This process by which a new pope is chosen is called a Conclave, the same name as the Oscar-nominated film starring Ralph Fiennes.

Before its formalization, papal elections were often subject to external political pressures, lengthy deliberations, and even violence. One of the most infamous delays occurred in the 13th century when the election of Pope Gregory X took nearly three years due to political infighting among the cardinals.

In response, the Second Council of Lyon established the modern conclave system in 1274, mandating that cardinals be locked in seclusion until a decision was reached. This decree expedited the election process and ensured a more spiritually driven selection free from undue secular influence.

The secrecy and solemnity of the conclave reflect the Church's understanding that the election is guided by the Holy Spirit rather than mere human politics. To understand the conclave, let's explore each step of this sacred transition, from the moment of deathor resignationto the election of a new pope.

The Confirmation of Death

Although a doctor is aptly qualified to proclaim the time of death for any person, the pomp and circumstance of confirming a Papal death begins here. Historically, this was conducted by gently tapping the Pope's head three times with a silver hammer and calling his birth name.

This practice dates back to at least the 16th century, ensuring no premature declarations were made. While this method has largely been replaced with modern medical verification, it remains a powerful symbol of certainty and finality.

The Camerlengo, established in the 11th century, oversees the Church during the interregnum and formally announces the pope's death to the world.

The Fisherman's Ring, a symbol of the pope's authority since the 13th century, is defaced and destroyed to prevent misuse. This symbol, which dates back to when the seal was used to authenticate papal documents, signifies the end of the deceased Pontiff's reign.

The Period of Mourning

The Vatican enters an official mourning period lasting nine days, known as the novemdiales ("Novem" is Latin for "nine," "Diales" means "days"). This tradition is rooted in Roman funeral customs that predate Christianity. The practice symbolizes the completion of a transition period and is reminiscent of ancient Jewish mourning traditions.

During this time, the pope's body lies in state at St. Peter's Basilica. This practice began with the early burial of popes near St. Peter's tomb to emphasize apostolic continuity. The grand funeral, attended by heads of state and religious leaders, follows liturgical traditions codified by Pope Pius V in the 16th century, ensuring that the rite remains consistent with historical Catholic doctrine. This process is "Quo Primum," meaning "from the first" in Latin.

The Sede Vacante and Governance of the Church

Once the pope dies, the Church enters a period known as sede vacante"the seat being vacant." This term has been used since at least the 12th century when papal transitions became more structured. During this time, no significant decisions regarding doctrine or Church governance could be made, reflecting Catholic teachings that only a reigning pope holds full ecclesiastical authority.

The Camerlengo assumes administrative duties, dating back to the 13th century when financial and operational stability needed to be maintained after the pope's death. In 1059, Pope Nicholas II formally recognized the College of Cardinals as the pope's electors. The College then convened to begin preparations for the conclave.

The Gathering of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals, composed of voting members under the age of 80 (a rule established by Pope Paul VI in 1970), gathers in Rome within 15-20 days of the pope's passing. This exclusive assembly originated in the early Church when Roman clergy and bishops selected a new pope through acclamation.

However, disputes and external influences led Pope Gregory X to formalize the conclave system in 1274 at the Second Council of Lyon, ensuring secrecy and preventing lengthy vacancies. The oath of secrecy taken by cardinals before entering the Sistine Chapel mirrors ancient ecclesiastical practices meant to safeguard the independence of papal elections from political or personal ambitions.

The Conclave and Election Process

The word conclave comes from the Latin cum clave, meaning "with a key," signifying the locked nature of the proceedings. The strict seclusion of the cardinals was first enforced in the 13th century to avoid external pressures, mainly from European monarchs.

The method of burning ballots to produce either black or white smoke originated in the 20th century under Pope Pius XI, providing a clear public signal of election results. The conclave's theological significance is deeply tied to the belief that the Holy Spirit guides the electors in choosing the next pope, a conviction traced back to the election of St. Peter's successors in the early Church.

The Papal Selection

To be elected pope, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority vote, a rule first mandated by Pope Alexander III in 1179 to prevent factional disputes. The elected cardinal is then asked if he accepts the position, mirroring Christ's question to Peter in John 21:16: "Do you love me?"

This moment is not only historical but deeply biblical, reflecting Peter's role as the foundational leader of the Church. Upon acceptance, the new pope chooses a regnal name, a tradition that began with Pope John II in the 6th century to avoid using pagan birth names. The significance of these names often ties into previous papal missions, symbolizing continuity and inspiration.

Habeums Papam

Once a pope has been chosen, the world awaits the famous words: Habemus Papam! "We have a pope!" This proclamation, made from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, originated in the 15th century when papal elections became widely anticipated events.

The new pope then offers his first apostolic blessing, Urbi et Orbi ("To the city and the world"). This phrase, rooted in Roman imperial announcements, was later adopted by the Church to emphasize the pope's authority over Rome and the global Catholic community.

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum;

Habemus Papam:

Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,

Dominum ,

Sanct Roman Ecclesi Cardinalem.,

Qui sibi nomen imposuit .

I announce to you a great joy;

We have a Pope!

The most eminent and most reverend Lord,

Lord [First Name], Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [Last Name],

Who takes for himself the name of [Papal or Regnal Name].

Pontificate Coronation

Though Pope Paul VI abolished papal coronations with a tiara in 1963, the inaugural Mass remains a significant event, marking the beginning of a new pontificate. The newly elected pope receives the Pallium, a symbol of pastoral authority dating back to at least the 4th century, which ties him to St. Peter's legacy.

He is also given the Fisherman's Ring, symbolizing the pope's role as Peter's successor since the 13th century. These traditions underscore the historical and theological importance of the papal office, ensuring continuity with the Church's apostolic foundations.

Resignations Rare, But Not Unheard Of

Before Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013, no one had voluntarily left the Holy See for 600 years. Since Saint Peter the Apostle took the helm as the first Bishop of Rome from 67 to 78 AD, only six men have resigned from the Pontificate.

Pope Pontian, the 18th pope, was the first to abdicate in September 235 AD. Following Pontian's renunciation, some have been alleged (without written records), and others have been recorded and made official in history.

Alleged:

Marcellinus resigned sometime between 297 and 303 AD. Some believe he renounced more than the Papacy; he is said to have renounced his Christianity. Liberius resigned between 353 and 360 AD. By the 4th century, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire, but Liberius was later considered a heretic because he was an Arian Christian, or someone who believed God "created" Jesus. John XVIII's resignation in approximately 1007 is an enigma because the Vatican has no record of his papacy at all, although his ascension to the Vatican is recorded through the Crescentii family, which maneuvered several men to become the Pontiff for their own needs.

Recorded:

Benedict IX was the first "Benedict" to resign from the Papacy before Cardinal Joesph Ratzinger did because of his ailing health. In 1032, Theophyalactus of Tusculum was only 20 when he became pope. After a decade of debauchery, Romans revolted, leaving him with an odd ending to his Papacy. Benedict IX didn't really resignhe sold it to his godfather, Giovanni Graziano. Gregory VI was Cardinal Giovanni Graziano, who wanted to "clean up" the Papacy. After only a year, he gave up and left the Holy See in 1046. Celestine V resigned his term in 1294 after only six months. Born Pietro da Morrone, CelestineV was known to be a pious hermit. Following a century of corruption, Cardinals chose Pietro, believing he would restore holiness to appointment. Because he yearns to be alone, it was thought that he would be better served elsewhere with less government oversight. Gregory XII was pope from 1406 to 1415 when he left the seat because of the Western Schism. This period was known as the Avignon Papacy when a group of cardinals wanted "their" pope, so they voted Benedict XIII, who lived in Avignon, as their own. Meanwhile, when Pope Innocent VIII died in Rome, Gregory (born Angelo Correr) was elected to replace him. The schism ended when both popes were asked to step down and allow Alexander V to become Pontiff.

When Gregory XII stepped forward to improve the Holy See and Rome, the Code of Canon Laws was made concrete. Pope Benedict XVI then completed this process, making way for Pope Francis Essentially, the pope must make a public declaration without duress or coercion. When his resignation is made public, no one has to "accept" it. The Papacy is officially open, which skips the "confirmation of death" and "period of mourning" and leads directly to "Sede Vacante."

Upon papal abdication, the resigning Pope takes on the title of "Pope Emeritus" and spends his last days in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he is available for counsel, confession, and communion to the sick. The death of a pope is both a moment of sorrow and renewal within the Catholic Church. Through centuries of refined practice, the transition between pontiffs is carried out with precision, reverence, and theological depth. Each process stepfrom the destruction of the Fisherman's Ring to the conclavehas been shaped by historical necessity, doctrinal development, and the Church's desire to maintain divine guidance in leadership.

Pope Franciss legacy will endure through his emphasis on mercy, his outreach to the marginalized, and his efforts to reform the Church. His death now turns the world's attention to the futurea new pope, a new chapter in Catholic history, and the continued faith of a global Church trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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When you think of a ghost, whats the first thing that comes to mind? Is it Casper the Ghost or the 1990 film Ghost starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore? When asked is it okay for Christians to believe in ghosts, it would depend on your definition of ghosts. If youre referring to a spirit being, then yes, thats okay. However, if youre referring to the spirit of someone who has died, then thats where it gets complicated. The most prevalent ghost in the Christian faith is the Holy Ghost, also referred to as the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is one-third of the Holy Trinity, encompassing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 2 Corinthians 13:14 asks that the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you in all that you do. The King James Version of the Bible is the only modern interpretation that uses the term Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a gift to Gods people on Earth to start and complete the building of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says we were all baptized into one body, and we were all made to drink of one spirit, that being the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples to make disciples and baptize them by all three of the trinity, described in Matthew 28:19.

Although He is named the Holy Ghost, He doesnt scare or haunt people as a paranormal ghost. Instead, His purpose is to lead us in the right direction with our relationship with Jesus and to fill us with Gods spirit. John 16:8 says that when the Holy Ghost comes, He will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.

What the Bible Says About Ghosts.

The Bible doesnt mention ghosts by name but instead refers to them as spirit beings or resurrected humans. The Bible does talk about demons, who are known to hide their true selves and fool people. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 describes Satan disguising himself as an angel of light, so its no surprise that his servants, or demons, would do the same. Appearing as a ghost and impersonating a dead loved one is something that would be within their reach. When it comes to the paranormal and seeking our loved ones in the afterlife, the Bible warns against it. Leviticus 19:31 says that you should not turn to mediums or necromancers, or sorcerers, and asks that you dont seek them out and make yourselves unclean by them. Instead, you should trust the Lord and what He says.

Christians dont believe that you turn into ghosts when you die. Instead, they think that we turn into glorified bodies, like Jesus. Philippians 3:20-21 says that when you enter Heaven, your body will change from your earthly body to a glorified body by the power that enables Him. When Jesus walked on water, His disciples thought He was a ghost, as described in Matthew 14:26. When His disciples saw Jesus on the water, they were scared and cried out in fear that He was a ghost.

The Bible teaches that once you die, you face judgment. Believers go to Heaven, and non-believers go to Hell. It doesnt say that their spirit haunts the Earth or visits their loved ones when people die, erasing the idea of ghosts haunting the Earth after they died.

The Verdict.

The term ghosts coincide more with the paranormal realm. In recent years, ghosts have become more popular with ghost hunters and paranormal activity. When it comes to the question of whether it is okay for Christians to believe in ghosts, it ultimately comes down to your definition of a ghost. If youre referring to a spiritual being, then the Bible says that is okay. However, if youre referring to the deceased haunting those on Earth, then the Bible says no. The Bible says that after you die, you go before God to face judgment. If you believe in God and have accepted him as your Lord and Savior, then you go to Heaven. However, if you are a non-believer, then you go to Hell. The Bible does acknowledge spirit beings who can connect and appear in the physical world.

Demons can disguise themselves as loved ones who have died, so be cautious of seeking to speak to deceased loved ones. The Bible says that you should be careful of psychics, sorcerers, or mediums. If you attempt to contact a deceased loved one, it could be a demon in disguise. Its safer not to reach them and speak only to God. According to the Bible, if you are a believer of God, you go immediately before God after you die. At that point, depending on if youre a believer or a non-believer, you will go to Heaven or Hell. When you go to Heaven, your body transforms from your earthly body to your glorified body, like Jesus. Some stories mention a dead spirit lingering on the Earth, but this is not the case in the Christian faith.

It can be hard to lose a loved one and not speak to them, especially if you were close to them. Instead, you should take comfort in the fact that if you follow Gods Word, you will see them again. Cherish the memories you had with your loved one and remember the good times you had with them while they were in their earthly form. Your loved ones would not want you to dwell on the life they lived on Earth. They would like you to live your life with the time you have left and thank God for every day that He gives you. Spend each day trying to find the best way to honor God in everything that you do. By doing so, it guarantees that you will see your loved ones again once you enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you continue to follow Gods Word and do your best every day, you will see your loved one again.

Lauren McKeithen is a University of Maryland University College graduate who has always had a passion for writing. She strives every day to live the life that God has planned for her.
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Sometimes, life seems uncertain, and you feel alone and abandoned. You might wonder whether God is even paying attention. Maybe you've been stuck in a season of waiting, hoping, and praying for direction. You might be hurting and feeling frustrated.

But what if this time isn't punishment or rejection? What if it's preparation, and God is right beside you through all of it?

Throughout scripture, we can see that God often works behind the scenes, shaping people before revealing something greater. That doesn't always feel holy, though. It can feel like heartbreak and loneliness. But if you're feeling stretched too thin, take heart. You might be seeing the signs that God is preparing you for something big.

Here are six signs to help you recognize what may be happening.

1. You're facing unexpected challenges.

Life has thrown you curveballs you didn't ask for. Maybe the job you lost was one you loved. Maybe the person who left was someone you thought would always be there. You may not know why it happened, but what if it's part of something bigger?

But trials can reveal and refine what's already in us. As James wrote, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (James 1:23).

Joy isn't usually the first response to hard times, of course. But pain can be a teacher, and pressure can reveal what comfort hides. Challenges can be signs that God is preparing you for what comes next. Trust His plan.

2. You feel a holy discontent.

There's a stirring in your heart, an unsettled feeling that something must change. You want something to change. Something deep inside says there's more, even if you don't know what that looks like yet.

That restlessness may be a nudge from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, God lets discontent wake us up and draw us into something new. And sometimes, it takes us a while to figure it all out. If you're in a season of waiting and something inside you keeps saying, "Not this," don't ignore it. That frustration might be the first whisper of transformation.

3. Doors are closing.

Plans that felt solid are suddenly falling through. Opportunities disappear. People move on. You're left wondering what went wrong or what you did wrong.

But closed doors don't always mean failure. They can also be a form of divine protection or redirection. Think about Revelation 3:7: "What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open."

That doesn't mean it won't hurt. Sometimes, the only way God can reroute you is by helping you let go of what you couldn't live without. It could be one of the signs God is preparing you for something big, even if you can't see it yet.

4. You're growing in faith and character.

You've started praying more often. You're learning to depend on God daily, maybe because you had no other choice. And now your patience is growing, your pride is softening, and your trust in God is becoming deeper.

That kind of growth doesn't usually happen during the easy times. But as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, "Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:34).

You may not realize it, but you're becoming someone new. Someone more grounded. More aware. More ready. And that's no accident. It's preparation.

5. You sense a call to step out in faith.

You feel prompted to move, change careers, forgive someone, or start something new. It doesn't always make sense on paper, and you might not have all the details. But the sense that you're being called doesn't go away.

Trusting God's plan often works this way. He asked Abraham to leave his home without knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Faith is rarely about having the full picture. It's about believing that God's path is good, even when you can't see the destination.

Just don't confuse waiting with being passive. Preparation requires movement. It may not feel bold, but a small step in faith is still a step. Keep walking, one step at a time.

6. You're being positioned through divine connections.

People come into your life at just the right time. You cross paths with someone who offers wisdom, encouragement, or even opportunity. It doesn't feel random.

God can prepare your next step by bringing the right people into your life at just the right moment. Consider Ruth meeting Boaz (Ruth 23) or David's friendship with Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1). Divine appointments like these are often part of the unfolding plan. They're connections that shape your future.

But be discerning. Not every new voice is divine. Stay close to God so you can recognize the difference between a holy connection and a shiny distraction.

Trusting God's Plan

Trusting God's plan isn't always easy. Recognizing the signs that God is preparing you can be tough. In fact, it's sometimes so subtle it seems hidden. But think about it:

Before David became king, he spent years tending sheep. Before Esther saved her people, she spent time in quiet obedience. Before His public ministry, even Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, fasting, praying, and being tested (Luke 4:113).

Difficult seasons of waiting may feel like delays, but they're sacred. They're essential. It's where faith is tested, and character takes root. These seasons are when God builds the depth that your next steps require.

Philippians 1:6 offers a promise: "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Remember, you're not being overlooked. You're being prepared.

Keep praying. Keep listening. While God prepares the way, we still have to take the next step, no matter how small. Don't wait for the clouds to part or the sign to be obvious. Take the steps you can take. That's how you walk into something big, one obedient move at a time.

And when the time is right, you'll look back and realize that every challenge, every delay, and every shift was part of a process bigger than you knew. Keep trusting God's planeven when you can't see where it's going.

Leah McCellan is a freelance writer and editor with a background in English literature and a deep respect for faith, spiritual growth, and personal reflection. When she's not wrestling with words, she's usually reading, walking, or thinking deeply about small things with big meanings. She believes God speaks in both whispers and detoursand that both are worth paying attention to.
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Eagle Archives, July 2, 1957: The Marauders drum and bugle corps will be absent from the 1957 Fourth of July Parade after a split with the Pittsfield Firemens Association, which demanded the return of all instruments amid tensions over name changes and sponsorship.
TYRINGHAM  A historic Japanese warehouse that stood for over a century is getting a second life  in rural Massachusetts.

A new business is rescuing the frames of century-old Japanese buildings from demolition by shipping them halfway across the world and reassembling them in the United States. Its first client is a timber framing company in Tyringham.

This spring, co-owners of Kominka North America  Billy Dillon and Adam Miller  alternated trips to Japan to oversee the disassembly of a roughly 120-year-old silk thread factory storehouse.

It took our breath away when we first saw it, said Miller. This is the everyday work of traditional Japanese carpenters, and theres this beautiful and inherent embodied elegance in it that comes from working with the woods natural shapes and integrating them in a really concise way.

The roughly 2,000 square-foot building was slated for demolition because it lies in the path of a planned railroad.

Currently, neither Dillon nor Miller speaks much Japanese, but in addition to being the inspiration of their companys name, the nonprofit Kominka Collective has facilitated translation, identified potential buildings, and coordinated some of the disassembly work.

There is also some communication that does not require language.

When were taking apart these buildings, were seeing how they were created by our carpentry forebears, said Miller. "It's incredible. It's a sort of a language through which we can connect with them and begin to understand them  a window into a different culture.

After they took the building apart, they packed its frame, which is mostly made out of Japanese red pine, into crates  some of which were over 39 feet long and weighed around 6,000 pounds. The building's pieces then spent almost four weeks on the ocean.

Despite the scale of the move, Miller said the shipping costs were surprisingly modest.

Everyone thinks shipping these products is going to be hugely expensive, but it's really pretty reasonable, said Miller, who estimated that transporting the wood totaled about $14,000 door to door. Both owners also anticipate that future projects will likely be exempt from most of the Trump administrations tariffs because the wood qualifies as an antique product.

Now, they are preparing the site in Tyringham for the buildings reconstruction.

The finished product will be a shop space for local timber framing company Uncarved Block.

Ive always been really drawn to Japanese design and Japanese buildings, and the opportunity to be part of preserving these buildings' legacy, continuing the craft, and learning from that legacy  it's too good to pass up, said the buildings owner, Brad Morse.

They unloaded the crates at the site two weeks ago and hope to wrap up construction by mid-summer.

[Morse] is going to put a foundation in and do the walls, said Dillon. We are essentially just providing the roof and the frame.

The idea for the company first emerged about a year ago, while Dillon and Miller were on a tour of Japan led by the Timber Framers Guild.

They were stunned by what they saw.

There are millions of old buildings in Japan that are under imminent threat of demolition, which are both beautiful from a carpentry perspective, and no longer being built in Japan, said Miller, who went on to emphasize that some of the species of wood in these buildings have become extremely rare, as much of the reforestation after World War II heavily favored sugi, or Japanese cedar.

The wood in these buildings is some of the most beautiful wood in the world, Miller said.

Both men had experience moving barns and using recycled timber, but thats getting hard to do because barns are getting harder and harder to find, Miller said. They decided to take a leap, and see if they could take a similar approach to traditional Japanese construction.

At the end of the day, however, the carpenters have bigger dreams than just bringing the buildings stateside.

These buildings are kind of obsolete for the needs of modern Japan, so they are frequently abandoned and are often seen as blight on the landscape, said Miller. We also hope to help raise awareness of the status of such traditional buildings in Japan, and hopefully help encourage, in the broadest sense, the preservation of local buildings in Japan in situ, before too many of them are lost.
Town meeting: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Town Offices, 50 Main St.

Town election: Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Town Offices. In the only contested race, Select Board Chair Jamie Minacci is facing a challenge from Lisa Sauer, a member of the town's Historic Preservation Committee and a former Planning Board member, for a three-year seat.

TOP ISSUES AT TOWN MEETING:

The total fiscal 2026 operating budget is $13,425,434, an increase of $1.1 million  or 9 percent  over the current year. Much of the increase is driven by a new four-town building inspection shared-services agreement based in Stockbridge. Reimbursements from Great Barrington, Lee and Lenox, the other participants, will total several hundred thousand dollars.

With all operating, capital and other spending items considered, the owner of an average single-family home valued at $835,582 can expect a 3.56 percent increase, about $209, in their tax bills in the upcoming fiscal year. Voters also will consider:

 Initial funding for the new professional fire and EMS department and a new firehouse, also serving West Stockbridge.

 The towns assessed share of $4,084,874 for the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee District budget.

 A zoning bylaw amendment for accessory dwelling units to align the town with the new state law on ADUs.

 A $288,000 transfer from certified free cash for the purchase of a fully equipped ambulance capable of handling critical life-threatening emergencies.

 A $200,000 transfer from certified free cash for additional cupola repairs on the Children's Chime Tower.

 A citizens petition seeking town funding not to exceed $600,000 from certified free cash to acquire a parcel at 0 Interlaken Cross Road.

 Clarence Fanto
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
This years annual Garda memorial day was described as particularly poignant coming just days after the killing of an officer on duty.

Garda Kevin Flatley died last Sunday after being struck by a motorcycle at a speed checkpoint in Co Dublin.

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President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris were among the crowds of mourners who attended the funeral service for the 49-year-old married father-of-two in Balbriggan on Friday.

Garda colleagues, including Garda commissioner Drew Harris (left) and members of the DMR roads policing unit, form a guard of honour for Garda Kevin Flatley, following his funeral service at St. Peter and Pauls Church, Balbriggan, Co Dublin on Friday (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Saturday, Garda Flatleys parents were among those who attended the annual Garda memorial day at Dublin Castle.

Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan described the day as particularly poignant following the recent loss of Garda Flatley.

My immediate thoughts are with his wife Una and their two children Aoife and Erin, his parents, his family and his friends, he said.

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I offer my condolences again to them at this deeply sad time.

I also offer my condolences to the men and women Garda Flatley worked with in the roads policing division, and indeed all of his colleagues in the wider Garda family.

Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan gives a speech during the annual Garda memorial day (Brian Lawless/PA)

He said Garda Flatley typified the ethos of An Garda Siochana.

He worked in service of those he lived alongside, he said.

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I am very conscious that Garda Flatley died doing what gardai do every day across the country, working to keep us all safe. His death is a stark reminder to all of us of the very real dangers involved in being a member of An Garda Siochana.

Today is an opportunity for us to remember and recognise the selflessness and bravery of those who are gone, the courageous members of An Garda Siochana who went to work one morning and tragically never came home, having been killed in the line of duty.

(l to r) Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan, Breda Flatley (mother of Kevin Flatley), Michael Flatley (father of Kevin Flatley) and Garda commissioner Drew Harris pose alongside a wreath on the annual Garda memorial day (Brian Lawless/PA)

Garda commissioner Drew Harris said he wanted to particularly welcome Garda Flatleys parents Michael and Breda to the service.

His tragic death serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the dangers faced by gardai daily in the course of their duties.

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It brings home to us all the grief and pain we feel as individuals, and collectively, having lost a loved one.

Very sadly our roll of honour now stands at 90 gardai. Soon Kevins name will join the 89 other names etched on our Garda memorial here, and on each Garda memorial day when we gather here in these beautiful surroundings we will remember Kevin and all those killed in the line of duty.

Ireland Teenager who died in Buncrana tragedy remembered f... Read More

Today we honour their service to this country, their commitment to making Ireland a safer place, their contribution to society and the state.

We pay tribute to their bravery and courage, their resilience in the face of adversity, their determination to face down danger to help others. Today we think of their sacrifice.

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Their loss is felt as deeply now as the day they were taken from us.
Arab leaders meeting at an annual summit in Baghdad have said they are trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.

In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gazas reconstruction without displacing its roughly two million residents.

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The summit in Baghdad was attended by Arab leaders including Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Among the guests were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the flow of aid into the besieged territory.



Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the summit (AP(

He said that the UN rejects any forced displacement of Palestinians.

Saturdays summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January.

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In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history, Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza.

Mr al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay 20 million dollars (15 million) for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.

Mr El-Sisi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the US, is exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed the gathering in the Iraqi capital (AP)

He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza once the aggression stops.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and along with other militant groups to hand over weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week.

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Mr Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against US forces in Iraq  and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Mr al-Sharaa did not attend the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shia militias and political factions are wary of Mr al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

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An Iraqi official said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations to reach a nuclear deal and lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.
Regional leaders are meeting in Baghdad at the annual summit of the Arab League, with the war in Gaza expected to once again loom large in discussions.

In March, at an emergency summit in Cairo, Arab leaders endorsed a proposed plan for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing its roughly two million residents.

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Saturdays summit comes two months after after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group in January.



The Iraqi foreign minister welcomed Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport (Pool via AP)

In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation of force to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trumps tour in the region earlier in the week.

Mr Trumps visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa  who had once fought against US forces in Iraq  and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

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Mr al-Sharaa was not attending the summit in Baghdad, where Syrias delegation was headed by foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Iraqi Shia militias and political factions are wary of Mr al-Sharaas past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.



Gaza is expected to loom large in the discussions (AP)

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, Mr al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.

During Syrias conflict that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought alongside the forces of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, making Mr al-Sharaa today a particularly sensitive figure for them.

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Iraq, which has strong  and sometimes conflicting  ties with both the United States and Iran, has sought to strike a difficult balance between them and to position itself as a regional mediator.

An Iraqi political official said that Irans Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani had paid a visit to Baghdad prior to the summit, and conveyed messages of support for the Iranian-American negotiations for a nuclear deal and a demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions on Iran.
Israel has launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip in a bid to pressure Hamas to release hostages while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a negotiating team to remain in Qatar for indirect talks with the militant group.

Defence minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with great force.

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Mr Netanyahu had vowed to escalate pressure with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

The military operation in the Palestinian territory came a day after US President Donald Trump concluded his Middle East trip without a visit to Israel.



There is a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza (AP)

There had been hope that his visit could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months.

An Israel official said that Nr Netanyahu was in constant contact throughout the day with the negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, and US envoy Steve Witkoff, and instructed the team to remain there.

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Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture before Mr Trumps trip, insists on a deal that ends the war and leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces  something Israel said that it will not agree to.

Israels army said on social media it would not stop until the hostages are returned and the militant group is dismantled.

Israel believes as many as 23 hostages in Gaza are still alive although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of them.

More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It said more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.

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On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to al-Awda Hospital. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house. A later strike in Jabaliya killed four, the hospital said.

This is unacceptable. Until when? Until we all die? asked a sweating Naji Awaisa as he and others fled Jabaliya with their belongings down streets lined with shattered buildings. Smoke from air strikes rose in the distance.



The fresh offensive comes amid warnings of mass hunger in Gaza (AP)

Air strikes around Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed 14 people, with the bodies arriving at al-Aqsa hospital. One strike on a house killed eight people, including parents and four children.

A strike hit outside a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, killing four, the Gaza Health Ministrys emergency service said.

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There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strikes. A separate statement said that the military had killed dozens of fighters while dismantling an underground route in northern Gaza.

Hundreds of protesters rallied on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, some holding photos of Palestinian children killed in Gaza, with others demanding a deal to end the war and bring all hostages home.

Let me be crystal clear. All of Israeli society, left, right, secular, religious, stands united in calling for a hostage deal. To miss this moment for a deal would be a betrayal of history, a stain that will never fade, Dalia Kushnir-Horn, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn, told the crowd.

Gaza is in the third month of an Israeli blockade with no food, water, fuel or other goods entering the territory of more than 2 million people. Food security experts say Gaza will be in famine if the blockade is not lifted.

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Air strikes are continuing in the northern Gaza Strip (AP)

Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organisation that has US backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month  after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials.

A statement from the group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort.

Many in the humanitarian community, including the UN, said they will not participate because the system does not align with humanitarian principles and wont be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

A statement on Friday by Tom Fletcher, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said the plan is rooted in the non-negotiable principles and that the UN has people ready to deliver assistance. He demanded the rapid, safe and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians.

The war began on October 7 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gazas health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
A Russian drone has struck a passenger bus in Ukraines north-eastern Sumy region, killing nine people and injuring seven others.

Ukrainian officials said the attack happened on Saturday, just hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct peace talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire.

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Seven people were also injured in the attack in Bilopillia, a town around six miles from the border with Russia, three of them seriously, according to local governor Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraines national police.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians and said in a post on Telegram messaging app that Russians could scarcely not realise what kind of vehicle they were hitting.

He lamented the missed opportunity from the peace talks on Friday, saying that Ukraine has long proposed this  a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.

Russia only retains the ability to continue killing, Mr Zelensky added.

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Spoke with @POTUS together with President Macron, Federal Chancellor Merz, Prime Ministers Starmer and Tusk. We discussed the meeting in Istanbul.



Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance. pic.twitter.com/CG3pAnN5Ip  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) May 16, 2025

In Bilopillia, a period of mourning was declared through until Monday, with local community chief Yurii Zarko calling the day Black Saturday.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital.

The local media outlet Suspilne said the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them elderly women.

Russias defence ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region on Saturday morning, some 31 miles south-east of Bilopillia, without mentioning any other attacks there.

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Russian and Ukrainian officials met on Friday in Istanbul in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended after less than two hours without a breakthrough.

It was the first face-to-face dialogue between the two sides since the early weeks of Moscows February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

While both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which remains elusive.

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Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky met European leaders on Friday (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

Mr Zelensky said he had discussed the outcome of the Istanbul talks with US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland.

In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, he urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap.

The sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to the chief Ukrainian delegate, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

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Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting, which Russia took under consideration.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Saturday held open the possibility of Mr Putin holding talks with Mr Zelensky, providing the agreed prisoner swap goes ahead and if Russian and Ukrainian delegations reached unspecified further agreements.

Mr Peskov also told reporters that Moscow will present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire but gave no timeframe, or say what needed to happen before Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin can meet.

In Tirana, Albania, Mr Zelensky met with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defence and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war, Mr Zelensky said on X.

Mr Macron in Tirana on Saturday accused Mr Putin of cynicism and said that Russia has failed to respect ceasefire proposals backed by the US and other Western nations.

Following a call on Friday between Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky, Mr Starmer, Mr Merz, Mr Tusk and Mr Macron, the French president reiterated that a European coalition of the willing is ready to give Ukraine security guarantees and put pressure on Russia, something he said he expected Mr Trump would support.

Faced with President Putins cynicism, I believe that  in fact, Im sure that President Trump, concerned about the credibility of the United States of America, will react, he said.
Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of US first lady Melania Trump that was sawn off and carried away from her home town.

The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during US President Donald Trumps first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970.

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It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.



The statue was cut off at the ankles (AP)

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said officers were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawn off at the ankles and removed.

Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trumps name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue will not be missed.

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The statue bears no obvious resemblance to the US first lady (AP)

He said: I think no-one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA.

So I think its OK that its removed.

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020.

The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Mr Trumps presidential inauguration in 2017.

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The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.
The British Prime Ministers immigration speech this week was the dumbest of dumb politics, former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Keir Starmer had come in for criticism after he said the UK risked becoming an island of strangers if new immigration curbs were not implemented, with some drawing comparisons to Enoch Powells infamous rivers of blood speech, assertions rejected by Number 10.

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Speaking during a campaign visit in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, ahead of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election next month, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon hit out at the Prime Minister, accusing him of a very deliberate dog whistle.

Ms Sturgeon talked up the benefits of immigration to Scotland, describing diversity as one of our strengths and urging progressive politicians to push back against anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Asked if the British Prime Minister was aware his comments could draw comparisons to Enoch Powell, the former first minister said: Theres one of two answers to that.

Either he was aware, in which case its disgraceful, or he wasnt aware, in which case: what is he doing in the senior position hes in?

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For goodness sake, he is Prime Minister, hes not some political newbie with no experience.

Of course he knew that was a very deliberate dog whistle, and you know what? Shame on him.

Mondays comments, Ms Sturgeon added, have not boosted support for Labour.

The limited polling and real voting evidence that weve seen since he made those comments show that its not doing him any good, she said.

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Thats the real irony of this  the more he legitimises the politics of Reform, the more he will boost Reform at his expense.

So its not even smart politics.

The British Prime Minister announced changes to the immigration system on Monday (Ian Vogler/PA)

She added: Even if, and this is not my view, you decide that principles dont matter  its really dumb politics.

Its the dumbest of dumb politics.

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This week, she said, had been one of the most disreputable in the history of the Labour Party, adding: At a time when we need progressive politicians to stand up and take on and beat the arguments of Nigel Farage, weve seen Keir Starmer lie down and surrender to Nigel Farage with his policies on immigration.

Which are wrong in principle, but would be devastating, catastrophic for the Scottish economy and for big sections of our public sector in Scotland.

We need to see politicians stand up and take the argument to Reform, and instead we see Labour rolling over and surrendering.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: Nicola Sturgeon left her party and the country in a disastrous state, and it seems she still has not found the gift of introspection.

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Promoting her own personal brand for financial gain might be Nicolas main aim now but she leaves behind her an atrocious record of soaring levels of homeless children and a crashed NHS  all a personal indictment of her disastrous time as first minister.

It was Nicola Sturgeon who was the health secretary and first minister that fought tooth and nail against fair pay and rights for care workers, and left behind a wake of wasted money and services in deadly crisis.

If Nicola Sturgeon wants to see a politician that has created division, ruined public services and set back workers rights, she need only look in the mirror.
Nine people have died and four others were injured after a Russian drone struck a passenger bus in Ukraines north-eastern Sumy region.

The attack came just hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct peace talks in years which failed to yield a ceasefire.

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Ukraines national police released photos showing the aftermath of the strike in Sumys Bilopillia city, around six miles from the front line and border with Russia.

This is another war crime by Russia  a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat, the Sumy regional administration said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.



Mr Zelensky met European leaders on Friday (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

A period of mourning has been declared in Bilopillia from Saturday through until Monday, with local community chief Yurii Zarko calling the day of the attack Black Saturday.

The local media outlet Suspilne said the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from Bilopillia when the strike occurred. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them elderly women.

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The injured were taken to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital. Three people were reported to be in a serious condition.

It is not immediately clear how the strike would affect peace efforts.

The first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscows 2022 invasion ended after less than two hours on Friday, and while both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

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The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which remains elusive.





Spoke with @POTUS together with President Macron, Federal Chancellor Merz, Prime Ministers Starmer and Tusk. We discussed the meeting in Istanbul.



Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance. pic.twitter.com/CG3pAnN5Ip  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) May 16, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the talks with US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland.

In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania, he urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap.

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Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate, defence minister Rustem Umerov.

An aide to President Vladimir Putin said both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting, which Russia took under consideration.

Mr Zelensky was in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, meeting with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defence and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.

He met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

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Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war, Mr Zelensky said on X, posting a photo of the leaders during the call, the second for the group since May 10.
A second man has been arrested in connection with arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Counter-terror officers arrested a 26-year-old man at Luton Airport on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police.

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The arrest, which took place shortly before 2pm, follows fires at Starmers home in Kentish Town, as well as another property and a car linked to the Prime Minister earlier this month.

Roman Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old Ukrainian man, has already been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the fires.

Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south-east London, denied arson in a police interview.

He appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey scheduled for June 6th.
Storm systems sweeping across the US Midwest have left at least 16 people dead, including nine people killed after a tornado sparked a mass casualty event in south-eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky authorities said there were also severe injuries when a twister tore across Laurel County late on Friday.

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The search is continuing in the damaged area for survivors, the office of Sheriff John Root said.

In Missouri, at least seven people died and authorities were searching from building to building for people who were trapped or hurt after severe storms, including at least one possible tornado.

The storms were part of a severe weather system that also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left several hundred thousand customers without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.

In Missouri, the storms on Friday afternoon tore roofs off buildings, blew out windows, ripped bricks off siding and yanked up trees and power lines.

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St Louis was heavily affected (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St Louis mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected.

This is truly, truly devastating, Ms Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency and an overnight curfew on Friday had been put into place in the areas with the most damage.

The number of people injured was not immediately known. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, according to hospital spokesperson Laura High.

St Louis Childrens Hospital received 15 patients with two of them expected to remain in the hospital into the weekend, she said.

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National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between 2.30pm and 2.50pm local time in Clayton, Missouri, in the St Louis area.

The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

At Centennial Christian Church, City of St Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press that three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled. One of those people died.

Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law Patricia Penelton died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir.

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Storms downed trees in Missouri (AP)

Downed trees and stop lights also caused traffic gridlock during the Friday afternoon commute and officials urged people to stay home.

The upper stories of the Harlem Taprooms brick building were demolished when the storm came through, leaving piles of bricks around the outside. About 20 people were inside, but they huddled in the back of the building and none were hurt, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Christy Childs, a Saint Louis Zoo spokesperson, said in a text that the zoo would remain closed Saturday because of downed trees and other damage. All animals were safe and there were no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals.

We cant definitively say whether or not it was a tornado  it likely was, US National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said.

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A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles south of St Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.

Our first responders acted swiftly, even while the tornado was still active, putting themselves in harms way to provide immediate assistance and care to those injured, he said.
US President Donald Trump has said he plans to speak by phone on Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and various Nato allies, about ending the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump said that the call with Mr Putin will be about stopping what he called the bloodbath in Ukraine.

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Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, Mr Trump wrote in a post on his social networking site, Truth Social.

His remarks came less than a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire.

Mr Putin had spurned Mr Zelenskys offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed negotiations in Istanbul  although not at the presidential level  as an alternative to the full and unconditional ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the US.



Russia has carried out more attacks (Iryna Rybakova/AP)

Earlier on Saturday, top diplomats from Russia and the US held the latest in a series of phone calls, shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

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In Ukraine, a north-eastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said.

The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul after agreeing to a large exchange of prisoners of war (PoWs).

Seven people were also injured in the attack in Bilopillia, a town around six miles from Russias border, three of them seriously, according to local governor Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraines national police.





Spoke with @POTUS together with President Macron, Federal Chancellor Merz, Prime Ministers Starmer and Tusk. We discussed the meeting in Istanbul.



Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance. pic.twitter.com/CG3pAnN5Ip  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) May 16, 2025

Mr Zelensky described the attack as deliberate killing of civilians, adding in a post on the Telegram messaging app that Russians could scarcely not realise what kind of vehicle they were hitting.

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The local media outlet Suspilne said the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the town when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them elderly women.

Mr Zelensky lamented the missed opportunity from Fridays peace talks, saying that Ukraine has long proposed this  a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.

Russia only retains the ability to continue killing, Mr Zelensky added.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was appalled by the attack. If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done, he wrote on X.

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Russias Defence Ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region on Saturday morning, some 50 31 miles south east of Bilopillia, without mentioning any other attacks there.

According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank, Ukrainian forces have been inching forward into Russian territory in the Kursk region, just north of Bilopillia.

Russia said last month that its forces had fully reclaimed the Kursk region, nearly nine months after Kyivs lightning incursion captured more than 100 settlements there and promised to hand Ukraine a bargaining chip in possible negotiations. Ukrainian officials claimed fighting in Kursk was still ongoing.

Russian shelling, drones and airs trikes killed at least five other civilians on Friday and overnight across Ukraines Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, according to local officials there.

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Russian forces overnight also launched 62 drones, Ukraines air force reported. It said 36 of the drones were shot down and six more veered off course.

The talks in Istanbul on Friday ended after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchange of 1,000 PoWs each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap.



Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky met European leaders on Friday (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)

Ukraines intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian TV on Saturday the exchange could happen as early as next week.

But the Kremlin has pushed back against a proposal by Ukraine and its Western allies for a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

Mr Zelensky said he had discussed the outcome of the talks with Mr Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland. In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, he urged tough sanctions against Moscow if it rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.
The year I decided to come out as Chinese, I already had some experience of coming out, but as gay. Wanting to build on the new freedom I felt as an out and fully realised homosexual man, I thought I could lift another of my debilitating suppressions.

I had always cringed over the question of my heritage. I was often identified as Chinese against my will. My features, the standout ones, I inherited from my Chinese father: straight, black hair, mono-lidded eyes and skin that tans to dark olive. But I longed for more of my mothers Scottish heritage. I grew up in a regional Queensland town where racism was a dormant coal, primed to be stoked by politicians like Pauline Hanson. It was self-preservation to want to be more like Mum and less like Dad.

Why wasnt there room for both my Chinese dad and Scottish mum in the lifeboat of my pride? Credit: Yaroslav Danylchenko / Stocksy U

By comparison, I didnt think my homosexuality was that easy to spot. I acted straight for years, using my loutish North Queensland accent as a prop. I adopted an encrypted language that I believed the straight world couldnt decode. Secret signs that helped me connect with my gay community safely. A look. A knowing nod. A way of dressing. I felt like an insider for once. Cool, edgy and at times superior. I mostly shrugged off my gay shame.

One day, I went to hear the Australian photographer William Yang speak about reclaiming his Chinese heritage. Inspired by his line, I came out as Chinese, I told my boyfriend that I was planning a second coming out. But he was of British heritage and couldnt relate. Was I trying to be exotic or doing cosplay? He didnt understand that talking about being Chinese all the time was just my way of redressing an imbalance. Making up for a childhood I believed I had half-lived.
Cathedrals, soaring upwards, are designed to point worshippers to God, to the eternal, through their airy space, majestic proportions and wonderful decorations. I love entering a historic Gothic cathedral (or small stone church) and knowing that I am standing, sitting or kneeling where untold thousands have done the same, worshipping the same God, and doubtless praying very similar prayers for themselves, their families and their communities.

Cologne Cathedral grants us access to the infinite, prefigured by the 632 years it took to build. Credit: Getty Images

Europe has many buildings of ancient lineage that are beautiful and grand, with every proportion designed to impress and delight  historic palaces or opera houses, for example. But only places of worship explicitly connect us to the numinous.

There is something almost inexpressibly inspiring about a 1000-year-old cathedral which lifts us into something much bigger than ourselves, reminds us of our finitude and inspires us to look beyond our daily lives.

I love that I stand in this vast continuity, connected with the past and the future.

I love the faith and commitment of the master architects and masons who often laboured for decades, knowing the work would never be finished in their lifetime. Cologne Cathedral, the longest, took 632 years to complete.

People sometimes look at the ambitious size and scope of churches, even in small towns and villages, and wonder why their communities went to such lengths. One of the reasons was that centuries ago most parishioners could not dream of personal riches but, together, the community could  and did  take pride and pleasure in the result.

Of course, it is not only believers who seek a connection with what they hold sacred. Many find it in Gods magnificent creation, which leads them to reflect on how small a mark our lives make on the universe, or in man-made achievements such as music or art. I, too, am moved by all of these.

Perhaps the worlds most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, has written that he is a cultural Christian in this way, that he loves the visible cultural expression of faith  the architecture, the music  while conceding nothing of its inspiration.
Rome: Australia is holding the line against calls to change the name of products ranging from prosecco to feta and parma ham under a mammoth trade deal with the European Union, arguing they are part of the nations migrant heritage.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed his concerns about the demands ahead of talks with EU President Ursula von der Leyen in Rome, as they try to negotiate a trade pact that could add billions of dollars to both sides.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Italy to attend the Popes inauguration on Sunday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese named farm exports as a key obstacle to an agreement, saying the EU had not been willing to meet Australian demands for access to the European market, even as he talked up the importance of closer trade ties.

He also skirted any mention of relaxing the luxury car tax on European vehicles, which is a key objective for EU member states such as Germany, as their vehicles incur a 5 per cent tariff in Australia while cars from other countries  including electric vehicles from China  face no tariffs.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A police officer was killed and three demonstrators were injured during incidents that took place on Friday evening in front of the Libyan Prime Minister's office on the Al-Sikka road in the Libyan capital, Tripoli
Le parti de Maurice Kamto sinsurge contre la signature dun accord secret entre linstitution electorale camerounaise et les Nations Unies, en pleine crise democratique, a appris cameroun24.

Le Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) monte au creneau. Dans une declaration incendiaire rendue publique ce mercredi, le parti dopposition fustige la signature, dans lombre, dune  convention de collaboration  entre ELECAM et lONU le 9 mai dernier. Un accord presente comme un gage de  transparence  et d inclusivite  dans le processus electoral, mais dont les details restent soigneusement caches aux principaux concernes : les partis politiques et le peuple camerounais.

Une entente secrete en pleine tourmente electorale

Alors que la periode de convocation du corps electoral pour la presidentielle 2025 souvrira dans quelques semaines, le MRC salarme du silence coupable entourant cette convention.  Ni ELECAM ni lONU nont daigne informer les acteurs politiques ou la societe civile du contenu de cet accord , deplore le parti. Une opacite dautant plus suspecte que le Cameroun traverse une crise democratique aigue, marquee par le refus persistant du regime de reformer un Code Electoral pourtant largement decrie.



Le MRC rappelle que depuis la presidentielle contestee de 2018, ELECAM reconnait lui-meme la necessite dune reforme. Pourtant, rien na bouge. Pis, linstitution electorale viole allegrement ses propres regles, comme le prouve la non-publication de la liste electorale nationale, en infraction flagrante avec larticle 80 de la loi.  Comment lONU peut-elle cautionner un tel mepris des regles ? , sinterroge le parti.

LONU, complice dun "regime repressif" ?

La colere du MRC va plus loin : en sassociant a ELECAM sans consulter lopposition, lONU legitimerait un systeme electoral verrouille.  Cette convention intervient dans un contexte de repression accrue : interdiction de meetings, arrestations arbitraires, musellement des voix dissidentes , rappelle le communique. Le parti revele avoir alerte a plusieurs reprises les instances onusiennes, notamment lors de rencontres avec le PNUD et le Haut-Commissariat aux Droits de lHomme en 2024. En vain.



Pire, le MRC y voit un scenario a livoirienne.  LONU a une lourde responsabilite dans la crise post-electorale de 2010 en Cote dIvoire. Va-t-elle reproduire la meme erreur au Cameroun ? , tonne le texte. Une reference qui fait froid dans le dos, tant le spectre des violences post-electorales hante encore lAfrique.

Un avertissement solennel

Le MRC sonne lalerte :  Ces manuvres opaques ne feront quaggraver les tensions et plonger le pays dans le chaos.  Le parti exige la transparence immediate sur le contenu de la convention et la participation inclusive de tous les acteurs politiques. Faute de quoi, lorganisation de la presidentielle sannoncera sous le signe de la defiance et de la contestation.



Une chose est sure : a quelques mois dun scrutin crucial, le Cameroun senfonce dans une crise de legitimite. Et lONU, malgre ses bonnes intentions affichees, risque den sortir eclaboussee.

ELECAM-UN Deal: Cameroons MRC Condemns "Secret Pact" and "Endorsement of a Flawed Electoral Process"

Maurice Kamtos opposition party slams the signing of a covert agreement between Cameroons electoral body and the UN amid a deepening democratic crisis.



Cameroons opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC) has raised the alarm. In a fiery statement released Wednesday, the party denounced the secret signing of a "cooperation agreement" between ELECAM and the United Nations on May 9a deal touted as a step toward "transparency" and "inclusivity" in elections, yet whose details remain shrouded in secrecy from key stakeholders: political parties and the Cameroonian people.

A Shadowy Deal Amid Electoral Turmoil

With the electoral roll for the 2025 presidential election set to open in weeks, the MRC warns of the deafening silence surrounding this agreement. "Neither ELECAM nor the UN has seen fit to disclose the contents of this deal to political actors or civil society," the party lamented. The opacity is all the more troubling as Cameroon grapples with a deepening democratic crisis, marked by the governments stubborn refusal to reform an electoral code widely criticized as flawed.



The MRC points out that since the disputed 2018 presidential election, even ELECAM has acknowledged the need for electoral reform. Yet nothing has changed. Worse, the electoral body blatantly violates its own rulesmost glaringly by refusing to publish the national voter registry, a direct breach of Article 80 of Cameroons electoral law. "How can the UN endorse such disregard for due process?" the party demands.

Is the UN Enabling a "Repressive Regime"?

The MRCs outrage goes deeper: by partnering with ELECAM without consulting opposition parties, the UN risks legitimizing a rigged electoral system. "This agreement comes at a time of escalating repression: banned rallies, arbitrary arrests, and the silencing of dissent," the statement notes. The party reveals it had repeatedly alerted UN bodies, including in meetings with UNDP and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2024to no avail.



Even more alarming, the MRC draws parallels to Ivory Coasts 2010 post-election crisis. "The UN bears heavy responsibility for the bloodshed that followed the Ivorian election. Will it repeat the same mistake in Cameroon?" the statement warnsa chilling reference given the trauma of past electoral violence in Africa.

A Stern Warning

The MRC issues a stark alert: "These backroom dealings will only deepen tensions and push the country toward chaos." The party demands full transparency on the agreements contents and the inclusive participation of all political actors. Without it, the upcoming presidential election risks being marred by distrust and mass protests.



One thing is clear: With a pivotal election looming, Cameroon is sinking deeper into a crisis of legitimacy. And the UN, despite its professed good intentions, may emerge tarnished.



Ange NGO
Le journal LIndependant revele des malversations dans lattribution du marche de reconstruction, impliquant un haut responsable du Mintp.

Le projet de rehabilitation de la route Edea-Kribi, un axe strategique pour leconomie camerounaise, est au cur dun scandale de corruption. Selon une enquete exclusive du journal LIndependant, des manuvres opaques et des conflits dinterets entachent la procedure dattribution du marche. Pire, un secretaire de la Commission speciale des financements conjoints du Ministere des Travaux Publics (Mintp) serait pris dans une affaire de corruption, concussion et delit dinitie.

Une "mafia routiere" a ciel ouvert ?

La Nationale numero 7, reliant Edea a Kribi, est un axe vital pour le transport des marchandises vers le port en eau profonde de Kribi. Pourtant, sa degradation persistante et les retards dans sa rehabilitation suscitent des interrogations.



Les revelations chocs de LIndependant :



Des irregularites dans lappel doffres, avec des favoritismes presumes envers certaines entreprises.

Un haut fonctionnaire du Mintp accuse davoir monnaye son influence pour orienter le marche.

Des soupcons de conflits dinterets, certains membres de la commission ayant des liens avec des societes candidates.



 Cest une mafia organisee. Les memes acteurs se partagent les marches publics depuis des annees , denonce une source proche du dossier.

Un scandale qui tombe mal pour le gouvernement

Alors que le Cameroun cherche a attirer les investisseurs etrangers, ce nouveau scandale de corruption jette une ombre sur la gouvernance des infrastructures.



Les consequences possibles :

Gel temporaire du projet par les partenaires financiers (Banque mondiale, BAD).

Enquete judiciaire pour identifier les responsables.

Crise de confiance dans la gestion des grands travaux publics.



Qui va payer les pots casses ?

Si les accusations se confirment, le Mintp devra faire un exemple pour restaurer sa credibilite. Mais dans un pays ou limpunite reste forte, les observateurs sont sceptiques.



Prochaine etape : Une reaction officielle du gouvernement est attendue dans les jours a venir.





Edea-Kribi Road Scandal: Corruption Uncovered in Cameroons Public Works Ministry

Investigative report exposes bid-rigging and insider dealings in major highway project, implicating senior official.



The Edea-Kribi highway project, a crucial economic corridor in Cameroon, has been hit by a corruption scandal. According to an expose by LIndependant newspaper, the bidding process for the roads reconstruction is mired in fraud, insider trading, and conflicts of interestwith a top official from the Ministry of Public Works (Mintp) allegedly at the center.

A "Road Mafia" in Broad Daylight?

The National Road No. 7, linking Edea to the deep-sea port of Kribi, is vital for trade. Yet, its delayed rehabilitation has raised eyebrows.



LIndependants Bombshell Findings:



Bid-rigging favoring select contractors

A Mintp secretary accused of selling influence

Conflict of interest as evaluators tied to bidding firms



Its an organized cartel. The same players keep winning public contracts, a whistleblower revealed.

Bad Timing for Cameroons Image

As Cameroon courts foreign investors, the scandal threatens to erode trust in infrastructure governance.



Fallout Risks:

Funding freeze by World Bank or AfDB

Criminal probe into implicated officials

Public backlash over graft in mega-projects



Will Anyone Face Consequences?

If proven, the Mintp must act decisively to salvage its reputation. But in a system where impunity often prevails, skepticism runs deep.



Next: Governments official response is pending.





Didier Cebas K.


Tomas Doherty

A wide variety of stories feature across Saturday's newspaper front pages.

The Irish Times reports that the Government is planning a significant expansion of asylum-seeker accommodation at Dublins Citywest Hotel as it closes in on a purchase of the facility worth at least 100 million.

Health experts are gobsmacked by public indifference to the growth of a synthetic cannabinoid widely available in shops, according to the Irish Examiner.

The Irish Independent reveals that key camogie sponsor AIB is backing players who want to wear shorts.

The Irish Daily Mail speaks to the man who spotted his childhood abuser on the Late Late Show and then decided to report him to the gardai.

The Herald, Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star lead with the funeral of Garda Kevin Flatley, who was killed at a road checkpoint in north Dublin last weekend.

The Irish News reports from Bellaghy, the home town of Sean Brown, a GAA official murdered almost 30 years ago. The Co Derry village came to a standstill on Friday evening as thousands showed their support for his familys call for a public inquiry.

Further fragments of human remains have been found at a site where investigators had carried out a search for Troubles victim Joe Lynskey, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The Echo has the latest on the emergency accommodation situation in Cork city.
Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - Somalia has continued steadfast reform implementation and programme performance has been strong, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed as a staff-level agreement was reached on the 3rd review of Somalias Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement
Kai Ryals has been accepted to the Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) after a period on the waitlist.

Kai, who aspires to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, will participate in the fully-funded, five-week scholarly program at Cornell University from June 22 to July 26. There, she will engage in college-level seminars and participate in a democratic living-learning community alongside other exceptional students from across the nation.

She is in the Hutchins Academy mentorship program.
The Georgia Writers Association has named "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" a nominee for the 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) in the Memoir category.Written by former Georgia legislator and criminal defense attorney McCracken Poston, Jr., "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" tells the true story of Alvin Ridley  a reclusive man from Ringgold who was charged with murdering his wife after she had not been seen in public for three decades.What followed was a trial that captivated the region and revealed a tragic misunderstanding rooted in undiagnosed autism, agoraphobia and a lifetime of misjudgment.Its an honor to be recognized alongside such personal and important works, said Mr. Poston. I hope this helps bring new awareness to Alvins story  and to the broader issues it represents.Since its publication by Citadel Press in 2024, "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" has received praise for its exploration of neurodivergence and the justice system. The true story of Mr. Poston's representation of Alvin Ridley has drawn national attention for its "emotional depth, courtroom suspense and revelations that reframed a case many thought they already understood."The Georgia Author of the Year Awards, now in their 60th year, honor outstanding literary achievement by Georgia writers. Winners will be announced later this summer.
When discussing matters of faith, we get a wide range of perspectives. Some folks simply have what I call faith in faith, as if things mysteriously have ways of working themselves out. Some place their trust in what the universe will bring about. Others have faith in karma, serendipity, or fate.

Biblical faith, however, is very different from any of those. Its more than simple belief. If you were to turn it into a mathematical equation, it would be BELIEF + TRUST = FAITH. Its sincere belief and trust put into action. Its like the toddler standing at poolside, looking at mom or dad in the pool with arms extended, and deciding to take a leap  a leap of faith  trusting the parent will catch him or her before going underwater.

True faith is like living in a farming area thats suffering from an extreme drought, going to church to pray for rain  and carrying an umbrella. Its responding to Gods call to move to an unfamiliar area to serve as a missionary, without knowing the language or understanding the culture. Faith as the Bible defines it is refusing to deny Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, even if it means estrangement from family or even death  something most of us in the United States have never encountered.

The Scriptures are filled with accounts of people acting in faith, especially when logic or common sense would have told them doing so was foolish. These help us to understand what it means to truly walk by faith and not by sight, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 terms it.

We find one such instance early in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings, when the kings of Israel and Judah, along with the king of Edom were leading their armies to do battle with the Moabites. After seven days they had run out of water for themselves and their animals. Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab? complained Israelite king Joram. King Jehoshaphat of Judah knew it wasnt time to hit the panic button, responding, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him? (1 Kings 3:10-11).

There was one  Elisha, who had served an apprenticeship under another revered prophet, Elijah. It was time to act in faith, Elisha declared. Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing for the Lord; He will also hand Moab over to you (1 Kings 3:16-18).

Digging ditches in an bone-dry valley, trusting that water would come from nowhere? This probably initially seemed like an exercise in futility, but choosing to trust in the promise of God through the prophet, they ordered trenches to be dug. Were told in 1 Kings 3:20, The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was  water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.

Clearly, it wasnt enough for the kings to accept the prophets assurance that God would provide water. They needed to have ditches dug as theyd been commanded. And their faith  in the face of apparent foolishness  was rewarded.

Earlier the Scriptures told us that Elishas mentor, Elijah, had prophesied there would be no rain in Israel for several years except at my word (1 Kings 17:1). Three-and-a half-years later, after defeating 450 prophets of the false god Baal in a fiery demonstration of Gods power, Elijah correctly declared a torrential storm was coming to end the prolonged drought.

Wed be hard-pressed to count up the times people in the Bible were asked not only to believe God but also to act upon what He had promised. Faith is a foundation for a flourishing relationship with Him. And not once did the Lord fail to do as He said.

When confronted with our own challenges and tribulations, it might be tempting to think, Yeah, that was then. But this is now! This is where assurances like Hebrews 13:8 can be so encouraging: Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. Time may have passed, but our God hasnt changed one iota.

This echoes the declaration God gave to Moses when using him to lead the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. Directing Moses to perform a series of miracles, God said, This is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob  has appeared to you (Exodus 4:5).

The same God who parted the Red Sea; who saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the midst of the fiery furnace, and Daniel from becoming dinner for the lion; who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, enabled the lame to walk, and brought Lazarus and others back from the dead; and died on the cross, only to be resurrected on the third day, is ready to respond to our pleas today.

As another prophet asserts, Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1). But believing that to be true is only the first step. We need to act upon it, putting feet to our faith. And if necessary, dig some ditches.

* * *



Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include Marketplace Ambassadors; Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Todays Workplace; Tufting Legacies, The Heart of Mentoring, and Pursuing Life With a Shepherds Heart. He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, Monday Manna, which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.
Kathryn Jewel Sivley Coffelt, 99, passed peacefully into her eternal rest at home, surrounded by family and loved ones on May 13, 2025.

Kay was a native Chattanoogan, born June 17, 1925, to Ethel Durham and Russell Milo Sivley on their family farm which stood for generations at the foot of Signal Mountain. The original Sivleys settled that area in 1820 and eventually amassed thousands of acres including the communities of Mountain Creek, Glendale, and Signal Hill as well as 5000 acres on Waldens Ridge. Kay was the third of nine children, Virginia (Turner), Dorothea (Slayton), Betty (Holt), Bill, Kenneth, Barbara (Waters), Carolyn (Minnich) and Calvin; and family lore states the only child Russell was allowed to name  his Little Jewel. It was several years before electricity and running water reached the farm on then dirt Mountain Creek Road, but despite a hardscrabble life of daily farm chores, the Sivley home was filled with laughter, love and faith.

Growing up, Kay attended Mountain Creek Baptist Church where she and her sisters learned to read music and sing gospel harmonies and often performed on the locally broadcast T. Perry Brannon radio show together as a quartet. Kay proudly graduated from Red Bank High School, class of 1943, the third graduating class of the new school. As a young woman, she left the farm and with her older sister Virginia worked downtown at Woolworths department store and then later on her own became a saleswoman for Woods White Company (office supplies), eventually garnering a prominent position as executive vice president and introducing her younger sister Barbara to her own long and successful career as a prominent office supplier and planner. She reminisced fondly about the benefits of her position like her travels to Chicago on buying trips and for trade shows, being one of the first in her family to own a new car, being able to purchase a fine dining set for her parents and wearing the latest ladies fashions from Picketts.

Attracted to his keen wit and fast cars, Kay eloped with the love of her life, J.C. Clifford Coffelt, Jr. (and her parents) to Miami, Florida where they were married on New Years Eve, 1959. They had one son, John Russell, and built their family home on Chickamauga Lake in the Big Ridge area of Hixson. Clifford owned and operated Coffelts Exxon on Signal Mountain Road, a business started by his father, Clifford, Sr., in 1923, and where Kay helped manage the back office until her husbands retirement in 1987. Together Kay and Clifford faithfully attended White Oak Baptist Church, surprisingly took up square dancing at Alamance Hall in their later years and enjoyed a quiet but busy retirement with volunteer interests and hosting friends and family alike at the lake house each summer.

One of Kays greatest joys in life was her loving family. She enjoyed spending time with her sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews, in-laws and her large extended family. Her family and heart grew to include daughter in-law, Kelly Cronin, and then three adored grandchildren (Kate, Ellis and Carter). Kay resided with Kelly and John and her grandchildren for the final 13 years of her life. There she was continually surrounded by love, laughter and activity, large family parties, preteen sleepovers, a wide assortment of family pets, and an ever-growing group of faithful friends. She will be remembered for her charming smile, Southern graces, and youthful good looks, as well as the warmth she shared with everyone she met.

Kay is survived by her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, sister Barbara (Joseph) Waters, brother-in law David (Carolyn) Minnich, sister-in-law, Joanne (Calvin) Sivley and many, many nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at Chattanooga Memorial Park at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, officiated by Pastor Tony Williams of White Oak Baptist Church and Father Ed Bacon of St. Pauls Episcopal Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation in Kays honor to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank or McKamey Animal Center.
Chattanooga Police on Friday afternoon shot and killed an erratic driver who rammed several vehicles near Hamilton Place Mall and struck a police officer. He was identified as Alricko Trimble Jr.

Police said, "At approximately 5:30 p.m., CPD officers in the area of the 2100 block of Hamilton Place Boulevard observed an individual acting in a suspicious manner. Officers developed probable cause to initiate a stop.





"As officers approached, the individual and two others fled the scene at a high rate of speed in a vehicle. Due to the dangerous and felonious manner in which the vehicle was being driven, officers took action to stop the vehicle and prevent further risk to the public.

While attempting to flee, the vehicle became stuck in traffic. The driver then rammed multiple occupied vehicles in an effort to proceed and evade officers. Officers intervened to stop the vehicle.

"One officer was struck by the suspects vehicle. In an effort to limit any further threat to public safety, officers fired at the suspect, striking him. The 21-year-old male driver succumbed to his injuries at the scene."

One passenger was transported to a local hospital by Hamilton County EMS and has since been released. The other passenger was detained by officers for questioning. No other individuals, including officers, requested medical treatment at the scene.

Per Chattanooga Police Department policy, both officers involved are placed on administrative leave.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) will be handling the criminal investigation and all inquiries should be directed to them.
Former House Speaker Glen Casada and his top aide, Cade Cothren, were found guilty in a federal fraud case by a Nashville jury on Friday afternoon.

Casada was ruled guilty of 17 of 19 charges, while Cothren was found guilty on all counts.

They face up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing will be by Judge Eli Richardson.

The jury deliberated over three days.

Former state Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson testified against Casada and Cothren. She earlier pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Authorities said in November 2019 that Cothren set up a firm called Phoenix Consulting that was said to be headed by Matthew Phoenix, which in fact was a fictitious name and the actual operator of the firm was Cothren.

The firm was set up to get payments from a program in which legislators could use up to $3,000 each per year for mailings to constituents.

Ms. Smith at one time headed the county and the state Republican Party.

Rep. Esther Helton Haynes and former Rep. Patsy Hazlewood were among government witnesses.

Current House Speaker Cameron Sexton was expected to testify, but was not called.
The Incline Railway will reopen no later than July 14, with timber and rail going in through May and new cable being strung in June.

Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority officials said they expect insurance to reimburse $2.2 million in lost ticket revenues and $900,000 in repair costs. A small wildfire on the side of Lookout Mountain closed the Incline in December.

CARTA President and CEO Charles Frazier said that regular maintenance work layered in this spring means the Incline will not close for maintenance at all during 2026.

As CARTA waits for requested funding to be approved in city and county annual budgets, Chairman Johan de Nysschen voiced a plea to elected officials.

CARTA plays the central role of getting people to work, he said,

Chronic underfunding has stunted CARTAs frequency and reach, he said, directly affecting its usefulness.

It needs to be funded in order to become great, he said.

The chairman said transportation is just one of three necessities the Chattanooga area lacks to unlock 40 percent of the regions talent pool that is chronically and systemically underemployed, without access to transportation, education and job training, and childcare, he said.

They are not participating in this vibrant growth, he said.

He warned that new investment in Chattanooga will be increasingly hard to attract without fixing these three root causes of underemployment. Educated and trained workers have been skimmed from Chattanoogas talent pool, leaving new investors with slimmer and slimmer pickings, he said.

Low-priced housing in East Brainerd may attract new talent from all over the country who cant get to work at Enterprise South, he said.

It should not be, he said.

That is why I am here, because we can and we must change this, Chairman de Nysschen said. I dont want to let this opportunity go to waste.

Financial consultant Sander Abernathy reported that CARTA is transitioning fast and furious to new payroll, scheduling and financial reporting systems by July 1.

Its a big lift, but were going to make it happen, Mr. Abernathy said.

He is reworking the fiscal year 2026 budget to present in June. The new systems will let CARTA recalculate revenue predictions for a more accurate budget going forward. The new data will better identify qualifying expenses for Federal Transit Administration reimbursement grants and other like funding sources, he said.

The discovery journey that youre on doesnt come as a surprise, Chairman de Nysschen said.

CARTA relies on the FTA to reimburse 80 percent of certain costs. Mr. Frazier reported that the agency is operating with the assumption of normalcy returning soon after he visited CARTAs Region 4 representatives at FTA in Washington, D.C., this month.

The board voted to delineate levels of service for Care-A-Van paratransit service, placing Red Bank and East Ridge in a category that relies on funding from those municipalities to operate. As East Ridge grapples with funding Care-A-Van, Red Bank has voted to fully fund the service.

Level 1: CARTA is mandated to offer Care-A-Van pickup and drop off at any address within three-quarters of a mile of its fixed route.

Level 2: Dependent upon funding from the City of Chattanooga, CARTA will offer Care-A-Van pickup and drop off anywhere within Chattanooga city limits.

Level 3: Dependent upon funding from the cities of East Ridge, Red Bank, and other Hamilton County municipalities, CARTA will offer Care-A-Van pickup and drop off anywhere within those city limits.

Level 4: Dependent upon funding from Hamilton County, CARTA will offer Care-A-Van pickup and drop off anywhere in unincorporated Hamilton County.
Find out the unique way the Duchess of Sussex is stacking her rings.

The world was introduced to Meghan Markle when she and Prince Harry gave their first joint interview following the announcement that they were engaged.

During that sitdown, they talked about the ring Harry proposed with. It was designed by the prince himself and features a center cushion-cut diamond sourced from Botswana and diamonds on the sides from the late Princess Dianas personal jewelry collection.

Over the years, Meghan has made a few upgrades to the ring she stacks with her wedding band. After the birth of their first child, she decided to wear an eternity band from her husband on that same finger as well. The traditional arrangement for stacking those rings is the wedding band first, followed by the engagement ring, and then the eternity band. But Meghan has decided to switch that up.

The way Meghan is wearing her engagement ring stack is getting attention

In a recent Instagram post shared by the Duchess of Sussexs lifestyle brand, As Ever, Meghan is seen scooping tea leaves with her left hand. That image reveals the unconventional ring arrangement: her engagement ring at the base, the eternity band in the middle, and her wedding band stacked on top.

The diamond experts at the jewelry retailer Steven Stone shared more details about her ring stack and how much each one costs.

Maxwell Stone told Showbiz Cheat Sheet: Meghan often chooses to wear her engagement ring stack in a non-traditional way, a subtle yet meaningful reflection of both her and Prince Harrys willingness to break from royal convention. Their choice to embrace individuality over tradition mirrors their bold, modern approach to life and their roles beyond the royal family.

Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in 2017 with a custom-designed three-stone engagement ring featuring a 3-carat cushion-cut diamond from Botswana and two smaller diamonds from Princess Dianas jewelry collection. Over a year later, Meghan updated the ring by replacing the original yellow gold band with a diamond-studded one. The ring features high-quality stones with exceptional clarity, thus, Id value it at approximately 120,000 ($159,000).

Stone continued: Meghans wedding band is made of Welsh gold gifted by the late Queen Elizabeth II. It was crafted from the same nugget of gold used for both her own and Kate Middletons rings. Worth around 10,000 ($13,000), it was made by Cleave & Company  the jeweler who also created Meghans engagement ring.

Meghans eternity ring was a first anniversary gift from Prince Harry, first seen publicly at Trooping the Colour in 2019. Crafted with conflict-free diamonds, the ring holds special meaning as it features the birthstones of Meghan, Archie, and Harryperidot, emerald, and sapphirediscreetly set on the underside. Each stone symbolises a unique aspect of their family bond, including protection, empowerment, and affection. Id estimate it to be worth 80,000 ($106,000). Altogether, Meghan Markles engagement ring stack  no matter how she chooses to wear it  is worth an impressive 210,000 ($279,000).

Meghan has an impressive jewelry collection

Related What Duchess Sophie Was Spotted Wearing That Some Are Convinced Belongs to Meghan Markle and Was a Gift From Prince Harry

While Prince Harrys wife has worn some rather inexpensive pieces in the past, the majority of her jewelry collection is fit for a princess (or duchess).

Fans were able to see her rocking several different pieces of her jewelry in her Netflix show With, Love, Meghan including a 14k gold and diamond constellation ring by Logan Hollowell, which retails for 1,600 ($1,950); her three-carat emerald cut diamond pinky ring estimated it to be worth 56,000 ($68,500); and an emerald choker from Logan Hollowell that retails for 3,869 ($4,736).

She also has some very valuable jewels that once belonged to Princess Diana including a pair of butterfly earrings, a gold bangle, and a Cartier watch, and her massive aquamarine ring that was a gift from Prince Harry.
N'Djamena, Chad (PANA) - Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing escalating violence in Sudan continue to escape to Chad at speeds not seen since the start of the conflict two years ago, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday
Home News Atheist refutes those blaming Georgia abortion law as brain dead woman is kept on life support

Abortion advocates are framing the case involving a pregnant woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead and has been kept on life support for three months as a knock on the state's abortion law, drawing a rebuttal from a leading pro-life atheist who believes critics are misreading the statute.

Monica Snyder, the executive director of Secular Pro-Life, an organization comprised of atheists and agnostics who advocate against abortion, commented on the case of Adriana Smith in a Friday X post.

Smith is a 30-year-old mother who was declared brain dead three months ago, but the hospital has kept her on life support, as The Associated Press reported Thursday.

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Snyder, who has a bachelor's in chemical biology and a master's in forensic science, argued Georgia's law about withdrawing life support for pregnant patients is likely the reason for the hospital's actions, not the state's abortion law.

"The way abortion advocates frame this case shows striking indifference to prenatal children, as well as a profound ignorance regarding how many mothers, on both sides of the abortion debate, would want strong protections for our children in situations like this," Snyder declared.

According to AP, Smith's mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta TV station WXIA that her daughter started experiencing intense headaches three months ago. Smith received medication from Atlanta's Northside Hospital, which then released her, but the next morning, the woman's boyfriend heard his girlfriend gasping for air.

Smith's boyfriend called 911, and Emory University Hospital determined that she had blood clots in her brain and declared her brain dead. According to Smith's family, the doctors informed them that they cannot remove the breathing tubes or other life-saving devices due to Georgia's abortion law.

The state's law bans most abortions once an unborn child's heartbeat becomes detectable, which is usually around six weeks of gestation. While Georgia adopted the law in 2019, the state didn't enforce it until after the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Emory Healthcare did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Although it didn't comment directly on Smith's case, Emory Healthcare told AP in a statement that it "uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia's abortion laws and all other applicable laws."

"Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve," the organization stated.

Smith's family has not stated publicly whether it wants her removed from life support, which would effectively kill the baby, who they believe will have severe health challenges when he is born.

In response to the news about Smith, several abortion advocates on social media have compared the woman's situation to The Handmaid's Tale. One X user wrote in a Friday post that the state of Georgia had "kidnapped [Smith's] body from her family."

Author Monica Hesse also likened the situation to The Handmaid's Tale in a Friday op-ed for The Washington Post, stating that "the body of Adriana Smith is being put through hell."

"It turns out I can still be stunned and infuriated by the audacity with which some lawmakers will decide that the lives of women do not matter," Hesse wrote. "By the absolutely perverse definitions of life and dignity and religion that they use to justify this grotesquerie."

In a Friday article for Secular Pro-Life, Snyder noted that most of the media coverage about Smith doesn't appear to have quoted any doctors or attorneys.

Citing Georgia's abortion law, Snyder stressed that the law defines abortion as "the act of using, prescribing, or administering any instrument, substance, device, or other means with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy."

She argued that removing someone from life support does not involve "administering" anything, which she asserted raises questions about the relevancy of Georgia's abortion law in this case.

"It's more likely that Georgia's law regarding withdrawing life support for pregnant patients is the issue," Snyder wrote, citing GA Code  31-32-9, which was enacted in 2007.

According to the code, doctors cannot remove life support from a pregnant patient unless her unborn child isn't viable or if the woman had outlined in an advanced directive that she wanted life-saving measures withdrawn.

"It's a testament to how very little abortion advocates value unborn children, that even in a case where the woman (1) cannot be harmed by continuing the pregnancy and (2) may very well have wanted her child to live, the framing is outrage that her son's life is prioritized," Snyder stated.

Medical law experts who spoke with AP are also of the opinion that removing ventilation or other forms of life support from the mother would not constitute an abortion under state law.

This is not the first time that questions over how doctors handle pregnant patients in light of Georgia's abortion law have generated national headlines.

A ProPublica report last year on two women who died when they didn't get adequate medical treatment after complications arose from taking the abortion pill  Amber Thurman and Candi Miller drew much outrage from abortion advocates. Democrats, such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, alleged that the state's abortion restriction was to blame for the women's deaths.

However, pro-life doctors believe "gross medical negligence" was to blame, saying that in Thurman's case, medical professionals should have been able to tell that she needed a dilation and curettage to save her life. Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN with over 30 years of experience, wonders if the medical judgment of doctors was "gaslit" by pro-abortion organizations that have promoted the abortion drug mifepristone as "safer than Tylenol?"

"Georgia's abortion law did not cause her death," Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, stated. "Per reports, her babies were no longer alive when she arrived at the hospital, so this law would not have even applied in her circumstance."

Last October, Thurman's family, with the help of high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump, filed a lawsuit saying that the doctors at Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge were to blame for the woman's death.

"Even under Georgia law, the doctors had a duty to act to save Amber," Crump said. "She had taken the abortion pills and there were tissues left. There was no viable fetus or anything that would have prevented them from saving her life while she suffered."
Home News Hundreds of college students, groups targeted for speech in last 5 years: watchdog

More than 600 college students and student groups have been punished or investigated by school administrators for "constitutionally protected expression" in the last half a decade, according to a nonpartisan advocacy organization.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression released the report "Shifting Winds: Students Under Fire" on Thursday, finding that 63% of over 1,000 efforts by administrators, student groups or student governments to suppress student speech led to "administrative investigation or punishment."

The report, purporting to be the "most detailed collection of speech-related campus controversies involving students to date," analyzes efforts to censor students at public universities who engage in "expressive activity" that the group contends is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The document coincides with an interactive online database.

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"Every instance of censorship threatens students' ability to engage in a free exchange of ideas," FIRE Senior Researcher Logan Dougherty said in a statement. "Open minds and free debate, not self-censorship and punishment, must be the standard across our nation's campuses."

Regardless of whether speech was considered conservative or liberal, FIRE found that censorship spans political ideologies. About 476 entries in the database were reportedly targeted or punished for expression from their political left, while about 337 entries of expression were targeted or probed from their political right.

Two of the most dominant "incendiary topics on campus" that led to actions against protected speech in the last five years involve expressions on race after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the eruption of the war in Gaza that began in 2023.

"When it comes to speech about race, most students are targeted from their left, while students speaking out about the war in Gaza are more likely to be targeted from their right," a FIRE overview states.

The data shows the most targeted student groups nationwide are Students for Justice in Palestine (75 incidents), Turning Point USA (65 incidents) and the College Republicans (58 incidents).

FIRE also found a sharp uptick in cases being initiated by university administrators as opposed to students, largely a result of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas against civilians in southern Israel that sparked Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza that has led to many protests and demonstrations against Israel on college campuses.

Acknowledging that some pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations have been plagued by violence and vandalism, including demonstrators taking over a building on the campus of Columbia University in New York City, FIRE believes such incidents have led to an "administrative overreaction to avoid either a Title VI lawsuit or Department of Education investigation."

While Students for Justice in Palestine was said to face the most speech incidents, it received much scrutiny for numerous controversies, as some of its campus chapters voiced support for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that killed over 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. The University of Virginia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine declared the attack "a step toward a free Palestine."

The FIRE report cites a "toolkit" distributed by Students for Justice in Palestine that referred to the Oct. 7 attacks as a "historic win for the Palestinian resistance" and offered suggested "talking points" to campus chapters.

"One of those talking points read: '[W]e as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement,'" the report reads.

The Muslim Student Association at CUNY-Queen's College faced an investigation from school administrators with the possibility for disciplinary action after it posted on Instagram mocking the validity of reports that Hamas killed babies on Oct. 7 after mental health professionals accused the group of inciting hatred and urged the school to impose punishment.

At the University of Florida in 2024, student Parker Hovis was arrested and suspended for three years after he failed to immediately comply with police orders to disperse during a peaceful on-campus pro-Palestinian protest.

At Harvard University in 2024, about a dozen students who participated in a silent protest organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine had their library access suspended for two weeks.

Prior to October 2023, the most frequently targeted student groups were conservative groups, including College Republicans, Turning Point USA or Young Americans for Freedom, the report finds.

One 2024 case cited in the "Students Under Fire" database includes the case of Pace University student Houston Porter, a member of the campus chapter of The Federalist Society. He faced an investigation after co-moderating a panel discussion about a ballot measure that would have codified gender identity and gender expression into the New York state constitution. Although the event was disrupted, Porter was notified nine days later that he was being investigated for "sex-based harassment" after a complaint by a trans-identified classmate.

At George Mason University in Virginia, two students were issued no-contact orders after expressing concerns in a private group chat about adding feminine hygiene products to male restrooms. The students sued, which led to a settlement in which the university agreed to lift the no-contact orders and award each student $15,000.

In 2024, Matan Goldstein, a Jewish student at the University of Virginia, faced an investigation after he told a newspaper that he was assaulted during an anti-Israel protest on campus.

Last year, the Columbia Law School Student Senate denied official recognition to the group Law Students Against Antisemitism on the grounds that the group adopted the "International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of anti-semitism," which critics accuse of being too broad. The group was approved after a revote was held.

At the University of Kansas, Students for Justice in Palestine played a role in targeting and calling for the cancellation of an event featuring an Oct. 7 survivor co-hosted by Students Supporting Israel. Although the event was permitted to continue as planned, SPJ disrupted the event.

At the Berklee College of Music in New York City, administrators postponed an event organized by a detransitioner named Amaya Price, who planned to host an event for a class project titled "Born in the Right Body: Desister and Detransitioner Awareness." Price was sent threatening messages, while other students launched a petition demanding the event be canceled because it would "harm the mental well-being of individuals in the transgender community."
Home News Trump's week in review: Middle East trip, trade deal with China, investigating the abortion pill

The past week saw President Donald Trump spending time in the Middle East as part of an effort to influence both domestic and foreign policy, while his administration took several actions to advance the priorities of the pro-life movement.



The week was defined by new trade deals and investments in the United States, as well as moves to investigate concerns about violations of religious liberty for pro-life medical professionals and the safety of the abortion pill.



Here are four highlights from the week.

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Home News Australian LGBT group issues travel advisory for 'gender X' passport holders traveling to the US

An Australian LGBT activist group has issued a travel warning for visitors to the United States, claiming that they could face potential difficulties if they identify as anything other than their actual sex.

Equality Australia posted an advisory on its website that states the group is monitoring instances of travelers experiencing difficulties entering the U.S. due to their gender. The advisory does not cite any new U.S. government policy or specific piece of legislation, but rather states the advisory was drawn from a range of sources, which include government documents, media reporting, and travel advisories from other LGBT-identified groups.

According to the document, the advisory is relevant if you are traveling to the U.S. and meet at least one of the following criteria: hold a passport with a gender X marker; have identity documents with gender markers different to those assigned to you at birth, or where other relevant details (such as your name) have been changed; have gender markers in your identity documents that do not match your gender expression, [and] have a track record of LGBT or other political activism.

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Travel to the U.S. carries serious risks that should be considered before planning any travel, particularly if you fall under one of the above categories, the document further alleges.

The advisory mirrors similar travel advisories issued by Germany, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands for LGBT-identified people planning to visit the States.

Equality Australias Heather Corkhill told Australian outlet ABC she does "not expect the travel risks to diminish in the near future due to recent moves by the Trump administration, including the presidents executive order in January affirming the scientific reality that there are only two sexes and that U.S. passports are required to reflect that truth.

LGBT-identified people are now very conscious of the risks, and some are choosing not to travel to the U.S. while others are taking steps to mitigate the danger, such as deleting content on their phones or memorizing phone numbers of loved ones and lawyers," Corkhill told ABC Australia.

The travel advisory comes weeks ahead of June, when LGBT-identified communities mark so-called pride month with LGBT events and festivities, such as WorldPride, scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., from May 17 through June 8.

Eagle Canada, one of the country's largest LGBT groups, announced in February it would not attend any WorldPride or other similar events in the U.S. due to the Trump administrations policies.

This decision is foremost based on the need to safeguard our [LGBT-identified] staff who would face questionable treatment at land and aviation borders to attend such convenings, and to stand in solidarity with global colleagues who are experiencing similar fear around entry to the U.S., a Feb. 6 statement read.

While June is typically the month for pro-LGBT events, this year, many of Americas biggest brands are scaling back their company support after Bud Light saw its sales plummet last year following its ad campaign featuring transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Home News La. Atty. Gen. investigating NY doctor again over mailing abortion pills, killing baby at 20 weeks

Louisianas attorney general is investigating a second case involving New York Dr. Margaret Carpenter after she allegedly prescribed abortion-inducing drugs to a Shreveport woman who was 20 weeks pregnant.

Attorney General Liz Murrill shared details about the case during testimony on Monday for House Bill 575 in the states House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. The bill would allow the parents of the aborted baby, or the grandparents or parents of the woman who ingested the abortion pills, to sue any person who performs, causes, aids, or abets an abortion.

As Murrill explained, her office and the local police are investigating Carpenters alleged ties to an incident in Shreveport involving a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The hospital later instructed the couple to retrieve the baby's remains, which the boyfriend did.

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She and her boyfriend, after she gave birth, took the baby, wrapped it in a towel, and threw it in a garbage can, the attorney general recounted.

If passed, House Bill 575 would make it easier for the state of Louisiana to punish abortion providers who mail abortion-inducing drugs to state residents. According to Murrill, the bill is another tool in the toolbox for people who are harmed by somebody who is intent on violating our laws.

Were not going to stop trying to extradite [Carpenter] and prosecute her for the crimes that shes committing in our state, she added.

According to a statement shared on Wednesday by CBS News affiliate WWL, Murrill said the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation is looking into the allegations related to the incident in Shreveport.

"Per Attorney General Murrills testimony in the Civil Law Committee Monday, investigators with our Louisiana Bureau of Investigation are actively working another case up in Shreveport, where we believe the same doctor from New York, who was indicted by a grand jury in West Baton Rouge Parish for prescribing abortion pills  which are illegal in Louisiana, allegedly prescribed abortion pills to another woman in that area.," Lester Duhe, the attorney generals press secretary, said in a statement.

The mother at the center of the Shreveport case reportedly gave birth after taking the abortion pills and subsequently sought emergency care at a hospital, WWL added.

Its still very early in the investigation, and we have no further comment at this time, Duhe added.

Carpenter and her company, Nightingale Medical, PC, did not immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. This article will be updated if a response is received.

The announcement of an investigation into Carpenter comes after a grand jury in West Baton Rouge Parish indicted the doctor and Nightingale Medical, PC on Jan. 31. The jury also indicted the Louisiana mother who gave the abortion drugs to her underage daughter who reportedly wanted to keep her baby. After the state outlawed most abortions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Louisiana mother purchased the abortion drugs online from Carpenter.

While it's unknown how far along the girl was in her pregnancy, West Baton Rouge District Attorney Tony Clayton said in a statement at the time that the abortion ended the life of the girls unborn baby and caused her to start hemorrhaging.

At the request of Clayton and Murrill, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an extradition request for Carpenter, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to comply. Hochul cited the states shield laws that protect abortionists from prosecution, stating that Louisianas laws have no bearing on the laws here in the state of New York.

Carpenter is also facing a civil lawsuit in Texas amid similar allegations that she violated the states law by mailing abortion-inducing drugs to a woman in the state.
Home News Son of merchant mariner who painted USMMA Jesus painting 'honored' by Duffy's support

The son of the late merchant mariner whose painting of Jesus at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has repeatedly made headlines said he is honored that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the midshipmen at the academy have supported it.

Hunter A. Wood II, who shares a name with his late father, told The Christian Post he was surprised by the viral footage last month that showed midshipmen erupting in applause when Duffy called for the USMMA's "Christ on the Water" painting to be brought up from the basement where it was placed during the Biden administration.

"I was surprised, and I'm heartened and very honored by that," Wood said. "I'm sure my father would be very honored by the fact that so many people have taken such an interest in it."

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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

The painting hung in the USMMA's Wiley Hall for 76 years until a 2023 letter from Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Mikey Weinstein demanded its removal, claiming a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

After announcing last week that he had hung a replica of the painting in his office at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Duffy issued another announcement Thursday reiterating his promise that "this painting is going to go from the basement back to its place of prominence."

We are moving Jesus out of the basement at the Merchant Marine Academy!



To all the midshipmen: this painting is going back where it belongs. pic.twitter.com/bJ9c0FUr4e  Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 15, 2025

Wood said the attention his father's work has lately received is "an amazing point to his legacy; that so many people are interested in that and they cherish that painting so much as they do."



"Politics and religion aside, I think it's fabulous."



Hunter Alexander Wood was born in 1908 and by 17 was already studying at New York State Schoolship, now the State University of New York Maritime College. After freelancing as an artist while he worked for various steamship lines in the 1930s, Wood enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard 10 days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.



Wood saw action during the invasion of North Africa in 1942 and served as an artist in the Coast Guard Combat Artist Unit. In 1948, his life was cut short at age 39 in an automobile accident, just three months after his son was born.



Wood's son said what he knows of his father he learned from relatives and the extensive research he has done on his father's work, which also adorns the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office in Washington and the Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.



Maritime historian Frank Braynard described "Christ on the Water," also known as "Jesus and the Lifeboat," as Wood's most ambitious work, which he painted in 1944 as a tribute to merchant seamen who faced torpedo attacks and other dangers during World War II.

Wood noted that his father had a photographic memory and would commit some of the conflicts he witnessed in North Africa to paper or canvas immediately after seeing them.

"From the story I'm told, when he would get back to the main ship from taking a landing craft in on the shore, he would go back and he would sit at his desk, and he would recreate everything he just saw," he said. "So it was a bit of like being a photographer, but in charcoal, in sketches and in paint. So that was kind of amazing on his part as well."

Wood said his father was a Christian and laced the theme of hope throughout much of his work.

"There's been shipwrecked men waiting for rescue throughout history, especially during World War II," he said. "And he had an ability to portray the despair they had, but also the hope they had. And Christ on the water, standing over and watching over the men in the dinghy waiting to be rescued, I think that just means there's always hope."

"I'm very humbled, and I'm very honored by the attention it's gotten after all these years since he first painted it in 1944, and I think it's just quite amazing," Wood added. "I'm glad it's going to be around for a long time to maintain his legacy."

Midshipmen who recently spoke to CP recounted what the painting means to them personally, with one midshipman explaining that he came to see it as a symbol of God's faithfulness to him when he feared the storms in his own life.

"I remember many times when I used to pray underneath that painting when I was on the verge of failing a class, or I had big tests, or I was worried about something," he said. "I've prayed underneath that painting when it used to be in Wiley Hall. So to me, it's a very significant, important painting, and I think it's an important part of the school's history."

Wood's comments come after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sent a letter to Duffy last week expressing appreciation for his willingness to restore the painting to a more prominent place at the academy, according to The Daily Wire.

"Your public acknowledgment of the painting's spiritual and historical significance was a powerful moment of moral clarity and leadership  one that resonated not only with the midshipmen in attendance, but with countless Americans who care deeply about preserving our nation's religious and military heritage," Cruz wrote.

"Your statement  'Can we bring Jesus up from the basement?'  was more than rhetorical. I trust it will be seen as an imperative," Cruz wrote. "Thank you for your principled leadership, for defending our nation's religious heritage, and for working to ensure that this government-commissioned memorial is returned to its rightful place."
Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has completed discussions with the Zambian authorities on economic performance and policies underpinning the Fifth Review under the Funds Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement
Home Opinion When I fostered a 2-month-old baby, with half a heart

There was a 2-month-old baby girl at our local childrens hospital born with only half of a heart. She had already undergone surgery at three days old to keep her alive. But this was not the only hurdle shed have to overcome. The 2022 AFCARS report showed that 7% of children in foster care were under one year old.

She needed a foster family. There will be a lot of training involved, we were told. And the hope is that her biological family will be able to care for her down the road.

Will you be her foster family?

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It was going to be hard and heartbreaking. It was going to force us to live a different kind of life with less control. It was going to impact our current children in ways we could not know.

With the little information we knew, we said yes that day. We drove to the childrens hospital and spent the next several days learning how to give medicines, monitor oxygen levels, and feed through an NG tube. We brought her home, unsure of what the future would hold but knowing that in this moment, our lives were intertwined with hers. We had no idea what we had said yes to, but God did.

We read in the Bible about the miracle after miracle performed by an all-powerful God, who could have accomplished it all on His own, but who chose to partner with His beloved creation so that His power might be seen even more. 2 Corinthians 12:9 reads, Each time he said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

And that same God is partnering with us today  you and me. He has called us all to something bigger than we can imagine, and for my family, that something was foster care.

When our family first acknowledged the call, we had plenty of reasons to say no. But trusting God means living beyond our fears.

Over the next few weeks, we poured all we had into this baby girl.

Then came the bad night. I made a panicked drive to the ER, and just in time, because our girl was crashing. I begged God to save her as her heart stopped beating, and the doctors shocked her back to life.

A few days later, in an ICU room with our foster daughter on breathing machines, the doctor shared an update. She would need a heart transplant.

We were asked to adopt her. We knew in that moment we would be more than a foster family for a season. I could not imagine a bigger question. But I also could not imagine saying anything other than yes.

God knew the power of that yes. He knew what He was doing. He was preparing my family for a miracle. He was strengthening our resolve, refining our hope and growing our faith beyond what I could ever imagine.

I remember the day our daughter received her brand-new heart and the joy of the days that followed, watching a miraculous recovery. The hardest things yield the best harvest.

We returned home after almost 200 days in the hospital, and my family has never felt as strong as it is now.

Her adoption was just another celebration of the new heart we all receive through the work of our God. A living, breathing testimony to the new life He gives each of us through salvation when He adopts us into His family as His own.

Those days and nights in the hospital taught me a simple truth: God was with me. He wants us to not only accept but also embrace the surprises he has in store. He was there with our daughter and our family, carrying us and holding us. What was broken, He took and made it more beautiful than it was before.

This May, as I reflect on National Foster Care Month, I know God made me a mom to these children, whether for a season or forever, and while I expect more to come  more wins and more losses  I also know there will never be a greater purpose than the one He has placed before me.
Home Opinion Party of Lincoln  free us from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood kills people. Lots of them

Imagine any business in America boasting in its annual report about killing hundreds of thousands of human beings. In addition to this bizarre self-congratulation, this same profiteer  which regularly touts its main mission of human elimination  annually celebrates being heavily funded by taxpayers to the tune of nearly a billion dollars.

That business is Planned Parenthood. And its finally facing the reckoning that has been decades in the making. The Republican-led Congress has advanced a bill to defund the abortion giant.

Days ago, Planned Parenthood released its latest annual report, revealing that its slaughtered 402,230 people. Yes, people. Every human is a person; every person is a human. Its really that simple. And we know from science that a new human being is created at the moment of fertilization. Not only did the nations activist arm of the Democratic Party kill more people than ever before in its history, but it also received more money from American taxpayers in the process: $792.2 million! Thats nearly $100 million more than the previous year.

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Abortion is their big moneymaker. Its what they fight for. It brings in over 60% of their Health Services Revenue. And each year, it enables a huge profit. In 2023, it was $179 million. In 2024, it was $27.4 million (lessened, no doubt, by the massive $69.5 million in 2023-2024 election spending as well as massive increases in salary, advertising, public policy and public relations expenses to the tune of over $258 million).

Meanwhile, major medical services at Planned Parenthood have been plummeting for decades. In the last 20 years, breast cancer exams plunged 79% from 921,541 in 2004 to 191,197 in 2024. Keep in mind, an organization with $3.1 billion in assets only provides manual exams; women, apparently, arent worth purchasing a single mammogram machine. Pap Tests have plummeted nearly 70%. Prenatal care, which is less than 0.1% of their total services, is down 57%.

Guess what has never dropped? Abortion. It only increases. Ironically, killing people is their lifeline. 402,230 souls were violently wiped away in 2024 by an organization propped up by our government.

Planned Parenthood is not a leading healthcare organization. Theyre a deliberately misleading activist organization. Theyve literally become what former Planned Parenthood president, Cecile Richards, envisioned in a New York Times interview in 2008: We aim to be a kick butt political organization.

Planned Parenthood and abortion are like politicians and corruption  inseparable.

And the most corrupt politicians are the Democrats, who will defend Planned Parenthood, no matter what. In a recent hearing, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amusingly projected the eugenic abortion chains racism onto Republicans, claiming they were denying certain people the full spectrum of healthcare (that doesn't exist) at Planned Parenthood. The full spectrum of healthcare is available at taxpayer-funded Community Health Centers, which far outnumber Planned Parenthoods. Disproportionate death, however, is what's available at Planned Parenthood, the leading killer of black lives.

Famed voting rights and anti-poverty activist, Fannie Lou Hamer, despised Planned Parenthood and branded abortion genocide in the black community. Hamer was a pro-life, adoptive mother, and called out the organization birthed in eugenic racism: So we got all kinds of children, and Ill tell you the next thing that I dont buy, I dont buy distributing birth control pill and legalizing abortion, because theyre talking about us! If you want to abortionize somebody, do it to yourself because [Im] going to try to keep the children.

Hamer was the 20th child born into her poverty-stricken family. Imagine the world without her fire, her faith, and her fight for freedom!

Trailblazer Dr. Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and first female surgeon at Boston Medical, had the same perspective on human worth. She dedicated her life to abolishing the evil of abortion, calling out its racism and its violence. I would guess that the abortionists have done more to get rid of generations and cripple others than all of the years of slavery and lynchings, Dr. Jefferson, who co-founded the National Right to Life Committee, told Ebony Magazine in 1978.

Their fight wasnt just for some. It was for all. My fight is the same. As someone adopted and loved in a diverse family of fifteen and the father of four children (two of whom were adopted), I fight for the equal right to be born. Abortion destroys our chance to love and to be loved. Black. White. And all the other beautiful hues in between. Every human, at every age and stage, has the fundamental right to Life.

Women deserve to be safe from a predatory industry that politically poses as healthcare. And as I wrote during the last election cycle, life is not a states rights issue. As a person who would be unable to vote, unable to sit in the front of a bus, or unable to marry my beautiful wife  had it not been for those who fought the Democratic Partys deadly devotion to slavery and Jim Crow  Im forever grateful that the federal government did its constitutional duty and protected people of my complexion from being enslaved, terrorized, and deemed less than human.

So be bold, Republicans. Dig into your rich DNA of equality. Do what should have been done a long time ago. Abort the funding that denies millions that theyre created equal. Abort the forced redistribution of American taxpayer dollars that grossly empower a multi-billion abortion business which serves less than 2% of women of reproductive age in America. Fulfill the 14th Amendments directive assuring equal rights in Section 1:  nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Democrats will rabidly fight for criminal illegal immigrants to have due process yet celebrate when its violently denied to the most innocent and defenseless among us. Its no surprise, but the Party of Slavery and Jim Crow still cant get created equal right.

Party of Lincoln, its time for some more emancipation. Free us from Planned Parenthood.
Home Opinion Trumps Middle East trip: A reminder 'nation building' is a fools errand

This week, the world witnessed the quintessential President Donald Trump as he brokered major deals with leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Im reminded of my first meeting with President Trump at the White House during his first administration. The meeting started late because he was personally negotiating the cost of a military aircraft contract. It was clear then  as it is now  that this is the presidents happy place. And for good reason: over his 78 years, hes been remarkably successful at it.

More than ever, its evident that President Trump views the world through the lens of a business deal  how to make the best one possible.

In his speech in Riyadh, the president rightly criticized the failures of previous U.S. approaches in the region:

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The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons, or liberal nonprofits ... In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built. The interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.

President Trump is right. While I supported efforts to eliminate terrorist threats to the United States  and still believe we have a moral and strategic responsibility to protect ourselves and Israel from a nuclear-equipped Iran  I opposed the Bush-era notion of nation building from the beginning. The belief that, with enough money, one could till the soil of Islamic authoritarianism and plant the seeds of freedom endemic to our constitutional Republic was rooted in a deeply flawed worldview. It was a fools errand to think that drafting a constitution for Afghanistan would give rise to a nation that recognizes and protects God-given rights. Freedom is not the product of imposed institutions  it springs from a transformed people, politics, foreign aid, and even business alone can never produce.

In fact, that flawed thinking is cut from the same ideological cloth as Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society. After 50 years, it had cost taxpayers more than $22 trillion  with little to show for it in terms of real human flourishing. The worldview behind the Great Society echoes that of Karl Marx, who wrote:

It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but their social being that determines their consciousness.

In other words, material reality shapes identity  a belief that external change creates internal transformation.

But thats not the American view. The freedoms and prosperity weve enjoyed for nearly 250 years are rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview  one that understands man is not changed by his environment but rather changes his environment through a transformed life made possible by a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

That worldview once permeated American life. While it has weakened over the last 60 years, it remains embedded in our national DNA. Its what makes our capitalist system work  and what makes the art of the deal possible.

As we engage with the Middle East, we must recognize this: business deals and wealth creation alone will not cause authoritarian regimes to abandon totalitarianism or their tolerance for terrorism. As weve seen, it will only give them more resources to threaten the West.
A fire academy cadet died Friday afternoon due to a medical emergency while at a fitness training. Officials are looking into the nature of the medical emergency with more details to come.

CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland Division of Fire Academy cadet has died after experiencing a medical emergency during a physical fitness session on Friday afternoon, according to city officials.

The cadet, whose name is being withheld out of respect for the family, was rushed to a local hospital where he later died. His sudden death prompted an outpouring of grief and support from the citys public safety community.

City leaders, including Mayor Justin Bibb, Public Safety Director Wayne Drummond, Fire Chief Anthony Luke and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 93 Union President Jake Konys went to the hospital after the cadets death to offer condolences and stand with the family and classmates.

Bibb reflected on the personal nature of the loss.

I am absolutely devastated to learn about the tragic death of one of our cadets  who is also a friend Ive known for many years, he said in a statement. He was excited to further his commitment to helping others by joining the fire academy, and that has tragically been cut short. I will do everything I can as mayor to ensure that his legacy is not forgotten.

The cadet had only recently begun his journey in the fire service, but his presence had already left a mark. Luke called it a difficult day for the department.

Our entire Cleveland Fire Family is saddened by this loss, he said in a statement. We offer our condolences to his family and will stand with them through the difficult days ahead.

Konys also spoke to the emotional toll of the loss on the firefighting community.

Words cannot describe this great loss, Konys said in a statement. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and classmates of our brother. While his time amongst our ranks was cut short, he will forever hold a place within our fire family.

Officials have not released further details about the cadets medical emergency, and the incident remains under investigation. More information will be shared in the coming days, the city said.

Kaylee Remington is a trending news and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online.
Ohio has age limits for a reason, and Justice Pat Fischer's current term leaves him unable to seek re-election. So he's making a play for a colleague's seat, so he can stay longer and keep his paychecks coming. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon) AP

A controversial move by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer ignited criticism on the Today in Ohio podcast, with hosts condemning what they describe as a sleazy attempt to extend his tenure on the bench beyond the states mandatory retirement age.

According to the podcast discussion, Fischer, who is 67 years old, reportedly informed fellow Justice Jennifer Brunnerthe courts sole Democratthat he intends to run for her seat in 2026. This maneuver would allow Fischer to bypass Ohios judicial age limit of 70, which would otherwise prevent him from running for reelection when his current term expires.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican, gets clobbered on Friday's Today in Ohio episode for his hypocritical claims to want to protect police while refusing to talk about Donald Trump's clemency for people convicted of beating police. (Photo by Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com) Sabrina Eaton

Ohio Senator Bernie Morenos special brand of hypocrisy was front and center in Fridays Today in Ohio podcast episode, with a discussion of his push to protect police officers while refusing to address Donald Trumps clemency for rioters who attacked police on Jan. 6.

Moreno recently took to the Senate floor pushing legislation that would impose mandatory 20-year prison sentences for anyone who attacks a police officer. On its surface, the proposal seems to demonstrate unwavering support for law enforcement. However, as the podcast hosts pointed out, theres a glaring inconsistency in Morenos position.
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries soared to a record high in March, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday, rising for a third straight month, as demand for U.S. government debt remained robust a few months after President Donald Trump took office.

Holdings of U.S. Treasuries surged to $9.05 trillion in March, an all-time peak and up more than $233 billion from $8.81 trillion in February. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners rose nearly 12%.

Some analysts said that trend could change in April as the Trump administration introduced a massive trade shock on April 2nd that saw effective tariff rates surge, particularly on Chinese goods.

That fueled a U.S. Treasuries sell-off that, at one point, pushed benchmark 10-year yields more than 70 basis points (bps) higher to nearly 4.6% over the April 3-11 period. The selloff may have included selling from foreign investors, analysts said.

Trump has since paused the imposition of tariffs for 90 days, and the Treasuries market has stabilized somewhat, although foreign investors are likely to have remained leery of U.S. assets.

Data also showed that UK investors have overtaken China as the second largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries, with holdings of $779 billion. UK is typically considered a custodial account, which is generally a proxy for hedge funds. Other countries used by hedge funds for custody services include Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.

Japan remains the biggest Treasury debt holder, with a stash of $1.13 trillion in March, up about 0.4% from the $1.126 trillion held in February. Japan's load of Treasuries rose for a second straight month.

China, on the other hand, reduced its stash of Treasuries to $765.4 billion in March, down from $784.3 billion the previous month. In December last year, China's holdings were $759 billion, the lowest since February 2009 when the country's stock of Treasuries dropped to $744.2 billion.

Treasury holdings by Chinese investors have been on a downward trajectory since 2018, analysts said.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield started the month of March at 4.18% and ended it slightly higher at 4.425%.

Major U.S. asset classes also showed a mix of inflows and outflows during the month, the data showed.

On a transactional basis, holdings of Treasury bonds and notes showed a net inflow of $123 billion in March, following inflows of $106.2 billion in February.

Foreign investors continued to buy U.S. corporates, with $60.4 billion in inflows, with agencies showing outflows of $10.4 billion, data showed.

U.S. equities, meanwhile, posted inflows of $10.4 billion in March, down from $24.7 billion in the previous month.

Overall, net foreign acquisitions of long- and short-term securities, including banking flows, showed a net outflow of $254.3 billion in March, up slightly from $248.9 billion posted in February.
CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday told investors there's more upside in Cava , as long as the Mediterranean fast food outfit's regional-to-national expansion plans are on track.

"Even if the market rolls over and Cava pulls back again, then I'd once again view that as an opportunity to build a position  just like when I told you to buy the stock back at $77 in April," he said. "Despite the handwringing about the economy, I've not seen anything to make me believe that Cava can't still become the great next story maybe the next Chipotle ."

Cava posted quarterly results Thursday after close, reporting better-than-expected sales and comfortably topping earnings estimates. However, investors bristled at some aspects of the company's outlook. Cava reiterated its same-store sales forecast, but Wall Street had hoped it would raise the metric. Investors are broadly worried about the restaurant industry as they brace for the economic repercussions of President Donald Trump's new tariffs. Cava saw a choppy day of trading Friday, with shares ultimately closing down 2.27%.

Cramer said he wasn't too worried about Cava's pullback because the stock had run up so much into the quarter. He was mostly pleased with the results, saying expectations for the chain were very high after its "incredible outperformance" last year. Cramer was encouraged that management said it planned to open more new locations this year than previously expected. He was also satisfied with Cava's new marketing campaigns and the growth of its loyalty program.

Cramer recommended owning Cava for the long term, saying opportunity for the company is much larger than its current $11 billion market cap. He called the stock a "compounder," a company that is expected to grow steadily over a long period of time. He said investors can start a position if they are able to tolerate some volatility.

"I do have one caveat, though: because Cava's a high...price-to-earnings multiple name, its stock will do very poorly if we get another big, what's known as 'risk-off' market environment," Cramer said. "It's a term I don't like, but it means that investors want to shy away from risky stocks, and that's what we saw, say, from February through mid April."

Cava did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Palestinian residents from the areas of Beit Lahiya, Jibaliya, Tel al-Zaatar, and Tel al-Sultan in the Gaza Strip flee towards locations they perceive as safer following intensified Israeli military attacks in Gaza Strip on May 16, 2025.

The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, five people with knowledge of the effort told NBC News.

The plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libya's leadership, two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former U.S. official said.

In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, those three people said.

No final agreement has been reached, and Israel has been kept informed of the administration's discussions, the same three sources said.

The State Department and the National Security Council did not respond to multiple requests for comment before this article was published. After publication, a spokesperson told NBC News, "these reports are untrue."

"The situation on the ground is untenable for such a plan. Such a plan was not discussed and makes no sense," the spokesperson said.

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said that Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that has run Gaza, was not aware of any discussions about moving Palestinians to Libya.

"Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children," Naim said in response to questions from NBC News. "[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do."

Representatives of the Israeli government declined to comment.

Libya has been plagued by instability and warring political factions throughout the nearly 14 years since a civil war broke out in the country and its longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, was toppled. Libya is struggling to care for its current population as two rival governments, one in the west led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and one in the east led by Khalifa Haftar, are actively and violently fighting for control. The State Department currently advises Americans not to travel to Libya "due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict."

Dbeibah's government could not be reached for comment. Haftar's Libyan National Army did not respond to a request for comment.

How many Palestinians in Gaza would voluntarily leave to live in Libya is an open question. One idea administration officials have discussed is to provide Palestinians with financial incentives such as free housing and even a stipend, the former U.S. official said.

The details of when or how any plan to relocate Palestinians to Libya could be implemented are murky, and an effort to resettle up to 1 million people there would likely face significant obstacles.

Such an effort would likely be extremely expensive, and it's not clear how the Trump administration would seek to pay for it. In the past, the administration has said Arab nations would help with rebuilding Gaza after the war there ends, but they have been critical of Trump's idea of permanently relocating Palestinians.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has also looked at Libya as a place where it could send some immigrants it wants to deport from the U.S. However, plans to send one group of immigrants to Libya were stalled by a federal judge this month.

Moving up to 1 million Palestinians to Libya could put far more of a strain on the fragile country.

The CIA's most recent publicly available estimate of Libya's current population is about 7.36 million. In terms of population, Libya absorbing 1 million more people would be equivalent to the U.S. taking in about 46 million.

Precisely where Palestinians would be resettled in Libya has not been determined, according to the former U.S. official. Administration officials are looking at options for housing them and every potential method for transporting them from Gaza to Libya  by air, land and sea is being considered, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the effort.

Any of those methods would likely prove cumbersome and time-consuming, as well as costly.

It would take around 1,173 flights on the world's largest passenger airplane, the Airbus A380, at its maximum passenger capacity to transport 1 million people, for instance. With no airport in Gaza, moving anyone from there on flights would first require transporting them to an airport in the region. If Israel does not want to allow Palestinians to come through its territory, the closest airport would be in Cairo, about 200 miles away.

Transportation by land from Gaza through Egypt to Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, which is farther east than the capital, Tripoli, would require driving about 1,300 miles. Automobiles typically hold fewer passengers than other modes of transportation. About 55 people can fit in an intercity passenger bus.

Up to 2,000 people can fit on the top-end versions of some of the ferries the U.S. used to transport civilians along the Mediterranean Sea to escape Libya's civil war in 2011. If those vessels were to be used  and assuming that they didn't need to refuel and weather conditions were good  it would take hundreds of trips lasting more than a day each way for up to 1 million people to travel from Gaza to Benghazi.

The plan under discussion is part of President Donald Trump's vision for a postwar Gaza, which he said in February the U.S. would seek to "own" and rebuild as what he called "the Riviera of the Middle East," two current U.S. officials, the former U.S. official and the two people with direct knowledge of the effort said.

"We're going to take over that piece, develop it and create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it will be something the entire Middle East can be proud of," Trump said at the time.

To achieve his goal for the reconstruction of Gaza, Trump has said Palestinians there would have to be permanently resettled elsewhere.

"You can't live in Gaza right now, and I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that's going to make people happy," Trump said in February during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump outlined a goal of finding "a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes, and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death like what's happening in Gaza."

"I don't think people should be going back to Gaza," he said.

Trump's idea, which blindsided some of his top aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he announced it, drew criticism from America's Arab allies and U.S. lawmakers from both parties.

"We'll see what the Arab world says but, you know, that'd be problematic at many, many levels," Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said at the time.

The U.S. and Israel in March also rejected a proposal from Egypt for rebuilding Gaza without relocating Palestinians.

The administration's work on a Libya plan comes as Trump's relationship with Netanyahu has become strained, in part because of Israel's decision to launch a new military offensive in Gaza.

The Trump administration has considered multiple locations for resettling Palestinians living in Gaza, according to a senior administration official, a former U.S. official familiar with the discussions and one of the people with direct knowledge of the effort.

Syria, with its new leadership following the ouster of Bashar al Assad in December, also is under discussion as a possible location for resettling Palestinians currently in Gaza, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the effort and a former U.S. official familiar with the discussions.

The Trump administration has taken steps toward restoring diplomatic relations with Syria. Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. would lift sanctions on Syria and met briefly with the country's new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on Wednesday.
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The street side of American Reproductive Centers clinic is seen after an explosion being investigated by law enforcement as an intentional act of violence in Palm Springs, California, on May 17, 2025.

LOS ANGELES  One person is dead after a car exploded outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, Saturday in what officials said was an "intentional act of terrorism."

Four people were injured, Akil Davis, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles field office, said at a news conference Saturday evening. The nature and seriousness of the injuries were not disclosed.

The identity of the deceased person and their involvement in the explosion is not yet known. Davis said the person was near the vehicle that exploded.

Officials have identified a person of interest but are not actively seeking out a suspect, Davis said.

Late Saturday, multiple law enforcement tactical officers were seen outside a residence in Twentynine Palms, about an hour away from the Palm Springs fertility clinic.

Multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigations told NBC News the scene in Twentynine Palms is related to the investigation into the explosion in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said earlier that authorities believe the incident was isolated and there is no longer a danger to the community.

"I am confident that the community is not at risk any longer," he said.

Several buildings were damaged, some severely, Mills said on Facebook, noting that the "blast field" stretches blocks. Davis said the debris field stretches at least 250 yards and covers several blocks in all directions of the blast.

"This was a powerful explosion," a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said.

Davis called the blast "significant" and said it was likely one of the largest bombing investigations the FBI has been involved in in Southern California. He compared it to the Aliso Viejo bombing in 2018.

"Make no mistake: This is an intentional act of terrorism," Davis said. He later noted that the investigation will determine whether this is an act of domestic or international terrorism.

The blast occurred at 1199 North Indian Canyon Dr., Mills said, at around 11 a.m., according to the city. The street is home to a number of medical facilities, including Desert Regional Medical Center.

There is no information yet on a possible motive, including whether a nearby fertility clinic was targeted.

What appears to be the fertility clinic, American Reproductive Centers (ARC), said on Facebook that a car exploded in the parking lot near its building. No one who works at the center was harmed.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, want to make living on Mars a reality.

Musk has said that his company, SpaceX, can get humans to Mars as early as 2029. Meanwhile, NASA officials have said that sending humans to Mars even by 2040 would be an "audacious" goal. China also has ambitions, with the country planning to establish an autonomous Mars research station by 2038.

In Musk's view, going to Mars is tantamount to preserving humanity and escaping the ever-growing threats to Earth, including natural disasters and warfare. For scientists, Mars offers possible answers to questions such as the prevalence and diversity of life in the universe.

"The early Earth and Mars were twins. They were both rocky planets with liquid water, CO2 dominated atmospheres," says Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society, a nonprofit. "So if the theory is correct that life originates naturally from chemistry, wherever the right physical and chemical conditions, then it should have appeared on Mars."

But landing humans on Mars and settling the planet will mean overcoming a number of daunting technical challenges and risks that humans have never before faced.

"The Mars landing problem is complicated. The transit problem, super complicated. You know, the radiation environment is very severe. The life support problem. The reliability has to be super high," said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program at NASA, during a panel discussion in February. "The propulsion capability is not  you know, we got to get better in all those areas."

At the core of Musk's plan to reach Mars is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built: Starship. In March, SpaceX conducted Starship's eighth test flight. While SpaceX was able to successfully retrieve the Super Heavy booster, the Starship spacecraft exploded, leaving a trail of debris in its wake and disrupting commercial flights. SpaceX's next test flight for Starship is expected soon.

CNBC visited the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah to get a behind-the-scenes look at what life on Mars could be like, and spoke to experts about what challenges remain to landing humans on the red planet. Watch the video to find out more.
Business: Couchbase provides a cloud database platform for modern applications. Its database is engineered for high performance at scale to serve the needs of mission-critical applications that enterprises run their businesses on. Its products include Couchbase Capella, Couchbase Server and Couchbase Mobile. Its Couchbase Capella is a fully managed, automated and secure database-as-a-service that simplifies database management by deploying, managing and operating Couchbase Server across cloud environments. Its Couchbase Server is a full-featured, multi-service NoSQL database. It provides a comprehensive SQL-compatible query language, SQL++, that allows for a range of data manipulation functions. Its Couchbase Server can be deployed on premises or on any cloud. Its Couchbase Mobile is a full-featured embedded NoSQL database for mobile and edge devices that enables an always-on experience with high data availability.

Activist: Irenic Capital Management

Ownership: n/a

Average Cost: n/a

Activist Commentary: Irenic Capital was founded in October 2021 by Adam Katz, a former portfolio manager at Elliott Investment Management, and Andy Dodge, a former investment partner at Indaba Capital Management. Irenic invests in public companies and works collaboratively with firm leadership. Their activism has thus far focused on strategic activism, recommending spinoffs and sales of businesses.

What's happening

Irenic has taken a position in Couchbase (BASE).

Behind the scenes

Couchbase (BASE) provides a cloud database platform for modern applications. There are two types of databases: relational, such as Amazon, Oracle and Sybase; and document, intended for agile and mobile-centric applications. There are only two public companies operating in the documents database space: MongoDB and Couchbase. With few direct peers, the company has built a rock-solid business with enterprise-grade platforms used in applications from mobile apps to airline systems. The company originally went public on Feb. 22, 2021, but has since failed to impress in the public markets, with shares down over 20% since its initial public offering.

The primary problem facing Couchbase is one common to young tech companies  the pressure to deliver high growth to meet the demands of its investor base. The company has done just that as revenue has increased every year since its IPO at 19.39% on average and gross margins have been incredibly high and consistent between 87% and 89% each year. However, reaching these revenue goals has come at the detriment of the company's margins and profitability. In 2024, selling, general and administrative expenses was 91.94% of revenue, staggeringly high for almost any other company, but just slightly high for Couchbase, which has averaged 91.25% since its IPO. For context, MongoDB's SG&A expense was 54.34% of revenue in 2024. Among other things, Couchbase has vastly overhired sales reps and managers to meet their growth targets. As a result, there isn't enough business to go around: While peers' reps hit their attainment goals at a 70% to 80% average, Couchbase's reps only hit them at 40% to 50%. In sum, Couchbase is a good company with a great product that is organically growing by mid double digits, but it is so focused on growth at all costs, that it is decimating its operating margins by investing millions of dollars to squeeze out a few additional percentage points of growth. But this is not completely management's fault. We have been experiencing a market where growth is king and any erosion in growth rates could start a company's stock on a downward trajectory.

Enter Irenic Capital, which has taken a significant stake in Couchbase and made the company one of its five largest positions. There are two paths for an activist to potentially create value from this point. The first is through an operational restructuring: right-sizing management and the salesforce, optimizing capital allocation and improving operating margins while continuing to organically grow. This path would require a lot of time, money and heavy lifting from both Couchbase and the activist, likely involving Irenic securing board representation followed by years of collaboration and restructuring. Doing this could get the company at or over the Rule of 40 with lower growth rates but much higher operating margins, but it may not be pretty along the way. The stock would be likely to decline in the short term as growth declines as operating margins rise. This brings us to the second option, which is to explore a sale of the company. While we are not generally fans of "sell-the-company" activism as it is often short-term minded in nature, there is a rationale for it here as the best way to maximize shareholder value on a risk-adjusted basis. The steps outlined above required to maximize the value of this business would best be done in private where there is no stock price fluctuation based on quarterly guidance and growth rates. A sale to either a larger strategic or financial acquirer would allow Couchbase to right-size its costs and pursue more organic, margin-friendly growth away from the pressures of the public market. Given both the viability of the options at hand and Irenic's track record of calling for and successfully assisting companies in take-private transactions, we expect that the firm's plan will follow the latter.

As a growing company with a unique and stable business model, there would be no shortage of potential acquirers for Couchbase. There have been many strategic takeouts in the data/tech space including IBM's announcement that it would acquire DataStax and Progress Software's acquisition of MarkLogic. Moreover, with the recent push for consolidation in the space, Couchbase would also be a viable strategic asset for larger players like Amazon, Microsoft's Azure, Alphabet's Google or other industry leaders looking to bolster their data offerings. However, it seems like the more likely outcome is a take-private transaction via private equity, and one private equity investor could be a good contender. Haveli Investments, a PE firm founded by former Vista Equity Partners president Brian Sheth, is the largest shareholder in Couchbase with an approximately 9.8% ownership based on its latest 13D filling. Haveli is not a frequent 13D filer, nor is it the firm's strategy to take minority stakes in public companies. This appears to be more of a toehold for Haveli in a company it thinks is undervalued and might want to own. Haveli has only filed one other 13D in its history, on Blend Labs, which led to a strategic partnership shortly thereafter. While there aren't many public takeout comps to Couchbase, the closest would be Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and KKR's purchase of Cloudera in 2021 for $5.3 billion, or around 5.2-times revenue. While 5.2-times would imply only a 20% premium for shareholders, that might be acceptable to Irenic as Couchbase has closed as low as $13.44 per share over the past month and Irenic likely has a lower average cost than the $17.64 level where it ended April 30, the day news of the firm's position came out. Additionally, it is possible that Couchbase could get an offer closer to the 6-times revenue figure where some of its peers trade.

Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments.
India and Pakistan flags on a cracked surface, divided by a jagged line. The crack symbolizes ongoing tensions and regional conflict. Use for articles on India-Pakistan relations, including diplomacy and geopolitics.

Britain is working with the U.S. to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that "confidence-building measures" and dialogue take place, Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Saturday.

Pakistan has said Britain and other countries, in addition to the United States, played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, which erupted last week. A rapid diplomatic effort to broker the ceasefire succeeded on May 10, but diplomats and analysts say it remains fragile.

"We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides," Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit.

Pakistan and India fired missiles at each other's territory during weeks of tensions after a deadly attack on tourists in the contested region of Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.

U.S. President Donald Trump said after the ceasefire was struck that talks should take place in a third-country venue but no dates or location for the talks have been announced.

"These are two neighbors with a long history but they are two neighbors that have barely been able to speak to one other over this past period, and we want to ensure that we do not see further escalation and that the ceasefire endures," Lammy said.

Asked about India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, potentially squeezing Pakistan's water supply, Lammy said: "We would urge all sides to meet their treaty obligations."

Delhi said last month it had "put in abeyance" its participation in the 1960 pact, which governs use of the Indus river system, a move Pakistan says it would consider an act of war if it disrupted access to water in the agriculturally dependent nation.

Lammy said Britain would also continue to work with Pakistan on countering "terrorism, saying that it is "a terrible blight on this country and its people, and of course on the region."
Apple webpage with iPhone 16e ad is screened on a mobile phone for illustration photo.

The White House and congressional officials have been scrutinizing Apple's plan to strike a deal with Alibaba to make the Chinese company's AI available on iPhones in China, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

U.S. authorities were concerned that the deal would help a Chinese company to improve its artificial intelligence capacities, broaden the reach of Chinese chatbots with censorship limits and deepen Apple's exposure to Beijing laws over censorship and data sharing, the paper said, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Apple and Alibaba did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In February, Alibaba confirmed its partnership with Apple to support iPhones' AI services offering in China.

For Alibaba, the partnership is a major win in China's competitive AI market that is home to DeepSeek, which made headlines this year with models developed at a fraction of the cost of Western rivals.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the NYT report.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he plans to speak separately to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in an effort to reach a ceasefire.

"I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE "BLOODBATH" THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," Trump said in a Saturday post on Truth Social.

"I WILL THEN BE SPEAKING TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY OF UKRAINE AND THEN, WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF NATO," he continued. "HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!"

Trump told reporters on Friday that he was setting up talks with Putin after the Russian president skipped peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. "I think it's time for us to just do it," Trump said.

"He and I will meet, and I think we'll solve it or maybe not," Trump said in comments to reporters after boarding Air Force One, as he departed for the U.S. following his four-day trip to the Middle East. "At least we'll know. And if we don't solve it, it'll be very interesting."

Trump has grown frustrated with his administration's efforts to facilitate a deal between Russia and Ukraine and has told advisers in private discussions that mediating a peace deal has been more difficult than he expected, CNN previously reported, citing sources. During his campaign, the U.S. president repeatedly said he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine "in 24 hours" upon taking office.

Trump has lately taken to blaming both sides, where he previously assigned blame solely on Ukraine's Zelenskyy for making "inflammatory statements" that "makes it so difficult to settle this war." He also accused the Ukrainian leader of adding to war complications by "boasting" that Kyiv would not legally recognize ceding Crimea to Russia. Trump recently chastised Putin for Russia's strikes on Ukraine in late April that were "not necessary, and very bad timing."
The high-profile sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Diddy Combs is going to enter a crucial phase on Monday, May 19. The prosecution is set to continue to make its case at the trial at a New York City court, after the US rappers ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, concluded her testimony Friday.According to news agency AP, Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey said that the government is on pace to finish presenting its case within six weeks. The next witness in the case will be Cassie's long-time friend Kerry Morgan.During her four-day deposition at the witness box, Cassandra Cassie Ventura painted a disturbing picture of alleged abusephysical, sexual and psychological  by Combs, which spanned over a decade.Combs is facing charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, or sex work, and racketeering. Hes also facing lawsuits for sexual assault.If convicted, Combs could face life imprisonment. Legal observers, as per media reports, have opined that the case could reshape public discourse. The trial against the music mogul started earlier this week in New York City. Combs was arrested in September 2024, and he has been lodged at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after refusing bail, according to Sky News.Ahead of the resumption of the trial, take a look at a recap of what has happened in the first week of the trial.Cassie Ventura, while testifying in court during Diddy trials first week, described that she was coerced into participating in sex parties lasting over multiple days. She said these parties, which were known as freak offs, involved sex workers, drugs and alcohol as well, according to a CBS News report.She recounted that she felt humiliated, worthless, and emotionally trapped. As per the report, she further told the jury that Sean Combs dismissed her attempts at stopping the freak offs.Cassie, as per reports, also testified about Combs drug abuse. During the four-day-long testimonial, she recounted details of a frightening incident where he overdosed on opiates after having visited a sex club and a party at the Playboy Mansion. The ex-girlfriend of the rapper said that she drove him to the hospital after he once collapsed during a period of heavy substance abuse.During questioning, Cassie said that Combs had threatened to kill Kid Cudi when he learned about their short relationship. She claimed that Sean even talked about blowing up Kid Cudi's car. This was part of the lawsuit she filed against Diddy in 2023.She also revealed that the lawsuit was settled for $20 million. Cassie reportedly offered him a chance to buy the rights to her life story for $30 million. When he didn't respond, she decided to take legal action, which led to federal investigations and the current trial, a USA Today report mentioned.Ventura, as per the reports, also shared details of a 2016 hotel hallway assault, which she claimed Combs tried to cover up as she appeared on the red carpet for the premiere of The Perfect Match. Photos of the same were shown in court, which showed the bruises she had on her face, shoulder, and shin. The injuries were barely concealed.
India is actively considering measures to discourage travel, destination weddings, and film shoots in Turkey and Azerbaijan following the two countries public support for Pakistan during the recent conflict under Operation Sindoor. This shift comes as part of a broader reassessment of ties in response to actions viewed as hostile to Indian interests.Both Turkey and Azerbaijan openly condemned Indias strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan also deployed Turkish drones extensively during the military operation. These developments have prompted Indian authorities and industry stakeholders to rethink engagement with the two nations.Every year, a large number of Indian tourists travel to both countries, generating substantial revenue through tourism. Additionally, destination weddings hosted by wealthy Indians and NRIs in scenic locations across Turkey and Azerbaijan have grown in popularity. Now, the government is reportedly exploring ways to curb these activities.Indians are known to spend crores of rupees on destination weddings, making them a key source of income for these countries hospitality industries. Plans are under consideration to slow down the trend, particularly in response to the political stance taken by Turkey and Azerbaijan during the conflict.Further, industry bodies from the Indian film fraternity have called for a boycott of Turkey as a shooting destination. No official support will be extended to filmmakers planning to shoot in Turkey or Azerbaijan going forward.The tourism and film industries are not the only areas impacted. Several Indian universities have either suspended collaborations or are reconsidering partnerships with institutions in Turkey.Trade between India and the two countries is under scrutiny. In 2023-24, India exported goods worth $6.65 billion to Turkey and $89.67 million to Azerbaijan. Imports from Turkey stood at $3.78 billion, accounting for about 0.5% of Indias total imports. Imports from Azerbaijan rose to $1.93 million in 202425.Indias exports to Turkey include mineral fuels and oil, electrical machinery, automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, cotton, chemicals, and steel. Imports include marble, gold, fresh produce, mineral oil, and other raw materials. With Azerbaijan, India primarily exports tobacco, tea, cereals, chemicals, and ceramics, while importing animal fodder, chemicals, essential oils, and leather.The combined impact of a decline in tourism, the halt of film projects, and the reassessment of academic and trade ties marks a significant shift in Indias engagement with Turkey and Azerbaijan in the wake of recent tensions.
Top DPRK leader supervises air force drills

Xinhua) 15:45, May 17, 2025

PYONGYANG, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday visited a group of the Guards 1st Air Division of the Korean People's Army, and supervised the anti-air combat and air raid drills, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, said that it is of great importance to assess the ability of air defense forces to undertake actual combat tasks and take necessary measures. Such training is very beneficial for making pilots experienced in modern air combat methods, he added.

The drills, the report said, were aimed at providing the flying corps, as well as the anti-air missile, radar and electronic warfare sub-units, with experience in the air defence mission to detect, track and destroy the enemy cruise missiles and drone attacks.

The DPRK leader also set forth important tasks in aspects such as the development of air weapon systems, air defense means, detection and electronic warfare integrated system, and anti-drone integrated system, it said.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning)
May 17, 2025: The longest range weapon the Americans have sent to Ukraine is the ATACMS, with a range of 300 kilometers. Last year Ukrainian long range attacks eliminated numerous warehouses and bunkers containing Russian munitions along with vehicle and aviation fuel. This meant that for several months the Russians were unable to launch major military operations. Attacking with just infantry and no artillery or airstrike support proved suicidal and counterproductive. Russian infantry losses have been so heavy since 2022 that Russia is running out of even untrained and ineffective infantry, and even equipment and weapons for replacements. Ukraine has no choice but to keep defending their country and now it appears that the Russian offensive operations will not only collapse but that the Russian occupation forces in Crimea and eastern Ukraine are so thin that Ukrainian forces could regain these lost territories.

Ukrainian drone strikes have also been hitting Russian air bases where Russian MiG-31 fighter-bombers as well as Tu-22M and Tu-95 bombers are based. At least six of these aircraft have been destroyed or disabled so far. No one anticipated widespread use of drones. This has changed ground, air and naval warfare. Long range drone attacks were terrifying because the attacker was not risking the lives of pilots, who cost over a million dollars to train. Pilots lost in combat cannot be quickly replaced. Drones have no pilots and the men and women who build, program and in some cases operate drones are far from the combat zone. Ukrainian annual drone production now exceeds annual Russian artillery shell production.

While the drones have won the air and naval wars, most of the ground fighting continues. Both Russia and Ukraine are running out of troops. While Russia has more than three times the population of Ukraine, Russian infantry losses are more than five times larger. Russia has run out of infantry and Ukraine is not doing much better. In both countries recruiters, often called kidnappers, are often met with fatal resistance. These shortages have hurt Russia more than Ukraine because Russian offensive operations are stalled. Ukraine has made the most of being on the defensive, developing highly effective defense tactics that minimized their losses and maximized the number of Russians killed. Now Russia is offering tempting cash bonuses to men in Central Asian nations that were once part of the Soviet Union. Even in Central Asia people know that soldiers sent to Ukraine rarely return.

Some Ukrainian commanders believe that victory will go to the last man standing and that is going to be Ukrainians defending their country. Russia has economic problems as well, with the risk of an economic collapse before the end of the year. This is the result of over a decade of sanctions while there was sustained military aid for Ukraine. Although a new American president temporarily halted aid, European NATO countries have pledged nearly $100 billion in weapons assistance. While Europe cannot build enough weapons fast enough, American defense industries are able to supply all the weapons Europe wants. This year the United States suggested that Europe do more for a fellow European country. Europe is also seizing $3.4 billion in Russian assets to compensate European individuals and firms for assets lost in Russia. There are another $237 billion Russian assets in Europe that are also at risk. Russia used to be a major customer for European products. That disappeared after the Ukraine invasion and the Europeans are pessimistic about resuming economic relations with Russia anytime soon. That means the Russian assets remain in Europe and subject to seizure. Europeans now consider Russia a military threat to all of Europe and are rapidly rearming themselves. Sending billions of dollars to Russia is not a good defense strategy.

Meanwhile Russia has no useful allies to supply a lot of weapons. Iran and North Korea are both heavily sanctioned. North Korea can still sell Russia some short range missiles, but these will not win the war. Nor were the 15,000 mercenaries North Korea sent. About half of these men have been killed or disabled so far. North Korea sees this as a way to obtain combat experience so the survivors can return and upgrade the training the 1.3 million man North Korean army.

The Iranian defense industries were recently subjected to substantial Israeli bombing attacks. Factories that build weapons, including those that produce solid fuel motors for missiles were destroyed. Iran also lost most of its air defense systems. Israel has been a very effective unofficial ally of Ukraine. Moreover, about 30 percent of Israelis have Russian and Ukrainian parents or ancestors. All these Israelis oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile the Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia continue, destroying economic and military targets. The Ukrainians use drones costing a few thousand dollars while the Russians defend with diminishing supplies of missiles costing up to $300 million dollars each. Russia has spent itself into a pit. It will take years of peace to get out of this mess.
Nigel Farage famously declared that June 23, 2016  the day of the EU referendum  would go down in history as independence day.

I wonder how the history books are going to remember Monday, May 19, 2025. Will they conclude that this was the day when Sir Keir Starmer began to hand back the independence for which the British people voted nearly nine years ago?

In two days the Prime Minister will host a summit in London that will be attended by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and other EU nabobs. Its purpose, according to Starmer, is to reset our relationship with Brussels. Defenders of Brexit are already calling it the surrender summit.

Are these people being hysterical in saying that Mondays jamboree will be the first step on a journey that is likely to end with us returning to the heart of the European Union? I dont believe so.

The reason is Sir Keir Starmer. He is admittedly a political chameleon with few fixed views who has shamelessly reversed what he said about immigration, nationalisation, Donald Trump and much else.

Catholic theologians were once mocked by their Protestant critics for obsessing about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. Our highly flexible Prime Minister could probably do a pirouette on one.

But on a single issue he has remained steady and unchanging. The man who told his biographer that he felt empty and devastated after the Leave vote has never stopped dreaming that the clock might be turned back.

As shadow Brexit Secretary he campaigned for a second referendum. When he stood successfully for the Labour leadership in 2020, he advocated full voting rights for EU nationals and undertook to defend free movement even though the UK had left the bloc.

Sir Keir Starmer last month welcomed President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen outside 10 Downing Street ahead of their bilateral meeting

The question we must ask is why Starmer is so desperate for Britain to get closer to the European Union. We have cordial relations with all of its states. At a time of international instability, most EU countries are, in common with the UK, enthusiastic members of Nato, with Finland and Sweden having both joined the defence organisation recently.

In trade there is some friction, particularly on the EU side, where officious bureaucrats are capable of holding up British food shipments.

On the other hand, UK exports of services to the European Union in 2024 were 19 per cent above their 2019 level in real terms. Services now account for more of our exports to the EU than goods.

There are other reasons why Starmer is wrong-headed to gaze so longingly at Europe. This is our wonderful continent, of course, and the fount of western civilisation  I accept all that. But economically its three largest countries  Germany, France and Italy  are faring even less well than is Britain with Rachel Reevess shaky hand on the tiller.

As we learnt on Thursday, in the first quarter of this year the UK easily outperformed those countries with creditable growth of 0.7 per cent. The EU as a whole grew by an unimpressive 0.3 per cent.

Moreover, in many EU nations, including the ones Ive just mentioned, the hard Right or far Right are either established or on the rise. Is this really a club that we should be yearning to be part of once again?

Yet Sir Keir does yearn. Last December he assembled a formidable team of 100 civil servants, who were charged with negotiating a reset with the EU. Meanwhile Rachel Reeves and other senior ministers have been popping over to Brussels for friendly chats.

Again and again the PM and his colleagues have repeated the mantra that the UK wont become part of the Single Market or Customs Union  God forbid!  while the prospect of our ever rejoining the EU is breezily dismissed.

But the main item on Starmers wish list would involve Britain signing up to Brusselss rules on food and veterinary products, and accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice as it relates to these matters.

This so-called dynamic alignment would enable both sides to trade more freely without border checks.

In principle that might be a good thing, not least because it would remove customs checks between Britain and Northern Ireland, which has been left in a kind of economic limbo as a consequence of Brexit.

But there are sound reasons for being suspicious of dynamic alignment. Do we really want to be subject to the rules of a club over which we have no control, and to be at the mercy of Brusselss court?

Greg Hands, a former Tory trade minister who was far from being a Leave zealot, tweeted on Thursday that accepting EU regulations struck him as a bad idea at a time when the Union ought to be deregulating.

Starmer is wrong-headed to gaze so longingly at Europe

Others argue that signing up to the EU rulebook will enrage Donald Trump (who said earlier this week that the bloc is nastier in trade than China) and prevent a proper US-UK trade agreement which, despite all the recent hoopla, we still havent got. According to some authorities, it would also make trade deals with other countries more problematic.

So why is Sir Keir so eager for dynamic alignment when, to put it mildly, there are at least as many drawbacks as potential benefits? Because he pines to be closer to Brussels  if not quite yet to have a seat at future EU summits, at least to have a chair in the anteroom, as well as the occasional slap-up dinner.

European Union negotiators can see that Starmer resembles a lovelorn suitor. If leaks are to be believed, they are driving a hard bargain that could leave the EU in a more advantageous position than Britain after Mondays summit.

For example, the Government is understandably anxious that British defence companies should be allowed to bid for EU weapon contracts under a new 150 billion euro military rearmament fund. Youd think that Brussels would want UK firms to be part of this vital programme since they are among the best in Europe.

But no. President Emmanuel Macron has declared that Britain should be excluded from a defence and security pact unless it opens its waters to French and other EU fishing boats. According to reports, Macron is now pushing for the UK to be excluded from 85 per cent of the rearmament fund.

The defence and security pact also envisages close cooperation between the UK and the EU. Theres nothing wrong with that in these increasingly dangerous times  except that we already have Nato.

Fish is also a bargaining chip for the European Union in negotiations over dynamic alignment. The UK will reportedly be required to allow generous access to French and other EU vessels when the present fishing agreement expires in 2026.

Wasnt the protection of our fishing industry, which had been cruelly betrayed by Tory prime minister Ted Heath in negotiations to join what was then the Common Market, supposedly one of the cornerstones of Brexit?

The EU has other demands. It wants 18 to 30 year olds to be allowed to work in Britain for a limited period (young Britons would get reciprocal rights in Europe). Brussels would also like EU students to pay the same, much lower, university fees as our own.

In normal circumstances many of us might be pleased to see young French, Italian and Spanish people thronging our cafes and streets, though I dont see why they should enjoy reduced tuition fees. But in view of public alarm that immigration is out of control, and given the Governments frantic attempts to curb it, to throw open our borders to tens of thousands more people would be the height of foolishness.

Even former Labour Cabinet minister Ed Balls said on Thursday that it would be a big mistake to cave in to EU demands on youth mobility.

We cant of course be sure exactly what deal will be agreed on Monday. Its possible that the EU has overplayed its hand in talks before the summit, and that even the besotted Keir Starmer wont be able to agree to all its requests.

Yet it seems likely that Brussels  which will know how low our hapless Prime Minister is in the water  will get more out of the deal than the United Kingdom. Perhaps the only sensible request from Starmer is for the UK to rejoin the EU pet passport scheme, which would benefit British tourists. Will he even achieve that?

Nor should we forget that in other negotiations the PM has shown himself a distressingly soft touch. The Government has agreed to pay Mauritius a minimum of 9billion for a 99-year lease on the military base of Diego Garcia, despite a previous administration having already bought it for 3million in 1965.

The recent trade bill signed with India included a provision for Indians to work in Britain for three years without paying National Insurance  a concession which the last Tory government sensibly resisted. Its unfair on British workers, besides being liable to foster more immigration.

As for last weeks trade deal with America, that was less favourable to Britain than the arrangements we had before Donald Trump unleashed his blizzard of tariffs. Arguably Starmer was simply caving in to force majeure in order to protect our car industry. But his enthusiastic description of the agreement as historic was way over the top.

The lesson is that if you are engaged in an important negotiation, best not to call for Keir. This is all the more true if the matter under discussion is his beloved European Union.

But such considerations wont trouble the PM. For him the point of the exercise is to inveigle us back into the EU without it ever being admitted that this is his ultimate goal. He knows that many Leave voters are disappointed with Brexit but isnt going to risk their ire by disclosing his real intention.

Mondays summit is wholly unnecessary. It will obtain few, if any, advantages for the United Kingdom, and impose new burdens. It will be a decisive first step towards our reintegration in the sclerotic, bureaucratic, failing, often petty EU.

Once it is accepted that the European Court can have jurisdiction over some of our activities, it will become harder to argue that its powers shouldnt extend to others. Sir Keir Starmer knows that.

It is a huge thing to accuse ones countrys leader of fundamental dishonesty, but I am afraid it is true. He and other Labour comrades were unable to obtain the second referendum on which they had set their hearts. This is the other, devious way.

Slowly  sometimes so slowly that only the wary will realise what is going on  we are being eased back into the maw of the European Union. Our Remainer Prime Minister is a furtive, determined, and deluded Rejoiner.
Since when does a criminals right to make a cup of tea come before the safety of prison officers? That was the question posed by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick this week after Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana attacked a guard at HMP Belmarsh with boiling water.

This followed an incident last month at HMP Frankland in which Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi stabbed three guards and threw hot cooking oil over them, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. On Tuesday, a prison officer had their throat slashed by an inmate at HMP Woodhill.

Ministry of Justice figures reveal there were a shocking 10,000 assaults on prison staff last year  up from 3,640 a decade earlier.

No wonder Prison Officers Association chairman Mark Fairhurst is calling for the construction of a US-style supermax facility to house Britains most dangerous criminals. Prisons minister Lord Timpson has responded by declaring, solemnly: We shouldnt rule anything out.

Today, inspired by some of the highest-security prisons around the world, the Mail paints a forensic picture of what a supermax jail in Britain would look like.

When Robert Hood, the former warden of ADX Florence  Americas most high-security prison  was asked to describe the facility, he paused before declaring: Its a clean version of Hell.

Opened in 1995, the Alcatraz of the Rockies in Colorado was designed to house some of the nations worst offenders.

It breaks down the human spirit, recalled former inmate Garrett Linderman. It breaks down the human psyche. It breaks your mind.

If Britain is to build its own version of ADX Florence, the Ministry of Justice must first decide on a location.

The most likely spot is near a main arterial road less than an hours drive from a major town or city, on land that is cheap or disused. Needless to say, nobody is likely to be enthusiastic about such high-risk criminals living on their doorstep, even if there is no prospect of escape.

A strong option is East Riding, equidistant between York and Hull. The existence of nearby prisons  the category A Full Sutton and category C Millsike  will make running the new supermax more efficient.

The architecture of the prison will follow three imperatives: to physically isolate prisoners from one another; to reduce the need for contact between guards and inmates; and to ensure prisoners cannot get their hands on anything they could use to cause harm to others.

Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana attacked a guard at HMP Belmarsh with boiling water

The prisons outer perimeter, a 12ft wall, is to stop outsiders looking in rather than prisoners getting out. The chances of an inmate reaching this outer wall are nil.

To reach it means getting through a razor-wire fence, then somehow negotiating an electric fence that carries a fatal charge, and then crossing unnoticed the 30ft-wide no mans land loaded with buried pressure pads that detect movement and alert guards in the control room.

Most inmates wont even know the fences exist  they never see the outside world beyond a small patch of sky. But more on that later. Four watchtowers are strategically placed around the octagonal perimeter, though long gone are the days of guards keeping lookout. Instead high-tech AI cameras detect motion and alert officers who can call on an on-site team of attack dogs.

Newly arrived inmates dont get the luxury of driving in through the front gates. Instead, detainees are brought  blindfolded with a hood  via an underground tunnel. They are then brought into a room where they are tethered to metal tags on the wall, strip-searched, swabbed for their DNA and fitted with an identification bracelet around the left wrist.

Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi stabbed three guards and threw hot cooking oil over them, leaving them with life-threatening injuries

The main building is in the shape of an X, comprising four wings, each with 25 single-occupancy cells. A control room sits at the centre, providing guards with a clear line of sight down all four wings. In this maximum-security facility, inmates spend 23 hours a day locked in a 7ft by 12ft box.

Professor Yvonne Jewkes is a world-leading expert on prison design and author of An Architecture Of Hope. She told the Mail this week that supermax cells are brutal, inhumane places and has grave reservations about Britain housing its most violent criminals in them.

Professor Jewkes provided a haunting portrait: The cells are often harshly lit 24 hours a day, and there is no contact necessary between the prisoner and a single other human being, as meals are delivered through a slot and doors are unlocked remotely for inmates to take exercise alone in a small yard.

Each cell contains a bed made from poured concrete and topped with a thin foam mattress wrapped in plastic, a thin foam pillow and a rough blanket. Steel bunks or traditional spring mattresses are out of the question as the metal could be fashioned into an improvised blade known to lags as a shank.

The concrete bed is fitted with so-called strap-down loops through which restraints can be run, turning the bed into a straitjacket. Strapping a prisoner down is not a punitive measure but rather for their own safety should they try to self-harm.

A circular, fixed concrete stool sits in front of a desk slab attached to the wall. With good behaviour, prisoners may be given books, a large felt tip pen (less dangerous than a pencil) and paper  and in certain cases, a small black-and-white television showing a curated stream of inoffensive programmes. The electricity operates at the discretion of prison staff.

Each cell boasts a basic shower, providing a dribble of lukewarm water, though a timer fitted to the appliance ensures it runs for only two minutes each day. The toilet is made from stainless steel with the cistern buried inside the wall. The outlet is no more than two inches wide to prevent inmates trying to drown themselves.

A small sink fixed to the wall comes with a bar of soap, offered once every six weeks. A CCTV camera, housed in a metal and Perspex casing, monitors the entire cell 24/7.

A strong option for the supermax is East Riding, equidistant between York and Hull

The concrete walls are fitted with steel sheeting as well as sound proofing. The latter is both to prevent detainees from conversing with one another and also to further their sense of disorientation, loneliness and  ultimately  hopelessness. Similarly,

windows are just 4in wide and cut at an angle to prevent inmates from seeing what is happening in the rest of the prison.

A single halogen light bulb is concealed on the wall above the bed inside a tamper-proof casing known as a clamshell. The light can be operated only by officers in the control room  though they may never have cause to switch it off. Inmates are moved to a different (though identical) cell every three months as a security measure. Each cell has two doors, the first a row of formidable steel bars, encased in polycarbonate sheeting to prevent inmates hurling anything, especially the only weapon they possess  faeces, at officers.

Beyond the bars lies a 2in-thick steel-sheeted door, triple-hinged and complete with

unidirectional peep hole and a lockable feeding slot for passing food trays without human contact. All meals are eaten in cells.

The food is basic, consisting of three meals a day to provide the calories prisoners require. Breakfast is typically cream of wheat, a cheaper alternative to porridge. Lunch is a light soup or stew with bread while dinner is more substantial consisting of protein and vegetables.

Inmates arent given sugar, which could make them excitable, or anything they could harm themselves or others with, such as meat bones. Drinking water is provided in paper cups while tea is served lukewarm once a day with breakfast. They are also offered multivitamins.

They are provided with disposable plastic cutlery which they must make last the day.

Prison Officers Association chairman Mark Fairhurst is calling for the construction of a US-style supermax facility to house Britains most dangerous criminals

AXF Florence in Colorado is America's highest-security prison, dubbed the Alcatraz of the Rockies

Inmates are allowed out of their cells for one hour a day to exercise in a 15ft by 10ft concrete yard, netted across the top and equipped with a security camera. The yard in ADX Florence is wryly known to inmates as the empty swimming pool due to its high walls and eerie echo  prisoners can walk just 30 steps in a circle before finding themselves back where they began.

While moving between the yard and their cells, inmates are handcuffed behind their back, blindfolded and bent forwards over their knees, with the most non-compliant fitted with an anti-spit mask. Each inmate is escorted by a minimum of three guards at all times, often five.

There is no communal or recreational space. Kitchens and staff offices are located in outbuildings accessible via two monitored checkpoints.

A visitation room within the main block is the size of a cell and contains two chairs separated by a soundproof glass panel to prevent physical contact, ensuring no contraband finds its way into the facility. Verbal exchange takes place by way of a telephone, with conversations closely monitored. While visitation is a privilege not a right, for the most compliant offenders it is capped at one 30-minute visit each month. These visits are sharply reduced for bad behaviour.

Needless to say, a supermax prison would be a stark departure from the current British penitentiary model in which so many inmates appear to run amok, openly consuming drugs, having sex with female guards and running criminal operations from smartphones in their cells.

Basic entitlements and nothing more, Mr Fairhurst told the Mail, as he outlined his desire for a supermax facility. As someone who chooses to attack staff, youve chosen to serve your sentence in this way. Put them in a cell with no possessions. Maybe a radio and a book to read. But every time theyre unlocked, theyre handcuffed and escorted by three officers wearing stab-proof vests beneath their uniforms.

While such a set-up may appeal to a public fed up with Britains worsening criminality and high rate of recidivism, supermax facilities are not to be deployed lightly.

ADX Florence has been compared to a torture facility, with inmates developing delusions, paranoia, depression and suicidal thoughts. Bank robber Jack Powers saw his mental health deteriorate to such an extent after being transferred there in 2001 that he used a pen to slice open his scrotum and remove a testicle, cut through his Achilles tendon, chewed off one of his fingers, and tried to kill himself on multiple occasions.

Back in 1966, the idea of building a British supermax prison was rejected, not least after Earl Mountbatten, appointed by the Home Secretary to chair an inquiry into prison escapes and security, raised concerns that such a facility would worsen the behaviour of those left truly hopeless.

Sixty years on, however, and attitudes have hardened. The heinous behaviour of Rudakubana and those like him have whet the public appetite for a supermax facility.

But when a prisoner becomes little more than an animal in a cage, society will inevitably ask: why keep them alive at all?
Precisely what is Keir Starmer going to hand over at tomorrows Surrender Summit with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen? It might be fishing rights. Or concessions on the youth mobility scheme. Some of the Prime Ministers critics believe it could go as far as full dynamic alignment with the EU on food standards and other regulatory areas.

But one way or another, something is going to give. Or rather, be given. Because Sir Keir has decided that, regardless of any allegations of a Brexit betrayal, he is going to strike a deal.

Keirs thinking on this is very clear, a No 10 adviser told me. Its about delivery over dogma. His view is people have had it with the Brexit wars. Theyre done with all that. What they want is a relationship with Europe that benefits them. All they care about now is something that will put some extra money in their pockets.

Following Labours local election drubbing at the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform, some observers thought Starmer might seek to put a bit of diplomatic distance between his government and the Brussels Eurocrats.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is certainly attempting to leverage the summit, pledging last week she would make it my mission to take back every power he hands over to Brussels.

But Downing Street is unconcerned. Partly this is because No 10s focus groups show Labour-Leavers (Labour supporters who voted for Brexit) are pragmatic about some sort of deal with the EU. Especially over an area such as student movement.

We have to be careful we dont look as if were completely rowing back, confided one minister who had studied the responses. But the truth is a lot of those voters have become pretty disillusioned by the broken Brexit promises. Their view is, Theyve already let us down. Whats the point in getting angry over it?

Which is why Starmers advisers are dismissive of the Tory leaders efforts to gain political capital from reopening the Brexit battles. Badenoch is making herself irrelevant. Shes pledging to tear up the deal before its even been negotiated, or shes even seen it. Shes just not a serious figure, a Starmer aide told me.

Correctly. Like so many other issues, Tory criticism of Starmers EU negotiations retains zero credibility. Whatever side of the Brexit divide people occupy, they will indeed remember the promises that were delivered, then betrayed.

The pledge to take back control. To cut net migration to tens of thousands. To strike bountiful trade deals with the US and other global powerhouses. To stop the small boats. To sign off the oven-ready deal. And to finally get Brexit done.

It was all a lie. So frankly, Kemi Badenoch and her colleagues would be better advised to keep their counsel. They had the best part of a decade to deliver on Brexit. And they blew it.

Nor is it legitimate for them to accuse Starmer of rowing back on his own Brexit promises. Much of what appeared in his 2024 manifesto has proven not be worth the glossy paper it was written on. But on this he was clear. With Labour, Britain will stay outside of the EU. But to seize the opportunities ahead, we must make Brexit work, he wrote. We will reset the relationship and seek to deepen ties with our European friends, neighbours and allies.

In fact, if anyone has the right to accuse him of selling them out, its Labours dwindling army of Remainers. Starmers cast-iron commitment to defend free movement as we leave the EU went the way of each of his other nine pledges. And there is no prospect of any return to the single market or customs union.

But tomorrow the Prime Minister will still be delivering concessions. And he will do so for a simple reason. He doesnt have any choice.

This morning Britain is a country more isolated than at any time since the 1930s. At the mercy of Putin and his reckless and overt international terrorism. Of Chinese expansionism. Of Americas increasingly poisonous mix of isolationism and populist fanaticism.

So, yes, Starmer is going to have to give ground to the EU. Because thats the reality of the world he now lives in.

'Starmer is going to have to give ground to the EU. Because thats the reality of the world he now lives in,' writes Dan Hodges

Anyone who wants to know how precarious our global position now is needs look no further than the spectacle of the recent White House press conference.

Britains ambassador Peter Mandelson was forced to stand and genuflect as Donald Trumps

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gleefully pointed to a chart demonstrating how UK tariffs on US goods had been slashed from 5.1 per cent to 1.8 per cent, while US tariffs on UK goods had been hiked from 3.4 per cent to 10 per cent.

Its why the Government gave ground to India on business taxation. Its why ministers continue to turn a blind eye to the construction of a Chinese super-embassy in central London, replete with a sinister intelligence dungeon.

The days when British foreign policy was conducted with Churchillian bravado  or braggadocio  are over. The belief Britannia rules the waves is rubbished every day as another overloaded dinghy washes up on our shores.

So, yes, people can become outraged at the spectacle of President Macron attempting to link defence procurement with French fishing quotas. But hes doing it because he can.

People have drawn direct parallels with the dangers we now face, and the dark days of the Munich crisis. Rightly. But what they fail to realise is that we are not the Britain of 1938, but the Czechoslovakia of 1938. When the storm clouds of war were last gathering, we werent negotiating trade deals with India, we were governing her. We had an empire to call upon in our defence. And the largest navy on the planet.

Today we really are standing alone. So this week the Prime Minister is going to have to surrender sovereignty. He is going to have to give ground in pursuit of his EU reset.

But that is what it means to be Prime Minister in a world where Putins tanks plough through the fields of Ukraine, Xis warships menace the islands of the Pacific and Trump outsources ownership of Air Force One to Qatar.

We were promised Brexit would see Britain standing tall in the world again. But the reality is we are a nation that has been forced into an apprehensive, defensive crouch. And that represents the biggest betrayal of all.
The Princess of Wales knows that a stylish, tailored blazer can bring an outfit together in an instant - and recently, she delivered a masterclass in styling a tweed jacket from one of her favourite designers, Jade Holland Cooper.

During Kate, 42, and the Prince of Wales' recent royal visit to Scotland to mark their 14th wedding anniversary, the royal donned a double-breasted brown herringbone blazer by the quintessential British brand.

Holland Cooper is known for its sharp tailoring and the piece worn by Kate is no exception, with it featuring a longline style cut close to the body with hip pockets, a luxury satin line, and signature gold Holland Cooper hardware that complimented the brown herringbone fabric.

The Princess gave the blazer a more casual look by wearing it over a light blue button-shirt with the cuffs exposed and dark skinny jeans, complete with a pair of rustic chic brown leather boots.

Kate is a longtime fan of Holland Cooper, having worn the brand in numerous royal engagements over the years.

But despite the royal's clear appreciation for the designer's clothing of the past several years, Jade Holland Cooper has admitted that even now, she still 'never knows when Kate is going to wear the brand'.

Speaking to FEMAIL about the future Queen wearing her creations, the British fashion designer, who is married to the co-founder of clothing label Superdry, Julian Dunkerton, said: 'It was such a special moment for me, even better that she is a genuine fan of the brand.

'She is the epitome of classic style, just the perfect endorsement and ambassador for all brand Holland Cooper stands for.'

The Princess of Wales wore a classic double-breasted blazer by Holland Cooper during her royal visit to Scotland to mark her and the Prince of Wales' 14th wedding anniversary in May 2025

Discussing whether she's ever warned ahead of time that Kate will be making an appearance in one of her designs, Jade revealed: 'No, we never know when she is going to wear it.

'The first time, I was actually on a photoshoot in the middle of a field on a shoot we were doing to launch our dog accessories range. I checked my phone and had so many missed calls from the team, it was a truly a career highlight for me.'

In 2023, Kate wore a white bodysuit by Holland Cooper under her tailored burgundy suit by Roland Mouret at a reception that took place ahead of her inaugural Shaping Us National Symposium.

That same year, she wore a sleek pair of white trousers by the designer, paired with a bespoke coat by Savile Row tailor Chris Kerr at her Together at Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey.

Other times she has worn the British brand include the 179 Fairisle knit jumper she wore to present a 2022 CBeebies bedtime story - which sold out after she appeared on TV with it - and the Knightsbridge Coat to the Six Nations that same year.

Jade, whose father was a farmer and mother was a fashion designer, founded Holland Cooper in 2008 at Badminton Horse Trials. Fifteen years later, the company is predicted a 40million annual turnover.

During a visit to Cardiff in 2023, the Princess donned Holland Cooper's tailored pinstripe pantsuit for Black History Month for a put-together look

Later that same year, at her Together at Christmas carol service, she wore an elegant ivory coat by Savile Row tailor Chris Kerr over a pair of sleek high-waisted ivory trousers by Holland Cooper

2023 was quite the year for Holland Cooper, as Kate also wore a chic tartan coat by the brand during a visit to a hospital and mental health organisation in Merseyside

Despite Kate's clear appreciation for Holland Cooper clothing of the past several years, Jade Holland Cooper (pictured at the Cheltenham Festival) has admitted that even now, she still 'never knows when Kate is going to wear the brand'

'I noticed a gap in the market for stylish and flattering country clothes,' explained the businesswoman.

'All the tweeds were ill-fitting, I wanted to create garments that were not only fit for purpose, but looked amazing and empowered the women who wore them.

'I had a tiny stand at Badminton Horse Trials, selling tweed miniskirts  we soon sold out. I appreciated the demand and abandoned my studies at the Royal Agricultural College in order to start a business; Holland Cooper was born.'

The designer says she has always been entrepreneurial, having even started her own egg selling business as a child, where she would trade the eggs from her chickens locally.

'I watched both my parents start businesses and work hard and this made me want to do the same, with the drive to succeed,' said Jade.

The fashion designer said seeing racegoers at Cheltenham Festival wearing her attire 'is one of the highlights of the year for me.'

'Our tailoring is timeless, and its lovely to see the same pieces from 15 years ago being styled with new pieces to create the perfect racing looks,' she explained.

Sharing her tips for race day dressing, she said: 'Layering is key to making sure you look great but also enjoy the day,' adding: 'It is always freezing!'

Kate wore Holland Cooper's versatile white shirt bodysuit under her tailored burgundy pantsuit at her Shaping Us symposium, also in 2023

The Princess made quite a statement at the 2022 Six Nations match between England and Wales, where she wore the black-and-white houndstooth Knightsbridge Coat by the brand

The Princess of Wales wore the brand's 849 longline tartan coat while on a trip to Scotland in May 2021 (pictured)

Kate has stepped out in Jade Holland Cooper's eponymous clothing range a number of times - including in 2022 when the 179 Fairisle knit sweater the royal wore to present a CBeebies bedtime story (pictured) sold out

She continued: 'I think people assume racing means green tweeds, although these are a classic, I like to try bright bolder looks.'

Meanwhile, she warned: 'The ground is often muddy, and you are on your feet most of the day, so a flat boot or chunky heel is necessary.'

Discussing the perfect accessories, she added: 'It is a busy day and a cross body bag is a must. I always tell my customers that leather gloves are a must; a silk scarf can really elevate your look and one of our trilby hats.
When Kelly O'Donnell couldn't shake off the fatigue, she figured motherhood had simply taken its toll.

Having recently given birth to her baby daughter, the Queensland nurse was enjoying what seemed to be a normal life with her family - until she suddenly fell seriously ill.

The mum went from being 'healthy, active and full of energy' to struggling with unexplained weight loss, constipation and a lack of appetite.

Her doctor initially attributed the symptoms to hemorrhoids or IBS, referring her for a colonoscopy, but she was placed on a long waitlist.

As the months passed, Kelly noticed she wasn't getting any better. She was in such excruciating pain that she couldn't stand for more than five minutes, but her concerns were dismissed.

Her GP reassured her there was nothing to worry about, insisting she was 'too young' to have cancer, and sent her home with painkillers.

Kelly knew something was seriously wrong when she began bleeding heavily from her rectum so she was taken to hospital for an emergency colonoscopy.

A week later, Kelly was given a soul-crushing diagnosis that blindsided her: stage four bowel cancer that had already spread to her liver.

'I received the worst news of my life... As you can imagine, I was shocked beyond belief,' Kelly, now 37, told FEMAIL.

Doting mum Kelly O'Donnell received a soul-crushing stage four bowel cancer diagnosis

Before her shock diagnosis, she was enjoying motherhood after welcoming her first child with her partner, who's already a dad to two boys, aged seven and 10.

'The kids are my universe,' Kelly said.

Kelly had always done everything right to stay on top of her health as she was getting regular scans and check-ups due to her endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

'Apart from endo and PCOS, I've always been quite healthy so I would only go to the GP if I needed to but I saw a gynaecologist twice a year for probably six years pre-birth,' she explained.

'After I had my daughter, I didn't see a doctor for a good 12 months until I started to become symptomatic.'

The mum began noticing subtle signs - including extreme tiredness and a lack of energy for no apparent reason.

'I assumed child birth had knocked me around a bit and perhaps my gut health wasn't great so I was seeing a naturopath to try and get back on track,' Kelly said.

'However I continued to deteriorate over the next 12 months - I lost 10kg, which is a lot for someone who's petite and never been over 50kg.

'I was struggling to eat and keep food down and was very constipated.'

Her doctor assumed she had constipation so he arranged blood tests, as well as requesting a referral for a colonoscopy in November 2023.

Due to long wait times in the public health system, Kelly carried on with her life in the meantime.

The mum went from being 'healthy, active and full of energy' to struggling with unexplained weight loss , constipation and a lack of appetite

The nurse was enjoying what seemed to be a normal life with her family - until she fell seriously ill (pictured with her partner, two stepsons, aged seven and 10, and three-year-old daughter)

However, months later, she was still feeling unwell.

'My GP told me that he didn't think it was cancer as I told him I was worried about that but he reiterated that I was too young and it was most likely something else,' she said.

'Then the pain started and I got to a point where I was struggling to stand for longer than five minutes.'

Her doctor instructed her to go to a hospital if her symptoms worsened, then sent her home with strong painkillers.

Six months later, in early May 2024, the mum noticed blood coming from her rectum while in the bathroom.

Kelly went to the Emergency Room, but despite the urgency, she didn't receive a colonoscopy until 10 days later.

By the time she was getting the procedure, the mum said she had a gut feeling that something was 'seriously wrong'.

'Nine minutes into my colonoscopy, they told me they found a tumour in my anal passage,' Kelly said.

'The doctor who performed the colonoscopy said it didn't look good and from his experience it looked cancerous but we would have to wait and see what the biopsy results showed.'

The mum noticed she started to deteriorate over the next 12 months - losing a dramatic 10kg

Just 12 months after her daughter was born, she started feeling extremely tired for no reason

A week later, she returned to the hospital to discuss her results.

'It was then that I received the worst news of my life, I had stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to my liver,' Kelly said.

'My liver was covered in tumours much to my horror... I had no idea anything was wrong with my liver.'

When she met with her oncologist, he asked her if she wanted to know her prognosis.

'I declined because regardless of what his opinion was, I wasn't going to die, not for a long time,' she explained.

'I would fight it with everything I had, I'd fight this horrible disease and I would do that through both medical and alternative therapies.'

After her first round of chemotherapy, Kelly received good news - her tumours were shrinking.

But after completing 12 weeks of treatment, she was told the chemotherapy hadn't worked after all.

'This time the chemo didn't have the desired effect unfortunately,' she said.

After the first round of chemotherapy, Kelly received good news - her tumours were shrinking. But after completing 12 weeks of treatment, she was told the chemo hadn't worked after all

Signs and symptoms of bowel cancer Blood in your poo Obvious change in your bowel habit Weight loss you can't explain Extreme tiredness for no reason Lump or swelling in your abdomen Advertisement

'A few weeks after chemo, I started to get severe lower back pain which got worse every day until I presented at hospital with 11/10 pain and was unable to stand or walk.

'Recent scans I'd had showed a lesion on my sacrum (tail bone) which was pushing on my nerves and spine, I was pretty deflated but my oncology team assured me five days of radiation would alleviate my pain so I did that.'

The mum completed radiation just four weeks ago.

'Unfortunately I had an adverse reaction to the radiation and needed to be hospitalised due to numbness and tingling down my right side and severe pain,' she said.

'My pain is currently being managed and we are waiting to discuss further.'

Kelly said she's now following a new naturopathic regime, taking 19 different vitamins and herbs, along with three supplements and seven pharmaceutical medications every day.

'It's expensive but when it comes to your health, you can't really put a price on it,' she said.

'This has been the hardest journey of my life, every day is different for me - some days I'm happy and positive, other days my mental health suffers greatly but I refuse to give up, I have too much to live for.'

Kind-hearted friends, family and even strangers have rallied around the mum to help raise money for her expensive medical treatments and consultations

Kind-hearted friends, family and even strangers have rallied around the mum to help raise money for her expensive medical treatments and consultations - after her 'world was turned upside down' by the soul-crushing stage four cancer diagnosis.

'Kelly is not just a mother; she is the heart and soul of her family. She is a devoted birth mother, a caring stepmother to two beautiful children, and a loving partner to her significant other,' her friend Renee wrote on the GoFundMe page she set up.

'Her resilient spirit and unwavering dedication to her family are truly inspiring. Now, as she faces the toughest battle of her life, Kelly needs our help more than ever.

'Kelly's battle is not just against cancer but also a fight to maintain a sense of normalcy and stability for her children.

'Your support can help lift a tremendous weight off their shoulders, allowing them to focus on what truly matters - spending precious time together as a family and fighting this illness with all their strength.'

Kelly wants to break the stigma that cancer only affects older people.

'Since my diagnosis, I have learnt that bowel cancer in my age group (30-39) has increased by 209 per cent in two decades so the stigma attached needs to be stopped,' she said.

'More awareness and further early testing needs to be implemented. This could save the lives of so many people.'

By sharing her story, the mum hopes to encourage Aussies to get checked - no matter how minor their symptoms may seem

By sharing her story, she hopes to encourage Aussies to get checked - no matter how minor their symptoms may seem.

'I think the biggest lesson I've learnt is to always listen to your intuition and if you feel like something is wrong with your body, chances are there is,' she said.

'I just hope my story can help some people out there. If your doctor fobs you off, get a second or even a third opinion if you have to.

'No doctor knows your body quite like you do. Your health is so important.'

According to Bowel Cancer Australia, bowel cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second deadliest in the country.

Each year, it's estimated more than 14,500 Aussies are diagnosed with bowel cancer - making it the seventh leading cause of death among people aged 25 to 44.

If detected early, the chance of successful treatment and long-term survival improves significantly. Up to 99 per cent of cases can be treated successfully when detected in the earliest stage.

However, not all bowel cancers show symptoms.

But common signs include abdominal pain or bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, tiredness, weakness or breathlessness.
At 60 years old, most people have their eye on retirement, dreaming of slow mornings and leisurely lunches - but not Sarah Abel.

For the grandmother-of-Four, life has never been busier - or more fulfilling.

The entrepreneur from Folkestone, Kent, juggles running a million-pound training business, with regularly looking after her grandchildren, Betsy, nine, Bloom, seven, Arlo, three, and Hugo, nine months.

In her high-pressured day job, she mentors entrepreneurs in the hair and beauty industry on how to access government funding to scale their business and has secured more than 6 million in funding since 2008.

When she's not busy being grinding, the grandmother then switches to 'fun nana' mode, which involves juggling the 'beautiful chaos' of helping looking after the little ones of her and her husband Andy's daughter, Naomi, 35, and son Rhys, 33.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.

'I know so many people my age who feel they have to slow down because society tells them they should and they're told they're "getting old". But why?' she questioned.

'I'm 60, and I still have boundless energy, ideas and ambition. Retiring now would feel like cutting my story short when there's still so much more to do. I don't run my business just for the money - I do it because I love seeing people transform their lives through education and entrepreneurship.

Sarah, from Folkestone, Kent, juggles running a million-pound training business, with regularly looking after her grandchildren, Betsy, nine, Bloom, seven, Arlo, three, and Hugo, nine months (pictured)

In her high-pressured day job, she mentors entrepreneurs in the hair and beauty industry on how to access government funding to scale their business and has secured more than 6 million in funding since 2008 (pictured with her husband, Andy and grandchildren, Betsy, nine, and Bloom, seven)

'Having your own business gives you a level of freedom that traditional retirement can't. I choose when and how I work.

'If I need to take a break for a school play or a family holiday, I can. That's the beauty of building something that works for you rather than being tied to a 9-5 job.'

It's taken decades for Sarah to get to this stage.

Having had a challenging childhood which saw her mother Enid being diagnosed with MS when Sarah was four, and her father, Tony, taking his own life when she was seven, she was left in the care of her grandparents along with her younger sister.

Sarah left school at 16 and flitted from job to job. By the time she was 21, Sarah had met her now husband Andy and the pair had married and began to start a family.

It was also around this time that she tragically lost her mother, Enid.

Sarah pictured while in Las Vegas. Sarah left school at 16 and flitted from job to job. By the time she was 21, Sarah had met her now husband Andy and the pair had married and began to start a family

Sarah left school at 16 and flitted from job to job. By the time she was 21, Sarah had met her now husband Andy and the pair had married and began to start a family (Sarah pictured with her now husband Andy)

But due to what Sarah now knows to be undiagnosed ADHD, she was constantly living 'beyond her means' and was regularly splashing the cash by going on luxury holidays and buying posh cars.

Then in 2000, when she was 36-years-old, Sarah's life changed forever on a sporadic trip to her favourite nail salon.

Sarah had a 'good job' working at Avon at the time, but after hearing that the owner of the salon was having to sell the shop, she suddenly had a 'lightbulb moment' and saw the potential to build something of her own.

Seizing the opportunity, Sarah decided on 'a whim' that she would buy and take over the business.

Much to her delight, she was able to secure a bank loan of 20,000, which she was able to invest in purchasing the business.

'I had a good job with Avon at the time, but I knew I wanted more. I wanted to build something of my own that would have a lasting impact,' she explained.

'My mum died when I was 21, and she never got the chance to spend time with me as an adult, or to see her grandchildren - I knew I wanted to create a life for me in which that would be possible.

'I had no money, was in debt and had little knowledge of running a business, but I had resilience - and Andy believed in me. So, I applied for a 20,000 loan from a bank - and got it.

She also helped her daughter Naomi who joined her straight from school studying qualifications in nails and beauty (Sarah pictured with her daughter, Naomi)

Sarah pictured with her husband, Andy, on her wedding day aged 21 - she is now 60 but has no plans to retire

'I was terrified and apprehensive. What was I doing? But I also had the inner confidence that I knew I could make this work. And I did. At one stage we owned five salons.

'The change came in 2008, when I discovered I could apply for government funding for training for her own staff with apprenticeships - it was a lightbulb moment. I knew this was a way in which I could help others do the same.'

In 75,000 of debt and aged 44, Sarah pivoted her business to focus on education, using funding to offer training programmes in hair, nails and beauty.

She also helped her daughter Naomi who joined her straight from school studying qualifications in nails and beauty. She went on to start her own business.

Sarah opened a funding business called TNB Skills Training in Kent, helping people of all ages to access government money and fund training.

She also implemented a debt management plan - and worked hard to pay off all she owed. By 2022, at 58, she was debt free for the first time in her adult life.

'The sense of accomplishment was euphoric! And thanks to all this hard work, my business turnover shifted and reached seven figures. Yes, I was nearly 60, but there's no way I could have been ready to do this sooner,' the grandmother said.

'Thanks to my son Rhys coming to work in the business in 2021, I've been able to take time off to be with my grandchildren. It's important to me to spend time with them - they're definitely a handful.

Sarah's first ever nail salon. Sarah opened a funding business called TNB Skills Training in Kent, helping people of all ages to access government money and fund training

Sarah pictured when she was pregnant with Naomi. She structures her day by getting up at 6am. She then mediates, schedules meetings for set times, and often works in the evening

Sarah pictured with Noami. Sarah said her biggest goal has always been to build a cash-flowing business that runs efficiently and generates consistent profits, and allows her to invest in wealth-building strategies, such as property

Sarah opened a funding business called TNB Skills Training in Kent, helping people of all ages to access government money and fund training

This year, she published her first book The Power Of Funding, which became a bestseller in just hours

'My business is thriving, and my role as a grandmother is just as important. I never wanted to be the kind of businesswoman who was too busy for family. Finding the balance has been a challenge, but it's also what keeps me going.

'People often ask, 'How do you do it all?' The truth is, you can't do everything yourself, but you can make it work with the right systems in place.'

Sarah structures her day by getting up at 6am. She then mediates, schedules meetings for set times, and often works in the evening.

This year, she published her first book The Power Of Funding, which became a bestseller in just hours.

But she keeps at least a day a week free to spend with her grandchildren.

'Being a grandmother is a bit like being a magician - one minute you're wiping sticky hands, the next, you're building a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes,' she mused.

'My time with my grandkids is always an adventure, filled with laughter, surprises, and the occasional sugar-fuelled mayhem.

'The best thing is saying yes when parents say no. I've let them eat ice cream for breakfast - it's just frozen milk - played hide and seek in the supermarket, and we only lost each other once!

'We've also had full-blown dance parties at bedtime. My own children sometimes question me but I remind them that I did a good job with them.

'And the grandkids say I'm the coolest nan, and I think that's because I understand the most important rule - childhood should be magical.'

Sarah's business has taken her around the world and has even seen her flying first class to places such as Las Vegas.

She said her biggest goal has always been to build a cash-flowing business that runs efficiently and generates consistent profits, and allows her to invest in wealth-building strategies, such as property.

And she's not ready to slow down just yet.

The grandmother insisted she is not ready to retire, and believes other people her age should consider staying in work they are 'passionate' about.

'If you love what you do, why stop? Retirement shouldn't be about age; it should be about choice. If you're still passionate about your work, if you still feel you have value to offer, then why walk away?' she expressed.

'Of course, this doesn't mean working yourself into the ground. It's about finding a way to continue making an impact while also enjoying life. For me, that means mentoring business owners, writing, speaking at events, and spending time with my family - all on my own terms.

'I'll keep growing, mentoring, and buildingwhile making time for school runs and bedtime stories. Because this isn't the end of my journey. It's just another exciting chapter.

'And if you're thinking about retiring just because it's 'what you're supposed to do' - maybe it's time to rethink that.'
You wouldn't think that New York's premier divorce attorney could also be in the running for America's top marriage counselor.

But James Sexton has seen it all: the good, the bad and the unmitigated (she took the house, the kids and the dog) disasters.

This fast-talking, tattooed ambassador of every broken union first became famous last year after flatly declaring in a video on Facebook that '56 percent of marriages end in divorce' and an additional '20 percent' of couples live in wedded agony.

That's a 76 percent failure rate - and it makes you wonder whether it's worth it to tie the knot.

Was this guy trying to get himself out of business or was he on to something?

Now Sexton is back with another hot take and, brace yourself, it involves one of the dirtiest words in the English language for anyone with a wedding on the horizon: prenup.

The mere mention of a pre-nuptial agreement can make even the most rational romantic clutch their pearls but, according to Sexton, it's the single best indicator of a successful marriage.

'I've done probably hundreds, if not thousands, of prenups over 25 years,' he said. 'I think there may be five people that I did their divorce after they had a prenup.'

My misconceptions about prenups were challenged by a premier divorce attorney who has no doubt seen it all: the good, the bad and the unmitigated disasters. (Pictured: Jana Hocking).

'I've done probably hundreds, if not thousands, of prenups over 25 years,' Sexton said. 'I think there may be five people that I did their divorce after they had a prenup.'

The mere mention of a pre-nuptial agreement can make even the most rational romantic clutch their pearls but, according to Sexton, it's the single best indicator of a successful marriage.

Five. Out of thousands. That's a better success rate than most rom coms.

But aren't prenups just planning for divorce?

'Absolutely not,' he told me.

Unlike divorce proceedings (which are universally grim), prenups, he says, are surprisingly feel-good. 'It's usually a very friendly transaction. People feel good about it.'

'A prenup is fundamentally about creating a safety net of emotional and financial transparency,' he said. 'It's a profound statement of love that says, I want to protect you, even from potential future versions of myself.'

Let's just pause on that for a moment.

'When you create a prenup,' he continued, 'you're telling your partner, I care about your emotional and financial well-being so much that I want to ensure you're protected, even if our relationship changes. It's not about expecting failure, it's about showing a deep level of care and commitment.'

Where was this man during my last situationship?

But I had to ask: what was the wildest prenup clause he's ever seen?

Oh, buckle up.

'There was one where the bride had to stay within a certain weight range,' he said. 'There was a baseline pre-wedding weight, and a post-divorce clause to measure any deviation.'

Yep, the groom wanted a slim wife and made sure he put actions in place to make sure she didn't 'blow-out.' Sigh.

I mean, what was she supposed to do? Carb-load before the wedding so the scales worked in her favor? Strip down like a UFC fighter before court? I bet the sucker of a husband didn't see Ozempic coming!

Then there are the infidelity clauses. And wow, can people get creative. We're talking detailed definitions of what counts as 'cheating,' how it must be proven and what the financial consequences are.

'One woman was entitled to a $1.5 million house if her husband cheated,' Sexton said. 'I swear, you could practically see her rooting for him to slip up.'

Sexton argued that prenups are actually, contrary to popular belief, a marriage saver.

'It's a profound statement of love that says, I want to protect you, even from potential future versions of myself,' Sexton said of prenups.

Then there was the yoga-class instructor who married a Goldman Sachs type. She brought zero dollars to the relationship, but girlfriend knew her worth. This smart cookie made the prenup work in her favor.

Ladies take note, her prenup included: a $250,000 signing bonus, lavish babymoons 'no less than $100k per trip' every time she got pregnant, strict gifting rules for her family and a wardrobe budget that would make Carrie Bradshaw blush.

'She handed me this list, and the guy just accepted it. Like they were standard clauses,' Sexton said with a laugh. 'I wanted to say, this isn't an Uber Eats menu!'

Oh, and let's not forget the 'sexual minimums.' Yes, as in, how many blowjobs per month is considered healthy.

'You can't legally enforce sex,' Sexton said, 'but you can tie financial incentives to effort.'

From square footage requirements for future homes to how often the in-laws get gifts, he's seen it all. And while some of it is wildly unhinged, it often points to something deeper.

'You read these clauses,' he said, 'and you can tell someone in this relationship is terrified to say no.'

Then he hit me with my favorite gem of the whole chat: 'Prenups are like couples therapy in disguise.'

'They force couples to have brutally honest conversations about expectations, values and what they truly owe each other. It's an opportunity to ask: Why did you choose me? What makes our relationship unique? You're not just talking money, you're unpacking the emotional and economic ecosystem of your relationship.'

Suddenly, a prenup didn't sound like a cold legal document. It sounded like a love language.

According to Sexton, the best prenups follow a 'Yours, Mine and Ours' structure: your individual assets stay yours, shared assets are split 50/50 and the entire process encourages ongoing dialogue. 'It's not about control -- it's about respect and autonomy. Every financial decision becomes a chance to communicate, negotiate and stay aligned.'

Sure, it might not sound sexy. But you know what is? Emotional maturity.

Still, I had to ask: what if the conversation itself just feels icky? I mean, we've all seen the drama that comes from asking for one, so how do you do it in a way that doesn't seem callous?

'If you can't have challenging discussions with your partner, you probably shouldn't get married,' he shrugged. Ouch. But also, fair.

'A prenup is a litmus test. Can you be honest? Can you express concerns without fear or judgment? Can you disagree and still feel safe?' he said. 'These conversations show whether your relationship has real emotional depth or if it's just built on vibes and filtered selfies.'

And then, with the poise of someone who's clearly spent a few hours in therapy: 'A prenup isn't just about protection it's about radical intimacy. It's about being emotionally and financially naked with someone. Saying: these are my fears, my values, my boundaries - and I trust you enough to share them.'

Annoyingly, he's not wrong. In a world where the state dictates your marriage terms, a prenup lets you write your own love contract.

So next time someone tells you a prenup is unromantic, pour them a glass of wine and say: 'Actually, it's the most adult love letter you can write.'

Who knew legal paperwork could be so sexy?
Rachael Ray was once one of the most successful women on TV... but in recent months her bizarre behavior and slurred speech has left fans - and friends - immensely concerned for her.

Just last weekend, she posted a video to Instagram and it seemed as though she was having a hard time getting her words right.

Afterwards, a source told DailyMail.com that the star, 56, seems 'lost' and lives a 'very secluded life,' leaving them fiercely worried.

It's just the latest in a long list of devastating twists and turns to plague the TV personality, as Rachael's story has certainly not always been a glamorous one.

Her childhood was riddled with health woes and incessant bullying from her peers.

And when she got her first big break by landing a job in her 'dream' city, that was soon shattered when she was violently attacked on her way home from work.

A man pulled her into an alley and 'beat' her 'with his gun,' leaving her so shaken she quit her job and moved back to the town she grew up in.

Even so, Rachael didn't give up and she was eventually skyrocketed into the spotlight after she scored her own cooking show on The Food Network.

Rachael Ray was once one of the most successful women on TV... but in recent months her bizarre behavior and slurred speech has left fans - and friends - immensely concerned for her

It's just the latest in a long list of devastating twists and turns to plague the TV personality, as Rachael's story has certainly not been a glamorous one

Take a look back at Rachael's tumultuous journey... and see how she continuously prevailed despite all of her hardships

And while she has now had a wildly successful career spanning across decades, her time in the spotlight has been marred by controversy.

The former talk show host has been hit with rumors of racism, accusations of infidelity in her marriage, and constant public scrutiny that continuously cast a shadow over her booming business.

Recent years haven't been easy for her either: the sudden and shocking death of her aunt in 2013 erupted a nasty feud between Rachael and her niece that tore her family apart; her house was burned to the ground by a fire in 2022; her New York City apartment was flooded just one year later; and most recently, her strange behavior has sparked a slew of speculation about her health.

It's certainly been a rough road for Rachael. Amidst the latest concern for the star, FEMAIL has recapped the many devastations that she's had to overcome over the years.

Take a look back at Rachael's tumultuous journey... and see how she continuously prevailed despite all of her hardships.

Rachael's childhood was riddled with health woes and incessant bullying from her peers

Rachael's childhood was tragically riddled with health woes and incessant bullying from her classmates. She's seen as a kid

She told People that she battled croup 'a lot' as a kid, which is an infection of the upper airways that causes difficulty in breathing and a barking cough. She's seen with her sister

Rachael was born in Glens Falls, New York, in 1968, and her family moved to Lake George when she was eight years old.

Her parents managed multiple restaurants across Cape Cod, Massachusetts, so the food industry was a big part of her life from the start.

She has also said that she was teased relentlessly by her classmates as a kid. She's seen as a baby

But Rachael's childhood was tragically riddled with health woes and incessant bullying from her classmates.

She told People back in 2006 that she battled croup 'a lot' as a kid, which is an infection of the upper airways that causes difficulty in breathing and a barking cough.

At the time, she said it was still something that affected her as it had weakened her vocal chords.

'I lose my voice a lot,' she said. 'I had a lot of croup as a kid so I don't have the strongest vocal cords.

'I went to a voice doctor [who] taught me exercises for my throat and to cut back a little on the caffeine.'

She has also said that she was teased relentlessly by her classmates as a kid.

Rachael revealed on Instagram in 2019 that she was made fun of on the first day of kindergarten for bringing a smelly sardine sandwich for lunch.

'I quickly learned that sardines do not make friends at least in American kindergartens they don't,' she wrote.

She revealed on Instagram in 2019 that she was made fun of on the first day of kindergarten for bringing a smelly sardine sandwich for lunch. She's seen with her mom and brother

She told ABC News in 2019 that she was also bashed over her choice of clothing. Explaining, 'Everybody made fun of me because I wasn't wearing jeans, I was wearing a dress'

Rachael - whose parents divorced when she was 13 - started working in the restaurants her parents' oversaw when she was a teen. She's seen with her family over the years

'I cried. A LOT. And my Grandpa consoled me - with a cool cloth on my forehead and the reminder that life provides plenty of tears; each day has ups and downs and moments when we will feel frustrated or overtired or beat up by life. And we have a choice to cry or to continue on. 

'I went back to school the next day carrying my sack lunch and a newfound resilience.'

She told ABC News in 2019 that she was also bashed over her choice of clothing.

'Everybody made fun of me because I wasn't wearing jeans, I was wearing a dress,' she said.

She added to NPR, 'I came home that day being the stinky girl in the funny clothes with the funny shoes.'

Rachael - whose parents divorced when she was 13 - started working in the restaurants her parents' oversaw when she was a teen.

After graduating from high school, she attended Pace University for a few years but ultimately dropped out.

Rachael was violently attacked during the early years of her career - a man pulled her into an alley and 'beat' her 'with his gun'

Rachael was violently attacked during the early years of her career - a man pulled her into an alley and 'beat' her 'with his gun.' She's seen in 2003

In 1995, Rachael moved to New York City, where she landed a job at the candy counter in Macy's.

She worked her way up until she was eventually the manager of the gourmet markets in the department store.

But it wasn't easy. She was working nearly 100 hours per week while living in a dinky apartment in Queens.

'I thought I had this great life [at the time], but [looking back] I had a lousy one,' she told People.

'I worked 100 hours a week. If you're going to work that hard, it should be for something with your name on it.'

But Rachael had a terrifying, life-threatening incident one night when she was on her way home from work that shook her to her core.

'This kid comes in behind me - next thing I know he shoves my face up against the door, jams a gun into my back and says, "Give me your bag,"' she recalled.

'I flipped the top off the mace my dad had given me when I moved to New York City, spun around and started screaming.'

But the next night, she said he returned and attacked her again.

She started holding 30-minute meal classes and demonstrations at local supermarkets in upstate New York, and that's when her career truly took off. She's seen in 2006

'I eventually got a story on the local news, which led to a cookbook we sold in the market,' she previously said of how her career took off

She said of the second attack, 'The whole thing was in slow motion. He dragged me down the alley and beat the crap out of me with his gun.'

So shaken from the experience, Rachael left the city and moved back to Lake George, where she grew up.

She described it as the 'hardest decision she ever made' to Bloomberg, after 'dreaming' of living in New York her whole life.

'I couldn't go back to that apartment. I thought, that's it, I have to quit: I can be happy living on $35,000 a year,' she recalled of that time. 'But leaving Manhattan was the hardest decision I ever made.'

She returned to upstate New York and began working at a gourmet grocery store in Albany.

After seeing an advertisement for a promotion Domino's Pizza was doing that promised free pizza if their delivery took more than 30 minutes, she came up with her now famous 30-minute meals.

'I figured if people would wait 30 minutes for a mediocre pizza, they'd spend 30 minutes to make a great meal for themselves,' she explained.

She then started holding 30-minute meal classes and demonstrations at local supermarkets, and that's when her career truly took off.

'I loved my job,' she gushed. 'I eventually got a story on the local news, which led to a cookbook we sold in the market.'

After 'someone gave a copy of her book' to the Today show's Al Roker, she was invited to come on the show.

'I thought it was a joke,' she wrote for Bloomberg. 'I made a 30-minute meal for Al.

'The Food Network called immediately after that. We had a meeting, and they asked me to do a pilot for a 30-minute-meal show.'

After becoming a star, Rachael was hit with rumors of racism, accusations of infidelity, and constant public scrutiny that cast a shadow over her booming career

Rachael's show, 30 Minute Meals, premiered on the Food Network in 2001 and it was a massive success, launching her into the spotlight. It ultimately went on for 11 seasons

Then, in 2006, her talk show Rachael Ray premiered, and that went on for a whopping 17 seasons until it concluded in 2023

After a heartbreaking childhood and a rocky start to her career, Rachael finally got her big break after her appearance on the Today show.

Her show, 30 Minute Meals, premiered on the Food Network in 2001 and it was a massive success, launching her into the spotlight.

It ultimately went on for 11 seasons before it came to an end in 2012.

Her personal life also flourished - she met future husband John Cusimano in 2001 after they attended the birthday party of a mutual friend, and they tied the knot in 2005 in Tuscany, Italy

Then, in 2006, her talk show Rachael Ray premiered, and that went on for a whopping 17 seasons until it concluded in 2023.

She has also launched her own production company, Free Food Studios, created her own magazine, entitled Every Day with Rachael Ray, and released dozens more cookbooks over the years.

Her personal life also flourished - she met future husband John Cusimano in 2001 after they attended the birthday party of a mutual friend, and they tied the knot in 2005 in Tuscany, Italy.

But over the years, Rachael faced a slew of more setbacks that continuously cast a shadow over her booming career and personal life.

She was hit with rumors of racism, accusations of infidelity, and constant public scrutiny.

Back in 2007, TMZ release a report that claimed Rachael had made racist remarks about Oprah Winfrey years prior, which she denied.

She told People afterwards, 'If people want to slam me, just slam me. I felt bad for Oprah because it attached my name to [hers]. I wrote Oprah a note and said I would never [do that].'

Speculation also arose in 2007 that her husband had cheated on her, but she shut those down. They're seen in 2006

Over the years, Rachael faced a slew of more setbacks that continuously cast a shadow over her booming career and personal life. She's seen in 2019

Oprah's friend Gayle King also publicly dismissed the rumors.

Speculation also arose around the same time that Rachael's husband had cheated on her, but the star denied that too.

'I've known where he is every night since we've been married,' she insisted.

She also said during her show, 'John and I are happily, grotesquely, blissfully married. We have always been happy together since the day we met eight years ago.'

In 2008, reports emerged that said she was battling throat cancer in secret, leaving many worried for her health.

While she ultimately denied that she had the disease, she said she did have to undergo surgery to 'remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord.'

Rachael found herself back in hot water again in 2013, after her 77-year-old aunt, Geraldine Dominica Scuderi (seen), tragically died while house-sitting for her

Rachael found herself back in hot water again in 2013, after her 77-year-old aunt, Geraldine Dominica Scuderi, tragically died while house-sitting for her.

It was said she went outside to feed the birds but got locked out in the freezing cold and had a heart attack.

Geraldine's daughter later blamed Rachael for the tragedy, telling the National Enquirer, 'My mother is dead today because [the] Ray family neglected her.

'I want the world to know the truth about them and just how they treat their own family.'

Rachael's representative said in a statement at the time, 'Rachael and her family were shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely passing of her aunt.'

She did not attend the funeral, citing prior work commitments.

Over the years, Rachael has been fiercely open about her decision to not have kids with her husband.

Back in 2007, she told People that she didn't have 'time' to be a mom because she 'worked too much.'

'I feel like a bad mom to my dog some days because I'm just not here enough,' she said.

'I just feel like I would do a bad job if I actually took the time to literally give birth to a kid right now and try and juggle everything I'm doing.'

But during an episode of her podcast last year, she admitted that the public's reaction to her decision has been negative.

'Boy, did I get bashed for it over the decades,' she said.

In recent years her house burned down and her apartment flooded - and most recently, her slurring speech has sparked concern from fans

Rachael faced more devastation in August 2020 when her home in upstate New York tragically burned down

ET reported that the fire started in the chimney and 'spread quickly,' resulting in the sprawling mansion getting completely destroyed

Rachael faced more devastation in August 2020 when her home in upstate New York tragically burned down.

'Thank you to our local first responders for being kind and gracious and saving what they could of our home,' she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, at the time.

'Grateful that my mom, my husband, my dog we're all OK. These are the days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost.'

Rachael told the publication months later that she and her husband were staying in a guest house on the property while it was being rebuilt

ET reported that the fire started in the chimney and 'spread quickly,' resulting in the sprawling mansion getting completely destroyed.

Rachael told the publication months later that she and her husband were staying in a guest house on the property while it was being rebuilt.

'It was just a shock when it happened,' she said. 'I mean, you can't imagine it. Our house is only 15 years old and we have our chimney cleaned twice a year.

'And literally it was just the chimney... and then the whole house literally burned down.

'I think initially we were just in shock. We listened to our first responders and we left with the clothes on our back and the flip-flops and Ugg shoes on our feet.'

Just one year later, more disaster struck when her New York City apartment got flooded during Hurricane Ida.

'Tell me you would not feel like a kicked can,' she told People afterwards, adding, however, that she was trying to stay positive.

'There are so much worse positions we could be in. I mean, I'm alive. And I do have a roof over my head. And I do have a job. At the end of the day, we always come back to grateful.'

In recent months, Rachael has sparked concern over her bizarre behavior in her cooking videos

Back in September, fans were left worried after she appeared to be slurring her speech during one clip

In recent months, Rachael has sparked concern over her bizarre behavior in her cooking videos.

Back in September, fans were left worried after she appeared to be slurring her speech during one clip.

Her representative responded to the speculation by issuing a statement saying the celebrity chef had 'no comment' on the matter, via TMZ.

Fans were left worried again when she shared a clip to her Instagram for Mother's Day last weekend, and at times, her words sounded garbled

One month later, she said that she had suffered 'a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks.'

In an episode of her podcast I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Rachael explained that she enjoys doing 'physical labor' around the house.

But she added that she had to cut back on certain tasks because she took 'a couple of bad falls' while carrying wood.

'I'm a homemaker. I love chores. I love being in the kitchen. I always work with my brain everyday, I'm always writing something, but I really like chores,' she said.

'I like what people consider physical work. I like making dinner, planning dinners, making lists. I love physical labor, helping carry in the wood.

'I've had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks, so I haven't been doing that in awhile, but I love carrying wood.'

Fans were left worried again when she shared a clip to her Instagram for Mother's Day last weekend, and at times, her words sounded garbled.

'Those close to Rachael are so concerned,' an insider told DailyMail.com afterwards. 'She has shut people out and lives a very secluded life.'

'She seems lost and when anyone reaches out to her she doesn't respond.

'Rachael was always so meticulous about her appearance, and it is very telling and concerning that she now just doesn't care. It is indicative of a bigger issue.'
May 17, 2025: NATO countries have come to realize that the drone revolution is real and that NATO nations are unprepared to deal with it. Ukrainian military officials are beginning to change minds in NATO about the drone threat. A growing number of NATO military leaders are realizing that any future Russian attack will overwhelm NATO defenders with millions of drones. Ukraine has manufactured over five million drones since late 2023 and Russia is not far behind. When the Ukraine War ends, NATO nations will be the next Russian target, even if Russia loses in Ukraine.

Since 2022 air, land and naval drones have revolutionized warfare. These systems are evidence that combat robots have become an essential component of the military, without many people in or out of uniform paying a lot of attention. That's still the case, especially because the media and even many senior military and political leaders dont fully understand the technology nor how it is implemented. One example of this confusion can be seen with the constant reference to drones as robots. They are simply remotely controlled aircraft, something thats been around for over half a century. But these drones are being given more and more operating autonomously robotic capabilities. This isnt new either, as torpedoes have had this ability for over 60 years and missiles for over 50 years.

Swarms of First Person View or FPV drones revolutionized how wars are fought. There are few methods to defeat drone attacks. The primary defensive measure is electronic jamming of the control signal between the drone operator and the drone. Jamming is of limited effectiveness because active jammers are easy targets for drones programmed to detect, home in on and destroy jammers. Depending on how they are programmed, drones will either land if jammed or return to where they were launched.

Despite those defensive measures, and the small explosive payload drones carry, over half the armored vehicles damaged or destroyed in Ukraine were done in by drones. About 60 percent of all casualties for both sides were inflicted by drones. Drone warfare is dominating the battlefield in Ukraine. Tactics and techniques are also evolving as Ukraine and Russia both experiment with drone designs. Both nations are also increasing production of drones and the number of trained operators. Russia and Ukraine realize that drones provide unprecedented surveillance of the battlefield, but only if you have enough drones and operators. One solution for this shortcoming is operator software that enables one operator to control several drones. The number of drones one operator can handle simultaneously depends on operator experience. That cannot be manufactured but must be developed. Whoever can obtain the most trained operators has an advantage.

All these drone developments make combat more dangerous for the soldiers on the ground. Drones not only keep an eye on enemy troops but are always ready to go in and put them out of action, as in dead or wounded. Troops are still fighting each other on the ground, but now they have to worry about constant surveillance and attacks from the growing number of drones hovering over the battlefield. In addition to operators there are the drone maintainers, who repair damaged or otherwise disabled drones and service those needing a battery recharge or simply a fresh battery.

Ukraine established a Drone Academy to train drone operators in basic and advanced skills. There are courses for commanders on how best to manage and use drones. This is essential because now Ukrainian infantry battalions have over a hundred drones on their Tables of Equipment (TOE) and access to quick replacement of drones used. Americans call items like drones a force multiplier. This means a battalion with lots of drones is more effective, and lethal, than a battalion without so many drones. The Ukrainian military is the first to go so far in this direction and appear to be benefitting from the massive use of drones. Other nations are closely following this development and preparing to adopt what works for Ukraine. Russia is more conservative in how they deal with this, even though they are also using massive numbers of drones.

There are already dozens of Ukrainian companies offering training for drone operators and the Ukrainian military uses the services of these firms. In 2023 Ukraine sought to have more than 10,000 trained operators as quickly as possible. Drone operators specialize. Most learn to operate quadcopters while a large minority learn how to operate FPV drones, and a smaller number learn how to operate fixed wing drones. Ukraine has found that the most difficult operators to recruit and train are those for FPV drones. The Ukrainian military considers drone operators as a separate military specialty like infantryman, artillerymen, or radar operator.

In early 2024 Ukraine created a new branch of their military, the Unmanned Aircraft, or Drone Force. This is in addition to the Ukrainian Air Force and its manned aircraft. The Drone Force does not control the drones Ukrainian forces use regularly but contributes to developing new drone models and organizing mass production for those new models that are successful. Drones have been an unexpected development that had a huge impact on how battles in Ukraine's current war are fought. Drones were successful because they were cheap, easily modified, and expendable.

Early on both Russian and Ukrainian forces were using cheap, at a few hundred dollars each, quadcopter drones controlled by soldiers a kilometer or more away using FPV goggles to see what the day/night video camera on the drone can see. Each of these drones carries half a kilogram of explosives, so it can instantly turn the drone into a flying bomb that can fly into a target and detonate. This was an awesome and debilitating weapon when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isnt moving or requires more explosive power that the drones can supply, one of the drone operators can call in artillery, rocket, or missile fire, or even an airstrike. Larger, fixed wing drones are used for long range, often over a thousand kilometers, operations against targets deep inside Russia.

Since 2022 the use of drones by both sides has escalated and so far millions of drones have been put to work providing surveillance and attack services for both sides. The Ukrainians consider drones another form of ammunition that is cheaper, smarter and far more effective and lethal than guided missiles or GPS guided artillery shells.

NATO leaders, more than the distant Americans, realize that drones are a major threat. Europeans are developing a joint air defense system that now needs the ability to detect and destroy drones as well as aircraft and ballistic missiles. So many new problems and so far, so few solutions.
King Charles appeared to be enjoying himself as he attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show in Berkshire with his brother Prince Edward.

The monarch, 76, made the outing just a day after a rare joint appearance in London with Prince William.

Charles and his eldest son put on a united front as they visited Westminster Abbey for the Order of the Bath Service on Friday morning.

William, 42, arrived at Westminster Abbey at around 11am dressed in full regalia - which included a red cloak and various gold embellishments - for the event which is held every four years.

Meanwhile, the King donned a similar elaborate red robe with gold adornments and a full train atop his military uniform.

Charles looked more casual during his appearance at the Horse Show today, wearing beige slacks, a brown tweed blazer, and striped tie.

Carrying a long walking cane, as he navigated the grassy fields, the King finished off his ensemble with brown suede shoes and a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses.

Photographed alongside his older brother, the Duke of Edinburgh, 61, looked dapper in blue slacks, a green tweed blazer, and a green tie.

King Charles appeared relaxed as he attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle in Berkshire on Saturday

The Royal Windsor Horse Show is a popular event among royals - earlier in the week, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was seen attending.

And it was said to be the late Queen Elizabeth II's favourite event on the royal calendar.

Her connection to the show dated back to its inception: The first Royal Windsor Horse Show took place in May 1943 under the name the Windsor Horse and Dog Show.

King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) and the then-princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret were all in attendance.

King Charles appeared relaxed on Saturday, following his high profile appearance with Prince William on Friday.

The royal duo stepped out together just weeks after Prince Harry opened up about his strained relationship with both his father and brother.

The monarch (pictured, left) was snapped watching some of the action with his youngest sibling, Prince Edward (pictured, right)

BROTHERS: King Charles and the Duke of Edinburgh appeared to be deep in conversation while at the show together

King Charles was pictured smiling and waving at the crowds during his appearance at the equestrian event on Saturday

Speaking to the BBC after losing an appeal over his security arrangements while he visits the UK, the Duke of Sussex claimed Charles 'won't speak to me' and alluded to the king's health by saying 'I don't know how much longer my father has left'.

The Duke, 40, went to court hoping to change the decision to give him downgraded security after Megxit - however, after his appeal was thrown out.

In the extraordinary interview, the California-based royal alleged his father could have 'resolved' the dispute over his security arrangements if he wanted to - after Harry claimed to have 'uncovered shocking truths' about the Royals' involvement in the decision.

It was the first time that Prince William had attended the service, having been appointed to the ancient order last year by the King following his accession.

Meanwhile, Charles took part for the first time as sovereign of the order, which is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary work and this year celebrates its 300th anniversary.

Sporting the order's billowing satin robes, father and son arrived at the Abbey's Great West Door separately on Friday, shortly after 11am to be greeted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle.

Inside, Charles greeted William warmly, with an affectionate pat on his shoulder, before they enjoyed a brief, jovial conversation with the dean in the Chapel of Saint George.

They then walked through the church with officers, knights and the Dame Grand Cross of the order before taking their seats in the Quire.

The royal was snapped enjoying a conversation while attending the show

King Charles showed off a range of expressions while watching the equestrian action on Saturday

The King is known for his collection of stylish sunglasses, which include classic styles like the frames he wore on Saturday

The King was accompanied by his young page Guy Tryon, ten, the son of his godson, Lord Charles Tryon, and the grandson of the late Lady Dale Tryon, an Australian socialite who was a close friend of the king.

The service was conducted by the Dean, who read the lesson from St Paul's epistle to the Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 - 8 and gave the address.

As it took place the King and Prince William proceeded to the Henry VII Lady Chapel for the installation ceremony, which took place below the banners of living knights hanging above the stalls and was relayed to the congregation on television screens.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier and Admiral Sir Philip Jones took the oath as Knights Grand Cross of the Order and were installed, while General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith and Lord Young of Old Windsor - Elizabeth II's former private secretary - and Sir Tom Scholar, took the oath but will not be installed until spaces arise. There is always a limited number of members.

In the chapel, the Bath King of Arms bowed to those being installed before they stepped up to their stalls.

King Charles (pictured, left) is seen laughing while talking to Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain (pictured, right)

Charles (pictured while attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Home Park, Windsor Castle, on Saturday) has maintained his busy schedule, with multiple engagements this week

The royals have a long history when it comes to the Windsor Royal Horse Show - with the late Queen Elizabeth II attending the first event in 1943, with her sister and her parents

Prince Edward (pictured, right) was seen beaming while he spent time at the horse show with his older brother Charles (pictured, left)

The King then presented the Book of Statutes to his son before the Prince and the Dean read the oath simultaneously.

Each Knight then took the oath before bowing to the Grand Master.

After both the King and the Prince had made an offering of gold and silver at the altar, Knights who had taken the oath turned towards the altar, behind Prince William, who drew his sword.

The Knights followed suit, holding their swords forward before the Prince's sword was briefly laid upon the altar.

William then sheathed it again, before the group processed back to the Quire to Elgar's Nimrod.
READ MORE: Obese population in US set to plummet at fastest rate in the world

America's natural-born population could edge toward extinction in just 500 years, startling new data suggests.

Not taking into account immigration or major changes in death rates, statisticians predict this group could be cut by at least one-third every 75 years.

This, economist Dr Abigail Hall told DailyMail.com, is a clear sign the US is heading toward a 'detrimental' crisis.

Based on the current trends, recent Census data predicts the natural-born population in the US will be back to levels of the post-Civil War era in the next 300 years, with just 60million people.

And around the year 2600, this population could dwindle to only 10million, a number not seen since the early 1800s when the country bounced back from the Revolutionary War.

Dr Hall highlights America's flailing fertility rate, which was laid bare in a report last month by the CDC.

The report found women on average had 1.6 births each in 2023, well below the 2.1 needed to sustain population growth.

Political leaders are warning of dire consequences.

Experts believe America's population is declining largely due to rapidly decreasing fertility rates. In fact, figures suggest women today are having 50 percent fewer children than their grandmothers (stock image)

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Elon Musk - who has 14 children with four different women - called the decline 'the biggest threat to civilization' and has warned it 'will lead to mass extinction of entire nations.'

Vice President JD Vance has also claimed that 'our people aren't having enough children to replace themselves. That should bother us.'

The American birth rate has become so dire that the White House has proposed offering a $5,000 'baby bonus' to every US mother after she gives birth.

The CDC data shows women on average in 2023 are having 25 percent fewer children than their mothers and 50 percent fewer than their grandmothers.

Teenagers have seen the largest drop in pregnancies, with rates decreasing by nearly 75 percent in the past 30 years.

Births among women in their twenties have dropped by nearly one-third.

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Young Americans have cited rising costs, focusing on their careers and even climate change as reasons for putting off having kids or not having them at all.

However, recent research also suggests a surge in health issues like obesity and growing levels of hormone-warping chemicals in our food packaging, water, and clothing is causing widespread infertility.

Economists told DailyMail.com that while the US has not seen a 'downward trend economically' in the way countries like South Korea, Japan, or Germany have, the effects of depopulation in the US would be 'detrimental.'

They fear depopulation would put a significant strain on the job market and drastically reduce the number of workers in the country. This would drive up the cost of goods.

Based on the current rate of decline, US Census data predicts by 2100, the population will dip from 330million to around 226million.

Another 75 years after that, the amount of Americans could by one-third again to 140million, a level not seen since the late 1940s.

Most of the money - $435 billion - is needed to fix existing roads, with additional funds ($125 billion) for expanding and improving the transportation system ($225 billion).

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And by 2625, there could be just under 10million Americans left, a number not seen since Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president of the United States.

And regardless of immigration, the population will naturally start falling by 2080, the Census Bureau predicts.

While America's natural-born population has been on the decline since the late 1950s, the end of the Baby Boom, the overall population increased from about 170million to 330million in that same time.

This is thanks to immigrants coming into the country.

Since 1965, when the Immigration and Nationality Act opened immigration up to people coming from Asia and Latin America and allowed more immigrants to enter the US legally, about 72million immigrants have come to the US.

Based on current trends, the US Census Bureau suggests immigrants may outnumber natural-born citizens by 2065.

The above chart from the CDC's latest report shows how the fertility rate has fallen below the population replacement level

The above CDC map shows the number of births over time by age group

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Population decline can also be blamed on American women having fewer children. The latest CDC data also found that the total births per year decreased from about 4.1million in 1990 to 3.5million in 2023.

The decline was sharpest in teen mothers, with births dropping 73 percent in 2023 compared to 1990.

Women ages 20 to 24 had 476,760 fewer births in 2023 than 1990, a 44 percent decline, and those ages 25 to 29 had 290,541 fewer births, a 23 percent drop.

While births decreased in all age groups below age 30, women in their thirties and forties are having more children than previous decades.

The data shows women ages 30 to 24 had 211,989 more births in 2023 than in 1990, a 24 percent increase, and women ages 35 to 39 birthed 287,048 more children, a surge of 90 percent.

Even women 40 and older had 96,809 more births in 2023 than in 1990. This is a surge of 193 percent.

The US is one of many countries facing a fertility crisis, and other parts of the world may offer a grim look at what's to come for America.

In 2022, Italy's fertility rate fell to 1.2 births per woman. Sardinia, an Italian island, had an even lower rate of 0.95.

The above map shows the decline in US fertility compared to the UK, Italy and Korea

CDC data found that about half of babies in the US are born to women over 30, while births to younger moms have declined

South Korea's birth rate has also been falling for decades, hitting a historic low of 0.72 before in 2023 before rising slightly to 0.75 last year. This is the lowest fertility rate in the world.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates if current forecasts hold up, 2064 will be the first year in modern history where the global death rate surpasses the birth rate.

Dr Hall, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa, told DailyMail.com: 'Economically speaking, depopulation is detrimental for economic growth.'

Experts have warned that as the US population dwindles, there will be fewer people to pay off the nation's debt.

For example, the Heritage Foundation estimates a baby born in 2007 will assume $30,500 in debt. However, a baby born in 2020 will assume $59,000.

Dr Hall said: 'One thing people would probably witness is that it's going to be harder to find people to fill jobs.'

Older moms were most common in Washington DC, with 24.5 per 1,000 births being to women ages 40 to 44

Declining birth rates also mean the supply of workers in countries like the US, UK, Italy, and South Korea will quickly diminish.

In the 1960s, for instance, there were six people of working age for every retired person globally, according to the World Economic Forum. That ratio is now about three-to-one, and by 2035, it's expected to shrink further to two-to-one.

As a result, businesses may struggle with production, causing supply to decrease, which raises costs.

Samantha Karlin, a women's rights expert who runs the course Women's Leadership Challenge, told DailyMail.com that the rising costs of childcare and lack of consistent parental leave in the US could be part of the reason why couples are delaying having children.

She said: 'It's important to point out that the US doesnt have any federally mandated paid leave whatsoever, only 12 weeks of mandated unpaid leave.

'Companies can make their own decisions as to whether or not to provide paid leave, and how much to extend to mothers versus fathers.'

She also pointed out that only one policy, the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, mandates parental leave in the US, and this is reserved only for government workers.

The above map shows the decline in fertility rate in all 50 states. Utah had the steepest decline, whereas Louisiana's rate decreased the least

The above map shows fertility rates by state in 2022. The rates were highest in South Dakota, Alaska and Nebraska

Carlin points to countries like Finland as an example from the US, as both parents are entitled to just over five months of parental leave.

She also notes childcare costs max out around $275 for the country's highest earners.

Meanwhile, according to the Center for American Progress, daycare can cost up to $2,400 per month for just one child in the US, depending on the facility and state.

Carlin said: 'This is crazy considering the median income for a family of three in the US is around $71,000 as of 2021. That means that daycare for one child can cost almost half of a family's income.

'It is no wonder that families are opting to have less children in America, because the cost can bankrupt a family.'

Dr Hall suggests instead of one-time payments like those the Trump administration is said to be considering, lawmakers should look at ways to lower 'regulatory barriers which are preventing more child care options for parents.'

This would include day care subsidies and more paid parental leave.

Policies such as these, she said, have been successful in European countries, though it's unclear how dramatically they would affect the US birthrate.

However, Dr Hall cautioned it may still be several decades before the US fertility crisis reaches the level of countries like South Korea.

She said: 'We've still had a growing population because of immigration, so we have not seen a shift or a downward trend economically in the way that, say, Korea, Japan or Germany has, because we've supplanted our population through immigration.

'To the extent that immigration continues into the US, then we may not see the direct results of the declining birth rate here, but to the extent that immigration is stymied or cut off, then we could certainly see these effects in the future.'
British mothers are now outnumbered by foreign-born mums at nearly one in seven maternity units, analysis shows.

At Northwick Park Hospital, in the London's Harrow borough, a staggering 84.2 per cent of live births in 2023 were to non-UK mothers.

Behind Northwick Park was Newham's University Hospital (77.1 per cent) Hillingdon Hospital (72.1 per cent) and North Middlesex Hospital (71.2 per cent).

Nearly one-third of all births in England and Wales are now to mothers born abroad, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.

In 2003, before immigration spiralled to all-time highs, that figure stood just shy of a fifth.

India is the most common country of origin for non-UK born mothers, just ahead of Pakistan, Romania, Nigeria and Poland.

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When the ONS figures are broken down by hospital, 27 different sites register rates exceeding 50 per cent.

This includes St Mary's, an NHS hospital in Manchester which delivers more babies than anywhere else in the country.

Nine of the ten hospitals with the highest non-UK mother births are in London.

Birmingham's City Hospital (64.5 per cent) in Winson Green ranks eighth.

The other end of the spectrum is localised, too, with three of the five lowest rates in Wales.

Royal Glamorgan in Llantrisant (5.7 per cent) ranked last, according to MailOnline's breakdown of all 269 facilities.

Exact figures weren't supplied for dozens of sites with too few births to analyse.

An ONS spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Almost a third of babies born in 2023 in England and Wales were to non-UK born women, a slight increase on the percentage in 2022.

'This is a continuation of the long-term trend of the percentage of live births to non-UK-born mothers generally increasing.

'While our birth data show us the parents country of birth, it doesnt give us a picture of the familys ethnicity or migration history, and its worth noting that not all women born outside the UK will be recent immigrants.'

India remained the most common country of birth for non-UK-born mothers (3.6 per cent of all live births) and fathers (3.9 per cent) in England and Wales last year.

Pakistan was second again.

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Ghana entered the top 10 most common countries for non-UK born mothers for the first time in 2023, in ninth place with 0.6 per cent of live births.

But Germany fell out of the top 10, having been there since ONS records began for this measure in 2003.

Albania ranked at number seven, up from eighth in 2022, having entered the top 10 for the first time in 2021.

Afghanistan was at number eight, falling from seventh place in 2022.

Professor Sarah Harper, an expert on populations and migration at the University of Oxford, told MailOnline: 'Non-UK born mothers have always tended to have a higher total fertility rate than UK-born mothers.

'This is particularly the case with South Asian-born mothers and since Brexit the UK has taken more immigrants from South Asia and fewer from EU countries.'

There were just 591,072 live births in England and Wales in 2023, the lowest number since 1977 (569,259).

This number also represented a decrease of 14,407 compared to the year prior.

Professor Harper said this trend falls down to economic factors such as affordability but also a change in attitude to people wanting to have fewer, if any children.

The total fertility rate (TFR) in England and Wales dropped to 1.44 children per woman, its lowest value since records began in 1938.

Freefalling birth rates have triggered doomsday warnings about population collapse, which demographers believe will devastate Western economies.

If the downward spiral continues it may leave countries with too few younger people to work, pay tax and look after the elderly.
If you don't want to end up botched, you may want to think twice before booking surgery in New York.

That's according to a DailyMail.com analysis of a database that tracks medical malpractice settlements, which found the Empire State had the most settlements in the US per healthcare provider, which includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physician associates  about double the national average.

Analyzing more than 1million claims filed from 2004 to 2024, the analysis showed the US had an overall rate of about 313 payments per 1,000 providers, with an average of $313,000 paid out for each lawsuit that was settled.

In New York, however, the rate was double that at 663 payments per 1,000 practitioners, with an average of $408,000 paid out per settlement.

Among the most expensive was the $120million paid in 2023 to 41-year-old Lee Williams, a commercial real estate broker who now lives with permanent brain damage after doctors allegedly failed to swiftly diagnose his stroke.

Medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional fails to provide appropriate treatment, takes an improper action or gives substandard care. This often results in serious injury and long-term harm to patients, such as serious brain damage or the loss of a limb.

The data did not reveal details of the malpractice claims or an explanation for the rates, but major cities  such as New York  tend to have a greater number of hospitals and healthcare workers that are willing to take on more complicated cases where there may be a higher risk of treatment error.

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Specifically, New York  which has the most practicing doctors and healthcare workers, at 35,000  is also one of 21 states that does not cap the level of payment for medical malpractice claims, according to attorneys Miler and Zois, which may encourage more patients to file lawsuits seeking a settlement.

The higher number of payment reports in New York could also be due to its legal framework, attorneys suggest, which tends to favor patients.

Following New York was Pennsylvania with about 503 medical malpractice settlements per 1,000 healthcare providers  and an average payout of $376,000.

New Mexico was third with 442 settlements per 1,000 providers, and an average payment of $295,000 per report.

New Jersey came in fourth  at about 418 settlements per 1,000 practitioners  and an average of $386,000 payments per patient.

And Florida was fifth, with 405 per 1,000 providers  and about $255,000 per payment on average.

The state with the lowest rate of medical malpractice settlements was Alabama, where there were 86 medical malpractice claims per 1,000 healthcare workers. North Dakota was second from bottom, at 113 per 1,000, and Minnesota had the third-lowest rate, at 124 per 1,000.

The rate of medical malpractice claims was highest in New York, data suggests (stock image)

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The data did not reveal the reason for filing the cases, but a 2020 survey suggested the most common reason is misdiagnosis, which can delay vital care for patients, potentially leading to harms.

According to the report from Standards of Care  which campaigns for quality healthcare in the US  this accounted for 32 percent of medical malpractice claims.

Botched surgery or procedures where mistakes were made were the second most common, with about 25 percent of cases.

Details on specific cases were not included in the database but there have been plenty of high-profile cases during the years analyzed.

In 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Florida doctor Berto Lopez over claims he accidentally cut off the head of a newborn baby's penis during a circumcision.

And in November 2023, patient Peter Wang was awarded a payment of $7million after he claimed an ophthalmologist misdiagnosed an infection in his left eye, leading him to go blind in the eye and eventually requiring surgery to remove it.

In a record case from Pennsylvania in June last year, $183million was awarded to the family of a child born at a local hospital after they claimed the baby suffered severe brain injuries during birth from being deprived of oxygen.

And so far this year, in New York state a 65-year-old man received a $60million payout after a routine epidural injection allegedly left him permanently paralyzed and a woman received $7million after she claimed to be left with significant pain following hip surgery.

For the analysis, DailyMail.com extracted data from the National Practitioner Data Bank  a database run by the Department of Health and Human Services that tracks medical malpractice claims in the US.

This records all medical malpractice payments made by providers and entities  such as hospitals and clinics  in the US.

It records all payments made by these bodies whether in court or due to out-of-court settlements.

But it may not record all cases where payments related to medical malpractice are made by an individual, such as a doctor.

Data on the total number of medical malpractice payments made from 2004 to 2024 was extracted, as well as the total number of active providers in each state.

This was analyzed to calculate the rate of medical malpractice claims per 1,000 practitioners per state.

The database also tracks the total amount paid out over medical malpractice claims, finding New York also had the highest total pay outs over the two decades tracked  at $14billion.

Next was Pennsylvania, with $7billion, and third was Florida, with $6billion. California was fourth at $5billion.
Hospitals were crippled by flu outbreaks this winter after record numbers of frontline NHS workers shunned the jab, the Mail can reveal.

Fewer than four in ten staff (37 per cent) received the vaccine, with rates plummeting to less than one in ten (8.8 per cent) in some areas.

Patient groups described the level of uptake as shocking and accused refuseniks of negligently fuelling sickness and putting vulnerable people at increased risk of death.

The all-time low came as overwhelming demand for care forced over a dozen trusts to declare critical incidents and Britains top doctor warned of skyrocketing cases of flu.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, urged patients to get the vaccine saying it could protect them and others from the virus.

Speaking last December, he said: The flu vaccine is our best defence against winter viruses, and it also helps to reduce pressure on hospitals.

But new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats and shared exclusively with the Mail show most NHS staff failed to follow their employers own advice.

The proportion of healthcare workers, such as doctors and nurses, receiving a flu vaccine over winter fell from 64 per cent in 2016/17, when data was first collected, to just 37 per cent this year.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England

That is a record low and a fall of 26.7 percentage points. There has been a marked fall in vaccine uptake from the peak of 2020/21 where it hit 76 per cent.

Previous plans to make the vaccine compulsory were dropped amid a backlash from critics, who claimed the medical intervention should be down to personal choice.

But Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said: The NHS should make having the flu jab a condition of employment for frontline staff unless an individual has medical grounds for exemption.

The shockingly low rates of uptake show a certain arrogance - a total disregard for patient safety - and puts vulnerable people at increased risk of death.

Most NHS staff who catch flu will probably be OK but the people they are caring for may not survive if they pass it to them. Its personal negligence.

Hospitals will have fared better over winter if more staff had bothered to get a flu vaccine, which we know is effective.

The levels of flu vaccine uptake varied hugely between NHS Trusts, despite it being offered to frontline NHS staff for free nationwide.

The lowest uptake in the country was at Camden and Islington NHS Trust, where just 8.8 per cent of all healthcare workers had received a jab.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices

This was followed by Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust on 9.5 per cent and then Central and North West London Trust on 15.5 per cent.

In total, 62 of the 184 NHS Trusts which had reported data for this winter saw less than a third of their staff take-up the flu vaccine, according to research by the House of Commons Library for the Liberal Democrats.

There have been some drastic falls in some NHS Trusts in the number of staff taking up the vaccine in recent years.

In Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, there was a fall of 60.5 percentage points in the proportion of staff who received the flu vaccine this winter compared with 2016/17, with just 15.7 per cent of staff now vaccinated.

At Lewisham and Greenwich there was a 59.5 percentage point fall and at Birmingham Women and Childrens Hospital it was 59.2 percentage points.

Since 2016/17 the number of healthcare workers delivering direct patient care has grown by more than 350,000 to almost 950,000, a jump of 45 per cent.

But despite this rise in headcount, the number of staff taking up the flu vaccine fell by 76,000 (15.3 per cent) over the same period, from 496,000 to 420,000.

Flu patients occupied hospital beds for a record number of days this winter  over 315,000 compared with around 174,000 in 2023/24 and 211,000 in 2022/23.

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats health and social care spokesperson

This contributed to bed occupancy rates hitting 96 per cent at points this year, while a safe rate is considered to be 85 per cent.

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats health and social care spokesperson, said: Many A&Es resembled a war-zone at times during the winter.

'People were waiting in intolerable pain, treated in corridors and dying in glorified cupboards.

The system is broken from top to bottom, with hospitals unable to move people into the community because of a lack of care provision, leading to deadly backlogs in our hospitals.

The surge in those staying in hospital because they had flu, leading to fewer beds for those coming into A&E was a major problem contributing to these awful scenes.

Thats why it is absolutely vital that the Government boosts vaccine uptake through a coordinated awareness campaign across the health service, ensuring that staff are properly supported as they continue to do life-saving work for our NHS.

An NHS England spokesperson said: We strongly urge all eligible frontline health and social care workers and other at-risk groups to come forward for vaccination as soon as the programme starts in Autumn.

The NHS continues to make flu vaccination for frontline staff as accessible as possible backed by an enhanced campaign to encourage staff to protect themselves and their patients.

The all-time low came as overwhelming demand for care forced over a dozen trusts to declare critical incidents and Britains top doctor warned of skyrocketing cases of flu

Hospitals were crippled by flu outbreaks this winter after record numbers of frontline NHS workers shunned the jab

Flu hospitalises thousands of people every winter, putting immense pressure on our health service at its busiest time.

Having our dedicated staff protected and healthy is crucial to their health and wellbeing, to meet these demands and provide the care patients need.

Our upcoming Urgent and Emergency Care plan will include targeted initiatives to boost vaccine uptake, with a focus on healthcare workers, those most vulnerable and children, recognising that vaccination remains our strongest defence against flu.
A lot can happen in a decade  especially when it comes to your face.

Dutch photographer and filmmaker Jeroen Wolf has shown the drastic effects of 10-years of aging on people's faces in a short film.

He took headshots of 50 of his school friends  once on their 50th birthdays and again a decade later, with stunning results.

Mr Wolf told the Daily Mail that the comparisons were 'definitely confronting' for some of his subjects, and in a small preview he held for the film, some people refused to look when their faces appeared.

Some participants have aged better than others, with milder wrinkles over time.

Along with facial lines, another noticeable difference as the subjects speak is their teeth in the two shots.

Some people have more visible stains at the age of 60.

In their shots capturing them at 60, some of the participants have less hair or their hair has thinned out, which is again, another common sign of aging.

Along with altered appearances, the participants' voices appear lower when they say their ages at 60.

Dutch photographer and filmmaker Jeroen Wolf went about capturing 50 of his school friends to mark their 50th birthdays. He then returned 10 years later, to take another snapshot in a bid to show the impact time had had on their faces

Experts at UT Southwestern explain that age-related voice changes develop as muscle and other tissues in the larynx and vocal cords shrink, thin, and stiffen.

Symptoms of an aging voice can cause a lower pitch in women but they say mens' voices often sound higher.

Meanwhile, other signs include a loss of projection and resonance, reduced volume and a weak or shaky voice.

Mr Wolf explains that he was inspired to start the project after turning 50 himself in 2013 and he went about contacting his old classmates from elementary school.

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Originally he was just going to do 50 photos of 50 year olds but then a decade on, he decided to revisit the project and that's where the idea came about to do side-by-side comparisons.

Commenting on the results of his project, Mr Wolf told this website: 'Some people look incredible and some people even look younger.

'Obviously, for some people life has been tougher and if theyve been drinking or smoking a lot, it can show.'

Since the start of the project two of the participants passed away and Mr Wolf dedicated it to their memory.

In a short film, each participant in his project can be seen with their two faces at different ages spliced side by side. They then are seen telling the cameraman their ages, both when their are 50 and again at 60

Mr Wolf told the Daily Mail that the comparisons were 'definitely confronting' for some of his subjects. In a small preview he held for the film, some people refused to look when their faces appeared

Commenting on the results, Mr Wolf told this website: 'Some people look incredible and some people even look younger. Obviously for some people life has been tougher and if theyve been drinking or smoking a lot, it can show'

He says of the initiative: 'This short film is a portrait of my generation, about the merciless passing of time and for me personally, a rekindling of emotions, friendships, loves. And a way to stay in touch with old friends and acquaintances.

'The viewer may see a bunch of middle-aged faces but I am unable to look at us other than the kids we are - and once were.'

To date, Mr Wolf's video has been watched more than 600,000 times, with many viewers reflecting on their own experiences with aging.

One viewer wrote: 'I'm 53 now and while I love these years, I must say it is a difficult decade.

'Many of us start realizing that we have more years behind us than ahead of us, and often we're saying goodbye to our parents during these years.

'Life becomes more meaningful, beautiful and terrifying! What is clear in these pictures though is that our personalities tend to stay true and we try to find joy and laughter where ever we can.'

Another commenter mused: 'I know that I look profoundly older from 50 to 60, and I saw most of it as due to a rapid aging post-menopause (from hormonal changes), from age 56-60.

'I prepared myself, but was still shocked by it. Even my voice changed. This video was beautiful, and affirming.'

Many viewers also applauded Mr Wolf's concept, with one writing: 'Shockingly refreshing seeing beautiful normal aging people, where their personality shines.

Some participants have aged better than others, with milder wrinkles over time. Along with facial lines, another noticeable difference as the subjects speak is their teeth in the two shots

To date, Mr Wolf's video has been watched more than 600,000 times, with many viewers musing about their own experiences with aging. One viewer mused: 'Shockingly refreshing seeing beautiful normal aging people, where their personality shines'

Mr Wolf told this website that he has been overwhelmed by the response to his video '50 turned 60'. He concludes: 'I really didn't expect it to get as much attention and I have noticed that theres so much response from all over the world. Aging is universal'

'Very contrasting in a culture of plastic, made up, wrinkle free and fake illusions. Refreshing indeed. Thank you.'

Mr Wolf told this website that he has been overwhelmed by the response to his video '50 turned 60'.

He concludes: 'I really didn't expect it to get as much attention and I have noticed that theres so much response from all over the world. Aging is universal.

'Lots of people deal with aging in different ways and turning 50 and turning 60 you're really getting into the harder parts of life.

'You really have to say goodbye to youth and people like to talk about it. It can get emotional.'
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Can you tell someones political persuasion from their beauty look? I think so. In the 1980s you could spot a Thatcherite by their power blow-dry and boardroom-ready make-up. In the 70s, long undone hair and a bare face vibed lefty liberal. Now a new political aesthetic is generating column inches and Google searches. Its Republican beauty, the signature look of Trumps Maga (Make America Great Again) Wags and staff. And, in the interests of investigative journalism, Im road-testing it.

The look is hyper-feminine: big hair, tanned skin and inch-thick make-up, partnered with a honed body and pneumatic breasts. The mood board is Disney princess meets Miss USA contestant via 80s supermodel.

Its sported by anchors on Trumps favourite channel, Fox News, his family (daughter Ivanka, wife Melania, daughter-in law Lara) and past and present White House staff (Kellyanne Conway, Hope Hicks, Karoline Leavitt). Women of different ages, all preternaturally young.

Lets drill down on the Maga look. Hair is either bleached blonde or glossy chestnut but always below the shoulders. It is smooth and usually tonged into mermaid waves. There are probably extensions involved, too. Teeth may be fake (veneers), nails and tan almost always are. Make-up is overt but, as it involves glossy nude lips rather than a crimson pout, it reads natural to most men over 40. Theres a lot of blush, every shade in the eyeshadow quad, fake lashes and a liberal application of bronzer. The aim is less glowy, more hurricane proof. Suzanne Lambert, a TikToker who made a video parodying the Republican look, called the finish matte and flat. She loaded on thick black eyeliner and white concealer and had 6.2 million views.

She and many on the left see the Maga aesthetic as anti-feminist and all about man pleasing. They oppose the idea women need to fit a certain beauty standard to succeed. The Magas see it as owning their femininity and making it powerful, striding into the Oval Office in stilettos and a big blow-out.

Whatever your view, its a statement. And for me its one Im not that comfortable with. I mean this literally. The hair is heavy, the lashes irritating, the make-up suffocating.

Theres also the time investment. This aesthetic took me at least an hour in make-up, one and a half in hair (blow-dry, rollers, half wig, tongs). Body prep was essential. The style is very much above-the-knee skirts and if you show so much bare leg beyond 40 you need to exfoliate and use a good fake tan. The manicure was 90 minutes.

Out in the world it garnered serious male attention. Side-eye on the train. Gawping at a restaurant. But were they incredulous or intrigued? My boyfriend loved it. He accepted my hair had doubled in size without question and didnt baulk at the inch-thick maquillage. (Until it stained his pillows.) Im conflicted. I believe women shouldnt have to look a certain way to get on  but, god, it was fun to dress up.

It fits with the 80s revival Im loving. Emily Atacks character in Rivals was a joy (a bouffy blonde with electric-blue eyeliner). Ditto Stella McCartneys show, all Working Girl blazers and Kelly McGillis Top Gun curls. It took me back to Cindy Crawford in 1980s Vogue  a mane of hair and lacquered lips. But will Maga beauty translate over here? I think Ill just revisit eyeshadow and try a modern French manicure.

How to do megawatt glamour

Faux glow

Vita Liberata is the beauty editors go-to fake tan, thanks to its natural colour and glowy finish. Now its had a makeover, with new packaging and formulations. I rate its spray tan and Original Body Blur

Lashes

Faux lashes have become de rigueur for a glamorous look. For a DIY job try Lashify (from 17, lashify.com)  even a klutz like me can use them. For a more subtle effect, just do the outer corners.

Nude lipgloss

Texas Pink is the shade favoured by the Maga posse, but I think that a nude is more flattering. I love Elf Lip Plumping Gloss in Sweet Talker (7, elfcosmetics.co.uk).

Eyeshadow quad

Essential to 80s and Maga make-up is eyeshadow. And a palette approved by A-list make-up artist Caroline Barnes is Mua 5 Shade Eyeshadow Palette Bronzed.

Rollers

Maga or not, the key to smooth, bouncy big hair is rollers. Get yours at Sally Beauty (from 3.05 for a pack of six, sally beauty.co.uk)

Perfect polish

A French is the trad-wife manicure. To make it modern, expert Johanna Horn advises using a sheer nude pink and cream tip. I love Evo Gel Polish in Luka (find a technician and register to buy at biosculpture.com).

Hair: Alex Szabo.

Make-up: Ruby Hammer.

Styling: Jessica Carroll.

Dress: Self-Portrait, net-a-porter.com.
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Dust off your shoulder pads and fasten your pussybow. Forget the quiet 90s minimalism weve been wearing to date  flamboyant 80s dressing is back. And this time around you dont need a perm or Lycra!

Fashions cyclical nature is not a new notion, but why the return to Yuppie consumerism and loud looks now? Not only was the taste for nostalgia seen on S/S 25 runways at Stella McCartney and Loewe, TV has also revived the thirst for this aesthetic.

At Ebay, shoppers are gravitating towards vintage pieces like those featured in shows with retro styling, such as The White Lotus, says Kirsty Keoghan, the platforms global general manager of fashion. In true 80s style, we may even be facing a recession, with economic contraction in the US.

So, as fashion often reflects the times, 80s power suits, molten fabrics, statement jewellery and polka dots are all on summers style set list. Here and over the page, we show how to wear 80s trends today.

From left to right:

PUFFBALL

Sophie Dearden-Howell, fashion director

As someone who is never willingly underdressed, I love the glamour of the 1980s and am thrilled with the revival. This gold dress was so fun to wear.

Dress, 365, nadinemerabi.com. Earrings, 470, theysso.com. Belt, 49, nobodyschild.com. Bangle, 150, pandora.net. Other jewellery, Sophies own. Tights, 35, heist-studios.com. Shoes, 325, russellandbromley.co.uk

NEW ROMANTICS

Hannah Skelley, fashion editor

I may come from the 90s, but embracing my curls, smearing on red lippie and slipping into this New Romantics-inspired jacket made me wonder if Id been born a decade too late.

Jacket, 350, rixolondon.com. Blouse, 99, mintvelvet.com. Jeans, 34, next.co.uk. Vintage earrings, 275, susancaplan.co.uk. Belt, 5.99, newlook.com. Boots, 130, jonesbootmaker.com

SHARP SUITING

Lila Flint Roberts, senior bookings editor

A suit isnt far from my comfort zone, but a tie is. Now Ill be wearing one to the office. The 80s can keep its heavy make-up, though!

Blazer, 139, trousers, 89, phase-eight.com. Shirt, 39.50, marksandspencer.com. Scrunchie, 12, urbanoutfitters.com. Vintage earrings, 175, susancaplan.co.uk. Tie, 99, hollandcooper.com. Bangle, Lilas own. Shoes, 245, russellandbromley.co.uk

Six ways to get the look

SHARP SUITING

Shirt, 74.99, trousers, 139.99, and shoes, 119, hm.com

A power suit will amp up your officewear and, trust us on this one, your wedding-guest season. City-boy tailoring might have been itchy and heavy 40 years ago, but this season its all soft wool blends and linen. H&M Studio has great runway-like cuts at high-street prices, such as its wool-mix greige marl suit (trousers shown above). If youre petite, look for blazers with waist-slimming panels or cinch with a belt. Sophisticated courts finish the look.

CHUNKY EARRINGS

Earrings, 350, theysso.com

Magpies among us may never have stopped wearing big, blingy earrings. But if youre new to anything larger than a huggie hoop, avoid Pat Butcher chandeliers and try gold geometric pieces. Daisys vintage-inspired selection includes lattice studs (below) that look as if they were plucked straight from Dynasty. Greek heritage brand Ysso creates beautiful ear candy (above) worthy of becoming heirlooms.

NEW ROMANTICS

Jacket, 99, and jeans, 99, mintvelvet.com

Pair military jackets and frilly blouses with caution  if you resemble Simon Le Bon youve gone too far. Opt for jackets in a single tone, rather than clashing colours or gold brocade. Replace your denim shacket with Mint Velvets sleek black iteration (above) or, if youre a khaki die-hard, Joe Browns army version (below).

POLKA DOTS

Here comes a welcome swapover from animal print. Avoid micro dots and stick to wearing large, bold versions of the pattern instead. Nobodys Childs Felicity monochrome bandeau dress (above) is polka perfection. Its fitted bodice with detachable straps is ultra- flattering, while the ruching keeps it contemporary rather than staid. New Looks pussybow blouse (below) has a sultry sheer finish and will look great tucked into linen trousers or a puffball skirt.

METALLICS

Shirt, 115, jeans, 95, and shoes, 175, sezane.com

Todays take on the 80s molten trend is sleek and luxe rather than Bacofoil inspired. Just be sure to step away from metallic jumpsuits and only go molten with one element of your outfit. Sezanes glitzy gold shirt (above) is perfect for parties and the sunset hour. Or keep things simple with a shiny accessory, such as Charles & Keiths woven silver shoulder bag (below).

PUFFBALLS

It seems weve reached peak puffball. Depop, the vintage clothes-selling app, has seen searches for bubble dresses spike by 127 per cent since 2024. Meanwhile, M&S has recorded it as the brands bestselling silhouette this year. Were not surprised the stores shoppers are hunting for this shape: the brands flattering bubble midi skirt (above) sits firmly on the right side of mushroom to be just bulbous enough in the hem. And dont forget to finish your outfit with a pair of 80s-style oversized frames. Jimmy Fairly has some of the best, including the Nax (below).

Styling: Jessica Carroll.

Hair: Alex Szabo at Carol Hayes ysing Philip Kingsley

Make-up: Doey Drummond using Merit
In 1984, when The Terminator came out, Arnold Schwarzenegger told audiences hed be back. Well, it turns out, it wasnt just him: the 80s are, absolutely, back  in art, in music, in film. Heres what to look forward to this year if you fancy a trip down memory lane.

The gigs

Its a cool summer  with Bananarama performing

Every 80s musician worth their shoulder pads is on tour this summer. Duran Duran in July; The Human League from June to August; and, also in June, Billy Idol is playing at Wembley Arena and Bananarama are headlining at the Hampton Court Palace Festival. The 80s mania continues into autumn, too: Marti Pellow and his Wet Wet Wet bandmates have 19 UK shows in October while Adam Ant also goes on tour that month. And for those who want to kill several bands with one stone  head to Darlington. On 24 August the town will host 80s Calling!, a day-long concert at Darlington Arena. Tickets start at 56 and the line-up includes The Human League, Bananarama and Tony Hadley. Bodacious!

The musical

The Live Aid musicals singing Maggie Thatcher

This week Just For One Day, a musical about how Live Aid came together begins its eight-month run in the West End. Its a jukebox musical, which means the songs arent originals but covers of 80s hits. (At one point, the Margaret Thatcher character, who is refusing to waive VAT on Bob Geldofs charity single, performs a version of Im Still Standing.) The costumes are nostalgic, too; Craige Els, who plays Geldof, wears triple denim  jacket, shirt and jeans. Tickets start at 25.

The film

The Naked Gun has returned, sort of. The 80s film series about hapless New York policeman Frank Drebin hasnt been remade but, rather, given a sequel. Now Liam Neeson is playing Drebins son, another hapless New York policeman called Frank Drebin Jr. The trailer  which got 11 million YouTube views in three weeks  looks suitably bonkers. It features 72-year-old Neeson wearing a schoolgirls kilt and slaughtering bank robbers with a lollipop-shaped shank. If that wasnt enough to persuade you to watch it, Pamela Anderson also stars. Out in cinemas in August.

The exhibition

Catch Tate Moderns exhibition of legendary artist Leigh Bowery (Fergus Greer / The Michael Hoppen Gallery)

If you havent seen it already, check out the Leigh Bowery retrospective at Tate Modern  on until 31 August. The gallery describes the Australian-born artist as being a fashion designer, club monster, human sculpture, nude model, vaudeville drunkard, anarchic auteur, pop surrealist, clown without a circus, piece of moving furniture, modern art on legs. Which is a varied and impressive CV. Appropriately, the exhibition rooms have been decorated with disco balls (tickets are 18). And, for more clubbing nostalgia, The Design Museum in London has Blitz: The Club That Shaped The 80s. Tickets arent on sale yet, but the show starts in September.

The opera

The historian and podcaster Dominic Sandbrook has paired up with the composer Joseph Phibbs to create an opera about Margaret Thatcher. Seriously. The two-act show is called Mrs T and will be performed in an unconfirmed location this autumn. According to Phibbs, the opera will feature key scenes from Thatchers tenure  including an evening where she danced with Ronald Reagan. Weirdly, this isnt the first opera concerning the former PM. In 2013, Allies, an opera about Thatchers relationship with the ex-Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, toured Europe. For some reason, the production never made it to British theatres.

The haircut

Mullet man Paul Mescal

Its not a culture trend, exactly, but it feels worth mentioning: the mullet remains. Frankly, its been back for a while. Actors like Paul Mescal (left), Timothee Chalamet and Austin Butler have all  at some point in the past three years  had mullets. But now the 80s cut is not just for Hollywood types. On the latest season of Race Across The World, contestant Tom, 21, from Bury St Edmunds, has a mullet. The trend has spread to Gen Alpha, too. Last month, a hairdresser from Surrey told The Times shed seen boys as young as five or six, coming in with their parents and asking for a mullet. Thankfully, the schoolboys are too young to try another 80s hair trend  moustaches.

Manuel Harlan, Steve Schofield, getty images, Leigh Bowery: Fergus Greer, Leigh Bowery Session I Look 2 1988  Fergus Greer. Courtesy of The Michael Hoppen Gallery
Imagine spending years writing your fourth novel, resulting in a life-changing megabucks bidding war and millions of copies sold. Big-name writers like Stephen King fall in love with it. Oprah Winfrey chooses it for her book club.

In 2020, this is what happened to American author Jeanine Cummins. The then 45-year-old wrote American Dirt, a story about a Mexican mother and son escaping to America after the massacre of their family by a drug cartel. Pre-publication, it was compared by award-winning writer Don Winslow to John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. Winfrey said it humanised the migration process in a way nothing else Id ever felt or seen had.

Yet during this tsunami of success, a backlash was building. Before it was even published, Cummins was accused in an early review [on the academic blog Tropics of Meta, by Myriam Gurba, a Mexican-American writer] of peddling trauma porn; her right, as a Puerto Rican-Irish-American, to write about the Mexican immigrant experience was also questioned. Just a few days before publication, the criticism went viral. Thousands of tweets accused American Dirt of being stereotypical and patronising. The furore made its way offline and into the pages of, amongst others, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Guardian and Vogue.

By the time it was published, the vitriol  accusing Cummins of cultural appropriation of a story that could have and should have been voiced by someone of Mexican heritage  was so great that American Dirts 40-city book tour was cancelled, citing safety fears. Cummins was crushed. For two years at least, I thought I might never write again, she says, sitting in the study of her home in New York State.

Jeanine Cummins, author of the controversial novel American Dirt

I just thought, Why would I do this to myself again? But she has written again. And now shes doing this exclusive interview for Speak To Me Of Home, her first novel in five years.

I first met Cummins in autumn 2019, when her British publisher brought her to London to talk to several hundred journalists and writers. Before then, she was a mid-list author of three previous books. When she was writing American Dirt, she thought it would be published, as her previous ones had, relatively quietly. But by 2019, the buzz was palpable. Cummins novel was already the stuff of publishing legend: a three-day, nine-publisher auction resulting in offers of more than a million dollars.

The US publishing auction was the only time in my life Ive ever hyperventilated, she says. I was watching my life change right in front of me. I had been a struggling writer and that auction changed everything. Then Oprah came in. It was magical and it remains a really wonderful memory. During the consequent backlash, Winfrey refused to abandon American Dirt and its author. She was amazing, says Cummins. That lady has the courage of her convictions, and she knows a thing or two about how to walk through a firestorm that has very little to do with her, with her head held high. She was a lifesaving presence for me during that time. Cummins publishers on both sides of the Atlantic also held firm.

Despite the furore, American Dirt sold four million copies globally. It spent 18 weeks on the bestseller lists of The Sunday Times and 36 on those of The New York Times.

Not knowing if the book was going to survive the onslaught was the hardest part, Cummins tells me, so the sales are gratifying.

It sounds like a stupid question to ask a woman with four million copies worth of royalties in the bank, but were there moments when she wished the idea for American Dirt had never entered her head?

(From left), her father and grandparents with her aunt Patti

Certainly. I did a lot of questioning but, ultimately, I landed on feeling really good and strong. I endeavour to tell the kind of stories that make people pause and reconsider their held beliefs. And, in the end, I believe thats what American Dirt did.

Cummins and her husband have two teenage daughters who, at the time, were 12 and nine. Was she worried about the impact on them?

They were so young they didnt really understand it, but we had always been pretty strict parents when it came to screen time and social media. After American Dirt, they really understood there was a reason why we insisted that social media is a hellscape where no teenager belongs.

But they also were able to see the good that came from it. The strengthening of my marriage, watching their father support me while I fell apart, you know? And watching quietly heroic people come to my rescue over and over again.

Of course there were those who didnt step up. While Cummins wont name names, There were people who behaved in ways that felt cowardly and betraying.

One of the things she found most difficult was being accused by Latinx authors of exploiting, even faking, her Latin roots.

I had to ask myself, Am I doing that? Am I exploiting my identity? The answer is no. I am not. I am who I have always been.

For two years afterwards, Cummins tried and failed to write other stories (I was heavily advised to write a book about problematic white people!). Then she looked to her family history for a story she felt allowed to tell.

Jeanine's new novel

The result is Speak To Me Of Home, an engrossing family saga about three female generations  Rafaella, Ruth and Daisy  of Puerto Rican descent. I do really feel this book is so much drawn from my real life and my grandmothers life and my dads life. If I am not allowed to write this book, Im literally not allowed to write any book.

Cummins paternal grandmother, Maria, moved in the early 1940s from San Juan to Missouri with her American husband Gene. Cummins dad, Gene Jr, was born in 1945, the eldest of eight. The family lived in a white community in St Louis where they experienced tremendous racism.

Speak To Me Of Home is dedicated to her father, who died in 2016. I never had these conversations with my own father [about his heritage] before he passed, she says. And I regret that.

She spoke to her uncle, Raphael, and the finished book is full of stories straight from Cummins family history. Like the time her fathers family joined the local country club in St Louis. When they got there [my grandmother] was not allowed to have a locker in the womens locker room. They gave her a locker in the staff room instead. And they went to that country club for years. I dont know what it wouldve felt like to be in that moment, but from my perspective its outrageous. My dad and his siblings all grew up with a healthy serving of self-loathing and shame, unfortunately.

Cummins is lively and friendly. But she is also, unsurprisingly, occasionally cagey. After her publisher sent her for media training and employed a sensitivity reader for her new book, she is at pains not to say anything accidentally incendiary.

Her grandmother and grandfather (wearing sunglasses) in Puerto Rico in the late 1940s

I was resistant to a sensitivity reader, but my publisher would not have allowed me to not have one, she says. Then, when we had the conversations that ensued, I could see the value in it. But I hope its a temporary stop-gap to get us through this moment in the culture so people can be encouraged to begin their own learning again.

Still, shes excited to go on tour and meet her readers. I was trepidatious when we first started talking about it, but Im ready. I think were in such a different moment in the culture now. Also, 99 per cent of the people who are vicious only are so when they are protected by the distance of the keyboard.

I am happier now than Ive ever been. Some of that is about my age and some of it is what Ive been through, she says. I feel beholden only to the people who love me.

In fact the past five years have been liberating there are lots of other ways to describe it but it is absolutely liberating!

Im still standing. Its not as though Im walking through a minefield waiting for what might happen. It already happened. Although I am still trying to be careful not to step on any mines!

Speak To Me Of Home by Jeanine Cummins is published by Tinder Press, price 20. To order a copy for 17 until 1 June, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK P&P on orders over 25.

getty images, jeanine cummins
The View descended into a full blown argument on Friday the co-hosts collided over revelations from the explosive new book Original Sin, which alleges there was a stunning cover-up of President Joe Biden's cognitive decline.

The book, co-authored by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson, paints a picture of a president slipping away behind closed doors as Democratic leaders closed ranks to conceal it from the public.

But on Friday's episode, the bigger story wasn't the book but the five-way verbal brawl that ensued on live television.

'We have Trump because you guys screwed this up,' declared conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin sending the studio discussion into freefall.

Her fury boiled over after co-host Joy Behar attempted to wave away growing concerns about Biden's mental acuity.

'With all due respect, the reason we are here is because you lied to people about what was obvious,' Griffin shouted. 'People saw him decline with their own eyes and were told to shut up. That's not democracy.'

'You want to relitigate 2024? It's over. The ship has sailed. It's out in the ocean somewhere with Biden. Get over it!' Behar responded.

'Which administration texted war plans to their brother?' asked sarcastically. 'You want to talk about decline? Let's talk about that.'

A blistering live segment descended into a full blown argument on Friday as the co-hosts of The View collided over revelations from the explosive new book alleging how there was a stunning cover-up of President Joe Biden 's cognitive decline

The book paints a picture of a president slipping away behind closed doors as Democratic leaders closed ranks to conceal it from the public

Griffin did not take the bait. 'That's not the point, Joy,' she said. 'This isn't about defending Trump. This is about the Democratic Party lying to its own voters.'

'Do we just keep lowering the bar because Trump is bad? Nothing else is bad because Trump is bad? Democrats lied to voters. They gaslit America,' she snapped, pointing to poll numbers showing Biden's approval cratering after voters' concerns about his age were dismissed.

Co-host Sara Haines chimed in with perhaps the most jaw-dropping anecdote from the book how at a June 2024 fundraiser in Los Angeles, President Biden reportedly didn't recognize George Clooney.

The actor who had flown in from Italy and helped organize the event. Clooney himself confirmed the story to Tapper.

'George Clooney flew in from Italy for a major fundraiser,' she explained. 'He moved mountains to do it - and Biden didn't recognize him. That's not a flub. That's frightening.

'He's one of the most recognizable men on the planet,' Haines said. 'If he can't identify Clooney, how is he going to handle a 3am call about nuclear escalation in the Middle East?

'That's not just a slip. That's terrifying,' Haines said. 'This is a man asking to lead us through midnight calls and wartime decisions.'

Sunny Hostin said she wanted 'to move on from why the Democratic Party lost'

Sara Haines says voters 'lost trust' in the Democrats because they ignored Biden's failing mental acuity and 'told the voters what to care about and did not listen.'

Behar brushed the moment aside. 'George Clooney looks different lately! He does. That's not a reason to bring down a president.'

But Haines stuck to her point. 'People felt lied to. They said he was too old, too frail - and they were told to sit down and be quiet. That's why voters lost trust.'

Ana Navarro, a longtime Biden ally who admitted she's known the president for three decades, came to his defense.

'Do I think this is the same man I knew 25 years ago? No,' Navarro conceded. 'But did his cognitive skills ever compromise the presidency? Absolutely not.

Navarro tore into the book's sources. 'If you were part of that administration and didn't have the gonads to speak when it mattered - and now you're speaking anonymously in a book - you're a coward, period.

'We are not in normal times. And you're sitting here talking about Biden forgetting George Clooney?!'

As Haines pointed out that Biden's decline was 'progressive' and voters deserved honesty, Navarro shot back with fury: 'We are not in normal times. We're fighting creeping authoritarianism, attacks on civil rights, due process, the rule of law - and you want to talk about George Clooney?!'

Navarro declared how voters in 2024 were faced with a binary: 'A decent, aging man or a convicted felon who tried to overturn democracy. And they chose Trump. That's not Biden's fault. That's America's.'

Ana Navarro, left, a longtime Biden ally who admitted she's known the president for three decades, came to his defense

Co-host Joy Behar attempted to wave away growing concerns about Biden's mental acuity

As the show spiraled, co-host Sunny Hostin took the conversation in another direction, accusing the Biden administration of racial favoritism in refugee policy.

'I want to talk about why this administration is giving refugee status to white South African Afrikaners while people of color - Afghans, Haitians, even some Ukrainians - are left behind!' Hostin said, raising her voice. 'That's what I want to talk about. Not George Clooney.'

When Haines accused Democrats of adopting Republican-style deflection 'don't look back, look over there', Navarro interjected: 'How did Biden violate any laws? What insurrection did he lead?'

Then came the most jarring moment of the morning as co-host Sunny Hostin derailed the conversation into a screed about race and immigration policy.

'I want to talk about why this administration is giving refugee status to white South African Afrikaners while Afghans, Ukrainians, and people of color are left behind,' she said, shouting over Haines, who was trying to steer the discussion back to Biden's electability. 'That's what I want to talk about  not why Biden forgot someone's name!'

When Haines tried to clarify that acknowledging Biden's health didn't equate to abandoning Democratic values, Hostin shouted: 'I want to move on from why the Democratic Party lost. I want to hear how we take this country back, how we stop cuts to Medicaid, how we stop billionaires from looting the treasury!'

Jake Tapper of CNN purports, along with co-author Alex Thompson of Axios, to 'blow the lid' off the Biden White House that kept the president's steep mental and physical decline a secret

Griffin and Haines argued that without accountability for the deception, voters would continue to walk away from the Democratic Party.

Hostin, almost shouting, responded: 'So we should just hand the country back to Trump? Really? That's the plan?!'

The original spark behind the argument was Jake Tapper's own admission that Original Sin was stonewalled by Democratic insiders. 'We spoke with more than 200 people - almost all Democrats - and they wouldn't be candid with us until after the election,' Tapper admitted.

'There were two Bidens. One was capable. The other was alarmingly disengaged.'

That duplicity, said Griffin and Haines, is what cost Democrats their moral high ground.

'There was no primary. There was no process,' Griffin fumed. 'Voters were told what to think - and when they didn't, they were ignored. That's how you lose elections.'

Even Navarro acknowledged a shift. 'Is this the same Biden I knew in the '90s? No. But I still believe in his decency.'

As tempers flared and the segment stretched past its planned runtime, Behar, visibly exasperated, threw her hands up and cut to commercial.

'All right! Enough. We'll be right back - with the New York Housewives,' she said, as the cameras cut away.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

An art investment company that The Mail on Sunday revealed had employed two barred directors  one with a jail record for fraud  has been wound up after the High Court heard evidence from the Insolvency Service of numerous 'matters of concern'.

Artwork Holdings used the name 'Yield Gallery' and advertised works by Banksy, Andy Warhol and Tracey Emin. In 2023, I warned that one of its bosses, described as the gallery's creative director and named as Jon Sullivan, was actually Jonothan Piper.

In 2016, Piper was given five-and-a-half years after admitting fraud, money-laundering and tax offences. He cheated clients of his company Embassy Wine UK out of 300,000 which should have bought wine as an investment. He was banned from acting as a company director until 2026.

Yield Gallery employed Anthony Allen as a salesman. He is banned from being a director until 2031 after his firm Global Neutral sold near-worthless carbon credits as investments. It was ordered into liquidation by the High Court and Allen was described as unfit to be a director. Investors lost 386,000. Insolvency Service investigators found Yield's accounts were 'inaccurate', with suspicions of underpaid VAT and corporation tax.

When they saw its bank accounts for one period, they identified deposits of just over 2million, yet sales brought in 4.2million, which suggested that more than half its income did not go into its bank accounts.

Defiant: According to his solicitor, David Izzard may appeal the court ruling

In 2020, Yield obtained a Covid bounce-back loan of 50,000. To qualify, it needed turnover of at least 200,000, but according to the Insolvency Service its accounts showed a turnover of zero.

Director David Izzard said the loan was legitimate as the accounts were wrong.

But when investigators queried 100,000 the business appeared to owe in tax, he said he was 'unable to comment on the accuracy of the accounts'.

Edna Okhiria, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 'Unreliable and inconsistent accounts were uncovered which did not provide a fair representation of the company's business. The company and its director also failed to sufficiently co-operate with our investigations.'

The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator and will prepare a report on the conduct of the director.

The Insolvency Service's court success in shutting Izzard's company may have a knock-on effect at the Financial Conduct Authority.

The watchdog's public register shows Izzard is approved by the FCA as the director of Essex firm Loyal Finance.

But company records show he quit in January and signed Loyal Finance over to his daughter Bridie.

She also works for her father's art business, where her job includes overseeing Yield Gallery's compliance with money-laundering laws.

The art world is vulnerable to money-laundering and dealers must register  yet the Insolvency Service says the gallery failed to sign up.

Will last Monday's court case affect Izzard's FCA approval? A spokesman declined to comment directly about Izzard, but added: 'We will consider the findings of other regulators and enforcement agencies in deciding whether someone is fit to be approved. We expect the firms we regulate to consider them too.'

The gallery business and its art sales are continuing, still under the name Yield Gallery but owned by another company, YG Group, run by David Izzard.

His solicitor said an appeal may be lodged against the winding up order.

In a letter to the Insolvency Service, the lawyer accused it of suggesting on its website that Yield Gallery has sold works by Banksy and Andy Warhol that are not genuine.

He said unless Insolvency Service officials remove the claim, they may be sued for defamation.

BA owed me over 1,000 for a delayed flight 7 months ago

B.T. writes: Our British Airways flight last October was delayed 24 hours. BA told us we are due 1,040 as a result.

We have now supplied our bank details eight times but we have still received nothing.

Inexplicably British Airways never refunded the 1,040 for a delayed flight

Tony Hetherington replies: BA never questioned that your flight was delayed and never questioned that you were entitled to 1,040 to make up for this, but inexplicably the money never reached your Nationwide account.

After I contacted BA, the airline called you. Someone there had recorded your bank sort code wrongly!

The 1,040 has now landed in your account and BA has given you 400 in Avios points to make up for the delay.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
Rachel Reeves has been compared to the fictional Mafia boss portrayed in the film The Godfather over the way she is trying to force pension funds to buy UK assets.

Tom Selby, a pensions expert at investment platform AJ Bell, said there was 'something a bit Vito Corleone' about the Chancellor after it emerged that she could order schemes to invest their money in domestic deals if they did not 'voluntarily' bend to her will.

His comments came after the Treasury last week struck an accord with 17 of Britain's biggest workplace pension providers to boost investment in private market assets.

They pledged to allocate at least 10 per cent of their default workplace pension funds to riskier investments, such as infrastructure and start-ups by the end of the decade. Half of this, or 5 per cent, is earmarked for the UK in what could amount to a 25 billion boost to the economy by 2030.

Pension funds have been criticised for being too risk-averse and not investing in home-grown ventures. But Reeves' threat to compel them to invest in the UK has already been slammed by one of the plan's signatories.

Dame Amanda Blanc, head of insurer Aviva, said the strong-arm tactics were 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut' and not 'the right thing' to do. Scottish Widows, another leading pensions provider, refused to sign up at all after previously backing a similar plan.

'Offer you can't refuse': Marlon Brando in The Godfather

The industry is concerned that any attempt by ministers to funnel workers' pensions into Whitehall's pet projects would clash with the legal duty of scheme trustees to act in members' best interests.

'We need to be honest with people,' wrote Selby in Money Marketing magazine. 'The UK economy is in a hole and the Government plans to use other people's money to help dig it out.'

Selby later told The Mail on Sunday: 'I feel uncomfortable that the Government is using other people's money for political purposes. A sword of Damocles is hanging over every pension scheme.'

Selby, who is AJ Bell's director of public policy, said: 'If pension savers' money is to be used for political purposes, it seems reasonable for those people to get something in return.'

A Government promise not to change tax relief or tax-free cash entitlements on pensions during this Parliament would be a start, he said.'

Meanwhile it has emerged that Reform UK will control town hall pensions worth more than 50 billion after the party swept the board in recent council elections.

Reform now has a majority of seats in councils from Durham to Kent and Lancashire to Lincolnshire. This means the party also holds sway over the committees that oversee how the pension pots of council workers are invested.

Many local government pension funds are committed to having a portfolio of assets with net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

But Reform councillors were elected in part on a pledge to scrap these environmental targets.

'We are going to be looking closely at this and I'll be very grumpy if these pension schemes have bigger deficits because they've been underperforming because of woke investments,' deputy leader Richard Tice told the Financial Times.

The Treasury was approached for comment.
It's just a grainy ID photo of an elderly man - but for Ken Widner, the image proves his uncles really did pull off the greatest jailbreak in history.

Widner, 65, says the photograph answers questions that have been lingering since brothers John and Clarence Anglin, alongside cellmate Frank Morris, busted out of Alcatraz in 1962.

The officers who pursued the inmates at the time say they most likely never got beyond the frigid, choppy and shark-infested waters of San Francisco Bay.

But no bodies were ever found, fueling speculation about their fate and even a Clint Eastwood movie about that cool night in June.

What's never been doubted, though, is the ingenuity of their plan.

The men left papier-mache models of their heads in their beds to distract guards.

They then crawled out through ventilation ducts, which they'd widened with dining spoons, before fleeing on a makeshift inflatable raft.

Now, Widner, a nephew of the Anglin brothers, has obtained a photo, purportedly showing an 80-something-year-old John in Brazil. It's thought to be evidence he survived the jailbreak.

Not only did the men reach land, Widner claims, but they were allegedly flown to Mexico the day after the break out by drug smuggler Fred Brizzi.

The color photo (right) purportedly shows John Anglin in his eighties in 2015 or 2016, and bears many telltale similarities to his prison mugshot from the 1960s (left)

Brothers John and Clarence Anglin, alongside cellmate Frank Morris, were among the 36 prisoners who made 14 escape attempts from Alcatraz in its 30-year history

It's believed they spent some years living in Mexico or elsewhere before moving to Brazil, where they both got married, had kids and lived out their days in relative wealth and comfort under assumed identities, he claims.

The shocking twist comes as President Donald Trump moves to reopen Alcatraz, and asserts that the island lock up was inescapable.

The Daily Mail can exclusively present the unearthed photo, which was taken in 2015 or 2016, according to Widner, and shows a gray-haired man in his eighties.

Widner says a man in Brazil - whom he believes has some connection to his uncle John - contacted him and sent the image. He'd snapped it with his phone from the security system of an 'exclusive gated community' near Sao Paulo, where the photographed individual is said to have lived with his wife.

'I was like, "Oh my gosh, it really looks like John,"' Widner told the Daily Mail.

'But the man was so much older than other pictures of John, and I'm just an amateur, so I wanted to be sure.'

A former police forensic artist examined the photo and found 13 telltale signs in the eyebrows, ears and other features that were a 'positive match' to John's prison mugshot, Widner says.

According to the narrative Widner has built up through extensive research, John made a 'pretty penny' selling farmland as a fugitive in Brazil.

He was living with his wife under an assumed name, which Widner declined to share with the Daily Mail, in a ritzy neighborhood boasting BMWs in the driveway, according to his ongoing research.

Warrants are still out for the three men, seen here in their booking photos for armed bank robberies. The three worked together to dig their way out of Alcatraz and sneak past guards

Brothers John and Clarence Anglin, alongside cellmate Frank Morris, left papier-mache models of their heads in their beds to distract guards while they fled

Federal and local authorities investigated the escape for 10 days, scouring the water, air and land

Widner says he's obtained a 2018 death certificate of the individual in the photo.

He plans to travel to Brazil to gather DNA traces from the home or even the gravesite, and compare it to Anglin family members, he told the Daily Mail.

'That'll pretty much seal the deal,' says Widner.

He declined to identify the Brazilian man who shared the photo. The source, he says, learned about the theory that the Anglins ended up in Brazil from a 2015 History Channel documentary based on Widner's research.

The photo, which the Daily Mail cannot verify, is just the latest piece of evidence Widner and his relatives have collected over the decades that show the inmates escaped the Rock alive.

Another photo they obtained in the '90s shows John and Clarence wearing sunglasses standing beside a road, allegedly living on a farm in Brazil in 1975.

The brothers also are believed to have sent Christmas cards to the family home in Florida for three years after their escape. The handwriting did appear to match the brothers'.

In the early 1960s, the Anglins and Morris were serving sentences in Alcatraz for bank robbery when they started hatching plans to break out.

They spent months using spoons and forks to dig holes in the walls surrounding the air vents in their cells, according to the FBI.

On the night of the escape, they used painted papier-mache heads topped with hair collected from the prison barber shop to fool the guards into thinking they were asleep in bed.

They squeezed through the hole and made their way from the prison roof to the water's edge, carrying a makeshift raft crafted from 50 pilfered cotton raincoats.

The raft and other items from the escape were found washed up on a nearby island.

According to Widner, his family were in contact with his uncles in Brazil until at least the early 1990's, with a photograph seemingly of the two in front of termite mounds in a jungle, seen here

The convicts crawled through the hole they'd spent months digging with spoons on June 11, 1962

An officer showed the inside of a removable section of their vent and how they were able to get out that night

Prison officials and federal agents insisted at the time of the escape that the inmates died - the FBI officially closed its case in 1979, turning it over to US Marshals, who continue to investigate.

Writers Ken Widner and Mike Lynch, published their findings in new book 'Alcatraz: The Last Escape'

That same year, their exploits were turned into the movie Escape from Alcatraz, starring Eastwood as Morris.

More than 40 years later, Widner and co-author Mike Lynch drew together their research of family interviews and historical documents to produce the 2024 book Alcatraz: The Last Escape.

In their telling, the men escaped by using wires to hitch the makeshift raft to a passing boat.

From there, they claim, the fugitives met a second boat in the San Francisco Bay area, which took them to dry land.

Widner says his uncles' fellow prisoner Whitney Bulger, the infamous Irish Mob boss from Boston, helped them prepare their bodies for the freezing water.

Bulger, who reportedly took an interest in Scuba diving, advised them to soak towels in cold water from their sink and toilet, wrap themselves in the towels and lie on the cement floor to get used to the temperature, according to Widner, who says he has communicated extensively with the mobster.

After reaching dry land, a private plane chartered from a small airport at neighboring Marin County flew the trio to Mexico to begin a new life, according to Widner's book.

Fearing that agents were on their trail, the Anglins later moved to Brazil.

In their book, Ken Widner (left) and Mike Lynch present their version of how the Anglin brothers survived the jailbreak

The FBI officially closed its case in 1979, and turned it over to US Marshals, who continue to investigate

The story of the June 11, 1962, escape was turned into the 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood called Escape From Alcatraz

ROCK SOLID HISTORY Alcatraz Island was first identified in 1775 by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala. In 1850 a presidential order earmarked the island for military use to protect San Francisco Bay Between 1850-1909 the military used the island's Citadel as a prison. US military prisoners rebuilt the prison between 1909 - '11. The US Military stopped using Alcatraz in 1933 and a new prison was opened the following year. After opening in 1934, Alcatraz held some of America's most notorious prisoners such as Al Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly and the first Public Enemy Number One, Alvin Karpis. The prison never reached its maximum capacity of 336 inmates. Disruptive prisoners were sent to Alcatraz. Between 1934 and 1963, 36 men, including two who tried to escape twice, made attempts to flee the island. Records show that 23 were caught, six were shot and two were drowned. Alcatraz was closed on March 21, 1963 due to its high running costs because everything, including water needed to be shipped to the island. The prison opened to the public in 1973 and is visited by on average one million people a year. *Source: Federal Bureau of Prisons Advertisement

According to Widner, his family was in contact with his uncles there until at least the 1990s.

Before his death in 2010, another brother of the fugitives, Robert Anglin, told family members he'd been in touch with his siblings for 25 years following their escape.

Now, earlier in May, Trump vowed to reopen Alcatraz as he continues to crack down on violent criminals and illegal migrants.

He said the notorious facility, which was shuttered in 1963 and once held famed gangster Al Capone, will 'house America's most ruthless and violent offenders.'

He also declared that, 'Nobody's ever escaped from Alcatraz.'

A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts from Alcatraz in its 30-year history.

Out of those, 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed, and two are known to have drowned attempting the 1.25-mile swim to shore through brutal currents.

Five, including the Anglins, who were incarcerated there in 1957, and Morris, who had been an inmate there since 1960, are listed as 'missing and presumed drowned.'

Widner says Trump was 'wrong about' Alcatraz being inescapable, but praised his declassification of historic investigations and wants him to do the same with the 'Alcatraz files.'

His co-author, Lynch, calls plans to reopen Alcatraz wrongheaded, saying it will cost too much to renovate the old buildings and that the site is protected as a landmark and bird refuge.

'It's a nice idea, but it's never going to happen,' Lynch told the Daily Mail.

'Everything has to be transported to the island. All the water, food, medical gear and other materials needed to run a prison have to be shipped to the island every single day. That's just way too expensive.'

Widner and Lynch will sign copies of their book on Alcatraz Island from June 12 to 14, marking the 63rd anniversary of the breakout.
A homeowner has been ordered to cut her bamboo hedge after a neighbour dispute on Sydney's affluent northern beaches was taken all the way to court.

Architect Matthew Power told Daily Mail Australia the feud started when his neighbour Jessica Fabris planted clumps of bamboo along their fence line on Central Road in Avalon Beach last year.

Mr Power quickly found the bamboo, which had grown up to eight metres tall, was stopping natural light from reaching the windows and skylights of the main living area of his home that is estimated to be worth $3.12million.

There was already a large tree in his neighbour's backyard that blocked sunlight, but the bamboo made the problem even worse.

He asked his neighbours if they could remove the bamboo and they initially said they would, but later refused and then stopped replying to his messages, Mr Power said.

In March, he was surprised when they suddenly listed their $3.2million five-bedroom property for sale.

'I just think it's a total disregard of someone else's amenity,' he said.

'We lost contact, they didn't respond to us, and then all of a sudden their house was on the market.

Architect Matthew Power (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia the feud started when his neighbour Jessica Fabris planted clumps of bamboo along their fence line at their house on Central Road in Avalon last year

The bamboo (pictured on the owner's property) has grown up to eight metres tall, neighbour Mr Power said

'It was a bit of a kick in the teeth - it just made no sense to me.'

Mr Power was reluctant to take legal action, but eventually made an application in the Land and Environment Court NSW and represented himself.

'It's horrible when you have something that really changes the way you use the house,' he explained.

Under NSW law, landowners can apply to the court for a remedy over hedges higher than 2.5m that obstruct sunlight or views.

In a decision on Tuesday, Acting Commissioner Peter Nichols said that during a site inspection he had observed the bamboo 'severely obstructs' the natural light to Mr Power's property.

The court had tried to reach Ms Fabris by phone, but she was absent from both the hearing and the site inspection.

Commissioner Nichols ordered Ms Fabris to cut the plant down and cover the cost.

Any replacement planting must be limited to plants with a height at maturity of 2.4metres or less.

The bamboo (pictured from Mr Powers' property) obstructs the natural light to his home

In March, Mr Power was surprised when his neighbours suddenly listed their five-bedroom, roughly $3.2million property for sale (pictured)

Mr Power owns a property in Avalon where the median price for a house is $2.9million

Mr Power said the decision showed 'there are rights and there are ways you can fight bamboo'.

'You don't need to bring on lawyers, you can actually do this yourself.'

Avalon is considered a wealthy suburb with the median price for a house currently at $2.9million.

Mr Power was not the first Aussie homeowner to have problems with the fast-growing plant.

Paul Wilkinson, another resident of New South Wales, claimed this week that his neighbour's 'disruptive' bamboo plant was costing him thousands.

Mr Wilkinson said he had spent almost $3,000 attempting to reverse the damage of a plant that he says his neighbour first planted five years ago.

In that time, he claimed it had nearly doubled in size, standing at nine metres tall and entirely overshadowing his two-storey home.

Despite pleading with his neighbour to manage the plant, who he claims often leaves his property vacant given it is a holiday home, Mr Wilkinson insisted that he simply 'doesn't seem to care'.

Bamboo is an invasive plant that can spread to neighbouring properties, damage patios, foundations and waste pipes, and even grow in wall cavities.
When Tonya Beasley's father asked her to help him learn how to use the internet, she never dreamed it would lead to a sickening bloodbath.

Tonya, now 31, explained that her dad, Richard, wasn't good with technology and had asked her to set up a Craigslist account so he could sell some furniture. The year was 2011, she was 17 and entering her senior year of high school.

But he had a far more sinister motive.

Richard was using the classifieds website to post job advertisements for workers who could help out on his 688-acre farm in Akron, Ohio.

He was using these falsified ads to lure in potential victims he would go on to brutally murder.

Richard, then 53, was eventually convicted of killing three men in November 2011, earning him the haunting nickname: 'The Craigslist Killer'.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Tonya revealed that 14 years later she still feels guilty about helping him set up the account and sickened that he used his position as a father to prey on victims.

'He was having conversations with these people online telling them he has a daughter. He tried to gain their trust and used me as a pawn,' she said.

Tonya Beasley was 17-years-old when she learned her father was the 'Craigslist Killer'

A young Tonya is pictured with her father Richard Beasley on one of her prison visits with her grandmother (who is not pictured)

Tonya recalled her complete shock when she learned at 17 that her father was the Craigslist Killer.

'It did not feel real,' she recalled. 'I was feeling so many emotions. I shut down.'

Two years before Richard went on his killing spree, there was another Craigslist Killer named Phillip Markoff, a Boston medical sutdent.

Markoff went on a seven-day crime spree murdering victims he found on Craigslist before killing himself. Before his apparent suicide he wrote the name of his fiancee in blood in his cell and spread out photos of her before, as per NBC.

After Richard's arrest, Tonya had to help the FBI identify her father and provide witness testimony - though she did not testify at his trial.

Tonya, now a mother to her three-year-old son, said, 'He wasn't the person I thought he was. He is a psychopath and a cold-blooded killer.'

While she hadn't previously thought of him as a murderer, she knew her father had his demons.

He grew up with an abusive father and later enlisted in the service. He had a high IQ but was also very manipulative, she explained.

He left the military with 'dishonorable discharge,' she told the Daily Mail. 'We think it was for mental health because he was diagnosed at some point with schizophrenia.'

She remembers visiting him in jail with her grandmother when she was younger - before his murder spree.

The first time he was arrested, it was for breaking and entering, and illegally pedaling weapons - Tonya told the Daily Mail he was also picked up at a later date for selling drugs. He was convicted of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder and spent several years behind bars before he was convicted of the triple-murder.

'It was all about easy money for him,' Tonya said. 'He was lazy. He didn't want to work.'

But when he was released from jail, she was excited to have her dad back, and said he became a 'street preacher' in their small Ohio town.

She described him as a very charismatic person who people were drawn to. He drove around on his motorcycle with his full, bushy beard and easy smile, she recalled. The two of them even volunteered together at their local church.

However, after a bad car accident with a severe back injury that requires him to use a wheelchair and a cane, he become addicted to drugs - including oxycodone.

Tonya said her father never hurt her, but remembered being put in some dangerous situations - such as him picking up hitchhikers when she was in the car or leaving her alone when he was doing drug deals. She said her father even got a boy she was dating to sell drugs for him.

Tonya being held by her father as he mother sits nearby. The photo was taken December 24, 1993. Tonya's mother divorced her father after his arrest. Tonya said she no longer has a close relationship with her mother

Tonya pictured as a young girl with her dad

Tonya pictured with her parents on the day of her prom

But as time went on, his crimes turned darker.

In 2011, Richard posted an ad on Craigslist for a caretaker for his property, offering a $300 stipend to look after the farm and live in a mobile trailer on the land.

But the ad was bogus. There was no job, no farm, no mobile trailer, no income.

More than a dozen people applied, and Richard managed to trick three different people into taking the fake job: Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia, and Tim Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.

He then killed them all, execution-style, and buried some of their remains in a hand-dug grave in the woods. According to the Noble County Coroner, Geiger was killed in August and the authorities believe the other two men were killed in October and November, The Star Advertiser reported.

It later emerged his motive was to steal their possessions and sell them for drug money.

A fourth victim, Scott Davis, survived an attack but was seriously injured. He was shot in the arm as he ran from Richard and his alleged accomplice, 16-year-old Brogan Rafferty.

The South Carolina man told CNN he hid in the woods for hours before he was able to get to a house and call for help.

Police opened an investigation on Nov. 6, 2011.

In 2013, Richard was handed three death sentences but there is no scheduled execution date, according to the Ohio Supreme Court. He continues to claim he is innocent.

Tonya recalled meeting with Davis years after he escaped death, describing the experience as 'healing but traumatic'.

'There's a difference between someone being a headline and someone being a real person standing in front of you actually telling you in the first person what my dad did that made it all the more real because I didn't know the little nitty gritty details.

'He was describing the look in my dad's eyes when he shot him and how his voice sounded and I just pictured that in my head because I know how he talks. I know how he looks... like, he's my dad.

'I did apologize for what my dad did and we hugged. I know that is not enough to deal [with] what happened to him. He is going to have to deal with this the rest of his life.'

She described her father as a narcissist who is able to turn his emotions on and off when it is self serving.

'I knew he was capable of doing things that were wrong and I knew the drugs could make him do horrible things,' she said.

Her father moved around living in Texas before settling in Ohio. He spent years in prison for a series of different crimes before the triple-murder

Beasley pictured with his teen accomplice Brogan Rafferty, who met Beasley when he was a child and looked up to him as a father-figure but later called him a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

The ad that Richard Beasley posted to Craigslist to lure his victims

CraigsList Killer Richard Beasley is still on death row. Currently, there is no scheduled execution date set. The triple-murderer continues to maintain his innocence

Richard's alleged accomplice, Brogan, was tried as an adult but not given the death penalty because he was just 16 at the time of the murders. He was convicted of aggravated murder and attempted murder.

Brogan is now serving a life sentence in an Ohio prison without the chance of parole.

Tonya said she occasionally still gets a letter from her father and believes he will die in prison of old age before he is executed.

Despite her feelings toward Richard, she plans to visit him at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution with her son over the summer.

It will be the first time in more than a decade that she will come face-to-face with her dad.

'The only reason I am going to see him is so I can tell my son I did make the effort and I wasn't keeping him away from him out of spite,' she said.

'I am not holding this hate and never letting him meet his grandson because of my own feelings towards him.'
The criminal actions of a California cop has cost a small-town millions after a shocking series of events involving sex assaults, burglary and meth.

Former Sergeant Kevin Murray disgraced the Ukiah Police Department in Mendocino County following a slew of disturbing charges that ended in a light sentence costing the town a $3million settlement.

The department's budget for fiscal year 2025 is just over $10million, meaning Murray cost the city nearly a third of its annual police funding.

After multiple felony sexual assault charges, Murray was sentenced to just two years probation and 250 hours of community service. The former cop took a plea deal that dismissed the charges, and allowed him to dodge a public trial.

Murray was also not required to become a registered sex offender, but simply to provide a DNA sample to the state and participate in a three-year Sex Offenders and Families in Effective Recovery program for at least one year.

His arrest followed allegations ranging from breaking into a woman's hotel room for sex, storing methamphetamine in his department-issued locker, to brandishing his service weapon while sexually assaulting a woman.

Murray's first serious case began in 2018 when he allegedly forced his way into the home of a disabled Gulf War veteran without a warrant and beat him unconscious.

The city of Ukiah paid the veteran $1.05million to settle the claims, SF Gate reported.

After multiple felony sexual assault charges, Murray was sentenced to just two years probation and 250 hours of community service. The former cop took a plea deal that dismissed the charges, and allowed him to dodge a public trial

Former Sergeant Kevin Murray disgraced the Ukiah Police Department in Mendocino County following a slew of disturbing charges

In January 2021, Murray faced another set of charges including burglary, meth possession and sexual battery, following a night at the Super 8 Motel in Ukiah.

In court documents obtained by the outlet, Murray allegedly turned off his body camera, drove the victim's car with her inside and asked her to kiss him on the neck.

He allegedly went into her room, uninvited, and took her key card announcing he would return after his shift.

Murray then allegedly texted her asking if they could 'hook up tonight' and asked her for 'good pics' to know if 'the good[s] are worth coming back for'.

The woman claimed she had never given Murray her phone number, and authorities discovered he used a spoofed caller ID to hide his identity. She became so terrified that she barricaded the door with a table.

The woman received a $250,000 civil settlement from the city.

One month later, he faced another criminal charge for an alleged 2014 off-duty rape.

He was initially charged with forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, and an allegation of sexual assault armed with an assault weapon was later added.

His arrest followed allegations ranging from breaking into a woman's hotel room for sex, storing methamphetamine in his department-issued locker, to brandishing his service weapon while sexually assaulting a woman

In the complaint filed by Johnson in December 2022 against Murray and the city of Ukiah, Murray was accused of being armed with a knife and a handgun.

The court ruled that the city wasn't liable, but Murray failed to respond to the civil suit and was served with a $1million default judgement, SF Gate reported.

In 2021, he was served another suit from a former Ukiah officer accusing him of sexual assault during a 2013 training trip.

The female officer said the police department retaliated when she spoke up, isolating her and cutting pay. In January 2025, the city paid a $1.75million settlement.

The police department had previously sang Murray's praises. On April 8, 2020, the department posted on its Facebook page:' Join us as we celebrate Officer Kevin Murrays promotion to Sergeant!

'Sergeant Murray joined the City of Ukiah Police Department in December 2008. Over the course of his law enforcement career, Sergeant Murray has worked several special assignments including Field Training Officer and K9 handler with his partner Thor.

'Sergeant Murray is also a veteran who served for the U.S. Army. Over the course of his six year military career, Sergeant Murray was deployed once to Afghanistan, twice to Iraq & was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant.

'Before todays promotion, Sergeant Murray has been supervising his shift as a watch commander for the past 6 1/2 months due to staffing shortages.

Trent James, who served as a deputy for the Mendocino Sheriff's Office and a canine officer with the Willits Police Department, said: 'Murray's sentencing sends a very clear message to not only the citizens of Mendocino County, but also current law enforcement, that this type of behavior is okay'

'Sergeant Murrays work ethic and dedication to serve our community is commendable & were thrilled to announce his promotion.'

It was Murray's light sentencing that shocked the city and had many questioning the justice system.

Trent James, who served as a deputy for the Mendocino Sheriff's Office and a canine officer with the Willits Police Department, said in a letter to the Mendocino Voice that dirty cops get 'extreme leeway and special treatment'.

'Murray's sentencing sends a very clear message to not only the citizens of Mendocino County, but also current law enforcement, that this type of behavior is okay,' James wrote.

'With this "slap on the wrist" punishment for extremely egregious crimes there is very little, if any, deterrence from others committing the same crimes.'

The Sonoma County Probation Department reviewed Murray's case before he was served his sentence, and recommended two years probation with a suspended prison term and a one-year jail sentence.

Sonoma County Probation Officer Spencer Misetich described Murray's actions as 'abhorrent', slamming his behavior as exhibiting 'criminal sophistication'.

However, because 'no factors in aggravation were found true or admitted by the defendant as part of his plea agreement in this matter... the court is essentially limited to imposing the middle term of imprisonment, which is what we would recommend'.

'We've really made a very strong effort to hold people accountable, to try to be transparent with the community,' Corning said, but recognized that 'all it takes is one or two guys to ruin the reputation with the community'

'...We do feel the defendants abhorrent actions in this matter deserves further jail time in addition to the time he has already served,' the report said, SF Gate reported.

Murray was handed the two year probation sentence with no additional jail time.

His light sentencing and 'abhorrent' actions led to severe mistrust within the police department, as police Chief Thomas Corning was sworn in just one month ago.

Corning is the third to take the position since Murray's misconduct. Noble Waidelich took the position nine months after Murray was charged, but was forced out after allegedly coercing a woman into sex while on duty in uniform.

As Corning assumes the position, the told the outlet: 'The policy used to state that guys were, you know, basically recommended to turn on their body cams during citizen contacts.

'We changed it to where they are mandated on every citizen contact to turn on the camera.'

But Corning is aware of the stain that Murray left on the Ukiah Police Department's reputation.

'You just constantly keep hearing about this guy,' he said. 'It can weigh on you.'

'When you care about a department this much, you know how much good we have - and how much good we do,' he continued.

Corning is determined to prove that the previous scandals are not a testament to their current workforce.

'We've really made a very strong effort to hold people accountable, to try to be transparent with the community,' he said, but recognized that 'all it takes is one or two guys to ruin the reputation with the community'.
The love between a parent and their child knows no bounds.

While parenting styles have evolved over time, the caregiver's essential role as protector, provider, and teacher remains virtually unchanged throughout history.

Most parents spend countless restless nights worrying about the well-being of their children, and the thought of any harm coming to them is the stuff of nightmares.

But, for some, it's a very different and disturbing story.

Chilling accounts describe cases where caregivers have become the source of a child's suffering, committing acts of abuse so horrific they seem ripped from the script of a twisted horror film.

Recently headlines have been plagued by disturbing stories of parents trying to sell their children.

Earlier this year a mother was caught attempting to sell her newborn baby to pay for lessons on baking pastries.

And, in 2019, another woman tried to sell her children because they were 'an obstacle for dating men'.

But, whether motivated by greed, status, or convenience, one thing's for certain; the decision to give up a child in exchange for cash represents the ultimate betrayal of parental instinct and duty to humanity.

Mother sells baby to start a business

Shocking footage captured the moment a mother was arrested after trying to sell her two-year-old son for 18,000 in Ukraine.

The woman, 20, from Dnipro, reportedly wanted to use the money 'to start her own business'.

The unnamed mother was detained when the buyer handed her cash last year, according to the country's national police.

Shocking footage captured the moment a mother was arrested after trying to sell her two-year-old son for 18,000 in Ukraine

The woman, 20, from Dnipro, reportedly wanted to use the money 'to start her own business'. The unnamed mother was detained when the buyer handed her cash last year, according to the country's national police

A video shows a police officer counting the money, and the detained mother being handcuffed.

A social worker is seen carrying the child to a waiting car to take the boy into care.

Last week it was announced that the woman had been convicted of human trafficking against a minor, and imprisoned for eight years.

'According to her, she did not want to take care of her son, so she decided to get rid of him,' said a police statement.

The buyer was known to her, it was alleged.

'She planned to open her own business with the money she received.

'The crime was documented by the police departments of the migration police and the investigative department of the Main Police Department in Dnipropetrovsk region in cooperation with the criminal analysis department.'

The child was initially sent to doctors and is now in the care of social services.

'She found a potential buyer, to whom she offered to hand over the minor for a cash payment of one million [Ukrainian] hryvnias [18,000/$23,960],' said the Dnipropetrovsk prosecutor's office.

The woman has pleaded not guilty.

Woman says children obstacle for dating

A Russian woman was arrested in 2019 amid claims she tried to sell her children 'because they were an obstacle for dating men'.

Rasulzhan Kyzy Barnokhon was caught after she tried to sell a week-old baby for 11,500 in the Russian capital, Moscow, police and activists said.

Barnokhon, who was 23 at the time, had come to the capital from the south-western city of Ufa and met her buyers, who collaborated with the police.

After receiving the equivalent of 11,512 for her one-week-old daughter, Barnokhon was arrested.

A Russian woman was arrested in 2019 amid claims she tried to sell her children 'because they were an obstacle for dating men'. Rasulzhan Kyzy Barnokhon (pictured) was caught after she tried to sell a week-old baby for 11,500 in the Russian capital, Moscow, police and activists said

Barnokhon, who was 23 at the time, had come to the capital from the south-western city of Ufa and met her buyers, who collaborated with the police. Pictured: Barnokhon with her children

Police said this was the second time the mother had tried to sell her children.

She was said to have made her first attempt six months prior - on that occasion trying to sell her older daughter, who was just one.

At the time, Barnokhon, who was already pregnant with her third child, posted a message on social media saying: 'Looking for adoptive parents for a one-year-old girl. Moscow.'

The message was spotted by activists at NGO 'Alternativa' who fight human trafficking.

They responded to the post and found out that Barnokhon was going to sell her child.

Alternativa activist Yulia, who pretended to be a buyer, said: 'She [Barnokhon] said that she met a man online and wanted to date him.

'But before that, she wanted to sell her children who, according to her, were an 'obstacle for dating men'.

'She was not interested in the further fate of her children and told me that 'after the deal is done, we do not know each other'.

After receiving the equivalent of 11,512 for her one-week-old daughter, Barnokhon was arrested

According to activists, Barnokhon had changed her mind and refused to sell her daughter after being talked out of the deal by her relatives.

But six months later, after giving birth to her third child, Barnokhon contacted Yulia, it is claimed.

Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Yulia Ivanova said: 'The criminal case on attempted sale of a minor was initiated against the 23-year-old. The suspect faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.'

A statement on the official website of the Russian Investigative committee said: 'The woman wanted one million rubles for her newborn child.

'On March 5, when she was in Moscow, she received the money and handed the baby to a buyer. She also wrote a note confirming that she had received the money for the baby.

'During the police interrogation, the suspect admitted to the crime. There are no threats to the baby's health.'

Newborn sold to pay for cooking course

Earlier this year a mother attempted to sell her newborn baby to pay for lessons on baking pastries in a horrifying case of alleged human trafficking, according to police.

The Brazilian woman and three other people were arrested after police narrowly saved the 27-day-old baby from the bizarre sale in the city of Goiania, about 560 miles north of Sao Paulo.

Police said they were tipped off to the attempted sale by neighbors of the woman, who also planned to use the undisclosed amount of money to help pay rent.

Earlier this year a mother attempted to sell her newborn baby to pay for lessons on baking pastries in a horrifying case of alleged human trafficking, according to police

The Brazilian woman and three other people were arrested after police narrowly saved the 27-day-old baby from the bizarre sale in the city of Goiania, about 560 miles north of Sao Paulo

The woman, who was reportedly suffering postpartum depression, allegedly set up the deal through her boyfriend, who is not the father of the child.

The boyfriend and his roommate set up the sale of the child on behalf of a local businesswoman, who was looking for a child. It was unclear what the buyer planned to do with the child.

The business woman, who owns an ice cream shop, has denied the accusations and said she was temporarily babysitting when police took custody of the child.

A Brazilian news outlet, however, obtained a text message exchange from the woman outlining what type of baby she was looking for.

'Find a 'big-breasted' woman to give me the child,' the businesswoman wrote. 'If it's a boy, even better. If it's black, even better.'

Authorities learned that the businesswoman had previously signed up in the past to adopt a child with the National Adoption Registry, but was not on a waiting list.

'The mother confessed, she told the whole story that they actually offered her a sum of money to hand over the baby, because with the money she was going to pay the rent in the other place where she was going to live and she was going to take a cooking course,' Goias Civil Police chief Humberto Teofilo told Brazilian news outlet G1.

Teofilo said the mother was expecting to receive payment in the coming days.

The baby was turned over to child protection services and later placed under the care shelter.

Florida woman tries to sell daughter to stranger

A Florida woman was arrested for trying to sell her daughter for $500 outside a local store - and then abandoning the child when confronted by an employee.

Police said Jessica Woods, 33, was loitering around a H&R Block office in Palatka with her 18-month-old daughter, who had a bruise on her face, in March 2024.

An employee of the business told police that Woods had first come into the establishment at 7:40pm one evening because her baby had a soiled diaper.

A Florida woman was arrested for trying to sell her daughter for $500 outside a local store - and then abandoning the child when confronted by an employee. Police said Jessica Woods (pictured), 33, was loitering around a H&R Block office in Palatka with her 18-month-old daughter, who had a bruise on her face, in March 2024

As Woods used the H&R Block restroom to change the child, the worker witnessed the mother hit her daughter with her elbow and then spank her, according to the probable cause affidavit seen by DailyMail.com.

The next morning, the witness arrived back at the office and found Woods sleeping on top of the outside air conditioner unit - and the 18-month-old was sleeping near her in a shopping cart without a blanket.

The employee confronted the mother and asked if she or the child needed any help, the affidavit said.

Woods demanded money - and when the employee said she would buy her items but not cough up cash, Woods became 'enraged' and threw her child.

Later in the day around 2pm, the witness said Woods crossed the busy street and went over to talk with her. She put the baby down on the ground, near some grass.

The 18-month-old began to crawl towards a busy road, the police document stated.

The worker picked up the baby - and it was at this point that Woods allegedly offered to sell her daughter for $500.

As Woods used the H&R Block restroom to change the child, the worker witnessed the mother hit her daughter with her elbow and then spank her, according to the probable cause affidavit seen by DailyMail.com

According to the affidavit, the woman said she would not give her any money. Woods then replied: 'You can have the b*****d.'

When the employee refused to buy the toddler, Woods walked away and abandoned her child. The worker took the child into H&R Block, and cleaned her up.

'Jessica did not return to take custody of [the child],' the affidavit read.

The employee took the 18-month-old to the Palatka Police Department and told them what happened.

According to the Palatka Police Department, Woods is known to have frequented the area.

Officers and the Department's Victim Advocate provided care to the child until the Department of Children and Families took custody of her.

The child has since been placed in foster care.

Woods has been charged with child abuse, child neglect, abandonment of a child and selling a minor for money.

She was located and arrested on March 7 and transported to the Putnam County Jail.

Her bond was initially set at $255,000 and court documents appear to show she was ordered to have no contact with her victim.

Child missing after being sold

A South African woman was convicted earlier this month of kidnapping and selling her 6-year-old daughter in a case that horrified the country.

Joshlin Smith disappeared in February 2024 and still hasn't been found.

Her mother Kelly Smith, along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, have been found guilty of human trafficking and kidnapping.

A court heard the child, who vanished from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, had been sought by a 'healer' for her 'light eyes and skin'.

A South African woman was convicted earlier this month of kidnapping and selling her 6-year-old daughter in a case that horrified the country. Joshlin Smith (pictured) disappeared in February 2024 and still hasn't been found

Her mother Kelly Smith (pictured), along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, have been found guilty of human trafficking and kidnapping

In the days after Joshlin disappeared, local media reported that neighbors accused her mother, also known as Racquel Chantel Smith, of selling her for just over $1,000.

During the first week of her trial, the court heard from a local pastor who said that he heard Kelly, who has three children, talk about selling them for 20,000 rand, which is the equivalent of $1,100.

Lourentia Lombaard, Kelly's friend and neighbor, said that in the days before Joshlin disappeared, the mother confessed to her that she had sold her child to a 'sangoma' - a traditional healer.

Lombaard said she later saw Kelly pack some of Joshlin's clothing into a black bag, which she was carrying when she met a woman she believes was the sangoma.

Kelly climbed into a white car with Joshlin and the sangoma, according to Lombaard, and they drove away.

Lombaard said 'the person who took Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin'. It was unclear why the sangoma wanted a child with these features.

A woman believed to be the sangoma was arrested alongside the other defendants last year, but the charges against her were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Sangomas are recognized in South Africa under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007. It is believed they can access ancestral spirits who guide their healing.

Joshlin is still missing despite a major search operation involving police, firefighters, city authorities and specialized sniffer dog units around the family home.

Police said children's clothing had been recovered last weekend near the settlement of small houses and shacks where Joshlin lived. It was sent to a laboratory for forensic examination.

Community members who are also involved in the search said the clothing was spattered with blood and a knife was also found. Police didn't give any more details on what was discovered.

Prosecutors said in court documents released in March that Kelly Smith and the others conspired to abduct Joslin and intentionally sold, delivered or exchanged her.

The suspects face a sentence of life in prison if convicted of the main charge of human trafficking.
Nicola Peltz and the Duchess of Sussex are said to have bonded at the Beckxit summit in Montecito over being branded 'homewrecker' women who 'tear apart their husbands' families'.

But the heiress recently declared 'Who's Meghan?' when asked if she was inviting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to her $3million wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, it has emerged.

Nicola's perplexed response was revealed in a lawsuit brought by her billionaire father two years ago when he sued wedding organisers after deciding the lavish Miami event for 500 VIP guests was a 's**tshow'.

MailOnline can reveal that while the couples have reportedly found kinship over their own family feuds, before Beckxit both parties appeared less keen - even oblivious, at times.

As well as Nicola forgetting who Meghan was, six months ago Brooklyn was on US TV and was asked about the virtues of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Instead he chose to praise Prince William - calling him the 'sweetest guy' - and failed to mention the Sussexes at all.

And in 2023 Prince Harry walked straight past Brooklyn and Nicola at a LAFC match at a time when it was claimed there was a feud between the Sussexes and the Beckhams in a row over allegations of leaking stories to the press.

The viral footage further fueled online conspiracies that the two clans had fallen out.

Nicola Peltz and Brooklyn Beckham after their 2022 wedding. It later emerged that Nicola asked: 'Who's Meghan' when asked if the Sussexes were on the guest list

@bravowwhl Which members of the royal family did Brooklyn Peltz Beckham spend the most amount of time with growing up? #WWHL  original sound - BravoWWHL

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were spotted enjoying the fifth night of Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Tour in California over the weekend

The moment Prince Harry, left, walks past Brooklyn and Nicola, far right,

Cruz Beckham, Nicola Peltz-Beckham, Victoria Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham last year

12 months earlier Nicola appeared perplexed about who Meghan Markle was in a text to her mother about her and Brooklyn's wedding guest list.

Claudia Heffner Peltz had asked her: 'Did Meghan get an invite?' to which her daughter replied: 'Who's Meghan?'.

The texts appeared in 188-page lawsuit brought by Nicola's billionaire father, businessman and investor Nelson Peltz, 82, over his daughter's 'dream wedding'.

Nicola had raged that the 'ever-changing' guest list was like a 'murder scene'.

It was in that chaos of who was coming came her confusion about who Meghan was when asked if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be coming.

Yet today it emerged Brooklyn and his wife Nicola are enjoying the 'secret support' of the Sussexes because of their 'similar family feuds', sources claimed.

On November 4 last year, Brooklyn appeared on Watch What Happens Live! where host Andy Cohen asked: 'Growing up, which members of the royal family did you see the most often, especially since your family is friends with Harry and Meghan?'

'Probably William,' Brooklyn, 26, replied in a rare interview while sat next to Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto.

Dodging Harry and Meghan completely he went on about William and said: 'He's just like the sweetest guy ever. He really is. He's really down to earth. He's really [a] good guy'.

The Peltz Beckhams were at a soiree held at the home of Meghan and Harry but a pro-Sussex source has played down talk of a pact between the couple

Nelson Peltz with son-in-law Brooklyn

Nelson Peltz pictured with wife Claudia and their daughter Nicola sued Plan Design - a Miami-based wedding planning company. In the lawsuit Peltz demanded his $159,000 deposit back and called their refusal to hand it over a 'good old fashioned shakedown'

Meghan and Nicola are said to have had a 'deep and meaningful' chat and bonded over criticism of them.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who enjoyed a date night at a James Taylor concert in Santa Barbara last night after going to a Beyonce gig on the weekend, had the couple over for dinner at their mansion in Montecito, California in recent weeks.

Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola, 30, who live 90 minutes away in LA, have received 'unwavering support' from Harry and Meghan who reportedly feel 'empathetic' towards them amid the younger couple's tensions with David and Victoria Beckham.

Yet the couple were not 'directly invited' by Meghan and Harry to a VIP soiree at their Montecito mansion, a pro-Sussex source claimed today.

The two women are said to have had a 'deep and meaningful' chat and formed a bond after being accused by critics of being 'homewreckers' and wives who 'tear apart their husbands' families'.

They also reportedly clicked over their 'similar family feuds', insiders have said.

But the timing of the so-called Beckxit summit amid the younger couple's falling out with David and Victoria Beckham has been described by an insider as 'pure coincidence'.

People, Harry and Meghan's preferred publication in the US, has spoken to lukewarm sources that appear to distance the royal couple from the Peltz Beckhams.

It has reported that 'Brooklyn and Nicola were not directly invited by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex', suggesting the couple were asked to be there by a mutual friend or intermediary.

The meal was for a larger group of VIPs including TV and media executives.

'Brooklyn and Nicola were invited prior to David's numerous global birthday galas, so the timing is pure coincidence,' an insider told MailOnline.

'While it was an intimate gathering, there were several additional guests, including VIPs and film executives. Brooklyn and Nicola had a wonderful time and found Harry and Meghan to be particularly kind, caring and generous'.

The Montecito dinner would likely infuriate David and Victoria Beckham who are said to have fallen out with the Sussexes in a row over allegations of leaking stories to the press.

Brooklyn and Nicola were not 'directly invited' by the Sussexes, an insider has claimed

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who enjoyed a date night at a James Taylor concert in Santa Barbara last night after going to a Beyonce gig on the weekend, had the couple over for dinner at their mansion in Montecito, California in recent weeks.

Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola, 30, who live 90 minutes away in LA, have received 'unwavering support' from Harry and Meghan who reportedly feel 'empathetic' towards them.

'Brooklyn and Nicola had a wonderful time and found Harry and Meghan to be particularly kind, caring and generous', one source said today.

The Duchess of Sussex 'has a lot of sympathy for her' because both women have been branded 'homewreckers', another source familiar with the dinner claimed.

'There was shared common ground', the insider claimed.

'Nicola and Meghan also had a bit of a 'deep n' meaningful' as obviously both women have been positioned in the media as homewreckers - the women to tear apart their husbands' families.

'Harry and Meghan were very empathetic and very kind to them both. Harry was fully aware of the situation and offered Brooklyn his unwavering support as someone who has been through similar'.

The Sussexes have apparently swapped mobile numbers with the couple amid the fallout with Brooklyn's family being dubbed Beckxit after Harry and Meghan's own messy feud with the prince's British family.

The Montecito dinner could infuriate David and Victoria Beckham who are said to have fallen out with the Sussexes in a row over allegations of leaking stories to the press.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly 'secretly supporting' Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz (pictured) amid their 'similar family feuds'

Meghan Markle, 43, and Prince Harry, 40, continued their musical outings this week, as they attended a James Taylor (R) concert in Santa Barbara on Wednesday

There was also footage of them on Instagram showing Harry kissing his wife at the gig, where she danced with his hat on

Years later Meghan and Harry fell out with Victoria and David after the couple allegedly had a suspicion the Beckhams leaked stories about Meghan's help from Victoria to the press

The former Spice Girl denied the claim and left David reportedly feeling 'absolutely bloody furious' (David pictured with Prince William and Prince Harry in 2010)

The Mail's Katie Hind revealed this week that Brooklyn has ditched his old pals in the UK and has followed Nicola's lead when it comes to mixing in new LA circles.

David and Victoria, 51, are currently 'heartbroken' over the family feud after Brooklyn and Nicola were a noticeable no-show at the footballer's 50th birthday celebrations earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Harry launched a series of scathing attacks on the Royal Family earlier this month, saying he has been cut off from King Charles who 'won't speak to him'.

And according to The Sun, Harry, Meghan, Brooklyn and Nicola found 'common ground' as they continue to be at the forefront of their family riffs.

A source told the publication: 'They didn't meet in relation to recent developments and headlines, but it was an honest but very welcome coincidence'.

People, the Sussexes' preferred publication in the US, has suggested that Brooklyn and Nicola were not directly invited by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - although the royal couple enjoyed their company.

The dinner was for a large group of VIPs and TV and media executives.

'Brooklyn and Nicola were invited prior to David's numerous global birthday galas, so the timing is pure coincidence,' People's source said.

'While it was an intimate gathering, there were several additional guests, including VIPs and film executives. Brooklyn and Nicola had a wonderful time and found Harry and Meghan to be particularly kind, caring and generous'.

MailOnline has contacted Brooklyn, Nicola and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex' representatives for comment.
The entire city of Columbus has slowly begun to sink into the earth at a terrifying rate - putting more than one million residents at risk of a future catastrophe.

Columbus, Ohio is disappearing beneath our feet - with shocking new research revealing the entire city is gradually sinking into the ground at an alarming rate, scientists have revealed in a new study.

The bustling Midwestern state capital has been identified as one of America's most at-risk urban areas for what scientists call 'urban land subsidence'.

A bombshell study published in the journal Nature Cities found that a staggering 98 percent of Columbus' land area is sinking at an average rate of 2mm per year.

That's enough to potentially trigger catastrophic damage to buildings, roads and vital services.

'The latent nature of this risk means infrastructure can be silently compromised over time, with damage only becoming evident when it is severe or potentially catastrophic,' researchers wrote.

The crisis isn't limited to Columbus  scientists found that in every major US city studied, at least 20 percent of the land is sinking.

And In 25 of 28, at least a shocking 65 percent has been found to be sinking.

The entire city of Columbus has slowly begun to sink into the earth at a terrifying rate - putting more than one million residents at risk of a future catastrophe

Ohenhen, L.O., Zhai, G., Lucy, J. et al. Land subsidence risk to infrastructure in US metropolises. Nat Cities (2025)

Columbus joins nine other urban centers facing the most extreme subsidence rates including Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis.

Professor Manoochehr Shirzaei, who co-authored the study at Virginia Tech's Earth Observation and Innovation Lab, told WOSU: 'Columbus land subsidence is notable compared to many other cities in the country, but it's not near what we have at the fastest-sinking cities such as Houston and San Antonio in Texas.'

'Those cities experience subsidence due to human activity, which is groundwater, but also oil and gas exploration - a different type of fluid, but the same process.

'But also, they have been affected by compaction of the sediments in the coastal region. So, in that sense, Columbus, Ohio is not at as critical a condition compared to those. Nevertheless, the rate of land subsidence in Columbus is also one of the fastest that we saw in the country.'

The alarming phenomenon is partly driven by natural processes dating back to the Ice Age, when thick ice sheets covered northern America 15,000 years ago.

'The majority of the land subsidence that you experience in Columbus is driven by a natural process. We call it glacial isostatic adjustment.

'So, the northern part of the America was covered by thick layer of ice about 15,000 years ago,' he added.

'Since then, that thick layer of ice has melted and land in Canada is rising, and the perimeter of that area-which is part of United States, specifically northern part and eastern part-are subsiding, and we are talking about one to three millimeters [per year] of the steady subsidence happening in Columbus, Ohio,' Prof Shirzaei explained to the outlet.

But human activities are making matters worse.

For example, groundwater extraction has played a key role in accelerating the disaster.

'We have human activities like groundwater extraction, which is the main component of the human activities driving the land subsidence that we observe today.'

When asked about the research by Axios, Mayor Andrew Ginther's office redirected inquiries to the city's Sustainable Columbus team. Ginther seen above

Columbus, Ohio is disappearing beneath our feet - with shocking new research revealing the entire city is gradually sinking into the ground at an alarming rate, scientists have revealed in a new study

In this image released by the Ohio Department of Transportation, a person is seen stranded on his vehicle in flood waters at I-270 and US 23 in Columbus' South Side, Ohio, Tuesday, April 3, 2024

'When we extract the water from the aquifer, specifically a confined aquifer, we empty those porous spaces and those porous spaces no longer can hold the weight of the material above them and they begin to collapse inward. As a result, land above them subsides,' the expert warned.

Columbus officials appeared unaware of the impending disaster threatening their city.

When asked about the research by Axios, Mayor Andrew Ginther's office redirected inquiries to the city's Sustainable Columbus team.

Assistant director Erin Beck said 'this is the first we are hearing'.

'As we review this study more closely, we'll assess how its findings might inform the city's ongoing efforts to build a more resilient Columbus,' she added.

The study also highlighted increasing flood risks for Central Ohio that would require 'upgraded structural protection, raised land, improved drainage systems and green infrastructure'.

This could potentially cost millions in taxpayer funds.
A tragic loss on the world's highest peak marks the start of this year's climbing season, reminding everyone of the mountain's deadly unpredictability. Filipino climber Philipp Santiago reportedly died on 15 May in Camp 4 of Mount Everest, the first recorded death of this year's ascent.

Who Was Philipp Santiago?

Filipino engineer Philipp 'PJ' Santiago II was no stranger to challenge. His journey to Everest was driven by a desire to push his limits and tell a story of perseverance. Santiago was seen as a symbol of the 'everyman'a man who worked as an engineer, balancing a demanding career with a passion for mountaineering.

Before his expedition, Santiago expressed a desire to 'see the edge and come back and tell my story about it.' His nephew, Karl Miguel Santiago, supported him at base camp, and the climber often spoke about his hope to inspire others. His commitment extended beyond personal achievement; he advocated for access to clean drinking water and the fight against children's cancer. Santiago's words reflected a deep sense of purpose, blending personal dreams with a wish to make a difference.

First Fatality in the 2025 Climbing Season

On the fatal day, Santiago was in the final stages of his expedition, preparing to reach the summit from Camp 4, situated in the notorious 'death zone' at 26,000 feet above sea level. Nepalese officials confirmed that Santiago's body was found at Camp 4, where he was resting when he passed away. His organisation, Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition, is now working to bring his remains back to base camp.

The Circumstances of His Death

Scaling Mount Everest is an immensely perilous endeavour, with approximately 10% mortality rate among those who reach the summit. The main dangers encompass altitude sickness, severe weather conditions, strong winds, and dangers from avalanches as well as the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. Although the technical difficulty of the climb on the conventional route is relatively manageable, the extreme altitude and severe environmental conditions present considerable hazards to climbers.

Santiago was last seen at Camp 4, a dangerous area where the lack of oxygen can cause bodily functions to deteriorate rapidly. The Himalayan Times reported that his death occurred during the final push, but no definitive cause has been confirmed. Fellow climbers and his family have expressed their grief, with his cousin local Filipino newscasteer Emil Sumangil saying, 'The family respectfully requests privacy as we grieve and process these events. Your understanding, support, and prayers are deeply appreciated.'

A Legacy of Courage and Inspiration

Santiago's death has eclipsed what has been a notable week for Philippine mountaineering. His fellow climbers, Jeno Panganiban and Miguel Mapalad, are still aiming for the summit, with plans to reach the top around 18 May. The Philippine mountaineering community has paid tribute to Santiago as a 'symbol of courage, perseverance, and love for the mountains.'

Friends and family have come out in support and commiseration online, with one post even saying 'Philipp Santiago IIPJ to us, 'Sir PJ' to those who followed himwas never climbing Everest for himself. He did it for something greater. He carried with him the weight of stories far bigger than his own: children at the Philippine Children's Medical Center fighting for their lives, families without access to clean water, and countless people facing unseen mountains every day.'

Originally published on IBTimes UK
As Canada Gomez's wedding day loomed, she was not suffering typical pre-nuptial jitters - she was instead wondering if she would even be able to smile at her groom.

That's because just weeks before she was set to say 'I do,' her dream bachelorette weekend turned into a waking nightmare when she was randomly attacked by a stranger outside a Dallas nightclub on March 23.

The savage blow knocked her unconscious and left her facedown in a pool of blood. She woke up with a broken nose, two black eyes, three shattered teeth, a concussion, and needed eight stitches across her forehead. Her face was so swollen and bruised she barely recognizable.

Th girls weekend was meant to be the celebration of a lifetime. Canada had meticulously arranged every detail - from luxurious boat rides and brunches to a playful pole dancing class and an exciting night out with her closest friends.

But when the bride-to-be and her friends were leaving the club Cash Cow at around 2am and waiting for their Uber, a man suddenly struck her from behind.

Suspect Trevor Woodards, 27, was later arrested for assault on March 28. He had just been released on parole and records show he has a lengthy criminal history, including charges of assaulting a police officer, misdemeanor assault and burglary.

'My entire right side of my face looks completely different. I don't even know how to describe it - it's just a different shape than it used to be. It's hard to tell if it's just swelling or if there's more damage underneath,' Canada told the Daily Mail days after the attack.

Canada Gomez was violently attacked during her bachelorette weekend in Dallas on March 23 by a stranger, Trevor Woodards, leaving her with severe facial injuries

Injuries included a broken nose, two black eyes, three broken teeth, eight stitches on her forehead and a concussion. She's pictured above before the attack on her bachelorette weekend

Pictured: Canada getting ready for her wedding just weeks after getting randomly attacked on her bachelorette trip

Despite the damage, she made a remarkable recovery in time for her April 26 wedding, requiring only light makeup and no Photoshop. Pictured above on the happy day

'She was covered in blood - there was a puddle on the street, and we couldn't even tell where the blood was coming from because it was everywhere,' her 23-year-old sister, Brieanna Rinaldi, who witnessed the attack, told the Daily Mail.

'At first, it seemed like he was reaching for her cowboy hat, but he swung his arm back and struck her. She collapsed on the concrete, face down,' Brieanna recalled.

Despite the terrifying experience and severe injuries, Canada's recovery process proved remarkable. Within weeks, she was already healing better than expected.

'My nose healed straight, so I didn't have to do anything else [to it], which was a huge relief for me,' she told Daily Mail in a follow-up interview this week. 'Everything else healed pretty quickly.'

The speedy recovery was a significant relief, as Canada was determined to move forward with her wedding plans set for April 26 - just a month after the attack.

On the big day, she walked down the aisle looking radiant, the physical marks of her ordeal were barely visible.

Canada revealed that contrary to her initial worries, no significant photo editing work was needed to hide scars from the attack. Instead, she used only minimal makeup to cover lingering blemishes.

The ceremony took place at the Wild Sage Ranch in Hugoton, Kansas. She married her longtime love, Brandon Gomez, with whom she shares two sons.

'It was really good - we had a great turnout. All of our family and friends were there, and it was a perfect day. Everything went smoothly,' Canada shared joyfully.

The attack left her unconscious in the street

The incident was captured on Uber dashcam footage, revealing the attacker lurking before striking

She is still undergoing dental treatment, including crowns and fillings for damaged teeth

Her wedding day was a celebration of resilience and love. Surrounded by family and friends, she felt immense support and comfort.

'It was really inspiring,' her older sister and bridesmaid Tina Rinaldi, 29, told the Daily Mail. 'I really didn't think it was going to happen, because she had put so much into it, and previously she said she felt like it was kind of ruined. So seeing her happy again really made everything she went through worth it.'

The emotional impact of the assault remained, but she didn't allow it to dominate the day.

Instead, her bridesmaids - several of whom had witnessed the traumatic incident - created a heartfelt video celebrating their bond, strength and friendship.

Although touching on the hardships they had faced together, the attack itself was not openly addressed during the wedding festivities.

'It was easier not to talk about it there,' Canada admitted, finding solace instead in reconnecting with loved ones who were eager to see her and ensure she was doing well. 'Seeing everyone who came to support me was incredibly uplifting.'

Canada's ongoing recovery includes dental treatments to repair damage from the attack.

'I had three broken teeth,' she said. 'The two in the front just needed to be smoothed down and slightly filled, nothing major. But one tooth in the back cracked in half, so I currently have a temporary crown and will get a permanent one next week. While they were placing the temporary crown, they found another broken tooth, so we need to fix that too.'

Still, Canada described her overall physical recovery as minor - she didn't need major surgical interventions.

She is pressing charges against Woodards and is registered to receive custody updates

Canada is seen above with her husband on their wedding day. 'The wedding was perfect,' she said. 'Everything went smoothly'

Her dream celebration turned traumatic, despite months of meticulous planning involving brunches, boat rides and a pole dancing class

Addressing potential legal action against her attacker, Canada confirmed, 'I'm pressing charges.

'Once he was captured, authorities told me the prosecutor's office would reach out when ready. It might take some time, but I've signed up for notifications if he's released or transferred.'

When asked what message she would have for her attacker if she faces him in court, Canada responded thoughtfully, 'I don't really know if I would say much to him. I just hope he receives the consequences he deserves. He shouldn't have been out in the first place. The system failed not only me but him as well. I genuinely hope he learns from this.'

Reflecting on her experience, Canada emphasized the importance of focusing on life's precious moments.

'The wedding was perfect,' she concluded with heartfelt relief. 'Everything went smoothly. It was exactly the day I had dreamed of. I refuse to let what happened overshadow my happiness.'
Locals in Massachusetts have been left baffled after an alligator was found lying in a coastal nature reserve, dead and skinned.

A resident in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard came across the beast on Saturday afternoon while walking his dog at Sepiessa Point Reservation.

Dave Kelliher told MV Times that he almost tripped over the approximately five-foot-long alligator that had most of its skin missing, with its head and legs still attached.

'When it comes to wildlife, this is the wildest thing I've seen on the Island,' Kelliher told the outlet. 'I've seen deer swimming and some interesting things, but not this.'

While no expert, the 40-year-old resident said he believed the animal had only recently died due to a lack of smell and flexibility in its limbs.

The West Tisbury Animal Control office were contacted and reportedly picked up the dead animal, and it's being stored in a cooler.

It remains unclear if an investigation will be conducted. The West Tisbury Animal Control office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

Officials with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife confirmed to MV Times that the animal is an American alligator.

Victorian seaside homes on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts

Dave Kelliher said that he almost tripped over the approximately five-foot-long alligator that had most of its skin missing, with its head and legs still attached

Matt Pelikan said: 'Weird stuff happens, and I don't generally use the word "impossible" when talking about animal vagrancy but with a situation like this, a series of near-miracles would have to occur to get an alligator here on its own'

The West Tisbury Animal Control office were contacted and reportedly picked up the dead animal, and it's being stored in a cooler

State officials have said it would be nearly impossible for an American alligator to live naturally in Massachusetts, where the climate is not generally warm enough.

Matt Pelikan, a community naturalist at BiodiversityWorks, an organization focused on conservation, told the outlet: 'Weird stuff happens, and I don't generally use the word "impossible" when talking about animal vagrancy...

'But with a situation like this, a series of near-miracles would have to occur to get an alligator here on its own.'

It has been theorized that the gator may have been purposefully or accidentally released by someone keeping it as a pet illegally.

The mystery continues as it remains unclear how the alligator's skin was removed, with one theory pointing to local wildlife eating the gator.

Theories that the animal was skinned by someone have been declared, but it has been pointed out that if it's skin was being sold or used then its claws and head would likely have been removed as well.
A Texas Pilates studio has broken its silence after an ex-member went viral for her fat-shaming rants - claiming people over 200 pounds should be excluded from the popular exercise.

The internet went up in flames when Monica Cruz, who goes by Succulent Addict on her online platforms, posted the first of her jaw-dropping TikToks earlier this week.

'This might be a hot take for some people, but if you're 200 pounds, you shouldn't be in a Pilates class,' the sunglasses-wearing influencer confidently declared while sitting in her car after a Pilates class.

'There's no reason why they should allow 200-pound people in a level 2 class. Or, you shouldn't be allowed to be a Pilates instructor if you have a gut and you're fat.

'What the f**k is going on? Is this even real? Is this America? Standards are so f**king low.'

The 30-year-old sparked instant outrage, with viewers in disbelief of her blatant ignorance.

But instead of shying away from the negative attention, she decided to double-down on her unpopular belief in a follow-up video.

In the clip, she baselessly claimed people over 200 pounds do not benefit from Pilates and are better off joining a regular gym.

The internet went up in flames when Monica Cruz (pictured), who goes by Succulent Addict on her online platforms, posted the first of her jaw-dropping TikToks earlier this week

Ashton Hallett (pictured), the regional marketing manager of four Club Pilates locations, including the Quarry Market one, addressed Cruz's exclusionary remarks

Hallet also shared a brief video on Instagram, updating other members on the situation and reinforcing the studio's 'zero-tolerance' policy for bullying (pictured: a Pilates class at Club Pilates Quarry Market)

As her hateful tangents caught traction, her Pilates gym, the Club Pilates in Quarry Market, deemed her behavior unacceptable.

Ashton Hallett, the regional marketing manager of four Club Pilates locations, including the Quarry Market one, addressed Cruz's exclusionary remarks.

'We want to be clear: the individual who made this video has been permanently removed from our member base and is no longer welcome at any of our studios,' she wrote to DailyMail.com.

'These comments are not only hurtful, but they also directly oppose the values we uphold as a studio and a community.

'At Club Pilates Quarry Market, we believe Pilates is for everyBODY. Our mission is to foster a welcoming, inclusive space where individuals of all sizes, ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels feel safe, seen, and supported.'

Hallet said even though Cruz's comments were disheartening and offensive, it opened up an important conversation about the fitness industry.

'Its a reminder of how vital it is to continue challenging outdated, narrow ideas of what fitness should look like and instead champion spaces where everyone belongs!' she explained.

Hallet also shared a brief video on Instagram, updating other members on the situation and reinforcing the studio's 'zero-tolerance' policy for bullying.

In a tearful apology, Cruz claimed she was not only barred from the exercise club, but fired from her job.

Hallet also shared a brief video on Instagram, updating other members on the situation and reinforcing the studio's 'zero-tolerance' policy for bullying (pictured: the Quarry Market Club Pilates)

The 30-year-old sparked instant outrage, with viewers in disbelief of her blatant ignorance (pictured: Cruz)

Kersten Veronesi (pictured), a self-described 'Plus Size Certified Pilates Instructor' wrote on TikTok about the situation

DailyMail.com was unable to confirm if she was actually removed from her job. According to her LinkedIn, she has ties to a San Antonio dental office as a marketing coordinator.

The office did not provide DailyMail.com with any information on the matter.

'It's just so toxic and I'm so sorry about that,' Cruz said in the apology, that many viewers slammed as fabricated.

All three of her controversial videos have since been deleted from her TikTok account.

But other users have shared their passionate reactions, calling Cruz out for her bizarre and outdated stance.

'I don't know what possessed her to come out and say this, this is nasty, evil,' TikTok user Uncle Juan shared in a post.

He went on to describe her as an entitled 'snob', who is giving the Pilates community an awful reputation.

Another user, Kiizoe, was simply not buying Cruz's apology.

'You are toxic, and you're not sorry... You just look bitter, you just look like you have nothing better to do than to put someone down,' she said.

But other users have shared their passionate reactions, calling Cruz (pictured) out for her bizarre and outdated stance

Another instructor, Norah Myers (pictured), uploaded a statement on Instagram, commending Club Pilates for taking action against Cruz

In a tearful apology, Cruz claimed she was not only barred from the exercise club, but fired from her job (pictured: a Pilates class at the Quarry Market Club Pilates)

Pilates instructors have also shared their takes on the heavily publicized situation, pointing to a larger problem within the community.

Kersten Veronesi, a self-described 'Plus Size Certified Pilates Instructor' wrote on TikTok: 'Unfortunately there are many like her, the worst are the instructors who think this way bc it actually takes a skilled instructor to truly teach for all bodies.

'The industry is changing slowly. Me and my big belly are going to continue to teach all bodies how to enjoy Pilates.'

Another instructor, Norah Myers, uploaded a statement on Instagram, commending Club Pilates for taking action against Cruz.

'I am so thankful that Club Pilates did what they did - it shows that they stand for inclusion, diversity, representation, and kindness,' she wrote.

'I am so thankful that the Pilates community has come together to promote Pilates for what its actually for: posture, strength, balance, mobility, flexibility, pain relief, and recovery from injuries and surgeries.'

Cruz has not responded to DailyMail.com's requests for comment.
Time for teals to unite?

Liberal candidate Tim Wilson's victory in Goldstein is the election's only example of a teal MP losing their seat.

You'll recall on the night of the election Zoe Daniel made a goose of herself dancing around in celebration of her 'victory'.

She quickly learned a learn a thing or two about how our electoral system works in the days to come when postal votes overwhelmingly favoured the Liberal Party.

That resulted in Wilson clawing back to build an unassailable lead of his own.

While at one level it was understandable of someone ignorant to the way vote counting works to assume Wilson was gone for all money - falling 1,800 votes behind Daniel - for an incumbent MP to do so was rather embarrassing.

In the weeks of counting since election night, once absentee votes became the focus over postals, Daniel clawed back some votes of her own, but it was never going to be enough to get back in front.

Her supporters remained hopeful, presumably not having looked at the counting closely enough to do the maths. Daniel used social media to justify not conceding by pointing to the tightening race.

While hope springs eternal, that was always just an excuse in reverse engineering. An excuse for why she didn't do the right thing and concede when every major network and political analyst had called the race against her.

While Daniel is now gone the same can't be said of her former fellow teal MPs, the rest of whom won another term in parliament. Albeit to simply sit there in a lower house where the Labor Party has such a large majority that their votes are meaningless.

The real crossbench power during this term sits with the Greens, now that they control the Senate balance of power all in their own right. Other senate crossbenchers such as ACT Senator David Pocock are now as powerless as the teals.

Teal MP Zoe Daniel's (pictured) premature victory dance went viral

Daniel volunteers boogie down during a campaign stop

Liberal candidate Tim Wilson's victory in Goldstein is the election's only example of a teal MP losing their seat. So what should they do now?

Which begs the question: will the teals look to the senate at the next election as a way of extending their parliamentary power base?

While the movement has fashioned itself as all about community issues, there is no reason that can't be extended to the senate. States are simply larger communities.

Teals do well in Liberal heartlands, but they have also shown that they can appeal in Labor held seats too, coming close to winning the ACT seat of Bean. And their number one issue is climate change, which is a much broader topic than that of backyard politics.

Minor parties need 14.29 per cent of the vote to win a senate spot, but less than half of that on primaries before preferences can push them towards victory.

If the teals decide to run for senate positions they would be in with an even better chance of winning seats. Perhaps enough to share the balance of power over the course of two electoral cycles, remembering that only half the senate goes up for re-election each time we vote.

And god knows the teals have enough money to spend on statewide votes, with the cashed up support of Simon Holmes a Court and his Climate200 fund.

But running for the senate is easier when candidates come together as an official party so that they can run above the line, where most voters number the boxes.

Teals don't want to form as an official party because doing so would elevate scrutiny of their actions, such are the rules surrounding gaining party status. And they would need the name 'Teal' on the ballot paper for the senate as a reminder that the candidates running are part of that collective.

If Labor deliver a second term as underwhelming as the first, it could give newly-elected Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley (pictured with her deputy, Ted O'Brien) the ammunition to exceed expectations

Only official parties can have the nomenclature on the ballot paper.

It's something for Holmes a Court and his team to think about. If they really are serious about the climate, the senate is their pathway to better influencing policy decision making.

Liberal leadership questions

Meanwhile, you really do have to question the thinking inside the Liberal Party in choosing Sussan Ley and Ted OBrien as their leader and deputy.

What was the thinking? Having just been poleaxed at the election they choose the deputy leader from that campaign and the shadow minister responsible for the failed nuclear energy policy to lead us out of the wilderness.

Its bizarre.

I guess when the only alternative was the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, who botched the oppositions costings and failed to develop an alternative economic reform package you can see why they went with the team that won.

But make no mistake, impressive with a proven track record isnt the way you can or would describe the pair. Liberals really needed a fresh start, but there is so little talent left in their diminished parliamentary team that the search for new names to lead wasnt easy.

Labor having failed upwards at the election have every chance of delivering a second term as underwhelming as the first. Which might give Ley and OBrien the ammunition they need to exceed expectations.

Political Editor Peter van Onselen isn't impressed by Sussan Ley and Ted O'Brien's track record - but another poor performance from Albo could give them the leg up they need

Unless Albo lifts his game, he could end up being Sussan Ley's secret weapon

For the sake of our democracy I hope so, because you rarely get good government when oppositions are weak.

This government is now odds on for two more terms in power, minimum. But in modern politics things can change fast. You wouldnt bet against Labor winning the next election three years from now, especially if up against the Ley/OBrien ticket.

But unless Albo lifts his game its hard to see another result like the last one.

Two term governments dont get the benefit of the doubt the way one term administrations do.

Tax and federation reforms: 'It's time'

Finally, can someone in the newly elected government finally have the courage to come up publicly and demand we take a serious look at tax and federation reforms?

A white paper on both was wisely flagged nearly a decade ago before Malcolm Turnbull threw both in the too hard basket. Piecemeal changes to both, such as the impending new tax on super, are shallow and don't calibrate such changes within a wider reform package capable of setting Australia up for a more prosperous future.

If we just kick the reforming can further down the road as a country well be playing catch up for years to come.

And the losers will be the next generation. Those of us now in their 40s and 50s were gifted an easier ride courtesy of the reforms Bob Hawke and Paul Keating started, and John Howard continued.

But that all stopped nearly a quarter of a century ago. As Gough Whitlam once said, its time.
A drug dealer who had sex with a prison guard is so besotted with her that he has photos of her stuck up around his prison cell, the criminal's mother has claimed to MailOnline.

Jordan Stones and Morgan Farr Varney would sneak off for sex sessions in a cupboard while she was meant to be guarding him at while working at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire.

Farr Varney, 24, was jailed this week for ten months over the affair  but she has allegedly told Stones' family that she wants to continue the relationship with him when she gets out of prison.

Her lover Stones, 30, who is serving five-and-a-half years for cocaine dealing, is equally infatuated and has shared photos on Facebook of himself in his prison cell with pictures of brunette Farr Varney on the walls.

And last night Stones' mother insisted the couple were still together despite both being behind bars  and would rekindle their relationship when they are released.

Donna March, 47, said: 'They are still together. They've been together for two and a half years. All of his belongings are at her house for when he gets out of jail.

'She was around here all the time with my girls. She takes them out for day trips, she takes them up to her place at weekends.'

Speaking from her home in Billingham, Co Durham, Ms March added: 'Honest to God, she's like another daughter to me. She's amazing.'

Ex-prison officer Morgan Farr Varney, 24, admitted to police she had 'fallen in love' with drug dealerJordan Stones while working at Lindholme Prison near Doncaster

Jordan Stones (pictured) would would sneak off with the prison guard for sex sessions in a cupboard while she was meant to be guarding him

He is now so besotted with her that he has photos of her stuck up around his prison cell as seen in this photo obtained by MailOnline

Farr Varney joined the Prison Service in 2022 and became besotted with Stones while he was on remand at the category-C prison near Doncaster.

Suspicions were raised after she was spotted with him on a wing at Lindholme and she was arrested in January 2023.

An investigation revealed a slew of love letters between the pair, including in the inmate's cell and in Farr Varney's bedroom.

CCTV footage also showed the pair entering a cupboard.

Interviewed by police, Farr Varney admitted she had 'proper fallen in love' with him and admitted she had 'f****ed her life up'.

Stones, of Billingham, Co Durham, was handed an extra six weeks' jail time after being caught with an illicit mobile phone to stay in touch with the shamed guard.

Farr Varney, of Stainforth, South Yorks, was this week sentenced to ten months in prison after admitting to misconduct in public office.

Stones' mother Donna March (pictured), 47, insisted the couple were still together despite both being behind bars

Ms Farr Varney (pictured) and Stones have been together for two and a half years

Mail Online can reveal how she barely disguised her relationship with the criminal - following him on Facebook and posting messages on the profiles of his siblings.

In one post to Stones' sister, she wrote: 'Me and Jordan love you', accompanied by a series of heart emojis.

Farr Varney had received anti-corruption training just months before the illicit affair began.

Following her arrest, she resigned from her role - but the relationship continued despite Stones being moved to Wealstun Prison, near Wetherby in West Yorkshire.

Farr Varney appeared on This Morning last year to discuss facing huge bills after buying braces from an online dental firm only for it to fold partway through her treatment.

Stones was jailed at Teesside Crown Court in April 2023, after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing a Class A drug.

One charge was for possession with intent to supply crack cocaine, while the other was for simple possession.

He was previously jailed aged 20 after being caught selling heroin.

Disgraced former prison officer Morgan Farr Varney appeared on This Morning about the dangers of online dentistry firms

Farr Varney appeared on ITV's This Morning in 2023 to talk about her 'dentistry nightmare'

Police caught him attempting to flush wraps of heroin down the toilet. After being bailed, officers caught him with another 12 wraps the following day.

Stones told detectives he was selling the wares to pay back a drug debt.

Detective Constable Scott Jarvis, of South Yorkshire Police's Prison Anti-Corruption Unit, said her sentencing should send a 'clear message' to warders considering embarking on affairs.

A record number of female prison guards have been fired for affairs with male inmates - with 29 given the sack in the past three years.

That compares to just nine women who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019.

In January, former Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu was jailed for 15 months after a film of her having sex with an inmate was shared online.

Det Con Jarvis said: 'We take any reports of improper relationships between prison staff and inmates incredibly seriously and conduct thorough investigations to ensure those who are guilty of these offences are brought to justice,' he said.

'These types of relationships are thankfully rare, but when they do happen, they threaten to undermine the reputation of the prison service and other hard-working prison officers who abide by the rules and regulations attached to the job.

'I hope this sentencing sends out a clear message to any prison officers thinking of committing similar offences that if you engage in this type of criminality, you will be investigated by police and you will be brought to justice.'
He was savaged at the time as a 'coward' and was consequently one of the villains of James Cameron's 1997 film.

Shipping chief Joseph Bruce Ismay famously survived the sinking of his own pride and joy, the Titanic, by mysteriously finding a place in a lifeboat even though they were reserved for women and children.

His fifth cousin and chief defender, author Cliff Ismay, has long insisted that the White Star Line boss has been unfairly treated by history.

But in a Channel 4 documentary airing tonight, Mr Ismay goes as far as apologising to the granddaughter of a survivor of the 1912 disaster whose new husband died after being told that her spouse was turned away from the same lifeboat.

'That's really sad because up until now, I believed there was actually no one else around that lifeboat, so I'm really sad to hear and sorry to hear that he lost his life that night,' he tells tells Laura Decker Ward, whose grandmother was Lebanese third class passenger Celena Alexander Yasbeck, travelling with her husband Antoni.

Historian Dr Nick Barratt admits in Titanic: Our Secret Histories: 'I know Cliff you were convinced, assured, that Bruce had done the right thing and there was no one else. 'This challenges that narrative a little bit.'

The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives.

Although there were 2,225 people on the 'unsinkable' liner, there were only lifeboats for just over half of them.

Joseph Bruce Ismay was the chairman of the White Star Line. He was portrayed as a villain in the 1997 film Titanic by Australian star Jonathan Hyde

There were 16 wooden boats and a further four canvas collapsible vessels.

Ismay and Yasbeck, then aged just 15, both found space in Collapsible Lifeboat C.

Yasbeck had tried to board with her husband, who she had married less than two months earlier, but he was turned away.

She later described how one of the Titanic's officers put a pistol to her husband's head and warned him that women and children had priority.

It raises the possibility that Antoni could have been shot.

Her granddaughter Laura Decker Ward says in the programme: 'They were third class passengers.

'And Antoni was able to get my grandmother into a lifeboat, Collapsible C, and he was not permitted to get in to the same life boat.

'She never saw him again. He perished.'

Celena Alexander Yasbeck Decker and her husband Antoni. The couple had been married for less than two months when the Titanic sank in April 1912

Yasbeck later contributed to author Walter Lord's much-praised account of the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember, which was published in 1955.

She and her husband were in bed in their cabin in the lower decks of the ship when they felt the Titanic hit the iceberg.

They later saw water flooding into one of the ship's engine rooms. Realising the gravity of the situation, they rushed to the ship's deck.

Yasbeck re-married in January 1914, tying the knot with Elias Michael Daghir, the grandfather of Ms Ward.

The woman and her new spouse named their son after her first husband.

She died in 1966 in Norfolk, Virginia.

As the mastermind behind the luxury liner, Ismay was perhaps its most important passenger.

In Cameron's film, he was portrayed by Australian star Jonathan Hyde as a haughty villain.

Yisbeck was just 15 when she sailed on the Titanic. She was left a teenage widow, as the above press report noted

Cliff Ismay, the fifth cousin of Joseph Bruce Ismay, meets Laura Decker Ward in Channel 4 programme Titanic: Our Secret Histories

Laura Decker Ward is the granddaughter of Celena Alexander Yasbeck

Before disaster strikes, he is seen urging Captain Edward Smith to increase the ship's speed so it can get to New York ahead of schedule and 'make the headlines'.

Although this almost certainly did not happen, Ismay himself did testify after the disaster: 'It was our intention, if we had fine weather on Monday afternoon or Tuesday, to drive the ship at full speed.'

He is known to have had a private discussion with the Titanic's chief engineer, Joseph Bell, before the ship left Queenstown in Ireland, its last port of call.

Experts have argued that the ship was going too fast amid the warnings of ice that were received.

Hyde's Ismay also saves his own skin by finding a place in a lifeboat at the expense of women and children.

The reality is more complex. It is true that he did jump into a lifeboat and was vilified afterwards for doing so.

However, in the lead-up to the moment he left the doomed ship, he took an active part in loading lifeboats and was seen by witnesses ordering in line with custom that women and children get priority.

One crewman remembered: 'He was doing all he could to assist to get the boats out.'

The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Above: The ship before it left Southampton

In 2022 book Understanding J. Bruce Ismay: The True Story Of The Man They Called 'The Coward Of Titanic', Cliff Ismay defended his ancestor's actions.

Ismay allegedly only got into a lifeboat after a call was issued for any more women and none came forward.

So with spaces spare in the 47-seater boat, he took a seat.

Ismay later explained that he got in at the last minute with no pre-mediation because he could see there were no other women waiting to be rescued.

But, soon after being rescued along with fellow survivors, he learned that many women had passengers had not escaped.

Ismay was left inconsolable with guilt. Young survivor Jack Thayer recalled: 'Even when I tried to engage him in conversation, telling him he had a perfect right to take the last boat, he paid absolutely no attention and continued to look ahead, with a fixed stare.

'On the Titanic his hair had been black with slight tinges of grey, but it was now snow white. I have never seen a man so completely wrecked.'

More damningly, Thayer also recalled that he saw Ismay, 'who had been assisting in the loading of the last boat, push his way into it. It was really every man for himself'.

Charles Lightoller, the most senior of the Titanic's officers to survive the sinking, recalled that Ismay was 'obsessed with the idea that he ought to have gone down with the ship because women had gone down.'

Although official inquiries in New York and London cleared Ismay of blame, he was still maligned in much of the press coverage.

He retired from the White Star Line the year after the disaster and moved to a shooting estate in Ireland, where he lived until his death from a stroke in 1937 at the age of 74.

Titanic: Our Secret Histories airs on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.
For 90 terrifying seconds, air traffic controllers responsible for guiding aircraft into Newark Liberty International Airport could do nothing more than pray.

A 'fried' piece of copper wiring momentarily wiped out their radar and radio feeds on May 9 - leaving planes flying blind into one of the world's busiest airports.

FAA planners dismissed the doomsday scenario as an 'extremely remote' possibility when they relocated controllers to a new site in Philadelphia last year.

But an internal report leaked to DailyMail.com suggests senior officials had ample warning that the regulator's antiquated communications system was on the brink of collapse.

The confidential document lists multiple occasions when a dozen or more tower displays failed in eerily similar circumstances across Southern California in 2022 and 2023.

A national safety panel determined the culprit was congested ethernet cabling that couldn't cope with the volume of data traveling between radars and towers.

Ominously, the report concluded that the danger wasn't unique to California because the FAA relies upon the same decades-old tech across the entire country.

Officials insisted that they could mitigate the 'high risk hazard' by installing software patches and having staffers manually monitor the signal.

Passengers were stranded on Mother's Day after the 90-second outage grounded all flights

There was a second outage at Denver Airport on May 12

The rudimentary fix was approved by Tim Arel, the outgoing head of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization.

But it was deemed 'pathetic' this week by Rick Castaldo, a retired FAA engineer, who reviewed the internal report's findings for DailyMail.com.

'Monitoring a failure does not stop the failure,' Castaldo fumed.

'It's nearly the exact same issue that hit Newark. Those f**kers knew this was going to keep happening but they didn't do anything about it.'

An FAA spokesman said: The FAA has more than 74,000 pieces of equipment in the National Airspace System. Every air traffic control facility has a contingency plan to ensure safety, and we have built-in redundancies, backup systems, and procedures in the case of system failure, weather, or other unplanned event.

But as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted, our system is outdated and showing its age. When equipment issues occur, the FAA will ensure safety by slowing down air traffic at an airport.

US aviation safety has been rocked by a slew of crashes and near misses in recent months, including January's deadly midair collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet in Washington, DC.

Telecoms outages at Newark on April 28 and May 9  and a further 90-second blackout across a portion of Denver airspace on May 12  have only added to the wave of public unease.

This leaked internal report suggests senior officials had ample warning that the regulator's antiquated communications system was on the brink of collapse

View of debris as the Coast Guard, local, state and federal agencies respond in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, near Reagan Washington National Airport

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the Biden administration for not dealing with the situation earlier

But less attention was paid on June 16, 2022, when controllers at 11 towers including Los Angeles International, San Diego, Ontario, Palm Springs and Long Beach suddenly found themselves staring into blank monitors.

Another 14 monitors went down simultaneously on December 26, plunging controllers at Van Nuys, El Monte, and several other small airports into a similar nightmare.

'While some towers are able to recover automatically, some have to be reconfigured online manually,' the report said, without revealing how long that takes.

The underlying problem, the document notes, involves a key FAA processing platform named STARS (Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System).

The technology automates massive volumes of radar, weather and real-time aviation data for regional control centers known as TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) sites which guide planes to and from airports.

It's also fed via telecommunications cables to remote airport towers which lack their own direct access to radars.

The problem, the panel explains, is that STARS was engineered by defense giant Raytheon in the 1990s to generate a continual signal compatible with analog wiring.

It was never designed for modern ethernet connections which stream data in tiny digital fragments or 'packets'.

Ethernet is faster and more efficient but the downside is that so many packets can flood the system at once that it congests the line and creates a 'traffic jam'.

STARS responds to the hold-up by re-transmitting the same data again and again until a 'cascade event' overwhelms the bandwidth and blocks the feed to remote tower displays.

From August 2023, staff were told to monitor signals across the Southern California TRACON network three times a day to keep an eye out for troublesome data spikes.

They detected a further 42 signal issues but could do little to prevent 28 monitors going dead on March 3, 15 more on April 27, and a further three outages on November 14, affecting a total of 23 airports.

Outgoing FAA head Tim Arel approved software patches that have been slammed as 'pathetic'

The confidential document lists multiple occasions when a dozen or more tower displays failed in eerily similar circumstances across Southern California in 2022 and 2023

Staff detected a further 42 signal issues but could do little to prevent 28 monitors going dead on March 3, 15 more on April 27, and a further three outages on November 14, affecting a total of 23 airports

In one instance workers tried to remedy a failing line at Hollywood Burbank Airport by manually disconnecting the network  akin to yanking an LAN cable from the back of a domestic router.

'The duration of the communication line failure lasted six days,' the report noted. The eventual fix was 'untimely and cumbersome'.

It warned that similar hazards could be anticipated wherever the STARS software is operational, making it a nationwide safety risk.

Castaldo told DailyMail.com that Southern California was especially prone to outages because the vast distances between radars and towers there create greater vulnerabilities.

For that same reason, he wasn't surprised to see similar issues afflicting Newark, a major hub for the New York City area and the nation's 13th busiest airport.

FAA chiefs transferred control of Newark's airspace to the Philadelphia TRACON in July 2024 to address chronic controller shortages in its former New York base and reduce congestion in the Northeast corridor.

However, the New Jersey airport's radio and radar feeds are still being processed in Long Island and fed south in what critics have likened to a 100-mile 'extension cord' made of copper wiring.

According to CNN, a pre-move analysis downplayed concerns about a communications breakdown and rated the chances as one in 11 million.

Officials insisted that they could mitigate the 'high risk hazard' by installing software patches and having staffers manually monitor the signal

Castaldo, who worked at the FAA for more than two decades, said multiple backup systems should have been installed regardless.

'Every airplane on the planet has built-in redundancy for the 'oh s**t' moments that happen when you're flying. It costs a fortune but that's why these machines are so reliable,' he said.

'It's inexcusable that they didn't apply that principle.'

In a Tuesday press conference Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted the Biden administration for pushing ahead with the Newark move 'without properly hardening the telecom lines feeding the data'.

'Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden did nothing to fix this system that they knew was broken,' Duffy fumed, blaming his predecessor at the Department of Transportation.

'Without addressing the underlying infrastructure, they added more risk to the system.'

Duffy has promised three new telecommunications lines between New York and Philadelphia as well as a three-year modernization program replacing aging radars and copper wiring with the latest fiber, wireless and satellite technology.

FAA insiders fear he's been set up to fail.

'Secretary Duffy is apparently listening to the same FAA people who have gotten us into this mess,' a senior official told DailyMail.com.

'Integrating a new system while maintaining 24/7 operational efficiency is like changing a flat tire on a car going 70mph on the freeway.

'It will not be an overnight or a three to five-year solution.'

Experts weren't surprised to see similar issues afflicting Newark, a major hub for the New York City area and the nation's 13th busiest airport

It was revealed last month that Arel, an FAA veteran of the past four decades, will soon be stepping down after accepting President Trump's federal 'buyout' plan.

However, many of the senior officials named in DailyMail.com's confidential report remain in key FAA positions.

'Duffy is a smart guy but he's up against an entrenched bureaucracy that has no clue how to fix this problem. They need a fresh team in there,' Castaldo said.

'The last outage was at 4am. Thank God it didn't happen in bad weather in peak hours when there are 40 to 60 planes maneuvering at 200mph.

'I would have serious reservations about flying into Newark, period.'
Tariq Hussain admits he knew nothing about Keir Starmer's plans to get tough on immigration, mainly because he's been preoccupied with more pressing concerns lately.

His day job selling traditional Asian female clothes takes up a lot of his time and business has been slow. And when he gets home, he is on the phone to relatives and friends in Pakistan to check on their safety following recent tensions between the country and neighbouring India, which almost led to war.

But there is another more troubling reason why Mr Hussain was completely oblivious to Sir Keir's pledge to overhaul a 'broken' immigration system, despite the fact that it could directly affect him and his family.

Speaking in his native Punjabi he confessed: 'I speak little English even though I have been in this country for quite a long time. I don't watch the British news because I don't understand it, so what's the point?

'All my work involves dealing with other Pakistani people and my friends are all Pakistani so I don't need to speak English. If I do, I get somebody to help me.'

Suggesting that his lack of a formal education in Pakistan where he was born might be the reason for his failure to master the language, he joked in broken English: 'No knowledge without college.'

But Mr Hussain, 57 is not alone in Nelson, Lancashire the town he has called home for the past 20 years.

Once famed for its cotton weaving industry and confectionary factories Nelson made its name and fortune during the industrial revolution, thanks to its strategic location close to the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

Once famed for its cotton weaving industry and confectionary factories Nelson made its name and fortune during the industrial revolution, thanks to its strategic location close to the Leeds and Liverpool canal

Tariq Hussain admits he knew nothing about Keir Starmer 's plans to get tough on immigration, and himself speaks little English

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But now it is known for something radically different - the local authority in which the town is located, Pendle Borough Council has the highest rate in the UK of residents who cannot speak English well or at all.

Census figures showed that 10.5 per cent of over-3s in Leicester couldnt speak English well or at all  the highest rate in the country.

Similarly high rates were recorded in the London boroughs of Newham (9.4%), Brent (8.5%) and Haringey (8.2%).Yet this analysis, covering every council in England and Wales, included everyone brought up speaking our mother tongue.When looking solely at populations whose main language wasnt English, Pendle topped the table.

Almost 38 per cent of that specific group of over-3s in the Lancashire borough spoke little to no English - and the vast majority of those people live in Nelson.

In some wards in the centre of the town, made up of rows of tightly packed Victorian terraced homes inhabited almost exclusively by people of Pakistani origin, as many as 20% of residents have poor mastery over English.

The former mill town has become a microcosm of the immigration debate raging in the country in which the English language has become central.

Labour have signalled plans to raise English language requirements across every immigration route into the UK in an attempt to increase integration with Sir Keir warning that Britain risked becoming 'an island of strangers.'

But in Nelson some locals claim that it is already a 'valley of strangers' in reference to the lush Pendle Valley on which it was built.

Pakistanis first started arriving in the 1950s and 1960s as mill owners recruited from the country to make up for labour shortages.

In recent years, the town has undergone huge demographic changes. Census data from 2011 showed that 57.8% of its residents were white with 40.4% Asian, almost all of them of Pakistani heritage.

But ten years on to the last census in 2021, the white population now stands at 43% with Asians at 52.6%, making Nelson, which has a total population of just over 33,000, a British-Pakistani Muslim town.

Many of its white residents have either left for outlying areas or moved to Marsden, which is located on a hill at the top of the Pendle Valley and looks down on central Nelson. Two main roads that run through the town have effectively divided it along racial lines.

In some wards in the centre of the town, made up of rows of tightly packed Victorian terraced homes inhabited almost exclusively by people of Pakistani origin, as many as 20% of residents have poor mastery over English

The former mill town has become a microcosm of the immigration debate raging in the country in which the English language has become central

In Nelson some locals claim that it is already a 'valley of strangers' in reference to the lush Pendle Valley on which it was built

Four pensioners of Pakistani origin sat on a bench in the afternoon sunshine and echoed some of the concerns raised by fellow residents of the town. Pictured: Mohammed Shafi, Basharat Ahmed, Mughal Sahib and Mohammed Yusuf in Nelson town centre

Pakistanis first started arriving in the 1950s and 1960s as mill owners recruited from the country to make up for labour shortages

At one point there were 13 pubs in Nelson, but now thereare only two. And to further underline the dramatic population change the town has undergone, there are 19 mosques within a 20-minute walk of each other. Pictured: The Markazi Jamia Ghausia Masjid Mosque

Take a walk though Nelson's pedestrianised town centre and the sound of Punjabi and Urdu fills the air along with the languages of more recent arrivals: Dari, Kurdish, Arabic, Romanian and Albanian, to name but a few.

Zafar Ali, 65 who moved to Nelson in 1968 was busy rushing to the Lazeez Grill for his lunch and cried in a broad Lancashire twang: 'A lot of the new arrivals from Pakistan and other countries don't make much effort to learn and speak English but it wasn't like that in my day.

'I worked in the mills all my life and after they closed, continued to work. Of course, speaking English is important. But the immigration system is so messed up that they let anybody in, and no Government is bothered if people integrate or work. It's all wrong.'

The popular eatery serves traditional Pakistani delicacies such as masala fish and chapli kebabs, made of finely minced meat. As crowds of diners tucked into the dishes, Mr Ali joked: 'If you like a curry or kebab then Nelson's the place for you.'

But the nearby Lord Nelson pub was doing anything but a roaring trade, which for landlady Samantha Barrett amounted to 'business as usual.'

Five regulars sat around a decrepit bar sipping pints that cost 2.25 each as a 1980s song played in the background. The peeling paint on the walls revealed layers of colours beneath suggesting that the Lord Nelson had seen better days. The soulless atmosphere somehow reflected the town's wider challenges.

Many of its white residents have either left for outlying areas or moved to Marsden, which is located on a hill at the top of the Pendle Valley and looks down on central Nelson. Two main roads that run through the town have effectively divided it along racial lines

The pub is one of only two in Nelson still operating. At one point there were 13. And to further underline the dramatic population change the town has undergone, there are 19 mosques within a 20-minute walk of each other.

Ms Barrett, 39 who has lived in Nelson all her life revealed: 'Business is always bad but then we are a pub in a Muslim majority town so it's never going to be good. Nelson was once a very busy and lively place, but I'll be honest, there's not much mixing between the communities.

'The town centre is dead, a lot of people who live here don't speak English and they certainly don't like a drink.'

She revealed that she rarely has more than six or seven drinkers in the pub at any one time and only one Asian customer who is of Indian origin. On a good day she is lucky to make 500.

Pub regular Sam Bowler, who has lived in Nelson for more than 40 years was harder hitting. She fumed: 'Nelson's a s**thole. There's no community here because people don't speak to each other, and I mean that literally.'

As she stood outside puffing on a cigarette a 12-metre-high weaving wheel threw a long shadow over the town square. It was erected to symbolise Nelson's textile heritage and is jokingly referred to by locals as 'Nelson's column.' But beyond it, there is little evidence remaining of the town's former grandeur.

Empty shops adjoining small independent ones with dated signage offer a range of goods aimed at its predominantly Asian clientele.

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A local estate agent displays properties available in central Nelson with the prices highlighting the despair and neglect it has fallen into. A two-bedroom flat costs around 450 per month to rent while some houses are available to buy for around 20,000. It also ranks in the top 10% of most deprived areas in England.

Women in hijabs headed to the Suraj Bazar, which contains dozens of outlets selling a vast range of glittering shalwar kameez, ornate costume jewellery and bright, colourful fabrics. The town's main shopping centre meanwhile located opposite, which once contained mainstream British High Street outlets has been earmarked for demolition.

Azhar, an official at a local mosque and community organiser sat in a local cafe sipping a steaming hot karak chai, a rich, milky brew made from a variety of spices.

He insisted that he did not want to reveal his real name because he did not want to cause any offence to anyone as he tried to explain the reasons why so many of his fellow citizens have poor English language skills.

For Azhar, a fourth generation British born Pakistani the problem lies with specific groups and not those like him.

He said: 'A lot of our women don't speak English because they don't go out to work and in recent years, we've had a lot of Pakistanis from European countries settling in Nelson because they feel more comfortable here. They might not speak English but they're fluent in Italian or Spanish.

'We've also had a lot of asylum seekers settling in Nelson and people from Eastern Europe. All these groups have pushed up the figures for poor English language speaking. I work closely with all of them so have to be careful what I say.'

Afghan asylum seeker Umid Ehsani was standing outside Mo's barber shop killing time as he clutched an English language study book, having just finished his weekly English language class.

He has only been in Nelson two months after arriving in the UK on a small boat but said that he has dreams to be a professional boxer one day.

Speaking through a fellow asylum seeker friend who has been in the town for six months and speaks more English than him he said: 'One day I want to be fluent in English but at the moment I can't speak with anybody apart from my fellow Afghans.'

Women in hijabs headed to the Suraj Bazar, which contains dozens of outlets selling a vast range of glittering shalwar kameez, ornate costume jewellery and bright, colourful fabrics

The town's main shopping centre meanwhile located opposite, which once contained mainstream British High Street outlets has been earmarked for demolition

Four pensioners of Pakistani origin sat on a bench in the afternoon sunshine and echoed some of the concerns raised by fellow residents of the town.

Basharat Ahmed, 72 who spent all his life working in a mill and then driving buses when it closed said: 'Nelson is a great place, but it's definitely become more divided over the years and a lot of that is because of the new arrivals who have trouble speaking English.'

But for one new arrival, life in Nelson has been surprisingly enjoyable, despite its economic and social problems.

Baligha Sahfi, 24 arrived from Pakistan in 2023 after getting married to locally born man Azmaht Shafi and admitted that she was initially shocked at what she found.

She said: 'I couldn't believe that there were people living here who didn't speak any English. Before I came, I did a course in English and am now trying my best to improve my English language skills because this is now my country.

'I love Nelson and living in England, especially the food. I like fish and chips and cheese and onion pies.'
London's second-largest home after Buckingham Palace was struck by a heavily pregnant burglar who stole more than half a million pounds worth of jewellery by posing as a cleaner.

Prolific thief Luminita Zamfir, 24, told staff she had been sent by an agency for a trial shift and was escorted into a 105million mansion in central London.

Despite the home being under the protection of former elite Royal protection officers, Zamfir snatched 548,565 worth of rings, necklaces and earrings belonging to a wealthy international business family on February 5.

Zamfir also carried out two further heists, stealing more than 50,000 in watches, cufflinks and cash from the London homes of a property mogul and a property management boss.

She was snared through DNA evidence left on a tissue at one of the homes, and CCTV footage that caught her in the act.

None of the loot has been recovered, however.

Zamfir gave birth on April 18 while she was on remand and now faces a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to three counts of burglary on Tuesday (May 13).

She appeared at Wood Green Crown Court via video-link from HMP Bronzefield while cradling the newborn child.

Luminita Zamfir, 24, faces jail for breaking into the second largest private residence in London

The London mansion where more than half a million in rings, earrings and necklaces was stolen

Zamfirs spree began on November 28 last year when she raided the 11million home of Sean Gorvy, making off with 50,000 worth of watches and cufflinks.

She then went onto target the mansion which London's second largest private residence.

Security guards at the mansion provided police officers with CCTV from inside the property.

Tim Sleigh-Johnson, prosecuting, said Zamfir began her heist at the luxury residence by knocking at the home next door  which was used to house staff for the family.

This defendant was not known to the staff, and she said she was a trial cleaner. She was therefore allowed into the property (next door) and left later that day, he said.

She was escorted to the main property to 'complete her shift' when she was then able to steal the items.

The prosecutor added: When the occupants returned valuable property - jewellery and other items - were found to be stolen which has been valued at 548,565 - or half a million of jewellery.

CCTV footage from inside the address was provided to the police and Zamfir was identified by the police.

Pippa's stolen antique gold Intaglio ring depicting the Roman goddess of wisdom Minerva

Then five days after the mansion raid she looted a valuable ring, a Gucci watch and 200 in cash from the 1.6 million home of a property management couple.

The wife Pippa, 61, told the Daily Mail the antique gold Intaglio ring depicting the Roman goddess of wisdom Minerva was her fathers engagement ring and held a deeply sentimental value as he died aged 96 in September last year.

On 10 February her husband Christopher, 62, was at home expecting a delivery when Zamfir knocked at the door saying she was a cleaner.

Pippa said: She said she was a cleaner and came right in. She flicked her shoes off and began to pet the dogs.

Then she went upstairs and into one of the bedrooms, which is when we think she must have taken the ring, watch and cash.

Christopher was upstairs in his study and began to think something did not seem right and came downstairs and saw her plumping the cushions.

Pippa suspects Zamfir panicked when she saw Christopher looking at her and fled.

She quickly said she needed to go out and buy some cleaning products and would be back in ten minutes, Pippa added.

But she never returned.

The couple provided footage from their Ring doorbell to their usual cleaning agency and when they confirmed Zamfir was unknown to them, the film was passed to the police.

Officers had previously collected a DNA sample from a tissue left at the home of Mr Gorvy, and found it matched Zamfir, who has multiple burglary convictions dating back to 2016.

Zamfir, originally from Romania, was advised by Judge John Dodd KC she should indicate where the stolen items had been hidden.

He said: These are clearly extremely serious offences, and you must expect to receive a term of imprisonment.

I will just add one other thing, one you might want to speak to your counsel about, because not only will it help you, it will help the victims of these various crimes.

If you were prepared to tell the police where it has all gone that would be extremely powerful mitigation.

Dhaneshwar Sharma, defending, had to translate the hearing for his client due to a lack of interpreter and said: I shall only say this today: it is very telling her husband is not here.

Zamfir has four previous convictions for burglary and shoplifting offences.

She will be sentenced on 11 June.
British holidaymakers are bracing for 'unprecedented' anti-tourism protests across the Canary Islands this weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of fed-up locals are set to take to the streets on Sunday over what they claim is an 'excessive' tourism model.

Under the slogan 'Canarias tiene un limite' (The Canaries has a limit), the demonstrators will gather from 11am on the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma.

'Solidarity protests' will also take place in various cities on the mainland, including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.

Activists believe the current tourism model is 'unsustainable' and pushing the islands toward collapse.

They want to limit the number of tourists visiting the islands, ban new hotel construction and introduce a tougher tourist tax, among other measures.

But Brits holidaying in Tenerife this weekend told MailOnline the locals 'should be careful what they wish for.'

British holidaymakers are bracing for 'unprecedented' anti-tourism protests across the Canary Islands (pictured) this weekend as hundreds of thousands of fed-up locals are set to take to the streets on Sunday over what they claim is an 'excessive' tourism model

Activists believe the current tourism model is 'unsustainable' and pushing the islands toward collapse, advocating for a ban of new hotel construction and a tougher tourist tax. But Brits holidaying in Tenerife this weekend told MailOnline the locals 'should be careful what they wish for'

Under the slogan 'Canarias tiene un limite' (The Canaries has a limit), demonstrators are set to gather from 11am on the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma. Pictured: anti-tourism demonstrators gather in Barcelona in July 2024

'I think it's stupid,' said Dave Dott, 60, from Glasgow.

Speaking from the beach promenade in Los Cristianos, Tenerife, he added: 'This island will collapse if the protesters get their way without tourism the island has nothing.

'I've been coming here for decades and they won't put me off. I think it's a small but loud minority, they obviously don't care about the service sector which would be massively impacted.'

Paul Nixon, 60, from Staffordshire has also been visiting Tenerife for years.

He told MailOnline: 'I think they need to be careful what they wish for, the island is so dependent on tourism.

'I think bookings are down already to be honest, it seems quieter this year.

'I saw they were spraying tourists with water in Barcelona which is completely wrong, if they started doing that here then we would definitely be put off coming.'

Speaking from the beach promenade in Los Cristianos, Tenerife, Dave Dott, 60, from Glasgow, said: 'This island will collapse if the protesters get their way without tourism the island has nothing'Steven and Michelle Ross, aged 55 and 56 respectively, face having their holiday disrupted for a second time after being caught up in previous anti-tourism demonstrations.

Steven and Michelle Ross, aged 55 and 56 respectively, face having their holiday disrupted for a second time after being caught up in previous anti-tourism demonstrations. (Pictured: protestors against tourism policies on the island of Tenerife, Spain on April 20, 2024)

Anti-holidaymaker protests took a sinister turn last year as 'kill a tourist' graffiti appeared on a wall in Mallorca

He added: 'Everyone has the right to protest but they really need to be careful what they wish for.

'And how can you stop people going on holidays? How do you put a stop to it without upsetting people? I think they are running the risk of destroying what they have built.'

Steven and Michelle Ross, aged 55 and 56 respectively, face having their holiday disrupted for a second time after being caught up in previous anti-tourism demonstrations.

Michelle said: 'Last year we were walking from the beach then suddenly saw thousands of locals coming towards us.

'It was relatively peaceful but they were holding up signs saying 'tourists go home', which doesn't make you feel too welcome.

'We've been looking up the route of the protest to make sure we don't get caught up in it again so I think we're safe but I'd be really upset if we had to holiday somewhere else.'

Steven agreed, adding: 'We've been coming here 15 years, if they really don't want us here we will look elsewhere

The Canary Islands has a population of 2.2million people, but welcomes around 18million holidaymakers each year - which locals say is placing a strain on resources, causing jet fuel pollution, traffic chaos and a host of other issues

Activists are calling for a cap on the number of holidaymakers, to prevent overcrowding and resource depletion. Among their other demands is a ban on any new hotels or tourism apartment complexes, and the immediate demolition of projects already declared illegal

'While I can see some things from their point of view, if fewer people come, there's a lot of jobs affected, it's their number one source of income, it was built on tourism - and how do you police fewer tourists?'

Meanwhile, Staffordshire couple Olwyn and Dave Hughes, both 71, said they will 'go back to the Greek islands' if the protests become too much.

Dave said: 'It's our 14th time here and we are not put off yet, but I think a lot of people have been, because it is usually rammed now and it is much quieter than last year.

'I understand that housing is a big issue, what they're facing is the equivalent of Americans snapping up all the homes in Cornwall for second residences, some of the locals have no chance of buying.

'But without tourists, so many people, like the thousands of taxi drivers, wouldn't have jobs.

'And we don't like what we see on the TV, all the 'tourists go home' stuff, if it gets too much or we don't feel wanted we will go back to the Greek islands instead.'

The Canary Islands has a population of 2.2million people, but welcomes around 18million holidaymakers each year - which locals say is placing a strain on resources, causing jet fuel pollution, traffic chaos and a host of other issues.

Staffordshire couple Olwyn and Dave Hughes, both 71, said they will 'go back to the Greek islands' if the protests become too much. Pictured: Demonstrators put symbolic cordon on a bar-restaurant window during a protest against mass tourism in Barcelona on July 6, 2024

One of the biggest gripes is the surge in Airbnb-style properties, which has been blamed for rising house costs and the dwindling supply of homes to rent or buy

For this reason, activists are calling for a cap on the number of holidaymakers, to prevent overcrowding and resource depletion.

Among their other demands is a ban on any new hotels or tourism apartment complexes, and the immediate demolition of projects already declared illegal.

These include large-scale luxury projects like the Cuna del Alma and La Tejita hotels in Tenerife, which they accuse of causing environmental harm.

They also want a 'significant' tourist eco-tax that will be used to pay for the conservation and maintenance of natural spaces.

One of the biggest gripes is the surge in Airbnb-style properties, which has been blamed for rising house costs and the dwindling supply of homes to rent or buy. Therefore, protesters want much stricter controls on vacation rentals to alleviate the housing crisis.

Another housing issue is the high number of properties being snapped up by foreign purchasers, which locals say is behind skyrocketing prices. They therefore want to ban or restrict the ability of non-residents to buy homes.
As another Annabelle sequel is set to be released this year, the iconic haunted doll has been making its rounds across America sending TikTokers into a frenzy.

The doll got the attention of millions of TikTok users after paranormal investigator and former host of Paranormal State, Ryan Daniel Buell, posted videos of the doll's tour.

The Devils on the Run Tour takes items, including Annabelle, from the Warrens Occult Museum collection in Monroe across the country.

Yet, the infamous doll's movements have people online up in arms following the warnings from the Warren's to never move Annabelle.

Warren's Occult Museum was curated by paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated the doll in the 1970s following a haunting encounter.

Annabelle, a Raggedy Anne doll that stands upright at roughly three feet tall, was a gift to a Hartford nurse in 1970 who brought it home.

But she and her roommates began reporting unexplained behavior from the doll, according to the New England Society for Psychic Research. Annabelle reportedly moved on her own and at one point attacked the fiance of one of its owners.

That's when the Warrens stepped in to investigate.

Annabelle, a Raggedy Anne doll that stands upright at roughly three feet tall, was a gift to a Hartford nurse in 1970 who brought it home. After it become 'possessed,' Annabelle became one of the most infamous haunted artifacts

Warren's Occult Museum was curated by paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated the doll in the '70s following a haunting encounter

The Devils on the Run Tour takes items, including Annabelle, from the Warrens Occult Museum collection in Monroe across the country

The couple claimed the doll was being manipulated by a spirit and performed an exorcism before taking the doll away with them.

Annabelle then became one of the most well-known haunted items following the Conjuring and Annabelle movie franchises.

Now, as she tours the country with other items from the Warren's museum, Buell has been following the doll and giving updates on her tour across the country.

Buell posted a video discussing Annabelle's appearance at West Virginia State Penitentiary, and he recalled his own haunting experience at the allegedly haunted site in 2009.

'This is the first time we're bringing haunted artifacts into West Virginia State Penitentiary, so that's gonna be interesting. Especially Annabelle, like the real Annabelle,' he said.

Buell explained that the doll was 'slowly' being transported to San Antonio, Texas, for Psychic Festival.

'I think this is the furthest she's travelled in decades, if not ever, so we'll see how tonight goes.'

He added that she would be 'secure' with members of NESPR and they would have a Catholic priest with them.

The doll got the attention of millions of TikTok users after paranormal investigator and former host of Paranormal State, Ryan Daniel Buell , posted videos of the doll's tour. Pictured: Buell with a movie version of the Annabelle doll

Annabelle then became one of the most well-known haunted items following the Conjuring and Annabelle movie franchises

Buell then shared videos of the doll in the penitentiary, infuriating users online who echoed the Warren's warning not the move her.

'Lorraine said not to move her. THE WARRENS SAID NOT TO MOVE HER,' one wrote.

Another said: 'Tony should be ashamed of himself cause I know he is apart of it. Ed & Lorraine said no matter what happens to them Annabelle does not leave the museum. Tony has gone against it numerous times for $.'

'Lorraine and Ed rolling over in their graves right now,' another wrote.

Buell, however, addressed in a video the comments, claiming that the couple travelled with Annabelle on tour to teach the public about the items and the occult.

Annabelle next went to New Orleans before arriving in San Antonio Friday morning at the 'haunted' Black Swan Inn, according to Buell's posts.

Annabelle has remained locked in a case with a sign made by Ed Warren that reads 'positively do not open'.

Since the museum's closure, and the Warrens' warnings, Annabelle's case has in fact been opened.

Many social media users claimed that Lorraine and Ed Warren would be 'rolling in their graves,' after they declared Annabelle should never be moved. Buell refuted the comments by saying the pair often took items from the museum for educational purposes

The doll is handled only by Daniel Rivera, the senior Lead Investigator for NESPR, who wears gloves with crosses on them and saint medals in the fingertips.

Rivera also built a new box for the doll better suited to move her around.

'So the reason why I built the case was because the museum was closed and we wanted to keep educating the public about these items that Ed and Lorraine collected,' he told CT Insider.

Rivera said he added extra protective measures including cutting out crosses on three sides, representing the Catholic Holy Trinity, using a stain infused with holy water and holy oil as well as inscribing the Lord's Prayer and Saint Michael's prayer behind the felt in the case, the outlet reported.

The measures were taken to 'contain the evil of Annabelle in this case'.

Buell told MySanAntonio that there is 'huge interest in the paranormal' in San Antonio and that it felt like the 'perfect spot to showcase Annabelle and warn people about the dangers of the occult and paranormal.'

But not everyone is pleased to have the doll around, as one viewer commented: 'Y'all should have left her where she was, this is so not the Texas thing to do.'

Another said: 'They should've left her right where she was at the Warren museum.'
President Donald Trump's approval rating rebounded as his tariff sparked terror has subsided and he concludes a successful trip to the Middle East.

Daily Mail's Trump tracking poll, conducted with J.L. Partners, shows his approval rating now at 50 percent.

It is up five points from 45 percent result at the end of his first 100 days over two weeks ago, his lowest point in his second term to date.

Trump's approval numbers improved in most political demographics, but the president still struggles to win over some more pessimistic Independents.

Among voters 18-29, his approval rating has jumped six points from the previous poll, which demonstrated support from young people falling precipitously by double digits.

His support among men has jumped to 58 percent, up seven points and his support ticked up among women by two points to 42 percent.

The poll was conducted May 1314 among a sample of 1,003 registered voters with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Among Republicans, Trump's rating jumped nine points to a stunning 94 percent.

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures, while he boards Air Force One, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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President Donald Trump, foreground, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend a business meeting and roundtable at Qasr Al Wata

Even more Democrats are more supportive of the president as his rating jumped nine points to 21 percent.

The president continues to slide among Independents, however, down seven points from the previous poll.

His approval rating jumped among Hispanics by 15 points and 16 points among black Americans.

Trumps approval is back at 50 percent - a serious win for the President,' James Johnson, Co-Founder of J.L. Partners, told the Daily Mail about the results.

Johnson cited Trump's successful deals on trade and tariffs as the 'most likely' drivers of his numbers improving as well as his successful trip to the Middle East.

'The most important thing this shows is that Trump can bounce back when some of his voters waver,' he said. 'People who were concerned about the sense of direction and strength after tariffs reversals are now back on board as they see the President doing what they feel he does best: making deals.'

Trump began the week making a deal with China to suspend some of his more draconian tariffs as negotiations continue on some kind of trade deal. The stock market roared back at the news, calming investors who felt the 120 percent tariffs on China were unworkable for the American economy.

The poll was conducted as Trump embarked on his first major foreign trip touting trillion-dollar foreign investments in the U.S.

Trump began his trip celebrating the news that the last living American hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas.

As he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, he was warmly received and promoted peace in the Middle East.

I believe it is Gods job to sit in judgment, my job, to defend America and to promote the fundamental interest of stability, prosperity, and peace, Trump said during a speech to Saudi Arabias leaders on Tuesday. Thats what I really want to do.

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

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Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and US President, Donald Trump, participate in the Saudi-US Investment Forum i

Trump met with Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, lifting sanctions on his nation, and urged him to normalize ties with Israel.

He also trumpeted the successful investment agreements with Middle East that surpassed a trillion dollars.

'This was a fantastic moment for our country, everybody is talking about it, the respect shown to our country is incredible,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as his trip concluded.

Trump also successfully negotiated a ceasefire between Pakistan and India last weekend, adding to his efforts to make peace in hot spots around the world.

The president's attempt to achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia remains elusive, although talks continued this week in Turkey with the respective parties.

Trump expressed hope that peace talks could be made with a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

'We have to meet, he and I will meet, I think we will solve it or maybe not,' he said.
It was 1am and in a flash three young thieves had stolen almost a quarter of a million pounds from Alex White.

'I didn't realise what they had done until the next day,' says Alex, 36. 'I'd been working and hadn't had time to check my emails. When I did, I found the thieves had applied for 20 loans and stolen 230,000 worth of cryptocurrency. I felt sick.'

This was no ordinary phone theft. This was a crypto mugging, where thieves target smart-looking, affluent young men after a night's drinking with a view to stealing cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, in apps on their devices.

The tech-savvy crooks often empty bank accounts, take out huge loans and use payment apps to spend tens of thousands of pounds on clothes, phones, luxury accessories and more cryptocurrency.

'It's a massive and growing crime that takes advantage of the fact that we think our phones and the data on them are secure  unfortunately, they are not,' says Detective Sergeant Rebecca Corser of the Metropolitan Police's economic crime unit. 'Cryptocurrency is particularly vulnerable as it is not regulated in the same way as traditional banking, so our opportunities to recover it once it has gone are more limited  there is no central body to go to when things go wrong.'

It is also a demonstration of the increasingly dangerous lengths to which criminals will go to get their hands on crypto.

Only this week, the unnamed daughter of a billionaire cryptocurrency exchange founder escaped a horrifying kidnap attempt in Paris, while in January David Balland, co-founder of 'cryptowallet' firm Ledger, was abducted, again in France. He was rescued  after his captors had chopped off one of his fingers.

Crypto mugging is relatively new, so no national statistics yet exist, but the Met has been collating its own figures for smartphone crypto and finance theft offences  and they are setting off alarm bells among forces across the country.

Thieves target smart-looking, affluent young men after a night's drinking with a view to stealing cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, in apps on their devices

In 2022, there were 256 such offences in London. In 2023, this rose to 808. And between April and December last year  the latest figures available  there were another 438.

During the last quarter of 2024, detectives worked out for the first time that the average loss per crime was 12,063. If extrapolated across all three years, the total could be as high as 18 million.

'We're seeing a combination of thefts and robberies,' says DS Corser. 'Recently we have had two cases where victims lost more than 400,000 each. We're wary that if a criminal group assess that they can make hundreds of thousands of pounds from a single attack on somebody, then violence is a possibility.

'We're also seeing instant online loans being taken out for tens of thousands of pounds in the West End at 2am using banking apps on stolen phones.'

More than 90 per cent of victims are males aged between 20 and 35 because young men have been early adopters of cryptocurrency.

The finance website Barron's estimates 42 per cent of men aged 18-29 have invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, compared with just 17 per cent of women of the same age.

Met figures show 85 per cent of offences occurred outside bars and clubs, usually in London's West End, with intoxicated victims targeted. They often have their phones out to order taxis, locate venues or contact friends. This means devices will be unlocked and, if this occurs, thieves have ways of fixing the phone's six digit passcode to lock out the phone's owner and get into their finance and crypto apps.

Once the thieves change the passcode for the phone, they can change most other passwords even if the owner uses 'two factor authentication', where a message or text is sent to the owner to confirm it is them changing the password. This is because these messages and texts are sent to their phone... which crooks hold.

Herman Solomon, 34, from south London was part of a gang involved in phone thefts

Even using facial recognition to get into your phone is no guarantee it will be safe. Police have encountered incidents of thieves with knives pointing phones at victims' faces to unlock them.

Alex [not his real name] was targeted just before Christmas last year. 'It was December 18 and I had been out celebrating with friends in the West End,' he says. 'We had left a pub that had just closed and bought something to drink from a shop opposite. We were quite inebriated by then.

'I was approached by two teenagers who started talking to me. I put my phone tightly in my fist but they then they got either side of me like bookends while a third teenager ran through and just grabbed the phone, and they all ran away.'

Alex believes his phone was locked but the thieves had watched him punch in his passcode earlier, a practice called 'shoulder surfing'. He went to his home in west London and for an hour tried to access his iPhone's 'Find My' function to lock the device and protect everything on it, but he couldn't get in.

'They had probably already changed the passcode, but I was foolish enough to think these kids would just sell or scrap the phone,' he says. He went to bed.

After eight hours interviewing job applicants the next day, Alex accessed his emails for the first time since the robbery and had messages from his two banks saying thieves had applied for 20 online loans, where instant decisions are made based on the applicant's banking history and credit rating.

They succeeded in getting two totalling 15,000, which they used to buy more crypto that was immediately transferred from Alex's wallet. 'It was all my savings, all my investments, and it was just before Christmas,' he says. 'I felt terrible, horrible.'

One of the reasons Alex felt so bad was that he works in IT  and has helped a number of cryptocurrency start-up companies.

Jacob Raki, 23, had his home raided and was a conspirator in the gang

'I should never have left so much crypto on my phone,' he says. 'I should have kept it on a 'cold wallet' and put the code inside a safety deposit box at the bank. I'll do that in future  and I would urge others to do the same.'

A cold wallet is a physical device unconnected to the internet, that contains the codes to access the cryptocurrency. If a crypto wallet isn't connected to the internet, it can't be hacked.

Another crypto mugging victim, Kush Chaudary, 36, also works for an IT company, as a team manager. Police are concerned that if this can happen to such smart tech executives as Alex and Kush, people with limited crypto knowledge could be easier prey.

Kush was targeted in 2023 after he left a bar in Soho at 2am.

'I was with two friends and we'd had dinner and then drinks,' he told the Mail. 'One of my friends went to a corner shop to buy something, and this tall skinny man approached me and started a conversation. I was checking my phone, deciding whether to go home, when the guy grabbed my phone and put it in his pocket.'

The skinny man denied taking the device but slipped it to an accomplice behind him. When one of Kush's friends took a picture of the thief, he and the accomplice ran away. Kush and his friend ran after them but were threatened by the thieves with a bottle.

Fortunately, plain clothes police had seen the commotion and they caught the skinny one. The other got away with Kush's phone.

'I was shaken but grateful,' says Kush. 'After making a statement, I didn't get home until about 4am and assumed I had just been the victim of a petty theft  they had just stolen my phone and, while a huge inconvenience, it wasn't the end of the world.'

Joseph Serry-Kamal, 23, was one of the thieves who targeted Kush Chaudary and stole his phone

However, the next morning when he checked his emails on his computer, he saw he had received a notification that his phone's passcode had been changed at 2.08am. The picture of the skinny man that his friend had taken was timed at 2.07am  the thieves had gained total access to his phone, apps and the crypto wallet on the phone in just one minute.

They transferred 5,000 from his crypto wallet and several thousands more from his bank accounts. Later, they used the Apple Pay function on his phone to spend 4,000 on other phones at an Apple store and on 4,000 of high-end goods at Selfridges that included a Louis Vuitton hat and scarf. The total loss to Kush was around 16,500. But the crooks also took out instant loans for 22,000 in his name.

'I was complacent and I'm annoyed about that,' he says. 'I had a false sense of security about my Apple iPhone. It's the industry standard so you're sure it's totally secure, but I'm afraid that isn't an assumption you want to make in today's world. Things like Apple Pay make it easy and convenient for you to buy things, but we have to question 'How is that convenience balanced by security?' '

In the early days of phone crypto thefts, police found it almost impossible to find the perpetrators. But, because of their growing experience, the increasing availability of crypto-tracing software, and co-operation from big crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance where currencies are bought and sold, officers are enjoying more success.

They are also tipping off other forces about techniques they are using, techniques they do not want highlighting in this article. This exercise is called Operation HoPI, where HoPI stands for 'harvesting of personal information'.

Recently, in the first crypto case of its kind, the Met smashed a gang targeting Londoners. One of them was the 'skinny man' who stole Kush's phone, and the sidekick to whom he passed it.

They were Joseph Serry-Kamal, 23, and Smon Tecle, 19, both from south London.

Inquiries found links with other robberies that resulted in raids on their homes and those of other conspirators, Jacob Raki, 23, and Herman Solomon, 34, also from south London. Detectives believe the gang was involved in up to 60 phone robberies between December 2022 and November 2023. The evidence led to two hearings and more than two dozen charges relating to conspiracy to rob, theft, handling stolen goods, dangerous driving, fraud, robbery and possessing a knife.

Smon Tecle, 19, was the other conspirator who stole Kush Chaudary's phone

The gang was jailed for a total of more than eight years  the value of all the crimes was 225,000.

'We're very proud of what we achieved as a whole team  not just us, but all of the officers and entry teams who went on raids, and the digital forensics analysts,' says DS Isabella Grotto, who led the investigation with colleagues DS Corser and DC Darryl Hunt.

Solomon and Tecle had previous convictions for drug possession and fraud. Raki and Serry-Kamal had only driving offences.

One aspect of the case that struck detectives was the involvement of Raki, apparently as the brains of the outfit.

'He presents well as a young man, very well spoken and really quite smart,' says DS Grotto.

'He comes from a loving and supportive family. He's a really bright young man who has loads of potential and seems to have fallen in with the wrong crowd. He's still quite young, so hopefully he can turn his life around.'

Detectives tell me they believe phone companies should be doing more to protect customers,

particularly Apple. Almost 93 per cent of all crypto mugging crimes recorded involve Apple iPhones. These have a function called 'Stolen Device Protection' which recognises when a phone isn't in a familiar location, such as home or work, and requires another layer of security  face or touch ID  so thieves can't gain access even if they know the phone's passcode.

It creates a delay before passcodes can be changed, giving victims time to block the phone.

However, Stolen Device Protection is inactive unless a user switches it on. Police say its existence has not adequately been brought to the public's attention. Detectives believe it should be an 'opt out' decision. So, too, does UK Finance, which represents all the big banks.

Apple won't commit to making this extra security a default setting that is always on. It said: 'We sympathise with people who have had this experience and we take all attacks on our users very seriously, no matter how rare.'

This story, however, has a happy ending. Through a combination of fast police work, specialised software, and good contacts in the crypto sector, Alex and Kush got all their money back.

Alex's case is still being investigated but his cryptocurrency has been traced and frozen, awaiting return. Kush was reimbursed by his bank for the thefts from his account, and the loans in his name were cancelled. Initially, his cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, refused to reimburse him, though it later relented when Kush argued that the security on his phone app was poor.

I asked Coinbase, which has a good record of cooperating with law enforcement, if other customers could expect the same treatment. After all, banks compensate victims of fraud. It did not reply.

Crypto muggers will continue to prey on the vulnerable, hoping tonight's stolen phones will contain millions. The difference now is that they aren't guaranteed to get away with their ill-gotten gains.
David Beattie is a man who will be forever haunted by 'what ifs'.

The 61-year-old, who today lives on the sun-drenched plains of Western Australia, might appear to have it all.

He has a beautiful wife, Suzanne, and four grown-up children, three boys and a girl. He runs a successful building services company and lives in a modern three-bedroom house just a five-minute drive from the sparkling ocean.

But David harbours a dark and painful secret from his past  the very reason, in fact, which forced him to leave the UK and move to the other side of the world in a bid to escape the agonising reality of what happened in his youth.

Almost four decades ago, his fiancee, 21-year-old florist Diane Sindall, the love of David's life and his childhood sweetheart, was brutally murdered in Birkenhead, Merseyside, the town where the young couple had grown up.

She was found, half-naked and bludgeoned to death, with vicious bite marks and lacerations all over her body, in an alley in the centre of town, on the morning of Saturday, August 2, 1986.

The heinous crime sent shockwaves through the community  and indeed the nation  but no one felt Diane's loss more than David. The couple  the very picture of young, carefree romance  had been due to get married the following year, and were excitedly planning the small ceremony with their family and friends.

They had recently adopted a dog, a labrador called Whitbread, together, and planned to have children within the year.

David Beattie (pictured) is a man who will be forever haunted by 'what ifs'

Peter Sullivan (pictured), the man once dubbed 'The Beast of Birkenhead' and sentenced to life in prison for Diane's murder, was exonerated by the Court of Appeal after 38 years behind bars

David Beattie, pictured with his daughter, has now rebuilt his life in western Australia

But in an instant, the bright future they had dreamed of was cruelly erased.

David, then working as a car repairer, initially fell under suspicion for Diane's murder, and found himself interrogated by Merseyside Police for seven gruelling hours before being released. It was, he later said, 'a nightmare'. He was crying so much he could barely answer their questions.

In a heartbreaking tribute to his fiancee, published in the Liverpool Echo, David wrote: 'I am going to keep on loving you, because it's the only thing I want to do. I don't want to sleep. I just want to keep on loving you.'

At her funeral in October 1986, at the church where they were due to marry, he clung tightly to her mother, Wendy's, hand. In photographs from the day, grief is etched across his pale face.

As the police opened an investigation into what happened that awful night, when Diane, a part-time barmaid, ran out of petrol on a busy thoroughfare and walked into the dark in search of fuel, David couldn't help but dwell on tortuous thoughts of 'what if'.

What if Diane hadn't taken that job at The Wellington pub in nearby Bebington to earn extra money for their wedding?

What if he, who had kissed her goodbye as she sat on the sideboard at the Wallasey flat they shared before her shift that night, hadn't let her walk out the door?

What if he hadn't been out himself that night, celebrating the first anniversary of his car repair business with friends, and had noticed she was missing earlier, rather than when he got in at 2.30am?

What, he must have wondered, if there had been just a cupful more petrol in her blue Fiat van?

Speaking exclusively to the Mail this week, a family friend of David Beattie, who lives on the Wirral, said he had 'worked very hard to rebuild his life' after losing Diane.

The Wirral pub where Ms Sindall worked to help pay for her forthcoming wedding

David, Diane's childhood sweetheart, was so devastated by her loss that he took the extreme step of moving to Australia to rebuild his life after her death. The father-of-four, pictured with his sons, now lives in Perth, Western Australia

He stayed in Birkenhead, where he mourned his fiancee and remained close to her family for 13 years before meeting someone else and eventually moving away.

He is, the family friend adds, now living a 'very happy life' in Australia. 'It hasn't always been easy but he never forgot the horror of Diane's killing,' they said. 'It's still with him and even though he's got on with things, it's something that you can never completely overcome.'

Another family friend recalled Diane's 'infectious laugh', and her closeness with David's family, particularly his sisters, who saw her as one of their own. 'David adored Diane and our parents doted on her,' they added.

'None of the family has ever got over her murder.'

But this week, of course, the heinous crime that rocked this community is back in the headlines, as Peter Sullivan, the man once dubbed 'The Beast of Birkenhead' and sentenced to life in prison for Diane's murder, was exonerated by the Court of Appeal after 38 years behind bars, the longest miscarriage of justice involving a living prisoner in British history.

The news will, David's family friend says, no doubt bring back 'a lot of painful memories' for him.

And there is another family for whom old memories are being dredged up: the Sullivans.

In the 14,113 days Peter Sullivan, now 68, spent locked behind bars, his loved ones never doubted him. The Peter they knew was not 'The Beast of Birkenhead', nor 'The Wolfman', as enraged headlines had branded him.

Such monikers, his siblings told the Mail this week, have caused untold pain to Peter.

For the Peter they knew was harmless; a naive, socially-awkward young man, who wouldn't have laid a finger on anyone.

Growing up with his parents, younger sister and two brothers in a small terraced house in Birkenhead, he did not have an easy life.

Small for his age and lacking in intellect, he struggled at school, where he was tormented

by bullies. Pupils at Rock Ferry High on the Wirral used to call him names and beat him up. Once, a group forced him to eat metal nuts and bolts in the playground.

On another occasion, an older teenager threatened to set his two dogs on him unless he handed over his pocket money.

After nearly 40 years behind bars and repeated attempts to clear his name, Peter Sullivan finally had his conviction for murder quashed on Tuesday

Unable to stand up for himself, Peter reluctantly obliged.

Speaking in 1987, the year his 30-year-old son was found guilty of Diane's murder, his father Charles Sullivan called him 'a complete coward'.

His mother Margaret insisted her 'placid' first-born was 'incapable' of carrying out such a heinous sexual attack. 'My son is no monstrous killer,' she said.

During police interviews, it was reported, he broke down in tears, crying out for his mother, to whom he was 'closer to than anyone else in the world'.

All this has now been discredited, leaving Peter in the clear.

Shortly after 2pm on Tuesday, as his lawyers and siblings gave emotional statements outside court, he gathered his things  and, in a blacked-out prison van, was driven to freedom.

For the Sullivan family, it marks a new beginning. But it is also the beginning of something else, something more ominous: the search for Diane's real killer.

On Thursday, it was claimed that residents of local estates knew the real identity of the 'Beast of Birkenhead' but no one from the 'tribal' and 'tight-knit' communities were willing to name the killer 'for fear of repercussions', said RASA Merseyside, a charity set up in Diane's memory to provide support for victims of rape and sexual abuse.

The news represents an agonising blow for Diane's family  her father, Brian, brother Colin, and sisters Carol and Pamela  who do not want to comment on Peter's release.

Speaking after the trial in 1987, Diane's late mother Wendy said she still spent hours every day crying and thinking of her beautiful, vivacious daughter. She would continue to do so until her own death in 2003.

Many others in Birkenhead remember Diane, too, and the fear that gripped the town in the weeks and months that followed her murder. A memorial stone, erected in 1988 at the spot where she was killed, on a grass verge opposite the Pyramids Shopping Centre, was laid with bouquets of bright spring flowers this week.

Ann John, 75, is the former landlady of The Wellington pub, where Diane worked part-time behind the bar  and was one of the last people to see her alive.

She told the Mail this week she fears the real killer 'could be dead and buried by now'.

'It is all very sad,' she said. 'He [Peter] has lost 38 years of his life and you can't make that back up.'

Ann has fond memories of the shy, bubbly blonde who blushed at the attention of the pub's male customers.

Police are now reinvestigating Miss Sindall's murder in the hope of bringing her killer to justice

A memorial tablet on a grass verge close to the scene of Ms Sindall's murder

'Diane was a lovely girl,' she recalled. 'She didn't mix with the punters. They were all touchy-feely and she would be highly embarrassed. Many of the lads offered her a date but she would say she was with someone and she wasn't interested.'

In the summer of 1986, Diane had taken a job at 'The Welly', as it was known locally, two nights a week to make some extra cash.

Having finished work at the floristry counter, inside her uncle's greengrocer in nearby Seacombe, on Friday, August 1, she popped home to the flat in Wallasey she and David shared, before heading to the pub for work at 8pm.

When Diane's shift ended around 11.30pm, Ann walked her to her van at the back of the pub and told her to go straight home.

'All I want to do is go home,' he wailed. 'I want my mum. Can't you let me go home? I can't take no more.'

This Peter, the one who sobbed in the Court of Appeal this week as he appeared by videolink from HMP Wakefield, is the one his family know and love.

His siblings have stood by him, as did his parents until their deaths in 1995 and 2013. So, the Mail has learned, did Peter's girlfriend, Mary Walker, who gave birth to their only child, a son, in January 1987, while his father was awaiting trial.

So sure was she of his innocence that she agreed to marry Peter while he was behind bars in March that year.

Speaking to the Mail, David Sullivan, Peter's youngest brother, told of the 'unreal' emotion felt in court on Tuesday when his conviction was quashed due to new DNA evidence that ruled him out of the attack.

'Peter fell apart; he was in bits,' said David, 63, who still lives in Birkenhead. 'He always knew he had not done it and now it has been proven.

'The whole case has been wrong  for both sides. It was wrong for us and it was wrong for poor Diane and her family.'

The momentous ruling came after a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) last year. Peter first lodged an appeal against his conviction 15 years ago, only to face rejection after rejection.

This week the court ruled that DNA retrieved from a semen sample found on Diane Sindall's abdomen contained a profile that did not match Peter's  and instead pointed to an unknown killer.

In 1987, the technology to test for such DNA did not exist, and Peter's conviction was based on circumstantial evidence, a series of jumbled 'confessions', unreliable witness statements, and bite mark evidence found on Diane's body that apparently matched his dental impressions.

Peter Sullivan's sister, Kim Smith, said: 'We lost Peter for 39 years and at the end of the day it's not just us, Peter hasn't won and neither has the Sindall family'

Speaking outside court, Mr Sullivan's solicitor Sarah Myatt said: 'This is an unprecedented and historic moment'

'I remember that night she was starving,' she recalls.

'She was always hungry. She said she was going for fish and chips, and I said, 'I'll do you a sandwich'. 'She said, 'No, no, I want some fish and chips and I need petrol as well'. I told her to go and get the petrol first.'

Shortly after leaving, Diane ran out of fuel on Borough Road in central Birkenhead and began walking  presumably in search of a garage or bus stop.

She was spotted four times by passers-by before 12.20am; in one sighting, a taxi driver reported seeing her arguing with a man, whom he said she appeared to know.

Quite what happened next, and how Diane met with such horror, is not known.

Chillingly, witnesses reported hearing screams between 12.30am and 2am  suggesting a prolonged, barbaric attack.

Her half-naked body, with a fractured skull, facial cuts, mutilated breasts and lacerated genitals, was found by a dog walker the next morning.

A nationwide manhunt, involving 100 officers and over 3,000 witness statements, began. Weeks passed with no progress.

The women of Birkenhead were left in fear of going out alone, especially at night.

Two barmaids at The Wellington quit their jobs; one moved out of her flat because it was close to the murder spot.

But then, in September 1986, after a BBC Crimewatch reconstruction, police alighted on Peter Sullivan.

A witness claimed to have seen him near a fire on an isolated hill, in which some of Diane's belongings that were missing from her body, including her handbag, had been burned the day after the murder.

Peter, something of a 'village idiot', didn't initially seem to fit the bill.

As a teenager, he had developed a taste for petty theft, and earned a reputation as a liar, a Walter Mitty-type who told tall tales.

His own parents regularly reported him to the police for stealing money and electrical goods from the family home.

He had 18 previous convictions  for theft and stealing cars  but had never been linked with more violent or sexual crimes.

Now, with a heavily-pregnant girlfriend at home, he seemed to be on the straight and narrow.

When quizzed about the night Diane died, however, the unemployed labourer gave several 'completely different' accounts of his movements.

He had, it was alleged, been drunk after a darts match at a local pub when he staggered out on to the street.

The next day, Peter allegedly 'confessed' to the murder, only to retract his confession, and later reinstate it.

Two days passed before he was given access to a solicitor, after which he retracted his confession again and told police he had made it up.

Fourteen months later, on November 4, 1987, a jury found him guilty.

At home in their council maisonette, Mary  a divorcee who had been with Peter for 12 years, since he was 18 and she 24  was devastated. Their son was just ten months old, while Mary's older children  three sons with her first husband, Bernard Linford  were teenagers.

Linda Linford, 63, who married Bernard after he and Mary got divorced, knew the family well and recalls Mary's visits to Peter in prison.

'When Peter was put away, one of Mary and Bernard's sons would look after their baby while Mary was visiting him in prison on the Isle of Wight,' she told the Mail this week.

'Bernard told me that Mary never believed Peter was guilty.

'But she got a lot of grief from local people in Liverpool after the marriage. They thought she shouldn't have married him.

'So, I think for her own safety, she had to pretend she wasn't with him anymore.'

Peter, Linda says, was a 'sound bloke' whose arrest came as a 'real shock'.

Mr Sullivan watched the hearing remotely from HMP Wakefield, where he has spent the last 38 years of his life

Lord Justice Holroyde announced the decision of a panel of three judges after evidence showed DNA found on Miss Sindall's sexually mutilated body belongs to a mystery suspect

'What really annoys me is that the real murderer could be dead now and [he] would have got away with it. It's shocking and awful and I hope Peter gets some compensation.'

Certainly, Peter could be in line for a 1million payout from the Ministry of Justice  the maximum amount available to those wrongfully convicted.

And there may be other wrongs to be righted, too.

Questions have been raised over the handling of the case by Merseyside Police, particularly Peter's lack of access to legal representation, the focus on now-discredited 'forensic

dentistry' that apparently matched his dental impressions to bite marks found on Diane's body and statements from unreliable witnesses.

Officials involved in the case have also been named and shamed, among them former CID chief Tom Baxter, who spearheaded the investigation, and was also involved in clearing the detectives who wrongfully set up four men for the murder of paperboy Carl Bridgewater in 1978.

But Merseyside Police point out that Mr Sullivan's quashed conviction made no criticism of police. Since 2023, a new investigation into Diane's murder has been in motion, with DNA screening conducted as far afield as Swansea, Perth, London, Hull and Newcastle, to try to find her killer.

What any of this means for Peter Sullivan won't be clear for some time. For now, he is lying low, enjoying his newfound freedom with his family.

Speaking outside court this week, Peter's sister Kim Smith, 65, said: 'We've got Peter back, and now we've got to try and build a life around him again.' The same cannot be said for the bereft family of Diane Sindall  or indeed David Beattie.

'When Peter Sullivan was jailed we thought at least Diane's killer is off the streets,' said David's family friend.

'Now we want to know why it's taken so long for them to realise they'd got the wrong man. I can't begin to imagine how hard this is for her family. They deserve justice after all this time.'
The fire service suffered its deadliest day for 15 years as two firefighters died and two more were seriously injured tackling a blaze at a former RAF base.

The inferno at the 444-acre automotive complex in Bicester, Oxfordshire, claimed the lives of the service's Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38.

Civilian David Chester, 57, from Bicester, also died in the inferno.

Flames lit up the sky above the town during the 'apocalyptic' blaze. Smoke and ash were visible for miles around and residents in the area were urged to remain indoors and close their windows.

In emotional scenes, Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue Service's chief fire officer fought back tears as he confirmed the tragic losses at the scene yesterday.

Pausing to compose himself, Rob MacDougall said he was 'immensely proud and grateful' for the 'unwavering bravery' shown by the emergency services.

He added: 'It's with a heavy heart that today we report the loss of two of our fire officers. A member of the public has also sadly died in the incident.

'Two further firefighters sustained serious injuries and are currently in hospital.'

The inferno at the 444-acre automotive complex in Bicester, Oxfordshire

30-year-old Jennie Logan (pictured) died in the blaze

Martyn Sadler, 38, also died in the inferno

It was the deadliest single incident for the fire service since the 2010 Shirley Towers tragedy.

The latest tragedy led to an outpouring of grief, with the Prime Minister describing it as 'devastating'.

'The bravery of our firefighters is astounding. Hoping those in hospital make a full and swift recovery,' Sir Keir Starmer said on X.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called the fire 'an absolutely horrifying incident' and said she hoped the investigation would reveal what started the deadly inferno.

'My heart goes out to the families of those people who have lost their lives... I hope that we can get to the bottom of exactly what's caused this and make sure that it doesn't happen again.'

Fire stations up and down the country lowered flags to half-mast and held a two-minute silence to honour their fallen colleagues.

It is not yet known what caused the ferocious blaze but Thames Valley Police has launched an unexplained death probe. However, the force said it is 'currently not a criminal investigation'.

Sherine Wheeler, chief executive of the Fire Fighter's Charity, said the entire firefighting community had been left 'heartbroken'.

A member of the public leaves flowers at the scene of the Bicester Motion buildings in Bicester, Oxfordshire on May 16, 2025

The site was home to over 50 specialist businesses that worked on restoring classic cars

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer, Rob MacDougall, speaks to the media outside at Bicester Motion, in Oxfordshire

'It's very rare and tragic to have the loss of two firefighters alongside a member of the public and I think the impact of that is being felt deeply,' she said.

Philip Garrigan, chief of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said he was 'devastated', adding: 'Our firefighters are the very best of us, their courage and compassion is what make them so very special.'

London fire commissioner Andy Roe said victim Mr Sadler was a leading London firefighter and sub-officer who was on retained duty with Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue Service (OFRS).

He added: 'We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of all those impacted by this incident.'

Ten crews were called to tackle the inferno at 6.39pm on Thursday. Smoke could be seen billowing across the town and as far as north Oxford  with residents reporting sounds of explosions, burning smells and ash raining down on them.

Julie Stocker recalled seeing the flames and noise from her home across the road from the site. She said: 'We could hear the crackle of the fire and then obviously the various explosions and stuff... the smoke was going very high.

'We were told to close windows and doors because there was potentially asbestos in the roof.'

Janine McKenna Jones, 48, described seeing 'black ash' near her home, adding: 'It felt very apocalyptic because you see the sky and there's this big black cloud of smoke.' Jake Bushen, 19, said: 'The biggest fire I have seen in my life. I saw it about 7.30am. It was going right into the horizon. It was quite scary.'

David Chester, 57, from Bicester, (pictured) also perished in the horrifying fire. He has been described as having a 'selfless spirit'

Two firefighters and a member of the public have been killed after a huge blaze ripped through a former RAF base near Bicester Village last night

Thames Valley police have confirmed hero firefighter Martyn Sadler, 38, (pictured) of Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Service died in yesterday's blaze in Bicester

30-year-old Jennie Logan is one of the brave firefighters who died in the Bicester fire yesterday

Another local, Toby Roberts, added: 'I saw smoke from all the other side of Bicester at Whitelands. There were sirens blasting everywhere... I have lived my whole life in Bicester and never seen anything like it.'

Bouquets were placed outside the compound, where the fire had been brought 'under control' by Friday afternoon but a heavy police presence remained.

A poignant message left from Thames Valley Police read: 'To my Red Light Family, in memory of two heroes.'

The site, formerly known as Bicester Heritage, is home to more than 50 specialist businesses, focused on classic car restoration and engineering. In a statement Bicester Motion said victim Mr Chester was a 'close friend' of the site.

'There are no words... but our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones. We pray for the two firefighters in hospital. The bravery shown by the emergency services teams has been overwhelming. We are grateful for all the support and the exceptional work by all in such unprecedented circumstances.'
A Royal Navy training base was 'locked down' following alleged claims of revenge porn, with young recruits ordered to 'hand in their phones' during an urgent investigation.

The digital blackout, known as 'River City state', was instated at HMS Raleigh, Torpoint, Cornwall, in a bid to stop a 'sex tape from going viral'.

Hundreds of novices, some as young as 16 or 17, were told to cease all online communication after intimate photographs were shared throughout the training HQ of a young female recruit by her partner, a pervious rookie who had joined in a separate intake, without her consent.

A Navy source allegedly told The Sun: 'By that point her former partner had already left the Navy. He never completed training.

'Only one person is under investigation. No other recruits are suspected of wrongdoing.'

With potential for the blackout to last up to 96 hours, an alleged message sent to parents informing them of the ongoing situation, read: 'Welfare calls are being made to under-18s parents to say that their recruits are OK but the base is on communication blackout due to an ongoing police investigation.'

A Royal Navy spokesperson said: 'We expect the highest standards from our people and have a zero-tolerance approach to criminal and inappropriate behaviour.

Royal Navy training base HMS Raleigh (pictured) in Torpoint, Cornwall, was allegedly 'shut down', with hundreds of novices told to cease all online communication, after intimate photographs were shared of a young female recruit without her consent

The enforced 'communication blackout' comes after Naval Airman Zac Blackman, 21, (pictured) was axed from his role in July 2023 after making up to 20,000 a month in cash by selling Onlyfans porn content taken onboard Britain's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier

Royal Navy lieutenant Claire Jenkins (pictured) was also caught making making several X-rated films inside of the Faslane nuclear submarine HQ, HMNB Clyde, near Glasgow, in 2021

'The welfare of our recruits is our number one priority and a restriction on the use of mobile phones was in place for a short time.

'A civilian police investigation is ongoing, and it would be inappropriate to comment further on the matter.'

The shutdown is not the first X-rated scandal to have hit the prestigious service, with two previous Royal Navy sailors sacked from their reputable positions after taking raunchy photographs while at work.

Naval Airman Zac Blackman was axed from his role in July 2023 after making up to 20,000 a month in cash by selling Onlyfans porn content taken onboard Britain's massive HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier.

But, far from being remorseful, the now disgraced naval claimed that he had been made a millionaire thanks to his sex pics, insisting that being fired was actually the 'best thing' for him.

The then 21-year-old even refused to take down the photos because it was earning him 'so much money', insisting that he was always careful to hide 'where the ship was or what manoeuvres we were on'.

Blackman, from Manchester, told The Sun: 'It was really hard work for the money I was getting. I decided to post videos and images of me in my uniform.

Far from being remorseful, Blackman (pictured) claimed that he had been made a millionaire thanks to his sex pics and insisted that being fired was actually the 'best thing' from him

Lt Jenkins (pictured), who used the pseudonym Celly Taylor, made the 'porn to order' videos with her lover at the time, Leading Seaman Liam Doddington, also based at HMNB Clyde. She had been responsible for the 1billion vessel's hi-tech outer casing of sound-damping tiles

'They started to take off, and after a few weeks I was earning 20,000 a month from that.'

Meanwhile, Royal Navy lieutenant Claire Jenkins, who used the pseudonym Celly Taylor, was also found to have been making several X-rated films inside of the Faslane nuclear submarine HQ, HMNB Clyde, near Glasgow, in 2021.

An investigation by furious Navy bosses was launched over the scandalous 'porn to order' videos, made with her lover at the time, Leading Seaman Liam Doddington, also based at HMNB Clyde, which Lt Jenkns then sold on Only Fans.

Warfare officer Lt Jenkins had commanded a team of sailors on the HMS Artful and was responsible for the 1billion vessel's hi-tech outer casing of sound-damping tiles.

The innovative tiles subsequently allowed the vessel to glide through the ocean stalking Russian subs.

Continuing to post explicit videos and images following the investigation, which went on to gain more than 10,000 likes, her Only Fans profile read: 'I'm 29 and working that 9 to 5 life, I love to be naughty and stay colourful.

'My naughty side can sometimes get me into trouble, but that feeling of excitement we can get from doing this just makes me so hot and bothered.'
A routine flight on Spirit Airlines turned into a nightmare for one passenger when she spotted a swarm of cockroaches scurrying across the cabin's walls.

Symone Berry, a passenger on a Spirit Airlines flight from Miami to Tampa, was shocked when she saw multiple cockroaches scaling the walls of the plane's cabin shortly after takeoff.

The appalling incident, which occurred on Sunday, was captured in a video that Berry shared online. The footage quickly went viral, sparking outrage and disbelief among viewers disturbed by the unsettling sight.

'Today was my first and last day flying Spirit,' Berry says in the now-viral video.

'There were multiple roaches on my plane, and the flight attendants did not care whatsoever.'

At first, Berry, who had purchased the flight as a last-minute option to visit her mother for Mother's Day, noticed a single roach crawling up the wall. Though grotesque, she hoped the problem would resolve itself.

'The first roach I saw was right in front of me,' Berry recalled, adding that she bought a 'big seat.'

'As you can see, this roach is huge and it keeps climbing up and it keeps going up until it goes over the wall. At this time I didn't say anything to the flight attendant because I figured you know, maybe it is going to go away.'

Symone Berry (pictured), a passenger on a Spirit Airlines flight from Miami to Tampa, was shocked when she saw multiple cockroaches scaling the walls of the plane's cabin shortly after takeoff

At first, Berry, who had purchased the flight as a last-minute option to visit her mother for Mother's Day, noticed a single roach crawling up the wall. Though grotesque, she hoped the problem would resolve itself

However, it wasn't long before the grossed-out passenger spotted another 'big roach' crawling inside her seat, heading toward the plane's emergency exit. That's when she decided to alert the flight attendants.

'That's when I started to talk to the flight attendant and say, 'Hey, there are roaches in here. Is there something we can do to clean it up?''

The crew member's response, according to Berry, was less than helpful.

'He just gasped audibly and said he didn't know what to do,' Berry recalled in an interview with People.

In the video, she is seen pointing out the insects as they scuttle across the cabin. Some of the roaches even crawl onto the seat backs, while others climb across the walls and make their way toward the ceiling.

Still on the flight, Berry posted videos of the insects to X, formerly Twitter, which quickly gained traction.

Many pointed out that such an issue is especially troubling for an airline that markets itself as a budget-friendly travel option.

It wasn't long before the grossed-out passenger spotted another 'big roach' crawling inside her seat, heading toward the plane's emergency exit (pictured)

Many pointed out that such an issue is especially troubling for an airline that markets itself as a budget-friendly travel option. Pictured: A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California

In the video, Berry is seen pointing out the insects as they scuttle across the cabin. Some of the roaches even crawl onto the seat backs, while others climb across the walls and make their way toward the ceiling

'10 years ago, I made a decision to never fly with them,' one user wrote on X. 'These roaches are not new to this, they look too comfortable, they're in the Spirit lol.'

Another user added, 'This would be my version of hell, omg.'

'Paying for a Spirit Airlines ticket at this point is willful stupidity. You are paying for inconvenience and filth,' another commented.

Others jokingly quipped, 'Spirit Airlines turning into a whole new adventure - bugs included for free with your ticket!'

Spirit Airlines later reached out to Berry in response to her horrifying initial post, though she claims the response was automated.

'I DM'd them immediately around 7:50 am, and they kept sending the same automated message,' she said. 'Four hours later, someone else responded. I gave them my flight information, and later that night, I received an email offering a $60 credit.'

Spirit Airlines later reached out to Berry in response (pictured) to her horrifying initial post, though she claims the response was automated

In a follow-up TikTok , the popular content creator reaffirmed that she would 'never fly Spirit again,' calling it a 'one and done' experience

Spirit Airlines has since issued a statement apologizing for the situation and confirming that the plane underwent a thorough inspection.

A Spirit Airlines spokesperson confirmed that their team is 'aware of the video' and the airline's 'maintenance team thoroughly inspected the aircraft involved and addressed the issue,' in a statement to People.

'We maintain high standards of cleanliness across our fleet and want all of our guests to feel comfortable when traveling with us,' the statement added.

Despite the airline's apology, Berry remains shaken by the experience. She emphasized that while occasional issues can happen, the fact that passengers were allowed to endure a flight with visible cockroaches was unacceptable.

In a follow-up TikTok, the popular content creator reaffirmed that she would 'never fly Spirit again,' calling it a 'one and done' experience.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment.

Berry's negative experience is far from unique - many other Spirit Airlines passengers have taken to social media to share their own 'horror stories,' calling out the budget carrier for similar issues.

One user on X claimed the airline 'destroyed' his bag and sent it to the wrong destinaiton.

Another wrote the embattled airline, surfacing complaints over a broken stroller, as the dissapointed passenger alleged the airline returned her stroller - which she claims was 'only used once' - broken and in pieces.

Meanwhile, another unsatisfied passenger called out the airline for not having proper staffing for a scheduled flight. The passenger claimed there was 'no pilot or co-pilot' for his flight.
A photo of University of Sydney students turning their backs on a Jewish speaker who denounced Hamas has been slammed as a demonstration of 'contempt'.

During the Student Representative Council's general meeting on Wednesday, the group Students Against War called to reject a nationwide definition of antisemitism.

Adopted by Universities Australia, the definition has said criticism of Israel can be antisemitic 'when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel'.

'Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. That's why there is no such thing as a two-state solution,' a council member told the crowd of 200 students.

'That's why the obvious solution is a one-state solution. There's no such thing as Jewish self determination in Israel.'

Postgraduate student Kovi Rose, who is the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, had attended the meeting to speak against the motion.

'I pleaded with the room of nearly 200 students to vote based on well-reasoned and fact-based arguments,' he said.

'But this prompted nearly the entire audience to stand up and turn their backs on me.'

Nearly 200 students at the University of Sydney stood and turned away from a Jewish speaker who condemned Hamas and during a general meeting

'As a believer in progressive ideas like protecting minorities and respecting indigenous peoples, I am devastated to see that these values apparently do not apply to Jews or Israelis.'

Public Affairs Coordinator at Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), Jack Mars attended the meeting and called it 'emotionally draining'.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission and Jewish studies academic, unleashed on the behaviour, calling the meeting a 'show trial'.

'They didn't just turn their backs on Jewish students. They turned their backs on decency. On democracy,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday.

'It was a purge. A room full of students - 200 strong - stood up, not in solidarity with the oppressed, but in open contempt of their Jewish peers.

'This was a show trial. The verdict was pre-written: Jewish students guilty of existing, guilty of speaking, guilty of refusing to renounce their identity.'

He said that every parent in Australia should ask: 'Is this what we are funding? Is this what higher education now means, turning children into ideological enforcers?'

A joint statement was released by peak, representative, national and state bodies of the Australian Jewish community condemning the 'openly antisemitic conduct'.

The meeting was called by the group Students Against War to oppose a nationwide definition of antisemitism applied by universities, including the University of Sydney

The University of Sydney said the council is an independent body but members of both sides of the debate were consulted prior to the general meeting.

'We are aware nearly 200 students attended the meeting, which represents a small fraction of our total student body,' a statement said.

'Ahead of the Student Representative Council's Student General Meeting we liaised with key members of relevant student groups.

'(We) reminded them of their obligations to manage their meetings in a way that is respectful of the opinion of others and that all students must conduct themselves in accordance with the University's policies and the law.'

SRC president Angus Fisher said the council prioritised the safety and wellbeing of all students by enabling a fair and balanced debate, 'which is what occurred'.

'The room was adequately controlled and there was no heckling of speakers, shouting, nor any threats,' he said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.

'The SRC has always rejected all forms of racism including antisemitism and Islamophobia.'

Students Against War also shared a statement with this publication, when asked about members turning their back to the speaker.

The University of Sydney (pictured) said that the meeting was run by an independent student body but groups had been warned about the code of conduct before it took place

'The student general meeting was open to all undergraduate students,' they said.

'Opponents of the motions were given equal time to present their views, but their arguments were overwhelmingly rejected by the assembly.'

During the fiery debate, the students voted to support the demand for a single, democratic, secular Palestinian state and to cut all ties with Israel.

According to the university's commitment to anti-racism, 'criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic'.

But it is antisemitic to criticise Israel when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions, when calling for the elimination of the State of Israel, or when holding Jewish communities responsible for Israel's actions.

A member of Students Against War told the meeting that the speakers against the motions believed the group wasn't interested in criticising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the government.

'We are. But we're also interested in ending apartheid and genocide,' he said.

'And to be able to do that we need to be able to fight on our own terms. We need to vote against this definition.'
A 15-year-old illegal migrant who was unlicensed, uninsured, and driving his mother's Jeep at 90mph in a residential zone killing a young woman in the process, has walked free from jail with two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

Kaitlyn Weaver's crumpled Volkswagen lay shattered at an Aurora, Colorado intersection after the killer driver smashed into to her car on July 8, 2024.

The force of the impact crushed the driver's side. Emergency crews raced to extract 24-year-old Kaitlyn from the wreckage and she was placed on life support for two days - just long enough for her parents to donate her organs.

Police charged the teen responsible with vehicular homicide with Kaitlyn's family being told by the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office that there would be no plea deal.

But then progressive district attorney Amy Padden was elected, stunning the Weaver's with news that her office would offer the killer probation.

Kaitlyn, a University of Colorado psychology graduate and drug rehab worker, was driving through Aurora when she stopped at a four-way intersection.

While waiting at a stop sign and chatting on speakerphone with her boyfriend, she was T-boned at deadly speed by a Jeep Cherokee driven by the Colombian national, still unnamed due to juvenile privacy laws.

'It was an instantaneous death,' her father, John Weaver, told Fox News. 'She didn't even see him coming.

Kaitlyn Weaver, 24, was killed after a teenage illegal migrant T-boned her vehicle in Colorado

Kaitlyn Weaver's crumpled Volkswagen is seen shattered at an Aurora, Colorado intersection

'We had a collision where the immigration system and the criminal justice system collided, and now my daughter's dead,' Kaitlyn's father, John, added

'She spent her life trying to help people. She was an amazing human being,' he added.

'They said by doing two years' probation, that's probably more than the judge would give if he pleaded guilty,' Weaver recalled as he discussed the light sentence.

'You don't have to participate in a bad system. If the judge wanted to sentence him to less, that's the judge's issue. But by offering this plea, now you're part of the problem.'

The unlicensed and uninsured teenage driver had taken his mother's Jeep without permission and was racing other teens through residential streets.

The teen promised prosecutors he would attend school and avoid future legal trouble in exchange for no jail time and has since applied for asylum in the United States.

Matthew Durkin, an attorney for the Weaver family, called the plea deal 'abhorrent.'

'There's no deterrence. If he had taken a firearm and recklessly just shot it and killed someone, this would be a different case. They would be pushing it completely differently,' John Weaver said.

Instead, the teen's immigration status, age, and the progressive leanings of the DA's office appear to have shielded him from real consequences.

Police are seen surveying the wreckage at the scene of the accident in July 2024

The unlicensed and uninsured teenage driver had taken his mother's Jeep without permission and was racing other teens through residential streets when he slammed into Kaitlyn's vehicle

Kaitlyn is seen graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in psychology

A photo on Padden's Facebook page sees her together with failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris

'We had a collision where the immigration system and the criminal justice system collided, and now my daughter's dead,' John added.

Progressive district attorney Amy Padden was elected and stunned the Weaver family with news that her office would offer the killer probation

Colorado law protects the identities of minors in criminal court and the illegal immigrant who took Kaitlyn's life has never been publicly named nor had his mugshot released.

Thanks to the Arapahoe County judge, he remains shielded from public view.

Furthermore, the court allowed him to file for asylum instead of enforcing deportation proceedings.

Woke, progressive District Attorney Amy Padden, who has been photographed with Kamala Harris and Georgia's Stacey Abrams, has been under fire since the plea deal became public.

Critics point to her cozy ties with top Democrats and her record of pushing juvenile justice reform as a reason she went soft on a case that demanded hard accountability.

In a statement, Arapahoe County Assistant DA Ryan Brackley stated: 'We unequivocally condemn such reckless and unlawful behavior, which had devastating and irreversible results... No legal outcome can truly make up for the profound loss and void Kaitlyn's loved ones will live with permanently.'

Kaitlyn Weaver had dedicated her life to helping people - first at a suicide hotline, then at a drug rehabilitation center in Aurora

Police released a rendering of the crash showing the path of both the dark colored Jeep and Weaver's silver Volkswagen

Padden also addressed the case on Facebook with a lecture about speeding.

'We acknowledge Kaitlyn Weaver's death was the direct result of a crash caused by an unlicensed teenager driving at nearly twice the posted speed limit,' she wrote.

'This tragic loss is a powerful reminder that it is not just alcohol or drug impaired driving that takes lives. Driving at dangerous speeds has deadly consequences too.'

Kaitlyn Weaver had dedicated her life to helping people - first at a suicide hotline, then at a drug rehabilitation center in Aurora.

'She was really trying to make a difference in their lives every day,' dad, John, said.

'Immigration and the criminal justice system and all these things landed together one day in Aurora,' he mourned. 'Now I sit here today without a daughter.'
Aussies are being warned about a law considered one of the strictest in the world that penalises both locals and foreigners from criticising the Thai Royal family.

American academic Dr Paul Chambers was jailed, had his passport seized and lost both his visa and his job at the Naresuan University after he was arrested over a webinar titled 'Thailand's 2024 Military Reshuffles: What Do They Mean?'.

Dr Chambers was charged in April for breaking Thailand's lese majeste law which carries a jail sentence of between three and fifteen years.

The professor is barred from leaving the South East Asian country under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code despite not writing or publishing the webinar.

The lecturer was described at the university as a visiting fellow who was due to present the webinar in June, after it was first published by academics in Singapore.

'He's not allowed to leave the country, we are not sure exactly why,' his brother Kit Chambers told Reuters.

Dr Chambers is considered an expert in the relationship between the military and civilians in Thailand and other countries in South East Asia.

In 2024, a Thai man was sentenced to 50 years in prison on multiple sentences for derogatory comments he made about the Royal family.

Aussies are being warned about a law considered one of the strictest in the world that penalises both locals and foreigners from criticising the Thai Royal family (stock)

Thai Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (left) and Thai Queen Suthida are pictured

The number of people accused of breaking the lese majeste laws is on the rise with at least 272 charged in recent years.

Thailand's constitution places the King in a position of 'revered worship' with the palace seen as sacrosanct - or too valuable to be interfered with.

Maha Vajiralongkorn has ruled as Thailand's King since 2016 and is the tenth monarch to lead the country from the Chakri dynasty.

He has become known for his luxurious lifestyle and $43million fortune as well as his 'hands-on' approach to ruling in harsh contrast to his father who ruled for 70 years.

King Vajiralongkorn, who married his fourth wife Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana in 2019, reportedly owns 38 aircraft, 300 luxury vehicles and 50 boats.

Aussies have been told to heed the travel warning before flying to Thailand.

'Insulting the monarchy, or defacing images of the monarchy  including on a bank note bearing the King's image  can lead to prison terms of up to 15 years,' a notice on smarttraveller.gov.au states.

Social media posts that criticise the Royal family can also land the estimated 800,000 Aussies who fly to Thailand each year in hot water.
Criminals sentenced to less than a year behind bars should avoid jail time entirely, according to an independent review commissioned by the Labour justice secretary Shabana Mahmood.

In a bid to tackle the overcrowding crisis besetting Britain's prisons, it suggests a custodial sentence should not the norm when handing out a sentence of 12 months or less, The Telegraph reported.

The review, chaired by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, instead suggests that magistrates and judges consider suspended or deferred sentences - as well as community punishments.

That means that offenders will have to commit to treatment plans to address their underlying alcohol or drug issues and do a set amount of community service.

Under the new plans, if criminals reoffend or violate the terms of their sentence then they would be sent to prison.

Gauke proposed a similar idea as justice secretary in a bid to get to grips with the level of reoffending among short-term prisoners.

Nevertheless, the move is likely to spark accusations of 'soft justice' from the Tories. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said he believes ending sentences of under a year would 'unleash a crime wave'.

'Letting thousands of criminals off with just a tag or community payback is a recipe for carnage on our streets. They need to be locked up for much longer so they can't keep reoffending,' he added.

An independent review commissioned by the Labour justice secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to recommend that criminals sentenced to less than a year behind bars should avoid jail time entirely

The review, chaired by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, instead suggests that magistrates and judges consider suspended or deferred sentences - as well as community punishments

The sentencing review is in part a response to mass overcrowding in Britain's prisons, but Ministry of Justice forecasts suggesting jails will run out of space again early next year, despite the opening of a new 1,500-bed jail HMP Millsike (pictured), near York, a month ago

'Instead of deporting the 10,500 foreign criminals in our jails or reducing the 17,000 individuals on remand awaiting trial, Labour looks set to decriminalise offences.

'If Shabana Mahmood came to Parliament tomorrow with emergency plans to deport foreign criminals clogging up our jails, we will support her. But she won't because Starmer has spent his career keeping dangerous foreign criminals in our country.'

Labour's long-awaited sentencing review is also expected to suggest the biggest-ever reductions in the time prisoners must serve, in exchange for good behaviour while they are behind bars.

In some cases that could see inmates set free after serving only a third of their initial sentence.

A prison overcrowding crisis led the Government to introduce early release for most inmates after they have served 40 per cent of their sentences, and discounts are now likely to be extended even further for some criminals.

A key measure expected to be set out in next week's report will see convicted offenders handed maximum and minimum sentences by the courts.

Under the minimum sentences, inmates will serve one third if they complete work, training or education in jail, and show good behaviour.

Those who fail to comply will have to serve their maximum terms  which are likely to be beyond the 40 per cent automatic release date currently in force, the Telegraph reported.

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Labour's long-awaited sentencing review is also expected to suggest the biggest-ever reductions in the time prisoners must serve, in exchange for good behaviour while they are behind bars

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood at the new HMP Millsike in Full Sutton, East Yorkshire in March

Shabana Mahmood, pictured here at HMP Millsike, has said the new review should come up with 'tough' alternatives to sending criminals to jail

Labour's Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, pictured on a visit to new HMP Millsike in March, introduced an early release scheme last year which sees most offenders freed after serving just 40 per cent of their sentence

Labour's existing early release scheme excludes offenders jailed for sex crimes, terrorism and serious violent crimes carrying more than four years' imprisonment.

The new proposals  drawn up for Ms Mahmood by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke  are likely to follow a similar pattern.

It could mean most criminals will benefit from extended sentence discounts, including some violent offenders, fraudsters, drug dealers, burglars and thieves.

Jails in England and Wales were holding 88,087 inmates on Monday, with headroom of 1,355 places.

Ministry of Justice forecasts suggest jails will run out of space again early next year, despite the opening of a new 1,500-bed jail HMP Millsike, near York, a month ago.

Another key reform outlined in the review is the idea of using technology to create 'digital prisons' for those under house arrest, The Times reported.

That will involve using electronic tags and other surveillance technology to build out a new three-stage model for prison release.

That will see first stage inmates transferred to a second stage of house arrest for the middle of their sentence before finally being released into the community for the third part once they have been ruled not a threat.

As well as ending shorter sentences, the sentencing review is also pushing the government to embrace intensive supervision courts which involves judges meeting offenders as frequently as every fortnight.

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The crumbling London jail of HMP Wandsworth, whose independent monitoring board identified a litany of failings in its annual report in 2024, concluding that 'the prison is not safe' and 'conditions remained inhumane'. However, the watchdog recently reported that governor Andy Davy had 'brought energy and focus' to tackling safety and decency at the prison, since taking over the role last summer

The scheme, already in its trial stage, is aimed at rehabilitating low level offenders who have to commit to two-year orders and seek treatment for drink, drugs or mental health issues.

Those on the scheme can be jailed for 28 days for major violations of their license and are cut from the scheme after three strikes.

However, early results have proved positive, with data showing than more than two-thirds (70 per cent) of offenders comply with the program.

The scheme actually has its origins in Conservative policy since it was first introduced by the then-justice secretary Michael Gove in 2015.
A beauty influencer who was gunned down on a TikTok livestream admitted she feared for her life just minutes before she was killed, confessing to her followers, 'I'm worried.'

Valeria Marquez, 23, was shot on Tuesday in her beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico, while her phone recorded a livestream.

The cold-blooded killer hasn't yet been identified, but Denis Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office, said that a masked man pretending to be a delivery driver arrived at the salon hours before the attack.

The man was accompanied by a second individual and told a woman at the salon they had to see Marquez to give her an 'expensive gift,' according to CBS News.

When the beauty influencer arrived at the salon and was informed two men were looking for her, she told her followers, 'Maybe they were going to kill me.'

'Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I'm worried,' Marquez then said on the stream.

Shortly after this admission, the two men returned to the salon and asked for the influencer.

'They're coming,' she told her followers before a voice off-screen can be heard asking, 'Hey Vale?'

Valeria Marquez, 23, was shot and killed in her beauty salon on Tuesday while filming a livestream on TikTok

Doble R was linked to previous murders in the area and is a known cartel leader

New details have now revealed Marquez feared for her life before her murder, and the two suspects arrived at her salon (pictured) asking for her before they killed her

She replied and was given a stuffed animal and a Starbucks coffee before the masked man opened fire and shot her in the head and chest.

Marquez collapsed live on camera. Rodriguez revealed that prosecutors believe the men were hired assassins.

'The aggressor arrived asking if the victim (Marquez) was there. So it appears he didn't know her,' Rodriguez said.

'With that, you can deduce  without jumping to conclusions  that this was a person who was paid. It was obviously someone who came with a purpose.'

In a separate video, Marquez admitted that she used to date 'thugs,' telling her followers, 'I've changed. I don't go out anymore, I don't drink anymore, I've stopped being around thugs, I'm a good girl.'

Paramedics pronounced Marquez dead at the scene, and investigators are working to find the suspect, who remains on the streets.

Although a suspect hasn't been named by authorities, Mexican newspaper El Heraldo reported that a feared cartel leader named Doble R is at the center of the investigation.

Marquez had reportedly been in a relationship with the man and was envious when her followers started sending her expensive gifts.

Denis Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office, said that authorities suspect Marquez's murderer was a hired assassin

Marquez reportedly told her followers before her death, 'Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I'm worried,' when she heard two men were looking for her

Doble R is associated with the violent faction of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, which has seized control of the region.

He has an extensive criminal history and was previously connected to the murders of Venezuelan model Daisy Ferrer Arenas and influencer Juan Luis Lagunas, who reportedly insulted cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera.

Marquez's murder has shocked the world and shed light on the femicide crisis in Mexico, where women are frequently killed and assaulted.

Violence against women has soared in Latin American countries as cartel members perpetrate shocking levels of gender-based violence.

Mexican mayoral candidate Yesenia Lara Gutierrez was gunned down just days before Marquez while greeting residents on the street.

The shocking slaying was also captured on camera, as the footage revealed people running for their lives as gunshots rang out.

A man named Doble R is suspected in Marquez's death, with local news reporting that the two dated

Before she was killed, Marquez reportedly told her followers that she was 'stopped being around thugs'

A Mexican newspaper noted that Gutierrez was greeting 'women with children in their arms' when the shooting began. She lost her life in the shooting, and her daughter was also named as a victim.

Incidents of femicide often target women in politics or the public eye. Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia for the fourth-highest recorded instances of femicide, according to data from the United Nations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement on Thursday that authorities were working to identify Marquez's killer and expressed solidarity with the influencer's family.

Marquez was popular on social media for her beauty and lifestyle videos, amassing over 110,000 followers.
Crime boss Bassam Hamzy is suing NSW Police from behind bars, claiming they could have stopped a plot to assassinate his older brother a week before he died.

Mejid Hamzy, 44, was killed during a 2020 drive-by assassination at his home at Condell Park in Sydney's west.

Bassam has now launched a multimillion-dollar negligence case in the NSW Supreme Court, claiming police and other agencies 'had about seven days to warn Mejid Hamzy, but failed to do so', according to The Daily Telegraph.

In his statement of claim, hand-written in Goulburn's Supermax Prison where he is serving 40 years for murder and other offences, Bassam alleged a senior detective had received a tip-off from a NSW Crime Commission investigator about the plot.

The call between the detective and the investigator was recorded by the police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), he claimed.

He did not reveal how he became aware of the alleged call or a recording of it.

'The phone call was lawfully intercepted by (LECC) and was listened to live,' he wrote. 'No action was taken to warn Mejid Hamzy (and he) was murdered shortly after this call took place.

'The defendants had about seven days to warn Mejid Hamzy but failed to do so.

Bassam Hamzy (pictured) is suing NSW Police from behind bars, claiming they could have stopped a plot to assassinate his brother a week before he died

Mejid Hamzy (pictured) was killed during a 2020 drive-by assassination at his home at Condell Park in Sydney's west

Mejid's shooting death in 2020 (crime scene pictured) sparked fears of a gangland war

He listed the defendants in the case as NSW Police, the NSW Crime Commission, the State of NSW and the LECC.

He asked for the state to compensate him but did not give a specific figure.

The Supreme Court hears cases where the claim is potentially worth more than $750,000.

The case came to light after The Saturday Telegraph won a legal battle to lift a suppression order on the matter requested by lawyers of the state government.

Hamzy is representing himself in the matter.

He was jailed in 2002 for the murder of Kris Toumazis outside the Mr Goodbar nightclub in Darlinghurst.

But he continued to run a criminal operation from inside Lithgow jail, using a secret phone that authorities discovered in 2008 had made more than 19,000 calls.

Mejid was a drug supplier and senior lieutenant in his criminal operation.

Bassam's statement of claim (pictured) was hand-written in Goulburn's Supermax Prison where he is serving 40 years for murder and other offences

His shooting death in 2020 sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs had long run rampant.

At the time, an underworld source described Mejid to Daily Mail Australia as 'one of the biggest names in Sydney'.

Mejid was one of the first casualties in a feud that has since seen more than 20 crime figures executed, often in public areas.
There's nothing quite like the feel of crisp hotel sheets when enjoying time away from home.

But one hapless husband had that taken to a whole new level when his entire bed was covered in the crunchy snack after a romantic gesture went spectacularly wrong.

Johnnie Norman, 35, took his wife Rachel, 36, out for her birthday in Blackpool, Lancashire, and secretly asked hotel staff to put 30 assorted bags of crisps on the bed while they were out to surprise his crisp-loving wife.

But staff misunderstood, opened the bags, and sprinkled the crisps on the sheets like salty confetti.

Stunned Rachel thought they were victims of a strange break-in when she opened the door and saw the scene, but still decided to eat some of them.

After a mortified Johnnie explained what must have happened the pair could not stop laughing.

Rachel loves crisps and would eat four bags a day - spending up to 15-a-week on the snack - until cutting down to one every two days recently in a bid to be healthier.

Rachel, an NHS worker, from Accrington, Lancashire, said: 'I was hysterical.

Johnnie Norman, 35, took his wife Rachel, 36, out for her birthday in Blackpool, Lancashire, and secretly asked hotel staff to put 30 assorted bags of crisps on the bed while they were out to surprise his crisp-loving wife - but the result was not what they had in mind

Staff misunderstood Johnnie's request, opened the bags, and sprinkled the crisps on the sheets like salty confetti

Rachel loves crisps and would eat four bags a day - spending up to 15-a-week on the snack - until cutting down to one every two days recently in a bid to be healthier

'His face was a picture.

'Since that day he's never tried any more romantic antics, but it's one of our favourite memories.'

Johnnie, a warehouse operative, bought the crisps for Rachel's 30th birthday, on December 15, 2018.

He said: 'Looking back it really is funny! Like we had some sort of prawn-cocktail crisp fetish...'

Hotel staff changed the sheets and gave the couple a voucher for another night's stay.
An immigration detainee who allegedly attacked two border force officers before escaping a van has been arrested following a two-day manhunt.

Police were called to Clyde in western Sydney about 3.40am on Thursday following reports a male officer, 54, had been stabbed in the neck and cheek.

A second male officer, 36, was also assaulted, with both rushed to hospital.

NSW Police said the officers were transporting 28-year-old Tongan National Paea Teu from Villawood to Sydney Airport when the alleged incident occurred.

Teu allegedly escaped the van, sparking a two-day manhunt that ended on Friday after he was spotted at a home in Eschol Park in Sydney's southwest.

He was arrested by police and later charged with causing wounding/grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail and is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

A 24-year-old woman was also arrested at the home and was charged with knowingly harbouring, maintaining or employing an escaped inmate.

NSW Police said the officers were transporting 28-year-old Tongan National Paea Teu (pictured) from Villawood to Sydney Airport when the alleged incident occurred

Mr Teu allegedly escaped a van on Thursday while he was being taken to Sydney Airport

She was granted bail and is expected to appear at Campbelltown Local Court on Thursday.

NSW Police have said inquiries remain ongoing.
The Supreme Court on Friday voted to block Donald Trump's attempt to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under an 18th-century wartime law.

All three of the justices appointed by Trump during his first term sided with Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberals, with only Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law. The case will now go back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to intervene in April.

Trump - who has waged rhetorical war against lower courts throughout his second term - quickly voiced his anger at the court on Truth Social.

'THE SUPREME COURT WONT ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!' he posted on his Truth Social platform.

Trump said he was trying to get rid of 'the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our Country illegally.'

He complained that the court's ruling will force 'a long, protracted, and expensive Legal Process, one that will take, possibly, many years for each person, and one that will allow these people to commit many crimes before they even see the inside of a Courthouse.'

The Supreme Court on Friday made a major ruling barring Donald Trump's (pictured) attempt to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under an 18th-century wartime law

The justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798

'The result of this decision will let more CRIMINALS pour into our Country, doing great harm to our cherished American public,' he added.

Trump then thanked Justices Alito and Thomas 'for attempting to protect our Country' before declaring it 'a bad and dangerous day for America.'

The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration's effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally.

The president and his supporters have complained about having to provide due process for people they contend didn't follow U.S. immigration laws.

The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations, in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month.

Officials seemed 'poised to carry out removals imminently,' the court noted Friday.

The case is among several making their way through the courts over Trumps proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoking the 1798 law to deport people.

The high court case centers on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States - without determining whether Trump's invocation of the law was appropriate.

All three of the justices appointed by Trump during his first term sided with Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberals, with only Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting

'We recognize the significance of the Governments national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,' the justices said in an unsigned opinion.

At least three federal judges have said Trump was improperly using the AEA to speed deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members.

On Tuesday, however, a Trump-appointed judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law.

Stephanie Haines, a Trump appointee, also said the administration hasnt been giving enough notice to people facing removal under the AEA.

She ordered the administration to provide at least 21 days notice - far longer than the 12 hours that some deportees have been given.

'This case poses significant issues that are deeply interwoven with the constitutional principles upon which this Nations government is founded,' Haines wrote.

'In approaching these issues, the Court begins by stressing the questions that it is not resolving at this time.'

The ruling doesn't address whether the administration can remove people under other immigration laws, nor does it address whether Trump can invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport people who simply migrated to the U.S. and who aren't members of a foreign terrorist organization, Haines wrote.

The justices refuse to sign off on Trump's proclamation calling Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization, allowing members to be deported

Many Tren de Aragua members were deported as part of the president's immigration crackdown and sent to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison

She also did not weigh in on whether people suspected of being members of other gangs could be removed under the act.

But she did say the Act can be used to remove Venezuelan citizens who are at least 14 years old, who are in the U.S. without legal immigration status, and who are members of Tren de Aragua.

'Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will,' Haines wrote.

The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington, D.C., and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held.

In April, the justices said that people must be given 'reasonable time' to file a challenge.

On Friday, the court said 24 hours is not enough time but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. The administration has said 12 hours would be sufficient.

The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito complaining that his colleagues had departed from their usual practices and seemingly decided issues without an appeals court weighing in.

The violent Venezuelan super gang Tren de Aragua had expanded to take foothold in 16 states across the US, Homeland Security officials warned last November before Trump was elected

'But if it has done so, todays order is doubly extraordinary,' Alito wrote.

In a separate opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he agreed with the majority but would have preferred the nation's highest court to jump in now definitively, rather than return the case to an appeals court.

'The circumstances,' Kavanaugh wrote, 'call for a prompt and final resolution.'

Trump issued a proclamation in March claiming that Tren de Aragua was invading the U.S.

He said he had special powers to deport immigrants, identified by his administration as gang members, without the usual court proceedings.

After the proclamation, the administration began deporting people designated as Tren de Aragua members to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The proclamation and deportations sparked a flurry of lawsuits in multiple states - including the one that led to Haines' ruling Tuesday.

That case was brought a Venezuelan national who says he fled to the U.S. with his wife and children in 2023 after facing extortion in his own country.

Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Judge Stephanie Haines (pictured) said the Act can be used to remove Venezuelan citizens who are at least 14 years old, who are in the U.S. without legal immigration status, and who are members of Tren de Aragua

The act would allow the President to forcibly remove citizens of an 'enemy nation' who it deems to be 'dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States' or involved in 'treasonous' acts

He was arrested in February after a neighbor reported that he is a member of Tren de Aragua - a claim the man vehemently denies.

The man is identified only by his initials in the lawsuit. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Haines initially approved the case as a class action, temporarily blocking the Trump administration from using the AEA to deport any migrants in her district.

But she lifted that designation Tuesday, clearing the way for deportations to resume as long as the people being removed are given at least 21 days notice in English and Spanish as well as an 'opportunity to be heard' on any objections they might have.

Many Tren de Aragua members were deported as part of the president's immigration crackdown and sent to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.

In November before Trump took office, it was revealed the Venezuelan super gang's territory covered half of America's population, posing challenges for law enforcement agencies across the US who are trying to combat the mob's wave of crime.

The gang had spread its tentacles across Virginia, Washington DC, Montana and Wyoming, according to an internal Homeland Security department intelligence memo obtained by The New York Post.

Officials warned that TdA's arrival in the US capital and nearby Virginia coincides with 'increases in migrant populations' in the area, the memo states.

TdA was reportedly targeting DC because the city provides easy travel access to wealthy northern Virginian suburbs where gangsters are carrying out thefts, robberies and assaults.

The mob's bloodthirsty members have also increased their 'violent tendencies' and has become more engaged with 'lower-level fraud and theft schemes' that allow them to send stolen funds 'back to South America as a means of financing additional criminal enterprises', according to the intelligence document.

Homeland security officials warned that as the 'population of Venezuelan nationals continues to increase, the potential for violent TdA migrants is highly probable'.

In addition to its expanded territory, TdA also had footholds in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Colorado.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has announced the tragic passing of her mother just days after she made history as the Liberal Party's first female leader.

'In the very early hours of this morning, my mother, Angela Braybrooks, passed away here in Albury,' Ley wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday.

'My family and I feel this loss deeply.

'We express our deep appreciation to the staff at Riverwood Aged Care facility for the quality care provided to Angela. In her final moments, she was comfortable and at peace.

'Mum was a mental health nurse who helped so many people through her life. She taught me the values of resilience, self-reliance and persistence.'

Ley said when Angela grew up in wartime Britain she 'could never have dreamed that her daughter would become Australias first female Leader of the Opposition, but because of her, that happened this week'.

She said on Monday night a priest had urged her mother to 'hang on' so she could see one more special moment in her daughter's life, promising her, 'we'll have champagne tomorrow'.

'On Tuesday, hours after I was afforded the enormous privilege by my Liberal colleagues of leading our party, I drove back down the Hume Highway to be at her bedside,' Ley said.

Sussan Ley has announced the tragic passing of her mother Angela Braybrooks (both pictured)

Ley said her mother Angela (pictured) was a mental health nurse who 'helped so many people through her life'. Her death comes just days after she was appointed as Opposition leader

'Whilst mum was no longer verbal, she watched every moment of my press conference. As I walked back into her room that afternoon, her eyes lit up with excitement. It was a moment I will treasure, forever.'

On Tuesday, Ley won a 29-25 vote against Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor to replace Peter Dutton.

Shadow Energy Minister Ted O'Brien was elected as deputy leader, with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price - who was aligned with Mr Taylor - dropping out of the contest shortly before the poll.

Ley, 63, is one of the Liberal Party's most-experienced hands, having served as a Cabinet minister under the Coalition's past three prime ministers - Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.

A former commercial pilot, farmer and public servant, she has held the rural seat of Farrer in NSW's south-west since the retirement of her long-serving predecessor and former National Party leader and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer.

Ley famously changed the spelling of her first name from 'Susan' to 'Sussan' in her 20s after exploring numerology. She believed that adding an extra 's' would make her life 'incredibly exciting' and ensure 'nothing would ever be boring'.

Ley is a mother-of-three and had the support of the party's moderates, with some believing a woman at the helm will help win back female voters.
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters' Friday press conference descended into a chaotic spectacle as he challenged a reporter who placed responsibility for the state's consistently low rankings in education on his shoulders.

Walters, who called the impromptu media briefing after lawmakers rejected several of his proposed budget requests, quickly found himself in a tense clash with reporters.

The contentious session, which was intended to address his frustration over the legislative rejections, quickly escalated when a KFOR reporter raised the issue of Oklahoma's education ranking.

'Why would people listen to you when, over the years, we've continued to be one of the lowest in the nation when it comes to education? You blame other people, but aren't you to blame?' the reporter asked.

The question seemed to strike a nerve, triggering Walters' combative response.

'Let's take a look at that question again, KFOR gets it fundamentally wrong. You are consistent at being wrong,' Walters fired back, visibly agitated.

'So we are not at the bottom of education. We continue to see dramatic increases in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. I know y'all don't care to report facts,' he continued, taking aim at the media outlet's coverage.

Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters (pictured) turned a press conference into a spectacle of insults and outrage on Thursday, launching into a fiery, Trump-style tirade at a reporter

The superintendent's tone grew even more hostile as he accused the reporter and the media in general of spreading misinformation.

'I got it, I got it. You're fake news. I gotcha,' Walters said, before adding, 'KFOR will consistently report lies and I am going to consistently call you out on them.'

While Walters' assertions may have been bold, they didn't align with national reports.

According to US News & World Report's 2024 rankings, Oklahoma ranked 48th out of 50 states in education, based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and higher education statistics like college graduation rates and student debt levels.

Despite the low ranks, Walters remained defiant in his response.

He continued his tirade, claiming, 'Oklahoma taxpayers are tired of your lies. You guys are always wrong, and Oklahoma taxpayers are tired of it. They're tired of the media not putting a spotlight on an issue like the budget.'

His fury showed no signs of subsiding, as he alleged that the media, particularly KFOR, was avoiding the 'real issues' facing Oklahoma families.

'You don't like my answer, and that's okay,' Walters snapped as reporters attempted to interject.

'What you're going to see is fake news like KFOR cover up the American issues facing families Oklahoma families.'

The controversy stems from Walters' ongoing battle with the state legislature, which recently rejected several key elements of his education budget.

Among the proposals shot down were funds for a new teacher induction program, recruiting military veterans and law enforcement officers to become teachers and providing educators with concealed-carry firearms training, as reported by OUDaily.

Walters, who called the impromptu media briefing after lawmakers rejected several of his proposed budget requests, quickly found himself in a tense back-and-forth with reporters

According to US News & World Report's 2024 rankings, Oklahoma ranked 48th out of 50 states in education, based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and higher education statistics like college graduation rates and student debt levels

Critics were quick to pounce on his combative behavior

Despite his claims of 'dramatic increases' in Oklahoma's education system, lawmakers did not approve the measures Walters had championed, including funding for 'Bibles in every classroom' and $500,000 for the concealed carry training.

Such items were part of Walters' broader education reform package, which has been met with resistance in the legislature.

While Walters' supporters argue that he is fighting for the future of Oklahoma's children, critics were quick to pounce on his combative behavior, accusing him of deflecting responsibility for the state's educational challenges.

'Trump has taught a generation of Republicans to shirk accountability and to lie shamelessly,' one X user wrote.

Another added, 'A usual MAGA tacticwhen faced with the truth, they call you fake news instead of addressing the question!'

Some saw Walters' behavior as emblematic of a broader issue.

'This kind of tantrum behavior in society's leaders is so destructive,' one user commented.

'When internet archaeologists of the future trawl to investigate what happened to our country, I hope they share this clip with future humanity. He amplifies emotionally destructive behaviors for people to copy.'
A grieving family have warned Australians to take the 'unprecedented' rise in cases of a deadly, soil-borne disease seriously.

At least 31 Aussies have died after being infected by tropical disease melioidosis so far this year, with 211 cases recorded across the state.

The number of people suffering from the disease, caused by bacteria lurking in mud and dirty water, has seen a significant increase compared to previous years.

The family of Evan Brown, who contracted the disease and died in hospital in March last year, warned that Australians should not assume their symptoms are flu.

'That's something we didn't put together and I really wish that we had,' his wife Sarah Brown said.

'I really hope that people can start to hear the message and really understand that it is present - and it's probably going to get worse if we keep having these big flood seasons.'

Mr Brown, who was diabetic with an auto-immune condition, thought he had suffered from a virus after being sick on and off for a month before he was admitted to hospital.

His organs began shutting down and he was airlifted to the Gold Coast where he eventually passed away.

Evan Brown (pictured left) passed away in March 2024 after contracting melioidosis

Experts have said the extreme flooding in Queensland earlier this year (pictured) could have contributed to the rise in cases of melioidosis

Ms Brown said the rising death toll was incredibly triggering for her family.

'It's been really scary for us because obviously it makes everything very present and very conscious again for us,' she said.

The fatal tropical disease, caused by bacteria which lives in water or soil that has been disturbed, is commonly detected in northern Australia.

It is seasonal in nature, with cases often occurring during wet season when there has been heavy rain or flooding, such as that seen across Queensland during autumn.

Professor Paul Griffin, Mater Health Services' director of infectious diseases, said the extraordinary flooding in north Queensland was a key factor in the surging cases.

'When you see the rainfall and the flooding events that we've had, it was expected that we'd have a potential increase in cases,' he said.

'But I think the magnitude and the number of deaths in particular is a bit of a surprise.'

Some medical experts have also suggested the disturbance of soil during the Bruce Highway upgrade could be a contributing factor.

The Brown family has spoken out amid the alarming rise in cases of the tropical disease

'It's certainly been speculated that there's some clustering of cases around there and that may be a factor,' Prof Griffin said.

Infrastructure body Transport and Main Roads, which is responsible for the project, has said previously that they met with researchers about the construction.

'Should health investigations confirm ground-disturbing works are a contributing factor in the spread of soil-borne bacteria causing illnesses, TMR will implement any recommendations from experts to ensure essential road projects meet the highest level of safety,' a TMR spokesperson said.

Those with underlying health conditions like diabetes and lung disease, along with people who drink a lot of alcohol, are urged to take precautions.

Symptoms include fever, pneumonia, exhaustion, vomiting, abdominal pains and chest pressure.

When potentially exposed to contaminated water or handling soil, gumboots, long pants, gloves and masks are recommended.
A British law chief who is pursuing Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes has stepped down over an alleged sex assault.

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has categorically denied claims that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will.

The alleged victim claimed he tried to silence her by saying the 'casualties' of her allegations would include 'justice' for the Palestinian people.

Khan is leading the war crimes case in the ICC against Israel, accusing Netanyahu of crimes against humanity within the war against Hamas. The court also charged three leaders of Hamas, who have since been killed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, witness testimony given to the UN claims that Mr Khan told the woman: 'The casualties [of her allegations] will unfortunately be three: You and your family, me and my family and the justice of the victims.'

On another occasion  according to testimony made to the UN  he reportedly said: 'Think about the Palestinian arrest warrants.'

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (pictured), has categorically denied claims that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will

Khan is leading the war crimes case in the ICC against Israel , accusing Netanyahu (pictured) of crimes against humanity within the war against Hamas . The court also charged three leaders of Hamas, who have since been killed

Khan's office said the prosecutor had taken leave until the end of the investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.

It is not known how long the investigation by the court will take.

Sources told Reuters Khan had what is believed to be his final interview with UN investigators las week following a months-long external investigation.

Khan stepping back will cause further trouble for the ICC, after its president said sanctions by President Donald Trump have put the court itself at risk.

The sanctions were prompted by the ICC investigation into Israel, and the issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

Two court employees, who the alleged victim spoke to about the claimed assault, reported the incident to the court's independent watchdog in May 2024 - just weeks before Khan sought arrest warrants.

But this was dropped after five days when the woman decided not to file an official complaint, with Khan himself not being interviewed.

They did not determine any wrongdoing but urged Khan in a memo to minimize contact with the woman to protect the rights of all involved and safeguard the courts integrity.

Khan stepping back will cause further trouble for the ICC, after its president said sanctions by President Donald Trump have put the court itself at risk

The ICC's announcement was welcomed by women's rights groups, who had called for Khan to step down after the allegations emerged last year.

'In any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago,' said Eimear Shine, a spokesperson for The Hague-based Womens Initiatives for Gender Justice.

The courts deputy prosecutors will be in charge of managing the prosecutors office while Khan is on leave, the statement said.

The work of the court will continue, according to Danya Chaikel, the ICC representative from the International Federation for Human Rights.

'The cases and investigations have been carried out by professionals,' she told the Associated Press.
Twenty dogs were found alive at a property where the remains of 37 dead animals were discovered, police have said.

Officers from Essex Police, who were accompanied by RSPCA inspectors and council officials, found the dogs after visiting a property in Crays Hill, Billericay, on Tuesday.

The dogs that were still alive required veterinary treatment.

Two men were arrested after the raid on suspicion of animal cruelty offences and fraud related to the transfer of dog ownership.

Ovaeed Rahman, 25, from Hope Road in Crays Hill, Billericay, has been charged with a series of offences.

These include causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, an offence contrary to Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and three counts of fraud by false representation.

He appeared at Southend Magistrates' Court yesterday and was remanded into custody ahead of his next hearing in June.

The second man arrested has been released on bail until July.

Officers from Essex Police, who were accompanied by RSPCA inspectors and council officials, found the dogs after visiting a property in Crays Hill, Billericay, on Tuesday

Ovaeed Rahman (above) from Hope Road in Crays Hill, Billericay, has been charged with a series of offences

Inspector Steve Parry, of the Basildon neighbourhood policing team urged anyone with information to contact them through their online portal.

He said: 'I would like to thank those people who have submitted information through the portal. Officers are working incredibility hard to review every report.

'The connection people had with their pets is obvious in each case and I promise that this is not lost on us. We will be in touch with those who have submitted suitable information as soon as we can.

'Please understand this is a complex investigation with parameters which are widening by the hour and it is not something we will rush  out of fairness to everyone who has been in touch.'

MailOnline reported this week that the operation followed reports to Action Fraud and unsubstantiated concerns raised online about Save A Paw in Crays Hill, Essex, which is owned by Rahman.

Save A Paw takes in dogs from people who can no longer look after them or mistreated pets and offers to find them new owners in loving homes.

Frank (above) was sent to Save a Paw by her owner who drove from Essex to Scotland believing she had found the 'perfect home' for him

Dog rescues do not have to be registered like a kennel with the local council and take donations rather than charge fees.

An online biography states Rahman has 'operated his one-man rescue since late 2024 and he claims to have rehabilitated and rehomed dozens of reactive large-breed dogs'.

In a recent Facebook post Rahman confronted negative claims, writing: 'Ive personally taken down few dog fighters and saved their dogs with staples and all sorts of dodgy repairs to their bodies.

'I taken in the worst of worst kind of dogs reactive with bite history then rehabilitate them.'

Supporters posted comments including: 'Ignore the haters - those of us who know you and who have actually visited your rescue know its lies.'

The rescue home's website states: 'At Save a Paw UK, were dedicated to rescuing and rehoming dogs in need, giving them a second chance at life.

Save a Paw boasts its 'dedication to rescuing and rehoming dogs in need' on Facebook posts like the one above

'As a family-run rescue, we pour our hearts into caring for these animals, ensuring they receive the love, medical attention, and rehabilitation they deserve before finding their forever homes.

'But to continue our vital work, we need your support. Every donation, big or small, goes directly toward the care of our dogscovering vet bills, food, shelter, and the resources to make sure each pup is happy, healthy, and ready for adoption.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: 'Essex Police, the RSPCA and Basildon Borough Council attended an address in Billericay [on Tuesday] as part of a joint visit with support from the Dogs Trust.

'Sadly a number of ill and deceased dogs were found at the property. As this is an ongoing enquiry, we are unable to release further information at this time.'
An Australian couple has been released from a notorious Bali jail seven months after they were busted for running a brothel.

Michael Le Grand, 50, and wife Lynley Le Grand, 44, will immediately be deported to Australia after being released from Kerobokan Prison in Bali on Saturday.

Footage obtained by Daily Mail Australia showed the mother-of-three leaving the notorious women's prison while she attempted to conceal her face with a towel.

Ms Legrand did not provide a statement to reporters who had gathered outside the facility, seven months after local authorities raided the couple's Pink Palace Spa in Kuta, 40 minutes from Denpasar.

Kerobokan women's prison governor Ni Luh Putu Andiyani told the National News Network Ms Le Grand found comfort in religion while behind bars.

'The Australian prisoner, Lynley, has shown good behaviour during prison. She never violated the rules inside the prison,' Ms Andiyani said.

'She participated in the morning exercise every day. She also joined the prayer at the prison church.'

She said Ms Le Grand, who survived the Bali bombings in 2002, was devastated upon entering the prison but came to accept her predicament.

Melbourne mother Lynley Le Grand is pictured leaving Bali's notorious Kerobokan prison on Saturday seven months after she was detained in sweeping illegal prostitution busts

Ms Le Grand is said to have turned to religion during her seven-month stint behind bars. She did not speak with reporters who waited to meet her outside the facility on Saturday

Mr Le Grand, with his wife Lynley, was also released from Kerobokan prison on Saturday. The couple is expected to reunite with their three children before flying home

'At the beginning she was very sad. But slowly, she could accept the conditions and was able to socialise with other prisoners. She is now in good condition, she is well, and she can socialise with anyone now,' she said.

Mr Le Grand, who was reported to have complained of pancreatic cancer while in Kerobokan, left through a separate exit from the men's side of the prison on Saturday.

Built in 1979, Kerobokan men's prison is notoriously overcrowded and is well-known for having housed the Bali Nine and the Bali Bombers.

Schapelle Corby spent nine years behind bars in Kerobokan women's prison after being convicted of smuggling 4.2kg of cannabis in a boogie board bag in 2004.

The Le Grands are expected to reunite with their three children, who are understood to have been staying with a relative in Bali, before meeting with immigration officials and flying home.

During a raid in October last year, police seized evidence including lingerie, condoms and massage oil, and claimed the brothel was offering 'same-sex prostitution and bisexual practices'.

The spa offered a 'sensual body slide and hand relief' for $100, with the couple advertising the spa on hired mobile billboards, which triggered the police raid.

A panel of judges at Denpasar District Court found the Le Grands 'legally and convincingly proven guilty of providing pornography services'.

Local authorities raided Pink Palace Spa in Kuta, run by the Le Grands, in October last year which, police said, offered 'same-sex prostitution and bisexual practices'

The Le Grands spent seven months inside Kerobokan prison, notorious for having housed high-profile prisoners including the Bali Nine, the Bali Bombers and Schapelle Corby

AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw's estranged wife Saranitha also received a sentence of seven months behind bars in relation to a different Bali brothel

Their seven-month sentences were slighter lighter than the nine months recommended by the prosecutor.

Sarinitha Olarenshaw, 36, the estranged wife of former AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw, was also arrested that same month after police raided her Flame Spa in Seminyak.

Olarenshaw, who had 23,000 followers on Instagram, previously claimed she was illegally detained after being arrested over allegations sex was being offered at her Flame Seminyak spa.

The influencer walked free earlier this month.

She previously alleged that her husband Ricky, his brother, and two other Australian men were the owners of the business, but her estranged husband denied the claim.

A number of Bali businesses owned by the Le Grands, including bars and cafes, remain open. It is not clear whether the couple hoped to return to the Indonesian island.
Three Iranian men arrested by anti-terror police in London have been charged with spying for Tehran.

The trio are alleged to have been helping the Middle Eastern country's intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St John's Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44 of Kensal Rise and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, of Ealing, were arrested on May 3 under the National Security Act.

Sepahvand has been charged with conducting surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research with the intention of committing serious violence against someone in the UK.

Manesh and Noori were charged with surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention of someone else committing serious violence against someone in the UK.

Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex and fast-moving investigation.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St John's Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44 of Kensal Rise and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, of Ealing, were arrested on May 3 under the National Security Act. Pictured: File photo

'Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the CPS to reach this point. We have been in contact with the individuals directly affected, and we continue to provide them with support.

'Now that these men have been charged I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.'

The trio will appear in court today.

A fourth man, 31, was also arrested last Friday, but was released without charge on May 15.

Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the top level of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs) earlier this year, aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.

It means anyone who is directed by the regime to carry out activities in the UK must declare it or face five years in prison once the scheme comes into force in July.

Last October, MI5 boss, Ken McCallum, said authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022.

Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service special crime and counter terrorism division, said: 'Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service's Counter Terrorism Command, we have authorised criminal charges against three Iranian nationals.

'The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are now active and that they have the right to a fair trial.

'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.'

Under section 27 of the National Security Act, officers can arrest without a warrant anyone they suspect is 'involved in foreign power threat activity'.

Security minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons on May 6: 'I can confirm to the House that these are the first Iranian nationals arrested under the National Security Act.'
Councils cracking down on car drivers and installing unpopular Low Traffic Neighborhoods (LTNs) are spending tens of thousands of pounds on taxis for their own staff.

Shocking data reveals how ten local authorities praised for their environmental action are forking out huge sums of taxpayers' cash to pay for chauffeurs and minicabs.

Ealing council in west London - which declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed itself to 'urgent action' to combat climate change - has spent at least 30,000 on cars in the past three years, according to figures obtained by The Times.

But the real amount is likely to be much higher because the west London authority refused to reveal taxis that may have been put through as 'other business expenses'.

The council's 'Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy' promises that the borough will be carbon neutral by 2030.

It also said the 'vast majority' of motoring journeys can be done by bicycle, on foot or by public transport as short vehicle journeys 'could have a huge impact on emission levels'.

But, a Freedom of Information request showed that its own spending on taxis has barely changed in three years.

Councils cracking down on car drivers and installing unpopular Low Traffic Neighborhoods (LTNs) are spending tens of thousands of pounds on taxis for their own staff

Data reveals how ten local authorities that have been praised for their environmental action are forking out taxpayers' cash to pay for chauffeurs and minicabs. Lambeth council became notorious for introducing an LTN that resulted in such congestion that buses were taking two hours to travel three miles. Pictured: Congestion caused by the LTN

Meanwhile, Hackney Council in east London, which has introduced low-traffic LTNs across 70 per cent of its roads, has spent nearly 20,000 on taxis since 2020.

Under its 'change one thing' initiative, it urges residents to 'leave the car at home and walk, cycle or take public transport instead'.

However, just like Ealing Council, its spending on taxis has barely changed in three years.

In south London, Lambeth council - which became notorious for introducing an LTN that resulted in such congestion that buses were taking two hours to travel three miles - spent more than 10,000 on a chauffeur-driven limousine for its mayor last year.

The Times sought information from the ten best-rated councils according to the Healthy Streets Scorecard.

The campaign is run by a coalition of organisations and charities, including CPRE, to highlight local authorities that have done the most to encourage greener modes of transport.

Most refused to reveal in full  or at all  how much they spent on taxis, often saying that their systems could not find the information.

Islington Council in north London said it could not differentiate how much had been spent on staff and how much on residents with special needs.

A sign is vandalised on a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) barrier on August 1 in London

A camera that was turned upside down last month on Valley Road, part of a group of streets that make up Lambeth Council's Streatham Wells Low Traffic Neighbourhood trial

This picture from November 1 shows volunteers protesting against Lambeth Council's Streatham Wells LTN - and warning motorists against driving down the road

Across the ten councils surveyed, the partial information returned showed a total of 156,000 on taxis and chauffeurs since 2020.

Joanna Marchong, Investigations Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance think-tank, commented: 'This 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude undermines public trust.'

A spokesperson for Ealing Council said: 'Staff policy only permits car transport where there is no suitable alternative, such as for moving equipment or where there are accessibility or safety requirements.'

Meanwhile, Hackney said its spending on taxis amounted to only 16 a day last year.

It added: 'We are proud of our position as a leader in active and sustainable travel, and over 90 per cent of our staff walk, cycle or use public transport to get to work.'

Islington said all the cars available to staff through its leasing scheme were either electric, hybrids or in the lowest carbon emission band for a petrol car.
A royal warrant is not just an official endorsement from the British monarchy but it can do wonders for any company formally associated.

For the royal family it is a chance to give brands an ultimate seal of approval and for the rest of us it allows a rare insight into the Windsor shopping basket.

Almost 400 companies were included in the December batch of Royal Warrants issued by the King and Queen after the latter had previously granted them for the first time in May that year, deciding to award one to Fortnum & Mason.

This prestigious task, once a hallmark of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, will mark another significant step in Kate Middleton's journey as a senior royal, underscoring her increasing role in shaping the monarchy's modern image.

The last Princess of Wales to issue a royal warrant was Mary of Teck, who issued them before her husband, George V, took the throne in 1910.

In January it was reported that the Princess of Wales would grant royal warrants for the first time ever in her gradual return from illness.

With the 'Kate Effect' adding a reported 1 billion to the British fashion industry, a nod from the Princess of Wales could be one of the highest honours a brand can receive.

However, King Charles has decided to delay granting permission to Princess Kate and Prince William to bestow their own royal warrants, according to the Times.

In January it was reported that the Princess of Wales would grant royal warrants for the first time ever in her gradual return from illness

However, King Charles has decided to delay granting permission to Princess Kate and Prince William to bestow their own royal warrant

A source previously revealed that the Kate and William plan to use royal warrants to 'recognise British skills and industry'

King Charles began issuing warrants as the Prince of Wales in 1980, although this job was not given to Princess Diana after their wedding the following year.

A royal warrant is a sign of excellence, awarded to businesses or individuals who have regularly supplied goods or services to the royal household. It lasts for up to five years at a time, and can often increase growth for companies.

It enable companies to have a royal coat of arms on their packaging for at least five years, although they can be cancelled if products fall below expected standards.

A source previously revealed that the Kate and William plan to use them to 'recognise British skills and industry'.

But people close to the royal pair are interested to find out when they will receive the honour, especially those part of the brands that supply Kate and William's household.

It is understood that some of these brands have already contacted the warrants office to find out if they would be considered.

But a source confirmed that applications will not be considered until the King grants permission to Kate and William.

A number of reasons could be behind the delay including a backlog from previous warrants issued by the late Queen and by Charles when he was Prince of Wales.

Prince William is expected to champion different brands and has previously advocated eco-friendly brands such as Rapanui and Purified Shoes

The Princess of Wales increased public spending by roughly 1billion in the year after her wedding to William in 2011

Furthermore, it has been suggested that the lord chamberlain's office has also been busy with the late Queen's funeral and then Charles' coronation.

A company must be selected by the grantor and once the Kate and William are given permission, the royal warrants office would set a timeframe for firms to apply for consideration.

Alexander McQueen is top of the list of those who are expected to be awarded a royal warrant by Kate and William, with other potential favourites including handbag brand Strathberry, tweed clothing range Holland Cooper, and accessories label Emmy London.

The 'Kate effect' has seen items worn in public by the princess sell out within minutes and this is expected become even more dramatic if she is able to give brans and an official seal of approval.

While William is expected to champion different brands and has previously advocated eco-friendly brands such as Rapanui, which sells sustainable clothes, and Purified Shoes, which makes plastic-free trainers.

Buckingham Palace and the Royal Warrant Holders Association have been approached for comment on when the Prince and Princess of Wales will be granted permission to hand out royal warrants.

Until then, take a look at some of the brand who could be in the running.

Alexander McQueen

Considered Kate's go-to fashion house, its no secret that Alexander McQueen holds a special place in her wardrobe.

Sarah Burton is one the Princess of Wales's loyal designers, and even created her wedding dress for Alexander McQueen

The Princess of Wales still wears Alexander McQueen after Sarah's departure from the design house, as at the Westminster Abbey carol service in December

From her wedding gown to the red double-breasted coat that she wore for her milestone return at the Together At Christmas carol concert last December, the British fashion house has been behind some of the royals most iconic looks.

Catherine Walker

Catherine Walker is responsible for some of Kates most regal outfits, and also many of Princess Dianas famous looks.

Princess Diana's favourite designer became one of Kate's, too. She is often seen in Catherine Walker, most recently at Remembrance Sunday in 2024

Catherine Walker designed the dignified, military-inspired coat that the Princess of Wales chose for Remembrance Sunday last year. She also designed the coat dress that Kate wore to the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021.

Jenny Packham

From Hollywood premieres to King Charless Coronation weekend, Kate has turned to British designer Jenny Packham for some of her most high-profile occasions.

Jenny Packham's glamorous contribution to the Princess of Wales's wardrobe cannot be overlooked either. Who can forget Kate's gold dress for the No Time To Die premiere?

The Princess knows she can trust Packham's sleek gowns with a touch of glitter to make her feel her best when the eyes of the world are on her. They're a match made in style heaven.

Strathberry

The Edinburgh-based luxury brand has long been a go-to for many of the royal ladies.

The brand Strathberry is quickly becoming a favourite with all the royal ladies, with Kate building up a large collection of its bags

The Duchess of Edinburgh, Zara Phillips and Princess Eugenie all carry its bags. Kate, too, seems to have the handbag designer on speed dial and has built up quite a collection.

Holland Cooper

Holland Cooper blends British heritage with modern designs, creating women's fashion that is both stylish and functional.

Jade Holland Cooper's brand has contributed to many of Kate's stand-out looks

Thanks to its focus on quality and craftsmanship, Kate gravitates towards the brand's tweed and tartan coats and blazers, which are both elegant and practical.

Emmy London

Kate has worn 16 pairs of shoes and nearly as many handbags from Emmy London. She has them in a rainbow of colours, making them the perfect accompaniment to her working wardrobe.

Kate Middleton was spotted wearing Emmy Londons Josie heels, in a stunning shade of dark forest green, at Sandringham in 2019

The company identifies as a slow fashion brand and adopts a sustainable approach.

Catherine Zoraida

Catherine Zoraidas designs have been a go-to for Kate since 2012 - the same year the Colombian-born jeweller set up her online business.

Kate wore Catherine Zoraida earrings to one of her few engagements last year, when she met with members of the emergency services who helped during the Southport stabbings

Turning to the brand countless times, including her poignant visit to Southport last October, the princess has made a huge impact on sales with a 500% lift whenever she is seen in a pair of earrings.

Kiki McDonough

Princess Diana was a fan, Queen Camilla loves the pendants, and Kate Middleton owns at least 20 pieces from British jeweller Kiki McDonough.

The Princess seen visiting the Anna Freud Centre wearing her Kiki McDonough earrings

Its citrine drop earrings seem to be her favourite style and have been spotted at more than 40 engagements.

Brora

The Princess of Wales has long had a love for warm knitwear, and one of her most-worn jumpers, which frequently makes an appearance near Christmas time, is from Brora.

Kate Middleton looked warm in her Brora cardigan as she attended a party for families of military personnel deployed in Cyprus in 2018

The luxury cashmere manufacturer, whose Scottish knitwear is hand-produced using 200-year-old mills, also hits the sustainability mark, too.

Beulah London

When it comes to combining style and social consciousness, Beulah London will certainly be in consideration.

The Princess of Wales has always been a fan of Beulah, as the founders have committed to supporting trafficked women through offering them employment opportunities

Founded by Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs and Lavinia Richards, the fashion house is known for giving back. The founders have committed to supporting vulnerable and trafficked women, especially through employment.

LK Bennett

Kate catapulted LK Bennetts now-iconic Sledge shoe to fame in 2011. The shoe has garnered numerous headlines over the years and even featured in an exhibit about royal style in the V&A museum.

Kate wore an LK Bennett Madison dress in purple silk when she visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge in 2022

Since then she has often turned to the High Street brand, including when she wore a recycled floral dress when unveiling the first official portrait of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Burberry

From tailored blazers to ruched midi dresses and bow blouses, the Princess of Wales has mastered the art of incorporating Burberrys heritage checks and playful plaid into her wardrobe. The firm already holds a royal warrant, but the Princess could grant it another one.

The Princess of Wales has effortlessly mastered the art of incorporating Burberrys heritage checks into her wardrobe

The iconic, quintessentially British luxury fashion house was founded in 1856. It is likely to be in the running as the Princess is keen to recognise British skills and industry.

Mulberry

The brand is synonymous with British style, and the Princess of Wales has carried 16 of its handbags to date.

Princess Kate's Mulberry white Amberley bag has made ten appearances (seen above at Wimbledon in 2022)

From clutches to totes, an array of Mulberry bags have accessorised Kates outfits over the years, with the white Amberley reigning supreme with ten appearances.

Karin Herzog

Kate Middletons radiant complexion is thanks to Karin Herzog's oxygen-infused skincare line - in particular the Vita-A-Kombi 1 Anti-Ageing Face Cream.

The Princess of Wales has been using Karin Herzog's Swiss skin cream for years and credits the product for her radiant complexion

Karin Herzog is a Swiss pioneer of oxygen beauty treatments, which work by delivering the cleansing properties of oxygen gas deep down into the skin to destroy bacteria.

Jo Malone

Turning to Jo Malone for her signature scent, Kate scented Westminster Abbey with Jo Malones Orange Blossom candles on her wedding day.

Westminster Abbey smelled of Jo Malone's Orange Blossom candles when Prince William and Kate Middleton wed in April 2011

It is reported that the royal also enjoys the cologne from the British fragrance house, which is synonymous with simple, elegant scents.
The widow of a man who was killed during a high-speed police chase has slammed authorities after a court ruled the pursuit should not have been authorised.

Canberra father-of-two and IT engineer Harri Jokinen, 56, was killed by a getaway driver on the Monaro Highway, outside Canberra, on December 30, 2021.

Following a police pursuit, Moruya man Marc Anthony Jessop reached speeds of nearly 200km/h in a stolen black Holden Commodore before he collided with Mr Jokinen's van.

The 56-year-old died of injuries at the scene.

On Friday, deputy state coroner Rebecca Hosking described the risk posed by the police pursuit as 'excessive' after handing down her findings following a week-long coronial inquest in April.

Mr Jokinen's widow Elisabeth Adamson told the Sydney Morning Herald the incident was 'an absolute, complete failure of the police'.

The incident left Mr Jokinen's family heartbroken, including his eldest daughter Lisa who told the masthead she felt 'really let down' by the police and described her father as 'gentle, kind and endlessly generous'.

'I hate that I will never get to see my dad again, Ill never get to hug him, tell him I love him, and hear him saying it back,' she said.

Harri Jokinen, 56, alongside his wife Elisabeth Adamson

Mr Jokinen, an IT engineer and father-of-two, died in a crash outside of Canberra

'On 30th December, 2021, I wish I had been killed too.'

NSW highway patrol officers decided to give chase after spotting Jessop driving at speeds of 157km/h earlier that morning.

They called off the chase after Jessop reached speeds of 180km/h before initiating a second pursuit despite having no evidence the offender had begun to speed or drive dangerously again since the initial chase ceased, the coronial inquest found.

Jessop was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to Jokinen's manslaughter.

According to ABC News, Magistrate Hosking told Lidcome Coroner's Court: 'The need to apprehend Jessop was low-to-moderate.'

She ruled the second pursuit should not have been authorised and recommended police policy be amended to prevent initiating a pursuit unless it is deemed safe to do so.

Magistrate Hosking also recommended officers undergo training on the thresholds required to initiate a pursuit.

NSW Police was contacted for comment.
A woman is fighting for life after she was allegedly assaulted during a domestic violence incident inside a Sydney unit.

The 47-year-old woman was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after she was allegedly assaulted inside a Redfern apartment just after 4.30pm, NSW Police said.

Emergency services were called to Morehead Street after reports of an alleged assault.

The woman was found with head injuries and was treated by paramedics and a doctor before being taken to hospital in a critical condition.

A 30-year-old man, who police said was known to the woman, was arrested and taken to Mascot Police Station.

'Police have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the incident,' NSW Police said in a statement.
A BBC journalist has revealed how she unwittingly flew from Heathrow to Madrid under the wrong identity - and British Airways did not clock the mistake.

Catherine Snowdon said the airline insisted she had never boarded the plane to the Spanish capital on April 23, which created a 'potential security risk'.

The issues first arose when Ms Snowdon tried to check-in online for the flight operated by BA's Spanish partner carrier Iberia.

She said it did not work and an error code saying 'assistance required' also popped up when she tried to check-in again at the self service booth at Heathrow Airport.

Ms Snowdon next headed over to the check-in desk and she was finally given her boarding pass, which she admitted she 'didn't read in any great detail'.

After passing through the security area as normal, she was also 'waved through' by a member of the BA ground crew who 'glanced' at her passport and boarding pass.

The journalist, who was heading to Madrid for a business trip, said she was 'surprised' when she got on the plane and realised she was seated in business class.

However, she assumed this was 'free upgrade' and enjoyed the perks on the plane including a 'tiramisu' for dessert.

The issues first arose when Ms Snowdon tried to check-in online for the flight operated by BA's Spanish partner carrier Iberia

'It was on arrival in the Spanish capital when things started to go wrong,' Ms Snowdon wrote in an article about her experience for the BBC.

'As soon as I gained mobile signal on the ground, an email popped up: my return flight had been cancelled.

'In response, the travel company said it had been cancelled because I was a no-show on the outbound flight.'

Ms Snowdon replied saying she was 'very much in Madrid' and waiting for her luggage to come through at the airport.

She said BA remained adamant she had not travelled and it was at this point she realised that the boarding pass was 'not hers'.

Ms Snowdon was shocked to see that the name printed on her ticket and luggage tags was a man the BBC has referred to only as Huw H.

She said BA continued to insist that she could not have boarded the plane on Huw H's ticket as their 'security checks would not allow it'.

The journalist explained they were 'so convinced' she hadn't travelled to Madrid, the BBC had to book her onto the return flight again, despite her already having a ticket.

The journalist explained they were 'so convinced' she hadn't travelled to Madrid (pictured), the BBC had to book her onto the return flight again, despite her already having a ticket

Ms Snowdon raised concerns she had inadvertently become a 'security issue' as airport staff did not clock the discrepancy between her passport and boarding pass.

She was so baffled that a mistake like this slip through she tried to track down Huw H to work out how the confusion may have arisen.

The BBC employee found a Jonathan Huw H, who flew on a BA flight on April 24, a day after her, and landed at Heathrow.

Ms Snowdon, whose married name which is on her passport begins with an H, speculated that perhaps his details were somehow 'floating around' the BA system.

Simon Calder, travel correspondent at the Independent, said sometimes mistakes happen 'in the high-pressure, deadline-strewn world of aviation'.

But he questioned why the error wasn't clocked at the departure gate and for that reason Ms Snowdon's experience was rare.

The Civil Aviation Authority is reportedly investigating the incident.

A spokesperson for BA said: 'We've contacted our customer to apologise for this genuine human error.

'While incidents like this are extremely rare, we've taken proactive steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.'

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said it is not responsible for the ground crew and there were no issues with how Ms Snowdon passed through security checks.
An Australian man jailed for 13 years in a maximum-security Russian prison for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces should be immediately released after being given a sham trial, the Australian government said.

Oscar Jenkins, 33, was found guilty by a court of taking part in an armed conflict as a mercenary, said a statement on Friday from prosecutors in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia.

The court ruled he took part in combat operations against Russian troops between March and December 2024.

Mr Jenkins, a teacher from Melbourne, was serving with Ukraine's military when he was captured by Russian forces.

Both sides of politics offered bipartisan support for Mr Jenkins' return, urging Russia to abide by international law.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government was appalled at what she described as a 'sham trial'.

'As a full serving member of the regular Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war,' she said in a statement.

Senator Wong urged Russian authorities to give Mr Jenkins the protections afforded to him as a prisoner of war, including treating him humanely in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Oscar Jenkins was jailed for 13 years in a Russian prison for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces

Jenkins, dressed in army gear, answering questions - believed to be from a Russian captor

'We are working with Ukraine and other partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to advocate for his welfare and release,' Ms Wong said.

Russia has previously expressed its view that foreign fighters serving with Ukrainian forces are mercenaries and can be liable to prosecution.

But international law experts say because Mr Jenkins was a combatant fighting on behalf of Ukraine, he would qualify as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention, entitling him to legal protection.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson described the situation as an egregious breach of international law.

'Russia is relying on, frankly, a unique reading of the law to arrive at the position that he could be treated any differently other than a prisoner of war,' he told reporters in Melbourne on Saturday evening.

'He is a prisoner of war, he was fighting for the Ukrainian National Army, he was part of the Ukrainian Army and he's afforded all the protections of the Geneva Convention under that.'

Senator Paterson said he was troubled by reports that Mr Jenkins would be sent to some sort of penal colony to serve out his sentence.

'That would be a shocking mistreatment, a shocking further mistreatment,' he said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government was appalled after Oscar Jenkins was sent to a Russian prison for 13 years

Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko has previously said his government added Mr Jenkins to its list of PoWs and would negotiate for his release in an exchange.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also said Australia has made representations to Ukraine, including a one-on-one discussion he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Mr Jenkins was captured in occupied eastern Ukraine and taken into Russian custody last December.

He was seen in social media videos visibly bruised and shaken while being interrogated and beaten by a Russian-speaking captor.

The 33-year-old is believed to be the first Australian combatant reportedly captured by Russian forces.
Mexican authorities are demanding compensation after YouTuber MrBeast was accused of exploiting the ancient Mayan pyramids in a video for financial gain.

The video 'I Explored 2000 Year Old Ancient Temples' shows the influencer and his team exploring the ancient Mayan cities with a permit.

But in one part, the influencer advertised his chocolate product as a 'Mayan Dessert', urging viewers to purchase it.



On Wednesday, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum called for an investigation into the conditions to which the filming permit was granted.

Authorities said that while they gave MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, permission to film at the sites, it was for not for-profit use.

In the video, which garnered over 60 million views in a week, the promotional content appears to be filmed at the influencer's campsite.

'No advertisement material was shot on any archaeological sites overseen by INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History),' a spokesperson for MrBeast told the BBC.

Mexico's Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza said they never authorised the use of heritage site images for trademark advertising or the publication of false information.

The video 'I Explored 2000 Year Old Ancient Temples' shows the influencer and his team exploring the ancient Mayan cities with a permit

Authorities said that while they gave MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, permission to film at the sites, it was for not for-profit use

'We disapprove of any commercial pursuit that distorts the value of archaeological sites, which are a legacy of our indigenous cultures and the pride of our nation,' she said.

In the video caption, Mr Beast continued to promote his chocolate product while also thanking Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and government authorities for granting him permission to film at the sites.

But the INAH said: 'The permission granted to Full Circle Media did not authorize the use of images of the archeological site for for-profit advertisements of private brands.'

The production company Full Circle Media were the firm issued with the permit to film - the INAH is considering 'administrative sanctions' against them.

The INAH said it was lodging a law suit against Full Circle Media, who worked with MrBeast on the video.

The video, which was published on May 10, shows MrBeast and his team exploring restricted access areas in the Mayan cities of Calakmul and Chichen Itza.

He is also shown handling an ancient pre-Hispanic mask, which the INAH said he never held.

MrBeast also descends into a pyramid from a helicopter, which has been accused of being a post-production edit.

The INAH said it was lodging a law suit against Full Circle Media, who worked with MrBeast on the video

The group are escorted through the pyramids by several guides, including one person identified only as Arthur, who is seen wearing an INAH vest.

'I can't believe the government is letting us do this,' the influencer says at one point in the video.

MrBeast, 27, from Greenville, North Carolina is the biggest YouTuber in the world with more than 300 million subscribers.

In the past, he has said he would never stop making content on his channel.
A terminally ill crane operator who became a national hero after rescuing a man from a burning 750 million tower block is set to have his bucket list wishes fulfilled.

Glen Edwards, 66, was dubbed 'the Bruce Willis of Reading' after he used a cage to save a worker's life at the Station Hill construction site in the town in 2023.

Tragically, Mr Edwards revealed last year he had been diagnosed with an incurable spine cancer shortly after the rescue.

After being told his cancer had grown Mr Edwards' wife, Kate, asked Bucket List Wishes for help 'to make some lasting treasured memories together whilst we can'.

The charity will first help the couple and their teenage son move home, before organising several other wishes, including a family photo shoot, for Mr Edwards and his loved ones once they are settled in.

Mr Edwards told the BBC: 'Things are not too clever... I've got diagnosed with terminal cancer.

'I had cancer in the tongue in February when I rescued the guy... I got that cleared up with radiotherapy but then in the next breath, after I had a full body scan, the consultant told me that I had cancer in my spine in five places.

'I have been undergoing chemotherapy... but it has grown, to cut a long story short.'

A terminally ill crane operator who became a national hero after rescuing a man from a burning 750million tower block is set to have his bucket list wishes fulfilled. Pictured: Glen Edwards

Mr Edwards, 66, was dubbed 'the Bruce Willis of Reading' after he used a cage to save a worker's life at the Station Hill construction site in the town in 2023. Tragically, Mr Edwards revealed last year he had been diagnosed with an incurable spine cancer shortly after the rescue

Flames and smoke spread across the whole roof of the 750m One Station Hill office development close to Reading Station

Gini Hackett, founder of the charity that grants wishes for terminally ill adults in Berkshire, said that she remembers watching Mr Edwards' BBC Make A Difference Awards nomination and thinking, 'Wow.. he's incredible, what an incredible thing to do for another human.'

Speaking about her reaction to being contacted by Kate she added: 'We found this humbling but also we've been emotional about this because we know how much of a hero Glen is.

'Hopefully we have gone over and above and made a quite simple but stressful thing of moving a lot easier for him.'

The charity has organised the house move, along with carpets, flooring, blinds and kitchen essentials, including an oven, as well as a new shed, and food shopping and bedding vouchers.

Thanking the charity, Mr Edwards described Gini as an 'angel.'

Alongside supporting the move, the charity has also helped the Edwards family set up an online fundraising page to achieve any further wishes.

Mr Edwards was thanked by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue for his 'incredibly skilful rescue.'

His actions were filmed on video and quickly went viral, leading to him appearing on Good Morning Britain (GMB), collecting a string of awards and receiving 10,000 from the public following a fundraiser to 'buy him a pint'.

He manoeuvred the crane and its personnel transportation cage into the smoke and fire to dramatically give a trapped worker on the eighth floor an escape route at the last moment.

Mr Edwards received a string of awards for his bravery. Pictured: Mr Edwards getting his award from the British Fire Services Association

Remarkable footage showed the man stranded at the top of the 750m One Station Hill development in Reading as the building is engulfed in flames

Recounting the unbelievable events, Mr Edwards said he has never experienced a rescue as 'dramatic' as this one on the job.

'Never at all. I have cradled a couple of guys off - [when they] damaged their leg and things like that so they could get in an ambulance - but nothing as dramatic as this,' he said.

Mr Edwards said he was concreting when someone shouted up to him that a man was stuck on level eight of the development.

'I was actually concreting at the time, I had the concrete skip on. So I was in that area and then one of my banksmen on the ground said there is a fire and the fire alarm was going off. I was in the crane operating.

'So I had to get the concrete skip off, I was hoisting up and then someone shouted out ''there's someone on level eight'' which is that level where the guy was, and I stopped hoisting up, I was about 20 metres up in the air.

'As I slewed round I could see the guy out my left window - he was waving his coat, waving his coat. You can see there the wind was absolutely terrible.'

He added: 'I knew the radius [...] I decided I was going to come down on top of that radius. As I was coming down the cradle was swinging backwards and forwards and catching the wind.

His actions were filmed on video by the crows of onlookers at the bottom of the building and quickly went viral

'When it comes off the fence it kicks off the fence and he just managed to grab hold of it.'

The heroic crane driver said he was 'really shaking' during the ordeal, adding: 'I was alright when I got down and everything and I needed a quiet minute to get myself together.

'When everyone was about - when everyone come up to me and said ''well done, well done'' - that's when the penny dropped.'

The dramatic three-minute rescue undoubtedly saved the builder's life as all around him blazing cladding caused massive clouds of toxic smoke.

Incredibly despite the severity of the fire, only two people needed to go to hospital with smoke inhalation, including the workman saved by Mr Edwards.

The 16-storey office block is situated opposite Reading rail and Crossrail station, and it was the site of another fire five months prior to the incident with Mr Edwards.

A carpenter, who was working nearby, said onlookers below applauded as the man clambered into a metal basket attached to the crane and was carried away from the flames.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was in the next door building, there was a guy standing up there (on top of the building), luckily the crane came in just in time.

'He was coughing [when he came down], from the smoke, you know what I mean.

'When he got inside the crane and the crane put him down everyone was clapping.

'The crane driver was very fast. He was still in the crane while the building was on fire.'
Detectives are probing potential new sightings of a missing mother who vanished while shopping last year.

Charlene Hobbs, 36, from the Riverside area of Cardiff, has been missing since July 24, 2024, after a trip to Morrisons, with police treating her disappearance as murder.

The last known sighting of Charlene is when she was pictured in a property in Broadway, Adamsdown, at 06.07am.

Footage also shows the 36-year-old shopping in Morrisons Local, Adamstown, the day before her last sighting.

At the beginning of the clip, Ms Hobbs can be seen with her hair in a bun, wearing a dark strapless top with a distinctive dragon tattoo on her back, entering the premises with a mobile phone at her ear.

Walking through the shop floor, she heads straight to what appears to be the premises' till facility before leaving with what looks like a sum of cash in her hands.

However, officers have now received new information suggesting she could have been seen in the Adamsdown and Coryton areas following her disappearance.

Members of the public contacted South Wales Police after believing they have seen Charlene at these locations with unknown people.

At the beginning of the clip, Ms Hobbs can be seen with her hair in a bun, wearing a dark strapless top entering the premises with a mobile phone at her ear

Walking through the shop floor, she heads straight to what appears to be the premises' till facility

She then leaves the building with what looks like a sum of cash in her hands

The first sighting was at around 11.20am on July 29 where Charlene was reportedly seen on the railway bridge, known locally as the Black Bridge.

Witnesses said the mother may have been wearing a blue jacket and was seen walking in a single file with two men.

One was described as white, aged in his 30s or 40s, and of average height while other man was said to be wearing a black face covering and was also of average height.

Almost four moths after Charlene's disapperence, members of the public said they saw her at an Asda in Coryton, Cardiff at around 5.30pm on November 1.

She was said to be stood at the front of the store by the security desk with a young boy who looked around four-years-old.

Witness added that a woman, around 40, with short burgundy dyed hair, approached Charlene and all three left the supermarket together.

Her disappearance is being treated as murder and Crimestoppers are offering a reward of up to 20,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

A 45-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the investigation and remains on police bail.

Police have received new information suggesting that Charlene could have been seen in the Adamsdown and Coryton areas following her disappearance

Charlene has a distinctive dragon tattoo on her back

Her disappearance is being treated as murder and Crimestoppers are offering a reward of up to 20,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell, from South Wales Police, said: 'As a result of enquiries we have received information of two possible sightings of Charlene.

'We would appeal to anyone with further information on these two sightings in Adamsdown and Coryton to please come forward.

'In particular, we are urging the two men on the railway bridge and the woman with the dyed burgundy hair in Asda to come forward.

'Despite a huge number of enquiries, we still have no proof that Charlene is alive, but we remain determined to find Charlene alive and return her to her family.

'Charlene's family continue to be updated, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.'
'Extensive' Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed 10 people on Saturday after the IDF announced an intensified operation aimed at defeating Hamas, rescuers said.

The announcement comes after hundreds have died following days of strikes across the besieged territory, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The Israeli Defense Forces said on its Hebrew X account that it had mobilised troops for 'Operation Gideon's Chariots' to seize 'strategic areas' of the strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to escalate pressure on Hamas to destroy the militant group that has ruled the Palestinian enclave for nearly two decades.

The latest strikes began on the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his four-day trip to the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The stepped-up campaign came as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to worsen after Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March - leaving one of the territory's last functioning hospitals unable to get supplies.

The army announced in a post that it had begun the 'initial stages' of the new offensive, part of 'the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war's objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas'.

Israel has stepped up pressure on Gaza with new 'extensive' airstrikes that have killed 10 people just a day after nearly 100 people died in IDF attacks. Pictured: Smoke billowing over destroyed buildings on the Gaza Strip on May 17

The Israeli military announced the early stages of an intensified operation aimed at defeating Hamas last night. Pictured: Palestinians sit at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people on May 17

The latest strikes began on the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his four-day trip to the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates

It said it had 'launched extensive strikes and transferred forces to seize control of areas within the Gaza Strip'.

Defence minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots is under way and is being led with 'great force' by Israel's army.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies had been brought to hospitals after strikes on Saturday morning.

Three people were killed and four wounded in drone strikes east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, he said, while three others were killed and several wounded in the bombing of a house in Jabalia, in the north.

An attack on an apartment northwest of Khan Yunis killed three people, he added, while one person was killed and five wounded, 'including a girl, a young woman and a pregnant woman', in a strike on a tent west of the same city.

The civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed at least 100 people the day before.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month truce in its war against Hamas triggered by the group's October 2023 attack.

The return to fighting has drawn international condemnation, with the UN human rights chief on Friday denouncing the renewed attacks and what he described as an apparent push to permanently displace Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants.

Defence minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots is under way and is being led with 'great force' by Israel's army. Pictured: Loved ones and relatives of Palestinians, who lost their lives in Israeli attacks on May 17

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 10 bodies had been brought to hospitals after strikes on Saturday morning. Pictured: Israeli tanks deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025

'This latest barrage of bombs... and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,' Volker Turk said in a statement.

The main Israeli campaign group representing the families of hostages said that by extending the fighting, Netanyahu was missing a 'historic opportunity' to return their loved ones through diplomacy.

Hamas on Friday demanded the United States press Israel to lift the aid blockade in return for a US-Israeli hostage recently released by the group.

Edan Alexander, the last living hostage with US nationality, was freed after direct engagement with the Trump administration that left Israel sidelined.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that as part of the group's understanding with Washington regarding Alexander's release, Hamas was 'awaiting and expecting the US administration to exert further pressure' on Israel to restore aid.

Israel says its decision to cut off aid to Gaza was intended to force concessions from Hamas, which still holds dozens of Israeli hostages seized during the attack that sparked the war.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure to lift the blockade, as UN agencies warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

Marwan Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, said the situation there on Saturday was 'catastrophic after its surroundings were targeted again this morning, causing the collapse of ceilings and cracks in the walls'.

'The operating rooms and intensive care units are completely full and we are unable to receive any more critical cases,' he said, adding there was 'a severe shortage of blood units, medicines, medical and therapeutic supplies, and surgical procedures'.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that 'a lot of people are starving'.

'We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of,' Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi, on a regional tour that excluded key ally Israel.

The Arab League is to meet in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss regional crises, with Gaza expected to be high on the agenda.

The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,119.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.

On the contrary, the United States uses its power to give '10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza's children', Khamenei said.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear programme or 'something bad's going to happen'.

His remarks, said Khamenei, 'aren't even worth responding to.'

They are an 'embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,' the Iranian leader added.

'Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime  a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumour that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,' he said at an event at a religious centre in Tehran, according to state media.

President Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's program if a deal isn't reached.

Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Donald Trump a liar after the US president said that he wanted peace in the Middle East while touring the region

Trump's calls for peace cone after he threatened airstrikes on Iran

Earlier on Friday, Trump said Iran received a proposal during the talks, though he did not elaborate.

During his trip to region this week, Trump at nearly every event insisted Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb, something US intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not actively pursuing, though its programme is on the cusp of being able to weaponize nuclear material.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's atomic organization, stressed the peaceful nature of the program, saying it is under 'continuous' monitoring by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, state TV reported Saturday.

'No country is monitored by the agency like us,' Eslami said, adding that the agency inspected the country's nuclear facilities more than 450 time in 2024.

'Something about 25% of all the agency inspections' in the year.

Meanwhile, Israel routinely has threatened to strike Iran's nuclear facilities if it feels threatened, further complicating tensions in the Mideast already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Iran has long considered the US military presence in the region as a threat on its doorstep, especially after Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.

'Which should we believe?' Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran.

President Donald Trump, center, is greeted by Col. Paul Pawluk, Vice Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, center right, after walking down the stairs of Air Force One, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 16, 2025

President Donald Trump (L) attends the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council in the capital Abu Dhabi

During his trip to region this week, Trump at nearly every event insisted Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb

Iran has long considered the US military presence in the region as a threat on its doorstep

President Donald J. Trump tours the synagogue at the Abrahamic Family House during a cultural visit on May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi

President Donald Trump is welcomed with an official ceremony by United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi

'On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.'

Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. 'We are not seeking war,' Pezeshkian said.

While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear programme, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal.

'There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes...' he said.

Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington's constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.

'It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,' the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.

Pezeshkian said Iran would not 'back down from our legitimate rights'.

'Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,' he said.

A fourth round of Iran-US talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
New York University has denied a diploma to the student who used a graduation speech to criticize Israel and condemn the 'genocide' in Gaza.

Logan Rozos, 24, who is a self-described 'actor, artist and gay Black trans man,' gave the controversial remarks at NYU's Gallatin School commencement ceremony on Wednesday.

'My moral and political commitments guide me to say that the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time, and to a group this large, is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine,' the graduate said to roaring applause.

'The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars, and has been live-streamed to our phones for the past 18 months... I condemn this genocide and complicity in this genocide.'

The speech went viral online and sparked waves of backlash from critics demanding the school take action.

Universities across the country have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or risk funding cuts from President Donald Trump's administration.

The university issued a statement apologizing for the speech and vowed to punish Rozos by withholding his diploma.

'He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules. The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions,' spokesman John Beckman said.

NYU is withholding Logan Rozos' (pictured) diploma after he used his commencement speech to condemn the 'genocide' in Gaza

'NYU strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School's graduation todayone of over 20 school graduation ceremonies across our campusto misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views.

'NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.'

Fellow students selected Rozos, an actor and member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe, to deliver the liberal art program's address.

In his online biography, Rozos described himself as 'an actor, artist and gay Black trans man.'

His speech was condemned by anti-Semitism groups and some lawmakers who warned that 'actions have consequences.'

'We are appalled to hear that during @NYuniversity graduation a student speaker altered their approved speech to make divisive and false comments about the current Israel/Hamas war,' the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said.

'We are thankful to the NYU administration for their strong condemnation and their pursuit of disciplinary action.'

Florida Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz criticized Rozos during a news panel on CNN Thursday.

Rozos, who is a self-described 'an actor, artist and gay Black trans man' was selected by fellow students to deliver the graduation speech

Universities have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or risk funding cuts. Pictured: Pro-Palestine students at NYU graduation on Thursday

'He lied to the university. Second of all, he lied to everyone listening. There's no genocide going on in Israel. There is a war, it's unfortunate, and there are people in harm's way because of what Hamas did,' Moskowitz said.

'But at the end of the day, that's up to the university whether they give him his diploma or not. You know, in fact, they can give him his diploma, it's not going to matter. Good luck getting a job. That was a stupid, selfish thing, ruined the ceremony for a lot of families.'

Rozos supporters praised him for using the platform to speak out and have demanded the school give him his diploma.

'We commend Logan for using this opportunity to demand an end to the bloodshed in Gaza,' said the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York Executive Director, Afaf Nasher.

'In a world where the word 'Palestine' has become wrongfully criminalized, it is individuals like Logan who keep Palestine in our consciousness and at the forefront of our actions.

'We demand that NYU formally release Logan's diploma, which he rightfully earned, and suspend any disciplinary proceedings against him.'
A Pennsylvania man was arrested for the murder of his wife eight years after her disappearance after cops scrutinized an allegedly fake text he sent from her phone.

Allen Gould, 60, of Malvern, near Philadelphia, was arrested on Wednesday, eight years after police initially accused the father-of-one of murdering his 43-year-old wife Anna Maciejewska.

He was charged with first and third-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, false reports, and more, according to ABC 6.

Gould reported his wife missing on April 12, 2017 - a day after her coworkers did - telling police that she had gone to work in a panic and never came home.

However, police believe he had killed his wife weeks before that, all because of a text message Gould allegedly sent to Maciejewska's Polish father on March 30, 2017, allegedly pretending to be her.

The happy birthday text was written in broken Polish, which Maciejewska was fluent in. Authorities later discovered the text had been written using Google Translate, CNN reported.

'The Polish grammar doesnt make sense. Its off,' Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said, according to CNN. 'Anna had no reason to use Google Translate.'

Her parents, who still live in Poland, were relieved to hear of Gould's arrest, having long given up that their daughter's case would move forward.

Allen Gould, 60, of Malvern, near Philadelphia, was arrested on Wednesday, eight years after police initially accused the father-of-one of murdering his 43-year-old wife Anna Maciejewska

Maciejewska's body has not been found, but police cadaver dogs had alerted authorities to the possibility of human remains being near the northeast corner of Gould's property in 2017

'Annas mom didnt sleep last night,' Ellen Lee, a friend, told CNN. 'They thought it was a cold case, it was never going to happen.'

Gould's attorney, Evan Kelly, told DailyMail.com that the father is looking forward to clearing his name in court.

'The case against Mr. Gould is based on multiple assumptions. Mr. Gould is looking forward to clearing his name in court after eight years of accusations and innuendo,' Kelly told DailyMail.com.

Maciejewska's body has not been found, but police cadaver dogs had alerted authorities to the possibility of human remains being near the northeast corner of Gould's property in 2017, the outlet reported.

The soil near the area had been disturbed when the dog alerted police in July of that year.

When state troopers showed up at his door at the time, they noted that the husband 'did not have a visible reaction' when they told him they were there 'because you murdered your wife,' CNN reported.

Authorities did execute another search warrant on the day of his arrest, having shown up at his property shortly after Gould dropped his son off at school, ABC 6 said.

Maciejewska had looked into divorce and allegedly had custody concerns regarding their son prior to her death.

Gould reported his wife missing on April 12, 2017, telling police that she had gone to work in a panic and never came home. However, police believe he had killed his wife weeks before that, all because of a text message Gould allegedly sent to Maciejewska's Polish father

The happy birthday text was written in broken Polish, which Maciejewska was fluent in. Authorities later discovered the text had been written using Google Translate

After reporting her missing, police discovered no one had seen Maciejewska since March 28, 2017, but Gould allegedly told them he hadn't seen her since April 10 of that year.

'Im not sure where my wife is,' he told state police while reporting her missing, the probable cause affidavit said. 'She, she uh, didnt come home from work on Monday night uh as expected.'

He allegedly told investigators that his wife had taken the previous week off due to a 'stomach illness' and left for work in a panic the morning of April 10.

She took off in her blue Audi, which was later found near her home, and never came back, CNN reported.

Gould also told authorities at the time that Maciejewska left her phone at home to update.

Investigators also grew suspicious of Maciejewska's disappearance because they said she had no reason to go missing, as she was a devout mother and sister.

'There's nothing to indicate that she would stop corresponding with her family, stop spending any amount of money to go visit them, and essentially abandon her son,' the district attorney said, according to ABC 6.

De Barrena-Sarobe suspected Gould knew his marriage was failing and divorce papers had been found inside his home.

The soil near the back area near the home (pictured) had been disturbed when the dog alerted police in July of that year. Gould reported his wife missing on April 12, 2017. However, her coworkers reported her missing the day before

Another piece of evidence that made investigators suspicious was that Gould had written a $75,000 check to his attorney with the memo: 'Trial defense if needed.'

He also looked at an attorney's Twitter page that then directed him to 'violent crimes strangulation.'

Authorities noted this was particularly interesting, as no one had ever suggested Gould wife had been strangled, ABC 6 reported.

Maciejewska's body is still missing, meaning prosecutors have a long road ahead of them to prove Gould actually did it.

It was another reason it took authorities eight years to charge the father-of-one with murder.

'We wanted to make sure it's not just about prosecuting people because we have a strong feeling that they did it. We have to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt,' the district attorney said.

Gould is expected back in court on May 27.
Controversial Australian feminist writer Clementine Ford has found herself mired in another culture war, this time over her definition of what it means to be a woman.

Asked 'what is a woman?', by TV host Piers Morgan, Ford at first refused to offer an answer.

'Piers, I'm not going down the path of debating trans women with you,' she said.

'Trans women are women,' she added, before Morgan clarified: 'I didn't mention trans women, I asked you what a woman is.'

Eventually, Ford trotted out a uniquely open-ended definition when she claimed: 'A woman is someone who has at least at one point in her life felt scared of a man.'

Ford's answer left Morgan's debate panel stunned.

'Sorry?' a bemused Morgan eventually said.

'But you guys never want to talk about that,' Ford continued before another panellist Andrew Wilson took to the offensive and said: 'That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard'.

Australian feminist writer Clementine Ford (far-right) stunned a Piers Morgan Uncensored panel on Saturday when she was asked to define what it mean to be a woman

Ford, a former columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has courted her fair share of controversy for her writings on feminism

'So any man who's ever felt afraid of another man is a woman? What are you talking about?'

Ford, a former columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, clarified she had been misunderstood. 'That's not what I'm saying', she said.

Ford soon fired back when she asked Morgan why he was 'so obsessed with this definition of what a woman is'.

Morgan said: 'I have a 13-year-old daughter, I have seven nieces... and some of them are very good at sport... the idea that they would one day have their dream of potentially an Olympic place or a team [Great Britain] place or whatever it may be... taken from them by a biological male, I think is completely outrageous.'

'And by the way, so does most of the world now which is why there has been a reversing, screeching U-turn on this particular subject,' he said.

'But I come back to my question to you, your inability to say what a woman is and yet here you are lecturing women on how they should behave as women is completely perverse.'

'I think that reducing women specifically to your biological decider of what you think women is,' Ford said

Morgan then raised the issue of chromosomal difference, to which Ford replied: 'I'm sure I'm not the first person to tell you about intersex people.'

Piers Morgan was left stunned by Ford's answer to the firebrand four-word question popularised by conservative Daily Wire host Matt Walsh

Ford was confronted on Saturday over her since-disavowed tweets including one during the Covid-19 pandemic when she said the virus was 'not killing men fast enough'

Before she could finish her question, Wilson claimed intersex people - individuals whose sexual characteristics do not fit the typical male-female markers - do not comprise a third sex.

'I didn't say intersex was a third sex but intersex people exist and intersex people can have a mixture of chromosomes,' Ford said.

It was not long before the conversation turned to Ford's controversial social media posts, including one since-disavowed tweet from 2020 in which she wrote Covid-19 was 'not killing men fast enough'.

Ford described the tweet as 'misguided' and claimed she had since apologised for it.

Prompted by Morgan, Ford then admitted to having previously tweeted: 'All men must die'. She claimed it had been written 'as a joke'.

'I've also said that men should be fired into the sun,' she said before she repeated she had apologised for the 'glib' remarks she would 'never say again now'.

Ford previously challenged Morgan's repeated use of the incendiary 'what is a woman' question in a 2023 blog post titled: 'What Is A Woman? The Insidious Misoginy of Piers Morgan'.

'Like all of the bigots currently jumping on the transphobic shuttle to Ding Dong station, Morgan wants you to believe this is about fairness and equality,' she wrote.

Ford described her past tweets calling for violence against men as 'misguided' adding she would 'never say' those words again

'Specifically, fairness and equality in women's sports. You know, that highly regarded field of womens sports that conservatives have traditionally always championed, and have certainly never, ever suggested shouldnt receive equal pay because womens sport is boring and theyre not as good as the men".'

In the blog post, Ford hinted at the answer she went on to deliver on Saturday when she said: 'Preview: my answer has nothing to do with biology or bodies, but DOES force them to address the danger ALL women face at the hands of men.'

Ford shot to prominence with the publication of her 2016 book 'Fight Like a Girl' published by Allen & Unwin.

Following the publication of her second book: 'Boys Will Be Boys: Power, Patriarchy and Toxic Masculinity' in 2018, she resigned from the Australian mastheads claiming she had faced internal backlash after calling then Prime Minister Scott Morrison a 'f***-ing disgrace'.

Ford was contacted for comment.
Thousands of jobs are at risk as part of a Poundland rescue deal that could trigger sweeping store closures across the UK.

The frontrunners for the takeover of the beleaguered budget retailer have reportedly identified around 200 loss-making shops that may be shut down.

Poundland, which employees 15,000 people across 825 stores, has seen its financial fortunes plummet in recent months.

And industry sources cited by The Telegraph suggested that Poundland is now unlikely to 'survive without a large number of store closures', in another blow for the UK high street.

It comes as reports emerged this morning that the discount chain could be sold for a nominal fee of 'effectively 1'.

One source told The Times this was because of the significant turnaround project that would be needed to arrest its declining performance.

US investor Gordon Brothers is believed to be in pole position to takeover Poundland - with formal offers not set to be tabled until Monday.

Interested parties reportedly also include Modella Capital, Alteri, owner of Bensons for Beds and Hilco Capital, which owns Lakeland.

Thousands of jobs are at risk as part of a Poundland rescue deal that could trigger sweeping store closures across the UK (stock photo)

The frontrunners for the takeover of the beleaguered budget retailer have reportedly identified around 200 loss-making shops that may be shut down (stock photo)

In March, Poundland's owners Pepco put the discount chain up for sale after its financial fortunes declined. It also unveiled a plan to buy back 168m of its own stock.

Pepco previously slashed Poundlands value by nearly 650m as it blamed spiralling costs and 'more difficult' trading conditions.

The retailer was also hit by Rachel Reeves's October tax raid which increased national insurance contributions for employers alongside the national minimum wage.

The company said the changes announced by the new Labour government would be likely to cost around 10million.

The Poland-based group said at the time: 'Poundland is a strong brand that serves millions of customers every week and had around two billion euros (1.67 billion) in annual turnover in financial year 2024, but it is also operating in an increasingly challenging UK retail landscape that is only intensifying.

'From April 2025, the UK Government's additional tax changes announced in the Budget will also add further pressure to Poundland's cost base.

'Therefore the board is actively evaluating all strategic options to separate Poundland from group during financial year 2025, including a potential sale.'

It is expected Poundland's new owners will give the brand a 'significant cash injection', as well as close stores.

Pictured: Pepco chief executive Stephan Borchert

Poundland is now trying to return to basics and offer more items for 1 or less, in a move to try and win back customers

Prospective backers have estimated that around 100million is needed to stabilise the discount chain, which is one of the staples of the UK high street.

Poundland, however, has become a huge target for shoplifters and announced last year 40million worth of stock was swiped from its shelves.

In January, the retailer announced it would invest in new anti-theft technology to try and combat the surge in opportunists attempting to steal from the discount stores.

Meanwhile Pepco reported a 548million loss for the year up to September 30.

And in the three months leading up to December, the company recorded a 7.3 per cent drop in sales, Retail Gazette reported.

The slump comes as an ambitious growth plan for the brand which saw it open 23 new stores in the last financial year.

Shoppers reported rising prices after Poundland first dropped its 'everything's a pound' slogan in 2017, pricing some its products between 50p and 5.

Research by MailOnline last year showed that some items had increased by up to 50 percent in price since.

Stephan Borchert, chief executive of Pepco Group, said: 'The board and I are actively exploring separation options for Poundland, including a potential sale, from the group, with consideration also given to the separation of the well-performing Dealz Poland over the medium term.

'Barry Williams did a great job as managing director of Pepco, returning it to like-for-like sales growth, and I am confident he will play a pivotal role in getting Poundland back on track, given his previous success there.'
Joe Rogan is facing backlash for defending Kanye West's 'catchy' Nazi-inspired new music.

The podcaster praised the 47-year-old rapper's music making abilities and argued against banning his song called 'Heil Hitler,' on Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

In the song, West refers to himself as a Nazi and plays audio of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose reign of terror led to the murder of six-million Jews in the Holocaust.

The rapper, also known as Ye, took X on May 8 to share the clip, which showed a group of shirtless black males draped in animal skins professing their love for Hitler.

His chosen day to release the song was also of significance because it fell on VE Day - the 80 year anniversary of when fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe came to an end.

Rogan discussed the song with comedian Tom Segura saying, 'first of all, [it's] kind of catchy.'

While he condemned antisemitism, Rogan argued the song should not be banned because it will give more power to Ye.

'I don't think it's a good thing to say, I don't say it. I certainly don't think, I don't think any racism is good. I don't think antisemitism is good.. but there is a benefit to just letting people talk,' Rogan said.

Joe Rogan praised Kayne West's music making abilities and argued against banning his song called 'Heil Hitler'

In the song, West refers to himself as a Nazi and plays audio of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose reign of terror led to the murder of six-million Jews in the Holocaust

'If you ban it, then people want to hear it more, and then it becomes more popular, and then it kind of supports what he says, which is that there's this concerted effort, if you talk about Jewish people, that they're going to remove you from everything.'

Critics slammed Rogan for calling a song that praises Hitler 'catchy' and arguing it should not be banned.

'Nothing about Hitler is "kinda catchy," one person said. 'What the Hell is wrong with this man?' said another.

'Makes me sick. Im sorry @joerogan, but you could not be more off base on this. Making fun of people/making jokes is one thing. Comedy is comedy, but this is a song praising a genocidal maniac who nearly wiped out every Jew on Earth,' a third person said.

'Why dont they understand how vile this is? Rogan wants people going round singing Heil Hitler? wtf is wrong with him,' added a fourth.

'This is literally a disease. No, Joe Rogan. Kanyes Hiel Hitler is not catchy. Just say you have a problem with Jews and move on. This is getting boring,' said a fifth.

Rogan, who is a free speech absolutist, recently clashed with British political commentator Douglas Murray after he challenged him over the guests he brings on his show to discuss alternative theories about history and geopolitical.

The podcaster denied that he was treating some of his guests provide 'alternative theories' as serious historians.

West released the song on VE Day - the 80 year anniversary of when fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe came to an end

Rogan rehashed the debate last week with his guest Cameron Hanes, a fellow podcaster and renowned outdoorsman.

Rogan admonished Murray for attacking the qualifications of his guests and claimed the historian uses 'tactics' and not 'facts' in his argument.

'This idea that an expert, like Douglas Murray, I love him dearly, I think he's a brilliant man, [but] he's got a degree in history. Or, excuse me, he's got a degree in English. Bachelor's degree,' Rogan said.

'He's not an expert either. Unless we're talking about Shakespeare. Shut the f**k up. Because you're not an expert either. You know what I mean?'
Locals have lost a last-minute bid to save a hideaway seaside hotel beloved by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Campaigners fought to restore The Corbett Arms where Beatles fans have made pilgrimages to follow in the footsteps of a Lennon family holiday.

But council chiefs have ordered the fans to 'Let it Be' because the hotel is too dangerous to be saved.

Safety chiefs says the site is a danger to the public after hotel has been allowed to crumble away in Tywyn, North Wales.

The authority was accused by locals of 'cultural vandalism' for failing to save the grade-II listed structure which has been closed for 14 years.

Music icon Lennon visited the 3,000-population seaside town with his son Julian, wife Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in 1969, just before the band split.

He stayed at the hotel with his family before they headed north to Scotland for a driving holiday and even sent a postcard to fellow bandmate Ringo Starr.

The postcard sent from the resort was included in bandmate Starr's 2004 book Postcards From The Boys.

Campaigners fought to restore The Corbett Arms where Beatles fans have made pilgrimages

Music icon John Lennon visited the 3,000-population seaside town with his son Julian, wife Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in 1969, just before the band split

The authority was accused by locals of 'cultural vandalism' for failing to save the grade-II listed structure which has been closed for 14 years

But the Grade II listed property has since fallen into disrepair after it was left empty and the iconic former ballroom's roof collapsed.

It had been sealed off to protect the public with even 999 crews banned from going inside in January.

A Gwynedd Council statement said: 'The condition of the Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn has been a cause for concern for Cyngor Gwynedd and the local community for years, and we have taken action to protect the public and safeguard this listed building.

'Despite efforts to protect and ensure the long-term use of this Grade II listed building, its condition has continued to deteriorate with a significant collapse at the rear of the building at the end of January, along with a further collapse on the roof of the ballroom at the end of February.'

The council said scaffolding was put up to protect the public along with street closures next to the building.

It added: 'Unfortunately, the condition of the building has deteriorated to the point where there is a risk of another collapse and the Council need be in a position to take immediate action to protect public health and safety.

'This is why we have commissioned a specialist company to erect the scaffolding along Maengwyn Street and part of Corbett Square and carry out pre-preparation work on site for specialist machinery.

'This means that we will be in a position to react immediately if further emergency work is required due to another collapse or evidence arising from the ongoing monitoring work.'

The Grade II listed property has since fallen into disrepair after it was left empty and the iconic former ballroom's roof collapsed

It had been sealed off to protect the public with even 999 crews banned from going inside in January

The council continued to say that it 'has no choice but to submit application for listed building consent, to include demolition, under Section 90 of the Historic Environment Act (Wales) 2023.'

'This process is being conducted transparently, with due regard to historic environment policy for Wales and the guidance of Cadw,' it added.

'Arrangements for submitting this application are progressing and it is expected that the application will be submitted in the coming days.

'As part of the listed building consent process, all interested parties will have the opportunity to make representations during the consultation period.

'These representations will be considered by Welsh Government Ministers prior to the determination of the application.

'Unless there is another collapse or evidence that the condition of the building is deteriorating to such an extent that the Council must respond urgently, other than preparatory works, the Council will not carry out demolition work until listed building consent has been approved by Welsh Government Ministers.'

Campaigner Glyn Evans, who was born in the town, launched a petition in 2020 for the council to buy the hotel with a compulsorily purchase.

The petition was signed by over half of people living in the town - but Glyn says 'nothing was ever done.'

The council said that it 'has no choice but to submit application for listed building consent, to include demolition, under Section 90 of the Historic Environment Act (Wales) 2023'

Gwynedd Council's enforcement notice is addressed to the 'representatives of Susan Helen Holmes'.

She ran two businesses from the hotel - Helenian Holdings, dissolved in 2010, and ROAC Ltd which dissolved in February 2022.

Helen, an icon of the West Midlands soul scene in the 1970s, died in 2012 after battling cancer aged 58.

The hotel was first recorded in 1827 and was part of the Corbett family's estate.
A city in North Texas has been named the fastest growing in America after a boom in population in just one year, according to the US Census Bureau.

Princeton, around 45 miles north of Dallas, saw a 30 percent increase in population from July 2023 to July 2024, with a now estimated 37,000 residents from 28,000.

The number is more than double the city's population in 2020, and has brought many new jobs to the area.

Yet, locals say the city has been left scrambling for resources as the huge increase of people strains their water supply and schools and city services are struggling to keep up.

Their mayor, Eugene Escobar Jr., said that after living in the area for a decade he has seen the city's major transformation.

Escobar remembers Princeton's only two stoplights and having to go to the next town over to shop. Now, with several more stoplights, Princeton also has its own Walmart.

He added that the city had to implement a temporary moratorium on new home construction so infrastructure can keep pace, Associated Press reported.

According to Escobar, the city's major influx in population is due to Princeton's affordability and small-town feel.

Princeton, around 45 miles north of Dallas, saw a 30 percent increase in population from July 2023 to July 2024, with a now estimated 37,000 residents from 28,000

Princeton is one of many Texas cities experiencing a boom in population. Fort Worth surpassed Austin as the fourth-largest city in Texas with now more than 1 million residents

Their mayor, Eugene Escobar Jr., said the city's major influx in population is due to Princeton's affordability and small-town feel

'It's still cheaper to commute and live in Princeton than maybe live closer to work,' he said.

The median house prices in the city sit at $325,000, which is still lower than nearby suburbs, AP reported.

Princeton added twice as many houses between 2020 and 2023 as it did in the previous decade, according to census data, the Texas Tribune reported.

Durrie Lee Caldwell, a resident of the city since 1961 when its population was only 800 people, recalled to WFAA how he has witnessed it transform.

'Princeton is home for me,' Caldwell said. 'We go from nothing to what it is now.'

He recalled how the land was nothing but cows, cantaloupes and cotton, with Highway 380 standing as a two-lane partially gravel road.

'I knew it was gonna hit one of these days. And it hit good for me,' he added.

'We're going to get [the growth] one way or another. You might as well like it.'

The median house prices in the city sit at $325,000, which is still lower than nearby suburbs

Princeton added twice as many houses between 2020 and 2023 as it did in the previous decade, according to census data

Escobar told WFAA: 'They want infrastructure. They want things for kids to do. What my goal moving forward is to make sure Princeton is a place where families want to live and stay here.'

City officials are attempting to find ways to keep up with the booming population, including improving public amenities with a $109 million bond program to reinvigorate the city's parks.

'We have the ability to dictate what future generations are going to enjoy in Princeton and frame that identity today,' City Manager Michael Mashburn told the Texas Tribune.

Princeton is one of many Texas cities experiencing a boom in population.

Fort Worth surpassed Austin as the fourth-largest city in Texas with now more than 1 million residents, Fox 4 reported.

In addition to Princeton, three other cities in Collin County - Celina, Anna and Melissa - were also among the 15 fastest growing cities nationally.

The flocks of people to the southern cities has been reported as a result of many major companies moving their headquarters into Texas.

Companies such as Realtor.com, SpaceX, Chevron and Oracle all moved to Texas in search of its low taxes and limited regulation.

Yet, locals say the city has been left scrambling for resources with the huge increase of people as their water supply is strained and schools and city services are struggling to keep up

Robert Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of News Corp, was equally enthusiastic about the move to Texas.

Realtor.com, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, announced it is relocating its headquarters from Santa Clara to Austin in February.

'We are proud to be housed in a state which understands the crucial role played by business in providing opportunities for personal growth, professional success and community achievement,' Thomson said of the announcement.

'Our investment in Austin is a downpayment on The American Dream.'

SpaceX owner Elon Musk cited abundance of housing and lower taxes as reasons for moving Tesla's offices from California to Texas.

Chevron claimed its own relocation was due to increased environmental and business regulations in the blue state.

California has strict fuel-quality rules which were imposed to limit harmful emissions and curb environmental damage.

According to oil industry analysts, such regulations make it more expensive to produce oil in California, compared to other states.
Donald Trump has announced he will hold a high-stakes call with Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss ending the 'bloodbath' in Ukraine  as the brutal war continues to claim thousands of lives every week.

In a dramatic all-caps post on his Truth Social platform, the former U.S. president revealed the call would center on 'stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russians and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.'

Trump, 78, added he would follow the Putin call with conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'various leaders of NATO.'

'Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end,' he wrote.

The surprise announcement comes just after Russian and Ukrainian officials met for their first in-person talks in three years.

The meeting, which lasted under two hours, failed to yield a ceasefire  but did result in both sides agreeing to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.

Sources say Moscow's negotiators demanded Ukraine withdraw troops from all territories Russia claims as its own  including areas still fiercely contested on the battlefield.

Trump says he'll call Putin on MONDAY to stop the Ukraine 'bloodbath' as over 5,000 soldiers die weekly  and promises to speak to Zelensky and NATO leaders next

Trump, 78, said he would follow the Putin call with conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'various leaders of NATO'

In a dramatic all-caps post on his Truth Social platform, the former U.S. president revealed the call would center on 'stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russians and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.'

A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters the Kremlin's list of demands went far beyond the terms of a recent U.S.-drafted peace proposal, which Washington floated after backchannel discussions with Moscow.

Among Russia's conditions: a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia; international recognition of those territories, along with Crimea, as Russian; a pledge of Ukrainian neutrality; and an agreement that no foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction be stationed on Ukrainian soil.

Moscow also wants all parties to abandon any claims to war reparations  a sharp contrast with the U.S. proposal, which called for compensation to be paid to Ukraine.

The peace summit in Istanbul was overshadowed by Vladimir Putin's absence. Instead of attending personally, the Russian leader sent a delegation led by his former culture minister.

The surprise announcement comes just after Russian and Ukrainian officials met for their first in-person talks in three years

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed Putin would only meet with Zelensky if certain preconditions were met  namely a ceasefire framework and the successful completion of the POW exchange.

'Such a meeting, as a result of the work of the delegations of the two sides, upon reaching certain agreements between these delegations, is possible. [We] consider it possible,' Peskov told reporters on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his confidence that he could bring an end to the war, pointing to his personal relationship with Putin.

'I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal,' Trump said during an interview with Fox News in Abu Dhabi. 'We have to get together, and I think we'll probably schedule it up.'

He added: 'I'm tired of having other people go and meet and everything else. Nobody uses leverage better than me.'

When asked whether he would pressure Putin into making a deal, Trump responded: 'I will, if we're not going to make a deal. We'll see what happens  that will be crushing for Russia.'

Zelensky will hold the call with Trump the day after attending Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on Sunday - a return to the scene where he sat with Trump before former Pope Francis' funeral on April 26 (pictured)

Zelensky's call with Putin is expected to take place the day after he attends Pope Leo's inaugural Mass at the Vatican on May 18, the Holy See confirmed.

The ceremony, which will be held in St Peter's Square in Rome, marks the formal beginning of Pope Leo's papacy as the spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Trump has now said if he is making the trip, but Zelensky will be joined at the Mass by a U.S. delegation that includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance  the latter of whom previously clashed with Zelensky during a fiery Oval Office confrontation in February.

Despite the renewed push for diplomacy, violence has continued unabated across Ukraine.

Just hours after the Istanbul talks ended, Zelensky accused Russia of the 'deliberate killing of civilians' following a deadly drone strike that destroyed a minibus in Sumy, killing nine and wounding four.

Russian forces also claimed to have captured the village of Oleksandropil in the embattled Donetsk region on Saturday, while shelling in Kherson left two civilians dead and 13 injured  including those aboard a truck delivering humanitarian aid.

In Kharkiv, two more people were killed and at least 12 wounded following overnight airstrikes near the Russian border.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone Saturday, praising Washington's 'positive role' in reigniting dialogue and agreeing to keep the lines of communication open.
Police have arrested a second man in connection with three arson attacks targeting the Prime Minister.

The 26-year-old was arrested around 1.45pm on Saturday at London Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

The arrest was made by counter terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit. The man has been taken into police custody in London.

The arrest relates to three incidents - a vehicle fire in NW5 on 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May.

Today's arrest follows the arrest of 21-year-old Roman Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, on Thursday, who appeared in court yesterday charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

It is understood the three arson targets were the Prime Minister's 2million north London property, which was set alight on Monday night, just days after the torching of a car and a flat which the Labour leader had previously owned.

Met Police said as all three targets of the arson attacks have 'previous connections with a high-profile public figure' officers from the Mets Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation.

Sir Keir has let the four-bedroom house in Kentish Town to his sister-in-law on a peppercorn rent since he moved into Downing Street last year.

Police have arrested a second man in connection with three arson attacks targeting the Prime Minister. Pictured: A car set alight on 8 May

The three arson targets are believed to be connected to Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Alongside the car set alight, there was also a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May

The blaze damaged the porch of the property, but firefighters were able to bring it under control within 20 minutes, stopping it from spreading further indoors.

The doors of two homes linked to the Prime Minister in north London both suffered fire damage within 24 hours of each other.

It came after a Toyota Rav 4 on Sir Keir's street burst into flames on VE Day.

The owner of the vehicle, a neighbour of the Prime Minister, is understood to have thought that the fire started because of a faulty battery. The hybrid car was completely destroyed.

City mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the three fires had left the Prime Minister's family feeling 'frightened' for their safety.

Roman Lavrynovych, 21, of Sydenham, appeared in court yesterday charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life, as police confirmed a second man has been arrested

He told LBC Radio: 'Don't underestimate the ripples of fear that [his wife] Vic and the kids felt when they will have read this stuff in the paper.

'But for the grace of God they are safe thankfully, in Downing Street, they've got a protection team.'

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 441/12 May.

The public is also asked to remain vigilant and to report anything suspicious to police on 0800 789 321 or via www.gov.uk/ACT
Civil servants have been watching Netflix and accessing porn websites on their SNP government-issued laptops, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Government staff - most of whom were working from home - have streamed their favourite Netflix shows so many times in the past six months that officials say the number of attempts to log onto the streaming channel is too high to calculate.

On sixteen occasions civil servants have visited the x-rated Pornhub sex site and online betting sites Betfair and Paddy Power on their government devices, new data shows.

The shocking figures emerged days after a row over a new drive to get Scottish civil servants back into the office.

First Minister John Swinney said he approved of making officials work at least two days at their desk to boost productivity.

However the plan for an average 40 per cent attendance provoked a backlash from staff working from home.

The bloated devolved civil service - which has grown by more than 70 per cent since 2016 - is now costing the the taxpayer over 600 million a year.

It was recently revealed local government staff were working from far-flung locations including the United Arab Emirates and eastern Europe.

Scottish Government staff working from home are streaming Netflix and accessing porn.

Officials say the number of attempts to log onto the streaming channel is too high to calculate.

The latest revelations follow Health Secretary Michael Matheson having to resign after he racked up an 11,000 bill on his work iPad while abroad on a family holiday - and charged it to the public purse, before he resigned his position and agreed to pay it back.

Last night critics said taxpayers would be appalled by civil servants use of their official laptops and devices.

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: Hard-pressed Scottish taxpayers will be furious and appalled to learn they are footing the bill for civil servants to access dodgy websites and watch Netflix.

What does it say about the culture within the SNP government that staff think its okay to use a work device to watch pornography or place a bet?

Scots are paying the highest rates of income tax in the UK to support the SNPs growing army of civil servants while our public services worsen, and yet this is what some civil servants are choosing to spend their time on.

Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers Alliance added: Scottish taxpayers will be rightly disgusted to see what their civil servants have been up to.

Its clear that these pen-pushers have too much time on their hands as they work at home, failing to deliver for hard-working Scots.

Anyone caught using government devices to access pornography should be sacked without hesitation.

Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, an x-rated porn site.

Former SNP Health Secretary Michael Matheson used his work device for personal use abroad, wracking up data roaming charges worth 11,000.

Figures obtained under freedom of information laws lay bare the number of times civil servants in Scotland have used government-issued devices to access inappropriate websites.

Records show there were at least 16 attempts to access pornography and gambling websites on taxpayer-funded devices in the past six months.

Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, six attempts to access Betfair and four attempts to access Paddy Power on Scottish Government devices.

Officials refused to share how many attempts there were to watch Netflix by civil servants, saying it would cost more than 600 to sort through the number of the attempts.

In response to a freedom of information request, it said: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information for Netflix as requested would exceed the upper cost limit of 600 the Netflix dataset was too large and included too many duplicate entries to sort within a reasonable time frame and within the applicable cost limit.

The new statistics, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, follow public backlash over the number of civil servants still working from home despite the pandemic ending years ago.

Some workers have been told they only need to attend their offices one day a week, although the official expectation is for them to attend for two.

Taxpayers would be appalled to learn civil servants have accessed porn sites, critics say.

It is feared the work from home culture in the Scottish devolved civil service might be contributing to the problem.

The work from home culture has had a major impact on the vitality of town centres, with many shops, bars and restaurants reliant on trade from office workers.

Even First Minister John Swinney has said Scotlands Permanent Secretary should go further in getting employees back to work.

Meanwhile Scotlands bloated public sector is costing the taxpayer over 600 million a year, double the bill charged eight years ago.

The devolved civil service workforce also stood at more than 9,000 last year  a 71 per cent rise since 2016.

Staff at one Scottish council have been working from countries as far away as the United Arab Emirates, sparking questions about their tax affairs and other working arrangements.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: Any attempt to access, download, display, store or distribute pornographic, racist or other offensive material, or material relating to illegal activities is considered a disciplinary matter, as outlined in the Scottish Governments IT Code of Conduct.

Action is taken in line with Scottish Government disciplinary policy where concerns are identified.

Scottish Government staff can use devices for personal use if this is within their own time, for example during the weekend or a lunchbreak. This is subject to restrictions on certain activities such as running a personal website or attempting to access inappropriate material online.

The Scottish Government has in place recruitment and workforce controls to reduce its workforce size.
Young girls across Scotland are still being expected to share school toilets with boys  as new figures show that councils have received almost 100 complaints and representations about gender neutral loos in the last three years.

Scottish state schools were ordered to provide single sex toilets in a landmark ruling handed down by a judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh last month.

Yet The Mail on Sunday has found that many of the 32 local authorities are considering the verdict before making changes.

That is despite data showing there have been 94 queries raised by youngsters and staff about gender neutral or unisex loos since 2021. SNP-run East Dunbartonshire has received the most criticism.

Last night it admitted that 51 complaints and representations had been made about their inclusive loo provision.

However, a spokesman claimed only two official complaints were lodged with the council directly.

Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal said: Complaints about this issue are rife. It seems some councils are taking these and recording them while others appear to be brushing them under the carpet.

Its totally unacceptable for any girl in school to have to share facilities such as toilets and changing areas with boys.

There have been 94 queries raised by youngsters and staff about gender neutral or unisex loos since 2021.

Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal has said asking girls to share loos with boys is 'unacceptable'.

Public bodies across Scotland have had to re-evaluate policies on single sex facilities after last months UK Supreme Court ruling on gender.

However, schools are under particular pressure after parents won a separate legal fight days later over single sex facilities at the new 16.6 million Earlston Primary School in Berwickshire.

Lawyer Rosie Walker of Gilson Gray, representing the parents, told the Mail that gender-neutral toilets were not permitted under regulations dating back to 1967.

The case, which concerned Scottish Borders Council, has a knock on effect for all local authorities.

Judge Lady Ross, KC, said she would issue a court order to make legal obligations on state schools clear after Sean Stratford and Leigh Hurley brought the judicial review over their concerns about transgender policies at the school, where their son was a pupil.

The Mail on Sunday asked all councils what progress had been made since the Court of Session ruling on April 23.

Of the 19 which responded, only two  Glasgow and East Lothian  had changed signage in some schools.

Six councils said they already had single sex provision and the rest declared they were considering the court verdicts.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: The Education Secretary is engaging with Cosla to carefully consider the implications of the Court of Session ruling.
The SNP was last night at the centre of a mystery over the disappearance of a Union flag as Nicola Sturgeon hit the by-election campaign trail.

The ex-First Minister visited a gymnastics club in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency to meet young members in a show of support for SNP candidate Katy Loudon.

The perfectly choreographed event saw youngsters organised into groups on everything from trampolines to vaulting boxes.

Yet on Ms Sturgeons much-anticipated arrival, there appeared to be one major  and presumably unaccounted for  snag.

For draped on the wall of the main hall was a Union flag, the symbol of sovereign unity between the UKs four nations.

A series of hushed conversations between Nationalist SNP spin doctors and the Hamilton Gymnastics Club management ensued and, within minutes, the flag had mysteriously disappeared from view.

It is not known if the SNP suggested the move.

However, images show the Union flag  which bore a British gymnastics slogan  in position at 10.30am and then, less than an hour later, lying crumpled over some safety mats.

BEFORE: at 10.30am the Union flag was proudly pinned to the wall as athletes trained in Hamilton.

AFTER: at 11.23am after Nicola Sturgeon and her entourage arrived at the Hamilton Gymnastics Club the flag was seen crumpled.

Deputy Scottish Labour leader Jackie Baillie said: Nicola Sturgeon has gone from leading a referendum campaign to getting her flunkies to pull down the national flag at a gym in Hamilton.

The Union flag is the flag of this country  whether Nicola Sturgeon likes it or not.

Deputy Scottish Conservative leader Rachael Hamilton said: A Union Jack being removed for the arrival of Nicola Sturgeon is the perfect reminder of the divisive policies that she fostered.

Ms Sturgeons scheduled attendance on the campaign trail for the June 5 poll, triggered by the death of the SNPs Christina McKelvie, had already sparked controversy.

Deputy Reform UK leader Richard Tice accused her of shamelessly hijacking the local vote to desperately talk up her own record in office.

Tensions are running high between the parties as the by-election has been billed as a litmus test for next years Holyrood vote, with the SNP, Labour and Reform locked in a three-way race.

A show of strength; the former First Minister was out campaigning in a bid to see off Labour and Reform candidates vying for the Hamilton constituency.

Ms Sturgeon said Sir Keir Starmer's immigration speech was 'the dumbest of dumb politics'.

Speaking to reporters in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Ms Sturgeon took aim at both Labour and Reform on immigration.

She said Sir Keir Starmers speech last week in which he suggested the UK risked becoming an island of strangers was the dumbest of dumb politics.

Asked if he was aware that his comments could draw comparisons with Enoch Powells Rivers of Blood speech  as suggested by critics but rejected by No10  the former First Minister said: Theres one of two answers to that.

Either he was aware, in which case its disgraceful, or he wasnt aware, in which case: what is he doing in the senior position hes in? For goodness sake, he is Prime Minister, hes not some political newbie with no experience.

Of course he knew that was a very deliberate dog whistle, and you know what? Shame on him.

She added: Its the dumbest of dumb politics, later saying last week had been one of the most disreputable in the history of the Labour party.

An SNP spokeswoman said: After a very successful day on the campaign trail, the gymnastics team asked for a group photo with Nicola and Katy  both were happy to oblige.'
The British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court allegedly sexually assaulted a female colleague in a hotel room in Africa just hours before making an impassioned speech, via video-link, to the United Nations.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Karim Khan KC, the barrister bringing a controversial war crimes case against Israel, is alleged to have coerced the woman into having non-consensual sex with him during an official trip to Chad, where he met victims of sexual violence.

The alleged incident is said to have happened at the Radisson Blu hotel in N'Djamena, Chad's capital, when Mr Khan is claimed to have asked the female lawyer to come to his luxury suite, where he held meetings, to review a speech he was due to make remotely to the UN Security Council.

It is understood the woman, a lawyer in her 30s, claims she told him multiple times she wanted to leave the room  but that he took her mobile phones and repeatedly pulled her by the arm towards his bed after she stood still.

Later that day he briefed the UN about war crimes, including rape, being committed in neighbouring Darfur and about the traumatised refugees he had recently met in two camps on the Sudan border.

This newspaper contacted Mr Khan's lawyers about the allegation last Thursday. On Friday it emerged that he had temporarily stepped down from his position.

Mr Khan, 55, controversially announced he was seeking the arrests of Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024  two weeks after learning the colleague had made serious allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

An external investigation by a UN watchdog was launched six months later and is understood to be examining multiple allegations of sexual assault.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan (pictured), is alleged to have sexually assaulted his female colleague

Mr Khan controversially announced he was seeking the arrest of Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) in May 2024

The woman told investigators that Mr Khan performed non-consensual sex acts with her during a string of foreign trips including to New York, Colombia and Paris over an 11-month period.

Mr Khan, through his lawyers, said it was 'categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind'.

The MoS can this weekend reveal that the woman also claims Mr Khan assaulted her at least ten times in his office at the ICC in The Hague. It is understood she alleges that during each of these assaults he locked both of the doors in his office before molesting her.

It is also claimed he ordered court staff to fully 'frost' the window between his office and the corridor  so no one could see inside.

It is understood the alleged victim claims this happened less than two weeks after she tried to avoid being touched by him by using the excuse that someone walking past could see their legs and feet through the glass, which was then only partially frosted.

It is understood Mr Khan was interviewed by investigators about the allegations nine days ago in The Hague. There are, however, mounting concerns over the transparency of the probe, which is being carried out by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Sources say the final report, which will be sent to the president of the court's governing body, will not be made public and nor will it be made available to countries which make up the court, including the UK.

There are also questions over why Mr Khan stepped aside only two days ago, given the investigation was launched six months ago.

It is understood investigators are examining allegations that he previously engaged in witness intimidation. An ICC source said: 'What makes it so astonishing to me is that in any other institution or work place this would be dealt with so differently.'

One of the alleged incidents is said to have happened at the Radisson Blu hotel in N'Djamena, Chad (pictured)

The alleged assault in Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, is said to have taken place on January 29 last year. Days earlier Mr Khan had visited the Farchana and Adre camps, where thousands of refugees have fled following years of bloodshed in Darfur, Sudan.

The MoS understands the woman feared resisting further would spark a retaliation from him and jeopardise her career. On occasions when she did manage to avoid him, it is understood she claims Mr Khan rebuked her for not doing her job properly.

Speaking to the UN Security Council, hours after the alleged assault, he said the world faced a 'pandemic of inhumanity'.

Last Sunday the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Khan faced 'multiple allegations of coerced sexual intercourse' involving the same woman.

It also reported an allegation that he tried to get the alleged victim to retract her claims over fears it would harm the ICC's investigation into the Gaza conflict, saying: 'Think about the Palestinian arrest warrants.'

One of the alleged assaults described in the article is said to have taken place during a trip to Bogota, Colombia in April 2024.

The MoS understands this is alleged to have taken place at a luxury Four Seasons hotel and that the woman claims she tried to avoid meeting with him by pretending she had altitude sickness and needed to sleep.

It is understood the woman claims that, despite her protests, he arrived at her hotel room and allegedly lay down next to her and assaulted her  even though she was pretending to be asleep.

Another alleged incident, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is said to have taken place in his corner suite at the Millennium Hilton hotel in New York, just yards from the UN's headquarters.

It is claimed she was in his room to discuss a work matter but when she tried to leave several times, he allegedly pulled her towards the bed, pulled off her trousers and had non-consensual sex with her.

The ICC said in a statement on Friday that Mr Khan had 'communicated his decision to take leave until the end' of the investigation.

Lawyers representing Mr Khan last night said he was 'cooperating fully and transparently' with the misconduct investigation and that there were 'significant constraints' on what he can say while it is ongoing.

They said he had requested in October 2024 that an investigation take place after the matter had been closed by ICC officials.

'Our client does wish to make clear, however, that it is categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind,' the lawyers said.
It is a beautiful centuries-old building that played a central role in one of the most-loved Scottish novels.

Now Arbuthnott Church  the real-world inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the final resting place of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon  is to be sold off.

The 13th Century place of worship in Aberdeenshire is one of several buildings that the Church of Scotland is selling or renting out as it looks to plug a 5.9 million deficit.

At the end of the year, Arbuthnott Church  called Kinraddie Church in the 1932 novel  will close its doors.

But the local community in Arbuthnott village, population 200, plans to save the ancient church and continue to run it as a cultural centre.

They have already commissioned a feasibility study and have the backing of Vivien Heilbron, the actress who starred as Chris Guthrie, heroine of Sunset Song and its sequels Cloud Howe and Grey Granite.

The 1971 BBC adaptation of Sunset Song was partly filmed at Arbuthnott Church and it was so popular that it led to the novel being selected for the Higher English syllabus.

Ms Heilbron told The Mail on Sunday: Lewis Grassic Gibbon is a unique and fantastic author who is beloved worldwide. He was revolutionary in his views on women.

The Kirk has put 13th Century Arbuthnott Church, featured in Sunset Song, up for sale

Vivien Heilbron in her role as Chris in British TV series Sunset Song in 1971

The church is also the final resting place of Sunset Song author Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Playing Chris Guthrie was a gift of a role. It was an extraordinary book for its time.

'I remember the church was a beautiful building when we filmed there. Im sad and mystified that it will close.

Its not the first time Scotland has not quite honoured the people who represent her so well.

Sunset Song follows the life of Chris Guthrie while growing up in a farming family on the fictional estate of Kinraddie in north-east Scotland. Grassic Gibbon, real name James Leslie Mitchell, based Kinraddie on Arbuthnott, where he grew up and where his ashes were interred after his death at the age of 33.

Charles Roberts-McIntosh of Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said: It is heartening that Vivien Heilbron is keen to get behind the project.

Its a stunning little church in an absolutely stunning location. It should be saved for its history and for the Lewis Grassic Gibbon connection.

Leading academics of Scottish literature have also called for the church to be saved.

Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University, said: Im appalled. This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland.

Many locals in the village of Arbuthnott are unhappy with the proposed sale

'For many years, I have taken groups of students to visit Arbuthnott Kirk, the gravestone in the corner with its unforgettable inscription For I will give you the morning star, and to look at the sculpture inside of the great knight of yesteryear, recumbent, which figures at the beginning of Sunset Song.

The place is more than a shrine. It is a key location in understanding who Lewis Grassic Gibbon really was, and the world he grew up in.

'What kind of country is it that obscures and oppresses its own greatest cultural achievements and their material evidence?

The idea of preserving the kirk as a heritage centre is exactly what should happen.

Scott Lyall, Associate Professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, said: The church is of discernible cultural and literary importance.

It would be sad and wrong if it was no longer an accessible site.

A spokesman for the Church of Scotland defended the planned sale and said that a significant reduction in the buildings that it owned was necessary against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income.

The spokesman added: We recognise that Arbuthnott Church is important and valuable to the local community.

However, our mission plans take into consideration what is best for the whole of the presbytery area, making the best use of our resources.
Last year Donald Trump was swept to victory on a wave of dissatisfaction with the status quo. America cast its verdict on rising prices, uncontrolled immigration and a governing elite that seemed out of touch with their lives and hostile to their values.

On both sides of the Atlantic, polite opinion has it that Trump was elected by the mindless MAGA faithful, but this is a delusion. Yes, he has his true believers but not enough of them to carry him over the line.

Weary of rising living costs, nearly every demographic group swung towards him. Many were simply sick of the system and others decided that even if he was a pretty unappealing character, he couldnt be any worse than the other lot.

My polling suggests these reluctant Trumpers make up about one in seven of his 2024 vote. Without them, we would all be getting used to President Harris.

What have they got to show for the deal they made with themselves and with him?

A helluva show, for one thing: a flurry of summits, showdowns, hirings, firings, executive orders and general pandemonium, designed to give the impression of action on all fronts.

And even the most sceptical Trump voters point to some wins. Toughening up border security, deporting more illegal migrants, banning men from womens sport, pushing for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war, and asking Europe to do more for its own defence  these all go down well in Trump world.

Despite this, nearly a fifth of last years Trump voters say their country is heading in the wrong direction and that they dislike a lot of what hes doing as President.

Nearly a fifth of last years Trump voters say their country is heading in the wrong direction and that they dislike a lot of what hes doing as President

At the beginning of 2020, Boris Johnson had the world at his feet, but to years later he was fighting unsuccessfully to save his premiership

This is partly down to his more outlandish actions  threatening to make Canada the 51st state, his apparently sincere wish to take control of Greenland, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change, or the swift and sweeping Elon Musk-inspired cuts in federal spending that some see as short-sighted and reckless.

But when it comes to the thing that drove many of them to Trump in the first place  the economy and the cost of living  little has changed and many are starting to lose patience.

Living standards show no sign of rising and business has hardly boomed since the 47th President took office. Some had unrealistic expectations of the miracle he would unleash (not that he made any attempt to dampen them).

But others feel that in his blaze of activity he has neglected the one job they really hired him to do.

While his enthusiasts are enjoying the show, the sceptics think its a distraction or even an impediment to getting the things they wanted when they held their noses and put him back in the White House.

This is especially true in the on-again, off-again tariff wars, which the faithful see as evidence of Trumps negotiating genius but others regard as proof that hes making it up as he goes along.

They fear that any of the supposed benefits  bringing back jobs to America, making the country more self-sufficient, tackling the trade deficit or raising revenue to make room for tax cuts  wont materialise for years, if at all.

Higher prices and even shortages look like more immediate risks. Meanwhile, they find families reluctant to spend and businesses postponing investment or hiring until things settle down.

Things are down 30 per cent, a Las Vegas taxi driver told us. A lot of international people arent showing up. The Chinese arent coming in as much. Were being boycotted by Canada. So were praying everything changes here soon. How much does all this matter? Trump cant run for re-election himself (whatever his views to the contrary).

But as things stand, his Republican Party controls the Senate and the House of Representatives. Elections for both are due in just 18 months.

When it comes to the thing that drove many of them to Trump in the first place  the economy and the cost of living  little has changed and many are starting to lose patience, says Lord Michael Ashcroft (pictured)

A Democrat-controlled Congress could kibosh the presidency, allowing the opposition to block any legislation Trump proposes, derail any Supreme Court nominations he might need to make, or even begin yet another round of investigations and impeachments.

Making America great again would drop off the agenda as the country descended further into division and recrimination.

Republicans would fight over who was to blame for a presidency that had failed to deliver on its promise and a Left-wing opposition would be waiting in the wings for 2028.

This scenario will sound eerily familiar to anyone who can bring themselves to recall the tail-end of the last Tory government.

At the beginning of 2020, Boris Johnson had the world at his feet. Hed assembled the biggest and most diverse Conservative voting coalition in memory on the promise to end the deadlock and division over Brexit, level up the country and unleash Britains potential.

Two years later he was fighting unsuccessfully to save his premiership  the nations potential still well and truly leashed  to the benefit of no one but Keir Starmer.

Around the world, many might welcome the prospect of an early end to the Trumpian supremacy.

As my polling found in Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Estonia, European voters are more likely to see the US as an economic competitor than a partner and increasingly doubt that America would intervene to protect a European country under threat. Majorities say the US is no longer the force for good it once was.

But they also believe that Trump doesnt really represent what most Americans think about defence and foreign affairs, and that the US approach will change once he leaves office.

Here they are mistaken. If there is one thing that unites Trump voters  not to mention a good number of Democrats  it is the idea that the US has borne too much of the international security burden for too long, that American resources are needed at home and that its time for Europe to step up.

Whatever comes after Trump, that shows no sign of changing.
They are two tipples that are synonymously Scottish and loved around the world.

However, a new drink that looks to combine the two has been dreamed up by a group of drinks enthusiasts in Germany.

Dubbed Bohemian Schnapsidee, the limited edition dram is created by finishing off a Scotch whisky inside barrels that have been infused with Irn Bru.

And the quirky drink, which is described as part peat monster, part candy-coated fever dream, has nearly sold out with only 20 bottles left up for grabs at 75 euros (63) apiece.

The creator is VAME Malts, four friends from the Bavarian capital whose hobby is testing out bizarre twists on whisky and then bottling their brainwaves.

Their latest escapade saw them infuse an empty cask with 80 cans of Irn-Bru then use the barrel to finish a peated seven-year-old Scotch from Islay.

When the flavours mingled after two months, they christened it Bohemian Schnapsidee  a play on the Queen hit song and also the German phrase for a wonderful plan that comes together when drunk.

Max Kling - who dreamt up the fusion - said: It was an idea during a good evening on Islay with a lot of whisky.

Whisky is a drink that - like Irn Bru - is synonymous with Scotland

The new drink called Bohemian Schnapsidee, is created by finishing off a Scotch whisky inside barrels that have been infused with Irn Bru.

What does it taste like? Its a very controversial one. We took a sample to a fair in Germany and a bunch of Scotsmen tried it there.

They were all pretty on board with it  they thought it was pretty fun.

On the nose, its just like a sweet whisky, but Ive been told by people who are sensitive to Irn-Bru that the palate and finish are heavy with it.

I would say the oak has done its fair share  the wood notes are very prominent.

When Irn-Bru loses its fizz, its has a sweet-and-sour quality, which some people, including me, find amazing, but others not so much.

Mr Kling, a 33-year-old insurance statistician, added: I first had Irn-Bru at a pub in Edinburgh. It was love at first taste.

The distinctive sweetness and artificial flavour reminds me of the chewing gums I had as a child.

Scotland is close to our hearts. We come at least once a year. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world for all of us.

Its not only the whisky. Just walking around Jura, Islay, Arran, Skye, Edinburgh, Speyside and even the Central Belt is really good.

Irn Bru is emptied into barrels in VAME Malts' Munich basement

VAME Malts owners (l-r) Volker Kling, Andrew Brodie, Max Kling, and Ege Gumus

Bohemian Schnapsidees notes describe it as a wee Scottish beastie finished in a cask that held a Scottish elixir  in a Munich basement.

Irn-Bru dates back to late Victorian times and its recipe  formulated by the Barr family of Glasgow and Falkirk - has been a closely-guarded secret.

Now canned at AG Barrs plant near Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, sales have long rivalled those of Coca-Cola in Scotland, but the company unveiled record profits last year off the back of growing popularity in England.

The friends behind VAME are now planning another bottling with tweaks to the finishing process to refine the taste.

And they have other whisky experiments lined up with hybrid casks and infusions with drinks including Buckfast, Italian aperitif Aperol and Spezi, an orange-flavoured cola popular in Bavaria.

Max created VAME with mechanical engineers Volker Kling, 60, and Ege Gumus, 33, and Australian-born insurance worker Andrew Brodie, 35.

They forged their love of whisky over board-game nights in Munich then created VAME five years ago to invest in and create their own casks.

Their barrel of Bohemian Schnapsidee yielded 72 bottles for sale in their online shop.

The identity of the Islay whisky has to remain a secret under industry rules.